Chapter Thirty Five

~Link's POV~

The memories swim restlessly in my head. I feel a headache coming on. I'm vaguely aware of Ganondorf stumbling backwards and hitting his head, hard enough for him to go unconscious and the magical barrier shatters. Nicky and Navi run and kneel next to me.

"Link?" Navi asks. "Link, what happened?"

"Link, are you okay?" Nicky says, biting her lip with concern. Her eyes sure are pretty. I know that I've had feelings for other girls before. Malon, Ilia, many versions of Zelda, even Midna. But that was in the past. Those were different lives, different versions of me. Right now, I love Nicky, and I'm for certain about that. "Link, say something. Can you talk? Don't go all video game you on me." Instead I reach up and press her lips to mine. She's surprised at first, but then she threads her fingers through my hair and kisses me back. I don't.. no... I can't lose her. Just for once can I keep something that I want?

We stay like that for a while, until Navi interrupts us. "Uh, guys? I hate to break this beautiful scene, but Ganondorf's waking up."

We pull apart and I smile at Nicky. "In answer to your question, yeah, I'm good. Better now. Just reliving all of my past lives."

She raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" The realization dawns on her face. "You remember being Twilight Princess Link and Link to the Past Link and all those other Links?"

"Clear as crystal."

"That is so awesome."

"Which means you remember how to kill Ganondorf?" Navi asks.

"I have a pretty good idea." I say.

Nicky smiles excitedly. "Which one's your favorite?"

I smile back. "Twilight Princess no doubt. I was freaking epic." She laughs. Man, I love her laugh.

But it's cut short by Ganondorf roaring to the side of us. We look back in shock. No, it's no longer Ganondorf. It's Ganon. His beast form is hideous. He looks like a deformed furry pig, which would be hilarious if he didn't look so terrifying. I get to my feet, picking up the Master Sword and pointing it at him.

"So apparently we both remember now?" I ask.

"Oh, yes." Ganon says, his voice more gravely and deeper than before. "We go way back, don't we?"

"Yeah, ruining each others lives for thousands of years. Good times." I say.

"Yes. And now that I have my memory back, I now know how I can kill you."

I laugh. "Kill me? Ganon, I think that maybe you were wrong about receiving your memory. You've never defeated me."

Now it's his turn to laugh. "It's you who is mistaken, Hero. Think back to your reign as the Hero of Time. You and I caused quite a bit of havoc, splitting the timeline into three. We fought that final battle twice. And the ending to each was... vastly different."

There is a hazy memory of that battle a second time. And it was different than the first time. But how?

"Let me refresh your newly acquired memory." He takes a clawed paw and pushes me out of the way with so much force that I fly and hit the wall. My arm goes numb again, accompanied by a throbbing in my everywhere else. Nicky screams, and I see that Ganon has Nicky by the neck. Navi lies unconscious on the other side of the room. Then, Nicky goes limp in Ganon's grip. He's using the magic of his Triforce on her. She's lifted in the air and yells in pain. It's like I'm having a nightmare, but this is real. Ganon laughs as Nicky yells again. "Strange, isn't it, how remarkably similar the current circumstances are to that day?"

And now I remember, this is exactly what he did during that fight. He used Zelda to get to me. I died. And now it's going to happen again.

"No, Ganon!" I yell. I scramble to my feet. "Don't hurt her!"

Ganon laughs. "Is the great Hero of the Goddesses scared?" He twirls his pudgy little finger and Nicky cries out again.

"Stop!" I cry. He has me, and he knows it. He's just toying with me now. I drop the Master Sword and my shield, just like I did the first time. "Look, no more sword. Now run me through like you did before, just leave Nicole and Navi alone."

He grins and drops Nicky. I watch in horror as she hurtles to the ground, but he stops her just before she splatters, then lays her unceremoniously off to the side. She's unconscious but doesn't seem to be hurt. He pulls out his own sword and walks towards me. "The second time I will have defeated a hero. Perhaps this is the start of a habit."

"Never." I say. "You know what will happen. We're going to be reincarnated over and over, just to do this exact thing. Even if I die, this fight is never really over. And next time we meet again, I will beat you. Promise."

"So bold for someone facing death in the face." Ganon observes.

"I've done it before."

He laughs. "That you have."

"Link?" Nicole groans. I look over at her sadly. This is probably the last time I'm going to see her. And my family, and Sheik and Zelda, and Navi...

But I feel the same way I did the first time this happened. At least Nicky can get out of this alive. Maybe someone else will stop him.

Ganon lifts his sword and prepares to plunge into my abdomen. I close my eyes and brace myself for the pain I remember all too well. I hope the goddesses will forgive me and spare Hyrule from Ganon...

But instead I hear a familiar voice yell, "You touch my brother, Ganon, and I swear I'll shoot you."

"Tanner?" I stare in surprise at my brother. He stands at the entry to the Throne Room with a crossbow aimed at Ganon. Behind him stands Sheik, once again dressed in his Sheikah uniform, with his dagger and sword hanging at his hip. Then there's Zelda, no longer in her Sheikah outfit but in a simple dress, who's armed with Light Arrows. From the look on her face I can tell she remembers everything too. And behind them, I'm surprised to see, stands my Dad and Alac. As brothers, I forgot how alike they look. Both have swords.

Sheik smiles at me. "You really think we'd just leave you alone to die? What kind of friends do you think we are?"

"Smart friends." I laugh. "But apparently I was wrong."

Dad steps towards Ganon. "Now step away from my son before we all decide to actually use these weapons."

"Oh, yes, I'm so scared." Ganon says sarcastically. "Please." He turns around and shoves his sword towards me. But he's stopped midway when Tanner fires the crossbow and it hits him square in the back. I know it's not fatal, but it's certain to hurt.

"How dare you!" Ganon roars. He charges at Tanner, during which I summon my bow and shoot him once more in the back. He roars again and charges me, but Zelda takes her turn and hits him with a Light Arrow. He roars with ten times more ferocity and charges her.

An all out war begins. I drop my bow and pick up the Master Sword and my shield. We all attack Ganon in any way we can. But he's picking us off like flies. The first to be knocked out is Alac, who's thrown up against the wall. The next is Dad and Tanner, who are out the same way. But Ganon's weakening. He's receiving multiple wounds, most of which would alone be enough to kill a man. Most of the damage is due to the Light Arrows, which weaken Ganon every time they come in contact with him. But they're out when he throws Zelda up against the wall and knocks her out.

"No!" Sheik yells. He attacks Ganon with all the strength he has left. But Ganon simply throws him too. He lands right next to Zelda.

And I'm alone again.

But Ganon's weaker than he was before. I can tell by the way he holds his sword, as if it's become too heavy for him. He swings it none-the-less, and we attack each other as viciously as possible. A bolt of lightning illuminates the room, and thunder booms loud enough to rattle my teeth. I take a swing at his leg. A stream of blood pours out as I land the hit. Ganon swings at me hard, and I block with my shield. The blow is almost enough to knock my teeth out. He keeps on hitting me, causing me to back up. I think he's actually putting dents into my shield. I fall to my knees under the rain of blows, then roll to the side to avoid them. I kick him in the back and he falls to his knees. I swing at him, but he's faster than he looks. He rolls over and manages to bring his sword up to block me. I get a couple good swings at his arm and abdomen though. Thanks to the surprise attack he's not doing so well on the getting up part. When he does he looks like he's going to pass out. He swings again, and this time it's so hard my sword is wrenched from my grip and hurls to the floor.

He smiles wickedly at me. "Now, Hero, this fight is over!" He swings his sword at my head and I just miss by the skin of my teeth by ducking. He swings again and I have to roll to avoid it. I bring my shield up to deflect the next one, but the blow is so powerful it slams me to the floor and knocks the wind out of me. But before he can bring another blow down a Light Arrow hit him and he screams. I turn, expecting to see Zelda, but it's Nicky who holds the arrows.

She smiles and shrugs. "I took archery as an extracurricular activity last year." I have no idea what that means but I smile back.

My smile fades as I turn to Ganon. He looks at me with malice. "You're right Ganon," I say. "This fight is over." I take the Master Sword and plunge it deep within his chest. This is the first death I don't feel regret about causing.