Time Trouble
Part eight: The final battle

By Susanne - SheikahWarrior@hotmail.com

Chapter one

Saria was near. She could feel it. And see it.
The young woman sat in a tree in Hyrule Field outside the Gerudos land. She watched the flying carpet land on the ground next to a big boulder. The woman smiled. Her teeth became even sharper. Her fingers turned into claws, and her body changed form. She wasn't a woman anymore. She was a panther.

The magic carpet landed, and they all jumped off. Loora waited until the carpet was as small as a handkerchief, and then she put it in her pocket. They all began to walk towards the entrance to the Gerudos land. Except Saria. She stood frozen next to the spot where they'd landed, and her eyes were focused on something.
"Saria?" Link said. "We're leaving."
A loud shriek suddenly came from Saria's mouth, and she ran towards him. "In the tree! Oh, in the tree!"
Link looked around and tried to understand what she was talking about. Then his eyes fell on a large tree just a few feet away, and he gasped. An enormous, black cat sat in it. The cat jumped down from the tree and showed its sharp, white teeth. A pale Mauru took out his sword and placed himself behind Link.
"Link, have you ever seen such a big cat?" he asked with a trembling voice.
"No, never," Link murmured. "Uh-oh. I think it's going to fight us."
The black cat came closer, and its eyes glowed.
"It's definitely going to fight us," Mauru swallowed.
"What are we going to do?" Link asked.
"I have an idea," Mauru said.
They looked at each other.
"Run!" Link screamed.
The two young men turned around and ran towards the girls. Loora, Sheraa and Saria jumped back on the magic carpet as soon as it was big enough to carry them. They all made their way towards Gerudo Fortress, flying and running.
When they were gone, the cat transformed into a woman again. "That was too easy." She grinned. "Now they will run straight into Ganondorf's arms."

Chapter two

Dani was surrounded by darkness. She saw things, almost as in a dream, but deeper. She saw a flying carpet land in Hyrule Field. Link, Mauru and three girls jumped off it. She saw a black cat, and she saw how the five youths escaped it. Link and Mauru ran straight towards her. Suddenly, they reached the bridge where she was, and she sat up with a scream. "Noo!" Then she fainted.
Ganondorf turned around and saw her - and he also saw Link and Mauru. Link tried to free Zelda from the rope, and he succeeded. Zelda fell to the ground, and Link lifted her up and held her in his arms.
"Link," Ganondorf sighed, "what an unpleasant surprise."
Mauru put his hand on Link's shoulder. "Link, I can take care of the princess. You go fight that green creep."
"All right." Link handed princess Zelda to Mauru and walked towards Ganondorf, now with the Master Sword in his hands.
Ganondorf laughed. He raised his hands and gathered energy. A green energy ball formed in his hands, and he threw it against Link. But the Hero of time used the Master Sword to reflect the ball at Ganondorf. The king of evil wasn't prepared, and the energy ball hit him in the chest. He stumbled backwards and fell.
"How dare you?" he roared. He quickly got on his feet again and shot a purple bolt at Link.
Link didn't know how to reflect it, so he held up his Mirror Shield. But the bolt went straight through it and hit him. Now it was his turn to fall backwards.
"I've been training," Ganondorf laughed. He shot another bolt of the same kind, and Link hadn't a chance. It hit him hard in the chest, and he groaned with pain.
Ganondorf continued to fire bolts, and after the fifth purple bolt, Link fainted. The king of evil laughed and prepared to fire a final bolt, but suddenly heard a voice.
"No!"
It was Dani. She'd seen the battle in her head, and when Link was hit by the last bolt, she managed to gather her thoughts, and she woke up. She got on her feet and ran towards the unconscious young man on the ground. She placed herself in front of him. "Don't kill him," she said.
"Dani," Ganondorf sighed, "get out of my way."
"Never. You'll have to kill me."
Her father sighed. "Dani, now." His voice was hypnotic, but Dani shook her head.
"No. I won't listen to you."
Ganondorf's eyes shot bolts, and he took one step forward. "As you wish," he murmured. He gathered more energy than before, and created a red fireball. With a sigh, he turned to Gani. "Dani, get out of my way!!" His daughter didn't move. "All right. Then face your destiny." He released the fireball, and it hit Dani in the chest. She let out a scream, but she still didn't move. Ganondorf shot a blue bolt at Dani, and she screamed again, but she stood still.
"I won't move," she whispered. "I won't let you kill him."
"I wasn't the one who said that," Ganondorf roared. This time, he gathered more energy than ever before, and released an enormous, black fireball. It hit Dani, and this time, she fell on her knees. "Don't make me kill you," her father said.
Dani didn't say anything. She was still in front of Link.
Ganondorf sighed and released another fireball. It hit Dani, and she couldn't reflect it, so she fell to the ground. The battle was over.

Chapter three

Mauru got on his feet. "No!" He took out his sword and turned to Ganondorf. "You killed her!"
"Mauru, don't," a voice behind him said. It was princess Zelda, and she stood up.
Ganondorf sighed. "Well, well. Isn't it the princess, back from her inside trip. But as long as Saria's missing, you Sages can do nothing."
"But if I'm happening to be here?" a voice said behind him.
The Gerudo king turned around and saw Saria and two girls on a flying carpet. "You!" he gasped. "I thought you were..."
"Dead?" Saria said with a smile. "Then I have to disappoint you. I'm still alive, as you can see." She took one step forward. "It's time for me to do my part."
Princess Zelda raised her hands. "Sages!"
The seven Sages gathered around Ganondorf. He stood frozen in the middle of the circle.
"The power of light!" Rauru said and raised his hands to the sky.
"The power of forest!" Saria said and raised her hands.
Darunia raised his hands. "The power of fire!"
Ruto raised her hands. "The power of water!"
"The power of shadow!" Impa said, raising her hands.
"The power of spirit!" Nabooru said and raised her hands.
Zelda was the last one. She raised her hands. "The power of love!"
Around the Sages, a golden light appeared. The Triforce mark on Zelda's hand disappeared, and so it did from the unconscious Link's hand. He woke up and opened his eyes. Ganondorf looked at his hand, where the Triforce mark faded away.
"Noo!" he cried.
The Triforce pieces gathered above Ganondorf in the middle of the circle.
"By the power of the Triforce, I command you to return where you came from!" princess Zelda said, pointing at Ganondorf. "Back to the Evil Realm!"
With a yell of despair, Ganondorf faded away, and the golden light disappeared.
It was over. The Sages lowered their hands. Princess Zelda turned around and saw Link, who stood and watched the scene. His eyes were dark, but he smiled when he looked into Zelda's eyes. "It's over."
Zelda smiled, but suddenly she saw something behind Link. "Oh no!" she murmured.

Chapter four

Mauru sat on the ground with Dani in his arms. Tears fell from his eyes, and he gently stroke her hair. Link turned around and looked at him, but Mauru refused to look up.
"Is she...?" Link asked.
Mauru nodded. "She's dead." He sighed. "And I never told her that I liked her. But maybe it's better this way. After all, she was Ganondorf's daughter."
"But she saved my life," Link said.
Suddenly Nabooru was behind him. "There's still hope." She walked by him and sat down next to Mauru. "Do you want her back?"
"More than anything," Mauru whispered. "But what can you do?"
"I'm the Sage of Spirit, Mauru. I can talk to the spirits, and even get them back. But only if they want to."
Nabooru put a hand on Dani's forehead. After a while, she sighed. "Dani's afraid that noone wants her here because she's Ganondorf's daughter. She doesn't want to come back."
"Tell her that I love her," Mauru whispered.
Nabooru concentrated, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she had a smile on her face.
"She says she loves you too, and she wants to live here with you."
Suddenly Dani's eyes opened again, and she looked at Mauru. He looked into her eyes and smiled. "Welcome back."

Zelda and Link were in Zelda's room in Hyrule Castle. Zelda sat down on her bed, but suddenly she let out a scream. "Yyyaaaoh!" She jumped on her feet and looked at the bed. "There's something sharp there!" She lifted the sheets and picked up something. "Ooops." She smiled.
"What is it?" Link wondered.
"It's the Ocarina of Time."


The End