Chapter 6: The Battle for Hyrule
« Lon-Lon Ranch: Early Morning »

Link awoke with a start. Groggily, Link looked around to get his bearings. Beneath him was a pile of straw and an old torn blanket. Slowly the images of last night's happenings started to drift back to him. Link had told the General of the Hyrule army everything. Everything since the ... well, since he had started living at Zora's Domain. After hearing the story, the General had agreed to aid Link in his fight against Espejo. Now that Link had the army of Hyrule under his command he co0uld at least hold off the undead army for at least a little while. Hearing the faint closing of a door, Link looked up from the wooden floor. He was inside Malon's house and she was already making breakfast. Staring up at the stairwell, Link saw Talon walking down the stair.

"Mmmmmm. Smells delicious as always Malon. You are the best cook I know."

"I'm the only cook you know, Daddy" Malon said with a giggle.

Looking down at Link, Talon realized he was awake.

"Please, Link, come and have breakfast with us."

The rumblings of his stomach told Link it was probably a good idea to accept, and so he did. As Link sat down, Malon scraped a heaping amount of eggs onto a Plate before Link. Grabbing a fork, link soon found he was ravenous and devoured the entire plate, ready for seconds.

Suddenly the door burst open with a shout. It was Ruto, and she was clad in full Zora Armor. At first Link thought it was iron armor until he got a closer look at it. The Armor was made up of thousands of tiny scales that shimmered and shined as Ruto moved about. It didn't appear to be very strong, but knowing this was a Princess, he knew it was probably the finest armor a Zora could wear.

"Link, we have urgent news. I managed to convince my father to give me control of his army, Already we're amassing in camps outside of the ranch. But that's just the good news. The bad news is that we saw hundreds if not thousands of undead approaching the camps from out of the Market. They'll be upon us is an hour or two. What do you suggest?" said Ruto.

"I suggest" Link said after swallowing another mouthful of eggs, "I suggest we attack at dawn. Gather all the officers. We'll need all the help we can get. Do you have a messenger?"

"Of course, I'll go fetch him." Closing the door behind her, Link could hear the soft plop of her feet as she ran to get her messenger. "Well, I guess I better leave. Thank you so much again Malon."

"It was my pleasure, Link. Please drop by again soon. I'll think of you until then."

"Until then Malon" and with that, Link ran out the door to follow Ruto.

« Hyrule Field, Officer's Camp: Early Morning »

Arriving at the officer's tent, Link found Ruto had already gathered all of the officers, both Zora and Hyrulian. He was pleased to find he wouldn't have to do any of the searching himself. Drawing up to an old wooden table covered with maps and left over bits of food, Link saluted the generals.

"Link, we have undead approaching from the northern side. We must attack soon if we are to hold them off. What do you suggest?" said one general.

"How many archers do you have?"

"Thirteen hundred, plus another hundred expert boomerang men."

"That's fourteen hundred. Ruto? How man Zorian Blades men do you have?"

"Seven hundred blades men, four hundred Marksmen, and nineteen hundred warriors."

"That makes twenty one hundred defensive soldiers. It'll have to do for now. Ruto, generals, form a division of your finest soldiers to the battlefront. We attack on my go."

Running out of the tent, Link wondered were Saria was. Surely it wouldn't have taken her so long to get the help of the Gorons? No matter. He would have to deal with the matters at hand. He could only hope Saria would get help in time.

« Hyrule Field, Battlefront: Dawn »

Armies of bloody, decaying, and diseased undead scored the field. Still more were pouring from the castle gate. From a guess, Link thought there were at least twelve hundred stalfos, three hundred stalchildren, and an uncountable number of redead. It was a lost hope, but at least they were going to go with a fight. Calling Epona, Link saddled up on her and rode to the front of the army that was assembling on top of the hill. Behind him stood the finest of the Hyrule and Zora Army. Armor clanked against armor, Scales shimmered in the early morning light, and hands holstered swords ready to be drawn. And still over all the commotion Link could still hear the horrible moan of the redead. Raising his sword, the Master Sword, over his head, Link prepared to shout the words that would seal the fate of a thousand men and more.

"CHARGE!!!!!!" link screamed and even as he said the words men flew past him notching arrows and drawing swords. Link watched from the hillside as the armies collided instantly killing hundred on either side. While the undead had the ability to keep going, even after several part of their bodies were hacked away, the Army of Link had intelligence and science at their disposal. Yelling the command, Thousands of arrows rained down on the army of undead, already viciously striking at their attackers. Though the arrows had little effect, it did serve to slow down or cripple the undead. Suddenly a scream filled the air. At first Link thought it was his army, screaming a war cry for victory. But soon his blood chilled to the bone. Out of the castle that stood where the Temple of Time one did, few tens on thousands of Keesh. Screaming, swooping, flying, Like a black cloud of death and destruction, the blanket Keesh flew straight at the army of Hyrulians and tore them to bits. Claws and Fangs sliced at the men's armor and skin. Mystic spells on some of the Keesh instantly froze or incinerated men that they touched, giving them the name fire and ice Keesh. It looked grim for Links army. Already more than half were injured or dead, and the redead army was still coming, ripping, hacking, and slicing away at the army. Link watched as a stalfos descended upon one soldier and sliced him clean in two with its sword. Tasting the blood as it poured over its sword. Screaming over the screams of agony of the soldiers, Link commanded for the second assault. Thousands of Zoras marched forward, Scimitars and Blades drawn. Drawing back, the Zora's released a barrage of missiles as their fins sliced gracefully and deadly through the air. Link watched in amazement as the fins cut down nearly the entire Keesh army then soared back to their owned much like a boomerang. As soon as all fins returned, The army rushed forward into the bloody battlefield. Much more agile than the Hyrulians, the Zora army easily dodged the stabs and slices of the stalfos huge swords and the redead's grasping claws. But as much as they fought against the scourge, they couldn't fight off the stalchildren. Leaping up, the stalchildren would clasp onto its enemy and rip and gnaw at the person, chewing away at flesh, guts, and bone. The stalchildren wouldn't release its prey until it was dead. Sometimes a Stalchild would even forget about the battle and start eating at its prize. Though the combined armies has fought off nearly two thirds of the undead army, more were being reborn from the dead bodies of the soldiers, and still more remained from the original army. Just as all looked grim and hopeless, Link felt the ground shake beneath Epona. Thinking it was just the armies dueling, he watched in horror still as the undead continued to rip apart his armies. Looking over his shoulder, Link saw Ruto shouting to the remaining Zora soldiers. Then something caught his eye. Behind Ruto, something was moving. And as it moved, it picked up speed. Link knew it could be only one thing. Just as he was about to shout to the remaining armies of reinforcements, the gargantuan head of BigGoron, a goron easily the size of ten Hyrulians, peaked over the head of the Cliffside. Climbing over it like it was a small hedge-fence, the Goron immediately stared to attack the undead. Each swipe of his mighty hands took out hoards of the undead army. Still arriving onto the scene were more gorons. Their rock-hide skin providing protection as they literally rolled onto the scene. Knocking over stalfos and redead, they rolled through the army as if it were a bunch of bowling pins and they were the bowling ball. Link watch in amazement as a stalfos sword bounced off the back of a goron, just before the goron delivered a powerful blow to the stalfos, sending it flying into the castle walls, causing it to crumble on contact. The tides of battle were turned. Fleeing before the Hyrulian army of Link, the redead dug back into the ground, never to return. Stalfos tried to flee back to their master's castle, but were caught at the gate and destroyed. Only a few of the undead remained, and they were desperately trying to find a way to escape. Picking up one redead, BigGoron crushed it between his fingers, causing the redead to crumble like a deflated ball. Thanks to the quick action of Link, Ruto, and Saria and the bravery of the Zoras, Gorons and Hyrulians, the battle was won. But the evil of Espejo still reigned. And for Link, Ruto, and Saria, the battle had only begun.