Okay, I finally have a new update ready! And it took all Thanksgiving to write! Well, this and three other updates. It's and update FIESTA! I'm not gonna take up any more of your time, so... Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Nemesis

Hieke dusted her hands and glanced over her shoulder at her deceased foe. At least, he should have been deceased. A gasp escaped her when she saw Ganondorf stand, pillars of black fire rising behind him. A malicious smirk was plastered to his lips. Strength poured into him almost visibly, granting him a new level of power.

From nowhere he summoned a large ax and slashed across Hieke's arm with his newly-acquired weapon. A streak of crimson leaked from the wound and splattered to the ground. The girl staggered backwards, her hand instinctively dropping her whip to hold the wound. Her vision faltered, probably due to blood loss.

"Hieke!"

The named blinked and shook her head. Did her ears deceive her, or was that Link's voice? Now her eyes were playing tricks, for she could almost swear she saw Link running towards her with a girl behind him.

"Miss Hieke! Artemis, do your thing!" an image of Lor directed to the teenage girl behind him. Hieke shook her head again, trying to clear away her hallucinations. Link clasped a hand on her should. "Are you all right?" he inquired worriedly. The Hylian girl sighed in relief as her knees gave way.

"Thank the Goddesses… I thought you were going to make me fight him all alone," she smiled faintly as the girl with Lor, presumably Artemis, concocted a protective barrier around the injured Hylian. Link grinned, more than happy to see that Hieke was all right. He gave her a quick hug, which was interrupted by Ganon's maddened roars.

"Dameus, you fool!" he bellowed. "You said I'd only have to fight one! You know damn well the three of them together will overpower me!" Lightning flashed in the sky, and Ganondorf turned his gaze on Link, an insane grimace present across his expression. Link recoiled slightly under the confident grin, but maintained his cool and drew his sword.

"You don't ever touch Hieke!" he demanded as he lunged at the Gerudo king, hewing at precise points. Diana did her best to stay on top of Link's strategy and transport him as was necessary. Artemis made haste in protecting him. Lor did everything in his power to rouse Isis, whose power would be invaluable to the battle.

"Lor, you go help the others," Hieke said as she pushed the boy aside. He stared for a moment, then nodded. It seemed the Hylian girl was going to have her go at waking Isis. But just how he was going to help, he didn't quite know. He could try invoking Kuro's power unto himself, but that didn't turn out so well the last time…

I'll just try harder, he nodded to himself. Lor closed his eyes and concentrated on awakening Kuro's presence from the Guardian Tree.

"You banish me to the void, then you call me back?" Kuro questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Not only that, but do you know how stark boring it is in that tree thing? It was at least a little more interesting when Mr. Crazy was around to mock, but to be cooped up in there alone! Seriously!"

"Shut up," Lor commanded. "You're leasing me your power or you're going back to your little hide-hole. Got it?"

Kuro cringed. "Yeah, yeah… ya harpy," he agreed, muttering the last part inaudibly.

An amethyst light enveloped Lor, evoking a startled gasp from Artemis. She thought he wasn't going to do something like that again, not since last time when he killed Brandon. However, this thing they called Ganondorf seemed deserving of no less than death. This time, though, Lor's eyes weren't veiled by the murderous shadow that had appeared when he last attempted this feat. He retained the compassion hidden behind his crystal blue eyes, even as evil energy surged forth from his body.

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. "Hm. This one's got some astounding evil power," he noted. He swung his ax at Lor, but the boy caught the blade with a single hand. He smiled with kind eyes and tore the weapon from his foe's hand in a single graceful sweep. Ganon stared, mouth slightly open in awe. This boy was a strong one, he knew that much.

"Don't fight alone!" Link admonished as he stood by Lor's side. The two incarnations stood behind the boys and worked their magic. Artemis protected them both and Diana quickly taught herself to transport two different bodies to two different locations. There was no way Ganondorf could survive this battle.

"Isis," Hieke whispered, "you must wake up!" This time the girl responded. She opened her eyes slowly and sat up with a groan. "What's going on?" she asked dazedly. Hieke quickly explained the situation. Isis believed every word this time.

"How can I help?" she asked eagerly. Hieke gestured to the battle raging behind them. "You possess fire magic. You can help with the offensives while Artemis and Diana aid in defense," she suggested. Isis nodded with a grin and joined the line where the other two incarnations stood, immediately casting several strong fire spells.

In only moments they had Ganon on the ropes. He had to use all kinds of powerful magic just to stay alive. Not only that, but he was functioning on one of Dameus' strengthening potions. Such was the might of Link and his friends when they banded together. Isis used a fire trick that encased Ganondorf in an orb of fire, Artemis put a barrier around Lor, and Diana transported the protected boy to a place above Ganon from which he dove through the flames and struck.

Lor's attacks were very strange. It seemed all it took was a grazing touch. Even the slightest amount of contact would result in a devastating wound. He now drew his forefinger across the mark on Ganon's forehead. His touch was light and gentle, but it left the most terrible gash. The Gerudo roared in agony and stumbled backwards, forgetting about the blazing inferno behind him. His deafening screams filled the air as his flesh sizzled in the inferno.

Everyone watched in great anticipation, especially Link. Was this it? Had he finally defeated Ganondorf, King of Evil? After all these years of just locking him away whenever he threatened to break loose, was he finally dead…?

---

Impa sighed as she swabbed sweat from Zelda's brow. The queen had been in a feverish haze ever since she mentioned Ganondorf's waning presence in the Guardian Tree. It seemed that the disease was only affecting her this time. At least all of Hyrule wasn't suffering, but if the queen died… What would happen to the kingdom?

War, of course, Impa mused grimly. Without a universal power tying the clans and tribes together, the land would invariably descend to armed conflict. And with no queen to reinstate the peace, the war would probably continue until all of Hyrule was destroyed.

Zelda coughed and opened her eyes. "I-Impa," she murmured meekly. The Sheikah smiled in relief. The queen was recovering. It look as though Hyrule would remain a peaceful place for many years to come.

"Impa, Ganondorf is losing," Zelda informed as she closed her eyes again, resting. "He and Link are fighting, and Link is winning the battle. This time, Ganon won't be coming back ever again…"

The blonde woman then snapped upright and looked around, rubbing her arms for warmth. "Impa, do you feel it?" she inquired warily. "It's like I've been beneath a heavy blanket for so long that I'd forgotten what it is to sense evil… Now that this illness has been shaken, my perception has returned at full force and… Link was right. There is evil growing in Hyrule…"

Impa sighed in exasperation. "That's what I've been trying to convince you of for the past few days, Your Highness," she reminded with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. Zelda flushed in embarrassment.

"Really?" she giggled. "I'm sorry, Impa."

---

Ganondorf's body lay on the ground, his flesh singed and his cloak still smoldering. Link kicked the fallen man in the side. A gloved hand shot up and grabbed the young hero's throat, refusing to release him. Hieke cried out in dismay and strained to uncurl Ganon's stiffened fingers. As his final evil breath escaped him, his grip loosened just enough for Hieke to tear Link from the dark king's grasp.

The two sighed. It seemed they had finally prevailed in felling their ultimate nemesis. Lor grinned and banished the remainder of his amoral soul to the Guardian Tree, where it belonged. He had no need for such strength when the battle was over.

"Now that that's over, we can get back to Hyrule and find those Fairy Fountains Impa told us about," Link said flatly. Hieke nodded wearily and turned to Lor, silently indicating for him to lead the way to the portal. Lor gave his nonverbal assent and started off towards the secluded pond.

Kind of a long chapter. I had trouble ending it, but I finally settled on this ending. And now I keel over and die from writers' block. This is what happens when I write four chapters for four different stories! Reviews'll speed up my recovery time!

NEW CONTEST IN TOW! Check my profile for details! It's not an art contest this time! The deadline is December 1st!