A/N: At long last we reach the most epic and longest chapter of the story, no doubt long awaited with bated breath.
Due to the sheer length of it (I didn't want to split it any point, it was going so well) this isn't the final chapter - there's still an Epilogue or Two to come.
Enjoy - and see if you can spot the true name of the Hero of Time, mentioned once only in this chapter.
The golden barrier that barred access to Hyrule Castle extended even into the old tunnels underneath that he'd used before to get into the Castle grounds. On the other side of the barrier they could clearly see the flakes of twilight rising up.
"Midna, you can break this with the Fused Shadow, can't you?" Tails asked.
"Of course. I've been meaning to do that anyway."
"Just a moment then." He turned to face his friends, hesitating before he said anything. "If any of you want to leave, I won't stop you. Ganondorf is likely to be one of the toughest opponents I've faced yet."
"There's still the castle to get through," Sonic pointed out.
"No," he replied. "There won't be. Midna... I've never asked this of you before, but you told me once you could create the portals we've been using, and you've demonstrated that after each of the bosses we've fought."
"I get it," she nodded. "You want to skip the castle and go right in at the end, right wolf boy?"
"That's the idea. Zant said Ganondorf had only just been reborn – I'll take the chance that I might be wrong and he isn't at full strength just yet."
"What if there's something in the Castle you need?" Knuckles asked. "Like there has been for all the other dungeons?"
"Then I'll figure out a way around it," Tails shrugged. "I'm not going to play his game any longer, Knuckles. He's the root cause of everything that's going on, and if I turn up unexpectedly, earlier than he thinks, maybe, just maybe, I'll have one more edge over him."
The trio thought that over, sharing a look between themselves, then finally nodded, returned the equipment they'd borrowed and backed off a ways.
"We'll go when we see you safely on your way," Jet told him.
"You'd better come back in one piece, or I'll feel even worse for having to be your sidekick," Sonic added. "We'll wait for you in Kakariko."
"Thank you," Tails answered simply, then looked to Midna. "It's time," was all he said.
She brought out the Fused Shadows, completing the piece that she had used as a helmet as the finished article covered much of her tiny form. In the narrow space of the tunnel she reached outward, energy flowing to anchor her to the walls, then not three but an uncountable mass of tendrils assaulted the glowing golden barrier. With each impact there was an immense crash until cracks formed, and the entire thing shattered.
Still held in place, with a single cry she pulled all the fragments together, darkening them to form a new portal in the floor, then the Fused Shadow dropped to the floor around her, followed by her own limp form.
"I'm alright," she breathed as Tails caught her. "Just... overwhelmed. That was a lot of power."
"You've done your part – at least for now. Now it's my turn. The portal..."
"It's a one-way portal. Ready to take you there. Don't think you're going there without me though – you need me to revive Zelda for you!"
"I haven't forgotten. Now, what d'ya say we go see his grand evilness?"
Midna almost nodded, but then seemed to remember something, floating quickly over to Knuckles to whisper something to him.
"Got that?" she asked afterwards.
"Wait – why me?"
"Because I said so... wolf boy."
Tails gave her a questioning look, but she ignored that and almost pulled him onto the portal.
The world faded away, returning to reveal what was almost the topmost part of the Castle and a commanding view of Hyrule and the storm now raging above.
"What was that about?" he asked Midna.
"Oh, nothing," she replied offhand. "I just wanted to make sure he did one last thing for me. You'll see what it is – if you win."
"Of course I'm going to win."
"Then go save the world, wolfy. He's just through that fog filled door. Normal fog," she added quickly. "Not the twilight stuff."
It had been too light for that kind of fog anyway. It filled the doorway between the outside and the massive, cathedral-like structure that surmounted Hyrule Castle, occasionally allowing a tiny view of the grand hall beyond but never enough to tell anything too specific about it.
Tails drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself only to find that he didn't feel as afraid as he thought. A faint light attracted his attention, coming from the back of his right hand where the shard of the Triforce had taken up residence – then he remembered Rusl's words about it and realised why he wasn't afraid.
"The Triforce of Courage," he said softly. "Probably just as well I do have it, otherwise I'd never be considering doing this."
"Did you bash your head one too many times back in my palace?" Midna asked him suspiciously. "You're talking to yourself again."
"I was just reminding myself why I'm doing this," he answered, striding confidently through the fog into the room beyond.
It was not so much a room as it was a massive vaulted hall, immense pillars down either side that supported the vast curved ceiling. A rich blue carpet led down the center of the room, up steps to the throne itself, a large marble head that had been broken off its statue laying on the floor beside it.
Above the throne was a impressive carving of the Triforce itself, large wings spread on either side, and in the inverted triangle center of the Triforce was the unconscious form of Princess Zelda.
Then Tails' glance sank downwards to the red-backed ornate throne itself, upon which sat the figure of the one he had no doubt as Ganondorf. Impressive black armour with many ornate embellishments, dark skin and flaming hair that was very similar to Midna's own, framing his face his expression was not one of surprise, but rather of smugly amused arrogance.
Tails concealed his notice of a single spot in the center of his armour that glowed with a silvery light, the armour around it jagged as if something had ripped through it at that point. An old wound, perhaps not sealed because of the light that had done it to him... if it wasn't a weak spot, it was a very good deceptive ploy.
"Welcome," Ganondorf said in a deep, resonating voice. "To my castle... Hero."
"Ganondorf," Tails responded. "You don't seem surprised to see me here."
"And why would I be?" he answered with an evil chuckle. "You, who are not even of this world. Oh, I know you Tails. The timid fox, always within the shadow of your friend. That the Goddesses chose you, of all people, to face me is a joke in itself."
"This coming from the guy who lost to Silver," Tails replied. "Also from my world, and also a Hero."
Ganondorf's smug smile tightened slightly at the mention of Silver's name, becoming very forced.
"I've been dying to meet you, Ganondorf," Midna broke in with a similarly evil looking grin.
"Then it is a good thing I have granted your final wish," Ganondorf replied coldly. "Your people have always amused me, Midna. To defy the very gods themselves with your petty magic, only to be cast aside... almost so pathetic I pity you. But they served me well. Their anguish nourished me, bleeding across the the void to awaken me once again. I drew deep of it and grew strong once again. Some skill in your people, to be sure... but there is no true power to you. Nothing like the true and absolute power those chosen by the Gods wield," he went on, turning to look up toward Zelda.
Tails unsheathed the Master Sword, drawing it out so that the sound of it echoed around. "Foolish boy," Ganondorf said, turning back to face him with his smile no longer forced. "Do you really think you are a match for me? I, who wield this?" He held up one clenched fist to show the back of it to them, where three faint triangles sat, one of them lit up – a different one to his own, but there nonetheless. "One who wields this power... would make a suitable King of the World, don't you think?"
"You're a conceited old fool," Midna told him. "But now you've proven you're one of these chosen wielders... I will risk everything to deny you!"
"So shadow has been moved by light," Ganondorf chuckled. "How amusing. Very well! Deny me then! Deny me and your little friend!"
Shadow began to form around Ganondorf's form, interspersed with more flakes of Twilight. Tails discarded any show of restraint, taking his sword in both hands and running straight for him.
Midna on the other hand gave a surprised gasp, then practically flung herself protectively in front of Zelda. Below her, Ganondorf turned sharply to glare at Tails as he reached the top of the stairs before the throne, then vanished into the cloud, fading only to reveal a cluster of twilight flakes hanging in the air.
The flakes rose up before Midna, who braced herself ready for whatever Ganondorf had planned, then the flakes shot past and around her and into the recumbent Princess Zelda.
When the sound of the flakes movement had gone, Midna opened her eyes again, looking herself over in surprise.
"He went around you," Tails called up to her.
Midna didn't reply, turning to face Zelda with an angry look.
Zelda remained unmoving until Midna got close, then she opened her eyes – not the deep blue he had seen in them before, but the golden yellow of Ganondorf's own eyes looked out. With the flick of the Princess's wrist, Midna was hurled across the room, coming to rest just inside the fog at the door.
A barrier shot up, separating him from Midna. Tails leapt back to the lower floor as a sword leapt up and into the floating Princess's hand even as she descended to the floor under Ganondorf's control.
"Both of you, faithless fools who would dare to take up arms against the king of light and shadow," Ganondorf spoke through her lips. "So you choose, and so you shall feel my wrath!"
She stopped, not at the floor but above it. The sword was raised up, the tip of it gathering a vast ball of energy that she threw at him.
Tails was ready for this, swinging the Master Sword at it in perfect time to send it back again. It was struck back at him similarly, then again back at her, only Ganondorf missed his timing and the energy stunned her. She sank down slightly in the air, but did not descend all the way.
With barely a moment to hesitate, Tails took a running jump, flying into the air to attack the stunned Zelda with his own sword until Ganondorf the sparking energy stopped, allowing him to regain control over Zelda's body and strike downwards, sending him tumbling back to the floor before he regained control.
When he got up off the floor the sword was raised again, but it was not collecting energy. Instead an immense Triforce was being drawn in light on the floor right beneath him. Tails took off again, hovering over the inverted part that had no light to it as it shot up around him.
Ganondorf attempted to throw another energy ball at him, starting a new round of energy-ball tennis, but once again after only a few rounds his timing failed him and Tails flew in to lash out again. This time he was more wary, drawing back before Ganondorf recovered.
He made to swoop in at Tails, the sword ahead of her as if it were dragging her on, but Tails weaved around in the air, avoiding every attempt Ganondorf made for him until he spotted a chance and struck down hard on Zelda's back as she passed.
With a cry from Ganondorf, she fell to the floor again, energy sparking around her. The barrier behind faded, and from his vantage he could see Midna had been waiting on the other side, the Fused Shadow already in place.
Zelda tried to rise, but Midna called on the power of the Fused Shadow, becoming a massive glowing form that filled the entire doorway and even reached up to the ceiling above. Two immense hands shot out from that form, grasping Zelda to force her back up to the throne, Ganondorf trying to struggle against it but failing.
When the hands impacted the throne there was a detonation, a few small shards of twilight around Zelda, then the hands were withdrawn to leave the Princess, unharmed and apparently free of Ganondorf's influence, sat peacefully asleep on her throne.
Tails settled back down to the floor, watching the hanging shards of twilight carefully.
"It's not over yet, Hero," Ganondorf's disembodied voice came contemptuously.
"Then I'll just have to keep on fighting until it is, won't I?" Tails replied defiantly. "Why don't you come out and face me yourself – or are you too afraid you'll lose?"
"Tails!" Midna breathed in surprise, having at some point returned to her usual self and rejoined him. He just winked back.
The twilight shot past him to appear between them and the entrance, forming into a shadowy form that first appeared to be that of a human crouching on all fours, but grew rapidly in disjointed bursts, becoming a great beast with a thick orange mane and long, curved tusks. The silver glow from his armour before had become a great scar in the belly of the massive growling form.
It pawed at the ground like a bull preparing to charge, so Tails smirked at the beast, crouching.
"Stay with me," he whispered to Midna. "I'll need you soon."
Midna looked as his expression, then to the beast preparing to charge, then finally retreated back into the relative safety of his shadow.
Then as if some invisible restraint had been removed, Ganondorf charged him. Tails uncoiled like a spring, shooting up into the air. As he rose he noticed a glowing crystal on the beast's forehead, so quickly retrieved the bow.
The beast roared in fury at him, then roared again as he shot the crystal on its forehead, rolling around on the floor pawing at it. Tails dropped down, falling back to his sword to attack the clear weak spot, the scar.
The roars intensified with every blow, the pain he was causing clearly evident. It eventually had enough and managed to get back to its feet, quickly getting away from him to run around the room, knocking down each of the pillars in turn. Tails had to move quickly to avoid getting brained by the falling chunks of stone that quickly littered the floor of Zelda's throne room.
Ganondorf then leapt into a dark portal that vanished behind him, but his shadow did not. It remained on the floor of the throne room, moving about of its own accord, then stopping right above him.
Tails moved clear as quick as he could, only narrowly avoiding the beast landing on him as the portal spat him out right above where he had been. Once again he took to the air as the beast cast about for him, returning to the bow as he waited for the crystal to glow again.
He had grown wise to Tails' trick however, and merely stood warily watching his flying opponent.
Finally Tails realised the beast was going to have to charge to get the crystal to glow, and that meant he was going to have to make the beast charge.
"It's not called the Triforce of Courage for nothing, I guess," he muttered to himself, then made some show of not being able to stay in the air for long, dropping once again to the floor, ensuring he had plenty of distance between him and Ganondorf.
The beast gave a triumphant roar and charged him, the crystal bursting into life. Tails shot it then quickly dived aside as the beast crashed to the floor, shoving debris ahead of it right for him. Once again he attacked the silver scar, this time not slashing at it but stabbing into it, always keeping a firm grip on the handle of the Master Sword so that no chance movement Ganondorf made would tear the blade from his grasp.
Ganondorf eventually got back up and ran into a portal again, this time taking his shadow with him. Another portal pulsed directly opposite Tails and the beast ran out of it. He prepared to shoot the crystal, backing away quickly as the beast drew closer, but the crystal didn't glow this time. When he got too close to the far side of the room, instead of continuing to charge Tails he leapt into another portal instead.
"So that's how he wants to play is it?" Tails said to himself. "Alright – Midna, lets pit one beast against another! I'll need your help for this one."
"With you all the way, wolf boy," she replied as she changed his form again.
"You know what to do?" he growled at her afterwards.
"Don't worry about that – just focus!"
Tails grinned as only a wolf could, watching for the next portal to appear, keeping moving to be ready for him to appear from any direction.
A portal pulsed in one corner of the room, so he turned to face it and set himself ready. Midna's hair flared into a giant hand, then as Ganondorf headed for them out of the portal she grabbed hold of the beast. Tails felt his legs almost buckle under the initial shock from the force of that impact, struggling to keep himself stood on all four legs as Midna struggled with Ganondorf.
After a lot of effort she finally thew the beast over onto its side, once again exposing the scar. This time he went to work with tooth and claw, biting and tearing until the beast threw him off and away. It drew up in the air before him, growling faintly, then at last it collapsed and crashed back to the ground, unmoving but for a grim green fire that was consuming the remains.
Tails knew he had won this round, but suspected Ganondorf was not finished yet. His victory was a victory nonetheless though, so in keeping with a wolven tradition he had not even realised he knew, he lifted his muzzle in a howl of victory.
Midna returned him to his usual form when he had finished, looking the beast's remains over with a satisfied look herself. Then, to the surprise of both of them she began to glow with a white light, the same white light Zelda had faded into when she had restored Midna – only this time, the light was returning to Zelda.
As the last light faded, Zelda woke and stood to smile down at them.
"Princess," Tails said, bowing slightly in respect, then looking around at the carnage. "Sorry about your throne room," he apologised.
Zelda stared for a moment at him, then with a light laugh answered, "It was due for redecoration anyway. And Midna... you need not say anything. Your heart and mine were one for a time, however briefly. I understand the suffering you've been through." She paused and looked back to Tails and added, "And I grew to know you through her. Though not from here, like Midna you still fight in our stead. On behalf of all Hyrule... I thank you."
"Just doing my job, Princess," Tails replied. "Is he really..." he trailed off. He'd turned to point to the remains of Ganondorf, but stopped when he saw that all that was left was an amorphus golden shimmer of light in the air. It formed the outline of Ganondorf's face, even changing colour to show the flare of orange. "You don't know when to give up, do you?" he demanded of the face.
Midna put herself between them and the face before anyone could say anything else, the Fused Shadows already floating around her.
"You've done all you did because you felt it right," she told Tails. "Now it's my turn."
"Midna-" he started, but was cut off as she gestured to him and the world dissolved around him. In the last moments of sight he had, he saw she had also transported Zelda along with him.
They reappeared on Hyrule field, looking toward the castle.
"Tails!" the familiar voice of Knuckles shouted to him over the storm still raging above. Tails turned to see him riding Epona with Jet hanging on behind him and Sonic running alongside. Zelda gave him a curious look.
"My friends," he answered quietly with a faintly embarrassed look. "From my world."
"Did you win?" Sonic asked, then apparently saw Zelda for the first time. "Oh... you're..."
"This is Princess Zelda," Tails introduced her to them. "Why are you all here?"
"Midna told me to bring Epona here for you," Knuckles answered. "They decided to tag along."
"But why-" he started, then broke off again as a deep rumbling echoed to them, coming from the castle. Thunder rumbled and lightning struck, the shadowy outline of the castle against the storm clouds betraying nothing of what Midna and Ganondorf were doing there, then a with a crashing boom it vanished into a great cloud of dark smoke.
A part of the smoke billowed outward, over the town to the field in defiance of natural order, then it started to clear. First it was merely a figure on horseback, then the dark horse itself become clear. Finally the rider emerged from the retreating smoke, none other than Ganondorf himself. In one hand he held the piece of the Fused Shadow that Midna had worn as a helmet.
Tails felt a sudden irrational surge of fury, in a low tone saying, "Get down off Epona, Knuckles. This isn't over yet."
"Tails," Zelda said. "Lend me your bow and let me help you."
"But princess..." he stopped and saw her own furious expression. "A bow by itself isn't going to do much."
Zelda nodded, laid one hand on the Master Sword and reverentially murmured, "Spirits of light, wielders of the great power that shines far and wide upon the lands of our world... in our hour of need, grant me the power to banish evil!"
There was a bright flash, then in her hands lay a quiver of golden glowing arrows. She wordlessly took the bow from his back as Knuckles led Epona to them.
Tails flew up and into the saddle, then extended his hand down to Zelda to help her up. Once she nodded to show she was ready, he laid a calming hand on Epona's neck, then looked up to glare at Ganondorf, who had dropped the piece of the Fused Shadow and was now brandishing a massive sword with a glowing handle.
"Get ready Ganondorf, because we're coming for you!" Tails shouted ahead, then spurred Epona on towards his opponent. Ganondorf responded in kind, his horse rearing back to paw at the air, then thundering toward them.
"I'll slow him down with the light arrows," Zelda told him. "Just get me in range and try not to get hit."
"Try?" Tails grinned mirthlessly back. "I don't do half measures, Princess. He's as good as finished now."
Ganondorf showed no sign of changing his stallion's course, so Tails set himself, readied his sword and prepared to meet his charge. Ganondorf's stallion was bigger than Epona, just as his sword was clearly bigger than the Master Sword, but Tails ignored these differences.
"Be ready to duck," he told the princess as they closed in, then at the last moment he made a strike to the side as the two of them ducked low against Epona's back. Ganondorf's sword whistled harmlessly over head, while his own sword clanged noisily and harmlessly off the armour.
He quickly wheeled Epona around after Ganondorf and gave chase, as Ganondorf's steed seemed harder for his rider to steer. Zelda behind him prepared the bow, murmuring words that caused a light arrow to flash into existance, set ready to fire, then as they closed on Ganondorf she let it loose. It struck true despite the armour, but seemed to have little effect at first. Zelda fired a second shot, narrowly missing this time as Ganondorf finally persuaded his steed to turn, then a third caught him in the side.
He'd lost speed because of the turning and having to fight with his steed, and now he appeared stunned by Zelda's arrows. Epona seemed to have grasped the gravity of the situation and required no signal to thunder after their opponents. Tails readied the sword again, Zelda murmuring words again that caused it to blaze with light just as it had in the realm of Twilight. As he passed Ganondorf he leaned over in the saddle and struck out as hard as he dared, causing Ganondorf to howl and shake off the stunning effects. He kicked at his horse's flanks to get the stallion moving again, fighting to get him to give chase to the rapidly retreating Epona.
"One more time," Tails muttered to himself, then to Zelda, "Keep an eye on him please Princess – I don't want him surprising me by coming up behind."
"Too late – he's right on our tails." She paused, then despite the situation added, "Those of us that have tails, that is."
Tails smiled briefly, glancing back to see the black stallion closing on them. He quickly sheathed the sword again to take the reins in both hands, trying to guide Epona away, but Ganondorf seemed to have broken his steed's troublesome steering habits and continued to give chase.
"Need a hand, buddy?" Sonic called, blurring up alongside them. "Just say the word."
"Have you completely lost your mind? Do you know how dangerous it is out here?"
"Naturally!" Sonic grinned back. "But if you're risking it, you can't ask us to sit on the sidelines!"
"Just watch yourself then, and see if you can get him off our back before he catches up – I need to get behind him again!"
"Already on it," Sonic replied, veering off. Tails looked back again only to see Ganondorf was almost right on top of them.
"Now would be a good time though," Tails muttered to himself.
From behind him there suddenly came the sound of Ganondorf's horse neighing, along with Ganondorf's voice, "What – get off me you blue monster!"
"I'm no monster, I'm a hedgehog!" Sonic replied. Tails chanced a glance back to see Sonic blurring around and over Ganondorf's horse, even over Ganondorf himself. The horse had spooked, rearing back as he tried to regain control over the horse and fend off the sudden attack, but his own armour slowed him down to the point where he couldn't even hope to keep up.
"Now's our chance. Ready, Zelda?" he asked, then when she didn't answer looked over his shoulder.
"Sorry," she managed eventually. "Just the sight of that was too funny to pass up. Ganondorf doesn't have much of a sense of humour."
"Had noticed. Got a light arrow to hand?"
"Of course. Just get behind him and hope your friend... no, he'll be out the way long before we have to worry, won't he?"
"Naturally," Tails replied, steering Epona around to come at Ganondorf's mount from behind. Zelda readied an arrow as Tails drew out the sword again, then she loosed the first arrow. Sonic didn't stop what he was doing, he just took note and avoided where it struck.
Zelda readied a second arrow, taking aim as they closed the distance. This time Sonic broke off his delaying attack and streaked away just before the arrow struck, closely followed by Tails with the glowing Master Sword.
This time as they passed, Zelda readied one more arrow and aimed it not at Ganondorf, but at the stallion. When that arrow struck, it bucked, threw Ganondorf crashing to the ground, then fled.
Tails stopped Epona, leaping off to the settling dust with his sword in hand in case Ganondorf still wasn't finished.
Ganondorf once again rose from the dust, laughing as he used his sword to push himself up. He kept laughing for a time, then broke off to glare evilly at Tails and the sword in his hand.
"An impressive looking blade," he hissed. "But nothing more."
Then he tore the sheath off the glowing handle to reveal the true sword within, the entire thing glowing brightly.
"You think too much about how things look, Ganondorf," Tails told him, unimpressed with this reveal.
"You think so? Would you like to hear what I think? What my desire is? To take this foul blade... and use it to blot out the light forever!"
"You'll have to go through me to manage that," Tails asserted. "Me and all my friends, even the Princess Zelda herself."
"We'll see about that... Tails." Ganondorf raised his free hand, clenching it to cause a circle barrier to rise around them. Not only that, but it kept on rising up, forming a dome over them. "How will they help you now? Look at you. Easily the tiniest so-called Hero I have ever seen, yet still defiant in the face of overwhelming odds against you. What good can you hope to do against me?"
"What about you?" Tails retorted. "You claim power that doesn't belong to you. You trick people into doing your bidding. Any empire under you would be full of fear and tyranny. The people might listen to you, but only because you force them too, and a king who rules like that is no king at all. I won't let the people of Hyrule suffer that, not as long as I have strength to stop you!"
"A brave little speech, boy. But words... are just words. Come Tails! Come if you dare, and let us decide this!"
Tails shook the Hylian shield down to his other arm, watching Ganondorf carefully as he strapped it into place so he'd still be able to his both hands on the sword if he needed. He tried to charge Tails, but Tails' smaller size allowed him to duck underneath, roll between Ganondorf's legs and past the flowing cloak, then turn quickly to strike out hard. When Ganondorf turned around to face him he continued to attack, always trying to get the sliver scar behind the thin crack in his armour.
Ganondorf defended that almost desperately, using broad, wide strokes to force Tails into a retreat. Again his size lend well to avoidance rather than blocking, which seemed to increasingly infuriate Ganondorf. He was able to duck and weave through the attacks, even getting past his defences to strike at him even before he realised the little fox was there.
Ganondorf continued to defend that scarred spot for all he was worth, even leaving himself open in other places to protect it. Then he caught on to this and started to use it to his advantage, luring Tails of out position in an attempt to get back at his diminutive opponent.
Tails didn't notice. He had no idea what had happened to Midna, but he knew whatever it was, Ganondorf was responsible for it, for Zant and for everything he'd been through. It gave him a furious drive to fight back that overrode his sense, causing him to miss the signs until Ganondorf spotted his chance and in one strike sent him flying easily to the far side of the arena, crashing down hard. He felt the blow hard, struggling to get back up again.
"Give up, boy!" Ganondorf roared. "You can't go on fighting like that, and that means I win!" Ganondorf advanced on him, not rushing, believing he had this fight in the bag.
"C'mon Tails," Sonic's voice came to him. "You can't let him win now!"
"Go on," Knuckles egged him on. "You can do it! Get up and fight!"
Even Jet made his voice heard, "Go Tails – let him have it!"
"Wasted effort," Ganondorf laughed. "Wasted on a pint-sized washout of a hero."
"That's where you're wrong," Tails told him firmly, using the sword to push himself part way back up, still leaning on it. "As long as I can hear them, I'll never give in. And if I don't give in, you'll never be able to defeat me."
Ganondorf was almost before him now, the cries of his friends growing almost desperate.
"And yet," he said. "You cannot even bring yourself to get up and fight."
Tails grinned broadly, watching the armoured feet of Ganondorf stop, then in one swift movement he stopped leaning on the sword, took it in both hands and thrust upward, right into the glowing silver scar. The Master Sword grated against the armour, creaking and groaning, but it was drowned out by the pain-filled howl Ganondorf gave. He drove the sword in with all his strength, forcing Ganondorf back until he stumbled and fell to the ground, then Tails let go of the sword, flew up above it, then landed hard, each foot on either side of the crossguard to finish the job with another howl from Ganondorf.
"Say that again to my face, Ganondorf," he fiercely, settling on the ground.
Ganondorf continued his howling for a time until, breathing heavily he shoved himself back to his feet. Tails was slightly surprised to see the Master Sword had gone right through him, even appearing out of the back of Ganondorf's armour as he stumbled up.
"Do not... think it ends here..." he breathed, his face a mask of pain. "The history of light and shadow... will be written... in blood!"
He held out one hand, the hand bearing his shard of the Triforce, reaching toward it with his other hand imploringly. He gasped in shock when the glowing shard faded out, the triangles vanishing entirely. Then with a last sigh, he crashed to his knees, and finally face first to the ground, pushed aside only where the sword still pierced him.