The inside of the tower was almost as dark as the outside was. It was dimly lit by torches placed along the walls and the shadows seemed to be alive. The room they were standing in was nothing but big and empty. At the far end of the room, they could see stairs leading up to the next floor.
"Everyone stick together," Link called back.
"I hope that Light penetrated in here too," Charles smirked. "It would make our job a lot easier."
"Amen to that," Aaron quipped back.
Nick wasn't about to let his guard down. "If I were you, I'd keep my eyes open for anything."
When they were all silent, the room fell eerily quiet. Even the sounds of their footsteps seemed to be far away, as if this place wasn't real. Zelda noticed this little fact rather quickly, and it caused her to shudder.
"I don't like the feel of this place."
"That makes two of us," Charles called from the back.
Link ignored the comments being made by the group and concentrated on his surroundings. He was expecting a surprise attack at any moment. He listened intently for any sounds, but found none. I don't like this at all, either. I'd much rather they come out and fight me. He shrugged off the thought and continued walking.
They were all surprised when they reached the stairs without incident. Link stopped before going up and looked around one last time. Everyone else was just as uneasy as Link was, and none of them dared make a sound. The absolute silence was almost too much for him. Just as he felt himself going crazy, he heard a faint noise.
"Did you hear that?" Nick asked.
"Shhh!" Link snapped back. The group stood there in silence as Link listened. Again, the silence was broken by a faint noise… almost like… crying… he thought to himself.
"I think it's coming from up there," Aaron said as he pointed up the stairs. Link simply nodded and started up the flight of stairs. The rest of the group stayed where they were for a second longer, unsure whether or not they should follow their hero. Then, without any doubt, they climbed the stairs.
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"Father… are you alright? Father?"
She could hear his heavy breathing and was getting worried. In fact, it almost sounded as if he was crying. Crying from pain. He had just come back from being tortured again and she still couldn't figure out why. Was it because of her friends? Or was it just because he liked to torture helpless people? She figured it was the latter. The evil in that man surpassed anything she had ever known, or even think of. She began to cry once again.
"Malon…"
"Father?"
"I'm alright… Malon… just as long… as he doesn't hurt you…"
"Link will come… he won't let us suffer like this… I know he'll come…"
"Don't you think he would've been here by now?" Ingo was always the cynical one. "He's not coming, he will never come."
"Yes, he will. I know it!" she shouted back at him.
Just then, she could hear the rustling of footsteps and froze in fear. It was much too early for Ganondorf to come back, wasn't it? And what happened to all the guards that were constantly checking on them? She became very afraid and tried to be as silent as she could.
"Malon?" She heard the familiar voice and almost screamed in delight. "Talon?"
"Link!" she yelled as loud as she dared. "Over here!"
Link ran over to where he figured Malon was from the sound of her voice. This room was a lot darker than the previous room and his eyes had not yet grown accustomed to it yet. He fumbled around until he ended up next to her.
"I knew you would come."
"You didn't expect me to leave you here, did you?" His eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark and he could make out the shackles that bounded her. "Now, I want you to stay still. I'm going to cut you loose." He unsheathed the Master Sword and brought it above his head. He brought it down quickly, slicing the first set of shackles clean in half. Once again, he brought the Master Sword up and broke the chains that bound her ankles. Finally free from the bindings, she jumped up and gave him a big hug.
"Thank you."
"Oh, it's no problem. Really. Let me go and free your father and Ingo." He walked over to each of them and cut off their chains as well.
Unfortunately, unlike Malon, the two men were badly hurt and could barely stand, let alone get out of the tower to safety.
"Looks like we're going to have to send two of us with them to make sure they make it to safety," Nick said as he held up Talon.
"I will go," Aaron offered. "I don't think that I will be needed that much. We're all great fighters, I have confidence in all of you."
"I shall join you, Aaron," William said. "Being from another country makes this a battle that I don't belong in. The fate of Hyrule will rest in the hands of the Hylians themselves."
Link nodded, although he would have liked to have Aaron and William beside him in battle. Reluctantly, he accepted their offers.
"Very well, you two bring them to safety and wait for us at the castle. We will not be long."
The two Knights nodded. They picked up Talon and Ingo and began to make their way out of the tower. Before they descended the stairs, Aaron turned back to his friends.
"Good luck, my friends. May the Triforce guide you to victory." He turned back around, and he, with Talon, William, with Ingo, and Malon left the tower.
"So it's down to us, huh?" Nick asked rhetorically. "Just the six of us… and all Hylians."
"This is our time to shine," Charles said.
Link looked over the bunch and felt confident in them. He was ready to take on almost anything that Ganondorf threw at him. Without saying a word, he turned toward the next flight of stairs, anxious to fight the Evil King.
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When they expected to have been to another room, they were surprised. Instead, the stairs kept on going up, higher and higher. It was now possible to see that these stairs no doubt would bring them right in front of Ganondorf himself. It would seem that he felt he needed no protection from the Hylians. Your overconfidence is always your undoing, Ganondorf Link thought. They continued the long climb.
About five minutes later, John and Jacob fell back out of earshot of the others.
"Hey Jacob, are we sure about this?"
"Of course we are, John. We have to avenge our town. This is the man that did this to us! He must pay!"
"But what if one of us… dies…?"
"So be it. If I die protecting the land of Hyrule and the people I care about, then I will have died in the highest honor. I will die without regret. None of that 'I could have… I should have… I would have…' stuff for me."
"Yeah, you're right." John sighed. "I just have a very bad feeling about this."
"Hey, don't worry!" Jacob patted his friend on the back. "We have the Hero of Time with us! And the Princess! I'm sure those two can handle most of the dirty work anyway. We're just here to help in whatever way we can."
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"That's the spirit! Now, come on! We're falling too far behind. We have to catch up!" The two teenagers climbed the stairs faster.
John and Jacob caught up to the rest of the Knights as they reached the top of the long stairway. In front of them stood an unbelievably large door. John and Jacob lifted their heads slowly, taking in the sight of the magnificent, but terrifying, doorway.
"I've never seen a door this big," John said.
"Neither have I," Nick agreed. "This door makes the ones in Hyrule Castle seem small."
"Well, how do we open it?" Jacob asked as he stepped up to the door, feeling the surface of the door for a knob. Link and Charles took a closer look at the door as well, while Zelda, Nick, and John checked the walls on either side of it. For several minutes, they searched and searched, but to no avail. They couldn't find anything that even resembled a doorknob. There didn't seem to be a single thing that could possibly open it. Defeated, they all stood back and gazed intently at the door, hoping that the answer would present itself.
"What if we try to push it open?" Charles suggested. Without answering, all but Zelda leaned against the door. They pushed with all their might, but the door didn't even budge. They tried again, but got the same result.
"It's no use!" Zelda complained. "And we came so close!"
"There must be a way! I, for one, am not turning around. I don't care if it takes us weeks to get through this door!" Nick raised his voice, as if he was yelling at the door itself.
Link racked his brain for the answer. He had overcome many obstacles in his adventures, surely he could get through this one. Then an idea hit him and his face lit up.
"Magic!"
"Magic? Of course!" Zelda turned to face the door. "I can't believe we didn't think of that!"
Concentrating her power, Zelda tried to open the door. The Knights, John, and Jacob all looked on nervously, as if everything counted on Zelda coming through. Slowly, a blue aura surrounded the Princess. Concentrating on the door, she visualized it opening. To the amazement of the onlookers, the door began to shine blue as well. A small rumbling could be heard and felt all around them as the door began to rise from the ground. Slowly it opened, until it got to a point where its resistance gave way and Zelda was able to open it much faster. With a loud bang, the doorway was completely open.
Without any hesitation, they all ran through the opening. They stepped into another room, this one much larger than the others they had been in. Unlike the other rooms, this one was well lit. They all stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the figure on the other side of the room.
"Welcome, Link," Ganondorf said calmly. "I see you've brought along some friends for our little party."
"I will defeat you, Ganondorf," Link said back with a cool confidence, "Right here and now!"
Ganondorf laughed, but it didn't faze Link. He had grown used to the man's laugh and didn't think much of it anymore. But behind him, Jacob's skin was crawling with rage. Here stood the man that attacked his town, killed his family and friends, and hurt so many others. The anger welled up inside of him until he could barely hold back.
"You insolent fool! You cannot defeat me! I will crush you and then destroy your precious land!"
Jacob could handle no more. With an angry battle cry, he leaped forward, sword drawn and pointed at Ganondorf. The evil man looked at the boy and smiled. This gesture made Jacob's blood boil even more, and he raced toward the Evil King, ready to strike him down. Link reached out and tried to grab him before it was too late.
"Jacob! No!" His fingertips brushed up against the back of Jacob's clothes, but he couldn't get a grip on the boy. Instead, he was forced to watch.
Jacob lunged forward with his sword, but Ganondorf easily moved out of the way. Jacob's momentum caused him to run right past the Gerudo, his back to him. The Evil King raised his own sword and aimed for the defenseless boy. With one quick thrust, he put his sword through Jacob's back and out his chest.
Jacob felt the warm feeling in his torso and placed his hand over his chest. Pulling it away again, he could see that it was covered in blood, his blood. Stunned at the turn of events, he dropped his sword from his right hand and staggered over to the closest wall. He leaned his back against it and slid down.
"Jacob!" John screamed. He and Charles ran over to the dying boy and tried to comfort him. Link, Zelda, and Nick stood with their eyes focused on Ganondorf.
"Worthless boy! He dared to challenge me and he got what he deserved!" Still Link, Zelda, and Nick remained where they were, intent on killing the Evil King. But Charles was infuriated and vowed that he would kill Ganondorf himself.
"I'll kill you, you monster!" he yelled as he brandished his sword and charged for the Evil King.
Before he could even reach him, Ganondorf sent a ball of energy at the charging Knight. Unable to avoid it, Charles ran head on into the oncoming ball. The power of the energy ball sent Charles back across the room. He lay motionless on the ground. Ganondorf turned to Link.
"Now before anyone else interferes…" He raised his hands in the air, and all but Link were thrown back against the walls, unable to move. "There, that's much better, don't you think?"
Link looked over at Zelda with a look of concern on his face. "Don't worry about me, Link! Just beat him so all this can be over with!" With a slight nod, Link turned to face the Evil King.
"I will end this once and for all, Ganondorf. You will never again spread terror in the land of Hyrule."
"Big words. Can you back it up?"
Link simply pulled out the Master Sword and braced himself for battle. Ganondorf made his blade reappear in his hand, and the two squared off. There was a momentary silence as the two warriors stared each other down, trying to intimidate the other. Then, with a quick move, Link jumped at Ganondorf. The Evil King easily defended himself against the attack and countered with a thrust. Link knocked it away and tried a horizontal swing. The two men fought, but neither was able to gain any ground on the other. Each move was met with a block, and each counterattack was turned away. Ganondorf came down with a vertical cut, but Link raised his shield to block it. With a counterattack, Link shoved Ganondorf's sword out of the way, leaving the Evil King open to attack. He swung his sword horizontally, but the Evil King somehow managed to block the attack with his sword.
I can't believe it! He's so fast! I thought I had him there. This is going to be a much tougher battle than I've ever fought!
Ganondorf swung his sword, but Link ducked and rolled out of the way just before it would've taken his head off. Jumping up quickly, he tried an upswing on the Gerudo, but that too was blocked. They continued to fight, all the while no hits were scored. Link began to tire, but he was not going to give up. The Master Sword was becoming heavier in his hand as the battle wore on, causing his offensive moves to slow down. Unlike the Hero of Time, Ganondorf still seemed to be fresh. It appeared that he was fighting with the same energy as when they started.
How can this be? He doesn't even seem to be tired! I must do something, otherwise he'll just wear me down. But what?
Link blocked another blow from the Gerudo, the force traveling through his shield, causing immense pain in his arm. He tried to deliver a blow, but Ganondorf knocked his sword astray. After blocking another swing from Ganondorf, Link decided he had to do something now. Gathering up all the energy he could, he charged up the Master Sword. He waited for the Gerudo to attack again, while he uses the spin attack as a counter. Just as he planned, Ganondorf attacked and Link defended it with his shield. Letting out a loud cry, Link executed the spin attack. Ganondorf reacted quickly and blocked the spin attack! The force of the spin attack collided with Ganondorf's sword, causing the Master Sword to fly from Link's hand. Link stood stunned.
How could he have possibly blocked that? His thoughts quickly turned to Zelda, Evan, and his friends as he realized the inevitable. He looked around the room at his fallen friends and the people that counted on him. To him, it all seemed to be passing by in slow motion. He saw Ganondorf bring his sword back, ready to deliver the final blow. Link's eyes caught Zelda's eyes, and there he stared as Ganondorf ran him through. With his eyes still on Zelda's, he slowly fell to his knees, and then fell onto the ground.
"No!" Zelda screamed at the top of her lungs as Link's lifeless body fell to the floor. She began to cry over the loss of her loved one, and Hyrule's greatest hero. As she looked on from her confined area, Ganondorf grabbed Link and picked him up. "Don't you touch him!"
Ganondorf just smiled at the Princess and turned his attention back to Link's body. His body began to glow a bright green, filling the room. Zelda looked down at her hand and noticed the Triforce mark glowing. Realizing what Ganondorf was about to do, Zelda lost all hope. With two Triforce pieces, nothing would be able to stop him. It would only be a matter of time before he got her piece, and then he would rule the world. She closed her eyes and prepared for her death.
However, extracting the Triforce of Courage from Link's body was a great strain on Ganondorf's magic. In order to complete the extraction, he released his hold on the remaining Knights and Zelda. Realizing that they could move again, Zelda, Nick, and John ran as fast as they could to the stairs and out of the tower. None of them liked the fact that they left behind the bodies of Jacob and Charles, but this was their only chance.
Unconcerned that the others had gotten away, Ganondorf continued the extraction process. Soon, the Triforce of Courage floated out of Link's body and hovered in the air above him. Ganondorf threw Link's limp body to the floor and reached up for the Triforce. Reacting to the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Courage allowed the Evil King to take it, and the two pieces fused together. A sensation of power worked its way through Ganondorf's body.
"Ah yes! I now have two pieces of the Triforce. Soon the third will be mine, and the world will bow to me! Hahaha!" The Evil King walked toward the tower exit.