CHAPTER 8
"Jier is dead!" Wynn said.
"Yes, he is. But, this is his body, reanimated by my master. I serve only him, not the heart of your dead friend."
Wynn was taken aback. Link, however, realized a way to prove the truth. He reached into a pouch at his side, drawing a mystical object: the Lens of Truth. This fabled lens can see the truth in everything, not fooled by appearances. The hero looked through it. What he saw shocked him.
It was Jier's body, for certain. But the face...it was the same as the one Link realized to be his master.
"Now, I shall call my master forth. While he is being freed, I shall finish the greatest nuisances to him. You shall all die!" the Assassin told them.
They all felt a dark power enter the room, the purest of evil. It was the heart of the evil that had plagued Hyrule.
The Assassin was calling forth Ganon.
"I will stop you!" yelled Wynn.
"You have no chance, little hero. I am the servant of the incarnation of evil!"
Wynn held his Biggoron Sword aloft. "We'll see about that! Friend or not, I shall die before I allow you to harm Hyrule."
"Yes, you shall," hissed the Assassin. Before Wynn could move, the Assassin was before him, a mere shadow. He slashed with his dagger, narrowly missing as Wynn ducked. The hero tried to tackle him, but he flew through his opponent.
"I am the intangible evil. I am the heart of darkness. I am the invincible!"
Wynn stood. Before he could move to attack, a very real punch sent him back down, followed by another kick. Wynn gasped as he felt the pain of Seron's earlier attack, and knew something was surely broken.
The Assassin dissipated into a black mist, hauling Wynn high into the air. Wynn screamed as he was thrown back down, landing hard.
The Assassin reappeared, his eyes glowing red as blood. "Now you die!"
He raised his dagger high, aiming for Wynn's chest. Wynn couldn't even move, knowing he was a dead man. He watched the dagger fall, faster...then fall from nerveless hands.
"Ugh...how?" asked the Assassin as he felt the knife slide into his back.
He turned, and found the one that had ended the reign of terror. He looked into the watering eyes. It was the Cucco Lady.
"I love you, Jier! But...you are not him! He truly is dead!" she sobbed.
A dark hand quieted her, stroking her cheek. He slowly fell, looking into her eyes. The red glow she stared into slowly faded, replaced by his softer brown eyes. The darkness was gone, and only Jier remained.
As the Cucco Lady lay weeping, a dark portal appeared at the end of the room. The figure of a man appeared, a figure that sent chills down the spines of each of the heroes.
"I have finally returned to take my revenge! This time, none shall stand against me!" roared Ganon.
"Everyone, get them and get out!" yelled Link, pointing to Wynn, the Cucco Lady, and Jier.
"What about you?" asked Fami.
"Only I can stop him! With the power of the Triforce of Courage, I can win!"
Tane nodded, and ran to Jier, picking him up. Fami and Nerah helped the Cucco Lady, and Shezarah let Wynn use her to lean on. Solan followed close behind, keeping a wary eye on the figure of Ganon, feeling tugs on his control. Ganon didn't want to let him go. Icarnos too followed, still looking befuddled, but understanding something was very amiss.
Link stood alone in the tower, as he had a year before. "It's over, Ganon."
"Evil will triumph!" declared the ex-Gerudo king.
"Good will always win," Link said calmly, drawing the Master Sword.
The two locked eyes, and charged.
******
Wynn frowned as he limped along, his mind whirling feverishly. Suddenly, the mist covering his thoughts cleared, and he stopped.
"Wynn, what's wrong?" Fami asked.
"I...I can't leave Link. He's my friend, and-"
He was cut off by a shout from ahead. "Come on, hurry! This place feels like its going to collapse any second!"
Wynn paused as he recognized Greer's voice. He rounded a corner, seeing the old soldier next to a light-colored portal. He started forward, then hesitated.
Tane was nearly into the portal when disaster struck. An ax arced out, knocking him away from the portal, unharmed except for the collision. Wynn cried out when he recognized what had just occurred.
Solan stepped in front of the portal. He held his ax aloft, then doubled over, clutching his helmet. "No! I can't...Wynn!"
"Solan." Wynn calmly walked up, stopping before his friend.
"Wynn...he's controlling me! I can't resist! This must end." The red eyes were pleading. When Wynn started to shake his head, he went on. "I will never know peace like this! Please, give me an honest death!"
Wynn nodded slowly. "If only we could have known peace..."
Solan looked into his eyes. "We will, one day. But now, we must fight for that dream. And we may not live to see it. But, I am willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good."
Wynn again nodded stoically. He held his face and sword high, advancing. Solan did the same, and they locked weapons. They fought, Wynn using the last dregs of his magic to ignore the consequences of his earlier battles. Solan went all out, giving no ground or mercy. Wynn followed the same principal.
Wynn jumped over Solan, sword slashing at the other's back. Solan blocked it by quickly turning and deflecting it with the handle of his ax. He then used it to knock Wynn down, then advanced, ax-blade coming at Wynn's head. Wynn rolled to the side, then leaped to his feet.
Wynn and Solan fought for what seemed like hours. Both were exhausted and pushing their endurances. It was obvious they were evenly matched. None could predict the winner, and it was doubtful either would.
It all ended when a tremor went through the castle. None knew it, but Link had beaten Ganon. The King of Evil had just again been sealed in the Sacred Realm, this time for what would hopefully be eternity.
The castle began falling apart. Large stones collapsed, one landing on Solan. Trapped, his metal body crushed, he looked up to Wynn. "Finish it."
"Goodbye, Solan." Wynn said, charging his magic, concentrating it on his sword.
"Goodbye, Wynn. I will always be with you."
Wynn plunged the sword deep into the armor. Solan's eyes brightened with pain, and slowly dimmed. "Goodbye..." the voice trailed off, the body slumped, and the eyes went out. Solan, hero and friend, was dead.
"Wynn! We have to leave!" Tane called.
Wynn sighed, looking to the hollow armor. "I will miss you." He followed his friends to the portal. One by one they entered, Wynn being last. With a last look to the shell of the man who had been his best friend, he stepped forward. The world turned into a dazzling light, and the castle disappeared.
******
Link gritted his teeth. If anything, Ganon's power had increased while he had been sealed in the Sacred Realm. Now, he was venting a lot of frustration on the one responsible for his imprisonment: Link.
Ganon had shed his former form, which he now used as merely a disguise. His true form was monstrous. A huge body, taking up nearly the whole room, was topped by a gruesome, pig-snouted head. From the body sprouted immense limbs, and a rather puny-looking tail that was in fact the dark one's weakness. However, it was well protected: in Ganon's powerful hands rested twin swords, both longer than Link was tall.
Link knew that only he could stop this menace to Hyrule. He had done it before. But, would he be able to do it again? Or, would Hyrule rot under the iron fist of Ganon once again?
The Master Sword had been the tool necessary to defeat Ganon, and Link still possessed it. But, before, Zelda had been there to help him. Now...
"You cannot escape. And there is no one to help you. You are alone," Ganon informed him, trying to crush his spirits.
"I am never alone. My friends are always with me in my heart, and I have enough courage, wisdom, and power to defeat you."
"Fool! I alone have the power!"
Link laughed. "You have no balance. You have power, but not the courage to use it for good, or the wisdom to understand it."
"But you have only courage, not the power to use it or the wisdom to know when. We are equal."
"No. I have a power you lack. The power of love."
"The power of my hatred is greater!"
Link shook his head slowly. "Hatred is not a power. It is a weakness."
"We will see. Prepare to yield to me the Triforce of Courage!"
"Over my dead body!"
Ganon's eyes narrowed in a smirk. "That's the point."
Link held his sword in front of him. "You will never win. Hyrule will always have a protector. Even after I'm gone, there will one day be someone powerful enough to finish you."
"You are a fool." With those last words, the two entered combat.
At first, Ganon, with his longer reach, had the advantage. However, Link's agility and small size negated that advantage as he danced in and out of his foe's range. Neither could strike a blow on the other, but Ganon showed no signs of tiring. Link, however, panted with exhaustion.
Ganon swiped at the hero, his swords arcing through the air in a devastating path. Link ran towards Ganon, too close for the weapons, and ran between the monstrous kings legs, his sword seeking out the tail. Ganon roared in pain, trying to crush the hero with his feet. Link danced through them, staying on the trail of the tail. He had nearly caught it when a huge fist knocked him away.
Link stood, grimacing in pain. He ran at the monster, Ganon stepping back, trying to catch him with the blades. Link ducked under one, leaping over the other, catching up with the backpedaling Ganon. Ganon dropped down, crouching to stop the hero's attack, but Link dove, ending up behind the evil one. His sword again found its mark. As Ganon turned, the tail caught Link's foot and sent him to the ground. A sword hurtled at him, but the hero rolled, springing up. The two separated, glaring at each other.
"My evil will prevail."
"Hyrule is for the good."
They charged, weapons ready to end the conflict. Their final clash was too fast for the eye to follow, a complicated dance of death. But, a sword found its target, and one sunk to the ground.
Link gasped as he held his side, a deep gash spilling blood over his green tunic. Ganon laughed evilly, eyes narrowing. "You die now."
Link coughed weakly. "Wrong, pig-face!" He sent his sword flying, the bluish blade soaring straight for its target, the tail that was visible over Ganon's shoulder.
Ganon's scream of pure agony was so powerful it shattered the windows of the tower, the glass blown out. The monster sunk down, his powers waning as he lost all concentration.
"Now, Zelda!" Link yelled, collapsing. A light surrounded Ganon, and a portal appeared. Ganon thrashed weakly as he was pulled in. His twitching tail threw the Master Sword away from him, and it landed at Link's feet.
"I will return!!!" he howled.
"Not as long as I'm alive to stop you," Link coughed, blacking out as he finished.
Zelda appeared over the hero as Ganon's portal was sealed and the monster's scream faded. A light surrounded the two, and they disappeared, just as the castle began to collapse.
It's over. But, is the victory worth the cost? was Zelda's last thought as she teleported herself and Link away.
EPILOGUE
Wynn stepped out of the portal. He looked around, gaining his bearings. He was just outside Lon-Lon, below Ganon's castle. Around him were a large group of friends and soldiers, all looking upwards to the castle. Wynn groaned, the whole battle coming back to him. He didn't even notice the monster exiting the portal behind him, nor the same creature heading for the exhausted, defenseless Nerah.
Nerah screamed as the Stalfos attacked, sword stabbing towards her. She jumped back, but caught her foot on a vine. She watched as the monster stalked forward, sword ready to finish her. She wanted to close her eyes, but was paralyzed with fear as the skeleton lunged, sword aiming to skewer her.
That was fortunate, because she saw what saved her in the end. As the creature flew towards her, it was stopped by a blue blur. A Zora tackled the Stalfos, bearing it to the ground and finishing it with a quick strike.
Nerah stood, running to the one that had saved her. It was none other than Jaco. He gave her his best smile. "Nerah, I'm glad you made it. I just wanted to tell you...mmph!"
Nerah broke the kiss, giving him a coy smile. "My hero."
Wynn watched the castle apprehensively, waiting for Link to emerge. The castle was slowly crumbling. Suddenly, the castle exploded outwards in a cloud of debris, a blossoming flower of dark stone. Then, the cloud imploded, coming together, becoming smaller and smaller until nothing remained of the dark castle. Ganon was defeated.
Wynn hung his head. Link, too, had been inside. Hyrule's greatest had fallen with his foe, sacrificing himself to save the land he loved.
"Miss me?" came a sarcastic voice from behind Wynn. The hero turned, laughing. Link smiled as he exited another portal. He was unharmed, as he had been healed by Zelda's magic as he was being transported. "Don't count me dead that quick. I'm hard to kill."
Wynn grinned. "I don't know if that's good or bad!" he quipped.
Link chuckled, then his face turned serious. "How's your friend?"
Wynn looked back to where Jier lie. The black-clad hero's face was ashen, but his chest still rose and fell. The Cucco Lady was attending to him, using her training as a healer to try to save his life.
"I don't know. But I hope he, too, is hard to kill," Wynn said gravely, seeing Tane and Shezarah walk off together hand in hand from the corner of his eye.
Link nodded, then smiled when he saw someone approach behind Wynn. Hearing a laugh, Wynn turned, finding himself in a hug from Fami. She smiled up at him, eyes meeting his. "We did it!"
Wynn chuckled. "We? Don't you mean, me?"
"You couldn't have done it without me cheering you on!"
"Oh, thanks for your confidence in my fighting skill! I mean, I-"
Fami cut his complaint off by moving her face to his. Link smiled, walking away from the couple. He was happy for them, but...
"What's wrong, Link?" The hero turned at the voice, beaming. Zelda was standing nearby, looking to him. "You should be happy."
Link laughed, putting his arm around the princess. "Trust me, Zel, I am. I am now."
******
The Tekiton walked alone in Hyrule Field, glancing apprehensively to the castle that floated overhead. It didn't like that it was alone, and the last of its kind. It had no friends, no power, no hope. It was all alone.
Suddenly, a blue light erupted from the side of the castle. It flew towards the Tekiton, moving so fast it was a streak of blue. The Tekiton shrieked, and turned to run, but it was too late. The light slammed into it at full speed.
Then dust slowly cleared from the resulting explosion. In a crater created by the impact, two bodies were lying still. One was the Tekiton, physically unharmed. The other was the one that had been called the General, now known as the former apprentice-wizard Seron.
Seron's armor had been nearly destroyed, but enough of it had remained to serve a final purpose. In Seron's plummet, it had shielded him from the impact, saving his life. The result had totally eliminated the armor, and had had an unforeseen side effect.
Much later, Seron stirred. He sat up slowly, shaking his head. He looked upward just as the castle exploded. "Ohh..." he moaned in a much higher voice. "My head hurts..."
He froze, looking at his hand. His eyes widened, and he started looking at himself, letting out a high-pitched cheer of joy. He jumped up, then landed in a heap, disoriented.
The Tekiton twitched, then raised up. It looked around, then focused on Seron. Its eye bugged out, and it started chirping, running at the now-standing Seron. Seron met it, however, with a flick of his hand, sending the monster crashing back into the crater with a shriek.
"Wrong move, pal," said the thing that inhabited Seron's body, his voice a squeak. "Now, I'm in charge."
Seron, in the body of the Tekiton, groaned. He knew he was trapped. He had failed once again, and this time he had lost it all. He screeched in agony, a wail that spoke of his truest defeat.
The Tekiton chuckled. "Now, I shall rule Hyrule!" He started off, the despondent Seron in tow. Now, things would change.
******
It was evening the next day. The group of heroes was together in the Temple of Time, bidding farewell to one of their own. Link gave a sad smile to all those gathered around. "It's time for me to go back. I will return, soon, to visit. I shall miss you all."
Wynn nodded. "Goodbye, Link, and good luck."
Link smiled. "Same to you." He gave a subtle jerk of his head in Fami's direction. "Don't get yourself into too much trouble."
Wynn chuckled. "Depends on your definition of trouble."
Link nodded. "You know what I mean." He waved to all present. "Goodbye, everyone." His eyes fell on a certain member of the group. "And goodbye to you as well, Princess. I'll be back soon."
Zelda smiled. "Don't be too long!"
Link nodded, a smile in his eyes. "Sure thing, your majesty." He turned, and was gone into the depths of the Temple, on his journey back to the past.
Wynn nodded. "We shall meet again."
******
The group meet again outside the white castle of Hyrule. The Princess bade them goodbye, and disappeared inside. She was followed by three others, two men and a woman. Baro and Icarnos had returned to their posts as aides to the throne, and Veia stayed with her husband. The truth about Icarnos had come out: he had been brainwashed. Ganon had controlled him for a while, but the conflict between his good side and Ganon's grip had driven him insane. But now he was restored his old self, and all was forgiven.
Wynn started to turn to leave, but stopped. He laughed when he saw two men exit the castle, one in armor and uniform of a captain, the other in a dress uniform. The men walked past the castle guards, two of which were recognizable as Arco and Agno, and towards Wynn and the others.
"Well, it looks like you both got promoted. Congratulations," Wynn clasped each man's hand.
"Thanks, Wynn. The extra pay won't hurt now that it looks like I'm going have a family to support," Captain Kesler laughed. Wynn and the others had heard that Kesler and Malon were to be married. The man standing next to the captain was to be the best man.
"I don't care for it. I want my old job back," Greer said gruffly, tugging at his collar, trying in vain to stretch it.
"Greer, you're the best man for the job. Face it, its the best chance you'll have to ship up the Hylian army," Tane said from beside Wynn.
"Yeah, as the High General, you can do a lot of good," Shezarah said.
"Well, it's not the job I don't like, except for the rules and regulations. It's this blasted uniform!"
Everyone chuckled at that. Greer smiled slightly. "Now, I must go. I have work to do. I shall see you again."
Kesler nodded. "See you later!"
Wynn watched the two men walk away. "Now, where?"
Tane stepped forward. "Shezarah and I are returning to the fort."
"I thought you hated it there," Wynn said.
"I did. But after my performance with those two Iron Knuckles, I've been elected an official Gerudo!" Tane laughed.
"But you're still my servant!"
"Oh, we'll see about that!" The two engaged in a playful staring match, till Wynn interrupted.
"We'll miss you. Visit us!" he said.
"You got it, partner!" Tane turned and walked away with Shezarah, bickering the whole way, but hands interlocked.
Wynn turned to another friend. "And you?"
"You know my plans, Wynn. I must return home."
Wynn nodded. "Be careful, Jier."
The black-clad hero nodded, smiling brightly. "Don't worry about me. I have the Cucco Lady to keep me in line."
Fami snickered, but keep her cutting comments to herself. Jier's glare probably had something to do with her silence.
"One day, we'll go on another adventure, as grand as this one."
Jier again agreed. "And it will not be long. Farewell, Wynn."
Soon, Wynn and Fami were alone. Fami started closer, but Wynn's attention was on the absence of their last friend. He grinned when he saw Nerah at the riverside, walking with Jaco. The two were close together, and were speaking in whispers, alone to themselves in the world.
"Well, looks like those two are happy. Guess we won't see her as much now." Fami said quietly, almost unhappily.
"You sound like you think that is a bad thing."
"Who, me? Never!" Fami said, raising her hands in mock defense. Her eyes lightened, and she again moved closer to Wynn. "What are you going to do now?"
Wynn frowned. "I don't know. I still have things to see, places to explore..."
Fami's face fell. "But I had hoped you would settle down, and, I don't know, get married, start a family..."
Wynn chuckled. "Someday. But, now, I have a life to live, adventures to have..."
Fami smiled slightly. "I understand. And I will take them with you."
"Yes, you shall. Soon. But first, there are things I must do alone. I will be back, one day."
Fami hugged him. "I will wait for you. Just don't ever forget me!"
Wynn smiled. "I could never do that." He lowered his face to hers, meeting her in a kiss.
******
The two were being watched. Floating high above them, a light, transparent figure was barely visible. It was a young man, barely older than Wynn. His youthful face had once bore the marks of scars, but was now clean.
Farewell, Wynn.
The figure of Solan slowly vanished, his heart and spirit set free.
******
The storm that had plagued Hyrule was breaking up. The sun finally showed its face, telling all a simple, pure message. Peace was returning to Hyrule.
No villain could now threaten that peace. For a while, Hyrule had no need for its heroes, except in peaceful lives. They could live in a world they had freed, and would know happiness. Good had vanquished evil, for now.
A single storm cloud yet brewed, far on the horizon. But that was a worry for far in the future, not for now. Now was time to live, to be happy, to rejoice in all life offered. By slaying the demons without and within, Wynn, Link, Fami, Nerah, Tane, Shezarah, and Jier had saved their land.
The sun set on Hyrule. Hyrule, a land of good.
THE END