CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Second Son
Being is Morrigan's castle was just as weird as expected. Not just for Saya, but for everyone. It was still dark and everything was twisted in every unnatural fashion possible, and now they could see that there were several statues of bat-winged women seducing unsuspecting men. Somehow, it wasn't that surprising.
"So what's the plan?" asked Link. "This Vergil guy can't be too far."
"Don't jinx us now." said Krystal. "…I dunno. Is anyone else thinking we should just split up?"
"But not every man for himself…or herself. That'll just get us lost."
"Alright." said Felicia. "Then we'll go in pairs."
Thus, Link went with Pikachu, Lucas went with Krystal, and Saya went with Felicia. Saya had regretted not pairing up with Lucas since she felt inclined to do so after nearly killing him, but it was too late by the time she had the thought to do it. Felicia seemed like good enough company, at least, but there was one thing that greatly bothered her.
"Umm…Felicia?"
"Mm-hm?"
"Are you and Morrigan…y'know…friends?"
"Oh, yes! She might seem a bit out there, but she's really nice."
"Yeah, I noticed. But why do you like her? Do you think we can trust her to be telling the truth about Vergil being here?"
Unsurprisingly, Felicia bit her lip and looked away. There was no way anyone could trust Morrigan. Not even her so-called friends.
"I don't know, but I trust her."
"What? Why?"
"Morrigan may be manipulative and…yeah, every once in a while, I kind of wish someone would come along and slap some sense into her. But she's not a bad person. She's just scared…"
"Scared? By what?"
"Never mind."
"No, hold up a second. I want to know."
"She didn't tell me. She just said she was scared of something and then just stopped right there."
"Hm…so what do you know about Vergil?"
Felicia looked away again, once again confirming one of Saya's suspicions.
"I've never met him before. I only know Dante."
"And…Morrigan said something about her being Dante's ex-lover?"
"Yeah. I may not know much about Vergil, but I know he and Dante had it pretty rough after their parents. Dante filled up his time doing freelance demon slaying. From what they both told me, he was assigned to kill Morrigan at one point, and…yeah. He nearly did. Morrigan said it was the first time she'd ever cried and begged for mercy."
Saya tried to imagine Morrigan doing such a thing. She couldn't. She'd seen Morrigan angry, but certainly not sad or frightened. Then again, Dante was a near unstoppable force of destruction, anarchy and chaos…NEAR unstoppable. It seemed Jedah had finally mustered up the strength to do so.
"But Dante is far more human than demon. He spared her, and in that instant, she saw the sadness and remorse in his eyes. They spent the night together and they developed a mutual friendship…and yeah. Until Trish came along, they were sort of getting along in a certain other way."
"Great. I really needed to hear that…did you hear something?"
"Hm?"
"I could swear I heard someone laughing."
Elsewhere in the castle, Link and Pikachu proceeded carefully, stepping lightly so that they would be able to hear any and all sounds that would come echoing around the corner.
"You hear anything?" Link asked in a hushed voice.
Pikachu shook his head.
"Pi-chu pika."
"…yeah, what you said. Seriously, how does Felicia understand you?"
Link shook the thought out and continued to move until Pikachu leaped in front of him and held him back with one paw. The mouse Pokémon's ear twitched as he sniffed at the air, and he struggled to identify the scent he received at first, but there was no doubt about one thing: they weren't alone.
The two slowly peeked around the corner and there they were. Moblins marching about with spears in one hand and lanterns in the other. All with stupid-looking grins on their faces, but all ready to start swinging and stabbing madly the second they saw an intruder. Thankfully, Link knew from experience that while they were very violent, they were also very dumb.
"This should do it…" he thought to himself as he readied his bow.
He aimed the arrow at a high spot on the opposite wall and fired. The single metal tap that echoed through the air got the attention of the entire group of pig-men. They all rushed to the spot where the sound echoed from, and before they had anytime to realize that they had been fooled, Link and Pikachu had dashed by and into the next hallway.
In yet another spot of the castle, Krystal and Lucas snuck along with the same amount of stealth as their comrades, though the silence was suddenly broken when Lucas sneezed.
"Shh!" Krystal said softly.
"Would be easier if your tail wasn't constantly flicking in my face…"
"Well, here. Walk in front of me."
He obeyed, but kept feeling like Krystal's eyes were boring into the back of his head. She was trying to work her way into his head and figure out what he was thinking. He instinctively blocked it out to the best of his ability, though mind-reading was certainly not his forte. Blocking someone who specialized in it wouldn't be easy. In fact, judging from what Krystal said next, it didn't seem possible.
"Oh, how cute!"
"What is?"
"The whole reason you're here for Saya. It's because you have a crush on her!"
"Yeah. So?"
"Did she return your feelings?"
"I…t-that's not important right now!"
Krystal giggled and lightly ruffled Lucas' hair. He flinched and threw his hands about in moderate panic for a brief moment before realizing what was going on and letting his arms slump to his sides.
"It's okay to feel embarrassed. My fiancé couldn't say two words to me properly for a while. I thought it was the most adorable thing ever. Yeah, he manned up and started treating me like he'd treat any of his close friends, but I still love how he looked at me like I was a goddess for a while."
"Yeah…I kinda see Saya like that in more ways than one."
"Stick with her, Lucas. I don't want to jump the shark or anything, but I'd say the two of you are a perfect match."
Lucas flushed and started madly scratched at the back of his head like a dog with fleas, somewhat fitting for he was being trailed by an anthropomorphic fox but also not for an answer that could be found simply by taking a good look at her. Speaking of taking a good look at her…
"Your husband's really lucky."
"Fox? He and I aren't married yet, but I can safely say I'm all set for it."
"So how long have you two been together?"
"Oh, goodness, how long has it been…four years, I think."
"So what's the plan for kids?"
"Kids?"
She'd never really thought about children before, but the thought was very appealing. Raising a son or daughter alongside her one true love…it was exciting to say the least.
"At least one. See, the McCloud family has a bit of a curse on it when it comes to every new generation."
"Really? What's that?"
"Only one child every generation and it's always a boy. There was Fox, and then before that there was James. Who's to say that Marcus won't be an only child, too?"
"Marcus?"
"Oh, that's just the first name I thought of if it's a boy. It was my father's name. I thought the same about my mother and father that Fox thinks about me."
"Mother…"
At last Lucas fell silent, this time successfully blocking any and all attempts at Krystal trying to uncover the little part of his memory that made him so distraught. There then came a sound that both thankfully and regretfully made the two forget about the conversation. A faint echo of a soft female voice chiming "Saaaaayaaaa….where aaaaaaare yooooou…."
On the other side, Saya and Felicia heard the same chime. Saya wished she still had the Ordon Sword, and Felicia wished Marth were still with them, and upon analyzing the voice in her mind, the unbearable feeling of dread only got worse.
"That sounds like…oh, God, not Lilith again!"
"Who?!"
"Morrigan's crazy sister!"
"Wha…Morrigan didn't say anything about a sister!"
"Well, let me tell you something. If you thought Morrigan was a promiscuous maniac, Lilith…she's a complete sadomasochist and she's just a kid!"
The word "sadomasochist" was already unnerving enough, but it got worse when the giggling came again followed by the voice.
Right in her ear.
"Aww…there you are."
"Back off!"
Saya swung her fist hard at the spot behind her, only making contact with thin air. Just as she scanned her eyes across every possible nook and cranny she could see, she heard Felicia shriek in terror. The shriek sent chills up Saya's spine, only made worse when she turned around and saw that her feline companion was no longer there.
"Felicia?! Where'd you go?!"
Link and Pikachu scrambled behind a wall just as they spotted a pair of Moblins marching down the hallway, staying perfectly still as they walked by. As they passed, Link loaded up his bow again and quietly drew two arrows back, firing them simultaneously in one swift stroke. The arrows struck and the pig-men fell instantly, and Link gave a satisfied smirk.
"Suckers didn't even know what hit 'em, eh, Pikachu? …Pikachu?"
Link scanned all around the corridor but found no traces of his Pokémon companion. He scratched at the back of his head and turned around to head back the way he came, but as he did so…
"You're cute!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
Krystal's ears pricked up at the sound of Link's voice, but that wasn't the only sound she heard. Echoing through the hallway came the demented squeaks of the numerous little yellow-eyed creatures bearing small pitchforks in their hands, crawling down the walls and diving down from the ceiling. Krystal drew her staff and Lucas sparked his hands, and as soon as the creature came close enough, they attacked. Fire and lightning flew and blasted the creatures back as they stabbed and slashed and continued to make annoying sounds seemingly for the sake of doing it. As soon as it found an opening, one particular creature stabbed forward and managed to scratch Lucas across the arm, leaving a visible and gruesome scratch that he clutched at.
"Ngh…damn monsters. PK Heal-WHOA!"
"Lucas!"
This time, there was no wondering what had just happened: a red rope had suddenly dropped from the ceiling as soon as Lucas moved to fix his wound, wrapped around his arm, and hauled him away into the darkness before Krystal could do anything to stop it. As this happened, the creatures had suddenly vanished, leaving Krystal completely alone but certainly not helpless. She pointed the tip of her staff up toward the ceiling and gritted her teeth as she scanned visually and telepathically for any signs of movement.
"C'mon…I know you're there somewhere."
A cool sweat formed over her forehead, and all of a sudden, her fur practically stood on end when she realized that something was…rubbing against her tail?
Krystal looked behind her and saw probably the strangest sight she'd ever seen. A little girl, perhaps no more than twelve, sat on the ground rubbing Krystal's tail against her cheek like it was a towel. The girl was admittedly adorable, but that still left one question hanging: where in the world did she come from?
"Umm…pardon me, but what are you doing?"
The girl looked up and opened her eyes, causing Krystal to flinch slightly. Her eyes were glowing bright violet and had a strange hypnotic gaze to them. It wasn't the fact that this kind of gaze existed since Fox had said that Krystal herself had it, but it was that it was the kind of hypnotic look that begged its viewer into bending to whatever the eyes' owner asked. A seductive look compared to Krystal's soothing one.
"I'm sorry. Your tail's just so soft."
"Uhh, thanks…I guess. But where did you…"
"Hey, look over there."
The sheer confusion of the situation keeping her from seeing through the girl's ruse, Krystal looked and found herself shrieking as she was pulled away in the same manner as Lucas. The screams of her various comrades frightened Saya into a near-panicked state and she began running, searching desperately for any sign of Vergil. She didn't care if he turned out to be a stoic jerk who only cared about himself. She didn't have enough energy to ultraburst again at the moment and had no means of defending herself other than fist-fighting.
"Ohmigod, ohmigod, where am I going…"
She frantically looked all about for any familiar area before finally arriving at the throne room where the older Link and Dante Omega had crossed sword.
"Okay, finally. That room should be here somewhere."
"Saaaaaaayaaaaaaa…I wanna play."
Saya broke into a sprint down the hallway, counting off all of the rooms she saw until she arrived at the one she remembered Vergil being in. She kicked the door numerous times before it finally opened, and…
"No no no no NO!"
Her hopes of being helped were shot. He wasn't there. The discarded blanket had hinted that this was indeed the room he had been sleeping in, but there was no sign of him. Not his sword, not his jacket, nothing. What there was a sign of was her pursuer getting closer. Saya threw the door shut and pressed her full body weight against it as her pursuer began slamming against it in an effort to get it open. Every shake of the door rattled Saya's bones and frightened her even more. What kind of monster was she dealing with here?! There was no way the thing following her was what Felicia described!
At last, the banging stopped, but the sound that replaced it wasn't much better.
"I've got Luuucas, I've got Luuucas, I've got Luuucas…" the voice chanted in a mocking tone, steadily growing fainter as its owner left.
The mention of Lucas in danger was enough to convince Saya to slowly open the door, peeking through the crack first to make sure the coast was clear. She steadily exited the room and tiptoed down the hallway in the direction she had heard the voice, the feeling of dread slowly growing and nearing panic when she entered the room she had been held captive in. There, to her horror, hung her five allies, all of them bound and gagged and tied to the ceiling by the same ropes that had held her before, just red rather than black. All five were thankfully still conscious, trying as hard as they could to get loose.
"Hang on, guys!" she called. "I'll get you down somehow…what's that?"
Lucas had started screaming, but his restraints made it near impossible to make out.
"Lmmk mmt, Smmymm! Ims a trmmp!"
"What?!"
All of a sudden, Krystal's voice echoed in her mind and she knew right away that things were about to get ugly.
"HIT THE DECK!"
She didn't need to be told twice. Saya rolled forward just in time for the scythe-like blade coming from behind her to fly over her head. As she stood, she turned and got a good look at her attacker and surprisingly, Felicia's description of the girl (who Saya could now confirm was Lilith) made much more sense. She wore nearly the exact same outfit as Morrigan and even had wings jutting from her head and lower back, but her getup was red and light-blue rather than black and pinkish-purple. She also had short and tomboyish violet hair, but what really struck Saya was her physical appearance. Assuming that Lilith was a succubus, she could guarantee she was older than she looked, but that didn't excuse the fact that she looked the same age as Saya if not younger.
Just to add to the charming yet creepy vibe, the girl pouted and tilted her head as though her neck had just broken.
"Aw, I missed. Don't ruin the fun, Saya!"
"You're just sick, you know that?!"
"Thanks!"
The pouting was gone and Lilith gleefully glided toward Saya, who leaped away almost instantly. Lilith began pouting again.
"I just wanna play! Don't be such a party pooper!"
"Why don't you just let my friends go? We're not here to fight anyone!"
"But I wanna fight! It's fun! Pleeeeeeease! Besides, you owe me for ruining my little joke on you!"
"…you call trying to slice my head off a little joke?!"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Okay, you're not just sick. You're flat-out insane."
"Aw, Lukie? Did you cut yourself?"
Lucas' eyes widened and he began thrashing about as Lilith began gliding toward him. The wound was still dripping in a vile manner, and Lilith seemed bent on making it worse.
"It's okay. I can fix it for you."
"Nm nm MMMMMGHRHF!"
The other bound and gagged members of the group watched in disgust and shock as Lilith dug her fingernail into the wound and dragged it, making it even larger and bloodier the longer she held it there. All Lucas could do was scream as the pain went shooting through his body and wait for her to stop. And thank God Saya had the thought to finally leap up and strike her across the head. Otherwise she might not have done it.
"I can stand you trying to lop my head off and being weird and all that, but if you try and hurt him again, I swear I'll grind your body into dust and feed it to a pack of wolves!"
"Owww…that really hurt, you big meanie!"
Lilith was slumped over and clutching the top of her head for only a brief moment before she suddenly got back to her feet and cracked her neck.
"But it's nice to see that you're ready to play! We're gonna play cops and robbers, okay? I'm the cop and I have to catch you and take you to jail where Chief Jedah gives you a sentence!"
"You're working for Jedah?! Are you serious?!"
"Yeah! Isn't he great?!"
"Don't you know what he's trying to do?"
"What? Take away Morrigan's position of power? I knew that."
"But…she's your sister!"
Lilith's expression shifted to one filled with sadness and betrayal before she furrowed her brow and her wing changed into a large blade once again.
"So?"
The little succubus surged forward and madly swung. Saya ducked and struck her under the shoulder with her palm. Lilith retaliated by sprouting a blade from her heel and kicking backward, Saya stepping back to avoid it and punching at her opponent's forehead. Lilith's wing morphed into several ropes that coiled around Saya's arm and vaulted her high into the air. Thankfully, the restraints Lilith had conjured up hadn't hindered Krystal's telekinetic ability in the slightest as she was able to mentally catch Saya in mid-air and jerk her away from all of Lilith's attacks before lightly placing her back on the ground.
"Hey!" Lilith shouted. "No cheating!"
"All's fair in love and war." Saya retorted.
"In love? Well, maybe I could show you some good loving if you like."
"This whole thing is seriously a game to you?"
"Yeah! Isn't it fun?!"
Saya was fortunate to see that Lilith hadn't noticed Link jostle his sheath just enough to drop his sword out and onto the ground.
"No, but I'll tell you what is fun."
She rolled to the side and picked up the sword. It was a bit smaller than she would have preferred, but against a mentally unstable demon who could change her limbs and wings into bladed weaponry, it was certainly a mile better than nothing.
"A little performance enhancement. That's oodles of fun."
"Indeed it is…like this. SHADOW BLADE!"
Her wing morphed and she lunged with the full intention of impaling Saya on it, her attack proved futile when the young girl deflected it and slashed at the succubus' neck. She blocked it and stabbed at Saya's stomach, succeeding in making contact with thin air as her opponent strafed around her. Saya attacked, Lilith blocked and countered, and each kept dodging and slashing frantically to try and overpower her enemy.
"Ngh…this isn't fair! You're not supposed to be this strong!"
"Yeah, well, I am. Suck on that!"
"Just kidding! I'm barely working up a sweat! And to prove it…"
Her wings morphed into a giant clawed hand before ripping the sword out of Saya's grasp and throwing it away. As Saya made a desperate attempt to dive after it, she wasn't just caught, but wrapped from neck to toe in ropes, leaving her to thrash about in panic as Lilith climbed on top of her.
"Let go of me, you freak!"
"No way…you feel too good." the succubus whispered as she rubbed her cheek against Saya's back.
"Oh God, this is just so wrong! GET OFF OF ME!"
Saya struggled further when she found herself turned around to face Lilith looming over her, the little demon demonstrating some phenomenal strength by pinning her arms done with no way of release.
"Even if you're not that good of a fighter, you're still really pretty…hey, is it alright if I…you know…"
"NO IT IS NOT! GET OFF!"
Lilith didn't get off. In fact, she got closer, going straight for Saya's lips. Saya herself struggled to the best of her ability before finally launching her head forward and slamming it against Lilith's. The little succubus let go and stumbled to her feet as Saya wrenched herself free and ran for the sword once again.
"Oh, no you don't!" Lilith growled. "SOUL FLASH!"
Saya rolled away just in time for the large wave of energy to slip over her head, but the end result wasn't preferable in the slightest. The Soul Flash collided with a column just behind Saya, causing it to crumble away and drop several hundred pounds of stone that Saya dodged save for one wayward piece. That piece landed right on her leg, marvelling her that it didn't break it on contact but nonetheless paining her enough to cry out. Worst of all was that she lacked the strength to get a piece this big off of her and Lilith was surging toward her with her Shadow Blade ready to strike.
"PMK THMMDMMR!" Lucas cried.
The bolt of thunder jetted forward in a futile attempt to stop the succubus form advancing, but fell just short of its mark when Lucas' binds suddenly tightened and threw off his focus. At last, Lilith made one final lunge and everything seemed to go into slow motion in Saya's mind…
…as a blue-cloaked figure appeared from nowhere, kicked the rock off of her and seized her around the middle before jumping back through a wormhole he generated with a single slash of his sword.
"What in the world just…" Saya breathed before crying out again as she clutched at her still-smarting knee.
"Stay here and rest." said a cold and stoic voice.
Saya looked up and gazed in awe and slight fear at the tall man. The man they had come here looking for garbed in a blue trench coat and carrying a katana.
"…Vergil?" Saya asked.
Vergil grunted before turning to Lilith, who looked at him with a hungry and delighted look.
"Yay! Another little toy…well, not so little, but you get it, right?"
"I do. And it isn't amusing in the slightest."
"Hey, don't be so mean! Who are you, anyway?"
"I am Vergil. Son of the great demon lord Sparda, and although I usually dislike boasting in all its forms, I will say now that you haven't a chance against me…Lilith Aensland, I believe it was."
"Mm-hm. Wow…you've got such scary eyes…can I have them?"
Lilith giggled while Vergil seized the handle of his blade and unsheathed it in one smooth motion, never once changing his facial expression.
"No, but you may certainly have a taste of my blade."
"Okay! I love pain!"
"You won't like this."
Lilith lunged, and Vergil was gone through a portal with a single slash of his sword.
"What the…"
"Up here."
Lilith had barely enough time to glide out of the way as Vergil came crashing down, very nearly missing her. How had he been able to move so fast? She hadn't even heard him coming until it was almost too late.
As it turned out, Vergil was 100% correct: nothing Lilith did was any use against him. She slashed at his neck and he didn't even have to shift his body in any way to counter it. Just effortlessly raised his blade and block it. He slashed and as she blocked it, she felt her bones rattle with every strike. He swung so fast and yet so strong that she felt like he was still managing to nick her even if she was holding the blows away from her.
At last, Lilith deflected one of Vergil's blows and leaped into the air, flapping her wings and flying about while constantly spamming her Soul Flash.
"You're so mean!" she shouted. "I hope you die!"
"Then prepare to have your hopes ruined."
Vergil amazed her further. He ran up the wall and took a flying leap at her, and as she stabbed inward and impaled him through his chest, he split apart in a blue mist.
"Oops! Sorry!" she laughed. "You were a lot of fun, though!"
"It seems you don't learn from your mistakes."
This time, Lilith didn't move fast enough to escape. The tip of Vergil's sword scraped down her back and left an enormous bloody gash. Lilith let out an ear-splitting scream as she clutched at her wound. He was right. She didn't like this pain. It burned.
She fell down to the ground where Vergil seized her by the neck.
"Foolishness, succubus." he said with a nonchalant shake of his head. "Foolishness."
At last, he tossed her up and delivered a sharp blow to her forehead, sending her crashing into the nearby wall where she slumped over in a tired heap.
"How could…how could you do that, you monster?" Lilith panted, lacking any sort of strength to get up. "I…I'm gonna tell Jedah what you did to me!"
"I have a better idea." said Vergil as he approached her.
He shocked everyone, including Lilith herself, as he seized her throat again and planted her against the wall before drawing his blade and raising its tip to her heart.
"I'll just kill you."
"No…p-please."
"Begging won't help you. Good night."
Vergil reared his blade back and…
"Vergil, stop!" Saya shouted.
Vergil kept a firm grip on Lilith but looked over his shoulder. Saya stood defiantly with no trace of a limp but plenty of anger in her tone.
"Why should I?"
"Because Morrigan would never forgive you."
Vergil looked deep into Saya's eyes, worrying her in that he might not care what Morrigan thought. Vergil himself, though, thought differently. Morrigan…the demonic yet kind being that had tended to him for so long. Did he really want her angry with him for killing her sister?
No. Definitely not.
At last, he released Lilith and sheathed his blade. Lilith stood panting for a brief moment before looking over Vergil's shoulder at Saya.
"What?" the girl asked. "Go."
Lilith obeyed, circling her wings around her and vanishing in a flash of light. With a single wave of his hand, Vergil conjured four daggers from thin air and cast them at the ropes binding Saya's allies. They dropped to the ground, all of them landing on their feet and brushing themselves off before approaching the half-demon warrior.
"Introductions won't be necessary." said Vergil. "Why are you here?"
"We…we were looking for you." Felicia murmured, nervous that he might lash out when they least expected it.
"Why is that?"
Saya bit her lip before speaking to him. True, he had saved her, but the stone-cold look on his face and his monotone voice didn't help soothe her.
"Do you know Jedah Dohma?"
"Unfortunately yes. Morrigan told me all about him in my sleep…she seemed concerned that he was going to 'try something drastic'…and I assume that he has."
"Yes." answered Krystal. "He's resurrected a dark lord named Ganondorf and they're attempting conquest of the human world. Morrigan sent us here to find you and…"
"Recruit me? What makes you think I would be interested?"
"Well…you owe Morrigan, don't you?"
Vergil rolled his eyes and began walking away. Saya stood there with her mouth wide open in disbelief. How could he be this cruel and non-caring? Quickly, her mood went from shock to anger and she gritted her teeth.
"Damn you, don't you care that millions of people are going to die?"
"Not necessarily. Saving innocent lives is my brother's job. Why don't you ask him?"
"We can't! Jedah stole his soul!"
To her relief, Vergil stopped. His back was turned to her and he blessed that moment for it, for he had no intention of letting her see his brow furrow as he thought of anyone else but him defeating his chaotic and "stylish" younger brother.
He looked over his shoulder, and though his expression didn't change, his words brought light to the situation.
"In that case…count me in."
"He is regaining consciousness." Ghirahim muttered.
"Keep him restrained." said Ganondorf.
The elder Link's eyes stirred open and he let out a shout of surprise when he saw Ganondorf leering down at him. He tried to get loose and attack the evil man but quickly found that he was bound to a metal table with his sword and assortment of other tools disposed of in a corner.
"You son of a bitch…" the Hylian growled. "You have no right to the kind of power you possess!"
"I have the only right, boy." the Gerudo said with a smirk. "I am tempted to say the same thing to you, but it seems we have some sort of use for you after all."
"What are you talking about?! I'd never even think of serving you!"
Ghirahim cackled before crossing his arms and smiling evilly at their captor.
"Alas, fair Link, you have no choice. We certainly cannot have you running around with Saya and trying to put a stop to us, but with you by our side? You haven't a chance in the world."
Link gritted his teeth before his eyes widened as Ganondorf seized his wrist.
"But first," he said. "To ensure that there shall be no resistance…"
The Triforce of Courage began glowing and humming as Link's body started to convulse, Ganondorf's Triforce of Power making the same light and sound. Link felt every negative experience he had ever felt come rushing into his head in an instant as the two Triforces continued to resonate, and he let a blood-curdling scream as he felt a sharp pain shoot through his entire body. At last, a single golden triangle lifted itself from his hand and Ganondorf was quick to seize it. When he opened his hand again, it was gone.
He had extracted Link's Triforce.
"Not to worry, my boy." the Great King of Evil laughed. "I shall keep it safe."
"You…I swear I'll…"
"Do nothing. Jedah. Bring it forward."
Link's eyes darted all about. What was "it"? What did Ganondorf need it for? As he saw Jedah approach form the darkness and smile at him, however, he knew that something was about to go horribly wrong as he saw something in the elder demon's hand which he now gave to Ganondorf.
"What is that?!" he demanded.
Ganondorf grinned before turning to Link and raising the object so he could see it. Link now saw that it was a mask. A heart-shaped mask with soul-piercing yellow eyes, strange and colorful decorations all over it, and spikes protruding from its edges. Worst of all, he felt an unbelievable malevolent aura resonating from it. An aura that was threatening to devour his soul.
"I believe you know exactly what this is." said Ganondorf. "A gift of power to you. You will serve us…and this wonderful trinket will ensure that you will have no choice in the matter."
Link did indeed recognize the mask and he began lashing about in an attempt to get loose from his bonds. Ganondorf pinned him down with his free hand.
"STOP!" Link bellowed. "DON'T!"
"It's easier if you don't fight it."
At last, Link screamed again as Ganondorf overpowered him…
…and Majora's Mask was fastened to his face.
Oh, man, that's not good...
So how about that Smash Bros. Direct? First off...okay, Sakurai is a master troll, isn't he? Second, thanks to all the cool stuff they showed, HOT DIGGITY, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS GAME! Thirdly, Greninja as a playable character...hm. Well, I would say that's a pretty random choice, but I'd say the same thing about Lucario had he not been the main star of one of the Pokémon movies. Either way, he looks fun. He's a freakin' ninja, for God's sake!
SOUNDTRACK SO FAR
Saya, Ness, and Lucas- "Pollyanna" from Earthbound (SSBM)
Marth to the rescue- "Together We Ride" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (SSBM)
X and Zero versus Kirby and Meta Knight- "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Super Star (SSBB)
Link versus Morrigan- Morrigan's theme from Marvel versus Capcom 3
Link versus Dante- "Never Surrender" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Krystal and Trish versus the Moblin horde- "Lock and Load" from Devil May Cry 1
Krystal versus Mewtwo- "Poké Floats" from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Saya versus Ghirahim- Ghirahim's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Frank versus Ghirahim- "On a Mission" from Dead Rising
Courthouse caving in- "No Redemption" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Samus escapes- Metroid Prime main theme
Chun-Li versus Samus- Chun-Li's theme from Street Fighter IV
Standoff on Mount Fuji- "Douchuumen" from The Mysterious Murasame Castle (go on Youtube and look for a version by a group called ysk1210)
Saya and Lucas- "Love" from Mother 3
"LET'S ROCK!"- "Devils Never Cry" from Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
The Devil Trigger- "How Old is Your Soul?" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Ryu and Ken versus Juri- Ryu's theme from Street Fighter IV
Jedah's assault on the airship- Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 (SSBB)
S.I.N. versus B.S.A.A.- "Ride on Sea" from Resident Evil: Revelations (or Biohazard: Revelations if you live in Japan)
Ike to the rescue- "Eternal Bond" from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Saya's sorrow- "Kinder Days" from Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (known as Successor of the Skies in Europe and Australia)
An army of twenty-one- Main menu theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dante versus Dante- "Empty" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Saya's rage- Tabuu's theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tetra's pirates- "The Great Sea" from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Lagiacrus- "Sea and Land Tremble" from Monster Hunter 3
The Ancient Mother- "Shenandoah" from Endless Ocean
Vergil versus Lilith- "Super Ultra Violet" from Devil May Cry 1