Chapter 38: Ganondorf's Castle

"Maiku!" Zelda screamed out as Maiku began to tie the young woman's hands together as they stood on a piece of the outer gate to what used to be Hyrule Castle that lay outside of the dark castle of Ganondorf, "Please don't do this!"

"Relax…" he replied rather harshly, "I'm not going to kill you…. Well, not this moment." He concentrated on the bindings, "Your role in this is to lure Link here. I don't care if he kills Ganondorf here… he is useless anyway."

"Useless…?"

"Look at that, I've said too much already…" he tied the bindings harder, almost bruising the dainty wrists of Zelda, "I don't care what happens to him because he ruined my life seven years ago. Link is the pawn to my revenge."

"A pawn?"

"… Stupid blond…." He mumbled under his breath, "Are going to keep questioning me?"

"If I don't get any answers I will."

"Reluctant." He grabbed her wrists, leapt off the wall, and landed on a small ledge that was in front of a large doorway. They walked inside of the dark castle and traveled through various rooms on the way up the tower.

"Why are you doing this?"

"To prove that I am not as useless as many people think, I can do things just as well as they can. Stupid, weak little Maiku! You're a useless son-of-a-bitch! Do this, and that! Your art skills suck! You'll never succeed!! But now those people shall see what I am capable of and they will cower in fear that I will kill them!"

"But killing people because they looked down on you…"

"…. I don't know what I am becoming; I was never like this before. I really would've helped Link if I stayed human, if I wouldn't have put this mask on… I wouldn't have been on Ganondorf's side."

"Maiku…" she felt him let go of her wrist and saw him sit on a step, "…. I don't know what your intentions were when you put that mask on. But it seems that you recognize the error of your decisions." She sat next to him, "Can I just look at your face? Are you as handsome as you were seven years ago?"

He didn't reply and closed his eyes.

"Maiku, look at me."

"….."

"Please."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, "You are not the first woman to ask me to take off this mask. But I don't think it will be… a good thing to show you my face."

"Come on. You're just being shy."

He stood up and started to walk up the stairs, towards the creepy organ music that seemed to emerge from every stone that made up the walls.

"Maiku…"

He stopped and glanced back, "What do you want, Zelda?"

"I, um I really do want to see your face..."

"My face?  I don't want you to see my damn face.  Just come with me already."

"Maiku, what are you saying?"

He turned fully around; his eyes showed that he was clearly angered by her request "Look! I'm ugly!  I don't deserve to have anyone see me.  Between the seven long years of pure hell and the mask, I don't even look like something another person would want to be with or talk to, I look like a monster." She still was staring at him, "Well what are you looking at? Get the hell over to Ganondorf's Chamber and stop asking me questions already!  I'm no use to anyone."

"What are you saying?" she repeated in a concerned tone and stepped closer to him

"I know I'll be dead soon anyway.  Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.... It'll be easier if Link would just kill me now. But I guess the auction with Din, Farore, and Nayru as the sellers and Heaven & Hell as the bidders is going to make a nice profit off me, they want to keep me alive for a while longer.... I'll be worth more then." 

She started to approach him even more

He started to open a door in the wall seen only to him but he looked to his left, still seeing her "Are you still here?  I told you to go!  Are you deaf?!  Don't come back!" He put his head down and closed the door, staying on the landing, "Zelda....  Wait....  Please don't go.... Stay with me." She approached his cautiously and stood by his side, "Don't leave me alone.  I didn't mean what I said. Please Zelda.... Tell me I'll be okay. Tell me I'm not going to die. Help me... Please say that Link will destroy the Mask of Shadow before it fully takes over my body."

"I don't know it I can, Maiku." She placed both hands where the sides of his face as if she was going to kiss him but she pulled away, "Just let me see your face."

"I guess… just don't scream if it's too frightening."

"Okay, I promise."

"Good." He placed both hands to the side to the side of mask and removed it off of his face, Zelda gasped.

"You are becoming a walking Shadow …."

"Bongo Bongo said that I was a Shadow Demon and that he was friends with me." He placed the mask back on his face

"Oh Maiku…"

"Come on… let's continue." He grabbed her wrist once again and continued to walk up the stairs. After a while, they walked into the chamber. "Ganondorf, I have Zelda."

The organ music stopped suddenly, "It's about time…" Ganondorf replied, "You were supposed to get her as soon as possible and come back here."

"Yeah, that's what I did." He let go of Zelda's wrist, "I'm sorry if my method is not like yours." The door opened behind him and Link stepped into the room. Maiku noticed that the signs of the Triforce began to illuminate on Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf's hands. "The Triforce parts are resonating... They are combining into one again..." he mumbled to himself

"The two Triforce parts that I could not capture on that day seven years ago..." Ganondorf said with a growl, "I didn't expect they would be hidden within you two!" he laughed low and ominously, "And now, finally, all the Triforce parts have gathered here!" he turned to face Link, "These toys are too much for you!" he rose his fist to display the Triforce of Power, "I command you to return them to me!" He let out an angry growl and waves of darkness emerged from his body, trying to absorb Link's Triforce of Courage.

"Link!" Zelda screamed out as Maiku moved her out of the way

"No!" Maiku said only to her, "Don't throw your life away like this. He'll be okay."

"Link!" Navi screamed as she felt as though her body was being torn apart, "I can't help you! Because of the waves of darkness, I can't get close! I'm sorry, Link!"

"I… understand…. Navi…." Link replied as was panting for breath as the darkness was lifted off of him; he drew the Master Sword from its scabbard and ran at Ganondorf. He leapt up and thrust the blade into his skull, staining the blade with his blood. Ganondorf yelled out as the cold steel passed through his skull, his cries were silenced as he fell back, staining the hard stone crimson.

"Well…." Maiku replied, temporarily sane and shocked that Ganondorf was taken down so easily, "That was… quick. I always knew that Ganondorf was weak but damn…." The whole structure began to shake as if it were caught in the worst earthquake ever.

"Link, listen to me!" Zelda said, "This tower will collapse soon! With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of the tower! We need to hurry and escape! Please follow me!"

"He's still breathing after I skewered his head like that?" Link asked

"Guess so." Maiku said. He walked out, leaving Link and Zelda in the room.

"….Might as well take his advice. Huh?" he glanced to the ground and saw a dagger that Maiku probably dropped; he picked it up and ran out, followed by Zelda. After a while, he saw that Maiku was entering a room, he followed. Inside of the chamber, everything was burning. "Maiku?" he spotted him sitting on the bed, "Maiku!"

Maiku turned his head to look at Link, looking like a defenseless young man, "Oh…. it's you…." He said, not seeming to care that the room is on fire, "Thank you for saving me seven years ago...  But I wish you hadn't.  Even Koume and Kotake said it...  I deserved what happened..."

"No Maiku, that's wrong!"

"No.  Don't pity me.  I'm not worth it...." he lowered his head, the tone of his voice suddenly changed from depressed to hope, "Or maybe you think you can save me?" Neither Link nor Zelda replied. "That's what I thought." He eyed the dagger he dropped in Ganondorf's chamber, "Link… Give me back that dagger."

He got up off the bed, walked to Link and reached his hand out towards him

"No... I, I won't."

"Saving it for yourself, Link?" He began to walk back to his bed,

"Me?  No...  I'd never kill myself...." he looked around, Maiku began to lie on the bed,

"Reconsider what you're about to do Maiku."

"No, my further living would just continue my agony… I have started the agony ever since I first put the mask on. There's no hope for me now. Just go…"

"Are you sure that you really want it like this?"

"Positive."

"Alright." He began to walk out the room, "Well, see you later."

"Yeah… see you…"

Link and Zelda walked out of his room, "We must not dwell on this, Link." Zelda said, "He said it's what he wanted. He was suffering."

"I know that Zelda but…. I just don't want to face it." They ran out of the tower and escaped just as it collapsed.