Hey guys. Nearly didn't post this because I've had so much stuff to do lately that I almost forgot about updating. Fear not, I stayed up an extra half hour just to put this up. Enjoy.

Chapter 17: Thicker than Water

"What the hell do you mean we're not going to do anything?" the Hero of Light shouted angrily. As soon as he and his companions returned to the world of light, they went straight to the Peacekeeper council and told them of Brandon's proposal; the two medallions the Order held for Callum's life.

"Even though Callum was one of our best men, the cost of the traitor's deal is too high for us to pay," said a white-bearded man. The council consisted of nine elderly members of the Order, some human, some not. They had listened to the Hero's news intently and locked themselves up for most of the day afterwards to decide what to do. They now had their answer and Link was not happy with it.

"Is," he growled. "He's not dead yet. But he will be if we don't help him. Are you really going to just let him die?"

"There is no other choice," said a wrinkled Zora woman. "If we allow the enemy to possess all six of the Sages' medallions then there is little to stop Demise from being resurrected. Sacrificing one life for the sake of millions is the best and only course of action, and Peacekeeper Callum is no doubt well aware of this."

Groose stepped forward. "There has to be something that we can do. Gramps please, we can't just close our eyes and pretend that nothing's happening."

The man who spoke wore his grey hair in a similar fashion to his grandson. "We are not ignoring this but our hands are tied. I am sorry Groose, but as Brandon is expecting a rescue, and has made it clear of what he will do should we attempt one, we do not have any other options."

"The council's decision is final; we will not agree to the traitor's demands," the high councilor stated. "This session is adjourned." The elders filed out of the chamber with none remaining but the three young Peacekeepers. Link's body shook, he was absolutely livid.

"I can't believe this," Midna exclaimed as they exited the building.

"Believe it," Groose said. "Once the council's made up their mind about something it takes something major to get them to change it."

The Twili sighed hopelessly. "Link, I'm sorry." She placed a tender hand on his shoulder.

"This isn't over," Link growled. "I'm not going to just forget that Callum's still alive. I'm going to save him, I owe him that much."

"What do you plan to do?" she asked. "I don't think storming in and breaking Callum out is going to work since Brandon knows you're coming."

"Not if I take the medallions with me." Link had expected resistance there and then yet Midna showed no reaction.

"Then you're going to need help," Groose stated.

The Hero was taken aback by this. "Are you sure? If you get involved then you'll get into as much trouble as I will."

"We will," Midna corrected. "I'm not sitting out on this either, especially if you're about to walk into a possible trap."

"I want to save Callum just as much as you do," Groose told him. "You're not going to be able to pull this off alone so you'll need us if we're going to get your old man back. And don't worry about us sharing the heat afterwards," he added. "We're a team after all, right?"

Link gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks pal. So how are we getting the Fire and Shadow Medallions? Last I heard they're both locked away and I'll bet the council's going to beef up security so that we can't take them. I wouldn't put it past them to suspect what we're up to already."

Groose thought hard for a while. "We might be able to do it if we work quickly though this is going to take some coordination. I've may have a plan but let's not talk about it here." He gave the area a quick look around. There were groups of people here and there but they were all too far away to hear. Even though the three friends had been speaking with hushed voices they decided not to take any chances. This was too important for anyone to know what they were scheming.

"So let's go over the plan one more time," Groose said as the group sat around his coffee table. They had spent nearly two whole hours discussing how they were going to steal two ancient relics. The thought of betraying the people they had come to see as their friends and neighbours left a bitter taste in their mouths.

The burly redhead pointed to a spot on a crudely drawn map of the base. "First, I'm going to create an explosion here that will attract everybody's attention. The resulting confusion should keep everyone occupied for some time."

Link nodded. "Meanwhile I'll use the distraction to find a way to break into the vault and grab the medallions."

"While I gather all the supplies we'll need and get ready to warp us out of here," Midna concluded. Because of the seriousness of what they were about to do, the entire plan had to be executed perfectly. Once they fled from Skyloft the three would be completely on their own, heading into unknown danger. They had no idea what would happen or what condition they would find Callum in so they had to be prepared for anything. They might need food, bandages and medicine in case things did not turn out well.

"We have to get Callum back," Link said after a nervous silence. "If we fail then it's all over for us." There was more riding on their success than the survival of their senior officer or the world. As agents were unable to return to the outside world the punishment for betraying the Peacekeeper Order like this was death. They had to have something to show for their actions otherwise it would not matter what happened after.

"I feel guilty that I've got the easy job here," Midna said quietly as they all stood up to leave. "Good luck you two, we're going to need it."

Link never felt so anxious about something before, which made waiting for Groose's signal difficult. He sat on a bench within walking distance of the building where his targets were located, trying hard not to fidget. He was unsuccessful at keeping his face relaxed and composed though he decided that he might be better off that way. Word would have gone around about Brandon's proposition and people might find it odd if Callum's son appeared calm while knowing the man remained hostage to the Demon's Flames.

The minutes crawled by seamlessly as he waited. How long had he been sitting around for now, he could not tell. Link reassured himself over and over again that things were running smoothly and it was just taking his friend time to set up. His body was tense, itching to do something to relieve some of his stress yet he stayed still, he had to avoid attracting unwanted attention from moving around. He had attempted to think of how he could access the vault to focus his thoughts. Groose had informed him that the door was sealed with an aura scanning enchantment, meaning he would need to find someone with the right clearance to get inside. As to who that could be, Link had no idea. The Hero's best bet was to take out a guard if he could and try his luck from there.

A loud blast caused Link to jump in his seat. Passersby turned their heads towards the sudden sound and the rising smoke coming from the other side of the island. People began to run towards the site of the explosion, some started with a cautious walk that grew to an urgent sprint. Fighting the impulse to get moving, Link remained where he sat. Only when the area was deserted did he stand and proceeded to his destination.

He moved carefully through the hallways, ducking for cover at the sound of incoming footsteps and continuing once their owners ran past. Where the path forked Link tried to remember where the vault was and when memory failed he took a chance. Due to the beeping noise his sword made, he could not risk using Fi to help him. This proved to be an inconvenience when he came up to a dead end after taking a wrong turn. His heart rate settled when he finally found the vault but only by a fraction. He was not out of the woods yet.

The vault door was black with no handle. Instead electric blue runes glowed on the surface with a blank circle outlined at shoulder height. Link placed his hand inside the circle and pulled away when the lines turned to red then back again. He hissed in frustration, the vault's security lock did not recognize him. To Link's dismay, he found the area deserted with not a single person in sight to defend the safe from thieves. Why would they, he asked himself. Who on Skyloft would try to break in anyway, besides him of course? Knowing Groose's decoy would not last long, he desperately pulled out a bomb and prepared to light the fuse.

"You're not going to get in like that boy." Link dropped the unarmed explosive as his hand went straight to his sword hilt. He relaxed though when he recognized the voice. Standing in the hall where the Hero had just come from was his mentor Jarret, his back facing him.

"Neither of us has told you this before," the old Twili said, talking to the empty section of corridor in front him, "but I've known Callum since the start of his career. The first time I met him was when I saved his sorry rear from a band of mercenaries, back when I was investigating the sudden death of Hyrule's last king. Because of him and what he knew we were able to save a lot of lives."

Link did not know how to react. A thousand questions ran through his mind but Jarret continued before he could say one of them. "That aura scanner won't let anyone through unless they have access. Fortunately for you, I do."

"So you're going to help me?" Link asked.

The Twili remained facing the opposite direction. "No", he said. The Hero felt a flicker of rage building. "You know, if someone knocked me out from behind and used my hand to open that door, that person would probably take something and run off with it. It would be a real shame since I would never have seen my attacker."

Link saw what his teacher was implying. "Thank you."

"Bring Callum back and if you can, kill that dog, Brandon. If you do that then maybe the council will cut you some slack. Though if they find out I was a part of this then they'll put me on the chopping block, so if they ask I'll deny that we ever had this conversation. Now be gentle, I'm an old man remember."

The Hero of Light walked up behind his mentor. "Dream Shroud," he said and the Twili's body went limp. Link caught him before Jarret collapsed onto the ground and dragged him over to the door. The lock flashed green after a second when he placed the Twili's hand against it then the door slid to the side.

The vault held many curious items within, many of which were ancient weapons. Link saw a golden harp resting on a stand, a silvery wand, as well as a purple, heart-shaped mask kept inside a glass cabinet with more runes traced all around it. He opened the case out of curiosity and stared into the mask's wide, yellow eyes. Something tempted Link to reach his hand in to touch the face but a nagging sensation in the back of his mind stopped him. Shaking his head, the swordsman pulled his hand back and closed the cabinet again then returned to the task at hand.

Link searched quickly though careful not to knock over anything or touch any suspicious objects. In less than a minute he spotted a couple of round objects, one red and the other deep-purple, sitting next together in an open case. The Hero picked them up and deposited them into his magical then exited the room, sealing the door behind him and ran for all it was worth, bolting out into the park outside. No one was there to challenge him as he made his way to the rendezvous point.

Hidden inside the rookery tower he found Midna and Groose, who snapped their heads to him when he arrived. "I've got them," he said, pulling the artifacts out for them to see.

"Good," Midna replied. "We're all ready to go. Groose's bombs started a fire that's keeping everyone busy. We'll be long gone before anyone knows what's happened." She took a deep breath to concentrate then warped the three of them away.

The summit of Snowpeak was bitter cold and desolate. The blizzard wind tore at the Hero's clothes, sinking its sharp teeth into him and draining at his body heat. Though it was still the middle of the day, the thick storm clouds cut off the sun and blanketed the mountains in darkness. Squinting to see, Link spotted the entrance to the cave that Brandon had mentioned and led his friends to the shelter it would provide.

Inside it was slightly warmer though the air was still chilly. The group continued along the tunnel with the howls of the wind fading the further they went. The dying sound was soon replaced by those made by men and around the next corner Link caught sight of the cultists camped down below. Somehow he had expected there to be a group of something like thirty enemies but after counting them he noticed that the cramped space restricted that number by a third.

He did not rule out the possibility of there being unseen reinforcements but Link felt more confident about their situation. He saw Brandon sitting comfortably by a fire and was sorely tempted to just shoot the man with an arrow from where he stood and be done with it, but that left nineteen henchmen that Callum would be at the mercy off. Speaking of which, Link noticed a figure whose garb was very different from the others. Callum sat not far away from his captor, trussed up with ropes and gagged. Though the man did not struggle against his bonds, Callum kept a contemptuous glare firmly fixed on Brandon.

Link stepped out from cover and climbed down the steep slope. He stood before the cultist band, ready should a conflict ensue if things went wrong. Flames stopped what they were doing and surrounded the Hero's group from all sides with weapons drawn. Brandon rose from up from the ground, casually wiping the dirt from his trousers as though they were all on a relaxing picnic. Link felt angry and sick to the stomach watching him, to see him so sure of himself. It was this man who had driven Link to betray his friends and undo all the hard work he had put in to prevent Demise's revival. He kept his emotions from his face though, he could not afford to make any rash mistakes.

"You took less time to get here than I expected," Brandon spoke calmly, slightly amused. One of his followers pulled Callum to his feet and held a knife to the Peacekeeper's throat. "Now," he continued, "the medallions please, or else I will have to make good with my threat."

Link's glare intensified as he brought out the precious disks. Another cultist approached the Hero and took them from his hands then passed them on to his master. Brandon studied the artefacts for a moment then returned them to the masked follower. "Take these the Lord Ghirahim and inform him that we will be on our way back momentarily." The man bowed and teleported from sight, to where the Hero knew not.

'Well there goes trying to snatch them back,' Link grumbled internally. "You got what you wanted, now let Callum go."

Slowly, Brandon turned to the figure holding their hostage and nodded. The cultist withdrew the blade and shoved Callum forward. Link stopped him from falling as he stumbled. With a snap of Midna's fingers, the thick ropes broke apart and fell to the icy floor in pieces. As Callum gave his thanks, Brandon drew out a long sword and pointed it at the group.

"Kill them," he ordered. The orange-clad soldiers rushed forward all at once.

Link's hand flew to the hilt of his sword and he cleaved the first attacker in two with a devastating Mortal Draw. His shield slid down his arm to his right hand, just in time to block an incoming blow from the second enemy. The Hero stabbed and pierced the man's armour before using the sacred blade to intercept cut from his left. Another foe charged in place of his fallen comrade but was struck down by Callum, who had repurposed a sword whose owner no longer needed.

"Now!" Groose shouted. Link pulled his father back at hearing the signal as Midna quickly erected a barrier around them. Groose shot his hand out, "Din's Fire!" he roared. Flames erupted from the warrior, lapping over the mystical shield and devouring the enemy force. When the blaze died out, many of the cultists laid dead and burning though others had faster reflexes and protected themselves.

With the fight now on more equal terms, Link broke away and charged for Brandon. The man's body released tiny black Twilight particles but the Peacekeeper was already upon him. Brandon's focus on his warping spell shattered as he raised his own sword to stop Link's downwards slash. The floating squares ceased to flow as the two adversaries clashed steel again and again.

"You know, I had a feeling you would try something like this," the Hero said as their swords locked.

"Now that we have all of the keys to the Well, you have outgrown your usefulness," Brandon growled back. "You've impressed me with the fight you are putting up but in the end it's all over for you. You're alone with the entire Peacekeeper Order after your heads while we are close to achieving our goal. You have lost Hero."

"Not yet I haven't." Link dove to the side and rolled over his shoulder around his opponent. He deftly landed on his feet and rose up to slice at Brandon's back. Blood spurted where the Master Sword cut through armour like a hot knife through butter. The cult leader screamed as he fell forward and was silenced when Link drove his sword down through the man's torso. The dying man's body shuddered once more then became still for forever more.

Link raised his head to find that the battle had grown quiet. The cave floor was covered in red and orange with three figures left standing. Thankfully none of his friends were seriously hurt though each was bent over and panting heavily with minor wounds bleeding out. Link pulled his sword out from Brandon's body and flicked it clean. Killing never sat well with the Hero, especially with another person, but he knew that no alternative outcome had been available. He slid the steel back into its scabbard while Callum half-limped towards him.

The thick-bearded man looked down at the corpse sadly. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, old friend," he sighed. He then turned towards his son. "You should have stayed away from here. Now it's almost certain that Demise will return."

Link gave him a hard look. "I wasn't going to leave you to die. Like I've already told him," he pointed to Brandon's body, "I'm not giving up yet. If Demise does rise again, I'll just cut him down and send him back to wherever he came from."

Callum shook his head. "You're headstrong and foolish," he chuckled softly, "but I believe you. I guess it's an inherited trait then. Thank you Link, you saved my life."

"How did you survive?" Groose asked as he and Midna joined them. "Not that I'm complaining, but we saw the volcano collapse on itself. How did you get out?"

The older man's face turned grim. "After you three made your escape, I decided to take a chance at my own. I attempted to warp myself out, but in that split second after I let go off the shielding spell I was hit in the head by debris. I made it out alive but I must have been knocked out again because the next thing I remember is waking up in a dungeon. Not the best way to wake up, I'll tell you."

"Ghirahim must have found you and took you back to use you as a hostage," Link theorised.

"Doubt it," Midna frowned. "That guy was fully intent on killing us back then."

"From what Brandon told me, a group of his men found me a few miles out from their main base," Callum said. "They brought me back and he came up with the idea to use me for ransom. I'm glad that's all behind us now. It will be good to finally get back home."

Link looked at Midna and Groose uncomfortably. "That's if we aren't thrown into a prison cell when we get there."

And another chapter finished. We are very close to the end now folks. You may have noticed that many of the spells I used in this story have been play-ons of various magical abilities from the games. Though I decided to keep the original names for the goddess powers from OoT, I had planned to create new incantations for them. Din's Fire would have been 'Fire Storm', Farore's Wind would have been 'Wind Step' and Nayru's Love would have been 'Love Guard'. I honestly think I made the right decision with what names to use for these powers.

Next week: What will happen when Link and the gang return to Skyloft after losing the last of the medallions?