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Endgame	By : RyuaAlba Category: Zelda > General Views: 26666 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, or any of the characters or regions or names associated with it. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
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Zelda edged the massive stallion forwards a bit, so he'd have room to move properly if he needed to. It was strange to be on a height with Ganondorf, and she felt a smile tugging at her lips as she glanced over him. Turning back to the approaching convoy, though, the amusement faded as fast as it had come. She reached back with her hand, touching Link's leg, and he gripped her hand reassuringly. His bow was strung on the left, her longer one on the right of the saddle, and they were both armored and armed past that… but Zelda was still determined to avoid a fight.
She kept a steady grip on Link's hand, willing him to stay silent and patient. Ganondorf had agreed to hold back until she'd bargained for peace… or in his words, failed to do so, but Link was still tense with anger and grief and worry. "You trespass on Hylian lands, carrying weapons of war," she said, her voice clear in the echoingly silent desert. "We do not wish a conflict, but we will defend ourselves."
There were three guards, two in Labrynna blue and one with Holodrum gold, each standing protectively in front of his liege. Midna sat proud and graceful on her own, the desert sun making her blue skin bright and her hair glow. Ganondorf's old crown was braided into her hair, and suited her oddly well. "You're outnumbered," one of the lords said, his face mostly hidden behind a crested helm. Zelda faintly recognized him as the oldest son of the Labrynna royal family, Guens, she thought. "Badly outnumbered. Surrender your lands, Princess, and we'll let your people live."
There was an angry rumble from behind her, and Zelda allowed it for a moment before raising a hand for silence. "Hyrule will not become a colony for Labrynna, or any other nation," she said calmly. "However, if you withdraw from Hyrule, you will be allowed to depart in peace. I swear that."
"Where's the representative from Holodrum?" Ganondorf demanded, not quite cutting her off. Zelda raised a hand and pointed to the envoy from Holodrum, standing at the back of the group. "You. Come up and speak."
He walked his horse around to the side of the convoy, and Zelda frowned. "I am not sure we have met." While Hyrule and Holodrum weren't on great speaking terms, she was at least acquainted with the royal family, and this person was only faintly familiar.
"I'm Duke Solon. King Gammna is my uncle, although he's like a father to me. He trusts me with this mission!" His voice was surprisingly high and young, and he sounded like he was trying very hard to be responsible. Zelda sagged just a little, starting to suspect what was actually going on… and realizing that the boy in front of her probably had no chance of surviving the next several hours.
"Your uncle is a coward of the worst kind," Ganondorf said in a low growl, folding his arms. Gerudo expected their daughters to fight, but would never sacrifice one as a decoy. "I pity you."
"Pity me? I'm the official envoy! My mission is of the utmost importance!"
"If you're so important, why are you waiting up here while your army invades my home?" Link snapped, making Zelda sigh a little. Well, at least he'd held out a few minutes.
"What?" The envoy looked even more like a child with the surprise crossing his face. "We would never do something so dishonorable as…"
Zelda turned to Midna, ignoring him. Poor Solon was unimportant, didn't even know what his older, more canny relatives had done. "Midna, you've got twenty seconds." The tension was building fast enough Zelda doubted she could keep either side calm for more than thirty.
The Twilight Princess had gone pale, her eyes wide with worry and sorrow. "I swear I had no intention of destroying Ordon. I've been out of contact with my people in the Holodrum army since late yesterday afternoon. I…" she broke off, the proud woman clearly wrestling with what she was about to say. "Princess, I throw myself and my people to your mercy. We withdraw our quarrel with Hyrule… and all her rulers."
She swung down from her horse and handed the reins over to Duke Solon, who looked stunned at what was going on. Prince Guens, on the other hand, drew his sword, shouting furiously, "How dare you turn your back on your allies, cowardly Twilight bitch?"
Zelda kneed Svartur, and the stallion willingly pranced forwards, stopping perfectly so Zelda's rapier just crossed the Prince's sword. "I hearby grant Princess Midna and the rest of the Twili asylum. Now turn around and get out of my country. I have more pressing things to deal with."
For a moment, just one moment, she thought it might actually work. If she was speaking with one of Guens' less hot-headed younger brothers, it probably would have. She saw Midna taking the chance to ease towards the Hylian party, but then Duke Solon had to go and speak up… she wasn't sure if he was actually planning to side with her or Guens, but it broke his concentration and the Prince cut him off before he got more than three words in. "No! Never! We came here to conquer, and we will! Soldiers of Labrynna, attack!"
Zelda raised her blade defensively, but the Prince's battlecry died with a gurgle, one of Link's arrows sprouting from his throat. She could feel him shifting behind her, then his arm was back around her waist, and she swung Svartur around, bringing him back behind Hylian lines.
Between the hill and the horse, she and Link had an excellent vantage point to shoot from. His shorter bow gave him a quicker rate of fire, but Zelda had far better range, picking out the enemy archers before they could get in range themselves.
He really needed a bigger quiver, Link thought to himself, reaching for his last arrow and sending it over the shoulder of one of their Gorons, dropping the soldier threatening him. "Stay safe," he said in Zelda's ear, kissing her cheek before dropping to the ground and drawing his sword.
"You too!" she called after him, sending another arrow into the crowd. Although logically she knew how many soldiers had been taken down, they seemed not to make a dent in the army, swirling around the base of the hill. The Gerudo traps were mostly keeping the army centered, so they couldn't be surrounded, but Zelda saw a phalanx struggling through. If they were surrounded…
She set her bow in her lap and raised her hands, concentrating. The group picking their way through suddenly started to yell in panic as the sand shifted under them, going impossibly soft. They stayed, some sunk deep enough to suffocate, others with their heads just above the sand, but all of them a warning about the perils of crossing that way. It was a bit of a bluff, Zelda didn't have the energy to keep the spell constantly active, but it should do for now. Their own soldiers had been instructed to keep well clear of her spelled areas, meaning she could activate them whenever needed. And she did, at random, trying to sow confusion as much as devastation among the enemy.
Ganondorf was right in the middle of the fight, standing head and shoulders above even the tallest knights, and mowing through enemy soldiers with almost gleeful abandon. Between the sword almost as long as the average soldier and the Triforce of power enhancing his strength well past mortal limits, he was a terror on the battlefield. Link had never thought he'd be glad of that fact, but it meant their small force had an immovable anchor, and he certainly gave heart to the soldiers fighting beside him.
Link had never been in such a loud battle. He'd fought multiple opponents before, but never on a scale like this. The clanging of metal and shouts and screams were deafening, and everything was just a giant mess. At least the invaders wore decidedly different armor from the Hylians, Gerudo, or Gorons, which meant he could make sure to only hit enemies. It actually felt good to be in a fight again, with an enemy he could kill and people to protect. His shield and sword were familiar in his hands, the act of dodging and parrying and blocking and striking were second nature. Here, amidst the chaos and pain of a battle, everything finally felt at peace in his mind.
He rolled and darted around an armoured foe, slicing in where the armor was weaker at the waist. A choking gasp from behind made him turn to see another enemy fall, one of Zelda's long arrows piercing right through the leather jerkin. Apparently that longbow really did make for a more powerful shot. He raised his sword briefly in thanks, didn't bother looking for her through the crowd. She'd already be moving, not presenting a still target. He didn't let himself worry for her. She was smart and capable, and although it felt disloyal to think it, that stallion was a match for Epona. She'd be safe.
A rumbling yell drew his attention to where one of the Goron smiths had fallen to one knee. He swung wildly, the wickedly spiked gauntlet on his fist keeping his foes at bay, but there was a broken spear shaft under one shoulder, keeping him from curling up defensively. Link vaulted right over a panicked horse that had tripped over a fallen soldier, and put all his weight behind his shield. Granted, he wasn't exactly a heavyweight, but it was still enough to make the solder stumble back and lose his footing, making a killing blow simple.
By the time he turned back, the Goron had already pulled the shaft free and was standing. Thick blackish blood was already clotting around the wound, which didn't seem to be paining him much anymore, and then Link was too busy dodging another sword strike to worry about him anymore. He knocked it aside with his shield, sweeping in low with his sword, and almost fell flat on his face as pain exploded in the side of his head. Turning, he caught sight of a massive soldier with a mace, and barely got his shield up in time for the next strike. Seeing the spikes on the weapon, and feeling a tickling warmth on his cheek, Link grudgingly had to admit the crown had probably just saved his skull.
He was struggling to get out from under the weight of that too-powerful blow when a massive, darkly glowing fist came out of nowhere and flung the solder far back into enemy ranks. Link looked back over his shoulder to see Midna raise a hand to him and then dissolve neatly before a soldier could skewer her. Taking a moment to breathe, since no one seemed to be actively attacking him, Link looked around, trying to judge the battle. Ganondorf was visible in glimpses through the melee, Zelda was traceable by the piercing whinnies of Svartur, who was probably having a great deal of fun trampling soldiers underfoot. She must have run out of arrows by now, and would be using her rapier from horseback. He couldn't see Midna herself, but caught glimpses of her peculiar magic dotted around the field, mostly concentrating near Zelda.
That was the good news, sadly. While they were clearly making a dent in Labrynna's ranks, ten to one was still an almost impossibly huge force to overcome, and the Knights' inexperience was showing. There were a lot of soldiers in Labrynna blue on the ground, but far too many silver-armored bodies lay among them. The Gorons and Gerudo seemed to be faring better due to physical stamina and proper experience, but then was too busy defending himself as the next wave of Labrynna forces crashed into them for more consideration.
He lost track of how long they'd been fighting, but the cut in his scalp had finally stopped bleeding, mostly. At one point, Zelda and Svartur had leapt clear over his head, giving him a few moments to catch his breath, and one of Ganondorf's massive balls of darkness had flattened a dozen enemies to his left, but aside from the surprisingly scantily clad Gerudo currently at his back, he hadn't seen any of his allies in some time. From the sounds of battle, there were still enough Hylians to put up a good fight, but he was starting to think they'd never kill enough enemies to make a difference. They just kept coming in fresh waves, while there was just nobody to replace the tired defenders.
Link had just dispatched another soldier when his left arm exploded in pain. The Master Sword fell from nerveless fingers, and he realized dazedly that he'd fallen and hit the ground, and narrowly avoided slicing himself on his own blade in the process. Trying to move his sword arm to push himself up made him scream and almost black out, so he eased himself over onto his back instead. That hurt almost as bad, as his arm dragged limply over onto his chest. He looked up at the soldier standing above him, the axe raised above his head, and thought he really ought to be getting out of the way, but couldn't seem to move quickly enough to do anything about it.
There was abruptly an angry roar and something black and massive blocking out the sun. Link looked up bewildered to see Ganondorf standing over him, the Sword of Sages drove right through the plate mail of the axe wielder. "Drink that damn potion before you bleed out, Link!" he snarled, tearing his sword free and swinging it into the next enemy.
Potion. Right. That would help… His left arm flatly refused to move, numb and cold now, so Link fumbled awkwardly at his belt with his shield hand, his fingers feeling fuzzy and weak. Luckily, working the cork free was something he had a lot of practice with, and the familiar too-sweet, oddly thick potion worked as well as it ever did.
He managed to keep his voice down to a groan as the insulating fog around his mind and body dissolved, leaving him with the raw agony of his wound. He must have been in worse shape than he thought to be in this much pain after a dose. At least he had the energy to move again now, and he looked reluctantly down. This was hardly the first time he'd been injured, but it had never been quite this… graphic before. He could see bone, and his hand was facing completely the wrong way, and his sleeve was soaked through with blood, and it would clearly take a lot more than one vial of potion to fix. The only problem was that he was in the middle of a fight and Ganondorf was already being forced away from him. He could feel Zelda was far, too far to get over to him and he wouldn't want her to spend that much of her magic on him in this mess anyway.
Out of other options, Link awkwardly picked up the Master Sword so he wouldn't lose it, and managed to wriggle one finger into his pouch, brushing over the Twilight Gem. It hurt to transform, just like it hurt to move, but his keener senses, sturdier body, and lack of things to carry made up for it. He could still move on three legs, keeping his injured one tucked up to his chest, and his wolf body seemed to ignore the pain more easily.. It wasn't ideal, but at least he wasn't helpless. One of his ears wouldn't twist right, and he realized that was probably from the blow early on in the fight. To his disgust, he could still feel the weight of his crown on his head, and figured he probably looked ridiculous… until he remembered how intimidating a wolf was, even one wearing silly jewelry.
A snarling, blood-spattered wolf struck an instinctive fear in people. Especially when said wolf would fling itself onto your chest and strike with unnatural intelligence at the weak points in your armor until you collapsed. Link moved lightly through the battle, pouncing from one enemy to the next, tearing at armor and flesh alike.
At least he was until suddenly his legs buckled, sending him crashing to the ground instead of vaulting off the breastplate he was balanced on. Pushing himself upright again, he looked down, confused, and saw the armor was slick with blood. This wasn't entirely surprising, considering he'd just chewed out the man's throat, but there was more there than he expected. That was when he noticed his leg was bleeding again, whether from another injury or just re-opening the potion-sealed wound. He let out a very human groan of exasperation, and sank to his belly again, his vision starting to blur.
Half a battlefield away, Zelda wheeled Svartur around, his iron-shod hooves dispatching a soldier trying to stab her with a sword. She'd just raised her rapier when she felt a sudden drop in her stomach, and barely managed to parry the blow coming at her. "Link!" she screamed, kicking out at her foe and stabbing the slender blade through his visor, urging her mount desperately towards her hero.
Ganondorf, starting to feel a myriad of tiny wounds despite the fiercely burning Triforce on his hand, turned around. He saw Zelda much too far away to do any good, and although Link was too low and distant to see, he knew exactly where the hero had fallen. "Midna!" he bellowed, pointing. "Get him out of here!" Now angry at the fact that someone had dared injure the boy on top of invading his country, killing his soldiers, and murdering his civilians, he decided it was time to end this fiasco.
His shout carried across the battlefield, and Midna sprang into the air, using a drop of magic to hover. Between Ganondorf's arm and Zelda's reckless plunge through the battle, she lined up where Link must be, and dove down. He looked awful, crumpled in a bloody mess of fur and limbs on a fallen Labrynna soldier. Heedless of the gore, she knelt beside him and lifted him into her arms, fighting down panic at how shallow and fast his breathing was, and how he didn't even whimper when she moved him. Not even bothering to stand up, she wrenched open a portal to the Twilight and pulled them through. It wasn't until they were already moving that she realized Link's presence was pulling her spell, navigating the way he always had. She just hoped some part of his mind was still thinking clearly enough to have an actual destination in mind.
Author's Note: I enjoyed beating Link up far too much. Apparently I've got quite the sadistic streak I didn't know about.
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Endgame