Chapter 14: Full Circle
"All right, then… looks like we're all ready." Link looked over the small army gathered around him, in a blown-out tunnel leading to a point halfway up Death Mountain. Four old magicians, six girls in crystals, nine transformed rebels… and Zelda. "Thank you… all of you… for helping us out here. I think normally a speech is given at this point, but I can't really think of anything that hasn't already been said… so let's go light 'em up!" Cheering, the heroes raised their arms (or in Handy's case, a finger) and stormed out of the tunnel's exit. Before them, Ganon's remaining forces were arranged; the centaur-like Lionels were in the lead, with the Knights of Hyrule in the center and the Wizrobes in the back, and scattered other monsters here and there throughout the army. All told, they looked to number several hundred.
"Looks like fun." Neosquid smirked, drawing a multitude of daggers. "Boss, if you'd care to do the honors?" Nodding, Link drew the Master Sword and pointed it at the enemy forces.
"CHARGE!"
"KILL THEM ALL!" An answering voice came from one of the Wizrobes. "For the glory of Master Ganon!" Rushing forward, Link decapitated a Lionel in one swift movement, hurdled the corpse and clove another in two. Yelling like a pack of banshees, the Rag spread out around him to hold the charging monsters back from the elders, who began bombarding the enemy with long-range magical fire. Zelda and the other girls hung back for the moment, falling out of sight, and after killing a few more Lionels Link did the same, joining the Rag and moving among them to kill a surprised opponent, then jumping to another spot.
"Good job, ki… this way it'll take them a few minutes to catch on when you head off!" Kiki removed a pair of eyeball bats from the sky with some well-aimed shuriken. "Just don't take too long, kikiki!"
"Our simian friend is right." Aginah agreed, creating a wave of sand that buried a Knight of Hyrule alive with the wave of a paw. The other elders had, of course, all been transformed once they had crossed over to the Dark World, but they had borne it without a word and continued casting their spells with just as much power as they had shown when storming Hyrule Castle. Repeating the spell, the jackal-headed elder glanced at Link. "Isn't it about time you got going?"
"Right." Link nodded, slaying one last Knight and leaping back. "Good luck, guys… we're counting on you."
"We've got it… this is what we've been working towards for twenty years, even if we never made any real progress until you came along!" Handy flung a cluster of tiny bombs into the enemy forces and lit more with the flick of a finger. "Just make sure you get the big man!"
"Count on it." Re-entering the cavern, Link pulled out the Magic Mirror and began showing it to girls, one by one. When they had all returned to Hyrule, he glanced into its depths himself and was gone.
"Wonder how long it'll be until they notice?" Neosquid glanced at his partner while driving a knife into a Hinox's eye. "Who'd be in charge here with all the Eyes gone?"
"That'd either be Pardok, the Lionel commander… or Zektal, the Wizrobe leader." Handy replied after a moment of thought. "Hope that it's Pardok… he's fairly dull, but Zektal was Mothula's second, and you know what that implies." Higher up the mountain, near the Tower of Ganon, Zektal glared down at them.
"The brat hasn't been seen in some time…" He nodded, and raised his voice. "RELEASE IT! NOW!" Further down, a pair of doors that had been camouflaged to resemble the mountainside swung open, and a pair of blazing green eyes glowed from the darkness. A moment later, the beast emerged, and all of the heroes' eyes turned to it.
"Shit! Another King Helmasaur?" Neosquid yelled. "We gotta-"
"Stay on the main force, boss! We got this!" Bugoff yelled. Along with him, the other six members of the Rag began carving a line through enemy forces to reach the monster; at the same time, the King Helmasaur was plowing through its own allies without a care to reach its prey. The enemy armies quickly got the hint and moved out of the way.
"I told you all how to beat this thing, right, ki?" Kiki yelled. "We gotta take the mask off first, then hit the emerald!"
"Yeah… let's party! Whoa, look out!" Bugoff yelled, diving away along with the others as the spiked tail lashed out. "Come on, Birdbrain, let's take to the skies and distract 'im!" Grabbing Bomb Boy, he launched himself upward.
"Yeah, yeah…" Grumbling, the avian rebel followed suit, and the two them began firing razor-edged feathers and slingshot pellets at the eyes of the beast. Growling, the King Helmasaur belched fire upwards, without much effect. "Haw… not too smart, is it? Show it what real firepower is, kid!"
"R… right!" Bomb Boy pulled several green spheres from a pouch around his waist and lobbed them down at the mask. The explosions knocked a couple holes out of it, but the rest remained undamaged. "Aw, man… knew I should have used a stronger formula!"
"Bah, it's fine!" Ramses assured him, charging. The King Helmasaur saw him too late; before it could hit him, he struck its mask in the most damaged area with a mighty head butt. Crumbling, the mask fell apart.
"My turn now, ki!" Kiki hurled shuriken into the exposed gemstone, and the enraged Helmasaur King turned its fires upon the land bound Rag members.
"Not good enough, big boy! And here's the finishing touch!" Brutus delivered a smashing kick to Ballio, whose surface now had huge iron spikes glued on. "GOAL!" The spherical Rag member slammed into the emerald with massive force, and the wailing King Helmasaur went down.
"Have you guys been holding back?" Neosquid demanded as they began attacking the stunned enemy soldiers around them. "We were never THIS good before!"
"It's the kid, ki… we never had a chance before!" Kiki explained. "But now we do… and we know it, kikiki! These bums are going down!"
"It certainly seems so, if that was the strongest thing they had, mm…" Morris agreed, creating a hand of shadows that broke a Lionel's neck. "But one thing worries me… this Wizrobe commander seems a crafty fellow. Would this be the only thing he had up his sleeve?"
"No… no it wouldn't." Handy glared up at the Wizrobes. "This isn't over yet." And then, beyond even them… the massive, glowing energy field around Ganon's Tower flickered and vanished in a flash of white light. "YES! They're in, and we've got reinforcements! We may just have this in hand after all!" The back ranks of the Wizrobe order spun and began fending off an assault of magic from six soaring, humanoid figures in dresses that had hit their rear, but Zektal and twenty others began moving forward, towards the center of the Forger's armies.
"Now what are they up to…" Tom muttered as the twenty-one Wizrobes formed a circle and began chanting. Above them, in the air, a pair of forms began to appear… at first, they were shimmering green, but then they halted with a barked order from Zektal.
"No, wait!" The commander of the Wizrobes grinned. "I have… a better idea." He whispered something to the other sorcerers, who nodded. They began chanting again, and the images in the air changed… becoming a pair of monstrosities known to all of the Rag.
"Mothula… and Blind?" Bugoff murmured. "But the kid said he killed them…"
"He did… look, they're kinda transparent." Ballio noticed. "They're just some kind of reflection… fakes. But they're still bad news… Zektal wouldn't waste time with mere illusions, so even if they're not the real deal, they might still be able to fight like them!"
"You serious? Man, what we gonna do then?" Brutus cursed. "These shmucks are one thing, but those two… we never even came close to a win against them! We can't-" He broke off, stunned, as two short figures walked forward fearlessly. Neosquid and Handy.
"Guys… leave this to us."
"Good… looks like these were the only ones. We were right." Link glanced at the corpses of the three Lionels that had attempted to bar their path from Turtle Rock's portal to Ganon's Tower. "All the others are occupied with the fight. Let's get going before they figure something out."
"I'll say they are." Jean's eyes widened as she looked at the battlefield. "What the heck is THAT thing?"
"Another King Helmasaur!" Sara recognized it. "Where did they get THAT? We have to hurry!"
"Don't count those guys out just yet." Link smiled as they walked in front of the tower. "They know what they're doing. Right, here's the tower." It was a massive, cylindrical spire, rounded perfectly on the sides and flat on top. The outer surface was decorated with huge pillars and gargoyles resembling the heads of boars; one pillar in particular, on the lowest level at the front of the Tower, seemed to be the anchor point for the shining energy field that draped the structure. There was no visible way in. "All right, girls… ready?"
"More than." Zelda confirmed, leading the seven crystals as they flew into the air. "To shed these crystal prisons… and to strike back against the one who did this to us… we were ready a long time ago. Let this shield he raises as an attempt at protection be destroyed here and now!" Together, they forced their crystals against the barrier, and for a moment there was no effect; and then, without a single sound, the entire energy field burst outward in a million broken fragments of pure white light. At the exact same moment, the seven blue crystals dissolved into glittering dust, and the girls inside fell to the ground, landing easily. Six of them shimmered and then transformed into various forms, but Zelda did not.
"Sage of Time, remember?" She smiled at Link before he could ask. "I'm slowing the transformation effect. If I stay here too long, it'll get me eventually… but this isn't going to take that long, is it?" She grinned viciously, and Link did so as well.
"Not at all." The central pillar that had been the force field's focus shuddered and then split open down the middle, revealing a staircase in its center that led up into the tower. "Right. We're going in."
"And we're joining the fight." Wendy raised her hands and formed a long, icicle-like blade from a bubble of water that appeared over her head. "Get in there and deal with the big man… we'll help finish up down there." The others nodded as they formed similar weapons.
"Good luck… let's go, princess!" Turning, the Hero and Sage of Time ran up the stairs together as their companions flew down to join the battle below. The front hall of Ganon's Tower was well-lit, polished gray stone. Straight down the center, a red carpet led to the other side, flanked by statues of a familiar form, clutching a model Triforce. Ganon's form, as Link had last seen the true Forger, thousands of years ago when his power had transformed him into a titanic monster.
"Something about those seems familiar…" Zelda shook her head. "Is that what the Forger truly looks like?"
"It is now." Link nodded. "But we've got more important problems… look at that." The door at the end of the red carpet path was locked, chained and barred with a ludicrous amount of protection, all of it connected to a massive keyhole in the center, glowing faintly with magic. "I'm guessing we won't be able to break that down, no matter what we do… which means we need to hunt for the key down below." He indicated two more doors flanking it, with stairways leading down into a basement. "He's still playing games."
"Let him… he has little enough time remaining as it is." Zelda shrugged and walked towards the left door.
"Fair enough." The Hero of Time followed her down. Blood-red Stalfos charged them, and Link ripped them apart. "Looks like he kept some guards here after all… only pikers so far, though."
"So far. Let's enjoy it while it lasts." Zelda decomposed one into bone dust with her right hand.
"Always the cynic, aren't we?" Link muttered as they walked into a room filled with chasms. "All right, I can use my hookshot here… you need a ride, or can you fly like the old guys?"
"I can manage… and rulers have to be cynical. At least when not in public. The job sucks." Zelda levitated across to another door, one of several. "Should we just pick one?"
"Why not… it's not like we have a map. Or if we'd be able to trust one we'd find down here anyways, at this point." Link shrugged and walked in. Immediately, the lower portion of the wall ahead detached and launched itself forward at him; the spikes covering it were overkill. "Gah! Wrong way!"
"Easy, boy… I've got you." Grabbing his hand, Zelda pulled him up into the air, and the trap slammed into the back wall below them. "What's that thing back there?" It was an orange portal, similar to the ones that linked the worlds.
"I've seen this before… it's a short-range teleporter." Link remembered them from the Palace of Darkness. "Should lead somewhere else in this building. Let's try it." They stepped on it, and after a moment of transition, found themselves facing a wave of fire.
"I'm open to suggestions this time." Zelda admitted nervously as it roared down on them. Link smiled.
"No problem… I've got just the thing." The icy force of the Ether Medallion gusted forward and doused the flames entirely, leaving the way clear. The next room was a massive pit with no features aside from a ledge on each side.
"Looks like I'm flying us both over." Zelda noted.
"No, hold on… there's something here. Maybe…" Link frowned, staring at a firepit set on the opposite ledge. Drawing the Fire Rod, he lit it, and smiled as the increased light in the room reflected off of a path of transparent glass. "Bingo." Crossing easily, he entered the next room, and immediately noticed that it had no floor. "Crap!" Zelda grabbed his arm as he fell, and they slowly descended into a room that was completely frozen. Ice covered every surface, and the room was piled with slabs of meat and other food items.
"Some kind of storage freezer… but what are those?" Zelda pointed at six humanoid statues. Eight feet wide, wearing armor resembling that of the Knights of Hyrule. In their left hands, shields bearing the emblem of the Triforce. In their right hands, swords pointing upwards in an eternal salute. And on their heads, horned helmets with visible eyeholes… eyeholes that glowed red as the statues began rumbling. Link's own eyes narrowed.
"So Ganon knows this spell too, huh… figures. I'll handle this."
"No… save your strength for the big guy." Zelda disagreed. "A physical fight with these things isn't necessary." The Armos Knights began hopping around, but the Princess remained in the air above them, glaring down. "These are but enchanted stone… the originals stood the test of time, but these were made in haste, by one with far less skill. This stone is ordinary… let it wear away." The air around them began to shimmer strangely, and the Armos Knights paused… and then, all six together, they crumbled into dust and fell apart. Lying in the remains of one of them was a golden key. "And there's what we're looking for."
"You've been practicing, I see." Link whistled, pocketing the key.
"I had a lot of time to think." Zelda shrugged. "Let's head back up."
"One problem." Link shook his head. "The teleporter's one-way. We'll have to find another path back. Let's try that stairway over there instead of returning to the put room." Taking said stairs back up led them to a room with another teleporter. "Hm… hold on. This wall looks like it was blocked up recently…" Lighting a bomb, he placed it near the largest crack in the patch job, blowing it open.
"This looks like Ganon's treasure room…" Zelda realized as they entered. Huge masses of Rupees in all colors filled it from wall to wall, clinking and shifting slightly as they were walked on. In the center of the room was massive chest.
"Let's see if this works…" Link tried the key. It did. Inside was a red tunic with a purple cap. "Huh… another clothes change. My Goron Tunic." He shrugged. "Why not… and it'll probably provide even more defense than the Zora's." Unlike in the Ice Palace, a double-layer would have been uncomfortable, so he removed the Zora Tunic before wearing his new acquisition. As he did, he noticed Princess Zelda watching him with a small smile on her face. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." She shrugged. "Let's go."
"Whatever." Placing the new cap on his head, Link followed her back to the teleporter. It took them to the room below the staircase on the right in the front hall. Once they returned there, the large key opened the door as they had guessed, and all the chains and bars fell away instantly, revealing the stairs upward. "Finally, we can go up. Still, Ganon probably won't make it any easier from this point on."
"Does it matter?" Zelda raised an eyebrow. The Hero chuckled.
"Not really. Up we go!"
Below the Tower, on the battlefield halfway up Death Mountain, the bulk of the enemy forces had backed away, clearing the area to allow the two reflections of Blind and Mothula clear room. Only the twenty-one Wizrobes who summoned them remained in place, concentrating to keep them stable.
"Zektal… so you're the big shot here." Neosquid greeted the enemy leader coldly. "Just what are you trying to pull?"
"A technique taught by milord Ganon, whelp." Zektal sneered. "A reflection, he called it… summoning up a magical duplicate. He told us to copy his current form, but this is so much better." The Wizrobe leader grinned savagely. "So these two fools can have their last stand… with them and the others gone, I shall stand by milord Ganon's side now. I am his Eye… and they are failures. It's only fitting that their forms serve me now!"
"Dumbass… you're nowhere near them." Handy snorted. "We'd beat the crap out of you ourselves here and now, but it looks like we have to deal with these sad shades of yours instead."
"Ha… you? YOU, beat THEM?" Zektal laughed. "You tell ME I'm way below them? For twenty years, your pitiful rebellion accomplished nothing… every time you fought the Eyes, you could only run! And now you want to meet them in combat? This should be amusing to watch!"
"It's like Kiki said… before now, we never had a chance. We knew it. There was no real hope. But now…" Neosquid glared at the Wizrobe leader. "The kid. He's up there right now, kicking your big bad boss's butt. He's going to win… and before we can leave this nightmare behind, we need to win against OUR enemies too. Even if they're just images… we can't lose any more. This time… we'll beat them." Zektal's grin vanished.
"You become annoying… time for you to shut up and die, methinks! Obliterate them, my servants!" Obediently, the reflections of Blind and Mothula charged, taking to the air in the latter's case. Glancing at each other, Neosquid and Handy separated and faced down their opponents separately.
"We'll just see about that… time to settle this dispute once and for all!" Charging, Neosquid launched himself towards Blind like a spinning top, flipping himself upside down to balance on his pointed body. All eight tentacles flung out, each clutching a dagger, and he slammed into the grinning demon's chest with a noise like a buzz saw. Roaring, Blind breathed a gout of fire downward, and Neosquid sprung back, burning. Unconcerned, he rebounded off a cliff face and lunged again, this time going for the neck. Daggers flashed, and the head flew off. "One down!"
"Ha… you forget so easily?" Zektal laughed, then frowned as Neosquid landed on the neck stump for a moment before jumping after the flying head.
"I meant one head, not one bad guy, idiot!" Before it could spring to life again, the head sank with daggers stuck all over it. Neosquid grunted, pulling them out. "How you doing, partner?"
"Could be better… only one way to do this, and it's gotta be just right!" Handy yelled, scrambling frantically across the ground and dodging Mothula's strafing runs. The flying demon was silent, but her three-way shots of energy rings were as deadly as ever, carving deep trenches in the ground. With her flying abilities, it seemed there was nothing Handy could do to fight back. "You just concentrate on yours… I'll bring her down as soon as the moment's right!"
"Got it-ARGH!" Neosquid had taken a moment too long in retrieving his weapons; sprouting a new head, Blind had hit him with a laser eyebeam. Tumbling for a moment, the angry squid righted himself. "Damn, that hurts… just as much as the real thing." He grinned. "Excellent! I wouldn't feel right if this boy wasn't just as bad as the real deal! Hope he's watching, wherever the hell he is, so he can see me finally kick his ass!" Turning away, he began climbing the cliff wall behind him, using his daggers to dig into the cliff.
"You can't run, idiot!" Zektal called mockingly as the reflection of Blind charged the cliff face and spewed fire up.
"Heh… who's running?" Backflipping over the flames, Neosquid landed on Blind's back, directly behind the head. As it swiveled around to grin at him, he removed it again, but this time he didn't chase it; instead, he jumped into the air and, forming all his tentacles and knives into a spear-point, plunged down into the neck hole. The severed head rose and lunged at him, breathing fire into its own body. The entire form became covered in flames, but no new head emerged; there was only Neosquid, grimly stabbing downward further and further, seeking vital organs. Everybody's eyes stared at the burning wreckage, even those of the Wizrobe order and the reflection of Mothula.
"Bingo." Handy grunted, lighting a bomb and dropping it on the ground, then grabbing a large, flat rock and placing it atop it, then scrambling aboard. "This is the craziest thing I've ever done, but hey, whatever works!" The bomb exploded, and although the rock was mostly destroyed, one chunk larger than the others was propelled straight upwards, with Handy clinging to it grimly. It soared even higher than Mothula, and the white-gloved maniac pushed off, flying back over his enemy. Scores of bombs tumbled out of the wrist-hole, and Handy flipped around, bringing his flint-tipped index finger to each and every fuse. Both he and the bombs slammed into the reflection of Mothula's back, and the flying shade of the Eye of Ganon was covered in explosions. Silent as always, the blasted wreckage fell instantly, spiraling down and colliding with the flaming remains of Blind, and as both shades collapsed, the twenty Wizrobes controlling them screamed and fell to the ground, convulsing. For a few moments, there was nothing visible but smoke… and then Neosquid and Handy pulled themselves up and stumbled forward, charred and crispy, but still alive.
"There… we beat 'em." Neosquid muttered. "Now we can… leave… with our heads held high."
"Guys… old farts… gals… it's up to you now." Handy continued. "Bring 'em down… we're out." The pair of them tumbled forward, unconscious.
"I never would have believed it… they won…" Zektal groaned. Around him, the twenty Wizrobes that had helped him summon the reflections were no longer moving; only the master of the order stood upright. "And yet… futile. You who remain can barely manage to keep yourselves alive… protecting the fallen is quite beyond your capabilities. They will die."
"Not if I can help it, filth…" An old man's voice disagreed. Transformed with the head of an owl, yet still wearing his sage's robes proudly, Sahasrala walked forward. "You're the head of your order, then… the Wizrobes. Let's see what your magic can do against mine." Zektal strode forward.
"Very well… those two surprised me, but you're past your prime, old man! I'll be happy to put you down!" Bringing his hands up, he fired a crescent-shaped beam of energy that Sahasrala easily avoided. Several more followed, and the owl-headed elder avoided them as well.
"My turn…" Muttering, Sahasrala's eyes blazed, then emitted a blinding flash that caused all, including Zektal to cover their eyes.
"Damn it, you had to use THAT one!" Morris growled, holding mole's claws in front of his face. "What-oh!" When the light had vanished, Sahasrala was behind his enemy.
"You're through."
"I think not." Zektal raised his hands again, but now the energy beam fired from his back, flying to the rear and striking Sahasrala in the chest. Grunting, the old man fell, and Zektal turned to advance on him. "What did I tell you? This is your first time to this world, isn't it? You may have been impressive in Hyrule, but here… in this hell… you're nothing!"
"Don't be so quick to judge, youngster…" Sahasrala's hand shot out, and a whiplike beam of light extended, blazing. "I'm not buried yet!" The whip snaked around Zektal's right leg, and with a hiss, severed it easily. Howling, the Wizrobe master leaped back, remaining upright, and formed a new leg of shadows. Next was a weapon of his own; a trident of darkness that pinned the elder's whip to the ground. Forming another with his free hand, Zektal hurled it at the prone Sahasrala.
"Die!"
"I think not." Sahasrala glared up, and his eyes blazed once more; freezing in the air, the trident before him dissolved into nothingness. Zektal took a step back, then ran forward in a seemingly suicidal charge. Growling, Sahasrala put up his hands to block, but instead of attacking, the master of the Wizrobe order leaped into the air, hurdling him.
"Enough of this! I'm not needed here anyways… these rabble are enough to finish you!" The other enemy soldiers began muttering angrily, but Zektal took no notice. "Enjoy your slaughter, fools… I return to my lord Ganon-" He froze suddenly, motionless. "What-I can't move! Who…"
"Who do you think, Zektal?" A voice called down from the tower's top, far above. "Running away? I told you to command this fight… and you seem to have seen fit to disobey me. I'm disappointed."
"Milord…" Zektal croaked. "I only thought…"
"Thought you knew better… and that wasn't the only such thought you had." Agahnim boomed. "I told you to summon reflections of me, of my current form… and yet, you saw fit to do different. To desecrate your superiors who fell in the line of duty to me… who stood their ground and fought until the end. Unlike you, Zektal. Who told you that you had any right to use their forms? Or to try and run after doing so?"
"Please, milord… forgive me…" The head of the Wizrobe order strained to free himself and failed. "I still have… to serve you. The device to free your soul… I can still make it. You need me…"
"Need? NEED? I need NO ONE, Zektal." Agahnim bellowed. "You least of all. That was your flaw, Zektal… you presumed that just because I fell back on you when my Eyes had left me, that you were equal to… better than… they were. Wrongly. The graveyards of wars are filled to the brim with men who made the mistake of considering themselves indispensable. Give them my regards, Zektal." A massive spear of lightning, easily twice as massive as any the Wizard had ever summoned in Hyrule, blasted down from the tower-top and impaled Zektal, current blasting through his entire body. All that remained to hit the ground was a skeleton in robes and a hat.
"Does he plan to do that to us now?" Sahasrala wondered, but no further lightning strikes came from the tower.
"Doesn't seem like it… looks like he's saving himself for the two he knows are coming." Tom grunted. "Which just leaves us the chore of cleaning up here." The remaining soldiers of Ganon stared at Zektal's corpse, then at the savagely grinning heroes before them, then at the corpse again. And then, as one, they charged with desperation in their eyes.
"Hey, what the heck? Did you hear that?" Link glared upwards as Zelda reduced the last of the three Lanmolas that had been placed in the room halfway up the tower to a skeleton.
"Yeah… sounded like a blast of Agahnim's lightning magic." The Princess nodded. "If he's sniping them, they won't have a chance." They waited in silence, but heard no more strikes. "Huh… looks like it was a one-time thing."
"Hope so… let's move anyways!" Link ran up the stairs to the tower's fourth floor, and Zelda followed. Three Wizrobes confronted them, heads bowed. "Out of our way!"
"Never…" The sorcerers hissed, raising their heads to reveal fleshless skulls. "You killed us, Hero of Time… we will take our revenge!" Together, they raised their hands and fired a wave of magic that stretched from wall to wall.
"Sorry… I'll have to pass on that one." Firing his hookshot into the frame of the door behind them, Link pulled himself over the blast and the sorcerers both, releasing it as soon as he was behind them and smashing all three with a whirling blade strike, scattering their bones across the floor. One by one, he smashed the skulls, rendering them lifeless once more.
"I know the trick of animating a skeleton, but that's a new one on me…" Zelda admitted. "Dead Wizrobes still being able to use their magic. Oops, Knights of Hyrule…" A pair of bull-headed soldiers were patrolling a narrow bridge. Link charged immediately and swept them off the sides before they could attack.
"No problem at all… not any more. Next!" The next room had four more undead Wizrobes, and after that was another bridge with four Knights. Both proved ineffective. "Does he actually think these will stop us, or is he just trying to waste time?"
"It's probably that weakness towards high drama of his you taunted him on at Turtle Rock." Zelda guessed. "Don't know how you knew about that in the first place, but it seems true-whoa, hit the deck!" The final room of the floor faced them with a solid line of laser-firing wall eyes. Zelda dived down, but Link calmly stepped in front of her and blocked them with the Mirror Shield. Dusting herself off, Zelda stood back up. "Show-off."
"Whatever works is cool." Link shrugged, indicating the next set of stairs. Walking up, they entered a long, wide hall even larger than the one at the entrance of the room. Here, however, all the statues had been smashed to rubble, and even the walls were battered. "After the Armos Knights and Lanmolas, it's not hard to guess what the big guy's put in here… I assume you'll want to bring it down too?"
"My pleasure." Zelda cracked her knuckles as a fully-grown Moldorm raged out from behind a thick stone pillar and charged them. Holding one hand out, palm-first, she slowed its charge to a crawl, then casually walked around behind it and grabbed the end of its tail with her other hand. Link stared as she levitated the entire monster into the air and began spinning it around until it was nothing but a olive-colored blur before releasing it, sending it flying into and THROUGH the outer wall, out of the tower and over the sky of the Dark World.
"Feeling spectacular, are we?" The Hero commented, looking down through the hole. "Ah, good… looks like they've got the battle pretty much in hand. Handy and Neosquid look like they've been through the wringer, though… wonder what happened."
"I can sense that they're still alive, at least." Zelda smiled. "They'll be fine. Let's go hold up our end."
"Right." Walking up the stairs at the far end of the grand hall, they entered the top floor of the Tower. Side by side, Link and Zelda walked down one last hallway, ignoring numerous doors on both walls. At the end was one last locked door, with the symbol of the Eyes of Ganon hanging over it. Unlocking it with the key, Link kicked it open. "All right, Ganon… we're here."
"Took you long enough…" Agahnim turned away from a hole in the shattered glass wall in the back of the room. "I was starting to get bored, waiting up here… although what you did with the Moldorm was a nice touch. The battle below stopped being interesting about ten minutes back."
"That was when you threw something in, right?" Zelda growled.
"Oh, you heard that?" Agahnim chuckled, spreading his hands. "Yes, indeed. Just taking out some trash… mine, not yours, don't worry. Your brave little warriors seem to have won the day down there."
"Then that just leaves the three of us." Link smiled as well. "And this time there's nowhere for you to run to."
"My, aren't we confident…" Agahnim's smile widened. "Idiots. You're in MY world now… I have ruled over this prison for thousands of years. Credit where due, I never expected that you would get this far. Killing all of my Eyes… but then, I suppose that's my own fault for not remembering the last time you came against me. Time after time I underestimated you… first when I originally claimed the Triforce, and then when you began reclaiming Hyrule… and then when we came together in my original fortress…"
"Enough nonsense." Zelda cut him off. "I don't know what you're rambling about, and I don't care. What I know is that here and now, we're bringing you down."
"Oh ho…" Agahnim chuckled. "So, you don't remember… and you haven't sought to remind her, Link? How foolish of you… do you really think she'll stand a chance in this fight without remembering her full potential?" Link remained silent, nodding at Zelda, whose eyes began glowing as she hurled a sphere of glowing energy at one wall. Where it struck, the stone dissolved, smoking, into dust.
"My strength has increased greatly since we last fought, Forger. I've got more than enough to bring you down." Link raised the Master Sword.
"What she said. We're not here to chatter… we're here to finish you. So what say we get to that, hm?" The wizard shrugged.
"Heh… as you wish." Agahnim raised his hands, revealing a sphere of darkness clutched in each. "But don't think you're the only ones who have put this time to good use in preparation…" The shadows in his hands flew out and landed next to him, then expanded, forming duplicates of him… partially transparent, wavering images. "That sort of evens things out, doesn't it? Let's see how you do when it's three against two!" All three wizards threw spheres of magical energy.
"All too easy." Link swung the Master Sword at two of them, reflecting them back, while Zelda caught the third in her hand and easily dissipated it. The energy blast which struck the illusionary Agahnim on the left passed through him without effect, but that which hit the true Agahnim caused him to grunt in pain. "You've still got that fatal, fundamental weakness… your own power turns against you. And as long as it does, you can't win. There's no way at all."
"My, aren't we quick to judge?" The three Agahnims melted into the shadows, and sprang up in different corners of the room. "What now?"
"Please." Link stood in the center of the room, and Zelda in the unoccupied corner. All three wizards fired at the Hero of Time, and he calmly used the whirling blade strike, knocking all the magic away. As soon as one of the three foes registered the hit, Zelda launched her own attack; a spear of white light, piercing his shoulder and then dissolving. Unconcerned, Agahnim and his doubles shifted positions again, forming in a triangle. This time, two of them aimed at Zelda while the third fired a cluster of smaller blue spheres at Link. Shrugging, the Hero of Time held the Mirror Shield up and blocked the attack while Zelda destroyed the energy blasts from the other two. They weren't harmed, but neither was Agahnim.
"Ha ha… why don't we try that one again?" Agahnim chuckled, preparing to repeat the attack. "You know, I'm actually glad you two came this far… it puts a sense of closure on the entire affair, you know? How many times is it now that all three of us have come together to do battle… four?"
"Your arithmetic seems to be as bad as your aim." Zelda taunted him. "It's two, not four."
"Really?" Agahnim's eyes twinkled. "I seem to remember a meeting at the top of another tower, where a place called Hyrule Castle once stood… and a meeting soon after, in the ruins of said tower, where you sealed me away." The princess flinched. "I swore a vow of vengeance against the two of you for that… and now it's come time for me to fulfill that vow!" He and his duplicates fired in the same pattern as before, but this time Link and Zelda were prepared; the princess levitated herself into the air, while the Hero ran south, remaining across from Agahnim. When the three attacks met at the center of the room, Link struck them all. The cluster of blue spheres shattered in his face, but the two energy blasts were both sent into the real Agahnim's chest, and as a follow-up, Zelda hit his other shoulder with another lance of light. Steadying himself, the wizard's eyes began glowing.
"That's it… enough fun." Link barely had enough time to bring the Master Sword up in order to defend against a massive lightning strike, much more powerful than those he had unleashed in Hyrule… and much longer-lasting. The electric bolts continued streaming towards Link, and it was all he could do to hold them off; he could not stop the attack.
"Hold on, Link!" Zelda yelled, forming another energy spear. "I'll get him-AAAH!" The Princess screamed as lighting bolts from the two duplicates both slammed into her back.
"ZELDA!" Link roared, trying to turn and failing. The Master Sword was locked into place by the attack it was deflecting, holding him along with it.
"Ha ha ha!" Agahnim laughed. "What good is it being strong enough to defeat me if you can't protect the people you care about, Hero of Time? You can't cover for her forever… you… know…" His gloating trailed off as Zelda stood back up.
"For once in your miserable existence, you're right… fortunately, he doesn't NEED to any more." Her eyes were glowing now, as was the mark of the Triforce on the back of her hand. "When I had to flee from your attack on the castle, when you trapped me in that crystal cage, when you defeated me outside the Temple of Time and brought me here… three times. NO MORE." She hurled an energy spear through Agahnim's left leg, and as he screamed, the lighting attack dissolved and Link fell, free. Advancing on him, she impaled his other leg as well. "Gerudo King… twice now, you've killed my father and attempted to conquer my country. Twice now, you've failed… you've fallen. You've LOST, Ganondorf Dragmire."
"Heh… so, finally you remember it all… it's almost complete now." Agahnim shakily stood up. "But you're mistaken if you think this fight is anywhere near over." Zelda smiled coldly.
"Am I?" She snapped her fingers, and Agahnim grunted as all four energy lances she had struck him with reappeared, piercing the places they had struck. He froze, motionless. Another snap of her fingers, and his two duplicates were similarly transfixed. "Against both the Hero, and the Sage of Time… you think you stand a chance in that borrowed body? Wrong… fatally so. Link?"
"Yeah." Link walked forward towards the helpless wizard. "So, what shall it be? The Master Sword probably won't work on you… so we'll have to kill you with something else. Arrows, maybe? Bombs? Hookshot through the skull? How about some of my own magic? Maybe the good old Megaton Hammer? Or should I employ my secret weapon… something I picked up from my house before the attack?" Agahnim stared as, from his pack, Link pulled out another sword… smaller and plainer than the Master Sword, but still well-crafted. "My uncle's blade… unlike the Master Sword, it has no qualms against harming the descendant of a Sage. Let's give it a shot, shall we?"
"You'll accomplish nothing…" Agahnim croaked. "I am Ganon… death holds no power over me…"
"Yes, I heard about what happened when Father Brian snapped your neck. But you know, that doesn't mean you can't die." Link took up a stance for a flat thrust of the blade. "It just means… I need to do something like THIS." His uncle's sword ran straight into Agahnim's chest, piercing his heart. The wizard screamed, and his body began contorting, but Link wasn't finished. "Sahasrala gave me a few pointers, but I'm still not sure I'll do this right… but we've got to try, right, princess?"
"Right." Zelda walked up to him, and they each put a hand on the hilt of the sword, the hands bearing the Triforce emblem. Agahnim's screaming doubled in volume, and his contortions increased, as the third Triforce emblem on his own hand began wavering. "It needs something more… just a little more…"
"You mean like this?" Reaching down, Link picked up the dropped Master Sword with his free hand and placed it on top of his Uncle's. As the blades touched, Agahim's screaming died off in a gurgling sigh. The Triforce mark on his right hand flashed, and a moment later the entire limb exploded violently. Agahnim's duplicates dissolved into nothingness, as did Zelda's lances of light, and the wizard's body fell to the ground, broken.
"Yes…" Link smiled. "We did it. Now then… did we get him for good, or…" There was a moment of silence… and then a deep, booming bass voice.
"What do YOU think?" From the back of Agahnim's body, a hazy, ethereal form rose… the form of the massive monster they both recognized as Ganon. "Yes… YES! I LIVE! All you have done is free me from the body I was trapped in, fools!"
"That's nice." Zelda sighed and smiled. "The point stands… we beat you again. And by the time you return to your true body, we'll be long gone. It's been fun, Forger… we'll have to do this again some time."
"Oh, yes indeed…" Ganon purred. "Very, very soon. Go ahead and flee back to Hyrule… and prepare my palace for me. I'll be along shortly." Link and Zelda froze, motionless.
"…You're lying." Link snarled. "You're FULL OF IT! I rescued the girls… we stopped the barrier's deterioration! It never got so weak so that you could cross, and now it'll start healing again!"
"True… almost." Ganon agreed. "But do you recall what caused said deterioration in the first place?"
"Of course." Zelda snapped. "A massive blow to the barrier, caused by…" Her skin went pale. "By… all eight of us… crossing from Hyrule to the Dark World… oh, GODDESSES…"
"An effect which you repeated in full when you came to attack my castle… not once, but TWICE!" Ganon crowed. "AH HA HA HA HA! You've ripped the barrier asunder, fools… that portal in front of Hyrule Castle must be a mile wide by now! And even if you flee to Hyrule, there's nothing you can do to close it in time before I come on over! All that was needed was for me to vacate this body… a risk, but one I felt confident in! And I was right! I NEVER DIE! You've secured my victory… thank you very, very much. Now then… I'd estimate you have ten minutes. Maybe, just maybe, if you go to Hyrule right now, and make for the border without bothering to warn anybody else, you can be out of my range before I get to you… but I wouldn't count on it. Or maybe you could just give up and spend your last few moments here in a moment of passion between the two of you… ha ha ha. Whatever you want to do… it matters not." His ethereal shape transformed into a monstrous bat that blasted off through the hole in the glass wall. "In ten minutes, I end your lives… and reclaim that which is MINE! All of it! The Triforce, Hyrule, the world! EVERYTHING! It will all be mine! HA HA HA HA HA!" Link and Zelda remained fixed in place, frozen in horror, as he disappeared into the sky.
"…No." Zelda sank to her knees. "We… we fell right into his hands. He won… we handed him victory. There's nothing we can do…"
"There is always… something you can do… my princess." A dying man's voice croaked, and both Link and Zelda turned to stare at the withered body of Agahnim. With a phenomenal effort, he had lifted his face towards the two of them. "No, don't interrupt me… I don't have much time. By all rights, I should be dead and more… it's only my powers as a Sage that can keep my body animated for even a minute more. You were… very thorough." He coughed up a gout of blood. "You beat him… like this. And you… give up now? You can't. You have to… stop him. You're the only ones who can."
"But…" Zelda frowned. "He'll be in his true form… we can't stand against him like that…"
"You can and you did… you should remember, of all people…" Agahnim disagreed. "Once before… in the ruins of his tower. You stood before him, in all of his monstrous might… and you triumphed."
"…Yeah." Link slowly nodded. "We did… I remember. But even then… all we could do was defeat him. We couldn't kill him… and we don't have anywhere else to banish him to this time."
"And that is what he hopes you will think… but there is one way. One thing he fears… one only he knows." Agahnim smiled sadly. "And by extension… one that I now know as well, after his time inside my mind, corrupting my soul."
"You…" Zelda's eyes widened. "You know of a way… to kill Ganon?"
"Yes… one who aided you once, Link… has been laboring all of her time in this hell to find a way." Agahnim nodded, mouth spewing more blood. "Ganon goes to the Pyramid of Power, in the center of this Dark World… in the upper chamber of that structure is where his body, and the Triforce of Power, both rest. But that is not all that the Pyramid contains… in the lower area, the one who has his weakness is sealed away. Break that seal open, and seek her aid… and she will give you the means to slay the Forger of Power. It… and you… are the only hopes Hyrule has now." His eyes turned back in their sockets. "I am such a fool… I caused all of this strife. I know that this small gesture cannot make amends for what I have done… and yet… if it leads to the salvation of my beloved Hyrule… then I have not completely failed in my task. Link… Zelda… finally, I can add my blessings to those of my seven fellows behind you. Go… I beg you. You can… you will… triumph." His breath faltered, and then stopped. Link slowly drew his uncle's sword from the wizard's chest, then turned towards the hole in the glass wall.
"Come on, Zelda… we've got a job to do."
"But…" Zelda blinked. "How can we reach the Pyramid in time?"
"I have an idea." Link pulled his flute, as he still persisted in thinking of it, out of his pack. "This never worked in the Dark World before… but this instrument still has power. Especially in our hands. Perhaps it will sense our need… and make this possible." He played the summoning tune, and at first there was nothing… but then the flute began to glow, and a shimmering in the air grew into the flying familiar bird. Cawing, it took Link's hand, and he grasped Zelda's palm in his other. "Let's go."
"Yes." Zelda nodded, and the bird took off, flying out of the Tower of Ganon. "Wait, hold on… how can we break the seal open?" Link smiled.
"I've got contacts. Bird, down there." The bird obediently took them into a dive over the battlefield, where the fighting had ended.
"Boss!" Neosquid yelled. "What's going on?"
"Seriously bad news, and no time to explain it!" Link yelled. "You still have that Armageddon Apple?"
"Sure do!" Handy scrambled over to Bomb Boy, who removed it from a cart. Grabbing the monstrous sphere, the white-gloved hand hurled it straight at them, and Zelda caught it easily despite its size, holding it by the fuse. "There you go! You two just go do what you have to… we'll be waiting for the story when you're done!"
"Right!" Link grinned as the bird flew away from them. "Thanks, guys! All right, birdy… to the foot of the pyramid!" Ahead of them, now only a spot in the distance, they could see the monstrous bat Ganon had become. As it neared the top of the Pyramid, it swooped up, then nosedived straight through the roof, ripping a wide hole open. "Right… let's just hope it takes him a few minutes to wake up-oh, Goddesses." Ganon had been right; the massive, vertical blue square of energy was now at least a mile wide in front of the Pyramid. Cawing, the bird dropped them between it and the structure, and Link ran up the first set of stairs to the face of the second level.
"Let's just hope this works…" Zelda muttered as he lit it, then turned and started running. "Oh come on, the blast can't be THAT-"
"One thing I've learned about dealing with those two… when it comes to making stuff blow up, they're the kings!" Link grabbed her. "Get down!" They dived to the ground, and a moment later, the Apple exploded with a sonic disruption that defied noise. Even in their prone positions, the Hero and the Princess felt the heat wave from the explosion scorch their backs. After a few moments, they stood and stared. The entire front of the pyramid's second layer had been blown away, along with a good portion of where it had been sitting; even beyond the crater, the stairs were scorched and blackened for at least thirty feet.
"I don't want to know what my dress looks like, before you even ask." Zelda growled. "Now then, where's this prisoner he spoke of… oh. Oh, my." Link slowly smiled as a Great Fairy, tall and majestic, glided out from the hole.
"You know… I kind of had a feeling it'd be you."
"WHAT was THAT?" The Great Fairy of Courage blinked. "I am grateful for my freedom of course, but that was a bit… surprising… oh! Link, Zelda! It's you!" She suddenly frowned. "And this ominous power I'm feeling… Ganon!"
"Long story short, we've got five minutes before he blows this place sky high and barges back into Hyrule fifty feet tall and belching doomsday." Link explained. "Somebody in the know told us you've been working on a way to bring him down permanently. We need it, now, or everything that's been done to hold him back, ever, will all be for nothing." The Fairy's eyes widened.
"Well then… since you put it that way… first, give me your sword." Link nodded and handed her the Master Sword. "Hm… as I thought… it has weakened considerably. Whoever tempered it did a good job, but could not quite restore all of its strength. Now, though…" The blade began glowing, as golden as the sky above them. "NOW it is restored. All of it."
"And this can kill Ganon now?" Link took it eagerly, then paused. "No, wait… it was at full strength when we fought him in his true form before, but I couldn't kill him then."
"No… that is only the first step. Now, the Master Sword will be able to cripple him, as you did before… and that's where THESE come in." The Fairy stretched out her hand, and silver dust began to coalesce around the arrows in Link's quiver. "THIS is what I have been creating ever since Ganon sealed me away. You remember the Arrows of Light, that could disrupt Ganon's dark powers, yes? These are the upgraded version. The Silver Arrows… you will have to weaken him considerably before you can use them, for he will not be brought down easily by the same trick. But if you can hurt him to the point that he is no longer able to guard against them, then these arrows will allow you to strike the finishing blow."
"Thanks." Link bowed quickly, and Zelda did the same. "All right, princess… let's go!"
"I won't be much help in the actual fight…" Zelda informed him as they ran up the steps of the Pyramid, towards the hole in the top. "My time magics were weakened against Agahnim… his true form will be practically immune to them. So I'll focus on his Triforce of Power… my own control of the Triforce of Wisdom is rudimentary compared to his grasp of his own piece, but as long as you keep him on the move, I should be able to counter his attempts to bring the Triforce into play. He'll have to use his own strength… and even that may be…"
"Not enough. I beat it before… and I'll beat it again. You know that, now." Link paused in front of the gaping hole at the Pyramid's peak. "This is it." He drank one of the four blue potions he had packed for the assault, then offered a second to Zelda.
"No…" She shook her head. "You'll need it more than I-"
"Take it." He insisted. "Please, Zelda. I'd never tell you this normally, but after everything we've been through today, you need it. I don't want to lose you now, after everything we've survived so far together. Please."
"…All right." Zelda drank the potion. "But Link… whatever happens down there… kill Ganon. You have to… no matter what. It's the only chance Hyrule has."
"We'll win." Link assured her. "We have to. Here… use this so he won't attack you." He handed Zelda the invisibility cloak. "Let's do it." He drew the Master Sword with one arm, and held her hand with the other, and together, they jumped down into the darkness. Landing on hard stone, they looked around in the darkness. "What's down here… can't see a thing."
"Allow me." A familiar, deep bass voice growled, and four firepits in the corners of the room flared to life. The entire room was constructed of solid gold, reflecting the firelight over and over again, solid bricks two feet square forming the floor, ceiling and three of the walls. The fourth wall, straight in front of them, bore wall murals of a pair of claws, each clutching the Triforce, and between them the face of the Forger. And then the mural of the face slid upwards, revealing a hidden door behind it. And Ganon emerged. "Ah… that was quite a nap. It's good to be back." Link and Zelda both shuddered, remembering how he had been when he first took the form of Ganon; a towering, raging beast, ten feet high with an insanely overdeveloped upper body, the head of a boar with a mane of orange hair and a pair of gigantic swords. Now, his body seemed more refined… that of a human, albeit an extremely tall and muscular one, clad in leather armor and a blood-red cape. A human skull on a pendant hung around his neck, and the swords had been replaced by a double-headed trident of bone. But Ganon was not a human, as was plainly visible from two things; first, the shaggy blue fur that covered his skin, and second, the head of the boar that still topped his form, eyes glowing fiercely. Looking down at them, Ganon blinked, and then began to chuckle. "Ha… ha… ha. So… I'm not just seeing things. When faced with the last few minutes of your lives, you charge headlong into your deaths. Decided to go down fighting futilely… how brave. Unless…" His sneer grew. "Unless you actually, somehow, think you have a chance?"
"Heh… there IS a precedent, you know." Link reminded him. "And I'm not just talking about thousands of years ago… when you first came to Hyrule as Agahnim the wizard, you never thought we would beat you in that form, not once but twice… did you?"
"No… you make a good point." Ganon admitted. "So… best not to take chances, hm?" He raised his arm, displaying the Triforce mark, and there was a flash of light. Link tensed himself for the attack… but none came. There was only Ganon staring at Zelda, whose own Triforce emblem was now glowing continuously.
"You… stopped that?" He grinned. "You actually wish to pit your mastery of the Triforce against mine? HA! Perhaps you can block my attempts at first… but not for long. I have spent MILLENIA here, mastering the Triforce of Power! Your Triforce of Wisdom may be just as mighty, but you know next to nothing as to how to properly use it! All you can do is block my attempts for a short time… before long, I will overpower you!"
"Wrong! You won't get the chance!" Link yelled, charging. Ganon's eyes widened in surprise again as the Master Sword slammed into his right arm. "Here and now, we're finishing this… finishing you! Once and for all!"
"Heh… are you quite done?" Ganon smirked, unconcerned. The Master Sword had sunk into the flesh of his arm, but no blood had spilled. "A good show, but you-HUH?" The wound had began emitting a blazing white light. "ARGH! How… you've… you've brought that cursed blade's strength back in full! HOW!"
"Does it really matter?" Link snarled, shoving the blade in further. "Here and now, we're beyond the need for explanations, I think… all that's left is the combat. The three of us, in the core of the Sacred Realm… what better circumstances could we ask for? Let's settle this once and for all, eh, Ganondorf?"
"Agreed… and it's GANON now." The Forger of Power growled, finally bringing his trident around to slam the Master Sword and Link away. "Now where did the Princess… what the…" While he had been distracted with Link, Zelda had slipped the Invisibility Cloak on, vanishing. "Clever girl…" Skidding across the floor, Link rose and charged again. Ganon blocked with the his trident, and Link smirked.
"Come on… you think that thing can stand up to the Master Sword?"
"Stand up? Heh… always the fool." Ganon twisted the trident, and as the Master Sword was knocked away, the weapon's other head stabbed into Link's arm. "Wound for wound-AH!" Without flinching in the slightest, Link had stabbed the Forger in the foot. Roraring, Ganon flung his enemy away again. "Enough of this!" Leaning back, he hurled the Trident through the air, spinning horizontally. Link easily ducked under it and ran at the Forger again, this time slashing him across the chest. Again and again he attacked, and Ganon grunted in pain at each strike, but then he smiled. "Got you."
"Look out, Link!" Zelda cried, too late; the trident speared into Link's back, and the Hero of Time fell.
"How…?" Link reached around to try and pull it out.
"Ha… after all you've seen, you're surprised that I can maintain control of my weapon in the air?" Ganon stomped over and slammed a hoof into Link's hand. "I could end this now, you know, whelp… but after everything you've done to me… that would be too easy." Grabbing the trident, he pushed it in deeper, then wiggled it around, causing Link to twist around in pain. "I'll bet that hurts…"
"Not… enough." Link grated. "Not now… not ever!" His other hand pulled the Cane of Byrna from his pack, and the force field sprang up, shoving both the trident and Ganon out and away from him. Bleeding heavily, Link stood and gripped the Master Sword firmly. "Come on… unless that's all you've got!"
"Hmph… time and time again, I underestimate you." Ganon's eyes narrowed. "Each time I think I've finished you, you come back as strong as ever… what is it? What is it that keeps you from giving in, from dying?" Link charged, and the sword and trident clashed once more. "Is it vengeance? Do you want payback for the ones I've killed? A sense of duty, perhaps? To your land of Hyrule, to your world, that you feel as a Hero?" Link was knocked back again, but not before opening up a gash on Ganon's left leg. He threw the trident again, and again Link avoided it, charged and attacked, slicing Ganon across the gut before turning and dodging the flying weapon's return to its owner's hand. Shaking his head, the Forger pointed at Zelda, still floating above them. "Is it for her? Is love what spurs you onwards in the face of death? Or is it pure bravery, the Triforce of Courage, running through your veins and removing your fear?" He paused and stared at Link. "Tell me. All of these things… I don't understand. I can't comprehend them… which of them is it that gives you such strength?"
"…All of them." Link replied, breathing heavily. "It's all of them combined, Ganon… retribution, duty, love, bravery… you can't understand them? Not at all? Not even a little?"
"I did once…" Ganon admitted. "When I was Ganondorf Dragmire… and again as Agahnim the wizard… I felt those things in some small part. When I was a man. BUT… NOT… NOW!" Raising his trident, he began twirling it over his head, and the two heads burst into flame. "Now, the man is gone… I am a monster! And a monster has no need for those things… he only needs POWER OVERWHELMING!" The fire on the trident expanded outward, breaking apart into a circle of flame that whirled around Ganon. "Can your strength carry you through this, Link? Can those things that drive you match my power?"
"You still have to ask?" Link demanded incredulously, charging. Ether's no good… those fires are just too strong. I'll just have to break through! Despite what it looked like, the ring of fire was actually thin; charging through quickly, Link only suffered mild burns as he slammed the Master Sword into Ganon's chest. "I'll do more than match you… I'm going to destroy you! Brute strength can only do so much, Ganon… sooner or later, it always fails!"
"Ha…" Ganon grinned. "But I don't have just any brute strength… I am the essence of power itself! Got you again!" Link whirled around to see the circle of fire splitting apart, changing form, and becoming… bats. Bats of fire and flame that swooped at him head on. Pulling away from the Forger, Link dodged one bat after another… until Ganon's trident smashed him to the ground, and the last of the firebats followed it, hitting him full in the chest and covering his body in flames. "HA HA HA!" Ganon crowed, readying his trident for impalement as Link rolled around to douse the fires. "Do you still think you can match me?" He threw the trident at Link's head, but the Master Sword flashed up and knocked it away, blocking it even through the pain of the flames. Snarling, Ganon reclaimed it as Link stood back up once more.
"Always…" Pulling one of his two remaining potions from his pack, Link drank it. "I'll always get back up… I'll always be here. Every time you come at me… at Hyrule… I'll strike back. You can't get rid of me, Ganon… no matter how hard you try. Or Zelda either… both of us will always be here. Here to stop you… to bring you DOWN."
"Bah!" Ganon snorted, creating another circle of fire. "Bold words, as always! But the fact remains… you are mortal, and I am not! Struggle all you like, it will all be the same in the end!"
"Think so?" Link charged through the fire field again, but this time he chose a different target. Ganon's left shoulder, that of the arm holding the trident aloft. "So then… what happens if I do THIS?" This time, he ignored the firebats as they hit him, one after another; the flames spread over his body, but he pressed his assault on the Forger's left arm, hacking and slashing into it in a dozen places. Roaring, Ganon slapped him away with his right hand, but the damage had been done; the left arm was mangled, unable to raise the trident overhead and spin it to summon the firebats. Again, Link managed to douse the fires covering his body, and again he stood, scorched but still alive. "As I thought… that body of yours still has to obey SOME physical laws. You're left-handed… you can't wield that thing with anywhere near the same power using your other arm. And now that left arm is too torn up to pull off that trick."
"Perhaps…" Ganon conceded. "But I can feel that mine isn't the only side to suffer losses." His eyes upwards, to where Zelda was floating around somewhere, invisible.
"Link… I can't hold him back much more…" She panted.
"Ha… and therein lies your fatal flaw." Ganon purred. "No matter how strongly you fight, the fact remains that you lack any means to finish me… I am immortal. You've never been able to kill me, no matter how hard you try… even with the Master Sword, my life is the one thing you cannot take from me! And this time, you have nowhere to seal me away, no further prison to throw me into… I'm staying right here, and sooner or later, you'll both run out of steam. It's a valiant effort, but you can't win!"
"Really…" Link charged again, and when the trident came up, he slammed it away fiercely, jerking it out of Ganon's weakened hand. "In that case… what do you call THIS?" Pulling his bow out of his pack, he loaded a Silver Arrow into it and fired in one swift motion, aiming for Ganon's maimed left arm. The bolt of silver slammed home, and Ganon doubled over in pain.
"Aargh… another Light Arrow, like before? Painful, I'll grant you, but hardly… GUH!" The Forger's eyes bulged outward as every wound in his left arm suddenly began emitting silver light… and then the entire arm exploded, blowing apart into nothingness "ARRRRRGH!" Screaming, Ganon grabbed his trident in his right arm and charged like a bull, smashing Link with the weapon like a club over and over. "HOW? HOW? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
"So it works… I'll admit, for just a moment, I was worried." Link grunted, weathering the blows. "But it looks like she was right… your power isn't impossible to overcome. They're called the Silver Arrows, Ganon… and as you've seen, they can do what even the Master Sword can't." Bringing up said sword, he smashed the trident away from himself. "They can KILL YOU." He fired another Silver Arrow, this time into the wound in Ganon's chest. The Forger screamed as silver light blazed out from the cut, but he did not fall. "Looks like it'll take a few more… but you can feel it, can't you? Mortality. It's coming back to you. I can win… I have a way now. And as long as there's a way… I WILL triumph."
"ENOUGH!" Ganon roared, gripping his trident again. "You forget, boy, there's one thing you still rely on… a gift from me! One that I think it's time I took back!" The firepits in the corner of the room suddenly flickered, and then died, and the room was pitch-black once more. "HA! Now what? I can see in the dark, but you have no such luxury!" Link smiled.
"You think this will stop me? I have my own light to call on… you're not the only one who can play with fire." The Bombos Medallion burst into life, filling the room with flames, and relighting the firepits. Immediately, Link saw Ganon standing over him, trident descending towards his head. For one moment, the sudden burst of light caught the Forger off guard, and Link was able to knock the trident away and fire a third Silver Arrow into the chest wound. This time, Ganon fell to his knees as the holy light blazed through his veins. "Feeling afraid yet? Even a little? Just a tiny bit? I'm curious."
"Not at… all." Ganon grinned. "You are… doing well, lad. But don't get me wrong… even now, I feel no fear. Fear is for men… and I am a monster now."
"So I see." Link grinned. "Then… does that make me a monster too?"
"Perhaps it does." Ganon stood again. "All three of us… we are beings beyond the comprehension of anything, anybody, else. You two wear human forms still… but perhaps something inside you is just as monstrous as me. How else would you be able to stand against me for so long, to match my power even now?"
"How indeed… well, it doesn't really matter." Link drank his last potion. "This is it. Let's finish it."
"Agreed." Ganon charged, trident held in his remaining hand, and brought it down to stab, and Link brought the Master Sword up to meet it. Ganon grinned. "HA!" The trident's point burst into flame, and a single firebat flew out towards the Hero, smashing into his head. "Perish!"
"NO." Link hooked the Master Sword in between the trident's tines and jerked it away. His head burned, but he did not waver; calmly, emotionlessly, he brought up his bow with a Silver Arrow loaded. "I told you… not now, not ever. In your own words… I NEVER DIE. But here and now… YOU DO." The Silver Arrow speared Ganon's chest, into the twice-shot wound, and the Forger of Power flew back as if impaled on a lance. Silver fire spread out from the wound now, no longer satisfied with that one cut, covering his body like the flames of the firebats had burned Link. As Ganon writhed, the fires on Link's head vanished, dying down into smoke. Zelda flew down and stood next to him, removing the Invisibility Cloak, and together they watched as Ganon's body became a mass of silver energy, a skeleton wreathed in silver blazes. The only thing that did not burn was the mark of the golden Triforce on his right hand. Slowly, shaking, Ganon stood once more, straightening his back and gazing into their eyes.
"So… you win… Juror and Keeper. My brother and sister… well… done." He threw back his head and laughed, long and loud, one last time as the silver fires consumed him, becoming his form, and then dissipating, vanishing into nothingness. All that remained was a charred, blackened skeleton… not the skeleton of a monster, but that of a man. A human skull, not a boar's. And then even the skeleton collapsed into ash, all save the right hand… the hand that still held the Triforce mark.
"We… did it." Zelda whispered. "We won. We finally did it… he's dead."
"Yeah…" Link drew one last Silver Arrow, and shot the skeletal hand. The Triforce mark's glow increased, and it flew into the air, leaving the hand which decayed instantly. "What… now?" The Triforce mark seemed to regard him for a moment, and then it moved back, towards the door through which Ganon had walked. Following it, Link and Zelda came across a smaller room, containing a coffin-like bed, framed in gold like the rest of the pyramid with crimson drapes over it. "So… this is where his body slept for so long. But why are we… whoa." The Triforce marks on the backs of his and Zelda's hand had detached as well, flying into the air. The three glowing, golden triangles came together… and then they expanded, become three-dimensional. Solid. Real.
"The… Triforce." Zelda realized. "It's… come back together."
"For the moment." A voice agreed inside their heads. "The situation has warranted it. I am the essence of the Triforce."
"The Triforce… is alive?" Link wondered.
"No… I am simply a voice without a soul. I have no consciousness… simply directives." The Triforce explained. "I am an artifact… a tool. Left by the Goddesses to grant the wishes of those who would someday discover me. By myself, I am not good or evil… unlike the Master Sword, I draw my rules from a different system. Power… Courage… Wisdom. Three factors. When I was claimed by Ganondorf Dragmire, I judged him compatible with only one of those… and so I sought out two who would maintain a balance. But now… that balance has been disrupted. You have destroyed the Forger of Power."
"Yes…" Zelda nodded slowly. "So… what happens to the Triforce now? Could we… use it?"
"That is what I was created for… to grant wishes." The Triforce confirmed. "The Triforce of Power changed this land… turned the Sacred Realm into the Dark World, at the will and wish of Ganon. You can do similar, and greater things… changing the world."
"Could we… undo everything that's been done to our world?" Link wondered. "All the damage, all the deaths that came from this madness… could we repair them?"
"You could." The Triforce confirmed. "You could have at any time… with the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage. You only need to learn how to use them."
"But…" Zelda paused. "How long did it take Ganon to be able to use his Triforce THAT much? To change worlds?"
"Centuries." The Triforce answered. "Before, you two chose not to take his path, to extend your lives. Will you do so now?" Link glanced at Zelda, and they both shook their heads.
"No. We stand by our choices… we don't seek immortal power like Ganon did. All we needed the Triforces for was countering him… and that's over now. So… we'll have to give the power up and be satisfied with what we've done."
"…There is another way." The Triforce continued after a moment. "If all three aspects are united in a common purpose… the Triforce as a whole can be used, much easier than the individual pieces."
"Well, why didn't you say so?" Zelda smiled. "Me and Link are agreed on this. And the Triforce of Power is without an owner now, unless…" Her eyes widened. "Wait. Are you saying…"
"Yes." The Triforce confirmed. "The soul of Ganondorf Dragmire is still in existence… and it is still tied to the Triforce of Power. After millenia in his role as the Forger of Power, even death cannot separate him from it."
"…Then this was all for nothing?" Link growled. "He's still not gone?"
"Do not be foolish, Juror of Courage." The Triforce admonished him. "Ganon is dead. For now, Hyrule is safe. He cannot conquer it. True, he may return some day… but such a return will not be easily accomplished, and even if he is brought back to life, his knowledge and skill with the Triforce will be reduced by his time dead. You have won the day… be satisfied with that."
"The artifact is right…" A familiar voice echoed from below the Triforce, and a hazy, indistinct figure formed. A tall, proud man in black armor, with olive skin and red hair.
"Ganondorf…" Zelda hissed.
"Yes. Ganondorf, not Ganon… and definitely dead. You saw to that quite thoroughly." The Gerudo King nodded. "Well done, both of you. Now, don't get so angry about the possibility of my return some day. After all…" He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You'll be there to fight me again, won't you?" Slowly, Link smiled as well.
"Yeah… you punk. We'll be there. Come back as many times as it takes for you to get the message… we'll pound you into the ground each and every time."
"That's the spirit!" Ganondorf laughed. "Now then… it seems we have a deal to conclude. You want to return Hyrule to the way it was before I did my little stint as Agahnim?"
"Yeah." Zelda nodded. "And to bring everybody back… everybody whose death came about as a result of your actions. My father… Link's uncle. Quincy, and Agahnim. Father Brian, and all the Knights of Hyrule. We want to fix it all."
"And that's not all…" Link continued. "This place… it's been the Dark World for too long. I want to restore it… turn it back to the way it was. The Sacred Realm."
"…Fair enough." Ganondorf nodded after a moment. "Well then… let's see here. I think I can live with those… but I want a couple things done too."
"Let's hear them." Zelda growled. "We still don't trust you, so don't get any ideas."
"Heh… of course not. Well, they're simple enough." Ganondorf shrugged. "First. Let me get something confirmed… Triforce, what is the current integrity of the barrier between the Sacred Realm and Hyrule?"
"10." The Triforce answered.
"As I thought… so damaged that it would finish its own collapse within a few years anyways." Ganondorf nodded. "So. My first condition… you wish to restore the Sacred Realm? Fair enough. Then let's do it all the way. The barrier's gone anyways… so let's do away with all this nonsense about portals before everything starts dumping through randomly, and solidify the connection at the original point. Behind the Temple of Time."
"…Okay, that seems reasonable." Link nodded. "We don't exactly want every joe schmoe in the world going in there to muck around anyways."
"Exactly." Ganondorf nodded. "If you want to restore it, then let's keep it that way… we'll have enough to keep the three of us busy in Hyrule from now on anyways. This Realm has seen enough… it's time we left it alone. I won't be locked in here anyways when I come back, so there's no real reason to keep it like this… it's not like I have any attachment to the damn place. Hyrule is the domain I've always wanted."
"Stick to the point. You said you wanted things. Plural." Zelda remembered. "What else do we have to do to get you to go along?"
"One more… you wish to bring back the dead." Ganondorf remembered. "Something that is well within the Triforce's capabilities as a whole… one part alone could not, but all three together… we can do it. So… in addition to all the people you'll be restoring, I want to tack a rider on that." He held up his hands. "No, not myself… I know you'd never agree to that. Just a few… friends of mine. Five of them." Link blinked.
"…The Eyes? Why? Weren't they just thugs to you? Servants?"
"When I was a monster… yes." Ganondorf admitted. "But now… I am a man once more, albeit a dead one. Things have changed… my thoughts and emotions have. And not just now… when I was Agahnim, I was a man then as well. It took some time… I had been a monster for millenia before then. I had forgotten what it was like, being a man instead… but now I remember. I… had friends. Friends who I treated badly… who I sacrificed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not having a change of heart; I still think you're both do-gooder, sappy idiots who I'll get one of these days. But I owe the Eyes more than that… so if we're bringing back the dead from this conflict, let them be restored as well. To human forms, with human sanity… to the real world. Call it a retirement plan… they only worked for me because they were trapped here anyways, so without me they'll be no threat."
"…All right." Link slowly nodded. "I can agree with that. Zelda?" For a moment it looked like the Princess was going to resist, but then she sighed.
"Very well." She gave in. "One last question before we do this. When you died. You called us your brother and sister. Why?"
"Heh…" Ganondorf closed his eyes, still smirking. "Because we are… in a strange way. The three of us are attached to the Triforce… the Forger of Power, the Juror of Courage, and the Keeper of Wisdom. And… maybe it even goes deeper than that. It's a question I've wondered about. The artifact will claim that any connection we have is because it chose us… but maybe it's not being entirely truthful. Maybe we were destined to come together in these roles and claim it long before any of us were born. Look at it this way… hypothetically, if at some time in the future, I succeeded in taking the entire Triforce from you two. Would you stop coming back to fight me then?"
"Hell no." Link answered.
"So maybe the Triforce isn't everything." Ganondorf chuckled. "Maybe we are connected. I know, it's a disgusting thought… but if it's one thing I've learned over the millenia, it's that there are some things you can't change."
"…You might have a point." Zelda conceded. "But don't think that means we'll hesitate to kick your butt next time you try something."
"Heh… I'd be disappointed if it did." Ganondorf grinned. "Well, then… shall we get to work?"
"Yeah." Link nodded. Together, the three of them placed their palms upon the Triforce. "Let's do it." The three triangles began glowing brighter and brighter, emitting a golden aura that blinded them, and filled the room… and then out over the Pyramid, spreading across the Sacred Realm.