A/N: Okay, this chapter will be long. At least, longer than last chapter. xDD
By the way, I said a few chapters ago that a lot of this plot was kinda given to me by Lesser... She also came up with the Zant idea. ;D Which I honestly think makes this more interesting... Besides, let's all be honest, Zant's battle was the second best in TP.
Disclaimer-All I own is the plot and my OCs. -heart- You know... the bitchy Ira and Amara? :D
The severity of the situation was officially shooting through the roof. Zant. Zant. He was... alive? "How?" Midna demanded as she grabbed Amara by the shirt, not caring that she was practically pulling the shirt off.
"You see, we have been... oh, educating ourselves in the magic of our ancestors... The magic of the old tribe; They had quite the diversity. That is where Zant learned how to turn twili into twilight beasts, I suppose. Anyway, we couldn't find that Dark Piece anywhere...until we searched your palace a bit more thoroughly. And, sure enough, in the ground even beneath the basement, it was there." Amara replied with a large smile. "Aren't you so proud of us, Midna? You spent your days treating us like fools... It looks like the joke's on you." Midna screamed and threw Amara into the wall.
"I will kill you for your treachery, you foolish girl!" Midna, completely enraged, shouted, running toward the twili with amazing speed. At that moment, Adel scurried (A/N: xD How awkward must that look?) across the room, seized Midna's throat, and smashed her into the wall. Link stabbed her in the back with the Master Sword, but it didn't seem to do much. Another twilight beast grabbed Link from behind while another went for Zelda, but it was promptly killed by a ball of energy from Ganondorf. Zelda couldn't help but feel a rush of gratitude for the Gerudo, if only for the moment. He seemed to be able to sense her thoughts, as he glanced back at her.
"Do not say a word, Princess. I must be sure that the Triforce of Wisdom is not harmed. Let a real master take care of these things." Ganondorf murmured as he pulled out something Zelda was surprised to see: The light sword that the sages had tried to kill him with. "I suppose that the Goddesses could not see me fighting without a sword, even if it is utterly useless." He added, no doubt sensing Zelda's thoughts once more. This triforce connection was starting to get weird.
Much to both Zelda and Ganondorf's surprise, the minute he unsheathed the sword and brought it an inch from the twilight monster holding Link, the monster screeched in pain and dissolved into fragments of Twilight. Ganondorf licked his lips hungrily. "Or perhaps it is not as useless as I first thought..." He did not bother attacking Adel, sensing a strange amount of power in her, and wound up taking out the others instead. Thanks to the fact that the sword automatically destroyed the beasts, the twilight beast was unable to revive its fallen comrade and fell to Ganondorf.
Zelda's light bow materialized out of apparently nowhere, and she pointed one of her light arrows at Adel's neck. "Don't... kill her..." Midna said in a raspy voice. Zelda knew full well that anything she could do to free Midna from Adel would kill the latter, so she allowed her friend to slowly have her air supply cut off. Zelda shook her head at Midna.
"There's nothing else we can do, Midna! Surely you've realized by now that there's no way to reverse this effect?!" She cried, still shaking her head. Link, however, jumped into the air and brought the Master Sword down on Adel's shoulder; Adel cried, or growled, in pain as Link lopped off the arm choking Midna; Midna rubbed her throat.
"I owe you." She said to Link as she slowly rounded on Amara. "Now, you...!" Midna sent out a rather strong energy wave, but Amara was pulled out of the way by another twili. Midna growled, baring her teeth. (A/N: When Midna does this as an imp, it looks scary, but in her regular form it probably looks stupid. xD) "How absolutely precious." Ira stood before her, holding Amara bridal style. Actually, it kind of reminded Midna of the time she had broken Ganondorf's barrier and woke up in Link's arms. She shook the thought from her head as her hair transformed into a number of red spikes that shot through the air and headed for Ira and Amara. Ira promptly dropped Amara and held up a hand that formed a black barrier in front of them.
The barrier did not stop the attack, but it broke the spikes into smaller pieces that pierced both Ira and Amara. Amara screamed in pain, putting one hand over her right eye. Ira smiled as blood freely gushed down his face, turning it red to match the color of the water. (A/N: Obviously, we never see anyone bleed in the games, and I'm just saying they bleed red because I can. xD) Zelda was bent over King Ralis, (A/N: Who, by the way, was a GIRL in the japanese version.) who seemed to be barely hanging on. A white light shot from Zelda's hands, but it was very feeble.
Link, who was standing near her, but watching Midna glanced down at her. "What's wrong?"
Zelda shook her head. "I haven't had enough time to regenerate my magic, and I don't have enough to save him..." She whispered, tears welling in her eyes. The feeble white light grew a little more, at least, it was enough to make Ralis open his eyes.
"Princess Zelda... Link... you have come...?" He asked in a voice barely above a whisper, forcing Link to kneel down beside the Zora. "I have failed... so miserably. My mother would be so ashamed..." Zelda shook her head and gently grasped his hand.
"Shh. Don't speak that way, King Ralis," Zelda whispered soothingly. "You are a great leader."
"My people..." Ralis murmured, looking around the room at the various dead bodies scattered about. "I have failed them... They were executed in a most cruel fashion..." His eyes were glazing over, Zelda noticed, when he looked back at her and Link. "Please... bury me with my parents... And, bury my people... They deserve that much..." His hand was falling out of Zelda's grip. Zelda willed more healing magic to enter Ralis' body, but she could only urge a spark. She cupped his cheek with her hand, allowing a tear to fall on the boy's chest.
"Do not fear, King Ralis, we will obey your wishes..." She murmured. He smiled weakly (which was really just the slight twitch of the corners of his mouth) and the light left his eyes.
Link was filled with guilt. He had once promised Ralis' mother, Queen Rutela, that he would take care of her son, and this is how he had repaid her. The sudden smashing of the throne chair caused Zelda and Link to snap back to reality. Adel, with what looked like blood dripping out of her mouth, was standing over them with a hungry look in her eyes. Zelda realized, with a mixture of horror and lurch of sickness, that a Zora's arm was hanging out of Adel's mouth.
"Bastard!" Link shouted as he slammed the Master Sword into Adel's gut. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ganondorf was fighting Amara with his sword while Midna took on Ira. Midna's mouth hung open for a minute as she knocked Ira into the wall and saw Link attacking her friend. "Midna..." But Midna only shook her head.
'I have to let it go.' She told herself over and over as she refocused her attention on Ira. "You're here on Zant's orders? Then, what, may I ask, is Zant doing?" Ira blinked a few times, staring blankly at Midna.
"I'm sure he's watching our progress." Ira murmured more to himself than to Midna. "He wouldn't make us do his dirty work..."
"Ah, but he would!" Midna said, stabbing Ira in the gut with her hand, which was now the shape of a spike or spear. "You see, Zant learned it best from Ganondorf. Ganondorf used Zant and waited until I killed Zant to steal Zant's power, and now Zant is just using you to deal with me!" She twisted her hand unpleasantly inside of his body.
"You wouldn't kill me... I have been your assistant!" Ira's tone was now of pleading, and Midna smiled cruelly.
"In case you haven't noticed, I never really liked you. Also, you were plotting against me!" Midna stabbed her hand all the way through. "Let's be honest, if I wasn't killing you now, I would have sentenced you to death in the Twilight Realm." She quickly pulled her hand out of his gut and threw him into the water, where he washed out of the domain. "Good riddance!"
"Ira!" Amara shouted, diving into the bloody water, and being washed out of the room as well. Ganondorf took small steps out of the room, no doubt to make sure things were followed through. Midna paid no mind to the two twili for now and turned to Adel instead. Link was backed into a corner, standing in front of Zelda, who was still sitting on the ground, clutching Ralis' body. He was holding up the Master Sword, blocking each one of Adel's blows...
Midna inhaled sharply and closed her eyes; Her mind was made up, and she looked like she had when using the Fused Shadows on Ganondorf. She tapped into some of her magic, and she released more spikes. The spikes stabbed into Adel's back and went clear through her body, nearly stabbing Link, too. "Do it, Link." said Midna in as even a voice as possible. He stole a glance at her face before nodding.
Link pushed Adel away with his Master Sword and hit her into what was left of the throne. He jumped high above her as he had before and stabbed down the Master Sword into her chest as hard as he possibly could. Some sort of black smoke was coming out of her. He yanked the sword out of her body as it began to... change shape. Midna ran beside Adel, who was breathtakingly beautiful.
Adel's large, red eyes sparkled like rubies, and she had medium-length orange hair. She smiled, weakly, coughing up blood as Midna bent down beside her and took the Princess' hand. "I am sorry. Had I known, I would've warned you..." Midna shook her head.
"We can fix you yet! You will not die!" It almost sounded like an order. Adel giggled softly.
"Don't be silly. All things must come to an end... even you." (A/N: Originally, Ganondorf said this line. D: I liked it better that way, but that's alright.) She murmured quietly. "But don't worry; I bet your time isn't for a while."
"Are there... any twili left?" Midna softly asked as she caressed her friend's cheek. To her relief, Adel nodded.
"There are a few who decided to go into hiding... You'll have your work cut out for you when you retake your rightful place... Of course, you'll have fewer people to oppose you now." Adel added thoughtfully, her grip becoming weaker on Midna's hand. Midna felt something tug in her chest. Since Ira had been a part of this the hole time, he must have alerted Zant the second she had left the Twilight realm. "Take care, Midna." And for the second time that day in about the same place, the light left another's eyes. A sudden pressure rushed through Midna's shoulder, and her bright orange orbs met sky blue ones. Link gave her shoulder a small squeeze and helped her up.
"We'll avenge them all, I promise." He murmured soothingly, giving her arm an awkward pat. Midna blushed. If she were a bit more forward, she might've actually hugged him and sobbed into his chest; However, twili weren't known for the affection. Years of rejection had left the race cold.
xxxxxx
It took a whole lot of convincing on Link's part to get Zelda to part Ralis' dead body. After assuring her twenty times that they would return to bury the bodies, Zelda finally followed Link and Midna outside where they joined Ganondorf at the top of the waterfall. The sun was finally rising over where the castle would have been in the distance. To any uneducated person watching the four of them from way behind, they might have thought that they were a group of friends admiring the beauty of the sky. However, to anyone else who saw them, the four of them were allies in the most temporary of situations with each examining the minutes of life they had to go on, or how many more enemies they had to kill before taking out the 'top dog'. How the world had changed in the last hundred or so years.
"Where to next?" Midna asked Zelda who shrugged a little.
"The Goddesses were supposed to appear to us once we killed the twili here... If none of them have come, then that must mean that Ira is still living..." She replied, sighing sharply. "...on his last threads of life." Midna's hands clutched into fists, and the four of them glanced at the red water. The current was pushing everything straight down to Lake Hylia, which was probably why there were no longer any Zora remains at the bottom of the waterfall.
"So, we have to go down to Lake Hylia? In that filthy water?" Midna gagged at the very sight of the water. Having to swim in it was so unsanitary that it had to have been against some law of humanity. Much to the trios surprise, Ganondorf began to walk off.
"Hey!" Zelda shouted uncharacteristically as she ran after Ganondorf. "Where are you going? You have to help us!" Ganondorf stopped walking and grinned a deranged smile.
"On the contrary, I believe Link's exact words were: 'Ganondorf, if you work with us now to get rid of whatever wants to take over this realm, then you can fight us later.'" The Gerudo raised his red eyebrows. "This realm. I believe that we never discussed any other realms."
"I bet if it were one hundred years ago before you broke the Triforce that you'd love to go there with us." Midna stated sourly. Ganondorf simply smiled.
"We discussed Zant!" Link argued, his left hand turning white from how tightly he was holding the hilt of the Master Sword. Ganondorf nodded.
"Yes. Discussed. I don't remember saying specifically that I was going to hep kill him." Link raised the Master Sword.
"Well, you'd better remember then." Ganondorf kicked Link backwards with his foot.
"I think not." He whispered dangerously as he placed his heavy, armored boot on Link's throat. "Do not forget that you owe me the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage when you return along with the throne of Hyrule."
"That is only if you beat us in a fight." Zelda remarked, putting her rapier sword to the left of Ganondorf's neck; He chuckled at her actions and pressed down on Link's windpipe.
"Do not attempt to threaten me, Princess. I have broken the bodies of creatures larger and uglier than you; Do not think that because of our 'past' that I will not harm you until I have your Triforce piece." Ganondorf's tone was quiet, dangerous, and amused. "On the contrary, the Triforce can be taken from its dead bearer, I believe. However, Zelda, you may be more or less useful to me in the future, so perhaps I will not kill you." A twisted smile upturned the corners of Ganondorf's mouth as he pressed harder on Link's windpipe. In a second, the pressure was gone. "Good luck, fools." He turned and walked off without sparing them even a second glance.
Midna and Zelda bent down on either side of Link. "Are you alright?" Link nodded, rubbing his sore throat. How dare he talk to Zelda that way, that nasty, old... "Now what? We don't even know where Ira went to..." Zelda remarked sorely.
"But I am right here." Ira's high, cold voice spoke as he materialized behind Zelda and Midna. Midna immediately noticed the surge in his power as she and Zelda turned to look at him. The princesses and Link cringed at the sight of Ira, who was soaked in blood; It ran from his mouth like he had just lapped up some. "Ah, yes, you surely must feel my power; I killed Amara." The three of them only stared at him with blank expressions. "Another magic spell of the 'old tribe's was stealing power from another twili, and while Amara was utterly useless, she had a whole lot of power. The spell obviously requires drinking the victim's blood." added Ira as he licked his lips.
"I'm getting so tired dealing with you sick bastards..." Link growled as he slowly used his sword to stand back up. "I'm going to permanently put you where you belong... in hell!" He rushed forward faster than Midna or Zelda had ever seen him move and stabbed at Ira, who quickly evaded the attack.
Midna and Zelda exchanged looks. They summoned all of the magic they could muster (which wasn't much for Zelda). A black energy wave rushed out of Midna's hands while Zelda's white energy wave circled around it. The mixture of energy waves hit Ira head on and knocked him to the ground, giving Link an opening; Link jumped high into the air and stabbed the Master Sword all the way through Ira's body, into the ground.
Ira laughed quietly as Midna stood over him. "You did it... I knew you... had it... in you..." She smiled with satisfaction as his body disappeared into fragments of twilight.
"Link, Zelda, Midna," A soft female voice that Link recognized as Farore's called from behind the cheering trio. They whirled around to face the breathtaking Goddess. She smiled softly at Link, Zelda, and Midna, who's mouth was hanging open with shock. 'That's right,' Link said, looking at Midna, 'She's never seen Farore up close before...' "I am sorry that Ganondorf has walked away from you." Link shook his head.
"To be honest, I expected as much." He remarked as he sheathed his bloody blade. Farore simply sighed.
"Anyway, come to the Mirror Chamber, my sisters and I have a surprise for you." And with a snap of her beautiful, golden fingers, they disappeared from the Zora's domain and reappeared in the dusty desert at the top of Arbiter's Grounds where two other golden Goddesses waited for them. The Goddess with bright, icy blue hair turned toward them with a friendly but firm smile. The last Goddess who seemed to be the leader of the group also turned toward them.
"How nice to finally meet you Link, Zelda," Din said with a wide, friendly smile. Her hair was wild and red with orange and yellow streaks running through it. (A/n: Unlike the other two, her element is pretty set... xD) She nodded at Midna, who smiled nervously back. Power was just radiating off of this Goddess like sunlight rolled off of the sun. Upon noticing Ganondorf's missing presence, the Goddess frowned. "He'll get what's coming to him... I treated him to kindness by reviving him! Unappreciative little..." Din's sentence broke into a series of rants and whispers.
Nayru shook her head at her older sister and turned to the swordsman and princesses. "I repaired the mirror, but, Midna," She put a heavy emphasis on the twili's name as she stared at the twilight princess right in the eyes, "I have just broken a major law of humanity by repairing this mirror. The next time you break this mirror, it doesn't matter for what reason, it is gone for good; I will not overlook the law again." Midna nodded, slowly. That's right, Nayru had created law for the world to live by... it only made sense that repairing the mirror distressed the Goddess.
"Thank you so much, Nayru." Zelda murmured as she, Link, and Midna fell into bows. Nayru smiled.
"Now, then. Take out the other one who disobeys the law of the world; Take care of that wretched snake, Zant." With that, the Goddesses waved and each disappeared in a special way. Farore disappeared with a wave in a gust of wind, Nayru seemed to just fade away (going against another law), and Din's image burned away.
When they were alone, Link, Zelda, and Midna simply stared at each other. "No matter what happens, we're in this together, right?" Zelda said with a large, genuine smile. She put her hand in the center. Midna nodded and put her hand on top of Zelda's. Link smiled, slowly and put his hand on top of Midna's, causing the both of them to blush. Zelda's smile faltered a little as she pulled her hand away and climbed to the top of the mirror's platform.
She stood at the edge of the platform, causing the mirror's stairs to appear. 'How could I be so foolish? Midna and Link have always had something, right? They have a history...' Zelda felt something sting her eyes and realized that she was crying. Now she felt ridiculous. "Come on!" She called to the still unmoving Midna and Link after she quickly wiped her eyes. The two of them looked up and blushed further before following Zelda.
Midna led the way up the stairs and the three of them stood cramped at the top. The mirror's light began to shine on them and Zelda felt a strange sensation as her body dissolved and entered the portal that had now appeared on the rock wall.
A/N: Nice chapter, right? Haha, Ganondorf walked out on them! Poor Zelda, it seems Link's made up his mind... D: I'm guessing this story will end in a few chapters, but I can never really be too sure... My stories kind of write themselves. See you guys next chapter!