A Link to the Past
Chapter Thirty Three: Hinox
The only thing Link could think of to do was get out of the way so that Hinox couldn't see him from on top of the stairs, running away from the palace's front door and then getting around behind one of the large stone support columns that held up the balcony. This didn't stop the one-eyed monster from tossing his already lit bomb anyway, causing the room to shake when the blast damaged the nearby walls and door, with the young man using the noise and smoke as cover to get himself into a new position across the room from where he was just hiding. Since Hinox had all that explosive power at his command, the only way Link was going to beat him was by taking the big monster by surprise.
"We don't have to do this, Hinox!" He called, since the monster couldn't see him. "I only fight when I have to, so just give me the crystal and you won't ever see me again!"
"Aw, Link, you sound like one of those sniveling nobles back in Hyrule." Hinox replied with a tone of disappointment. "I had a castle there once, you know… in the same place as this one, too… until I blew it up. But that's what people like you will never understand… why negotiate when you can detonate? Like this!"
Another explosion shook the hall, but this time it came from straight up on top of the balcony, forcing the young man to once again run for cover while huge pieces of carved stone crashed down onto the first floor. The one-eyed monster was unharmed, standing on top of the rubble with a smile on his deformed face as the smoke cleared, another lit bomb already in his big hand while Link tightly gripped the Master Sword. As before, Hinox tossed the explosive toward him, but if the blue blade worked for sending back Agahnim's magic, then he didn't see why it wouldn't work for sending back one of the one-eyed monster's bombs. The legendary weapon pulsed in his hands when it made contact with the round bomb, and yes the explosive was sent flying right back into Hinox's waiting hands.
BOOM! The one-eyed monster simply vanished in a flash of light and noise, Link having to change his footing so that he didn't lose balance when the whole room shook, and then everything was quiet while he waited for the smoke to clear. Unfortunately, Hinox was still standing, not blown to pieces or even knocked down by the powerful explosion, his muscular body only dusted by a light coat of soot and stone powder. The monster was laughing, now… asking the young man if he really thought that he would throw so many of those bombs around if they were capable of hurting him, and then wasting no time in preparing yet another one that he tossed right at Link.
All right, maybe his own bombs didn't hurt him, the young man thought as he made a desperate rush forward, ducking down underneath the bomb so that it kept flying far away from its target… but he was pretty sure that the Master Sword was a different story. Hinox gasped, stepping back to avoid that first wild swing of the blade, and then reaching out to grab the young man's wrist while he was distracted with steadying himself when the bomb went off. Link saw this coming and slid the blue blade sideways, giving the one-eyed monster a deep cut across his palm when he tried to grab the weapon, and then Hinox was forced to back away yet again from the next attack, hissing in pain when the blade made a shallow cut across his chest.
"I gave you a chance, monster." The young man said once his opponent was backed up against the wall. "You could've given me the crystal and lived… but now you die!"
Thrusting the blade forward with all his might, this blow aimed right for the one-eyed monster's chest would've certainly killed him if he hadn't managed to twist his body sideways at the last second, giving Hinox a long thin cut across his belly as the Master Sword sunk itself deeply into the stone wall of the palace. Link prepared to use the glove's power to remove the weapon, but instead was sent reeling backwards when the one-eyed monster swing his fist upward, making full contact with the young man's chin. Link stumbled back and back and back before finally falling down on the debris covered floor, even sliding a few inches, but then instead of readying another bomb to finish him off, Hinox charged forward with an angry roar… his big fist raised for the kill.
"Agahnim says whoever finishes you gets to go back to Hyrule!" Hinox roared as he ran. "I'm going home, Link, and you're dying right now!"
There was no time to make a plan, so the young man just rolled to the side right before the fist made contact, causing the one-eyed monster to destroy a piece of stone rubble instead, and then Link scrambled up to his feet, just enough to get around the muscular creature and jump up onto its back. Without the Master Sword in his hands, and faced with the monster's tough, leathery hide, the only thing Link could think of to do was hang on for dear life while balling up his own fist and ramming it right into Hinox's single eye. The monster felt this one, there was no doubt given the roar of pain and all the stumbling around he started doing, so the young man punched him in the eye again and again.
As long as he kept leaning his smaller body back and forth and punching each time one of the monster's big arms tried to grab him, the young man was able to keep this up for a little while, only to be forced to stop once a new bomb formed inside the blinded monster's hand. Using the monster's back like a kickboard, Link sprang himself away into a roll across the broken floor, but this must've been enough to throw Hinox even more off balance to the point where he dropped his bomb on the floor at his feet. With his damaged eye closed, and the rest of him fighting to regain his balance, the monster tripped over his own feet before falling on his back right on top of the bomb.
BOOM! Even though his own weapons couldn't hurt him and most of the blast did even more damage to the castle's floor, there was enough force to send the blinded monster flying forward so that his deformed face scraped across the broken stone for a good distance before he came to a stop. Link, meanwhile, was using the power of his glove to forcibly yank the Master Sword free of the castle's wall, freeing it at the same time that Hinox was getting to his feet, and now the young man was running toward his enemy before he could have a chance to make another bomb. Struggling to open his single eye, the monster saw Link coming and swung his fist for a counter attack, but this time the young man was just a little bit faster.
Raising the blue blade up and swinging it down as he sort of dived past his enemy, the legendary weapon sliced right through Hinox's arm… and then his torso… while the young man rolled a bit after hitting the floor behind him. Out of breath and using the sword like a brace to get to his feet, Link was shocked to see that his enemy was still standing, and now he was slowly turning around to face him. However, the monster was in bad shape, discolored blood pouring out of his wound while his large body kind of swayed back and forth in a last ditch effort to stay standing.
"He said… he said I could… go home." Hinox coughed as blood started running from his mouth as well. "I want… I want to… go…
This sentence was never finished as the monster's single eye rolled back up into his head, and Hinox fell onto his back, this time not getting up again. Link collapsed a bit as well, falling down to his knees and coughing in an attempt to catch his breath. Even with the power of the glove and undershirt giving him extra strength, these monsters that inhabited the Dark World were so much tougher than anything he ever faced in Hyrule, and to top it all of… they were all from the same place that he was. Hadn't the one-eyed monster said he had a castle in Hyrule in this same spot? Was he the original Lord of this province before the capital was moved there? Was it possible? Had he just been wandering the grounds one day and ended up there just like Maple had done?
Dark World… Golden Land… whatever this place was actually called, it was a prison for everyone inside, including Ganondorf… but not Agahnim… apparently he could come and go at will. Looking over at his fallen enemy, the young man noticed a faint glimmer of light, reminding him that he needed to get the crystal that was still on Hinox's belt… yet another trapped girl sent there to further the wizard's goals. So he sort of crawled, half-walked over to his fallen enemy, removing the crystal, and actually being relieved to have a break from this world when everything went dark just like the others. Again, this girl was not Princess Zelda, but all of them needed to be rescued, and now… and now he could hear her voice in his mind…
Are you him? Are you Link? The others said a great hero was coming to rescue us, but I didn't dare to believe it. After all, who else but a legendary hero could stand up to Ganondorf and his monsters in this place? Hinox told me that the Triforce is a powerful artifact made from three pieces, and that when all three pieces are put together they will grant the wishes of whoever touches it. That's why it was hidden here, in a place no one could reach, but when Ganondorf was interrupted using a spell to escape his battle with four great heroes, he ended up in the Golden Land by mistake.
"So, Ganondorf accidently trapped himself here and found the Triforce?" Link asked. "Well, if it grants wishes, then why didn't he just use it to escape?"
The Triforce can only grant one wish at a time, and being a wicked person, Ganondorf wished to conquer the world, corrupting this place and everyone in it into the Dark World you see before you. There is some kind of barrier, a magical one, that prevents the Triforce from reaching out beyond its hiding place, and thereby stopping Ganondorf from making any more wishes since technically his first one is still not complete. I'm sorry, I don't know much more, but I can help you find the others… for some reason the monsters Ganondorf entrusted us to really love to talk to us… probably been a while since they saw a normal girl, even a crystalized one.
With that, the darkness faded and Link found himself inside the now silent, and heavily damaged castle. The frustrating thing about this whole situation was that no matter how much information the young man got about the Dark World and Agahnim and all that, there always seemed to be more questions. This latest crystal had gone silent like the others, and now they were all vibrating again, so the time for asking questions was over… there were still four more girls trapped in crystal to find, and apparently they wanted him to get a move on.