Disclaimer: I don't own SSBM, LoZ or even related titles and characters. Go figure.
The One I Love
Chapter 7
The ride was an uneventful one. The entirety of the Hyrule Plains seemed to have suffered the same vanishing fate Zelda described. There were not even any of the annoying killer cabbages. This both relieved and worried me. When I arrived at the broken bridge separating the Valley from the Plains, Epona stopped and refused to go further.
"It's okay, Epona. You don't need to go any further." I said to soothe the horse. When that didn't calm her down, I added: "Don't worry. I'll come back safely." I dismounted and allowed Epona to leave this place.
She wasn't the only one who felt the evil aura surrounding the valley; I felt the impending sense of dread as well. Shaking the feeling off, I pulled out my Longshot and catapulted myself across the bridge.
The valley was deserted, as Zelda had described. The only signs of even former occupancy I could see were arrow targets that seemed recently used - arrows were still stuck in them. Whoever had shot them there, apparently had pretty good aim. I took a mental note of it as I continued to explore the encampment.
Despite the apparent desertion of the Gerudo Fortress, I could not help but feel I was being watched. I felt that who - or what - ever it was, it was getting closer. It was behind me! I turned.
No, to my left! I turned again. Nothing. Behind me again! Another about face. Again, nothing. I spun in another circle before I finally saw what I had feared. The same black cloud from last night.
It was coming from the left. No, the right! No, both ways! I backed up as the clouds converged on a spot several yards in front of me. The cloud grew upwards into the shape of a monster of a man. In seconds, the cloud became a very familiar figure.
"Hahaha…long time no see, Link." Ganondorf said, and smirked.
"You!" I yelled, readying my Master Sword and Hylian Shield. "You're behind all this!" Ganondorf replied with a thoughtful look first, then a devious smile.
"I wish I was behind this," he finally answered. "It took me years to conquer this plane without your meddling, and he waltzes in here and dominates in a matter of weeks. It's really quite admirable…" Ganondorf laughed.
"If you're not behind this, then who is?" I asked, my anger rising. "Who was the short man you were with?" Ganondorf simply laughed. "Answer me!" I yelled.
Ganondorf ceased laughing a moment, long enough to say, "You don't get it, do you? You've lost. Soon enough, my master is going to do to your precious little princess the same thing he did to me." Ganondorf looked almost sympathetic for a second, before returning to his sardonic smile and continuing. "It won't be long now. Then, it will be a matter of time before he gets his hands on the third piece of the Triforce!" He laughed, more evilly and wholeheartedly this time. I glared at him.
"Where is she?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. Ganondorf looked up from his cackling and sneered.
"You'll have to beat me first." the Gerudo replied. Without so much as glancing aside, he added: "Gerudos!" I looked to the fortress and noticed tens of Gerudo soldiers with loaded bows pointing at me from the safety of the Fortress walls. "Kill him." At least 70 arrows were let loose on that command, all aimed straight at me. Ganondorf continued to look at me impassively.
My first reaction was to put my shield between me and the archers. My second reaction was brandishing my sword and charging toward Ganondorf, who nimbly jumped high into the air and levitated. By now several arrows had been deflected by my shield. Unfortunately for me, some of the arrows the Gerudos were using were enchanted with ice magic, and consequently froze my shield. Before I could drop it, a well placed fire arrow shattered the entire shield, leaving me virtually defenseless.
I saw no shelter anywhere near. I was left by myself, deflecting arrows left and right, growing more and more tired by the second. And all the while, Ganondorf, who seemed to be different from the Ganondorf I knew and hated, was lifting himself with magic and laughing at me. Magic? That's it!
I searched my memory for the spell I thought of. I got it after a second, and summoned up all the magic power I had in my body. This just might be the doozy of a spell I needed.
"Din's Fire!" I yelled, plunging my sword into the sand of the valley. A dome of fiery death erupted from my body, growing larger and larger until it consumed the entire valley, enveloping the Gerudos and the shadow Ganondorf in a whirlwind of fire. I couldn't keep the spell going for long; my magic power was sapped seconds after I began the spell. Physically, I was nearly exhausted, a problem soon remedied by a bottle of LonLon milk. Piece of cake, I thought.
As I was replacing the bottle in my tunic, I noticed Ganondorf on a slow descent back to the ground. His clothes were tattered and ruined, but the face he wore was full of malice and a pain I hoped never to comprehend. I could take on a weakened Ganondorf even without my shield. The Master Sword was all I needed.
"You!" Ganondorf shouted. "You have made a mockery of me for the last time! This was supposed to be great victory for me…one that would have made me my master's trusted right-hand man! My soldiers - my brethren - were supposed to be there right along with me! But now, now…" Ganondorf's expression turned to even more malice I thought possible. His body began to emit a purple-black aura that looked familiar. He was summoning his own magic power for something big.
Out of nothingness, Ganondorf pulled a long black spear. The tip of his spear reminded me of my
Biggoron's Sword.
"Now…you die!" Ganondorf charged toward me, spear at my chest level. I dodged with relative ease and responded with a slash through his midsection. Ganondorf's momentum let him charge a few feet further, before his torso separated from his legs and fell to the ground.
"Guh…" Ganondorf muttered.
Brushing some dirt off my tunic, I walked over to my opponent's upper body. "So, you in a talking mood now?" I asked. Ganondorf's only reply was a blank stare. Sometimes I do things too efficiently. I sighed and looked up. This was my only lead; I wasn't sure where to turn from here.
As if on cue, more of the black cloud appeared several yards from where I stood. This time, though, it appeared out of nothing and concentrated on a small spot that grew larger until it was about Ganondorf's size. It wasn't so much a human form this time as a portal.
"If you want to know the answer…" Ganondorf's voice made me jump. I turned back to his corpse. "Enter into my master's realm…hahaha…" I looked at the portal, then back at Ganondorf. Well, it's not like I have any other leads.
I walked up to the Ganondorf-sized circle of smoke, mentally prepared myself for the worst, and stepped through.