Chapter 15: Castles Across Three Worlds

Hyrule Castle, Front Yard

The party organized back into a mob, and pushed forward into the castle. They encountered the interior castle gates, which Darbus punched through and ripped apart. He chucked the ripped pieces of wood off, and threw them at the Interlopers that waited behind the gates. He crushed a few of them with the wood splints. The soldiers poured in around Darbus, clashing swords and axes with the Interlopers. The soldiers mowed them down, and moved down into the castle. But they didn't have to wait for Darbus to open the castle doors. Three lightly iron-armor clad soldiers launched through the doors, holding two handed katanas, but not the arming swords that they usually wielded. Their armor was constructed in rows of rectangular curved plates, which wrapped around the bodies of the Interlopers. They overlapped, with the top of one plate being covered by the other above it, but the tops also leaning in. Their legs had minimal protection, only being concealed by a layer of typical leg-wear. Their exterior of their forearms was covered by a long gauntlet, conforming to the shape of the arm. Lastly, their faces from the bottom of the nose down was wrapped with a cloth, only exposing their red eyes.

Say'ri and Yen'fay, who were in the front of the soldiers, stepped forward. Yen'fay wielded a forged killing edge, while Say'ri wielded Amatsu, the blade of the dead Yen'fay from her timeline. They halted to standstill, with two versus three. But Lon'qu stepped forward and joined them, using another forged killing edge. Yen'fay and Lon'qu jumped in the air, and two of the Twili Risen jumped. They clashed swords mid-air, and jumped back after one strike. The other Twili Risen swung at Say'ri, and she swiftly parried the hit. She spun back and swung at it, but it followed with an equally swift block with its sword. It pulled away and dashed back. Say'ri swung her sword down at it, with the tip grazing the chest of the Twili Risen.

The six swordsmen clashed swords, and the forces outside the castle watched and waited as one side would win. Yen'fay noticed and yelled "Go! Get into the castle! We'll hold them off!"

Chrom, Robin, Frederick, and Sully, who were in the front, charged forward into the castle, circumventing the battle. One swordsman looked to the side and saw Robin and Chrom. It fled from another swing from Yen'fay and jumped and accosted the two of them. It swung its sword at Chrom, and he barely managed to parry it with his reaction time. It pulled its sword back and thrusted again, but it stopped with the tip a few centimeters away from Chrom's chest. They watched as a sword shoved itself through the torso of the elite interloper at an upward angle. The interloper fell backwards, and Yen'fay caught his body mid-air. He pulled his killing edge out of the interloper and dropped the body on the ground. Yen'fay had stabbed his sword through by stabbing under the plates, and then through the chest. A fatal flaw, if the interlopers in this armor were to be taken by surprise.

"Er, thanks Yen'fay," said Robin.

Yen'fay gave a silent nod, and went to the other two elite interlopers fighting Lon'qu and Say'ri. Lon'qu parried a slice from the interloper, and they backed away from each other, putting distance between each other. The interloper bent his knees, held his sword by his side, and made a deep stare at Lon'qu. Lon'qu held his sword with the blade pointing out, holding the handle to the right to his face. But he lowered it a bit when he realized what the interloper was doing.

"By Naga! He knows the lethality technique!" he said.

The interloper made his lightning fast dash into Lon'qu, swinging his sword mid-way. Lon'qu side-stepped away, but it was not enough. The sword caught grasp of Lon'qu's upper right arm, slicing through like a cleaver through a loaf of bread. The excruciating pain radiated through his arm, and Lon'qu fell to the ground, dropping his sword, and clutching his right arm.

"AAAAAHhhhhHHH!" he yelled.

The interloper went to Lon'qu, now lying on the ground. He raised his sword, ready to finish the battle. Lon'qu looked down and away, and closed his eyes. He was a thrust away from death, but a spearhead thrusted itself through the upper chest of the interloper. The interloper was then pulled backwards, and dropped on the ground, with the spear still in him.

"Bastard," said a deep but female voice. "Man, where'd he get you?"

Lon'qu opened his eyes and saw Sully, crouching down to him in her red herring colored armor. He was leaning on his right side, and she rolled his body to the side to see the wound. She took his hand off of the wound, at which he grunted in pain.

"Damn, he cut you deep," she said. The slice looked like it could have cut his entire arm off. There wasn't a shortage of blood, and small puddles formed around him. And, a shortage of blood was causing him to lose consciousness. His eyes fluttered a bit, clear enough for Sully to see him barely awake.

"Dammit, stay with me. Hey, Cordelia! Get over here!" Sully shouted.

Cordelia landed her pegasus from the air, and dismounted by the two of them.

"Oh, that cut!" Cordelia said in shock.

"Can you heal him?" Sully asked.

"I can try. But something that severe-" Cordelia answered.

"Just try it!" Sully replied.

Cordelia used a mend staff on Lon'qu's arm. The blood stopped pouring out, and the skin around the wound sealed, but only with a transparent layer. The inside torn muscle was still faintly visible. The intense, piercing, stinging pain was subdued for now.

"Hey, Lon'qu, you still awake?" asked Sully.

"Barely," he whispered. "The pain's mostly gone. Thanks, Cordelia."

"No problem. Libra, all the cavalrymen, and I are rounding up the wounded, while the rest move into the Castle," said Cordelia. "I should get back to that."

She mounted on to her pegasus and flew back to the Town Square. Sully put her hand under Lon'qu and raised him to an upright position.

"Come on, let's get you to the town square," she said.

"What about that other Twili Risen swordsman?" he asked.

Sully looked and saw Say'ri standing atop the downed elite swordsman. His sword was pushed away and he Say'ri's heavy foot was standing on his neck. She held her sword down, and impaled the swordsman with Amatsu. She shoved the blade under the plate like Yen'fay. The Twili risen choked and gasped for air for a few seconds, then succumbing to his stab.

"Uh, yeah, Say'ri just got him," said Sully. "Let's get you out of here."

They stood up, and walked out the exit, down to town square.

Inside the Castle

How much more could there be after the onslaught that they've already gone through? Only the onslaught that could be brought by Lord Grateau, the last Interloper.

Chrom, Link, Robin, and Ren tread through the castle, making their way to the throne room at the top. Every other soldier that wasn't on horseback, pegasus, or wyvern was in here, granted that they weren't with the wounded in the town square. The four of them made their approach, as other soldiers went to other parts of the castle. The interior was surprisingly empty. It looked as if it hadn't been touched. The paintings and the carpets were intact, as were the windows. Hopefully the armory was intact, as they reached it at the end of the hall, four floors up. Ren cut the chains of the lock down, removing the lock. They opened the doors to find a mostly ransacked armory. The interlopers/Twili Risen helped themselves to the Hylian weaponry. But over in the corner, there was a chest. Link opened it, to find his array of gadgets, tools, weapons, and his shield. He dropped his current shield and took back his assortment of weaponry, then equipping the Hylian shield to his right arm.

Link then stepped out of the armory, and took notice of the gaze that Robin was giving.

"...?" (Link).

"How do you carry all of that?" asked Robin.

Link shrugged and walked past the tall double doors. They followed him through, into the ascending flights of stairs. Rays of light didn't fit the backdrop of what they were about to face. When Link confronted Ganondorf, it was storming as he approached the throne room. Now he was facing the last Interloper, and rays of sunlight where poking through the diminishing clouds.

The four of them ascended the two flights of stairs, and went into the throne room. Sitting on the throne, he waited. His sword was across his lap, and his hood was on his head. The four of them stopped just a few paces inside the long room, where there were miles of distance between them and Grateau. He stepped down from the throne, drawing his sword in his right hand. He raised it, then held it parallel to the ground, with the tip in his left hand.

"It is now that all three of the blades are in unison. We are wielders of the bridges that connect three different worlds," Grateau said, as he walked towards the four of them. "The Master Sword, Falchion, and the long forgotten Twilight Sword."

"You're outnumbered! There's for of us and one of you, and Link sure was giving you a run for your rupees before!" shouted Ren.

"But I'm stronger than ever now," said Grateau.

"This is getting tiresome. Robin!" shouted Ren.

Ren and Robin simultaneously launched projectiles at Grateau. Robin launched an arcfire, and Ren threw poison darts. The fireball hit first, and produced a miniature explosion, and they darts hit moments after. A smoke clouded the area around Grateau, but he walked right out of the smoke, without a single scratch.

"No, that can't be," said Robin.

"My war is with you two: Link and Chrom!" shouted Grateau.

Grateau vaulted into the air, and swung his sword down on Link, who blocked it with his shield. Link pushed him away, and Chrom swung his sword vertically down on Grateau. The tip cut through, and black squares seeped out from the cut. He winced, and jerked his sword back up to block the sword swings from Link and Chrom. The two of them swung down, and their blades both clashed on to the Twilight Sword at the same time. Robin and Ren observed, and much to their shock, Link, Chrom, and Grateau puffed away out of existence, leaving only black outlines of their bodies, in the poses that they were holding.

"What the?! What just happened?" stammered Robin.

"They must have warped somewhere else!" shouted Ren.

Footsteps were heard below them, and they turned around to see the backup that they didn't want to see.

"Great, the last thing we need. More Interlopers," said Ren.

Ylisstol Castle

Chrom, Link, and Grateau phased into the throne room of Ylisstol Castle, maintaining the same pose that they were in when they were in Hyrule Castle. The lifted their swords away from the clash, and took a gander at the room around them. They certainly weren't in Hyrule.

"What is this? Ylisstol Castle?" said Chrom.

"...?"(Link).

"It happened, didn't it?" Grateau said. "A battle between the three blades. Every time they touch together, they warp you to the different realms from which they originated."

"I'd like to go back to Hyrule then," uttered Chrom.

He swung Falchion at Grateau, who parried the swing. Link went and swung again, and his hit was parried as well. Grateau swung back, and Link brushed it away with his shield. Chrom dashed and jumped in, swinging his sword down on Grateau, and landed another slice, which leaked more of the black squares. Link followed the attack with a back slice. He rolled around Grateau and jumped, swinging while doing so. He landed a direct slice in Grateau's back, and Link kicked him down to his knees. He held the Master Sword to the back of his neck.

"Your end has come," Chrom said.

"Not just yet," said Grateau. "Behind you."

Six Ylissean soldiers entered the throne room, ready with spears and shields.

"Lord Chrom, what are you doing here? We thought you were away!" shouted one of the soldiers.

In the instant the soldiers walked in, Link saw Grateau's subtle movements. He saw a slight shift in his left leg, which raised a huge alarm inside of Link.

"!"(Link). He yelled for the soldiers to get out the room.

Grateau's swift and seemingly inhumane speed pushed him to an upright position, casting his sword outwards. Six black, dagger-like objects shot out at the guards. Time slowed down, as Chrom swung his sword to shove Grateau's down, and Link swung his sword to slice Grateau again. They hit the Twilight Sword and Grateau's body at the same time, and they warped again, out of Ylisse, into another world.

The Twilight Realm

Chrom pushed Grateau on to the ground, and he rolled over to the side, getting back up on his feet. They were back in the three-way battle, in yet again in another realm. Chrom immediately took in the dark surroundings, and the surges of black fog and clouds.

"Great, where are we now?!" he shouted.

"Welcome to the Twilight Realm," Grateau replied. "You're fighting in my homeland now!"

The black fog felt a bit humid to Link. There was something solid in it. Particles of some sort. The sudden surge of movement inside his body then alarmed him of what was in the fog: shadow crystals. He dropped to his knees, and then on his arms.

"...!"(Link). Not again. Not now especially.

He puffed and shattered into black squares, and reformed into a wolf. Chrom, looked at him, and Link barked in response repeatedly. Chrom looked ahead of him, and blocked the sword swing from Grateau. The two of them locked into battle, one on one. After dozens of sword parries, Chrom landed a slice across Grateau's chest, and another down Grateau's left arm. Chrom kicked Grateau down on to the ground, and raised his sword. He could have ended it there, but Grateau still had another trick up his sleeve. Or rather, the Twilight Realm had a trick up its sleeve. A being from the world of light is not meant to dwell in the Twilight Realm for long. Link was fine, since he would just turn into a wolf. But Chrom lowered his sword arm, and coughed into his shoulder. He coughed a black fog out, and it visibly stained his shoulder.

"You have have a few minutes until the light that forms within your body fades, and all that's left is darkness," said Grateau.

He was back on his feet as if the two sword hits were nothing. He went and swung at Chrom, to which he sloppily parried with Falchion. Their clash of parries wasn't as before, since Chrom was getting weaker and weaker. The shadow crystals were seeping into him. Their positions switched, and Chrom was lying on his back, holding his sword out, trying to hold off Grateau's Twilight Sword. While their swords were touching together as they fought, Link dashed in and sunk his teeth into Grateau's left waist. He screamed as Link growled. And quickly, their bodies warped out of the realm.

Hyrule Castle

Ren dug his sword into the downed body of the Interloper, and Robin singed the face of the other.

"Man, where are they?" Ren said.

As soon as he said that, Chrom, Grateau, and a wolf warped into the room. They were glad to see Chrom, but Ren was confused as to why a wolf was there in place of Link. The wolf was biting on to Grateau, and in response Grateau moved off of Chrom, and spun around in an attempt to get the wolf off of him. He whirled the wolf away and on to the ground near Chrom. Chrom stood back up, and had another coughing fit. The wolf got back up and moved in front of Chrom. Grateau was standing still, keeping a distance away from them. He slouched down, clenching his bite wounds on his left waist.

Ren started to run over to Chrom, and warped the distance across the throne room to him. He grabbed Chrom's arm and said "Don't move, and don't do anything." Suddenly Ren warped back to Robin, lying on the ground. Robin quickly knelt down to him, to which Ren said "Robin?"

"What is it, Ren?" asked Robin.

"Uh, I'm Chrom," he responded.

"What? I'm pretty sure I'm looking at Ren," said Robin.

"I'm telling, you, I'm Chrom, and Ren just did something- oh," said Chrom.

The two of them looked over to Wolf Link and "Chrom." Chrom held Falchion with two hands, and readied it in a thrusting position. Wolf Link was ready in front of him, growling and snarling at Grateau. Grateau took his hand away from the bite, and swung the Twilight Sword into an assassin-like wielding position. He looked as if he was going to perform the lethality technique. But to their surprise, he disappeared in a puff of black squares. He reformed behind "Chrom," and caught him by surprise. He subsequently impaled Chrom right through the stomach. The sword went halfway through, so half of the blade was in front of Chrom, and the other half was behind.

"Nooo!" Robin and "Ren" shouted. At the same time, Link howled at the top of his lungs.

Chrom fell to his knees and dropped Falchion. Grateau put his hand on Chrom's chest to keep him upright.

He whispered into his ears "Long-live the king. OR was it exalt?"

"You know, that doesn't matter, *cough*. I can be happy knowing that I've deceived the very man who taught me this," said Chrom.

"What incoherence is this?" replied Grateau.

"Take a look."

Suddenly the apparition of Chrom faded away. It revealed Ren'kir, kneeling, with the Twilight Sword halfway through his stomach. Grateau screamed, and shoved the blade farther in, and enough that he was stopped when the hilt of the handle reached Ren's back. Chrom, who no longer looked like Ren, charged over, but with Ren's sword. He tackled Grateau down, leaving him defenseless. Chrom jabbed his face, then stood up, and stabbed the sword through Grateau's heart, skewering him into the floor.

"You're not dying just yet, but I hope this is painful for you," Chrom uttered.

Chrom went and picked up Ren's body, and carried him out, as Link trotted along behind him. The battle was over, and Grateau lied down on the castle floor. Too weak to get up, but he still had enough life in him to stay alive. And he knew there was only one way this would end for him.

Later... Town Square

The soldiers rallied into the town square. The ones in need of medical treatment were gathered at the southern street, and the rest were lounging in the streets, waiting for the rest of their allies to come out from the castle. Frederick assumed command until Chrom came back.

He went to Libra and asked "Have there been any casualties?"

"Blessed Naga, we have none. However, the injuries and wounds of some of them are beyond our healing expertise," he answered.

"And what of these injuries, if you care to elaborate?" asked Frederick.

"Some of them have suffered arrow wounds. And, Lon'qu has sustained a very severe sword wound to his arm. The pain has been subdued, and the arm is still attached, although he may never be able to use his right arm again."

Frederick looked to the right, seeing Lon'qu sitting against the wall, with his upper arm bandaged, but completely limp. Sully was with him, and the two seemed to be enjoying each other's presences. Then he scanned around for Cherche. Up in the air, there were some fliers. It didn't take long for him to single out the only wyvern in the air, out of the pegasus fliers. He exhaled with relief, seeing her flying, and completely un-phased from the battle.

Whilst waiting for the others to return from the castle, he checked on his battalion. His cavalier group was huddled around by the eastern street. They were lounging like everyone else, and were at ease. Though, one would be alarmed by stacks and piles of Twili Risen/Interloper corpses around. The body of the Twili Bulbin Leader was also being carried out by Darbus and the other Gorons. How they would get it out, Frederick did not know. Perhaps they were going to throw it over the wall.

After what seemed like hours, one of the generals yelled from atop the fountain wreckage, "Rally up! Our forces are returning from the castle!"

They rallied into the Town square, to see soldiers exiting from the arched gateways. The last people who came out were Chrom and Robin. Chrom was carrying the corpse of Ren. A deep silence halted any voices, as they looked to their fallen ally.

"Though we are victorious, it was not without casualties. Ren'kir sacrificed himself, and took a stab that was supposed to kill me," Chrom said. "But he will answer for this. Grateau will face the highest punishment that there is."

The Throne Room

"Why, are, you, still here?" Grateau stammered, coughing out black liquid during each pause.

"..." (Link). It was to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere.

"Do you, not see me like this? I, can't go anywhere with a damn sword in me," Grateau remarked.

Link remained silent at Grateau's remark.

"We all know what will happen to me. *Cough,* They'll execute me. By hanging or by a sword, they will kill me," said Grateau.

"..." (Link). Link explained that Hyrule hasn't given a capital punishment for decades.

"I guess I'll be the first then, *cough.*

Note: At the last part with Grateau and Link, Link was turned back into a human by Midna. They presumably met in front of the castle, and she turned him back into a human, and he went back up to Grateau.

-Kaz