Link stood tall with his shield raised and the Master Sword at the ready. His eyes were locked on Zant, who was standing a few feet in front of him, staring back at him. To their right, Midna stood by the entrance. Due to Zant's rules, she was unable to aid Link, or interfere in the fight at all. The only thing she could do was stand by and keep a watchful eye on Zelda's condition to ensure that time wasn't wearing thin. Her skin had already paled, and Midna knew that in just a few short hours it would take on a grey tint and only minutes later, her heart would stop beating. She shook the thought from her mind when her eyes caught Link's as he looked back at her for signs of reassurance. She nodded and gave him a small smile, and he turned back to Zant.

"Are you prepared to fight?" Zant questioned.

"Beyond." Link smirked. "Bring it!"

Link shifted his stance, placing his feet apart and squaring his shoulders. He kept his shield raised despite the stillness of Zant. The Usurper King clapped his hands together as an eerie grin spread across his face. Midna's eyes widened as the realization of what he was doing dawned on her. Link should know too, since it was nothing dissimilar to his actions when they'd faced him the first time around.

Zant stopped clapping suddenly, and then he laughed, jumping up and down like an excited child being promised ice cream. He soon stopped that as well, and Link rolled his eyes at the child-like behaviour. Having done all that, Zant dropped his arms by his side and produced two knives from his baggy sleeves, and without warning he started spinning rapidly towards Link.

With his shield raised, he jutted it forward as Zant neared him, causing the Usurper King to crash into it and stagger backwards. Link raised his sword and made his first attack, but as the sword clashed with the stone ground, sparks from the sword flew. He gasped, realizing that Zant had disappeared and searching the room frantically, just waiting for him to reappear.

Zant materialized behind Link, and used the opportunity to perform an attack; with his back turned, the Usurper King made a vertical slash at his back. Link gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. He could feel warm, sticky blood trickling down his back, but didn't stop to check. He spun around before Zant could teleport again and made a stab with his sword, plunging it into Zant's arm. The Usurper King cried out before vanishing from sight once again.

Link turned once more, unwilling to make the same mistake a second time, just as Zant materialized. This time, the Usurper King had grown in size, and towered over Link. He levitated in the air, the ribbons attached to his sleeves grazing the ground, and the silver helmet with intricate engravings now hiding his face. Link whipped out his bow and quickly shot an arrow at Zant that stabbed his leg. He let out a high pitched shriek, grabbing hold of his injured leg and whimpering as he struggled to dig the arrow out. Using the opportunity, Link put another arrow to his bow and this time aimed it at the metal helmet, hoping to damage it enough to break it and expose his cat-like face.

The arrow flew and struck its target, creating a small crack in the top of the helmet, also dizzying Zant in the process, causing him to shrink back to his usual size. Gripping the Master Sword tightly, Link hacked away at Zant as much as he could until the Usurper King vanished before his eyes. He reappeared in seconds, standing a short distance away and laughed his maniacal laugh before clapping his hands together even more rapidly than the first time. The knives reappeared from his sleeves and started to spin, moving forward.

Link rolled out of the way and jumped back to his feet, spinning around and performing a horizontal slash on Zant, creating a flesh wound on his arm. The Usurper King screeched and flung both his arms without care for his surroundings. Red and black particles swirled behind him, forming a sinister looking Twili wall.

The walls of the room faded away before Link's eyes, and were instantly replaced by the outside of the Twili Palace. Neither Midna nor Zelda were anywhere to be seen, though he was used to this old trick and it ignited no panic within him. He exhaled slowly and shot an arrow at Zant, who had exposed his chest while flinging his arms. The arrow struck Zant in the chest, causing him to drop to the ground, and Link ran over to him quickly, once again hacking with all his might at the Usurper King.

Zant wept in a high pitch and Link arched an eyebrow, retracting the sword for a split second. A move that he instantly regretted as Zant stood back up, and sent dozens of conjured up magic flying towards him. He ducked as one flew over his head, missing him by a millisecond and dodged over to the right as another flew past him. Narrowly avoiding the two, he was left with no time as a third was hurled towards him, hitting him as he neared the edge of this particular shred of land.

Link felt his chest tighten and found himself unable to feel the air in his lungs. Breathing became a challenge, and he watched dizzily as Zant produced his swords once more and started spinning towards him. He felt the sharp blades cutting into him several times until he was forced to his knees, and he raised his sword, only for Zant to disappear right before his eyes. The Usurper King reappeared quickly, and as he swung his arms, their surroundings were once again changed, and they were back at the top of the tower.

The magic that Link had been hit with began to wear off, and it became easier to breathe again. With several injuries, ranging from minor cuts to major ones, he rose back to his feet. Zant sent more red balls of Twili magic at him, but this time he was prepared and raised his shield. The Twili magic ricocheted and struck the Usurper King, who now found himself a victim of his own spell and became encased in a block of ice. Link took out his bow and, walking over to one of the torches that lit the room, created a flaming arrow which he aimed and fired at Zant. The ice melted quickly, but the flames spread quickly to Zant's black priest-like robe. He screamed, a shrill sound that caused both Link and Midna to screw their faces up as it pierced through their ears, and then hopped around the room, frantically trying to put the flame out.

"Oh, Zant… Feeling a little hot, are you?" He smirked.

Link chuckled and readied his sword as Zant conjured up another ball of Twili magic and unleashed it on himself, snuffing out the flames and leaving only embers as evidence. Once again, Zant resorted to his spin attack and Link, rather than running or using his shield, charged towards the Usurper King with as much speed as his injuries would allow, causing the two to collide.

Midna gasped, Link yelled and Zant laughed as the Hero of Twilight and the Usurper King tumbled to the ground, sending a small crack through the concrete. Link landed up on top, pinning Zant to the ground with one of his knees firmly on Zant's midsection and his sword pointed at his throat.

"This has been fun and all, but I really don't have any more time for this." Link stated, pushing the tip of the blade against the pale blue skin of Zant's neck. "Where is the elixir?"

Zant simply laughed, despite the sword at his throat. "You didn't actually believe that I would give it to you if you won, or that I would actually let you live, did you?"

Link's eyes narrowed and his lips pulled together in a tight line before he spoke. "No, Zant. Did you really think that I was going to let you live?"

He gave the Usurper King no chance to answer the question. "Tell me now or die." He demanded. "It's your choice."

"Ah, but if I die, you'll never find the elixir and then the Princess dies along with me."

Link gritted his teeth as his patience wore thin. "We don't need you. I can find it. I will find it." He swore.

"You might find it… though I doubt that you'll find it in time."

"Then I guess, I had better not waste any more."

With those words being said, Link raised the Master Sword, with the blade pointing downwards, and then plunged it into Zant's chest, piercing him through the heart. His body convulsed and jerked violently as Link removed the blade and sheathed it, but before the body could disappear, he reached inside the robe. His fingers grazed against a bottle, and he pulled it out without hesitation just as Zant's body turned into red, black and green particles, floating through the air, getting higher and higher until they were invisible.

Link breathed a hefty sigh, relieved that the fight was over, and falling back into a sitting position due to exhaustion. Midna sauntered over to where he was sitting, a dopey smile on her face.

"You- You did it." She gasped.

He shook his head. "We did it." He almost laughed, wincing from the pain that the movement caused.

"You're injured." Midna's face twisted in concern.

"I'll be fine." He assured her through gritted teeth. "Same pain, different day." He exhaled.

"Shouldn't you at least see a doctor?"

"There's no time. Really, Midna. I'm okay, I can wait." He insisted. "We need to get this elixir down Zelda."

Thinking it over, Midna smiled reluctantly. "Alright."

Link returned a small smile before shuffling over to where Zelda was laid. By now her pale face had taken on the grey tint of death, and he knew just by looking at her that her heart had slowed. They hadn't much time left. He lifted the Princess into his lap, holding her in a sitting position as he removed the cork that sealed the bottle and pressed it to her lips. He took one last look at Midna.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Link. Do it. Now."

He nodded and turned his attention back to Zelda, tilting the bottom of the bottle upwards and watching as the liquid flowed into her mouth. As the last few drops slipped from the bottle, he placed it aside and waited in anticipation for her to awaken.

"H-how long does it take to work?" He asked with his eyebrow raised, desperately waiting for her skin to return to its usual pale, yet rosy complexion.

Midna tried her best to keep the smile on her face, and not show Link her anxiety. The last time that she had seen something like this, the person had awoken as soon as the elixir slid down their throat. She didn't know how to answer Link's question without scaring him.

When she didn't answer within a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder at her. "Midna?"

"Well, I-" She began, unable to think of something to say. "I'm afraid I don't know."

"But I thought that you knew for certain that the elixir would work. You said-"

"I said that I was almost certain, but I've never seen it being given to a Hylian, Link."

"Wait, what?" He questioned, his eyes now wide with concern.

"The last time I saw this was with a Twili being…"

"And what happened?"

"Link-"

"Tell me. Please." He pleaded.

"There really isn't that much to tell. They consumed the elixir and then they woke up."

"How long?"

"Instantly."

Link swallowed the lump in his throat and bit down hard on his bottom lip. He turned his attention back to Zelda, who remained limp in his arms with the grey tint lingering. He brought a shaking hand up to her face and rested his forehead against hers.

"Please…" He begged. "Come back to me."