Chapter 18

We followed behind the Poes, Meg leading our group through the trees. The further we walked into the tangled branches of the woods, the more I could sense Poes. Their numbers were so concentrated in one area I figured that that had to be the temple. The only one I could sense as definitively different from the rest had to be Jahalla. If Gomess had caused my skin to crawl, Jahalla made my body want to shake and flee. I blocked out the feeling as best I could knowing that there was no way out of this battle. I was committed now.

If I had been bothered, Link was outright disturbed by the Poes; although, it was the ones leading him and not the ones in the distance. He twitched every time one of the Sisters looked over their shoulders at him. Of course, their glares were not very comforting.

Link happened to catch me looking at him. "I really don't like this." He quickly glanced at the Poes before continuing in a hushed tone, "Can we trust them? I mean, they could be taking us into an ambush or something."

I smiled when I thought about it. "Trust is not exactly the word I would use concerning them. They do what they please and will follow orders if they align with their own wills. While they are not very reliable, I believe they will take us where we need to be." I paused looking at both Meg and Gomess as they floated along. "Poes are self-serving. Right now they know how close the Death Sword is to retuning and would not dare to risk its wrath. Their continued existence hinges on Jahalla's defeat as well, seeing as how they have all been assisting me lately."

"I guess I'll have to trust your judgment then." He sighed in defeat. He had wanted a guarantee the Poes would not turn on us. "But, if they make one wrong move, I will kill them."

"Be sure to. No matter who, or what, it is, if it threatens you, kill it." I was determined. Now was the time to tell him. "No matter what happens in the battle with Jahalla, you need to get that sword. Promise that you will get that sword." It was a command rather than an option, my flat tone making it clear.

"I…" He stared at me for a moment, surprised that I commanded him to do something. "Why is it so important I get this sword?"

"Vaati seemed very reluctant for you to obtain the sword. He was outright scared of it, so it must be able to defeat him. You…" I looked away and at the ground. It was ridiculous that I wanted to protect the demon still. "You need to kill him."

"What?" Link managed to say. "You… You want me to kill him? But you and him... You are friends with him. Why?" Even though he hated Vaati, he would still consider my feelings. It was no wonder the goddess' would choose him to wield an evil-banishing sword.

"He has something planned and I fear that he will be a greater threat to Hyrule than even Ganondorf. He is set on destruction. If you want to survive, if you want Zelda to survive, you need to kill Vaati. There is no other way at this point. Even if I do not want him dead, he needs to die to protect everyone else. I think he has attacked Hyrule before and been sealed away instead of killed. If the cycle is to be broken, he needs to die."

"I will get the sword, I promise that, but the rest…" he trailed off.

"I understand." I smiled weakly before adding, "He is a monster though, if that helps at all. He may resemble a human at times, but in truth he is a vicious monster bent on destruction and death. A monster with such intent should be killed before it causes harm."

"Eivie, you're not talking about Vaati anymore, are you?" He stepped in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders, causing me to stop walking. His blue eyes stared me done, waiting for me to speak, to explain. "Please tell me you aren't speaking about yourself."

"I am." I admitted. "During this battle it is likely that the Death Sword will take control of my body, perhaps even permanently. If not this battle, I assure you it will soon. My death is imminent no matter how hard I fight against it. This is why I want you to be prepared to fight and kill me. All of these Poes fear the Death Sword. Jahalla fears the Death Sword. They know that the Death Sword is powerful and dangerous. Even from the few moments I have seen it, I know that it needs to be killed before it destroys people's lives, like it had in Ordan. I just want you to know that, when it takes over, I want you to kill it because I will already be gone."

I jerked out of his grip and walked past him. We were close to the temple and I did not wish to debate with Link over the matter. I stood between Meg and Gomess at the front of the group, hoping that Link would be hesitant to come neat the phantoms.

When Link made up his mind to step past the Poes and to my side, we all found ourselves in a clearing created by a deep gorge with a bridge forged from an incredibly large root leading to a tree easily the size of Hyrule Castle. It was awe inspiring how absolutely gigantic the place was and how I had never even known of it. It was worse knowing how many Poes could cram themselves into such a phenomenal place.

Link immediately took a small step back and quieted whatever his next words would have been. I straightened my back and tried to appear calm. Also in front of us was a gathering of Poes: five Imps and about ten normal, hooded Poes, with a few ReDead scattered about the mix.

One of the Imps slowly dropped its scythe to the ground before coming forward, stopping uncomfortably close to my face. For a moment it stared at me, perhaps waiting for a reaction. Once it was finished examining me, it drifted back slightly before speaking.

"We wish to join the Death Sword in battle once more." It gave a small bow. When it looked back at me it had a sharp-toothed grin spread across its face. "Only the most foul and wicked among us are meant to lead."

"Well then," I laughed. The Death Sword decided speaking was no longer my task. "I will tear apart that coward while you, my lovely minions, kill everything that happens to get in the way. Know that this time Jahalla will not be surviving this battle." I pointed forward, the Imp Poe giving another bow before picking up its scythe and leading the others into the temple.

"Eivie?" Link's hand latched onto my shoulder, turning me around slowly.

"I am not finished with you, human. When you near Jahalla, I will take over this body. Your resistance is futile now that I have regained much of my power. There is no more fighting against me. Enjoy your last moments because soon enough you will cease to exist at long last." A voice echoed in my ears. That was when I knew I had a problem. The Death Sword was awake enough to speak to me and control me at will.

"Are you all right?" Link shook me slightly. "We can still leave. You don't have to go in there."

"I do. No matter how far away I could get, this conflict would find me and bring me back. Link, remember the sword. That is your main concern." I paused, looking back to the temple's entrance. Meg and Gomess had stopped to wait for us. "I will no longer be in control. Whatever words I speak from now on will likely not be my own. Even my actions will not be mine. Do not let me hurt you, even if that means that you need to harm me."

I quickly turned incorporeal and walked away from him, joining Meg and Gomess across the bridge and at the entrance. When I became visible again I unsheathed my sword, ready for the horde of Poes waiting to tear me apart inside of the temple. Link looked dejected for a moment before sighing and joining me.

"I trust you." He whispered. "And you can trust me. I won't let something bad happen to you, so please stop acting like you're dying."

I tipped my head in a halfhearted attempt to nod. I walked through the dark tunnel leading in without another word. I could hear Link as he followed behind me. The only light came from the Poes lanterns. We all stepped out into a mildly brighter room, though that fact was the opposite of comforting. The wood walls of the room were lined with hovering normal Poes and a few Imps. Several ReDead moaned as well, making their floor-bound locations known.

"I'll get the ReDead." Link stated as he charged past me, drawing his sword. "I can't see the rest!" he added.

With that reminder I stepped forward attracting the attention of four normal Poes and one of the Imp Poes. The rest of the ghosts were fighting against my own allies. Gomess, however, decided that he was not needed at the moment and chose to talk with Meg as she swung her lantern at four Poes surrounding her. It was then that she made four copies of herself; that was something I never knew she could do.

When the Poes were close enough to me I sent a bursting jinx spell that hit the five of them. Two of the regular phantoms screeched before speeding towards me, swinging their lanterns opposite directions so they could catch me in the middle. I sent another flame for one and knocked the others lantern away with my sword. A chill down my spine caused me to shift into a ghost briefly, narrowly avoiding the Imp that came from behind. I quickly spun on my heel, smashing my sword into another hooded Poe that decided to attack after the Imp. The Poe's lantern shattered and it hissed as it faded away.

The Imp attacked again, this time aiming to behead me with its wicked scythe. The other three Poes charged at me from all sides, trying to swiftly dispatch me. There was nowhere to run and no way I could block them all at once. With no other option I faded away and blindly ran forward. As I returned to normal, I unfortunately smacked right into a ReDead as it screeched. I froze in place, unable to move or even cast a jinx. It heard the ominous jingling of a lantern behind me.

The ReDead in front of me groaned and fell to the ground. Link had slashed the creature from behind and immediately went after another nearby before it had time to screech. A shriek behind me made me want to jump. There was a thump followed by a metallic clank as something hit the ground. By this time I was finally able to move and whip around I saw what had happened. The Imp had been beheaded before its lantern was cut in half. Gomess smirked before flying off to gracefully slash another Poe apart in one swing of his scythe. He had decided to help after all.

I turned back to the three Poes that remained. One of them was bold enough to charge forward with its lantern poised to attack. Without the chaos of multiple attackers the Poe had little chance. I ducked out of the way, which caused it spin in a circle to face me. By that time, my sword had already been raised. Its yellow eyes widened as my blade made contact with the lantern, causing it to shatter.

The two other Poes came flying at me, trying to use the same tactic of smashing me between them. I cast a jinx and disappeared into the bright blue flames. With the camouflage I became invisible and ran behind the Poes. While they looked around in bewilderment I swiftly broke their lanterns.

Once the other Poes were dealt with the room had gone nearly dark. A few of the Poes that had joined me had been killed, but others had joined when they saw they stood no chance against the Sisters, Gomess, the Death Sword's human, and a knight of Hyrule. Meg motioned for us to follow her through a heavy stone door with a red swirl painted across it. The Poes all wordlessly left with the purple Poe.

I tried to move the stone only to have it stay in place while my feet slide back. "Link, can you move this?" If he could not there would be a problem. I could easily pass through it as a ghost, but I did not want to leave Link behind.

"I can try." He stepped beside me and shoved against the stone. There was a grinding sound and the stone slowly began to slide out of the way. I joined in and attempted to help Link push the stone out of the way. When Link gave one last solid shove accompanied by a grunt, the door slide open completely. "I guess it's not used often and got stuck." He shook his head as he stepped through to the other side.

"Probably," I mumbled as we stepped into the next room. The stone rolled back into place suddenly, the noise causing me to flinch.

"Closes well enough," Link grumbled as he glanced at the door.

The room we entered had a door on each of its four walls. In the center of the room was an almost island like, raised area with four torches at each corner. Conveniently all of the doors, except the one we entered, were unreachable because gaps between the central raised area. There were no enemies this time oddly enough. Right when I was about to question what we were to do, Meg and her sisters went to each torch, lighting them with their lanterns.

The ground shook slightly as a wooden platform rose from the floor to form a bridge to the next door. The Poes began filing through the door once more, leaving Link and I to use the door. The heavy door resisted moving like the first but soon enough we were standing on the other side, squinting in the sudden onslaught of light.

We stood outside in the bright day sun. I covered my eyes, the brightness bothering them more than usual because of the sudden change. We were on the edge of the gorge, which apparently separated the temple into different areas. There was a wooden planked bridge swaying and creaking in the gusts of wind. I took a step towards the bridge only to stop when I noticed the Poes had stopped moving.

"What is it?" I growled, surprising myself. I knew I had been growing more and more aggravated the closer we came to Jahalla, but now it was obvious. "Why have you stopped? Is there a problem that I need to know of?"

Gomess flew closer before smiling obnoxiously. "The door to Jahalla is over there." He pointed across the gorge to another door that had no bridge leading to it. "Might be a problem for you and your knight, my mortal master."

"Any suggestions?" I smiled sarcastically. "Well, worms!? Do any of you half-witted fools have a suggestion?" I yelled before snapping my mouth closed. The Death Sword was impatient to slay Jahalla.

"We may be able to carry you across," Meg stated quietly.

"But the knight is going to be a bit more difficult." Joelle flew around him once. "He would be too heavy for two or three of us and having more than that try to carry him would be a task to coordinate."

"And going around would be ill-advised," an Imp Poe added. "Jahalla has many ReDead in those rooms because he thought the human would not be able to cross here."

"Eivie?" Link glanced around, wondering what the Poes were saying.

I pointed across the abyss of a gorge at the door. "We need to get over there."

Link's eyes went wide as he saw the door and the gorge between. "Oh," was his response to that. His eyes darted around as he looked for a way to the door. "We won't be leaving this way, right? Ask them if we can reach the Master Sword without this bridge."

I raised my eyebrow at the question, wondering what he had in mind. "You heard him. Will we need this bridge later?"

"No." Joelle said flatly.

"Tell them to cut it down and take the ropes off. We can attach it to the tree over there." He pointed to the trunk the door was carved into. "Then I can climb across."

"You want to climb across on a rope?" I looked down the gorge almost sickened by how high up we were. "Are you sure?"

"This will work, Eivie. I know I can do it, but what about you?"

I almost wanted to say yes to crawling across just so he did not do it alone, but it was risky. Gomess and Meg grabbed my arms and lifted me up before giving me a chance to decide. "They can carry me over." I mumbled as I gave a quick glare to each ghost. Link looked almost relieved. "Listen to what he says and know that you will die if he does." I ordered as Meg and Gomess begun rising.

It was nerve-wracking to be flown over the open gorge by two spindly ghosts. The entire time I looked down at the ground, which was really far down. Honestly I felt safer when Vaati flew me around simply because he could use the wind to catch me if I somehow got dropped. There was nothing safe about two ghosts dangling me over a gorge. When my feet touched the ground on the other side I immediately looked over to Link, catching sight of an Imp before it cut down one side of the bridge.

The wood planks crashed into the side of the gorge with a horrendous noise. Another Poe cut the ties holding the planks together. A few of the Poes flew over to my side and tied the plank-less rope to a branch that Link specified. Link pulled on the rope a few times before nodding.

He checked his sword, making sure it would not fall. "I'm coming across," he yelled just before he jumped and grabbed onto the rope. He pulled himself up, swinging his legs and wrapping them around the rope. He slowly shimmied closer, looking determined rather than afraid. It was amazing how he did not look horrified as he hung above the deep gorge by only a rope. A rope that had been out in the elements for who knows how long. Anything could go wrong: the rope could break, the wind could suddenly pick up, or some Poes may attack. If Link fell…

I bit my lip nervously as I waited for him. The moment his feet touched the ground safely I could not help myself. I ran up to him and hugged him, nearly crying. It was now that my indifferent attitude dissolved, revealing just how anxious I was about everything. My emotions from the entire day came bursting out at once.

"I'm okay," Link whispered, lightly patting my back. "It'll be all right. I won't let anything happen to either of us, okay? You don't need to be so nervous."

I smiled a bit, hoping that everything would be all right.

"Let go of the human and get back to walking before I make you," it growled, causing me to freeze. "Should you keep being distracted by this human I will kill him while you are still aware of yourself."

I nearly shoved Link away as I stumbled back a few steps. His scrunched eyebrows and his slightly open mouth showed how confused, perhaps even offended, he was with me suddenly pulling away.

"I'm…" I began to apologize only to be interrupted.

"Quit with the pathetic emotions and continue walking!" It roared, actually making me grab my head. It sounded like it was beside me rather in my mind.

I held up my hand when Link took a step closer to see why I was holding my head. "We need to keep moving." I gave a fake smile in a horrible attempt to convey that I was all right.

Link hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. He walked past me and opened the door to the next hollowed tree. The Poes filed past and flew through the walls. Only Gomess stayed behind, staring at me curiously.

"Having some difficulties, human?" He smirked.

"Quiet." I walked past him as he chuckled at my response.

The room I entered was equally grand in size as the others, but also had a large chasm in the center. There was only a relatively small area to stand. A few ReDeads stood around, but, more troublesome was the gathering of mummy-like Gibdos with them. Several Imp Poes hovered over the chasm. In the center of the room there was an odd light pink, one eyed, bow-wearing ghost. A key seemed to be dangling around its neck as well.

"Do you think your absence was unnoticed?" The pink Poe giggled. "Meg and her sisters have failed once again but this time you will die. And Gomess too? I thought Gomess liked the victors yet he hangs around these fools? How sad indeed."

"Gina," I heard Joelle hiss quietly beside me. "Always annoying."

"Is that a human with you? The Death Sword has a human body and a human pet?" The pink Poe burst into a fit of obnoxious laughter. "Oh how the mediocre have fallen to being absolute trash. I don't think you're worth my time, but…" the ghost faded from sight, "I will kill you anyways. Death is always fun."

I looked around, actually baffled to where the pink phantom went. Lately I had been able to see them even when they were invisible if I wanted, so why was this one not visible? It was certainly odd looking, though.

"Watch your knight. Ghini's steal life forces." Meg warned me before splitting into copies to attack the Imps.

A giggle behind me made me spin around. I slashed my sword through the air, aiming for a pink blur that had just appeared. Nothing happened. The blade went right through the pink ghost. I took a step back when it stuck its tongue out, not knowing what it was doing. Then it faded away once more.

Suddenly I found myself on the ground spitting out dirt. I scrambled to my feet when I noticed just how close to the edge I was. Another giggle made me turn around and see the Ghini as it faded from sight again.

Out of nowhere several pink Ghini surrounded me, all laughing and sticking their tongues out.

"Copies. Destroy the original." The Death Sword decided to offer.

I nodded to myself once, lifting my sword up and preparing to swing at the nearest Ghini. I picked the wrong one, my sword passing through the illusion. As I turned to strike a different target, I felt a bizarre tingling feeling accompanied by a growing, searing pain.

"Move!" The Death Sword commanded, actually causing my legs to twitch as it tried to move me itself. "Idiot, fade away. It's eating us both!"

I haphazardly ran forward, turning into a ghost as I did so. I whipped around when the odd sensation stopped, just in time to witness the pink Ghini glowing slightly before I lost sight of it. I looked around for the Ghini and Link. When I spotted the familiar green tunic I ran towards him, hoping he could hear me over the wails and grunts of the Gibdos and ReDead he was fighting.

"Link," I shouted as I stabbed a ReDead in front of me. "I need your help with something."

"I'm listening," he yelled back.

"The pink ghost. It will attack one of us and the other should kill it while it's distracted." I glanced around quickly, hoping the Ghini did not hear and then counter my plan.

Link nodded as he cut into another of the linen-wrapped undead. I stayed close by, fending off whatever got too close to me as I waited for the pink phantom to attack again.

I shrieked when one of the blasted copies flew right through my face. As I stumbled back a step and tried to breath, I noticed more Ghinis flying at me. I swung my sword around hoping that, by pure chance, I would hit the real Ghini. The Ghini swarmed around me in a confusing mass of moving blobs to the point that it was near impossible to concentrate on a single target.

The searing pain returned, skipping the tingling stage completely. I could not see where the soul sucking Ghini was in the jumbled blurs spinning around me.

"Link!?" I began to panic when I noticed that I could not even see him through the mass.

"I can't see it!" He yelled back.

My heart skipped. If I could not see the damn thing why would Link be able to? I cursed my own stupidity. There was too much noise and movement to think properly. The sounds of the laughing copies were outright insufferable. The constant blurs of ghosts as they flew around was making me nauseous. The pain of the Ghini devouring my soul felt like it was burning every part of my body.

I growled and made a completely inhuman screech. Blue flames fanned out around me, dispelling the illusions and hopefully hitting the original. The pain miraculously stopped. I heard Link yell, causing me to turn his direction. I saw the pink Ghini's eye go wide as Link's sword sliced through it. The silver key it had been wearing fell to the ground with a clatter. Link snatched up the key from the floor and quickly shoved it into his bag before returning to fighting.

With the Ghini gone, the battle ended rather swiftly. The remaining Gibdos were slashed apart by Link and I, Gomess lazily helping near the end. The Imp Poes were defeated by the Sisters and the other Poes that had joined the group. A few were lost and this time not replaced by more. These Poes seemed to be more loyal to Jahalla than the previous ones. Once the enemies were dispatched, we were left to find a way across the bridgeless gorge. Link seemed oddly adapt at this sort of problem solving.

"I think that if we got the rope and brought it in here I could use that branch." He pointed again to a branch overhanging the chasm. "Then I could just swing across. It should be fairly easy actually."

"Okay." I snapped my fingers at Meg and Beth. "Help him bring the rope inside."

The two got a disgusted face but nodded in agreement nonetheless. The two followed after Link as he slide the stone door open once more.

"Imp," I directed at the one that had served as a spokesman earlier. I pointed across the gorge at the door on the other side. "Is there a key nearby for that door?" There were heavy chains held in place by a large lock that blocked the door that presumably lead to Jahalla. I could feel that creature's power concentrated somewhere on the other side.

"Yes." The Poe flew over to a vine covered area. With a swing of its scythe it revealed a hidden compartment and chest. "I had stashed it here before you had arrived, just in case I decided to help the Death Sword." It opened the chest and retrieved a red jeweled, black metal key. "Jahalla only checked if the chest was locked up; not if the right key was in it." The Imp showed a sharp toothed smile.

I actually smiled back at the creature. It just seemed so ridiculously prideful that it hid the key away. I held out my hand and the Imp handed over the key. The door grinded open, marking Link's return. He kept the door from closing as Meg and Beth dragged in the rope.

"Okay, take the rope and tie it up there," Link ordered the Poes.

Meg and Beth had an absolutely disgusted look on their face. They despised following his orders more than they hated following mine. I giggled under my breath at the reluctant Poes as they tied the rope to the overhanging branch. Meg then flew over to me, Gomess trailing behind her as well. The two lifted me up and carried me across. It was worse this time because the gorge was a bottomless pit obscured in darkness. Not knowing what was at the bottom was somewhat more terrifying.

They rudely dropped me on the ground on the other side. I watched nervously as Link took a few steps back and ran forward with the rope in hand. He launched himself off the side and swung on the rope. Luckily he had enough momentum that he made it to the other side in one swing. He let go of the rope, landing roughly in front of the door and next to me.

"Hope we don't have to go out that way because I do not want to do that again. How did I think that was a good idea?" Link looked over the gorge and laughed in disbelief before turning to me. "So, what now?"

I held up the key for him to see. Then I went to the door and put the key into the lock. I slowly turned the key, the tumblers moving sluggishly into place. The door was the only barrier between Jahalla and me. This was it. It was finally time to deal with the Poe King. It was time to see if the Death Sword would take over my body completely or if I could somehow overpower it.

The lock and chains fell to the ground.

There was no going back from this.

A/N- I decided to stop here because the chapter was getting really long. I promise that the next chapter the battle with Jahalla shall finally happen. The Death Sword is talking with Eivie now. Link found a mysterious key. Yep. I hope the battles were interesting enough. I'm still not sure how to write battles, so hopefully it's decent. I used the Twilight Princess Forest Temple and tried to describe it. Gina the Ghini is from The Minish Cap. I hope you all enjoyed. I hate to be the one begging for reviews, but I am sort of losing motivation and your thoughts would quite lovely.

Thank you all for reading! Thank you to motherdark for favoriting and following, and Zetra Shink for reviewing.

Zetra Shink- Thank you for reviewing again! I love past details. When I came up with this story idea I never knew how fun foreshadowing was. It also makes me think ahead. I think this chapter is my longest or second longest, so hopefully it has a bit more reviewing-material and action. Thanks again!

-AwkwardBlackCat