Hi there! I'm back! Did you miss me? Cincinnati was alright, but the Reds were out of town. Oh
well. I would like to recognize CustomMagnum as the one hundredth reviewer! Yeah!
Unfortunately, there is no prize. Sorry. I would like to thank all my reviewers. Please keep sending
them in! Also, it appears that some people are beginning to guess where this story is going, but it's
fewer than I thought. That's cool. I'll just have to do something original to throw everyone off soon
. . . He he he. Now, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Zelda. But I will! Some day. It may be tomorrow.
The Legend of Zelda
The Golden Land
Chapter Sixteen
Ghosts From the Past
The Hero of Winds and the Hero of Time attacked the Evil King Ganon with unmatched
ferocity. LinkW was driven by rage after seeing his younger sister be thrown from the top of the
tower. He attacked rapidly, taking several swings before releasing a magic-enhanced spin move.
He would then make several move attacks, before using the Hurricane Spin. By now, smoke was
rising from the Wind Waker's blade.
The Hero of Time was not far behind his counterpart. The Master Sword hummed and
shown in his hand, pressing Ganon back step after step. LinkT concentrated mostly on covering
LinkW's rather open rear. In his rage, the Wind Waker did not seem to care about his own safety.
However, soon reason had caught back up with the distraught hero. His attacks became more
refined and precise as he began to work in tune with the Hero of Time.
Both Links made several cuts at the Evil King, which were dodged or blocked. Then LinkT
dropped back as LinkW went into another Hurricane Spin. The spin forced Ganon to bring the
blade of his spear down and block the repeated magical strikes. As soon as LinkW's spin was done,
Ganon pulled his spear back up and over his head to strike. LinkW, however, leapt into the air,
flipping backwards. A aura of purple energy surrounded his body as he activated his Magic Armor.
As the Wind Waker flipped backwards, the Hero of Time charged forward under his friend. LinkT
thrust his open hand towards the ground in front of Ganon. Before the monster could bring his spear
down, a giant fireball erupted around LinkT. Ganon stumbled back from the fiery blast. LinkT was
unaffected by his own spell, and LinkW was protected by his Magic Armor, which faded after Din's
Fire subsided.
Smoking slightly, Ganon put some space between himself and the Heroes. He pulled back
his spear and took a ready stance. The Heroes also prepared themselves. Noone moved for several
moments, each side eyeing the other. Then, with a loud cry, all three parties charged at once.
* * * * * * *
Aryll and her mysterious rescuer raced up the spiral stairs around the large tower that had
served as Ganon's Keep. The keep had been connected to Hyrule Castle when Ganon had invaded.
Because of the seal over part of the castle, Ganon had been forced to separate his keep from the
castle, although the to were so close it would be hard to distinguish one from the other. As such,
Ganon's keep was considered part of the castle, but could not be accessed from the rest of the
building.
Of course, Aryll knew none of this. She didn't even know it was called Ganon's Keep.
Right now, she was worried about keeping up with the young man who had saved her. He was quite
fast and agile. That, mixed with his unusual attire, seemed to scream "thief!" at the young girl.
Strangely, the boy acted nothing like a thief, so Aryll didn't assume anything about him. He also
didn't seem to care much for talking. Or, perhaps he was just too busy.
The tower rumbled as the two continued up the steps. It had been shaking and rumbling
quite frequently. Aryll guessed that meant that her brother and the other Link were still fighting
Ganon. She hoped that was a good sign.
The tower shuddered again, and the young man in front stopped dead in his tracks. Aryll
skidded to a somewhat less graceful stop behind him. The young man tilted his head back and
gazed upward. Aryll could see concentration in the way he squinted his ruby eyes. Suddenly, his
eyes widened. His head snapped back down, looking directly at her. "Look out!" he shouted as he
charged at her.
Aryll wasn't sure what was going on, but she didn't have time to react anyway. The young
man reached her mid-leap, shoving her, rather roughly, back down the stairs. Then the falling rocks
hit. As Aryll toppled down several more steps, she could only make out several large boulder-size
stones and a cloud of dust which covered her rescuer and hid him from view.
When Aryll stopped rolling, she climbed back to her feet with a groan. The dust began to
settle, and the young girl could make out the form of her savior, who had now saved her twice. The
young man was lying on the ground, not moving. A few of the smaller rocks covered his body, but
several large ones lay in an almost circle around him, as if they had hit an umbrella above him. A
few feet back, there were even larger stones. Behind that, a fairly large chunk of the stairs was now
missing. The largest rocks had continued their fall, right through the stairway.
Aryll approached her rescuer cautiously. A tightening of one hand and a soft moan told her
that he was still alive. Sighing in relief, she ran up to him.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she neared him.
"I'll live," came the reply.
Aryll arrived at the fallen figure, who was now struggling to rise. She suddenly stopped,
frozen in her tracks. She blinked several times and her face contorted in surprise and confusion.
* * * * * * *
Ganon charged, swinging his massive spear horizontally. LinkT jumped into the air, curling
into a ball and flipping neatly over the blade. LinkW dove to the ground gracefully, curled into a
ball, and rolled under the blade. LinkT hit the ground again at the same instant that LinkW rose
back to his feet. The two Heroes pulled their swords back, leapt at Ganon, and swung. The King of
Evil gripped his spear in both massive hands and blocked with the shaft. The behemoth twisted at
the waist, swinging his spear back in the direction it had come from.
LinkT hopped back to avoid the blow, while LinkW sidestepped and charged in again. He
managed to nick Ganon on the arm, drawing some slight blood, but the monster did not even
acknowledge the blow. Instead, he brought his spear down horizontally, causing LinkW to leap
back and away.
Now LinkT charged in. He immediately let loose a charged up Spin Attack. Ganon avoided
the blade, but was lashed by the magic blue and red flames. The Evil King grunted and thrust his
spear straight forward. The Hero of Time sidestepped and narrowly avoided being skewered. As
Ganon was over exerted in the thrust, the Wind Waker attacked again, this time striking a deeper
blow into his opponent's shoulder.
Ganondorf staggered back as the Heroes pressed their attack. The two of them were just to
quick. When he went after one, the other scored a hit. At this rate, he would be the one to collapse
first. It was time to fight dirty.
As the Links charged again, Ganon raised and open hand, pointing the palm at the Wind
Waker. Violet energy gathered there, quickly forming a ball. LinkW was charging too fast to stop
and was too close to dodge. He took the blast straight on. It threw him several yards back. His
vision blurred momentarily as he tried to get back onto his feet.
With one opponent temporarily down, Ganon turned his eyes to the Hero of Time, who had
charged in just behind the Hero of Winds. The King of Evil brought his spear down diagonally at
his old enemy. LinkT crossed the Master Sword over his Mirror Shield and blocked the blow. The
enemies stood their for a moment, locked in a struggle of will. Finally, Ganon pulled back, breaking
the lock and pivoting around his left hoof. He brought his spear back to his right, as if to swing
horizontally. But the swing never came. As LinkT prepared to face the spear, Ganon's tail swung
around from behind him and crashed into the back of the Hero's legs, knocking them out from under
him.
LinkT hit the ground with a thud. He looked up to see Ganon bring the spear up behind his
head. Acting on battle hardened reflexes, the Hero of Time pushed off the ground, rolling, not away
from, but towards Ganon. The Evil King thrust the spear into the spot LinkT had just been at a
slight angle. When the spearhead hit, sharp blades of magically conjured ice shot out from the
ground, right where LinkT would have been if he had rolled backwards.
LinkT rolled between his foes legs, and climbed to his feet behind Ganon. Taking the long
awaited opportunity, the Hero of Time gave Ganon's sensitive tail a swipe with the Master Sword.
The King of Evil howled in pain. He swung his massive spear around again. LinkT crossed his
sword over his shied again and braced. The force of the swing knocked the young Hero off his feet
and carried him through the air, depositing him near LinkW, who had just gotten back to his feet.
"You alright?" the Wind Waker asked as his counterpart climbed back to his feet.
"You kidding? I'm having a blast," the Hero of Time replied sarcastically.
The two Links readied themselves and faced the King of Evil. Ganon raised his spear above
his head and began to spin it rapidly with both hands. With a feral cry, he brought the spear down,
pointing it at the distant Heroes. Although no magic energy could be seen, the column of dust being
kicked up clearly outlined the wind-like blast. Both Links jumped out of the way in opposite
directions, but both were clipped by the blast. They were sent spinning through the air before
crashing to the ground. The invisible blast continued on and hit the ground near the edge of the
tower. The stone there splintered and shattered. Another large section of the tower was broken off
and fell down the side of the keep.
* * * * * * *
Brushing matted green hair out of her face, Saria strained to dislodge the last of the rocks
pinning her to the ground. With a grunt of effort, she finally managed to slide the last large rock off.
The smaller stones and pebbles were brushed off with much more ease. Saria inspected her legs.
One seemed in pretty good condition, just a bruise or two. The other was bleeding in several places
and stung. Gently, the Forest Sage pulled herself to her feet. She tested her injured leg. It shot pain
up her spine, but soon subsided to a dull throbbing ache.
Saria limped over to where she had dropped her bow and quiver of arrows. Retrieving these
items, she slung the quiver over her shoulder and pulled out an arrow. She then studied the battle in
progress. Ganondorf was keeping the Links on the defensive. They all looked battered and worn.
Steadying herself on her good leg, the Forest Sage notched an the arrow and took aim.
Ganon made several more swings with his spear before pulling back to renew his attack. Saria let
the arrow fly.
* * * * * * *
The Links braced as Ganon prepared to attack again, but it never came. An explosion of
golden light suddenly blossomed against the Evil King's head. He howled in pain as he was caught
off-guard and thrown to the ground sideways. The massive monster crashed through a stone
outcropping before stopping himself with his arm. The brute pulled himself back to his feet and
turned to his side. He glared as the Links turned to see what had happened. They all found Saria
notching another arrow.
Ganon's eyes narrowed. "HOW MANY TIMES MUST I GET RID OF YOU?" he
bellowed, forming a golden energy ball in his hand. Before Saria could ready her arrow, he threw
the ball.
Fortunately for the Forest Sage, LinkT was quick in coming to her defense. Leaping in front
of his longtime friend, the Hero of Time swung the Master Sword at the energy ball. The Blade of
Evil's Bane shone brightly as it collided with the magic ball. Using skills he had practiced
repeatedly, LinkT directed the energy ball back towards Ganon.
Not wanting to engage in an exercise he had memories of usually losing, Ganon swung his
trident upward diagonally across his body, deflecting his own attack off into the sky. However, just
as Ganon's spear crossed in front of his body, Saria's second Light Arrow blasted him in the face.
The Evil King grunted and staggered backwards. Before his vision cleared, Ganon could
feel sharp pain coming from his front side. LinkW had taken the opportunity to unleash his
Hurricane Spin directly into Ganon's torso, scoring multiple lacerations across the fiends gut and
chest. Ganon's vision cleared in time to see LinkT score a cut across his chest with the Master
Sword. Ganon wailed in pain as he staggered back. However, he did manage to tilt his head to the
side and avoid the next Light Arrow.
The Links renewed their attack and pressed Ganon back. The King of Evil quickly adopted
a new strategy. One that involved a lot of voluntary retreating. He allowed the Heroes to push him
back, but he chose where to. Finally, Ganon took a massive swing that sent out a wave of magic
energy, forcing both Links to retreat. As the Heroes prepared to charge again, Ganon called out to
them, "I SUGGEST YOU STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" Something resembling a deranged smile
graced his boar-like face. "UNLESS YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO THE
PRINCESS," he taunted, holding his spear out to the side and lowering it to the ground, inches
above the unconscious form of Tetra. Both Links froze.
* * * * * * * *
Tetra squeezed her eyes shut before opening them as she regained consciousness. Things
were strangely quiet, she noted through her pounding headache. Groaning, the pirate princess tuned
to take in her surroundings. She was till on the tower. There were stones and ruble all around.
Both Links were still standing, as if petrified. And there was a giant blade hovering inches from her
throat.
Tetra swallowed. That wasn't supposed to be there.
The Princess of Hyrule traced her eyes up the blade to the shaft of a giant spear, then to a
massive hand and arm, which in turn lead to the wickedly grinning face of Ganon.
Tetra swallowed again. That DEFINITELY wasn't supposed to be there!
Ganon grinned down at the princess, who was trying hard no to shake in fear. "YOU
KNOW, I REALLY HATE TOMBOY PRINCESSES," he sneered.
"Then it's just not your lucky day, is it?"
* * * * * * *
"You're a girl?!"
Aryll's rescuer looked at her curiously and blinked several times. He then reached up to his
face. Sure enough, the cloth that was covering the lower part of his face was gone. Make that HER
face.
The stranger let out an exasperated sigh. She closed her eyes and pointed her index and
middle finger at them. Then she muttered something under her breath that Aryll didn't catch. When
she opened her eyes again, they had gone from red to blue.
"Yes. I'm a girl," the stranger replied, her voice having changed with her eyes. Then she
gave a soft smile. "Quite the disguise, huh?"
Aryll nodded. "But why dress up as a boy?"
The stranger pulled herself to her feet. Golden hair was now spilling out from under her
disheveled turban. Sorely, the young lady stretched her muscles as she rose. "I had to hide myself
from Ganondorf once before. When you're looking for a girl, who would suspect a boy? I just
decided use the same disguise again."
Aryll nodded. That made sense. She then looked down at the stones around the stranger.
"Good thing the big ones missed you," she said, nodding to the rocks.
"No. Good thing I erected a barrier in time."
"Huh?"
"Never mind." The older girl turned to face the collapsed section of the stairs. "We need to
get going," she said, pulling out the grappling hook she had used earlier. "We are nearly to the top."
Aryll watched as her rescuer tossed the grappling hook up to a stone gargoyle on the side of
the tower. When it was secure, the girl motioned for Aryll to hold on tight and swung both of them
across the gap. On the other side, they took off running again.
After a little while, the stranger came to a sudden stop, her hand at her chest. "What's
wrong?" Aryll asked.
"My pendant! I lost my pendant!" the young lady replied in a near panic. Sure enough, the
pendant was no longer around her neck.
"Did you lose it back where the rocks fell on us?"
The older girl winced. "I think so," she replied gravely.
"Was it important?" Aryll asked.
The other girl nodded. "It was a magical talisman. I was going to use it against Ganon."
"Oh." At that moment, the tower shuddered under a particularly violent blow. The sound of
an inhuman roar could be heard, along with the scraping of metal. Aryll bit her lower lip. "I hope
my brother is okay," she said out loud, looking up the short distance to the top of the tower.
The older girl cringed. "There's no time to go back. It may have fallen completely off the
tower," she said, more to herself. "Crap." Finally, she shook her head and sprinted off up the stairs.
Aryll quickly followed.
Within moments, the two girls finally reached the top of the tower. Both Links were still
standing, Aryll was relieved to see. They were on the other side of the tower, but couldn't see the
girls. Ganon stood between them, his back to the girls. Aryll traced her way down Ganon's spear to
find a very frightened Tetra.
The mysterious young lady turned to Aryll. "Get back. Go wait a ways down the stairs.
It's too dangerous up here."
The island girl had nearly protested, but the look her rescuer gave her left no room for
argument. Aryll nodded and slipped away down the stairs.
The young lady who had come from the crystal crouched low. There was a reason she had
made herself an outfit mostly out of blue spandex . . . mobility. After a moment of crouching like a
cat, the young woman finally leapt at Ganon's back.
"YOU KNOW, I REALLY HATE TOMBOY PRINCESSES," the monster bellowed,
sneering at the girl his spear was pointed at. The blue-clad young woman landed gracefully on his
shoulder blades. Ganon may or may not have felt her land, either way, he didn't have any time to
react.
"Then it's just not your lucky day, is it?" the young woman called, raising her hand, palm
out, and pointing it at the back of Ganon's head. With a loud bang, a bright, golden light erupted
between the hand and the head. Ganon howled in pain as he was sent crashing forward to the
ground. As the beast hit the ground, the figure on top of it dove forward off of it and over its head.
The figure hit the ground in the midst of a cartwheel, which was followed by a handspring and then
a roll. The figure gracefully ended on its feet, before fluidly turning to face Ganon, drawing a
dagger, and dropping into a fighting stance all at once.
* * * * * * *
Both Links stared open mouth at the newcomer. The young woman dressed in blue spandex
held the grace and poise of a trained warrior, almost like a martial artist or an assassin. She held her
dagger motionless, her blue eyes not blinking.
Ganon climbed back to his feet, his face contorted in rage. His eyes darted back to where
Tetra had been moments ago. The pirate girl was no longer there. She stood several yards back,
now holding the bow she had previously dropped..
Ganon let out a low growl. He glared down at the newcomer. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING
HERE?" he demanded.
She gave a slight smile. "Anything I can to stop you."
Ganon bared his fang-like teeth. He raised a hand above his head, quickly forming a large
ball of magic energy. "WHY CAN'T YOU BE A GOOD LITTLE PRINCESS AND DIE?!" he
roared, hurling the ball of magic.
LinkT snapped out of his stupor and dashed forward. "Zelda!" he called as he leapt before
her, already spinning , Master Sword out. The glowing blade connected with the magic ball,
propelling it straight back into Ganon's face. The brute pulled his head back, howling in pain. The
sound of yew wood bending rent the air, followed by the snap of two bow strings. Golden Light
Arrows detonated against either side of the Evil King's head, sending him down to his knees,
holding his face and squealing in pain.
Zelda, Hyrule's princess of old, stared in shock at the green-clad young man before her.
"Link?!" she gasped.
The Hero of Time nodded, before turning back towards Ganon. "We can talk later!" he
called over his shoulder, as he rushed at the Evil King, following closely behind another boy in
green.
* * * * * * *
Aryll hurried down the stairs. She stopped when she reached a gap in the stairs. That was
the first level that the rocks which had nearly buried her and her rescuer had fallen through. Aryll
got down on her hands and knees and peered over the edge. They had been two levels of stairs
below when the rocks fell. Her rescuer had used her grappling hook to help them cross the two other
gaps as well as the first one.
The young girl pulled out her telescope. When her brother hadn't returned hers, she had
decided to buy herself a new one. Now she was glad she had it. She looked down through the
telescope and scanned for the level she had been on when the rocks fell.
Aryll found the spot her new friend had nearly been buried very quickly. The near-perfect
circle of rocks helped. Aryll continued to scan the piles of rock until the glint of metal caught her
eye. "There it is!" she exclaimed out loud. Then she frowned. "But how do I reach it?"
"What seems to be the trouble? Hoo-hoot!"
Aryll yelped as she spun to face the person addressing her. Then she froze. Standing on
the stairs several feet away was an owl as big as she was. The owl let out a strange hooting sound
that was suspiciously like chuckling.
"Don't be afraid of me. Hoo-hoot."
"A talking owl?" Aryll asked in amazement.
"Quite right," the owl responded. "Now, was there something you were trying to reach?"
Aryll snapped back to reality. "Oh! Oh, yes." She pointed down the gap in the stairs. "My
friend dropped her pendant down there. She said she was going to use it against Ganon but she lost
it. And my brother is fighting Ganon, so I wanted to find the pendant and help them!"
The owl nodded. "I see. Hoo-hoot. I shall be back in a jiffy." With that, the owl fluttered
its wings and dove off of the staircase. It circled down to the spot two levels below a picked up the
pendant in a swift swoop. It rose back up to Aryll's level. "There you go. Hoo-hoot. I must be
going, but I'm sure we'll meet again. Good luck, young one. Hoo-hoot!" The owl dropped the
pendant into Aryll's hand and took off, flying away. Aryll waved, then turned and raced back up
the stairs.
* * * * * * *
a large boulder Ganon had dislodged came crashing down towards LinkW, but it never got
there. The blue-clad Princess of Hyrule stood under the stone, one hand raised, palm pointing to the
rock. It hovered in midair a little ways away from the Hero of Winds. He nodded in thanks to the
princess. She, in turn, hurled the boulder back at Ganon. He split it half with his spear, but right
behind it came LinkW, who gave the monster a slash across the face. Light Arrows shot through the
air, sending the Evil King down to his knees again.
LinkW and LinkT got into ready stances near Zelda. "So, how exactly do we finish him?"
the Wind Waker asked.
"Well, that's a little bit of a problem," Zelda replied. "He is kind of immortal."
"Big Brother!"
LinkW turned around to find Aryll running towards him. His eyes widened. "Aryll?!
You're okay!"
Aryll skidded to a halt next to her brother, and caught her breath. "I'm fine. She saved me,"
she explained, gesturing to Zelda.
The princess looked at her curiously. "Didn't I say to go hide?"
Aryll nodded. "Yeah, but when I went back I met this weird owl and -"
"Huh?"
Aryll decided to skip to the point. "I got your pendant back!" she declared, pulling the
talisman out from behind her. The ornate necklace was now glowing with a soft, pink light. Zelda's
eyes widened. Before anyone could do or say anything further, the talisman began to shine brightly
and then disappeared in a bright flash of pink light. Aryll looked at her hands dumbfounded.
"What?"
Zelda shook her head. "It was supposed to do that."
"Huh?"
The princess gestured to Ganon. "Watch."
Even as she said it, a faint pink light began to surround the battered King of Evil. The light
grew in intensity until it became a bright pink cylinder around the Dark Prince. Then, the cylinder
began to shrink in on Ganon. The pink light also appeared under the beast-between him and the
ground-and above him in the air, completing the cylinder. The pink light continued to restrict,
squeezing the Evil King as if the light was solid. When it got to the point where the light couldn't
shrink much more without either crushing Ganon or breaking itself, it stopped shrinking and began
to glow a blinding white. Everyone flinched away from the light. When it faded, they turned back
to find the great Ganon encased in what appeared to be a giant pink glass jar.
Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes. Then LinkW began to chuckle softly. Then he
began to laugh outright. He patted his sister on the shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked.
Biting down his laughter, LinkW grinned. "Congratulations, Aryll. You just defeated
Ganon."
Then everyone broke out into laughter. Everyone except Ganon, who couldn't seem to
brake the pink glass.
well. I would like to recognize CustomMagnum as the one hundredth reviewer! Yeah!
Unfortunately, there is no prize. Sorry. I would like to thank all my reviewers. Please keep sending
them in! Also, it appears that some people are beginning to guess where this story is going, but it's
fewer than I thought. That's cool. I'll just have to do something original to throw everyone off soon
. . . He he he. Now, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Zelda. But I will! Some day. It may be tomorrow.
The Legend of Zelda
The Golden Land
Chapter Sixteen
Ghosts From the Past
The Hero of Winds and the Hero of Time attacked the Evil King Ganon with unmatched
ferocity. LinkW was driven by rage after seeing his younger sister be thrown from the top of the
tower. He attacked rapidly, taking several swings before releasing a magic-enhanced spin move.
He would then make several move attacks, before using the Hurricane Spin. By now, smoke was
rising from the Wind Waker's blade.
The Hero of Time was not far behind his counterpart. The Master Sword hummed and
shown in his hand, pressing Ganon back step after step. LinkT concentrated mostly on covering
LinkW's rather open rear. In his rage, the Wind Waker did not seem to care about his own safety.
However, soon reason had caught back up with the distraught hero. His attacks became more
refined and precise as he began to work in tune with the Hero of Time.
Both Links made several cuts at the Evil King, which were dodged or blocked. Then LinkT
dropped back as LinkW went into another Hurricane Spin. The spin forced Ganon to bring the
blade of his spear down and block the repeated magical strikes. As soon as LinkW's spin was done,
Ganon pulled his spear back up and over his head to strike. LinkW, however, leapt into the air,
flipping backwards. A aura of purple energy surrounded his body as he activated his Magic Armor.
As the Wind Waker flipped backwards, the Hero of Time charged forward under his friend. LinkT
thrust his open hand towards the ground in front of Ganon. Before the monster could bring his spear
down, a giant fireball erupted around LinkT. Ganon stumbled back from the fiery blast. LinkT was
unaffected by his own spell, and LinkW was protected by his Magic Armor, which faded after Din's
Fire subsided.
Smoking slightly, Ganon put some space between himself and the Heroes. He pulled back
his spear and took a ready stance. The Heroes also prepared themselves. Noone moved for several
moments, each side eyeing the other. Then, with a loud cry, all three parties charged at once.
* * * * * * *
Aryll and her mysterious rescuer raced up the spiral stairs around the large tower that had
served as Ganon's Keep. The keep had been connected to Hyrule Castle when Ganon had invaded.
Because of the seal over part of the castle, Ganon had been forced to separate his keep from the
castle, although the to were so close it would be hard to distinguish one from the other. As such,
Ganon's keep was considered part of the castle, but could not be accessed from the rest of the
building.
Of course, Aryll knew none of this. She didn't even know it was called Ganon's Keep.
Right now, she was worried about keeping up with the young man who had saved her. He was quite
fast and agile. That, mixed with his unusual attire, seemed to scream "thief!" at the young girl.
Strangely, the boy acted nothing like a thief, so Aryll didn't assume anything about him. He also
didn't seem to care much for talking. Or, perhaps he was just too busy.
The tower rumbled as the two continued up the steps. It had been shaking and rumbling
quite frequently. Aryll guessed that meant that her brother and the other Link were still fighting
Ganon. She hoped that was a good sign.
The tower shuddered again, and the young man in front stopped dead in his tracks. Aryll
skidded to a somewhat less graceful stop behind him. The young man tilted his head back and
gazed upward. Aryll could see concentration in the way he squinted his ruby eyes. Suddenly, his
eyes widened. His head snapped back down, looking directly at her. "Look out!" he shouted as he
charged at her.
Aryll wasn't sure what was going on, but she didn't have time to react anyway. The young
man reached her mid-leap, shoving her, rather roughly, back down the stairs. Then the falling rocks
hit. As Aryll toppled down several more steps, she could only make out several large boulder-size
stones and a cloud of dust which covered her rescuer and hid him from view.
When Aryll stopped rolling, she climbed back to her feet with a groan. The dust began to
settle, and the young girl could make out the form of her savior, who had now saved her twice. The
young man was lying on the ground, not moving. A few of the smaller rocks covered his body, but
several large ones lay in an almost circle around him, as if they had hit an umbrella above him. A
few feet back, there were even larger stones. Behind that, a fairly large chunk of the stairs was now
missing. The largest rocks had continued their fall, right through the stairway.
Aryll approached her rescuer cautiously. A tightening of one hand and a soft moan told her
that he was still alive. Sighing in relief, she ran up to him.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she neared him.
"I'll live," came the reply.
Aryll arrived at the fallen figure, who was now struggling to rise. She suddenly stopped,
frozen in her tracks. She blinked several times and her face contorted in surprise and confusion.
* * * * * * *
Ganon charged, swinging his massive spear horizontally. LinkT jumped into the air, curling
into a ball and flipping neatly over the blade. LinkW dove to the ground gracefully, curled into a
ball, and rolled under the blade. LinkT hit the ground again at the same instant that LinkW rose
back to his feet. The two Heroes pulled their swords back, leapt at Ganon, and swung. The King of
Evil gripped his spear in both massive hands and blocked with the shaft. The behemoth twisted at
the waist, swinging his spear back in the direction it had come from.
LinkT hopped back to avoid the blow, while LinkW sidestepped and charged in again. He
managed to nick Ganon on the arm, drawing some slight blood, but the monster did not even
acknowledge the blow. Instead, he brought his spear down horizontally, causing LinkW to leap
back and away.
Now LinkT charged in. He immediately let loose a charged up Spin Attack. Ganon avoided
the blade, but was lashed by the magic blue and red flames. The Evil King grunted and thrust his
spear straight forward. The Hero of Time sidestepped and narrowly avoided being skewered. As
Ganon was over exerted in the thrust, the Wind Waker attacked again, this time striking a deeper
blow into his opponent's shoulder.
Ganondorf staggered back as the Heroes pressed their attack. The two of them were just to
quick. When he went after one, the other scored a hit. At this rate, he would be the one to collapse
first. It was time to fight dirty.
As the Links charged again, Ganon raised and open hand, pointing the palm at the Wind
Waker. Violet energy gathered there, quickly forming a ball. LinkW was charging too fast to stop
and was too close to dodge. He took the blast straight on. It threw him several yards back. His
vision blurred momentarily as he tried to get back onto his feet.
With one opponent temporarily down, Ganon turned his eyes to the Hero of Time, who had
charged in just behind the Hero of Winds. The King of Evil brought his spear down diagonally at
his old enemy. LinkT crossed the Master Sword over his Mirror Shield and blocked the blow. The
enemies stood their for a moment, locked in a struggle of will. Finally, Ganon pulled back, breaking
the lock and pivoting around his left hoof. He brought his spear back to his right, as if to swing
horizontally. But the swing never came. As LinkT prepared to face the spear, Ganon's tail swung
around from behind him and crashed into the back of the Hero's legs, knocking them out from under
him.
LinkT hit the ground with a thud. He looked up to see Ganon bring the spear up behind his
head. Acting on battle hardened reflexes, the Hero of Time pushed off the ground, rolling, not away
from, but towards Ganon. The Evil King thrust the spear into the spot LinkT had just been at a
slight angle. When the spearhead hit, sharp blades of magically conjured ice shot out from the
ground, right where LinkT would have been if he had rolled backwards.
LinkT rolled between his foes legs, and climbed to his feet behind Ganon. Taking the long
awaited opportunity, the Hero of Time gave Ganon's sensitive tail a swipe with the Master Sword.
The King of Evil howled in pain. He swung his massive spear around again. LinkT crossed his
sword over his shied again and braced. The force of the swing knocked the young Hero off his feet
and carried him through the air, depositing him near LinkW, who had just gotten back to his feet.
"You alright?" the Wind Waker asked as his counterpart climbed back to his feet.
"You kidding? I'm having a blast," the Hero of Time replied sarcastically.
The two Links readied themselves and faced the King of Evil. Ganon raised his spear above
his head and began to spin it rapidly with both hands. With a feral cry, he brought the spear down,
pointing it at the distant Heroes. Although no magic energy could be seen, the column of dust being
kicked up clearly outlined the wind-like blast. Both Links jumped out of the way in opposite
directions, but both were clipped by the blast. They were sent spinning through the air before
crashing to the ground. The invisible blast continued on and hit the ground near the edge of the
tower. The stone there splintered and shattered. Another large section of the tower was broken off
and fell down the side of the keep.
* * * * * * *
Brushing matted green hair out of her face, Saria strained to dislodge the last of the rocks
pinning her to the ground. With a grunt of effort, she finally managed to slide the last large rock off.
The smaller stones and pebbles were brushed off with much more ease. Saria inspected her legs.
One seemed in pretty good condition, just a bruise or two. The other was bleeding in several places
and stung. Gently, the Forest Sage pulled herself to her feet. She tested her injured leg. It shot pain
up her spine, but soon subsided to a dull throbbing ache.
Saria limped over to where she had dropped her bow and quiver of arrows. Retrieving these
items, she slung the quiver over her shoulder and pulled out an arrow. She then studied the battle in
progress. Ganondorf was keeping the Links on the defensive. They all looked battered and worn.
Steadying herself on her good leg, the Forest Sage notched an the arrow and took aim.
Ganon made several more swings with his spear before pulling back to renew his attack. Saria let
the arrow fly.
* * * * * * *
The Links braced as Ganon prepared to attack again, but it never came. An explosion of
golden light suddenly blossomed against the Evil King's head. He howled in pain as he was caught
off-guard and thrown to the ground sideways. The massive monster crashed through a stone
outcropping before stopping himself with his arm. The brute pulled himself back to his feet and
turned to his side. He glared as the Links turned to see what had happened. They all found Saria
notching another arrow.
Ganon's eyes narrowed. "HOW MANY TIMES MUST I GET RID OF YOU?" he
bellowed, forming a golden energy ball in his hand. Before Saria could ready her arrow, he threw
the ball.
Fortunately for the Forest Sage, LinkT was quick in coming to her defense. Leaping in front
of his longtime friend, the Hero of Time swung the Master Sword at the energy ball. The Blade of
Evil's Bane shone brightly as it collided with the magic ball. Using skills he had practiced
repeatedly, LinkT directed the energy ball back towards Ganon.
Not wanting to engage in an exercise he had memories of usually losing, Ganon swung his
trident upward diagonally across his body, deflecting his own attack off into the sky. However, just
as Ganon's spear crossed in front of his body, Saria's second Light Arrow blasted him in the face.
The Evil King grunted and staggered backwards. Before his vision cleared, Ganon could
feel sharp pain coming from his front side. LinkW had taken the opportunity to unleash his
Hurricane Spin directly into Ganon's torso, scoring multiple lacerations across the fiends gut and
chest. Ganon's vision cleared in time to see LinkT score a cut across his chest with the Master
Sword. Ganon wailed in pain as he staggered back. However, he did manage to tilt his head to the
side and avoid the next Light Arrow.
The Links renewed their attack and pressed Ganon back. The King of Evil quickly adopted
a new strategy. One that involved a lot of voluntary retreating. He allowed the Heroes to push him
back, but he chose where to. Finally, Ganon took a massive swing that sent out a wave of magic
energy, forcing both Links to retreat. As the Heroes prepared to charge again, Ganon called out to
them, "I SUGGEST YOU STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" Something resembling a deranged smile
graced his boar-like face. "UNLESS YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO THE
PRINCESS," he taunted, holding his spear out to the side and lowering it to the ground, inches
above the unconscious form of Tetra. Both Links froze.
* * * * * * * *
Tetra squeezed her eyes shut before opening them as she regained consciousness. Things
were strangely quiet, she noted through her pounding headache. Groaning, the pirate princess tuned
to take in her surroundings. She was till on the tower. There were stones and ruble all around.
Both Links were still standing, as if petrified. And there was a giant blade hovering inches from her
throat.
Tetra swallowed. That wasn't supposed to be there.
The Princess of Hyrule traced her eyes up the blade to the shaft of a giant spear, then to a
massive hand and arm, which in turn lead to the wickedly grinning face of Ganon.
Tetra swallowed again. That DEFINITELY wasn't supposed to be there!
Ganon grinned down at the princess, who was trying hard no to shake in fear. "YOU
KNOW, I REALLY HATE TOMBOY PRINCESSES," he sneered.
"Then it's just not your lucky day, is it?"
* * * * * * *
"You're a girl?!"
Aryll's rescuer looked at her curiously and blinked several times. He then reached up to his
face. Sure enough, the cloth that was covering the lower part of his face was gone. Make that HER
face.
The stranger let out an exasperated sigh. She closed her eyes and pointed her index and
middle finger at them. Then she muttered something under her breath that Aryll didn't catch. When
she opened her eyes again, they had gone from red to blue.
"Yes. I'm a girl," the stranger replied, her voice having changed with her eyes. Then she
gave a soft smile. "Quite the disguise, huh?"
Aryll nodded. "But why dress up as a boy?"
The stranger pulled herself to her feet. Golden hair was now spilling out from under her
disheveled turban. Sorely, the young lady stretched her muscles as she rose. "I had to hide myself
from Ganondorf once before. When you're looking for a girl, who would suspect a boy? I just
decided use the same disguise again."
Aryll nodded. That made sense. She then looked down at the stones around the stranger.
"Good thing the big ones missed you," she said, nodding to the rocks.
"No. Good thing I erected a barrier in time."
"Huh?"
"Never mind." The older girl turned to face the collapsed section of the stairs. "We need to
get going," she said, pulling out the grappling hook she had used earlier. "We are nearly to the top."
Aryll watched as her rescuer tossed the grappling hook up to a stone gargoyle on the side of
the tower. When it was secure, the girl motioned for Aryll to hold on tight and swung both of them
across the gap. On the other side, they took off running again.
After a little while, the stranger came to a sudden stop, her hand at her chest. "What's
wrong?" Aryll asked.
"My pendant! I lost my pendant!" the young lady replied in a near panic. Sure enough, the
pendant was no longer around her neck.
"Did you lose it back where the rocks fell on us?"
The older girl winced. "I think so," she replied gravely.
"Was it important?" Aryll asked.
The other girl nodded. "It was a magical talisman. I was going to use it against Ganon."
"Oh." At that moment, the tower shuddered under a particularly violent blow. The sound of
an inhuman roar could be heard, along with the scraping of metal. Aryll bit her lower lip. "I hope
my brother is okay," she said out loud, looking up the short distance to the top of the tower.
The older girl cringed. "There's no time to go back. It may have fallen completely off the
tower," she said, more to herself. "Crap." Finally, she shook her head and sprinted off up the stairs.
Aryll quickly followed.
Within moments, the two girls finally reached the top of the tower. Both Links were still
standing, Aryll was relieved to see. They were on the other side of the tower, but couldn't see the
girls. Ganon stood between them, his back to the girls. Aryll traced her way down Ganon's spear to
find a very frightened Tetra.
The mysterious young lady turned to Aryll. "Get back. Go wait a ways down the stairs.
It's too dangerous up here."
The island girl had nearly protested, but the look her rescuer gave her left no room for
argument. Aryll nodded and slipped away down the stairs.
The young lady who had come from the crystal crouched low. There was a reason she had
made herself an outfit mostly out of blue spandex . . . mobility. After a moment of crouching like a
cat, the young woman finally leapt at Ganon's back.
"YOU KNOW, I REALLY HATE TOMBOY PRINCESSES," the monster bellowed,
sneering at the girl his spear was pointed at. The blue-clad young woman landed gracefully on his
shoulder blades. Ganon may or may not have felt her land, either way, he didn't have any time to
react.
"Then it's just not your lucky day, is it?" the young woman called, raising her hand, palm
out, and pointing it at the back of Ganon's head. With a loud bang, a bright, golden light erupted
between the hand and the head. Ganon howled in pain as he was sent crashing forward to the
ground. As the beast hit the ground, the figure on top of it dove forward off of it and over its head.
The figure hit the ground in the midst of a cartwheel, which was followed by a handspring and then
a roll. The figure gracefully ended on its feet, before fluidly turning to face Ganon, drawing a
dagger, and dropping into a fighting stance all at once.
* * * * * * *
Both Links stared open mouth at the newcomer. The young woman dressed in blue spandex
held the grace and poise of a trained warrior, almost like a martial artist or an assassin. She held her
dagger motionless, her blue eyes not blinking.
Ganon climbed back to his feet, his face contorted in rage. His eyes darted back to where
Tetra had been moments ago. The pirate girl was no longer there. She stood several yards back,
now holding the bow she had previously dropped..
Ganon let out a low growl. He glared down at the newcomer. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING
HERE?" he demanded.
She gave a slight smile. "Anything I can to stop you."
Ganon bared his fang-like teeth. He raised a hand above his head, quickly forming a large
ball of magic energy. "WHY CAN'T YOU BE A GOOD LITTLE PRINCESS AND DIE?!" he
roared, hurling the ball of magic.
LinkT snapped out of his stupor and dashed forward. "Zelda!" he called as he leapt before
her, already spinning , Master Sword out. The glowing blade connected with the magic ball,
propelling it straight back into Ganon's face. The brute pulled his head back, howling in pain. The
sound of yew wood bending rent the air, followed by the snap of two bow strings. Golden Light
Arrows detonated against either side of the Evil King's head, sending him down to his knees,
holding his face and squealing in pain.
Zelda, Hyrule's princess of old, stared in shock at the green-clad young man before her.
"Link?!" she gasped.
The Hero of Time nodded, before turning back towards Ganon. "We can talk later!" he
called over his shoulder, as he rushed at the Evil King, following closely behind another boy in
green.
* * * * * * *
Aryll hurried down the stairs. She stopped when she reached a gap in the stairs. That was
the first level that the rocks which had nearly buried her and her rescuer had fallen through. Aryll
got down on her hands and knees and peered over the edge. They had been two levels of stairs
below when the rocks fell. Her rescuer had used her grappling hook to help them cross the two other
gaps as well as the first one.
The young girl pulled out her telescope. When her brother hadn't returned hers, she had
decided to buy herself a new one. Now she was glad she had it. She looked down through the
telescope and scanned for the level she had been on when the rocks fell.
Aryll found the spot her new friend had nearly been buried very quickly. The near-perfect
circle of rocks helped. Aryll continued to scan the piles of rock until the glint of metal caught her
eye. "There it is!" she exclaimed out loud. Then she frowned. "But how do I reach it?"
"What seems to be the trouble? Hoo-hoot!"
Aryll yelped as she spun to face the person addressing her. Then she froze. Standing on
the stairs several feet away was an owl as big as she was. The owl let out a strange hooting sound
that was suspiciously like chuckling.
"Don't be afraid of me. Hoo-hoot."
"A talking owl?" Aryll asked in amazement.
"Quite right," the owl responded. "Now, was there something you were trying to reach?"
Aryll snapped back to reality. "Oh! Oh, yes." She pointed down the gap in the stairs. "My
friend dropped her pendant down there. She said she was going to use it against Ganon but she lost
it. And my brother is fighting Ganon, so I wanted to find the pendant and help them!"
The owl nodded. "I see. Hoo-hoot. I shall be back in a jiffy." With that, the owl fluttered
its wings and dove off of the staircase. It circled down to the spot two levels below a picked up the
pendant in a swift swoop. It rose back up to Aryll's level. "There you go. Hoo-hoot. I must be
going, but I'm sure we'll meet again. Good luck, young one. Hoo-hoot!" The owl dropped the
pendant into Aryll's hand and took off, flying away. Aryll waved, then turned and raced back up
the stairs.
* * * * * * *
a large boulder Ganon had dislodged came crashing down towards LinkW, but it never got
there. The blue-clad Princess of Hyrule stood under the stone, one hand raised, palm pointing to the
rock. It hovered in midair a little ways away from the Hero of Winds. He nodded in thanks to the
princess. She, in turn, hurled the boulder back at Ganon. He split it half with his spear, but right
behind it came LinkW, who gave the monster a slash across the face. Light Arrows shot through the
air, sending the Evil King down to his knees again.
LinkW and LinkT got into ready stances near Zelda. "So, how exactly do we finish him?"
the Wind Waker asked.
"Well, that's a little bit of a problem," Zelda replied. "He is kind of immortal."
"Big Brother!"
LinkW turned around to find Aryll running towards him. His eyes widened. "Aryll?!
You're okay!"
Aryll skidded to a halt next to her brother, and caught her breath. "I'm fine. She saved me,"
she explained, gesturing to Zelda.
The princess looked at her curiously. "Didn't I say to go hide?"
Aryll nodded. "Yeah, but when I went back I met this weird owl and -"
"Huh?"
Aryll decided to skip to the point. "I got your pendant back!" she declared, pulling the
talisman out from behind her. The ornate necklace was now glowing with a soft, pink light. Zelda's
eyes widened. Before anyone could do or say anything further, the talisman began to shine brightly
and then disappeared in a bright flash of pink light. Aryll looked at her hands dumbfounded.
"What?"
Zelda shook her head. "It was supposed to do that."
"Huh?"
The princess gestured to Ganon. "Watch."
Even as she said it, a faint pink light began to surround the battered King of Evil. The light
grew in intensity until it became a bright pink cylinder around the Dark Prince. Then, the cylinder
began to shrink in on Ganon. The pink light also appeared under the beast-between him and the
ground-and above him in the air, completing the cylinder. The pink light continued to restrict,
squeezing the Evil King as if the light was solid. When it got to the point where the light couldn't
shrink much more without either crushing Ganon or breaking itself, it stopped shrinking and began
to glow a blinding white. Everyone flinched away from the light. When it faded, they turned back
to find the great Ganon encased in what appeared to be a giant pink glass jar.
Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes. Then LinkW began to chuckle softly. Then he
began to laugh outright. He patted his sister on the shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked.
Biting down his laughter, LinkW grinned. "Congratulations, Aryll. You just defeated
Ganon."
Then everyone broke out into laughter. Everyone except Ganon, who couldn't seem to
brake the pink glass.