Chapter 51
Ganondorf awoke feeling refreshed but annoyed. He desperately wanted to get out of the jail cell and put a stop to Veran's activities. He ran over to the cell door and shook it violently. It didn't budge. He pounded the cell door angrily. Suddenly, a blast of lightning shot out of his hand. He looked at his hand in surprise. Did he finally have his powers back? He concentrated and attempted to shoot the wall outside the cell with magic. Within mere seconds, a blast of fire hit the wall. He grinned evilly. Finally he could get out of this prison and show those foolish gerudo who the real Ganondorf was! First, he wanted to fix his appearance. He used his magic to create a mirror in front of him. He scowled with disgust. He didn't want to look like Veran any longer. He concentrated and managed to create a spell to counteract the effects of his current appearance. He took the ball of green energy in his hand and slammed it into his chest. He grunted with both pain and surprise. He had not expected it to hurt him. He looked in the mirror. He still looked like Veran except his skin was now a bright green. He cursed in anger. He was getting ready to attempt another spell when suddenly, he felt funny. Shortly after, his body changed from a bright green color to a pitch black. Ganondorf felt dizzy and stumbled around the cell. Things started to go black around him and he passed out. When he awoke, he put a hand to his forehead. Using that spell on himself was a terrible idea! He turned around and he noticed that the mirror he created was still there. He looked into it and smiled with delight. He looked like himself again. From his shiny black armor to his curly red hair. He glared at the cell door. He held out his left hand and blasted it with a bolt of electricity. The door flew off of it's hinges. Upon hearing the disturbance, the on-duty guard went running in search of the noise. This was the same guard that insulted Ganondorf earlier. She ran to check the prisoner cells, in case Veran escaped. When she arrived, Ganondorf was standing in front of the cell door. He was looking down at his glowing hands. When he heard the guard, he turned around to face her. His eyes were glowing bright red. He glared at her and pointed at her.
"You! You are the guard that insulted me. You wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell you about Veran and you kept me imprisoned! For that, you must die!"
The guard got down on her hands and knees and began to beg for mercy.
""I'm so sorry, King Ganondorf. Please spare my life. How was I to know it was really you? Please give me another chance!"
She looked up at Ganondorf. There was no mercy in his eyes. He held out his hand and blasted her with lightning until she was nothing more than a pile of ash on the floor. He then stormed out of the pyramid to find his troops and evaluate the situation.
The remaining seven hundred and fifty troops were busy patrolling the desert and training in the arts of swordplay and archery. They never went into the pyramid unless they were called by Nabooroo and that was very rare. She would always come out and issue orders directly. Other than their daily training and patrolling, they were also awaiting word from who they thought was Ganondorf. That all changed when Ganondorf came running out of the pyramid. Everyone stopped what they were doing and walked over to him. He looked around at all of the confused faces.
"What are all you fools gaping at? It's me, Ganondorf. Don't you bumpkins recognize me?"
One of the gerudos pointed at him.
"Wait. If you're Ganondorf, then who led the troops to Kakariko?"
Ganondorf sighed.
"That was Veran in disguise. I can't believe she fooled all of you so easily. Now I see she is going to be difficult to deal with. I should've never got Saska to create her in the first place. This is all my fault. We're going to need someone to help us stop her. But it has to be someone with more advanced powers than me and I think I know who to talk to."
One of the gerudo held up her hand.
"We're a mighty force, lord. Won't we be more than enough to stop her?"
Ganondorf sighed in frustration.
"Don't you fools get it? She is a master with magic and none of you know how to use magic properly. Saska and Jaska are the only ones that do know and they are with Veran. The only person that might be able to help us is my brother."
A lot of the gerudos gasped in surprise. Ganondorf had a brother? Who was he and where in Hyrule did he live? Ganondorf grinned.
"My brother doesn't live in Hyrule anymore. Last I heard, he was heading towards a far away land called Holodrum. His name is Onox Dragmire. He hated the shifting sands of this desert and he wanted to travel alone and find his own path. It would take far too long to travel to him, so I'm going into my tent and I'm going to attempt to reach him through telepathy. If there is any activity out there, report to me at once!
Saska and her ten troops were marching towards the desert. They were constantly on the lookout for the Hyrule resistance. So far, none of them could find any signs of them. Saska scratched her head. Where in Hyrule did they get to? She shrugged her shoulders. It didn't matter. Eventually, they would have to come out of hiding. Veran would probably execute them on the spot. She smiled as she led the troops towards the desert. About an hour later after taking her memorized path through the shifting sands, she finally reached the desert outpost. The gerudos turned around as they saw her enter. One of the gerudo greeted her.
"It's good to see you again, Ma'am! I hate to tell you this, but you were misled by a fake Ganondorf. That was Veran in disguise."
She dismissed the comment with a wave.
"I know that already. I was a little angry at first, but with her help, we managed to take Kakariko and drive the resistance into hiding. I've been sent here to lead the rest of you to Kakariko. We need more supplies to mold it into the ultimate base."
The Gerudo glared at her.
"Forgive me for asking, but whose side are you on?"
Saska looked at her oddly.
"What are you talking about, soldier? We are all on the same side!"
She crossed her arms.
"If you're fighting for Veran, then we are on opposite sides!"
She reached for a bone whistle around her neck and blew it. Within seconds, Saska and the ten gerudo that were with her were surrounded by gerudo soldiers. A lot of swords and bows were pointed at them. Saska looked around and gulped nervously.
"W-what is the meaning of this? Let us go!"
The gerudo soldier sneered.
"I shall do no such thing! Ganondorf will want to speak with you traitors! Okay everyone! I am going to inform Ganondorf of the situation. Kill anybody that moves a muscle!"
The gerudo soldier ran over to Ganondorf's tent. She poked her head in. Ganondorf was in deep concentration. She cleared her throat.
"Uh, sir? I'm sorry to bother you but-"
Ganondorf's concentration broke and he glared at the gerudo.
"Can't you see I'm busy? What is so important that you had to disturb me?"
The gerudo soldier stood to attention.
"There is a situation outside that requires your presence! General Saska has returned..."
Ganondorf smiled. At last one of his most trusted officers was back in the desert. He smiled at her.
"That's great news. Bring her to my tent and I'll fill her in on my plans."
The gerudo soldier hesitated.
"Sir, there is something you need to know before I do that. She is working for Veran and she wanted all of us to follow her to Kakariko."
Ganondorf rose quickly from his chair.
"What? Send her in here at once! She will either rejoin me or I will turn her into a pile of ash!"
The gerudo left to do his bidding. She was not gone long. Within a few short minutes, Saska was led into the tent and pushed in front of Ganondorf. He held his hands up in the air.
"Why if isn't General Saska. Word around the desert is that you turned traitor on me. Tell me everything you know or I will kill you where you stand!"
Words began flowing from Saska's mouth.
"Yes sir! Please spare my life. We captured Kakariko with Veran's help, but the Hyrule Resistance escaped. She sent me here to lead the remaining troops to the village and to bring supplies."
Ganondorf nodded.
"Veran is more cunning that I could've ever imagined. Impersonating me and taking over Kakariko. You've been in my army for a long time, Saska. So I'm going to give you a break. Rejoin my army and I will forget your betrayal. If you refuse, I will be forced to kill you."
Saska saluted him.
"You have my complete loyalty, sir! But what about my sister? She is with Veran as well as a quarter of our forces."
Ganondorf grinned.
"Don't worry about them. They will either help me defeat Veran or die by my hand. Now leave me. I need to contact my brother, Onox Dragmire."
Saska recognized the name.
"Onox...Wait I remember him. We used to hang out when we were younger. He was always getting us into trouble and he thought he was better than everybody else. Why do you need to contact him?"
Ganondorf grinned.
"If you recall, he was a very skilled spell caster before he left. I was going to see if he might be able to help us put an end to Veran."
Saska shrugged.
"He may tease you a little, but anything's worth a try, lord."
Ganondorf smiled.
"I don't care if he teases me or not. As long as he helps us."
Link and his friends found the exit tunnel without a lot of difficulty. It started out going straight uphill. Then it leveled out and they made a lot of twists and turns. After about twenty minutes, they found the big wooden door Impa had mentioned. Link gave it a hard push and it swung open. Link and his friends walked into the next room. They were in the stables of Lon Lon Ranch. They made their way outside when they suddenly heard somebody shouting at them.
"Halt! Who goes there? Are you friend or foe?"
They turned around and there was a man in steel armor standing beside a beautiful girl with long red hair and blue eyes. Link recognized him immediately.
"Hey, Ralph! It's Link remember?"
Ralph started laughing.
"So it is! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you and your friends. You came out of the tunnel in the stables didn't you?"
Brad grinned.
"So you know about that place as well?"
Ralph nodded.
"I should hope so, kid. I AM a member of the resistance after all! By the way, who is that shadow being beside you, Link? He almost looks like you."
Link smiled as he reintroduced his friend to the soldier.
"This is Charlie. You helped save him in the Forest Temple remember? He looks like this because of Ganondorf's evil magic. I helped to save him from the clutches of evil."
Ralph nodded slowly.
"Yes I remember. Well met again, Charlie. I'm glad you're on our side once more. Why were you in that tunnel anyway? It leads to our underground fortress."
He gasped.
"That doesn't mean...Kakariko fell to the enemy...does it?"
Link nodded sadly.
"Veran captured Kakariko with help from the gerudo. We were vastly outnumbered and we had no choice but to retreat. Impa led us down into that fortress."
Navi flew in front of him.
"I don't mean to be rude Ralph, but where were you when the enemy invaded Kakariko?"
He shook his head sadly.
"If I would've known Kakariko was going to be overrun... I should've disobeyed orders and stayed there to help! I was ordered by Impa to go around and warn people to take refuge somewhere safe and not come near Kakariko when the fighting started. I didn't find many people to be honest. But a monster found me out in the field and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a bed and Malon here was taking care of me. Luckily, I didn't get hurt bad. My armor protected me well. I wish I could've done more to help."
Charlie smiled.
"Don't worry about it, Ralph. You had no idea the village was going to be taken over."
Link was paying no attention to what Viscen had said. He was staring at Malon. A sudden realization hit him.
"Wait a minute. Did you say that woman's name was Malon?"
He stared at Malon.
"Do you remember me? I'm the forest kid from the woods you met seven years ago."
Malon stared at him for a minute and then she smiled.
"It's been too long, Link. How have you been? I heard rumors that you did something in the Temple of Time and disappeared."
Link nodded slowly. Izzy cleared her throat.
"Sorry to ruin this moment Link, but we have to get to Lake Hylia remember?"
Link shook his head and looked at Malon and Ralph.
"It was nice to see you two again. I've got to get going now. I've got to go to the Water Temple."
Ralph cocked his head sideways.
"Why are you going there? You do know that temple is only accessible to zoras right? Even with the lake almost dry, you'll need some way to get in."
Brad butted in.
"We appreciate your concerns Ralph, but we will be fine, right Izzy?"
He turned to Izzy. She answered with a giggle. Link and Charlie looked at each other. What were those two hiding? Ralph sighed.
"Okay. Have it your way. I'm going to the fortress to report in to Impa. Have fun at the lake."
Ralph walked towards the stables as Link and his friends made their way out of the Ranch and towards Lake Hylia. Link sighed quietly. Some questions were still being left unanswered. What secrets were Brad and Izzy keeping from everyone? Why don't they care about how to get into the Water Temple? And why are they so eager to get there? He looked over at Brad and Izzy. They were almost racing ahead of everyone to get to the lake first. He started to hope that all of his questions would be answered as soon as they arrived at Lake Hylia.
