A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: A single singer is demarked in italics "like this", while a crowd singing is demarked "like this."
She wasn't sleeping much these days. She stood at the top of the ruins, resting quietly on one of the fallen pillars that had been knocked down during some struggle. Was it the first time that they'd invaded the Valley? Was it the second time? She wasn't sure. She didn't remember. She didn't really care.
Truthfully, she didn't really care about much of anything these days.
There was a part of her that regretted disappearing like that from the others, without even bothering to look at them to say goodbye. Sure, she had said goodbye…but it was over the shoulder. She hadn't even looked at them. That wasn't really a goodbye. That was just…leaving. And though she wanted to go back and apologize and give them a reason as to why she'd disappeared like that…she figured that they'd be better off if she wasn't around.
She'd spent some time in the Other Plane, where the wreckage of the Temple of Souls was. She'd built it back up with ease; perhaps the fact that she wasn't nearly as wrecked on the inside as Cia had something to do with that. But even she noticed that the place was looking like how she was feeling on the inside. A mostly-forested aesthetic, none of the trees and wooden trunks or twisting ivy that covered the place looked particularly inviting. They looked…sad. She was sad.
But she figured that she was going to have to live with that.
Now here she was, back in the Valley of the Seers. As a sort of kindness, The Goron High King had left a small garrison of troops to protect her. They were good and hardy folk, exactly the kinds of people that Gorons strived to be. But they were soldiers first, and brawlers second. They weren't prone to intellectual discussion. Not like some of the friends that she had made during that war.
That war….
She rubbed the fingers of her hand absently together, and sighed. She could still feel the white lightning leaving her fingertips, could still see the stunned look in Cia's face as she felt the magic course through her very being. And she could still feel the body of her other half fading away from existence. She kept telling herself that, in a way, Cia was living on within her…but she wasn't buying it. It felt like she'd had to cut her arm off, doing that. She knew that it was the right thing to do. But when she thought back to the sight of Zelda throwing her arms around Link, and seeing how close the two of them were in reality, she remembered the last words of her other half, and felt a dull lump in her chest.
Yeah, it was the right thing to do. But that didn't make it hurt any less.
"Madam?" She was stirred by the sound of a voice. It was a Goron captain, one of the leaders of the garrison left to attend to the Valley. He was a friendly-looking fellow, but was rather studious with his work. Lana put on a brave face and smiled.
"Yes, captain?" She asked.
"We've finished the evening rounds. I don't think that there is anything going on in the Valley tonight. With any luck, we'll have another quiet evening. Do you have any additional orders for us?" He asked. Lana smiled at the man's dedication to his job, and shook her head.
"No, captain. I don't. Thank you for your dedication to the job, though. It makes me feel very safe." She said with a smile. The Goron captain nodded.
"Fair enough, madam. Tell you what: I'm going to have a scouting party do one last sweep of the perimeter, and I'll instruct the artillery teams to keep the boulder catapults prepared for anything suspicious tonight. Wouldn't want there to be any stones unturned." He replied. Lana nodded a quiet thank you, and the Goron captain sauntered off to carry out his orders for the evening. Lana watched him go, and then decided to open up her spell tome. As she flipped through the ancient pages, she felt herself slowly resigning herself to her fate of isolation.
Because she wasn't a fool. She knew that the Hyrulian team was coming to visit her. She knew that they were going to send someone that she recognized to talk to her, because they were right to know that she would be highly offended if just some run-of-the-mill commander in the Hyrulian forces was to come and callously tell her that she was currently under the equivalent of house arrest. And she knew that they were right to think that she might be a wild card, even if it was Cia and not her that had done all of the things that had been done. Technically, they were the same person. They were right to fear her, in a way.
But it still hurt, all the same.
…
From their position high at the far end of the valley, a quartet stood at the peak of the hills. They were hiding their forces amongst the abandoned and forgotten trenches and foxholes that littered the place, like a predator stalking its prey. For now, they were waiting and watching.
Ghirahim yawned impatiently, and stared up at Ganondorf.
"I must say, My Master, this is a rather exhilarating experience. Here we are, sitting on the top of a shiveringly cold mountain, as the sun goes down, and we do not even have a plan of attack. This is excellent strategy." He said. Zant looked at him with a frown.
"How dare you talk about our most glorious and vile leader that way! I ought to cut your throat out!" The Twili hissed. Ganondorf, currently observing the Valley with a small captain's telescope, rolled his eyes.
"Be quiet."
And they were.
After a few more moments of Ganondorf silently contemplating the scene in front of him, he withdrew the telescope with a satisfied sigh. The little device clicked, and he put it in one of his many pockets.
"They do not have a particularly large force guarding her." He said. "A garrison of Gorons."
Zant and Ghirahim groaned. They knew how stout Goron defenders were. One Goron was worth at least twenty Bokolbins, or so the saying went. Fifty, if he was sufficiently angry.
"They have bolstered their small defense with several boulder catapults located on the western and eastern cliffsides." Ganondorf continued. "Taking them will be the absolute necessity of the battle. Ghirahim and Zant, you can decide who wants which side. I do not care, but you had better decide quickly." He gestured to the valley below them. "The main force will push through the middle of the battlefield, in a grand charge to concentrate their attention while Ghirahim and Zant take out the artillery on the sides. When they have fallen, the sheer numbers game will reduce the Gorons into a full retreat."
"You propose sending my men down there?" The Lord King Bulblin spat. He looked positively violated at the thought. "My men will be slaughtered like pigs!" He said. Ganondorf turned to him.
"War tends to do that." He said.
"What of you, oh glorious and grand leader?" Zant asked. Ganondorf gestured to the far end of the Valley, where a very old ruin graced the side and top of a large hill.
"The Sorceress lies in repose high atop that hill. She possesses something that is mine. It's only fair that I go pay her a visit…isn't it?" He asked, grinning.
…
Lana was roused from her musings when she heard a sound. It was not so much the sound itself, but rather its echo coming off of the hills and mountains and revebrating in the ruins around her. But there was no denying what that noise was. As the garrison around her hastily got into defensive positions, Lana felt a growing sense of gloom.
War horns.
They were under attack.
…
"AIYEYEYEYEYEYEYE!" Zant shrieked, slamming into the Goron forces like a crazed banshee. He had drawn both of his scimitars, and was hacking and slashing at anything that moved. He felt pinpricks of pain as spears and short swords poked through the small cracks in his armor and drew blood, but each and every time he felt this pain he felt a euphoric high. This was where he belonged. He was home.
He stabbed a Goron in the gut, and knocked the poor soul to the ground. In full view of the fallen creature's terrified friends, Zant made a sawing motion with his scimitars, and cut the head off of the thankfully-dead creature. He held it up…and threw it at the Gorons defending the mountain, and raced after it with his arms flailing and the look of true madness in his eyes.
…
Ghirahim snorted in frustration as the Gorons lunged at him, swords brandished. His force of Lizalfos and their Bokoblin minions were not nearly as successful out of the gate as Zant no doubt as, and now the leader of the Demon Tribe was bogged down in a pointless swordfight with two woefully incompetent Gorons. Goddess, did they even know how to hold a blade properly?
"You fight like women!" Ghirahim sneered, parrying their attacks and resisting the urge to yawn. "Infirm, prissy women!" He countered a move, and slammed his forearm into the nose of one of the Gorons, knocking him back. He stabbed the other Goron in the chest, and twisted the blade to make sure that he'd finished the job. He looked up at the horrified Goron that he'd disarmed, who quickly tucked into a ball and rolled away with the rest of his retreating friends. Ghirahim smirked.
"And you run like a cowardly woman, too." He said.
…
He had no idea why they'd brought so many soldiers. A good platoon would be enough at the most. But instead, here he was at the head of five Hyrulian platoons, with that damned Spymaster riding alongside him. This was supposedly 'for their protection,' Lord Gawain had assured them. Right, and perhaps monkeys might start flying through the air. All this was going to do was scare Lana, or make her angry. And that was the last thing that they needed. He wanted to explain to her in a way that he knew she would understand, and here was this overbearing bureaucracy screwing it up before it even began.
"You seem on edge, Ravager." The Lord Spymaster, Renee Shiftlett, remarked. She had tied her hair back into a rather complicated-looking braid, with a small ponytail down to her hips. "What troubles you?"
"The fact that we're going into this looking like we are totally and completely terrified of this lady." Itami growled. "Seriously, could we look any more fearful?"
"I see it as a matter of precaution." Renee replied. "You can't be too careful, and who knows? We might need the extra manpower."
"See, it's that exact line of thinking that's bothering me." Itami replied. "Lana isn't some mythical and terrifying beast that needs to be chained down. She's a human being. She's fragile and needs talking to, not a bunch of spears and swords pointed at her while that's done."
"Sounds like you have a soft spot for the Sorceress." Shiftlett replied. Itami turned to her and narrowed his eyes.
"Or it might sound like I'm a decent fucking person." Itami shot back. He raised an eyebrow. "You're new to this, aren't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lady Shiftlett replied, testily. Itami raised an eyebrow.
"Throat-cutting. You haven't ever done this before, have you?"
"It's called Lord Spymaster, Rava-"
"My name's Itami." Itami interrupted. "And don't kid yourself, princess. This business that they're asking you to do? It's throat-cutting. Don't gussy it up. You're being asked to find dirt on people and places, and look at ways to cut their knees out. You're always making sure that you're not one step, not two steps, but at minimum eight steps ahead of your enemies. Sometimes your friends. But if it comes to it? You gotta be okay with throat-cutting. That's the way this sort of thing works, princess." He turned to her. "I've been in the field my entire life, princess. From the look of you? You've got a lot of learning to do, because you do not look like a throat-cutter to me." He shrugged. "Before you know it, you'll have to make a decision that isn't safe, isn't clean, but is the best possible decision you can make considering the circumstances. And guess what? You'll still feel fucking dirty inside."
"Touchy sort, aren't we?" Ladhy Shiftlett replied.
"Spend some time with me." Itami replied. "It's part of my natural charm."
All joking was put to the side as they reached the top of the clearing, and were able to gaze upon the Valley of the Seers. Their expressions changed from vitriolic banter to abject shock. The Valley was in shambles. An army of darkness was advancing towards the ruins at the far end of the valley, and the small Goron garrison was getting easily overrun. The two boulder artillery positions were about to fall as well, leaving the Valley essentially at the mercy of whatever force this was.
"What the hell?" Lady Shiftlett remarked. "What are the Bulblins doing in the Valley, and what are they doing outside of the Outlands?"
"Lana." Itami said. His eyes widened in realization. "Lana!" He turned to Lady Shiftlett. "Give me five of your fastest men, I'm going around to the east and around the marshes to the back routes to the temple."
"What about me?" Lady Shiftlett asked.
"You wanna fight an army that outnumbers us exponentially? Be my fucking guest." Itami said. "Send off some runners; the Valley of the Seers is lost."
"Lost? Already?" Lady Shiftlett remarked. "But-"
"Goddess damn it, woman, did I fucking stutter?" Itami barked. "You wanna waste some more time? Lana will be dead because of it. Now gimme five men, and let's fucking MOVE!"
"Alright, alright!" Lady Shiftlett said. "Um…you five! With the Ravager-I mean, with Itami." She said. "Jenkins! You and Wilfork turn your asses right around and gallop as fast as you can for Castle Town." She turned to the Valley and stared grimly. "This doesn't look like any normal force of darkness."
"Wait!" Itami said to Jenkins and Wilfork. "Pass along this message to Ishaka as well: if the worst should come to pass, he can find me where it all began." There was a pause. "What are you waiting for? Go!" Itami shouted, spurring the two horsemen into action. Lady Shiftlett turned around to yell at him for superceding her command, but saw that he had already taken the five riders she'd given him and was racing towards the marshes to the east, long out of earshot.
…
From high atop his perch in the mountains, Ghirahim leaned against the wooden structure of the Goron-designed boulder catapult. The bodies of his enemies lay littered around the garrison, and his Bokoblins and Lizalfos were currently getting restless at the thought of waiting around and doing nothing. Ghirahim sighed dramatically, and filed his nails on the edge of his sword.
"Massssssster Ghirahim, there issss sssssomething on the horizzzzzzon." One of the Lizalfos remarked, walking up to him and pointing in the direction of the entrance to the Valley. Ghirahim looked over, and raised an eyebrow.
"Hm, indeed." He stood up, and lackadaisically walked over to the edge of the battlements so that he could get a better view. He was hastily handed a telescope, and he peered down the sights towards the twin hills at the entrance, and the small ravine that marked the only real entrance. "Well, what a pleasant surprise. Either some foolish humans have decided to venture into the Valley of the Seers to enjoy the view…or those are poor sods trying to reinforce the Sorceress of Time from her doom."
"What are your ordersssss?" The Lizalfos hissed. Ghirahim flipped his hair back, and chuckled.
"My good man, are these boulder catapults still operational?" He asked. The Lizalfos gave it a quick glance.
"Yesssss. It would not take ussss long to get them firing." It remarked. Ghirahim licked his lips.
"Wonderful! Now, would you be a dear and answer me this: do this cannons have the range to reach the far end of the valley…preferably, oh I don't know, the mouth of the valley?" He asked, though he had a feeling that he already knew the answer. He was not disappointed.
"Yessssss, it issss massster." The Lizalfos replied. Ghirahim grinned. It was not a pleasant sight.
"Well then, I don't think that I need to tell you your job then, do I?" He asked.
…
"Lady Shiftlett, orders?" One of the Hyrulians asked. From the front of the line, Lady Shiftlett was hesitant. She had been promoted up from Lord Reedus' branch of the government, from an able-bodied cryptologist and historian and legal mind to…whatever it was that the "Lord Spymaster" was supposed to be. She had figured that it was going to be a job that involved her breaking codes and staying out of the fight. And yet here she was, being charged with a field command. She had never had a field command before.
"Lady Shiftlett!" One of the captains rode up to her. "I see movement from the artillery positions up ahead! If we don't move, we're going to be sitting ducks!"
"I'm thinking!" Lady Shiftlett snapped back. She weighed her options. A direct attack was suicide. Digging in was also suicide. They weren't built for attrition. They were horsemen and archers and-
"Archers up front!" Lady Shiftlett barked. The head of the armed cavalry branch that was assigned to her expedition rode up.
"Yes, madam?" He asked. She turned to him.
"Take the fastest and most accurate of your archer horsemen and ride just behind the enemy advance in the center of the Valley. I want harassing shots, precise shots, anything to get them to slow their advance to give the Gorons some relief. The rest of us? We're gonna move around the western rim of the Valley: if we can, let's create a pocket for the Gorons to retreat back into the mountains and into their homes in the Goron kingdom."
There was a series of booms. They looked up and saw that the boulder catapults were now beginning to fire.
"Move!" Lady Shiftlett shouted.
The Hyrulians scattered just as the first of the boulders began to hit the ground.
…
She ran as fast as she could back and forth amongst the battlements, urging her friends and defenders not to give up hope. As yet another round of boulder fire crashed through the ruins and threw up clumps of dirt and rock and stone and bodies of defenders, she did her best to ignore the growing sense of doom. They were trapped up on this rocky place. There was little chance of escape. Now she was starting to wonder if this was how Cia had felt, as the noose had been tightened around her neck.
Another explosion. This one knocked her off her feet, and she hit the ground hard. She could feel blood forming a little bit behind her lower lip, and knew that she was cut up and bleeding in all sorts of places. The lower wall of defense at the bottom of the ruins were beginning to give way, as the Gorons were pushed back further and further up the mountainside. The onslaught was endless. They were still coming. She looked and saw two figures leading the charge, and felt her blood run cold as she recognized the crazed look of the Twili Zant at the front of it. She didn't recognize the other one, the more effeminate looking fellow, but she could tell by the ruthlessness of his actions that he was not one to be trifled with.
"Madam Lana!" The Goron Captain ran up to her. His helmet had been knocked off, and he was bleeding badly. "I do not think that we can hold this location. It would be best for you to leave." There was a heaviness in his words. "We will give you the time that you need to retreat."
Lana was about to answer, when all of a sudden, she noticed that the enemies were beginning to slow their advance. She looked into the distance, and saw small bands of men and women on horses racing back and forth behind the enemy lines, firing off haphazard shots of arrows and spears to gather the attention of the enemy. She recognized the glimmering armor of the Hyrulian Crown, and felt a small spot of relief in her chest. It wasn't hopeless yet. She gazed to the west, and saw the gap that led to the mountains where the Gorons had originally marched from. There seemed to be a battle going on over there as well, between more Hyrulians and the rest of the army of darkness. She smiled softly. They hadn't abandoned her after all.
"Captain, gather your forces, and prepare to run for the west. Through the gap in the mountains from whence you came." Lana said. She cut off the Goron's indignant protests with a finger to his lips. "Please. Save your men as best as you can. I have enough strength in my magic to give you one last diversion to run. Just don't stop running. Don't stop even after you've made it to the Hyrulians. Run and recover, and prep your king for whatever it is that is upon us."
"Madam Lana, I will not abandon you! I have my orders!" The Goron Captain shouted in protest. Lana smiled softly, and shook her head.
"And now you have mine. You are relieved of your duty, sir. I no longer request your services." She said.
The Goron captain looked horribly conflicted, but in the end swallowed his complaints. He nodded with conviction.
"May the Overmountain Ones* be with you, Highest Sister.*" He said. Lana smiled.
"And you as well, my friend." Lana said.
…
Zant let out a shrill cackle as he stabbed one of the Gorons in the back, and slowly and roughly removed the blade. He looked up, and saw that the Gorons were beginning to fall back. There were war horns in the air.
"We are victorious!" He shouted. "They are retreating!" Aside him, Ghirahim gave a haughty laugh.
"Excellent! We shall clear these scum out, and then turn our attention to those annoying humans from the rear. They're really like a fly swatting at a horse's rear end, I fear. It will not end well for them." He said. He turned to the rest of the force. "Make this their grave!" He roared. The rest of the force made haste up the steps, intending to burst through the gates that guarded the entrance of the ruins.
Instead, the gates flung open in front of them.
There she stood. Weary, tired-looking, and covered with scrapes and bruises and cuts. Her hair was looking rather unkempt, and the red feather hair clip that kept her hair up was in danger of coming loose. She was leaning against a Deku spear, as though it was the only thing that was keeping her upright. And yet there she was. The one they were looking for.
Ghirahim smirked, and strode to the front of the line.
"A good day to you, my dear!" He said. He bowed graciously in front of her. "I am Ghirahim, the head of the Demon Tribe, and the herald of his most gracious excellence in Darkness, the Demon King Ganondorf." He noticed her expression did not change from its blankness, save for a brief widening of her eyes. "Ah, so you have heard of my master? Well then, that makes things much easier!" He said with a chipper tone. He slowly started walking forward. "You see, my master is, and I must confess this with a slight degree of embarrassment, looking for something. Something that belongs to him, and something that was taken from him some time ago. It has been kept against his wishes in the hands of a vapid wench that did not deserve the true depth and magnitude of this possession, and I cannot say that I shed a tear when I heard that eventually it led to her doom. There is only one man who should have all that power, and that would be my lord and master, Ganondorf." He raised an eyebrow, and had a playful smirk on his face. "And yet, I hear that you are the one that currently possesses my master's possession! Quite shameful, I must say. He would like it back, if you would be so kind." Beside him, Zant let out a shriek.
"Do it, and then we'll gut you, you FILTHY WHORE!" He screeched. Ghirahim only just barely resisted the urge to facepalm.
"Zant, you're missing the point of parley…" He muttered. "It's usually supposed to be 'Do it, or we'll hurt you.'"
"I know what I said!" Zant snarled, brandishing his scimitars. Ghirahim rolled his eyes so far back into his head that it was a wonder that he didn't see his own soul. They needed the Triforce, and they still needed to deal with these obnoxious humans at their rear. It was time to get serious.
"I fear that, while I disagree with his choice of words, I do agree with my friend Zant's sentiment." Ghirahim said. His expression darkened as he unsheathed his sword. "Give us the Triforce of Power, girl. Now."
Lana stared at them, and then stared at her wrist. Then she looked up at them, and smiled perkily. And then she started to giggle.
"Um…are you feeling alright, dear?" Ghirahim asked, somewhat confused. "This…this usually isn't the way that people react to their imminent demise."
"Do you like Dekus?" Lana asked. She had casually been swinging her Deku spear along the ground as she was speaking, and it was only when it was too late when Ghirahim noticed the sparkling of white magic…
There was a series of popping noises, like massive pieces of popcorn. Suddenly, there was a series of cherubic-looking Deku plants in a line in front of Lana, facing the army of darkness. They all gave gleeful squawks of hello, and then they opened their mouths.
Ghirahim only had just enough time to take cover as the bullet seeds began to fire.
The unlucky ones were the ones that were right in the front of the advance, as they were literally torn to pieces by the seeds that spewed from these creatures. Immediately, Zant and Ghirahim were forced to restore order to their troops, and ordered the stouter ones with their shields to go forward towards these infernal creatures.
…
Lady Shiftlett watched as, in the distance, the forces of the unknown enemy were momentarily distracted from their task by those Deku plants. It was around this moment that her force had taken the small force of Stalchildren by surprised and captured the gap to the west that allowed for easy transport of troops from the Goron kingdom to the Valley of the Seers. Not a moment too soon, for the remnants of the Goron force was rolling through the gap and away for home at breakneck speed. One of them popped out from his ball-like form, and waved frantically for Lady Shiftlett's attention.
"Come with us to the Goron kingdom! The Valley is lost! The valley is lo-"
At that moment, an arrow struck him in the neck.
Lady Shiftlett looked up, and saw that, though the Deku plants were doing their best to distract and damage the armies of darkness, there was still a sizeable amount that was attempting to cut down the remnants of the Goron force. And the size of the force that was coming after the Gorons was simply too large for her detachment to push back. And she had no idea where Itami and the five men that she'd sent off were. It was completely and totally lost. There was only one thing that they could do.
"Fall back!" Lady Shiftlett shouted. "Fall back to the Goron Mountains!" She said.
"What of the Ravager, and the other soldiers?" One of the Hyrulian soldiers asked. Lady Shiftlett turned to him, and sighed. In that moment, the things that that man had been telling her all throughout the day and all throughout their travels to the Valley made sense. This wasn't a clean decision. This made her feel dirty inside. And yet, in the end, it was the right decision.
"May the Goddesses be with them." She said. "We will have to have faith. Now move!" She gestured. She spurred her horse, and joined the retreating Gorons and Hyrulians through the gap and towards the Goron foothills.
…
She'd been running for a very long time now. As soon as the Dekus had opened fire, she'd sprinted. She'd run as fast as her legs could carry, so much so that they were throbbing in pain and her breath was little more than gasps. She had made her way down through the back hills of the ruins, and had traversed across the flatlands as fast as she could. She ignored the flecking of mud and muck as she travelled through the marshy wetlands, pushing away reeds and weeds and other plants as she made her way to one of the drier plateaus just above the water level. She managed to slosh her way onto the hard and dry ground, and panted heavily as she rested her hands on her knees. It was eerily quiet, with only slight traces of the wind rustling through the reeds and the marsh. The roar of battle seemed to be far off, like the echoes of an echoed shout.
Slowly, Lana rested against her Deku spear, and slowly straightened herself up. She tried to put on as brave a face as she could.
"You barely resemble her."
He was standing in front of her, clearly having traversed through the mud himself and yet without a single speck of mud or water on his clothes or body. He had not even drawn his swords, keeping them sheathed at his side holsters. His arms were folded across his chest, and the look on his face seemed to be pitying.
Lana said nothing, and looked the Demon King in the eye with defiance.
"I take it back." Ganondorf said, after studying the look on her face. "The way you carry yourself…it is reminiscent of when I first saw her. She was heartbroken. Faith hanging on a strand. And yet a proud woman, nonetheless. I will admit to you this: I am sorry for the way that things ended for her. But in the end, she played the role that she needed to play. And now, for better or for worse, that role has fallen to you." He extended his hand. "The Triforce of Power. I would like it back."
Lana looked at him, and then spit on the ground. Ganondorf resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"That same spitfire spirit that drove her. Admirable, in a way."
Faster than Lana could even register, especially in her exhausted state, Ganondorf traversed the gap between them. He backhanded her hard across her cheek, and then lifted her high up into the air on both hands. He then threw her down on the ground. An explosion of pain. Her hearing dulled. He picked her back up, and then slammed her to the ground again. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and chokeslammed her to the ground again. She lay on the ground, breathing shallowly, and could feel nothing but pain.
"And yet foolish all the same." Ganondorf muttered, standing over her broken figure and putting his hands on his hips. "This will end if you just give me what I'm looking for. The Triforce of Power. It is mine. Give it to me."
Lana, from the corner of her eye, looked up at him from the ground. She felt the power in her left hand, and then defiantly curled it into a fist as if she was clenching something tightly. Her knuckles whitened. Ganondorf rolled his eyes.
"Have it your way."
He lifted his boot, and stomped on her hand as hard as he could. He felt her bones snap, and heard her cry out in pain. It didn't matter. It was the last line of defense that had been holding from him what was rightfully his. He was too enthralled with the glowing beauty of the revealed Triforce of Power to care about her pained whimpering. He lifted his foot off of her crushed hand, and let the Triforce of Power be absorbed into his very being. He smiled, and closed his eyes. It was like being reunited with a familiar and old friend.
He looked down from his reverie, and saw the broken Sorceress of Time at his feet. He cocked his head to the side, and raised an eyebrow.
"I must say, I am impressed that you are still alive. You are made of much stronger stuff than your other half, I must admit." He said. He looked around. The wind was blowing through the reeds, and the Valley seemed to be quieting down. He sighed, somewhat disappointedly. "This resistance was beyond pitiful." He shrugged, and after a few moments of silent contemplation he spoke again. "Oh well. Not every battle can be one worth retelling."
He reached into his pocket, and pulled out one of the cigars he'd pilfered from the Bulblin Lord King. He lit it up from the flame he created with his thumb, and puffed in bliss. He looked down at her again. She was breathing shallowly, but still wasn't moving. Her eyes were open, but they were glazed and she was staring somewhere off with faraway eyes. He sighed.
"I would stay with you until you died, if that was of some comfort to you. However, I am on a schedule. And I have a pair of pesky little children to attend to, who are messing with things similar to you." He said. "But I will grant you a small mercy: Rather than leaving you to die at an hour uncertain, I'll give you a certainty." He kicked her dismissively with his foot, until she was halfway on the little sandbar that they were standing on. Her lower half, up to her torso, was submerged in the muck and grime. He looked down to her, kneeling as he spoke. "You can linger here for as long as your body can handle, or…you can let go." He said. "An uncertain time before death of exposure, or a few moments before you drown. I will let you decide what the more humane experience is. For I am nothing if not kind. I give those beneath me the right to choose." He puffed some more from his cigar, and then smiled. It was not a pleasant sight.
"Now, if you're excuse me, I have a world to own."
He laughed, and disappeared in a flash of fire and brimstone.
...
She lay there for an indeterminant time. She felt nothing but a dull burning of pain and suffering, and as the sun was setting the heat was unbearable. She had used up all of her magical strength as well as her physical strength, to the point that she couldn't even muster up the strength to crawl slightly out of the mud and to a certain degree of safety. Her hearing was little more than a ringing in her ears, and for a moment she wondered if he was right. Maybe it was the more humane thing to do to just let go.
Out of the corner of her hearing, she heard something. For a moment, she dared not to believe that it was real. But as the sound got closer and closer, she could not deny that it was real. It was the sound of someone sloshing through the water and mud towards her.
"Lana!"
She felt herself get hoisted out of her predicament, and was laid down on the hard and dry sandbar. She felt a rough pair of hands hoisting her upright into a sort of sitting position, cradled against the chest of whoever it was that had saved her. She looked up.
Her eyes were bleary, and things seemed to be dimming. But in the midst of it all, she could make out the panicking face of her savior.
Wobbily, she raised her hand up and touched his cheek with her unbroken hand.
"I….ta…mi…" She managed to whisper. The Ravager lieutenant looked at her with wild eyes, and turned towards someone out of her line of sight.
"Get me my fucking bag!" He shouted. He looked down towards her, and cupped her face with his hand. "Lana? Lana, it's gonna be okay. I'm gonna-I'm gonna patch you up. You're gonna be okay. Where's my fucking med-bag? Lana? Lana, stay with me."
She smiled. For such an abrasive and harsh and prickly guy, Itami could be somewhat adorable when he was panicked.
"It's…it's okay." She managed to say. "Th…thanks for…being with me…"
She smiled, and closed her eyes.
"No, no, no! Lana, no don't close your eyes! It's gonna be okay!"
"Lana-Lana stay with me!"
"Lana, don't you leave! Don't do this! Don't give up! Don't leave us! Goddess damn it, don't you leave me!"
"Lana!"
"…Lana!"
"LANA!"
HYRULIAN CODEX
Overmountain Ones – A colloquial way for Gorons to refer to the Golden Goddesses. It's a manner of persecptive and cultural difference. Instead of framing it as just the Goddesses being in the Heavens, they are depicted as being above and over the Mountain that is the world itself. Thus, to say that they are "Over the Mountain" is to imply that they are above and beyond anything that is conceptualized by the Gorons. Hence, the Goddesses are also known as the "Overmountain Ones."
Highest Sister – Without question, the highest degree of honor and respect in a title that the Goron people can bestow upon an outsider. Whether the recipient is "Highest Sister" or "Highest Brother," the meaning is the same: you are thought so highly of that the Goron referring to you as such equates you to a saint walking the earth, if not a deity. Not even Goron Kings (or, rarely, Queens) are given this kind of high honor.