Chapter Twenty Five
"Somehow, I thought you were exaggerating." Leaf muttered, staring down into the pit of lava in front of them.
"Why would he exaggerate?" Neri asked.
Leaf bobbed in the air as if shrugging, "I just didn't think he was serious about a castle literally floating over a pool of lava."
"Trust me, nothing about this Ganondorf is an exaggeration." Mask huffed.
"Are we really sure that this is the smartest thing we could do right now?" Shad piped up from the back of the group, "I mean, this is the guy who has literally broken time, should we be marching straight up to his castle?"
"This was your idea, remember? You can't change your mind now!" Revali huffed at him.
"I see your point," Sheik said diplomatically, "But we do have to save our friends who are trapped in there. We know of at least one Zelda who's in there and the Goddess of Time mentioned that there are other friends that have been captured as well. We'll do what we can to save them now, but if we need to, I'll use Farore's Wind and warp us out of there."
"Wait, leave them behind?!" Mini looked up at her in shock.
"I don't want to, we'll try our hardest to save them, but we may not have a choice until we have the power of the Triforce on our side."
"Zelda is a statue right now, remember that. That means they have no reason to harm her." Ezlo told his friend comfortingly.
Mini sighed, looking at the ground dejectedly.
"We're still going to do everything we can." Beast promised, smiling at the younger Link.
"What can we expect in there?" Merge asked, directed the question to Mask.
"Last time he had all of these barriers set up, one for each of the Sages that I saved. Then he was in the highest part of the tower, guarded by a bunch of monsters. What he has set up this time, I don't know."
"This castle was in pieces when Time and I fell through the rips in time." Sheik stared darkly at the intact building.
Mask groaned, "Not good."
"Well, we won't learn anything by standing around," Urbosa smirked at them, "Let's get going."
The group approached the castle gingerly, every one of them on their guard.
The first room was completely empty. So was the hallway beyond that.
Mask frowned when they got to the main room.
"This looks exactly the same, down to the doors to the Sages's barriers." he muttered, "If he was going to rebuild this place, wouldn't he have changed it a little?"
Sheik looked around. He was right, the place was perfectly untouched. If she didn't know any better, she would say that they had never fought Ganondorf before. The barriers weren't up, instead it was like Time had just finished clearing them. The way up to Ganondorf's tower was unlocked, the door swinging open almost invitingly.
"I don't trust this." Impa muttered, clenching one of her knives tightly out of nervousness.
"Neither do I." Byrne agreed, scanning the room.
"Should we check those doors?" Canvas pointed down below them, but Mask shook his head.
"If he really rebuilt this place after the fight, my money is on him being at the top again. Let's head there."
He marched ahead, sword drawn as he started leading them up the stairs.
Again, every room they entered was completely empty. Their footsteps echoed on the stairs. Mask frowned. This wasn't right. Last time, this place had been a gauntlet, both on the way up and down. Why would Ganondorf rebuild this place, just to leave it undefended? Especially if he was holding a Zelda there?
Beast pushed open the final door that led to Ganondorf's throne room. Mask could remember entering it the first time, Ganondorf playing the organ and Zelda trapped in the crystal above it.
This time it was empty, like the rest of the castle.
"Well, this was exciting." Midna said dryly.
"This isn't right." Mask muttered.
"Yeah, you've said that." she rolled her eyes at him.
"Is it possible that they took her to another time once they got here?" Grace asked.
Ciela fluttered over to her, "It's possible. The entire castle is filled with remnants of time magic."
"That's probably how he rebuilt the place so quickly." Sheik huffed.
"Well there's nothing to be gained by standing around here." Impa said, stowing her knives away, "We should search the rest of the castle. If she isn't here, then we should go meet up with the others."
"Sounds good to me." Tetra said, stretching her arms above her head before moving to the door.
It slammed shut before she got there, locking itself into place.
"Hee hee hee Kotake, look who it is!" a voice laughed.
Everyone spun around, trying to locate it, but the room stayed empty.
"I see Koume, I see!" another voice answered back, "Silly, stupid people who fell for a silly stupid trap!"
Mask groaned, "Not you two again."
Two witches spun into existence, hovering on their brooms above the group.
"Well well well, if it isn't the little pest who killed us!"
"You're lucky that our king was able to revive us!"
"Or not so lucky!"
The witches cackled at the joke and Mask grit his teeth, "Hey, I killed you once, I can do it again!"
"I think not!" Koume yelled down at him, starting to fly around the room.
Kotake followed so that both of them were circling the group. "We don't plan on ever letting you kill us again, pest!"
"Especially since you're so much tinier now!"
"Well he's got backup this time!" Beast growled, falling into a fight stance.
"Hmmm...they do have a point there sister, there are many of them this time."
"How right you are, yet none are the ones we want!"
"How disappointing! They can't even fall into a trap correctly!"
"Oh whatever shall we do?" Koume's tone was sarcastic and both witches began laughing again.
"We don't have time for this!" Revali yelled, loosening an arrow at the nearest one.
Kotake dodged it, letting it bury itself harmlessly in the wall behind her. Clicking her tongue, she shook her head at him, "Well now, that wasn't very polite!"
"We should teach them a lesson for their rudeness!"
"I agree!"
Mask's eyes went wide in realization. "Oh no…guys, run!"
He bolted for the edge of the room, grabbing the hand of whoever was nearest to him and pulling them behind him. Grace yelped at the sudden movement.
The others listened to his warning, running as fast as they could. There was a bright flash right where they had been standing.
When the flash faded, the witches were gone. Standing in the center of the room now were a myriad of monsters.
Dark Knuts, Stalfos, Wizzrobes, and looming above them all was a giant spider, baring her pinchers threateningly.
"Seriously?!" Mask groaned. "Gohma?! That's crossing the line, even for you two hags!"
"Why are you yelling?! They're gone!"
"I don't care! They brought back the thing that killed my father! I am going to kill them!" he yelled, drawing his sword, "Very, very painfully this time! So dead that they'll never be able to be brought back!"
That was all he said before he ran forward, launching himself at the first of the monsters.
"That kid has some serious anger issues." Midna watched him, shaking her head before turning to Beast with a smirk, "I like him."
He rolled his eyes, "Of course you do. Come on!" He raced after Mask, sword hacking and slashing as he met one of the Stalfos in the middle.
"Watch out!" Neri cried as one of the Dark Knuts swung at Wind. He jumped back, raising his shield in time to block another strike.
"Leaf!"
"Right here!" the red fairy flashed for a moment and suddenly Wind's sword was cloaked in flames. The hero went on the attack, pushing back against his enemy.
Merge jumped backwards, sliding into the wall as a Stalfos stabbed at him. Its attack bounced harmlessly off the stone and he popped back out, slashing at its spine before it knew what was happening.
Impa and Tetra spun through the group of enemies, hacking and slashing, leaving a trail of wounds behind them.
Urbosa was doing something very similar on the other side of the room, dancing between two Dark Knuts before snapping her fingers, grinning. A lightning bolt flew through the air, linking the two enemies by their metal armor. They jerked from the force of it, then slumped to the ground before exploding into dust.
Revali was chasing the Wizzrobes through the air, dodging their magical attacks and launching arrows at them as quickly as he could. He took down three of them, but not before they had summoned more monsters, falling to the ground and joining the chaos.
Byrne was blocking attacks with his arm and launching his hand to grab his opponent and fling them into the nearby wall. Behind him, Canvas and Grace huddled close to the wall, watching the fight fearfully.
"You two gonna jump in at all?!" he growled at them, throwing another Stalfos to the far side of the room. It landed in front of Beast who jumped and plunged his sword through their chest, finishing them off.
"And do what?! We don't have a weapon, we can't fight!"
"You've got magic, don't you?! Use it!"
"I'm still learning how to use it! I highly doubt any of my spells would be useful here!" Grace yelled, leaping out of the way of a stray arrow.
"I know how to make magical shields. If you transfer your power to me, we can make them stronger!" Canvas suggested.
"Then do it already! If you can stop even one surprise attack then it's worth it!" Byrne yelled.
The two girls nodded, determined. Grace grabbed Canvas's shoulders, transferring her powers over to her as Canvas closed her eyes, concentrating. After a moment, their allies began to have a slight shimmer behind them. A translucent shield blocking any unseen attacks.
"It's not very strong, but it should stop the worst of attacks." Canvas whispered, eyebrows furrowed from the effort of keeping the shields up.
"Every little bit helps." Grace smiled at her, lending her more magic.
Mini was helping Mask, the two of them targeting Gohma. Mask had his bow out, zeroed in on the spider's eye.
Mini darted between their legs, listening as Ezlo shouted out warnings. The size difference didn't bother him in the slightest and he attacked every one of Gohma's legs that he could, making her screech in pain.
Gohma roared, rearing back. Mask let his arrow go, hitting the center of the spider's eye.
She screamed even louder, falling to the ground. Mini rolled forward, barely avoiding being crushed by the flailing limbs.
Mask launched himself forward again, attacking Gohma's body viciously. Mini joined his side, stabbing and slashing as fiercely as he could.
"Just die and stay dead already!" Mask was yelling.
A Wizzrobe flew above them, hearing the cry. With a small wave, they summoned a dozen Stalfos behind the two heroes.
Revali glared at the Wizzrobe, knocking an ice arrow and shooting it towards them.
The arrow hit their shoulder, freezing their body instantly. They fell to the ground, shattering. Revali smirked, that was the final Wizzrobe.
Urbosa ran forward, blocking one of the Stalfos as they tried to stab Mini from behind. Mask turned at the sound, raising his shield in time to block another Stalfos.
Gohma, her attackers finally halted, roared and stood up again, shaking her head and raising her legs, ready to slam them down.
Byrne saw this, frowning, and aimed for Mini. His hand flew, grabbing the tiny boy and yanking him out of the way seconds before Gohma's leg came crashing down where he'd been standing.
"We've got to get rid of these things!" Midna yelled, "Then we can focus on her!"
"Open to suggestions!" Beast yelled back, blocking another strike from the Dark Knut in front of him before finally burying his sword in its neck. It crumbled to the ground, exploding.
"I'm so glad you asked!" Midna smirked, spinning in the air above him.
Beast's shoulders fell as he realized what she had in mind.
The familiar tingle swept through his body and he felt himself morph. His teeth elongated, fur appeared over his body, and a tail swished through the air behind him.
Midna landed on his back, looking very satisfied with herself. "Let's go little wolf!"
Beast didn't even try to argue with her, not that he could as a wolf, but also because he knew better at this point. He ran forward, watching as Midna's energy field surrounded them, locking onto the different Stalfos.
He jumped forward, feeling his speed and strength increase from Midna's magic.
The Stalfos didn't stand a chance. He tore through their chests, one after another, in mere seconds. They exploded into dust and smoke before he made it to the next enemy.
"Handy trick!" Tetra grinned fiercely.
Midna returned the expression, "The trick was getting him tamed."
Beast growled, turning and attempting to nip at Midna's leg. He missed, Midna yanking it out of the way at the last moment, making him go in a circle. "I'll admit, I'm still working on the taming part."
Tetra was about to respond when they both got distracted by a loud yell.
Turning, they saw as Mask ran ahead, his path now clear. He jumped, burying his sword in Gohma's neck.
Gohma screeched, reeling back from the attack. Mask swung around wildly, holding onto his sword for dear life.
With one final lurch, she finally shook him free and he flew through the air. Revali narrowed his eyes and dove, catching him right before he hit the wall, spreading his wings out to slow them down as they landed on the floor.
"Thanks," he muttered.
Revali scoffed as an acknowledgement, turning back to the boss in front of them.
Merge had pulled out his Ice Rod, aiming it above Gohma's head. The spider didn't notice, attention focused on the people running around near her feet. They dodged every stomp, distracting her.
Finally happy with his aim, Merge activated his Ice Rod. Four chunks of ice appeared in the air over her before they fell, cracking down one by one.
Gohma groaned, collapsing to the floor.
"Now or never folks!" he called out.
They didn't have to be told twice. Everyone ran forward, attacking with all their might. Swords, arrows, magic, they leveled it all on the giant spider.
She thrashed, trying to run away, but it wasn't enough. With one final shudder, she exploded beneath their onslaught.
Impa panted from the effort of the fight, shoulders slumping. "Everyone alright?"
"Minor cuts and scrapes." Wind answered, "Nothing major."
"I think the shields stopped the worst of the damage." Light said, "Thank you both for that."
"Glad to help." Canvas smiled.
"I think we can all agree, traps suck." Tetra huffed.
"Do you think Zelda was ever here?" Mini asked, looking up at his hat.
Ezlo shook his head sadly, "Maybe when Shad first saw her, but they must've moved her, probably to another time."
"This whole trip was a waste." Revali snapped, collecting a few of his arrows that hadn't been damaged, stuffing them back into his quiver.
"Not exactly. Remember what the witches said earlier? None of us were the 'ones they wanted'. This wasn't a trap for us." Light pointed out.
"So, they're targeting someone in the other group?" Canvas wondered.
Light nodded, "Multiple someones from the sound of it. Whatever they have planned, it can't be good."
"Let's hope that our friends had better luck than us then."
"Come on, the sooner we get back to them, the better. I don't want them caught off guard in case there's another trap." Beast said, human again and rolling his shoulder as he headed for the door.
"Could this day possibly get any worse?" Revali groaned.
Predictably, no one had an answer.
Hi everyone!
So, I am sorry to say that I won't be updating this story on anymore. While I do love and still plan to read stories on here, people aren't really very active on it these days and nobody seems to be reading this story on this site.
However, I am still going to update this story on Archive of Our Own, so if you would like to continue reading it, just head on over there! The story has the same name and I have the same username on that site! I hope you enjoy it! Have a great day!