REVIEW ANSWERIN' time! For when you have nothing witty to say!
u00frady: You... What? You actually liked it? I'm... honored. I was scared of that chapter like you wouldn't believe, considering how much exposition it brought (vs. action). And how can you not see Twinrova? I foreshadowed her, months ago! Oh, well, I guess it still works out in the end. And surprise, surprise, I applied myself and updated as soon as I could. Now, about that story, feel free to send me anything through my e-mail. If you want, I'll post it and give you credit. Later, Pyles.
The Legend of Zelda:
Overlord of the Land
Chapter 18:
The Miracle
"Just great." Tetra muttered. "If those slowpokes would be here now, the odds wouldn't be so against us right now."
Link and Tetra readied their wits and their weapons to battle the Giant Mole in front of them. The Mole, even with its nearsighted eyes, looked straight at Tetra, startling her. It then burrowed into the ground and rushed straight at her, giving Tetra no other option but to run away. Then, Tetra had an idea and recovered her shovel. "Link, prepare your sword! I'll drive him out, you nail him!"
When the Mole was close enough, Tetra slammed her shovel as deep into the ground as she could muster. The solid-iron shovel somehow stopped the Mole cold. This was the opportunity she wanted, so she threw her body weight on to the shovel and managed to get the Mole out of the ground. Link moved in and lashed out at the turned over Mole, but it quickly rolled over, crushing Link into the sand and regaining movement. It promptly burrowed back into the sand, leaving the pair back on the defensive.
"Link! Are you alright?" Tetra asked as she was pulling him out of the sand.
"Ezzy squizzy lemon plizzy." Link answered woozily, smiling to signal he was ok.
"He's fast. I'll give him that." Tetra commented while trying to catch her breath. "There's got to be a way to get him to show his ugly mug." She put her hand into her pocket, and stumbled with a small object. "Wait..." Tetra waved at Link, not wanting to make any unnecessary noise that would attract the Mole just yet.
Suddenly, the Mole heard this strange surge of sound, and it burrowed straight its source and decided to leap to surprise whoever it was. The Mole was tricked by Tetra, however, who had blown up a bomb near the wall, making it slam itself onto the structure and slip out of consciousness. Link then rushed right to the Mole and gave it no chance.
Before dying, the Giant Mole spit out two items. The pair inspected the items, one of them was a Heart Container that broke in half, and another was a small key. "I'll keep this, just in case." Tetra said as she stowed the key away. "Now, then... where's that treasure?"
Right then, the door that was slammed shut when they entered got blown away by the pirates trying to get inside. "Miss Tetra!" Gonzo shouted. "Are you in here! Are you alright!"
"Idiots!" Tetra immediately yelled at them. "What if I were right in front of that door when you blew it up? What would you do then?" The pirates looked rather down when they were scolded. Tetra's face changed quickly, however. "Well, what can I really do with you guys anyway? And now that you're here, you could start digging for the treasure now."
Thus, every able-bodied man in the group grabbed a shovel and dug away at the unnaturally high dune in the corner. It didn't take long before they reached something solid. "Miss Tetra! I think this is it!" Gonzo shouted at their leader overseeing the work.
"Really? Let me see!" Tetra demanded, pushing her underlings aside and taking a good look at the exquisitely designed treasure chest in front of her. "Quickly! Pull it above ground!"
The pirates tugged at the chest's massive handles, trying to move it to a more manageable place. "Whatever this chest has," Senza started, "It better be good to weight so much."
"Locked." Nudge commented after inspecting the chest. "Why did it have to be locked? Why couldn't they be like good pirates and just let the sand be the only lock it needs? Man, I hate unlocking these types of locks."
"What's so bad about these locks?" Senza asked.
"Well," Nudge started "These are special triple-secure locks. If you don't unlock them just the right way, more locks will activate and a special quick-rusting liquid will break out, making opening the chest near impossible."
They got the treasure, Tetra thought to herself, but now what? What was the treasure they got? Money? Gold? Title deeds? Some weird other thing? It seems they won't be knowing anytime soon. Not without the key. Not without... the...
The...
Th...
This... This is where it started.
"Hey, wait!" Tetra shouted, interrupting the pirates' conversation. "Maybe this is the key."
"So, Senza?" Gonzo asked, after working hard to open the rusty chest with the rest. "Is the prize good enough to warrant the weight?"
"Oh, yeah!" Senza added, with a large smile and shining eyes that could rival the treasure's shine.
"Perfect." Tetra said, witnessing the bounty of rupees, gold, diamonds, gems and other things they unearthed. "This is more than enough to get the ship fixed." She took a handful of treasure and looked at it closer to appreciate its beauty. "Oh, ho, ho! It's times like these when I really feel alive!"
It was perfect. Life was good. I felt truly alive then.
And then...
"Hey, what's this?" Nudge looked at something rather interesting stowed in the side of the chest, and pulled it out. "Hmm... It's a book."
Tetra promptly kicked Nudge in the leg, making him drop the book. "It's nothing, that's what it is."
If it truly were nothing... nothing that happened after that would've happened.
If I choose chance...
Before Tetra left the room herself, though, she stumbled upon the book that Nudge was looking at. Tetra picked up the book, dusting it off, and looked at the cover. What she saw intrigued her. On the cover there was an image of a large, heart-shaped face adorned with many intricate designs with spikes protruding from the sides, and two big, empty eyes on the center. Tetra had no idea what this book could be about, and was about to drop it on the ground again before an idea slipped into her mind.
"Maybe... maybe this can fetch a pretty penny from a serious collector." Tetra pondered. Stuffing the book under her arm, she ran out of the room to catch up with the crew.
This would be my future.
That night, Tetra made sure the treasure chest was well-secured inside her own room, and after checking twice that everything was as it should be, she went to sleep. And she slept like a log until the next morning.
The next morning, Tetra walked up to the upper deck in the best of moods. She greeted her crew and reminded them of the bounty splitting that was to happen in her quarters soon. But first, she walked to the ship's bowsprit, which was quickly becoming her favorite spot in the entire ship. She stood up and let the wind run through every fiber of her body. The smell of freedom was intoxicating, and the sense of knowing she could do whatever she pleased provided enough for her to draw a mighty grin on her face.
Everything would be back. The guys... the ship...Link would be there, too. And nothing to bother us.
But then... where would that take us? What would happen to us? How would it all work out? Would Link...
"Tetra?" Link looked at Tetra, and he was surprised she was actually thinking about what Twinrova had just told her. "You're not seriously considering what that... thing has told you, right? Right?"
Tetra did not answer him, choosing instead to keep her thoughts to herself. Twinrova looked at this, and she was overjoyed that the doubt in Tetra's mind still lingered. The plans that were set after so many years did not seem to have turned to dust, after all. In the end, Tetra took a step forward and faced Twinrova, and spoke with a clear, determined voice.
"My final decision is..." Tetra took a moment to understand the full implications of what she was about to say. Link and Twinrova waited intently, hanging onto Tetra's every word and hoping she would say what they each hoped she would say. Finally, Tetra reacted and spoke only one word:
"... unchanged."
"What?" Link asked, not fully understanding what Tetra meant.
"WHAT?" Twinrova questioned, her dual voice echoing in the room, as she knew precisely what this meant.
"It's exactly what you think it is." Tetra said to Twinrova. "To put it simply, I don't make deals with malicious, monstrous murderers. No matter what you do, and no matter how you sweeten the deal, I am not going to give in, because when I think about it, everything that had just happened was all your fault. Having to go through all those trials, coming close to losing my mind several times, losing many people I deeply care about... it was all you. You twist and deform lives for your own personal profit and pleasure, but no more. No more relenting over you, no more weakness, no more excuses or feeling sorry for myself. I will fight you, and I will bring you to justice!"
Link pumped a fist up in a silent cheer after listening to Tetra's speech. He then picked up his shield and, sword in hand, stepped back to Tetra's side, signaling her to know she had his complete trust and help.
"We're disappointed in you, Princess." Twinrova spoke in a mock-dejected form. "We thought that you would learn from the mistakes of the past, and you would know what was best for everybody. We thought you would understand what would happen in the future, which will undeniably happen, and seek the better solution. Instead, you choose destruction. Why must you people always be like this?"
"Maybe that's just how we are." Link said, stepping in front of Tetra. "Maybe we're just some foolish kids on some impossible quest. Maybe we go the long way around when doing the things we have to do. Maybe we don't completely know what we're getting into before do get into it. Maybe we're too stubborn for our own good. However, when it comes down to it, we show the best of ourselves where it really matters. I've seen this girl go through some tough times these past two years, and she's always come out on top. What should make me think this time will be different? Doom? Destruction? You don't know us very well, do you? We've lived through doom and destruction before, and we can do it again. Now, I believe that Tetra had already told you her decision... so bug off."
Link stood in place, feeling good with himself after delivering those improvised but well-meant words. He was even more confident seeing Twinrova looking surprised and even slightly offended from it all. He felt that if this was going their way so smoothly now, this fight was going to be as laughably easy as the last.
And then, Twinrova flicked a broom around.
Suddenly, the floor under Link's feet turned to water, plunging him into a deep indoor pool. While he was struggling to swim, Twinrova pointed the Ice broom towards Link, turning the water to ice and freezing Link in the process. And then Twinrova used the Fire broom at Link, melting the ice and boiling the water to unbearable levels, burning Link right out of the water in such a way that he could not stop running and shaking his body to try and subdue his pain.
"Well, that much is true." Twinrova said matter-of-factly. "You're too stubborn for your own good. You're way in over your head, kid. You have nothing to do here, so we suggest you stand back if you want to leave with your life."
At that point, Tetra caught Link while he was running wildly and knocked him on his back to try and slow him down. "Wait, wait, Link! Calm down! Hold on for a sec." She then put her open palm on Link's forehead and then a soft white glow emerged from it. After a few seconds, Link's redness and pain had subsided, and he was finally able to breath calmly again.
"How... how did you do that?" Link asked.
"I... just followed my instincts. Something told me I could do this, so I did." Tetra explained in the best way she could.
"Well, so you're a healer now." Link commented. He then opened his eyes and stared at Tetra with a slightly worried look. "Don't get yourself killed now, you hear?"
"We tire of this." Twinrova said in her dual voice, yawning at the exchange in front of her. "Well, Princess... if you desire to be as uncooperative as you claim to be, then we have no other choice. We have need of the Light Force, and you shall give it to us... whether you like it or not."
Suddenly, Twinrova extended her icy broom and threw an ice blast towards Tetra at high velocity. Tetra was shocked, but not so much at to be useless and hopped backwards just in time to avoid being frozen by the blast. The ice attack, however, formed icicles in the ground where it hit, which made the area highly hazardous to be in. Then, Twinrova swung her fiery broom, and a bright-red ray was emitted from it, heading right at Tetra's new location. Once again, Tetra managed to evade, but only to witness the ray turning all of the floor it touched into a pool of lava, which occasionally burst out a few fire jets up to the ceiling. All this, on top of the icicles and the boiling water.
"If we let her keep this up, we'll have no place to walk on." Link exclaimed, noticing how, unlike them, Twinrova did not need to stand on the ground at all so long as she could remain floating in the air. "I say no more talk. Come on, Tetra. It's time to get up close and personal on that witch."
Amidst the new terrain hazards, Link and Tetra rushed in unison toward the imposing figure of Twinrova. Once she was close enough, Tetra stopped and summoned some of her powers to create a energy shield that blocked Twinrova, while waiting for Link. After Link managed to get a running start, Tetra used her hands as a stepping stone and shot him up as far as her strength allowed. As Link flew straight towards Twinrova, the large witch used a broom as a makeshift club to stop him, but Tetra was fast enough to shift her shield's force against the witch, striking her and giving Link just enough time to land squarely on one of the witch's shoulders and unleashing his crude attack on her face. When he saw danger coming, though, he flipped backwards to the ground and watched from there as Twinrova turned her back to them for a moment and covered the damaged side of her face.
"Nice." Tetra commended, witnessing Link's handiwork. "Now it's my turn."
Tetra quickly ran forward, cutlass in hand and ready to continue the offensive. Suddenly, Twinrova turned around again, showing a relatively unharmed face and a positively vicious stare, complete with a slasher-type smile. This startled Tetra just long enough for Twinrova to unleash a dangerous mixed Freezeflame blast at her. Tetra did not move, but Link managed to jump just in time and sweep Tetra off the blast radius.
"What the...?" Link asked incredulously. "You can... regenerate?"
"Your precious Princess is not the only one with healing powers, kid." Twinrova explained. "Or how else do you suppose we managed to live all this time?"
"Watching your carbs?" Link asked. This was met by a sharp elbowing from a scowling Tetra.
"Take this seriously! Don't you realize what this means?" Tetra reprimanded. "This battle just turned a corner into frickin' impossible territory."
"Hmm... Impossible? I don't think so." Link said calmly. This was met by a silent, unbelieving stare from Tetra. "Wait, listen. I got this all figured out. It's all in the brooms. See, when we fought the two witches separately, they had powers and were all floaty so long as they were on their brooms, but as soon as they ate dirt, they were helpless. Now most of big ugly's magic has been through the brooms, so we wrangle those out of her hands, and we're facing a worthless foe with minimal magic, even for healing. So what do you think?"
Tetra kept staring at him as though she could not believe what she was hearing. "Honestly? I think it's suicide." She responded flatly. "But I don't see much other options, so... we might as well."
So once again, the pair charged towards Twinrova, zigzagging the quick flame blasts the witch sent to them, and aiming for one of her arms. Once they were close enough, Link stood in front to block Twinrova's incoming fire attack, and as it looked like Twinrova was recovering, Tetra jumped in and used her cutlass to latch on to the large broom and began tugging it away. As soon as he could, Link also jumped in and grabbed hold of the broom and began tugging away. Amazingly, the efforts were successful, and Link and Tetra were holding Twinrova's Fire broom. Discarding the broom, they ran around the huge woman and began working on the Ice broom. However, when they felt success was within their grasp, a fiery blast began honing in on them. Link saw the blast before Tetra, and managed to throw himself on top of her to make her duck out of the way and avoid getting seriously singed.
"It was... worth a try?" Link said meekly after seeing Tetra's annoyed face.
"You fools seem to take us for granted." Twinrova lamented. "You seem to believe we could fall for such foolish tricks, when it was us who trained him. It was us who raised him, gave him his motives, his drive, his bloodthirsty desire. We carved him into legend and destiny. He was ruthless, cunning and strategic, and he owed it all to us."
"He?" Tetra wondered. She turned to Link to see if she could somehow find an answer. "You don't suppose...?"
"He was like he was because we are like that, and so much more!" Twinrova continued, her dual voice starting to grow higher-pitched. "You are nothing compared to what he can do. We shall strip you of your precious powers, Princess, and we will govern the land for a hundred years, so when the time of his revival comes, we will be ready! It will be glorious!"
"He... wait." Tetra interrupted, after finally remembering what she was trying to. "You don't mean... That man is going to return? No, no... After the way we left him last time? There's no way."
"Oh, but there is." Twinrova declared.
"I can't believe that such a thing is going to happen. Not again." Link said, looking more and more worried as time passed. "Ganondorf. He's returning, isn't he?"
"Well, he's not!" Tetra exclaimed. "Not if I can help it! And you..." She directed her attention to Twinrova. "All this talk about creating a better world... I didn't buy it one bit! You're just doing your precious Ganondorf's bidding when it comes down to it. You have all this power and all this knowledge... and all you can think of doing with it is to pave the way for the worst thing that's happened through Hyrule's history?" She stopped for a moment and contemplated at Twinrova's large figure with an expression of disgust and perhaps some pity. She then shook her head and turned away from her opponent. "All the things you've done... and this is your end goal. You truly have no justification. You are proof positive that there can really be truly evil people in this world, people who care for nothing but themselves, with no regard of the pain you cause to others. How can you live like that, with no love in your heart at all, with not even the faintest care in the world? You... you..."
Right then, an ice blast caught Tetra in her back by surprise. "We what?" Twinrova asked the downed princess as she began approaching her. "Save your soapbox speeches, Princess. Nothing you say will make us change our views. You will relinquish your Light Force to us now, and we promise your end will be painless. Now stay calm under that block of ice and... GHACK!"
Just as Twinrova got close to Tetra, a sharp pang of pain ran across the witch's back. Link dropped into the ground and cleaned his sword after attacking Twinrova, and then rushed over to Tetra while their opponent was busy tending to her wounds. With a mighty swing of the sword, he cracked the ice off Tetra's back and freed her. When he took a good look at Tetra's back, however, he did not liked what he saw: several open gashes were exposed thanks to the sharp ice, letting blood slowly flow out and staining the already ragged dress red.
"Link... Are you okay... OW! Ow, ow, ow." Tetra wailed as soon as she stood straight again.
"Easy, Tee. You're bleeding." Link informed her. "Er... can't you heal yourself in cases like this?"
"I... I think I can." Tetra answered through clenched teeth, trying to stand the excruciating pain. "But those wounds are taking all my concentration. Link, could you... cover for me while I recover?"
"Sure." Link nodded with a smile on his face, gripping his sword in a battle position. He quickly turned around just in time to see Twinrova float back up in the air, recently recovered from the wounds Link inflicted her.
"Out of the way, kid!" Twinrova yelled, using the haunting effect of her dual voices to full effect. "Do not anger me any more. I only seek the Princess. You are not my goal, so do not make me destroy you."
"Sorry, but no." Link said, in a completely determined manner. "I made a promise. 'Protect the Princess with your sword and your shield. Do not let her bear this burden alone.' And I intend to fulfill it. Even if it means battling things like you." He raised his shield and prepared his sword and looked down at Twinrova as if reading her out. "I'm your opponent now. So come on, have at me!"
Link then charged right at Twinrova, who was already raising her brooms to prepare her next attack. Link made to jump, which alerted Twinrova and threw her fire blast high, but Link just decided to roll under her, making her miss spectacularly. While beneath Twinrova, Link pulled a spin attack, managing to catch the witch's talons. Before he could do something else, though, Twinrova managed to throw a couple of high kicks that caught Link in the chin and sent him flying some dozen feet and made him land on his gut.
Twinrova saw she had the way clear to catch Tetra, so she approached her target quickly and began chanting a secret incantation. Before she could finish, however, a nut flew down from above her and exploded right on her face, startling her and making her stumble down to the floor again. Link burst into a sprint and, sword in hand, made to attack Twinrova again. Before he could get too close, however, Twinrova pounded the floor, making it crack open and forcing Link to stumble down and slow his progress. Seeing this, Twinrova launched herself from the ground right towards Link and crashed onto him, running him through the ground a couple of yards before finally stopping and lifting him with one of her hands.
"My, my." Twinrova exclaimed, curious as to what she was seeing. "Aren't you handsome? You would do perfectly by our side. What do you say? Join us and reign for a hundred years in the perfect world?"
"Not... a... chance." Link muttered, while grabbing his collar to avoid being strangulated. "I'd never betray Tetra, especially... not... for... YOU!" He suddenly pulled out another Deku Nut and threw it at Twinrova's face, making her squirm and letting him loose. Link landed gracefully, while Twinrova flopped down unceremoniously, after which she stared at Link with a snarling face. "I would drop that face right about now if I were you." Link warned her. Twinrova did not listen, instead making her face all the more menacing. Then, a bright golden light shone from behind her, and it looked brighter by the second. "Too late."
Twinrova turned back just in time to see Tetra's concentrated face and shining yellow eyes moments before a large energy blast hit her right in the arm area. Twinrova spun around in the air for a few seconds before crashing on the floor. Link turned to Tetra, who gave him a reassuring nod... before falling down to her knees in exhaustion.
"Tetra!" Link shouted as he made his way to his tired partner. He knelt before her and propped her arm over his shoulder. "What happened? Why did you...?"
"I guess I used up too much power at once." Tetra suggested, still feeling woozy. "I feel weak. I don't know if I can..."
"You musn't give up!" Link snapped back, trying to psyche her back into the fight. "Not now that we're this close. I'm tired, too. I can admit it's becoming harder for me to get up every time I'm thrown to the floor, but I'll still do it... a hundred times over if I need to. So come on, we gotta..."
"YEAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!" A shrill, creepy scream enveloped the room and shocked Link and Tetra to look around and see where did it come from. Then they saw Twinrova, still down on the floor, looking in shock and fear at her own right arm, bright red and pulsating, and showing no signs of actual recovery. "Our arm... We cannot... We tried, but... That... magic... it must've..." Twinrova spoke amidst the pain, incapable of forming complete sentences. Slowly but surely, her gaze turned to where Link and Tetra were, and her expression had turned into one of deepest hatred and spite.
Despite the mother of all evil eyes that he was getting, Link found reason to celebrate. "Is that what I think it is? Tetra, look. She can't heal from that attack. She has a weakness. By Din, the witch has a weakness!"
"Yeah... Great." Tetra answered, though not in the best of moods. "There's just one problem with that."
"What? What could be the...?" Link started asking, but then he turned to Tetra, and he noticed how she was still trying to recover from her last attack. "Oh... yeah. We're not gonna see a repeat of that anytime soon, are we?" Link wondered, to which Tetra shook her head solemnly. "Well, that stinks. Unless we can think up some other way to give her some energy medicine, we have to think something else for... wait."
"What?" Tetra asked. It was to no avail, though, since Link was doing his own deliberations on his own mind, making her wonder what he was going to suggest now.
"... And then she fell. That's it!" Link exclaimed with a mischievous smile on his face. "Tetra, can you get up?"
"Well... yeah, I think I can now." Tetra answered.
"Then I need you to fight. Get right in front of the witch and battle her head-on."
"What are you, crazy?" Tetra complained. "I feel weak. I'm not going to hold my own against her. She'll murder me if I let her, and you're asking me..."
"I'm asking you..." Link interrupted her, grabbing hold of her hands while meeting her eyes directly in a serious and determined gaze. Meanwhile in the background, Twinrova was forcing herself to work past the pain and trying to stand up. "... to trust me. I'm not gonna abandon you here or anything. We're just gonna have to split now, but if this works, and I have a good feeling it will, we're gonna have that abomination there on a silver platter. This is just like the beginning, remember?"
"I draw her out..." Tetra started.
"... And I nail her." Link finished.
Seeing Link like this, Tetra could do nothing but smile away and nod in approval. Link smiled in return and, helping her get back up to her feet, he gave Tetra her cutlass that was lying on the floor and ran off to another location far away from her.
"Well, time to work..." Tetra mumbled to herself. She then cleared her throat and, with her cutlass firmly gripped on her hands, she spoke louder in the direction of the wounded Twinrova. "Hey! Big, green and ugly! I don't even know what this monstrosity is called, but I know you shouldn't even exist! I once fought four ugly witch sisters, but MAN, you beat all four of them with your face alone!" Tetra's mean spirited taunts were working: Twinrova was getting more and more enraged, making the witch forgo her great pain and finally stand up completely. She then summoned her two brooms back on her hands and floated up and close to where Tetra was. "So what? You're gonna fight me? Then fight me!"
Twinrova did not need to be invited twice. Using her Ice broom as a sword, she took a first swing against Tetra, who quickly blocked the strike with her cutlass. Then Tetra started to throw swing after swing to try and get Twinrova, but every time, the witch was ready with a block. After each swing, Tetra was feeling weaker and weaker, but suddenly, Twinrova stopped and contorted her face in a severely painful position. When Tetra looked around, Link was on Twinrova's opposite side, and he had just sliced a small gash on the witch's throbbing red arm. Twinrova did not dwell on the pain much, however, and spun to meet her new assailant with a quick swing of her Fire broom, to which Link responded with a shield bash to swat her strike away and a swing of his own sword. Sadly, his sword fell short by so little and gave Twinrova the chance to recover and block any more incoming strikes. Swing for swing, Link and Twinrova were pretty equal and seemingly at a standstill.
Tetra knew this was her chance to stir things up, so she readied her cutlass for a mighty stab and let out a battle cry. This battle cry alerted Twinrova just in time to avoid anything from either side and refocus her fight with Tetra. Now, instead of locking herself on a sword fight, Twinrova just quickly pointed her Ice broom at Tetra and let out a blast at point-blank range. Tetra extended her arms as if trying to block the incoming blast and winced as she braced for impact...
But nothing happened.
Twinrova looked at her targed with a completely dumbfounded face. She could not believe she had just seen her Ice blast simply disappear right in front of her without doing the smallest amount of damage. It was just impossible. Tetra looked as surprised as Twinrova for a moment, but then she calmed down and looked like nothing had happened.
"We see your little games." Twinrova said, pointing to the two people in front of her, while retreating to a wall. "You two think we'll just fall for your parlor tricks, right? That you'll win if we cannot see you, right? Well, you haven't seen everything we can offer. You fought an honorable fight, but it ends now." She then extended her arms, and all around the walls of the sacrificial room, the red and blue flames serving as lighting jumped from their places and approached the middle point of the room, severely cutting the room's footing to half and bringing about an eerie ambiance about the room.
"BEHOLD! THE TRUE TERROR OF TWINROVA!"
Just as Twinrova said those words, the flames grew taller and more unruly, shooting miniature flames and blocks of ice all around the arena. The miniature red flames dispersed into four smaller jet streams running on the floor, while the ice blocks stuck on the floor and froze the ground near their landing area and shooting off tiny icicles. Link and Tetra already had a reduced fighting space due to the circle of flames, now they had to deal with these random interruptions.
"Now this is just great!" Link sneered while trying to avoid the hailfire rain. "How are we supposed to do anything here? What's next, huh?"
"DUCK!" Tetra yelled out as she pulled Link down to a safe spot in the ground before Twinrova could run him over. When they looked up, they could see Twinrova turning around and pointing her Fire broom at them, so they dived in opposite directions to avoid any blast. Instead of the standard blast, however, a small energy ball was shot and entered the floor, creating fissures and hot steam from underneath and making it harder to breathe and to see forward.
"Te... [COUGH! COUGH!] ...tra!" Link tried to call out to Tetra, whom he just had lost direct contact with.
"I'm... [COUGH!] ...here!" Tetra answered not too far away from Link. "Can you... [COUGH!] ...see Twinrova?"
"No! I... [COUGH!] ...can't see anything." Link responded. He then saw a shadow approaching him rapidly. "Wait... wait!"
Before he could do anything, Link was picked up and flung into the air by Twinrova, who used the steams to conceal herself. Spinning wildly, Link couldn't really do anything except wait for Twinrova to get to him and attack him, but somehow, he was being left alone... which he dreaded even more. He started falling down, and it looked like he was heading directly to the flames, when he was swept off by a speeding witch. "No, that's too easy." Twinrova decided. "You've given us too big a headache to give you such a merciful death." She then swooped down to the ground and picked up Tetra before rising back up. "I want you to be alive so you can witness the beginning of our new era... the era of Twinrova!"
Twinrova then began to squeeze her left hand where Tetra was trapped, making the princess squeal in agony. "TETRA!" Link screamed, trying to free himself from Twinrova's grasp. Meanwhile, Twinrova did not turn her gaze from Tetra, and her face was giddy with anticipation over the end result of her plan. She squeezed Tetra again, making her let out another painful scream, and then she squeezed once more, this time for a longer time, just to watch Tetra's horror-stricken face as she let out anguished screams.
"YOU! LET HER GO! NOW!" Link screamed at Twinrova, trying to sound as menacing as a young guy trapped in an impossible situation could.
"Or what?" Twinrova questioned, never once turning her gaze to the green-clad boy. "You're going to wriggle some more? Be our guest. But the time for games is over. We will not allow any more of your roughhousing, so don't even think of escaping."
"You know..." Link said, thinking quickly that there must be a way to escape this one, and if brute force wasn't going to do it... "I've been thinking why did you have such a glaring weakness."
"Weakness?" Twinrova wondered, and finally turned to meet Link face to face. "Us? You must be mistaken."
"Oh, but you do." Link restated, starting to form up an idea. "You have problems when we fight you in opposite directions. You can't concentrate on what I'm doing when Tetra's fighting you, and vice-versa. Why, when you have such powers? Simple! It's me!"
"You?" Twinrova scoffed at the mere suggestion. "Don't be ridiculous. Why, you're unimportant to..."
"That's just it, isn't it." Link explained. "You thought I was unimportant. You probably thought I was going to sink with the ship, no? Or that the redeads were going to get me? Or that I wouldn't be able to put up a fight against you? Yet here I am. I am that which you didn't predict. I am the wild card that can bring down your whole plan. You focus so much on the princess, yet you never batted an eye to me, and you're blind to what I can do."
As he spoke, Twinrova's face started to transform into an angrier and angrier tone. He was indeed right, as she did not take into account that Link could even make it that far. She had thought about it, but when she saw into Link's past exploits, she noticed how the Triforce of Courage was with him, and she believed that was the only reason for his previous victories. Now, she had to deal with an unexpected change, and hope for the best for her cause. "Well, humor us, then." She said, still trying to maintain her controlled façade. "What can you do?"
"Well... how about... THIS!" Link yelled, surprising Twinrova into loosening him just enough for him to parry his way out of her grasp and strike a significant blow on her large head. Link immediately grabbed hold of a couple of loose strands of Twinrova's clothes in her back and used them to swing himself back up to her front and reach Tetra. He then stabbed the arm twice before Twinrova would relinquish Tetra away, and just before the large witch crashed on the ground, Link and Tetra jumped off.
"Are you ok? Any broken bones? How's your back?" Link started asking Tetra as soon as he could after landing. "How many fingers am I holding?"
"Quit it, Link!" Tetra reprimanded her partner. "I'm... I'll be okay. I'll need like five weeks of rest after this, but so long as we finish this, I'll be okay." Just then, Tetra could see Twinrova reincorporating herself. "I think we should get a move on. Any ideas, partner?"
"Just one, partner." Link said, preparing her sword and shield. "Divide and conquer."
Then, before Twinrova could gain any advantage, Link and Tetra ran to opposite sides of her and readied themselves for battle once more. Twinrova saw this, and became enraged. "You'd think we'd fall for that again? You are truly fools, aren't you? Well then, prepare yourselves!"
Just then, Twinrova floated on the air right between them, perfectly sideways in between the two, and brandishing her brooms like swords. Before leveling up to where her opponents were, Twinrova crossed her brooms and powered them up, unleashing an area effect of either deep freeze or intense heat to anybody nearby. Link and Tetra exchanged worried looks upon seeing this, but neither showed signs of backing up now, so they braced themselves for the worst. Twinrova descended, Link and Tetra readied their blades, and then in one swift movement, the three were locked in the fight of their lives.
A suffocating, burning heat. A bone-chilling, crippling freeze. An unsuspected amount of pressure. The three locked in battle experienced all these things in a great manner. As Link parried and skipped around to try and go beyond the witch's range, he could barely hold on to his sword and shield due to their increasing heat, and he could almost swear his boots were beginning to melt away. Tetra tried her best to block any advances made by her opponent, but every time her bones and her joints were hurting more and more, and that tiara seemed like it was tightening around her head. For Twinrova, she was still incapable of making the other two relent, as it turned out that her worries were true: with her attention split between the two, she could not do a complete offensive against either, but she knew that as soon as she turned her back to any of the two, she was going to be in a disadvantage.
In an unusually long lock, Link was getting the full burnt of the flames on top of him. The smell of singed hair was starting to catch his nose. His eyes were drying up, his sweat was covering him entirely and his lungs could not take the air shortage anymore. He wanted to continue, but the Fire broom was becoming too much to handle. Just then, the heat simply disappeared, its red and orange glow replaced by a white shine. It took him a moment to realize, but Link noticed that Twinrova had just turned around and switched gears. At first, the cold was a refreshing change of pace which allowed him more movement and air, but he quickly started to tremble and shiver. The imposing cold was taking a toll on his concentration, and his sweat was turning into ice that hampered any sort of movement he had. He was no longer trying to get the jump on Twinrova. Link was now trying everything his body allowed him just to survive.
The sudden shift from ice to fire initially felt good for Tetra, but she quickly found herself coughing again, trying to catch a decent breath. Her joints were feeling looser, and that moment of change gave her enough advantage to be on the offensive, but she quickly found out she was diving right into an inferno. As if trying to play inside an oven, as if peering into the dark soul of Evil personified, this flame felt like it could consume all and burn you to a crisp if you let it. She tried to work through the heat, but the flames and their enveloping glow and heat were taxing on her. She needed to try and find a way to counterattack, and soon. She was not just about to give up, not when she knew just how much was at stake now.
They were still fighting. Twinrova could hardly believe it, but these two were still fighting. She pressed her flames and her frost against them, and still they stood. At points, the two looked like they were doing nothing other than simply block and hold their ground instead of trying to go on the offensive, but that just wasn't enough for her. She wanted them down on their backs, tired and with no further drive to fight. She wanted to destroy them before she had the personal pleasure to end their lives. She wanted to set an example through them to anybody who dared oppose her in the future. No matter how much she wanted these things, though, the truth was these two were being overly resilient. She twisted and turned around, shifting from fire to ice and from ice to fire constantly and hoping to break them by the sudden, constant shift of the elements. She expected the constant pressure of the flames and the freezing temperatures of the ice to stop them cold, but there they were, still up and still putting up a fight. Quite honestly, this was frustrating Twinrova greatly.
"Why? Why? WHY?" Twinrova asked again and again amidst the desperate struggle. "Why do you keep fighting when the inevitable will happen? Why do you seek to continue this quest when everything will someday die and be destroyed? Why continue, when your bodies ache and your limbs cannot stay up any longer? What keeps giving you strength, strength you should have used up so long ago? Why, we ask. Why?"
"Because!" Link answered in between tittering breaths. "We believe in a future. We believe the world can get better, and they can learn from the past and become greater than before. We believe that we can stand united against everything that comes our way, just like we have in the past, and how we expect to happen in the future. And it's because of that that we will keep fighting until the very end! No matter what!"
"You... believe?" Twinrova asked, almost feeling like she didn't know the meaning of the word, or how did he use it. "You believe... Ha! That is to laugh! Your world will fall into oblivion even if we do nothing to it. And you shall be the first ones on that path!" Suddenly, Twinrova spun around and created a temporal shield around her and faced the green-clad hero. Link saw this and braced for impact with his shield, but it was not enough to stop Twinrova's fast punch, which knocked him off and made him skid dangerously close to the flame walls. Before Link could react, Twinrova turned around and faced Tetra, who was suddenly overwhelmed by having the witch's undivided attention. "Your turn, Princess. Try and absorb this." Twinrova said. Instead of a punch, though, she pointed both brooms directly at Tetra's chest area. Then, without warning, a mixed Freezeflame shot emerged from the brooms at point-blank range.
"NOOOOOOOO! TEEEE!" Link screamed.
He could do nothing but witness how the shot exploded into a bright light.
How it blew Tetra's body high in the air.
How Tetra landed with a bone-crushing thud on the ground.
How her body limped there... motionless.
"Now then, let's retrieve the Light Force before it's too late." Twinrova said as she approached Tetra's body, beginning to mutter her secret incantation.
"You..." Link muttered, struggling to stand up. He picked up his sword and his shield and breathed deeply, trying to focus on what he had to do. He had to focus on... on...
"Link! Get your butt back up!"
"Aaah! Get off me, Link!"
"Let's go, Link."
"Link..."
"Liiiiiink!"
"LINK!"
...
"Thank you, Link. For everything."
"Oh?" Twinrova asked casually, looking in full control once more. "You're still alive? What are you supposed to do now that everything you worked for is gone? Where are your beliefs? What CAN you do?"
"I... I..." Link stuttered, trying to get his head on right. Then in a flash, he jumped to a sprint with newfound strength, and with the darkest, most angered face he had ever allowed himself to have, he dashed straight to Twinrova with his sword ready to strike. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
Link's anger-fueled frenzy gave him such speed that Twinrova was not able to stop him as he jumped right to her legs. Link then climbed up to her hip, and then up to her shoulder. Twinrova tried to swat the frenzied kid away, but he hopped up before she could touch him and gave a good swing at her head. Link then threw his three remaining Deku Nuts at her, blinding her and giving him free reign to cut her up good. He took this opportunity and kicked Twinrova's brooms away and hopped all over her body, stabbing away at every hop. Twinrova found the strength and the chance to shake the guy off and she swung her hands wildly to make him go on the defensive. Link then raised his shield to avoid the large fists and charged his spin move for the perfect moment.
But the moment never arrived.
Twinrova stopped her offensive just short of the big point, shifting her gaze from Link to what was behind him. Link was first too focused on attacking to notice, but then he saw there was something wrong for Twinrova to stop attacking.
"Link..."
I must be going crazy, Link thought. His imagination must be playing games with him. For the briefest of times, he thought he had heard the voice of...
"Link..."
If that was Link's imagination, it must be a pretty vivid one. He decided to turn and see the source of the voice. What he saw shocked and amazed him.
It was Tetra.
Struggling, but standing up.
The front of her princess clothes were shredded.
And half hidden in her clothes... was the Mirror Shield.
It was shining, full with power.
"... Move." Tetra warned Link in a raspy voice, her head still looking down.
Link did not need to be told twice, and ran out of the way between Tetra and Twinrova. When the large witch saw what the revived princess had hidden under her clothes, she was horrified. The last time she saw a shield like that, she was attacked and weakened beyond the stretches of her powers, becoming reduced to a spirit. "No... how did you power this up?"
Tetra then raised her gaze, showing her bright yellow eyes staring down at Twinrova's eyes. She grabbed the Mirror Shield with her left hand, which had the Magical Glove, and it gave a soft white glow that extended towards the shield. "You helped me." Tetra answered.
Tetra's golden glow flooded the entire room and the Mirror Shield was filled with a glow of its own. Her eyes, bright yellow due to the intensity of the power, leered at Twinrova with the intensity only reserve to a person she deeply hated. When the Shield had reached its critical point, Tetra held tightly to it and braced her feet to the ground. The last thing Twinrova could do was open her eyes wide in a manned she had not tried in hundreds of years.
The blast was powerful and intense beyond description.
Twinrova was shot right at her chest area. The power of the blast was so great that it lifted her all the way to the high ceiling, making her crash with great force onto the cave-like rock formation. The strength of the blast was so much that she remained suspended, being crushed between the rock and the energy shot. The capacity of the blast was so that it ran Twinrova through the ceiling, through the rocks and the stalactites, carving a new design to it with her body.
And then, the energy of the Mirror Shield ended. The blast could no longer hold Twinrova on the air, and the beaten witch fell down, spinning out of control, and finding herself without the ability to summon her powers of her brooms to stop anything. And then... she fell, knee first.
[CRACK!]
The sound of Twinrova's legs breaking was absolutely sickening. It was so bad that Link, who has seen and slain many creatures, couldn't help but wince and turn his head away when it happened. "Man, that's a bad way to go." he commented. After this attack, almost all lights, including the flames and Tetra's glow, regressed, save for the two original flames in the beginning, turning the room back into its original low lighting
The loud clanging of metal alerted Link of one other matter: Tetra. Despite using a great deal of energy to give Twinrova a good what for, she did not seem too tired. Instead, she looked relieved that she was finally able to loosen that shield off the straps she made. (She's covered in her usual purple shirt, in case any pervert was wondering.) "Heh... took some to conceal that." She confessed to Link, noticing that he was approaching her. "I thought Dante was going to be its victim. Never had the chance to, though."
Link shook his head in disbelief when he wrapped his head on all that this implied. "You... you kept the shield all this time. And here I though it was lost to the desert. Oh, well... I'm just glad you're all right. You gave me quite a scare back there."
"Sorry, but that thing really did knock me out for a few seconds." Tetra said, passing her hand over her rustled hair. "I still have a headache over it."
Link couldn't help but chuckle over it. He started reminiscing over what had just happened, and the fact that they were basically done. "Look at us."
Tetra took a good look at Link and herself. There was not a part of their bodies that was not untouched. Every part of themselves screamed 'war-torn'. "Beaten. Battered. Bruised. Bloodied. Burned. Broken."
"Black-eyed." Link added, showing the black eye he got from the punch.
"Black-eyed, yeah." Tetra acknowledged. "Battle-torn. But bested the beast. Boy, when we remember this in the future..."
"And... it's not... over yet!"
Link and Tetra turned around as soon as they heard that raspy and labored voice. On the ground was still Twinrova, in all her broken splendor, looking positively burned and defeated, and her skin was almost entirely bright red, but somehow still breathing and conscious enough to speak smack at the pair by her.
"You?" Link wondered how was it that Twinrova could still be alive. "Why won't you die?"
"We cannot die." Twinrova said in between labored breaths. "You cannot kill us... not with that amount of power alone... No, you'd need something... at least ten times as strong... but you cannot, so..." Twinrova stopped for a moment as she contorted her face in various painful positions, but letting out no sound. "Accursed Princess... We cannot move now... it's taking all of our strength... not to give in to the despair of pain... But we can still regenerate... and we will rebuild our bones... and our skin... It will take a long time... but we shall seek greater power... and we shall destroy you... We will leave nothing to chance... You will pay!"
Link and Tetra looked at each other, their looks of worry echoed in the other. "It's true." Tetra whispered. "It's scary, but she would do it. So long as she's alive." Tetra then turned around and noticed something on the floor almost shrouded by the darkness. It was the Ancient Hyrulian Book, which had somehow survived this onslaught, with the final loose page inside, sticking out slightly. Tetra opened the book and re-read the final loose page, which spoke of how to transfer the Light Force to someone else, but it also made a quick mention of the extent of the Light Force's power. She then looked at her left arm, which had the Magical Glove which, despite being dirty, did not have any significant signs of damage. She then remembered the words of a note she found a long time ago, almost as if it was yesterday.
"Alone, they can enhance... but together, their power will be increased tenfold..." Tetra thought it over, but she couldn't find another way around it. Thus, she made her decision. "Link... I have to ask you to do something." She said. She hesitantly raised her left hand towards Link. "Please... hold my hand. Don't let go." Link did not understand what she was thinking about, but he saw that, at least, she needed his support right now, so he obliged and raised his right hand to meet with Tetra's.
"Listen... I know how to end this." Tetra explained. Her voice sounded very gloomy as she spoke, though. "I have the power to do it, and the gloves will help greatly. But..." She hesitated to continue, for she knew what was coming next. She sighed deeply, and took a deep breath before continuing. "But... doing so... could kill us, too." Tetra dropped her gaze and let her hair cover her face at this point. She really did not have any other alternative at hand, and she hated asking Link to help her in this. "It's not guaranteed we could die, but... the power I need is so great, and it's going to be dangerous... but also, I can't just let that thing alive. If I could think of something else... but I..."
Tetra was stopped by a familiar feeling: a warm squeezing of the hand by Link. The green-clad hero just looked at Tetra with a warm and honest smile and shook his head lightly. "I'm never letting go." He declared.
Tetra raised her head after hearing this. She could see, with that one act, just how far was Link ready to go just for her. Seeing that, she couldn't help but shed a tear. She was ready to do what she had to do, with the necessary help by her side... but she felt she needed to do something first. "Link..." She began, speaking in almost a whisper, and forcing Link to pay attention. "I... before we finish this... I wanted to tell you something, well, for so long already, but somehow I just couldn't. And, well... I just wanted to say it... you know, before the end."
Link looked firmly at Tetra, rapt with attention. He understood every word she had told him, and nodded silently in confirmation, deciding to wait for Tetra to say what she had wanted to say for so long. Then, without warning, without a single word uttered...
... she kissed him.
In that one kiss, All of Tetra's emotions shone through in their purest of ways. All her fears, all her pride, all her worries, all her anxiousness, all of her happiness... all her love. In that one kiss, Tetra had told Link more than she could have told her with mere words.
The kiss was wondrous, but sadly short. When Tetra and Link stepped back, they were undoubtedly pink in the face, but they would also not dare to break the eye-lock, or lower their silly smiles. Link then cleaned the stream of tears that was forming on Tetra's cheek with his own sleeve. However, an agonizing groan of pain helped them return to what could be their last act together. Link and Tetra turned around to face Twinrova, who was still breathing shallow and concentrating on not letting the anguishing pain control her. Tetra gripped tightly on Link's hand, making sure he was still there at that important moment, and just as he promised, he was still there.
"Ready?" Tetra asked.
"Ready." Link answered concisely.
"Wait..." Twinrova beseeched.
There was no turning back. Tetra had already tapped into the depths of her Light Force for the biggest power she could unleash.
"No... stop!" Twinrova pleaded.
Tetra began to shine in a powerful white glow. This glow grew stronger and stronger until it lighted up a good deal of the large room.
"Stop... you'll kill yourselves!" Twinrova inplored.
Tetra and Link then raised their hands, and the Magical Gloves began to shine like they had not shone before. Its powerful glow enhanced the glow of the Light Force, concentrating its power on the two people with the gloves.
"Rethink this, Princess!" Twinrova yelled.
In that very crucial moment, When the final moments were at the doorsteps, Tetra had a sudden memory of a time gone by:
FLASHBACK
"Before you go to sleep, I wanna tell you something, Tetra."
"What, mom? Don't look so strange now, it weirds me out."
"I've always said you had a special potential. Well, you gotta know you have a great power that nobody else has. This great power could change the world if you set yourself to it. You will come to understand this great power in the future, so don't shun it. Please, do not let anybody take control of that power or of yourself. You can achieve great things if you set your mind to it, Tetra. All you have to do... is believe."
FLASHBACK END
And with one final glare at the entity that had caused her so much suffering, Tetra let out one last tear and uttered just two words:
"I believe."
"No... No... NOOOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO!"
Twinrova's final screech of pain echoed on the walls as the blinding glow of the Light Force's legendary power enveloped the entire room. The witch tried one last desperate attempt to stop the attack, but her power was simply not enough to block anything of that magnitude. Twinrova's body crumbled and disintegrated into nothingness, ending her long era of terror on the seas.
The walls cracked. The ceiling rumbled. Rocks fell and broke into many debris. The Witches' Keep was falling to the ground, having no more influence for its former tenants. The Sacrificial Circle was broken precisely in half. Its intricately designed rooms gave way to the tremendous force and gave in to the weight of the rocks above. The columns that were supposed to bring support broke and fell away. Before long, the very cave itself started to shift and go down, cracking around the sides and the top and letting out the light of the Light Force to the outside world.
The power of the Light Force was so great, that even the land of New Hyrule was affected. Men and women who had braved to go outside witnessed how the debris of what was once Waarheid were being lifted from the ground by a strange white light and, as if by magic, they disappeared in the skies. Part by part, the destruction and despair that was left by those in charge of the land was cleansed, both physically and emotionally. Abandoned buildings and debris gave way to green pastures, colorful flowers and tall trees. There was fresh air once more, and the people slowly started to remember how life was before Waarheid. The Spirit Tracks were uncovered once more, and its zig-zag shaped roads shone with a pleasant glow that reassured the people that this was quite unlike the dark structures that were before.
Further north, the Abandoned Castle received some of the Light Force as well. Its dull and creepy walls were brightened up once more, its unused furniture was rid of its dust and grime, and every part, from the dungeons to the highest tower, was cleansed of its mold and became livable again. When it was over, the Abandoned Castle was shining brightly, a complete contrast to how it looked before, and a sight to behold for the wayward people looking for a sign of hope.
It was rustic. It was small. It lacked the magnitude or sheer sophistication that Waarheid had. But this land was blessed in plentiful ways that Waarheid could only wish. And as the historians of the land wrote down for the following generations: "On that day, Hyrule was reborn."
All it needed... was its ruler.
It was a spotless white scenery. The only thing that was distinguishable from all the whiteness was the odd mist that made seeing at long distances tough. In this strange white area, Tetra found herself laying face down on the floor. She was tired and visibly spent, what with the ragged dress stained with blood, her dirty face and her unkempt hair. She could barely recognize the book she was holding on her right hand, even. She even had trouble opening her eyes, doing so with an audible groan as her eyes adjusted to the brightness around her. She did a quick survey of the area, but before she could wonder where she was, she had a more pressing matter in her mind.
"[GASP!] Link!" Tetra exclaimed, opening her eyes wide. She turned her face around to her left side to see if she could see anything, and sure enough, there he was. Link was also laying down on the ground face up, unconscious but breathing clearly. Tetra then noticed something special: Link's right arm was outstretched, his hand tightly clasped on Tetra's left hand, and despite his current condition, it showed no signs of leaving that position.
He never let go.
Tetra, still amazed of this unlikely feat, struggled to get up to her knees. Then, without losing her grip from Link's hand, she crawled the short distance to where Link lay. There, she knelt beside him, and keeping his hand between both her hands, she decided to wait there until he could regain consciousness.
"Guh... Wha..."
Link started opening his eyes laboriously. He groaned weakly as light filtered into his corneas, and his mind was just adjusting to the world of the conscious. His bad eye was not helping matters here much, either. As he opened his eyes, though, there was a strange form that was blocking much of the brightness in front of him. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see Tetra looking back at him, her face filed with anxious expectation, slowly drawing a smile after seeing him wake up.
"Whoa..." Link muttered upon seeing this unusual sight. "Well... this view, I could get used to it." This made Tetra chuckle a bit and shake her head playfully. "Help me up." Link asked, to which Tetra happily obliged, though not without some effort due to their aching bodies. It was then that Link was finally able to see that they were no longer locked in the deep, dark room facing certain doom, but instead in a relatively save location. "So... it's finally over."
"Yes. Yes it is." Tetra concurred. Indeed, there was no more fighting, no more struggling, no more questing and no more searching for lost relics. All the adventuring was over, yes, but with it the pains and worries of it were gone as well. None of those things mattered now, not anymore. Right there, in that small moment of time, there was only the infinity of the pure white background to stare at, and there were only Link and Tetra visible within the confines of their respective sights. Sitting side by side, Link and Tetra could not help looking directly into each other, their eyes projecting an indescribable sense coming form deep withing their hearts. Slowly but certainly, their heads began to move forward, toward each other, their arms wrapping around each other and their eyes slowly closing.
Just then, something odd caught Tetra's eyes. She raised her head in alert and looked towards the horizon. It took some, but within the mist, she was certain she could see an odd formation almost like a mountain slanted to the left. The weirdest thing about it was that this 'mountain' looked like it was approaching them. Tetra looked around to see if any other such mountains were approaching from different sides, but seeing that there were no others, she went for her cutlass... only to find it wasn't there. Fearing the worst, and feeling a tad too weak to even try to use any magical powers, she stared over to the mountain and braced for what was to arrive. Then...
"Captain?"
Tetra's eyes widened. Was she really hearing what she thought she just heard? No, it must've been a mistake, she thought. She thought all this fighting and all that's happened must be making her hear things. She was really tired too, so that was also a...
"Captain! It is you!"
And then she heard it again. There was no mistaking it. The voice was as clear as it could be. Link turned around, as he also heard the voice that second time, just in time to see the shadowy 'mountain' take form as it approached. From the mist, the short and buck-toothed frame of Niko appeared, apparently just waiting to see with his own eyes before finally sprinting into a mad dash. Behind him, Mako, Senza, Gonzo, Zuko and Nudge appeared, all having equally surprised and happy looks upon them.
"You guys..." Tetra whispered, seeing her entire crew in front of her. She was clearly as surprised as the guys looked. Then, Tetra found the strength to stand up and, pushing Link aside, ran up to the crew. "YOU GUYS!" She screamed to the top of her lungs as she went to hug Niko, who was closest, followed by the rest of them in order. Link shook off his stumble and his tiredness and also went to greet the reformed crew.
"Link! Buddy! Where were you?" Niko swamped his favorite partner with inquiries and all sorts of things that only he could go on and say in a moment like this.
"Hey, don't hog the man all for yourself!" Senza said, picking up Link from where he was to give him the mother of all bear hugs, almost crushing him in a way nobody else could. "You did it, Link. You and Miss Tetra finished this whole thing. I knew you could! I always did!"
Amidst the forceful hug, Link could only chuckle weakly and shrug it off.
Then, Tetra finally came to grips with what was happening here, and stepped back to look at the crew she had most certainly hugged and held, confirming they were not pass-through. "Wait... but you guys... you were..."
"... Dead." Gonzo finished solemnly. "We know."
"But then..." She turned around and looked at the bright white place they were, and she remembered there was only one other place she has seen such a place. She then looked at Link with a worried look in her face. "We're also... Were we transported to the Spirit Realm?"
"Spirit Realm? No!" Nudge denied his captain's worries. "This is most definitely not the Spirit Realm, and even if it were, we're definitely not permanent residents."
"Besides, does the Spirit Realm have sand for ground?" Niko explained, scooping sand from the misty ground and showing it to Tetra and Link in all its fine grain glory.
Link and Tetra were clearly confused with how this was looking. Link looked at all the mist and all the brightness and went over to the pirates to ask them something. "But then... where are we?" Tetra asked, speaking above Link and making the poor hero sigh in defeat.
"A beach." Zuko explained. "Ocean's just south of here."
"But how did you get here? You look very alive to me." Tetra questioned, once again speaking before Link could utter a sound.
"You know, that's the weird thing." Nudge said, twisting his head as he reminisced about the events that led them there. "I certainly remember being crushed by that golem Dante thing. Very heavy thing, literally. But then, a green light appeared before me and told me I was getting another chance."
"Green?" Mako wondered, looking at Nudge incredulously. "I saw a blue light."
"Red..." Zuko interjected.
"Irregardless!" Nudge shouted, trying to avoid unnecessary confrontation. "That light told me it promised the princess that they'd give life again to those that died in their cause. Just then, I opened my eyes and I was well, but I was still under the ocean. I almost drowned there, but I felt a rope near me and I grabbed it without thinking, and then... Whoosh! I was pulled right out of the sea and into a small ship captained by that guy. You know, the one that groveled at your feet, Link."
"Linebeck, I think his name was." Mako said, not really seeing Link was ready to answer. Link just shook his head and shrugged away, thinking it best to just stay quiet for the time being. Then, as the mist began to recede and as the bright whiteness started to die off, something caught his eye.
"I remember that." Niko said, living the moment once more on his mind. "It was scary. To think I was about to drown twice in one day. And that rope just kept going up and up... I thought I would go desperate trying to breathe again. But now I'm here so it's all okay."
"This is incredible." Tetra limited herself to saying that in response to the amazing story. "Did they really... what, Link?" She asked, annoyed that she was interrupted so suddenly. Link simply pointed over to the direction of the ocean. The mists were clearing up and the brightness was giving way to the natural blue of the sky and ocean and the sand's rich yellow. And near the horizon of the sea, there was a view nobody thought they'd be able to see: Linebeck's ship was sailing away with the slick-haired captain at its helm, and apparently looking at the direction of the beach the pirates were on. On top of the ship in particular were three women, dressed in strikingly different clothes: one in green, one in blue and one in red, and apparently talking amongst themselves.
"I kept my promise. I returned." Linebeck whispered towards his faraway friends in the coast.
Tetra, Link and the pirates just kept staring at the ship with stupefied looks. "Paint my hair pink and call me Wendy. They really did it." Tetra whispered.
"So!" Niko said, breaking the awkwardness of the situation. "Anyway, we're back together, just like old times. Of course, the Captain's now the princess, and the ship is still resting on the bottom of the ocean, so it's not like old times, but that's not what matters! So what's next, Captain?"
Tetra's eyes widened. Thanks to Niko she remembered something she had planned to do, something she dreaded, but she knew she had to do sooner or later. She took a few steps away from the crew, giving her back to them and lowering her head. "I've put this off for far too long." She whispered to herself. "Guys... I regret to inform you that this is the end. I want to thank you for everything that you've done for me and for your loyalty these past five years. However, as you can see, I am now starting a new chapter in my life. I will no longer be able to be captain of a band of pirates, honorable as you guys have proven to be. So... as my last act as captain, I appoint Gonzo to be your new captain."
"What?"
"No!"
"Miss Tetra..."
"C'mon, Captain."
"I'm not your captain anymore!" Tetra shouted exasperated, forming her hands into tight fists. "I'm the Princess of Hyrule. The sea is not my home anymore. I'll miss it, I admit... but that is not my future. If you want, I can help you get a new ship, but that's the extent of what I can do for you. Now, anything else, that's what Gonzo's for."
For a few moments, there was silence on the beach. The six pirates looked at each other awkwardly, with their new captain, Gonzo, incapable of reasonably knowing what to do or say. Tetra, her back still turned to the rest, shut her eyes tightly and grabbed her forearm, desperately wishing that it would all just end now. Link, feeling lost in all this, stood in between Tetra and the pirates, not knowing whether to go for the crew or for his princess.
"Excuse me, Captain." Senza spoke, moving in front of Gonzo. "Miss Tetra, do you remember the first time you told us about this whole thing? When you showed us that book in the first place? We knew this was going to end your pirate career, but we never backed down. We never decided to leave you just like that. We stuck to the end because, and I believe I speak for all of us here, we think this was more than just any other pirate gang. This was family. You are our family. Well, when one watches you grow from that small and energetic kid you were to the fine young lady you are right now... one kinda grows attached to each other, no?" The others nodded after Senza finished speaking.
"I guess what Senza's trying to say is..." Gonzo stepped in. "... if you're not going to be a pirate anymore, then we're not going to be pirates anymore, either."
Tetra turned around slowly, her face in complete surprise over what she had just heard. She had to see for herself if what Gonzo and the rest were saying was true. Indeed, not a single face of doubt was within the crew that looked back at her, instead looking rather determined and confident in their decision. "You're... serious, aren't you?"
"Oh, Captain, my captain!" Niko said, standing straight up and saluting Tetra by placing his right hand in his chest.
"Oh, Captain, my captain!" Mako repeated, mimicking Niko's actions.
"Oh, Captain, my captain!" Gonzo said as well, using the same moves as the other two.
"Oh, Captain, my captain!" Senza repeated it all as well.
"Oh, Captain, my captain!" So did Zuko.
"Oh, Captain, my captain!" And Nudge, last but not least.
Tetra was taken aback. Sometimes she herself forgot the depths of her crew's loyalty and their developed status as more than just shipmates. "I just can't seem to find a way to get rid of you guys, can I?" She said, chuckling in happiness and relief. In the end, despite all that had happened, despite all their hardships, all their suffering, and all they had to go through, the small crew of eight that once sailed the seas for treasure and adventure were reunited, to be the pioneers of a new world. They would live new lives and find new things to do, mostly things which they were unfamiliar with, but one thing would remain unchanged: they were together, and they shall remain together for as long as they lived.
"So come on!" Niko shouted, moving ahead of the rest. "There's a whole kingdom waiting for us!"
Men and women walked over the plains of New Hyrule. Children ran merrily, playing with other children and constantly moving ahead of their grown-up counterparts. These people were not lost, nor they were wandering aimlessly. They were walking towards a source of light, so bright and pure that the evening sun paled in comparison to its magnificence. People from all areas were emerging from caves under the land, from trees and bushes, from north and south, all converging on one point. That point was the blue castle near the middle point of Hyrule.
Flint, now dressed in civilian clothes, pointed over to the castle, telling everybody who would listen his story and how everything that was happening was a direct result of it. Dennis, Alexa and Phil walked alongside the rest of the people, making sure the weak, injured and elderly were being taken care of properly. Miyahon was pulling out every piece of paper he had, his creative muscle suddenly working overtime, drawing every single panorama and image of the plains, the people and the castle, wanting to get it all right as it was happening. Guru was stripped of everything that he loved to do, but somehow he didn't mind, for somehow he felt liberated, like all his weights and all his problems just vanished. One by one, the people gathered all around the castle, yet not one entered it, not because of fear, but rather because they were expecting something outside.
Inside the castle, a young lady dressed in fine clothes and wearing a golden tiara made her way to the balcony. On her way, seven men of different sizes and shapes, all dressed in their best royal-worthy clothes, awaited her with their backs to the wall leading to the balcony. As she passed each one, the men gave the young lady a solemn bow adorned with a smile of full happiness. The final man, dressed in green and brandishing a sword and a shield in his back, not only bowed, but also extended his arm, waiting for the lady to take his offering. "They're expecting you." he said.
Out on the balcony, the young princess was finally able to see the full extent of her kingdom. Men and women and children of all ages... millions of them, all in front of her castle, all waiting just to get a glimpse of the new era of their beloved land. She was almost overwhelmed by the grand scope of it all, but the knight in green gave her a reassuring pat on her hand and gave her a look of complete confidence. This was enough for the princess, who then walked the rest of the way on her own, until she was at the balcony's guardrail. She clasped her hands together, as if in prayer, and then, extending her arms up into the air, a grand and pure glow emerged from the balcony, forming a spherical halo around her. At this moment, every person at ground level exploded in cheers and celebration. Every man, every woman and every child near and far celebrated the joyous rebirth of the great kingdom of Hyrule. The applause and the various expressions of support and happiness were long and incredibly energetic. The land, for the first time in five years, was united and flourishing like it had never before.
And above the evening sky, Din, Nayru and Farore, alongside Fairy Queen Venus and sages from ages gone by watched the spectacle, and the three Goddesses sprinkled the land with their golden magic, so that it would be prosperous forevermore.
**To Be Concluded**
(A/N: Epilogue by next week. Bank on it.)