The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link

Chapter 14: Familiar Blade

Splashsplashsplash, Link's boots threw up dirty water as he jogged through the sewers. Tristam followed on his heels, wondering how Link knew these waterways so well, but he decided to stay quiet.

The pair ventured through the dirty, dark sewers for several minutes, the sound of Link's splashing footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. They crawled through a small tunnel which brought them to the inside of a large circular room, with only a crumbling spiral staircase going up and up. There were several tightropes stretched taut across the inside of the the room, which Link crossed to continue upwards even where the stairs had collapsed.

There was a tall wooden door at the the top of the spire. Link put his hand on the door and edged it open. Brilliant, white sunlight fell onto his face and he stopped, closing his eyes and feeling the heat. He rarely ever stopped to just enjoy the warmth of the sun before, and he liked it. It was such a natural, pure feeling, a stark contrast to his usually running, fighting, crawling through dungeons.

After a few minutes of appreciating the sunlight, Link opened his eyes again, opened the door the rest of the way, and slipped through it.

There were a few large concrete platforms ahead of him, leading to the tops of the lower parts of the castle. A few tall spires pierced the sky in the distance, light shining off of their tips like elegant light houses. He crossed the platforms and stepped onto the lower roofs, Tristam trailing behind, until he was close enough to the ground that he could leap from the rooftop and tuck-and-roll as he hit dirt to minimize the effects of the fall. He was now standing in the castle courtyard, surrounded by tall, wooden scaffoldings with bulblin archers atop them.

Link kept close to the walls of the castle to keep hidden within the shadows as he trekked across the castle grounds. He came across a large, mostly empty field, but what was significant about it was the glint of light opposite Link. He scanned the area for bulbins, then cleared the field, until he was mere feet from the glint.

Was it... a sword? Indeed, a blade, very familiar to Link lay nonchalantly in the grass. He picked it up.

Here it was, shining in the sunlight. The Master Sword, in all of it's evil-sparring glory, its purple hilt gleaming, the strong metal of the edge glowing and sparkling. Link picked up the scabbard that lay beside it and attached it to the back of the belt that ran across his chest.

"Woah!" Tristam flew around the sword in Link's hand. "Is that the Master Sword? It's so cool! I love the sparkles!"

Link sheathed his sword and shoved onward through the courtyard, until he came into the front entrance of the castle grounds. There were two Aeralfos guarding the gate, idly hovering about four feet above ground. Link dashed toward them and revealed his sword.

"Woah, Link, be careful!" Tristam called out.

The Aeralfos both squawked. Link, wielding his sword in his left hand as always, took an attack stance and waited until one swooped down. He side-rolled to his right to dodge it and jump-attacked the monster, chopping it in half. The Aeralfos collapsed onto the ground, writhing for a few moments before bursting into quick-dying flames. Link, without even looking behind him, swung his sword around in a spin attack, slicing the other monster into shreds. It fell to the ground in flames as well, and Link swung his sword around his hand a few times before sheathing it.

"Link, that was so cool" Tristam exclaimed. "You're so good at this!"

Link smiled at the fairy, then continued his march to the entrance of the courtyard.