Chapter Ten: The Search For the Final Dragonballs
The rest of the day had gone by very quickly to Jet, the feeling of pain in his heart heavy, and his thoughts only on Zelda. He had been given permission to sleep in the upper class visiting chambers by the king after he showed him the Tetraforce. The bed in the room was quite comfortable, red pillows stuffed with cucco feathers and sheets of the same color. Jet enjoyed the luxury of the crimson bed, but it did not ease his heart in the least.
The walls were made of stone, but they were incredibly smooth, and it indeed took hundreds of years to construct a castle of this quality. Jet was amazed by everything in Hyrule, but thus far, the castle was what amazed him the most. He did wonder where Link was now, and was indeed quite worried, but he did not tell this to Zelda. He hadn’t spoken to Zelda since the meeting with King Harkinarian in the royal chambers, and he had no idea if she was angered or hurt or both.
Birds chirped through the open window in the room. They were a beautiful blue color, their beaks as red as the sheets which Jet laid on. It was raining very hard now, but no rain entered the open window. The sky was an odd blackish-grey tint, a color which Jet loved in the sky. Everything had gone so perfect the past few days, and he couldn’t believe he blew it. He got up slowly and walked out of the guest chamber to find Zelda. He hoped she wasn’t with the king, but he knew she probably would be after being away from home for so long.
He had no idea where to go, the castle still quite foreign to him. He tried to find someone to ask, but on this day, there were no maids or soldiers in the hallways. Candles lined the stone walls, softly illuminating the castle and granting it a feeling of warmth and comfort. The sound of rain on the castle’s massive roof was heavy, and the overall silence of everything else scared to Jet to a certain degree.
He turned a corner and before him was another long stone hallway, but the sides were lined with doors of a beautiful wood with golden knobs. He knocked on several, each time finding only servants and guests, and not Zelda. He walked on slowly, slightly lost from all of the hallways he had passed, and eventually made his way to the royal chamber to look for Zelda.
The large metal double doors were closed tightly and locked, a number of people talking from the inside. Jet listened intently to the words being spoken, but could only hear few. He pressed his ear closer to the metal door.
“Sir…there have been many signs of destruction near the entrance to the Gerudo valley. Burnt grass, large smoking holes, raging fires, the army can barely keep up with the path of destruction left behind,” a soldier stated.
“Why was I not informed of this earlier?” the king asked.
“You didn’t ask for a report on the land your highness,” the soldier answered.
“That is not something to be included in a land report! That was an attack! You must inform me of attacks made on Hyrule! So…it was near the Gerudo’s land?” the king asked, angered.
“Y-y-yes sir…that’s the closest the fires were,” the soldier answered.
“Do you think that attack was aimed at us?” the king asked.
“I find it nearly impossible considering the distance it was from the castle, your highness,” the soldier answered.
“They could have missed,” the king said thoughtfully.
“Yes…there’s a small chance of that I suppose…but I doubt it,” the soldier said, still frightened at the king’s anger.
“Fine then, what do you believe made the attack and for what reason?” the king asked impatiently.
“Have you considered it may have been an attack made by Mandrag?” the soldier asked.
“Hmm maybe…but why would Ganon attack an area so close to his birthplace?” the king asked.
“I do not know the answer to such a question. Maybe the Hero of Time was there, who knows…” the soldier answered.
“Speaking of Link, has he been seen at all?” the king asked.
“No sir…he may have been somewhere near the fires, but our soldiers didn’t dare get close to them in fear of injury…we’ll sweep the area for corpses after the flames subside,” the soldier said. This was enough for Jet. He backed away from the metal doors, not caring for the rest of the meeting. He knew much more about Link’s possible whereabouts now, but more questions arose then answers.
“You dirty spy!!! So that was your reasoning for befriending the princess! You met her, used your words of deceit to seem as though you were an ally, gained the Tetraforce with the help of those who trusted you, and now you enter our castle, the very center of Hyrule’s life, and spy on the king’s meeting, hoping to find out what he knows. And all for the wealth and power of your master Mandrag Ganon!” a cold voice yelled out loudly, his stern tone echoing through the empty hallway. Jet turned slowly, extremely angered, to see who it was that just made the speech full of lies. In front of him stood Jonphor, his spear pointed mere inches away from Jet’s chest.
“That’s a load of sh,” Jet was cut off.
“Hold your tongue, or I shall you where you stand, traitor!” Jonphor yelled, enraged.
“I am not a spy! I hate Ganon just as much as you do! How can you accuse me of this?!” Jet asked, angered beyond belief.
“All of the evidence points to it! Your style of clothing, your ability to travel between planets, it all points to your true identity, a servant of the King of Evil!” Jonphor yelled.
“It’s a…never mind,” Jet said, knowing that the truth would only make the story seem more far fetched.
“Accepting the fact that you were caught finally? A smart choice from a stupid man. But do not fear that your master will slay you for being captured. Rest assured, we will assassinate you in the most painful of manners ourselves. One as foul as you does not deserve the Tetraforce, and trust me, we do have methods of removing it from your body,” Jonphor said.
“I’m not a servant of Ganon!” Jet yelled again.
“And I can believe you how?” Jonphor asked. Jet was silent. “My point has been made….do not defy the Hylian army…we will not allow the evil of Ganon to corrupt us anymore… guards! Take this one to the dungeon…we will question him later…as soon as the king is made aware of his treachery,” Jonphor ordered.
“Cast away your allies! be like this! See if I care! Ganon will end up coming and slaying you all, all because the ones who can stop him or rotting in a dungeon of the ones they are trying to protect!” Jet yelled as two very strong blue armored soldiers carried him away.
“The king must be informed of this at once…a traitor…with the strongest piece of the Triforce….” Jonphor said to himself.
Goku had been searching for hours, a heavy pain in his heart. There was barely any time left to save Hyrule, and by midnight, the entire land would be destroyed, it’s every citizen dead. Goku had found one more Dragonball near the land of the Zoras, but it was hard to gain. The king Zora claimed it to be a sacred gem, and so it was placed in the crown of their deity, Lord Jabu-Jabu. After hours of reasoning and hundreds of offerings of fish to the Lord Jabu-Jabu, he finally claimed the Dragonball for his own. There were now but two left, and he had a pretty good idea of where to find one, the one he would claim last.
He had not run into Freiza since their confrontation in Hyrule field, and it made his job much easier. He knew very little of the geography of the land without Link, after searching for many hours by air, he stopped in one last place. The stone staircase leading to Kakariko village. He traveled up it quickly, and entered the village. Upon arrival he received many strange looks, no one knowing quite what to say to him.
“Umm… hi! Heh heh…has anyone here seen a strange looking orange ball about the size of my fist?” Goku asked, not to anyone in general.
“Ask Dampe’… any treasure in this town he steals and claims he dug it up,” one of the older villagers in a blue robe with a long white beard said.
“Umm, cool, thanks,” Goku said.
“Yes…anytime,” the villager said.
“Yeah… where’s Dampe’?” Goku asked.
“In the graveyard,” the villager answered.
“Oh….where’s the graveyard?” Goku asked, slightly embarrassed.
“Ugh…past the well, to the right of the windmill, the grassy path in between those two stone walls, do you see it?” the villager asked.
“Oh…yeah. Thanks again!” Goku said, running toward the graveyard. He went into the path and saw the graveyard, about twenty stone graves lining the fenced in walls, a cobblestone path to walk on. At the head of the graveyard there were two graves next to each other, a Triforce symbol engraved in a small pile of soil in between them, and a large hole in front of the graves. Goku walked past the wooden entrance to the graveyard, and knocked cautiously on the Grave keeper’s hut.
“It’s still daytime…the Heart Pounding Grave Digging Tour is over…come back at night…maybe you can find a ghost in the day?” Dampe’ said groggily. It was his standard speech to people who woke him up in the daytime.
“I’m not looking for a ghost, Dampe’,” Goku said in a stern voice.
“What do ya want then?” Dampe’ asked, agitated.
“I want a treasure from you,” Goku said.
“What treasure? I don’t commonly give up things that I found myself, with my own hands…and if I do give it up, I don’t want to, so I consider it stealing,” Dampe’ said.
“It didn’t belong to you in the first place….I call that possession of stolen property thank you very much,” Goku said.
“Urgh….” Dampe’ muttered. He opened the door, and Goku was slightly surprised by his appearance. He hunched very low, and was bald. His face and skin were very pale, and his eyes were small and black. He wore brown suspenders and a shirt of the same color, many patched up holes all over his clothing.
“Give me that Dragonball,” Goku ordered.
“The Dragie whatie?” Dampe’ asked, confused.
“The orange pearl with six stars on it,” Goku said.
“AAh…w-w-what orange pearl?” Dampe said, his pale face turning bright red. His short arm reached for the door.
“Close that….and I’ll break it down. I don’t have time for this…give it to me,” Goku said again, holding his palm out.
“Fine…j-just…don’t touch the graves!” Dampe’ ordered, handing Goku the Dragonballs and slamming the old door shut with haste. Goku smiled to himself and walked quickly out of the graveyard, eager to enter the area in which he knew the last Dragonball dwelled.
It was nearing six o’ clock. The sun had gone down nearly a half an hour ago, and Jet had not come. Zelda had waited for an hour, remembering Jet’s promise to meet her and search for Link. He had not come. She wondered why he had not met her, and he was sure he had his reasons, but she couldn’t be sure.
She mounted her white haired steed, Moonlight, and quickly galloped off to search for Link. She rode around all of Hyrule field with no idea to look, then came to the last place she could think of. She stopped near the entrance to Gerudo valley, where a small fire raged in the field. She got off of Moonlight and walked around the field for near to ten minutes, finding nothing. It was then that she heard a call. She traveled instantly in the direction of where the sound came from, and found Link, Master sword in hand, laying on the grassy ground, stained red from his blood.
“Link! What happened! No!” Zelda asked, terrified.
“Ugh…..ungh…..was…..not….” Link struggled to talk.
“Was not what?” Zelda asked.
“Not….Guh…Guh…ungh…Ganon….” Link managed between heavy breaths.
“Then who?” Zelda asked, frightened.
“Ugh… him…. the….ch-ch-ch-changeling…. Fur…Fur…hmm….Freiza,” Link said slowly.
“Freiza?” Zelda asked curiously. Link then went unconscious. Zelda picked up his limp body and placed it on back of Moonlight, then mounted the horse herself and traveled to Jet’s house as quickly as she could.
A gloved and armored fist flew through the darkness of the dungeon and hit Jet square in the jaw. Blood flew out of his mouth and hit the cold stone floor. It was nearly the sixtieth time he had punched in the last hour, but it may have been more, as he lost count. He was tied to metal chair with strong ropes. His ankles were cuffed to the legs of the chair, and the chair was bolted tightly to the back wall of the barred chamber where he sat.
“Now…I’ll try this again….What does Ganon want to know?” the soldier asked.
“I… don’t…….know,” Jet said again. The armored fist flew into his bleeding face again.
“Maybe I’m just asking the wrong question….or maybe Ganon’s little lackey isn’t smart enough to comprehend what I’m saying!” the soldier yelled loudly. Jet spat blood in the soldier’s face from the statement. “Oh…that’s how it is, eh?” the soldier asked, punching Jet hard in the chest. “Now…why did you deceive the princess?” the soldier asked, crossing his arms.
“I…….didn’t,” Jet said slowly. The soldier angrily punched him in the face again.
“Your choice to lie to us is not serving either of us, is it?” the soldier asked, a grim smile on his face as he watched Jet bleed.
“I… am….not….lying!” Jet yelled slowly. The soldier turned around and sighed. He stood there for a moment, completely still, then he spun around quickly, kicking Jet hard in the face with his metal boot. He walked out of the chamber, locking it behind him.
“It’s no use sir, he’s not speaking,” the soldier said outside of the cell.
“Mhmm,” another soldier answered. Jet could hear the small response well enough to tell if it was anyone he had met.
“You try it,” the soldier said, walking away. The cell opened slowly, and in walked Jonphor.
“Why are you not cooperating with us? It would be so much better for you….don’t you think?” Jonphor asked slowly.
“I think…..that you are a jackass,” Jet said slowly.
“I have ways of making you cooperate,” Jonphor said, a smile upon his face.
Zelda had taken Link to Jet’s house with haste, laying him on the couch and bandaging his wounds. His bleeding had stopped but he was incredibly weak. Zelda was terrified of Freiza, despite not knowing who or what it was. She had gone into her room and sobbed for near to an hour. Jet had abandoned her and Link was nearly dead at the hands of a creature who had just appeared less than a week ago.
She wondered where Jet was, if he was wandering around Hyrule, or if he had met a terrible fate at the hands of this Freiza. She slowly walked down the old stairs of Jet’s house to check up on Link. Looking at the couch, she was completely shocked. Link was gone, and so was his sword.
“Aah!!! Why!!! W-w-why are you doing this to me!!!!?” Jet asked, enraged and in complete pain. Jonphor had been torturing him for the last hour, demanding answers to things Jet didn’t know about. Jonphor had begun the painful method of shoving hot splinters underneath Jet’s fingernails, and several minutes ago he had begun to carve strange symbols into Jet’s arm and hand.
“Because of your disobedience and betrayal!” Jonphor yelled.
“Aah!!! I didn’t betray… a person!!!!” Jet yelled.
“Even now you continue to protect your master!” Jonphor yelled.
“I don’t serve h-h-him!!” Jet yelled.
“Shut up!!! hold your tongue! Do not speak! Not a word! Your fell voice has infected the kingdom of Hyrule! And if I do not get answers soon, then your body will leave this dungeon without life in it!!!” Jonphor yelled, backhanding Jet. Jet fell silent again.
It was hundreds of feet beneath the earth. Near the center of Hyrule, in the middle of the field. Goku knew an incredibly small amount of information about the land of Hyrule, but he knew this location very well. It was the Dragon temple, and he knew it was where the last Dragonball, and the destruction of Freiza dwelled. the courtyard was full of black soil and littered with corpses, some clinging to sinewy flesh, other reduced to rotting skulls. The reason there were so many corpses there was stunningly apparent. A large guillotine was in the middle of the dead temple entrance, moving up and down ceaselessly.
“Don’t you dare go in there without me!” a voice yelled out from behind Goku. He turned slowly to see who had followed him. he was stunned beyond belief to see Link standing tall, Master sword in his left hand, the last Dragonball gleaming in the other.
“How are you alive? How did you get here? Where did you find that?” Goku asked, amazed.
“Zelda rescued me, and I had a feeling you would come here. I found the Dragonball in the moat of the castle, and here we both are. Now I have a question…. What’s here?” Link asked.
“At the center of this temple there is a room with a stone altar and seven places where the Dragonballs are to be placed. That will summon the dragon, and then we can make the wish,” Goku said.
“Sounds easy enough,” Link said.
“Yeah…except…” Goku began.
“Except what?” Link asked.
“It’s ten thirty….we have an hour and a half to find that place, beat Freiza, and make our wish,” Goku said.
“Yeah…so? Remember? We gotta have faith in ourselves! So let’s go!” Link yelled, taking the lead. They both made it past the guillotine and then ran quickly through the black winding corridors. They went around for what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality only about forty minutes. They at last reached the center of the temple, and found the altar.
“Step away from that altar, saiya-jin,” Freiza’s dark voice called out from above.
“Freiza?! You’ve been waiting here?!” Goku asked.
“Don’t act so surprised, monkey. I knew my hopes of stealing or finding the Dragonballs were gone, so I decided to wait here then murder you,” Freiza said.
“ugh….Freiza! let’s end this! Now!” Goku yelled, charging to a super saiya-jin and flying into the air to meet Freiza in combat. It was the most intense fight Link had seen thus far, and both fighters were putting everything they had into it, desperate to win. Energy and electricity flew through the air, and again Link could do nothing but watch and wait for a victor, hoping it was Goku. Blast after blast was shot, and both were getting hit many times more than they did the last time they clashed. Link figured it was because they were both nervous. One’s attitude often affected their performance in combat. They were both bruised and bleeding after only five minutes of the fight, and though both of them looked defeated neither would give up.
“Willing to cooperate with us?” Jonphor asked, stroking the knife in his hands.
“……No,” Jet answered.
“Oh…..I’m not letting you go….so I will instead strip you of your power in the only way I know how….I shall cut the Tetraforce from your foul hand,” Jonphor said, approaching Jet with the knife extended.
“That won’t work… its energy…not a physical thing….it’s a Aah!!!!” Jet yelled as Jonphor dug the dagger into his hand.
“Shut your mouth….you claimed to be hunting for Link’s whereabouts….you could have just asked someone!” Jonphor yelled.
“No one….was….hmmmm,” Jet gave up arguing with him. he was much too weak, and beginning to hope for death. He lay his head back, wondering where he had gone wrong, and how his life had come down to this.
Neither warrior had come back, and Zelda could do nothing but sit alone in the house and pray for their safe return. Freiza sounded incredibly strong, and if he could nearly kill Link, he knew that Jet stood an even smaller chance. She opened the front door slowly and sat on the sidewalk, sobbing softly. She hadn’t been raised like this. She was always raised to be strong, to not show emotion, to not have emotion. But she couldn’t help it.
She was alone. She was helpless. She stood no chance against the power that this changeling commanded. And she knew if Link and Jet were dead, the moment she set foot in Hyrule, Ganon would kill her. No one was on the street tonight, and the entire town seemed dead. She was glad in a way, for she hated people seeing her vulnerable, but in another way she wanted nothing more than to be with someone.
She was powerful, it was true. But without her friends, the ones she held closest in her life, she was weaker than a baby. She hoped that someone would come soon. She continued to wait.
Goku dived under Freiza, grabbing his ankle with one hand and his arm with the other. He spun Freiza around several times then slammed the changeling down upon his knee, cracking his back with a loud snap. Goku let go of Freiza and he plummeted into the temple ground. He got up slowly then flew to Goku again attacking him with greater speed than ever before.
Link continued to watch the battle, hoping that it would end before midnight. Energy blasts were shot faster and faster, punches were launched with increasing speed and force, and neither one gave up. They continued to battle quicker and quicker, their movements now a blur to Link, and his hope disappearing with every minute that passed. Then with a sudden speed that neither Link or Freiza expected, the tide of the battle changed.
Goku appeared behind Freiza with incredible speed, and plunged his hand into the changeling back. He charged his fist with electrical Ki energy, and Freiza screamed in pain. The changeling fell to the floor, motionless after several seconds of being electrocuted from the inside. Link stood up slowly, then kicked Freiza’s body. To his relief, it didn’t get back up.
Goku then landed on the ground beside Link and powered down. It had been a short battle, but it was very difficult. Freiza’s dead body now bled everywhere on the black ground, and the sound of rumbling was strong. It had started. The end of Hyrule was beginning.
“We have less then an hour! Let’s do this, and do it quick!” Goku yelled.
“Right!” Link agreed, carefully placing each Dragonball on the altar. After several moments, the altar began to shine with an alien-like green light, and the room was filled with an odd smoke. When at last it cleared, there floating before the two fighters was a large muscle bound dragon.
“Ye who have summoned me from my rest, what is it that you want?” the dragon asked.
“I came here to wish for the end of Freiza once and for all and the safe being of Hyrule from his planet destroyer attack,” Goku said.
“You can have one, not both, make your choice,” the dragon said.
“Fine…I wish to save Hyrule,” Goku said, sighing.
“Your wish will be granted…..on one condition,” the dragon said.
“What is that?” Goku asked.
“That you and your friend pay for awakening me!!! Or if you defeat me I will gladly grant the wish also, but the chances of you two dying are much greater than the chances of me being overthrown!” the dragon said.
Jet was very near to death, and he welcomed it at this point. Life wasn’t a concern to him anymore, because in truth, everything he had to live for was gone. Link, Zelda, his parents, all gone. He now hoped they would kill him. he sat still strapped to the same chair, bleeding everywhere.
“Ugh…what….a-a-are these c-carvings in m-m-m-m-my arms and chest for?” Jet asked, not even really caring anymore.
“So that if you do manage to get out of here alive everyone will know that you are a traitor to Hyrule. You shall be cast among the wolves and eat from the garbage as you were meant to. You will be shown no mercy anywhere, and will know no peace,” Jonphor answered.
“Kill me,” Jet said calmly.
“Excuse me?” Jonphor asked.
“Kill me….please,” Jet asked.
“Maybe there is a reason to keep you alive…tell me what I want to know, and I will kill you…is that a deal?” Jonphor asked. Jet was silent.
“Jonphor…that is enough for today, you may report to your sleeping quarters and continue this tomorrow,” the king said, appearing from behind him.
“Yes your highness,” Jonphor said, leaving the cell at once.
“Jet…I can’t believe you…how could you do this to our kingdom? I trusted you, just as my daughter did,” the king said, shaking his head slowly, then walking away. The candles were put out, and Jet was left alone, bleeding in the darkness.
Link ran forward and slashed at the Dragon, the blade bouncing harmlessly off of his tough armor-like skin. He laughed and punched Link, who flew into the nearby wall from the force of his fist. Goku appeared from behind him and tried to use hand to hand moves, but the dragon whipped him with his large tail before he had a chance to attack.
Link got on the creatures back and began to slash at it, but it did no damage at all. Goku tried the attacking it again, this time with Ki blasts, and ended up with results similar to Link’s: nothing. Goku was now angered, and charged to a super saiya-jin.
“Kame Hame Ha!!!” Goku yelled, shooting the attack at the dragon with full force. It stunned him and he backed away for several seconds, giving Link enough time to blast him with the Triforce of Courage. He immediately followed the attack followed with a powerful slash to the dragon’s tail, and in that instant, a loud scream was heard by all in Hyrule, and the strange smoke filled the temple chamber once more. When at last it cleared, the dragon was gone.
Link and Goku made their escape from the temple, and midnight came and passed. Hyrule was not destroyed. The moon was high in the sky, the rain clouds now cleared from it. Everything felt safe and normal in Hyrule once more, and Freiza was dead.
“Well…. It looks like we won,” Goku said, a large smile on his face.
“Are you going to come back to Jet’s house with me? You are a part of the team now right?” Link asked hopefully.
“I am a member now, of course. I’ll always be there to help, but…no…my friends and family need me more at the moment….we will meet again someday…relatively soon too…but for now….bye,” Goku said, turning and flying into the clear sky. Link looked up until the saiya-jin was gone from his sight, then he traveled back to Earth.
It was near two o’ clock when Link arrived at Jet’s house again. He opened the door slowly and walked into the dark house. He quickly switched a light on and found Zelda sleeping on the dinning room table, her head in her arms.
“Hey! Zelda! wake up!” Link yelled.
“Uhh…hmm…..Oh….Link! you’re back! Where were you?” Zelda asked, excited.
“I was out helping Goku… it’s a long story… I’ll tell you tomorrow, but Freiza is dead,” Link said proudly.
“Good! Did you go to the castle?” Zelda asked.
“No…should I have?” Link asked.
“No, just wondering actually,” Zelda said.
“Is Jet still awake?” Link asked.
“You mean….you didn’t meet up with him either?” Zelda asked.
“You mean he’s not here?” Link asked.
“No…he never came back…he was supposed to meet me to go look for you earlier….but he never came…he hates me…I know it….that must be it,” Zelda said.
“That wouldn’t be a reason for him to abandon his own house,” Link said.
“I guess not,” Zelda said thoughtfully.
“Hmmm this isn’t good…. You don’t think Ganon has him do you?” Link asked.
“I really hope not,” Zelda said.
“Okay…looks like the night’s just started for us….get dressed up and ready your weapons…we’re gonna find him,” Link said. Zelda was now worried beyond belief. What if Ganon had captured Jet? What if Freiza had killed Jet? What if he did abandon his house? None of it made sense, and she couldn’t think clearly enough to even try to put anything together. She just followed Link like a machine, no emotion or flow in her movements or words. She was too frightened to show emotion. She wanted to see Jet again more than anything. And she was convinced she would. She just hoped he would still be alive when she found him.