Chapter 43: The Wish
Link could not stop looking at the monsters as they encircled them, fervently waiting for Ganon to give the order to attack. He tried to look away from Ganon, the pig's grin like the smile of death. He could not conceive what was happening. The shattering of the Phantom Hourglass was supposed to stop the Dark World, not bring them to it. What did this mean?
"Hero of Winds," Ganon's voice cracked, "let us test the true extent of your power." He snapped his fingers, and all of the ferocious beasts leapt through the air, enclosing the circle.
Tetra stayed by Link's side as the Hero's Sword flashed through the air, cracking bone and opening flesh. He fought with a thirst he had not known before, remembering all of the time that had lapsed where Tetra could not open her eyes.
Maple and Wade fought farther off in the hoard. The archer set loose scores of arrows at once, and lines of monsters dropped each time the bowstring twanged. Maple was less precise in her attacks, seemingly exhaling her magic in the air as she flew across the mountain on her broom. She was so quick with her strikes, spraying fire with her wand that slowly deteriorated her enemies into hollow corpses.
But as long as they fought, and as deadly as their attacks were, their progress was for naught. For as many monsters as they sent crashing to the ground, countless others were there to take their places. Ganon stood and watched the show, waiting for the four heroes to realize the hopelessness of their endeavor.
And when they did, it was not because they had given in. They had fought for as long as they could, and now they could barely stand, exhaustion usurping them.
The circle opened up again, and the four humans breathed heavily, watching as Ganon's figure stepped inside.
"It is over," he said, and raised the trident. Link tried to open his mouth and usher a warning, but his throat was dry and parched, and by the time he did, it was too late. Wade went down in a cloud of smoke.
"You monster!" Maple yelped, and kicked off the ground with her broom. When she reached Ganon, the pig knocked her off of her broom, and she went tumbling down to the ground. Quickly she withdrew her wand and let loose a beam of magic, but Ganon returned fire with the raise of his trident. His red magic quickly swallowed Maple's white, and soon her body discharged across the mountain, landing just beside Wade's in a motionless heap.
Tears ran down Link's face as he guarded Tetra. He wanted to check Maple and Wade's bodies to see if they were still alive, but feared what Ganon would do if he tried.
"Your efforts were futile," Ganon said. "You should have realized earlier that I am unlike anyone you will ever meet. If you thought the Phantom was strong, then you were sorely mistaken. He was but my pawn, a means to an end. You just don't understand the depth of my might. Even your rival, the Gerudo Thief, was nothing to me." Ganon snapped his fingers once more, and the monsters began to draw near, closing in on Link and Tetra.
"What's the matter?" Link said, drawing up courage. "Are you too afraid to fight me yourself?"
Ganon laughed, a crooked smile upon his face, and pounded his trident into the ground, ordering the monsters to stop in place. "As you wish, boy." They complied, and the pig stepped forward, his eyes blazing.
Ganon thrust his trident into the air; the three prongs lit in flame, and finally unleashed a blast of fire forward. Link mirrored Ganon's move with the Hero's Sword, and a beam of white energy spiraled forth as well. Both masses met in the center of the circle, and both foes held their stances, pushing against one another.
Link waited for Ganon to give in, but felt his grip upon the Hero's Sword slipping. He could not hold his place. He broke loose from the magic, and deftly rolled out of the way. The swarm of red and white rushed past him, arose into the sky, and disappeared in the horizon.
With a flick of his trident, Ganon set a blaze of fire ripping across the ground. Link jumped before the line of fire touched him, and in the air he withdrew the Wind Waker and swished it forward.
Gales of wind awakened and brushed away the monsters, attempting to push Ganon to the side. The winds began to circle, and soon a spiraling tornado threatened Ganon. For a moment he was captured by the raging winds, but then the pig cracked the ground with his trident and disappeared underneath.
There was silence for a moment as the tornado faded away, and Link wondered where Ganon had gone. He paced the mountain, turning often to see nothing.
He listened for a moment, and heard something quaking. The ground beneath him collapsed, and Link felt two hands pulling him down. He gripped the edge of the ground with all his might, but soon his hands slipped, and the ground closed above him.
Tetra cried, disbelieving what she had seen. They all crowded around where the hole had once been, hearing nothing. One of the monsters came close to her, but she kicked it away and withdrew a knife in a pugnacious warning. Alone, she stepped closer to the place where Link had disappeared. "Link," Tetra said. "Link, where are you?"
The ground opened up once more, and a body with a trail of hot smoke rocketed into the air and landed painfully beside the cracked earth. A second one came more slowly, pulling himself up and out of the ground.
It was Link!
Angered, Ganon quickly arose and slashed his trident forward. Link blocked the attack with his sword, and the battle resumed once more. As they fought, Link noticed that the blows were exchanged evenly –Link's nimble movements matching Ganon's slow but powerful ones.
Eventually, however, fatigue caught up with the Hero. He had fought the Phantom only just before, and he struggled to keep up with Ganon's raw power.
Ganon blocked a stroke from Link's sword and kicked the Hero, sending him sliding across the dusty earth. He raised his trident, and it began to glow crimson again, but then the pig felt the grip of someone upon his back, and clutched the body of the girl. "What a nuisance you are," Ganon said, and pounded Tetra into the ground. There she lay.
Link barely rose to his feet by the time he saw the great fire erupt into the sky. He held the Hero's Sword forward, but there was not enough time. The flames washed over him, and the explosion shook the ground.
"Finally," Ganon said, taking a step forward. But then he looked down to see Tetra's body. "Could it be?" He picked her up, and saw that a triangle was glowing upon her hand. "The Triforce of Wisdom. It lives in you, girl. You must be Princess Zelda. What a monumental day this is, then." The triangle disappeared from her lifeless hand, and reappeared on Ganon's, beside another. "And now to finish this." The pig stepped forward into the smoke, and found Link's limp body in the center of the explosion. He bent low and touched the boy, allowing the Courage to flow into his body. For a moment three golden triangles flashed on his hand, but then they disappeared.
In the sky, the Triforce descended down to the earth, the heavenly glow overcastting the crimson sky. Ganon walked away from Link and met the Triforce on the ground, mesmerized. His minions surrounded him, quiet in respect and disbelief. Slowly, Ganon put out his hand and touched the golden Triforce, its glow washing over his hand and blinding his eyes.
"Yes," he said slowly. "Yes! I can feel it. Feel the power. The power of the three Goddesses –it is mine at last! And I thought I was strong before. No, this is the true power –the ultimate power. I feel as if I can destroy anything I wish –overcome all." He looked around and surveyed his puppets, their eyes glowing at the sight of Ganon and the Triforce. "This is what it must feel like to be a God."
A warm, nurturing hand touched his forehead, and Link's eyes opened. No, it can't be, Link thought. Two women stood before him, so pure and perfect: Din and Nayru.
"Am I dead?" Link asked.
"No," Nayru said. "You are needed, Hero. This will be your last mission."
Din put out her hands, and a small mirror, framed in gold, appeared from nowhere. She proffered it to Link, and he took it, standing up.
"In this world," Din began, "we hold little power. But we have power enough to give you this: the Magic Mirror. Look within it, Hero. Look deep within it." He did, and impossible images came alive. He saw Death Mountain, the Phantom Hourglass on the ground once more in pieces, and the Phantom's bloody corpse over the pit. There were people walking across the mountain, all clothed in blue. Some inspected the broken pieces of glass in the pit, and others examined the Phantom's corpse. He felt drawn to the mirror, almost falling within it. "Stop!" Din shouted. "The Magic Mirror allows the beholder to travel between both worlds at will; but you must not leave without your friends. All you have to do is touch them, and they will make the transition with you."
Link nodded. "But what about Ganon?"
"Do not worry about him," Nayru assured. "Everything will turn out as planned." And within an instant, the Goddesses disappeared in a puff of smoke, gone from the Dark World.
"Goddesses of Courage, Wisdom, and Power!" Ganon screamed into the sky, "I wish for it all! I wish for what I was destined to receive –what is rightfully mine, and what I was promised since the dawn of time! I wish to conquer the world!"
He closed his eyes, waiting for the wish to come into effect. The three golden triangles separated from one another; one entered Ganon's body and became part of him once more; another collided with Tetra. The last…strangely…took off and flew beside Tetra.
Ganon looked down to see Link carrying Tetra's body. "Still alive?" Ganon said incredulously. "No matter." He lazily lifted his trident, wondering what the boy was hoping to accomplish. Link struggled as he carried Tetra off, close to the bodies of Maple and Wade. Ganon took his time charging up his energy. He wanted to make sure that when he was done with the Hero, there would not be one shred of evidence left. Ganon wanted to make sure that not even the boy's dust would survive the blast.
The three prongs began to glow, and Ganon's eyes narrowed and looked forward. He aimed the attack, and glanced towards Link one last time before…wait…no…no…it couldn't be.
Ganon turned his head around, searching for him and the others. It was a trick. They were merely hiding. "NO!" Ganon screamed, realizing the truth. "RETURN, HERO!" He tried to use his magic to traverse to the other world, the real world, but found that he did not have this power. But that couldn't be; the Triforce was supposed to bestow it to him. Ganon had made the wish himself. "I'VE BEEN TRICKED!" the pig screamed, and his pawns began to back away. The ground rumbled in Ganon's fury, and spews of fire erupted from the ground and soared into the sky in shafts of red. "THEY WILL PAY ONE DAY! THEY WILL ALL PAY!" The mountain was crumbing apart, the fire melting everything around him in an apocalyptic havoc –a maelstrom of ensanguined clouds and smoke. Ganon was alone now. He had eliminated his own allies in his irrepressible rage. "I WILL HAVE MY WISH! I SWEAR IT!"
