05-29-2015, 08:40 AM
Ganondorf’s search through the forest was an unpleasant ordeal, to say the least. As he walked, the sun had moved overhead, beating the Gerudo with tropical beams of heat. His armor, furred and heavy, only exasperated the situation. Sweat poured down his body, every cut and bruise he had received since arriving on their accursed island reminding the Dark King that they were still there with a fiery persistence. He tried to find a suitable analogy for his anguish and the only thing that came to mind was the day, back in his youth, he had stumbled into a Death Ant hill. Worse than all that, however, was the wound in his shoulder. Every movement of Ganon’s arm sent jolts of pain through his nervous system, and it was only through sheer force of will that he wasn’t doubled over in pain, let alone keeping the pain from showing on his face or bringing tears to his eyes.
And as if his constant state of agony wasn’t enough, the Gerudo King was having trouble finding edible flora in the area as well. Once again, he found himself cursing Omni for bringing him here, cursing Karl Jak for enticing him, and cursing this island for his long run of bad luck. It seemed as though for every windfall that came his way, he was blindsided by yet another setback. With every success, some new failure reared its ugly head. It infuriated the Dark Lord, a feeling only made stronger by the heat and pain.
Then, as though to prove the Great Demon King wrong, he suddenly saw a familiar plant. It was nothing particularly filling, just a simply stand of basil, yet the sight threw a little light on Ganondorf’s world. The large man moved to gather up some of the herb, but before he could take hold of them, a scream in the distant drew his attention.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seated upon the river bank, Link absent-mindedly tossed the fishing line into the water, a fresh worm pierced upon the hook. As the invertebrate plopped into the water with a faint splash, the Hylian youth thought back to all the time he’d spent at the Lake Hylia fishing pond. Times when he could forget about the devastation that Ganondorf had wrought upon the land and enjoy the simple pleasure of a fishing pole and a quiet day. The same man who had made such an escape necessary for him was also his closest ally on this island. Every time Link thought about it, it boggled his mind that in any eventuality that such a thing might occur. The Demon King was pure evil, and yet here Link was, a Hero supposedly, joining forces with the same man he had locked away all that time ago.
While this makeshift fishing line was unlike the rod he had used before, the Hero of Time found that it wasn’t hard to get used to. In fact, it seemed he was as good at this as he was in Hyrule. In short time, a few fish lay beside him on the bank, and the Hylian was just preparing to look for Ganondorf when a roar suddenly issued from the tree line. His blue eyes darted back and forth, looking for the source, his hand moving by instinct for a sword that wasn’t there. Could it be that Ganondorf had merely lured him into a sense of complacency just to ambush him? It would be just like the Demon to play Link for a fool like that. Yet, it was not the great Beast Ganon, which rushed from the woods towards him. Brown, large, and furred all over, the bear that charged him was smaller… though no less deadly.
Watching the behemoth move ever closer, Link’s eyes shifted to his bomb-launcher, which lay not far off. He dove for it, hoping to reach his sole means of protection before the beast was upon him. But it was too late. The creature slammed into the Hero of Time and he screamed out in pain as he suddenly became a ragdoll in its grip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a swiftness belying his great size, Ganondorf sprinted towards the sound of the scream. He knew to whom that shout had belonged to. And for a moment, he had considered leaving the boy to his fate. Yet even before he had finished considering it, the Gerudo had been moving through the forest. Perhaps it was because the boy was his sole ally on this island. Or perhaps it was because Ganondorf had given his word to the boy. It may even have been because Link had saved his life many times already in the Abyss. But, if the Dark Lord was being honest with himself, he knew that deep down it was because he was beginning to grow fond of his longtime enemy.
The Demon King burst through the foliage bordering the river shore, and he saw just why Link had screamed. A massive bear was manhandling the lithe Hylian like a cat playing with a mouse. Without thought, the Gerudo rushed the beast, driving his shoulder hard into its side and freeing Link from its grasp. He didn’t know what had provoked the animal into an attack, but he could not allow it to harm the boy, not when he relied on him and his weapon so greatly.
Nearly as soon as it fell, the bear was back on its paws and returning to bring the attack to Ganondorf. The Gerudo braced himself and managed to just barely catch the creature in his arms as it forced the wind from his lungs with a bone-creaking body slam. Biting viciously against the Dark King, and bringing its claws into the fray, Ganondorf found himself being driven back before its feral might. New cuts and bruises were added onto the ones he already had, and blood streaked his armor, both from the cut gums of the bear as he gnashed down on him, and from the wounds he was receiving. Still, if only he could hold out a few seconds longer… YES! Ganondorf chuckled, a deep hearty sound from deep within his lungs and, using a last ditch burst of strength, freed himself from the beast with a crafty slip to the side. And before it could reengage the Gerudo, a whoosh passed right by his ear and straight for it.
The explosion threw Ganondorf back, and brought its own slew of pain and injuries. Yet, when the debris cleared and the Gerudo could see once again, his lips turned in a satisfied grin as he saw what damage Link’s weapon had done. The beast lay on its side, its body a mass of blood and burns and its neck twisted in an unnatural position. It groaned pitifully, somehow still clinging to life despite its wounds, and Ganondorf moved closer to the beast. Link, once more slinging his bomb-thrower, moved beside him and asked querulously, “What are you doing?”
In a gruff voice, no doubt made harder from his own pain, Ganondorf replied, “Putting an end to the beast.”
Link seemed taken aback at the callous words. “Why not just leave it be? Yo-WE don’t need to kill it!”
With a sigh, the Gerudo turned to his companion and explained, “What? Leave it be to suffer through a slow, agonizing death? We don’t need to kill it? No. You have it wrong, boy. He HAVE to kill it. It’s the merciful thing to do. Sometimes the most heroic thing one can do is to grant someone in suffering a quick death.”
Firani drifted through his mind as he spoke these words, a constant reminder of the truth of his words, and the pain of that truth. Link fell silent, staying in place as Ganondorf finished his movement and placed a golden-gauntleted hand upon the beast’s throat. He leaned in close, unafraid now that the bear had been subdued and whispered something softly to it before his hand closed down on its trachea, the sharp points of the gauntlet tearing through the flesh like tissue. It was over in second, and Ganondorf calmly wiped his hand clean on the corpse’s remaining fur and turned to find Link staring at him.
“Did I not say,” Ganondorf said with a meaningful look, “That you needed me for these hard choices?”
And as if his constant state of agony wasn’t enough, the Gerudo King was having trouble finding edible flora in the area as well. Once again, he found himself cursing Omni for bringing him here, cursing Karl Jak for enticing him, and cursing this island for his long run of bad luck. It seemed as though for every windfall that came his way, he was blindsided by yet another setback. With every success, some new failure reared its ugly head. It infuriated the Dark Lord, a feeling only made stronger by the heat and pain.
Then, as though to prove the Great Demon King wrong, he suddenly saw a familiar plant. It was nothing particularly filling, just a simply stand of basil, yet the sight threw a little light on Ganondorf’s world. The large man moved to gather up some of the herb, but before he could take hold of them, a scream in the distant drew his attention.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seated upon the river bank, Link absent-mindedly tossed the fishing line into the water, a fresh worm pierced upon the hook. As the invertebrate plopped into the water with a faint splash, the Hylian youth thought back to all the time he’d spent at the Lake Hylia fishing pond. Times when he could forget about the devastation that Ganondorf had wrought upon the land and enjoy the simple pleasure of a fishing pole and a quiet day. The same man who had made such an escape necessary for him was also his closest ally on this island. Every time Link thought about it, it boggled his mind that in any eventuality that such a thing might occur. The Demon King was pure evil, and yet here Link was, a Hero supposedly, joining forces with the same man he had locked away all that time ago.
While this makeshift fishing line was unlike the rod he had used before, the Hero of Time found that it wasn’t hard to get used to. In fact, it seemed he was as good at this as he was in Hyrule. In short time, a few fish lay beside him on the bank, and the Hylian was just preparing to look for Ganondorf when a roar suddenly issued from the tree line. His blue eyes darted back and forth, looking for the source, his hand moving by instinct for a sword that wasn’t there. Could it be that Ganondorf had merely lured him into a sense of complacency just to ambush him? It would be just like the Demon to play Link for a fool like that. Yet, it was not the great Beast Ganon, which rushed from the woods towards him. Brown, large, and furred all over, the bear that charged him was smaller… though no less deadly.
Watching the behemoth move ever closer, Link’s eyes shifted to his bomb-launcher, which lay not far off. He dove for it, hoping to reach his sole means of protection before the beast was upon him. But it was too late. The creature slammed into the Hero of Time and he screamed out in pain as he suddenly became a ragdoll in its grip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a swiftness belying his great size, Ganondorf sprinted towards the sound of the scream. He knew to whom that shout had belonged to. And for a moment, he had considered leaving the boy to his fate. Yet even before he had finished considering it, the Gerudo had been moving through the forest. Perhaps it was because the boy was his sole ally on this island. Or perhaps it was because Ganondorf had given his word to the boy. It may even have been because Link had saved his life many times already in the Abyss. But, if the Dark Lord was being honest with himself, he knew that deep down it was because he was beginning to grow fond of his longtime enemy.
The Demon King burst through the foliage bordering the river shore, and he saw just why Link had screamed. A massive bear was manhandling the lithe Hylian like a cat playing with a mouse. Without thought, the Gerudo rushed the beast, driving his shoulder hard into its side and freeing Link from its grasp. He didn’t know what had provoked the animal into an attack, but he could not allow it to harm the boy, not when he relied on him and his weapon so greatly.
Nearly as soon as it fell, the bear was back on its paws and returning to bring the attack to Ganondorf. The Gerudo braced himself and managed to just barely catch the creature in his arms as it forced the wind from his lungs with a bone-creaking body slam. Biting viciously against the Dark King, and bringing its claws into the fray, Ganondorf found himself being driven back before its feral might. New cuts and bruises were added onto the ones he already had, and blood streaked his armor, both from the cut gums of the bear as he gnashed down on him, and from the wounds he was receiving. Still, if only he could hold out a few seconds longer… YES! Ganondorf chuckled, a deep hearty sound from deep within his lungs and, using a last ditch burst of strength, freed himself from the beast with a crafty slip to the side. And before it could reengage the Gerudo, a whoosh passed right by his ear and straight for it.
The explosion threw Ganondorf back, and brought its own slew of pain and injuries. Yet, when the debris cleared and the Gerudo could see once again, his lips turned in a satisfied grin as he saw what damage Link’s weapon had done. The beast lay on its side, its body a mass of blood and burns and its neck twisted in an unnatural position. It groaned pitifully, somehow still clinging to life despite its wounds, and Ganondorf moved closer to the beast. Link, once more slinging his bomb-thrower, moved beside him and asked querulously, “What are you doing?”
In a gruff voice, no doubt made harder from his own pain, Ganondorf replied, “Putting an end to the beast.”
Link seemed taken aback at the callous words. “Why not just leave it be? Yo-WE don’t need to kill it!”
With a sigh, the Gerudo turned to his companion and explained, “What? Leave it be to suffer through a slow, agonizing death? We don’t need to kill it? No. You have it wrong, boy. He HAVE to kill it. It’s the merciful thing to do. Sometimes the most heroic thing one can do is to grant someone in suffering a quick death.”
Firani drifted through his mind as he spoke these words, a constant reminder of the truth of his words, and the pain of that truth. Link fell silent, staying in place as Ganondorf finished his movement and placed a golden-gauntleted hand upon the beast’s throat. He leaned in close, unafraid now that the bear had been subdued and whispered something softly to it before his hand closed down on its trachea, the sharp points of the gauntlet tearing through the flesh like tissue. It was over in second, and Ganondorf calmly wiped his hand clean on the corpse’s remaining fur and turned to find Link staring at him.
“Did I not say,” Ganondorf said with a meaningful look, “That you needed me for these hard choices?”