It was finally time to climb the tower, to defeat the Evil King, to save the Princess. With each step he took up the stairs, his anticipation grew. This is what he had been working and fighting towards the whole time, it was all leading up to this moment.
A Dinolfos stood in his path, brandishing its sword and clenching its scaly jaw. It shot a jet of flame from its mouth and the Hero nimbly dodged, firing an ice arrow in return. The Dinolfos was frozen solid, never to move again.
The Hero's skills had been uncontested up to this point; he had no equal in terms of swordsmanship and skill. He could not lose.
He reached yet another room at the top of the stairs, his way barred by a pair of Stalfos. The egregious skeleton pair lunged forward with coordination the hero had not seen Stalfos posses. But it mattered little. The Hero stabbed one Stalfos through its skull and whirled around to slice the second one in half. They disintegrated in a burst of magical fire, leaving nothing behind.
Another set of stairs. He was starting to get nervous; the whole kingdom was relying on him to win this fight.
Fire Keese swooped down from the ceiling in an attempt to light the Hero ablaze and send him to a fiery grave. The Hero quickly disposed of them with his bow and arrows.
Upon reaching the next floor, he found an Iron Knuckle standing as still as a statue in the middle of the room. He would make quick work of this abomination and move on. As he approached the towering figure, it sprung to life and swung its massive axe with strength and speed that no normal human could possibly posses. The axe missed by the Hero by mere inches, he stumbled away, thrown off by the sudden attack, but soon regained his balance. He swiftly dashed up to the Iron Knuckle. It swung its mighty axe once more, smashing it into the floor. The Hero was undeterred however, and brought his sword up to hack and slash his way to victory. Before it could recover from its previous attack, the Knuckle fell to its knees, dissolving in a burst of the same magical fire that had claimed the Stalfos.
The Hero was now upon the final set of stairs, there was only one more door between him and the Evil King. He now noticed that there was an organ being played, its pipes singing a song that felt of frustration, of anger, but also of sadness, of sorrow, and of longing. What was it longing for? The Hero wondered.
He reached the last step and stood before the door at last. But even as he stood there, he hesitated. How could he, a mortal man, contend with one as powerful as the King of Evil? No. He shook those thoughts from his head. He held the blade of evil's bane, but more importantly, he held the power of courage. He would not be swayed by the thoughts of a coward. The door opened at his touch and he quickly found himself in a room matching the rest of the tower. There was a lush, velvet carpet furnishing the floor. Stained glass windows adorned the wall. And at the back laid a grand pipe organ, at its keys was the King himself, with his hair like fire. Above the organ rested a pink crystal containing the Princess, her face filled with fright, and yet also with hope.
The King ceased his playing and stood to greet his guest. The King was an intimidating figure to be sure, standing at least a head above the Hero. The King's eyes glistened with malice and ill intentions. The Hero began to tremble ever so slightly, but never let the determination slip from his face, his fairy guide reassured him and gave him words of comfort, causing the Hero's trembling to lessen.
The King sent a wave of dark power towards the Hero, his fairy informing him that she could do nothing against, and that he was now on his own. The Hero began trembling again.
The Hero tried stepping forward, but the dark power denied him this movement. The King rose into the air, laughing at the Hero for his arrogance, for thinking he could defeat one such as him.
The King tossed a ball of electricity at the Hero, the Hero hit it back with his blade, but at the cost of a small zap. The King volleyed it back, and this time the Hero was too slow. A horrible blood curdling scream filled the air, causing the King to laugh mightily once again.
The Hero propped himself up on his sword, trying to regain his standing position.
The King was right to laugh at me, who am I to think that I can defeat someone who has been bestowed with the power of a god? In the face of power, courage and wisdom mean very little. But no! I must not give up hope yet, the Princess is counting on me, the Kingdom-nay, the world is counting on me! I can't let them down.
The Hero stood once more and the King saw renewed determination in his eyes. The King was angered that this boy's spirit had not been broken yet. He raised his hands, creating what seemed to be a cloud of evil power. It grew and grew in size until finally, the King released it. The cloud split and went in many directions, catching the Hero off guard, he managed to cut through a few of them, but there were too many, they smashed into him, causing him to give out another scream.
The King taunted him, insulted him, and degraded him. The Hero was once again struggling to stand, where had he gone wrong? Why was he not strong enough? If he couldn't kill the King, the world would be lost. The Hero knew his limits, and he could tell he only had one more chance.
The King sent another ball of lighting his way, he blocked it, The King sent it back, the Hero volleyed it, The King deflected it, the Hero sliced it back, and this time the King did not hit it in time. It struck the King and he began to writhe in the air.
This was the Hero's chance, he shot one of the sacred light arrows at the Evil King, and he began to writhe furiously as he floated to the ground, unable to even sustain his magic. The Hero jumped to the King, sword in hand. He raised his sword, and brought it down upon the King, but before it could reach the King's neck, it was stopped. The King had drawn his own sword, stopping the Hero's in its tracks. The hero tried to take in what had happened, but as he took that precious moment to survey the situation in which he found himself, The King thrust his hand into the Hero's chest. The Hero's eyes widened, the Princess screamed, and the King merely smirked.
"You did not really think you could defeat me, did you?" The King said.
The Hero slid off of the King's arm and onto the floor. The King looked down on him with a mix of amusement and pity.
"I hope you realize that it was not I that killed you, but your very own Princess. She involved you in this whole affair, thus making your life forfeit. I was but the weapon of your demise." The King laughed cruelly as the Hero's eyes glazed over. The King checked the back of his hand to find that not one but two golden triangles glowed upon it.
The Princess wept in her crystal prison, wishing that this was nothing but a nightmare. The King stalked over to her prison slowly and deliberately. The crystal floated to the floor and then vanished all together. The Princess was thrown to the ground where she continued to weep. The King grabbed her by her throat and lifted her into the air slowly and she began to struggle against his iron grip. He smiled at her vain attempts to break free of him. She tried using magic to wound him, but it was no use, now that the Hero was dead, none could stand against him.
He squeezed her neck tighter and tighter, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her arms fell limp at her sides. His hand now glowed with the completed Triforce. With such power, he was a deity, no one could slay him for he was a god, and he now stood upon the same footing as the golden goddesses and even Hylia!
His work was complete for now. He had earned a quick respite from his labors, after all, he no longer had any reason to rush himself anymore. All was well.
He sat at the organ once more, playing the same tune he had been playing when the Hero arrived. The King had always been appreciative of the organ; it held such a powerful sound within such a majestic figure. It reminded the King of himself in a way.
He began pressing the keys of the organ with more force, forcing the organ to emit a louder and more intimidating sound. He smiled. In a small way, he hoped the inhabitants of the kingdom could hear his song, he hoped that they would be able to enjoy the beauty of it.
As he played, he began to think. What would he do with the people? There was no point to enslaving them; he could now do anything with a snap of his fingers. There was no point in killing them either, then he would be the King of an empty land. Perhaps he would simply let them go about their business, after all, He was truly the King of this land now, and as such he could let his people live in a land less treacherous then their own. He…he could make this a land without prejudice, a land without hate and war, a land where all could live in peace without worry or fear. No one would ever feel what his people had felt when they were cruelly cast from the heaven that was this land into the hell that was the great desert. He would be a better king than Daphnes had ever been.
The King stopped his playing and turned to look at the bodies of the Hero and the Princess he had murdered in cold blood. He felt a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time: Remorse. But…some sacrifices had to be made in order to achieve true peace. He laid their bodies side by side and closed their eyes. He would ensure that they received a proper burial as soon as possible.
He went back to his organ and continued playing his song, except this time, it held no anger, no frustration, only sadness and remorse. A single tear slid down the King's face. He quickly wiped it away; such a thing was unbecoming of a king as great as Ganondorf Dragmire.
A/N: I'm quite proud of this story. I was listening to Ganondorf's Theme on the organ and my creative juices started flowing. It started out as one thing, and ended up as something else, but I still love it just the same. I've also thought about somehow adapting this into a full story, but I don't really know, I'll most likely leave it as a one shot.
Edit: Also, for those of you wondering what caused such a change of heart, I thought it would be cool if having the other two pieces of the Triforce cured his power madness. After all, the Triforce holds the power of a god, and gods should be perfect, right?
But anyway, Thanks for Reading!
(P.S. Please review! )