The Legend of Zelda: A.C.I.D. Reign over Hyrule

Chapter 3: Windfall... Mountain?!

The next morning, Phaydees woke up to her black ceiling, just as she wanted from the Moblins. She got up slowly, feeling her head. "Ow, man... I need an asprin..." She felt strange for some reason, almost as if she hadn't been in her body the previous night. She felt her bed around her, and then looked at her hand. It was red, covered in her own blood. "What happened to me last night?"

I told you, Phaydees, you would know my true power.

"What? Who are you?" the goat woman answered.

Like before, I am Ganon, King of Evil. You feel strange, don't you?

"Yes, I..." Phaydees answered, what happened now having dawned on her. "You... What did you do to me?!"

I did nothing, girl. It was you; your anger, your rage, that allowed for the transformation.

Phaydees looked around strangely, not knowing where to speak to. "Transformation?"

Have you never heard of the Hylian legends? Never of the great Ganondorf's demon form of Ganon?

"Ganon...? But how could I transform into a monster? I'm nothing more than a sorceress."

Wrong again, girl. With your rage for your beloved Corky... You allowed me to come into your body, warping your spirit to my own wants.

"Why I oughta!" Phaydees rushed to get her magical dual Triforce piece necklace. "Say that again, and show your face!"

Very well, then. Before Phaydees, a man cloaked in black appeared. His hair was a fiery red, his cape and robes flowing behind him freely. He turned slowly to face Phaydees. "I am Ganondorf."

Disgustedly, Phaydees looked away. "You..." she choked out, "How could you take advantage of someone like that?" Ganon laughed. "I did not take advantage of you, silly girl. I merely warped your body to suit my needs."

Phaydees shook her head. "Do you not remember, Miss Crocket? Do you yet forget what towns you ransacked last night?" Ganon opened a warp in front of him and stepped inside. "I will show you, then, how you added to my desires for this land."

Where are we? Phaydees asked when she had followed Ganondorf through the portal. I don't recognize this place, any of it.

Patience, girl, you will soon see. Ganon stretched a finger out over the horizon. Look there, to the south! Don't you see? Phaydees looked. She saw but a tiny, yet growing, silhouette flying towards them on the horizon. She recognized the shape of its body almost immediately when it landed on the flat ground on top of the tall mountain she and Ganondorf stood on. It's me!

Of course it's you. Watch still, see what you did to this former island of Windfall.

The Phaydees of the past, her eyes glowing a red that they couldn't glow even when reflecting direct light, began to grow larger, tearing some of the seams of her clothes. So that's why these feel so loose... her present self pondered.

COOORKYYYY! The monster Phaydees wailed, taking out the pillars and entryway to Windfall's city. WHERE ISSS COOORKYYYY? The monster raged around the small mountaintop village, searching for her beloved Corky. The present Phaydees spoke. Wow, I'm an asshole. What happened?

What happened to you I'll never know. Ganondorf said almost reassuringly. A traumatic event, perhaps. That is how I came to be involved with the Triforce.

How did you come to be involved in any of this, anyway? Phaydees wondered before the King of Evil cut her off. What I have in my past will stay. You will not become involved in it. He contemplated for a moment. I will allow you to go back to Hyrule of the present now. But you must promise me one thing: You will find the Triforce of Wisdom... and the Triforce of Courage.

Phaydees awoke to find herself again in her new bedroom of the former Hylian Royal Chambers. "That was weird," she thought aloud before hearing Ganondorf's voice again. Find the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage. Bring them to me at the Forsaken Fortress. Then you will be rewarded by a return safely to your home world.

Phaydees thought on this for a while, accepting that this was what she would have to do to get back and stop Ripto. "He'll pay," she cried out; then speaking in a strange voice that was not her own, she said loudly "And when I have the complete Triforce, all of Hyrule will pay!"

Link trudged up the mountain slowly, carefully grabbing handholds and making sure not to slip off footholds while he climbed. "King Hyrule, do we really have to do this? Can't I just use the Ballad of Gales to get up to Windfall?"

"Ho, ho, Link." Daphnes laughed "You're still young yet. You need not complain about the climb. Anyway, the Ballad of Gales would only leave you with the steepest part to climb!" Link stared over to the floating King's form. "How come you never taught me that sort of magic?"

Hyrule's king floated closer to Link. "This sort of magic is not taught. It can only be obtained through the power of the gods. Meanwhile, look above! It is Windfall!"

Link hosted himself up onto the former shore of Windfall Island, now nothing more than the mountaintop it was in the time the great Hero lived. But it was far from either state Link knew it as. Though it wasn't of the purely barren state Link had heard of in the past, it wasn't normal as it had been as an island just the day before. It looked as if Cyclos had attacked since Link had been there last, though he promised he'd not attack people anymore. Link looked around to try and find any survivors of this attack, but he saw no people. "This is Ganon's work. I don't know how it happened this time, but Ganondorf has again returned." Daphnes sobbed as he picked up a small, pinkish red piece of cloth. "The one chosen by the gods as keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom is no longer among us, Link."

"You mean Tetra's... dead?" Link thought for a moment about this strange turn of events. He wasn't happy that anyone had died at the hands of Ganondorf, but Tetra was creepy with all of her weird winking. Link sniffled a little, he had made friends with all of the people on this island, from the little gossiping girls to the aged scaredy-cat. "Do you think any survived, your highness?"

"The only way we can tell is to look among the rubble of the city." King Hyrule began to shift boards away from one of the near doors, allowing it to open.

"Please, don't hurt me! I won't ever look at anyone like that again! I promise!" The man in the bomb shop began to cry at the feet of the Hylian King. When he finally looked up from his kneeling position, he was amazed at what he saw. It was the green-clothed boy and a king of some sort. "Why, if it isn't Link! I suppose you're wondering if I could sell you some bombs. Unfortunately, that is not the case. When Windfall was attacked this past night, this gigantic monster ripped the top of my shop to pieces and stole all of my product!" The bomb guy started crying again. "If I had used my bombs instead of selling them, I could have saved some of the people on Windfall... But now it's impossible. All of them... are dead."

Link stared blankly at the salesman. How could he just assume that no one survived? "Listen, when the king and I arrived here, we didn't think anyone survived either. If you would just help us..." Hyrule cut him off. "Please, master bombsmith. I am king of a faraway land, only searching for my wandering daughter."

Link pulled Daphnes aside. "How could you just lie to him? Say you're the king of this land! He'll be forced to listen!"

"Link, I assume that you didn't tell anyone else about the fact that they lived in the land of the legend, on its highest mountains." Hyrule whispered, "And I also don't imagine you figured that you had a king who still lived in that land either."

"Well, no, but–" "It's settled, then." Hyrule spoke up to the bomb maker. "If you help to perhaps find my daughter among the rubble of your fair city, I will reward you greatly."

The bomb guy's head perked up at the prospect of money. "Well why didn't you say anything? Of course I'll help ya!" The king and bombsmith shook hands and the three began to search the rubble that was once Windfall.

Antiech: Dual stories going now, you never stop amazing me, TTE.

Antiroo: To think this all came from a song on VGM... And even then, a Zelda game you never even played.

Yep. Well, why not leave a review? Please? I don't have any specific quota, I just wanna know what you guys all think.

Wex: So, see ya next time on A.C.I.D. Reign over Hyrule!