Chusai studied the schematic. "I don't think they know how I got in the castle, but I can't be sure. The passage is not marked on this…it's here, opening near the lower maids' quarters."
Link nodded. "I think it's a better shot than any of the others we have. Zelda?"
"I agree. I think Namu should go in first, as she's the most gifted in stealth, and would have the least chance of someone spotting her." Zelda turned to Namu.
The middle-aged Gerudo nodded. "I should go in at least initially, to determine if they've set up a watch at that entrance. But I'll need someone who knows the castle after that."
"I can use a simple cloaking spell," Zelda offered. "I have a pretty good idea where in the castle Ogadai might be."
"Chusai and I can back you both up," Link cut in. "We'll follow far behind, so that we don't draw attention to you, but can help if you get caught."
Chusai chewed her lip. "Now," she said slowly, "that just leaves the question of how to draw the Triforce from Ogadai's – and therefore Ganondorf's – grasp." She nodded to Zelda. "You're the only one who knows how to do this, so you may need to stay cloaked for the entire operation."
"I agree." Zelda brushed a string of hair over her ear, a gesture only Chusai and Link could recognize as a sign of nervousness. "But we'll have to be quick…I don't want to waste all of my magic power on the cloak."
Namu raised her head and watched the faces of her companions. "And if something goes wrong?"
Chusai answered immediately. "We abort the mission and get out of there as quickly as possible."
Link twitched slightly, and felt Namu's eyes on him as he said, "After a certain point, we may not be able to do that…"
Chusai's head jerked up. "Are you suggesting we sacrifice Ogadai?"
Link met her stony gaze with his. "If he puts us in a tight spot, we may not have a choice. You know he's using Ogadai to prevent us from…"
Chusai's hand flashed to the borrowed sword at her side. Zelda reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Anything can happen in there," she said slowly and calmly, looking into Chusai's eyes. "We should prepare for all scenarios, even unlikely ones."
After a long stare between them, Chusai wrenched her wrist from Zelda's grasp and turned back to the schematic. "Fine, then. But I want to exhaust all other possibilities before it comes to that."
"Of course." Zelda turned to Link, who frowned but nodded in assent.
Suddenly one of the Council guards ran up to her sister. "Namu…we found Naomai outside, and she's badly hurt!"
"What?" Namu and Chusai shouted in unison, leaping to their feet and running down to the mouth of the cavern, Link and Zelda following behind. Just outside, they spotted the other guard supporting a bruised and battered Naomai. One arm hung down at an odd angle, her entire face was black and blue, her arms and legs covered with dried blood, her clothing torn in several places. She walked like a zombie, eyes half-shut.
Namu ran to her side and carefully took her daughter in her arms. "Naomai…Naomai! What happened?"
Naomai looked up at her with swollen eyes, lips barely moving in a whisper. "Mother…run…"
"What? Run from wh-" Namu's words cut short as a whistling sound pierced the air and a dart embedded itself in her shoulder. She clutched at it for a brief moment, eyes wide, then her eyes rolled back on her head and she fell to the ground with her daughter in her arms.
"Paralysis darts!" Chusai snapped, raising her borrowed shield and standing to one side of Zelda, Link mirroring her on the other side. "It's an ambush!"
Yells erupted around them as the Usurper King's daughters burst out of hiding, aiming their darts toward the Council members and the three Hylians. "Run, Chusai!" Nabooru shouted. "Take the Hylians with you! We'll hold them off!"
Chusai took off, Link and Zelda on her heels, sprinting through the cavern. Just before she entered, a dart grazed Chusai's arm and she yelped in pain. "Keep going!" she yelled after the other two. "I'll be right behind you!"
They fled down a series of corridors, heading for the back door at the end. Just before they reached it, they entered a large natural open cave, and Zelda skidded to a halt as she sensed something just in front of them.
She stepped forward cautiously. "There's a barrier here," she said slowly, her fingers seemingly pressing against empty air, "and it's not one of mine."
Chusai stumbled into the cavern, whirling round as another barrier sealed the three in.
Link's eyes darted back and forth. "But that would mean…"
The figure of a young man, backlit from the exit's torches, walked slowly up toward the three. Chusai drew in her breath as she recognized the silhouette and gait of two very different people. Sword drawn, Link stepped protectively in front of Zelda.
The figure passed through the barrier and stepped into the light. Ogadai's body stood before them all, but he wore the familiar, casually malicious smile of Ganondorf.
He turned to Chusai. "That was an intriguing stunt you pulled with Naomai. I suppose Namu was in on it as well. But in the end it backfired, and I was forced to imprison our son's soul in my own."
Chusai hurled a sulfurous oath, her face twisting in rage. "Forced indeed! You disgusting pile of filth, Ogadai didn't mean anything more to you than any other tool you've used."
"Not true," Ganondorf insisted. "He was my son, a true Prince. But you raised him to be a spineless, witless fool."
Chusai drew her sword and charged him.
Link darted between them. "Use your head, Chusai!" he snapped. "Are you going to let him draw you in with his taunts again?"
Ganondorf shifted his gaze to Link with a wide smile. "Think you can repeat your past success, do you?" With a lightning-quick sweep of his hand, he slammed his sword against the side of Link's head.
"Hah!" he barked as Link stumbled to the side. "Now I am young and strong, and you are past your prime."
Chusai stepped in front of Link, shield up, and blocked the downward blow meant for him, but her injured arm offered little support and she nearly fell over him. Zelda sent an arrow whizzing past Ganondorf's face; it didn't hurt him at all, but in the brief moment that he flinched, the other two scrambled out of his way.
"Enough playing." Ganondorf summoned a massive red ball of pure magic energy, hurling it at Link. It caught the Hero full in the chest and sent him flying halfway across the cavern. Ganondorf walked casually toward him, Chusai and Zelda backing out of his way. "Now I will repay you for the eighteen long years I spent as a ghost, a homeless spirit. I'd give you the same fate, but I can't tolerate your presence in any form anymore…"
Link stumbled to his feet and blocked Ganondorf's thrust, retaliating with one of his own. The two clashed swords again and again, the ring of steel echoing in the cavern loud enough to make ears bleed.
Chusai stood in front of Zelda, offering what little protection she could. "Ogadai!" she cried out in anguish. "I know you're in there somewhere, Ogadai! Listen to me! If your soul is strong enough you can fight him!"
"He can't hear you," Ganondorf called back cheerily. "He lies in a solid cocoon. The barrier I have created between him and the world is impenetrable."
"Ogadai!" Chusai screamed. "I know you can feel my presence! The same fire that burns in my soul, and in your father's, is in yours! There is no reason why you can't break free!"
"Enough nonsense." Ganondorf turned round and advanced toward Chusai. "It's time I finally silenced you for good."
Link sprinted ahead of him, grunting as he caught another slash with his shield. Damn it, Chusai! Ogadai is lost! Quit making things difficult and protect Zelda rather than provoking him!
A brief exchange of slash-and-dodge, and Ganondorf kicked him full in the stomach. As Link scrambled up, coughing, he saw Ganondorf turn aside Chusai's one-handed attack. He grabbed Chusai's injured upper arm and snapped it back; Link heard a sickening crunch and Chusai's scream of pain as he dislocated her shoulder. "If Ogadai could hear you, would he have allowed me to do that?" Ganondorf taunted.
Suddenly Link saw red. He leaped into the air, bringing his sword down on the dark warlord's head. Ganondorf stepped aside, but Link felt his sword connect with the armor of his shoulder. With an angry grunt, Ganondorf made a swipe at Link, wavering off-balance. Link made a flying jump-kick and connected with the breastplate of Ganondorf's armor, sending him on his back. Link raised his sword for a finishing blow.
His sword rang to a halt as Chusai stepped in the way, blocking him with the sword in her good hand. Her pleading eyes connected with his. "Don't kill my son!"
"Get out of the way, Chusai!" Link barked, trying to brush past her, but she stood fast. "He's not your son anymore!"
A movement on the ground caught his eye and he jumped back, just in time to see Ganondorf leap up from the ground, grasp Chusai's shoulder, and drive his sword into her back up to the hilt.
"Chusai!" Link cried, the bloodied blade tip protruding where he had just been standing.
"Thank you for your help, Chusai," Ganondorf hissed, but she didn't acknowledge him.
"Guardian's Sacrifice," Chusai uttered in a firm, steady voice, dropping her sword and pressing her palm against Ganondorf's blade. The slightest hint of magic reached Link's nose, a strange combination of gunpowder and nectar. Ganondorf attempted to pull his sword out of Chusai, but it didn't budge.
Chusai stood as still as stone, looking through Link rather than at him, chanting slowly as a trickle of blood ran down the side of her mouth. "With my privilege as Hyrule's guardian…in the name of the Royal Family…"
"What sorcery is this?" Ganondorf demanded, yanking on his sword. No matter how hard he pulled, both his weapon and Chusai moved no more than a granite statue. "You don't know any magic!"
"Old fool." Link turned to see Zelda's face twisted in a rare expression of rage. "All of the Royal Family's bodyguards are taught one very powerful spell, which can only be used once." Her eyes narrowed, her voice filled with venom. "Chusai asked to do this eighteen years ago, when you first carried your putrid corpse into the throne room, but I wanted to spare her life."
Chusai did not acknowledge either of them, the trickle of blood now a stream. "…Goddesses, take this sacrifice which I offer unto you, in the name of duty and loyalty…"
"Let go!" Ganondorf barked, thoroughly enraged. He struck her head with the side of his hand, then yowled in pain as it glanced off without any reaction from her at all.
"…and carry my spirit where my body may not follow, forth into battle, for the love of my country and its people!" As Chusai uttered these last words, the scent of magic disappeared. Ganondorf yanked his sword out of her lifeless body, which fell to the ground.
Nothing happened. The three Bearers looked around expectantly, Ganondorf finally sneering, "Well, that was anticlimactic. I don't know what she thought she was doing, but…"
His taunt broke off into a loud, desperate scream. He stared, open-mouthed and wide-eyed at something Link could not see, something that terrified him so much that his chest contracted sharply with each cry. Before Link could do or say anything, Ogadai's body jerked into a series of spasms and seizures. His screams rose, fell, and then suddenly stopped as he fell to his knees. A silvery cloud of spiritual energy rose up from his shoulders, floated slowly to one side, and coalesced into the form of the Usurper King, who stared daggers at the young man panting on the ground.
Crushing pain, unrelenting pressure, and cold darkness.
Ogadai had struggled at first, but with each small attempt his viselike prison contracted, squeezing his soul closer and closer to oblivion. He could never have imagined such torture, more painful than anything his body could endure.
Then, as suddenly as it came, it stopped. Ogadai's soul bounced back like a released spring, and he felt a very different sensation, as if a warm blanket had wrapped itself around him, protecting him from the cold as well as the darkness. Bliss filled his soul, and as his wounds healed, he sensed familiarity in the presence. Someone close to him…warm, protective, strong…
Mother…? But…how did you get here?
"Ogadai." The benevolent voice spoke just one word, yet he felt his heart would burst from the unconditional love it conveyed. "My son, I tried to protect you as well as I could, but now you must face great trials and sadness. Do not be afraid, for I will always be with you."
I don't understand…
"Open your eyes. I cannot shield you from the heartbreak you will endure. But endure you must, for your sake as well as the sake of others."
Ogadai realized he was kneeling on the ground, head down and eyes closed, leaning against a sword with its tip in the ground. Slowly he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the sword, bloody to the hilt. He glanced down in puzzlement at the splashes of red on his clothing. In great trepidation he slowly turned to the side.
There lay his mother, sprawled lifeless on her back, a crimson blossom spread over her chest. His horrified eyes followed a trail of bloodspots from her body to the sword in his hands.
"No…" He dropped the filthy weapon, stumbling to her side and falling to his knees once more. He touched her face, expecting her eyes to flicker and open. No movement, no life.
He raised his head with a wretched expression, seeing Link standing with a look as terrible as he felt, confirming that his eyes did not deceive him.
"Ogadai…" Zelda stepped forward, her voice soft and sorrowful.
He turned toward her, and his eye fell upon the specter just to his side. A sudden, white-hot, virulent rage boiled inside him. "This is YOUR doing!" he shouted at Ganondorf. As his fiery ire boiled over, the Triforce mark flashed to life, and he felt himself consumed with boundless power and an insatiable desire for bloody vengeance. The air in the stale cavern began to move, displaced by Ogadai's will. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Ganondorf folded his arms, completely unconcerned. "You can't kill a dead man, boy. As powerful as it is, one piece of the Triforce cannot send my ghost to the next world." He nodded toward Link and Zelda. "But with the power that resides in the other two, you can bring her back to life…"
Ogadai turned toward them, a wild hope flashing in his mind. He took a step toward Link, who planted his feet in the ground and hefted his sword.
"NO, Ogadai!" Chusai's voice flashed through his consciousness. "You can't risk restoring the Triforce with him here! Even as a ghost, if he touches it first, its power will transfer to him…and all of this will be for nothing!"
Ogadai's eyes flooded with tears, his legs threatening to give way under him. But Mother…I can't lose you…
Her voice softened. "Ogadai, I love you and I always will. Those who leave for the next world are never gone forever. But if you truly are the Prince of Hyrule, if you truly wish to unite its peoples, you must make decisions that cause you great pain.
"Ogadai…let me help you, and together we can drive away the cause of all this trouble. Will you stand with me?"
Ogadai stood motionless, tears streaming down his face. Finally he spoke aloud. "Mother…show me what I need to do."
Her voice swelled with pride. "Ogadai, you will make a fine King. I will lend you my spirit, and combined with the power of the Triforce, you can send that cursed ghost into the next world where he belongs. Are you ready?"
Ogadai nodded. There was no going back. "I am."
He felt his mother's soul swelling within him, reacting with the Triforce mark on his hand.
"What are you doing?" Ganondorf demanded, as Link and Zelda watched anxiously.
Within Ogadai's marked hand blossomed a ball of pure spiritual energy. He clenched his fist and a blue-white quarterstaff appeared. Chusai's soul burned bright within his hand as his hair crackled with energy and the air filled with the smell of lightning. He ran forward.
Leaping into the air, he held the quarterstaff high over his head, and with an anguished cry brought it down upon the head of the ghost. It passed straight through the specter, who looked on in dumbfounded surprise as jagged flashes of energy leaped from it and hungrily bit into Ganondorf's soul. The dead warlord emitted one short, strangled cry; then suddenly ghost, barrier, and staff shattered like glass, scattering in the air like chaff, and twinkled out of sight.
Ogadai fell to his knees. Both Link and Zelda rushed to his side. Zelda placed his hand on his shoulder. "Ogadai…are you all right?"
She knew there was no right answer to that question. Slowly, Ogadai stood and regarded them out of tired, sunken eyes. "I'm sorry…but could I have a few moments alone?"
They looked at each other, then nodded. "Of course," Zelda said. "We'll be right outside if you need anything."
He nodded once, then slowly walked toward Chusai's body as the pair hovered in the passageway. Kneeling, he lifted her limp form from the ground. He sat back, cradling it in his arms.
Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye, Father.