Disclaimer: See Prologue.

A/N: I'M BAAACK! Life had been very busy, and school doesn't help things. Thank God for vacations!

Anywho. Here's the next dose of Twilight Princess.

Chapter 4: Zant's Finest Hour

Italics= thoughts

Zant's POV

I sat on my throne, undisturbed by guards or attendants. The Twili People refused to bend to my will so I was forced to transform them to obedient pets, or Messengers, as their forms were called. I felt a familiar burning fire inside me. Power. I tapped into it, feeling myself slowly slipping away from the outside world and into a trance- like state. As I delved deeper into the Power I saw the demonic face again. It opened it's eyes and addressed me.

"You have done well in taking control over this forsaken realm. However, there is still much to be done. You must expand your conquest, Zant. I'm sure that you know of the cursed Mirror of Twilight, correct?"

"Yes, Milord. It is the only link that exists between this realm and the realm of Light." I responded. He nodded.

"Indeed. Now hear me well. Take your army of shadows and venture into the realm of Light. The portal will leave you in the vast Gerudo Desert. Past that desert, lies the Golden Kingdom of Hyrule."

I gasped. "You mean..."

"Yes. The land blessed by the Goddesses themselves." He answered.

"Then how-?"

"I will not hold your hand! I will say no more than this: In order to overpower the light, you must attack it at it's source."

"I will not fail you, Great One." I said as my presence bowed to his.

"You have proven to be worthy so far, King of Shadows. Continue to please me and you shall be rewarded. Farewell."

And he was gone.

Hours later, after realizing what I needed to do in order to succeed, I summoned the leaders of my regime and gave them their orders.

"You four are the most skilled in the army. Assemble four squads and go to the specified location. The plan is simple. Take over the light! Now get out of my sight!" With that, they departed.

I put my mask on and headed out towards the hill where I knew the portal was. The golden power within me erupted, and foreign incantations slipped out of my lips. A bright light flashed, and the portal became active. The army behind me began to advance, and I grinned as I felt Midna's presence from behind a distant hill. I felt her despair and rage towards me. Yes, hate me. Settle for hating me and cowering behind that hill while you wallow in your pathetic existence. I marched on, approaching the portal with anticipation. I stepped through and was greeted with warmth and something I had only dreamed of: Blazing sunlight. Because of my god's power, I was able to adjust to the light and I wasn't harmed. However, 5 messengers died from the light. And so I was forced to cast a protective spell over the entire army. Using the golden power, I set up warping portals and assigned guardian messengers to protect them. The squads set out for the four light spirit caves of the land after I implanted them with a bit of the golden power; just enough for them to know where they were going and for them to be successful in their mission. I took the rest of the army and warped to a seemingly familiar place. My inner power recognized it to be Hyrule Castle.

I reached the summit of the castle without much trouble, the guards were fearful and lacked courage. Somehow, I was able to find my way through the Castle; as if I had been there before. I advanced up the steps, my assault squad behind me.

"Halt! Get into your ready positions... I will cast the first blow upon the blessed race of those who cast us out." I announced. The Elite messenger beasts tensed and got into their assigned formation behind me. I also tensed and with a roar, I hurled my hands forward and a current of darkness rushed into the Throne room of Hyrule's leader.

(Zelda's POV)

My Triforce glowed intensely with the entrance of the darkness. A horde of dark beasts charged in and my men charged right back. I saw one man attempt to attack with his sword, only to miss and be pinned to the ground by the beast. I looked at the others to see that they were all either on the ground or being held by their throats. One man was beginning to struggle to breathe. That's when the masked figure came in, with two beasts by his side. A lump in my throat rose, and I pushed it down, trying to be brave. Come now Zelda, you must be brave! Your kingdom is depending on you; you can't fail them now! I kept telling myself this in hopes of maintaining some sort of dignity and fighting spirit. But I already felt the power within the masked figure. It was golden power, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the event of the sages' intervention, which happened years before my time. Had he found a way back? Was he using this person to return once more?

The power intensified, and the leader spoke:

"It is time to choose: surrender or die." At those words, all eyes turned on me. I felt my body tremble slightly, and I cursed it for turning on me; for showing weakness when what I needed most was to show strength. He chuckled.

"Come now, dear princess of light: the choice is simple. End their suffering! You can't stop the power of my God, save your blessed kingdom the pain of being taken by force and surrender." he said. And as he spoke those words, I felt strange; as if the very light was draining from the world.

The Light Spirits! NO!

That's when everything clicked into place, and in a state of shock and despair, I dropped my ceremonial sword; surrendering Hyrule to the darkness I knew I couldn't fight.

(3rd person POV)

The Twili Blackout squadrons had scattered, and hunted the Light spirits as Zant took over the castle. The Provinces of Eldin and Lanayru were the first to fall into darkness, Faron following suit later that night.

(Zant's POV)

After making sure the princess Zelda had been locked away in a tower, I consulted the power within me.

"Everything is in place. What is the next step?" I asked the form of my God when he appeared.

"You have impressed me yet again, Zant. Now, you return to your kingdom and wait." He said.

"What?! I'm supposed to just sit and wait? After everything that my people have beenthrough? These Light-dwellers deserve their punishment!" I exclaimed.

"Silence your manic ranting, fool! Have patience. I cannot return to the realm of light until... well never mind that! Return to your kingdom and await my orders. One more thing... just in case you don't know: any trouble is your responsibility to deal with. Remember that. Goodbye." And with that, he vanished. I returned to my troops.

"We are to return to our realm. Blackout squadrons included. However keep the portals open and always be ready to be deployed. We leave at once!" I shouted, before warping back to the desert chambers. Once I made sure that a hidden alternate connection was formed between this realm and the Twilight Realm, I split the Twilight Mirror and scattered the 4 pieces. I sent one to the heavens, one to the northern mountaintop, and one to a distant temple. The fourth piece remained in the pedestal. My mission complete, I left the stone chained, returned the pedestal to the ground, and warped into the Twilight. There I waited. For whatever my God believed was to come.

A/N: FINALLY! I wrote this chapter in pieces, whenever I had free time. It's kinda short compared to the last one, but another chap is on the way, so... yeah. I apologize again for the LONG wait and I thank those who continue to follow my story. Like I said, I am typing the next chapter already so perhaps there will be a double update.

Review please! Thanks!

Until next time,

AmayaWindWolf