Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

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
- 25
- 26
- 27
While Midna was off gathering pieces of Fused Shadow, Link and Colin toured the area, first heading South to see how bad the damage was to their home. They moved through the trees, up in the canopy as much as possible to avoid detection, the ancient oaks especially having strong, broad branches. However, when they arrived at the top of the hill that overlooked first the goat pasture, then their village, they were halted by an abrupt lack of trees.
The air had reeked of burning for the last kilometer or so, but Link had assumed it was from campfires. It wasn’t until they were both sitting on a bough of a scorched maple overlooking a devastated swath of logs that it sank in. “They burned it…” Colin said, softly, leaning limply against the tree trunk. “All the places we used to run and play…”
Link swallowed past the lump in his throat, part sorrow, part fury. “We’ll get them. We’ll get rid of them, and the forest will regrow.” At least they had an unobstructed view down to the village below, where there was plenty of movement. They were far enough distant to not be able to see a lot of detail, but at least Link had no fears that his green and Colin’s browns would be visible against the forest’s edge. All he could tell was that there were a lot more soldiers in the town than there had been villagers, and he very much doubted this was their whole force. After all, a substantial number of them had already moved north, where the Gorons were desperately holding them back.
Finding the first group of Ordonians was more of a relief than Link had expected. Seeing the devastated forest had made it seem so unlikely that anyone or anything had survived, and even though Colin had said his parents survived, actually seeing Rusl and Uli with her tiny new baby was wonderful. Link peered down at Colin’s new baby brother, amazed at how little he was, and congratulated both of them on not only evading soldiers, but managing to deliver a baby in the forest, on the run.
“Uli did great,” Rusl said proudly. “Never seen a woman do it so quickly, or outside in a patch of horsemoss before.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, and Colin,” she said with a smile, the newborn tucked under her shawl to nurse. Fathers were expected to help with childbirth… although usually they WERE in their home, with a midwife attending. “Now, Link... are you here to give our family back our home?”
He nodded. “Zelda and Ganondorf are leading Hyrule’s army down as we speak,” he said, having a moment of feeling decidedly disoriented at looking forward to the arrival of his once bitter enemy. “If they can break through to the Goron line, that means they’ll be able to focus on pushing the enemy right back out where they came from.”
“You’re going to need a sword, and maybe some fresh arrows before that happens,” Rusl said, noting Link’s deficiencies with a practiced eye. “Colin, you stay with your mother and brother. Keep them safe, and we’ll meet you back here tonight. Can’t let our king go into battle unarmed.”
He clapped Link on the shoulder, who went red and protested as Rusl led him deeper into the forest. “I’m not a king!” he managed after a few moments.
“That pretty piece of headgear says differently,” Rusl said, grinning. Link scowled, finally realizing his childhood mentor was teasing, and Rusl laughed. “Gotta congratulate whoever decided to make it out of steel, though. Looks like it’s saved your skull at least once already.”
Link ran his fingers over the circlet, feeling the deep gouge along the edge just in front of his ear. He pulled it off, realizing he hadn’t actually seen it since it the desert. It was a little flattened along that side, even the Goron-forged circle dented from the force of the blow. And of course, even the most skilled Goron smith couldn’t make gold stronger than iron, and much of the gold had been scraped clean off. Oddly, he liked it better this way. He’d have to try and keep Zelda from having it repaired.
Rusl guided him to an extremely well hidden fissure in a rock face, leading to a shallow cave. Pergi, Jaggle, and Mayor Bo were there, along with another couple of outlying herders. In addition, there was a stockpile of weapons, mostly fresh-hewn staffs, a couple of scythes and hammers. Peasant weapons, but no less effective for that. “Link! It’s great to see you. This will give everyone heart.” Bo said, his massive hands surprisingly nimble as he fletched arrows.
“It looks like you’ve had plenty of heart without my help,” Link said, gesturing to the pile of weaponry.
“Ah, we’ve been preparing, but weren’t sure what for,” he chuckled. “No way to contact Hyrule, or even Death Mountain. Now, tell me you came with some information, and ideas.”
Link settled down onto a bolder, telling what he knew about the invading armies, the Hylian forces and their plan, even the possibility of the Twili joining them. As he spoke, he started reloading his quiver, since there was a surfeit of arrows, but only two bows in evidence. Rusl finally found what he was looking for, bringing over the sword he’d given Link what seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Here, you are. Since you’ve gifted that magiked sword to my son, it’s only right that you should have this one back,” he said. Link took it gratefully, a smile spreading across his face at the familiar feel of it in his hand. It didn’t have the singing warmth of the Master Sword, but it was beautifully balanced, exquisitely crafted for all that it wasn’t ornamented or enchanted.
“I’ve missed this blade. Thanks, Rusl,” he said, buckling the scabbard onto his belt, and replacing it, tightening the buckles. He felt far less vulnerable, and far more optimistic than he had since… he didn’t know when. This was going to work. He was sure of it.
“I hope your armies get here fast, lad,” Bo said, shaking his head. “We’ve lost too many people as it is, and we’re losing more all the time.” He explained that they were only staying in small groups, so if someone was caught, it didn’t doom the rest of the population, it was also far easier to hide three or five people than ten or twenty. It made sense, but it also meant that even they didn’t know how many people exactly were alive, or where they were, or even who got kidnapped or killed by soldiers.
Link couldn’t think of much to say to that… what could you say to a mayor who’d lost half his citizens? He felt awful and hollow for failing his friends, they were his family as surely as if they were blood, instead of just adopted. “We’ll avenge them,” he managed, after a few moments, and got up to leave. Midna should be arriving back from Twilight soon, and he wanted to be there when that happened.
“Come find us again, when you’ve talked with the Hylian armies,” Rusl offered. “And stay safe.”
“You too,” Link said, heading out into the forest again. He was comfortable here, in a way he wasn’t in Castletown or the desert, or even out on the plains. Ordon and the Faron Woods were his home, no matter that he was in the castle now. It took him little time to arrive back at the springs, Ordona allowing his passage as willingly as he ever had. The always perfectly warm water beckoned, and he stripped down to just undertunic and trousers before slipping into the pond.
He could feel the soothing tickle of magic in his arm, his badly mangled arm still not quite back to normal. Come tomorrow, he’d be wanting that up to full strength again, and he sat down with his back against a mossy boulder, letting himself relax.
The faint, unmistakeable sound of a Twilight Portal made him open his eyes a crack, to see Midna form up out of the fragments of magic. What he didn’t expect was for her to stagger, dropping the fragments of Fused Shadow to the ground with a groan of relief. He was on his feet and out of the water in an instant, hands on her shoulders. “Midna, what happened?” he asked, looking anxiously over her.
She smiled down at him, straightening up again. “Not everyone I spoke to was happy with the idea of giving up the Shadows,” Midna said dryly, gingerly pressing at her side. “I had to take the last piece back by force.”
“Gods, Midna, if I’d know you were going to be hurt…” Link started, to be silenced by her fingers on his lips.
“You’re a fearsome puppy, Link, but this was my job to do… and nothing that I couldn’t handle,” she said. “Alright, what are we supposed to with these things now that I have them?” The last was addressed in a more general way to the spring, instead of just to Link.
The gentle, omnipresent light of the spring coalesced, and Ordona formed, his hooves resting impossibly on the surface of the water. “The theory is simple, Princess of Twilight. You shall break them, and I shall absorb the energy, purifying it to a form not profane to our world.”
Midna looked as if she’d love to melt into a shadow at Link’s side, she’d never much liked the Spirits, and her unease had clearly not improved. “If I do this, my people will be helpless,” she pointed out. Her tone was carefully not antagonistic, just pointing out facts.
“And for this, your people and their descendants will become chosen of Ordon’s blessing. As Zelda’s line carries Nayru’s gifts, so yours will become mages of light, and part of this world.”
It seemed like the perfect solution, at least to Link’s mind. But this wasn’t his decision to make, so he kept silent. After a moment of thought, Midna replied more conservatively than Link had expected. “That may be acceptable… although I would appreciate an explanation of how you intend to bind your strength to my people.”
“The Twili are bonded together through magic already, yes? And destroying the Fused Shadows should have no effect on this bond.” Midna nodded; many of their smaller magics had nothing to do with the Shadows, and their ability to communicate and sense each other was one of those. “Therefore, if you are given to carry my light, so will the rest as you share the power with them.”
Link was unsure what exactly he meant by that, or why Midna’s face suddenly twisted into a very strange expression. “And giving me light? I assume you have an idea for that as well?” Her voice had suddenly acquired a suspicious edge, sounding much more like she usually did.
In response, much to both their surprise, Ordona laughed, an odd, almost inaudible sound. “I am sure the youth beside you would have no objections in assisting in this endeavor.”
Midna turned to give him an even stranger look, and Link flushed, not sure why she was staring at him in such an odd fashion. “Ah… of course I’ll help,” he said, shifting uneasily. He’d do anything to help Midna, and the approaching battle only made it more important to do so. “Just tell me what you need done.”
“Then I believe we have an accord,” Midna said, and closed her eyes, bowing her head. Ordona and Link were both silent, and after a moment, she raised one elegant hand to her face, her finger brushing a glistening tear from her eye. She took a breath, and shook it free, the droplet falling and dropping onto the pile of Shadow fragments at her feet.
Link wasn’t entirely sure what he expected. Probably for a drop of moisture to appear on the top piece, the one she’d worn as a mask for so long. However, that was decidedly not what happened, and he yelped as a series of awful grinding cracks echoed through the spring, light flaring brilliantly on the stones. He blinked to clear his vision as the Fused Shadows crumbled into shards and sand, melting into the earth and water of Ordona’s spring as Ordona himself faded from view, presumably to concentrate on purifying the magic.
He looked up at his friend, anxious to see if she’d been affected badly. She looked a little stunned, just a bit paler than usual, although there were no obvious changes at first. After a moment of observation, he saw her skin had faded, no longer quite so luminous, and without the geometric lines of Twilight power around her limbs. “Are you okay?” he asked, worried by her silence.
She glanced down at herself, examining her now duller hands, fingers running with apparent surprise over the soft black of her clothing. “Yes… I am,” she replied after a moment. She was pleased to have at least some of her small personal magics remaining, as evidenced by her shadow clothing still cloaking her body. Still, she’d be glad when Ordona’s promised power was hers. It was decidedly unpleasant to be so… so vulnerable.
Of all the people one could be stuck alone with, though… she couldn’t do better than Link. In fact, he was probably the only being in all of Hyrule she’d feel comfortable with right now. Not that she intended for comfort to be the only thing she felt that night. With a slow smile, she turned to face him fully, and said in a playful tone, “Now… you aren’t expecting anyone else here tonight, are you?”
Link caught his breath as Midna’s hand traced over his chest, her cool touch intense through the wet fabric. Where before he’d felt reserved, worried how Ganondorf or Zelda would react, worried that she was just trying to seduce him for information, this time he had an odd sense of rightness; that this was exactly what they should be doing, right here, right now. “Just you and me,” Link replied softly, stepping closer to her.
- 25
- 26
- 27
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Endgame