Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: The Ballad of Fallen Angels ❯ The Battle For Hyrule Castle Part II: The Resurrection Of The Hero Of Time ( Chapter 24 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 24: “The Battle For Hyrule Castle Part II:

The Resurrection Of The Hero Of Time”

Augustine Descrod strode with a large portion of his forces through the marketplace of Hyrule Castle. Townsfolk ran around trying find shelter from the invaders.

“Kill who you can, destroy what you can, but finish quickly and come to the castle with me,” Descrod told them. “That is where the true riches lie.”

Horders raced around town, mutilating the civilians and wreaking havoc across the entire settlement.

Saetoushei and Tatl hurried through the back alleys of the marketplace. Saetoushei swung his sword and tore out a Horder's throat.

“Descrod's headed for the castle proper.” Tatl informed him. “Now what?'

Saetoushei looked around to orient himself. “Do you see a path that leads off the town, sort of like a path or trail that you'd find in the woods or something?”

Tatl flew upwards a little ways and spun around a few times. “There!” she called, flying towards the path that she found.

Saetoushei hurried after her, clutching the Ocarina of Time tightly in his hand. “If this works,” he whispered to himself, “then we might have a chance.”

Cremina dueled with a Horder on the battlefield. Both of the Grand Imperial Armies, one of Termina, the other of Ikama, were equally matched in their desperate struggle for survival.

However, the duel between Cremina and the Horder was terribly mismatched. Cremina ducked under the Horder's flailing blade and stabbed him through the middle with her long sword. The Horder fell.

Romani and Ariel had assembled a dozen Deku archers in lines and were valiantly holding their position in front of the destroyed wall, effectively preventing more Horders from entering the marketplace. Cremina fought her way over to them.

“How goes it, Romani?” Cremina called over the sounds of war.

Romani sighted along her bow and felled another Horder with an arrow. “Alright I guess. We're starting to run out of arrows. Pretty soon we'll be fighting by using our bows as clubs.”

“I'll find Kari and round up some infantry,” Cremina said. “That'll help offset the Horders when you run out of ammo. Just hold a little while longer.”

Descrod's strike force approached Hyrule Castle. The remainder of the Royal Guards had barricaded themselves inside the castle to protect the queen, and had raised the drawbridge. For any other commander, this would have frustrated and even deterred him from his mission.

But Augustine Descrod was not any other commander, and he knew things that the queen did not know he knew about, and that was about to become her downfall. Descrod enjoyed these and many other similar thoughts as he led his troops around to the side of the castle.

There, they found a drainage chute that brought water out of the main courtyard of the castle. The grand fountain in the center of the courtyard drained itself to a little river that was exposed to the air. The river fed the water back to the chute. The chute then drained the water back into the inner moat, and the fountain sucked up water from the moat to use.

In effect, this became a very useful way of reusing water and keeping the water in the inner moat circulating, so that it would not stagnate and become infected. It also provided Descrod with a perfect little secret entrance to the inner sanctums of Hyrule Castle.

Slowly, carefully, one by one, Descrod and his men crawled up the chute and gained access to the inner castle.

Igus de Ikama bolted through the battlefield, using his broadsword to reduce the ranks of the Dark Hordes. The Shadow Riders, the absolute best-of-the-best of Ikama's cavalry units, the most feared riders in the entire Ikamian Army. And Igus had been the best-of-the-best-of-the-best in his day. Even in death, his skill on the back of his skeletal steed was unparalleled.

“Onwards, my Shadow Riders, forever onwards!” Igus called to his men. The cavalry cheered and redoubled their efforts.

Igus rode to where Keeta stood with a group of his infantry, battling against a particularly aggressive group of Horders. Igus helped turn the tide by literally riding into the center of the Horde position and bisecting soldiers.

“Keeta, my friend, how go your battles?” Igus asked.

Keeta replied, “As usual, my lord, as good as they ever could.”

“Excellent my friend,” Igus acknowledged. “Keeta, the archers' ammunition is nearly depleted at the gap in the perimeter wall. Take yourself and as much infantry as we can spare and get to the wall immediately. When all the arrows are gone, the defense of the wall will be an infantry affair.”

“Understood, my liege.” Keeta said, saluting Igus. Igus nodded to his old comrade and hurried back into the battle.

The invasion was so well planned and executed that no one had time to prepare for it. The Royal Guards were completely taken by surprised when Descrod and his strike force appeared in the main courtyard.

Descrod himself kept to the thick of the fighting, dispatching several guards before the rest fled to the higher levels of the castle.

“The Triforce must be kept somewhere in the castle.” Descrod announced to his men. “Search the ground floor rooms and chambers, all of them. If it is not to be found here, then we take the next level, and the next, until the Triforce is found. Remember, whoever finds me the Triforce will rule his own country, and be more wealthy than he could possibly imagine.”

Reguge Zarana cracked a Horder's skull open with the butt-end of his trident. The Zoras held the bank on the south side of the outer moat against the Horders' charge. Localo slew a Horder just before another one leapt up and struck him in the arm with his sword blade. Localo yelled as the blade cut deep into his upper arm. The enraged Zora decapitated the Horder with a single swing of his sword.

Reguge ran to Localo. “Are you injured badly friend?”

Localo grabbed the wound with his hand. “Nay, my Kaiser, the wound is not serious.” The Zora looked up. “Where the Devil has Hikari gone to?”

The Zora next to him spoke up. “The quivers of the archers who hold the wall are practically empty. General Keeta and a large compliment of his infantry are preparing to cover it. Hikari has gone to assist them.”

Localo grinned. “That's just like my daughter. No one can keep her down.”

Cremina dashed the brains of a Horder in front of the wall. Just moments before, the arrows had run out completely. No longer held back by the deadly shafts, the Horders had made a renewed charge to gain the marketplace, but now had to contend with the infantry forces of General Keeta.

Romani grabbed a lance from the ground and sprang to the front of the offensive with her sister. The Horders pressed in from all side, but the infantry would not budge. Keeta himself fought wildly, revealing in the sensation of battle that not even being dead can keep from a creature.

Kari joined them, blocking a Horder's sword swing. “There's still too many of them.” Kari gasped out. “No matter how many die, more appear. If we kill one, three more take his place.”

Ariel shattered a Horder's kneecap with the blunt end of her rapier. When he collapsed, she stabbed him through the neck. “Then we'll have to kill those three, and when nine more replace them, we'll kill all nine of them. And we'll keep going until either we're all dead, or they are.”

With that the little Deku hurled herself at the next oncoming line of Horders.

Room by room, level by level, chamber by chamber, Descrod's forces conquered Hyrule Castle, sustaining only minimal casualties to themselves. The dead guards and soldiers littered the hallways, the servants and palace attendants stained the carpets and rugs with their blood.

But no matter how high in the castle they climbed, no matter how many chambers and rooms they conquered, the strike force still could find absolutely no sign of the Triforce.

And Descrod was getting angry. “Where is it?” he demanded of his troops. “I want it found now!”

“But my lord,” one Horder said, “we've searched every single room in the castle. The Triforce refuses to be found.”

“Refuses to be found?!” Descrod screamed. “It's not a living thing, it's an object, it can't refuse to do anything!”

“My lord, this way!” Another Horder called from a doorway further down the hallway that the force was standing in. “I think I've found something!”

Descrod shoved his way through the troops and bolted into the room. The Horder that had called to him led him to a balcony that spread out into the open air.

“What?” Descrod demanded. “What did you find?”

The Horder pointed up. Descrod looked to find a ladder fixed into the side of the wall. The ladder led to the very top of the castle.

Descrod grinned and looked to the Horder. “I promote you to the rank of Major in my army. Stay here and let no one up without my permission.”

The Horder saluted smartly, unable to keep a grin of delight from his face. Descrod smiled too, but his smile was cold and evil. Descrod reached up and seized the bottom rung of the ladder. Hoisting himself up, he started the long climb to the roof.

When he got there, Descrod looked around. The roof was totally flat, paved with cobblestones, and it looked like no one had been up here for a while.

But there was someone else up here now. Queen Zelda stood at the far end of the roof from where Descrod was. The Ikaylimu smirked and completed his climb up the ladder.

He stood straight, his blood-stained scimitar held tightly in his large bear-like right hand.

“Your Majesty,” Descrod called out, bowing mockingly to Zelda. “I had hoped that it wouldn't have come to this, but the decision was entirely yours. I only hope that you have the decency to not try to blame the fall of Hyrule on someone else.”

Zelda was impassive. “I blame no one but you for the blood that has been spilled here today. No matter what you do, you will never find the Triforce. It is not even hidden in the castle. It's not even in Hyrule. You've wasted your time.”

Descrod shook a finger at her. “Ah, but I'm sure that you know the location of the Triforce, don't you my dear? Come with me, I'll make you my empress, the one who sits next to me and helps decide the fate of the world. Just tell me where the Triforce is.”

“Never.” Zelda's voice was cold and hard. “I will never tell you where it lies, never.”

Descrod's eyes hardened. “I have very little patience right now. My goal, nay, my destiny is in sight, and I will have the location of the Triforce, or else you will not live to see the sun set on this day.”

Zelda said nothing, only dropped down into a fighter's stance. Descrod sighed with frustration and began walking across the roof to where Zelda crouched. Hefting his scimitar, he raised it above his head and brought it down.

Saetoushei and Tatl burst into the Temple of Time. The grand structure was exactly the same as it had been the last time Saetoushei had seen it. It's high white walls and carved flagstones stretched from wall to wall.

Saetoushei's footsteps echoed off the walks as he walked to the onyx altar that stood at the far end of the room before a great, locked door.

Upon reaching the altar, he glanced down on it. The altar had dozens upon dozens of characters carved into it. The characters were letters of the ancient language of Mudora, the original language of Hyrule. Not many people even knew of it's existence anymore, and still fewer people actually knew how to read it.

Saetoushei was one of those few people. He stroked the words, whispering them to himself; “The Hero's triumph on Cataclysm's Eve. Wins three symbols of virtue, the Master Sword he shall receive, keeping the Knight's line true.

Beneath the carved words were three curiously-shaped indentations in the onyx. When Saetoushei had first visited the Temple of Time, the indentations were empty. Only after he had acquired the Ocarina of Time from Zelda had he realized that the indents were for the three Spiritual Stones that Saetoushei had recovered at that point.

Now the stones were already inserted into the altar. Since the Ocarina of Time was absolutely necessary to open the Door of Time, no one thought it would do any harm to leave the stones there.

“What're you going to do, Saetoushei?” Tatl asked.

Saetoushei didn't respond verbally. Instead, he removed the Ocarina of time from his tunic. Raising the instrument to his lips, he blew into it.

The haunting melody that issued from the Ocarina startled Tatl to the core of her bones. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, and yet, it frightened her to no end. Tatl started as she recognized the tune.

“Hey? Isn't that the Song of Time?” she asked.

Suddenly a rumbling sensation filled the entire temple. The Triforce insignia above the great door blazed into brightness, filling the interior of the temple with a brilliant golden light. The Door of Time slowly grated to life, sliding into the walls.

“Stay here Tatl.” Saetoushei said.

Alone, he walked through the doorway and into the back room of the temple. It was bathed in shadow, with only one window located high up on the rear wall. A single shaft of light issued from the window, landing on one particular section of the floor, the section that contained a raised platform on it.

Saetoushei walked up the stairs to the middle of the platform. In the center was a small stone pedestal, and in the pedestal stood a great sword. Double-edged, full blood channel running the length of the blade, it's hilt covered in solid blue leather and studded with yellow stones.

Saetoushei unclipped his Bomber's sword of rank from his belt and laid on the ground, along with the Great Fairy Sword from his back. Stepping up to the Pedestal of Time, Saetoushei took a deep breath, seized the handle of the sword with both hands, and yanked the Master Sword free.

Instantly a blinding white filled the entire temple. There was a distant ringing in his ears, a sound that he had not heard for seven years. His clothing began to change, to shimmer around him…

“Saetoushei!” Tatl yelled from the front room. She could hardly see with the light all around her. The frightened fairy strained her eyes to see into the rear room. “Saetoushei, what's going on? Where are you?”

Suddenly a figure appeared in the light, walking calmly towards her. It was Saetoushei's shape, his height, and yet, it was different.

This figure's tunic was green, his pants white. His eyes sparkled and held a cheerfulness in them that Tatl hadn't seen for seven years. He smiled at the astonished fairy.

“Not any more, Tatl.” The figure said softly, kindly. “My name is no longer Saetoushei. Please, call me…Link.”

A/N: Please read and REVIEW, it would be nice…