Sorry about not updating for a while. With FFN being down, I got into other things for a while. But I'm back now.
Link ran through the streets of the governmental district. Up head the Temple of Time loomed large in his mind and in his vision. Keith's last words stuck in his head. "Destroy the bastard! Or prepare to die trying." He had every intention of doing just that. 'Ganondorf killed my best friend and kidnapped my other one. I am definitely going to kill him.' Link raced up the steps of the temple. Running down the central corridor, his footsteps echoing throughout the entire building, his mind became focused to a point.
Link finally reached the pedestal where he had pulled the Master Sword from. The window above was still shattered and dark. "Sages, I've returned!" He called out. For a moment, he thought that nothing was going to happen. But then a beam of blue light emerged from the ceiling, pulling Link upward. When he next opened his eyes, he was standing back in the Chamber of Sages. In a blink of an eye, the six sages appeared. "Ah, Link, I assume that you have the hilt of the Master Sword?" Rauru asked.
"Right here." Link answered, pulling it out of his knapsack. "Good. Now, remove the blade and hold both pieces out in your hands, the hilt in your left." He quickly complied, letting the Mirror Shield stay on the ground. The six sages held up their hands and began to speak out loud ancient words of magic. Link watched as both parts were enveloped in a bright light. Turning only for a moment to pickup the shield from where it lied on the ground, he saw both pieces come together in a brilliant beam. Shielding his eyes, he felt himself moving upward through the air.
When Link next opened his eyes, he was back in the Chamber of the Master Sword. In front of him, resting once more in its pedestal, was the Master Sword, whole at long last. Walking up to it, he placed his left hand on the hilt and pulled it out. At once, Link felt a connection with the sword. If he was sure of anything right then, he was sure of this. 'It's mine. This sword is mine.' With unpracticed fluid movement, he put the sword back into its sheath and ran out of the building.
Hanging a right onto Main Street, he ran towards Ganondorf's castle. As Link climbed the dirt road, he realized with a great horror just how impossible the odds were that he was facing. Looking over the edge of the newly formed cliff, he could feel the intense heat that the lava below was throwing off. 'This is just great. Now how the hell am I to get from here to there?' Link thought. In a reply to his question, he heard Rauru's voice in his head.
"Link, I am communicating with you telepathically from through the void. We sages will combine our powers and make a bridge for you to cross. We know that you will defeat Ganondorf." With that statement, a bright light appeared in front of Link. The light then broke into the seven colors of the rainbow, and formed a bridge between the outcrop that he now stood upon and the entrance to the keep. 'This is unbelievable.'
Link carefully put his foot on the bridge. First to test if it was real, then to see if it would support his weight. Grinning, he ran the span of the bridge and into the castle. The walls were seemingly made out of obsidian slabs torn from the earth. A red carpet lined the center of the hall, almost welcoming those brave and resourceful enough to enter. The hall was lit by torches hanging on the wall.
Link ran down the stairs, ignoring the evil permeated the space around him. The two beamos that served as guardians to the keep spotted him and began to charge up their magically created lasers. The beams sliced through the air, heating the area around them. Link simply rolled underneath the converging beams and continued onward. The door ahead slid open, also apparently welcoming him. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, it slammed shut behind him. The beamos detected his departure and ceased their laser beams.
Link looked at the room he was in. There were several doors that could be seen, each of them with a symbol of one of the sages above it. In the center was a single doorway, designed to appear like the mouth of a skull. 'That has to be the one that leads to Ganondorf.' Link went over the bridge and into the skull's mouth. The path became dark only for a moment, then brightened to reveal a large room with a set of stairs to his left, leading upwards. Above he could hear the fluttering of bats, and… music?
Looking up, Link strained his ears to catch more of the music. 'Sounds like an organ or something.' Shaking his head, he drew his sword and shield and ran up the stairs. The doors ahead of him opened up as soon as he stepped in front of them, again quickly closing as soon as he stepped through. Link ran across the room to the door up ahead, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of two Staflos. The skeleton warriors laughed at him, jeering because of his youth and inexperience.
Link simply raised his shield in front of him. 'Time to test this baby out.' He thought, raising the Master Sword high. The Staflos responded by putting up their shields and starting to circle him. He charged the one on the left, swinging his sword in an arc. The skeleton simply blocked with its own sword, jarring Link's arm. Laughing, the monster raised its sword for a blow. He saw an opportunity to strike and took, bringing up his sword in an underhand stroke. The Staflos was not expecting this and was forced to stop its attack, leaping backwards with a grunt.
Putting his shield back up, Link cautiously stepped up to his opponent again. This time however, the skeleton jumped forward with its sword out stretched. It thought that it had the boy, but he quickly slid to the left and avoided to blow. Link sliced his sword down upon the exposed Staflos, severing its head and killing it. He watched as it moaned once, then disintegrated. Grinning, he turned around to face the other one.
The other Staflos had been watching and learning. Confidant that it knew Link's battle style, it laughed and moved forward. It swung its sword down, knowing that the youth would put his shield up there to block. And he did, leaving him open to its attack. Link felt the skeleton's foot slam into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground, gasping for air. 'Ohshitohshitohshit.' His mind began racing, desperately trying to find a way out of the situation. The Staflos laughed, as it raised its sword for the killing blow. The sword fell. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"
Link gripped his right arm tightly where the Staflos had sliced it. He had rolled away just in time to avoid getting impaled by the thing's sword. "You son of a BITCH!!!" He grabbed his sword from where it had fallen and charged the skeleton. Link took it by surprise and managed to take its head off in one swift stroke. He fell to ground, breathing heavily, his arm still bleeding. 'Now to take care of this cut.' Ripping his sleeves off at the shoulders he managed to turn them into a makeshift bandage with a one to spare. Picking up the shield from where it lied on the ground, he continued onward.
The music started to get louder as he climbed the tower. Link came across two rooms identical to the one that he fought the Staflos in. He was currently stuck at the second one, a set of bars blocking the way. Banging on them, he began to get angry and frustrated. "Great, now how am I going to go forward?" Link said out loud to no one. Just then, all of the torches in the room went out at the same time. "Now this is just PERFECT!" Then the torches relight again instantly. "That was weird. Hey, what the…?" The shadows in the room started coming together.
An eerie feeling crept up Link's back. He drew his sword and shield, ready to defend himself. The shadows became a black blob in the center of the room. For a minute it stayed like that, only drawing more shadows into itself. Then it began to change. Link's mouth opened up as he watched the shadow begin to rise and take form. The figure was his size and height, a sword and shield formed onto its back. Its glowing red eyes opened. "Goddesses…" He said unconsciously. The figure standing before him was none other than a new version of Dark Link.
Link saw his doppelganger grin as it drew its own sword and shield. He cautiously walked to his twin, their eyes locked. 'How in the world can I beat myself??' He wondered as he waited for his opponent to make a move. They started circling each as soon they were within swords reach of each other. Link struck the first blow, swinging his sword from the left. To his complete surprise, his dark self did the same. Both of them brought their shields up to block the others blow.
Link's shield shook from the force of the strike, causing him to hiss in pain. "In case you're wondering, we are linked together in body. Ever step you take so will I." Dark Link said, surprising his alter ego. 'Oh, crap. This is not good. Now I'm even worse off.' Link tried to bash him with his shield, but his counterpart did exactly the same. "Give it up. You can't win. I have more combat experience then you could ever have." "SHUT UP!!" With a cry, he raised his sword and charged.
If anyone was watching, they would've barely been able to keep track of the two fighters. Neither one could gain an advantage over the over. Their swords came together at perfect angles, sending sparks to the ground. Every time Link felt his shield shake, his arm would send a fresh wave of pain, causing him curse. During that time, he somehow began to wonder how he knew how to fight so well. He had never had anything more serious then the occasional school yard scuffle. After fifteen minutes of continued fighting, they were both panting, swords crossed and faces just half a foot from each other.
"I give you credit. I have not had a battle this long for a looong time. But alas, all good things must come to an end." Dark Link said, still grinning. Link suddenly got an idea. It would be a very big gamble and the chances of it not paying off were high, but it seemed to be the only way. He brought his head forward in an attempt to head-butt him. Just as Link expected, his dark self did the same exact thing. Both of them were stunned and disoriented. 'NOW.' He stabbed his sword forward, hoping that, against all odds, it'd something. It did.
Dark Link let out a gasp as he felt the sword slice through his chest. Disbelief covered his face as he looked as his opponent. He choked as the sword was pulled free; no blood emerged from the gash. He dropped his own sword and shield as he fell to his knees. 'You have failed me for the last time! Now you will be no more!' Ganondorf's voice resounded in Dark Link's head. "No…" He croaked as he felt his body start to dissipate. "NNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!" His dying wail echoed throughout the castle.
Link collapsed against the wall breathing heavy. 'I won… I really won.' He looked over his weapons. The Master Sword was still as flawless as ever with no sigh of warping in the iron blade. The Mirror Shield had several scratches on the surface. Grunting, Link pulled himself off of the ground and put his weapons away. After dusting his jeans and green shirt off, he exited to now open door. 'This shit is too much for me. I'm only seventeen years old; I shouldn't have to do this.'
He shook his head to clear it of thoughts and immediately regretted. Link put his hand to his brow as the headache settled in. 'I'm going to have to take some aspirin when I get out of here.' He went through another nearby door and found himself at the foot of a giant staircase. Link ran up, knowing that at the top waited Ganondorf. The organ's music got louder as he climbed the stairs. He also wondered if it was an illusion that the room got brighter as he went higher. At last he reached the top. All doubt tossed aside, he opened the final door.