"Seize him!"
The soldiers charged at Impa's command. Ganondorf took one look at the fledgling knights and rolled his eyes.
"Oh please."
With a wave of his hand, Impa and the knights were flung across the temple, thrown by an unseen force.
"Now," he said, brushing his hands. He reached into his breast pocket, took out Link's boomerang and tossed it aside. Then he turned toward Zelda.
"Be a good girl and stand before me."
The Princess froze where she stood and shot daggers at him.
"There is no 'my way or highway' option, dear. You will do as I say, whether you want to or not."
He raised his hand again, and Zelda lifted off the floor and floated to his side. She writhed under Ganondorf's magical grasp.
"Let me go," she seethed.
"Or what?"
When she didn't answer, he smirked.
"Hyrule City is mine now, Princess. You don't make the rules anymore. I do."
"No! Let her go!"
Link leapt to his feet, ran to over and brandished his sword in a shaky fighting stance. Ganondorf glanced at him with bored look.
"You don't know who I am, do you?"
He lowered Zelda to her feet, but did not release her.
"You may not know me, but I know you, young Hero. I will not make the same mistakes as my predecessor by underestimating your abilities. However…"
"Nngh!"
Link felt himself lift off the ground and fly over to Ganondorf.
"You are nowhere near ready to stand against me. Even if you were in perfect health, your training in the way of the blade is pitiful at best. And from the look of this temple I'd say your battle with my alter–ego has taken its toll on you."
Impa picked herself off the ground and drew a dagger in each hand. Ashei helped Raven to his feet, and the two joined her.
"Release them this instant!" Impa demanded.
"Relax. I have no interest in harming anyone. Not yet, anyway."
Ganondorf lowered one hand, and Link fell to the floor flat on his rump.
"I'm sure you all have many concerns, and since I'm in a talkative mood, I'll do my best to answer them. I might even let the princess go if you ask the right questions."
"We don' discuss anything with enemies of the state!" Ashei proclaimed, pointing her sword at him. "Give us back Princess Zelda, or prepare for the beat–down of your life!"
Ganondorf frowned.
"Let me rephrase that."
Suddenly, Zelda started gasping for air and clawing at her throat.
"Start talking, or the Princess dies."
"Stop! Please," begged Impa. "We'll–…we'll do whatever you want."
Zelda stopped choking, and Ganondorf smiled.
"Your offer is favorable, but I must decline. It's not about what I want—I've got what I want right here in my hand. This is about what you want."
"Us?" Raven asked.
"To be more specific, what he wants."
He pointed to Link, who stepped back at the unexpected imposition.
"M–me?"
"Don't act so shocked, boy. Did you think after all that has happened tonight, you'd get off scott–free? Did you believe you'd take the princess, kill me, and go home a pretty little hero? You have no clue what's going on, do you?"
Ganondorf squeezed his hand, and Zelda choked again.
"Stop! Don't hurt her!"
"Then think, young man. Think."
"Why are you doing this?! Why are you here?"
"Good, good."
Zelda stopped choking and Ganondorf held his hands out.
"I think it's fairly obvious what I'm looking for, isn't it?"
"…"
"Isn't it?!"
Zelda's gasps started up again, and Link flinched.
"…the Triforce!…It's the Triforce, right?"
"There you go. Was that so hard?"
"Leave him alone!"
Malon stepped forward and brandished the dagger Impa gave her. She wore an angry scowl, but she shook in her boots.
"I won't let you hurt Link!"
"No! Malon!"
Link ran around Ganondorf and held his hands out in front of Malon.
"Get back! I don't want him hurting you, too."
"This matter is of no concern to you. Go home, little girl."
"Little g– why you!"
Malon charged forward only to be stopped by Link. He grasped the dagger's blade tightly in his hand.
"I can take care of him, so please..."
"Link, you…"
His gloves protected his hands, but drops of blood fell from Link's fingertips where the dagger grazed him.
"I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."
Malon turned away with tears in her eyes.
"You idiot…"
She ripped the dagger out of Link's hand, threw it to the ground, and sulked away.
"I'm sorry, Malon."
"Hmph!"
"Link," Navi whispered. "You're bleeding…"
"I'm okay…"
He faced Ganondorf again.
"What do you want with the Triforce?"
"Good question. I intend to use it to rule over the land of Hyrule. It's the same reason my predecessor's wanted it for the last twenty–five thousand years."
"You keep mentioning your predecessor…what does he have to do with this?"
"Do you think you are the only one reborn whenever the need arises?"
Ganondorf pointed to the one, unbroken stained glass window left in the entire temple. Where all the other windows had been bright and showed lovely figures of the Goddesses, the Hero, or the Princess, this window was dark and menacing. A towering man in black robes stood with his back to the temple. He flashed a twisted grin and followed the viewer through the temple with his shining yellow eyes.
"You'd think we would've noticed that window," Navi said out loud to no one.
"Do you see now, young Hero? Even though our purposes may differ, the height of my destiny in this land is just as great as yours. Were it not for me, you wouldn't even exist. With the power of the Triforce in my hand, I'll take this city, its nation, and the continent for myself."
"If you're so knowledgeable of the legend," Raven spoke, "then you'd know that the Dark Lord has failed every time he's tried to take the Triforce. What makes you think you'll be any different?"
Ganondorf turned to Raven and considered him carefully.
"You look familiar."
Link blinked and the Dark Lord was gone.
"Wha–?!"
"Where'd he go?!" Navi cried.
Malon yelped, and Link whipped around. The others jumped back as Ganondorf reappeared in front of Raven and stared him down. Raven stood tall and scowled back.
"I can't shake the feeling that we've met before."
At Ganondorf's words, Raven's opposing demeanor shattered. The look on his face melted from endurance to terror. His sword slipped out of his hand and landed with a clatter onto the floor.
"Ah, now I see it. All grown up now, are you?"
"Raven," Ashei called. "What's wrong?"
He did not reply, but stepped away from Ganondorf until his back was to the wall. Link grabbed madly for the boomerang which lay a few feet away.
"Sixteen years…Last time I saw you, you were a lanky little punk who peed his pants at the first sight of danger. And now you're a big strong soldier, is that it?
Ganondorf's hand swung out just in time to grab the boomerang flying toward him from behind. He whirled around and glared at Link angrily.
"Don't you know not to interrupt adults when they're talking?!"
He stomped away from Raven, leaving him to fall to his hands and knees.
"Dammit," one of the soldiers hissed. "Can't we do something?!"
"We can't risk having the princess killed," Impa answered. "And we've got too many dark knights surrounding us. No one moves, except on my order."
Ganondorf marched up to Link, grabbed his neck and lifted him high into the air.
"After all that's happened tonight, you still haven't learned a damn thing. I, on the other hand have learned a great many things, especially about the Triforce."
Fear spread across Zelda and Link's faces.
"That's right," Ganondorf chuckled evilly. "I know all about your little wish, and the supposed grace period the Triforce requires. These facts are of no concern to me. I've foreseen these events and planned ahead for them. In fact, this is the best case scenario I had in mind for acquiring the Triforce."
Ganondorf removed his glove and revealed his hand for all to see. Three triangles glowed on the back, the top radiating brightest of all. As if on cue, the marks on Zelda and Link's hands began to glow.
"Look well, everyone! The Triforce pieces are resonating. They wish to become one again. And when they do, they will belong to me!"
"Never."
Ganondorf flashed Link a stern look. Link's sharp blue eyes glared back furiously.
"I'll never let you have the Triforce for– …for as long as I live! You'll get when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"
"Master!"
The demon Ghirahim appeared in a flash of black crystals.
"Forgive my intrusion, but the preparations for the ceremony are complete. We are ready to summon the Wind Mage."
"Excellent. Let us bring him forth."
Ganondorf threw Link to the ground, faced Raven and replied, "You asked how I would go about taking this city for myself, so now I will show you. Link, why don't you be a good boy, and keep the Hero of Time preoccupied?"
"Is…is he talking to me?"
"Watch out!" cried Navi. "Behind you!"
Link swerved and narrowly missed the knife driving into his back.
"Rio…" Malon breathed, wide–eyed.
Link looked around and met Rio's bloodthirsty gaze.
"Hold still, will ya?" he complained. Rio jabbed for Link's shoulder, who danced out of the way.
"What are you doing?!"
"What's it look like, stupid?! I swear, you're so dense."
"Stop him!" Ashei dashed toward Rio, but was stopped midway and assaulted by a dark knight.
"Get outta my way!"
She screamed angrily and kicked the armor's leg. She ducked underneath as the knight brought its pole arm down on her. The others charged toward the rest of the dark knights and took them on. Rio continued waving his knife at Link.
"Adelz!" Impa commanded. "Take Ganondorf down!"
Adelz leapt into the air, released a hidden blade from his cuff and drove toward Ganondorf, but was intercepted. Ghirahim thrust himself in front of him, grabbed Adelz's wrist and ripped the hidden blade from his gauntlet. Adelz reacted by drawing a short knife and charging at Ghirahim. The demon slid aside, drew his own rapier, and began parrying Adelz's attacks.
"This way, Princess."
Ganondorf carried the levitating Zelda into the center of the temple and flipped her in midair onto her stomach. Beneath her, a crimson pentagram with sinister symbols adorning its points lit up the crumbled marble floor.
"What are you doing…?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Zelda swallowed hard and peered through the temple. She cast her eyes to Impa, Ashei and Raven, all held back by the dark knights and unable to reach her. She looked to Adelz, stuck in useless combat with Ghirahim who only danced away from his attacks. Finally, she watched as Link stumbled clumsily out of Rio's reach.
"It's hopeless…" she said quietly.
"Princess?"
Zelda looked for the voice that called her, and came face to face with Malon. The two girls, one of royal blood, and one of humble birth, watched each other helplessly.
"Please," Malon said hoarsely. "Please…help Link."
Tears welled in Zelda's eyes, so she searched the temple again. Her head whirled in every direction, looking for something to help her, anything that would get her and her friends out of this, but found nothing.
"Don't bother, Princess," Ganondorf taunted. "Not even the Goddess of Light can save you now."
At Ganondorf's words, a thought came to her mind.
"Light…light!"
Zelda reached around her back and undid the strap of her quiver.
"Take these!"
She threw her bow and quiver, and they clattered to the floor in front of Malon.
"Wha…what do I do?"
"Link! Your ocarina! Hurry!"
"You're too late."
Smoke began to rise from the pentagram and burned flakes from Zelda's skin on contact. At the touch of the smoke, screams of pain burst from her mouth.
"Princess!"
Link whipped his head around to the sound of Zelda's screaming.
"Pay attention," Rio chuckled, and wrenched his knife into Link's stomach.
"LINK!"
Link stumbled back and stared down at the knife in his abdomen. Rio's fist flew out, struck Link's shoulder, and knocked him onto his back.
"Now hold still."
He pinned Link's arms down with one hand and knelt over him. Rio grinned down at Link as he straddled him and put his lips to his ear.
"You're going to love this next part," Rio moaned, and tore out the knife. Malon froze in horror as Rio raised the bloodied dagger for all to see.
"Finally! His blood! IT'S MINE!"
Ashei smashed in the helmet of the dark knight blocking her path and took off toward Rio, followed after by Raven and Navi.
"YOU BASTARD!" Ashei screamed.
He smirked and vanished into the shadows before she reached him.
"Where are you?!" she demanded. "Come out an' fight, you bloody coward!"
"Ashei," Raven spoke quietly. "Help me."
Raven knelt by Link, who laid helpless as he stared up at the ceiling. A pool had formed from the blood seeping out of his stomach.
"I can't breathe..."
"Just hold on, Link," Raven breathed. "You'll be alright."
Link twisted his head and watched Raven's death–stricken face. Navi sat on Raven's shoulder and sobbed. Link stared past them and watched Zelda claw at her hands and face. The burning flakes of skin were forming a silhouette on the pentagram.
"Princess…"
He reached out for the Master Sword laying a few feet away, but only managed to lift his fingers.
"Don't move," Ashei's voice cracked as she spoke.
"Over here, losers."
They looked around and found Rio standing on the opposite side of the pentagram from Ganondorf.
"Get a load of this."
"Quit showing off," Ghirahim scoffed, holding Adelz back from rushing to Link's side. "You've got work to do!"
Rio put the knife to his lips, closed his eyes, and licked the bloody blade. His tongue moved slowly from the heel to the point as he took Link's blood into his mouth.
"Eww," Navi chocked out in between her sobs.
Rio tossed the knife aside and fell to his hands and knees, giggling. The others watched as billows of black smoke moved down the skin of his throat and spread across his face and arms. His giggling erupted into manic, evil laughter as the smoke engulfed his body and obscured him within a black sphere.
Impa sliced a dark knight in half and finally freed herself. She ran toward the others to help, but froze. To her left, Adelz struggled to fight back against Ghirahim and would soon be on the receiving end of his sword. In front of her, Zelda cried out as her skin fell piece by piece onto the pentagram. To her right, Link laid with the open gash in his stomach and bled out. She looked back and forth between the three, grimaced and put her hand to her face.
"What do I…"
Zelda caught Impa's gaze and pointed to Link.
"Please..." she moaned.
Impa hesitated before running toward Link.
"What do we do?" asked Raven. "He's lost so much blood as it is."
She moved her outstretched hands quickly over Link's stomach, then answered, "I can heal him, but I'll need help. Navi."
The fairy jumped at the sound of her name.
"Have you got enough magic in you for something like this?"
Ashei started, "Don't fairies die if they heal people?"
Navi trembled as she looked down at Link's body.
"I…I don't…"
"There's no time to decide. Either help me, or he dies."
Tears dropped from Navi's eyes as she nodded. She dropped from Raven's shoulder to Link's chest. Together, she and Impa stretched their hands over the gash in Link's abdomen. Light flowed from their fingertips and into the wound.
Link felt warmth return to his arms and legs. He lifted his head up and caught Navi's tearful gaze.
"Goodbye…" she whispered.
"Wh–what? Navi, wait!"
She collapsed onto his chest. He sat up and grabbed hold of her.
"Navi! You..."
"You've got work to do, Link," said Raven. "Leave her to us."
"But she's–!"
"She's not dead. The fact that you're still holding her is proof enough," Impa spoke quickly. "Give her to Raven, now."
He nodded and dropped the tiny fairy's body into Raven's open hand. He reached for the Master Sword some feet away and pulled himself shakily to his feet. He stumbled to Ganondorf as much as his sore stomach would allow.
"Let the Princess go!"
"Okay."
Zelda flew out of the pentagram and landed lopsided at Link's feet. Her gaze was empty, and her skin was raw and bleeding. Link bent down and held her in his arms.
"What did you do to her?!"
"Why don't you wait and see for yourself?"
"No! Whatever you're doing to her, I won't let it continue!"
He laid Zelda on the ground, marched up to Ganondorf and swung his sword down on him. A black blade parried his attack.
"?!"
Out of the corner of his eye a foot landed square in his chest and kicked him away. Link stumbled back and swung his arms to keep his balance, then looked up to face his new opponent.
"What the–?!"
"What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?"
Link recognized Rio's voice, but had to rub his eyes and look a second time. The person standing in front of him made his head spin. Rio's dark face, body, and clothing had mutated to mimic Link completely. Even his black sword matched the Master Sword in Link's hand. From the tip of Rio's cap to the point of his boots, Link couldn't help feeling he was peering into a dark mirror, where the only difference between them was color; Rio was black from head to toe, save for his flaming, sanguine eyes.
"Link," Malon gasped. "It's…"
"You," Rio finished her sentence. "But now it's me, and I'm loving it."
Rio stretched out his new arms and sighed in ecstasy.
"Oh god, I've waited so long for this."
"Keep him busy while I finish the summoning," Ganondorf ordered as he focused on the pentagram. "We're nearly done here."
"You got it."
Rio rushed forward and slammed his fist into Link's face without warning. Link crumpled to the ground from the blow.
"You have no idea what I had to go through just for a taste of your blood. I outta punish you for making me wait so long, but it's true what they say. Delaying gratification only makes the fruit of your labors that much sweeter."
He picked Link up by the collar of his tunic and lifted him to meet his gaze.
"And by the way, the name's not Rio anymore. It's Link. Dark Link."
Rio was seconds away from slugging Link a second time when another fist launched toward him. It struck Rio's shoulder and knocked him away.
"Keep your filthy hands off of him, you worthless shadow!" Raven yelled.
Rio took one look at Raven and snarled, "You're in my way."
"And that's where I'm staying!"
Rio roared and launched himself into a fist fight with Raven.
"Hurry Link!" Raven called out as he defended himself from Rio's delirious attacks. "You're the only one who can stop Ganondorf!"
"We'll take care 'a the Princess!" Ashei answered. "Stop him from summonin' whatever he's tryin' ta summon!"
"What do I do? I can't attack Ganondorf head on! I'm no match for him!"
"Link!" Malon cried out, and threw Zelda's bow and quiver. He caught them in midair, and stared back at her in confusion.
"Zelda said to use your ocarina, and gave those to me! But I don't know what she wanted me to do with them!"
Link looked at the ornate bow in his hand, then at Ganondorf, and pulled the Ocarina of Time out of his bag. He put the ocarina to his lips and played the first song he could think of, blowing through the notes as fast as he could.
"Please let this work!"
No sooner did he finish the song did heavy clouds form in the temple's ceiling. Thunder rolled as the clouds darkened, and drops of water began to fall. Rain began to pour heavily.
"Rain?" Ashei proclaimed in curiosity. "Indoors? What's goin' on?"
"He's played the Song of Storms. We better find something to hang onto."
Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. "What are you up to, boy?"
A strong gust was already picking up when Link raised Zelda's bow and nocked an arrow to the wood. He raised the bow and aimed for the stormy clouds. As he pulled back on the string, the head of the arrow filled with brilliant light.
"Don't miss..."
The arrow shot, pushed forward by the wind, and pierced the billowing veils. Everyone waited for several minutes. Nothing happened.
"Ha!" Ghirahim scoffed. "Whatever your little plan was, it failed! You–"
A drop landed on Ghirahim's cheek and stung him. He flinched at the sting and looked up. The fat drops of water slowed to a halt as the grey storm churned and swirled into glittering, golden clouds. Instead of raindrops, beams of light streamed down and landed in glowing puddles across the temple's shattered floor. The wind softened as the storm disappeared and faded into a shower of light.
All around the temple, light drops loosened the armor of the dark knights' who fought off the rookie soldiers. Piece by piece, the dark knights fell apart. The rookies watched in amazement as their opponents decomposed, and joined Impa and Ashei's side. Ghirahim twitched uneasily at the stinging pricks on his body, and released Adelz from his grip. Rio, meanwhile, shrieked in agony and hurled himself under the first intact church pew he could find.
The light drops plummeted onto Ganondorf's pentagram and smeared its edges until there was little left of the satanic symbol but a few broken lines. Ganondorf lowered his hands and glared up at the glittering clouds in annoyance. The city knights marched toward him and surrounded him on all sides, pointing their swords at him.
"You're under arrest, you evil demon!" Ashei proclaimed harshly.
"Hmm. This is a wrench in my plans."
"Master," Ghirahim spoke hoarsely. "With the destruction of our summoning grounds, there is no longer any point in remaining here. Even if I wanted to, I can't hold off all the soldiers and reconstruct the points."
"I agree. How about you, Link?"
"Are you kidding?! I just wanna get out of this fucking rain!"
"I suppose that's that, then."
"Oh no you don't!" Impa put a long dagger to Ganondorf's throat. "You and your little gang of troubadours aren't going anywhere."
Just as she spoke, hissing began to emanate from where the pentagram had been. Ganondorf grinned.
"You're right," he answered. "We aren't."
Link approached the pentagram remains and watched in silence. The hissing started as a soft leak―the way a tea pot boils―but grew louder until it resembled high–pitched screaming. Link began to hear a voice through the hissing, and realized that it was screaming.
"Someone's in there!"
"You're too late, Hero. Your rain dance might have destroyed my dark knights, but it didn't stop me from summoning the one person whose power rivals mine."
The scent of burning flesh exhaled from the remnants of the pentagram, making Link's nose sting. The specimen rising from the center appeared at first as an nothing more than an outline, but as the others watched, its structural systems began to take shape; first the dry, cracked bones materialized, next the rotting arteries and veins, and then the roasted muscles.
When no distinguishable features took shape, Ganondorf frowned. The grotesque, incomplete figure, formed from Zelda's skin, wobbled on its stiffened legs. Creaking erupted from its baked bones as it hobbled around, and smoke rose from the blackened muscles that showed through the crispy skin that managed to surface. The hollow skull of the fragmented body lifted its eyeless–socket gaze to Link, who stared in horror. It ripped open its mandible and let a gasping, blood–curdling scream out of its raw throat.
Link's stomach lurched for the third time that day, so he clasped his hands over his mouth.
"Oh god, not again! There's nothing left in me to throw up!"
"Ghirahim!" Ganondorf called. "Grab our new friend and let's go! We're outta here!"
"Finally!" Rio groaned as he climbed out from under his pew.
"Egh, with my hands?"
"Now! We can't have him dying on us while we make our escape!"
"You are not lea–" Impa started, but Ganondorf raised his hand and flung everyone to the other side of the temple before she could finish.
Raven, Adelz and the rookie knights smashed into nearby pillars and collapsed. Malon and Impa flew across the temple floor like skipping stones until they slid into the walls. Link flew the opposite direction, sailing through the air until he landed hard at the double door entrance. He heard a pop come from his shoulder as he hit the floor.
"Oh come on! Not again..."
He sat up to examine his arm but glanced away, and noticed Ganondorf walk to where Zelda' comatose body laid abandoned, and hoist her over his shoulder.
"NO! PRINCESS!"
"It was lovely meeting all of you, but business beckons."
"ZELDA!" Impa cried and broke toward him.
"Goodbye, young Hero. We'll meet again sooner than you know."
"NO!"
Link jumped to run at Ganondorf, but belly–flopped on the first step. With Zelda and the summoned creature in hand, Ganondorf and Ghirahim disappeared in a flash of smoke. Rio pointed and glared at Raven.
"Next time I see you," he vowed, "You're dead."
And he, too, was gone.