Responses:
Outofstategrl: Hmm… it isn't really a GOOD thing that things get worse before they get better, but it's the only way to make things better. Get it? They need the master sword to kill Ganon, so they can either keep Ganon from getting to full power but let him slowly take over Hyrule anyways, or take the sword, giving him his power but then going after him and finishing him with it. In the long run, that's a better option. Thanks for the review!
Anime Wildfire: Your idea makes some sense to me, but I'm not sure if I'll use it or not. I don't think the burning would get THAT bad. You've actually given me a similar idea though, so thanks!
Heroftimes: I'm not quite sure I understand your first questions. Link does have the triforce of courage still, but I'm not sure what you mean by that letting Link and Naito kill Ganon without the Master Sword. Let me just say that I probably couldn't answer it anyway, because it might give something away… so on to your next question! I guess Link didn't get a good enough look at the hilt of the sword to realize it was different. And did I feel sorry for Ganon? Not really, although that article was interesting. He may have been misguided, but he did what he did and got what he deserved in my opinion.
Link rolled and Naito jumped, both dodging phantom Ganon's swing. Naito flipped over him and slashed his head as Link finished his roll and stabbed it. Phantom Ganon yelled, twirling up into the air. He stopped there, creating a giant green energy ball over its head. When it grew big enough, he lobbed it down at Naito.
"Swing!" Link yelled, but Naito hesitated too long. The energy hit him, blasting him back. He lay on the ground, twitching as green energy cackled through him. He didn't get back up. Link swore, and then rolled to the side as Phantom Ganon hurled another blast of energy at him. It slammed into the ground behind him, scorching the floor slightly. Link got to his feet gracefully, charging a light arrow. Phanton Ganon let out a surprised grunt and tried to dodge, but Link sent the arrow straight into his chest. Phantom Ganon yelled, spreading his arms and legs as light energy cackled through him. He fell onto the ground, falling onto his knees. Link charged forward and used a jump attack, but Phantom Ganon raised his sword, blocking it. He stood up, and he and Link struggled for a while. The struggle was ended as Link brought his sword back and twirled it down into a slash upward. It caught Phantom Ganon's stomach, he yelled and leapt back.
He charged another ball of energy, hurling it toward Link. The shot was a bit low, and Link back flipped to avoid it. It landed in front of him, almost blinding him with its flash of bright light. Without warning, Phantom Ganon leapt through the residual light, taking Link completely by surprise. Link was hit by three punches, the last of which hurled him onto his back several feet away.
Phantom Ganon laughed, gliding over to him. He raised his sword high above his head, and brought it crashing down. Link raised his shield, and the sword hit with a dulled clang sound. Link struggled to rise, but he had no leverage. He focused his energy on holding the sword off…
"HHHYYYAAA!!!" yelled a high-pitched voice. Naito jumped over Link, drop kicking Phantom Ganon in the face. The shadowy being staggered back and Link rolled to the side before Naito landed on him. He frog-hopped to his feet, and took a quick look at Naito.
"You alright?" he asked briefly.
"I got hit by a giant ball of potential death. But other than that, yeah I'm fine." He complained.
"Good." Link said, getting into a fighting stance as Phantom Ganon came charging back at them. Naito crouched low, tensing his knees. As Phantom Ganon approached, Link stepped forward and thrust his sword to meet him. Naito jumped straight up and took a swipe at Phantom Ganon's face. He reeled back from the surprise blow, and Link followed up with three short slashes, and then spun to deliver one almighty swing. The last one knocked Phantom Gannon onto his back, and Naito finished it with a leap into the air before planting his sword firmly in the phantom's chest. It winked out of existence, no drama or sound. One second it was there, the next it was a few vapours of shadow.
Naito wrenched his sword out of the ground, sheathing it easily. Before either of them could say anything, a chest appeared in the middle of the area, decorated with spikes. The two walked over to it, and Link opened it up. A ray of light burst out, revealing the hammer inside. It was big, even bigger than the megaton hammer. The head was adorned with some kind of animal skull. Link picked it up, realizing the despite its size it was lighter then his. He passed it to Naito and asked him if he could use it.
It looked too big, and he wouldn't be able to wield it as effectively as Link could wield his, but it worked. He put it away, and the two set off through the fortress.
It took them a half hour of exploring to find the tower. They fought off a lot of little imp creatures, but met nothing too threatening. They used the door that led outside to the path up the tower. It was extremely dark, as the moon and stars were covered by clouds. Nonetheless, the two treaded up the path they had used before, following it around the tower and sidling across the ledges until they were on the platform with the giant door.
Link tugged it open. Naito looked about ready to run in again, but he stopped and crept in silently. Link followed, his feet making no sound as they hit the ground. Aryll, Naito's sister, was in a giant cage in a corner along with two other young girls. All three looked up in surprise, running to the cage.
Naito smiled, and after another look at make sure nothing was coming, he ran over.
"I told you he'd come back!" Aryll hissed back at the other girls, who were looking at the pair curiously. "Aryll pointed at Link and asked who he was.
"This guy? His name is Link too. I don't know much about him, but I only got here because of his help." Naito explained. He also tried to open the door, wrenching uselessly at the knob.
"Well it's not gonna open THAT easily. But of course, you give no thought at all to anything you're doing!"
Both Links spun to see Tetra, Gonzo, and a third pirate standing at the entrance. She gestured at the door, and the two pirates began to work at it.
"It was pretty stupid of you BOTH to come waltzing in here like you own the place. We had to draw off that monster bird for you! Whatever. Your stupidity is not my problem. We'll take these other two girls, and bring them back… for a small reward. You can take your sister for free though, because I'm just too damn nice for my own good!" Tetra said, slowly walking towards them.
At that moment, the two pirates managed to tear the door off of its hinges. They picked up the other two girls, but at a command from Tetra they let her join Naito. He hugged her fiercely, laughing with glee.
"Look, this is nice and everything… but don't you two still have some loose ends to tie up?" Tetra said seriously.
Naito let go, stepping back. He looked at Link, and they nodded at each other.
Tetra smiled, and grabbed Aryll's hand. "Come with us. Your brother still has to take care of something. Big, important grown-up stuff. He'll see you soon, until then you can come with us to our ship." She said, surprisingly warmly.
The two pirates had left already, and Tetra, holding a struggling Aryll, followed. She turned back at the door, looked straight at Naito, and said, "We'll be back. Count on it." She then left, and the door slammed shut and locked behind her
Link's feet felt cold suddenly. He looked down to see water, slowly flooding the room. It was coming from a grate in the middle, and it showed no sign of stopping. He and Naito shared a panicked look, and the two took off for the outside of the room, where a large wooden ramp spiraled to the top.
There was a large shrieking cry, and the two stopped partway up to see the giant bird swooping in. It hovered in the middle, staring at the stunned pair. They took off as it reared its head back, darting forward. It smashed the wooden part behind them to bits, and they kept running with renewed energy.
SLAM! It plowed into the platform behind them again, much closer this time. Naito almost didn't make it, and he had to leap as it collapsed under his feet. He was having trouble keeping up with Link, but Link didn't let him fall too far behind.
They were about three quarters of the way up when the bird smartened up. It slammed its head down in front of them, forcing Link to stop. Naito almost ran into him. The area was collapsed, but the bird's beak was embedded in the wall, which meant they had time.
"How do we get across?" Naito yelled as the bird struggled to get free.
Link didn't answer. Instead, he jumped out, landing on the bird's head and springing himself to the other side. He beckoned Naito urgently. It was about a six foot jump, nothing compared to what Naito had done to Gohdan. Without hesitating, he leaped out as far as he could, and managed to land safely on the bird's head…
Rights as it finally pulled free. He almost fell, clutching the short feathers, watching the platform draw further and lower. He knew it would only get worse though, so he stepped back and put his all into one leap. He sailed through the air, but fell slightly short of the platform.
He started to scream, but a strong hand grabbed his wrist. Link was lying on the platform, arm fully outstretched. With surprising strength, Link tugged Naito back up to safety. He had time for a quick thank you before the two had to take off again.
About a minute later, the two could see the night sky ahead. They were almost there! Encouraged, they put on an extra surge of speed, panting and sweating.
The bird gave another cry, and this time it perched on the platform on top of the tower. It leaned its head onto the ramp, blocking it entirely. By unspoken agreement, both Links pulled out their hammers and kept running. Naito raised his skull hammer over his head as Link reared his megaton hammer back for a baseball swing. Naito jumped and Link tensed his knees, and both delivered a bone crushing hammer blow to the white mask protecting its face.
It made no sound. It teetered back, finally falling forward into the tower. It fell noiselessly to the bottom, splashing into the water which had stopped rising about halfway up. Naito cheered as Link watched him with amusement.
"Alright, you've had your fun. Come on… Ganondorf is waiting." Link said seriously. Naito stopped jumping for joy, nodding grimly. The two stepped onto the top of the tower, looking around. It was bordered by a low wall covered in spikes, and had one path out. This path led to the large wooden building Ganondorf dwelled in, no doubt watching them now.
The two began to walk up the path when Naito stopped. "One second!" he exclaimed, running back to the big circular opening into the tower. Link waited on the path, shuffling his feet impatiently.
"What is it?" He called as Naito stared into the tower.
"I thought I heard something!" Naito yelled back. Link was about to walk over when a gate shot up, trapping him on the path.
He swore loudly. Naito looked over and saw Link trying to break the gate.
"Get away from there!" Link yelled at Naito. Naito listened instantly, running to the edge of the platform. He was just in time too; the giant bird burst up from the tower in a flurry of feathers, hovering above to look at Naito.
"Go!" Naito yelled to Link, drawing his sword and shield.
"I'm not leaving you here!" Link yelled back, trying to clamber over.
"I can handle it! You have to get to Ganon!" Naito yelled back, rolling to the side as the bird skimmed over head, rounding for another attack.
"Alright. Be careful; don't do anything I'd do." Link told him, turning and running up the path, the triforce mark burning under his gauntlet again. He looked back only once.
AN: As usual, please leave a review. All suggestions, comments, questions, even flames are welcome.