The Circle has Three Corners by Griff Gyrll Memories Link strolled past a headstone. It read "Arimina--I wish I had gotten there sooner." He paused as if hit by a rock. It sounded so familiar. Link shook it off and headed toward the castle. When he reached it, he felt disoriented as he passed through the castle gates, and fell to his knees. Zelda rushed to him. "What's wrong?" she asked as she helped him to his feet. "Must be the heat. I need some water," he stuttered. Zelda helped him into the kitchen. Link sat down with the water, Zelda across from him. "Zelda, do you remember an Arimina? I dunno, that name sounds so familiar." "No, why?" "I saw a gravestone with that name on it when I was coming here. Then, when I reached the castle gate, I felt as if I was being drawn into another world, and I caught the slightest glimpse of a magnificent pyramid! The strangest thing was that I felt like I had seen it before." "I've been having déeja vu, too," Zelda trailed off. "Disturbing dreams?" "About crystals?" "A little about crystals, and about the numbers three and seven." "I have this awful dream where I'm stuck in a crystal, and this dragon is surrounding me. You're there, although much much younger. Like fifteen or so," Zelda mused. "Of course, I didn't know you when you were fifteen, did I?" "Strange..." Link muttered. That was the end of the conversation, until later that night, when Zelda and Link awoke screaming at the same time. Impa raced to Zelda, and a guard to Link. "I had an awful dream..." they both said to each. Impa retrieved Link and Zelda and took them to the dining hall for a drink. "Now, tell me of this dream," she murmured in a soft voice. Zelda started. "I... I was in a dungeon, and there was a girl. I felt I knew her, almost like a sister, covered in blood. She looked at me and piteously asked for help... but I couldn't." "I had the same dream... almost. I'm holding her in my arms and she says 'I knew you'd come... but you're too late' then I start screaming her name. But I don't remember it, the name, that is, just the screaming. Before that part, I remember an old man, and three somethings... I don't remember. It was all very, very disturbing," Link stated. Zelda brightened with a realization. "Arimina! That was the name!" Link looked at her with surprise, and agreed that had to have been the name. Impa looked uneasy. Her eyes looked from one person to the other. "I knew it wouldn't work. It's time the truth is restored." Zelda and Link asked if Impa had been getting enough sleep. "No, I'm fine. Link, Zelda, before your 'first' encounter with Ganon, you went on another quest..." She told him about the three pendants, the master sword, Agahnim, the Dark World, the seven crystals, Ganondorf, and the Triforce. Link gave her a curious look. "After you had completed your quest, you attended a ball where you met with one of the seven maidens. Her name was... Arimina. You two fell in love instantly, and you were inseparatable. Then, Blind the Thief returned and stole Arimina from your home when he came in search of you. Zelda offered to help you that time around, and you eventually found Blind's Lair. After you defeated him, you found Arimina tortured and almost dead. She died in your arms. You couldn't stand it; she was your other half. After her funeral, you went on a rampage and vowed to destroy the world with the Triforce. Rather than kill you, Zelda brought you to me, and I put a spell on Hyrule that made everyone forget the past and the Golden Land. I transformed the three pendants into the three 'Triforces' that you strove so hard to protect. I moved the landmarks and gave you a new past. It would've worked had Ganon not returned." "Who are you, really, then?" Zelda asked. Impa's body melted away to reveal what looked like a beautiful faerie. "I am Ordinal, Goddess of Life. If it is your wish, I can remove the spell and restore Hyrule to it's former state. I believe that you can handle the pain, Link, you've moved on." Zelda and Link looked at each other. "Yes," they stated solemly. Old memories were suddenly replaced with true ones, and for the first time in many years, the world seemed complete again. "But what of the pendants? Didn't Ganon have one?" queried Link. "I've restored Hyrule to it's former state. The pendants are in their former places. Of course, Ganon now remembers where the true Triforce is. But, he'll have to kill you first, Link. Be awares at all times!" Ordinal faded from sight. The next day, Link and Zelda went to Arimina’s Grave. Link placed a rose on the headstone. "Thank you for giving me my past back. I had a long, long dream last night. I re-lived it all. Now, I really know who I am and what I'm capable of. I miss you. But I'm glad I can say that." Link put his arm around Zelda and they began to walk toward the Lost Woods. They were going to be ready for Ganon. But before they left the cemetery, Link saw a beautiful girl waving at him. When he turned to talk to her, she was gone. Link smiled. Darkness Wills The warp tile gleamed in the Hyrulian afternoon seductively. Link, armed once again with the Master sword, and memories of his beloved Arimina, and Zelda at his side. The breeze blew calmly through his red hair, and he stared at the hypnotic sapphire swirlings of the tile. Zelda bit her lip. "Is it safe?" "Of course it it is! I am the master of the Triforce, am I not?" Link replied. "So why are we going, anyhow?" Link was silent. He knew not why they were re-entering the Golden Land, but the compelling force that drove him to return to the Pyramid was overwhelming. "Why?" Zelda repeated, dangerously. "Because... Gannon is back. I can feel it." "If I remember correctly, you could feel Arimina's prescence in the old thieve's hideout. She wasn't there, was she?" Zelda hissed. That hit low. Link still blamed himself for Arimina's tragic death. "If he isn't there, at least we will know the state of the Golden Land, alright?" Zelda's green eyes flickered with annoyance. Link held out a hand, and motionied toward the tile. "We shall go together," he murmured. Holding hands, and their breath, they stepped onto the warp tile. The world swirled about them in sickly spirals, and Hyrule dissapeared, and an unexplored world took its place. As one, they exhaled. Link stepped foreward, Above, the sky was golden-green with the light of dusk, and two birds called. Link drew his sword anxiously. Taking a deep breath, he searched his memory, jarred with the artifical memories of the Spell cast by Ordinal, to find his bearings. They hit his mind violently, like a falcon striking its quarry. He buckled with the shock of the unexpected images flashing in his minds eye. Zelda gasped. "Oh, my, what happened?" "N... nothing. Just didn't expect something, that's all." The pictures in his mind showed a ruddy red canyon filled with monsters, and a trail of golden grasses heading north. And a cave behind him to his right. He became wrapped up in the memory... ...It was dusk, and the sky was blood red and gold. He was young, and ready for the task. He had returned from Hyrule after becoming lost, and using the Magic Mirror to return there. He had stepped on the Tile south of The Eastern Palace, and emerged in a similar area in the foreign land. He had passed the maze to the North before, but had become helplessly lost. But young hope drove him to the maze again, braving bomb-throwing giants and hideous creatures. He turned a corner. Something rustled in the brush. Link grabbed his sword. It moved again. Exploding from the bush, the creature made a distinctive "kee keee" cry. Link swiped, but it ducked. "Me Kiki! Me Kiki! I don't hurt!" it squealed. "What do you want?" he replied. "Kiki like Rupees! Can you spare Kiki twenty rupees?" it had asked. He gave Kiki the Monkey twenty rupees, and it helped him through the maze. Link had to coax it out of hiding a few times when he had to battle a monster, but the real test was opening the entrance to the Palace. Kiki climbed atop the giant monkey statues at the door. But the door seemed shut. "Give Kiki 100 rupees? Kiki open door. Kiki know how know how." Link considered. The furry little thing had cost him twenty rupees already, but he needed to get into the palace. The blood red sky began to turn grey and purple as night approached. If this Kiki did not open the palace, he could always kill it with his bow, and ask Saharahla for help... Kiki stared at him. Link dug his hand into the small sachet in which he hid his rupee cache. He dug out a hundred rupees, and handed it to the eager monkey. "Kiki Like pretty pretty pretty! Kiki open door!" The exuberant monkey leapt in the air, and landed on a hidden switch atop the left statue's head. The door fell to the earth with a thunderous thud! The dust dispersing wildly in the sweet, cooling air. Link sheilded his eyes untill the dust settled again, and proceeded into the deep caverns of the Palace. Link took a deep breath as he plunged the key into the depths of the lock, and listened to it click innocently. But behind that ornate door was some monster lurking, waiting to destroy him in order to keep him from retrieving the crystal. Thinking of the telepathic message he had recieved earlier from princess Zelda, remembering its urgency, Link drew his blade with gusto, and kicked open the door which separated him from the terrible foe. And a terrifying foe it was! It was the Helmasaur King: an armoured monstrosity with a spiked body and tail, and breathed fire. It growled, and swung its mace like tail with fury. Link ducked, and rolled to avoid the following flame. The helmasaur shrieked with fury and shuffled to Link's corner, teeth nashing. Link swung his sword, only for it to bounce off the helmasuaur's helmet like head. Swish! The spiked tail flew past him again, and Link struck out blindly with his sword. He hit the monster with the blunt face of his sword. As all ideas start, just a small piece of inspiration flew to Link's mind: just the smallest blue piece of the Helmasaur's helmet dropped to the floor. Acting quickly, Link brought out the Magic Hammer. He swung, and struck, but not without being nipped by the monster's bladelike teeth. Too close. He thought. Flame shot dangerously near to his shield. Link's hands dove into his carry sack to remove one of his many bombs, and lit the fuse. He paused briefly, then flung the explosive at the head of his foe. Fooom! The bomb detonated with enough force to remove the Helmasaur's face plate, and fling Link across the room. Ignoring the pain, Link quickly brought out his bow and aimed at the sensitive spot on the monster's head. It squealed, and Link continued his onslaught. With a final scream of fury, it collapsed to the floor, and Link watched the light in its evil red eyes die out, and blood trickle from its mouth. Link siged, and exhaled for the first time since he entered the room. From above, his reward dropped to the floor. Link stooped to lift the shining jewel from the bloody stone floor. It was delicate and clearer than the air around him. Suspended inside it was the delicate body of a young maiden. Her voice filled his mind, beckoning him to find the others, and giving him the locations of the rest of the dungeons. That was the first time he saw her... his beloved Arimina... "Link?!" Zelda's face filled Link's vision, and he realized that he was on the ground, and in the present. His head spun. Her hand grasped his wrist, and tugged him to his feet. "What happened?" she asked. "I don't know," Link responded, half lying. "Should we go back?" she asked. "No." With Link's memories, they wormed their way through the hopelessly overgrown maze and through the Palace. Inside, everything was eerily quiet and abandoned. When they reached the Helmasaur's old lair, the former throne room, they found nothing, just the monster's bleached bones. "This is weird, Link," Zelda murmured. Blood stains remained from the fight, as well as scorch marks. Link nodded in agreement. They had seen no inhabitants of the Golden Land at all since their arrival. There was even an outline on the wall of where he landed when his bomb exploded: a testament to his presence written in soot. He felt sick. "Zelda?" he queried, his voice weak. "Yes, Link?" she responded puzzledly. "Is this a charmed life?" "What?" "Being the hero. I mean, I'm not comfortable unless I'm fighting. I'm always on edge. There's no coming down. What happens if all the dangers are removed from Hyrule? Do you see those old soldiers? They are old coots; constantly remembering their fighting days. They wished for the wars to be over, but they became obsolete when it was over. I will always be this way. I am weary. Tired of life, Zelda. I want to die before I grow old..." Zelda looked at him with fresh eyes. She saw the lines in his face, the shimmer gone from his eyes, his shoulders slumped. "...I want to die fighting." Trimorphosis Link craned his neck, to see the glory of the old pyramid. Zelda stood beside him. They had ventured into every dungeon and palace in the Golden Land, finding them as empty as the Dark Palace. They now stood before the ancient temple, half expecting the same to be true of it, but his quiver was fully armed with silver arrows, just to be safe. Zelda started up the steps first, followed by Link. Wind whipped through the old forests, hissing at them; holding back the secrets of the realm they so desperately wanted to unlock. At the apex of the stone mount, Gannon's hole still remained. Link remembered his duck friend, the one that led him to this very spot. His gift from the flute Boy. With a sigh, he told Zelda his plan. "I'll go in first, you follow." Zelda nodded, slightly annoyed. Link lept into the gap, fully armed. There was a laugh. A deep, evil rumble that was far too familiar. "Gannon," Link growled. Just then, Zelda fell to his side. "Never fought me before, have you?" she sneered. In response, Gannon squealed in a typical pig-like fasion, and hurled his trident at them. Zelda ducked, and Link rolled away with time to strike Gannon with his sword. His unearthly squeal of pain as his blood sprayed from his neck was stopped by the silver arrow that Zelda promptly shot to his heart. With a gurgle, Gannon died; for the umpteenth time. Zelda caught her breath. But Link walked straight to Gannon's body, and began to systematically slice it to pieces. "Will... you... finally... die?" he screamed, kicking bits of blueish flesh across the room. Zelda peered at him; her face twisted with a sudden fear of her long time friend and hero. Link's eyes shot toward her-eyes filled with a sudden enlightenment that nearly lit the dim chamber. His frown deepened. "Zelda. Get out. Whatever happens, don't come back... don't even look back. Go. Now!" Zelda scrambled to find an exit. In her rush, her feet slipped, and she fell to the tile floor. The floor that gave out beneath her, and sent her falling below. She screamed with alarm, and was surprised to find that she fell to safety instead of death; a secret chamber... with an exit. Not wanting to stay and find out what had frightened Link, she raced out into the daylight, and ran her quickest. "Touch me, Link. I am the Triforce," said the disembodied voice. "I know not of evil or of good. Touch me and your heart's desire will be granted." "No. You are the source of the evils that plague Hyrule. You are pure power. Power corrupts! For every time I defeat Gannon, he returns. Gannon is a manisfistation of the inherent evil that resides within your vast powers. There can be no good without evil; no dark without light. I fight you now." The voice changed. "Then it is as you will!" Then it was black. Blacker than a moonless, starless night. Absolute dark. Link heard the floor give way, and he fell for an eternity. Suddenly, he splashed into a pool of water. It was relatively shallow, but had managed to break his fall. Link drew his sword. "Come and fight! I am the hero who will slay you!" The voice filled his mind, so loudly that it hurt. "How do you slay that which is not mortal?" "Good question," he thought. The Triforce still did what he willed... thus he willed it to be mortal. "Ah! Good move, Hero." A form of pure light emerged from the liquid. Its brilliance higlighted the walls of the chamber. Walls that chronicled every aspect of Link's life from his dreams, experiences, and even those that were from Ordinal's spell. It was no small wonder that the light fell brightest on the image of a young woman, covered with blood, dying in her lover's arms. Link screamed. The Triforce sought to torture him. It had been doing so... providing brief glimpses of her from the corner of his eye, whenever he wished to see her. He was dead as soon as her last breath dissapated into the air, for then he was half a man. He leapt toward the light, sword bared. It plunged into the light, and it screamed. The battle continued, until Link was hurled against the wall, and blacked out. He did not know how long he lied there in the darkness. Seconds, hours, days, years? "Link?" A sweet voice stabbed his ears. "Is that you?" It was the sweetest sound. The sound of the one he had lost so long ago. Link opened his eyes. This had to be death, the afterlife. She kissed him. She tasted like strawberries in the summertime. Her hair was as red as the ocean sunset, and her skin... so luminous. He embraced her, and returned the favor. As he moved to remove his shirt, he drew is sword-and fell on it. It ripped through his stomach and through her body. The piercing scream of defeat echoed throughout the land. Link's vision grew hazy. Knowing death was upon him, he screamed with all is waning strenghth... "If I had the chance..." his final words remained in his dying consiousness, but the ones that had flew upon the wind reached Zelda's ears. She turned to see the world around her disappear and turn into a gray wasteland. Where the trees had been were replicas of the scene within the pyramid: Link skewered upon his own sword, his eyes glazed over and what seemed to be a slight smile on his lips. Zelda screamed in horror. She knew that there was no way back to Hyrule. Link had the magic mirror... and how was she to find him now? All rational thought had drifted from her mind. The surreal image that used to be the Land of the Gods had driven her mad. Screaming, she drew an arrow and slit her wrists with it. Back in Hyrule, the people mourned the loss of their most beloved Hero and Princess. Statues were erected in their honor. Mass mournings continued for a year. But, life did go on, and soon the statues lost their meaning, and became overgrown and forgotten completely. * * * Link shot up in bed. Something had made him awaken. It was a dream... a nightmare, but for the life of him, he could not remember it. Well, only one thing stuck in his mind. A dying young woman. Perhaps it was prophetic. Casting the thought aside, Link prepared to return to sleep, when a voice entered his head. Help me. My name is Zelda. I am locked in the dungeon of the Palace...