Two more weeks of school left for me. Sheeeeeeeesh. Well, here's my most recent chapter. Sorry if it told you there was an update earlier, I deleted my hiatus update chapter.

As for this one, I once again kind of struggled through it. Definitely in a high intensity part of the story and there was a lot of fight scenes I had to write and more to come. It's not the best situation to come back to for writing, and certainly hard to de-rust on, but I got it all down. Hopefully you like it.

Enjoy!


My feet collided with the ground. I tried to support my weight, but as Link dropped me I staggered into the floor. Bruises painted my knees with brilliant black and blue, throbbing as they hit the stone for the second time within a few minutes.

"I said be careful!" I hissed.

Link unsheathed the Master Sword and stabbed it into the chest of an old mummy. It let out a piercing screech, lashing at my ears and surging down through my body until every muscle tensed and froze. The blade sunk deeper into its chest as it slumped forward and started disintegrating into dust. I felt a warmness wash over me and flexed my limbs to make sure I could move again.

"I'm trying to be careful, but I can't just take my time," Link complained, sheathing his sword again.

I huffed and reached out a hand towards him. He grabbed me rather roughly and situated me on his back again before we approached the next door.

Easy to get lost in a place like this. They must be hiding something else in here, I mean, you only need so much space to hold your prisoners when they're treated this poorly.

The rooms around this part blended together quite easily. Circular rooms with shackles nailed to the walls, over and over, dead bodies decomposed in corners, some undead, some in eternal rest. My shadow jumped out at me, nipping my ankles or attacking my senses. We opened the next door and were met with the same identical chamber.

A redead stood in the center, where they had all been, taking in loud shallow breaths as if even in death they suffocated.

"This can't be right, we've been here like ten times." Link dropped his shoulders as he scanned the room. Just like each one before, the differences were slight but apparent, a torch here, a big rock there. He shut the door to avoid the redead and trekked back to the center. "There has to be something we missed or something we ignored."

"Maybe you're just paranoid," I mused, although I couldn't shake the memory of the Lost Woods and it's tangling chambers, each one nearly like the rest. Though, that was Ocarina of Time.

Something was off about this part the moment we walked in. I doubt he's paranoid.

Link adjusted my weight, pressing against a sore bone. I winced slightly but brushed it off.

A small jingle rang off the walls and I looked over to see Midna following some trail. Her feet floated over the stone floor until she stopped before the opposing door and placed her hands on its surface. She motioned us over then pointed to Link, instructing him promptly, "I'm gonna turn you into a wolf. I feel something, but I know you can see spirits better than I can." The dark rock from the sword chamber hovered over to him with the snap of her fingers.

"Wait, hold on, I'm not doing-"

"You wanna get out of here? Exactly."

Link's muscles tensed underneath me, but he slowly lowered me to the ground and stood back up to grab the crystal. The moment his fingertips stroked the stone, his body hunched over and turned black. What was once the figure of a man morphed into that of a wolf as the black dissipated, leaving behind thick fur.

Midna chimed, "Do you see anything?"

The wolf shook himself out vigorously, then looked out towards the door. He gave a small nod and Midna smiled, giving him a hard pat. She mounted onto his back, but remembering me, turned around sheepishly.

"Uh...can you walk?"

I braced my hand against the floor, placing my feet under me to the sensation of pain already running up my calf. Before I got up fully, I spotted a spear in one of the skeleton's grasps and took it for a cane. With its help, I stood on wobbling legs and made my way towards them. Midna's face was contorted with concern, the moment I got there getting off of Link's back and gesturing for me to take her place. Gladly, I lied on his back and buried my hand in his fur.

"Okay, maybe later. We should be able to just follow what Link sees without running into anything again. Let's go." She waved at the door and it swung aside, opening to a room that should've had the corpse of a redead strewn among the remains of a few skeletons, but instead it was empty. I sighed in relief as we went all the way in and Midna shut the door.

Link turned sharply the moment it clicked closed, sniffing the air as he headed back to the same door. Although Midna was somewhat hesitant, she opened it again and as before, the room on the other side was safe and empty. Each chamber afterwards came up empty, twisting backward and forward to back again. It must have been ten doors before we finally opened up to a rectangular room with a statue of a woman at the other end. Around her neck sat a sculpted snake. At either side, the only torches in the room illuminated her crumbling skin in blue.

I slid off Link's back as Midna approached, holding out her palm to his forehead. The stone flew out into her shrunken fingers, shifting his fur back to fabric and skin. He got up, pointing at the statue with one hand while scratching a spot on his neck with the other.

"There's something over there, I couldn't see what though." His eyes wandered to me, blinking. "You stay there."

Midna and him ran off towards it, skidding through bones and rags. Dried blood speckled the floor, not yet washed away by time. I scowled, holding my nose at a foul stench that hit my nostrils.

Look over there, does that one look as old as the others to you?

A light pulse flickered in my right temple. I turned to it, spotting the decaying corpse of an unrecognizable body. Its skin was well rotted away, bones protruding, but flesh still clung to it full of bugs that ate heartily. My heart skipped. The two were by the statue then, Link's hand reaching for the woman's snake cautiously. Hesitantly, he touched it.

The two flames of the torches shot away into a corner where the stone floor was covered in sand. On top of the small dune, a large skeleton of a snake lied dead, but the moment the two flames met its eye sockets, it lifted its head.

Link's sword glinted in the distance, Midna's soft glow falling away into shadow. The light in the room dimmed to a hush, showing everything in soft blue silhouettes, nearly inky black. I scanned around frantically, but the snake started to clack its jaw, lowering back to the ground and slithering along the floor. My attention locked on, watching it dash towards me while I had no where to go.

Get up, get up now!

The pain rushed to the back of my mind as I pushed myself onto my leg, taking in a deep breath. It rushed up on me, raising its head and baring its fangs to strike. I leapt up onto my feet at the last moment as its teeth came barreling towards me, tumbling down again after only taking a few strides away. Link slid beside me, swinging widely into the skeleton, but his sword didn't do much but scratch the aged bone.

The snake switched on him instead, taking bites that he dodged narrowly each time. I looked off into the poorly lit scatter of corpses, at the weapons by their sides. Near the door, a spear skidded across the floor from the whip of the snake's tail.

Biting my lip, I braced myself again and got up enough to take my first steps towards it. Link glanced at me, losing focus as it butted him in the chest, throwing him to the ground. I kept going, trampling into strewn femurs and skulls, but getting there. My legs gave out and I fell hard next to the spear, grabbing it tightly in my hand. The snake shot back, startled at the sound, then rushed forward at me.

My eyes widened, taking in its full size growing in my view. I slid back into the wall, trying to press up onto my feet, but it was already rearing its head up. The snake's hiss echoed out from the walls, carrying with it a heavy malice. With a flick, its head surged down, mouth agape with its fangs flashing. My whole body flew up through my throat into a scream, but right before the fangs could meet my flesh, its whole head snapped to the side as Link buried his sword into its right eye.

A crash like shattering glass erupted, releasing the flame from the snake's skull. It writhed for a moment before pulling back and going to strike Link. I scrambled with my spear, pulling myself up with its staff and plunging it forward, using all my strength and timing to hit it right in the socket as Link jumped aside. The skeleton fell to the floor immediately. The last flame flew off, diffusing through the wall and leaving the room in darkness.

"Maizy, are you okay?" Link's voice tugged at me.

"I'm…" I stopped, panting. Somehow, I was still on my feet, but every muscle shook violently. "I'm fine. I'm okay."

"Weird," a voice laughed. It was deep with the same timbre as the Gerudo. His rhythm continued. "Usually the snake work, they run or die, this not normal, yes?"

A second one cackled, matching his amusement. "If they make it this far, might well let them go, yes?"

"Yes," they repeated in unison.

The torches next to the statue lit up with orange flame. I saw Link, his face swinging over to see mine. An odd smile played over his lips as he took me in, but quickly he became wide-eyed again and rushed to me. His arms were a welcome feeling, sweeping me off my aching wounds.

We went back the way we came, the chamber door opening up to the entrance of the never ending rooms rather than to the rooms themselves. Thankfully, the walk back to the main hall was uneventful. The rest was well needed for all of us and although I overworked myself, I felt my wounds closing up faster with each staircase or long hallway.

When we reached the main chamber, two blue flames sat in their place on the columns, flickering in and out. I poked Link's cheek and muttered, "Can we take a break? I want to check my wounds, they feel pretty much healed."

"Of course. Here, let me look them for you."

We sat down at the bottom of the staircase, Link reaching into his pouch and pulling out two blue lanterns and his normal one. I extended my arm to him and he started unraveling the bandages, tossing them on the floor a few feet away. The wounds were now mostly small cuts of shimmering gold. They reflected the lantern light back out, giving my skin an eerily inhuman glow.

Midna popped out, remarking, "Ooh, looks almost good as new. Can you do any of your little magic thingies yet?"

I lifted an eyebrow, but flexed my fingers and tried to draw from my leiyn. The usual flow didn't conjure, nothing zapped out of my hand, everything was still. Biting my lip again, I searched my blood instead, a numb taking over my whole arm through my chest. Link shuddered, grasping at his stomach, but I didn't let go. A bolt of blue scattered through the air, unruly. As I tried to tame it, my muscles began to throb and I gave it up to the emptiness of the chamber. He let go, gasping for air. Despite the attack, he merely winced and brushed it off.

Maybe later. But progress is progress. If you're in a pinch, you have a little bit to work with there.

Link peeled off the rest, instructing me to turn around as he helped me out of his shirt and unwrapped the ones on my chest. Last time, he'd managed to get them off and on with my shirt still on and I didn't understand why he was being so fussy until he handed me my own shirt back. The purple one. I held it for a moment, taking in the stitchings and hole fixes. For some reason, as I put it on, I felt more myself than I had since that silly little outpost.

"I can give you the other pieces later, your skin needs to breathe." He balled up his shirt and shoved it away, turning to Midna who played with the blue flames. With a flick, she opened the glass doors holding in the lights. They scattered out, connecting with their places on the stone torches. The grand door lifted with a groan, clouds of dust shaking off in its wake.

I glanced back down at my wounds, slim and nearly closed. A few more minutes they'd be gone. Hopefully.

We headed up through the doorway, me finally up on my feet. I was sore, but not enough to stop me this time. With enough of my magic restored for healing again, it worked fairly quickly. The door lead to an open lobby, a small archway on the other wall leading to a room lit up by moonlight. There were two other side doors, but the one ahead ended up the most enticing.

The room past the archway was a small quaint colosseum. Well, small for a colosseum. It lead straight to the seating section, going down only a few rows, risen up over the arena by a huge wall. In the middle of the arena a thick sword remained stuck into the ground, ropes tied to its hilt and nailed taut to the stone. Hugging the sword lied a girl, her white hair shone brightly against the rest of the dark.

"Salato!" I raced forward, sitting at the edge of the seating and slipping down into the fighting ring. Link staggered behind me while Midna dodged into his shadow. The girl peered up at me, frowning.

"Maizy? Maizy, no, you need to get out of here," she muttered. Salato's eyes were bloodshot, pleading. Dirt stuck to her cheeks mixed with blood. "I told them...I told them everything. They would've-they were going to-they were gonna k-kill me."

I kneeled down, shaking my head. "Who? You told who?" Destrian's face came up in my mind, his green eyes. Those words from the vision. I gripped my leiyn hard in my fist.

"I-I don't know. But listen to me," she gasped for air, "I couldn't see whether you get out of this alright, but you can change this. Run away, quickly."

"There you are…" Destrian's voice hammered into my ears from the stands. I spun around, eyeing his form jumping down to our level. Link unsheathed his sword immediately, pointing it at him, but Destrian didn't even flinch. "Sorry I'm a little late, had a bit of a mess to clean up back home."

"How'd you know about her?!" I barked. My chest quivered, but I ignored it then.

"Ah, well. Something as valuable as her shouldn't go unchecked. We'd heard of the local fortune tellers, but word gets around when someone truly has a gift. And my what a remarkable gift. First the sands, then this chamber. Whatever's next, I'm sure she'll tell." he leered.

Link's grip loosened. "You-the sand storm, it wasn't the ghosts?"

Destrain chuckled, "Oh, no. No, it was sort of the ghosts. There's a lot of energy in this temple, it's quite easy to play with. I had my fun that's all." He turned to me. "Now, look at you. That was an awful clever trick you pulled. I almost had you back there. I guess third time's a charm. Maybe later though, I have something for you two."

"Don't!" Salato cried.

"Oh, you know you have no choice."

"Please, no-"

Salato stopped suddenly, her breath hitching as Destrian conjured a ball of blue in his hand. She doubled over into the stone, curling up and sobbing.

Destrian let go of the ball and she stopped, pushing herself up to her knees. Her hand reached up to the hilt of the great sword. I stepped back, realizing what she'd gotten herself into. As she grabbed the handle, her sleeve fell, revealing a long dark scar on her arm. More ran down her legs, her feet.

Poor girl. He used his blood to torture her.

I looked at Link suddenly, the understanding pooled in his expression, he knew the pain she was feeling. He pivoted back to Destrian, running up and slicing at his chest. Destrian fell back, blocking his sword with a flicker of red. Before Link could follow up, he smirked and disappeared, one second there the next gone.

Link staggered backwards, scanning around for Destrian, but instead he found Salato. Her eyes were blood red, skin turning an inky black. I reached out to her, but she pulled away, taking with her the sword and the ropes adorned in hanging cards with runes.

"You don't have to do this!" I screamed.

"It's too late." Her face went dark, morphing into a demonic sneer. The moonlight suddenly got shaded, silhouettes of a thousand flickering bugs. Their chirps grew louder as they filtered in through the hole in the ceiling. Locusts surrounded her, as they fluttered they dissipated into cloud of smokey fog.

Salato raised her sword, the full length easily as long as Link or I were tall. She was twice her normal size, glowing red eyes and blackened, charcoal skin. Two twisting horns grew from her head as the locusts landed on her temples. The blade pulsed with light, red lettering etched into its metal. Nothing was untouched except for her snowy white hair.

"What...the fuck." Link gripped his hilt tightly, backing away from the demon.

That sword must have been possessed by something. Those rune cards were holding it in. But at the contact of a host.

"So she's still in there?!" I stared up into her facade.

Yes, but there's nothing you can do to release her. You need to kill her.

I eyed the blade clutched in Link's left hand, its purple hilt as intricate as its design in every artwork laid out in the game manuals. The Blade of Evil's Bane. "We have the Master Sword, we can do anything." I tracked over to him and met his gaze. "Link, don't kill her. If you strike her enough maybe...maybe she'll go back to normal."

Link scowled at me as a low giggle bubbled from Salato's lips. Her girlish chime jingled above a low demonic gurgle, mixing together in unison.

"Please, if nothing changes then...just-you know what to do."

Despite his initial frown, he nodded and went in at her. The moment he came within distance, Salato slammed her sword down, narrowly missing Link and cracking the stone with its weight. I repositioned myself so she was between us. All I could do then was be a distraction. At that point, however, I didn't need to go in.

Link skirted past the blade and swung upward at her hip. She flew back, her feet hovering above the floor before settling back down. I backed away from the range of her sword, watching him run up again. Not yet staggered, Salato prepared to strike, swiping down across the area in front of her. Stumbling back, he tripped before he could get hit.

Clinging to his sword, he stood back up and hesitated. Her attack lagged at the end, having to regain control of the swing as she tried to alter the momentum of the huge weapon. It was this movement that Link eyed carefully before stepping forward again.

"Interesting…" Salato's dual voice whispered.

He rushed in, slicing across. She merely flew aside, but as he went back in to try to catch her off guard, she met his blade with hers and forced it nearly out of his hand. Trying to take advantage of the moment, he recollected himself in a second and stabbed forward. Unfortunately, she'd seen that coming too and dodged to the side.

You think the demon has her abilities as well?

I watched painfully as Link attempted to retreat and Salato swept into his path. She read him like an open book, but his thoughts must've been the only one she tuned into.

"Vox, keep talking. I want to see if we can muddle her hearing. I need to go in."

Summon Creota, maybe that'll add another voice.

"I'll try to get her attention." I reached for my leiyn and pulled out the tiny kitten, letting her loose on the floor. Creota quickly cowered away from Link and Salato exchanging dodges with each other. Every swipe from Salato narrowly missed him by inches each time. As the tiny cat let out a hiss, she peeked her gaze away for a moment, long enough for him to fit in a near hit.

It wasn't enough.

What do I talk about, you want me to annoy you as usual?

"Have fun I guess."

I took in a breath, calming my racing thoughts. If I could run in I could insert myself into the situation. Even if I didn't exchange any blows, my presence would be enough.

I still don't think you should've teleported, but I'm not going to knock you for it. I can see why-

Clenching my teeth, I leapt into a sprint, reaching out my arm to tag her.

-you did it. It's my fault for not telling you what would happen either. I never got to it. I need to train you better. I guess when things didn't go to plan I-

Reaching her side, I saw her glance at me. Link swung up, catching her blade as she threw it up in defense. She quickly knocked him back and turned to me.

-sort of wasn't ready to explain everything. I'm lazy at heart, I think you know that.

"Maizy," Salato muttered.

I ran away, but she traced the path I had laid out in my mind and flew in front of me before I could get far.

You think she can hear me? I wonder if she remembers me.

"Your mind is so full of fear. What are you afraid of? Do I scare you?" Salato's voice was so diminished under the deeper demonic one sitting right above.

Vox's word fell away behind my own pounding thoughts, taking over my brain like a parasite.

I don't want to lose her. I don't want to fail again, every time we end up here someone dies, someone gets hurt.

"And is that really under your control? Is that your fault? Sounds like if you weren't here things might be different."

You might not be here. I shouldn't be here. I was brought here for a reason I don't even know.

"If you shouldn't be here then why don't you just let it all happen? Why don't you let destiny play itself out. Sit idly by and let life leave you peacefully."

And I can't even be honest. How do I explain that I traveled dimensions to get here. That the reason I don't want to mess everything up was because I played it all in a stupid game. I've seen this all before with my eyes. The sky, the dirt, the people, the faces. It's all been played out before and I'm messing it up. I can't tell them I'm from a future where they don't exist.

A piercing pain exploded in my side. My eyes shot open suddenly, Salato's blade shoved right below my ribs. I crumpled into the floor, clutching my hip. Suddenly, she yelped, her clouds following behind as she skirted away. Link's sword was left in the space where she cried, dripping with black blood.

Vox's voice rang back through me like a wind chime.

What were you doing? You were just standing there. I couldn't hear anything.

"She…" I murmured. My wound closed up and I stood again.

Their swords danced back and forth, missing and colliding with sparks. I shook off my delusion and ran towards them. Salato's movements were labored. Her skin turned a feint greyish pale. As I got up to them, I grasped her arm in my elbow. Link pushed forward with a stab, digging it into her stomach.

She screamed, pulling back and pushing me off her. I fell down, watching her writhe at the wound in her torso. The color of her skin retracted, revealing the pink sensitive skin she's always had. Her eyes softened, brown irises blackened in the dark. As she shrunk down, locusts blew off her body, flaking off the sword one by one until her form was just Salato and the blade no longer reflected the moonlight.

The screeches of the bugs ceased and all that was left was the whimpering of a girl on the floor.

I scrambled over to her, heaving her off of her side and onto her back. Link came up behind, pushing up her shirt to look at the first wound, a red deep cut through her stomach. Along the back of her thigh was the other one.

"I'm sorry Maizy I tried," Link pleaded.

Holding her hand, I shook my head. "She'll be fine...she'll be fine right?"

His eyes told the whole story. Nonetheless, I held on.

Although she was still breathing, every moment that slipped by it became more and more labored. She got lost, tumbling over noises and mumbles.

The first tears pricked past my eyes, slipping down my cheeks. I choked back a sob, but it was too much to hold back. Link grabbed my arm, tugging at my grasp. Caught up, I shoved him off, but he persisted and pulled at my shoulder.

"Maize, we can't stay here."

Before he could push me again, a dim blue light appeared over Salato's body. I looked up, staring into the grotesque image of the ghost who had confronted me in the staircase. She looked fondly at me, smiling solemnly.

"I was worried you were lying. But as soon as I felt part of the evil presence leave I came as quickly as I could." The ghost shuddered at the sight of Salato again. "Obviously that thing was more cruel than I expected...I'm sorry."

No words came to my lips. Somehow, she read this and nodded.

"I understand. Here, I've no use of my life force. All it's done is kept me tied to this prison for over a century. It's time I let go."

The girl touched Salato's chest, shutting her eyes. Her light faded slowly, disappearing into the brisk night air. As she fell away with the dust, Salato's wounds closed. I took in a sharp breath, holding her hand tighter.

Despite Link's initial protests, he waited there with me. Time fell by, seconds into minutes. Eventually her breathing evened out again, then color went back to her cheeks. She woke up suddenly, but surely. Panic erupted in her face, but upon seeing us, she fell back into a calmness. Creota trotted over, winding herself up in her lap.

I couldn't say I'd known Salato for long, but seeing life in her tired frame shook me like I watched an old friend wake up again after a long time. Overcome with emotions, I threw my arm around her, hugging her tight. After a moment, she embraced me back, whispering into my ear a small, "Thank you."

I'll never doubt you again, kid.