Chapter 32: Courage and Power
Link, Zelda and Ganondorf stood in shock at what just happened. "Pep, is that you?" Link asked the Hylian boy.
"Yes, my name is Pep." The Hylian boy replied. He looked around. "I was told by some girl wearing a purple tunic much like the one I'm wearing that I was needed here, and here I am now. Goodness, Dad, it is so good to see you alive again."
Link walked up to Pep. "Well, I'm here now." Link looked up and saw Zelda marching up to him with an angry expression.
"What is this?! Is he your son?! How do you know him and I don't, am I missing something?!" Zelda said in a huff of anger.
"Look here, I can explain." Link said as he was trying to de-escalate the situation.
"I've seen enough!" Zelda looked at Ganondorf. "What is he doing here?! Link, you must kill him!"
Ganondorf face palmed himself. "Ughhh, more of this." He said under his breath.
"Now now Zelda, a lot of stuff is happening right now! Lemme catch you up here." Link pointed to Ganondorf. "This is Ganondorf. As unbelievable as it is, he is actually working with us. He is a good guy." Link pointed to Pep. "This is Pep, or at least a future version of him. He is my son that I meant to tell you about for a while, but here we are."
"Spare me the details." Zelda said with haste in her voice. "You can tell me the rest of your story later. Right now, we need to be making moves, so follow me into the tent." Link looked at Pep and Ganondorf and then he followed her into the tent. Poump and the other party members were already inside of the tent. Link looked at the map of Hyrule which had a Rito marker set on the Hebra Region and a Goron marker set on the Akkala Region. There was also a Zora marker which was positioned next to the Lanayru Region. Zelda pointed out the Gerudo marker on the map. "The Guardian Commandos that I sent to the Gerudo Region haven't answered back for the past 24 hours. Everything must be hectic in the Gerudo Region, and the thought that they failed their mission is very concerning. I want you to go to the Gerudo Region, find the Guardian Commandos, and bring the Gerudo forces to Hyrule Field. From there, the forces across Hyrule will converge at Hyrule Castle, so that will be your next destination." Zelda turned to Poump and the squad. "As for you 4, I want you to go to Hyrule Castle and deal with the overgrowth of plant life. Your rupees are stored in a safe somewhere in the castle, so all you need to do is make it there and find out what caused the abnormal plant growth. Be careful, because I have lost contact with everyone that I have sent to the castle." Zelda looked at everyone in the room. "Any questions?"
Poump spoke up. "Is it alright if me and my friends can recuperate here in Lurelin Village?"
"Yes Poump. It is fine that you 4 can rest here for a bit. Once you're done resting, make haste for Hyrule Castle."
"Thank you Zelda." Poump said and then he and his friends walked out of the tent.
Zelda looked at Link. They were the only people left in the tent now. Link broke up the silence. "I meant to tell you for a while now."
"No, I understand." Zelda said.
"Wh-what?" Link said, as he was a little bit confused.
"That son of yours, Pep." Zelda looked to the exit of the tent and back to Link. "When you were out at sea for so long, I knew you would find yourself bedding with someone else. Both of us were young then, it's just something that happens. If you're asking for my forgiveness, then I forgive you. Secrets just boil underneath our skin for too long and it makes us feel worse to keep them in. I am also guilty of it with our own daughter, Hilda. From now on, no more secrets. Once this is all over, we'll talk more about this child. Speaking of the child, how old is he in the present?"
"Oh, Pep is 7 years old." Link said.
"Interesting." Zelda said. She looked at the map a little bit and then she forced herself onto Link and kissed him on the lips. She disengaged the kiss. "That Ganondorf. If he really has turned good, then he will join you on your voyage to the Gerudo Region."
"You think that's a good idea?" Link said to Zelda.
"The Gerudo Tribe might not like him, but if I can forgive you for what you did out at sea, then perhaps the Gerudo Tribe would also be capable of forgiving him."
"Well there is a huge difference between having a kid with someone else and a whole Gerudo man who was known as the Demon King throughout many generations." Link replied sarcastically.
"Haha." Zelda chuckled a little bit. "Your unwavering humor never ceases to amuse me."
Link awkwardly stood in the tent. He had no idea how to reply to this. "I guess I'll be going now."
"Do your best out there, Link." Zelda said as she waved goodbye to him.
"You too, Zelda." Link waved goodbye back and walked out of the tent. He saw Ganondorf standing next to their horses and speaking to Pep. "Hey, Ganondorf. Hop onto your horse, we're going to the Gerudo Desert."
"By the Goddess, of all places to go, we're going there?!" Ganondorf said with a nervous energy in his voice.
"Zelda wants me to go there, and you're coming with me." Link replied with certainty. "Pep, you should stay here in this village. I don't want you outside of this village because of how wild it is out there."
"Fine Dad." Pep said with a bit of impatience and then he walked around the village.
Link got onto his horse and Ganondorf got onto his horse, which was much bigger than Link's horse. "Hyah!" Link commanded his horse to ride forward and Ganondorf rode alongside him. They galloped through the forest. After a while of silence, Link spoke to Ganondorf. "Why wouldn't you want to go to the Gerudo Desert?" Link asked.
"Because the Gerudo Tribe would look at me with great disdain. I gave them a bad name a long time ago, and I even learned that a few Gerudos in this time period also have a big problem with me. My bad history gives me an unfavorable view in many people's eyes, especially the Gerudo. I don't want to face them right now. Maybe later I'd be fine with it."
Link understood where Ganondorf was coming from. "I've been in your place before. Of having to face my fears. I'll tell you what, the sooner you get it done, the better you'll feel about yourself. It might be painful, but you just have to endure that pain."
Ganondorf though for a bit. "You have a good point. I will trust you with your word. I will endure this pain with you by my side."
"That's more like it!" Link said with enthusiasm. The two of them ended up riding out of the Faron Woods and then they followed the road up to the Bridge of Hylia. They rode across it together and made it to the other side. Link noticed something on the Great Plateau to their left. "Is that Vah Rudania?!" Link saw the giant salamander Divine Beast with it's red lights glowing, perched on the Great Plateau. It had its mouth open and ready to fire at Hyrule Castle. "That can't be good!"
"Oh, one of the Divine Beasts." Ganondorf said. "Hopefully we won't have to deal with more of them." As Ganondorf said that, they noticed a large looming shadow shaped like a bird coming from the direction of the Hebra Region. It was approaching the Great Plateau.
"Vah Medoh?!" Link exclaimed.
"Damnit." Ganondorf said dryly.
"We have to keep riding forward then!" Link said to Ganondorf.
The bird-like Divine Beast known as Vah Medoh prepared to land on the Great Plateau. As it landed, the ground quaked in the nearby area, even causing some trees to fall over and birds flew into the air. The Beast positioned itself facing Hyrule Castle, with a laser sight coming from its beak. Link looked at this in disbelief, but kept on riding with Ganondorf behind him. Eventually, a horde of Bokoblins on horses appeared before Ganondorf and Link. Link pulled out a bow and knocked three arrows onto it. He aimed and shot, hitting three of the Bokoblins in the head and causing them to instantly die. Ganondorf's giant horse was very intimidating, so it made some of the horses run away in fear. The Bokoblins on those horses tried shooting at the two of them with their own bows. Some arrows flew towards Ganondorf, but he brought his arm up into the air at each arrow and they all broke upon contact with his skin. Ganondorf leaped off of his horse towards the Bokoblins and ran towards them. Link was shocked at how fast he could run and keep up with the other horses. Ganondorf personally grabbed each Bokoblin off of their horse and choked them to death. He choked a few of them so hard that their head would pop right open. Ganondorf ran right back to his horse and boarded it again. Link shot a few more arrows at the remaining Bokoblins, causing the monsters to either die or flee.
Link and Ganondorf kept on trekking along the pathway passing the Great Plateau. Link noticed a coliseum to their right with a platoon of soldiers riding into it. They kept on riding their horses forward, and they eventually made it to an area with multiple bridges. Their horses stomped past each bridge but then they noticed the last bridge in the area was destroyed. "The bridge is gone!" Link said.
Ganondorf looked down at Link on his horse, who was still going full speed. "Don't tell me you're going to do what I think you're to do." Ganondorf said.
"We're gonna jump to the other side with our horses!" Link exclaimed.
"Okay then." Ganondorf replied. The two rode their horses full speed towards the collapsed bridge, with a tall ravine in between them and the other side of the bridge.
"Let's do this!" Link exclaimed maniacally. His horse jumped right across the bridge and landed on the other side, and then Ganondorf's horse also jumped across. Despite its size, Ganondorf's horse was very powerful and had very good jumping ability. His horse landed on the other side of the collapsed bridge.
"Whoo, you have a lot of courage to do this, boy." Ganondorf said to Link. He looked back at the ravine. "How are we going to get the other people across? We surely aren't going to be forcing them to jump across this bridge."
"Don't worry Ganondorf, we'll find a way to get them across that doesn't involve jumping across a tall gap." Link kept on riding forward into Gerudo Valley and Ganondorf followed behind him. It didn't take them long to come face to face with more monsters. Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos were shooting at the two of them with their bows from small wooden towers. Ganondorf reached his hand out to Link.
"Toss me a bow." Ganondorf said to Link. Link secured a bow and tossed it to Ganondorf. Ganondorf knocked an arrow and pulled at the bow's string, but then the bow broke before he could even get to shoot with it. "Are you serious right now?" Ganondorf said as he tossed the bow's remains onto the ground.
"Don't worry, I always carry more bows with me." Link said. He pulled another bow out and started shooting arrows at the monsters. Each arrow went cleanly through each monster's head, causing all of them to fall off of their wood towers, dead. One of the Lizalfos that Link sniped got back up from the arrow to it's head and ran up swiftly to Link's horse. Link noticed this and shot at the Lizalfos one more time, and then it finally fell to the floor dead, twitching its leg. "Maybe I can get you a-" Link heard a loud roaring sound ahead of them. Link looked forward. "A Lynel?! With Gold skin?! What the hell is this!" As if by instinct, Link jumped off of his horse and fired 6 arrows into the Gold Lynel's face, and then Link landed onto the floor. It flinched a little bit from the heavy fire and then charged at Link. Link dodged out of the way of the charge and struck at the Gold Lynel's skin with the Master Sword. After his flurry of attacks. The Lynel started to breath fire from its mouth. Link ran away to the side from the Gold Lynel, making sure the fireballs it spat out didn't hit him. He'd fought many Lynels before, so he knew the routine in killing one. Except he looked back at the Lynel's skin and saw it start to form back together. "They can heal now?!" Link exclaimed with great confusion. Ganondorf got off of his horse and ran straight towards the Gold Lynel with its back turned to him. Ganondorf grabbed the Lynel's back legs, which caused the Gold Lynel to slide onto the ground from Ganondorf's grab. Ganondorf started spinning around in place with the Lynel in his hands and then he let go of it, throwing it hard against a big rock. The Gold Lynel picked itself back up and roared gloriously and then pulled out it's weapons. It charged straight at Ganondorf. Ganondorf stood still and let the Lynel come to him. The Lynel swung it's weapon at Ganondorf, and then Ganondorf caught the weapon mid-attack with his bare hand. Ganondorf punched the Lynel in the face and took the weapon for himself. He swung the massive club-like weapon furiously at the Lynel, causing major damage to it. Link took advantage of the distracted Lynel and climbed onto it's back. He swung the Master Sword onto the Lynel several times, and the combined efforts of Ganondorf swinging the giant weapon and Link's Master Sword caused the Lynel to fall to the ground, limp and dead.
"You had to fight monsters like this one a lot 10 years ago?" Ganondorf said as he wiped some of the blood off his new weapon.
"None of them were ever golden like this one, but a lot of them did pose a huge challenge to me." Link said.
"Hah, I admire your bravery boy. You're a lot smaller than these Lynels, and I'm told that you ate these guys up for breakfast." Ganondorf said.
"They were a hearty meal, that's for certain." Link said. He observed the weapons that Ganondorf was holding. "You're holding a Savage Lynel Crusher. That weapon will probably do you a lot more good than most weapons you can find from lesser monsters."
Ganondorf held the Savage Lynel Crusher in his hand, observing the way it's crafted and how hard it could hit. Seeing what it did to the Lynel gave Ganondorf a good smirk. "This will do well for me." Ganondorf put the weapon onto his back. He noticed the Lynel's body also had a large metallic bow attached to it. Ganondorf pulled the large bow of the Lynel's body, which fit perfectly in his hands. "Now we're talking." He said as he put the bow onto his back with his Savage Lynel Crusher.
"Nice, now you have two weapons that will stay durable for a lot longer now!" Link said.
"Yes. Now let's keep riding." The two of them got onto their horses and started riding down the valley. More monsters tried attacking them, but Ganondorf and Link's combination of using the Lynel Crusher and the Master Sword ended up spelling doom for every monster in their way. Bokoblins got their brains splattered, Lizalfos lost their limbs, and Moblins were demolished by the Hylian and the Gerudo. As they rode through the valley, they painted the road in bloodied monster pieces. Link was taken aback by how sheerly powerful Ganondorf's attacks were, but neither of the two did any heavy lifting. They eventually found themselves in an area with wooden scaffolding, and then some arrows rained from above them. Ganondorf used his horse and his body to shield Link away from the hail of arrows falling down at them. The arrows broke against Ganondorf's skin. "Throw me some arrows boy." Ganondorf said to Link.
"Here you go!" Link reached into his quiver and gave Ganondorf a handful of bomb arrows. Ganondorf leaned himself back into position and knocked three bomb arrows onto his massive bow. Ganondorf and Link's horses slowed down in a way that allowed Ganondorf's bulky frame to keep the arrows from hitting Link. Ganondorf let go of the bow's line and the bomb arrows flew through the air towards where the hail of arrows were coming from. One of the bombs blew up in midair because it interfered with one of the arrows, but the other two bomb arrows hit the wooden scaffolding, exploding upon impact. The hail of arrows stopped. Ganondorf and Link looked at where the arrows impacted and then they saw the tumbling red bodies of Yiga Clan members among wood and rocks. "Yiga Clan members. Let's keep on going." Link said, and then the two of them kept on riding through the valley. 3 Guardians ran around the corner and targeted both Link and Ganondorf. Link jumped off of his horse and used his bow to shoot an ancient arrow straight into one of the Guardian's eyes, causing it to blow up instantly. The other two prepared to shoot, but then two more ancient arrows flew through the air behind Ganondorf and Link and they destroyed the remaining 2 Guardians. They turned around and saw a group of Hylians wearing Guardian Armor, and riding atop horses outfitted with their own Guardian armor as well. "Guardian Commandos! You're alive!" Link exclaimed.
"That we are, Link." One of the Guardian Commandos said. "You two can keep on going through there. We will join you back here. There are more Guardians coming."
"You got it!" Link said to the Guardian Commando. As Link and Ganondorf rode away, the Guardian Commandos turned around to see a swarm of Guardians, legged and flying coming their way. They charged straight for them with their Guardian weapons ready for fighting.
Link and Ganondorf eventually approached a gate that seemed to be blown open, as it had a rough hole cut right through it. Link and Ganondorf got off of their horses and ran through the hole together. They reached the Stable that was next to the Gerudo Desert. A Hylian stablehand was being attacked by some monsters, noticeably some of them were golden.
"What is up with these Golden monsters? I don't remember ever seeing them during the time of the Calamity." Link said.
Ganondorf replied. "I remember now. It's because my power as Calamity Ganon was very limited in creating stronger monster types. These Golden monsters seem to be the cause of Demise's power."
"Huh, would've been a doozy if I had to fight these Golden monsters during the Calamity." Link said. "Let's show them pain."
"Gladly." Ganondorf said. He pulled the Lynel Crusher off of his back and ran towards the Golden monsters. One of them was a Golden Bokoblin, and the other one was a Golden Moblin. Ganondorf swiped his Lynel Crusher at the two of them, causing them to smack against the rocky wall really hard. Ganondorf reached his unoccupied hand down to the Stablehand. "Get up." Ganondorf said.
The Stablehand picked themselves up. "When I was hired to work next to the Gerudo Desert, I did NOT expect all of this madness to be happening." The Stablehand said feeling exasperated.
"You're safe now." Ganondorf said. As he said that, the Golden Bokoblin and the Golden Moblin picked themselves up off the floor and recovered from their wounds.
"No I'm not safe, they're alive again!" The Stablehand said in a panicked voice.
"You're safe now." Ganondorf said. "Link, get 'em!"
Link pulled out an ice arrow and shot it at the Golden Moblin, freezing it in place. He pulled out a shock arrow and shot it at the frozen Moblin, which created a shockwave that shocked the Golden Bokoblin. Link ran up to the two monsters and slashed at the Gold Bokoblin with his Master Sword multiple times, which sent it sliding across the ground. Link turned around to Ganondorf. "Throw your Lynel Crusher to the frozen Moblin!"
"Sure." Ganondorf prepared his Lynel Crusher and threw it through the air directly at the frozen Moblin. The Lynel Crusher's massive weight caused the Moblin to break out of the ice in great pain. Ganondorf ran up to the Moblin as it started to recover and then he jumped into the air. He landed both of his feet onto the Moblin's torso, causing it's stomach to cave in and combust with blood leaking out if it's golden skin.
As for Link and the Golden Bokoblin, Link kept on smacking his Master Sword onto the shiny Bokoblin, but all it did was cause it to slide across the floor a lot. "Just die!" Link screamed. The Bokoblin got back up and squealed at him, and then Link thrust the Master Sword straight through the Gold Bokoblin's open mouth. The end of the sword that pierced through the Bokoblin's skin was bathed in blood, and Link pulled it out of the Bokoblin's mouth. The Golden Bokoblin fell to the floor, limp and dead, with blood leaking out of it's head. There were no more monsters in the area anymore.
The Stablehand fell to his knees. "Oh thank you two so much for repelling those evil creatures away from the land of the living!" The Stablehand started bowing down to Link and Ganondorf.
"You don't need to do that." Link said to the Stablehand.
"Yeah, it's embarrassing." Ganondorf said. "To you."
The two walked passed the Stable Hand towards the desert and gave each other a fist bump. Link shook his hand a little bit after having it impact with Ganondorf's fist. The Stable Hand looked at the two of them very flustered. "Whoa." He said quietly to himself.
The Stable was extremely run down. It's woolen fabric roof had holes in it, and the wooden structure around it was falling apart, but there were still a few Stable Hands around the place making sure they kept the Stable well functioning. A few Stable Hands were looking out into the moon-lit desert. Link and Ganondorf joined alongside them. One of them turned around to see Link and the large Gerudo man walking up to them. "Link! The Hero we need! And…" they looked at Ganondorf. "A male Gerudo? That's impossible!"
"It is possible." Ganondorf replied back dryly.
"I don't mean to sound like we're in a rush right now, but do you have any idea what's happening in the Gerudo Desert right now?" Link asked the Stable Hand.
"It's a wild fucking ruckus out there. Monsters are roaming across the place, Moldugas have been seen again in large numbers, and those red asshole Yiga Clan members are going to town!" The Stable Hand said.
"What do you mean 'are going to town'?" Link asked.
"They're going to Gerudo Town!" The Stable Hand said.
Link looked at Ganondorf. "That can't be good." He looked back at the Stable Hand. "Do you have any Sand Seals for sale?"
"To traverse the desert? Nah, we don't. They all ran away." The Stable Hand said.
"Damnit!" Link exclaimed. "We need to get to Gerudo Town as fast as we can!"
Ganondorf kneeled to the floor with his back to Link. "Hop on my back." Ganondorf said.
"Wha-?"
"Hop on my back." Ganondorf repeated.
"Okay then." Link climbed onto Ganondorf's back, positioning himself next to the Savage Lynel Crusher and the large bow. Link secured himself onto Ganondorf's back.
"Are you ready?" Ganondorf asked.
"I always am." Link replied.
"Good." Ganondorf stood up and then started running through the Desert. The Stable Hand stood in shock at how fast Ganondorf was running. Link held on tightly. He looked down and saw Ganondorf's legs running swiftly across the sand. The ground moved by really fast. Ganondorf wasn't running as fast as a Sand Seal would swim through the sand, but Ganondorf's pace was fast enough to have Link grip onto his green cap. Then Link got an idea. He took his Hylian Shield off of his back and attached it to his feet. Then he took a rope that he had on his waist and tied it around Ganondorf's torso. "What are you doing?" Ganondorf said through heavy panting.
"Improvising." Link replied. He jumped off of Ganondorf's back and held onto the rope. He landed shield first onto the sand and started sledding across the sand. "Haha! Now you're a Sand Seal- AHH!" Ganondorf's running kicked up the sand into Link's face.
"Silence." Ganondorf said as he continued running through the desert. They eventually saw the Kara Kara Bazaar. There was a big fire going on around the area.
"Take us here!" Link said to Ganondorf as he tried angling his face away from the sand.
"Alright then." Ganondorf ran towards the Kara Kara Bazaar and then he spun around randomly.
"What are you doing?!" Link said as he was holding onto the rope for dear life.
"Improvising." Ganondorf replied. He grabbed the rope and untied it from his torso, and then he spun the rope above his head several times. Ganondorf then threw the rope towards the Bazaar, with Link still holding onto it.
"Ahhhhh!" Link screamed as he flew through the air and closer to the flames at the Bazaar. Ganondorf looked up at him and then gave a slight chuckle. Link landed shield-first onto the ground and then he lost his balance. He ended up rolling through a few flames and then dropped into a body of water, where the flames were doused away. He quickly swam back out of the water and looked up to see 6 Yiga assassins looking at him. They raised their bows and pointed them at Link, but then Ganondorf's large body ran into them, sending them flying. One of the Yiga assassins got their jaw dislocated by Ganondorf's knee as it smacked into their face. Ganondorf raised the Savage Lynel Crusher above his head and swung it down with a great force towards the last living Yiga assassin. The Yiga was crushed to death instantly by the weapon, and their blood sprayed into a bunch of different directions. Some of the blood sprayed onto Ganondorf's legs, but a lot of it sprayed onto Link's face as he was crawling forward. "AH!" Link dipped his face into the water to wash the blood off and then he got back up.
Ganondorf pointed forward. "More enemies!" He said as 7 more Yiga assassins came running towards them, with an armed Golden Lizalfos trailing next to them.
Link pulled out his Master Sword and armed his Hylian Shield. "Let's mess 'em up." Ganondorf prepared to swing his Lynel Crusher at the incoming Yiga assassins. He swung, but they dodged his attack. One of the Yiga assassins tried stabbing Ganondorf in the back, but their blade broke upon impact with Ganondorf's skin. Ganondorf turned around and smacked the Yiga assassin off to the side with a backhand. 6 Yiga assassins surrounded Link. 2 of them ran in towards him and with two swings of the Master Sword, both of them fell to the floor dead. The other 4 Yiga attacked at the same time, but Link gave out a quick spin attack which hit all 4 of them. Their heads rolled on the floor towards the last remaining Yiga, who noticed a head roll up to them. They looked up and saw Ganondorf ready to slam the Lynel Crusher into them. The Yiga quickly teleported out of sight and Ganondorf slammed the weapon onto the ground. Link saw the Golden Lizalfos run up to him with a metallic boomerang in its hand. The Lizalfos prepared to open its mouth and then it let out a big tongue that caught Link by surprise. The tongue punched Link away and then he rolled on the floor for a little bit before regaining his balance. The Golden Lizalfos threw it's boomerang towards Link. Link pulled out his Sheikah Slate and pressed a button which created a stream of magnetic energy coming out of the Slate. The magnetic energy caught the sharp metallic boomerang in mid-air, and it was spinning around in place. Link walked forward towards the Lizalfos with the metal boomerang spinning in the air. It cut into the Gold Lizalfos like a buzz-saw. The Lizalfos screeched wildly from the pain and then eventually the spinning stopped. Link jolted his Sheikah Slate upwards, which sent the metal boomerang high into the air. He pulled out the Master Sword and prepared to fight the Golden Lizalfos. It rushed towards him and it tried licking with its tongue again, but this time Link parried the tongue attack and slashed the Lizalfos multiple times. The Lizalfos slid backwards and then the metal boomerang fell directly onto the Lizalfos, cutting it right down the middle. "You know what they say; boomerangs come back." He looked at Ganondorf.
Ganondorf shook his head in disapproval. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"Yes." Link replied.
"That was terrible." Ganondorf said as he put the Lynel Crusher onto his back.
"I know." Link said.
"Is there anyone around here?" Ganondorf said as he looked around. He looked at some empty fruit stands. No one was there. Then a Gerudo woman walked out of the building in the area.
"Hey, you two! Come here!" She said to the two fighters. They ran up to the Gerudo woman. "I saw you guys take out those Yiga assassins! They're giving us big trouble all over the desert! Even in Gerudo Town!"
"Is there anyone else here at Kara Kara Bazaar?" Link asked the Gerudo woman.
"No, it's just me." The Gerudo woman moved to the side and showcased a dead Yiga body with a spear in it. "We had to evacuate this Bazaar, but I slept through the evacuation. I've been defending myself in this building for a while now."
"Dang, you really know how to put up a fight." Link said. "As all Gerudo do."
"That's right." The Gerudo woman looked at Ganondorf. "Do I know you from somewhere? You look handsome with that red beard on your face."
Ganondorf blushed a little bit. "Uh, maybe we did meet somewhere."
"Man! I wanna smother my face into your chiseled abs!" The Gerudo woman said happily.
Ganondorf looked down at Link. "Let's go to Gerudo Town before I get seduced by this witch."
"Okay bud." Link said. "See ya."
"See ya around, handsome!" The Gerudo woman said in reference to Ganondorf.
The two of them walked back outside of the building. Link looked up at Ganondorf. "Dang, already getting a good first impression. From the ladies no less!"
Ganondorf corrected Link. "From a lady, and that one woman seemed way too enthusiastic to see a Gerudo male like me."
"You never know, a lot of stuff has happened since the last time you ravaged the land." Link replied.
"That's true." Ganondorf said. The two of them looked at the sand dunes.
"Gerudo Town is in that direction." Link pointed.
"Alright. Get onto my back again." Ganondorf said as he knelt down.
"Gladly, handsome." Link said as he started climbing onto his back.
Ganondorf chuckled a little bit. "No, you're handsome." He said back.
Link fully secured himself on Ganondorf's back. "No you're handsOOOOME!" Ganondorf ran quickly across the sand dunes into the direction that Link pointed. It didn't take long for them to see a few plumes of smoke coming from the horizon. They saw Gerudo Town in the distance, with flames around the place. A Lizalfos ran alongside Ganondorf and was searching for a moment to strike. Link latched himself onto the large bow and pulled out his own bow. He hung off of the bow with his two legs and fired an arrow at the Lizalfos, killing it instantly. He recovered himself back into Ganondorf's back. Ganondorf slowed down and grabbed Link off of his back, setting him down on the sand in front of Gerudo Town. There were no guards at the gate, but the sounds of violence and screams came from inside of the walls. The two of them jogged into the gates of Gerudo Town.
"So this is Gerudo Town." Ganondorf said.
"Yep." Link said. "Usually they only allow women inside of the town, but if you crossdress convincingly enough, you would be allowed inside of Gerudo Town." Link watched as an explosion went off inside of the town. "Right now however, it's all hands on deck! We're allowed in!"
"That's good." Ganondorf and Link ran inside of Gerudo Town to see a lot of the structures on fire. There were also many Gerudo Warriors fighting away against Yiga soldiers. A Yiga soldier teleported right next to Link, which he prepared to fight, but then a spear flew right into the Yiga's head and pinned them against the wall. A Gerudo Warrior ran right up to the spear and took it out of the wall, which caused the Yiga to fall limply to the floor.
"Link! Lady Riju is in the palace!" The Gerudo Warrior screamed to Link.
"Don't worry, I will assist her!" Link said.
"Good!" The Gerudo Warrior exclaimed. She looked at Ganondorf with a glare and then she ran back into battle to fight some more Yiga soldiers.
"You heard the vai! Let's fight!" Link exclaimed to Ganondorf. He pulled out the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield and ran forwards into the fray.
Ganondorf lightly chuckled and pulled out his Lynel Crusher. Ganondorf swung his weapon around in circles above his head, which intimidated a bunch of the Yiga soldiers around the area. Link chopped his way through a horde of Yiga soldiers and he ran up the steps towards the palace. Ganondorf smacked a few Yiga soldiers away and followed Link up the stairs. He also shot a few more bomb arrows out into the Town, which managed to kill another wave of incoming Yiga soldiers.
As the two of them ran inside, there were a few Yiga soldiers running around, fighting at some Gerudo Guardswomen. Link and Ganondorf ran in and wrecked the rest of theYiga up, sending a few of them flying out of the horizontal window that was at the end of the room. Ganondorf accidentally swung and hit a statue in the room, which fell down and shattered. Link looked at Ganondorf with widened eyes. "Oopsie daisy." Link said.
"Hah." Ganondorf laughed a little bit and got back to killing more Yiga soldiers. Eventually, a Gerudo female wielding an ornate shield and a sharp scimitar fought her way into the room. She looked at Link and smiled.
"Lady Riju!" Link exclaimed.
"Link!" Lady Riju replied.
"I see you have Urbosa's weapons!" Link said.
Lady Riju sliced away at a few more Yiga soldiers. "Why let them sit and collect dust! Come with me! I need you for something!"
"Alright then!" Link said. Link and Ganondorf followed Lady Riju up the stairs of the palace and up to the highest point of Gerudo Town. There was a catapult on the top of the structure. "What's with the catapult?" Link asked.
"I'll get to that in a moment." Lady Riju said as she looked down to see Gerudo Town in chaos. "You know about the Yiga stronghold known as the Arbiter's Grounds, and we've heard word that they are planning on releasing something big in there!"
"What could it be?" Link asked.
"No idea! That's why I will launch you from this catapult." Lady Riju said as she showed off the catapult.
"Wait what?!" Link exclaimed.
"You up for it?" Lady Riju asked.
"I sure am!" Link said as he huddled himself onto the catapult immediately. Lady Riju started cranking the catapult.
"Fire!" Lady Riju screamed as she let go of the catapult's crank, which made the catapult spoon fling forward with a visceral force, and Link went flying through the night air at an extremely fast pace.
Lady Riju turned her attention to Ganondorf. "A Gerudo Voe, I see." Riju said.
"Yes, a peculiarity that a lot of people like to notice." Ganondorf replied.
"I would have a different point of view of you entirely if you were here during a time of peace, but right now a war is breaking out, so I will make an exception for you. Your name is Ganondorf, correct?"
Ganondorf sighed. "Yes, my name is Ganondorf."
"History likes to paint you as someone who made conflict. But in the current circumstances in which I saw you working with Link, I believe you can help us greatly. Follow me." Riju said to Ganondorf.
"Where are you taking me?" Ganondorf asked.
"To get you armor worthy of a Gerudo voe like yourself." Riju replied.
"Booyahahaa!" Link screamed as he flung through the air at a dizzying speed. He saw the tower of Arbiter's Grounds come closer to him and then he released his paraglider. He was still moving forward at a very rapid rate. He glided towards the very top of the tower, which was a flat platform with broken glass. Link landed on the top of the tower and took a notice of the mirror in the center of the platform. "That must be the Twilight Mirror." Link said to himself. He walked up to it, and then the ground underneath him shook a little bit. The broken glass on the floor vibrated, and then the top of the tower started lowering itself, as if the whole floor was a lift in and of itself. The platform rotated in a circular motion in it's descent. Link looked into the moving patterns of the Twilight Mirror, and then saw someone walking out of it. Two people actually. They arrived at the exit point of the mirror and observed Link. The two people included a Yiga Blademaster who had a dark outfit with red highlights, and the other person was a strange person with light blue skin, dark hair and yellow eyes.
"Ahaha!" The Yiga Blademaster exclaimed. He looked to the other person who came out of the mirror. "That's Link!"
The strange individual with yellow eyes spoke back with an aggressive tone. "He is the one who killed you?"
"No, a Sheikah Warrior killed me!" The Yiga Blademaster replied. "Link almost killed me 10 years ago! Hey, Link! Do you remember me?"
Link looked at the Yiga Blademaster. "To be frank, I don't. I faced a lot of people like you 10 years ago." Link said as he readied the Master Sword in his hand.
The Yiga Blademaster pointed ecstatically at the Master Sword. "That's it! That's the sword, Vaarc! The sword that carried him in combat!"
"...It glows with power." The individual with yellow eyes said inquisitively.
"Knock it out of his hands!" The Blademaster commanded the individual.
"I only take orders from Veerus. Still, that sword could be useful... and is far too dangerous in his hands." The individual with yellow eyes, in just a few short seconds, turned into a wolf.
"What the?" Link said. The wolf ran up to him at an alarming speed and tried biting at Link's arms. Link dodged out of the way from the wolf's bites, swinging his blade towards the wolf, which sent it rolling away before regaining its balance. Link walked up to the wolf before it disappeared at an incredible speed. Before he could react, Link felt something hit him on the back and he dropped the Master Sword. It slid across the ground amongst the glass on the floor. Link ran up to it and then a few pillars started to surround Link and the Blademaster, creating a barrier. The individual with yellow eyes appeared on the other side of the pillars, next to the Master Sword, examining it.
"You did it Vaarc! Now I can fight this Menace fairly!" The Blademaster said to the blue skinned individual. The Blademaster reached for an extra sword on their back and tossed it to Link. "Now, Hero. Prove yourself in a fair fight, with no Master Sword in your hand!"
Link picked up the sword and stood in a battle stance. "Well then, do your worst."
"I will." The Blademaster approached Link with their weapon ready. They cut their blade into the air and then a blade of wind came from the sword. Link sidestepped out of the way of the attack and advanced towards the Blademaster. The Blademaster swung their blade towards Link and then he shield parried the Blademaster's incoming attack. Link retaliated with a swing of his sword, and surprisingly to Link, the Blademaster parried back his sword attack. Link backflipped away from the Blademaster's next attack and then rushed straight for the Blademaster, slashing at their body multiple times. The Blademaster flinched from the attack and planted his sword into the ground. A gust of wind traveled towards Link, jutting a lot of the small pieces of glass into the air. Link almost decided to paraglide from the gust of wind, but he ran away from it instead, as he knew the glass shards wouldn't be fun to glide into. The wind pelted the glass shards towards Link, so Link pulled up his shield and turned towards the gust of wind in order to block the glass shards from his face. He allowed the shards to pelt against his stomach and legs, as they were protected by armor underneath his green tunic. The gust of wind caught up to him and then a rock popped out of the ground, sending him flying into the air. The Blademaster teleported up to the place in the air where Link was and attempted to strike him, however Link brought up his Hylian Shield to block the incoming attacks mid air. Just before he hit the ground, Link pulled out his paraglider and landed safely on the floor. The Blademaster teleported behind Link and almost hit him, but Link ducked underneath the Blademaster's attack. He took the opportunity and stabbed his sword into the Blademaster's stomach. "OUUGH!" The Blademaster exclaimed as the sword dug itself into his stomach. He fell to the ground, and Link took the sword out of his stomach. "You fight well, Hero. Even without that Master Sword. Looks like I underestimated you. You beat me fair and square, and that's all I ever wanted, to see which one of us would come out on top in a fight like this." The Blademaster looked at the individual with yellow eyes. "Thank you, Vaarc, for giving me this chance to fight him one more time." The Blademaster turned to Link. "Now, kill me."
Link looked down at the Blademaster. "Why would I kill you?" Link said. "You seem pretty intelligent. Join me and maybe you'll have another chance at life, like what that Vaarc guy gave you." Link handed the Blademaster a red potion.
The Blademaster was speechless. "After all I did. All of my actions. You actually seek to forgive me? You killed countless Yiga Clan members! Why exclude me?!"
"Because I can read you. The fact that you challenged me to a fair duel and even were given a second chance at life shows me that you can change yourself." Link looked at the individual with yellow eyes, whom Link now recognized as Vaarc, on the other side of the barrier. He was looking at the Master Sword on the ground.
"The power emanating from this blade." Vaarc said as he looked at the Master Sword's glow. "It's power in my hands would bring honor to the Twilight Realm." Vaarc grabbed the hilt of the Master Sword and then his hand started to catch fire. "AHH!" He threw the sword back onto the ground. "Curious. Why does it reject me!?" It was the first time he had spoken to Link directly.
Link looked at Vaarc. "Because only someone pure of heart can wield that blade, among other prerequisites."
The Blademaster snapped his fingers and then the pillars that created the barrier flew up into the sky. Link took the Blademaster's mask off. "Why shouldn't I spare you?" Link asked.
The Blademaster's face was revealed, with a sad face full of regret. "Because… because… I was the one who put the curse on Kakariko Village. I caused Impa's death." The Blademaster cried into his hands.
Link looked at the Blademaster with almost murderous intent. "YOU were the one who caused Impa's death?! YOU put the curse on Kakariko Village?! For what?!"
The Blademaster sobbed more into his hands. "B-because… I wanted to prove that the Yiga Clan was a deadly threat to the Sheikah Clan. I met a Sheikah Warrior who tempted me to stand down, and so I decided the best way to get back at him was to put a curse on the village that he came from. He killed me, but it was too late, the curse took Impa's life."
Link paced on the floor, looking at the sword in his hand, and then to the red potion in his other hand.
"Kill me!" The Blademaster said as he looked up at Link. Link looked at the Blademaster and he held his sword in a neutral position. "Murder me! I've done too many wrongs in my life!"
Link closed his eyes. "No. You were already killed before. You have been given a second chance at life for a reason. You should make the best of it."
The Blademaster looked at the ground at the fractured glass. He saw his own face in the reflections of the broken shards. It felt poetic, to look at himself, a jumble of pieces. He looked back at Link and struggled to pick himself up. He covered his stab wound with his hand, and the blood dripped between his fingers onto the glass shards. "Link. You are the greatest person I ever met." Then he pulled out his sword, and stabbed himself in the chest. Link widened his eyes. He fell to the ground, his face smashing into the glass shards on the floor. A bloody mess coming from his face.
Link looked at the Blademaster on the floor. "No way…" Link said with a somber voice. "He could have been so much more, had he not ended his life so soon, especially after being given another chance." Link looked at Vaarc. Vaarc had seemingly not noticed the event, instead still focused on the Master Sword. Link walked up to the Master Sword and reclaimed it for himself.
"Your name…" Vaarc said. "Link… it echoes itself through the history of the Twili. A Hero much like you, who shared your name, brought peace to the Twilight Realm many millennia ago. They said that he wielded a weapon that looked exactly like the one you're wielding right now. I am sure you met with someone named Veerus before. She is my cousin. Her ultimate goal is to wipe out the past by using something called the Triforce, and to recreate the world into a land of peace, much like what your predecessor did for the Twilight Realm. I don't understand how that could be viewed as a bad thing, a Hyrule at peace."
"Then you clearly cannot see the big picture." Link said. The rotating lift platform stopped, and then a few doors opened up, leading to the cool and chilly weather of the Gerudo Desert outside. Link looked at the Twilight Mirror. Then he looked up the inside of the tower towards the night sky, where a black portal was suspended in the air. Small black squares came out of the portal and then formed into the black armor of Veerus. She looked at Link.
She spoke with a menace through her mask. "I see you have met my inferior cousin, Vaarc. He is a much weaker warrior than purebred Twili, but he has his uses."
"Veerus, your plan is insane! You can't possibly think it will work! What makes you think you have the right to remake the past?" Link replied.
Veerus showed no emotion because of the mask in front of her face, however Vaarc knew that Veerus was growing angry underneath her armor. "I will be a just and kind ruler in my new world, as I have been for the denizens of the Twilight Realm. I learned how to make Vaarc harness his wolf transformation, even when other Twili would rather have seen him killed. I gave the Twili a new purpose to work towards. I even revived the disgraced Blademaster. And yet here you are, resisting my plan, despite the clear proof that I am what Hyrule needs."
Vaarc stepped away from Link, clearly knowing what Veerus was about to do. "She's going to do something terrible to you right now. You should run." Link stood his ground and showed no intent on leaving.
Veerus looked at the Twilight Mirror and let out a terrifying sound. Link looked inside of the mirror and saw something approaching from inside of the mirror. It came closer and appeared to not be an it, but a them. Multiple strange and beastly dark creatures with red lines flowing through their skin. Link stood still and watched as the army of these beastly creatures came out of the portal. "The Hero of old defeated these Shadow Beasts in large numbers, but never numbers as big as these." The Shadow Beasts came out of the portal at an alarming rate, and they poured all over around the room. Some of them approached Link, but Link slashed at them with his Master Sword. Noticeably, the Shadow Beasts seemed to be scared of the Master Sword's glow. Link drank the red potion in his hand and shot an energy beam towards the Shadow Beasts. They screeched awfully at the beam's proximity. Link ran for it through the doorways to the outside. Vaarc transformed into a wolf and ran after Link. The Shadow Beasts were hesitant to chase them, but Veerus looked at them.
"Chase him, Shadow Beasts." Veerus exclaimed to the Shadow Beasts. The Shadow Beasts looked at Veerus in fear and then ran through the doorways to the outside where Link was, Vaarc still in pursuit. They kept on chasing after him as he ran through the sandy terrain outside, vaulting over the different pieces of wood that fenced the area. Link felt a vibration on the floor and looked up to his right. He saw Vah Naboris, with red glowing lights walking straight for him. Electric balls permeated around it, and they summoned a lightning cloud that prepared itself for Link. Link looked up and closed his eyes. He heard thunder, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw Lady Riju on her Sand Seal, wearing the Thunder Helm, which is known for keeping lightning strikes from hitting their targets.
Lady Riju looked at Link underneath her Thunder Helm. "It fits now, doesn't it?!" Riju exclaimed.
"Riju, I love you!" Link said.
Riju threw Link a reign that was attached to the same Sand Seal. "Grab this reign! We need to go!"
Link grabbed the reign and hopped onto his shield. The Sand Seal carried him away from the Arbiter's Grounds. Riju looked behind herself and she saw the horde of Shadow Beasts coming their way, running through the sand. Thankfully they weren't as fast as the Sand Seal. They rode up the sandy dune and eventually were greeted by hundreds of other Gerudo Warriors riding on their own Sand Seals away from Vah Naboris. Riju looked behind herself again and she saw the Shadow Beasts running across the desert sand. Then the large gaping mouth of a Molduga came out of the sand and ate the Shadow Beasts up whole.
Link looked to the side of his Sand Seal and saw Ganondorf ride up to the side of him, wearing a set of Desert Voe armor. The armor covered Ganondorf's legs completely, and he had a shoulder pad with armor going down one side of his arm. The armor exposed the chest and stomach, which accentuated the powerful muscles underneath. "That looks good on you!" Link exclaimed to Ganondorf.
"I think it would look good on YOU!" Ganondorf replied.
"Well excuuuuse me, handsome!" Link snapped back gleefully. The Gerudo Warriors rode their Sand Seals to Gerudo Valley. Vah Naboris was closely behind the group. There were horses ready for most of the Gerudo Warriors, but the warriors that didn't have horses started running forward through Gerudo Valley. Link, Ganondorf, Riju, and the Gerudo Warriors all charged through Gerudo Valley, past the dead bodies of the monsters. The Guardian Commandos were ahead of them, killing the last Guardian in the area. They took their horses and charged with the Gerudo Warriors out of Gerudo Valley towards the broken bridge. One of the Guardian Commandos stood next to the broken bridge and had a Sheikah Slate held up, using magnesis on a metallic slab. The metallic slab was being suspended above the ravine for the horses to run across. Each horse ran across the metallic slab which thankfully held up because of the horses' ability to understand stable ground. Three horses went at a time across the bridge, and then eventually after a few minutes, Vah Naboris started walking around the corner through Gerudo Valley. Once everyone had made it to the other side, the Guardian Commando let go of magnesis and whistled. Their horse teleported next to them and they rode with the rest of the Gerudo Warriors across the bridges away from the Gerudo Region and into the distance towards Hyrule Castle.
The sun started to rise, however Link looked back and saw Vah Naboris perching itself on top of the Great Plateau, joining the other Divine Beasts. It prepared a laser sight. Whatever was going to happen, Link knew it was bad, but the army marched onwards to Hyrule Castle across Hyrule Field.