Sorry for the shorter chapter all, but things have been pretty bad recently. A family disaster occurred that knocked the hell out of all of us and has probably affected my writing abilities. Writing is my escapism, but it might take me a while to get back into my style. That'll probably come from writing the action scene, which I've already started, so see if this is any good.
This is one of those make-or-break chapters to Heroes, so it's probably not the time for my style to go downhill. I hope it hasn't happened, but if it has, feel free to punch me in the back of the head. I've tried to keep my momentum going by starting another fic (those who have me on Author Alerts have probably been wondering why the heck they keep seeing updates to my SSB fic 'Fly Away Home' instead of Heroes; all I can say is I'm sorry, but I somehow got some really good ideas for it while Heroes stalled out for a while). Fly Away Home is a hurt/comfort/friendship/eventual romance fic that probably won't interest many of you, but hopefully you'll start seeing Heroes updates arriving at the same rate as FAH!
Many thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I loved the response to the April Fool's! :) I had to; I couldn't resist! If anyone wants a PDF of the chapter, it'll be on my homepage when I finally get my server running (damned Linux...). I've tried to respond personally to every review, but sorry if I missed anyone!
Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter 31
…Into the Light Part 1

*

None of us moved for a painfully long moment. Midna's determination radiated off her and I caught it easily, both of us standing firm and ready to attack. But what I knew of our adversary had my mind racing. This thing had created, or at the very least released, the Nothingness in the first place, and both of us knew its power.

Azréalus must have sensed our hesitation, as he adopted a deep smirk. "You can't do it, can you? You know you cannot stand against me and live." He gave a throaty cackle. "You are but mere children!"

Midna hissed at him in rage, her face twitching. "You know we will defeat you. We've overcome everything so far. You're no different."

The smirk deepened further as the Hylian narrowed his eyes at us. "Then what is stopping you?" A chuckle escaped his lips. "You know that magic is useless against me, as is your sword, Hero. I could strike you down in one motion."

"Then why don't you?" I spat at him.

"Because it would be far too fast to enjoy!" His eyes were so narrow they were practically shut. "You have done well to reach me, and it would be impolite of me to kill you so quickly. You have earned the right to feel your lives leave you, as slowly as possible…"

"Why did you do it?" Midna spat. "Why did you turn to the darkness?"

Azréalus looked like he had expected this response, giving another low chuckle. "Because the power of darkness is always greater than the light. Darkness seeks and consumes light; it always will until the end of time itself, after which there will be nothing but darkness! Imagine… the entirety of creation drenched in pure darkness…"

"Ganondorf said something similar," Midna growled. "And we are definitely going to kill him, so that just put you straight in the list!"

The Hylian laughed again. "Ah yes, the Gerudo… such impeccable placement and timing!"

"How does he fit into all this?" I said, still going over tactics in my mind. Could it really be as simple as we thought? What if it didn't work? We needed options…

"Nothing more than a means to an end, Hero," the Hylian continued. "He cannot even comprehend the power he has unleashed. Why, I will have to show him first-hand!"

"You're bringing Tessek itself into this Realm," Midna snarled.

"And why not? It has become such a companion to me over the centuries, I believe everyone should know its joys as the Goddesses showed me," Azréalus said bitterly. "Is it so bad? Will not everything go black for all life one day? You know this, don't you Hero? You risk your life so often, knowing that one mistake could take the light form you forever…"

"I've survived this long, and you should know I fight to win," I shot.

"But nothing ever can win against the darkness, can it Hero? One day it will claim you and then what? Everything about you ends. You cease to be. Everything that made you who you are, gone. Is it not better to become one with that blackness instead of allowing it to end you?"

I raised the sword. "I'd choose death over this Nothingness if I had to, but I've already chosen."

"Yes," he smirked. "You have chosen that death, and I shall, of course, grant you it." He flicked his fingers.

If I wasn't holding the sword as high as I had been, I wouldn't have reacted in time. Another burst of blackness was sent hurtling towards me, but the instant I realised what was happening the Triforce warmed by itself. The sword released another burst of light; a concentrated ball shot out of the sword straight into the blast of darkness and exploded with glimmering light, shredding the dark energy in midair.

I realised I was standing with my eyes wide in surprise, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as the black burst vanished. I looked back at our adversary in case he repeated the attack.

I gritted my teeth as I saw Azréalus standing with all four Shadow pieces clamped over his head, just like Midna did, and I felt my stomach collapse in fear.

No…

He couldn't…

As I drew panicked breaths I saw the cracks in the stone reappear and the Shadows split apart, flying away from the Hylian to float idly around him. He bore a satisfied look. "Parlour tricks indeed…" He smirked.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned just enough to see a disoriented Midna hanging from me, her other hand over her eyes. "Damned light…" she muttered. I put my hand over hers to get her attention and, without taking my eyes off Azréalus, whispered to her almost inaudibly, my lips barely moving, "do we need the Shadows?"

In an equally-quiet voice, she replied, "I might have enough magic on my own."

"So, the time has come then," our enemy gloated, seemingly unaware of what we'd said. "Say goodbye to the light, Hero!"

"Now!" I barked, raising the Master Sword. Beside me, I saw a swarm of Twilight particles as the Shadow blade appeared from Midna's pocket.

"Agh!" I grunted as I felt incredible power grab hold of my neck, like an immense, invisible hand. I reached for my neck as I felt myself being thrown sideways, away from Midna! Struggling to breathe, I dropped the Sword as I wrapped both hands around the energy, trying desperately to free myself.

The energy wouldn't budge.

I kept trying, looking back to Midna.

She squirmed in midair too, pulling desperately at something I could not see around her throat.

Choking, I turned to face our adversary, who grinned knowingly. Both his hands were outstretched before him. "Do not think I am ignorant to your plans! History will not repeat itself! The union of light and shadow may have worked before, but it shall not again!" He chuckled darkly. "Now what to do with you both…"

I couldn't speak; it was enough trying to bring air into my lungs. I felt light-headed as I desperately clawed at my throat. The Triforce warmed, but my thoughts were dull; I couldn't think of a way to fight…

Hero…

The voice was there again.

Zelda…? My thoughts were so weak.

No…

I felt more darkness within me whenever that voice spoke…

The Shadow…

I forced my eyes to see, as much as it drained me of my strength. My grip on the world was fading; the energy around my neck was squeezing the life out of me…

But I pushed through and saw the Shadows circling our opponent, faster than they had been. He was using them…

With most of my remaining strength, I forced the thoughts out of my head, my Triforce burning. You serve the Twili, not him!!

It was all I could do now. I just had to pray something would happen as my vision faded again, growing darker…

…Yes, I do…

Suddenly the energy around me released and I fell coughing to floor. I heard a small object hit the ground just after me, and I knew it was Midna. I tried to push my body up from the ground, but I had no more strength to give. Please, I have to make sure she's okay! I begged my aching body.

For a moment, I was stuck, coughing and panting for air as if I'd nearly been drowned. Except I wasn't choking on water, it was air itself I was catching on as I tried desperately to bring light back to my eyes. As soon as I could, I felt for the Golden Power, begging it to start burning and give me a shot of strength. After a moment, it yielded, and my sight came rushing back.

I gasped the air back into me and, even before my fuzzy vision had cleared, I was already searching for Midna. Please be okay… please…

My sight finally sharpened and I threw my aching body off the ground over to her. Everything inside me protested, screaming at me to wait, but I ignored it. I'd face the consequences later.

I had to protect her.

I knelt down between her and him, using myself as a shield in case he decided to attack. I hadn't even looked at him. Instead I was focused only on her. Her tiny form convulsed with a cough and she cracked her eyes open. "I'm… fine…" she wheezed. "Kick his ass!"

I grabbed Midna's hand and turned to face him, her use of language telling me to prioritise. But what I saw left me quite confused.

Azréalus was once again wearing the Fused Shadows as one, but he was struggling with them; his hands scrabbled across the stone surface as if he was trying to prise them off…

YES!

My spirits rose when I realised what was happening.

The Shadows had turned on their ancient master! They'd trapped him!

"Midna, now's our chance!" I whispered, struggling to control my voice. I turned back to face her; she was sitting up and still coughing, but our eyes met. Her face set in determination, she nodded. She bared her teeth as I nodded back, and we both lunged for our discarded blades.

The moment my hand came into contact with the hilt of the Master Sword, the Triforce flared again, golden energy searing my veins as I felt my strength come fully back. The blade pulsed with light, as if breathing heavily in anticipation of battle.

I spun around to find Midna retrieving the Twilight Sword, but in her weakened state she didn't seem to be able to levitate. I darted over to her just as I heard a hearty grunt from our opponent. Sliding my shield onto my arm I stood between them, turning to face Azréalus.

The ancient sorcerer had finally wrenched the Shadows off his head and had thrown them before him. All four pieces hung in the air for a moment, before darting straight towards me. They raced past me and I could guess the next event. Thank you, I thought as the helmet shot past me.

I chanced a glance back at Midna to see I had been right. All four pieces circled Midna as she reached out for them. The helmet gently settled onto her head and her eyes went wide as I knew she felt her power return. The remaining three pieces spun around her at speed as she threw herself into the air, sword raised.

"Thanks for these back!" Midna cackled. "I can use them better than you ever could!"

Azréalus looked up to lock eyes with Midna. His face contorted in rage. "Do not think this means you will win!!" He bellowed. He began throwing bursts of darkness at us.

I reacted immediately, directing the Master Sword to fire bursts of concentrated light back at him. Beside me, Midna charged up a ball of Shadow magic, and I carefully timed the next burst of light. As she let it loose, so did I, the pair of us casting our magics side by side.

The twin balls of light and shadow energy ran parallel for a moment before attracting each other, becoming a single, beautiful ball of power. Azréalus' eyes went wide as he threw up his arms to defend himself. The magic struck his hands and exploded, casting an incredible blast of light all around us.

I had to shield my eyes and I heard Midna gasp.

After a moment, the white receded, and I let out an astonished gasp when I saw the Nothingness around us had retreated with it. Though Azréalus still stood, dazed, it was in a circle nearly thirty feet in diameter. What surprised me more was the presence of the black squares of Twilight rising from the ground! I hadn't seen them in this time!

"Wow…" Midna breathed, seeing the same as me.

Panting from the effort of casting magic, and with our opponent momentarily stunned, I glanced sideways at Midna. Her teeth were bared, and the sword came to her left hand. Swirling with black Twili magic, her eyes locked with mine and she nodded.

I let the Triforce ignite, sending golden power swimming through the blade. This was it. Face set, I nodded back at her and drew a deep breath. We swung both of our swords together, and with an ear-splitting clang of metal to metal, they met.

Yup, I've done it again. Fear not, uni term has now finished and I have a month off. I'm already working on the next chapter so you should see it in a few days, max. And heck, how else do I keep people interested but stick in cliffhangers? XD
See y'all next time, if this chapter hasn't convinced you I've lost the plot!
Gargravarr