A/N: Okay guys, seriously, this may very well be my favorite chapter in the entire story. 29 and 30 come really close, but I think ultimately this takes the cake. It's also long and the title is inspired by a quote from Twilight Princess and like I said, I'm REALLY excited. :D
Thanks for the reviews! (And seriously, there was an onslaught of them this time.) So close to 200! :D So anyways, thanks to Purestrongpoem, tswift1fan, LunaStarWolf, Pandora151, InkWoven, TheGreatMage, Zeltra, Seth Darkcloud and AnriMia24.
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 28: The Other Side of the Coin
Zelda froze. She could do nothing save stare at this new, foreboding version of herself.
Dark Sheik, on the other hand, was able to act just fine. She sped over to Zelda and barraged her with a series of jabs, topped off by a hard kick to the chest.
It took all of Zelda's strength to not stumble back. She turned around and ran away. She had to take the fight away from the Sages.
She was fast, but Dark Sheik was faster. Suddenly she appeared in front of Zelda and slammed her black-clothed forearm into her face.
Zelda in turn rammed her elbow in her face. She took advantage of Dark Sheik's momentary daze by grabbing her shoulder and throwing her to the ground.
Dark Sheik made contact with the floor, rolling backward with the momentum before she stood up once more. She jumped and flicked something while in the air, and subsequently the Princess felt multiple needles bury themselves into her shoulder.
Zelda drew out her own needles, ran closer to her opponent, and threw them at her only for them to miss when Dark Sheik let herself fall.
The sound of Dark Sheik's feet landing on Saria's pedestal echoed through the room. A fiery ball of anger awakened inside Zelda at the sight. She unfurled her chain and flung it at her to be met by Dark Sheik's own chain. The ends of the chains intertwined upon their rough connection.
She leapt off of the pedestal and flipped forward, yanking Zelda backward and causing her to be flat on her back. The next thing she knew, feet were crashing right into her stomach.
Zelda gritted her teeth and whipped her chain at her. This time she felt it connect with her, and subsequently she felt Dark Sheik's weight lift off of her.
She stood up and gave Dark Sheik a good kick, punishing her to the ground before she could stand up alongside her. She was just about to kick her again when Dark Sheik rolled behind her, got out her needles and stabbed them deep into her leg. She dragged them across her flesh before she pulled them out, making it almost look as though an animal had clawed her thigh.
Zelda cried out and tried to ignore the newfound pulsing in her leg. She focused on locating Dark Sheik. . .
It didn't take long for her to find her. Dark Sheik was running straight for the golden throne itself.
"Oh no you don't!" Zelda gave chase straightaway. She reached for her chain only to grab her needles when she remembered that she had let go of it.
She threw three needles in rapid succession, but Dark Sheik maneuvered herself out of the way just in time, resulting in only one needle poking her arm.
Zelda gritted her teeth. Was her aim really that bad? No, it was almost perfect. Her time in the Smash Mansion had ensured that. So that would mean that Dark Sheik was insanely fast.
Dark Sheik stepped onto one of the arms of the throne and lashed out with her own chain when Zelda drew near. She ducked and rolled to the side. When she stood up again, she quickly grabbed the chain and yanked Dark Sheik off of the throne.
"You had no right to be on there," said Zelda very articulately.
Dark Sheik didn't respond. She just turned around and ran away once again. Unwilling to let her get away, she gave chase. It was only when she began to tire of running that she noticed just how surprisingly fatigued she was.
She shook her head. She couldn't get on that tangent.
Dark Sheik stopped only when she'd gotten over to the other wall, where a giant tapestry of the Goddesses hung. Zelda picked up her pace, but could only watch as Dark Sheik catapulted herself into the air and grabbed on to the tapestry.
She grabbed a needle and threw it at the black-clothed female's side. Dark Sheik quickly swung to the side, dodging it, then Zelda feinted throwing a second one at the same place before quickly hurling it while aiming straight between the eyes.
Dark Sheik nearly propelled herself to the side before catching Zelda's trick. In turn she moved her head to the side-
Allowing the needle to sink straight into her left eye.
She grinned. Yes, her plan had worked, she'd finally injured her! And with one eye down, that would surely also allow her to exploit a new blind spot-
The needle sunk into Dark Sheik's body like quicksand. Soon the silvery weapon was gone, and Dark Sheik's eye looked relatively unharmed.
Zelda gaped at the sight. She had. . . absorbed the needle? Ugh, of course she would, she wasn't a real human, she was dark magic personified.
Dark Sheik pushed herself off of the wall with her feet, swinging forward before she let go and delivered a kick straight to Zelda's face.
Zelda staggered backward and recovered just in time to cover her face with her arms, blocking a series of punches. She lowered them to attack when she received a kick to the gut.
She reeled over, giving Dark Sheik the opportunity to grab her hair and punch her in the jaw. Trying to ignore the throbbing in her face, gut and leg, Zelda grabbed Dark Sheik's shoulder and pushed her down.
Dark Sheik latched onto her arm just as she went down, dragging her down with her. The two rolled around the floor together, engaged in a desperate struggle for the upper hand, until finally they crashed into a wall with Dark Sheik ultimately coming out on top.
Zelda thrashed with all of her strength, but her opponent too strong. Dark Sheik firmly held her in place with her thighs and elbowed her right in the forehead.
Zelda's breaths came in short, ragged inhales. Oh Goddesses, Oh Goddesses, she was losing-
Just look at this like you're in a Brawl, she told herself. What are her-well, YOUR-strengths and weaknesses?
Dark Sheik was incredibly fast, even faster than Zelda, and now that Zelda's leg was wounded, Dark Sheik definitely had the advantage when it came to speed. Like Zelda, she also seemed highly intelligent, able to completely scan a battlefield and manipulate her surroundings accordingly, she was strong, her aim was impeccable, she obviously experienced with her weapons-
Now it was obvious that Dark Sheik had not only her abilities, but all of her experience. A dark but perfect copy of herself.
And now that she was personally fighting herself, she finally understood what all the Brawlers had been saying about her. She really had been one of the best Brawlers around.
So how was it that she was supposed to defeat someone with entirely the same strengths and weaknesses as her?
How was she supposed to defeat a stronger, crueler version of herself?
She didn't know.
But she had to try.
Zelda wrenched her arm free from underneath her opponent and gave Dark Sheik a clean hook. The blow caught Dark Sheik off-guard long enough for Zelda to throw her off and back away.
What could she do? Projectiles could be absorbed, she seemed fairly resistant to close combat-
She didn't let herself go any further and decided on close combat-at least those attacks weren't absorbed. Even though Dark Sheik was deadly at close-range, fighting that way was Zelda's best option.
Zelda ran at her and swiftly delivered a kick to the side. Miraculously, Dark Sheik stumbled back, prompting Zelda to ram her elbow into her chest, followed by her swinging her forearm at her face-
She ducked and caught the forearm simultaneously. She then threw Zelda backwards and slammed her onto the floor.
Zelda tried to stand up, but still Dark Sheik hadn't let go of her arm. She tried to tug it out of her grasp, but all that did was prompt Dark Sheik to twist her arm. Before Zelda could even grunt, she felt a foot slam into back, sending her straight at the wall as Dark Sheik finally released her forearm.
Pain arcing through her back like lightning, she pushed herself off of the wall and was just about to send herself at Dark Sheik once more when a black-covered forearm pinned her throat to the wall.
Zelda struggled for breath and pushed against Dark Sheik's forearm with sweaty hands, gasping an inhale when the pressure was lifted-
Multiple needles, bunched up together so they were as thick as a knife's blade, plunge deep into her shoulder.
And then Zelda screamed until her lungs shriveled.
"It seems as though your Princess didn't heed your warning," Ganondorf said. His eyes glinted with sadistic amusement.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out," Link said coldly. His features became as hard as stone. "Why? Why draw her here?"
The King of Evil laughed. "Isn't that plain?"
Link's face didn't change.
When it became apparent to Ganondorf that he didn't intend on responding, he simply continued.
"See," he said as he took a few steps around Link, beginning to circle him, "you must understand, it always comes back around to you. Both the Princess and I play great parts in Hyrule's intricate web of history, yes, but you were chosen by the Goddesses themselves, the one tasked with protecting this filth of a country. You are the one who leaves the greatest impact out of all three of us. And as such-"
Ganondorf stopped once he was back in front of him. His great smile had vanished.
"Between you and the Princess, it was you who left the greatest impact on me."
Ganondorf straightened his back and held his palm out in front of him. A black mist began to swirl above it.
Link forced himself to not take a step back.
"Make no mistake, the Princess did leave a profound impact on me as well, so of course I had to exact my vengeance upon her," he continued in a completely conversational tone. "Oh, you should have seen the look on her face when I claimed that you were gone, that I had murdered you in cold blood. First there was the shock, and then the denial-well, actually, no, she wasn't in denial, she flat out did not believe me-and then the slow horror that grew on her face, that overcame her body, overcame her very soul. And in that moment, Hero, she was broken."
He balled his fists, trying not to listen to it. But he still did, and then he found quite a bit of pleasure picturing the many ways he could utterly maim that cold-blooded, green-skinned beast.
"So she has thus appropriately suffered for her past deeds. But you, Hero. . . you have not. But that is about to change."
The dark mist began to slowly dissolve until a room began to show up.
"I merely told the Princess that you were dead. But you have the pleasure of watching her die yourself. I laid a trap for her—I knew that she counted on you to be disarmed, so naturally she would go for the Master Sword first. But the moment she touched it, a great opponent would arise. And now, it appears as though she has fallen straight into it."
At last the dark haze cleared up. Link could see the throne room and in it, a shadowy opponent had a battered-looking Zelda pinned against a wall.
He felt his breath leave him.
Zelda struggled violently, but this didn't stop something from sinking straight into her shoulder. She opened her mouth-
A distant scream echoed off of the dungeon walls.
"Oh Goddesses, Zelda." Link's eyes filled with horror. "ZELDA!"
Link didn't think. He simply ran straight at Ganondorf, dispelling the mist's image, and punched him clean in the face.
He took a step back, caught off-guard by the sudden blow. He held a hand over his eye.
When he looked back up, he was laughing.
"Do you honestly think that you can defeat me right now?" Ganondorf said. "You're weakened and disarmed."
"Oh please," Link said. "I'm the Hero of Time. I can defeat you any time I feel like it."
Then he charged Ganondorf again.
Sheer pain blitzed through her shoulder, clawing her insides. She clutched her shoulder. Blood seeped through her fingertips as she fell to her knees.
Zelda stared at the ground. Her eyes glazed over.
How could she beat her?
She couldn't eat her.
Dark Sheik was infinitely the better Sheik—
And that's the problem, she realized with a jolt that sent her head shooting back up.
She was thinking and fighting just like Sheik. She'd focused so much on trying to think of strengths that Sheik had that she'd never considered if one of the strengths she had as Zelda could be efficient. . .
Magic.
She could pull off a few magical battle tricks or two when she concentrated, but if she were to use it as a proper weapon. . .
Dark Sheik loomed over her, prepared to give her a final blow to the head when Zelda closed her eyes and focused on projecting herself behind Sheik—
A rush of magical energy coursed through her veins. When she opened her eyes, she was looking at Dark Sheik's back.
Zelda rose up to her full height as Dark Sheik turned around. She reached deep down into her very core and grasped the prickly and warm magic. Then she lifted some of it up and brought it into the physical world.
Sparks danced on her fingertips.
She looked at Dark Sheik straight in her eyes.
Then she smiled.
"Don't you know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?"
The next thing she knew, she'd disappeared and reappeared behind her and stamped her hand into her back, sending magic into Dark Sheik almost as though she was electrocuting her.
She was sent high up into the air, and when she started to descend, Zelda was ready for her. She bent down lower to the ground and raised her arm high above her head, stunning Dark Sheik again. She was forced into the air again-
This time Dark Sheik recovered. She flipped in the air and sent a volley of needles in her direction, but Zelda simply raised her hand and used magic to let them fall.
Dark Sheik landed cleanly on her feet. She broke out into a run, coming straight toward her. Zelda let her.
She raised an arm to punch Zelda only for her to grap her wrist. Dark Sheik tried the same thing with her other hand only to be met with the same result. The two struggled, their arms locked high above their heads, until Zelda jumped, let go of the lock, and gave her a precise kick imbued with just enough magical energy to send her flying back.
Both Zelda and Dark Sheik landed on their feet. They ran right for each other-
Dark Sheik sent more needles straight in Zelda's direction-
She spun around, and subsequently a blue crystal engulfed her, effectively deflecting the needles. Then, drawing strength from Din, she stepped forward and pushed her arm forward at Dark Sheik. A large ball of fire shot out of her hand and engulfed Dark Sheik in flames.
Dark Sheik stumbled back and fell to the floor, close to where the Sages were resting-
Zelda got an idea.
She summoned the remnants of her magical energy and transported herself over to the Master Sword.
She stole a look at Dark Sheik-
The flames coating her had nearly vanished, and she was standing back up-
Zelda looked back down at the Master Sword.
Then she clamped her hand around the handle and lifted it from the chest.
The Master Sword immediately felt awkward in her hands, too clunky. But while it was uncomfortable, she could use it for one move-
Just one thrust would do-
She spun on her heels and saw Dark Sheik coming at her at an incredibly rapid pace-
And she was coming closer, closer-
"Sorry," she said, "but there's only enough room for one of us."
Zelda closed the remaining distance between them-
And then rammed the blade through Dark Sheik's chest.
She let go of the handle and took a few steps back. A ray of light shot out from the wound, then another, then another, until a great cone of light was emitted from it.
The very light seeped down deep into Dark Sheik's body, quickly racing through her veins, converting black to a bright gold. It spread to her arms, to her legs, to her neck, to her feet, to her head-
An unearthly wail racked the throne room walls like nails on a chalkboard. All at once, the light dispersed, leaving the Master Sword to fall to the floor with a very ungraceful clang.
Dark Sheik had been defeated.
Ganondorf rose up into the air but Link had already gotten to him. He grabbed the handle of Ganondorf's long sword and managed to rip it from its sheathe. He rolled away. When he came back up, Ganondorf was up in the air, as high as he could go.
Just like old times, Link thought.
Link deflected a ball of magic that was sent at him, and instead of hitting him or Ganondorf it crashed into the ceiling.
He looked over to Ganondorf, who was already floating away. Link gave chase, deflecting another ball of magic when one was sent at him.
This time, it hit Ganondorf.
Ganondorf cried out and his body came closer to the ground. Link seized his chance and delivered a series of strikes against him.
It wasn't long before the Bearer of Power recovered. He rose back up to his original height. Already knowing what was going to happen, Link ran towards Ganondorf as he flew away.
A ball of dark magic formed his hands-
Then he shot straight toward Link.
He came down to the ground and injected it right into Link's shoulder. He stumbled back, recovering in time to come at him again and swing a punch at his face.
Ganondorf easily caught the punch, but Link didn't . He tried a variety of punches and kicks, him attacking and Ganondorf defending in almost perfect synchronization.
Link swung the sword at Ganondorf's head. He ducked, resulting in the blade stabbing deep into a weakening wall.
He tried pulling his sword out. He pulled again when it didn't work, and a third time when the second attempt failed, all the while noting that Ganondorf was back up in the air.
Link gritted his teeth. He placed a foot on the wall, using it as support, and gave the sword the hardest tug yet. When the sword finally broke free, he stumbled back and looked over to Ganondorf-
Who was flying straight toward him, who was almost upon him-
Link dove to a side at the last second, feeling the rushing wind ruffle his tunic as Ganondorf flew straight past.
He stood up and turned to his opponent just as he was straightening himself and climbing back to his former height.
"And here we go again," Link said to himself as he ran at Ganondorf once more-
Zelda set to work immediately. She used needles to cut strips of cloth from the bottom of her trousers. She gritted her teeth as she wrapped the thickest strip around her shoulder. If only she were back at the Smash Arena. With the kind of medical items they had there, she would be ready to fight within a few minutes.
When both her leg wound and shoulder wound had been treated, she quickly grabbed her needles and chain and rearmed herself. Then she picked up the Master Sword and ran out of the throne room as fast as she could.
She had to make up for lost time. Ganondorf's little trap, while it thankfully hadn't killed her, had certainly managed to subdue her. And if Link had been hurt during that period of time-
Zelda tried not to think about that. She just kept running through the grand hall until she pushed open a door.
She followed the subsequent hallway and eventually came to the dungeon entrance. Sure enough, it was barred by a barrier not unlike ones she had had to lift seven years ago.
Time to see if she could still do it.
Zelda raised her arms and drew upon her magic-
The barrier shot up into the ceiling.
And then Zelda headed down into the dungeon.
Link hadn't been running toward him for very long before Ganondorf had fired a ball of magic at him. Link sent it back at him without breaking stride. Ganondorf maneuvered himself away from the incoming magical projectile; he grunted and threw a second one at him with a war cry—
Link moved to block it too late.
It hit him, and subsequently he felt as though he were being burned to death. He dropped the sword and could stop himself from falling to the ground. The momentum of his fall caused him to roll and hit a wall.
He laid there and let out a pained exhale. The magical energy raged through his body like a fire burning him from the inside out. The inferno gradually calmed down to a simple fire, allowing Link to rise back up to his feet.
He looked down only to find that the sword was no longer there.
Panic rose up his chest. He tried to shove it down as best as he could. He had to focus on finding a weapon, there was no way he could defeat Ganondorf when he was flying in the air and attacking him with magic, not without a weapon—
His head looked back and forth. There was nothing but stone all around him, and Ganondorf—
Startled, he looked back in front of him to see Ganondorf's horizontal body pelting forward toward, him, his reclaimed sword in front of his head and just a second away from going straight through his chest—
His eyes widened—
"No!"
And then someone suddenly appeared right in front of him as steel clashed with steel.
Link took a step back to get a good view of the one who had just saved his life. A female, with long brown hair and a furled chain hanging at her side—
Zelda.
Ganondorf bent forward, pushing the lock down and thus forcing Zelda to bend her knees. Her legs were trembling dangerously, but with a burst of strength, she rose to her full height and began bending over Ganondorf before she broke the lock.
She then turned her sword around—no, wait, that was the Master Sword—and slammed the hilt into his head.
And just like that, Ganondorf fell to the ground, unconscious.
Zelda was panting by the time Ganondorf had fallen. The sudden silence took the form of a living being, omnipresent, and impossible not to notice. She closed her mouth, now regulating her breathing. She wiped away sweat on her forehead that she hadn't previously realized was there.
She turned around to see Link. He looked the same as he had when she'd last seen him, clad in his forest-green tunic and cap. His face looked just as stunned as she felt.
Zelda hesitantly walked toward him, never letting go of his blue eyes.
She turned the Master Sword so that it was pointing downward and handed it to him.
Link accepted it. "I think this is mine."
"Ye-Yeah."
She was glad to be rid of it—it had felt very awkward and clunky when she'd used it. In Link's hands, though, it looked perfectly comfortable.
She didn't know what else to say. But when she looked into his eyes again, she realized that there was nothing to be said. Words were simply inadequate, and the raw connection was one of the most powerful things in the world.
Link sheathed the Master Sword. "Look, I—"
Zelda cut him off and hugged him.
"Oh, um. . ." A moment later she felt his arms wrap around her in turn.
Zelda was smiling before she knew that she was smiling. Tears welled up in her eyes. She thought about Link, how he was really, truly here and hugging her back, and then her chest seemed to inflate, making her feel as big as the entire castle.
She could have remained there forever. And it sure felt like a forever—the greatest forever that she had ever had the privilege to experience.
At last they parted, and she punched his shoulder. "Don't you ever disappear on me again, do you hear me?"
Link laughed. "I hear you. And I won't, just so long as you don't disappear on me."
"Then it appears as though we have a deal."
"Great." His eyes moved to her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"It does hurt, but I can still fight," she said. After fighting temporarily with Ganondorf, she didn't think that she had to prove her point. "What about you? You were battling Ganondorf when I came in—"
"I'm fine, just fine," Link said. "He hit me with a few magical attacks, but the effects seem to have worn off."
"That's good." Zelda then decided to focus on informing him of important information. "Listen, we have all six Sages now—Peach joined the ranks just this morning. But something happened at the Smash Arena that ended up scattering the Sages. They'll come here once they have all been gathered." Now, if Peach and Navi could just hurry, that would be great. Ganondorf was unconscious, so now was an opportune moment—
"You two. . ." a familiar voice suddenly growled.
She gasped and whirled around to see Ganondorf rising to his feet once more. His eyes were steely yet livid all the while, and his mouth had curled into a snarl.
"You two. . . both of you. . . why can't either of you just DIE!"
It started slowly at first, being a tremor so small that for a moment Zelda wondered if she had only imagined it. Then the tremor grew into a steady rumbling, and then the rumbling into a jostle.
She was thrown to the side; she placed a hand on the wall just in time to prevent herself from falling. She looked to Link, who was drawing the Master Sword, and then she looked to Ganondorf—
Who, just like the tremors, was beginning to evolve.
He was bent over, calling forth more and more dark magic until he did not look so much like the King of Evil more than his shadow. His back rose and elongated, his spine cracking as it did so. His legs and arms stretched until they each became twice the size of Link and Zelda's bodies.
"I hereby vow on my life," Ganondorf said, "that your blood shall spill upon Hylian grounds!"
By then he had grown to the height of the dungeon ceiling. Curved horns rose out of his head, and a tail grew out from his back.
It was then that the dark magic departed from him and vanished into the air. Looming before them was a monstrous beast with dirty green fur and twin swords that was big enough to fill a room.
"Goddesses above," Link muttered. "That's—"
"Ganon," Zelda finished. Her voice was just as quiet as his.
Ganon seemed to retract for a moment, like a snake just about to strike. Then he propelled his body toward Link and Zelda and bellowed a roar.
The sheer weight of the sound was almost enough to send them flying back. She bent down and dug the heels of her feet into the floor, shielding her face with her arms and closing her eyes when the wind bit her face.
She only reopened them when the sound had died down. Ganon jerked his head into the ceiling, causing several stones to plummet to the floor like giant hail, reared back again, and then launched himself into the air, breaking through the ceiling.
"Get away!" Link grabbed her hand and together they ran away from the crumbling ceiling, picking up the pace when they heard Ganon plow through the wall of the room above.
They only stopped once they had gotten a few feet away from the newfound gap in the ceiling. They looked back at it to see that the precipitation of stones was gradually coming to a halt.
"We have to go after him," she said.
Link snorted. "Oh yes, we certainly do."
Zelda held out her hand to him and lifted her eyebrows. Link nodded and took it, and then she subsequently willed herself to be near Ganon.
Suddenly the ground was much softer, and wind was brushing her face. She opened her eyes to see lightning cut across the sky, illuminating a roaring Ganon.
Zelda pulled on the end of the chain and unraveled it from her waist. She gripped it very tightly-
Then she closed her eyes.
She exhaled through her nose.
Her shoulders relaxed.
She now knew just what it would take to defeat Ganondorf.
She'd triumphed over Brawlers as Sheik, and had triumphed over Dark Sheik as Zelda.
But in order to triumph over Ganondorf. . .
Zelda let sparks of magic rise to the tips of her fingers. She opened her eyes and looked down. She held the chain in one hand and possessed raw magic in the other.
In order to defeat Ganondorf, she would have to be become more powerful than either.
And why not combine the two powers to rise above them both?
Zelda looked over to Link, who was in a battle stance and looking intently at her.
"On three?" he asked.
She nodded. "On three."
A corner of his mouth rose, and his eyes burned with absolute confidence. Zelda understood-Link had fought Ganondorf once before, by himself, and had won. So now that he was facing Ganondorf alongside her. . .
Did Ganondorf really think that this was going to be easy?
"One," Link said.
Zelda smiled. "Two."
They both looked toward a charging Ganon. She squared her shoulders.
And then, simultaneously-
"Three."
And then it began.
