The cool breeze picked up a sharper edge as it glided over the Thames.

James Mage held his hat on his head as he felt this wind come flying past. He rolled up his sleeve and glanced at the

address written on his arm in purple ink. Then he looked all the way up the high building that appeared abandoned.

But the addresses matched. This was the place written in that letter.

With his photographic memory, he really had no reason to write it down but the feeling of importance when he looked

at it, scrawled on his arm. As he approached the foreclosed building, he reflected on the letter, written neatly on the

yellowed paper with red ink. It had only read the address and displayed that it was imperative James come to this

place. Something about it bothered James into following the advice.

He wasn't busy anyway, recently having lost his job in the recession. The man didn't expect the glass doors to open.

He didn't even realize they had opened until he was inside.

Alert now to the gray inner atmosphere, James began to climb the stairs, up to the top floor, as the letter asked.

Thoughtlessly, he found the door that said "CEO". And he walked inside, closed the door behind him, and sat on a

chair that had a desk in between it and another chair. It was oddly dank in here for such a brisk day outside. The

spider web-covered blinds let in prism-shaped pieces of light, which shone in James's eyes uncomfortably. Sighing

while recognizing this was all a hoax, he decided to think about his situation for a moment.

The chair in front of James Mage was empty before he put his head down to rub his temples. When he gazed up

again, it wasn't.

He checked the door, which was closed and surely hadn't opened according to his abnormal hearing.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mage," the person in front of him said, sounding heavily Middle-Eastern. He looked plain and

normal, but something about him disturbed James. "So glad you could make it."

"Why am I here?" James asked.

"You may not know me," the stranger said, "but I certainly know you."

Something buried in James's conscience twanged.

"How do you know me?" This man laughed.

"Drop the act, Vaati." James jumped. "No human is near."

"Who are you?" James demanded, voice strained and scratchy all of a sudden.

The man laughed again and playfully stuck out his tongue, which was long and tapered and disturbingly flexible. Then

he began to melt away. His hair and skin and clothes slid off like a suit to reveal an entirely different creature

underneath. This revealed creature had olive-colored skin with diamond-shaped marks dotting him like freckles. His

hair was white and deliberately cut to seem like a razor over his left eye. His one visible eye glowed at James

malevolently.

"You're Ghirahim," he realized, clutching the arms of his chair.

Then he noticed the rounded human fingers he had worked so hard to craft were becoming long and pointed. His

healthy skin paled. He touched the violet hair that wound down his shoulders.

His sub-conscious was tired of pretending to be a normal British citizen. Still, he grunted, seeing that he had been

exposed so easily. He couldn't go back to his human life now.

"What do you want?" he asked again.

"We have never met before, but I am… entreating your help."

Vaati looked up with blazing red eyes.

"For your information, Mr. Ghirahim, I have not practiced magic in a few millennia. I don't see how I could help you."

"I prefer Lord Ghirahim," he replied tersely. "And you are the only one I could find that shares my goal."

"Your goal?" Vaati repeated, feeling extremely uncomfortable in his ancient form.

"Why, Vaati! Have you forgotten after all these years?" Ghirahim exclaimed, showing some mock concern. "To collect

the Triforce, of course."

Vaati blinked.

"But it's been so long. Besides, Ganon and Zelda and that blasted hero are all back in Hyrule."

At the thought of that green hero who wielded the Master Sword, despite his practiced calm, Vaati grimaced.

Ghirahim laughed again.

"I sense that hatred for little Link still smoldering inside you."

Disregarding his plain personality entirely now, Vaati's eyes glinted, and the shaded windows flew open.

"Yes, I still despise him. Who wouldn't? But I still don't see how I can help you."

Sitting on the edge of the desk, Ghirahim looked serious, which clashed with the gaudy red cape he wore that

fluttered in the wind.

"The Princess has gone off the grid."

Vaati leaned forward, completely forgetting his own unanswered question.

"She's still alive?"

"Yes, or at least she was until sometime last night."

Something felt wrong here.

"Ganon has retuned," the Demon Lord spat, confirming Vaati's worst fear. "History repeats itself, Vaati," Ghirahim

said in exasperation, crossing his legs. "The Princess is kidnapped by the Darkness; the Hero valiantly runs off the

save her. But this time, I am free from Demise and from Hylia. You have wormed out of your prison, in at least one

dimension. We can work together to gather the Triforce."

The wind mage considered this. He hadn't seen anything of beautiful Zelda in a very long time. In fact, he hadn't had

anything to do with his old life on the planet Hylia in millennia. But he didn't care much about the Triforce. At the

same time, how could he create another persona for himself?

Being immortal, people would have been suspicious if his character lived forever. He "died" many, many times over

the years, creating a new person every time afterwards, which became increasingly difficult as he began to forget his

art of magic. Once, he pretended to be a woman, which he decided not to do again. At the thought of that horrendous

experience, he felt more apt to getting in on the Demon's plan.

"I do not desire the Triforce anymore," Vaati said finally, as if it was a prompt for Ghirahim to build on.

"I thought as much," he replied, smiling a bit. "Once we obtain the Triforce," he said to Vaati slowly, for effect, "I will

rule Hylia as Emperor, and you will have Zelda."

Vaati's fingers curled. This was a fair deal, at least to him.

"Where do we start?" he consented.

A malicious grin spread across Ghirahim's face.

"Good. We start by stopping the Hero in his tracks. Once we have Courage, Wisdom will be easy to obtain and Power

will follow soon after. So, Vaati, we begin by finding the Hero of Time: and destroying him."

Laughs could be heard echoing down the Thames, two maniacal sounds that crashed with each other and chilled the

souls of all passers-by, for they had never heard laughter so evil and alien.

Little did any of them know that this marked the catalyst of a great, dangerous war.

Because it wasn't to take place in their world.

A/N- Finally, the story really gets started. In case you, readers, are feeling as if something (or someone) is missing, you are correct. Pieces of this story shall be introduced continuously, and a big one is coming soon.

I own nothing but some broken ear buds. (How does one dispose of those properly?)\

-Rajeela