Earlier this day
"Master Ezlo."
"Vaati."
Master and apprentice sit across from each in the dungeons, with only the steel bars between. Two men, whose history goes back to the younger days of the kingdom, whose tale is written as one of the legends known as 'The Minish Cap.' They know each other like a father and son, in which Ezlo knows everything of Vaati and Vaati knows as there needed to be known of Ezlo. Once, the master imprisoned the apprentice from his destiny, now the master is imprisoned from impeding. Once, the father got in the way of the son, now the son clears the father from the path. Yet, despite it, Vaati cannot bring himself to kill Ezlo. He couldn't do it then, he can't do it now, and he still calls the aged wizard 'master' unconsciously. It bugs him as much as it does that Ezlo shows no anger in his voice.
"A week ago, I told you that the world would change upon my return here. As I'm sure you're aware, nothing has changed. I lost to the girl, had to use backhanded tactics to get what I want, and even that is stolen from me. They say history is written by the victors, but who won that day? I have the Triforce. Ganon got the wish. Zelda won the battle. Was it him? Was it her? Was it me? Who knows?" Vaati looks from the back of his marked right hand to his former master, the white bread of Ezlo being the only clearly visible part of him. "You say nothing?"
"What else can I say to you, Vaati?"
"I don't know. Anything."
"Why are you here? To belittle me once more?"
"Why are you still here? I'm not even keeping you here." Vaati raises his hand to the cell door, easily swinging it open since it is unlocked. "You can leave at any moment. I don't keep a guard on you. I have expected you to leave and assist the Hero as you once have. I wanted you to do it. Yet, at every turn, you do more to help me than hurt. You are an enigma, Master. Why?"
Ezlo's eyes flicker in the dimness. "Why? You're thinking wrong again, Vaati. I had no need to leave. Everything is going according to plan."
"Your plan?"
"Yes. You have been too concerned with why I've stayed here instead of what I'm doing here. 18 years has my plan, no I should give the credit to the true mastermind, has her plan been coming together."
Vaati's frown falls. "Zelda?"
"Mhm. I told her everything the day we sent Link away. She hid her pregnancy well with the aid of magic that not even you suspected she was with child, but I figured it out. Maybe I wouldn't have said anything in any other case, but in that moment, I saw a small glimmer of light. If Zelda's child was to be born and hidden before you enacted your plan, Hyrule had a chance. So I told her everything...but she said she knew a darkness greater than her was coming. Now she had a name, a face to put it on. In those few days, she created a grand scheme, even a song to go with it to direct the next generation. The Triforce, sent to the Sacred Realm with only one way to open it, an intricate and complex plan that if one component went astray, it fell to ruin. You almost wrecked it once. The events of Rauru seven years ago put a small hitch in Zelda's plan that it would have failed had not two men survived."
Vaati frowns. His fists tightened. Zelda and Ezlo have made plans behind his back for almost two decades? How could that have slipped his attention? Oh, because they played their roles of submission so well. And who was this ray of hope in it? "Who survived?"
"One of them is Auru Lanayru. You, in your haste to ruin an uprising, fell into Her Majesty's plan before it was meant to be enacted. Rauru wasn't part of it, yet when I found out Bagu, Error, and Auru lived in the aftermath, it wasn't just fate that made the three meet. You, once again, helped it rise by attacking Nabooru and killing the second to last living Sage. Yet the Resistance was formed and the blood of Ganon joined them. Her Majesty's plan was enacted that very day. The Pendants of Virtue, they were sent to their respective places by me as trials for the young prince, the princess, and for the new hero. The medallions, the same for the six new sages to replace the predecessors. The final piece of the plan required two men and one woman you failed to kill. I'll let you guess who those people are."
"Rusl, Impa, and Link."
For the first time since Hyrule fell, Ezlo cracks a smile. "Indeed. Zelda knew her hero was alive and so did I. The day he returned would be the day your downfall began. He came right on time. So you wonder why Zelda didn't fight back that day, why I've stayed all these years. It came to one moment...giving you the Wind Stone, then forging the sword you fear most. Unfortunately, you got your hands on it, possibly though you'll use it against Ganon today...this time, someone you should have killed appeared here in North Castle. He now has the Four Sword, he knows the plan of Her Majesty, he knows what it will take to defeat you. He is the other man who survived Rauru, Sheik." Ezlo rises along with his apprentice, stepping out of the shadows to the light. "So you want to know why I've stayed, my apprentice. As I said, you were the monster I created, so you are the monster I must destroy."
Vaati narrows his eyes. So he has been played all along, right to this very moment...so be it. Fate has been on Vaati's side, plan or no plan. He could have had the three pendants himself, but he let the Resistance have. He let them open the way to the Triforce, he got the Triforce on him. His only failure was not ending it in Darunia...but fate is on his side. It is on his side despite the rise of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, despite the intervention of the goddesses, despite the resurrection of Ganon. Fate is on his side and that makes Vaati smile in his master's face. "Thank you, Master." Vaati turns around, the smile plastered on his face. Today belongs to him. The will of the world, not the will of a queen or a will of a demon, has granted him victory. This is the moment he has waited over 25 years for, since the day he remembered himself. As he reaches for the dungeon door, that smile grows into a wicked grin. He turns around, still barely seeing his master, and says, "Listen to me well, Master. Spirit will be broken. Blood will be drained. Hatred will be put down. This will be the final fight of the legend of Zelda...and the beginning of the age of Vaati."
Present
Death Mountain. He wonders how it gained that name. Back when he first terrorized Hyrule, Vaati knew the mountain range as Mount Crenel. The Gorons were scarce on the mountain after losing many of their people, but his people, the Minish, were thriving there are they did in the forest and the Hyrulean capital. Thousands of years later, his people are gone, the Minish Door is lost, and none of the shrinking devices remain. The Minish, for all their capabilities as a civilization, are now mere tales told to children in the hopes that a good-natured one will see the thumb-size beings.
How utterly disgraceful.
What is his tale in all this? Vaati read them, 'The Minish Cap' and 'The Four Sword,' from the most foolish versions told in jest to the more correct versions kept secret by the Royal Family, and while the details are exaggerated, they have one thing that Vaati can't tell if it is exaggerated or truth. That is Zelda. He desired the Light Force once, housed within one Princess Zelda, and for the Zelda that came after, he desired her for her. He used Queen Zelda to rise to the throne, he used the current Princess Zelda for the power he has now. His goal, she is the key. He will use her to defeat Ganon then use her to solidify his rule with her death. Of course, he cannot forget Link. Ganon's failures come from focusing on capturing Zelda while leaving his minions to fight off the Hero. Ganon didn't respect the cycle he is part of, that the rise of evil begins with the births of Link and Zelda. If there is one, the other is around too.
Why did they name it Death Mountain? It is where fools die. Ganon died here because he was a fool. Agahnim died here, in the Dark World counterpart, because he was a fool. Vaati will not make his grave in the den of fools. Not at the conniving mental games of Zelda, no.
"I know of your meddling, Zelda. How you planned so meticulously my demise all these years with my master… I knew you wouldn't sit still, but I must say I am surprised you set all these moments. Yet at every turn, I have impeded your plans. At every turn, when your daughter tried to surpass me, whenever her hero put the sacred sword against me, whenever Malladus' child unleashed his darkness against my own, I have won. What else do you have against me Zelda, except to watch your Hyrule fall? Hope? I'll turn it into despair… You have nothing to say, Queen of Hyrule?"
Back half a day's travel away, the queen sits silently. Turning away from the northern horizon, Vaati clicks his tongue in annoyance back to the mountains. If Zelda won't indulge him, maybe Ganon will. Today is the day, after all. He half expected the pig to make himself known, but then again, Ganon has not been one for theatrics. He, too, is a master schemer. As many times as the Links and Zeldas stopped him, there have been as many times that Ganon outsmarted them. If he is to win, Vaati must be observant of the Princess of Destiny and the Prince of Darkness. If he is not cautious, he will fall into one of their traps.
"Vaati." From behind, Veran creeps up like a moth to a newly lit flame. With the Oracle of Season's spear in her hand, the Sorceress of Shadows gazes to the afternoon southern land of North Hyrule. "The town is vacated, yet still intact. The inhabitants must've run off...or worse."
"What would you deem as 'worse?'"
"They've joined the cause. The Labrynnian king once summoned the world, who is to say he didn't rally the last of Hyrule?"
"Hm, that would be...something." Sighing, Vaati angles his eyes to the beautiful woman beside him. An old saying goes that a great man has an even greater woman beside him, and for Vaati, that couldn't less the truth. His one goal back then was becoming King of Hyrule, but he never would have thought to find a partner in crime or even a lover. He thought he would rule alone as the sovereign, but if he must admit, none of his plans would have manifested if it wasn't for Veran. She charged the Yiga with finishing the Divine Beasts, a weapon King Daphnes and Moz Koshia initiated after Ganon's fall. It was her who commanded the execution of the original Sages, her who made sure the war went in their favor. With Veran possessing her own power, the abilities of the Oracle of Ages and the Rod of Seasons, the advantage is to the Imperials. If he loses her… "Veran."
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
She looks away, her cheeks are red and her smile big and wide. "No need to get all sentimental, my love. This is our world. We will take it from these wretches. It is not our time to die."
"But if it is?"
"Die on our feet." Veran turns around, gesturing for someone to come forth. To her right comes Ghirahim, his last agent. Vaati expected Ghirahim to join Agahnim in league with Ganon, his master's reincarnation, but the Demon Lord made his loyalty clear. Ganon might be the reincarnation, but he is not Demise. It is a strong loyalty that Vaati can only remember in another... The thought of Zant enters his head, but Vaati pushes such thoughts back. Midna will pay for what she did soon enough. To his left stands Twinrova, his chosen heir. She and her sister came to him as frightened children, now she stands alone (or with her sister to some degree) as his fiercest warrior. Much like her brother and cousin, much like her father and mother, much like her ancestor, she is a prime example of Gerudic pride. But the time to be prideful is over. A final battle awaits them.
"Ghirahim, Twinrova, do not hold back. We face Ganon and his minions. Zelda and her people, alliance or not, are still the enemy. Play along with this game until they reveal their true colors...then kill them off. Listen closely, everyone. We're just men and women, but our enemies are gods-turned-humans. They are walking proof of history, a history some of us have once played part of before and are doing so again. But even gods of life and of destruction can fall. How? Fear. It is what separates man from god. For those in heaven, it is why they're revered, for those in hell, it is why they're avoided. But if you do not fear the gods, they have no power. If you do not fear Zelda, Link, Ganondorf, or Ganon, then there is nothing holding you back. Just as gods can become men, men can become gods. That is the world I envision...the world we fight for. Din, Nayru, Farore, Hylia, Demise...the time of curses and legends are over. The story of Vaati and his Imperials begins now!"
Vaati raises his right hand skyward, summoning the magnificent power of the Triforce. While the true power of the relic hasn't returned, the abilities each individual piece grants still flow through Vaati. With Power, unmatched physical and magical strength. With Courage, unmatched battle expertise. With Wisdom, unlimited magical stores. What makes Link, Zelda, and Ganon(dorf) so great individually, Vaati possesses it all at once. As the Triforce glows brilliantly gold on his hand, he projects that light in the air, making it bright enough to be seen from Death Mountain.
He got the attention he wanted from both sides.
Dark clouds appear around the mountain, unleashing an intense bolt of lightning, so strong it shakes not just Death Mountain and the town of Saria at the mountain's foot, but even two miles away at Vaati's feet. Even though he cannot see him from where he stands, Vaati can sense the traitorous wizard Agahnim. Oh how much Vaati wishes to squish that pest. There's the second presence, one so familiar it confuses Vaati as much as it makes Veran's jaw drop, yet the pair sense their old enemy is not the one before. Agahnim was successful in reviving the Hero of Hyrule's body and Ganon took it for himself...the irony. And speaking of Ganon, that's the power that weighs heavy in the air like a large iron boot.
Vaati shows no fear. Throwing his hand out, he issues out his orders. "Veran, summon our army. Ghirahim, give Ganon our welcome." Ghirahim vanishes while Veran summons multiple black orbs in her hand. Throwing it back, each ball expands to form a gate in space. Monsters of many kinds, the skeletal Stalfos, the lizard-like Lizalfos, Aeralfos, and Dinolfos, and the most dangerous of them all, the mighty Lynels. He doesn't know how many his queen summoned, but the numbers are enough to erase any sight of green from Ganon's eyes...or he hopes so.
Power flares up from the foot of the mountain as a similar phenomenon occurs. Agahnim, the Dark Wizard, forms his master's army; Miniblins, Bokoblins, Moblins, both the fat and round kind and their tall and skinny variation, and the gigantic cyclops known as Hinoxes. Vaati almost cracks a smile, no he allows it to take shape. Ganon's prowess is as he remembers it as a kid. 30 years in a seal hasn't tempered his tenacity. A challenge well accepted. Yet Vaati is not totally impressed yet.
"So that's my ancestor," Koume says in awe. "Nothing like Ganondorf at all…"
Vaati silently agrees, but he heard the tale of Ganondorf deflecting Vah Naboris' attack just as Zelda did to Medoh's in the previous battles. He expects the Demon King to perform proficiently. "Ghirahim." A distance away, on the mountain range that borders Hyrule Field from King's Tomb, Vah Medoh sits in position to fire. Just seconds after Vaati issues the order, a streak of blue darts across the late afternoon sky, impacting the side of Death Mountain. For a moment, it looks like a direct hit as the beam strikes in the broad area of Ganon and company's location. Yet, as Vaati was beginning to be disappointed by the Demon King, the beam is seemingly deflected towards the Imperials. Scoffing, Vaati raises his arm up to perform the same move, but before he can conjure the spell, transparent blue walls form in front of the Imperial Army. The blast makes contact, losing strength and dissipating as the walls hold strong. Dropping his arm, Vaati sighs as he lays eyes on his blond-haired "savior". "You're late."
"Better late than never." Zelda calls off Nayru's Love while Link and four of the six Sages line up beside her. To the princess' left, the leader of the Sages, the newly crowned King of Labrynna, shares a staredown with the Sorceress of Shadows as he ignites his sword. To his left stands the Sage of Water, carrying a trident of sorts. To the far right of Zelda, the Loruleans glare ahead at an enemy that isn't theirs, yet his power once plagued their world.
Three are missing-oh, no, here they come. Dropping from the sky from a portal of twilight is the sister and killer of his favored warrior, Midna. While her appearance is must like the last time he saw her, her inner power is changed. The power of light and shadow, once a muddled mess, now shifts in a delicate but controlled balance. Then there's the Gerudo leaders, Riju and Ganondorf. The former flashes her green eyes at her younger cousin while the former glares menacingly as one can towards the mountains. Ah yes, the youths chosen by the goddesses now fight the "age-old war" of Hyrule. It now comes to its conclusion.
Without a word to each other, Ganondorf, Zelda, and Midna display their power; it is magnificent, ferocious, fearsome. In such a short time, these three have ascended to near-godhood, even though their power still is insignificant if not comparable to Veran and Vaati. To prove that point, Vaati allows the Triforce's glow to wash over him completely, subjugating himself to the power of the Golden Goddesses. He turns his eye to Link, the Hero unsheathing his Master Sword and raising it skyward, letting the lowering sun's light deflect off the holy blade. The blade of evil's bane, one of three items that can fell Ganon, it is a mighty weapon but Vaati truly believes Link has something else in store. He can sense a sleeping darkness around the Hero, something that can make a powerless simple man into something greater.
For now, he will side with these heroes, if it gets him to Ganon. But Vaati is no fool. They will betray him and he'll be ready to strike when it happens. Hyrule belongs not to Ganon nor to Zelda. It is Vaati's and Vaati's alone.
Sheik
The Hyruleans are a mix of shock, awe, and fear, but Sheik is impressed no one has run for the hills. From his view sitting on one of the outer trees in the forest west of Saria Town, he can see that the four races stay in their place firmly. If they're afraid, it is the comforting power of Zelda, Ganondorf, and Midna that keeps them. Or it is maybe the fact that death is inescapable, no matter where they are.
His hand grazes the hilt of the Four Sword. Ezlo gave him specific instructions (even though he wanted to rebel against them) not to save Her Highness yet. The timing is still too soon, he said, whatever that means. For now, he must deliver the Four Sword to Link, at all costs.
If Impa was here to reassure him of their chances. Somethings tells Sheik that no matter how strong those kids are, Ganon and Vaati will find a way. But then again, two twelve-year-olds bet Ganon once before... A group of teenagers might be just fine. Only fate and the gods may know...
Ganon scoffs at the surge of power coming from the lower field. It is impressive...but is it enough? The heroes and the Imperials might side together now, but it will not last, not long enough for them to fight Ganon. But if it does...will it be enough?
"Agahnim, Dark, do as you please with them. But as for the Hero, the Princess, and my blood, bring them to me alive."
Dark turns around, narrowing his bloody eyes. "The king?"
"As long as the Triforce makes it to me, I care not if he lives or dies." Dark nods and leaps off the mountain. Agahnim bows before vanishing himself. Taking a long look at the battlefield, Ganon sits on a stone, watching with patience and interest at the battle about to unfold. When the moment is right, he will descend. With a chuckle, he raises his fist and gives his enemies a generous taste of his power. He hopes it makes their blood run cold, their minds fall apart, their resolves shatter like glass. He will not fall to children this time.
This time, he will make them wish they had never resurrected him.