“Well,” Link sighed. “I guess we’d better get this over with.” He motioned for the other two travelers to follow him to the temple doors. The Hero of Time wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of facing Ganondorf again. To be perfectly honest, neither was Zelda. Kirei wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but she knew that any power strong enough to break the seal of the Seven Sages would put up a strong fight; the Gerudo leader grasped her twin scimitars nervously.
To their collective surprise, the temple doors opened by themselves.
“Well, someone’s waiting for us.” Zelda whispered. Link didn’t say a word, but continued walking as if drawn by some unknown force. Reluctantly, Zelda and Kirei followed. Though it had been several long years since Link had first infiltrated the Spirit Temple, he still mostly remembered the layout. But with every room the trio entered, the overwhelming presence of evil grew. Finally, they reached the top of the temple, the very place where Link had battled Koume and Kotake almost ten years ago. Though technically it was three, but in a different timeline…Link thought. He dismissed the subject from his mind and opened the final door.
Zelda gasped.
Still sitting on the floor beside Koume’s body, Kotake looked up at the newcomers. The ice witch knew that the final battle would be happening soon, but she couldn’t find the will to fight—even against the Hero of Time. Kotake looked back down at her fallen sister, not caring anymore.
“What—happened?” Zelda finally asked. Kotake ignored the question. It was fairly obvious that something or someone had killed the other twin; somehow, Link knew that that someone was Ganondorf. He felt a slight twinge of sympathy for the ice witch.
“Worthless old hag.” Came Ganondorf’s booming voice from out of nowhere. Immediately the King of Evil appeared, a smug grin playing on his lips as he materialized before them. “I can’t even count on you to warn me when trouble comes.” He looked at the Hero of Time. “But I don’t have time to deal with you right now. I have two Triforce pieces to confiscate first.”
“Don’t be too sure, punk!” Kirei shouted as she pulled her twin blades into a defensive position. Ganondorf chuckled.
“I don’t have time to deal with you, either.” He raised his hands in the air, forming a pulsating black orb above him.
“Kirei, watch out!” Link urgently called. Before Kirei had the time to react, Ganondorf released the ball of energy, hurling it toward the Gerudo leader at an astounding speed. The ball hit Kirei at full force; she fell screaming to the floor, still clutching her scimitars in both hands. Link looked over at Zelda, who immediately ran toward the injured Gerudo.
“Still think you can win, boy?”
“You will not get the Triforce.” Link grumbled. He pulled out the Biggoron’s Sword and readied himself for what he knew was coming. The battle began with another burst of energy from the King of Evil, which Link easily parried with his blade. He reached behind him to grab his bow, but Ganondorf slashed at him with a burst of electricity. Link reeled backward in pain as the bolt shot through him, knocking him onto his back.
Zelda watched in horror as the battle took place. Her husband-to-be fought valiantly, but Ganondorf’s attacks were relentless. Most of the time Link was on the defensive, trying to block the evil king’s blows with his sword and shield. Only once was Link able to reach his bow in time to fire a single light arrow at Ganondorf. Even that blow was, for the most part, ineffective. The effects of the arrow wore off within seconds, only giving Link enough time to stand up and take a defensive position again before another energy beam came hurtling toward him.
Link was losing. Badly.
It’s not over yet…Link thought. He still had one trump card left. Quickly he reached into his satchel, pulling out the only item that would give him the advantage—the Fierce Deity’s Mask. Seeing this strange item, Ganondorf let out a laugh. He sent out another electric pulse at Link, knocking the mask out of his hand; the Fierce Deity’s Mask clattered across the floor, completely out of everyone’s reach.
Kotake watched the battle carefully. It was obvious that Ganondorf had the upper hand. The ice witch saw the energy beams bouncing between Ganondorf and his adversary, ultimately finding their target and sending the Hero of Time crashing to the ground. She looked down at Koume, then back up at Link, then over at Zelda and Kirei. The fear present in their eyes spoke volumes. It’s time to end this now, she thought. With one hand planted firmly on her ice scepter, Kotake stood up. Now was the time to take back her dignity.
“This one’s for Koume.” Kotake aimed her weapon and fired-- --At Ganondorf. A powerful blast of frost cascaded across the air and hit the King of Evil in the chest. Link looked back at Kotake, completely bewildered at this sudden turn of events. The ice sorceress looked back at him.
“Hurry! Get that mask! The spell only lasts for a very short time!” Link didn’t question; he ran across the chamber to where the Fierce Deity’s Mask had landed and picked it up. Without hesitation, the Hero of Time placed the mask on his face. The transformation took less than a second, but by that time Ganondorf had broken free of his icy prison.
“Now we end this.” Oni-Link growled. He sent out a barrage of energy beams at Ganondorf, who was unable to block them all. The King of Evil fell to the floor in pain, angry that the battle had turned against him. What infuriated him even more was the fact that Kotake had turned against him.
“Traitor!” He screeched. “When this is over, you’ll die a horrible death, just like your sister!”
“You first.” Kotake replied, sending another icy blast toward the King of Evil. “You tormented us-“ Another ice beam. “-And tricked us into going along with your hideous plot to take over the world!” And another. “And finally you killed my sister!” Kotake pulled the ice scepter back, preparing for her final blow. “For that, child, I will never forgive you!” A stream of icicles flew toward Ganondorf, tearing at his flesh and encasing him in yet another ice crystal. Zelda stood up from where she was treating Kirei and raised her hands in the air.
“Seven Sages! To the Spirit Temple!” She cried out. Immediately four lights in shades of green, blue, yellow, and purple appeared around Zelda. One by one, the sages of Forest, Water, Light, and Shadow materialized, glowing with their respective colors. A few seconds later, although dim, a red light appeared and revealed the Sage of Fire. They looked at Princess Zelda.
“But--the Sage of Spirit?” Saria nervously questioned. An orange light was nowhere to be found.
“We must have that extra power!” Ruto insisted. “Or else the seal will definitely break!”
“The--Sage of Spirit….” Darunia weakly coughed out. “Must be--here. I can feel…the power.” The Sage of Fire stumbled, but managed to keep standing for the time being. “Please--hurry.” Link walked over to his sworn brother and gave him a shoulder to lean on. Zelda closed her eyes, silently willing the new sage to make his or her presence known.
Awaken now, oh mysterious Sage. Lead me to you! At that moment, a bright orange light burst through the darkness, bathing the entire chamber in a fire-like glow. The light dimmed somewhat, then seemed to move throughout the room. Much to everyone’s surprise, including her own, the light began to concentrate on Kotake.
“What?!” Link exclaimed.
Kotake felt an incredible wave of power come over her, completely encompassing her entire being. Shades of bright orange light circled the ice witch. Seconds later, a shadowy figure began to materialize before her. It didn’t take long for Kotake to remember who it was.
Nabooru…
The same. Nabooru’s shadow replied in thought. The former Sage of Spirit seemed to chuckle. I knew it would be you. Don’t ask me how I knew that, because I don’t know the answer myself. At any rate, you have a job to do. I impart to you all of the knowledge of the Sage of Spirit. At that statement, Kotake felt a flood of knowledge entering her mind. The ice witch managed a tiny smile. Nabooru returned the smile with one of her own and slowly began to fade. I leave this temple to you. Take good care of it, okay? It gets very dusty sometimes.
I will. Kotake promised.
Oh, I almost forgot! Nabooru snapped her fingers. I just talked to Koume. She wanted me to tell you that she’s proud of you for what you did. Tears came to Kotake’s eyes as Nabooru finally disappeared. The ice witch walked over to the circle of sages, taking her place between Rauru and Impa; Zelda heaved a sigh of relief.
“Okay. Sages, you know what you have to do. Let’s get Ganondorf back in the Evil Realm!” Zelda shouted. The other six Sages held hands while the Princess of Destiny stood in the middle of the circle, hands raised.
“Illuminating light,” Rauru began.
“Nourishing Forest,” Saria added.
“Breath of Fire,” Darunia continued.
“Life-Giving Water,” Ruto stated.
“Encompassing Shadow,” Impa chimed in.
“Eternal Spirit.” Kotake concluded.
“Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, and Spirit. Our powers are as One. Return the Child of Evil to the place from whence he came. With our strength, seal the door that he may never return!” Zelda called. The glow around each of the Sages intensified, merging with each other and creating a rainbow of power. Ganondorf screamed in agony as the Seven Sages once again sealed him away in the Evil Realm. Once Ganondorf had been successfully banished, the rainbow of power took up the Seven Sages and everyone else in the room, lifted them high in the air, and vanished from the Spirit Temple.
The next thing anyone saw was the Temple of Time.
The rainbow deposited six of the Sages in a circle around the Triforce seal with Princess Zelda standing in the middle, hands still raised high in the air. Slowly, the energy began to fade away, leaving all seven of the Sages completely exhausted from their effort. Their task was finally complete.
“We did it!” Saria breathlessly announced. “Is everyone still in one piece?”
“Mostly.” Zelda replied, hands on her knees. She looked around at the rest of the Sages, all of which were in varying states of exhaustion. Darunia was in the worst shape due to his illness, but from the looks of it he was beginning to recover. Finally, Zelda’s eyes fell upon Link who, in spite of several cuts and scrapes on his arms and chest, looked no worse for the wear.
“So, now what happens?” Kotake questioned as she began to catch her breath. “Ganondorf is sealed away, so what do we do now?” Link and Zelda smiled at each other. It was time to get back to what they were going to do before Ganondorf returned.
“Well, come to the Temple of Time tomorrow morning at 10 and you’ll find out.” Zelda stated with a wink at her fiancée. “Impa, I’m sure we have something suitable for her to wear, don’t we?”
“I’m sure we do.” Impa stated. The new Sage of Spirit narrowed her eyes.
“What, is someone getting married or something?”
