The Doctor led the march on Hyrule Castle. If the rumours were true, they hadn't a moment to spare- while Ganondorf could be found here, he was allegedly gathering strength, and the more of that he did, the worse off they would find themselves. She turned her head, looking back at the soldiers who were under her command.
"Here be the father of all evil. If thou hast any hesitation, kindly escort yourselves to the back of the pack, and no one will think the worse of you for it," she announced in a monotone voice. No one moved. Whether that was not understanding that the Doctor was offering a way out or genuinely having the courage to face Ganondorf. For the Doctor, it didn't matter any more than the morale penalty for choosing the former. And their secret weapon could mitigate that- which was why she suggested it in the first place. The Doctor looked forward.
"Ganon! Show yourself!" she commanded. Ganondorf materialised before her, smirking as he saw an unarmed commander. Self-confident, yeah, and he knew he had no chance of killing her now, but unarmed nonetheless. The Doctor was just surprised Ganondorf found this confidence-inspiring, rather than otherwise.
"So, you stand against me," Ganondorf uttered, his lip curling in distaste.
"Well, duh! I just wanted to highlight something for you to consider," the Doctor told him, smiling all the while. She turned to Lana, the whip of her hair sending a blast of air into Ganondorf's face.
"Ready?" the Doctor asked. Lana nodded, and opened her tome. Golden portals shone all across Hyrule Field. Ganondorf turned to face each one, terror slowly etching onto his face as he realised what was happening.
Links. Male Links. Female Links. Links that were good with swords. Links that preferred other items. Links of all descriptions were making their appearance. The Doctor turned to Ganondorf, still beaming that infernal smile.
"One of these guys can ruin all your plans and defeat you. Just imagine what fifty or so of them could do!" the Doctor exclaimed. Ganondorf growled, regaining his composure.
"Fifty of them against how many of us? I have the Triforce- and I've still got Vaati. It'll come down to endurance… and besides, I control Hyrule Castle. My power is unlimited! I don't think a million Links could out endure me!" Ganondorf boasted, before vanishing. The Doctor turned to the Links, who were all testing their swords and looking for their leader, and shook her hair over her face.
"Hi. I'm the Doctor. I'm from the future, and this man may be familiar to some slash all of you. Ganondorf Dragmire has claimed the entire Triforce, and as he points out, he has power beyond imagination to draw upon to defeat us. It will come down to us, the heroes of legends, to defeat him as he stands, and restore peace to now and to forever. Who's with me?" the Doctor asked, a confident smirk ready. The Links looked between each other, apprehensive.
"…I'm with you," Twilight stated, walking up to stand next to the Doctor.
"…Same," Sky said, following her.
"Agreed," Wind echoed. The four (including Time) were stood beside the Doctor, their swords held aloft.
"…I'm in," another heroine pitched in. This was Taylor, one of the heroes of the kingdom of Hytopia.
"Count us in," another girl added, holding up her blade. The Link beside her followed suit, observing her as he did so. These Links fought against the Calamity Ganon with the power of the Wild.
"I stand with you, hero," a boy called, stepping forward to hold up his blade. This was Legend, the name given to the hero that fought Ganon when the situation seemed most dire- when Hyrule itself was in hiding.
"Well then… we have a Ganon to beat," the Doctor murmured. It didn't matter either way. She had the faith of them all.
The advance began, and as it did so, the Links fought off many challenging foes. Lynels, Wizzrobes, Molblins, Zazaks, Darknuts… Ganondorf wasn't holding anything back. No foes as simple as Miniblins were going to appear. The Doctor and Twilight led the scouting forces around these foes, and confirmed that many of the seemingly abandoned fortifications had been manned- for lack of a better word- and were holding their defence. These walls would not be destroyed with the sword- nor Twilight's Ball and Chain, nor any of her bombs. It would be down to them to find a way to open the path. They returned to the rear for their report.
"Don't worry, ladies…" one Link chuckled. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a massive Bombchu.
"I am the Hero of the Gorons. I've used a lot of explosives in my time as the Link. Unfortunately, Bombchus can get really partial- they'll need a bit of momentum before they can destroy a wall like the ones you're describing. You'll need to protect one as it approaches vulnerable," this Link stated, shrugging apologetically.
"Thank you, Boomer…" Lana assured him, turning to give the order.
"A Bombchu?" a menacing voice asked. Keiko turned, recognising that voice.
"Onox…" she whispered, ringing her bell threateningly. "I don't care what you think you're going to do, but you're not extinguishing this light!" She charged, and a pair of Links- a boy and a girl- followed her on her search for Onox.
As it turns out, Onox was looming over the target wall. He spread a wall of fire before him- not to hurt his foes, but to demonstrate what he was going to do. Keiko rung her bell, sending forth a torrent of water and dousing the flames. The two Links that accompanied her, Aegis and Seasons, brandished their blades, and Seasons a rod as well.
"Fools… you will not get your Bombchu alight!" Onox boasted.
"…Even if that was a threat, we're getting our Bombchu alight just fine. It's keeping it alight that's the problem," Keiko pointed out. Onox growled, and the Bombchu made its appearance in range. Onox fired a fireball at it, and Keiko splashed it away. Unfortunately, the splash radius extinguished the Bombchu, too. Keiko growled, and kicked it at the wall. Aegis pulled out a flute, and played it, preparing for the next Bombchu. Keiko was watching her surroundings carefully, wondering how best to distract Onox without dousing Bombchu. Onox fired his fireball, and Keiko shot a ball of water up at it, luckily not splashing the Bombchu behind her. She jumped on top of the Bombchu, and began deflecting the bolts as they came. Aegis had hopped aboard a kangaroo, and was climbing atop the wall. Keiko missed a blast, and it was only with the quick intervention of Seasons's Gale Seeds that Keiko made it clear of the blast.
"We need a better plan…" Keiko muttered, running her hand through her hair. Boomer sent along another Bombchu, and Keiko got an idea. She pointed at the ground, and swung up her bell. The torrent did strike one of Onox's fireballs, but the idea Keiko had was transferred to Seasons. She walked in front of the Bombchu, and dug a hole with the shovel. The dirt hit a fireball, and the Bombchu changed course. Onox shot a few fireballs in between dealing with Aegis's attack, letting Seasons dig holes quickly and easily. The Bombchu approached the wall, and Onox reared back for a massive flame breath. Keiko rang her bell, the notes echoing across the field. She summoned a large fish to come forward and strike Onox at the last second, preventing the flame attack for those few seconds the Bombchu needed to get in range of the wall. Boomer lit it, and Aegis jumped away, letting the Bombchu explode on Onox instead. The way forward was open.
"Hopefully we don't need to defend any more Bombchu…" Keiko remarked, panting from the exertion.
"If we do, we probably won't have someone harder to deal with than Onox," Seasons replied, looking just the same.
Time and Twilight were the first to shoot through the gap, sword and crossbows at the ready. There were many powerful monsters, but they seemed to be left at bay. Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion, but did not fire, in fear of provoking an attack. For the same reason, Time was apprehensive about attempting an advance.
"Well, well, well… looks like I've got the pair of you right where I want you," Ganondorf's voice echoed. Both Time and Twilight gasped, as Ganondorf walked purposefully towards them. He had a menacing grin on his face.
"Ganondorf…" Twilight muttered, trying her hardest to hold back her shivering as she levelled her crossbows. Ganondorf put a hand to his chin, clearly choosing a taunt.
"You are the one they call 'Twilight', correct? Daughter of the Link standing behind you? He looks pretty young… what do think the odds are that this Link's had the chance to do the deed with your mother?" Ganondorf asked. Twilight turned to Time, who looked white as a sheet and was backing away as fast as possible. Ganondorf held up a hand, summoning a ball of magic, and tossed it at Time. It disappeared in a swipe of air.
"Please leave the time paradox causing to the professionals," the Doctor taunted, spinning around her Luminal, before blowing the tip of it as if it were a gun. Sadly, the coolness of the move was probably lost on the audience, but she could make do.
"I don't think I've seen you before…" Ganondorf stated, raising an eyebrow in confusion. The Doctor giggled, shooting him her signature beam.
"Oh, I go by many names. Some call me the Doctor, some call me Link. No one does the latter too often, though. My sister calls me Chi, and my wife calls me Ashley. Kind of funny, now that I'm a girl. The name I was given at birth, though, is χ8&WӔ. And if that doesn't send a shiver down your spine, well, please tell me how I can salvage any amount of coolness into this entrance," the Doctor babbled, sheepishly shrugging at her boast's end.
"Doctor… but…" Ganondorf stuttered, stepping back in horror.
"You killed me? Yeah, that was a thing that occurred. So?" the Doctor laughed, still with her playful demeanour. From the look in Ganondorf's eye, this was no less annoying to him than the patience he was forced to demonstrate when he fought the Doctor in his time.
"Well… I am going to kill you now, Doctor. I am going to kill you, and I am finally going to stop getting fed up with your attitude. You are a thorn in my side and a pain to deal with," Ganondorf growled.
"Of course you will. You're so cute when you're completely wrong," the Doctor cooed, brandishing the Master Sword, and brushing her hair from her face.
"My strength is unlimited. I'm not wrong!" Ganondorf commanded, his eyes darting towards the castle.
"Twilight, go get backup and attack the castle," the Doctor whispered. Twilight nodded, blushing, and the Doctor stepped up to Ganondorf. A yellow and blue barrier, formed from both combatants, surrounded them. The various monsters were galvanised into attack, and Time dashed away, needing to galvanise a few more Links.
Luckily, there were some as backup, but with Twilight's order, that force may have been diminished.
Twilight led a small legion of Links around to the side of Hyrule Castle. This close by, it was readily apparent that this was the source of Ganondorf's power. Twilight was eager to punch a hole in that, and help the Doctor any way she could. She turned to her force. Picora, Seasons, Taylor, Lana, Keiko, another Taylor, Delfina…
Wait, did she just spot another Taylor?
Twilight suddenly drew her crossbows, and pointed them at the two Taylors, her eyes narrowed. The two Taylors had the same shocked reaction, but everyone else realised the duplicate, and gave the pair a wide berth, switching to standing behind Twilight.
"Very well. You've noticed one of us is a duplicate. But how are you going to tell which one?" one of the Taylors asked, a smirk on her face. Twilight loosed her crossbow, hitting that one in the chest. Darkness began swirling around her, and Veran's form began to appear.
"That is not a taunt a Link would say. And that was a very loose thread by duplication standards," Twilight taunted, confident in herself to defeat Veran, even as she assumed a bug form. She felt a fiery energy encompass her, and she felt confident that her fire could beat Veran's bug.
"You are nothing but a pesky fly buzzing around Master Ganondorf's head… and guess who eats flies," Veran boasted, an indescribable material that was hopefully saliva bubbling around her lips and flying all over the place. Twilight shot her Clawshot, shooting all the way up to Veran, and shot a bolt into Veran's neck from above. Veran transformed into her bee form, and Twilight grabbed a hold of her fur. She crawled around Veran, resisting any attempt to shake her off, until she reached the stinger. She placed her foot onto the stinger, and, biting her lip, she pushed against it with all the might in her foot, using as much of her muscle as possible while still remaining attached to Veran. Veran started buzzing around erratically, and Twilight looked over to the nearby river. She pulled on Veran's fur, tugging her over to the river. Veran's movements demonstrated her chaos, and she missed both the river and Twilight jumping from her body.
"There's something satisfying in seeing the same trick work twice," Twilight chuckled, feeling the sort of happiness the Doctor was radiating.
"Twilight, we're all across," Seasons called. Twilight looked up, and noticed that, indeed, everyone was on the other side. Twilight nodded, and allowed Seasons to pick her up and carry her across with the Magnetic Gloves.
"So how do we get in?" Twilight asked. The girls had found a sizable location on which to stand, but access to the room radiating power was barred by a massive oaken door. Even if Seasons did take the time to fetch Boomer, they doubted there would be enough room to launch a Bombchu.
"I think there's a secret route…" Picora suggested, walking around a corner. She was feeling the walls, before returning, shrugging.
"Could've sworn…" Picora started.
"Not gonna happen. Little known fact about Hyrule Castle- it gets changed every now and then to confuse attackers like Ganondorf, who might otherwise glean plenty from repeated failed sieges," Twilight explained, her grin tarred by the loss of that information.
"How… but only the Royal Family knows that…" Picora started, the slightest hint of a stutter occurring to her.
"The Maiden Queen had me help her out when she had to undo the mess Calderas left behind. This doesn't remind me of anything I saw with the Maiden Queen's era nor Calderas's, so I'm as stumped as the next girl," Twilight explained, looking around for anything that might be the slightest bit familiar. Having seen a change, she should know about some kind of common trait Hyrule Castles were designed with, something should be familiar…
"Twilight…" Lana muttered. Her face was a little scared, but it mostly seemed to request Twilight's attention. Twilight turned to the door, to notice it opening. She entered, followed by Picora, Taylor and Seasons.
"So… you've figured it out…" Vaati's voice echoed into the courtyard. The door slammed shut, and Vaati appeared before the four.
"You, Princess Zelda… you have thwarted my plans one too many times. I will not let you thwart this one. I don't care how many friends you've brought. You're not going to win this time!" Vaati commanded, transforming into Vaati's Wrath. Picora brandished a golden cane, and she and Vaati began circling one another. Taylor hurried to one corner of the arena, and began crafting something. She asked for Twilight and Season's hairs, and added her own to it. She even managed to take one of Picora's.
Picora herself, meanwhile, was watching Vaati's arms. One came up under Taylor, and Twilight quickly pulled her away as the arm appeared. Seasons, under instruction from Picora, held it in place after the cane was swung, as Picora called upon the power of Ezlo. In the blink of an eye, Picora turned to a size that could readily thread an eye of a needle. Seasons watched Picora cross the pavement, and hop into the arm. The arm squirmed around in her grip, but she held firm, as Picora destroyed the arm from within.
"Taylor, what are you doing?" Seasons asked, relieved once the arm she held broke off. Picora resumed normal size, and aimed to do the same to the other arm.
"Tailoring," Taylor replied vaguely, grinning as she wove material of all types. The blonde hair she was using seemed much more plentiful than the four strands she had started with.
"…Tailor faster, all right?" Seasons asked, turning to the other arm to grab it. Twilight noticed that Vaati was now all eye, and took the chance to start firing bolts at it. Vaati closed his eye, and the bolts plinked off. He opened his eye, as well as four eyes that had hitherto escaped notice. All four spat out electrical orbs, which Twilight dodged, on the cusp of panic. She aimed and fired at the eyes, but they simply remained frustratingly closed. Picora and Seasons stood by her side, readying their swords. Twilight took that as her cue to do the same. Vaati fired his four orbs again, and the three heroes reflected three of them. The blast was shrugged off easily, as the thought of Vaati's weakness occurred to the group.
"Taylor!" Twilight called, inwardly blessing her luck. Four Links for a foe that needed four.
"Just in time, too!" Taylor called out. She held out her garment, a yellowy dress that Twilight tried to not think too hard on its origin, and spun around on the spot. She reformed, now wearing the garment, and the red Hero's Clothes she started with were in her hands. She pocketed the Hero's Clothes, and stood beside the Links.
"I call this the Formation Attire! It allows me to control and manage formations!" Taylor explained proudly, holding her sword aloft. Twilight looked apprehensive, as did Picora and Seasons. 'Control' alone made it sound a little weird.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Twilight asked, eyebrow raised.
"Oh, you sound like Kipling. I know my fashion," Taylor told her evasively, a sentence that was in no way comforting for the girls to hear.
"Wide!" Taylor barked, and the four girls assumed a straight line. Vaati fired his row of electric orbs, and Taylor swung her sword. The three other girls did the same, sending the orbs into Vaati and stunning him. Taylor walked up, and began repeatedly slashing away at Vaati. The other girls did the same, until Vaati resumed his position.
"Break!" Taylor commanded, and everyone formed a line behind her. Taylor ran around Vaati, avoiding the electric orbs fired in a random manner. Vaati shivered, and split into four. The four surrounded Taylor, but she was by no means cornered.
"Cross!" she ordered, and the four Links assumed a cross formation, with their backs all to each other, each facing a cardinal direction. Vaati fired the four electric orbs into that formation, and Taylor reflecting the orbs perfectly caused the others to do the same. Vaati reformed, and roared, shaking around dazedly.
"…I've got it! Totem time!" Taylor said. Almost as if it were rehearsed, Seasons picked up Twilight, Picora picked up Seasons, and Taylor picked up Picora. Twilight found herself level with Vaati- and from here, his eye looked a much more tempting target. With a single shot, Vaati began exploding in his overdramatic way, and Taylor could take that time to dissipate the totem and resume her normal wear.
"For future reference, 'Heroine of Fashion', I don't like having my free will taken away," Twilight explained, shaking herself off. Seasons and Picora, although stretching their muscles again, echoed her sentiment.
"Sorry…" Taylor squeaked, shyly smiling and shrugging.
The Doctor and Ganondorf both paused in their duel, having felt the impact of Hyrule Castle changing. The purple light that enveloped it began fading, and the Doctor smiled.
"Looks like someone… just got…" she started, before feeling a lot of pain in her waist. She looked into Ganondorf's eye, and saw nothing but pride. She sighed deeply, and turned to her waist, where there was indeed a massive gaping wound. Again.
"Well… can't say that wasn't my fault…" the Doctor remarked. She groaned, and reached for her Luminal. She fumbled with the controls, at a loss for how to activate it. Blood loss reached her brain, and she fell to her knees, her Luminal dropping into the grass. The best she could hope for was a regeneration, and she didn't think it'd work again…
"NO!" a girl cried out. Ganondorf turned, and saw not Lana or Keiko, but Twilight. Twilight ran to the Doctor's side, and took her head. She sobbed into it, sadness winning out over anger at Ganondorf. However, Ganondorf knew that advantage would not remain for long.
"The Doctor is dead, girl," Ganondorf stated, preparing a shot of darkness to fire at Twilight.
"And that's where you're wrong, Ganondork," Keiko stated, holding up a bottle of silver dust triumphantly. Grinning as madly as the Doctor, she walked up to Ganondorf with confidence, Lana shortly behind her.
"What now?" Ganondorf asked, impatience again striking him.
"You didn't think the first thing we did after Chi regenerated was run straight into your waiting arms, did you?" Keiko asked.
"We had a plan. We went to other time periods to claim some of Ashley's possessions… win a few helpful items just in case…" Lana said, her smile not as bright, but still there. Still mocking Ganondorf.
"Eight hours of fishing…" Keiko sighed dramatically.
"And among those sacred items was this- Ashley's secret project, abandoned no longer!" Lana shouted, a note of triumph in her voice.
"Big Brother! Or Big Sister, whatever you are. Regenerate! You're needed! You mustn't die!" Keiko cried out, opening the bottle. The silver dust flew from the bottle into the Doctor. Twilight stepped away, as the Doctor was pulled to his feet. Silver light was shining from his five limbs, as the regeneration process worked overtime to bring back someone from further than it was intended.
"What is it you've always told me, Ashley? Brave heart?" Lana pleaded, seeing a faint flicker.
"You must survive… many of your enemies would delight in your death, Chi," Keiko added, catching on.
"Please, Doctor… survive… please… I haven't even had the chance…" Twilight muttered. Lana shot a look at Twilight- she had been meaning to ask about that, and being reminded of that now of all times was quite irksome. With one final blast, the silver regeneration shot forward, striking Ganondorf, blowing him away. Lana, Keiko, Twilight, and quite frankly everyone who had made it to this part of the field looked at the blast's origin, hoping for the Doctor's reappearance.
What they saw was a man, staggering about. Twilight quickly grabbed him for support, and Keiko grabbed his Luminal from the grass. With an untidy mop of red hair and a very ruddy face, the Doctor didn't exactly look like one in the hour of need.
"What's this… where am I?" the Doctor asked, eventually looking down into his pants and shirt. Definitely a man again.
"Big… Brother... this is Hyrule Field… and we're here to put a stop to Ganondorf…" Keiko explained apprehensively, holding out the Luminal. The Doctor took it, and inspected it. He looked up, and noticed the looming form of a massive boar. A much more impressive mane of red hair surrounded a face with murderous eyes and very murderous tusks. Golden gauntlets on his forelegs said, without a doubt, this was Ganon.
"You expect me to go up against that… with a… what is this I'm holding?" the Doctor asked, holding the Luminal up with the pointer backwards.
"Oh dear… well, it worked. Boys! I'll need to bring Chi back to his senses! Keep Ganon engaged until I can get him back! Girls! You too! No slacking off! We need as many targets as we can get!" Keiko commanded. Everyone rushed forward, brandishing blades and alternate weapons to fight the great King of Evil with. Lana, Keiko, and Twilight remained by the Doctor. One look at Twilight's blushing face, and Lana sent Twilight off after Ganon, too.
The Links surrounded Ganon on all sides, brandishing their swords and their other tools. Ganon got to his feet, and drew two trident-like blades. Time pulled out his Fierce Deity Mask, and put in on. Time drew his double-helix blade, and locked eyes with Ganon. Time swung down on Ganon, who parried it with both tridents. Some Links, led by Wind, swung at Ganon's ankles and tail, while others, led by Twilight, fired from a distance. Sky kept a view from the sky, directing orders. Zelda kept one eye on the Doctor, who was still leaning on Lana as support.
"This is going to be close…" Impa remarked, frowning. Zelda looked at her, and then back at the Doctor.
"I have faith," Zelda stated, smiling. The Doctor had never let her down before, in spite of his Oath and his deaths.
The Doctor looked all around, a pale field of stars before him. He saw before him the object of sacred light that could pierce the darkness and return light to both his time and the past- the Arrow of Light. But how to claim it…
As the thought occurred to him, starlight began to swirl around him. The figure of a boy and a girl- a Link and a Zelda- appeared before him. The boy was playing a flute, and the girl singing along. Of course! That could help stop Ganon! That's what he needed to do! He could only hope he had what he needed…
"Rhoelle! I know how to beat him!" the Doctor exclaimed, shaking his head free from the last of the dust and fatigue that staggered him. He raised his Luminal, and summoned a saxophone. He beckoned over Princess Zelda, who had her harp at the ready.
"Zelda… I'll need to perform a duet in order to boost the power of the song. Rhoelle, Pi, make sure we're not stopped," the Doctor explained. Zelda, Lana and Keiko all nodded, and got into position. The Doctor let out a very low-pitched, yet still triumphant sequence of notes. Zelda echoed them with an ascending chord on her harp. As Zelda picked up the tune, the Doctor began adding more complicated bits to the song.
"La-la… lalalalaaa~ La la la laa La la laLalalala~ la La laa…" Lana added absently. Keiko added her own addition with the bell. Notes began appearing over the four's heads, and the Doctor switched to a much louder, booming verse. The notes began to flow into Ganon. Ganon roared, and spread his tridents. He turned into a black cloud, and divided into four. The four Ganons resumed regular form- one a menacing dark beast wielding two massive broadswords, one that was basically an oversized boar, one that was a trident-wielding human in all ways but his piggy face, and a beast that came packing gauntlets and a somewhat humanistic bearing- considering it remained quadrupedal. Each one bore a futuristic glyph somewhere on its body- Broadsword at the tip of its tail, Boar on the underside of its belly, Trident on its back, and Gauntlets on his head.
"Those glyphs mean exactly what you think they mean, heroes… a Light Arrow there should stun him, and with so many of you around, one round should be enough… you know, if the Ganons don't distract all of you with their four-ness…" the Doctor explained. As proof of concept, he aimed his Luminal at Gauntlets, and fired a bolt of light. The bolt struck Gauntlets straight in the head, and a trio of Links were quick to capitalise, with the Dreamer being the one to land a decisive hit. Gauntlets was sent staggering back- potentially finished. Boar jumped forward, scattering the Links attacking Gauntlets. One of the Links jumped in front of Boar, staring it down to try and open up its belly.
Time and Sky faced down Broadswords. Time was without the power of the Fierce Deity, so he focused on remaining a nuisance, especially with the power of his Megaton Hammer. Sky tried his hardest to fly around Broadswords, but the beast was clever- it knew Time was poor with a bow. After a while, Sky realised this, too, and shot a light arrow into the air. Broadswords swung around, bringing his tail out of the path of the bolt. Sky hissed, thinking things through.
Twilight looked between her father, for whom Broadswords was posing a great threat to, and Boar, who was on the road to walking over the Link in front of it, despite the Link's muscle. She knew that, with two crossbows, she could aim for both weaknesses, but she couldn't risk it- miss both, and she'd only anger two Ganons.
"Hey there," a female Link called. Twilight turned, to see Linkle approaching. She was smiling under her heavy cowl, and her arrow was already nocked. Twilight realised what she had planned immediately.
"Thank you, sister," Twilight cried, as Broadswords got a blow on Time. The two stood back to back, and fired their respective shots. Light arrows pierced Boar and Broadswords. The Link facing Boar picked him up, and tossed him into Broadswords. Twilight smiled at the sight of no less than fifteen Links (on her side of the Ganons) rush in.
"Wait… Boar's weak point was-" Twilight started, turning to Linkle. Linkle smiled nervously, and nodded. Twilight's expression turned to awe, realising precisely what kind of markswoman Linkle was.
Trident, meanwhile, roared in fury. His Ganons were being eliminated, one by one. He turned to the Doctor, seething with rage. The Doctor called to the Link of this time, and retrieved the Master Sword.
"What makes you think you can stop me?" the Doctor asked, his face lined with fury. Trident growled, and reached behind him. A girlish shriek sounded, and Trident's arm came back into view. Linkle was growling and kicking, but with her cowl caught in Trident's grip, she wasn't going anywhere quickly. The Doctor smiled at the sight.
"Doc... tor…" Trident growled, only becoming more furious at the Doctor's callousness.
"Oh, you expect that to inspire fear? Well, I can tell you two things. One, if you were going for Twilight, you missed," the Doctor babbled, continuing to exude confidence. Two quarrels dug their way under Trident's back, both coated with the force of Light. Trident sunk to his knees, and Twilight blew into the tip of her crossbow. The Doctor took a moment to wink with Twilight.
"Two, no matter which one you grabbed, you would have your back turned to one angry sniper," the Doctor explained, before bringing his sword down on Trident. Lana added a blast of electric magic, and Keiko a few rings of her water bell. Trident vanished into dust, and the Doctor looked up. Broadswords and Boar had clearly done the same… but Gauntlets had not.
"Everyone clear…" the Doctor said calmly. He knew he was speaking to an army of men and women more competent than he, and they would have their own discretion about Gauntlets. Gauntlets roared, and charged the Doctor. The Doctor braced himself against the ground, and brought the Master Sword up. He fired a bolt from his Luminal, weakening Gauntlet's weakness, before the Master Sword's tip came into contact with it. The Doctor began struggling against Ganon's strength, and Lana and Keiko rushed in to help. Linkle and Twilight followed suit, and the Master Sword came in deeper. The other Links started their rush, all making sure that Ganon's final charge wouldn't take anyone with him. They removed his tusks, broke his gauntlets, pulled at his tail… anything they could think of, and everything that Ganon tried. The Master Sword eventually dug its way into Ganon, and he roared, staggering back. The pieces of the Triforce- Power, Wisdom, and Courage- shot out of Ganon, coming forward. The Doctor took Wisdom, Keiko Power, and Lana Courage. The three held the pieces together, reforming the completed shape. The sacred light of the Triforce shot forward, burning itself onto Ganon's skin, and completely enveloping the beast.
"Well… all's well that ends well, right?" Keiko asked, examining where Ganon had last stood. It was as if he had never come- even the fields, ravaged and browned when he had taken over, had been restored to their vibrant, green state. The Doctor nodded, and turned to the many Links he had summoned. Lana was creating portals for them to return home. The Doctor nodded, watching Twilight wave one final goodbye before she vanished. He turned to the Link and Zelda of this time.
"There's just one thing left for you… return the Master Sword to its pedestal," the Doctor remarked. Link and Zelda nodded, but failed to move. The Doctor shook his head.
"I'm not the one who should do that," the Doctor stated simply, holding the Master Sword's hilt to Link. Link's jaw dropped.
"Me? But I didn't even do anything!" Link exclaimed.
"You came to Zelda's defence while I was in my time. I believe this is yours," the Doctor told him simply, holding up the Triforce piece that dwelled within him. Link and Zelda looked between each other, confused.
"…Oh, right. Lana, do you mind?" the Doctor called over his shoulder. Lana looked up, and tossed him the Triforce of Courage, borrowing Keiko's Triforce of Power to continue to harness the strength to create portals through time. The Doctor held the Triforce of Courage to Link, and Link accepted that. Zelda took her Triforce of Wisdom, saying nothing about the Doctor's error.
"But what of Power?" she asked. The Doctor took a moment to consider it.
"We'll leave it behind when we go forward in time," the Doctor stated finally. Link and Zelda nodded, and turned to leave.
"Time to go, Ashley," Lana called out, waving. The Doctor smiled, and walked up to the three of them. They held out their hands, and disappeared. Their work was done.