Disclaimer: I'd like to own Zelda, but I don't. Miyamoto, however, does.
Synopsis: As Link's birthday marks 18 years, he is faced with a new challenge, reuniting with old friends and making new allies in order to triumph over Ganon yet again. LinkxOC.
A/N: This chapter took forever to write and had more than three years in the making. I just loved the prospect of Navi having to bend to the whim of Ganon. I hope y'all enjoy. R+R porfavor. I'm sorry to say that this particular fic is a dead-effort. I'm sure though, that with the release of Zelda '05 for the GC, my muse will start telling me to write again.
Of Evil's Bane
A fan fiction by Valerie Luna
Chapter I
The Return of a Nuisance
Hyrule manor was eerily calm that night. There wasn't a star in the sky. Not even the moon was available to guide oneself. There was also an abundant lack of intelligent life. It was altogether still; not a breeze to rustle the branches or sweep the leaves, no small creature scavenging for food. The air hung thick in the environment; which was bad news for Navi, who was already panting.
The dark king, Ganondorf loomed over a small bust sculpture of the goddess, Nayru that was cleverly placed in a nearby a fountain. Between his enormous hoof and the ground, he pulped it into the soil. The atmosphere was all too perfect to him. He grinned to himself. It would not be long now.
But of course, with the flapping of a fairy's wings (and mouth) at your ear, it is inevitable that such gratification would be cut short.
"Just you watch!" Navi squealed, annunciating each syllable to give her words the effect of daggers. "This is undoubtedly a lost cause! The Hero of Time will avenge us once Zelda catches wind of your resurrection!"
Ganon swatted at her like the puny firefly she was and was able to effortlessly able to knock her to the moist ground.
He kneeled down closely to her and said, "Of course he'll come. Surely that does not trouble you? Your real concern should be how he plans to obliterate me this time."
Her lip was quivering, but she bit it and sassed, being the stubborn fairy she was. "I-I'm not worried. Just look at you! You're a mangled carcass! How do expect to conquer anything in that condition?"
Ganondorf had to agree with her. His body was awfully battered, even after the decade he'd had to recuperate. He made a fist, examining his claw-like hands. He had a charred knuckle that was absent of a finger. Navi's argument was, however, irrelevant.
"Have you forgotten who I am, Fairy?"
"I've tried, but It's difficult to forget someone so foul as you are."
He chuckled as if she were teasing. "I am Ganondorf Dragmire. I single-handedly seized the palace seven years ago and became the ruler of this land. I enslaved the nobles, enchanted the townsfolk, even went so far as to wither every plant that had so much soaked the same sunrays as the King's dynasty. I did this through magic. It was thanks to my ability to conjure spells that I was able to do this. This intimidating body is merely a shell. If I looked similar to you, with as much magic I could still conquer this country."
Navi pondered for a bit and then, steadily got to her feet. "Then why stay in that form? That form that takes up so much of your power and makes you look like some hideous beast? Why not focus your energy to more important things?"
"Because, my dear, it is all I have left."
"Ha!" she thought she was so great in her protest, "Because Link beat your real body into a pulp, is that it?"
His response was cool to her dismay. "Hardly. My Gerudo form is completely intact. It is in the shadow realm now. You see, Navi, the beast you see before you is my puppet. I'm controlling it from my prison until I am able to free myself. Do you understand?"
Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. "How are you able to do that? That sort of magic is forbidden…everywhere!"
"My magic knows no limits."
She shook her head to relieve it of any discouraging thoughts. "Still, the severity of this situation seems much less now. So you're just a puppet, huh? That's almost funny! Despite what you just told me, my worries are few."
"Shall I demonstrate what this puppet is capable of?" he menaced.
Navi gulped. She thought it best from that point on to keep slightly quieter than before.
Ganon stood and she flew to be eye-level with him. He held out one of his enormous palms, and with the other claw, he traced onto it a circle with his index finger. Navi was strangely drawn to what he was doing and hovered at his hands for a closer look. As if the friction between his palm and finger had ignited a fire, a brilliant green light began to flicker under his claw as he moved it. The faster he moved his finger, the more it sparked, until finally, he jerked the tracing hand up over his head and a small puff of smoke twisted from his palm.
She coughed and flapped her wings to fan away the smoke. Through the descending smog she saw a very curious something. Levitating just a few inches from Ganon's palm was a mysterious green and blue orb. She suddenly recollected vague memories that she and her ex-partner Link had shared. The green hue of the orb was symbolic of him, and the blue streaks that orbited it were reflective of her constant vigilance over Link.
In a trance, she muttered, "I miss him," and extended her arm to touch it.
But before her tiny hands could reach it, Ganon's fingers closed around it and the orb twisted into another thick, black, puff of smog.
She suddenly felt dizzy and had to bat her eyes for a moment until she was able to see again.
"Why did you dispatch it?" she demanded.
"Because it has extremely harmful effects," he said, "I wouldn't want anything terrible to befall you-not just yet. It lures its victims in by means of sentiment and then, when touched, it will make you age in an instant until you're a crumbling corpse."
Navi took in a shaky breath and gripped her now throbbing head. Knowing that her life could have been ended by something so seemingly innocent was a very hard prospect to grasp. "That is positively vile. Never use it again."
"Not to worry, it was after all, only a demonstration."
There was a long silence, and then Ganon decided to stray nearer towards the castle. If not for the spell Ganon had placed on the fairy that kept her within two feet of him, she would have flown off and warned Link immediately. Had she moved away from the Gerudo king, a surge of electricity would run through her veins, and she'd be injured. She had to fly swiftly to keep up with him, and by no means was he so kind as Link to let her rest on his shoulder. She suddenly began to cry. She hadn't done so in a very long time. "Why?" she bleated, "Why keep me here, with you?"
"Because you play a key role in my plan."
Quietly to herself, she mumbled "Your plan?" as if to gain a better understanding of what he'd just said. "No! I refuse to work for you! I loathe every inch of you! I want to see you fail!" Her tears of anger now and she was frantic. She was unable to avoid Ganon's hands cupping around her.
"Oh, come now, Navi." He was doing his best to falsely console her. "What use is it to weep? Besides, the sacrifice that will commence by you is not so great. Only three lives will be ended through your courtesy. When your work is finished, then I will do away with you. If you do well, your death might even be quick and painless."
Her tears were slung wildly as she jerked her head around and wriggled under Ganon's grip. How could anyone be so repulsive? "Damn you!" she shouted. He loosed his grip, and Navi fluttered off in a blind rage, only to get shocked. She was sent to the ground. That was no mere static. The pain lingered on long after the shock had passed.
"Foolish girl." He said and turned his back to her. "I've better things to do than educate you." To himself, he voiced a countdown. "Three…two…one."
Suddenly, from across the manor, the white stone of the castle was illuminated and a great clatter came from within. There was screaming and the sounds of steel on steel.
"What are you doing? The princess! She'll be alright, won't she?"
"All in good time, Navi…" Ganon said, brushing off the whole ordeal as if it didn't matter.
She could hear the sound of feet to the near East. She knew it was Ganon's cohorts from the menacing sound of their march.
"Damn you," again escaped her lips and she hugged her knees into her chest.
"I know, darling, I know. Damn me."
His cavalry approached and Navi could see just how horrible they looked. Each of them was scarred beyond reason, as Ganon was himself. They were beasts who walked upright and spoke in the Hylian tongue. They were the Moblins. Some were propped upon horrible drooling creatures that looked similar to horses, but lacked hoofs and had sharp fangs for carnivorous eating. There weren't many of them, but their presence was just as powerful had there been thousands of them. She noticed that there was a small cluster of them near the front of the caravan. They were surrounding a large, covered wagon.
"Ah, just in time!" Ganon reveled. "I assume you've collected him?"
Him? What was going on here?
The largest Moblin stepped forth. He was gray-skinned and had a face similar to that of a bulldog with the snout of a hog. "You wouldn't believe how easy he was to capture, my lord. That sleeping-serum is some powerful stuff!"
"Excellent. Good work," he pushed his way through the soldiers to reach the covered wagon and Navi was again forced to follow. It pained her to do so. Ganon unveiled the wagon.
It was a cage made of glowing red bars; that alone was unusual. But it was what was inside that caught Navi by extreme surprise. "How! What is he doing here? No harm is ever supposed to befall the unicorn!"
"Be quiet!" He again struck Navi, and she again fell. "The unicorn is sleeping."
"Stop this!" she demanded. "Let him go!"
"Having captured the beast in this cage is only phase one of my plan." Ganon rubbed his palms together as if he'd wrestled the unicorn himself. "Now!" he said in a positive tone to his troops. "Let's commence phase two! Join your associates in the castle. Do not harm the royals. Kill all else in your path."
The uproar that the Moblins created was more than disturbing. They shook their spears and shields and stomped their large feet. They marched passed Navi and Ganon, toward the tall, magnificent Hyrule Castle. Ganon paced around in anticipation.
Redundantly, but with the utmost gusto, Navi said, "Damn you."