Chapter 26: All that I Have
When the door to the fort flew open, Zelda slid back further against the wall. She gasped, completely unprepared. But Link was ready. He held his arm out in front of her and she grabbed it instinctually.
The figure lifted its head, revealing a face that was completely shrouded in darkness, only a faint red light emanating from under a hood. Its speech was a breathy whisper. "I've been sent to guide you through the storm. It is safe now, but not for long." It held out a pendant in its bony hand, and Link immediately recognized the symbol. It was Rauru's.
Link stood and offered Zelda his hand. "I know this symbol. It's time to go."
She was still breathy, and she could see the flush all over his body, but this was their only break. She nodded and rose to her feet.
The figure let out a hiss. "When I step out, only my shadow will be visible. Stay close to me."
Link didn't let go of Zelda's hand and turned to her. "Keep hold of me and don't get eaten again," he only half jested.
When they stepped out into the sand, the storm had broken. The winds were still there, blowing hair and sand, but it wasn't violently blinding as it had been. The figure was gone in an instant, and the sand made it hard to see the shadow.
Once or twice, they both lost sight of it until it reappeared directly in front of them. The walk felt like it took forever, and the wind had started to pick up once again. The shadow moved faster and more urgently, while Link and Zelda stumbled along through the sand.
Finally, the wind died down just enough that they caught an incredible sight in the distance. The outside of the Spirit Temple depicted a massive replica of Colossus with her hands outstretched beyond the temple door.
"This is where I leave you," the figure's voice whispered inside their minds. Though unnerving, it was what they needed to prompt them forward.
As they reached the doors, Zelda stopped Link. "We'll find her. She's alive."
He nodded and finally let go of her hand to pull out his shield and slip it over his arm.
They entered a vast room with carvings along the walls and across statues with foreign prayers. Zelda stepped back and in a puff of smoke, she once again appeared as Sheik and stretched her bad leg.
"Does that hurt? You don't have to come." Zelda stared at him with a bland expression and pushed past him to reach the first door.
They went through several rooms to reach the center of the temple where another massive replica of the outer Desert Colossus waited.
"Something feels odd in here. Can you feel it?" Zelda asked, looking around.
"I can, but I don't know what it is."
A darkness fell over the room before a tall figure stepped out. Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword, his breathing heavy.
Ganondorf.
"Well, well, well. You've grown, haven't you, boy? You did well to pass my guards at the tower. To find you here, I'm not surprised. And look, you are wearing my armor. Fate is a funny thing, isn't it, kid?"
Ganondorf stepped further into the room. Every long stride he took sent Link and Zelda back a step. "Your Sage has been very accommodating. She told me all about you. The Sacred Realm? I suppose I should have thought of that when I locked you up. If there's one thing I know, it's that a Gerudo can fight. If she and a Goron trained you, you'd better be worth my time by now. Perhaps her usefulness is up."
Link spun his sword in his hand, waiting. Patience, she'd taught him. With the Demon King, he wasn't going to rush into a thing.
It seemed like Ganondorf figured that out and turned his attention to Zelda. "Interesting. I saw you enter this temple with the Princess of Hyrule. Where is she? Certainly she isn't this Sheikah imposter?"
He reached out for her and Zelda rolled backwards, out of the way. Ganondorf just laughed and made a small gesture with his hand. Large, armored gloves reached out and held Zelda tightly until she started to scream.
"Darkness will always overpower the light!"
Zelda's guise slipped away and she was once again in her princess attire. Ganondorf smiled as she screamed again.
"Zelda!" Link called out.
Ganondorf moved between them and halted Link. "You are a greedy child, aren't you? You can only have one of them. Now it's time to choose."
Link thrust the Master Sword out, impaling Ganondorf. He looked down and started to laugh. Link quickly wrenched back the sword and watched as Ganondorf began to float. Plumes of smoke started to billow out from his shoulders and his face dissolved into a horned emptiness.
Glancing at Zelda, where she remained in the hands of a large Iron Knuckle, he forced his focus back to Ganondorf just in time to see a large energy ball of light thrown at him. Instinct told him to raise his shield, but instead, he swung the sword at the light itself, sending it back toward Ganondorf.
For a moment, the surprised look on Ganondorf's face was worth anything. He swung his cloak, deflecting the energy back toward Link. In a game of tennis, the two sent the ball of light between them, each swing gaining momentum and speed. Link couldn't see the ball as it sped towards him and it crashed against his chest with rippling force, sending him onto his back with a hard thud.
Immediately, Ganondorf sent another one at Link, But Link sprung to his feet and managed to deflect it again, resuming the back-and-forth between them.
Zelda watched, helplessly in the tight grip of the Iron Knuckle. Somehow, it felt as though it was draining her strength. The longer she stayed in its grasp, the less of the Goddesses' strength she could feel. It would have been impossible to become Sheik, even if she was able to.
Link was worried for her, especially when he heard her pained cries, but he had to remember what Rauru said to him: he needed to prioritize. He knew that Zelda would manage to be okay, but Ganondorf wouldn't wait.
He finally managed to deflect the ball of light back to Ganondorf, hitting him so that he floated down to the ground. Pieces of him broke off with the contact from the light, and Ganondorf rested on his knees, looking up at the hero.
"Not bad, kid, but this is just a Phantom of myself. Worthless creation. When we fight for real, you won't make it out that easily. Besides, I have other things to attend to now. The Iron Knuckle will take care of you. I hope you weren't too injured by the energy ball, I do long to fight yours full strength.
"Oh," he said, turning to Zelda. "Your father wasn't looking so well when I left the place. You might want to return home and stop playing being the hero."
She was too weak to respond, but the Iron Knuckle dropped her to the ground and took a step over her as she lay weakly on the floor.
Ganondorf's phantom appeared in front of her and she jerked back, but all it did was smile before turning to smoke and disappearing.
With a loud, metallic grunt, the Knuckle picked up a large axe and held it in both hands before raising it above its head, screeching out a war cry and charging at Link.
He braced his grip on his shield and studied the Knuckle, looking for weaknesses. Under the arms and around the neck were always good places to start, but the massive helmet might have an effect on easily taking the neck. It had to move slowly with the weight of its weapons and armor. He could see something small just over the shoulder, and he was pretty sure it was some sort of tie to keep the armor on. He'd have no choice but to aim for that small bit of string on a raging, armored monster.
The Knuckle began to swing its axe wildly, breaking the pillar in the room and shattering its remains so close to Zelda that she had to roll away. With its next swing, Link deflected a blow using the Master Sword, pushing the forceful axe back. He managed to hit the armor a few times, testing it. There was another weak spot in the bend of the arm, where it was two pieces of armor rather than one.
With a hard thrust, he lodged the sword through the weak point in the armor, causing the Iron Knuckle to hold the axe with only one hand while it recovered. Link took the opportunity to slash away at other weak spots in the armor, but the Knuckle recovered and backhanded Link, sending him flying.
He was tired and sore, but he stumbled up to his feet and dodged as many attacks as he could. With an axe that big, there was hardly a point in trying to fight weapon to weapon using the Master Sword. He had to tire the Knuckle out before he himself ran out of energy.
The fight dragged on.
The Iron Knuckle showed very little sign of wearing out. In fact, it was growing stronger, faster, and hitting harder. Link was tiring, but he knew there was no other choice but to fight, to stay on his feet and shake off the hurt.
Zelda continued to lay on the ground, her body becoming more pale and her energy fading as if it was physically being drawn from her. Her eyes barely stayed open as she watched.
"Help me," she could hear. Unsure if she'd finally started going crazy or not, Zelda looked around for the source of the voice, but there was no one.
"All I can give, I give to you. Help me."
The voice was a woman, and it was in the room with her. There was no one, no one but Link and the Iron Knuckle. Ganondorf's phantom was long gone.
She felt something, something like a physical force in her chest, and she found the will to stand up once again, but she could already feel it leaving her. She had to act fast, but she didn't know what she was acting on.
Until it finally dawned on her.
"Link!" she screamed as she started to wobble her way over to the fight. "Disarm her!"
Unsure what she was doing, he followed her orders and hacked at the easier arm access he had until the tip of his sword breached the armor again, causing the Knuckle to lose its grip.
Zelda ducked in between them and reached behind her for Link's left hand, knocking the Master Sword away. Link covered her with his shield as the Knuckle turned back towards them, axe raised.
Zelda's right hand outstretched toward the sky. "Goddesses, hear our plea…"
A great light filled the entire temple, and Link waited to feel the crushing weight of the axe on his arm, but it didn't come. Instead, as the light faded away back toward Zelda, he could hear the sound of armor clanking to the ground. Zelda followed, breathing heavily. Link followed her, holding her up, still keeping his shield between her and the Knuckle.
When the helm of the Iron Knuckle fell away, so did Link's shield.
Nabooru stood amongst the fallen armor before dropping to her knees in front of Zelda.
"I'm… free."
Link couldn't believe his eyes as Nabooru picked up a piece of her armor, staring at it in awe before her eyes moved to Zelda.
"I'm so sorry, Princess Zelda," she whispered, placing her hands on either side of her face, closing her eyes, and letting another light flow from her body through to Zelda's. The color almost immediately returned to the princess, and she began to move her muscles, testing her returned strength.
It was only then that Nabooru finally seemed to notice Link. She wildly crawled over to him and kissed him quickly before throwing her hands over his neck. "You're alive! I'm so sorry, Link! I'm sorry! I wasn't quick enough."
Link held her tightly. "Wha—?"
"Ganondorf took the temple himself. I wasn't here in time to stop him. He took my memories, my thoughts, my visions. Trapping me in the Iron Knuckle without a will of my own was torture, and then to fight you?"
"I don't-" Link tried again, but she shook her head, continuing.
"As the Spirit Sage, he augmented my abilities, and drew the spirit from the princess. One of us was to die: me in combat with you, or her as a result of my failure as a Sage."
Link kissed her cheek and held her face in his. "You didn't fail, Nabooru. The three of us are alive. You were one of the only Sages who wasn't killed. I wasn't killed. The princess is alive. Rauru is, the Shadow Sage is, and now, three new Sages are waiting for you in the Sacred Realm. Seal the temple when we leave and Ganondorf will not be able to return. As long as Hyrule is standing, you haven't failed."
She wiped a tear away and turned to Zelda. "If you hadn't heard me, I would have killed this world's one chance of being free. I would have killed my friend. Thank you."
Zelda nodded, still reeling from the abrupt return of her strength. Link leaned over and took her hand. "Are you okay?"
"I will be. I need to get to my father."
Nabooru stood up and brushed herself off. "I can't tell you if what he says is true or not. He spent many days here, but he never spoke of what he did outside. I will be with you both when the time comes to seal that evil man away. Let me help you now in the only way I can. Princess, all that I have… I give to you." She looked pointedly at Link one last time and held out her hands, a yellow light engulfing the two.
When the light faded, they were just outside of Gerudo Fortress.
Zelda grabbed Link and quickly pulled him up. "My father. Please!"
He nodded and they hailed the gate guard, prepared to get back to the castle… or to run straight into a trap.
