Chapter 27: Deity versus King

"So… the eight pests have showed themselves once again…" Ganondorf said as he approached the crystal with the group inside.
"Ganondorf…" Zelda said, while Link growled.
"Pest?! Why don't you look into a mirror to see the pest right there?!" Ruto snapped.
"How foolish of you to have returned to my land… alive! Your little ritual did not escape my attention, but regardless of what you did, it will not help you." Ganondorf said, his expression stern and malicious.
"What do you want?!" Impa then snapped.
"Very simple, Sheikah… I want the two remaining Triforce Pieces as well as whatever powers you have as Sages… and after that I want your deaths!"
Navi, Tatl and Tael had in the meantime gone into hiding, being frightened of Ganondorf's appearance.
"If you think you can just take our powers and end us, then you're sadly mistaken." Link said as Ganondorf still approached.
"Silence, kid! I killed you once before and I can do it again. Just take comfort in the fact that your friends will go with you, so you won't be alone." Ganondorf said.
"Where's Majora? Isn't he supposed to be your ally?" Zelda then asked.
"Majora's currently out of town, checking on some business regarding our forces in Termina. I happened to sense what you were doing out here, so I decided to investigate it. Now I see you lot all together here with the same false hopes as ever…" Ganondorf said with a dark chuckle.
"False hope you say? The only one with the false hope is you, since you will never be able to defeat us!" Ruto snapped.
"Oh, really?" Ganondorf asked, amused at the Zora Princess' defiance, "then tell me how it was to have been amongst the ranks of the dead, since you will be going back there very soon."
"Not if we cave your face in first!" Darunia snapped, slamming his hands together as he was ready to deliver a serious pounding to the Evil King.
"You people amuse me… just like when that forest kid confronted me as he tried to stop me from going after Zelda and Impa on that white horse of theirs…" Ganondorf said, chuckling darkly.
"You evil bastard! Haven't you done enough?!" Nabooru snarled.
"Hm? Ah yes, the lone wolf thief whom openly turned on me back then… too bad for you that I've just begun…" Ganondorf said as he raised his hand in the air, beginning to generate a sphere of dark magic, which turned into a sphere of green electricity.
"Time for your dreams and hopes to end!" Ganondorf said as he charged it up, intending to destroy the crystal and vaporize the group inside to nothingness.
However, he failed to notice Link putting on the now Purified Fierce Deity Mask, the effects becoming clear as Link's body began to grow in size and in power. Ganondorf was about to throw the attack when he suddenly spotted Link transforming, his size and power putting pressure on the crystal from within, making cracks appear in it, right before the now-Purified Fierce Deity Link used his Double Helix Sword to shatter the crystal prison, freeing himself and the Sages and sending debris of the crystal prison around the room, some of which shattering into smaller pieces as they struck the walls. Ganondorf immediately ceased his attack as he now stared into the eyes of the new Fierce Deity Link. The purified Fierce Deity Link retained his initial appearance with the armor and everything, but where once his eyes were empty, were now the blue eyes that were definitely Link's. But the most astonishing thing was his power, it has multiplied as if Link truly had transcended his humanity and became a deity in his own right.
"What the-?! What is this?!" Ganondorf asked.
"The one who will show you that you have messed with the wrong people!" Fierce Deity Link said, narrowing his eyes while his Double Helix Sword was shimmering with magic power.
'So THIS is the form that Majora has talked about before… now I see it firsthand…' Ganondorf thought before chuckling, smirking as he observed Link's new form.
"Cheeky, eh? Well then, let's see what you got!" Ganondorf said as he drew his own sword, before casting a fire barrier to keep the Sages out of the fight.
Immediately Saria and Zelda protested, but Link turned to them.
"Don't worry about me, I'll take care of this." He said, genuinely smiling at them, before growing serious again as he turned to the Evil King, who was ready to attack.

Soon enough, Ganondorf and Fierce Deity Link engaged each other in a sword fight, with Ganondorf having it easier in a way as the Double Helix Sword did require the use of two hands, thus preventing the use of a shield. However, Link was making things very difficult as he at one point threw a few Sword Beams at the Evil King, stunning him to the point of where he could lay in several hits. Fierce Deity Link's form as a whole was impressive as it was as even Nabooru, Impa, Darunia and Rauru had to look up to him now because of his size, but the thing that could TRULY be called grotesque in all aspects was the Double Helix Sword that Link was wielding; it proved to be very resilient and also incredibly powerful, putting the pressure on Ganondorf for once as the two clashed in this fight. It was of no surprise that the Sages watched in awe at the amount of power that Link wielded now, but the surprising thing was that Zelda and Saria both were silently rooting for their friend, Ruto found herself balling her fists in excitement and Nabooru wished she could make Ganondorf pay herself, hoping that Link could deliver blows to him in her name. The King of Evil managed to get a few low blows in, but Fierce Deity Link easily retaliated with some nasty slashes, at one point having sliced and diced Ganondorf's cape and part of his armor to bits. This made it clear that Fierce Deity Link was definitely a force to be reckoned with, but Ganondorf's main advantage was that he still was in the possession of the Triforce of Power, making him incredibly strong on his turn.

Ganondorf was astonished that he actually found himself struggling to keep up! Where first he had little trouble in dealing with the young forest child, now it was the other way around as this transformation because of that mask gave him superior power and a massive blade to boot! But this was impossible; this child was confirmed dead by his men, but ended up resurrected one way or another! And now he was kicking his ass, but how! He was the Great Ganondorf, the Great King of Evil and soon-to-be Ruler of the World! How was it possible that this young boy managed to overcome him, including the time he bested him in the Future That Almost Was?! Was he somehow driven by a different cause? A cause that seemed insignificant in Ganondorf's vision? And what about that blade?! It definitely wasn't the Master Sword, yet it was inflicting damage where it could! It was as if this being was of a whole different caliber than Link and the Seven Sages combined! Now he could understand why Majora got worked up over him, but that it was giving HIMSELF a hard time was something that Ganondorf could not tolerate! But he also realized that the Triforce parts were resonating, the sensation of them trying to become one once more as the legend foretold being present within those who contained such a piece, but it was present within Ganondorf the most! Both sides were sporting some injuries, but this didn't deter Link to continue fighting and protect his friends with the best of his abilities, something Ganondorf noticed before. Eventually managing to kick Fierce Deity Link towards the Sages while ceasing the barrier, Ganondorf lowered his weapon.
"So… you have power… but do you really think you can defeat me with that?" Ganondorf then asked as Fierce Deity Link got up, with the Sages moving to him right away.
"Insects, you have no idea how much preparation and power is required to beat me… yet I must admit that your teamwork and everything has gotten you quite far… not even Death can stop you, that is something I've come to understand…" Ganondorf said, clenching his fists in what appeared to be frustration.
Fierce Deity Link was obviously panting, but managed to stand upright, holding onto his sword tightly. The Sages all stood next to or behind him, helping him up. Link made a silent nod of gratitude towards them, indicating that the purification was a success. It was then that Ganondorf held his right hand forward, brandishing the mark of the Triforce of Power towards the group.
"It's time to end this however, as your powers shall be mine now! PERISH AT THE HANDS OF THE GREAT GANONDORF!" The Evil King then snarled, before unleashing another purple and black aura of evil, which then moved towards Link and the Sages as a while, causing them to grunt as the wave of darkness engulfed them completely.

Ganondorf cackled as he could feel the powers of the group being sapped little by little, showcasing who was the superior one here. It wouldn't be long before they would be weak enough for him to extract the remaining Triforce parts as well as whatever powers these Sages seemed to have at their disposal, so he could use it against them. Fierce Deity Link however wasn't going to give up without a fight, managing to lift his Double Helix Sword in front of him in an upright position, beginning to channel whatever power he could muster inside it. Already he began to feel the pressure building up on his body, mainly due to the wave of darkness around him and the internal struggle within him to remain standing and prevent the cataclysm that Ganondorf was bringing upon them. Veins were beginning to pulse in his neck, arms and legs, but he held his position as his Double Helix Sword began to shimmer on and off. Link then blinked as he felt someone grabbing his left arm and beginning to add power to his. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Zelda had taken the initiative and was adding her power to his, adding resistance to the group, but putting her under the same pressure as himself.
"S… Sages… we need to… help him!" Zelda managed to say between grunts as the wave of darkness was beginning to take its toll on the group.
Shifting his legs to increase balance, Link attempted to still block the incoming wave of darkness, his sword now glowing a bit more thanks to Zelda's input. But the glow suddenly became stable. Looking at his other arm, he saw that Saria and Ruto each held themselves onto his right arm and were adding their powers to Link and Zelda's. Nabooru aided Zelda by also grabbing Link's left arm while at the same time supporting the Hyrulean princess, while Impa grabbed Link's shoulders, along with Rauru, while Darunia grabbed Link around the waist to provide additional weight to prevent them from falling over, each of them also supplying Link with their powers, but putting all of them now under intense pressure as the glow intensified. Ganondorf's eyes went wide as he saw this happening, moving to intensify his Wave of Darkness around the group, causing them to grunt even harder as they tried to maintain their position. However, Fierce Deity Link remained standing and, as if on cue, the Triforce of Courage began to glow on his hand, as did the Triforce of Wisdom on Zelda's hand. Surely enough, the Double Helix Blade was brimming with energy which at first began to divert some of the Darkness Wave away from them, before Fierce Deity Link, with the aid of the Sages, brought the sword down so the tip was facing Ganondorf… right before a massive wave of energy was fired from the Sword, heading towards Ganondorf who looked shocked as this happened. This wasn't just an ordinary energy beam; it was a focused beam, which promptly slammed into Ganondorf's chest, causing him to cease his attack and was sent flying THROUGH the wall of the Temple of Time towards the mountain landscape he apparently came from. But Ganondorf wasn't the only one who came out of this unscathed; the firing process of this Sword Beam caused a kickback onto the group itself, sending them crashing through the other wall and landing in the courtyard of the Temple, with the mask itself coming off of Link's face due to the harsh landing, making the mask land against one of the Sheikah Stones. The group itself laid a few meters behind them, with Darunia and Rauru being the closest to the Sheikah Stones on their turn. Impa and Nabooru laid in front of them, while Saria, Link, Zelda and Ruto laid in front of them, each of them being terribly exhausted, their bodies aching all over and sweating and for a brief moment, there appeared to be steam rising from their bodies, as if they went in some kind of overheat.
"W… wow…" Saria said.
"That… that was… something else…" Zelda said between pants.
Link chuckled lightly, being too exhausted to laugh.
"I… I guess we… now know… what it's like… to combine… our energies… in a single… attack." Link said, causing the others to grin or chuckle on their turn, even Rauru.
"Oh wow… my body hurts… so much… I can hardly move…" Nabooru said, trying to get up, but her arms and legs gave out, causing her to fall back on the ground with another grunt upon landing.
"I… I guess a short… nap… is in order…" Link said.
"B… But we… we'd be vulnerable here…" Zelda said.
It was then that Saria used her Ocarina to play the Minuet of Forest with the energy she had left, transporting the group in the calm, serene surroundings of the Sacred Forest Meadow. Then, after checking if everyone was present with her, Saria passed out from exhaustion, with Link passing out himself about a second later. Rauru managed to retrieve the Fierce Deity's Mask before the transportation begin, having taken it with him in turn before he too passed out, as did the others one by one, in turn giving their bodies the chance needed to recuperate from the sudden pressure put onto them.

Majora in the meantime could feel the energy increase all the way down into the sanctuary he was in while moving the troops in their position, causing him to shiver once again, even more when he could feel what he suspected to be a clash between the Fierce Deity and Ganondorf... but something seemed off about the Fierce Deity in his eyes... it was as if the Fierce Deity had become more pure-hearted as it left the Sages alone... but why? How was that possible?! Majora was about to go nuts from all these questions in his mind, so he moved off to be alone somewhere...

Ganondorf on the other hand crashed right into a mountain area after being blasted with that Sword Beam, grunting as he could feel more of his armor shattering. However, his Triforce of Power enabled him to survive something like that, although it would take some time for him to recover from the blow as well...
'So... that is what the Fierce Deity's like... but he still had Link's eyes instead of the empty eyes that Majora had told me about not too long ago... and he left the Sages alone... something is definitely amiss... but what?!' Ganondorf mentally asked himself as he pulled himself from the mountain, ignoring the rubble falling down because of his movements.
'This all confirms the threat that the group as a whole poses, but Link as the Fierce Deity even more... something has to be done about it, before things go haywire and they come to challenge me again. I will take the necessary measures in order to be prepared for them. They will not get away so easily... I will make sure that they will suffer deeply for defying me and defying death... I will get their powers, no matter what it takes!" Ganondorf thought as he floated back up, observing the damage done on his armor and cape.
'Looks like I may need to reinforce my armor and cape first; both have taken quite the damage...but at least this gives me the time to think of proper countermeasures... mark my words, Link and Zelda... your far from done with all your troubles... in fact, if you head either all the way over there or dare to come here, you will see that things will only be even harder from you...' He said as he floated up and prepared to leave.

It took them about an hour or two, but eventually Link and the Sages woke up, their bodies having recuperated enough to allow proper movements to be made overall... although it didn't go easy, the group managed to get up and move to the tree trunk where Saria used to play her own song on her Ocarina all the time. Link recalled those times very well, having learned her song from her and, whenever he could, especially after his initial return from Termina, played the Ocarina together with Saria, the two simply having fun as they played in harmony with on occasion providing a second tone to whatever song they decided to play. It were good times that both Link and Saria enjoyed, especially when their duet became a triplet as at times Princess Zelda managed to sneak into the Sacred Forest Meadow and happily played the ocarina with Link and Saria, which no doubt was well-received by the Kokiri and the resident forest animals in general. Once at the tree stump, Link, Saria, Zelda and Ruto sat down on it, with the other Sages sitting around them.
"Whew, I still feel tired..." Link said, sighing deeply.
"We all are. I didn't think that something like that would be leaving such a strain on our bodies, much less us being even capable of achieving such a feat in the first place." Impa said.
"True. I think it has something to do with some kind of connection we have with each other, almost as if you lot for the time 'awakened' and added your powers to mine in turn... such a concept was something you did before when we had to defeat Ganondorf in the Future That Almost Was..."
"Indeed. I do wonder how we are going to even reach Ganondorf now. If his new lair he shares with Majora is THAT far away from the main land where once my castle stood, it would be even more of a long trip to reach him..." Zelda said.
"True and given with how strong he has become, it's safe to say that the upcoming time may be the hardest for us yet." Rauru said.
The others nodded as they sat together, resting up a bit more before moving on towards the Lost Woods, from which they could travel towards Termina again after calling their horses using Epona's Song. Once the group (sans Darunia) were on their horses, they made their way back towards Termina through the forest, taking it easy to give them and their horses an easy time. Link smiled as he felt Saria resting against his back, apparently the forest girl was still somewhat tired. Not that he blamed her though; he was more inclined to rest some more, but decided to keep himself awake to remain alert. Impa did the same thing while holding Zelda with her on her horse and Nabooru did this with Princess Ruto as well. Thankfully their trip went without incidents, giving them the chance to still rest up…

At the same moment Leia and Reimu had ventured off with a patrol of Gerudo at their side to investigate the forest area of where they felt a massive increase of energy first.
"What do you think has happened there?" Leia asked as the group entered the outpost which was left now wide open.
"I don't know, but it felt enormous. It must have clearly swept through this whole area for sure, considering it is now void of enemy presence…" Reimu said.
"True. I wonder if our new allies and friends have anything to do with this… I mean the ones who helped our comrades by liberating them from that mind-control spell…"
"You raise an interesting point, but we can't know for sure until we have found evidence of what has happened here…" She said, just as one of the guards spotted a child hiding among some rocks.
"Hey, I found someone." She said.
The Graveyard Boy was startled as he saw Gerudo approaching, but they didn't seem to make a move to attack or capture him…
"Relax, kid; we're not with Ganondorf or his entourage. What's happened?" Reimu asked the boy.
"I… I saw a group of people heading in this area, freeing me from captivity and taking out the enemy soldiers as if they were nothing. One of them looked like she was one of you, although her clothing was more white." The boy said.
"That must have been the exalted Nabooru, our true leader." Leia said, to which Reimu nodded.
"Anyways, what are you hiding out here for?" Reimu then asked the boy.
"I initially wanted to go to where I was staying with my parents and all before we got captured, but I wanted to see where they were going… causing me to stick around here.
Reimu nodded.
"We'll take you back to your village. That way we'll show the villagers that the Gerudo here are as much against Ganondorf as they are." She said, before spotting a Goron heading to them, evidently having investigated the area himself and joined up with them as well.
"Thank you very much ma'am." The boy said with a happy smile as the Gerudo decided to do their good deed for the day and return the child to where he belongs, hoping that this would at least get them partially into the good graces of the Hyrulean people, especially now that they had a Goron as a witness.

It took the group several hours at best to cross the vast forest that laid between the two lands, before arriving at an entrance that led to what appeared to be the bottom area of the Clock Town's tower, similar to the sewer area Link arrived in when he came to Termina the first time after being turned into a Deku. It's one of the hidden entrances that leads directly into the center of Clock Town itself. Link shuddered as he arrived at this place, feeling memories returning to him.
"What's up, Link?" Zelda asked as she noted him shuddering.
"Nothing, just a few memories of that Happy Mask Salesman who passed by in these parts. He was here while I was out in Termina fighting Majora and everything." Link said.
"I recall seeing him back in Hyrule Castle Town. That grin of his gave me the creeps..." Zelda said, shuddering herself as she knew what Link meant.
"Wasn't he the one looking for the rare masks and everything?" Impa asked, "He had some of them stalled in the shop…"
"He was... he had all those different masks with him on his backpack when I saw him in Hyrule Castle Town as he made his way out…" Zelda said.
"Great Scott! I recall him looking for the one mask that the Skullkid had back then!" Link then said, having an epiphany
"What?! That Salesman was actually looking for Majora's Mask ITSELF?!" Zelda asked, going wide-eyed.
"Yes, I recall him walking away with it after Termina was saved. He was gone before I even had the chance to stop him. Then again, I was still shaking the stars out of my head since I got pretty much launched back to earth once I destroyed Majora's Wrath. That battle took place in the moon after all..." Link said.
"You told us that, that was one great adventure and one heck of a battle after all..." Saria said, nodding.
"And you assume that Majora himself confronted that salesman just to get that Mask back, right?" Rauru asked.
"I'm sure of that, Rauru; it's the only thing that gave Majora his powers in the first place. Being that it has been used in ancient hexing rituals and the mask itself having its powers sealed when the tribe responsible feared that the result would be catastrophic if left unchecked…" Link said
"Wow, I think that must have been the start of the hell unleashed upon both Hyrule and Termina." Nabooru said.
"Believe me, Nabooru, I'm certain that what we have gone through is more similar to like standing in front of the gates of Hell... as far as I know, with Ganondorf and Majora planning their invasions all over the place, Hell has yet to come. Here I thought that the Mask lost its powers after I defeated Majora, but apparently I was mistaken; it could have very well laid dormant until it found its new host or a new ally all along as you said, Rauru." Link said
"I hope the Goddess of Time can protect us now." Princess Zelda said, shuddering.
"We all hope that, Zelda. If we can't stop the evil menace that lies ahead, who will?" Impa then said.
"We should take a rest in Clock Town, while we also prepare ourselves for a great journey. We should find out where that sanctuary is once we're certain we're ready for it." Link said.
"Great idea. We will need to adapt and plan things accordingly. If those two plan such an outrageous attack to ensure any form of resistance is crushed, we need to be prepared for something a lot worse as the place could be crawling with monsters…" Darunia said.
"Hopefully the room Nabooru, Ruto, Zelda, Saria and I stayed in is still available for us…" Link said as Darunia opened the tower doors, leading the group on into Clock Town before the doors closed again.