It took me a moment to mentally regather myself. So much has changed. My name was Matthew Smith, but I've decided to go by Tassadar. I've got roughly 400 years of his memories in my head, though it's more like a book than actual experiences. All of his memories I see are more like I'm viewing from a third person perspective. It gives me a good insight into Tassadar's personality, but it doesn't overwhelm mine if I had the memories from his perspective. Perhaps that's what he meant then, trying to make sure that his personality wouldn't overwrite mine. Even so, I would still do my best to learn from him, though it would take some time to review all the memories.
I sat up, only to take stock of myself in surprise. It seems the changes Tassadar gave me weren't just mental. My body had aged. I was 10 going on 11. I'd say I've become roughly 16 going on 17. I've gotten taller. I'm no where near Zeratul's 8 foot self, but I am a head taller than Sheik now. Even better, my body seems to have redistributed the slight pudginess I had. I'm now fairly lean, and a bit muscular even. I feel the odd temptation to flex and see what I look like doing that, but I ignore it. There are a few more small changes. My skin has tanned slightly so I'm no longer pasty white. My hair has changed to a dark black with a white stripe circling the crown of my head. Most startling though is that my eyes have changed to a solid blue color that glows softly. Thanks to my size, Sheik can't hold me anymore, which I've been informed she would have been doing at the time while I was out, rather than just laying my head in her lap.
Zeratul at this point seemed to recognize just who I had been playing host to and his eyes went wide. After exchanging greetings and a hand clasp with him, I gave a general gist of what happened with Tassadar in my head, and that I'm going to answer to that name now. I didn't think Zeratul's eyes could get any wider when I informed him it was essentially the Xel-naga's fault that the Overmind did what he did, and peripherally can be blamed for what Kerrigan is doing as well, but they did.
Now that things had settled, I knew I needed to get back. Link needs to be healed. I explained this to Zeratul. It's obvious he'd rather I stay and help, but he understands I'm already honor bound to help in Hyrule. I promise him I'll be back to help settle things at Hyrule. With Link out of commission their world is at stake, plus as I am now, I wouldn't be able to help much. If I go, I can bring back help, and I'll be stronger with some experience under my belt and having studied Tassadar's memories more carefully. Zeratul concedes this.
Sheik and I return to Hyrule through the Protoss Warp Gate. On the other side, Sheik pulls me aside and asks me to clarify a few things, namely whether my name and body change. I think she's worried something may have happened to change me irrevocably, and the fact that she was the one who brought me there has her feeling guilty. I reassure her that I'm fine, just a bit older and wiser now. I can't help but feel for her though and give her a strong hug, considering this is almost an exact repeat for her of her actions with Link, leading him to lose 7 years of his life, and appear as a ten year old in a 17 year old body. I'm perfectly happy with this situation though, and I let her know that. I don't know if it cheers her up completely, but she does seem to be smiling easier now.
Using a song, we return to where we'd left Aunt Beast, which turned out to be a hidden Sheikah Fortress hidden on the side of a cliff down a crevice of Death Mountain. Thanks to the cliff itself, the fortress is protected from the debris of eruptions, and there's enough of a lip that any lava flow won't touch the fortress either.
Once back, we find out that some of the others Aunt Beast and Sheik rescued have woken up and asking questions. Aunt Beast has been answering as best she can and trying to keep the peace. I quickly find out the others rescued are Joshua Fireseed AKA Turok, known from the game Turok 2 Seeds of Evil, and Terry Mcginness AKA Batman, known from the show Batman Beyond. Evidently Terry woke up and started putting on his suit as soon as he found it in the dresser across from his bed, the Josh woke up and saw only a black beast like monster and attacked. Thankfully they've both settled down once the misunderstanding was explained, but the two have a bit of a grudge/rivalry going now because of it.
I was curious how a Stalfos might've gotten the drop on those two, of all people. Turns out they came while they were asleep. Terry I could understand since I'm pretty sure he doesn't sleep in the bat suit, but Josh? Turns out he had already been injured already and was sleeping it off, so he was at a disadvantage when it happened. Fair enough I guess.
Josh and Terry naturally wanted to go home. Completely understandable really. Unfortunately, until we can figure out what Ganondorf did to get to them in the first place, there's no easy way to do that. The situation was then explained to them in more fuller detail while I went back to the clinic room to check on Link. Turns out he's the one who was in the bed next to mine and I thought was a mummy.
Using my new psionic powers to sense Link's injuries, I quickly determined the wounds were psionic in nature, but of a darker kind, and removed the taint from them. It didn't take long to heal Link after that. Terry and Josh had followed along to watch while Sheik explained, and Aunt Beast tended to Link's injuries with healing potions. Soon enough, Link had awoken. My first impression of Link would be a quiet kid, so a lot like me essentially. Not surprising considering his whole life he grew up around the Kokiri who shunned him for something beyond his control. Sounds familiar. Very familiar indeed.
Link grew concerned over Navi once he found out her condition. I examined her, but couldn't really find anything wrong. She just won't wake up. Sheik asked Link what happened in the Water Temple. Link's face grew dark and he told us about Dark Link, how no matter what he did, Dark Link proved stronger, faster, and more wily than Link. Nothing worked. He knocked out Navi with the butt of his sword, and then proceeded to carve Link up in a twisted type of torture. Link had only just gotten away using the Farore's Wind spell.
Unfortunately just before he escaped, Dark Link hit him with an unknown spell that took hold of Link's iron boots and fastened them to his feet, and caused Farore's wind to only transport him to the central tower. Link had to traverse the entire way back with weighted boots and bleeding from wounds that refused to heal. He fell several times, the added weight of the boots causing severe problems. Eventually he just passed out outside the third floor door of the central tower, which is where Sheik found him.
Josh and Terry's reservations disappeared upon hearing that story. Such cruelty needed to be stopped, which showed just why those two are heroes. I think they bonded a little over it as well. Link appreciated the help, and explained that he was getting the medallions of the six sages of the Golden Realm.
An interesting thing happened when he showed us the medallions. As he passed them around for us to examine, the fire medallion lit up in Josh's hand. Sheik's eyes went wide at that, and she mentioned a prophecy she'd heard of the medallion bearers. Evidently, the gist of the prophecy is that we would bring stability and peace to Hyrule permanently, thus ending the cycle, whatever that is. (I later found out the 'cycle' mentioned was the reincarnation of Link, Zelda, and Ganon over and over to battle over the Triforce).
Link had just handed me the Light medallion when it too lit up in my hand. Suddenly, my vision was swept away. It left Hyrule and the planet behind, sweeping across the stars at impossible speeds. It was an incredible sight, or would have been if it'd lasted longer. The next thing I knew I found myself on the edge of a rocky cliff in a barren wasteland.
In the distance, I can see an arena made of white tiles at the base of another cliff farther away from the one I'm on. I can see people around the arena, but it's so far away they look like specks. Despite not being able to really see anything, I can shake the sense of déjà vu, like I've somehow seen this before.
Deciding I may as well take a closer look, I find a way down the cliff I'm on. Some climbing was involved unfortunately. I may have Tassadar's memories, but I'm still not too fond of heights. It didn't help either that the ground had started shaking on occasion, like a series of random minor earth quakes.
As I made my way closer, I gaped, finally recognizing what I'm seeing and where I am. I've somehow found myself a spectator of the Cell Games from Dragonball Z. Goku and Cell are fighting at speeds I can't even follow with my eyes. I can somehow sense them though using my psionics. With that, I can almost picture what's happening, but not to any great degree.
Things play out more or less like they do in the show. I take note that the time taken to actually power up or do large attacks is actually far shorter than the show suggests. Thank goodness for that. I'd rather not listen to ten minutes of screaming. Eventually Cell blows up the stage, then later Goku tags Gohan in. I frown at that. This… might be an opportunity to change a few things. The way Goku died never really sat right with me. I realize the training he did in the Afterlife is important, but I can't help but think that he would've done just as well alive, plus getting that much power would have inspired the others to do so as well. Plus I really like Gohan, and the weenie he became as a teen without Goku's influence was rather painful to watch after he became so awesome finishing Cell.
With that thought in mind, I made my way even closer to the battle. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I'm starting to feel a tad reckless, and even though I know I really don't stand a chance if Cell decides to just kill me, at least I'll make things seriously uncomfortable for him before I go.
I end up down the cliff and approaching the fight. It's obvious the other Z fighters have seen me, but I think they've probably judged me as a non entity to ignore like the reporters and Hercule still on the battle field. Kinda presumptuous of them, but then this is a pretty important fight going on. Far more important things to worry about than suicidal civilians they can just wish back later, like making sure they survive TO wish us back.
Eventually I get close enough during a break in the fighting that Cell seems to acknowledge my approach. He's just as arrogant as I expected. I showed up at just the right time too since he's really starting to get into the whole trying to piss Gohan off and get him to release his power level, but he hasn't gotten to the part with the Cell Jr's yet. Just my luck really.
I speak up at this point, pointing out I have the ability to unlock the hidden potential in Gohan is talking about. Cell is intrigued and allows me to approach. Gohan is nervous and more than a little bothered from my seeming suicidal recklessness. I ask him to just trust me, and that I wish I had more time to introduce myself, but this isn't really the time or place. He asks what I need him to do. I tell him to just close his eyes. I put my hand on his head for effect and concentrate on showing him exactly what's going to happen from this point if things don't change. It takes about an hour, but it happens in just a split second in real time. Seeing 16 die including the knowledge that it's ultimately Cell's fault that his Dad died sends Gohan over the edge big time.
His sudden power up sends me rocketing back. I scan my mind frantically for an idea to save myself from being a splatter mark on the cliff I'm headed towards. I find one, but before I can implement it, I was suddenly caught in midair by Piccolo. He didn't say anything, though I didn't really expect him to. He just carried me back to the other Z warriors, most of whom were too focused on Gohan to really acknowledge my presence, or so I thought.
Next thing I know, I'm being held up in the air by the front of my tunic as Vegeta is demanding to know what I did. I answered that I simply showed him what would happen in the future and that this power is the result of Gohan releasing all his rage. Vegeta scoffed but seemed to accept the answer, a bit distracted by Gohan suddenly absolutely wrecking Cell up. The very first thing he did was slug Cell hard enough in the gut to spew out 18. Once that was done, Gohan smashed him to send him away from her body and Krillen collected her after a few moments. At that point, I watched in disbelief at Gohan's savagery. I did not expect him to tear Cell's arms off and start beating him with it.
Finally Gohan tossed Cell high into the air, charged up a powerful Kamehameha wave, and blasted Cell so hard he vaporized instantly. Goku immediately went over to calm down his son, who after a few moments broke down and clutched his still alive Dad. At Goku's behest, I showed him what I showed Gohan, plus a little extra. Well, a lot extra really. With him alive, he's going to need an edge to fight Buu, so seeing his Super Saiyan 3 form now can only help by giving him a goal to shoot towards.
With the battle over, everyone seemed to relax. I ended up introducing myself, though explaining how I got here and why I knew future knowledge seemed to beggar disbelief, that's for certain. Vegeta certainly wasn't so keen to believe me, and that's putting it lightly.
Eventually we all made it up to the lookout. Gohan was kind enough to carry me up there, especially now that he's not injured and far happier with the results of everything now, rather than what I showed him. I also gave him a mental trigger so he can access that strength at the conscious flip of a switch rather than having to go through all the trouble of seeing people die for it to work, especially considering as he gets older, his control over that 'rage' is only going to increase.
As soon as we made it to the lookout, Shenron the Eternal Dragon was summoned. Having the damage fixed that Cell caused was easy enough with one wish. With the second wish up for grabs, Krillen made to use it to turn 18 human. Still not really sure why this was beyond Shenron though. Before Krillen could have her self destruct removed, I asked if I could ask for information from the Dragon first. Krillen nodded. I asked Shenron why I was here. He informed me that one of the Medallion Bearers is among the assembled group. I asked which one, and Gohan was named. I promised to explain later. Almost as an afterthought, Shenron gave a freebie bit of info and said that the last Medallion Bearer would be found at the bottom of a well. He nodded when I asked if it was the Karkariko well. I thanked him and he nodded again. At that Krillen made his wish to remove 18's self destruct device.
With Shenron gone, I was immediately asked to explain what that was all about. I informed them about the prophecy, what little I knew of it, about how the medallion bearers would save Hyrule and bring peace. I explained the bit behind the medallions and the Golden realm, which lead to an explanation about the Triforce. Thankfully of all the people I could explain it to, these guys wouldn't care about the Triforce, considering they already have access to the Dragonballs, so could really care less about another wish fulfilling item.
The issue now would be getting back. This brought to mind how I got here in the first place, and I fingered the Light Medallion still in my possession. Gohan admired it when I showed it to him. While I examined it, I thought back to the idea I'd had to save myself from splattering on the cliff. Essentially it's a form of short range teleportation, but by focusing on the medallion, I get the feeling that I can use it in conjunction with my new/old teleport ability to travel between the other Medallion Bearers no matter the distance required to travel.
Working out the logistics of doing such a thing, I figured I could bring one other person with me. Gohan agreed to go, despite it being so soon after saving the world. If he can help, then he should go, was his explanation. The others seemed to accept it. I'm really hoping I can become good friends with Gohan. He's a really good guy.
Using the teleport ability, Gohan and I returned to Hyrule and the others. Somehow, I'd only been gone a few seconds according to them when I reappeared with Gohan. I gave them a run down of what happened, including some background of how I know them all. I'm careful to leave any mention of Sheik's true identity out of it just as I promised. I also left out the bit about the other bearer in the bottom of the well. I figure we'll get to that part when we get to it.
Eventually, after a good meal and sleep, as well as outfitting myself with a black tunic and a black dagger from the armory, as well as nice black leather boots and gauntlets, we made our way to the Water Temple. Navi still hadn't awoken, so we made a detour to the Deku Tree Sprout to have her examined. We ended up leaving her there when the Sprout asked, explaining she wasn't waking up due to lack of magic. She would need to recover in the Deku Tree Grotto where the most ambient energy that Navi could absorb is.
As we made it to Lake Hylia, we camped out on the island above the temple. After a night's rest and a few hours of taking watch, we made our way into the temple. With Link having already cleared up the majority of it, it wasn't so hard. I was the only one who had trouble traversing the under water portions of the temple, but with Gohan pulling me along, I was fine. Josh and Terry both already had items/abilities to deal with it.
Eventually we made it to Dark Link. He tried to trick us all up by creating copies of each of us, and I determined with surprise that Dark Link really is a psionic entity. I can't figure out where it came from though or what it's doing here. Unfortunately for it, with its power divided like that, it was rather easy to beat, not that it would've mattered. Gohan's copy couldn't replicate his immense strength and speed, and so was dispatched faster than you could blink. He would've taken care of the rest if they weren't already being handled well enough.
We eventually made it to the boss room. I gave a run down on Morpha so we avoided the spiked walls. The path into the chamber itself was annoying, but Gohan simply carried the lot of us over the trapped incline up, while Terry simply flew over.
Between the four of us, Morpha was toast. Gohan could've taken care of it by himself, but I think he was trying to downplay his own abilities, as well as avoid destroying everything on accident. Between Link pulling the formless entity from the water, Josh stabbing it with his warblade, the only weapon he had on him at the time when he was attacked, Terry stabbing it with one of his bat-shuriken, and Gohan stomping it, Morpha died in record time. Link collected the heart piece, and stepped into the blue portal of light. Blue crystals formed around each of us, and we found ourselves in the Chamber of Sages.
As soon as we appeared, the four sages so far gathered appeared. Rauru of Light, Saria of the Forest, Darunia of Fire, and Ruto of Water. Ruto had a talk with Link about the whole engagement thing as usual. Darunia and Josh just stared at each other, before giving each other a nod. Not sure what that was about, but I guess they accepted each other. Rauru said something fancy, basically reiterating the prophesy Sheik already told us, and then he cast some magic to change the medallions so they were all connected to chains. I immediately put mine around my neck and the others followed suit. Ruto looked put out and Saria looked inordinately pleased when Link discovered the Forest medallion glowed to his touch and put it around his neck. Pretty sure Ruto was hoping he'd wear the Water medallion. Ah well, sorry Ruto.
Soon after that, we were transported back to the island above the temple where we camped out. The lake had finally refilled completely. We used the bridge to get back to the shore. Link at this point, wanted to go fishing for some reason. The others had reservations about this, but Link explained it'd be good for down time. Since I hadn't said anything I was asked for an opinion. I agreed with Link that a relaxing activity after a fight could be a good way to unwind. So we went fishing.
I honestly didn't expect to catch anything considering I wasn't trying. Gohan didn't even bother and sat next to me, saying the fish were too small for him to be comfortable with catching. I told him it'd just be for fun rather than for food, and that the fish would either be put back or placed in a special tank. Gohan simply said it'd be too easy to catch these fish. No where for them to go. I conceded the point.
Terry and Josh somehow got into a competition to catch the loach of the pond after Link showed him his record holding 18 pounder fish. They never did catch that fish.
We headed on towards Karkariko at my behest, informing them that's where the next medallion would be found, at the shadow temple behind the graveyard. It was a two day trek, with a campout in the middle. Poes teased us, but ultimately left us alone.
As soon as we got near Karkariko, we saw smoke and rushed up the stairs. Some of the buildings are on fire. Suddenly the wood cover on the well exploded outward. I knew what was coming, but I didn't have anything long range I could think of immediately. Link got bowled over by something he couldn't see. Terry, Josh, and Gohan figured out pretty quickly that something invisible was rushing around at that point, and they started tracking the movement of Bongo Bongo's shadow and the dirt he kicked up. Unfortunately their attacks did nothing. They seemingly went straight through where it was despite what should have been a direct hit. Bongo Bongo disappeared pretty soon after that.
Sheik suddenly appeared and played the Song of Storms, bringing rain and helping put out the fires. Sheik then attended us and cared for Link, kneeling over him. Terry invited Sheik to simply join us, but Sheik simply said he was better off staying hidden and off Ganon's radar. Understandable, knowing who Sheik really is, though not so understandable for Terry though he didn't complain about it. No, it was Josh who questioned Sheik's honor and supposed cowardice. I defended her, saying there was a reason to keep Sheik hidden that we couldn't say. I looked at Sheik as I said this, sending her a telepathic apology for breaking my promise even that much. Sheik nodded at the words I'd sent, forgiving me.
At that point, Link groaned and sat up. Terry helped him to his feet. Sheik taught him the Nocturne of Shadow to get the Shadow Temple, then disappeared in a flash, though not before warning us we'd need something from the well. I'm guessing the lens of truth and told the others. I'd actually kinda expected Sheik to give a bit more info than that, but I guess it helps having someone on the team who already knows most of what needs to happen. I explained to Link that he needed to go to the past and learn a song from the man who runs the windmill, then go through the well and acquire the Lens of Truth so he could see Bongo Bongo.
With nothing for it, and Link needing to go back to the past, we decided to hold up at an inn here while we waited. Things were a touch tense until Josh and Terry solved their own problem of idleness by getting involved with helping the town rebuild the buildings damaged by the fires. Gohan pitched in to, though for Terry and Josh's sake he tried to limit himself to what a normal yet strong human could do so he didn't end up doing everything.
We all stayed at an inn, swapping stories over the night. It was fun hearing some of their battles from their perspective and even some funny ones from training that weren't shown in the game or cartoons. I got to tell them a bit of the training Tassadar went through that I'm relearning. Somehow I think some of the things I told them increased their respect for me a bit.
Gohan requested training in psionics in trade for training with Chi. I didn't even have to think before agreeing. He gave me some pointers that moment to get my chi flowing and get a ball of energy into my hands. With my Psionics able to perceive my body in ways a normal person can't, I got a ball of light between my palms going in record time. Gohan was impressed. It tired me out really quick though. My mental PSI energy may be huge right now, but my physical Chi energy sure isn't. Gohan promised to help me train a bit in the morning. In return, I used the mental trick I used earlier to give him a bit of a crash course in focusing his mind and sensing the energy of the Khala and the Void. In the background I had to check to see if he was capable of this yet. I was surprised to see that he has the basics available to him. I used some tricks left over from the Overmind to give that part of his mind a boost. He soon started sensing psionics and seeing the world with them. He even started experimenting, piggy backing his psi sense on top of his chi sense much to my surprise. Watching what he was doing, I saw him sense his family, and then much like it had happened to me, his mind suddenly zoomed far away to see them up close, only this time his body didn't go with him. I was very impressed and left Gohan to it.
The next day, Link came back around midafternoon. Gohan had me doing basic kata. With my Psionics boosting my muscles I was able to keep going far longer than a normal person would. Terry and Josh joined us as well. He had us meditate as well and taught the other two to push forward their energy like I had. For the sake of time, I used the same mental trick I'd used on Gohan and got them pushing out their energy even faster than I did. Not hard, considering the both of them were already extremely athletic, Josh especially.
Link returned about midafternoon. Remembering what Shenron said about the well, I asked him if he found anyone down there. He responded that there weren't, other than dead bodies and monsters. Pensive, I told them about the last element bearer we're supposed to find being down the well according the Shenron. With nothing else for it, we went down the well. Gohan used his strength to smash a path into the water ways down there, while I used my psionics to keep everything stable.
We explored every nook and cranny of that place and found no one. The last place we looked was the room where Link got the Lens of Truth. Another Dead Hand was waiting for us. Link cried out, "I thought I killed you!" I think we were a little frustrated at that point cause we ended up using our most explosive attacks. We blew a hole in the back wall. It cracked open along with the floor and revealed a rushing stream of water below it.
Curious, we jumped down, landing on a ledge available. Being down on this part, I frowned, thinking this looked incredibly familiar. Looking back and seeing the green floating box with the question mark on the side immediately identified it. Mario? Super Mario 64?
Somehow, we'd made our way into the Mushroom Kingdom. Now that I think about it, those waterways are kind of like ancient sewers… how ironic. We ended up making it to the front of the castle, soaking wet of course. Terry didn't seem bothered though. The water sloughed off him as if he was waterproof. Knowing that suit of his, I wouldn't be surprised if he was.
We walked up the front door and knocked. For a castle, there sure do seem to be a lack of guards… a Toad answered and lead us inside. Toad's are almost too hospitable to a fault. We got to sit down to what amounts to a feast. The others were a little wary, not used to this kind of reception from completely strangers, but I vouched for them. Toad's are just that nice. Princess Peach showed up along with Mario while we were eating. We stood up and bowed, but Peach waved off the formalities, getting to know each of us. She introduces Mario, and I can see in his eyes that he's wary of us, but being friendly for the sake of the others.
We end up explaining what's going on. Somehow in all of this, I end up being the spokesperson since I'm the one who already knows everyone. The explanation for THAT being quite the doozy that actually caused a Toad or two to faint, and Mario mumbling under his breath to find that Lakitu that'd been following him later. After explaining to them about the Kingdom literally just upstairs (And isn't that a doozy considering it looks like the sky outside) and the issue with the Triforce, Ganondorf, and the Medallion Bearers, Mario agrees to go after the Water Medallion reacts to him, and Peach persuades him with the promise of a cake later. Dunno how the guy keeps from getting fat if cake is his reward for everything. (Later learned that 'cake' is a euphism to spare the Toads ears. Took a while before that didn't go straight over my head. I still try not to think about it too much.)
With Mario along for the ride, our little group was finally complete. Ganondorf didn't even know what hit him. We had a little trouble at first with Mario claiming senior hero status due to his age, so figured it'd be best if he was leader. Up until this point we hadn't really had an officially recognized leader. I was all for voting Link, considering this is his planet and home. After a brief argument, it was put to a vote, and somehow I ended up getting elected the leader, since technically with 400 years of military training, experience, and wisdom under my belt, turns out I'm technically the 'senior hero'. Turns out they'd all been following my lead anyway, even Link, since they know I'm the one who already knows what's going on, has the most information, and know best what to do with it. Mario concedes this, simply wanting to have an established leader since in his experience, things work best that way.
With that out of the way, we all made it into Karkariko. Link pulled out his Ocarina and played the Nocturne of Shadow. We could almost here the echo of Sheik playing along when he did. We attempted to all transport this way by keeping a hold of Link, but it only sent him. On a whim, I whistled the tune myself and found myself whisked to the front entrance of the Shadow Temple. Wasn't long after that, everyone else made it as well.
We practically breezed through the Shadow temple. We had a lot of hijinks of people falling through invisible walls and floors though, and the wall masters kept separating us. Things would've stayed chaotic till I'd had enough and appointed Link as our spotter and Gohan to keep an eye out for the wall masters. Mario nodded in approval. Guess there is something to be said about having an official leader after all.
After that, it was a breeze. A little teamwork saw us through the temple easily. I noted that Josh and Terry's rivalry had essentially turned friendly at the ghost ship. When it collapsed, Josh was still on it, but Terry caught him. There was hardly any sniping between them anymore either. We made it to Bongo Bongo, and with Link directing us, and Gohan and Terry not needing to stand on the drum, we made quick work of it. Link collected the heart container. We all were transported to the Chamber of Sages. Terry got passed the Medallion of Shadow. Rauru said more cryptic sounding stuff that basically congratulated us for getting us this far and seemed to look on me approvingly. Ruto flirted with Mario outrageously when she found out he had the water medallion. I chuckled at his blush. We then reappeared in the Graveyard.
Everyone turned to me at this point, and I directed us to the inn so I could have some time to think it over. I wondered if we should take the long path as normal, or just warp over there since I already know the Requiem of Spirit. On the one hand, we'll get this all done faster, on the other, if we go the long way we'll save some innocent men. Plus the Gerudo are Ganondorf's power base, unwilling as they are.
I posed this situation to Link, asking him if he'd been through Gerudo Valley already. He hadn't, and recommended we save those men. I agreed, and we headed out. It was a long walk, filled with some conversation but not much. Poes left us alone, and I focused on working my Chi energy up, using my Psi to work my muscles but keep up my endurance. Mind over matter and all that. Gohan complimented me, admitting what I was doing is likely what Piccolo does when he meditates, or similar. He started copying me, and we both spent the trip increasing our power levels.
Making it into Gerudo Valley, we found the bridge collapses. Gohan and Terry ferried Link and I across since I hadn't mastered flight yet. Josh simply pulled out a Talisman and jumped/floated across. Gohan offered to ferry Mario, but he declined, then showed us his near supernatural acrobatics by leaping the entire canyon. Obviously we wanted to know how he did that. He explained it as a technique of the Toads that required an intake of a special mushroom while training.
With the power we had, the Gerudo fell before us easily. I warned the others to only knock them out though. Terry went invisible and used his training to knock out Gerudo before they even came up on us. We saved the carpenters from their imprisonment, and the lead Gerudo in charge with Nabooru gone challenged me specifically to a duel. I was a bit surprised and thought she'd challenge Link like in the game, offering to let Link fight, to which she asked if I was not the leader of this group. Conceding, we fought, me soaking up every little bit of martial combat Tassadar ever learned to keep up with the Gerudo and her wicked fast blades. Eventually I took in enough that I bested the Gerudo, placing my blade to her neck.
The Gerudo commends me on my prowess, admitting she did not think me capable at first, but at the end I performed admirably, using techniques not even she could see coming. The Protoss are a master of their art after all. She introduces herself as Aveil, Nabooru's second in command, and accepts us as honorary Gerudo. I'm a bit surprised she accepted all of us when only I fought. She explained that she'd been watching our progress, and having a leader who bests a Gerudo Elite speaks well of the troops under his command. I accepted this, even if I could barely understand the concept. (The Gerudo philosophy is that a true leader will always surround him/herself with their best troops, and the power of the leader speaks well of the power of his best. A poor leader is weak, and the troops around him will be weak as well, whether it be in strength or spirit. I'm still surprised at how true that is to this day. A weak greedy lord who hires his troops, will have troops only as loyal as the gold in his pocket.)
The Gerudo allowed us to pass through their lands uncontested at this point. Having flight capable members of the team proved extremely beneficial to getting through the Haunted Wasteland. I still couldn't fly, but I could practice my Chi use by keeping my feet from sinking into the dunes and the sand out of my eyes. Terry didn't have much to worry about with his suit, and Gohan did the same thing I was. The rest were having a hard time. Took a crash course in psionics and chi to get them to do what I'm doing, and we made it a bit easier after that.
We had to form a chain to keep from getting lost as Link followed the specter to the Gerudo Oasis, where the Desert Colossus is. I contemplated just warping us there at this point, but I figured in for a penny, in for a pound at this point.
Finally we made it through and the others were rather impressed at the sight of the Colossus. Link asked if I knew what the Colossus is. I answered that it's the Goddess of the Sand, worshipped by the Gerudo as their patron. Beyond that, he'd have to ask the Gerudo themselves.
As we were about to make our way inside, Sheik appeared and warned that Link would need to come back here as a child, then taught us the Requiem of Spirit. With that, she left. I explained that things done in the past here would set things up for things in the future, much like how playing the Song of Storms in the Windmill leaves the well empty then and in the future.
Link nodded, and all that was left was to wait. Gohan tried to push the great silver block in the way. It moved easily enough for him. Surprisingly, before we could get very far, Link caught back up with us wearing the Silver Gauntlets. Considering how long it took to get the Lens of Truth, I'd figure it'd take longer. Link explained most of that time was spent just getting to Karkariko from Hyrule. Evidently Ganondorf has made the place even more dangerous for Link alone ever since we all showed up. Link elected to just bypass all that with the song, especially since a peek outside showed Hyrule Castle Town swarming with so many redeads, there wasn't even a place to walk.
As we made our way to the Spirit Temple, Link explained what happened in the past for him here. It's interesting to know that despite spending two whole days in the past, only a moment passed here between being gone and coming back.
At this point I scratched my head and stopped. I asked everyone if they just wanted to bypass all the traps and puzzles and just get straight to what we came for. Link asked if we could really do that. I answered that we could here.
With that, we stepped back outside, and Gohan on my direction, flew up to the left hand of the Colossus and grabbed the mirror shield. That done, I asked Gohan if he could do the Solar Flare technique. He could, but it turns out it needs a concentrated flash of light to destabilize the face of the statue inside the Temple, though repeated flashes did make the face look melty. Not even a chi blast worked to get rid of it surprisingly. Must be magic.
I shrugged and said that it probably means we have to at least do the part of the temple to get sunlight flowing in here. So we did. Did I mention how much easier this temple is with members of the team capable of flight? On the way, I practiced using Tassadar's signature attack, Psi Assault, on various enemies. So far I'd yet to find a range limit on it when I tossed Chi into the mix. Gohan admitted the attack I was using scared even him, since it'd bypass any energy attack sent to deflect it. I shrugged and admitted that energy shields would block it easily enough. He countered that I could use the attack inside of a physical object now with the chi component I've added, completely bypassing a shield. I'd never even thought of that. I fried the next Lizalfos from the inside and understood just what he was talking about. I gained a new appreciation for Psi Storm and Psi Assault that day.
With the puzzles finished and the light bouncing off of Link's shield having melted the face off the statue, we made our way inside. At this point, I held everyone back when we got to the iron knuckle. We'd breezed through them before, but I held everyone back. I told Link he would probably want to handle this one on his own. He looked at me like I was nuts. He even asked if I was nuts. I told him that not only did I know he could do it, I also knew he wouldn't appreciate our interference considering who that particular Iron Knuckle is. Link's eyes went wide at that point, and I nodded that his realization was correct. His face became serious with resolve and we stayed out of his way.
It was a close fight, but Link won, knocking all the armor off of Nabooru, returning her to her senses temporarily. Koume and Kotake's voices echoed in the room but they didn't dare show themselves to us yet. Smart of them. The idea of mind control bothers me on a deep level, something inherently wrong to me with the concept of subverting someone's free will.
We went to the room next door, ready to fight. Upset at their actions as I was, I interrupted their monologuing with a single order. Blast them. Gohan and the other obliged, myself included. Between all of our attacks, particularly Gohan's energy blast and my PSI Assault, the Witches were taken out before they could even become Twinrova.
Link then collected the Heart piece, we were transported to the Chamber of Sages, Nabooru delivered the Spirit Medallion to Gohan, and then Rauru teleported us to the inside of the Temple of Time rather than have us deal with all the monsters outside the temple. I froze, not expecting us to come to this point so quickly. I hadn't even considered what to do at this point.
Sheik appeared to us and revealed herself as Zelda. I think it was at that point that my brain stopped working. When this first happened in the game, I was surprised, shocked, and overwhelmed by Zelda appearing, and how beautiful she is. Now? The exact same thing, only even more so. THIS is the woman who rocked me while I was injured and frightened in the Sheikah Fortress. This is the woman who bathed me and clothed me. This is the woman who stood by my side at Shakuras, and showed concern for my well being after I'd changed. If before had me developing a crush on this woman, now? Seeing her now and remembering the things we'd gone through so far had me falling in love.
So imagine my reaction when a pink crystal suddenly entrapped her and whisked her away without even a by your leave. Imagine Ganondorf's gloating that he now has us surrounded and right in the palms of his hand. I didn't know it at the time, so in shock, stunned, and enraged as I was, but I was informed later the waves of power that was floating off of me was enough to cause everyone to eye me warily and take a few steps back. My eyes were also glowing white in a way that scared even Josh.
Then I disappeared. The others saw only the doors waving open in the breeze. They rushed outside to the sight of a massacre. There had been hundreds of redeads. There had even been poes and iron knuckles and flying keese of every type, and bubble skulls, choking up the path all the way to Ganon's Tower. Now all that's left is a path strewn with blood and body parts as the monsters disappear in flames almost after the fact, as if they don't know they're already dead.
The group stuck together and followed the path as fast as they could, some particularly glad the carnage had eventually disappeared, making it easier to make it through. They came upon the tower only to see it smoking and listing to one side, with holes and rubble all over the place, with blasts of light not seen before lancing out of the Tower in spots. The sages formed the rainbow bridge without a word, somehow knowing to get to me as fast as possible, staring with disbelieve at the carnage I'd wrought in the tower somehow being even worse than what I'd done on the way there.
They finally caught up to me to find Ganondorf flinging everything he had at me in fear, while I countered, poised in front of Zelda's crystal, guarding it with my life, with Zelda inside watching with wide eyes at my glowing form and eyes, shrugging off Ganondorf's attacks in both our directions like they were nothing.
I'd gotten my hands on the Golden Gauntlets. Magical Gauntlets that increases the wearer's strength by a hundred fold. Now, consider that Chi levels are tied into a person's strength. Getting the idea? I was shrugging off Ganondorf's attacks like they were nothing because they were nothing. I saw my friends and bypassed the systems needed in an Arbiter to put them in a stasis field so I could protect them as well. That battle, rather than Ganondorf's last stand, saw the tower leveled and then some. All that was left was a pockmarked pile of dirt, and an exhausted and badly injured Ganondorf. I saw him try to transform. A mere flex of the power I was using bound him and halted his transformation.
Without my realizing, the stasis field, as well as the crystal holding Ganondorf had worn off. I stood before Ganondorf, and the others arrayed around me, marveling at the helpless Ganondorf, bound in chains of light formed from my power. The others, prompted to do so, held forth their medallions, and between their power, channeled through the sages, made the chains nigh unbreakable. No need to use the Master Sword to trap him now. Not anymore. It ends today, I told him. The cycle of death and destruction is broken.
Then, feeling a prompt to do so, I grabbed hold of Ganondorf's right hand and using my power, I stripped the Triforce of Power out of him. The Triforce then reappeared on the back of my left hand, the symbol of Power glowing brightly.
With Ganondorf's power stripped and broken, the platform above the lava we were on began to sink into the lava below us. Those who could fly, did so. I floated the rest of us off the platform and onto the path leading to the former tower, now a pile of rubble choking up the lava once pooled there. The others were surprised to see I'd rescued Ganondorf. I answered Zelda that only in death could he escape. With him finally imprisoned, the rest of us are free.