Thanks everyone for all the views, reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys inspire me to keep writing!

I have been listening to Imagine Dragons lately, and my inspiration for this chapter is from their song, "Demons." It's one of my favorites.

Song suggestions: Romance- "Zelda's Theme" / Action- "Theme of Gerudo Village" / Drama- "Goddess Mission" or "Emotional Theme" (All songs from Skyward Sword OST)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding The Legend of Zelda. I wish I did.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 21: Hyrule and Sheikah War (Part 2)

~Zelda's POV~

I fell out of a cloud of dust, landing on my knees in the water dragon's court. I didn't see Faron, so I figured she was elsewhere.

I was about to rise to my feet, but waves of pain flew to my skull, and I suddenly felt very fatigued.

My eyes shut, and I collapsed on the cold stone floor. One last thought appeared in my mind before blacking out.

Link…

…

…

…

It didn't seem like any time had passed before my eyes snapped open. Two big eyes stared deep into mine, and I gasped. I crab-walked backwards until I could get a better view of the person.

Er, dragon.

"Faron," I breathed out.

Faron's lips curved into a tiny smile. "Your Grace."

I smiled slightly, but my eyes were watery. "Faron, I- the kingdom- Link-"

Faron chuckled, cutting me off. "I am aware of the situation your kingdom is in… I've been, er, paying attention to the happenings in my domain."

I stood, battling the head rush I was starting to get. "Um, okay… You see, H-Hyrule was attacked today… and… I came here, and… Link and the other knights are in danger."

Faron cocked her head. "If I am correct, your Hero fought and killed the Demon King. Surely he can handle an attack by a meager tribe."

I bit my lower lip, knowing that the water dragon had a disliking for Link. She put him to several tests when she could've made his adventure easier.

Sighing, I replied, "Faron, it's um… not that simple."

Faron dipped her long, scaly neck up and down in a nod. "Agreed. My apologies, Your Grace."

I wasn't used to such respect… Honestly I found it quite annoying. I preferred to be called "Zelda," not "Your Grace" or "Hylia" or "Your Highness." It gave me a nice nostalgic feeling when I was called by my birth name, reminding me of my easygoing days with Link in Skyloft.

"You are forgiven." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "The tribe has a powerful leader, and some even say he is a sorcerer."

Faron nodded again. "Aha, I have noticed that he participates in the art of sorcery, yes. I presume you worry greatly for your kingdom?"

I nodded, eyes down. "Y-yes. Hyrule has quite a few knights now, but several have died in battle… And the Sheikah somehow have more soldiers every time we meet them."

"Might I ask for a rough estimate of how many there are?" Faron asked politely.

"We have nearly eighty Hyrulean knights, and the Sheikah have maybe seventy."

Faron sighed. "I see. And you worry that your army's quantity is depleting while the other is increasing."

I nodded, refusing to let tears fall. "Yes. You see, I… I need some advice."

The water dragon moved her head inches from mine, and laughed. "Advice? Hylia, Your Grace, I'm not sure if you remember, but I do not take part in war. Many years ago I was the same way, during the Great War."

I put on my best pleading face, which seemed to always work on Link. Seriously, he'd cave immediately and call me cute. I doubted it would work on Faron.

"Faron, please? Many of my people may die…"

The massive dragon sighed, then closed her eyes. "Okay. I will offer you my advice." I perked up, offering Faron a smile. She continued. "But, with all due respect, only because I feel obligated to. I haven't taken a liking to the human race."

I smiled, adding a meek, "Thank you," knowing I was more human than goddess.

"And clearly, you have taken a liking to them. First, the Hero of old, and now the new Hero."

The Hero of old? Hylia took a "liking" to him?

"Um, what?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Ah, you'll remember in due time, Your Grace." She paused and I could've sworn she winked at me. "But don't fret. Here is my advice… don't wait to have their leader killed. The faster he's killed, the faster it's over. And, Hylia, you remember the first war, correct?"

I bit my lip again, trying to concentrate on the ringing memory within the back of my skull. "Vaguely," I replied.

"And what do you remember of it?"

I wasn't thinking. Words just spilled out of my mouth. "The Hero was imprisoned, then later freed after the kingdom realized they had made a mistake. Though the Hero and I were the only ones fighting Demise and sealing him away, every race fought in the war, working together against the forces of darkness."

"Aha!" Faron cut me off from delving into deeper detail. "Every race… meaning the Kikwis, Mogmas, robots, Gorons, Parellas, and humans alike. I suggest you use the same tactics."

Well, the Mogmas and Kikwis were already on board, due to the recent ambush. "Well… would they join our cause? The Sheikah aren't technically 'darkness.'"

"Ah, that is false." Faron dove underwater, causing a large splash.

I jogged to the edge, yelling, "What do you mean!? Faron!"

She splashed back out of the water, drenching me. "Look here," she said. A portion of the water showed my reflection, then it suddenly changed. "This is how I… spy, if you will."

The image changed to fiery mountains, and a large mass of Sheikah. I picked out Gyin, who now wore a tattered black cape around his neck, flowing in the hot wind. I gasped when I saw what was happening. Gyin was communicating with…

…monsters.

Though I could not hear what he was saying, I saw many, many Bokoblins. More Bokoblins than there were Sheikah, actually. Their total was nearly double of Hyrule's current amount of troops.

Gyin's eyes glowed bright red. Link told me before that this was when he would use his sorcery. He pointed in the direction of Faron Woods.

The Bokoblins' eyes glowed bright red in response, then all trotted down the dusty path from Eldin Volcano.

The image vanished, and I saw my reflection in the water again.

"B-but Faron," I said, returning my gaze to the dragon, "I thought the monsters vanished after Demise was sealed…"

"Ah, they did indeed." I gave her a confused look. Faron continued, "Gyin's sorcery has evolved to darkness. I recognize him as… a demon."

A demon!?

But Gyin was supposed to be a human!

"W-what!? But he's… supposed to be…"

"A human, yes." Faron nodded, sighing. "But his sorcery changed him. Deep down… humans all have dark desires. They all have demons inside of them."

I didn't respond. Instead I looked down at my feet. Did I have a demon inside me? Maybe. I'm only half Hylia; probably way less than half.

"…And Gyin seemed to bring out his inner demon." Faron sighed again. "Gyin was able to reincarnate the forces of darkness, due to his dark magic. Honestly I don't understand how a mere mortal could preform such an action."

I soon my head, bewildered. I needed to tell Link-

…

…Link.

Was he alright? I needed to find out.

"Faron, I need you to help me see Link!" I yelled desperately, almost rudely.

"See him? In the water?" she questioned.

"Yes!"

"I can't locate a person. But I can locate a place-"

"Sealed Grounds!" I yelled again. "Statue of Hylia!"

"Your Grace, I advise you to calm down. I'm sure your Hero is just fine." And with that, she dove underwater, than back up.

I peered into the water, seeing my reflection change into a grassy land.

I saw the Goddess Statue, and the angle changed. I saw many, many bodies lying on the ground, probably dead.

And then I picked out a boy in a familiar green tunic.

He was alive.

A tear streamed down my cheek; I finally felt relief. I wiped it away and kept looking at the water.

Link was with several others. I recognized my father, Owlan, Horwell, Groose, Thorn, Fledge, Cawlin, and Stritch, all helping Link with the bodies. About fifteen live knights lay on gurneys; the remaining bodies were being prepared for a burial somewhere in the woods.

We lost a lot of men.

The vision disappeared, until I could see a familiar blonde girl in the water again.

"He's…" I trailed off.

"…Okay," Faron finished for me. "However, your relief most likely blinded you, so you couldn't see that he is hurt."

"He's h-hurt?" I choked sadly.

Faron dipped her long neck up and down in a nod. "But I'm sure he'll be fine. Most likely it was nothing too serious."

I nodded, worried about Link. He always tried to act strong, but I knew when he was hurt. He'd just never admit it. I wondered what it was that hurt him.

"D-do you think I should g-go back now?" I asked.

"The tribe has fled. Hyrule is safe now. I highly suggest that you do not teleport your way back, Your Grace. Teleporting across such a large distance caused you to pass out last time."

"Okay." I turned to walk away, but turned back. "Thank you."

Faron nodded. On my way out, she added, "Though the tribe is gone, the path to Hyrule isn't safe. I suggest you be cautious."

I trudged through the forest, my hand on the golden hilt of my rapier. It hung at my hip, but I tried not to let it tear my white dress.

I felt the headdress on my forehead, then touched the necklace that hung above my breasts. I thought of Link.

My daydreaming was cut short by a rustling in the bushes. My breath caught in my throat, and I stopped in my tracks, motionless. Slowly and quietly, I withdrew my rapier from my brown belt that held it. I backed away slowly from the source of the rustling.

I heard it again. But it was right by me that time. I jumped, shaking.

I considered making a run for it, but whatever the thing was could probably outrun me.

I turned back around and headed further along the path to Hyrule, but something jumped right out of the ground, scattering dirt everywhere.

I squealed and thrust my rapier forward, but stopped abruptly when I saw what it was.

Ledd, the Mogma.

"Whoa, whoa!" he shouted, putting his claws up on defense. "Don't kill me, please!"

I lowered my weapon, still shaking. "I'm sorry, I thought you were…"

"Hey…" Ledd said, scratching his chin with his claws. "You're the green guy's friend, aren't ya?"

I nodded.

"I remember you. You're the girl who ran right past me in Eldin a few months ago."

I nodded again, then continued along my path. "Sorry, Ledd, but I need to get back inside the town walls."

"That's where I'm headin', too." He burrowed underground again, leaving me to continue along the path alone.

When I finally got to the east gate, the two knights stopped me. "Password, please."

Wait, what?

After awhile of me staring stupidly at the two knights, one of them repeated more forcefully, "Password, please."

"Um, It's me, Princess Zelda…" I said meekly, taken aback.

"Then you of all people should know the password," said the other.

I was beginning to get offended. "Look, you two, I need to get in! You can't deny me access!"

"We have the authority."

"Not over me!" I said, the words spilling out of my mouth without me thinking. I was shocked at my own words. I sounded… pompous.

The rest of my words felt like I wasn't speaking them at all. Like someone else was taking over.

"We cannot risk having an imposter within these walls."

"How could an imposter even look like me!?" I demanded, beginning to get angry at the knights.

"We've seen what the Sheikah are capable of," said the guy on the left.

"Sorcery…" added the guy on the right.

I sighed, exasperated. "If a sorcerer went to the trouble to alter himself to look like me, then a meager gate wouldn't stop him from getting in!"

The first knight scoffed. "Unless you give me the password, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"You're asking me to leave my own kingdom." I scoffed. "I'll have you discharged for this."

"We're just doing our jobs, miss."

Suddenly I felt my brains return, and I knew that Hylia left me alone. I yelled for Link, hoping he'd hear me. "Liiiiink!"

The guards pointed their spears at me, as if I were a threat. I put up my hands in defense, scared.

And then I heard a response.

A faint one. "Zelda!?"

I cupped my hands to my mouth, yelling louder. "Liiiiiiiink!"

The knights stepped forward until their spears were practically poking me. I heard another response, but louder. "Zelda!"

~Link's POV~

"Hey!" I yelled to the two knights. They immediately snapped their heads in my direction. "Let her in! Now!"

They did as I told them, parting away from the gate. Zelda shoved her way through and burst through the gate, into my open arms.

I held her tightly, relieved that she was okay. The aroma of her beautiful hair wafted up to my face, and I breathed it in willingly. I pulled my head away and kissed her, arms still hugging her.

"Link…" she murmured after pulling away. She saw the gash across my forehead, slightly covered by my hair. Zelda brushed the gold locks away, getting a better view of the wound. "You're hurt?"

I shrugged, replying, "That's not even what hurts." Zelda looked questionably at me. "My head is throbbing right now. Some of Gyin's magic."

"…Link," Zelda said, "we should talk."

I nodded, looking away from her at the rubble in the plaza. Luckily the giant bomb flowers didn't hit any homes, but damaged some from flying rubble. Two large craters sat in the plaza that were big enough to fit a Goron.

I took Zelda's hand, leading her to the castle.

"Sorry about those two knights, Zel," I said. "I don't know if I should discharge them."

"No, Link. Don't."

"Really?"

"They were just doing their jobs. I understand," Zelda said.

"Okay," I muttered. "…If you haven't noticed, we've told each Hyrulean citizen the password for security reasons. I guess… we forgot you." I laughed.

Zelda smiled. "That's okay. So what's the password?"

I leaned in closer to her, as if someone was listening. "It's a secret to everybody."

"I know, Link. But what's the password?" Zelda asked.

"Zel." I raised my eyebrows at her and smiled. "That's the password. 'It's a secret to everybody.'"

Zelda looked confused, then smiled and giggled. "Clever," she said. "Who came up with it?"

"Groose. He said no one would ever figure it out." I chuckled.

"He's right," Zelda said.

"Anyway…" I paused and tapped my fingers on the table, trying to focus. "I think I need to tell you what happened yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"…Um, yeah. That's when the battle was."

"Oh… Well, I'll let you go first." Zelda rested her chin on her hands, elbows on the tables.

"Okay, well…" I told her everything, even about Gyin's magic. When I got to that point Zelda tensed up. "…You okay?" I asked when I finished.

Zelda sighed. "Yeah, um… Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay…" I waited for Zelda to speak. When she didn't, I asked, "What happened with Faron?"

Zelda bit her bottom lip, and I tried to ignore how adorable she looked. "When I appeared in Faron's court, I tried to get up but I couldn't and I passed out. I must've slept until today… Anyway, when I woke up, I told Faron what was going on, and she gave me some advice."

"What was the advice?" I asked

"She told me that we shouldn't wait to kill Gyin… It doesn't matter who kills him, even if it's for a personal reason. Like for Thorn." Zelda paused, waiting for me to speak. When I didn't, she continued. "Then she reminded me that during the Great War, every race worked together to fight the forces of darkness."

"But the Sheikah aren't technically darkness," I said.

"That's what I told her." Zelda breathed in deeply. "But then she showed me something… awful."

"What? What was it?"

Zelda struggled to tell me. "She said Gyin became a demon… She said that all humans have a dark side, that all humans have a demon inside. But only a few bring that demon out. And that's what Gyin did. His sorcery evolved into darkness, and he…" Zelda covered her face in her hands.

"…Zelda, tell me."

She sighed. "…He brought the monsters back. They're headed this way."

My eyes grew wide. "Shit," I said, slapping the table. "How far along are they by now?"

"I don't know. They seemed pretty slow, though."

I jumped up. "We need to raise the alarm-"

DONG!

…

DONG!

…

DONG!

…

"Never mind," I muttered. "Stay here." Zelda nodded sadly, a tear streaming down her cheek.

We were tired.

Low on troops.

Weak.

Vulnerable.

Outside the castle, I didn't see any Royal Knights, or Thorn. They were all in the infirmary, where I was supposed to be. They all had migraines from Gyin's dark magic.

I ignored the waves of pain shooting through my skull and joined a group of knights by the southeastern gate. For once, they weren't attacking at the east gate. Weird.

Too weird.

"Alright, I want half of you over by the east gate! This could easily be a trap!" I ordered.

Half of the knights departed like I asked. I remained at the southeast, but I'd travel from gate to gate if necessary.

I climbed the southeastern tower to get a view of the oncoming threat. A sea of red Bokoblins moved their way toward the southeastern gate, with a few large Moblins among the smaller enemies.

I took out my Sacred Bow, prepared to mow down the monsters before they could attempt to infiltrate.

I pushed my way by four archers and crouched by the front. I spotted a few Bokoblin archers, and planned to take them down first.

Then I noticed something odd.

Every monster's eyes glowed bright red, much like Gyin's did.

I was convinced that he was behind this.

Then the monsters blew their horns, signaling to attack. They darted forward with a burst of speed, and the archers and I went to work. "Take down the archers first!" I yelled.

We mowed down a few foot soldiers, but only killed two archers. The rest shot their arrows, barely missing. We had to duck to avoid them.

"Sir Link!" yelled a knight below. "They're scaling the walls!"

Sure enough, when I looked at the walls, I saw grapples latching onto the edges. The red monsters climbed upwards so they wouldn't have to deal with getting through the gates.

I ditched the archers and attempted to burn the grapple ropes with the Eldin Sword, but the flames couldn't reach such a distance. So instead I waited for the monsters to get over the walls to pick them off with arrows.

"Damn!" I yelled. "There's too many to shoot!"

There were. I returned my bow to my pouch and jumped out of the tower, landing hard on my feet. I drew my sword and easily cut down two advancing Bokoblins. They were easy for me to kill, but not for the other knights.

They constantly found themselves getting their attacks blocked, then had to rely on their chain mail to protect them from the blades of the monsters.

I saw a knight get cut down, and I rushed to avenge his death. I drove my flaming blade down the middle of the Bokoblin's hard skull.

I heard commotion by the east gate. I saw it get demolished by a charging Moblin, crushing knights in its path. Other Moblins entered the gate, overwhelming my allies.

I left the minor threats and rushed to offer assistance at the east gate. I saw seven Moblins at once, and even three Stalfos.

"Shit," I muttered, summoning flames in the Eldin Sword. When it was fully charged, I executed a devastating spin attack, releasing waves of flames on the monsters. The flames didn't phase the Stalfos, but they burned the Moblins' shields. That only pissed them off.

They turned even redder with rage, roaring and charging my way. I gasped, regretting my last move. But before I could get impaled by spears, a figure jumped high into the air from behind the Moblins.

Thank Hylia.

It was Thorn.

Thorn threw several daggers, then landed in front of me. The daggers sank into five Moblins' heads, then he withdrew two scimitars, charging at the last four enemies.

I joined him, yelling over the commotion, "Dual scimitars!?" I blocked a blow from a Stalfos, then stabbed at an opening.

"You know it!" Thorn yelled back. He stabbed the chests of the two remaining Moblins, as if he were an assassin.

I finally cut down the Stalfos and planted a bomb on top of its bones. Before it could explode, I drew the attention of the other skeletal enemy, leading him to the bomb. It exploded, taking care of both.

"Boneheads," Thorn muttered.

"They may have bones, but they don't have brains." I chuckled despite the situation we were in.

Ten knights remained at the east gate, watching us in awe. "Keep guarding this gate. Don't let anyone or anything in," Thorn said.

I sprinted back to the southeast, Thorn following close behind.

The Hyeuleans were largely outnumbered; there were probably sixty Bokoblins who scaled the walls, and about thirty Hyrulean knights, in addition to Thorn and me.

Ten Bokoblins surrounded Thorn and me, and we stood back-to-back, deflecting blows and countering. I threw two daggers, killing two monsters. Blocking the blade of another, I countered and hacked at its legs. When the ten monsters who surrounded us had disappeared into a purple cloud of dust, Thorn and I split up.

An arrow whizzed past the side of Thorn's head, grazing his temple. Thorn grimaced and clutched his new wound, allowing a Bokoblin to strike him in the chest. Luckily his chain mail softened the blow, but it was enough to knock him to the ground. I rushed to Thorn's aid, slicing away the enemy who hit him.

He hopped up, then said, "Thanks." His eyes drifted, then he shoved me in the chest. Am arrow whizzed by, which would have impaled me in the skull.

"We're even," I said. He nodded and returned to fighting the red-eyed monsters.

I looked around to find the enemy archers. The four Hyrulean archers on the southeastern tower lay motionless on their backs, arms limply hanging. Finally, I spotted ten Bokoblin archers on the roof of the Knight Academy.

Surprisingly, even the vines grew on the Knight Academy, just like in Skyloft. Without the enemy archers seeing me, I dashed to the vines and climbed up to the roof. They couldn't see me, so I used the element of surprise.

My sword charged with fire as I dashed to the ten monsters, cutting down three with the first strike. They fell to the ground, whining. The other seven spotted me and shouted battle cries, but I quickly released the flames in the Eldin Sword, burning five on impact. They fell to the ground, dead. I shield bashed one of the last two, stunning him. My sword raked across the second one's chest, and it disappeared into a purple cloud. Then I slashed the first one, knocking it down to join the others.

That took care of the archers.

Below, on the ground, I saw Bokoblins looking up at me, yelling and honking angrily, their weapons swinging in the air. I raised the Eldin Sword skyward, bathing the metallic blade in an orangey glow. I jumped down to the stone, ending the life of three monsters with my merciless flames.

I didn't have a problem cutting down monsters.

And now that I learned that Gyin was a demon, I wouldn't have a problem killing him.

Thorn threw three daggers, one nearly impaling my arm. They sank into the hearts of Bokoblins behind me. I nodded thanks at him then went back to work cutting down the enemy.

Their numbers were depleting.

One by one.

Until finally, I stabbed the last Bokoblin, and the battle was over.

I walked up to Thorn, wiping the sweat off of my forehead. He too, was drenched in sweat. "Damn," he said, "that was almost too easy."

I shrugged. "For us, maybe." I surveyed the plaza, seeing medics tend to the injured, and the uninjured knights tended to the dead, lifting them away for a burial. "Not for them."

Thorn nodded grimly. "How many..?"

"Twenty-two," I choked.

Thorn sighed. "…How many left?"

I breathed in deeply, eyes closed. "Fifty."

"Damn…" Thorn muttered under his breath. He scratched his wet hair and closed his eyes.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be okay." I paused. "There's no way they can take down this kingdom."

I just want to clarify… the "Great War" I am referencing in some chapters is from the Skyward Sword Prequel Manga, which was featured in the Hyrule Historia.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

To be continued.

Until then, Review, Follow, Favorite, eat sausage, do whatever your heart desires. Just make sure it's legal.

~SausageLink43