Chapter 10

Zant did not know how long he waited for the boy to appear. Minutes, hours, days? His concept of time was lost amid a storm of anger and sorrow. So many of his people were dead. Blue portals looked down on him from the sky. He had managed to use them to trace Midna's power signature. It seemed she still retained her teleportation skill. Now the Voice told him it was only a matter of time before she and the boy emerged from the depths of Lake Hylia with the final Fused Shadow - provided they did not die trying to get it. Zant hopes they survived. He wanted to deal with them himself.

So he waited. It seemed like an eternity, and each passing moment filled him with more hatred. He felt the power writhing just beneath his skin, begging to be unleashed. Soon, he told himself.

Soon.

At last, he felt a spike of energy within the temple behind him. He teleported inside just in time for the boy to turn around and nearly run into him. The child let out a gasp, and his blue eyes widened in surprise.

Zant screamed at the child, his rage and pain pouring out of his mouth and echoing around the chamber and inside his helmet. Before he could unleash his power upon the boy, an enormous being in the shape of a snake erupted from the pool in the center of the room. In its mouth was an orb of pure Light. The Light Spirit hovered behind the child, its golden eyes glaring a challenge to the King of Shadows. Zant grinned behind his helmet and released a tremendous burst of power from his body. The force of the blast knocked the boy off his feet and threw the Light Spirit against the back wall. The impact shook the room, and then the Spirit faded from sight. The orb of Light remained. Zant raised a hand, sending a stream of power towards the Light. He lowered it back into the pool, smothering it in Shadow. Beautiful Twilight enveloped the chamber.

Before Zant's eyes, the unconscious boy became a great, dark-furred wolf. His shadow crept out from under him and transformed into a little imp with a Fused Shadow on her head.

"Zant!" Midna spat, glaring up at him from the ground.

Zant did not hesitate. Power shot from his eyes and grasped Midna's impish body, lifting her from the ground and holding her like a puppet above the Light Spirit's pool. She cried out in pain and alarm. Zant stepped forward and gazed up at her. Then he ripped the other three Fused Shadows from her grasp, pulling them towards him as Midna struggled and screamed.

"Did you honestly mean to take an ancient and withered power like this and turn it against me?" Zant asked, his voice calm despite the rage that burned within him.

The Fused Shadows were useless to Midna in her current form. Why else would she have failed to use them against him already? Compared to the power of his god, the Fused Shadows were trinkets. He could see that now. He tossed them aside and returned his focus to the would-be Queen of the Twili.

"You are a foolish traitor, Midna," Zant said. "Why do you defy your king?"

"My KING?" Midna shouted. "You, who do nothing but abuse the magic of your tribe? You must be joking!"

She still refuses to acknowledge the power of the God of Twilight! the Voice cried out in Zant's head. Even after all you have shown her, she cannot see the truth!

"How dare you?! Are you implying that my power is...our old magic?" Zant asked in disgust. How could she think that? He had told her what his power the moment his god had granted it to him! "Now THAT is a joke!"

He pulled her through the air over his head and slammed her into the ground near the wolf. Her cries of pain made him smile behind his helmet, and he felt the power welling up inside him again.

"This power is granted to me by my god! It is the magic of the King of Twilight," Zant proclaimed as a red orb of energy appeared and grew before his chest. The Voice inside his head grew along with it, joining with his own voice as he screamed at the Twilight Princess. "And you WILL respect it!"

Before he could send the orb hurtling towards the helpless imp, the wolf awoke. The beast was on his feet in an instant. With a bark, he leapt up at Zant. The wolf's head collided with the red orb, which dispersed and sent the creature flying backwards. Midna crawled over to the animal's limp body. She placed a hand on his leg and whispered into his ear, but the creature did not move. A Shadow Crystal was embedded in the beast's forehead, and it slowly forced its way into his head. The wolf twitched but remained unconscious.

She cares for the boy. The Voice sounded amused.

Zant's power plucked Midna from the ground once again, pulling her towards him.

"My Midna… Did you forget? That beast is one of the Light dwellers who oppressed our people," Zant spoke softly into her ear. "No matter how much you may desire otherwise, you will never be more than a Shadow in their world. You cannot consort with their kind!"

Without the blessing of the God of Twilight, Midna could not hope to bridge the gap between Light and Twilight. It was simply impossible. Why couldn't she see that?

"But if we make their world ours, Midna…Light and Darkness will meet at last," Zant continued. "Our tribe will take back their realm...and sweet Darkness will blot out this harsh Light!"

But only for a time. He wanted to join Light and Twilight, to allow both all peoples to coexist. Why couldn't he say that now? Why couldn't he tell her what he really wanted? His thoughts were scrambled, and the Voice kept creeping into his lips. If he could just explain this to Midna again, maybe she'd finally understand. He wouldn't have to kill her. They could start over, work together. Yes.

"And that, Midna, is why…" Zant tried to remove his helmet, but he only succeeded in uncovering his mouth. Why couldn't he control it now? No matter. He had to convince Midna to join him. Focus. "I need you. Not just for me, but for all of our people… Lend me your power."

She struggled against him again, and this time he let her go. Instead of turning around to speak to him, she ran straight back to the wolf and knelt beside him.

She will never listen to you, the Voice said. You're wasting your time. Kill her.

If he could just get her to understand that -

KILL HER.

Yes. He'd given her enough chances.

"So be it…" Zant said. "I will return you to the Light world you covet!"

He flung her out over the pool once again. Then he raised a hand, lifting the orb of Light and its Spirit out of the water. The Twilight disappeared from the room as the giant snake reared its head. The orb came to a stop directly in front of Midna. She let out a scream of agony as the

Light pierced her body. It wrapped around her, covering her stiffened body.

And then she was gone. The Twilight Princess was no more.

The Light Spirit faded from view, but the Twilight did not return. Light still reigned here. Zant tried to smother it again, but to his surprise, he found that his power was all but gone.

What is this? he asked the Voice.

No reply.

What's happening?!

Nothing. The Voice was silent.

Zant turned around. The wolf was also gone. Perhaps he had woke and run off. Or maybe the Light had burned him away, too, since the Shadow Crystal now dwelled within him.

Zant was alone. He searched his body for shreds of power, gathering what he hoped would be enough to take him and a few of his people back to the Twilight Realm. There he would seek out his god and gain more power. He just needed a little more. With Midna and the wolf gone, he could recover Hyrule in Twilight. Then he could finally discuss his plans with Princess Zelda.

Surely she would see reason better than Midna had…