"It began possibly just a day after the Kingdom of Hyrule fell under Vaati's treachery. A day began here as normal for the 5-year-old Zant Twilight, Prince of the Twilight Realm. Horzona, our mother and my father, Crepusculum, were enjoying a nice day together with me when a pillar of light hailed from the sky. The castle entered a state of panic, as this had never been witnessed before. Guards came for us, making sure the royal family was safe while others went to investigate the occurrence. A few hours later, we joined with our grandparents, King Noctis and Queen Lunara, and the being that entered our realm."


Eighteen years ago, Zant

"Bring the prisoner in." The throne room doors open with a resounding boom, guards filing in as they approach the five members of the Twilight Realm's Royal Family. On the thrones sit King Noctis and Queen Lunara, two middle-aged Twili in the late years of their reign. To the Queen's left stands their daughter, Princess Horzona, a young, beautiful Twili of tall stature. To the King's side stands her husband, Prince Crepusculum, a young nobleman destined to be the realm's next great leader. Underneath them all, sitting on the steps that lead up to the throne is the young couple's son, Prince Zant.

As the guards separate, they reveal a strange beast in chains. To Zant, the beast anatomically looks like a male Twili, but his features were very different. For starters, his skin is so white it is practically blinding to Zant's eye. His hair, cut to a mohawk, is light blond, his body is toned but shows some signs of scars, some still freshly healed. As he looked up (the guards are dragging him by his arms) his brown eyes barely reflected in the low light of the room, but they held traces of fear and curiosity.

The guards drop him, though they do not stray far from the man in case he does something stupid. Zant, however, can tell the guards and the chains are unnecessary; the man can barely hold himself up. His grandfather notices this too as he silently commands the guards to fully back off. He then stands up himself, addressing the man. "Who are you and where do you come from?" The man looks up to Zant's grandfather, saying nothing verbally but his face relays his confusion.

"Maybe he doesn't understand you, grandfather."

The king sighs then point his finger at the alien. "Audite." The ears of the man glow a soft purple, and the king tries again. "Who are you, alien?"

"My name...is Auru...Lanayru."

"Auru. Where are you from?"

"The Kingdom...the former Kingdom of Hyrule." Zant loses his smile, turning up to his grandfather. Hyrule? He's never heard of it. His grandfather, grandmother, and mother's faces, however, tells a different story, while his father either keeps his face set or is clueless like Zant. What does he mean by "former?" What happened to this Hyrule?

"Guards, leave us. Crepusculum, Zant, leave as well."

Zant sighs and unwillingly obeys his grandfather. His father, however, objects. "Your Majesty, why am I not included in such matters?"

Noctis continues to stare down at Auru as he speaks venomously to Crepusculum. "Are you me, my wife, or my heir?"

"No."

"This matter is of my family. When I am gone, or when my daughter finally ascends, you will be made privy to our secrets. If Zant was old enough, you would be walking out alone."


"Auru...made it here?"

Zant nods. "Yes. Now you can piece together as to how we made it to Hyrule, he took us back. But that would be several months later. Yet I'm jumping ahead. After the meeting, my family learned of the existence of Hyrule, the world of light that our people were banished from millenniums ago. It has been so long that the truth became a story, but to hear that it is the truth...it mesmerized me. Father wasn't happy that he learned afterward, but he should be glad he learned at all. I think I get my temper from my old man."

That's the second time Zant claimed Crepusculum as his father and his alone. She holds the question on her tongue in place of another. "So Auru got us to the world of light, that's obvious to me, but why would Mother leave for Hyrule?"

Zant points to Midna. "Remember the song of the two wolves she would always sing to you? It wasn't just a story...and she didn't join Auru just because of it…"


"Sing the song again, Princess."

Princess Horzona smiles at the Hylian's request. "You really enjoy it?"

Auru nods. "Yes. Back home, we say that the twilight hour is when our sorrows and regrets come up. The world of light and the world of dark meet for just a short time at dusk. Now that I have come here, I believe there's some truth to it. Your song reminds me of it."

"Thank you. I'll sing it one more time." She looks to the palace grounds, humming the tune of her song before singing:

Two little wolves

Brother and sister

One born to rule in darkness

The other, born of two worlds, to protect the dimming light

Her town will burn

The alien will take her

A prince she will fall in love

The power of light and dark, she will become the coin

He burns the town

In exchange for power

He will join up with the dark throne

In desperate search of his own way back home

Eight years pass

War reunites

The path is reforged

Brother and sister, finally return to their realm

A final fight

A revelation

Only one will stand up tall

For the princess' children will change the world.

"It truly is a beautiful song, Princess. But...the words within seems to be very prophetic."

Horzona shrugs. "The song itself is of my great-grandfather's time. Whatever prophecy it foretells probably has already come to past."

Auru nods along. "Possibly, but in Hyrule, we usually forget our prophecies if they do not happen. Many times there are warnings and we simply ignore them. Some of them, if I look back, could have prevented the worst from happening."

"Oh."

"In our most famous legend, a king of Hyrule welcomed a prince of the desert to court ten years after the king waged war on the land. That prince, angry that he was forced to submit to a foreign king, killed him and took the throne for seven years. There's a lot more to the story, but do you know what could have prevented all that? The king was warned by his daughter, a clairvoyant, but he ignored her sights as childish tales." Auru chuckles as he leans back in his chair. "We never doubted dreams ever again."

Horzona leans forward, interested in the tale of Hyrule centuries past. "You say the prince ruled seven years. Who rid of him?"

"There was a hero named Link. He joined the Princess Zelda, who at the time was in disguise, and they traveled the land taking on six temples and anointing six sages. Zelda herself was the seventh and the leader of them. Link gave his life in the final battle but was able to hold off the prince long enough for the sages to seal him away. We call that story the Ocarina of Time due to the relic used by the hero to transcend time seven years back and forth and to open the path to one of two sacred weapons in Hyrule and the most powerful relic in our world. The prince, we'll come to know him as Ganon. Multiple times he'll return and ravage our land, multiple times a hero and princess will put him away. One day, I hope it is for good."

"Is the hero and princess named 'Link and Zelda' all the time, because you once said you served a Zelda back home." Auru turns to Horzona, smiling at the thought.

"You think it is funny, but imagine hearing all these legends, you don't know their names, but once you live in the same period as a Link and Zelda and make the connections, you would trip out."


"Mother grew enamored with Hyrule and the stories Auru told. In time, she traded them with the stories of the Twilight Realm. Eventually, she became so in love that she wanted to visit the world. Father denied her, so did our grandparents, but Horzona was determined. With Auru, they found a way to escape to the Light World by using the Twilight Realm's own Mirror of Light. Grandfather found out and tried to stop her, but once we were on the other side, in Hyrule, she broke the Mirror of Twilight." Zant scowls as he stands up, his eyes darken as he stares at Midna. "Then, a year later, you were born. The daughter of a warrior of light and a princess of shadows. The rest, you know, is history."

Midna stands up to meet Zant's stare. She is indeed overwhelmed by Zant's revelation, but she'll process it later. Zant, however, hasn't said the most important piece. "So I am a bastard?"

"By the definition, yes, you are an illegitimate child."

"Is that why my grandparents won't see me?"

Zant narrows his eyes as he steps away, folding his arms. He quietly returns to the wall, neither sitting back down or leaning against it. He merely stands there, angry. Angry enough to not look at his sister, but not unaware of her movements. "They're dead. My father now rules the Twilight Realm. Now that I've returned, I am the heir, not you, Midna. You are not a princess. You are not the Twilight Princess."

"So what do you have planned for me then?"

"Why, to remove the stain on my family. In a few days, Midna Twilight shall have her head separated from her body."

Midna tenses at Zant's announcement of her execution, but she keeps her composure. Somehow, death doesn't scare her. She turns away from her brother, returning to her sitting position in her cell. "So be it."

"You aren't afraid?"

"No, Zant, I am afraid. But I'm used to coming close to death. So I readily accept I will come close to it again. I won't die, however." Midna glares at her brother, whether he claims her as his sister or not. "He will come for me, and I will kill you."


The Next Day, The Sages

"I think I'm going to be sick." Ralph tries to hold back the contents of his stomach as he and the other four Sages leave him at the shoreline. They had gotten here in nearly 2 hours using Oren's ability as the Sage of Water to travel the sea. Now back in North Hyrule, wading up the shores of Tantari Desert, the five friends begin their journey to Ruto Town.

Sighing, Ravio helps Ralph to his feet. "The great King of Labrynna, reduced to an invalid because he can't handle swimming."

"I'm the Sage of Fire. Swimming is like...the opposite of what I do." Feeling better, the boys catch up to the girls. "Hey, Oren, what do we need to know about the Octoroks?"

"Hmm… Well, until years ago, they have always lost to the Zora. They're our natural enemy, you see. Some say that we had a common ancestor once, but possibly the species diverged magically due to a schism. We're both adapted to life in water and can breathe aerial oxygen. Our societal structures are almost the same. That's what I fear the most. I wasn't here when the Domain fell, so I have no clue if the Octoroks have taken over completely."

"How did the survivors make it to Lake Hylia," Hilda asks.

"Underground water tunnels that lead from the Domain to the lake. We sealed them off at Mipha's command, so if there was a chance that other Zora were coming to retrieve us, they'll have to cross the land or swim the seas around the country. That's why...I know we lost."

"Hey," Riju comforts Oren by patting her shoulder, "don't worry. We'll avenge them. But I bet there are survivors here. After all, they'd need a way to Lake Hylia, right?."

Ravio sighs. "You don't know, but Oren is the only survivor we know of from the attack on Lake Hylia two months back."

"Oh."

Oren shakes her head. "It's fine. We got to think on the now. That requires us getting that trident."

"'A trident controls the tears of the world.'" Hilda repeats the line the Oracle gave them. "What does that mean?"

"The trident is a symbol of the ruler's power, much like Ganondorf's. But it is a weapon like no other. My powers as a Sage of Water allows me to manipulate water; imagine it amplified with the Trident of Poseidon. It is named after the king it was commissioned for, King Poseidon. If I dare say, it is much like your staff, Hilda, though you barely use your true weapon, huh?"

Hilda nods. "I rather not use it unless necessary, much like the Lizalfos horde in Midoro."

"Much like Ralph's Noble Sword, Link's Master Sword, Zelda's Light Arrows, or Ralph's Tempered Blade, it is a powerful weapon. In the wrong hands, it can be very destructive. If the Octorok King has such a weapon on him, and if he is allied with the Imperials, this is a mighty foe, but in turn, we take out a major force of Vaati."

"And turn the tide against him." Everyone looks at the Labrynnian King, rollings their eyes or sighing in disappointment.


Midoro Swamp

"You sure you want to join us, Ganondorf?" Ganondorf ruefully nods as he, Link and Zelda March through the swamp. Zelda herself is disgusted to be back, while Link and Ganondorf are unhappy to be here in general. Ganondorf tags along only to add to the might of the duo, now that both Ganon and Vaati are their enemies.

"It is for the best. I also do have some reason to be here."

Zelda looks to Ganondorf. "You're here for her as well. I don't know if...she will still have a form."

Ganondorf nods. "Possibly, but I rather see it with my own eyes." He looks to Link, the boy Farore chose quiet as ever. He fumbles with the eyepatch over his left eye, still injured after the fight with Horsehead. He turns back to Zelda, the princess mumbling about the murky swamp on her clothes again. Luckily, they haven't been attacked by the denizens of Midoro, though Ganondorf feels their eyes on them.

"There." Zelda points out the dark structure rising out the swamp. They almost fully sprint up to dry land, if one could call the strange material Zant's Midoro Palace is built of "land." Link quickly heads to the entrance of the palace, Ganondorf and Zelda trekking behind despite their desire for rest.

"Shouldn't we stop him?"

"Hmph. You can try, but given our timeframe and the dangers, I guess we need to get this mask fast." They joined Link inside the palace, Zelda leading the way from her memory. They walked silently through the mostly empty palace, encountering the occasion Lizalfos or Keese that made the palace their home. Upon coming to the level of the palace the prison Zant kept the poor women in, Zelda and Link dropped Ganondorf off there, letting him see the remains himself. The pair continued to the bottom floor, back to the long hallway that houses the masks. Those Zelda didn't keep for herself were still around on display, mostly untouched despite the battle between the girls who came here and the phantom form of Zant.

"I wonder which mask is the one."

Link scans the room with his good eye, looking at the various masks with some degree of unease. Five were missing. "Which did you take?"

"The Deku, Goron and Zora masks, a bunny headband, and Midna took the Fused Shadow."

"Hmph. You didn't want this...weird one." Link gestures to one at the end of the hall preceding the throne room, a heart-shaped mask with ominously large, orange eyes. "It's...your type."

"No. Something about that one...rubs me the wrong way."

"Oh." Link agrees, stepping to the side to the mask to its left. It looks like a normal mask, but the features on it freaked Link out. The face was Hylian, with two red stripes under each eye and a blue mark on its forehead between them. Its hair is greyish-white, styled in a similar manner to Link's. Matter of fact...as Link looks closer, the mask itself looks just like him. "Zelda, come here."

Zelda steps over. "What is it, Link?"

"This mask. It looks like me?"

Zelda looks to the mask for a moment, then back to Link. "You're right. Coincidence...or the mask we're looking for?"

"No way."

"Yes way. There's something about this mask, just like that one there and Midna's Fused Shadow. Something powerful behind it. This is the one." Zelda removes the glass display and takes the mask, handing it to Link. "If what Midna said is true, then she only used a fraction of the Fused Shadow's power the one time I've known her to use it. With Vaati with the Triforce and Ganon himself, we're in the disadvantage but… I don't want to know what this can do to you without knowing more about it. So promise me that, until we have Fi analyze it, you'll only use this mask as a last resort."

Link leans down and kisses Zelda soft but firm enough to seal the promise. Splitting apart, he holds her face, smiling gently. "Sure thing."

"Thank you."

"You're so very welcome."

"GAH!" Link and Zelda only have a second to duck as an object flies over their head, landing on the tattered carpet between the remaining displays. Upon quick inspection, they see it is Ganondorf. He coughs as they rush over to him, struggling to pick himself up.

"Ganondorf! Are you okay?"

Gasping for air, he only manages to move his head to look forward, pointing one finger towards the other end of the hall where the throne room is. "H...He...Hero." As Ganondorf passes out, the Hylians look in that direction as a dark portal swirl at the other end, with two figures stepping out. One figure, a purple-faced man in a red robe, chuckles as his fingers crackle with lightning. He raises one arm, letting bright white bolts zip towards the trio. Zelda waves her arms, summoning Nayru's Love and reflecting the attack. As the barrier drops, she ducks with a quick reflex as a nearly unseeable leg comes close to her face. In the same motion, a dark sword swings down, blocked by Link's Master Sword. He pushes the swordsman's weapon away and fires a sword beam, missing his target as the figure flips back to the wizard's side.

Link looks to the swordsman, noticing a familiar set of red eyes. "Another shadow version of me?"

"No." Zelda shakes her head, her eyes welling with tears as she draws her rapier. She uses her sadness to rouse her fury as she looks to the grinning wizard. Though the swordsman's face is missing a lot of hair, she knows immediately who stands before them. "It's Father."

"Shade? What have you done?"

The wizard laughs, "Just enlisted him in the Demon King's service is all, hahaha! The great irony, the Hero of Hyrule fights for Ganon against the two people who he raised to save Hyrule. His daughter and her little boyfriend! What do you say to that, Dark?"

"...Kill."