Lost Woods, Midna
"Come out, you brat! Kotake just wants to talk to you. Don't be so apprehensive. Just...chill, hehe." Kotake, despite her attitude, was quite enraged that Midna had gotten away from their battle. She formed an icicle in the palm of her hands, telekinetically throwing it at a tree.
Midna, using her Twili abilities to phase in the shadows, could feel the cold air between her head and the icicle that barely missed. Thanks to her power, she couldn't be seen or heard when blanketed by darkness, yet she could see and heard everything in the real world. She was just happy she didn't need that disgusting imp form to have it.
"I know you are nearby. I know you can hear me. I also know you have friends in the woods. Think the Lost Woods can protect them? I will freeze this entire forest if I must if it means I draw you out!"
"Then you underestimate the Lost Woods, Kotake." Midna smirked to herself. She could hide in this spot for hours, and she doubted the "Princess of Imperial Hyrule" had the same patience. With it being summertime, Kotake's abilities are dampened for the season, and this wasn't the desert, where the extreme cold of the night could aid her. The western forest of South Hyrule controlled its own weather, and it was uncomfortably warm right now.
Kotake had to realize it too, which is why she was determined to finish off Midna quickly. "Where are you?!"
Another quirk of her power allowed her to move through the shadows, much like how Ravio's bracelet allowed him to phase and move along walls. WIth the twilight hour at hand, most of the light was blocked by the trees, so Midna had lots of area to move around and annoy Ganondorf's sister. She decided her destination would be to Kotake's back, to attack her in surprise then shift back in the shadows.
"To no surprise, my brother's girlfriend is a coward, much like he and that bitch in Mido are."
As she slipped to the ground, Midna decided to stir the pot. Her voice was to be projected within the trees and the ground so that Kotake couldn't pinpoint her true location."Tehehe, you call us cowards? Where's my brother and your sister? Why send you alone? If I know my brother, and it disgusts me to even mention it, but I'll say they are probably enjoying each other while you're here, at an elemental disadvantage, against me, the Princess of Twilight and the Sage of Light. You know what I think? I think they're trying to get rid of the weakest link." Successfully sneaking up to Kotake, Midna just had to wait for the right moment to strike.
"You're wrong!' Kotake twisted and turned, searching for the hiding woman, and Midna could see that she was afraid as well. "They… Koume would never abandon me!"
"Oh really? Think about it. Only one princess can rule Hyrule if Vaati and Veran fall in the war, and who could that be? You...or Koume? You two have an equal chance at the throne...yet Koume is smart enough to eliminate the competition. You said it yourself, that both her and Ganondorf was always treated better than you. Ganondorf, the king of two kingdoms. Koume, who I can admit is the crown jewel of your people after Riju. You, Kotake Dragmire, just have ice powers...which is practically useless when compared to fire."
"You shut up!"
"If King Ralph was here, I'll say he would choose Koume over you. Even though the woman he loves is blue-headed, he really does have a thing for women with a fiery personality. You, however, is one cold bitch. Who wants an ice queen?"
Kotake was definitely angered. "Shut up!" Frost began to gather in the air surrounding as the youngest Dragmire began to seethe in cold fury. "Shut up and show yourself!"
"As you wish." Midna sent a tiny glimmer of light quickly in the air. It burst in front of Kotake's eyes, blinding the Gerudo traitor. She cried out and stumbled back, but at that moment Midna struck. She rose from the shadows, wrapped her arms around Kotake's head and slammed her in the ground. Dark tendrils formed and wrapped themselves around the fallen teenager, restricting her movements. Kotake cursed as Midna smirked at her handiwork.
"You bitch! Let me go at once!"
"As I said, you were at a disadvantage. As the Sage of Light, I am powerful in the light, but as my awakened powers as a Twili and a royal, I rule the shadows as well. The moment darkness enveloped this forest, you lost." Midna knelt down, throwing the girl's weapons away. "Now I suggest you stay here while we wait for your brother to ret-" Midna's voice was interrupted by a loud, ear-splitting, earth-shaking explosion. She stood and turned to the source and gasped at what she saw.
Death Mountain, in the Spectacle Rock area, was reduced to a mere crater. The purple haze that once surrounded the area had vanished completely, and just to be sure, Midna checked for the overwhelming dark presence that was Ganon. It too, was gone..at least to a level it couldn't be felt if not totally eradicated, but it was gone. Ganondorf had done it.
But where was he?
He wasn't...no he couldn't be. He was out Ganon's former lair, he had to be... She tried to telepathically reach him. "Ganondorf."
Collapsed Death Mountain, Ganondorf
"Ganondorf… Please tell me you're okay."
Ganondorf groaned as pain erupted all over his body. It had happened so quickly. With his newfound power, he was finally fighting back against Ganon. He realized that when Ganon attacked, his barrier dropped for a split second. He remembered taking advantage of the weakness, charging towards Ganon as he fired laser blasts towards the Gerudo Prince. He remembered sliding under the last blue burst and thrusting his sword through Ganon's monstrous head.
What happened next was unknown to Ganondorf, but somehow he found himself pinned underneath layers of rocks, though somehow he survived the collapse. Yet...there was no sign of his enemy. Was Ganon trapped as he was? Maybe he killed Ganon, and the result was the cave-in. Maybe that's what happened...but it didn't seem right.
"Ganondorf? Please say something."
"Mi-Ah...Midna…" Speaking out loud seared his chest, a sign of severely broken ribs. He could only move his sword hand and head, the rest buried under hundreds of pounds of debris. The Sword of the Sages was just out of reach.
"Oh thank DIn… Are you okay? Where are you?"
"Inside the mountain," he said using his mind to telepathically communicate instead of speaking with his mouth. He tried once more to reach for his sword, but his body sharply reminded him of his circumstances.
"Oh. Well, I hope you can get out. By the way, I captured Kotake. She tried to attack me in the forest, and-"
"Midna." Ganondorf interrupted, fear for her safety taking over just as a shadowed figured crept over him. He couldn't make out who it was, and it raised a hand over his head, and a light flashed over him.
"What?"
"Get to the last fragment. Quickly."
Midna
"Get to the last fragment. Quickly."
"What… What do you mean? Gan-?" The connection was severed, and the young woman stared confused and hopelessly in the direction of Death Mountain. Ganondorf probably just passed out, but the fact he was alive relieved her a bit. But he had a point. With Zant hot on her heels, she had to get the last fragment quickly.
In her distracted mind, the shadows warned her of movement behind her. Without thinking, she used her powers to strike. "GAAAH!" Surprised by the sudden outburst, Midna turned around, seeing Kotake standing up behind her, impaled by a dark tendril in the lower torso. Midna was taken back by what she had done, but for some reason, she didn't feel an ounce of remorse. Maybe it was due to the fact that Kotake was a traitor, but as she summoned the tendril away, Midna watched the girl collapse on the ground, unmoving, then proceeded to step away. If the girl died, Midna would tell Ganondorf that there was no other way to avoid it.
"You...are just going to leave me here?"
"Yes. If you live long enough, your sister will decide your fate. If not...I'll tell your brother I am responsible." Midna cast a portal in front of her, then turned to face the fallen warrior. "It matters not to me. I planned on killing you anyway." She turned to the tree she formerly occupied, where the icicle that was implanted there became a puddle of water. "And...if I am not mistaken, the Lost Woods just warmed up even more. Your power won't save you. See you later, either in battle or in the afterlife, Princess Kotake Dragmire of the Imperials and of the Daemon Gerudo."
Darunia Town, Zelda
"Ah, I see you are doing better. Please come in."
Zelda entered the chief of Darunia Town's study, taking in just how...barebones it was for such a position. There was truly no furniture, only a large rug in the room's center, a basket of rocks in front of Daruk, a few torches along the walls, and a statue of the former Sage of Fire. Whether it was the Darunia of the legends in which the town was named for or the Darunia that preceded Daruk as mayor, that was unknown. For a Hylian used to decorated spaces, it was weird, but from her knowledge of the Gorons, this was home.
"Not the place you expect from the Mayor of Darunia, huh?" Daruk smiled in his seated position. Zelda, not wanting to be rude any more than she felt, took a seat on the rug across from the large humanoid.
"It is...different. What I expect from a Goron, I guess."
"Our people lived on the mountains of Hyrule once. But after the Imprisoning War, all that remained was my people that live in Labrynna and Holodrum. But we share our history. Hylians are not the only ones who suffered under Imperial rule, after all."
"I feel that we're the only ones that remain. The Gerudo are on the brink of extinction right now, your people too. The Shiekah are hiding, but it won't be long before Vaati finds them, if he hasn't already. Hylians are numerous with our three remaining towns. I cannot ask you to have the Gorons give us aid."
Daruk nodded, then picked up a rock from the basket, throwing it in his mouth. "True, but what I am saying is we have a place in this fight. Goron, Hylian, Gerudo, and the Zora, we are Hyruleans, and this is our Hyrule. Oh, why the surprise?"
"The Hyrulean Zora is gone."
Daruk chuckled. "Young Princess, as long as there is water, there's a Zora. Wasn't one of our friends a Princess Zora?"
Zelda nodded. "Yes, Princess Oren, but-"
"Ah, Ruto's younger sister. Poor girl. I take it she's never been to the royal city then. To Ruto Town." Oren had never mentioned Ruto Town, most likely for the same reason Zelda assumed. The Zoras of Lake Hylia were exterminated, so why would the Zoras of North Hyrule still be alive. But if what Daruk says is true. "The domain wasn't attacked?"
"No. Vaati knew Ruto, the Sage of Water, was in the south. The royal city was left untouched, but word did travel that Oren was alive long when the Resistance beat the Imperials in Clock Town and on Death Mountain. Heh...that day brought hope." Daruk's face immediately darkened, and the cheerful expression he had became stern. "What happened in Rauru?"
Zelda lowered her face, her palms tightened, and anger dominated her emotions. She didn't know where to start, so she started at the source of her madness. "Vaati...killed my father. He took Power and Courage. Wisdom is all I have left, and Impa has a single fragment in case I lose to Vaati."
"Ah… That explains why Veran seeks you out with the ultimatum. And the rumors are true, that Link of Calatia and Zelda VI are your parents. Hmm… What is your plan? Do you have one for this siege?"
Zelda nodded. "Veran isn't foolish. She won't attack again, not until the third day. But I have already sent word to the Resistance. General Bagu will come. As for me, I am going to need a place to stay by myself."
"Oh?"
"My power...the Light Force, as Vaati calls it, I don't have much training with it. The Triforce of Wisdom helps with granting me exceptional abilities, but if I cannot wield the real power of the blood of Hylia, I am just a damsel in distress. No offense to them, but I won't be the other six Zeldas in that regard. I plan to fight and kill Vaati myself. I have the Master Sword, I have the Triforce of Wisdom, and he will come to, it will have to be here, but I will try to fight him outside the town if possible."
"What about your captured friends?"
"Ravio can deal with that. Underneath that cowardly skin is a brave heart. For his princess, he will do anything for her. As a princess myself, I must do everything for my country."
Daruk nodded, then rose to his feet. "You may do whatever you need to with your power here, in this room. No one will disturb you. As for the city, I'll try my best to contain the peace until the third day. But everyone now knows who you are. We can no longer play innocent."
Zelda sighed but reassuringly looked to the Goron. "If it was easy, we would've won by now."
"Hahaha, true, my lady. Now, does the bunny boy know of your plan?"
"Yes."
"Alright. If you get hungry, there's rock sirloin there in the basket." Zelda, with no intent on eating rocks for any reason, respectfully nodded, and Daruk left the chamber, sealing the door behind him. Now alone, Zelda lowered herself to her knees and began to concentrate. She felt her power swell up in and around her, holding it like a candle holds a flame. Slowly, she felt herself slip into a meditative state, where for two days her mind will not focus on if she needs to eat or to sleep, if Link made it to New Kasuto, if Ravio was indeed okay without her, if Ganondorf, Riju, and Midna were doing well, and when Vaati will finally show his face again. It was set on a singular objective, and that was the Light Force.
Yet, as she meditated, she could sense the dark presence of her foe many miles away just behind her. And the same was occurring in the throne room of North Castle, where Vaati stood looking out an east-facing window, the light of Zelda agitating him.
"Princess..."
"Vaati."
Thus ends the first day.
Eastern Woods
"Kotake." Koume spotted her sister laying on a tree, attempting to nurse a wound suffered on her abdomen. Despite the night sky, the woods were as hot as day, and the younger sister's powers weren't holding so well. It was a pathetic sight, but nothing Koume wasn't used to.
The blue-haired girl looked up to the older twin, gasping for air to speak. "Sister…"
Koume walked closer, kneeling by Kotake's side. "Who did this?"
"...That bitch...our brother's bitch."
"Midna."
"Koume, she's powerful. We underestimated her in Saria. I believe she's the strongest of them all. She rules in the light as its sage, and in the dark as its princess. And Ganondorf...he fought our ancestor. Maybe we were wrong about him too."
Koume bit her lips. They had underestimated their enemy…"No matter, they will both die."
"Koume...do you love me?" Koume now looked to her sister's worry-filled eyes, doing her best to hold back her smirk.
"Of course I do."
"So can you heal me? Then we can chase Midna to wherever she's going, make her lead us to Ganondorf, and kill him."
Koume looked away to the darkness of the forest, sighing to herself. "Excellent plan sister. But there's a problem with that."
"What is it-Augh!" Kotake looked down, seeing a scimitar impaling her chest. She looked up to her sister, who stood with a smile.
"You won't be there. Always pathetic you were, Kotake. You couldn't even kill a helpless girl, and even then, you foolishly fought her alone. Mother and Father, our real parents that is, may have favored Ganondorf, but it was me between the both of us they put thier faith in. Everything you did, I accomplushed before you. My power, my skills, I did it before you. You were nothing more than my shadow. You were never a princess of the Gerudo. And now...all that is you will be me. Your power is now mine." She reached out her hand, and as she chanted a spell, Kotake's power was siphoned as her body slowly desiccated. "Two shall become one. Those that were separated shall become united in mind, in body, and in power. Fall Koume, fall Kotake, and be no more. There shall only be only...and she is Twinrova."
