Hyrule, the land blessed by the Golden Power of the Triforce...Is not so blessed these days.
Ganondorf, the King of Evil, seized the Triforce of Power seven years ago and began an unstoppable reign over Hyrule.
Now his evil has spread to all lands, and it seems as though none will stand up to oppose him.
The King of Evil enjoys his conquest from the confines of his castle, playing an organ to pass the lonely days.
His surrogate mothers, the witches Koume and Kotake, arrive with news of someone attacking the Forest Temple. So he creates a phantom to intercept them, and test their will to fight.
Meanwhile, the witches are tasked with going to the Spirit Temple to guard the Sage there.
When they are gone, Ganondorf senses something amiss coming from the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town, and goes to investigate it.
At this time, Riku has arrived in front of the broken drawbridge and decides to see if anyone has survived or needs help.
His memories of this place are vague so he does not quite realize where he's at yet. His naivete is soon punished when ReDeads rise from the ground and limp towards him, hungry for screams and flesh.
Riku draws his sword prepared to fight, his blade shaped like a helix, but devoid of a handle. But before he can strike a blow to the zombies, Ganondorf descends to confront him.
Riku's immature when it comes to fighting, having done no combat training in the few weeks it took him to get here.
He's unfamiliar with his sword and doesn't know how to transform without the triggers Mew's sword had. Ganondorf gives him no time to figure things out and starts attacking him ferociously with dark magic and raw punches.
Riku fends the Evil King off but is puzzled how he could be struggling when his strength should be much greater than his.
Riku eventually guesses that he has to THINK of the elemental form he wants to use to call it up. But with Ganondorf trapping him and continuing to wail on him, Riku doesn't think straight and winds up calling upon Dark Form, not Light Form.
But he doesn't know where this power came from, and now he can't use his sword again to pull out another form. So he decides to just fight Ganondorf with the element he has mastery over, confident he can win on pure strength.
He is proven deadly wrong when Ganondorf shows him how weak his skill is and grabs him by the neck. He then drains the power of darkness from Riku, calling him unworthy, then throws his weakened body to the ReDeads' mercy.
Riku falls unconscious, only for the Hero of Time, Link, to come to his aid.
Riku wakes up later in the Kakariko Village Inn and moans in pain. He's upset at himself for falling to Ganondorf, but partially blames Mew for not giving him memories of the power of Dark Form.
He gets over that quickly though, blaming himself moreso for charging into a fight unprepared against the King of Evil of all people.
The innkeeper finds he's awake and directs his savior to his room: Link, the Hero of Time.
Riku's stunned by the presence of Link and Navi, moreso because Link can talk, while to his knowledge, he shouldn't be.
Link sits down and checks up on him, saying he was in pretty bad shape, then hands him a Red Potion so he can finish recovering.
Once this is over Riku tries to falsify a story to not blow his cover, only for Navi to blurt out that Riku doesn't have "normal" ears.
Riku realizes he can't really lie his way out now and decides to be upfront with Link about where he comes from and what he came here to do, on top of why he was in Hyrule Castle Town, about to be eaten by ReDeads.
Link chooses to believe his story and tells him he trusts him too. Link also explains his story, and the guilt he feels about letting Ganondorf have the Triforce of Power.
Realizing they both have a reason to go after Ganondorf, the two decide to team-up. Riku fueled by regret, Link fueled by guilt. Thus, these two unlikely allies leave the inn behind, and head up to Death Mountain to find the Fire Sage.
The climb up shows Riku the depth of difference in experience between him and Link. But he's not totally unreliable. His elemental powers keep Link safe from the falling boulders while Link slices through the Tektites in their way.
They make it to Goron City, only to find it abandoned. Link subtly expresses anger, but Riku assures him they'll find the Gorons and rescue them.
There is one young Goron though rolling around. Link and Riku work together to stop him, and find out the Goron's name is also Link.
He is Darunia's son, and in turn, another descendant of the great Goron hero who defeated Volvagia long ago.
Right now Volvagia has returned through Ganondorf's dark magic and threatens to eat all the Gorons in Death Mountain. Darunia went to save them, but hasn't returned.
Link volunteers to rescue the Gorons and save Darunia, so Link the Goron gives him a Goron Tunic so he can survive the harsh heat of the Fire Temple.
After a rather video game showing of item acquisition, Link and Riku head out to climb Death Mountain. Riku assures Link that his elements will allow him to survive the heat inside.
Once inside Death Mountain Riku feels...funny. Like something in here might be screwing with his elements. He hesitates to fly over a broken bridge after Link hookshots across, but manages to make the gap with a jump.
They then have a run in with the mysterious Sheik, who, after playing the Bolero of Fire for Link to learn, shows recognition of Riku's role as the Elemental Overlord.
Link finds this suspicious but all Riku's theories do is lead him to think that Sheik might be one of Ganondorf's spies. Riku ultimately convinces him that Sheik feels like a good person, so "he" can't possibly be a spy.
The two of them then enter the temple and not long after, find Darunia standing outside the door to Volvagia.
Determined to save his people, Darunia boldly enters the room despite his brother Links' pleas. Link then grips his sword and vows to quickly save Darunia and his people.
The two traverse the Fire Temple, freeing Gorons along the way. However, Riku notices that he's unable to use roughly about half his elements for some reason, though suspects Ganondorf is responsible.
This puts him at a handicap when it comes to helping Link but in all honesty, the Hero of Time's more than capable of traversing the dungeon himself.
Their progress is stopped briefly by the Flare Dancer, though some quick hookshot action from Link along with Riku's slashes puts an end to them quickly.
Then Link gets the Megaton Hammer and is able to use it to free the remaining Gorons and open the way to the key necessary to reach Volvagia's room.
Darunia is nowhere to be found, and neither is the fiery dragon. The two drop in and the dragon erupts from the ground, terrorizing them with its flames and size.
Link figures out that the Megaton Hammer is the "legendary hammer" and pulls it out to try and break Volvagia's skull open.
Riku assists as best he can and even bails out Link from a couple near falls. The two's teamwork eventually ends Volvagia and avenges Darunia and all the other Gorons who fell.
Link enters the portal that appears alone and Riku heads outside to wait for him to finish his personal business.
Then he's greeted by Kaepora Gaebora, or rather, Rauru, the Sage of Light.
Rauru recognizes Riku's role but does not confirm nor deny that he's the reason Sheik knows too, but implies the Triforce of Wisdom is responsible.
Rauru warns how Riku's knowledge of this world is toxic, as Ganondorf could exploit it to find Zelda. But he does not mind his presence here otherwise.
Rauru leaves right as Link returns, downtrodden by Darunia's passing.
Link returns to Goron City and delivers the sad news to Darunia's son. Leaving the city behind with a tough expression that holds back his tears, Link heads back to the village with Riku in tow.
Link explains how to save Hyrule from Ganondorf, the Sages are sacrificing their time left in Hyrule to protect the Sacred Realm.
He doesn't like it, but he can't just let Ganondorf go unopposed anymore, not after seeing what his evil has done to his friends' homes.
Riku and Link get some sleep. The next day their journey forward is interrupted by the appearance of Talon, the former owner of Lon Lon Ranch. Recognizing Link, Talon begs him to help save the Ranch from Iago, who plans to sell off their prized horse Epona to Ganondorf for a hefty profit.
Link decides to make this detour to not only save the Ranch, but also Malon, who has been forced to work for Iago.
Upon reaching the Ranch, Malon and Link recognize each other immediately despite the seven years changing them so much.
Malon tells Link everything about what Iago has done, and asks him to save the Ranch.
Link figures out a plan to free Epona by taking advantage of Iago's greed. Once he bonds with Epona with ease thanks to her favorite song, Link rides her and challenges Iago to a race for the right to keep her.
Iago falls into Link's trap easily due to the amount of Rupees he bets on the race. Link wins the race despite having no experience on horseback before. Its almost like it was natural to him...
But of course Iago is a little coward and tries to lock Link and Epona up in the ranch, then smacks Malon when she tries to help free them.
Link is about to kill Iago when Riku manages to intervene, directing him to a way out. While Link escapes with a gallant leap from Epona, Riku uses his powers to bend the metal gate into a ball and threaten Iago with it.
Riku makes it clear that its not a good thing Link isn't going to do anything to Iago, as now Iago has to deal with Ganondorf's wrath for failing him.
With Iago left pissing himself in fear, Riku reassures Malon with a smile and says that she and her father can resume running the ranch in peace.
Riku then joins up with Link, and the two, along with Epona, ride off to Zora's Domain.
Though upon arriving at the end of Zora River, Link decides its best if Epona goes to Kokiri Village to stay safe for now. If he needs her, she just needs to hear her song played on the wind.
Link and Riku then head to Zora's Domain and find it frozen over. Riku would free the Zoras from under the ice, but fears that the heat required would burn them alive.
They find Sheik heading towards the throne room and follow him up there to find King Zora frozen in a strange red ice.
Riku can't do anything about this either, as its a different type of ice Ganondorf made. Link decides to investigate the former resting place of Lord Jabu Jabu for maybe some answers.
They then find Sheik hopping over ice platforms over the lake towards a strange cave, so they decide to follow him there.
In the Ice Cavern Riku has more freedom with his elements so the trip through is a breeze. He even learns how to create the blue fire stored inside.
They then beat a Wolfos, allowing Link to acquire the Iron Boots. Sheik appears afterwards, and gives Link the ability to play the Serenade of Water for the Water Temple.
But he avoids Link's questions by escaping the cavern undetected. Because of this, Link suspects that Sheik might in fact be Princess Zelda in disguise...
Link's heart tells him this is true, as everytime they're together Sheik acts odd and Link feels a warmth from his hand where the Triforce of Courage is.
Riku doesn't confirm nor deny anything, and allows Link to talk this out to himself.
They then leave the cavern and use blue fire to free King Zora. The King asks Link to save Ruto from the Water Temple, and gives him the Zora Tunic to help survive being underwater.
Link then uses the Serenade of Water to get them to Lake Hylia, noticing how most of the lake has dried up, more than likely due to Ganondorf's evil.
Link and Riku head into the temple and after Riku tests what elements he can use, they begin making their way deeper inside.
They quickly come across Ruto, who of course recognizes Link and calls him her fiancee, much to Link's bewilderment.
Ruto drops the subject quickly to prioritize the safety of her people, swimming along ahead of Link, and promising to reunite where the monster is.
Link shows concern for her life and then after a short pause, him and Riku begin exploring the temple.
After dealing with the Water Temple's expected bullshit for a while, Link and Riku have an encounter with Dark Link. A barrier erects to keep Riku from interfering.
Link and Dark Link clash as equals, but Link's cunning and courage allows him to ultimately prevail. But the shadow laughs, saying it was an honor to wear the face of Kakariko Village's destruction...
Perturbed, Link sheathes his sword and decides he has to keep moving forward.
Link then grabs the Longshot and hands over the Hookshot to Riku, just in case. The two of them then wrap up the rest of the temple and make their way to the monster's domain, but Ruto is nowhere to be seen.
Yet her voice is heard, warning Link of danger.
The strange gelatinous Morpha engages them in battle, proving a far tougher fight than they expected. But ultimately Link manages to strike the finishing blow and heads off to free the Water Sage, Ruto.
Riku heads outside and has a brief talk with Sheik about the nature of Sheik's deception, and the lengths "he" is willing to go to keep the truth from Link...for now.
Sheik then shows appreciation towards Riku for sticking around to fix his mistake, and simultaneously keeping Link oblivious regarding his knowledge of this world.
When Link returns he thanks Sheik for saving Ruto, but Sheik barely responds to the praise before disappearing into the sunrise.
Link then calls Epona up and him and Riku decide to ride back to Kakariko Village to rest.
They find the village on fire as they get close, and Link ends up running on ahead of Riku.
When Riku catches up he finds Sheik unconscious and Link drawing his sword against an invisible threat.
Riku and Link try to attack the creature but find it hard to hit. Link is knocked out and Riku decides to try and push himself by activating the light element outside the Conduit Form.
He manages to hurt the creature but drains himself to exhaustion quickly. As he falls, the shadow murmurs the name "Demise".
Waking up later, Riku finds Link and Sheik discussing the shadow creature. It had emerged from the well after being sealed for hundreds of years, and now threatens to run rampant through Hyrule.
But Impa, the Sage of Shadows, has cornered it in the Shadow Temple. Yet Sheik fears she will not survive unless someone helps her.
Giving Link the Nocturne of Shadows, Sheik tells him that he needs the ability to "see" to beat the creature, then departs.
Before they can go to the Shadow Temple, however, Link believes he has to return to the past to discover the way to "see" the beast based off the warning Dark Link gave before falling.
Link and Riku go to the Temple of Time so Link can plant the Master Sword in the pedestal to return to the past. Upon his departure Rauru appears to speak with Riku about his confrontation with Ganondorf...
Meanwhile Link has returned to the past and, after getting readjusted to being a kid, makes his way to Kakariko Village, finishing a time loop with the Song of Storms so he can gain access to the well.
After squirming through the murky depths hidden away from the masses, Link encounters a vile Dead Hand and defeats it in order to obtain the Lens of Truth. Now with everything he needs, he heads back to the future to stop the beast in the Shadow Temple.
During the short time Link's gone Riku and Rauru have their talk. Rauru reveals that Ganondorf put a spell on Riku's soul so that he can hear what he says. But fortunately Riku has been diligent in not slipping out anything that'd give Zelda's true location away.
And right now they're fine too, being closest to the Sacred Realm here.
Riku's tempted to tell Link the truth though, just to give him some hope after all the grief being in the future has caused him.
Rauru disagrees, even with Riku telling him the fate that awaits Link and eventually, Hyrule itself, following Ganondorf's defeat.
This is about to cause some conflict when Link's return forces Rauru to leave. Now equipped with the Lens of Truth, Link and Riku are able to enter the Shadow Temple in an attempt to save Impa from the demon.
But they soon quickly discover how draining the Lens of Truth is to wear, with Link nearly succumbing to a Dead Hand early on. So Riku offers to shoulder some of the burden moving forward.
Link picks up the Hover Boots and the two of them get a move on deeper and deeper into the temple. Along the way Riku starts picking up on all the strange happenings ever since he arrived, from Ingo's strange behavior to Link finding the Lens of Truth so draining.
He believes that his presence here has changed things for the worse somehow, especially given the extra power Ganondorf has been granted.
This shakes his focus a little as they head further into the temple, riding a ghost ship towards where the shadow demon's domain lies.
A few puzzles later and Link and Riku are ready to confront the shadow demon, Bongo-Bongo. Riku arms himself with the Lens of Truth so Link can have the strength to banish the demon back to the darkness with the Master Sword.
Upon the demon's defeat Riku keeps the Lens of Truth for a brief time while Link awakens Impa as the Sage of Shadows.
That night Riku puts on the Lens of Truth before he sleeps, so he can perhaps find some clarity to the strange nightmares he's been having lately.
But in doing so, all he sees is something truly impossible and frightening...He finds Ganondorf wielding strange but familiar swords, and the spirit of the Demon King Demise hanging behind him...
The next morning Link and a tired Riku decide to follow Sheik to Gerudo Valley, where the last Sage might end up being.
But first they go check up on Epona, who was left behind at Lon Lon Ranch following the shadows attack.
She's fine, and so is Malon. Now that Ingo's been freed from Ganondorf's control, the ranch can operate safely once more.
Malon speaks a bit with Link and offers to give him a home here once his adventure is over. Link accepts, oblivious to the implications of her request.
Link and Riku then head off to Gerudo Valley, vaulting over the broken bridge with Epona's help, and arriving in the village proper.
But not long after arriving a group of female Gerudo ambush them and knock them out, throwing them into an abandoned tower to later give to their King.
However Link awakens prematurely and with the help of his Longshot, sets out on a solo infiltration of Gerudo Fortress to free the carpenters and hopefully figure out a way into the Desert.
With some clever stealth and item use, Link manages to free all the carpenters and beat their guards without being caught.
And he is rewarded by the current leader of the Gerudo tribe to be allowed to become one of them. He's also granted access to the desert and is given Epona back.
The Gerudo tells Link about their second-in-command, Nabooru, who is currently out at the Spirit Temple. Link suspects her to be the Sage of Spirits and decides to head out there to meet her.
After picking Riku up they head out to the Gerudo Desert and use the Lens of Truth so a Poe can guide them through the sandstorm.
Upon finally arriving at the Spirit Temple they meet up with Sheik, who gives Link the Requiem of Spirit so he can come back to this temple as a child. Otherwise, he won't be able to enter this temple as an adult.
Link uses the Song of Time to get to the Temple of Time quickly, while Riku sits and stands guard, thinking about how he should talk to Rauru about the dream he had.
Link meets Nabooru in the past and is surprised to find that she's a relatively nice Gerudo who just wants to screw up Ganondorf's plans.
They agree to work together, Nabooru taking advantage of Link's size to enter the other half of the temple and acquire the Silver Gauntlets.
A bunch of traps later, Link defeats an Iron Knuckle and meets with Kaepora Gaebora one more time, who congratulates him on making it this far before giving him the Silver Gauntlets.
Then Link has to make a run for it when Ganondorf's surrogate mothers capture Nabooru and then prepare to capture him as well.
Link makes it back to the future and joins back up Riku, just narrowly having avoided Ganondorf's attack on Hyrule Castle Town in the past.
Thanks to the Silver Gauntlets they are able to go further into the Spirit Temple, and the eventual acquisition of the Mirror Shield allows them to go even further still.
They run across Koume and Kotake hovering over a different Iron Knuckle from the rest. They set the Iron Knuckle loose on their intruders and Link fights it with all his strength.
But then it turns out that the Iron Knuckle is Nabooru, under the witch's control.
Breaking the helmet freed her from their control temporarily. When the witches seek to amend this quickly, but Link, furious, stands at Nabooru's side.
So the witches just simply kill her and decide to be done with, taunting the enraged Link to chase them further in for a fight.
Riku decides to let him fight the witches solo, as he has a personal investment in this battle.
Link thanks Riku for considering his feelings, and admits that he's a true friend.
Riku's stunned, and accepts his words. Then, Link goes on to confront the witches.
Figuring out how to hurt them with the Mirror Shield, Link forces them to fuse together into the ultimate witch, Twinrova.
But even still, Link manages to figure out their tricks and turn their magic against them. Twinrova decides to split and both halves buzz off, surprising Riku in particular.
Link's rage is no satiated but he discards his feelings to go awaken Nabooru as the final Sage, thus giving them all they need to confront Ganondorf.
But first, they must meet up with Sheik at the Temple of Time, as promised.
Upon arriving there Sheik explains the purpose of the Triforce and also reveals their true identity as Princess Zelda, wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom.
Explaining to Link how she's kept hidden all this time, she then gives him the Light Arrows to fight the King of Evil.
But right at that moment Ganondorf captures Zelda in crystal and laughs, thanking both Link and Riku for staying alive long enough to help his plans.
As "thanks" for their help, he uses his raw power to destroy the Temple of Time so they can no longer escape to the past.
Zelda is then taken to his castle so he can lure Link in, and complete the Triforce.
Link runs off, but Riku stays behind to have a conversation with Rauru.
Riku accuses Rauru of sabotaging his powers all this time but Rauru has no clue what he's talking about. Riku also cites the matter of the Lens of Truth, which Rauru does admit they had a hand in.
It was a rather foolish plan, to buff the draining magic on the Lens of Truth and see how true Riku's dedication to helping out was, as it seems they were right to trust him.
Riku then moves on to his nightmares, the subject of them bringing great confusion upon Rauru, as it should not be possible for the Demon King Demise to have an effect on the world any longer.
But Riku is still warned to keep cautious going forward, as his consciousness still resides in the Master Sword, sealed away with Fi's help.
Riku apologizes for accusing Rauru so much and then goes up to help Link. However, Rauru wonders about why the "higher-ups" would be tampering with Riku's journey.
With the Sages help a bridge is formed to Ganondorf's castle, allowing Link and Riku to head inside. They traverse Ganondorf's castle and split up to complete his last obstacles, preparing the Sages to seal Ganondorf away.
Then they make their way to the top of his tower, finding him playing the organ menacingly. He is glad to see Link, or rather, the Triforce of Courage.
Ganondorf justifies his conquest by saying his people suffered under the scrutiny of the King of Hyrule, but Link calls him a hypocrite and an evil that needs to be put down.
Ganondorf laughs, and unleashes his worthiness through the Triforce of Power, amplified by Riku's darkness. Riku goes into Light Form to defend Link, and then as Ganondorf changes the room for battle, Riku swears to correct his mistake.
Riku and Link uses everything they have to make Ganondorf kneel. His resilience is god-like, but eventually he falls to Link's blade.
In a fit of rage Ganondorf obliterates the room they are in, and collapses on the ground. Then Riku and Link free Zelda.
The tower starts to collapse as Ganondorf makes one last attempt to take the heroes out with him. The three quickly descend to the bottom just in the nick of time, and watch the monument of the King of Evil's pride and greed fall to pieces.
But from the ruins of his supposed demise, he rises, angrier than ever. He forces the Triforce of Power to empower him through his rage, transforming him into the mighty beast king, Ganon.
Link, Riku, Zelda and Navi prepare for the final battle...
The battle is rough, causing Link to lose many of the items he gathered along his quest, including Saria's Fairy Ocarina.
Even Riku is starting to tire, desperate to find an opening to stab his sword into the beast king and reclaim his darkness.
Throwing every last bit of energy they have into this battle, eventually Ganon falls. But Link gets ahead of Riku, and stabs the Master Sword into Ganon's skull, as it was meant to be...
Except now, something terrible is awakened from this action. Riku tries to reclaim his darkness as quick as he can, but he's too late.
Thanks to his mistake, and Link's hastiness, the fragment of Demise's consciousness transfers to Ganon...And the Demon King awakens once more, possessing Ganondorf's body.
Demise opens up with a sense of familiarity towards Link and Zelda, or rather, the Godess Hylia. Explaining his connection to their lineages, Demise swears this to be a fortuitous circumstance, as now he can bring these two plagues to their last breaths with his own hands.
Demise offers Link a chance to live out of respect for his past incarnation, but Link stands defiant.
Demise draws his swords, and prepares to remove the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom from their beaten corpses.
Riku freezes up, barely able to draw his sword in defiance of the Demon King.
The battle with Ganon has made them too weak to stand a chance. No. Even if they were at full power, Demise possesses the Triforce of Power.
He is truly unstoppable. He cannot be stopped. Hyrule is doomed. Everything is finished.
While Link continues to stand despite his body ravaged by the darkness of Demise's power, Riku collapses on his knees and begs him to fall back.
Link smiles, and charges Demise hand on, powered by his courage.
And for his efforts, he is stabbed through the chest by both the Demon King's blades.
Riku starts hyperventilating and becomes madly desperate to fix his mistake, clawing out for the Ocarina of Time. He believes he can play the Song of Time to return to the past...But as Demise notes, he is not of royal blood, nor blessed by the Triforce.
He's just a miserable, worthless child. A statistic to Demise's conquest.
Riku's eyes turn white...and in Hyrule's most desperate hour, he flees the planet to save his own life, dooming them to Demise's wrath.
In the Elemental Overlord's absence, the Sages commit one last desperate ploy to defeat Demise, who now has bonded with the Triforce of Courage and begun to rampage through Hyrule.
With his swathe of destruction spreading to the ends of Hyrule and in time, the lands of Labrynna and Holodrum, it seems as though Demise would become the uncontested ruler of the ashen lands in his wake.
But Zelda tricks Demise into grabbing the Triforce of Wisdom, which the Sages have booby-trapped so that upon completing the Triforce, Demise would be obliterated and Ganondorf, left behind, would be pulled into the Sacred Realm for all eternity.
Zelda then perished from exhaustion, as history moved on towards a new tomorrow...Thus, creating the beginning of the Decline Timeline.
Part 4 Story 1 END.