Alnahim smiled at Link, his eyes veiled with cruelty. He repeated his question.
"Which will it be? The vial, or the triforce?" His voice was low as usual, but behind it Link could hear his twisted excitement.
To link, of course, the answer was easy. He gripped the hilt of his blade tightly, as though he were attempting to crush it. His eyes were perfect crystals of encapsulated rage.
"I will take both." was his response. With that, he ran towards Alnahim's floating form, who was visibly surprised by this turn. Not so surprised, however, that he allowed himself to be hit. He raised a hand as Link vaulted into the air, and emitted several purple pulsing rings. The center of these rings slammed into Link, forcing him back through the air. He flew back several feet, performing a back flip in the air, and hitting the wall with his feet. He then pushed off, propelling himself like a cannonball towards the warlock. He held his blade out in front of him, so it would slam through the monster's heart, should he make it so far.
Instead, Alnahim shot out another of his dark pulsing rings, forcing Link back once more. This time, Link was pushed to the ground, and skidded to a halt on all fours. He looked at Ekron who was simply standing in place watching this whole thing occurs.
"I could use some help!" He growled as he sprinted back towards the wizard. Ekron shouted in acknowledgment, and crouched down so he looked no more than a common rock, and began to roll at their enemy. Both leaped into the air at the same moment, and were pushed back by those rings. Alnahim had taken on a look of bored exasperation.
"I hope you can do a superior job than this. Your father was much better, even without the influence of shadow." He taunted.
Link shouted in fury, and leaped in the air, sword raised over head.
"You simply won't LEARN!" Alnahim shouted, sending out another wave of rings.
Link was shoved back roughly again, once again hitting the ground on all floors. He looked at Ekron, who had just managed to stand up in the miniscule amount of time that had passed since he'd be sent to the floor. Link thought hard about how to get past those rings, and eventually thought of a way, but needed Ekron.
"I can't tell him, or Alnahim will see...damn! How can I tell him?" Link thought angrily. He reached into his trans-dimensional bag, pulling out the telepathy stone he used to speak with Zelda. He held it tightly, and tried to reach out to Ekron. He saw Ekron's spine straighten, as though he'd been whipped, and knew he'd made contact. He told the goron the plan, and allowed his consciousness to retreat from his friend's mind. Ekron looked over at link, and nodded, then dropping back into his rolling stance.
Link began sprinting at the magician, and leaped into the air. Alnahim released an annoyed, 'tut' noise, as he sent out more rings, expecting to send Link reeling once again. However, he'd not noticed Ekron rolling up behind Link. He'd also not noticed that Ekron had leaped into the air. He noticed none of this until the Goron was already in front of Link in midair. Link used the goron's rocky stone back as a way to push himself above the reach of Alnahim's shadow push spell. The goron was sent tumbling back through the air, and hit the ground uninjured. The hero, however, was falling. Falling straight towards him with his sword poised to strike.
Alnahim raised his forearm to block the slash with his gauntlet and forearm guards. A sharp 'CLANG!' erupted from the clash of steel, and Alnahim felt all the force behind the strike. He winced with the pain that raced through his arm, but grabbed the hero's wrist with his other hand, and threw him to the floor with the goron. The two half rose from the places, meeting Alnahim's gaze.
"Damn you...that was a brilliant move." Alnahim spat at the two. He then undid his cloak so it no longer surrounded his body, instead billowing behind him as a black cape. Once again, he spread out his hands like he was expecting an embrace. Link heard the harsh crackle of electricity, and was able to smell the acrid scent of it. Two great yellow balls of harsh lightning formed in the wizard's hands, which he moved so they were seemingly locked together in front of him, aiming at the duo.
Link cursed, and shouted to Ekron to run. Ekron began to run to the right, Link to the left, sheathing his sword and shield as he went. Less than a second later, a beam of electricity began shooting out from Alnahim's hands, which he followed Link with. The smell was hardly bearable, and the beam left a black scar in it's wake. Link continued to evade the beam until Alnahim seemed to run out of magic, and began to recharge the spell.
Strategies and counter-strategies soared in Link's mind, as he tried to figure out some way to end this battle, in any way. None presented itself. Link cursed again, absentmindedly noticing his recent slips into a foul tongue. Then Alnahim had finished recharging the bolt, and was chasing Link once more. Link sprinted towards a pillar, and hid behind it for roughly three seconds before it crumbled under the strength of his enemy's spell. That was when an idea hatched in his mind. He continued running around the room, dodging behind pillars, looking as though he were desperately sprinting for his life.
"Are you scared?" Alnahim shouted amidst his gale of laughter.
"Not quite, bastard." Link thought with the grimmest of smiles. Alnahim took moments to charge his spell again. Seconds Link knew were too few for him to sprint to him, and strike him down. Instead, he simply remained behind the pillar. Ekron had been attempting to get close to the warlock, but Link zigzagging from pillar to pillar had caused the beam to cross his path each time, and as such, he'd made no progress to the wizard, and had adopted a fairly frustrated body language.
Then Link heard the crackle of lightning hurtling through the air, and waiting for a couple seconds, and began a mad dash to the final pillar. He hid behind it, and Ekron looked at him with arms outstretched. His position said, "What the hell?". Link motioned for him to run out of the building, and then the final pillar collapsed, and Link only barely rolled out of the way before the blast zapped him as well.
"Wish Gaius had given me a lightning resistant tunic." Link thought half jokingly. He saw Ekron was backing away towards the door, still facing them. That was good. Link was about to join him. Any second this big old temple was going to collapse, Alnahim and all. Then link would be able to climb through the rubble, retrieve the serum, and the triforce piece.
Any.
Second.
Now.
Nothing happened. The ceiling did not so much as creak with the full weight of the building. Alnahim saw Link's angry/surprised grimace, and laughed.
"Surprised, are you? This is all my creation" He said, twirling his arms around, gesturing to everything that was around them. "And I didn't design it all to be destroyed."
This time Link heard Ekron utter a Goronic curse, and smiled, despite the conditions. Then Alnahim was charging his spell once more, the crackling sound and smell of lightning filling the room. He shot another beam at Link, and Link sprinted once more. Ekron was looking around desperately, hoping to do something to help, but could find nothing.
Link was running full on when he fell. The tip of one of his boots had caught one of the chunks of pillar rubble that had been set about by their destruction. He fell, not with a curse in his mouth, not with stupid surprise, but with a deep sadness.
"Now I'm truly ruined. Before now, there's always been some way out that's saved me at the last second. Now there is nothing. I'll die with my father's cure tucked in the cloak of his worst enemy, and my home to be overrun by my own. Ekron shall die because I dragged him along. And it's all my fault. I've ruined everything."
"BOSS LINK!" He heard Ekron cry.
"Damnit...I told you not to call me that."
Then he hit the ground and felt the massive pain strike him in the back, and waiting for darkness to beckon.
.
.
.
The darkness never called for him. He looked around, and saw Ekron looking at him with wonder. But...not at him. Not his face anyway. It looked like his vision was locked onto the small of Link's back, the source of Link's pain. Link looked backward, and took on Ekron's vision of amazement.
The beam of concentrated electricity had struck Link definitely. It had struck him right in the back, the instant he'd hit the ground. It had hit Link squarely in his shield, which had, amazingly, deflected the blast, sending it careering off of the shield (though hardly visible due to the diminished energy), and into a solid wall, where it struck and burst like an overripe fruit, and dispersed from being.
Seeing this gave Link what he needed. Another plan.
When the energy of Alnahim's spell ran out, Link still stood there. The warlock had not seen the blast deflecting off of Link's shield by some blessing, instead believing he'd missed the hero.
"I'll not miss again." He called, his voice calm.
"I certainly hope not." Link thought. He continued to run around the room while Alnahim charged his spell, then when he saw it coming towards him, quicker then sound, he dropped to a knee, his shield out.
"You fool!" The magician laughed. His laughter cut off sharply as the bolt hit the shield, and reflected back at him. It struck him in the chest, sending him somersaulting through the air, his black clothes clinging tightly to his body, his cape wrapping around him.
He righted himself in the air, an expression of pain and anger on his face. Link froze. He'd hoped that would end the demon...yet he only looked to be in marginal pain. Pain that was almost simple discomfort.
"Another fine maneuver." The dark magician said, raising one hand above his head. Once again the crackle of electricity, and then a move Link remembered vaguely, like it was a dream. It was not unlike how Ganondorf battled...or the phantom Ganon, in his trial for Nayru. Intuition seized him, and he reached in his pouch again. He thought of the weapon he needed, and pulled out the large battle ax Gaius, the Goron king, had forged and given to Ekron. It was damn heavy.
"Ekron!" Link shouted, and the goron looked at him in surprise. Link tossed him the ax with both hands, and the goron caught it.
"If he throws the energy at you, knock it back!"
"Okay!"
Then Link heard the ball leave the magician's hand. This one was coming right towards Link. He slashed at it with his sword, sending it back to the hovering magi. He hit the blast with the back of his hand back towards Link and it sped at Link, who hardly had time to bring his sword up in time. He did successfully strike the ball of electricity, but at a bad angle, causing it to veer off course, and slam into a wall. The sound of the energy forming again. Now the ball was heading towards Ekron.
The goron slammed the ax against the ball like Link had when hitting stones with sticks when he was younger. The blast spiraled at the warlock, who sent it back. Ekron knocked it back once more. Alnahim did the same. This continued for several blasts, until the ball was moving so fast Link could hardly see it.
"How is Ekron doing this? He's not that fast...He must be acting on pure instinct..." Link thought, in awe of his friend. Then, "What am I doing! I'm just standing here like a slack-jawed idiot! I need to be getting closer."
So Link crept closer, little by little, believing Alnahim to be fully concentrated on his match with Ekron. However, when he got close enough, Alnahim sent a jolt of electricity at Link, without devoting so much as a look at him. The faintest beads of sweating were beginning to form on his forehead. This was good.
Finally, Alnahim hit the blast at an off angle, shooting it towards the door of the temple. Link and Ekron both made to rush the wizard, who then raised both hands, and sent two different balls out, one for each. Link and Ekron batted back their respective balls, as did Alnahim. This continued for minutes. Finally, one of their balls slammed home into Alnahim's chest. He fell to the ground, yellow crackles of electricity around him. Link ran forward, and slashed the demon several times, and then kicked him, forcing him onto his back. Link raised his sword, and dropped it into the wizard's stomach.
Alnahim laughed.
"Like father, like son, perhaps." He said. Then dark energy began to encompass his body.
"No! Not this time you bastard!" Link shouted, but to no avail. The demon faded away, leaving behind only a vial filled with white tonic, and a yellow gem.