by N Felts
guard, as well as several patrolling the castle grounds. Instantly noting the appropriate moment to slip by unnoticed, the hero is instead compelled to walk right up behind the guard, grabbing hold of her spear and disarming her with an effortless chop to the wrist. Before she is able to utter a squeak of alarm, Link rams the blunt end of the spear into her stomach, dropping the foreign weapon and finishing her off with a vicious strike to the neck. His stalwart principles of honor left in the dirt next to his horse, the hero continues forward fearlessly. The next sentry spots him during his approach, immediately shouting for her allies to join in the fight. A tactless chop with her broadsword is sidestepped as Link kicks her lead leg out from beneath her before dropping a back-fisted attack to her torso. Sent flailing a significant distance away, the woman struggles to breathe from the devastating attack, amplified by his gauntlets power. Marching directly toward the castle doors, the hero makes no concessions for the approaching army of Gerudo, his antics that of a man possessed.
Just past the main foyer and up the mighty staircase, Ganondorf rests comfortably upon the throne, sampling the castles best wine while he waits. Din’s presence subdued for the time being, he simply revels in his successful occupation of the castle once again. At the base of the short stairs leading up to the throne, a pair of former princesses lie wrapped in a spider web of dark chains conjured by the warlock. While Midna has long since ceased her futile struggle, Zelda continues to fight the restraints feverishly, though she has made no perceptible progress toward her freedom. Endlessly entertained by her struggle, Ganondorf sips his wine once again, waiting for the inevitable battle to ensue. Without warning, the colossal doors of the throne room whip open, one of them unhinging at the top as they smash into the ancient stone. Shield in hand, Link marches forward, his drive and purpose like nothing anyone in the room has ever seen. The three before him stare, all of them equally shocked by the dark blood staining his clothing and dripping down the face of his shield. Not inspired to say anything just yet, the Gerudo king gestures for an unknown presence to make its appearance.
Stepping out from behind the throne, a pair of Gerudo women round their leader as well as the two rulers of their respective realms. Clearly intended to complement each other’s styles, one of the women dons a black robe while the other is clad in white. Their ensembles are identical aside from color, and the style is that of distant, eastern regions. Reaching for their weapons simultaneously it becomes clear the dark lord facilitated this battle purely for sport, and the reaction it would generate. Arranged on their backs in a very familiar fashion, the women produce a strait sword and circular shield, the likes of which Link has never seen. Finding no amusement in the spectacle, the Hylian doesn’t so much as blink, maintaining his steady stride toward the throne as the women commence their attack. Remaining light on their feet, the pair encircle the hero, keeping their shields level with their shoulders while their sword hand bounces at their sides. Mimicking Link’s signature style as best they can, they dash inward, one of them slicing high while the other swings low. Ducking and turning in a sudden motion, Link blocks the low strike with his forearm while the dark warrior’s cuts overhead. In a devastating instant, he grabs the sword hand of the light warrior, jerking her forward before releasing his grip and striking her ribcage. As she reels from the blow, the hero spins to narrowly dodge the sudden thrust from the dark combatant, landing an open palmed strike to her stomach. Doubling over with pain, she is unable to stop her shield from being stripped away, and thrown across the room by Link’s intensifying rage. A desperate backslash skips off a golden gauntlet as the hero briefly releases his shield to catch the sides in each hand. Swung like a chair in a bar brawl, the shield thuds against the Gerudo’s head, her unconscious form tumbling to a stop against the distant wall. Rejoining the fight with a hearty war-cry, the white antagonist leaps at Link’s back, chopping downward as he suddenly steps out of harm’s way. Expecting him to dodge, the woman twists into the maneuver she’s practiced a thousand times. Dipping back a step, the hero waits for the impressive spin-slash to subside before dashing back at the imposter. A spinning back-fist with his shield arm lands solidly upon the Gerudo’s spine as she completes the technique. Sent skipping to the room’s perimeter, the copycat’s sword is inadvertently thrown at the moment of impact. Catching the blade handle in reverse, Link’s eyes fixate upon Ganondorf, the moment seeming to freeze everything in place as the potential outcomes are stamped into eternity. A deep breath does nothing to calm his nerves, for this time around, there is no amount of violence he won’t commit to be certain the pig-demon is gone forever.
“Link,” Navi attempts to interject before the fighting resumes. “You’ve got to calm down. Don’t let him get in your head. You’re better than—“
“Mmm hahaha,” the warlock chuckles as he takes one final sip of wine, gently placing the glass upon the arm of the throne. Wasting no time, the hero has already begun to charge, his blade glancing the edge of his shield as he breaks into a sprint. Feeling no cause for concern, Ganondorf slowly rises to his feet, cracking his knuckles while tilting his neck to loosen up. With Link almost upon him, he decides to get things started with a sweeping gesture of his arm. A half dozen chains spring from the ground, wrapping around the Hylian as he charges into the trap. A war-cry bordering on insanity erupts from the hero’s mouth as he executes a viciously efficient spin-slash, immediately leaping into a vertical somersaulting slash. The chains snap apart like interlinked paper clips, the dark lord’s initial offensive hardly slowing his opponent down. Finally deciding to get his hands dirty, the Gerudo leaps strait up into the air, summoning a glyph at his feet to launch himself over his antagonist. Spinning on his heels, Link rushes at his insufferable foe, intending to intercept him before he lands, but a growing purple light from Ganondorf’s palm convinces him to slow down. Landing with destructive force, the warlock bashes his glowing fist on the ground, a shockwave of displaced stone rocking the entire room. The very slate beneath the Hylian’s feet jumps upward, throwing him into the air as he twists, attempting to get his bearings. His eyes find the Gerudo the moment he launches his next attack, a focused bolt of dark lightning fired from his palms.
Well timed as the attack is, Link manages to lift his shield at the moment of impact, though the brute force swats him out of the air like a bug. Launched at the throne, the hero realizes he’ll be an easy target the moment he lands. Twisting in an inverted slash, the Hylian chops the entire throne in half horizontally, flipping to his feet in a crouched position as the expected blast of lightning zaps overhead with an energetic crackle. Certain he had the swordsman’s number, Ganondorf charges another electric surge between his palms, throwing the dark storm surge at the pesky hero’s hiding place. Blasted to pieces, the throne’s shrapnel flies dangerously close to the pair of shackled women, each of them shielding themselves as Link agilely strafes the attack. On the offensive once again, the Hylian rushes forward, leaping into the air when the next blast of lightning tears across the room. Unable to charge another attack in time, the Gerudo must become elusive himself to dodge the descending jump-attack. His blade skipping off the uneven ground with a clang, the hero begins to pick his opponent apart, carefully analyzing his reactions and timing. Ignoring his short swords in lieu of magic-based attacks quickly becomes the dark lord’s lament as Link refuses to allow him a moment to summon his power.
Ducking beneath a backslash, the Gerudo conjures another mystical platform beneath himself, blasting into the air as he prepares another assault. Orb after orb of dark energy swells just above his open palm before they are thrown downward, causing widespread destruction below. Scrambling to avoid the onslaught of projectiles, Link suddenly remembers his nemesis using a similar tactic in the past. Beginning to descend back to the ground, one of Ganondorf’s orbs suddenly rockets back at him, batted back at the warlock like a fastball. Another glyph is conjured as the dark lord dashes to the side
in mid-air, the orb exploding in a shower of debris as it meets a distant pillar. Deciding to cease his rapid attacks, the Gerudo instead ops for more power, taking his time in summoning a much larger orb. Back on the ground, he steadies his upturned palm by tightly gripping his wrist, the growing, pulsating orb quickly becoming a dangerous weapon. Closing the distance hurriedly, Link’s sword finds nothing but air as the warlock launches himself skyward once again. Remaining out of the hero’s reach, Ganondorf leaps from one conjured platform to the next, finally throwing the deadly ball downward with a grunt. Repeating his rediscovered strategy, Link hits the fast-approaching sphere with the flat side of his blade, slapping the quivering orb back into the air. Eager to explode, the ball is denied its chance when the warlock hammers it strait downward. Not expecting the cunning tactic, the hero fails to react in time as the orb hits the ground before he can close the distance. The explosion rocks the entire room, the Hylian thrown into a distant
