Sorry it's so short, the next one will be longer, I promise. My mind is rigged to explode with ideas. This thing won't be finished anytime soon, so let's get started.


Chapter 2: A Warning


Bane ran as fast as he possibly could back to where Mrathil, Azzonoth, and Xul were waiting. The trio took the positions of statues, merely waiting for the abomination to come back. After Bane entered the Grounds, Xul nodded.

"He's here, alright. Shall we?" The Antithesis beckoned to the door. Mrathil nodded, and jumped off the stone slab followed shortly by Azzonoth. The duo had to duck to get inside, when they realized Xul wasn't behind them. Instead, Mrathil saw the fallen Lux standing in the direct center of a huge room filled with sand, on top of a skeleton. Mrathil climbed on top of the skeleton's horn, and Azzonoth leaped up the skeleton's back. They had to wait less than five minutes when the beast beat the door in, now bipedal, holding a Stalfos' skull. Bane crushed it with a humanlike hand before bowing in front of Xul.

"I failed, Master." Bane whispered, his bones starting to assume the form of a quadruped once more. Xul merely growled, and the red glow in the skeleton's eyes flickered.

"How so?" Xul asked, sitting down on the skeleton's head. "How did the task of killing three simple people excel your field?" Bane's maw hit the floor.

"I tried to charm the knight, whom of which I lost control over after the Twili pacified him. He almost stabbed her, though-" Bane started before Xul's voice rose.

"The Twili bitch lives?" Xul was not pleased. "You know how important the deaths of all of them, especially her, are to the plan, Bane. I hope you have some good news?" Xul growled the last sentence. Bane nodded.

"The human, the one that killed the Pretender- I have left my mark." Bane seemed proud of this, picking his maw up and showcasing the glittering fang, which indicated where the poison had come from. Xul nodded.

"So there is a small light in this tunnel of darkness." Xul whispered.


The orange and black smoke had seeped into Link's bloodstream, looking to select a particular blood cell, like one would search for a prime cut of meat in a meat market. This particular cell had been floating lazily in a routine fashion around the bloodstream. The smoke bit into the cell, which convulsed and flailed like a dying animal after being grabbed by a hunter. The smoke opened the membrane of the cell and dove inside, forcibly grabbing control. It's once brilliant red was now a strange black with orange cracks. The cell looked around desperately for something to find in, and found a crack in the skin to hide in.

It would watch. It would wait. It would corrupt. It knew it's instructions. And soon, it would spread it's instructions to everyone.


Neither Xul nor Davos had seen the figure posing as part of the wall. After Xul had ejected himself out, part of the wall broke into a humanoid shape, and landed on the ground fist and knee first. The stone rose slowly, examining the scene, before groping at the stone's own face. The creature took a hold of the sides of the face and ripped it off, shedding the Stone Mask and the armor that came with it. The figure was of an inexplicable transparent metal, which adjusted once more to the surroundings as it checked the bodies.

It could not salvage anything whatsoever of the one called Thundros' face. However, the High Warden's face only need a little 'pick me up' before it would be ready to go. The figure revealed a long knife, nearing short-sword length. It laid two fingers on the High Warden's helmet, which the creature hadn't taken off. Those fingers began to glow white, and underneath them, the helmet and the face snapped back together again, bones and metal visibly readjusting themselves to the proper positions. Then it took the knife and put it to the top of the helmet's face, which was form-fitted to the High Warden.

It began cutting.


Midna had pointed the warp at Castle Town, and to her annoyance, the threesome had rematerialized in a nearby cave mouth. The Twilight Princess groaned to see that the afternoon was invaded by rain the size of small beads. Thunder roared over Castle Town, lightning flashing across the sky in brilliant arcs of power that could easily turn the capital to ash. Link had taken a second to stabilize himself, stumbling for a moment before catching his footing. Ros still lay on the ground, groggy but waking up.

Link was trying to get it all together in his head, Midna saw. "What happened to the Castle Town warp?" He asked, gesturing to wear it was. Midna let out a long sigh.

"I had worked on a fail-safe of sorts while living home in the Twilight Realm," Midna explained, not letting the sight of the lightning leave her eyes. "Things like weather situations were supposed to transport us to the nearest dry spot. Apparently, Castle Town is soaked or I didn't do a good job," Midna grumbled as she took a seat on a rock. Link nodded, taking it all in. He opened his mouth before Midna cut him off. "I burnt," She answered darkly. "I don't know how or why but I burnt almost as bad as I did when Zant roasted me." Her eyes had drifted down to her now pale lower chest, which was adorned by the scar of where her body had broken open from the light. Link was mortally terrified that day, and wanted to never feel that manner of pain again. Midna had bled all over his fur, and she had… Neither of them wanted to relive that day, ever again.

"I'm sorry." Link replied, plopping on a stone. His sides shot up in protest.

"Is the flesh stable yet?" Midna asked. Link took off a slab of bandage, allowing the slight sting to pass, and poked. His finger nearly ripped the flesh open again, and Link shook his head.

"Not in the slightest. I'll give it a day before I go see a medic." Link's voice hadn't shone the slightest hint of him missing her in any way. Midna mentally slapped herself for thinking that Link missed her in… That way. Could it even happen? Midna was unsure.

"Did you ever take care of yourself while I was gone?" Midna asked cockily. Link chuckled.

"I had a different princess, one that I didn't consider my closest friend, watching out for me," Link shot back, crossing his left leg over his right. Midna saw his lips tighten, then unclench again as he put his foot back down. She smiled absentmindedly at the thought of them being close, as if they had grown up together. It's not that she didn't want the circumstances to be different, she just rather that the reunion could be under better circumstances. She wondered what Link thought of her now, three years after the adventure they had shared. Her mind hurt at the thought, as her thoughts stood defiant against her persona, the two conducting a battle in her head. Link stood up again. "I should go start a fire, it'll get cold here, fast." Midna got up and shook her head, which made Link plop right back down.

"You'll not be leaving until those wounds are healed. Here," Midna commanded, a ball of intensified light growing from the size of a pinprick to that of Link's palm. When Link closed his eyes he could still see the burning light, which was now thrown down in the center of the triangular cave mouth. Ros was in the back, just about waking up. "It's a Twili Fire. Just put your hands around it if you need warmth." Link gave her a smile that she had only seen when she had broken the barrier at Hyrule castle- one that made her insides turn to jelly, but not in a bad way; for it also gave her a powerful armor that would fend off all of the grief she had.

Yes, that day, her thoughts had won the battle.

Ros had sat up now, and Link turned to the Knight. The waves of white had disappeared from his form, and without a word, he looked between the two of them for half a minute before he spoke up.

"You two… are insane," He murmured, getting up. He pointed at the Twili Fire. "What's that?" He sounded like a child asking what a sword or a nation was.

"A conjured flame. Sit a spell…" Midna trailed off.

"Sir Ros Druthmar," Ros replied, bowing slightly. "And I apologize for my earlier actions, they were not my own." Link arched an eyebrow.

"How so?" Link asked.

"The beast had me under some manner of trance. My movements were not my own." Ros replied, before looking outside to the rain. Lightning arced in the air, making the new Hyrule Castle look sickly in the flashes.

"Apology accepted." Midna nodded, smiling slightly. Ros went to the mouth of the cave, one eye on the outside at all times.

"Thank you, Twilight Princess." Ros tilted his head just far enough so that plops of rain landed on him. Link look bewildered and mouthed to Midna How did he know? Midna's brow furrowed slightly for a moment.

Midna could not have anticipated what her pacification had done.


Ros had known. What the Twilight Princess hadn't seen was that she did not just take his mind and still it, but she could not control the flow of her thoughts. He experienced, no, lived the story of the Hero through Midna's eyes. How she was as an imp, the slight, but still prominent, feeling of home whenever Midna had laid her hand on his face, or he had held her. He had seen it all. He had known, probably too much, by his guess.

Slightly bemused, he thought he may've gathered enough information about the Twilight Princess then the Hero of Twilight ever had. Sadly, though, he also figured out that it would crush one if a parting should occur again.

Little did Ros know it, he had seen something that Midna never wanted shown. He had to do something, Ros felt it in his gut. The words of his ancestors rang clear in his head.

Protect them. Ros didn't know who his ancestors were, however they gave him a voice he needed. His ancestors told him that a darkness was coming, and he'd need to be the shield they could never become. He was to succeed where they had ultimately failed.

Why? He thought. Why does it have to be me? But the ghosts of the past were silent. Everything was now silent, like a still painting that refused to flow in the slightest way.

Ros involuntarily lifted his hands towards his face. Something was coming, and something that would not settle for anything less than making them mincemeat. He knew it was his duty to protect, and protect he would.

He would protect like he couldn't when he was a child. He couldn't protect his… He forced the thoughts out of his head. Now was not the time to recollect. Now was the time to be on his guard.


Queen Malia Wstroth was seated upon her throne of glass when the High Warden came bursting into the throne room.

The throne room was set up like a sheer cliff, only other Lux being able to rise for the queen. The three sets of doors were orange, with black wooden doorknobs. The High Warden flew straight up, landing in front of the queen with a fwhoom. He was on one knee in front of the queen, who commanded him to rise in a decaying tone. The queen's color was that of a dark blue, her skin covering her bones like a thin shirt. Queen Malia was not old or comely at all, her red-straw like hair waved down to her shoulder blades, and her mouth and nose were perfectly spaced. She wore a circlet of platinum inset with gold, the platinum outmatched by her silvery eyes that glowed like the sun above them. Her wings, when folded, covered her shoulders and upper arms like armor, metallic plates that she could wear in battle. The queen was never someone who sat there and did nothing, and her outstretched wings were tantalizing to look at, feathers of a crimson-white, surrounded by delicate halos. The High Warden and the Queen exchanged a stretch of wings, customary to anything nigh of direct family for the Lux people. She wore expensive cloth and ornaments, which weaved around her body in a delicate fashion.

"What brings you here?" The Queen's voice started at a louder-than-normal tone, and ended in a whisper. Nobody knew why, but it was the way she talked. Only her closest friend, who happened to be her doctor, knew why. She would never tell anyone, even if she could.

"Your highness," The High Warden sounded troubled as he reached towards his face. "You need to listen to us when we talk to you." While the High Warden said that sentence, he had taken off his face. In front of the Queen stood a tall figure in moving, invisible armor and a face with no features, save for two golden eyes. She could tell it was armor from the sound, a chrk-chrk underneath the vwhoom it emanated whenever the creature moved.

"A Face Master," The Queen whispered with disgust. "I have never needed your council, nor shall I ever. Be on your way before I force you out, and take Davos' face from you." She growled upon her mentioning of the High Warden. The Face Master seemingly held up a hand.

"I'm merely here to issue a warning. I'm thankful that I got here before that did, though." The Face Master replied, sounding violent instead of the usual wise.

"What! Tell me!" The Queen demanded like an impudent child. The Face Master turned away, leaving her to gaze at the walls through its armor. It turned slightly to her, allowing her to glimpse part of its face.

"Xul. The Antithesis that… you know…I'm sorry about that." The Face Master was actually being sympathetic, an emotion Queen Malia had never seen them express, towards her plight. Malia allowed a small smile to surface, followed by a nod.

"Thank you." Her voice was small, and it was evident that she had no idea to respond. But the Face Master did.

"Escaped." The Face Master finished, seemingly unfazed by her thanks. Her face dropped, horror sprayed across it like graffiti.

"What?!" Queen Malia shrieked. She got off of her throne and sped to the Face Master. "How does nobody know about this?!"

"Look outside," The Face Master replied darkly. "While I take you to a safe house." The Face Master turned to the Queen, allowing her to see its featureless face, and the golden eyes drank her in.

"I'm not leaving my people." Malia growled. She felt that the Face Master would've arched an eyebrow, if it had any.

"Then I'll be forced to do this," The Face Master whispered, taking something out of an invisible pouch. He shoved a stone onto her face, which nigh of immediately started petrifying her. She tried to jerk away, but the stones advanced too fast. They came up and claimed her. "I am sorry." The Face Master said.


The threesome had waited until the early hours of the morning, when the terrible rain had stopped, to leave the cave. Checking to make sure the new flesh was stable enough to move on, Link fell behind on the walk to Castle Town, which took merely five minutes from the cave mouth they had camped within. Midna and Ros were discussing something in hushed tones in front of Link. Curious, he called upon some of his wolf senses and heard only bits and pieces.

"You-" This was Midna.

"…to non-" This was Ros.

"…now i-" Midna.

"Fine." Ros.

"What could my dear friend and the First Knight possibly be talking about?" Link wondered aloud, and directed his movements towards the two of them as he walked slowly. "Do I see hearts flying?" He asked in a tone that sounded more like a game show announcer than the Hero of Twilight. They spun around, Ros' faceplate down, but Link didn't need superior senses to know he was glaring. Midna's face flushed orange, which was rare for Twili; their blood was accustomed to a different tone of light, and developed as blue. However, thanks to Zelda storing herself in Midna, and the fact that Midna was now somewhat more tolerant to the sun, her blood had changed from sky blue to a burning orange color. It synergized with the color of hair almost perfectly. Link smiled.

"No!" Midna snapped. Ros rolled his eyes before advancing, and Midna kept the Are you insane? Look her on face as he slowly but steadily walked alongside her.

"Someone became uptight back home in the Twilight Realm." Link joked. Midna's looked taken aback.

"I did not lose my sense of humor!" Midna growled. "There's no way, and you can ask your four, negative-eight, thirty something goddesses about that!" Link smiled. She had even forgotten the Golden Goddesses.

"Midna, what's on my hand?" Link asked as Ros gazed on while they walked into Castle Town.

"The Triforce. Why?" The Twili asked, her brow furrowing. Apparently, that triggered something in her head and she slapped her face. "I'm an idiot." She whispered as they walked through Castle Town, late bird's heads turning at the sight of Midna. The only one that cared about the passing glances was Ros, who's eyes swiveled in every direction with each glance. It made him look more like an owl or hawk instead of human, cloak shaking with each turn. It made more glances go to him than either of the two. Link walked with a slight limp, just noticeable enough to be found by onlookers. Link chuckled.

"I'm so glad you missed me." He sounded like he was talking to a puppy, Midna realized. His right hand was over his heart and he was giving her the puppy-dog face he had the first time when he said he needed to sleep.

"You're really making that flee though, pal," Midna patted his shoulder. This forced a small laugh out of him instead. The trio found their way to Hyrule Castle, where Midna wolf whistled. "This looks bigger." The Twili admired. Ros turned around, effectively walking backwards.

"Aye. It's bigger and better than any other Hyrule Castle to predate it," Ros answered before turning back around into the metal door. His faceplate clinked off it, which reminded Link of the tears that Midna had shed when he had saw her last. "Is it alright that I can't feel anything in my head?" Ros joked, as the threesome took their time inside. A guard nodded to Link, and in less than five minutes, Zelda had come from seemingly nowhere. She was dressed in her nightly attire, a simple purple gown that was noticeably sizes too big for her. Her brown hair was in a messy bun.

"Midna?!" Zelda's reaction upon seeing the Twili, who was still instantly recognizable despite the change in her skin color, was not that of a cold ruler but that of a friend. The Twilight Princess smiled and nodded.

"What other Twili do you know?" Midna asked, holding up her right arm. "On second thought, don't answer that." Midna countered. Zelda gave a quick glance to Ros, who bowed, and Link, who tried to keep his bandages steady and did not look at Zelda.

"You're hurt." Zelda stated the obvious. Link looked up and noticed the three of them were watching him fix the bandages on his sides. He shook his head.

"Believe me when I say this is much better than the original mark," Link assured. "That reminds me, you still need that scout report." Link stopped when Zelda held up a hand.

"It can wait till morning. I can assume what happened, considering Midna is among us," Zelda yawned. "You three should get to bed. We're going to be explaining for this quite a bit to the court come morning. There are rooms next to mine that are free, come." Zelda beckoned, and while Midna and Link followed, Ros did not.

"My lady, I have night watch." Ros grinned sheepishly. Zelda nodded, then shrugged.

"I'm too tired to deal with this right now. Come and sleep, or go on the wall. If you do the former you won't get anything off your record. If you do the latter, feel free." Zelda walked away. Link took this all in for a moment.

"Midna," He said, the Twilight Princess arcing an eyebrow at him. "This is apparently night time, I thought it was just bad weather. What happened?" Link asked. Midna crossed her arms.

"I'm completely unsure, actually. That's never happened before," Midna whispered the last part, as if she was talking to herself. She noticed Link eyeing her while Ros left for the wall. Midna flushed once she realized why Link was staring. "Zelda said rooms, as in plural! Not in your perverted dreams!" Midna huffed before ascending the steps to where Zelda had left. Link rolled his eyes at the storming princess.

"First it worked with Illia, then with Midna. Man, I am getting lucky or is it working every time?" Link thought aloud. "Nah, it works every time." He followed Midna to the spare rooms.


The trio didn't know it was Xul who changed their warp out of amusement. The black squares held in the air for some time, allowing the Antithesis to conjure a rainstorm in Hyrule. He hadn't a reason to do this, only because he could. Azzonoth and Mrathil watched him.

"Exactly what are we waiting for?" Azzonoth asked. Mrathil glared at him, but Xul held up a hand.

"It's quite fine. You see, I figured we'd head out when they leave," Xul explained. "After they get the feeling that they're nice and comfortable and suddenly tired, we can do place it." Mrathil had to give him that, Xul was a genius. Azzonoth was confused.

"Then shouldn't we be heading out now?" The boy asked. Xul halted.

"Why not? We have a ways to go. Come, let us be on our way," Xul beckoned, and flew upwards. The shockwave forced Mrathil and Azzonoth down, rolling. There was a murmur of pain between them as Xul waited. "Tick tock, time waits for nobody," Xul encouraged, gesturing to the black squares that was the party. "Not even them." The trio would progress through during the day, and reach Hyrule by nightfall at this rate, Mrathil determined.


When the trio of evil beings left, Stallord's eyes sparked green. Finally, they had gone. Finally, Stallord could rejuvenate himself. The energies of life were more than enough to jump-start his system. Hyrule needed him more than ever, now. In fact, he could be renowned even as a Hero- by killing the evil three and taking the Lord of the Hallowed's head, he could make sure the sun wouldn't go out ever again. Stallord willed five Stalfos to him, who snaked through the sand as bones and armor. They picked up, inquiring what their lord wanted.

"Bring me Danuvius. I need to get into my compressed form." Stallord commanded, picking his head up. The other Stalfos nodded, and rushed away. Stallord sensed their internal screams of joy that he would soon crush. He was leaving, as was Danuvius. They were going to go across the world, and find the others.

They needed to win the war that had yet to begin. A long sleep gave Stallord time to think on many a thing.

He knew what he had to do.


And today's motto is: Sorry for the short update! Enjoy skeletal beings!

We are finally done with the exposition, folks. When I next update, it'll be the inciting moment! Then the story really starts to pick up! The next update should also be longer, perhaps twice as long, or perhaps even more than that, as this chapter.

Oh, and fans of other TP pairings… Hold on to your brains.