Someone said that the last chapter is like a Super Smash Brothers Zelda game. That would be so awesome! I wanna paly it!
Chapter 30: The Points of the Triangle
Link eyes were glued on Ganon, but Ganon was too far to have noticed him yet.
And Ganon hadn't arrived alone. He'd brought another battalion of troops.
As the crowd noticed Ganon's arrival, a hush rippled across the field. Everyone grew still. There was a shifting of the battlefield as the two sides separated, the enemy regrouping around Ganon. Link's allies clustering closer together.
Once again, Ganon's forces outnumbered them.
"Here we go again," Nabeen murmured, adjusting her knives in her hands.
Link slowly stood up, and found that he was a little wobbly on his feet.
"Wait," said the Great Fairy. She stood in front of Link and placed her hands on his shoulders. Link suddenly felt energy flood through him, and the dizziness left.
"I was going to save some of my strength, but I think that it's best for you to be at 100% for this fight," the Fairy Queen said.
Link gave a small nod. "Thanks," he said, hefting his sword. He felt perfect. It didn't seem like he'd spent the past several hours in battle, or that his arm had been cut. He felt refreshed and ready to go.
"Wait," he said. "Does this mean you won't be able to heal anyone else?"
"I'll manage," she said lightly.
Link wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but he decided not to press the matter. He had a job to do. He took a step towards Ganon.
"I'm coming," Nabeen said, moving up beside him.
"You can't," Link said, staring at her.
"Well, I am. This is the guy that kidnapped me! I'm going to teach him a lesson!"
"This is no ordinary guy," Link said, frustrated. "He-"
Nabeen cut him off. "He has the same mark as me." She held up her hand, showing the Triforce of Power marked there. "And you have it too. I'm no pushover. And I want to do this."
She glared at Link, daring him to deny her request.
He sighed. "Fine. You can come, but let me fight him first. Don't interfere unless-"
"Unless he's about to chop your head off. Then I'll interfere," she said. "Unless you'd like me to wait until after he's chopped your head off."
Link wanted to say something rude to her, but he decided against it. He couldn't afford a distraction now. And it looked like Ganon's forces were moving forwards to strike.
"I need to get up there," he said. "I have to get rid of him as soon as possible!"
"I thought he creamed you last time," Nabeen said. "That he was stronger than you remembered. And he stuck you in a prison."
Link ignored her. He wouldn't let this fight be a repeat of the last one.
"Wait," said the Great Fairy.
Annoyed, Link turned around. Everyone kept distracting him! Didn't they know how important it was for him to stop Ganon? Across the field, Ganon's troops were once more clashing with their allies.
Wordlessly, the little fairy queen raised her arm and pointed.
Link followed her gaze. She was pointing at the edge of the gaping pit. There was a girl standing there. She was dressed in boyish clothes, in a green tunic and tan breeches. There was a hilted sword hanging at her waist and a golden ponytail hung behind her head. She was shading her eyes, gazing out at the battle.
Link had never seen her before in his life, but his mouth fell open as he stared at her. With that green outfit there was no mistaking who she was. She was one of Link's reincarnations. A girl with the mark of courage.
Someone climbed up out of the pit and stood beside her and the two of them grinned at each other. Judging from his dress, he was nobility.
"That's the prince of Hyrule," Nabeen said, sounding startled and confused. "He's here?"
Link stared at him. So, this was the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom in the era when Nabeen lived. And the hero of that time was a female. And Nabeen made up the third bearer of the Triforce.
And slowly more people lined up behind the girl and the prince. Dozens of them. Blond boys clad in green, and golden-haired princesses. Some of them were boys and girls, only about 10 years old. Others were Link's age, around 17. Then Vaati and Ralph appeared, and Medli flapped into sight a moment later, wearing the green bird hat. She was also carrying a Korok - the one known as Makar. Finally came Din with two other women, one dressed in blue and one in green – Nayru and Farore.
A smile slowly spread across Link's face. Although they were still outnumbered, the bearers of the Triforce were worth any number of Ganon's minions.
"YYEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" shouted the band of newcomers. All of them surged forwards to clash with the enemy.
"Let's do this," Link said, adjusting his sword and shifting his feet.
Nabeen and Link charged forwards, heading towards Ganon. They passed friend and foe alike, but never paused for more than a few moments to raise a hand in greeting or swing their blades at an approaching threat.
They passed Midna, who seemed to have lost her shadow bird. She was with one of the Links, and the two of them were engaged in a fight against the Twinrova.
Link trusted the battle to them, and they continued heading for Ganon.
"I lost sight of him," Link said. "Where'd he go?"
"It's not hard to tell," Nabeen replied. "See, look."
Off to one side, a mushroom cloud of dust rose up from the battlefield. No doubt a result of one of Ganon's attacks.
"Come on," Nabeen said, dashing off towards it.
Link followed her.
They dodged back and forth through the throng. Link kept losing sight of Nabeen, but she always appeared again. She was so fast and agile. He got the impression that she kept coming back so that he had a chance to catch up.
Suddenly a wave of dust was kicked up in their face. Link raised his arm to shield his face, and he shut his eyes. No doubt from another of Ganon's attacks. When the dust settled, he looked up again.
Instead of looking at a man, he was facing a huge beast with large tusks and a shaggy red mane. Ganon in his beast form, though Link had never seen him look quite like this before.
He reared up on his hind legs and stampeded forwards, plowing through a group of people in front of him. His thundering feet kicked dirt up into the air in a blinding wave. Ganon came to a halt and glanced around. Then he shifted back into a human shape once again.
He was facing away from them. He hadn't seen the arrive. Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword's hilt and charged forwards.
Ganon heard the footsteps and turned in time to raise his sword.
Sparks flew as the two blades met. They released the attack and Link took a step backwards.
"Attacking from behind," Ganon said, sounding amused. "An unusual tactic for you."
Link didn't respond. He waited, watching for Ganon's next move. When it didn't come, he charged again. As he swung his sword around, Ganon's foot came up and caught him in the chest. Link gasped and fell backwards, the wind knocked out of him. He rolled away and got quickly to his feet, but Ganon hadn't moved. He was watching Link, clearly enjoying toying with him.
Link massaged his ribs with his free hand. Was that Ganon's "revenge" for Link attacking from behind?
Link stood up straight and calm, and stared at Ganon. He wasn't going to let Ganon play with him. And he wasn't going to lose.
Ganon waited for Link to make another move, but he didn't. He waited and watched. When Ganon realized that Link wasn't going to play along, he took several slow steps forwards. Link waited.
Suddenly Ganon swung his sword with the force of a hammer. Link blocked the blow, and felt his bones chatter at the force of it. The two of them exchanged a series of fierce blows which echoed around the field.
Link made use of his agility, darting around his larger, slower foe. He'd gotten the idea from watching Nabeen. Ganon somehow managed to block all of Link's attacks. Then Link feinted to the side and grazed Ganon's arm with his sword. Ganon twisted his sword and the hilt connected with Link's head. Link's teeth banged together painfully and lights winked in front of his eyes. He managed to bring his sword up to block the next attack, but his head was still ringing.
Link blocked attack after attack, retreating further as he tried to regain his senses. Every time he blocked a blow, his head throbbed painfully. Finally he regained his senses and lunged forwards with a renewed attack.
Once again, Link's arms began to ache under the strain of blocking and swinging. But he grit his teeth and continued fighting.
Then the tip of Ganon's sword slid forwards and nicked Link's fingers. It caught on the hilt of the Master Sword and twisted it out of Link's grip. His weapon flew from his hand and clattered to the ground several yards away. Link sprang out of the way as Ganon swung his sword straight down at him.
He ducked beneath the next swing, and flattened against the ground as the next one came at his head. He started to roll to the side, but as the sword came down at him again. He knew he wasn't going to get out of the way in time.
Suddenly a blur shot through the air and landed on Ganon's outstretched arm. There was a flash of metal and Ganon grunted in pain as two gashes appeared on his shoulders. He took several steps backwards as the figure sprang away and landed beside Link. Nabeen glanced down at him. Link nodded, breathing heavily, and quickly got to his feet. Someone stepped up to his other side. It was Sheik. He'd come back again. He handed Link the Master Sword and drew his own long rapier. The three of them faced Ganon. He sneered at them.
Link normally wouldn't have thought it fair for the three of them to gang up on one man, but this fight was beyond fair. They had to win, no matter what.
Suddenly the marks on each of their hands began to glow with a bright gold light. Once again, Link felt himself flooded with energy. Though each piece of the Triforce came from a different era, they were nevertheless responding, giving their bearers energy.
Link, Sheik and Nabeen exchanged nods, and the three of them moved together.
Ganon stepped backwards and snatched a sword from one of his minions. With two blades, he stood to meet the three warriors. Then they were on him, and this time the strength of the Triforce drove them on. Ganon's two swords lashed feverishly as he blocked attacks from three directions. He retreated further and further backwards towards the edge of the field. Enemies and friends alike parted as they passed.
Eventually they drove Ganon up against the cliffs that bordered the field. He was breathing heavily and seemed to be running out of energy. For a moment, it seemed like they had him cornered.
Then Ganon swept his sword low at Sheik. He jumped backwards, but the tip of the blade grazed his thigh. Sheik quickly backed away.
Link took a step back.
"Are you okay?" He called.
"It's shallow. I'll be fine," Sheik replied.
Link turned just in time to see Nabeen streaking in towards Ganon. Ganon gave the smallest of smiles and his sword sliced downwards.
There was a flash of crimson, and Nabeen came to a halt. For a moment she stood there, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. Then her knives dropped from her fingers and her legs buckled beneath her. There was a gash that tore along the base of her arm and shoulder.
The Triforce on her hand blinked twice, and then faded. Link felt the rush of energy from his own Triforce diminish.
He stood there, stunned. She can't be dead, he thought desperately. She's too strong to die that easily!
"Your moves were predictable," Ganon said to Nabeen's motionless form crumpled on the ground. He swung his sword down at her to deliver the finishing blow.
Link launched forwards, catching Ganon's sword inches away from Nabeen's middle. With a mighty heave, he pushed Ganon away from her. He charged forwards, falling on Ganon like a wild dog, giving Sheik time to drag Nabeen into a protected alcove in the cliff.
"Rather pathetic," Ganon huffed. "Even with three of you, you still haven't beaten me. Your friends are pretty pathetic."
Link grit his teeth and swung harder. One of Ganon's swords flew out of his hand, but Ganon's smirk remained stubbornly in place. Link was aware that he had been stronger a moment ago with the Triforce was blazing on his hand. He felt weaker now that its light was gone, and Ganon no doubt noticed as well. Ganon didn't even seem to be trying his hardest anymore. That somehow made Link mad. He redoubled his efforts, and Ganon backed away and ended up agains the cliff wall again. It was almost like he was trying to corner himself against the cliff.
Link realized it too late. As Ganon lowered his sword, he braced his foot against the base of the cliff and launched forwards, using his momentum to drive his elbow against Link's head.
Link skidded across the ground and tumbled to a halt. He lay sprawled on his stomach with his head throbbing horribly. It felt like his head had been cracked open. His head hurt so much that he could barely even push himself to his knees.
By the time he'd managed to get to his hands and knees, Ganon was standing over him once again, a twisted smile on his face. Ganon started to kneel down besides Link, his sword tip tauntingly close to his head.
Link scrambled backwards a few feet. It was hard to see straight. His vision was swimming. He could see his shadow was waving back and forth in front of him, as though it belonged to a wind-tossed tree.
No… wait… his shadow was moving!
Link stared as a dark, foggy hand reached up out of his shadow and clamped down onto Ganon's wrist.
Ganon looked down startled. The head and shoulders of a boy rose up out of the ground. His face was split in a broad, triumphant grin.
"What's wrong, Ganon? Did you forget that you were actually fighting two of us?"
With his other hand, Shadow Link made a swift gesture to Link.
Link nodded in understanding. As Shadow Link tightened his grip on Ganon's arm, Link sprang to his feet and drove the Master Sword forwards with all his might. Link's body slid forwards as the blade sunk down to the hilt, and for a moment, he was face-to-face with Ganon.
Ganon's eyes were wide, his mouth open in shock. Link quickly scrambled away, letting go of the Master Sword.
Shadow Link released Ganon's arm, and once again melted back into the shadows. He gave one final grin to Link as he faded away once more.
Trembling all over, Link stared down at Ganon. Ganon's fingers loosened around his sword, and it clanged to the ground. His knees thudded to the earth, and then he toppled forwards onto the ground. The tip of the Master Sword was protruding through Ganon's back.
Link released a great breath, and dropped to his knees. A shudder passed over him, and he let his head fall back so he was staring up at the sky.
Then he glanced down at his shadow once more. He smiled.
"Thanks, my old friend."