Disclaimer- I don't own Zelda. But wish I could have the King of Red Lions!! Or at least a ride on the boat.
Hehe. Sorry for that last chapter, everyone. For cutting it off at that point and all. It was at dawn after no sleep that I was writing it. What's kind of scary is that I don't remember writing a few of those parts. But not writing at night this time so it's all good! Except for that it took so long to update after a cliffie . . .
Oni Link: (Glares at Shadow Girl) WHY?! WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE!?!? (Draws his new and improved blade)
Me: (Cowers) Cause . . . Wind Waker is addicting?
Oni Link: NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! (Raises the blade to cleave the girl through)
Me: Wah!! (Hits the dirt and starts looking through other excuses) My dog got sick! My parents went evil! Umm . . . My horse ran away!
Oni Link: Think that will work?! (Is hit on the back of the head by the Skull Hammer and falls to the ground)
Cell Link: (grins while holding the Skull Hammer like it weighs nothing) Looks like the evil me was going berserk. So, I popped in to give you a hand. (Helps Shadow Girl up)
Me: Oro? Heh . . . thanks. Oh, and by the way, everyone. This chapter is guaranteed to get a little crazy. Okay, really crazy. Just hold on for the ride! (Pats Cell Link on the head then kneels by Oni Link and pokes him to which he vanishes) There. He can save his rage for the chapter and we can get onto the dedications!
Cell Link: Yeah! (Does the happy dance)
Me: Okaayyy . . . Now me really know why this isn't a Wind Waker fic.
Cell Link: HEY!
This chapter goes out to:
Mithrandir- Throwing daggers at those who mention my name?? Whoa . . . Didn't know you hated me that much for a while. But at least Kronos won't get out more often. Hehe!
Dragonkiller- Er . . . waiting for the end? 'Tis the journey, not the destination that's supposed to be enjoyed. X.x;
Angle1- (Grins innocently) Well, if it is any consolation, your ranting chip gets a break for this chapter, okay? At long last, me know. And all good things must come to an end. Think there should be a third part? (Thinks of writing a third section somehow then falls over onto Cell Link) xx
Cell Link: Aagh! (Trapped under the girl then squirms out from under her) Whew . . . Okay then, I'll finish the dedications up. (Looks at Shadow Girl and sighs)
Shadow Knight- Hmm . . . Seems like that mild a threat got Shadow Girl to update soon after all. And she thanks you for the compliments of the other chapters! (Eyes the tea in Merrick's hand then sets a seed over his head. Waits for a seagull to come down then uses the seagull to take the tea from the Ninja) Yeah! (Strikes the famous pose with the tea in hand)
Cell Link: (Sips the tea then makes a face and spits out the bitter stuff) Gag! Onto the chapter now! (Goes to wash out his mouth)
The End
The snow no longer glittered from the moonlight. The Moon Temple was hidden by several shades of darkness. The gargoyle-like statues were shadows deeper than the darkness, each twisted in nightmarish affect. And still standing before the gates was the darkest figure.
Zolaris was bathed in the darkness he controlled, holding it almost as a blanket over his true form, even his skin was tinted darker. From the silhouette of his black helm, red tinged eyes gleamed out. He wore armor gleaming with the darkness like the knight he was.
The armor over his legs and arms was shaped to give him movement yet protect his limbs from direct attacks. The armor was sleek and flawless from his helm with its small dark moon crest down to his boots. It seemed to absorb any light from the heavens or earth into the darkness. From his shoulders, the armor slightly poked out to either side. Wherever the armor had a gap, black chain mail could not be seen due to the shadows but was there nonetheless. On his chest in the armor was a larger form of the dark moon crest and a black dragon curled in the circle grinning maliciously. It was a grin that was reflected on Zolaris' features.
In his gauntlets covering his hands, the God Blade gleamed faintly red. The only part of him breaking the monotony of shadow though the hilt of the blade was of black metal. Both sides of the blade from hilt to the midpoint of the blade, the same ancient text of the Moon God was inscribed into the metal.
The balance had been broken. Darkness had won over light. Yet from the gateway behind Oni, the stonework began to light up as a being of great power approached the outside from deep within the temple. The sound of calm footsteps along with the gentle sound of metal armor came closer to Zolaris, demanding the knight's attention.
From the presence of the light, the shadows around Zolaris parted. Yet the shadows over him defied the light. He turned calmly then smirked under the new dark helm, "Oni Link. Looks like you went through some changes as well."
Indeed, Oni had gone through changes under the power of the fourth Triforce. The style of his armor stayed the same but was tinted into a more silver color and gleamed against the shadows Zolaris controlled. Where his leggings, shirt, and gauntlets were black, they became the same silver color. His face was cleaned of war paint yet the fierce look in his features remained without the make-up.
In one hand and leaning against one shoulder, he carried the improved Deity Blade. The steel of it held a glow all it's own with several markings along the length of the blade as well. It remained an impressive length but no longer held the curves of the original blade. It was a solid blade much like the Master Sword.
The hilt of the blade held no pommel to protect the grip area much the same way Oni's original blade was like. But where the grip met the blade, a small medallion held fast to the metal. It was the medallion holding the upside down Triforce piece symbolizing balance between shadow and light.
Wordlessly, Oni fully emerged from the temple, lighting the stonework then lighting the area around them. The shadows under Zolaris' control seemed to shift around them, fighting against the light and steadily driving it back towards Oni. He raised his new sword from his shoulder into both hands and at the ready.
Zolaris laughed in his throat, "You were not a match for me before and you are not a match for me now, Oni. I am the Moon God Knight, Master of Darkness. This world belongs to me and you will not take it away." Zolaris grinned again and clenched the hilt of the God's Sword before crouching lightly, ready to launch the first attack.
Before either took the first move, the light surrounding Oni grew brighter and drove the shadows back once more. Zolaris hissed and shielded his eyes for a moment then glared at Oni, "A play of shadows and light alone will not end this. It will be over when I finish you off!"
Zolaris lunged at Oni, the darkness shrouding him departed as he came closer to the Deity's Blade but the shadows holding within the God's Blade pulsed with power and came down to meet the opponent. The sudden crash of power sent a shock through the air and rippled over the snow like water.
Before the shock wave could settle, the two fighters were clashing blades and throwing each other off only to strike again yet neither gained nor gave ground. Oni kept a calm face while Zolaris glared in hatred of the light. Zolaris threw Oni's sword back once more then drew his blade for an overhead slash but was blocked again by the silver glowing Deity's Blade.
Oni held Zolaris' God Blade for a moment and looked at the dark one, locking eyes, "Each piece of the Triforce was made by one of the Goddesses. What do you think the fourth piece was made by?"
With another growl, Zolaris jumped back from the blade of light, the shadows quickly surrounding him. Oni calmly held his blade down by his side again but trained his sight on Zolaris in the shadows. "It was made by the two Gods of the Moon together. It symbolizes balance. A balance that you will not be allowed to disrupt for long."
"You might be right about that, Oni. It was made by both Gods together. As was the moon itself. But as you can see, the balance of the moon has finally taken on destiny's design and has fallen to darkness. And so shall your Triforce!" Zolaris grinned at the thought and felt his blade pulse with another, familiar power of darkness.
Again the shadows battled with the light as both Deity and Knight stared at each other. Oni took up the Deity's Blade in a defensive stance and crouched slightly. From the shadows, Zolaris leaped forth and brought the God's Blade in another overhead slash. As planned, Oni tried to block the downward blade but the dark sword had become like shadow once more.
It passed through Oni's sword and slashed into the Deity himself. Oni gasped lightly and staggered at the feel of the icy shadows coursing through him, trying to take him down into the darkness then began to fight it. In his very mind, he used the light as a shield and drove back the dark claws that reached for him.
Zolaris could sense Oni Link trying to fight the shadows grip and brought the shadowed blade into both hands to stab into the very heart of the Deity. The shadowed sword passed through cloth and flesh and bone deeply to reach the soul. By the power of the darkness, Oni's body was brought to his knees, the Deity's Blade nearly falling from his grip.
The darkness around Oni grew in strength and began fighting against the light. A form writhed behind the shadows and reached forth with large, red eyes. Oni glared back at it in defiance then felt another presence by his side. Link also fought against the shadows threatening to take them both.
"What is this thing? Is this the Dark God?!" Link shouted over a sudden growl of the deepening and building shadows pushing towards them. He tried focusing all his energy to drive back the shadows and saw them waver slightly.
Oni glanced at Link then back to the shifting darkness as he explained calmly, "No, this is merely a weapon used by the Dark God. But a powerful one, nonetheless." He added his own power into the spirited counter attack. A ripple spread through the shadows and stopped their building.
Both hero and Deity together began to defend against then drive away the darkness. The beast hidden in the shadows shrieked in rage and reared back, revealing itself to be a black dragon (better description coming up later). From its gaping jaw, ebony tinted flames poured down on Oni and Link.
The Triforce of Courage began to shine of Link's hand. From the small golden light, a barrier surrounded the two and the flames were made to yield. "What's going on?" Oni yelled suddenly. From the Triforce, a mist of light seeped into the area. The mist grew then formed the body of a beautiful woman shrouded in green light.
Before either could say anything, the Goddess Farore formed her hands together, fingers interlocking, and held her palms out to the black dragon. From her palms, a ray of brilliant light shot forth through the black flames. The flames dissipated but the dragon avoided the sudden attack and glared in loathing of the shining figure.
"The balance shall be maintained." Farore said in a light yet powerful voice, "But the Triforce of Balance will not be enough." From her hands, a bow of green light formed. She pulled back the string and an arrow of equal light formed in her fingers. "Turn to all the creators when the time of destruction is near."
She released the energy and the arrow shot into the dragon, completely imbedded into the dark hide. At first, Link and Oni thought it did nothing. But from the beast where the arrow was imbedded, the dragon's hide became lighter. At first, only a small spot of light formed under the skin then it became brighter and began to spread.
The dragon shrieked in absolute pain then began clawing at itself where the light was and spreading, trying to stop it, to no avail. The light engulfed the entire creature until the dragon reeled backwards and fell onto its back. When the form of the beast stopped moving, it dissipated into a smoke form then came together in a single trail of light that fled into the retreating darkness once more.
"Turn to all the creators?" Link questioned.
"All the creators must be all of the Goddesses, Creators of the World. Though, Farore seemed powerful enough. She took out one of the greater weapons of the Dark God in one attack like it was nothing. Although . . ." Oni held the Deity's Blade by his side as he looked around for anymore threats. Satisfied there were none, he continued to explain, ". . . when I clashed blades with Zolaris, it felt as though his blade was not going to give an inch, much less break. It must take more power then that of the fourth Triforce alone."
"Then, how do we call on them? Farore is the Goddess of courage and I . . . or we . . . have that Triforce piece. Then that means . . . we need the other pieces!"
Oni Link snapped back to himself just as Zolaris was coming down on him with the God's Blade. He leaped back in the snow from kneeling, catching himself on his hands and flipping back again onto his feet, sword in hand.
"Finally awake?" Zolaris sneered, "I know what you did to the mighty Black Dragon. And that victory will be a short lived one!" His blade was once more consumed in black flames of his new power.
The flames grew as the light around Oni began to dim. "Think he knows?" Oni Link muttered under his breath to Link but got no reply. He brought the Deity's Blade into both hands and brought light back into the growing darkness.
The flames around Zolaris' blade continued to grow. From the metal itself, a figure began to rise into the sky. A familiar shriek sounded in the night and echoed off the distant peaks of Mt. Doom. The light shining from the Triforce of Balance through the blade and from the Deity himself couldn't completely pierce the sudden darkness as the creature rose into the sky but from the silhouette of the light, Oni could make out his new foe.
It was the same creature held within the God's Blade and it was the weapon of the Dark Moon God. Its eyes were a deeper darkness than that it was born from and set on a scaled head. Even when its mouth was closed, razor sharp teeth poked over the upper and lower lips. Beside its jaws and over the muscle, an extra fang on each side jutted forward. From the above either eye, a long hors swept back and down to run beside the thick, curved neck.
Unlike Volvagia, the Black Dragon had arms and legs as well as vast wings to support flight. It's muscled torso shoed no change in scales that protected the body. Not even a wound where the Goddess had shot it with a divine arrow. Its claws on both front legs and powerful hind legs were sharper than its teeth and wickedly curved, clawing slightly at the air in anticipation of killing.
The spines like spikes over its back ran from the middle of its skull along down its back to the base of its tail. Its tail was long enough, it reached out and flicked the air just above Lon Lon Ranch at least.
Whatever light still shone in the heavens from the stars, it was blacked out by the spread of wings. Whatever silence gave peace to the innocent, it was banished by the roars of the beast. Whatever peace remained in the air, it was shattered by the terror induced by the creature of darkness.
"And so the Time of Destruction befalls Hyrule. That book of Zelda's didn't say anything about this . . ." Oni Link reached within himself for the flame of his own magic and poured the power into his blade. The silver light flared into the metal and the shadows around him parted.
From the sky over Zolaris, the Black Dragon growled deeply and fixed its eyes on Oni. With one down sweep of its great wings, it rose higher into the air then went into a dive, dark flames flicking from its mouth as it prepared to breathe death onto the Deity.
Elsewhere, Zelda stood out on the balcony of the high prisoner tower of the Gerudo Fortress. She stared out onto the field of growing darkness and fading light. She feared the prophecy of doom might very well hold true as she held the book close to her chest.
From behind Zelda, Nabooru materialized from the shadows and placed a comforting hand on the young sage's shoulder. "You are not worried only for this land, are you?" Nabooru stated in her thick accent. It was more of a comment than a question.
Zelda nodded silently then sighs and opened the book to a page she had often looked at after looking through the legend. She showed the page to Nabooru, letting her see the picture of an ancient depiction of a black dragon consuming the land in dark flames. "I wanted to warn Link and even the Deity living within him. But there was no time . . ."
Nabooru lightly scoffed, "You truly think that young whelp of a hero would have stopped long enough to listen to what you would say? Trust me on this, Zelda, this night can only happen once, now. And what happens will happen. You can not regret over what you don't have control over."
"I guess so . . . But it doesn't feel right. Some part of me wants to go out there and help Link but . . . I can't." Zelda lowered her eyes in sorrow then jumped as a shriek sounded across the land.
Both Zelda and Nabooru went to the edge of the balcony to lean against the fence and gain a better view of the field. Zelda gasped as the source of the shriek came into being.
The shadows were thicker than before, the stars nearly blotted out or else their light absorbed into the shadows as well. From the depths of the shadows rose the great Black Dragon bringing terror into the night. The book of ancient legends fell from shaking hands. It fell to the stonework and flipped itself open to the page with the picture of the Black Dragon.
The Sage of Spirit offered strength, setting her hands on either of the young girl's shoulders as they both looked at the rising dragon. Neither spoke as, even from that distance, the dragon's roars drowned out any other sounds.
From below, those Gerudo who had been sleeping or not guarding the bodies of Kohachan, Matt, and Crystal each rushed to the grounds in front of the fortress. Nabooru gritted her teeth. Even she could not think of how the land of Hyrule was going to live through this.
"Zelda" A familiar and young voice sounded from all around the two sages. Instantly, Nabooru drew two large blades from behind her and moved to protect the princess. "Woah, calm down!" the voice said in surprise. A small light formed before both them then formed into a faint image of Link.
Nabooru lowered her blades and looked at the image of Link, wondering if it was a simple ruse, but Zelda could tell he really was Link. Even if he wasn't there in person. "Link, what's going on?" She pointed back at the immense dragon who had let out another roar then flew higher into the air, staring down towards the light.
"Zelda, it's okay. It's hard to explain and I don't have much time. Oni is still out there. We . . . he . . . the Triforce of Balance has been claimed. But that power is not enough against the Knight! We need the power of the three Goddesses! That's what Farore said . . ." Link trailed off, hoping the Sage of Wisdom would understand.
"Farore spoke to you?" Zelda thought for a moment on that then retrieved the fallen book. Keeping it on the page of the Black Dragon, she only turned it a page further to find yet another picture. This one depicting three lights combining together into one effort.
"I wanted to show this to you earlier . . . but it seems the Goddesses took it into their own hands to make you understand." She held the book closer once more and looked to Link "Legends of Hyrule say that the Goddesses will descend when the Triforce is brought together. How can we bring the pieces together at all?
"Farore must have gone to you through the Triforce piece you hold. Nayru may come to you through the Triforce of Wisdom. But there is still one more . . ."
"I know . . ." Link added softly. Both holders of the Triforce knew Ganondorf still held the Triforce of Power. And within that, the power of Din. Could they summon the dark warlock back in order to gain the power to bring down the Moon God Knight? Neither could decide.
The sound of another shriek brought them back to the present. Nabooru was looking out at the battlefield as Oni continued to fight against the dragon. She blinked then looked again at Oni. The Deity was surrounded not only by the light of the fourth Triforce in battling the darkness.
She might have been mistaken, but there was another light surrounding him. That pristine light shone brilliantly yet did not hurt the eyes to gaze upon. It could only have been one of the great Creators of Hyrule. "It seems Link was not exaggerating about the Goddess speaking to him. And she is saying something very powerful right now in lending the silver-clad warrior her power. Zelda, come and see!"
Zelda looked back to Link once then went to Nabooru's side and saw the fight. She could see the new power both of the fourth Triforce and of the Goddess. But those powers were not enough to drive the dragon back. As things were, the dragon would not be held back for much longer.
Link could feel Oni's strain. He too felt himself weakening as Oni defended against each flame attack and wondered when the dragon would try attacking by claw. At the very least, it could not yet get near the light. He looked from the battle, to Nabooru, then to Zelda only to find the young princess praying.
He went to her side, trying to hear the prayer she murmured. Just as he got close enough, Zelda shouted the final phrase and threw her hand into the air. Link jumped back, despite his spirited form, and looked up at Zelda to see the Triforce glowing on the back of her hand. He continued to stare as a bright light tinted with blue flowed from the Triforce of Wisdom then took to flight towards the battle of darkness.
Zelda leaned against the rail of the prison tower and watched the battle once more. As the light of Nayru joined that of Farore, the light became brighter. She gave a small smile as the flames of the Black Dragon became useless and the warrior wielding the fourth Triforce piece became stronger. "If only . . . if only Din was here now. This nightmare would be over."
Oni felt the sudden change as he held the flat of the Deity's Blade to the dark flames. It was like waking up to a cold splash of water. The power that poured into himself then into the blade was unmistakably that of one of the Goddesses.
The light surrounding him became brighter and threw off the flames easily. Oni took the opportunity and focused more to shape the new power as well as his own power into the blade. The light became brighter and completely enveloped the blade as well as the hands that held it.
Another consciousness once more touched Oni's thoughts. Link had returned to him to aid the Deity in the fight. He recalled the lessons Gramps had taught him. Lessons in sword skills, including that of the wave.
Oni felt the power reach its peak. His eyes snapped open and he released some of the rippling power through the light. A wave of light flew from all around him and pressed outward. The dome much like Nayru's Love passed outward from Oni and crashed into the Black Dragon.
The beast gave a shriek, this time of pain, and snarled down at the wielder of the light. Before the creature could breathe another breath of dark flames, it was struck with another wall of light. It's flesh hissed even as it drew back from the light. Yet it was far from defeated.
From the shadows that seemed to surround the dragon's form on command, the creature had started to dive from the heights. The beast came crashing towards the earth and towards Oni, ignoring the crashes of light from wave after wave of energy.
{It's not stopping!} Link yelled as the body came crashing down. "They we'll have to cut a way through!" Oni grinned and gathered more energy holding it in the blade. An aura of light making the light seem solid formed over the blade. Oni held the blade above his head and waited just a moment longer for the body of the dragon to come closer.
In that instant, he made all the power he could muster thrust forward from the blade and into the dark flesh of the crashing beast.
Zolaris shielded himself from the sudden spray of snow then grinned wickedly. The light was extinguished. The fools were too late! Though . . . they did have him concerned for a while there. He looked through the darkness as easily as day.
The mass of black scales lay in the snow, the dragon's chest pierced by the final flash of light. The wings of the beast had become tattered from the various waves of light then from the kamikaze dive. They lay crumpled to either side of the fallen form. He noticed in the distance that one wing had crashed against the ranch and lay propped up on the plateau.
One of the creature's legs twitched slightly despite the creature was obviously dead. Its head could not even be seen, if it was still there after diving through the waves of light. Zolaris growled in his throat, realizing that Oni did manage to destroy the Black Dragon before dying. May the shadows forever infect and devour their souls beyond the grave.
In the peaceful darkness of Link's mind, he and Oni met once more. Both of them knew that the power of Nayru and Farore together granted Oni enough power to destroy the dragon. But the dragon was merely a weapon. To defeat the true enemy and free the souls of Link's friends, they were going to need the strength of the third Goddess.
{Link, you have faced Ganondorf even after you fought against him. You have to see him once more.} Oni crossed his arms, looking down at the young hero.
Link snorted lightly {That was when I was dreaming. Or when I was nearly dead! If I go there and leave you to fight against Zolaris, then the both of us will be dead!}
{Listen to me!} Oni was becoming more than annoyed {If this goes on as it has, we will end up dying anyway! All you have to do is awaken Din from Ganondorf. He might even try to use the power of the Goddess against you. Thus she will be able to come forth and all three Goddesses through the Triforce of Balance will put an end to the Moon God Knight.}
{And what if Ganondorf won't follow through and use the Triforce of Power? He is already being kept in the Abyss! I've felt those flames once before, Oni. I don't plan on feeling them again.}
To Link's confusion, the Deity smirked. {That's the beauty of it. You might be there in mind but that is all. After Din is released, you will be brought back to this plane of reality. You cannot be lost to that place.}
Both the hero and Deity faced off for a moment longer before reaching a decision.
Just as the Knight thought of that curse, the fallen dragon's back began to burn between its wings. A light lanced out of the dark hide and into the sky. Zolaris clenched the God's Blade in anger as the light spread and grew until the entire corpse of the Black Dragon was destroyed.
In the center of the area, Oni stood holding the Deity's Blade and surrounded by a light beyond his own power. He grinned at Zolaris' look of pure hate then held the blade to his side. Power flowed over the blade like liquid light and gathered along the edge. Oni swung the blade in a horizontal slash, releasing a blade of light at Zolaris.
Zolaris kept a look of hate in his eyes as the shadows gave way to the power of light energy flying at him. With a simple slash of darkness from the God's Blade, he vanquished the light then began making that shadows grow.
Yet another battle of shadows and light waged while the force of darkness approached the keeper of light. "Fool" Zolaris hissed, "Light was created from darkness. And so, into darkness all light will fall. Toloran learned this the hard way. Now, I will teach you the same . . ."
"Wrong!" Oni cut off the Knight's speech. "Darkness cannot create light. But a light can emerge from the darkest of shadows and grow, driving the darkness away. That, you have seen through this whole night."
A blade of shadow energy cut through the light and towards Oni. In the time of a heartbeat, he took up the Deity's Blade to defend himself against the attack. But the power of the darkness was even greater than before. The attack pushed him back several paces before vanishing from the light.
"Yet there will always be a balance. There cannot be light without darkness. And there cannot be darkness without light." Oni finished. Yet his mind was not on his own words. He only hoped that Link would be successful on his own mission.
When he looked for Zolaris again, he found the Knight attacking from above. Another quake of power trembled through the earth from the Sacred Realm to the very Abyss itself.
Following the sudden clash that shook the very bowls of his prison, a figure of olive-green skin and clothing of the Gerudo smirked evilly. He threw back his head and laughed at the spirit form before him. "You expect me to simply obey and release my power for your use? You always were a fool."
Link didn't take his glare off of Ganondorf. He refused to plead the Evil King of anything much less to attack him. "Ganondorf, if the God of the Dark Moon finishes with Hyrule, where do you think he is going to go to next?! His power rivals that of the Goddesses as it is. Your power alone is not enough to defeat him as is ours. We only need you to give access to Din to descend to Hyrule before it's too late! You will still have the Triforce of Power in your hand. You have nothing to lose!"
"But I have everything to gain. Especially the satisfaction of seeing you fail."
"You would fail also, you know." Link pointed out blankly.
Ganondorf lost his smirk and glanced at the green-clad kid then demanded answers.
"When you were banished here, you said your descendants would destroy me, as long as you hold the Triforce of Power in your hand. But if someone else kills me, then you lose, in a sense." Link prayed silently that Ganondorf would fall for it.
A few minutes and another tremor later, Ganondorf turned to face Link directly. "You truly think . . . that I would fall for such a trick? You're as dull as a deku stick if you expect me to fall for that. I don't care how you die as long as you die!"
Link couldn't help but flinch from the flames that suddenly erupted around and below him at Ganondorf's words. He tried one more time. "Ganondorf, you always said you wanted the Triforce. It would give you whatever your heart desired! But if I am gone, then the Triforce of Courage goes with me!"
"The Triforce piece would simply be put into another carrier." With that, the Kind of Evil turned his back on Link.
"And you would have to search the entire world to find the new carrier. It doesn't have to be someone of Hyrule. The Goddesses have chosen three others to hold a part of their being and those three were kept very far apart." Link put on a fake grin, seeing his words sink into Ganondorf. "Instead of looking for just one princess and one child, you would have to find a completely different carrier of the Triforce of Courage. You might even never find it. And that's only if you find a way out and there is anyone left at all!" Ah, that struck a chord!
Ganondorf whipped back around on Link, "What do you mean?"
Link began to explain everything to Ganondorf and as quickly as he possibly could, leaving out little and emphasizing the death of everyone that could be a possible holder of the Triforce of Courage being gone. He emphasized that no one would know where the pieces of the Triforce would go if there was only a God controlling the world. The world that Ganondorf had wanted to control . . .
Ganondorf thought of ways around Link's facts. But his want for power would never be satisfied until he had all of the Triforce and access to even greater power. He also did want to crush the foolish hero with his own hand. Finally, he narrowed his eyes at Link, "Don't you think for a moment that I'm giving you a break. But what you have said is true. My curse upon you and your descendants still hold." He held up his hand, the Triforce of Power shining on the back of it, "As long as I hold the Triforce of Power in my hand." The piece began to glow brilliantly then a stream of red light flashed from it then vanished from that realm.
Link grinned slightly as Ganondorf scowled in hate then he too vanished from the realm, leaving the Kind of Evil to stew over various schemes.
The Triforce of Balance flashed under the light of the blade as Oni sent volley after volley of light at Zolaris. Yet the Knight revealed his own speed as well as another power of his. Every time a blade of light came near him, he vanished from that spot and appeared elsewhere.
Becoming frustrated once more, Oni picked up from the snow and dashed forward, driving the shadows away to find the real Zolaris. Yet traveling into the darkness turned out to be a bad idea. Oni realized this a little too late as the light of his blade and armor reflected off of black and deep red armor.
Stars of pain burst before Oni's eyes as a blade plunged into his armor and into his body. It was no shadow blade this time. Cold metal cut through him and chilled his very blood before the blade was pulled out and Oni rendered to the ground.
Before Zolaris could deal another blow, Oni gripped the blade and used its aid in turning over and away from the black metal of the opponent's sword. As Zolaris drew back for a killing blow, a shock of power flew through Oni, reviving his strength and magic once more. The Deity jumped back to his feet and cast the shadows away with the power of the wave attack born of light.
"Die!" Zolaris commanded and attacked Oni with another thrust. Oni felt Link with him once again and knew the young hero had helped in more ways than one. A new light began to shine in and around Oni Link. The Deity Blade was a pristine beacon shining against the shadows.
The light caused Zolaris to back away a few paces before holding his ground once more. He brought on more darkness around him as though for a shield. But with little effort, the shield was cast away by the Deity and the three Goddesses' power.
"It is over." Oni Link said. But in his voice, three other greater feminine voices echoed his words. "The balance was created by we three. And so it shall remain under the guard of we three for all eternity." Zolaris' eyes widened a moment as he fully realized what was happening.
Holding the hilt of the blade in one hand, Oni Link raised his other hand palm forward to Zolaris. Before the Moon God Knight could run, a beam of golden energy speared into him and sapped at his strength to the point he fell to one knee but still glared at Oni with the will to fight back.
The Deity's Blade flashed with a different kind of light as the wielder neared the fallen Zolaris. The Knight growled something then used the last of his power to lift the God's Blade in both hands to hold over his head. The Deity's Blade fell over it then . . . the metal of the dark blade cracked. Zolaris stared in horror as the cracks on his blade soon gave and the blade itself broke into various pieces.
Once the blade had been broken, a maelstrom of shadows picked up. The image of the Moon Temple hazed out of being. Then the shadows became absorbed into the temple just as the gates vanished.
Three lights appeared where the statue of the Hydra once was. One was green, another was blue, and the third was red. Each light rose higher into the air then each flew in the same general direction to the Gerudo Fortress. In the snow where the fortress was and the lights departed from, a figure appeared lying in the snow. Oni Link could sense the figure, Toloran, was alive but unconscious.
A smile spread across his face slowly but surely as the darkness disbanded and the light of the stars continued to shine. He looked up to the night shy and noticed the moon was still a shadow in the night sky and lost the smile where it began.
In front of the Deity, three figured each bathed in golden light appeared. They wordlessly looked to Oni Link then held out their right hands. Before Oni could say or do anything to them, the light that had fallen over his armor, clothing, and blade left him and went back into the Triforce of Balance.
The emblem came loose from the sword hilt and flew into the hands of the Goddesses before vanishing. Oni Link looked at himself. He was back to normal. Even the war paint was back. His long sleeves and leggings as well as his gauntlets were black while his armor was back to its normal color as well. Even his blade was back to its unique design.
With a half smirk, he finally left, leaving Link back to his own body. The young boy clad in greed bowed deeply to the Goddesses. "Thank you." While he was bowed at the waist, the Goddesses parted then spiraled in the air and left in their own ways. Farore's power flew back into the image of the Triforce of Courage on Link's hand while the other two went back to their respective places.
Link gave one last weary smile and straightened up before falling over in the snow, lost in deep sleep.
Hehehehe. Well, what ya think? Long fight, eh? Battle after battle. But, they finally did it. And Link finally gets a few breaks in this one. Including his well-deserved rest in the end. One I wouldn't mind having myself, actually . . .
One last chapter coming up, ladies and gents. We'll find out what happens to the rest of the crew soon. Can't say how soon, but sooner than a month away. And that will be the epilogue! Can ya believe it?!
Until next time!
Hehe. Sorry for that last chapter, everyone. For cutting it off at that point and all. It was at dawn after no sleep that I was writing it. What's kind of scary is that I don't remember writing a few of those parts. But not writing at night this time so it's all good! Except for that it took so long to update after a cliffie . . .
Oni Link: (Glares at Shadow Girl) WHY?! WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE!?!? (Draws his new and improved blade)
Me: (Cowers) Cause . . . Wind Waker is addicting?
Oni Link: NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! (Raises the blade to cleave the girl through)
Me: Wah!! (Hits the dirt and starts looking through other excuses) My dog got sick! My parents went evil! Umm . . . My horse ran away!
Oni Link: Think that will work?! (Is hit on the back of the head by the Skull Hammer and falls to the ground)
Cell Link: (grins while holding the Skull Hammer like it weighs nothing) Looks like the evil me was going berserk. So, I popped in to give you a hand. (Helps Shadow Girl up)
Me: Oro? Heh . . . thanks. Oh, and by the way, everyone. This chapter is guaranteed to get a little crazy. Okay, really crazy. Just hold on for the ride! (Pats Cell Link on the head then kneels by Oni Link and pokes him to which he vanishes) There. He can save his rage for the chapter and we can get onto the dedications!
Cell Link: Yeah! (Does the happy dance)
Me: Okaayyy . . . Now me really know why this isn't a Wind Waker fic.
Cell Link: HEY!
This chapter goes out to:
Mithrandir- Throwing daggers at those who mention my name?? Whoa . . . Didn't know you hated me that much for a while. But at least Kronos won't get out more often. Hehe!
Dragonkiller- Er . . . waiting for the end? 'Tis the journey, not the destination that's supposed to be enjoyed. X.x;
Angle1- (Grins innocently) Well, if it is any consolation, your ranting chip gets a break for this chapter, okay? At long last, me know. And all good things must come to an end. Think there should be a third part? (Thinks of writing a third section somehow then falls over onto Cell Link) xx
Cell Link: Aagh! (Trapped under the girl then squirms out from under her) Whew . . . Okay then, I'll finish the dedications up. (Looks at Shadow Girl and sighs)
Shadow Knight- Hmm . . . Seems like that mild a threat got Shadow Girl to update soon after all. And she thanks you for the compliments of the other chapters! (Eyes the tea in Merrick's hand then sets a seed over his head. Waits for a seagull to come down then uses the seagull to take the tea from the Ninja) Yeah! (Strikes the famous pose with the tea in hand)
Cell Link: (Sips the tea then makes a face and spits out the bitter stuff) Gag! Onto the chapter now! (Goes to wash out his mouth)
The End
The snow no longer glittered from the moonlight. The Moon Temple was hidden by several shades of darkness. The gargoyle-like statues were shadows deeper than the darkness, each twisted in nightmarish affect. And still standing before the gates was the darkest figure.
Zolaris was bathed in the darkness he controlled, holding it almost as a blanket over his true form, even his skin was tinted darker. From the silhouette of his black helm, red tinged eyes gleamed out. He wore armor gleaming with the darkness like the knight he was.
The armor over his legs and arms was shaped to give him movement yet protect his limbs from direct attacks. The armor was sleek and flawless from his helm with its small dark moon crest down to his boots. It seemed to absorb any light from the heavens or earth into the darkness. From his shoulders, the armor slightly poked out to either side. Wherever the armor had a gap, black chain mail could not be seen due to the shadows but was there nonetheless. On his chest in the armor was a larger form of the dark moon crest and a black dragon curled in the circle grinning maliciously. It was a grin that was reflected on Zolaris' features.
In his gauntlets covering his hands, the God Blade gleamed faintly red. The only part of him breaking the monotony of shadow though the hilt of the blade was of black metal. Both sides of the blade from hilt to the midpoint of the blade, the same ancient text of the Moon God was inscribed into the metal.
The balance had been broken. Darkness had won over light. Yet from the gateway behind Oni, the stonework began to light up as a being of great power approached the outside from deep within the temple. The sound of calm footsteps along with the gentle sound of metal armor came closer to Zolaris, demanding the knight's attention.
From the presence of the light, the shadows around Zolaris parted. Yet the shadows over him defied the light. He turned calmly then smirked under the new dark helm, "Oni Link. Looks like you went through some changes as well."
Indeed, Oni had gone through changes under the power of the fourth Triforce. The style of his armor stayed the same but was tinted into a more silver color and gleamed against the shadows Zolaris controlled. Where his leggings, shirt, and gauntlets were black, they became the same silver color. His face was cleaned of war paint yet the fierce look in his features remained without the make-up.
In one hand and leaning against one shoulder, he carried the improved Deity Blade. The steel of it held a glow all it's own with several markings along the length of the blade as well. It remained an impressive length but no longer held the curves of the original blade. It was a solid blade much like the Master Sword.
The hilt of the blade held no pommel to protect the grip area much the same way Oni's original blade was like. But where the grip met the blade, a small medallion held fast to the metal. It was the medallion holding the upside down Triforce piece symbolizing balance between shadow and light.
Wordlessly, Oni fully emerged from the temple, lighting the stonework then lighting the area around them. The shadows under Zolaris' control seemed to shift around them, fighting against the light and steadily driving it back towards Oni. He raised his new sword from his shoulder into both hands and at the ready.
Zolaris laughed in his throat, "You were not a match for me before and you are not a match for me now, Oni. I am the Moon God Knight, Master of Darkness. This world belongs to me and you will not take it away." Zolaris grinned again and clenched the hilt of the God's Sword before crouching lightly, ready to launch the first attack.
Before either took the first move, the light surrounding Oni grew brighter and drove the shadows back once more. Zolaris hissed and shielded his eyes for a moment then glared at Oni, "A play of shadows and light alone will not end this. It will be over when I finish you off!"
Zolaris lunged at Oni, the darkness shrouding him departed as he came closer to the Deity's Blade but the shadows holding within the God's Blade pulsed with power and came down to meet the opponent. The sudden crash of power sent a shock through the air and rippled over the snow like water.
Before the shock wave could settle, the two fighters were clashing blades and throwing each other off only to strike again yet neither gained nor gave ground. Oni kept a calm face while Zolaris glared in hatred of the light. Zolaris threw Oni's sword back once more then drew his blade for an overhead slash but was blocked again by the silver glowing Deity's Blade.
Oni held Zolaris' God Blade for a moment and looked at the dark one, locking eyes, "Each piece of the Triforce was made by one of the Goddesses. What do you think the fourth piece was made by?"
With another growl, Zolaris jumped back from the blade of light, the shadows quickly surrounding him. Oni calmly held his blade down by his side again but trained his sight on Zolaris in the shadows. "It was made by the two Gods of the Moon together. It symbolizes balance. A balance that you will not be allowed to disrupt for long."
"You might be right about that, Oni. It was made by both Gods together. As was the moon itself. But as you can see, the balance of the moon has finally taken on destiny's design and has fallen to darkness. And so shall your Triforce!" Zolaris grinned at the thought and felt his blade pulse with another, familiar power of darkness.
Again the shadows battled with the light as both Deity and Knight stared at each other. Oni took up the Deity's Blade in a defensive stance and crouched slightly. From the shadows, Zolaris leaped forth and brought the God's Blade in another overhead slash. As planned, Oni tried to block the downward blade but the dark sword had become like shadow once more.
It passed through Oni's sword and slashed into the Deity himself. Oni gasped lightly and staggered at the feel of the icy shadows coursing through him, trying to take him down into the darkness then began to fight it. In his very mind, he used the light as a shield and drove back the dark claws that reached for him.
Zolaris could sense Oni Link trying to fight the shadows grip and brought the shadowed blade into both hands to stab into the very heart of the Deity. The shadowed sword passed through cloth and flesh and bone deeply to reach the soul. By the power of the darkness, Oni's body was brought to his knees, the Deity's Blade nearly falling from his grip.
The darkness around Oni grew in strength and began fighting against the light. A form writhed behind the shadows and reached forth with large, red eyes. Oni glared back at it in defiance then felt another presence by his side. Link also fought against the shadows threatening to take them both.
"What is this thing? Is this the Dark God?!" Link shouted over a sudden growl of the deepening and building shadows pushing towards them. He tried focusing all his energy to drive back the shadows and saw them waver slightly.
Oni glanced at Link then back to the shifting darkness as he explained calmly, "No, this is merely a weapon used by the Dark God. But a powerful one, nonetheless." He added his own power into the spirited counter attack. A ripple spread through the shadows and stopped their building.
Both hero and Deity together began to defend against then drive away the darkness. The beast hidden in the shadows shrieked in rage and reared back, revealing itself to be a black dragon (better description coming up later). From its gaping jaw, ebony tinted flames poured down on Oni and Link.
The Triforce of Courage began to shine of Link's hand. From the small golden light, a barrier surrounded the two and the flames were made to yield. "What's going on?" Oni yelled suddenly. From the Triforce, a mist of light seeped into the area. The mist grew then formed the body of a beautiful woman shrouded in green light.
Before either could say anything, the Goddess Farore formed her hands together, fingers interlocking, and held her palms out to the black dragon. From her palms, a ray of brilliant light shot forth through the black flames. The flames dissipated but the dragon avoided the sudden attack and glared in loathing of the shining figure.
"The balance shall be maintained." Farore said in a light yet powerful voice, "But the Triforce of Balance will not be enough." From her hands, a bow of green light formed. She pulled back the string and an arrow of equal light formed in her fingers. "Turn to all the creators when the time of destruction is near."
She released the energy and the arrow shot into the dragon, completely imbedded into the dark hide. At first, Link and Oni thought it did nothing. But from the beast where the arrow was imbedded, the dragon's hide became lighter. At first, only a small spot of light formed under the skin then it became brighter and began to spread.
The dragon shrieked in absolute pain then began clawing at itself where the light was and spreading, trying to stop it, to no avail. The light engulfed the entire creature until the dragon reeled backwards and fell onto its back. When the form of the beast stopped moving, it dissipated into a smoke form then came together in a single trail of light that fled into the retreating darkness once more.
"Turn to all the creators?" Link questioned.
"All the creators must be all of the Goddesses, Creators of the World. Though, Farore seemed powerful enough. She took out one of the greater weapons of the Dark God in one attack like it was nothing. Although . . ." Oni held the Deity's Blade by his side as he looked around for anymore threats. Satisfied there were none, he continued to explain, ". . . when I clashed blades with Zolaris, it felt as though his blade was not going to give an inch, much less break. It must take more power then that of the fourth Triforce alone."
"Then, how do we call on them? Farore is the Goddess of courage and I . . . or we . . . have that Triforce piece. Then that means . . . we need the other pieces!"
Oni Link snapped back to himself just as Zolaris was coming down on him with the God's Blade. He leaped back in the snow from kneeling, catching himself on his hands and flipping back again onto his feet, sword in hand.
"Finally awake?" Zolaris sneered, "I know what you did to the mighty Black Dragon. And that victory will be a short lived one!" His blade was once more consumed in black flames of his new power.
The flames grew as the light around Oni began to dim. "Think he knows?" Oni Link muttered under his breath to Link but got no reply. He brought the Deity's Blade into both hands and brought light back into the growing darkness.
The flames around Zolaris' blade continued to grow. From the metal itself, a figure began to rise into the sky. A familiar shriek sounded in the night and echoed off the distant peaks of Mt. Doom. The light shining from the Triforce of Balance through the blade and from the Deity himself couldn't completely pierce the sudden darkness as the creature rose into the sky but from the silhouette of the light, Oni could make out his new foe.
It was the same creature held within the God's Blade and it was the weapon of the Dark Moon God. Its eyes were a deeper darkness than that it was born from and set on a scaled head. Even when its mouth was closed, razor sharp teeth poked over the upper and lower lips. Beside its jaws and over the muscle, an extra fang on each side jutted forward. From the above either eye, a long hors swept back and down to run beside the thick, curved neck.
Unlike Volvagia, the Black Dragon had arms and legs as well as vast wings to support flight. It's muscled torso shoed no change in scales that protected the body. Not even a wound where the Goddess had shot it with a divine arrow. Its claws on both front legs and powerful hind legs were sharper than its teeth and wickedly curved, clawing slightly at the air in anticipation of killing.
The spines like spikes over its back ran from the middle of its skull along down its back to the base of its tail. Its tail was long enough, it reached out and flicked the air just above Lon Lon Ranch at least.
Whatever light still shone in the heavens from the stars, it was blacked out by the spread of wings. Whatever silence gave peace to the innocent, it was banished by the roars of the beast. Whatever peace remained in the air, it was shattered by the terror induced by the creature of darkness.
"And so the Time of Destruction befalls Hyrule. That book of Zelda's didn't say anything about this . . ." Oni Link reached within himself for the flame of his own magic and poured the power into his blade. The silver light flared into the metal and the shadows around him parted.
From the sky over Zolaris, the Black Dragon growled deeply and fixed its eyes on Oni. With one down sweep of its great wings, it rose higher into the air then went into a dive, dark flames flicking from its mouth as it prepared to breathe death onto the Deity.
Elsewhere, Zelda stood out on the balcony of the high prisoner tower of the Gerudo Fortress. She stared out onto the field of growing darkness and fading light. She feared the prophecy of doom might very well hold true as she held the book close to her chest.
From behind Zelda, Nabooru materialized from the shadows and placed a comforting hand on the young sage's shoulder. "You are not worried only for this land, are you?" Nabooru stated in her thick accent. It was more of a comment than a question.
Zelda nodded silently then sighs and opened the book to a page she had often looked at after looking through the legend. She showed the page to Nabooru, letting her see the picture of an ancient depiction of a black dragon consuming the land in dark flames. "I wanted to warn Link and even the Deity living within him. But there was no time . . ."
Nabooru lightly scoffed, "You truly think that young whelp of a hero would have stopped long enough to listen to what you would say? Trust me on this, Zelda, this night can only happen once, now. And what happens will happen. You can not regret over what you don't have control over."
"I guess so . . . But it doesn't feel right. Some part of me wants to go out there and help Link but . . . I can't." Zelda lowered her eyes in sorrow then jumped as a shriek sounded across the land.
Both Zelda and Nabooru went to the edge of the balcony to lean against the fence and gain a better view of the field. Zelda gasped as the source of the shriek came into being.
The shadows were thicker than before, the stars nearly blotted out or else their light absorbed into the shadows as well. From the depths of the shadows rose the great Black Dragon bringing terror into the night. The book of ancient legends fell from shaking hands. It fell to the stonework and flipped itself open to the page with the picture of the Black Dragon.
The Sage of Spirit offered strength, setting her hands on either of the young girl's shoulders as they both looked at the rising dragon. Neither spoke as, even from that distance, the dragon's roars drowned out any other sounds.
From below, those Gerudo who had been sleeping or not guarding the bodies of Kohachan, Matt, and Crystal each rushed to the grounds in front of the fortress. Nabooru gritted her teeth. Even she could not think of how the land of Hyrule was going to live through this.
"Zelda" A familiar and young voice sounded from all around the two sages. Instantly, Nabooru drew two large blades from behind her and moved to protect the princess. "Woah, calm down!" the voice said in surprise. A small light formed before both them then formed into a faint image of Link.
Nabooru lowered her blades and looked at the image of Link, wondering if it was a simple ruse, but Zelda could tell he really was Link. Even if he wasn't there in person. "Link, what's going on?" She pointed back at the immense dragon who had let out another roar then flew higher into the air, staring down towards the light.
"Zelda, it's okay. It's hard to explain and I don't have much time. Oni is still out there. We . . . he . . . the Triforce of Balance has been claimed. But that power is not enough against the Knight! We need the power of the three Goddesses! That's what Farore said . . ." Link trailed off, hoping the Sage of Wisdom would understand.
"Farore spoke to you?" Zelda thought for a moment on that then retrieved the fallen book. Keeping it on the page of the Black Dragon, she only turned it a page further to find yet another picture. This one depicting three lights combining together into one effort.
"I wanted to show this to you earlier . . . but it seems the Goddesses took it into their own hands to make you understand." She held the book closer once more and looked to Link "Legends of Hyrule say that the Goddesses will descend when the Triforce is brought together. How can we bring the pieces together at all?
"Farore must have gone to you through the Triforce piece you hold. Nayru may come to you through the Triforce of Wisdom. But there is still one more . . ."
"I know . . ." Link added softly. Both holders of the Triforce knew Ganondorf still held the Triforce of Power. And within that, the power of Din. Could they summon the dark warlock back in order to gain the power to bring down the Moon God Knight? Neither could decide.
The sound of another shriek brought them back to the present. Nabooru was looking out at the battlefield as Oni continued to fight against the dragon. She blinked then looked again at Oni. The Deity was surrounded not only by the light of the fourth Triforce in battling the darkness.
She might have been mistaken, but there was another light surrounding him. That pristine light shone brilliantly yet did not hurt the eyes to gaze upon. It could only have been one of the great Creators of Hyrule. "It seems Link was not exaggerating about the Goddess speaking to him. And she is saying something very powerful right now in lending the silver-clad warrior her power. Zelda, come and see!"
Zelda looked back to Link once then went to Nabooru's side and saw the fight. She could see the new power both of the fourth Triforce and of the Goddess. But those powers were not enough to drive the dragon back. As things were, the dragon would not be held back for much longer.
Link could feel Oni's strain. He too felt himself weakening as Oni defended against each flame attack and wondered when the dragon would try attacking by claw. At the very least, it could not yet get near the light. He looked from the battle, to Nabooru, then to Zelda only to find the young princess praying.
He went to her side, trying to hear the prayer she murmured. Just as he got close enough, Zelda shouted the final phrase and threw her hand into the air. Link jumped back, despite his spirited form, and looked up at Zelda to see the Triforce glowing on the back of her hand. He continued to stare as a bright light tinted with blue flowed from the Triforce of Wisdom then took to flight towards the battle of darkness.
Zelda leaned against the rail of the prison tower and watched the battle once more. As the light of Nayru joined that of Farore, the light became brighter. She gave a small smile as the flames of the Black Dragon became useless and the warrior wielding the fourth Triforce piece became stronger. "If only . . . if only Din was here now. This nightmare would be over."
Oni felt the sudden change as he held the flat of the Deity's Blade to the dark flames. It was like waking up to a cold splash of water. The power that poured into himself then into the blade was unmistakably that of one of the Goddesses.
The light surrounding him became brighter and threw off the flames easily. Oni took the opportunity and focused more to shape the new power as well as his own power into the blade. The light became brighter and completely enveloped the blade as well as the hands that held it.
Another consciousness once more touched Oni's thoughts. Link had returned to him to aid the Deity in the fight. He recalled the lessons Gramps had taught him. Lessons in sword skills, including that of the wave.
Oni felt the power reach its peak. His eyes snapped open and he released some of the rippling power through the light. A wave of light flew from all around him and pressed outward. The dome much like Nayru's Love passed outward from Oni and crashed into the Black Dragon.
The beast gave a shriek, this time of pain, and snarled down at the wielder of the light. Before the creature could breathe another breath of dark flames, it was struck with another wall of light. It's flesh hissed even as it drew back from the light. Yet it was far from defeated.
From the shadows that seemed to surround the dragon's form on command, the creature had started to dive from the heights. The beast came crashing towards the earth and towards Oni, ignoring the crashes of light from wave after wave of energy.
{It's not stopping!} Link yelled as the body came crashing down. "They we'll have to cut a way through!" Oni grinned and gathered more energy holding it in the blade. An aura of light making the light seem solid formed over the blade. Oni held the blade above his head and waited just a moment longer for the body of the dragon to come closer.
In that instant, he made all the power he could muster thrust forward from the blade and into the dark flesh of the crashing beast.
Zolaris shielded himself from the sudden spray of snow then grinned wickedly. The light was extinguished. The fools were too late! Though . . . they did have him concerned for a while there. He looked through the darkness as easily as day.
The mass of black scales lay in the snow, the dragon's chest pierced by the final flash of light. The wings of the beast had become tattered from the various waves of light then from the kamikaze dive. They lay crumpled to either side of the fallen form. He noticed in the distance that one wing had crashed against the ranch and lay propped up on the plateau.
One of the creature's legs twitched slightly despite the creature was obviously dead. Its head could not even be seen, if it was still there after diving through the waves of light. Zolaris growled in his throat, realizing that Oni did manage to destroy the Black Dragon before dying. May the shadows forever infect and devour their souls beyond the grave.
In the peaceful darkness of Link's mind, he and Oni met once more. Both of them knew that the power of Nayru and Farore together granted Oni enough power to destroy the dragon. But the dragon was merely a weapon. To defeat the true enemy and free the souls of Link's friends, they were going to need the strength of the third Goddess.
{Link, you have faced Ganondorf even after you fought against him. You have to see him once more.} Oni crossed his arms, looking down at the young hero.
Link snorted lightly {That was when I was dreaming. Or when I was nearly dead! If I go there and leave you to fight against Zolaris, then the both of us will be dead!}
{Listen to me!} Oni was becoming more than annoyed {If this goes on as it has, we will end up dying anyway! All you have to do is awaken Din from Ganondorf. He might even try to use the power of the Goddess against you. Thus she will be able to come forth and all three Goddesses through the Triforce of Balance will put an end to the Moon God Knight.}
{And what if Ganondorf won't follow through and use the Triforce of Power? He is already being kept in the Abyss! I've felt those flames once before, Oni. I don't plan on feeling them again.}
To Link's confusion, the Deity smirked. {That's the beauty of it. You might be there in mind but that is all. After Din is released, you will be brought back to this plane of reality. You cannot be lost to that place.}
Both the hero and Deity faced off for a moment longer before reaching a decision.
Just as the Knight thought of that curse, the fallen dragon's back began to burn between its wings. A light lanced out of the dark hide and into the sky. Zolaris clenched the God's Blade in anger as the light spread and grew until the entire corpse of the Black Dragon was destroyed.
In the center of the area, Oni stood holding the Deity's Blade and surrounded by a light beyond his own power. He grinned at Zolaris' look of pure hate then held the blade to his side. Power flowed over the blade like liquid light and gathered along the edge. Oni swung the blade in a horizontal slash, releasing a blade of light at Zolaris.
Zolaris kept a look of hate in his eyes as the shadows gave way to the power of light energy flying at him. With a simple slash of darkness from the God's Blade, he vanquished the light then began making that shadows grow.
Yet another battle of shadows and light waged while the force of darkness approached the keeper of light. "Fool" Zolaris hissed, "Light was created from darkness. And so, into darkness all light will fall. Toloran learned this the hard way. Now, I will teach you the same . . ."
"Wrong!" Oni cut off the Knight's speech. "Darkness cannot create light. But a light can emerge from the darkest of shadows and grow, driving the darkness away. That, you have seen through this whole night."
A blade of shadow energy cut through the light and towards Oni. In the time of a heartbeat, he took up the Deity's Blade to defend himself against the attack. But the power of the darkness was even greater than before. The attack pushed him back several paces before vanishing from the light.
"Yet there will always be a balance. There cannot be light without darkness. And there cannot be darkness without light." Oni finished. Yet his mind was not on his own words. He only hoped that Link would be successful on his own mission.
When he looked for Zolaris again, he found the Knight attacking from above. Another quake of power trembled through the earth from the Sacred Realm to the very Abyss itself.
Following the sudden clash that shook the very bowls of his prison, a figure of olive-green skin and clothing of the Gerudo smirked evilly. He threw back his head and laughed at the spirit form before him. "You expect me to simply obey and release my power for your use? You always were a fool."
Link didn't take his glare off of Ganondorf. He refused to plead the Evil King of anything much less to attack him. "Ganondorf, if the God of the Dark Moon finishes with Hyrule, where do you think he is going to go to next?! His power rivals that of the Goddesses as it is. Your power alone is not enough to defeat him as is ours. We only need you to give access to Din to descend to Hyrule before it's too late! You will still have the Triforce of Power in your hand. You have nothing to lose!"
"But I have everything to gain. Especially the satisfaction of seeing you fail."
"You would fail also, you know." Link pointed out blankly.
Ganondorf lost his smirk and glanced at the green-clad kid then demanded answers.
"When you were banished here, you said your descendants would destroy me, as long as you hold the Triforce of Power in your hand. But if someone else kills me, then you lose, in a sense." Link prayed silently that Ganondorf would fall for it.
A few minutes and another tremor later, Ganondorf turned to face Link directly. "You truly think . . . that I would fall for such a trick? You're as dull as a deku stick if you expect me to fall for that. I don't care how you die as long as you die!"
Link couldn't help but flinch from the flames that suddenly erupted around and below him at Ganondorf's words. He tried one more time. "Ganondorf, you always said you wanted the Triforce. It would give you whatever your heart desired! But if I am gone, then the Triforce of Courage goes with me!"
"The Triforce piece would simply be put into another carrier." With that, the Kind of Evil turned his back on Link.
"And you would have to search the entire world to find the new carrier. It doesn't have to be someone of Hyrule. The Goddesses have chosen three others to hold a part of their being and those three were kept very far apart." Link put on a fake grin, seeing his words sink into Ganondorf. "Instead of looking for just one princess and one child, you would have to find a completely different carrier of the Triforce of Courage. You might even never find it. And that's only if you find a way out and there is anyone left at all!" Ah, that struck a chord!
Ganondorf whipped back around on Link, "What do you mean?"
Link began to explain everything to Ganondorf and as quickly as he possibly could, leaving out little and emphasizing the death of everyone that could be a possible holder of the Triforce of Courage being gone. He emphasized that no one would know where the pieces of the Triforce would go if there was only a God controlling the world. The world that Ganondorf had wanted to control . . .
Ganondorf thought of ways around Link's facts. But his want for power would never be satisfied until he had all of the Triforce and access to even greater power. He also did want to crush the foolish hero with his own hand. Finally, he narrowed his eyes at Link, "Don't you think for a moment that I'm giving you a break. But what you have said is true. My curse upon you and your descendants still hold." He held up his hand, the Triforce of Power shining on the back of it, "As long as I hold the Triforce of Power in my hand." The piece began to glow brilliantly then a stream of red light flashed from it then vanished from that realm.
Link grinned slightly as Ganondorf scowled in hate then he too vanished from the realm, leaving the Kind of Evil to stew over various schemes.
The Triforce of Balance flashed under the light of the blade as Oni sent volley after volley of light at Zolaris. Yet the Knight revealed his own speed as well as another power of his. Every time a blade of light came near him, he vanished from that spot and appeared elsewhere.
Becoming frustrated once more, Oni picked up from the snow and dashed forward, driving the shadows away to find the real Zolaris. Yet traveling into the darkness turned out to be a bad idea. Oni realized this a little too late as the light of his blade and armor reflected off of black and deep red armor.
Stars of pain burst before Oni's eyes as a blade plunged into his armor and into his body. It was no shadow blade this time. Cold metal cut through him and chilled his very blood before the blade was pulled out and Oni rendered to the ground.
Before Zolaris could deal another blow, Oni gripped the blade and used its aid in turning over and away from the black metal of the opponent's sword. As Zolaris drew back for a killing blow, a shock of power flew through Oni, reviving his strength and magic once more. The Deity jumped back to his feet and cast the shadows away with the power of the wave attack born of light.
"Die!" Zolaris commanded and attacked Oni with another thrust. Oni felt Link with him once again and knew the young hero had helped in more ways than one. A new light began to shine in and around Oni Link. The Deity Blade was a pristine beacon shining against the shadows.
The light caused Zolaris to back away a few paces before holding his ground once more. He brought on more darkness around him as though for a shield. But with little effort, the shield was cast away by the Deity and the three Goddesses' power.
"It is over." Oni Link said. But in his voice, three other greater feminine voices echoed his words. "The balance was created by we three. And so it shall remain under the guard of we three for all eternity." Zolaris' eyes widened a moment as he fully realized what was happening.
Holding the hilt of the blade in one hand, Oni Link raised his other hand palm forward to Zolaris. Before the Moon God Knight could run, a beam of golden energy speared into him and sapped at his strength to the point he fell to one knee but still glared at Oni with the will to fight back.
The Deity's Blade flashed with a different kind of light as the wielder neared the fallen Zolaris. The Knight growled something then used the last of his power to lift the God's Blade in both hands to hold over his head. The Deity's Blade fell over it then . . . the metal of the dark blade cracked. Zolaris stared in horror as the cracks on his blade soon gave and the blade itself broke into various pieces.
Once the blade had been broken, a maelstrom of shadows picked up. The image of the Moon Temple hazed out of being. Then the shadows became absorbed into the temple just as the gates vanished.
Three lights appeared where the statue of the Hydra once was. One was green, another was blue, and the third was red. Each light rose higher into the air then each flew in the same general direction to the Gerudo Fortress. In the snow where the fortress was and the lights departed from, a figure appeared lying in the snow. Oni Link could sense the figure, Toloran, was alive but unconscious.
A smile spread across his face slowly but surely as the darkness disbanded and the light of the stars continued to shine. He looked up to the night shy and noticed the moon was still a shadow in the night sky and lost the smile where it began.
In front of the Deity, three figured each bathed in golden light appeared. They wordlessly looked to Oni Link then held out their right hands. Before Oni could say or do anything to them, the light that had fallen over his armor, clothing, and blade left him and went back into the Triforce of Balance.
The emblem came loose from the sword hilt and flew into the hands of the Goddesses before vanishing. Oni Link looked at himself. He was back to normal. Even the war paint was back. His long sleeves and leggings as well as his gauntlets were black while his armor was back to its normal color as well. Even his blade was back to its unique design.
With a half smirk, he finally left, leaving Link back to his own body. The young boy clad in greed bowed deeply to the Goddesses. "Thank you." While he was bowed at the waist, the Goddesses parted then spiraled in the air and left in their own ways. Farore's power flew back into the image of the Triforce of Courage on Link's hand while the other two went back to their respective places.
Link gave one last weary smile and straightened up before falling over in the snow, lost in deep sleep.
Hehehehe. Well, what ya think? Long fight, eh? Battle after battle. But, they finally did it. And Link finally gets a few breaks in this one. Including his well-deserved rest in the end. One I wouldn't mind having myself, actually . . .
One last chapter coming up, ladies and gents. We'll find out what happens to the rest of the crew soon. Can't say how soon, but sooner than a month away. And that will be the epilogue! Can ya believe it?!
Until next time!