Time Cannot Erase Chapter 19

I’d do anything
Just to hold you in my arms
Try to make you laugh
Somehow I can’t put you in the past
Do you remember me?
Because I know I won’t forget you
~Simple Plan “I’d Do Anything”


Chapter 19
To Wield the Sword Once More

In a burst of light Link materialized in the cavernous antechamber of the Temple of Time. The instant his feet hit the floor he was off and running. His mind was so focused on the task at hand he didn’t even notice he wasn’t alone.

“You there!” Link turned his head with a start as he heard a voice scream at him. It was an imperial soldier, brandishing a blade and moving towards Link threateningly. “You are not allowed here, the entire city is under- hey! It’s you!” the soldier’s eyes grew wide with recognition and he tensed even more. “You have been banished! You are under arrest, by order of the-“

BAM! Link’s fist hit the soldier’s cheek without warning and the soldier toppled to the floor with a loud, echoing thud. Still completely single-minded, Link immediately started once more across the hall towards the imposing stone doors beneath the symbol of the Triforce. He didn’t have time to banter with fools. He had to get the Master Sword and save the Princess.

He didn’t make it far, however, before five other soldiers fell upon him. Link would not go down easily, though, and as fast as they could assail him he would beat them off.

“Call for reinforcements!” he heard the cry go out, followed closely by someone shouting, “Someone get the King!”

Pushing his way through the fray he made a few labored steps toward the stone doors. However, reinforcements arrived much quicker than Link would have liked, and though he fought them off with impressive strength they continued to hinder his progress.

“Link!” he heard a familiar voice call out through the fray. He landed a heavy blow on a nearby soldier’s head and threw him into several of his companions, sending them all flying to the floor.

This was not what she had expected to see when the cry had gone out calling all available soldiers to the Temple. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Link in the middle of the room in furious battle with nearly two dozen soldiers, and Link was winning.

Through the chaos Link could make out Impa’s form drawing near. He continued to fight as the heap of soldiers lying at his feet steadily grew.

“Link, stop!” Impa demanded, but Link’s intensity only rose. With a cry he leapt at two soldiers and quickly rendered them unconscious.

Impa watched in horror. This was not the Link she knew. His eyes, once bright with hope and courage, were now blazing with anger. When she had last seen him he had looked nearly dead, and now he was so inflamed he looked as though he might jump out of his skin. There was a manic intensity to his action that was quite unnerving.

He was now attacking soldiers that were backing away from him in supplication of surrender. With a shout of rage he flung himself at them, attacking with brutal strength.

The first thought that crossed her mind was that he had gone mad. Unwavering, Impa acted quickly and without deliberation. She couldn’t allow this to continue. If she didn’t put a stop to it someone would get seriously hurt, or worse, and whether it would be Link or the soldiers who suffered, she could not guess. At least if she put a stop to this madness she could find a way to get Link out of the Temple and to safety, and so she acted for his own good.

In a puff of smoke she vanished and rematerialized behind link and dealt him a quick and serious blow to the head. Link swayed and collapsed to the ground, and immediately every available soldier fell upon him, enveloping him like a swarm of wasps. They hoisted him to his feet and tried to subdue him, but, even with his head swimming and stars blinking in his eyes, he fought back.

“Bring him to me,” Impa commanded. “I will deal with him.”

“Impa!” he called out desperately to her as she stepped slowly towards him, watching the ordeal with shadowed eyes, already deep remorse filling her. “Impa, I know where she is!”

Impa stopped in her tracks. Even as she contemplated her next move all of her hopes were dashed as a voice sounded from the entrance. Her eyes closed slowly and she took a deep breath.

“I might have known!” a voice thundered from across the hall. As Link tried to fight off another soldier he looked through bleary eyes toward the entrance to see Zelda’s father storming towards him. “You piece of filth,” the king bellowed, his face contorted and grotesque. “Where have you taken her?!”

“Imp-” Link cried out, his voice cut off as a heavy blow landed in his stomach. He crumpled slightly, his breath escaping his lips. He struggled to regain his voice, “I know where she is! He took her! He kidnapped her!”

“*YOU* kidnapped her!” the king shouted. He was nearly to Link now. Link continued to ignore him and called out to Impa once more. “You are in cahoots with that no-good, lying, prince of refuse! You both thought you could pull the wool over my eyes?! You think you can steel my daughter from me?!”

“I must be set free!” Link bellowed, looking past the King as though he were not there. “It is the only way! He said he will kill her!” at this he began to thrash desperately, only to have a soldier club him over the head with the hilt of his sword. His head fell forward and Impa was sure he was gone, but his chin rose slightly and his eyes were still open. He was not out, but he had no power left within him to free himself from their clutches.

There were too many of them, and two blows to the head were taking their toll. The situation had too quickly escalated out of Impa’s control, and her mind was now reeling. She had to help Link… but she did not know how.

“Where is my daughter you vile-“ the King screamed in Link’s face.

“Impa, please!” Link pleaded with, jerking his body towards her, trying to break free in a final, pitiful attempt, his head lolling and his eyes growing dark.

Impa’s mind was racing. Link had said she had not been kidnapped, and now he said she was being held ransom and that her very life was in danger. She had not thought Marth capable of such treachery… and yet she could not deny Link’s desperation. Link had never lied to her before. If there was anyone she trusted, especially in matters of Zelda’s well being, it was Link.

“Bind him!” the King bellowed. “Unless my daughter is returned to me, safe and sound, you will be executed for high treason… and do not think for a moment that I will hesitate…” he hissed in Link’s face. “My daughter will be returned to me!” Standing and breathing heavily for a moment the King finally turned to his guard. “Take him away!”

“Impa,” Link pleaded quietly. “Please…”

“What have I done?” Impa thought to herself, filled with horror. Without further hesitation Impa drew her knife and took a step towards Link’s bruised and beaten figure.

“Halt!” the King bellowed. “Impa, you will not take another step! He is my prisoner, a traitor to the Kingdom and a worthless thief!”

“Link is no such thing,” Impa replied with cold strength, taking another defiant step.

“Halt!” the King yelled once more, his eyes growing wide. Impa proved a foreboding image. Her eyes were narrowed, her body tensed and her silver knife raised threateningly.

“He knows where Zelda is! He said she was kidnapped! I heard it from his own mouth!” the King continued, his courage failing as he backed away from Impa. All around them soldiers were tensing and bringing out weapons, readying for a battle. Their eyes were wide, however, and they looked upon Impa with great fear.

“Let him go,” Impa said commanded.

Every eye was now on Impa. Soldiers were moving away from Link and towards her. Seeing this as his chance Link once again began to struggle, but Impa caught his eye. With a shake of her head, so slight that no one but Link even realized she had done it, she indicated to him to wait a moment longer. Trusting her, he stood still, waiting for her signal.

“If you take one more step,” the King threatened, “you will be banished from the service of the Royal Family. You will stand accused of high treason, punishable by death! You will share his fate!” he pointed at Link with a shaking finger. The King’s entire body seemed to be shaking from both anger and fear.

“So be it,” Impa replied calmly. She stood still for only a moment and then she sprang.

“Seize her!” the King shouted as he dove behind a mass of soldiers to shield himself from Impa’s wrath. In an instant battle broke out once more. Impa threw a small seed at the ground and with a loud POP smoke filled the room. Sputtering and blinking through the haze the soldiers sought for Impa, but most did not find her before she found them.

Impa quickly and systematically made her way to Link’s guards and before they knew what hit them they were knocked out cold on the floor. Link’s wobbly body nearly followed them but Impa caught him under the arms and held him up.

“Link, get out of here!” she bellowed, “Now!” She was forced to let him go as soldier leapt at her through the fog and she turned quickly to face him. Link swayed for a moment, but kept his footing. He was free, and despite the throbbing pain his mind was clearing.

He had to get to the Sword.

“Go, Link!” Impa shouted as she shielded Link from the mass of soldiers who were trying to get at him once more.

Link took a few unstable steps but soon steadied and his pace quickened.

“Where are you going?!” Impa yelled in confusion. “The exit is the other way!”

Link was now only feet from the stone doors. His body seemed to be operating free of his mind. He didn’t really know what he was doing, or why he thought it would work, but somehow he knew it would. Praying he was right, he lifted his left arm, fist clenched and held it up to the door, the golden emblem of the Triforce glowing on the back of his hand. He stood still for an excruciating moment, waiting to see if the door would open or not.

The same symbol of the Triforce that resided on his hand sat above the massive doors that led to the chamber where the Master Sword was laid to rest. As he watched the cold gray stone Triforce on the archway sprang to life, glowing as golden as the one on his hand.

“Link!” Impa called. He turned only for a moment. It seemed that every soldier in Hyrule had been called to the fray, for Impa was being overpowered. Half of her mind was occupied with keeping Link safe and baffling over what he was doing. She wanted to keep the soldiers at bay, but didn’t want to hurt anyone if it wasn’t necessary. Preoccupied, constrained and confined within the walls of the temple with no room to move, Impa was out of her element. Though she fended them off they were slowly pushing her back, closer and closer to where Link stood. All she wanted now was to get to Link and get out with as little fuss as possible.

Link had turned back to the door. With a great rumbling groan the stone door split in two, slowly sliding open. Not even waiting for it to open all the way Link dashed forward, squeezing his way through the opening.

Behind him Impa had given up as a sea of soldiers rushed at her like a great wave. From somewhere Link could hear Zelda’s father’s voice shouting, “Kill them! Kill them both!”

Ignoring it all, Link focused ahead of himself. There, across the room lay the great dais, and upon it, resting in the stone pedestal, was the Master Sword. His legs pumped ceaselessly, carrying him faster then he had ever run before. Impa had nearly caught him now, he could hear her footsteps just steps behind his own.

“KILL THEM!” the King’s voice cried out one more, an almost psychotic expression on his twisted, red face.  

Arrows where now whizzing through the air. Link felt a shutter and heard a small clink as an arrow bounced harmlessly off of the shield that covered his back. Seeing that Link was so possessed he would not turn even to defend himself, Impa turned upon their assailants. Pulling out her small, thin, silver knives she effortlessly knocked four more arrows from the air, causing them to fall harmlessly to the floor in splintered pieces.

Impa glanced towards Link. He was now flying cross the dais, his hand outstretched towards the Sword. The soldiers were closing in now. Arrows were flying at Impa now with ruthless fury and her blades were unceasing.

“Link!” she shrieked. “What are you doing?! Get out of here! Now! Go!”

Link lunged at the sword, his hands closing around its handle. With one mighty thrust he pulled the blade from the stone. Holding it above his head he turned toward Impa, his eyes looking upon her as though for the first time.

It was as though he had come out of some sort of trance. He was utterly shocked to see a throng of soldiers fighting their way toward him, and that Impa was the only thing shielding him from their wrath.

“Impa!” Link cried, holding the Master Sword menacingly now and rushing to her side.

“Get out, now!” Impa demanded.

“Not without you!” he replied, fending off the soldiers which were now quickly encircling them.

Impa looked at Link with mingled confusion, relief and fury. “Together!” she cried, raising her hand over her head. Her hand came down sharply.

“Now!” she shouted as the Deku nut hit the floor and exploded with a loud SNAP and a blinding flash.

Smoke filled the room and the stunned and blinded soldiers were momentarily incapacitated.

“Curse you, you useless fools!” the voice of the King rang out through the smoke. “Find them! KILL THEM! I WANT BOTH OF THEIR HEADS! KILL THEM!”

Fighting their way blindly through the smoke they searched for their prey, but to no avail, and when the smoke finally settled there was not a trace of either Impa or Link remaining in the Temple.



Link’s body hit the ground with an earthshaking THUD. He lay still for a moment on the soft grass of Hyrule Field, catching his breath and trying to clear his head. He felt completely dazed. As reality took over, though, so did pain. His head throbbed almost unbearably. He slowly sat up, putting a hand to the back of his head. He winced and pulled his hand away and quickly saw that he had blood on his fingers. He closed his eyes and groaned quietly, holding his head, trying to steady himself.

When he opened his eyes it was to see Impa standing above him, arms folded, looking down on his sternly.

Link stood now, sheathing the Master Sword, the urgency of his quest coming back to him all at once.

“Thank you, Impa,” he said rather sheepishly, trying to make his way past her, but she blocked his path.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Impa’s eyes were as cold as stone. “You are not running off without an explanation- not this time! Now, tell me, what are you doing? What is going on?”

Link considered for a moment, then tried once more to bypass her. He had no time for this.

“I will only ask you once more!” Impa roared, pulling out her blades and facing Link with frightening sincerity. “Where are you going? Tell me what has happened! What are you doing with that sword?!”

Link remained silent only for a moment. He owed her an explanation. “Marth kidnapped her,” he replied darkly.

“That much I gathered,” Impa replied coldly, “but how did you come to know this after you swore to me she had not been kidnapped? I need an explanation, now!”

Link had very little patience left, almost as little as Impa. Every second he wasted put Zelda in danger, and so he decided to simply spill it all out so he could be on his way.

“That night… I went to the roof and I saw Marth and Zelda. He was kissing her,” it made him ill to even say it- his blood started pumping and fury began to take over. Impa’s expression, however, softened slightly as she saw Link’s pain at this announcement. “Marth can travel through a kind of portal his sword creates. I’ve seen him do it before. He took her to Aritia. I thought it was by her choice,” Impa lowered her weapon.

“But, last night, Marth came to me. He told me that he had kidnapped her- held her by force. She did struggle… but he took her,” his voice trailed off as rage filled him and he found that words would not come. His fists were clenched and his face contorted in wrath. “He took her to get at me!” he shouted suddenly. “This is all my fault! I should never have left her! I let her down, and Marth- he swept in and took her!”

“Why?” Impa asked, her mind furiously working through the situation. “Why does he want her?”

Link’s eyes narrowed and he continued in little more than a growl. “He asked me to help him- to use the Triforce to lead his army to victory in war. I refused. I told him I couldn’t- and so he found another way.” Link had thought about it all night. He had wracked his brain, and though he had come up with a dozen reasons for Marth’s betrayal he had finally come to a conclusion he knew must be right. “He took Zelda because he wants her Triforce. He couldn’t have mine, and so he took her. He told me that if I do not deliver the Master Sword to him within two weeks he will kill her! So I took it- and I will fulfill my end of the bargain.”

Impa blanched, her stomach lurching. “Don’t you realize what you have done?” Impa asked quietly, but her voice rose with every word she spoke. “Rauru has told us time and time again that Hyrule is in flux! You can’t just take the Master Sword and give it to him! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” she shouted once more in horror. “You have to put that sword back, now!”

“I can’t do that!” Link cried, stepping back.

“Link, think about what you’re doing!”

“I am! I’m going to save her! It’s my fault she’s in this mess in the first place! I have to do this!”

“You cannot give him that sword!”

“He will not have the sword!” Link bellowed. “I will take it to Aritia, I will do as he says. He has to believe I have agreed to his terms, but I swear on my life that he will not have this sword. I’m doing this, Impa, and you cannot stop me!”

“Marth is not stupid, Link,” Impa replied, trying to remain calm. “He will expect a trap.”

“I will not lose to him,” Link went on. “I am going to Aritia, and I will return to Hyrule with both Zelda and the Master Sword. I will not let her die!”

“If he gets the sword-“ Impa broke off momentarily, frustration taking over. “The Master Sword is like the key in the lock that seals Ganondorf away from our world! By removing that sword you have further added to the instability of the entire situation! If you take it out of Hyrule and Marth gets his hands on it, there is no telling what may happen!”

“What are you talking about?” Link asked blankly.

“The sword is was keeps Ganondorf sealed away! With it gone the seal will be weakened considerably and-“

“What seal? Who’s Ganondorf?” Link’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Instantly Impa’s emotions went from blazing to silent horror.

“Who’s Ganondorf? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Link insisted.

“No,” Impa finally said in a low, horrified whisper. “Not now….” She took a step towards Link, her expression desperate.

“Link, you cannot forget now! The gate is closing….” Impa said. The entire situation was becoming alarming clear. History was being erased- being rewritten with this new timeline of events in which Ganondorf did not exist. Link could not remember pulling the Master Sword out of the pedestal once before. He could not remember Ganondorf’s reign of darkness, nor what he had done to vanquish him. Link was forgetting it all.

Link looked at Impa for a moment longer, waiting for a reply, but when none came he gave up. “I don’t have any time to waste,” he said finally. “I have to go save her.”

“Wait!” Impa stepped toward Link and quickly jerked his pack away from him, rummaging inside.

“Hey!” he cried, but Impa’s hand withdrew from the bag holding the brown covered book Zelda had written so long before. She thrust it in his face and he stopped instantly. Slowly his hands went to it. Opening it, his eyes roved over the pages, slowly at first, then almost frantically. When he reached one of the last pages his eye caught a particular sentence, written in Zelda’s careful handwriting that he knew so well.

‘And so it was that Link, the Hero of Time, defeated the Dark King Ganondorf, slaying him with the Master Sword, sending his body into the void between time and space, to be sealed in darkness for all eternity.’

All at once images of the battle flooded into his head. He had read this before. He had known this….

“Ganondorf…” he whispered, as though beckoning the memories to return. “Zelda….”

“You cannot allow your mind to grow dark,” Impa told him as understanding filled his eyes. “She is counting on you.”

Link seemed at a loss for words for a moment. “What just happened to me?” he finally asked, looking around as though he had just woken from a disturbing dream. “I’ve been fighting this for so long, but I was always able to stay in control. I didn’t even realize this was happening….”

“The gate is closing,” she said once more. “Soon the timeline which we once shaped will be gone, forever. We are running out of time. The rate of your degeneration has accelerated considerably. This new timeline is rapidly devouring the past- erasing it from existence and from your mind as well.”

“But- what can I do…“ Link replied desperately. “It seems so far away- as though I can’t really remember it at all! I only know what I’ve been told by you- by this book-“

“Hold onto what you have! Concentrate on your memories, however vague and thinning they may be. Fight this!”

“Zelda- is this happening- I mean, what will happen if she forgets?” Link struggled to even get the words out.

“I don’t have all the answers,” Impa replied grimly. “I am almost certain, though, that her memory is fading- faster than yours. It has been for a long time. If we don’t reach her soon…. She could be a danger to herself, and to others. If she doesn’t remember what happened or loses sight of the power she holds, and why she holds it, it could be disastrous.”

“I’m going,” Link said, his face as hard as stone, his eyes blazing with a mixture of fear and determination. He put the book back into his pack and started away.

Impa deliberated for a moment. Hyrule’s fate was teetering dangerously on the brink of disaster. Though she knew it was reckless, though she knew it was dangerous and even slightly selfish, she could not risk Zelda’s life. She would do anything to save her, just as Link would- even risk Hyrule. After all, without her, Impa thought, there would be no Hyrule at all.

“Wait,” she replied finally after Link’s retreating figure. “We will follow your plan.”

“I’m going alone,” Link replied more calmly now that Impa had acquiesced.

“No, you’re not. You go with us, or you do not go at all.”

“Us?” Link asked.

As though in answer to his question a burst of green light exploded on Impa’s left side. Saria’s tiny figure materialized as the light faded, her shining eyes wide with concern as she looked up into Impa’s face.

Immediately another burst of orange light sprang forth on Impa’s right side. “You called?” Nabooru asked Impa, then turned to wink at Link. Ruto appeared next in a flash of blue, rushing at Link and hugging him tightly. Darunia was last, a blaze of red lighting up the field momentarily. He too took Link into a bone-crushing hug.

“What’s wrong?” Saria asked Impa. “Why have you called us? Have you found her?”

“The Princess is in danger. She has been taken captive to Aritia, and we are going to save her.”

“I am going to save her,” Link corrected her.

“You cannot go alone,” Impa informed him in no uncertain terms.

Link could feel something inside him awakening- the voice that had haunted him for so long rumbling once more. “She is yours and *you* will get her back!”

“I do not need your help,” Link’s voice had suddenly grown cold. It was very unlike him to be this distant- to push his friends away with such disdain, and the Sages exchanged glances ranging from worry to bewilderment to annoyance.

“Link, don’t be stubborn! You need help, so what?” Nabooru said frankly. “Let us help you.”

“Yes, we’re your friends, Link,” Saria said quietly, reaching up and putting her hand on his arm. “We’ll get her back.”

Without warning Link jerked his arm away from her and rounded on her angrily. “She is mine!” he shouted, infuriated beyond reason. “I will get her back! I will save her! SHE IS MINE!”

Saria jumped away from him, terrified. Shaking, she backed away, trembling and on the verge of tears. Darunia came behind her and picked her up, putting her on his shoulder gently and comfortingly.

“Come now, Brother, there’s no need to get angry!” Darunia said in shock. Ruto’s brow was furrowed in confusion and Nabooru looked completely aghast.

No one’s astonishment matched Link’s however. His eyes were wide and bewildered and his face riddled in remorse. He looked upon Saria, horrified at what he had done. He was panting as though he had run a long distance, glancing around as though looking for answers outside of himself.

“I’m sorry, Saria,” he said finally, his voice calm and gentle, as it usually was. He took a step towards her and she recoiled slightly. He stopped immediately, crushed by her reaction. He took a step back, not knowing what to do with himself. Slowly his left hand began to rise, his eyes transfixed by the glowing image of the Triforce upon it.

Impa then stepped forward, her expression both concerned and angry. She reached out and put her hands on Link’s cheeks with a firm grip. She pulled him close to her, peering into his eyes intently.

“What have you done?” she asked him, her voice desperately frightened and horrified. “What have you done?!” she nearly shouted now, staring into his eyes deeply.

Link’s eyes were wide and frightened and he seemed to be trembling. “The Triforce of Courage has awakened,” he said quietly.

“No,” Impa whispered in disbelief. “You didn’t…”

“I will go to any lengths to find her,” Link continued almost sadly. “I will use any means necessary- even if I lose myself along the way.”

Impa now shook her head as though she didn’t want to believe what she had heard. Slowly her hands left Link’s face and she backed away.

“You cannot wield the Triforce,” Impa half commanded, half implored.

“It is too late,” Link replied.

“You gave into its call? You let it take you?!” Impa cried, shaking and furious. “You hold the Triforce to keep it safe- to see that no one can wield its power, and now you have gone and done the very thing you were supposed to be preventing!

“Do you have any idea the danger you have put her in? One wrong move and this entire situation will explode- destroying you and her and countless innocent people!”

“This is their fault!” Link replied darkly. “They did this!”

“No, Link, you did this,” Impa replied with scathing sincerity.

The five Sages and the Hero of Time stood for a moment. Ruto, Nabooru, Darunia and Saria were now gazing upon Link in fear struck awe, and Link seemed unable to meet their gaze. He stood silently, his head hung in shame, but only for a moment.

“I am going to save Zelda,” he announced quietly. “Now.”

“And we will go with you,” Nabooru replied without hesitation.

Link accepted defeat. It was easier than protesting and he was anxious to be on his way. “Thank you,” he said, and with a grateful nod he started on his way. “We should stop at Lon-Lon Ranch for horses… we have to reach Aritia within two weeks. We have no time to lose.”

The Sages nodded, and followed in Link’s wake. No one spoke. The gravity of the situation had hit them all, but none so poignantly as Impa. The Master Sword had been pulled from its resting place… and now the Triforce of Courage had awakened. She could scarcely believe it all….

There was no undoing what had already been done. Zelda’s fate was now in their hands, and for better or worse they had to push forward.