As the conclusion to Zant's War, this will be super long.

-Link and Ganondorf-

Link ran down the hall yelling, and barged head-first into the biggest, most highly decorated door he could find. Without knocking or waiting or even considering she might be caught in an immodest display he thrust the door open. "PRINCESS! You in here!?"

He gasped when he saw the room. The room had a large plush bed, fine curtains around it, a large rug on the floor. It had a bird-stand with an annoyed hawk on it glaring at him threateningly. It had a small stand for weapons that included a bow, quiver, set of armor custom made for a woman of Zelda's size, and shield. It was missing a sword for some reason even though it had a spot for it. The room also had a changing area with a movable wall, and had two separate doors leading out. The first door lead to a large private bath and a closet filled with clothes. The second door lead to a library with a large desk, two tables, and an assortment of chairs.

Ganondorf stomped his way in. "Damn brat... you run faster than you look. Did you find her? Is this her room? This looks like a room fit for a noble... Link?" Ganondorf questioned. He looked at Link with confusion, for Link had fallen to his knees and was staring at the room in wide-eyed wonder.

"Link?" Ganondorf repeated.

"I WANT IT! This is so much nicer than what I got!"

Ganondorf hit him over the top of the head. "Never mind the room! The princess is in danger!"

"Oh right! Princess!" Link called for her. He ran into the first door while Ganondorf rolled his eyes and checked the library while Link continued calling for the princess. Ganondorf quickly scanned the area between the shelves, checked for an alternative passage, and even knocked over the desk and tables to be sure there was no loose flooring to signify an escape. Ganondorf returned to the main room and briefly picked the bed up. He then checked under the other furniture and the walls. Link came running out of the first room covered in woman's clothes that he promptly threw on the bed.

"Princess wasn't hiding in her closets or the bath."

"Nothing in the library either."

"So no princess." Link concluded worriedly. Ganondorf shook his head. "This has to be her room! These are her night robes!"

"How would you know? You've seen her in them?" Dragmire teased with a smirk.

Link's cheeks reddened. "N-no, b-b-but she is the only high-class noble person in the palace who is a girl! Except now she has that night escort, so they might belong-"

"Relax, kid. I wasn't serious. If she is not here, she is not here. The question continues to be 'where is she'? And we cannot just continue running down every hallway yelling at the top of your lungs because-I-sure-as-realms-won't-be-doing-that." Ganondorf thought a moment. "There were no guards here. She must have moved on. If she was present at the gates or with other main groups of the Royal Guard the rest would have been notified."

"So she is not with them... But the opposite?" Link gasped at a thought. "Was she captured!?"

"Too clean. Princess Zelda strikes me as a fighter..."

Link looked at the weapon rack. "A fighter... Uh-oh..."

"What?"

"This is just a passing thought... but the sword is missing."

Ganondorf followed his gaze to the weapon rack. It did not take much for him to figure out there was a slot on it for a sword to rest, and the sword was currently missing. Their eyes briefly met and a silent thought passed between them.

"You don't think she would go out there on her own, do you?" Link gulped.

Ganon frowned. "You know her better than I do."

The two ran out of the room and met up with an assembly of Royal Guard taking point at an intersection of the hall. After Link had informed them that assassins were in the mix, the Royal Guard commander adapted by placing patrols at nearly every intersection and relaying information and updates constantly. Every intersection was in plain sight of at least one other intersection at all times.

"The Princess is not in her room," Ganondorf said. "Has word reached you that she is among you?"

"No. We have received no such word." The captain denied. "We were all under the impression she was still in her room! The commander changed the formation of the palace to protect every passage leading to her room."

"Then it is a wasted effort-" Ganon said, only to be interrupted by Link yelling at the top of his lungs 'Princess!' again and running down a random passage.

"Stop yelling!" Ganon barked.

"Can't not yell!" Link replied. He turned randomly out of sight.

Ganon growled, and quickly said, "Have all patrols search for her! Root out the assassins! If they are not inside the palace, they are either in the servant passage ways or are prowling outside the palace. Tell the Fae still at the grove that Zelda is missing and to help with the search." He turned and chased after Link.

He finally caught sight of the boy. Link had stopped at an intersection, completely lost, and turned one way after another before choosing one seemingly by instinct and ran down it. He called out for the princess again.

"You are going to give yourself away you fool!" Ganon yelled just as loudly as he gave chase. "And where are you going?!"

"We have to find her! If she is not with the guard, we have to go where the guard are not!"

"Dumbass! She-" Ganon stopped mid-thought. Link was running down the only passages that did not lead to guard patrols or checkpoints. If Zelda was not among the guards... then Link was right. You have to go where the guards are not.

This plan of his lead them towards areas of the palace that looked largely unused. The stone was sharp and tight, and the wood was covered in dust and looking aged, signifying it was not walked on enough to be worn down or noticed for cleaning or repair.

The boy was right. Even though Ganon would rather cut his own arm before admitting to it out loud.

Like a horse let loose of its pen, now that Ganon was not trying to hold him back, Link sped down the halls. With each step his dread grew with his certainty of his fear. The old halls turned to stone and dungeons where the servants tread and the nobles would not, or where prisoners were kept.

A fog billowed into the halls where Link entered. The halls were no longer lit in torches, and Link had to stop on the edge of the black fog. Ganondorf Dragmire stopped on the edges of the fog and peered into it, but neither of them could see more than a short distance in. With nothing more than a glance they understood each other in the same way animals might.

This fog was not natural.

Ganondorf unsheathed his blades and fire erupted on their edges. His hands glowed with a faint black mist of their own. His red hair and red eyes seemed to glow in contrast to the darkness of the fog. His triangle marking dimly glowed on his hand, and Link felt it.

Link looked down at his own hand. He could feel Ganondorf through it. Ganondorf's heartbeat, Ganondorf's power, both pulsed through one of the triangles on his hand, and it made him marvel at its strength of presence, firmness, and ferocity. In the same way he felt Zelda's triangle pulse as that of a heartbeat stronger and stronger as he had entered the dungeons beneath the palace. Her heartbeat was notably slower than the barbarian's, but it was there. If Link focused he could almost feel her, her presence.

"Zelda is near." Link murmured.

"Yes." Ganondorf replied. The barbarian's studying gaze did not leave the fog. He briefly touched the fog with a fiery blade, and the fog receded like it was burned.

"Be wary. This is of the Twilight."

With that, Ganondorf stepped into the fog. Link stepped in close to the man and stayed as close as he dared without aggravating him further. The man was already permanently aggravated as it was.

"What is Twilight?" Link asked.

"Living shadow." Ganondorf answered. "It was what was before the Goddesses. It is always there, hidden beneath the light and life of the world, like a layer of rock beneath the soil."

"Is it demonic?" Link asked.

A simple question, but one that still made Ganondorf pause. He hesitated in answering, "It predates them. Demons were born of the chaos born in conflict between Twilight and Divine power. But..."

"But?" Link pressed.

"I find myself questioning that. I... I no longer am sure. There are a great many things I am unsure of these days."

"How very fitting then. You stand in the darkness with the ferocity and appearance of a demon, wielding Twilight in one hand and Din's fire in the other." Link said as a compliment. He smiled confidently at the man. "I feel assured alrea-" Link faltered as he collided into the larger man.

Ganondorf had stopped and his eyes were wide in shock. Ganondorf stopped breathing. His blades shook in his fists ever so slightly.

This lasted but a moment. The moment passed, and his shock turned to wrath. The fire on his blades exploded and grew until his blades were as spears. He spun and stabbed.

Link tensed. The fire of the blade licked at his side, but the blade did not pierce him. Slowly he turned to see a man pinned against the wall. This was the man Ganondorf had stabbed. Link turned back around and yelped as Ganondorf's face was inches away from his own.

"Learn to be quiet!" Ganondorf hissed. "I'm already angry, and yet you insist on making me more so! How wise do you think that is!?"

"N-not very." Link admitted.

"That's right! Clearly the princess knows more about wisdom than you." The man sighed. He straightened up to continue walking.

"B-but what did I-"

"Stop. Talking!"

They had barely taken another step before they stopped again. Ganondorf sensed more presences had confronted them. The other men kept their distance from him and stayed hidden. The fact that Ganon had sensed one near and stabbed him had not gone unnoticed. They were wary.

Coming to a similar conclusion, Link readied his blade behind the barbarian's back.

It was at this time that they both felt a triangle on their hand spring to life. The heartbeat spiked in such a way that sent a chill down Link's spine.

"Link." Ganondorf said firmly. He turned his head just enough to eye the boy. "I will catch up. Go!"

Link leaped into the fog in front of them at full sprint. He sensed men spring at him out of the darkness, but Ganondorf was on his heels. The barbarian came at them head on. A burst of flame swept at Link's back, one he barely stayed ahead of. The men who had tried to stop him fled back from the flame of Din.

Link sped into the darkness and fog.

Ganondorf stepped in their way. The men were just close enough that he could make out their shapes.

"Finally some silence." Ganondorf sighed. "Unlike him, I'm not here to talk. I'm here to fight. I find it quite... therapeutic. So fight. Struggle. Claw for life. I have some pent up frustration to deal with."

-Link-

Blindly Link ran in the darkness. He could see nothing, but that did not mean he was devoid of senses. Every step echoed on the walls. His touch alerted him to turns, and at times he learned the hard way with his nose. But more than that, his hand guided him. He could feel Zelda's heartbeat in his hand, and seemingly every step told him if he was closer or not.

He was in darkness, blind, running with one true guide. Zelda. Like a blind man being held by the hand, he clung to her. He refused to let go.

It may have just been a beat, but he recognized it was a heartbeat. In some way he felt it made them all connected as more than just some kind of mythological legend. He could feel her life in his hand. He could hold her heart in his hand. And though he once despised her, hated everything about her, and still to this day felt it was with valid reason at the time, he found it in him that her life was something worth protecting and holding onto.

She was Qin itself. She was both its strength and weakness. Every scratch on her inevitably resulted in people dying while her vision would one day lead to growth. She was strong and as determined as any army, and as delicate as a pregnant woman in which held the nation in her womb.

But despite how much of a pedestal she sat on, it was more than patriotism that made him feel that way. She was a friend. She may have Midna's face, but the two were nothing alike. One was always smiling while the other is always glaring. One was as warm as the sun while the other is cold as winter. One was soft as a feather while the other is prickly. Both were, and are, strong and equally determined, and in a way Link felt they were two sides of the same coin. Despite being as opposite as they come, Link felt he could accept them equally. For as Midna had her rarely angry side, so Zelda has her rarely happy one. So the two could be... alarmingly similar.

He could no longer hate Zelda. She was not was as dear to him as Midna, but Zelda would have her place in his life. Midna had been his guide for so long. Now he could let Zelda point him in the right direction.

"Zelda!" Link yelled.

He did not know how long he ran or how many walls he ran into or how many steps he fell down. It was a minor detail. All that mattered was that he ran headfirst out of the dark fog and into the light. And there, inevitably stood Zelda.

She may have also been pointing a blade at a man's chest...

Link slid to a halt. Everyone had similarly surprised expressions. Zelda. Zelda's concubine. Link. And-

"You!" Link pointed and barked at Kei Ki.

Kei Ki sighed sarcastically, "Beautiful. Now you're here. Anyone else?"

Kei had a weapon in his hand, but he had one hand up in a gesture of surrender. He made no move to confront Zelda or Link. He rather seemed to be at the end of a confrontation he didn't want to be involved in. As if it was all just a waste of his time.

"Link!?" Zelda asked in awe. "What are you- are you alone?"

"Nah, Chief Hot-Head is behind me. He should be catching up shortly." Link gulped, scanning the situation and coming... to no conclusions. "So why is Bandit-Bill here dressed in Royal Guard garb? Why are you pointing your blade at him, but he isn't pointing one at you? And why are you down here of all places?"

"You know him?!" Zelda demanded.

Kan and Link looked at each other briefly. Disdain in one and annoyance in the other. I would say which is which, but it works both ways really. "We met," Link muttered.

"My lovely niece and I were having a bit of a disagreement." Kei Ki started, but Zelda thrust her sword forward just enough to tap him in an exposed joint and make him flinch.

"Don't." Zelda hissed as she punctuated her point with her blade.

"Niece?!" Link gasped. What did he miss!? He was so confused!

"Shut it, Link." Zelda snapped. She directed her attention to Kei. "I have nothing to do with you! Impa would never send the likes of you! You are a snake filled with lies! We are not related!"

"You were so much more agreeable when you were shocked dumb..." Kan sighed. "Truly, I do not understand your aggression. I have done nothing to you, not even kidnap you and stuff you in a sack, which, by the way, I did to the boy over there."

Zelda glanced at Link long enough to express her disappointment and lack of surprise.

Link balked defensively, "What?!"

"Zant is after your head and he isn't stupid. He will figure out you are not on the main palace levels, and if you insist on making yourself stand out, it will only threaten your life. It is in your best interest to hide behind these iron walls." Kei Ki pointed behind himself. "This is a prison. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. Times like this, that works for you."

"Like you care..." Zelda whispered. "Your reputation precedes you and you have done nothing to refute it. And even if you were FAMILY," Zelda spit the last word like it was a curse. "That would only give me all the more reason to reject any bond you perceive we have! My family has rejected me from the moment I was born, and in turn I have come to reject it!"

"Damn, I am seriously out of the loop here." Kei muttered, looking more annoyed and inconvenienced than hurt. He clicked his tongue, "I have got to catch up with Bi."

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!" Zelda yelled furiously. Her sword shook in her hand.

For a moment, she really looked like she was on the verge of snapping and stabbing him in the heart. Link didn't know why, but he stepped in. Not like he gave two shits if Kan died. But later, on reflection, he would realize he didn't want her to dirty her hand in killing a member of her own family.

"Zelda!" Link interrupted. He stood just in front of her to get her attention. "Don't!"

But he was too late. Zelda snapped. The blade went through Kei Ki's shoulder. He hissed in pain and fell back. Seeing Link in front of her, Zelda was stunned enough to pulled herself out of her brief rage. She was still angry to the point of shaking, but she didn't look unstable anymore. It was still too little too late.

"You bitch!" Kei yelled. He took another step back to distance himself from the girl, and pulled his sword up, but he was so surprised by her outburst he lost himself, forgot there were people behind him, and fell backwards over their feet.

A brief movement out of the edge of Link's eyes drew his attention.

A snake jumped at Kei Ki and bit his neck.

Another snake jumped at Zelda out of the midst of the people.

Link, futile though it may be, reached out for it, but a third snake jumped at him. Its open mouth and fangs appeared in his face.

Link knew he was dead. He knew it. He could see the black snake in his face about to bite him. The poison dripping from its fangs.

And... nothing. The snake wasn't moving.

Link blinked in surprise. The snake in front of him wasn't moving, and neither was the snake leaping at Zelda, and neither was the snake biting at Kei. Kei was stuck in an expression of surprise, and Zelda's surprised and scared expression would forever be imprinted in his memories. The concubine was in the process of shrieking in terror, but she was not moving either.

But amidst the stillness was a light. Link's hand was shining. He stared at it a moment and recognized the brief warmth enveloping him. It was a similar feeling from what felt like a life-time ago when he fought the mercenary after Midna died.

The snake hovering just in front of his mouth moved backwards in the air, shut its mouth, and flew backwards into the same place it had leaped from in the midst of the people's feet. Simultaneously the other snakes flew backwards into the spots they had hid themselves in, the concubine girl stopped freaking all realms out and was standing by Zelda's side, and Kei Ki seemingly rose chest-first into the air, stepped forward back into Zelda's blade, and Zelda pulled it out of him.

"Zant is after your head and he isn't stupid. He will figure out you are not on the main palace levels, and if you insist on making yourself stand out, it will only threaten your life. It is in your best interest to hide behind these iron walls." Kei Ki pointed behind himself. "This is a prison. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. Times like this, that works for you."

"What the realms?" Link wondered out loud. Didn't they just go through this? Why did the snakes disappear!?

"Like you care..." Zelda whispered. "Your reputation precedes you and you have done nothing to refute it."

No... the snakes hadn't disappeared! Now that Link was paying attention, he could see very slight movement quietly moving behind Kei Ki's men. The black snakes had not disappeared into thin air... they had retreated back to the place they were before. Just as all other things retreated back to where... or when it was just before.

"And even if you were FAMILY," Zelda spit the last word like it was a curse. "That would only give me all the more reason to reject any bond you perceive we have! My family has rejected me from the moment I was born, and in turn I have come to reject it!"

Link had no idea what was going on with him. He was having the strongest sense of déjà vu he could imagine, but it opened his reality to what was going on. He knew now... somehow at least, about the snakes.

"Damn, I am seriously out of the loop here." Kan muttered, looking more annoyed and inconvenienced than hurt. He clicked his tongue, "I have got to catch up with Bi."

Oh, right! This part! Link saw the crack in Zelda's composure almost physically as it appeared on her face.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!" Zelda yelled furiously. Her sword shook in her hand.

Link threw himself towards her and grabbed her sword hand just as it thrust forward. Seeing Link in front of her, Zelda was stunned enough to pulled herself out of her brief rage. She was still angry to the point of shaking, but she didn't look unstable anymore.

Link said, "Look, you want to kill the guy. I want to kill the guy. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want to kill the guy. And honestly... I don't know if he really is part of your family. That's between you two to sort out... but we are in a bit of a situation here."

"Oh, really? And what's-"

Link shoved Zelda back into Sarah the moment he saw the tiny head out of the corner of his eye. Link swiped at the exact spots he knew the snakes would jump, and he succeeded in cutting two in midair. The third he missed, but thankfully the snake missed as well. Kei Ki stabbed it into the ground. His men panicked and sprang up as they realized what had snuck in among them.

"That kind." Link whispered.

"Good eye, boy." Kei Ki said.

Link's skin crawled at the idea that he would receive a compliment from that creep, of all people. However the positive energy could not last long as a new sound reached their ears. It sounded like metal scraping metal endlessly. Slowly his attention drifted to the door.

The black fog drifted more into the room. Footsteps... footsteps in the fog. A single slow stride. Chains scraping the floor. Metal churning against itself endlessly in a rotation. Darkness akin to tendrils reaching and extending and grasping into the room as a mass or living thing rather than drifting fog. The tendrils even seemed to emit miniscule eyes like snakes. So perhaps befitting them to dark fog snakes is more fitting.

Zelda took a gigantic step back. She grabbed her concubine and shoved the girl behind her towards the corner. Kan Ki grabbed a torch in one hand and a sword in the other as he too stepped back out of reach of the dark smoke. Link also stepped back. Only Kei Ki's men did not move. They were either brave enough, or perhaps dumb enough, to be close. The fog reached towards the men. The men realized something was wrong and fled. Most made it. The rest...

The dark snakes lashed out faster than they could blink, grasping at ankles, choking their necks, grabbing their arms, and pulled them in. One snake lashed so suddenly and so widely that it was akin more to a blade. It cut its target in two from between the legs up to his neck. The two sides of the man fell evenly to the ground, all of his organs and blood splattered freely. The men pulled into the fog, or left behind, screamed and hollered and begged and cried as they tried to free themselves. Sarah screamed just as loudly, having never seen or heard death before.

The footsteps entered the room, the chain stopped scraping on the ground, and the sound of metal spinning on itself ended... with a click.

Blood exploded out of the fog in every direction.

Zant walked out of the fog. Part of the fog followed him, clinging to him like a lover. It draped his shoulders as a cape and extended above him as snakes resting on him. In each hand he had a scimitar. On his chest was a chainmail shirt that fell to his knees. On his head was the four-faced helmet.

The helmet spun slightly before clicking in place with one face looking to Zelda. Or did he merely turn his face? It was impossible to tell anymore.

"So... you are the pretender who would play king," Zant said.

The black mist snakes on his shoulders raised themselves up poised to strike. The man made no motion to move forward or position himself into any kind of fighting stance, yet Link felt his hair rise on his skin all the same.

Link gulped. He had no illusion they stood little chance against this man. Zelda was too valuable to put in harm's way. Sarah was a mere servant. Link had a little real life and death battle experience, and years of mock practice, so he knew he could keep up with a trained soldier... but Zant was a master of assassins. Link didn't stand a chance.

This left the only variable being Kei Ki. Kei was much more experienced than Link. How much so was beyond his ability to guess. Yet a thought still struck Link that Kei wouldn't be enough. They needed Ganondorf. They needed time. Link couldn't fight to win. He needed to fight to buy time.

Zant was not keen to giving them time.

Zant lunged towards Zelda. In a blink he had bypassed a dozen men and was upon her, his twin scimitars striking down at her head. Link, though, was in time. He raised Midna's blade to block. His knees shook with the strength of the assassins blow, but he held. Link smirked even as everyone else gasped in surprise.

Zant turned his head slightly. "Impressive. You are quick. There is more to you than a boy in a bag."

"Depends who you ask." Link replied. "I hear 'monkey' is catching on."

Zant grunted in response. His shadow snakes poised to strike. Link braced himself to move quickly, but his eyes widened when they lunged past his head and bit down. A girl gasped in pain behind him.

Link's blood ran cold. He wasn't the target. Zelda was. Even in Zant's face the bastard was ignoring him. Link was that insignificant.

Zant's shadow snakes reeled back and lunged at him. Link managed to step back, and his eyes widened. Their bite crushed the stone under him and were poisoning it. He didn't have time to rest as the snakes lifted the stone tile he was on, knocking him on his back. He opened his eyes upon landing to find the stone tile flying down at him... and Zelda beside him still as death.

The mark on him shined. the stone stilled inches away from him, and everything retraced to where it was before. Link also found himself being moved back into place.

Zant walked into the room.

Link grinned confidently. If he kept getting second chances, he could do this. That was his initial thought. It was quickly vanished as his legs faltered, the world spun, vomit shot up his throat, and something wet fell down his face. Link put a hand to his head and found blood. His head wound had reopened.

The bruises and cuts stayed with him... while Zant looked fresh as a flower in the morning dew.

-Zelda-

"Stay back!" Link yelled at her. At the same time Zant entered the room. Normally Zelda would ignore him, but something in his tone surprised her. Link was not joking.

Zelda stepped back towards the corner, grabbing Sarah along the way. Without even looking Link grabbed a sword off the ground at his feet and threw it backwards over his head. It clattered at their feet.

What happened for the next several minutes was... amazing.

First Zant and Link exchanged a few words, a little taunting, and they seemed completely relaxed as Link drew the man's attention, but Zant lashed out quick as a coiled snake. So fast that Zelda blinked and missed it, but Link was already half-way across the room between them and Zant, where Zant was dashing.

If Zelda was surprised by Link's intuition and quickness, Zant was caught completely off guard. Link slammed himself into the Twilight assassin, stopping the man's lunge short. In a breath Link was behind him. Zant spun around with his swords while one of his shoulder snakes snapped at him. Link ducked, grabbed a torch lying by where he was, and jammed it into the snakes open mouth. The snake recoiled painfully from the fire it had bit down on, but it was too late. The fire quickly covered it from head to tail atop Zant. Zant screamed in pain, as if he felt the pain himself, and threw the living Twilight to the ground.

As the snake was utterly consumed into nothingness, Zant turned from screaming from chuckling. Link stepped back from the man.

"It tingles... my brain... it tingles!" Zant murmured. "You're a fast one..."

Zant took a step towards Link and raised his blades. His snakes reformed themselves and even grew in number until he appeared to be covered in them. Link gulped and took a step back. He had wanted the man's undivided attention... and he got it.

Kei Ki picked up torch as well and fought Zant. His followers joined in and surrounded him. Kei proved to be a skilled and strong swordsman, able to fight one on one with the assassin, and Link, though short and young and exhausted was incredibly perceptive, seemingly able to predict attacks before they were ever struck; but for all their strength and skill, Zant was something otherworldly. His body seemed to bend in ways no man should, the snakes that covered him struck out without his coordination nor controlling will, and the mist filled every part of the room except for where the torches were. The mist choked anyone who it swept over one by one. The men were forced to scatter to the outer edges of the room as the battle continued.

A pillar of stone thrust down from the ceiling atop Zant, and Zant's snakes braced up against it, holding it back, long enough for him to leap back. Zant disappeared into the mist, but against the dim torchlight his form was still visible against it. The room shook and the walls roared in anger, a roar that made Zelda smile. The Fae had caught up.

Zelda said, "Zant, I know of the plight you face. You question me, as you questioned yourself. Your guilt and torment was made plain to me by your friend, Lady Reida. I swore to her I would do what I could for you, and so I say that if you surrender now... I will grant you exile. Fight, and you will witness the legends my legacy has brought up to fight in my name."

A moment passed, followed by another. All were silent and still and watchful, waiting to see who would act and in what manner.

A disc of pure blackness appeared in front of Zant, and he thrust his hand into it as if it were water. At the same time his hand, that he thrust into the black water, reappeared before Zelda, and grabbed her by the throat. The same hand pulled her back into the black water and Zelda found herself in front of him. The mist filled her lungs and choked her. She could not breath.

Zant growled angrily, "I know the truth!... You are a fake! It is in your blood! I will not be fooled! You are but a puppet set up by Impa! Zhao will not take the throne of Qin!"

Zelda gripped his hand and struggled for breath; but his grip was tight. She felt gravity pull down on her lungs as she hung, and the mist filled her mouth and nostrils.

Kei stood just outside the mist trapped where he was. Every man that entered had died.

Link though, wasn't that bright. He dove in without second thought and appearing unexpectedly swiped at Zant's wrist. Zant's gauntlet blocked most of it, but the boy managed to get in enough to cut something.

Zant's grip loosened and he took a step back, clutching his hand painfully. He screamed like a wild animal.

Zelda fell to the ground. She felt Link grab her, and she held on as he picked her up and dashed out. Exhausted as he was, he barely made it out of the mist before collapsing. Both of them coughed as the mist escaped their mouths. Zelda vomited black liquid. The mist had condensed and was on the verge of hardening in her. They both collapsed to the ground, unable to move any longer.

With Zelda out of the way, the Fae created spikes and pillars from the walls to attack Zant. A pillar hit him in the chest, knocking him back into the wall. Hands of stone reached out of the wall around him and reached around him, enveloping him, wrapping him, and pulling him halfway into the wall until his arms and legs were firmly in solid stone. His chest and head were also in stone, but not enough to drown him in it. He raged and fought against it, but he was firmly pinned. The mist disappeared.

It was at this point that Ganon ran in ready to fight. Every inch of him was covered in blood as if he had bathed in it.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Link barked, pointing accusingly at the man from where he lay on the ground.

The man grunted in response. He nodded in Zelda's direction. "Pretty sure I just took care of most of his followers... who's this?" Ganon's gaze landed on Kei Ki. "He doesn't-"

"His name is Kei Ki and he's a downright bastard, murderous scumbag, and Zelda's uncle." Link interrupted. The boy struggled to his feet, panting for breath.

Ganon stared at Link in disbelief before looking to Zelda. Zelda avoided his gaze.

"Now, I hate to interrupt this..." Link said. "But princess, run. Take a left turn and keep going until you meet an old friend. When you first lay eyes on her, throw yourself to the ground. Also take off your heels, they will only slow you down."

"What? What are you-?" Zelda asked, confounded by his statement.

"No, just do it! The stone won't hold him!" Link said. He pushed Zelda towards the door.

Zelda turned to chastise him for his rude, disrespectful, and abrupt behaviour, but she stopped short at the sight of Zant. The smooth white stone that made up most of the walls were slowly turning black around him, as if the stone itself was becoming poisoned by his touch. The Fae that held him fled from the stone to escape the poison. One was too late and fell to the ground. It spasmed and reached for its comrades before collapsing, its body turned black and its light dimmed.

Zelda had never seen a Fae die before.

"As much as I hate agreeing with him, he's right. It won't hold him." Ganon said.

The stone cracked around Zant and a bit of it crumbled to the ground.

"Come, my lady!" Sarah begged, tugging at Zelda's sleeve.

Zelda stared a moment longer at the dead Fae. Something about it struck her. She had seen men die. She was born to it. But to see something so ancient... so close in relationship with the goddesses die... It was wrong.

Sarah tugged at Zelda once more, and Zelda relented. She quickly removed her heeled shoes and fled barefoot with her servant.

Link turned to Ganon, who stood poised and ready to fight the moment Zant escaped the stone prison. "The man is powerful. He's quick, has a bunch of Twilight snakes, can emit some kind of choking mist, and can make his hand appear out of thin air through some air-door thing."

Ganon gave him a side-ways glance, mildly impressed. He scoffed. "Damn, boy... how much did I miss?"

"You don't want to know..." Link whispered.

"Whatever. He sounds powerful. It-"

"-would be best if we leave so you can fight without restraint, yes yes." Link muttered. Ganon blinked in surprise at the boy finishing his sentence. "Don't have to tell me again."

Without further ado, Link ran down the hall. Ganon shared an amazed glance with Kei Ki. Kei shrugged. The stone around Zant continued to crumble until he was nearly out. Most of the wall had turned black with the exposure from Twilight.

"You too." Ganon said.

"You don't order me." Kei raised his sword.

Zant freed himself from the stone wall and fell to his hands and knees. He panted angrily and roared. Quickly he stood. The black mist shrouded him creating dozens of snakes and shaping itself into scythes from his hands.

Ganon lit his swords on fire. His hair and eyes glowed red.

Kei Ki looked between them. The brightness of the flame was matched by the darkness of the mist until half the room was red with fire and the other half was darkened with black fog. "Okay, you know what... I'm done. I didn't sign up for all this. So how about I just... leave you two to it."

The two men didn't so much as give him a glance. Zant's helmet had crumbled in the wall and portions of his face were exposed. His eyes emitted a hatred and mad fury that matched Ganon's own.

Kei Ki left quietly.

Zant and Ganon threw themselves at each other.

Link had been right. Ganon couldn't truly go fully loose without risk hurting allies, but here he could... and probably the first time in a very long time, he found an equal. Zant was powerful. He was quick, as the boy said he would be. And the assassin's Twilight power was... stronger than Ganon's, though he would never admit it. In fact it was stronger than Ganon knew was possible.

Every attack was equally matched. For every shadow there was fire. For every blow there was a counter-blow. Ganon's swings were wide and fast, forcing Zant to stay constantly moving. If he hesitated for a moment he would be torn asunder. In equal manner, Zant's access to Twilight was a particularly lethal kind... so Ganon could not risk the slightest wound despite his toughness.

Zant was a little tired, having taxed himself on fighting Link and Kei Ki, while Ganon was tired from having fought dozens of his elite followers. Yet, despite their exhaustion, neither relented for a moment. Hesitation led to death.

Stone crumbled and cracked all around them. Zant's Twilight poisoned everything while Ganon's fire exploded.

The two stopped where they stood on opposite sides for a moment, panting for breath. Fire filled the room and the floor, walls, and ceiling looked sick with poisoned black veins.

Zant growled in aggravation. He needed to kill Zelda. But the annoying brat and now this man were in his way! His eyes briefly glanced towards the fire around him and the torches.

Zant reached deep within and unleashed a massive wave of Twilight. The mist choked the flames and put out the torches. For an instant the room was black save for Ganon's shining red presence guarding the door. Ganon struck the floor with his swords and unleashed an equally powerful explosion of flame that consumed the mist and filled the room with light. The room shook as if struck by an earthquake.

Zant was gone.

"How!?" Ganon demanded. He had been standing just in front of the door! Zant could not have run past him! Except... "Din damn it!" Ganon cursed.

Zant could create holes in the realm to reach through... if he could make one large enough... he could do a whole lot more than just reach a hand through. He could completely enter it!

Meanwhile, Zelda and Sarah were racing down the hall away from the lower dungeon beneath the palace. Bodies left behind by Ganon filled the stone halls. Blood covered the ground like a thick rug. Sarah gasped at the sight, still having been new to death, and hesitated in entering. Taking pity on her, Zelda ordered her servant to close her eyes, and hoisting the girl on her back, carried her through. Sarah protested vehemently when she realized what her princess was doing for her, but Zelda ignored her.

"My lady! Your feet!" Sarah exclaimed.

"It's blood." Zelda acknowledged simply.

"You mustn't! I'm sorry for being weak! Set me down! I must be the one to carry you!"

"You're wrong... my path will take a great deal of blood. If I cannot stand the touch or looks of it, then what right do I have to walk that path? You may consider this filthy, which it is, but I consider this symbolic. Besides... blood doesn't bother me."

There was a brief moment where the palace shook around them, and Zelda stumbled. Blood splashed over her as her knee hit the stone. She winced in pain. Scraping knees on stone is never fun, and while she wasn't bothered by the touch or smell of blood... the taste was something she had thankfully avoided up till now. She spit it out and continued.

Zelda set her down once they were through. "Now, if you are sorry, make up for it by making up time."

They continued their flight into the palace. Quickly the stone walls and underground paths turned to furnished rugs, carved wood, tapestry, statues, and the like. In the distance as they left the stairs, Zelda laid eyes on royal guard patrols. Among them was Impa, orchestrating them to secure the palace more than before and to search for her.

The sight of Impa made Zelda's heart leap happily, and a weight fell off her shoulders, but as much as she wanted to rush to the side of her friend, she also remembered the words of another.

Zelda threw herself to the floor. Sarah threw herself over Zelda.

The same moment black mist erupted behind her and a massive twilight snake thrust itself over them, filling the hall with its girth. The walls cracked and three soldiers were consumed in its bite. Parts of the wooden walls and ceiling fell around them as the giant snake thrashed about.

Just as quickly as the snake appeared, it disappeared.

In its place, behind Zelda at the top of the stairs, stood Zant. His clothes were burnt off, his face mask was cracked open to reveal burns on his head, he panted and shook in weariness, one arm was completely missing, but despite it all the fury and determination in his revealed eyes had not changed. If anything, you could say the pain and exhaustion he was in had sharpened his mind from the pure madness he was in before, and had let him focus on a singular thought whereas before was many scattered thoughts. He walked towards her.

"Princess!" Impa ran for her.

Zant waved his hand, and a wall of darkness appeared on the other side from Zelda blocking Impa off. Sarah jumped up, and beat her fists on it, only to recoil in pain as it burned her. In her pain at looking down at her clenched fist, she noticed the weapons laying at her feet. Whether by fate, chance, or divinity, among them were a bow. Sarah picked it up and tossed it. It clattered at Zelda's feet.

Zelda picked up the bow and took up a firing stance.

Zant halted as she aimed at him. "You have no arrows... what do you think you can do?"

"I don't need them. I am blessed by the Goddess Naryu." Zelda declared. Zant scoffed. "I am blessed with miraculous power. Blessed with divine purpose. And blessed to sit on a position passed down with authority from the Goddess herself. Against all of that, what are you?"

Zant grew angry at her words, and barked, "You are not my princess!"

"Of course not, I'm your king!" Zelda fired a divine arrow at him.

Zant was shocked by the fact that an arrow of light actually was released by her bow, and his quick reflex saved him. He threw up a Twilight shield, and the arrow entered the black disc. Zelda wondered where the arrow went, but her answer was given as quickly as she thought it.

The arrow appeared behind them. The shockwave thankfully missed them and ripped the wall next to them to shreds and shook the palace, but a small part of it winged them both enough to knock them into the opposite wall. Zelda crumbled to the ground. Her ears rang, the world spun, and though she did not feel it, she knew she was wounded. She looked for Sarah, but could not find her in the rubble.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zant draw closer. With what little consciousness she could manage, Zelda raised the bow up again. Zant stopped. Her aim was all over the place and she could barely lift it. She couldn't move her opposite arm to pull the string at all, but she aimed anyway.

Zelda took a single breath to clear her head, a second to focus, and a third to aim.

She fired.

Zant raised his hand.

Midna erupted from his throat.

Stunned, Zant took the entirety of the shockwave. What remained of the hall exploded outwards, the ceiling fell. Zant and Link were thrown down the stairs, which was perhaps their saving grace as the ceiling collapsed.

Link groaned when he landed. Not yet knocked unconscious, he looked for Zant in the darkness. He heard the man groaning in pain, panting, and cough up liquid, most likely blood. Link could not move. He had used the last of his strength, and he was numb. He was exhausted, covered in cuts and bruises he had collected from redoing the fight over and over, and the shockwave was like being hit by a ram... or something much stronger than a ram. But... the pain gave him a sense of hope. It was a wonder he hadn't died. He could only lay there and hope the man would not stand and continue the fight.

Zant continued to cough up blood.

Until he stopped.

Link sighed. "Finally..."