A.N:Thanks once again to all the people who have reviewed, we are finally drawing neat to the end. Chapter 16 will be the last. Chapter 14 will hopefully be up next Monday. Oh and there are slight rape implications in this chapter, very weak, but still there
Lord Crimson - You might find something you mentioned in your review in chapter 14
Chapter 13: Master and Monster
Link slowed his pace, walking through the flickering passage, Sheik just behind, the two Hyrulian's breath coming in short gasps. Ahead of them was a set of ebony double doors, a pair of burning white torches either side of the door, tinted with purple.
"So this is Ganondorf's chambers?" Sheik asked, Link nodded in response, his heart beating abnormally fast.
"How did you know your way here?"
"Nabooru."
"Nabooru? Why would the spirit sage lead you here?" Sheik questioned, one eyebrow arched. For some reason he seemed rather perturbed about the fact, almost jealous.
"Well these are her rooms, but she uses them as a meeting room a lot of the time."
Link looked back, saw some of the jealousy fade, but anxiousness take over.
"So…you ready to take Ganondorf down with me?"
Red eyes hardening in determination, Sheik nodded.
Link stepped forward, placed both hands on either side of the gap in the middle and pushed the doors open.
Leon trotted through the complex, trying to get his breath back. Sitting down on some nearby crates, pulling out his gun and checking it over, making sure the handgun was fully loaded and sighing heavily, shrugging the other weapon off his back. He had somehow managed to find his way back to the outside of the complex and after the inhuman roars he had heard earlier, he had thought to grab a bigger gun, just to be prepared. Looking down at it, he couldn't believe how paranoid he was, that he had that thing with him.
"Man, there's something wrong with me…I can't believe I actually had this thing with me when I was running from those freaks. More precisely, I can't believe I didn't use it to blast the bastards away. I mean, it's a bloody massive rocket launcher for god sake"
Shaking his head down at the weapon, he stretched his back and pulled it back on. All in all his arsenal consisted of a standard issue Beretta, a desert eagle magnum, a Remington shotgun and a rocket launcher. Oh, and about 5 incendiary grenades. Talk about firepower. And enough ammo to do a bank raid. Standing, he started off in a quick jog, retracing his steps back into the complex, remembering when to turn.
The real Sheik, Yunsung and Siegfried walked along a narrow corridor, Siegfried being supported by Yunsung. His head was throbbing; his body sore and he constantly felt nauseous. Yunsung shifted slightly, moving the German slightly so he could support him better. Sheik was a few steps ahead, listening out for any signs of danger.
A sudden crunch made Yunsung look down and he grimaced. The entire floor was littered with bugs, and he had just stepped on one and just a few steps in front of him, over a crate, there was another crushed one that had apparently been scraped off someone's shoe. While Yunsung started stepping between the bugs, trying not to make any more green patches on the floor, it seemed Siegfried didn't care. He strode forward, casually stepping on bugs and enjoying the satisfying crunching sounds that accompanied the death of them. Turning around and watching Siegfried casually crunching bugs, Sheik glared at him. Siegfried returned the gesture before shrugging and pushing the bugs out of the way with his foot. Rolling his eyes, the Sheikah turned the corner, disappearing out of sight.
Raphael stopped for a moment, hearing heavy panting from the room ahead, followed by a groaning sound. Carefully, he made his way to the opposite wall, pressing his back against it and peering around the corner slightly. When he saw who it was he snorted smugly and smirked, stepping into the room and walking towards the figure who was trying to push himself off the floor.
"Another victory for the valiant Japanese, I see," Raphael commented, looking at the large, pale purple mass of Astaroth's body.
Finally managing to push himself to sit on his haunches, Maxi turned and glared at the Frenchman, wincing slightly as the wound on his head re-opened, bright red blood soaking into the already blood crusted hair.
Seeing the blood beginning to flow from a wound on Maxi's head, Raphael walked round to his front, taking in all the injuries that the dark-haired pirate had received. Four large oval shaped bruises had formed on the side of his neck, towards the back, and another, larger one on the opposite side, slightly more forwards than the others. His abdomen had been sliced open, coating his lower waist, hips and thighs in gradually darkening blood, the pure white cloth stained an ugly, blackening scarlet as it dried out. Finally, the whole abdomen, and some of his lower chest, was covered in purple, blue and black bruises and a slight lump on Maxi's ribcage had alerted Raphael to the fact that at least one of the ribs had been completely cracked in half and bent to an angle that made it protrude.
Sighing, the French man walked to Maxi's side and crouched down, waiting for him to sling his arm over his shoulders. Maxi stared at him oddly for a moment before reaching to grasp his nunchaku, slinging it over his own neck and slipping his arm over Raphael's shoulders.
Liam raised his sword, sending it plunging into a Gerudo woman's chest, and watched as she gasped, slipping off her horse and falling to the floor. Stopping and turning, Liam stared at the carnage and bloodshed that was taking place all around him, horrified and dismayed by the vicious nature of the races of Hyrule. The usually peaceful Hylians were determined and perfectly willing to die if they needed to. A sudden sword whistling past his face brought him back and he turned to see a Gerudo woman, dressed in red instead of purple, sitting on a horse in front of him. Being dressed in red meant she was one of the higher guards, which meant she was incredibly dangerous.
Liam remembered Link telling him how savage the higher guards could be, how they had vicious, brutal moves that they could execute without difficulty. Moves that the toughest Hylian men sometimes couldn't perform. Link had gotten lucky when he first fought the Gerudos, lucky that his enemies had gradually increased in skill, so that he was ready to take on these women. Liam wasn't. Not only that but Liam rarely killed humans before now, most Hylian soldiers were lucky enough to only have to fight monsters. Creatures that didn't grimace or scream in pain when they were impaled. The Gerudos, no matter how strong, tough and skilled, were still human, still cried out in pain, and so Liam still hated killing them, even if they were trying to kill him.
Moving his horse back a few steps, Liam prepared himself, raising his shield as she came charging forwards. Her spear hit the shield with a tremendous amount of force and Liam found himself having to squeeze his legs tighter around his horse, the attack threatening to knock him off. Bringing the shield down he turned, and urged his horse towards the woman's, pushing it into a canter, as she charged forward, lowering her spear. At the last moment, he bent his body out of the way, and thrusting his sword backwards, striking the woman's wrist as she continued past. She screamed and dropped the spear, before turning around and drawing the two white scimitars that lay across her back.
Link breathed in deeply as he stepped into Ganondorf's chamber, scenting the familiar heavy smell that constantly surrounded the evil king. It was a heavy smothering smell, a mixture of masculine sweat, blood and power. It was one of those smells that you couldn't describe, but you knew instantly, a smell that could only be described as evil and depressive. Looking back at Sheik, Link saw him gag and choke, not used to the oppressive stench. Turning back he looked round the room; saw it strewn with weapons, clothing and food remnants. There were also a few candles, satin sheets on the massive bed that took up the left side of the room, and various pieces of golden objects scattered around as if to give some hint that the room was cared for. Everything was large, dark, bold, strong, and robust; everything demanded attention, all at once, clamoured for it. It was in a word, masculine. It seemed strange to see such an obviously male room, in a feminine territory, especially when Link noticed the inhabitant of the room.
A small shadowy figure curled up in the top corner of the bed, her face pressed into the pillow. Link walked towards her, slowly and warily, keeping his attention firmly on her, squinting to try and see who she was. When he stood at the side of the bed, it became apparent who it was.
"Nabooru?" he whispered, and the figure looked up. She stared at him for a moment, before wiping her face with the back of her hand and sniffing heavily.
Sheik, who had been standing near the door watching, came forwards now, and held his hand out to her. Looking at him uncertainly, she finally took his hand and let him pull her off the bed. Link stared in horror at Nabooru. He could see now, just why she had been curled up on the bed, crying and hiding. She was wearing what had once been beautifully crafted golden robes that flowed around her, accentuating her figure. They now hung limp and ripped into strands of cloth, adding to her appearance of abuse, but they in no way compared to her body.
Nabooru was queen of the Gerudos, but she considered herself on the same level as all the women of the race and as such looked almost identical. As a fighter, she had gained some muscle but had stayed lithe and slim in the style of the Gerudo thieves. The woman in front of Link had lost all muscle and weight; her skin clung to her bones, outlines of her ribs seeming to be engraved into her dark skin. Her fire red hair was greasy and lay plastered to her shoulders and back. Her body was covered in lacerations, bruises and new formed scars, a testament to her 'punishment'. But the thing that Link noticed most was her eyes. Nabooru may have been in her early thirties, with an occasional seriousness to match, but for the most part, she was childlike, open and friendly, treating Link like a little brother and kidding with him openly. After all the help he had given her over the time they'd known each other, she trusted him more than her own mother and would always take him in if he ever needed to be taken care of. Her golden eyes had shown this once, but not anymore. They were downcast, dull and sullen, sunken like the rest of her formerly beautiful features.
Stepping forwards and gently taking her hand, he mustered the softest and calmest voice he could, hesitating, before asking;
"What happened to you?"
She looked up at him and limped towards him, and he stepped forwards to support her. Lifting her mouth to his pointed ear, she replied in a pained, hoarse voice;
"Ganon, h..he didn't like the fact that I'm a sage, that I helped you…he decided to p..punish me" She glanced down at her broken body, and Link followed her gaze, finally realizing that beatings weren't the only way he had hurt her.
Angered that Ganon would hurt Nabooru like this (but not surprised) he gently lifted her and carried her to the far side of the room, gently lying her down and signalling for Sheik to guard her. Walking into the centre of the room, he felt Sheik grab him by the shoulder and heard him whisper in such a quiet voice that he could barely hear it;
"…he ra…" he didn't finish his almost question. More precisely, Link didn't hear it. Sheik's suddenly timid voice was lost to the sound of Ganondorf's laughter. Scowling, Link pushed Sheik towards Nabooru and prepared to meet his Nemesis.
Leon glanced to his left, into a room at the end of a corridor and saw a black stain on the floor, along with a detached limb. He didn't know who it belonged to but presumably they were dead now. Especially considering the extent of their blood loss. Guessing that the person hadn't been finished off, from the trail of black blood that led from the room and up the corridor, he started to follow the trail, thanking the dead person (even if they were evil) that they had probably led him, some of the way, to Link and Zelda.
Liam ducked as one of the swords swiped over his head, and raised his sword to his chest, blocking the Gerudos other sword and pushing it away. She snorted at him in annoyance, glancing once again at his no-longer bleeding wound and her own. A few minutes after the start of their fight, she had managed to score a blow on his right thigh, but at the same time he had lashed out at her, hitting her under the ribs.
With a renewed fury she bypassed using her weapons and jumped off her horse, onto him, causing them to topple to the floor and hit the ground, hard. Liam gasped loudly, winded by the force of the ground suddenly against his back, and tried to roll away from the woman, but she had managed to land on her hands and knees, shocking them slightly but not putting herself at a disadvantage. Standing up, she looked down on him, and upon realising that she had lost her own weapons, grabbed Liam's instead. She grinned at him cruelly, and then swiped at his face with his sword, just as he found the strength to move out of the way. The sword hit him at the middle of his hairline and slashed diagonally to the Gerudos right, forming a stream of blood behind, travelling down over his closed left eye as he pushed himself away. Kneeling, Liam lifted his hand to his face, feeling along the wound, finding that it ended halfway down his cheek. Trying to find out if it had damaged his eye, Liam opened it and cried out, partly from the sudden rush of blood onto his eye and partly from the sword that had just pierced his side.
Maxi and Raphael made their way towards Link very slowly. While Raphael was eager to get to the battle and see Link's fighting abilities, Maxi wasn't. Well, maybe wasn't, isn't the correct term. Couldn't would better describe it. Drops of blood spattered against Maxi's trousers and the floor, dripping from his bleeding abdomen. Despite the fact that he was weak and faint from blood loss, his skin a deathly white as a result, he was determined to get to Link without stopping.
Seeing Maxi become weaker with each limping step, Raphael steered the pirate to a corner and pushed him to the floor.
"Raph? What are you doing? We've gotta get to Link" Maxi rasped
Raphael didn't answer, just stood up and looked down at himself, seeming to search for something. Finding what he was looking for, he grabbed the red piece of cloth that hung down by his right hip and untied it before kneeling down next to Maxi and gesturing for him to sit up. Doing as he was asked, Maxi straightened his back, wincing in pain again from the movement. Tying the cloth around Maxi's waist in an attempt to help stop the blood from being lost, Raphael wiped the blood on his trouser legs before standing up and pulling the pirate up behind him, supporting him as they started along the corridor again.
Link scowled at the shadowy figure that was emerging from the door way opposite, his hatred growing with every slow measured step that Ganondorf took.
The evil king finally entered the room, letting the scarce candlelight play across his broad, grotesque features as he smirked at Link, as he always did whenever he saw him.
"Well, well fairy boy. You're here in time I see?"
"In time for what, exactly?"
"My victory, of course."
"Don't be so sure you've won yet Ganon, you'll have to kill me before you have victory."
"Which I will be sure to do this time…tell me, Link. How is the Hylian army going to win against mine? Hmm? As I see it, the men on your side are under trained and under equipped not to mention cowards."
"Shut up. You'll see, we believe in our cause more than the women of your army do."
"I see, so you believe that belief will save you…amusing, the Hylians pathetic belief that the Goddesses favour them still exist"
"…Come on then Ganon, we'll see if the goddesses favour me or you with the victor of this battle won't we. You know, no sages this time to lend their power to me, just your…uh, skill, if that's what you call it…against mine"
"I don't need the Goddesses to favour me to win, however I do accept your challenge, it'll just add a touch more pleasure to my triumph to see you die at my hand."
Stepping back, Ganondorf grabbed his broadsword from the scabbard on the wall and turned to Link, letting him see the size of the weapon, trying to evoke just a touch more fear.
Ganondorf, the Gerudo King and sole male Gerudo of the century, knew how skilled Link was. He had taken him on twice before, once in human form and once as a giant, porcine monster. Link had defeated him with ease with Ganondorf in his human form, but had had difficulty with the monster, ending up with a broken arm and gouges across his chest and face, an inch thick each. However, he had survived. But Link hadn't seen Ganondorf's skill with the sword yet. Last time he had used magic and punches, this time, things would be different.
Smiling to himself, Ganondorf twirled the large broadsword expertly, in his hand. Link didn't bother with such cocky displays and merely pulled the Master Sword out of its scabbard, letting it settle into his hand before he took the shield from his back. Rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck, Link fell into his battle poise, legs bent, arms held tensely and close to his body.
Sheik, who was kneeling by Nabooru, looked up then helped the Gerudo woman into a sitting position so she could watch the battle. Standing, he brought his own weapons out and readied them just in case Link needed help.
Taking in a deep breath, Link blanked everything out of his mind, except the presence of Ganondorf. Watching Ganondorf like an eagle, Link began to pace from side to side.
Ganondorf in turn lunged at Link, his sword held diagonally over his shoulder to take a swipe at Link. Link jumped back to avoid the blow and responded by thrusting his sword towards Ganondorf. The attack hit, sinking into Ganondorf's outstretched, muscly right arm.
Roaring Ganondorf drew back, unable to believe he had been injured by Link's first attack. Jumping back to the other side of the room, where he had come in, he summoned a large ball of sparking purple energy, throwing it at Link.
Link raised his sword into a vertical position, letting the blade reflect the attack before dodging out of the way of the second ball of energy, rushing forwards and then doing a backflip to avoid another. Landing on the floor, he made a meandering run towards Ganondorf, confusing the slower man as to which direction he was going to end up attacking from. Jumping when he came within a couple of feet of the large Gerudo he sent the sword down in front of him, trying to almost plant it into Ganondorf. Realising where Link was just in time, Ganondorf swung his own sword up letting the two weapons clash together, wincing at the high shrieking sound as metal scraped down metal
Link seemed not to notice and propelled himself away from Ganondorf, kicking off from his chest and landing a few feet away and waited for Ganondorf's next attack.
Ganondorf backed up, settling back into position and dashing towards Link, pulling his sword to lie horizontally against his chest. As he approached Link he didn't slow or pull the weapon up, just continued on his path towards Link.
The Hylian watched puzzled at Ganondorf, before realising that the large Gerudo planned to use his own mass to crush the Hylian against the wall. Moving to his right, Link was surprised when a sword shot out in front if his chest, blocking his path. He stopped skidding into it and then felt it being dragged backwards, pushing Link back towards Ganondorf, finally it flicked Link up into the air with a tremendous show of strength.
Link grunted and wheezed as he landed on the floor, hard, air being forced out of his lungs, winding him, leaving him gasping for more air. Ganondorf smirked at the sight of Link splayed out on the floor, gasping for breath and walked over to him slowly, letting Link hear the heavy thuds of his footsteps, letting him work himself up into a panic when he realised he couldn't get away.
He reached Link, looking down at him, smiling at the pathetic look on his face as he started to rise from the floor. Ganondorf raised his foot, stomping down on Link's chest, forcing him back down onto the floor again. With his foot firmly planted on Link's chest, stopping the Hylian from moving away, he raised the broadsword and prepared to plunge it into Link's body. True, he would've liked the chance to hurt Link and torture him, to watch him break down and beg his master for mercy, like he should do. To watch him crack and break as he watched him rape his precious girlfriend and bitch-princess, Zelda. But he was killing Link now, that was all that mattered, that he was killing the one that had foiled his plans before. Hyrule was about to fall to him.
As his sword reached the highest point of its journey, as it was about to start moving back down towards Link, something moved in between them and thrust something thin and sharp through his armour into his stomach. A thin Sheikah needle blade stuck out of his armour and Ganondorf looked up to see the owner, the Sheikah standing there calmly, holding eight more needles, two between each finger of its clenched left hand.
Enraged he swung the weapon to the side and then back towards the boy, just as he flung his hand out and released the needles, sending them into his torso. Moving to the side, he tried to escape the path of the sword, but he was too slow. The flat of the sword slammed into the blonde young Sheikah's side sending him flying across the room to land in a crumpled heap by Nabooru.
He grinned in a gloating way at the unmoving body and then stopped and stared as it began to glow.
Link struggled under Ganon's foot and finally managed to stand up and get away from him, seeing the glowing from the corner of the room he stared at where it was coming from.
"Oh, goddesses, no, please…" Link whispered
The unconscious Sheik was changing, his shoulders narrowing, hips growing wider, clothes changing into a light dress, adorned with gold.
The light faded and Zelda lay by Nabooru, unconscious, blood trickling from her head and mouth.
"ZELDA!" the cry tore itself from Link's throat before he could stop it as he stared at the body of his girlfriend.
Ganon threw back his head and laughed, enjoying Link's despair, his pain at seeing the princess hurt. He turned to Link, smiling at him maliciously before laughing again, mocking the Hylian to his face.
Liam blocked the heavy blow with his shield and sank down further than before, and felt his knees start to give way. Stumbling he regained his balance, only to be knocked back again by the Gerudo woman's swift attacks.
He was struggling to even block the blows now, half blinded by her previous attack and blood was still flowing freely down his face, running down his cheek like a twisted paint. She grinned at him humourlessly, before stepping back and crouching down, twisting her arms around her body, before jumping in a spinning attack, slicing his face, barely missing his neck and throat. She frowned that she hadn't killed him but seemed content to watch him lie in the mud as he tried to recover from the attack, to pull himself up.
She knelt down beside him and whispered
"You know, I don't usually torture people like this, but after all those Gerudos I saw you killing, I think you deserve this…. You definitely do spend too much time around Link, you've even picked up his killing habits, too many lives, disappearing too quickly because of him, and you."
He didn't hear most of what she said, her voice drowned out by the sounds of the battle around him just what she said about Link and killing. She seemed to about to say something more when she was distracted by something. She turned around to face a young knight…the young knight that Liam had been talking to earlier…he was alive.
Liam felt himself become suddenly relieved and turned his head to watch the woman who had tortured him fall to the floor, before he lost consciousness.
Raphael panted heavily as he made his way along the darkened corridor, torches flickering on either side of him. Maxi was losing his battle to stay awake and his body was getting heavier. He may have been light for his size, light in general, but after carting him around Raphael was tiring.
"ZELDA!"
Maxi's head jerked up at the sound of Link's desperate, muffled cry that came from behind the dark door ahead. He looked up at Raphael and pushed himself away.
"Go and see what's wrong, I'll catch up with you in a second."
Raphael studied him for a second before nodding and running up the corridor, pushing the ebony doors open.
Unable to see what was going on, Maxi straightened up and found the energy to run to the room. When he got there he realised the cause for Link's outcry.
Princess Zelda, who they all thought was safe in the castle, was lying in a corner next to a beaten Gerudo woman. Out of the corner of his eye, Maxi saw Raphael turn to look at Link then rush over to the women, crouching beside them to assess their injuries.
"Great, we have an audience."
Maxi edged into the room and looked at the owner of the voice. As he did Ganondorf grinned at him, looking him over, taking in the sight of his injuries and deciding he wasn't a threat, turned back to Link
Link glanced away from Zelda's body as the door opened and Raphael walked in, shortly followed by Maxi, and walked over to assess her. Turning his attention back to Ganondorf, Link was determined to kill him.
Settling into a stance again, Link charged at Ganon, attacking him so quickly that the Gerudo didn't have enough time to register where Link was before he was hit over and over, tears appearing in his leather armour. Unable to pinpoint Link, Ganondorf lashed out randomly and managed to hit the boy, sending him skittering him backwards and onto the bed. He crawled off it quickly, looking totally disgusted as he had just realised it was soaked in bodily fluids, blood and sweat, among other things.
Calling up his magic again, Ganondorf raised his hand, summoning dark spirits and throwing them at Link. The attacks hit Link's face and chest, causing him to cry out in pain, and when he looked up his face and neck looked to be burnt.
Glaring, Link summoned his strength offering a silent prayer to the gods. Before rushing at Ganon again sword raised high. The blade sliced cleanly through Ganondorf's shoulder and Link twisted it, trying to cause him pain, a sudden slight bloodlust taking over the young man before Ganon managed to raise his left leg and kick Link away, causing him to lose his sudden dark desire. Scrabbling on all fours, Link managed to right himself and push himself up from the floor.
Charging again at Ganon, Link locked swords with him for a moment, but this was a test of sheer brute strength, which Ganondorf happened to have more of. Forcing down on Link's sword he managed to shove him up and away from himself, leaving him on the floor, once more.
Ganondorf stood back, taking a breather and stretched his hand out to taunt and beckon Link. Link started slightly, his mouth falling further open as he struggled to get more air into his lungs.
Swinging his sword up round to one side of his head, Ganondorf trudged towards Link before breaking into a run. Link responded by throwing his shield back behind him and running towards Ganon to intercept him. Both hands on the Master Sword Link clashed swords with Ganon, white light sparking as good met evil.
Deciding to finish the battle once and for all, Link backed up and took a running leap towards Ganon.
Yunsung and Siegfried ran behind Sheik, hearing the clashes of swords behind closed doors. The doors gave way to a brilliant flash of white when they crashed into them and it faded just quickly enough to witness Link bury the Master Sword into Ganondorf's skull, splitting it perfectly in half.
Link dropped to the floor and backed up, watching Ganon's body topple over. Sheik had reached the room just in time to call the sages to banish Ganondorf's spirit temporarily, until Zelda awoke and could finish the process. Walking to the dead body, he pulled the Master Sword out and wiped it on Ganondorf's cloak and sheathing it before glancing up at Siegfried and Yunsung.
Head down, he walked to Nabooru, Zelda and Raphael. Kneeling down beside them he looked to Raphael who shrugged and shook his head. Gathering her body into his arms, Link began to sob into her neck, begging her to come back. Begging the Goddesses to return her to him
