Chapter 18
Mission on Death Mountain
The company had been traversing the dangerous slopes of Death Mountain for many hours, yet they were only an eighth of the way to the top. Colin gripped his sword, ready to slice any enemy that approached them.
"Trust your feelings, young apprentice. There is no need for that weapon, yet. Let the Force flow through you." Link instructed.
Colin took a deep calming breath before finally sheathing his sword. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. A small boulder nearby suddenly lifted into the air and rose higher and higher with each passing moment. Link could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"Great Scott, he's strong in the Force!" Gandalf gasped in amazement.
"Indeed he is." Link agreed as he stroked his chin in bewilderment.
What could this mean? A young boy in Hyrule with great Force potential? Could there be others that he had yet to discover? He had to track them down before the sith could!
"We must move quickly if we wish to succeed in our mission, come!" he told the others.
Colin's eyes popped open and he grabbed Link's robe and pulled him to the ground.
"Get down now! They've found us!" he hissed as he pulled his master into a small crevice hidden in the mountainside.
The rest of the company scurried for cover as quick as possible. As soon as the last of them had hidden themselves, they heard a dreadful shriek from above and saw a great black shadow of a dragon-like creature.
"Blast it, they've been tracking us!" Aragorn cursed.
"What are they? Who found us?" Ilia asked in fear.
"They are the Nazgul. They are constantly searching for their Master's lost ring, the One Ring to Rule Them All." Aragorn whispered with a sigh.
"The Ring that the Hobbit stole?" Malon asked finally understanding.
"Yes, it is indeed the One Ring." Gandalf answered.
"Where is the Ring, now?" Ilia implored.
"It is safe in the far away city of Coruscant." Gandalf answered.
"Not quite." Link whispered with a frown as he pulled it out from underneath his robe.
Both Gandalf and Aragorn gasped. It was indeed the One Ring.
"Are you crazy, Link? Why did you take it? Now all of Hyrule is doomed!" Gandalf whispered angrily.
"I felt that it was my duty to see to its final destruction. Once Hyrule is saved, I will make the long journey to Mt. Doom and destroy it once and for all." Link explained.
"Well you are a Jedi Master and strong in the Force." Gandalf acquiesced.
"You won't go alone. We're all going with you." Aragorn replied with a grin.
"Good, I had a feeling you would." Link smiled.
Another shriek from above took them back to the present. Link was searching the skies.
"Well, it looks like they're all here. We can take them, right?" he grinned.
"Indeed we can, Master." Colin said as he rolled out of the crevice and leaped into the air with a yell.
"He's doomed." Aragorn whispered.
Colin landed on the ground feet first and raised his hands.
"Uh, Link, what exactly is he doing?" Aragorn asked in bewilderment.
Link paled in realization.
"He's trying to use the Force to knock them off of the dragons!" he said as he got up.
"This is going to end in great disaster!" Gandalf muttered.
The rest of the company all ran out to help in the approaching battle. They were all shocked when Colin managed to single handedly knock down all the Nazgul and send them tumbling to the ground! Link was standing motionless on the ground staring at his apprentice. How could a young boy use the Force so effectively? He hadn't even begun training the boy yet, either!
"Colin, what did you do?!" Link asked in amazement.
"I, uh, I don't know. I just felt like I had to run out here and lift up my hands." Colin answered in confusion.
When Link turned his head to the others he gasped in shock as all the Ringwraiths stood up and ignited crimson lightsabers.
"Where did they get those?" Aragorn asked with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Link gasped in shock as he too recognized the weapons that the Wraiths were wielding.
"I have a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling." He whispered.
"This could only be that imposter's doing, whoever she is!" Gandalf replied.
Link nodded his head. They had to find out who was posing as Zelda and get to the bottom of all this madness. Meanwhile, they had to deal with this new threat.
With the Force, he summoned his lightsabers to life into his hands. The blades glowed emerald and amethyst as they hummed to life. Link could hear the tell-tale hiss of his fellow Jedi's beams coming to life as well as the sound of swords and axes being drawn.
"Take one more step, and you sill taste my blade, servants of Sauron!" Link bellowed raising his blades for them to see.
The Nazgul shrieked in rage. No one dared to defy them, for they were Ringwraiths and all fled before them! They advanced upon the small group of warriors with their silver blades of light raised.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Link bellowed as he led the charge into the wraiths.
The company fought valiantly against the Nine wraiths with Colin leading the battle.
"Back you scum! You shall not invade Hyrule!" the boy bellowed as he drove his blade deep into one of the Wraiths legs.
The Wraith screeched in agony and made a hasty retreat down the mountainside with young Colin chasing after him with blade raised.
"You can run, but you can't hide! Get back here, you filth!" the boy bellowed.
Link had already sent four more down the mountain as well.
"Five down, four to go!" he bellowed to his friends.
All of a sudden a brilliant golden light surrounded them and caused the remaining four wraiths to flee. As the light dissipated a tall cloaked figure appeared. It was the Princess! Hopefully the real one, Link thought.
"Hello Link." Zelda greeted the Hylian as she revealed herself.
"How can I be sure it's really you?" Link questioned still suspicious.
Zelda laughed at this.
"Only I can wield the Triforce of Wisdom this effectively. And, besides, you should trust your feelings, brother." She smiled.
Link laughed with joy.
"It is you, Zelda! I have been looking all over for you! What in Hyrule happened?" Link asked in bewilderment.
Zelda gave her brother a small smile.
"It all started when Jacen, or as he calls himself these days, Darth Caedus arrived in Hyrule." Zelda began.
"A Sith in Hyrule, no wonder it has been so confusing around here! That explains everything! But, who was masquerading as you I wonder?" Link gasped.
"Well, Jacen was accompanied by a lady of the sith. I fled, and she quickly transformed into me." Zelda explained.
"She disguised herself as you, and then Midna, and then you again, creating utter confusion among all the Free People of Hyrule, and not to say the Jedi as well.
Zelda nodded.
"Wait, did you say Midna, as in the Twilight Princess?" Zelda gasped as the imp hovered over to her.
"Hello, Zelda." Midna said with a thin smile.
"Where have you been? They have been hunting for you high and low ever since Lumiya took over!" Zelda questioned.
Midna let out a little laugh.
"Well, anyways you have my thanks for finding this group of travelers and leading them this far in their quest." Zelda said with a bow.
"It was an honor, Princess." Midna said with a smile.
"Hold it! You two know each other?" Link asked.
The princesses nodded their heads.
"We have to contact Luke immediately with this new information, before he has all the Jedi tracking Zelda down." Link said suddenly remembering his conversation with the Jedi Master.
He dug through his pockets before finally finding a small holo-projector. He activated it and entered Luke's number into it. After a few minutes, Luke's holo appeared.
"Link, what happened? Have you been captured?" Luke asked with wide eyes as he noticed Zelda.
"Master Skywalker, I apologize for any confusion that our Lady of the Sith may have caused when I was gone." Zelda said as she stepped into full view.
"Lumiya is in Hyrule?!" Luke gasped.
"I'm afraid so, Luke. Not only is she here, but she is masquerading as Zelda" Link explained.
Luke paled.
"This is worse than I thought! Maybe I should send more Jedi over there." Luke said.
"We're fine as of the time being. Anyways, that will only arose suspicion." Link replied.
Luke nodded.
"Oh, and she brought someone else with her as well." Zelda added.
"Who?" Luke asked.
"He looked like a Jedi to me. His name was Solo. He claims to be Lumiya's apprentice." Zelda finished.
"Jacen!" Luke gasped in shock.
Link hoped Luke knew Jacen was Sith.
"I know Jacen is a Sith Lord now. He tried to kill Mara and some hobbits as soon as they entered Middle Earth. Fortunately for us, my son came from the future and delayed Jacen so Mara and the younger Ben to escape." Luke explained.
Zelda shook her head.
"Well at least we have teams of Jedi this time around." Link commented.
"The Force will be with you, always." Luke bowed as the holo faded.
Everybody looked at Link with wide eyes.
"Don't you worry, I am a Jedi. Jacen will not get far." Link said with a smile as he put an arm around his sister.
"As am I." Zelda whispered as she ignited a violet lightsaber.
Link smiled at his sister.
"Who trained you?" Link inquired.
"It was none other than the ancient Yoda." Zelda chuckled.
Zelda gave Link a thin smile.
"Hyrule shall not fall, my brother. We are Jedi now, strong in the Force! Come we must rid this province of the Twilight!" she said as she began to dash up the mountain.
"Like brother, like sister." Link chuckled dashing after her.
Colin chuckled as he followed his master up the mountain followed by everyone else. The company made their way up the dangerous slopes of Death Mountain, every so often dodging the falling lava.
"You will soon grow used to these lava-rocks, just pay attention to their shadows." Link instructed the company.
They were all nodding their heads as Link suddenly noticed an immense shadow forming on the ground.
"I have a very bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling." Zelda whispered.
Link nodded as he rolled out of the way.
"Everybody, roll out of the way, now!" he roared as the immense boulder came crashing down.
There was a noise of great thunder as the boulder finally landed. Link helped Zelda up, and the twins walked up to the fiery boulder with curiosity. Link inspected the massive boulder and began pacing around it.
"This could only be Jacen's work. He knows we're here. He sent this from the Twilight Realm! He is getting more powerful, it seems." The Hylian said as he scratched his chin.
Zelda put a hand over her heart.
"This has to stop. More people will die at this rate before you can finish your quest! We have to do something!" she whispered to her brother.
Link nodded as he listened to his sister. Things were getting more out of his control by the minute.
He had to track down Lumiya and rescue Jacen from the Dark Side before history repeated itself.
"We best finish our mission here first." Link finally said after much thought.
Zelda took a deep breath.
"Right, we better make this quick, who knows what havoc Jacen and Lumiya may be causing in Hyrule, even now?" she said as took Link's hand into hers.
"We shall do this together, my brother; for the glory of Hyrule." She said with a small smile.
Link's hopes lifted immensely as he took his sister's hand. As the siblings hands' touched there was a golden light as the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage shone on their hands. The siblings smiled; the Force and the Triforce was with them!
"We must make contact with the Gorons, if we wish to succeed with our quest." Zelda whispered to Link.
Link nodded as they charged up the mountainside, avoiding the falling boulders of lava. The group of heroes finally reached the entrance to the city of the Gorons. To their great shock and dismay, the heroes discovered that Twilight was devouring the city.
"By Din, we're too late!" Zelda said with a gasp as she covered her mouth in distress.
Link chuckled.
"As long as I am here, we have all the time in the world." Link whispered as he ignited his emerald blade and charged into the twilight.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's drive back this twilight!" Zelda yelled as she followed her brother into the city.
The others charged after them, Midna in the lead. As soon as they had passed into the city, the heroes ran right into the Gorons. Well, they were at one point Gorons. That was before the Twilight had changed them into monstrous, murderous beasts with a craving for blood.
Link gulped as he slowly backed up. Zelda put a hand on his shoulder.
"Do not kill them, just knock them out. We don't want to start another war." She whispered into his ear. Link nodded.
He shut down his lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt and raised his right hand. With a fell sweep of his hand he knocked all the Gorons to the ground. He motioned for Aragorn and Gandalf to check if they were dead. Moments later, they reported that they were all unconscious.
"Good, let's keep it that way." Zelda said as she led the group into the depths of the city. Link didn't mind relinquishing his leadership to his sister; it was about time for a break. He walked in step with Aragorn.
"You don't know how good it feels to finally be part of a group instead of its leader!" he whispered to the King.
Aragorn and Link shared a quiet laugh. They were the group's rearguard, along with Gandalf of course. Link had his Jedi senses on full alert, wary of any spies of Lumiya's. Zelda had led the group deep into the bowels of the city and it had grown quite dark after they had dealt with all the guards that the Gorons had set up around the perimeter.
"We are nearing the source; I can feel it through the Force." Zelda whispered to the Jedi Masters once the group had stopped for a quick break. Midna nodded, having overheard the whisper.
Zelda looked into Midna's eyes. Zelda knew she could trust the imp, but she still didn't like the way Midna could ease her way into their private conversations.
"Midna, we were having a private meeting, in case you didn't notice!" Zelda whispered, clearly chagrined.
"You have my apologies, princess. I was just going to say that the twilight feels stronger a little ways down this tunnel." She said as she pointed to a side passage to her right.
Zelda and Link both grew quiet as they shut their eyes and began to stretch out their senses to the Force. As soon as they had closed their eyes, they popped open again.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Link said in alarm.
"A very bad feeling," Zelda added, out of breath.
Aragorn and Gandalf were both pacing. Gandalf was scratching his beard, deep in thought; while puffing his pipe of pipeweed from the Shire. It was Old Toby, in fact. Colin was rubbing his forehead in concentration as all this was going on as well. The only two who appeared to be calm were Ilia and Malon. This was due to the fact that they were not Jedi.
"What's going on Malon?" Ilia whispered to her old friend. Malon shrugged her shoulders and began to worry.
All of a sudden Zelda smiled. It appeared she had a plan.
"Listen up, everybody; I have a plan. This will only work if we are not discovered. We will have to use stealth. We will have to be silent, yet go with speed. We must not kill any of the Gorons. However, if we come across a being of twilight we must eliminate it before it reveals our position. Got it? Good, we have our mission, let us be on our way, for the sake of Hyrule!" Zelda finished as she ignited her violet saber and silently began the trek down the passage way to the twilight.
Link was right behind his sister with his emerald blade raised in case of any trouble. The group was almost to a doorway that led to a chamber. Zelda took a deep breath before charging in with Link following her. The siblings stopped in their tracks when they discovered the room was full of Twilight beast and bugs. Not only that, but there was a Lieutenant of Twilight guarding the only exit: the one they had just came through. Zelda gulped as she raised her lightsaber.
"I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule! You will cease and desist, immediately!" she ordered with a fierce growl. Link backed her up by raising his lightsaber.
"Oh, and on the chance that you don't know who I am," he began with a low laugh.
"I am fully aware of who you claim to be, Hero of Hyrule!" the Lieutenant cackled.
Zelda rolled her eyes. "We warned you." She said simply as she beckoned for the others to charge in.
With a roar of war calls, the rest of the Heroes rushed in with blades drawn all around. With one fell sweep of her violet blade, Zelda had knocked the Lieutenant to the ground and had her foot pressed squarely on his stomach.
As soon as Zelda had given the signal, Aragorn had let the others in a heroic charge into the twilight. With ease the heroes eliminated the horde of twilight beings while Zelda dealt with the Lieutenant.
"Well done, Princess, well done!" a voice cackled from a dark corner of the chamber.
Zelda maintained her grip on the Lieutenant but ordered Link and Aragorn to slowly walk over to the corner.
Link and Aragorn slowly walked over to the corner in question with their blades raised. To all the heroes' shock it was none other than Ganondorf standing in the corner.
"I have been expecting you." The villain said with a deep, yet evil laugh.
Aragorn shuddered. Never before had he dealt with someone so evil and so powerful.
"We will have none of you, Ganondorf. Your time is over." Link said with a growl.
"Link, you must believe me when I say this, I need your help." The Dark Lord said with a sigh.
"You need my help? What is this, one of your evil schemes?" Link laughed out loud, much to Ganondorf's dismay.
Gandalf put a hand on Link's shoulder. Link immediately grew calm. Ganondorf raised an eyebrow.
"How shocking is this? Link has his own wizard! Oh, I am so afraid; Old Greybeard's going to kill me!" Ganondorf teased.
Link just smirked at the old villain, who Link discovered, was chained to the walls of the chamber. It was actually a dungeon.
"I see you're in no place to bargain at all, Lord Ganondorf, are you?" Link whispered in the enraged villain's ear. The Gerudu King was seething now.
Link took one step away with a smile of satisfaction. Gandalf and Zelda looked none too pleased with how Link had just acted. Zelda was glaring at her brother now, with her arms crossed and she was tapping her foot on the Lieutenant! Link shuffled over to his sister, prepared for a scolding with Gandalf right behind him.
Zelda was rubbing her forehead in frustration. She shook her head sadly at her foolish brother while he shuffled over nervously.
"Link, we can't afford to waste any time! Hyrule is in enough trouble as it is! Stop joking around and listen to Ganondorf! Even though he has tricked, lied, and done a numerous amount of other murderous and mischievous crimes to Hyrule before! Just open yourself to your feelings, alright?" she finished.
Link nodded his head in shame. He was a Jedi Master after all. He turned on his heel and strode up to the chained man of pure evil and looked him right in the eye.
"Alright Ganondorf, you have my full and undivided attention." Link began to say with reluctance when he was interrupted by a horrific explosion outside the dungeon. Ganondorf rolled his eyes.
"I thought I had your attention!" he roared as he helplessly watched everyone but Zelda rush out of the room to investigate. Zelda glared at him and the villain immediately grew quiet.
Outside the dungeon, in the corridor to be more exact, Link and company were staring open-mouthed in shock at what appeared to be a gaping hole in the wall. Link pinched himself to check if he was awake.
"Ouch, that hurt!" he exclaimed in shock.
All of a sudden a great Dodongo strode out of the hole. It was none other than the King of the Dodongos!
"Oh, boy, we are in trouble." Link mumbled under his breath.
"By the Valar, what in Hyrule is that monstrous beast? Please tell me it is not a Balrog." Gandalf whispered to the Hylian.
"Rest assured, Master Olorin, it is not a Balrog." Link said as he patted the old wizard on the shoulder.
"Then, if it isn't a Balrog, what in the name of Din is it?" Gandalf demanded.
Link let out a short chuckle.
"Well as a matter of a fact, it is the King of the dragon-like race of Dodongos." Link explained.
As soon as he had uttered the word 'dragon', Gandalf and Aragorn exchanged nervous glances. Ilia and Malon were huddled together in a dark corner with frightened faces. Link took a deep breath as he ignited his emerald blade. All around him, he heard the tell-tale hiss of lightsabers being drawn.
"Alright King Dodongo, bring it on!" Link roared as he charged at the beast.
King Dodongo grunted as he braced for impact. Within moments there was nothing left of him but charred flesh and bones along with his blood. Link clipped his blade to his belt once again.
"Easy kill." He sighed with a grin.
Aragorn and Gandalf sighed with relief. It was easier than they had thought. They checked the hole to make sure there were no more surprises. Once they were satisfied they returned to the dungeon. Zelda was relieved when she saw no one was harmed. She gave her brother a gentle push towards Ganondorf.
"Alright already, I'll talk to him!" Link muttered as he marched over to the chained villain.
"What happened? Did that witch, Lumiya, show up?" Ganondorf asked with fear in his eyes. The old villain actually feared for his life! Link knew it was bad.
"It was your old pal, King Dodongo." Link said with a smirk.
Ganondorf scowled with rage.
"She wouldn't dare! She is controlling all of my henchmen! She is so dead! Oh, no, she wants me dead! That's why she sent him!" Ganondorf was in hysterics now.
Link couldn't even laugh at this; it was so unlike the villain. He exchanged a worried look with Zelda. Lumiya was more powerful than they imagined.
"Slow down, Ganondorf, explain how this all started." Link ordered.
Ganondorf nodded his head as he took a deep breath.
"It is quite a long tale. It all began as I was beginning my invasion of Hyrule Castle." The villain began.
Link sighed in exasperation.
"That day is the key to understanding all this chaos." He whispered as he removed his green cap.
Ganondorf took a deep breath before beginning the long tale.
"I was leading my forces over Hyrule Field when she appeared with the King of Twilight. I sensed he had more power than I had. Imagine my shock when he revealed himself to be a Jedi! I was outraged! The Lady of the Sith, Lumiya as you call her, simply smiled as Zant extended his hand and before I knew what was going on I was hurtled in midair right into a tree and lost consciousness! When I woke up hours later, imagine my surprise when I found myself on the throne of Hyrule Castle! Sitting next to me was that witch of a Sith with Zant nowhere in sight! Lumiya appeared to me in your body, Princess! She told me of her plan and before I could protest she had all the Dark Lords from all over the Galaxy and had formed an alliance with them! The next thing I know we are storming out of the castle with legions upon legions of the evil alliance's armies! That was when I spotted you and your ragtag team of Jedi, Link; I decided to kill you on the spot because I didn't need any more enemies as it is, until Zant appeared! You should have joined forces with me, but alas, you did not and I was hurled in the dungeons of Death Mountain!" Ganondorf finished as he bowed his head.
"Well, let's be on our way then!" Link said as he prepared to finish his quest.
"Wait, what about me? Am I to stay here like this?" Ganondorf roared with blazing eyes.
Link and Zelda just stared at him innocently.
"We can't trust you! What are you crazy? After all those conniving, mischievous, and not to say murderous plans you always try and end up failing miserably! I am sorry Ganondorf; we're going to have to leave you here with this Lieutenant of Lumiya's." Zelda said as she shared a smile with her brother.
Ganondorf was fuming now, as he tried to break from his bonds.
"You will need me in the end! Just you wait! Zant's too strong for you, even Lumiya is!" he roared.
Zelda looked in her brother's eyes. "He has a point." She finally conceded.
Link sighed in annoyance as he used the Force to free Ganondorf from his chains.
"Finally, I have been stuck in this foul dungeon for ages!" he muttered as he massaged his hands.
Link rolled his eyes. He gave his sister one of his famous looks. Zelda laughed and gave him a punch in the shoulder.
Before they could leave the dungeon, Zelda chained the Lieutenant up to the wall, where Ganondorf had been just moments ago. The lieutenant was fuming and was putting up quite a fight with the restraints.
"You actually believe that deceiver? Lumiya will hear of this! Oh, just you wait! I'll have my revenge!" he ranted as the company exited the dungeon.
The Lieutenants rants were soon only a whisper as Zelda led the company deeper into Goron City. Ganondorf was under the constant watch of Link and his hands were in restraints as the Hero led him behind the company.
"So, you've been demoted, have you?" Ganondorf laughed.
"For your information, Ganon, I stepped down for a much needed break. As for you, I don't think you are in any position to joke, at all!" Link growled.
Ganondorf scowled as he was led on in silence. All of a sudden the princess put up her hand for them to stop.
"This is it! The source of the Twilight in the Eldin Province! Aragorn, Link, Gandalf, and Midna follow me!" Zelda whispered as she led the four friends into the source of Twilight.
Colin took over the watch of Ganondorf as Link followed Zelda. Ganondorf had on one of his infamous evil smiles now.
"Take it easy, Ganondorf! I am a Jedi in training you know!" Colin growled.
Ganondorf howled in rage. "This is so unfair! The little boy gets 'Jedi' powers, but not me! Curse you Jedi!" he muttered as Colin laughed.