A/N: (British accent) Alright, settle down! We got new orders from HQ-
Sorry, I didn't mean that. Anyway, I guess I rattled everybody with Malon hating Link and this and that. Well, happy endings are hard to earn people.
Given the comments of some reviewers, I feel much less demure about my Nalon fic. Now, either y'all are very supportive of me, or maybe you would just like to see some unusual love. That put aside, I feel more impelled to maybe post it. I think when I'm finished with the Minish Cap story, I'll give it a go.
Now, I'm still not exactly sure when I'll finish posting up every chapter. I haven't proofread the rest of them, and my policy goes as only submitting chapters when checked and cleared. And, well… Ya know, proofreading is pretty much one of the most annoying part as a writer…
Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A Pair of Time
Chapter 68- Ascension to Evil, Part 1
Ganon's Castle; Night
Dark is the castle, woe is the situation, dreary is Link. He has long since sat near the old gate that served as the main protection against trespassers. Now, it still lies as a skeleton of its less than glorious days seven years ago. Everything around him shares the same feeling with the gate, even Link himself. He isn't exactly like the surroundings, but his mood is less than usually positive. Less enough that he perched himself against the gate's wall until night came. He still hasn't come up with the choice of either going back to Malon or not.
"Link, please." Navi flies by his vision for what seems to be the tenth time. "It's not going to do anybody, you, Malon, or Zelda, any good if you keep brooding like this."
"I know, Navi. I'm sorry."
"Then why must you still stay here?"
He sighs. "What she said, Navi… It left me… sank."
"I know… Link, it pains you much, yes."
"She once said she loved me… Now she said… she hates me." He grazes through his straw-colored forelocks. "Oh, Din… Navi, I don't think I can take anymore of this romance thing."
"Well, Link… Love is bound to happen eventually if two people are close to each other enough. There are exceptions, but when you're very close to a person, you cannot help feeling that you should care for that person, and want the same kind of feeling back. This is what happened between you and Malon. A meeting, a friendship, a close companionship, then when she felt so close to you… that's when it blossomed into love."
"… I guess that's how love is in my life. I guess it was bounded to happen sooner or later, seeing how our friendship went."
"Don't be sad, Link. I see this as good!"
He groans in frustration. "Did you not listen to what Malon said to me earlier?"
"No, I mean that your best friend grew so close to you that she loves you. Her love is much stronger than most I've seen. Link, you're one of the most fortunate people to receive such intense feelings from someone."
"Navi… please, don't…"
"Oh… I'm sorry. I… I shouldn't have brought the subject up."
He lowers his eyes onto his knees, letting his nerves calm down from the arousal of emotions. He suspires through his nose, attempting to swim away from the gripping depths in his mind. "… Okay, let's go." Link grabs one of his knees to stand up. "The less I have on my mind, the better."
"I'm still… not so infallible about our current situation," Navi remarks. "I'm having doubts whether you can do this on your own…"
Link meditates it over for a moment, then replies, "I've been through rough spots. I'm… I'm sure I can face Ganondorf alone."
"But… only by yourself… and more importantly, half of the Triforce of Courage."
The hero mildly rubs the back of his right hand. "I'm confident. I didn't have the Triforce part during my childhood, but I still had enough valor to retrieve all three Spiritual Stones."
"… Alright, Link… but be careful."
After gearing himself up again, Link examines the surroundings once more, checking for assailants or spies. Or at least a clue. For when he stands on the edge of the nearby, broken stairway, there is no doubt that he questions himself and his fairy for a way to cross the gap towards Ganon's Castle. "I suppose you don't see a plank around here?"
"The pity of some circumstances," mumbles Navi irritably.
"If only there was a way to create a quick bridge…"
"Link…" an aged voice of familiar source calls out in his mind. "Can you hear me?"
"Rauru?"
"Yes, it is I, the Sage. Do not worry about your problem. We six will gather our power to create a bridge to the castle where Ganondorf dwells."
"… Thanks, Rauru."
"Before you go on inside, you must listen carefully to the information I'm about to give. The castle's keep, which is known as Ganon's Tower, is protected by six evil barriers. You must dispel them in order to proceed into the citadel."
"And how is this accomplished?"
"Each barrier has a fortified passageway leading to its own internal mechanism. Tread vigilantly through them, and bring the shining light onto the sealed darkness at the end. We Sages will then take care of the rest."
"Thank you…"
"Now, go forth, and save Zelda!" Suddenly, dust of colored light sprinkle from the sky. Falling onto the area around Link and into the gap below, they glitter vividly to block out the hero's vision. Once the piercing illumination is gone, Link gasps as he views the new object before him. A translucent, curving bridge of rainbow hue lies on the air between him and the floating island. It emanates a sheer comfort of light in the jaws of darkness around him. Giving it a try, Link takes a deep breath and sends a foot onto the device. Relief surges through him as his foot finds solidness meeting its sole.
"And they say there's no such thing as magical bridges," he comments.
"That's for later consideration," Navi interposes. "Now is the time to enter and aid the princess!"
Inside Ganon's Castle
"I guess that would be Ganon's Tower?" Link inquires, gazing at a huge structure in the castle's two-storied center. An internal tower is erected, leading up the edifice. The castle itself is the same in the interior as it is outside. Brown stones lay the foundations of the walls of the rotunda, giving off a musty odor along with a similar setting. Whitish-gray railings and doorways donate to the room by displaying an eerie, almost barbaric theme. Evil easily pervades the cold air, generating an unnoticeable, continuous shiver from Link.
"No other seems to fill in the place," Navi replies.
"So, the white haze around it should be the main barrier…" he refers to the translucent, scantily purple seal sheathing Ganon's Tower. It wavers around the structure, evidently fueled by evil energy. "And those beams connecting to it must be the six supporting barriers, providing extra strength." Placed in an equidistant, hexagon formation compassing the tower are six panels, each leading into the depths of where the 'switch' of a barrier is guarded. Above each door is a crest of an element, signifying what type of environment one has to go through to reach the end.
"Elemental protection…" Link's fairy observes. "I believe this is what Rauru meant when he said the Sages will aid you when you reach a barrier seal."
"Six elements that I have to go through again… Wait, where's the Light element?"
Below the yellow beam is an ebony pillar. "Behind that, I supposed?"
"Do you know how to remove it, Navi?"
"Well… I think so… It requires a pair of gloves that are-"
"Supposedly long lost, right?"
"… Yes, as far as legends go. Put briefly, you need the stronger Golden Gauntlets. And before you ask where it is, I read it was an ancient treasure of the Royal Family, and I have a theory that it's around Hyrule Castle… or Ganon's Castle, actually."
"Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for it." After scanning the area, he jogs towards the door belonging to the Forest element. "Let's get this one done first."
The first room doesn't provide much of a challenge. Link only has to dispatch a lone Wolfos and easily light up five torches. The next is solely different. An abyss becomes the floor, with small platforms at floor level with Link. The opposition is four demon-faced fans, threatening to blow a careless hero down the forever drop below. The puzzle is Silver Rupees distributed throughout the rushing atmosphere.
"If only I was a hero of the wind or something…" Link mutters as he braces himself to be blown to a platform, having only the Hover Boots to assist.
"Wind?" Navi contemplates while inside his hat. "Well, I think that can be arranged. When the legends of time fade, anyway."
The fan spins to a blurring speed, creating a gust strong enough to push the Hero of Time over to a large platform on the left. After he adjusts the wrinkles of his tunic, Link answers back, "Hopefully, they won't."
"I don't know. Catastrophes can happen, and then whole civilizations and cultures can be wiped out."
"… And then… I will be forgotten?"
"Sadly, if nothing survives, yes."
He mournfully sighs. "Well, that's history, then. Can't expect everything to be remembered."
"Don't say that. The goddesses and everybody in heaven will remember you."
"But that's a few compared to generations to come."
"Look, I would feel wronged too, if I was forgotten so suddenly by something like this. Let's not think over it, but continue with the task at hand."
After a tedious amount of time, Link is down to one Silver Rupee, hovering above a solitary platform near the next panel, and worse, a fan. The knight leans over to check the device's activation.
"Just remember: Only one chance at this," Navi reminds. "Iron Boots will take too long to put on, so one chance."
"I know, I know."
When the gust starts dying down, Link tenses as he readies his feet.
"Almost, almost. Just a little more…"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up…" he barks back. A few seconds later, his feet loses ground and then regains it as soon as his first action. He snatches the Rupee, causing the advancing door to unbar itself.
"Link, come on!"
"Hold on!" The hero finds himself having trouble trying to stow away the currency.
"Link, just jump over here and do that!"
"I got it!" he grits back. A horrible ping goes off in his head as he feels the air pushing against him. Oh, n- He yells as he's blown off the platform. Quick reflexes, however, make his hands grab onto the edge.
"No! Hang on, Link!"
Which is very difficult when air is hustling against his fingers. C'mon, Link, think! Think, think, think, think, think, think, think, think- Longshot! Panting madly while time slows down before his mentality, Link strenuously gropes around his pack for the dependable gadget. Feeling the rough handle of the Longshot, he gives a jerk, feeling it move through the bulk of his inventory. Just when his hand pops out of the pack, Link's fingers of the other hand give away, and he feels the weak air around him starting to rush upward. One shot! Link hears his Longshot firing as soon as his eyes fall upon a grappling target on one of the platforms. Seconds later, his right arm strains in exertion after the hook links with the object. His welfare comes in easy breaths as he stands near the target that saved his life.
"Link," Navi darts towards him, "I know I said this numerous times before, but are you okay?"
He looks up at the bright orb. "I'm surprised you didn't say how in the world I managed to pull off that shot."
"Safety comes first before pride, Link! I was worried about you!"
"Sorry! It's just, what I did came first into my mind…"
The preceding room is a small one with the most unusual center of focus. A stage is at the far end, and on that stage is a green beam sourcing from a spiked protrusion. In the middle of the beam is a maroon, spherical object, pulsating an abnormal amount of energy. Of course, the energy is associated with evil, and that evil is associated with Ganondorf.
"So… bring the shining light…" Link notches an arrow on his Fairy Bow, "onto the sealed darkness… Am I not wrong?"
"Best way to go," his fairy reassures.
After exhausting himself of his strength, the missile sparkles as it turns gold with light. A frustum of yellow enlarges from the tip. Pointing with unsteadiness, Link holds his breath to still his arms, then discharges the bolt. On impact, the power of the Light Arrow penetrates through the wall of the seal, reaching into the throbbing sphere. The green aegis withers away, while the orb inflates by the collision of light against dark. A moment later, it explodes in a flash of light, leaving nothing but a few, dissolving particles of itself.
"Did that do it?" Link glances at the bare pike above. "Is the barrier gone? I don't see anymore of that green ray."
"It did… my friend," a young, female voice fields. The air suddenly is filled with the presence of the mysterious, amicable trees. A Kokiri girl with green hair floats above him.
"Saria!" The hero is given a start. "Yo-"
"There's no time to explain," she interrupts. "I'm here to help you with the Forest Barrier. So will the other Sages with the rest."
"… All right. Thanks, Saria."
"Hurry up, Link!" The Kokiri brings her arms up, then disappears in an emerald shine. Link becomes immobilized for an instant, then his eyes adjust to his new vision: outside the Forest dungeon. Up above, the bridged Forest Barrier shudders for a split second, then deliquesces into the air, until nothing connects the two pikes that once joined the beam.
"There! The Forest Barrier is gone!" Navi exclaims as she flits between the two protrusions.
"One down…" The hero glimpses around the room, "five to go."
--
Please… Din, Nayru, Farore… Protect the heroes… Guide them…
Zelda opens her eyes afterwards, her hope still waning as she observes the man of unspeakable ambitions before her. Ganondorf takes pleasure in keying a few notes on his organ, which in turn emits broad sounds that, at first, seem fit for canon music. However, his own soul is carried along, contaminating each and every note. Thus, it is not a saintly score, but one of arcane nature, if not unearthly.
The Hylian princess still feels unapprised, still left wondering why such a man could desire the power of the gods themselves. Throughout the seven years she experienced, she's seen an unfathomable amount of ruin at the hands of the Gerudo King. So much that she has considered if the pernicious one is aiming for massive genocides rather than dominating the many races. All the lives that suffered, all the people that lost their families and friends, or themselves. Could one man be so insane as to not care for each life? Could one man be so execrated all because of an unhinged plot to gain infinite power and rule the world under his might?
"Ganondorf…" Zelda designates sonorously, doing as much as she can to not let fear run her tone, "answer me a question."
The calm music of the large instrument halts a moment later, with Ganondorf's fingers coming down his side. In a flamboyant manner, he slowly stands up and whips around with his ragged cape flying back. "Your Majesty," he addresses, almost snickering when doing so, "what is your heart's wish?"
"Do not toy with me, evil one. I have little patience for the drollery of fiendish men."
"Ho ho ho! I see the former King's austerity for ones as I have not faded from your voice… Enough." The Evil King steps down from the organ's rostrum. He gazes up at the princess, still encaged in her pink prison. "I too have little patience. Voice your inquiry quickly, before I become reticent."
"Ganondorf… What you have done… For all of your deeds, I ask but one simple question: Why?"
"As your father had before… Like the fools who asked me such an intolerable question… Princess Zelda… is it not apparent to you, also? She who holds the Triforce of Wisdom and is the last Royal Family member alive… Princess, I cannot believe a person like you is unknowledgeable on my motives! You see, Zelda… I will answer you as I did to the King before I disposed of him. The goddesses… The Triforce… The whole world… Can you not see? The power to control everything! The power to destroy anything in my path! The power to defy even the gods! What people would dedicate their lives to guard such absoluteness? What person would not seize the opportunity to become the greatest entity the world has ever seen? Vacuousness are the races that do not pursue supremacy! Dull are the minds of fools who believe it is worth more to safeguard power rather than employ it! Countless ages have gone by and not one single individual have even assay to acquire the True Force! Folly are these aments! Simpletons! I, Ganondorf, am the one not blinded by this foolishness. I was destined to become the ruler of the world!"
"Why must you…? Why must you have an appetite for such power when you cannot see the destruction and suffering that you have caused?"
"They deserved to suffer… They deserved to die! They who stand in my way are not fit to be ruled under my hand!"
"All the people that met Death by you, all for the ambition of the Triforce… Can you not see them? Can you not see how they deceased even if they do not challenge you? Do you not feel guilty for the innocents who lost their lives by you?"
"Innocents?" Ganondorf then mocks the princess with a laugh. "There are no innocents. Nobody has the title of innocent. There are those who submit to my will, and there are those who do not."
"Ganondorf…! Why must this be? Why must you be corrupted by power? Why can you not know the price of what you have done? Why can you not apprehend your punitive fate for your evilness? The retribution of the Divine Trinity… the six Wise Ones… everybody?"
The King of Evil falls silent for a while, then turns away, going back to the organ. "I have no time to answer your frivolous, meaningless questions. They are nothing to me. I propose that you remain silent, Princess, or else I will not hesitate to demonstrate the might of the Triforce of Power." With that, he sits back down on his seat, then drifts into a state of meditation.
His heart has since long been drowned… His actions will not have any forgiveness… His punishment will be verily unmerciful… His spirit… will never be purified of evil… His fate… is to be damned forever…
A/N: This chapter is short, I know, but I couldn't think of a good stopping point.
Anyway, about half of the dungeons in the castle I will cut short, because there's barely anything catching to the eye.