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"The Fabric of Time", part III, chap 10The Legend of Zelda: The Fabric of TimeBy: The Destined HeroChapter Ten Jacob could handle no more. With an angry battle cry, he leaped forward, sword drawn and pointed at Ganondorf. The evil man looked at the boy and smiled. This gesture made Jacob's blood boil even more, and he raced toward the Evil King, ready to strike him down. Link reached out and tried to grab him before it was too late. "Jacob! No!" His fingertips brushed up against the back of Jacob's clothes, but he couldn't get a grip on the boy. Instead, he was forced to watch. Jacob lunged forward with his sword, but Ganondorf easily moved out of the way. Jacob's momentum caused him to run right past the Gerudo, his back to him. The Evil King raised his own sword and aimed for the defenseless boy. With one quick thrust, he put his sword through Jacob's back and out his chest. Jacob felt the warm feeling in his torso and placed his hand over his chest. Pulling it away again, he could see that it was covered in blood, his blood. Stunned at the turn of events, he dropped his sword from his right hand and staggered over to the closest wall. He leaned his back against it and slid down. "Jacob!" John screamed. He and Charles ran over to the dying boy and tried to comfort him. Link, Zelda, and Nick stood with their eyes focused on Ganondorf. "Worthless boy! He dared to challenge me and he got what he deserved!" Still Link, Zelda, and Nick remained where they were, intent on killing the Evil King. But Charles was infuriated and vowed to himself that he would kill Ganondorf himself. "I'll kill you, you monster!" he yelled as he brandished his sword and charged for the Evil King. Before he could even reach him, Ganondorf sent a ball of energy at the charging Knight. Unable to avoid it, Charles ran head on into the oncoming ball. The power of the energy ball sent Charles back across the room. He lay motionless on the ground. Ganondorf turned to Link. "Now before anyone else interferes." He raised his hands in the air, and all but Link were thrown back against the walls, unable to move. "There, that's much better, don't you think?" Link looked over at Zelda with a look of concern on his face. "Don't worry about me, Link! Just beat him so all this can be over with!" With a slight nod, Link turned to face the Evil King. "I will end this once and for all, Ganondorf. You will never again spread terror in the land of Hyrule." "Big words. Can you back it up?" Link simply pulled out the Master Sword and braced himself for battle. Ganondorf made his blade reappear in his hand, and the two squared off. There was a momentary silence as the two warriors stared each other down, trying to intimidate the other. Then, with a quick move, Link jumped at Ganondorf. The Evil King easily defended himself against the attack and countered with a thrust. Link knocked it away and tried a horizontal swing. The two men fought, but neither was able to gain any ground on the other. Each move was met with a block, and each counterattack was turned away. Ganondorf came down with a vertical cut, but Link raised his shield to block it. With a counterattack, Link shoved Ganondorf's sword out of the way, leaving the Evil King open to attack. He swung his sword horizontally, but the Evil King somehow managed to block the attack with his sword. I can't believe it! He's so fast! I thought I had him there. This is going to be a much tougher battle than I've ever fought! Ganondorf swung his sword, but Link ducked and rolled out of the way just before it would've taken his head off. Jumping up quickly, he tried an upswing on the Gerudo, but that too was blocked. They continued to fight, all the while no hits were scored. Link began to tire, but he was not going to give up. The Master Sword was becoming heavier in his hand as the battle wore on, causing his offensive moves to slow down. Unlike the Hero of Time, Ganondorf still seemed to be fresh. It appeared that he was fighting with the same energy as when they started. How can this be? He doesn't even seem to be tired! I must do something, otherwise he'll just wear me down. But what? Link blocked another blow from the Gerudo, the force traveling through his shield, causing immense pain in his arm. He tried to deliver a blow, but Ganondorf knocked his sword astray. After blocking another swing from Ganondorf, Link decided he had to do something now. Gathering up all the energy he could, he charged up the Master Sword. He waited for the Gerudo to attack again, while he uses the spin attack as a counter. Just as he planned, Ganondorf attacked and Link defended it with his shield. Letting out a loud cry, Link executed the spin attack, but Ganondorf reacted quickly and blocked it. The force of the spin attack collided with Ganondorf's sword, causing the Master Sword to fly from Link's hand. Link stood stunned. How could he have possibly blocked that? His thoughts quickly turned to Zelda, Evan, and his friends as he realized the inevitable. He looked around the room at his fallen friends and the people that counted on him. To him, it all seemed to be passing by in slow motion. He saw Ganondorf bring his sword back, ready to deliver the final blow. Link's eyes caught Zelda's eyes, and there he stared as Ganondorf ran him through. With his eyes still on Zelda's, he slowly fell to his knees, and then fell onto the ground. "No!" Zelda screamed at the top of her lungs as Link's lifeless body fell to the floor. She began to cry over the loss of her loved one, and Hyrule's greatest hero. As she looked on from her confined area, Ganondorf grabbed Link by the collar and picked him up. "Don't you touch him!" Ganondorf just smiled at the Princess and turned his attention back to Link's body. His body began to glow a bright green, filling the room. Zelda looked down at her hand and noticed the Triforce mark glowing. Realizing what Ganondorf was about to do, Zelda lost all hope. With two Triforce pieces, nothing would be able to stop him. It would only be a matter of time before he got her piece, and then he would rule the world. She closed her eyes and prepared for her death. Suddenly, Link's body began to glow an intense blue. Curious, Zelda opened her eyes and could see Link's body surrounded by a strange blue aura, still in Ganondorf's grasp. The Evil King held his other hand up in front of his eyes and turned his head. "What's going on?" he yelled angrily. He could feel a warm sensation in his hand that was holding Link up. The sensation was getting warmer and warmer until it, and the strange glow, disappeared altogether, and Ganondorf found himself clutching to nothing. Where Link's body had just been was now completely empty. Frantically, the Evil King took a look around the room, searching for the Hero of Time. Amidst his confusion, he released his magical grip on Zelda, Nick, and John. Nick and John ran over to Zelda. "What the hell is going on?" John asked. "Where the hell did Link go?" Nick shook his head slowly, confusion written all over his face. "I haven't got a clue, John. Princess?" Zelda didn't respond. Instead, she just stared ahead at the puzzled Ganondorf. Out of nowhere, she began to feel a sensation in the air around her. It started out small, but with each passing second, it become more intense. "Do you feel that, Nick?" John asked, feeling the sensation himself. Nick raised his arms halfway up and gazed at his hands, as if they held the answer. Waving his hands around, he replied, "Yes. But what is it?" The sensation was a familiar one to Ganondorf, who immediately stopped moving upon feeling it. When Link's body disappeared, he had felt the same sensation in his hand. Only this one was bigger. Much bigger. The room around them began to glow blue periodically. One second the light was there, the next it was gone. With each rise and fall of the strange light, the sensation rose and fell as well. They could hear wind thrashing and thunder crashing outside. The frequency of the light became faster and faster as bolts of electricity became visible among the bluish glow. "Princess!" Nick yelled over the disturbance. "I think we should back away!" Zelda nodded and the three of them ran to the closest wall. "Whatever this is, it has to be something that Link is doing!" Zelda yelled when they had finally reached the wall. "I don't know how, but it has to be him!" The bolts of electricity became more and more frequent as did the light, and the sensation was now a constant feeling. "Here it comes!" John yelled. "Whatever it is." The light turned into a flash, causing all within it to shield their eyes. When it finally diminished enough, they all opened their eyes again and were all shocked at what they saw. Scattered throughout the room were four people that weren't there the moment before. Closest to Zelda and the others was Ian, while the Hero of Time was on the far end of the room. On the left side stood Sean, while the final Link, the Hero of Hyrule, stood on the right side. "Ian?" Nick asked the man standing closest to them. Ian turned around at the sound of his name and smiled. "Hello, Nick," he replied. "John. Pleased to see you again, Princess." "But. but how?" Zelda asked. "I. we. saw you die at the hands of Ganondorf." "It is a rather long tale, Princess. I don't have the time to tell you of it now, for we have work to do." "Who are those other two men, Ian?" Nick asked. "I see Link over there, but who are they?" "They are also Link. Don't concern yourself now. Just stay back," Ian instructed as he held his hand out, urging them to get back. Ganondorf stood in the middle of the room, completely baffled by the turn of events. He looked each of the men over and growled under his breath. "What's the matter, Ganondorf," the Hero of Time said. "Upset that you didn't get my piece of the Triforce?" "It is no matter, Link! Even though you brought along some friends to fight me, I will still win the day!" "I highly doubt that, you disgusting creature," Ian yelled at the Evil King. "Ah, Ian," he responded. "So good to see you again. Couldn't handle the afterworld?" "No. Just had some unfinished business to take care of," Ian replied back. "You can't beat me!" "But we can!" the Hero of Time shouted. The three Links unsheathed their respective swords and brandished them toward the Evil King. Ganondorf took another long look at each of them and waited for their attack. "What do you say, Evan?" Sean called over. "Shall we avenge him for the events that haven't yet happened?" Evan smiled. "Sounds good to me," he responded without removing his vision from Ganondorf. "You guys ready?" "Of course," the Hero of Hyrule called back. "Let's get this over with!" "Okay," Evan said. "For Hyrule and its future!" The three Links charged the Evil King from opposite directions; their swords held behind them, ready to strike. Desperately, Ganondorf tried to evade all three blows at once. He successfully avoided two of the strikes by jumping, but the Hero of Time cut across the Evil King's left wrist with the Master Sword, slicing the hand completely off. Ganondorf yelled in pain as he landed ten feet behind the three Links. "You're lucky, Ganondorf," Evan said. "You only lost your hand, instead of your life." Ganondorf snickered to himself. "Tell me, Link. Who are those two?" he asked, referring to the two elves on either side of the Hero of Time. "We're your worst nightmare!" Sean yelled. The Hero of Time smiled. "Ganondorf, I would like you to meet my descendants. Link and Link." "So," Ganondorf continued, "they're your descendants. Interesting that you should bring them here." "And why is that?" "Because now I will destroy all of you at once. I will have the great pleasure of killing three Links," Ganondorf smiled. "The very thought gives me a tingling sensation!" "There is no way in hell you will beat all three of us!" Sean yelled. The Hero of Hyrule brandished his sword again. "This is our time. We will end all the suffering that you will cause, here and now." Evan continued, "We each fight for our own time, which have all been affected by you. We will stop you here." "Then let us begin!" Ganondorf yelled as he hurled a ball of magic toward the three distant relatives. Sean and Evan jumped out of the way as Link continued to brandish his sword in front of him. As his two ancestors looked on, Link swung his Magical Sword at the ball of energy and deflected it to the wall. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that, Ganondorf!" he yelled back. Evan and Sean picked themselves up off the ground and faced the Evil King. "They're his descendants?" Nick repeated. "Then how did they get here?" John added. "I told you," Ian said. "We will tell you all you need to know. But for now, just stay back and protect the Princess." They each turned to Zelda. Her eyes were fixed on the battle in front of them. The shock of losing her loved one, but then getting him back confused her. She waited for any signs of disaster, ready to jump to her husband's, and his descendant's, aid if things took a turn for the worse. "Can't we help?" Nick asked, itching to get at the Evil King. "Absolutely not," Ian said forcefully. "This is not our fight. The outcome of this battle is theirs to control. We cannot, and must not, interfere." The Hero of Time ran at the Evil King, sword ready. Ganondorf made a sword appear in his hand, waiting for the fight. Evan swung with all his might, but the Gerudo was able to block it successfully. The two engaged in a test of strength as they both pushed back with their swords. Equally matched, the duel was going nowhere. Quickly, Evan let up and dodged the oncoming swing of Ganondorf's sword. He thrust his sword, but Ganondorf easily dodged it. The two exchanged parries and continued in their stalemate. As they fought, Evan felt a sense of déjà vu. This is exactly how the last fight with him went, he thought. And I ended up losing. I guess that's why they're here. He dodged another attack from Ganondorf, only to have his counterattack blocked. Ganondorf was extremely fast, and Evan was beginning to falter. He tried to slice at the Evil King, only to be thwarted again. Ganondorf swung his sword horizontally and Evan prepared to block it. However, the force behind Ganondorf's strike was more powerful than Evan could withstand. His sword was thrown from his hand and he began to stagger backwards. Ganondorf advanced on him, pushing the Hero of Time back further. As he was backpedaling, Evan tripped over the body of Charles, landing directly on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Ganondorf raised his sword in the air. A cry came from behind the Evil King. He turned around to see another Link charging at him at full speed. Sean jumped in the air, ready to strike down the Evil King then and there. Ganondorf moved quickly to block the oncoming attack. As the two engaged in battle, Evan recovered and rose to his feet. He scanned the room and found the Master Sword. As he ran over to it, he caught sight of Zelda. John was confused. "Why aren't they attacking him all at once?" "Pride," Nick responded. "They each of a high sense of pride. They will fight alone until it is absolutely necessary that they fight together." "Isn't it necessary now?" "Yes," Ian answered. "But in their minds, they have the ability to defeat him. None of them has any idea how much powerful he really is. With or without a hand." "Link!" Zelda finally spoke. He ran over to his wife and hugged her. "Zelda, I've missed you." "Link, you need to work as a team," she said. "Or else. or else. I couldn't bear to see you killed again!" "I know, and I won't fail this time. I guarantee it." His attention was drawn back to the fighting as Sean was thrown across the room. Immediately, the Hero of Hyrule jumped in to do battle with the Evil King. Link sliced at Ganondorf, but the Gerudo knocked the blow away and countered with a thrust. Jumping to the side, Link dodged the attack. They parried several times before Link tried another attack. He lunged forward, but Ganondorf blocked his sword and tripped the Hero of Hyrule. Link lay on his back, Ganondorf in front of him. The Evil King brought his sword down, but Link rolled to the right to avoid the strike. Ganondorf tried again and this time Link rolled to the left. Link continued to roll out of the way of several more attacks. On his final roll, Link swept Ganondorf's feet out from under him, causing the Gerudo to fall hard to the floor. Taking advantage, Link rose to his feet. Sean had also gotten up and he set his sights on the fallen Gerudo. He brushed himself off and ran back toward the fight. Still clutching Zelda, Evan watched as his two descendants faced off against Ganondorf. He turned to face Zelda again. "It's time that I finished what I started." She kissed him. "Be careful, Link." "You know me," he said as he ran off to do battle. "Exactly," she said to herself. Ganondorf had since gotten back up and was doing battle with Link. As they fought, Sean ran in and attacked Ganondorf from the side, causing the Gerudo to take a purely defensive stance against two foes. He moved unbelievably fast, successfully blocking and dodging every blow that was sent his way. "You can't fight like this forever!" Sean yelled as he lunged forward. Ganondorf smiled as he redirected the blow. "That is where you are mistaken!" The battle continued with Ganondorf continually defending himself successfully. It seemed that no matter what Sean and Link did, he was one step ahead of them. Desperate to land a blow, Link again lunged forward. Ganondorf easily sidestepped right to avoid the advancement and used the opportunity to score a blow on the Hero of Hyrule. As he fell past the Gerudo, Ganondorf cut his left arm, just below the shoulder. He would have enjoyed cutting his foe further, but Sean was all over him, forcing the Evil King to defend once again. Evan was now within striking range of the Evil King. As he was being distracted by the all out attack from Sean, Evan ran up behind him without being noticed. He brought the Master Sword back and prepared for the final strike. "For Hyrule!" he yelled as he ran the Master Sword through Ganondorf's back, the blade coming out the other side. Ganondorf ceased to defend himself from Sean's attacks as the pain sunk in. He didn't turn around to face the Hero of Time. Instead, he simply glanced down at the protruding blade in his chest. "For Hyrule!" Sean cried out as he thrust his Master Sword through the Gerudo's chest. Link, bleeding badly from his wounded arm, clutched his Magical Sword tightly. He walked up to the fatally injured Gerudo and placed the tip of his sword on Ganondorf's left side. "For Hyrule," he stated as he pushed his sword through. They each pulled their swords out one by one and let the Evil King fall to the ground. They stood there, each of their swords dripping with Ganondorf's blood. Encircling the fallen evil, their hearts were relieved. The evil man that had brought about the destruction of all that they believed in, lay in a pool of his own blood. Evan turned back toward Zelda and the others and began to walk over to them. Sean and Link followed, leaving Ganondorf's body where it was. The three Links made their way over, exhausted from the intense battle and journey. Ian wasn't as optimistic about their situation. Something didn't seem right. Suddenly, he felt his heart sink. "Link! Look out!" Ganondorf yelled at the top of his lungs, releasing a giant red wave of energy. Completely unprepared for it, the three Links were thrown into the air, across the room. The bodies of Charles and Jacob were thrown to the walls. Ian put up a magical barrier to protect him and the others from the energy wave. After what seemed like an eternity, the wave of energy ceased. "Is everyone alright?" Ian asked. Nick got up from the floor. "I'm fine. Thanks to you, I guess." John struggled to get up. "My leg is injured, but it's nothing serious. I'll be fine." "Princess?" "I'm okay, Ian," she responded. "But what about them?" She pointed in the direction of the three Links. Evan slowly got up, his entire body bruised and some open cuts on his arms and legs. Beside him, Sean and Link had already risen to their feet. As Evan looked at them, he noticed that they were each silent and staring in the same direction. Following their gaze, Evan understood why. In the middle of the room stood Ganon. They stood there, side by side staring at the Evil Incarnation. The hideous beast stared back, reveling in their plight. In this form, he was much more powerful than as Ganondorf, and the three of them were in a weakened, exhausted state. "Now," Ganon spoke in a demonic voice. "You will understand the meaning of true pain. Hyrule, no. the world will soon be mine!" None of them responded. They continued to stand there, unsure of what to do. They had put so much energy into battled Ganondorf that none of them were sure if they could do the same against Ganon. "This is where I come in," Ian said quietly to Zelda, Nick, and John. He reached back into his quiver and pulled out an arrow. It wasn't just any arrow; it was a Light Arrow. The arrow glowed slightly as Ian placed it on the bow. He pulled the string back all the way and aimed directly for Ganon's evil heart. "Hey Ganon!" he yelled. The evil creature turned to face the nuisance. "Take this!" Ian let the arrow fly. Still unsure of what was going on, Ganon didn't even move. Before he realized what was going on, the Light Arrow had already pierced his flesh and went directly into his heart. Ganon flailed around wildly and let out an ear-piercing cry as the goodness of Light began ripping him apart from the inside. Everyone in the room stood there, watching the Evil Incarnation writhe around in pain. Light began to break through his flesh, sending rays of light across the room. Slowly, the amount of light became more and more as it worked its way through Ganon's body. In his final moments, Ganon's entire body radiated with light. His features were no longer visible, just the light could be seen. With one last cry, Ganon disappeared and the light faded. Silence filled the room and no one moved. They stood there for several more minutes, each person lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Evan turned back around and looked Zelda in the eyes. Slowly, he walked across the room toward her. Sean and Link followed him again. He stopped in front of her and looked deeply into her eyes. Weak, he fell into her arms and she embraced him. "Don't worry," she whispered into his ear. "It's over. It's finally over." "Let's get out of here," Nick said. They all nodded
in agreement. Nick walked over to Charles' body and picked it up, placing
it over his shoulder. John picked up Jacob's body in the same fashion.
One by one, they left the tower.
They congregated about halfway between the Tower of Ganon and Hyrule Castle. There they met up with William, Aaron, and Robert. Before anyone could even say anything, the Tower began to glow and shake. They turned to see it begin to break apart. From the center of the Tower, a bright beam of light shot up into the sky, parting the clouds. As pieces of the Tower crumbled, they were drawn into the sky along the beam of light. Little by little, the Tower was being sucked up into the sky. All around watched its demise silently, thanking the Goddesses. Soon, the Tower was no more. All that stood in the middle of Hyrule Field was Lon Lon Ranch. William turned to Aaron. "Who the heck are they?" Aaron shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Although I think that tall one is Ian. I have no clue about the other two though." "I guess we'll find out soon enough," William said. "Well, Ian," the Hero of Time started, "our adventure is finally over." "That it is, my friend," Ian replied. "It was fun." Evan laughed. "Sure it was. It's a shame that you're going to have to leave us soon." "Yes. My time here when I was alive was not the way I would have liked it to be. I hope that I have been forgiven for my mistakes in the past." "Of course you have," Zelda said. "We had forgiven you back then. What you have done now has just made us appreciate you that much more." "Gracious words from the Princess," Ian said with a little laugh. "When did I become so important?" Suddenly, another beam of light appeared, this one shining down from the Heavens. At the same time, a portal opened up near where they were standing. Ian looked up at the sky. "Well, it looks like it's time for us to go," Ian said. The three Links and Ian all walked up to each other. "I guess this is goodbye," Sean said with tears in his eyes. "Strange, I didn't realize that I had become so attached to all of you." "It's times like this that you never forget," the Hero of Hyrule said. "With all the fighting and all the journeys, these are the moments that last forever in your mind." "Believe me," Evan said, "I will never forget any of this." He extended his hand out toward Sean. They shook hands and Evan pulled his descendant in for a friend's embrace, smacking him on the back. Sean returned the favor. "Goodbye, my friend," Evan said, his voice choked with emotion. "Hey, don't get all sentimental on me now," Sean said, even though he still had tears in his eyes. "We've made the world a better place. Now we must part ways. Goodbye." They released each other and Sean walked over to Ian. "Well, Ian. You're the only human I've ever known, and I must say, you're worthy enough to be an elf," he said, laughing a little. Ian laughed as well. "I take that as the highest compliment. Goodbye, and may the rest of your days be peaceful." He gave him a quick embrace. "Well, Link," Evan said. "You've been with us for the shortest amount of time, but you definitely made a big impact." "What can I say? I'm the descendant of the greatest hero ever," Link said back as the two shook hands. "Goodbye, Evan." He walked over to Ian. "Goodbye, Ian. I'm glad that you're getting into the Heavens now." They shook hands. "So am I, Link. Thanks to you and the other Links. I can finally be at peace." "Let's go, Link," Sean said. "We've got to be going now." "Right." The two descendants of the Hero of Time walked toward the open portal. They stopped just short of it, turned around and waved back. Turning to each other, they shook hands and smiled. They let go and Link walked through the portal. Sean stood there for a moment longer and looked back at his ancestor and his friends. With a feeling of pride, he turned and stepped through the portal. "Now it's my turn to leave," Ian said. "It's been interesting, Ian," Link said. "But I'm glad it's finally over." "As am I, Link. You've saved me, and now I can enter the Heavens." "Take care of yourself." "Don't worry about me, Link. I'll be fine. You take care of yourself, and Zelda of course." She smiled. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much," she said jokingly. Ian laughed. "I'm sure of it, Princess. But now I must be going." "Goodbye, Ian," Link said. "Goodbye, Link, Zelda. I'll be keeping an eye on you from the Heavens." Ian turned to the beam of light and walked into it. As he was drawn upward, he looked at Link and smiled. He disappeared. "So are you going to tell us what you went through?" Nick said to Link, snapping him out of his trance. Link looked from person to person, happy that they were alive and didn't go through the horrible fate that he foresaw. "In time, Nick," he replied. "In time. For now, I need to rest." Zelda smiled. "Yes you do. Come on, everybody. Let's get back to the Castle." They all headed back for Hyrule Castle, carrying Charles and Jacob with them. Several days later, they held a funeral for Charles and Jacob. In honor of his bravery and courage, they gave Jacob Knight status, allowing him to be buried in the Royal Cemetery. A very emotional Liz was comforted by each of the Knights, as well as Link and Zelda. The day was declared a holiday and all businesses were closed. The group of friends and the Sages sat around as Link told them all that he had been through from the moment Ganondorf first killed him. Upon finishing the long story, Link and Zelda retreated to their room. "I'm going to miss them all," Link said as he fell into the bed. "Well of course, you are. You went through so much with them." "I just hope that they're all alright. They helped me so much, I wish there was something I could do to help them." "But you did help them, honey. If it weren't for your journey, they would never have existed. You helped them out in more ways than you know." "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "Of course I am. I'm always right," she said with a smirk, lying down in bed beside him. "How could I forget?" he said with a laugh. He leaned over and placed his hand on her stomach. "I think I can feel him kicking." "Her." "What?" "I think it's going to be a girl," she said. "Oh really? What makes you say that?" "Because if I have another boy running around here like you and Evan, I think I'll go crazy." Link laughed. "You love it and you know it," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She laughed. "You're so full of yourself." He was already asleep. She looked over at him and smiled. The world was saved once again because of him. She wondered how many more times he could beat the odds. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she decided to get some sleep. Hyrule was safe once again. |