The Legend of Zelda: The Hero's Twilight, a 'Legend of Zelda' fanfic by Tsunami Storm
Chapter 11: Regiment
"So- if we're following the continuity of the Sages of your era- the next area we have to free is the Shadow temple, right?" Twilight asked his teacher as they both worked on sharpening their blades for the coming battles. The best way to counter a magic attack was a well-polished sword, after all. That is, if you didn't already have magic of your own.
"More or less." Time answered. "But I'm afraid we won't be able to get into my Shadow temple from this age. From what I've gathered, that place crumbled into oblivion decades ago, not unlike what happened to my Forest temple." He explained. "We're gonna have to figure out some other way to get to this era's equivalent." He sighed. "It seems Bongo-Bongo's still causing problems for Hyrule, centuries after his execution."
Twilight cocked his head. "Bongo-Bongo?" He asked, unfamiliar with the name.
Time smiled. "The monster in the Shadow temple. Originally he was a Sheikah sorcerer who was executed for unspeakable crimes against Hyrule. He's the reason for the red tear dropping from an eye in the Sheikah symbol. Originally his name was just Bongo- or something close to that. His house stood where the Well was in my time in Kakariko. And that had to be the scariest dungeon I ever had to fight through as a kid." Time shuddered, those awful memories surfacing again from where he had carefully buried them.
"What did he do?" Twilight wondered to himself, and Time shrugged. "Beats me. That was before I was born, at the start of the Civil War. But there were cells down there, below the Well. I'm guessing they were for his prisoners of war. And there were torture devices too, just like the Shadow temple- most of them still covered in blood." He shuddered again. "It's not a memory I like to talk about." He admitted, and Twilight nodded. Who would?
Changing the subject, Time smiled. "But he's long gone. After the Civil War, I'd heard that the Sheikah who opposed Hyrule were banished to another dimension through the Mirror of Twilight, but your friend Midna shattered that into oblivion two years ago. You already cleared the temple of Time during your quest, and we cleaned out the Ice temple of this age as well. Snowpeak Ruins." Twilight nodded proudly, fondly remembering that particular dungeon. All the history of that place that pertained to his ancestor was fascinating. I wish more pieces of Time's era had survived the last century. There's still so much I don't know about him. Continuing their conversation, Twilight answered, "Well, if that's the case, then I've already cleared the Shadow temple too- if the Palace of Twilight is this era's equivalent."
"Really?" Time continued, surprised. Then he nodded. That made sense.
"So now what?" Twilight asked. "Were there any more temples we have to check? And where could Ganon's 'base of operations' be? I mean, we already cleared the Arbiter's Grounds, and everywhere else that he could possibly be lurking. I don't get it."
"Who knows?" Time shrugged. "They could be in a cave somewhere in Hyrule, or somewhere else we haven't thought to check. Those monsters usually like to operate in the darkest shadows, just waiting for an unsuspecting hero to enter with his guard down. We must always be vigilant, my son." He looked seriously at Twilight, who nodded gravely.
Just then a thought occurred to the resurrected knight. "I forgot one. You already cleared this era's Wind temple too. The City in the Sky. That means we got all of them. Forest, Fire, Water, Spirit, Shadow, Ice, Wind and Light. Now we just have to find where those scum are hiding and put a stop to their dark ritual to resurrect that- calamity."
[Free cookie if you spot the reference to BotW!]
Twilight, however, was pensive. He was thinking about all the temples in his ancestor's time and his own. "If there were eight temples, why were there not eight Sages in your era as well? Why were there only six Sages and five temples? And how was your Zelda the Seventh Sage?"
Time smiled. "I asked myself that same question hundreds of times. And I don't really have an answer. None that make sense, anyway. But- as for my Princess of Destiny- that part's actually pretty easy. The Sages were all chosen as servants of Hylia, and- in every age- Princess Zelda is that era's reincarnation of the blood of the goddess. Just as you and I are respective incarnations of the Spirit of the Hero. Who knows? Maybe this is all just part of some grand game played by higher beings, and all of us are merely characters in its intricate story. Maybe there were supposed to be eight temples and eight Sages- nine if you include Zelda- but those 'higher beings' didn't include them in my story for some reason. Perhaps it would take too long to 'tell' the story?" He shrugged, looking at his protégé with a wry smile. "This is all just conjecture, though. Purely hypothetical.*"
[OoT and its unmade expansion, Ura Zelda]
Twilight nodded. His teacher's theory seemed to make sense, in a weird way. Then he chuckled to himself as an errant thought buzzed through his mind. "Wonder what 'element' of which Zelda would've been a Sage, had she her own temple." He joked, changing the subject briefly.
Time smiled too, continuing the little game. "Love, maybe? Or maybe she would've been the Sage of Time, since Rauru was the guardian of the temple of Light in the Sacred Realm. Both of those elements could apply to Hylia and Zelda. If you believe all the lore about how Hyrule was first founded."
"Do you speak of the Hero from the Sky?" A gentle voice spoke up from somewhere nearby, and the two heroes looked up to find their sister and distant granddaughter walking toward them with all the grace and poise suitable for a ruling monarch. Both boys smiled warmly at the new arrival, and Time nodded. He was surprised that she too believed the ancient legends of Hyrule's birth. Not many people did.
"What brings you out here, Zelda?" Twilight asked politely in innocent curiosity as he smiled at his twin. She looked down with a small frown and bent a few grass blades back and forth with her shoe, not entirely sure how to begin her news of her discovery. "Is something wrong?" Her brother continued, worried all of a sudden.
"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong." Zelda quickly assured them, and both heroes smiled with relief. "I just- I was down in our Records room in the old dungeons, and I found something interesting. Something I think both of you would like to see." She smiled fondly and proudly, once again awed at the fact that she was actually related to the legendary Hero of Time.
"I think we've got some time to spare." Time smiled at his successor, who grinned back as he sheathed his Gilded Sword. "Lead the way, Princess."
"Please forgive all the dust." Zelda smiled sheepishly as Time sneezed, barely managing to cover his face in time. Zelda carefully opened the solid oak door of the Records room and stirred up a massive cloud of ancient and musty grime that had probably been there for centuries. "It's been a dreadfully long time since anyone's been down here- in living memory, anyway. I really should get some of our castle staff to clean it out and get it organised." She mused. Twilight snickered quietly at his old teacher's reaction, but then ended up mirroring his ancestor and sneezing as well.
"Again, apologies." Zelda bit her bottom lip in both reparation and amusement. The two champions of Farore were more alike than she'd thought. Stepping toward the back of the room, the princess thumbed through several of the older records until she found what she was looking for, pulling it out of its place in the stack of files and setting it almost reverently on the small study table so that the boys could see it. At the sight, Twilight's eyes nearly popped from his head and Time's eyebrows disappeared altogether into his long, blond bangs.
"I thought you'd like it." Zelda smiled as Twilight moved to touch the ancient pictograph. It depicted a young captain of the Hylian cavalry with his subordinates and their respective mounts, but it wasn't just any captain that was immortalized here. The current hero would recognize that distinctive armor and three-pronged helmet anywhere.
Time smiled softly at the nostalgia. "I remember when this was taken. My Zelda always insisted on making a fuss over my accomplishments. It's a good thing my old Picto Box only took black and white pictographs, because otherwise you'd be able to see my red face quite clearly." He laughed and shook his head. "That was when I first became a captain. And those boys were my first regiment. Fine young men, the whole lot of them. Fine warriors." He grinned proudly, gently touching his fingertips to the protective glass and stroking them over the surface in fond nostalgia.
"Those soldiers were some of the bravest Hyrule has ever known in its long history, but considering they were trained by a Bearer of the Triforce of Courage himself, that's not too surprising." The princess commented, smiling proudly at her brother and ancestor as they studied the pictograph. "Each and every one of them earned multiple awards for valour and bravery for their accomplishments, and all in this pictograph except one- you, Time- were laid to rest in the royal graveyard, just behind the castle walls. I believe you have been there once before, brother." Zelda smiled at her older twin, who smiled briefly and then nodded once. "Twice actually. Once during the Twilight War two years ago, and once after I- learned what happened to our parents from Time." Twilight answered grimly, not happy about having to think about the tragedy that occurred when he was a boy.
A new thought striking her, Zelda suddenly disappeared over to the back wall again, this time returning with a book so corroded with age that it was impossible to make out the name to whom it had belonged. Zelda was carrying the tome so reverently and set it down so gently that one would think the document had been blessed by the goddesses themselves. Time looked at her in confusion- wondering what the young princess was up to now- but then looked back at the table as she carefully unlocked the clasp of the album and opened the front cover, tracing her finger down the table of contents for a specific name and page that went with it. Locating the appropriate number, she gingerly flipped the brittle leaves of the tome over to the middle of the book, then looked up at the reborn Hero with a smile as she pointed to a specific sketch of a royal soldier with his family.
Time frowned for a moment- not understanding the significance of the sketch- but then someone entered the room and made the Hero of Time jump, startled. Princess Zelda smiled at the new arrival, and at her rather unorthodox method of entry. Normally people would knock instead of just appearing in a room out of nowhere like she did. Then again, Saria wasn't exactly normal, being a Sage. She walked right over to her oldest friend and gave him a big hug around the waist as she glanced at the drawing before them on the table.
"I know that woman." The ancient Sage of Forest breathed with a sad smile, but the light of surprise glimmered in her blue eyes. "I saw her a long time ago when she came into the forest with her little baby and entrusted him to the Great Deku Tree. She was terribly wounded, but there's no way that I wouldn't recognize her face. She looked just like that." Saria frowned sadly, pointing her finger at the sketch of the young wife of the Hylian soldier. And- in the sketch- Time noticed that the woman was pregnant with the couple's first child.
"This is-" Time breathed, shocked almost beyond words. "Are they-?"
"Your parents." Zelda breathed, smiling at her ancestor with tears in her eyes. "Nobles of Castle Town during the Hyrulean Civil War, though- when you were born- your father was stationed at the fortress that would become Lon Lon Ranch. Unfortunately I couldn't find any record of their names, but I did find that they were wonderful people- always helping those in need and compassionate to everyone, no matter who they met." She smiled sadly as she looked back up at Time, who had tears of his own coursing down his face. Twilight put an arm around his teacher's shoulders in a gentle side-hug, as he could tell that the former king probably needed it right now.
"He- he died in battle, didn't he." Time breathed shakily, still trying to rein in his emotions. "My f- father."
"Yes. But he fell to secure a future for his wife and then-unborn child. He was a hero, and I read somewhere else in here that his sacrifice turned the tide of the battle in favour of Hyrule. It was thanks- in no small part- to him that the King of Hyrule of that age was able to unify the land and end the war." Zelda smiled, glad that she could at least offer some comforting news to the ancient hero, who was now studying the drawing of his parents as if trying to burn the image into his memory forever.
After what seemed like an eternity, Time finally closed his eyes and wiped away the physical evidence of his emotional moment with the back of his hand, then looked up to meet the gaze of his distant granddaughter with reddened eyes and a shaky smile overflowing with gratitude. "Thank you, Zelda." He breathed as he rounded the table and embraced the surprised royal in a heartfelt hug. "Thank you so much." He whispered into her brown locks as he kissed her like a father would his beloved daughter. Though initially surprised, Zelda returned the embrace after a short moment, smiling gently as Twilight approached them from behind Time and embraced them both, completing the circle of the small royal family. This was a moment that he would remember fondly to the end of time.
It was a shame that the moment couldn't last forever.
Chilling, malicious laughter echoed through the dungeons of Hyrule Castle, and the heroes exchanged identical looks of horror. All of them had at one point heard that fell expression of glee, and it sent simultaneous shivers down everyone's spines. Faces ashen as bedsheets, all four of the heroes raced out of the Records room and up the stairs that led from the dungeons to the main chamber of the castle, and from there ran out the castle doors and through the town gate that connected to the largest section of Hyrule Field.
It was utter chaos. Hordes of ReDeads, Gibdos, Stalfos and undead Bulblins stood in ranked formations while Hyrule's army was scattered and undisciplined like frightened Cuccos. As one, both champions of Farore drew their respective blades, Twilight the Gilded Sword he'd been gifted by Time, and Time his double-helix blade after he'd donned the Fierce Deity's mask. Zelda produced her sacred longbow from thin air and nocked a Light arrow, ready to fire at the enemy at a moment's notice. Saria closed her eyes and drew out her own ocarina, playing the magical melody that would transport her to the site of the ancient Forest temple. Time, noticing her exit, smiled. He knew his oldest friend wasn't running away. She was returning to the forest to rally their allies. Hyrule would need all the help it could get.
"Form your ranks! Hold together! Let not one enemy break through your defenses! Hyrule needs you! Protect your kingdom!" Time shouted so that his voice carried over the din the other side was making in an attempt to intimidate the chosen people of the goddess Hylia. As one, the various units of the Hylian armed forces formed into their respective regiments as they had trained to do, and stood at attention as their reborn commander mounted his own horse and rode between the two armies before his troops, treading the fine line of the 'no man's land' between the forces of light and darkness.
"Archers, ready your bows and arrows! Cavalry, ready your swords and mounts! Infantry, take up your spears and halberds!" Twilight echoed as the captain of the cavalry, mounting his own Epona and taking a second to assess the equestrian battle armor she now wore. He had to admit, she wore it like a true natural. Time's loyal steed looked quite impressive as well, decked out in her original armor from decades earlier, expertly restored to pristine condition. He smiled in pleased surprise when his orders were carried out just as quickly as Time's commands had been. The title of 'Hero' seemed to carry more weight and influence than he'd expected. Or it could have been his newly-reclaimed title of 'crown prince' as well.
Sparing one furtive glance at the enemy- just to remind himself of the stakes- Twilight gasped when he spotted a new figure teleporting and sometimes almost dancing between the ranks of the undead hordes. This newcomer wore a skintight, pale bodysuit with diamond shapes cut out of it in artful patterns, and his skin was as black as obsidian, shining dimly in the light of the twilight sun. His hair was as white as the moon, and he wore a strange cloak of blood-red that reached to his hips. About his waist was a belt made of what looked to be solid gold, and a blood-colored gem rested at his hip. A thin, rapier-like sword hung from the figure's belt- hilt, cross, guard and blade all crafted from the blackest of metals. Twilight frowned slightly in confusion. He knew he'd never encountered this being before, and yet there was something eerily familiar about him.
But then the newcomer suddenly froze and grinned straight at the young Hero of Twilight, and he knew what had seemed so familiar. This being- as impossible as it was to believe- was Deathsword. Somehow he had taken a different form from the spectral horned demon with a giant cleaver, and now resembled some sort of dark nobleman from Hyrule in an age long past.
"Demon Lord Ghirahim-" Zelda breathed in horror as Time once more drew his helix blade and leveled it at the enemy that was taunting his student and descendant. The younger champion of Farore looked over at his sister as their ancestor kept a watchful eye on their new opponent. "I've read about this adversary in the oldest archives of Hyrule's history. He was the bane of the very first Hero's journey, before Hyrule was even founded. The account of the Hero and Princess from the Sky said that Ghirahim eventually became the blade wielded by Demise, the very first Ganon, and has remained at his side for centuries, through every reincarnation. Though, Ganon has taken different forms such as Ganondorf and Agahnim."
"Hm-hm-hm-hm-hmm…" Ghirahim simpered loudly so the small royal family could hear him. "So, once again it seems I am faced with yet another of the goddesses' Chosen Hero. And this time there's two of you! That should make things slightly more entertaining. I haven't crossed blades with your kin since before this land was even given a name! Let's see if you two are just as much cowards as he was!"
Suddenly Time grinned inexplicably at the terrified Hylian army behind him, completely ignoring the taunts of the so-called 'Demon-Lord', knowing they were not true in the slightest. "The enemy may command demons and the undead hordes, but you forget: they are not the only ones with the might of the past on their side! Now, First Regiment of Hyrule's Golden Age, assemble and prepare for battle! Defend your kingdom once again!" He cried in the strange 'double-tone' voice that was often attributed to gods, raising his helix blade and pointing it skyward.
All of Hyrule's forces gasped seemingly in unison as ghostly soldiers and warriors arrayed in transparent- but somehow still gleaming- golden and silver armor appeared before them, marching in perfect formation from the royal graveyard to their positions. Time wore a fierce smile of pride on his normally gentle face as he saluted his former troops, and some even answered with their own in kind. "Captain Link!" "Hero of Time!" others called in support of their reborn superior.
"Twilight!" Time called over to his descendant, who managed to close his gaping jaw and turn his eyes to his teacher. "Take over commanding the archery division for me! I'll be directing my boys over here!"
Twilight nodded and gave a salute of his own, nudging his Epona into a canter to stand between the cavalry and the archers, slightly modifying his battle strategy with ease to include their ranged attacks. With Time's rather unorthodox, last minute addition to their forces, Hyrule might actually stand a chance now against the forces of darkness and their demonic commander- this 'Lord Ghirahim', or 'Deathsword'; whatever name he went by now.
The forces of darkness seemed to come to the same conclusion as they shifted nervously from one leg to the other, rustling their chainmail loudly and fear plain on their gruesome faces.
Ghirahim snarled at the cowardice of his troops. "Why are you just standing there, you fools? Attack! Wipe these pathetic mewlings from the face of the earth! Teach that loathsome goddess Hylia a lesson for daring to defy my god!"
Afraid of the spectral and mortal soldiers of Hyrule and of the Goron and Zoran forces that had just arrived and joined their allies' ranks, but more terrified of their sadistic commander and what he would do to them if they deserted, the undead forces of evil slowly advanced across the no man's land between their armies. Time once again drew his double helix sword and leveled it straight at the red-clad demon lord, no fear whatsoever in his slightly unnerving white eyes.
As the opposing commanders squared off, Twilight and the rest of the forces of Hyrule prepared to clash with the advancing enemy, readying their spears and pikes, nocking arrows, drawing swords, and spurring their warhorses into battle.
Then the two armies clashed.
It was chaos. Rotten limbs of ReDeads and Gibdos were flying everywhere, along with several severed heads of the aforementioned foes, rolling on the fields of Hyrule like lopped-off cabbages. Zombie Bulblins and other cursed undead shuffled and shambled toward the forces of good, only to be cut down in their tracks and laid to rest by the holy blades of Hylia's chosen, and even more often by the blade of one of Farore's champions, either the resurrected Hero of Time or his renowned student/successor, Crown Prince Twilight.
By some miracle, it seemed that the forces of darkness were slowly but surely being pushed back by the Hylian army, and victory appeared to be just over the horizon. With a snarl, the general of evil acknowledged that his forces were not gaining much ground from their initial invasion and were slowly being routed, his once nearly-innumerable hordes definitely starting to dwindle.
Suddenly, inexplicably, Ghirahim raised a hand, signaling his forces to cease battle with the chosen people of Hyrule. Confused, Time also lowered his blade from battle, sparing a Bulblin that had been about to run its curved blade into his side. The creature snorted in confusion, then reluctantly clipped its sword back onto its belt and shuffled back into ranks behind its commander. On the opposite side of the field, Twilight was directing his own troops to do the same, organizing the intermingled warriors into orderly regiments as they were arranged before the battle.
"Hm-hm-hm-hmm." Ghirahim simpered once again. "It seems we are at an impasse."
"HA! Impasse, my foot! We were wiping the floor with you guys a minute ago! Don't act like it was a stalemate!" a young-sounding voice from Time's past regiment razzed from astride his spectral steed. Time looked back at his ancient cavalry with a raised eyebrow and mischievous grin. He remembered that voice. That young soldier had always been a bit brash. He'd only been just a few months older than Time himself when he was killed in battle, fighting for the freedom of Hyrule against some monsters that were still loyal to Ganondorf, even though he'd already been captured and executed by the Sages weeks before.
Twilight laughed aloud at the words of the spirit of the soldier, still as reckless as he was when he was alive. Admittedly, he had to agree with the young man.
"Insolent boy!" Ghirahim snarled, hurling a dark javelin into the ranks of the spectral cavalry and hissing in disappointment when the weapon sailed right through the young ghost's chest.
"Can't kill us! We're already dead!" Another youthful specter jeered, grinning from the saddle of his incorporeal mount.
For his part, Time just returned his gaze to the battlefront- rolling his eyes briefly, then closing them and shaking his head- a small smirk playing about the lower half of his face. After over a century of silence, he guessed that his boys deserved a few moments of levity. It had been a while since any of them had seen action. Maybe after this, most of them would finally be able to move on. And maybe, just maybe, he would too. Zelda and Link were more than capable of defending this land on their own. He could finally rest in peace, now that all of his regrets were eased.
"You may not be affected by our earthly weapons, but there are mortals among you. Vulnerable, weak, fragile children who are quite susceptible to my blade. For example-" Ghirahim suddenly vanished from the visible spectrum in a blur and reappeared an inch in front of Time's face, clashing blades with the masked deity, who barely managed to raise his own weapon in time. "-This one, who's been a thorn in my side for far too long."
Ghirahim simpered. "Heh heh heh. Surely my dark lord Demise has smiled upon me this day! I once long ago had the opportunity to slay a goddess, and now it seems-" He batted away Time's double helix sword like it was a pesky fly and ran his own blade through the reborn Hero's chest, piercing his armor and causing him to gasp and double over in pain. "-I can kill a god as well."
"TIME! NO!" Twilight roared, drawing his own blade- the Gilded Sword given to him by his ancestor- and charging at the demon that dared wound his beloved teacher.
Time staggered, unable to keep his balance as he put a gauntleted hand to his chest, his grievous wound gushing copious amounts of blood that didn't seem to be able to stop. Struggling to breathe with the gaping hole in his heart and both lungs, his blade dropped from nerveless fingers and he collapsed to his knees, catching himself with his right hand while his left continued to press on his wound, fruitlessly attempting to stem the flow of blood that was slowly draining his lifeforce.
Meanwhile, his great-great grandson was attacking the demon lord with reckless abandon, raging fury blinding him to anything else that was going on around the battlefield. His fiery blue eyes were locked on the demon, Gilded Sword gleaming in the light of the twilighting sun as it clashed with the obsidian rapier of the enemy, not giving his opponent even an inch as they each parried and struck blows as if they'd been choreographing this battle for weeks. Out of nowhere, Valoo had swooped in and surrounded the brave Twilight and the demonic Ghirahim with a barrier of dragon fire, to keep the forces of darkness from trying to interfere and cheat their way to victory.
As the battle of generals waged some distance away, Zelda, Sheik and one member of the infantry ran to Time's side, Sheik removing his cloth mask and scarf and pressing it to the gaping wound in his old friend's chest. Zelda gasped in surprise when she saw handsome features appear from beneath the mysterious Sheikah's guise, as he'd never before revealed his face. The infantry soldier also removed their helmet, and Time received a small shock of his own when the face of a young woman appeared. It seemed that Ilia had joined the battle too, to protect the home she loved like everyone else. Breathing erratically from worry and fear, Ilia quickly rummaged through her pack and produced a bottled fairy, desperately working to remove the cork and failing due to her badly shaking hands.
"Don't bother." Time coughed, a small amount of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. "H-healing fairies can do a lot, but not- not against a cursed blade. Besides, I don't be-belong here- anymore. It's- it's my time. I can feel it."
Ilia shook her head fiercely. "No! Don't talk like that! What about Link? He still needs you!"
"No he doesn't." Time smiled weakly, turning his head slightly to watch his grandson's battle. "Look at him. He's fighting like a true warrior. A true master of the blade. I may have passed on all my Hidden Skills to him during the Twilight War, but it's clear that he surpassed me some time ago. Hyrule no longer needs- the Hero of Time. It's got another hero, one who is more than capable of shouldering the task. And with friends like you, I know he'll never be alone. He'll always have someone to turn to when he needs help."
Sheik put a hand on his ancient friend's shoulder. "Time-" He sniffled.
Time looked at the reborn Sheikah, smiled, then lifted his own arm and rested it on the former ninja's shoulder. "My journey may be over, finally, but yours doesn't have to end here too. Rebuild the Shadow tribe, my friend. Don't let the bloodline of the last true Sheikah fade into history. One day, I feel that your people will be instrumental in preventing a great calamity, the likes of which- Hyrule has never seen."
[I know, I know. Subtle I am not.]
Sheik gasped softly, tears streaming from his ruby eyes. "More prophetic dreams, my friend?" He teased quietly with a choked laugh.
Time smiled too. "Perhaps. Or just wishful thinking on my part. Regardless, I have faith in you. I know you'll make your kin proud. Including your mother Impa. I'll- say 'hi' for you, shall I?"
Sheik nodded, tears now flowing freely and dropping unhindered to the hard ground below.
Suddenly the small group of heroes heard a scream of defeat from several feet away. "NO!" it wailed before eventually petering out into a pathetic whimper, then disappeared amid the renewed din of the Hylian, Goron and Zoran forces and those remaining of darkness. Now without their leader, they shuffled around in disorder like scared sheep without a shepherd. Hyrule's allied forces easily made quick work of the stragglers, finally laying to rest the undead hordes for now a second and hopefully final time.
Twilight was breathing heavily after his bout with the lord of all demons, exhausted. Cleaning off his Gilded Sword on a tuft of grass and sheathing it in its scabbard on his back, he gripped his upper right arm tightly in an effort to stop the bleeding from a significant gash in his bicep. Sporting a few more minor injuries- including a black eye from when Ghirahim had struck him in the face with his sword pommel in an attempt to catch him off guard- he shuffled over to the group and fell to his knees next to his sister, tears already falling from his electric-blue eyes.
Not a single eye in the group was dry as Time struggled to breathe, his gasps becoming significantly shallower with each passing second. "Twilight." Time wheezed. "Help- me take- this mask off." He pleaded with his grandson.
"But you'll die." Twilight gasped, the tears not seeming able to stop.
"Nothing- can stop that now." Time gasped, white, inhuman eyes narrowed in pain and resignation. "Not even a deity can survive this, a mortal wound from a cursed blade. He's just delaying the inevitable. It's my time- to move on. I just- one last time- let me- look on you both with my own eyes."
[I'm quoting 'Star Wars', I know. All credit to Mr. Lucas and whoever wrote those iconic lines.]
Zelda couldn't keep it together as Twilight tearfully nodded, turning away to weep as her brother took both sides of his ancestor's face in his hands, finding the invisible seam that separated mask from flesh and slowly drew them apart. Magical energy swirled around the mask as he removed it, slowly revealing Time's natural visage, twisted into a grimace of pain.
"You'd- you'd think I'd be used to this." Time joked quietly, trying to lighten the mood. "I've already- died in battle once. Not to mention- all the regret- that was eating away at my soul for over a century."
"It's one of those things to which you never grow accustomed, my friend." Sheik smiled sadly, tears still flowing freely from crimson irises. "Of course, most don't have the opportunity to rise from the dead and live again. Heroes like you are the rare exception."
"You also fall into that category, my friend." Time smirked at the reborn ancient Sheikah, who turned a little pink and looked away for a moment, bashful.
"All jesting aside, I am incredibly proud of all of you. Words- cannot describe the depth." Time breathed, his words barely above a whisper. "I know all of you will become great legends in your own right, just as I did. Lead- Hyrule into a Golden Age, the likes of which this land has never seen. And someday, I will return to welcome you home. Then you can meet the rest of the family of heroes. I assure you, there's more of us than just me." Time grinned in anticipation, watching both of his descendants' eyes light up with excitement and curiosity.
"Speaking of which-" a new voice sounded. "That's just what I'm here to do."
Everyone turned to the new arrival with varying degrees of surprise and shock, excluding Time, who was growing too weak to move much anymore.
Sky nodded solemnly. "Time, my son." The spectral Hero smiled softly. "Come with me. You have more than earned your rest. Everyone is patiently waiting for you. You've kept them waiting for over a century."
Time finally turned his gaze to the newcomer, smiled weakly, then gently closed his eyes for the last time, breathing his final breath out in a gentle exhale. Twilight and Zelda both gasped in unison as a strange golden mist in the form of a young man- even younger* than he had been just a few minutes prior- rose from Time's body, sitting up and taking Sky's outstretched hand, whose smile grew wider as he helped the spirit stand to his feet. Time and Sky both looked at each other with gentle smiles, then raised their eyes to the skies as the clouds parted, revealing a shining land of green, rolling fields, lush forests and a sparkling ocean in the distant horizon. Twilight gasped again as he recognized the ancient Sages of Time's era, all smiling warmly in welcome of their long-awaited friend. Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru and Impa, all incredibly proud of their trusted ally and beloved king of Hyrule.
[About seventeen, the same age he was in the Adult portion of OoT.]
Behind them stood the Seventh Sage, Princess Zelda, and her father, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, who was resting a hand on her delicate shoulder. Slightly to the left of the king stood two nobles of Hyrule, a young-looking royal knight and his beautiful equally-young wife, their arms entwined in a gentle embrace and both looking at their only son with gentle, proud smiles.
Time's spirit looked back at his remaining living family for just a moment, his exultant, beaming smile gently erasing the grief that gripped their hearts and eased the pain that his death had brought them. Twilight smiled back, wrapping one arm around his recently discovered sister and the other around the young woman he loved, with whom he planned to spend the rest of his days. Time nodded in silent approval, then he and Sky turned to the heavenly realm and stepped into the air, walking side by side to their next great adventure.
Twilight breathed deeply, chest swelling with pride as his ancestor finally moved on to his long overdue reward, and his heart nearly bursting with happiness for his teacher. He was finally done. His quest was at last completed, and now he could rest in the knowledge that his descendants would carry on his legacy, and his legend would live on for as long as the kingdom of Hyrule existed.
"Farewell, father."
End of Chapter 11
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Tsunami Storm