Here we go!

THE FINAL FIGHT!

ARE! YOU? READY?-!


Chapter Fifty-Two: Destruction


Darkness filled the large tower as the two demonic monstrosities once more advanced upon their enemies, their eyes glowing a hateful, blood-bright red and wisps and clouds of shadow magic clinging to them with each step they took. It was almost as if they had not been injured or weakened at all by the attacks of the Links- and, with their change in tactics and an elevation of skills, it became apparent that this would only be even harder than the first.

Green grit his teeth as he studied the two, his eyes narrowed. A second passed of silence- but he didn't need any more. He frowned determinedly, looking to the others with the intense, commanding look of the leader he was.

"... Split up and take them again," Green said lowly and calmly, raising his sword and taking a few steps back, the others meeting his pace as they prepared to do what Green instructed. Turning to look at his team, Green continued, giving a sharp nod as he quickly spoke, "Red, you'll come with me to fight Veran. Blue, Vio, Shadow- you guys know what to do."

Nodding and quickly replying with strong, short words of affirmation, the Links instantly reacted to the command, moving to split into their separate groups as they prepared for the night phase of the fight. While the three Links turned and began running towards the approaching enemies, keeping close to one side as they readied to face the massive, towering general before them, Red turned to look towards Green with a strong, firm smile.

Responding with a grin of his own, Green kept his eyes on the approaching sorceress floating above them as he raised his own sword, quickly calculating exactly what they needed to do. Having forgone her shield of darkness for one of burning, impenetrable fire, he knew there was only one way of getting to her now-

"Red, get her attention for me, will you?" the leader said with a lopsided grin and a laugh as he glanced sideways over to his friend.

Beaming in response, Red nodded eagerly as he sheathed his sword and drew out his Ice Rod. "Okay!" he replied with a laugh, taking an energetic step forward as he swung out his weapon. "HEY! VERAN! Come and get us!-!" the Link shouted boldly as the massive blast of ice rocketed out from the end of his rod and towards the sorceress floating above them.

Veran's eyes had been darting back and forth as the Links split up, and her lips crinkled in rage. Surrounded by her wall of fire, her burning eyes went to the Link who had struck her- and as she raised her arms from afar, pulsing, black-and-red dark magic growing at her fingertips in anticipation for attack, so she set her sights on Vio and the two who surrounded them as they made way for the General himself. And yet, before the witch could bring down her hands, screeching in her attack, her eyes suddenly widened, as, from the corner of her vision, a brilliant blast of icy-blue frost slammed towards her.

Quickly, the witch whirled to face it, snarling as the barrier of fire grew around her, her arms crossing in front of her as she braced for the attack- the ice, upon hitting the fire, sizzled and cracked and popped, exploding in the heat of the flames and extinguishing a great deal of her barrier. Her eyes burned with an intensity nearly to match that of the fires which swelled back up around her, and quickly, without any words, instead screaming in her wrath, she flew over towards the two Links.

"O-okay, Green, what now?" Red cried, taking a step back, slightly fearful of the explosive and infuriated reaction of their enemy.

"Her attacks are those blasts of dark magic she kept throwing at Vio!" Green shouted back, his sword and shield already raised as he prepared himself, keeping his eyes on the swiftly-approaching demoness. "And her defense is that fire! I'll take her attacks and distract her, but I need you to get rid of that shield of hers so I can land a blow on her!"

"Alright! I'm on it!" Red called back in an instant reply, grinning widely as he gripped his Ice Rod. He looked back towards the approaching witch- she was gaining fast upon him, but he wasn't afraid. He wouldn't ever back down from a fight- not ever. Grinning again, the Links quickly ran off to the side, already eyeing the witch and readying his rod for another attack.

The blood-red eyes of the sorceress trailed Red as he ran- but as something flew past her vision, she quickly snarled, her neck jerking sharply to the side to catch the attention of the Boomerang which had just whirled right past her. It hadn't even come close- but Green wasn't aiming to hit. Now that he had her attention... he grinned, taking a few steps and holding his sword out in front of him.

"... Come and get me," Green said with a laugh and wild, narrowed eyes.

And in an instant of explosive fury and power, Veran, shrieking in an almost bestial manner, lunged forward, the fire surging all around her as she flew towards Green. The Link held up his shield, his eyes wide and blazing and his teeth clenched as he prepared to meet his attacker- and yet, seconds before the demonic sorceress' mark would have been met, Veran's image once more disappeared into the empty air above him.

Green's eyes widened, and his heart caught in his throat- and right after Veran had disappeared, so a blast of icy magic flew right in front of him, aimed for the witch that was no longer there. He could faintly here Red crying out in despair at his miss- but even this Green couldn't pay much attention to- for a split second later, his enemy was at his heels once more, lunging forward at him from behind with wide eyes and snarling, bared fangs.

"Ah!" The Link couldn't help but cry out as he quickly leapt to the side, tucking his shield close into him as he rolled just out of reach of Veran's shadow-blast attack. A second later and another blast of ice magic flew past Green and towards the attacker behind him- but a half second before it could reach her, so Veran was gone again, reappearing instantly and sharply back in front of Green.

"She's teleporting too fast!" Red cried out as he aimed once more, again and again, his eyes frantically darting from side to side in a panic as the witch now flew from side to side, disappearing one moment to appear the next in another spot- and, without hardly a moment's breath in one spot, already she was in another, and another, appearing all around them in a flurry of appearances and disappearances. In vain, he cried out as he once more lashed out with his weapon, sending another failed blast of ice magic where the witch had been a second before- but was already gone, and had already been in two other places by the time it would have hit her. "I can't land a blow on her, Green!"

Sweat was pulsing down Green's neck, his heart pounding in his chest and all his muscles tensing up all up and down his body. Whirling around one moment to face the frightening, horrific sight of Veran's twisted grin and blood-red eyes only for her to disappear and reappear behind him, showering him in a torrent of shadow magic. His shield was being blasted to pieces, and even in the desperation, he knew he could only consider himself lucky enough to avoid a direct hit for so long. She was moving too fast- in times it appeared as if she were in two places or more at once- and it wasn't long before-

"AHH!" A painful, powerful yell exploded from Green's mouth as he was flung forwards onto the ground, gasping in agony as his eyes squinted against the terrible pain coming from his back. He could almost feel the sizzle of the dark magic's burn where it had blasted against the back of his tunic... And the harsh feeling of the ground meeting him as he fell ate away at him from all sides. A faint ringing sound was echoing in his ears... And as he grit his teeth, forcing his eyes to open and look around him, he could only just faintly hear Red's shouts and see his friend run up to him... And past him...

Green's eyes widened.

Red was shouting something, lifting his Ice Rod as he created a small ice dome shield around the two and then kneeling down by Green and shaking his shoulder... But even this, Green could not see, nor hear. Instead, his eyes were wide and focused upon past that... To the witch who had struck him.

In her moment of the successful hit, which her magic had struck against Green's back, so the witch suddenly found her barrier faltering, and she winced, as if in pain, retreating a few feet back from the battle and looking away, her eyes shifting and teeth ground together. She was... weakened?

Finally, the world began to make sense again.

"GREEN! Green, come on, get up!" Red wailed as he once more tugged at Green's arms. Finding his feet once more worked, Green struggled to stand up, gritting his teeth against the pain and leaning on Red's support to regain his balance. He could hear Red talking some more as he turned with wide eyes back to Veran, preparing his Ice Rod to once more protect them-

-But that didn't matter now! He knew what he had to do!

"Red!" Green gasped, shaking his head and looking to the smaller Link. "This is important, okay? Leave me, go back to what you were doing before- this time, when I get hit, use your Ice Rod! She'll be weakened after attacking me!"

"But... but you-" Red began to protest, his eyes widening after he realized what Green was proposing. "Green, you can't get hurt again! You'll-"

Firmly, Green shook his head, cutting Red off. "Just do it, Red!" he shouted. "You'll have to trust me on this! And I need to trust you to do this, too!"

The more timid Link hesitated, looking at Green in fear- but, upon hearing the shrieks of their rejuvenated enemy behind him, he set his mouth into a grim frown, tightening his jaw as he nodded.

In another instant, the ice shield dissolved, Red turned and quickly ran off to the side, blinking past his tears as he urged himself onwards to do what he was told to do. Green, shaky on his feet but gritting his teeth in determination, looked up once more at the witch above him. His back still ached... But this was ignored. Nothing else mattered right now. Calmly, he took a deep breath- and held out his sword.

"Heh... is that all you've got?" the leader teased once more with a grin as he took a step back, and then one more, and another, slowly luring Veran back towards him...

Blinded by her fury, hatred, and darkness, Veran screamed as she once more lunged forward, blasting out with her fists another beam of dark magic towards the unprotected hero.

And Green tightened his eyes shut as he held out his shield-

With a flash of blue, a scream of pain and a curtain of darkness collapsing over him, Green suddenly found himself collapsing backwards onto the stone floor beneath him. A heavy gasp seized his chest as he gulped for air, and, his entire body shaking, he struggled to look up...

A blur of red color ran across his vision towards a crumpled form of black on the ground in front of him, and, in a slice of silver, the blackened monster shrieked and fell backwards, writhing in agony. Without a second's hesitation, the blur of red then turned around and ran towards him- and, blinking away the pain and his daze, Green found himself being helped back to his feet, Red's shouts gradually becoming audible once more to him. Squinting past the pain, Green forced himself to look up... And even in their moment of pain and triumph, a worse feeling ran down Green's heart at what the two of them saw.

After Red's strike, Veran, shrinking back and screeching in pain, had huddled once more behind her returning wall of fire. However, as she recovered and stood shakily up, when she looked back at the heroes... Not even the emptiness of her soul stared back at them- only a blazing, burning, raging hatred which engulfed her entire being in a flurry of blazing, black-and-red hellfire. Slowly, she rose once more into the air- this time, almost as limp as a puppet- and yet, as she raised her hands and screamed, in an instant, hundreds of thousands of pillars of flame instantly rose around her in a wide circle, blasting up and out of the ground all around her- until finally, they began to move towards the heroes themselves, creating a path of annihilating fire barreling straight towards them.

The sound of the two massive, lethal weapons swinging at immeasurable speeds through the air, one after the other, was harrowing and left an empty pit in the Link's stomach. The sight of the two ball-and-chains hurtling through the air in a swift, merciless circle around the massive, towering general was enough to send the fear jolting through every muscle- and as the ground shook and rumbled with every towering step Onox took towards them, it seemed that every part of this enemy would be impossible to defeat.

And yet, they had been given a task- running in a quick and tight group, the three heroes had led Onox to the opposite side of the room, facing off against him while Green and Red kept Veran occupied on the other side. Vio's eyes were wide and yet focused as the three grouped around each other, facing the massive enemy as he continued to slowly approach them, those two deadly and powerful weapons whirling around each other in such quick succession they could barely see the gold armor of the enemy hiding behind them.

"Blue! You've fought him, where's his weakness?" Vio shouted quickly as the three took on fighting stances, taking enough steps back so they could exchange orders before the storm finally hit.

"Any part of his armor!" Blue shouted back, his sword gripped tightly in his hands. "Green already weakened him. And the only opening he gives is when he attacks!"

"Then we're going to have to give him something to attack!" Shadow snapped firmly as he took a step forward, narrowing his eyes.

"Right! Let's go!" Blue shouted, nodding in agreement as he took a step forward-

"No!"

Looking to the side in surprise, Blue did a quick double-take as Vio shouted at him and held his hand out to prevent Blue from moving forward.

The Link shook his head fiercely. "Not you, Blue," he said, his voice serious and firm. "Shadow and I will do it."

Blue's eyes flew open in surprise. "But I-!"

"I know, you've done it before, and you're the stronger one," Vio interrupted through gritted teeth, speaking quickly as he knew their time was short. "But you already took those hits. And Blue, we'll need someone to hit him strong and hard so he won't get back up. You're the only one who can do that!"

Firmly, Shadow nodded. "I agree," he said, looking back at Blue. "You'd be able to strike stronger than any of us could. We'll give you your opening."

The headstrong and stubborn Link once more looked at the others in surprise- but as the rumblings in the ground grew, he swore under his breath, knowing their time was up. "Fine!" he finally snapped, growling as he looked back towards Onox- who by now had almost entirely reached them. He was slow and lumbering due to the two massive, heavy weapons he constantly was swinging around him- but what he lacked in speed, Blue knew he made up for in strength- and defense. Blue grit his teeth. This wasn't going to be easy.

But then again, nothing they ever did was, right? And here they were, fighting the last fight... Despite himself, and despite everything, Blue managed one last wild, bold, and unafraid grin as he nodded to his friends- and, for once, took a step back as he let them take the charge.

"... Go get 'im!"

Infected by his arrogance and enthusiasm, Vio and Shadow couldn't subdue a small smirk as they returned the nod- then, glancing one last time to each other, their faces hardened and serious, the duo wasted no more time as they ran forward, jaws clenched and brows furrowed, towards the approaching, iron-cast demon.

Roaring in fury, hardly thinking so much as he was raging, Onox swung his two massive ball-and-chains around him in his tight circle, still steadily approaching the heroes. He could hardly see where he aimed- but this wasn't a problem, as the moving weapons provided more than enough cover for him, as well as barreling at anything in its path at all times. And yet, when a flash of purple flew past his vision to the side, his eyes darted under his golden mask to match the new target, and his armored wrist was flung to the side as he threw one of his weapons towards his enemy.

Nimbly, Vio leapt out of the way, reading the sights of his opponent's weapon and knowing where to avoid its trajectory. His shield was held firm, however, and he kept on the move- wisely, for as soon as the weapon's target missed, so just as quickly it was drawn back upwards and aimed again, the other one still twirling around him in defense.

And yet-

Onox's eyes widened, and his snarl grew, as a sudden, second presence on the other side suddenly raced around him. This one, a fast-moving, unidentifiable blur of grey and black- and yet, even that was enough, and the hatred and rage once more welled up within the angry demon incarnate. Snarling, growling, and screaming in a guttural fashion, the roars echoing across his metallic, heavy plates of armor, the general shook the ground with another heavy step as he twirled his second weapon, flinging it in the direction of the shadow.

Shadow was not as quick- but he had quite a few more tricks left up his sleeve. With a grin, the Link quickly and deftly slid to the ground- and, in an instant, bursting from his hands and enveloping him in a thick, protective shield came a massive barrier of darkness- almost solid in its magical state, and more than enough to protect him from a grazing hit. The ball-and-chain smashed clean through his shield, but it was still deflected- and, unscathed, Shadow ran out of reach once more, encircling Onox and drawing his attention and ire.

Reduced into an almost bestial-like state, Onox roared as he stomped the ground in fury and frustration, the dark power swirling around him raging higher and stronger and reaching out to the aim of his weapons. The ground shook and the floor cracked beneath him- and, having reached his limit, so the power once more exploded in the villain- and it was all he needed.

His eyes snapped open, and his soul left them- and, in a sudden and fierce explosion of noise and motion, the General of Darkness lunged forward as he once more swung his two ball-and-chains outwards at the two Links encircling him, all his might thrown through his shoulders, channeled through his muscles, backed by the heavy sheets of armor protecting him and flung through his wrists and into his mighty weapons.

The resulting impacts were instantaneous and powerful. Though Vio held up his shield as he braced for the impact, and Shadow did what he could to protect himself, unarmed, from the approaching weapons, both of them knew it would not be enough- and yet, at the same time, each knew they were doing exactly what they had to do. And as the two dual weapons struck both heros at the same time, flinging them across the arena and forcing them on their backs- so came that single, crucial second.

And it belonged to Blue.

Charging in, his sword drawn and held tight in both hands, his eyes narrowed and focused solely on the beast in front of him, Blue ran faster than he'd ever before as he seized the split-second opening that his friends had paid the price for him to get. His eyes burned in the fury and energy of the fight, and adrenaline pumped through his entire body, fueling the fearless and mighty warrior on into the fray. And as he leapt in, past the downed defense of the two ball and chains and to the knight behind the weapons, so he let out a loud and bellowing cry as he brought down his sword as hard and as quickly as he could into the metal of the general.

Blue's sword cut through the General's chest-plate with ease and dug a massive ridge in its metal- sparks flew from the impact, and Blue grit his teeth against the resistance as he held on to his blade until it had finally reached the end of its strike, slicing outwards and out of the metal of the warrior. Landing backwards on his feet, still holding his sword with tightly-clenched, sweating palms, Blue could only take a second to regain his breath-

-But it was still too long.

The second the hero's Four Sword begun its attack upon the General's massive, heavily armored protection, Onox had screamed out in pain, rage, and hatred, nearly frozen as the blade ripped through his golden armor and into the monster beneath. And yet, almost as if time crawled to a standstill, as the blade reached the finality of its strike, Onox's soulless eyes narrowed, his fists clenching and his arms dropping the weight of the two ball-and-chains at his side...

And before Blue could blink, the entire world came crashing down upon him.

Swinging back with all his might, Onox bellowed in agony and demonic hatred as he plowed his fist straight into Blue's chest, all of his pent-up rage and might thrust into that one, terrifying swing. The golden metal of his arm-guards dug into Blue's stomach, the Link's eyes flying wide open in the split-second upon impact, and as the General screamed, shoving his weight into Blue, the force of his swing sent the young hero flying backwards, skidding across the rubble-strewn, harsh ground of the stone floor beneath.

"BLUE!"

Their hearts frozen in their chests, only just having had a few seconds to regain their own breaths at their attacks, Vio and Shadow instantly cried out for their friend as they watched his body sail through the air before them and land forcefully on the stone ground. Instantly, they ran up to him, their eyes wide and their breaths held, kneeling down as soon as they came towards him, ignoring the screams of rage and searing pain from the enemy behind them.

"Blue! Are you okay? Answer me!" Vio shouted as he grabbed Blue's shoulder, harshly shaking the Link.

His eyes weakly fluttered open... the Link groaned as he winced and wrapped an arm around his stomach. He could barely sit up... he squinted his eyes shut and shook his head, forcing himself to get up. Vio and Shadow were quickly at his side- and, with their help, Blue found himself stumbling onto his feet, a bit shaky at first, yet standing nonetheless.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine... d-damn, that hurt," Blue gasped, swearing under his breath as he shook his head, his entire body still shaking from the force of the monstrous impact.

"Did that do it?" Shadow asked quickly, looking back outwards to their opponent. And as Vio and Blue's gaze joined his own, all three sets of eyes grew wider in despair and horror as the massive General, with two deep-set gashes weighing him down, nevertheless slowly standing back up, the golden metal of his armor rattling and bouncing off the harsh sounds of his deep, guttural growls.

"Guess not," Blue growled, wincing once more as he clutched his stomach, yet straightening up best he could anyways and gripping tightly onto his sword once more.

Glaring back at the three Links, the soulless eyes of Onox stared back at them as mere slits, the great knight slightly hunched over as he took a single more step forward, finally straightening up and pulling back his lips into a tight snarl. He had long forgone the two ball-and-chains, lying uselessly in a crumbled, destroyed heap to the side- but as his empty fists suddenly clenched tight together, with a heavy, metallic slicing sound, gripped tightly in each fist was a long, thick, golden blade. An extension of his armor, the two golden, metallic swords were slowly raised in each of the monster's fists- and, as the glint from his empty eyes flashed off the demonic, new weapons in each of his hands, Onox laughed once more time, hollow and empty, before once more advancing upon the three weary heroes.

And as a glint of deadly golden slowly closed in on the three, on the other side, a blazing, threatening wave of orange and red was rapidly barreling towards the two remaining heroes, the heat from the roar of flames already upon them in the seconds before the fire would overtake them.

"Green! Duck!" Red shouted aloud as he took a step forward, instantly throwing his Ice Rod out in front of him, his grip firm and tight, as another wave of ice exploded from the tip of the orb. And yet, this one was different than what Green had seen Red create before- like a dome of ice he'd made before, only this time, the stream of ice was steady and firm, the blue magic continuously floating out of the tip of his weapon and keeping the shield alive, even as the fire rushed over them and began to eat away at the ice protecting the two heroes.

"Don't worry, Green!" Red continued to call out to his injured friend, gritting his teeth as he held onto his weapon, deep in concentration as he struggled to keep the shield going, even as an inferno of fire beat down from all around them. "I won't let her get to us!"

Struggling to his feet, Green had to forgo the moment or two of awe at Red's magic as he snapped back to business, walking up next to Red and looking at him firmly and calmly.

"Red... Now's not the time for defensive!" Green affirmed, shaking his head. "We have to end this! We'll need to take the risk in order to land a blow on her!"

Red bit his lip, fearful and worried at the idea, as he looked back at the shield of ice he continued to hold firm against the steady flow of fire around them. Veran, flying around them, was shrieking as she threw more fire at them, desperately trying to break down their shield and destroy them.

It was then that, upon seeing Veran dancing in the flames around them, lunging towards them only to be pushed back by the ice and throw more fire at them, that Red's eyes widened, an idea surging into his mind.

With a grin, he looked towards Green, giving a nod. "Alright! I... I have an idea! It worked once before... it might work again!"

Smiling, Green gave a firm nod. "I trust you," he said with a grin. "Go for it. Show us all how it's done, Red!"

Beaming and overflowing with such high praise, Red grinned widely at his leader's command, and eagerly nodded, turning once more to face the shield of ice.

"On my mark!" he shouted, his grin growing wider and wider. "Ready! SET!"

And, the second in which Veran once more flew up towards them, her eyes narrowed in rage and the fire flying from her fingertips-

"NOW!" Red shouted as he took another step forward, sending another surge of ice magic out through his Ice Rod- and yet, as the magic hit the barrier they formed, so, his eyes cleverly glinting, Red watched as it all unfolded just as he imagined. Their shield exploded- but certainly not inwards. Instead, with each piece of the wall forming instantly into a sharp, powerful icicle, and with another wave of icy magic propelling them forward, their defensive shield suddenly and instantly became an offensive weapon- and, blasting outwards in all direction, the icy magic instantly combated against the fiery hell being wrought outside and around them.

And in the center of it all-

Screeching and screaming in pain, the fire all around her quenched in an instant by the explosion of ice, Veran recoiled back sharply away from the attack, floating as far away from the heroes as she could, writhing and twisting in agony.

Green's jaw had nearly dropped to the ground upon the heavy attack- though, as the fire around them disappeared and Veran retreated, his expression of shock burst into a wide grin, and, laughing, he instantly clapped Red over the shoulder. "Way to go, Red!" he shouted out aloud, grinning.

Nodding back, Red wore his grin back, but also pointed outwards with his free hand. "Now's the time to strike!" he shouted, bold and triumphant, as he looked over at the weakened Veran. He grinned, looking back at Green. "Let's go get 'er!"

Green laughed again, nodding enthusiastically. "You said it, buddy," he replied with a grin just as eager as his friend's, gripping his sword tight. "Cover me!" Without another word, the two heroes burst forward, running over to their weakened enemy.

Though Veran was down, she was certainly not out- and, her eyes blazing as she looked upon her approaching enemies, the witch snarled in rage as she weakly lunged out with an outstretched arm- and, in response to her command, the fires once more burst from the ground beneath them, racing towards the two approaching Links.

And yet, almost as soon as each fire erupted, so there came a sudden and sharp blast of ice, obliterating it in an instant. Green ran onwards, his sword held tight in his hands, as Red, running by his side, kept their path clear. The two narrowed their eyes in victory and achievement as they neared their target, unharmed-

-Screaming once more in rage, not yet to be undone, Veran raised another arm as she prepared to strike- though, reverting back to an unexpected move, snarled as, bursting from her fingertips and aimed straight for the Link in front, a blast of dark, shadow magic came hurtling towards the two.

Green's eyes went wide- and its target was met far before anyone could have prevented it.

Gasping, Green felt himself slugged heavily in the chest by the attack, and, stumbling, fell to his knees. His body was ravaged by the numerous hits- and, shaking, he could hardly move himself to stand, let alone regain the firm grip on his sword...

"GREEN!" Red cried out, suddenly stopping as he turned towards his wounded leader-

"N-No! Get Veran!" Green gasped, shaking his head fiercely, his shaking legs just barely keeping him from collapsing. He looked up at Red urgently. "Go, now!-!" Through his pain, he managed a grim smile. "I know you can do it!"

Red hesitated, his eyes growing wide. He... He was to do it? No, he was always the helper, the supportive one, he wasn't the one to... And yet... Green's eyes urged him on, the faith in his friend surging across him and into his smaller friend. Red grit his teeth, nodding seriously in understanding as he gulped past his fears. Without another word, knowing just what he would do- what he HAD to do- the Link quickly and sharply turned away, bolting into a run as he advanced upon their fallen enemy.

He knew there wasn't much time left. The injured Veran looked up at her approaching enemy- and, even facing her death, snarled in vicious hate and rage, her eyes burning and hands clenching tight-

-But it was all for naught.

For, in one final yell, for his leader and for his team, Red ran towards his enemy, his glistening Four Sword carried proudly in his two-handed grasp, and leapt upwards, the glint of his blade catching against the light of the shattered stained glass windows, finally plunged it downwards, carrying with his might all the energy and spirit of his friends.

With a resounding clash, gold met against silver as the mighty Onox quickly closed the distance between him and the three Links, slicing out at them with his two new blades. Blue and Vio, flinging up their swords in defense, met their attacker's blades with their own, holding on tight to their silver swords and pushing against the attack of the other.

Clearing quickly of the sword fight, Shadow had leapt back, clenching his fists and snarling in fury. What could he do? He had no sword of his own...

And yet, as if to answer this, Onox roared in fury as he was shoved back by Vio and Blue's combined efforts, stumbling backwards off-balance- and, without wasting a second, Blue and Vio had jumped backwards, running back up to Shadow and regrouping a safe distance away.

Quickly, out of breath, Blue shouted to the others, "Vio, you and I will have to fight him off! Shadow, think you can land a good blow on him while we've got him distracted?"

Grinning, Shadow cracked his knuckles. "Damn straight I can," he sneered, excitement already building up in him. "He's weakened. One hit oughta do him in!"

Quickly, Vio gave a nod. "Let's do this!" he affirmed loudly to the others, holding up his sword and giving a grim smile.

Giving a quick nod, Shadow once more grinned as he ran off to the side, already starting to sink and blend into the natural shadows of darkness of the room.

Onox, regaining his balance, growled as he took another heavy step towards the two children, raising his two blades. In intimidation, he sliced one against the other, littering the ground with a flurry of bright golden sparks.

And yet, hardly fazed by the show off of power, Blue grinned as he raised an eyebrow at Vio.

"Hey, Vio?"

"Yeah?

"I bet I can take his sword down before you."

"... You're on."

Grinning in excitement, the two friends raised their swords, eyes narrowed in competition, and shouted out as they charged against the massive foe before them.

Sparks once more flew from the two, terrible golden blades of Onox as he sliced them, independent of each other, across towards Vio and Blue. The skill and accuracy of attacks lightly stunned both Links- having only thought of him as a tank, instead of a skilled swordsman- but both heroes were well used to the techniques of sword-fighting, and each took the surprise in stride.

As Onox's long blade sliced over towards Vio in a vertical slash, the wise and calm Link quickly and rapidly parried the blow, swinging his own sword in an upwards motion and jumping quickly to the side as he swung his sword back against his opponent's. He wasted no time in returning a blow of his own, aiming for a high slash overtop the blade. It was met once again with Onox's sword- but quickly, with his grin spreading and the energy of the fight flooding through him, Vio ducked and twisted around in a tight circle, slicing his sword against the other's blade and then using his quick momentum to aim a jab towards Onox's armor.

All while the massive general had been fighting against Vio, so with his other blade he had been trying to hold off Blue. Yet the monster was finding this easier said than done- and, with that wild grin still beaming across his face, the energetic Link had charged strong and bold into the fight, heavily swinging his sword to meet Onox's high in the air. Blue's eyes flashed, and he almost laughed- for as Onox's blade swung to the side and quickly flashed in midair as it sliced back to meet Blue's side, so the Link was already prepared- and one step ahead, ducking beneath the aim of the blade and then popping back up after it had passed slicing it away and aiming for his own attack at the now-open Onox.

Shouting aloud in surprise and anger, the massive General of Darkness, Onox, found himself stumbling backwards in order to avoid the two Links' swords from once again slicing over his golden armor. Blue and Vio, each grinning in their own unique ways, stared down their opponent with narrowed, determined eyes as they held up their swords once again, ready to jump back into the fight at any notice.

With a ferocious snarl, Onox's eyes, narrowed into slits behind his golden mask, burned into the two heroes before him. Once more his jaw parted as he let loose a bellowing, infuriated roar, his clenched, golden-gilded fists raising and his swords crossing in front of him as he prepared to once again charge at the heroes-

And yet, though the monster expected to witness the heroes' faces turning into despair and horror- he certainly was unprepared for looks of surprise and excitement crossing their faces. He snarled, narrowing his eyes and taking a step forward-

A shadow had begun to grow overtop the General's figure, though he had not yet begun to notice it. By the time he had, however, taking a step forward to once more fight the heroes, yet stopping upon seeing the large patch of darkness growing overtop him...

It was already far too late.

In a flash of darkness, burning red eyes, and a wide, triumphant grin, Shadow ran out from behind and from inside the darkness around him, the magic already beginning to swirl menacingly around the general-

And, with a triumphant yell, laughing as he did so, Shadow leapt upwards above the General- and, both his fists coming together, shouted aloud as a massive blast of dark magic, bursting from his fingertips and shooting out in a wide and powerful beam, barreled straight for the monster beneath him. The shadow magic, powerful and endless, continued to stream from Shadow's open palms as they enveloped the General, pulsing and throbbing and twisting around madly as the demonic monster from within screamed and roared in rage and agony. The area of darkness grew around him- until, finally, the last of it draining from the boy's powers, Shadow fell back nimbly against the ground, grinning weakly and looking upon their enemy with triumph.

The screams of Onox were deep and loud, horrendous and twisted- and as they merged with the screams of another, a high-pitched and screeching wail coming from the opposite side of the arena, so the tower was suddenly and instantly plunged into the horrifying sounds, the noise of the two demonic creatures screaming out their deaths flooding the room all around them.

In surprise, as one heard the dying shrieks of the other's enemy, the five Links turned to look towards the others- and, as both Veran and Onox, surrounded in the pulsing, painful darkness, continued to shriek and writhe in pain, so the heroes grinned widely as they ran towards the center, eager to meet back up as a team once again.

"Hey!'

"You guys alright?"

"How'd it go?"

Excitedly, the five Links , after making sure they were all more or less unharmed from their fights, began to ask how the other's fight had gone, and brag about their own blows landed on the enemies. And yet, even as they finished, they each knew their chatter couldn't go on for long- and, grinning in victory, so they turned as a team to look back towards their fallen enemies at the center of the room.

Weakly, the impressive and powerful monsters that had once been Onox and Veran had crawled back to the center of the room, their wounds heavy and their strength draining. The blackness continued to follow them and swarm around them, twisting and pulling- however, the Links noticed strangely, it no longer seemed to be delighted in its owners might, or raging and lending its powers to the two. Instead, as it pulsed and nearly engulfed the two, both Veran and Onox screamed in the pain that was being inflicted upon them.

"What's going on?" Vio asked, growling in confusion as he narrowed his eyes, readying his blade. He didn't like where this was going, and each second longer that Veran and Onox lived was beginning to make him uneasy.

"It's as if the darkness is..." Green began, shaking his head incredulously.

"Rejecting them," Shadow snarled, narrowing his eyes. "This is either very good for us... or very bad..."

"Come on! Aren't they defeated yet?-!" Blue shouted in fury as he turned back from the others to look at their fallen enemies. Snarling, the hero took a step forward, swinging his blade out again. "What, you two want more?-! Then come and get it! We'll never stop fighting!"

"Yeah! Just come and try us!" Red piped up with a large grin as he jumped up and down besides Blue, also holding out his sword. "We're not afraid of you!"

The challenges of the two Links were met only with more screams from the two villains who writhed in pain from the darkness as it swirled over them- and yet, slowly, the Links found themselves taking a step back, blinking in wide-eyed surprise at what was happening. Slowly but surely, the clouds of darkness covering the two villains was growing... in no time at all it had engulfed Veran and Onox entirely, and was continuing to spread...

"Everyone get down!" Shadow roared instantly, his eyes flashing as the darkness spread-

-And yet, in that very instant, everything stopped.

The five heroes were silent as they stared at the suddenly frozen, unmoving cloud of darkness in front of them-

-And in the next instant, the entire world was flipped on its side.

With a single flash of darkness bursting through the room, suddenly, with no warning at all, the dark clouds retreated quickly, and then, just as suddenly, exploded outwards in a massive, powerful blast which shook the entire room and plunged everything into a smoky, blinding pit of darkness, causing the entire room to violently shake, boulders crumbling from the walls and ceilings above and crashing to the ground below.

In almost an instant, Shadow had balled his hand into a fist, shouting aloud as he summoned forth once more a barrier of his own shadow magic, forming into a tight and sturdy dome around the five heroes. The boulders and rubble crashed harmlessly against the shield, falling uselessly onto the ground before them as the Links, huddled together with shields up under the dome, looked out desperately for any signs of what was going on past the explosion of darkness.

Finally, the smoke began to clear... The floor continued to rumble, and the darkness was almost seeming to be blown away...

Frowning, Shadow stood up as his barrier was dissipated, the other Links following suit as they stood and took a step or two forward, looking around them in shock.

The explosion had completely blown off the ceiling and walls of the tower... And a cool, chilly night wind blew in from the outside world around them. Rubble lined the ground, and dark shadows continued to eat away at the corners of the tower... Yet Veran and Onox were no longer in sight.

However-

It wasn't a few seconds after the Links realized this, that another shock soon came to them- this one, much more violent and horrifying than one before.

With a massive creak, a heavy rumble and a thick, deep cracking sound, the Links suddenly found themselves stumbling over the moving ground beneath them... Panicked, their eyes went down to the stone floor of the tower. Beneath the chunks of rubble, heavy, deep cracks were strewn across the entire ground...

Once more, a heavy, crunching sound ripped through the fabric of the night, and horrifying, massive vibrations surged through the ground beneath them...

In an instant, the entire floor had shifted, and, crying aloud, the Links found themselves stumbling, almost falling, to the ground as it began to tilt.

Green's eyes widened as his heart sank in his chest.

No... it couldn't be...

And yet, as the five Links looked outside at the world around them, watching as everything began to tilt to the side... They each knew just what was happening.

Trapped on the highest tower of Hyrule Castle, the stone beneath them was starting to give way...

And with another, and final, treacherous and deep cracking sound splitting through the stone beneath them, the tower heaved as it jerked once more to the side, this time with nothing to stop it as it began to tilt, the boulders supporting it cracking and splitting off, plummeting the hundreds of stories down to the ground below, pieces of the structure breaking off as it began to collapse- and finally, the top of the tower itself succumbing to the encroaching destruction, crumbling to pieces and beginning the long and terrifying fall downwards- carrying with it, its five doomed passengers.


Heh, you read that right!

Veran and Onox are seemingly gone, but... The tower is about to collapse... with all five Links still on board!

What's going to happen next?

Find out in the next installment, Chapter 53, coming by the end of the week! :D