Chapter 23: The God of Evil

    A pink crystal floated down from the empty dark grey sky and shattered as it touched the tower top.
    “Zelda!” Link cried in relief. “How are you?”
    “I’m quite fine,” said the princess, sounding quite different from the ninja he had become used to. “It’s good that pitiful man is dead…”
    “Well, now, Sheik, I think you have some explaining to do,” returned the Hylian, grinning. The princess smiled back. “Gosh, I’m tired. So glad that’s over. What are you going to do now? What’s the first thing you’re going to do?”
    “Let me see…” Zelda thought.
    Link cupped his hand over his mouth thoughtfully. “Well, for me, first of all, I think I’m going to spend some time in the Zora and Goron lands and get to know my friends better. Then I’m going to build a slightly larger house in Kokiri Forest, if the Deku Tree allows it, and…”
    “Get married?” finished Zelda.
    “Yes,” Link grinned, blushing a bit.
    “I see… I’m going to get the Sages to help me rebuild Hyrule Castle. It won’t be exactly the way it used to be, but it will be even better.”
    “Ah, the innocence of youth,” joked Link.
    “I mean it,” Zelda smiled. She was lovely when she smiled. “It will be better. I don’t know exactly how I’m going to plan it, but I’ve only just started thinking about it, thanks to you. What are you going to do now that you don’t have to be a hero?”
    “Uh… I think I might be either a knight, under your command, or maybe I’ll be a… farmer! Farming is an active profession, so I’ll stay strong, and it’s very productive.”
    “I see,” said Zelda again. “I suppose I’ll have to ascend the throne… I really would have rather married you, but it’s quite all right that you love Rana. She was a very good friend to me before she disappeared. I wonder whom I will marry, then…”
    Their star-crossed dreams of the future were interrupted by one last gasp from Ganondorf.
    The floor began to shake violently. Zelda looked around.
    “Oh, no! I should have realized… the clouds would have gone away if the evil was wholly gone! We have to get out, now! He’s trying to bring the castle down on us!”
    “Stay close to me!” Link shouted, running for the ramp where the stairs used to be.
    At first he thought he was on a different staircase, but no… it was only that at the bottom the door was barred. Zelda gave an upward shove with her hands and the bars lifted. The two charged through. Link glanced curiously at Zelda’s lovely gown. ‘How can she run so fast in it?’ he wondered.
    The next level down, Zelda tripped in the lovely gown, which tore with a swish, and she was surrounded by a ring of fire. Two Stalfos, perhaps the reanimated corpses of the Ironknuckles he had defeated before, advanced on Link.
    The hero growled in frustration, but was forced to wait until their guards dropped.
    Zelda gasped in terror whenever they hit him, which was often. He was being sloppy, but he couldn’t have cared less if he tried. “Zelda, please don’t squeak so much. I’ll be fine. It’s distracting.”
    “Okay.”
    Finally, they fell and Zelda’s raging fire-ring died. They dashed for the next door.
    At last they reached the bottom of the stairs and ran over the bridge. At least, Zelda ran over the bridge. Link was halted in his tracks by a Redead scream. It moved towards him, and he strove with all his considerable will to break the curse and get out. It was wasting their precious time!
    Zelda’s hands glowed, and the creature burst into flame. Link shouted a thank you to her as they hurried up the last flight of stairs to the gate. Heavy rocks were dislodged out of the ceiling. Some smaller ones struck them, but they managed to get out.
    “Rana! Ranaaa!!!” Link shouted around the empty plateau. She wasn’t there.
    “Stay here!” he shouted to Zelda. “I have to go and get Rana! If I don’t, she won’t come out!” Before Zelda could answer he dove back into the castle and dimly heard the princess’ shriek behind him. He dashed back down the shaking stairs and took the left, downwards passage.
    “Ranaaaaaaa!” He screamed her name over the rumble of the collapsing castle, often, and repeatedly. He heard the sound of fighting, and ran faster. Rocks tumbled around him.
    Rana was, yes, still fighting ferociously. Link didn’t count the number of dead Ironknuckles, but there were many sprawled about. Some of them had bows.
    “Rana!” cried Link. “We need to get out of here! The castle is collapsing!” She turned and almost attacked him. He ducked. “Rana!”
    He picked her up and flung her over his shoulder. Then he ran the fastest he had ever run in his life. She shrieked, and he felt an arrow in her side, but couldn’t shift.
    That was a nightmare. Rocks not only fell from the ceiling, but were catapulted past him. Rana moaned, and Link knew she found it a nightmare too. They heard Zelda’s voice as Link pounded up and out.
    “Link! You have to come out! Please don’t die! …I’m coming in to look for you!”
    “No!” yelled Link. “Don’t come back in!” He flew out, propelled by a sudden jet of air from deep in the castle, along with a lot of debris. He landed on his back, grunting in pain, and skidded, clutching the girl safely to him.
    Rana twisted in his arms. “Wow! Look at it go!”
    When all was still, he sat up and hugged Rana, his whole being chanting to himself, “Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die…”
    “I’m not going to die just yet,” Rana said with some asperity.
    “What? How did you know?”
    “I don’t know, I just felt that you were saying that or something.”
    “So, anyway, this is Princess Zelda, and, Zelda, this is my best friend Rana… Hang on, you already know each other.”
    “We do?” Rana asked. “Like, personally other than that half-hour meeting when we were little-ish kids?”
    “Yes,” said Zelda, smiling. “You might know a wild young Shiekah boy… Well, he’s actually a girl. My anti-Ganondorf disguise.”
    “Ohhhhhhhhh,” Rana made a long drawn-out gasp, and the other two chuckled.
    Zelda looked at the sky again. “It’s still not clearing up.”
    “Hmm…”
    A strange noise made its way to their ears. Link stiffened and flung his arm in front of the girls.
    “What was that?” Zelda asked in a small voice. Link took a step forward, but Rana grabbed his arm.
    “I want to come.”
    “Rana,” Link said firmly, “stay here and protect Zelda. Okay?”
    “All right…”
    He trotted forward, to the largest pile of rubble. The ground was nearly flat; he wondered why that could be, in the ruins of a castle. Even a magic castle.
    He didn’t even get close to the pile, when Ganondorf sprang out of it, into the sky. The two girls cried out and ran forward, and they were all trapped in a ring of flame.
    Ganondorf screamed to the clouds, and a change began to take place.
    The King of Evil flickered with blue lightening and darkness cloaked his body. It swelled and distorted into a large, boar-like shape.
    Ganon, the ancient enemy of Hyrule, landed on his hoofed feet on the ground and drew two enormous blades. He swung them, roaring, and the Master Sword was ripped from Link’s grasp as he tried to defend himself. The sword landed point down outside of the ring of fire. Zelda dove for cover, and Rana ducked.
    “Link!” Navi cried. “I can help you this time! We can’t be parted again!” She sounded so brave and defiant, that Link felt his heart swell with pride for his little fairy. He glanced at the unreachable Master Sword, then looked up at Navi and snapped his fingers, grinning.
    The Megaton Hammer appeared out of nowhere. Link hastily slung his shield on his back and took it in both hands. Then he had to run, as Ganon was chasing him.
    There was a long strip of light grey stone and rubble extending along a diameter of the circle, and he ran one way until Ganon’s footsteps didn’t sound on top of his skull, then turned around.
    Rana was already hacking at the boar’s hide, and getting nowhere. It ignored her.
    Link dashed back, but the huge swords that Ganon held swooshed meatily through the air, almost slicing the hero in half. He glanced around and saw that Zelda had taken refuge on a pile of fallen blocks, where the monster couldn’t climb. Rana was trimming the edge of Ganon’s robes into shorts, but otherwise doing nothing to him.
    “Rana, could you help me… differently?” Link called. She grabbed one of Ganon’s bulky arms and pulled. The monster, distracted, tried to brush her off, but flinched with a roar as Link’s hammer slammed into his tail. Rana let go and back flipped to avoid getting decapitated. Ganon turned around, rather majestically, Link thought sardonically, and found his opponent still behind him.
    Rana began laughing as Link hid behind the King of Evil, preying on its rear end. Though no one knew it right away, each blow, powered as the non-magical weapon was by the Triforce of Courage and wielded by a good heart, was a deep wound to the Evil One.
    Link was at last faced and forced to run to the other side of the arena. Rana hopped down from her perch on a rock to help, and Zelda began to climb down also.
    “No, stay there!” Link cautioned the Princess. She glared playfully at him in an un-princess-like fashion, but obeyed. Rana grabbed the boar’s arm again, giving Link time to somersault around Ganon’s left hoof and hack away.
    Ganon collapsed, breathing heavily, and the ring of fire died for a moment. Rana backed away, catching her breath: her face was pale and sweaty, her hair hanging limp, the hair-tie gone. Zelda seemed to be preparing something, but darkness came between her and the beast and she hid it behind her back quickly. Link turned and dashed for the Master Sword. It seemed even more comfortable in his hand after giving the heavy hammer back to Navi and taking Evil’s Bane in his grip once more. As he charged back, Ganon slowly rose. Link twirled his sword and fixed the beast with his hard blue gaze.
    Rana, right on cue, seized Ganon’s left arm again.
    Ganon flicked his left arm.
    Hard.
    Zelda screamed as Rana flew to the edge of the island, an explosion of fire wreathing her body as she passed over the ring. The princess jumped off her heights and ran to the rim of the ring to see.
    She saw Rana’s hand clinging to the edge of the cliff, knuckles white with exertion. Bit by bit, Rana hauled herself up and onto firm ground and fainted. Naeri fainted along with her.
    Link was committing virtual suicide: a full-fledged front attack to Ganon’s leathery hide. The flat of Ganon’s sword caught him and sent him too flying several metres to land heavily against a fallen pillar, but he picked himself back up and flung himself against Ganon again.
    “She’s still here!” Zelda informed him. “She’s fainted, but alive.” The homicidal maniac slowed down his assault briefly. Then Link re-attacked with a vengeance. Ganon roared and thrashed, but couldn’t shake him off. Ganon turned and ran from the miniature – to him – Hylian who would not stop hurting him. The silver Master Sword sliced his tail off completely.
    With a moan, not a roar, not an explosion, Ganon, King of Evil, slumped on his face for the second time.
    A beam of light, as from the sun, smacked him in the face, and the monster writhed in his torment. Zelda was holding him with enchantments.
    Link slowly stalked around to face him in the eyes. His boots echoed on the hard stone surface, echoing off the stark surrounding cliffs.
    Ganon opened his own yellow-red eyes reluctantly. Link’s image burned into his brain: the booted feet placed squarely, the strong white-clad arms and legs, the sword and shield hanging easily in his hands, green hat firmly clinging to the back of his head, his green tunic slashed to pieces but not particularly bloody; his small chin, hard determined mouth, long nose, very long elegant ears, and long blonde hair through which burned two blue fires.
    His eyes.
    The brilliance of their gaze hit Ganon, and he trembled. The King of Evil had lost to the Chosen One for the fourth time. Ganon was afraid again, too afraid to revow his vengeance yet, afraid of this small avenging Hylian.
    Link brought up his sword. Ganon tried to break free, to escape the pain coming, but failed.
    Link stabbed four times, meeting Ganon each time. Blood sprayed everywhere. Ganon’s body flopped, and then flew into the air, transforming back into Ganondorf.
    Zelda fell exhausted on her knees, crying out: “Sages! Now!”
    In the Temple of Light, the six held their hands high. They vanished and six coloured balls of light appeared on their pedestals. The balls – the sages’ power and being – drew back, and then dove together and collided with a colossal bang. A miniature black hole appeared over the grey pedestal.
    The white, hazy dream state enveloped the Sages, Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link.
    “CURSE YOU, SAGES!” Ganondorf howled as he fell into oblivion.
    “CURSE YOU, ZELDA!” The words were a scream.
    “CURSE YOU, LINK!” The scream rose to a shriek, louder and more filled with hatred than the other two curses.
    “AS LONG AS THE TRIFORCE OF POWER RESTS ON MY HAND, I WILL COME BACK! I WILL EXTERMINATE YOUR DESCENDANTS, LINK!” A long high pitched wail echoed out of the Evil Realm, echoing throughout Hyrule. Children woke shrieking, animals panicked, all the Gorons woke up, the Zorans flinched and fainted one and all except for Ruto the Sage, and the wind stopped.
    Link awoke from the trance state like struggling to the top of a very deep pool of water. His eyes sought Zelda.
    “Is he gone? For good?”
    She answered shakily. “Yes.” Stars were visible overhead, but the sun was going down in fiery glory over Lake Hylia.
    Link exhaled long and gratefully, then went to sheath his sword. He stopped. It was red, black, and green with blood and Ganon’s flesh. He carefully wiped it off on a shred of cloth lying on the ground, sheathed it, and then hurried to Rana.
    When he got to her, he wished he had hurried faster, was angry with himself for showing off in front of Ganon. She was white and cold to the touch; the arrow had twisted deep into her guts. Naeri’s glow was faint. Navi fluttered desperately beside her fairy friend.
    Link scooped Rana into his arms, listening to her breathing. She was still alive. He looked anxiously at Zelda. She shook her head, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.
    “I can do nothing. She… she will…”
    “No!” Link’s denial came laced with pain.
    As if his voice called her, Rana stirred.
    “Link?” she queried weakly. “Is Ganon dead?”
    Link nodded mutely, trying not to let the tears fall from his eyes.
    “Yay!” she whispered. Link could not keep back his tearful smile.
    “I’m so glad. Now, we can go home… if I can live that long. Do you think so?”
    “Rana… … …I want you to live! I want you to come home with me. I want you to live a normal life now, like you did seven years ago before I left. Only with…”
    A troubled look crossed the girl’s face. “I’m sorry. I almost wish you hadn’t lo-“
    “I love you,” Link whispered earnestly.
    “I love you,” she echoed tenderly. “But I am dying. I think. I’m so very happy that you have won, Hero of Time…”
    “No… Rana…”
    “You are the hero, whether you like it or not.” She grinned a bit, having wilfully misconstrued his comment. “I’m sorry you’re so sad…”
    “I can’t live without you!”
    Rana looked at him unhappily for a moment, but then turned to Zelda. “Princess… uh, I mean Zelda… you are dazzlingly beautiful. May you rule Hyrule long and well. … … Navi?”
    Navi was holding Naeri, who was fading.
    “Please, continue guarding Link as only you know how.”
    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened her emerald eyes and stared clearly at Link.
    “Link, my best and truest friend… and – I will always love you…”
    “I will always love you…” Link echoed, hunched over her. Her hand caressed his face, and her arms encircled his neck. He cradled her close and kissed her.
    She was still.
    Link wept.


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