Chapter Eleven
"It's over now, boy!" Demise sneered, "Nobody opposes Demise, destroyer of worlds." All around Link, it looked as though Demise's forces had the upper hand. Hylian Forces were being decimated all over and Zelda looked badly hurt.
Hyrule's provinces and fortress were in ruins. Fires burned across the land and nothing left of Hyrule Castle or Castle Town remained. Usually when things looked hopeless, it looked like the time for an unexpected hero to step in.
Link spotted Joyata, holding the Master Sword and sneaking up on Demise with his ninja skills. Because Joyata was so good at sneaking, some good came from being a member of the tribe who'd caused Hyrule so much trouble.
"Do you have any last words or are your vocal cords broken?" Demise taunted.
Link carefully looked over Demise's shoulder at Joyata, who was ready to strike. Then the wounded hero cracked a smug-looking smile and said, "Demise, you may think that you've beaten me, but your victory's about to be short-lived."
The Hero winked, which was the signal for Joyata to strike. Before the seemingly victorious Demise could say something, the ex-Yiga brought up the Master Sword and sliced the Demon King's spine before thrusting the blade through his back and heart.
"GUUUWHAAAARRRRRGH!" The towering overlord yelled in pain and staggered as he dropped Link. Joyata appeared next to Link and handed him his sword while Mipha's Grace finally kicked in and healed the hero.
"Nice job, buddy!" Link said, fist bumping Joyata before the Yiga-turned hero drew his Yiga blades. Demise was about to recover when the two heroes ganged up on him. Link attacked the Demon King and cut off one of his hands while knocking Demise's sword right out of his own hands.
Joyata stabbed the huge man in the leg and delivered a swift karate kick that toppled him. "NO! HOW COULD THIS BE?" The villain exclaimed. Seeing the chance to finish him off, Link lunged and drove the Master Sword through his skull, then the intrepid Hylian whipped out the Bow of Light and shot Demise in the head and heart with two Light Arrows.
The arrows' divine powers were enough to finish the battle and set off a chain reaction that cancelled out the Demon King's powers and ensured his army's destruction. The sky began to turn back to a normal nighttime sky and the red clouds began to fade.
Corrupted Guardians went haywire and shut down, their red lights deactivated and the Calamity Ganon malice left them. The Lynels, who were part of the attack, shrieked in alarm as they began to disintegrate. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Vishous raged, "IMPOSSIBLE, WE'VE BEEN DEFEATED. HOW? NYAAAAARRRRRRGH!"
Savvajj, Vishous' lackey, cried out in protest as he faded away into oblivion, "I…I CAN'T, I'M TOO YOUNG TO…! AHHHH!" All of the Moblins, Bokoblins and so many other monsters shrieked as their life force faded and their bodies melted away into nothingness.
The Yiga involved freaked out and began to run away, screaming while most of them were torn apart as the dark malice in their hearts left them. In minutes, the chaos winded down, leaving only the Hylian forces, Link, Joyata, Demise and Zelda in a war-torn Hyrule.
Demise got to his feet, his eyes blazing with rage as he glared at Link. "IMPOSSIBLE!" He shouted, "Just you wait, I'LL BE BACK! I'LL GET MY REVENGE..." The Demon King lifted up in the air and his body was starting to glow very dangerously.
Before Demise could say anymore words, his body vanished inside a glowing orb of light with the symbol of the Triforce on it. Inside the orb, Demise let out one last roar of rage before exploding in a mass of darkness.
The orb vanished, leaving only Link and Joyata with the decimated Hylian Forces as they stood upon a battle-scarred war-zone. Link turned and smiled when he saw who'd put up that shield orb. Zelda was back on her feet, battered and bruised but still kicking.
Putting away his weapons, Link embraced her in open arms and happily kissed Zelda. The surviving Hylian soldiers pat each other on the back, complimenting one another on a job well done. Gorons bumped fists and Chief Stones observed the ruins of Hyrule.
As for the Gerudo, many of them headed off to places unknown while Rito and Zoras were busy talking among themselves. Close by, the ghosts of Skyloft Link and Skyloft Zelda watched from afar until they disappeared into thin air.
Unaware that they had been watched by the spirits of heroes from Hyrule's distant past, Link and Zelda observed what was left of Hyrule. So much rubble, robot parts and corpses littered the area. The fires had already been put out by an unknown force.
"Well," Zelda shrugged, "A land we worked so hard to restore is once again in ruins. So much for all of that progress we made after you defeated Ganon. If only we hadn't underestimated the power of Demise."
"Hey, at least we saved the world, right?" Link asked optimistically. The princess looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes. A small tear began rolling down her cheek, then she smiled and just hugged her boyfriend.
At 10:15 in the evening, with the minor injuries and small stress from the ordeal going away, Link and Zelda sat under a tree atop a nearby hill with Joyata next to them, remembering when they first planned Hyrule's restoration after Ganon's defeat.
"It's going to be tough rebuilding everything again." Zelda said, breathing in the fresh night air, "We were working so hard to restore our world after the Great Calamity only for all of our hard work to be undone."
"I'm sure we can rebuild it all over again." Link said. He put his arm around Zelda and held her close to him, "If we try our best, everyone will have their homes back and we could get on with our old lives."
Joyata smiled at the two Hylian lovebirds. "I'd be happy to help with the rebuilding efforts." He said, "Maybe I could ask some old friends I knew in the Yiga to assist, assuming they're not still Yiga warriors nowadays."
Link gave Joyata a thumbs up, "Thanks for the offer, buddy, but I don't think we need more help from any ex-Yiga. Those guys probably need a break for a while before they get caught up in any of Hyrule's crazy historical affairs. For now, we're all safe."
Zelda put her hand on her stomach, "The four of us are all safe and sound. Me, Link and number three have each other. But before we get to work, it's time to get some sleep and look forward to a brighter future. Maybe we should start preparing for a new family."
Link was confused. Not only did he notice Zelda rubbing her tummy, but she was talking about new families. As Link said goodnight to Joyata, he and Zelda headed to Tarrey Town. On the way there, Link asked, "What's goin' on, Zelda? You talked about starting a family."
Zelda kissed her brave boyfriend on the cheek. "I'll tell you tomorrow, Link." She said with a hint of teasing in her voice. With that, she and Link were silent. However, the princess' reply still made the hero a bit suspicious about Zelda's behavior.
Maybe she was messing with him. Then again, maybe it was important. Tomorrow, he and Zelda would help start rebuilding Hyrule and chat in private about that secret the princess was keeping from him. But tonight, Link needed some sleep full of pleasant dreams.
Little did he know that this night was the beginning of something big. The next morning, the hero of Hyrule would know what was going on and he would be in for what may be the biggest shock of his life when the princess told him why she was behaving strangely...
The End
