Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series do not, repeat, not belong to me. They rightfully belong to Miyamoto. (May he continue to make excellent games for the rest of his days.) What does belong to me are Cleo, Finn, Syrilla and Okam (sorta).

Chapter 19

It took Finn forever to get to the Arbiter's Grounds. The Oasis Flight was canceled due to the cannon being out of order, so he had to take the long way. It was worthwhile if he could rescue Cleo, he just hoped that he would never have to rock climb again as long as he lived. Then he stood before the Mirror of Twilight and let himself get pulled in. He felt a bit disoriented after breaking apart and reassembling on the other side.

"Oh man, I hope you're nearby sis..." He headed toward the palace. "You better not be doing anything dangerous." He ran inside the building, hurrying to the throne room. "Princess Midna!" He called out when he reached it, but there was no Midna on the throne. There was someone else. "What the-?"

A strange short old Twili was sitting in her place. He seemed surprised by Finn's sudden appearance. "Hm?... What's this? An unexpected guest?"

"Who the hell are you?!"

"I? I am Okam, the new King of Twilight."

"New Ki-Well, where's Midna?"

"Midna, unfortunately has retired and therefore placed me as her successor to the throne." Finn was flabbergasted by this news, leaving him speechless. "Now do you care to explain why you're barging into my palace, uninvited?"

It took a few seconds for Finn to get his voice working again and to remember what he came here for. "...Well... you see sir... I'm looking for my sister. Her name is Cleo Hayster."

"...Cleo?"

"Yeah, she's about yay high, blond hair, wears a green uniform."

"Mm... ...Never heard of her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to deal with."

"Hey! Now wait a second! I don't know what's going on, but something just ain't right here! I need to talk to Midna right now!"

"Well, too bad, 'cuz you're not going to get an audience with Midna... ever. Now get lost before I lose my temper."

"Now look old man! I'm trying to find my sister!"

"Then you're just gonna have to look somewhere else." Finn heard a weird mechanical scuttling and he was unexpectedly grabbed by skinny stick legs. "Bye-bye!" Okam waved with a smug grin.

Finn was cursing non-stop as he was carried to the exit. Then he was lifted up. "Not agAAAAAAAIIIIIIN!" Finn was thrown out. He hit the ground hard and, groaning in pain, watched the doors slam shut. "The Hell?!" He got back up. "That Uka or whatever his name is... I don't think he's a king!" He rubbed his sore shoulder. "Now what am I gonna do?"

"Finn... Finn..." Finn quickly looked around him, but there seemed to be no one here. "Finn, can you hear me?"

"Yeah... I'm definitely hearing things!"

"Listen to me, Finn! I need your help, the Twilight Realm is in danger."

"Wait, I know that voice! Midna, is that you? What's going on? Where's Cleo? How are you talkin-"

"Will you slow down already?! There's not much time, so I'm going to be quick about it. First off, I'm trapped in a dungeon, with a seal that prevents me from teleporting out."

"What?! That Okam guy said you're retired!"

"That is a lie! Okam is the one who trapped me here. He has overthrown me and taken over the palace."

"Oh great! That's just Zant all over again!"

"But he can't fully take over the Twilight Realm until he's gathered the eight Essences of Light. Your sister Cleo has been searching for them to save this realm, but she doesn't yet know that she's being manipulated. Right now, she is searching for the last two on Okam's orders. You need to go and warn her! Tell her not to return to the palace, take your sister and the essences and leave the Twilight Realm!"

"But what about you?"

"...Just don't worry about me Finn. As the Twilight Princess, it's my responsibility to protect my people at all cost, even the cost of freedom."

"But!... ... ...I'll go get Cleo outta here as planned, but I'll be back with help. I promise!"

"...Thank you Finn..."

Cleo and Jack were standing before the cave entrance of the volcano. She looked back, expecting to see someone coming, but no one was there. "I do not think Scervo will be coming with us, Cleo."

"But Jack, he-"

"Knows how to handle himself," Jack finished. "He is quite wily, I will admit. He reminds me of a friend of mine."

"He's cuckoo, that's what he is!" Cleo said rotating her hand next to her ear.

"Um... does that mean he has a clock in his head?"

Cleo gave him an exasperated look. "Oh, really?" She entered the cave with Jack closely following.

She quickly learned that the caverns were not a safe place to travel. It was horribly hot inside and she was already sweating. Jack warned her that she shouldn't be inside here for too long. But soon enough, she found water jugs and used Shenlong to drench herself. She had to keep herself hydrated if she was to make it to the end. There were rivers of lava and flaming bugs in her way. She would throw the jugs into the lava to create rocky platforms to hop across or ride along the river. Then she met some Subrosians who were working as blacksmiths. They told her that the big key to the crater was broken and a new one was yet to be made. Cleo decided to pitch in. They gave her the Rune of Pele that had the power to control lava. There was a cart that brought metal ores across a chasm and she had to shoot Sagittarius arrows at certain switches to guide the cart by a lava stream. Then she cast the lava onto the ores as the cart got close enough, trying not to miss (the cart moved pretty fast). The cart poured the molten metal into a mold and she splashed it with water to cool it. The Subrosian smiths did the rest. While they worked, she and Jack entered one huge room with stone heads facing different directions. She observed the directions each of the heads were looking, trying to make out a pattern. In the next room were empty channels in a complex grid and a cracked hole in the wall. After drawing the specific pattern from the heads with the Skribal Sword as a guide, she blew up the wall and let the lava flow into the channels. She used Pele to move the lava into certain parts of the channels so it would match the pattern and a big stairway revealed itself. It lead to a big door that needed the key so Cleo went back to get it, unlocked it and entered the very heart of the volcano.

The Blue Crater Volcano lived up to its name, the bottom of the crater in which the duo was standing was surrounded by a ring of glowing blue lava. And at the very center was Veran. "...I was wondering when you would show up Cleo..." The sorceress slowly turned around to face her, smiling her usual wicked smile. "So you managed to survive that angry mob." And then, as she spun on the spot, Veran turned into a Cleo double. "How many of those stupid lizards did you have to kill to get that last essence? Ten? Twenty?"

"SHUT UP!" Cleo drew her sword. "You've done enough damage already!"

Veran sneered at her. "It's you who should hold your tongue." She changed back. "You think you're a hero? You're just a brat, a child that needed guidance from a ghost. A child who still believes in fairy tales where good triumphs over evil! It's all nothing but garbage really. It's time for you to face reality and grow up. Of course, the latter advice isn't going to be literal."

"You're right. I'm no hero... But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let monsters like you follow such a pointless cause!"

"Pointless? POINTLESS?!"

"Yes! Hurting people, showing no care for them, all just for yourself! It doesn't serve any purpose other than to show that you're weak!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Veran snarled.

"Who are you working for?" Cleo asked suddenly.

"...What are you talking about?"

"I'm not stupid you know. You're not the mastermind behind this whole invasion. I saw the other portal where the bugs are coming from. They came from somewhere, you couldn't have just stumbled upon them. Someone provided you this army and helped you invade this realm!"

"So what! You think that little info matters?"

"That depends on who the real boss is. Now tell me the name!"

"I'll tell you... if you can defeat me. But to do that, you have to get past your own ally."

"Veran, I do not believe you can possess me," Jack pointed out.

"Not you, you silly ball of flame... I meant the pirate, Scervo."

"WHAT?!" both Cleo and Jack exclaimed in shock.

Sure enough, with a snap of her fingers, Veran summoned the robot buccaneer with her magic. He appeared to be offline, just sitting there like a forlorn doll forever waiting for someone to pick it up off a dusty shelf. "NO! DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Cleo spat.

Veran cackled and dissolved into a dark mist, enveloping Scervo and fusing into him. He stood up and drew his sword. "Soon we will see how truly heroic you are when you're forced to kill your bucko!"

Sorceress of Shadows:
Veran

Cleo wasn't sure what to do. Veran was attacking her with the electric blade and all Cleo could do was run, not wanting to hurt Scervo. "You can't run forever. Either this pirate dies, or you die!"

"You coward!" Jack scowled. Cleo was backed into a corner and almost fell into the blue lava. She tried to block with her shield when Veran advanced, only to get electrocuted. She fell to her knees, now vulnerable and the sorceress was about to strike her into the lava. "NO!" Jack went between Cleo and Veran and there was once again a flash of light with the outline of a man carrying a sword appearing briefly, ready to counter.

Veran was flown back. "!?...You-? How did you...?!" She shook her head. "I'm beginning to see why he wanted you dead. It seems I cannot take any chances with either of you this time." She raised her arms and large metal ores broke out of the walls. They orbited Scervo's body and then began bending and twisting into flat plates. They completely covered the robot body, forming into armor.

"Cleo, I think I know what to do now. I have heard tales of floating spirits being able to possess people. I am one, so I may be able to."

"You mean you can save Scervo?" Cleo asked.

"I am sure of it. But I am sensing some sort of magic barrier surrounding the armor. We may have to break through it first. Are you ready for this?"

Cleo smiled in encouragement and nodded. This was going to turn out easier than she'd thought.