Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series. I also do not own Pearl Harbor, which is what I based this story off of.
Chapter Two: Alternate Darkness
News of the released spirits spread across Hyrule like wildfire. It sparked in Hyrule Castle, struck the Marketplace, thrust Kakariko Village ablaze, lit up Kokiri Forest, burned Lon Lon Ranch, ignited Zora's Domain, and third degree burns on Gerudo Valley. The land of Hyrule overflowed with paranoia, leaving even the most careless citizen with a worrisome residue that wouldn't wash off. Their hearts were full of hope and prayer for the seven sages. Once the spirits were locked away again, they were confident peace would prevail, like always. In the late afternoon, before the sun could set, every resident of Hyrule bowed down in silent prayer for each of the sages. Link kept his promise to Zelda and did not venture to Hyrule Castle. He tried to hide his sad thoughts, in case she knew what he was thinking at the moment. When the sun set, he closed his eyes, trying not to think of the pain he was experiencing.
Meanwhile, the seven sages prepared to transport themselves into the dreadful world of the evil spirits. Before they made the travel, Zelda requested a moment to think of the world in peace for a clear mind and to keep a reasonable grip on reality. The last thing she thought of was her beloved, smiling at her with magnificent blue eyes. When the moment had passed, the seven sages pressed their powers together to produce a force nearly as strong as the Triforce itself. They transported to the dark world of the formerly trapped spirits.
"I understand that we must stick together," Ruto, the Zora princess, pointed out when they literally floated into the alternate world.
"Yes, it would be wisest. As sages, we are strongest when our powers are combined," Saria replied.
"We must travel to the ends of this universe, but we must do it together," Rauru tried to keep the group focused.
As they floated along in a tight pack, they passed the multiple copies of henchmen they had encountered before. A group of low flying keese tried to nick them with their sharp fangs, but missed by an angle. Skulltulas hissed at them as they dropped down from unseen webs. Deku scrubs spat deku nuts at the group from afar, but ducked down in their burrows when passing near. Poes appeared and reappeared, grinning with wickedness as they eyed the sages. ReDeads waited for a vacant back to jump on and suck the life energy out of, but the sages passed on without any additional passengers. A tektite leapt in front of Nabooru, and she almost attempted to attack when Impa held her back.
"Most creatures in this universe are illusions," Impa led Nabooru away. "They cannot hurt you."
"I sense that we are at the heart of this dark world," Rauru closed his eyes and appeared to be deeply concentrating.
"I can only wonder how much further we are to the end," Darunia glanced around with curious eyes.
The sages passed by another large section of potential attackers. Some of the sages almost felt compelled to attack, but they were casually reminded of the illusions in this part of the universe. They continued to travel through unbearable light conditions. Each sage developed an ominous instinct, but didn't think about turning back. Trying to return to the once peaceful world would be more dangerous than going ahead. Finally, they reached a point at which they considered the end. The path ahead appeared to be nothing but an ongoing horizon, but to an absolutely unseen path to nowhere. There, they noticed undistinguishable patches of smoke gathering to apparently form past enemies had been sealed up. The only recognizable and distinctive smoke structure appeared to be visible in the form of Ganondorf. The sages were amazed to find this horrible spirit still able to reconcile its original form. Zelda was the most shocked out of all of them; nightmares of this awful man flooded her mind without any mercy at all. She remembered the days when he posed as a trustee of the royal family, but only to use them on his greedy conquest for the Triforce. Zelda was the only one to protest against the validity of his friendship. Her mind then flashed with memories of the final battle between him and Link. She then remembered the final blow Link took to destroy his physical form.
She almost wanted to attack him personally, all by herself, but the other sages restrained her.
"No, it is far too dangerous to do so yourself!" Saria warned her.
"It is only a spirit. We will get to him later," Rauru told her.
"No, later is not soon enough!" Zelda thrust her hands in the air, summoning a great force that she apparently controlled with her fingertips.
Ganondorf winced at her slightly and pretended to be oblivious about her attempt to attack. She sent all of her remaining energy to him, but he stood calmly as if waiting for her attack. He finally put some defense into action, and set forth a powerful force field around him, deflecting the attack. The attack was sent directly back to her, and in other words, her own powers struck her down. Zelda collapsed upon impact, her attack being weak enough to twitch an enemy, but strong enough to hurt herself as well. Her eyes closed and her body froze in the moment of time. No scream was heard from the princess. Ganondorf glared down at the princess and he could be seen laughing
"Zelda!" Impa and the other sages cried out as they watched the princess fall into the mass of billowing black clouds.
The sages raced over to where they saw her fall, reaching deep into the dirtying black, only to find their hands covered in soot. They tried to shove the clouds aside, in hopes of finding her at the end of the soot pile, but the mass was never-ending and bottomless. It was possible that she could have slipped through the clouds and into an abyss of evil, but there was no way to find out for certain.
"This is a terrible thing to say, but – maybe the princess melted within the clouds, or maybe she is at the very intangible bottom and-" Darunia was running out of euphemisms.
The remaining sages sighed, knowing exactly what Darunia meant to mention, but could not put into the right words. The group fell into a silent grief for a long time, until Nabooru dared to speak.
"What are we supposed to tell the people back in Hyrule? Their dear princess accidentally slipped away while we ventured into the other realm? That will not be an agreeable reason to them," Nabooru thought of words of sympathy.
Rauru tried to think logically. "We can't return to Hyrule now, even out of respect for a member of the royal family. There are restless spirits reawakening to press vengeance. Also, there is no believable explanation regarding her body."
"They should at least be told about her…transition to another world," Ruto felt strapped for euphemism like Darunia.
"I think they will find out soon enough. The Goddesses already are well informed of this tragedy. They will report it to the right people," Saria assured her. (Note: Ever read/seen the Odyssey? Think of it this way. Athena has the ability to speak to and appear visible to anyone she wishes. The Goddesses have a similar power.) "For now, we will have to focus on eradicating both worlds of malicious threats of life."
The sages sighed deeply, but they knew she was right. With heavy hearts of sadness, they moved ahead in solemn silence.