A/N: Oh boy, here it is. The longest chapter of them all, and it's one big fight. Are you ready to rumble?!?
Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again, you guys are a great audience. You'll have to forgive me though, I seemed to be plagued to never be able write a good fight.
Chapter 10: Gathering
Link saw the bright mass of dark energy heading in his way. Remembering how he fought Ganondorf during the time Ganon possessed Zelda, he timed his strike and prepared to hit the small energy ball away. His timing was true as the Master Sword connected with the energy mass and sent it back to where Ganondorf used to be. Link looked confused, when the sudden meaning hit him.
"Shit!" he exclaimed as he did a back flip, narrowly dodging Ganondorf's surprise attack from above, ganon's sword crunching against the stone floor of throne room. Ganon growled with anger, as he sent yet another blast of energy in Links direction. He nimbly dodged it this time and prepared for the assault from Ganondorf. The Master Sword and Ganon's blade clashed together, each hitting the other at the exact same time.
The sound of metal and steel echoed through the silent air of the twilight.
Ganondorf and Link's blade's both ricochet off each others, sending impulses through their arms.
Clang.
The metal hit again as they started to parry each others attacks. Ganon had strength on his side, but Link was more agile and could easily dodge most of Ganon's attacks. Ganondorf started to use the distance of his blade to his advantage, jumping backwards to distance himself while still swinging at Link.
Link rolled out the way of the strike, as Ganon had nearly missed his head. A crack appeared in one of the columns holding the throne room, ganon's sword stuck in the crack momentarily. Link charged his adversary, taking advantage of the small opening in his defenses. He landed two blows that made small cuts in Ganondorf's heavy armor. Ganon scowled at the hero as he flew up into the air, and delivered a new attack.
Ganon flew to the ground, sending a magic shockwave that spread out in a circle. Link was hit and knocked to his feet, surprised by the new method of attack.
"Cheap shot," he thought.
Ganon was on him quickly, as Link tried to parry his sword strikes from the ground with his speed. Link rolled out of the way, but felt a small gash in his right shoulder as he got up. Ganon smirked with small satisfaction, and went up in the air to deliver the new attack again.
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Zelda had seen the initial collision of the two armies. It was like watching two great bodies of water crashing into each other. The frontline of Hyrule's army had been decimated, unprepared for the surprise strength of the shadow creatures. Now the battle had been spread out a little more, giving Zelda and her horse room to maneuver. She had to take advantage of this while she could.
"Come on!" she shouted to her personal guard as she swiftly spurred her horse onto the battlefield. The guard captain and his men formed a bubble of protection around Zelda with their horses, sacrificing their own protection for their Princess. Nearing the battlefield, she muttered something under her breath. In a golden flash, light arrows appeared in her hands.
"This ought to show them," she thought.
She notched an arrow and fired in the general direction of a large body of shadow soliders. Despite their lanky shape and super strength, they couldn't dodge or avoid the damage the holy light arrows did when they hit. With one shot, Zelda had taken out four soliders, either by direct hit or by the blast of light energy that spread outwards. She continued to fire in the ranks of the horde, opening up the shadow army's defenses so Hyrule's army could surge forward.
Vandril, sitting high atop his perch on a rocky cliff, saw his target firing arrows into his ranks. His ruby colored eyes gleamed with malice. She had made it easy for him to see her and get to her. He didn't care about the guards around her; he could deal with them easily. He started to levitate, slowly off the ground. Then, quick as a bullet leaving a gun, he flew, heading straight for Zelda.
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Erandur and the Twili were faring well. Their magic was more than enough to destroy the shadow creatures. However, the humans were not sharing their fortunes. They were on the front lines and received the bulk of the initial casualties. He silently cursed, but it was necessary. The Twili spellcasters would have fared no better than the Humans did. Erandur shot of another spell sending another one of the shadows into whatever foul pit they called the afterlife. Every time one of the twili shot of a spell it meant certain death for the shadow beings. They weren't banished to the twilight for nothing.
Erandur was caught up trying to fire a long range spell when a shadow creature jumped right in front of him. Its blade shimmered in the twilight with an eerie glow as the shadow thrust his blade forward to kill the unprotected Erandur. Abruptly, an arrow came streaking through the air, hitting its mark, killing the shadow in front of Erandur in the nick of time. Erandur looked at where the arrow came from, and saw a medium sized man with a bow. If someone could ever look like the embodiment of silent warrior, it was him.
"For Link," the man said as he continued to pick off shadow creatures with ease.
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Out of the corner of her eye, Zelda could see something approaching through the air. It was gaining on her, and fast. She tried to veer her horse away from the battle and the object in the air, but it switched direction as she did.
"It's coming after me!" she thought, terrified. She notched a light arrow in her bow and fired at the oncoming object. It nimbly dodged the arrow, making Zelda's aim look bad in the process. She notched another, firing with fear in her eyes. Again, the shadow nimbly dodged in the air. It was coming faster now; she could see its dark ruby colored eyes filled with malice and hate. The remaining guards prepared for it, waiting for the creature to get in range so they could strike at it with their blades.
Suddenly, a loud trumpet or a horn was being blown from the hill behind her. Zelda, her guards, and her pursuer looked towards the sound.
Zelda couldn't help but admire what she saw.
King Bulbin and his Bulbin army were charging down the hill, half of them on boars, straight into the army of shadow warriors. The attack was unexpected, and the shadow warriors had little time to react. A good half of the dark forces army was instantly slain. Hyrule's forces reacted to the sneak attack by the Bulbins, renewing their assault, fresh with hope and vigor.
Vandril looked at the Bulbin army, hate glowing in his dark red eyes. They had effectively flanked his forces and decimated their ranks. Anger seethed through him, words forming on his lips, prepared to use a spell to take out the new nuisance.
Zelda saw the shadow creature chasing her was no longer paying attention to her. It was looking at King Bulbin and his army. She could sense a great power coming from the fiend, it was about to strike and destroy Hyrule's new advantage.
"No!" she frantically thought, instinctively notching a light arrow and firing at the shadow creature.
Her aim was true.
Vandril felt a wave of light pour over him, the arrow still protruding from his stomach. He looked with disgust at Zelda, knowing that she had ended his life…
momentarily. He could never be destroyed. As long as the voice that commanded him lived, he would be immortal. With a silent laugh in his head, Vandril went into the void between realms.
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Ganondorf's new attack was wearing Link down. He found that he could stand up after the initial shock of the blast, but it continually let Ganon get in a couple cheap shots in on him. As Ganon came down again, Link raised his shield to deflect the shockwaves, and prepared for Ganon's assault. He came full speed, riding the momentum of the shockwave with hate in his eyes. Just as Ganon was about to get there, Link thrust his shield with all his might at the charging madman.
It worked. Ganondorf was stopped and fell backwards, momentarily stunned. Link rose in the air and jumped at his foe with his defenses weakened. The King of Evil jumped backwards, but the Master Sword left a small gash on his right foot. Ganondorf shouted in anger and pain as he was wounded .Link was about to continue his assault when IT happened.
The war happening through time was tearing Hyrule apart. The boundaries of light and shadow were waning, teetering on the edge of existence. Discord and chaos flew like a maelstrom as the boundaries and laws of time were forsaken. Hyrule was about to be under a blanket where time had no meaning.
The earth shook as Ganon, still hurt over his wound laughed manically.
"Ahahaha! I have won! Soon, the void between time will vanish and I will rule for eternity!"
Link scowled, as he and Ganon drew blades again and continued to fight until one of them was left standing.
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Hyrule's army was winning now, rejuvenated with life after seeing the Bulbins decimate the shadow armada with their cunning sneak attack. As Zelda watched from a top her horse, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. She had united Hyrule under a single banner, and had even gotten the barbaric Bulbins to help. She returned to reality as she felt a hand tapping her shoulder. It was King Bulbin, on top his monstrous boar.
"This was a pleasant surprise," she said smiling. "What made you change your mind?"
"I fight for the strongest. I hear speech, and think united Hyrule strongest force."
She looked at him, stunned that her words could have such a moving effect on someone. "Well, we have a job to finish, don't we?"
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Erandur, along with three other humans, including the bowman and the small human who Link called Othae, had turned into a shadow creature demolition crew. They surrounded Erandur and made a wall of protection around him, allowing him to fire his long range magic straight into the air, while anything that came too close was made into mincemeat by Othae and the big man, who introduced himself to Erandur as Thornir.
The bowman, Lithe, would keep watch of anything intermediate and cut them down before they could do harm. Erandur, seeing the tactical advantage of this, ordered all the humans and twili to fight in a similar manner, and were making fools of the shadow army. Erandur fired off another spell in the air, grimly smiling as the explosion marked the death for another foe.
"It's up to you Link!" he thought, "Finish the fight!"
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The world's chaos increased as the gap between times was closing to the timeless existence Ganondorf had started. Link and Ganon were still fighting in the throne room of Hyrule Castle. Their arms were tired and sore, but they both pressed on, neither one stopping till the other was dead.
Link was using all of his techniques to his advantage, but Ganondorf had countered them all. He had increased in strength since their last meeting.
Clash.
Link hit Ganondorf's armor for the third time now, breaking off a small piece from the rest of his armor. Link then doubled his efforts to try and hit the weak point he had just opened up, but Ganondorf parried every blow he sent his way. Link jumped backwards to prepare for an air assault when the worst possible thing happened.
The ground shook, and as a result, Link slipped and lost his footing. Seeing his opportunity, Ganondorf slashed at Link. He hit Link in his left leg with grim satisfaction as the hero fell down to the earth.
Pain seethed through Link as he went towards the ground. He felt his back hit the ground, he felt all his pain and emotions attack his mind.
"I've failed…" he thought.
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Zelda and her army were cheering. So were Erandur and the rebels. All the shadows had been wiped out, they had won. Or so it seemed.
Vandril could feel his life force returning to him in the void between worlds. His master beckoned, calling him from the void, and he was on the battlefield again. He could see the shocked faces of his enemies as he was there, floating above the cliff. He grinned, as he shouted in a dark, inhuman voice.
Zelda could feel the dark energy coming from the shadow creature. The ground shook violently, marking a bad omen. Then they appeared. On the hillside behind them, Vandril and his shadow army stood, fully recovered. She looked down on the ground, despair overcoming her. They could never win; the shadow army could never be defeated.
Erandur stood with shock on his features. The shadow army had reappeared out of nowhere, even after being beaten. How could they possibly beat a foe that could regenerate their numbers like they did? The answer was simple, but not one he liked.
"You can't."
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Time seemed to slow down as Link finally hit the ground. His last thoughts were of Midna and what she would have thought of him, a failure. Suddenly, everything went white.
He was in the abyss again, and he was standing up for some reason. He looked and gasped. Midna was in front of him, a look of anger on her face.
"Is this the same warrior that slew Ganondorf years ago?" she questioned. "Get up and fight, the world needs you!"
He looked into her eyes, sadness consuming them. "I can't," he said. "I can't go on. I won't. Not without you…"
She walked up to him. Tears were in her amber colored eyes. "Link, you must go on without me," she said with a heavy heart. "Beat Ganondorf for Hyrule! Beat him for the Twilight!" she paused…
"Beat him… because… I love you!"
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Link was sent spiraling back to reality to see Ganondorf's sword in the air, about to come down on his neck. He remembered time slowing down, what Midna had said to him in short time she was with him.
"She loved me..."
It was then that something in Link snapped. All his emotions that he had harbored inside his tormented soul snapped, and they became a single emotion. Anger. Anger for what Ganondorf had done. Anger for the pain he wrought upon him. Anger for taking the woman he loved away! Link shot up his left arm holding the Hyrule shield, and surprised even himself with his newfound strength. As The King of Evil's blade went to make the final blow, Link's shield hit it midair, severing the sword from Ganon's hands, sending it flying across the throne room. Link knew that the battle was his to lose. Ignoring the pain from his bad leg, he sprung up, shouting the name of his lost love as he thrust the Master Sword forward.
And stabbed Ganondorf in the heart.
Ganon felt his world go cold. Icy darkness crept over his body, and death came beckoning to him. As he looked past the hero who cut him down, he saw an illusion. It must have been an illusion. His eyes were playing tricks on him. For as he looked past the hero, he saw another, the imp, floating behind him. It was transparent, almost ghost like. As he went into darkness, he saw the imp flash a devilish grin, a single tooth exposed, and Ganondorf died again.
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Vandril stood over Zelda, sword at her throat. The regenerated shadow army was victorious. Hyrule's forces could not have outlasted them again. He could feel triumph through flow through is his veins, about to deliver the final blow, when suddenly, he couldn't hear it. The voice commanding him at been silenced. He felt an odd sense come over him. He didn't want to kill anymore. He wanted to finally rest in death, something that when he died he was unwilling to do. With a flash of light, he and the rest of the shadow army disappeared, from both past and future, finally taking rest without the evil commanding their actions.
Zelda was stunned. The enemy had vanished. The surviving Hyrule soliders didn't know what to do. They looked around confused.
"Did we… win?" she thought to herself, silently.
"Yes."
Zelda looked around, stunned. The voice was not coming from anyone around her. Suddenly she was in a realm surrounded by beautiful waterfalls and golden light. It was pristine beauty at it's finest.
"Do not be afraid Zelda… We are the voice of the goddesses."
She could feel an aura of power and trust coming from the voice.
"Hear us. Link has beaten the power commanding the dark force, but the damage done by it cannot be repaired by human hands." She listen, captivated by the angelic voice and harmony.
"We must gather, so the boundaries essential to this land can be restored."
Zelda looked down upon her hand. The Triforce of Wisdom was blazing with golden light. She understood. "Goddesses… I hear and obey!" In a golden flash, she released her hold on the Triforce of Wisdom, and the small golden triangle slowly floated away from her.
"Farewell."
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Zelda was back outside the battlefield. She looked her army, making eye contact with each of them. They still looked confused.
"Army of Hyrule… we have won!" The army looked around, stunned more than anything. Then, they erupted in mad cheers of joy and ecstasy. The battle had been won, and Hyrule was safe once again.
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Link watched as Ganondorf hit the ground, dead at his hands. No words were spoken this time. Link felt the high of his emotions wane, and he felt saddened. As he looked at the mangled corpse of the evil man, he couldn't help but feel sick. Vomit crept up from his stomach as he felt the sudden pain come from using his injured leg. Falling to the ground, breathing heavily, he felt weakness coming over his body.
He was in the abyss of white again. His wounds were still there, and he could feel fatigue hanging over him like a shadow. He looked up, and she was there as she had always been whenever he entered this place. Midna looked at him, pride in her eyes.
"You have won," she said, a sad smile on her face. Link looked into her eyes deeply.
"Only because of you…" he said.
"No, I only motivated you to your true strength. It was hidden behind your saddened heart."
She kneeled down to his eye level. She pressed her hand against his dirty and beat up face, gently caressing it.
"I can finally go," she said. "My regret has left me."
"No. Please don't," Link said with weakness. She looked into his sapphire eyes, the eyes of the man she loved.
"Never forget me, Link. But always remember. I may not be living next to you, but I will always have a place here."
Her hand moved down his body, and she gently rested it over his heart. Link felt tears in his eyes.
"I love you," he said, tired and weak.
"I do too," she said.
Suddenly she felt a small intrusion enter her mind. "It seems the goddesses want a word with you," she said. Link looked confused. Suddenly the void of white was gone and Link was back in the throne room at Hyrule Castle.
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An odd tingling sensation was coming from the hand with the triforce of courage. Suddenly he gasped. A small golden glow was coming from Ganondorf's body. The triforce of power was resonating high above Ganon. He looked up and his triforce of courage was doing the same. Then a sudden bright flash of light came next, and there was the remaining piece, the triforce of wisdom.
"What in the world," Link thought to himself.
All three pieces of the sacred triforce were there, and they started to come together, gently at first. It looked almost poetic. Then, in a blinding flash of light, they were one again, for the first time in ages.
"Come closer hero," said a voice. It was angelic and had a radiant quality to it. Link suddenly felt his wounds heal slightly, and he got up. He approached slowly, not knowing what to do. He placed his hands on the triforce, and he heard the voice again.
"What is your wish?"
His heart was the first to think for him, and it thought of Midna. It panged to see her again, especially after what had happened just moments ago.
"No," he thought, "I must do what is right for everyone…" Link reluctantly spoke what he knew was right.
"I… I wish for the boundaries of Time and Twilight to be restored to normal, and for the return of peace to Hyrule."
The triforce gleamed, almost as if it was thinking about something. Finally, the voice of the goddesses spoke again.
"As you wish," It said.
A bright golden light consumed Link, as he felt the strange sense of being teleported come over him. The golden light continued to shine, and all across Hyrule, in past and present, the effects could be felt.
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Erandur looked onwards past the humans celebrating victory. Their fight may be over, but Erandur was fighting another force. He was fighting death. In the second battle after the shadow army returned, he was severely wounded in the chest. He could feel life beginning to creep from him, slowly but surely. He looked up weakly, into the sky of twilight. And his gazed stop. A bright and radiant light was coming through the twilight, restoring beauty with everywhere it past. He felt it come over him, and he felt the sensation of being transported again. In his heart, he knew what it meant.
"Thank you… Link."
Hyrule had returned to normal. Time was clearly defined, and the boundaries of Time and Twilight were once again whole. Back in the empty throne room where the battle that determined the fate of the world had been waged, a voice could be heard. It was melodious and pristine, the voice of the goddesses.
"Do not think we do not see what lies in your heart… hero."
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A/N: Well, I hope you can go easy on my... in my opinion... lacking ability when comes to writing a fight scene. Hopefully I'm just being harsh on myself.