Link was roused from his sleep by the sounds of screams above him, numerous soldiers had been captured, he surmised, but he still had yet to actually see them. Ever since his defeat at his eternal adversary's hands, he'd been locked up here, in a cell a floor below the dungeons in the Castle, a place that had been all but forgotten by the Castle's occupants in this era, Ganon only knowing of it because of it's use during his last occupation of Castle Town over three-hundred years prior.
Link cringed at the thought, how could he have let this happen again? He and Zelda were sure that with all of the experience behind them they would easily be able to defeat Ganondorf this time...and they almost did inside Labrynna Castle, only for Ganon's plan to take effect, the essences of his brothers and the power of the Anteforce preserving him long enough to save his own life, after all, he had been learning from his experiences too. The Hero grit his teeth and pounded his fists against the cracked stone floors, above him his people were being tortured and beaten, for information and for fun.
"Is this part of his plan, does he think this is going to break me?" Link shot.
Four Moblins and two white armored Human soldiers, eyes red from Ganon's spell, looked up at him before once again turning their eyes forward, Ganondorf's guards were never very much for conversation.
The call of his Triforce had grown weaker since the Goddesses were torn from the heavens by Ganondorf, only to be further dulled by the Demon King's suppression spells. Link turned over his hand, his Triforce mark emitting a dim, almost invisible glow, only being able to be seen due to how dark it was in his prison. Much earlier, he had tried to channel it's power to bend the bars that held him, only for one of the Moblins to knock him onto his back with the blunt end of his spear.
"Lord Ganondorf sent me to talk to him." Link heard a voice say, the chillingly deep tone of a Black Knight's voice replying.
Link stood, walking to the opposite side of the cell and craning his neck towards the doorway. He tensed slightly as the heavy iron door closed, the clanking of armor resounding from the stairway.
"You!" Link yelled, charging at the bars and shoving his arms through, clawing at the air between he and the dishonored Knight, Sir Mathias.
Link's guards moved towards the cell, weapons drawn, only for Mathias to wave them back. "I've come to speak with you of something quite important." the Knight said.
"I have nothing for you." Link growled. Mathias' armor looked to be a twisted version of the set he and Trystane wore during better days, the reflective silver being replaced with a dark gray, the rounded shoulders on Hylian armor were replaced with pointed plates, spikes lining his arms all the way down to his knuckles where they spread into four studs for each one, but most eye-catching of all was the chest plate, the winged Triforce sigil now being replaced with an upside down, crimson Triforce insignia, two crossed blades behind it.
"Link, you're the Hero, the people in this country worship you, if you help us in getting them to cooperate, special privileges will be afforded." Mathias stated.
"Special privileges you say?" Link asked, stepping closer to the bars.
"Yes, I speak the truth." Mathias said, stepping in closer.
"Hm." Link hummed, before shooting his fist through the bars, catching Mathias square in the face.
A Moblin roared across the room, Link side stepping it's stab before grabbing onto the end of the spear, pulling with all of his might, but despite his effort, in his weakened state the Moblin easily pulled his spear free, Link going back with it before crashing into the bars that separated them. "Traitor!" Link yelled as he stood up.
Mathias stood and eyed Link wearily, he needed to be more careful. "I suppose I deserved that to some extent, but you'd do well to keep a more civil tongue."
Link glared at the former Knight before pushing himself back to his feet, his legs still sore from all he'd been through. "How did this happen?" he asked, a tone of genuine curiosity and worry in his voice.
"How did you end up in here? Well, I thought you'd know the answer to that." Mathias replied.
"No...the fact I am here, the fact the Castle is occupied means you won...but how? You were outnumbered, even with Ganondorf on your side the fight couldn't have gone in your favor. I've seen hundreds of battles during my many lives, so I know this for certain." Link hissed.
"You seem to forget, Lord Ganondorf has transcended to another level, with him on our side anything is possible." Mathias answered.
"Tell me what he did!" Link yelled.
The Moblins and human guards in the back moved towards the cell, Mathias waving them back once again before he thought back to that night.
oOo
A bright flash went off in the distance, drawing the attention of all on the battlefield.
"What was that?" a soldier asked.
"Let's find out! Move out!" Mathias yelled, the legion he commanded moving away from the southern wall and around the eastern side.
Before them, the invasion force was in chaos, as a large force of warriors tore out of the woods on horseback, easily smashing through the lines.
"Charge!" Mathias ordered, his legions trampling up the hill to join their allies in holding the line.
Suddenly a series of bright flashes filled the air, Mathias turning to see none other than the Hero doing battle with Ganondorf in the distance, he waved over a group of soldiers, moving closer to the battle when, in an instant, the Hero was on his back.
"We're going to win it this time." a Labbrynian soldier snarled from behind him.
Mathias nodded, doing his best not to show fear as an eye seemingly appeared on Ganondorf's head before shooting a beam of energy at Link, the Hero going limp immediately before being apprehended by a large Moblin.
Ganon extended a hand, chains materializing around the Hero's ankles and wrists before he was carried off by the Moblin, Ganon taking to the sky soon after.
All eyes turned skyward as Ganondorf's voice boomed.
"People of Hyrule, your Hero and Princess have fallen and your Goddesses have been struck from the heavens...you have been given every chance to lay down your arms and swear your loyalty to me, but you have stubbornly refused to do so...look on upon your fate...and welcome it!" Ganon roared as he extended his arms.
Crimson bolts of lightning struck around the battlefield, scattering the opposing force.
"What in the-?!" the Labrynnian soldier began as fallen man and beast alike began to stir, slowly rising to their feet despite the amount of damage to their bodies.
Mathias held one hand to his mouth as reanimated soldier shambled passed him, half of his head missing.
The group looked on as the undead soldiers slowly picked up speed before breaking into a full sprint towards the Hyrulean/Terminian force ahead, most of it having already descended into chaos.
oOo
Link hung his head, staring into the stone floor below him.
"With the number of soldiers from both sides Ganon reanimated, Mayor Met and Ginthorne ordered a pretty quick retreat." Mathias said.
Link recalled the battle for Kokiri Forest, the memories of Mahlik raising the dead rushing back to him. "You and your master have no respect for the dead, and no respect for a fair battle." Link said quietly, sliding back down against the wall.
Mathias stepped closer to the bars, standing directly against them. "Things could be worse, Hero." he said, quickly producing something from his pocket.
Link moved his eyes towards the other guards, they hadn't noticed. With one quick motion he snatched the object from Mathias' hand, giving him a quick nod before the former Knight left. The Hero looked down, a vial of blue potion resting in the palm of his hand, a small piece of parchment wrapped around it, the words "For later" etched onto it.
oOo
Minister Hawkwood couldn't stop his entire frame from shaking as he was escorted by four human soldiers towards the throne room, numerous beasts lining the halls as he passed.
"Proceed." one of the guards said as they stopped, the two men ahead of them opening the doors.
"But I-" the Minister said, being cut off as the two men behind him shoved him in.
"Minister Antholous Hawkwood, this is a pleasure." a voice boomed.
Minister Hawkwood could barely keep himself standing as Ganondorf turned to face him, the man looking even more monstrous than he did in historical depictions. "What is it you w...w...w...want from m...me?" he stammered.
"From what I've heard, you were a very effective Minister of Royal Affairs." Ganon said.
Minister Hawkwood looked around the room, instantly he noticed the sheer number of Labrynnian and Holodrumite soldiers, seemingly none of them under Ganon's spell, unlike the strange white armored men. Standing directly behind Ganon, though, were a tall, imposing man with dark tan skin and orange eyes to his right, and to his left Rickard Gavan.
"You! You betrayed us!" the Minister said, pointing at the man.
"I betrayed you? My father Krin was Prince Erris' first victim within Hyrule's borders, yet when you finally got a hold of him, you allowed him to live for your own selfish purposes, I merely want justice for my father." Rickard answered.
"You know you would've poisoned him yourself to become your family's patriarch!" Minister Hawkwood shot, suddenly finding his ability to speak gone, his throat feeling tighter and tighter until he couldn't breathe at all.
"Mind your manners, Minister." Ganondorf said, releasing his telekinetic grasp as the Minister fell to his knees, coughing violently. "All I want is for you to tell me of all the strategic locations in Hyrule, and disclose any place the Princess may be." Ganondorf said.
"I will...I will never obey you!" Minister Hawkwood said, raising a fist. "You rule through fear, not respect, not admiration, but through the terror you inflict on people! For as long as I live I will fight you! And so will the people of Hyrule, and all the lands beyond it! No matter how dark you make our situation, the sun will still rise, and our hearts will not falter!" the Minister yelled, bracing a hand against his heaving chest.
The orange eyed man beside Ganon let out a loud laugh. "My, that was quite the speech." he said with a clap.
"Indeed, quite the performance." Ganondorf said with a grin. "But when it comes to the sun rising again...I would not be too sure of that." he growled.
"What do you mean?" the Minister asked.
"I shall show you." Ganon said as he raised his arms.
Minister Hawkwood took a step back as the orange eyed man stepped towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Minister Hawkwood called, quickly bringing his hands up to his shoulders as the cold bit at him. It was almost too much to process, but he was definitely standing upon the Castle's highest point, snow all around him as the sun crested the horizon. Slowly it's light spread across the field below, Minister Hawkwood falling to his knees and screaming in horror as thousands of bodies, Human, Zora, Goron, Deku and those of Ganondorf's beasts alike littered the ground below, the snow stained red everywhere he looked, white patches being rare. "What is this?! Why are you showing me this?!" Minister Hawkwood shouted, his voice echoing far, but no one answering.
Ganon's words suddenly returned to his mind, he turned towards the sun, looking on in terror as a cloak of shadow seemed to spread over it, the light that had just begun to drench the land fading as it grew thicker, slowly blotting it out.
oOo
The stinging cold was the first thing he felt, like billions of needles sticking through his skin at once, this however, only distracted him from the severe dryness of his throat for mere moments, as it felt as if he had swallowed sand. Slowly he flexed his arms, digging his fingers through the partially melted snow and into the hard, frozen soil beneath. Trystane tried as hard as he could to shout, cry for help, but all he could do was lay on the ground and wheeze, a dull pain in his stomach greeting him with every time he tried. The Knight tried to remember what happened, but as far as he could recollect, he had just been handed a rather decisive loss by Ganondorf's general, Kanthos.
Pushing this from his mind, he swept his left hand across the ground, feeling the snow melt into water and seep through his damaged gauntlet, Trystane slowly turned his head , bringing the snow to his mouth before spitting it out, a salty metallic taste covering his tongue. He thrust his head upward with all of his might, gasping in horror as he took in the sight...a seemingly endless number of bodies, those of nearly every species in Hyrule, littered the ground, the snow being stained a shade of crimson so dark it could almost be seen as black. Trystane spat out the snow he had ingested in disgust, heaving once before steadying himself. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed it, hope filling him as an untouched patch of white snow revealed itself.
The Knight stood, running unsteadily at the patch of snow before falling to his knees directly in the middle of it, the Hylian man eagerly taking up handfuls of snow and downing it, his dry throat easing immensely as it melted into water on the way down. Trystane took another handful, dropping it into his mouth as he stood, looking over towards where he had awoken, a chill traversing his spine as he saw him.
"Viscen!" Trystane called out, running over to his fallen friend, dropping to his knees and sliding the last meter to his comrade's side. "Viscen! Viscen! Wake up!" he said hoarsely, breathing heavily. Trystane balled his fists as his body began to shake, Viscen wasn't going to answer, he knew that. His skin had gone pale, his eyes wide open and clouded over as his body lay there, frozen over, the blood that trailed from his stomach wound likewise frozen onto his armor.
With a sharp inhale Trystane grabbed at his own stomach, his abdominal muscles tensing as he felt the cold touch of his gloved fingers against the bare skin. The Knight grabbed at his head as it all hit him...he remembered suddenly being picked up by other soldiers, Viscen leading him away with...Zelda...the Princess was there too, the Captain of the Guard helping her walk as she was obviously exhausted, but along the way they were attacked, Black Knights easily killing the other soldiers and taking, Viscen, Zelda and himself to Ganondorf where he and Viscen had been executed...
"I died." Trystane said, trailing his metal covered finger over the long break in his armor where the Black Knight's sword had gone through. "But how?" he whispered, looking down at his seemingly unharmed exposed skin, not even a scar left. "I don't know what happened to me...but it should have been you who lived." he said quietly as he raised his head. Trystane reached over, placing his middle and index fingers on Viscen's eyelids, closing them before he stood, grabbing ahold of his friend's arms and crossing them over his chest. "May the Goddesses smile upon you, my friend." Trystane said as he stood and stumbled away, the realization finally setting in that his armor and the cloth below had been completely soaked through, the Knight silently thanking his talent for ice sorcery for not allowing him to freeze...if it truly was the culprit.
"Hey you, there!" a voice rang out.
Trystane turned, looking over as a couple of dark grey armored soldiers made their way to him.
"You're completely soaked, you been rolling around in this stuff?" one of the men asked with a laugh.
"Lord Ganondorf wants all of us inside the city walls, sounds like it's going to be important." the other man said.
Trystane clenched his teeth as the words hit him. "Lord Ganondorf."
"He is no lord of mine." the Knight said as he turned, a look of astonishment crossing the faces of the two men.
"What the hell?! You're...you're one of them!" one man exclaimed.
"It's impossible! You couldn't have survived out here for this long without succumbing to the cold!" the other man said.
"Besides, after your forces retreated, we made sure there were no survivors." the first man said with a grin. "We went and found anyone still breathing and put a blade through their hearts."
"Retreated?" Trystane said.
"Aye! They left you and your friends behind like the cowards they are, and you're one of 'em!" the first man said.
"And we'll see to it you won't survive this time!" the second man said as he drew his sword.
"It won't be the cold that gets ya." the first man said as he drew his, both enemies slowly moving at Trystane.
The Knight went for his blade, quietly cursing to himself as it was no longer in it's sheath. "Well, good thing cold is my element." Trystane said.
Both men yelled, charging at Trystane, the Hylian man swiping his hand upward, the snow rising around both men, freezing them solid. "It looks like the cold will be getting you." Trystane growled, shattering both men to pieces with a clench of his fist.
The Knight looked back at Castle Town once more, sorrow filling him as he remembered all of the friends he left behind, the sacked capital of Hyrule sitting there defenseless, gates wide open and smoke pouring from burning buildings.
"I will avenge you." Trystane said, walking through the trees as the sun edged it's way over the horizon, golden beams of light shooting through the branches and across the ground. Trystane took comfort in the newfound light, slowly warming him as he walked away from his former home. Suddenly though, the light faded, Trystane tensed, turning quickly to find that the sun was being overtaken by a an immense shadow.
"What in the Goddesses' names is this?" he asked aloud, his voice shaking.
oOo
"I sent them home." Mayor Met said as he crossed his arms behind his desk, a clean pressed suit taking the place of the battle armor he had worn not even a day earlier.
"You sent our ENTIRE force home?!" Admiral Ginthorne roared.
"Oh, my soldiers are "ours" now? I was not aware that you were an Admiral in Termina's military too." the Mayor shot.
"What he's trying to say is, the battle isn't over yet, how could send your entire army away?" Thrakon questioned.
"Was I not clear when we spoke earlier? I would fight with you win or lose...you lost, the Princess is comatose, the Prince is missing, the Hero is presumed dead, one of your Sages is dead and your country has been taken! Thousands of my people, Human, Zora, Goron and Deku are dead! I have to answer to the rulers of all of their people later today! You're battle is lost, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like, but as of right now, I must focus on maintaining my own country now that Hyrule has fallen." Mayor Met answered.
"If Mikau were here-!" Admiral Ginthorne began.
"He'd tell you the exact same thing, he needs to tend to his people right now...I'll admit we weren't expecting to lose, we did outnumber his force...but that...that unholy thing he did at the end...that's something I'll never come to terms with baring witness to." the Mayor replied.
"Please, if you just called your men back, we could regroup our forces, ask for Gamelon's aid, and we can go back to Hyrule and retake it." Thrakon pressed.
"And I'll be damned if it's that simple!" the Mayor shouted as he stood. "Do you think it was my decision to send the Zora, Gorons and Deku away? Because I am sorry to inform you it was not, they have their own sovereign governments, rulers that called them back to their homes...you see, Mikau, Darmani the fifth, the Deku King, they have lost confidence in me after this...as far as they see it, the battle for Hyrule is lost, and now that Ganondorf has what he wants, we can go back to worrying about ourselves." the Mayor explained.
"You are a fool if you think Ganon isn't coming for you next! Termina is the only land he hasn't conquered, Gamelon would still be his if we hadn't retaken it! You think he's just going to forget that and move on? That evil greedy bastard is probably planning on how to take you out right now!" Admiral Ginthorne said.
"I can say with utmost certainty that he is right." Thrakon said, nodding towards the Admiral.
"I know...trust me I know...you are excused." Mayor Met responded.
"Wait, we-." Thrakon began.
"Just go!" the Mayor ordered, Admiral Ginthorne growling as Terminian city guards escorted the two men out of the room.
"To think, I was born here, but the politics are more alien to me than ever." Thrakon said as they made their way through the streets.
"I thought you were Hylian." Admiral Ginthorne replied.
"I was raised in the Ordon Province as a child, but I was born in a village on the shores of the Great Bay here in Termina, spent a few years there before relocating to Hyrule with my father." Thrakon answered.
"I've been meaning to ask...I guess you get this a lot." Ginthorne began.
"How is it I'm so strong, right?" Thrakon asked.
"Been on my mind for a while." the Admiral admitted.
"I'm not entirely sure, but my father always told me that a Terminian Great Fairy was my mother, and that's the only answer I ever got." Thrakon replied.
"A Great Fairy was your mother?" Admiral Ginthorne asked incredulously.
"My father was a mercenary like me, taught me the trade, so to speak...when I was a child, he always told me about this one time he was hired to go deep into the swamp to find a fugitive...apparently the guy had run away after murdering a young woman in Clock Town, long story short, before he found his quarry, he was confronted by small fairy asking for his aid. Apparently, hundreds of years ago, during the Hero of Time's age, the Great Fairy of the Swamplands had been broken into pieces by Majora, our friend Link never having the opportunity to help her. Long story short, my old man helped her return to her true form, apparently they stayed together for a while, but my mother couldn't take the mortal life for very long and returned to the Sacred Realm, leaving me behind, that's when we moved to Hyrule." Thrakon explained.
"That's uh...quite the story you've got..." Ginthorne answered. "You think it's true?"
"While I can't recall much of my younger years, I do somewhat remember my mother's face, and that's all of the assurance I need." Thrakon answered.
"I know this isn't really a big part of the story but..." the Admiral began.
"What happened to the murderer?" Well, after my father left the recovering Great Fairy at her fountain, promising to return, he found the man deep inside Deku territory, they had already burned him alive." Thrakon answered.
"Well damn...guess he deserved it." Ginthorne replied.
"You could say that." Thrakon answered, ceasing his walking as he looked up.
"What in Hylia's name...?" Ginthorne said, turning his gaze skyward as darkness overtook the land, the sun seemingly fading away.
"Ganondorf." Thrakon said, exchanging a glance with Ginthorne as a quiet murmur began in the crowds of people around them.
oOo
Cia looked out from the second floor balcony of the lodging Mayor Met had given them, she was tempted to call it generous, but Zelda was the rightful ruler of Hyrule after all. The Sorceress turned to look inside, Impa not having moved since they had gotten there, still sitting next to Zelda, the Princess had seemed completely healthy on the journey to Clock Town but lost consciousness as soon as they had entered their current accommodations. With a heavy sigh she turned back towards the railing, a sea of white tents sitting beyond the walls of the city, the various Hyrulean refugees, soldiers and civilian alike taking shelter in the only place left that was truly free of Ganon's influence, if only for the moment.
"I think she's ready to take you up on your offer." Erris said as he made his way out to the balcony.
"I thought that Sheikah didn't want my 'black magic' anywhere near Zelda." Cia said.
"Seems as if she's come around now that even a blue potion has had no effect on her state." Erris replied.
Cia took a deep breath before turning around, the previous day's dealings were nothing she'd be able to recover from quickly. She'd considered herself strong, a power that was able to be set on equal ground with the Hero, the Princess, and the Demon King himself, but it was quickly proven to her how much stronger than she they had become since the first time she took notice of them, then there was Lannis, in some form he was there, inside Trystane with the thousands of other souls that had managed to take hold when she opened the Gate of Souls to the afterlife to resurrect him. She was nearly two-thousand years old, thus control of her emotions came easily to her, yet Lannis' short return to the living world as a member of legion of souls brought back all the pain she had experienced when she lost him to Ganondorf, she couldn't help but wonder if he had known she was there, or if Lannis was even conscious of the situation at all, because even though he was within Trystane, the sheer number of souls would have easily buried him.
"Mother?" Erris asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Oh, yes, of course." Cia said as she was roused from her thoughts.
Inside the room, Zelda lay on a small bed, covers drawn up to her chest, eyes closed. Off to the side, the body of Naora lay, earlier, she, Impa, Elgon, and Erris had all done their best to revive her, but she was gone, even beyond Cia's reach, as her soul had grown too distant from her body.
Elgon nodded toward Cia before returning his attention to Naora, saying a quiet prayer over her.
"I assume never before has a Sage been lost in such a way." Erris said.
"Before the Twilight War, Ganon killed a number of Sages in the Sacred Realm when they tried to execute him, but in that era, the Sages were not part of the Goddesses plan, times when the Sages are born into mortal forms in our realm are when they will be needed." Cia corrected.
Erris brought his hand up, flame twirling around his fingers. "Who would've thought, me, a Labrynnian, becoming a sage.
Cia wouldn't say it, but it worried her greatly, her son being a Sage, Ganon would hunt him mercilessly now.
"Cia...I." Impa said as the Sorceress made her way over to her.
"I'll do whatever I can to revive her." Cia said.
"Cia, I must apologize for earlier...I spoke too harshly to you." Impa replied.
"You needn't worry, I know you've experienced much in the days passed." Cia said.
Impa turned her gaze downwards, as it stood, her charge was comatose, her husband most likely dead, and her daughter's whereabouts unknown.
"How are...they?" Cia asked as she held her hands over Zelda.
"We have Aren and watching them, they haven't spoken or reacted to anything since we brought them here." Impa answered.
"Well, one moment they were residing as beings of pure energy in the Sacred Realm, and in the next they were thrust to our plain, forced into physical forms, and straight away saw their sister killed by the very being they had spent their lives hiding from, so I cannot blame them." Cia said, slowly channeling energy into the Princess, breathing steadily as she searched for the cause of Zelda's condition. Cia pulled her hands back quickly as something took hold of her energy, drawing it into the Princess before she could cut it off.
"What is it? What happened?" Impa asked as she stood, Elgon turning towards them.
"It's almost as if...she's diverting all of the energy in her body to one certain place, leaving only enough to keep herself alive...and when I searched her body with my own energy, it was taken to that place, too." Cia said, looking down at the comatose Princess.
"That's because she's trying to revive her Triforce of Wisdom." a voice said.
Impa's eyes widened as she immediately dropped to one knee, Cia doing the same before giving a glare to Erris, the Prince following her example as Elgon rushed over to do the same.
"Stand." Din said, her crimson eyes settling on them.
"I can't believe this...it's an honor to be in your presence." Impa said.
"It's been long since we last met." Elgon said quietly.
"Ah, my former chosen one." Din said. "You've done well in your new place among the order."
"But I have failed you...the blade he used to kill Nayru...I gave it to him." Elgon said.
"And he helped the Demon King reconstruct it." Din said, turning her gaze to Erris.
The Prince froze, opening his mouth but no words coming to him.
"Please, he didn't know." Cia said.
"It's of no consequence whether he willed Demise to succeed or not, he will repay us in time." Din said, shooting a glare towards the Prince. "For now, I must tend to her." Din added, sitting down next to Zelda. "Little Sister, please know this is not your fault." Din muttered as she closed her eyes, laying a hand across Zelda's forehead.
"What's...what's wrong with her?" Impa asked.
"There is nothing 'wrong' with her." Din said, turning towards the group. "What is wrong is that Nayru, the source of her Triforce fragment's power, is deceased, and she's channeling all available energy in her body to it in order to keep it from dying and fading away...but it's too much for her." Din answered. "She's trying to force it to accept her as the new source of it's power."
The group fell quiet as Aren emerged from the room Farore still remained in.
"Farore, she still won't wake." he said.
"She's not ready yet, our life-forces are directly tied to the parts of the Triforce we created, she's weak at the moment because the Triforce of Courage has been been cut off from us by Demise...not on purpose though." the Goddess replied.
"How do you know it's not on purpose?" Erris asked, everyone shooting him a glare.
"Because, if he had cut my sister off from it's power intentionally, he would have done the same to me." Din responded. "My guess is that, he's placed so many warding spells on the Hero's prison, even his Triforce of Courage can't reach through them...Demise has ascended to a level of power that...that rivals us." Din said worriedly.
"The Hero is alive? That means we can still win, right?" Impa asked.
"I...I don't know." Din admitted. "When Demise...as Ganondorf, first seized the Triforce of Power...my Triforce of Power, I considered destroying myself so he couldn't use it...but the truth of the matter is, even if only one part of the Triforce is destroyed, part of what keeps this world alive will die, and soon the other parts of the Triforce will fade away too, this world with them." Din said.
"So we're essentially already on course for complete destruction?" Erris asked.
"I have Nayru's body...I transported it my home, can you revive her?" Cia asked.
"I'd need the Hero, the Princess, Farore, and all the Sages." Din said.
"Then it can't be done...Ganon already killed Naora, and two of our other Sages are assumed captured, as they were last seen entering Kokiri Forest, which is now part of Castle Town." Impa informed the Goddess.
"You forget to whom you speak, with Demise's growth in power and his possession of my part of the Triforce, I remain strong." Din said as she made her way over to Naora and placed a hand on her head. "It is not your time." the Goddess stated.
Everyone took a step back as the Gerudo woman sat up in one sharp motion, inhaling deeply before falling onto the floor, coughing and breathing heavily, placing one hand on her chest to steady it.
"Is she...?" Elgon asked in disbelief.
"Very much alive." Din answered casually.
"Where am I?" Naora asked, her chest heaving.
"You need to take it easy, you've been through a lot." Impa suggested, stepping towards the Gerudo woman.
"The last thing I remember...Ganondorf...he..." Naora began, mouth hanging open.
"He killed you, yes." Cia answered.
"I...I know...but..." Naora replied, looking around the room before finally settling on Din, her eyes opening wide as she dropped to her knees. "The Goddess of Sand!" she proclaimed, closing her eyes and bringing up her hands.
"The Goddess of Sand?" Erris asked.
"The Goddess of Sand and I are...well, one in the same." Din answered.
"I am not worthy of your presence." Naora said.
"You are a Sage, that alone makes you worthy of anyone's presence." Din said.
Naora stood, looking on in disbelief. "I think I need to sit down." she said, Elgon rushing to her and easing her back onto the couch she laid on beforehand. "Who are you?" she asked, locking eyes with the Hylian man.
"I am Elgon, former Hylian soldier and the current Light Sage, it's a pleasure to meet you, Spirit Sage." he said with a smile. "I feared I may not be able to...before she brought you back, that is."
"Seeing as you do have this much power, would you perhaps be able to defeat Ganondorf?" Cia asked, all eyes turning to Din.
The Crimson haired Goddess leaned against a support column, exhaling deeply. "I...am not sure." she said.
"How? You are a Goddess." Impa pressed.
"Demise has used my Triforce of Power, the essences of his brothers, and the accursed Anteforce to bring his power to new heights, I fear that at this point he could possibly outclass me, although only slightly." Din answered.
"Then how are we supposed to win?" Erris asked.
"If we can retrieve the Hero and revive the Princess, I may be able to use their combined power to resurrect Nayru, but first, the Hero has to escape wherever Demise is holding him, as I said before, the warding is keeping Farore from drawing energy from the Triforce and has rendered me unable to find him." Din answered. "You see, we contain parts of our essence within the Triforce, and without our connection to those parts of our essences, we are greatly weakened."
"So we need to go to Castle Town and break Link out." Aren proposed as he approached the group.
"It won't be that easy." Cia began, stopping as the whole group went quiet, the light outside fading away, darkness falling around the city.
"What is this? What's going on?" Naora asked as she sat up.
"It's Demise, I can feel him drawing on my power." Din said with a grimace.
oOo
Link was awoken by violent shaking and the fearful yelps of Moblins, bits of mortar and dirt falling from the walls as the room shook.
"What's going on?" he asked as he sat up.
"Keep quiet!" one of the human guards yelled as they braced themselves against a wall.
Link attempted to sleep after the shaking had stopped for a while, turning away as the heavy door at the top of the stairs creaked open and clanged shut, Sir Mathias rapidly descending.
"Lord Ganondorf requests we transfer the prisoner to the Arbiter's Grounds." he said as he reached for a key.
"No way, you're lying." a human soldier growled as he blocked Mathias' path.
"Those are his orders, or do you want to explain to him why you didn't let me carry them out?" Mathias asked.
The guard drew his sword as the other guard and both Moblins approached. "Lord Ganondorf warned us you might try something...you're a bad liar." the man said before swinging his blade at the Knight, Mathias deflecting it. "Hero!" he yelled, tossing a key to Link.
The other human guard dove for it, Link barely snatching it up in time. The Hero jabbed it into the lock as the guard stood up, the door to his cell springing open. The guard charged, Link pulling the key free as he faded out of his path, noticing the key had broken as usual. The guard performed a diagonal downwards slash, Link dodging to the side before kicking the mans sword arm away and jabbing the broken key through his eye, killing him instantly, as the man fell, he saw Mathias removing his sword from the other guard's chest before dropping to the floor to avoid a Moblin's spear.
Link ran at the wall, jumping onto, and kicking off of it and landing on one Moblin's back. The large creature dropped it's spear as it swung it's arms back, attempting in vain to get a hold of the Hero. Link leapt off as Mathias ducked under the other Moblin's spear, charging forward as he grabbed another sword off of the ground, tossing it passed the other Moblin to Link. As soon as the Hero caught the blade, Mathias slashed the distracted Moblin across the thigh, it's cry of pain cut short as Link ran his blade through it's chest.
"You okay?" Mathias asked.
"I can fight." Link answered.
The other Moblin backed away warily, turning sharply as the clanking of armor carried from the stairs, a Black Knight slowly stalked down towards them, suddenly stumbling forward before falling outright, a gaping hole in the back of it's armor, a black liquid seeping from it.
The Moblin made a terrified face when a shadow suddenly moved, Oren emerging and slashing it's head in half with his Great Sword.
"Oren!" Link yelled, running to the Sheikah man, both clasping hands before turning to the stairs.
"Hero, it's good to see you, but we must leave at once." Oren said.
"Hasn't Ganon already sensed what's going on?" Link asked.
"He's resting, he was already drained from the battle, but his earlier outburst really did him in." Mathias answered.
"What happened?" Link asked.
"He became furious after he sensed the Sage he killed had been revived somehow." Mathias answered.
"And he took it out on the Castle?" Link asked.
"He didn't even mean to do that, he simply lost control of his power for the moment." Mathias replied.
"And you're sure he won't wake soon?" Link pressed.
"Completely, your battle with him was closer than you think, he's attempting to contain the power of his brothers, the Anteforce and the Triforce of Power within his body all at once. He has to rest and meditate often to restore enough energy to hold his body together, and even then he has to take upwards of forty blue potions a day to make sure he can maintain his current form." Mathias answered.
"I'm glad you're back on our side." Link answered.
"I never left, I was just faced with the choice of doing unsavory things and living on to redeem myself at a later point or die a traitor." he answered.
"Fair point." Link said, looking towards Oren, the Sheikah man only nodding in response.
The three men ran up the stairs, slowing down only to sneak passed the other dungeon floors, resuming their pace as they reached the top, slowly emerging from a heavy wooden door and into a hallway.
"There's something wrong, there should be guards." Link said.
"I distracted them on my way down as he took care of them." Mathias said, nodding towards Oren.
"So how did this partnership come to be?" Link asked.
"I managed to fight my way through the hordes of beasts near the Castle, finally evading them by blending into the shadows...I made my way through the alleyways and across rooftops while the streets were being overrun." Oren explained.
"He apparently knew a secret way into the Castle...he crept around at night and eventually found my quarters...and woke me to propose this plan." Mathias said.
Soon, the three found themselves emerging into the Castle's Great Hall. After Erris' initial attack, it had been repaired with great speed, but what it had been before, it was far from now, the bright whites and blues with gold finishes had been replaced with dark gray and black for the most part, large black banners adorned with a depiction of the Anteforce with two blades crossing behind it hanging over every balcony and on every support column.
"By the Goddesses." Link breathed.
"The Goddesses aren't here, anymore." a voice rang out.
Link and company turned as the jeers of men and roars of beasts filled the air, all the torches lighting to reveal every floor overlooking the Great Hall was filled with them as Kanthos strode into the middle of the room.
"Sir Mathias, so nice of you to finally prove all of our doubts, I knew you had it in you." the Sorcerer mocked.
"I say we gut him alive!" Shilara called out from atop a balcony railing on the second floor.
"Oh fantastic, she's here too." Link groaned. "What, Ganondorf can't come himself?" he continued.
"Unfortunately Master Ganondorf can't be here, so we'll have to take care of you." Kanthos said with a grin, Shilara levitating down to a spot next to him.
"I do not fear Ganondorf and I certainly do not fear you." Link called out.
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" Kanthos asked with a grimace.
"The majority of people think I don't talk at all." Link answered, drawing his blade.
"Well, I'll be happy to prove them right by cutting your tongue out." Kanthos said, drawing his blade.
Link brought his blade up and shifted into a defensive stance, Mathias and Oren doing the same next to him.
oOo
Volga strolled through the encampment, spear at the ready, he had opted to join the majority of the men they came with outside of the walls in tents, he felt as if he didn't deserve the comfort that Mayor Met afforded the others, not after what he'd done.
"See anything on your patrol?" a man named Cerin asked him as he lit a pipe.
Cerin was the former Captain of the Faron Province Guard and an experienced soldier, easily older than most of the other men, he still fought on a much higher level, quickly took command and managed to organize the men around him when Ganondorf rose the dead.
"Nothing, the night has been...uneventful." Volga answered. The Dragon Knight opted to abandon his crimson armor for now, instead taking on the armor of a Hylian Soldier.
"Savor that, I don't think we have long before our boring nights are ended for a good long time." Cerin said.
"Night? If I'm correct, it should only be mid-afternoon." Volga said, glaring up at the dark sky.
"Casting us into eternal night, that's definitely a new one." Cerin remarked.
Volga nodded as he turned to begin another patrol, failing to notice eight black clad figures dash through the camp and towards the wall, easily vaulting over it without a sound.
oOo
Chapter 45 comes to a close and with it part three of this story! Thank you all for sticking with me this far!
Gerudospirit: Like I said before, I wanted to portray Ganondorf as a terrifying and ruthless villain, so I decided to make him do something nearly inconceivable. I hope Din's dialogue kind of got across the effects of their earthbound state and how Nayru's death will effect things. I'm glad you liked Link and Ganon's dialogue, I really wanted to really drive home the hate and anger between the two of them! And that third eye, I feel like Majora's presence hasn't been felt enough so far, so I wanted to give him a part, even if it was a small one. I'm glad you agree that Ganon has been kind of softened as a villain, here's to hoping he gets the treatment he deserves in "Breath of the Wild"! Thank you for reviewing!
As always, thank you to everyone who hit those follow and favorite boxes! You make writing this as good an experience as it's been!
This story only has one part left, and depending on how things move, it may be quite a bit shorter than the other three, but we'll see.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Please review to tell me what you thought!
-Prometheus17
