A/N: I thought I was out of ideas for Slice of Light, but apparently I'm not. This time I felt like tackling Zelda's character and how she sees herself as the new Zelda incarnation in the world of Smash.
A few notes before we start:
-The fighters in my Smash fics are stated to be clones of the original characters. They have the memories and personalities of the original fighters, but they are still Master Hand's creations. This part is important.
-I have very limited knowledge on the Zelda timeline, so apologies if there's anything I get wrong here.
-Ultimate Zelda has inherited the memories of TP Zelda's time in the Smash world. Because of that, she is both a veteran AND a newcomer. Ganondorf has gone through a similar process, but it is more of a case of returning to his Melee self, while retaining his TP version's memories.
When Zelda first woke up, she realized that she was not in her small bedroom, lying in her small bed, enjoying the singsong of small critters as they greeted her to yet another day covered by darkness. As she got up from the cold, hard ground, groggy and disoriented, memories of what she had been doing previously from waking up in a strange place began to return to her.
She had been dueling a low level puppet fighter that had shown up in her village. Since it was low level, Zelda was fighting it alone, certain that there was no need to ask for help. When she was about to deliver the finishing blow…
"Nyeh ha ha, good morning, princess!" A shrill voice said behind her.
Zelda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no way that she was felled by him of all people.
"Bowser Junior, where are we?" Zelda asked, refusing to turn around. "What have you done?"
The little brat said, "Hmph, take a wild guess!"
When she was about to deliver the finishing blow, Bowser Junior jumped out of the woods in his Koopa car and ambushed her together with the puppet fighter. Not only him, but two other Koopalings that she would not bother with remembering their faces or names as they did not deserve such grace. They fought, Zelda got overwhelmed, and then darkness took over.
Bowser Junior and some other brats had killed her in an ambush.
Shame. Shame on her.
And to think that she insisted to Young Link that she would be fine on her own if she stayed behind in the village. Now he would be too wary of leaving her side ever again, the poor kid. But now it was not time to worry about how Young Link or any of the men in the village would react to knowing that the princess they left behind was taken away, now she had to do something about Bowser Junior.
Zelda turned around to face her kidnapper. He had the smuggest grin on his face. She said, "Quite the extreme action you did there, to kill me and then bring my trophy to… whatever this place is."
"It was the easiest way! You'd have just cried for help and kicked me all the way back to the castle," Junior said. "Dead girls don't scream, after all."
"Right, so what do you want from me?"
"Me? Nothing, I don't care about you," he said. "This was Ganondorf's request."
Of course. Who else would be giving her such a headache if not for the King of Evil himself? She should have known that Ganondorf would come back to haunt her the moment that he was freed from Dharkon's control, no matter how much good behavior he had been showing over the past years.
She should have trusted the other Zelda's memories of this world, that Ganondorf was not to be trusted. Yet, her memories also showed that he was willing to work together when they had a common enemy. Unless he did not see Dharkon as a common enemy. Zelda could not possibly imagine someone thinking that the eldritch god in the sky that had tried to exterminate them all shouldn't be considered a common enemy.
Could it be?
No, he wouldn't be that stupid. Something was wrong.
"Come with me, I'll take you to him," Junior said. "And don't try anything funny, y'hear? I'm armed with a bajillion spirits and you have nothing on you. I'll kill you if you run away."
Zelda couldn't help herself. She said, "A Smasher's body can only incorporate four spirits at a maximum."
"Whatever! You know what I mean," he snarled. "Now come on or I'll make Wendy show you around."
Zelda did not want to get anywhere near Wendy Koopa and the mere thought that she was nearby brought her just the right amount of dread to humble and make her follow Junior without questioning. She followed him a few steps behind as they crossed the immense patio of the fortress, trying to find the right balance between a safe distance and not making it seem like she was about to run away. Her eyes look upwards, at the sky covered with dark purple clouds, a suffocating miasma that made her miss the fog that covered and protected her little home.
Her little village. She could only pray that they were safe and no other Koopaling had attacked them. If she were to ever return, she would make sure to find a way to protect it better.
As they entered the grand, decaying castle, Zelda was greeted by the sight of two puppet fighters, one bearing Cloud's semblance and the other looking like Ness, walking towards them, side by side. She gasped and got into her fighting stance, but was left confused when that got herself an annoyed sigh from Junior.
"They're not going to attack you, you dummy," he said. "Hurry up!"
That could not be true. Bowser Junior was just messing with her again. Her hands glowed as she charged them with magic power and she waited for the puppet fighters to come closer. They did not seem particularly strong, she would end them in no time.
Bowser Junior waved his little arms in the air and said, "I said, hurry up! The puppet fighters are not gonna attack you!"
"How do you-"
"They are Ganondorf's servants! They are here to clean the hall!"
It was then that Zelda noticed that the puppet fighters, instead of carrying a sword and a bat like she had seen many Clouds and Nesses do, were carrying a bucket of water and a mop. Zelda said, stupefied, "What."
"Yeah, yeah, no need for your jaw to drop this much," he said, irritated. "You're gonna see more of them soon. Come on!"
Zelda babbled a few incoherent words that were very coherent with the incoherent situation. What were those puppet fighters doing there, mopping the floor, instead of fighting her? Why were they acting like docile servants? Just what had Ganondorf been doing the entire time since his awakening and absconding from her group? Bowser Junior began to walk away and Zelda saw no other alternative but to follow him.
The both of them crossed the castle's halls in surprising silence, with Zelda contemplating the impressive architecture that had seen better days, as well as the docile puppets that had been her sworn enemies until a few seconds ago. She saw copies of her dear friends walking around, seemingly busy with tasks. She saw copies of not so dear comrades respectfully step aside as she and her kidnapper walked across the extensive corridor.
She saw herself waiting by the double doors, hands folded properly and vacant, glowing red eyes staring deep into her own blue ones.
Bowser Junior snickered.
"We're here."
Her copy opened the double doors and Zelda saw a massive, regal dining hall on the other side. Unlike the rest of the castle, the dining hall was mostly intact, untouched by time's cruelty. One could even convince themselves that the world outside hasn't ended if they took only that dining hall as a reference.
Zelda's eyes widened as her sight fell on the extensive table that stood in the middle of the room. It was filled with all sorts of food, the kind of food that reminded her of the many dinners she had back at her homeworld, but one that she seldom had ever since the current world had ended. She could feel her mouth watering as she noticed the delicious looking pork glazed with honey and mustard, the colorful salads and fruits, the fine old wine.
And sitting at one end of the table was Ganondorf.
Zelda's stomach twisted.
Ganondorf raised his glass of wine to his lips and took a long, carefree sip. His plate was filled with food and it was clear that he had already started eating. Zelda watched in bewilderment as he showed his now empty glass to the Sheik clone that stood obediently by his side. He turned his attention to her and said, "Do not stand there like one of my puppet fighters. Have a seat."
Noticing her flinch under his gaze, Bowser Junior poked her side. It served no other purpose other than to make her flinch again. Zelda decided to acquiesce with Ganondorf's order before the brat continued with his bullying. She awkwardly sat at the other end of the table, switching glances between Ganondorf and her empty plate.
Without thinking twice, Zelda said, "Ganondorf, you coward!"
"And what base do you have for this accusation of cowardice?" He asked as he took a sip from his refilled glass.
"I cannot believe that you asked for Bowser Junior to kidnap me," she said as she saw the Koopa exit the dining hall. "And for what? So you could have me over for… dinner?"
"That is precisely it. Now eat."
Zelda grabbed an apple from the nearest bow and carefully analyzed it like a merchant would do to a coin of gold. It looked deliciously red, with not a single stain on the surface. Judging by its weight, she could already imagine how juicy it was.
She put the apple back in the bow and said, "No. State the real reason why I'm here."
Ganondorf put his glass on the table. He looked surprisingly calm.
"Why not?"
"You disappear right after we rescue you from Dharkon's control, we don't hear from you for a month, you then tell your underling, who has also abandoned us after we rescued him, to kidnap me by any means necessary," she said, tightening her grip on her long skirt. "Now I discover that you have been living in a castle at who knows where, being served by puppet fighters, and you expect me to eat with you like there is nothing wrong going on?!"
Ganondorf took a bite from his bread. Instead of answering her question, he said, "You have seen better days, princess. You look awfully thin. Have you been eating properly at that backwater village you have been living in?"
"Don't change the subject!"
"One look at you and it is hard to believe that the girl sitting at the other side of my table is the reincarnation of the Goddess that I swore to destroy," Ganondorf cynically said. "Consider this dinner a truce and an invitation for a conversation I wish to have with you."
Zelda crossed her arms and looked away. So what if she did not look like royalty? Her days were busy fighting off puppet fighters and surviving, she didn't have time to take care of her appearance. She did not know why her hands began to dust off the dirt from her apron, she shouldn't take to heart anything that that detestable man said, feeling just a bit silly for thinking that she would be able to brush off the stains.
Once she returned, she would need to wash her clothes up. If she returned, that is.
"We can talk, but I will not eat," she said, holding on to what little pride she still had.
"Very well," Ganondorf said. "Then starve."
Zelda looked at the two possible exits of the dining hall. Both were heavily guarded by puppet fighters, specifically by the one that was her mirror image and another one being Ike. Add the Sheik that was standing right by Ganondorf's side, as well as the numerous puppet fighters walking around the castle, and Zelda was sure that escaping with her life was nigh impossible.
Her hands gripped her skirt again. What could she do?
Perhaps if she could… Zelda's right hand started to glow.
"Hands where I can see them, princess," Ganondorf ordered.
Giving out a sigh, the princess interrupted the Din's fire spell that she was about to conjure and placed her hands over the table. Ganondorf gave a satisfied smile and said, "Now that's better."
So that was why he wanted her to eat.
"What do you want to talk about?" Zelda asked.
"I wanted to start by asking you what you hope to accomplish by killing off the many puppet fighters that roam this realm."
"I… What? What do you mean by that?"
"What is your end goal?"
"The restoration of this world, of course!" Zelda said, exasperated. "What else would there be?"
"And do you believe that the world is worth restoring?"
"That is not for me to decide."
"How foolish."
Zelda asked, already fearing the worst, "You don't believe that defeating Dharkon is important?"
"It is essential that Dharkon must fall," Ganondorf said. "However, it is not of importance now. There are benefits to an alliance with him at the moment."
She could feel her face growing hotter with rage and her hands slammed down on the table, making the silver cutlery jump. The absolute fool! Zelda said, "You did not learn a single thing from working with Tabuu!"
Ganondorf let out a loud and cynical laughter. He pointed his fork at her, a single droplet of fat from the pork falling with the gesture. "I have learned my lesson, alright," he said. "This is why I intend to not repeat those mistakes."
"By allying with the creature bent on destroying this world?!"
"Dharkon is a force of nature, a powerful god, but he is not intelligent," Ganondorf said. "I admit that my past self was mistaken in his alliance with Tabuu, but I will not be betrayed this time around."
"You turn against the Hands once more," Zelda sighed. "Unbelievable."
"As if you are one to talk, princess."
"What do you mean?"
"You hate the Hands just as much as I do."
Zelda could feel the color from her face draining. What did he just say? Ganondorf smirked and added, "We are quite alike in this aspect, my dear sister."
"How… How dare you suggest such a thing! We are nothing alike!" Zelda exclaimed. "And don't you ever dare call me your sister ever again!"
"What I say is no mere suggestion, I am telling you how things are," her captor said. "Don't think that I don't notice the burning hatred behind your eyes whenever you see one of the Hands."
"I don't…"
"It is the same contempt that I have for you and that brat who stood up against me in the past," Ganondorf said. "You were not fooling anyone whenever you smiled when either Hand spoke towards you."
Was she that bad at hiding her own feelings? Zelda clutched at her skirt and looked away, this time embarrassment making her cheeks burn. How awful it was that she was not as good as hiding her emotions like her past self did. How awful it was that she could not retain the same composure that her past self had. Zelda could never dream to be the same calm, well-mannered and refined self that lived in that world in the past.
And yet, it was such a relief that she could never fill the other Zelda's shoes.
She was brought into this world to substitute the previous Zelda, an obligation that was imposed on her by the capricious desire of Master Hand to give a "fresh new face" to the fighter that he merely saw as a title. She carried her memories, her hopes and her dreams of escaping the system that she was trapped in, yet Zelda herself could never be her, no matter how much Master Hand and Crazy Hand thought they should be by simply sharing the title.
"So what if I hate Master Hand and Crazy Hand because of what they did to me?" Zelda said, her eyes falling on the bow of apples in front of her. "My feelings regarding them shouldn't matter more than the state of the world."
"You fail to realize that the Hands' well-being is not tied to the state of this world," Ganondorf said. "This world will always need gods, but it doesn't need them as its gods. It isn't as if they have been here since the beginning."
Zelda had not known Ganondorf personally for long. She knew of whispers and stories of his character, about how he defeated the Hero of Hyrule in cold blood, about how his cruelty and ever growing desire for power brought calamity and despair to the lands of the past. He was the reason why Hyrule had to rebuild itself. His legacy was what Zelda fought so hard to undo, years after his ultimate demise.
And yet when Zelda used to walk around the halls of the castle and she eventually heard someone curse his name, attributing him the blame for everything that was not right in the world, be it the many monsters that wandered around the land or a simple stumble of a toe, Zelda couldn't help but wonder if Ganondorf really was as much of a megalomaniacal monster as the legends claimed him to be.
How lucky she was that she could satiate that curiosity. Very lucky. Not only her questions were answered, but the answer painted him in an even worse light.
"Ganondorf, you cannot possibly be thinking about-"
"Yes, princess, I am," Ganondorf grinned. "It is time for new gods to arise."
"And I assume that this new god will be you."
"How quickly you understand."
"And how, pray tell, do you hope to achieve such a feat?" Zelda asked, crossing her arms. "I am certain that Dharkon is not going to promote you to godhood for being such an obedient servant."
Ganondorf slammed his fist on the table, making Zelda recoil a bit. "Pah, do not mistake my alliance with him for servitude!" He roared.
"Then how…"
"Have you not realized it yet? We could become gods!" Ganondorf said. "All that we need to do is to reclaim our rightful place as rulers."
Zelda could feel a knot in her stomach and her breath hitch. She said, "Ganondorf, you are an insane man."
"Insanity is the desire to return this world to gods who will abandon it the moment they grow bored with it," he said. "Gods that only care about us so long as we entertain them!"
Her eyes fell on the bow of apples once again. By the goddess, she couldn't deny that her hunger grew the more time she spent there at the dinner table. Her eyes then looked at the glistening pork at the center of the table, at the colorful salad, at the tempting glass of wine that Ganondorf held, only to return to his intense yellow gaze.
"Surely you must be sickened by them as well, princess," he said, this time a lot more calmly. "Sick of the humiliating position that they've placed us in. We are near immortal, we have powers beyond the capabilities of the average inhabitant of this planet, and all of that so we can be used for blood sport? For entertainment to the masses?!"
Zelda sighed.
"I am sick of it, yes," she admitted. "Humiliated, even."
"Don't you wish you could take back your destiny? To have full control over it?"
"Yes, Ganondorf, I do."
"And don't you agree that the only way to do that is to become gods ourselves, lest we fall victim to the whims of others?"
"Yes, Ganondorf, destiny belongs to the gods after all, that much is certain," Zelda said, arms crossed. "But I fail to see where I am included in this megalomaniacal plan of yours."
Ganondorf grinned, not quite amicably, but also not quite wickedly either. He placed his glass on the table and extended the open palm of his hand in her direction.
"Isn't it obvious?! Join me, Zelda!" The King said. "By combining both of our Triforce, we will have the power to seize the destiny that is rightfully ours!"