I hope you all liked the barb-q-ed cucco from the last chapter. If you haven't had any yet, ask HimmelsDraculina is she took any home with her, she might have some leftovers. Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 23

Final Preparations

It had been a long hard week for Zelda, Cimar, Link and Malon yet somehow they had persevered. After the two sheikah had shown them the mirror of twilight, they had led them to their rooms and wished them a good nights rest. The next morning the four of them were woken up roughly or sweetly depending on which sheikah woke them up and were told to prepare for training. What followed was a nightmare.

The two sheikah had prepared different courses for the women as for the men. Since Malon had been accepted to become a sheikah and Zelda's memories of Sheik relit in her mind, Himmels and Draculina wanted to make sure that they were capable of earning the title of sheikah whether they wanted their training or not.

Malon and Zelda were given the garb of the sheikah and were told to change. When they returned, Malon was dressed head to toe in the red garb of the sheikah while Zelda now looked and felt like Sheik in her blue sheikah garb. The two women's first task shocked both of them.

"We have to defeat both of you?" Zelda and Malon screamed together. Himmels and Draculina nodded while secretly grinning to each other.

"In order to become a sheikah, you need to have the skills of one. The only true way to find out if you have those skills is to test you in a combat situation. We will let you attack first if that helps you at all."

Malon and Zelda lasted approximately forty five seconds after that. Himmels and Draculina looked down on the two women who were both lying on their backs next to each other gasping for air.

"Can you at least go easy on us, I mean I have never done anything like this before and Zelda has just barely regained her memories of being Sheik." The answer to Malon's question was quick and easy, no.

"Did Impa give you all of the knowledge and power you need to become a true sheikah?" Malon nodded as she got to her feet. "Zelda, do you have your memories of what being a sheikah for seven years was like?" Zelda nodded her head.

"Good, then both of you have all of the skills that you need to become true sheikah. Now try attacking us again and this time, concentrate on those memories and they will become alive in you. Now," Hemmels and Draculina got back into their fighting stances as did Zelda and Malon, "start again!"

The second time Zelda and Malon did somewhat better than their first attempt. Even with Hemmels and Draculina attacking them first they managed to stave off their attacks for a full minute before collapsing to the matted floor, the white and black garbed sheikah standing above them shaking their heads. Malon and Zelda were helped off the floor by the other two women and were told to try again. By the end of the day, Zelda and Malon knew almost every square inch of the matting on the floor since they had hit almost every part of it.

Cimar and Link didn't have it any easier than Zelda and Malon did and probably would have switched with them if they had asked. They had been led to a circular room with almost a dozen doors leading in all directions and were told if they wanted out, they would have to defeat all of the enemies in the rooms. Before they could protest, the door behind them slammed shut while metal bars slid down from the ceiling in front of it.

They had decided to start from the left side and work around to the right and the first few rooms seemed relatively easy, only a few keese or bokoblins and sometimes a deku scrub were in the rooms and were dispatched relatively by Cimar and Link. Starting about the sixth room however, things became rather difficult. By the second to last room, both men were incredibly sore and they had to resolve to more underhanded tactics to win. That room had been filled with three lizafos and stalfos as well as two iron knuckles. They focused on the lizafos first and then the stalfos. The iron knuckles was a lot more difficult to defeat and after several close shaves from the monsters ax, they succeeded in landing the final blow against the creatures.

"Only one last room to go…" breathed Cimar as he gasped for breath.

"Is that all? I think I could handle at least a dozen more rooms like this" Link responded breathing just as heavily. The two men started to laugh and walked towards the final room. As the door closed behind them, they silently cried to themselves. Five iron knuckles awaited them and they sighed deeply, wishing that the monsters would just disappear.

As the day drew to a close, the four men and women stumbled towards the room labeled as the kitchen and found dinner already prepared for them. When they saw each other and the shape they were in, everybody chuckled. Malon and Zelda were still in their sheikah gear and were holding their backs. Several bumps and bruises were on their faces and Link and Cimar bet that a lot more were bruises were covered by the sheikah gear. Link and Cimar were covered in small cuts and their tunics had large tears across the fabric.

"What happened to you to?" Link asked as the four sat down at the table, grateful to finally be able to sit down and rest as much as they were grateful for the food. The women looked up painfully at the men and tried to smile but couldn't. After a few rounds of double fights with the two sheikah, they had asked if they could try one on one instead. Malon was the lucky one and had to fight Himmel while Zelda had the bad luck of fighting Draculina. They had faired better in the one on one fights yet still grew very accustomed to smashing into the ground, time and time again.

"Himmels and Draculina challenged us to fight them, and then challenged again and again and…you get the picture" Malon responded as she stabbed at her food and jammed it into her mouth.

"Did you ever win?" Cimar asked. The two women stared daggers at Cimar and he took that as a solid no.

"Now that we have told you what we did, you need to tell us what you guys have been doing all day" Zelda stated as best she could with her sore jaw.

"We have been stuck battling monsters all day."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Zelda replied. "I'm sure that the two of you are used to that."

"Not really, especially when you are facing five iron knuckles at the same time, right after fighting for several hours straight."

"Only five?" Malon asked surprised that Cimar and Link were looking as haggard as they did when they at most faced five monsters. Zelda leaned over and whispered into Malon's ears on what an iron knuckle actually was. She dropped her fork to her plate and gasped when Zelda finished.

"Ohhh…that's what an iron knuckle is… I guess that would be a challenge." Link and Cimar rolled their eyes and started eating. The four people tried to focus their conversation on something beside the day's events but after a few minutes went quiet. They finished with dinner and walked to their rooms that were next to each other, Malon and Cimar sharing a room while Link and Zelda shared the room next to them. They muttered their good nights and collapsed into their beds falling asleep almost instantly, not even bothering to change their clothes.

Nothing changed on the second day of their training and it seemed that it had only become harder. Instead of lasting longer against Himmels and Draculina, Zelda and Malon actually began to get knocked to the mat quicker and quicker. At one point they actually were knocked unconscious and were rudely awakened by Draculina when she held smelling salts in front of their noses.

"There is no time for sleeping; there is only time to train unless you think you stand more of a chance lying down than standing up which might actually be true." They muttered to each other and slowly got up from the floor not really wanting to yet having to do so anyways.

Link and Cimar found that their challenge had increased in toughness as well. By the eighth room they were facing a pair of iron knuckles and by room ten were facing four darknuts. Luckily when they exited the tenth room there was a set of blue potions sitting on the ground in front of them and they chugged them greedily. This time when they entered the final room, they didn't notice where their enemies were and walked into the center of the room. By then they had heard the sound of armor clanking against each other and a screeching sound pierce the air. They dove next to one of the pillars that was in the room just as the blades of two aerofos stabbed the ground where they had been standing. Behind the two flying reptiles were two iron knuckles that held gigantic maces in their hands. Both men gulped, knowing that this fight was going to be insane.

"Why do we have to get stuck with these guys?" Cimar asked as he dodged one of the maces as it crashed into the pillar he was hiding behind, turning it into rubble.

"I guess we are just lucky I guess" Link responded as he leaped to the side of an advancing aerofos that had tried to dive at him. Twenty minutes later they finally walked out of the room, their swords dragging in the dirt as they left the room.

"I don't think that this could get any harder than that."

"Cimar, I can't think of a way it could."

Dinner was even quieter than it was the day before since everyone was even more tired than before. Himmels and Draculina joined with them at the table asked them how their training was progressing. A collective groan rose from the table to the amusement of the two sheikah.

"I guess that means you are being well trained for what you have to do. The more pain that you endure means the more you can endure in real battle" replied Himmels.

"Besides, causing pain gives me a warm bubbly feeling inside." Draculina added to the groans of Zelda and Malon. Draculina chuckled as her sister gave her a reproachful look.

"Tomorrow we will be changing your regimen slightly" Himmels said as she stood from the table. "Zelda and Malon will be again training with myself while Cimar and Link will be training with Draculina, any questions?" Everyone stayed quiet since it took energy to respond. "Good. See you all in the morning then." Draculina and Himmels left the room and its four occupants inside. Not even grumbling good night to each other, the four people fell on their beds and were asleep before even touching the mattress.

The third day of training was the easiest so far for the women while it showed new limits of pain to Cimar and Link. Himmels did not go easy on Malon and Zelda but with only one opponent to face this time, it was significantly easier than before. After four rounds had passed by, Zelda managed to trip Himmels up in one of her attacks and Malon scored a direct hit the blunt end of a sheikah knife, connecting directly with Himmels stomach. The sheikah reeled back in pain and with a final kick from Zelda in her back she toppled to the ground.

"Congratulations Zelda, Malon. You finally were able to beat one of us when you used teamwork. Remember that" Himmels said as she picked herself off of the floor. "Now, let's try this again, this time let your knowledge let you flow from one attack to the next. Let's start again."

After a few minutes, Himmels again flew to the ground from the combined attacks of both Malon and Zelda. The two women helped the sheikah to her feet and heard her laughing as she was standing again.

"Both of you did a great job today. I think we should call it a day and see you Cimar and Link are faring with my sister." The women walked off towards the room where Cimar and Link were training with Draculina. As they opened the door they stifled a laugh when they saw both Cimar and Link lying on the ground moaning, their swords a good ten feet away from both of them. Draculina stood over them and was shaking her head.

"How these guys ever defeated Dark Link will forever be a mystery to me. They haven't even gone on the offensive yet, simply pathetic." Draculina noticed her sister, Zelda and Malon standing at the door and walked towards them using Cimar and Link as stepping stones. They let out low moans as she hopped off of them and stopped in front of the women in the room.

"I thought I asked you to play nicely with them since they probably have qualms about attacking women" Himmels asked her sister. Draculina snorted, "That was easy, I didn't cut them at all but you will have to ask them if they are bleeding at all. I'm done with these guys for today so you can have them if you like." Draculina turned one last time to face the figures of Link and Cimar and muttered one last pathetic before turning and leaving the room. Zelda and Malon walked over to the two men and helped them to their feet while Himmels forced each of them to drink a red potion to recover their strength. The affects of the potions were almost immediate and Link and Cimar were back to full strength within minutes.

"Draculina told us that you didn't try to attack her at all when you were fighting, was it because she is a woman?" Zelda asked Link and Cimar as they picked up their swords and placed them in their scabbards. The two men looked hesitantly at each other for a second before mumbling an almost inaudible yes. Zelda and Malon laughed as Link and Cimar's faces turned red with embarrassment.

"We won't make that mistake again though, that woman isn't a woman. I think she is a demon or something with the way she fights, nasty and rough." Renewed laughter filled the room as even Himmels joined in. "Yes, most people explain her like that." She said as all of them walked out of the room and straight into the waiting figure of Draculina.

"So you don't like attacking a woman yet don't have qualms about demons?" the sheikah in black asked as she stared at Link and Cimar who were now laughing nervously. "I guess tomorrow when we repeat our exercises I should become the demon you think I am." Draculina disappeared in a puff of smoke as the two men scratched nervously at the back of their necks.

Since they had half of the day to rest they took full advantage of it. Himmels told them that they had to stay within the confines of the chambers and not head into the main part of the shadow temple or they might be discovered. They explored the rest of the rooms and eventually ended up back in the main hall after an hour or so. They retired to the dining room and kitchen for dinner and then to their bedrooms early to prepare for the next day. They awoke early the next day refreshed for what was ahead of them.

The trials of their fourth day seemed easier than before as Zelda and Malon managed to defeat Himmels every other bout now, even when they would fight one on one with weapons. They suffered a few cuts and scratches yet their training was finally taking hold on them. After five hours of constant battling, Himmels admitted to them that she had never once trained better sheikahs in her entire life. She called it a day and they retired to see how Cimar and Link were faring against Draculina. This time when they walked through the door, Link and Cimar still had their weapons in their hands while Draculina was just getting off of the floor, her daggers and chain littering the ground.

"I see that you guys finally got over your fetish of attacking women." Malon said as she walked in and gave Cimar a big hug as Zelda did the same to Link. Draculina looked thoroughly disgusted by the two couples and escaped from the area with the help of a deku nut.

"It looks like you guys might have actually been more ready for the challenges that lie ahead of you than we first thought. Tomorrow will be a day of rest for the four of you, however the day after that will be the day you will have to face your shadows. The longer you stay here, the greater their hold over Hyrule becomes. I will meet you after dinner tonight to tell you what you need to do to prepare for the coming battle."

They ate their dinner swiftly so they could hear what their instructions for the coming battle would be. They expected to be told that it would be challenging or something to that effect but didn't really know what else to expect. After clearing their plates they walked back to the main chamber where Draculina and Himmels waited for them. They stood in front of the two sheikah and waited for them to speak. They didn't have to wait for long.

"Let's get straight to the point shall we?" Draculina started as she looked at each of them separately. "Tomorrow just as the sun will be going down you will be teleporting to the temple of time. You will exit when night falls and sneak into the castle. We have learned that your shadows stay awake during the night and there are a lot less guards around the castle since most of them have been sent all over Hyrule to search for the Mirror of Twilight."

"We will create a diversion for you just outside the castle walls to draw the rest of the guards away from the castle so you can sneak in without being seen. When you find your dark halves you must fight, defeat and kill them. You can only kill your opposite so Link here can only kill Dark Link, otherwise the fierce deity can raise them again at their full strength."

"Do we have to kill them?" Malon asked quietly. Himmels nodded. "I'm sorry Malon, that is the only way to deal with them. Once they have been defeated there is one last thing you need to do. You must find something that resembles this…" Himmels reached into her pocket and brought out a small black orb of some sorts. "Once you find this, Link has to destroy it with the master sword. We suspect that is what is giving power to the Fierce Deity. With his power source destroyed, we think it should destroy any attempt for him to extend his power into this realm. Do you think you guys are up to this?" Link and Cimar quickly nodded while Zelda looked over at Malon who was biting her lip. Draculina noticed the sudden exchange of glances and walked towards them.

"Are you ready for this task Malon?" Malon tried to nod her head yet couldn't force her head to comply. "This would be the first time you will have fought and killed an actual person isn't it." This time Malon was able to nod her head. Draculina sighed quietly and wrapped her arm around the young woman, "Follow me" she said and guided Malon towards one of the rooms adjacent to the main hall and closed the door behind them. After fifteen minutes of waiting, the door creaked open and the two stepped out into the main hall, quickly rejoining the others.

Himmels looked down at the red haired woman who stood in front of her. "Malon, are you up for this challenge?"

Without a pause Malon nodded her head, "Yes I am up to this challenge." Himmels nodded her head, her eyes glistening slightly while Zelda swore she saw the sheikah smile behind her wrappings. "That is good to hear. Well then, you know what is expected of you. Tomorrow I want all of you to rest and prepare yourselves. I don't want any of you even remotely tired. The people who have substituted you I the palace know how to kill, that is what they have been trained to do but I think that all of you are ready for this challenge. Now all of you retire to your beds. I want you all to sleep well tonight." With that, Himmels and Draculina left to their own rooms while Link, Zelda, Cimar and Malon retired to theirs. Each person had only one thing on their minds and that was how they would defeat their dark half.

This is the third chapter posted in one day WOO HOO!!! I'm tired now… Only one more chapter to go until this story is finally complete and I can tell you that it will be great! I will include a lot of fighting so for those you who frighten easy like Saria you should stay away from the next chapter.

Saria: What do you mean I frighten easily?

Myself: Uh…hehe…it was a joke. I meant to say…

Saria: (cracks knuckles) I don't take kindly to jokes

Myself: Uhh…got to go, see ya! (runs away)

Saria: Come back here and take what's coming for ya!