BATTLE.
The castle was empty on Zelda's way up to the roof. Where are all of Vaati's monsters? she wondered. Something wasn't right. Still, she kept running until she reached the roof.
Vaati was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Link. "Link!" she called. "Vaati, you coward! Show yourself!"
"Coward?" Vaati materialized in front of her. "I'm here now, sweets. What do you want?"
"Where is Link!" she demanded.
"Do you really think he's all that important a matter to discuss, love? He's not exactly the sharpest blade around."
Zelda scoffed. "He is very smart!"
"His calculations were wrong. Tomorrow's not the day I gain total control. Tonight is!" He laughed wickedly. Zelda showed no fear, and felt none except for what might've happened to Link. Vaati snapped his fingers and Link appeared next to him, his hands and legs and neck chained.
"Zelda, you've got to do something!" he said. "He's going to brainwash us! He's going to make me kill myself and make you be okay with it permanently!"
"Quiet, slave!" Vaati snapped. He waved a hand over Link's face and he went limp. "Your friend is right, my dear. He's going to kill himself and you're going to never even remember he existed. I don't know what he did to make you get your memory back, but he won't be around to do it again." He winked. "Actually, now that I think about it, I've no use for you any more. I've already used you as a way to take control of the world. I'll only need to use you once more, tonight, and afterward I can waste you any way I want." He smiled. "But then again, do I really want to waste you? You are my queen, after all. You could stick around for a while, if you'd rather do the honors and kill your friend here instead. It's your choice, but in the end, it's mine, love."
Zelda couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't believe her ears. She took a deep breath, and said, quietly at first, "Do—not—call—me—LOVE!" Blinding white light burst from inside her. Vaati raised his cloak above his face to shield his eyes; Link looked away and kept his eyes shut, unable to move his hands due to the weight of his manacles.
The light vanished but Zelda kept glowing a faint white, almost like a ghost. Her eyes were all white and flaming white balls formed around her fists. She glared at Vaati. "I will kill you," she said, her voice firm and full of certainty. "You will pay for everything you have done. You are a monster and I will slay you."
Vaati seemed amused. He laughed. "Is that so?" he asked. "Well, then, my dear..." All his amusement was replaced by dark seriousness. "Let the battle to the death begin!"
He flashed black twice, and then his form took that of a stick-skinny, robed being with two tiny, piercing black eyes on his head and one large, menacing eyeball underneath his violet-and-black robes.
Link knew this form. He'd fought it the night Vaati created and killed his clone and imprisoned him. "Zelda!" he yelled. "I know his weak spot!"
"Shut up, fool!" Vaati hollered, the chains around Link's neck tightening dangerously. "You stay out of this! This is not your battle!" Zelda looked at Link softly. This was not Link's mêlée, it was hers, and she wanted to keep it that way. Still, she thought, a little pointer would do nicely.
"Zelda, hit the giant eye!"
She looked at Vaati again. "Thanks," she said, throwing a white ball at Vaati's large eye. He was taken by surprise, still having a bit of fun suffocating Link. "Leave him alone! He's got nothing to do with this! If you're a man, then act like one. Fight one battle at a time, and don't try any funny tricks!"
"But, my dear," the sorcerer protested innocently, "I enjoy playing funny tricks!" He whipped himself back onto his feet and threw a bolt of dark energy at Zelda, who blocked it with a white shield. He broke through the shield with another blast, then threw Zelda back into the wall of the stone building where the stairs to the floor below lay inside. She groaned and slumped to the ground. Vaati came over to her slowly and smirked when at her feet. "Pitiful dear, is that the best you've got? I always knew women would make terrible warriors. And here's my proof. One blast took her down."
Zelda's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle, then pulled it to the ground. He was taken by surprise and fell. She scrambled to her feet. "Don't think so, Vaati," she sneered. She ran quickly to where Link was suspended in midair and hurriedly shot at the keyholes in the shackles, which fell to the ground with a clang. Link landed gracefully on his feet.
"I owe you," he said.
A strange sound made Zelda look backward. Vaati was on his feet and pointing at them. Behind him, hoards of his minions came clambering out of the building and pouring onto the roof. "No time for that," Zelda muttered to Link. "Can you fend these off for me while I fight Vaati?"
"For you, Zelda?" he asked, unsheathing his sword. "Anything."
"Thank you."
"Want me to kill all these goons and then help you defeat Vaati?" he asked solemnly.
Zelda looked at him gravely and stared into his eyes briefly. "No, Link," she said. "This, as Vaati said, is my battle. I've got to take him down, or him me. I can't let you help me. This is something I must do for myself. Do you understand that?"
Link leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Of course I do." With a small smile, he ran off and began to fend off the monsters as Zelda faced Vaati again.
"You're such a coward," she growled as he drew near. "Bringing up your pathetic little minions just to outnumber and win against me. Pathetic. I've seen dead cows with more dignity than you."
"ENOUGH!" Vaati slammed her to the ground with his magic. "I am extraordinarily tired with your silly little games, Zelda. I will tolerate it no longer! You call me pathetic? Look who's talking. Who'd be pathetic enough to fall in love with a guy like Link? That is so predictable. Everyone knew it would happen one day or another."
"I am not in love with Link," Zelda spat. "Quit saying that!"
"Why should I obey you? And the denying was expected as well! Typical princess-hero relationship stories. Hero saves the day, princess falls in love with them, people find out, princess denies her love, hero confesses, princess finally confesses, and they both live happily and prosperously for all their lives. It's old, Zelda, real old. This is your storybook, and the princess-hero relationship story is not in this one. Rewrite it! Let evil conquer, like it always was meant to be!"
"Oh, I'll be rewriting the story alright," Zelda snarled. "But the story won't be the one you want. It'll be a princess-hero relationship story, that's for sure, but there's a missing part. The part where the princess gains a little dignaty and defeats the villain by herself!"