“So, you are connected to that damn witch!”, bellowed an enraged Holu. “Forget connected! Her and the witch are one and the same!”, added an equally irate Impa. Both were convinced in their minds that Sara, the turquoise-haired mage standing before them, was their enemy. Out of instinct, Holu took out his bow and Impa her blade. But before either of them moved, Link jumped in front of them. “STOP IT YOU TWO!!”. However, in no mood to listen, Holu interrupted: “Don’t you realise slacker?! She’s just told us that her and that insane Empress are the same person. That could very well mean they share the same conscious mind. What if the Empress knows each and every move of ours thanks to this liar?”. Impa added: “Actually I’ll do you one better. What if the both of them are in it together? The Empress has sent Sara as a façade to keep her eyes and ears on us?”. Showing an increasing sentiment of anger, Link argued back: “She said the name Saria. That she’s one half of Saria. And every part of me knows Saria cannot be evil. There has to be something more to this”. “Well I’m not willing to take that chance. I’m taking this mole down”, shouted Holu. Holu was about to ready his bow for combat, when suddenly, a stern voice interrupted the moment. “ENOUGH!! YOU WILL STAND DOWN AT ONCE, ALL OF YOU!! THAT IS AN ORDER FROM YOUR PRINCESS!”. It was Zelda. Link hadn’t never seen the Princess this angry and frustrated before. She was normally a cheery and upbeat person. But her current mood was completely understandable. Her kingdom was in chaos, both her parents had been killed, and half of the Resistance were out of commission. In response, Holu and Impa put away their respective weapons. Bowing their heads, both responded: “We apologize, Your Highness”. Zelda then looked towards Sara. In a more sombre tone, she stated: “Sara, from the look in your eyes and from your actions, I know that the accusations coming into the minds of some among us are not true. However, given what we have seen, and the concerns brought forward by Holu and Impa, an explanation is in order”. With a more melancholic expression, Sara looked towards the Princess and nodded.
“As I told you all earlier, Ria and I are two halves of the Kokiri girl you know as Saria. As Link knows, the Kokiri are a child-like race spawned from the union of Hylians and Fairies. The half-breed nature of the Kokiri gifts them with unusually long lifespans. Lifespans which neither Hylians nor Fairies ever shared. This left the Kokiri to live alone as a civilization in the forest. Of course, the Great Deku Tree looked over them, however, it was up to Saria as the daughter of the Fairy Queen, to truly nurture and lead over her race. And she did so for many decades. But, she was humble, meek and incredibly kind by nature. She never spoke of her own dreams and desires”. Sara paused and looked towards Link. “Until one day… Link… you entered the woods. When you came… you served as a salvation for Saria. She longed to see the world outside the woods. And on top of that… she longed for true companionship. Longings that you quenched in some way. And when you left the forest, those things she yearned for suddenly tormented her. She’d finally gotten a taste of what she truly wanted, all for it to disappear once again. She felt a loneliness, and this feeling suddenly turned to anger and frustration. Frustration at destiny, a destiny she desperately wanted, but couldn’t have. It was in this moment of weakness, where she found it. Whilst wondering in the woods, she came across that mask. It is a powerful, but evil mask. It preyed upon the frustrations of Saria, and offered to her the chance to have everything she wanted, on the condition that she wholly give herself up to this mask. As a result, a battle ensued. A battle between the goodness within Saria, and those sentiments of anger, envy and frustration. In that moment unfortunately, the latter sentiments were too strong. This caused the goodness within Saria to be expelled, with only her negative side staying intact within her. And thus, Empress Ria was born. With Majora’s Mask as her main source of power, she took over the land of Hyrule. However, the goodness which was expelled from Saria also took a physical form, which stands before you as me, Sara the Light Mage”.
Astonishment filled the atmosphere of the main chamber. “So, you mean to say, you are essentially the good half of Saria?”, enquired a shaken Link. Sara nodded in the affirmative. “Ria and I maybe two halves of the same person, but as the light to her darkness, I must stop her. All that Ria has done, and plans to do Link… is to attain you”. Turning to Zelda, Sara continued: “As for you Princess, unfortunately, she has nothing but absolute hatred for you. When Link left the forest to save Hyrule from the Gerudo King Ganondorf, he did it not just to save his home, but also to save you and the Royal Family. Ria sees you as a major reason for taking Link away from her. Which is why she did what she did to the Royal Family, and why she relentlessly wants to end you”. Stone-faced, Zelda replied: “And do you share such sentiments?”. With a slight smile, Sara replied: “I may know how Ria thinks, but no, I do not share her sentiments. As a representation of Saria’s goodness, all I want, is to bring peace and prosperity, and to right Ria’s wrongs. Which brings me to the way in which all this can be fixed. It is true that the mask must be destroyed. However, that is the easy part. The difficult part… is to bring Ria back into the light. Make her realise her folly, and acknowledge the true goodness of Saria. Only then, can we merge back into Saria, and turn everything back to how it was before Ria cast the spell to send you all to the future”. With a sceptical expression, Holu looked towards the Princess. “Well Your Highness, do you buy all this?”. After a few moments of silence, Zelda smiled. “Everything you have told us, together with the purity in your eyes and person, fully convinces me that you speak nothing but the truth. Since we have been here, you’ve saved us, sheltered us, and when it was not easy, told us the absolute truth”. She then looked over to a smiling Agitha. “Also, how can I doubt you, when you’ve raised such a magnificent and loveable child such as Agitha”. Sara looked over to Agitha, who returned her gaze, She nodded to Sara. “Princess, given everything, I believe it’s time I also told you the truth about this child”.
“When I manifested into this physical form, I wondered alone for a while. However, I was found by Keaton. Keaton revealed himself as a mage who’d been stuck in this land, but seeing the plight it was in, couldn’t leave it at the mercy of Ria. I joined him and formed a sort of Resistance against Ria. However, till this day I have never seen him without that mask, and he never talks about why he hasn’t removed it. After your father, the King’s execution, the Queen’s whereabouts were unknown. One day, shortly after we made this place our base, a weak and exhausted woman stuttered her way into here. She was in worn out Royal clothing. That Zelda, was your mother, the Queen”. Upon hearing this, Zelda was feeling visibly emotional. After everything she had gone through with Ganondorf, it seemed misfortune continued to follow her. With her voice almost breaking, Zelda enquired: “Where… where is my mother now?”. With a frown, Sara continued: “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you, your mother was mortally wounded when she came here. Even our strongest recovery spells were too late to save her. However, the Queen didn’t come here alone. In her arms was a baby”. Those words immediately made Zelda’s eyes open wide. “The Queen spoke of her escape and how when she escaped, she carried within her the second child of the Royal Family. She had given birth to this child on her own, but the process weakened her. And additionally, in trying to protect the child, she had been wounded by one of Ria’s mind-controlled warriors. In her last moments, the Queen entrusted her to mine and Keaton’s care. She fully believed that the child’s older sister would one day return. In her dying breath, she named the child… Agitha”. Zelda was shaking. She was in a complete daze. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. Slowly, she turned her head towards Agitha. Agitha simply returned a wide smile. “So… so you mean… mean to tell me…”. Sara nodded. “Indeed, Your Highness”. Zelda took two steps forward. After a momentary pause, she ran towards Agitha. In one movement, she got down to her knees and tightly embraced Agitha. Zelda was now crying loudly. “So that’s… that’s what mother was about to tell me that day. That I was to become an older sister. I knew… I knew from the moment I saw you… that somehow… we shared a connection”. With tears flowing from her eyes, she continued: “But my own sister. You were my little sister… this whole time. I’m sorry, so sorry… all this time… I couldn’t be there for you!”. Agitha herself was also slightly tearing up. “It’s OK, big sister. I’ve had such wonderful people taking care of me, helping me become my own mage. But I always knew, knew that I’d meet my big sister one day”. Zelda then continuously kissed Agitha’s face. “I promise you… you and me… we’ll always be together… from now until the end”.
At that moment, another figure entered the hideout. Spotting the figure with the corner of his eyes, Link turned around to see his younger sister Aryll. Looking over at Zelda and Agitha, the two sisters embracing, she smiled. “So, they told the Princess after all I see”. Link walked over to his own sister. Putting his arm around her, he replied: “Yes indeed. And the both of us are so proud. Proud that we have such strong and inspiring younger sisters who have faced all adversities coming their way”. With a slight snarl, Impa remarked: “Well, my aspiring know-it-all sister decided to explore more lands in the name of her research crusades, with no interest in fighting whatsoever”. “AHEM!! Sorry to intrude on these touching sibling bonds, but aren’t we forgetting that we have a maniac sorceress to snap some sense into?”, exclaimed an irate Holu. Zelda took a few moments to gather herself. She stood back up. With a gentle smile, she once again spoke. “All our comrades here, our dear friends and family, have risked everything to fight for a bright future”. Giving a little glance towards her younger sister, she continued: “Now that we are reunited, it’s time we come together and restore normality to our home”. Zelda took a single step forward. However, her advance was abruptly halted. A loud bang was heard. Everyone was alarmed. Looking around the room in haste, Link clamoured: “What’s going on?”. No one was in a position to respond. Suddenly, another bang took place. This time, the entrance of the main chamber exploded. Everyone within the chamber flew several meters backward and fell to the ground. Link was the quickest to stand up. The main entrance was completely gone, with piles of debris on the ground. “WELL WELL WELL, we finally found the snake pit, he he he!”. From the smoke coming out of the piles of debris, several figures emerged. At the front of these stood a familiar face. The cunning smile was unmistakable, especially to Holu and Aryll. Stood before them once again was Medli.
“How… how did you find us”, responded a jittery Aryll. With a sinister expression, Medli replied: “You really thought a second rate, poor excuse of an archer like yourself could humiliate me? He he he, how about you look again at the wounds on your hands”. Aryll brought her hands before her face. On the wound in her right hand, she noticed a small device. Hastily, she plucked it out with her fingers and threw it to the ground. “He he. When I pinned you down with my arrows, I attached a little device enchanted by the Empress herself. It allows anyone’s location to be tracked, wherever they may go”. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, Aryll replied: “Why you filthy, slimy…”, but before she could advance any further, Medli put out her right wing. “Na ah ah! You’re outnumbered here. And this time, that haughty Zora can’t save you. But… we’re not going to kill you… not yet anyway, he he. In her extreme generosity, Empress Ria wants to strike a deal. Surrender Link to us, and we will spare the rest of you”. Everyone responded with disbelief, not least the Champion himself. What sort of game was the Empress playing, he thought to himself? But before his thoughts could advance any further, Medli continued: “This is a rather generous offer, wouldn’t you say? Now accept, before things gets ugly!”. After a few moments, Zelda suddenly stepped forward. “Absolutely not! We will not negotiate with your Empress like this, and there is no way we will ever surrender our comrade!”. With a vexed expression, Medli was on the verge of providing a snarky repost, but before she could, a Rito behind her hastily charged forward. “Hey wait… what are you…”, but cutting off her sentence, the Rito responded: “THE PRINCESS!! RIA WANTS HER HEAD!! IF I PROVIDE IT TO HER, SHE WILL REWARD ME HANDSOMELY, MAYBE EVEN MAKE ME HER ARMY GENERAL!!”. The Resistance were preparing to protect their princess from the Rito, but unexpectedly, the Rito stopped halfway. He then aimed and threw his spear. The spear was travelling straight to Zelda’s stomach. It was flying so fast through the air that no one would be quick enough to intercept. Link, Holu and Impa looked on in horror. Zelda had no time to react. She was resigned to her fate. She closed her eyes, expecting the spear to penetrate her midriff at any moment. The sound of a body being pierced was indeed heard. Zelda looked down at her stomach. There was no spear visible. She looked around. Everyone was looking towards her in utter terror. Link was looking pale, Holu was shaking, Impa covered her mouth, and Sara fell backwards onto the ground. Zelda then slowly looked in front of her. What she saw almost made her pass out instantly. It was Agitha, with a spear piercing straight through her chest, and blood pouring down on the ground where she stood.
After a few stumbles, Agitha collapsed backwards onto the ground. Zelda charged towards her. She hastily put her arms around her younger sister. “SARAAA!! SARAAA!! HELP HER!!”, she bellowed. Sara promptly rushed towards the impaled child. She put her hand forward in an attempt to heal her wounds. But within a few moments, Sara’s face expression completely dropped. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. “Zelda… I’m sorry… it’s… it’s no use… the wound is…”, but Zelda cut her off. “NO, YOU ARE A MAGE, YOU MUST SAVE HER… SAVE MY LITTLE SISTER NOW!!”. However, Agitha slowly put her hand on Zelda’s mouth. She was coughing up blood and breathing fast. “S…sister… it’s OK”. Zelda began to hyperventilate. “Agitha… you’re… you’re going to be fine. Please… please stay with me… please… I BEG YOU!!!”. Giving a little smile, Agitha continued: “Big s… Big sister… I’m… I’m going… going back to mother and father now”. At this point, some tears began to fall down the child’s cheeks. “But… but I’m happy… so happy… that I met… met my big sister… and… got to be with her… right at the end. You’re… you’re the best… best big sister… ev”. With that, Agitha’s eyes became lifeless. Her neck bent backwards while her body rested in Zelda’s arms. Zelda’s face had completely sank. It was clear her body was going into shock. Sara covered her face as she began to weep. Aryll fell to her knees and also began to cry. Link, Holu and Impa stood in stunned silence. Link was clenching his sword. He couldn’t begin to imagine the extreme pain his Princess would be in. Across the chamber, even Medli was looking disturbed. Zelda’s breathing was getting heavier. Tears were flowing intensely down her cheeks. She was grabbing the corpse of her little sister tighter and tighter. Without warning, Zelda looked up to the ceiling and gave out a blood-curdling scream. A scream of pure agony and despair. While she was screaming, the Triforce of Wisdom appeared on her hand. She suddenly stopped screaming. In the next second, she looked over at the Rito who had unintentionally murdered her sister in cold blood. The Rito looked visibly shocked. Zelda then brought out her hand. A beam of light emanated from her hand and covered the Rito subordinate of Medli. The Rito began to scream as this beam of light incinerated his body. Everybody in the room gasped. Once she stopped her attack, all that was left of the Rito was nothing but ash. Medli screamed. “What… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!”. Link and Impa gasped. “Zelda…”, whispered Link. He’d just witnessed his Princess kill someone in broad daylight. Zelda then looked back. Link was astonished by what he saw. She was still breathing heavily. But what was telling was the expression on her face. Her eyes emanated pure rage. Possibly, it was something he never thought he’d ever see from his Princess… pure hatred. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake. Zelda’s eyes began to flash blue. Dropping Agitha’s body, her own began to levitate. Link noticed that the colour of the Triforce on her hand was changing. It was changing from a normal to a much darker blue. At this, Link’s eyes began to widen. Suddenly, Zelda gave out another scream. As the ground continued to shake, Zelda’s entire body was covered in a dark blue light. With that, her body’s shape and size was changing. Everyone was looking on aghast. Medli and her subordinates were readying to fight. But then, the body gave off a most powerful force. This force sent everyone flying backwards in a major explosion. In a few moments, everyone stood back up. They found that the entire chamber around them had been destroyed. They were now in open air outside, with rubble all over the place. Link looked forward. What he saw was a most astonishing sight. In the air above Agitha’s corpse was floating a giant, dark blue owl.
“WHAT IS GOING ON? WHERE DID THIS OWL COME FROM!!”, shouted an agitated Medli. But without warning, this owl flew straight towards Ria’s forces. Its wings emanated a dark blue glow. It glided through half of Ria’s forces, burning and killing them instantly. Medli herself had just about dodged to avoid her own demise. Shuddering heavily, Impa remarked: “Zelda… no… you wouldn’t… would you?”. The owl turned back around. It was flying straight at the Resistance members. Everyone was stood still, expecting the giant owl to land before them. However, with a panicked voice, Link screamed: “EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!!”. In the next moment, the owl opened its mouth. From it was a beam of light, and it was aiming at everyone in the Resistance. In the nick of time, everyone jumped to their side, narrowly avoiding being hit by the beam of light. “HEY, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU PRINCESS!! YOU NEARLY KILLED US!!”, shouted Holu. Everyone was flabbergasted at this sudden attack on them by their supposed princess. All, except Link. And Holu had noticed. “Hey, slacker!! I get a hunch that you know what is going on. Now explain!”. With a serious expression, Link responded: “It’s still a theory in my mind, but I’ll try my best. When I battled Ganondorf and defeated him in his Gerudo form, I saw his Triforce of Power change to a dark red. And this led to him taking a new form. The form of a giant boar. This means that the Triforce grants us wielders with the power to change into different beings entirely. Just before Zelda changed into this form, I saw her Triforce of Wisdom turn a darker colour, the same way as Ganondorf. So it is certain that this is the Triforce’s doing”. As he was speaking, Zelda’s owl form was flying around and releasing beams of light everywhere. Link continued: “However, it seems the trauma of losing Agitha is what has triggered the Triforce of Wisdom to activate this new form. Due to the abrupt nature of this transformation, she has no control over it, and is attacking everyone in sight, ally or enemy”. Holu then turned his head right. He saw Medli flying towards Zelda. “Look… I never thought my subordinate would be looking to kill you or your sister. But you’re threatening our forces, so in the name of my Empress, I shall do away with…”, but before she could finish, Zelda grabbed both of Medli’s wings with her talons and pinned her to the ground. Zelda was opening her mouth to ready another light beam. Medli was shaking and looking at the menacing owl with horror, but before Zelda could let out her killing shot, her head was hit with a strong force from her left. This made her stumble rightwards, releasing Medli’s wings in the process. Medli then felt someone grab her right wing and push her away. She looked forward to see Holu. Turning his head to face her, Holu remarked: “Well… you can thank me later. Now get back”. For a few moments, Medli returned her gaze at the fellow Rito. She was clearly in a daze, with her cheeks blushing. But gathering herself together, she jumped backwards. “Ahem!! Don’t tell me what to do! I could have taken care of myself, thank you very much!”. Holu then turned his head back towards the giant owl. “Looks like it’s up to me to tame the owl”.
Zelda began to fly towards the Rito warrior. In an instant, Holu got out his bow and shot a barrage of bomb arrows. This slowed down Zelda’s advance. The smoke had also reduced the owl’s visibility. Being able to see through the smoke, Sara started shooting lightning spells to stun Zelda. “Zelda! I know Agitha was your sister, I feel your pain! But this rampage will not bring her back. So please, stop this!”. However, the spells were only momentarily stunning her. “Right, time to take it up a notch”, remarked Holu. He then began to fly around Zelda and the smoke, creating a smoke and lightning-laden tornado. This was now immobilizing the owl. “Well, we have her stopped physically, but it’s clear this form of hers is out of control. But Link and I cannot attack and wound our Princess, so we’re in quite the dilemma”, remarked Impa. However, she felt someone slowly walking past her. It was Link. He clenched the handle of his Master Sword. “Stand back everyone. I’m going to finish this”. With that, his right hand manifested the Triforce of Courage. With his eyes now also turning green, he began charging at the Holu-made tornado. “HEY!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!!”, screamed Holu. But paying no heed, Link took out his sword. “Please, forgive me for this Princess!!”, and with that, he jumped and slashed at the owl. With that, the owl gave out a massive scream and flew backwards out of the tornado. While she was flying back, the owl’s body began to glow and shrink. Within a few moments, the glowing figure abruptly landed on the ground. Whether it was coincidence, it happened to land right next to Agitha’s corpse. The figure ceased to glow. Zelda had regained her normal form. Link, Sara and Impa ran towards the Princess. Sara knelt down and put her hand on Zelda’s heart. “She’s fine… physically at least”. Looking closer, Link noticed Zelda’s arm around the body of her little sister. Her eyes, although closed, were wet with tears. But they had no chance to reflect upon the very traumatic events of the last hour. The trio found themselves surrounded. With a slightly sombre tone, Medli stated: “I… didn’t mean for this to happen. Sorry for your loss. But… business is business. I will carry out the will of my Empress”. Impa was about to ready her blade, Holu and Aryll, who were also surrounded a few yards away, also geared up for a fight. “Stop, everyone!”. Link stepped a few feet forward. He re-sheathed the Master Sword and raised both hands to the air. “There’s been more than enough bloodshed today. Therefore… I surrender”.
Bamboozled, Impa and Sara looked towards Link. “Hey, what do you think you’re saying Link”, shouted Impa. With a calm expression, Link responded: “Look everyone. These hostilities have led to the death of an innocent child, not to mention several of Ria’s warriors. There’s no ill intentions from either side. We’re merely trying to survive and return the world back to normal. These people are doing what they think is right by their leader. Medli says she came only to take me, and I sense no deceit in this. I am not prepared to see anyone else lose their life. So… I am willing to give myself up to them”. Medli stared at Link for a few second. “Wise choice Link. Now, put out both of your hands”. Link replied: “Hold it one second”. He looked around. “Where is Nabosa? She was resting in one of the rooms of the Resistance Headquarters. I want her accounted for”. Medli then pointed to her left. “Your crazy Gerudo compatriot still breathes. Now, shall we?”. Link then put both fists forward. Two Ritos bound Link’s hands with ropes, after which they led him towards a carriage which, astoundingly, had been unscathed by the recent events. Agitated, Aryll started running forward. “BROTHER, NOOOO!! PLEASE, DON’T LEAVE US LIKE THIS!!”, but after a few steps, Holu pulled her back. Aryll turned her head towards him. Tears were flowing down her face. Holu responded with a simple shake of the head. Before Link sat inside the carriage, he glanced back towards his fellow warriors. Aryll was still in tears, Holu returned his gaze with a stoic expression. Impa was gritting his teeth, while Sara looked back calmly. Link gave a valiant smile. Lastly, he looked again towards his Princess, still on the ground next to her deceased little sister. “Zelda… please… stay strong”, he whispered. When he sat down, Medli also sat in. “Disembark!”. With that, the carriage began to move forward. She then brought out what looked like a blindfold and wrapped it around Link’s eyes. “It is our custom to blindfold our prisoners when being taken into custody. So please, don’t mind, hehe”.
After what seemed like several hours. The carriage stopped. “Well, I can imagine how eager you must be to test your negotiation acumen before Her Excellency, but, we’re going to be making a little pitstop at Palace town, formerly Castletown. There’s someone very eager to see you Link, he he”, remarked Medli. Link was perplexed. Who from Castletown would want to see him? No one came to mind. But his immediate concern was what state Castletown would be in. Was it in a similar state to when Ganondorf had usurped the throne? How would everyone be over there? He was dreading the moment when his blindfold was to be removed. But when that moment came, what he saw absolutely bamboozled him. Castletown was, in fact, far from in any terrible state. The town was bustling. There were new buildings everywhere. The town looked far advanced than ever before. The town square was almost triple in size, and adorned with eye-catching decorations. “Hey Link, you look rather shocked”, stated Medli. Under Her Excellency, Palace town has become a utopia! And also, the beloved Mayor of the town has made this place the envy of Hyrule. Speaking of which, he’s been eager to see you!”. Who could this Mayor be, Link thought to himself? Suddenly, the inhabitants of the town began to cheer. “It’s the Mayor!”, shouted one Hylian. “LINK MY BOY, YOU’VE FINALLY RETURNED, IT’S BEEN TEN YEARS!!”. Link turned around to the source of the voice. He saw the Mayor walking up to him. With one look at the Mayor’s face, Link went pale. That same walk, those undeniable features, Link was almost speechless. “It… it can’t be? What… is going on. It’s… father!”. With another smirk, Medli stated: “Well Link, prepare to meet Mayor Landon of Palace town!”.
End of Part Seven