Prologue: Duel of Darkness

Vaati the Wind Mage was beyond furious. Not only had Vaati been defeated by Link yet again, they had both discovered that the events had once more been orchestrated by Ganondorf, who no longer saw the Wind Mage as useful in his plot. And so, Vaati was left abandoned in a corner of the room in which the Hero of Time and the King of Evil sparred. He had long since abandoned his appearance as a demonic eye with bat wings, and his Hylian form was visibly battered. His lavender tunic was now mostly red, stained with his blood. His violet cape was torn in several places, and his pale face was also bloodied. His lavender hair was matted with his blood as it trailed out of the purple cap he had on his head. With all the remaining strength the Wind Mage could muster, he brushed aside his hair and glared at the two people he hated most in this world.

He hated Link for all the times his ancestors were always able to defeat him every time he rose to power. And he hated Ganondorf because of how the Gerudo King had had the audacity to manipulate him of all people for his own gain as if he were a mere pawn. And he knew that was what Ganondorf thought of him as: a pawn, easily disposable, easily replaced.

His red eyes fell on Link. A flash of hatred sprang in those eyes, but also a hint of respect and admiration. As he watched the boy duel Ganondorf in their heated swordfight, he could see how Link was always able to defeat him. He was so fluid in his movements. Nimble, quick, always moving, always dodging. He could tell Link was concentrating on finding a weakness, a chink in Ganondorf's armor. He had a feeling it was only a matter of time before he found it. He always did. Vaati began using this time to heal himself.

Suddenly Link jabbed, but Ganondorf saw it coming and sidestepped. Ganon brought his sword down on Link's and forced it out of his hands. He then backhanded Link, launching him to the other side of the field, where he lay stunned. As Ganondorf was making for Link, Vaati, now almost fully healed, rose to his feet and cried, "He is MINE to kill!"

As these words came, a powerful blast of wind issued forth from his hands, catching the King of Darkness off guard. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to knock him off his feet. As Ganon regained his footing, he turned towards Vaati. The smirk on his face made the former Minish shudder. "Good," he drawled. "I had almost forgotten you were there, Wind Mage. Thank you for reminding me. I think I'll deal with you now, so you can't try that again."

As the two Plagues of Hyrule squared off, a figure watched from a vantage point in the arena. Of course this was technically in plain sight, but the dark creature had the ability to shift between planes of existence. Being the Demon Lord of Nightmares gave it that advantage. However, it was weak, and it knew this. It needed power to feed on, dreams, memories, nightmares…

The Hero of Time was out of the question. He would soon be dispatched, and that would not give it enough to draw from his power. However, it could sense some internal turmoil within the younger, purple-clad combatant who had boldly challenged the Gerudo King. Memories, painful memories long suppressed by a desire for power…

Yes, it thought to itself as it watched the battle unfold. This we can work with! But we must ensure that our new host is not destroyed by this meddling old man.

It knew intervening at this moment would be unwise, given the level of power boiling within Ganon and Vaati. It would wait until the King of Darkness had weakened him, for it already knew who was the stronger.

Vaati used a wind spell to bring his sword back to him, and he held it at the ready as his opponent sized him up. Vaati knew Ganondorf was a powerful man, but Vaati was confident in his abilities. Hadn't the magical cap he had stolen from his old master granted his wish to become the most powerful sorcerer alive? Vaati did not have time to contemplate this matter, for Ganondorf had made the first move, charging forward with his blade in both hands.

Vaati jumped aside, and Ganondorf's attack missed wide. Vaati tried to cut off his arm, but Ganondorf used his free hand to blow Vaati back with a dark force. Vaati recovered and empowered his blade and his sword arm with the power of wind. The red eye-shaped jewel on the pommel sparkled in a devious light, the reflections from the jewel bathing the mage's hand in a blood-red glow. His eyes, which were also red, locked onto the yellow irises of Ganondorf. "You're slow, old man," Vaati stated in an arrogant manner. "I would have thought the Triforce of Power would be wielded more effectively in the hands of someone like you."

"Heh heh, impudent worm, your arrogance blinds you. I was merely testing your skills with the most basic attack. To tell you the truth, you cannot kill me, Sorcerer of Winds. I can toy with you all I want."

His statement alarmed Vaati. "And why would that be?"

Ganondorf's smile darkened. "Because, you do not have the Master Sword."

The man took a step forward, not even bothering to attack. Vaati thrust his sword deep into Ganondorf's torso, but all this did was make him chuckle. "I warned you."

Vaati, shocked, retracted his sword, unnerved by the fact that there was no blood trickling down the length of the blade, almost as if it had stabbed a phantom. Vaati then instinctively went for Ganon's head, and was astonished by what occurred next. Ganondorf caught the blade in the palm of his hand and wrenched it out of his grasp.

Vaati's eyes widened as the Dark Lord cast the sword aside like a piece of driftwood with an amused expression on his face. Now there was only one way he could tip the balance at this point. With a grimace, Vaati sprang forward faster than Ganondorf could react. As he pushed him closer to the wall, the mage's body changed dramatically. No longer was he the seductive Hylian sorcerer. Here in his place was a most grotesque abomination: a massive black orb with two black horns and numerous bat wings along its sides and arms. But the most distinguishing feature was the single red eye, burning with malice and a hint of fear at the man it was attacking. Finally Vaati reached the other side, pinning Ganondorf against the wall. The monster then squeezed, attempting to crush the life out of the Wielder of the Triforce of Power. Ganondorf's breathing became ragged, but he was still smiling confidently.

Why the hell is that smile still on his face? Vaati pondered nervously.

Ganondorf answered for him. "So, you think resorting to your demon form will win this battle for you. However, you forget that I have one as well."

Vaati's eye widened as the sudden reality gripped him. Suddenly Ganondorf began growing in his grasp. His skin had taken on a more bluish pigment, his muscles were growing larger, and his face was taking on a more porcine characteristic. The smug grin, though, remained on his pig-like face. His growth forced Vaati's hold of him apart as his full stature was now equal to the flying eye. Both glared menacingly at each other before grappling. The two beasts came to a standstill in the middle of the field, their strength seemingly equal. Confident that Ganon's hands were occupied, Vaati's eye flashed, and the King of Darkness was blasted in the face by Vaati's most powerful attack.

The blue pig fell to the floor in a daze, and Vaati fell upon him, his sharper claws latching hold of Ganon's arms and snapping them shut, drawing blood. Ganon snarled angrily and kicked Vaati back with his hooves. As the demon eye shook itself, Ganon got to his feet and tackled the creature. The wings kept Vaati in the air as he fought against Ganon's hold. Vaati managed to jab Ganon's midsection with his claws, drawing more blood, but Ganon retaliated by ripping a tear in one of Vaati's wings. Both feeling the pain, they backed off to catch their breath, never taking their eyes off each other.

It was at this time that Link had awakened. As he looked up, he saw Vaati and Ganon in their demon forms staring at each other while breathing heavily. From the amount of rubble around the arena and the number of wounds present on each creature's body, Link surmised that these two had been in the middle of an epic battle while he was out. A part of him actually hoped that this fight wasn't over, because it might be fun to watch. Luckily for him, it wasn't finished.

Ganon had taken this moment to summon up a massive white trident and hold it in an offensive position, while Vaati's other hand reformed into a wing momentarily before it regrew again, this time an arm with an attached blade resembling a bat's wing. Also, a number of stone eyes appeared and circled around the Sorcerer of Winds, all gazing at Ganon. "Impressive," Ganon commended.

Ganon then let loose a stream of magic blasts with his trident, and the eyes responded by producing laser beams which effectively snuffed out the balls of energy. Ganon narrowed his eyes, thinking of his options. He knew the eyes were a defense unit for him, but taking them out would probably amount to little, because Vaati could always just reform them. The pig growled and released a barrage of electric beams, which managed to take out several eyes, but several other eyes were able to negate the beams with their own. Ganon then tried to skewer the mighty eye, but Vaati parried with his peculiar blade, allowing a pair of eyes to target Ganon's arm. Small but intense beams of light issued forth from their stony pupils, searing Ganon's arm. He howled in agony and swatted the devices out of the sky like flies. Then he grabbed Vaati's sword arm, attempting to break it. The three remaining eyes constantly spat lasers at him, burning into his flesh, but he ignored the pain. Vaati managed to close his claws around Ganon's free hand and squeezed as hard as he could, adding to Ganon's pain. But this was the pain that gave the beast the burst of energy required to snap Vaati's arm, rendering it useless.

Vaati snarled in pain, weakening his hold on Ganon's other arm. Utilizing this, Ganon lashed out and impaled him in the side with his trident, and then channeling dark energy into it, further adding to the pain. The eye collapsed on the ground and slowly morphed back into his Hylian self. Vaati was now covered in even more of his blood, and he found he didn't have the strength to lift himself off the ground. Ganon had reverted back to his Gerudo self as well, his armor mottled with his blood in several places. Ganondorf strode up to the defeated Wind Mage and kneeled down so that his words could only be heard by Vaati.

"Truly commendable, Vaati. You were more of a worthy adversary than I had anticipated. Some of your attacks I have never witnessed."

Vaati choked over his words. "Well, I've never had to face someone so like me. Monster vs. Man…and Monster…vs. Monster…are two different things."

"Well, I cannot truly kill you as you are because of your connection with the Four Sword. So I will have to remove that connection."

Vaati, even in his weak state, felt puzzled by this. Suddenly, the spell hit him, and he knew exactly what it had done.

He could not change his form anymore.

"N…No…" he breathed, despair and fright taking ahold of him.

"And with that, Wind Sorcerer, you shall die."

We must act now! the nightmare being hissed to itself, finally deciding to step out of its hidden portal in a gaseous black cloud. It reached Vaati right before the spell hit, and as it did, a portal was erected at that moment. The energy struck the portal as the unknown being forced Vaati into it, and the creature knew it would have consequences in the near future. The portal could take them anywhere now. No matter. He will serve our purpose. Wherever we go, we will use him to let the world know that we, the Nightmare Dethl, shall soon envelop them in ceaseless nightmares!

Ganondorf was confused. His spell should have killed Vaati, but it wasn't supposed to disintegrate him. But he never got a chance to ponder this strange event, for the Master Sword was inching its way out of his chest.

He had completely forgotten about Link, of all people.

The King of Evil was defeated again. And now Link would also share the news that Vaati had also fallen by Ganon's hands.

However, this was not the fate of the Wind Mage. This was just the beginning of this tale.