A/N: Oh man, it's been FOREVER since I've updated this huh? I'm really sorry! I've just been SO busy with school. I don't really even have much time to write. Hopefully this long chapter will make up for all that!
This is my first actual "fight" scene, so I hope it's good. This is also my longest chapter yet, 12 notebook pages long! Took forever to type up. Also, there's some strong language in this chapter, so beware. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
It was about noon when galloping horses could be heard running across Hyrule Field. The horses were heading southbound from Hyrule Castle Town. There were two horses each with two riders. There was a white horse and a brown horse.
"This is so cool!" Genis said as he rode on the white horse.
"I'm glad you're having fun Genis." Zelda said.
Genis and Kratos were riding on Zelda's white horse, while Link and Zelda were riding Link's brown furred horse named Epona. Genis and Zelda were riders while Link and Kratos steered the animals. About half an hour later, they reached the southern part of Hyrule Field. They then turned onto a path which led to the desert where the Spirit Temple was.
"You said that the Shadow Temple was near the castle town correct? Why are we going to the Spirit Temple first?" Kratos asked.
"While the Shadow Temple is closer to the castle, it is also a lot more dangerous." Link said.
"I see." said Kratos.
They continued down the path towards the desert, and eventually came to a hanging bridge. They crossed the bridge, but as soon as they were on the other side, Link brought Epona to a halt.
"Why are we stopping?" Genis asked.
Link pointed forward and replied, "Beyond that mountain lies the Gerudo Fortress. They have a gate there which provides access to the Haunted Wasteland where the Spirit Temple lies."
"That's perfect!" Genis said. "We'll go talk to them, explain the situation, and they should let us through right?"
"Sure…" Link replied. "That WOULD work perfectly; that is, if you were a girl."
"Wha?" Genis said as he looked at the Hero of Time with an offended look on his face.
"You see" Link began, "the Gerudo are a band of thieves. They're also an all women tribe. They despise men, and imprison them within their fortress. I'm the only outside man that they trust. But I had to work hard to earn their trust." Link paused for a moment before continuing. "Well, they trust my little bro too, but I don't consider him a man yet."
Genis analyzed what he just heard. As he was pondering over what Link told him, a thought occurred to him. "Wait…If the Gerudo are an all women tribe, then how do they, you know, reproduce?"
Link thought about how he would respond. He knew the answer to the question, but he was thinking of how to explain it to Genis without getting into too much detail.
"Well, to put it simply, they go out and find some guys, then bring them back to their fortress and imprison them. Then, after the guys have been here for a while, they do them and then they kill them."
"That's horrible!" Genis yelled.
"Oh, I wasn't done. When the baby is born, one of two things happens. If the baby is a girl, she'll be raised like a Gerudo. If the baby is a boy, they'll kill him by cutting off his…well, I'm sure you get the idea." Link said.
Genis cringed at the very idea. Zelda then spoke.
"That's right. However, that tactic is fairly new. In the past, whenever a boy was born they would crown him their leader. But ever since Ganondorf was born from their people, they no longer do that. Of course, a boy is only born into the Gerudo tribe once every 100 years, so at least there isn't a large loss of life. Though, I'd rather there be none."
"Well, enough about that. I'll go talk to the Gerudo and see if they'll let Genis and Kratos through. Zelda, wait here with them." Link said.
Zelda proceeded to dismount Epona and wave Link off as he rode towards the Gerudo Fortress. Genis and Kratos proceeded to dismount the white horse. Zelda turned to face them.
"If all goes well, we should reach the Spirit Temple in a few hours." she said.
"That's good." Genis said as he looked up towards the sky. "The clouds are starting to roll in. The levels of Mana are also starting to shift. I think a storm is coming."
"Let's hope not." Kratos said as he folded his arms. "A desert storm is not a fun sight. It can be very violent and very dangerous." He added.
"Let's hope Link gets back soon then." Zelda said.
About 20 minutes passed with no signs of the Hero of Time returning. The clouds moved in very quickly, and soon hid the sun away behind them. They became a very dark blue, and a strong gale began to blow. Lightning appeared in the sky above and the land was covered in darkness.
"This is bad" Kratos said. "We need to find shelter fast."
Everyone looked around for some sort of shelter.
"There!" Genis yelled as he spotted a cave in the distance.
The three ran towards the cave at top speed, but it began pouring shortly before they entered. By the time they reached the cave, they were already soaking wet.
"Just lovely." Zelda said in a highly sarcastic tone, as she attempted to dry some of the water off of her dress.
The rain outside began to fall even harder now. The crashes of thunder grew louder as the flashes of lighting grew brighter. The wind also began to gust harder – it was as if the earth was on a rampage, ripping to shreds all which stood in its way.
"I hope Link didn't get caught in the storm." Genis said as he looked outside and scanned around for the Hero of Time.
"I doubt it." Zelda replied. "Link is a dare-devil for sure, but he's not a fool. He's more than likely still at the Gerudo Fortress."
"Let's hope so." Kratos said.
While they were waiting out the tempest in the cave, Zelda noticed that it wasn't even a cave – it was merely an indentation on the side of the mountain. Not that she minded, for it was still far better than being outside, fully exposed to the elements.
Time seemed to move excruciatingly slow during this time. Suddenly however, Zelda sensed someone approaching them. Kratos, with his angelic senses, heard someone approaching them from the distance.
"Someone's coming." The princess and seraph said at the same time.
"Could it be Link?" Genis asked.
"I don't believe so." Kratos replied. "It's actually a lot of people = on horseback I believe." he said as he continued to listen.
"The Gerudo may have escorted Link; they too have horses after all." Zelda said.
Suddenly, a large group of people – on horseback as Kratos had said – approached the cave. However, as they approached, Zelda sensed that these people were not Gerudo.
A bright flash of lightning revealed that the people were in fact all men – obviously eliminating any chance that these were Gerudo. There was one man at the front of the group, and at least seven or eight other men behind him.
The man in front – obviously the leader of the group – had a flag at the rear of the horse. When Zelda noticed the emblem on the flag, her eyes widened in horror.
The emblem was of a black dragon with a rattlesnake wrapped around it, with flames in the background.
Everyone in Hyrule knew what that emblem stood for – the Dark Paladins. The Dark Paladins were a bloodthirsty and extremely dangerous Hyrulean gang. They pillaged villages, robbed banks of every last Rupee, killed innocent people – women and children included, they raped women at any chance they could. They were also the only gang to successfully rob the Royal Family of Hyrule – and live.
Despite the fact that it was still pouring, the Dark Paladins were still riding around in search of loot or victims.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" the gang leader said as he dismounted his horse and walked slowly towards the three in the cave – now trapped sine the cave led to no where. "If it isn't Princess Zelda. Heh, this must be my lucky day." He said with a sinister smile. "This castle would pay a hefty sum to get you back alive and in one piece." he said.
Zelda kept her composure as she answered.
"In order for the castle to pay for my return, I would have to go missing or be kidnapped. As it currently stands, I am not – nor do I have any intentions of becoming so."
The gang leader was not fazed by Zelda's comment at all; in fact, it brought a smile to his face – a sinister one that is.
"Is that so? And who's supposed to stop us eh? This lone swordsman and a little brat?" the gang leader said in a sinister tone. "Drake, Mel, bring our prisoner!" he yelled.
"Right away boss." The two men answered in unison.
Kratos drew his sword as the gang members approached. "Stay back your Highness, we'll take care of them!" the seraph announced.
"Yeah, we'll protect you! Just stand back!" Genis yelled as he and Kratos ran out into the downpour to fight off the Paladins.
Drake and Mel approached the trio slowly, each on their individual horse.
"Mel, take the brat. The swordsman is mine." Drake announced.
"You got it." Mel replied.
Drake took out a long sword and kicked his horse into full speed. He intended to trample Kratos, or if that didn't work, finish him off with his sword.
"Demon Fang!" Kratos yelled as he struck the ground with his sword, sending a shockwave towards the galloping horse.
The shockwave made contact with the animal, causing it to fall over. Drake however, jumped off of the horse before it was hit. He ran up to Kratos and swung his sword at him, but Kratos easily blocked the attack with his own sword.
Meanwhile, Mel began approaching Genis.
"Now then boy, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." he said.
"I guess it's gonna have to be the hard way!" Genis yelled as he took out his kendama and began playing with it.
"Hahahaha!" Mel burst out laughing. "You think a stupid toy like that is going to stop me?"
Mel was completely oblivious to the fact that Genis was actually beginning to cast a spell. The Paladin leader however, was not oblivious. While Mel didn't, the leader noticed that Genis' hair and clothes were ruffling back and forth in a magical way.
"Mel!" he yelled in his deep voice. "Don't be fooled by what he has! The little bastard's a mage!"
Mel looked back at Genis and noticed that his mouth was moving too. Mel immediately kicked his horse into full gear towards the boy. However, by that time, he was too late.
"Aqua Laser!" Genis yelled as he pointed his kendama towards Mel.
A magical beam of water materialized in front of Genis and shot towards the thief. The beam of water made contact with the horse and Mel, knocking over the horse a well as the rider.
With Mel currently down, Genis decided to help out Kratos. He began chanting another spell.
"Arise o violent waters to route my enemy. Blessed Drops!" he yelled.
A magical circle materialized over Drake's head. High pressurized water fell from the circle and made contact with the man, causing him to fall.
"You useless bastards!" the Paladin leader flared. "Move in boys! Time to show these bastards why you don't fuck with the Dark Paladins!"
Three more gang members galloped up to Kratos, and three more went after Genis as well.
Kratos was surrounded by the additional gang members. They rode their horses around Kratos in hopes of unnerving him. Kratos however, was able to keep his composure. The gang members began closing in on Kratos readying themselves to attack. Kratos watched as they came closer and closer to him. Once they neared him enough to be within hitting range, they readied their weapons.
Kratos was ready for the attack. He utilized his angelic powers and teleported out from the surrounding Paladins. He the reappeared a few feet away from them. While the Paladins looked around in confusion, Kratos used this opportunity to unleash a magical attack.
"Thunder Blade!" Kratos yelled as he extended his arm outwards towards the Paladins.
A giant sword of electricity materialized in the air space above them. It then fell to the earth causing each of them to be encased in a circle of magic which the sword created upon impact. Lighting shot out from the blade, electrocuting everything within it. The Paladins fell to the ground, in pain from the electricity.
With his enemies taken care of, Kratos turned to help Genis who was having a hard time dealing with his opponents.
The boy was surrounded by the Paladins, since they were attempting the same technique on him that they had on Kratos. Although he was surrounded by the Paladins riding in a circle around him, Genis was chanting another spell.
The Paladins were sure that if they kept moving, Genis wouldn't be able to attack them with his magic – they were wrong.
Genis was chanting a wind spell. "Gentle winds, gather before me and transform into blades of air. Cyclone!" he yelled, unleashing an attack from his kendama. One of the Paladins was smart enough to veer away from Genis; the others weren't a lucky.
A magical cyclone of green wind magic materialized around Genis, swallowing up the surrounding Paladins and viciously shred them as they were lifted up into the air. Once they reached the top of the cyclone, they were thrown to land where ever they did. The cyclone then disappeared.
Meanwhile, the Paladin which had escaped managed to sneak behind Genis who hadn't even noticed that he missed one. The Paladin brandished a two-handed axe in only one.
"Genis! Behind you!" Zelda yelled.
Genis turned barely in time to see the Paladin raise the axe above his head.
"Die brat!" he yelled as he thrust his arm downwards with great force.
Genis immediately raised his kendama in a defensive maneuver, but it was no use. The blow from the axe crashed straight through the kendama, causing it to split into two pieces. The force from the blow sent the young mage pummeling towards the muddy earth. He landed with a hard thud and realized that with his kendama destroyed, he was completely defenseless.
The Paladin raised the axe once more in order to deliver the finishing blow. Genis shut his eyes in fear as he prepared for the attack.
"Genis!" Zelda yelled as she ran out into the still pouring rain to save the boy. The Sage of Time used her powers to slightly slow the flow of time around her in order to reach the boy in time.
As she neared the man with the axe, she leaped into the air and extended out her leg, focusing all her magic on the ball of her foot, in order to unleash her Lightning Kick on the Paladin. The moment her foot made contact with the Paladin, a surge of electricity ripped through his body; time returned to normal as well.
The Paladin was knocked back a great distance – in pain from both the electricity and the hard crash on the muddy round.
The Hyrulean Princess helped the boy to his feet, before picking up the broken kendama pieces.
"Can you fight without this?" Zelda asked.
"No…not really. The kendama helps me focus my magic."
Zelda looked up and saw the Paladins Genis had blown away, as well as the one she had attacked, were coming back, weapons drawn.
"There's absolutely nothing you can do?" Zelda asked with a worried tone as she saw Kratos once again had his hands full with Drake and another Paladin.
"Well…"Genis began, getting Zelda's attention. "There is one spell I can do…it's strong, but it'll take me a bit to cast. Can you cover me?"
"I'll do what I can." Zelda replied.
With the Paladins quickly approaching, Zelda had to act fast. She waved her arm in front of her, creating a large fireball which she sent towards the approaching Paladins. Unfortunately for Zelda, the torrential downpour extinguished the fireball long before it reached her targets. Zelda then tried a new approach. She materialized a bow in front of her, loaded three arrows at a time, and began firing them at the Paladins.
Meanwhile, Genis began chanting his most powerful spell. As he focused his magic on what he was going to do, he was surrounded by a circle of magic which drew energy from all around them.
"From the land of the living, I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of thunder…" Genis then raised his arms above his head and opened his palms towards the heavens. "Zelda, get back!" Genis yelled.
The princess used the power of Farore's Wind to warp to where the young mage was.
"Indignation!" Genis yelled.
The sky above them lit up in a brilliant purple color, as an enormous column of lightning dropped onto the Paladins, incinerating each of them upon contact.
When the attack had ceased, the only remaining Paladins were Drake, Mel, and the second Paladin fighting Kratos. Kratos however, had had enough.
When both Paladins approached him again, he unleashed his strongest attack on them.
A flash of light came from him as a circle of magic shot out from him, his blue angel wings appearing simultaneously. The magic circle was attacking the Paladins with light magic, while bringing them closer to Kratos. When they were next to him, he yelled "Shining Bind!". He then flew upwards, bringing them Paladins with him as the magic circle stretched upwards as well. At least, the circle reached it's elasticity point and exploded with light magic, sending both Paladins flying towards the saturated ground.
Kratos landed and put his angel wings away. He then turned to Genis and Zelda and watched as Mel clumsily approached them, unarmed.
Genis was about to attempt a spell, when Zelda stopped him.
"You're coming with me prince-" Mel didn't get a chance to finish his sentence.
Zelda had slightly pulled her right arm back, then jutted it forward. As her palm made contact with Mel, magical sparkles appeared and began electrocuting the Paladin. After a few seconds, the sparkles exploded with electricity, sending Mel flying back
Kratos then walked up to them.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked.
"I think so." Genis said.
"Wrong!" a voice yelled from behind the three of them. They all turned to look who had spoken, and standing behind them was none other than the Paladin leader; a look of malice on his face. He grabbed Zelda and placed a sword to her throat.
"Now then, if you wish for your precious princess to live, you'll throw your weapons down and not try and stop me."
Kratos grunted and sourly threw his sword down; Genis lowered his arms to his sides.
"Excellent." He said as he began walking backwards with Zelda, who didn't dare move. He stopped however, when he felt something sharp pressing into his back.
A voice which sounded very angry then said, "Now, if YOU wish to live, you'll let her go right now."
The Paladin leader turned his head to see who it was. He turned, and there, with a pissed off facial expression, stood none other than Link.
The Paladin leader groaned loudly and released Zelda.
"Now scram!" Link ordered.
The Paladin leader took a few steps away, before laughing and disappearing in a dark flash. As soon as he was gone, the rain stopped, and the sun shone once again.
A/N:
A few things to note:
The Indignation spell that Genis uses here is not the same as the one he used in the Temple of Time. This Indignation is known as his Mystic Arte, a powerful spell that can only be used under certain circumstances.
Zelda's fighting style is based off of her moveset from Super Smash Bros Brawl. The attacks I've included in this chapter include forward smash, forward/backwards air (lightning kick), and up B (Farore's Wind). The bow Zelda wields is not the bow she uses for her final smash, aka her bow from Twilight Princess, but rather a normal bow with regular arrows.