Here's the fight for the ages hope you guys enjoy and sorry for the delay!
Link slowly approached the phantom, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly as he glared at the beast. Ignoring the pain that riddled his body, he stopped in front of Harry in a protective manner and held up his blade. Smoke was coming off his body from where his tunic and gauntlets had burned.
"How is it even possible for you to be alive!?" Phantom exclaimed, staring in disbelief at the Hylian, "No matter. I'll just take this opportunity and kill you here and now!" He lunged forward at Link, totally disregarding Harry who was still on the ground.
Link swiftly sidestepped Phantom and skillfully pivoted, slashing the monster with the left side of his blade. Phantom fell to the ground and grabbed his side crying out in pain. He staggered to his feet, but before he could do anything, Link grabbed his head and lifted him off the ground. Phantom panicked for a moment seeing the dark smirk on Link's face as he slammed the beast's head into the ground. Phantom growled, furious at his sudden failures, and, in one fluid motion, he grabbed his trident and flew up into the air, hovering in place above the courtyard. Phantom looked down at Link, his glare sending a shiver down his spine, but Phantom did not falter. He prepared his magic for the fight of his life.
Link's eyes narrowed at the trident which had suddenly started to glow. The energy from the trident released itself and shot directly at Link. Giving a small smirk, Link slashed his sword just before the magic hit him and sent it right back to Phantom. Phantom, taken aback for a millisecond, repelled the magic again to Link. It was almost like a game of tennis and it continued until Phantom miscalculated the speed of the magic sphere. When it hit, electricity shot through his entire body causing him to fall back to the ground. Link stood his ground making no moves to charge at the monster and waited for it to get up.
"GET UP!" Link screamed, "I'm not done with you!" He pointed his sword at Phantom, clenching the hilt tightly.
A sudden, slow clapping noise caught Link's attention. From across the courtyard coming out of smoke was his evil copy, Dark Link. His eyes stared directly at Link. He had a smile from ear to ear.
"Oh, Link, that was very impressive! The rage in your movements is so exquisite!" He yelled, running towards Phantom with his dark Master Sword in hand. He looked down at his ally "Oh, Phanty, you really let him do a number on you, hehehe!"
Phantom staggered to his feet, lifting his trident in a defensive position. "Shut up! There is no time for this! We have to defeat him now, so start helping!"
Link gripped his sword. He was ready to take the both of them on when a hand touched his shoulder. He looked over to see Dumbledore. "I will not let you fight alone, Link" Dumbledore stood next to Link, his wand out and ready.
Link sighed, "The help is appreciated." Link slowly started to walk forward "I'll take Phantom, you keep Dark off my back"
Dumbledore nodded "I will do my best. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve as well." He said with a smile. He had his wand raised above his head and began to make a circle. Link looked at Dumbledore like the man had lost his mind. Then slowly understood what was happening. Dumbledore was summoning fire from the tip of his wand. Dumbledore then smiled softly at Link "Well, shall we begin?"
Link nodded and then charged straight at Phantom. Phantom brought up his trident and absorbed the blow but was sent back a few feet. Dark Link chuckled at Link and was about to attack when a huge wall of fire forced the evil clone back. Dark looked over to where it had come from and saw a great amount of fire surrounding the old man that had helped Link. "You know, I won't feel too good about myself if I hurt you gramps"
Dumbledore smirked at the dark copy of Link "I will not feel the same about you. Leave these grounds now or I will force you to leave them."
Dark Link began to laugh hysterically "Then let's begin, old man!"
Link and Phantom were locked in a vicious melee. Each time one made an attack the other perfectly countered. They locked weapons at one point, both glaring at each other.
"Doesn't this just seem so familiar, Link? Us, once again locked in bitter combat? Do you ever ask yourself, why your goddesses have put such a curse on you? To fight until the end of time with no rest?"
Link gripped his sword tighter "Shut up! The only curse is you and your pathetic master!" Link pushed harder against Phantom, slowly driving the creature down. "You destroy and ravage the land we call home! You take sick pleasure in the pain of others!" Phantom was now forced down onto one knee. "Now, take your place in hell alongside him!"
Link pushed Phantom who stumbled to the ground losing his grip on his weapon. Link immediately ran at him and thrust his sword through the gut of Phantom.
Phantom let out a loud scream of pain. He quickly pushed himself off of Link's blade and used a spell that he conjured in his hand quickly to hit Link. The spell did exactly that. Link was hit directly in the head and was sent stumbling backward, but he kept his grip on his sword.
Phantom with one hand clutching his wound, was breathing extremely heavily, each breath was a task of pain. His spell would only buy him a few more seconds as Link was already wiping away the residue that was left on him. Then an idea came to him. His eyes darted over to the spot he had left Harry and, sure enough, the stupid boy was still there watching in astonishment. Phantom began to laugh evilly to himself as he prepared to unleash his surprise.
Dark Link found that fighting Dumbledore was far more strenuous than he originally thought. He was no longer smiling or making jokes as usually. He was all serious now. Several burn marks all over his body showed how much he had been outdone by the old wizard. Another shot of fire went right by him, getting too close for comfort. He looked to Phantom who was barely standing in a pool of blood.
"Argh! If he can't beat Link" Dark jumped and rolled out from another attack "Then I've got no chance against this nut job!"
Dumbledore sent another projectile at Dark scoring a hit on the clone's leg forcing him to the ground "Talking to yourself in a fight is no way to win….also, I take personal offense at the 'nut job' comment." Dumbledore continued to conjure more fire and slowly approached Dark Link. "Now, one last warning. Leave now or face judgement."
Dark looked up at the man, a small amount of sweat rolling down his face. His body was burning all over and he had horribly underestimated the skill of the old wizard. He had to find a way to change this fight around.
Dark hung his head in defeat, he had truly lost this fight….but he would not lose the war. He took his sword and impaled the ground with it. "You bested me, old man, congrats…" Dark Link slowly stood up. Dumbledore had his fire form around him to protect him from any attack.
Dark Link slowly pulled out a long knife. He smiled widely, glaring at Dumbledore the whole time. "…but there is someone here that can't."
Link wiped away whatever was covering his eyes. His vision was a little blurry but he still could see Phantom. As his sight came back to him, he saw Phantom preparing a massive spell above his head. Link took a defensive stance to block whatever was coming for him. Phantom, who was grinning widely, let the attack loose. Link's eyes widened as he saw that Phantom hadn't shot the energy at him but towards Harry who was still on the ground. Quickly, Link sheathed his sword and sprinted towards Harry as if his life depended on it.
Harry's eyes widened as he watched the huge magic sphere coming closer towards him. There wasn't enough time for him to grab his wand, so all he could do was bring his arms up and prepare for the worst. He was blinded by the light of the magic sphere and it surprisingly felt warm.
'Was this what death felt like? Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought' Harry thought to himself. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked, realizing he was still alive. Someone was standing in front of him and when Harry looked up, his eyes widened in horror.
With his arms outstretched in front of the boy, Link winced at the pain from his back from taking the hit. His face was tired and looked worn out, his clothes covered in rips and blood from the battle. To Harry's horror, his professor had taken the hit straight on for him.
"Pro-Professor…?" Harry asked in a stuttering whisper, still shocked at the action.
"Potter….You alright?" Link asked weakly, wincing again from the pain that shot through his body.
Before Harry could answer, a hand suddenly grabbed Link's shoulder and spun him around. Phantom grinned and kicked the surprised Hylian in the stomach, sending him back towards the crowd of students and professors.
"HAHAHA! How did that feel, you whelp!?" Phantom asked mockingly looking over at the professor's body as people surrounded him.
Link coughed up a small amount of blood. He got up, softly telling the students to back away a little farther. Link glared at Phantom.
"What? Did you hit me?" He asked in a mocking manner smirking at the beast "If that's the best you can do then I should just end this now." He whipped some blood from his mouth and spat towards Phantom.
Phantom, thinking he had the advantage, lunged towards Link and swung his fist towards him. Instead Link caught the fist gripping it, without even flinching. Phantom locked eyes with him and a dark look took over Link's face. Phantom looked down to see Link's free hand holding his sword. Phantom looked back up at Link to see his cold blue eyes glaring at him. Without a second to react, Link let go of Phantom and spun behind him, slicing the back of the creature's knees. Phantom shrieked in pain as he was forced to the ground. He looked at Link to see that the Hylian was walking away from him. Phantom tried to get up, but his legs couldn't support him.
Ignoring Phantom, Link walked over to Harry and offered him his hand, helping the boy up. He quickly took him over to Lupin, who was off to the side with the other professors.
"Get him out of here." Link ordered, turning back towards the bloodied beast.
Lupin not liking to be ordered around, glared at his back but took Harry's hand and dragged him out of the courtyard. Harry turned around and tried to get a look at his professor but saw nothing.
"Now for you…" Link whispered, walking back over to Phantom and stood silently before him.
"What will you do with me?" he asked, gasping from the pain, "I'm going to die either way…"
Link chuckled to himself slightly and grinned, "I'm going to make the final moments of your life as if you were in hell." Link whispered darkly, raising both of his hands, which started to faintly glow.
"Haha, go ahead! Do it, Link! Show these students the true you! It's been a long time since the warrior in you has shown himself. Show them what you're really like!" Phantom coughed out some blood and then wiped it away from his mouth.
Link for a second thought if he should do the deed a little more quietly. He looked back at the scared faces of the students and teachers. He wondered what they were thinking of him.
Dark Link was still holding his knife when he saw Link was about to finish off Phantom "You just can't get good help these days, don't you agree?"
Dumbledore said nothing, merely starting to move a wall of fire closer to Dark. Dark slowly backed away from it. "Now, now, no need to singe me any further. I'll be taking my leave…" Dark smiled when slowly be to he put his hands down. He looked back at Dumbledore waiting for when the old wizard would drop his guard. For a split second Dark could see Dumbledore relax slightly and that's when he made his move. Dark flipped the knife into the air catching it at the tip and then threw it at Link.
Dumbledore shoot a huge wall of fire at Dark "Link! Watch out!" Dark dodged the attack and was running right at Link.
The knife spun through the air at Link, who had turned to the source of the voice. The blade embedded itself in Link's right shoulder. He yelled in pain at the sudden unsuspected attack. It got even worse when Link saw Dark charging at him. He tried to reach for his sword but Dark was too fast and was already upon him. Dark Link and Link locked eyes for a split second before Dark grabbed Link's shoulder and the hilt of the knife. Dark pushed in the knife to its full length into Link's shoulder. Link bit back a scream as hard as he could. Dark threw Link to the ground and quickly pulled out the knife. Dark ran towards Phantom and quickly helped him up.
"The day is yours, gentlemen!" Dark yelled as he and Phantom slowly started to turn into a black mist "But this fight isn't over and the next time the results will be different!"
Dumbledore ran over to Link and helped the professor to his feet. Both groups were glaring at each other. Dark and Phantom were nearly gone when Dark grinned from ear to ear "Hehehe, enjoy your new scar, Link! Hehe! I look forward to adding more!" His evil laugh slowly faded as both creatures disappeared.
Dumbledore and Link were both breathing heavily. Dumbledore had used a huge amount of magic and keeping the dark copy of Link at bay was far strenuous than how it seemed. Link was covered in blood and dirt, his breathing becoming slightly irregular.
"Professor, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked in a concerned voice as he looked over the man he was holding up.
Link smiled and waved him off in a polite way. "That was nothing, ha! You should have been there when I fought a dragon" Dumbledore chuckled lightly. He turned Link towards the school, where they were confronted by the mass of students and teachers who came running up to them.
McGonagall was one of the first teachers to reach them "Headmaster! Professor! Are you both alright!?" she said franticly as she helped take Link's other arm.
"Everything went as well as it could have, Ms. McGonagall, now we just need to get our Hylian professor patched up again." Dumbledore said with a smirk.
Link didn't respond immediately, he was staring forward towards the school. He was thinking about how his defeated enemies were back once again. He was thinking about what Phantom had said: 'to fight until the end of time with no rest'.
"Link?" the soft voice had snapped Link from his thoughts. He looked to see McGonagall's worried face. Link willed himself to smile "Yes, I'm fine…just like Dumbledore said, just need to be patched up."
They very quickly found themselves to the infirmary, still being followed by the horde of students who had watched the fight. Their loud whispers echoed throughout the hall. As they entered the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey nearly dropped the tray she was holding when she saw the condition Link was in. She went to work immediately, directing McGonagall and Dumbledore to lay him on the nearest bed. The bed just so happened to be next to Harry's, who looked in complete shock at the state his professor was in. Lupin who was sitting next to Harry, was also at a loss of words. He couldn't believe someone could take so much damage and still keep going.
As Madam Pomfrey was readying her equipment, Dumbledore sat next to Link for a moment. "Professor, tonight's events will be hard to cover up and can't simply be ignored. The students are anxious and worried, I must give them some answers..." Dumbledore said in a hushed whisper.
"Do what you need to do, sir. It's out of my hands at this point." Link mumbled as he slowly began to remove his nearly destroyed tunic.
Madam Pomfrey came back with what she needed. She helped remove his chainmail and undershirt slowly, putting them on the ground next to his bed. The amount of cuts and burns that riddled Link's body had left the people in the infirmary speechless.
Link glanced around him, noticing the amount of eyes staring at his injuries. "New scars to add to my collection, no need to worry." He joked, letting out a small chuckle.
Dumbledore smiled at the younger professor's upbeat tone "A collection that is far too big if you were to ask me" he lightly patted Link's non injured shoulder "I'll leave you to rest now, professor. This will be a delay for your hunt for Sirius Black unfortunately."
Link shrugged slightly "I had nearly forgotten about that…When I do go, who would watch over my classes?"
Dumbledore looked across towards Harry and Lupin "I believe, I know the perfect candidate" Link turned to look at Lupin, who was just as surprised as Link. Dumbledore gave both men a wave and left the room.
Lupin and Link looked at each other. Harry was afraid that another fight would break out between the two. However this time there was no banter or arguing, just silence.
"Think you can handle teaching for a few weeks, Lupin?" Link asked as Madam Pomfrey began her work.
"I believe I can. Do you think you'll be able to hunt Black after tonight?" Lupin stated earning a slight glare from Link.
"Takes a lot more than this to put me down." Link responded quickly.
Lupin got up from his spot and walked over next to Link "Well then, I wish you the best of luck" he outstretched his arm to shake Link's hand. Link at first just glared up at Lupin, but quickly smiled and shook the man's hand. Lupin nodded and left the room.
Harry watched the awkward exchange and made a mental note that maybe the two were finally starting to at least respect each other. Harry watched as Madam Pomfrey finished wrapping Link up. He desperately wanted to talk to Link about everything that had happened this night. Why these things were happening and what the future could hold for the both of them. The only problem was, that Link had passed out at some point and had left Harry to his own thoughts. He slowly laid his head down and fell asleep, thinking of what more could happen this year.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll get to working on the others!