Twinxie's Note: Hey guys! I hope you've been trying to enjoy the last few days of summer break, if you're on it! Ugh, I feel like it's closing in on me. All the more reason to write fan fics to take the mind off it! ;D Anyway, please enjoy and leave a review!

Gliss's Note: School is definitely right around the corner, but I can easily ignore it by hanging out on this site all day! XD Twinxie did a good job with this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Oh, and leave a review telling her what you think!

Chapter 10 – Connected

Var glided down the halls with terrifying speed. The creatures of hell that served as slaves scurried out of his way, for he was in a dark and perilous mood. He was clenching his hands into fists and his eyes burned with a furious fire that was dangerously giving way to rage. He stopped his stride short, saw the nearest demon, (a pathetic piece of meat that was trying to scamper as fast as he could in the opposite direction) snatched the glass ewer filled with darkwater, and smashed it on the floor.

The abhorrent monster shrieked in fear and stared at Var, afraid to move a muscle. Var saw this and glared at the beast. "What are you standing there for?" He bellowed so that the hall echoed with his thunderous voice. "Clean this mess up and get out!" Before Var even finished, the beast was halfway out of the hall and hurrying to appease the seething Imparian. The other slaves rushed on with their business, afraid that they would be the next victims of his rage.

Var looked at their fearful expressions with a twinge of satisfaction, and a twinge of something that he did not know. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, so much of a dark blue as the midnight sky that it appeared black in dimmer lighting. It was not as dark as his temper though.

Oh, he should have been very satisfied. His King's plan was in full motion and about to be fulfilled. All he had to do was report of his progress to his Master and then the true fun could begin. But he wasn't satisfied. And he didn't know why. He wasn't mad because Link 'beat' him in their fight. No, if he had fought Link himself, instead of a decoy, the boy would have been dead and crushed into a fine jelly by now. Varlorion was no craven, and he did not leave the fight prematurely for fear. No, he had done his job and had to go and tell his Master, the King, the good news. Soon all would be ready.

What had infuriated him to no end, though, was himself. A small part of him didn't want to report his success, but rather, a failure. Why didn't he want to go through with this? Was he so weak that he was experiencing…feelings? Disgusting. He almost wished he had studied more on what the humans call "emotions" so that he could pin point which one he was feeling and snuff it out.

Maybe Imparian's weren't so different from the lower life forms. After all, if Var was capable of feeling something, then it must be in his nature. Var grimaced and touched the back of his shirt, which covered up many whip scars. His Master had bled out any weaknesses in Var, and such conflicting emotions were included. He knew that if the King found out about his doubtful loyalty, then the King would not hesitate to end the Imparian's life. His Master himself had told Var this in his younger years, when Var was rebellious and difficult to tame. Var had an extreme fear of his Master from those years of torment, and he did not wish to relive them. For this reason, he pushed all emotions aside, seeing them as useless and a death sentence and began to continue his walk down the hall, to his Master's chamber. He would report the good tidings, like the obedient dog his Master called him, and follow his orders without hesitation. He was not human and he most certainly was not going to act like one.

Var stepped over the broken glass and the puddle of darkwater when he heard a voice behind him. "Must you go around breaking things? It serves neither you nor the Master, and I am sure he would be most interested to find out the one who is damaging his goods."

Var turned on his heel and glared at the speaker. "What do you want, Nathair?"

Nathair smiled his slimy smile. He was a slim demon that looked less repulsive than the others, but no less disgusting to look at by both Imparian and human standards. When Var first came to serve the Master, although not wholly willingly, it was Nathair, the highest of the servants, who reported Var's misdeeds to the Master. Var could thank Nathair for many of the bloody chastisements he received when he was younger.

"I want only what the Master wants. Why do you recoil?" His eerie, unblinking eyes pierced Var's invasively and it felt obscene. Var forced his gaze downward, refusing to meet the demon's eyes. He knew from experience that Nathair was very good at reading hearts and motives. Sometimes Var wondered if Nathair could read his thoughts. The thought disgusted him. Nathair made Var feel uncomfortable always and Var hated the sneaky servant for always ratting him out. He could imagine the snake gently forcing his mind open and eagerly exploring all the parts of his mind, taking all of Var's most intimate secrets for his own.

"Just leave me alone." Var answered curtly and turned away. Suddenly a cold and clammy hand grabbed his neck, twisted him around and then shoved his back against the wall. The hall was empty and silent, save for the two servants.

"I'll ask again." Nathair's predatory eyes looked reptilian. "Why do you recoil? You're hiding something from me, Varlorion." His icy hand squeezed Var's neck. Var refused to show discomfort or to gasp.

"I have a right of my own to recoil if I wish. I have no allegiance to you or your commands. Now get off me! I have to see the Master now, and I will tell him that it was you who impeded me!" Var was internally satisfied that he was giving Nathair a taste of his own medicine, but the fellow servant seemed unphased.

Nathair dug his disgusting fingernails into Var's neck. Var still refused to make eye contact. "Look at me." He suddenly ordered and his grip tightened, indicating that he would not release Var until he did.

Var growled but did so. It was painful. Nathair's pupils grew wide and dilated as his mouth opened slightly. Storm grey irises met ice white. And then it was over and a sly smile slithered onto Nathair's lips. He released Var. "Give my greetings to the Master." And with that, he walked away.

Var glared after him, rubbing his neck with a look of pure hatred. He made his way to his Master's chambers, which were on the far other side of the Temple of Light. It was weird that Zelda and Link were in the same building but they had no idea they were in his Master's home. But the Temple of Light was vast and the Triforce was kept in an uninhabited part of the Temple. An explosion could go off and the other end wouldn't had known it had happened, for such was the size of the Temple. Eventually Var made it to the Great Doors, which were opened for him and he kneeled to the dark figure. "Everything is set, Master. They have the Triforce. I await your orders for our next course of action."

"Var," A deep voice rumbled, "I have been waiting for some time now for you to return."

"My apologies, Master. The girl was quite…troublesome." Var cast his eyes downward and bowed his head humbly.

"I don't care for excuses. If I could afford it, I'd have you tortured for a week, but I need you now."

"My Master is generous. Tell me what I may do for you and it shall be done."

There was silence as the Dark Master pondered this. Then he spoke. "They have the Triforce, you say?"

"Yes, Master."

A sick smile. "Then let's go and meet them."

"Your Princess, and what might be the fate of the Sacred Realm, will be safe only if you do this."

"I'm game." Link reached out with both hands, which trembled as they got closer to the raw power of the Triforce. Zelda was watching nervously, chewing her bottom lip as Link gathered the Triforce into his arms. Neither of them could believe they were seeing the realthing. The Holy Artifact, The Conduit of the Power of the Goddesses. They were both breathless, but they did not notice. There seemed to be no need for air now.

"That's it." Sheloh breathed, her eyes seemed to be sparkling with what looked like pure joy and relief. "You're doing it." She said encouragingly.

Link chuckled, not believing the moment, but not wanting it to disappear either. He smiled. "Now, let's wish." He closed his eyes. Soon this would all be over and he and Zelda could go home. Home.

Blinding white flashed over their vision, loud and sharp like lightning. It was followed immediately after by absolute darkness which seemed like a beast of legend that resurrected itself from the dead and swallowed the trio whole. Zelda gasped and Link felt the very air in his lungs get sucked out of him. Sheloh reached out to feel if they were still there, and when she felt them, Zelda trembling and Link stock still, she clutched them tightly. Thankfully, the heavy darkness dissipated as quickly as it came, and the room became lightly dimmed.

Link and Zelda looked about frantically. The Triforce was still in Link's hands and not doing anything now that it wasn't doing before. It appeared to not be the source of the greatly contrasting lighting, which left a bright afterimage over both of their eyes, making it hard to see past the blinding colors.

There was a deep chuckle that reverberated the room. The triad looked in the direction of the voice, as their vision returned to them. The heavy darkness did not wholly disappear, but rather it clustered into the corner of the room where two dark figures advanced toward them, coming out of the darkness as if it were a heavy curtain.

"Var!" Zelda cried out in shock and fear. She had almost forgotten him in the short time that he left. She had been so absorbed in the wish and her hopes of returning home that all the horrors she endured were seemingly faded away. But now they all came back to her with such force that she felt like she had been slapped.

Link glared at Var, who was grim and silent but had eyes twinkling with something, and the much taller and muscular man towering over them. Var said he was going to talk to his "Master" and Link realized with a start that that was who the large man was. His Master. It donned upon Link just how much danger they were all in and that the wish may not even be made, if these two interfered.

"How nice of you two to finally make it. Welcome." The man smiled wickedly and Zelda felt a shiver run down her spine. She felt the aura of this man and felt like she was connected with him, despite her deepest wishes that she wasn't. Then she realized who he was. All the history lessons, and the legends that were forever in song. It all pointed to this man being, "Ganondorf!" Zelda accused.

Ganondorf and Var stood on the other side of the room, a safe distance between the other group. Ganon let out a long and low laugh. "So, you feel it too? I am glad that I won't have to go into the long speech about who I am now. But my business is not with you. Not yet." He added with a gleam in his eye.

Link stepped protectively in front of Zelda. "Leave us alone! We have the Triforce and we will use its power against you!"

Ganondorf grinned and Var allowed himself a small smile at Link's foolishness. "So you do and so you may, but what toil both of us would endure if we tried to destroy the other! No. I have no desire to have you killed. I will not harm you or the girl, if you help me. That is actually why I am here."

"No!" Link barked without hesitation. "We will not help you and we want no business with you! I would soone-"

"Link." Zelda interrupted and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Link turned to her, still hot with anger. Zelda's eyes, on the outside, pleaded for calmness and wisdom, but on the inside, they told Link to hear them out so that they could get as much information as they could from them. Link nodded, but was still silent and brooding.

Zelda, seeing that Link was too angry to speak, spoke for him. She turned to the villain of legend. "What do you want and name your terms."

Ganon grinned. "First," he held up a finger, "I want your watchdog to use the Triforce and make a wish." He ignored the shout of indignation Link released upon being called a "watchdog." He continued, "Not the wish he was going to make, but something a little more…ambitious."

"Which would be…?" Zelda pressed.

"Spread my dominion over the Sacred Realm." He answered simply.

Zelda elbowed Link in the stomach, almost like human children do to their siblings to prevent them from spilling some secret to their parents. Link stooped over, clutching his stomach, but he silenced his protests. Zelda, satisfied that Link wasn't going to interfere with her indirect interrogation, looked back at the fire-haired man. "You said 'first.' Name your other terms." She said coolly.

Ganondorf flashed a falsely sweet smile that was stark white against his dark skin. "Or course," he held up a second finger, "Second, I want the two of you to come and dwell with me. I have great need of both of your talents."

A recovered Link cast an anxious glance at Zelda, which was ignored. She was looking at Sheloh, wondering what would happen to her. Sheloh was the one who brought Link to Zelda to save her. She should not be tossed aside after such kind service. Sheloh nodded comfortingly at Zelda, indicating that Zelda shouldn't worry about her. Zelda smiled faintly and looked back at Ganon; blue and gold eyes locked.

"Thirdly and finally, the two of you will obey my every command without question, and know that what I decide is for the coming of greatness." His final command, delivered in a deep bass voice, created a silence afterward that hung heavily over the youth's heads. These were no small commands.

Zelda could think of nothing to say, but instead she opened and closed her mouth. She had no intention of saying 'yes', but she also was hesitant in saying 'no.' Surely this man named Ganondorf would not be too happy if they refused him. He said he wouldn't kill him, but there were plenty of painful methods he could use that would leave them both alive. Barely.

Link, however, was undaunted. He looked up with eyes alight with such hatred that it would have shriveled and choked a heart of weaker constitution. But Ganon was unphased. "Never." Link hissed through gritted teeth. "You have disguised your words to sound pleasant, but I can see the naked desire you truly seek. You would have me and Zelda locked away in chains as toys and tools for you to use to further your own cause! Did you think that we would honestly sell our souls and become slaves to you so easily? How dareyou even think of such a plan! No! The answer is no! We are not coming with you and your evil designs end now!"

There was a silence followed by the sound of laughter bursting from deep within Ganon's chest. "Then you've sealed your fate." Suddenly Ganon turned to Var, and spoke in a dark language. Sheloh's ears pricked up, for she understood what he said to Var: He's mine. "Link, watch out!" But Ganon was already rushing at Link and he was upon him in the blink of an eye. A sword already materialized in his hand, Ganon attacked Link, and the Triforce flew up into the air. Zelda and Sheloh gasped.

"Catch it! Catch it! Zelda, you have to catch it!" Sheloh shouted frantically. Only the Chosen Ones could handle it and Zelda was the only one of the chosen that wasn't particularly busy. Zelda held her arms out, walking backwards to catch it, when she tripped backwards and landed with a thud on the ground. She was well placed, though, and the Triforce landed directly on top of her. Unfortunately, it collided with such force with her being that it began to glow brightly, and Zelda as well, and the two merged into one. The Triforce vanished into light which penetrated Zelda like a million swords all over her body. Such power entering within one being was both painful and weakening to the physical body. Zelda let out a cry of pain as Sheloh rushed to her side. Var was looking from across the room with wide eyes. This had been unexpected.

All Zelda saw was lights and blurs and heard the sounds of metal on metal as Link and Ganondorf dueled without heed to anything else around them. They were too engrossed and dealing with their own troubles. Sheloh and Var could handle whatever was happening with the teenage princess.

"Zelda! Can you hear me? Zelda? Zelda!" Sheloh gave the glowing girl a good shake. Tears were streaming down Zelda's face now and she was curled up into a tight ball. Everything hurt and her senses were all a chaotic mess and unreliable. It seemed like multiple images were storming past her eyes with the knowledge that the Triforce held, and many loud sounds of histories and battles of the past thundered in her ears. She wanted it to stop and she couldn't tell where the ground or ceiling was. She felt as if she was being hurled and flung around like a rag doll in a zero gravity chamber. She pushed herself up with all her strength (which was fading fast) and unleashed the contents of her stomach onto the white floor.

"Ew." Var grimaced at the sight. He had come over to see if the girl was going to pass out or something. There was nothing else he could do at the moment, since his Master had ordered him to stay out of the fight, which Ganondorf seemed to be gaining the upper hand in.

Sheloh looked up at him and gave him a dirty look, which Var ignored. Then she returned her attention back to Zelda. Zelda's arms were shaking with the strain of upholding her own body and Sheloh quickly pulled her away and onto her back so as to prevent the girl from collapsing into her own vomit.

Sheloh let out a sharp sigh of frustration. "They are taking forever! The girl will be dead before they are finished having it out!" She glared at the fighting duo. They were deep in combat and Link was bleeding majorly in several areas. A large gash was in his side, and a blow to the head produced a waterfall of red that poured down his face and impeded his vision. Not to mention the rather ghastly wound that made his shoulder look like it had been mauled by a bear. Link was getting cremated, as the saying went. Ganondorf was hardly scratched at all.

"Then maybe you should finish it and hurry this little fiasco along?" Var suggested with a mocking scowl.

"I will." Sheloh said with terrifying resolution.

Zelda wondered what they were talking about, but when another surge of pain swept over her body, her screaming continued and she didn't really care about anything else anymore. Except a small voice in the back of her head was still saying, 'Link! Where is Link? He is going to die! Link is going to leave me here! He needs my help!'

Link barely dodged a blow that Ganon sent his way. He jumped to the left to avoid the large sword of the Demon King, and barely kept his footing. He was exhausted and his life force was seeping through his clothes. The only thing that kept him fighting was Zelda. 'I can't let him take her again! I won't let him use her as a pawn for power! I will die if I have to, but I won't let them have her! Zelda belongs to Hyrule! Zelda is-'

He stopped fighting, and his eyes were wide. Almost like he just remembered something important that he had forgotten. Ganondorf too stopped and surveyed Link oddly. Was this boy an idiot? Then Ganon noticed a sharp piece of metal sticking out just under Link's left side of his ribcage. Link opened and closed his mouth, rasping and gasping as pain flooded his mind. It was so sharp and painful. And he screamed as the long dagger was yanked out of him. He fell to his knees and gripped his side tightly. And he looked into the face of his attacker, who came to his front to be seen.

Sheloh.

What? Why? What is going on? Link wanted to say these things, but since he had a limited number of words he could say, due to his wounds, he chose the only thing that mattered. "Traitor." He hissed as the smirking woman. There was no remorse at all in her emerald eyes.

"Hm. Not really. Traitor would imply that I was once on your side." She twirled and flipped the dagger in her hands and laughed at his look of rage at her words. "Oh, Link. You're so gullible. You were so blinded by your love and devotion to a girl who was way out of your league, that you couldn't even see what was right in front of you." She beckoned to Var with a finger and he picked up the Hylian Princess bridal style and came over to them. Zelda whimpered in pain at being moved and clenched her teeth and eyes.

"You see her now, Link? Look at the girl." Sheloh ordered with a sick smile and indicated to the girl that was writhing in agony. "That is your fault. The race of humans don't deserve her. They did not put her powers to good use. And they shrugged you off as well, writing you off as nothing more than a watchdog." She leaned down into his face and grinned. She took her thumb and wiped a lone tear that was sliding down Link's cheek (although from pain or emotional hurt, she didn't know or care.) "But don't worry, pet. We will remedy all of this soon. You will like staying with us. We know your power and intend to use you to your full potential."

"Sheloh!" Ganon barked. She silenced herself before she could say too much. She straightened herself and backed up, waiting for her King's orders. Var regarded her with aversion but kept his place beside her regardless.

"This has been a great victory for us. You two will be well rewarded." Ganon sheathed his sword and nodded. "But there is more to do. Come." And with that he strode out of the Triforce Chamber, leaving his two servants to follow.

"Oh, sure. You get to carry the girl." Sheloh grumbled as she took a firm grip on Link's tunic, intending to drag him. Link was too weak to do anything and he was slowly opening and closing his eyes as if sleepy.

"You were the one who told me to get her with your vague hand gestures." Var spat at Sheloh.

Sheloh laughed. "And yet even though they were vague, you seemed to interpret well what you were to do. Or rather…what you wanted to do." She began slowly dragging the boy towards the door.

Var was desperately trying to keep his temper in check. Leave it to Loh to suggest something like that. "Forget it! You want to carry the girl? Fine! Here, take her!"

She chuckled. "Ah…no. I'll let you have your moment with her." She didn't stop and continued to drag Link out into the hall.

Var growled and kicked at a nearby pillar, causing a piece of marble to chip off and sail across the room.

"And stop breaking things! If only Nathair were here to see you…" Her voice drifted to him from the hall and she continued to ramble on and on about everything Var hated. He let out a sharp sigh and followed after her.

Link listened to the bickering of the two Imparians in their own native tongue that only they knew. The language seemed to push him deeper into the dark shadows that waited to overcome his mind. And soon, they did. And the black world of unconsciousness took him.

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