Prelude to Deceit

The doors opened and the vast throne room of Hyrule Castle now lay before the hero in green as he slowly regained his breath from the leap across the battlements. Wiping the mixture of sweat and tears from his muddied face, Link took a few troubled steps forwards towards the man, no, creature whom he hated more than anybody else he had ever met on his long journey.

Ganondorf.

The ginger-haired maniac sat grinning on his throne as Link approached, unsheathing his sword. Their gazes did not meet – neither of them had enough willpower left to directly take on the stare of the other. This was to be the final confrontation, the final fight and final decisive blow. And both did not intend to lose this time.

Ganondorf leapt from the marble throne and weaved his way across the red and murky carpets, splitting his body into four as he began to circle that boy in green. Outside, the dark clouds intensified and multiplied as well, drawing in the lightning from the heavens above and striking once more at the castle, tearing even more towers away like children from the womb of a mother. Link's sword was now pointed out in front of him, constantly aiming at the various doppelgangers as they threatened to draw closer. His shield was pushed hard back against his beating heart.

"Ganondorf!" he screamed, "Ganondorf! GANONDORF, YOU BASTARD!" He was met with a cruel laugh that hung around every little dank and dusty corner of the room, coiling itself around his head like a snake.

"You know what you must do if you wish to save the Princess, boy," the air echoed, "Give me the final piece of the Triforce and allow me to rule or forever suffer without her and without your kingdom!" Link's eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a snarl.

"I cannot make that decision..." he nearly sobbed, "But I can fight you and I can defeat you! I have the power of all the sages of Hyrule and of the three goddesses from above!" The cruel and callous laugh returned again like a redead.

"You stupid boy. I should have known from the start that it would come to this. Before I kill you, I want to let you know that it will bring me great pleasure to tear you and your pitiful princess limb from limb!"

"Your violence blinds you, Ganondorf! You are too obsessed with power and darkness. I stand in the light ready to face you! I know what I must do and I am prepared to do it, no matter what the cost."

"Then fight, boy. Fight!" The copies exploded, tearing themselves apart into flickering darkness as the whole room began to tear apart, the walls ripping away as the black tornado outside intensified. Ganondorf's silhouette appeared in the nexus of the chaos before Link, giving him the target to destroy. A green tornado tore through the stone walls hurtling towards it and leapt off the crumbling throne towards the bulging form in the sky.

Metal clashed upon metal as Light Sword met the great Satanic Blade in midair, causing Link to recoil and run across a tower shooting upwards towards the giant dark portal in the sky. Ganondorf spiralled down towards him and sliced it in half, sending the boy flying across towards a far off battlement.

The Master Sword clattered to the stony wall and then toppled off the cold stone and towards the muddy ground far far below the rapidly dismantling ascending castle. Link winced in both pain and despair as the only weapon capable of destroying the evil Gerudo disappeared from sight. However, he was not done yet.

Skilfully drawing a luminous arrow from the quiver on his back, Link ran down the battlement and leapt across to the neighbouring stairway which had suddenly begun a descent down towards a tower below. Link targeted the rapidly approaching by air humanoid form and shot the arrow quickly and carefully, striking the furious and vulnerable Ganondorf.

Everything jolted rapidly for a second as the giant black vortex stuttered, sending Link toppling down the staircase and onto a horizontal tower below which he rolled down and then leapt towards a rising platform. As he landed, he felt a sharp pain as the edge of the Satanic Blade scraped along the pinnacle of his back and he keeled over for a few seconds before taking another jump to the next tower.

Sighting Ganondorf as the madman swivelled round in front of him, he saw that the Gerudo was now shooting green blood onto the stone below him and breathing heavily as the light arrow in his chest dug itself more and more in. Both boy and man froze as they drew closer, each unwilling to make the next move.

"It's over, Ganondorf," Link said as the burning arrow tore into the man's heart and he screamed out in immense pain. He tore his head back down towards his neck and his green eyes met with Link's blue eyes.

"Yes, boy," he stuttered, "It is now." There was a loud crack as the Satanic Blade imbedded itself in Link's back and the doppelganger of Ganondorf in front turned back into the air that it had come from. Link gasped as he had no time to do anything.

The deadly weapon retreated and Link fell to the ground, choking as his internal organs broke apart and his bow slipped from his hand and onto the stony ground, his eyes gently flickering back and forth and his brain attempted to re-calibrate itself. It never would.

The void began to dissipate and while the pieces of the castle fell down, the green body rose up into the air and through the dark field, tearing it into pieces as Ganondorf watched, licking his lips and savouring the victory.

From some unknown location, the great Princess Zelda watched as her one and only love received the punishment promised to him and let out a small gasp.

"Time..." she stuttered, "Time... if... only... he had had more time..."

Time was not over yet.