"Are you really so deserving of such an entrance?" Zelda shot, trying to ignore the chilling fear that grew inside of her.
"You! You bastard! You killed Lannis! You took everything from me! I won't let you get away this time!" Cia roared, a purple and black aura surging around her as she flew at Ganon, staff alight in energy.
With minimal effort Ganondorf merely caught the Sorceress by the neck as she came into arms reach. "Begone, pest." he said, tightening his grip before tossing Cia into the small Hylian force in front of him.
Zelda grit her teeth in shock, Ganondorf's power had grown massively, he no longer even resembled the Gerudo Sorcerer he was, his skin now being a dark grey, his hair black, corneas red with black sclera, all while two curved silver horns had grown from his forehead. Aside from all that though, was the aura that he radiated, the red energy flowing around him, the assembled Anteforce with the Triforce of Power situated in the middle glowing brightly from it's place on his chest.
"Nothing to say Princess? Fine then, let's just go straight into it, shall we?" he asked, a smirk forming on his twisted features. "All of you!" he called out, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "My forces have only begun their assault, we number in the hundreds of thousands while all of you are at the end of your resources, barely numbering enough to hold the line at your wall...surrender now, and I will spare you all." Ganondorf said, scowling as not a single soldier laid down a weapon.
"Fine then, I suppose a demonstration of my power is necessary." Ganon boomed.
"No!" Zelda called as Ganon disappeared, reappearing in midair.
The Gerudo man lifted an arm, smirking as Zelda took to the air to stop him. "Watch Princess, and accept your fate." he said. Raising one arm, Ganon splayed his fingers wide, a black ball of energy crackling with red bolts of electricity appeared in his hand.
Zelda came to a halt, charging a blast of light in her hands and sending it at Ganondorf, the Demon King merely deflecting it with his free hand, sending forth the blast with the other, the ball of energy impacting upon Castle Town's forcefield, shattering it immediately, each piece breaking into small light particles as they fell.
"No..." Zelda breathed, a tear falling from her eye, Castle Town's forces standing below her, utterly terrified.
oOo
Inside Castle Town
"He noticed me, I swear it." Impa said.
"But that doesn't make sense, why would he have let us through?" Ara replied.
"Guilty conscience." Trokon responded.
"No more time to talk, we have to make a break for it, to the northern gate." Oren interjected.
"Alright, this is it." Impa said, motioning toward the heavy iron door.
Since making it back to Castle Town, the group had swam out from under their overturned boat, Saria being able to open the forcefield just enough for them to slip through, soon finding themselves in the sewers below Castle Town.
"Finally, I was getting real sick of how wet it is down here." Naora said.
"I'm fine with it." Kyra said with a small smile.
"That's because you're a...never mind, let's just get out of here." Naora answered.
Oren and Naora made their way to the door, both using all of their strength to push it up and out, the sounds of chaos striking them instantly.
"For Din's sake! Is no one keeping the peace around here!?" Ara cried out.
"There's barely enough men to defend the perimeter." Trokon answered.
"We must move quickly!" Saria interrupted.
The group burst forth, looking on in shock as they were immediately set upon by Hylian soldiers.
"Ganondorf's men." Naora snarled.
"No, they're House Gavan's loyalists." Impa replied.
"We have no time for this." Oren said, outstretching his arms as the shadows on the ground suddenly twisted towards the them, crawling up their forms and blotting out their vision and hearing, Naora and the other Sheikah easily dispatching them.
"You took all the fun out of it." Naora remarked.
"We have not the time for 'fun'." Oren answered.
The group ran through the streets, the panicked populace paying them no mind as they tried fruitlessly to find a method of escape.
"Help! Help!" a call in the distance rang out.
"Well, it sounds like they are on the way to where we need to be." Trokon shrugged.
The group tore through the main street, doing their best to push through the masses that passed by.
"There!" Saria shouted.
Not far from them was a man standing at the base of a partially reassembled energy supply tower, others dressed like him standing in a circle around it, similarly dressed dead men at their feet.
"Those are members of Hyrule's engineering guild, let's go." Impa called out.
Saria and Kyra hung back, ducking into an alley as Trokon, Ara, Oren, Impa, and Naora charged the men, Trokon stabbing one through the chest, Naora deflecting a slash and beheading her opponent, Impa ducking a strike, kicking her opponent's leg out from under them and slashing across their stomach, Oren bringing his great sword down as his opponent raised his blade, Oren's easily shattering it and cutting through the man's head while Ara dodged to the side, spinning around her opponent, and stabbing him in the back of the neck. All eyes turned to the last man standing, the guard letting out a scream and beginning to flee before a tree root burst from the ground and whipped him in the face, knocking him out cold, Saria giving the group a wave from the alley.
"Oh! Oh thank the goddesses for all of you! ...Impa...Oren?!" the man said.
"Edward!" Impa exclaimed.
"What in the hell are you doing out here?" Oren asked.
"We had to." he said, motioning towards the other engineers behind him. "House Gavan has allied with Ganondorf...they were trying to destroy the towers and bring down the forcefield...we had to rebuild them...but they found us." he said, eyeing the bodies on the ground.
"We're sorry..about all of that...but we must know, how goes the battle outside?" Impa pressed.
"The only front we're able to hold is the Southern Wall, and that's only because it's half a kilometer high and surrounded by water." Edward informed them. "You're...not thinking of joining the fight, are you?" he asked.
"We have to." Impa said.
"It's our duty as Sheikah." Oren added, Trokon and Ara nodding behind him.
"And some of us just want revenge." Naora added.
"I wish you the best of luck." Edward said hesitantly.
"We must leave, but we won't let you go alone, Trokon, Ara, protect Edward and the other engineers, we must make sure these towers stand.
"Yes, my lady." both said as they went off with Edward, the man nodding at them as he left.
"What now?" Saria asked as she rejoined the group.
"We keep on going." Impa replied.
The group quickly made their way towards the North Gate, soon enough passing by the entrance to east Castle Town, the Deku Tree looming nearby. As they entered the doorway, they were greeted by an almost surreal scene, this part of Castle Town was empty, the water canals made for Zora residents abandoned, fountains in the distance still running perfectly.
"They're all trying to get to the Castle, aren't they?" Kyra asked.
"Or leave through the Southern Gate." Oren replied.
"This is good, it won't take you long then." Impa said.
"Thank you, for everything." Saria said. The Kokiri girl turned to Kyra, smiling to her "Come, we must go."
"Wait...but I want to stay with her." Kyra said, gripping Naora's pant leg.
"It's okay." Naora said as she knelt, laying a hand on Kyra's shoulder. "It will be safe for you in there, this whole time I wanted to make sure you were as safe as can be, and I knew the safest place right now is with the Forest God." she said. motioning towards the Great Deku Tree's form on the horizon.
"But...I...I don't want to..." Kyra argued.
"The battlefield is no place for a child." Naora said.
"The Great Deku Tree will protect you." Saria assured with a smile.
Kyra hesitantly joined Saria, looking back as the two walked away, a single tear trailing down her cheek.
"Damn, she's got me doing it too." Naora said, wiping a tear away.
"Don't worry, she'll be safe." Oren said.
"We can sympathize, it wasn't easy leaving our daughter behind." Impa added.
Naora let out a short laugh. "Who would have ever thought a Gerudo and a Zora would become so close."
"As odd as it may be, we have no time to think about it." Oren answered.
The three continued, making it to the Northern Gate not even ten minutes later, men at the top of the wall manning ballistas and cannons, small gaps in the shield opening momentarily to allow the projectile through.
"I'm sorry, no one's allowed to open this gate right now." A guard called as he approached them.
"Please, you must know who we are, I am Impa and this is Oren, we are Sheikah, we must be there for the Princess." Impa explained.
"And who's the Gerudo?" the guard asked suspiciously, pointing at Naora."
"Just another warrior who wants to join the battle." Oren answered.
"Well, no matter what happens, I cannot, and will not open this door, Princess' orders." the guard explained.
Impa took another step forward to reason with the man, pausing as a bright red flash filled the sky, followed by a deafening boom.
The men on the wall, the guards who manned the gate as well as Oren, Impa, and Naora looked on in horror as the forcefield shattered like glass, each piece disintegrating into the air around it.
"Come on!" Impa yelled, Oren and Naora bounding after her.
"Hey, wait!" the guard yelled, being startled out of his dumbstruck state.
"We're coming." Impa thought as the three of them climbed the wall, vaulting over it and into the field below.
oOo
Zelda suppressed the urge to scream, looking on as bombs and other projectiles flew over her head, crashing into the now vulnerable Castle Town.
"I won't let this go on any longer!" Zelda shouted, her Triforce glowing brightly as a golden aura surged around her, the blue and white of her eyes glowing the same.
"You have no choice." Ganon said.
"I'm sorry, I failed you, brother." Shilara said as she regained consciousness.
"You did well, rest now." Ganondorf replied, teleporting his sister away.
"I won't waste time like I did with her, I'll kill you instantly." Zelda growled.
"Ooh, how fierce." a high voice crowed."
Zelda felt a chill run down her spine as the distantly familiar voice met her ears. "Ghirahim." she breathed.
"Oh, she remembers me after all." the flamboyant sword spirit replied.
"But how?" Zelda gasped.
"I tricked that fool Erris into using his resources to locate the temple I was regrettably defeated in, my blade's shattered remains were still there...I was quite easily able to reforge the blade, and revive my most loyal follower."
"My lord, is it time? May I take my revenge? Kill the girl?" Ghirahim asked, bouncing with excitement.
"Yes, but we will do it together...just like old times." Ganondorf said with a smirk.
"Most wise decision, Master." Ghirahim said.
Zelda watched as the demon shape shifted back into the corrupted Elder Blade, Anteforce symbol on it's hilt.
"Shall we?" Ganon asked, brandishing Ghirahim's blade form.
Zelda cried out, her aura building and surging as it formed into two wings behind her and talons below her. "What you're seeing now is the closest I've been to my true form in ten-thousand years." Zelda's voice boomed, a second voice layered under own...that of Hylia. "I will crush you underfoot, like the insect you are, Demise." she called out.
Ganondorf took to the sky to meet her, a chaotic red flame-like aura expanding out from him. "You're nothing but a weak, arrogant, SMALL GODDESS!" he roared in response, the ground shaking as the storm overhead grew in ferocity.
Zelda gritted her teeth, the nightmares she'd been having, the black essence blocking the sun and attacking her...the words "Small Goddess"...it was a prophecy from the Goddesses...trying to warn her about this. Zelda silently cursed herself for not understanding before looking up towards Ganondorf. "You are the one that's small." she said quietly.
In a blinding flash, the two forces smashed into each other, the earth-shattering impact throwing everyone on the ground off of their feet, the trees and rocks below them being torn from their places and shattered.
Zelda pushed with all of her might, the gold energy of the Triforce and her divine form clashing violently with Ganon's dark energy. Zelda extended an arm, knocking Ganondorf back, the Demon King responding by charging forward, sending her spinning through the sky. The Princess charged a blast of energy, Ganon countering it with one of his own, the two opposing blasts exploding upon contact in the sky. Zelda drew her rapier, it's form elongated and further empowered by the light energy surrounding her. Ganon responded in kind, the Elder Blade growing in size, dark energy twisting around it. They charged at each other, blades meeting with a tremendous crash, Zelda blocked a diagonal strike, flying up to Ganondorf and delivering a stab, the Demon King effortlessly deflecting it. Zelda flew higher, dropping down and crashing her blade into Ganon's, he pushed back, Zelda fading to the left as he made a downwards slash towards her. Zelda dropped nearly to ground as Ganon shot a blast of energy from his sword, narrowly missing her.
"Take this!" Zelda yelled, teleporting into the sky before ramming Ganondorf, the Demon King smashing into the ground, leaving a jagged crater around him.
Zelda braced herself as Ganondorf shot towards her again, shooting a bolt of red lightning at her, the Princess blocking it with her sword. The Demon King teleported in front of her, delivering a punch to Zelda's chest, knocking her back. The Princess quickly recovered, flexing her ethereal wings before beating them in Ganon's direction, the waves of light energy battering the Demon King. Smoke rose from him as golden flames erupted across his body. Ganondorf cried out in rage, shooting a blast of dark energy at Zelda, the attack tearing through her light energy.
Zelda dodged to the side, the dark energy skimming her shoulder. The Princess grimaced in pain, bringing her rapier up and charging again, Ganondorf launched himself towards her, their blades clashing as they met. Zelda channeled more energy into herself, her aura growing as Ganondorf did the same. The two conflicting forces battled as the Goddess and the Demon King clashed, neither giving way.
"You have always been the same, but I have grown, become stronger than you could ever imagine!" Ganon bellowed.
"You will fall, just as you always have." Zelda answered.
"I have realized my destiny, I was never meant to be King, I was always to be a God!" Ganondorf roared.
Zelda cried out as his aura exploded outwards, sending her flying backwards, she felt herself crash through the Castle's north wall and into the ground, opening her eyes to find Ganon flying towards her, blade at the ready.
"Die!" he roared.
Zelda got back to her feet, clenching her teeth as she teleported behind Ganondorf. "You will be the one to die! she called out! With hundreds of swift motions, she slashed her light empowered rapier across the Demon King, Ganon screaming in pain. "Away with you!" Zelda shouted, shooting an orb of light into her adversary, the blast sending Ganondorf crashing into the ground before exploding in brilliant flash.
Zelda tensed as the sky lit up with a red flash, the clouds twisting and wind roaring as Ganon rose from where he had fallen.
"I have the power of the three Demon Gods, the Anteforce, and the Triforce of power...YOU CANNOT BEST ME!" he roared, flying at Zelda.
The Princess tensed, ready to block when she felt it, her ethereal form was too much...her body was weakening. "No...no, please, just little longer!" she thought.
Ganon raised his sword and brought it down upon Zelda's rapier. The Princess cried out as her body gave in, her aura collapsing around her, the rapier she carried shattering into thousands of fragments. "No..." she thought as she fell, tears streaming from her eyes as the blurry vision of Ganondorf chasing after her, blade at the ready, was all that she saw...when suddenly she was surrounded by a violet flash, somehow appearing on the ground, being cradled in the arms of her caretaker since birth.
"Impa...?" Zelda whispered.
"Yes, Zelda..it's me, Impa, please...stay with me, don't give in." Impa said, fighting back tears.
"I...I'm so exhausted..." Zelda said, her eyes closing.
"No! Princess, open your eyes, please!" Impa cried out.
"Thank you." Oren said, looking over to Cia.
"No thanks are in order, getting the Princess safely to us was a worthy use of the Gate of Souls," Cia answered.
"Get down here and face me!" Naora yelled, dashing out to the middle of the war torn field as Impa, Oren, Cia, and the rest of the Hyrulean forces watched in astonishment.
"Naora, how unexpected, I'd thought for sure you had expired." Ganon said as he lowered himself to the ground.
"I don't know what happened to my husband...but you are not him!" Naora said, drawing her scimitar and pointing it at him.
Ganondorf threw his head back, emitting a harsh laugh. "Oh Naora, how I missed your sense of humor, of course I am still the man you knew, I just realized how foolish I had been...and discovered my true purpose as the new God of this realm, having you, a mere mortal with no magical ability at my side was glaring weakness...an infection I had to cut out, if you will."
"So that's what I am to you now? An infection?" she growled.
"It's nothing you should be concerned about, you were a hinderance that kept me from ascending to my true potential. You should have just gone back to the Gerudo settlement in the desert and lived out the rest of your days there, instead of coming to commit foolish antics such as this." Ganon answered.
"You're wrong about me." Naora replied, voice shaking.
"How so?" Ganon asked with a smirk.
"I am not an "infection" or a "hinderance", I am your former wife, I was the light that guided you...you told me this before you twisted yourself into this hideous creature in front of me...and I am not without magic! I am a Sage!" Naora shouted. The Gerudo woman brought up her left arm, spirit energy forming in her palm, "I'm done being dominated by you!" Naora yelled, her voice echoing across the field.
Ganon opened his eyes in shock, he attempted to raise his arms to block the attack, but they didn't budge, he looked up to see his younger, green skinned self standing behind Naora, glaring at him. "No..." he muttered.
"I'm sending you to hell where you belong!" Naora cried, the blast of spirit energy tearing away from her, ripping across the ground and crashing into Ganondorf, bursting in a bright orange explosion.
Naora fell to her knees, her chest heaving as she sheathed her scimitar. "How's that for someone with 'no magical ability'?" she snarled.
"It was impressive, I'll say that." Ganon said as he emerged from the dust cloud.
"Bastard..." Naora said as she rose to her feet, unsheathing her blade.
"That was all of your spirit energy, was it not?" Ganon asked. "Never mind...it doesn't matter. I must commend you, I was taken off guard, you even managed to incur some damage unto me, but it still wasn't nearly enough."
"Why won't you just die?!" Naora screamed, frantically slashing at her former betrothed, her blade simply bouncing off harmlessly upon each strike.
"I've tired of this little game you've played, I would spare you, but seeing as you're a Sage, I cannot allow that." Ganon said.
A single tear fell from Naora's eye as she locked her gaze with Ganondorf. "I hate you..." she said, trailing off.
"As you should." Ganon replied. He raised a finger, placing it on the bottom of her chin, "When you see them, tell the Goddesses they're reckoning is soon to come." With a flick of his finger Naora's head jerked back, a loud crack emitting from her neck before she fell to the ground, lifeless.
"No!" Impa screamed, still cradling Zelda.
"Make no mistake! I am coming for you next!" Ganon shouted.
Impa stood, leaving Zelda's semi-conscious form in the care of the soldiers behind her, quickly drawing her blade as Oren and Cia joined her, all three taking a defensive stance.
Ganondorf answered with a booming, near maniacal laugh as he regarded his newfound opposition. "And what is this supposed to be?" he hissed with a smirk. "The three of you are all that would stand up to me? Look around you! Your forces cower while mine only stand back because I wish it...if I were to allow them to attack once more, you would all last another five minutes at most, you must know this."
"Send your army or come yourself, the Goddesses will not allow you your victory." Impa answered.
"You say this as if I haven't already won." Ganon answered with a grin.
Impa eyed Naora's body, gritting her teeth as a bitter rage welled up inside of her. No matter how many times Ganondorf was defeated he rose again, just as determined as ever, but every time he lost, being sealed away into a different realm or killed outright...only this time he had closer than ever, already having taken the life of a Sage.
Ganon took a step forward, that single action sending a shockwave through the ground as a red glow invaded his eyes, the same aura forming around him. "This all ends here." he said, raising an arm as the remaining Hyrulean forces, Hylian and Zora alike readied themselves, all sending unsure glances to each other as Ganon lowered his arm, turning his gaze skyward as Kanthos flew into the sky above them, swiftly making a landing two meters from the Demon King.
"For your sake, I hope you've breached the gate, taken the city and have only come to congratulate me on my victory." Ganon growled.
"I fear that is not the case, my lord." Kanthos answered apprehensively. "The Ice Sorcerer that guarded the gate I laid siege to...he's changed, I defeated him at first, but he suddenly grew in power, I don't know how." Kanthos explained.
All eyes looked upwards as Sir Trystane himself descended, landing in the space between Impa and Ganon. Impa looked closely, she had met Trystane on many occasions, easily being able to tell that there was something alarmingly different about him.
"No..." Cia whispered, Oren sending her a quizzical glance.
"What do you mean?" the Sheikah man asked.
"It...it's just, when we used the Gate of Souls to return to Hyrule from Gamelon, we were beset by Ganon's minions, we were able to defeat most of them, but Trystane perished." she explained, Oren and Impa shooting surprised gazes.
"I used the Gate of Souls to return his spirit to his body after I had healed it...I feared something else may have escaped into his body as well." Cia added.
Ganondorf regarded Trystane curiously, the man before him seemed normal, but he sensed something strange, as if thousands of people were somehow standing in the same spot.
"Ganondorf...our old friend." a multi-layered voice crowed. "We've been waiting so patiently to see you again." Trystane said with a smile.
oOo
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Part three is almost at a close!
Gerudospirit: I knew you'd like Ghirahim's inclusion! I just couldn't leave him out! It's good to see you're enjoying Zelda and Cia working together, it's always a pairing I worried about trying, but it's good to know it's working out! Thank you for complimenting the dialogue too, convincing and compelling character interactions can make or break a story and are at times just as important as the plot overall! Thank you so much for your kind words! You're amazing!
Captain Toon: You read all forty-one chapters in a day? I am impressed, that's some serious dedication and I love it! I'm excited to hear that you like my fic so much! I'll definitely give your story a read! Thank you for the review!
As always, a tremendous thank you to all of you checked off follow and favorite on both my story and my profile!
Once again, thank you for the read, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
-Promtheus17