Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda. If I did, I would tie him to a tree and make him listen to a recording of himself for a few hours. see how he likes a taste of his own medicine.

K'ger: YAY! WOOHOO! 63 follows and 51 favorites! This is all so amazing! I never, ever expected ANYONE to like my story/writing/ ideas ect. I have to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my story, follow, fav and review! (Ps. no this is not the last chapter, I'm just so damn excited!)

A hero is in the dark

Jack looked toward the window from his seat, his green eyes completely focused on Malon, who was sitting on a small wooden stool beside the windowsill. She stared out through the glass panes, watching the blackness beyond with an irrational hope still sparking occasionally in her eyes.

The lightning that was still striking the world beyond her window played across her face, accentuating the dark circles that rested below her eyes. She sighed softly, letting her head dip, her chin pressing gently against the top of her chest.

He looked at her for a long while, she was unmoving, sitting stubbornly by window, looking down at her injured leg and sometimes running a hand over the bandages. Her fingers brushed against the cloth, and even through the fabric, a stinging pain shot through from her from the touch.

Malon glanced toward him, and for a moment, the stared at one another before returning their gazes to where they had been previously. Jack yawned and looked at the chair where Aldric had been sitting a few minutes before, who had left the room to put both Romani and Malikai to bed in a more comfortable place. He sighed, and glanced at Malon again. She was looking at him.

He glanced at her through the corners of his eyes, and shifted underneath her gaze. She was looking at him with an intense stare, one that made him nervous, and he could feel that she was going to ask a question before she even spoke.

"Why did he leave?" She asked, causing Jack to cringe slightly. Of all the questions she could have asked, she asked the one he did not want to, nor know how to answer. He looked toward her, meeting her eyes and let loose a long, procrastinating sigh. Pulling himself more upright in his chair, he rubbed both hands over his knees, pondering on just how to respond to her question.

"What was that?" He asked, acting as though he had not heard her. She let her head tilt slightly to one side, eyelids low over her saddened blue eyes in annoyance.

"Why did he leave?"

Damnit, she's not going to let it go. He thought in defeat, turning in his chair to face her more directly. He then leaned back, head resting against the firm cushion of the chair's back, mussing his already unkempt black hair.

"Miss, I'm afraid I can't answer that question. I don't have the foggiest clue." He answered honestly. His words seemed to hurt her, and he watched as she moved her shoulder toward him, looking back out the window at the dark, stormy field beyond. She reached up and raked a delicate hand through her red hair, fingers twirling through the silky tresses. She sighed, and rubbed a hand absentmindedly over her stomach.

She said something gently, in barely a whispering breath of a voice. He looked again toward her, unable to hear what she had said. He made a noise, signaling that he had not understood what she had said, and drew her gaze yet again.

"He's not coming back, is he?"

She was asking all the questions he couldn't or didn't want to answer, and as he stared at her, his mind raced for an excuse to leave the room at that moment, or something to say that would get her off the subject. He found no such answer, and only succeeded in making her more anxious, as she stared at him expectantly with those big, innocent eyes that made him feel guilty of how he was going to respond.

"Again, I really can't answer," he started. Seeing her expression, he rose painfully to his feet and moved over to stand beside her. She looked up at him, and locked her gaze with his as he knelt down so that he was level with her. "I may not have known you two for long, but from what I can tell, he didn't leave because of you."

She stayed silent for a moment, looking at him with a hint of confusion.

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled softly, and put a hand on her knee for a moment before using her to stand back up again.

"He may have been annoying to me, but he loved you." He said softly, patting her shoulder and limping toward the front door. She craned around, eyes wide and mouth agape in shock. She had never expected Jack to show a softer side.

"Where are you going?"

He stopped at the door, hand gripping the door handle. He turned his head toward her and gave a cheeky smile.

"I'm going to sleep in the barn, miss. There's no room for me here, and I feel like checking on Cerus."

He stepped out into the rain, closing the door with a soft thump and heading toward the barn doors. She watched him through the window, watched as he limped on his injured foot, opening one tall door and disappearing beyond the wood-paneled walls. In a way, she wished she could follow him. The scent of hay and soft, friendly noises that horses made when the slept and ate were both things that she missed, and found so calming.

Instead she sat on her stool, staring out with blank eyes at the darkness that swirled over the kingdom before her. She desperately wished that things had gone differently, and it must have been her sleep-fogged brain, but even to the best of her ability, she couldn't wrap her mind around why Link had left.

She had truly thought that he loved her, and even Jack said that he did, if he did love her, then why did he leave without so much as a goodbye? The situation brought her mind to her mother, and reaching up, she fingered the Gerudo pendant that still hung about her neck. She had forgotten for the while that it was even there, and now she wrapped her fingers around it and clutched it as if her life depended on it.

Without even giving a second thought as to who might hear her, and acting on the only thought that brought her comfort, she began to sing. A song that her mother had sung many a night, a song that her father had written down and kept forever in memory of his wife and used as a reminder of past demons of love lost and the reckless abandon of his youth. A lesson taught to both daughters through the song.

"Day to night, Dark to light,

Fall the sands of time,

Let the years like the gears

Of a clock unwind.

In your mind, walk through time,

Back to better days.

Memories, like a dream,

Wash tears away.

Like a star in the sky,

Darkness can't reach you

Light the night, joy is light,

Till the new dawn.

Cast away your old face,

Let go your spite,

With this mask, I'll ask,

To borrow your light."

The inside of the fortress was even worse than the outside. It was almost impossible to see, it was so dark. The darkness was thicker than the average too, it felt like he was walking through a thick, cold mist.

Link continued after Sheik, who was walking a few feet ahead of him, striding confidently despite the darkness that swirled around them. It was strange, he although he couldn't see, he felt like he could feel the sages following behind him. He didn't know how, perhaps he could feel their breath, or the heat that came off of their skin, but he knew they were there even though he couldn't see them.

They moved down what he could only guess was a hallway for close to five minutes, the younger male in front not making a single sound as he trotted onward. Ahead, a flickering light slowly came into view, obviously a torch of some kind, although the flame was an odd purple color. Finally, Sheik broke the silence.

"You know, if it wasn't for that sword you're holding, I could do this without you." He said, his voice echoing in the dark tunnel. Link looked up, somewhat surprised by the sound of the younger male's voice and taken aback by his words.

"This was supposed to be your job. You were supposed to collect the sages, you were supposed to prepare them for this, and yet, what did you do this whole time? You were too busy 'playing' with your little girlfriend while I was off doing your dirty work. Yeah, I know what you've done with her, only the blind couldn't see."

He slowed down slightly, Saria bumping into his shoulder. He was thankful for the dark, because he could feel his cheeks heating up slightly, knowing exactly what Sheik was talking about. He recoiled when the youth gave a haughty laugh.

"I can see that."

He stopped completely, causing the young Sheikah to turn and stare at him. His eyes shone an odd color in the dark, flickering between blue and red, occasionally melding to make a purplish hue. He let loose a silent sigh of relief when the youth turned his frightening gaze away and started moving again, it had felt as though the young man's eyes were staring right through him.

When they reached where the flame was, they found that they had made it to a huge central room. In the center of the room, a massive spiral staircase stood, as dark and twisted as Ganondorf's own soul. The path to the staircase was a thin walkway of stone surrounded by a seemingly bottomless pit. Upon the narrow pathway, a tall, shadowy figure was standing.

The figure's back was to him, but Link could tell that it was female. She was probably taller than him, and when she turned, revealed her hard amber eyes, showing that she was Gerudo. Thick green paint rested atop her eyelids, framing her harsh stare, and in her hands she held two staffs. At the top of one, a bright red flame burned, flickering and casting a bright light on the right side of her face. Atop the other staff, a wicked blade of ice rested, the edges glinting evilly and the firelight dancing across its surface.

Her hair was the same as the staffs she held. One the right side, it was red like the rest of the Gerudo, but on the left, it was blue as the icy blade in her hand.

She looked familiar to Link, although he couldn't place her face. She lifted her chin and let loose a shrieking laugh as she viewed the people before her with scrutinizing eyes. Still laughing as she did so, the woman approached, sauntering steps echoing through the massive open space of the room.

Sheik stood firmly where he was, feet planted on the stone flooring with Impa close by his side. The woman was vastly taller than the both of them, towering over the two Sheikah as she drew near, and, giving them no time to react with a mere flick of her wrist, sent them both flying aside. They hit the floor, hard, rolling several feet with choking gasps before they could stop themselves.

Link took a step back when the woman's gaze fell directly on him, and before he could make another move, she had grabbed him by the chin. Long, pointed fingernails tapped against his skin, and she jerked his head up so that their eyes met.

As he was forced to stare into her eyes, a confusing realization hit him as if he had run headfirst into a brick wall. Somehow, most likely by ways of dark magic, this woman was The Twinrova, the two witches he had met in the Desert Colossus. In a way that both confused and disgusted him, they had melded into the woman who was now holding his jaw firmly in her hand.

She smirked evilly when her eyes darted over his face, taking in his expression.

"What's the matter hero? Didn't expect to see me here did you, little man?" She said, cooing at him as if he was a despondent child unhappy of being caught doing something he should not have been.

Realizing silently that he was still holding the Master Sword and that she seemed not to have noticed, he carefully, quietly strengthened his grip on the hilt, making sure he was holding it in exactly the right way.

Twinrova shrieked an ear-shattering scream of pain when he brought the Master Sword arching upward, cutting into the woman's right arm and torso. She leapt away from him, eyes suddenly blazing with rage. But deep in the sand-colored pools of her irises, he could see a faint glint of fear. The glint intensified as she eyed the blade he was holding, her knuckles cracking as she gripped the staffs' with deadly force.

Behind him, he could here the sages muttering to one another in rasping, breathy whispers, and could feel Saria's hand gripping his arm out of fear. He once again readjusted his grip on the blade's hilt. Twinrova recovered from the blow quickly, and came at him again, this time brandishing the staffs' she held, pointing the flame and icy blade straight at his heart.

He ducked beneath the deadly ends of her weapons seconds before they struck him, and rolling past her, he jumped back up and struck at her from behind. The Master Sword dug into the bare skin of her back, leaving a bloody trail in its wake. The witch screeched again, and turning around, suddenly swung at him with the icy staff. The wicked edge cut deep into Link's sword arm, and when he staggered back, the woman took her chance, this time swinging the flaming staff.

He threw back his head when the flames met his skin, just under his jaw. He leapt backward, and fell to the stone floor when he slipped on the conglomeration his and the witch's blood that was pooling there. Before he could stand, Twinrova stepped forward, one foot weighing heavily on his chest. He gasped silently as her weight was put forcefully upon his lungs and chest, and the icy blade hovered inches from his throat.

Even from the floor, he could hear Saria and McKenna make strangled gasps. They made a move toward him, and Link watched as Twinrova swiveled around, pointing the flaming staff at them while still standing firmly on his chest, constricting the flow of air to his lungs and pointing the icy blade at his burned throat.

Air rushed back to his chest and he gasped, relieved to be able to breath freely again when Twinrova suddenly stepped off of him. She staggered away, dropping the dual staffs' and grabbing in vain at her back. Looking up, he could see that a tiny stiletto knife had somehow been lodged in her muscles, right between her shoulder blades.

A hand with white, fraying bandages wrapped around the wrist and fingers came from out of nowhere, offering Link help to his feet. He took the hand and Sheik pulled up, feet sliding in the pool of blood. Now was his chance. He dove toward the dual staffs' and grabbed them before the witch had a chance to recover from the blade that was still stuck firmly in her skin.

As his fingers wrapped around the wooden handles, he realized it might not have been the best course of action. His eyes widened and he groaned silently in pain as the flames moved quickly toward and onto his hand, burning his skin. On the other staff, the ice crept at him, and in a last ditch effort, he released the both staffs, chucking them into the pit and clasping at the wrist of his burnt hand.

Twinrova shrieked as she watched her only weapons plunge into the swirling, never ending depths beyond, and turning, he used her last line of defense. She lunged with a crazed, insane cry at Link, and raked her pointed fingernails across his face. In their wake, the nails left shallow red cuts across his cheek and sent him staggering away from her. Before she could make another move, Sheik thrust a well-aimed kick into the center of the witch's chest.

She gasped as the air was knocked forcefully from her chest and she was sent reeling backward. She landed flat on her back, head knocking against the stones. Finally, she laid on the floor, unconscious.

Link looked toward the young Sheikah male, the other man giving him a look that he couldn't read.

"Now what, hero? Do you leave her here, where she'll eventually and inevitably wake up and attack us again? Or do you end her now, and protect us all?" Sheik asked, putting a hand on his hip and raising his eyebrows.

He looked toward the group of sages still waiting near the entrance. Saria and McKenna both gave him looks of compassion, willing him to do what was right. But the Gerudo was looking at him with a harsh glint to her amber eyes, as if daring him. She was obviously still undecided on which side she stood, still holding some loyalty to Twinrova.

Silently, Link walked toward the sprawled out figure of Twinrova, grabbing the Master Sword from the ground where he had dropped it. He stood a few feet away, unsure of what to do. One side of him told him to just kill her and get it over with, but the other side was wary of taking her life, merely for the fact that she was human, and he was starting to fear that he was becoming a cold-hearted killer. He had taken two human lives already in the past week. Byrne and Seth, but both times the men had been threatening those around him, Byrne had nearly killed Jack, and Seth had injured Malon.

He jumped when he felt a warm hand touch his arm, and looking down, saw that Saria was waiting there. She stood up on her tiptoes, and whispered into his ear.

"Do what you think is right," she said softly. "Don't worry about Nabooru, she's just confused. If you're afraid she'll get in the way, then maybe it's for the best."

She pulled away from him, backing away until she had rejoined the group. Link looked toward her one last time before moving closer to the unconscious witch. He raised the Master Sword above his head, the blade pointing toward her heart, and closed his eyes.

He brought the sword driving downward, burying it deep into her chest.

Eyes still closed, he pulled the sword from the now dead witch's chest and backed away, not wanting to see what he had done. He moved away from the corpse and walked over to Sheik, looking at the youth with his chin lifted, willing him to retort with a snarky comment or sadistic word.

He said nothing, a tight-lipped smile curling across his face and he pointed silently toward the twisted spiral staircase.

Link walked swiftly past him, arm stinging from the icy blade's cut and trying to ignore the painful pulse he could feel in the burns he had on his neck and hand.

He approached the stairs, and making sure that the others' were following, started climbing…

By the time he was halfway up the stairs, Link was exhausted. It didn't help that the wounds on his arm and face were still bleeding, blood from the claw marks on his face dribbling down and into his mouth, coating his tongue with the thick, metallic taste.

He reached up with his uninjured right arm and wiped his mouth, hoping to rid himself of the flavor. No luck, there was just too much of it, and instead he continued to climb the steep stone steps. His breath occasionally hitched when he moved a certain way or other, sending shockwaves of pain shooting though his body.

As he continued in the perpetual circle, he gingerly, in an experimental way, touched a hand to his side, the same side the witch Twinrova had stood on. Stronger, intensifying pain bloomed from his touch, and he realized why.

The witch's weight had broken one of his ribs.

He had broken a rib before, a long time ago, shortly after he had run away. He had foolishly tried to steal a whole roast Cucco from the serving platter of a well-to-do villager from Kakariko, and in result, one of the villager's personal guards' had sent him pummeling into a brick wall.

Link had forgotten how much a broken rib hurt. It felt like he had a knife stuck in his side.

The stairs suddenly ended, resulting in a wide hallway with vaulted ceilings and stone floors like the stairs. Several torches were lit, flickering in the brackets that lined the walls, casting a soft orange light on the tall, ornately carved black wood doors just ahead of him.

Sheik moved to stand beside him, and gave him a urging gesture with his free hand, willing him to open the doors.

Link strode up to the doors, looking them over before putting his free hand on one of the cold metal doorknobs. He looked back toward Sheik and the sages. Saria and McKenna nodded softly, with Nabooru glaring at him from over their heads. A glint of malice swirled deep in her eyes, obviously a slight bit upset with his decision to kill the matriarch of her people.

He turned back to the door, Master Sword in one hand, doorknob in the other. He closed his eyes, took a deep, deep breath, filling his lungs with the calming air before turning the knob, swinging the door open. He stepped into the huge room beyond, boots thudding on the black and white checkerboard floors. Stained glass windows lined either side of the room, depicting several pictures of Gerudo lore.

Sitting on a black, curving throne was none other than Ganondorf. In his hands he was holding a huge black scimitar, and as their eyes met, the hulking man smirked, standing up from his seat. He swung the blade through the air, challenging Link as the blade whistled, cutting through the silence. A echoing, malevolent laugh followed, rumbling deep from the evil man's throat, and his eyes seemed almost to flash red for a moment.

"So it's you," he said, descending the small set of stairs to stand level with Link. "I just can't get rid of you, can I? Oh well, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself…"

K'ger: The battle had BEGUN! Lets get it on! Also, don't own the song that Malon sung. Lyrics by ColdFlameZero(YouTube)

Not much else to say here, except we have another character song! And there's two of 'em!

Link

Superheroes by The Script.

Dangerous by Big Data.