It was well past the stroke of midnight, and the Terminians were fighting as they never had before. About half of them had fallen, but somehow they had managed to hold the city gate. The only thing that kept them going was the thought of their wives and children, cold and afraid, fleeing from the once proud and bustling capital. In fact, all over Termina, Gorons, Hylians and Deku moved into Hyrule, away from the desperate diversion.

Sweat and blood covered the face of Draton as he struggled to knock soldier after soldier off the stone walltop. He knew that if the Hellspawn somehow managed to get into the city and open the gate, everything was lost.

He strained his eyes in the pitch-black night. Unless he was mistaken, something disturbed the vast sea of Hellspawn outside the city walls. A faint battle cry reached his ears. "No," he whispered. "What are they doing?"

"Gorons!" Viscen's voice rose above the din. "It's suicide!"

Draton cursed loudly and dealt an attacking Hellspawn a blow that sent him flying from the wall. "I should've known they'd try something like this."

"They can't get in!" yelled Viscen, fighting beside the head captain. "They're stranded out there!"

"They'll be slaughtered," Draton growled, frustrated. "What in hell do they want us to do?"

He knew the answer to his own question quite well. The Snowhead Gorons, led by the valiant Lord Randor, didn't expect the soldiers in the city to do anything. They were stalling the Hellspawn as best they could, desperately flinging themselves into death to save the lives of their people. It was ever in the Goron nature to fight even without a slight chance for victory. Now not only was there no chance of victory, but there was no chance of simple survival.

Lankin didn't let his eyes wander from the attacking Hellspawn on the walltop. Though he was struggling inside, the grim captain had seen scores of battles in his life as a warrior, and he wasn't going to let this incident interfere with his performance. His king was relying on him, and Lankin never let anyone down.

Besides, the loud clanging of cold steel and armor in Lankin's ears almost blocked out the sound of the brave Gorons' dying cries.

Almost.

……………………………..

The Queen of Chaos barely noticed the Goron offensive before all the Snowhead warriors fell beneath the ranks of her massive horde. Her thin golden hair fell past her maddened eyes as she urged her soldiers onward. The Terminian defenders were putting up an incredible fight, but it didn't matter. Everyone would fall, sooner or later.

Arfan and Vlorack stood faithfully by her side, but the rest of the captains had lost themselves in the heat of the battle. The Black Sorcerer's eyes were tightly closed, and he appeared to be concentrating on the east wall. Every few minutes, a tornado of fire erupted from the walltop.

Ganondorf was single-handedly responsible for slaying half of the Snowhead Gorons. He darted here and there with his great blade, grinning and growling and imagining each warrior he decapitated was the Hero of Time, whimpering and begging for his life. He sped up his pace. There was only about a score of the Gorons left, and the Great King of Evil was bent on ending their lives.

Suddenly, a terrifying shriek sounded from above the army. Antia looked into the night sky. Soaring above the battlefield was a great, dark shape. "What in hell?" she muttered.

A blinding flash rocketed down to the earth and exploded in the middle of the army, killing almost a score of the attacking Hellspawn. The huge bird shot down over the battle, skimming over the heads of the alarmed warriors. Antia caught sight of a beautiful woman crouching on the back of the magnificent raptor, a glowing staff in one hand. The eyes of every attacker followed the trail of the bird and woman.

Without warning, a flaming steed charged into the thick of the eight thousand strong horde. Antia growled – the Hero of Time had arrived, with that cursed horse and enchantment.

"Keep the magic of Din's Fire about you," Link whispered to Epona as he flew through the ranks of the army, incinerating Hellspawn as he went. "Stay safe and get away in plenty of time. I'll meet you at Great Bay."

The king lodged Din's crystal into the saddle of his steed, and slowly pulled the Longshot from under his leather armor. Balancing perfectly, he clutched his refilled bomb satchel. Aiming at the ledge of Clocktown's east wall, Link fired the grappling hook and quickly opened the bag of explosives. As he flew above the army, Link flipped the bomb bag upside-down, unloading its contents as he went swiftly over the heads of the warriors. They were scattered over the entire army, and Antia found herself diving for cover as fire erupted from the deadly rain.

She cursed. The king had used the same trick on her twice now.

He grabbed the ledge of the wall, and a few Terminian defenders hurried to pull him up as sheets of arrows thudded against the stone around them. Kaepora soared over the wall and landed softly behind the defenses. Zelda leapt off the bird and Link bounded past the soldiers. Atop the wall with battle cries sounding around them, the two lovers met and embraced, forgetting everything but that they were together.

"You're here," Link said quietly. "Why?"

Zelda glowed in the embrace of her husband. "For you," she said simply.

They looked lovingly into each other's eyes until Lankin came panting up next to them. "Most humble apologies for interrupting, my lord," he said between breaths. "But you two need to get out of here. You've done more than we could ask of you already, and we cannot afford to lose you."

"Good to see you again, Captain," said the king, nodding to Lankin. "I'm glad you were able to alert the city. Now, however, it is not your task. This battle is merely a distraction while the realm flees. It must be drawn out as long as possible, and that requires my wife and I to stay and fight."

Lankin knew his king too well to argue. "Yes, Lord," he knelt, then glanced up, his thin wet hair falling past his eyes. "Please be careful."

Link then turned to the perched owl, unable to keep a smile from his face. "Kaepora, my old friend, to say I am pleasantly surprised would be an understatement."

"Hero of Time, it is an honor."

"I would like a word with you, but that can wait. I need you to fly about the realm and make sure Southern Swamp and Snowhead are empty. If you meet any Hellspawn pursuing the Terminians, see to it they are disposed of."

Zelda was slightly surprised at Link's tone. Kaepora was the reincarnation of an ancient sage, one of the oldest, wisest, and perhaps most powerful creatures in the world. And here her own husband was commanding him, speaking to him like a common soldier. She was even more surprised when, without speaking, the great owl nodded obediently and took wing.

The king turned back around, and Zelda stared at him. His piercing sapphire eyes shone from his stern, shadowed face, and his golden hair whipped about in the wind. His royal purple cloak flapped behind him, revealing one strong hand resting upon the azure hilt of the beautiful Master Sword. She could barely breathe as she gazed upon the magnificent hero before her.

He strode over to her and spoke quietly into her ear. "This is our world, my queen, yours and mine. Shall we claim it and enjoy it, forever?"

"You… and me?"

The Hero of Time nodded, staring at her. "Forever."

She gazed up into his shining eyes. "I will do anything."

Link smiled. "Then come with me, love, and we shall rid the world of anything that would prevent it."

Down on the battlefield, Antia screamed at her warriors. These idiot villagers had somehow kept her out of the capital for almost the entire night. She was becoming frustrated. Nearly eight thousand soldiers were still at her disposal, but this scuffle was turning into a worse task than was necessary. If everyone fought as ferociously as these Terminians, conquering Hyrule was going to be more trouble than she had first thought.

"What's wrong, Queen?" came a snide voice from behind her. "I was under the impression that you were a skilled strategist."

Antia spun around, ready to put her scythe into the gut of the speaker. When they locked eyes, however, she froze. "Sever!"

The Spirit of Hell stood amidst the attacking Hellspawn, looking like another normal warrior. "Do you need help, Queen?"

"No," snarled Antia. "Now get the hell out of my way."

Sever grinned. "Then you would I aid the Hero of Time, instead?"

She stared at him. "You wouldn't dare."

"I've told you time and time again, Queen. I care about death. The beliefs of the dying matter not. Now are you embracing my help, or refusing it?"

Antia scowled. "Get on with it, then," she said reluctantly. "Kill them."

Sever bowed, grinning. "As you wish, Queen."

……………………………..

Link glanced up to see Kaepora swoop back and perch a few paces away on the walltop. "Change of plans, Hero," he said urgently. "The Spirit of Hell is down there."

Link froze, his eyes widening in fearful realization. "Sever?"

"You and the queen need to get out of the city. Climb on my back."

The king wasn't about to abandon his comrades to a fallen ancient god. But Sever was out for blood, and Link was the first to admit that no one had the capabilities to stop him. "I'm not leaving the men here to be slaughtered. Spread the word to retreat underground. You, Zelda, and I will stay and hold the wall as long as we can while the others get as far away as possible. When the city is lost we will fly west to Great Bay."

The owl nodded and took off.

"Retreat!" shouted Link above the din of the battle. "Draton, get the men underground! Into Hyrule as quickly as possible, and get inside the castle!" Concentrating, the Hero of Time laid narrowed eyes on the ledge of the wall. As the Terminians dropped back in line after Draton, Link drew his bow and moved his hand over it with blue magic. He lifted the bow and fired an azure arrow into the top of wall. As the shaft struck the ledge, an enchanted ice spread from its tip, stretching across the front of the wall. Letting arrow after arrow fly, Link soon had the entire wall covered with magic ice.

Hellspawn climbing the wall were caught in its spreading and frozen to the stone. There they hung, unable to move, as Link set in place a row of long-distance Bombchu explosives along the ledge. Without a moment's hesitation, the king whispered an ancient spell, and every Bombchu was set off at the exact same moment. There was nothing the Hellspawn could do as the mouse-like explosives slowly crawled over the walltop, bringing unavoidable death to the trapped warriors on the wall.

Antia cursed as she looked upon the wall. There was no way to climb up now; they would have to power their way through. She had lost sight of Sever, but she knew the god was making his way to the sealed gate. Though she hated the idea of relying on someone else to finish her work, the queen was eager to see these accursed Terminians dead at her feet.

Sever stepped up to the gate and gazed to the walltop high above. Laying his hands on the cold stone, the Spirit of Hell closed his eyes and whispered one word.

……………………………..

"Let's go, soldiers!" urged Draton. "Get underground!"

The long column of Terminian survivors swiftly moved away from the east wall and through the deserted city. Viscen ran up to the head captain, a concerned look on his face. "What if they – "

A deafening explosion cut off his words, stopping every soldier dead in his tracks. Draton's eyes widened in lurching fear. "Goddesses," he breathed.

The front gate had collapsed entirely, and one hundred Terminian defenders stared out at an endless sea of armed undead warriors, each one smiling devilishly in anticipation. Without a word, they charged.