Phantoms and Friends: The Forest Phantom
Link sat down against a wall allowing him time to catch his breath.
Sitting up straight and clearing his mind, Link inhaled deeply though
his nose before exhaling through his mouth. 'In with the good out
with the bad' as Saria had always said. Link opened his eyes at the
thought of his Childhood friend and probable Sage of Forest.
'She
was right' thought Link smiling slightly 'the sacred meadow was
an important place for us in the future … present'
"What are you grinning like an idiot for?" asked Navi
"Just thinking of my childhood with Saria" answered Link. "She was always right, I never worked out quite how but she was always right"
Navi simply shrugged her tiny shoulders. "She's a woman Link. Albeit a small one, not that I can say much about height, but women are always right and you know it. Besides" she said flying over to the door with the golden lock on. "Don't you think we have more worrying things to think about at the moment?"
"This is true" Link conceded. "All the time I've been in this temple I've been wondering what sort of creature it's going to be and I cant' quite work it out."
"You mean you were able to tell when you were a child?"
"not exactly but I had a vague idea. Do you remember in the Deku Tree, those Little Gohma's? That gave me an idea. In the Dodongo's Cavern I was pretty certain and inside Jabu-Jabu even I could tell what it was going to be by the number of those squidy, jelly, fishy things we fought. But here? What have we fought? Plants, Ghosts and Skulls."
"Hmm I suppose there is some logic to what you say. There is of course one way to find out" she said indicating the door.
"10 rupees says it's a ghost" smiled Link
"Oh you are on" retorted Navi. "It's the Forest temple Link. It'll be some sort of forest creature. You are going down my blonde stupid friend"
Link groaned and rolled his eyes before clambering to his feet and stretching his arms and legs. It would do him no good to be in a stiff condition when ever he fought whatever was behind door number evil.
Walking towards the door Link slipped a hand into his tunic to get the large golden and obviously named 'Boss Key'
'I wonder where they got the name from' he thought to himself as he inserted it into the large door and twisted. 'I wonder if this is called the 'Boss Door' he smirked at his own joke before drawing his sword and shield off his back and proceeding up the stairs. He found himself in a room completely circular with pictures on the wall.
"Navi, Pictures just like the ones the Poe sisters were in. Looks like somebody just got richer"
"Shut up you blonde weasel."
Link just laughed as he continued to walk the room looking for any signs of his opponent. As soon as Link reached the place where he had entered, 3 large metal spikes shot up from the ground blocking his exit as a laugh resounded from behind him. Link flashed a grin at Navi before turning round with a look of boredom on his face before seeing what was in front of him. For there complete with Horse, armour and staff was Ganondorf. Link's face changed from a look of shock to one of pure anger.
"You here already? Thought I would have some form of minion do deal with first. But if you are so eager, then by all means let's have this out here and now."
Ganondorf just looked at Link with his pale eyes staring deep at him as if waiting for an instruction.
"Link, I don't think that's the real Ganondorf. I think it's a phantom copy"
"Is that even possible?"
"Triforce" She reminded him "He can do just about anything"
Link nodded thoughtfully as he turned to the creature in front of him.
"So your not Ganondorf then?" he asked as he began circling around the creature. The phantom just stared at him before returning his gaze upwards and laughing the hollow haunting laugh of its creator. Phantom Ganondorf slowly raised his hand up to his face and pulled off the Ganondorf mask that he wore to make himself seem identical to his creator before chuckling evilly and twirling his long trident making the centre tip glow with Golden energy.
The Ganondorf look alike suddenly floated into the air complete with horse and pointed the tip of his staff down over sending a large energy blast to the ground causing a shockwave of energy to shoot down the lines etched on the floor. Acting on sheer impulse Link leapt to the air before landing in a crouched position with his shield held in front of him. Looking over the top of the metal barrier Link saw the ghost fly off towards one of the pictures before disappearing into it.
"Interesting trick. What next"
"Link, watch the pictures he'll probably emerge from one of them and attack. Try and stop him firing the blast"
"Gotcha" Link said looking around at the pictures with his sword drawn. "Erm Navi. What do I do if there's two of him/it? Cos there kinda is" he said indicating the two Phantoms charging towards him with malicious grins on there featureless faces.
"The one on the left hand side!! Do you see how it's charging towards the middle of the portrait? That must be the real one"
Link grinned and twirled the Master Sword preparing himself for a jump slash just as the beast began to emerge from the portal. Purple energy began to swirl around the portrait and the ghostly form of Phantom Ganon and his horse began to emerge bathed in a Pure White light. Link Leapt into the air swinging the sword in a vertical ark, the sword bit deep into the horses flank causing it to rear up in pain and disappear back into the portrait.
"The joys of swords" Link laughed as he straightened up from his strike.
"I wouldn't get over confident, this guy isn't like King Dodongo, I don't know if the same trick will work twice"
"Then we'll do something different instead" he smirked drawing his bow.
"Why do you think the Bow will work?" questioned Navi
"In every temple we've been in I've found an item." Link said looking from picture to picture. "And every item I've found, I've had to use in the boss fight. Therefore I should have to use the bow in this fight to knock him off his high horse. Literally in this case, he is way too arrogant."
"That has to be one of your worst jokes to date" Navi groaned.
Link laughed as he dropped into a crouched position so that he could shoot at the phantom.
Link drew back the arrow and took aim at the picture with eye shut allowing him to aim properly. Link watched closely as the shadowy beast drew closer to the front of the portal but, bizarrely Link thought, he turned away and retreated back inside the picture. Link opened his other eye and stood up not quite sure what was going on. Until he saw the Phantom Lord complete with horse in the middle of a jump with his staff pointed down over summoning a large ball of electricity.
"Oh Deku Nuts" Link said as a large blast of energy fired from the staff straight down into the ground zapping the young hylian and causing him to scream in agony. Phantom Ganon merely laughed as he disappeared back into the portrait.
Link shook stars from his eyes and pain from his limbs as he climbed to his feet cursing like a drunken Zora sailor.
"Should I have warned you that that was the wrong picture?" asked Navi
"Shut it" Link scowled looking to see which of the two phantoms he could see was the real one. Noticing that one of them galloped more central than the other Link drew his bow and took careful aim,
"No mistakes" Link growled. As soon as the purple energy began to appear around the picture Link tightened his grip on the string waiting for the white outline of the phantom steed. As soon as the horse appeared Link shot of the arrow with deadly force piercing the horse straight through its armour causing the horse to once again rear up in agony and retreat back into the picture. Link could here the phantom growling in anger that he had once again failed to damage the hylian that dared to appose him.
"Sword, used. Bow, used. What next?" asked Navi counting off the items on her fingers. Link said nothing but placed his bow back inside his tunic and instead pulled out his hookshot. Link, with his finger tightly on the trigger of the chain as his eyes scanned for the tell-tale centre charge. As soon Link had identified which he believed was the real phantom, Link stood in the centre of the room on the Triforce marking and levelled the hookshot at the painting and waited. As the ghostly white outline appeared Link took aim, but instead of aiming at the horse, Link took aim at the rider and released the chain. The cord shot out and pierced Phantom Ganon straight through the chest, sadly the chain lacked enough power to actually damage the shadow beast but it did embed firmly in his armour. As soon as the Phantom had flown over Link, he began to reel in the creature of darkness. The creature landed with a crack on the floor before he brought his staff up and knocking the chain from his chest. And launching himself into the air. With a wave of his hand Phantom Ganon dissolved his horse in a wave of ghostly green fire.
"One down, one to go."
Phantom Ganon said nothing and just twirled his trident between his hands before bringing it to a stop in a defensive position across his chest and beckoning the hylian hero to attack. Link looked up at his shadowy foe and put his hookshot away before drawing the Master sword and his Hylian shield and crouching into a defensive stance. Phantom Ganon chuckled darkly twirled the staff so that the points were up over. Link watched on over the rim of his shield as the Phantom summoned his magical energy and launched a bolt of energy at the boy. Link reacted on sheer reflex and leapt to the side as Phantom Ganon fired off repeated energy blasts as Link jumped and rolled to avoid the shots before bringing his shield up to dissipate the rest of the attacks. Knowing it was only a matter of time before an energy orb broke through his defences, Phantom Ganon continued his attacks with a renewed vigour.
"Link with him being in the air you can't reach him with your sword" shouted Navi "Try and bring him to the ground, use your bow if you can or some other projectile"
Link, being busy fighting for his life didn't respond but instead leapt out from behind his shield and rolled drawing his bow at the same time. Coming to a stop Link quickly fired off an Arrow only to see it blocked by a twirl of the ghost's staff.
"Any more bright ideas?" asked Link as the phantom began blasting off energy orbs at him.
"Thinking" Shouted back Navi.
"Oh well please don't hurry" shot back Link. "I'd hate for you to think im busy or something"
"Smartass" Navi muttered. She couldn't help but like Link. His wit was as sharp as his sword and his heart was just as pure. "That's it" she shouted flying over to Links shoulder.
"Care to narrow down what 'it' is?" asked Link who had once again taken to cowering behind his shield.
"The Master Sword is pure light magic. One of the most sacred weapons known to Hylians."
"And your point is?"
"My point my moronic friend is that he is firing shadow magic." Link merely looked at her with a look that basically said 'huh'. Navi slapped her palm to her forehead. "Take your large pointy stick and hit his attacks back at him. The pure magic from the sword will reflect it"
"Oh" said Link. "Why didn't you say so?"
"But I … oh never mind you overgrown brat"
Link laughed from behind his shield before focusing himself. If he was going to pull this off it would take perfect timing. Link began listening to the rhythm of the orbs bouncing off his shield. It was boom 1 2 3 boom 1 2 3 boom 1 2 3 boom. Link smiled to himself and waited for the opportune moment. Boom 1 2 3 boom 1 2 3 boom 1 2 Link lowered his shield and brought his sword forward in a wide arc smashing it straight through the energy orb and knocking it straight back at the phantom.
"Watch for the rebound" shouted Navi as the phantom brought his staff round and knocked it back at hylian warrior Link dropped into stance with Sword at the ready, Link Blasted the bolt back with as much force as he could muster the orb blasted at high speed straight towards the phantom's chest. The demon brought his staff down over in an attempt to block the attack but the amount of force in Link's swing had increased the speed dramatically. Unable to calculate the increased speed the counter swing missed its intended target and instead connected with the ghost's chest making his body rack with electronic energy and he came crashing down to the ground.
"Now Link!"
Link took a flying leap straight at the ghost and slammed his sword straight into the phantom's body and began relentlessly hacking into his body with the blade of evils bane glowing a fierce blue. The Phantom suffering under the assault of the blonde hero smashed Link in the chest with the but of the staff before raising it up and smashing it off the young hylian's jaw, due to the power of the Master sword currently biting into the spirits shoulder the strike lacked any real power so it simply knocked him back as the Phantom took to the air to regroup and gather his wits.
His opponent, this hylian, had found a way to harm him. This was unacceptable he was created by the Great Ganondorf himself. He was more powerful than any hylian warrior. He was more powerful than anything. Swinging his staff around in a complex arc, Phantom Ganon reared himself to full height and roared a ghostly roar at the hero. Link smirked at the ghost and readied his shield as the Phantom swooped down at him bringing his staff with the intent of decapitating the boy but his attack was met by Links shield, Link countered with his sword but his attack was met the but of the ghosts staff. The two of them, locked in there deadlock, began wrestling for the upper hand in the power of strength, Phantom Ganon laughed and began forcing Link back to the edge so that Link's back was on the railing. Link, unable to handle the situation he was in, suddenly twisted sharply to the left rolling around behind the ghost. Phantom Ganon lunged forward with the momentum carrying him on. Link leapt up from the ground the Master Sword glowing as he whipped it forward damaging the phantoms arm. Phantom Ganon turned and brought his staff up to block an over head strike from the hero but due to the wound in his arm he was unable to take the strain and the sword came down cleaving the staff in half and breaking one of the horns on his head. Shrieking in agony Phantom Ganon crashed to the ground as Link towered over the fallen spirit. The spirit raised the remaining half of its trident, the centre tip began glowing and energy sparked around the other two points before it suddenly fizzled out, Link smirked darkly and knocked the trident out of Phantom Ganon's hand. The ghost groaned and raised his gauntleted hand in an attempt to try and grab the hero's face but he was too weak. Link simply sliced through the phantoms arm before plunging his sword down through his chest a ghostly shriek fading away as his body began to spasm on the ground. Link wrenched the Sword the spirits body watching with a look of contempt on his face as the creature began dissolving in a ghostly green fire. Suddenly the body began floating in a life less way to the centre of the room where a purple ring of energy had formed.
"Not bad kid" came a deep menacing voice that seemed to originate from nowhere in particular.
"It looks like you might be gaining some slight skill" Link snarled and clenched his hand tightly on the hilt of the Master sword.
"But you have defeated only my Phantom. When you fight the real me it will not be so easy and the outcome will be very different" Phantom Ganon suddenly screamed as a seizure of pain wracked through his body.
"What a pathetic creation that Ghost was. I shall banish it to the gap between dimensions" Phantom Ganon roared in anger and pain as he fell unconscious and fell unceremoniously into the purple energy. Ganondorf's laughter filled the room as the Triforce symbol shone brightly from underneath the purple energy and began dispelling the shadow magic creating a portal for the hero to stand on. Link walked over sheathing his sword and Shield as he did so. Stepping into the portal, Link became enveloped in a blue crystalline energy vortex that caused him to spin before his world vanished in a flash of white light.