Chapter 1

"What's going on?" Aaron cried, as the dungeon began to rumble.

"Feels like some sort of earthquake," Leigh replied, trying to shield her face from the

bits of rock that were raining down on top of them.

"It'll pass… aren't these mountains always slightly unstable?" Selina asked hopefully.

"They've always been okay before. I hope Ganondorf, or Link, or anyone for that

matter, hasn't… awoken anything," Aaron replied, moving forwards. Both Selina and

Leigh collapsed down onto the floor at one particularly big quake. "Come on, we're

almost there," Aaron said, bending to help them both back up.

"Aaron!" Drake called, stepping out of the shadows.

"Do you know what's going on?" Aaron questioned, holding onto a jutting out piece of

stone for support. Balayna emerged from the darkness too.

"I think Ganondorf's using magic," she said breathlessly. "Where's Link and Zelda?"

Selina questioned.

"Where do you think?" Drake asked darkly.

"Never mind that, but Ewan's somewhere in there, too!" Balayna cried.

"What?!" everyone shouted in horror.

"Ganondorf took Ewan as an extra bargaining weapon… if he finds out the boy's

powers…" she said, trailing off.

"Powers?" Aaron questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Drake demanded, pulling the Gerudo queen up close.

"Don't you see? Ewan has the powers to control all three Triforces! Link and Zelda's

virtues were passed onto him, and he also got power," Balayna explained.

Understanding dawned on the knight's face.

"Then we must save the child, before Ganondorf has a chance to find out." Balayna

nodded.

"I saw Ganondorf push him into a cavern not far from here, before he went into the

main chamber, with Zelda," she said. "I have been searching for the Triforce, but it

seems my king has hidden it well," she confessed.

"Alright, let's split up," Aaron organised. "Where's Dion and the other guys?" he added.

"In the next chamber," Drake replied.

"Alright, you and them go and search for the Triforce. Me and the girls will look for

young Ewan," Aaron said. The knight nodded, then made his way across the shaky

floor towards the next room.

"No!" Zelda shouted in anguish, "no!" Tears streamed down her face, as she

realised that Link, in his unconscious state, could not possibly defend himself from the

evil Ganondorf.

"Shut up, you stupid girl!" Ganondorf ordered, turning his attention back to Link, who

was still out cold. The rumbling began to gradually die down, as the foundations of the

mountain settled once more. Gleefully, he withdrew his gold handled Gerudo dagger,

with its obsidian blade. "Prepare to finally die, hero!" he gloated. Zelda picked up a

discarded sword, and quickly ran towards Ganondorf with it, desperate to help her

husband. However, as she approached, he span around, and grabbed her arm. Then

he flung her backwards, back across the cavern. The Princess landed on the floor, hurt

and slightly dazed. Ganondorf turned back to Link, and then calmly plunged the dagger

into the hero's chest…

***

Ganondorf laughed madly, as he twisted the dagger deep into Link's chest. When

he was finally sure that his arch-enemy was well and truly dead, he pulled the deadly

weapon out again. It was coated in a thick layer of red, glistening blood. Finally, after

all these years… centuries even, his enemy was finally dead. Finished. Destroyed. He

cackled with glee, then whipped around, looking for the other person he needed to kill

off. Princess Zelda. He spotted her, lying crumpled up on the floor nearby. As she saw

him approaching, she attempted to get up. Suddenly, the cavern was bathed in a soft,

greenish glow at one end. Both Ganondorf and Zelda turned in surprise to see what

was happening. However, suddenly, all either of them could see was just the greenish

light, nothing else. It seemed to envelope them, like a strange sort of mist. "What the…"

Ganondorf began. Then a voice spoke. It was mellifluous, yet all eerie at the same time.

"Link, my love," it said. A cold chill swept through the puzzled Ganondorf, and the

shocked Zelda. The mist continued to swirl around them, blinding them. "I shall not

allow you to die!" the voice continued. Neither Ganondorf or Zelda could move. It was

like they had become frozen, destined to be silent witnesses, nothing more. "Your time

is not over yet, my beloved. There is still work to be done," the voice proclaimed. The

light became more intense.

Link suddenly coughed. Blood came up into his mouth, it tasted foul. His vision swam,

but he could make out someone knelt before him, their hands placed warmly upon his

chest. The features of the person became clearer, as he strained his eyes to get a better

look. It was a woman, with deep blue eyes, and long wavy brown hair. Her skin was

eerily pale though, and she was bathed in a strange green light. She was very familiar to

him, but he couldn't quite grasp her name. "What…" he began, feeling confused.

"Shhh, my love. I will heal you now, and you will complete your destiny. It is not yet

your time," the woman said soothingly. Link felt all pain begin to diminish from his

injured body.

"Kylara…" he breathed. She smiled.

"I forgive you for what you did," she murmured, regarding him compassionately.

"I thought you were…" Link started, still confused.

"Now, I must depart to go back to the void, Link. But until we meet again, please take

this as a token of my undying love," Kylara said softly. A small book materialised in

front of Link. As he looked back to Kylara, he noticed tears in her eyes.

"Uh… thank you," Link managed to say, as the green light began to fade. Finally,

Kylara disappeared, and the tiny book dropped to the ground, the only evidence of her

presence. Link, thoroughly confused, attempted to regain his bearings. It was quite

dark, he could see chunks of masonry lying about everywhere. He bent down to pick

up the book, trying to remember what he was doing here. As the hero looked back up,

he noticed two people stood nearby. One was a beautiful woman with long golden hair.

She looked shocked, her face drained of all colour. The other was a tall, ugly looking

man with cruel features and flaming red hair. He was glaring malevolently, yet there was

also an air of confusion about him. Link then knew what was going on. He was here to

destroy the evil that was Ganondorf, and to rescue his wife, Zelda. Link staggered up

quickly, picking up his sword as he did. Oh my god, I think I just died! Was Kylara a

ghost? he thought to himself, a shiver suddenly going up his spine at such a thought.

"Looks like it's not just over quite yet, Ganondorf!" he sneered, advancing towards the

wizard angrily.

"How in Hyrule…" Ganondorf was saying to himself. Then he saw the sword. "How

many lives can you possibly have? You may have the ethereal on your side, but now I

know better. This time, I'll truly finish you!" he said decisively.

"Once a coward, always a coward," Link continued, still moving forward. Then,

without warning, Ganondorf suddenly turned and grabbed hold of Zelda, who was still

stood rooted to the spot, staring at Link, her face a mixture of relief and horror. The

Princess let out a small shriek, and then tried to struggle of his grasp.

"Don't come any closer Link, if you want to see you beloved Princess safe," Ganondorf

sneered.

"Get off me!" Zelda said furiously, still struggling.

"No, I don't want to. In fact, I'm rather enjoying this," he replied in a snide tone. Zelda

glared at him angrily.

"You are a fool, Ganondorf. One virtue can't fight against two, you know," she said, in

a rather smug voice.

"But I have the strongest virtue! And soon, I shall find a way to have all three!"

Ganondorf retorted. "Of course, there is something I must let you two pitiful beings

know. I can never die! Never again be banished back to the realm of darkness! So all

of your efforts will be futile!" cackled Ganondorf.

"What are you talking about?" asked Zelda hotly, annoyed with Ganondorf's claims.

"I mean, that when I left the dark realm, my powers were so great that they caused the

realm to cave-in and to crumble. So you see, even if you were to kill me, my spirit

would still haunt Hyrule, only I would be harder to conquer! So if you give up now, you

will not live to see later!" bellowed Ganondorf.

Sprite, who had been hovering in the corner of the cavern let out a small gasp.

Ganondorf, indestructible? She had to warn the others, perhaps they could figure a way

of at least holding up Ganondorf or even trapping him. She silently flew from the room,

in search for Aaron and the rest of them, hoping that Link would not require her help

anytime soon. The faerie soon found the others and relayed to them what she had

heard from Ganondorf only minutes before. She left them to discuss this and quickly

returned back to Link, after all, she was his guardian faerie.

"I have an idea," Leigh suddenly remarked out loud.

"What?" Aaron questioned in surprise.

"Will it help us find the Triforce?" Selina asked hopefully.

"Well, no. It's something we could do to trap Ganondorf," Leigh replied. "Well, go on,"

Balayna said. Leigh pulled out her sword. "This sword is a vesicle for storing evil

spirits, or as we call them in Sosaria, banes. Arcadian here, is trapped inside this

jewel," she said.

"What's that got to do with Ganondorf?" Drake asked gruffly.

"Don't you see? We can trap Ganondorf's spirit into the jewel!" Leigh said.

"Oh yes, oh yes! Finally, I shall be released!" Arcadian stated joyfully.

"By the goddesses! It speaks!" Balayna cried.

"Yes, that's the spirit. And no, I'm not releasing you. Goodness knows what damage

you'd cause. I don't trust you one bit," Leigh replied sternly.

"I'll be good, I promise," Arcadian said in a mocking tone.

"Now I definitely don't believe you," Leigh said.

"But, if you're not going to release Arcadian, how can you put Ganondorf into the

sword amiga?" Dion questioned.

"Here's the clever bit," Leigh whispered. They all drew closer. "Arcadian can be

trapped into a mirror, well, a mirror of fire. It's what he was in before I constructed this

sword," she began.

"Where in Hyrule are you going to find a mirror of fire?" Selina asked.

"I can create one, with the right spell. I just need a mirror first," Leigh replied.

"Well, what do you know? I happen to have a hand mirror on me," the healer smiled.

"Give it to me!" Leigh said excitedly. Suddenly, as Selina handed over the small hand

mirror, an evil voice passed through Leigh's mind. Thou had best not do that…

AVATAR! She shivered, recalling it to be the voice of the evil daemon, The Guardian.

"Alright, now I can put Arcadian into this mirror, but I'm not sure if I can put

Ganondorf into the sword. It's a very tiring process, and not really my speciality. Who

else knows magic here?" Leigh said.

"Zelda," Aaron said. "Yes, she's the best out of all of us," Selina added.

"What's her speciality?" Leigh questioned.

"Theurgy, I think," Selina said. Leigh smiled.

"Perfect. All she needs to do is to channel her power from her focus, then train it onto

Ganondorf. Then she can draw him into the sword. What's her focus?"

"Uh… unfortunately, the Triforce of Wisdom," Aaron said.

"Well, what are we doing standing around then? Let's get searching for it," Drake

suggested. "While you lot start searching, I'll put Arcadian into the mirror, then I'll catch

up," said Leigh as the group began to spread out.

"Okay," the rest of them replied, agreeing with her.

Leigh knelt down, grasping the hand mirror in one hand, the sword in the other. She

carefully laid the sword on the ground alongside her and studied the mirror carefully.

There were no cracks in the mirror which was just as well otherwise it would have

meant the mirror was useless for the spell and purpose. She closed both of her hands

tightly upon the handle of the mirror and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the

mirror and the spell only. She dismissed all other thoughts from her mind and murmured

the words of the spell. Her hands, arms, and the rest of her body began to tingle as all

of her energies travelled towards the mirror. As she finished the spell a short shock

coursed through her veins, almost causing her to drop the mirror. She opened her eyes

and stared into the mirror, and saw not her own reflection but an infinite fire, reflected

thousands of times over before her eyes. She smiled faintly then turned to the sword.

"You are not sending me back into one of those things!" protested Arcadian as Leigh

lifted the sword.

"Sorry Arcadian, but when I released you the first time you mocked me, told me your

evil plans. I took you seriously," said Leigh solemnly. It was true. The spirit had been

trapped in the mirror and had begged her to free him from the services of the mad old

mage who had owned him. When she had, he had gloated over her, saying that the

world was his to destroy. Of course, what he hadn't known was that she was there

ready with the gem prison.

"I was merely jesting," protested Arcadian weakly. Leigh shook her head in

disagreement.

"I think not," she said, closing her eyes again. She now had to transport Arcadian from

the gem prison to the mirror.

"It was the excitement of having freedom again, spur of the moment," went on Arcadian

desperately. In the mirror he had no-where near as much power than he possessed in

the sword. He would merely float around and nothing more. "I must warn you Avatar,

that if the transportation between here and the mirror should go awry, I will spare you

no mercy!" growled Arcadian, who was growing more desperate by the minute. If she

would not listen to his pleads then he would have to threaten her.

"Oh what a pity. I was just considering your release think of you as sincere, what a

mistake that would have been!" mocked Leigh. She knew she shouldn't have

responded to the spirit, he was disrupting her chain of thoughts, but she could not

resist.

"Thou should'st not do that Avatar! Isn't lying an anti-virtue? A way to perverse

justice? Tut-tut indeed," rasped Arcadian, reminding Leigh of sandpaper over wood.

"I wasn't lying," she gritted, again mentally scolding herself for replying.

"Hmm, are you sure? Because if you were lying the first time, you have just told another

lie to cover up the previous lie. Fascinating," went on Arcadian. Leigh said nothing, and

tried to block out his whisper of a voice. She had to get him into that mirror. She held

the sword upright in one hand, then mirror in the other. Arcadian would have to use

Leigh herself as a vehicle to get into the mirror, it was not going to be easy. Her hands

began to burn, as did her arms as the energy began to pass through her. She heard a

small shriek of anger as Arcadian was dragged from the gem and placed into the

mirror. She blacked out for a moment as Arcadian passed through her. Then it was

over. She opened her eyes and glanced into the mirror, she was met with the ugly face

of Arcadian. He reminded her of an overweight devil that you saw in cartoons. He had

two horns, similar to a rams, and a double chin. He had a wide mouth that was lined

with dozens of tiny shark-like teeth, a pudgy nose, and startling blue eyes. He had

pupils, but they were a milky white, not black at all. "Hmmph! Back in here? I can't

believe it, well you won't be able to use that sword again. I made it nice and light, it'll

be a dead weight now," grunted Arcadian. Leigh realised that she had actually dropped

the sword as she had blacked out. She stooped down and picked it up again. She spun

it around in one hand effortlessly and smiled into the mirror.

"Dead weight?" she asked. Arcadian merely grunted, then he faded from view. Leigh

carefully tucked the mirror into her belt, and placed the sword into it's scabbard. She

looked around, suddenly realising how dark it was. She shivered and wrapped her

arms around herself in an effort to bring warmth back. She remembered how much she

feared this place. Another shiver went through her and she quickly walked off in the

direction she had seen one of her companions disappear off to a few minutes ago. She

didn't want to be alone.

Aaron stooped into a smaller passageway which led off to a small room. He held a

torch out in front of him, lighting the way. There were three curious pits in the room,

quite shallow. There seemed to be nothing in them, but as Aaron approached the first

pit, his ears detected a slow squirming, slithering noise. It was coming from the pit. As

far as he could see, nothing occupied the pit, so he decided to get closer. As he did,

something cold and wet brushed off his outstretched hand that was wrapped around

the torch. Something in the pit. He paused and drew his sword, gingerly reaching

towards the pit. It came up against something with a soft squelch, and a high pitched

screech emitted from whatever he had touched. Whatever it was, it was invisible.

Aaron slashed out with his sword, putting more force into it. Another shriek emerged.

Aaron then realised what it was, an invisible Like-like. He stepped back, as Like-like's

were known to reach towards there attackers and attempt to suck them into their soft

fleshy bodies. He had heard that it was a particularly unpleasant experience to go

through. The Like-like could also grab your armour or sword if you weren't too careful

as well. He hit out again, another shriek emerged which was followed by a strange

hissing. When you slaughtered a Like-like, it melted away into the ground, leaving it's

treasures behind. Aaron peered into the pit and spotted a bag. He reached in and

grabbed it, then opened it. From within the bag, a light arose, blue and radiant. "The

Triforce of Wisdom!" he exclaimed. He looked towards the other pits. Perhaps

Ganondorf had placed each Triforce into an invisible Like-like for safekeeping. It was

certainly a good idea, just not successful. Aaron wandered over to the next pit, where

he was again greeted with the same slow, squirming, slithering sound. He thrust out his

sword, more confidently, but to his surprise, the weapon was sucked away from him

and promptly disappeared. Cursing his bad luck as well as over-confidence, Aaron

pulled a spare knife from his boot and approached the pit, getting a little nearer to the

thing. He was going to have to take it out close-range. He swiftly stabbed forward,

cutting through the flesh of the invisible Like-like, once, twice, three times. The familiar

hissing followed. When Aaron stooped into the pit, he spotted his sword, and, sure

enough, a second bag containing the Triforce of Courage. He hefted that over his

shoulder along with the other bag, then approached the third pit. When he came closed

he dropped the two bags and slashed his sword in front of him, cutting across the

Like-like. It shrieked and squirmed, but it was stuck in the pit. Aaron felt a little sorry

for the thing, it hardly had a chance. Shrugging his shoulders, he quickly finished it off

and retrieved the bag that it left behind. This one contained the Triforce of Power.

Aaron put his sword back through his belt, then grabbed all three bags and slung them

over his back. It had been too easy, but he supposed that Ganondorf had not expected

the three Triforces so soon and therefore had not been able to have thought of a better

hiding place. He strolled out of the room, and stooped again once more as the

passageway was quite low.

On the way, he came face to face with Leigh, bumping into her almost. Leigh

stepped backward in shock, but soon recovered.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," apologised Leigh. Aaron smiled.

"S'okay," he replied amicably. He realised that her face had gone pale. "You alright?"

he questioned. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, I just, for a moment thought you might've been one of those Tanolians," she

admitted. Aaron grinned.

"Lucky thing I wasn't then," he said with a laugh.

"You find them?" asked Leigh, smiling faintly at him. He nodded his head.

"Yup, found them back there, we'd better go find the others," replied Aaron. Leigh

smiled again then turned around and headed back to where she had come from.

"You manage to get him in the mirror?" asked Aaron as they descended down the

passage.

"If you mean 'did you vacate the premises of the gem prison, did you cruelly evict that

poor spirit from his nice gem prison, did you re-home him back in this stuffy fire mirror'

then yes, she did!" rasped an angry voice.

"Sorry," apologised Leigh again.

"No need," replied Aaron.

"I'm sure there must be a law about this! It's not right, I was perfectly comfortable, then

you go and dump me in this place. What's so special about this Ganondorf? I could

take him on with my left arm alone. Did you ever pause to think that he might bend the

sword to his will then start killing everyone, did you? It could very well happen!"

shrieked Arcadian again. Leigh ignored him.

"I can hear voices, we must be near the rest of them," she said instead to Aaron,

quickening her pace. "Could be," murmured Aaron, picking up his own speed.

When the reached the end of the tunnel they were met by Selina, Balayna, Drake,

Dion and Damon who were all looking worried. "It's okay, Aaron found the Triforces!"

piped up Leigh immediately. Selina let out a sigh of relief.

"And the sword? Is it ready?" asked Balayna. Leigh nodded.

"We found the child, he seems fine physically, but he seemed detached from his

surroundings. He could not focus or would not, and he replied to none of our

questions," Balayna told the two.

"Catatonic. He's blanked himself out," said Leigh suddenly. "He's using it to stop

himself from being hurt, or rather feeling pain or emotion. He'll be alright once we get

out of this hell-hole, or at worst in a few days," explained Leigh. She'd read about

people going into this kind of state when they wanted to escape from their fears. She

looked at the blank faces around her. "Trust me," she said.

"Where is Ewan now?" asked Aaron, concerned for the little boy. He thought of him

almost as a nephew.

"With some of my followers, they're getting him away from our King," stated Balayna.

Leigh nodded.

"Good. Now let's go and help Link and Zelda," said Leigh stepping forward, "That's if

they need any," she added on an afterthought.

Link carefully paced his way around Ganondorf, shield raised as well as sword. The

evil king still had hold of Zelda and was showing no signs of giving up. "Let her go

Ganon!" growled Link, pausing for a moment. "Let her go, and I shall throw this into

that pit," continued Link, he stopped walking and raised the Master Sword. Ganondorf

broke into an ugly grin.

"Okay drop the sword down there, and I shall free your wretched princess!" he

bargained. Link nodded. He backed away and threw the sword towards the pit. It

skittered to a halt near the edge. Ganondorf pushed Zelda away and stooped forward

to grab the sword. Link watched as Zelda fell to the ground and rushed over, helping

her up.

"Go! Get out of here while you can!" whispered Link giving her a small push towards

the door.

"But…" protested Zelda, not wanting to leave Link alone with that monster.

"Trust me, I can handle him," insisted Link, giving Zelda a reassuring smile. She turned

and fled towards the door. Link turned back to Ganondorf. The evil wizard had

grabbed a chunk of masonry. He threw it at the sword, and it dropped down the hole.

Link cringed as the blade disappeared.

"She may escape now, but it will only prolong her suffering," mocked Ganondorf. Link

shrugged. He stared at the hole, willing the sword to jump to his hand. Ganondorf

followed Link's gaze and smiled evilly. He created a magical bolt in the air, and the

sword appeared inside it, hovering between the two of them. "This is the only thing that

could destroy me, and you traded it for the life of one person. Foolish? Yes. If only you

possessed wisdom as well as courage. Now nothing will stop me, and the land is mine

to do with what I please," tormented Ganondorf. He sent the bolt flying back down the

hole. Suddenly, the sword pulled away from it's path and span dangerously towards

Link. It clattered to the ground just before him, and the two made a mad dash for it.

Link threw himself to the ground, grabbed the sword then rolled away in one swift

motion. A few moments later, Ganondorf crashed to the ground, just missing Link. Link

jumped up and held the sword to Ganondorf's throat.

"It seems the tables have turned once again!" crowed Link. As he was about to thrust

the blade deep into Ganondorf's jugular vein, an explosion drove him back, sending him

flying to the floor.

"Zelda!" hissed a small voice. Zelda looked up, spotting Sprite immediately. "I know

where the others are, come on I'll take you," said Sprite. Zelda nodded. As they sped

down the passage, Zelda turned to Sprite.

"He'll be okay won't he?" asked Zelda, biting her lip. Sprite nodded her head.

"Of course, Link knows what he's doing, I just hope he doesn't kill Ganondorf too

soon," replied Sprite.

"What!?" asked Zelda in surprise.

"If Link kills Ganondorf, he'll release his spirit, don't you see?" asked Sprite. Zelda

nodded her head solemnly. "The others are looking for the Triforces and for…Ewan,"

Sprite informed Zelda. Zelda stopped.

"Ewan?" she asked in horror. Sprite nodded.

"Ganondorf took him when he took the Triforces, as another bargaining tool,"

explained Sprite.

"I hope they find him," murmured Zelda running down the passage again. "They will,

they will," reassured Sprite in a comforting tone, only hoping her promise was true.

The Master Sword skittered harmlessly across the floor and away from Link. He

turned and his gaze met with Ganondorf's. He dove across the floor, sliding half the

way, until his hand once again met the metal hilt of the sword. "What was that?" asked

Link a little dumbly, standing up again. Ganondorf sneered.

"That was my power boy! As if you did not know! You just do not want to believe!"

snarled Ganondorf. The familiar trident of Ganondorf's once again materialised in his

hand. He started towards Link, who stood alert and ready for whatever Ganondorf

was preparing to deliver. Half way across the room, Ganondorf stopped and pointed

the trident towards Link. "Feel my power boy!" he declared, and suddenly the tips of

the trident detached and transformed into long metal spikes that flew towards Link at

an alarming rate. Just in time, Link held up his shield in an attempt to deflect the spikes.

Instead, the spikes tore into the shield, but stopped only inches in front of the hero's

face, where he had been holding the shield. Link lowered the shield, and once again he

met the gaze of his nemesis. "That was just to warm you up," purred Ganondorf. He

raised the trident upwards, pointing it to the ceiling then brought it crashing to the

ground. The whole room shook, and Link watched on as a crack snaked towards him

from the trident. He quickly jumped away, just in time, as the ground split open,

revealing nothing but inky darkness. Link looked back towards Ganondorf, preparing

for the sorcerer's next move. "Hmmm, you are quite sharp. Bravo," applauded

Ganondorf snidely. He began to spin the trident again, faster and faster until a ring of

fire developed over Ganondorf's head. The ring suddenly spread out, covering the

room in flame. Link ducked down, holding his shield just above his head in a bid to

protect himself. The fire extinguished as quickly as it had come, leaving Link with no

damage except a singed tunic and boots. Ganondorf snarled and brought the trident to

the ground. Again the room rumbled, and Link suddenly realised that the ground

beneath him was about to fall. As it began to fall, he made a dive for the edge, grabbing

it with one hand. He quickly placed the Master Sword in his belt, and reached up with

the other hand.

"Zelda!? Is that you?" asked Balayna as she spotted a figure hurrying towards the

group.

"Yes! Ewan, is he..?" replied Zelda breathlessly as she reached the group.

"He is fine, some of my followers are looking after him right now," answered Balayna

before Zelda had even asked the question. Zelda just nodded and let out a sigh of

relief.

"Zelda, is Link okay?" asked Selina. Zelda nodded again.

"I think so, I hope so," said Zelda.

"Good. Now we must hurry. We have a plan for trapping Ganondorf's spirit, but we

need your help to pull it off," started Balayna. She turned to Leigh. Leigh nodded.

"Now Zelda, we have the Triforces. It's true you can wish for things, using the Triforce

as Wisdom as your focus right?" asked Leigh, making sure. Zelda nodded. Leigh held

up the Black Sword. "This has a gem prison on it, and it could store Ganondorf's spirit,

but we need a way to get Ganondorf into the gem," started Leigh.

"And you want me to wish it?" asked Zelda.

"No, well not exactly. We give Link this sword, and when he strikes the final blow

upon Ganondorf with the Master Sword, you have to concentrate all your powers

upon Link to help him transfer the spirit from Ganondorf to the gem. The Triforce

should give you enough power to do this," explained Leigh. Zelda nodded.

"Come on then," shrieked Sprite excitedly. Zelda turned, along with Sprite and they all

hurried back along the corridor.

As Link tried to pull himself up, a shadow fell over him. He looked up. It was

Ganondorf. There was a huge smirk across the man's face as he raised one boot and

hit Link in the face with it. Link let out a small gasp of horror, letting go of the ledge

with one hand. A chuckle emerged deep within Ganondorf, which soon turned into a

bellowing laugh. He carefully placed one foot on Link's hand, crushing the hero's

fingers. Link bit his lip, trying not to whimper in pain, he would not give Ganondorf the

satisfaction. "Not hurt?" asked Ganondorf in a mocking tone. "Well you certainly have

better tolerance for pain that your princess, but I wonder if it could surpass the

Avatar's?" continued the sorcerer. Link grabbed hold of the ledge with his other hand.

"She suffered quite an ordeal, or so I am led to believe. Most mortals would not have

survived the length of time that she did," went on Ganondorf, still not noticing that Link

was slowly edging his way up. "I would have taken her myself, but I promised to leave

her for the Guardian. Yes, there is something you may wish to know about the Dark

realm that I did not mention before," babbled Ganondorf. He really did get distracted

sometimes, Link thought. "You see Link, when I released myself I invited a few friends

along," the Gerudo King paused, looked down at Link and again kicked him in the

face. Link grunted, his grip slipping again, but he managed to keep hold of the ledge.

His other hand was still aching under the crushing weight of Ganondorf's foot. "Yes, I

invited the Guardian, and the Nightmares, but I feel that, unfortunately, you shall never

make their acquaintance as you will be dead," said Ganondorf confidently. Link shot

out one hand and grabbed Ganondorf's ankle, pulling it forward, causing him to fall. As

Ganondorf hit the floor, Link jumped up from the chasm and drew his sword.

Ganondorf let out a bellow of rage and he leapt up.

"I grow tired of your games Ganondorf, it's time for you to die!" growled Link, leaping

forward, sword raised. He caught the evil King off guard and slashed effortlessly

through his armour and deep into his chest. Ganondorf stumbled backward and

coughed, blood pouring from his mouth. He held his trident forward, pointing it at Link.

Link readied himself for more spikes, but instead, the trident grew in length and

reached towards Link, ripping through his shield, but going no further. Link glanced at

his mangled shield and threw it to the ground. It was no longer of any use. Ganondorf

snarled in frustration and then made the Trident return to its normal size, he smashed it

into the ground, causing the room to shake. Debris began to fall from the ceiling, a huge

chunk missing Link barely.

"Give it up hero! This time I shall prevail!" cackled Ganondorf.

"You will never prevail Ganondorf! Never!" insisted Link.

"Link!" called a voice suddenly. He turned, it was Zelda. She was standing at the

entrance holding aloft the Black Sword. She threw it towards him. "Catch!" she

instructed. He caught it, and glanced back at an equally puzzled Ganondorf. "Keep it in

hand Link, but still strike the final blow with the Master Sword!" Zelda told her

husband. Link nodded and turned to Ganondorf, now armed with two swords. He ran

towards Ganondorf, letting out a cry of anger, and attempted to hit him with the sword.

Just as he reached Ganondorf, he bounced back of an invisible force field. Ganondorf

grinned menacingly, but Link was soon up again and hit the field with the Master

Sword. The field shattered and he stepped towards a surprised Ganondorf. Suddenly,

Link's arms began to tingle, as did his torso. In front of his eyes the Master Sword

seemed to come to life, emitting a white, radiant light. Ganondorf began to open his

mouth, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Link struck forward with the

Master Sword, striking Ganondorf again and again. Ganondorf fell to the floor in a

crumpled heap, but he was still breathing.

"Curse you Link, curse you! But beware, I shall have the last laugh, my spirit will haunt

you wretchedly for the rest of your days!" spat the sorcerer, he began to laugh

maniacally. Link shook his head and plunged the sword deep into Ganondorf's chest,

cutting the laugh short.

"Now!" cried a voice, it was Leigh. Link's eyes clouded over, his hands burned and his

chest ached. For a moment he seemed to lose all of his senses, but in a second it was

over. Link let out a sigh and he dropped both weapons to the floor in exhaustion, he

leant up against the wall and sighed again. From behind him, he made out a faint voice.

"What! Where am I? What is this place, I am trapped, Nooooooo!"

"Link!" exclaimed Zelda with joy as she ran over to her husband. He turned and

managed a weak smile. She pulled him into a passionate embrace, the events of the

past few months draining away. Drake approached the two, a broad smile on his face.

He picked up the Black Sword and studied it carefully. In the gem, he could make out

a faint impression on Ganondorf. He didn't look too happy. Drake smirked. He turned

to Zelda and Link.

"Hey come on you two, break it up!" he chided, laughing. Zelda stepped back, looking

a little flustered, she gave Drake a small smile. Leigh strode over.

"I don't know about you three, but I'm not too keen on this place. Neither are the rest

of us, sooo, are you ready to leave?" said Leigh. She took the Black Sword from

Drake and examined it.

"Yeah, the girl's right. Come on you two, the sooner we get out of this place, the

better," agreed Drake. Link stooped down and grabbed the Master Sword, slipping it

into his belt. He turned back to Zelda and smiled, taking her hand. Drake shook his

head, smile still on face. "Come on then," he ordered. They walked over to the other

group and, together, they made their way out of the temple.

Sal flew the rest of the group back to North Castle. She landed in the courtyard,

and everyone clambered off, feeling happy and relieved. Zelda rushed through to the

main doors into the Great Hall, just in time to meet up with her father. "Dad!" she cried,

meeting him in a hug.

"Zelda! Thank goodness that you're okay!" he exclaimed.

"It's all okay, dad! Ganondorf is gone forever!" Zelda answered happily. She stepped

away, just as Link and the rest came inside also. Several courtiers, along with Fenella,

Fayette and Impa, all appeared as well. "It's all over. Finished," Zelda continued

breathlessly.

"Zelda!" Fenella exclaimed, walking over. "We've been so worried, ever since you left

the castle!"

"And with Ganondorf coming, stealing the Triforce… and Ewan," Fayette added.

Zelda's face suddenly fell.

"Ewan, did they bring him back yet?" she asked, looking a little frantic. Impa nodded.

"Don't worry, Princess. Balayna's Gerudos brought him back a short while ago. He's

upstairs, in the nursery, asleep."

"Excuse me," Zelda said, quickly running off towards the stairs. The King turned to

look at the bedraggled party. "I think you'd all better get cleaned up. I'll tell the kitchen

staff to prepare a large meal for all you heroes," he said. Suddenly, some more people

came through the large double doors. It was two exhausted, and mud covered kings.

Nick and Charles.

"Good news, Sire!" Charles called out. Nick walked forward.

"We've driven the Tanolians out. They surrendered earlier today, but we still have men

posted at the camps in case they come back," he explained.

"Thank goodness! I'd like to thank you for all your help, but in the meantime, you can

go and get cleaned up," Harkinian answered, looking mightily relieved by this additional

news. Fenella gave him a hug, and they disappeared upstairs, talking about a

ceremony. Link turned to Nick and Charles.

"I was hoping the war would end once they lost all their leaders," he said. Charles

nodded.

"Well, we probably owe it to you, for getting rid of Ganondorf," he smiled. Link

managed a grin back.

"Couldn't have done it without Zel, or the rest," he said truthfully. Nick squeezed him

on the shoulder.

"But you're still Hyrule's greatest hero!"

"I guess so," Link admitted. Selina came running over to give Nick a hug.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" she said, smiling happily. Nick gave her a peck on the

cheek.

"Same to you," he said. Link made his way towards the stairs, noticing Fayette

scowling at the scene. It looked like things were finally getting back to normal.