Gan and Midna's fight was just beginning.

Midna was still on the defensive as Gan drove her down a bridge towards a door. Gan, admittedly her better, was trying to end the fight quickly as possible, and getting closer and closer to her with each swing. Midna, herself, was holding back. She had no clue if Gan was actually himself, despite earlier evidence, but Ganon could know things if he inhabits her friend. In an attempt to create space, she made and upward strike and twirl, successfully making Gan readjust himself. However, he came back as quickly as Midna made him leave, but Midna made a quick move that had her tangled her arms with Gan, crashing her blades on his lower one. Angered, Gan pushed her away, and pushed her towards the door.

It opened, and allowed both combatants to enter without interrupting their clash of blades. They continued into the room, ignoring the area around them. Midna led Gan to her left, unknowingly keeping him close to the wall. Gan unfortunately did notice, and took advantage, trapping Midna's sword between the wall and his sword. Using his free hand, he grabbed Midna by the neck and lifted her off the ground and upon the wall. Midna struggled to fight her opponent, but his strength-whether it is truly his or a product of his new power-wasn't easily overpowered.

Words, however, weren't restricted. "Gan… I don't know if this is truly you or not, but if it isn't, fight the beast... You're not his slave."

"You are right. I am not his slave. I am in control."

"How...do I know?" Gan decided not to answer verbally, instead throwing the girl across the room to the floor. She landed on her back, and watched painfully as Gan kicked her blade to her...instead of outright killing her when he had the opportunity. That was Gan alright, preferring a noble kill instead of an easy one. He was in control, or Ganon knew his host's mind.

"Up, Twilight Princess." Oh, now that got Midna going. Gan was definitely in control, for only he and he alone called her that. She stood up and charged forward, nearly making Gan stumble on his feet. Her red eyes glowed furiously, her sword enforcing it, as sparks flew as the blades clashed. Midna finally had the upper hand, as now her doubts were cast aside.

Gan was Gan, and that was enough to make her fight at her best.

"Ooofff!" Link felt himself hit the ground for what could be the fifth time in a fight against Horsehead. His opponent turned around, snorting in annoyance. Link saw red and opportunity, quickly rising to strike at Horsehead's back. However, the horseman turned in time to dodge the attack, turning around to taunt with his mace. Link faced Horsehead again, and began to defend himself as the Imperial warlord strongly swung his weapon. Link felt a cold wall at his back, but before he could move, the Master Sword came up to block a potential killing blow. Smirking, Horsehead pressed further into the lock, pushing the winged hilt of Link's sword into his left shoulder. It eventually caved deep enough that it broke past Link's skin.

"AHHH!" Link roared as his own blade was used against him, and ducked as Horsehead attempted to assassinate the Hero again. Mostly in result of his pain and his anger over Zelda being hurt, Link switched to his right hand and struck Horsehead across the cheek. IN response, Horsehead stumbled, hissing as blood seeped from the wound. It brought Horsehead to his knees as he groaned, trying to cover the flow of blood. It definitely hurt the Imperial, but it was barely a minor cut, so Horsehead's reaction confused Link, until he saw a peculiar sight coming from Horsehead's cheek.

Dark purple smoke. It was light in amount, but visible enough that Link had figured out why Horsehead "overreacted" - his head was his weak spot. From Shade's stories, Horsehead was a boss of a dungeon of the Hero of Hyrule's past, and like King Dodongo and Aquamentus, he had a weak spot. Shade never told him, probably to allow the younger Hero to learn on his own.

Link, tending to his wound, smiled. "Got a headache, huh?" Horsehead raged and turned his mace upon Link, catching the Master Sword under its wings and forcing it from Link's hands. He then punched the Hero in his face, and battered Link's back. The Hero collapsed, and felt Horsehead stand on the new wound. The Imperial grabbed Link's head, and pressed it against the floor. Link had to speak through the pain. "You know, this is kinda kinky."

"Now, Hero, you will die."

Despite the situation, Link felt like he had to die on Horsehead's last nerves. "You tried killing me twice and failed. I do hope third time's the charm."

Horsehead lifted his mace. "I do so too." He lifted the mace, and was in the process of bringing it down when a surprise from elsewhere in the room blasted him off of Link. Horsehead caught himself and looked to the source of the attack came from. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was to both horseman and hero boy.

"Princess."

"Zelda?"

The girl in question walked to her fallen, setting a potion by his side. Rising back to full height, Zelda faced Horsehead, unarmed, making the horseman confused. "Is this what you plan on doing? Hitting me with magic? No sword? You disappoint me, Princess."

"I have a weapon." Zelda outstretched her right hand, and in flew the Master Sword, surprising both Horsehead and Link. She held it in her hands without trouble, and in response to her touch, it glowed just as it had in Link and Shade's. Smirking at Horsehead's astonishment, Zelda stepped away from Link, twirling the sacred blade. If anything, she believed Horsehead was spooked. "Didn't expect this, did ya?"

"H-h-how is that possible?! Only the chosen hero can wield the sword!"

Zelda nodded, and looked at the blade. "That's true, but there's a story behind the sword. Apparently the Master Sword, crafted by the hero, was originally the blade of Her Grace, Hylia, before she became mortal. We should know who is the reincarnated Hylia." Zelda raised her eyebrow at Horsehead, and got into a readied stance. "Seeing as Link can't do the job, I guess I'll have to." Before Horsehead could retort, Zelda immediately engaged him, planning to end the battle that began a few days ago.

She found the sword quite weighty, given her preference for lighter weapons like her katana, but she felt the broadsword adjust to her as if it had a mind of its own. As she got use to it, she found herself able to attack Horsehead instead of defending. It wasn't of much use, though. The horseman was clearly stronger and better with his weapon than she was with hers. He had the upper. She darted from Horsehead as she entered the adjacent room,trying to create as much space as possible. She continued to rush around the room, fighting Horsehead only when she saw opportunity or he got too close.

Horsehead seemed to enjoy watching his prey move like a scared rabbit, putting all his power into his strikes. Wounded as he was, he found her lack of defense amusing, and as he backed her into a corner, fought her even harder.

Cornered, Zelda tried using her magic to aid her, but Horsehead batted each attempt away, and quickly disabled her arm, doing to her what he did to Link. She cried out, sinking to the floor, holding her shoulder as Horsehead stood over her. He grunted his displeasure, kicking the Master Sword away. "Pitiful, the Hero and Princess are. How would you even stand up to my master?"

"I haven't given up, ass."

Horsehead smiled at the insult and swung at Zelda's working shoulder. He didn't hit it as hard as he wanted to, but the resulting crack and her cries were enough to sate him. "Anymore insults, Princess, or shall I end it now?" She continued to cry, giving Horsehead enough of an answer. "Oh well." Horsehead raised his mace, but instead of bringing it down, a sword penetrated his neck. It was removed, and Horsehead began to choke on blood. Dropping his mace away from Zelda, the Imperial turned to see Link holding the Master Sword, blood on its tip.

Spryte zipped up to Horsehead's face, crossing her arms. "That's for Ordon. This is for us." Link swung the sword, separating head and body of Horsehead. The Imperial fell to the ground, his body slowly decomposing into the purple mist all evil forms from. Sheathing the blade, Link looked to Zelda, seeing what Horsehead did to her. Picking her up, Link looked to his fairy, who looked disgusted by Horsehead's dead body.

"Spryte, it is done. Get us out of here."

"Will do."

Gan did his best to maintain his balance on the pipe as Midna leaped down to join him. He walked back as she moved forward, their weapons barely swaying against each other. He held his sword forward defensively, prepared for any attack she might attempt.

To be honest, he didn't want to fight her, but she had pushed it. Calling him a traitor, rejecting his power… He did it all for her and the Resistance. He knew what was inside him was not good, but victory comes at any cost. Din be damned if the Hero and Princess decide to jump in on his parade. With Ganon's power, he'll be unstoppable.

If Midna needed a first-hand account of this, he'll give it.

He struck at her, their blades colliding and off-centering them. Once they regained it, using their magic to keep their balance, they continued their dance, Midna hitting harder than ever. She had upped her game recently, heavily taking on the offensive. She almost threw Gan off balance again until he leaped to a lower platform, she joining him soon after for another clash. She moved his blade aside at one point and punch him in the face, making him step back. Throwing her hand forward, she summoned a ball and charged it up. She fired soon after, but Gan flipped over, once more clashing steel against steel.

She pushed him down the platform to its end, and in an effort to get on the offensive, he swiped for her legs, but she leaped over and onto the adjacent platform. He furiously attacked her, but she seemed to mimic him instead of defending, causing the blades to pushed away from each other with much more force than it should. Sparks flew, noise echoed, and tempers burned as Gan and Midna fought on and on. It wasn't until they were at the platform's end that lava spewed onto it, eating away the metal and breaking the platform in two. Midna pushed Gan back and ran for cover from the molten rock, Gan joining her in another spot soon after.

Gan looked at the raining rock and the weakening platform as he formulates just how the hell he would survive when it finally fell. The only solution seemed to be grabbing the platform if it went vertically.

"End this battle, and claim your power."

The downside of gaining Ganon's power was that he also had his ancestor speaking to him on occasion. Most time it was a command, but ever since the battle with Midna began, he had been quiet until now. "I'm working on it, bacon breath."

"Work harder."

"Whatever." The platform began to fall, and Gan raced to the longer side of it. Midna followed, both hanging onto a ledge for dear life as the platform, its side now the bottom, began floating on the river of lava.

The Imperials had retreated.

Group after group, the monsters ran straight towards the portals that had appeared shortly after the attack of the mechanical beast. Weak as the blast was, that meant that Hilda and her group had taken its power. Still, some of the monsters tried to keep fighting, but numbers failed to work as the pass added to the Resistance advantage. To make the day even brighter, Horsehead and Zant were dead.

In General Auru's book, that was the second victory of the Resistance.

He had made his way to the main camp of the largely gone Imperial force, flanked by Error and Bagu. as they looked over the scavenging rebels. In his orders, if it could be used, it could be kept.

"You know, General, I didn't think it would end like this."

Error questioned his friend with disbelief. "What do you mean, Bagu?"

"I thought we'll win, sure, but on the scale we did… We stopped the beast, killed Horsehead and Zant… You gotta admit, this was a great victory."

Auru nodded, turning his attention to the entrance of Ganon's former lair. He hadn't heard from Shade, Link, or Zelda about Midna or Gan, and wondered if they had been found yet. He hoped. He desperately hoped Midna and the boy were found safe and sound.

He looked up to the sky, seeing Hilda, Ravio, Oren, and Ralph come down from the summit of the mountain on the Loftwing and the blue bear. They landed in the middle of the encampment, and were immediately encircled by their fellow rebels. Auru nodded his acknowledgment of them but returned his eyes to the entrance of the dungeon.

He saw a spark of green and gold, and out came Link, carrying a wounded Zelda. Flying beside him was their fairy Spyrte, but no Midna. No Gan. No Shade.

Auru began to fear the worst.

"Sir." Auru looked down to Ravio, who was handing him the final Pendant of Virtue, Power. It was last with Midna… He took the pendant, blinking his eyes to force back the tears that threatened to appear. They both heard Link come to join them, holding both Courage and Wisdom around his neck. Auru handed him the third pendant,

"Zelda is hurt, but nothing that cannot be healed."

Auru nodded. "Go be with her. But have you seen Midna?"

Link nodded. "She was with Shade, last time I saw her."

"Yes, she was." The group turned to Shade, limping towards them. He looked sternly at Auru, a pang of regret there as well. He paused by Link's side, enough to see Zelda being carried away by a few medics. Turning back to Auru, he saw the desperation on his face, like a father would have for a daughter. He shook his head, looking away. "I had her, but she went for Gan… You're not going to like what I have to say."

Gan and Midna continued their fight, despite Gan putting himself in much danger. Midna could take his legs at any moment, and she had a better angle to use her sword than he did. Add in the fact that they were on a melting platform, riding on a lava river, headed straight for a drop, he was getting quite frantic.

Midna, on her end, was quite tired and wanted to get the fight over with, whether Gan is alive or not. She couldn't let his ancestor return. But she had to get off this damn platform before it fell over the edge. Her hand miraculously grabbed a rope, and found it loose, she pushed herself off the platform, swinging in the air. As she swung back, passing her opponent, she spotted a rock, large and flat enough for her to stand on. She went for it, using her magic to make herself light as a feather and land without pushing the rock below the lava's surface. She turned around to see the platform began to fall over the edge, no Gan in sight.

It hurt her immensely, seeing her best friend and the guy she loved meeting his end, but she had...wait. She spotted Gan, running along the side of the platform, and take an enormous leap off it to another rock just a few feet away. He landed just as she did, and rose from his knelt position, flashing his white teeth with the snarkiest grin he ever bore. His eyes flash gold, and if you add the background of the pulsing lava, it made him look terribly evil.

Oh, add in his laugh. That deep, short, thundering laugh.

They fought once more, but their energy from directing the rocks' movement and the previous time fighting and using magic to protect themselves from the heat was draining them. Even Gan, relying on the dark lord for power, was tired. They broke off from each other, staring each other down, taking deep breaths. Midna's face softened, and she tried only last time to appeal to Gan, while her will to not kill him was up.

"Gan, I don't want to kill you. I love you. Let's end this, and go home."

Gan frowned. "If you love me, why won't you accept my power? The one we need to defeat the Imperials?"

"We don't need Ganon's power! But I need you! Let go of that evil!"

"From my point of view, it is not evil, and we need it."

Her will to let Gan live was immediately cast aside. Her face darkened, her tone lowered. "Then you are dead to me."

Gan chuckled as he cruised around Midna, twirling his sword. "No, this is the end for you, my friend." He flipped over Midna, landing on the other side of her larger and more spacious rock as they battled again. It tired them out more, but neither felt the will to lose, even as they clashed once again, hoping to push the other off. It was Midna that relented, flipping away and landing on land. Gan directed Midna's former rock to face her, thinking about what to do.

She sheathed her sword, feeling too weak to continue. She hadn't used as much magic as she though, so why was she so drained? "Gan… Stop…"

"Kill her. Now."

Gan noticed this, and within, something clicked that snapped him out of his power-lusted mind. "Midna?" Stepping off the platform, he walked to Midna, who lacked the strength to even draw her sword as he came closer. He didn't sheath his. He probed Midna, sensing that her magic was indeed drained, and...tainted? He sensed a dark presence in her, and once he recognized it, it explained why she was about to pass out.

Zant.

Midna collapsed, Gan barely catching her. "Midna, stay with me. I'm going to get you out of here."

"Kill her!"

Gan growled and slapped himself. "Get out of my head!"

"...Gan…" Gan felt her slip into unconsciousness, and a light enclosed her. It began to shrink in Gan's hands, until it fit both his arms like a baby. When the light vanish, Gan had a smaller, impish version of his friend. Her head was large, her body slim and curvy. Her hair was morphed into a hand-shaped ponytail. He rest her minute arms on her chest, and sighed. He didn't know if Auru had been informed or not, but he had to get her back to him.

"Forget the girl-"

"Will you shut up!" Ganon did quiet, allowing Gan to focus on finding the leader of the Resistance. He felt himself pulled and pushed from one place to another as he teleported to Auru's location, landing in the middle of the Imperial camp swarmed by the rebels. Everyone paused as Gan appeared with the imp. He didn't have to look far for General Auru either. He stood on higher ground, watching Gan as well as the other generals, Ralph, Ravio, Hilda, a Zora, the former Hero, and another Hylian. It didn't take long to notice who he was. Gan ignored them as he made it through the sea of rebels up to Auru, who had his hand on the hilt of his blade.

He knew. So did the others in the group. He saw the shock, the betrayal, the distrust in their eyes, but he didn't care. All he cared about now was Midna's safety.

Keeping his distance, he outstretched his hands to Auru, who looked upon the black, gray, and blue form in confusion. "It's her." Auru looked up at Gan, almost accusingly, forcing Gan to clear the air. "Zant did this."

Ravio frowned. "He's dead."

"Then this was his final deed." Auru took the girl in his hands, looking at her like a newborn. He didn't look back at Gan. "I don't know if I should thank you or-"

"I don't want it nor need it, General... But know this, I did not betray you or the Resistance. But if that's how you feel... Tell Midna I'm sorry." Gan turned on his heel, walking back down from where he came. He paused a moment, and turned to Link, the three pendants around his necks. He looked up to Link's eyes, and a pang of familiarity hit both of them. The feeling of an age old animosity. "Where is she? The princess?"

Link walked up to Gan, a head shorter than the other but that didn't faze him. "Don't worry about it."

"Hmph." Having some unfinished business with Ganon's lair, Gan scoffed and continued walking away, quickly walking back to the lair. All eyes went to General Auru, still gazing upon the transformed Midna.

"Sir?"

"...Let's get back to Kakariko."

Error tapped Auru's shoulder, pointing up to the sky. "That's not why I called you." Auru looked up to the sky, as did many of the rebels, gasping as he saw a flying machine, similar in makeup to the beast on the ground. It had a new means of attacking the Resistance this time, with a robotic force, both aerial and ground, racing down from the bird-like beast and down the mountain.

"Like I said, let's get back to Kakariko!"