Chapter Ten: Spirit Temple

Title: LoZ: The Time Keeper

Chapter: 10

Author: Hikari no Vikki

Genre: Romance

Parings: Link x Zelda / OC x Shadow

Disclaimer: (picks up a daisy) I own this, I don't this. I own this, I don't own this. I own this, I don't... NOOO! (stares angrily at daisy)

Description: Previously known as Divine Impurity. Following the events of Ocarina of Time, a girl with a legacy she knows nothing about joins the fight against Ganon. She falls in love with the Hero's shadow, and finds herself caught up in a war that seems impossible to win.

Author's Notes-

This is probably going to be one of my longest chapters in this particular story. It has a lot of crucial moments to it, some fighting (it IS a temple chapter, which I don't look forward to but this is where stuff happens and I'm getting better at shortening them up) possibly some blood and gore if you're good… XD

EDIT: Grammar edits and details that I added in. More of Victoria's thoughts, really. I'm trying to comb out the issues that I feel she has, the cracks in her character. Once I'm done, though, she should be a much more believable character than she was before, so I think it's all good.

They didn't have long to admire the creative craftsmanship of the Colossus, as they were attack by more groups of Leevers until they reached solid ground, but Victoria had to admit that it was quite the beautiful structure.

"I do have to admit," Shadow muttered coolly, "Leevers are not my favorite creatures to contend with. Right annoying little buggers."

Victoria giggled.

Link brushed off their conversation as he walked through the hall. He stood still for a just a moment before bending backwards to avoid a pair of moving pots that crashed into the walls. Shadow and Victoria, just having ducked from being hit by the flying projectiles, stood up, staring at him.

"I didn't do it, I swear. They flew by themselves." Shadow gave a scoffing laugh. "And I'll believe it. Things in the Spirit Temple tend to have spirits resting in them, and they aren't always nice." Link raised an eyebrow. "There are nice ones?" Shadow shrugged. "Uh, so I'm assuming. Haven't met one yet. But then the spirits could all be mean ones and there are no nice ones."

Link sighed and shook his head.

Then he walked over to the snake mirrors, reading the tiny, elegant text.

"If you want to travel to the future, you should return here with the power of silver from the past. If you want to proceed to the past, you should return here with the pure heart of a child. Sounds like a riddle for you, my friend."

Victoria frowned. "I don't see why it should be for me. It's so easy. And it applies to you. It means that to proceed in the temple, you need to get something from the past and bring it back to the future. It's really quite simple." Shadow grinned. "Yeah. You would've figured it out eventually."

Link scowled, looking back in their general direction and running his fingers through his blond hair.

"I guess I'll go back, then. But… I don't have the song to come back here. I'd never even get into the camp." Something sparked Victoria's magical core, like a twinge. She stiffened. "You felt it, too?" Shadow whispered.

"Yeah."

Dragging Link with them, they ran back out of the temple to see Sheik jumping down from the temple entrance.

"Past, present, future…" he began, "The Master Sword is a ship with which you can sail upstream and downstream through time's river, and the port for that ship is in the Temple of Time." 'Finally, someone's telling me something straight, here! Well, sort of.' Link didn't dare speak this out loud, or he'd break the presence of Sheik that seemed to be little more than a spell.

"To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple, you must travel back through time's flow. Listen to this Requiem of Spirit, for this is the melody that will lead a child back to the desert."

Victoria was swept with a sudden urge to play something, anything, with her hands. She dug in her magical core for anything, and managed to summon a tiny leaf whistle, the magic flowing easy in her fingers. Shadow, too, caught up in the moment, summoned some small shadow-made panpipes, and played. The music ingrained itself in their minds, fingers, and soul, and carried on as day passed into night.

"This is the last, and yet not the last. Remember me, we will meet again." Sheik's eyebrows, barely visible under a curtain of orange-blond hair, furrowed. "And no, I will not wait this time, Hero. Trust my words, strange as they may seem." And with that, he threw a Deku Nut and disappeared.

The magic of the music still lingered in his eyes as he turned. The moonlight gave Link's blue orbs new life and fire, and as he spoke, there was this strange new air about him you could only place as courage in its purest form. "I'm going. Now. I promise I'll get some sleep later. But I've got to–got to go. I have to."

Victoria nodded. It was really her he was speaking to, since she was their voice of reason; the one that made sure they ate and slept – as soon as possible if they missed a meal or two, or a night of sleep. Link's voice rang with simplicity only truth could ring.

Telling the truth from the lies… is that a Sheikah thing?

Even Cronos could give no answers. But the thought itself rang with the same simplicity of Link's statement, so she had to assume it was true. However, by the time she came from her reverie, Link had gone and Shadow had gathered wood for a fire.

"Are you coming?" he asked her, motioning with the bundle of timber towards the foyer of the temple. She blinked. "Oh, yes. Forgive me. I just have a lot on my mind."

Shadow smiled tenderly. "Do enlighten me."

She smiled, but furrowed her eyebrows at the same time. "Everything, really. I wish I could narrow it down. I haven't had time to get used to the powers I've assumed from my mother, my role in the universe, and even the mundane basics of my Sheikah lineage. I know things that are true or false when I hear them, but I don't know why they're true, and then I know all this magic that I didn't before and it's, it's all so… much."

She was looking up at the ceiling of the temple, an exasperated and exhausted expression on her face. The weight of all the magic she'd used in the days past was drawing on her. She really had to be more careful about what she did with it. Shadow dropped the wood down on the right side of the room, near the corner, and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"There now. Don't think about it if it bothers you. Just let things flow. That's how I find it easy to cope with things that are too much for me." His fingers deftly began to massage her shoulders, remembering times when Arthur, his personal servant, had done such things for him when he was stressed. Deftly they located tense spots and relaxed them; undid tough knots and made the neutral spots melt under his touch. "That does feel good," she muttered drowsily. "Whoa, now, don't fall asleep on me. I need you to light the fire."

She casually threw her hand towards the interlaced sticks and the center immediately burst into flame. Internally she winced as a mild throb pulsed in the back of her skull. Carelessness like that was what was making her so tired now. And yet, she realized, she'd have to sacrifice her own comfort if she was to expand her magic properly. Once her mother's magic finally ran its course, then it would be her magic. Until then, she'd just have to settle for sucking it up during the moments pain plagued her and savoring the moments it did not.

Shadow blinked as Victoria settled into his arms, tired and completely worn out. "I suppose the flow is nice. We'll sort it all out once we defeat Ganondorf, right?" Shadow nodded into her hair, sliding them down the wall near the fire slowly. "Mmm. Right."

It was a very long while as Shadow listened to her breathing, feeling her magic course through her blood under his touch, smelling her hair, her skin, and the stone and sand around them, thinking of one thing, and then nothing, and then several things at once, but not really thinking at all.

And after that very long while, Shadow slowly eased out from under Victoria, who had half been laying on his right side, most definitely asleep, and laid her down upon a pillow-bundle of clothing and covered her with the blanket Link had left him. He walked outside the temple, lost in thought, holding his arms around himself, not for warmth, but simply because he could.

Something about the temple now made him restless, whereas it usually made him feel at peace.

'What is it?'

He cast the thought out across the night as he began to play with his shadow-pipes the light, airy notes of the spirit-song hunting down a long forgotten magic and brought it into life once more. The magic threw a spark at him, which he caught and immediately questioned. Something took him up, across, through space, over sand and stone, standing at the right-center pillar, puzzling over the spark.

'I know I felt something,' he thought, trying to convince himself he wasn't crazy. And just then, he felt against the pillar, pressing into just the right spot. If he hadn't, he might never have known what was to happen next, but because it had, future events would run true to their appointed course.

There was a great rattling and shifting of stone, and he stepped back, silently gasping in amazement. A secret passage he had never come across in all his years exploring this place?

When it was done, he walked silently down the corridor, torches lighting on either side as he passed, as if welcoming royalty. The passageway ended in an open, circular room, and he was suddenly hit with a wave of déjà vu. "What?" he said aloud, his eyes clouding over, "What is this?"

He knelt, grasping his heart. It rattled his ribcage, making his breathing erratic, until all at once, it stopped.

The air itself changed, tasting older to his future tongue, the dust motes not touching him, but going through him. He blinked, and stood up, examining himself. His fingers, palms, arms… his whole body was transparent and sort of various shades of black and white. He vaguely wondered if this was a dream. Suddenly, a feeling of being passed through – kind of like ice water being poured over oneself – came over him, and someone tall and dark came into his vision. He ran to the right, up to the oval altar in the middle of the six stone columns and torches, and gave a start when he recognized the figure.

It was a very much younger, but still quite the same, more viral looking Ganondorf.

He was holding a bundle, and in it, a baby.

'Is that… no. It can't be. But it is me, isn't it?' Shadow only just now realized that he was seeing a memory, the preserved memory of the spell that had been cast upon him almost eighteen years ago (1).

As he observed the scene before him, he realized the woman across from Ganondorf was Victoria's mother. She was beautiful and terrible, as was the price of such power. He saw her face, not yet filled with the light of Victoria's soul, weeping for something lost. Zelda. Victoria had told him her story.

Ganondorf, truly had once careful for him, he could see that much. The way he cringed at Sylvia's harsh words and held the baby Shadow close to his chest whenever he could confirm that, at least. And then the scream, the terrible, unbearable scream – how it pained him. Perhaps physically as well as emotionally, real (?) tears coming to his eyes.

And then it was over.

Color and solidity returned to him, and he stood leaning against a pillar, staring off into space. Now he realize the entirety of the spell he was under – for it was indeed a spell, and it was indeed reversible, though only once the spell had completely run its course.

But what course was that?

Suddenly, he could hear Victoria calling his name. "Shadow!" He ran to her immediately, stopping in his tracks once he reached the foyer of the temple. It was covered in flames that somehow gave off no heat.

'Flames? But there's only stone! What's there to catch fire with?' Then it occurred to him this might be an illusion cause by leaking magic and a nightmare. Not stopping to test his illusion theory, he ran through the flames to the tossing Victoria against the wall.

"Wake up!" he shouted, shaking her shoulders, "Wake up!" The illusionary flames shorted out once she awoke, but she clung to Shadow as a reflex, burying he face in his shirt, crying. He seemed afraid of moving, and unsure of what to do next, so all he felt he could do was hold her close and lay her back down. Still not completely conscious, Victoria fell asleep quicker than he, as thoughts ran around his head until the wolf's howl.

.oOo.

"Shadow!"

"Damn… morning already?" Shadow sat up, rested, though slightly worse for wear. Sunlight was streaming through the temple's entrance, cascading in beautiful rays with a magical sparkle. He stared at it for some time before finally turning to the whispering voice.

"Listen, I'm sorry about last night-" "-AH!"

Victoria's bright face had immediately come into view and he hadn't been prepared for it. He flailed as she stood back in surprise, but then recovered his composure and brushed off some non-existent dirt from his chest.

"It's all right," he murmured, hiding his face in his hair to conceal his blush, "you had a nightmare. It happens." She frowned. Last night's episode was sure to be one of many more; which scared her a little. The reality of it was so sharp and jarring, it was hard to believe it was little more than a reaction to the process that was changing her, strengthening her.

So, at that particular moment, she was about to protest that the fire could've been real instead of illusionary, but decided to humor him and agree. "I suppose. Now come on, Link's back and he's already eaten, so here, have some fried Leever!" She handed him a coal black pan of iron with some mushy green stuff in the middle.

"This is fried Leever? It looks like Chu guts." She brought herself to her full height, which was quite intimidating, and put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, if you don't like it, I can surely give it to Link and let you go hungry. It's not like we have much else." She muttered something more under her breath that sounded like, "And you really don't want to eat the guay meat – nasty stuff."

"Okay, okay, I'll eat it!" He took a bite. "It's actually not that bad. Seems like they do serve a purpose after all." Victoria grinned. "When you have a boss that likes to serve boiled fish eyes and call it a dip, you learn some things, you know? Nearly anything living is edible, with the exception of most mushrooms and a few plants." Shadow paused in his eating, not sure if he wanted to know what else had gone into his food. So he didn't ask.

Once they were all packed up, they were ready to proceed.

"I don't remember this being here the last time I came…" Shadow said as they stared at the big silver block. Link's new, shiny gauntlets flashed. "Well, you need these to keep going. Speaking of which, you don't have any gauntlets; would you like my old ones?" "Sure."

Link pushed the big block with a magical strength that was surely the work of the gauntlets. Once it dropped and they rounded the corner (Link actually hitting the Beamos statue correctly the first time around) Link pulled out a map to check which way they should go next.

"Hey!" Shadow hissed playfully, "You might try checking the ceiling before deciding which way to go, huh? Besides, I know this place. Practically lived in it. We don't need that." Victoria nodded. "Right. Link, just shoot the thing so we can move on?" He didn't argue, and quickly shot the target on the ceiling to unlock the left and right doors, and they chose the door on the left.

Victoria dispatched the Wolfos in the next room with little trouble, Link playing Zelda's Lullaby on the Triforce symbol on the floor as she did so. He shot over to the chest that appeared, as Shadow looked the room over. "Oh look, more sand." Link coughed. "Yeah, it appears to be everywhere. Oh, and look! Another compass." He shook his hat, the compasses inside choosing at this particular moment to rattle. "Like I need another one."

"Each one is specially attuned to a specific temple, Link. You can't take the compass from the Forest Temple and use it in the Water Temple. It's not how they work. Although I do admit it is kind of pointless to have so many compasses. They could at least have a labeling system of some kind, you know?" Victoria said, looking up at nowhere in particular, rubbing her chin in thought. "They do all look the same," he muttered as the exited the chamber, "would be nice if I could tell them apart."

They dodged the Beamos that had reappeared and headed for the other door.

"Whoa, busy place. Who gets to do this room?" Shadow looked at Victoria and Link. Silence greeted him. "Okay, no takers? Seriously?" He looked at the rolling boulders and sweatdropped. "If they flatten me, it's your fault."

There was a lot of screaming, but eventually he got all the silver rupees to open the door, which he went through, coming back dripping in goo.

"Okay, next time, you are going to be the one slaying the shield eater and getting covered in its entrails, got it?" He did not look happy. Victoria blinked, stunned for a moment, then quickly brushed off the goo with a cleaning spell. "There! Good as new!" She flashed a forced smile, hoping he'd take the bait. Not being able to resist her charm, he sighed and shook his head. "Here's your bloody key, hero. Let's get a move-on."

They went back to the next room and unlocked the door, coming face to face with a second shield eater, stunning Shadow. "Okay, I seriously didn't know it was there. Really." Link, who had just been cleaned by Victoria's spell, nodded dismissively. "I know. What I'd really like to see is one of the 'nice' spirits you talked about." Victoria scoffed/chuckled. "Good luck finding one, I can't sense any." Link grinned, and they moved on, killing off the wall Skullatua of beforehand.

"Wait."

Victoria's eyes flashed as Link took a step forward. She charged with Shadow's dagger, slashing through an invisible floor master. Link paled.

"Thanks." She stood up straight, nodding curtly. "Your welcome. Oh, try moving the mirror to the third sun from the left. It seems to be the one radiating the most truth. Shadow, stand by with your sword; I don't trust it completely." Link moved the mirror, and the sun shone, but just when he was about to turn, Shadow cut through a very large, very visible floor master, and picked up the rupees it left behind.

"What would I do without you two?" Link asked, sighing and laughing at the same time. "You'd use pink faeries, most likely." Shadow grinned. "Not exactly what I wanted to hear. It was rhetorical, actually." Shadow shrugged. "I would've commented anyway." Link nodded. "True."

The next room Link recognized as the main room. "This is where I got the map. And I know how to get the next key, so just give me a minute." He ran up the stairs, ran across the top to jump to the left hand of the statue, played Zelda's lullaby, Longshoted over to the right hand, and ran back to them all in the span of two minutes.

"You said to give you one, you took two," Shadow commented, grinning. Link out of breath, scowled and shook his head. "Do you have to comment for everything?" Victoria asked him. "Yes." She sighed, but couldn't help but laugh at the same time.

"There's a switch on the ledge up there. I don't know what it does, but it needs to be hit. Think you two could get it for me?" He handed Shadow the Megaton Hammer. "This'll let you push it down in the ground, since it looks rather rusted. I'll move on, and you'll wait here." He winked as he ran back up. "I'll be back!"

Victoria heard the door closing before she could even say, "What?"

She looked at Shadow. "What just happened?"

"I think he just ditched us." She laughed. "I don't think so. Perhaps he thought we needed a break. You know how he is. I'm a little tired anyway. Let's go get that switch, huh?" Shadow reluctantly agreed.

They walked up the stairs and stood at the edge. Victoria put her arms around his waist tightly, smiling at his warmth against her skin. "You're soft," she whispered gently, making him blush ever so slightly. He smiled a little. Then he focused his Longshot on the chest across from them, and landed safely and the ledge.

Victoria nuzzled closer, enjoying the silence. She wanted to stay like this forever. "I suppose I have to let go now, don't I?" Shadow laughed softly. "You could, or we could hit the switch together. How about it? We have all the time the world right now, as there's no telling when Link'll get back." She nodded. "That sounds wonderful. And terribly exciting." she joked. He shook his head. "Your jokes are bad." She giggled. "You still laugh at them though."

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. I wonder why…" He took out the Megaton Hammer and took her hand. "Let's do this!" And they swung. (2) Time spun as soon as the rusty switch was embedded in the ground, and they were thrown from one space into another. Twin screams halted as they were thrust onto blue stone, the wide, square room lit by an unknown source.

"Are you all right, Victoria?" Shadow asked her, cringing. She nodded. "Yeah. What happened? Huh?"

"Damn! I was hoping to catch the Hero! But look, Kotake, look what we caught instead!" Shadow's head whipped up, recognizing the sound of Koume's voice. "No…" She cackled. "Oh, yes! I think it's time I got to give you a nice long whipping, yes? You are such naughty boy, Shadow, running away and all that…" Koume floated closer, but Shadow brought Victoria back. "Stay away, damn you!"

Kotake was simply staring into nothing. It was as if she hadn't a choice in being here. "Language, boy," she said in a dull monotone, "Language."

Shadow and Victoria stood up in the middle of the room, the two witches circling them. Shadow knew these witches? It was hard to imagine that he did, but then she recalled something he'd said about the twin sisters who had raised Ganondorf long before any of them had been born. It didn't matter if he'd known one of them as a kinder person before; they threatened their lives now. Victoria pressed herself against Shadow's back and put something into his hands: the dagger.

"Use it. I don't care how." She hissed.

Use it? Use it how? 'I need some way to protect her. I die with her if I could!'

Then the dagger's magic began to activate. "I knew there was magic in that thing!" Victoria gasped, looking back in his general direction. "Magic? What… kind?" Shadow's hands were still behind his back, clutching the dagger tightly. "Wish magic. The very same magic I used to find you in the first place. But I didn't know it then." The wish magic blinded the witches, and sent them running for cover. In their haste to leave, Shadow and Victoria were thrust back into the main room, side by side. They were breathing heavily, sweaty, and magically tired.

Then they heard Link's voice from above. "Are you two all right?" Victoria looked up at a descending platform on the ceiling, which Link stood on. "Sort of. You wouldn't believe where that switch actually went. Ouch, Shadow, you're laying on my foot."

"Oops, sorry." Shadow sat up, bleary-eyed and contemplative. "Is it just me or does something feel different? On a magical level? I can feel your magic, closer than usual. It's like… we're connected."

Victoria frowned. She could feel it too. Shadow's magic was closer than before, pulsing against hers. She could feel his thoughts, too, dark and over thinking, sorting out the obstacles yet to come. His soul shone bright underneath the layers of darkness, his id, small but powerful. She could feel tears almost come to her eyes. How could she know these things?

"The wish magic," she whispered, "it must've happened when the dagger activated…oh!" With a wave of her hand a light appeared. It was a strong line, connecting the center left sides of their chests together. "Our hearts!" Shadow exclaimed softly. "They're…connected." Victoria nodded. "Right. And our souls and even our thoughts, should we choose to strengthen our bond. I know what this is; even without my staff's help. This is a heartline; often considered both a gift and a curse, depending on what way you look at it. My father once told me that the price of a heartline was a 'life and a life'. Basically…"

Shadow blanched. "If I die, you do. And vice versa." He frowned. "It's all my fault, then. I thought… I had to protect you. That I'd die with you if I could. This must have been what the dagger's magic gave us, to that effect." Victoria laughed, the tears finally coming free of her eyes.

"No, don't you understand? This is a good thing! Wherever we go now, we'll go together, even in death." She swallowed some tears she'd licked off her lips and took a breath. "Now I don't have to be afraid."

Shadow stared at her for a moment, utterly baffled. Only she could see this as a good thing. But perhaps she was right. Perhaps now they didn't have to be afraid. He wiped away the remaining tears and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. The moment was ruined, however, by Link shouting down at them.

"Hey, lovebirds! Will you get up here already? I know this is a tender moment an' all, but you'll have plenty of time after we fight the boss to have a make-out session!" Shadow snorted. "He didn't really just say that did he?" She nodded. "Yeah, he did. Now come on, we can use the statue to get up there if we hurry."

Once they landed on the platform, Shadow took a look at Link's shiny new shield. "Whoa… that's the mirror shield. I take it we'll need that to defeat the boss?" Link nodded. "The owl said we had to turn the witches' magic against them." Shadow frowned, but said nothing. By now, the heartline had disappeared again, but he could feel its energy humming through him.

And there they were, Koume and Kotake, floating in front of a huge Iron Knuckle.

"Looks like someone is here, Koume," said the ice witch. "Looks like it, Kotake," said Koume. They were speaking so strangely… Suddenly Shadow realized that somehow the wish magic had tampered with their memories! They didn't remember their meeting before! Did they even remember him?

'It doesn't matter. Koume I never liked, but if neither of them remember me, this is going to make fighting them a whole lot easier.'

"What outrageous fellows they are, to intrude so boldly into our Temple…" Kotake cackled. "We should teach these outrageous fellows a lesson!" Now it was Koume's turn to cackle. "Oh loyal minion…" they both sang.

The two witches turned around completely to face them as they gave their order. "Destroy these intruders on our behalf!" Koume spotted Victoria and a grate appeared over a hole in the ceiling that wasn't there before. "Oh little girl, we can't have you helping this time. It's time we shut you up for good!" Then she teleported behind her and knocked out Victoria out by sheer surprise. Then she cackled.

'Shadow…'

"No!" Shadow cried. Koume snapped her fingers and transported her to the hole in the ceiling, Victoria lying limp against the grate. "Ha ha ha! How's that for incentive!" She flew back over to Kotake before Shadow could get to her. "Good luck dying quickly!"

And then they disappeared, leaving Link and an enraged Shadow to fight off the Iron Knuckle.

"Shadow," Link barked, "you take right. I'll go left. Wait until it swings and then charge at it, and back away before it swings aga- hey, wait!" Shadow, not having heard him, charged anyway, not watching for the swing, only just managing to see it by sheer luck, and avoiding a decapacitation by trading it for a long flesh wound to the chest.

"Ahh!" he cried out in pain, recoiling. "You idiot!" Link shouted down at him once he arrived at his side, "Didn't you hear me tell you to wait?" He handed Shadow a red potion. "Now drink this and come help me when you're done. And hurry!" Link side jumped and began attacking, clearly experienced at fighting an Iron Knuckle and anticipating its movements. Shadow shook his head.

That was stupid. I should've waited… getting myself killed won't help him any, and it certainly won't help Victoria.

He gulped it down, feeling the pain in his chest receding. "Victoria!" he shouted, "Wake up!" his feelings reverberated through their bond, and he saw her hand twitch.

He was about to call again, but he had to dodge the flying debris of the pillar next to him first. The battle wore on, grueling and bloody. Victoria's eyes began to flutter as the sounds of weapons clashing woke her. She sat up, propping herself up with her hands, then rubbed the pounding spot where she'd been hit. "Ow… Shadow, what?" Finally she jolted back into reality and saw the battle, which was going on beneath her.

Calling out would just distract them, she realized, so what could she do? Then she noticed the bars. They were made of steel, and she could melt them, provided she put enough pressure and heat against them. And after that? Well… huh. That could work. Her will set; she got to work.

Link and Shadow were nearly exhausted, scrapes and cuts littering their bodies, and the battlefield littered with debris and dust. "We can't go on like this much longer… what?"

There was a great clattering, and then a bright blast, and the Iron Knuckle fell to its knees, the armor falling to the floor with a clang. Victoria stood behind it, her staff pointing towards the figure, looking more like an avenging angel than the scared young woman she kept hidden behind her stoic mask. Shadow gasped. "Nabooru!" The figure before Victoria was dressed in desert attire, female, red-haired, and with light brown skin.

It was indeed Nabooru, the Gerudos' principal thief.

"Huh? Where am I?"

Suddenly, the witches were back. "Nabooru!" Shadow cried, "You must remember me!" Nabooru's eyes lit up in recognition. "Shadow!"

"What a wonderful reunion, Koume, it looks like she's back to normal…" Kotake hissed, giggling too much to be harmless. "She's just a little girl, but she commands a lot of respect from the Gerudo, Kotake…" Nabooru snarled. "Little girl! Why you-!" "Be silent, vermin!" Koume snapped.

"Maybe we should make her work for the great Gannondorf for a little while longer! Ho ho ho!" Kotake suggested, staring down at her. Koume laughed, liking the idea. "Oh, what fun! Then we should brainwash her again! Ha ha ha!" They proceeded to fire up two beams of light, which the adventurers were powerless to stop. Nabooru knew she couldn't escape either, so she turned to Link and Shadow. "Defeat them! And quickly! Ah!"

And then she was gone, along with the witches.

"Nabooru…" the word was dead upon Shadow's lips, as if he couldn't believe it had happened. "Come on, we should go. The boss room is just beyond this door." Victoria prompted them, "We'll save Nabooru after." She flashed a smile. "She's still alive. I don't know where, but she is."

Victoria thrust a wave of trust through their link, unintentional as it was. Shadow nodded, feeling the link pulse. "Right! Let's do this!"

Upon arriving at the center of the largest platform, a cackling sound echoed through the room. "Look at these stupid kids… they came on their own to offer themselves to the great Ganondorf!"

Two identical circles of power lit up, one yellow, one blue. One in front, the other behind. The trio stood shoulder to shoulder in a human triangle, weapons drawn. "With my flame I'll burn them to the bone!" Koume cried. "And with my frost I'll freeze them to their souls!" Kotake cackled. And then they circled around their heads a few times and the fight was on.

Shadow instantly began to jump around the platforms, asking the shadows to help, as there were plenty in the room. "I'm afraid this part is all you two. I can't cast any ice or fire spells, but I'll do my best to heal you if I can!" Victoria nodded. He was a shadow mage after all. She leaned close to Link and whispered quietly to him, "I'm going to need you to let me in…"

"In?" He questioned. She nodded. "Inside your head, so I can talk to you without the witches knowing. Just… relax." He raised an eyebrow but did his best to relax. 'Link! Can you hear me?' she shouted mentally as loud as she could.

Link cringed. "Ouch, not so loud… I can hear you just fine!"

'Sorry. I'll try to be quieter. When one starts casting a spell, use Navi to target the other one and reflect the spell to deal some damage!'

Victoria shrugged. "Here, this might help." She helped keep Navi floating nearby either one of the sisters as they flew around. Then, when Kotake finally was still and began casting her spell, Navi shone a bright green that drew the shield's magic to her. The ice reflected off the shield perfectly and hit Koume square in the chest with a shriek. She shook it off, apparently not finished. The twins began circling again, and this time Koume prepared her spell.

However, Link had waited a second too long to move his shield arm and was hit by the fiery blast. "Ahh!" his eyes bulged with the pain of the fire searing down his skin, but Shadow, true to his word, managed to cast a healing spell that stopped the fire and healed his wounds to a certain extent.

'Damn! I wish I could focus on my healing spells better! But if I stand still I'll be hit… I really wish I'd studied healing spells better in general.'

The next go-round Koume sent fire raining down on him again, but this time he was ready and hit Kotake with a full blast. At this point Koume cried out, "Let's get serious now Kotake!" Shadow jumped back onto the middle platform, the shadows still lingering all over, making him look little more than a corporeal figure of dark energy. "No! They're transforming! This is their ultimate attack!"

"Kotake and Koume's Double Dynamite Attack!" Victoria snorted. "They could at least give it a better name. Even 'ultimate attack' sounds better than that." Shadow shrugged. "Yeah I'm not sure why they call it that…"

"Guys!" Link hissed, "Focus here!" "Oh, right," they both said staccato-like.

After the somewhat overdramatic transformation, Twinrova wasted no time in targeting Link and shooting a beam of ice at him, which he was able to block thanks to Navi's quick thinking.

"Hey, why is my shield glowing?" The mirror shield had somehow absorbed the blast and was flashing white. "It's the mirror's magic, Link!" Victoria told him, "Keep absorbing her attacks until they backfire!" "Easy for you to say, she won't…stay…still! Ah!" Again, the shield absorbed an ice beam, and flashed even faster.

"How much longer?" "One more, I think." The third ice beam did indeed cause it to backfire back at her, and made her fall to the platform she was floating over. Link jumped and attacked with his sword, and Victoria shot fireballs with her staff. Shadow's eyes narrowed, knowing their attacks wouldn't be enough.

But did he dare try to attack on his own?

He'd have to, he decided. They needed to get this over with as fast as possible, so what was the harm in trying to help out a little? Shadow focused his magic, bringing into being a wispy, sharp shadow spear that he sent flying deep into her midsection. The blood-curdling scream that followed was deafening.

"Whelp shadowling!" Twinrova hissed furiously. Shadow gasped. "No!"

Twinrova had grasped Link and had shaken him unconscious. Victoria went to save him from her clutches, but was thrown back by a blast of energy, which rattled her to her very core, sending her crashing onto the platform to his right, and making him sink to his knees in pain. "Damn… the link…" He slowly got up and grit his teeth through the pain that was searing his very soul.

"Time to teach you a lesson in manners, child!" Shadow's eyes narrowed.

"No! It's you that needs to be taught a lesson!" (3)

Twinrova threw the unconscious Link to the platform to his left and summoned a ball of shadows above her head. "We'll see about that!" And she threw it towards him. Shadow steeled himself and ran through the ball as it blasted into oblivion behind him, holding his sword as he yelled through his charge. Jumping over the gap between platforms, he slashed at her and slashed until she knocked him backwards, sending his sword flying. Now he knew he had no choice but to use the shadows, but he wasn't sure if he should. Would he, by doing so, become like Ganondorf? But… it wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. No, he wouldn't let it!

'I won't let myself become Ganondorf, because I am not his son!'

"I won't become him, I can't!" he said out loud to himself. Finally, he stood back up, a somehow bright energy swirling about him that crackled with power.

"It's time I finished this! I'm sorry Kotake!" He gave a bitter smile and a single salty tear ran down his face. "You always were my favorite…"

Summoning as many shadows that would allow him to command them, a swirling mass of purple shadow beams appeared, and when they finally reached full power, they stilled and shot towards the surprised Twinrova and finished her for good. Shadow sunk to his hands and knees, exhausted from the drainage of so much energy, but he knew it was worth it.

"I'm sorry for you, too, Koume, sadistic witch that you are…"

He looked up to see Link and Victoria recovering, and running towards him. "Are you okay?" Victoria asked him, her face blanketed with worry. "I could ask you the same. But we're alive aren't we?" She looked just as much drained as he felt. It was probably the link. "Your pain… I felt it, too. How could you bear so much?" She smiled. "I couldn't have. If you hadn't absorbed some of the excess through our link, my soul might've shattered." She frowned. "And for a magic user…" Shadow nodded. "If their soul shatters their magic dies and then so do they. Classic domino effect." She helped him stand. "But that's done, now. Look!"

"Shoot, what a fresh kid… this time we'll get serious, eh Koume?" Koume turned to Kotake and noticed the halo over her head, and the blue light surrounding them. "Hey, what?"

"Kotake, what is that above your head?" Kotake turned to Koume and saw that she had one too. "I don't know, but you have one over your head too, Koume!" Koume started screeching, realizing what they were. "But I'm only 400 years old!" "And I'm just 380 years old!" Kotake cried. "We're twins!" Koume barked, "Don't try to lie about your age!" Kotake snarled. "You must have gone senile!" Koume huffed. "Who're you calling senile! Is that how you treat your older sister?" Kotake screeched even louder, making the trio cringe. "We're twins! How can you be older?" Koume flapped her arms faster. "How heartless you are! How can you be so ungrateful?"

"You're the heartless one!" Kotake said, flapping her arms at the rate of Koume's. Suddenly, their fighting ceased, and they both said as they flew into the light, "I'll come back to haunt you!" (4)

As soon as the light disappeared, there was silence.

"Umm," Link said, finally breaking it, "that was really weird." Victoria scoffed, still looking up at the ceiling. "No kidding. Let's just go already…"

And so they stepped into the blue light, headed for the Chamber of Sages.

.oOo.

Nabooru was standing there waiting for the,.

"I knew you were the Sage of Spirit!" Shadow cried, grinning and snapping his fingers. "There's no one in the whole desert who has more!"

She laughed. "Save for perhaps, you, Shadow." Then she nodded to Link. "Kid, let me thank you. Look what that runt from the past seven years ago has become – a competent swordsman! By the way…" she said apologetically but still holding her proud stance, "I really messed up.

"I was brainwashed by those old witches and used by Ganondorf to do his evil will…" Shadow's eyes furrowed. "It wasn't your fault. You were powerless…" She chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know. But isn't it funny? That a person like me could turn out to be the Sage of Spirit! But now I'm going to fight as one of the six sages! He's really going to pay for what he's done!"

She nodded her head sharply to prove her point.

"Kid…" she began again, "No, Link… the Hero of Time!" He cringed. "Please don't call me that…" She chuckled. "Why not? It's what you are after all! Well, instead of keeping the promise I made back then, I'm giving you this medallion!" In a flash of light and a flood of power, the Spirit Medallion was his!

Then, as they disappeared into the light, Nabooru's voice called out to him one again.

"If only I knew you'd become such a handsome man…"

Wahh! Finally! I'm sorry this is so long, but I had so much stuff I had to cover! It was mostly just emotional bonding and whatnot, there was hardly any real temple trekking going on. Well anyway, here are my footnotes:

1) Victoria is supposed to be seventeen. So Link, Zelda, and Shadow are all roughly a year older because remember Vic's story? Yeah. I have to go back to Shadow Watcher and change some things then because I said he was seventeen in that story.

2) This doesn't really happen in the game. To be honest, I don't know what happens. But I needed to fit that scene in there somewhere so that's where it went.

3) This also doesn't happen. Again, I needed this scene so I used my powers as a fanfiction authoress and made it so.

4) I messed up their conversation after you defeat them. Koume is actually supposed to say what Kotake is saying and vise versa but I'm too lazy to change it.

More emotional stuff after this, some ultimatums… hardcore spiritual talks about feelings take place. Yeah. Hope I don't bore you too much. We'll get to the juicy stuff later. Since Ganon's Tower is most likely going to take two chapters, and I want an epilogue, I'd say about four chapters are left. Cool. And I never thought I'd finish this thing. XD