Chapter Fifteen: A Skirmish in the Temple of Time
For a moment, Link could not turn away from the astonishing sight of Ganondorf returned to Hyrule, but he was finally able to focus his gaze back on Astralose. At first glance, the old man appeared dead. He was on his knees with his face planted flatly into the ground and he was not moving. However, Link realized that he was in fact alive when he suddenly jumped up to his feet. Astralose approached the towering green-skinned Ganondorf and began to caress his long black cloak tenderly. "You are back and just as I remember you," said Astralose.
It took a moment for what Astralose had said to sink in for Link. "Wait! This was your plan all along? To resurrect him?"
"Huh?" muttered Astralose as if he had been awoken from a daydream. He turned to Link and smiled. "I had almost forgotten you were there boy. Yes. That was the intention."
"I thought you had wanted-."
"What? The Triforce," interrupted Astralose. "No. I have no desire for that ancient relic. I don't want to be the ruler of Hyrule. I have no interest in unlimited power."
"Then why would you resurrect him?"
"Who?" Astralose turned around and looked at Ganondorf, who had yet to speak. "Oh yes. Him. It was his request."
"Request? But how do you know him?"
"Oh, that's quite a simple answer. He is Ganondorf Dragmire." Astralose paused and was about to speak before Link stopped him.
"So?"
"I was getting to that. He is Ganondorf Dragmire. And I am Astralose Dragmire."
Link could not believe his ears; this was just too much. The past events had been far too overwhelming. Starting with his kidnapping, then the King of Evil's rebirth, and now this startling revelation, Link did not know what to expect next. "So you are his-?"
"Father. Yes. He is my son. My dear, dear son."
"So that is why you've brought him back?"
"Silence! Both of you!" ordered Ganondorf, speaking for the first time. "The King of Hyrule speaks. How I remember you Link. The Hero of Time," laughed the King of Evil. "What a title! Unfortunately for you, that title is not enough to save you from my power. You will die soon and I will seize back the throne that I have so rightfully earned. But I wish to savor the look of defeat upon your visage. How about I entertain you with a brief story? I'm sure you're interested in knowing how my father knew to resurrect me. "It's especially humorous because you and your petty Sages thought you had me sealed for eternity. But though I hold only the Triforce of Power and not the Triforce of Wisdom, I am no fool. I realized that there was no way of knowing for sure what might happen when I entered the Sacred Realm. It is after all an unprecedented event. I spoke to my mothers and asked them if my plan were to go awry, would they bring me back from the confines of the Sacred Realm.
"How furious I was when they denied me. They warned me that it would not be prudent for them to leave the desert at that time. As if prudent matters at all to the then King of the Gerudo and the now King of Hyrule. Why should I worry about a clumsy old fool sitting on his throne and his feeble knights? He matters not. He could not stop me. So I asked my mothers if there was anyone else who I could trust to do this task. They told me of my father whom I had never seen nor spoken too. It is a tradition of the Gerudo to sneak into Hyrule Castle Town and find men for the sole purpose of creating children. My father was one of those men. Thirty-seven years ago my mother—who died while giving birth to me—met my father. I was then conceived.
"My mothers told me where I could find my father and I immediately went to him. He did not believe I was his son at first, but when I took hold of him after I grew somewhat angry with him, he was able to tell. I told him about my plan and instructed him to wait for the first person to emerge from the Sacred Realm. If it was me, then my plan was successful. If it was you, then I had failed and he would have to take the Master Sword from you and use it to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm. What is interesting is that I actually succeeded and failed. Although, he does not realize it. He only remembers my failure and not my seven years as ruler of Hyrule."
"Son. You succeeded?"
"Yes, but thanks to this boy that time period no longer exists. Now that I have a taste of that power though, I need it once more. Which will be our goal now that I am at last free."
"You will fail Ganondorf. You will not take Hyrule again," said Link without the slightest doubt.
Ganondorf chuckled harshly. "Oh, but I will. Because there is no one to stop me. The Hero of Time will soon be dead and the Triforce of Power is still mine. Hyrule will fall as quickly as it did while you were in your slumber in the Sacred Realm."
"Hyrule will never fall as long as we knights are here to defend it." Twenty Hylian knights had just entered through the Door of Time.
"You fools!" screamed Ganondorf at his father's men. "You can't even watch a door!" Ganondorf then turned to the Hylians and laughed. "If you value your lives, then I suggest you flee now. I am not yet ready to make war on your land, but I will kill you if I have to."
"You will never take Hyrule Ganondorf!" yelled the captain of the knights. "We never would have guessed this of you Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo. Our king thought he could trust you, but we have now heard your traitorous speech and seen the bodies of our comrades that you left in the marketplace dead. Your treason will end here. Draw your blades men!"
Ganondorf released his deepest guffaw yet as the twenty knights unsheathed their swords. "Kill them," ordered Ganondorf with a sadistic grin. Astralose's men drew their own blades and approached the knights. Link was surprised when his captors joined the fray, releasing him from their grasp. He looked at the Master Sword—the blade of evil's bane—and decided that it was time for him to arm himself again. He stood up and made a run for the powerful weapon. However, Ganondorf saw his attempt and said, "I don't think so boy." The Gerudo swung his arm forward towards Link and laughed as the boy flew backwards five feet.
"You shall never touch that sword again," the King of Evil said as he approached it. Knowing that he could not pick it up without extraordinary pain because the power of light in the sword and the power of darkness within his heart were too divergent to unite, Ganondorf kicked the sword to the far corner of the room. He looked up and was angered to see that five of his father's men and already been slain at the expense of only one of his enemies. "Ah! My father is apparently incapable of teaching men how to wield a sword! Step aside!" When no one responded, he stretched his arms out in front of himself and then threw them sideways. All the men that were fighting were tossed to one side of the room or the other. One of the men that was flung aside had been holding Navi. In his surprise, he accidentally released her.
The fairy quickly fluttered over to Link's side and asked if he was all right. "Yes. I'm fine," he responded. "But I need the Master Sword."
"Maybe he'll give it to you."
"What do you mean?"
"Look!" Navi fluttered over Link's head to direct his view to the corner of the room where the Master Sword was laying. One of the men had dropped his sword when Ganondorf had thrown him. He now found himself in front of a very worthy replacement. He picked up the Master Sword with both his hands and smiled down at it fondly. "Hey!" shouted Link. "Give it to me! I need it to defeat him!"
"What? Are you kidding kid? Like I'm going to give the Master Sword to some little child. Now get out of here before you get hurt. You're lucky to still be alive."
"But you don't understand. I have to have it now!"
"Kid. You don't even know what this sword is or what it means."
"This is pointless," muttered Link to Navi.
"It's too bad, but nobody in Hyrule realizes what you did for them. It's all been erased."
"I know. And I could care less about glory or fame. I just wish they knew who I was so I could get the Master Sword and do something about Ganondorf." Suddenly a piercing scream echoed through the chamber. The man with the Master Sword had been impaled from behind by one of Astralose's men. He fell dead and his killer removed his sword from his back.
"Now's your chance Link! Hurry!"
Link stood up and raced for the Master Sword. He ducked under the enemy's arms as he tried to grab him and picked up the only blade that could defeat Ganondorf. As he swung the blade upward, he spun around and continued his motion so that his weapon struck the torso of the nearest enemy. The sword stuck halfway through the man's abdomen and was nearly pulled out of Link's hands when his foe fell dead. Link turned around and saw that he had killed the last of Astralose's men. The old man was still standing by the Pedestal of Time, apparently in awe of the quickly escalating carnage. Ganondorf was fighting ten Hylian knights at once. Even with the Triforce of Power, it was clear that he was still having a difficult time.
When he saw that Link now held the Master Sword, Ganondorf decided it was time to flee. They would return later when they were more able to kill the boy and take Hyrule. "Old man! Come! Hurry! It is time for our departure!"
Link decided then that it was the best time to attack the evil Gerudo, but as he made his charge, Ganondorf crouched to the ground and then threw himself back upward. This sent a wave of power that radiated from his body and made all of his attackers fly into the air. Link flew backwards and struck one of the hard marble walls that lined the room. His last image before he lost consciousness was the Hylians strewn around the room in pain and Ganondorf racing out of the Temple of Time with Astralose in tow.
