The battle had been raging for several hours now. Arcanite casualties were well over 4,000, but the Hylians weren't faring any better. The Hylian Army had been reduced to almost half strength. It was getting so bad on top of the wall that King Hyrule had to reinforce the troops up on the wall with half of the Royal Guards.

The wall itself had taken an extreme pounding from the catapults, and the western portion of the wall was on the verge of collapse. As a result Zelda told all the soldiers to move away from that part of the wall. She stayed though because she didn't want their right flank to be totally defenseless. She knew that she would be able to escape harm by using her magic if the wall did collapse, so she wasn't worried about staying there.

Not only were troops running low for the Hylians, but so were supplies. They had already used up all their bombs and spears. They still had half their supply of arrows left luckily, but with Hylian numbers decreasing it didn't really matter how many arrows they still had left. The one advantage to having less soldiers though was that empty quivers of arrows could be replaced with full quivers more quickly.

Much to the dismay of the Hylian defenders, all ten catapults were still in perfect working order, and their barrage had not ceased since the battle began. Nearly all of Hyrule Market was now lying in ruin, and fires were raging all over the city. The fires were too much for the Royal Guards to put out, so they just decided to keep the escape route to Hyrule Castle open and just let the rest of the city burn. It was heartbreaking for them to do this since most of them had homes in the city, but they knew they had no other choice.

Sweat was now dripping off of Navi's face. She had not let up her attack on the enemy forces since the battle began, but because of it she was beginning to run low on magic. Her breathing was becoming heavier, but she knew that she had to pour every last ounce of magic in her into her attacks. As a Guardian of the Triforce, she knew that she could do no less. She had to do everything in her power to save Hyrule, even if that meant her own death. Even if she did run out of magic she knew that she would still have strength enough to fight hand-to-hand, but that would only happen if the enemy broke through, and she was determined not to let that happen.

Zelda was the complete opposite. Since she had a nearly limitless reservoir of magic at her disposal, she was just shooting out spells like they were nothing. She was still full of energy, and if not for the fact that the wall underneath her feet could collapse at any moment she would've been jumping around as she fired her spells. Seeing how many of her fellow soldiers had already died, Zelda was now making her spells bigger and bigger so that they took out more enemy troops. The only problem with doing this was that it took longer to create the spells and it also left Zelda vulnerable, which is why she hadn't been doing it in the beginning.

Link, meanwhile, was busy trying to coordinate what was left of his army. Not only did he have to position them so that they could do the most damage, but since they were down to half strength he had to make sure that they were well protected. He had to do all this while firing his arrows at the enemy as well. Link had long given up on trying to figure out a way to destroy the catapults. He knew that the only way was if reinforcements came and they did it themselves.

Malon's strength was beginning to waver. So far she had fired more arrows than anyone else, and with the possible exceptions of Navi and Zelda, she also had the most kills. Though her face was soaked with sweat and her arms shook every time she drew her bow, Malon continued the fight. She felt for all of her fellow soldiers who had fallen, and was determined not to let any of their deaths be in vain. Not only that, but she was determined to get revenge for the destruction of Lon Lon Ranch.

Link fired two arrows into the enemy and quickly turned around to yell some orders to a group of soldiers. As he turned around, he saw five flaming boulders headed straight for the wall. One of them collided on top of the wall killing the group of soldiers Link had just given orders, three others collided into the already weakened wall, and the last was headed for Link himself. Link quickly jumped out of the way as the boulder hit the spot he had been just moments ago.

Zelda saw what happened and quickly ran over to help. As she did so she saw out of the corner of her eye two boulders headed her way. She quickly summoned a wind attack like she did last time and blew one of them back toward the enemy, but she wasn't quick enough to stop the second. It collided into the wall. The stone underneath Zelda's feet began to shake as the entire western portion of the wall began to collapse. The stone soon gave way and Zelda began to fall with the wall. It happened so suddenly that she couldn't avoid it.

Link saw this as he was getting up off the ground and quickly ran toward the collapsing wall, unhooking his Longshot from his belt as he did so. Holding the Longshot in his right hand Link dove off the wall after Zelda. Link outstretched his left hand toward Zelda as he fell after her. Zelda, seeing Link's outstretched hand, extended her hand toward him. Link managed to grab Zelda's hand right before she slammed into the rocky debris below and immediately fired his Longshot into the ruins of a nearby house pulling the two of them to safety. Link held Zelda tightly in his arms after the Longshot pulled them to safety and they dropped the small distance to the ground.

"Thank you," Zelda said when they had landed on the ground.

"Hey, no problem," Link replied with a grin. "I'm not about to let something happen to you. Besides, you would've done the same thing for me."

"In a heartbeat."

Link and Zelda were still locked in an embrace, but neither of them noticed. They were currently staring into each other's eyes. Neither of them was saying a word, and the battle around them seemed to disappear. They were finally broken out of their reverie by the sounds of over a dozen explosions and subsequent cheers coming from the top of the wall. Link and Zelda quickly broke their embrace and ran up to the top of the wall to see what all the commotion was, but they already knew the answer.

Lord Arcana had been watching the battle intently since it began. His face was contorted into a half smile half scowl. The Hylian's defenses were crumbling and their soldiers were decreasing, but Lord Arcana had already lost more men than he had thought he would. He had to admit that the Hylians were putting up a much stronger resistance than he had thought they would. Despite his own setbacks, he was extremely glad to see the Hylians fighting so hard. It would only make his own victory that much sweeter, and he was still confident that his army would emerge victorious.

The sound of a huge crash and of falling rocks caught his attention and he turned to see the western portion of the wall collapse and a lone figure falling among the debris. The smile that had been on his face after seeing this was quickly replaced with a scowl though at seeing the Arcanite Captain running toward him.

"Lord Arcana sir," the Arcanite said, "we've breached the wall! Not only that, but we've killed one of the magic wielders."

"Look again Captain," replied Lord Arcana in a harsh tone. "The Hylian wielding the Light Arrows has just jumped off the wall to save her."

"Still, we've broken through their defenses and their right flank is completely exposed. Shall I move our army through the breach and invade the city?"

"And how exactly do you expect to get our army across the river and then over the debris to invade the city? Their numbers may be smaller, but you'd still be slaughtered if you tried to do that. You are right about one thing though, for a change. The time has come to invade the city and wipe out what's left of them. Begin aiming the catapults at the drawbridge. Once the way is clear, begin the final assault."

Before the Arcanite could reply, several explosions erupted among the main Arcanite army. Bodies flew all over the place, and two catapults were destroyed as a result of the explosions. As everyone tried to figure out what had just happened, these silvery, blue objects shot through the smoke of the explosions and cut down all who got in the way. All along the top of the wall cheers and screams of joy could be heard, and when the smoke had cleared Lord Arcana's army could see why. The Gorons and Zoras had finally arrived.

The Gorons tossed the last of the bombs they had brought and then charged head first into the Arcanites. The Zoras, meanwhile, were split into two groups. Half the Zora army was in the river, and the other half was on land. The Zoras in the river would jump out and fire their fins at the Arcanites like razor sharp boomerangs. The rest of the Zoras just charged into the Arcanites right after the Gorons and they used their fins as swords.

"They've finally arrived," Lord Arcana declared. "I had hoped to finish this before they got involved, but whatever. They still have no chance of victory."

"What are your orders sir?" asked the Arcanite Captain.

"Same as before. Take down the drawbridge and begin the final assault. As for the Gorons and Zoras though, only have your men engage the Zoras. Your swords aren't strong enough to pierce their the Gorons skin. I've prepared for just such an occasion. The Wizzrobes will take care of the Gorons. Now get going!"

The Arcanite Captain quickly bowed to Lord Arcana and ran off to give the orders. As he was running Lord Arcana turned to the nearby Wizzrobes and nodded. The Wizzrobes nodded back and in the blink of an eye they waved their wands in the air and disappeared. Lord Arcana then began laughing hysterically. His plan was turning out better than he could have ever hoped for.

When Link and Zelda finally made it on top of the wall they peered over the top and saw hundreds of Gorons and Zoras charging into the Arcanite ranks. A big smile crept across both their faces. The cheers of the Hylian soldiers were still ringing out across the battlefield, and it didn't die down until the Arcanites continued their assault upon the wall. Now with a renewed spirit and hope in all their hearts, the Hylians drew their bows and continued the fight.

As the barrage of arrows and magic attacks from Navi and Zelda flew off the wall into the charging Arcanites, the Gorons and Zoras continued their charge. The Goron's immense strength was more than enough to punch right through the Arcanites chain mail, and they could easily break the Arcanites in half. The Arcanites tried to defend themselves, but every attempt to kill the Gorons resulted in a broken sword.

Against the Zoras they were having better luck, but due to the Zora's swiftness and nimbleness, it was still hard to land a blow. Fighting the Zoras was just like fighting the Hylians; all they had to do was get by the Zoras defense and then cut them down. The Zoras had no armor on, but their fins were strong enough to block the Arcanite's swords. It was like a sword fight between the Arcanites and Zoras, and whomever was the better fighter lived while the other was cut down.

The Arcanites attempts to defend against the Zora and Goron reinforcements were also being hampered by the Zoras jumping out of the river. The Arcanites couldn't kill them because of the speed in which they jumped out of the water and went back down under it, but the Zoras were sure making an impression by cutting down dozens of Arcanites at a time by firing their fins at them.

All this time the eight remaining catapults had been silent for the first time since the battle began. The Gorons and Zoras didn't notice because they were busy fighting hand to hand, but all those on top of the wall could see the catapults being turned. Link noticed that they were all being turned to face one point, but he couldn't figure out what that was. Then it occurred to him. He took a look over toward the drawbridge and then back toward the catapults. Link's eyes grew wide when he saw eight flames lite up, and then fired into the air.

"Get away from the drawbridge!" yelled Link as the flaming boulders flew toward them. "Get away from there now!"

The soldiers barely had any time to react before the boulders hit. Two of the boulders crashed directly on top of the wall, taking out at least a dozen soldiers. One hit the area right above the drawbridge, and the remaining five hit the drawbridge head on. The first of the five to hit slammed into the middle of the drawbridge snapping it in half. Another one hit the area connected to one of the chains that held the drawbridge, causing it to fall slightly. The other three completely demolished the rest of it, sending the broken timbers down upon several Zora warriors that were in the river killing them.

The Arcanites let out a cheer at seeing the destruction of the drawbridge, but despaired at seeing the portcullis. The portcullis was something that they had never thought of, and as a result they didn't know what to do. The operators of the catapults had an idea though. They decided to hit it with boulder after boulder until it was destroyed, or the wall surrounding it collapse; whichever came first.

As the catapults readied another barrage, the sky above finally opened up. Lightning streaked across the night sky and the following thunder shook the very earth. Big, heavy droplets of rain began to fall nonstop. It was a torrential downpour unlike any the inhabitants of Hyrule had ever seen. To the warriors fighting out in the battlefield it was like fighting at the bottom of a waterfall.

Link reorganized the remaining soldiers on the wall once again, this time making sure that they were nowhere near where the drawbridge had been. He knew that they were going to try and break through the portcullis with their remaining catapults, and he wasn't about to let what happened before occur again. After reorganizing the soldiers he peered out over the wall again. The heavy rain was making it hard to see the battle below, but with the constant flashes of lightning Link and the other soldiers could see who was the enemy and who were their allies.

So far the reinforcements were making much headway. Only about a dozen or so Zoras had been killed, and the Gorons had yet to lose one warrior. Because of this the Arcanites were slowly giving up ground to them. They hoped to draw the Gorons and Zoras in and then surround and slaughter them, but with the constant barrage of arrows flying off the wall it was making it difficult for the Arcanites.

The catapults released their flaming boulders once again. The flames on the boulders was able to cut through the rain, and as a result the Hylians were prepared for the impact. Only one of the boulders actually hit the portcullis, denting it slightly. Three flew over the wall into the ruins of Hyrule Market, and the other four collided into the rapidly crumbling wall.

While the other soldiers were having some difficulty finding the enemy, Navi and Zelda were unaffected by the rain. The two of them were able to use their magic to see clearly through the downpour. While Zelda was still firing spell after spell into the enemy ranks, Navi was getting closer and closer to running out of magic. Her body needed rest, but she wasn't giving it any. She wasn't showing any signs of fatigue despite her heavy breathing. She knew she couldn't keep it up much longer, but she was going to fight to the bitter end even if it meant tapping into her own life energy to fuel her magical spells. Despite her love for Gerik, her first duty was to Hyrule and if that meant sacrificing her life she would do it bravely.

The Gorons continued their rampage through the Arcanites. They were taking the Arcanites down dozens at a time, and no matter what the Arcanites did the Gorons remained unaffected. A very low whistle could be heard through the thunder and all the Arcanites backed off from the Gorons. The Gorons, confused by this, just looked around in puzzlement. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary though, they once again continued their attack.

As the Gorons marched forward, hundreds of Wizzrobes appeared out of thin air. As soon as they materialized they raised their wands and fired various magical spells towards not only the Gorons, but the Zoras as well. Most of the spells just bounced harmlessly off the Gorons, so the Gorons just charged forward and managed to kill several Wizzrobes before they could disappear again. The other Wizzrobes knew exactly what to do with the Gorons and disappeared just as suddenly as they had appeared.

When the Wizzrobes reappeared again, this time in different locations, they all fired the same spell at the Gorons. The spell was blueish in color, and upon hitting the Gorons it immediately froze them solid in a huge piece of ice. The Goron advance was stopped dead in its tracks as a little more than three-fourths of them were now nothing more than giant popsicles out in the battlefield. The remaining Gorons now realized the danger that the Wizzrobes posed and made sure to avoid their attacks as best they could.

The Hylian soldiers witnessed with horror what the Wizzrobes were capable of and decided to focus all their attacks on them. Since the Arcanites were too busy fending off the Gorons and Zoras, they hadn't had an opportunity to fire arrows back at the soldiers on the wall, so the soldiers didn't have to worry about changing targets. The Wizzrobes were also easier targets than the Arcanites since they were wearing either red or blue robes compared to the black outfits of the Arcanites.

The Wizzrobes now resorted to hit-and-run tactics, disappearing and then reappearing someplace else to attack, since the Hylians were now slaughtering them. This tactic, coupled with the heavy rain, made it nearly impossible for the Hylians, and even Link and Malon, to get a clear shot at the Wizzrobes anymore. Most of their shots hit nothing but air, so unless they had a clear shot they resorted back to picking off the Arcanites.

With the Hylians no longer able to kill the Wizzrobes, the task now fell upon the Zoras in the river. They were able to see clearly through the rain, and with the speed their fins traveled through the air it rendered the Wizzrobes hit-and-run tactic useless. The Wizzrobes were once again being slaughtered. What made it worse was the fact that the Wizzrobes couldn't retaliate against the Zoras in the river. The Zoras were in and out of the water before any spell could reach them. All the Wizzrobes could do was avoid their attacks as best they could while freezing the Goron warriors and burning the Zora warriors on land.

Malon was glad to see that the tide had finally turned in their favor. She had been worried that the Gorons and Zoras would become slaughtered when the Wizzrobes began their attack, but now that the Wizzrobes were in turn being slaughtered all worry left her. The Arcanites were being torn apart by the Gorons, and except for the boulders the remaining soldiers on the wall didn't have anything to worry about; they could just concentrate on shooting the enemy. While the rain was hampering their own progress, it was also helping. It cooled things down a bit for Malon and the others, and it also reduced visibility for the enemy as well.

Malon emptied another quiver and then bent down to pick up another one. As she stood back up she readied an arrow, but the arrow went limp when she looked out over the wall. Off in the distance, past all the soldiers and catapults near the entrance to the Kokiri Forest, a large glowing ball was being formed. It was growing larger by the second, and it's deep blue color cut through the darkness and rain like a knife.

"Link!" she yelled. "Over there, look!"

"What the hell?" Link replied when he saw the glowing ball. "Oh crap!"

Before Link could get out another word Lord Arcana tossed with all his might the magical ball that he had created. It was headed straight toward the wall, and it flew high enough off the ground so that nothing could get in its way. Its speed was incredible for something of that size, and for all who saw it, including the enemy, they just stopped and stared. The soldiers on the wall quickly dove for cover as the glowing ball neared the wall, but it never hit. Instead, the ball flew straight into the river freezing the entire thing solid, with the Zoras that were in the river trapped within.

The Hylians, remaining Zoras, and Gorons were all shocked by these turn of events. All the Zoras in the river were trapped, unable to help out anymore, and as a result the Wizzrobes were free to continue their slaughter without worry, just as Lord Arcana had intended. For the Zoras trapped in the river, those completely frozen underwater were better off than those who were only half frozen. For the Zoras that had half their bodies, or even a part of their bodies, sticking out of the ice the Arcanites just charged forward and killed them without mercy.

The Gorons were on their own once again. Without the river Zoras to provide protection, the Gorons now had to watch their backs again for the Wizzrobes. Just like the enemy kept changing strategies though, so did the Gorons. Many of the Gorons were now rolling up into balls and rolling around the battlefield. This not only made it easier to dodge the Wizzrobes attacks, but the Gorons were now taking out enemies groups at a time by just running them down with their massive bodies.

Unfortunately for the Gorons though, this tactic was short-lived. The Wizzrobes easily found a way to counter this by stealing the idea from Zelda. Whenever a Goron was rolling toward them, the Wizzrobes used their wands to create a massive wind attack that sent the Gorons flying into the air, the same tactic Zelda used to fling the boulders back at the enemy. Not only were the Gorons being flung back preventing them from attacking, but the Wizzrobes were flinging them at the wall, turning them into makeshift boulders.

One of the Gorons was actually flung into the portcullis by this, denting it even more than it already was. While the Goron tried to recover, a real boulder slammed into him, pinning him between the boulder and portcullis. This not only weakened the portcullis more, but killed the Goron as well. The tide of the battle had once again changed, and this time it was against Hyrule.

The Gorons abandoned their rolling attacks since it was doing more harm than good, and decided to try and fight their way toward the catapults. If they could destroy the catapults, then the enemy wouldn't be able to invade the city. By now they had already given up all hope of coming out of this battle alive. If all they could do now was give Hyrule the chance to survive, then they would be happy. The Wizzrobes made their progress slow, but they were making their way to the catapults.

The operators of the catapults grew worried by this fact. If they didn't hurry, then the Gorons might actually reach them and destroy the catapults. As a result the catapults were now being fired twice as fast, and that was bad for the soldiers on the wall. Because the catapults were being fired faster, most of them weren't being aimed properly and were slamming into the wall all over the place as well as the ruins of Hyrule Market. Even though most weren't being aimed properly, a lot more boulders were slamming into the portcullis.

The portcullis was now dented beyond repair. Some of its metal rungs had even broken and were now sticking out. The stone encasing the top of the portcullis was cracking and breaking under the stress of the repeated boulder hits. It only took several more boulder hits to smash the portcullis out of its stone encasement. For the Hylian soldiers, the sound of the stone breaking and the metal portcullis bouncing off the ground seemed to resonate forever. The way was now clear for the final assault.

The destruction of the portcullis was a godsend to the Arcanites. Without hesitating for a second, hundreds of Arcanites charged forward toward the wall. With a smile on their faces and their swords held at the ready, they crossed over the frozen river and headed through the entrance. While they were doing this dozens of Arcanites drew their bows and started firing arrows at the soldiers on the wall to prevent them from attacking the Arcanites crossing the river.

The first thing the Arcanites saw upon entering Hyrule Market were several small objects racing toward them along the ground. As the objects approached they began to glow, and the Arcanites realized that they had walked into a trap. King Hyrule and the Royal Guards stationed at the barricade had been ready ever since the portcullis had been destroyed, and upon seeing the first group of Arcanites unleashed several dozen bombchus. The bombchus exploded filling the entranceway with smoke, debris, and screams of pain.

With their supply of bombchus used up, the Royal Guards drew their bows and fired arrow after arrow into the smoke filled entranceway. They couldn't see through the thick smoke, so they had no idea if they were scoring any hits or not, but the enemy couldn't see through the smoke to dodge the arrows either. Screams escaping the smoke filled entranceway told the Royal Guards that at least some of their arrows were connecting.

The smoke began dissipating as the Royal Guards began to run out of arrows. When they were finally out of arrows, King Hyrule drew his sword from its sheath. The Royal Guards followed suit and raised both sword and shield as hundreds of Arcanites now ran over the dead bodies of their comrades and charged the barricade. Sword clashed against sword as the hand-to-hand combat between the Hylians and Arcanites finally began.

Malon, vowing to keep her promise to Link and her father, decided to stay on the wall as long she had a supply of arrows. The minute she ran out she was going to head to the castle just as she promised. As Malon fired another arrow killing a Wizzrobe that wasn't paying attention, she herself was shot with an arrow. It hit her directly in the chest, but luckily it didn't have enough force to pierce her chain mail. It did, however, have enough force to push her backward and over the wall.

She fell inside the wall, but also within the entranceway where hundreds of Arcanites were now pouring through. She landed hard on her back, and the wind was knocked out of her. At first the Arcanites thought her to be dead, but when they saw her open her eyes and scream out in pain they knew otherwise and decided to finish the job. One of the Arcanites stopped in front of her and then brought his sword up ready to strike her down.

Ingo, meanwhile, had witnessed Malon's fall off the wall and also saw how the Arcanites were about to kill her. He quickly dropped his bow and drew his sword. Then he jumped off the wall directly into the Arcanites. He knocked several of them to the ground and killed one of them because of his fall. He managed to stay on his feet and then quickly blocked the strike meant to kill Malon. The Arcanite, caught off guard by this move, was stunned and Ingo quickly slew him. Ingo then helped Malon off the ground as fast as he could considering more Arcanites were charging straight at them.

Ingo yelled for Malon to get away while he stood there enticing the Arcanites to attack him. They came at him groups at a time. Ingo was mostly fighting defensively, parrying every sword that was thrust at him. He killed only when he had an opening, for he knew that if he tried to kill all of them he would be too easily killed himself. Slowly he was making his way back toward the barricade, where all fighting had so far ceased. Ingo was right now stopping all the Arcanites from advancing.

The Arcanites couldn't get past, so one of them came up with an idea. He deliberately allowed himself to get attacked by Ingo, but made sure that it wasn't a killing blow. The Arcanite than played possum, making Ingo think he was dead. As soon as Ingo's attention was distracted, the Arcanite sprung up from the ground and stabbed Ingo before he could react. Ingo's body went limp, and Malon watched as her savior fell to the ground dead, his blood on the sword of his killer.

Rage filled Malon and she quickly rushed forward and grabbed Ingo's sword from the ground. She then chopped off the head of the Arcanite who had killed Ingo. She then stood there, frozen. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She dropped the sword, and then stared at the now charging Arcanites. Yells from King Hyrule and the Royal Guards behind her brought her back to her senses and she quickly turned tail and ran to the safety of the barricade. After jumping over the barricade to safety, she silently thanked Ingo for saving her life and then headed for Hyrule Castle.

With Ingo dead the Arcanites once again charged the barricade. Though the barricade helped prevent the king and Royal Guards from being overwhelmed and allowing them to score kill after kill, there were just too many of them. The barricade was soon overrun and the fighting spilled out into the fire engulfed city behind.

Now that the wall had been breached, there was no longer any reason for the soldiers to stay on the wall. They all drew their swords, Link and Navi included, and ran down to fight alongside their king. Zelda alone remained on the wall. She couldn't fight hand-to-hand, so firing magical attacks off the wall was all she could do. If she could lessen the amount of enemy soldiers pouring through the entrance, the better off everyone else would be.

With half their forces trapped or dead within the frozen river, and another 1/4 lying dead upon Hyrule Field, the Zoras headed into the ruins of Hyrule Market to fight alongside the Hylians. They knew that they had a better chance of survival fighting within the city then out on the open battlefield with their reduced numbers. It also helped bolster the defense of the city since so many Hylians were already dead as well.

The Gorons went half and half. Though the Wizzrobes had capitalized on an extreme weakness of the Gorons, they were still at a little more than half strength. Those that wished to go and fight within the city helped escort the Zoras inside with minimal casualties while the rest stayed upon Hyrule Field taking out as many enemies as they could. The catapults had finally stopped firing for good since they didn't want to run the risk of killing their own troops within the city, so the Gorons didn't have to worry about destroying them anymore.

As Link laid out another Arcanite upon the already bloody streets of Hyrule Market, he realized that this was it. No matter how many he, or anyone else, killed, hundreds more kept coming to take their place. Within the city they were already outnumbered a hundred to one, and for the Gorons still out in the field the odds were worse. The rain by now had lessened to a little more than a drizzle, making visibility better for everyone, but that was the only good news that Link could report at the moment. Link was about to signal the retreat knowing that they had already lost this battle, but several high pitched horns sounded from somewhere out in Hyrule Field.

"Link, get up here now!" Zelda yelled with what sounded like joy in her voice. "You're never going to believe it!"