Nayru, Great Bridge of Hylia, south of Mido Town

"Din, when will we arrive on the outskirts of Darunia?"

The Oracle of Seasons sighed as she checked the sun, internally making calculations. "Well, based on that we have passed the summer solstice, the pace we're going to kill us in this heat, and that we're crossing the bridge that connects North and East Hyrule, which has no end in sight, I say we might never reach the town." Nayru looked to her sister, her eyes sharp with annoyance. Din didn't care. "You got your answer, Your Highness."

"I am not the queen."

"Oh, so you do remember you aren't the Queen of Labrynna. Good. So why are you marching the troops as if you are?"

Nayru stopped the march, turned and stepped close to her sister. "If it bothers you so much, my sister, then remember that you are the Oracle of Holodrum. You can called them off if you want, but also that their king is captured by the enemy too, and just not an enemy, but an enemy who has a vendetta against our countries. Remind the troops of Holodrum that when I do become Her Highness, I won't forget that they turned their backs on their king. Remind them that the world as we know it might end in 34 hours. Tomorrow, we must fight, so when you turn them around, remember that you cost us numbers You may cost us victory. You will have lost my respect. You will have rewarded them all with death." Nayru turned to the soldiers. "Labrynnians, and Labrynnians only, march." Nayru continued to walk across the bridge, leaving Din to silently fume as if she was her namesake. As the Labrynnians passed, the Oracle of Seasons cursed under her breath as she gestured her own soldiers forward.

Din predicted they'll reach Darunia tonight.


Ravio, Darunia Town

Spryte kicked her feet on the rock she sat on, looking up the knight of Lorule with silent curiosity. He hadn't said much since last night when Zelda told him her plan for the next 48 hours. Now it was noon of the second day, and if the invasion of Darunia started the countdown, they had 33 hours left before whatever Veran threatens occurs. That means Vaati will show up eventually for the Triforce of Wisdom. Yuga will come for the last of the Six Sages, whoever that may be.

Ravio held his communication charm in his hand. The blue stone was dull in color, a sign of its misuse. He desired to talk to Midna or Riju, hoping that they were as safe from the Lorulean villain as he was. However, the Imperials had once again barred magic of any kind from coming in or going out the city, just as the one previously raised in Clock Town. While this barrier doesn't block their powers, this means neither Spryte or Ravio could detect or communicate with their friends outside the barrier, and vice versa. Even telepathy between Ravio and Midna (since they had a bond of sorts, it would be easier to attempt this than he could with Riju) and his life-seeking abilities as the Sage of Forest were dampened.

In other words, he was isolated from the rest of the world. He wasn't isolated from the interior of the barrier, and that included Vah Medoh. That's where his eyes were, centered on the mobile command center of the Imperials. He had an idea brewing in his head and it was a very dangerous yet rewarding thought.

No doubt the captured sages were kept aboard the machine, meaning that if Ravio could get up there, there was a chance Ravio could free them. Sneaking around the place, as long as he doesn't run into a powerful foe like Veran or Yuga, would be a breeze.

"You're planning on freeing Hilda and the others, aren't you?"

Ravio nodded. "It is all I can think of."

Spryte chuckled, standing off her rock and fluttering in the air. "You know, you are not that much different from Link. In some ways, you look like him. You mostly act like him though, when it comes to girls."

"How so? He's...so brave, and I'm here, sitting on my ass. Which Link are you talking about anyway?"

"Both. The younger one mostly, I didn't meet Shade until he was around your age. As for Koroks, when he was a kid, he was quite timid, believe it or not. It was Zelda who was brains and brawn until one day this kid named Mido pushed Zelda into some mud. This was around the time Link started to train with the sword, so he wasn't puny at the time, but at that moment something clicked in his head. He beat the socks off Mido. You should have seen it. I almost swooned for a twelve-year-old." Spryte, red as a cherry, returned to her normal pink hue and hovered in front of Ravio at eye level. "So, this plan of yours, talk me through it."

Ravio shrugged. "Really, I haven't made much progress. I know how I would move about inside Vah Medoh, using my merge ability and douse for Hilda and the others, but if they're slit up, it could be a problem. However, that's if I can get up there without being noticed. From what we've learned from Rudania and Ruta, the beasts have their own defense systems. We'll have to fight the beast, but that also means we'll draw Imperial attention. That is our problem."

"Then maybe we should wait on the Resistance."

"We're going to have to wait."


Midna, Kakariko Village

It had been three weeks since the Resistance moved from their former haven to fight the war in North and East Hyrule, but the presence of the rebellion was still apparent. Her home, which she shared with Ganondorf, Ravio, Hilda, and Ralph, was just as she left it; messy, disordered, but it was home.

She sat in her room, telekinetically holding the four pieces of the Fused Shadow. It had been a while since she used it in Midoro Palace against her brother. However, even at this moment, she could remember just how powerful she felt...and how destruction it could be.

"Midna… Hilda… Zelda… Traitors, all of you. My god will resurrect me, and I will have my vengeance upon Hyrule. I will make you bow to me and to my every whim. And you, dear sister, are a traitor to your own blood and to your people! They struggle in a world without purpose, and you fight against their king!"

"You claim to fight for a people I do not know, but if my destiny led me here to their power, then I shall find the land they live. This twilight realm you spoke off, where Mother came from, I will find it, and I'll do them right, in a way you could never. You have betrayed your people, Zant, by allying with darkness. Goodbye Zant Twilight, my brother." Fragments of the Fused Shadow appeared around Midna before covering her face. She sent the tendrils forward, impaling Zant in his core. He cried out before puffing up and exploding, leaving nothing but the Light Medallion remaining.

Hilda looked to Midna, who turned her head to the ground. Most of her mask was still on her, covering the upper portions of her head and an eye. "Wow."

"That was only a fraction of the power within me. A fraction of my ancestors' power."

"Well, I'll hate to see the full power."

Hilda had a right to say that. Midna had accidentally touched the fraction of the Fused Shadow's power. She could imagine what the total power could be like. Enough to rival Ganondorf and Zelda? Maybe. Veran and Vaati? Slight chance. The Sorceress of Shadows and the Wind Mage had come very close to beating Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf many times now in each of their encounters. Midna not even be able to control the Fused Shadow to competently fight either.

In her hand-shaped hair, she also held the two pieces of the mirror. The third, which she will seek today, is theoretically southeast of Ordon Village, in a dungeon called "The Lion." Once there, she will reassemble the mirror and head to her mother's homeworld.

Her mind wandered to Ganondorf, whose presence was still faint ever since she left the Lost Woods last night. He told her to move along without him, and she will have to honor it. That made her also think of Zelda, Ravio, Spryte, and Oren, who she hadn't been able to contact all morning. It was reminiscent of the same problem in Clock Town a month ago, when Ravio and Hilda were sent to check on Anju and Kafei who missed multiple check-ins. She couldn't even sense them either, but something told her they were all still alive. Finally, there was Link, who was still faint but stronger than Ganondorf's. The Hero of the Resistance, by what she could tell, was getting better somehow yet was still slumbering.

She couldn't stay any longer in Kakariko, not because of her mission or her concern for Ganondorf, but with her brother and Ganondorf's sister (or sisters, if Kotake lives) on her trail, Midna had to limit her use of strong magic. She will have to warp from Kakariko to the approximate location of the Lion, but instead of using her natural abilities (which she suspects Zant will be searching for himself), she will travel, quite literally, by light. As a Twili, she can merge with the shadows; hypothetically, as the Sage of Light, she should be able to merge with the radiance of day. She could be on the other side of Hyrule in minutes, and it was relatively low use in magic. If Zant, Koume or Kotake did track her, she would be spread across South Hyrule for a short time before her body merged again, just as she was able to do to Kotake with the shadows of the forest. When she merged again, she would let the spread presence linger for a bit before shutting it down together, making her nearly untraceable.

And a success it was. Midna was here at the underground dungeon, its entrance a dark hollow in a tree, much smaller than the Eagle's. Shade burned down the barrier that blocked the path 30 years ago (with a candle, the stories say), but in no part of it mentioned the malevolent presence Midna was welcomed by. Matter of fact, compared to the area around it, that dark feeling of the Lion contrasted the carefree air of the surroundings. If was more like Midoro Palace than the Demon but not as off-putting as the Lair.

As the Twilight Princess and a follower of the shadows, Midna was naturally pulled by it. As the Sage of Light, it repulsed her. As the Twilight Princess, she wanted to shower in the darkness; as the Sage of Light, she wanted to cleanse the dungeon. Both sides agreed on one thing, that Midna was to enter.


Vaati, North Castle

"Ganon has been dealt with. It seems ancestor and descendant took care of each other."

Too easy, the king thought with unease. He believed Agahnim's report since Ganon's presence in the south diminished significantly overnight, but he didn't trust the wizard. This was, after all, the same man that betrayed a king of Hyrule many centuries ago. There was no guarantee the magician wouldn't betray the Imperial King.

However, he didn't let his mind become expression or words. Vaati, too, had experience manipulating royalty, with the only difference is that he succeeded in his goal. "Very good. Now our full effort can be placed on Darunia."

"What about Ganondorf's friend?"

"Zant and the girls will handle that. All the chess are in place. I rather not mess with the board. Now leave me."

"But-"

Vaati stood up, shooting lightning from his right hand. It scorched the floor by Agahnim's feet, though the mage himself didn't flinch. Vaati glanced at his right hand, the Triforce of Power and Courage humming in tune with his rage. "You dare question me? Me, who revived you? Me, who succeed where you failed? Me, the beholder of Power and Courage?" Lowering his hand, Vaati pushed back his hair, allowing Agahnim to get a peek at the hidden red left eye of the king. The right eye glared down at him as the Wind Mage stepped away from the throne down to the floor, leveling himself with Agahnim. "Agahnim, you could have been so much more if you weren't loyal to that pig, yet history remembers you differently. Do you know what they say about you?"

"I do not."

"When the Hero of Legend defeated you and they wrote the story, they called you 'Ganon's alter ego.' Your every accomplishment, capturing the maidens, killing the king, opening the door between the worlds of light and dark, they were attributed to Ganon. Not you, but to the bat that rose out your body and flew to the Pyramid of Power to make a last stand. Then, twenty-four years ago, you return, only to fail again and again to make Wisdom and Power yours to bring Hyrule to your control in preparation for the revival of Ganon. You let then-Princess Zelda and her 'desperate for a kiss' hero beat you." Vaati slightly towered over the magician, unsatisfied that the red-robed being's face was mostly covered and hid whatever that face was expressing.

But Vaati let his purple cape fly on his back, the two-thirds of the Triforce make itself apparent as he raised the back of his hand. "When they write this story, whether we win or lose, they will remember me. They will remember the Imperials. They will remember Veran, Ghirahim, Zant, Koume, Kotake. Even Yuga, Onox, and Horsehead. I hope, this time, they remember you."

A flash of anger in the magician's eyes. A quick turn on the heels and furious steps towards the double doors of the throne room. Vaati smiles as he turns to his throne, facing the stone statue that bows at its side. He walks up to it, kneels in front of it in analysis, then raises his left hand to cup the face of the stonework. "The appointed hour comes closer and closer. The fate of many depends on the fight, my dear. Your daughter, at this very moment, conditions herself to make the hidden power her own. Even with my two Triforces, she could make a stand, maybe even defeat me. When I returned, I believed the Hero would be my greatest adversary, but it was you in your final moments. It is her today. In so many ways she has my respect. So much respect that I will let her live as I destroy everything around her. Then I will bring her home, to gaze upon you, so you two can meet once again. When I'm done Queen Harkinian, the Resistance, the Hero, the Thief, the Sages, the Sheikah, they will no longer exist. The curse of Hyrule will cease her. The blood will become cold, hatred sated, spirit shattered. All there was, is, and will be is Vaati. Once she realizes that, I will end the life you cling to within your prison, and reunite you with your hero. Soon afterward, your daughter will join you."

Vaati stood up and moves to his seat of power. Once he was comfortable, he let his power simmer within him. Zelda herself was going to let her power flow through her until the appointed hour. He shall do so too.