A/n: Now, I was nice! I updated two chapters last night with only receiving one review. You should all thank Silver! xD; Please, please, please! I need at LEAST one review every chapter, otherwise I feel like no one is reading this and no one cares... So, even if you aren't a member of Fanfiction, just leave an anonymous review! :3 (By the by, Silver's probably got your little butts covered for this story, too. :P)
The beginning of this chapter came in such a flash; I got on the computer on thursday morning because I had a lot of extra time for once before school, and my fingers typed away. Anyway, summer's here now, thank the gods.
Okay, guys, I am so sorry it took this long to get this chapter up. I've been so busy that I haven't had time do much of anything, really, despite the fact this chapter's been done since Friday...
Disclaimer-I. Do. Not. Own. Zelda. But I own my awesome story line.
Link did not know what to do. The ReDeads were staggering over to Zelda, if he stepped away from Midna, she would be attacked. Worst of all, if Link chose to face him, no one would be there to protect the others. Oh, what could he do? As if answering his question, Rusl pulled out his sword beside Link. "I'll take care of the monsters," He quietly murmured to Link, "You take out that tyrant!"
Before Link could protest, Rusl let loose a battle cry and ran at the ReDeads nearing Zelda, slashing them away. "I'll help!" Colin cried, and, much to everyone's horror, he headed after his father with sword in hand. Link turned toward the dark-cloaked man with a look of deep disliking.
"Oh, what's wrong, Hero? Are you not pleased to see me well?" The deep voice asked as a smirk appeared on its owner's face. Link simply snarled in response. "I was so foolish the last time that we met," He continued, acting as if he had heard nothing out of Link, "I thought that I could simply take over Hyrule whilst you and your foolish twili friend," He gestured to the unconscious Midna, "Ran around trying to break that curse on you; I never anticipated your power when we finally faced each other.
"In the past, my downfalls have been caused by one thing: underestimating. I underestimated the Hero of Time, who slept for seven years and came back as a teenager with some supped up moves," His drawl continue, a snarl beginning on his face, "I underestimated the Hero of Winds, who was nothing more than a child with a baton." His face was contorted when he stared at Link. "And finally, I underestimated you, who is nothing more than an ignorant goat herder!"
Ganondorf's face was contorted with rage. "Further more," He continued in a fashion as if he were delivering a speech, "I underestimated the Zeldas in each situation as well. The Zelda who assisted the Hero of Time was naïve, but clever. Then again, if it weren't for her, I might have never seized the Triforce of Power." He added with a satisfied smirk. Link scowled at him, confirming what he and Zelda had both thought they knew; This Ganondorf was the same one as the one during the Imprisoning War. "She evaded me for seven years with that blasted disguise that I noticed your little Zelda adopted as well." He added venomously. "The Zelda assisting the Hero of the Winds was nothing more than a lowlife pirate! Had that damned bird never been attacked and dropped her, then she would have never found out who she really was; Then again, I suppose I owe her a thank you," A distorted smile was slowly creeping onto his face, "After all, she handed over her piece of the Triforce rather easily; It was her father who stopped me in my tracks.
"And finally, her," Ganondorf gestured at the unconscious princess that Rusl was guarding, "She might have been perhaps the cleverest at all. Then again, she is a terrible leader; After all, she allowed her Kingdom to fall under the Twilight and now she has had many of her people slain. It wasn't easy to take her over since she was merely a vessel without a soul. Why I didn't take her Triforce, I don't know," He added, muttering more to himself.
"And then the two of you thought you killed me, didn't you?" Ganondorf laughed at the look on Link's face. "Ah, fools. You cannot kill me while I still have the Triforce of Power in my hand!" He held up his hand at that moment and the symbol flashed brightly, as did Link's.
"You can't be immortal," Link snarled as he ran forward. "I will take you down!" Ganondorf only laughed at his attempts and blocked with his sword.
"Fool, you barely beat me last time, and this time you are weak. The only reason you had an easier time was because of the series of battles we had; Zelda's light arrows weakened me greatly, as well." Ganondorf pushed Link off and slammed him into a wall.
"Colin!" Ilia screamed suddenly. She had her head ducked under her hands with her father standing before her and Uli hugging her close; There were at least five Stalfos standing around them, encasing them in a circle. Colin whirled on his feet and watched in horror as a Stalfos raised a sword over his mother's head; The distance was too far... He was on the other side of the room. Rusl tore himself away from guarding Zelda and ran toward his wife. There was no way he could make it... Link watched with horror and quickly raised his sword to block Ganondorf's.
A burst of fire hit the attacking Stalfos and caused his body to fall apart at Uli's feet. The group of them looked around, confused. Zelda, panting a little, was standing up now with her hands in a motion to send another fireball at the remains; The remains disappeared into smoke upon contact with the fireball. "Th-thank you!" Uli stuttered to the princess as her husband slashed away at the remaining skeletons. Zelda smiled in return and nodded. Then, she reached over her shoulder for an arrow and concentrated.
Yellow light surrounded first the arrowhead and then engulfed the whole arrow; Zelda notched it into her bow and aimed at Ganondorf; The tyrant could feel the arrow on him. The light coming from the arrow made his stomach tighten uneasily. He dropped his sword away from Link and turned to face Zelda, taking a few steps forward; Zelda took a few steps backward in response. "I can kill you with the snap of my fingers, Zelda. Are you sure you want to be pointing that arrow at me?" His eyes were no longer amused; They were deadly.
"This really doesn't involve her! Back off!" An infuriated Link shouted as he ran in front of Ganondorf and threw out his hands.
"Link, you need my help to do this!" Zelda insisted as she slowly pointed the arrow at the floor.
"Zelda," Link turned around to face her, "You take Midna and the others and get out of here...!" He suddenly felt the cool edge of a blade at his neck.
"The Princess doesn't have to go anywhere," Ganondorf growled quietly, dangerously. "In fact, I would like to kill the two of you together and then take the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage. Then, I'll kill Midna and your little friends, and I will become ruler of Hyrule and the Twilight realm!"
Ganondorf heard a snarl come from behind him and whirled about. "You're crazy, Ganondorf! Have you been thinking of this for a while? Maybe you should invest your time in something else!" Midna growled at him.
The King looked at Midna, then Link, and finally Zelda. He spat at the twili's feet. Then, a rush of pain snared him in the back, and he felt he was no longer able to use his body. "What...?" He asked with stiff lips as he tried to get out the words. Midna was only smiling her impish smile at him.
"Sucks, doesn't it?" She spat at him as a dark ball appeared in her hands. Midna waited until it was rather large and then released it, causing Ganondorf to fly in the wall on the other side of the room.
"Now, then," Zelda growled as she, Link, and Midna crept over to Ganondorf. "Tell me what has become of the people of Castle Town and the people of every other province and person."
Ganondorf managed to get out a strangled laugh. "You think you have won." (A/N: I spelled that as 'one' earlier, which totally confused me. xD) It was not a question, it was a statement. The rock wall slid over more to reveal more monsters. Many more monsters. Keese were swooping in on them and even more Stalfos were entering the area with their Stalchildren. ReDead soldiers were joining the ranks.
Link looked around, horrified; They were surrounded. "Midna," He said, urgently, as he turned toward said princess. "Please, teleport them to the village; They should be safe there." Midna nodded and turned toward them. With the snap of her fingers, Rusl, Uli, Colin, Ilia, and Bo disappeared into disfigured twilight specs and disappeared from the area. Then, he and Midna looked back to find a terrifying sight.
Zelda was not weak. That was the one thing she wished to be clear for everyone else. She was not weak; She would say it on her deathbed if she had to, which could be coming soon. Ganondorf, enraged, held her by the throat, pressing her to the wall. The Princess's face was slowly turning blue. 'I... am not... weak...' Her mind was becoming foggy, and it was getting harder to breathe. Link tried to stab Ganondorf from behind, but the man was wearing so much armor...
The Princess's hands were clutched onto Ganondorf's out of reflex, but now electricity was shooting out of them. At first, it was just a few shocks, but then it came out as a full force attack, forcing Ganondorf to drop the Princess. He drew back into the shadows with a maniacal smile upon his face. "Do not think this is over; I have been kind enough to let the three of you rats run around for a bit longer to try to revive this destroyed, cursed Kingdom." He paused and took in the angry expressions of the other three. "Might I suggest checking, oh, just about every area in Hyrule?" With that, he disappeared into a purple-black portal; That was new...
Link turned away from where Ganondorf had been and began to slash away at the Keese as they swooped down in flocks. "There are too many..." Zelda muttered weakly from the floor. Her her hands sparked feebly with electricity which she tried to use to shock a ReDead; It only appeared to anger it, if a clump of magic shaped into an inhuman figure could feel any emotion at all.
Midna shot a dark energy ball at a nearing Stalfos and then snapped. She, Zelda, and Link disappeared in the same fashion as Ilia and the others, and they were saved from their demise. For the moment.
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Link was relieved when he found where Midna had brought them. They were back in Ordon. He turned back to thank the twili, but she was lying on the ground, unconscious. Beside her, Zelda was fighting to stay awake. "Zel, can you help me bring her to my house?" Zelda nodded and somehow managed to get to her feet. Together, they dragged Midna from the very entrance of the village to Link's house. Somehow, they managed to both get her up the ladder and onto Link's bed. Once that was done, Zelda flopped on the floor; Link noticed that her breathing was still labored and there were bruises that showed where Ganondorf had grabbed her around the throat.
'Goddesses, he could have finished her off easily...' He mused for the first time, realizing how lucky they really were. Link went over to her and kneeled on the floor before her. "Are you alright?" She waved him off.
"I'm fine; I'm completely without magic, but I am fine." A thought came to Zelda's mind at that point. "I hope that those books are still in good condition back at the Castle..." Link looked at her with a shocked expression.
"You want to go back? No offense, Zelda, but you look like you couldn't move a muscle if you wanted to." Zelda smiled slightly as if to prove him wrong.
"Well, you don't happen to have any history books on you, do you?" She asked and wasn't surprised when he shook his head no.
"Bo does, though. I could ask him for some." Zelda nodded in response.
"I'll stay here with Midna."
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Link stumbled through town and over to Bo's house. He hadn't realized it, but his body was in a lot more pain than he thought. Maybe he should've headed over to the spring first... He stopped before the door and knocked twice. They couldn't have gotten back much later than the others. It might have taken ten minutes at the most.
He was about to give in, but then the door opened. "Oh, Link!" Link suddenly felt another body hit his as Ilia enveloped him in a hug from behind.
"Are you alright?" He finally got to ask. She nodded, gratefully.
"Thanks to you and your wonderful companions." Ilia stepped back, and Link turned around. She looked up and down at him as if she was examining him. Which she was. "Link, you look terrible." Her lips were set in a firm line.
"You don't look so hot yourself..." He muttered back and received a thwack on the head for his statement. "Anyway, Ilia," Link began in a serious tone, causing her eyes to turn from a glare into a concerned look. "I need to borrow some history books..."
Ilia blinked at him. "For the Princess, no doubt. You've never taken much an interest in them." She remarked with a small smirk. He sighed.
"How do you know? Maybe I used to borrow them from your father and read them at night?" He answered with a smile; It was true, after all. Rusl had always gone on about the similarities between him and the past heroes, so he had to read all of the books he could get his hands on. Ilia rolled her eyes and stepped to the side of the door.
"Come in."
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Zelda had not much shifted position when Link left; She was watching for someone to break in, so there was no need for her to move. If she could move, that is. A groan from higher up finally drew the Princess out of her thoughts and caused her to climb up the ladder to sit beside Midna, who was slowly stirring. "You weren't out for very long." She pointed out to the twili as she blinked up at the Hylian.
"Ugh. We're at Link's house? Where is 'e?" She groggily asked Zelda as she sat up.
"He went to get some books for me." Was Zelda's simple reply. A moment of silence passed between them before Zelda spoke again. "What are you doing back here, Midna?" The vindictive tone caused the twilight princess to stare at her friend with wide eyes.
"What's with the hostility, Zelda?" Midna murmured, allowing her eyes to travel down to the bed sheet as she began to fumble with it.
Zelda's deep, azure eyes watched Midna play with the sheet. "It's just that you abandoned us without a word of why. Then, you turn up some time later when trouble starts up?" Suddenly, the twili knew where the hylian was going with this.
"Ah. You think this is another Zant." Midna murmured, her voice laced with accusation. The air between them was so tense that you could cut it with a sword.
"I'm only saying that it wouldn't be unlike you to return because the twilit world was having problems again," Zelda murmured softly, almost gently. "Then again, you sit here before me as your regular self, and I honestly don't see why you would use so much magic to come here unless it was for something important..." Midna felt Zelda's eyes burning a hole in her cheeks, so she lifted her eyes to stare into Zelda's.
"What exactly are you trying to get at, Princess?" She spat the words as she had when she had first come to the light world: With anger and sarcasm behind every word.
"Midna, did you somehow know what was going on here?" Zelda asked, her tone full of only curiosity now.
"No..." Midna replied, softly as her eyes dropped back to the sheet. "I mean, I had a feeling, but I didn't know..."
Suddenly, Zelda's breath got caught in her throat as if she had realized something horrid. Once again, Midna brought her eyes to Zelda's. "Why did you come?" The hylian princess suddenly demanded with an uncharacteristic anger in her tone.
Something in Midna's head clicked that she hadn't really brought to the surface of her thoughts since she had come. An impish smile stretched her features somewhat demonically. "You think I have come here to take Link..."
Zelda's eyes narrowed as she suddenly stood up. "You did."
Midna merely shook her head. "I suppose, then, Zelda... that we won't be as... appreciative of each other as before, hmm?"
"I suppose not." Zelda snapped as she slid down the ladder and slammed the door behind her as she left the house. 'What am I so angry about?' The princess asked herself as she stormed toward the Ordon spring. She rubbed her temples and sat down in the middle of the spring with fairies rushing around her to heal her. "This... is going to be harder than before." She was barely aware that her eyes were closing, and she was slipping into sleep.
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Before returning back to his house, he had been sure to check on the other villagers to be sure they were alright. Everyone was glad to have the village full once more and although Uli was a bit shaken, she was very grateful that her baby girl had been saved. Colin had almost begged Link to stay for dinner, but Link had found himself able to insist that he had to return to Midna and Zelda.
Now, when he entered his house, he could feel the tense air from the disagreement that Midna and Zelda had had. He glanced around to find Zelda no where in sight, so he dumped the books on the floor, and climbed up to see Midna, who was sitting up in the bed. "Oh, Link." She said with a small smile when sat beside her. "You're back."
"You look well," Link remarked, then corrected himself. "Better." Her skin was still just a faint blue, reminding him of a fish without water. "Where's Zelda?" He finally inquired, causing Midna's attitude to turn sour.
"Where indeed..." She replied; Link almost expected her to cackle at the end of her sentence, but she didn't. His eyebrows knitted together as he stared at her.
"Did something happen?" His tranquil blue eyes stared into Midna's, and she heaved a sigh.
"A slight disagreement." Was all she said. Link sighed and stood up. He really should have expected as much.
"I'm going to find her. With the way she is now, being out alone could be dangerous." He heard Midna snort slightly as he descended the ladder but chose to ignore it. Although he hadn't pressed Midna about what she and Zelda had 'disagreed' about, he had a feeling that he might have an idea.
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Link's feet crunched on the sand as he entered the spring; It wasn't too hard to spot Zelda in the midst of fairies. When he knelt down beside her, she appeared to be sleeping. He nudged her, but she didn't wake. "Zelda?" He asked, concerned.
"Do not fear," The voice of the familiar Great Fairy spoke. She appeared out of literally nowhere. Link smiled at her; It was always nice to see her at the springs since he had freed her from that terrible cave. "She is simply in a trance."
"A trance?" Link asked, his eyebrows furrowing together; The Great Fairy giggled and nodded.
"I believe she is communicating with the spirits of the light." She offered before disappearing into light herself. Zelda's wide eyes opened slowly, and she jumped slightly when she noticed Link was sitting beside her.
"Oh! When did you get here?" She asked, stifling a yawn; Zelda looked even more tired than before.
"A couple of minutes ago." Link answered with a small smile. "What was that trance about?" Zelda blinked at him, then smiled.
"Ah, that Great Fairy is far wiser than she looks." She admitted with a brief grin. "I sought out the light spirits for help... I was hoping they could try to tell me what was going on, but they can't see much from their springs.
"Lanrayu was useful, though. Kind of. He said that Hyrule was filling with beasts, more beasts than when Ganondorf seized power before. He said that he definitely sensed Ganondorf's evil, but there may be another evil power at work. Ordon also said that to destroy Ganondorf, we need to use a power we didn't put too much thought in before... I have no clue what he meant, though." Zelda added with a small, sad sigh. "No one seems to know what has happened to the other denizens of this kingdom... We must travel far and wide to start checking things out soon..."
A/N: very uneventful chapter, I'm sorry. I'll try to make the next one really good. Already I have an idea for a future fic that probably won't be related to this one, but it will be Zelda. I still have to finish two Kingdom Hearts fics, though. xD
I have no clue how long this story is going to be, but I bet it will be less than my Kingdom Hearts stories. Not much longer than 20, if that.
