Link sighed. He was at Telma's bar.
"Somethin' wrong, m'boy?" Rusl asked him.
"Nah, just..."
"...Ilia?"
Link sighed and nodded.
"Hmm..."
"Ya know what?"
"What?"
"When you started playing piano and Ilia started playing violin again, I noticed something."
"What?"
"The two of you...You and Ilia...you became extremely close. Closer that you used to be."
"O-Okay. Why are you telling me this?"
"Uli described music as a second voice. I asked her what she meant by that."
"What did she say?"
"She said that, in a way, music kinda tells others around you what's in your heart."
"Huh."
"Did that make sense to you?"
"Yeah."
"And Link..."
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind if I went with you to Kakariko? I want to see Colin and the others."
"Of course you can."
Ilia watched him.
He was sitting at the table, drawing. Every once in a while, he would look up at her.
She was confused.
The voice in her head told her that he would hurt her, but he had not once even tried to.
Maybe it was wrong.
Ilia.
What?
He's testing you. He's trying to trick you. It's working, and he knows.
Can't I just talk to him?
Why?
He seems...empty. He's in pain.
He's not. He wants you to talk to him, so he can hurt you. Don't talk to him.
She sighed, and he looked up at her.
"Yeah?"
She breathed in and opened her mouth.
"R-Rusl said that-"
She was shaking. He took her hands. They were cold. She blushed.
"Yeah?"
"Rusl said you play piano."
He nodded. "I do."
Ilia.
What?
Don't.
But he's-
"W-Why?"
He paused. "Well...I guess,"
She looked at him, growing less nervous.
"Uli, Colin's mother, taught me. I kinda wanted to, at first just for fun, but now-"
He paused.
"Now what?"
"I-It helps. With pain."
Ilia nodded. Link handed her the picture. She looked at it, surprised that he could draw so...well.
That can't be me. I'm not that pretty.
"I...um...Thank you."
He nodded.
"C-Could you, um..."
"Yeah?"
"C-Could you play something for me?"
Link smile and nodded.
It was a waltz, a simple one. But the way he played it...it sounded like a conversation.
Her hands itched to play with him.
He's a monster, Ilia.
No he's not.
Ilia, don't be a fool. You know he is.
No, he's not.
How dare you-
You don't control me. I don't like what you're doing, manipulating me and causing him this pain. He doesn't deserve it. He's a good person at heart, and you're destroying him. Leave me alone. Leave us alone.
Ilia-
Stop. Now.
Il-
I said stop.
And the voice went away.
She smiled lightly and sat on the bench next to him.
He smiled.
She looked at him, his face calm and...happy.
She wanted to remember his smile.
"Link..." she whispered quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Link smiled and kissed her cheek. She blushed and leaned against his shoulder and fell asleep.
Link ran.
He ran as fast as he could.
Ilia.
He carried something. The key to her memory.
Ilia.
He ran into Kakariko, the charm in his hand.
Ilia.
He ran through the door to the Sanctuary.
Ilia.
She came up to him.
"Link."
He smiled.
"Link...is the lady all right?"
He nodded.
"Yes, Impaz is fine. But-"
She nodded.
"Thank you."
He nodded and held up the charm. She gasped and looked up at him, then back at the charm.
"I... I knew you once...Yes... This feels so familiar... The scent of hay...Long ago... When we were young, you and I...You were always there... You were always beside me..." She looked up at him and smiled.
"Link."
He smiled and Renado and the Gorons left.
"This gift was meant for you. It was something I wanted to give you before you left on your journey. Please, Link, take it. "
"Ilia-"
She pressed her finger to his lips.
"You don't need to worry about me any longer. Whenever you return... I'll be waiting for you."
He smiled and nodded. She kissed him on the cheek, then buried her face into his chest, smiling.
Link tried to hang on.
The beast, an Argorock, thrashed around from the pain.
Link's grip was loosening.
He slipped and his back hit the cold, hard ground.
He was in the City in the Sky, the mythical Home of the Oocca.
And he was fighting the monster.
A Dragon.
Link groaned and stood up.
He once again climbed the pillars and grabbed its back.
He stabbed it.
And it died.
Link was breathing hard.
The last mirror shard.
Finally.
"Link, you did it! It's the fourth shard!" Midna said happily.
"Now we have them all!"
He nodded.
"Yeah."
"Hey...Link."
"Hm?"
"The words of the sages... Do you remember them? Only the true ruler of the Twili can destroy the Mirror of Twilight. Zant could only break the Mirror of Twilight into shards... He couldn't utterly shatter it. That's proof of his false kingship. Link, we have to hurry! To the Mirror Chamber! After all, a fake is a fake...and no matter how much you dress it up, the real thing always wins!"
Link smiled. "Yeah."
"I'll get you out of here. You're sure there's nothing else you need to do, right?"
"Nope."
"Alright."
And they left.
"Link! Oh, Link, what happened?!"
"I-I got in a fight."
They were in Kakariko, and Ilia was freaking out.
"Against what, exactly? A Dragon?"
"Yeah."
Ilia sighed and mumbled something about his carelessness as she brought him inside
"What?"
"Just...just c'mon, dummy."
Link shook his head and smiled as she led him to the Inn.
He had her back.
Ilia.
"Some call our realm a world of shadows, but that makes it sound unpleasant...The twilight there holds a serene beauty... You have seen it yourself as the sun sets on this world. Bathed in that light, all people were pure and gentle...But things changed once that foul power pervaded the world..." Midna said.
They were at the Mirror Chamber.
Link nodded.
"It was all our doing..."
They turned around to see the sages, encircled around them.
"We overestimated our abilities as sages and attempted to put an end to Ganondorf's evil magic...I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive our carelessness...O Twilight Princess."
Link looked at Midna in surprise. Princess?!
"What? So...you knew?" Midna said, shocked.
The sages nodded, and bowed their heads in forgiveness.
"As a ruler who fled her people, I'm hardly qualified to forgive you. In our world, we've long believed that the Hero would appear as a divine beast," she said, turning to Link. "That's why when I found you, I thought I could use you, Link. And I only cared about returning our world to normal...I didn't care what happened to the world of light, not at all. But after witnessing the selfless lengths that Princess Zelda and you have gone to... Your sacrifices...I now know, in the bottom of my heart, that I must save this world, too. There is no other way. If we can just defeat Zant, the curse on me will dissolve, and we may be able to revive Zelda. Let's go, Link! For Zelda! For all of this world!"
Link nodded and walked up to the platform.
They left for Twilight.
For Hyrule.
"Zant."
Midna's voice reeked of hatred, directed towards the man sitting on the throne.
"Isn't this ironic? Here we are, all thanks to the dark magic curse you placed on Link!"
Zant laughed.
"You speak of magic? Still your tongue for a moment, whelp, and I will tell you of both magic and the oppression of ages," he said, standing up.
"The people of our tribe...a tribe that mastered the arts of magic...were locked away in this world like insects in a cage."He removed his mask.
"In the shadows we regressed, so much so that we soon knew neither anger nor hatred...nor even the faintest bloom of desire. And all of it was the fault of a useless, do-nothing royal family that had resigned itself to this miserable half-existence!"
As he spoke, he raised his arms and twisted his back to face them. Then he twisted back and stamped his feet on the ground.
"I had served and endured in that depraved household for far too long, my impudent princess." He came up close to them.
"And why, you ask? Because I believed I would be the next to rule our people! THAT is why!"
As he spoke, he spun around and danced around them.
"But would they acknowledge me as their king? No! And as such, I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler. It was then, in the thrall of hatred and despair, that I turned my eyes to the heavens...and found a god had only one wish..." He said, teleporting behind them.
"To merge shadow and light...and make darkness!"
Them he attacked.
Link had defeated Zant, and the Fused Shadows had been returned to Midna.
"Y-You...TRAITORS!"
Zant once again sat on the throne, struggling for breath.
"Traitors, ha! You want to know why none would call you king? It was your eyes, Zant. All saw it, a lust for power burning in your pupils... Did you think we'd forget our ancestors lost their king to such greed?" Midna shouted at him angrily.
"Midna... Foolish Twilight Princess... The curse on you cannot be broken...It was placed on you by the magic of my god! The power you held as leader of the Twili will never return! Already he has descended and been reborn in this world...As long as my master, Ganon, survives, he will resurrect me without cease!"
Midna, angrier now by what he had said, stabbed him with her newly acquired magic. Zant's body inflated like a balloon, and he exploded.
"I... I used just a fraction of the power that's in me now...I did THAT using only a fraction of my ancestor's magic?!" Midna said, horrified. She stood there, stunned, then turned back to Link.
"Link! Now is the time! We must save Zelda! The evil power Zant was wielding... I couldn't take it from him. But at least I still have the magic of my ancestors...With it, I can return the cherished power Zelda bestowed upon me...Now! Let's go! Princess Zelda is waiting!"