Right, so here goes nothing.

….

Chris punched the walls of his cell, hearing a satisfying crack on impact. He knew he'd never break out with brute force, but that didn't stop him from trying. After all, what could the guards do to him now? He was already trapped, and he knew that they wouldn't try to kill him.

As he pulled his hand away from the cold concrete, he marveled at how little blood was flowing from his knuckles. He'd long since stopped feeling the pain, but usually there was quite a bit more blood. Maybe he was running out.

"What is wrong with you?" asked Meta Knight.

"What are you talking about?" Chris said it out loud. Even if the thralls could hear him, they wouldn't know what he was talking about. Their minds were blank and thoughtless.

"It is not like you to give up so easily."

"What's the point? I'm stuck here."

"Stuck? This coming from the man who once smashed his way out of a testing facility."

"The cage they put me in was just reinforced glass. Badly reinforced, at that. I can't break through solid concrete or steel." Chris said defensively, but he knew the Smasher was right. He was giving up without a fight, and it wasn't like him at all. He seemed incapable of putting out any effort.

"You are acting like a child. Are you just going to let them do this to you? We both know that they will kill you when they have finished whatever they are doing." Meta Knight's deep voice rang true. But what could Chris do? The guards made a point of never coming within ten feet of the cell. Even when they gave him food, they slid it through a hole in the wall. The thralls were wary of him, and were taking every precaution.

"What should I do, then?"

"Bide your time, and ready yourself for battle. I sense that your friends are already working on getting you out. Stop wasting blood and energy on punching walls."

Chris sighed. He sat down on his bed and stared out through the bars. His chance would come, eventually. In the meantime, he decided that making a plan would be in his best interest.

As he thought about what he would do when the bars released him, a siren rang out. A bright red emergency light on the wall lit up, almost blinding Chris. "Prisoner escaped," said a robotic voice over the intercom. "Level three, interrogation chamber number five. Prisoner is highly dangerous. Guards are asked to investigate. Lethal force has not been authorized."

Chris grinned. Someone had made it out, it seemed. "Do you know who escaped?" he thought to Meta Knight.

"It would seem that Leon has broken out. But something is different about him… I cannot be sure if it is good or bad at this point. Be on guard."

"What's different about him?" Immediately an image appeared in his mind. It was Leon, glowing red with energy. His eyes blazed crimson, his teeth bared in a savage snarl. Two dead men lay on the floor behind him. At least, their bodies did. Their heads, detached from their torsos, pooled blood around Leon's bare feet. Chris could tell that his friend had been tortured harshly. His face was covered in blood and sweat, one eye swollen and black. Blood ran down his back from fresh wounds, but in his eyes burned a fire that hungered for violence and revenge. For once in life, Chris was scared of another human.

Then Leon's bloodstained hands gripped his head and he groaned with pain. His head thrashed violently from side to side, as if he was fighting a battle within himself.

"What the hell is going on?!" Chris shouted, and the image disappeared, though he knew it would haunt him.

….

"Stop!" Leon shouted at Akareth. "Stop controlling me!"

"You need me if you are to escape," the ancient shadow said calmly.

"You're insane! I can't let you destroy everyone here!"

"Why do you protest my methods? These thralls are your enemies, and so they must die. And your so-called friends are weak, unnecessary. They are a burden to you."

"They're my friends, and I'm not letting you kill them. I don't care how powerful you are, nobody is going to hurt them!"

"Ah, always the noble hero, eh? Do you have any idea how strong I really am? Now that the seal has been broken, there is nothing to stop me from simply taking over your consciousness."

"Nothing except me," Leon replied defiantly.

"Do you honestly think you can suppress me? Even your ancestor, strong as he was, could barely defeat me."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not him."

"You're an arrogant child, aren't you? I will break you, Leon. You'll never resist my power."

"I beg to differ. You're in my head, and I'm in control here. The only way you'll defeat me is by killing me, and since I don't have any relatives, you'd be killing yourself." He could feel Akareth's barely controlled anger.

"…You make a good point. But we both know that you need me. Everything remarkable about you was caused by me. Your natural skill and strength, your endurance. None of it would have been possible if not for me. That little incident about the secret cave? That was one of my old hideouts."

Leon almost gasped. It all made sense now. He himself had never done anything amazing. It had all been Akareth, his strength keeping Leon alive. Even when he had been chosen, Ike had helped him. It was always someone else watching his back, always someone else lending him strength. He was pathetic.

"Now I see you understand. You are nothing but my puppet, a stupid human with no other purpose than to serve me. Give up, and set me free. Fulfill your destiny and unleash me upon the world, and I will once again reign."

"No." Leon said, clenching his fists. His voice was deceptively calm, masking his anger.

"You would dare refuse me? The one who saved your life? Release me, now!"

"No. You are nothing but a demon, no matter how powerful you are. And you have no hold over me."

"Release me!" Akareth roared, sending a chill down Leon's spine. But the boy didn't flinch.

"Go to hell." Leon severed the connection. The red aura around him fizzled out, and his eyes returned to their normal steel grey. The pain returned, but he ignored it. Clenching his teeth, Leon drew a knife from one of the bodies. It was a well-balanced blade, and it fit his grip perfectly. He set off down the hallway, bare feet slapping on the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

….

"It's okay, Vui, I think I'm good to walk now," said Gammic, pulling himself away from her.

"Are you sure?" Vui asked. "You looked like you were gonna pass out there."

Her friend smiled. "I've been fine for a few minutes, now. I just wanted to enjoy it a little longer." Understandably, this was answered by a quick punch in the arm. The two began to jog down the corridor to their destination. They ran into only a single thrall along the way, who was dispatched easily. Before he died, Gammic placed a hand on his head and extracted the man's knowledge of the prison's layout.

"Where are they all?" Vui asked suspiciously.

"Probably going to investigate the escaped prisoner."

"Do you think Leon can hold off all of them without a weapon?"

"Maybe. We shouldn't delay, though. There's no telling when they'll find him, and if Leon doesn't take them down, we'll be next." Vui nodded in agreement and the two kept running.

A few minutes later, they reached a room whose door held the inscription, "Prisoner Belongings." They entered and found all their weapons there, including the ones they had just gotten. Their outfits were there, too. Gammic didn't want to think about how the thralls had gotten them off and replaced them with rags. He simply slipped his purple robe over his clothing and picked up his staff, glad to have it back in his hands.

The mage respectively turned away as Vui changed and put on her belt of knives. She paused for a moment and picked up Dark Aether, slinging the heavy sword across her back. At Gammic's questioning gaze, she replied, "If we run into Leon, he'll need a weapon." Her companion nodded.

"We'll bring the others back here when we get them out, then we'll find Hikari and confront her." With that, the two left the room and quickly consulted Gammic's mental map for directions. When they were sure of their route, they set off once more.

When they finally reached the warden's office, Gammic conjured up dust on his hand to mirror that of a thrall's and pressed it into the scanner. Alarm bells rang out loudly, startling the Chosen. A robotic voice said, "Warning. Attempted access into Warden's office. Access has been denied. All guards are ordered to investigate."

Vui cursed. Pushing Gammic out of the way, she knelt down in front of the scanner and pulled out a small case from her pocket. She opened it and selected the necessary tools to hack into the scanner's technology. Loud footsteps echoed through the passage, and thralls began to flood into the hallway. Vui cursed again. "Gammic, you need to hold them off until I can hack the lock. Just keep them away from me, okay?"

The mage nodded and took a battle stance. He held his staff in his right hand and kept his stance low, arms held out to the sides. It looked rather foolish, but Gammic knew that this stance helped with the flow of magic through his body. The thralls dropped their guns and drew heavy batons. Clearly they were under orders not to kill any of the Chosen. The thought made Ganondorf's chosen smile. Unfortunately for them, he had no such boundaries.

As the first wave approached, Gammic swung his staff almost lazily, casting a hex that knocked over the first line of attackers. The thralls were quickly stampeded and killed accidentally by their allies, who rushed forward blindly. The boy seized this momentary pause and drew a line across the floor with his staff. When he was finished, he extended his hand toward it, and black fire erupted from the line. Thralls advanced forward, walking straight into the inferno. Ash quickly collected on one side of the line.

Gammic knew that the barrier wouldn't last forever. While the enemies rushed to their doom, he hurled curses into the crowd, the spells disintegrating much of what they hit. Screams quickly filled the air, along with the sickly smell of burning flesh. The barrier began to deteriorate, the flames fading fast.

He was beginning to sweat, both from exertion and from worry about what might happen if he faltered. But he held the line stubbornly, repelling attacks and dishing out damage. After what seemed like hours, he heard Vui shout, "It's done! Get inside!" Gammic did as he was told, throwing one last hex before running through the doorway. The door shut behind him and he put his hands on his knees, panting.

"That was close," said Vui. Gammic could only nod in reply. The rogue turned and looked around the room. One wall was occupied by small television sets that showed each and every one of the prisoners' cells. It seemed that only the Chosen were the only prisoners currently being held there. Vui looked for some kind of release switch.

"Oh, hello! Nice to see you here!" said a familiar voice. Vui turned to see the person she'd wanted to kill since she was captured.

Hikari.

….

Leon quickly dispatched the thrall, slicing his neck open with a backhand stroke of his knife. The man fell dead on the floor, and Leon started running again. That had been the third one he'd seen since he escaped. One of them had had a map of the prison in his vest, and the boy had taken it and was now heading to the Warden's office.

"Be ready, Leon," said Ike.

His Chosen didn't reply, just kept running. He was going to confront Hikari and finally get some answers. He didn't understand why she'd betrayed them, and he was torn between blindly trying to murder her and wanting to get information.

No matter what, Hikari would answer for her betrayal.

….

Vui stared in fury at her former friend. Hikari smiled venomously at her.

"Surprised to see me, Vui?" she asked.

"You heartless traitor," growled Vui, drawing her knives.

"Still as foolish as ever, I see." Hikari slid her long sword out of its sheath and gripped it with both hands. Gammic stood up and settled into his battle stance, his gaze tired but hateful. "And the wannabe wizard, too! Do you guys really think you can take me?"

"You can't fight both of us," said Gammic. "No matter how strong you are."

"We'll see about that." Hikari leapt forward and swung her blade diagonally. The mage blocked it with his staff and countered by hurling a hex from his left hand. His opponent easily dodged it and swung again, this time at Vui. The rogue deflected the strike with one knife and slashed with the other, drawing a long cut across Hikari's arm.

She ignored it and rushed Gammic again, her quick strikes forcing him to give ground. He was so busy blocking and parrying that he couldn't counterattack. He swung his staff to block Hikari's vicious stroke, but the girl reversed it at the last minute and smashed the butt of her sword into the mage's temple, knocking him out cold.

Vui cursed violently. She managed to keep dodging Hikari's attacks, but the giant sword on her back somewhat limited her movement. She couldn't hold out for much longer, not against an opponent as fierce as Hikari.

….

Leon was met with little resistance while he ran, which surprised him. He could see the door to the Warden's office now, and he increased his pace. He noticed the dead bodies piled around the lock, as well as the smoldering piles of ash. Every single thrall in the whole place must've been lying there. Some of the corpses looked fresher, with decapitated heads instead of burnt ashes and broken limbs.

The whole area reeked of blood and sweat. He was already trying to stay awake as his head swam, and the stench wasn't helping. Leon could hear clanging noises and battle cries on the other side of the door. He was in no shape for a real fight, he knew, but there was no other alternative. He smashed the lock and entered.

….

Vui dodged yet another stroke of Hikari's blade. "Why are you doing this?!" she shouted angrily, retaliating with her knife.

"You wouldn't understand!" Hikari shouted back, pausing for a moment.

"Why would you betray us, Hikari?" pressed Vui. "We were your friends, we helped you!"

"None of that matters now."

"Then what does matter, huh?! You're helping the man who's trying to take over the world! Do you even know why you're helping him?"

"Of course I do!"

"So, none of us ever mattered to you?"

"Not at all. You're just obstacles that need to be removed."

"Not even Leon?" Hikari froze for a moment at the name, and Vui could see that she had hit a nerve. "Do you know what they were doing to him? They were torturing him, Hikari. They ripped his fucking skin off. All because of you."

"You're lying!" Hikari retorted. "You have to be! Espirus swore that he wouldn't hurt him."

"You're taking the word of a mass murderer over that of your friend? Do you know how fucked up that is?"

"We are no longer friends, Vui. We never really were."

"I don't care. I don't want to kill you, Hikari, but I will if that's necessary."

"Oh, believe me, it's necessary." They rushed each other once again, but before their blades connected, Hikari let out a grunt and fell to the ground. In her place stood Leon, one hand raised and no emotion in his grey eyes. Vui stopped mid-step, staring in shock.

"Leon! Did you just-"

"She's not dead, just unconscious."

"I thought you were overrun by thralls or something! Are you alright?"

Leon almost laughed. "Do I look like I'm alright? I'll be honest; I'm in an insane amount of pain." He said this all very calmly. If it weren't for his visible injuries, Vui would have thought he was joking. "I'm using all my energy to stay conscious." He coughed loudly. "But if I don't get bandaged up, I probably won't survive for much longer." The Chosen slumped against the wall, still without any emotion, and shut his eyes.

Vui quickly got up and checked his pulse. It was there, faint as it was. Thinking quickly, she ran back to the Prisoner Belongings room and grabbed Will's pack. She dug her hand inside and found what she was looking for: a large bundle of bandages. The rogue ran back to Leon as quickly as possible and wrapped up as many of his wounds as she could, watching blood immediately stain the bandages. Hopefully that would stop the bleeding.

Satisfied that she had done all she could, she checked Gammic's pulse. His was much stronger, thankfully. Hikari was alive, too, though she'd probably wake up with one hell of a headache. Vui kicked her hard in the side just to make sure she was out. The girl then decided to find the button that would release her friends.

It turned out the "button" was really a complex computer program. After about ten minutes of trying to hack it, Vui was successful. Every cell in the building opened, and the very confused Chosen walked out. Vui decided to have a little fun.

She found the intercom button and pressed it. Into the microphone, she said, "Attention! All chosen are to report to the Warden's office! By the way, you are now to refer to Vui as the 'Queen of Thieves.' Have a nice day!" Over the TV screens, she could see most of the other Chosen either shaking their heads or rolling their eyes.

….

When everyone finally arrived, Leon and Gammic had woken up. The former was staring at Hikari, wondering how everything had gone so wrong.

"What do we do with her?" asked Will, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We wait until she wakes up," said Leon. "Then we'll get some answers." The Chosen left to retrieve their things from the Prisoner Belongings room, and Leon wrapped his chain around Hikari's arms and legs so that when she woke up, she wouldn't rip his head off.

When everyone was ready, the Chosen stood at the entrance to the prison. Leon was carrying Hikari, cradling her in his arms. Chris looked in his direction uncertainly, but said nothing. They walked off, leaving the prison deserted.

….

…For some reason, I'm just not satisfied with the ending of this chapter. I don't really know why, either. Anyway, I thought I'd explain some of the things I did in this chapter.

Leon was showing no emotion toward the end because he didn't know how to feel. The girl he likes betrays him and his friends, and he knocks her out cold. And now he's not really sure how he feels about her.

Hikari killed the remaining thralls before she entered the Warden's office, that's why no one else was met with any resistance.

Chris isn't sure whether he's scared of Leon or not.

That's all I can think of at the moment. This is one of my longest chapters, though, so I am proud! Next time we'll be going back to Coleman's group, because I have seriously been neglecting them. See ya later!