Chapter 25

Link leaned into the door, shoving against it with his shoulder. The grand doors leading into the palace groaned as they slowly swung open. Then Link took his sword and shield in hand, carefully scanning the room, unsure what to expect. The place had been teeming with Darknuts when he left, but now the large, forgotten room was devoid of the armored creatures.

However, Link did not relax, but instead straightened his back and clenched his jaw. Vaati stood waiting on the other side of the room. The sorcerer still looked inhuman, the golden horns and red eyes gleaming maliciously. They both took a few steps forward, Link expecting attack, but Vaati appearing unnaturally calm.

"The Death Sword appears to have failed," Vaati commented off-handedly. "What a shame it had not killed you instead of Eivie."

"She's still alive," Link snapped.

Vaati's face twitched. "Not for much longer, I suspect. Without the Death Sword she is a merely a frail, gravely injured human. She chose this," he growled, glaring at Link. "Her precious humans were all that mattered, so she chose to fight against the only person capable of saving her."

"You're the reason she's nearly dead!" Link yelled as he tightened his grip on his sword. "You keep looking for someone else to blame but you're the one that attacked her! You are the one that nearly killed her, that awakened the Death Sword!"

This made Vaati break his façade and snarl, "I gave her every opportunity, but she still foolishly chose you!" A sudden whirlwind filled the room, whipping his hair around wildly. "I gave her so many chances yet she rejected them every time because she wished to protect you. She chose her own dammed fate. She knew her death was inevitable the moment she betrayed me." He growled, summoning a sword from thin air. "But she still chose you!"

Link hesitated, almost taking a step backwards. Vaati almost seemed jealous, like Link had stolen Eivie from him. It was just so odd to consider Vaati have any emotions for someone other than himself. Stranger, yet, was Vaati showing it outwardly. But, like him, Vaati had been Eivie's friend before all of this. It was easy to forget that Wendal and Vaati were the same person. He had once been human, or at least more human than he was now.

"That doesn't make what you did any better," Link eventually said. He was going to say more, but Vaati interrupted with a laugh.

"There is no purpose in trying to place blame. Words will not solve a feud that has spanned centuries." Vaati's face became blank once more. He held up his sword. "Let us try to kill each other once more. It is what we are good at."

Link wordlessly nodded and held up his sword and shield, ready to get this over with. The two stepped to the side, carefully watching the other's moves. Link figured that Vaati's sword was more for show than anything; he'd never seen him actually use a sword. Link waited for the magic-trickery to begin.

Vaati was the first to strike. He lunged forward, slashing diagonally. Link spun on his heel in time to block with his shield. As Link moved to attack, Vaati was already taking another swing. Link held his sword up to parry, only to be knocked off balance by a sudden gust. The blade nicked his shoulder as he tried to avoid the slash.

Vaati smirked when Link stumbled back a step. "You are pathetic compared to you past incarnations," he laughed, the mocking grin fixed in place, "while I now hold more power than you can even imagine. This will be even simpler than I thought."

He charged forward again, their swords clashing. They pushed against each other, blue and red eyes glaring, neither giving any ground. The sorcerer gave a slight, curved smile before he disappeared from sight. Link stumbled forward, trying to stay on his feet. He expected a blow from behind, and spun on his heel.

Vaati appeared to his side, his sword biting into Link's arm. Link managed to swing his sword through the pain, but it was more of an attempt to get the sorcerer to back up. The gash seared as warm blood ran down his arm, dripping onto the floor. He tried to hold up his shield, the pain making it difficult.

"You are positively weak." Vaati sneered, swinging his sword to shake off the blood. "I do not even need the Triforce to kill you. Even Eivie put up more of a fight."

"Shut up!" Link yelled back, charging forward.

Their swords clashed together once more, falling back into a stalemate as they shoved against each other, hateful glares in place. Link leaned forward, trying to see if Vaati would give, but to no avail. Link then went to his second plan.

Link lurched forward, smashing his head into Vaati's, catching the sorcerer off guard. Vaati stumbled back a step in surprise. Before Vaati had a chance to recover, Link stepped forward, kicking Vaati in the shins with enough force that he fell. Link's sword cut into the downed sorcerer, slashing into his chest. Vaati blasted Link away with a powerful gust as he stood back up.

Vaati clutched his chest, blood seeping out of the wound and staining his purple clothes red. He snarled as he looked back to Link. Vaati let go of the gash to reveal the bleeding slowing, his body already regenerating. Link figured as much, having seen Eivie throw a sword into the sorcerer. It was a bonus that the Master Sword seemed a bit more effective than that regular sword had been.

Vaati suddenly vanished from sight, sending Link into a panic. Link spun around, waiting for the sorcerer to appear and stab at him again. The attack never came, but the maniacal laughter was a sure sign some misfortune was about to hit Link.

Just as Link found the location of the cackling, a blast of energy hurdled towards him. The brunt of the blast was caught by Link's shield, knocking him back and wrenching his already injured arm. As he gave a pained grunt, Vaati was already a few steps in front him, his sword raised.

When Vaati brought down his sword, Link moved to the side and caught the guard of Vaati's sword. Knowing it may be his only opportunity, Link whipped his sword upwards, pulling the sword from Vaati's grip. The weapon clattered as it hit the wall and fell to the floor. Before a bewildered Vaati could escape, Link took a swing. It came moments too late. Vaati stepped back, the tip of the sword cutting shallowly into his cheek and slicing off a chunk of lavender hair.

He wiped the blood off his face, anger burning in his eyes. "I have had enough of you," he spat out. "This farce is over!"

A vortex of wind formed around Vaati, tearing apart the room. Link ducked out the way as a statue was thrown into the air. Only seconds later the wind disappeared abruptly. Link refocused on the sorcerer, seeing just what had happened.

Vaati now hovered above the ground. His eyes were now fully red and monstrous. Even his demeanor seemed more malevolent and ruthless. The center of his chest became a large, glowering eye. Only remnants of a human appearance remained now.

"You seem scared, little knight." Vaati swept his arm in front of him, seven sentries appearing in puffs of purple smoke. "This is where you meet your end."

Without pause Vaati began flinging spells at Link. The single-eyed bats joined in and chased Link as he tried to avoid being blasted to pieces. There was no way to counter while he was under attack no matter where he went. The bats' were agile enough to avoid Link's attempts to slash them while running. Vaati made sure Link had no chance to catch his breath, or even think, really.

Link blindly ran around a pillar to avoid another energy blast from the cackling sorcerer. He was immediately met by the laser of a sentry, the beam burning a hole in his hat and nearly his head. On the other side of the pillar, a tornado smashed into him, sending him crashing to the floor in the center of the room.

He pulled himself off of the ground, the wound on his arm reopened and fresh bruises shooting pain throughout his body. Before Link could even stand, he saw a bright blue flash. He recognized it and flung himself as far away as he could. In avoiding being turned to stone, he landed directly in front of a sentry. The sizzling beam seared his side as he went to destroy the creature.

Vaati seemed content raucously laughing, the spells stopped momentarily. Link quickly ran behind a pillar. He bit his lip in an attempt to keep from whimpering pathetically, the air itself causing his burn to flare with pain. He reached for the small bottle of red potion, glad the ghost had provided one. He needed it for there to be any hope of him defeating Vaati. Link popped the cork off of the bottle, drinking the concoction in one go. It took the edge off of the pain, but that was about it.

"Have you resorted to hiding?" Vaati taunted. "The Goddess' chosen, the epitome of courage. What a blatant lie that is."

Link turned the bottle over in his hand while listening to where the sorcerer was.

"Perhaps that is why Eivie is near death. Her precious savior failed not only his Goddesses but her as well."

He had to only be a few feet away now. And, with that comment, Link leaned around the pillar. He threw the bottle as hard as he could. It struck Vaati's face, shattering. Link then charged out, striking Vaati in the chest three times before the sorcerer had the sense to teleport away.

Vaati did not say anything in response. The look on his bleeding face got his point across better than words would have. He started the barrage of explosions again, ordering the sentries to resume their chase.

Link, now used to the attack, danced around the room, slashing at sentries in between laser blasts and Vaati's spells. The red potion had worked wonders on his sore body. Once a majority of the bats were killed, Link went all out and went for the sorcerer while he charged another spell. The gutsy attack paid off. Link landed several more hits before he was forced to move out of the way of a myriad of lasers and explosions.

"Do you think that will stop me?" Vaati snarled, breathing heavily. The storm of explosions resumed, a few more sentries appearing to replace the destroyed ones.

Link ran about the room, noticing that the attacks were more chaotic now. Vaati did not even seem to be aiming. Instead he just blasted out as many spells as he could. Every sentry seemed to be tailing behind Link. Vaati did not seem to care about finesse anymore and just wanted Link dead. If that wasn't an obvious sign of the sorcerer's diminishing condition, Link would be surprised.

With the apparent lapse in concentration, Link decided to try for another attack. He spun on his heel to attack the sentries and break up their group before going for Vaati. The sorcerer was still too busy trying to hit Link with poorly aimed energy blasts to do the smart thing and move away. Link got into position, adjusted his hold on the Master Sword, and jabbed. The sword stabbed into the eye on Vaati's chest.

A scream nearly escaped from the sorcerer's lips as he quickly move back before the sword skewered him. Once he was a few feet away, he found himself no longer able to hover. He nearly fell to his knees into a puddle of blood running out of his chest. Link was sure that would be the end of him, but Vaati suddenly let out an angry scream, wind gathering around him once more.

As before, once the wind stopped, the sorcerer had a different form. He was now the infamous single-eyed bat demon with rows of wings and two clawed arms. Link barely had time to register the change when the demon swept its arm out, summoning a bolt of lightning.

Link dodged the attack narrowly, his hair standing on end from being so close. Next to him another spell exploded, shattering the tiles into sharp shards. He ran for cover behind a pillar to try and buy time to plan. The giant eye did not hesitate to send a spell at the pillar. As the structure crumbled, Link knew the monster no longer cared what it broke. It would destroy the palace before it let Link leave alive. He needed to end it before it collapsed the building on top of them.

Link ran forward with his shield in front of him to catch the debris following the explosions. In a few more steps he would be close enough to attack. He readied his sword.

The ground beneath him broke apart as one of the demon's arms surfaced. The clawed arm snatched up Link. His sword wedged between claws. The arm slammed Link into the ground, knocking his head into the stone floor. Link watched helplessly as he was lifted back into the air and slammed back down. Again. And again. He was lucky that his sword became freed with the movement or the demon would have kept up until Link was dead. Perhaps even longer than that.

Link was able to stab the monster's arm with his sword. It then growled and threw Link into the wall. Everything spun, tilted, and distorted when Link tried to stand and steady himself. He could only haphazardly stumble out of the way more energy blasts. It took a few moments of weaving behind pillars for him to even see straight enough to think of attacking again.

He was exhausted, his head throbbed, and his body ached and bled. He had to get in a final blow or he would be the one defeated. Last time he had been close enough to strike the monster. He just needed to avoid the arm and hope the monster would not change tactics.

With that, he ran forward once more, dodging blasts as they came for him. It took everything he had to keep running towards the hatred-filled eye demon. When he was close to the eye, the monster's arm came out of the ground. Link avoided the claws by jumping into the air. He grasped the hilt of his sword while airborn. Gravity carried him down and his sword's blade sunk into the center of the demon's eye.

Link was tossed to the side as the panicked monster shook. He watched as the demon bat fell to the ground. Blood pooled around the monster and was flicked into the air as it desperately flapped its wings. After a few moments, the monster stilled, seemingly giving up. Then its form seemed to fade away, leaving the blood-stained sorcerer in its place. His legs shook before he finally fell to the floor.

Link stood clutching his arm, his breathing heavy and labored as he stared at Vaati. The sorcerer lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He pushed against the ground, trying to stand back up, but for naught. He eventually gave in, resting his head on the stained marble floor.

Quietly, the sorcerer began laughing deliriously. "Eivie, how did you manage this?" he mumbled, a hint of surprise in his tired voice. "At least he did not win everything, I suppose. I wonder if you understand my words now." Vaati chuckled a few more times. "This will not be my end," he whispered, barely audible now. "I'll be back." His body began to fade away from sight. In a few seconds he was gone, only the dark pool of blood remaining. "I swear," his disembodied voice threatened.

Link stood staring blankly at the floor, too tired to even celebrate. He was done with all of this hero nonsense. He was done with having to kill people he knew because of some sacred power he had. What was worse was knowing that nothing would ever be the same again, even after he worked so hard to save Hyrule.

Link closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He still needed to find a way down from this place. He kept his eyes closed, almost tempted to try falling asleep while standing. It wasn't until he heard chirping birds did he decide to open his eyes. He was in time to see a faint glow still surrounding the keys on his neck.

He looked around, seeing the tall green trees of the forest. He was in a familiar clearing surrounded by partially crumbling walls. In front of his feet was the pedestal he had found the Master Sword. He glanced at the sword in his hand, knowing it was time to return it.

Without hesitation, he stabbed the sword into the pedestal. The tip of the blade glowed softly as it sunk into the stone. Once it was in place, he turned away, ready to leave everything hero-related behind.

He set out for Castle Town, the sun signaling it was late afternoon. He had to drag himself through the trees. A few times he tripped and had to seriously consider not going to sleep then and there. His head pounded from the headache he got after being slammed into the ground. His cuts, burns, and bruises stung with every movement. By this point, he was sure his feet were bleeding from the heavy abuse of two days of traveling, fighting, and running. Exhaustion didn't even begin to describe how horrible he felt.

Despite all of that, he continued on, making it out of the forest as the sun began to slip behind the horizon. He needed to get home, check on things there, see Zelda, resupply, and go back to the desert to see if Eivie was okay. Those were the only things keeping him moving, keeping him from falling over and sleeping.

It was already night by the time he made it to the gates of Castle Town. He paused, looking at the town, amazed he made it. He was so relieved that when he fell over, he closed his eyes and passed out.

Link slowly opened his eyes, not sure if he was ready to wake up yet. He stared at the ceiling he had seen every time he woke up. It took him a moment to remember that he had not been in his room, or house, for that matter, in a long time. After that thought, he became confused as to how he had gotten there. The last thing he had remembered was seeing the gates.

He lifted himself up, noticing bandages as the blanket fell from his shoulders. He was sore still, but it was obvious he had healed a bit more. He actually felt rested now, which even better than his wounds healing, honestly.

"Link?" an all too familiar voice asked.

"Dad?" Link looked to the doorway, his father standing there. He looked older, now. Maybe because they hadn't seen each other in ages. Link was too stunned to say much more. He had completely believed his father had died when the Gerudo had taken the town.

His father walked into the room and sat on the edge of Link's bed. The corner of his eyes shining with the formation of tears. He gave Link a tight hung before asking, "How are you doing? Your wounds doing all right?"

"Yeah." Link nodded his head, a bright smile on his face. "I just… I thought…"

"You think the Knight Captain would go down that easy?" He chuckled a few times before becoming serious again. "I was one the lucky few the Gerudo took prisoner. They had us down in the castle dungeons. As soon as Zelda learned we were there, she came down to let us out herself. What happened with you?" he asked tentatively. "I haven't really heard much of what happened."

"I defeated Ganondorf, but then Vaati threatened to attack Hyrule. Eivie was… in a bad situation, so I went after her." He stopped, not wanting to go over what happened in the desert. "After that, I went and fought Vaati."

"Never thought that brat would do something like that," he father muttered. "You had to go through a lot recently." He smiled half-heartedly, looking at Link briefly before standing up. "I'll go have someone tell Zelda you're awake. She wanted to hear what happened."

Link nodded his head, and his father left the room. He heard the front door open and close. After a few minutes, Link laid back down with a sigh. He still couldn't believe he was at home and that his father was all right. Maybe that meant things were looking up.

A bit later, the front door opened once more, so Link sat up again. It was only a few seconds before Zelda was standing in the room, running over to Link, and hugging him.

"I was beginning to worry that you would never wake up," she said, her voice muffled because her face was pressed into Link shoulder. "Thank the Goddesses you woke up." She pulled away, standing back up and fixing her dress, a smile on her face.

"How long was I asleep?" Link fought the urge to shout. He thought it had just been one day! He had to go see if Eivie was okay! Link started to slide off of the bed only to have Zelda stop him in a panic.

"You were asleep for three days. Someone found you passed out in front of town that morning. The physicians said you were exhausted and that you shouldn't be moving around for at least a week more."

"I got to go back!" He did not try moving again, but he needed to tell her why he needed to leave. Now. "Back in the desert, Eivie was almost dead. I need to go see if she's okay, or… Or…"

"I will have a messenger go there right away. You are in no condition to travel. Okay?" She waited for Link to nod his head. "Where is she exactly and what happened?"

"Some Gerudo women, Ruya and Narri, said that they would take her back to their village. I met them at the Arbiter Grounds and helped them… defeat the Death Sword after it had wiped out the prison. It had left Eivie, and she was really hurt, but still alive." Link took a breath before he kept rambling incoherently. "The Poes killed all of the prisoners and guards there. I was able to defeat the Death Sword and Narri and Ruya sealed it so it could not return. After that I left Eivie with them so I could go defeat Vaati."

Zelda nodded thoughtfully. "I can have someone sent there immediately. It should not be hard to locate the Gerudo's village." She paused, looking hesitant to continue. "Link, about Vaati…"

"He's dead."

"A-all right." She gave him another quick hug, whispering, "I'm glad you're all right. I'll send someone to desert right away." She leaned back, but kept her hands on his shoulders. "You just rest, okay?"

"Yeah, I will."

"Thank you. I will back to see you later, too." Zelda stood up, smiling one last time before leaving the room.

Link fell back into the bed, staring at the ceiling. There was not much he could do now except wait.

Link was quick to recover, but Castle Town was still working to rebuild. To the town, Link was the brave hero that had taken on two monsters. They paraded him through town, and he had to play along no matter how he despised the title of hero.

He hadn't won much. He may have been grateful that the town survived, that Zelda was safe, but there was one that he would not see again. The messenger ruined any hope he had when he returned. Link felt like he had failed. After saying he would help her all of those times, he failed.

The only thing he wanted now was for them to stop calling him a hero so he could maybe move past everything that had happened.

A/N- Two chapter post. No cliff-hangers that way. Battle took forever to write.