Disclaimer: I don't want to get in whatever trouble people can get into when using other people's characters so - .The Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, Ganon, Hyrule and other related characters and settings belong to to that wonderous console company, Nintendo. No infringement intended.

Darkness Comes

Juliet A. Singleton (Scullys@bigfoot.com) & Kirsty Singleton (Space@ignmail.com)



Chapter 12

     

"Someone's coming out of the temple!" whispered Selina to Leigh. Leigh looked up and squinted towards the entrance of the temple. She drew her sword and looked at Selina.

"Could be a Tanolian," she remarked. The figure seemed to look around the surrounding area for a few moments, as if searching.

"Hang on, it's Aaron!" realised Selina.

"Are you sure?" asked Leigh. Darkness had taken hold outside and a thin fog had dropped it's veil around the area. It was really quite hard to see any detail at all.

"I'm sure," replied Selina in a positive manner. She stood up and waved her arms at Aaron. "Over here!" she called.

"Shhh, anyone could be around," warned Leigh, she sounded a little annoyed. Aaron looked towards the two and jogged over.

"Thought you'd left us for a moment there," commented Aaron as he reached the two women.

"Would we?" asked Selina in an offended tone of voice. She was only teasing though.

"What's wrong?" asked Leigh, thinking that there could be a problem. After all, Aaron had emerged alone from the temple. Would anyone have really let him come back through that temple, alone?

"Nothing's wrong, well there is, but not yet," responded Aaron, sounding a bit confused himself. Leigh raised one eyebrow at him.

"Please, relate that back to me in English," said Leigh sarcastically. Aaron shrugged.

"Okay, Ganondorf is on his way back here, I mean - he wasn't here in the first place. We think he's been and gone to North Castle and taken the Triforces and now he is on his way back. We think that he has Zelda and that he's going to try and bargain with Link. Zelda for the sword," Aaron told the two.

"What kind of a moron is Ganondorf? Why on earth would Link hand over his only chance of truly destroying Ganondorf and endanger the whole world for the sake of one life?" blurted Leigh. Aaron and Selina both gave Leigh an astonished look but said nothing. Leigh through up her hands in defeat. "That didn't quite come out the way I intended," she admitted, realising it sounded a little on the cold-hearted side.

"Well in any case, we want you two inside the temple to help," continued Aaron.

"I don't see how we can help. Only Link can kill Ganondorf, no-one else, what help can we be?" asked Leigh a little nervously.

She looked up at the temple, feeling a little uneasy at the prospect of going back inside there. "Um, your sword would be of some use," said Aaron quietly. Leigh drew her sword from her belt and handed it over to Aaron.

"You can have it, as long as I don't have to go back in that temple," murmured Leigh, her eyes still focused on the entrance of the temple.

"We need someone who can handle it," protested Aaron. He hated to admit it, but the sword was way too heavy for himself to use in battle. It was beyond him how anyone could use it, let alone Leigh.

"What you so scared of? It's only a dumb temple!" rasped a gloating voice. Aaron stepped back in surprise and looked down at the sword.

"I don't like it," insisted Leigh, replying to the voice.

"You are the Avatar are you not? You aren't supposed to fear anything, or so I'm told," continued on the voice, taking a sly tone. Aaron looked towards Selina for some help, but she just shrugged.

"Well it's alright for you! You're all nice and safe inside your little gem prison," accused Leigh.

"No thanks to you!" rasped back the voice.

"Where is that voice coming from?" piped up Aaron, unable to resist any longer. Leigh looked up at Aaron's face, as if she had only just noticed him.

"It's Arcadian, the spirit of the sword," replied Leigh.

"That is soo cheesy!" rasped Arcadian loudly.

"What is?" asked Leigh, turning her attention back to the sword.

"I'm the spirit of the sword! Woooo!" rasped Arcadian mockingly. Leigh reached forward and grabbed the sword off Aaron. She strode towards the temple entrance.

"Fine, I will go in. Anything to shut you up!" she said as she walked into the temple, disappearing from Aaron and Selina's view. The two turned and looked at each other.

"I'm glad I don't have a sword with a personality," remarked Aaron. Selina nodded in agreement then she and Aaron both made their way back into the temple.



Link could hear heavy footsteps approaching. They echoed along one of the open passages, coming closer, and closer. He placed his hand upon his sword hilt, waiting nervously. A trickle of sweat moved down his forehead. Navi flew down into Link's pocket quickly, hiding. "Hey, get out! This pockets are mine!" Sprite shrieked angrily, from inside Link's tunic.

"Shhh!" Link said angrily. Suddenly, he realised that the footsteps had stopped, and he could sense the presence of something. Something evil. Slowly, he glanced up, right into the burning red eyes of Ganondorf Dragmire. Gasping, he leapt upwards, pulling out his blade and holding it out in a defensive position. Ganondorf began to laugh out loud. He had a horrible laugh. It was dark, deep and menacing, and it made Link feel slightly nervous.

"So, finally, we meet for the final battle, boy," Ganondorf remarked. Link lunged with his sword.

"Too right, Ganon. Your final battle. I'll kill you!" he shouted angrily. Ganondorf managed to block the blow with his armour.

"Don't get too cocky, Link. That was always your problem," the evil Gerudo remarked snidely. Link began to circle the wizard warily. Ganondorf turned around, so his back was to Link, then he quickly spun around, his cloak almost masking him, making him invisible. When he was finally facing Link, the hero's face drained in horror, when he saw that Ganondorf had hold of Zelda.

"Behold, Link! I have your beloved Princess!" Ganondorf cried out. Link's eyes met with his wife's. She looked absolutely terrified. "Come on Link, hand over the sword," the Gerudo coaxed, his fingers still tight hold of Zelda. She winced in pain, and Link seemed to feel it too.

"Let go of her, you black hearted fool!" he shouted angrily. Ganondorf just laughed. Then he withdrew a jet handled dagger, with a sharp, obsidian blade.

"If you don't hand over your weapon, I'll be forced to hurt this beautiful princess of yours. Now, I'm sure you don't want that," Ganondorf said slyly. "After all," he added in a slimly tone, "she's too pretty to spoil." He leaned down, and whispered into Zelda's ear, "how about a little kiss, Princess?" Zelda tried to pull away, but she was too weak. She almost collapsed with exhaustion. Ganondorf pulled her back up, his nails digging into her shoulder. She cried out in pain, and Ganondorf grinned. "Perhaps I'll write a book someday, a treatise of pain. Your Princess here isn't holding up too well at all," he smirked, seeing the blood seeping out of her shoulder.

"Let her go!" Link shouted. Ganondorf ignored him.

"Yes, both you and Zelda would make very good subjects for it indeed." Link narrowed his eyes, and glared at Ganondorf hatefully.

"Don't you even think about it," he warned, in a low voice.

"Hand over the sword!" Ganondorf demanded. He shoved the knife up against Zelda's throat, drawing a line of blood under her chin. "I'm warning you," he added. Link swallowed nervously. When he saw the blood, he laid the sword down on the ground, but didn't step away from it.

"Let go of Zelda," he said. Ganondorf laughed, and immediately, pushed her to one side. She slumped down in a heap on the floor. Link immediately ran to her, whilst Ganondorf made a pounce for the sword. Link watched him, and noticed that the evil king could not seem to touch the weapon. He turned, and knelt beside Zelda. He took her hand, and leant to kiss her softly upon the lips.

"I'm sorry," she whispered weakly, attempting to stand.

"No, stay here. I'll deal with him," Link replied. He took one last look at her, then whirled to look at Ganondorf once more. The wizard roared with anger when he realised that he couldn't physically hold the Master Sword. Link smiled to himself, realising that he suddenly had an advantage. He stuck his left hand forward, and the sword suddenly came flying into his hand. Ganondorf stared, then shouted angrily.

"Don't use your magical tricks on me, Link!" Link just smiled again.

"Looks like there was one thing you didn't count on!" he called back, rather smugly.

A magnificent sword materialised in Ganondorf's hand. He advanced towards Link menacingly. Link looked surprised, and Ganondorf smirked. He wielded the sword in his right hand. "Well, Link, you always used to complain that I never played fair," he remarked.

"That's true enough," Link said, through gritted teeth. He needed to strike Ganondorf, drive the sword through his heart, but it was hard getting close. At least the wicked necromancer couldn't use Zelda as a human shield anymore. Summoning up all his courage, he dove towards Ganondorf, ramming the blade into his tough armour. Ganondorf shrieked in pain, and pulled backwards quickly. Blood began to pour out of his chest.

"You've not won yet, boy," he shrieked. Their blades crashed together, each skilfully dodging each other's attack.

"Yes, but I will," Link replied in a determined voice. Ganondorf blocked his attack again. Metal hit off metal. "This sword will be your final undoing, I just know it!" Link continued. Off guard, Ganondorf caught Link's arm with his sword. The hero hastily drew back, as the blade drew blood.

"Maybe your over-confidence will end up as your undoing!" the wizard retorted gleefully. Link shook his head, stepped back again, then rushed forward quickly. However, instead of striking he performed a perfect somersault, right over Ganondorf's shoulder. The wizard tried to turn as quickly as possible, but Link had already stabbed him in the back.

"I can be as confident as I like!" he cried. Ganondorf roared out in anger. He could never match Link's extraordinary sword fighting skills.

"Fool of a boy!" he cried, grabbing Link by the neck. Link began to choke, and thrust out with his sword in defence. Ganondorf swung his sword against Link at close quarters, but somehow, Link managed to avoid the attack. He kicked out, hard, and both he and Ganondorf went tumbling onto the floor. Link dropped the Master Sword, and Ganondorf tried to stab him with his own sword. Link began to punch him in the face as hard as he could, hoping to knock his nemesis out cold.



Balayna hurried over to where Zelda was huddled up down in a corner of the cavern. "Zelda!" she whispered down to the Princess. Zelda gasped, and looked up in surprise.

"Balayna!" she exclaimed. Balayna nodded, and quickly shoved something into her hand.

"Drink this, Zelda, it will help you recover from your drugged state," she whispered.

"Quickly!" she added nervously, keeping an eye on Ganondorf, hoping that her king wouldn't spot her consorting with the princess. Zelda removed the cork from the vial, and swallowed the liquid. A warm feeling instantly began to spread through her veins, making her feel revitalised and alert.

"What… what happened?" she murmured, feeling a little confused.

"No time to explain now, but you've been drugged," Balayna said. She flinched as she heard a shriek of anger from Ganondorf.

"Link!" Zelda whispered in horror, as she watched the hero fall to the ground.

"Come on Zelda, let's get out of here!" Balayna urged.

"No!" the Princess said defiantly.

"You'll be safer if you come with me," Balayna said.

"No, Link may need my help!" Zelda replied.

"You have no weapons, you can't help him," Balayna said, looking nervous. Zelda shook her head.

"I'm not leaving," she said, her mouth set in a defiant line.

"You only endanger yourself, Princess," Balayna answered, shaking her head. Zelda didn't reply, her attention fixed on the one to one battle that was currently taking place. She was frowning slightly. Balayna, having done the best she possibly could, turned and ran back out of the room.



Link was beginning to feel exhausted. Ganondorf's stamina seemed relentless, and Link himself had barely rested in days. However, he kept going, for the sake of his country. The two circled each other, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Ganondorf had multiple wounds, more than Link, and yet he barely seemed affected by them. Suddenly, the wizard raised his hands and let out a snarl. "I grow tired of your foolish sword's strikes," he said. A huge trident materialised in his right hand. He began to spin it around very rapidly, and a bright energy bolt formed in the middle. Link pulled his shield from off his back, figuring that he'd probably need it. "How about, this!" Ganondorf shouted, as the energy bolt separated into many smaller bolts. He then flung them towards Link. The hero bravely used his sword to hit some of the bolts out of the way, and the rest bounced off the cavern walls, disappearing as their power diminished.

"Link! We can't help you!" Navi shouted, as she and Sprite were seemingly flung backwards against the wall.

"It's the waves of darkness! We can't get close!" Sprite added.

"We're so sorry Link!" Navi apologised.

"I can handle this," Link said, less confident than he sounded.

"You will never match my magical power!" Ganondorf exclaimed triumphantly, sending a huge lighting bolt towards the hero. He raised his shield, successfully deflecting the magic.

"Maybe not, but I can avoid it!" Link replied. He flung his sword at Ganondorf, concentrating on the aim. It flew forward quickly, but then Ganondorf held out his hands, swiped, and the sword fell to the ground. It immediately flew back into Link's hand again, just as Ganondorf launched another attack of magic missiles. He fought them off with his sword, trying to knock the magical bolts back at their creator. However, they came so fast, and he hit them away so wildly, that they just seemed to miss, hitting the walls instead. Ganondorf, as usual, just laughed.

"This will finally be the end of your line, you pitiful boy! Both you, and Zelda! Never again will your ancestors, or successors, trouble me! You will be dead, and gone! Thank goodness neither of you have any brothers or sisters to eradicate!" He sent off another round of missiles, laughing gleefully as Link tried to avoid them as best he could. "As for your boy, well, I've already taken care of HIM!" A cold chill swept through Link at those words. He heard Zelda shout "No!" from somewhere within the cavern, and Ganondorf began to grin hideously. His red eyes gleamed, and his yellowed teeth protruded from his thin, green-yellow lips.

"No…" Link whispered to himself in horror.

"Don't listen to him, he's a liar!" Sprite suddenly yelled.

"Yes, I found your beloved son. Too bad castle security isn't better, or maybe you, Zelda, were wishing you'd never left in the first place!" Ganondorf answered in a self-satisfied tone. Link saw Zelda sink down to her knees, sobbing. He turned back to Ganondorf.

"You bastard! There's no level you won't stoop to, is there?" he shouted angrily. He dashed forward, ignoring the bolts Ganondorf flung at him. They hurt, but he was too angry to care.

"Link!" Zelda cried in horror, as he ran through the rain of magic missiles. Link took a swing at the surprised Ganondorf, hitting his squarely in the torso. The wizard cried out in pain, as more wounds appeared upon his already battered body.

"Won't you ever die?" Link cried, through gritted teeth.

"No, I won't!" Ganondorf retorted. He snatched Link's arm, being careful not to touch the Master Sword, and then flung him backwards. Then, he threw a huge magical bolt, bigger than any before, right at the hero.

Link managed to roll out of the way just in time. The bolt hit the rocky wall, and immediately, the whole cavern began to shudder. Link tried to get up, but was immediately knocked off his feet by the shaking ground. Ganondorf had began to levitate, and was laughing out loud. "I am going to crush you in this Shadow Temple! Here, you will end your sorry lives, you fools!" he shouted, tossing another huge bolt. Debris began to drop from the ceiling.

"Link, help me!" Zelda shouted, as the ground began to split in two. Link, somehow managing to regain his feet, ran towards Zelda. Ganondorf continued throwing bolts after him.

"Pitiful boy! She was always your greatest weakness, wasn't she?" he sneered. "Thank goodness I never fell in love like you did!" Link ignored the jibes, and grabbed hold of a rising ledge.

"Zel!" he shouted, as masonry fell down all around him. The ground was beginning to split into two. Zelda was moving further, and further away from him. Some of the ceiling crashed down on top of him, hitting him hard. He attempted to stand, but his vision wavered dangerously. He could just make out Zelda, at the opposite end of the chasm, her golden hair streaming out behind her, in the blast of air that was being issued from the bowels of the earth.

"Don't worry about me!" she shouted, "look behind you!" Link spun around, just in time to see Ganondorf advancing, with his huge trident. He slammed it down into the ground, making more cracks appear. Link began to slip off the edge, his fingers scrabbling to try and get a hold, so that he didn't fall into the void below. "I told you I would crush you!" Ganondorf shouted triumphantly. "Under the rock of this temple!"

"No!" Link said. Courage flooded through him, and he managed to pull himself back up. "Try whatever you like, Ganon, but you won't stop me!" he shouted aggressively. "If you've done anything to my son…" he continued, in an angry tone.

"It's too late for him Link!" Ganondorf replied in a maniacal tone. He began to cackle. Link wanted to cover his ears. He sank down to the floor, unable to bear the thought of his own son dead. Ganondorf grabbed him by the tunic. Link struggled to get free, flailing wildly with the Master Sword. "You're pathetic! Even your ancestors were better than you!" Ganondorf gloated, his fingers stabbing into Link's back.

"Liar!" Sprite shouted from somewhere around.

"Be quiet, or I'll zap you into oblivion, you contemptible creature!" Ganondorf retorted. He then flung Link across the room, hard.

Link's head hit off the wall, and he slumped to the ground, dazed. Masonry began to fall all around him, and in a few short seconds, the entire wall behind the hero had collapsed. He was seeing stars. Ganondorf began to advance towards his long-term enemy, laughing loudly. "Finally, you meet your demise, destined hero!" he shouted. He pulled out the obsidian bladed dagger, and held it high up into the air. "Prepare to die, Link!" Ganondorf cried. Link heard Zelda screaming in horror, and the two faeries crying, "Nooooo!" He heard Ganondorf laughing, yet could see nothing. Then he blacked out…

 



To be continued in the final book of the trilogy….


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