XXXVII.

Link rematerialized on the warp pedestal in the Temple of Time.

The Temple was just as cold and hollow as memory promised. Motes hung in shafts of moonlight through stained glass windows and, for a moment, Link could almost pretend all was well and he was only visiting.

But he wasn't – what he prayed would be the final battle awaited him at the castle and the fear and trepidation wound like an unyielding knot in his stomach.

Link burst out of the Temple and into stuffy summer air, immediately sensing the energy displacement. His gaze went instantly to the silhouette of the castle above him and his stomach plummeted to his feet. The vivid light the moon was reflecting blinded him momentarily and he squinted his eyes desperately to adjust.

And then he could see and its mass took up nearly all visible sky.

Link didn't know what dark magic had possessed it, but a terrifying, sneering face had been carved into its cratered surface as it slowly dove towards earth. His legs felt unsteady for a moment and he gripped the wall of the Temple next to him.

How in the name of the Goddesses could he possibly stop that? As if Foursky and Evanna weren't a formidable enough force…but the moon? How could they possess the power to perform such a feat?

How could he stop the moon from colliding with the Hyrule?

A hazy, blue glow was resonating atop the castle, below the glaring face and Link could see the tallest tower had collapsed by hand of some great explosion. The castle was a third shorter now and the top was leveled out directly in the path of the falling moon.

As much as he wanted to storm into battle, Link needed to get through the Door of Time; one last attempt. Because now, if they kept their word, he would finally receive the Goddesses' help. They could end his torture and give him the one last thing that stood a chance to stop the coming apocalypse.

He darted back to the towering, stone door, the small depression from his fist still visible. Hopefully the Goddesses would forgive him that – he honestly was surprised it wasn't already magically fixed. His heart thrusted against his sternum as he played probably the sorriest rendition of Song of Time he'd ever produced.

And, ready to thank every deity that had ever existed, the door began to open and a resounding, tripled voice echoed in his head.

You may wield the Master Sword, Link. Seal all evil here to the end of creation.

"Gladly," he muttered under his breath, storming forward for the legendary sword waiting dutifully in its pedestal. As much as he hated to even touch that hilt again, he grasped it soundly and wrenched it from the stone.

The eruption of power that travelled up his arm rushed into his head, clearing his eyesight, and reenergizing his body. Having the sword once more was salt on an old wound…but he had to admit the wave of electricity was a relief. The energy of his ancestors filled him and it took some of the edge off the overwhelming task before him.

Maybe – just maybe – he had a chance of getting Sheik back now that he wielded Evil's Bane.

The run to the castle was effortless in his adrenaline rush. The path up to the main gates was devoid of life but the aura grew heavier and heavier as he raced through the front lawn to the main castle doors.

It was there that he met first resistance.

A combination of possessed Hyrulean soldiers and Amrita warriors attacked him the moment he set foot in the castle, forcing him to attempt differentiating between just knocking out his friends and killing his enemies. If he made mistakes, he couldn't linger on the thought: he'd contend with it later or they'd all die.

It was slow working through the halls for the stairs. The castle was a mess already from the war preparation but now it was in even more disarray as he fought fiercely for the sixth-floor terrace. Moonlight flashed through the windows and the closer he got to the top, the thicker the air became.

Whatever wait for Link above was not going down with any ease.

He emerged back into the bright, hot air. The Master Sword seemed to quiver in his grip as he evaluated the scene before him:

Foursky faced away from him, his huge frame shivering – not from fear but Link recognized the movement of powerful energy through his limbs. Something covered his face, its silhouette splaying horns around his head. Evanna sat at his side, lounged back in the same black chair she was notorious for summoning. Sheik stood still as a stone beside her, his vacant expression disturbing to behold.

Was Sheik still in there? Link dreaded the answer.

And then he noticed a new addition to Sheik's appearance – his entire right arm was now laced with Vaspra, little clusters of glowing blue crystal shredding skin and protruding in sharp points. Anger rippled through Link at the sight.

"Foursky!" he thundered, taking position for any attack. He earned Evanna's impassive gaze and, by her body language, it was clear she had been waiting for his arrival.

The Gerudo in question remained still in the moon's glow for a moment. When he did move, his motions were careful and measured as he pulled the object off his face. Foursky turned around, his yellow eyes beaming as the moonlight revealed a warped face. His nose was turned down against his upper lip and his mouth was twisted into a terrible scowl.

"How kind of you to finally join us, Link," he said, his demonic voice far too reminiscent of Ganondorf. They even stood there on the roof of the castle; he never dreamed he would be forced to relive that battle once more. "And I see you've brought your little sword. Excellent. You're just in time for the end!"

With this, he gestured up to the awful moon, its burning orange eyes and gray, bared teeth bearing down on them. It was such an unreal sight, Link still couldn't accept what he was looking at. His eyes flickered down to whatever Foursky held in his hand, the brightness of the moon casting it half in perfect shadow. What was it? A mask? There was something so unsettling about it…

"What have you done?" Link demanded, drawing closer and struggling to see through the shadows for the object's identity.

"This?" Foursky asked, glancing up at the moon as though it were not out of place. "This is my destruction upon Hyrule. This is Termina's wrath, its prophecy spilling into your world, caused by the displacement of time."

"But why are you doing this?"

"Because you, Hero of Time, destroyed reality by staying in this wretched time after you defeated my grandson," Foursky snarled. "The timeline was meant to be reset and I had every intention of taking Ganondorf to Termina, to use him in continuing my kingdom. You took that opportunity from me and doomed my kingdom. You took him from me and locked him in the one place I could not retrieve him. This land has plagued me for too long – it is time for Hyrule to end."

He held the horned thing above him, at last revealing it in the bright, silver light and the strangest sense of terrible familiarity passed over Link, although he had never seen it a day in his life. It was a shadowed silhouette from his vaguest dreams. It was a whisper just at the edge of his mind. And every fiber in his being wanted to destroy it, as though he was always meant to.

It was a mask. A strange, colorful, heart-shaped mask. Two yellow horns protruded proudly above haunting gold and green eyes, four more horns reaching out on either side of it. There was something wholly unnatural and disturbing about it. It felt…alive.

"This," Foursky said in a quiet, chilling voice, "is Majora's Mask."

Link recognized the name, although he had no idea how.

"It's a mask of terrible power, the result of hundreds of years of dark ritual and death," he went on, running long fingers over its surface with reverence. "I've been searching for years to find a way to control it. Because the mask is treacherous. It would devour me. In fact," he gestured to his face, "it's already trying to, even despite the command of Hexam."

"I won't believe that my choice to stay would warrant this. You have Blithos! You have the next Gerudo King! You have an entire kingdom and more Vaspra than you could possibly need! Why come back to destroy us?" Link cried. "Your reasons are groundless!"

"Your land, your Goddesses, your bloodline – it is a cycle of power that silences others," he replied simply. "Time and time again I have been scorned by this land, driven away by my own people…so they paid in their lives, a debt they've owed me for centuries. I have their King and Amrita will flourish once more. I will destroy this land and I will conquer all of Termina at last. And no Hero or Goddess reincarnate will impede me."

Foursky took three massive strides forward, careening dangerously close into Link's space. The heavy aura coming off him pressed into Link's stomach and summoned a tight nausea. His burning yellow eyes were all consuming as they held Link in place for a long moment.

"So, tell me, General," he snarled, "what exactly confuses you about my reasons?"

A blast of energy ensued and Link was thrown backward, flying several meters and nearly cracking his head open on the ground had he not maneuvered himself into a roll at the last moment. His chest ached and the Master Sword pulsed heavily in his relentless grip.

"It's clear you're still in need of convincing to relinquish Hexa and, luckily, I know just how to make you suffer, Hero," Foursky laughed, mouth stretched wide and unnatural. "That is, after all, the only thing you and your ancestors have ever been good for."

The Gerudo put Majora's Mask back on his face, its horrible eyes piercing in the white-hot moonlight. Foursky turned away, flipping a large hand towards Sheik, who came to life like a marionette in response. Sheik drew his sword with a grating ring and Evanna watched him carefully, like a slave master eyeing a servant.

"Draw it out, won't you, Sheikah?" she asked in a velvety voice. "Make sure not to kill him, though. I still need that word in his head."

Sheik gave a stiff nod. For a moment, nothing happened…and then, in a blur of motion, the Sheikah was in his face, swinging his sword towards Link's stomach. He dodged it at the very last moment, flipping backwards in a slightly sloppy motion as he felt the whoosh of quick air against his scalding skin.

"Sheik!" Link shouted, reeling backwards while blocking another bone-rattling blow. "Sheik, I have the Master Sword! If you're in there-"

But Sheik dove for him and clipped his side, effectively cutting off his pleas. Link blocked swing after swing, parrying and dodging all he could. And Sheik was ruthless, never allowing him a moment to root himself to the ground and formulate a strategy to break the mark on the Sheikah's back. He would never get close if he was constantly in defense.

"Sheik, I know you can hear me!" Link begged as he narrowly missed another harrowing blow. "I need you to fight, like you did in the field! Please!"

It had no effect; not that he really thought it would, but what else could he do? Link had no idea how he was going to incapacitate such a powerful opponent without seriously injuring him. Sheik's strength had doubled since the Nether. Even if Link managed to catch him off-guard, Sheik might unleash his magic and Link wouldn't have a chance against it, especially now with an arm laced with Vaspra at his command.

He needed to break the mark. He needed Sheik to use Hexa. He needed their Congruence.

Evading attack after attack, Link worked hard against the mental wall blocking their Congruence. He said Sheik's name over and over, pressing and pressing for just the slightest flicker of fight in those empty blue eyes. Because he had seen it hours ago in Sheik's face with a blade pressed to Link's throat.

The moon drew ever nearer and Link wondered just when its descent had begun; he had only woken up to find it lower than it should be, no passage of time to inform him. He couldn't imagine the horror of those remaining in Hyrule, seeing the plummeting moon in the distance. How much longer did they have? In the few glances he could steal, he saw Foursky still rigidly focused on the nearing moon and Evanna watching their one-sided fight dutifully.

But their battle had to end.

Perhaps words were the key, as they were with everything else.

Link didn't want to reveal his plan to break the seal with Evanna so avidly watching – she would likely intervene quicker than he could even move his sword to ruin the mark. But anything else was fair game and Sheik wasn't really the most emotionally sound person as of late…so summoning the right emotions with the right words was likely Link's best shot. As much as he didn't want to re-open wounds, he was going to have to dig deep to illicit anything through the unyielding grip of Hexam.

"Remember Kalyh! Remember what she died for! By letting them win, you make her death in vain! You disgrace her memory!" Another swipe earned him a deep laceration on his bicep, the blood hot and wet as it soaked his sleeve and ran down his arm. "You have to come back! We have to win this and leave, like we said we would!" A mean, unforgiving swing left a biting gash in his side as he began to fatigue under Sheik's ruthless attacks.

"You have to fight this, Sheik! For me! We're Congruent! We're supposed to stay together until one of us dies...it can't be today!" he went on, another strike catching his other side. Blood loss tugged at his awareness and he knew he wouldn't have much longer before his strength would began to seriously falter. While death was not yet to come – they still needed Hexa from him – it was clear Foursky thought weakening Link enough would convince him to forfeit the word. And lingering on the edge of death, unable to fight…what it if did break him?

"Please, Sheik! Please! We have to fight this! Together!"

Sheik wasn't listening – in fact, he seemed completely unfazed by Link's words. It seemed, however much it risked them both, there was only one option left:

Link dropped the Master Sword and held out his arms in surrender.

But the sword was coming quick anyway, ready to slice into his ribcage, and Link found himself completely unsure if Sheik would stop it. Or perhaps Evanna would stop him because they still needed Hexa for whatever reason. This blow might kill him eventually, however, if it broke through his ribs and punctured his lung – it would guarantee a long, dreadful death.

Time seemed to stop when the blade fell short at his torso, before it could pour more blood to the ground and Sheik wavered in a coil of tension and rage.

Link reached forward and touched Sheik's hand. The reaction was instantaneous; Sheik dropped the sword and roughly tackled Link to the ground, his head hitting the ground with a dizzying thump. Hands went tight around his throat and his vision blurred. He reached blindly for the Master Sword, fingers just glancing off the end of the hilt.

"Sheik!" he gagged, legs bucking involuntarily as those bright blue eyes eclipsed the rest of his vision. "Don't…do…this!"

The pressure was inescapable, his windpipe squeezed so tightly Link could only manage a little more air before he would likely pass out. And should that happen, all would surely be lost – no one would be there to stop the moon from colliding with Hyrule. More than that, Link couldn't let one more thing go unsaid between them should they die. And maybe it would be the one word to save him. To save Sheik. To save Hyrule.

To end it all.

"I love you," Link struggled out.

And he prayed that Sheik would hear it, that it would matter, that it would work, that it would save them.

Because with every fiber of his being he meant it. He had meant it since they first met. He meant it with everything he was and wished he could be. It had lingered in every thought, word, and touch. The words had always been there. And he dearly wished such an admission had been in better circumstances.

But it couldn't.

And perhaps it was always meant to be that way.

The hands around Link's throat were suddenly gone and Link gasped for air, flailing his hand furiously for the Master Sword. Sheik was still above him, body shaking as a battle clearly waged in his head. His eyes flickered between red and blue and Link, despite his failing vision, finally found purchase on his sword's hilt. He yanked Sheik down on top of him by his cowl and, fighting desperately the darkness of unconsciousness, Link grasped the other side of his blade and brought it down on Sheik's back.

There was a loud crack, followed by a strange sizzling and the terrible aura that engulfed Sheik was abruptly sucked away. Their Congruence rushed back into Link's mind like a flash flood, the barrage of sensation overpowering but feverishly welcomed.

"Link," Sheik breathed in his ear, body shaking from relief. "I love you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I love you, Link. Are you okay?"

Link felt himself laughing in relief at the weak and babbling voice in his ear, savoring it before they would have to find their strength and fight once more. Although he wasn't hearing Evanna's voice yet, Sheik's unpossessed state would be obvious very shortly.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Link assured him hoarsely, trying to memorize the breath at his neck and the hands gripping his shoulders. "I told you I'd get you back. I told you I would, you idiot." He pushed at Sheik's chest. "We have to stand. We have to fight."

Sheik, still full of energy and powered by the Vaspra in his arm, pulled them both to their feet. Link's balance was still questionable but the sight above them was sobering enough – the moon so close to the earth, it filled the sky and blocked out everything else. Evanna stood rigidly, Vaspra-laced sword drawn and face unreadable.

Foursky was still focused on the moon.

This was their only chance.

They're Congruent, Sheik. We take out Evanna, we take out Foursky.

Link felt the shock filter through Sheik's mind. Despite his skills, they had managed to hide their auras and shared energies from him, just as they had from Zelda. But regardless of whether it spelled certain death or not, this knowledge would turn the tides:

Congruence was strength and Congruence was weakness.

"How clever," Evanna sneered, holding her sword aloft, eyes black and gaping.

Sheik pushed words furiously through their connection, his voice crystal clear in Link's mind: If we get her sword, I can use Hexa on her. That might be enough Vaspra to do some damage.

Kalyh had told Link they would need the same amount of Vaspra Foursky and Evanna had absorbed to kill them…but who knew what that quantity actually was? There was a calculated risk to take – would the sword, Sheik's arm, and their shared power be enough?

"You think you've won?" she thundered, lunging for her first strike at Link.

Link dodged the blow easily, his equilibrium returned now that the Congruence lent him some extra energy. He only needed one side-step to avoid the next one. He threw a puzzled glance at Sheik – something wasn't right. Perhaps Link had expected more fury, a fiercer attack, more than…

"You have no idea what lies ahead!" Evanna growled. "Do you think you're strong enough to take me?"

Another swipe that could hardly count as a decent parry. It was clear she had no intention in harming them. And then, rather suddenly, she stopped moving. There was a strange expression on her face, as though she was…forfeiting?

"Don't mess this up. Make it count," she said, her voice that of resignation. Link couldn't imagine what she meant until, suddenly, she threw her sword to them. It slid evenly through the air, clattering onto the stone at their feet, Vaspra sparkling brightly in the moonlight.

What? What?

Sheik was quick on his feet, as always; he scooped her sword off the ground and held it aloft in defense. But there was no threat before them as Evanna remained still with her hands held loosely at her side and Foursky kept his back turned, somehow still oblivious to what betrayal was happening behind his back.

Unless it wasn't betrayal. Was it another trap? What was she playing at?

It didn't matter to Link – it was their only chance. "Sheik, do it," he ground out, pushing Hexa back through their connection. "This is our only chance."

But, while Sheik accepted the word back into his mind, he hesitated. A calculated look passed over his features and, for a moment, Link wanted to scream at him.

This could be their only opportunity. What was he waiting for? What did he see that Link didn't?

And then, a strange and nasally voice pierced through the thick, humid summer air. All of their focus, including Evanna's, snapped to the Gerudo standing at the edge of the roof. His body was shaking violently, hands on either side of the mask.

Did you really think you could control me with weak Sheikah magic?

"Hexam!" Foursky cried, a touch of panic reaching his voice as he engulfed himself with blue energy.

And then, Link realized what was happening. The mask was resisting Hexam. It was powerful enough to completely deny what should've been the ultimate power, even with the enormous amount of Vaspra in Foursky's possession.

How? How could anything fight such persuasive influence? The ground began to shake and Link struggled to keep his bearings as the mask spoke again.

What a boring game you play, Gerudo!

"Evanna, bring me more ore!" Foursky commanded, pulling at the horns of the mask and becoming unsteady on his feet. "Bring me your sword!"

But she remained, watching her King with impassive eyes. It was almost as though she had expected this to happen. But how was that possible? If Foursky hadn't known, how could she?

A huge pulse, like a colossal heartbeat, thrummed through the roof, its source the haughty mask upon his head. The sound of crunching bone met Link's ears and Foursky's head twitched unnaturally. He emitted a pained, awful groan as the mask seemed to break his skull.

"Evanna!" Foursky howled, beginning to pull desperately at the mask. "The Vaspra! Bring it now!"

Link flicked his eyes back to the woman in question. Evanna's face was twisted into disgusted scowl, backing from Foursky and the cursed mask.

You're so boring. Give me someone more fun.

"End me," Evanna said, moving swiftly so she stood between them and the struggling Gerudo, her arms stretched outward. Her voice was cold and her expression was determined, but there was almost a plea hidden somewhere in her words. "You have enough Vaspra. Finish what I started, Sheikah."

And, this time, Sheik didn't need to be told twice; he lunged forward and Link braced himself in a crouch, praying to the Goddesses despite himself. Although the Sheikah moved at an unsettling speed, time still somehow seemed to slow dramatically, every moment before the final blow like a lethargic and painful heartbeat.

The sword swung down on Evanna's delicate crown.

"HEXA!"

Blue light ruptured in every direction and Link was thrown backward such a distance, he thought he would never hit the ground.

And then he did.

For once, I'm not going to apologize for the delay because the past two months have honestly been utter hell for me.

I had roommates bail two weeks after signing a year-long lease and I've had to spend the past two months scrambling to find a place to live so I wouldn't have to live out of my car. I also left my miserable job of 5 years for a new and better job – I'm a professional editor now, which is amazing. But I'm also still in school (full-time job and school), so I've had to deal with that in the middle of everything else. I did, thankfully, find somewhere to live, but that meant I had to move for the second time in three months to a place 30 minutes away from where I was living previously.

Tl;dr I've been through a lot the past two months and Congruent hasn't been a priority. But thank you to all that have been patiently waiting and thank you to the new readers that gave this fic such wonderful, sweet reviews.

In other news, it's honestly a wonder that Link doesn't have brain damage with all the concussions he gets.

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