A/n: This chapter has been revised. Almost there!
Disclaimer: Cats.
Chapter 53: Power and Courage Part 2
Immediately after Kurama had pointed out that the party wasn't finished yet, the black pillar of energy that was shooting into the sky began forming into a shape. The energy crackled like electricity and the air had gotten cold and bitter, leaving goose bumps on everyone's arms.
"What the actual hell is going on?" Joey said, his eyes widening as he backed up.
"I agree with Joey for once." Katara agreed in shock, a huge gust of wind completely undoing her hair, which was had still be half done from that final attack from Ganondorf.
"This immense power!" Zelda cried out in surprise. Her skirts billowed wildly around her, her hair whipping in and out of her face. "The Triforce of Power! I think it's starting to corrupt him."
"Starting to do what?" Link's eyes were also wide and he slowly pulled the Master Sword back out of its sheath.
"The Triforce of Power is starting to reject him but his will is strong enough that he will not relinquish control of it." Zelda explained. "It's corrupting his mind, mutating his form. The more the Triforce of Power rejects him, the more damage it does. If he continues like this any longer, he'll completely lose his mind." While Zelda spoke, the black energy cleared, and in its place was a huge monster. It was a huge creature, the biggest they had fought yet. It had curled horns and glowing, black eyes peering out at the group over a long, pig-like snout. The creature was built like a stone fortress, with large muscular arms and a broad, sturdy chest. It held in each of its hands long blades. The creature leapt into the air and smashed into the ground, slamming one of its swords into the ground. It sent up a shockwave that knocked everyone back. Immediately after, a huge ring of black fire shot up, separating the creature and Link from everyone else.
"Link!" Navi was still with Link, having grabbed onto him when the shockwave hit. "Link! This thing is Ganondorf! I sense the energy!"
"This is what Zelda meant by he was mutating? He doesn't even look the same anymore!" Link said in shock.
"Link!" Kaori called out. Joey reached out to the fire but Zelda grabbed his wrist.
"Don't! This is cursed magic, not real fire. It will destroy you." Zelda warned. "The Triforce of Power has gone berserk now in its rejection of Ganondorf. Both of the Triforce of Power and Ganondorf are nothing but monsters guided by revenge. The only way to purify the Triforce of Power is to separate it from Ganondorf."
"And the only way to separate the Triforce of Power is to kill Ganondorf." Kurama concluded.
"But we can't help Link now." Kaori frowned.
"He has to do that one on his own." Joey shook his head.
"Everyone!" Link called out, turning to look at them from the fire. In that moment, the monster swung his sword again. He knocked Link back and sent the Master Sword flying through the ring of black fire. It got stuck straight up in the ground a ways from everyone else and, immediately, a ring of black fire surrounded it, too.
"The Master Sword!" Kaori gasped.
"Oh, crap." Link cursed to himself.
"Don't freak out yet, Cap." Navi flew off to the side to dodge an attack.
"Wait. Hold on." Kurama said after a moment's contemplation. "Link! The Megaton Hammer! Use that instead!"
"The hammer?" Link questioned, but he rolled out of the way of another attack and pulled the weapon out of his bag.
"It'll serve you well enough!" Kurama insisted.
"Good idea, Red!" Navi called out. "Link, its tail."
"Tail?" Link asked for reassurance.
"I think its tail is the easiest way to hit him." Navi explained. "Stun him with the Megaton Hammer and then hit him with light arrows while he's down!"
"Got it!" Link ran forward. "Don't worry everyone, I've got this!"
Meanwhile…
"So, Ganondorf has mutated, the Master Sword is surrounded by cursed fire and Link is fighting that bastard all by himself?" Joey summarized.
"Basically." Aya responded.
"I have faith in Link, though." Kaori smiled. "I think he'll be okay."
"Okay, sure, but we need to the Master Sword to get rid of him once and for all." Aya countered.
"Zelda, how do we do this?" Kurama asked. "We have no choice now but to proceed forward with our plans while Ganondorf is distracted."
"Let me start with this." Zelda started glowing and put her hands out. After a moment, she opened her eyes and opened her hands, wiggling her fingers at the others. "I have a connection to the Sages. Join hands. It'll connect you to them, as well."
"Aw, this'll be cute." Joey commented, earning another jab into the side from Katara. Katara reached out for one of Zelda's hands and Aya took the other. Slowly, they all joined hands, ignoring the awkwardness for the sake of the situation. The group shut their eyes and opened them again to find themselves standing on their platforms in the Chamber of Sages, surrounded by all the other Sages. Zelda was standing on the platform Link usually stood on.
"Sages! The time has come!" Zelda announced.
"Cut the dramatics. I'm ready to kick this guy's ass into the next century." Nabooru pumped a fist, her face almost comically angry. "Just let me know when, and I'll be right there to kick something."
"Nabooru, Rauru has gone over the plan at least ten times already." Saria explained calmly.
"Eh, I get the gist of it. Do Sage things, seal Ganondorf away, and they do some things and we're stuck here." Nabooru waved a hand. "I tuned most of it out. Old guy's a bit boring when he talks for hours on end."
"Get used it, since we'll be stuck together for goddesses know how long." Ruto crossed her arms, her beautiful fins fanning out like wings.
"Like the roommates I never asked for." Nabooru grumbled, some of her gravitas fading.
"Anyways." Zelda commanded softly, placing her hands in front of her like a lady. "Nabooru is right, though. We have to seal away Ganondorf and his evil forever."
To Link and his battle…
If Joey were participating in the battle, or paying attention at all, he most likely commented on the absurdity of the battle Link was now facing, what with the bulk of Link's strategy focused on running between the giant creatures legs and swinging at his tail from underneath him. The Megaton Hammer was a heavy weapon, heavier than Link, and he put all of his body weight into each swing. It took effort to stay on his feet, or to stay as nimble as he usually was, using it.
"I really have no idea how long this is going to take, Cap." Navi said. "This could take forever. The odds are stacked against you right now."
"I know!" Link grumbled, landing another swing on the creature's tail. Ganon screamed in pain and Link shot a light arrow into the back of his head, stunning it. Link shot off one more before he smashed the hammer down several times, as hard as he could, striking his tail again. The creature stood back up, swinging his sword and knocking Link across the battlefield.
"Link!" Navi flew over to Link, who was pulling himself back. He reached over and grabbed the hammer again, spitting up some blood onto the ground. He wiped it with his sleeve and glared forward at Ganon again.
"I'm fine, Navi." Link shook his head. "He thinks he's weakened me by taking the others away but now's my chance to prove to everyone that I'm just fine on my own. They're my dearest friends, not my crutches."
"Nice talking, Cap." Navi smiled a bit. "Come on. We've got a pig to fight."
"Ahhh!" Link cried out, running back across the battlefield, his hammer ready for another swing.
To the others…
"I can sense it." Impa said slowly. "The evil of the berserk Triforce of power is reverberating all over Hyrule. The evil was already hanging like a cloud of the world, but now, it's everywhere. It's like poison. If this continues any longer, the damage will to be too much."
"If Hyrule falls to the power of the Triforce, then all will be lost. Everything will crumble." Saria said sadly. "The Triforce will remain separated and the Triforce of Power will be forever berserk and corrupted…"
"And Hyrule, and the rest of the worlds, will fall to its evil." Rauru concluded.
"So, our worlds are connected to this one?" Joey asked.
"Very much." Rauru nodded. "That is why the power of the Spirits were reincarnated with individuals on other worlds. Hyrule acts as the center of all worlds, like its heart. When it falls, so do the others. It's a delicate balance."
"The plan goes like this…" Zelda trailed off for a moment. "Link must weaken Ganondorf and kill him. You all must force the Triforce of Power from him, take the Triforce pieces from use and refuse the Triforce back into one. Then we will seal Ganondorf and his evil away for all eternity. After that, you all must force the Sacred Realm shut forever. That way, no regular person can ever gain access to the Sacred Realm or Ganondorf's seal ever again."
"The Hero of Time may need some help getting to this point, though." Rauru added.
"Well, duh." Aya waved a hand. "Link will definitely need help against that thing."
"That's a lot to do." Joey rubbed the back of his head.
"Are you prepared for this? For the consequences?" Rauru asked cautiously.
"I am." Joey turned to the others.
"Never been more ready." Katara turned. "We've been preparing for this for a long time."
"I'm scared but I'm ready." Kaori nodded.
"Count me in. We've gotten this far." Aya turned to Kurama, who shut his eyes for a moment.
"Yes. I'm ready as well." Kurama nodded his head, too. "We've got one shot at this. No room for error."
"Gotcha, Red." Joey grinned at Kurama before turning and doing a thumbs up to the Sages. "Count on us, guys. We got this!"
"Let's rejoin the battle." Zelda nodded. She clapped her hands together and the party felt themselves back on the battlefield, where Link was still fighting Ganondorf. He was even more torn apart than he was before, with his hat have long been forgotten somewhere in the middle of the fight. He was missing one of his gauntlets and there were holes up and down the white sleeves of his undershirt. He was partially facing away from the party, the Megaton Hammer still firmly gripped in his left hand while he wiped blood off of his lips.
"It looks like it is has been a rough battle so far with only the Megaton Hammer." Aya observed.
"The fire is starting to weaken, though." Zelda stepped forward. "The fire may still be cursed but, Joey, you might be able to do something with it now."
"My turn for the spotlight." Joey stepped forward.
"If you get push some of the fire aside, I can stun him with my own magic." Zelda ordered. "Stunning him should hopefully disable the rest of the fire."
"Gotcha, Princess." Joey ran forward and slammed a fist into the ground. The motion he made sent his own wave of fire spouting up from the ground. His fire collided with the fire Ganon had created, burning it out and opening a path.
"Link, duck!" Kurama yelled out.
"Huh?" Link whirled around but immediately dropped to the ground when he realized why Kurama was yelling at him. Navi dropped with him, cursing. Zelda had thrown her hands forward as soon as Joey had started his assault and a huge pink light erupted from her, shooting towards Ganon like a cannon. The pink light started twisting with brilliant gold light halfway through and the light wrapped around the monster, trapping him before it seemed to cause him pain. The black fire that had trapped Link and the Master Sword had vanished. A loud screech came from Ganon's throat and he was totally immobilized. Unfortunately, so was Zelda for the duration.
"I-I c-can't keep this up forever." Zelda winced in pain, her hands still glowing brightly. She wobbled a bit on her feet, but the look of determination on her face said that she was unwilling to give up. Still, her knees started to buckle under the strain. Katara ran forward and put her arms around Zelda's waist, holding her up.
"Guys!" Link whirled around again.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Bud!" Joey ordered and switched his gaze over to Kurama, who had already made it to the Master Sword. He ripped the sword out of the ground and chucked it at Joey, who was closer. In a single motion Joey caught it and launched it at Link.
"Catch!" Joey yelled out. Link clumsily dropped the Megaton Hammer and caught the sword, giving a couple of practice swings. The confidence built up in his face again and he gave the group a big grin. A gasp of strangled air came from Zelda and her hold on Ganon broke. Her legs gave out but Katara was still holding onto her. Slowly she lowered her to the ground.
"That's all I can do!" Zelda yelled out. "The rest is up to you all!"
"I gotcha!" Link ran forward.
"Hey, we were invited to this party, too, you know." Joey picked up the discarded Megaton Hammer, effortlessly slinging it over his shoulder. He shot Link a toothy smile and stood proudly by his side. Kaori came running up with her bow, an arrow ready to be shot off. Aya followed up, too, the glow of a light spell already surrounding her. Katara made sure Zelda was okay before she ran over. Kurama hopped neatly from where he was over to Link's other side while Navi floated around the party.
"Here he comes!" Aya called out shooting off a light spell just as Ganon roared angrily, smashing down his blade at the group. The group scattered and the fight continued.
"We can only help you weaken him down." Kurama said while running by Link's side. "Killing him is your job. Once we're to that point, we must exit the battle and do our part in sealing him away."
"Got it." Link nodded. The party skipped conversation after that and fell into a good system of stunning Ganon and catching him off guard to launch attacks on his tail. Kaori and Aya were tag teaming him, with every arrow of Kaori's being a light arrow and with Aya unleashing the most powerful light spells she could conjure, often bringing forth her summon to power up her attacks. Kurama and Katara had settled for being distractions, as it seemed to be that raw power was the best way to get good hits on the creature. Between Link's angry strikes with the Master Sword and Joey smashing Ganon's tail with a fire-powered Megaton Hammer, the battle was going much more smoothly than it had been before.
"Link, I think we're almost there." Navi said.
"How many more strikes?" Link asked.
"With the rate you guys are going, only one." Navi nodded.
"You guys can cut out!" Link yelled over his shoulder at his teammates. "There may be only one round left. I can handle it from here. You guys get ready to do your thing!"
"Aren't you going to say anything else to them?" Navi seemed bewildered at Link's casual response, given how upset he'd been about how this moment would play out before. "You cried about them doing this before. What if something happens to them?"
"I have to accept it for what it is. I can't be scared anymore." Link shut his eyes. "I have faith in them. They'll try there hardest to survive. I know they will. I'll have to be content knowing that, even if they do die, they did trying their hardest. I can't be selfish anymore. I was wrong before."
"Link, that's the most sentimental bullshit you've ever said and I love it." Joey jerked Link forward, dropping the Megaton Hammer aside and hugging him in a brotherly embrace. "You do your hero thing and we'll do ours."
"I believe in you guys." Link returned the embrace and shot everyone else a smile. "I'll do what I can."
"Alright!" Kurama nodded, returning the smile. "Guys, let's go! Link's got this." The others ran back over to Zelda.
"Okay. Start charging all the power you have. We'll need it for what's coming." Zelda instructed, stepping to the side. "Stand in a circle and charge up all the energy you can muster. All of it. When the time comes to unleash all that power, do it in unison, so your power becomes one."
"Charge up power, blah friendship, do our Spirit thing." Aya turned around. "Sounds good. Let's go."
The five stood in a circle facing each other. They were all silent but gave each other silent nods, each offering thanks and potential goodbyes to the other. It was a split second interaction before they all shut their eyes and started to concentrate. The glowing came from Aya first. The area around them had been partially dark barring the fire of the rubble and the dim, cloudy moon. Bright yellow started, followed quickly by the blue glowing of Katara. Kurama was next, green joining the ring of light, before Joey and Kaori joined in unison, red and purple finishing the ring. The glowing was steady and just bright enough to illuminate the area immediately around them. None of them moved now, save for the energy they created making their hair and tattered clothes flutter around them.
"Alright, go!" Navi ordered and Link ran forward again. He rolled out of the way to dodge another attack and slammed down the Master Sword on Ganon's tail again, earning a screech. Link shot off another light arrow stunning him. A volley of attacks was interrupted by Ganon grabbing his face and roaring. It was clear it was a mixture of pain and frustration. He dropped one of his blades and clenched his fist before reeling back and shooting a rapid blast of dark energy at Link. The attack collided with Link, sending him skidding back. Pebbles kicked up as he slowed to a stop, indentations of where he had been skidding now on the ground in front of him. He stayed on his feet though. The attack hadn't even hurt him. In fact, he was glowing a dark purple color.
"What?" Zelda looked surprised. Then her eyes narrowed again and she whispered to herself. "His dark counterpart must still have some level of sentience even after being absorbed by Link again."
"What is going on?" Link had wide eyes.
This is my last hoorah before I disappear back into your life energy for good. Luckily for both of us, I think that was Ganondorf's last hoorah, too.
You are still alive?!
Only for a brief moment. I haven't lost my sentience yet, but I'm getting ready to. I don't have much time left and you'll seal the deal when the Triforce of Power is out of Ganondorf's hands.
You're helping me? What do I do?
Shadow creatures like dark energy. You may be the Hero of Time, and that means you represent good, pure energy. But since you absorbed me, for this brief moment, you are a creature of both. Use the last of my power to blast him with his own attack!
And then you'll be gone for good?
Yep. Just a distant memory.
…Thanks, Dark Link.
Save the apologies for someone better than me. Or for when you have the time. Go! You're one step from kicking his ass!
Goodbye, Dark Link!
…Bye to you too, you annoying little hero.
With a yell of anger and surprise, Link threw his own hands forward and shot all the energy from Ganon's attack right back at him, smashing him in the face with it. The attack sent the large monster toppling over, reminiscent of the tower when it had collapsed. Link ran forward and began glowing a different color, gold like the Triforce. The glowing engulfed the Master Sword and Link jumped up in the air and brought his sword down into Ganon's neck, earning a horrifying scream of pain. Ignoring the blood, Link ripped the sword out and sliced wildly at Ganon several more times before shoving the blade through its face.
In slow motion, the creatures bloody head fell back with the rest of his body it hit the ground with a no sound. For a moment, the whole world seemed devoid of noise at all and Link started at shock at himself and at Ganon's corpse, the gold glowing completely fading as fast as it had appeared.
"Sages!" Zelda threw her hands in the air and began glowing pink. "Ready yourselves!"
"Link, back up!" Navi snapped and Link ran off to the side, his sword still bloody. Link turned over to the rest of his group, who were all glowing still. Zelda offered a side glance to them as well and shut them immediately when the light emanating from them became impossibly bright. In a swirling movement, the light from the five Spirits came bursting forth, wrecking the ground around them as it smashed into Ganon. His lifeless body floated up into the air, still dripping with fresh blood and the last blade slipping out of his fingers and clattering to the ground. The energy formed around him, as if binding him in chains, before shooting straight through his head, chest and left hand. No noises came from the dead body but the action was violent in how it was performed.
"Whoa…" Link said to himself backing up a bit more from the sight in shock. A bright gold light shot from Ganon's left hand. After that, the creature fell back to the ground lifeless. Suddenly, the same brilliant lights shot towards Link, forcing him into the air and wrapping around his left arm and hand and keeping him suspended there while it seemed to rip a gold orb out of his hand as well. It was slightly painful, but far less violent as it gently dropped Link to the ground and did the same thing to Zelda, earning a surprised squeak. The three lights were gathered at the center of the circle the Spirits had formed.
"Sages! Now!" Zelda threw her hands into the air. From the Chamber of Sages, all the Sages had concentrated their own powers and formed a swirling, black vortex in the center of their realm.
"We'll banish this creature and all of his evil to a realm between dimensions!" Rauru ordered.
"Never shall Ganondorf and evil armies escape from this realm! This will be his prison for all eternity!" Impa added.
"The seals on this prison shall never be broken!" Zelda yelled. "He shall never be free! He will never have that power again!" Ganon's body dissolved into dark mist. Even though they weren't in the Chamber of Sages, the painful screams of Ganondorf's spirit being ripped through the vortex into his prison where audible to Link, Zelda and Navi.
Curse you, Zelda! Curse you, Sages! Curse you, Spirits! And curse you, Hero of Time! You say this is for all eternity but I will be back! Write that down! History will not forget me! I will be back to end your bloodlines!
With a final, horrifying scream, the last of Ganondorf was sucked away into the vortex. This was followed by a blinding flash of light.
"Now!" Zelda dropped to her knees and put her hands in to her face in a praying motion. "The first seal on Ganondorf is in place! Quick, Spirits! Return the Triforce to its rightful place! Seal the Sages away in the Sacred Realm and finalize the last seals on the King of Evil so he may never escape again!"
"…" Link watched on with worried eyes at the rest of his party. The golden lights had formed the Triforce, present in all its true glory, but it disappeared quickly. A final eruption of light, blinding and bright shot up into the sky. The blast of energy that came from the group knocked both Link and Zelda off their feet and, for a few moments, they couldn't see because everything was too bright. Once the light was gone, the sky seemed a bit clearer and the whole world seemed totally quiet.
"Is…Is it over?" Zelda sat up, brushing some hair out of her face. Though slightly dirty, she was in the best shape of the people present and she looked around the ruined area, locking eyes with Link.
"Well, damn." Navi had been knocked to the ground and she flew back up in the air to look at Link as well. "I think you all finally did it. Bastard is dead and gone. We're free now."
"We're…free now. We did it!" Link threw his arms in the air and swept up Zelda in a genuinely happy embrace. She awkwardly returned it, finally joining Link in on his careless laughter. He swung her around a couple of times. When he put her down, he had a goofy, lopsided grin on his face.
"Link, the others." Navi gestured. The lopsided grin vanished in an instant and Zelda's face hardened, too.
"The actions required of them were very exhausting." Zelda's voice dropped to a whisper. "They were the glue of our plans. All the technical aspects of this plan could only be accomplished by their power. It was a lot to ask of them just to reform the Triforce, let alone ask them of everything else."
"Guys!" Link ran forward. The others were strewn out, still in their circle, completely motionless. Link, Navi and Zelda stood over them, look down at their seemingly lifeless forms. Zelda put a hand to her chest. All of the party had taken a severe beating in the battle and all of their clothes hung on them in the same torn manner that Link's were currently. Link knelt down over Kaori and pulled her off the ground. Her head slumped against his shoulder.
"Kaori?" Link shook her a bit before looking over at everyone else. None of them responded. Link's eyes glistened with worry and Navi flew over inspecting them all. He couldn't get the best look at them for different reasons. Katara was lying on her side, but almost all of her face was covered by her loose hair. Aya was curled over on her side, her long hair having a similar effect. Kurama was on his side, his back to Link and Zelda. All they saw was the now messy waves of his red hair pooled on the ground all around him. Joey was on his stomach, but his face was the most visible. It was covered in spots of blood and marred by paleness and exhaustion.
"…" Zelda slowly lifted her hands to her mouth.
"…G-guys?" Link looked around again.
"Don't freak out yet, Cap." Navi said, her voice cracking uncharacteristically. Link looked over at his fairy companion, taking note of her voice. She looked over at Link, her eyes shining with relief. "Cap, I think they all made it. I sense it. And they're all breathing. They were right. They didn't die on us."
"I sense it, too!" Zelda exclaimed happily. Link looked up at Zelda to see tears of relief forming in her eyes. "They really did make it through! After all the power they expended, they still made it! It's a miracle." Link bent his head closer to Kaori's face and his eyes widened in relief when he felt her breaths.
"I'll….I'll take nachos. With a side of nachos." Joey's tired, delirious voice snapped everyone to attention and they noticed the larger man moving. He lifted himself only partially off the ground, his weary muscles straining to do even that, and he looked at the three with a glazed look on his face. He continued babbling an exhausted voice. "You know what? I'll take an extra side of a guacamole with that cheese, too. Because…nachos."
"Joey!" Navi bonked him in the head. "Snap back to us!"
"Wait…no nachos?" Joey blinked and then his eyes widened. "Navi! Link! Zelda! Hold up, I didn't die? I totally just thought I died and was ordering consolation nachos in the afterlife."
"No, you survived!" Link cried happily. Kaori began stirring in his arms.
"Link?" Kaori opened her eyes. After a second, she smiled weakly. "Did everything work out?"
"Evil King's gone and you all survived. Plan worked out." Navi said. Link smiled at Navi, who talked about this like a proud mother would talk of her children.
"This is the worst headache I'll ever have in my life." Aya sat up, flipping her hair out of her face. "And this is coming from someone who nearly fell to her death once."
"I'm…inclined to agree with you on that." Kurama's voice had a distinct tone of sarcasm that was hard for him to hide in such a tired state.
"Coming from the guy that's gotten been beaten in the head by a rogue octopus, nearly fell to his death, and also was brainwashed violently for five years, that's saying a lot." Aya pointed a finger at the redhead.
"I guess we had to lay out all of my failures just one more time before this journey ended." Kurama leaned back.
"We're not dead?" Katara finally sat up as well. "I could have sworn we were all goners. That has to be a miracle, right?"
"Guys!" Link embraced Kaori suddenly in a truly happy hug. After that, he carefully put her down and threw himself on everyone, embracing them all one-by-one.
"Man, I feel like a stamped of horses have trampled my brain a few times." Joey propped an arm up on his knee.
"I'm sure the effects of what we did are similar to that." Kurama agreed.
"I want to stand up, but I can't." Katara groaned.
"I'd just keep sitting." Joey pointed out. "If you stand up where you are, I'll be able to look up your skirt and I can't handle one of your epic beat downs right now."
"All the stuff we've just been through and that's the first thing you say to me?" Katara snarled.
"I was doing you a favor. I didn't say I wanted to look up your skirt." Joey shot back. "I'm trying to mend my ways, be a gentleman and all that stuff."
"You're not the first person I think of when I think of gentlemen." Katara crossed her arms.
"She didn't say that she wasn't okay with you looking up her skirt, though." Aya shrugged.
"Aya!" Katara glared.
"An observation." Aya said innocently.
"Can you guys talk about something a little nobler after you just saved the multiverse from the ultimate lord of evil?" Navi rolled her eyes. "Goddess, you all just fucking acted like real heroes for a short period of time and your back to your old ways. You're all impossible."
"We're over taxed on hero energy right now, Navi." Joey whined.
"Guys!" Link interrupted "Thanks for not dying."
"You're welcome, though I wouldn't say we had much control in the matter." Kurama said.
"I still don't get why Joey wants to look up Katara' skirt, though." Link offered innocently.
"I didn't say I wanted to! I just said I was going to be able to if she stood up. Jeez, a guy makes an innocent warning for a friend and you all twist it around to make me the villain." Joey frowned.
"There was nothing innocent about that warning." Katara returned, rolling her eyes.
"A friend?" Aya laughed out loud. "Not friends. Not after all this crap. You guys are way more than friends."
"Don't pick on us!" Katara pointed a finger at Aya.
"Hey, we don't pick on you and Kurama." Joey pointed a finger at her as well.
"It's not like Kurama and I are hiding anything either, though." Aya seemed nonchalant and she exchanged a glance with the redhead, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, when you study both situations, there is no reason to tease Aya and me for something neither of us bother to hide anymore." Kurama stated smoothly.
"It's hard to hide it after my near love confession to you in the Spirit Temple." Aya said in an offhanded manner.
"Well, the Water Temple could be described as Joey and Katara's Epic Lovers Spat." Navi sat down on Link's head.
"So, are Joey and Katara a thing now, too?" Link asked excitedly, his eyes wide and childish.
"Is this really important right now?" Joey said through a red face. "Ain't there more important things to discuss?"
"Yeah…Zelda, do something. Stop this." Katara muttered.
"Right." Zelda was laughing a bit through the tears that had started running down her face. They were clearly tears of relief and she wiped them away with her gloves before clearing her throat. "I'm glad that all of you are okay, but there are a few more things we must go over. There is plenty I should explain to you."
A/n: I basically reworked this chapter from the ground-up, too. I cut out a lot of Dark Link's screen time because he was basically a minor character in the grand scheme of things. He had even less screen time in the original version and he got a ton devoted to him in the original version of this chapter. I cut out some of the goofy dialogue of the Sages, but kept some of it, too. I kept the group's conversation where they talk about Joey and Katara's relationship, even the part where Joey makes comments about Katara's skirt, but changed it to the group teasing the two of them and Link being oblivious and stuff.
I kept some of the drama of the group nearly dying, but it's obvious I never planned on changing the fact that none of them die. I added some more emotion to Zelda here, too. Since I had Sheik/Zelda interact with the party a lot more over the course of the story, she has reason to be genuinely relieved that they didn't die. After all, they're her friends too. And the tears may have come from relief, too, that everything is finally done.
Also, if the Spirits are a unit of their own, I've decided that Kurama is probably their designated leader based on the way I write it out. Unintentionally, though. When I thought of how the Spirits would work this time around, I figured that when they are a whole unit together with Link, things are different. When it's like that, Link is their leader. When Link is uninvolved and they are performing strictly Spirit business, I'd originally envisioned Joey as the leader. Kurama ended up fitting the smart, authoritative role better. Maybe the two just share joint leadership? It fits, since they both seem to alternate being the "sidekick best friend" character to Link. If anything, they're written to basically be his surrogate big brothers at this point.
One more chapter! I've been working on this revamp for a billion years!
