A/n: This chapter has been revised.

Disclaimer: Candy.

Chapter 52: Power and Courage Part 1

"So, who's playing the organ?"

After another long flight of stairs, the party had made it to the final door, having unlocked their way there with the key Dark Link had given them. Standing outside a set of grand doors, surrounded by strangely beautiful stained glass windows, the party could hear organ music on the other side. The party wasn't expecting that and looked at each other, confused.

"It has to be Ganondorf." Navi said. "I only sense him and Zelda on the other side of this door. And, unless Zelda has taken up an organ career in the time she's been kidnapped, it has to be Ganondorf."

"Ugh, I'm going to puke." Katara groaned. "That's so….stupid. He's trying to be really ominous right now."

"Don't heroically puke all over Ganondorf in the name of the Heroes, Kat." Joey patted her on the back with an amused expression, earning a jab in the side.

"What if that's just his hobby?" Link asked innocently.

"I think his hobby is causing mass chaos and destruction, not organ playing." Aya agreed.

"While I'm just as fascinated by Ganondorf's side hobbies as everyone else, we should continue forward." Kurama smoothly pointed out. "We can't stand outside this door forever."

"Yep. Red's right." Navi flew forward, stopping in front of the door. "Asses in gear, kids."

"Right." Link nodded confidently. He spared one final nod at his teammates, earning a collective nod from them in return before he turned around and shoved the doors open. The organ music got louder, deafening even, and they saw the large throne room that Ganondorf was in. In the back of the room, Ganondorf played a large organ, his eyes shut and his cape trailing on the floor behind him from where he sat. Zelda was still in her crystal prison, suspended high above Ganondorf. When she saw the group, she placed her hands against the walls, giving them a pleading expression.

"So, you all have finally made it."

The organ music came to an abrupt halt and Ganondorf's deep voice replaced it. He didn't turn around to face them and, for a moment after his statement, it was quiet. Finally, in a whispered motion, Ganondorf stood up and turned around, his cape billowing behind him. Standing up straight, his yellow eyes narrowed, Ganondorf sneered at the party. He was a very tall man, towering over even Joey, and even from across the room, he looked at the party like they were totally beneath him.

"You've been underestimating us until now." Link said, his voice holding a tone that was proud and confident. "That was a really bad idea."

"Look at the little hero trying to be all brave and confident." Ganondorf's sneer changed into a smirk and he walked closer to the party. "If I recall, you weren't so brave a little while ago when that thing died."

"Thing?" It took Link a minute to register that he was talking about Dark Link. "He wasn't a thing!"

"Honestly, the only credit I'll give that thing is that he managed to get you guys up here without me knowing until it was too late." Ganondorf crossed his arms. "Other than that, he was worthless. I should have gotten rid of him when I had the chance. Luckily, he decided to do that for me and got rid of himself."

"Why have you let us live this long?" Link finally asked, clenching his fists.

"Mmmm. Perhaps I did underestimate your power at first but later it became an amusing game. And then I decided that letting you come and play hero would be worth it. If I crush you all here, then the little princess over here will have no more hope to hold on to. Then I won't have to deal with her endless pestering about hope and how evil I am. Kill you all, break her, and Hyrule will no longer have anything else to hold on to."

"Ah, I get it." Kurama said casually. "If you kill the heroes of Hyrule, then that would break what little spirit this world has left and you won't have any more opposition to being its ruler. The country, the people, Zelda…it will all be yours."

"My plan is a little more complex than that, but I see you are at least thinking on my level." Ganondorf complimented. "There's barely anything left of this world to take over. I'm one step away from achieving my ultimate goal. Everything would be perfect if you guys would just die already."

"We ain't dying that easily." Joey countered with a smirk of his own. "You've tried several times now and it hasn't worked yet."

"What makes you all think that you all can really do anything now? I already have one third of the Triforce. What good is the Hero of Time, anyway, when he's been sheltered and protected this whole time by other people? What good is a hero who can't stand on his own?"

"…" Link's eyes widened a bit, but Joey put a hand on Link's shoulder, giving him a reassuring look.

"You're the one who doesn't understand anything!" Katara called out. "Link hasn't been protected by us this whole time! We've been protecting each other! The only reason we've gotten this far is because we've had each other's backs!"

"Teamwork is a concept you don't understand, that's for sure." Aya crossed her arms haughtily, lifting an amused eyebrow in Ganondorf's direction.

"I'm not saying you're weak or anything, but I don't think we're outmatched here." Joey's voice was confident. "Our strengths are just different."

"It's unwise to underestimate an opponent before a direct confrontation." Kurama said. "Overconfidence breeds arrogance. And arrogance breeds carelessness. No matter how much an individual has done in their lives, they're doomed if they've only accomplished it on power alone."

"I think what annoys me the most about you all is that you're the first ones I've ever really come across that don't seem scared. And that bothers me. Everyone should bow before the Triforce of Power! The other two pieces of the Triforce pale in comparison to its raw strength!" Ganondorf growled.

"We aren't bowing to anyone." Joey shot back, he turned his head over to Link. "Right, Bud?"

"…" Link shut his eyes and then opened them again, his face splitting into a wide, confident grin. "Right! We're not bowing to you."

"You defiant little worms." Ganondorf rose into the air, an aura of gold surrounding him. "I should have killed your little friend when I had the chance. I should have come to the Spirit Temple and slaughtered you all myself. Better yet, I should have killed you all in Hyrule Field that night I first saw you!" Ganondorf brought his left hand forward and it began to glow, the Triforce symbol appearing on the back. Suddenly, bright gold glowing erupted from Link and Zelda's left hands as well.

"What?" Link seemed surprise to see his Triforce reacting.

"The pieces are resonating with each other!" Ganondorf started laughing. "Soon, all three will be mine! They feed off each other's powers! The ultimate power I need to end this world as it is will be mine! I feel it!" Intense energy erupted from Ganondorf, shattering the stained glass windows in the room and crumbling parts of the floor. Soon, the party wasn't left with much room to stand and Ganondorf, consumed by the glowing of the Triforce of Power, floated in the center of the room, half silhouetted. Zelda, still in her crystal prison, was still suspended high in the air in the back of the room.

"Okay, fight time!" Navi called out. There was dark energy everywhere and Link gave her a concerned look. "Don't worry about me! Let's kick this guy's ass, Link!"

"Alright!" Link ripped the Master Sword out. He shot Zelda a reassuring look before turning over to the group.

"We're right behind you." Kurama nodded. Ganondorf readied a huge blast of dark energy and shot it towards the group like a giant bomb. The party scattered, all dodging the attack but ending up in different parts of the room.

"Link! Do something!" Katara called out and Link looked up to see a giant orb of energy shooting in his direction. On instinct, Link swung his sword and it reflected the energy back at Ganondorf. The two engaged in this for a moment before Ganondorf was interrupted by a light arrow to the back by Kaori. He screeched in pain and ripped the arrow out, crushing it in his bare hands. The orb Link had been reflecting blasted into Ganondorf, right into his chest.

"Now!" Navi called out to the rest of the party. Kurama and Joey got to Ganondorf first, tag teaming him while Aya sent a light spell raining down on him from above. Katara shot ice crystals that impaled him in the side and Kaori shot another light arrow, hitting him the same spot in the back. With a loud growl, he flew back into the air and Joey and Kurama scattered, with Kurama landing right behind Link. Link smirked proudly and readied his sword again.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice!" Ganondorf conjured a bunch of orbs of energy and sent them flying all over the room. Joey grabbed Kaori, who was nearby and rolled out of the way of rubble flying out of the wall, where an energy orb had exploded. Katara stumbled back, pressed against a wall with blood trickling down her arm from an injury. Kurama had yanked Link back and to the side, glancing over at Aya, who had managed to avoid any damage at all. Navi had flown up high to avoid the attack and dove back down, landing right back at Link's side.

"Try harder than that, Ganondorf!" Link pointed the Master Sword, taunting a nearly arrogant manner that left Joey smiling proudly from the side.

"You filthy maggots!" Ganondorf shot off another blast of energy, aiming straight for Link in a rapid manner. Kurama and Link both got hit and there was an explosion that left the room silent. A loud, though slightly muffled, gasp came from Zelda in her prison but that changed to a choked sigh of relief when the smoke cleared.

"Heh." Link hopped onto his feet. Blood was trickling down his cheek and down his arm from a wound to the shoulder. He still firmly gripped the Master Sword in his hand. His hat was on the floor next to him and his tunic had been ripped in both the side and on the bottom. Slowly, he bent down and picked up his hat and put it back on. "I said try harder than that, Ganondorf. That wasn't trying at all!" The narrowed look in Link's eyes signaled that Link had entered a serious mode, leaving behind his usual demeanor completely.

"You'd best rest your expectations, Ganondorf." Kurama brushed himself off casually, ignoring the blood on the leg of his pants.

"We have a tendency to be pretty creative when we're in trouble." Joey smashed his hands down on the ground and sent a huge wave of fire burst in Ganondorf's direction. Ganondorf rose to dodge it but Kaori shot him in the side with another light arrow, causing him to stiffen up. A pillar of light came from above, smashing Ganondorf onto the ground. Looking up, Aya' summon disappeared as quickly as she came. Link acknowledged this and rolled forward, slicing into Ganondorf's armor as hard as he could. It was only as split second before he felt that he was piercing flesh, too. Another wave of ice spikes came from Katara from above and Link noticed the brilliant blue color of Katara's mermaid summon. A fiery sword from right next to him pierced straight into Ganondorf's side, in the same wound Kaori had given him and Link noticed that Joey was right next to him.

"Scatter!" Navi warned and the two jumped back away, with Link jumping back to where Kurama was. Ganondorf rose back into the air, blood dripping on the stone floor beneath him and he looked at Link, his yellow eyes blazing with fury.

"You…" Ganondorf erupted with energy, twice as much as before and he launched into the air. He started relentlessly tossing energy and dark magic, destroying everything in the room. For a little while, the battle turned into dodging Ganondorf's attacks. The party got a few more hits it but Ganondorf became relentless.

"Well, someone is mad now." Joey said from the corner of the room, wincing a bit from a wound to his side.

"You all will die here like the worthless pests you are! The power of the Goddesses, the power of the Triforce, should not be in the hands of babies like you any longer!" Ganondorf curled in on himself, still suspended in the air; there was a loud humming as he charged up what seemed like a powerful, final attack. "You'll give those powers over to someone who deserves them! You are no heroes!"

"Everyone!" Zelda started pounding on the walls of her crystal. "This is a big attack! Everyone!" The party could barely hear Zelda, but Link acknowledged her desperate cries. There was one final loud hum and Ganondorf uncurled violently. A huge wave of intense magic shot all over the room before turning into hundreds of balls of dark energy that came raining down on the room, pouring over the group like a hundreds of magic bombs. There was one final loud explosion followed by smoke and total silence. Navi had flown up to where Zelda was to avoid the attack and she looked as shocked as Zelda did. The room was in ruins now. The ceiling of the room was gone, revealing the cloudy sky, and the walls were mostly crumbled around them as well.

"That was one hell of an attack." Navi said, her voice audible with worry. Zelda turned to the fairy, noticing the distinct lack of sarcasm or grumpiness in her voice. Slowly, Zelda brought her hands to her mouth. She didn't want to jump to conclusions but she couldn't stop the knots from forming in her stomach.

There is no way we've lost this. There is no way…There is no possible way.

"Finally. You all died like you were supposed to." Ganondorf smirked, lowering to the ground a bit. He turned around inspecting the rubble. "Now you all can rot in hell, away from this world forever while I do what I want now. There are no more obstacles to my plans."

"We…." A voice broke the silence from the corner of the room. A large piece of rubble got shoved forward by a scratched up hand. The red ripped up glove on that hand and the cracked voice belonged to Joey. "We're not done yet."

"How many times do…do we have to tell you that you're the one that's supposed to die here?" Aya pulled herself up. Visibly disheveled, Aya tore off the glove on her left hand, now a tattered piece of cloth, and she brushed hair out of her face. She propped herself up with her sword.

"That was a really good attempt to kill us, though." Katara sat up, one of the straps to her top broken and fall over her arm. Blood seeped up and down her torn up arms and her long braid had come partially undone.

"That was scary for a second." Kaori chirped, kneeling on the ground. She picked up her bow again. Her hair had come undone and she was bleeding, but she offered Ganondorf a cheerful smile.

"I did say that it was dangerous to be arrogant but you decided not to heed my warnings." Kurama stepped out from behind some rubble. He looked as disheveled as anyone else. "Your arrogance will be your own downfall."

"We plan on making this ugly place your grave." Joey wiped some blood away from his mouth. "I'll be happy to show who's really going to be rotting in hell tonight."

"I won't lose." Link stood up as well, picking up the Master Sword along the way. He glared at Ganondorf with serious eyes, a look of unwavering determination.

"Now I see why it was so hard for my minions to kill you!" Ganondorf flew forward towards Link grabbing him by the neck and lifting him into the air. Zelda gasped again but Link didn't seem fazed. "You all are tenacious little bugs! I'll have to crush all of you with my bare hands! You've overstayed your welcome here!"

"No, Ganondorf!" Link choked out. "You've overstayed yours!" An arrow to the back loosened Ganondorf's grip on Link and Link shoved his foot in his stomach, causing Ganondorf to drop him completely. Using that moment of weakness, Link thrust the Master Sword straight through Ganondorf's chest.

"Link!" Zelda gasped through her hands, still over her mouth in shock. Link ripped the sword out and Ganondorf began wildly coughing up blood. Stumbling backwards, he rose back into the air. A ton of wild energy began to erupt from Ganondorf, bouncing off what was left of the room's walls before Ganondorf began dissipating into golden light. His half-dissipated body crumpled to the floor, ceasing to glow or move at all.

"Zelda!" Kaori looked up. The crystal prison had totally disappeared and Zelda was falling to the floor. Joey ran over and caught the princess before she hit the floor. He put her down in the most gentlemanly manner possible and she nodded thanks to him.

"You guys really know how to scare this old fairy." Navi flew over, flying and nuzzling Link's cheek. Link let out a hearty laugh.

"Listen to you, being all tough hero on us!" Joey slung an arm around Link's neck and the two exchanged a huge laugh.

"I…I thought you all were really done in that final attack." Zelda smiled gently. "I'm glad I had faith in you all."

"I don't want to cut the celebration short, but I think we need to get out of here. I've got a bad feeling." Navi looked around the room, shooting a look to Kurama for confirmation. The redhead nodded back.

"The energy here still seems dark somehow." Kurama said quietly before there was a huge rumbling that nearly took everyone off their feet.

"Ganondorf used the last of his life energy to curse this tower! The tower is going to start collapsing!" Zelda whirled around to face the exit door. "We have to get out of here! He's planning on taking us down with him!"

"You know, I didn't come all this way just to die when the building collapsed." Joey remarked.

"Cut the humor and run!" Navi ordered. Grabbing Zelda's wrist, Link began running. Zelda lifted up her skirts, running and letting Link guide her.

"Hold on, let's go this way!" Zelda yanked on Link and began tugging him in a different direction. The party trusted Zelda and they went out a different door, one that had been previously inaccessible, that Zelda blasted open with her own magic. The path led them down the side of the tower. They were very high up and the rest of the abandoned Castle Town looked like black dots to them. Kaori squeaked but decided to ignore it as they ran.

"All these doors seem like they were sealed off with Ganondorf's magic." Zelda explained as they ran, her wrist still firmly grasped in Link's hand. "Now that he's dead, his magic is weaker. I can force all these doors open with my magic. We should be able to get down to the ground faster this way!"

"We'll trust you, Zelda!" Katara nodded back.

"You've led is the right direction this far." Aya winked. The party found their way through previously traveled rooms and discovered the building had caught on fire on the inside. The carpets had caught fire by falling torches and damaged lights. A pair of Stalfos had dropped down in front of them to stop their descent.

"Not right now, you little bastards!" Joey rammed his sword through one of them through the middle while Kurama used his whip to dispose of the other one. The two Stalfos crumbled onto the floor and Link ran over their remains, letting Zelda blast open the next exit. Pieces of burning ceiling started falling around them, forcing the group to dodge falling rubble as well as all the fires that had started erupting everywhere. Luckily, Joey was making paths through all the flames for everyone. They ran through a narrow bridge that was surrounded by ReDeads. Joey set a few on fire out of impatience while Katara froze the other few solid.

"We're almost there, kids!" Navi called out. Kurama was leading the pack, due to being the fastest, with Navi flying at his side as fast as she could to keep an eye on the situation ahead of them. Link was a few feet behind Kurama with Zelda in tow, with the girls scattered around, with Joey in the back.

"We're at the room where the barrier was!" Kurama called out over his shoulder. "A couple of more rooms and we should be clear! Stay on guard!"

"Got it!" Link responded. The door that led out of the room was blocked by fire but Joey forced the flames apart for the group to run through. Dodging past a remaining Beamos, which still stood firm guard over the entrance despite the crumbling building, the party finally threw themselves through the entrance of the castle. They ran over the rainbow bridge, which was now crumbling as well. They stopped on the other side of the bridge. The dark tower came down on itself, floor by floor, sending bits of smoking, black rubble into the air around it. The walls of the surrounding castle toppled to the side, the ceiling falling down. Big puffs of black smoke erupted into the air, culminating in several fiery blasts of heat that shot into the air after it. After a moment, what was left of the tower couldn't support itself anymore and it fell over, some of it rolling onto the castle beneath it, the rest falling gracelessly into the pit of lave below. For a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of shattering glass and the loud roar of the building's walls coming apart.

And, then, almost immediately after, there was total silence.

"Is it finally over?" Joey, always the first to break silences, spoke out.

"Did we really survive all of that?" Katara's eyes were wide and she had her hands on Joey's arm.

"Somehow, miraculously, we did." Kurama slowly put his hands back in his pockets.

"Yes. It's over. It's finally over." Zelda's voice was quiet and she looked up at the rising smoke with a distinct emotionlessness in her eyes. "We're not completely done yet, but at least he's finally gone."

"What's left?" Kaori turned.

"Sealing him away for good." Zelda stepped forward. "The Sages must gather their energy to seal him away for good."

"What do we do?" Link asked.

"The Spirits must do the most important of all of their jobs." Zelda turned. "I got taken before I could explain this part. Protecting the Sacred Realm is very important. It encompasses protecting the Sages, the Leader, the Hero of Time. It requires deflecting threats in the regular world and protecting those who can purify and ensure the world's prosperity, and by extension, the prosperity of all those worlds that surround Hyrule. But, most importantly, they are in charge of protecting the Triforce."

"Well, I figured protecting the Sacred Realm entailed protecting the reason the Sacred Realm exists in the first place." Aya said bluntly.

"This is what the Spirits died doing the in the past, thousands of years ago." Zelda's voice was a sad whisper. "The Spirits died protecting the Hero and using the last of their energy to protect the Triforce. The Spirits' final job in all of this is ensuring that the Triforce is, once again, whole and protected."

"I have no immediate plans to die doing this." Joey crossed his arms.

"I don't want you to die, either." Zelda smiled. "You all are my dear friends. However, it is important for you to know the weight of what comes next. While the Sages seal away this evil forever, you must make whole the Triforce again. And, then, you must pour your power into sealing up the Sacred Realm, once and for all!"

"But the Sages!" Link cried.

"You needn't worry about the Sages, Link." Zelda put a hand on Link's cheek, smiling at him gently. "The Sages are fated to stay in the Sacred Realm and watch over the rest of us. As a member of the royal bloodline, only I am spared that fate. I act as their messenger and connection to this world. Once the Sacred Realm is sealed up, the world's true balance is restored. The Sages are the watchers and the Spirits are the soldiers who protect them and the Hero of Time."

"Wait. Hold on a moment." Kurama stopped the conversation suddenly.

"Red, I hate it when you stay shit like that." Joey turned to the redhead with raised eyebrows.

"My apologies for the interruption." Kurama responded smoothly, his voice slightly sarcastic. "But I think we have something else we need to worry about."

"Hey, yeah." Navi caught on, turning back to the rubble of the castle. A huge pillar of black energy shot out of the ruins, shooting into the sky and forcing the clouds apart. A harsh wind blew around the area.

"I don't think we should consider ourselves done just yet."

A/n: This chapter sucked in the old version. I like keeping some humor, but the battle was rushed and there wasn't a trace of seriousness or weight at all. It was really annoying to read over again. I kept some similar lines or exchanges between characters here and there but, other than that, I reworked the thing from the ground up. I cut out a lot of useless fluff, like some stuff between Zelda and Dark Link that seemed super contrived and unimportant. I also removed a bunch of silly dialogue and made the chapter feel more like it was actually the finale of the story.