Chapter 23

Vaati stared after her body as she was flung through the wall of building. He had overestimated how powerful that blast would be. Even though it had not directly hit her… And after the first scream she went silent. Had he… killed her, then?

As he took a step forward, something slashed apart his shoulder. He reached for his arm, blood running through his fingers. He caught sight of the Bokoblin's sword that Eivie had tried to grab as the weapon zoomed towards the building.

"I will… not die… that easily," Eivie's voice rasped out. She floated out from the wreckage of the building. Large splinters of wood were stabbed through her torso, and her legs and arms burnt and bloody. Her skin had paled. Horns now rose out of her head.

It was no longer her. He had pushed her beyond what his spell could control. "Death Sword," he said, removing his hand from his shoulder. The wound had already closed. One piece of the Triforce had already proven so powerful.

It swung the sword, his blood spattering onto the ground. "Sorcerer." The horned ghost came closer, stopping when it was a few feet away. The ghost studied him for a few moments before saying, "I am not foolish enough to battle a creature like you." It dropped the sword before it went to work pulling out the chunks of wood stuck in its side.

Vaati did not respond right away and watched as the monster pulled at the impaled skewers. Even though the creature tried to hide its discomfort, he could see its face twitch at every movement and hear it draw a sharp breath before every pull. It was in no condition to fight him before he had the Triforce.

"I have a proposition, sorcerer," the ghost said after removing the largest splinters.

Vaati scoffed. "What could you have to offer?"

"The human had some interesting final thoughts concerning your plans." It smiled, its sharpened teeth visible. "I could share what I know, for a price."

Vaati looked over the creature again. It would be no problem to finish it off, especially if it stayed in Eivie's spent body. It was entirely possible Eivie had knowledge of where the knight and princess had went. As long as the Death Sword did not want something outrageous, the extra information would be useful. "I will humor you," he said. "What is your price?"

The creature laughed a few times before it growled in pain. "Damn body is pathetic," it hissed quietly. It regained its composure and continued. "I wish for the Arbiter Grounds, the prisoners and guards included." It smiled at whatever it had in mind. "What a fortress the place is. Jahalla's tree is nothing in comparison to what the Arbiter Grounds could be in my control."

"An interesting request," Vaati muttered, looking to the east. The Arbiter Grounds had once been a temple of the Gerudo's goddess, but, upon being taken by Hyrule, become a prison. It housed nothing special, to his knowledge. The only odd part of the request was the prisoners and guards, although it was hardly worthy of questioning. He did not care what happened to them. There was apparently no reason not to give it to the Poes. "You may have the Arbiter Grounds if you share what you know."

"She was very concerned about a set of silver keys."

"Keys?" Vaati glared at the monster, barely reigning in his anger. It thought that keys were important enough to use as leverage?

It gave a crooked smirk. "She was right. You had forgotten about them."

Vaati opened his mouth to yell at the ghost before an old memory resurfaced. "How many keys, exactly?" He hoped that he was not remembering those keys.

"Three."

"Did she have them? Or does the knight?" He began pacing back and forth. The Great Fairies' keys that had teleported Link to his palace the last time. He had not even considered that they might still exist.

"That knight had picked one up during the fight with Jahalla. The blonde girl has one. The human sent Gomess to fetch the remaining one."

Zelda and Link were together as well. Unfortunate, but they were relying on the Poe for the final key? Had Eivie trusted that creature to such a degree? Vaati stopped his pacing. Even if it was a slim chance the ghost actually gave Link the key, he needed to act. He could not let his carelessness ruin his plans. Not this time.

Eivie… The Death Sword cracked its neck obnoxiously, bringing his attention back to the creature. An idea came to mind then. It remained in Eivie's body, now that could not be ignored. His palace should already be above the desert. He just needed to buy some time to prepare.

"Out of curiosity, what are you planning to do with the Arbiter Grounds?"

It rose an eyebrow, before it grinned wickedly. "A fortress and a horde of my own," it answered. "Does that play well with your plans, sorcerer?"

"Indeed it does."

"Zelda," Link huffed, already slowing his pace. "Let's stop for a sec." He hadn't had a decent break in days. Not to mention he had done nothing but run around all day. He must have done twenty laps around Hyrule with Ganon chasing him, and now he had just run out to the lake. "Thank you," he muttered when Zelda stopped.

"Link, I have a very important question." Her voice was grave. "Did you keep that key you found?"

"Key?" He thought for a moment, coming up with nothing. "What key?"

"A silver one. Eivie thought you picked it up during the battle with Jahalla."

A key he'd found during that battle? It sounded vaguely familiar now. It had been around that Ghini's neck. "I think so," he said while swinging his bag in front of him. He dug around for a few seconds before he found the cold metal key. He held it up, asking "This one?"

"Oh, thank the Goddesses." Zelda then pulled at a string around her neck, which revealed another key that had been hidden under her dress. She offered it to him, and Link took it with a raised eyebrow. "They can be used to reach Vaati's palace, apparently," she explained. "However, a third key is needed. Eivie had sent Gomess to retrieve it and then deliver it to you."

Link held the keys out in front of him, trying to piece together how they would get him into a floating palace. Magic was just too bizarre sometimes. "Do you think Gomess will actually give me it?" He broke the string and slipped the other key onto it. He then tied it back together and hung it around his neck.

"That is debatable, but Eivie must have thought it was the best solution. If you do not receive the key soon, you will probably have to find it in Death Mountain yourself." She looked back the way they come, frowning. "The palace was heading towards the desert, I believe. It… may be best for you to travel there. If you do actually get the key from Gomess, it may be best to use them near the palace."

"Yeah," he sighed looking back. "It's fine. You need to go back. I get it."

"Thank you, Link. I just… cannot leave Castle Town in such a state. I am… I am likely the Queen now. They need someone to help put things back together after all of this."

Link nodded his head again. "I'll defeat Vaati and put an end to this. I have to." There was a brief silence before Link asked, "Zelda, could you… check and see if my dad and Eivie are all right?"

"Of course, Link," she said softly. "We can do this. You can do this. I believe in you." She embraced him, the hug lasting only a few seconds before she stepped away. Her determination shown in face as she walked around him, back to the ruined Town.

"Thanks, Zelda," Link muttered as he took his first steps on the journey to the desert.

Dawn was breaking once more when he set foot into the desert. Zelda had been right; the palace was looming high above in the pink-orange glow on the horizon. Link figured he would just walk towards the palace, but, as he got closer, he could see something below it. The tower cut into the sky, reminding Link that the desert was home to the infamous prison: the Arbiter Grounds.

It was suspicious. Vaati had chosen to have his palace above the prison, though Link could not really think why. It was a secure place, staffed with Hyrulean and Gerudo guards. Unless Vaati had gotten rid of them, the prisoners should still be just that: prisoners. Vaati would not release a bunch of humans, would he? He seemed fonder of his monsters. Link had no idea, but continued forward anyway. In the off chance the prison was untouched, it would be better to wait inside instead of in the coming desert heat.

When the sun was fully in the sky, he could see some discouraging signs. Smoke rose from the prison. And, when he drew closer yet, he could hear shouting and metal clashing. With that, he ran forward. The shouting had to be people. If they were facing monsters or convicts, he had to help any of the guards there. An ear-piercing scream made him sprint faster.

He skidded to a halt in the sand and stood in a mild horror. At least twenty Stalfos were gathered in front of the entrance. Their armor and Hyrulean crested shields glimmered in the sun as they moved. Four ReDead stood behind the Stalfos, screeching periodically. In the center of the crowd of undead were two women, one in purple and the other in red. Both had bright orange hair. Their curved scimitars were slashing at the monsters, but the creatures continued to attack relentlessly.

With the focus still on the Gerudo women, Link set to work stabbing monsters in the back before they noticed him. One by one the monsters fell. Link was drenched in sweat by the time the last Stalfos clattered to the ground in a pile of bones and armor.

"Who are you?" The woman in red stepped forward, scimitar pointed at him.

Link lowered his arms to his side slowly. "My name is Link. I'm not here to make any trouble." He waited as the red clothed woman stared him down, her veiled face not revealing much emotion. Once she lowered her weapon, Link figured he could try speaking. "Who are you two? Do you know what happened here?"

"Narri," the purple clothed woman answered.

The other gave a quick look at Narri before nodding. "Ruya. What are you doing here?"

"I…" Link trailed off, thinking how insane saying he was on a quest to kill a demon sounded. He pointed to the palace above the prison. "I came to get into that palace, to defeat the sorcerer that lives there."

Narri nodded, actually believing the story. Link's surprised face made her chuckle once. "Before they attacked, that palace showed up. The place reeks of dark magic. No doubt something needs to be defeated up there."

"They? You mean the Stalfos?" Link looked up at the palace again. Had Vaati summoned them?

Ruya shook her head. "The Poes came first. I had been guarding the perimeter." She pointed to a wall Link had passed on the way over. "The sky had been bright with all of the lanterns. The Poes disappeared into the Grounds. I saw there was nothing I could do, so I went back to the village to tell them what happened."

"When we returned it was silent. The Stalfos flooded out when we approached the door." Narri bent down and picked up one of the shields. She traced over the Hyrule crest. "Whatever evil has taken hold here managed to kill the guards and turn them into these creatures. I fear what awaits inside will be much worse. If all of the prisoners are also now monsters, we face a difficult fight, Ruya."

"I know. Best we stop wasting time." She walked towards the entrance to the complex. "I would rather be out before dark."

"I agree," Narri said, dropping the shield. From the ground, she retrieved a stuffed bag with what looked like ropes hanging out before she walked to Ruya's side.

"Wait." Link took a few steps closer. "I could probably help. I was going to go to the top of this place." Being up higher sounded logical when trying to enter a floating palace. He could wait there for Gomess and the key. "I could help you get where you need to go."

"It's up to you, Narri." Ruya crossed her arms over her chest.

"You seem capable enough against physical creatures. Have you any experience battling Poes? They are quite different from other monsters because of their particular skills."

"Yes." Link cringed slightly. "I've fought quite a few."

Narri nodded. "Ruya, I can sense what is in there. It would be best to bring him with, especially considering he knows how to battle Poes already."

"Yeah," Ruya muttered. "Just don't go running out screaming like the rest of those Hyrulean guards did. Lot 'f good it did them." She looked at the piles of bones.

"I won't run away," Link stated flatly.

With that settled, the three walked down the stone stairs leading into the prison. They walked down a long hallway, torches hung on the wall every couple of steps. The hall went into a larger room, the stone pillars and fading stonework a reminder the prison had once been a temple. Narri stopped a few steps into the room. Link and Ruya followed suit.

"It's towards the center of the prison." Narri wrapped her arms around herself, looking like she was fighting off a chill. "Lady Aveil was right to send us. No doubt the creature has returned."

"You know what we are facing?" Link asked quietly. The room appeared devoid of monsters, but he did not want to call them out of hiding. Not to mention he already had a bad feeling. If Poes were involved…

"Yes. It'd suddenly left ten or so years ago." Ruya answered. "That Poe had enjoyed terrorizing our tribe, so its disappearance had been a blessing. Too bad its back."

"It seems stronger now," Naari mumbled.

"Did you have a name for the monster?" Link had a bad feeling he already knew.

"We'd taken to calling it Death Sword."

"Death Sword," Link repeated. He had hoped Eivie would be okay, but… Vaati had probably killed her before sending the Death Sword here. The other possibility being that Eivie herself had lead the attack, but Link did not think she would do so of her own will.

"Are you familiar with it?" Narri asked as she moved in front of him. "Have you fought against it in Hyrule? What do you know?"

"I haven't really fought… I've seen what it's capable of but…" Link struggled. He could not explain what had happened to Eivie because he did not understand it himself. She did not share everything about her personal battle with it. "It… it had possessed one of my friends. It…" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It could still be using her body."

Narri leaned back, glancing at Ruya. "For how long has she been possessed?"

"I don't know. Years?"

"Years?" Ruya's eyes narrowed. "Can someone even survive that, Narri? I thought they died and turned to ReDead after a day or two?"

"That is the usual case for weaker Poes. I have never heard of something stronger possessing a person." Narri raised an eyebrow at Link. "Had she acted normally?"

"Yes!" Link spat out before he could reconsider. The women both glared because of his loudness. "I mean, she was odd, but she was human. She is not the same person as the Death Sword. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. If there is even a chance she is still alive," he pointed down the next hall, "I want to try and save her."

"There is no-"

Narri hushed Ruya by holding her hand up. "I will see if there is anything we can do, but understand that something like this is not easily done. Two witches of our tribe had once corrupted us all through dark magic. That magic is reminiscent of what is in there right now. That sort of corruption is only fixed through defeating the caster."

Link stared at her silently. He understood what she meant. Even Vaati had been unable to get rid of the Death Sword. Eivie repeatedly said there was no helping her. "I… understand, I guess."

"Good," Ruya snapped. "Let's quit wasting time talking and actually do something." Under her breath she muttered, "Damn magic drivel."

Narri nodded despite giving Ruya a look for her comment. "The creature appears to be growing stronger every passing moment. Curiously, the number of other monsters seems to be decreasing."

"They're probably going to attack the tribe," Ruya said, rolling her eyes. "Which is why we should probably get moving."

Narri and Link fell into line with Ruya as they walked into the hall, the door conspicuously already open. There was no light in the next room, only the torches' dim glow from the entrance. When they stepped foot into the room, Link could hear a strange hissing. A few feet in and Link could feel something crawling on his pants. A lot of small creatures were crawling onto him.

"Ouch! What the?" Ruya cursed again.

"Get back to the other room!" Narri shouted, somehow finding Link's shoulder. She pulled him by the fabric of his tunic back to the hall. As they left the darkness behind, shiny beetles jumped off of his clothes, scuttling back to the shadows.

"What kind of bugs were those?" Ruya shouted, holding her arm. She moved her hand away, showing a large, bloody bite mark.

"They look like scarabs but…" She snagged one of the bugs off of the ground. As she held it, it hissed and snapped its pincers together. Narri was quiet for a second as she stared at the insect in horror. "The Stalfos," she muttered. "Flesh-eating scarabs?"

"But how are there so many in one place?" Ruya interjected.

"What do you mean 'the Stalfos'?" Link questioned. It could not be what he was thinking. That was just… horrific.

"That creature must have summoned them or something." Narri threw the bug onto the floor, smashing it under her foot. "It had the bugs eat them all! The anguish of… No wonder they became monsters! The Death Sword made sure these people felt only anger and fear, hoping to force their souls to remain here as monsters." She ground the insect into the ground.

Link watched as she smeared the bug's guts around on the sandy floor. She was saying that the Death Sword had killed everyone in the prison just to create more Poes and Stalfos and ReDead. It committed a massacre just to make more undead for it to control.

"They don't like light, right? Like normal scarabs?" Ruya asked, already grabbing a torch from its holder on the wall. "We just need to move fast. It's a straight shot to the next room, Green and I can get the door open. Narri," she said, offering the torch, "carry this and keep 'em away as best you can."

Narri took the torch and walked to the front of the group. She held the torch low to the ground. Link and Ruya followed close behind as they reentered the bug infested room. With the light of the torch, the sea of glimmering beetles scattered to the side in a rolling wave of horror. A few still climbed onto their legs, but were easily brushed away and squashed into the ground. They made it to the other side of the room to a heavy door decorated in unrecognizable symbols. While Link and Ruya lifted the door, Narri swept the torch side to side to keep the insects at bay.

Once they were all in the next room, Link and Ruya let the door slam back onto the ground. They were in a large chamber now. Two lines of statues of women sat on either side of the room, leading to four torches on the sides of stairs. The Hylian crest scattered about contrasted with the ancient Gerudo carvings engraved into the stone. The room held no visible monsters.

"The monsters seem to be avoiding us," Narri chimed in. "It's honestly disturbing. It's like the Death Sword is daring us to go to it."

Link was quick to agree. The first thing the Death Sword had done after defeating Jahalla was try to kill him. He got the feeling the creature had a particular dislike for him, maybe because Eivie did not want him hurt. The Death Sword took it as a challenge.

"Whatever," Ruya huffed. She was already walking up the stairs. "It'll just make it easier to reach it. Follow me. This place is a labyrinth if you haven't been here before."

"The amount of monsters here keeps decreasing," Narri muttered again. "Perhaps some people still live and are fighting them off."

Link nodded, hoping that was the case. Even prisoners did not deserve what the Death Sword had done. He went up the stairs, letting Ruya lead them through the prison. In places the stairs were crumbling, and the walls cracked, allowing for sand to seep onto the floor in piles. In areas the ground was slashed apart, probably by the Death Sword itself. There were traps set, a nasty example being a spinning rod with spikes. Ruya commented that it was to prevent escapes, but now they were barring entrance. Link also noticed strange grooves in the walls that he could not identify as useful or mere decoration.

Eventually they came to another stone door. Narri halted and stared, shaking slightly. It was in the next room. Its presence even made Link break into a nervous sweat, his stomach uneasy. It was indeed far worse than Jahalla, perhaps because he had witnessed the degree of the Death Sword's cruelty. Ruya drew her weapon, so Link did the same. He knew something had to be done.

This time Ruya lifted the heavy door open, allowing for Narri and Link to pass through. The door crashed back to the ground when Ruya was through. Narri drew her scimitar, hesitantly stepping forward.

Link only swallowed hard and stared to the center of the room. The Death Sword's weapon was stabbed into the ground, Eivie- or her body at least- was setting on the ground leaning against the sword. She looked like she did after the battle with Jahalla. The curved horns stood out from her head, her skin pale with a tint of blue, her dress torn and bloodied, and her eyes glowing a dim yellow. Before she acknowledged them, she tilted a bottle back, finishing off whatever was inside. She set the glass bottle down next to several others.

"Eivie?" Link walked in front of the two Gerudo as they stood in confusion.

"Stay back," she rasped, holding up a shaking hand. "I will not be in control much longer."

"Eivie, I…" Link was at a loss of what to even say in this situation.

"It plans to leave my body, which will kill me." She began pulling herself off of the ground. Her body shook so badly she needed to support herself against the sword to stay standing. "I want you to promise me something. Consider it my final request, Link." The smile she had was forced and painful.

"Eivie, I'm not just-"

"Link, please just listen. I am past any sort of redemption." She laughed humorlessly a few times, her eyes watering. "I slaughtered them all. The guards. The prisoners. I fed them to flesh-devouring bugs and allowed Poes to smash their heads in. I am soaked in their blood from slashing them apart, from decapitating them, from worse."

"That was the Death Sword, not you!"

"It was my body. For now, as long as I live, that thing lives. Please make this easier for everyone. Do not let more people die because of my continued existence." She held her hand over her heart. "Please kill me and end this," she begged. "Kill me before it leaves my body. If you do it now, there will be no fight. It will die with me."

"I'm not going to kill you! You're one of my best friends! I'm not going to just… just give up on you. You're still here! You are still fighting it!"

She smiled again before breaking eye contact. "If I survive this, I will not be the same." She laughed hysterically as she kicked one of the bottles. It flew into a wall, shattering. "Or perhaps I will be exactly the same. There is no escaping my fate. There never was. I will not deny that truth any longer."

"Eivie," Link muttered. He did not understand what she meant.

Her laughter died off. "Promise me you at least defeat Vaati if you will not kill me," she said quietly. "Promise me, no matter what happens when the Death Sword frees itself, that you will go defeat Vaati. Do not waste time seeing if I survive in one form or another. Go straight to the palace and end his attempt to gain the Triforce."

"I…" Link looked away from her for the first time since entering the room. He glanced at the two Gerudo, remembering that they were present. He did not want to just leave her. Sure, Narri and Ruya seemed like good enough people, but they had already seemed wary of Eivie's predicament.

"Link," Eivie said, drawing his attention back to her, "if I manage to survive the Death Sword leaving my body, Gomess will be here to help me. Please, if you will not kill me, go defeat Vaati right after the Death Sword. Promise me this."

"I…" he started again. She trusted Gomess, but could Link? Could he leave a Poe to take care of her? After a moment, he said almost in a defeated tone, "I promise."

"Thank you." She smiled, showing off how sharp her teeth had become with the transformation. She clutched the green pendent on her necklace. "Thank you for everything, Link. No matter how briefly it was, you gave me a chance to feel human. I will be forever grateful for that." A few more tears rolled down her face. "Your friendship meant the world to me. It meant more than I can express in words."

As Link stepped forward, hoping to comfort her, to tell her how much she mattered, she gasped and held up her hand. She laughed as she choked back tears.

"My time is up," she said, grabbing hold of the fabric over her heart. As she coughed, she clutched the fabric tightly. "Fight without fear… or sadness, Link. I was… never meant to be human. You… gave me a chance… to pretend."

Link watched in horror as Eivie fell to her hands and knees, screaming. He could see a symbol on her back glowing, but it did not seem to do anything. Soon an inhuman screech joined Eivie's. From her body, a translucent creature looked to be tearing itself from her body. All the changes that Eivie had gone through seemed to transfer to the ghost, leaving her more human than she had been in years.

Link could only stand and wait to face the creature that had terrorized his friend for so long. He would not let it end like this. He would kill this monster so it could never do this to anyone else. It was time for the Death Sword to be wiped from existence.

Eivie's body fell limp when the ghost had fully left her. Its thin, bone and skin hand grabbed its sword, wrenching it from the ground. The sharp toothed and curved horned monster snarled at Link before rising into the air in a black swirling mist.

"This is where you fall, knight!" it hissed in low, reverberating voice.

Link and the Death Sword raise their weapons.

A/N-The End draws near. The Arbiter Grounds follow Twilight Princess. Poes are spirits of hatred bound to the earth. I figured they were human once, so why not have the Death Sword use hate, fear, and pain to create some more monsters? Yep. That's enough rambling, I suppose.

Thank you everyone who have read, favorited, followed, and/or reviewed this. Hope you all like the final chapters.

Noal- Glad you like it! I'm irrationally happy now! I like knowing people like this nonsense I type up. Hope this chapter was just as good as the previous. Thank you for reviewing and favoriting/following!

Joystick Gamer- I liked writing the last chapter. Eivie finally went after Vaati, which had been something I had planned for a long time. Thanks for reviewing again!