"We have to save Ruto," Ranko said in a determined voice. "But first, I need to get into that cave... I want to see if I can find some Blue Fire. At least Mom and the king should be unfrozen."
'I'm sorry, sis, but try to hold on just a bit longer, okay?' she thought to herself.
"Sounds good to me," Link said. "But how should we get across that cold lake?"
"That easy," Shampoo said and walked up to the edge of the lake. She then skipped onto one of the ice floes that were drifting on the lake's surface.
"Well, if she can do it, so can I..." Ukyo murmured and hopped after the Gerudo.
"Hey, wait for me!" Link shouted. The floe the two girls were on had already drifted farther away, so he jumped on the next one that came past him.
Ranko turned around to face her father. "Pops... please, stay with Mom and the other Zora and make sure that nothing happens to them. I don't think Ganondorf would do anything, now that they are frozen, but who knows what dirty trick he's up to... and even though you said that red ice could not be destroyed, I want to be on the safe side. I never asked you for something... but now, I beg you, please protect Mom!"
Genma looked into the eyes of his transformed son and finally nodded. The person in front of him might be a beautiful Zora princess right now, but he knew that inside, she was still his son. Besides, he still loved Nodoka, no matter if they were married or not.
"You have my promise, son! Now you promise to hurry and find that fire. I won't let anyone go near Nodoka or the other Zora as long as I'm around."
Ranko smiled. "Good. I knew you'd be good for something, ya big ol' flying bear..."
Genma rubbed his face with his sleeve. "I must have something in my eye..." he muttered. "Now why are you still standing here? Go on and don't you come back without that fire!"
Ranko nodded. "You got it, Pops!" And she elegantly dove down into the freezing cold water.
By now, the two ice floes had floated across the lake and reached the other side, where the cavern was waiting. Shampoo and Ukyo skillfully jumped over into the entrance tunnel. As soon as his own floe was next to the entrance, Link wanted to jump as well, but he slipped and nearly fell down. Ukyo managed to grab his arm just in time.
"Hey, be more careful there," she scolded. "We don't want you to turn into a Hylian popsicle."
Link rubbed his head. "Sorry, Ukyo, but I have never seen so much ice before. Back in the forest, the winters were cold, but not this cold. And the only ice we saw was the tiny pond in front of the item shop."
"Yeah, I know," Ukyo smirked. "Tael used to ice-skate on the frozen pond, do you remember, Tatl?"
Tatl sneezed. "I only know that I always hated that time of the year," she sniffed.
Like a living torpedo, Ranko came bursting forth from the water. She gracefully landed next to her friends.
"What are you waiting for, let's go!" she insisted and ran ahead into the Ice Cave.
General Onox and Veran, Sorceress of Shadows, walked up to Ganondorf's throne and knelt down. In the general's hands, he was holding an old and rusty sword, which he was offering to his master.
Ganondorf took the blade and smiled. "Well done, my loyal vassals! Good to see that you are devoted to my cause after all."
"My lord, I would never betray you," Onox said. "Being able to serve you is an honor that can only be repaid with loyalty."
"Well said. And what about you, Veran? Does knowing about your past hinder you from being an obedient subject?"
"N-no, of course not, my lord!" Veran quickly assured him.
Ganondorf took the blade and walked across the room, where he carefully put it on a table. "Listen, this sword once belonged to one of the defenders of this castle," he spoke. "He has passed on long ago, but his vengeful spirit has been haunting the ruins of Hyrule Castle for a long time. When I found him, he told me who was responsible for his death. He had been able to cling onto his feeble existence because he possessed his mortal enemy's shadow... and using the Triforce of Power, I granted him his only wish: He desired to have a body, so he could take vengeance on his killer. Thus, he became a creature of darkness, a copy of the boy whose actions caused the soldier's death. And now he is waiting inside the Water Temple for his time... still, he never pledged loyalty to me, so I needed his own blade to tie his dark soul to mine. This way, I can make sure that he will serve me in all eternity."
"You aren't talking about... Dark Link, my master?" Veran asked in surprise.
"The very same," Ganondorf said.
"But... if he possessed his killer's shadow, then... does that mean... the man... no, the boy who killed him was..."
Ganondorf turned around and nodded. "Yes. It is none other than our so-called 'Hero of Time', the boy who grew up to be a man... Link!"
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:39)
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.