Chapter Fourteen: The Gathering
The next night was darker than usual, save for the small light visible through the clouds. It was about the size of the sun. However the real sun was shrouded in darkness by the ominous clouds that covered all of Hyrule. This light was the celestial star that Charantanatah was gaining strength from. It had finally reached the solar system, and it was drawing dreadfully close to the planet. Fierce deity Link stood on the hill, as he had been for the past week. His focus never wavered. In the distance three figures approached from afar. They walked confidently as they approached Link head on. The closer they got, the more the three figures separated. One went farther out towards the left, the other towards the right, and the one in the middle kept straight on. Off to the side, out of the view of the three challengers, princess Zelda materialized under a tree. She had the master sword; the mirror shield, the rod of enrichment, and the crystal shard Saria had given to her for her to use to summon the sages. She waited under the tree. Her pulse was pounding; she was ready to die, if necessary
"Wow Zelda, you're all decked out for battle." whispered Mema Zelda watched intensely.
"The marshal paladins. They've finally decided to engage Link." said Zelda motioning towards the conflict about to escalate.
"Shouldn't you stop this? What if they kill him before we get the chance too-"
"They won't kill him. They aren't powerful enough. But they may buy us enough time to summon the sages."
"Are you strong enough Zelda?" Zelda was silent for a moment.
"Not even close." she said. "Mema, I want you to stay here. When Link defeats the paladins, he will want to fight me next, I don't want you getting hurt."
"But Zelda, we're a team! And besides, if the ceremony works, you wont have to fight him."
"It won't work." Zelda stated grimly.
"Huh? You're kidding! After all the trouble we went through to call the sages, you're telling me it won't work? How do you know?" Zelda was quiet once again.
"It won't work. And I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."
"You know something Zelda! I sensed it the other day! What do you know? Huh? Tell me!"
"Shh. its beginning." hushed Zelda as she pointed to the paladins who were in position.
The paladins consisted of three well-trained soldiers. Each one was large and well groomed. They each had a different weapon that was the same size as they were. Zelda recognized The giant mace that the paladin with dark hair on the right was using. The paladin on the left was a bit older than the others. He had a beard unlike the other two. He wielded a giant battle-ax, much like that used by Iron Knuckle.
The leader, in the middle, was the one who attacked Zelda the day before. He had short cut, blonde hair and he wielded a huge steel broadsword. The leader spoke first.
"Link of the Fierce Deity! I am Rukon of the marshal paladins, secret royal military to the king!"
"And I am Surkon!" shouted the man with the mace.
"And I Durkon!" shouted the red haired man with the ax.
"I have come to force you, by order of the king, to cease and desist any and all celestial activity, and to relinquish the mask of the deity, Charantanatah. You will be tried for your crimes against the King in the royal court of Hyrule! Should you resist we will execute you without trial! What say you?" Link still maintained his stance. He stared ahead for a long time. As if he were letting the strong wind answer for him. "What say you?!" repeated Rukon with anger. Link suddenly looked to the far left passed Durkon, right at Princess Zelda. Zelda met his gaze as their eyes locked together in a struggle that seemingly lasted an eternity. Link then faced ahead again with disdain. He discreetly lifted his sword slightly and then popped the tip back into the ground where it was. As the tip touched the ground it sent out a pulse wave of great power, sending the marshal paladins to the ground with ease. Rukon was the first to recover as he swung his broad sword at Link unleashing a blast of magic energy. Link looked straight ahead as usual, not noticing the blast of power soaring towards him. Just before the attack touched him, he vanished. "What?!" shouted Rukon in disbelief. He turned around to see Link standing behind him with an expressionless look on his face. Link popped Rukon in the face sending him skidding thirty feet across the ground. Zelda gulped hard. The other two paladins hopped over their skidding comrade towards Link with their weapons brandished high in the air. As Durkon landed he hacked and slashed with a spinning back slash combo. Link, with his arms crossed sidestepped each attack, easily avoiding them. Durkon finished his combo with a straight thrust that Link dodged by spinning around, finishing it with a back fist to the head that sent Durkon down. On that technique Link also happened to turn right into a hard thrust to the stomach from Surkon's mace. It staggered Link a bit though his face remained emotionless. Surkon wasted no time in following the attack up with a spinning mace attack that bashed Link across the side of the head, also staggering him only slightly, and his face remained expressionless. Surkon finished off the combo with another swing to the head that Link caught in mid swing. Surkon compensated with an immediate eye blast of power that Link caught with his other hand. He then took that hand and punched Surkon in the stomach hard. Surkon's feet came off the ground, as the ground cracked underneath him from the sheer force of Link's attack. Surkon lost all of his air and about a pint of blood through his nose and mouth. Link finished him off with a sharp front kick that sent blood, teeth, and Surkon soaring through the air about forty-to-fifty feet up. Surkon landed with a hard crunch some ten feet behind the tree princess Zelda was watching from. Then Rukon attacked again. He charged Link with a war cry and swung his sword at Link. Link turned and easily smacked the massive blade out of Rukon's hands. Rukon didn't pause for a second; he continued to advance with a complicated combination of assorted punches, kicks and open hand strikes.
Link met, blocked or dodged each maneuver with impeccable skill. The exchange lasted for briefly ten to twelve seconds before Link decided to take the upper hand. He then, seemingly had every attack blocked and countered before Rukon could throw it. He finished his combo with a brutal arm lock submission hold. Only Link wasn't seeking surrender, he applied extreme pressure crunching Rukon's arm to pieces and then twisted it into other positions to compound the injury even further. Just as soon as he finished torturing Rukon and finished him off with an open hand chop to the back of the head that sent him into the ground with such force he left an imprint in the ground. Then Link, without looking put a sharp sidekick into the lunging Durkon with such force it sounded like a bomb exploding. Link's motions were so fast his victims seemed to be falling through the air in slow motion. Link's sidekick to Durkon's midsection sent him instantly flying backwards in the opposite direction, breaking a few bones in the process. But Link, even faster still, caught Durkon before he could fly away then turned towards him and put his hand over Durkon's stomach and unleashed a blast of energy that blew Durkon in half. His expression was one of casual indifference.
Zelda gasped in horror. "Y-you were right Zelda! He...he's killing the paladins! They never had a chance! This is horrible!"
"Depending on how you look at it..." said Zelda with a heartless tone.
"What? How can you say that?"
"These men, the marshal paladins, are evil and ruthless. They hurt the people they come into contact with. They're simply skilled marauders who can pillage and rape under the authority of the king. They've had this coming for a long time." she said with cold, squinting eyes.
"I...I didn't know..." said Mema. Link stood up straight and didn't move for a long time. The smoke cleared and Link stood motionless.
"Now!" said Zelda as she stood up. She held the crystal shard high in the air. Link returned to his original standing place where his sword rested. "Sages! Hear my call! Gather together here before me! We must unite our powers to rid this artifact of all that dwells within it!" the six sages' astro forms materialized in a circle, surrounding Link. Link faced ahead, but instead of looking at nothing, he was fixated on Zelda, who stood before him holding up the crystal shard. His expression was one of anger. Zelda concentrated on calling forth the sages and blocked out any uncomfortable feelings Link's eyes gave her. Each sage began to chant a ritual spell. They each began to glow their own respective color. The energy auras that they produced began to creep out towards Link. They all consumed him as Link began to glow a mix of colors. He closed his eyes and concentrated as the spell cast on him by all six sages took effect. He then opened his eyes directly at Zelda, and smiled. His eyes glowed and he shot a blast of power from them that shattered the crystal shard. All the sages cried out as their astral forms vanished.
"Oh no!" shouted Mema. Zelda looked at Link, knowing the time to fight was at hand. She looked at him with anger. She knew he would do something to stop the ceremony. Link looked at Zelda with contemplative doubt. They stared at each other for along time.
"I'll give you one more chance." Said Zelda, knowing Link would refuse to surrender. Link simply smiled as he lowered his head and lifted his blade up into the air. Zelda closed her eyes in disappointment and reluctantly drew the master sword and the mirror shield. "We don't have to do this." She pleaded as she took her stance. Link stiffened his bottom lip and took his stance.
"Shall we begin?" he calmly asked. He seemed as though he almost didn't want to fight either. Yet Zelda was the final challenge that stood between him and the war of the gods. The wind blew ominously as they looked at each other. Zelda swallowed hard and braced herself for the great battle that was only a few tense seconds away.
Link lowered his center and began to scream as energy surrounded him. Zelda drew back in surprise. "What's he doing?" she asked herself. Suddenly, a crash of lightning shot down from the faint star that hovered over the planet. "He's drawing strength form the star! He's powering up!" Zelda began to breathe faster. She saw what Link did to the marshal paladins without even trying, and now he was going to use his full power on her. She waited to be wiped out in a flash. Link stopped screaming and stood up as a dark aura surrounded him. Zelda paused for a moment then decided to go down fighting. She unleashed the goron flame attack. Link's eyes shifted to his feet as a huge pillar of flame erupted up from the ground. This pillar of flame was massive compared to the one she used in the chamber of truth. And then she used it at full power. Right after she cast the spell, she jumped backwards, knowing that it wouldn't slow him down. As soon as she leapt backwards, Link emerged from the fire with a mighty scream. He swung his sword with power and speed for a precision strike. Zelda braced herself and countered with another precision strike with the master sword. Link had a steady glare of anger on his face, identical to Zelda, who was hiding her emotions from the battle. They pushed against one another in a lock for a moment, and they both pulled back and collided with a dizzying array of expert sword maneuvers. Zelda concentrated on the fight and not her fear, knowing that should Link's sword even slightly knick her, it would mean death or dismemberment. She was fighting a god.
Link changed up his tactics as amongst his complex sword combinations, he dealt a sharp punch right to Zelda's face. Zelda barely saw it in time. She dodged to the side, barely missing the fist and then she countered with a sidekick to the ribs. Her kick did nothing to faze Link. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her forward, right into an upper cut that she still tried to dodge. Link caught a piece of her, and it was still enough to launch Zelda into the air.
"No!" shouted Mema who watched the fight in horror. Zelda maintained her center as she flew. She grimaced in pain but refused to cry aloud. She landed on her feet, a little unsteady, and she took up her stance. Link drew back and swung his sword unleashing a disc of energy. Zelda dropped her center and braced for impact. The powerful disc collided with the mirror shield. The shield did not reflect the attack, but it did not penetrate the shield. Zelda held her ground as it pushed her backwards. She whimpered slightly as she struggled to force back the disc. She screamed and pushed back; stopping her skidding and forcing the disc back at Link. Link watched in disdain as the disc flew back to him. He vanished before the disc hit him, and reappeared behind Zelda. He swung down with his sword at Zelda's head. Zelda instinctively teleported out of the way and ended up behind Link and took a swing at his midsection with the master sword, catching a piece of him. The master sword was able to penetrate Link's armor. Link barely flinched as Zelda drew blood. But he was irritated that she was able to ambush him from behind using one of his own tactics. He was amazed at how challenging she was.
Link countered with a back fist that caught Zelda off guard. It hurt her bad, but she forced the pain down and recovered before she hit the ground. As soon as she hit the ground she leapt out of the way of a blast of power that Link fired to follow up with. She jumped from side to side narrowly missing his power blasts. She held up the mirror shield and reflected the shots back, though she wasn't able to aim them anywhere near Link. She launched a sneak attack against Link by using the goron flame attack one more time, this time catching him off guard. A pillar of flame erupted form beneath Links feet and scorched him. He jumped back wards, away from the flame and barely saw Zelda slashing down with the master sword in time. He narrowly avoided it and countered with a sweep kick. Zelda dropped her weapons as she went down. She hit the ground rolling, as her strategy was to be moving at all times. She rolled onto her feet right into the clutches of Link who was already there waiting for her. She marveled at his inhuman speed. He grabbed her in a bear hug fashion squeezing her. She screamed in pain and to Links surprise, administered a head but. Link then tipped her back in a suplex and Zelda splashed against the ground. Link looked about in confusion. The water crept around his neck and body and took the shape of princess Zelda, who now had Link in a headlock. "Okay, that's a new one." Link begrudgingly admitted to himself. Zelda pulled him down to the ground but as they came down, Link reversed the hold and plunged Zelda towards the ground yet again. Just before she hit the ground, she vanished in a flash of green light. She materialized above Link, and kicked the back of his head, driving his face into the ground hard. She then teleported over to where her weapons lay. As her hands touched her sword, Link grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the air.
Rukon, slowly staggered to his feet, he was badly injured and was bewildered as to where he was. Link turned to see the dying Rukon stumble about like a zombie and raised his hand to shoot a blast of power at him and finish him off. Rukon was saved by the resilient Princess Zelda who knocked Link down with a shoulder tackle. "No!" she shouted. The two tumbled like lovers over the grass. Zelda wished it was a sunny day, and that she and Link were playfully rolling on the grass in love.
"You would save that man who would have surely killed you or worse had he had his way?" asked Link
"That's what Link would have done." She said as she struggled with the fierce deity. He grabbed her by the scruff of her hood and punched her right in the face. She couldn't recover this time and she hit the ground face first and bounced. She slowly stood up, bleeding, huffing and puffing. And Link stood before her with his arms crossed. She looked at him through a squinted eye and he smiled and motioned for her to continue her pathetic assault. Zelda screamed and powered up the gerudo spirit attack and lunged forward with a savage fire. Link smiled as Zelda fought furiously using her best Shiekan combat moves. No matter how hard and fast she struck, Link could see and catch every move while he laughed with glee.
"Well Zelda, I must admit, you are amazing! Never did I think you could have gotten this strong! And the glowing aura! I love it!" he mocked. Zelda pushed harder and harder and finally she caught a solid hit. She did absolutely no physical damage whatsoever. Yet, Link was frozen, his face was contorted in pain and shock. Zelda froze too. At that instant, she could feel the two presences inside Links body. She quickly followed up with another attack that did little as far as physical damage, but Link screamed in pain as she could feel the two entities that were so tightly intertwined begin to loosen. She punched him in the stomach, and Link recoiled as if real damage was happening, but Zelda could feel something losing its grip on something else inside him. She punched and punched and punched until she had finally separated the entities into two separate beings.
Link clutched his skull as he stumbled backwards screaming. "What have you done to me?!" Zelda looked at her fists in surprise. She never thought she could last as long as she did. "What have you done?!" he screamed. She took compassion on his pain.
"L-Link?" she asked. To her disbelief Link looked up at her confused.
"Z-Zelda? What-AAARRRR!" he screamed as he grabbed his head and began to hit it against the ground. He then looked back up at her from the ground with anger. "You bitch! You dirty little-AAAA!" Link grabbed his head and continued to flop around on the ground. He looked back up at Zelda again with eyes of sorrow and pain. "Zelda! I-AARRR-Please!" he said as he reached out to her. Her eyes widened as she realized it was the real Link reaching out to her.
"LINK!" she cried out. Thrashing about on the ground he vanished and reappeared right in front of her, startling her. He backhanded her hard, sending her to the ground as she cried out in pain. "Link! Please! Please stop!" she said as she backed away from him in fear.
"Just who the hell do you think you are woman?" he growled as he kicked her in the ribs.
"Link please don't do this!" she said as she started to cry. Link scowled at her and held up his hand to gather energy to finish her off with. Zelda leapt up and embraced him catching him off guard.
"Please Link!" she whispered with her head tucked into his chest. "I know you care about me..." Link stopped gathering energy and stared straight ahead in confusion.
"I-I...you," Link lost the internal struggle and backhanded the princess once again. Zelda struggled to stand. Link continued to advance; she turned around once again and fell on Link's chest in tears.
"I know you have feelings for me..." she whispered. Link was frozen. His face slowly began to grimace as he battled the inner demon that poisoned his mind.
"Zelda? I..." he said. He grabbed her and pulled her off of her chest, squeezing her arms hard enough to make her cry out in pain. "I'm going to kill you...you..." Link struggled as he looked into Zelda's crying eyes that begged him for mercy. Her eyes and words started to stir Link's heart. "I-I cant do it, I...I'll kill you dirty little...No! She-Zelda? Die bitch! No!" Zelda started to go limp in Link's hands.
"Please, Link. Don't kill me...I...I love you." She begged. Link stopped and looked with shock.
"Wh-wh...what?" Zelda forced a weak smile through the pain and tears.
"I love you Link." Link let go of her arms and backed away.
"I can't-I can't..." Zelda slumped to the ground as she watched Link battle Charantanatah for control of his body. "Get out of my head! You-you- AAAARRR!" he shouted as he clutched his head and fell to his knees. Zelda reached her hand out to him. "Zelda!!" he shouted to her in a panic. "Zelda gi-AAAA! Run woman! Run for your li-HHUURRAAA! Zelda! Please the...sword! Give me the...Die Zelda I'll kill you! You'll never love any-UUNNNN-Hurry the master...AARRR!" Zelda looked at Link unable to make sense out of his babbling. She saw him reaching for the master sword when he was in control.
"The...Master...Sword?" Zelda picked it up as Link held out his hand and begged for the legendary sword. She hesitated.
"Don't do it Zelda!" Shouted Mema from afar. "He's trying to trick you! If you give him the master sword, it'll be the end of us all!" she shouted. Zelda looked back at Link squirming on the ground. His soul playing tug of war for control of his mind and body. She saw his eyes as he reached for the blade. She remembered what happened in the chamber of truth. But there was something about Link's eyes that she trusted without question. She held her breath and threw him the sword. She didn't know what he wanted it for. But she could never deprive him of anything. She heard herself confess her love for him, and she would do anything for Link, even die.
Link smiled as he reached out and caught the sword by the handle and as his hand touched it, lightning struck him and he screamed an awful scream of pain. The lightning held fast and continued to damage him but Link, through the pain held on to the sword. He grabbed it with both hands determined not to let go as his screams got louder and louder. Finally, there was a blinding flash of light accompanied by a loud exploding sound. When Zelda looked up, she saw Link fall backwards, and the mask fell to the ground. Zelda smiled and limped over to Link, who lay unconscious on the ground from the shock of separation. Mema raced to be by Zelda's side, who raced to be by Link's side.
"He knew." Zelda said, unable to contain herself. "He knew all along what he was doing. He knew that one who was evil could never touch the sword. So by holding on to the sword, the mask was forced to separate from him. She knelt down and embraced Link. She held onto him and wouldn't let go for anything. "I love you Link." she said wistfully.
"Hey Zelda, how come the clouds aren't disappearing?" asked Mema who noticed the weather became increasingly more dangerous. Zelda looked up from her dreamy moment of bliss.
"Hmm?" Thunder began to rumble, the wind picked up, lightning cut scars across the skies. The two looked around trying to find the cause of the disturbance. Suddenly the clouds opened up and the celestial star descended upon the surface. The fierce deity mask levitated off the ground and Zelda pointed and screamed. The mask floated up to meet the descending star. It disappeared into the star. The two watched in horror as the star began to shrink. The star shrank down until it was just an aura of the incarnation of Charantanatah, the recreation of fierce deity Link. Zelda tried to scream but she couldn't find her voice. She watched as fierce deity Link descended back to the ground; she looked back and forth at the newly born fierce deity Link, and the unconscious Link in her arms.
"How is this possible?" shouted Mema.
"It's really quite simple." spoke fierce deity Link with a deep, hoarse voice of darkness and anger. "I absorbed all the power from the celestial star to recreate my corporeal form. I can always summon another star to open the gates to the rest of my tribe later. But right now..." he said as he pointed his giant sword at Zelda. "I want revenge." Zelda looked down at Link and lay his head back down on the ground and got up and limped away from him, picking up the master sword and shield. She wasn't planning on destroying Charantanatah. All that mattered to her was drawing Charantanatah's attention away from Link. Charantanatah bellowed a war cry and dashed forward at Zelda, and struck her with his sword, Zelda got the shield up, but she could barely hold it there, and she fell to the ground. Charantanatah lifted his sword over his head and Zelda looked up with disappointment as she prepared to die. Suddenly, a blast of power hit Charantanatah from behind. It did no damage, but he turned to see who would dare such a feat. Charantanatah and Zelda looked up to see the injured Rukon barely able to keep his arm up. Charantanatah smiled as he held up his hand to kill Rukon.
"Stubborn bastard." he said
"Princess run! Run away!" shouted Rukon just as Charantanatah unleashed a blast that turned him into a charred skeleton.
"Rukon!" shouted the princess who felt remorse for the wicked paladin that did one final good deed. Charantanatah turned his hand to the princess as she lowered her head crying. "Don't...don't hurt my people..." she begged.
"And just who will try to stop me?" asked Charantanatah.
"I will." said a hushed voice from behind. Charantanatah turned in disgusted surprise to see who openly defied him. Zelda looked up wearily and smiled. Link stood defiantly as he glared at the fierce deity with eyes that burned of a fire that was brighter and hotter and fiercer than when they were seen through the mask and the deity himself. "I can never right the wrongs I've committed, I cant undo my betrayal," said Link as he shook his fist in anger. "But I can make you pay, Charantanatah!"
The next night was darker than usual, save for the small light visible through the clouds. It was about the size of the sun. However the real sun was shrouded in darkness by the ominous clouds that covered all of Hyrule. This light was the celestial star that Charantanatah was gaining strength from. It had finally reached the solar system, and it was drawing dreadfully close to the planet. Fierce deity Link stood on the hill, as he had been for the past week. His focus never wavered. In the distance three figures approached from afar. They walked confidently as they approached Link head on. The closer they got, the more the three figures separated. One went farther out towards the left, the other towards the right, and the one in the middle kept straight on. Off to the side, out of the view of the three challengers, princess Zelda materialized under a tree. She had the master sword; the mirror shield, the rod of enrichment, and the crystal shard Saria had given to her for her to use to summon the sages. She waited under the tree. Her pulse was pounding; she was ready to die, if necessary
"Wow Zelda, you're all decked out for battle." whispered Mema Zelda watched intensely.
"The marshal paladins. They've finally decided to engage Link." said Zelda motioning towards the conflict about to escalate.
"Shouldn't you stop this? What if they kill him before we get the chance too-"
"They won't kill him. They aren't powerful enough. But they may buy us enough time to summon the sages."
"Are you strong enough Zelda?" Zelda was silent for a moment.
"Not even close." she said. "Mema, I want you to stay here. When Link defeats the paladins, he will want to fight me next, I don't want you getting hurt."
"But Zelda, we're a team! And besides, if the ceremony works, you wont have to fight him."
"It won't work." Zelda stated grimly.
"Huh? You're kidding! After all the trouble we went through to call the sages, you're telling me it won't work? How do you know?" Zelda was quiet once again.
"It won't work. And I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."
"You know something Zelda! I sensed it the other day! What do you know? Huh? Tell me!"
"Shh. its beginning." hushed Zelda as she pointed to the paladins who were in position.
The paladins consisted of three well-trained soldiers. Each one was large and well groomed. They each had a different weapon that was the same size as they were. Zelda recognized The giant mace that the paladin with dark hair on the right was using. The paladin on the left was a bit older than the others. He had a beard unlike the other two. He wielded a giant battle-ax, much like that used by Iron Knuckle.
The leader, in the middle, was the one who attacked Zelda the day before. He had short cut, blonde hair and he wielded a huge steel broadsword. The leader spoke first.
"Link of the Fierce Deity! I am Rukon of the marshal paladins, secret royal military to the king!"
"And I am Surkon!" shouted the man with the mace.
"And I Durkon!" shouted the red haired man with the ax.
"I have come to force you, by order of the king, to cease and desist any and all celestial activity, and to relinquish the mask of the deity, Charantanatah. You will be tried for your crimes against the King in the royal court of Hyrule! Should you resist we will execute you without trial! What say you?" Link still maintained his stance. He stared ahead for a long time. As if he were letting the strong wind answer for him. "What say you?!" repeated Rukon with anger. Link suddenly looked to the far left passed Durkon, right at Princess Zelda. Zelda met his gaze as their eyes locked together in a struggle that seemingly lasted an eternity. Link then faced ahead again with disdain. He discreetly lifted his sword slightly and then popped the tip back into the ground where it was. As the tip touched the ground it sent out a pulse wave of great power, sending the marshal paladins to the ground with ease. Rukon was the first to recover as he swung his broad sword at Link unleashing a blast of magic energy. Link looked straight ahead as usual, not noticing the blast of power soaring towards him. Just before the attack touched him, he vanished. "What?!" shouted Rukon in disbelief. He turned around to see Link standing behind him with an expressionless look on his face. Link popped Rukon in the face sending him skidding thirty feet across the ground. Zelda gulped hard. The other two paladins hopped over their skidding comrade towards Link with their weapons brandished high in the air. As Durkon landed he hacked and slashed with a spinning back slash combo. Link, with his arms crossed sidestepped each attack, easily avoiding them. Durkon finished his combo with a straight thrust that Link dodged by spinning around, finishing it with a back fist to the head that sent Durkon down. On that technique Link also happened to turn right into a hard thrust to the stomach from Surkon's mace. It staggered Link a bit though his face remained emotionless. Surkon wasted no time in following the attack up with a spinning mace attack that bashed Link across the side of the head, also staggering him only slightly, and his face remained expressionless. Surkon finished off the combo with another swing to the head that Link caught in mid swing. Surkon compensated with an immediate eye blast of power that Link caught with his other hand. He then took that hand and punched Surkon in the stomach hard. Surkon's feet came off the ground, as the ground cracked underneath him from the sheer force of Link's attack. Surkon lost all of his air and about a pint of blood through his nose and mouth. Link finished him off with a sharp front kick that sent blood, teeth, and Surkon soaring through the air about forty-to-fifty feet up. Surkon landed with a hard crunch some ten feet behind the tree princess Zelda was watching from. Then Rukon attacked again. He charged Link with a war cry and swung his sword at Link. Link turned and easily smacked the massive blade out of Rukon's hands. Rukon didn't pause for a second; he continued to advance with a complicated combination of assorted punches, kicks and open hand strikes.
Link met, blocked or dodged each maneuver with impeccable skill. The exchange lasted for briefly ten to twelve seconds before Link decided to take the upper hand. He then, seemingly had every attack blocked and countered before Rukon could throw it. He finished his combo with a brutal arm lock submission hold. Only Link wasn't seeking surrender, he applied extreme pressure crunching Rukon's arm to pieces and then twisted it into other positions to compound the injury even further. Just as soon as he finished torturing Rukon and finished him off with an open hand chop to the back of the head that sent him into the ground with such force he left an imprint in the ground. Then Link, without looking put a sharp sidekick into the lunging Durkon with such force it sounded like a bomb exploding. Link's motions were so fast his victims seemed to be falling through the air in slow motion. Link's sidekick to Durkon's midsection sent him instantly flying backwards in the opposite direction, breaking a few bones in the process. But Link, even faster still, caught Durkon before he could fly away then turned towards him and put his hand over Durkon's stomach and unleashed a blast of energy that blew Durkon in half. His expression was one of casual indifference.
Zelda gasped in horror. "Y-you were right Zelda! He...he's killing the paladins! They never had a chance! This is horrible!"
"Depending on how you look at it..." said Zelda with a heartless tone.
"What? How can you say that?"
"These men, the marshal paladins, are evil and ruthless. They hurt the people they come into contact with. They're simply skilled marauders who can pillage and rape under the authority of the king. They've had this coming for a long time." she said with cold, squinting eyes.
"I...I didn't know..." said Mema. Link stood up straight and didn't move for a long time. The smoke cleared and Link stood motionless.
"Now!" said Zelda as she stood up. She held the crystal shard high in the air. Link returned to his original standing place where his sword rested. "Sages! Hear my call! Gather together here before me! We must unite our powers to rid this artifact of all that dwells within it!" the six sages' astro forms materialized in a circle, surrounding Link. Link faced ahead, but instead of looking at nothing, he was fixated on Zelda, who stood before him holding up the crystal shard. His expression was one of anger. Zelda concentrated on calling forth the sages and blocked out any uncomfortable feelings Link's eyes gave her. Each sage began to chant a ritual spell. They each began to glow their own respective color. The energy auras that they produced began to creep out towards Link. They all consumed him as Link began to glow a mix of colors. He closed his eyes and concentrated as the spell cast on him by all six sages took effect. He then opened his eyes directly at Zelda, and smiled. His eyes glowed and he shot a blast of power from them that shattered the crystal shard. All the sages cried out as their astral forms vanished.
"Oh no!" shouted Mema. Zelda looked at Link, knowing the time to fight was at hand. She looked at him with anger. She knew he would do something to stop the ceremony. Link looked at Zelda with contemplative doubt. They stared at each other for along time.
"I'll give you one more chance." Said Zelda, knowing Link would refuse to surrender. Link simply smiled as he lowered his head and lifted his blade up into the air. Zelda closed her eyes in disappointment and reluctantly drew the master sword and the mirror shield. "We don't have to do this." She pleaded as she took her stance. Link stiffened his bottom lip and took his stance.
"Shall we begin?" he calmly asked. He seemed as though he almost didn't want to fight either. Yet Zelda was the final challenge that stood between him and the war of the gods. The wind blew ominously as they looked at each other. Zelda swallowed hard and braced herself for the great battle that was only a few tense seconds away.
Link lowered his center and began to scream as energy surrounded him. Zelda drew back in surprise. "What's he doing?" she asked herself. Suddenly, a crash of lightning shot down from the faint star that hovered over the planet. "He's drawing strength form the star! He's powering up!" Zelda began to breathe faster. She saw what Link did to the marshal paladins without even trying, and now he was going to use his full power on her. She waited to be wiped out in a flash. Link stopped screaming and stood up as a dark aura surrounded him. Zelda paused for a moment then decided to go down fighting. She unleashed the goron flame attack. Link's eyes shifted to his feet as a huge pillar of flame erupted up from the ground. This pillar of flame was massive compared to the one she used in the chamber of truth. And then she used it at full power. Right after she cast the spell, she jumped backwards, knowing that it wouldn't slow him down. As soon as she leapt backwards, Link emerged from the fire with a mighty scream. He swung his sword with power and speed for a precision strike. Zelda braced herself and countered with another precision strike with the master sword. Link had a steady glare of anger on his face, identical to Zelda, who was hiding her emotions from the battle. They pushed against one another in a lock for a moment, and they both pulled back and collided with a dizzying array of expert sword maneuvers. Zelda concentrated on the fight and not her fear, knowing that should Link's sword even slightly knick her, it would mean death or dismemberment. She was fighting a god.
Link changed up his tactics as amongst his complex sword combinations, he dealt a sharp punch right to Zelda's face. Zelda barely saw it in time. She dodged to the side, barely missing the fist and then she countered with a sidekick to the ribs. Her kick did nothing to faze Link. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her forward, right into an upper cut that she still tried to dodge. Link caught a piece of her, and it was still enough to launch Zelda into the air.
"No!" shouted Mema who watched the fight in horror. Zelda maintained her center as she flew. She grimaced in pain but refused to cry aloud. She landed on her feet, a little unsteady, and she took up her stance. Link drew back and swung his sword unleashing a disc of energy. Zelda dropped her center and braced for impact. The powerful disc collided with the mirror shield. The shield did not reflect the attack, but it did not penetrate the shield. Zelda held her ground as it pushed her backwards. She whimpered slightly as she struggled to force back the disc. She screamed and pushed back; stopping her skidding and forcing the disc back at Link. Link watched in disdain as the disc flew back to him. He vanished before the disc hit him, and reappeared behind Zelda. He swung down with his sword at Zelda's head. Zelda instinctively teleported out of the way and ended up behind Link and took a swing at his midsection with the master sword, catching a piece of him. The master sword was able to penetrate Link's armor. Link barely flinched as Zelda drew blood. But he was irritated that she was able to ambush him from behind using one of his own tactics. He was amazed at how challenging she was.
Link countered with a back fist that caught Zelda off guard. It hurt her bad, but she forced the pain down and recovered before she hit the ground. As soon as she hit the ground she leapt out of the way of a blast of power that Link fired to follow up with. She jumped from side to side narrowly missing his power blasts. She held up the mirror shield and reflected the shots back, though she wasn't able to aim them anywhere near Link. She launched a sneak attack against Link by using the goron flame attack one more time, this time catching him off guard. A pillar of flame erupted form beneath Links feet and scorched him. He jumped back wards, away from the flame and barely saw Zelda slashing down with the master sword in time. He narrowly avoided it and countered with a sweep kick. Zelda dropped her weapons as she went down. She hit the ground rolling, as her strategy was to be moving at all times. She rolled onto her feet right into the clutches of Link who was already there waiting for her. She marveled at his inhuman speed. He grabbed her in a bear hug fashion squeezing her. She screamed in pain and to Links surprise, administered a head but. Link then tipped her back in a suplex and Zelda splashed against the ground. Link looked about in confusion. The water crept around his neck and body and took the shape of princess Zelda, who now had Link in a headlock. "Okay, that's a new one." Link begrudgingly admitted to himself. Zelda pulled him down to the ground but as they came down, Link reversed the hold and plunged Zelda towards the ground yet again. Just before she hit the ground, she vanished in a flash of green light. She materialized above Link, and kicked the back of his head, driving his face into the ground hard. She then teleported over to where her weapons lay. As her hands touched her sword, Link grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the air.
Rukon, slowly staggered to his feet, he was badly injured and was bewildered as to where he was. Link turned to see the dying Rukon stumble about like a zombie and raised his hand to shoot a blast of power at him and finish him off. Rukon was saved by the resilient Princess Zelda who knocked Link down with a shoulder tackle. "No!" she shouted. The two tumbled like lovers over the grass. Zelda wished it was a sunny day, and that she and Link were playfully rolling on the grass in love.
"You would save that man who would have surely killed you or worse had he had his way?" asked Link
"That's what Link would have done." She said as she struggled with the fierce deity. He grabbed her by the scruff of her hood and punched her right in the face. She couldn't recover this time and she hit the ground face first and bounced. She slowly stood up, bleeding, huffing and puffing. And Link stood before her with his arms crossed. She looked at him through a squinted eye and he smiled and motioned for her to continue her pathetic assault. Zelda screamed and powered up the gerudo spirit attack and lunged forward with a savage fire. Link smiled as Zelda fought furiously using her best Shiekan combat moves. No matter how hard and fast she struck, Link could see and catch every move while he laughed with glee.
"Well Zelda, I must admit, you are amazing! Never did I think you could have gotten this strong! And the glowing aura! I love it!" he mocked. Zelda pushed harder and harder and finally she caught a solid hit. She did absolutely no physical damage whatsoever. Yet, Link was frozen, his face was contorted in pain and shock. Zelda froze too. At that instant, she could feel the two presences inside Links body. She quickly followed up with another attack that did little as far as physical damage, but Link screamed in pain as she could feel the two entities that were so tightly intertwined begin to loosen. She punched him in the stomach, and Link recoiled as if real damage was happening, but Zelda could feel something losing its grip on something else inside him. She punched and punched and punched until she had finally separated the entities into two separate beings.
Link clutched his skull as he stumbled backwards screaming. "What have you done to me?!" Zelda looked at her fists in surprise. She never thought she could last as long as she did. "What have you done?!" he screamed. She took compassion on his pain.
"L-Link?" she asked. To her disbelief Link looked up at her confused.
"Z-Zelda? What-AAARRRR!" he screamed as he grabbed his head and began to hit it against the ground. He then looked back up at her from the ground with anger. "You bitch! You dirty little-AAAA!" Link grabbed his head and continued to flop around on the ground. He looked back up at Zelda again with eyes of sorrow and pain. "Zelda! I-AARRR-Please!" he said as he reached out to her. Her eyes widened as she realized it was the real Link reaching out to her.
"LINK!" she cried out. Thrashing about on the ground he vanished and reappeared right in front of her, startling her. He backhanded her hard, sending her to the ground as she cried out in pain. "Link! Please! Please stop!" she said as she backed away from him in fear.
"Just who the hell do you think you are woman?" he growled as he kicked her in the ribs.
"Link please don't do this!" she said as she started to cry. Link scowled at her and held up his hand to gather energy to finish her off with. Zelda leapt up and embraced him catching him off guard.
"Please Link!" she whispered with her head tucked into his chest. "I know you care about me..." Link stopped gathering energy and stared straight ahead in confusion.
"I-I...you," Link lost the internal struggle and backhanded the princess once again. Zelda struggled to stand. Link continued to advance; she turned around once again and fell on Link's chest in tears.
"I know you have feelings for me..." she whispered. Link was frozen. His face slowly began to grimace as he battled the inner demon that poisoned his mind.
"Zelda? I..." he said. He grabbed her and pulled her off of her chest, squeezing her arms hard enough to make her cry out in pain. "I'm going to kill you...you..." Link struggled as he looked into Zelda's crying eyes that begged him for mercy. Her eyes and words started to stir Link's heart. "I-I cant do it, I...I'll kill you dirty little...No! She-Zelda? Die bitch! No!" Zelda started to go limp in Link's hands.
"Please, Link. Don't kill me...I...I love you." She begged. Link stopped and looked with shock.
"Wh-wh...what?" Zelda forced a weak smile through the pain and tears.
"I love you Link." Link let go of her arms and backed away.
"I can't-I can't..." Zelda slumped to the ground as she watched Link battle Charantanatah for control of his body. "Get out of my head! You-you- AAAARRR!" he shouted as he clutched his head and fell to his knees. Zelda reached her hand out to him. "Zelda!!" he shouted to her in a panic. "Zelda gi-AAAA! Run woman! Run for your li-HHUURRAAA! Zelda! Please the...sword! Give me the...Die Zelda I'll kill you! You'll never love any-UUNNNN-Hurry the master...AARRR!" Zelda looked at Link unable to make sense out of his babbling. She saw him reaching for the master sword when he was in control.
"The...Master...Sword?" Zelda picked it up as Link held out his hand and begged for the legendary sword. She hesitated.
"Don't do it Zelda!" Shouted Mema from afar. "He's trying to trick you! If you give him the master sword, it'll be the end of us all!" she shouted. Zelda looked back at Link squirming on the ground. His soul playing tug of war for control of his mind and body. She saw his eyes as he reached for the blade. She remembered what happened in the chamber of truth. But there was something about Link's eyes that she trusted without question. She held her breath and threw him the sword. She didn't know what he wanted it for. But she could never deprive him of anything. She heard herself confess her love for him, and she would do anything for Link, even die.
Link smiled as he reached out and caught the sword by the handle and as his hand touched it, lightning struck him and he screamed an awful scream of pain. The lightning held fast and continued to damage him but Link, through the pain held on to the sword. He grabbed it with both hands determined not to let go as his screams got louder and louder. Finally, there was a blinding flash of light accompanied by a loud exploding sound. When Zelda looked up, she saw Link fall backwards, and the mask fell to the ground. Zelda smiled and limped over to Link, who lay unconscious on the ground from the shock of separation. Mema raced to be by Zelda's side, who raced to be by Link's side.
"He knew." Zelda said, unable to contain herself. "He knew all along what he was doing. He knew that one who was evil could never touch the sword. So by holding on to the sword, the mask was forced to separate from him. She knelt down and embraced Link. She held onto him and wouldn't let go for anything. "I love you Link." she said wistfully.
"Hey Zelda, how come the clouds aren't disappearing?" asked Mema who noticed the weather became increasingly more dangerous. Zelda looked up from her dreamy moment of bliss.
"Hmm?" Thunder began to rumble, the wind picked up, lightning cut scars across the skies. The two looked around trying to find the cause of the disturbance. Suddenly the clouds opened up and the celestial star descended upon the surface. The fierce deity mask levitated off the ground and Zelda pointed and screamed. The mask floated up to meet the descending star. It disappeared into the star. The two watched in horror as the star began to shrink. The star shrank down until it was just an aura of the incarnation of Charantanatah, the recreation of fierce deity Link. Zelda tried to scream but she couldn't find her voice. She watched as fierce deity Link descended back to the ground; she looked back and forth at the newly born fierce deity Link, and the unconscious Link in her arms.
"How is this possible?" shouted Mema.
"It's really quite simple." spoke fierce deity Link with a deep, hoarse voice of darkness and anger. "I absorbed all the power from the celestial star to recreate my corporeal form. I can always summon another star to open the gates to the rest of my tribe later. But right now..." he said as he pointed his giant sword at Zelda. "I want revenge." Zelda looked down at Link and lay his head back down on the ground and got up and limped away from him, picking up the master sword and shield. She wasn't planning on destroying Charantanatah. All that mattered to her was drawing Charantanatah's attention away from Link. Charantanatah bellowed a war cry and dashed forward at Zelda, and struck her with his sword, Zelda got the shield up, but she could barely hold it there, and she fell to the ground. Charantanatah lifted his sword over his head and Zelda looked up with disappointment as she prepared to die. Suddenly, a blast of power hit Charantanatah from behind. It did no damage, but he turned to see who would dare such a feat. Charantanatah and Zelda looked up to see the injured Rukon barely able to keep his arm up. Charantanatah smiled as he held up his hand to kill Rukon.
"Stubborn bastard." he said
"Princess run! Run away!" shouted Rukon just as Charantanatah unleashed a blast that turned him into a charred skeleton.
"Rukon!" shouted the princess who felt remorse for the wicked paladin that did one final good deed. Charantanatah turned his hand to the princess as she lowered her head crying. "Don't...don't hurt my people..." she begged.
"And just who will try to stop me?" asked Charantanatah.
"I will." said a hushed voice from behind. Charantanatah turned in disgusted surprise to see who openly defied him. Zelda looked up wearily and smiled. Link stood defiantly as he glared at the fierce deity with eyes that burned of a fire that was brighter and hotter and fiercer than when they were seen through the mask and the deity himself. "I can never right the wrongs I've committed, I cant undo my betrayal," said Link as he shook his fist in anger. "But I can make you pay, Charantanatah!"