Midna screams as her right shoulder is penetrated by the edge of Ghirahim's claymore. However, she fights against the pain and stabs the Demon Lord's torso, barely in the diamond-shaped weak spot on his chest. They separate from each other, weapons on the ground, the blood of each other on their bodies, eyes lingering on each other. Midna takes a knee as her shoulder, nearly cleaved off from the previous exchange, signals to her just how much damage it received.

Gods, she did not expect Ghirahim to be this tough, but none of the Imperials have been easy. Horsehead, Onox, Yuga, Zant, Koume, and Kotake, dead as they are, were tough fights. Midna's not even holding back. How powerful Ghirahim truly is...she never thought of him as much of a threat, but he did hold up to Ganondorf recently. She has severely underestimated the Demon Lord.

She has one card left, the Fused Shadows. She just needs a few seconds to focus, but now is not the right time. She'll have to disable Ghirahim permanently first. However, the demon is too good of a fighter, he will not slip so easily. That fact is proven by his resiliency right now. He stands up first and calls back his sword, ready to continue the fight.

"Tired?"

Midna clicks her tongue as she rises up. She continues to nurse the shoulder but doesn't allow it to bother her. "I can go all day."

Ghirahim smirks and licks his tongue. "That's what I would like to hear, but I'm afraid I've toyed with you long, sister of Zant." More knives surround Ghirahim, all pointing at her. " I have a date with Her Grace, and I plan to be on time. As fun as a warm-up this fight is, your disgusting life ends here."

The knives fly towards Midna, but the Twilight Princess holds her good limb up and blocks the projectiles. Ghirahim, however, continues the barrage and they are getting stronger and stronger, forming cracks in her barrier. However, the attacks present itself in Midna's favor as she now concentrates on the four fragments that appear around her body and clasp on her head.

Ghirahim, seeing the new development, ceases his attack and holds up his large sword. Midna chuckles and throws her arm out as a spear materializes in front of her and flies towards Ghirahim. It collides with Ghirahim's sword, breaking it apart, but the collision adjusts its course to the demon's shoulder. Pinned between the twilit barrier and the spear, Ghirahim grunts as the Twilight Princess steps forward, More spears appear, pinning down Ghirahim by each of the limbs. Exposed, he's helpless as Midna places her hand on his chest.

Ghirahim's last sight is the princess's red eyes in the slits of the mask before his chest is ripped out of him. Dark magic pours out the wound as the Demon Lord dies once and for all. His body limp, Midna calls off the spears, letting Ghirahim's body drop to her feet. Casting off the barrier and the Fused Shadows, she takes a breath of relief and looks up to the ceiling.

Zelda should be close now. Ghirahim's battle with her should have given the Hyrulean Princess the time to ascend to her uncle's place. If not, well, the path behind her is safe. Kicking Ghirahim's body away from her, she turns to pick up her sword.

"Lost something?" Startled by his voice, she glares at Ganondorf as he picks up her sword. He chuckles as he tosses the weapon th her, then eyes Ghirahim's body. "Good riddance he's gone."

She sheathes her weapon and walks up to Ganondorf, falling into his embrace. "Glad to see you're alive… Koume…"

"Dead."

Midna, feeling a small ting of sadness for her love, holds him tighter. "Oh… That's...a necessary event."

"Yeah." They part but remain in close proximity. Ganondorf turns to the eastern door by which he entered from the front gate. "Hilda and Oren are going with the Zoras to capture the town. But the battle is not going in our favor. Ralph and Nayru have engaged Veran, I do not know their status… Zelda has to be close, right?"

Midna nods. "We must go and aid her nevertheless…"


Sheik

Surrounded. Exhausted. Underpowered. Outmanned. Outmatched.

Sheik doesn't know how long the fight has been going on, but for the rebels, the fight was a massacre. Right now, only a fraction of their forces remain. Hylian, Sheikah, Goron, Twili, and Bulblin stand surrounded by the monster horde, holding their weapons up in a futile final stand.

Brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and rivals, those who live have someone they loved dead on this bloody field. It should be enough to discourage them, to make them want to run or surrender if the latter is even an option. Yet no one dares to let their weapon touch the ground. "Zelda is in the castle," Sheik announced to them. That bit of news was enough to keep the group fighting, is enough to keep them standing, and will be enough for them to die.

"Master Sheik," he hears from the young, dark-haired man beside him. "I have someone that I love back in Clock Town, and before we are to be wedded, we will exchange a gift of masks, as it is customary in our hometown. What do you think of a Keaton mask?"

Sheik nods his head. "It is a great idea, Kafei. It is a…" Sheik pauses as he feels an unnatural shaking on his feet. Curious, he kneels down and touches the dirt, feeling the vibrations come from the earth. They come from two directions...the east...and the south.

Hearing a strong squawk from the large bird of the Imperials, Sheik and numerous others of the rebels follow its gaze to the direction it faces. The Helmaroc King then takes flight towards the skies, only to be grabbed by a quickly growing stalk and shot down to the ground by a stroke of lightning a few seconds later.

"Brothers!" Daruk cheers in glee, holding his hammer towards the sky, "They have arrived!" Sure, that was the work of the Sages of Forest and Spirit, But why be so excited?

"Master Sheik… That banner…" Sheik stands up and follows Kafei's finger to the distant hills, where he can barely make out several banners flying. Most of them are indecipherable to him, but one is all too familiar. A blue flag with the winged bird with the Triforce at its head. The symbol of Hyrule.

Sheik sighs in relief. Their gamble had paid off. "The Resistance."


Hilda

Hilda breathes heavily as the last of the reanimated dead in their path drops down and doesn't move. Her body warms up and she can feel her fingers and toes again. That scream...that horrid, paralyzing scream. Had Ralph and Nayru not shown up when they did to take the Redeads out, it could have been trouble for the group.

Holding his hand out, Ralph helps Hilda to her feet. "You okay, Princess?"

Hilda nods. "Thank you, Ralph. I guess this means Veran is done for?"

"Yes… I hope." Ralph lets her go and looks at the corpse at their feet. He kicks it, with no resulting movement. "Redeads."

"Not just any Redeads," Oren says as she joins the pair, followed by Nayru. "From the stories, they are usually the remains of people buried in crypts, but these people, the way they're clothed...these were the civilians of Castle Town. The nobility."

Ralph folds his arms. "I recall hearing that there has been no one to come out of the capital in years. I thought it was fear, but no, these people were already dead." Sighing, he sheaths his sword and gazes down the main street. They're stuck in the middle of the road, between a beaten horde of the dead and a certain group of them still "alive" before they reach the field. "What are we going to do?"

"Nothing," Hilda says as she trades her sword for the staff. "I'll take care of this."

"How?" Oren asks with concern.

"I am the Sage of Shadow. The living dead are somewhat my responsibility, isn't it." SHe steps forward, leaving the confused others behind. They wouldn't understand what she's about to do, and if they did, they would try to stop her.

Hilda, as it is well known, is a powerful mage in her own right, but she is a parasite in this world, a foreign living thing. Her connection to magic, great as it is, comes at a cost. A secret she keeps hidden from the others, even Ravio. She discovered this effect long ago when training during the early days of her time in Hyrule. After using magic for an excessive amount of time, she came down with a terrible fever. Once she recovered, she realized that the magic of this world does not agree with the "mirroring" magic of Lorule. From that moment one, she swore to not use her true power unless it was necessary. Hence, she infused her power with the staff as a conduit. Only when she wields this can she unleash Lorulean magic in great amounts.

So far, that had only been twice, once to ward off the Twilit Beasts at Midoro, the other to help Ravio in his fight against Yuga. However, it did not cost her much trouble, but now… She has no choice.

She holds the staff to her right and begins to chant a spell. "Denizens of darkness, hear me! Accursed beings who do not allow eternal sleep to claim them, come to me!" She can hear them ahead and around her across the city, the groans of the living dead as they rise from their slumber. Behind her, her friends and the Zoras prepare for another fight as the Redeads begin to move. Moving her staff up, she begins to hover in the air above the town. For being a literal city of the dead, it looks almost perfectly liveable.

She faces east, towards the battlefield, and sees a large stalk of vines towering the field. That must be Ravio's doing, which means he must have returned. Did he find the general? Did Riju come back with the Gerudo? Hilda wishes to reach out to him, yet she must concentrate on eliminating the Redeads. "To those who souls linger between this world and the next, whose bodies remain unburied, to be put to rest you shall be." Light shines from the upside-down Triforce at the head of the staff. Hilda eyes it and then closes her eyes. In her head, she apologizes to everyone and wishes them the best, to win this war once and for all.

"This is my command, so says I, Hilda of Lorule!"


Zelda

As the bright light fades from the windows, Zelda uncovers her eyes and takes a glance outside. Whatever happened caused quite the stir, for it even rattle the windows that lead down the hall to the throne room. Curiosity on wanting to know the source of the magic burst is suppressed by the mission ahead of Zelda, so she takes the final steps down the hall.

The doors to the throne room open on their own when Zelda and Fi arrive. Nervous energy racks the princess' body as she pauses before the opening doors. Here she is, on the doorstep of her enemy. Two months she has done what only her father and his predecessors have done many times, confronting evil to save Hyrule and its princess, but not it is her turn, the princess coming to evil to save the world.

"Your Grace," Fi says in her robotic voice, though a hint of concern comes with it. "I'll tell you what I told the Hero of the Sky a long time ago. Vaati is up ahead, and there will be a difficult fight. You win, Hyrule is saved; you lose… If you continue, there is no turning back. No matter what, as I was with Master Link, I will be with you."

Zelda smiles and pats Fi on her shoulder. "Thank you, Fi." Fi vanishes into the Master Sword, her duty done for now. With the spirit gone, Zelda faces the open doors alone. Fi is right, Zelda has no choice to go inside and never look back. There is no object or person standing between her and Vaati. So many have sacrificed their lives to get her...and Zelda steps forward to honor it.

Immediately Zelda notices the splendor of the throne room. It is almost as big as the lower hall. She imagines the lords and ladies of Hyrule congregated here for court every day to petition her mother, grandparents, and ancestors. Ceremonies were conducted with grand audiences. Banners hang from the ivory pillars, a red carpet lines the great chamber from the entrance to the throne to the far left. To the right are a large window and another door, most likely leading to a balcony of sorts. She half-expected this place to be damaged, yet it holds its splendor years after the fall of the true royal family and the rise of the Imperials.

Turning to the left, Zelda immediately spots two figures sitting by the thrones. One of them is an elderly man in a green robe possessing a long white beard; he spots Zelda as she rounds the corner. It takes him a moment to see who she is, but once he does, he holds the shoulder of the other person. "Your Majesty."

Zelda pauses just as few steps away, taken aback by the words as the red-headed figure in the pink dress stands. She turns to Zelda, and the first thing she notices is tired but familiar blue eyes. Smiling, the woman places her hand over her chest as she says her first words to the princess. "Princess Zelda."
Zelda barely contains the tears in her eyes and her body from moving as she repeats the name. "Queen Zelda."

"It is nice to finally lay eyes on you again, my daughter. Many years have I prayed to find myself at this moment, to see who the gods blessed me with again. You've grown as beautifully as I hoped...and from the tales, as every bit the warrior your father was. Speaking of which… I'm sorry to know your Link's fate."

Zelda bows her head. "He gave his life so that we can reach this moment."

"As a Hero of his caliber should. Still…" it is now the queen's turn to look away. "I had foreseen all of this. The kingdom's fall, the rise of the resistance, the hope that comes from the southern village, a world beyond our own, and the blood of the demon, yet none of it… I planned everything, saw how everything would play out until this moment, yet with that knowledge comes pain. The death of heroes, of old friends, of loved ones. But it is I, and by extension, Master Ezlo, who is more at fault for this that live."

Ezlo shakes his head. "No, Your Highness, it is my fault. I accept that." Ezlo looks at Zelda, noticing the sword on his back. "Is that the Four Sword? Excellent. Also, I have one more gift to present. I meant to gove it to the Hero, but you will do." Ezlo takes a cap out of his pocket and hands. "The Minish Cap, my greatest creation. It gives its weapon great power, most specifically the power to grow as small as a bug, just as my true people, the Minish, were sized."

Zelda takes the cap, inspects it, then places it on her head. "Thank you, Master Ezlo."

"Yes, Master, thank you." Purple energy collides with the aged man's body, pushing him against the northern wall. Before either Zelda can react, the elder one begins to float up, quickly leaving the ground for the statue of the Triforce above the thrones. Stone appears from the queen's feet, quickly covering her body. Zelda, not knowing what to do, does the only thing she can; look to the throne where a happy Wind Mage is to be found.

Zelda takes hold of the Four Sword, not creating the clones but prepared to do so. "Vaati."

Vaati chuckles deeply. "Welcome home."

With no one between them now, the Princess of Hyrule and the Wind Mage prepare for a final battle. However, wins will have their wish granted without opposition. With teh tides not turning in the favor of the heores, it comes now to the final confrontation of Zelda and Vaati...or does it?