The area was a scorched wasteland. Where the beautiful park of Castle Hyrule had been, the gruesome pillar that was Ganon's towering fortress was rising, surrounded by a bubbling moat of lava.
Behind it, shrouded in a cloud of smoke that came rising from the hot lava, carried north by the cold winds that were blowing over the black earth... were the ruins of Castle Hyrule.
Not much of the main castle was left, the original moat had no longer water flowing through it and was filled with rubble. A sizeable hole in the outer wall was making a new entrance next to the collapsed main gate. Behind it, the ruined main courtyard was situated.
Of the once beautiful marble benches, only one was still intact. On it, a dark woman with pale, turquoise skin was sitting, clutching a torn booklet she had gathered from the ruined castle.
The Sorceress of Shadows narrowed her eyes. Most of the old ink had turned illegible over the years, and many pages were missing. Still she recognized the book as Princess Kodachi's old diary...
She came to an intact page and started to read eagerly.
'...has the wretched servant Akane Tendo still forgotten to bring me my perfume set. I swear, I don't know why I tolerate her antics anymore. I tried to convince father that we would be better off without these unfaithful Sheikah, but he wouldn't listen. And of course, my sister agreed with him.
My sister... beautiful, loveable Zelda... I'm starting to wonder what it is that makes her so special. She is adored by every male resident of this castle, father included. It's not like I see her try to look as gorgeous as me. She never even puts on makeup in the morning. Still, most of the soldiers in the castle ignore me. Even my darling Mikado has...'
The page ended there, and the next following pages were missing.
"Arrrrgghh..." Veran grumbled. "Not at the most interesting part... dangit, but I can see why my past self has loathed Zelda like that. And today, she's turning out to be more troublesome than ever. If only we could find her... my master is sure that with her knowledge, we can find the last remaining Triforce holders."
She closed the book and smiled. "But why am I worried? My master is more powerful than ever, now that he has absorbed the magic of the most potent spring in the valley of Jusenkyo. And as soon as he has acquired the rest of the Triforce... he will be the most powerful creature alive!"
She closed her eyes and sighed in bliss. "And then... he'll make me his queen..."
"Do you really think he'll be THAT generous after your failure in the Forest Temple?" a gruff voice spoke up behind her.
Veran turned around and showed the armored general behind her an angry grimace. "Do not lecture me, Onox! I haven't seen you capture these rebels that dare opposing our warriors. What have you done, while I had the honor of accompanying our master on a very special mission?" She didn't even try to hide the proud grin on her face.
Onox's face stayed emotionless behind his iron mask. "I found... a new ally!"
"An... ally?" Veran asked in a mistrustful voice. "I don't think anyone YOU dug up will be formidable enough to be of any use for our lord."
"Mock me as much as you can, former princess," the general said. "It doesn't change the fact that I met a being with powers and knowledge that might benefit Lord Ganondorf even more than I originally thought."
"And who would that be, PRIVATE Kuno?" Veran hissed. She was angered when he called her with her old title, so she made sure to emphasize his former position in the king's army before he became Ganondorf's general.
Onox made his hands into fists. "I see you remember more and more from your former life..." he grumbled. "I'll have you know that the creature I found is an ancient demon, a Shadow Beast that was imprisoned by Impa Tendo herself."
"I could take on that old woman by myself!" Veran hissed. "So he can't be that powerful!"
Onox smiled behind his mask. "You know as well as me that this isn't the truth. Back when I was still a soldier in the former king's army, I had even trouble defeating her daughter, Nabiki. You can figure out how formidable her mother must be."
"Whatever..." Veran frowned. "Did you come here to gloat or is there a special reason? If not, then leave me alone already!"
"I did not know you would be here to reminisce about the past," the general told her. "I have come here because Lord Ganondorf told me to bring him something that must still be here in these ruins. If you are not too absorbed in that book, you can make yourself useful and help me."
Veran almost told the dark general to jump in a lake, when she realized that the one who brought Ganondorf this item he was seeking would gain more of his praise.
"Very well..." she reluctantly sighed. "What are we searching for?"
"An old blade!" Onox explained. "A weapon that was used in the battle when this castle fell..."
"Why would our lord send you to find something like this?" the Sorceress of Shadows wondered. "And what is so special about such an old sword, anyways?"
"He intends on using this to tighten his hold on a creature that is under his control... it might be loyal right now, but our master knows that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor."
"Well, I don't know why he needs this blade for that, but if he wants it, I shall bring it to him... I mean, WE bring it to him, of course!" She smiled maliciously.
"Of course..." Onox muttered.
In the depths of the Water Temple, Ruto awake from a deep slumber. Her sleep had been uneasy and was filled with unpleasant dreams about her people, but at least she had been able to get some rest.
She was still bound, of course. She looked up and saw her captor sitting in the same position she had seen him when she had lain down to sleep.
"Hey!" she shouted. "What about some breakfast here?"
The dark shadow did not respond.
The princess sighed as she sat up in a more comfortable position. "At least bring me some water. I'm thirsty, and my skin had never been as dry as this.
The creature that had introduced himself to her as Dark Link stood up and glared at her with his deep, red eyes. He then grabbed a bucket and hurled it across the room.
Ruto yelped when the bucket nearly hit her head. Her body was sprinkled with the water that was inside. "Hey!" she shouted angrily. "That could have hit me!"
"I am not here to feed you, Zora!" the shadow hissed. "I need you alive, but I don't have to keep you healthy. So shut up, if you want to stay in once piece!"
"If I am such a bother, you can always untie me, and I'll leave you alone to... whatever you are doing... creep!" she spat. "You haven't even slept, have you?"
"I am no longer a living being..." Dark Link growled. "I don't sleep. And I don't eat. I just am." He paced around the room. "The only thing that drives me on is my deep hatred for the boy who slew me... and I won't rest until I have repaid him..." He raised his dark blade and looked up at it. "With THIS sword, I will impale his heart... and offer it to the Great Ganondorf on a plate."
"Yuck!" Ruto grimaced. "You are revolting! Say, if you are dead, how come you look like Link? And don't start with that crap that he killed you, I know my Link wouldn't hurt a fly."
"Is that so?" Dark Link glowered. He ran up to his prisoner and brutally dragged her upwards by her arm. "Well, then I advise you to take a look at THIS!" he roared and tore his black tunic open.
The skin beneath it was as black as the rest of the evil creature, but there was also a gaping wound running across his chest, as blood red as his eyes.
"As a shadow, I don't bleed anymore..." Dark Link hissed. "But still, the wound that killed me remains." He took his sword and held it up to the trembling Zora's neck. "And why do you think this blade has the same width as this scar? I created this copy after the sword that did this, so I could one day do the same to him."
He threw Ruto back to the floor, sheathed his sword and closed his tunic. After throwing his prisoner a last, hateful glare, he sat back in his corner and stared at the wall.
Ruto sobbed to herself while she was lying on the wet floor. The water from the bucket felt fresh on her dry skin, but it also stung in the grazes Dark Link created by throwing her down like that. Her tears dropped down to the floor while she curled up in a fetal position.
'Ranma...' she thought to herself. 'Link... anyone... get me out of here...'
"Here, Ranma!" Yoiko said as she put a bucket of water down in front of the pig-tailed martial artist. "Your father and I got this from the hot springs on Death Mountain. I let it cool down, so you and Genma have something to drink."
Ranma smiled. "Thanks, yer a nice girl, Yoiko."
"Ryoga's friends are my friends as well," the Goron girl smiled.
Ranma chuckled when he imagined what Ryoga would say if he heard that. After scooping up a bit water and drinking it, he asked her: "Where's my old man anyways?"
"He's outside, beating up a few Tektites," she grinned. "He said he'd need that to 'unwind'. He also says that you're an ungrateful son, since you refused to spar with him."
"Heh, I have to listen to that all the time," Ranma smirked. "I would have sparred with him, but you know, I had a few things on my mind... things I needed to think about."
Yoiko sat down next to him. "You mean what Ukyo-san told you right?"
"That too," Ranma admitted. "But I also thought about my Mom and my little sis... I kinda feel bad for leaving them behind like that."
He scooped up some more water, but stopped himself before he drank it. "You know what, I should wash myself, too. It's been some time since we left Kokiri Village, and I can imagine that I'm starting to stink like a pig..." And he splashed his face with the cold water.
Yoiko chuckled when she saw how the muscular, young man turned into a beautiful Zora girl. "I don't know how your father and fiancee have gotten used to your curse... I mean, it's so crazy... I could never imagine being a Zora."
"Yeah, I guess Gorons are even more different from the Zoras as we Hylians are," Ranma smirked. But suddenly, that smirk completely vanished from her face. What was that... strange feeling?
"Ranma?" Yoiko asked. "What's the matter?"
"S-something's wrong..." Ranma muttered. "Sis... she's in danger... Mom... the lake... Zora's Domain..." She clutched her head. "Where did these images come from?" she winced. "They are in pain... it's so cold... no, don't hurt my sister!"
"Ranma!" Yoiko gasped and jumped to her feet. She ran over to the stove and took a kettle with hot water, splashing it all over Ranma's trembling form.
Ranma managed to calm down again after returning back to his male, Hylian form.
"What... what happened?" Yoiko muttered. "You really gave me a scare there..."
"Ruto..." Ranma muttered. "And Mom... they are in danger!" He jumped to his feet. "Where's Pops? We need to get back to Zora's Domain! NOW!"
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:56)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.