I was hoping to get this done yesterday but that didn't happen. D: I'm pretty sure the story will end at Chapter 50 now. That makes me mildly happy. Mildy because that means I had to cut this chapter off to get it to 50.

Also, in this chapter: Vega = Epic Phail.

"But Vega-" Zelda began.

He glared a glare that stopped her midsentence. "I am the goddesses gift to man! If that's not good enough for you, you'll have to stuff it because I'm sticking around whether you like it or not!" Without saying anything else he dropped the stardust shield and faced the boar.

Both Link and Zelda were awed. The way the star was holding himself, despite the bruises and bloodied face… it was like he could beat anything!

But that appearance was a lie. The boar screamed and knocked him into a wall as if he was a rag doll.

"That was…" Link started, but couldn't quite finish.

Zelda finished for him. "Anti-climactic."

"Foolish." Ganon mumbled.

Just as he was about to throw his puppet back on the adolescents, Vega staggered up.

"I meant to do that." He said rather unconvincingly. The silvertop swayed a bit as he walked back to where his companions were. "I just… got caught up in the moment…"

"Keep telling yourself that," Link drawled.

"Oh, taking the mickey are we? Ungrateful wanker…" Vega mumbled.

"Well, since we can't understand him, I guess he's all right." Zelda said.

"Are you three done?" An annoyed Ganondorf asked, not really caring for the answer. "Because my puppet is getting quite impatient."

Sure enough, the boar swiped its tail from side to side while snorting angrily.

"Ducky," Sternly looking at his companions he quickly said, "You and I, we'll be distractions for the puppet and the puppeteer. You for the puppet, I'll take the puppeteer. Git, when the boar's not paying attention to you, attack it. Do not go for Dragmire. We need to get rid of the boar first."

As much as Link wanted to say the boar couldn't do anything if Dragmire was gotten rid of first, he didn't. He was sure the star would explain later, if there was a later.

They split up, all heading off to different directions. Zelda remained in the same general area, deciding to use magic involving kinetics rather than elemental magic for fear of the boar absorbing it and throwing it back at her. Bopping it on the snout seemed to catch it off guard, however brief. Link prowled around nearby Zelda, waiting for the right moment to strike the boar or step in front of Zelda if need be. And Vega went straight for Ganon, preparing to be the biggest nuisance he could be.

Being a nuisance was something that Vega figured he was good at. After all, he had managed to annoy Link so much that the page broke his nose with a mean left hook, he was really good at annoying his sister, and Ganon had already expressed his disdain for Vega's constant interferences all over his face and other parts of his anatomy.

Seeing that the silvertop was coming straight his way, Dragmire pulled his hands back, hoping to get the boar to knock the star away. He was very surprised (and angry) when he found that despite the strength he was putting into his pull, his hands barely moved at all. And that was because Zelda was pulling on the boar, knowing what Ganon had planned to do. During that time, Vega managed to get up into Dragmire's face.

"'Ello again, minger!" He said cheerfully, almost nose to nose with Dragmire.

Irritated, the Gerudo went for a headbutt. Vega leaned back quickly, but not in a way that said he was in a rush. He could feel the invisible strings tugging at his fingers straining again and he heard the boar scream. He attempted to look around the side to see if he could see his puppet. The star just stepped in his line of vision again.

Ganondorf growled in annoyance. He couldn't move too much, or risk moving his puppet. If he moves his puppet too erratically, he could risk damaging one of the walls and attracting attention from outside. No one knew of this chasm, but if there was a collapse of walls, people would be sure to see that it was investigated. To the Gerudo, it seemed he had no choice but to transfer all control into one hand. He didn't want to have to use the last resort just yet.

The star had to admit that he was very surprised when the Gerudo's right hand shot at him and no reaction came from the boar behind him. For the first time in his life, he was grateful to have shorter hair. Had it been its normal length, Ganondorf probably would've been able to get a fistful of silver and quite possibly break his neck.

Back with the boar, both Link and Zelda had noticed that the movements of the puppet were strained. They were already pretty strained to begin with, what with Zelda restraining it as best she could and then link aiming for the construct's legs. But the movements were even stiffer than before. It flailed around but had trouble managing its footing and sometimes just didn't move at all. Both were willing to bet that Vega's distraction of Ganondorf had a great deal to do with it. The Gerudo couldn't focus on controlling a boar and trying to hit a star at the same time.

The giant puppet had lost its footing and fell to the side. Link immediately went in, aiming for the fleshy stomach.

When the puppet had first been summoned and Link and Zelda were running from it for their lives, they were under the impression that this puppet had no weaknesses. It's not that the puppet didn't have them; it's just that that its weak point was obscenely hard to get to without some sort of distraction to foul up the puppet master's movements. That and it wasn't an obvious weak point as it didn't look different from the rest of the boar's body. It was at this moment, when Vega had distracted Ganon to the point where he couldn't control his boar very well, that Link and Zelda discovered the construct did have a weakness. And that weakness was the stomach.

The master Sword bit the pseudo-flesh of the boar, which screamed in outrage more than pain. Link had thought that the bade just left a shallow cut, and he was right. What he hadn't expected was the shallow cut burning the edges of the fake flesh and turning it into quite the grievous wound. Or it would've been a grievous wound if the puppet was a living thing. It was still a big enough wound, however, to show Link and Zelda something quite important: despite the fact that it looked heavy and menacing, the beast was hollow.

Link ran back as the wound on the boar stopped burning and it scrambled up. Zelda noted that Ganondorf did manage to finally give Vega a good smack in the face. The star staggered back for a moment, keeping in mind how close he kept coming to a broken neck because Dragmire kept aiming for his face. It was like everyone around him wanted to smack the pretty off of him. But duty still called, and he once again jumped in front of Ganon's view, not allowing him to see the damage caused to his puppet.

"Get out of the way!!" Dragmire snarled, making another lunge for the star's annoyingly cocky face.

Vega dodged and put on an expression mocking deep thought. "I don't really feel like it."

And as Dragmire still attempted to get the star out of his way, his control on the boar was still loosening. The boar's movements were even stiffer and it was barely moving at all, making it even easier for Zelda to push it back on its side again and Link able to go and slash at its exposed belly. And while the Gerudo couldn't see, he had a very good idea of what was happening to his puppet. He let the invisible strings go on his left hand and then punched Vega in his smug mug.

The left hook was enough to get Vega to spin on his heel dizzily while mumbling, "Afters and a cuppa… sounds lovely…" before falling to the ground.

Rather than finishing the star, Dragmire looked to the two who had been watching the scene now that they were undistracted. Now that the boar was just a half-corroded husk without a controller, it just stood still. To bring that boar back would be more trouble than it was worth especially when half of it was missing. But it still had a use.

Before the page and the witch could think of what to do next, the boar beside them starting letting out a ghastly smell. Zelda immediately cupped her hands over her nose.

"What is that smell?!" She asked disgustedly.

Link just stared at the boar. Unlike Zelda, he didn't cover his nose. In fact, he took a deep whiff of it but widening his eyes in alarm. "Sulfur… he's going to blow us up!"

"What?!" Zelda asked in a panic, forgetting the smell completely.

The page grimaced as he looked at his shield. He highly doubted it would be able to protect himself from an explosion, let alone himself and Zelda. And then there was Vega, who was mumbling nonsense on the floor quite a distance away. So much for defeating Dragmire and saving Hyrule…

It was almost as if the Master Sword sensed the pessimistic thoughts coming from Link. The blade had a habit of emitting an ethereal glow at all times. This time, it flared up almost blindingly. And somehow, Link knew what the sword was saying. He didn't know how, but it was telling him what to do.

"Zelda, quick! Get Vega over here!" He said, knowing that the boar would blow any second.

The witch had acted as soon as Link had said her name. Using the magic of kinetics that she had applied earlier on the boar, she pushed Vega towards them. The sudden movement didn't seem to bother the downed star, as he just dreamily mumbled something about koracs spinning around in his vision. Zelda had no idea what a korac was nor was she curious. What she was curious about was how were they were going to live through this.

In the middle of that thought, the boar exploded.

Zelda feared for the worst and shut her eyes tightly. Surprisingly, all she felt was a huge gust of a wind that blew her hat off. She opened her eyes and looked around. There certainly was an explosion, but it was going around them rather than hitting them. It wasn't Vega, because he was still deliriously incapacitated, and she wasn't doing anything like a barrier. Even she had, she doubted very much it could take the kind of pressure the explosion was letting off. She looked at link, to see him standing against the exploding boar, the Master Sword held in front of him.

She involuntarily gasped at the sight. The Sword was shining angrily against the flames that dared try to pelt it. The force coming at them was being deflected by it, not even touching the mystic blade. And Link, standing unwavering with the blade, hair whipping his face from the force of the gusts coming from the Sword's deflecting of the explosion, looked truly like what Fate had made him: a hero, the Wielder of Courage. And as if to emphasize that point further, the Triforce of Courage was glowing brightly on the back of his left hand.

The pressure, flames, and wind were dying down. Link remained still, Zelda still gaped, and Vega still mumbled incoherently.

And Ganondorf certainly didn't expect what he was seeing. Despite the enormous amount of rage rampaging inside of his mind, on the surface he just narrowed his eyes at the page.

Link just glared back. "What say we settle this like men?"

Ganondorf chuckled. "It would be more like man to boy, but if you insist."

"Link, no!" Zelda said quickly.

The page paused and looked back at her. He grinned confidently. "I can beat him. Don't worry."

She pursed her lips, but she also knew the hidden message behind that smile. He didn't want her to stop him. Instead, all she said was, "Be careful."

He nodded and then proceeded forward, his grip on the Master Sword tight. Both he and the Blade of Evil's Bane looked forward to this battle.

Next chapter will be the last of this battle. Chapter 50 will go on to show what happens to everyone. Expect the next chapter within the next two to three days. Hey, if I go fast enough, you might even get it tomorrow or in a few hours. Lessee.