The Stormreaver War

Ten years have passed since that great day when Link slew Ganondorf and restored peace to Hyrule. Now, there is turmoil once again. The Stormreavers, a legion of druids led by their leader Alleria, have descended upon Hyrule. While not appearing dangerous, they are being blamed for many unusual occurrences. The 5 leaders of Hyrule are quarreling over how to deal with the druids. Each with their own plan, they are breaking the treaty and preparing for war. Zelda, the Wisdom Sage and Princess of Hyrule, has summoned Link, the Hero of Time. She needs his help while a war is brewing. In the adventure ahead, Link will join forces with an unlikely ally, and restore peace to Hyrule while he takes his place once again as the Hero of Time and gets the respect, glory, and honor he has deserved for the last ten years! The story unfolds.... 


Chapter 1 

Storm clouds shed their rain and thundered in the dark night. In the Council Room of Hyrule Castle, the leaders of Hyrule met for the last time. 
"There must be a solution to this mess!" bellowed King Luther, Lord of Hyrule. 
"Not while they cause trouble and we want to be nice to them!" argued Samedi, the Gerudo Queen. 
"We need to make peace and avoid another war," urged Mido, the Kokiri Ambassador. He was there in the Deku Tree's place since they could only meet in Hyrule Castle. 
"No! They need to be crushed and exiled!" boomed King Danath, the leader of the Gorons. 
"Why? There could be more of them. Let's force them to go home," reasoned King Zora. 
"This is ridiculous! They deserve to be captives for their injustice!" Samedi yelled. 
"No. We are not heathens," said Luther. 
"That's right. We are leaders and we must keep our people safe!" screamed Danath. 
"We will by making peace," said Mido. 
"Peace will not work. We have tried and failed. We need action," said King Zora. 
"Finally! Someone gets the point! Why can't you Luther or you Mido?" questioned Samedi. 
"We believe in peace not war," said Luther. 
"Absoulutely!" agreed Mido. 
"Fine, have it your way. But I'm taking matters into my own hands!" 
With that, Samedi stormed out and left for Gerudo Valley. 
"Damn!" shouted King Luther. 
"Damn all right! Damn you bastards for doing nothing!" Danath screamed as he headed for Goron City. 
There was a long silence. Finally, King Zora got up and headed for the door. 
"Wait!" begged Luther. 
"What?" 
"Zora, you are a righteous king. Your people are kind and peaceful. Tell me you will strive for peace," said Luther. 
"I am sorry. I fear for my people. I do not believe peace is the answer. May the gods have mercy on you both and keep you safe." 
King Zora then left for his domain. 
"Mido, will you help me?" 
"Yes. I have stood with you before and I will stand with you now!" 
"Then we unite under the Peace Alliance!" 
"Yes!!" 
Mido shortly after vowing to return. While he and Luther tried peace, the Gerudo, Gorons, and Zoras declared war on the Stormreavers and each other. 



Chapter 2 

It was a mild day in Hyrule. In the Kokiri Forest, Link was sleeping in his house. The past 10 years he had felt an emptiness. He longed for his sword and all of his weapons and spells. He then heard a voice which made him forget that empty feeling. 
"Link....Link....listen well! Now is a time of peril. War is coming and Hyrule needs you, the Hero of Time, once more! Come to Hyrule Castle and meet me! I, Zelda, need you!" 
"Ahhh!" Link woke abruptly. 
"It's time Link!" said Navi, Link's fairy. 
"Navi! You're back!" 
"You betcha!" 
"Zelda! She spoke to me!" 
"Yes! Now we must go to her. First, we need to see Mido for permission." 
"Fine! Let's get going!" said Link as he strapped on his pouch. 
The pair then rushed over to Mido's house as he worked on plans for peace and a keep that would keep the Kokiri safe in case of attack. 
"Well, good to see you Link! My, it sure is different to see a big Kokiri walking around!" 
"I'm Hylian and you know that. Anyway, I request permission to go to the Hyrule Castle." 
"Out of the question!" 
"Why?! There is a war going on that's why! I will not let any Kokiri be killed! Now go do something productive." 
"Go to hell!" 
"That's it! You are restricted to your treehouse! Guards!" 
5 Kokiri rushed in and escorted the much larger Link to his house. Link then waited until dark when everyone was sleeping. He slowly crept towards Mido's house. When inside he took the Hylian pike and shield given to Mido by King Luther as a gift that symbolized the alliance between them. He also took a Fairy Bow, a quiver, and 50 arrows. He then made his way to Hyrule Castle when he saw Hyrule Field. Gorons, Gerudo, and Stormreavers fought viciously. Axe and hammer met scrimtar and magic spell. Dead warriors were scattered all over. The Stormreavers' magic capabilities gave them the upper hand. In the middle of it all was Alleria, the Stormreaver leader. He was thrashing a helpless Goron and was going for a Gerudo. Link lept into action. He took out 2 druids with 2 fatal arrows to their heads. He then lept on top of a druid and cleaved his head with his mighty pike. Fending off magic and dagger with his shield he swung out with his pike. No one could hurt him. The Gorons and Gerudos decided to help him by fighting side-by-side instead of each other. The tide of the battle turned as Link neared Alleria with amazing speed. 
"Retreat!!" yelled Alleria as he deserted his Goron captive. 
The Stormreavers followed Alleria hastily and lept into a giant portal he had created. 
The Goron leader, King Danath and the Gerudos' commander, Saboorno went to greet Link. 
"Well done kid!! Thanks for your help!!" exclaimed King Danath. 
"Yeah," agreed Saboorno, Samedi's second-in-command. 
"What's your name?" asked Danath. 
"Link," the Hero of Time said. 
"Link, eh. Well you saved my son, who is also named Link, and the rest of us in the process. As a token of my friendship and thanks I want to give you this Megaton Hammer! It is one of my race's finest works! It killed the evil dragon, Volvagia, many decades ago!" 
As Link accepted the legendary hammer, the cold and powerful steel reminded him of "past" memories with the hammer. 
"Thanks!" he said. 
"Well, I gotta run," said Saboorno, "but I'll tell Samedi about you!" 
"I gotta go too but, I'm sure I'll see you around," said Danath. 
Then the two factions headed for their homes as Link trekked toward Hyrule Castle.



Chapter 3 

"Who the hell was that?" bellowed Alleris. 
"We don't know sir. Our scouts said he was just a roaming traveler," said Oliveri, Alleris's second-in-command. 
"Just a roaming traveler! He killed 23 of our men and wounded 4! No ordinary traveler is that kind of warrior! This is not good for morale!" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Send some scouts and find out who he is. I don't care even if you have to kill to find out. Just find out who he is and where he came from. Now!" 
"Right away sir!" 
Oliveri left Alleris to ponder his next attack. 
Meanwhile, Link had eluded the guards by following the route he had taken in the "past." When he reached the courtyard he found Zelda sitting by a familiar window. 
"Zelda!" he cried. 
"Link!" 
They greeted each other with a warm hug. They missed each other very much. 
"Link, now is a time of great peril. Listen to my story well for it is very important. Two weeks ago, a group of druids calling themselves Stormreapers appeared in Hyrule. Any attempt to talk to them was futile. Then a series of strange events occured. Lake Hylia flooded then shrank, Death Mountain erupted unexpectedly, the grass in Hyrule Field turn completely brown, then set on fire, massive trees grew and blocked off the Kokiri Forest, and huge waves of sand came in from the Haunted Wasteland and covered the Gerudo Valley with several meters of sand. I am certain it was the druids' falt. Two days ago, the leaders of Hyrule broke the alliance and began to prepare for war. Yesterday, a great battle which is now known as the Battle of Hyrule Field broke out. Today I heard that you saved the Gerudos and the Gorons in that battle. You showed courage and bravery in a time of dire need. Now, I need you to reunite the 
five factions of Hyrule and destroy the Stormreavers. However, you need great magic to destroy them. That is why you will have a partner for this journey." 
"Who?" 
"I'll let Rauru explain that." 
Suddenly, Rauru the Sage of Light appeared out of thin air. 
"Hello Link. Since you defeated Ganondorf I have grown old and weak. Soon, I will go to the heaven of the gods. The remaining Sages will need someone to take over for me. That is why your ally will also be the new Sage of Light. Your partner for your upcoming adventure will be Ganondorf, the Gerudo King." 
"What?!?!" 
"When I pass on, my heart will transform into the Heart of Light. It can make even the evilest heart pure. You will take the heart to the Dark World where Ganon resides and shoot him with it on an arrow. The heart will make him the Light Sage and a pure and good person. He is strong and has a great knowledge of magic because of the Triforce of Power. He will be a powerful ally to all of us. Then, come back with him to the Temple of Time for further instructions. Now, take my Heart of Light and go, Hero of Time." 
Rauru then burst into a great, glowing heart that shined bright with the power of Light. Link reached out and grabbed the heart as the rest of the Sages appeared before Link. 
"Link, we will now send you to the Dark World where Ganondorf's Citadel is. Go now, Hero of Time!" 
Link was transported to the gates of Ganon's Citadel. As he went through the gates, he heard a cry from high above. 
"You! You little bastard! I have waited for this day! I will crush you like a worm!" 
The great Ganondorf then fell from above his lair and went after Link. Link stood in his place and pierced Ganon's heart with the Heart of Light. The evil king fell to the ground and moaned. As if appearing out of nowhere, a golden wave light flashed and made Link turn away. When he looked back to Ganondorf he was amazed at what he saw.

Chapter 4

There stood Ganondorf, with a large glowing aura of light surrounding him. In the middle of his chest there was a heart shaped golden light. There was a long silence, and then Ganondorf spoke. 
"For decades I have tried to be supreme ruler over all. I killed, stole, and plundered. Now, I wish to make amends. I am sorry for what I have done in the past. To correct my wrongs, I will join you in your quest."
"How did you know?" 
"When you shot me with the golden heart I gained all of Rauru's power and knowledge."
"Incredible!"
"Indeed. Well, should we go to the Temple of Time or what?"
"Yeah! Let's go!" 
"Well then, brace yourself because I haven't done this in a while!" 
Ganondorf's hands started to glow a purplish color then he shot out an energy bolt, which transformed into a large portal. The two stepped in and were magically transported in front of the Door of the Time.
"I have waited for you," Zelda said calmly. 
Link and Ganondorf turned around to see Zelda holding the three Spiritual Stones that the Sages had retrieved for her. 
"Zelda, I have brought Ganondorf." 
"Excellent work Link! Now you will new a few items for your journey."
Zelda then placed the Spiritual Stones in their places on the Altar of Time. Then, she played the soothing melody of the Song of Time. The two doors opened and there stood the Master Sword stuck in the Pedestal of Time. 
"Link, go retrieve your sword, the Master Sword."
As Link slowly walked up to the Pedestal of Time and pulled out the legendary sword. A great wave of green energy spread out. The Sages then appeared in the chamber.
"Ganondorf, you are now the Sage of Light. Even though you have great magical powers, which are because you are a Sage, you need a weapon. Take this weapon, the Sword of Light," the Sages said in unison.
Then, a sword almost as beautiful as the Master Sword came down from the heavens and rested in Ganondorf's hands.
"Link," Zelda spoke, "you too will need an extra weapon. Take this Triforce Bow. The most skilled artisans of Hyrule crafted it. It has magical powers that only the one with the Triforce of Courage can unlock and master. That means it was crafted especially for you, and only you. You will come to find that it will be a great asset to you on your quest. Give me your Fairy Bow and quiver for you will not need them anymore."
Link gave up the weapons and was given the enchanted Silver Bow and a quiver. The bow and quiver were both black with silver lacing and had a golden Triforce symbol crafted on it. 
"Link and Ganondorf, now it is time for your journey. You must reunite the five factions of Hyrule. In order to do that, you must obtain the Five Treasures of Hyrule. These treasures were given to each faction as a symbol of the alliance that ended the Great War. The treasures are the Goron Ruby, Kokiri Emerald, Zoran Sapphire, Hylian Diamond, and the Gerudo Pearl. You need to find a way to get them. I recommend that you start with the Goron Ruby. The Gorons are very fond of you. By saving them, you may have made your trip easier. Now go and save Hyrule!"
With that, the two warriors set off to save their beloved homeland.



Chapter 5 

"O.K. So what exactly is going on? Rauru only passed on limited knowledge of this situation to me." Ganondorf asked. 
"Well, these druids came and started some trouble. Especially yesterday." replied Link. 
"What happened yesterday?" 
"The Gorons, the Gerudos, and the Stormreapers were in heavy battle. I came in and forced the druids to retreat back to where they came from." 
"What did they look like?" Ganondorf asked as they walked up the steps to Kakariko Village. 
"I didn't really pay much attention to what they looked like. Some of them had purple robes and some had red robes. What was weird was that they looked like Hylians." 
As they entered the gates to Kakariko Village, Ganondorf asked one more question. 
"Do they look like that?" 
Link looked where Ganon was pointing and he saw at least two hundred druids ravaging the town and Hylian troops trying to stop them. The two wasted no time. Link pulled out his sword and shield and charged. Ganondorf raised his arms above his head and gathered a large blue orb. The orb grew then flew out in a hundred blue spikes as they found their mark. Half of the druids were frozen in their tracks. Ganondorf then pulled out his Light Sword and lept at a group of frozen druids. Link and Ganon shattered the frozen druids with their swords. Link used a magical spin attack to slay 5 Stormreapers at once. Link could feel himself start to weaken with fatigue. Ganondorf was also getting tired as he used his sword to shoot out a swarm of gold stars to bring his opponents to their knees. The Stormreapers were suffering heavy casualties and were losing the battle. Their leader called for retreat and the remaining druids went through the portal that opened for them. An iron clad soldier on a horse rode over to the duo who were resting on some crates. 
"Hello! I want to personally thank you for your help. My name is Khadgar. I am the leader of Kakariko Village and King Luther's highest general. And you two are?" 
"My name is Link and he is Ganondorf. We are on a mission that was given to us by Princess Zelda." 
"Princess Zelda, eh? Well it looks like she picked the right guys for the job. Take my advice. Since you both have impressive magic capabilities, you should both see Mercuris, the Head Mage of Hyrule. He lives in Hyrule Castle. He can boost your magic.... for a hefty price! One more thing, where are you headed?" 
"Goron City," replied Ganondorf. 
"Well, you can't get access unless you have permission. Take these golden gloves called the Golden Gauntlets. The King gave them to me after I successfully defended Lon Lon Ranch from a Gerudo attack. Those Gerudos are such heathens! No disrespect to you Mr. Ganondorf." 
"None taken." 
"These gloves are great! Thanks!" Link said as he put on the familiar gloves. 
"No problem. The guard at the gate will recognize them and allow you passage. Well, good luck and come visit the castle some time!" 
General Khadgar then sped away with his troops. 
"C'mon! Let's go explore the town!" Link said enthusiasically. 
"Shouldn't we get going?" 
"We got time! Let's go hustle the guy who runs the archery range!" 
"Jeez! I thought you were some goody-goody!"


Chapter 6

"Dammit!" Was it that warrior again?"
"Yes," said the druid that led the raid on Kakriko Village.
"And this warrior beat back your entire army by himself?"
"No. He had a wizard with him that was a Gerudo. He froze half the army and paralyzed the rest of us. I was the only one who wasn't frozen or paralyzed. Even the warrior had magic. He used some kind of sword attack to kill five of our men at once."
"I see. Gather more troops and prepare them for battle. Make sure each of them can dive 8 meters deep. Those who can't, save for another battle or when you dive have someone take them under. Oh, if you screw up again, you die! Dismissed!"
The druid left for the Stormreapers' barracks.
"Oliveri! Get in here!"
"Yes, milord?"
"Did the scouts find anything about the warrior?"
"Very little. He is named Link and an ally to the Princess of Hyrule."
"Idiots! What do we know about the wizard?"
"A lot! The scouts found out that he is none other than the great Ganondorf, King of the Gerudos."
"Ganondorf? Wasn't he banished to the Dark World?"
"Yes. He was there until Link brought him back to Hyrule. How we don't know. He was supposed to be evil and it is believed that he holds the Triforce of Power."
"Well, I'll be damned. We found the last piece of the Triforce! Does this mean we have to kill him too?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, this could be harder than I originally thought. Does our contact know about this?"
"Everything we know about Link and Ganondorf he knows. He is trying to find out more. He also said that we should raid Zora's Domain and Lon Lon Ranch to cut off much needed supplies to Hyrule Castle and Kakariko Village. The Hylians' morale would suffer as well."
"Excellent! Keep going with your scouting. If you continue to serve me well you will be well rewarded. Also, make plans for the seige of Lon Lon Ranch. I think we should make it a fort for us. We need some kind of base in Hyrule."
"A wise plan. I'll get right on it."
Oliveri bowed and left as Alleris gathered his weapons for battle.
Back in Kakariko Village, Link was testing his skills at the archery range. Link hit 9 of the rupees and needed one more. As the green rupee shot up in the air and fell down, Link let loose an arrow and shattered it.
"Yes!" Link shouted.
He walked over to the counter talked to the manager.
"O.K. I hit all the rupees and now I want to know what my prize is."
"Fine, you have three choices. One, you can take the big quiver which will upgrade your arrow capacity to 40. Two, you can take this gigantic rupee, which is worth 400 rupees. Finally, you can play for double or nothing. That means you have one try to hit 'em all or you lose and you won't get anything. Take your pick."
"Go for it Link! You can hit 'em all any day of the week," said Ganondorf.
"You're right! I'll go for double or nothing."
"Fine. Get ready, go!"
A green rupee appeared and Link nailed it with ease. Then, two red rupees came from the right and Link tagged them in 3 seconds. Then, one blue rupee came out from the right and he shattered it in a heartbeat. He hit the second one just as easily. Suddenly, a green rupee popped up and Link shot it. Two blue rupees came out and Link hit one, then the other. Last, two red rupees came from the left. Link hit the first one and went for the second one and missed. He let off his 6 remaining shafts in vain, and his last arrow barely broke the last red rupee.

"Way to go, Link!" congratulated Ganon. 
"O.K. kid, you won. Take your money and get out before you put me out of business.

"Link grabbed his prizes and left the shop.

"Wow! We have 1684 rupees and I can hold more arrows! I still can't believe I hit that last rupee!"

"Well, I kinda helped you to...." Ganondorf trailed off as an enormous spider came down from the sky and knocked them off their feet.

"Good thing I got more arrows" Link said.



Chapter 7


The spider lashed out at Ganondorf and knocked him in the air. The spider then went after Link. Link sidestepped and slashed off one of the spider's legs. He then started stabbing the large spider. When Link had chopped off 3 of its 8 legs, the spider hit Link squarely in the face, knocking Link down and the master sword flew from his hands. The spider then lowered its sharp jaws to eat Link. The spider was 5 feet from Link and then exploded as Ganon sent a huge fireball at the spider. Next to Link there sat a gold medallion with a spider carved on it.
"Hmm, this reminds me...c'mon! Follow me!" Link exclaimed.
"Link, wait! Hold on! What about your sword?" Ganondorf asked.
"Oh."
"I'll get it!"
"Wait!"
Link stretched out his hand and the sword flew to him.
"Cool!"
"How did you do that?"
"I sent out an invisible beam that hooked on the sword and pulled it toward me. It's like an invisible Hookshot!"
"Incredible!"
"Let's go!"
"Fine."
The duo walked into the House of Skullta and they saw an old man sitting in the middle of the house.
"Come here, Hero of Time!" the old man said.
"How did you know who I was?" Link asked. "Never mind. My name is 
Kairu. I live here. I see you have the medallion. That spider should have
Been no trouble to you. Give me the medallion in exchange for something else."

Link gave Kairu the medallion and Kairu gave Link a Longshot with an even longer chain.
"Take this Supershot! Its chain is longer than both the Hookshot and Longshot. I know you discovered your new power but you will need this weapon nonetheless. Go now Link and Ganondorf."
Link and Ganon walked to the village gate.
"Stop! Oh, Sorry. I didn't see your gloves. Proceed."
The gate opened and the pair headed for Goron City.



Chapter 8

In Zora's Domain, the Zoran Council met in the newly built War Room. 
"So where do we start?" asked King Zora.
"Well, we should post guards along Zora's River and at the entrance to our domain," said Aquino, King Zora's head admiral.
"We should also start training more soldiers. If the Stormreapers decide to attack we should be ready," added another council member.
"I agree. Aquino, assign two task teams to these jobs. I want reports by noon tomorrow. We also need our blacksmiths to forge more tridents and shields. Bows and arrows would be helpful too. Well, that's all. Aquino, you can set up teams and then retire to your chambers for the night if you wish. Meeting adjourned. Admiral Aquino set up teams and let everybody not needed go to bed. At a little past midnight, a lone druid swam up to the surface and stood on a platform in the water. He then slew the 2 sleeping guards by the cavern entrance. He then waved to another druid and then one-by-one, two hundred druids surfaced. Alleris shouted orders to his men as quietly as he could.
"Give me 25 by the entrance, 25 on the path leading to the King's Chamber, 25 by that shallow part by the waterfall, and the rest in hiding places." Alleris led a group into the Zora's Shop and slew the Zora who was sleeping at the counter. He posted 2 sentries and left for King Zora's chamber. Suddenly, a few Zora's awoke and sounded an alarm. Even though the Zoras still rang the alarm it was still a slaughter. The unprepared Zoras were butchered and killed. The Zoras couldn't stop the Stormreapers magical powers. Within minutes, 116 Zoras had been killed and only 17 Stormreapers had fallen. After an hour, Alleris had captured King Zora.
"Well, King Zora, you are beaten and you have been taken out of this war. Guards, take him back to our prisons in Jadeland with the other Zoras. I hope you won't give much resistance just as the rest of your pitiful race did." 
"Die you miserable coward!" King Zora yelled as he spat in Alleris's face.
"Take him down to the platform! He will not go to the prisons. He will be made an example of. Get a fire going to!" Alleris commanded as he stormed out of the chamber. 
The guards led the Zoran king down to the platform where Alleris was waiting with a fire and 4 pikes.
"This is what happens what happens when you declare war on the Stormreapers!" screamed Alleris.
He then drove a red-hot pike into one of the king's legs. Zora howled with pain. 
"This is what happens when you fight the Stormreapers!"
Alleris drove another hot pike into the other leg.
"This is what happens when you try to be a hero!"
Alleris drove a pike into one of King Zora's legs. 
"And this is what happens when you defy me!!" 
Alleris drove the last pike into Zora's other arm.
"Let it be known that he did all of these things and he will now die!!" Alleris yelled.
King Zora watched in horror as Alleris drew his sword and swung. The lights went out in Zora's eyes as his head fell from his body and bobbed in the water. Alleris knelt down and grabbed the head, which he stuck on one of the pikes that he had extracted from the King's lifeless body.
"Hahahaha!" Alleris laughed.
At the same moment, Aquino and 2 squadrons of troops trekked towards Hyrule Castle to get help.



Chapter 9

As Link and Ganondorf went up Death Mountain Trail, they were surprised at the inactivity. Not even a single Goron or Tektite was around. As they walked up to the entrance to Goron City, they saw the rock wall that guarded the city.
"Why would they close off any means of getting supplies or selling their goods?" Link thought.
Ganondorf tried to blast it with magic, but the wall didn't budge. Then, Link remembered King Danagar and pulled out his Megaton Hammer. He then hit the wall with the hammer but nothing happened. Then, Link had an idea.
"Ganondorf, do you have some sort of weapon power spell?"
"Yeah. Here, I'll put it on your weapon."
Link's hammer shined a bright red then stayed that way. Link, using his powered-up Megaton Hammer, smashed the wall into pieces. They walked through the entrance and saw a huge stronghold. It was the only thing in the city except an elevator and a blacksmith store. They decided to head to the stronghold entrance. They took the elevator and saw that the door was guarded by red ice. Ganon shot out 3 balls of blue fire, but the ice stayed intact. The two decided to visit the storekeeper for help.
"Hello! It's surprising to see strangers around here! My name is Igoron! I run this shop and watch over the city while the rest of the Gorons are in the stronghold. What are your names?"
"I'm Link and this is Ganondorf. We need to get into the stronghold so we can talk to King Danagar."
"Your name is Link! You're the warrior who helped us in battle. We are so grateful for your help! Here, let me find something that will help you get to my King. Ah! Here it is! This fine weapon is called the Blue Axe. It's one of my finest pieces of work. However, I just can't give it away, even to you. How about 600 rupees? It's a big discount! Well?"
"I guess. Here's your money."
"Good luck."
Link and Ganon went down to the entrance and Link sliced through the ice with ease. They entered through the ice with ease. They entered the door and were immediately surrounded by 15 Gorons. One of them reached out and took Link's axe.
"I'm glad I didn't pay full price for the axe," Link said.



Chapter 10

The pair stood there for a long time, as they were unable to go anywhere because Gorons surrounded them. Ganondorf went to freeze them but Link stopped him. 
"No. If you attack them, we'll never get the Ruby," said Link.
"Fine," said Ganondorf.
Just then, King Danagar came down the stairs that led to the entrance.
"Link?! Is that you? It is you? Guards release Link, our warrior brother!"
The guards apologized and released Link and Ganondorf as Danagar went to greet them.
"Hello, Link! Who is your friend?"
"This is Ganondorf. He is one of the greatest wizards in Hyrule."
"Wow! We can never run out of powerful wizards in Hyrule! Never really understood magic myself. Anyway, how did you get in and what did you come here for?"
"We got in using the Megaton Hammer you gave me and..."
"Ahem!" interrupted Ganondorf.
"Oh, Ganon put a power spell on my hammer. Now, as I was saying before I was interrupted was that we got into this stronghold by using the Blue Axe that Iggoron the blacksmith sold us."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Guards, give Link his axe back," commanded Danagar.
The guards walked over to Link and gave him his axe back and they apologized again.
"We came here to ask you for the Goron Ruby," said Ganondorf.
"Well, I can't just give you our sacred treasure for nothing, even if you are a hero to us. If you want the Goron Ruby then you have to give us something in return. I know! Let me explain our problem. We locked up our city and stronghold because we don't want to let the Iron Knuckle, the monster that seized the top of our fortress, out. He and his minions have taken over 5 of the 8 levels in this stronghold. If you dispose of him you can have the Ruby. So, if you're brave enough, go up to the top of the stronghold and kill the Iron Knuckle. You can get there by taking the door that leads to the fourth floor, where the Iron Knuckle's minion's begin."
Link and Ganondorf then headed up to the fourth floor and before they went through, they checked their supplies and weapons. They entered the door and began their mission. 


Chapter 11

Meanwhile, Admiral Aquino and his troops headed into King Luther's Throne Room.
"Admiral Aquino! What a pleasure to see you! The guards said you were on your way here and I was expecting you. So, what is your business here at Hyrule Castle?" asked the King.
"Your highness, Alleris and the Stormreapers have taken over Zora's Domain and Alleris has killed King Zora." 
"Oh my god! That's terrible! How did you escape?"
"I was training my troops for night battle along Zora's River and when we came back we saw some druids by the entrance. One of our scouts killed a Stormreaper and disguised himself as a druid. He saw King Zora killed and he found out that the druids had snuck into the domain using the channel that linked Zora's Domain and Lake Hylia. He also found out that the rest of the Zoras will become slaves or prisoners."
"Dear God. Well, since Zora is gone and his only daughter mysteriously disappeared, that makes you king, or should I say queen. As queen your job as royalty is to organize a rescue mission to free your fellow Zoras from the Stormreapers. You also should want to get rid of those druids. Since you have two squadrons of Zoras under your command that gives you 25 troops including yourself. That is definitely not enough troops for this kind of mission. I will give you 15 squadrons of Hylian troops and I will look for any volunteers or Zoras that live in Hyrule that wish to help. I will also ask the big Zoran rancher who lives at Lon Lon Ranch to help train recruts, since he was a former Zoran and Hylian captain. All I ask is that you become allies with us Hylians and the Kokiri. Well, do you accept my proposal?"
"Yes," said Queen Aquino after much thought. 
"Excellent! Now, we should be ready in about a week. Let's talk about our strategy over lunch. Come with me," Luther said.
As they walked to the Royal Dining Room, they had no idea that Alleris's contact in Hyrule had heard the entire conversation and went to report all he had heard.
Back in the Goron Stronghold, Link and Ganondorf had made it through the first room in the fourth room with no interference. Then, in the next room, 20 Fire Keese attacked Link and Ganon immediately, knocking them to the ground. They did not catch on fire but, Ganondorf was unconsious and the keese were all going after Link. Whatever Link decided to do, he would have to do it fast. 



Chapter 12

Link stood up and pulled out his sword, charging it with all his power. As the keese closed in on him, he threw his sword at them and his sword changed into 20 magical golden swords. Each sword killed one keese as hit and then exploded on contact. The fragments of the swords then turned back into the Master Sword and it flew back into his hand.
"Ganondorf! Ganondorf! Get up!" 
The wizard coughed and then suddenly sprung to attention.
"Whwhwhat hit me?" 
"About ten fire keese hit you and ten hit me. I used that sword attack you taught me to kill 'em."
"Great job Link!" congratulated Navi.
"Navi? Where have you been?"
"Sleeping in your pouch. I was tired."
"Thanks. Why did you stop sleeping?"
"To help you."
"What do we need help with?" asked Ganondorf.
"Them," Navi pointed.
Link and Ganon turned toward the hallway and they saw about 30 moblins getting ready to attack. As the warriors got up and prepared for battle, Navi shot out magic bolt and the moblins disappeared.
"They were illusions. I'm you didn't know that. Or did you?" Navi asked.
"No, but how did you know?" Link questioned.
"I'm a faerie! I have magical powers, duh!"
"Jeez! Is it that time of the month?" asked Ganondorf. 
"Pipe down you prick! Let's go and destroy the Iron Knuckle. Unless you want to sit here and insult me while Hyrule is on the brink of destruction!" 
"Well.. I don't know.. I guess Hyrule needs our help. Let's go!" shouted Link.
They headed to the next floor and disposed of the two Lizalfos. Then as they stepped into the sixth floor, they heard someone screaming.
"Help! Someone help!" screamed the female voice.
"That sounds like Zelda!" Link yelled.
They ran down the corridor and saw Princess Zelda.
"Link! Iron Knuckle chained me here and went back up to his lair! I can show you how to get there. Just unchain me!" 
When Link freed Zelda she shoved him away and transformed into Iron Knuckle.
"You hero fools are all alike! Now you are my prisoners!"
Iron Knuckle then threw down a smoke pellet that knocked them out. They woke up a little while later in the evil knight's lair.
"Link! Link!" Ganon whispered. 
"What?" 
"I think I can melt these chains, but I need a Din's Fire crystal. Can you get one?"
"Sure, I'll just reach into my pouch and hand it to you. Do you not see the chains around my arms and legs?"
"Use your invisible hookshot power."
"Oh, sorry. I'll give it a try." 
Link concentrated and a small red crystal flew to Ganon. He then crushed in his hand. He glowed red for a minute then the chains attached to him melted. He melted Link's chains and Navi's cage. As they looked around for Iron Knuckle, he appeared behind them and taunted them. 
"Come and get it wimps! I'll have fun kicking your ass!"
"Nice joke!" Link yelled as he launched a bomb into Iron Knuckle's armor and watched the explosion. Nothing happened and Link was stunned.
"Stop tickling me! I want to give you your beating!"
Link and Ganondorf circled around Iron Knuckle hitting him with bombs as they dodged the knight's charge. Ganondorf tried using his paralyze spell but he made no impact. Then he had an idea. He pulled out a bombchu and hurled it at Iron Knuckle. It missed by a lot, but it then stopped in mid-air. It changed into 10 bombchus and each one hit Iron Knuckle. The explosives blew off Iron Knuckle's entire armor and sent him to the floor. 
"Now!" Ganondorf commanded.
"Yeeaaaah!" Link screamed as he chopped the fallen knight into pieces. The knight exploded and out of the explosion came a portal that enclosed on the warriors.

Chapter 13

When the portal opened up again, Link, Ganondorf, and Navi stepped out and saw that they were in Goron City. 
"Good job my friends!" congratulated King Danath.
"Thanks," they said as they turned around.
"You defeated Iron Knuckle and are extremely grateful. Since you have helped us, you can have anything you wish." 
"I want the Goron's Ruby. I need it for my quest," said Link.
"Very well! Take the Goron's Ruby as a symbol of our friendship. If you ever need anything call on us and we'll help. Good luck and farewell!" exclaimed Danath.
Link reached out and grabbed the floating red jewel. It shined with radiant power.
"Excellent! Let's go tell Zelda!" Link shouted.
As they walked out of Goron City and out on to Death Mountain Trail, they saw a mysterious druid dressed in silver. His back was turned to the heroes.
"I have been waiting for you. I thought I might kill you now so that you don't have a brutal death like King Zora did," the silver druid remarked.
"King Zora?! He's not dead! Who are you?" Link demanded.
On the contrary, my friend, he is dead. His head rests on a pike in Zora's Domain. The rest of he Zoras are slaves and prisoners in their own domain. Rather ironic isn't it?" 
"No! That's impossible! How did you..?"
"How we did it doesn't matter my warrior friend, because you will soon be dead. Now, I'm really shocked to see you don't remember my voice, considering we were close friends. Still don't know who I am? I am Julius!" screamed the druid.
"Who is Julius?" asked Ganondorf. 
"Julius was an old friend. Three years ago he wandered into the Lost Woods looking for me, and I heard him scream for help. I arrived just in time to see him ripped to shreds by a pair of moblins. Of course I killed the moblins, but I was too late. I buried what was left of him and mourned. But how did you come back Julius?"
"Simple. Alleris saw that I was a skilled magician and brought me down from the heavens. I am now one of the most respected druids in Jadeland! Never mind that though. When you're dead, nothing that I have said here will matter. Take your last moments in Hyrule and savor them, for they will be your last!"

Chapter 14

Link and Ganondorf leapt out of the way as Julius shot out a shockwave of energy. When the warrior duo got up, Link pulled out his sword and shield and Ganondorf threw his hands in the air and then shot out a fireball at Julius. Julius simply blocked it with his hand. As Julius laughed, Link stabbed him in the side. 
"Arraghh! Big mistake!" Julius cried as he turned into a lightning bolt and hit Link squarely in the chest, sending him flying.
Ganondorf seized the opportunity to attack and sliced Julius with the Light Sword. Julius yelled out in pain, but then his hands turned into two big hammers and he pummeled Ganondorf. As Julius prepared to kill him, Link drove his sword into the druid's back and watched his former friend die in anguish.
"Goodbye Julius," he whispered, " Ganon, man are you okay?"
"Yeah. Nothing a Nayru's Love spell can't fix. Can you give me a Nayru's Love crystal?"
"Sure."
Link handed Ganondorf a blue crystal. The Light Sage crushed it in his hands and instantly he was healed.
"Let's go see Zelda and tell her what happened," Ganondorf said.
"Way ahead of you!" Navi exclaimed.
"Gee, aren't you the wise one." Ganon said sarcastically.
"Umph! Men!"
The trio headed down Death Mountain Trail and passed through Kakariko Village. As they walked onto Hyrule Field they saw a large barracks being added to the outside of Hyrule Castle. They asked a soldier what was going on.
"Hello Link! Look what King Luther is having built! It's a training ground for the alliance's soldiers. Mostly Hylians though. It is called Spectrum Hold. I like the name of the place. Well, what do you think?"
"It's great! Hey, where's Zelda?"
"The castle. She has been waiting for you."
"Thanks!"
Link, Ganondorf, and Navi walked through Hyrule Market to the castle and headed up to Princess Zelda's room. 
"Link! Do you have the Goron's Ruby?"
"Yep. Do you need it?"
"Yes. While in the library, I found this gold rack and some old prophecies on our situation. Before the Imprisoning War, a wise mage named Shaman foretold of a time when the 5 races of Hyrule would be thrown into war over strange druids. To reunite the races, this rack must be filled with the Five Treasures of Hyrule. If the Golden Cache was not filled in a period of two weeks, starting from the declaration of war by at least two races, Hyrule would fall to the druids!"



Chapter 15

"How many days have passed?" asked Ganondorf.
"5," said Zelda.
"That means we have 9 days left," added Link.
"On top of that, the druids have taken over Zora's Domain. The wise mage foretold that one race would fall to the druids. There is more, but it's in ancient Hylian, so it will take me a day or so to decipher it all. Right now, I'm sure you have learned about the fate of King Zora and his loyal Zoras. Well, my father and the now Queen Aquino are going to lead a mission to rescue the Zoras and dispose of the Stormreapers that are there. However, this is 3 days away and staying here and waiting for the battle would just be a waste of time. Go to the Kokiri Forest and retrieve the Kokiri Emerald. You have 3 days to get back to help in the rescue mission. If you don't, it's likely that the Hylian and Zoran forces will fail. They need a champion to help lead them to victory. That champion is you, Link!"
"What about Ganon?"
"His skills are needed too. Before you go the get the Kokiri Emerald, stop at the Lon Lon Ranch. Talon and Malon will give you the milk I bought you and you can get the horses I purchased just for your use. Take this claim check to them and hurry!"
Link accepted the claim check and rushed out of the castle. It took them about 45 minutes to get the ranch in the middle of Hyrule Field.
"Link! Long time no see! Who's your friend?"
"Ganondorf, and this little fairy is Navi. We can here to claim the horses Princess Zelda bought us.," Link said as he handed him the claim check.
"Sure thing. Here's your 4 bottles of milk, and Epona and Shadow are in the paddock. Follow me."
Link and Ganondorf climbed on their horses and tested them.
"They're perfect Talon! Where is Malon?"
"Kokiri Forest. She went there to see you a week ago and didn't come back!"



Chapter 16 

"We'll bring her back! Gotta go!" called Link as he left for Kokiri Forest. As they rode into Kokiri Forest, they saw a group of Kokiri guards walk forward to stop the travelers.
"What's the problem guys?" asked Link.
"Link, you are under arrest for leaving the forest. Karina's orders," ordered the guard.
"Karina? She's not in charge! Mido is!" 
"Not anymore. Karina ousted him from command after she heard about what happened to the Zoras. Mido wanted peace, and she didn't. She is in command and Mido isn't. Now, come with us! You are a criminal!" 
"No way!" Ganon protested.
"Ganondorf, don't argue," Link leaned over to Ganondorf, "I gave a plan."
Link and Ganondorf were led to the Kokiri Keep and put in a jail cell.
"Well, what do we do now wise guy?" asked Ganondorf.
"We get outta here and free Mido. Then, we go see Karina," answered Link.
Link took out the Master Sword and sliced through the cell bars with a power attack. They walked down the hall to Mido's cell and broke in.
"Mido! Mido!" Link whispered.
"Whwhat? Link! What are you doing here?" asked Mido as he woke up.
"To free you and put you back in power. Why did Karina do this?"
"I don't know. She went to the Lost Woods for a while and started acting strange when she came back. Then she started a mutiny and ousted me out of power. Let's go to the top of the Keep and confront her."
Link, Ganon, Mido, and Navi got passed the guards when they heard a yell.
"Die you futile trespassers!" screamed the voice. 

Chapter 17

Malon leapt from the balcony in the throne room and used her staff to knock the three down.
"Malon! What are you doing?!" asked Link.
"Kicking your ass fairy boy!"
Link deflected a swing from Malon with his shield. As she went to swing again, Link used his special power to trip her up.
"I, Karina will never be defeated by you!" Karina screamed as she got up.
"Karina...? Link thought.
Link deflected another swing then drove his sword into Malon. She screamed and then crouched down in pain. Suddenly, she changed into Karina and then leapt up, letting put a wave of green light. She picked up her staff and at one end a sword blade came out. At the other end, a green orb appeared and glowed. 
"I've had enough fairy boy. Now, it's time for you to die!" Karina taunted. 
"Where's Malon?"
"The girl? Let's just say her powers are being used to help the Stormreapers. Her whereabouts don't concern you, for you are about to die!!"
Karina pointed the green orb out at Link and a beam of laser energy flew at Link. Using his shield, he went to block the laser but it was cleaved in two.
"Hahaha!" she laughed.
Link rolled to his right and pulled out his Triforce Bow and Arrows. As he pulled back on the bow, it glowed a pale blue and pierced the orb as it shot out. The orb shattered and Karina was Karina was sent sprawling from the explosion. Karina was slow to get up, but quickly retrieved her staff. She snapped the staff in two. The two pieces turned into two green sabers. Karina leapt out at Link and attacked with a barrage of thrusts and swings. Link was able to deflect the attacks but without a shield he would not last long. Link backflipped out off Karina's way to buy some time. He charged up his sword and shot out 12 red triangles that hit Karina's body and burned. She dropped her swords and fell to the ground. Then, before Link could strike the fatal blow, Ganon and Mido combined their power and shot out a wave of silver energy, which hit Karina. She started to grow and then as she grew to an enormous size, she exploded.
"She always did have an explosive personality," joked Mido.


Chapter 18

"Well, she's gone, but where's Malon?" wondered Link.
"What did she look like?" questioned Mido.
"Kinda tall, about 5"9, great singing voice, pretty. Did you see her?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. She was taken by a group of Moblins to the Lost Woods, I think the Sacred Forest Meadow. However, you can't get past the gate without the key. The only key, besides the one that was destroyed along with, is the Kokiri's sacred treasure, which is not allowed to be given to anyone except the leader of the Kokiri. Even so, you are a close friend of the Kokiri and you have proven your bravery by helping to destroy Karina. I will give you the Kokiri Emerald as a sign of honor and respect. Take this treasure my friend and good luck! I hope you find your friend!"
A green light came down from the ceiling and the Kokiri Emerald floated down to Link's hands. Link carefully placed the jewel in his pouch and thanked Mido. He then headed towards the entrance to the Lost Woods with Ganondorf. As he neared the entrance he saw a new shop that must have been built recently. The shop had a Triforce crafted on the sign above the door, so he went in. Link and Ganon saw many beautiful weapons and armor in the shop.
"Hello! What can I do for you?" asked the storekeeper.
"Well, I was just browsing, but I need a shield. My Hylian Shield was severed in two by a laser attack. Do you have any shield more durable and powerful than a Hylian Shield?" asked Link.
"Hmm... I see. It really depends on your sword. The size and style of your sword determine what kind of shield you will need. Can I see your sword?"
"Sure I will show it to you, but I can't let you hold it. I has extreme value."
"Incredible! The Master Sword! I thought you might have had this legendary sword! You must be Link and you Ganondorf. A long time ago, a mage from the Royal Guard gave me a shield and said to give it to a warrior named Link, who had the legendary Master Sword. He also said that a Gerudo wizard called Ganondorf would be with him. His most important instruction was to you the shield in a time of need. He told me to go to the Kokiri Forest when there was a time of peril in Hyrule. I was able to take a leave of absence from my shop in the Hyrule Market and come here 2 days ago. Anyway, here is your shield. It's called the Triforce Shield. Well, does it feel right?"
As Link accepted the shield he looked at its beauty. It was a black shield, trimmed with a strong, shiny metal, and crafted with silver and gold. In the middle of the shield, a gold Triforce was in the middle of the shield. When Link held the shield, the Triforce glowed brightly and its power flowed through Link.
"It's amazing and feels weightless!" Link exclaimed.
"I have some other items if you wish, but they don't come free. Magic arrows are my specialty," added the clerk.
"Thanks, but we're in a hurry. Maybe we'll come see in the Hyrule Market sometime," replied Ganon.
"Sure thing. I'm going back there tomorrow. Until then, goodbye and good luck fighting the Stormreapers!"
Link and Ganondorf headed into the Lost Woods and made it to the meadow gate. Link placed the Emerald in the lock in the slot and retrieved it as the gate slid open. There he saw Malon chained to a post. Link pulled out his sword and slashed the chains.
"Link! Thank you! I have something to tell you! I think I may be a great mage of Hyrule!"



Chapter 19

"A great mage of Hyrule?!" How?" Link asked.
"Well, when I came here, I went looking for you in the Lost Woods and I wound up here. I walked into this meadow and this guy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He said that one day I would serve Hyrule in a way I could never have imagined. He then cast some spell on me and disappeared. I think he might have been some kind of wizard. Then, a group of Moblins captured me and brought me to Karina. She questioned me on why I was here for a couple of hours, then locked me in a jail cell. Finally, she had me brought to her throne room and she touched with this weird green orb on a staff. I think it might have been her magic source or something. She then ordered some Moblins to chain me here. These chains weren't just ordinary metal chains. They were magical chains of some sort. I could feel them tapping my magical power. The chains would boost and drain my powers at certain times. That's why I wasn't able to break them. Well, if you don't mind, I would really like it if you would accompany home. So, let's go!"
"I agree! Onward!" shouted Ganondorf.
They headed out of the meadow and before they reached the Lost Woods, a legion of Moblins, Stalfos, and Wolfos appeared. Link drew out his sword and shield and before he could react, the Triforce on his shield lit up and shot out a beam of light onto Link's sword. Link responded by shooting out rays of power at the marauders. Malon and Ganondorf reacted by casting an infinite arrow spell, which shot out hundreds of arrows at the monsters. Within seconds, only a few Moblins and Stalfos remained. Link slashed and sliced up the last of the monsters. The heroes then left the Lost Woods and headed towards the exit out of the Kokiri Forest, when Malon had an idea.
"Stop! Where are we going?" she asked.
"Hyrule Castle. We need to see Zelda," Link replied.
"Fine. Hold on to your supplies and let's go1"
Malon threw her hands in the air and opened a portal. She dropped the portal on them and they were magically transported to Zelda's room.
"Link, you're back! Malon, good to see you! Where are your horses?" Zelda asked.
"Uh-oh," Link said.
"Let me take care of that," Malon ordered.
She then teleported to the Forest, found the horses and teleported them to the stables at North Castle.
"Magic is great, isn't it?" Malon joked when she reappeared.



Chapter 20

"Show-off," Ganondorf taunted.
"Enough. Let's get down to business. Do you have the Kokiri Emerald?" Zelda asked.
"Yeah," replied Link, "You can take it."
Zelda reached out and took the Emerald from Link. She placed in the Cache next to the Goron's Ruby and turned back to Link.
"Okay, that's done. I already know about how Malon got her powers, because I read her mind. Another thing, the rescue forces are leaving tomorrow, so you can either rest, practice your skills at Spectrum Hold, or both. It's your choice. I have talked to General Khadgar and Queen Aquino and you will be commanding a squadron of troops designated as Hero Squadron. Your job will be to lead other troops into the Domain and gain some ground right away. You will need to cut off any means of escape, so they can't get away. Your job will be the toughest there is, but I have handpicked Hero Squadron and they should do well. One advantage you will have is that you have some of the best Zoran warriors and scouts under your command. Try to secure the perimeter and take some Stormreapers as captives. We need some information on their troop movement and future plans. All three of you will be given a rank for which to command with. Link, you will be a Major. Ganondorf, you will be a Commander. Malon, you will be a lieutenant. After the battle, you will be knighted and will drop your rank. Well, that's it. I suggest you go to Spectrum Hold to meet your comrades and maybe learn some new techniques."
"That sounds good. Will Aquino give us the Zoran Sapphire?" asked Link.
"I'm not sure. I asked her, but she depended on how you helped the Zoras. That's about it. Good luck and I'll see you in 1 or 2 days. Link, Ganondorf, and Malon headed to the entrance of the completed Spectrum Hold. Link talked the guards on duty and led his friends inside. 
"We have two choices. One, we can go to the magic training area. Two, we can go to the weapons training area. What do you want to do?"
"The druids have pretty good magic capabilities, so let's boost out magic to even things up."
"Sure thing, Ganon. Let's go!"



Chapter 21

The three of them walked down the hall and came to the courtyard, where many mage apprentices were taking instructions from the teachers. They walked over to the sign-up desk. 
"Good day. What can I help you with?" asked the clerk.
"We just wanted to practice our skills for tomorrow. We don't need a teacher, just an area we can use to try new things."
"Sure thing. You can go to the far end of the courtyard. It's the advanced area. Mercuris trains there everyday now."
They walked over to the advanced section and saw some statues, targets, and green bottles for magic boosts. Link pulled out his Triforce Bow and notched an arrow to his string. As he pulled back, the arrow turned an eerie green. He let go of the arrow and the arrow turned into 5 flaming green skulls and shattered a target. 
"Nice," Ganondorf said.
Ganon then took out his sword and stuck it into the ground. The sword shined and then a lightning bolt came out of the ground hitting a statue of a Moblin and the moblin exploded.
"Good," congratulated Malon.
Malon suddenlly spied a Stalfos sneaking into the Hold. She chanted some strange words and then cast 25 orange balls into the air. The balls turned into screeching phoenixes and hit the Stalfos dead on. The Stalfos disintegrated as the phoenixes scorched him.
"Impressive, most impressive. You must have acquired your power from some incredible source," said Mercuris. 
The warriors spun around and saw Mercuris standing there with a magic staff encrusted with jewels and a purple sphere on top of it.
"Let me show you something. Guards! Bring out the octorok!" he shouted.
30 guards led an enormous octorok into the courtyard and unchained it. Every person in the courtyard stood back while Mercuris prepared to attack. The octorok shot out a barrage of rocks, but all were deflected away by Mercuris's energy field. He then twirled his staff sending out a rainbow of colored daggers. Each one spun, letting out a kaleidoscope of light and color, then pierced the octorok. The daggers infilcted heavy damage and created a portal inside the octorok's body. The portal swallowed up the octopus, sending it to the gap between dimensions.
"That my friends, is real magic. You can go back to practicing now except for the three guests," Mercuris said.
As Mercuris walked over to them, Link used his special power to take the staff away from Mercuris.
"Excellent my boy! That is a great power you have! I have never seen anything like it. What is your name?"
"Link."
"Link? All right Link, I would like to challenge you in a test of magic and battle. No, it's not to the death. It's just a test of skills. Here are the rules:

1) You may use any weapon or spell that you know. 
2) Help from anyone is illegal and if you get help, you are disqualified. 
3) You can't send your opponent to the Void.
4) First person to give up wins.
Do you accept my challenge?"

"Yes," replied Link as he drank the contents of one of the green bottles.
"Well then, draw your weapons and fight!" 



Chapter 22

Mercuris whipped out his metal boomerang and flung it at link. The boomerang shot out like a comet and changed into 3 boomerangs then hit Link. Link got up just in time to block an energy strike from Mercuris. Suddenly, the Triforce on Link's shield started to glow and then shot out in the air. The triangles turned into 3 golden eagles and hit Mercuris. Mercuris recovered and thrust his hand towards Link. Five black asps shot out from each of his fingers and sunk their teeth into Link. Link slashed them off and pulled out his Triforce Bow. When his let loose an arrow, the arrow multiplied and the arrows flew towards Mercuris. Some of the arrows hit Mercuris, and some of them hit the area around him. As soon as the arrows were within range, they exploded. The ion charged arrows drained the wizard's power and knocked him to the ground. Link used this opportunity to use his force power to pull Mercuris's staff towards him. He spun the staff and the jewels on the staff let out colored bands, which tied Mercuris up. Link walked over to Mercuris, drew his sword, and pointed it at Mercuris's neck.
"You lose," he said.
"Well done. It was truly a good fight. Since you defeated me, you deserve a prize. Here is the Wand of Eurydice. It will enhance your magic power and overall skills. Someone with your talents should be able to wield it with ease. Congratulations Link!" Mercuris exclaimed. 
Mercuris then picked up his wand and headed back to his chamber at North Castle. Just then, a soldier rushed over to the warriors.
"Link! You are needed right away! The rescue forces are leaving early and before they head off, you need to meet your squadron. I am Squad Leader Adam Troy, one of the members of Hero Squadron. Hero Squadron is made up of Sergeants or Lieutenants like me. When the battle is over, I shall take command and will be promoted. Well, we should get going. Shall we?" asked Adam.
"Absolutely! Let's get ready to rumble!" shouted Link.
The four leaders of Hero Squadron headed off to see their troops and prepare for battle.



Chapter 23

They walked onto the main training ground where all the rescue forces were checking supplies and sharpening weapons. Link and his friends followed Adam to a group of Hylian soldiers, Zoran warriors, and Kokiri warriors. 
"Hello. I am Link. In this battle, I will be your commanding officer. I heard you were the best, and I expect the best. Now, state your name one-by-one," Link commanded.
"Luke, Chandler, Triteus, Neptonius, Lance, Brutan, Malcolm, Kydo, Rodan, Pierre, Glacis, sir!"
"All right. Triteus, Neptonius, and Glacis, you will sneak in first and scan the area. Luke, Lance, Brutan, and me will follow you. Malon, you will take Kydo and Rodan and try to snipe the Stormreapers from a distance. Ganon, you will head up the back with Chandler, Malcolm, and Pierre. Our main objective is to block off any means of reinforcements, so the rest of the rescue forces can come and take out the druids. We also need to capture one of them. Intelligence needs some help and we are the ones to supply it. Now before we leave, I want you to know that my command is temporary and necessary. Princess Zelda put in command for all the reasons above and that I'm the best warrior in all of Hyrule. I don't like to brag, but that's the truth. Well, check your supplies and let's go prove that were the best!" shouted Link.
Link led them out of Spectrum Hold and towards Zora's Domain. The trip took them a day to reach the fountain. When they reached the fountain, they saw a druid guarding the fountain. Kydo, the Kokiri archer, let off a sleeping dart and the guard passed out.
Brutan, the Zoran rancher, ran out and dragged him back to the group and tied him up. Ganon put on a sleeping spell, so he would stay out longer. Link went over to the fountain, played Zelda's Lullaby, and watched the fountain dissipate. Link waved his hand and the three scouts snuck in and came back out. 
"Sir, we found a few squadrons hanging around. The King's, I mean Queen's, Chamber has 10 guards protecting it," Triteus reported.
"O.K. You guys head back in and make sure you're not seen. Ganon, Malon, do you have some sort of illusion spell?"
"Yeah. What do you need with it?" Ganondorf asked.
"I need you to simulate a group of Hylian soldiers by the water. Can you do it?"
"Yes! Give me two minutes!"



Chapter 24 


A couple of minutes later, everyone was in position. Ganondorf and Malon's hands glowed a pale orange and they shot a dozen tiny crystals into the water near the domain fountain. The soldiers out of the water and alerted the guards. The guards rushed out and when they went to attack, the illusions vanished. At that moment, Link, Kydo, and Rodan let off some arrows. The arrows' tips glowed an ice blue and shot out a beam of ice on each guard and froze them. The arrows multiplied and shattered the druids when they hit. A squadron of druids came rushing out from the Zora Shop. Ganon quickly let out a barrage of laser knives. The knives sliced off their arms and sent an electric shock through them. Link and Brutan ran forward and slew the blinded druids. The warriors took out the final guards and headed to the Queen's Chamber. There they saw King Zora's rotting head, which was covered with maggots and flies, stuck on a pike. The disgusting sight made them cringe. Link saw that there was a note attached to the pike. He pulled it off and read it.

Link-
If you're reading this, you have slain my troops and recaptured the Zora's pathetic Domain. Well, congratulations you fool! You have played right into my hand. While you and your big, brave army was battling my soldiers for rule of the Domain; I have killed the soldiers stationed at Lon Lon Ranch, and have taken it over. To give you proof, I have let Talon and Ingo free. They shall be in your presence in a short while. I wouldn't suggest trying to reclaim Lon Lon Ranch unless you can get past my reinforced force field. Good day and by the way, you've been had! Hahaha!
-Alleris
"Dammit!" Link screamed.
"What's going on?" Ganondorf asked.

"We've been tricked by Alleris!"
"How?"
"I'll explain it on our way to the castle!"



Chapter 25

"Shit! Alleris has Lon Lon Ranch?" asked Ganondorf.
"Yeah, plus a strong force field. I don't know how to break it," replied Link.
"Link, Link!" Queen Aquino called as she walked over.
The entire Hero Squadron bowed as the Queen came in their presence.
"At ease. Link, you, Ganondorf, and Malon are to be honored for your stunning victory. You three shall be knighted and will retain your rank in the Hylian Army. As a personal reward, I will give you the Zoran Sapphire as a token of my race's gratitude. I know that you're in a rush, so we can have the ceremony later. I'll just give you the Sapphire and you can take your men back to Spectrum Hold. Good luck, Link, and thank you!" Queen Aquino said as she opened a portal and the Zora's sacred treasure came forth. 
"Thank you, Your Highness! Hero Squadron, move out!"
They headed down Zora's River and when they reached Hyrule Field, they saw the black orb surrounding the ranch. Suddenly, an arrow struck Rodan. Kydo rushed to his side.
"Hold on my friend! We can heal you!" said Kydo.
"Now...(cough) take my boomerang...(cough) it was my best weapon and I want to give it to my best friend. (cough)" Rodan said as he took his last breath and closed his eyes. 
Glacis was then hit with pike in the leg. Talon, Ingo, and 18 druids stepped out from behind a ledge.
"Sorry about your friend. He wasn't really that good of a fighter anyway. We just came to tell you that we have taken over Lon Lon Ranch and that our next job is to kill you and your puny squadron of troops!" boomed Talon.
"I thought Alleris let you free!" Malon cried.
"Oh, he let us free, under one condition. We become druids! Then he gave us special powers like this!" Ingo exclaimed as his arms changed into 2 rock slabs and he pounded the ground.
Link and the rest of Hero Squadron fell to the ground. They got up and Malon healed Glacis.
"You want a fight Talon?" Link asked.
"You bet!" Talon screamed back.
"Then prepare to die! You messed with the WRONG squadron!" 



Chapter 26

Talon went to pull a dagger out of his cloak, but the dagger was knocked away as Kydo's Kokiri Boomerang hit Talon's hand. Link seized the moment and tripped Talon with his force power. Brutan and Pierre charged forward and knocked some druids to the ground. Ingo threw a spear into Pierre's foot and watched him howl in pain. Luke and Lance leapt in the air and kicked Ingo to the ground. Chandler and Malcolm rumbled forward and attacked a few druds with a flurry of Hylian Staff Combat Techniques. The druids could only try to block and fail. Malon shot out a dozen pink needles, which turned into Deku Babas and gulped 7 druids in one bite and then burned to the ground. Ganondorf pulled out his sword and used his Ground Lightning Attack to electrocute 6 of the Stormreapers but Malon and a druid shot Ganondorf with poison arrows. Ganon fell to the ground as the poison spread through his body.
"Malon, quick! We need to get the poison out of him! Kydo! Help her!" Link screamed.
Malon rushed forward and inspected Ganondorf and the arrows.
"Link, this is Skullta Blood Poison! We need some Deku Bark!" Malon shouted.
"Ah! Take some of my lucky Deku Wood! I have plenty of it!" Kydo yelled as he shoved his hand toward Malon.
Malon crushed the bark and mixed it with some cloudy liquid. The potion turned blue and then orange. She poured the liquid down Ganondorf's throat. Ganon shot up and cough up some black gel.
"He's fine!" Malon called.
Link dueled with a druid and then drove his sword into the druid's stomach.
"Link! Come get some!" Talon taunted.
"Sure thing!" Link said.
Talon came at Link with an axe. Link had to grip his sword with both hands to keep him alive. He then back flipped to put space between him and Talon. He then brandished his Megaton Hammer and rushed Talon. Talon's battle-axe was a formidable weapon, but the overwhelming power of Link's Hammer was too much. The axe flew from Talon's hand and he was pinned to the ground by Link's sword. At the same time, only talon and Ingo were alive from what was the druid group.
"You can stop struggling! We're taking you to the castle to straighten you out!" Link shouted.



Chapter 27

"Let me out of here! Let go of me you clods!" Talon yelled at Link and his troops.
"Malon, can you put him to rest for a while?" Link asked.
"Yes," she replied, "Father, go to sleep."
Malon put a sleeping spell on Talon and did the same to Ingo. She then followed Link over to where the rest of Hero Squadron was resting.
"Attention! Up on your feet men! We need you to keep those two under watch. I want 4 guys at a time guarding that cell and another 4 near by. If they get out, I'll know whom to look for. We cannot let them get out, for it's a matter of losing a war or winning it. Since Rodan was killed and Glacis is in the infirmary, there will be 3 watches. Kydo, you will be in the first watch then when it's switching time, you can take Rodan's body in a wagon for the funeral in the Kokiri Forest. I'm sure that Mido would want one of the Chosen Kokiri to be buried there. Finally, as a reward for outstanding service, you will all receive a huge rupee! Spend the money wisely and the next time I need to command a squad for a special mission, I know who lead!" Link cheered as he headed to Zelda's Chamber. 
"Link! It's so good that you're here! We really need to talk!" Zelda exclaimed. 
"Sure," Link said, " and take this." 
"Thanks, I was hoping you got the Sapphire. Well, I deciphered more of the prophecy. The force field is a sign of only a week left. The book also says that only thing that can break it is the Golden Cache that has all the treasures in it. We only need the Gerudo Pearl and the Hylian Diamond, then we have all the treasures. I think my father will give us the Diamond. I'm also having some artisans fashion some leather straps to the back of the Cache so you can use it as a shield/weapon. The Cache is said to be super strong and have advanced magic abilities when it's filled. The Pearl, however, is the problem. I don't think the Gerudos will give it to us. Even so, I may have found a solution. Yesterday, an enormous Cyclops attacked their fortress. These creatures are only found in children's fables so this has to be Stormreaper work. You need to go and kill it as quickly as possible before it heads elsewhere.
"Well then, let's slay a beast!" Ganondorf shouted.
"Good luck and be careful!" Zelda warned as Link, Ganon, Malon, and Navi headed to the Royal Stables.
"Link, I don't have a horse!"
"Oh, I think Zelda wouldn't mind if you took Sunlight. The horse wouldn't even notice the difference!" Link joked.
"If you say so." 
They bridled the horse and took off. Even with their horses, it took them until nightfall until they reached the bridge that connected Hyrule Field and Gerudo Valley. The bridge had been torn down, so they had to jump. They made it safely and boarded with the carpenters for the night. They woke with a start when they heard a loud roar and then felt the ground shake. They gathered their weapons and rode at a lightning pace. As they saw the fortress, they got their first glimpse of Cyclops. It stood over 200 feet tall and had fists the size of the Hyrule Castle drawbridge. The Cyclops was about to pummel the fortress when it saw our heroes. 
"Rwwaarrrr!" it bellowed.
"All right, this is a piece of cake. We just blind it and kill it," said Link.
"Yeah. I read that in "The Two Easy Steps to Kill a Cyclops" Manual," Ganondorf remarked sarcastically.
The monster charged and they split up and formed a triangle around the Cyclops. Ganondorf's armor lit up and he shot out a gigantic red fireball. The fireball exploded in the air and turned into a giant red dragon. It spewed fire and had razor-sharp claws. It engaged battle with the Cyclops. The Cyclops sent out an eye beam, but the dragon twisted and sent a flame of fire at the Cyclops's arm. The cyclops howled in pain, but retaliated by throwing a huge broadsword at the dragon. The dragon's tail was severed and the dragon fell to the ground. Malon acted quickly by sending a blue comet at the dragon. The dragon turned blue and flew up. The Cyclops hit the dragon with his fist, but his fist froze. Link shot an arrow, which turned into 50 whirling blades, and broke the fist into pieces. The dragon then dived at full speed into the Cyclops, freezing the one-eyed terror. Ganondorf cast a rock storm on the frozen beast and it shattered. The three walked over to the pieces that were once a Cyclops.
"Man, I am awesome," Ganon boasted.



Chapter 28

"Bravo, bravo! Nice job you guys! Link, it's good to see you! Who are your friends?" Saboorno asked when she came to greet them. 
"Saboorno, you don't recognize me?" Ganondorf asked.
"No, you are a Gerudo male... Ganondorf?! Is that you?!" Saboorno asked in surprise.
"Yes. My friends Link and Malon and I came here to ask Samedi something. Samedi is in charge right?"
"Yes, my Lord. When you and Nabooru vanished, Samedi took over and appointed me as his second-in-command. If you want, I can take you to him, my liege."
"Okay, just don't call me liege and Lord. I'm not the Gerudo king anymore." 
"As you wish." 
Saboorno led them into Samedi's chamber. Samedi was seated at the end of a long conference table.
"Hello Link? Ganondorf, is that you?!" 
"Yes, Samedi, it is. Can we sit down?"
"Absolutely. What do you want to talk about?" Samedi asked. 
"We need the Gerudo Pearl. It's essential to defeating the Stormreapers," Link replied.
"The Gerudo Pearl? It's our prized treasure. When the Gerudo first came to the desert, they found an extremely large and beautiful pearl while they were digging for a water hole. The Gerudo Pearl is about the size of a grapefruit, and is the largest pearl in all of Hyrule. I can't just give it to you," Samedi explained. 
"Really? Who just killed that Cyclops out there? I think we did. That Cyclops would have turned this fortress into rubble without our help. You owe us big," Ganon snapped.
"Yeah. If we don't get your Pearl, we will never be able to defeat the Stormreapers, let alone my home, Lon Lon Ranch," Malon retorted.
"Ok, okay. First, we need to discuss the Stormreapers in depth. Have you ever noticed that they like to resurrect dead beings? They attacked me and my troops with that Cyclops and skeletons, plus, they used Julius to attack you," Samedi explained.
"What? How do you know about Julius?" Link asked in astonishment.
"I have many spies. In fact, you have been followed since the day you helped us in Hyrule Field. Anyway, to bring back creatures from the dead, you have to have some sort of ties to the land from where the dead died. I found an ancient book hidden in a rock wall behind the fortress that I think might have some answers to your problems. The cover writing is in ancient Hylian and says 'The Two Spawns of the Goddesses.' However, the rest of the book is unknown to me because of a magical key lock that was fitted on the book. If you think you can break the magic seal, you can have it. You'll probably need a magic key of some sort, which I can't begin to tell you where you can find it. Well, that's it, so you can take the Gerudo Pearl and the book."
Samedi raised his hands and an abnormally large pearl appeared from an orange portal. Samedi then handed Link the book.
"Good luck, Link and I hope you can find a way to get rid of those druids!" Samedi said.
Link, Ganondorf, and Malon hopped on their horses and rode all through the night to the castle, while Navi helped light the way. They found Zelda waiting for them in the stables. 
"Hello! I see you took Sunlight. Did you get the Pearl?"
"Yeah. We also got this book. Samedi said it can help us but we can't get the book open. There's a magical key lock on the book," Link explained.
"Well, we can see what we can do. My father gave me the Diamond after much arguing, so all we have to do is put the Pearl and get rid of those druids," Zelda replied.
They walked up to Zelda's room and took out the Cache from its hiding place. Link placed the Pearl in its place. The Cache shined a bright gold and the treasures shined bright, radiant colors. The sages then appeared out of thin air and their new leader Impa spoke.
"Rauru told us that you would fill the Cache and that we would be needed to represent our races. You must give the order to amount an army and then attack Lon Lon Ranch before it's too late," Impa told them.
"All right, I'll go tell General Khadgar," Link said.
As Link turned to leave, the hilt of his sword hit the Cache and a small, gold box came out of the bottom of the Cache. Link picked it up and opened it. Inside there contained a small, silver key. It cast a magic aura around the room. Link took the key and put the box back in the Cache. Link then put the key in the book and read some of it when the book opened. 
"It's impossible!" Link shouted.



Chapter 29

Everyone huddled around Link to look at the book as Link read the passage.
"When the goddess Farore created the wildlife and the creatures of the land, she created 6 species of dominant intelligent life. These were the Gerudo, Gorons, Hylians, Jadians, Kokiri, and Zoras. The Gerudo, Gorons, and the Zoras were completely different from one another. However, the Hylians, Jadians, and Kokiri were very similar. All 3 possessed magic abilities and had pointed ears. They also used telepathy. The Kokiri, however, stayed looking forever young, until their age grew long, then they died. They cut themselves off from the rest of the world, and only a chosen few were allowed to go into the Kokiri Forest to trade with the Kokiri. This left the Jadians and the Hylians. The Jadians had only one difference from their counterparts. They were shape shifters. The Jadians could turn into anything they desired. But, to wield this power, they must have their treasure, the Jadian Amethyst, under their control. The Jadian Amethyst was an extremely rare green amethyst. It was forged between an amethyst and emerald deep within the earth. This treasure allowed them to be even more powerful. The Jadians soon learned that an enormous amount of power came from the union of the 6 treasures of Hyrule. The Sphere of Allegiance, as it was called, radiated magical power throughout Hyrule. It protected the land from evil and war. It's power was only less than the Triforce itself. A group of Jadian mages named the Black Squalls stole the Amethyst from it's spot in the Sphere and took it to their hideout. They used their evil magic to corrupt it and reveal the hiding place of an ancient book created by the first Jadians. The Black Squalls were born after 5,000 years after the creation of the book. The book contained the secrets of black magic. The mages then began to learn and master the evil magiks. They created horrible apparitions and monsters that terrorized the land. The other five races became angry with the Jadians. The Jadians that were not part of the Black Squalls protested that they had done nothing wrong. War soon erupted between the Jadians and the other five races. The Jadians and the Black Squalls united to form as one army, but after 3 long years, they were defeated. The remaining Jadians and Black Squalls were banished to another dimension, along with their treasure, and sealed off. To prevent the return of the Jadians, each race had its finest craftsman come forth and join forces to build the Golden Cache. The Cache had five slots for the 5 remaining treasures. When all treasures were in place, Hyrule had the power to keep out the Jadians. The nomad Gerudos then took over the desert lands that once belonged to the Jadians. This wiped out any remnants of the Jadians. The Golden Cache remained intact until the Imprisoning War, when the treasures were taken from the Cache, and the Cache was hidden. Years after the War, the Jadians will appear again. Calling themselves the Stormreapers, they will start a war with the 5 races once again. Their evil leader will be in search of not the Sphere of Allegiance, but the true essence of Hyrule, the Triforce. With the Triforce, the evil leader can make permanent portals between the two dimensions. There is only one person that can stop the Jadians: The Hero of Time. Once The Hero of Time has passed the trials of Hyrule and filled the Golden Cache, he will be ready to fight once more for the freedom of Hyrule. The final battle will determine the future of the land, but who will be the victor is unclear. Heroes will be tested, treasures will be revealed, but the real mystery is whether Hyrule's wounds can be once again healed."
"This is incredible! Where do we go from here?" asked Zelda.
"We get every available fighter in Hyrule that can get here in a day, and we fight," Link said coolly.
"Yeah!" the heroes cheered before setting off.


Chapter 30

The mobilization took a couple of days, but the Hyrulian Army was ready. The Sages had reunited with loved ones, and were preparing for war. There were Gerudo and Hylian cavalry, Kokiri and Hylian archers, Zoran, Kokiri, and Gerudo scouts, with infantry soldiers of all races. The supreme commander was King Luther, with the rest of the Hyrule leaders as his primary Chieftains. Even though King Luther was in charge, Link, along with Ganondorf, Malon, and Zelda and the Sages were going to lead the charge. Zelda was off talking to the Sages and their troops, while Link was meeting the new members of Hero Squadron. Glacis had enlisted with the infantry instead of rejoining Hero Squadron, so he was out. With Rodan dead, that left 2 spots open, plus the new members. Adam Troy had introduced the Gerudo Baron and the Goron Nigul as the replacements for Glacis and Rodan. 6 cavalry and archers of mixed races made up the final 12, making 27 soldiers in all in Hero Squadron. Ganon and Link went to issue the briefing.
"Commander on deck!" Ganondorf called.
"At ease. Listen up! Ganon, Malon, Princess Zelda, and myself will be in the lead. I will take down the field and 5 of you will help Nigul break down the main gate with a battering ram. Once the door is down, we need to get to the stables secured. Then we can sling some ropes and ladders over the wall to allow more of our troops to get in. Our archers will rain arrows over the wall, but while they will shoot blindly, Head Mage Mercuris will guide them to their mark. This battle is not going to be easy. We will have to be practically flawless if this plan is going to work. I can't tell you everyone is going to come back, but I can tell you that all of you will be remembered in the minds of Hyrule. Well, let's go because time is not on our side!"
Zelda rushed over to Link before he could get going.
"Link, we need to talk to Malon, plus Talon and Ingo if possible. The King and I have decided to bomb a portion of the wall so we can get more troops in. We have some Goron demolitionists that need to talk to them."
"Well, Talon and Ingo are still in jail, but Malon is here. Hold on. Malon, can you come here?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Zelda and these demolitionists need to know the weakest part of the wall, so we can bomb it."
"Oh! Do your have to?!" she pleaded.
"Yes! Now, where is the weakest part?" Zelda questioned.
"OK. The south wall has a couple of weak cracks formed by soft ground shifting. If you put a dozen bombs there, the wall will collapse and leave a giant hole. That should give you the room you need. The rest of the wall is pretty strong, so you'll need at least twice that to break the other parts. I just hope you'll repair it when this is over."
"All right! You guys get your troops ready and head out. We have a battle to win!" Zelda cheered.


Chapter 31

The army marched out of Spectrum Hold and stampeded onto Hyrule Field. AS Link was scanning the field, he thought he saw Kairu watching from the ledge that hung over Zora's River. When he looked again, he saw nothing. Shrugging it off, he kept on walking. At about a little after noon, they were ready to surround the ranch. Link armed the Cache and raised it up at the force field. The treasures lit up a shot off a wave of rainbow light. The rainbow swallowed the ranch and dispersed the force field. The army then moved close to the ranch as the archers took their position, and fired a rain of arrows. A few screams were heard from inside the ranch, and Nigul took action. Leading the battering ram, he started to smash into the door. Suddenly, a wave of javelins were shot over the wall and felled some of the Hyrulian Army. Link sensed trouble and hurled a pouch of bombs over the wall. There was an explosion as an invisible guard tower blew up, killing 13 druids. Ganondorf took Link's staff and used it to cast an anti-invisibility spell. A number of towers appeared around the ranch. As they opened fire, the army fell back, but some brave Gorons started to use hit-and-run tactics to bomb some of the towers. Link took out his bow and fired off some fire arrows, setting flame to a few of the towers. Nigul had finally taken down the door and rushed in. Link, Ganon, and Malon casted a large Nayru's Love spell over Hero Squadron, and charged. They faced fierce opposition from heavily armed druids. Link watched in awe of one of the more powerful druids shape-shifted into a Goron, and was able to break through the spell and slay Lance. Link ordered the Gerudo cavalry leader of Hero Squadron Prinzedorf to take his men off their horses and send a messenger telling Zelda to blow up the wall. Prinzedorf got his men off their horses then sent Gebanon, his fastest rider, to go to Princess Zelda. Baron, Chandler, and Pierre were finally able to get into the stables and sling some ropes and ladders over the wall. Before Malcolm could join them, he was decapitated by a vicious swing from an axe. 
Link was fighting like a machine. He sliced, then chopped, then parried, then stabbed. Many a druid fell before his enchanted sword. Suddenly, a rapier sliced him in the shoulder as the spell wore off. Link tripped her using his force power, and buried his sword into the female druid. Malon used her magic to make some vines shoot up from the ground and trap the druids, as the Hyrulian soldiers sliced them into pieces. A large explosion rang out as Zelda and her bomb squad had blown up the section of the wall and charged into battle, followed by legions of warriors. Alleris and Oliveri, along with some fresh troops, then appeared out of a portal and started the mow down the new soldiers. Link and Ganon noticed that most of the arrows were hitting Hyrulians, not Jadians. Link climbed a ladder and saw Mercuris casting spells that took the arrows off their mark. Ganon, Luke, and Nigul were able to fend off any Stormreapers from getting to Link, but Triteus was not so lucky. A druid tripped him and Triteus was impaled on a fallen spear. Link was now sure that Mercuris was making the arrows miss on purpose, so he pulled out his boomerang and stopped him from doing any further damage. Alleris then teleported over to Alleris and Oliveri and started to kill soldiers in the Hyrulian Army.
"Traitor!!!" Link screamed out so loud that it was heard by all.
"Ah! You finally figured it out my boy! Alas, now you are to die!" Mercuris taunted as he turned into a enormous knight with two giant single-bladed axes.
"Ganon, Malon, you know what to do," Link said calmly as he handed them the Wand of Eurydice.
Ganondorf and Malon took the Wand and closed their eyes. They chanted some words and a blue aura surrounded Link. Link grew into the same size as Mercuris.
"Now that the odds are even, let's dance!" Link called.
Mercuris charged Link but Link sidestepped and threw him to the ground. Mercuris's armor shone brightly then the spikes on his armor shot out at Link. Link used his shield to deflect a few of them, but two of them buried into his right leg. Link pulled them out, as his eyes became red with rage. Link slashed Mercuris over and over, bringing him to his knees. Stabbing in and out, Link hacked and sliced ruthlessly until his sword was covered with blood and Mercuris lay in a pool of blood. 
"That's what you get you pitiful traitor!!" Link shouted before Mercuris's body vanished. 
Link grew small then collapsed to the ground.


Chapter 32

Malon rushed over to the collapsed Link and teleported him to safety. Ganondorf realized he was in command of Hero Squadron and took action. Along with Prinzedorf, Baron, Nigul, Neptonius, Pierre, and Luke, he formed a fighting line. They slashed and cut and stabbed away at their opponents. A few druids rushed Pierre all at once, and as Neptonius went to help him, he was slain by a dirk to the back. (A dirk is a weapon that is a mix that is like half dagger, half sword.) Pierre retaliated by upper cutting with his single-bladed axe, and cleaved two of the druids in half. Luke was able to slay the other two. Suddenly, Lance came up to join them, and was slain along with 2 of the Hero Squadron archers. Ganondorf realized the opposition was more than he expected and ordered to fall back. 5 members of the cavalry unit were killed as they retreated. The other 7 were captured with the rest of the archers. As Ganon was marching back, a daring druid rusheed him, nad tripped him. Before the druid could kill Ganon, a sword seemed to grow out of the druid's chest and he fell to the ground. Link suddenly appeared from behind the Stormreaper and extracted his sword.
"Will you please get off the ground, Ganon? We don't have time to lay about!" Link joked.
"Yes, sir."
Along with Ganondorf, Malon, and the rest of the fighting line, Link struck back at the opposing druids. Link's force courageously battered back the advancing foes and was slowly pushing them back. Luke, after fighting so bravely, was overwhelmed and killed. Adam, along with Kydo, Brutan, a Kokiri named Elcar, and a Zoran named Atlantias, appeared out of nowhere and took out a squadron of Stormreapers together. 
"Sorry we're late sir! Chaps can be decent fighters can't they?" Adam greeted Link.
"They can, but Hero Squadron will always be better! Heerrrroes!" Link shouted. 
"Heerrroes!" the rest of the squadron cheered back.
From then on, the attack was one-sided. The druids fought hard, but he overpowering numbers and skilled fighters in the Hyrulian Army proved to be too much.
Alleris and Oliveri saw defeat was near and sprang into action. Olvieri led a pincer movement into Princess Zelda's regiment to distract them. Alleris swiftly made towards Zelda and made a punishing dive tackle into her. Zelda was easily taken down and was on the brink of unconsciousness as Alleris pulled her up and pointed a dagger at her throat. 
"Stop all fighting or this little wretch dies!" Alleris boomed over the crowd.
All fighting ceased and the attention turned to Alleris and Zelda.
"Ah, that's better. Just to make sure none of your pitiful army can kill me while I talk, I'll create a force field. Good. Now then, all Stormreapers fall back to my position. If any of you Hyrulians tries to harm my men, she dies. Next, we are leaving without trouble or she's dead."
"Coward! Face me in battle or are you just another weak leader who has big words, but small action!" Link called out.
"Link, you little worm! I am more than capable of taking you on. I just want to see if you're man enough! If you want Zelda back, come and get her! Until then, bye bye!"
Alleris and his druids vanished into one large portal. 
"Bastard!!!" Link screamed.
King Luther rode over to Link.
"Link, normally I would lead an operation of this kind, but the peace of Hyrule is on thin ice and I need to stay here. I want you to go rescue Zelda. You are the most capable soldier in Hyrule. I believe you are the only one who can save her. Take any supplies you wish, and save my daughter. Alleris will probably put some kind of spell on her to keep you from rescuing her. Take this Ice Medallion to save her. It may also come in handy."
"Thank you, milord. I won't let you down."
"I'm sure of it. Farewell, Sir Link, and return the princess of Destiny!"
Luther led the army out of Lon Lon Ranch until only Hero Squadron was left.
"Well, what do we do now?" Malon asked.
"I don't know. Navi?" Link questioned.
"Sorry, I don't have a clue."
"I do!" Kairu called.
Everyone turned to see Kairu riding in on a white horse.
"Kairu! Were you watching us?" Ganondorf asked. 
"Yes. Now, we have work to do. First, only one thing can open and take you through the portal to Jadeland. That is the Portal Globe. Shield your eyes, this is gonna be bright!"
Hero Squadron shrowded their faces as a white flash swept over the ranch.
When they looked up, they saw they were wearing gold tunics with white embroidering. Ganon had on white armor with gold spikes. There was also a portal opened in the middle or the corral. 
"Go through that portal and follow Kaepora Gaebora, the wise owl. He will lead the way. I must leave no, but I won't be far away!"
Kairu jetted off out of the ranch.
"Well, this is it. I have to go, but none of you are required to go. Who is with me?" Link asked of his troops.
"Link, I speak for everyone when I say were in it until the end!" Adam said. 
"Yeah!" 
"Okay! Let's go!"
The warriors ran off and leaped into the portal.

As soon as they appeared out of the portal, an owl swooped down from the night sky and landed on a tree branch.
"Hoo hoot! Long time no see, eh Link?" Kaepora asked.
"Yeah. I haven't seen you since I got the Mirror Shield. Okay, what do we do now?" 
"We need to get to Alleris's Chamber in Stormreaper Spire. If we cut through this forest, we can get there. There's a hidden staircase can take to get his chamber without going through all the guards. The problem is that we need to get through the heavy outer perimeter. You better be prepared, they're waiting for you! Let's go!"
The trip through the forest was a difficult and arduous march due to the density of the woods and the darkness. Finally, they spotted the bright torches of Stormreaper Spire. A dozen guard towers shot up around and in the castle. The guards were alert and fully armed to the teeth. There looked to be no way in.
"Okay. Here's what were gonna do. Malon, you and Adam will lead 5 other soldiers and create a diversion among the guard tower. Each of you will shoot on guard tower with 2 fire arrows. Then, start shooting arrows and bombs at the towers. This should give us time to get inside. Everyone except Baron, Prinzedorf, Chandler, and Nigul will be raiding the towers. You four will be accompanying Link, Ganondorf, and I as we try to get to Alleris's Chamber. Got it, good! Let's do it!" urged the owl.
Malon and Adam got into position and fired. So did the rest of the diversion group. The night sky set alight as the arrows burned and set fire to the unsuspecting towers. They set off hurling bobs at the wall and towers. An arrow shot out and pierced Brutan in the shoulder. He ripped it out and turned to see Link and the rest of the other group captured.
"Nooo!" he screamed as he raced off to help.
"Wait!" Adam warned.
It was too late. Brutan was instantly slain by 6 arrows. The group followed Malon and Adam as they dashed into the woods at lightning speed. They finally looked back and saw no one, so they stopped. 
"Okay," Malon said between breaths, "they're trapped. We need help. Let's go get some!"

"Ah, so nice of you to join us! Make yourselves uncomfortable!" Alleris taunted.
"You asshole," retorted Link.
"Now, now, that is such bad language. You might not want to upset the gods before you die!"
"Bring it on!" Ganon shouted.
"Hehe. Be good now!" Alleris commanded as he coiled up Ganondorf with a red-hot chain.
"Arrrrragh!" Ganon screamed.
"Enough! I don't want you to die, yet!"
"What do you want?" Link demanded.
"It's not what I want, it's what I'm supposed to do. You see, when we first came here, this was a desolate place. Barren and useless. We Jadians were angry at the Hyrulians and that miserable cult. We turned their powers against them and killed them. A leader stepped forward. His name was Alleris. He led us into a time of prosperity. WE cultivated this land and made it wonderful. We used our magic to make it a paradise. It was green with trees and grass, and its clear waters gave us life. Yet, we still missed our home. We soon forgot about it until some wretched Hylian troops came and pillaged our homes. They said we would now receive yearly punishment for our crimes. Finally, Alleris stood up and thwarted the Hylians. We drove them off and sealed the portal until we were ready for them. We then planned for revenge. Alas, under Alleris, we didn't get the chance. On his deathbed, he foretold of our sacred treasure and it helping the chosen one seek revenge on Hyrule. This would only happen 5,000 years after his death. After he died, a search was on for the Jadian Amethyst. It was never found until recently. As the founder of the treasure, I became the chosen one. I was rightly named Alleris at the time. I used the treasure to open a portal and enter Hyrule. Now, I will finally get my race's revenge as I use the Triforce to destroy Hyrule! Hahaha!"
"You forgot one thing: The Triforce pieces are buried within Zelda, Ganon, and me. Explain that one."
"Fool! I know of this now. Zelda; I knew of, Ganon; I discovered, and you, I saw that only you could have the Triforce of Courage. I will sap your life force, then before I kill you, I will extract the Triforce pieces from you! This time, the Triforce will not be divided. I am fit to hold the Triforce. I am the King's brother!"
"No, you can't be!"
"Yes. At my birth, one of the mages of Hyrule became wicked and used every ounce of his power to send me here before his power consumed him Now, enough talk! Oliver, escort the prisoner!"
Oliveri came in with Zelda. She was fully chained and shackled to the wall with Link and Ganondorf.
"Oliveri, take the rest of these Hyrulians and lock them up before execution."
Nigul resisted and was instantly slain by Olveri. Kaepora lead the others in silence and was moved along.
"Now, feel my wrath!"
Alleris used the Amethyst to send green tendrils to sap the life out of the heroes. The bodies slumped, but were living.
"Now, Triforce of the god Din, come to me!"
Ganondorf's body glowed red as the Triforce of Power and the Heart of Light came forth.
"Ah, a bonus, I'll keep this for later. Alleris said as he locked in a chest.
Before Alleris could kill Ganon, Ganon sprung out from the chains and grabbed the Triforce of Power. He ran off and was warped to the Sacred Realm before going farther.
"Damn! Anyway, I'll just do you two at the same time. The power of Farore and Nayru come to me!"
Link's body glowed yellow and Zelda's blue as the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom came from them.
"The Triforces are color coded, nice. Anyway, prepare to... " 
Malon shot forth a lightning bolt at Alleris and threw him to the ground. Link broke his chains and used the Ice Medallion to free Zelda.
"I brought the Hyrulian Army for help, Link!"
"Good. Malon, free Hero Squadron and get rid of the Stormreaper Army! Leave us to this! That's an order!" Zelda commanded.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Miserable curs!" Alleris moaned.
"Shut up! You want the Triforce? Come and get it! If you can kill me, you can have it!"
Challenge accepted." 
Alleris whipped out a Flame Sword, and a Green Shield. He stood before Link and prepared to do battle. Alleris swung and Link parried. Link Triforce Shield pulled the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom to Link, and went into Link's shield. The shield turned into a glowing ball and chain and Link hurled it at Alleris. Alleris took the hit on his arm but retaliated by slicing Link in his leg. Link got his shield back just in time to block another blow. Link stabbed at Alleris and missed, but he shot off an ice beam at Alleris with the Ice Medallion, blinding him. Alleris howled as Link slashed across his chest. Alleris put away his shield and pulled out his cat-o-nine-tails. He battered Link mercilessly as Link's shield clanked away. Link punched Alleris in the face then stuck his sword in Alleris's shoulder, pinning him and rendering him helpless.
"You failed. There is no mercy for you, Alleris! You shall die now, coward!" Link screamed as he hacked away at Alleris until there was only a pile of flesh and blood. 
Link took his shield and pulled out the Triforce pieces.
"Here, take these. You are the possessor of the Triforce," Link said to Zelda.
"Did Ganondorf take the Triforce of Power with him?"
"Yeah. That means he's still a threat."
"Oh. Thank you for rescuing me."
"No problem."
"Guys, we... eww! Is that...?" Malon asked.
"Yeah. I had to scrape some of that crap off my boots."
"Man, that's sick. Anyway, all the Stormreapers are dead except for Oliveri. He got away."
"Forget him. We'll deal with him later. Now, take Link's Ice Medallion and open that chest. What's inside is yours," Zelda commanded.
"Okay."
Malon stuck the Medallion in the chest and opened it. She turned around and held the Heart of Light. Its power surged through her and vanished.
"Am I the Light Sage now?!" Malon asked.
"Yes," Link said.
Kaepora then came forth. 
"You have done well, heroes. Now, I must leave for good. You see, after I gave Ganondorf the Heart of Light, I felt something was wrong. So, I stayed in Hyrule and watched over you. But now, I, Rauru, or Kairu, or Kaepora, whatever you wish to call me, pass my legacy to Malon. Farewell, heroes and never stop fighting evil!" the former Sage of Light said as he floated up to the heavens for good.
"Well, let's go home," Link said.

When they returned home, a great ceremony was held. Link became the Triforce Guardian, and Zelda became the Triforce Holder. They alone had the power to have the Triforce. The Sages returned home to their races and helped rebuild unity in Hyrule. Link and Zelda decided to ride to Lake Hylia on Epona and Sunlight. They reached the lake in time to see the sunset. Link saw how beautiful Zelda was as her hair shone gold in the light and her jewelry sparkled. Feelings of love and happiness swept over him. Suddenly, a vision of two shadowed figures came to him as they plagued Hyrule and another mysterious land. Link came out of the vision and was worried. Another dark time would soon be upon Hyrule, and it would be the worst yet. Link knew Zelda, the Sages, and he would be tested once more. Their destinies were on the line. Link and Zelda rode home as Link thought about the future.


The End