It was an immediate difference, her particles dancing through the warp of the mirror, atmosphere somehow drier, lighter, hotter. A change in the air that marked their entrance to the Light Realm, something unnamed and yet so prevalent that it was almost an element in itself.

Midna felt her body form again, her feet flat on the ground, her arms flat at her sides. Going through the Mirror wasn't terribly unlike a normal transportation spell, perhaps even less dizzying because it went horizontally. She was not disoriented, at least, until she opened her eyes.

The light was familiar; it was ...twilight. A single sun-brighter than any Sol she had ever seen-dipped down on the horizon, its fading rays drawing out light and dying the sky an array of colors. Purple and red laced across the sky, intertwined with familiar orange and the faintest hint of pink. Big, fluffy clouds, dyed in the colors of sunset, hung suspended in the air.

This atmosphere disappointed her. She had wanted to see that beautiful sky blue that the books in her library spoke of, yet no trace of it hung above her in the colorful splashes of sky, alike to her realm yet so very different. More...vivid. It felt more real.

In front of her, the same ethereal staircase that had been their apparatus on the other side of the Mirror stretched to a sandy-colored stone platform, where Vaati, Zant, and Ghirahim stood. They were looking around, too, eyes ablaze with curiosity, awe, and wonder. The area they stood in was the Light Realm's Mirror Chamber, a large circular area, open to the sky. Everything was a washed out, dull, sandstone white. Large columns and arches loomed above them, casting shadows that flickered like flames. Further on, behind the arches, a path stretched out, leading to a small staircase that continued to wrap around the circular structure.

A noise, like an ancient withered cough, came from the ground in front of the platform. Five glowing figures had appeared there. Their entire bodies were white, transparent in some parts. They donned robes and masks, depicting old, old men. Midna was impressed. How old were they? What magic prevented them from fading away like dust? She joined her group at the bottom of the stairs, stepping out in front of them, down onto the first step off of the platform. She outstretched her arms; a peace offering, much to the distaste of her companions. She could practically hearVaati seeth behind her.

Sucks to not be in charge, buddy, she thought, before the glowing figures interrupted her mind.

"O Twilight Princess," they said in unison, their voices archaic. "You have tampered with destiny by entering this realm. By the power of the Golden Goddesses, we command you to leave this place."

Midna's voice was fierce, coming out rough with offense and shock. "That's friendly. I dragged my butt here and you don't even give me a nicey-nice diplomatic greeting?"

These figures, who she figured to be the Sages, simply looked at her silently.

She sighed. "Let me clarify. Destiny means nothing to me. Nor do your stupid Golden Goddesses. If they had wanted us to stay put, they would have made it impossible for us to come back here in the first place."

A collective gasp was heard. "Blasphemy," they whispered, shaking their heads as though they were sad. "Turn back."

Midna, newly determined with their clearly hostile attitudes, smiled. "If destiny truly wishes us gone...we would have already left. But we're still here, so deal with it."

With a collective wheezing sigh, the five old Sages raised their hands out in front of them. Again murmuring together, they said words of the old language, old Hylian. Midna frowned, standing still, unable to imagine any act of violence from the fragile looking old men, but Ghirahim quickly understood their intentions and lunged forward, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her roughly off of the platform in front of him. She stumbled, but caught herself. Incredulous at the sudden motion and the failed diplomacy, she whirled around to see where Vaati and Zant had gone.

Ghirahim threw his hand out, red and gold diamonds dancing off of his fingertips at the centermost Sage. The old man, with speed that didn't match his ancient appearance, zoomed to the side and back, becoming only a white glowing blur. Suddenly, the Sages stopped their murmuring and closed their hands.

Vaati leapt upwards, far too high for any human to achieve, aided by a strong gust of wind that he created. He landed high up on the top of the chamber. Zant, however, had not jumped out of the way. With a pained cry, a strong wave of white magic knocked him off of his feet. Another Sage pointed at him. In a large fireball, white flames flew at him. Vaati, using another gust of wind, sent the fireball into a nearby wall. Ghirahim disappeared in a show of diamonds and appeared behind the attacking Sage, sending a tall vertical row of red projectiles at him. The sage avoided most of them, sidestepping as one of the others had done earlier, but was grazed by one. No cry escaped him and no wound manifested.

Midna quickly understood that this was no winning fight; the Sages had been created not to feel pain and their bodies, while appearing lifelike, were not real. The projectile had split through the white matter of the Sage's robe, dispelling it for a small moment. After that, the white particles joined back together.

Screw it, she thought. Time for an escape distraction.

Zant, apparently on a similar wavelength, jumped to his feet and threw his weight off of the platform. With a quick hand motion, the area he had just been standing on exploded in a fiery blast, destroying part of the sandstone. The broken Mirror of Twilight fell off, clattering to the floor. The Sages concentrated on him now, sending an array of spells at him; white light, white fire, white vines, white mist, and a transparent sheet of something.

Vaati leapt down from his perch, landing upon the back of one of the sages, the one that had released the odd transparent spell. He put his feet on the ground behind the Sage, his arm wrapped around the old man's throat. The Sage sputtered and clutched at empty air. He tried to redirect the spell that he had cast towards Zant back at Vaati, but a strong wind repelled it. Vaati pulled the man backwards, dragging him along, and then dropped him. The Sage wasn't hurt, but gasped for breath like any human would. "Damn you!" Vaati cried, sending a purple blast of magic at him. The Sage still didn't flinch.

Another explosion turned the Sages' attention to a far corner. Ghirahim, Midna, and Zant started to rush to the edge of the chamber, towards the stairs. Vaati had manifested a long bladed sword, with a glowing silver blade and an intricate purple hilt. Along the length of the blade, several small spike-like parts made it an even more vicious weapon. He was above the Sage, about to drive it into him, wide eyed and dazed. Ghirahim broke from Midna and Zant to rush at Vaati and grab him by the back of his shirt, dragging him with them, down the cascading stairs.

"Ghirahim! Let me go!" Vaati screeched, his voice echoing up the building. The Sages didn't appear to be following them, but the four didn't stop running until they reached the end of the wide staircase. A stone door, faded to the same dull white of the arches that surrounded them, blocked the rest of the way.

Ghirahim approached the door cautiously, placing his hand upon it. Vaati started to speak, but was quickly hushed. The white clad man was silent and still, breathing deeply for a few moments. He removed his hand. "There's something in there."

Vaati, still fuming, said, "Good. That means I can go back up to the top and finish off that Sage. I was doing fineat killing him, but no, you had to come and drag me away before any form of revenge was achieved. Damn it." He spun around to rush back up the stairs, but Midna blocked his way. Midna, to any Dusk Province or Capitol City resident, was a beautiful woman of average stature. Zant, one of both Ashen and Dusk Province descent, looked similar to her and was about her height. However, she towered over Vaati, a full blooded Ashen Province member. Even Ghirahim was taller than Vaati, who stood a little under six feet tall, a full head shorter than Midna. The wind mage cast a baleful glare up at her and spun back to look at Ghirahim.

"What's that?" Zant asked, kneeling down to the sandy stones and brushing off a small indentation. He found a small lip on the bottom side of it and lifted. With a groan, the trapdoor opened, revealing a long wooden ladder.

Zant went down first, followed by Vaati, who was followed by Ghirahim and finally Midna. It was a long ladder, and the dark stone enclosing it made it suffocatingly hot and very dark, even with the entrance opened. At last, Zant's feet made contact with the sandy ground beneath them. The rest made it down a moment later.

The night was more forgiving in temperature, even though the desert heat was still hovering in the air. Midna cast a few cautious glances around. The area was an endless sea of sand, with dunes reaching huge heights. Behind them, a large sandstone building rose out of the ground, with freestanding pillars that reached far above the top of the Mirror Chamber. Torches burned brightly, only feet away. Wooden barricades were littered throughout the area.

Midna was immediately suspicious of the lit torches and tapped Ghirahim on the shoulder. He turned to her, about to speak, but she pointed to the burning light and he stopped. Vaati leisurely stretched out, leaning against the edge of the building. He drove his sword into the sand and it disappeared slowly, fading into shadow storage. Zant stood quietly nearby. With an annoyed glance, Midna gestured to Vaati. He walked up to them and leaned in to whisper. "What?"

"Where are we going? Where's the stupid capital?"

"Oh, that. I figured that you'd want to tour around a little and such"-he paused when Midna glared at him- "but I, umm, don't really remember my way around...you see, I've never actually been to the capital here, I just hung around in the desert with a friend or two..."

Ghirahim, with a loud sigh, met his forehead with the palm of his hand. Midna rubbed her temples. "Well, where are your friends?" she asked, trying to keep calm.

"They're right over behind these barricades," he said, "but it's complicated...they weren't exactly on good terms with me when I left, and I don't think..."

Midna, gripping Vaati's shoulder tightly, pushed him along in front of her, out into the torchlight. "Hey!" She shouted, "Vaati's back! Can someone give him directions?"

A horn sounded, right next to the Twilight Princess. She flinched, but held her ground. Ghirahim stepped in next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She was too tense to object. Dozens of figures began to file out of the small huts that were erected behind the tall stone outer walls. They were mere shadows at first, but as they stepped out into the torchlight, became more apparent. Vivid red hair, much like Midna's, shone in the firelight. Deep brown skin and yellow eyes were the next similar characteristic. Most had long chiseled noses and full lips. They all held weapons, swords, scimitars, bows and arrows. The next thing that Midna noticed was that there were no men at all.

And out of the middle of these warrior women came a voice, low, deceivingly sweet, and layered in all the sharpness of a blade. "Vaati. You've returned."

A/N: I so appreciate all of the reviews and alerts! I hope you're all as excited about this story as I am.