The Legend of Zelda:

Kat and Link had now moved into Lon Lon’s old barn with the saber so no one would find them. The building itself was still standing, but the stables were undefined as wood and hay lay in a mess all over the floor.

“What is that thing anyway?” Link asked as Kat lead the saber into the barn, shutting the frail door behind her.

“It’s called a saber, the Neroths brought them over when they sided with the Gerudos.”

“Neroths?” Link said aloud, suddenly remembering how he’d seen strange looking desert men wandering around the fortress.

“Yes,” Kat began, taking a seat against the wooden wall. “The Gerudos and the Neroths have always been enemies. For hundreds of years they stole from each other, killed each other, all the while trying to prove which sex was better, male or female. The Neroths were an all-male tribe that resided in the northern desert, until they came for revenge a few months ago to reclaim a huge amount of treasure that Nabooru had stolen from them. Instead of attacking like they had planned, the Neroths ended up siding with the Gerudos. Both of the groups had been decaying over time, and both Nabooru and Dace, the Neroth leader, had seen a brighter future for them all if they allied together. So, now the Neroths are also known as Gerudos, and thus they brought all of their supplies to our fortress, including their sabers.” Kat watched as the saber sniffed around the barn curiously. “They’re much faster then horses,” she said looking up at Link who was watching it nervously, “and more vicious too; not only are they used for riding, but their teeth can be a deadly weapon at the same time, a perfect addition to any defence in Nabooru’s eyes.”

“I see…” Link said listening closely.

“With the arrival of men at the fortress, the Gerudos were assigned to pairs, or partners. Dark Link picked me, after coming to the fortress after you had beaten him at the Water Temple. Now I pretty much belong to him and I have to listen to whatever he says. That’s why I didn’t come three days ago, because Nabooru had told him to keep a close watch over me, and I had no way of getting away. But then, he and another guy named Seth got into a huge fight and they were both called into the Dark Realm, so I had a chance to get away, which is why I’m here now.”

“Dark Realm…? I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Link was surprised that Rauru hadn’t informed him of this.

“Yes…” Kat remembered well the day that Dark Link had told her about this. “…The realm that Ganondorf created, where all of his monsters go when they die. Dark Link and Seth harvest the dead monsters’ powers so that it is not wasted, and then they just use it to create more monsters; it’s pretty much an endless army, though I’m not sure exactly how it works. But I do know that Dark Link was created from you.” Kat scanned Link’s fair features, and saw how different he was from his darker being. “Ganondorf wanted someone at his side to manage the Dark Realm, someone who would be loyal to him for all eternity. So, he wanted someone who would become the complete opposite of the person he used, a “darker” being; he used you to create Dark Link somehow, probably while you were asleep for those seven years, although he could not kill you… probably because you were protected inside the Sacred Realm. Seth is another one like him; after you defeated Dark Link, Ganondorf began to lose confidence in him, and had Seth created as a backup, using the Neroth tribe’s leader, Dace.”

“Strange…” Although intrigued to hear about an entirely new realm, Link was more concerned about this newfound news about the Gerudos. “But why have they sided together all of a sudden? I thought the Gerudos were completely hateful towards any man? … Other then Ganondorf of course.” Link sat against an old broken stable, diagonally facing Kat a few feet away.

Kat sighed and looked to Link. “Nabooru is planning to take over the rest of Hyrule in less then two weeks; the Gorons, the Sheikah… everything Ganondorf has left.” She saw Link get a very stern look on his face as she went on. “Ganondorf is not the only problem on our hands. Nabooru is readying the Gerudos to completely take control over all of Hyrule, and will eventually spread to other lands like Trinidaria, where most of the Hylians took refuge during Ganondorf’s attack.” She paused. “You’re probably wondering why Ganondorf didn’t just take over all of it, right? Well, that’s because Nabooru wanted something to have fun with in the future so she would get appreciated; all she’s ever wanted is power, fame, and fortune, and she’s going to gain all of those things if we don’t do something.”

Link frowned in thought at her. “What do you propose we do?”

Kat looked down. “I don’t know exactly, but I have had a lot of time to think about it, and I think I have some sort of plan.” She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her knuckles as she thought it over for the thousandth time. “Okay, here’s my thought.

“Within the next few days, as soon as possible, I will go out to the Spirit Temple and kill Nabooru. At the same time, I will claim the Spirit Medallion and return it to you before Ganondorf finds out that Nabooru is dead. Then, you will head off to kill Ganondorf. But even if you do kill him, that still leaves one very big problem; we still have a huge group of Gerudos left, eager to do everything they can to stop us.”

Link cursed loudly. “What the hell are we going to do?”

“The Gerudos are becoming a powerful group, but they are nothing above mortal,” Kat said reassuringly. “We can gather a force, consisting of the Gorons, Sheikah, and the Hylians in Trinidaria; we can meet with them in the fields of Hyrule, stopping the takeover and defeating them. However, if Ganondorf is still alive at this time, he could easily end up killing them all.”

Link shook his head in disbelief. He had no idea that things were so complicated. “How in the hell are two people going to bring all of this together? Everyone is against us. There’s no way we can do it.”

Kat looked at him. “We have to try, what other choice do we have?”

Link looked away and said nothing.

“That’s exactly what I thought,” Kat said looking right at him. “You don’t like to say much, do you?”

Link shot a look over to her. “When you don’t get a chance to actually talk to someone for seven years, it takes a while to get used to it again.”

Kat frowned. “What?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the story. When I was ten years old I pulled out the Master Sword, but I wasn’t old enough to wield it, so I had to wait seven years until I was reawakened as the Hero of Time.” He looked at her solemnly. “I missed out on seven years of my life. Not only that, but I too never knew my parents.”

Link went on to tell her about how he had been left with the Kokiri, in the hands of the Great Deku Tree. His mother had left him there during one of Hyrule’s most brutal of wars, and he had never seen her since.

“So you’re… kind of like me, right?”

Link looked to her. “Yes... Except I know nothing of who she was; I have dreams about her, but each time she is different, although the image is the same. I think she had dark hair and eyes like mine. My father, I don’t know who he was or what he was like. I’m sure he was caring though, because I think my mother was that way too.”

Suddenly a thought rushed to Kat’s mind. “My mother had a temple beneath the Spirit Temple that we all know about nowadays. I had a dream that showed me that it was there, and where to go. Nabooru had it buried after she killed my mother, and then had a new one in her honour built on top of it.” Kat imagined the massive chamber and mind-blowing size of the temple, and how the torches were lit for no apparent reason. “I believe that my mother’s spirit, or something like it, is still within that temple. After I left, I started feeling a warm feeling within me; I think she’s trying to guide me and be here with me, even though she isn’t actually able to.”

“How do you know that it was your mother’s temple?” Link asked inquisitively, leaning in closer now, interested in what she had to say.

Kat had thought this over many times before, because this was the only proof that she had in her mind as to if it really was her mother’s temple. “I saw a statue of my mother in the centre of the temple, she looked exactly as I’d seen her in my dreams; and etched into the stone from which the statue stood, was the name Drusilia Rilmora. That was my mother’s maiden name. After she married my father, Tharivol, she became Drusilia Thorngage, making me Katrina Thorngage… However, Nabooru disregards my real last name and still goes by Rilmora,” Kat frowned, “because she doesn’t like the sound of a Hylian name amongst her people.”

Link shook his head in disbelief. “That is almost pathetic, but it would seem that there is no convincing her that all races are equal. You describe your aunt as though she is a very arrogant person, and the stories you’ve told me only further prove how self-centred she is. Was she like this before she…?”

“There’s no need to beat around the bush, but thanks for caring.” Kat smiled at him gently, and then turned solemn. “As for Nabooru, I wouldn’t know what she was like before she killed my mother; I’ve heard that Nabooru first started being competitive with her when Ganondorf came to the fortress. I don’t think he was the one who made her that way though, he just influenced her to use her greed to her advantage. She and him both saw my mother as a weak person, but I think it’s the other way around if she could be manipulated like that.”

Although he was listening, Link’s thoughts were elsewhere. His mind ran him through all of the previous temples he had been through; Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow. Phantom Ganon, Volvagia, Morpha, and Bongo Bongo. He would surely have to face another vile, powerful beast within the Spirit Temple.

“Kat, I’m going to have to come with you to the Spirit Temple. Your plan is a good one, but in all of the temples I’ve been in, there has always been a far more powerful beast to slay, one that is put there to guard the medallion. The Spirit Temple will be no different. I’m sure Ganondorf has put a very powerful monster there to protect his beloved Nabooru if something were to ever happen.”

Kat looked at him in thought. She’d never thought of this before, and she immediately hated the fact that Link would be in Gerudo territory, probably the most unsafe part of Hyrule that he could possibly be in. “Link…”

“There is no other way,” Link said strongly. “No one else can defeat the monster.”

“But you will be in so much danger! I can’t let anything happen to you.”

Link was slightly annoyed with her. “I have been in plenty of danger for the past few months. I have gotten through every other temple, not with ease I might add, but I have made it through and I will surely do the same with the last temple. Even if I’d never met you, I would still have to do this no matter what.” Link watched as Kat’s face eased slightly, understanding what must be done.

“It will take us both to get through the temple alive,” Link said, imagining it in his head. “When we reach the final beast you must not let it see you. In fact…” Link frowned deeply, questioning something.

“What?” Kat asked eagerly.

“Through all the other temples the final beast has been guarding the medallion, but if Nabooru doesn’t want us to succeed, she will surely hear the attack and only help the monster to kill us both, meaning that we will both have to take them on at the same time to keep them away from each other. You are the only one who can kill Nabooru, and I am the only one who can slay the final beast with the Master Sword…”

“The only thing we can do is see what happens when we get there. You will have to distract the beast; chances are it won’t think you will have someone with you. Then I can sneak around and get into the room Nabooru is in… if there is a room… Let us pray that Nabooru doesn’t appear from thin air.”

Link thought of how weak this plan was. What if the beast saw Kat? It could easily kill her. What if they encountered Nabooru first? Then she could simply call upon the beast to help her. What if Kat couldn’t get to Nabooru in time, and she found them first? The power of the sage and the beast would be too much for the both of them. But overall Kat was right, they had no way of planning in detail until they arrived at the temple. Hell, getting through the temple was their first priority.

“How familiar are you with that temple?”

“I’ve been there only a few times for bogus ceremonies Nabooru holds for herself, but I know the temple well. There are long, confusing passageways and hallways that you could go through, but I know of a secret door that the Gerudos use all the time. It’s right in the main entrance hall, and leads straight to the temple’s main chamber, saving us a long and dangerous few hours.”

Finally, a piece of information that made Link feel a little bit better. Perhaps having Kat with him throughout the temple would be a blessing instead of a nuisance. At first he’d been sceptical of having her intrude on his business and bring herself into this; she’d seemed like she was helpless and so dependent on him, but now he realised that she was a strong-minded, capable woman who knew what she was talking about. She was pretty too, but Link tried to ignore himself when he thought of it. He had missed seven years of his life and definitely was not ready to fall in love. He knew that love could be a terrible thing, especially when you were a hero. It could distract you, and even change your entire outlook on something, and Link did not like the sounds of that. Link felt vulnerable having missed so many years, almost as if he felt that someone could easily persuade him because he didn’t have as much experience with interacting with people; that’s why he didn’t talk much. He didn't want people to read his movements, as if that would give away what he was thinking. The Hero was physically very strong, but within his mind he felt weak at certain points.

“I must return to the fortress; I would stay here if I could, but if I go missing, then Nabooru will do whatever she can to find me, and if she finds you as well, then...” Kat let her words fade off. “Meet with me again,” Kat said standing up and looking at him peacefully. “Tomorrow. From now until then we can prepare ourselves.”

“Tomorrow? You mean we’re heading out to the temple?” Link said jumping to his feet.

“We have to go as soon as possible.”

Link nodded. He was very eager to get going. He had had a long break since he emerged from the Shadow Temple and now was more determined then ever to reclaim the Spirit Medallion. “Alright. Tomorrow at daybreak we will meet here again.”

“Yes. It will be easier to take a single saber, as I’m sure you don’t know how to command one. I also know of a trail we can take to get around the fortress around back. No one ever patrols there because only Gerudos know about it. It leads right around to the desert, and then we will be on our way.” Kat sounded more confident now, excited that her plan finally seemed doable.

Link nodded as Kat urged the saber to its feet. Link followed her out of the stable in silence.

Kat went to mount the beast but first turned to Link. She wished to embrace him right now to show just how happy she was inside, but something stopped her; it was almost as though Link had set up a barrier around himself that no one else could enter. His movements were always very simple or passive, and he always stood a fair distance away from her; was he afraid of her? No, not the Hero of Time. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she decided not to question him. She was happy that she had even met him. "Thank you for all of your help."

“There is nothing to thank me for yet,” Link said calmly.

Kat nodded gratefully and climbed over the proud saber, which barely seemed to sink under her weight because of its massive leg and shoulder muscles.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kat said confidently, even though she had a horrible feeling in her gut that told her Dark Link would be back and she wouldn’t be able to return to see again. “I hope with all of my heart that Dark Link does not return today…” She paused for a long time. “If I’m not back in time…” Kat shook her head. “No, I will be back,” she said to herself.

“Dark Link is your main problem right now, isn’t he?”

Kat was surprised by the comment, since she was sure he would simply nod and she’d be off. “… Yes, but you would be the only one able to kill him; you nearly killed him last time, and I’m sure you could do it again, but if Dark Link were to suddenly disappear, Ganondorf would know that you were near, which would surely mean the end for both of us, and all of Hyrule.”

Link was eager to help her, but what she said made sense. As long as Dark Link was alongside Ganondorf, he was pretty much invincible. He nodded at Kat reassuringly. “I’ll have his head soon enough.”

Kat laughed inside, thinking of how great that would be. The days before she’d met Dark Link were hell true enough, but she would do anything to see Link be the one to cut off his head. She was determined to meet with Link the next day. She looked at Link with bewildering eyes; he was tall, muscular, and the hilt of the Master Sword was visible behind his neck. Although a hero, he still had a gentle appearance to himself; never did she think that she would befriend a man like him.

“Will you wait for me?” Kat looked over at him.

He quickly averted his eyes and he nodded once, his skin warm from the summer sun, his face emotionless, thoughts of the coming days overtaking him.

After a moment’s silence, Kat kicked the saber’s side sharply and it took off at a steady run into the openness of the ranch. Didn’t think I was going to leave through the entrance, did you?

The saber suddenly burst into a furious run towards the outer wall of the ranch, and with what seemed to be little effort Kat disappeared over the wall and out into Hyrule Field.

The sinking sun was bright in her eyes as she stormed towards the Gerudo Fortress. She felt strangely uncomfortable in leaving Link’s presence, knowing that Dark Link may very well be waiting for her back at the fortress. She had never been so nervous, so uncertain in her life. Her stomach twisted and flipped violently as she neared the fortress. The only thing she could do now was pray, because only higher beings were watching her now, and they would provide her with hope.

Or… maybe, she thought, just maybe, she was giving them hope.