The innermost chamber of the Earth Temple continued to echo the strings of Medli's harp as she played dutifully by the light in the center. Her eyes were closed, but they opened suddenly, her fingers stopping as she heard something. Something that seemed to crash against the walls of the temple. Something loud.
She turned slowly towards the doors, her fingers clutching her harp tightly as the sounds got closer. Suddenly, something slammed into the doors, causing her to flinch, but they held against the force. Her eyes widened, however, as drops of water sprayed through the space between them, splattering against the floor. She looked back up and saw several streams of water beginning to leak through, and she quickly realized what was happening.
She looked towards the light, which started flickering like it was shorting out. She hesitated for a moment until she saw Laruto standing beside it, the Zora sage holding her hand out towards it while looking at her. That was all the encouragement she needed; she put her harp on her back and ran into the light, the sparkles rising up around her. As she lifted off the ground, she took one last look down at Laruto, the sage smiling up at her as water began to pool on the chamber floor.
The same thing was happening at the Wind Temple. Makar had his hands on the sides of his face as water leaked under the doors and spilled over into the sand around the dais. He looked towards Fado, who paused long enough to gesture towards the light. The Korok quickly waddled into the light, letting it lift him up and drop him outside the temple. He looked back towards the opening in the rock, hearing the sound of water gurgling echoing out from inside. He turned back towards the shore, holding a hand up to his mouth in thought as he toddled towards it. He paused and let out a squeak suddenly as a thought occurred to him, his Deku Leaves sprouting up from his back.
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Prince Komali looked up towards Dragon Roost from the landing for a moment before looking down at the wilted flower in his hand sadly. “Medli… Where did you go?” he murmured. He heard the sound of someone or something coming up behind him and turned to see Makar running up behind him. The Rito prince looked at him for a moment before his eyes flashed with recognition. “Oh! You’re… a Korok, right?”
Makar paused and looked up at him as he spoke, “Yes, I am. Is this Dragon Roost Island?”
Komali nodded, bending his knees to get closer to his level. “Yes, it is. My name is Komali. I’m the prince of the Rito tribe.”
Makar began hopping animatedly as he said, “Oh, good! I’m glad I found you, sir! Are you a friend of Krystal?” Komali blinked and nodded, suddenly very attentive. “W-Well, this is a little hard to explain, but… I think she really needs help!”
Komali gasped lightly before letting the flower in his hand fall to the ground as he reached forward, picking the Korok up in his hands. “We’ll talk to my father and the others! Explain it as much as you can on the way!” he said as he stood, already running towards the entrance.
Further south, Medli was flapping her wings as she flew over the ocean to the northeast of Headstone Island, looking around as she flew. She was considering stopping for a break on Southern Fairy Island when fate smiled on her. She caught sight of a large ship to the northwest with a large white sail with a pair of crossed swords on it. “Is that…?” she wondered, pushing herself to keep flying.
Aryll and Tetra’s crew spotted her before she even got close. She landed on the deck, panting from the strain of flying for so long. Gonzo and Senza surrounded her as she stood hunched over, her hands on her knees. She looked up when Gonzo said, “What are you doing here, Rito girl? You think you have any right to just land on the deck of our ship?”
Medli took a deep breath and stood up straight. “Please! You have to help! Krystal and Tetra are in danger!” They blinked in surprise at her words. She continued, “That tower to the northeast! The one that rose up out of the ocean! They’re there, and they’ll need help!”
Senza put his hands on his hips. “How do you know that?” he asked.
“It’s a feeling I have! That’s where they’re going to surface!” Medli insisted.
They looked at her skeptically, confused by her words, but Zuko suddenly called down to them, “The ocean tower… It appears to be shaking. And… descending?” Gonzo and Senza looked at each other, neither one sure what he meant by that.
They both looked back at Medli as she pleaded, “Please! We have to get there! They need help! They need a ship!” Gonzo hesitated for a moment before nodding, turning to go back to the helm. Medli sighed in relief and thought, “Krystal, Tetra, please be okay…”
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Tetra grabbed Krystal’s bow and quiver off of her back as she ran to the left while Krystal went to the right, the fox carefully shifting the Master Sword to her left hand as she ran. “I’ll try to use this bow to slow him down! Attack him as best you can!” the pirate girl called as Ganondorf made a big, arching leap forward. Tetra paused and took aim with a Light Arrow as he turned his attention towards Krystal, but she was shocked when he made another big leap to avoid the arrow entirely. It did require him to have to leap in the opposite direction as Krystal, though, giving her a chance to run towards her Mirror Shield, the rainwater pooling on the roof already lifting it up.
Ganondorf noticed what she was doing and, upon landing, swirled one of his swords around before tapping the tip of it against the roof, sending a small wave towards the shield. Krystal noticed it out of the corner of her vision, though; her time sailing across the Great Sea helped her notice the shift in the water as it approached. She adjusted slightly, turning and running ahead of where the water was already pushing the shield, leaping towards it before the wave could carry it to the edge and grabbing it with her right hand as she rolled. She pushed herself up on one knee, turning and looking up as Ganondorf leapt towards her again.
Krystal gasped, leaping back as Ganondorf made a sideways sweep to the side at her with one of his swords. It looked like such a simple swing, but the way the air trembled in his sword’s wake made it clear how much strength was behind it. She held up her shield as Ganondorf launched into a series of slashes with both swords, the tips of his swords hitting the polished surface of the Mirror Shield and pushing her back. The shield took the hits and held kept his swords at bay, but her ears picked up on a cracking sound after he spun around and the blades of both of his swords hit the shield. She didn’t have time to look as Ganondorf next made a great leap up, swinging both of his swords down at her.
Krystal didn’t bother trying to block with her shield. She watched him come down at her, time seeming to slow down to her as she looked up at the swords getting closer. Just when it seemed like they were about to cleave her, her training with Orca kicked in and she dove to the side, diving to the side and rolling around to his back, where she leapt up when her feet touched the ground, slashing upward with the Master Sword. Ganondorf let out a pained groan when the sword slashed his back, causing him to pause. She began slashing at him as soon as she landed, taking advantage of his momentary pause to slash at him several times before he whirled around to block her blade with his swords.
Krystal didn't wait. She backflipped away to put some distance between them before he started slashing again, which he did while moving after her. "You think you have any right to raise that sword against me? That you're capable of taking his place? You're nothing but-" He was cut off when one of Tetra's Light Arrows hit him in the back, the light sparking across his body like lightning and leaving him. Krystal rushed forward and began slashing at him again, Ganondorf groaning at each slash for a few seconds before he recovered and held up his swords to block again.
Tetra lowered the bow and began to circle around the roof's perimeter again as Krystal moved away from Ganondorf. His focus on her allowed her to move to another good position while he was trying to slash at her, the fox sidestepping and leaping back when she could to avoid putting more strain on her shield. Tetra took aim again, but when the Light Arrow connected this time, he didn't fall over. Instead, he fought through the light coursing through him to turn and glare at Tetra over his shoulder, her eyes widening as he turned towards her fully.
She managed to nock another Light Arrow as he leapt across the roof towards her, but he knocked it off course with one of his swords before it could hit him. He landed directly in front of her and spun his right sword around in a circle, making it disappear as Tetra tried to back up while trying to ready the bow again. One step was all it took for him to close the gap between them and he placed his hand on top of her forehead for barely a moment before he jerked it to the side. Krystal gasped as Tetra went from standing up to laying on her side, her head hitting the stone first and knocking her unconscious. "Tetra!" she cried out, Ganondorf turning his attention back to her as he retrieved his sword.
He looked towards the water still spilling in from the Great Sea, the falls getting closer to his tower and obscuring any view of Hyrule from where they were. He leapt towards Krystal with his swords raised, landing a short distance away from her as she glared up at him. "Can you feel the walls closing in, fox?" he sneered as he dropped his arms to his sides. "The King seems to think you deserve to have a future, but how can you have a future when the gods are washing you away with the rest of this kingdom?" He swiped at her before she could answer, the tip of his sword clanging off the surface of the Mirror Shield.
Krystal backed away and he slowly advanced towards her. "The gods tried to bury you once already. They will succeed this time," she growled. She tried to parry him when he made another arching jump towards her, but the Master Sword just barely missed hitting him. "You can't escape this, Ganondorf. You must know that."
He turned to glare down at her, no smirk or grin on his face. "Do YOU know that you're going to survive this?" he asked. He started advancing towards her again, "I see no way for you to make it all the way back up to the surface. You're just as trapped here and you think you're special to the gods? Do you even know who you are, girl?"
Krystal closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again, her eyes narrowed in focus. "My name is Krystal," she began, holding up her Mirror Shield as Ganondorf started swinging at her again. "My earliest memories are of being a kit growing up on Outset Island with the family that took me in after a storm blew me ashore." She blocked his swings and rolled into another parry when he leapt at her, the Master Sword striking him in the back this time and stunning him. "I lived a peaceful life before your bird stole my sister, and I proved my worth to the gods to be able to wield the Hero of Time's blade to protect this world that you once tried to destroy," she said while slashing at him.
Ganondorf quickly recovered and whirled around, his blades already positioned to block. Krystal backed up and he moved to follow. "You think you're somehow special, that you deserve the Triforce of the gods over anyone else?" he growled. He made a sweeping swipe at her, "You're an anomaly, girl! Have you seen anyone like you in this world?" He thrust his sword at her, the tip embedding itself briefly in the surface of the Mirror Shield as Krystal struggled to hold it in place. "Have you ever had any dreams, fox? Dreams that felt more real than any other?" Krystal gasped lightly and Ganondorf took advantage of her pause to kick her away. Her rear splashed twice through the water before she came to a rest, her hands still holding the Master Sword and Mirror Shield even as she planted them against the roof to keep herself upright. "Fragments, girl, of another life you had! A life you were stolen away from! You're nothing but another plaything to the gods, something they'll discard and get a new one once you've outlived your usefulness! That's all we are to them!"
Krystal turned her head to look down at the Mirror Shield. Even with all the drops falling on its cracked surface, she could make out her reflection in it. Fragmented, distorted, a bit of a mess considering how hard she'd been pushing herself to get to this point and everything that had happened just recently. But it was still her face, her cuts and bruises, her will that had gotten her this far. She looked back towards Ganondorf as she slowly pushed herself up, wobbling a bit before she steadied herself. "You may speak the truth, Ganondorf, but I am here, and I would rather be down here if it means stopping you from getting a chance to escape and bring ruin to the world above," she said, resolutely.
Ganondorf paused and stared at her for a moment before glaring at her. She didn't flinch. "Why, girl? Why do you do it? Why do you insist on continuing?!" He began to walk towards her again; Krystal stayed where she was, the Master Sword and Mirror Shield at her side. "Do you think you have a place somewhere up there?! Do you think there's any hope for those fools drifting on the sea the gods left them?! Do you think you have a family to go back to?! It's all an illusion, a construct you've let yourself believe to cover up the truth that there's no place for you in this world that the gods left you in! So why do you do it?!?"
Krystal adjusted the Master Sword slightly. "Because it's what I want to do. Not because the gods said so, not because of some grand destiny I've discovered. Because I choose to." Ganondorf gritted his teeth and, with a yell, leapt towards her, swinging his swords down. Krystal tensed up, time seeming to slow down for her, and when he was close enough, she rolled to the side and slashed up across his back, causing him to let out a pained groan. She slashed at him for a second, leaping back before he even raised his swords to defend himself.
As she backed away, Krystal noticed Tetra raise her head and shake some of the water off before reaching for the bow, which the water was pushing up against her chest. It took her a moment, but she pushed herself off the ground and stood. Krystal returned her gaze to Ganondorf, who was beginning to advance towards her again. “That's right. Eyes on me,” she thought, still edging back.
Tetra moved around and aimed at Ganondorf as he was getting ready to attack Krystal again. She readied a Light Arrow, but Ganondorf easily leapt over it without even looking back at her. Krystal blinked and ran towards him, stopping just in front of him. He began swinging his swords again while she backed away, waiting. When he leapt at her, she rolled around and tried to parry him, but he quickly brought one sword behind him to block the Master Sword before it could touch him. He then turned and started swinging at her again.
They continued trying to land a hit on him for a minute, but Ganondorf was seemingly untouchable now, leaping over Tetra’s Light Arrows without taking his eyes off of Krystal and not giving the fox a chance to get behind him. Krystal was doing her best to stay upright, but her muscles were burning and her failed attempts to strike Ganondorf were wasting her energy. After dodging another leaping swipe, she turned and ran towards Tetra, who was also panting from the effort. The girl eyed Krystal’s shield as she got close and she blinked, an idea coming to her. Krystal turned to her as she said, “Krystal! I have an idea!” She leaned her head close, lowering her voice, “Keep drawing his attention, but keep your shield raised!” Krystal looked down as she shifted the bow and she realized what she was getting at.
They both looked towards Ganondorf as he let out a yell, shooting towards him. They quickly went opposite directions and leapt and rolled to get away from him. Krystal quickly got up and let out a yell as she charged towards Ganondorf, drawing his attention as she leapt at him in a jump attack. He easily blocked it and she stood and backed away again, but she kept her shield raised as Tetra told her to do.
Tetra ran a short distance after standing up before stopping and raising the bow again. This time, she fired the Light Arrow at Krystal’s shield. It hit perfectly, but something they didn’t expect happened. Instead of bouncing off the shield, it instead seemed to get absorbed into the shield’s surface as it began glowing with light energy, a high-pitched sound accompanying the pulsing across the front of the shield. Krystal blinked and shook the shield slightly; it didn’t feel like it had gotten heavier or anything, but the energy it was carrying was undeniable.
She had to redirect her attention as Ganondorf was advancing again. She back away along the roof’s circumference, not wanting to test what would happen if he struck the shield again. Tetra decided to try shooting another Light Arrow at the shield to see if that would release the first one, but it got similarly trapped inside the shield’s reflective surface, the pulsing becoming more rapid. Krystal’s ears caught the sound of cracking coming from the shield’s surface and realized it was couldn’t contain the energy much longer. She nodded towards Tetra, silently telling her to do it again.
She landed the third Light Arrow and, with a loud shattering sound, the Mirror Shield’s surface erupted into an explosion of glass shards and a beam and streams of light being unleashed from it, all the light hitting Ganondorf and making him fall to his knees, unable to move. Krystal rushed towards him, her now-useless shield hanging from her grip, and managed to reach him as he was beginning to recover. She threw the shield towards his left sword, the metal bouncing off as he tried to swing it at her, and leapt into a sideways roll. Instead of going for his back this time, as soon as her feet touched the ground again, she swung upwards again and made a massive leap straight up with a loud yell. Taking the Master Sword in both hands, she thrust it down as she began to fall towards Ganondorf, his eyes tracking her descent.
The gem on Ganondorf’s forehead shattered as the Master Sword cleaved through it and went straight into his head, a faint splattering sound lost beneath the rain coming down as the blade sank in halfway before stopping. The water continued to fall around them, but on the tower’s roof, everything seemed to be frozen in the moment as Krystal stood on Ganondorf’s shoulders, her hands still wrapped around the sword’s hilt. She took several shuddering breaths as she glared down at him and then leaned her head closer. “Did I… play to your expectations?” she breathed, her tone unreadable.
Ganondorf remained frozen for a moment longer before his arms dropped to his sides, his hands still clutching his swords. He bared his teeth as he looked up at her, but in something more akin to a grimace rather than a grin. “Ughnn… Heh heh…” he laughed weakly. “The wind… It is… blowing…” Krystal’s breath hitched as she noticed gray beginning to spread out from where the Master Sword was buried in Ganondorf’s head and leapt off his shoulders, leaning forward slightly from the effort as she realized it was stone spreading across Ganondorf’s body, his laughter being cut off and his shaking shoulders freezing in place as the stone continued to spread, turning him into a statue.
Krystal panted as she stared up at him for a few moments before she lowered her gaze to the green rivulets running down her dress, her left hand moving to clutch her right arm above her elbow, over the spot where it was still wrapped. She hadn’t been shocked by the energy of the Light Arrows that the Mirror Shield had contained, but it still felt numb now. Tetra moved to her side, placing her hand on her left shoulder. “Krystal!” she exclaimed as the fox’s head lolled away from her and her knees looked like they were giving way. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around her, holding her upright.
They both became aware of a presence in front of them a few seconds later. Tetra looked up first and Krystal raised her head a second later, both of them seeing that it was King Daphnes. Krystal’s legs steadied slightly as he began to speak, “My children… Listen to me. I have lived regretting the past. And now I choose to end it and face those regrets.”
Krystal blinked, her eyes focusing on him as she stood a little straighter. “What are you…?” she started, but a shift from one of the King’s arms silenced her.
He exhaled softly before continuing, “If only I could do things over again… Not a day of my life has gone by without my thoughts turning to my kingdom of old… What I could have done differently… I’ve lived bound to Hyrule.” His gaze shifted to Ganondorf briefly, “Ganondorf… wasn’t wrong about me.” He looked back at them, “But you… I want you to live for the future. It may seem like there’s nothing left for you… But despite that, you must look forward and walk a path of hope, trusting that it will sustain you when the dark times come again.”
Tetra started, “But…” She was cut off when the sound of the water got louder suddenly and she and Krystal looked to see that the falls were encircling the tower now. They could see nothing now, the water completely obscuring anything beyond.
They looked back at the King as he said, “Farewell… This is the only world your ancestors were able to leave you.” His brow knitted, “Please… Forgive us.”
Tetra clasped her hands together as she looked down for a moment. She looked up, a hopeful expression on her face as she said, “W-Wait! You could… You could come with us!”
Krystal looked at her for a moment, realization filling her before she looked back up at the King. “She’s right! This doesn’t have to be the end for you! We can all go together!” she pleaded.
Tetra nodded, even as the King continued to look down at them impassively. “Yes, of course… We have a ship! We can find it. We WILL find it! The land that will be the next Hyrule!” Her expression softened slightly, “So…”
The King looked down at them for a second longer before he closed his eyes, a wistful smile spreading across his face. “Ah, but child… That land… has no use for any more old kings who failed their kingdom.” His eyes shot open and he looked down at them intently as he said, “You are what it requires!” They stared up at him, but before they could say anything, the water began to spill onto the roof, closing in quickly.
Krystal held her arms up and squeezed her eyes shut as the water engulfed them, expecting freezing cold and crushing pressure, but it didn’t come. She lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see water all around her as well as some kind of bubble shield surrounding her body that was allowing her to breathe. She heard something moving in the water above her and looked up to see Tetra with the same shield around her. She was already being lifted up, but she was reaching down with one hand, a desperate look on her face.
Krystal realized what she was reaching for and gasped lightly as she began to lift off the roof. Her arms and legs paddled slightly as she looked down, soon seeing the King still standing on the roof looking up at them. He had no shield around him, but she still resisted the water pushing her up, her legs kicking behind her as she reached her left hand down towards him. “Please,” she mouthed as she stretched her arm as far as she could, begging him to reach out to her.
Despite his impassive expression, she caught a flicker of something in his eyes as he raised his right hand up towards her. His fingers were inches away from her, but then his hand stilled and dropped back to his side, the flicker fading as he closed his eyes, unable to hold her pleading gaze. The lift of the water was too strong for her to keep resisting and the distance between them grew. Her last sight of him was him lowering his head before the blue obscured him completely from view.
“I have… scattered the seeds of the future…”
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A cool breeze blew across Krystal's face, a counterpoint to the cold wet feeling encompassing the rest of her body, including the back of her head. Slowly, her eyelids parted and she blinked a few times at the sunlight shining down on her. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Tetra. She had changed back somewhere along the way, her dress gone and her pirate attire restored, her hair wet but still in that familiar curl atop her head. Her eyes blinked open a moment later, the sound of the waves shifting the only sound between them.
They heard the sound of flapping wings suddenly, getting closer. They blinked and straightened up, both treading water as they looked up in alarm. Quill and Prince Komali lowered down in front of them, just above the surface of the sea. They were both smiling in relief. “We found you! Thank goodness!” Komali said.
Before either of them could say anything, they heard a call behind them. Tetra turned to look and Krystal did the same a moment later. The pirate ship was sailing towards them, changing direction slightly so it didn’t end up on top of them. Tetra’s entire crew was waving to them aside from Gonzo, who was steering the ship. And up in the crow’s nest, Aryll was waving to them as well.
Krystal smiled lightly. “As I said, a pirate crew like few others.” Tetra’s surprised expression faded and she smiled as well. Quill and Komali flew around their shoulders before lifting them up out of the water. The pirate ship came up alongside them and they deposited the two on the deck, the pirates cheering as they were brought onboard.
The crew, predictably, gathered around Tetra after Quill set her down. Krystal moved off to the side to give them room, swiping some of the water off her right arm. She noticed the bandage had been washed off at some point during the resurfacing, revealing a cut that had closed and wasn’t as noticeable. A shadow fell over her suddenly and she looked up. Gonzo was standing in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest, that typical unreadable expression on his face. She braced herself for whatever he was going to say, but was surprised when he scooped her up in a tight hug, leaving her speechless. He set her down a second later and walked over to Tetra like nothing had happened as she stared at him.
She stopped staring when she heard a familiar voice chirp, “Krystal!” She turned and saw Makar hopping towards her with Medli coming out of the doorway. The Korok hopped into her arms, hugging her as much as he was able to as he said, “You’re okay!” Medli came over, her fingers twitching slightly as she held her hands up to her chest like she was trying hard to keep her excitement in check. Komali landed next to her and smiled at her when she turned to him. Krystal noticed the slight blush on her cheeks as she smiled back at him.
She looked over and saw Aryll nearly at the bottom of the crow’s nest ladder. “Big Sister!” she cried as she ran over. Krystal shifted Makar to her right arm and draped her left arm over her sister’s shoulders as she wrapped her arms around her side. “You still smell like seawater,” she murmured into her side and Krystal couldn’t help but smile down at her as she looked her over. Her hair was back to its normal clean and brushed state, and she was wearing a new dark purple dress with skull designs on it. No doubt a gift from the pirates.
Quill came over to stand by Komali and Medli, a warm smile on his beak, and as she saw it, Krystal knew Tetra had been right. “This may not be my world, but I certainly have a place in it,” she thought. She hugged Aryll and Makar a little tighter, the thought spreading a warm feeling through her. This moment was what made the entire journey, all the hardship and pain, worth every second for her.
