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 27
"The moment I saw the Skribal Sword regain the magic that would destroy me, I knew I was beaten. That is why I created the vortex, if I can never rule the Twilight Realm, than it shall be destroyed along with you and the samurai!"
Cleo stared, totally shocked by Aku's drastic plan to defeat her. She felt the gravity slowly getting stronger, still not enough to pull her off the ground, but it was only a matter of time. She equipped Draconequus and drew an x that would bind her, but the sketch of light was pulled right off the ground and swirled away. She tried again and again, but she couldn't get the rune to work. Even the light couldn't escape the vacuum.
"Oh my fierce deity!" Midna cried out. "What is that?!"
"It's a black hole!" Finn exclaimed. "I knew Aku would pull off some sort of cheap ass exit strategy as usual, but nothing like that!"
"It's finished, child! GAME OVER!" Aku let out a terrible cackle.
"H-how do we stop a black hole?" Jack asked Cleo.
"...We can't..." Cleo was feeling the pull and tried to brace her feet firmly on the ground. She fell on her hands and knees. "I thought I could handle anything at the beginning! But just now, I was fighting my very hardest and I still lost!" She started crying in anger. It can't end like this. There must be something... anything. Eyes shut tight, her thoughts raced for an idea, a possibility, but all were rapidly going down the drain before she could scoop them up. Cleo and Jack's luck may have finally run out.
"Sayonara, you brat! Time to meet your demise!" Aku's last word seemed to echo in Cleo's head... something started to click. A diamond shaped light appeared on her forehead again.
There was a large stone spike floating in darkness, a glowing triangular sigil began to trace itself within a circle, the spike planted down and a spell circle formed around it with the sigil in the center, the darkness was rapidly sucked into the ground and was gone completely, leaving behind a spiraled hollow where the spike rested.
She opened her eyes and felt another spark ignite inside her. Feeling it grow, she lifted herself back up with fresh new determination. "I know what to do... I don't know how I know this, but I do."
"What is it?" asked Jack, starting to sound hopeful.
"A seal, I just have to seal the black hole!"
"How will you accomplish that?"
"There's a pattern, it just came to me... as though from a distant memory..." With the mysterious vision of the new (correction, Cleo thought, old and forgotten) spell circle still fresh in her mind, she activated the Rune of Skribal. She traced the sigil in mid-air, it had to be a complicated one in order to make it strong enough to seal something this incredibly powerful. While drawing, she rapidly retraced parts of it that were being sucked away.
Once complete, the spell circle appeared, as big as the vortex, surrounding the sigil. Please, let this work, she thought desperately. Cleo thrust the Skribal Sword and the seal flew toward the black hole. But then, Aku suddenly appeared between them and stopped the spell circle dead with his hand. "Not this time!"
"NO!" Cleo screamed in frustration. She thrust again to push it harder, but it only moved a foot.
"You will NOT SUCCEED!" He sneered. "You, the samurai, your pathetic brother, and the Twilight Princess will be crushed in eternal darkness with the entire shadow realm. You will never see a trace of light again."
Finn was clinging to Midna who was clinging to a column, both of them off their feet. "DON'TLETGODON'TLETGODON'TLETGO!"
Cleo, her sword still connected to the seal, thrust three more times. Aku held fast, laughing. She was on one knee. "Damn it! That was my last chance!" Her face fell in despair. "Finn, Midna... ...Jack... I failed you all..."
"Cleo..." She looked up at the lost spirit beside her. Jack didn't sound the least bit sad, instead he sounded like he was smiling. "Let us inflict one more strike on Aku." She stared at him in mild confusion. "I just figured out how I was able to protect you before... and how to pull it off on command. It was the same way the Skribal Sword came to you, because of our bond. It gives strength to the sword. If the Essences of Light can merge into it, then I can too. If we are to win this fight, I must become one with it."
"Wait, Jack! We don't know what could happen to you!... You could die..."
"...As a samurai, it is necessary to make the ultimate sacrifice if need be... I am sorry I was unable to fight alongside you in my present condition until now... but, it has indeed been an honor aiding you..."
"Jack, no, NO!" Cleo couldn't stop this. Jack, the floating orb of flame, glowed into a bright light. For one second, she could see the silhouette of Jack's true self placing a hand on her shoulder. Then the light floated into the crossguard. The blade immediately shined as bright as the sun. Without anymore hesitation, Cleo thrust one more time. And this time, her efforts bore fruit. The brilliant light shot out right at the seal and Aku.
With an "oh crap!" look on his face, he was hit full force and felt the terrible sting of a familiar katana blade. With no chance of recovery, he was shoved into the black hole by both the seal and shot of light. He was only able to hold on for another minute. In that minute, Aku bellowed "THIS IS NOT OVER! YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME! I MAY HAVE LOST, BUT I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE SOMEDAY! MARK MY WORDS... IT IS NOT THE END!" As he finished, the seal closed the vortex on him and he was gone along with it.
Midna and Finn suddenly fell on the ground as the black hole disappeared. "Finn... you can let go." He still had his arms wrapped around her middle and, catching a glimpse at her chest, quickly let go and looked away.
"Thisisn'twhatyouthink!" Finn explained, red-faced.
After a moment of subsiding, all was calm. Cleo was sitting flat on the ground totally exhausted. The Skribal Sword lay next to her. She stared up at the sky, her eyes searching, trying to find some sort of trace.
Midna and Finn warped to her. "Cleo, you did it! You actually did it!" Finn cheered. Cleo didn't look at him or respond. "Sis?... What's wrong?"
"Where's Jack?" Midna asked her.
Never had a smile formed on her face after her victory. She felt empty. "Why... why did it have to be this way..." She stood up, slowed by her exhaustion. "JAAAAAAACK!" There was no answer, only silence. "You can't be gone! Aku's isn't dead. He's gone but he's not dead! Jack, you sacrificed yourself for NOTHING! It's not FAIR!" Cleo's eyes were threatening to shed tears again.
Then she heard something. It was faint, but she was sure it was a voice. Jack's voice. She looked ahead and saw a flickering glimmer on the ground. She ran to it and collapsed on her legs again, scooping up the little light. Finn and Midna came up to get a look too. "Is that him? Oh no!"
It was the lost spirit, sputtering like a dying candle. His voice was distant, weak. She could barely hear what he was saying. "I don't think he's going to make it Cleo," Midna said grimly.
Cleo shook her head. "I won't give up on him... He'll pull through... he always does..." She remembered what Jack had said before, how their bond gave them strength. "... all that time, I needed you to the very end... I didn't have to rely on my own strength like I thought before... And now... ...you need me... to save you..."
Her tears finally left her eyes and, just as before, started glowing. The Skribal Sword levitated off the floor and a light shone on the crossguard. The eight Essences of Light revealed themselves from within and flew and spiraled into the air back onto the top of their spires. Beams of light shot up into the sky as before and a new rippling effect took place across the sky. The peaceful glow of Twilight was fading away into a calm darkness filled with thousands of faraway lights.
"Is it... nighttime?!" Finn asked dubiously.
Then the sky changed again. The black, star dotted sky faded away in turn, slowly getting bluer and brighter. A new dawn was approaching.
"A miracle... For the first time ever, our realm finally has real daytime and nighttime!" Midna exclaimed.
There was no sun, instead the sky itself seem to glow bright enough for daytime. It was like they were in a planetarium. The lost spirit seemed to react to the light of day and began to flash. Jack was lifted from Cleo's hands, up to the spires' level. The beams of light redirected toward him one by one from each essence. They spun and splintered and enveloped him like a cocoon.
Moon Pearl. Its soft glow lights the night and protects the lost!
Cast Shadow. The light summons an echo of the lost and reveals their image!
Firefly Swarm. The glow of inspiration lights the way towards rebirth!
Star Formation. The lights draw a map for the lost and traces their image!
Aurora Stream. The colors of the wind pour into the image and brings beauty to them!
Sprite Cloud. The power of nature creates a spark of life and surges through the image!
Green Flash. The first glimpse of verdant light shines upon the lost and awakens their soul!
Eclipse Ring. The moon blocks the sun to form a ring of fire and revive the lost with its burning embers so life begins anew!
After a build up of power and energy, the cocoon of light shrank, like it was condensing into something solid. Then it burst into an brilliant explosion and out popped a body. The light engulfing it melted away revealing human limbs, white robes, wooden sandals, a katana at the hip, a head hidden beneath a straw hat. The man floated back down, unmoving until his feet touched the ground. He looked at himself, his hands, down his own body, and at his feet. He lifted his head, his face finally showed from the wide brim of his hat, a kind Asian face with shining black eyes, and a thin scar across one of them.
"I... I am back...!"