Zhenxuan20002: This.
Everything seemed to be in order. Link watched from the mouth of the cave as the Meta Knights hauled away the bad guys. A few of them protested, Wario being the loudest, as they dragged them into their ships. Wolf, on the other hand, was oddly quiet about the whole affair, a stark contrast from the snarling beast a few moments before.
His master had taught him to watch out for weird things like that. He said that meant they were planning something, so you had to stay on your toes. As much as Link would have liked to stay to keep an eye on Fox's enemy, Ganondorf was the more pressing matter here.
Link looked over the ruins of the clearing one more time. He turned away into the mouth of the cave, and he made to slip away. Fox stopped him before he could leave.
"Going somewhere?"
Link glanced back. "Ganondorf is still in there," he said. "I need to see what he's up to."
"By yourself? Not a chance!"
"I know we're supposed to stick together, but I think I know what Ganondorf's like, so I'll be safe by myself. You need to make sure your bad guys get to where they need to go, but you can come find me after I track down Ganondorf." Link turned to Samus, off talking to one of the Meta Knights. "Hey Samus?"
"Hm?" Samus looked up from her conversation.
"Can you track me down with your X-Ray scope?"
"Yes."
"So you don't have anything to worry about!" Link turned back to Fox. "Just keep an eye on the bad guys for now. Wolf especially."
"Alright." Fox didn't look like he agreed, but he didn't seem to have any other argument for it. Link flashed him a quick smile and headed inside without another word.
His boots clicked against the stone with his every step, resounding in the empty cave as he sprinted down the hall. Every sound he made rang off the cave walls, from the rustling of the weapons strapped to him to his footsteps, bouncing back to him and making the space seem smaller. As the sunlight behind him faded into darkness, blue crystals began to appear on the walls, their faint glow giving the boy an outline of the rough terrain, keeping the cave from becoming too dark. A few of them had large chunks torn out, gashes splattered with some kind of dark matter engraved into their sides. Link guessed that Meta Knight had passed by not too long ago, but didn't question it otherwise.
Every now and then, the cave would branch out, openings appearing in the walls beside him. His intuition kept telling him to move forward, however, so he ignored them and pressed onward. Gradually the branching paths decreased, leaving Link to run ahead without any interruptions.
At last, the hallway opened up into a giant chamber. The clicking of his boots faded into silence as Link slowed, and silence engulfed him the moment he came to a stop. Compared to the dimly lit halls, twisting and turning in every direction like an ant colony, the chamber was much more bright. Crystals sprouting from the walls cast light in every direction, giving the space a mysterious and eerie atmosphere. The stone floor glittered all around him in the blue light, like snow on a sunny day.
At the center of the room, a giant glass tube lay on its side, ints front scattered over the floor in the form of countless glass shards. The blue light shone in the face of each of them, and as Link glanced at them from the corner of his eye, a thousand reflections stared back. And beside it, lying on a metal surface glowing like ice in a formless white blob, was the thing. Lifeless now and without the bright red glow pulsing through it, the thing seemed like a completely harmless pile of dough.
Above him, Link heard footsteps ring out. He lifted his gaze to the metal catwalk hanging overhead to see a pair of giant patterned boots step over it. Standing high over the thing was Ganondorf, his orange eyes firmly fixed on the glass casing beside it.
"How disappointing," Ganondorf said, his voice rumbling the room like the deep thrum of a monstrous growl. "It seems he got away."
"Ganondorf," Link said, and his hand fell to the Master Sword.
"Hm?" Ganondorf's gaze slowly moved from the glass tube to Link. Catching sight of the green-clad hero, his expression remained set, like he hadn't even seen him. "Oh. It's the boy."
"Whatever it is you want, we'll stop you!"
"You'll stop me?" Ganondorf's eyebrow went up an inch. "And what exactly is it that you'll stop me from getting?"
Link paused. "Hyrule. Our home. We'll destroy... whatever it is you've created and stop you from taking over Hyrule."
"Really, now? I suppose I shouldn't have thought so highly of a mere child. The old man would never jump to such an obvious conclusion."
"Obvious? Are you saying you didn't create this... thing to take over Hyrule?"
"The power held within this 'Miracle Matter' is but a fraction of anything you can comprehend, boy. Still, it can barely level a castle by itself. Were the old man here instead of you, he would be able to vanquish this monster in an instant. Even together, however, I doubt you lot would be able to even land a substantial blow."
"Well, my master isn't here."
"And that is why you will die, boy. You're hardly a threat, barely more than the dust that precious temple of yours collects on a daily basis."
"I've trained!"
"For five years?" Ganondorf's eyes narrowed, like he was trying to understand the nonsensical babbling of a toddler. "You do not seem to comprehend the situation you are in, boy."
"I do. My master has told me all about you. Whatever it is you can throw at me, I'll be ready for it."
"Don't make me laugh. No matter how much the mouse knows, no matter how big it grows itself to be, it can never hope to defeat a lion. I don't care how much of the old man's knowledge you have, boy. Were I to strike you, a single blow is all it would take to reduce you to a bloody pulp."
Link growled, not at all happy about Ganondorf's words. "I think you know what I think about that, and what I'll do."
"Of course. The spirit of the hero would not have chosen you as a vessel in any other case, despite your lack of anything else. How disgustingly heroic. Just like all the others before you." Ganondorf's lips pulled downward in a frown. "Such a shame that you won't live long enough to see Hyrule fall, but in truth, you and your actions thus far are inconsequential to me."
"Wha–" A concerned expression took to Link's face. "If this wasn't part of some plot to take over Hyrule, what was all this for?"
"Believe me, this is part of a plot to take over Hyrule, albeit a very minor one. Whether you live or die does not matter to me. I've already finished with what it is I needed to do."
Link looked to the glass tube. "The star rod."
"No."
Link's eyes widened. "Then what?"
"Your friend, the electric mouse." Ganondorf huffed. "You may wield the same weapons as the old man, boy, but you lack his sharp mind. You should know your place."
From the cave behind him, Link heard someone approach him. A lot of someones. From the way Ganondorf's scowl deepened, he heard it too.
"Well, looks like the cavalry has finally arrived," he said, just as the rest of the team spilled into the room. "I have business elsewhere, so I'll leave Miracle Matter to deal with you." He turned to leave, but at the last minute, he leveled a glare at Link. "If you survive, though, tell the old man that if the next time he wants to deal with me, I'll be insulted if he sends another dewy-eyed imitation my way. They bleed much more than he ever did."
"Hey!" Fox said, stepping out to Link's right and flicking his blaster up to Ganondorf. "Don't talk to my teammate that way!"
Fox pulled the trigger. A shot rang out. Ganondorf didn't bat an eye, even as the red laser streaked toward him.
Time slowed. At the center of the room, the thing began to glow. Electricity crackled all over its body, and before anyone could react, it flew off the table in a massive white blur. Moments before Fox's laser could connect with Ganondorf's chest, it appeared in front of him. Its reflectors were up in an instant, and Fox's laser tore apart a small blue crystal on the wall.
Link tried to look behind Miracle Matter, but Ganondorf had already vanished. As the bright glow faded from Miracle Matter, it began to buzz. The reflectors all over it flickered angrily, catching the light from the crystals.
Without a word, Link turned to face everyone else. No words needed to be spoken between them, and they fell into line, watching the white blob hovering above them all. The final battle was about to begin.
The next chapter will be out December 18th.