A Terminian and the Twilight of Danger (MM/OoT Fanfic)

I Am Prepared

Are you prepared?
-Jooostan

A Terminian and the Twilight of Danger
Chapter 26: I Am Prepared

Link ran down the stairs in a hurried dash.

Entering the main room holding the massive Gerudo statue, he gasped at the sight of bomb flowers everywhere. A few buds were left to bloom, but a majority had already blossomed, scattered every few meters. All were close enough to set off the next.

"Ready to die, hero?!" The void carried Koume's voice. Link dashed over to the wall and picked up the staff he had thrown out of Dark Link's reach. A fitting weapon to face the sisters with.

A startling clunk was heard from above and the hero looked up. The platform leading right to the entrance to the chamber that used to hold the Iron Knuckle descended before Link. The chains rattled as it lowered, and it seemed to beckon the boy to climb on.

Link, without objection, hopped onto the platform. Slowly, it started to ascend up to the face of the statue. While everything on his body hurt, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Doesn't it excite you? The ascent into the heavens?" Kotake said with an eerie calmness to her statement. "Are you ready to face the danger, hero?"

To Link, he had faced danger dozens of times before. All the foes he'd seen shared a similar look. Gohma, King Dogongo, Barinade, Phantom Ganon, Volvagia, Morpha, Bongo Bongo, Ganon himself, Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg, Twinmold, Majora, Gomess, the Garo Master, the Thunderbird, Bellum, Armogohma, Dark Link, and now the witches. All his past enemies wanted to see him die, but he'd persevered through it all. Sometimes in better shape than others.

All of those times, he stared death in the eyes. He was ready to do it again. His reasoning, he thought, were all the ones that made a difference in his life. Anju, Kafei, Cremia, Jim, Skull Kid, Tatl, Tael, Navi, Zelda, Link the Goron, and most of all, Romani. They longed to see him succeed. To see him live his life happily.

It made him confident. More than anything, he was confident in himself. He took another deep breath as he was lost in his thoughts, all alone. He wasn't alone. Even if he'd face the witches without any help from his friends, he knew he wasn't alone.

"Well?!" The harrowing scream forced him out of his reflection. "Answer us!"

Link said nothing. He just smiled and waited for the lift to finish its journey. Once it did, he faced the statue's emotionless expression. He drew his bow and fired a light arrow at it, clearing the rock away. He leaped from the platform and into the statue, pressing on.

The room that once held the brainwashed Nabooru was empty. The shag, red carpet muffled Link's footsteps as he slowly crept through. A looming dread washed over him, and he gulped. The gold and silver haired boy drew his shield. A door just behind the Iron Knuckle's throne opened, and a scarily silent walk through the short hallway was all Link needed to think about his plan.

The next door slid open, and Link walked into the massive arena. It looked all too familiar, only that there were more platforms, it was in terrible condition, and there were hundreds of chipped stones scattered about. A lot of rage must have gone into making the destruction that surrounded him.

"How rude of us. Here, have some steps so we can meet..." Koume said childishly, still hidden. The rocks around Link vibrated before floating up and forming stairs, leading to the central platform.

Link gladly walked up the stairs, each step he took making his heart race more. This was it. He finally got to the top.

Koume and Kotake appeared from the above platforms, jumping down and landing in the middle of the arena together. Their eyes were bloodshot, violence and terror swirling around within them in a mad dance. They extended their hands and challenged the hero.