Chapter 8

; "First of all, Zelda, when I was born fifty years ago, Velattiane was a peaceful government, democratic, like Moldera is now. When I was born, they were going through rather hard times, however, a sort of famine. But they had been wise enough to stockpile enough food to last for one to five years. The famine ended, and life grew normal again. But then enemies of democracy rose up, stating that the government had not prepared enough food for the famine. This is a rather weak argument, but they stirred up controversy around Velattiane, burning towns, destroying roads, murdering, and they said that this was not being controlled by the government. The government sent troops out to stop them, but it wasn't enough. The ideas of communism and dictatorship spread, and soon enough my family was embroiled in it too. They were hypnotized by it. I was only a young lad, but....Zelda...." He started to break down at this point. Zelda hugged him reassuringly. "Go on..." she said. "Zelda...I knew that it was wrong. I knew that communism was not the right thing for the country, and it probably isn't a right way to go. But as I grew, I eventually joined the Army. We eventually prodded Aidnaryk into an alliance with us, and then Tanol. We looked to bring them into communism, but they said that they were fine with their systems. They were smart. We tried to enforce it on Dalsona, Jueland, Lemmink, and even Hyrule. Dalsona told us to go home, Lemmink weakened considerably, and Jueland accepted it wholeheartedly. But thank Din, they were tricky little devils. They pretended to implement communism, but they knew its dangers. What devils they were. They rejected it and told the whole world of its problems, and I believe that's how only Velattiane has been communist." "What about Hyrule?" asked Zelda. "Ah, Hyrule. Hyrule wasn't as tricky, but they were just as blunt about it. Your grandfather was the one who told them that Hyrule would never accept communism. Naturally, I was thrilled. I'd always dreamed of visiting Hyrule, and it looked like my 'dream land' would stay out of communism. But when my commander got wind of this...somehow....he dishonorably discharged me and I was ordered out of the country. My family hated me.....so....I....I was dropped off on Sarnilia, which was a neutral island, not occupied by anyone then. That's where I met Paul Gorman's father. We became friends. He lived in a small shack on the Hylian coast, and he brought me to Hyrule to have dinner. He showed me everything, and eventually I decided to settle down and try to become a Hylian Soldier. Well, I became a guard to the castle, even though I had Velattian heritage and was Velattian myself, and I began to work my way up through the ranks. About twenty years later, or something like that, the King's new bride became pregnant with a baby girl. I was there to see it. Eventually, I was assigned to protect this beautiful new princess, named Zelda, and I became the leader of this personal guard. Sure, I've been shifted around to different positions over the years, but I was always the leader of that personal guard." Mallard finished. Zelda laughed. "What was I like when I was a kid?" she asked. "Oh, Zelda, that's classified," Mallard said mockingly. "Why?" Zelda frowned. "Zelda, you were much too troublesome to even be talked about!" Mallard said, roaring with laughter. Zelda punched him playfully on the arm. "Can you believe we're having this much fun in a prison?" she giggled. "Fun?" retorted Mallard. He smiled and hugged Zelda. Zelda hugged him back. "Drat it..." muttered Impa, looking at Paul and Saria. Saria was crying in fear, holding on tightly to Impa. Paul was attempting to knock a brick out of the jail wall. But a guard saw him and roared. Paul grinned stupidly and sat back down, annoyed. "Why'd you grin like that? You'll make us look bad." Impa said. "Two things: First, we already are. Second, it's the whole idea." Paul said. "What're you getting at?" asked Impa. Paul leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I'm saying that if we make ourselves look like total and complete simpletons, then we'll fool them into thinking that Hyrule is full of these supposed moronic persons!" he said. "But I don't want to be a moronic simpleton..." moaned Saria. "Your point being?" a confused Impa said. "If they ever attack us, we can absolutely decimate them!" Paul yelled. Impa glared. The guard shifted uneasily. Suddenly Impa's eyes glowed. "My other point-" "Shh...Paul, you genius...you absolute genius." she said. Paul scratched his head. "What?" he said. "Paul, we're not going to get out of jail for five days. We'd better do some damage while we're here." she replied. "I thought we were getting out tonight..." Paul hissed quietly. "No. Not until the day before the conference. I'm going to tell Mallard and Zelda about our plan telepathically." Adlan Eben, Chief of Asentia Prison, rushed into Moriartis' office. "Moriartis! I have enormous intelligence!" he yelled. Moriartis raised his eyesbrows. "Neh codia! That is a good one." he chuckled. Eben roared. "One of the prisoners in Block Four, Top Priority, has dropped a piece of paper that could be a turning point in vorld history!" He handed a piece of paper to the Velattian. 'My friends Sosa and Hyman, with help from Sarnie, are coming to Velattiane in half a year. They're going to take the country by storm. Dallie and Duey are coming right after. They're going to try and visit Aidnaryk and Tanol too!' Moriartis nodded slowly. "My intelligence officers vill analyze it. Thank you, Eben." he said. "I also heard something about outcasts, sir." Eben added. Moriartis laughed. "Hylians are. You're dismissed." he told Eben. Eben saluted and walked out of Moriartis' office. Moriartis narrowed his eyebrows. He ordered Vice-Commissar of Intelligence Elmuth Birnkmenn in. "Birnkmenn! Vhat do you make of this message?" he said. Birnkmenn whipped his hand around, catching the paper in a perfectly timed arc from Moriartis' hand. Moriartis glared at this rather arrogant gesture. He was prone to disagreeing with the punctual Birnkmenn, but they were close friends nevertheless. "Hmmm....Sosa and Hyman...wery interesting. Vith help from Sarnie, eh? Dallie and Duey....ha!" he spat. "So you have deduced it already?" Moriartis said. "Deduced it? It is as plain as day! Ve are to be invaded in half a year!" Elmuth Birnkmenn boomed. Moriartis tipped his chair over. "Impossible! Hyrule could not possibly invade us!" he roared. "Sosaria too. They have a population of over thirty million, may I remind you. Welattiane has only twelve and a half million, Adolian." said his second-in-command. Moriartis pounded his fist on his desk. "Don't tell me that Welattiane vill be defeated! There isn't anything that ve can't do! Ve can repulse anything in the vorld!" he raged, taking Birnkmenn by the collar. Birnkmenn eased himself away from his commander. "Adolian, listen to me. I know that ve can destroy anything if ve are on the offensive. But ve do not have enough defensive troops to repulse an attack. And from this paper, it says that Dalsona and Dubatio will be behind them! Adolian, it's our job to send every last spy into these countries and others to see if this is true! Charli and Alender will get the Eglmortt (navy) and the Hehrmacth (army) ready." he said. "You act like I am the subordinate!" Moriartis said, smirking. "It is necessary sometimes." retorted Birnkmenn wryly. "I wonder if they took our little paper." Zelda said to Impa. She'd teleported Mallard and herself into the other cell so they could talk. "This is very dangerous, everyone. We could be hanged, or burned at the stake, or-" Mallard was interrupted when Saria wailed awfully. Impa shot a glare at him. Mallard shrugged. "It's the Velattian way." he said. Zelda patted Saria reassuringly on the back. "We're Sages, remember. We can protect ourselves." she told her Kokiri friend. "I-I'm so a-a-afraid....I've never been out of Hyrule before, let alone....let alone.....in....one of these....things you call prisons..." she sobbed. Zelda lifted her up on her knee. "It's going to be all right." she said. "I-I hope." Saria sighed. Mallard looked impatiently around the cell. "It's the pure suspense that gets me!" he said. "You talk about suspense, we may be giving the world a painful shock in the rear, eh?" chuckled Paul. "You have a very good point, Paul." Mallard said. The days came and went, with slips of paper mysteriously showing up around the prison grounds. Soon the Velattians thought they had a clear picture of the plans of Hyrule and Sosaria. But, all would not be well for them at the time of the conference, for the time came for the prisoners to escape. Paul and Mallard, unlike the Sages, did not have any special powers, and so it would be rather hard for them to stay concealed in the manhunt that would undoubtably ensue once they'd escaped, but the Sages thought everything would go all right. And so, come midnight, the Sages vaporized a few bricks in the wall. They had put the guards to sleep, and Paul was appointed lookout to see (and try to hear) if any guards were coming. One by one, they crawled out. It was as simple as that to escape, but to get to Moslin, current capital of Velattiane, where the conference was being held, was another story. Mallard grinned as he breathed in the fresh air. "Smells good." he said. "Stay quiet, we don't want to be picked up now. Come on..." Impa hissed, as the Sages began to go invisible. They could do it for up to fifteen minutes, more than enough time to get away. Mallard immediately dodged behind a tree as a guard looked their way. Unfortunately, he thought he saw something, and so began walking towards them. Mallard oozed sweat. "Go on!" he whispered to the invisible Sages. Suddenly the guard dropped to the ground, lifeless. He saw purple light, and so knew Impa had saved him. His guard friend ran up to the body, but then dropped down as well. He saw white this time. It suddenly radiated from a particular spot, then started moving down the heavily wooded hill that Asentia Prison stood on. Paul and Mallard were following the white light, when at twenty-five feet down the mountain, they heard shouts and bellows rising up from behind them. Their legs started to pump faster as they ran faster than they ever had before. "Have they spotted us?" Paul said. "No, not yet!" Mallard said, suddenly tripping and rolling down the mountain, letting out a yell. Paul groaned. Mallard flew into a tree and stayed there. Abruptly the white light stopped, then floated back to him. Paul quickly heaved the heavier man onto his shoulder and stumbled down the mountain. "Hey you! Stop! In the name of Welattiane!" boomed a husky guard, charging towards them with his sword. He abruptly stopped and sank to his knees peacefully. Paul stopped. "Sorry....just....need....to....rest..." he said. "We can hold them off!" whispered Zelda from somewhere around him. "I wouldn't be too sure of that." Saria gulped, seeing about twenty guards rushing towards them. A few of them had bows and started to shoot. Paul yelled and started tumbling down crazily to the bottom of the hill, which by now was about ten to twenty yards away. Suddenly an arrow hit his arm, then another hit his leg. He let go of Mallard and went down himself. "Ve got both of them!" yelled a guard. Suddenly the ground underneath him exploded and he went flying. The guards looked around in confusion. Another one flew into a tree, yet another one suddenly was crushed to the ground. The guards started murmuring in fear. They started walking back. Then one, two, and three of them were hit by magic beams. "It is the end of us!" screamed one. A moment later he too fell. The remainder of the guards straggled back to the prison. Zelda, Impa, and Saria reappeared and dashed up to Paul. "Paul, can you hear us?" Impa said. "Yeah....I can hear you." Paul said in a nonchalant way. "Is it serious?" asked a worried Saria. "No, not that serious. But I'm going to have a limp for a couple of weeks...or months." Paul said. "We've got to get you to a hospital." Impa said. "Mallard too. He's got a bad injury to the head, I believe." Zelda replied, looking him over. "We can use our Sage magic, can't we?" piped up Saria hopefully. "If we do, it's going to take us all night." Impa sighed. "Small price to pay." countered Saria. "We don't exactly have all night!" the Sheikah snapped. "Stop it, both of you! We're going to help these two, and accomplish our mission. Okay?" Zelda hissed. "But how are we going to haul them?" Saria said. "Teleporting is the only way." Impa said. Only Impa could even lift Mallard or Paul, and she wasn't sure if she could pick one of them up and haul them on her back. "It's going to use up a little of our magic..." Saria said. "Like you just said, it's a small price to pay." Zelda smirked.

"Come on, yaw!" yelled Link to Epona, slapping her with his good arm. They were scampering over to Zora's River for a little visit, because they'd just gotten done traveling all over Hyrule, searching out "dog-faces", "boneheads", and "tin cans". They were tired of dog-faces, boneheads, and tin cans. So tired of dog-faces, boneheads, and tin cans, in fact, that Link almost wanted to quit being the Hero of Time. Link gently urged Epona across the river, (she had a rather innate fear of water) and then guided her nimbly to the "parting point", as he called it. "Okay, Epona, this is where we part company." he said, dismounting. Epona whinnied and looked at him with sad eyes. "Sorry, girl. You're going to have to ride back on your own again. But..." He grabbed some carrots out of his pocket. "....I do have a little treat for you." he chuckled. Epona looked happier, and quickly ate them up. She looked at him as he walked away. The horse sighed sadly, and tramped off at a slow pace, looking back once or twice. Link whipped out his ocarina and played Zelda's Lullaby, then jumped through the opening. As he got in, he didn't notice anything that different, until he got a clear view of the water. Gorons, Hylians, and Zora were frolicking in the water, all together in harmony. He stopped short. "What in Hyrule is going on here?" he said. Ruto jumped down by him, seemingly from nowhere. "Link, what a nice surprise!" she said. Link jumped and turned around. "Er...nice to see you too, Ruto." he said. Ruto giggled. "Isn't this wonderful? And to think, a few decades ago, we were at war with each other!" she said. "Uhhh...we were? Oh, yes, we were." Link said, kicking himself for not studying history when he had the chance. Ruto seemed to read his thoughts. "Link, doesn't the castle have some history archives?" she said, to purely irritate him. "Yes..." replied Link, trying to be nonchalant. "It's all right, we all make mistakes." Ruto said mock-sympathetically. "By the way, why are all these people-er, Gorons, Zora, and Hylians here?" Link asked hurriedly. "You don't remember? Today is Trinity Day!" Ruto said. Link nodded. "Trinity Day....Trinity Day?!" he gasped. He fell into the water, right by a Goron. "Hello, there!" the Goron said, apparently not recognizing him. Link spluttered as he rose out of the water with his cap backwards. "Mmmph! I mean, I've got to get back to the castle! Boy, the king is gonna kill me, and so is my arm...." he moaned, taking out his Ocarina. He tried to play it, but all that came out was a shower of water droplets and a cry of pain. "Nice shower!" chuckled the Goron. Link managed to play the Prelude of Light and began to warp in a flash of yellow light particles. "Oooooooh, pretty!" the Goron said. A Zora looked at him with amusement. Trinity Day was just beginning to heat up as Link stumbled out of the Temple of Time. He stumbled right into a dancing crowd, getting pushed around, kicked, and bruised by happy people. "Ow! Hey! Watch it!" Link said, using his shield to try and protect his arm, which was still healing. The people took no notice. He finally landed right at the foot of the forty-foot tower built every year that the king, queen, (if there was one) and prince/princess (again, if there was one) ascended to show their (his, her) spiritual importance and relation to the Goddesses, as well as their towering virtues. And, if there was one, the Hero of Time would come up too. And this is why Link had been a little worried about Trinity Day, for he was scheduled to come up as well. He quickly scrambled away from the crowd and out of sight. Guards suddenly surrounded him. "You feeling all right?" said one. "Where's the princess?" asked another. "Is the tower falling?" yet another worried. "Yes, I'm all right, no, I don't know where Zelda is, and how should I know if the tower is falling?" Link shouted. The guards quieted. The hubbub suddenly died down as two large horns blared. The guards stood at attention, and instinctively, Link did too. He soon saw why. The king himself was walking their way. He limped a little bit, from wounds received in some half-forgotten war, the kind only historians remember. His hand twitched ever so slightly. His eye looked a little worn. But he walked regally, with dignity and pride, wisdom, and that little bit of courage inside. He felt proud of his country, and he made others feel so as well. He was, all in all, an inspiring fellow. Guards started to help help him up the ladder to the tower, but he shrugged them off and got up there by himself. He stepped up to the front of the tower, and his citizens below went wild. He waved and cracked a grin. Link looked at the guards. They nodded and stood even straighter. He sighed and climbed up the ladder. The crowd saw him and began to go crazy with admiration. "I think they like me," Link said airily. "I think they like you too." smiled the king, putting his arm down. Link shook his head in wonder. "To think that they're cheering for boring old me!" he said. "Zelda doesn't like boring people." Harkinian said. "Your point being?" Link sounded a tad confused. "That you're not boring." the king replied. But the crowd settled down again as he raised his hand. "Sons and daughters of the Goddesses, welcome! Today is Trinity Day! Rejoice!" he shouted. Everyone cheered. "The day when we give thanks to our Creators! A day of Thanksgiving!" Everyone cheered again. "This could get monotonous...." muttered Link. "But it is also a day to give thanks for our blessings! It is a time to unite familes together, to share joy and love! It is a day to thank the Goddesses that no harm has befallen us!" the king boomed. Everyone shouted in agreement. "We are a fortunate people, to have a fertile land, to have wonders of nature, and to have adequate protection from evil!" Link stepped forward so the crowd could see him better, on cue. He saw a few ladies swoon. Suddenly people screamed, and gasps came up all around, as well as cries of pain. Link saw a tail swing towards the bottom of the tower. It collapsed, and Link, the king, and the two guards who were guarding the tower fell. But they were all caught by two clawed hands. Ganon grinned as he looked at them. "What a prize catch!" he said, beginning to squeeze them all. "How-did-you-get-past-the-guards?" groaned the king. "Guards? Mere boys, Harkinian! Round these people up, everyone!" Ganon spat. Gerudo, Stalfos, and Iron Knuckles, as well as those mysterious Morguls, began to round everyone up and herding them towards the castle. The king bellowed like a wounded bull, old fighting instincts roused. With what strength he had, he bit Ganon. Ganon roared horribly, dropping Link and the guards. "Go get the women and children!" Link said, seeing hundreds of guards streaming out of the castle. He clutched his arm, gasping in pain. He noticed the king lying wounded on the ground. Ganon was about to step on him when Link dived down and put the hilt of his sword a few inches above the king. Ganon's foot fell down upon the blade. He howled and fell back, holding his foot. Link narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. Ganon looked at him with hatred. "You think that-ugh...you think that will stop me?" he said. "Yes." Link replied, running forward. Ganon stumbled to one scaly knee. Link jumped toward him, but Ganon rolled and swung his tail into Link, who moaned and held his chest after he hit the ground. Ganon stood up. "I have more important things to do." he said, grabbing the king and stomping off. Link lay there, his old wounds aggravated. "This....isn't good....where are you, Meryl?" he mumbled, attempting to rise. Through supreme effort, he did. Walking painfully into the now-deserted medicine shop, he took a red potion and guzzled it down. He sank to his knees, exhausted and wounded. He began to sleep.

Impa looked at Paul, who was alert, but wounded. They'd brought him and Mallard to a small, abandoned, hut. "My whole left side....paralyzed! The irony!" he chuckled. "Not paralyzed in the true word, Paul." the impromptu nurse said. "Temporarily, right?" her "patient" said. "Yes. Get some rest, you're going to need it." Impa told him. "Rest? I don't need rest...." Paul said. "Paul, I'm a Sage." Impa coaxed. "You aren't my mother!" Paul snapped. "I am while you're in Velattiane." Impa was starting to get impatient. "Oh, all right..." grumbled Paul, closing his eyes. Saria walked over to Impa. "Impa, it's almost time for the conference. You and Zelda had better get going," she said. "No, you're going with me. It's not safe for you to be here alone," Impa replied. "But Impa, I'm a Sage! I can take care of myself!" Saria said. "No, Saria." stated Impa. Saria looked at Impa with big, sad, eyes. "Please?" she intoned. "No..." Impa said. Saria put a sad frown on, and her eyes became watery. Impa weakened, then broke. "All right, if you say so." she said, narrowing her eyes. Saria smiled. "Thank you, Impa." she said. Impa nodded. "Where's Zelda?" she asked. "Psst...here!" muttered a voice. Impa looked behind her, but saw nothing. Saria pointed up to the ceiling. Zelda dropped down in her Sheikah outfit. "Feels good to be back in this old thing again." she said, chuckling. "My Zelda, a spy..." sighed Impa in disbelief. "I'm not a spy. I'm a...hm....I'm a....gee, I don't know what I am, but I'm not a spy." Zelda said. "Your father said you were a spy." Impa countered. "He what?" gasped Zelda. "He ordered you to lead us on the mission, or I'm losing my memory." Impa said. "You're losing your memory." Zelda said, putting a sympathetic arm around Impa's neck. "Stop that. We have work to do!" Impa said. "Okay....hey, shouldn't Saria go, and I stay here? It's dangerous for her!" Zelda said. Saria locked her eyes on Zelda. "Don't argue with her, she'll just turn on her sad eyes and make you guilty..." Impa warned. "She what?" Zelda sputtered. Saria got the look on her face. "Oh, I get it...well, two can play that game." Zelda said, looking very sadly at Impa. "This could be a long day," Impa sighed.
They'd teleported to Moslin to spy on the conference that included Tanolian and Aidnarykan officers, but they couldn't turn invisible for even one moment. Zelda didn't even have her Sheik facade on now. "I think we got our strength drained..." she said. "That's exactly what we did. Now how are we going to get into the conference?" moaned Impa. "We will all right..." muttered Zelda under her breath, attempting to muss up her hair, and letting it hang in front of her face, so she wouldn't be noticed that well. "I'm glad for these clothes Dad got me..." she sighed, referring to a two-piece form-fitting outfit she'd gotten a few months ago, just before her marriage to Link. "If you were in one of those dresses, you'd be...in trouble." Impa remarked. "Trouble nothing!" said Zelda, lowering her voice. They were starting to mingle with other people on a large scale now, so she was being careful of what she said and how she said it. People didn't know they weren't Velattian, and so they waved. Zelda and Impa waved back, a little unsure of themselves. "Enh orbia mactor!" called Impa in the standard Velattian greeting. "Enh" if you preferred. The people waved back. "Tansk!" they shouted. "And they're such nice people." lamented Impa. "Oh, some aren't..." whispered Zelda. "What do you mean?" Impa asked, a little intrigued. Zelda looked at Impa. "I had a bit of inside info from Mallard." she replied. "Ah..." Impa said, dropping the subject. They were nearing the center of the town, and the Velattian military headquarters. Lotkend Genborat Kellderafor, or Lotkend Military Headquarters. As they walked up to it, a host of guards stopped them. "Where do you think you're going?" they demanded. Zelda looked at Impa, without a clue as to what to do. Impa thought for a second. "We're on important business." she said. The lead guard roared in amusment. "That trick is centuries old, it von't vork on us." he said. Zelda glared. "You're going to let us in or else." she said, hoping that some of her magic would come back so she could blast them. She didn't feel any coming. "Now get out of here, before ve have to chop you up, eh?" a guard grunted, jabbing Zelda with his spear. Zelda winced. Impa was growing irked, but no more than the unit commander. "You will let us in. We have something important to tell Moriartis." she said. The commander didn't look fazed. Too much. "I don't believe you." he said. Impa raised her hand and pointed it at the head guard. "You will let us in." she growled. "Are you kidding?" boomed a guard, charging towards them. Impa dodged him, and still kept her hand pointed at the head guard. "You will let us in." she insisted. "No, ve von't!" the guard said, but he was beginning to weaken. "We're trying to help you..." Impa prodded. "No...you....aren't." the guard said. "Come on....let us through." Impa provoked. "No...n....yes...yes, you may come in." the guard complied, telling the guards to move out of the way. The smug Impa and bewildered Zelda walked into the headquarters, where guards abounded. But they saw that the two had been let in, and they trusted the front "squad", so Zelda and Impa walked unchecked through legions of guards. "This is....amazing....but I'd like to know how you did that mind-control." Zelda said. "The mind never loses its power. But that trick, Rauru taught it to me." she said. "That Rauru....he knows a lot." Zelda affirmed. "He does." said Impa, with a hint of all-knowingness in her voice. But Zelda couldn't reply, for they had reached the hallway to their destination. However, they knew that the guards guarding the area wouldn't let anyone through. They ducked down behind an elegant potted plant. "Feel any magic yet?" Zelda asked. "A little. I could probably go invisible for about five minutes." Impa replied. "Me too. But...we can only go five minutes. That doesn't give us very much time." Zelda sighed. "We've got to think of something...and fast." Impa said. But Zelda brightly thought of a highly simple idea, and very quickly, too. "Let's go one at a time. That means we can listen to them for ten minutes!" she said happily. "Good idea. I'll go first, how about that?" said Impa. "Sure. But we're going to have to neutralize these guards." Zelda replied. "Not a problem." chuckled Impa, turning invisible. Zelda, from her vantage point, couldn't see a thing until she saw the guards slump to the ground, all of them at the same time. She grinned as she saw the large oaken door slowly creak open. Impa was sneaking to the conference room door itself! "Honorable persons, ve are here on this day to discuss strategy, politics, and other such things." said someone, displaying a total lack of eloquence. "The first thing on the agenda is the escaping of the prisoners from the...vell.....prison. " another person said. His voice was relatively high. A deep baritone voice, on the opposite end of the spectrum, rumbled into the ears of the Sheikah. "How did they get out?" he asked. "All ve found vas a few particles of dust and a hole in the vall, sir. Ve have come to the conclusion that the prisoners escaped by somehow destroying part of the vall. Quite strange, sir." said yet another person. Impa narrowed her invisible eyes from outside the door. "Our valls are made of the strongest bricks in Welattiane, and our guards!" boomed a fifth voice. "Calm down. If they try and escape into Tanol, we'll find them." said the baritone voice. "Ve must, or the Vestern Alliance may be in grave danger. This proves they are spies, and vith some power, too." said the first person. Impa grimaced. They were practically discovered. "Keep calm, Moriartis. Ve'll be fine." said the higher voice. "Shut it, Birnkmenn." growled Moriartis. The deep voice coughed. "Next!" he said. Impa heard Moriartis shift in his chair. "Next, ve have the problem of Plan Formidable." he said. Impa got very interested now. Zelda was worried. Impa had been gone for almost ten minutes now. Had she been captured again? She wouldn't have any strength to resist, most likely. "Five more minutes...then I go after her." she said. Five restless minutes passed. Zelda got up, looked around, and turned invisible. She'd be able to be invisible for about ten minutes now. She crept silently up the stairs, opened the large door quietly, and walked into the unguarded hallway. She saw a fully visible Impa with her ear to the door. She walked up to Impa and tapped her on the shoulder. Impa stifled a gasp and looked in Zelda's general direction. "W-who's there?" she whispered. "Me, Impa..." Zelda whispered back. "Who's me?" hissed Impa. "Wisdom!" replied Zelda, using one of her many code names. "Oh, good. Listen to what they're saying!" she said. Zelda put her ear up to the door. "And so, Plan Formidable shall begin vith the attack on Sarnilia, to render it unavailable to the Eastern forces, then ve shall quickly begin the landings on Dalsona, perhaps only as a diversionary tactic, vhile a strike made up of our countries moves into Calatia, Jueland, and Aidnaryk. From there ve're going to charge into Benlucca, then into Hyrule. Then, we'll cut Dubatio and Dalsona in half! Moldera, Brynnel, and Sosaria fall inevitably, and ve have control of the world!" roared the voice that had boasted of Velattiane's bricks and guards. "Quiet down. Trees have ears." Birnkmenn reminded the voice. "There aren't any in here." countered the voice. "It's a figure of speech!" sighed Birnkmenn in exasperation. While they'd been listening to this, Zelda had been concocting a plan. She now whispered a plan to Impa. "Impa, we could barge in there and destroy the whole high command!" she giddily said. "Zelda...it isn't the high command, for one thing. Second, we'd risk being detected. Third-" "Oh, don't be such a pessimist. It'll work." said Zelda, standing up. Impa tried to stop her, but Zelda had kicked in the door. Everyone (there were about eleven of them) stood up. "Who are you?" roared the baritone voice, who seemed to be from Tanol. "The Princess!" gasped Moriartis. Suddenly officers started falling left and right from magic bolts. Impa reluctantly joined in. Moriartis watched Birnkmenn clutch his arm and fall to the ground. He skillfully rolled away from the bolts, then into Zelda, who screamed in surprise. She fell to the ground, but was back up in a moment. She aimed at Moriartis but quickly received an ill-aimed blow to the chest. She wheezed, but cuffed Moriartis on the cheek. He punched her with a hardened fist, sending her reeling into a wall. She moaned and sank to the floor. Impa came up behind Moriartis and grabbed him, flipping him. But Moriartis almost inhumanly bounced off a wall and into Impa, sending his heel into her cheek. She staggered into a table and was upended. She hit her head on the floor, and sank into unconsciousness. Moriartis looked around. He saw one or two wounded officers, but most were dead. He roared and clenched his fist. He took a dagger from his belt and advanced towards the princess, intending to use it on her. But Birnkmenn called out. "Adolian....don't!" he said. Moriartis turned around. "Why not? She has destroyed the conference. She deserves the fate of the officers here!" she said. Elmuth motioned for him to come over, but Moriartis didn't. He only looked. "Adolian....listen to me....Hyrule vill destroy us if she is killed. They are a strong country." he said. Moriartis raised the dagger. "All ve have fought for....destroyed....gone....shattered..." moaned Birnkmenn. Moriartis lowered the dagger a mite. "Don't do it.....don't...do it!" his friend warned. The commander grumbled. "I have listened to you more than once, Elmuth, and I thank you for your advice. But this time, I make the decision! Hyrule shall pay!" he hissed, swinging it down. It struck Zelda. Zelda disappeared. Moriartis looked befuddled. "Vhat is this?" he said. He suddenly flew onto a table, seemingly on his own power. "Vhat...are you doing?" chuckled Birnkmenn in spite of the situation. "I did not do it!" said Moriartis, staring right into the face of the heavily wounded Tanolian. They saw the doors close without any help. From any visible help, that is. Zelda and Impa raced out of the headquarters, past befuddled guards and equally confused officers. "I'm sure glad Rauru taught me that clone trick...." she sighed. "It kinda all comes back to Rauru, doesn't it?" Impa replied. Zelda didn't say anything back. Guards were starting to stream out of the headquarters now, searching for the person or persons who destroyed the conference. Zelda and Impa could see the abandoned hut now, just a few more feet. They stumbled into it, Zelda falling to her knees and panting very loudly. Saria jerked and spun around, ready to shoot. But when she saw it was just her two friends, she lowered her arms. "Thank goodness you're all right..." she said. "Zelda just destroyed the conference...and perhaps the safety of the world." Impa groaned. "What do you mean?" said Zelda, a bit cooled off emotionally by now. "I mean that they could go to war over this." Impa chided. She acted like she was very ashamed in Zelda, which was a rather new feeling to the princess. She suddenly realized the awful truth. "Impa...you're right....." she said, stunned and angered at herself for being so stupid. "Plus, those leaders weren't exactly the aggressive type, with the exception of two or three. The leaders replacing them will surely be more aggressive, putting the world in-" "Don't rub it in!" hissed Saria. But it was too late. Zelda had already felt the sting of Impa's words. Impa was now angry with herself, as well as at Zelda, though not nearly as much now. "Zelda, I'm-" "No, no....you're right, Impa. I was being foolish." Zelda sighed, looking at her. Impa saw two saddened eyes looking towards her, which to her was very uncomfortable. Her heart melted. "There, there....nothing to be ashamed of...we all make mistakes..." she cooed, wrapping Zelda in her arms. Then Zelda started to sob, pouring everything she had contained for however long she had contained it out. Impa was quite shocked. She couldn't find any words to comfort Zelda. But Saria quite accurately summed up the situation. "It's Link, Hyrule, and stress all into one, with a dash of hate...that's what it is..." she said.

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