Final Battle for the TriForce

He stood at the massive door that led into the King of Evil's main chamber. Clad in green, he adjusted the matching hat and shifted his shield and the gleaming sword as he checked the on the pouch holding the various items he had collected over his journeys. The blaring organ music echoed from behind the door, causing his ears to hurt and giving him a huge headache. Above him, his faithful fairy partner Navi jingled as she flitted back and forth, reminding him of the urgency of the situation.

Link knew Navi had good reason to feel urgent Zelda had to be saved, and Ganondorf stopped. He strode forward, and the large door rose up automatically in front of him. Stopping quickly once he was through, he stared in awe at the room around him. It was a large room, with light streaming through the large stain-glass windows onto Link's half of the room. The other half was bathed in darkness, but Link could make out the shape of the huge organ that was evidently the source of the music that had been playing since Link had started making his way up the tower. This room, the feeling of evil that was resonating from it, it reminded him of that dream so long ago, that had started this whole thing…

The night was dark and cold. The patter of rainfall could be heard everywhere. Nay, it was the only thing that could be heard anywhere for a few minutes. The wind whispered by, sharp and cold as it cut past his face, making the most awful and frightening sound as he walked. The drawbridge was up, as it usually was at this hour of the night, but Link felt safer nearer to the moat than he did out in the open.

As he approached, he heard the creak of the chains. The drawbridge was descending! This wasn't supposed to happen, not at this hour of the night. Link couldn't understand, until he heard the sound of a horse. Link ran forward, his hand moving quickly to the hilt of the sword on his back, suddenly terrified for what could be happening to her. And as he approached, he saw it. A shining white horse raced across the drawbridge the moment it was down, moving faster than Link could ever hope to keep up with. And there she was, carried by her caretaker, huddled frightened as the horse galloped off into the dark night. She cast a final pleading glance at him as he watched them go, confused, before he felt him behind him. That horrible presence that one could not help but feel.

Mounted on his black horse, he stared out into the darkness after the last glimpse of the two who had just left. He was absolutely terrifying at this range, his armor gleaming as he cast his gaze down at the ten year old. It felt as though the very essence of evil was piercing the boy's soul with his eyes. Link felt a cold malice in his face, and could do nothing but stand there in terror. He opened his mouth, and it was then that Link awoke to the sound of a shrill, female voice. "Hey!"

The voice had been Navi, and Link had been thrilled. He had been the only one of the forest dwelling Kokiri who didn't have a fairy partner, and now he had one. But the happiness hadn't lasted long, as he had found out that the Kokiri's guardian The Great Deku Tree had been cursed and it was up to him to cure him of it. He would indeed, going all over the interior of the tree, killing various monsters until the curse was gone. But all of Link's hard work was in vain for the curse had dealt a deathblow to the GDT. But before it passed, The GDT would explain that there was a dark presence hanging over the land, and Link needed to find the Princess of Destiny, who would help him save the world

"Link!" Zelda's cry snapped Link's head snapped up to peer up at the top of the organ, where Zelda was imprisoned in the purple cage. She pounded her fists on the barrier, but when it failed to break, she slumped against it in defeat. Oh how this was so different when he had first started on that journey seven years ago…

Link would leave the forest and find that there was a lot more to his little corner of forest. There were his people, the kids who would forever be kids the Kokiri, the Gorons, a rock like people who lived at the summit of the dangerous Death Mountain, the water dwelling Zora, who guarded the world's water supply; the all female Gerudo, who lived through stealing, and the Shiekah, who dwelled in the village at the foot of Death Mountain and dedicated their lives to serving the King Of Hyrule. The Hylians lived in the center of Hyrule and were the largest population in Hyrule. Link would head for the main landmark in the land, Hyrule CastleTown, where he would meet up with the princess.

"Zelda, hold on, I'm coming!" He strode forward, but was stopped when a light erupted from the back of his hand. It faded to a dull gleam, revealing on the back of his hand a triangle split into three separate triangles, with the lower left on glowing. This reminded Link of the Great Deku Tree's telling of the TriForce Legend:

Back before time began, the world of Hyrule was a barren and dark land. But then the mythical goddesses descended from a distant nebula to Hyrule and created order and life. Seeing how the land was so barren, the used their great power to cover the land with fire, wisdom, and life that would forever nurture the land. After the goddesses had finished their work, they left the world, but not before creating a symbol of their strength, a golden triangle known as the TriForce. A small but marvel portion of the essence of the goddesses was held in this mighty artifact, which was to guide the intelligent life on the world of Hyrule.

Although it was an inanimate object, the TriForce had the power to bestow three titles, which gave the person who received them great powers: The Forger of Strength, the Keeper of Knowledge, and the Juror of Courage. From its hiding place in the so-called Sacred Realm, or, Golden Land where the goddesses placed it, the TriForce beckoned people from the outside world to seek it in the hope that someone worthy of these titles would find it.

Zelda would explain that years later, in the blowing sand and the harsh climate of the desert, the King of the Gerudo Thieves, Ganondorf Dragmire found the way to break the mystic seal of Rauru. He needed three sacred stones- one held by the Kokiri, another by the Goron, and the third by the Zora. He then needed the magical Ocarina of Time to open the seal, which was held by a member of the royal family. Climbing upon his black Gerudo steed, Ganondorf went to each of the tribes and attempted to get their stones by destroying them- he had poisoned the Great Deku Tree, he infested the cave which held the Goron's food source with monsters, and he made the protective deity of the Zora, Lord Jabu-Jabu, go mad and swallow the daughter of King Zora XVI, Princess Ruto. He then went to hold an audience with the King of Hyrule, in an attempt to find which royal family member had the Ocarina. Ganondorf knew that it was only a matter of time before he had all the pieces to his plan complete. However, time was definitely not on Ganondorf's side, as now Zelda and Link planned, and she sent Link out to get the stones before Ganondorf.

Though he would indeed get the stones first, he would do it too late. He would return to the castle in time for his dream to come true, as Ganondorf and his minions would take over CastleTown, causing Zelda and her nursemaid Impa to flee from a pursuing Ganondorf. Zelda threw the Ocarina of Time to Link, who caught it and fled to the Temple of Time. There, he played the Song of Time, which opened the gate. Inside, he would find the Sword of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword. But the evil man tricked the young hero, for when Link pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal, it not only sealed Link in stasis for seven years, it would open the gate to the Sacred Realm. This allowed Ganondorf to steal the Triforce from the Golden Land before the lad could enter.

Link snapped back to the present as he also noticed that the TriForce of Wisdom mark on Zelda's hand was glowing also.

"What the…?" Link wondered. "If that's glowing then that means…" he was cut off when a familiar evil laugh echoed through the chamber. This caused Link to glare at the figure seated at the base of the organ. "Ganondorf!" Link's lip curled as he remembered how the jackass had changed everything good that Link had known into things of darkness and despair…

Seven years after Ganondorf first touched the Triforce; Link awoke in the Temple of Light to find that he was now seventeen. Rauru, who was still in the Temple, told Link of the evil that occurred. Rauru was only one of seven sages who would, if brought together, seal Ganon in the Golden Land. Link found five others- Saria the Kokiri and Link's best friend, Darunia the leader of the Goron and the sworn brother to the King of Hyrule and Link, Ruto the Zora who had elected herself to be Link's fiancée, Zelda's nursemaid Impa the Shiekah, and the anti-Ganondorf Queen Nabooru the Gerudo, who all became sages. Princess Zelda, who remained in disguise for the past seven years, was the seventh.

When Link found Zelda, it was revealed the Triforce had split due to Ganondorf's evilness. He held the Triforce of Power, Zelda held the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link himself held the Triforce of Courage. Upon hearing this, Ganondorf kidnapped Zelda and dared Link to face him. Link raced to Ganondorf's castle, and fought his way up the huge tower.

Link shook his head as Ganondorf laughed again. "The TriForce parts are resonating. They are combining into one again. The two TriForce parts that I couldn't capture on that day seven years ago, I didn't expect them to be hidden within you two! And now finally, all the TriForce parts have gathered here!" Link stepped forward, growing more confident as he got closer.

"That may be, but you're not going to get them you no good lousy SOB! I'm not going to let you hurt me, Zelda or anyone else!" He didn't know what to expect as a reply, but it certainly wasn't Ganondorf swinging around on the bench to stare at him.

"Hah! Is that so?" he held up his fist, and the TriForce glowed on it. "These toys are too much for you! I command you to give them back or be destroyed!"

Link backed up as Ganondorf rose into the air as the organ and Zelda disappeared behind him. Link gritted his teeth as a black aura surrounded Ganondorf.

"Watch out Link! He's set to attack!" Navi warned. With a roar of anger, Ganondorf extended his hands out in front of him and sent waves of black energy at Link. Both Link and Navi flew backwards, with Link crashing into the wall behind him.

"Link," Navi cried as she was buffeted by the energy waves, "I can't help you! Because of the waves of darkness, I can't get close! I'm sorry Link!"

"It's OK Nav, even without you, I can be this jerk! I'm sure of it!" But Navi could tell that the power was having an affect on Link, and he was in obvious pain.

Finally, Ganondorf stopped his attack and sneered as Link collapsed to one knee. "Come on kid, where's the arrogance, the confidence, the overall belief in yourself that's made you such a pain in my side this whole time? Give up now or truly show me the true power of the Hero of Time!" he laughed, thinking that this would be easier than he thought. But to his surprise, instead of begging for mercy, the only sound that came from Link was… laughter?

"Heh, you're overconfidence will be your weakness," Link said as he pulled himself to his feet. Ganondorf scowled.

"You're faith in that blasted sword is yours!" He held his arm up in the air and a crackling ball of energy appeared in the air above his palm. "If this is something that can be stopped, then try and stop it!" With a roar of confidence, he hurled the electrical sphere at the still wincing hero.

"Any idea what I supposed to do?" Link demanded of Navi as he dodged the ball as it exploded in the spot where he was seconds before. Ganondorf laughed as Link started running around the room, with Ganondorf just throwing the orbs after him.

"Unfortunately no! With the evil surrounding him, I have no way of figuring out his weaknesses. I'm sorry!" Link just nodded as he dodged another blast. This continued for a while, as Ganondorf would hurl attack after attack, with Link just barely dodging them or getting solidly blasted with the attacks. Every time they connected, Link screamed as it felt as if his very soul was being tortured.

"You're starting to bug me kid! Hold still!" With a roar of impatience, Ganondorf smashed his fist into the floor. Link stumbled in pain as the ground rumbled below him. He just barely jumped out of the way as the section of floor below him fell away to crash into the floor beneath. Link swallowed hard as he gazed around. Huge sections of the floor were gone now, with very little room for him to dodge in. Ganondorf laughed again.

"Hah, what now kid? You have no choice now, either figure out how to defend or take this full on!" He formed an even bigger energy ball and with a roar of victory, hurled it at the hero. Link gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as the attack flew at him, relinquishing himself to the pain.

There's no way I can dodge this, I done for! Zelda, Saria, Navi, I'm so sorry; I've failed you all! Suddenly, he felt the Master Sword vibrate in his hand. "Huh?" He opened his eyes to stare down at it, and was amazed to see it glowing. Wait a minute; it's the Sword of Evil's Bane, which means…

With a smirk of knowingness, Link waited for the attack to get closer. Got to time it just right! Time seemed to slow down as with a cry of his own, he swung the sword. Time sped up as it connected soundly, and for a second, it seemed as if nothing happened. But suddenly, the attack was flying back at Ganondorf. Ganondorf could do nothing as the attack flew right back at him and connected solidly with him.

"Wait, if he's the being of darkness, then he'd mostly be hurt by…" Link got a sudden idea, and pulling out an arrow, he concentrated. The end of the arrow flared to life as a glowing light surround it. Link pulled back the string and let the Light Arrow fly.

Ganondorf still numb from his own attack never saw it coming. All he knew was that he was in horrible pain one moment, and the next he felt as if his very body was being ripped apart, bone-by-bone. Unable to continue floating, he collapsed onto the ground that remained below him.

Now's my chance! I'll only get few seconds for this! With seemingly un-Hylian speed, he dashed forward, and jumped across the gap to where Ganondorf crouched. Raising his sword, he slashed at the monster, revealing in his screams of pain. But then Ganondorf threw out his arms, sending out waves of black energy, forcing Link to retreat as Ganondorf rose shakily into the air.

"What? How?" he gasped, holding an arm to the wound on his chest. "There's no way you should have been able to do that!" Link could only smirk.

"Don't you know? This sword is the Master Sword, the Sword of Evil's Bane. That means that it is the ultimate opposite to every thing evil. Hence why it was able to repel your attack. With this baby, I can take as many of you're attacks as I want and still send them back. As powerful as you may be, you are not perfect, you still have your weaknesses.

"You rely souly on your Triforce to help you cheat death, and increase your strength so only you can be victorious. Well, I was not given the Triforce of Courage for no reason. I'm Hyrule's guardian, and I will even sacrifice my life to make sure your evil never re-surfaces!"

Ganondorf laughed at Link's speech and said, "You hero's are all the same, noble to the end. Not to mention you always have some grand statement that should paralyze me in fear. Yes....noble to the end you are, but the end has come for you, and I will use every bit of my power to make sure that I have rid myself of you once and for all!"

So it continued, with Ganondorf and Link soon playing hot potato with the attacks, seeing who could deflect the attacks better. Link would get his fair share of hits, but soon the continuous barrages of his own attacks, Light Arrows, were visibly wearing down Ganondorf and the sword blows weren't doing him much better. Finally, he was fed up.

"That's it!! I'm damn sick and tired of playing these stupid games with you! You thought you could deflect anything? TRY AND DODGE THIS WITH YOUR PUNY SWORD!" He raised both arms above his head, and Link could see waves of dark energy forming above his head into a huge ball of energy. Link knew that there was truly no way he could block this one. So he skipped that stage, and let loose another Light Arrow.

Ganondorf never knew what hit him. Focusing so much on creating the attack, he never had the chance to deflect the arrow. This one smashed into him, causing him to fly back and crash into one of the stained glass windows.

Once again, time seemed to slow, as Link seemed to zoom across the room. Looking straight in Ganondorf's eyes, he reared, back with the Master Sword, and swung it forward, stabbing the monster straight in the forehead, right between the eyes.

"ARRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Ganondorf screamed in horror and pain, as Link backed up from him. But something wasn't right, the whole tower was shaking as he screamed, and around them, the stained glass windows cracked and shattered. Then the whole room started cracking, and then completely broke, leaving Link and Ganondorf standing in open air at the top of the tower. But whatever Ganondorf had planned didn't come to pass, as he coughed up green blood, and reached out pitifully to Link, then, fell forward, very much dead.

Exhausted, Link fell backwards, laying willingly on the cold floor and basking in the cool feel of the stone beneath him. Hearing the familiar jingle above him, he opened one eye to look at Navi as she floated exhausted above him. "You did a great job Nav. We both did." She stopped and landed down on his chest and closed her eyes.

"You did indeed," a voice said from above him. Both he and Navi's eyes shot open as the finally noticed Zelda standing above them.

"Zelda!" Link cried as he quickly rolled over and tried to get to his feet. But as got to one knee, he groaned as pain shot through him. Navi took back to the air, grumbling about dumb teens not caring about their partner as soon as a pretty face shows up. Zelda grabbed him quickly as he almost fell on his face. Gently she made him lay back down. Navi happily took her spot back.

"Settle down. You just fought a death battle. I'm fine; you don't have to kill yourself over me. Here, let me use my powers to heal you." She closed her eyes and held her hands over him, and as soothing glow encompassed him and Navi. Moments later, Link sat up, feeling as refreshed as he had before heading into Ganondorf's chamber.

Speaking of Ganondorf, Zelda was standing over him, shaking her head in disgust. "Ganondorf, pitiful man. Without a strong righteous mind, he could not control the power of the gods and it ended up destroying him." She walked over to Link, and too his surprise, hugged him. "I have to say, thank you Link. Thank you for doing this."

Link rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "It was nothing at all princess. Anyone could do it. It was worth losing seven years." She let go of him and stepped back frowning at him, then turned away, a guilty look on her face.

"No, anyone couldn't have done it. All those qualities that made you such an annoyance to Ganondorf, the courage, the overall belief in yourself that's made you such a pain in his side the whole time? Theses are things that are special to you. It was those qualities that enabled you to return peace to Hyrule, to willingly lose those seven years…" she closed her eyes, and Link was surprised to see tears in her eyes. He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"What's wrong? You should be happy with yourself we finally beat him. We avenged all the races of Hyrule-" but this only caused Zelda to pull herself free of Link and stand at the edge of the platform.

"But Link, all the tragedy that has befallen Hyrule was my doing! I was so young; I could not comprehend the consequences of trying to control the Sacred Realm. On top of that, I dragged you into it too!"

"But I did this all willingly Zelda. I have no regrets at all. There's nothing I would have changed about any of this. Except having Navi continuously bugging me." Zelda chuckled as Navi smacked Link on the nose.

"But Link, I won't feel right unless I change this. Unless I make up for my mistake." She turned back to him, a pained look on her face. "And for me to do that, I have to send you back."

"Send me back?" Link felt he already knew the answer but he had to ask. "Back where?"

"Back to your time. Back seven years ago. You must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time. By doing this, the road between times will be closed. That will stop Ganondorf from ever resurrecting and coming back to kill us, for he will be stuck here in the future. But if you cut off this timeline, he'll forever be unable to come back since you'll erase this timeline. Link, please give the Ocarina of Time to me." Link hesitated, and then did so.

"If you think this is the right thing Zelda, I'm willing to agree." She nodded as Navi landed on Link's hat. She raised the ocarina to her lips, and then stopped.

"When peace returns to Hyrule, it will be time for us to say good-bye." She then surprised him by leaning forward and kissing him lightly. "Now go home Link. Regain your lost time. Home, where you are supposed to be…" She raised the ocarina again, and played the Song of Time. She watched as a blue light surrounded him and lifted him up and away into the sky above him.

She stared at the spot where he had disappeared for several moments as the sun finally rose on a new Hyrule and a single tear rolled down her face. "Thank you Link and good-bye…"