Sorry that this is a week late, but I was very busy with life and stuff. Yeah, lame excuse, but it is the truth. Sorry again!

Huge thanks to Kerriss-Singer-of-Light, Lime Gap, ultima-owner, and silver fire wolf for reviewing!

And due to a two to one vote (sorry silver fire wolf, but you were outnumbered) I will not be introducing the Four Sword Links to this story. However, going with Kerriss-Singer-of-Light's suggestion, I am considering a sidestory or oneshot where they do appear. Assuming I can find the time. 'Cause really, I just want to have the FS Link wreak havoc and confuse the heck out of the Resistance. It would be awesome.

To Lime Gap: Are there really that many TP/FS crossovers? I looked for them, but I couldn't really find any. If you know any good ones, would you mind recommending some to me? Thanks!

Disclaimer: Don't own. Wish I did, but no.


After a quick trip for a way-to-serious-toddler and his goron friends, a new Malo Mart opened up in Castle Town. Since we were low on supplies, Link suggested that we check it out before heading to the desert. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

At the time, that was.

Upon entering the shop, the first thing that struck me was how bright it was. Then the obnoxious music and dancing began to filter through my shell-shocked brain, and I was kept rooted to the floor with a combination of complete and utter shock, horror, and surprise.

People we scattered throughout the shop, every one of them carrying a shopping bag that sported Malo's face on it and dancing in a strange way that consisted of them moving their hips from side to side while shouting enthusiastically. One woman was actually leaning over the counter, straining to get at the goods behind while another fawned over a truly ugly vase over on the side. The entire shop was plastered with posters of Malo's face, and I swear there was even a life-size model mounted in one of the niches in the walls.

After a few minutes of that, Link finally gathered his courage and walked up to the counter, proceeding to buy a set of Magic Armor, blue potions, and more arrows. Then the four of us high-tailed it out of there as fast as we could.

Upon exiting the shop, I leaned against the wall and tried to calm my racing heart. Dark's eyes were so wide that I could see the whites all the way around, and it sounded like Vaati was starting to hyperventilate. Link just looked completely shell-shocked, and was lying on the floor covering his eyes.

One passerby saw us and laughed, remarking sympathetically, "Ah, it seems that you three have seen the new Malo Mart. Don't worry, we were all like that at first. But it gets better the second time, and the prices are the cheapest around!"

I snorting, thinking, There is no way you can get me to go back in there, not even if you paid me a million rupees.


Upon reaching the desert (read: my brothers and I flying in calmly while Link crash-lands in a sand dune from his cannon flight) Midna had some revelations to tell us.

"Wait, Link, Dark, Shadow, Vaati. Before we go on, there's something I want you all to hear...Do you remember what the spirit said about the Fused Shadows? What do you think happened to the magic wielders who tried to rule the Sacred
Realm? They were banished. They were chased across the sacred lands of Hyrule and driven into another realm by the goddesses. It was another world entirely... The antithesis of Hyrule, where the sun shines bright. Its denizens became shadows that could not mingle with the light. Eventually, most came to call it the Twilight Realm, and from it, none could return to the world of light… They were forever doomed to live in the twilight, flitting in the half-light of dusk, mere shadows of Hyrule…

"This is the history of the Twili as it has been passed down from our
ancestors… Do you now understand what I am? I'm a descendant of the tribe that was banished to the Twilight Realm! It was a peaceful place...until Zant took control of the Twilight Realm and transformed all of the Twili into shadow beasts. It's clear to me now that he somehow gained a great evil power previously unknown to our tribe… In any case, I was sent from there, and could no longer get into the Twilight Realm without his power… But there's another tale told by my people.

"Though the goddesses forbade us to return to the world of light, they left one link between the light and the darkness. Something called the Mirror of Twilight was passed to the protectors of Hyrule… It's our only path to the Twilight Realm...and we must get there! You'll come with me...won't you?" Midna asked softly, her voice unusually gentle and almost… sad. Link nodded, his face set determinedly. At this point, we all knew that he would probably go to the ends of Hyrule and beyond for the imp. My brothers and I, however…

Dark hesitated for the second, then dipped his head. "Yea, we'll help 'ya. Don't worry, we don't abandon one of our own. Thieves' Honor," he said with a small smirk. Midna smiled and nodded in relief, then dove back into Link's shadow. As the four of us began our trek across the Gerudo Desert, Link turned to us in confusion.

"Thieves' Honor? What's that? I thought that thieves weren't honorable," he asked. I laughed.

"Maybe not to people like you, but among thieves, we got our own honor system. We don't sell each other out without a good reason, and we always watch each other's backs. It's Honor Among Thieves, so to speak," I replied. Link nodded in understanding. Then we turned back to the walk, heading straight for the massive fortress that was the only building to break the horizon line.


Deserts. The bane of my existence. They're hot, gritty, and have altogether too much $%*& light in them. Seriously. It is hot and dry and there's way too much light!

No, I'm not being overdramatic. There really is that much light. I mean, it's a desert for Farore's sake! It's kind of a given that it'll be hot, sandy, and bright.

And I haven't even gotten started on the moldworms yet. Not to mention the cannon ride over here- though I'll admit, watching Link's expression as he was shot through the air was hilarious. Of course, the rest of us just flew, but still.


Ahhh… so that's where the missing chunk of Eldin Bridge went. I was wondering about that. Now that warp point wouldn't go straight down to an endless chasm anymore. That'd be useful.


"I swear, if I have to kill another (#*$& *! poe tonight I will run and hide under a sand dune! Pulling those souls out to make them stay down… I'm traumatized for life!" I shivered dramatically, mock shuddering at the memory. Seriously, though, it was freaky. And if you actually listened to the soul right after you pulled it out, you could hear it beating, like a heartbeat… it was freaky. Really freaky.

"I agree. Did you hear that heart beating? I didn't even know poes had heartbeats. I'm going to be having nightmares about this tonight, I just know it," Vaati moaned, a bit paler than usual. Link and Dark both nodded in agreement, shuddering slightly. Even Midna looked a bit put out by the poe souls, and everyone released a sigh of relief as the last one in the area was stored in one of Link's many seemingly endless magical pouches. If I ever saw another poe again, it would be too soon.


Okay, so maybe sneaking right through the bulbin camp wasn't the best of ideas, but it was still pretty fun all the same. And watching Link try to ride the giant bulbos- priceless! Even if he did almost get a concussion. Eh, whatever. He'll survive. He always does. After all, he is the Goddesses' chosen hero. They won't let him die.


King Bulblin is the worst loser in all of Hyrule. I mean, seriously? Just cause he lost the fight, now he's going to trap us in here surrounded by fire? When Midna could just warp us out? Has he neglected to remember that his entire camp is also wooden, and is a mere minute away from going up in flames?

Well, never let it be said that monsters are particularly intelligent. I will admit, however, that the sight of the entire bulblin camp going up in smoke and flames was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.


The closer we got to the Grounds, the more I could feel the malevolent aura that blanketed the entire area. The place practically reeked of death and decay, and as we made our way down the deserted halls, I swear I could hear wailing and screaming in the distance. But when I focused more on the sound, it always disappeared before I could pinpoint it. Ugh, this place gives me the creeps…


Okay, army of mini skeletons. I can handle that. They're really not so bad…

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm going to be having nightmares about this place for weeks. Annnnd Vaati just had to point out the numerous skeletons and bones lying around. Gee, thanks for that. As if I needed to see more dead people.


"OH MY GODDESSES I'M COVERED IN BUGS! GET THEM OFF GET THEM OFF GET THEM OFF!"

I'm sure I mentioned earlier that Vaati hates bugs… if I didn't, now you know. Except that now the rest of us hate them too. I am never going to look at any beetle the same way again.


Remember what I said earlier about the poes? Well, I take it back. If I ever even think about a poe again, it'll be way too soon. I'm just glad it was Link instead of me who had to sniff its remains… and we still have to defeat three more of them.

The Goddesses must have a sick sense of humor.


After the army of mini skeletons, body-covering scarabs, and horrific poes who steal lamp-fire, I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised at the flying skull of some unknown creature. The way the wings kinda cracked and burst their way out of the sides, however…

Well, just one more thing to add to my already terrifying nightmares about this place.


Skeletons. Skeletons that rise from the and reassemble themselves with shields and swords while making a horribly unnatural rattling sound as they advance on you. And they can only be killed by blasting their bones apart with a bomb.

I have never been so glad to hurl one of my extra-special giant bombs in my life. What's next, mummies?

"SCREEEECH!"

Seems like I spoke too soon. Wait, wha- how are they even moving those swords?! And why am I paralyzed?!

Oh, ****. This one's gonna hurt…

WHAM!


I hate rats. I hate 'em even more than those scarabs, because not only do they climb all over you, but they bite and scratch and they're so disgusting and vile and UGH!

Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, I really hate rats.


"Alright, you're doing this one, because I did the first one and I am not doing it again!"

"Oh no, I'm good. Shadow, you do it."

"What?! No way! I am not going to do the finishing blow on that thing! I saw how the first one died!"

"Aaahh! Guys, they gets back up if you take too long!"

" $& ($&(#$! Now we gotta kill it all over again!"

"You do it this time!"

"No, you do it!"

"Guys! Argue about it when its down, focus of beating the thing right now!"


Hey look, that creepy flying skull from earlier is back. Only now it's on fire. Yeah. On fire. Yipee. Now it's even harder to kill.

I am hating this place more and more by the second. At least there's only a couple more poe souls to go.


Death Sword. How apt. I thought, leaping out of the way as a giant black sword whistled over my head. All four of us were in wolf form, snarling and growling at the ghost only revealed by using our senses. The ghost swung at us and missing, getting its massive sword stuck point-first into the stone floor. Taking the opportunity, the four of us leapt and dragged it down, biting and clawing at the undead ghost. A minute later it had managed to free itself and had somehow become visible to the hylian eye, prompting us to shift back to our two-legged forms.

Link pulled out his bow and somehow managed to shoot it in the head (Nice shot! But how do you shoot a ghost…?) which made it fly in circles around the room. Swinging its sword wildly, the creature then managed to miss and get its sword stuck in the ground. Heh, idiot. Without hesitation the four us descended on it with our weapons out, stabbing and slashing at the undead ghost. With all four of us working together, the creature didn't stand a chance. Within two more short cycles of this, Death Sword was once again dead.

I'll admit, at first I didn't know what to think when I saw the spinner. It looked like a larger version of a child's toy, to be honest. But dang, riding it around is fun!

And now Link can get over the quicksand faster. That's definitely useful. Plus, he can get to more places with the railings that he can't normally. Again, pretty useful. But now, imagine the possibilities if we could ride that around in Castle Town… no more fighting through crowds of people, now we could just ride and everyone would get out of the way! If only we could figure out how to make it last longer, though...


BOOM!

A large crater appeared in the ground where a battalion of stalkins had risen from the sand and tried to attack us. Unluckily for them, the entire prison had made my jumpy and high strung, prompting my immediate reaction upon their appearance to the the throw of an extra-special giant bomb. The stalkins were now little more than bones and dust.

"Hey, Shadow?" Vaati said, tapping me on the shoulder as I turned down a hall.

"Yeah? What?"

"You have bone shards in your hair. And part of a finger."

"AAAAHHHH!"


Link laughed in delight as he spun in a giant ascending spiral, zipping around and around as he traveled towards a platform mounted high up near the ceiling of the enormous cavern. My brothers and I followed, flying up either by our own power or with the aid of the winds. Then we all gathered at the door, remembering to stay back as the giant lock clattered to the ground when Link unlocked it.

As we entered the next room, the first thing we saw was a humongous skeleton lying in the middle of a large quicksand pit.

"Whoa. Now that is a giant skeleton," I said as we saw the enormous fossil. Link walked forwards, probably to go examine it. Then Zant appeared in a burst of orange and blue-green bubbles, hovering just above the giant's skull.

"You all still live... How astonishing. No wonder some call you "heroes". But this is truly a bittersweet reunion... Truly! For I fear this is the last time I will see you all alive!"

Then the King of Twilight somehow produced a giant sword out of nowhere, slamming it into the forehead of the giant fossil. He laughed evilly as he warped away, vanished once again before we had a chance to attack.

However, our attention was soon diverted by other, more pressing matters. Or rather, one pressing matter, singular.

The sword had somehow managed to, for lack of a better phrase, bring the giant fossil to life. An eerie red glow came from its formerly empty eye sockets, and with a great groaning and creaking it slowly heaved itself upright to balance in the middle of the large sandpit on its spine. Sand rained down as it tested its joints, dust and grit filling the air. I coughed and covered my eyes, hoisting the edge of my cloak over my mouth. Even so, bits of sand and dust still made their way in.

Then the giant skeleton swung its head around to glare at us, roared in challenge, and proceeded to raise a small army of human skeletons complete with armor, shields, and swords still attached. And if that wasn't enough, it then began to spew flame. Oh, the Goddesses must really have quite the sense of humor when it comes to us.

Soaring towards the ceiling with an extra-special giant bomb in hand, I knew that the battle with the Twilit Fossil Stallord had begun.