A/N: Due to the events in this chapter, I may have to go back and do some editing in old chapters. Oh, joy. xD

Lolz, I simply love all of these reviews "demanding" different pairings. xD All I can say for now is that there is probably no LinkxIlia. Probably. xDDD; -Ducks as various tomatoes and knives are thrown- Eep!

Actually, I think my favorite reviews are from Lesser and Silver... xDD;


Link walked inside of his house with a heavy heart, and it showed. Midna raised both eyebrows when he walked in. "You smell like cherry blossoms in the summertime. Did you the Great Fairy fix you up?" She asked with a sneer. Link ignored her comment, causing Midna to frown. "Did you leave your sense of humor with Ordona?" He simply shrugged.

"Where's Zelda?" He asked, sounding mostly uninterested; Midna rolled her eyes.

"She's trying to contact Nayru." When Link stared at her like she was mad, Midna explained what she and Zelda had talked about. Her eyes dropped down to the symbol on his hand. "I think it worked!" She said with a wide grin but suddenly found herself standing alone. "Link?'

xxxxxx

"Hero of the Light and Twilight," A soft, high voice that sounded like the whistling of the wind spoke to him. Link opened his eyes and stared at his left hand; The Triforce of Courage was flashing nonstop. Then, he got a good look of the area he was in: It looked like a forest in the sky. There was also a tall woman standing before him.

She was so beautiful that she didn't look real. Her skin was a bright, creamy gold, and she couldn't have been much older than twenty or so. Her eyes were bright and the color of forest. Link could hardly believe that this woman would grace him with her presence. Her hair was long, wispy, and looked windblown; The forest green color perfectly matched her eyes. He swallowed hard and continued to stare at her with a dumbfounded expression.

She giggled, and he was reminded once again of the wind. "Hero, I am Farore, Goddess of Courage, who has blessed you with your power." Link's sky blue eyes widened and dropped to his left hand; That explained the flashing. "Link, what lies ahead is a dangerous, jagged path that even we have not liked dealing with." When she said 'we', she must have meant her sisters as well. "Never before have the bearers of the Triforce had to deal with the 'last piece' left by the Gods of the Twilight. Well, except Ganondorf, I suppose," Farore added thoughtfully. His heart clenched at the name, and his hands automatically went into fists.

Farore laughed again, no doubt hearing the thoughts in Link's head. "Ah, yes. Ganondorf, bearer of the Triforce of Power. I do not blame you for detesting that name; My sisters and I are also very... disappointed in him. I suppose that is the chance you take when you leave behind a magical artifact that cannot tell the difference between evil and good." She laughed shortly, almost bitterly. "I must remember to thank Nayru for that wonderful idea some time. But that is beside the point." Link smiled at her. For a goddess, Farore seemed awfully... real; Down to earth. "Link, my sister, Din, along with Nayru and I decided to revive Ganondorf." He couldn't hide his surprise, and a bit of anger shot through him.

"What? Goddess Farore," He wasn't exactly how to refer to her, but that seemed the best way, "The man is evil! He is responsible for many, many deaths and shattered lives!" Link protested. He blinked, embarrassed. Had he just shouted at the Goddess who had granted him his power? Much to his surprise, Farore laughed genuinely again.

"I understand, Link," She answered him in a soft voice. "However, for this terrible path that lies ahead, you need him." Link was shocked into silence. "The evil piece of triforce is, as you have heard, in the possession of a twili who still remains in Twilight Realm. Actually, it lies in the hands of quite the twisted twili, and the only way to defeat it is to create the all powerful triangle of the triforce; That can only be done with the combined powers of yourself, Ganondorf, and Princess Zelda."

"But, if it's another twili, can't Midna just take the piece back? She is the Twilight Princess." Link protested, but Farore shook her head.

"When Ganondorf destroyed Midna's helmet, the one piece of the Fused Shadow that she always wore, he destroyed her chance of being able to tap into a power that would still pale in comparison to the Dark Piece. After all, the Fused Shadows were made by magicians while the Dark Piece was made by Gods." She answered, patiently.

Link blinked. He would have to fight with Ganondorf? Oh, hell. "What has happened to Hyrule? Ganondorf has done something; He hinted that himself. Has Din spoken to him yet?" Farore smiled.

"The only thing Ganondorf did was force King Bulbin to attack your village, Hyrule Castle, and the people of Castle Town; Even they aren't listening to him anymore, part of the reason being that he allowed their leader to perish by your sword." He was interested, now.

"What's the other part?"

"There are two twili working together; The one in the Twilight Realm is calling the shots, but the one here is having all hell break loose." She replied, her smile fading off her face. "Together, the twili have killed many people and seized control of a lot of land. Here is where Midna can help you, but, ironically enough, she cannot help in her own realm."

"So..." Link murmured, relaxing a little in Farore's presence now, "What exactly is happening to the Kingdom of Hyrule?"

Farore sighed. "A war of sorts... and that is why my sister has decided not to allow us to repair the Mirror of Twilight yet." Link's eyes looked like they might pop out of his head.

"What?!"

"It was a request from Princess Zelda as well as Princess Midna." She said with a small nod. "They are... a bit ahead of you in this game, no?" Farore asked, her smile slowly returning. Link's cheeks became a light pink. "I have told you what to do, Link, and now you must do it!" She moved her middle and thumb fingers toward each other in a snapping position, so Link quickly spoke,

"Why can't you step in and take care of the twili?" He asked; Farore laughed softly.

"For one, we only step in when there is no one in position to do anything about it; We didn't even help in the Imprisoning War. Also, as Goddesses of Hyrule, we cannot go anywhere aside from this heaven and Hyrule. Technically." She added in a sly way that made Link question her just a little. "Goodbye, Hero of Light and Twilight! Do not let us down!" With that, she snapped her fingers, and he disappeared from the beautiful forest in the sky.

xxxxxx

The full moon was shining brightly from where it hung in the night sky as Midna, Link, and Zelda made their way out of the Ordona Province. Link could only imagine what the villagers, his old friends, were thinking at the moment; They probably figured he was going to transform into a wolf, howl at the moon, and slaughter them all. Epona was galloping at a normal speed with Link and Zelda atop her; Midna was in her imp form, hiding in Link's shadow so that she wouldn't have to glide at a super fast speed to keep up. Link gave the Ordon Spring one last glance as they left the area; Ilia was gone, and the Great Fairy waved goodbye to him.

"You spoke to Nayru and I spoke to Farore... does that mean that Ganondorf was speaking to Din?" Link asked with an edge in his voice; He resented having to work with Ganondorf and especially resented the fact that he would probably have to ask, or beg, Ganondorf to help them.

"Perhaps Din put some sense into Ganondorf's thick skull?" Zelda suggested as they passed Coro's shack. Link chuckled softly.

"We can only pray." He thought back to Midna's reaction when he told her that she had to help them before they could help her. She had become instantly angry at the Goddesses, Ganondorf, and a twili named Ira.

"I never should have left with him so power hungry! That was so dumb of me!" She had yelled while they were still in his house. "Now he's roaming the Twilight Realm doing Gods know what with that 'Dark Piece' with his little lackey friend here in the light world! They probably killed Adel! Oh, Gods, there will be hell when I return there, I promise!" Once she had calmed down, she had explained all about Ira.

"Maybe you shouldn't have treated him like an underling, Midna." Link had lightly suggested, instantly firing her up again.

"I treat all scum like underlings, and he is definite scum!"

Now, Link and Zelda were riding through Hyrule Field toward the Eldin Province in hopes of finding Ganondorf and checking on Renado and Luda. Zelda continuously fired her light arrows as many different creatures rose out of the ground. Stalkin (which Link had never seen outside of Hyrule Castle's graveyard and Arbiter's Grounds) rose out of the ground in huge numbers, and Link had just refrained to having Epona crush them as she galloped. Not far behind the Stalkin were, annoyingly enough, Stalhounds and Stalfos themselves; A whole lot of them.

Epona stopped galloping suddenly, reared, and flailed her front legs in the air, neighing painfully. Two Stalhounds had both bitten into either one of her back legs, and now even more were jumping up at them. Link blocked the jumping ones while Zelda destroyed the ones biting Epona, and Midna jumped out of Link's shadow. "I think a fight's going to be unavoidable now, Link." The twilight princess remarked to him as all of the skeletal figures surrounded them, but they weren't alone.

From every corner of Hyrule field, it appeared that monsters of all diversities were rushing forward to attack Link, Midna, and Zelda. Bulbins both atop Bulbos and on foot rushed toward them with murder in their eyes. Bokoblins, both purple and pink, rushed with their machetes raised. Guays, Kargarocs, Keese, and Shadow Kargarocs were swooping toward them. Midna's mouth fell open as the Shadow Kargarocs were joined by the large Twilight Beasts. "Oh, no..."

Zelda glared daggers at Link and Midna. "We can't fight them! There are way too many!" They both nodded, slowly. "Midna, do something!" Midna shook out of her reverie and snapped; She, Epona, Link, and Zelda disappeared as bits of twilight into the night sky.

xxxxxx

"Why couldn't you have done this sooner?" Link asked Midna when they appeared right in front of Eldin's spring a few seconds later.

"At least we know we have a welcoming committee waiting for us next time we head into the field." said Midna with a grin. Somewhere in the village, a strange guttural noise was uttered and carried through the night's air. She blinked and looked around. "Better watch out; I recognize that noise..." Link nodded. It was the sound of a Bulbin (most likely an archer) giving orders to another Bulbin. He raised his shield and looked around.

"I know it's late, but I don't even see a Goron out here..." Link murmured, worry instantly filling him. "Midna, Zelda, why don't you go check out the Shaman's house? I'll... skulk around here." Midna stared at him meaningfully and pulled out the black crystal.

"Would you like to do so as a wolf?" She asked as she threw it up and down in her hand. Link watched as Zelda transformed into Sheik in a puff of smoke. "Yeah, it could be easier that way." Midna touched Link with just the tip, and his body instantly forced itself back into the form of a beast. "Funny how that works." remarked Midna before shrugging and signaling to Sheik. "Let's go, Sheikah!"

xxxxxx

"Renado?" Sheik called in a timid voice which made an awkward contrast with his deep voice. (A/N: At least she isn't knocking Link off his horse this time and crying, no? ;D) The hut, although Zelda had never been in there before, was suspiciously dark. "Is it always like this?" Sheik called to Midna, who seemed to be examining the area. She shook her head and then stared at the middle of the room.

"Of course!" Midna cried, almost wanting to smack her forehead in the process. "Zelda, can you use fire magic to light that pot?"

"Sheik." The Sheikah corrected her as she transformed out of Sheikah disease to light the pot on fire. She then retransformed as Midna grabbed a stick off the ground and ran around the house, lighting all of the torches. Much to Sheik's surprise, the statue in the center of the room moved to reveal a cellar. "How did you...?"

"When Eldin was covered in Twilight, the little girl said that was the way to open the cellar." replied Midna before she jumped down the hole. Sheik, still bewildered, followed the twili.

Midna gracefully landed on her feet while Sheik fell onto all fours. The twili surveyed her with a wild grin. "Did you do that on purpose or is the Sheikah in you making you do this?" She snickered. Sheik waved her off.

"What are we looking for?" He asked, looking around. Midna rolled her eyes.

"The shaman and his daughter." She replied matter-of-factly. Sheik shrugged his shoulder sheepishly.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been down here in a long time..."

Midna frowned because she knew he was right. "The torches weren't lit and the cellar was covered. Surely they were hiding down here?"

"If they were, they would have been trapped." Sheik, who was at the other end of the cellar, stated. The only way out seemed to be blocked by something above. "They could have gotten out through the other end, but the statue blocked it."

"Huh. Maybe they got trapped down here and died?" Midna suggested, immediately getting scolded by Sheik. "Anyway, there's nothing down here, so..." She turned around and headed for their only way out, but then the statue went back over the covering. "What the? I demand an explanation for this!" shouted Midna, climbing up the net, and pounding on the base of the statue.

Sheik followed her, but stopped in his tracks when he heard the quiet shuffling of feet; He probably would have missed it had it not been for his heightened hearing. An arrow fired out of nowhere, taking off a piece of the cloth on his arm and pinning it to the wall. "Show yourself!" demanded Sheik as he gathered a bunch of needles in his hand. The owl statue at the opposite end of the room fell down and a bunch of archers began to fire at Sheik, who disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Midna jumped as Sheik appeared behind her. "Don't do that!" She yelled at the ninja-like Sheikah. Her eyes trailed over to the Bulbins who couldn't seem to figure out where Sheik had gone. "How the hell did they get behind the statue? It takes the Dominion Rod..."

"It seems that the laws of our world are no longer in play." remarked Sheik as a Shadow Beast spotted them. A dark energy ball began to appear in Midna's hands, but she couldn't bear to release it on one of her own. "Do you really think it's another twili? How could that be, only one person had that power..."

Midna scowled. "It seems like there are no laws or rules anymore." She said before releasing the ball, killing the beast instantly. There were at least ten Bulbins facing them now as their leader pointed them out; They were all armed with bows with arrows pointed at the vital areas of their enemies... Then, one by one, they fell to the ground and disappeared in puffs of smoke.

Had Sheik not been suspicious before, he was really suspicious now. "What's going on here?" He demanded, releasing the needles in the air; The needles fell short of armored, black boots.

"What? No 'thank you'?" A deep, male voice asked them.

xxxxxx

Wolf Link almost felt as if twilight had fallen over Kakariko Village again, for the village was completely empty and quiet. At least, the only noise was the growling of the Bulbins that were situated atop buildings. No Gorons, no people, and no scents; Things were getting oddly suspicious. Link crawled underneath buildings and went out of his way to stay out of the Bulbins' fields of vision.

His tail began to wag when he reached the other side of the town and picked up the scent of Telma. Without really meaning to, he let out an excited bark, causing the Bulbins to finally notice him and fire at him. Link knew there was no way to follow Telma's scent up Death Mountain. He couldn't climb the mountain as a wolf, after all, so he ran through the village, avoiding arrows, and entered the graveyard. Automatically, Link began to growl.

Ganondorf was sitting atop one of the larger graves, surveying Midna and Sheik with a sadistic expression. "Ah, the mongrel has decided to join us, eh?" He said enthusiastically as Link stepped into view. The fur on his back was standing on end, and he was bearing his teeth.

"Relax, Link, he hasn't done anything," Midna said before shifting her eyes back to Ganondorf, "yet." Ganondorf boomed with laughter.

"Ah, how suspicious you are. I suppose you would be after having your throne taken from you. Twice." He put an extra emphasis on the last word, causing Midna to unpleasantly bare her teeth at him, too. "I see that the only one here who is not planning to kill me is the Princess who has many reasons to hate me."

"Oh, I do." Sheik replied without expression. "I simply see that it is best for us to work together. For now." He emphasized the phrase for a good effect. Once again, Ganondorf chuckled.

"It's eerie staring at you while you look like that, Princess," He remarked offhandedly as he examined his own nails to appear uninterested. "I keep waiting for you to pull some childish move or seal me away in the Sacred Realm." Sheik's hands balled into fists, but he tried not to listen to the words.

"Let us try to be civil, even if it is impossible for some of us." Sheik spat at the Gerudo tyrant as Midna exposed Link to the crystal. (A/N: ;D Teehee.)

"This way, if he pulls something, you can kill him with the Master Sword." She whispered in his ear before he transformed into a human again.

Link chuckled. "Too bad that would probably majorly piss off the Goddesses." He remarked with a grin.

"Have you spoken to Din?" asked Sheik with arms folded over his chest. Unsurprisingly enough, Ganondorf nodded.

"Yes. I told her that if she thinks I'm going to help you out, then she is sorely mistaken." Sheik frowned. No one ever said this was going to be easier.

"Ganondorf, if you work with us now to get rid of whatever wants to take over this realm, then you can fight us later." replied Link through gritted teeth. "And trust me, no one would like to destroy you more than I."

Ganondorf went back to staring at his black nails. "Oh, but I've already spoken to the twili who is controlling things here." Midna, Link, and Sheik felt their hearts drop into their guts.

"Oh?" asked Midna, trying to sound uninterested. "And?"

"Well," The Gerudo man paused to take in the badly hidden horrified expressions. "Offer me something... more... and I will consider it." Bargaining, huh? Sheik and Link both approached Ganondorf with set expressions.

"Alright. If after we defeat this new threat we fight you and lose, then you get the Kingdom." Sheik proposed, ignoring Midna's pleas behind her. Ganondorf quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that it?" He demanded, chuckling. "That's definitely not enough. Try again."

Link's hands balled into fists, and he spoke again through gritted teeth. "Not only will you get Hyrule, but you'll also get the Triforces of Wisdom and Power." Ganondorf's eyes widened and his smile stretched maniacally.

"Is that so?" He asked in a soft voice. "Then, I suppose we've got a deal." The ex-King of Gerudos held out his hand, the one with the triforce symbol on it. Reluctantly, Link put out his left hand, also bearing the symbol, and grasped his enemy's hand; He was deeply surprised when he didn't feel any dark magic surge through his skin. Ganondorf was smiling as if he were waiting for Link to attack him. Before he was tempted to do so, Link backed away from Ganondorf and stood beside Midna. Then, Sheik held out his Triforce hand as well. A bit of magic surged through both hands and afflicted the other's, but neither one of them flinched.

"You two are stupid, stupid, stupid!" shouted Midna, elbowing Link's arm. "If you lose against him, then you're screwed." Link shrugged and rubbed his arm.

"Hey, at least we managed to get his mind off of taking over the Twilight Realm."

Midna scowled. "Yeah, but that will only last until he makes a wish on the Triforce!"

Sheik, still standing before Ganondorf, asked, "So, what do you know about our enemy?" Ganondorf's smile stretched across his face.

"Well, this may come as a surprise to you, Twilight whelp," He said, staring at Midna...

xxxxxx

"Ira was Zant's colleague? How did I not know that?!" Midna demanded, wanting to shake the answer out of Ganondorf's ancient body. Ganondorf cackled.

"Perhaps you should research your assistants a bit more thoroughly." He suggested boredly. They were still sitting in the Graveyard as it was the safest place to be. A flock of guays had attacked them, but Ganondorf had made easy work of them.

"Ganondorf, I think you should know that I would like nothing more than to kill you." Midna growled sweetly. Ganondorf chuckled again.

"Because that worked oh-so well last time; You don't even have those pathetic Fused Shadows to 'help' you. How many times do I have to say it? Your tribe's petty magic stands not a chance against me!" He said, flashing the triforce symbol for a good effect.

"Will you both shut up?" Sheik asked irritably. "We need to have a plan; Ganondorf, where is this Ira located currently?" The Gerudo shrugged, and Link smacked his forehead.

"Goddesses, you've got to be kidding me." He muttered under his breath. Sheik tried again.

"Do you know who the twili with the Dark Piece is?" Once again, Ganondorf shrugged. Midna ran over to the tyrant and raised a hand that was being engulfed with shadow magic; Link grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. "You at least know what has happened to the other provinces!" Sheik finally jumped up and shouted out of pure annoyance.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Ganondorf cooly replied as he played with the bones of a long dead guay.

"Forget him for now, I have a lead." Link said, releasing Midna and turning to face Sheik. "I picked up Telma's scent near the Death Mountain trail. We might find them up there." Midna nodded enthusiastically.

"Finally, a lead!" She said, jumping up. "Alright, Ganondorf, I guess you can tag along; Just try not to slow us down." Ganondorf chuckled as he stood up.

"Of course, Princess." Link turned to glare at him.

"One more thing: While you're with us, Ganondorf, you will fight with us. If you attack any one of us, even if it's an 'accident', I'll kill you."

Ganondorf grinned. "Whatever you say."


A/N: Muahahah. A temporary alliance! How temporary? No one knows. ;D Not even me. xD So, I used the terms for a lot of monsters, but I figured that if you don't know what they are, then I'd put them down here:

-Guays: The small crow things that tend to attack in huge groups; There were a lot in the Kakariko graveyard.

-Stalhounds: Obviously the little skeletal dogs that only come out at night and attack in packs.

-Kargarocs: Those huge birds that attack you when you least expect it and follow you until you've left the area. The shadow ones have the 'twilight' added before their names and they have weird shaped heads that make trumpet noises.

-Keese: ...Bats.

-Twilight Beasts: ...xDD Oh, come on.

-Stalkin: The little skeletons with spears.

-Stalfos: Please don't make me say it.

That about covers it, I think. So, please review even if you're anonymous! I except anonymous reviews! :3 See you next chapter.