Hello readers! It's time for Chapter 117! While our heroes were successful at defeating Cia, they'll soon learn the battle isn't over quite yet... in fact it may very well be just beginning...!
Lana stood at the Valley of Seers, the place where Cia and the monks who helped her watch over the Triforce and the passage of time once resided. That place was now barren and destroyed thanks to the war Cia had declared on Hyrule. The only thing left there now was the Gate of Souls that Cia had opened to bring over the points in time where Midna, Agatha, Ruto and the others had come from.
The sorceress of light took a deep breath, as she brought her hand up to the portal, using her magic to shut it closed. With her work finally finished, she had a small, sad smile on her face as she sat back on the ground. She noticed the place she was sitting was the same place where she had been when Cia died, and she let out a sigh, thinking about her friends... especially one small kid...
"I wonder how he's doing right now...?"
Lana was then jolted out of her thoughts by a clomping noise. She turned to see Link riding up the stairs on his young foal Epona. He hopped off the steed and went right up to Lana. She also noticed he was carrying the broadsword that she obtained for him from the Silver Moblin, and wearing the Keaton Mask on the side of his head.
"Huh?!" Lana exclaimed, "What are you doing here Young Link? I'm surprised you didn't return to your time period yet!"
"I dunno why I haven't gone back yet." Link shrugged, "But I thought you might want some company."
"Well that's sweet of you but..." Lana paused, playing with her side ponytail a bit, "Wouldn't you be happier at the castle with everyone?"
"Nah, think I'd rather hang out with you." Link grinned, sitting himself down beside her, "Besides, a castle like that's too fancy for us, right Epona?"
Epona simply snorted in response.
Lana paused for a second, before her previously sad smile started to turn brighter.
The once deserted and lifeless valley was bursting with life and energy now that Link, Lana and Epona were together there. They spent the next few days talking about their experiences before they met, played some games together, and Lana showed off a number of her magic tricks to Link.
Link continued to practice not just with his Kokiri Knife, but trying to learn the abilities of the Fierce Deity Mask. After what he had experienced with the mask in the past, he was afraid to utilize it's power. But after saving Lana and General Link from the Dark Links he once feared, he decided to try and master it's use so he could continue to protect his new friend.
At the moment though, Link was focused trying to teach Lana a more daunting task; how to ride on Epona.
"Aaahhh! Help Link, Epona doesn't have her head anymore!" Lana called out.
"That's cause you're riding on her backwards!" Link pointed out.
"Oh right." Lana sweatdropped, turning herself around and trying to grip at the reins.
"You're doing good!" Link called out as they past by him, "Try to hold her steady!"
"Wooooah! Woah Epona!" Lana exclaimed with her eyes spiraling, "Stop! Slow down! Pause! Woah nelly! Enough already! Stoooooooop!" she said yanking back on the reins.
Suddenly Epona came to a complete stop, sending Lana flying off of her and through the air, crashing into a small water canal. Lana emerged up and spit out some water as Epona came trotting up and drinking the water, before giving the sorceress a lick.
"Now I remember why I don't like horse riding." Lana said with an annoyed pout.
"It's okay, you're doing better than ever!" Link said running over, "You lasted a whole five seconds more than last time!"
"Ugh, thanks..." Lana groaned, trying to get up but slipped in the water and fell over on her rear, "Eep!"
"Here, let me help you out there." Link offered, reaching out and grabbing Lana's arm, helping to pull her out of the water and to her feet.
"Geez, you're always being so supportive Link." Lana smiled.
They then heard a snorting sound, and looked over to Epona who was standing there staring at them. Maybe Link was just seeing things, but he could have sworn he Epona was sporting a snide grin, before she turned and trotted off.
Lana just stuck her tongue out at the horse behind it's back.
"Hey Link, soup's on!" Lana said walking up to him carrying two plates of meat and rice, "...well okay, it's not really soup at all, it's just- Link?"
She paused in her rambling to see Link was sitting on the top of the seer temple stairs, staring down at Kaira's sword. She frowned and sat down on the step with him, setting the food on the side.
"Sooo... what do you wanna do with that sword anyway? Want to go take it back to your friend in Terrensoll?" Lana proposed.
"I dunno... I still don't wanna show my face there after everything that happened." Link spoke, "By this point they've all probably decided what happened was my fault and would just kick me out. It really stinks, for a while I thought I had finally found my place in life..."
"Your place?" Lana spoke curiously.
Link nodded, "I left Hyrule to go find someone important to me, but sometimes I wonder if I really wanted to find them so badly, or if I was just using them as an excuse to go out and find my true place in the world." he leaned backwards on the bench and looked into the sky, "After coming back from the dark future, I wasn't really sure if I even belonged in my homeland anymore. I thought I had maybe found a place in Terrensoll, but then the Bokolins showed up and... ...and now I just feel lost."
He started to sniffle sadly, "It makes me wonder if I really have no place in the world... if I really was meant to be alone..."
"Link..." Lana whispered.
But before either of them could talk any further, Lana felt a strange sensation. She stood up and peered off the distance and saw something shocking. She broke out into a cold sweat and gulped.
"Oh no..."
Approaching the seer's ruins was a large army of monsters; Moblins, Stalfos, Redeads, Darknuts, even some giant monsters like a Gohma and Manhandla were coming as well. And leading the army was someone they had hoped to never see again; it was the demon king Ganondorf that they encountered back in the Temple of Souls.
"Ooohuhuhuhu... what a gaudy structure." spoke the flamboyant voice of a demon man with white skin and white hair, and wearing a red cloak. He was known as Ghirahim, a sword spirit like that of Fi. He had once caused General Link trouble on behalf of Cia, but now swore loyalty to Ganondorf. He grinned sadistically as he snaked out his long tongue, "Hard to believe anyone could find this place as a stronghold, let alone livable."
"Yes... but living here she is." spoke the other being, he was wearing a long cloak and a stone helmet that fully covered his head. He was known as Zant, a twili like Midna. He had overthrown Midna from her position as ruler of the Twili Realm, and while he had a setback thanks to Lana, Agatha and Midna, Ganondorf had now brought him to his side, "I'll conquer this place and rule over all every itty bitty bit of it! Keehahahaha!"
"Silence, both of you." Ganondorf spoke, sporting a sinister smirk, "It's time for me to reclaim the Triforce of Power from that witch, as she has no one to protect her now." he held out his great sword, "Minions, attack!"
With that, Ghirahim, Zant, and the army all charged right into the Valley of Seers with Lana as their target.
"What?! It's Ganondorf?!" Link exclaimed.
"I thought General Link defeated him back at Cia's temple... He's got that crazy helmet guy from the Twilight Palace too!" Lana spoke. She looked down to Link, "You need to get out of here Link!"
"What?! But what about you?" Link asked.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me!" Lana assured him, "I've kept you here long enough, go warn General Link and everyone!"
Link stared up at her, then over to the army that was approaching the temple. He looked down at Kaira's sword and narrowed his eyes.
"...no." Link spoke.
"Huh?" Lana spoke.
Link took a second to grab one of the two food plates Lana had prepared, he bowed his head in thanks, before he gobbled it down within seconds, letting out a small burp afterwards. He then turned and stared down at the army.
"I'm going to help you fight them Lana." Link said, stepping up and unsheathing his Kokiri Knife, "I'm not leaving you alone here!"
As some smaller quicker monsters came running up the stairs to attack the two, Link ran forward and stabbed a Bokolin with his knife, then swinging it to the side to cut the head off a Stal-child. Some Darknuts came running up, so he slapped on the Fierce Deity Mask without even a second of hesitation, transforming into the grown warrior, and cut them down quickly with his helix sword.
"But we're outnumbered!" Lana said, "Even that mask's power won't be enough alone!"
"Doesn't matter, I would never forgive myself if I just ran away again." Link said in his older voice, "I'll protect the Triforce of Power, and you!"
Lana just stared at Link and took in his words to her. Maybe it was just because he looked and sounded older in the form of the Fierce Deity, but for a brief moment, Lana could feel her heart skip a beat from what Link said, and her face flushed lightly.
Link ran forward, cutting down more monsters that approached them. Lana hesitated for a second, before nodding and running forward, using her magic to blast away the enemies as well. Their combined power allowed them to take out every monster that came their way. Link dodged a moblin's spear swipe, then swung down his helix sword to cut it in half, before quickly turning and jamming his sword into a Darknut's armor, causing it to explode from the inside.
Lana conjured her energy barriers to bash away much of the enemy army. She swung out waves of electric energy to clear out the smaller minions, then smashing large cube shaped barriers down on the bigger ones. She brought up a ball of magic in her hand and slammed it onto one barrier to create a much larger blast to take out even more.
"Ah, I think I grow weary of being a mere spectator." Ghirahim spoke, running out and striking his sword down at Link, "You seem quite fascinating, I think I'll shot a shot at you!"
"Try me." Link growled as he and Ghirahim both started clashing with their swords.
Meanwhile Zant had jumped into battle himself, and was swinging around multiple scimitars between his fingers, trying to slash at Lana, but she was able to hold him off with her electric barrier magic.
"Grrrr... stop with the shields you big stinky cheater!" Zant screamed as he was slashing wildly, "I'll make you answer for what you did back at the Twili Palace all that time ago! Now gimmie that Triforce!"
"Never, you'll have to beat me first!" Lana said, blasting back Zant with magic.
Ghirahim manifested levitating blades to try and impale Link, while Zant used his strange power to grow thirty feet tall in an attempt to intimidate Lana.
Link evaded each of the blades and swiped at what he thought was Ghirahim, but he vanished. Another blade came at Link and sliced him across the back. He could feel his anger building from the pain, but held it back and turned to observe the blades as they came at him. He then realized what Ghirahim was doing, and as he saw the demon man appear in the distance, he sprinted at him. The blades came down again, but this time Link quickly turned around and slashed out razor energy disks through the blades themselves, eventually one was struck and changed into Ghirahim, who went tumbling over.
"I knew it, you were distracting me with an illusionary copy!" Link said.
"Grrrr... how DARE you strike me you infernal brat!" Ghirahim scowled angerly, a stark contrast to his calm demeanor, as he launched more blades at Link.
The young lad watched the attacks carefully before running forward, dodging through the blades. Ghirahim tried to strike his target, but just as he was about to, he saw the angry white-eyed glare of Link, causing him to freeze up just long enough for the young warrior to swing out and slash through him with the helix sword, sending the demon man crashing to the ground,
"Graaaaahhh!" Ghirahim groaned out. Before Link could hit him again though, the sword spirit snapped his fingers and teleported himself away.
Meanwhile Lana was fighting off Zant who kept stomping at the ground wildly in an attempt to crush her. He came down with his foot with such force it sent Lana flying from the ground shaking alone.
"Keehahahaha! Get squished, like a little buggy!" Zant laughed.
Lana thought to herself for a moment, before running forward, avoiding another foot stomp, and then stepping right down on the end of Zant's other foot with her heel. Zant paused for a moment, before screaming out.
"Ooooow, my tootsie! Oowie oowie oowie!"
Zant clutched at the foot Lana had stepped on, hopping around in pain. Lana took that chance to conjure a barrier cube right in the path of Zant, causing him to trip over it and fall over on his face. Just as he was about to get up, Lana conjured two barriers on either side of Zant and crushed him between them, leaving the twili sprawled out on the ground in a daze. Before she could attack him again, he quickly rolled backwards and transported himself off in a hasty retreat.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Lana grinned, she turned to Link to see him pull off the Fierce Deity Mask and change back into a child, "You holding up okay Link?"
"Yeah... Now that we beat them, let's try to-"
"Skreeeeeeh!"
But they turned to see more monsters of Ganondorf's army coming at them, forcing the two to go right back into battle again.
"What's with this delay you simpletons? How hard is it to capture a single girl?" Ganondorf shouted out to Ghirahim and Zant some distance away from the battlefield.
"My apologies my liege, but it appears the young lady has some extra help with her." Ghirahim said with a bow.
"The sorceress isn't feeble either, she has the strength equal to that of the dark witch woman who originally enslaved me!" Zant said, "Please forgive our failure, my lord!"
"Hmph, do I have to do everything around here? I suppose I'll have to deal with those weaklings myself." Ganondorf said.
"Wait, listen Lord Ganondorf," Ghirahim spoke up, his face as straight and serious as Ganondorf had seen him, "That child... he holds a strange power that not even I'm familiar with... you need to be cautious with him."
"... ..." Ganondorf stared down at the sword demon, before narrowing his eyes, "Don't tell me what to do." he motioned to the Gohma and Manhandla he had tamed on the way to the Valley of Seers, taking dark energy and flowing it into the two monsters to fill them with greater power, "Now go forth and crush them both!"
Link and Lana stood back-to-back, having taken down as many of the monsters as they could, but were starting to get tired.
"Any ideas of what to do Link?" Lana asked as they stood back-to-back.
"Retreating sounds good, but Epona's not big enough to carry both of us." Link said, "I just need a little more time to think..."
"I don't think time's what we got right now." Lana gulped as the two heard a loud screech, and saw the Gohma and Manhandla both charging at the two, their bodies were engulfed in a dark aura and were destroying any monsters that dared to be standing in their way.
"Woah, those ones look way too tough!" Lana said.
Link stared at the two creatures, then he looked over to Epona far in the distance and nodded to her. The horse seemed to make a grunting sound in response. He then took and slapped on his Fierce Deity Mask to transform into the grown warrior form again. He gasped out a bit from using the mask so soon after last time, but he gripped at his helix sword and stood for battle against the two giant creatures.
"I'll deal with them." Link said, charging in against the giant monsters while Lana called out worriedly to him.
Link brought his sword down at the Gohma, who instinctively tried to protect itself with it's front claws. As Link tried to drive back the Gohma's defense, the Manhandla opened up it's mouths and fired off a barrage of seed pellets down at Link. He turned and brought up his sword to block off the plant monster's attack, but he was grazed by a few shots, and that gave the Gohma a chance to blast Link with an eye beam. He shook off the attacks, before going right back into battle.
As Lana helplessly watched Link she suddenly felt a weird sensation, and turned to make a barrier just as Ghirahim and Zant both attacked her, but they managed to break through and knock her down.
"Ooohuhuhu..." Ghirahim chuckled, "While your little boyfriend is dealing with our master's pets, we'll be taking that Triforce of Power!"
Lana gulped, she was unsure of what to do against these two, until she heard a snort. She glanced to her side, and smiled a little.
"Fat chance!" Lana said, kicking Ghirahim away with a electric-charged kick, before turning and running at Epona who was already galloping away. She grabbed onto the horse's reins and pulled herself onto the horse. She lost her balance for a second, but managed to grab ahold and ride off on her.
"Huh?! Where'd that horsey come from?!" Zant exclaimed.
"Just catch her you twili fool!" Ghirahim shouted, as the two pursued after Lana and Epona.
Link was driven back by Gohma and Manhandla, but took that moment to look behind him and saw Lana riding off on Epona. He grinned seeing Epona responded so easily to his plan to protect Lana, then ran back in to fight against the monsters.
Gohma charged up and started firing eye lasers at Link. He evaded the first few, but then suddenly brought up his helix sword at just such an angle as to deflect it right into one of the Manhandla's heads. The plant creature screeched out in pain, causing it to open up in the center. Link took that chance and dashed forward, leaping up onto the core of the monster and driving his sword right down into it, releasing a powerful burst of energy that blasted the creature out from the inside, destroying it.
Link landed to the ground and turned to the Gohma with a piercing glare, actually making the crab monster back up a little. Link charged at the Gohma who fired multiple lasers at him, but he quickly darted left and right before jamming his sword into the crab's eye. Link then shouted out as he swung his sword over his head, carrying the Gohma with it, before slamming it to the ground. Link then jumped back and swung out energy blade disks from his sword to slice it to pieces, effectively destroying the crab creature.
"W-Whew... I need to go help Lana now..." Link said. He turned and started to run off, but felt his body weakening quickly. He had exerted the power of the Fierce Deity Mask, but for some reason it wasn't falling off like before. He tried pulling it off, but it was clinging to his face, "Come on..." Link muttered to himself, pulling at the mask, "COME... OFF!"
Link finally managed to yank the mask off his face and he gasped out, "What the heck...? It's never done that before..." he muttered, thinking about the dark voice he once heard...
"Oh right! Lana!" Link realized, running off to assist his friend.
"Ugh..."
Unfortunately despite Lana's best efforts to escape on Epona, Ghirahim managed to anticipate which direction Epona was heading, and Zant was able to sneak up through the shadows and spook the horse, causing the sorceress to fall off of her. Lana tried to fight the twili off, but she was quickly defeated and captured by Ganondorf.
"Heh... did you really think you could get away from me?" Ganondorf chuckled darkly as he held Lana by her neck into the air, "Now I'll be taking what's mine." he brought up his other hand and managed to pull the Triforce of Power from the sorceress' person.
"No..." Lana groaned weakly.
"As for what to do with you..." Ganondorf spoke, "I could just simply kill you... or perhaps I could make you bend to my will...?"
Lana scowled at Ganondorf with tears in her eyes, recalling Cia in her arms just before she passed away.
"You monster..." Lana whispered, "You're the reason I was separated from Cia... You made her cause all that pain and destruction across Hyrule... You're the reason she's dead..." she then screamed out in anger, "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, YOU DAMNED BASTARD!"
"My, such an uncharacteristic temperament for one such as her." Ghirahim spoke.
"Feh, like you're one to talk Ghirahim." Zant muttered sweatdropping.
"Heh heh heh..." Ganondorf chuckled, "I didn't make that witch do anything, she choose to do whatever she wanted for her own idiotic desires, and she wound up dying pointlessly and pathetically for it. But don't worry, I've decided that soon you'll be joining her..." he said as she squeezed her neck tighter.
Lana tried grabbing at Ganondorf's arm to pull away from him, but it was futile. She was too weak, and she couldn't breathe. She closed her eyes to prepare for her demise...
"LANA!" Link suddenly shouted out, the twelve-year old running up to the four of them. With his short stature, he ducked in-between a surprised Ghirahim and Zant and he took his Kokiri Knife, managing to thrust it forward and jam it right into Ganondorf's side.
"Grk... GRAAAAH!" Ganondorf shouted out, dropping Lana to the ground, before bringing up his arm and bashing his assailant away, "Who dares strike me?"
"Link!" Lana exclaimed, forcing herself up and running over to the Hylian child's side.
"Wait, it was the brat? H-How did that shrimp manage to injure our lord like that?!" Zant exclaimed.
"Hmph... you again." Ganondorf spoke, staring down at Link who had his head downcast, the demon king unsheathed one of his great swords, "I'll just destroy the both of you here and now."
"Don't even try it..." muttered Link, looking up at Ganondorf with a furious glare, "Don't you dare even hurt one hair on Lana's head!"
'What...?' Ganondorf muttered, feeling a strange sensation just then.
The demon king's hesitance gave Lana the chance to throw down a burst of light magic, obscuring Ganondorf and his two minions' vision just long enough for her to escape with Link and Epona.
"They're gone?" Zant exclaimed stamping his foot, "Dirty cheaters!"
"My liege, shall we give chase?" Ghirahim asked.
"... ...no need, we obtained what we came here for." Ganondorf said raising up his fist, revealing the Triforce of Power engraved on it, "I can already feel it's power flowing through me. Now we just need the two other pieces... heh heh heh..."
But as Ghirahim and Zant both went ahead to start organizing more monsters for their next assault, Ganondorf found himself staring downwards, thinking about the young boy that attacked him. He felt at the wound Link had given him with the knife. Despite Link having managed to impale him in the very opening between his armor plating, it shouldn't have caused the demon king that much pain. Ganondorf reflected on the fierce look in the child's eyes just before they escaped...
"That boy, could what that man had written before be true...?"
Thanks to her quick thinking, Lana managed to escape along with Link and Epona from the Valley of Seers. After recovering from their injuries, the three of them set out immediately to Hyrule Castle in order to warn their friends of Ganondorf.
Unfortunately, they soon came to learn they were too late, as Ganondorf had already conjured Hyrule Castle fully. It some time to track down Captain Zelda, General Link and Commander Impa along with their army, and they told the two the bad news; it seemed Ganondorf had defeated them and claimed the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage, they had been forced to barely retreat with their lives.
"So Ganondorf has the whole Triforce?!" Link exclaimed with his jaw dropped.
"Yes, he came out of nowhere and completely overwhelmed us." Commander Impa sighed.
"I thought I had defeated Ganondorf back at the Temple of Souls, but I failed and let down the princess." General Link said hanging his head downcast.
"Oh Link, don't blame yourself." Zelda said sadly, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I didn't properly prepare for further attacks in the wake of our victory, I greatly underestimated the demon king."
"Well he probably wouldn't had been strong enough to beat you two if I hadn't lost the Triforce of Power to him..." Lana spoke.
There was a heavy silence among the group. Link looked to his friends and stared down at his own tiny body. He had once defeated Ganondorf in the dark future, but did they really stand a chance against him now that he had the whole Triforce...?
"Hey Link," Lana spoke up, leaning over at him, "I was thinking... maybe I should try to find a way to send you back to your own era. You've been through a lot, and even with that Fierce Deity's power, it takes more out of you than I'm comfortable with."
"Huh? But what about you guys?" Link asked.
"It's fine Young Link, you've done more than enough for us." Zelda nodded, "You don't need to trouble yourself with our burden any longer."
"Yeah, You only came to this era because of an accident, this isn't your battle anymore. Just leave this to us!" General Link nodded, "It's our destiny to fight and put an end to Ganondorf!"
Link contemplated that and closed his eyes. Destiny was a thing he grew to resent after all he had been through in the dark future. Despite following the will of the goddesses, he had to bare witness to all the destruction and death at the castle and it's town, all the chaos that befell the tribes, his five friends all having to sacrifice their lives in Hyrule to become sages...
And now despite being the carriers of courage and wisdom, this Link and Zelda both fell to the power of Ganondorf. Just what did the goddesses expect of them? Did they expect anything of them at all? Would they truly be fine if a mad man like Ganondorf ruled Hyrule like they allowed him to do in that dark future...?
Could Link really just stand by and allow that to happen to this era as well...?
"No..." Link spoke up, getting the attention of the others, "I'm not gonna give up on you guys. I don't care what 'destiny' says! I may have came here by coincidence, but now that I'm here, I'm gonna see this through to the end! I'm going to help you guys stop Ganondorf!"
The four of them all looked to 'Young' Link with wide eyes. Lana took in what he said about destiny in particular and her expression perked up.
"...thank you so much for that Young Link." Captain Zelda smiled, "You're such a brave little one, it's no wonder you've accomplished all that Lana spoke of you." she knelt down and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, making him turn a bright red.
General Link had an annoyed look on his face at the attention Zelda was giving Young Link, as Impa nudged him a little with a smirk on her face, "Feeling jealous Little Peacock?"
"I'm not jealous." General Link said, turning away with a pouty expression that made Impa laugh. She then looked over to see Lana focusing on something, "What are you working on here Lana?"
"..." Lana has her eyes closed and her hands out, as a large portal started to form in front of her.
"Wait, Lana! You don't have to send him back!" Zelda protested, "He said he's pledged his support to us!"
"I'm not sending him back." Lana spoke, opening her eyes with a confident smile, "I'm calling them back to us!"
With that, the portal flashed brightly, and emerging out from it was a familiar group of warriors; Chieftain Darunia of the gorons, the zora princess Ruto, the twili imp Midna, the bug princess Agatha, and the sword spirit Fi.
"Oh, it's everyone!" Zelda gasped.
"Yeah, because they were so tied to this era after working with us, it was easy to bring them here." Lana said.
"Link-darling!" Ruto squealed out, running over and hugging Link, "We meet again after so long!"
"Mmph mmph-mmph." Link muffled from between Ruto's chest.
"Jees it's only been like a couple weeks or so..." Midna said rolling her eyes, she turned to Lana, "Now what did you call us back for anyway?"
Lana went ahead and explained everything to their friends from the past, and they were all shocked at this news.
"Oh dear, that just won't do." Agatha said, "We'll have to lend them our aide, yes?"
"Bwahahaha, definitely!" Darunia grinned widely, "You can count on us!"
"Tsk, I was working on finding my partner, but I guess he'll be fine for now." shrugged Midna, "Alright, count me in!"
"Our chances at defeating the demon king as he is now is incredibly low, but I still feel we can win." Fi spoke, "Is this what they call 'confidence'?"
"Yes, confidence in each other to be exact." Ruto grinned, "So how about we all go take back Hyrule from that horrible fiend?"
As the group all collectively cheered out in enthusiasm, Lana looked to the young Link with a smile.
With their friends assembled, the Hylian forces waged war on Ganondorf's armies. Though the evil forces were vast and powerful, the combined strength of Captain Zelda's army and the collective efforts of their allies from time's past proved to be quite a match against them. Even when Ghirahim and Zant tried to put a stop to them, they were eventually defeated, and the group were soon on their way to Hyrule Castle to take on Ganondorf himself.
Hyrule Castle and the surrounding area had been devastated by Ganondorf's evil power, the sky was a blood red, the grassy land had been torn into a wasteland, and giant swords were sticking out from the earth which secured the demon king's rule over everything. Even Hyrule Castle itself had a huge sword lodged into it, towering over the area.
"How horrible... so this is what Ganondorf is using the Triforce for..." Zelda spoke sadly.
"We have to put a stop to him..." General Link said, stepping up and gripping the Master Sword, "One more time, everyone please lend us your support!"
The young Link looked up to the older Link and nodded, he was weary about using the Fierce Deity Mask again after last time, but he vowed to do whatever he could within his power to help them.
Zelda put together an attack plan and the army charged into battle, while Ganondorf deployed an entire army of Moblins, Darknut and Stalfos to stop them. Things looked grim for the heroes for a short while when Ganondorf summoned two dragons known as Argorok down to attack, but thanks to some planning by Impa, and a carefully placed Bombchu by Darunia, they were able to break through the enemy's defenses and take down one of the dragons.
"Hmph, these fools think they seriously have a chance? Then let's see how well they fare against me!" Ganondorf said, using the Triforce's power to engulf himself in great energy.
Some knights tried to stop Ganondorf as he arrived outside Hyrule Castle, but he simply blasted them all away with great force. His minions were growing in strength by his influence, and lightning started coming down from the increasingly darkened sky.
"Hmph, that bastard has finally shown himself. Any ideas Zelda?" Ruto asked, kicking away a Stalfos.
"I believe Ganondorf is channeling his power through Hyrule Castle itself. If we take back the castle and drive out the darkness within it, we can stand a chance." Zelda said cutting down a Darknut.
"Leave it to me!" General Link said, charging off towards the castle.
As the war against Ganondorf continued; Young Link and Midna were fighting against the second of the Argorok. It breathed fire down at them, but Midna formed a sphere of twili energy that blocked off the attack. Link ran forward to slash at it with his Kokiri Knife, but the dragon swatted him away.
"Hey, why aren't you using that fury deity form or whatever you called it?" Midna asked, "It actually made you pretty useful for once!"
"I dunno... there's something weird going on with it lately... and I'm worried about trying to use it's power." Link said, looking down at the mask on his belt, recalling his fears about it from before...
"Feh, I've been working with my partner to claim a power that can help me defeat the ones who turned me into this." Midna said, blasting the dragon backwards, "If you ask me, power's something that should be used for what you believe in, simple as that."
Link just stared up at Midna as she knocked away the dragon with another attack, but then heard a scream from the distance.
"Huh?" Link turned to see Ruto, Darunia and Lana all fighting against Ganondorf far off the distance.
Lana fired off some electric energy barriers to block off Ganondorf's powerful sword swings, as Ruto shot off some water bullets from her fingers. The water impacted into the barriers, causing a static discharge that blasted into Ganondorf. Ruto flipped into the air and came down at him with a flying watery kick, but he grabbed her by the leg and hurled her away. Darunia tied rolling right at the demon king, but he countered by holding his ground and managing to stop the Goron's powerful attack, before blasting him backwards with dark lightning.
"Uh oh, they're starting to get overwhelmed!" Link said.
"Listen kid, you go on ahead and support them." Midna said to Link with her back turned to him, "Let me take care of this overgrown lizard!"
"...okay, thanks Midna!" Link nodded, running off across the field.
Midna looked back at Link and grinned a little, before turning back towards Argorok and punching it with her ponytail fist.
Lana ran forward and sent electric sparks across the ground to stun Ganondorf before blasting him head-on with a direct magic attack. Ruto and Darunia both took that chance to knock Ganondorf backwards with a combined attack, but the demon king shrugged it off and knocked them all away with a swing of his swords.
"Heh heh heh... you lot are nothing compared to me." Ganondorf said, generating more dark lightning in his hand, "I'll do what he could never do to you meddlesome pests."
As Link ran across the field, he saw Lana, Ruto and Darunia all weakened by Ganondorf, and the demon king was about to unleash a powerful attack at the three of them. For a brief moment, Link recalled when he was in the Chamber of Sages in the dark future, when he lost both Darunia and Ruto to their fates as sages... then again to another memory when he saw Lana holding Cia in her arms just as the dark sorceress died, and how sad it made Lana...
He narrowed his eyes and reached down to a certain mask at his belt...
"Now die, all of you!" Ganondorf shouted, unleashing his attack at the zora, goron and sorceress. Darunia stepped out in front of the girls to try and block off the attack with his body...
But that was when someone leaped down in front of them and blocked off Ganondorf's attack with a large sword.
"What...?" Ganondorf spoke.
Standing in between him and his three targets was Fierce Deity Link. He held his helix sword with both hands and glared coldly at Ganondorf.
"Now just who are you?" Ganondorf asked, "You wish to fight me?"
Link said nothing, but simply held his sword out ready to fight.
"Hmph, so be it." Ganondorf said, coming at him with his twin blades.
The two started clashing wildly with their weapons. Ganondorf swung both swords in a rapid series of waves, but Link sidestepped and blocked each swing that came at him, while doing sword swings of his own to try and attack the demon king.
"You fight better than I thought." Ganondorf said, taking a step back and charging up dark energy in one of his sword, before launching forward a concentrated ball of it right at Link, blasting into him, "But not by much."
But then much to Ganondorf's surprise, he saw the blast was actually caused by the dark energy ball splitting in half, as Link rushed forward swinging down his sword at the demon king.
"What is this?!" Ganondorf shouted, using his twin swords to block the helix-shaped one.
"Even with the power of the Triforce, Link is managing to fight off Ganondorf?!" gasped Ruto.
"Just what kinda power is in that mask he's using anyway?" Darunia asked.
"It's not just the mask..." Lana said getting up with a growing smile, "Link's fighting with all he's got!"
"Grk, die you pest!" shouted Ganondorf.
The Geurdo male kicked Link away and swung out some waves of dark lighting at the fierce deity, but Link ran forward, slashing through the lightning attacks and dodging the bolts coming down from the sky. Ganondorf swung down his sword with great force but Link drove him back and managed to slash him across his body. The Gerudo shouted out in pain, then blasted Link backwards with a direct attack from both swords before slashing him to the ground.
"Link!" Lana exclaimed, running over to his side along with Darunia and Ruto, "Hang in there!"
"H-Heh..." Ganondorf chuckled, "Do you understand boy? I am the all-powerful King Ganondorf Dragmire! I possess the complete Triforce, and with it all my desires will come true! The Golden Goddesses allowed me to claim his power, as it is truly my destiny to rule over all of Hyrule! And I shall prove that to them today by destroying you and all your pathetic friends!"
"Destroy them, huh...?" Link spoke, his head hanging down,
"Hm...?" Ganondorf stared at the young man before him.
"You truly think our futures are bound by destiny, that the goddesses gave you the right to just take the lives of my friends and do whatever you please...? To rule over this land and control the lives of everyone...?"
Link looked up at Ganondorf with a look of absolute anger, his piercing white eyes glaring right at him,
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT!"
"Link?!" Ruto exclaimed at his words, as she saw Link's body now engulfed in a strange white aura.
"What is the meaning of this...?" Ganondorf spoke raising an eyebrow.
"If that's truly what the Golden Goddesses think, then I say screw them and screw you!" Link spoke, getting up and slowly walking towards Ganondorf, shouting out, "I don't need their blessing to fight, or follow what destiny says to decide our fates!" he held out his sword and narrowed his eyes, "And I'll prove that right now by defeating both you and the power of Triforce!"
Link then shot at Ganondorf with blinding speed and smashed his helix sword into Ganondorf's twin swords. The demon king started to break out into a sweat at the intense energy Link was exerting against him. Link soon manged to drive back Ganondorf, and the demon king gasped out.
'T-This power...' Ganondorf thought to himself, 'Could this really be what his writings spoke of...? That power within this boy... it could actually be...?' He thought about what Ghirahim told him before at the Valley of Seers,
"Wait, listen Lord Ganondorf. That child... he has a strange power with him that not even I'm familiar with... you need to be cautious with him."
"Nonsense..." Ganondorf shook his head, "T-That can't be... he couldn't be... I-I won't allow it!"
The demon king took a deep breath and shouted out, causing lightning to strike down at the ground around him, before he cast a dark lightning attack on the fierce deity. The powerful lightning shot through Link's body, making him cringe in pain, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground, slowly walking towards Ganondorf as he did.
"This is impossible!" Ganondorf muttered, clutching at his chest with one hand as the Triforce within him gleamed, "I have ultimate power... there's no way he could possibly...!"
Link then brought back his limbs and shouted out, breaking free of the lightning, before lunging forward and slashing at Ganondorf. The demon king tried to defend himself, but the swings of Link's sword were overpowering him, and the Hylian started getting multiple slashes on him. Ganondorf tried bringing down both of his swords on Link, but the Hylian slammed the ground with his sword to send demon king flying up, before he shot off energy blade disks at him in midair. Before Ganondorf could even hit the ground, Link lunged forward and performed a powerful spin attack, releasing energy like a sawblade, which slashed up Ganondorf even further and send him backwards.
Ganondorf fell to one knee and gasped out, looking up at the man walking towards him. The demon king brought up his hand and fired off more dark lightning bolts at Link, but he quickly sidestepped most of the blasts, and even the ones that did hit Link didn't even phase him at all. It was like he could sense the power of the bolts, and which attacks he could absorb without flinching.
"T-This is..."
As Ganondorf saw the look of absolute anger and fury on the face of the man before him, for the first time in his life, the demon king of the Gerudo found himself experiencing true fear.
Link swung his sword rapidly at Ganondorf, who tried blocking off as many attacks as he could, but took multiple hits in the process. The demon king brought up his fist and punched down on the ground, releasing a shockwave that blasted into Link, but the fierce deity managed to endure the attack and hold his ground. Link then swung his helix sword down at Ganondorf once again, forcing the demon king to block it.
"You can't win this boy, I am the almighty king of darkness! Your strength is a mere farce, and I will destroy you all with my true absolute power!" he shouted as sweat rolled down his head.
But Link didn't even so much as hesitate from Ganondorf's words, and the force of Link's attack suddenly broke through Ganondorf's swords and shattered them, making the demon king shout out in shock. Link immediately started slashing and cutting wildly at Ganondorf, while the demon king tried to counter by shocking him with dark lightning, but Link fought through it and performed one final slash that sent Ganondorf flying and crashing to the ground on his back.
"Grk... impossible...!" Ganondorf groaned out. He reaching up into the air, before he coughed out a great amount of blood and collapsed motionlessly.
"He... he did it..." Lana spoke with wide eyes and her jaw dropped, "He defeated Ganondorf!"
"Unbelievable..." Ruto whispered in awe.
Link gasped out heavily, as he started to grow dizzy and stagger around. In a strange flash of light, he changed back to his normal self and collapsed backwards. Lana and Ruto both immediately ran over to his aide.
"Link, are you okay?" Lana asked, "Don't try to move!"
"Ugh... don't have to tell me twice..." Link groaned.
"You did well my darling," Ruto said smiling at her betrothed, "You've become far cooler than you were when you saved me from that parasite within Lord Jabu Jabu all those years ago."
"Girls, watch out!" Darunia shouted as he used his Megaton Hammer to knock back a Moblin that tried to attack the three of them, "Even with Ganondorf down, looks like these monsters still won't let up!"
They found themselves surrounded by monsters who were all powered up by Ganondorf's influence, but just then the ground rumbled, and they all looked to see the giant sword sticking out of Hyrule Castle lift up and vanish into nothingness. The monsters all started to waver a bit, before the power they once had vanished. The minions all looked around in confusion of what had just happened, seconds before they were all quickly destroyed by Agatha, Midna, Fi, Impa and Zelda.
"Heh, looks like General Link pulled it off!" Commander Impa grinned, putting away her great sword. She then looked out to see Ganondorf on the ground, "And to think this kid of all people was able to strike down the demon king."
Midna simply grinned at Young Link as he laid on Lana's lap, 'He really did pull through after all.'
"So does this mean it's all over?" Agatha asked.
"...no, not yet." Zelda spoke, "I can feel it... Ganondorf still has-"
Just then, a strange light started to come up from Ganondorf. It was the Triforce on his chest, the sacred triangle of power started to glow, and Ganondorf's body rose up into the air. Everyone watched as energy started to resonate within the demon king, and in a powerful burst of dark energy, the man took on an entirely new form.
Ganondorf was now an enormous quadrupedal boar creature with giant horns, wild hair and a serpent-like tail. He let out a terrifying roar that echoed across the area and causing the skies to grow even darker. The lightning coming down from the sky intensified as the giant creature leered down at the heroes.
Any resemblance he had to a man was no more, he had become the dark beast of ultimate power.
"I... AM... GANON!"
"This is it everyone, the final battle!" Captain Zelda shouted, "Prepare yourselves!"
Ganon glared down in particular at the young Link in Lana's arms, vowing to kill him now that he was too weak to fight. The giant boar brought up his hand and started to charge up an energy blast at them, but then someone shot across the battlefield at blinding speed and swung out a sword across Ganon's face, making him shout out in pain.
Everyone saw as General Link landed to the ground in front of Young Link and Lana, holding the Master Sword. He looked back over at everyone and smiled.
"Hey guys, sorry it took so long!" General Link grinned.
"No problem, thanks to you we were able to put a stop to the army, and Young Link here fought off Ganondorf long enough to protect everyone!" Impa nodded.
"Yes, now let us put an end to all of this for Hyrule's sake, and the valiant effort of Young Link!" Zelda said with her rapier of light out, "Everyone, attack!"
It was an intense battle as Ganon tried using all his remaining power against the warriors. He levitated himself into the air and breathed fire down at them, but Midna countered by grabbing his tail and managing to tear it off of him. The boar's horns opened out like mouths and fired down a barrage of stone-like pellets, but Fi quickly took on the form of the goddess blade and slashed through them while Agatha summoned a giant stag beetle to bash into the dark beast to stun it, allowing Impa and Darunia to slash and pound at it with their weapons. General Link then went forward and slashed at Ganon in his stunned state, the boar demon feeling his power weakening with each slash of the sacred blade.
'This... can't... be!'
As Ganon shook off the pain from his blows, he saw Zelda was aiming at him with a light arrow. She fired it off straight and true right into his forehead, causing him to roar out in pain, as General Link ran right up and brought his sword down right into the spot where the light arrow hit.
Ganon roared out as lightning crashed down all around him, before he finally collapsed to the ground. In that brief moment, his demonic eyes gazed up at the heroes all standing before him, taking one last look in particular to the young boy in the light sorceress' arms.
'I suppose... I have to give them all credit...' Ganon thought to himself, 'And it seems... he was right about that boy... I underestimated what he was capable of...' the beast chuckled a little, 'I just wonder... if he can truly contain all that power now as it is...'
With that, the Dark Beast Ganon's eyes closed as his body disintegrated to a vast amount of purple mist. With Ganon's demise, the dark skies overhead soon cleared up, and went back to the tranquil blue of before.
"It's finally over, Hyrule is at peace once again." Zelda spoke, letting out a deep breath of relief.
"Yes, you did well to lead us." Ruto grinned, "You remind me so much of my dear friend back in my time."
"It wasn't just Princess Zelda, we all played our part in this, right little butterfly?" Agatha said brightly, looking at the glowing insects surrounding her.
"The odds were against us, but victory nonetheless has been achieved. We have performed sufficiently." Fi spoke.
"Indeed, this calls for a celebration, men! You've all earned it!" Commander Impa shouted out to the cheering Hylian knights.
"Bwahahaaha! Alright! Let's dance the night away!" Darunia cheered out, grabbing General Link and swinging him around.
"Woooaaah! Leggo!" General Link shouted out with his eyes spiraling.
"Did you hear that Young Link?" Lana said leaning down at Link with a soft smile, "We won."
"Y-Yeah, we did..." Link spoke, just before the young lad fell unconscious in her lap.
As everyone else celebrated, Midna stayed back and calmly had her arms folded, grinning lightly at the heroes' victory. She glanced over at Link laying in Lana's arms, admiring how much he took her advice to heart and found the strength to defeat Ganondorf the way he did.
But then she realized something felt a bit off... she took a look around and thought to herself,
'Huh... just where did that mask of his go...?'
And that ends the chapter. The heroes have finally succeeded and defeated Ganon, but is that truly the end to this tale? Next week, Link and Lana have one final task to do, and Link makes an important decision. Stay tuned for the final chapter of Link's story of time, warriors and just what home really is!
I hope people aren't too burned out by this flashback. I promise you all next chapter will be the end of it, and we'll go back to the present day with our main characters. Believe it or not, just about all of this was very important for the main story, and while I might have done a better job condensing it, I felt there was too much that needed to be covered. Plus this is Link's backstory, I think he deserves a lengthy one to explain who he is and why he is.
I also hope the battle between Fierce Deity Link and Ganondorf was satisfying to see after all the requests I've gotten for FD Link to finally go all-out, I was pretty happy with how it turned out myself.
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