wheeee! the last installment of this story! eheh I hope you like it but it gets a little violent at the end. Just to warn ya, if ya don't like blood....well, that's why this is pg-13!
The next morning, Link wasted no time. He had an early breakfast, before even his friends were awake, and got out of the castle by jumping off the battlements into the moat. When he got out he was going to call for Cyphas, but stopped as he saw her jump out of a nearby tree.
"A tree? That's were you go when nobody sees you?" Link asked incredulously.
"Trees happen to be very comfortable to me! Anyway, here's your boots. I found out the soles of your brown ones are too thin to put blades in, so I put the blades in these black ones instead." She said, tossing both pairs to him. He pushed the small buttons on the inside of each heel of the black boots, making blades spring out of their slits just above the tread. He pushed the buttons again and the blades retracted.
"So cool! Thanks, Cyphas. I'd love to talk, but I have a ranch girl to check on." He said, putting his old brown boots on. He'd try out the black ones later.
"Isn't it a bit early? The sun's barely rising!" The swamp woman pointed out.
"You kidding? She'll have been awake for an hour now. Such is the life of a ranch girl. See you later, Cyphas."
"Don't get into any trouble, Link. I won't be around to save your sorry butt if you get into trouble across Hyrule Field!" Link laughed good-naturedly and, after dropping off his new boots in his room, went to the stables. He picked out one of the horses reserved for Royal Guards (he was a healthy-looking black one with white highlights and a white star-shaped mark on his forehead. The sign next to his stall said his name was Dark Sky); and Link and the horse took off.
Let Malon be alright, Link hoped as the horse tore across Hyrule Field. He was a fast horse, but nowhere near as fast as Epona had been. Link just hoped that Malon hadn't met the same fate as his horse...In about twenty minutes, Link reached the ranch. He got there about the same time the sun rose, and he discovered that the sky was completely overcast, just like so many days before. He suspected Ganon had something to do with the crazy weather. Irritatingly, his horse started snorting and bucking, as if spooked by something. Link leapt off and petted the horse's silky nose, calming him. He then tied Dark Sky's reins to a nearby tree and walked into the ranch. A few steps in, Link stopped dead in his tracks. Was that blood he smelled? The place was awfully quiet, and as Link rounded the corner he saw what he had been dreading.
Lon Lon Ranch was a wreck. The buildings had been smashed practically to rubble, and all the animals were gone. There were feathers everywhere and link supposed the animals must have been stolen, since their bodies were nowhere to be seen. Link knew he probably wouldn't get a reply, but he called for Malon anyway, shouting her name as he walked around the ranch. Only one piece of building was left standing, and Link walked over to it. There seemed to be nothing special about the wall until he walked around to the other side, and gasped at what he saw. There was blood smeared all over it. Link already knew whos blood that was.
Link punched the wall in a rage, sending splinters everywhere. "Blast you, Ganondorf!!" Link instantly forgot any ideas of waiting to attack Ganon. He couldn't wait around for more of his friends to be stolen or killed! Ganondorf was a threat to every soul in Hyrule. He was a threat to life. The threat to life! Link had to stop that threat. He dashed outside and quickly untied Dark Sky. He vaulted onto the horse's back and urged him into a rapid gallop, straight toward Gerudo's Fortress.
Three hours passed like three minutes to Link, and finally they reached the area before the fortress. All over Hyrule the sky was overcast, but here the clouds were so dark and thick it was almost like night. The carpenter's tent that had used to be there was gone, and the bridge had been destroyed. There were some monsters on the other side of the chasm (the one that the bridge had once crossed and had a river about four hundered and fifty feet down). Link pulled Dark Sky to a stop. The valiant horse had galloped almost the whole way, very impressive for a horse that wasn't Epona (Link was stabbed by sadness and anger by her memory). He got off the horse and tied him to a mostly dead tree. Giving the horse a grateful pat, Link left him and pulled out his hookshot. He shot it into the wodden arch on the other side of the chasm. Naturally, as the chain pulled him over it made lots of noise, and the monsters attacked as he landed. He killed them all quickly, without breaking a sweat. Now that there was very little between him and his goal, he wouldn't waste time on small fries (even if those 'small' fries happened to be six-foot tall moblins). As Link got farther down the path that wove between sand hills towards the fortress, he heard the footsteps of guards. He quickly scaled the sand hill next to him and snuck around the guards. From the top of the hill, he had a full view of the fortress. Link gasped as he took in the awsome sight. The fortress had been changed dramatically. It was about three times as big, and instead of having flat roofs, it now had sky-scraping towers made of black stone. Torches with green fire blazed fiercely inside windows and on walls. The black clouds in the sky obviously came from here, and there was a huge mass of swirling clouds at the top. It was Ganondorf's handywork, all right.
Link had no trouble sneaking around the rest of the Gerudo guards and monster patrols, slipping behing them and stunning them when necessary. Eventually he reached the fortress itself, and entered the dark place. The only lights inside were more green torches, making it somewhat difficult to see. This disturbed Link. What if a Gerudo was watching him from the shadows? He drew his sword, just in case. The first room he passed through was nothing but a storage room. It had boxes and jars, but no sign of a cell where a prisoner could be kept, such as Malon. In the next room there was nothing at all, save for an ominous atmosphere. As Link walked he heard a nearly inaudiable sound above him. Link's insticts took over and he rolled quickly to the side as a Gerudo dropped down, slicing the area his head had been in milliseconds ago.
"Caught you, Link! You won't get out of here alive!" With that, the red-garbed (Link supposed she was wearing red because she was a warden. He saw cell keys on her belt) Gerudo leapt at Link, cutting quickly with her double scimitars. Link had plenty of experince fighting Gerudos, and dodged every one of her predictable attacks.
"C'mon, Gerudos are supposed to be the best sword fighters in Hyrule, aren't they?" Link asked, just to make her mad. It worked and she leapt at him quickly, spinning and slashing. Link did something he had practiced a few months ago, a move he called the flipslash. He backflipped to dodge the Gerudo's blade, and as he was coming down he struck out with his sword in a wide arc, using his flipping momentum to create a strong attack. The attack hit the woman's sword out of her hand, and taking adavantage of her surprise, he quickly slashed at her other sword, knocking that away as well. He held up his sword to her face.
"I wont hurt you if you give me the key to Malon's cell. Well, not too bad, anyways." The woman simply glared at him in reply. "Have it your way," Link said, reversing his grip and hitting the top of her head with his hilt. The unconscious woman slumped to the ground, and Link relieved her of her keyring. Wasting no time, he went to the next room. It had a couple guards, but nothing special. He snuck past them and continued on, down twisting hallways and confusing turns, up stairways and through rooms. Link went through five more chambers, each containing no prisoner, and began to wonder if he'd find Malon anytime soon. Link knew he was getting deep and high in the fortress, and he rested momentarily against the wall next to him. To his surprise, the wall fell open. Whoa, a secret passage! Link thought, enterring it. To his relief he found what he was looking for as he crept down the passageway. There was a barred window in the wall and when Link peered into it he saw a very dim room. It had only two torches in it. Ganondorf was sitting on a throne, his ugly mug barely illuminated enough to make out. Link burned with rage as he watched Ganon, who was sitting quite still, as if waiting. Behind Ganon was a cell, and inside that cell was Malon. Suddenly a Gerudo ran into the room and bowed before the Gerudo King.
"Sir, another guard has been knocked out. It was the warden, and her keys were taken." The woman said.
"Good," Ganondorf said, a satisfactory smile covering his dark face. "Link will be here soon. I will cloak myself. Do not come back into this room unless you recieve word that Link is not close to here. If that happens he must be lost... you lead him here, understand?"
"Yes, Master of Evil. It will be done." The woman smiled wolfishly and left. So, they plan to lead me in there, do they? What do they think I am, a rat looking blindly for cheese? They'll have to do better than that. But anyways, how'm I going to get Ganondorf out of there? I've gotta think of something...As Link thought, Ganon spoke a few words and a blackness enveloped him. It was now impossible to see where he was in the room. Malon gasped.
"Scared of the dark, little ranch girl?" Ganon's hard, mocking voice said, form nowhere in particular.
"You won't get away with this, Ganon. I'll tell Link you're in here." She said, and Link heard rattling of chains. He couldn't see her very well, but it looked as if she might be chained to the wall.
"Don't be foolish. Do you know how perfect a lure you are? Link will be here, whether you tell him to stay away or not. It's his nature. He can't resist his nature. Besides, I'm not done weaving spells. You won't be able to say anything to anyone when I'm done with you." Link heard Malon inhale sharply and then scream, but something was muffling it, like a hand. He heard a deep sound and chanting that accompanies a curse, and then heard nothing. It was all he could do to restrain himself from breaking in and fighting Ganon now for daring to put his hands on Malon. But if he did that, Ganon would probably murder her before his eyes. Then a thing that would get Ganon out of that room came to Link's mind. He walked along the hall until he came to another window he had passed earlier, which looked out over the fortress grounds. He drew his bow and took careful aim at a guard walking around out there, about six hundred feet away. He hated to shoot at someone so cheaply, but it seemed to be the only way to save Malon. Link transformed the arrow into a light one, and released it. The Gerudo guard screamed as the arrow plunged deep into her leg. She must have been quite evil, because the light magic caused her to writhe in agony. Link saw other guards and a few monsters rush over to her. To his satisfaction, he heard one of them say 'get King Ganondorf, he's the only one who can get rid of light magic'. He returned to the other window. Minutes later, a lizalfos which seemed to be made only of bones burst into the room Ganondorf was in.
"This had better be important, Raptyrant." Ganon's angry voice said. The dino bowed.
"Evil King, a guard has been shot with a light arrow. She is far away from here, though. Link can't be very close."
"Either the fool is lost, or he's plotting something...this is very suspicious. Why would he use a light arrow?" Link growled and scolded himself silently. He had forgotten that Ganondorf was smart. Fortunately for him, Ganon must not know his castle well enough to know there was a spot Link could spy on him and shoot his guards from. Unfortunately, Ganon seemed to have remembered it that very moment, and as the King made himself visible, he looked Link's way. Sweating buckets, Link ducked as fast as he could to avoid being seen. His heart pounded so loudly he could barely hear Ganon. He put a hand over his mouth to silence his breathing. "No, he couldn't have found that place...he must be lost. Alright, I'll go take care of her." Link sighed quietly in relief. "You stay here and guard. If Link comes, wound him but don't kill him. I want that pleasure." The jerk...Link thought. But now Zelda's dream can't come true. If I get in and out of there quickly, we won't be around to try and kill me. As soon as he was sure the King of Evil was gone, Link pulled out his bow and shot Raptyrant with a fire arrow. To his surprise, the dinalstalfos went up in a puff of smoke, dissappearing. My arrows must be getting stronger or something. Link thought, then he used his gauntlets to bend the bars sepparating him from the room. He squeezed though the window and dropped onto the stone ground.
"Finally I found you," He said, smiling at Malon. He walked over to the cell and unlocked it. As Malon saw him she shook her head violently and tried to say something, but the enchantment prevented her. She had been chained to the wall by her wrists, and the chains clanked as she struggled. She had a nasty-looking slash on her left arm and was very dirty, but other than that she was unharmed. "Hey, don't worry. Ganondorf just left, didn't you see him?" Link unlocked the chains on her wrists and used an anti-curse spell taught him by Zelda.
"Link, it's a trap! Ganondorf isn't gone!" Malon yelled. "Look out!" Link gasped and whirled around, then saw a gleam in the dim torchlight. It was a sword aimed for his stomach! Thanks to Malon's warning, he had seen it early enough to dodge. He grabbed her and twisted out of the way of the blade, but it grazed his side and gave him an inch-deep slash, making him inhale sharply in pain.
"Fool! You fell for my illusion!" Ganondorf yelled triumpantly, laughing. Link, though he was quite terrified, thought quickly. He threw a deku nut at Ganon's face and as it exploded it blinded the King briefly. Link pulled out his bow and shot him in the shoulder with a light arrow, the same place as last time. "Aaaaaaagggghhhhhhh! Die, Link!" Ganon hacked at Link blindly, but the Hylian dodged and grabbed Malon's wrist, pulling her after him as he dashed out of the room. He and Malon ran thorugh many rooms and nearly got lost once, stunning guards left and right as they escaped. By the time Link and Malon reached the outside they were both panting, but Link couldn't risk slowing down now. Not with a life in his hands.
Link decided to stop stunning guards because someone might follow the trail of unconscious people and surround he and Malon. The two of them sneaked silently and quickly past the guards and patrols outside, until they reached a sand hill. Link pulled Malon behind it and handed her his hookshot.
"Use this to escape, Malon. Run to the chasm with a river in it and hookshot to the other side. You'll find a black horse tied up. Take the horse and ride until you're out of the desert. Go to the lake from there. The horse will be exhasusted by then, so let him rest while you're there and take him to Hyrule Castle once he's ready. If you find any monsters try to go around them. That horse is fast-" Malon put a finger over Link's lips and he went silent.
"I'll be fine, Link. Just let me thank my rescuer before I go." She embraced Link tightly for a few seconds, then released him and looked up into his face. He knew what she wanted. It was his turn to put a finger over her lips.
"Sorry, Malon. You're welcome for saving you, but I'm not going to kiss you." She looked mighty dissappointed. He sighed. "I'm really sorry. Talk to Chain when you get to the castle and he'll help you settle in."
"What are you going to do?"
"I have some unfinished buisiness."
"But what if you need help? I could stay-"
"No way! I didn't just pull you out from under Ganon's nose so you could stay here! Please go." Malon looked indecisive for a moment, but Link's pleading look won her over. She nodded and turned away, racing off toward the exit. Link turned back to Gerudo's Fortress. "It's time to repay Ganondorf for everybody he's killed and hurt...ready or not, here I come!"
Section 8
Nightmare Melee
"Link, are you aware of how corney that sounded?" Link nearly jumped out of his skin at a voice right next to his head. It was Navi, fluttering out of his hat.
"Sheesh! Don't scare me like that!" Link said. "This whole place is packed with guards, I thought you were one of them!"
"Just what the heck are we doing here, anyway? I thought Zelda told you to stay away from it! Do you ever listen to her? She has the Triforce of Wisdom, you know!"
"I know, I know. But if you hadn't been sleeping, you'd know that Ganon kidnapped Malon! I had to save her." Navi sighed.
"Well, mr. savior, they're following your trail."
"What? Who is? What trail..." Link remembered he was bleeding. He looked down and saw a nice trail of blood leading straight to him. He heard voices coming closer. "Uh-oh! Let's go, Navi!" Link ran down the hill he was on, and in his haste he tripped on the unpacked sand and rolled down. Fortunately the fall didn't hurt, so Link jumped up and ran to the right, behind more sandhills and towards the fortress. Bleeding or not, he couldn't leave the fortress yet. Unfortunately, as he came out from behind the next sand hill he passed, he ran smack into a patrol of monsters that had been looking for him. "Not good!!" Link said, skidding to a stop and running around them before they could attack. Again his luck failed him as he ran smack into a bunch of Gerudo guards that had been watching for him. Before he could escape, the monsters and Gerudos surrounded him. He backed away, into the middle of their circle, and drew his sword. "Any bright ideas, Navi?"
"Um...say goodbye to Hyrule?" The fairy responded.
"This is no time for jokes!" Link said, staring around at the ring of enemies.
"Alright, alright. Use the Kai-ten-giri attack!" She said helpfully.
"Uh...Oh yeah!" Link said, scratching his head. "Thanks, Navi!" He said, grinning at her.
"Just do it, you twit! They're closing in!" Navi yelled excitedly.
"Oh, right. Kai-ten-giri!" Link yelled, powering up his sword quickly and letting the magic go. The force of it spun him in a circle, and a huge ring of red fire destroyed the monsters around Link. However, the Gerudos were smart enough to block and were not hurt by it. There were still five of them, and Link knew if he tried to face them all there was no way he'd get away uninjured. All five of them sprang at him as one. Link quickly ducked, covered his eyes, and hurled a deku nut at the ground. The blinding flash caused the Gerudos to knock into eachother, and Link dashed away in the confusion. He ran to the fortress and ducked behind a shadowy wall, plopping down to catch his breath.
"That was...close!" He said, putting a hand over the cut in his side.
"Good grief, Link, you're such an airhead! Would you really have forgotten to do the kai-ten-giri?!"
"Um...I dunno." He said, scratching his head again. Navi grimaced.
"Well, at least you were smart enough to use a deku nut. I think you're a different person when death comes too close to you! By the way, why aren't you using Arlia on that?"
"Huh? Oh yeah!" Link said oh-so-intelligently. Sweat drop on Navi's head. Link got out the plant and used it. After he had healed himself and gotten a few moments to catch his breath, he stood up. I need to find Ganondorf and get him by himself...how am I going to do that? Guards and monsters are everywhere...there's no way I'll get him by himself...As Link was thinking, he and Navi heard a sound. It was a horse neighing wildly, followed by several sharp cracks. Link followed the sound, walking around behind the fortress. There was a fence and Link climbed over it, continuing toward the sound. He heard it some more, and knew it must be a horse getting whipped. That neighing sounded awfully familiar...
"Link, isn't that..."
"That sounds like... But that's impossible...well, let's go anyways!" Link finally came around a protruding wall and discovered the source of the sound. Two Gerudo women were attempting to control Link's wild horse Epona, whipping her and ordering her to stop bucking. "STOP!" Link yelled quite loud enough for them to hear, and drew his bow. "The next one of you that whips my horse will get a light arrow!" He said, and the women backed away from Epona, staring at him. "Get out of here!" But, the Gerudos would have none of that. They were thieves, not cowards. They both dropped their whips and drew their swords, running at Link (Navi yelled 'watch out!' and flew over to the closest one, illuminating her head with yellow light to help Link aim). He decided not to waste a light arrow, instead firing a normal one at the closest Gerudo's head. The arrow impacted the tough jewel on her forehead. The jewel was not shattered and protected her from death, but the impact of the arrow stunned her, making her fall to the ground with a short groan. Link didn't have time to hit the second with an arrow, so he drew his sword and rolled out of her way as she attacked (Navi yelled 'look!' and illuminated her head as well). He had rolled behind her and sprang to his feet, smacking the back of her head with the flat of his blade. She too fell to the ground, unconscious.
"I can't believe it. Epona, you're alive!" Link ran to his horse and embraced her muscular neck. She immediately calmed down, recognizing her friend. Neighing happily, she rubbed his back with her chin. Link stood back and examined her, petting her soft nose. "Those rotten women whipped you pretty good, didn't they? And look how skinny you are! Mean Geudos..." Link saw that his horse was tied to a thick post by a rope and a chain. The chain was attatched to her right front hoof and the rope bound her neck. "I'm really sorry, Epona. If I had known you were still alive, I would have come much sooner," Link said, getting out his Arlia. He quickly healed all Epona's whipslashes and then drew his sword. With a quick, strong strike he broke the chain around Epona's hoof. "Forgive me?" he asked, putting the sword away. In response, the horse nickered fondly and licked Link's face. Her huge, thick tongue got sticky saliva all over his grimacing face. Navi laughed really hard, rolling around on Link's head. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, wiping the gooey wetness off. Then Epona neighed in warning and backed away, close to her post.
"Watch out!" Navi yelled, pointing excitedly at something behind Link's back. He turned and found himself face-to-face with Ganondorf's demonic horse.
"Murderisk..." Link muttered, backing away. How did he sneak over here without me hearing him? Sure is huge this close...The silky black stallion snorted and pawed the ground in a gesture Link knew was a sign of hostility among horses. He then neighed loudly and shook his head, long red hair waving around like a flame. Link raised his arm slowly, reaching back for his sword. The moment Link's fingers touched the hilt the nightmare charged at him, making a shrieking noise which was very unhorsish. "Yikes!" Link yelled, jumping to the side and drawing his sword. Murderisk was suprisingly fast for such a large horse, and Link barely dodged his flaming hooves. Giving Link no time to recover, Murderisk persued him. "Whoa, nice horsey!" Link said, running away from the horse.
"Link, what are you doing?! You can't outrun that horse, fight it!" Navi screamed. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" The fairy zoomed over to Murderisk and flew in his face, shining brightly and slowing him down. Link turned and slashed at the nightmare's chest, But the horse moved back and Link's sword glanced harmlessly off his chest armor. Neighing angrilly, Murderisk bit at Navi. Navi screamed and flew quickly over to Link. "He tried to eat me! Get him, Link!" Ganon's horse reared up and leapt at Link, who rolled to the left and slashed at the horse's forelegs. He gave the nightmare a slash, not really hurting him but making him more angry. "That's not going to work, do some more damage!" Navi yelled.
"Navi, will you be quiet and let me fight? This isn't as easy as it looks! All that nightmare has to do is stomp me once, and his weight would crush me!" Navi got quiet and Link dodged Murderisk again as the horse ran at him. This time Murderisk leapt into the air before Link had a chance to wound him. The horse flew around, swooping at Link. Link was forced to run again, and dove behind a sand dune as Murderisk's hooves missed him so narrowly he felt their heat. "Crazy horse! Go away!" Link yelled frusteratedly, firing an arrow at the horse. As Murderisk dodged it Link wondered briefly why he wasn't surrounded by now. He was making plenty of noise. He looked over at the fortress and saw that he had actually gotten quite far away form it as he ran from Murderisk. He saw Epona, still tied to the post by her neck. She was biting furiously at the knot.
Murderisk circled around and dove at Link again, this time spewing hot flames from his mouth. Link grabbed the mirror shield off his back and reflected the flames, and the nightmare dodged them. Murderisk landed and charged at Link, being very persistant and firece. Link realized that maybe the horse was trying to tire him. He had to finish this. As Murderisk reared up and tried to kick Link's face, he dove between the horse's back legs, rolling and coming up behind him. Link slashed the horse's unprotected flanks, giving him long cuts across his hindquarters. Unfortunately Murderisk recovered more quickly than Link had anticipated, kicking at him with the back feet. Link tried to move, but a flaming hoof caught him in the right shoulder, making him fly backwards. Link yelled in pain as he was hurled through the air, slamming into a hill and making sand explode everywhere. Murderisk quickly galloped over to Link, who was still on the ground; his sword too far to be reached quickly. The Hylian was putting pressure on his burnt shoulder, which had been dislocated. Link looked up at the nightmare as the horse bore his teeth in what looked disturbingly like a grin and reared up, ready to stomp his adversary.
Navi screamed, sure it was over, but Epona came leaping from behind a sand dune, slamming her whole weight into Murderisk and sending him tumbling away, then she ran after him to fight him. Link slowly stood up, and Navi breathed a sigh of relief. Gritting his teeth, Link gripped his shoulder and twisted it back into place. It hurt like heck, but at least it was usable once more. Link snatched his sword out of the sand and went to help Epona. The reddish-brown horse was smaller than Murderisk, but was still doing surprisingly well. She dodged all of his kicks and bites, striking at him with her hooves. She hit his front knee and made him stumble, but as the nightmare went down he bit a tuft of her hair and dragged her down with him. He got up quicker than she did, and as she rose he kicked her flank with his back right leg, making her fall backwards.
"Hey, you! Didn't anyone ever tell you not to hit ladies?" Link fired an arrow at the nightmare's eye, but he turned his head and the arrow bounced off his face armor (as he did this Link dimly heard Navi say something about him hitting females all the time). Luckily the arrow distracted Murderisk long enough for Epona to get up and charge. When she got close she skidded and turned around, so her haunches were facing Murderisk. She then kicked him full-force in the side with both hindlegs. Even if Epona was smaller she was very strong, and her kick sent the nightmare hurling away. He flew about ten feet and then landed roughly on the ground, gasping and flapping his dark wings in panic. Link ran over to the horse and stabbed him in the neck before he could rise. With one last, hellish screech, the nightmare died. Like so many other monsters.
"Thanks, girl." Link said, petting Epona. "You'll get lots of extra carrots for that one!" Epona nickered happily. Link rubbed Arlia on both his horse's and his burn wounds. This didn't heal them, but cleaned them and made them a bit less painful. "Now then, you go back to the castle and I'll join you later..." Epona neighed loudly, shaking her head. She got a mouthful of Link's tunic and tried to drag him onto her back. "No, Epona! You're skinny and hurt, I can't ride you! Hey, I said no!" But the red horse ignorred him, pulling him into the saddle and not letting him go. "Epona! You're too weak to have a rider. Go and eat something - ouch!" Epona nipped Link's behind, and he finally decided to quit arguing with her. He grumpily siduated himself in the saddle. "Alright...let's go fight Ganondorf as quick as possible, so you can get something to eat! Hey, what's that?" Link looked over to the right and noticed something shining light on some sand hills. The thing seemed to be in the middle of the dunes and was impossible to see, but was illuminating the surrounding hills with reddish light.
"Link, what's with all the distractions? At this rate, you'll never fight Ganon!" Navi complained.
"Oh, we'll just look at it really fast. What if it's a piece of Ganon's magic and I can destroy it? I wouldn't pass up a chance to sabotage him!" Epona walked between the dunes, approaching the strange light. This far from the fortress there were no monsters or guards, and the whole place was eerily quiet. As they approachedthe glowing, Link faintly heard bubbling. When they got around the last sand dune, Link gasped in surprise. The bubbling and glowing was coming from a huge pit! It looked exactly like the evil lava pit that had been under Ganondorf's floating castle last time he had invaded Hyrule. The lava at the bottom (about two hundred feet down) was reddish-purple, and swirling in a creepy vortex toward the middle. Link dimly saw semitransparent forms moving in the stream rising off the lava.
"Link...I can't breathe..." Navi murmured, collapsing on his shoulder.
"Navi! What's wrong?" Link asked, cradling his partner in his hand. Suddenly a dark, cold feeling spread over him. He heard triumphant, sadistic laughing behind him, accompanied by the crackle of dark lightening.
Section 9
Ganondorf's Happiness
Black lightening exploded on the ground behind Epona, making a whole section of the land begin to slide into the lava pitt.
"Whoa!" Link yelled, quickly putting Navi under his hat and jumping off Epona. He climbed onto solid ground and grabbed Epona's harness just before the land under her went tumbling into the purplish lava. Using his gauntlets, Link hauled his horse onto stable land. They both backed away from the lava, freaked out. "Ah man, that was dangerous!"
"Curses! I was so going to enjoy seeing you melt, Link. You bloody killed my horse!" Link turned to see Ganondorf, standing about a score of feet away, looking very angry. Ganon lifted his hand and pointed it at Link's horse. Epona was hit by some invisible force and sent hurling away.
"Epona! You're gonna get it for that, Ganon!" Link challenged. He knew Ganondorf's real name, but he also knew what his soul looked like. He remembered what Ganon looked like, a hulking, ugly, scaley, pig-nosed monster...
"My name is Ganondorf, Link. Or, you may call me Master of Evil!" Ganondorf said, pointing a hand at Link.
"Yeah right! Master of Meanness is more like it!" Link said, then chanted a counterspell Zelda had taught him. The invisible force Ganon had sent at him harmlessly dissolved.
"Why thank you. Master of Meanness is just fine! Well, well...so you've learned some defense against spells, have you? It matters not. Now that I've found you, you won't catch me off-guard again! I was beginning to think about summoning more monsters to look for you..."
"What do you mean? You have more monsters? Where? They must be hiding!"
"Well, they aren't really hidden, per se. Let's just say that the monsters you saw around my fortress are not even a fraction of what I'll attack Hyrule with!"
"Not if I can stop you here, Grannydorf!" Link yelled, just to make him mad.
"Very eager to die, aren't we?!" Ganon growled.
"Eager to kill is more like it," Link said darkly, drawing his sword. Ganondorf drew his double curved swords as well.
"Before we start, let me say welcome...welcome to the end of your life!" Ganon yelled, leaping at Link. Link's eyes locked onto Ganondorf's as he came. Strangely, he felt an overwhelming sense of comfort. It was like this was where he belonged. His niche in existance. It was his purpose to put himself between Ganondorf and Hyrule. But as quickly as the feeling had washed over him, it was gone. Reality came back, and he realized a huge and very deadly man was slashing at his head. Link brought his sword up and blocked the blow, but the force of it was so great it nearly knocked his sword away. He stumbled back, gripping the sword tighter, and thrusted at Ganon. The King of Evil was amazingly fast for his size, and though it seemed as if he had left himself open, he blocked the blow effortlessly. Link cut at him again, and again the huge man parried.
"I don't care how large you brag your forces are, Ganondorf," Link said, blocking another strike aimed for his head. "Hyrule has made many allies since you left. With the diversity and strength of over ten races at our back, you can't beat Hyrule!"
"You think so, Link? What I attacked with earlier was merely a test. You aint seen nothin' yet!" Ganon said, trying to cut Link in half with both swords. Link blocked one side with his sword and the other with his shield.
"Even those dragons of yours weren't so tough," Link said, rolling out of the way of a powerful downward strike.
"Those were small ones!" Ganon growled. "Enough of this foolishness. You don't know my forces and I'm not going to tell you, so it's impossible for you to estimate if you can win or not." Ganon powered up his swords with evil magic and cut at Link with both of them, sending an x-shaped blast of magic at him. Zelda had taught him to use her quick version of Nayru's love and he did, cancelling the attack. The force of it still knocked him back though, and Ganon took the opportunity the kick at him, his large boot covered in purple flames. Link jumped out of the way and the ground he had been sitting on exploded under Ganondorf's foot.
"You should still give up. Don't you have enough power as the King of Gerudos? Why don't you be content - ah!" Link yelled as he blocked another powerful downward strike from Ganonwith his shield. He managed to stay in one piece, but his arm went numb from the shock.
"You don't understand what it feels like to need more power, Link. You're an naive fool with no ambition. Die!" Ganon yelled, thrusting quickly at Link.
"Not today," Link said, dodging and taking a small cut to the side. Dang, he's fast for his size! Bigger than I remember, too..."Why don't you just think about it? You have an entire desert and dozens of women all to yourself! What more could you ask for?" Link said, jumpslashing at Ganon. The Gerudo raised both his blades in an x and blocked it.
"What are you talking about, you imbecile? Obviously I'm not content with such things or I wouldn't be trying to kill you! Why do you bother asking?" Ganon inquired irrtably.
"Well, I believe there must be some good in everybody. I think if you thought about it you'd realize you're trying to kill or conquer hundreds of innocent people just to satisfy your own desires." Link slashed rapily at Ganon, trying to overwhelm him with speed. However, Ganon was perfectly fast enough to block all the attacks.
"Hahahah! There isn't good in everyone, kid. I know perfectly well that what I'm doing is wrong, and I enjoy it! It's right to me; as killing my hungry monsters is right to you!" Ganon said, hacking at his hated enemy.
"Well, if I didn't do something they'd kill me first!" Link pointed out, blocking the strikes with his shield. The shock made his arm hurt, but at least it prevented death...
"Yes, well that's only because they're following my orders. For some of them, attacking people is not in their nature."
"Just why do they do follow you, anyways? I bet you torture them if they don't do what you want, so what's in it for them?" Link asked, powering up for the Kai-ten-giri.
"Simple. You know my pit of lava? Did you ever look into it and its fumes very closely? If you did, you would see the writhing souls of the monsters I control there. If they don't obey me, I destroy their souls from existance."
"That's horrible! Kai-ten-giri!" Link released the magic and Ganondorf jumped away from it, striking the magic with his sword to break it. A bit of sharp red magic flew beyond his sword, cutting across his bicep to give him a small scratch which he hardly noticed. "I knew you were sick enough to kill and torture humans, but you've even sunk so low that your monsters need such incentive to follow you!" Link said.
"Oh shut up, you obnoxious brat. I've had enough of this game. Time to get serious!" Ganon said, grinning.
"Bring it on, Ganondorf!" Link yelled, finally using his name correctly. Ganon yelled a few words in some strange language and blackish purple light surrounded him. The magic spiralled upward and outward, radiating over to Link. "Ahhh...sheesh, he's powerful!" Link said to no one in particular, shielding his face with his arm. The black magic felt like a super sunburn all over his body, but didn't hurt enough to waste a Nayru's Love on. Link knew this would be really hurting Navi if she were awake, and wondered if it was hurting her now. Just as a precaution, he took Navi out of his hat, then drew the dagger from his boot. He channled some light magic into it and put it next to Navi. Then he ran over to the unconscious Epona and them by her, the dagger touching Navi so the light magic could protect her. He went back over to Ganondorf, waiting for him to finish. Eventually Ganondorf stopped gathering power, and the black waves dissappeared. It didn't feel like Link was being sunburned anymore, but he could still feel Ganon's power, even from this distance. He was covered in black energy, and began to stomp towards Link, his boots making cracked deppressions in the earth. Wow, now what? This guy is a powerhouse! Link began to doubt the wisdom of challenging Ganondorf like this. What if he lost? Link didn't mind so much if he died, but what would happen to Hyrule if he did? He feared what Ganondorf would do to Hyrule very much. It was time for him to get serious as well.
As Ganondorf began to form a ball of dark power in his hand, Link evoked the legendary powers of the Master Sword. He hadn't always had the ability to do this, but through his many battles in North Hyrule and across the ocean, he'd used the powers so much he could now call them at will. His sword began to glow whitish-blue and for some reason Ganondorf looked very pleased.
"That's it, Link...use the Master Sword's legendary powers against me. Just try to stop me!" Ganon hurled the ball at Link. Link sliced at it with his glowing sword, and as it deflected he had to take a few steps backward from the strength of the ball. Ganon had certainly become stronger. Link could usually deflect a blast without having to step backwards, and that was without his sword powered up! But where had Ganondorf gotten such power? Did he simply train himself in the Sacred Realm, all alone? Link doubted he would get too much more powerful that way, because he didn't even have his books or anything to train with. And how had he gotten out of the Sacred Realm in the first place? He was supposed to be sealed forever! It was very suspicious...Ganondorf was through with words, powering up his fist with evil power and punching at Link. Link side-stepped and actually managed to give Ganon a slash on his side as he passed.
"You'll have to do better than that, Hero of Time!" Ganon yelled, turning back towards his enemy. He made a slicing movement at Link and all the sudden a black smoke engulfed the Hylian. It was thick and undoubtedly unhealthy, so Link tried to make his way out of it, coughing heavily. But before he found his way out, Ganon's leg found it's way to him. It came out of the smoke in front of Link before he could move, slamming into his gut. The kick sent Link flying backward out of the smoke, to land on the rough ground twenty feet away. He got up almost immediately, holding his stomach and breathing deeply. Ganondorf came out of his own dissappearing smoke, laughing evily. "So Link, how many ribs did I break?!"
"None," Link replied, feeling his stomach. Indeed, no bones had been broken. Apparently what Cyphas had taught him for punches worked with kicks as well. My ribs are saved, but DANG that hurt! I have to be more careful...
"What? Well, you may have gained some slight strength in my absence while fighting the Dragonlord and others..." Ganon said, mildly surprised.
"You know about that?"
"Of course I do, fool! He's the first one I looked for when I returned. Since I didn't find him, you must have defeated him, correct? And I felt the pain of my shade Dark Link when you ran him through, as well. I know you had other battles..." Link eyes widened.
"You know all of it?" Link asked, astounded. How could he know such things if he had been sealed all that time?
"Oh, yes. Who do you think put a vampire in 'North Hyrule'? Who do you think brought a powerful siren from the other side of the ocean here? Who do you think corrupted Feelock? I did, of course! They were to be my servants, until you and those imbecilic sages sealed me..."
"I can't believe you did all that, you monster! I thought there was good in everyone, but you're certainly making me think twice!"
"Glad to hear it," Ganon said, cutting at Link with both swords. He was moving so fast Link had trouble keeping up with him. "The truth is I never had any 'good' in me, and neither do you. I simply have different goals, and you're in my way. There is no 'right' and 'wrong', and if there was, who would have the right to judge it? There is only people who seek power and people who do not." Ganon raised both his swords above his head, ready to bring them down with all his strength. Link knew an attack like that would shatter both his shield and his arm. He had to use his sword to block it...
"Not true, Ganondorf! There's only people who seek justice, and people who ruin it! Ahhh!" Ganondorf brought down his swords, creating a huge power clash between them and the Master Sword. The black magic was so overwhelming that it reached Link past his sword, throwing him to the ground. He got up shakily, the dark magic burning thorugh him and slowly dissappating. He dimly heard bubbling behind him, and wondered how close to the pit he was. Ouch, how did he do that? The Master Sword has always been more powerful than his magic. It doesn't feel like I was using the sword's full power, but it still should have been enough to shield me...The Master Sword had been thrown from Link's grip and he knew his sword was behind him somewhere, but since he couldn't just grab it he stalled by continuing the conversation. "There is a right and wrong, and it's impossible for a person to be born evil. That means every person has good in them to some degree whether it's on the surface or buried - even you, Ganondorf!" Too late, Link saw Ganondorf's expression and realized he had gone too far with his words. Stalling didn't work if you enraged the person you were trying to stall.
"Silence, fool!" Ganondorf ordered, his huge hand shooting forward to grip Link's neck. "Ah, that's better," he said, listening to his captive gasp for air. He lifted him off the ground and stared up at him, laughing insanely. "You don't know how long I've waited for this! Revenge is so sweet!" Link struggled violently, kicking at Ganondorf's face, but nothing he did loosened the tyrant's grip. Ganondorf walked forward towards the lava pitt, still smiling like a maniac. Link tried to say something nasty, degrading, and utterly insulting, but could only cough and try to pull Ganondorf's hand off. Ganon reached the edge of the pitt and stopped, holding Link over it. "I may yet see you melt, Hero of Time, heh heh heh. Or, we can have a liitle chat.
"You see, what you said about there being good in all people goes both ways." What's he talking about? Link wondered, beginning to feel very drowzy. Ganon was giving him just enough air to stay conscious. He didn't struggle so hard now, knowing that if Ganondorf let him go he would only die in the lava. "If everyone has good in them, then everyone has evil in them as well...even you. You think you're so righteous, Link? Hah! You're just like me. You have ideals that you would die for, ideals...that you would kill for. Me and you, Link...if anything gets in our way, we kill it. Don't even pretend you haven't killed people, Link. Even innocent ones. You may have pushed the thought to the back of your mind, but it's at the front of mine. You killed two old grannies. Remember them? Yes, Twinrova. Not innocent, you say? Well, you also killed four or five perfectly innocent people." It was all coming back to Link. He's right, I did push it to the back of my mind. Those innocent dragons...I killed them... "Ah, you do remember. Yes, I know you consider dragons to be people too, and you destroyed the ones controlled by the Dragonlord. Furthermore, you suspected they were being controlled and they were innocent, am I right? Then it's murder. I shouldn't even bring up Dark Link because you didn't destroy him completely, but with your violent tendencies you stuck your sword in his stomach like a true villain. Not to mention the hundreds of monters you've killed, including my horse. I didn't kill yours, you know. Why, you've probably killed more living things than me!" Ganondorf smiled, seeing that Link was not only in physical pain but great emotional pain. He pulled on Ganon's hand weakly, still choking and gasping. I'm a murderer, just like him..."You know, Link, that murder is an unforgivable sin. You're already doomed. Just like me. So, why don't you enjoy what life has to offer now? I could use your strength, Link. You are probaly the most powerful creature on this planet other than Sahoriel and myself. Lend me your incredible strength, and you can have anything you want. Just as a little extra incentive... if you don't join me, I'll drop you into the lava. What do you say to that?" Ganondorf lossened his grip enough that Link could speak a little. He's right, I'm doomed...I'm almost like him...but if I join him, things will only get worse, Link thought.
"Ganondorf, you're...mad." He said with difficulty, inhaling sharply between words. "No amount...of power or...pain...no amount of promises...or ever get me...to join you. I'd die first!! Ugh..." Ganondorf squeezed strongly again, this time cutting off any sort of breathing room, very painfully.
"Somehow I thought you'd say that. What a waste of talent." Ganondorf looked off into the sky behind Link for a few seconds, as if distracted or thinking. Link didn't notice this though, he was too busy being strangled. "Goodbye, Hero of Time!" Finally Ganondorf let go of Link, throwing him backwards into the pit. As soon as Link had enough air in his lungs, he screamed loudly. This was why he hated heights... that terrible feeling you got when you're falling through the air and you know you're going to hit the ground really, really hard. Or in this case, hit the lava and burn to death. Link looked up just before he hit the lava - into the eyes of Ganondorf. He should be smiling at my defeat, Link thought. Why isn't he smiling? Then his back hit something. It wasn't the lava, it wasn't even hot! Two fuzzy arms grabbed him and pulled him close to a fuzzy body. Then they turned over, so he could see the lava moving beneath him as two feathery wings beat rapidly. He was flying!
"Cutting it a little close aren't you, Link?" A familiar voice asked. Link looked over his shoulder and saw Coflix grinning at him. Coflix's wing tips caught fire from the heat as he pumped them strongly to rise after his steep swoop to grab Link. The added weight of the Hylian didn't help, either. He barely rose above the lava at first, then climbed faster until they were almost out of the pit. The relative wind put the wing fires out and Coflix lifted out of the huge hole of evil lava.
"Thanks a million, Coflix!" Link said, not able to think of anything else to say at the moment. He was still a little dizzy from being nearly throttled.
"Curses! Die Coflix, you feline menace!" Ganondorf shouted, firing a black ball of energy at the escaping cat. Coflix normally could dodge such a thing effortlessly, but with Link's weight to carry he was not as mobile. The side of the ball hit his back, right under the wing. Growling in pain the cat went down, diving straight into the top of a sandhill. Ganon raised a hand to shoot at them again, but Saroe came swooping at him from behind, giving him four large scratches on his wrist. "Ahhh! You too, Saroe? This is no place for a calwot. But ever since I heard of you years ago I knew someday you would interfere with my plans. Prepare to die!"
"In your dreams, Ganondorf! I failed to give the humans aid against you once, I won't let it happen again!" Saroe and Ganondorf went at it, punching, zapping, and slashing at eachother. Link managed to get himself out from under the sand he'd been thrust into, and found Coflix. The cat's top half was buried and his side was bleeding badly. Link pulled him out and found that he was breathing, but in great pain.
"Here, Coflix. Take this Arlia and rub it on that," Link said, handing the cat his plant. "I'm gonna go help Saroe fight Ganondorf." He realized just how bad she needed help as he turned and saw the two struggling with eachother. Ganondorf had his hand locked onto her snout so she couldn't cast verbal spells, and was pummeling her with his other hand. As Link began to run/stumble down the sand hill, Ganondorf formed some sort of blackish, magic-made blade in his hand and cut Saore's chest with it. The cat went flying, black magic burning her until she skidded to a stop on the ground, only inches away from the lava pitt, unconscious. "Saroe! Grrrr...Ganondorf, you'll get it for that!" Link yelled.
"Isn't that what you said in the forest?" Ganon asked, grinning at Link as the Hylian reached the bottom of the hill and charged. Ganondorf drew his one sword (the other sword had been dropped when he grabbed Link). As Link reached him and foolishly tried to cut him without powering up his sword, Ganon easily deflected the blow. Then he round-house kicked Link's head and sent him flying to the side, into another sand dune. Ganondorf rushed over and was almost apon Link before he could get up. Link powered up his sword, making it shine with whiteish-blue light. He tried to use as much power as he had on Dark Link, but for some reason the magic he was using at the moment was his limit. He jumped at Ganondorf and raised his blade over his head. This was it. If that sword connected with Ganondorf, there was no way he would win. It was time to fulfill his destiny.
"Take this, Ganondorf!" Link yelled, bringing down his sword a little too slowly.
"DIE, HERO OF TIME!" Ganondorf screamed, thrusting with his razor-sharp sword at Link's exposed body. The Hylian's mouth dropped open in shock. Unfortunately, the Hero of Time had made a miscalculation. He didn't think it was possible for Ganondorf, a giant of a man, to be that fast. The wickedly sharp Gerudo blade slid right into Link's stomach, impaling him. Link's eyes widened at the unexpected agony and time seemed to slow for him as his fingers unwillingly released his sword, which made a dull clang as it hit the dust. The Hylian looked down in disbelief at the blade in his gut. It hadn't gone in all the way, and he could see his pale face in the mirror-like surface of the sword until it was distorted by bright drops of red, dripping from his mouth. Chuckling in evil happiness, Ganondorf grabbed Link's chin roughly and shoved the sword in up to the hilt. Link gasped in pain and his blood poured onto the Evil King's hand. It ran down the length of the blade, dripping onto the ground. The Gerudo forcefully lifted Link's face, making the Hylian look at him.
"Where is it, Link? Where is this 'good' in me now?" He sneered, glaring into Link's deep, oceanlike, pain-filled blue eyes. "I'll tell you where it is....it's only in your imagination, boy!" With one strong jerk, Ganondorf yanked the blade out of Link, blood flying everywhere. Link screamed in searing pain and collapsed, hands covering the hole in the left side of his stomach. He dimly heard Ganondorf's phsychotic laughter as he coughed, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth. He could now feel nothing but pain, hear nothing but the beat of his heart pounding wildly.
"This is what happiness feels like!" Ganondorf declared loudly, laughing again. His laugh was evil, deep, triumphant. Then he looked to the skies and saw to his dismay that a score of calwots were flying his towards him. He could feel that they were powerful ones (Dhimun, Leal, Cimtu and seventeen other guards), and knew he couldn't take them all on his own without getting injured. He had accomplished his goal, it was time to retreat back to his castle and summon his army. He also wanted to send a little 'present' to Hyrule Castle before his actual assault. The Gerudo King flew back to his fortress as the cats came apon the bloody scene by the lava pitt. Link hardly noticed them. His world was turning red and black, and he was beginning to feel numb. He knew he wouldn't last long....
-sorry about the cliffhangar, people! I couldn't resist. Thanks for reading, like usual I'll update when I have two or three reviews, which normally only takes a few days. Sorry to make ya think Epona was dead for so 't fit in her retunr any earlier. See ya next time!
-Talonclawfange