With a violent discharge of darkness, Nelo appeared in front of the dungeon, with Porter appearing not moments after. While Porter took a moment to steel his stomach, Nelo pushed aside any uneasiness and assessed the situation. There were three scorch marks around the entrance, two where the guards were supposed to be stationed, and one near the entrance. There were minimal remains, only some soot and slag, but Nelo didn't need any more clues to know what happened. Nelo moved towards the entrance.

"What are you doing?" Porter hissed. "We can't go in there alone, we should wait until Kara brings reinforcements!"

"The longer we wait," Nelo growled. "The longer we give our enemy to act. Maybe you're right, maybe if we go down, we'll end up like those stains on the wall." She said, gesturing to the scorch marks. "But we'll slow them down, buy time for our back up to arrive. I have sworn to protect Hyrule, and I am willing to do so with my life." She glared at Porter. "Can you say the same, Porter?" Her eyes narrowed. "You talk a lot, make a lot noise, little Porter. You were fine, staying with the Princess, staying safe." She went silent. "I know you hate me. Get over it. We have a job to do, and you're wasting my time. I won't wait for you." She charged into the dungeon, fading from view.

The guard tapped his foot incessantly, the sound of metal against stone ringing through the dungeon. While he may have tried to avoid the fact, he was afraid. He was old enough to remember the war with the Interlopers, and from how everyone in the castle was reacting, a war, or battle, on a similar scale had begun. That alone had him on edge, but what was worse was how he was in the very depths of the dungeon, deep below the castle, guarding quite possibly the most dangerous prisoner in Hyrule.

And the prisoner was doing everything to get on the guards nerves.

"What's your name? I feel I should know the name of my captors."

The guard tightened his grip on his spear. He had decided not to respond to the prisoner, and couldn't wait until he was relieved.

"I have to set an example, you see?" The prisoners voice rumbled. "As king, the way I act reflects on my people. I cannot betray their trust in me."

The guard gritted his teeth. Surely he should be relieved by now.

From behind the door, the prisoner shifted, suddenly oddly silent. "Hmm. That was quick."

The guard frowned. "Quick? What are you on about?"

"Oh, so you could hear me."

The guard scowled. "Don't mock me."

The prisoner chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Silence. "What did you mean, quick?"

"Quick, as in fast." The prisoner replied. "You know what fast means, don't you Cale?"

The guard's face went white. "You said you didn't know my name."

The prisoner shrugged. "I lied. Besides, it served its purpose."

The guard turned to look through the door. "What does that mean? What purpose?"

"Multiple reasons. To amuse myself," From within the darkness of the cell, the king flashed his teeth. "And to distract you, of course."

From the staircase, something short forward, shining in the torchlight. The guard swung around and the object, an icicle, speared his throat, pinning him to the door. White his throat torn, the only sound he could make was a gurgle. His spear clattered to the ground, and he brought his hands to the icicle, trying feebly to keep himself from bleeding out, even though he could feel warm blood pouring into his lungs, and taste it on his tongue. Within minutes he would be dead.

From the shadows, the Witches emerges, cackling. The guard, not dead yet, tried to reach for his weapon, still naively gripping to life. Koume flicked her wrist, and the weapon clattered further out of reach, and the guard spluttered in defeat, before the witch pointed at him and grinned, a whirlwind of flames enveloped both him and the door, and roar of the flames drowning out any sounds he could have made, and when the flames dies away, the witches moved forwards and into the cell.

"Well well well, look who it is?" Koume laughed.

"My my," Kotake chuckled. "You hadn't contacted us in such a long time. We were getting worried."

"Very worried. How rude of you to make your mothers worry like that."

The prisoner chuckled. "It has been too long. I was wondering what would cause the two of you to take such a long time to even attempt to rescue me, that I begun thinking that when I do get free, I would have to… punish… my mothers for allowing their king to suffer in such a way."

"Now now!" Kotake wagged her finger. "That's no way to say hello."

Koume shook her head. "We didn't raise someone so disrespectful!"

"We did all we could sister." Kotake place a hand on her sister. "We can't be blamed for his mistakes."

The prisoner narrowed his eyes. "My mistakes?" Before they could defend their words, he prisoner exerted his will on them. They tried to respond, but their lungs failed to grant them air. They grasped at their throats, trying to breath, but their bodies seemed to have forgotten how to do so. Once the witches had fallen to their knees, the prisoner released them, leaving both gasping for air. "Do not be mistaken. My imprisonment has not dwindled my strength or my will, and it has not made me any more forgiving."

Koume coughed. "Always was a feisty one, wasn't he?"

"Yes." Kotake groaned. "We did raise him like that."

"There's a pride in that, wouldn't you say?" Koume responded, shakily standing up. "Though I wonder, if you can still access your magic, why do you need us?"

The prisoner tapped the topaz inlaid into his skull. "Our link is the only reason I have any sway over you. My magic is sealed away from me. I can still feel it, dwelling within, out of reach." He moved his arm forward, indicating to the clamp on his arm. "So get to work."

Kotake tapped the lock of the cell, frost building inside until the mechanism ruptured, and opened the cell door. "We must work quickly. Free the arms, then the legs."

The witches moved into the cell and began to work.

Nelo sprinted down the stairs, ignoring the dead body strewn at the entrance to each level. They had done their duty, and she could not allow their sacrifice to be pointless.

The thought had crossed her mind to simply teleport there, but it had been quickly ruled out. she had no idea what was down their, meaning she could teleport directly in front of the enemy, and with the potential uneasiness that could come after teleporting made it a possibly fatal option.

As she neared the lowest level, the slowed herself, shifting her priorities from speed to silence. She could hear figures, not far from her, and as got to the last spiral in the stairway, pressed herself against the walls. She took a moment to slow her breathing, calming herself, and not long after, the meek Porter joined her.

"They've only just begun." She informed Porter. "If we can catch them off guard, we may be able to end this ourselves. There's a room about four meters long and three meters wide before the cell, small doorway that could be used as a choke point if needed." She peered around the corner slightly. "We want to stay out of the cell itself. Most of the room is cut off with steel bars, barely enough room to move around." She turned to Porter and gestured to her Katana. "Could you help me unsheathe this?" He did, carefully removing the scabbard and leaving the sword in her hand, and was instructed to place the scabbard on one of the steps, so it wouldn't fall and create noise. Once that was done, he drew a pair of knives and brandished them, ready for action. They crept into the room, keeping to the walls, eyes on the open doorway, ears listening to those inside. They were silent, cautious. Porter hesitated. Nelo didn't.

Nelo soundlessly charged into the cell, ready to attack, but was instantly blasted against the wall.

"Ho ho ho!" Kotake laughed. "Looks like they decided to stop us."

"Hee!" Koume smirked. "You take care of them. I can free our son myself."

Nelo gasped for breath. They never had the element of surprise. The witches had expected resistance and made countermeasures. She stood up. I said I was willing to give my life for Hyrule, she thought. I might have to make good on that promise. She brandished her weapon and charged. Kotake shot arrow-like icicles through the steel bars, which Nelo barely avoided. She moved to enter the part of the cell with the gerudo, only for a blast of frozen air force her back into the room behind her. She shot a glare at Porter then returned her gaze to the witch.

Kotake shuffled into the room, chuckling as she did so. The witch shot a grin at Porter, then returned her gaze to Nelo. "Don't you know better than to interrupt a family reunion?" She flexed her fingers, and the room became cold. "You should act more like your friend over there." Suddenly she flicked her wrists upwards, and Nelo barely had time to jump away before spears of ice burst out from beneath her. Porter lunged forwards with his knives, but Kotake was nimble, darting under his attack, ice building on her hand, forming a blade of her own, and jabbed it at him, grazing his side, surprising him enough to cause him to involuntarily retreat.

Nelo surged forwards, taking a couple of slashes at the witch, both of which her blocked with shields of ice. Kotake clenched her fist, shattering all the ice in the room and bombarding the sheikah with tiny shards, none of which were deadly, but they still drew blood. Nelo hissed in pain and took another swipe, anticipating the witch would dodge, which she did, before reversing her grip while keeping the blade in the same place and going to stab. Kotake was caught off guard, recoiling to avoid the attack, the blade managing to cut the skin on her cheek and nose. Surprised by the stinging pain, she scowled and threw Nelo across the room, who shifted midair and landed with both feet planted against the wall, then leapt off right back at Kotake, blade aimed at the witches neck, but Kotake was ready. An icicle shot out of the ground, the tip pointed directly at Nelo. With no other option, Nelo slipped into the shadows and appeared behind the witch, her displacement causing her to only hit the witch's shoulder with her own body before hitting the ground on her left arm, sending white hot pain through her body, temporarily paralysing her.

Kotake had been thrown a quarter of the way through the room but recovered quickly, and with little more than a glare, pointed at the groaning Nelo, but before the sheikah could be skewered to death, Porter threw a knife at the witch, diverting her attention. Kotake brought her hands up, portals between both fingers, the knife going into one and the other throwing it back. Porter caught the weapon and changed shot going on the full offensive, darting around Kotake and making quick jabs. In this time, the pain Nelo felt faded from skull splitting to excruciating. Biting her tongue, he forced herself to her feet and gripped her weapon. Porter had manoeuvred around the witch, forcing her into the centre of the room with the sheikah at each end. Porter jumped back, eying Kotake with his knives close to his body.

Kotake sneered. "The two of you are beginning to test my patience." Neither of the sheikah responded, the red eyes fixed on the witch, who stood still, hunched in the centre of the room. A moment passed, then Porter felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and he instinctually jumped to the side, a stream of flame pouring out of the cell and at where his body had just been, with both Kotake and Nelo ducked under it. Nelo looked up to see Kotake grinning then splaying her hands. "Don't worry sister, I've got this!" Nelo felt frost nip at her nose, and she rolled to the side as an icicle shot out of the ground, before shooting to her feet as another shot out of the ground. Another shot out of the wall, forcing her to jump back. Porter tried to go for Kotake, but another icicle shot out from the ceiling, hitting his arm, causing him to stumble, and he shifted into a roll to avoid a pair of icicles moved to spear him. Icicles continuously formed, the sheikah forced to focus all their efforts into dodging the assault.

It didn't take long for Nelo to realise that if it continued they would run out of space and eventually have nowhere to move. "Porter! Break them!" She ordered, emphasising the sentence with a swipe of her sword that shattered several icicles. Porter nodded, opting to destroy them as they appeared. Nelo built up magic into her sword and, when she had a moment to breath, drove it into the floor, discharging the energy, shattering those close and breaking those further away. As soon as she did, all broken icicles and shards of ice flew to Kotake, forming a maelstrom around her. From within, Nelo could see her bug-like eyes burning. The witch slammed her hand against the ground, and a sheet of ice instantly formed over it. Nelo used her sword to steady herself, and in the moment she looked away, the maelstrom shifted, the icicles pointed at both of them. When she looked up, and they flew. Using her sword as support, she leapt to the wall and used her magic to secure herself, allowing her to turn her focus to the attack. She deflected two icicles with her sword before leaping to the other wall. Porter had done the same, not stay still long enough for him to need to defend himself. Kotake fired a blasts of ice from her hands, alternating between targets.

Porter threw a knife at the witch, who shattered it with a frost laced backhand. However, this meant the witch couldn't fire her magic, so Porter gathered magic in his now free hand and fell to the ground, slamming the hand against the carpet of ice and discharging, reducing it to snow and causing Kotake to stumble, creating a parting in the maelstrom. Porter saw the opportunity and attacked, bringing his knife down to slit the witches throat. Kotake, however, was not so easily caught of guard, and when Porter drew close, she batted away his arm, freezing the blood and flesh, and formed an icicle in each hand, which she then drove deep into both sides of Porter's skull, before tossing his body into the snow and turning her gaze to Nelo, barely even acknowledging the life she had just taken. Nelo stood at the base of the stairway, her cold red eyes fixed on the witch.

Kotake raised her hand, and the maelstrom became still. "Think you can take all of this?" Nelo was silent. "Well," the witch continued. "you'll never know if you never try." With a point at Nelo, the onslaught began.

Nelo forged forwards, using her sword as a conduit for her magic to destroy every attack that was launched at her. She needed to chip away at the witch's defences, open her up, so that maybe, just maybe, she could win. Shards of ice tore at her. One sliced through her shoulder, another cut a gash just above her right eye, causing blood to trickling into the eye, and the sheer amount of cuts on her sword hand made it slick with blood. After almost a minute of a continuous onslaught, no more ice came, and after a moment of confusion, Nelo looked at the witch, who just stood there, as if inviting her to attack. Nelo panted, glaring, not daring to move. Should could hear noises from within the cell, sounds of Koume working with the chains. She may have been delaying the witch from harming her, but the witch was delaying her from doing her duty. She pursed her lips. She took a step forwards.

Instantly, spears of ice erupted from the ceiling and floor, forcing Nelo to charge forwards. Ice began to cling to her feet, slowing her down. Panicking, Nelo sprung forwards, making a wild jumping slash at Kotake. As Nelo came down, the witch smiled, and a shield of solid ice intercepted Nelo's weapon, and her sword smashed against it, leaving Nelo with only a hilt with a sharp shard of steel. In the seconds when the swing ended, she realised she had been tricked, that everything that just happened had proceeded as the witch had planned, but she refused to accept this was the end. Not like this. She could she magic build in Kotake's hand, a hand that was coming down, down, to kill her. She couldn't stop the hand. She barely had a knife in her hand. All she could do was die fighting.

Nelo bit down on her cowl and, like lightning, reversed her grip and and slashed at the witches throat. Kotake saw this and was caught off guard, knowing she wasn't fast enough to create anything to protect her, to stop the incoming attack that might be able to possibly kill her, and made a desperate effort to protect herself, bringing her magic laced hand to intercept the attack, and when when Nelo's steel pierced the witch's hand, the magic was released, freezing the hilt of the blade and Nelo's hand to the witch's splayed hand, with the shard through her palm, caught mere centimetres from her throat.

Kotake gasped, grabbing at Nelo's arm in pain. Nelo twisted the hilt and, ignoring the burn of ice, wretched what remained of her weapon skywards, tearing the witch's hand in half, and more. Kotake let out an inhuman scream, cradling her ruined hand. Nelo went in to attack again, but underestimated the witch. Acting on both basic instinct and primal hate, Kotake threw her free, bloody hand at Nelo, sending an arrow if ice directly into the sheikah's gut, with enough force to pin her to the far wall. Nelo gasped. The feeling of burning cold ice mixed with the earth of her own blood. She tasted bile.

"Sister!" Koume howled from within the cell.

"Keep working!" Kotake managed to gasp out. She brought her ruined hand up to her other hand, which dispensed threads of magic that attached to her ruined hand. Moving her fingers furiously, Kotake began to knit the tendons, veins, flesh and bones back together in agonising process. "How. Are. You. Going?!"

"I've released the one on his right arm and have begun on his left." Her sister replied.

Kotake shifted her baleful glare to Nelo. "You have caused far too much trouble."

Nelo croaked. She had done all she could. She had served the King as best she could. Death seemed inevitable. Well, she thought to herself, might as well have the last laugh. Using her frozen hand to guide it, she brought up her broken arm and, ignoring the daggers of pain in her mind, raised her middle finger. "Long live Hyrule," she gave a week grin. "and go fuck yourself, you bug eyed shit."

Kotake narrowed her eyes, frost forming around her, when a sword came out of the darkness and slashed at her, forcing her to jump back. Behind the ringing in her ears, Nelo could hear the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs. Kotake went to attack her dark assailant, only for more figures to emerge from the shadows. Sheikah.

The first man on the scene inched over to Nelo, blade pointed at the witch. "Stay with us, Nelo." Kara urged. "We're not done yet."

Nelo let out a weak laugh. "Took you long enough. I did all the hard work."

Knights surged into the room, spears and swords drawn. Kotake took a step back, hissing. She dived into the cell, sealing the entrance with a wall of ice.

"Break it down!" Kara ordered, and two sheikah moved forward, summoning their magic. Kara then pointed to Nelo. "We need to get her out of here and healed. Don't remove the ice! It's probably all that's keeping her from bleeding out." A pair of knights moved forwards and, with some resistance, separated Nelo from the wall and began ascending the stairs.

On the other side of the wall, Kotake staggered over to her sister. "We're… out… of time." She gritted her teeth.

"Hold on, sister!" Koume was working furiously on the lock. "I've almost got it! Then just the legs and we-"

"Go."

The witches froze, slowly turning to their son. "What."

"Go." He repeated. "Leave. This escapade has failed. Leave. Don't let the two of you get captured or killed."

"Don't be stupid!" Koume spat. "We've got you free! This can't be a waste-"

"Do not defy me." He growled. "There will be more opportunities, and as long as you are there to capitalise on them, I can wait."

"My king… my son…" Kotake whispered. "We can't leave you here! We can't leave you like this!"

"There will come a time when I am free, and those that put me here will be punished, along with those that failed me, but it is not now. We the opportunity comes again, it must be swift, secret, and planned out. It cannot be this… spur of the moment action. Do not be foolishly brave, for cowards live longer." The witches glanced at each other, and he glared. "I order you, as King, to leave me. Now."

With a moment of hesitation, the witches began to summon a storm of flame and frost, engulfing them, building in intensity until it petered out, leaving nothing behind but scorched and scarred stone.

Seconds later, the wall of ice was destroyed, and the sheikah charged in, only to find the prisoner, slumped against the wall, with every limb in chains.

"Greetings." The prisoner smirked. "And what can I do for you?"

Kara stepped forwards and clenched his jaw. "Where are the witches?"

"Witches?" The prisoner seemed to mull over the word. "Witches. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kara swallowed. He knew that they would get nothing out of the prisoner, and he abandoned any further questions. He ordered the other sheikah to guard him until further orders, and for all but four of the knights to return to their posts.

As he was leaving, the prisoner called out to him. "Though isn't it rude to call someone's mother a witch?"

Kara turned to face the prisoner, who was giving a wolf like smile. Kara stared at him for a moment, then continued to the stairs.

The prisoner dropped his smile. He would have to endure this humiliation for a while longer. When he did get free, though, there would be hell to pay. Everyone that was responsible would be made to suffer, and then… the power of the Goddesses would be his. It would be worth it. It was a simple matter of another time, and another plan. Perhaps a hostage would-

Just steal a royal.

His expression darkened. That child could predict the way he thought. Did he warn the sheikah of Twinrova? It was a possibility he could not rule out. There was something about him, the boy in green, that made the prisoner pause. A time would come when he was free, and he was sure that the boy would be there to face him. The prisoner closed his eyes, visualising the child, etching the face into his mind. The child was a fool for revealing himself as an enemy.

Yes, a face to remember, indeed.

Greetings. Took me a while, but I got this done, and I'm rather proud of it. Got to show off half of Twinrova, a fight scene that took me a while to visualise and write down, and a bit of teasing on ol' Ganny and Linky boy. (I'm not sorry). But yeah, no Ganondorf anytime soon, I'm building to it. Expect him in the later parts. He's gonna be badass, I promise. The Swordsman won't overshadow him, I swear. Ganondorf is too great a villain for me to push to the side. Same with Nelo. She serves her purpose in the story, but she's not going to take anything away from the existing characters.

Also, you know that video I mentioned way back in my notes at the end of chapter 21? The first anniversary chapter? I found it. Here it is - watch?v=FXpiRzumrVY

Still haven't got Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Damn it.

Please, if you like this fanfic, send a review. It can criticise or complement, but it keeps me motivated. Hearing that anyone likes it really warms my heart.

We're coming to the end of part one, thank you all for sticking around this long. On to the next chapter!