T    H    E    •    L    E    G    E    N    D    •    O    F    •    Z    E    L    D    A

C    H    A    P    T    E    R    •    E    I    G    H    T    E    E    N

        

ain continued to fall upon the world of Hyrule, and off in the distance, Link and Zelda could see the land slowly being saturated and covered by the waters streaming down from above. In some places, the force of the water was enough to move the largest rocks of the mountains, violently reshaping some of the land of the great world. The water soon began to creep up towards the top of Ganondorf's citadel. Link and Zelda had already started to head back towards the portal within his great fortress, but they had taken too much time during their attempt to lock the evil king away that their hope for escape was tarnished by the rising water.

The King of Red Lions had determined their concern, but he was confident of what he had wished for from the Triforce for them. He simply looked at them and smiled upon them, although his expression remained rather bittersweet; his land was dying after all, and as it did, a part of him was dying along with it. "Worry not, my friends," he told him with sincerity. "You two shall be granted safe passage to the water's surface." He made no mention of himself however, and both Link and Zelda picked this up; the two of them protested, pleading with him that he should come with them to the new land, a new Hyrule, but the king merely shook his head, telling them that it would not be his world, and he could never live knowing that his homeland was dead beneath the waves. His wish was that Hyrule be forgotten, and he would see through to it via the destruction of his memories. Despite their efforts, there would be no convincing of him; the King of Red Lion had already set his mind on a course to meet with destiny.

Soon the waters rose to the top of the castle, continuing to rise an a very quick rate. It took perhaps just a minute for it to overtake the three of them standing there. However, Link and Zelda found themselves encased in pockets of air, as if malformed, flexible bubbles that fit their bodies perfectly clung about them elastically, keeping them as dry as they were beforehand, which really was not very considering the rain which had already soaked them through. They looked their last upon the world of Hyrule, the land now having a bluish haze cast over it from the water, and the King of Red Lions, simply waving him up after him as he disappeared out of sight. The water now restricted his moment, heavily weighing upon his frame, and what would be his last exhaling breath cast small bubbles towards the surface of the land. It was now a matter of minutes before his death occurred, and so the king set to work to rid his dying land of the last evil that plagued it. After this, Hyrule would be cleansed.

Using his magic in tandem with the glowing triad of forces upon his wrist, he conjured a gateway to the land where the Triforce had once lain, where Ganondorf had once been sealed, but this one was merely temporary unlike the nine gates of old. With his godlike powers, he manually broke the seal of the Master Sword upon Ganondorf, shattering the stone casing which held him, the Master Sword falling to the stone floor lying flat against the ground. Ganondorf's eyes opened at once, being free from his prison; he looked towards the king who was already preparing to conjure a spell that would once again send Ganondorf into the dismal abyss. A sudden plan entered the Evil King's mind, a plan that was carried out the moment it was developed, for the warlord knew he did not have much time with which to use. Just as the bolt to send Ganondorf into the Evil Realm was cast, Ganondorf grabbed the wrist of the King of Red Lions. Ganondorf shot back through the black gate as expected, but his hold over the King was firm, sucking the king, along with the very Triforce used to cast the spell in his wrist, into the parallel world, the gate locking them in as it closed behind them. There in the distorted grounds of the dark world they would battle nonstop for several days, the king wielding the Triforce and powerful magic against Ganondorf while the evil king was doing his best to defeat the King of Red Lions in physical combat. The Kings dueled while being tortured by the vile winds that had impeccably corrupted the Sacred Realm with Ganondorf's presence there so long established. In the end, magic could not save the king, and Ganondorf was able to strangle him to death, but just before the King of Hyrule died, Ganondorf told him one last sentence: "You said it yourself; the Triforce will grant all of the desires of the person who possesses it... so long as they live."

As Zelda and Link finally surfaced from the watery depths, they found Link's trusty vessel, The King of Red Lions, next to them. As they floated in the water, Zelda realized that somehow she had been transformed back into Tetra, her lavender dress replaced by her sailor's uniform, her now short hair returned to the bun at the back of her head. They both mused about the King's wish for them to forget Hyrule for a moment before clambering into the boat, glad to find something upon which to float. However, as Link began speaking to his former guide, a feeble hope urging in his heart that the king was still alive, the boat remained completely still and silent, incapable of speech. The two adults looked at each other, somewhat sullen by that, but soon enough they were distracted by the arrival of a greater ship, namely Tetra's own, The Golden Spirit, and the pirates aboard were quite eager to see her safe. The pirates aboard lowered a rope ladder down towards the two, and they climbed aboard with enthusiasm. To Link's surprise, his sister Aryll was still on board, the pirates explaining that she was eager to assist the crew in a search for their captain and her brother. The moment the siblings saw each other, they ran towards each other, tears almost in their eyes as the embraced closely for quite some time. Finally, Link looked towards Tetra, and the two of them shared a wink with one another before shaking each other's hand; Tetra then looked to the pirates about her and teasingly admonished her crew for not working, bellowing out orders to return to Outset Isle.

The sun had freshly arisen just as Outset came into view. The townspeople of the small isle had just arisen, and as they stepped out, they were able to see Tetra's flagship coming in from far away. En route, Tetra had removed the black pirate flag of skull and crossbones and replaced it with a flag that had once decorated Tetra's personal cabin, a flag of vibrant red, gold trim surrounding as a border, decorated in its center by a sea of brown-gold sky above a green plains, a yellow sun rising up to light the sky like only the Sacred Realm could be lit. Tetra had made the decision that very night from her experiences that all was not well in the new land, the new Hyrule, and that there would be no more piracy by her hand; rather, she would strive towards helping out the islands as best she could to restore the land to its former pristine glory. Of course, she was initially met with opposition from her crew, them not understanding her sudden change of heart, but with Link applauding her from behind along with her typical flare of boldness, she convinced them easily by the time they had dropped anchor at Link's homeland. When the folk upon the island looked up to see the brilliant banner upon the ship, they smiled and waved out towards it, but most of all, when they saw Link and Aryll climp to the bow of the ship with grinning faces, they cheered in delight at their return. Nadima was the first one to greet them as they all stepped onto the dry land once again, hugging both of her children as they came in. He introduced the former pirates, now Link and Aryll's friends, to all the inhabitants, and soon they found they many of them had similar interests, allowing Tetra's crew to integrate themselves into the quaint society.

For the next few days, Link, Aryll, Tetra, and her crew would rest at Outset Isle as the triad of adventurers told the villagers of their adventures. The only thing that was left out of the story was the secret realm of Hyrule below; respecting the king's wishes, Link and Tetra decided to alter their story and tell the story as if the Master Sword had been given to Link at the pinnacle of the Tower of the Gods and that Ganondorf had remained in the Forsaken Fortress up until his final defeat at the blade of the Master Sword, even after the unsealing of his dangerous magical prowess. The townsfolk and the children especially were very entertained by this, commenting that it sounded like their adventures were the stuff legends were made of, the stuff written in the olden tales. They made careful note to keep track of the details so that they could pass this story onto their descendants over the years. That night, the island would hold a huge bonfire upon the beach of the twin islands, and there was much music and dancing. Aryll, Link, and Tetra all danced at one point, happily friends now that they had shared so much together. A merry time was had by all, and some of them continued their celebrations long into the night only to fall asleep upon the sandy shore.

Eventually Tetra and her crew decided that they needed to be off; Tetra felt the need to be back on the seas and more importantly work towards the creation of a better land, a better Hyrule. The people of Outset Isle were saddened to see the ex-pirates leave, for they had gotten accustomed to them during their visitation of ther humble home. However, the former pirates, with Tetra confirming their desires, promised that they would return to the island in due time after adventuring to destinations unknown. Not surprisingly, both Link and Aryll wished to travel along with the sailors, and while Tetra knew that Link's heart now layed with the sea and with the islands that were snugly nestled in its vastness, it was not yet Aryll's time; however, Tetra kneeled next to Aryll and gave her a promise that some day, when she was a few years older and come of age like Link that she would be able to sail the seas with them. Aryll, though disappointed, relented, wished them all luck, and then gave Tetra a hug, which surpringly the captain returned to the little girl. Finally, aboard the ship the motley crew went, and with their final goodbyes to the visitors of Outset, they shoved off for the great blue yonder.

That night, Tetra called Link into her cabin, and as Link came in, she closed the door quietly to gain some privacy. "Link, I didn't want to tell you this back on the island, but I'm really glad you've come along with us."

Link smiled at the thanks, happy that Tetra was sharing her vision with him. "You're quite welcome. I'm just glad we've been given this opportunity."

"I used to never worry about what direction I was headed. It was as if I always knew where to go before now," began Tetra, casting her eyes out the window to the night sky, "I can't see this world -- Hyrule -- in the way I used to see it. It's almost like it's foreign to me." She turned to the boy, her friend, and then asked, "Link, where do you think the seas will take us?"

Link thought for a moment, but soon enough he had his answer. "I don't know where that place is, Zelda" he said, now too used to her alterego to call her Tetra in private, "but at the same time, I don't think it matters all that much; so long as the winds guide us to somewhere, we'll be doing our best to help Hyrule achieve its former glory."

Link rested a hand upon Tetra's shoulder, and the female smiled with Link's assurance. "I think you're right. Off to bed with you now. We've got busy days ahead of us..."