(Author's note: Hello everyone! I made some changes; from now on I will be writing the character speech a little different because people are finding it hard to read all squashed up in one paragraph. Oh, and a quick thanks to evanesced-twilight04 for the simply awesome story inspired by my own! Please read it and review it! Thankies:p Oh, and please R&R mine too! Plus, thanks to all who are reading and reviewing:p)
Winged Knight: Regarding your review, Link actually did bring the master sword and you'll find out why during this chapter! Also in the Warhammer world swords are widely used but not the type of sword that they would use in Zelda. I'll explain more of this in the chapter. And if their weapons were unreachable . . . well you'll see! ;D
Disclaimer: I own not Zelda or Warhammer! Um . . . or anything else!
PART 4: WAR OF THE GODS
Chapter 13: Into The Fires Of Battle
"INCOMING!", a frenzied voice yelled over the Vox, as a large artillery shell exploded soon after, not far from Link's position. The blast kicked up huge amounts of dirt, like a wicked black fountain against a blood red sky smothering the soldiers' unfortunate enough to be in the way. In short, the blast was a deafening inferno of flak and dirt, which many men of Ganondorf's army did not want to experience again. Link ducked to get cover among the piles and piles of corpses, some Eldar and some Hyrulian that were leaking their dark ichor onto the even darker soil underneath them. The Eldar Grav-Tanks (looks like those hover tanks off of Star Wars Episode 1) with the low, deep-sounding engines were the ones to blame for the sudden missile battery. Fires from ruined vehicles burned brightly and an explosion would ring out as soon as the flame hit the fuel tank. Non-burning crafts served as rally points for both Eldar and the people of the Triforce, to relay orders for the next assault or to fall back. The Vox was ever present with the chatter of men and the course backdrop of weaponry fire. The suit that Link was in gave him protection unlike any other on this field of death. He had the upper hand and he knew it, he was just too frightened to use this gift. His life rune flashed and indicated that his heart rate was extremely high but he didn't care. He charged into battle, Master Sword drawn and Bolt-pistol ready. To him this was Hell.
Ganondorf was surrounded, the din of battle sounding loud in his ears. The Eldar had cornered him, picking him off as a primary target. The pilot light of his Flammer licked intensely at the air, ready to incinerate anything at his command. He grinned suddenly, the smile was even evident through the Re-Breather mask and the Eldar were taken aback. They were probably wondering, "why's this stupid idiot grinning when he is going to meet his demise?", well he wasn't going to meet his demise! Not if he could help it! His grin disappeared just as sudden as it had came in a burst of chemical fire. The aliens directly in front of his weapon were lucky; they died quickly with no pain. The others however, were set ablaze to slowly die as they tried to put out their flaming bodies to no avail as their armor melted to their skin. Ganondorf threw back his head and laughed, an evil, deep laugh that caused the rest of the now swarming Eldar to back away. Ganondorf wasn't going to let them off this easily, oh no, not easily at all. He chuckled to himself then Voxed the base to send out the artillery.
Meanwhile, at the base the Tec-Crew got Ganondorfs' shaky Vox message and sent one of their own to the tank bay. As quickly as the message was sent, tanks upon tanks rolled out of the base toward the battle. Rhinos, Whirlwinds, Leman Russ, and many more treaded over the dark sand hills.
Ganondorf slapped another canister into his Flammer, laughing as he watched the Eldar panic and scatter as he sent another volley of flame their way. To everyone else this was absolute Hell, but to him it was a vacation. He loved the way they squirmed as they would try to extinguish their flaming bodies or how they would burst into nothingness if they were too close. If there weren't so damned many of them this would be perfect but Hell, you can't always have your cake and eat it to. Besides, there were different matters at hand . . . . He switched Vox channels searching for the one that the tanks used. After a few tries he got it.
"Tank commander, come in."
"Whirlwind artilary tank here sir, what is your order?" Came the reply.
"Where are you at?" Ganondorf's tone was a bit edgy.
"Four hundred meters from your position, sir. We have you on auspex scanner. We're on our way."
"Thank Din! When you get here prepare the missile battery!" Ganondorf Voxed.
"Sir, yes, sir! Tank commander out!"
With that Ganondorf switched the Vox line back to the troops. All he could hear was death; the screams of men, the clatter of weaponry, the gurgle of blood . . . all of it was broadcasted over the air waves. He checked his belt, only two Flammer canisters left. This would never last him . . . .
Across the battlefield Link and Zelda fought back to back, fighting off the masses and masses of sleek-armored Eldar that poured in to no end. Zelda's armor was scratched and tarnished, no longer possessing the brilliant luster it once had. She was fending off the advancing mass of troops with a Chain Sword (a motorized sword with the blade of a chain saw and a handle like a sword) Ganondorf gave her along with a Bolt-pistol. Link also fought with a Bolt-pistol but possessed the Master Sword as a close combat alternative. His sword gave off a bright white glow as Eldar blood spattered over the holy blade and fizzled off in it's divine aura. Even though the Master Sword was as deadly as it was it looked like an elongated dagger when paired up with Link's suit. The lack of reach was extremely inefficient. Zelda brought her whining chain sword down, connecting it with an Eldar's body. The sick sound of the weapon tearing through flesh and bone followed soon after along with it spitting hot Eldar blood onto her suit.
"I don't know how long I'll last." Zelda's worried voice came spilling into Link's earpiece.
"Hang in there, I'm sure Ganondorf will come." He Voxed to Zelda, trying to sound as consoling as possible . . . despite the situation they were in.
Link hoped to Din Ganondorf would get them out of here, he and Zelda were going to die if help didn't come soon.
Without warning an Eldar warrior lashed out, its silver helmet and poison-loaded blades flashing as it dived for Zelda. She covered herself with her arms instinctively as the red armored figure lunged at her. One armor-piercing blow was all it took for the poison to cease her functions. As unexpectedly as the surprise assault from the rouge Eldar, machine gun bullets riddled through the air ripping through the circle that the Eldar had made around Zelda and Link. Link looked in the direction the rain of shells had come from only to locate a tank, a blue tank, with the stylized Triforce in gold on it's hull, machine gun barrels smoking. This was their golden opportunity! If Zelda and Link did not take it they would be over whelmed. The two made a mad dash for the APC ignoring the fact that the Eldar were closing in; guns flaring, blades shinning. Forty feet . . . thirty feet . . . twenty feet . . . almost there. . . . Link could feel the blood pounding in his temples as he dragged Zelda along. He spotted the front hatch of the tank open and forced Zelda into a dive with him as bullets rebounded off his armor. Barely making it in time, the two rolled into the tank and the doors began to close. Link fired some leeward rounds into the pack of crimson armored aliens, Bolt-pistol chattering as it expended its ammunition. The tanks hatch had closed just in time, for an Eldar warrior had reached the tank door. The vile Xenos had stuck its arm in, frantically grasping at the air hoping to get one of the frightened Hylains. Unfortunately for it, the hydraulic hatch had almost closed completely. Realizing its mistake, it worriedly tried to pull its arm out but it was too late. The door closed severing the Eldar's arm off which now lay before Zelda and Link, the claw-like hand still twitching.
Both Zelda and Link stood in the cab panting. Link took his helmet off and Zelda did the same, her blue eyes darting back and forth with worry.
"Sweet Nauru . . . ." She sighed out as she plopped down on one of the tank's side benches.
"I hear ya." Link replied and sat down beside her.
Then all was silent. They sat and listened to the tank's engines as the battle raged on around them. Only protected by five inches of re-enforced steel. The sound of a hatch opening caught Links attention as he looked up toward the point of origin. A ladder dropped out of a shaft in the ceiling, obviously leading to where the driver sat. This was a big tank! A blonde Hylain man quickly scurried down the ladder, his blue eyes flashing as he saw the two.
"Sorry 'bout that. I wish I could have come sooner." The man said in a strong British accent.
"No, no. That's fine, I'm glad to be rescued." Link stated out of breath.
"My name is Jon," the man said extending his hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you both."
Link took his greeting and then began to speak, "hi, I'm Link and this is Zelda." On Link's word Zelda came forward and shook Jon's hand.
"How do you do?" She said quietly.
"Well, very nice to meet you Zelda. As for how I 'do', not to well at the moment I'm afraid."
"Feeling's mutual." She said as she let go of his hand.
"Well," Jon started, "I guess I'd better drop you two off at the rally point, I'm not really a transport vehicle, you know."
"Ha!" Link laughed. "I see that!" He said as gestured to the missiles and machine gun ammo lining the walls and dotting the floor. It was quite a mess actually. Jon nodded to the two and said "deployment is now, good luck." With that the hatch doors opened and Link and Zelda filed out back into the battle, guns reloaded and ready to rock.
The Eldar Commander, Dread Archon, stood on top of Death Mountain cradling his huge axe in one loose, silver-armored, claw-like hand. He glared down at the battle below, men and women looking like green and red colored ants meeting in a line of crimson in the middle. This brought pleasure to him. Underneath his helmet he licked his lips and grinned. He couldn't wait to meet this Ganondorf . . . that is if he survived the Avatar. He threw back his head and laughed sickly. He would take this planet if it killed all his men. After he destroyed the people of this planet he could make a stand against the Imperium of Mankind and take out the disgusting humans too!
Chapter 14: The Avatar
Ganondorf was totally out of ammo and totally unarmed . . . or so the Eldar maybe thought. He thrust up the gauntleted hand that held his Flammer into the air. It was suddenly enveloped in black and violet flames snaking up his arm and swallowing the gun. In a flash it disappeared only to bring forth more dark flames elongating to form a long flat shaft ending in a crescent. Another bright flash brightened the dark sky and the flames materialized to form Ganondorf's trademark sword. He swung the colossal blade above his head and laughed. The Eldar shot at him with their weapons but a dark energy field protected him. Ganondorf only kept advancing slowly, creating a panicked tension among the aliens. The Eldar readied their blades for close combat engagement to no avail as Ganondorf swung his sword connecting with their torsos, severing them clean in half. Blood spurted all over Ganondorf and his blade. The dark aura of the sword seeming to absorb the alien ichor as if it was drinking it. Ganondorf hissed as he dodged the Eldar warriors trying to pile up and smother him. "COMMON, DIE FOR ME!" He yelled out, lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile. "AND BURN!" He yelled again, this time making eye contact with an alien. The masked warrior stopped dead in his tracks and shrieked as the body suit underneath the armor turned fiery orange and fire rippled out of the cracks in the armor. The cooked-alive Eldar fell to the ground not moving. The others backed away like he was crazy. Instead of running like Ganondorf thought, they fell to their knees and started (what looked like) praying.
A portal swirling green and black opened up before Ganondorf's eyes and what stepped out horrified him. A single, golden-knuckled but red armored hand reached out and grabbed the side of the Warpgate. Ganondorf backed up as the head of the beast peered out. The helmet was like the Eldar's but a face made out of metal seemed to blend into it, making it one with the headgear. It's eyes like green polished gems gleamed along with sharp, golden teeth. Two horn-like decorations protruded from the base of its helmet and reached for the sky. Between the two horns, a shaft stretched up supporting green and white hair that ran down its back. The rest of it emerged, red armored as well, green cloth decoration hanging down between its legs blazed with an intricate white pattern near the bottom. Its arms were lined with beautiful silver patterns inlayed with gems. Its right hand grasping the most crazily done sword Ganondorf had ever seen since his own. The blade, The Wailing Doom, was pure mithril silver and golden Eldar runes ran verticaly up the middle of the blade. It was inlayed with green gems and was as big as the creature itself. Its skin was made from the hardest of metals and its blood was magma. This was the Avatar.
The Avatar shrieked a wicked, hoarse cry that made Ganondorf's armor shudder. It brought its Wailing Doom down in a split second hardly giving Ganondorf enough time to dodge the blade. Rolling out of its way and back onto his feet again Ganondorf readied himself for combat. Ganondorf's sword was tiny compared to the Avatar's leaving him with insignificant reach. Ganondorf ripped a flash grenade off of his Assault Belt and chucked it in the Avatar's general direction. He felt the grenade detonate, feeling the heat even underneath his armor and shielded his eyes from the blinding flash. Unfortunately the Avatar wasn't fast enough to cover its eyes and it was sent reeling, blind and stumbling, crying that ear-piercing shriek. Ganondorf took this opportunity to strike and brang his dark blade down hoping to sever its arm. His sword was deflected of the diamond hard armor of the Avatar as it hissed and regained its posture.
How could this be? He couldn't fight this thing! He would try to hold it off for now as it slowly walked toward him, silver blade ready to kill.
Zelda and Link saw a black swirling cloud through the fierce din of battle and made out a huge decorative figure and what seemed to be Ganondorf. By the looks of it Ganondorf was struggling and losing to boot. Link tapped Zelda on the shoulder and Voxed her to head to the position of that ominous cloud over head. He prayed to Din that Ganondorf wasn't dead when they got there.
Ganondorf was slammed against a rock, feeling his Ceremite Power Armor partially give out. He growled and tried to force himself back up again through the red haze of pain. The Avatar showed no signs of tire and kept pressing on almost grinning as it went about slapping Ganondorf around. He felt almost a sort of dripping inside . . . internal bleeding. If he didn't get medical help soon he would die. He saw two familiar figures off in the distance, not too far away, between the Avatar's legs. Zelda and Link.
"Run!" He Voxed.
"No," came the reply back
Ganondorf groaned, sick with pain, and tried to move his heavy arms to push him back up for the third time. With no avail he crashed back to the ground and his vision became blurry, slowly fading away, the image of the slowly closing in Avatar burned into his retinas.
"No!" Link screamed, horrified. Zelda laid a hand on his shoulder and cocked her head to the side in pity. Several seconds past and Zelda looked toward where Ganondorf was laying again, not moving. Like nothing she started chanting. Silky Hylain words flowed from her mouth canceling the sound of battle out. Off in the distance Ganondorf was encompassed in a crystal-clear blue light and started to rise again.
What is this power? He wondered, mystified, as blue swirled around him. The rush of power was so great he thought he was dead. He started to float, being pushed back onto his feet by the blue power. Off on a hill he saw Zelda surrounded in the same blue light and realized that he wasn't dead but this was magic. Even through the dark and grimy smog of technology magic shone like a beacon. This was his heritage, his way of life. In five years his people forgot this culture completely. No, this culture was just striped away from them, ripped from their grasping arms, torn from their very souls. His culture wasn't forgotten it was just treaded on by a bunch of fucking in-breed aliens! This was Hyrule's heritage, Hyrule's way of life, not just his own! Ganondorf felt something deep inside start to bubble and rise to a full-blown boiling hate. A hate for the Eldar, a hate for the war, a hate for everything! The blue light turned into black fire as he screamed. "I WILL NOT BOW TO YOU!" He howled, and thrust the burning black sword into the gut of the Avatar.
The Avatar's hands contorted into a claw like state as it threw back its head and screamed, its armor cracking and rays of pure golden light flooding out. It writhed and twisted in anguish as its green eyes stared into space with a look of unbelief. It shrieked once more as it dropped its blade and vaporized into a million pieces. The green and black portal opened once more and the remaining dust of the Avatar was sucked in along with the sword. The Avatar of The Bloody-Handed God would not be seen again until one hundred thousand years later when its soul would be given another physical body in the depths of the Eldar Craft Worlds. Ganondorf had won.
Ganondorf collapsed to his knees, exhausted, dropping his sword no longer glowing with energy. He had won, against all odds, he had won. The verse played over and over in his head as he slowly lost consciousness unaware of the horrors yet to come.
Zelda and Link had watched the epic battle between evil and really evil. Evil, their evil had won. Zelda's powers were depleted and it would take quite awhile before she could use something like that again. Link looked at her and motioned for her to head for the area where Ganondorf and the Avatar had once fought, dark clouds clearing.
Dread Archon screamed in fury like a snarling beast on the edge of madness. How could this be? The Avatar was God-like, invincible! Maybe he under estimated these people . . . no matter; he would take care of Ganondorf and his pilocks in time. He laughed and mounted his red and black jet bike, engine revving as he sped away toward the battle leaving only a cloud of dust in his wake.
When Zelda and Link reached Ganondorf they thought he was dead. After closer examination he was in fact alive and breathing. Ganondorf's eyes slowly blinked opened and Link and Zelda came into focus. Ganondorf grinned through pain and mouthed "I won . . ." The words were a whisper, barely audible. An emerald stream of his blood flowed from his hairline down his face. Zelda produced a flask and a cloth originating from her belt and poured the contents of the flask onto the cloth, wiping away the green stream of blood. Link grabbed Ganondorf's arms, instinctively Zelda grabbed his legs and they lifted him while Voxing the nearest Rhino transport take to take them out of this bloody mess.
Chapter 15: I've Got A Feeling Of Dread
The Eldar people were in shock, their Avatar had lost. It almost seemed that they had lost their will to fight on as they started to grow sloppy in their combat moves. The people of the Triforce were winning as they cut down the Eldar warriors with new rekindled hope burning in their souls and minds. Eldar soldiers died all around until a shaky message spilled over their personal Vox links. "BURN THEM, DESTROY THEM, WE HAVE NOT LOST YET!" Sounded the message as a red and black jet bike armed to the teeth with artilary sped over the black hills toward them. Realizing it was their Force Commander, Dread Archon, they raised their silver blades slick with blood in salutations before bringing them down on the Hyrulian defenses. "M'wody nutu yan!" An Eldar sergeant screamed and aimed his huge, blade decorated gun at an artilary Goron, ripping him apart in a shower of bullets. The surrounding squad of the sergeant hissed in reply to the rally, killing fiercely for their masters.
Blood welcomed Dread Archon like a crimson welcome mat as he drove in. He swung his axe, lobbing off the heads and torsos of the enemy. He laughed as he continued bloody drive-bys becoming covered in more and more gore as he killed on. This was so much fun! The Triforce people thought they had actually won for a moment, but now that he was here nothing would stop him from slaughtering the lot!
"FALL BACK!" Yelled a Hylain squad sergeant as his men and women died. They fought on, slowly falling back as they dodged the Eldar's attacks. Even worse, Eldar Fire Prism tanks were hovering in with their huge crystal prism canons charging up to totally decimate the defenses. Crackling with energy, one fired a bolt their way disintegrating many of his troops nearby in a flash of white light. An other hit like that and he was dead meat.
"Stop the tank! Take Ganondorf back to the base!" Zelda yelled as she observed the battle through one of the tanks small, re-enforced observation windows. It seemed that the "boss" was here and he was driving back her people and rallying his own. By all means he needed to be stopped. She knew that Ganondorf would have probably wanted to have done the "honors" for this one but he was in no condition to fight. Herself and Link would tie up any loose ends Ganondorf couldn't fix himself. With a slight jerk, the tank rolled to a stop almost ten feet from where the great kill zone was raging on as the hatch opened. Zelda and Link moved out, sweeping with their Bolt-Pistols as an onslaught of Eldar came their way. Zelda took one last glance at Ganondorf's now unconscious body before opening fire.
The industrial sound of Bolt-Pistol fire screamed through the air attracting Triforce and Xenos attention. The Triforce warriors cheered in relief as their savors had come. Now those fucking aliens would get a true taste of power! Making a stand, the defenses started to march forward singing a Hyrulian victory song; "Godesses grant us glory for Hyrule's freedom we'll fight or die! . . . ." Cried the voices from the defenders.
This was blasphemous! Dread Archon brang his jet bike to a halt with a final engine rev, touching down with his crimson boot onto crimson soil. He couldn't believe it! They were singing! Of all things SINGING! He wanted to know who or what was responsible for this shit right now! His eyes scanned the landscape for a suitable candidate. Or candidates his mind thought as he saw to figures looking as if they had some authority, one in blue the other in green. They seemed to be leading this group of idiots so why not drop by and say hello?
Zelda raised her Chain Sword high. "Victory or death!", she screamed and a thundering cry came from her troops. Link finished her war cry, "onward, to glory!", he snarled as he thrust the Master-Sword forward and broke into a run. A wave of green followed Zelda and Link as they sprinted down the battlefield. The Eldar raised their guns in reply and ran toward the defenders, swinging their blades above their heads.
The first lines clashed together like waves on a storm-ridden sea. Fountains of blood spurted up as a blade or bullet penetrated skin. Zelda and Link were in the middle of this fighting as the bloody typhoon raged around them. In the middle of the Eldar lines, Dread Archon rode toward Zelda and Link, pissed, as he even killed his own men to make a path for himself to get to the leaders of the Hyrulians. Zelda and Link noticed instantly, as a bloody path separated the Eldar army in half and a whining jet bike sped toward them. This was him, Dread Archon, leader of the Eldar battle force.
Archon hissed and growled as he did a back flip off of his jet bike, letting it speed into a pack of shocked Triforce people and explode before they even got out of the way. He landed right in front of Link and Zelda, instantly taking a swing with his battle-ax. Zelda jumped out of the way just in time before the ax hit the earth missing her by a thread. Link took notice to the now present Eldar leader. "So you're the bloody bastard? Fuck you and get off my planet!" Link screamed and took a swing with the master sword. As expected Dread leapt out of the way and retaliated on Link, now ignoring Zelda. Link brang his sword up blocking the fierce hit. Sparks flew as the blades locked together. Zelda hefted up her Chain Sword and swept toward Archon with it. Dread sprang into the air doing a back flip over Zelda before she even had time to connect her blade with his body. Zelda and Link launched volleys upon volleys of attacks upon the Eldar commander missing him with each swing. "You'll never defeat me, stop trying!" He screeched out. Oh yes we will . . . thought Link as he swiftly cast Din's Fire. In a shock wave of heat Dread was thrown back, ax twirling through the air, a deadly projectile. He landed hard but instantaneously got back onto his feet. He raised his arm catching his one hundred-pound ax like it was nothing. He charged at Link and Zelda knocking them both to the ground. "YOU DIE NOW!" Dread Archon howled as his ax that was high above his head started to come down. A sudden crackle spilled across the Vox-link; "their wrath falls from the heavens!" Before Dread had time to kill Zelda and Link a missile suddenly slammed into his gut carrying him into a rock, arms flailing helplessly behind him. Link smiled, Ganondorf had called in the artilary tanks earlier on.
"Link to Tank Commander, come in." Link Voxed.
A few seconds past then; "this is Tank Commander, sorry we're so late sir, we got tied up."
Missiles flew through the air and then came thundering to earth killing masses of Eldar. Another missile connected with an Eldar Fire Prism tank, detonating on impact as the tank crashed into the earth skimming the ground as it's anti-grav thrusters gave out. More and more missiles collided into troops and tanks of the Eldar.
In a deafening roar Dread burst out of the pile of rubble he was once pinned under. "YOU HAVE NOT WON YET TRIFORCE WARRIORS, WE SHALL RETURN!" The Eldar activated teleportation devices on their wrist gauntlets and suddenly disappeared in a burst of green light. All of them gone, only leaving their dead and wrecked tanks.
Chapter 16: Over For Now?
Triforce issue Whirlwind artilary tanks revealed themselves as they rolled over the hills toward the once-was battle site. Link sighed, thankful it was over. He looked out over all the carnage and chaos, burning rubble and blood. It was an infinite sea of bodies and that concept chilled his soul. He put his arm around Zelda who returned the embrace.
"Clean up our dead, then let's go home." He Voxed to no one unparticular. Now began the long process of mourning, waiting and praying.
(Author's note: I hoped you all enjoyed this! It took me a looooooooooooong time. You know cuz of school 'n stuff. Oh, and if you want to see some detailed pictures of the Eldar and Space Marines go to www. gamesworkshop .com and look in the Warhammer 40k section. Don't worry you'll find it!)
Ganondorf, Wesker 'n Tyranids :D
