Chapter 15. Villain Killed - Not Check

The giant Helmaroc flapped down into the room, the breeze from its wings kicking up dust and nearly pushing me off my feet. I backed up toward the wall, stepping onto the wooden ramp that ran all the way up the tower. The bird was having trouble moving in the small space, but it had a vast advantage in size.

Before I could formulate anything resembling a plan, the bird hit something in the floor that went "chunk," and the room started to fill with water. I couldn't fight while swimming, so I started running up the ramp.

The water was coming up fast, too fast. I could barely run ahead of it. It did not help that the bird kept trying to peck and claw at me. It missed, thank the gods, but it kept destroying the ramp behind me. Soon I could see the stars ahead, and emerged from the tall room to the top of the tower.

The bird emerged just behind me, trying to chomp me up as soon as it saw me. I dodged as best I could in the small space, then turned to see the bird struggling to pull its beak from where it was stuck in the floor.

It was vulnerable.

I pulled out the skull hammer and whacked the bird upside the head. I was just trying to, I don't know, knock it out or something; so imagine my surprise when what I thought was its face cracked into pieces.

The bird screeched and reared up, twisting its beak free and stumbling backwards. It tried to fly, but was still reeling, and wound up splashing into the water that had filled the tower.

I lingered where I stood for a moment, conflicted. A part of me wanted to go peer down into the water and see what I could see, another part knew that it couldn't be that easy, and wanted to get away from the whole place as fast as I could. There was a sort of path with a few steps nearby, leading up to the place where I had seen that man. Ganon.

I glanced back at the water, then headed for that path. Just as I was about to cross onto it, a row of sharpened stakes sprang up, and I heard splashing and another screech.

See? a little voice in my head said. I told you it wouldn't be that easy.

"Shut up," I muttered. The bird flapped up high in the sky and screeched at me. "You shut up too!"

It hovered in the air for a moment, then pulled into a dive.

Wait, could it really be that stupid?

Apparently so. I dodged, and it got stuck. I almost felt sorry for the thing. Almost.

I took the hammer to it again, this time managing to completely shatter the mask it had on its face. The face beneath was that of a normal Helmaroc…only about a hundred times bigger.

It pulled its beak free, but didn't try to fly; instead waddling around and flapping its wings to try and shove me against the wall. Sometimes it took a swipe at me with claw or beak, and there was nothing I could do but dodge.

I tried hitting it with my boomerang, and it did stun it for a while, but not long enough to do any good. Arrows were about the same, but they at least seemed to be annoying the bird.

Finally, it tried to peck me, and I skipped out of the way and brought the skull hammer down on its head.

The bird squawked in pain, and for a moment that familiar sucking guilt filled my insides. Then the hammer came down for the last time, there was a sickening crunch, and the bird stopped moving.

I swallowed hard, put the hammer away, and backed off. The Helmaroc exploded, black smoke wooshing out and spilling over the top of the tower and up along that path. When it cleared there was no trace of the bird or its mask, and the stakes blocking my way were gone.

I ran all the way up the path and to the strange little house at its head. I didn't pause when I got there, I just yanked the door open and charged in, sword at the ready.

There he was, his back to the door, but I knew he had been waiting for me. He was a big man, overweight but powerful. He was dressed in dark robes of some kind, kept immaculately clean.

"It's been a while, boy," he said, just a trace of a sneer in his tone. "You have done well to sneak into my fortress and wriggle your way all the way up here. I suppose the least I can do is commend you for your reckless courage."

"Gee," I said. "Thanks."

"My name is Ganondorf. And I am the master of Forsaken Fortress." He turned and faced me.

He had dark skin and vibrant hair, receding from his forehead. His nose had been broken at some point, and it made him look like some kind of predatory bird. Somehow, some way, I could tell he was the kind of person who derived pleasure from destruction and devestation.

He was smiling.

I gulped.

"By the way, boy," his tone was light, conversational. "When you drew that sword of yours out of its pedestal, did you by chance notice how all the monsters frozen in time down there suddenly began stirring again? Do you understand precisely what that means?"

I was too busy panicking to answer. How did he know about the frozen monsters? How did he know what had happened?

"I highly doubt you do. Foolish child. While that sword is indeed the blade of evil's bane, at the same time, it has long played another role... You see, it is also a sort of key," his expression stretched into a pained sneer. "A most wretched little key that has kept a seal on me and my magic intact!" He calmed himself quickly, smiling again. "By withdrawing the blade, you have broken that seal."

"No," I heard myself gasp. "No!" I gripped the sword and charged at him, an unconscious battle cry escaping from my lips.

Ganon knocked me aside casually, but hard enough that I saw stars. My vision cleared in time for me to see him draw a sword from somewhere in his robes, a single-edged blade, perfectly straight, little more than a long machete. He turned and started walking toward me. I tried to get up and ready to fight, but my body had betrayed me. My limbs felt like spaghetti, and I knew I was visibly trembling. I couldn't stand, could barely push myself backward, away form him.

He spoke again, not bothering to disguise the disgust in his voice. "You cannot defeat me with a blade that does not shine with the power to repel evil! What you hold is useless." He surveyed me thoughtfully for a moment, swinging his sword casually. "Go back to the world below, and tell that to the pathetic fools who made this blade! Its power is gone, and its edges are dull!"

I thought, for a second, that he was going to let me go, but he raised his sword and sneered at me, some strange emotion crossing his face. I'd never had someone look at me that way before, and I never wanted anyone to do it again.

It was all over…

Glass shattered and Ganon and I both turned and saw a small figure crash through his window, dust itself off, and pull a cutlass from its belt.

"Tetra," I breathed.

"Link, get up!" she snapped. She charged Ganon, and he actually blocked her strike once before grabbing her by the collar and lifting her in the air.

"Tetra!" I used the wall to pull myself to my feet and swayed for a moment, then stumbled forward toward my sword.

"Uhh! Stop!" She kicked and struggled vainly. "Let- let me go!"

"You pathetic little sea rat," Ganon snarled, shaking her. Something gold escaped her collar and bounced against her chest. Ganon looked down at it in surprise, then at his right hand. Both the gold thing and the back of his hand began to glow. His eyes widened and he grinned. "My Triforce of Power is resonating," he said it almost reverently, then laughed. "At long last, I have found you... Princess Zelda!"

"Wh- what? What are you talking about?" Tetra exclaimed. There was a hint of desperation in her voice. "I don't know any Zelda!"

"Feigning ignorance will gain you nothing," Ganon spat. "Tell me, if you are not Zelda, then why do you have this fragment of the Triforce?"

"What?"

I'd managed to grab the Master Sword and stay upright, so I decided to attack while Ganon was distracted.

Some small part of me knew I was going to die, but was being drowned out by the need to do something, anything. I could die, fine, but I couldn't let anything happen to Tetra. She'd tried to save me, and now we were both done for. It wasn't right, wasn't fair, and I was not going to let it happen.

Luckily for both of us, before I could begin my suicide run a pair of familiar wings swooped through the window and enveloped me. There was a flurry of feathers, and shouting, and movement, and the next thing I knew I was in the air outside the Fortress.

I looked up. "Quill!" He grinned down at me. I looked around desperately, and saw Prince Komali nearby, with Tetra in his arms. I was so grateful to see her safe, that I didn't even get jealous until later.

There was a massive flapping and Quill swooped backward to make room for…Valoo?

None other. The huge red dragon pulled up level with the small room, took a deep breath, and engulfed the structure in flames.

Quill and Komali carried Tetra and me to where the King of Red Lions was waiting, some distance from the Fortress. Komali lay Tetra very gently at the back of the boat, and I noticed for the first time that she wasn't moving.

"Tetra!" I fell to my knees at her side. "Oh gods, no!"

"It's all right, Link!" Quill said. "She just passed out."

I put a hand on her chest and leaned forward. Her heartbeat and breathing seemed normal, but there was a frown creasing her face. Satified, I turned back to Quill and Komali

"What about the others? My sister and the pirates? Did they get out all right?"

"They're long gone," Komali grinned, looking rather proud of himself. I suppose he had a right. "You can relax. Everyone is safe now."

I looked down at Tetra. "Barely…"

"Lord Valoo!" King greeted him. The huge dragon settled on the water in front of us. "You arrived not a moment too soon. We are deeply grateful."

"Very deeply," I added.

Valoo said something in that language that all the non-evil giant beasts seemed to share. I heard the word "Ganon," and something that might have meant "fire."

"I am aware of this," King said. "Yet I thought our first priority should be to separate these two from Ganon's grasp."

The dragon nodded and said something else, then flapped his wings and took off.

"I guess that's our cue," Quill said. He clapped me on the shoulder. "Good luck."

"Bye Link! Give your friend my regards!" He grinned, cheekily, I thought.

They followed Valoo off in the direction of Dragon Roost.

I found myself sitting dejectedly in the bottom of the boat, somehow holding Tetra's hand. "King I- I almost…"

"I know. It is not your fault. There are things, many things, that you do not know. Things that I have kept from you."

"Like what?"

King didn't say anything.

"King?"

"There is…too much, and too little time. We should return to the land beneath the sea."

"And you'll tell me there?"

"Yes Link, I will tell you everything there."

"Okay." I released Tetra's hand, reluctantly, and made her as comfortable as I could. "Let's go."

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AN:

Whatcha! Once agian, I update on time! I wrote almost this entrie chapter today, which is why it's both short, and relies so heavily on the game dialogue. I did change a few things...not a lot. Sorry.

I'm getting a bit dejected, since everyone likes my other story more than this one. I mean, I guess it's good that people prefer my mostly original stuff to this not ever close to original stuff, but I'd like it if they both got attention. This one takes a lot more effort than the other. Oh well.

Lessee... What to say... Um... Wait, no, hold on... Uh...

I got nothin.'