Rage of the Rathalos (Saga)

[Harry Dresden]

Harry saw the armored woman commandeer a winged horse from a soldier that had shown up while Harry was shielding the armored kid. The wizard may have known a lot of things, but flying a pegasus wasn't exactly a skill that was much called for in Chicago, considering they didn't exist. "Except they do, Harry, the wizard muttered to himself; "There's five right in front of you." Harry pocketed his blasting rod and walked forward, hailing one of the wing-helmeted soldiers astride his winged bay. "Hey! Give me a lift, we're going after that dragon." That was one sentence that Harry had never thought he would say. The soldier looked down at the wizard skeptically. "And who the hell are you?"

The wizard glared at the soldier severely, averting his eyes at the pressure that signaled an approaching soulgaze. The other man had felt that pressure as well, and it intimidated him a bit; this was clearly a man who knew a bit about magic, enough to tread warily around it. Harry cleared his throat and spoke. "Harry Dresden. I'm a wizard. Now let's get moving, it's getting away!" The soldier scoffed, patting the back of the saddle. "Cauthon. Hop on. That dragon won't outfly Sumia!' Harry mounted up and the soldier jerked the reins. Harry's knowledge of physics made a strong comeback as the horse flew through the air, with an uncomfortable focus on the distance it would take to reach terminal velocity. He shoved his uncertainty down his throat with the bile that was attempting to escape and shook out his shield bracelet as they flew after the dragon, gripping his staff tightly in his right hand. When they got close enough to the other rider and the armored woman, Harry called out. "Does this kind of thing happen often here?"

[Magus]

The Pegasi hurtled through the air with Magus’ great black dragon in tow. His long, lavender hair flapped and flailed like a madman being told he’s mad, slapping violently against his face and back as he stood upon the cold-blooded monster, his reins tightly wound around his hands to keep him from plummeting to the earth distantly beneath him.

He had thought to ask the soldiers how much further they would have to fly, but a thunderous bellow which seemed to reverberate all around him interrupted his thought. He felt the roar in his chest; he didn’t need to ask questions to know the thing was close.

Crimson eyes scanned clear skies, and from behind a veil of clouds, what could only be the Rathalos emerged, flame overflowing from its jaws like foam frothing from a rabid dog. The creature very nearly crashed into them as it raced by, startling the Magus’ dragon and the Pegasi so badly that one of the soldiers was bucked from it and fell, shrieking, as he plummeted from the heavens.

Two other riders dove after him, but Magus was fixed on the Rathalos. He spurred his dragon on, flying on the Rathalos’ six, several feet above. The wizard had hoped to have some assistance in the fight, but he was beginning to feel as though the people of Camelot, Coruscant, all of it, were incompetent. Leave it to the newcomer to sort out all of your problems.

Magus unwrapped one of his hands from the reins and reached down to pick up his scythe, gripping it firmly as he brought himself closer to the Rathalos. His scowl of annoyance turned to a look of mild shock as he spotted a man on the back of the beast. He appeared to be trying to pierce the creature with a sword similar to the one his former traveling companion, Crono, would use.

The man wasn’t Crono, though, and he was struggling just to stay on. The idiot was certainly going to meet the earth at high velocity. All it would take would be one buck from the mighty beast, and he’d be given a long time to consider the stupidity of his actions.

Magus closed the gap between his dragon and the one he was pursuing. Perhaps feeling the pressure of his presence, the Rathalos whirled about, spreading its wings wide and using them as an air brake to stall in place almost immediately.

The Fiendlord’s eyes went wide as the Rathalos loosed a huge gout of flame from its maw. Magus yanked the reins hard to the right in an attempt to avoid the searing blast, but it engulfed his dragon’s left wing. He could feel himself losing altitude in an instant, and his nameless dragon began to spiral out of control.

“Damn it all!!” Magus snarled, using the dragon’s momentum to pull it into a hard climb. The flaming wing buckled, though, and sent them both spiraling over the head of the Rathalos.

The arch mage leapt from his dragon just as the Rathalos loosed another fireball. The scorching flames enveloped his dragon and it shrieked and flailed in agony, sinking like a stone out of the sky.

Feeling the heat on his side, Magus grasped both hands on his scythe and brought it down, hard, finding purchase with a lucky strike between two scales and driving his blade deep into the shoulder of the Rathalos.

The sudden impact jostled the katana-wielder, whose own blade came free from the beast, but Magus’ fast hand clamped down on the man’s wrist.

“Find a hold for your blade!!” the spellcaster growled. The man responded in a heartbeat, plunging his katana back into the wound he’d slipped out of. Magus let go and the two of them clung to their weapons as the Rathalos swept north again, Magus’ dragon a fiery, glittering wreck, now nearly out of sight.

With the creature flying at a steady clip and leveled out, the two men found their feet and stood upon its back, neither loosening their grip on their weapons. Holding on with one hand, Magus leaned over the edge of the beast, gazing down at the villages below. Even the largest buildings seemed like tiny dots from here.

“Incredible,” he breathed, before glancing back at the swordsman. He was staring. Magus looked away and rolled his eyes. “Have you something to say, or would you prefer to continue undressing me with your eyes?”

[Omni]

Rathalos gave a mighty roar. The beings on his back were stunned; it felt like every cell in their body was vibrating at once, being in such close capacity to the wyvern. Then, huffing and heaving with rage in its eyes, the dragon flipped; sending both assailants hurtling away in different directions.

[Ganondorf]

The beast took to the air; apparently having been startled enough to wish escape over further battle. Or perhaps it simply wished to find easier prey elsewhere. Regardless, Ganondorf took this as his opportunity to rejoin his companions. As he moved back to the group, at a slow canter on Mirage, Samus and several of the others took to chase after the beast. One particularly brazen fellow felt it necessary to actually attempt to ride the Rathalos and he was shortly joined by another similarly foolish man.

“Well, look who finally decided to show his face. I suppose now that the Rathalos is gone, you feel safe enough to join us then?”

“Heh heh heh…” Ganondorf chuckled softly, turning to Eighteen. “I thought you all were doing marvelously without me. Had you not rushed in without thinking, you might have learned something as I did.”

With a grand sweep of his arms he looked over their burnt and broken surroundings and the somewhat similar appearance of the fighters.

“While you people felt it necessary to risk your lives without any knowledge of your foe, I stayed calm and assessed the situation. It wasn’t much different than I expect, to be honest. The beast relies on its massive strength and size to attack those close to it. The balls of flame were a bit unexpected, to be sure, as well as its ability to take flight at will.”

Pulling a mildly protesting Eighteen onto the saddle behind him, Ganondorf took Mirage to a gallop in pursuit of the beast and continued speaking.

“Still… I had a plan of sorts… Unfortunately, it relied on the others doing what would be sensible. As we’ve seen, I had to scrap that plan. There’s not a tactically minded person in the whole bunch.”

Eighteen held onto him tightly as Mirage darted through the trees and leapt over the undergrowth, moving much more quickly than a mount of his size would typically be able to.

“We didn’t have a group of well-prepared fighters working together towards a common goal. Instead, we had nearly a dozen individuals all vying for glory. That sort of fighting will get us all killed, and we’re fortunate that the Boy’s gambit paid off and sent the beast away.”

The Gerudo scowled at the recollection of the mortal foe at the fight. Link vexed him… the boy had went so far as the square off on the Dark Lord as he rejoined the group, prior to Ganondorf’s exit from their presense.

“Trust, Eighteen. That’s what we’re lacking here. Without it, we’re doomed to failure. For without trust, there can be no teamwork. And against a foe as mighty as that which we battle, teamwork is our only chance at victory.”

[Proto Man]

The preteen android watched with a wide smile as the dragon let out a roar and took to the sky, its wings buffeting its attacks with gale-force winds as it climbed out of their range. A few yards away, Proto Man heard the woman with the hammer shout an order to give chase to the beast. As he watched, she commandeered a flying mount and started after the dragon.

After a somewhat awkward exchange with one of the soldiers, Samus took off, sitting behind the Pegasus’ rider as he followed the bounty hunter’s order to chase the creature. Glancing behind him, the android saw the others contemplating their own moves, but he had already made up his mind. Rushing toward the tree line, Proto Man pulled his whistle out and played his favorite tune. A beat later, Salsa emerged from wherever she had been hiding during the brief skirmish. The chocobo let out with a squawk as it charged to its rider.

With a graceful flip, Proto Man landed in the saddle as Salsa passed by him. “You got wings, so let’s get after that dragon!”

“Kweh!” Salsa shouted as she rushed toward the group that had just been fighting the dragon. A few glimpsed at the giant yellow bird in red armor rushing at him, but before they could figure out what was going on, the chocobo was over their heads. Despite lacking an impressive wingspan and being weighed down by armor and her rider, Salsa gradually gained altitude as she tailed the Rathalos. Once they cleared the treeline, Proto Man took a moment to mentally clap himself on the back for summoning such a versatile ally.

Up ahead, Samus and Cindy were slowly catching up on the Rathalos, which appeared to be in a state of agitation. A few moments later, Proto Man drew close enough to spot the cause—there were two warriors who had actually leapt from their mounts and onto the dragon’s back. Neither managed to stay on very long before the Rathalos performed a barrel roll and sent them both plunging toward the trees below. Proto Man’s eyes went wide, but he was too far behind to catch the falling men. As he pulled Salsa up into another climb, he hoped the two managed to save themselves from being pancaked on the ground or impaled on their way through the canopy.

Focused on the Rathalos, Proto Man grabbed the reins with one hand and pointed his fist at the dragon. “Steady, Salsa,” he muttered as his free hand converted into a buster arm. Bracing himself, the red robot started to charge a blast. He waited until his chocobo had gained some more altitude to release the burst of energy, which passed between the two women ahead of him en route to the dragon. The android’s enthused smile quickly left his face when the shot sailed far to the left, missing its mark by at least ten feet.

Should get a homing module or something… Until he could try and close the gap, Proto Man knew it’d be pointless to attack, so with a scowl, he reverted his cannon back into a hand and took hold of Salsa’s reins. “Just keep a steady pace and we’ll try to close the distance when it banks or climbs.”

Without removing its glare from the dragon, the bird nodded her head as her rider leaned forward to reduce the amount of drag he would generate. Up ahead, Samus and Cindy continued to press their pursuit.

[Samus Aran]

The dragon was tiring, that much was clear. Samus had taken a few potshots, but given the speed and distance, and the fact that she was simultaneously trying not to fall off the back of a pegasus, it felt more like a waste of energy than anything else. They’d been flying for some time now, at quite a lick, and seemed to be heading towards the mountains. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said the hunter. “If it looks dangerous when we land, you need to back off. We’ll take care of the dragon.”

The soldier snorted. “You say that like I’m a civilian. But alright. I’ll have my men circle overhead and wait.”

“Good.” They were descending now, into a crag between cliffs. Stone passed overhead, blotting out the light for a second, and Samus felt her senses go on high alert. Then they emerged into a cave. The sun filtered in through large holes in the ceiling, casting light on the scene before them.

The Rathalos landed, staggering on tired legs as it fell forward. It was greeted. Another large dragon – this one green – rose and screeched gently towards her mate’s face. As she did so, Samus caught a glimpse of the ground beneath it. A nest.

“Go,” said Samus, and dropped from the pegasi’s back. It wheeled back around to leave the cave as the hunter dropped to the stone ground. Two sets of draconic eyes now glared at her.

“Get ready,” came the voice of Cindy, pulling out her hammer. “This is going to be hard.”

The cave shook, as the rage of the Rathalos - and the Rathian - concurred.

[Harry Dresden]

As Harry and the pegasus rider, Cauthon, approached the Rathalos' perch, another rider circled back around with a message for Cauthon; "Drop your Prime and circle overhead." Harry nodded in agreement, and Cauthon said nothing, though he looked a strange mix of relieved and confused. "Stars and stones, I don't know what's going on, but that Omni guy said death wouldn't be the end for me. I take it he didn't say the same for you?" The military man shook his head and opened his mouth, but Harry cut him off. "Then don't worry about me. This is just another day on the clock." The pegasus flew low to the ground as it entered the mouth of the cave and Harry slipped off, advancing at a jog through the dragon's lair. He came in right behind the dragon-armored girl and the orange-armored one.

The wizard advanced as the second dragon made itself known. "Hell's bells. One of them wasn't enough?" The cave's lighting was adequate, but it was about to get a lot brighter in here. "So, tin lady, you got a plan? Or at least a name, so I know what's gonna be on the tombstone next to mine?" He stopped walking and planted his staff in the ground next to the two armored women as the dragons roared their challenge. "I'm Harry Dresden. Professional wizard." The pins and needles in his right hand had ceased long ago; a sign that he could use his soulfire again. It usually didn't start hurting that quick. Harry would need to have words with that Omni character about that.

[Proto Man]

The boy and his chocobo were no winged horse riders. As a result, they progressively fell further behind, and Proto Man had no desire to tire out his friend by making her work faster. Even so, he managed to trail the two armored women as they dragon started its descent on the other side of the mountain. Up ahead, the wizard had passed the android as well, although his rider returned about twenty seconds later, minus the aforementioned mage.

“Let’s get going, Salsa,” Proto Man whispered as the chocobo nodded and zipped over to the part of the mountainside where the others had vanished. As the pair drew closer, the android noticed the sheer cliff wall that led down a few hundred feet. Despite a wide-eyed look on her face, Salsa gradually dropped down to the bottom of the wide ravine. Once they were about halfway down the drop, Proto Man was able to see into a giant cavern.

“Two dragons,” the android muttered as he watched the second of the winged beasts lumber into view. Inside the cave, he noticed Samus and the armored woman already standing with weapons at the ready. A few yards behind them, the wizard was jogging to catch up, although his shouts were lost on Proto Man as the preteen robot dropped down to the ground. “Wait with the armored soldiers,” he commanded as the bird gave him a nod and started to ascend up out of the ravine.

Proto Man made it to the three just in time for them to get attacked by the pair of dragons. The first--the original of the pair--kicked up off the ground and released another burst of fire. Although the blast succeeded in scattering its foes, it was obvious that the attack lacked a little of its early gusto. Nevertheless, none of the assembled Primes felt like trying to soak up a huge sphere of fire, so they broke apart and dove for cover.

The preteen android found himself literally throwing his body as hard as he could to the left. Fortunately, he was acrobatic enough that he was able to somewhat gracefully land in a crouched position. A few feet behind him, the wizard had a little less luck, and he hit the floor of the cave with a thud.

“I hope you have a real solid plan, Kid, because I don’t think gymnastics is going to win the day here,” he yelled, a faint smile revealing that the lighthearted spin to the remark.

“The name is Blues, and the plan is we shoot them until they give up. We have the advantage in numbers, at least.”

Silence. The man blinked. After another pregnant pause, he blinked again. “Well... I’m Harry, and if that’s all you got, I’d much rather go over with those two,” he gestured with a thumb to where Samus and the mystery woman were trying to fight the Rathalos. From the looks of it, their strategy was likewise in a nascent stage.

Proto Man turned to look at the other dragon, which was lumbering toward them on its feet. Although it shared the same physiology as the Rathalos, it was stockier and dotted with numerous spiked barbs. Rather than red accents, this terrestrial dragon had patches of faded green. As he stared at the creature, Proto Man’s system scanned it, providing an overlay of information it could glean from surface analysis. “This one’s more prone to fighting on the ground. All those barbs are poisonous.”

“How do you know that?” Harry asked as he drew a smaller staff and tightened his hands around it. Proto Man recognized the device as the same one the wizard had used to channel a fire spell earlier in the fight.

“I’m a robot,” the preteen shot back as the second dragon closed the gap between them with a lunge. The pair fell back only to watch in horror as the beast quickly reared onto its giant hind legs and lashed out at them with its tail. Proto Man did the only thing that made sense and jumped up, hoping he could clear the path of the barbed appendage with the help of his augmented shins.

Harry, however, lacked the hydraulic boosts in his legs that allowed the preteen to jump upwards of sixty feet. Falling back on what he knew best, the wizard threw up an arm and willed a shield into existence. The shimmering disc flashed into being in just enough time to absorb the impact. Although he managed to prevent one of the many barbs from impaling his face, the force of the impact was still enough to throw the wizard from his feet. Harry hit the ground hard a few yards back and let out an audible groan as Proto Man landed next to him.

“Are you okay?” The robot asked as he knelt down and helped the man up off the ground. As the wizard regained his bearings, Proto Man took a moment to look to see that Samus and the dragon hunter were being backed up toward a large body of water. The Rathalos, while still hovering in the air, was lashing out with its teeth and tail, rather than the balls of fire that had marked the initial skirmish in the village.

“We need a plan, Kid,” Harry shouted. This time, however, the man didn’t want to have to retreat, and he found his engraved rod a little quicker. “Fuego!” A stream of fire spurt forth from the wooden small staff, striking the green dragon in the face as it was barreling down on them. With a furious roar, the creature reared up onto its hind limbs in an attempt to get the fire out of its face.

As Harry lowered his rod, he looked over to see that the boy’s arm cannon was outstretched, and more than that, the barrel was overflowing with white energy. With a smile on his face, Proto Man fired the charged blast, which hummed through the air before slamming into the dragon’s exposed abdomen. Whether it was the impact of simply being knocked off balance by the combination of attacks, the dragon tipped backwards and slammed down onto its back.

Any joy that might have been felt by the wizard or his preteen ally faded away with the creature quickly righted itself and set it sights back on the pair of Primes. The dragon had some fresh scorch marks on its facial features, but other than that, there was no sign of any lasting damage. “This is going to be a while,” Proto Man whispered as he started to charge another blast. “I hope you didn’t make any afternoon plans.”

With his rod still at the ready, Harry glanced down at the robot in red plate mail and chuckled. “When in Rome…”

[Samus Aran]

Samus gave a quick review of her options. She’d initially considered dropping some blocks, but while they’d prove an effective countermeasure against fireballs, it was too risky. Those dragons, with their strength, could easily knock the heavy cubes around, and they’d likely end up as a greater threat to the hunters than the quarry.

So it was down to the staples, then. Nothing fancy. Shoot lots of bullets, and stay alive.

The dirty blonde ninja-lookalike was apparently set on his own death, though. Leaping onto the Rathalos’s back once more, he jammed his katana up through the scales of the beast’s neck. A spurt of blood was elicited, and the dragon gave a sharp cry. Meanwhile, the robo-kid and the wizard were blasting the smaller green dragon.

“Tch …” this was exactly what Samus had feared. No finesse, no co-ordination. She had no desire to see anyone die, but her first priority was to kill the dragons. Primes would come back, but the secondaries who died at the hands of these dragons were truly dead. That was what was at stake here. So if it came down to it, it was her before them. She had to stay alive, to make sure the job was finished.

And so Samus kept it simple. She raised her cannon towards the Rathalos and aimed for the eyes. He shook the ninja free, who tumbled back to the ground, and turned his eyes back towards the annoying pellets that were coming from Samus. Stomping forward, it turned and swung its massive tail. Samus cartwheeled backwards just in time as the tip cut the air before her. She raised her cannon again, switching to Gatling mode and punishing the dragon’s opening with a hail of energy fire. Meanwhile Inlumia had recovered, and was bringing his sword to bear at the dragon’s legs.

“Look out!” came a cry from behind, and Samus turned to duck just in time as a fireball whizzed past her. She’d learned from her previous error, and her peripherals had been trained on the Rathian. Still, it was hard to focus on two threats at once. In the same moment, the Rathalos charged her and snapped with its teeth. It was all Samus could to tumble backwards, grazing her arm as she fell. But that was no deterrent to the seasoned fighter. She’d been charging a shot as she fell, and unleashed it upon the side of the Rathalos as punishment. The slight recoil of the dragon gave her a moment to stagger upwards and put some distance between them.

“Taaake THIS!” came another cry as Cindy brought her hammer down on the other side of the Rathalos’s skull. Samus felt the air ripple as the hit connected, and this one caused a cry so loud that the smaller dragon cried in response. The Rathalos tumbled sideways, hitting the ground on one wing.

This was their chance. Samus switched to Gatling mode, striding forward and placing the barrel of her gun squarely at the Rathalos’s crown. She leaned forward as the wings spun up to full speed, bent her knees, and let the cannon sing. Its bup-bup-bup energy rain careened into the beast’s skull, and the sound was reassuring. She’d longed to hear that sound since the beginning of the fight.

The Rathian was quick to intervene. She rose to the skies, screaming, and Samus could see the flames escaping from her mouth. The hunter broke off her attack, running as fireballs rained down on them. One caught Samus in the legs, and she was thrown forwards. But her grapple beam was snaking out, onto the stone stalactiles of the cave’s ceiling, and she pulled herself up into a shaky jump before hitting the ground in a roll. It was better than just hitting the ground hard, if only by a little.

The others didn’t look much better. At least one or two of them had been hit, and Cindy was standing nearby, grimacing with smoke coming out of her armor. “That damn Rathian made me miss my charge hit,” she said.

Samus re-aligned her aim as she spoke. “Not so easy anymore?”

“I’ve fought Raths before, but these ones are especially strong,” she said. “You seem to be picking it up quickly, actually.”

“Not my first rodeo either,” replied Samus. The end of her gun arm glowed. “And it won’t be my last.”

[Harry Dresden]

There were a lot of sounds of serious combat from across the cave. It sounded like the women were doing well against their dragon, but Harry and Blues were struggling against theirs. Blues was a lot more agile than the wizard was, though. Harry was the only one stuck in close range, shield up as he tried to keep himself from being sliced to ribbons by those talons. They were dripping with something that looked none too safe to have inside his bloodstream. The wizard managed to get out of range and have time to turn around, just as the Rathian engaged the women as well. There was that guy with a katana trying to stab the other dragon again, but the main problem was the fireballs headed at Harry's companions. He didn't have time to intervene, either.

The dragon from the town almost crushed the swordsman between the wall and its skull in the time it took Harry to gather its thoughts. "I'm going to try to hold down the green one! Take care of the big guy while I do it!" His staff glowed with witchlight from the effort of will he was forcing into it. He scratched a hasty circle with the staff in the dust and sealed it with an effort of will, hastily composing himself and putting together a proper spell construct and infusing it with Soulfire. Seven seconds after closing his circle, he broke it with his foot and thrust his staff forward with a shout; "Forzare!"

He manifested the hand of force around the Rathian's head with downward momentum, forcing the dragon's flickering jaws closed and holding it mostly in place. It could probably still move, but the blue force construct would obscure its vision and the hand would stop it from moving its head very well. The fact remained that Harry was not going to be doing much in the way of an arm wrestle with it, but it was still fairly impaired. "You've got sixty seconds! Make it count!"

[Ganondorf]

Shale, dirt and gravel showered down the gorge below him as Ganondorf descended into the Rathalos’ cave. His left fingers dug furrows into the earthen surface, the same sided leg and foot helping to keep him steady as he went down. Emerald eyes never left the beast in question as it did battle with the armored woman Samus, the blonde newcomer with the hammer, and some swordsman. From his vantage, he could see little else at the bottom of the ravine, though on occasion he would hear shouts, and bestial bellows, which belied another battle going on under him.

His entry to the second part of this fight had been delayed due to Ganondorf’s lack of flight. When the beast had left view over the mountains, the Gerudo had nearly called off pursuit to leave the others to handle the Rathalos. However, Eighteen had provided a convenient solution. Her ability to leap and bound up the mountainside allowed them both to rejoin the fray, and while she yet remained at the precipice of the cave entry, the Gerudo was making his way into battle. Of course, had he known before descending that there would be two of the creatures; he might have delayed his arrival a bit longer. As it were, the Dark Lord could do little now but slow his descent to a manageable rate and hope for the best.

The side the dark-skinned man had chosen to descend ended abruptly before the bottom of the gorge, and Ganondorf was forced to fall the remainder of the distance, rolling to minimize the damage as he hit to stony soil. As soon as he recovered, he immediately found the new Rath nearly directly before him. With a curse, the man leapt back. Strangely the beast didn’t strike out at him. Instead, it appeared to be struggling with some blue light encompassing its jaw. From what Ganondorf had observed of the prior battle, the man who he’d met in the village was the origin of this magic.

“You’ve got sixty seconds,” the man called out to his comrade, the small red-clad boy from the Scramble. “Make it count!”

Dusting himself off, Ganondorf moved beside the wizard and chuckled softly. “I never got your name, Sir.” His eyes, however, never left the green Rath before them.

The magic-wielder barely spared his dark-skinned companion a glance, brows pursed in concentration and confusion, “Really? Stars and Stones, man! Is this really the time for that?”

Raising his mighty shoulders and sighing, the King explained, “Well, I assumed the sixty seconds you mentioned refered to how long it would take for the beast to finish chewing you. I just wanted to know what to put on your tombstone.”

“Heh… that’s so cliché…”

“Pardon?” the Gerudo queried.

“That saying, it’s overused. And besides, I can hold it with my magic at least that long…”

Ganondorf snorted in derision, looking over the battlefield. Chaos, the same as before, was everywhere.

“I doubt it, my good man. Right now, these beasts are determining how this fight will go. We’ll all die down here unless we can change that.”

Hand rising quickly, one sun-darkened finger pointed towards Samus and her companions. “Listen! You’re going to die if you keep this up. Work together, fools! Surround the beast. Only attack when it is not focused on you. Stop your assault once the beast directs its ire towards you until your comrades can distract it. And, for the Goddess’ Sake, try to focus your attacks on a single area! The beast’s hide is too tough to penetrate without a concerted effort.”

Without waiting to see if the others obeyed, Ganondorf returned his attention to the green Rathian and Harry, “As for you, it was good thinking trying to distract this one beast while the others focused on the larger foe. However, you can’t do this alone, Lord. I’ll assist you.”

Throwing back his cloak in a grand gesture, the Gerudo King rushed forward whilst the beast was restrained. Dark flame enveloped his fist, Ganondorf focusing his strength into a single attack against the Rathian’s foremost left knee, if it could be called that. Though he was not greeted with the sound of cracking bone, a fact which sorely disappointed the flame-haired warrior, the lack of visibility caused by Harry’s magic combined by the force of the blow was enough to put the green creature off-balance. It crumpled with a muffled roar, fire spurting from between its clenched teeth and it struck the ground. Its rear legs remained firm, however, and the Rathian was already beginning to right itself as it struggled against its bonds.

Ganondorf hadn’t waited for the fall before he continued his forward assault. Once more, purplish flame enveloped his hand as he moved towards the creature’s rear leg. Before he could strike, however, movement from his peripherals caught the Gerudo’s eye. He barely had time to register the strike before the beast’s tail hit him full force and sent the dark-skinned man careening into the cave wall. A sickening thud accompanied Ganondorf’s meeting with the stone and the man slumped to the ground in a heap.

Ganondorf struggled to retain consciousness as he lay against the cold stone wall. Something had pierced his side when the creature had struck and the burn of venom flowed through him. The collision with stone wall hadn’t helped matters. Darkness crept in on the edges of his sight and the Gerudo knew that his end was coming. With any luck, this Omni character had spoken truth and he would be reborn. With any luck, his own immortality would return before his life drained completely from him.

Time slowed to a crawl as the Dark King’s vision dimmed even further. From his vantage point, he could see little of the fight itself, yet what he could see of the Rathian and Harry seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace. Ganondorf set his teeth and fought against the darkness. He would NOT be beaten so easily, and not before he claimed his rightful place. But jellied muscles refused to respond, and the darkness yet crept closer to the center of his sight. Before the last light could be extinguished, all movement appeared to stop completely. A voice from the darkness called out to him, strange and familiar all at once.

“You’re weak,” the voice spoke with malice, its sound like that of a million fires burning.

“You’re pathetic. You hold the Triforce of Power, and yet a single blow is enough to fell you?”

A dark speck entered into the light at the center of Ganondorf’s vision, slowly moving closer to the beaten Gerudo. The dark-skinned thief snarled, barking back at the insolent voice.

“I was a King, fool! I conquered death itself! My enemies were as pawns in my game!”

“And yet, here you are, a simple beast your killer. Hmph… I’m beginning to regret my decision.”

“That bastard Omni stole my power from me!” Ganondorf shouted back, rage boiling up from within, “My power is but a shadow of what it should be. What it will be again! Those beasts may be beyond me now, but-”

“Fool…” The being speaking to Ganondorf ceased its approach at this word. It stood at the mouth to the cave, dark eyes boring holes into the Gerudo’s skull. While Ganondorf might have flame-red hair, this creature actually HAD hair of flame, and its body was armored in scales much like those of the Rath outside. A cruel smirk twisted the demon’s lips, revealing a row of serrated teeth. It was terrifying and familiar all at once.

“You have the power to slay these creatures already. You just don’t know how to use it. Here. Let me show you.”

As the final words left the demonic creature, consciousness finally left Ganondorf and he spiraled into darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A roar shook the ravine, rattling stones and sending loose pebbles falling from the sides. Rage, pain, and savagery mixed within the bestial sound, as the dragon-slayers readied themselves for yet another creature to battle. As if two of the Raths weren’t enough, it seemed a third had been lying in wait. Yet, while the sound was vaguely similar to that of the green and red creatures, it seemed both more feral… and more human. At that moment, the Rathian finally broke free of Harry’s spell and set its sights on the wizard. As it moved forward, tail flicking from side to side behind it, the wizard from Chicago prepared himself to face the beast alone.

Just as it seemed the green Rath was about to strike, it suddenly toppled over with a cry of surprise. A massive creature, all fur, muscles, claws, and teeth, had joined into the fray. Tusks, longer than a man’s leg, sprouted from the mouth of this new beast, slamming again and again against the dense hide of the Rathian. The screech of claws on scale rang through the air as the creature raged against its foe. The cry of the Rathian intertwined with the roar of this creature as the titans struggled against each other. The green reptile set its legs against its assailant and sent the beast tumbling through the air away from it. Both itself and the now decidedly porcine monstrosity righted themselves at about the same time and squared off. A battle of giants was about to begin, and woe to the one who would get into the middle of it.

[Illidan Stormrage]

Link straggled behind. After the dragon hoisted itself into the sky and fled, he hunted his pegasus, or another mode of transportation capable of pursuit. He eventually found his winged horse, startled and rearing, no doubt smelling the spilled blood over the broken village streets. It took some time to settle it down, and even longer to mount and convince it to fly, but his perseverance paid off. Shakily he sped into the sky, chasing the fading roars and smoke. His throat jettisoned into his stomach as he rose. Flight was not something he would acclimate to quickly.

He steered his pegasus to the lip of a cave, where many other soldiers waited outside. Link landed surprisingly adroitly, until his mount detected the scent of blood and dragon breath and reared violently. The Hylian was an experienced rider, but he slipped from the saddle and crashed into the dirt. The impact shuddered through his skull but he was otherwise fine. Gaining his feet, he avoided the eyes of the amused men around him and entered the cave. I don't see any of you risking your lives in here.

It was dark, but periodic flashes of orange-red light briefly illuminated the walls and guided him. As the clamour of battle strengthened and shadows drew longer behind him, he unsheathed the Master Sword and approached cautiously. As he neared it almost sounded like there were two dragons further in. He really hoped that was wrong. One of the beasts was more than--

Raaaaaagh!

A primal bellow pealed through the cave. A light shockwave rattled the stony walls as two massive forces collided. Were the two dragons warring against each other? Had the other adventurers perished, and were they fighting over the charred spoils? Link didn't know anything about how dragons acted. He knew one particular serpent enjoyed Gorons, but that was about it.

Raaaaaaaaaaaagh!

The monster's voice boomed thanks to the natural acoustics of the cave, but it wasn't the volume that sent goosebumps pimpling Link's skin. It was somehow familiar, but not in a good way, and not in a way that made sense. The dragon had been very vocal at the village, but this battle cry was different, although no less intense.

Link took another step. He felt a shiver of nerves through his rib cage when he realised there was no solid earth beneath it. He tumbled down the sudden decline, almost losing his sword in the process. He came to a stop at the base of the slope and fast returned to his feet. The temperature skyrocketed. The once distant screams felt like they emanated from inside his skull. His Hylian shield slipped over his right hand and he rose to meet the beasts in battle.

When Link looked up, the coldest chill suffused his heart.

Ganon was back.

This wasn't the Gerudo thief that everyone knew him as, nor was it the usurper who sat in a dark castle that once belonged to Princess Zelda's father. No, that man, no matter how powerful and disgusting he was, did not stand before him now. That was Ganondorf. This was Ganon. A monstrous, snarling man-boar with glowing white eyes and terrible red mane. Though he lacked the man sized swords he battled Link with in their climactic battle, his gleaming tusks were perfectly functional alternatives. Slaver fell from his growling lips as he struggled against another dragon with green scales. Link didn't see the crimson leviathan he fought earlier, but that creature vanished entirely from his mind.

How did Ganondorf manage the transformation? Did he still hold the Triforce of Power here? Link shook his head; that didn't matter now. What was he going to do? Aid Ganon against the dragon that threatened Camelot, or strike at the hulking manifestation of Din's power and bring him down before he got out of hand? For the first time in recent memory, Link didn't know what the right course of action was.

A strange compulsion made him feel for his ocarina. All he could picture was the ruins of Hyrule Castle and an unnatural ring of fire lining the perimeter of the battlefield. Zelda watched on helplessly as Ganon's menacing form crystallised in momentary flashes of lightning against the ink black sky. Even with the Triforce of Courage, that moment tested the limits of Link's bravery.

And now it was tested again. Link could never forget the absolute devastation of Hyrule Ganondorf wrought in the seven years he slept in the Sacred Realm. Even with open eyes, he saw the caged Gorons, the frozen Zoras beneath their own domain, the enslaved Spirit Sage Nabooru before her awakening, the shambling zombies that invaded the Castle Town, and so much more. No mere dragon, no matter how threatening and vicious it was, could perpetrate such calculated evil.

In that moment, the right path crystallised. Link felt the thrum of power stir in the Master Sword and a cool blue light hugged the blade. It reacts to pure evil, he thought. And dragons have no morality.

Link took off into a sprint, dragging a ghostly trail of light behind his weapon. Ganon grappled with the dragon, unaware that history was about to repeat itself.

[Harry Dresden]

Time was ticking away as the tall, dark-skinned man brawled with the green dragon. The man struck the dragon with some sort of magic punch, and it felt wrong. It had the same sort of dissonant, haunting quality that black magic had, with more power behind it than anyone should have been able to focus into an area that small unaided. And the man did it twice, easily. Harry's hand went numb while he watched, and the sensation brought the danger of using too much Soulfire back into the front of his mind. Without much other recourse, Harry released the spell construct. "Hey, shortstuff, watch out! It can see again!"

The Rathian had been too fast for his warning to do any good; the man was batted aside by the green drake's tail. "Hell's bells, what does this thing eat?" The wizard raised his blasting rod, trying to find a spot on the beast that looked weak enough to hit with a fireblast, and a path that would get him close enough to do it. Then a roar shook the cave, and Harry shivered at the rage it contained. A gigantic beast appeared from where Ganondorf's body had lain, and the feeling that accompanied it was like the evil that had come off the dark punch earlier, magnified to astronomical levels. The magic that had done this thing, that had changed the tall man into a hulking beast with tusks the size of people, was evil. It was malicious and it was only doing this because killing the dragons served some goal. Nothing that wrong could be altruistic.

It was also their best shot at killing the things before they themselves died, which was why, when someone in all green charged towards that fight with sword and shield drawn, Harry did something that violated all the safety rules and turned his blasting rod to lead his target. "Fuego!" The fire splashed against the stone floor in front of the charging youth, heating it to red-hot and forcing him to check his charge. "That's not something you want to get involved in. We need to focus on the red one while tall, dark, and gruesome buys us time with the green one." It really got under Harry's skin to have to work with something that used dark magic, but that discussion could come later, when they were all still alive to have it. "If he turns on us, I'll deal with it."

[Proto Man]

The situation had degraded rather quickly, even with the onset of additional warriors of the anti-dragon disposition. A swordsman had almost been successful in martyring himself by hopping aboard one of the dragons. The man had nailed the creature with a vicious successions of blows before being hurtled into the wall with a resounding thud. Proto Man had only been paying half-attention to the Rathalos, as its female partner was trying her hardest to smash him into the floor.

When it seemed like the male had the two ladies and the swordsman on the retreat, Harry had attempted to hold back the green dragon. His noble efforts proved pointless when Ganondorf arrived. Discarding his previous indifference, the tall man joined the fray, and after being beaten around himself, he turned into an enormous boar-like creature. At the same time, the youth in the green tunic arrived on the scene, and although he seemed intent on fighting Ganondorf, Harry managed to intervene. Whether or not the wizard had changed Link’s mind would be revealed in time, but for now, Proto Man set his eyes on the Rathalos. If Ganondorf wanted to wrestle a dragon by himself, the android would let him be.

Setting his sights on the two women fighting the hovering red dragon, Proto Man glanced down at his arm cannon and smirked. As he took a step forward, he got a pop-up in the corner of his display. System Patched – Proto Buster Upgrades Online. Overclocking Unlocked. Download available when ready. It took the preteen all of three seconds to initiate the system overclock. With a grin, Proto Man stopped and looked up at the roof of the cavern. A beam of electricity arched down from nowhere and struck his tiny figure, bathing him in light. When the teleport beam faded, the preteen could feel the new plating on his body, even if the suit of armor covered most of it anyway.

“This is nice!” Proto Man shouted as he leveled the Proto Buster with the Rathalos. “Assault Mode!” The barrel of the cannon flashed before unleashing a steam of energy bursts at the red dragon. Smiling from ear to ear, the android rushed the Rathalos as the stream of energy pellets slammed into the creature’s side. A roar escaped the beast as it dropped to the ground and turned to bring its fiery maw to bear on the robot.

Before it could do whatever it planned to do, the Rathalos was struck in the side of the face by the hammer-wielding warrior. She let out a ‘whoop’ as she reeled back with the large weapon and came in for another go. This time she lacked the element of surprise and had to dive to the side to avoid a blow from one of the wings, but even as she was forced backwards, Samus and Proto Man laid into the dragon with charged blasts from their respective weapons.

Rushing toward the landed Rathalos, Proto Man gritted his teeth and dropped into a well-timed baseball slide as the creature’s toothy mouth snatched toward him. As he passed under the dragon, the android aimed his arm cannon and fired. “Shotgun!” The preteen shouted as the energized slug erupted from the barrel of the gun, hitting the Rathalos in the chest and neck with enough force to cause the beast’s feet to leave the ground for a split-second.

Rolling out from under the enraged beast before it could retaliate; Proto Man scrambled to his feet and brought his ‘reloaded’ weapon to bear on it once again.

[Samus Aran]

The fight became more dangerous by the minute. Samus began to feel increasingly as though her contributions were a grain of sand in a sandstorm. Lasers flew, hammers pounded, swords swung, magic lashed … and the Rathalos was in the midst of it all. She saw its face, bloodied and broken. Its scales torn where her bullets had exploded against its flesh. It knew that it was beaten. So did she.

Despite the pain it must have been in, it was still fighting. It lashed its tail, swinging its claws and snapping with reckless abandon. These were the final moments of its life. How long had it lived here in the Omniverse? Who had summoned it here? Omni, in his sadistic voyeurism? Or someone more foolish, hoping to gain power in this verse? Or perhaps it had been here since the beginning, and only recently emerged. Samus wondered none of these things as she stepped towards the beast.

“STEP ASIDE!” she roared.

All the fighters, in their rainbow panoply of attire, with their shining swords and mighty cannons, understood. They’d found a rhythm now, gradually upping their tempo as the dragon slowed his. The Rathalos turned to roar at his one remaining target. His hot breath came in gasps, his chest moving rapidly up and down. His narrow eyes slit with hatred and what seemed to be a grim grin crossed its face. It opened its mouth and inhaled.

Samus opened the shutters on her Power Suit’s shoulderpads. Row after row of tiny missiles exploded forth, raining down on the dragon’s body. Its open mouth suffered the worst, getting the brunt of the attack. In moments, the hunter could no longer see the dragon from the sheer blinding radiance of the explosion. She grit her teeth and covered her visor as its force threatened to blow her over. In another moment, the light was gone, and only smoke remained. The Rathalos did not get up.

Inlumia jammed a sword into its eye. “Just making sure,” he said.

[Ganondorf]

The very bones of the world shuddered as the battle between Ganon and the Rathian raged on. Back and forth they struggled, slamming first one stony wall, then the other. However, it soon became obvious that while the two were roughly of equal strength, the Rathian was the swifter and tougher contender. Repeatedly Ganon would seem to have the advantage, only to receive a green tail across the ribs or a barely blocked fireball which singed off his hair.

All this Ganondorf was aware of as though watching the actions of another. The Gerudo King grinned from somewhere deep within the beast, enjoying the show. This was the power he had felt lacking since his arrival to this Omniverse. The power to topple giants and slay kings was once again his. And yet… there was something gnawing at the man’s mind. An image of a green-clad boy which had beaten him before. A kid which had nearly destroyed Ganondorf while he’d had even more power than that he currently held. And something within the Ganon felt the boy coming closer.

The arrival of a familiar presence renewed the beast’s vigor, and a sudden surge of strength from Ganon toppled his draconic foe against the cavern walls. Pressing his advantage, Ganon rushed forward, tusks goring into the Rathian’s side, twin geysers of blood spraying the hairy monster. The reptilian cry of pain and anger mixed with Ganon’s roar of victory, the latter rearing pack and clawing at the air while being splashed with yet more blood as his tusks broke free. With the Rathian momentarily dealt with, the boarish demon turned its attention back to the others.

The Rathalos lay still, having been beaten while Ganon had fought his own private battle, though the creature didn’t even register with the feral monster. It immediately focused upon Link. The boy had his shield and sword held at the ready, prepared to do battle with his sworn enemy and Ganon’s guttural shout acknowledged this challenge. The beast took one step forward, and another. As he approached the Hylian, the boy’s allies gathered themselves to face him. All of them were insignificant. They were insects, barely worth the effort it would take to squash them. Link. Link was all that mattered.

With one more step, Ganondorf became aware of something else with them. A child. The same child he had seen in the town. The boy simply stood in front of Link, staring at the monster that could tear it limb from limb without a trace of apprehension or fear. Neither Link nor any of the others seemed to even notice the lad, and yet Ganondorf knew that the boy was very much real. The child said but one word and Ganondorf’s whole world came to a halt.

“Peace.”
Ganon shuddered violently, letting loose a roar that spoke of anger and loss. Flesh, blood, and fur fell from his body in large chunks. The ground shook as Ganon toppled, still crying out in denial as power flooded out of him. Soon, all that remained of the beast was a gory mess on the stony cave floor and a body huddled within the viscera. Slowly, Ganondorf rose from his fetal position, cape draping wet and limp about him and hair dangling sodden over his forehead and gem. A casual look over the others told him that he might be in trouble, and some small apprehension gripped him. The boy was gone, though the others still looked prepared to slay him. Their demeanor didn’t grip his heart in fear nearly as much as the vanishing of the child. Who WAS this boy?

Fortunately, a roar from behind the Gerudo alerted him, and his “allies” to the renewed vigor of the second draconic beast. Throwing his cape aside, Ganondorf turned grandly towards the creature and chuckled softly.

“I suppose that means you’re ready for round two.”

[Harry Dresden]

Harry had used a lot of magic during this encounter. He'd been tossing fire at the red drake, pitching in with the hail of lasers and storm of swords. It had all started with the swordsman talking to him, asking if he needed more energy. Harry had shaken his head, squared his shoulders, and marched forward to do battle with the dragon along with the others while the demon battled the green one in a brawl that shook the cave and threatened to break his concentration. He'd been forced to resort to circles multiple times before casting even a simple fire spell. Well, not forced, but he'd had the time while the others caught the dragon's attention and it seemed safest to work the forces of magic with every precaution, especially with all the dark energy that Ganon was practically sweating.

The orange-armored woman had had enough, it seemed. She stepped forth, called for the rest of the adventurers to stand aside. Harry obliged, casting a shield up in front of him in case of a stray fireball as he gathered his focus with deep breaths. It didn't look like it would be required to block anything except the shards of debris; the armor's shoulderpads rose up to reveal veritable missile launchers. Harry wondered with a gulp why he hadn't hexed any of this technology yet, but it looked like whatever luck kept these devices running would hold just a little longer. A volley of missiles assailed the dragon, scales chipping off under the intense force and rocketing across the cave like shrapnel. Quite a few were caught on the shield, more on Harry's spell-woven leather duster. Not that they were sharp enough to hurt anyone, anyway.

Ganon reminded them that there was a second dragon, slamming it to the ground with a mighty roar and goring it with his tusks. The beast turned to face them, or, rather, turned to face the kid in green. The wizard stepped forward, blasting rod in hand and glowing menacingly, while the beast advanced on the kid. Harry was about to commence roasting a pig when suddenly the beast stopped moving, falling apart to reveal a soaking-wet warlock. The green drake stood up and roared, and the man turned to face it, saying something about round two. Harry stepped up beside the towering warlock, staff and rod in hand, the former glowing with a soft blue light. He spoke with clipped tones to the dark-skinned man. "You never did get my name. It's Harry Blackstone Dresden. We'll talk after this." He didn't trust the man enough to reveal his full name, but the use of a middle name could be construed as a gesture of that trust. Harry supposed he had his father to thank for giving him two of those. He slammed his staff on the ground and mustered his energy, forcing his breathing into a regular pattern as he used Soulfire for the third time today. "Forzare!" Not much to say, except "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yet again, the luminous blue hand seized the Rathian's snout and forced it towards the ground. "Try not to kiss the wall this time, shortstuff."

[Illidan Stormrage]

"You'll 'deal' with it?" Link said, dropping his guard as the stone smouldered a few steps away. "Do you have any idea how powerful Ganon is in that form? If you can 'deal' with him while he's like that, you're welcome to come back to Hyrule seven years ago."

The Hylian's words were drowned out by the collision of the green dragon against the firm cave wall. Link turned just in time to catch the Triforce fueled monster gore the scaly beast with its thick tusks. Blood gushed from the wounds. The Rathian slammed back onto the ground and bellowed, enraged by the deep incisions in its chest. The successful attack distracted the guy who tried to stop Link's advance, and thus the Hero of Time sprinted forward, ready to skewer his quarry through the throat like times of yore.

Perhaps it was the enhanced olfactory sense due to the enormous snout that Ganon sported, but he spun about to spot him. In his furious eyes, primal and shimmering with white light, a glint of recognition registered. Ganon trudged forward, blood slinking down his tusks. His thick red mane shook with each hooved step, massive arms swaying calmly by his side. As the other adventurers rallied around Link, sensing the impending clash, he remembered that stormy night when he sealed Ganon away. He could almost hear the crackling of thunder as the monster's hooves splintered the ground beneath him.

Then Ganon stopped and stared at Link, as if surprised to see him. A howl burst from his porcine lips, jostling the cavern on a scale not seen by the dragon's fury, and his body fell apart in front of Link's eyes. He watched in horror as Ganon underwent some form of rapid decay, clumps of flesh and fur slipping clean off and building a mountain of gore. In short order the man-boar was gone.

Link couldn't fathom what he just saw. A mound of slick giblets was all that remained of Ganon, and for ostensibly no reason. Then, as if nothing was wrong, Ganondorf arose from the carnage, body wet and slimy. Was that how he left his bestial form while suspended in the Sacred Realm? Link never saw that, and he was glad for it.

In his typical bravado, Ganondorf tossed his cape aside and readied to fight again. The man who stopped Link earlier approached the Gerudo King and offered his name. Hairy, or something just as obtuse. In any case, Hairy had some impressive powers of his own; a short ritual conjured a pulsing hand of energy and it seized the remaining dragon's snout. A spurt of smoke jetted from the monster's nostrils, flames spitting from between clenched teeth. The Rathian wouldn't be so easily contained this time.

Link didn't care. There were enough people here to handle the dragon. Now that he knew Ganondorf was still capable of his Triforce induced transformation, he was too dangerous to ally with, even for a short time. No doubt weakened from demon-boar to Gerudo, there was no better time to strike.

Link grasped his bow, notched an arrow and watched a tiny flame burst over the arrowhead until it engulfed it. He released. The fire arrow sped through the air, a cape of smoke flapping behind in its wake. Ganondorf's head cocked and he spun. His eyes widened when he spotted the flaming projectile, but his shock didn't affect his reflexes. The arrow clang sharply against the Gerudo's forearm and rebounded harmlessly. A small fire lit on his arm and he quickly put it out.

Ganondorf grinned. "Your aim is off, boy. The dragon's over there."

Link returned his bow over his shoulder and withdrew his Master Sword and shield. "I know what I was doing." He charged forward, leaving the others incredulous at his actions.

"What are you doing?" Hairy called out as he struggled to keep the dragon subdued. "This is no time for fighting each other!"

Link ignored him. What the strangely dressed mage didn't understand was the extent of Ganondorf's power. He once conquered an entire kingdom by himself, and all Hairy was worried about was a dragon with two deep wounds and dwindling energy? No, the true battle was with the Gerudo. It was masked to all but Link, but he wouldn't let it pass him by.

The Hylian soldier took two long strides and lept into the air, Master Sword poised over his head. Ganondorf's countenance changed from derision and mockery to the unfabricated hatred the two men shared for one another. For a split second, Link suspended in mid air, they shared the first real exchange since their final battle amid the ruins of Ganon's Castle.

Moving like a leaf on the wind, Ganondorf dodged the downward slash and quickly counterattacked, his hand consumed in purple flame. Link copped the Warlock Punch on his shield and slid backwards, his feet dragging trenches through the dirt.

"This is no time to be settling your grudge with me, kid," Ganondorf sneered.

Link tightened his grip of his goddess forged weapon. "I disagree. This is the perfect time."

[Harry Dresden]

The green-clothed kid seemed to have an issue with tall, dark, and boar-like. That isn't to say that Harry was best friends with the warlock, either. Far from it; he was a Warden. Dark magic was pretty much the entire reason the Wardens existed; they opposed its use with every breath. That said, Harry hadn't seen the tall man actually break one of the laws of magic. Self-transformation was a very specific exception to the Laws. "Stars and Stones, kid! Is this really the time? You're bickering about some feud none of us understand rather than protecting innocent lives? Those soldiers out there are mortal, and they'll be the first to go if we don't end this thing here and now!" Harry didn't have much energy to waste; the opening he was making with his magic was going to waste, even as the swordsman laid his hand on the wizard's shoulder.

Suddenly, the scent of woodsmoke filled the air as the blue energy of his spell started fracturing under the crimson influence of something that Harry hadn't used in a long time; Hellfire. The shadows licked around the edges, eating away at anything that tried to escape the spell construct and funneling that energy back in. "Hell's bells, man, Hellfire? What are you dealing with to even have this?" The wizard didn't have a lot of time to act; his energy was running low from all the magic he'd been tossing around. He stepped forward, drawing the excess energy from his spell away from the Rathian's mouth, the hand breaking down into a cloud of blue, red, and black energy and coalescing around Harry's right hand. He raised his blasting rod and called back to the group as the dragon shook its head and prepared to blast another fireball at the wizard. "I think I can use this to a better effect than just holding it." Before the flames flickering in the dragon's maw could coalesce into something the beast could spit at the wizard, Harry drew together both his energy and that he had received from Inlumia, pointing his blasting rod straight into the dragon's mouth. "FUEGO! PYROFUEGO!

A bar of white hot flame shot from the blasting rod's tip, coated in Inlumia's shadows and Hellfire. The Soulfire from the hand construct, along with some fresh Soulfire, kept the entire mess focused into something strong and deadly, and the Rathian's own flames were suddenly blasted aside in the sudden rush of magic-fueled fire. Black smoke leaked from the drake's mouth, and, when Harry released the stream of magic and slouched backwards, the dragon cleared its maw with a vicious roar, one filled with defiance despite the injury the wizard had dealt it. Impressive display dispensed with, Harry leaned on his staff and moved away from the dragon before it could attack him, breathing heavily and gesturing for the orange-armored woman and red-armored kid to advance. "That's all, folks. Dresden's out of juice." He wasn't lying; a kitten could have knocked him over and stolen his wallet. It was all he could do to watch the dark-skinned man and the blonde elf fight each other; breaking up a blood feud like that was beyond him. He sketched a circle on the floor, closed it with an effort of will, and attempted to compose his thoughts without any excess magic flying against his senses, trusting to his allies to take care of the last dragon.

[Ganondorf]

The boy was right. This truly was the perfect time for Link to settle his grudge. Venom still coursed through his veins, a fiery reminder of the Rathian’s first blow to the Gerudo. Fortunately, much of its potency had been lost while Ganon had been in control. Even so, the remainder would have been enough to tilt the scales in Link’s favor even had Ganondorf not taken the beating which had come from receiving it and from the following battle with the beast. The transformation itself had drained the Dark King considerably and the abrupt loss of power had left the warlock a mere shadow of even his pale power here in the Omniverse.

Yes. If Link desired his death, there would be little Ganondorf could do to stop the kid. It was all he could do to defend himself against the boy’s initial assault and perform the much-weakened counterattack. And so, Ganondorf was fortunate when the blonde swordsman had intervened in Link’s revenge.

“Indeed,” Ganondorf agreed with Inlumnia and the Dresden fellow. “Despite our friend’s somewhat insulting description of me, our battle wouldn’t just end with my death. It would end with our companions being forced to deal with this foe without our aid. And if they fail, we all fail.”

Despite his words, or perhaps in spite of them, Link’s eyes harden and his shield and sword rose once more. “I don’t care about that. You’re a monster, Ganondorf. Before you can do to this world what you did to ours, I WILL see you beaten.”

The blonde swordsman with the mouth, Inlumnia, made a move as though to intervene once again, but Ganondorf waved him off. The wizard Dresden had finished his gambit, and perhaps this stranger thought his assistance was needed. He probably thought right. However…

“Go. Help the others. The dragon has yet to fall, fool. Without mine or the kid’s help, they will need every warrior left to put an end to it. Whether I fall or he does, this fight will not wait. I apologize for leaving the beast to you and the others, but this must be.”

Deep inside himself, Ganondorf knew that the boy would end up killing him. There was no doubt in the Gerudo’s mind that the boy was in much better shape than himself for this confrontation. A sly grin slowly crossed over the Gerudo’s features, his hands erupting in purplish flame. There was, of course, one thing which Ganondorf had going in his favor. And perhaps it would be enough to take the kid down with him.