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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 breathed a sigh of relief as Link's presence went abruptly distant and the sense of danger to him faded dramatically. Midna must have taken him somewhere safe, which meant that now she and Ganondorf could concentrate on finishing this bloodbath before she lost any more of her people. The Gerudo warriors now formed the bulk of their fighting force from what Zelda could see, far too many of her own Knights had been killed. Even the rock-like Gorons were taking casualties, and while they weren't being crushed so heavily anymore, they were still badly outnumbered.
Across the field, Ganondorf had come to the same conclusion; this battle had to end, now. His motivation had less to do with prevention and protection than it did with revenge and possessiveness, but that was hardly important. It took only a few moments of concentration, and then he was growing, his foes scrambling frantically backwards from him. One, a little slower on the uptake, screamed as Ganon caught him in the gut with a tusk and sent him flying thirty feet away.
Everyone's attention was drawn by the piercing, inhuman, squealing bellow, and abruptly the feel of the battlefield changed. The heavy press of the Labrynna army suddenly fractured as the massive demon boar in the middle of it started to stampede. The Bulbos had been good shock troops early on, sending them stampeding through the invading soldiers, but they were to Ganon like songbirds were to an eagle.
"Forward!" Zelda cried, a touch of magic amplifying her voice, and she drove Svartur towards Ganon, the stallion plunging through the crowd. She sliced through foe after foe, remnants of her forces joining behind her as they drove through the disoriented army, dividing the invasion force. Ganon was terrifying and powerful, but his bulk did make him an easy target. Still, he seemed heedless of damage or blood dripping from wounds, trampling and tossing anything that got close enough. Their own forces, Zelda was pleased to note, were all smart enough to get well out of the way.
With Zelda's contingent driving a wedge through the army and forcing many of them into the soft, trap-infested sand bordering one of the great chasms the desert was famous for, and Ganon demolishing the bulk of their remaining force, they finally were able to turn the tide. She drew magic into herself and projected her voice across the battlefield. "Get your Gods' forsaken selves off of my land before we destroy you all!" she screamed, her Triforce flaring blindingly bright. Much to her relief, Labrynna's forces started to withdraw, one or two on the outskirts at first, then more as the remaining officers started to repeat her order, whole squadrons going on the retreat.
By the end of the rout, Zelda estimated that less than a third of Labrynna's forces had survived. And that figure probably held true for their own people too. She had seven remaining Knights in her party. About half the Gerudo that had arrived during the fight had fallen, and so had eight of the Gorons. When her survivors started to make noises about giving chase, Zelda very nearly let them, seeing too many of her subjects dead among the invaders. "No," she said tiredly. "No more of our people will die today." She looked up, glad to see Naburia still standing, wiping her twin swords clean on a fallen enemy's tunic. "Naburia… we should send a couple of scouts, to make sure they keep going. Do you know who's best to send?"
The Gerudo nodded and turned, presumably to go find someone to do just that, swinging up on one of the few surviving Bulbos and heading off into the desert. "Let's make camp up on that hill," Zelda said. "You and you, go find our horses, they've got most of our supplies." That done, Zelda set Svartur picking his way across the battlefield to where Ganon was standing, head down and breathing heavily. She dismounted a few feet away and moved carefully towards him, hoping that most of the blood streaked through his fur and staining the sand under him wasn't his.
Hesitantly, she lifted a hand and touched his shoulder, and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to flinch away when the massive head turned towards her. "They're in full retreat, and Naburia's tracking them out. Come on, we're setting up camp, and you can't do that without hands." She returned his gaze, unnerved by the amount of pain and exhaustion she saw there.
Much to her relief, he looked in much better shape in human form. At least she thought so, until he took a step and his knees almost gave out from under him. "Svartur, come!" Zelda snapped, lifting one of Ganondorf's massive hands to the saddle as the horse obediently walked forward. "Come on, up you get," she coaxed, holding Svartur's head steady. It wasn't as if she could physically shove him up onto the horse, he'd have to mount himself. Finally, Triforce throbbing in a way that made her think of a straining heartbeat, he pulled himself into the saddle and sat up, a grimace of pain crossing his face briefly.
"I'm fine. Stop fussing." His voice was as deep and steady as ever, but Zelda had seen enough of him to pick up the lie in the tension of his mouth, the way his hands gripped so tightly to the saddle pommel.
"Don't be ridiculous," she said, frowning at him, with her hands on her hips. "Svartur, don't you let him dismount until I'm there to help." She needed him alive and healthy to take care of the second army invading Hyrule, and that meant he needed to rest. "Go pick a place you want that tent of yours set up, I'll meet you there." Glad of her shorter skirts, Zelda picked her way across the battlefield. Being mounted the whole time meant she had at least a little more energy than most of the survivors, and she helped setting up tents and tending to the worst of the injuries. Most of the casualties had been death blows or wounds that were already closing with the red potion, so she had little to do in that respect.
By the time she'd gotten through the two Gerudo and one Goron who'd needed an extra nudge of healing magic, Ganondorf's tent was set up and he was easing carefully down off of Svartur. One of the Gerudo Zelda hadn't met yet came to lead the horse away for a brushing down and a good meal, and she was left alone with Ganondorf.
Whether it was pride or not wanting his underlings to see him in so much pain, Ganondorf did stride into the tent under his own power, but he stumbled and fell to his knees almost immediately once inside. He yanked the straps holding his chest armor open, and groaned with relief as the heavy, restrictive plate fell to the ground. The shirt underneath was soaked with blood and torn to rags. Worried far past caring who it was she was helping, Zelda started pulling at his other plates, astounded at how much damage she was uncovering.
"You were wearing full armor!" she protested, tearing the rest of the shirt free and guiding him to lay down, glad that his back at least seemed unharmed. "How did you get these wounds?"
"Ganon has no armor," he said tiredly. "One of my few weaknesses in that form… although at least I'm large enough that a sword strike that would kill a human is a flesh wound to me."
"Well, you've got enough flesh wounds that it's a wonder you haven't bled to death yet," she said, stretching before she knelt and laid her hands on his chest. "Even with Din's help." None of the wounds were glowing the way the mortal wound in his chest did, but there were glimmers of magic in many of them, keeping the bleeding sluggish. Taking a deep breath, she reached out to heal him, thinking that a few days ago, she'd have let him bleed out.
It took longer than she'd expected. Even as a giant boar, some of the wounds had gone deep enough to cause serious damage inside, and she kept having to stop to make sure bone was knitting properly, or the liver stopped leaking toxins into his blood. By the time she'd finished with the fresh injuries, she was almost completely drained, pale and trembling. She didn't realize she'd laid her head down on his chest until she felt his hand on her hair, and was too tired to pull away or protest.
"Very impressive," he said in a low tone, his fingers running over her cheek. She had the oddest expression on her face, as if she thought she should be offended, but couldn't recall why. Her magic had been… incredibly soft, soothing, a foreign thing to a man raised in the harsh desert and blessed with Din's burning touch. He shifted out from under her, realizing he didn't even ache from tiredness anymore. His touch more gentle than he'd ever used on her, he picked her up and set her down on his bedroll before standing up. "Your turn to rest. See if you can contact Link or Midna when you feel up to it. I'll plan the march on Ordon." Still bare-chested, he turned and headed out, leaving Zelda to rest and try to catch up on her drained resources.
oOo
Link…
He was so tired… why couldn't people just let him rest?
Link?
He thought vaguely that he should be in a lot of pain right now… but everything was just fuzzy and soft, and he felt as if he was floating.
Link, where are you? Are you alright?
The voice was more distinct this time, and Link realized it was Zelda. But that didn't make sense, Zelda was in the Lanayru desert, and he was… where was he? Midna had taken him somewhere, he'd felt the shift through Twilight, but… all he could feel now was this soft whiteness he was floating in. Wait, he really was floating. And then, abruptly, he knew where he was; the one place in Hyrule he'd been yearning to get to. I'm in Ordon's hot spring, he thought, both to Zelda and himself.
With the thought, he seemed to rise up, the soft warmth around him started feeling wet, the whiteness a little less omnipresent. He realized he was almost completely submerged in the spring, he could feel water lapping against his cheeks, and the back of his head was resting on something soft, keeping his face up so he could breathe. There was a soft touch on his forehead, and a tickle he hadn't even noticed until that moment was brushed away. It took an immense amount of energy to open his eyes, and everything was blurry when he did.
He had an impression of dark leaves overhead and the faint illumination of the spring, and then there was a shape above him. After a moment, it resolved into a face, orange hair, luminous blue skin, wide, worried eyes. "Link! Finally, I was starting to worry you wouldn't wake up."
"I… Midna?" he whispered, trying to sit up. Her hand on his chest wasn't even needed, Link couldn't summon the energy to lift an arm, let alone the rest of his body.
"Yes, it's me," she said, her fingers caressing over his forehead again, smoothing his wet hair down. "We warped through Twilight hours ago… if you hadn't landed us right in a healing spring, Link… I've been so worried. You were in… very bad shape. I think… I thought you were dead when we came out of Twilight."
"Guess that explains why I can barely move even though I'm in a healing spring," Link replied, feeling a bit better as they talked. His right arm finally started obeying him, although he couldn't seem to do more than flop it over his chest. The fabric of his sleeve was reassuringly whole and green again, making Link glad for whatever twist of magic reset his clothing after changing to a wolf. "Where's my shield?"
"On the bank," Midna said, glancing over. "So are your bow and sword. I know better than to leave them submerged this long. And don't get up yet," she said, pushing him back down when he tried. "You are not done healing."
"How long have I been in here?" Link asked. "Have you seen anyone else?"
"Well, it's not full dark here, but it's been several hours. Colin, the shy little one, has been in and out. He said he was looking for food. But for now, it's just you and me."
Link smiled as Midna's hand ran over his chest, enjoying the caress and the soft, welcoming pillow of her lap. It was kind of a pity he was too tired to take advantage of it… although at least this way, he didn't have to feel so guilty about it either. "So… you didn't know about the army invading Ordon?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. No, I had no idea. Perhaps I was naïve to think I could control them, but… I swear this was never my intention."
"I'm glad to hear it," he said, letting his eyes drift closed as he rested, enjoying the feeling of her fingers combing through her hair. "Hey… how does Ordon feel about you sitting in his spring, anyway?"
"Since I was rescuing you when I arrived… he's tolerating my presence," Midna said. "He was very clear that I wasn't to use the Fused Shadows while I was in the spring, and preferably all of Ordon. To be honest, I don't think I could use them in here if I tried."
"I think he'll be accommodating as long as you're using them to repel the intruders," Link pointed out. "Although you'll have to give them up, if you're all going to live in Hyrule."
She coughed his hand, fingers squeezing his softly. "You really think Zelda will let us?"
Link smiled, looking up at her. "I've got just as much say in it as she does. And yes, I think she would anyways. It's the Fused Shadows the Goddesses have a problem with, not you in particular."
"We would be willing to do almost anything for a safe home," she said, her fingers tightening on his.
"Which has been part of the problem," Link said dryly.
Midna let out a small laugh, flicking his ear lightly. "So I'm sure convincing my people to give up the Shadows won't be a problem." She stopped, looking up. This time, Link sat up before she could push him back down, and he saw Colin crawling through the secret passage into the spring.
"Link! You're awake!" Colin said excitedly, setting down a small bundle and splashing into the spring to hug him. Link wrapped his right arm around the boy, his left still refusing to move properly. "I'm so glad to see you… it's been awful here. No, you stay here, I'll bring the food over." Colin waded back to the bank, and Link finally looked down at his arm.
The white undertunic had been rolled up, and he could see his arm looked unnaturally thin, although at least his hand was on the right way now. He could wiggle the fingertips, almost make a fist, although he literally didn't have the muscle to lift his arm yet. He could feel the soft tingle of the spring's healing magic working away at it, though, so he stayed sitting in the water, taking the hard travel bread from Colin. "Tell me what's been going on."
"Well… the army invaded two nights ago. They showed up when it was dark… they said that they didn't want to hurt anyone if we just did what we told them… but then one of them tried to take Epona. Ilia got mad at him, and then he took her too... she was screaming for him to let go of her, but he dragged her into a house… My dad wasn't there, and my mom wouldn't let me go help her. She just kept screaming in there, but then Shalla got back from the pasture and she went crazy. I don't know how many soldiers she killed, we all split up into the forest then, but I think she's dead because nobody's seen her or Ilia since."
Link reached out with his good arm and pulled Colin against him. The boy snuggled against his ribs and kept talking, his voice quiet. "Lots of us are still alive… we're hiding in the trees mostly, but they keep finding us and killing us. Almost none of us have any weapons so we can't fight back… we've been hoping you'd come, Link…"
"I'm sorry," he whispered, hugging Colin tight. "But we'll stop them. As soon as I can lift my sword again, I'll go out and see what's going on."
He had no sooner spoken than there was a crashing sound through the trees, the foliage trembling. "Get behind me," Link said, scrambling for the edge of the spring and his weapons. The bow was right out, of course, and some almost forgotten piece of advice echoed in his head about choosing a shield over a sword if he could only get one, and scooped up the ever-reliable Hylian shield. Just as he turned to face the source of the noise, several soldiers in gold-detailed Holodrum livery broke through the trees. Link shouted and charged, hoping he was going fast enough they wouldn't notice he didn't have a sword behind the shield.
They did focus on him, leaving Colin and Midna alone. Normally, she'd be the most formidable one in the group, but with Ordon's magic restriction, she was nearly helpless. Link swung the shield almost flat, catching the first soldier just under the chin with a sickening crack. He barely yanked it back down in time to deflect a sword strike from a second soldier, then knocked the man back.
Still, there were four soldiers, and he only had one working arm. And in this pool of light, he couldn't transform into a wolf either. Link was trying to decide what would be the best way to give his friends a chance to flee when there was a high, child's shout from behind him. Colin flew past him, the gleam of the Master Sword bright in his hands. Before he could even react, the boy had stabbed right through the closest soldier and was ducking easily under the attack of the next.
Recovering, Link slammed one of the remaining solders with his shield, then jerked it up to snap his head backwards, dropping him in a heap. He turned to find Colin neatly deflecting the final solider's attack with an ease Link knew he hadn't had last time they'd met, and spun expertly, slicing the man almost in half. He looked around, then up at Link, panting a little. "Wow… nice sword, Link."
Ordon's power was already melting the bodies into the earth as if they'd never been there, the trees re-weaving themselves. Link looked down at Colin, the Master Sword glowing in his hand with a light that wasn't just reflected from the spring. Although it pained him to say it, Link said, "Yeah… it is. You know what? I think it's yours now."
Colin's first response was clearly to protest, but he paused with an open mouth, looking down at the sword. Maybe it had actually said something to him, maybe it was just a gentle nudge or warmth. Either way, he reconsidered, and said. "Thanks. I'll take good care of it."
"Hopefully she'll take as good care of you," Link said, feeling the Triforce on his hand warm reassuringly. At least that was still his. Giving up the sword was wrenchingly painful, and extremely unnerving; he had an army to drive out, and he had no idea how he'd do it without a weapon of his own.
"Midna? Think you can communicate with Zelda? We've got some planning to do."
Author's Note: Aww, Quiche, thank you so much! Hope everyone enjoys the update!
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Endgame