A/N: Yeppers, I know its roughly a day early, but don't expect it to become a habit. Anyway, today is my birthday...I turned 25! Halfway to fifty!! WOOT! Right...tomorrow there will be bar-b-ques to attend and fireworks to see and no time to post. So I'm posting a day early so I'm not a day late. Makes since in my mind in the least. Hope everyone enjoys it.

To Zelda's already accelerating mind everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The demon drawing its twined-blade, holding it aloft effortlessly. Cory was blinking in confusion and horror now shown on Tiryn's face, as he was just now drawing his sword. Dashiva backed away slowly as terror gripped him, and Shawn was already shouting something, his Rakijn drawn as he moved toward the monster. None of them stood a chance against it. Not even her with her magics.

Thought was faster than speech and her thoughts went to them all. Flee! Now!

Then reality snapped into place and all her strength and effort went into containing this beast unleashed. The walls themselves reached out to grapple with it as lightning danced from her petit form to latch onto it. Her mental assault was raging, anything to distract it from the fleeing men.

She saw Tiryn grab Cory and pull him aside. Her mind knew then that Tiryn had been the source of Cory's anxiety. Shawn with his enhanced skills belied her command and struck out against the demon, his skills, fire, and shadow magic all leaping into existence. Dashiva fell away from the three and followed Tiryn and Cory out the door.

The Oni brushed off her magical attempts with ease and as easily fended off Shawn. It seemed to strain from her mental assault, though. In a flash it kicked out and sent Shawn plowing through the wall, his form plummeting from the heights. With minimum effort she levitated his body to the ground. Then a horde of black-clad guards rushed in, their weapons moving without preamble. The Oni lazily gazed at them and began to cut them to ribbons with swift strokes of its blade. Its movements were like water as it somehow managed to dodge every striking weapon.

It was at that moment Zelda threw her immense faculties at the Oni, her mental fists beating at the walls protecting the Oni's mind. It some places they seemed to give in, maybe even crumbling. His motions became more erratic and his speed became a little shallow. A few pricks from the blackguard's weapons finally found his body, but no blood came.

Then somehow, his eyeless gaze fell upon her. She recoiled physically, but her mind still held strong, his defenses now cracking under her assault. He started to force his way towards her, swinging and sweeping her dying guards aside. She slowly found herself backing up to the hole in the wall made by Shawn.

A hole in his defenses! She sent a dozen commands through that hole, but only one stuck, allowing her to seize control of one of its arms. She sent the hand upwards to place a strangle hold on the throat, squeezing until the trachea burst. Without even a grunt the hand tore his throat apart, but no life giving crimson came. The hand then began to place punches on the legs as the Oni advanced, striking out through the dwindling numbers to reach her.

She sent a thought into the heavens and dark clouds rolled suddenly over the Golden Castle. She then threw herself from the room, leaping through the hole as a storm of lightning struck the tower she had just occupied. It was blown into pieces and the bright lights struck again and again at the creature. She slowed her descent and gingerly landed next to Shawn. With a quick touch and kiss his shattered ribs and failing heart were healed.

He rose with an effort and looked around, then saw the crumbling tower as the maelstrom ceased. He turned his eyes upon her and his gaze steeled over. Zelda met that gaze with ease, "I do not think him dead."

"Were you able to get into his mind, like with Corwin?"

"Yes, but nothing I did could stop him. Nothing." She felt winded now, but not exhausted. Already her mind was whirling on how to stop it. Somehow lead it to Link? Maybe. Link was the only one able to defeat it, but that didn't mean no one else was able to at least slow it for the moment. When Corwin had first donned the mask they had avoided cutting his head-off as Link had done in Lon Lon. Now she had no such inhibitions.

There was dust where the tower had once stood, and a dark shadow clearing the cloud at a leap. It angled down, its weapon ready to strike. Shawn moved Zelda behind him, but she scoffed at the gesture. Eyeing the form it seemed a trail of smoke was following it, the only effect the lightening had. She sent her mind upwards and gripped the body as it fell. Or tried to. It was like trying to hold on to water. Then a smirk bloomed on her face. A fist could hit water.

She summoned the force and struck. The blow knocked the free falling figure, jarring it to the left. Another strike jarred it to the right. A final one struck the Oni's back, sending it flying over the outer walls and into the countryside. It would be back, but by then her army would be ready. With that many sharp weapons, its head would not stay in place for very long. She sent out the cry to the twenty-five thousand men camped around her castle.

A demon has possessed the Hero and it seeks my blood. The only way to stop it was to sever its head. Everyone be on your guard! Show your Queen your courage! Show her you can protect her!

There was a loud cheer as thousands of mouths roared in unison. She smiled. Tiryn had done his job. And no matter how strong or fast that demon may be, no single entity could destroy an army.

"Accompany me Shawn, I would like to bear witness to this epic battle."

He nodded to her and then they were lifted from the ground and placed atop the highest undamaged tower. A wave of her gloved hand over both their eyes enhanced their vision as they watched the rolling bodies below ready themselves for combat. With a thought she projected into their minds the direction the Oni would come.

For minutes they watched tensed, swords drawn and shields ready. Spears held aloft and formation forgotten. Formation only worked on another army, not an individual. The clouds still loomed overhead, dark and foreboding. Lightning seemed to twitch among them in spurts. Zelda waited.

Suddenly the screams of the dead could be distantly heard. Like a wave the army moved in that direction, cries and battleshouts echoing.

"For Zelda!"

"For Hyrule!"

"For Oberon!"

The last was heard and it startled her. It seemed some of the older armsmen still fought for him. Her ambitious father who had died for his schemes. Who had forsaken almost all regard for the life of his subjects to further his goals. A mantle she had taken-up to save her kingdom...

She blinked through a haze and found herself crying. She wiped the tears away and found Shawn looking at her, worry in his eyes. She shook her head and tried to clear the sadness threatening to engulf her. Now was not the time to grieve! Had she ever grieved for him?

Then a fear swept over her and she knew with certainty that the demon's gaze had fallen over her. Then the blurred lines of magic came spinning towards the tower they occupied. With a yelp she forced a barrier between the dozen assaults and her. The twirling blue discs cut it apart. In a panic lightening struck down from the heavens; still the discs could not be stopped. A final try at a barrier failed and she dropped to the ground, pulling Shawn with her.

Two discs went through the ramparts and stone cutting through them. And through the air their heads had occupied. The final ten sliced the tower cleanly. The ground Zelda lay on was suddenly tilting and shaking, coming loose and falling. The sound of breaking stone could be heard as with a final lurch the tower collapsed over to the side.

Her mind moving, she plucked herself and Shawn and carried herself and him to another tower. Eyes roving to the battle below, she caught sight of more spinning discs, slicing through the castle's many ramparts and towers. Dozens of them forcing her from the heights. She ground her teeth in frustration at the destruction such a demon easily wrought.

Again she grabbed their bodies and they flew to the outer wall, closer to the carnage where she could directly intervene. They landed easily and behind her she heard the sounds of stone falling on stone. The groaning of rock breaking and crumbling to the ground, of a dozen towers falling unchecked atop her castle. She ignored it and focused her eyes solely on the white-haired devil slicing through her men like a farmer in a wheat field harvesting his grain.

"By the goddesses..." Shawn said through a hoarse breath.

Zelda saw the remnants of men behind the Oni. Arms, legs, groins, head, and abdomens littered the grasses behind it. Hundreds of bodies cut to pieces and left, their blood shining and slowly seeping into the ground. And still they died by the dozens with each passing second. With every swing of that now glowing sword in cut them and released a disc that severed move as it moved through the ranks, killing as it spun. And still the men came at it, their blind devotion driving them onward through the carnage.

Zelda tsked at Shawn's weakness. They were her men and they had been trained to die for her. It was expected.

A sudden image of her father's proud smile filled her mind. A hitch caught itself in her throat. He would be proud of her, wouldn't he? A monarch must choose what is best for her people, even at their own expense.

She wiped away another burgeoning tear and focused on the task at hand; stopping the Oni. With a cry of magic, her voice singing across the battlefield, the fallen soldier's weapons came to life. With a vengeance they sought the head of the Oni.

The demon barely changed its tactics, its sword still spinning and killing. It only adjusted the spinning to include slicing the weapons. The ones striking at his back forced him to now fight in a circular pattern. It seemed it was now moving even faster, its sword and arms a blur, its legs also striking out; sending shockwaves of force to slow the guards.

Zelda smirked, they were now pressing it on all sides, forcing it to its fullest. Her eyes glazed over as she summoned magic from herself and let it strike the clouds. They rumbled in response and suddenly yellow light danced across them filling the sky with hundreds of thunderclaps. Then it began to rain.

Not droplets of water, but small orbs of yellow eggs. They matured quickly and out burst from them were birds of living lightning, their squawks like miniature thunder peels rocking the heavens. There were hundreds of them being born, all taking flight and shooting forward towards a single opponent.

Zelda gripped Shawn's hand for support, not realizing how much strength creating new life took. For a brief second she considered reanimating the dead, but cast those thoughts aside. They were in too many pieces to be effective.

Her eyes now taking in the breathtaking sight before her, she sighed with approval. A continuing pressing mass of humanity pushed against the now blurring white figure, red spraying wherever it struck. Weapons went down in pieces but still more rose up to take their place. A funnel of yellow lightning birds streaming constantly downward to one spot, their life given-up in a millisecond as they burst atop the figure.

Zelda knew the demon was now going its fastest. All of its power and strength now vested in staying alive. Yes, her father would be proud of her. The way she had handled the situation and had reacted. She allowed herself a moment of peaceful reflection as she imagined her father smiling at her and patting her gently on the head. As he had done so many years ago when she was a child.

"My little princess is growing-up." He would say.

"I'm not a princess, daddy! I'm the Heir." Would be her response. It was in those innocent times she had wanted to be just like her father, and today she realized she was.

In that moment the small kernel of knowledge unfolded in her mind, its contents blooming into her conscious thoughts.

Once upon a time ago she had never wanted to be like her father. Never wanted to sacrifice any person's life for the greater good! Never had she wished to watch such carnage! Never had she wanted to play games with people she because she could! Never! Never...never...

Her face slackened slowly, tears springing to her eyes. Her hands were limp as she released Shawn and slowly slid to the ground. Shawn gave her a worried look but she ignored him, ignored all else but the horrifying facts laid bare in her mind. She had forgotten. Forgotten everything she once stood for, what she once tried to do. Caught-up in the schemes and the lies and the masks...

A sorrow filled look of pain now fell across her beautiful face, tears glistening down her cheeks.

Cory was now by their side holding the Zoran prince's hand, Tiryn beside them, his limp still absent. He gazed with pale features at the milling bodies of dying men and his dwindling army. Quite suddenly the vigor he had wielded melted from his features as he looked-on at the daunting scene in despair. He finally felt all seventy-two of his years bearing down on his body.

Cory looked from the Heir to Shawn and back to the chaos. Everyone was transfixed. Only when they heard her sobs, growing into wails, did they give a start and see the Queen, head held in her hands, her nails digging into her cheeks painfully producing blood. Her frail body was quivering and her head went back and forth, trying to vainly fight the revelations in her skull.

"What have I done?" She would alternate between shrieking it and whispering it. Other phrases leaped out.

"So sorry..."

"How could I..."

"Dear goddesses...please..."

Tiryn paled and sighed, giving himself a sudden shake. All the clues Cory had made and all the deductions they had worked out were for naught, as she came to the truth by herself.

Shawn was speaking to her with Cory by his side, trying in futility to shake her from her own demons confronting her.

Tiryn gazed out at the battle and wept at hundreds still dying as the object of their obedience crumbled. Then the Oni broke free of the circle he had been trapped in. The funnel of energy-bred birds followed, but he waved them off like gnats. He landed closer to the Queen and more men died to his strikes. Again he leaped, ever closer, more men dying. Thousands of swords, spears, maces, and axes followed in his wake, searching their target. Another leap.

"Get her out of here!" Tiryn suddenly yelled, his sword coming free. "He's coming for her!"

Shawn and Cory both sobered quickly and gazed in horror as the Oni leapt again.

They all shared one look and that stare lowered to the child kneeling on the ground, her sobs and protests now quiet. Her body seemingly having gone into a comatose state, her mind unwilling to except the truth of her actions. That when wisdom had awakened in her another spell had wormed its way alongside wisdom, not shadowing her thoughts but instead disconnecting various beliefs and ideals.

Shawn scooped her up quickly and then with a moment's hesitation thrust her into Cory's surprised arms. A look morbid determination came across his face. With hardened eyes he placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered, "I love you." Pushing all regrets aside he prepared to die not for his Queen, not his friend, but for his heart.

Cory went to protest but Tiryn cut him off. "Take her to Link. To the Lost Woods where they first parted. Go. Go!" He shouted.

One moment Cory stood there gawking, not even beginning to wonder how Tiryn possessed such knowledge, the next his feet were scrambling across pavement as he darted towards the wreckage of the Golden Castle, a shattered testament to the Queen's now lifeless dream. The Zoran prince cast a look of despair at the downed towers before hurrying after the fleeing sheikah.

The Oni leapt again, ever closer and with the army now surging towards it.

"You know we're gonna die, right?" Tiryn said.

"I left my regret behind, old man. What about you?" He seemed at ease.

He chuckled. "Lad, I placed all my regrets into the ground when my sons died for this kingdom over thirty years ago." He paused as the Oni leaped again. A whisper came out next. "And I can finally join them."

Silence greeted them as it leaped again. Another jump and he would be upon them. "Any ideas, old man?"

Tiryn snorted. "Yeah, attack it."

"Will the men follow your voice?" Shawn asked suddenly, a fervored idea forming in his mind.

"Yeah..."

"Yell for the men to hold it, hold it with their lives. No more attacking, just to hold it."

The idea was a desperate one, but it may be enough. "Do whatever magic you have to!"

Shawn's eyes glistened and sweat broke out across his face. "Now!"

"Men listen to me! The Queen has fallen and is fleeing! We must give her time, the fate of the world rests in her bosom! Hold the creature with every ounce of strength you have. Hold him back! Hold him!" His voice boomed across the masses and suddenly hands began to reach for the demon, touching and grappling with its clothes and hands. Arms and hands became severed as they reached and strained. As one giant mass the gaps between the men disappeared and they surged forward to use their weight of numbers to bear down on the creature.

Bodies began to pile around it, pile on it. It leaped free, dragging a dozen men with it. The weight threw off its precision and it landed in a sprawl. Lightning birds, weapons, and men swarmed over it, men dying to their fellow's fallen blades, to the magic birds seeking their target, and to the Oni's struggles. But still they came unwilling to give-up no matter the cost. Giving their lives for their Queen and their country's future.

Tiryn was no fool. The triforce of wisdom dwelt in the Queen. And it was with that artifact that she would aid the Hero in defeating these monsters. She just had to make it to him. Meaning they had to give her time. With one final heave the Oni broke free and was landing on the wall giving the two of them a measuring glance.

"You'll have to get past us all to get to her!" Snarled the old man, now willing to give his life for Zelda now that she was returned to herself.

Shawn struck then, his weapon already moving. Fire surrounded the being and Shawn leapt into a shadow, only to appear behind the Oni, his weapon slashing. Inconceivably the Oni twirled and caught the attack with ease. Tiryn paused with an idea in his mind. Shawn and the Oni dodged, parried, thrust, and sidestepped each other for mere seconds, their hands and weapons a blur. Shadow's form shifted constantly and sometimes he would strike out from several shadows at once. Then the twined-blade found its point in Shawn's heart.

With a final heave Shawn shifted forward, his chest now hitting the hilt of the blade, tangling his limbs with the demon's. Tiryn struck, leaping forward, his sword moving. The demon caught the blade with its hand, but not the weight of the old man as he used his jump to try and drag the being back into the army's hands. "You'll have to kill us all to get to her." He whispered as they tittered over the edge. Both Sheikah and Hylian met death before the plunge was complete.

A/N II: A final thought, if you don't mind. Normally I ask no one to review leaving that to the discretion of my readers. Today, that is different for one reason. Above you have read my work and by now have a set opinion on it. I want to know that opinion because it will determine how I write such scenes in the future. What I was shooting for was something epic! Grand! In essence, I wanted the impossible to not just seem astounding, I wanted it to be realistic and believable. So now dear reader I shall implore of you once to review and let me know if my aim was true, where you may have chosen not to in the past. This whole story has been me stretching my wings not on writing but on forming a story with plots and developing characters...these things I can work out myself usually...but this goes to the heart of my writing. A blend of word use and events unfolding. So I humbly ask you to let me know if I succeeded. A simple yes or no with suffice, nothing more, but still input is what I need. I thank-you for reading this if you did and for I hope enjoying my fic. It gladdens my heart to know so many people tune in week after week to read it. Thank-you.