Light and Shadows Clash
When they reached the summit of Mt. Crenel, the heroes found a Minish Portal and shrunk down to the size of Picori once again. They entered Melari's mine and saw him at his work. To everyone's delight, the sword was almost complete. Link grabbed a hammer and asked if he could help out. After all, he was the grandson of the finest swordsmith in all of Hyrule. Melari winked in approval and they began finishing the repairs together.
Now that the Picori Blade was restored, the heroes' next stop was the Elemental Sanctuary.
"The Elemental Sanctuary is a strange place between the world of the Picori and your world," Melari said to Link. "The entrance is in Hyrule Castle, but it only opens once every century."
So the heroes returned to their original sizes and returned to Hyrule Castle. They did need to go back there anyway in order to break the curse on Princess Zelda. Amazing how everything always comes full circle.
The entrance to the Elemental Sanctuary was hidden inside the castle's inner courtyard. Like the Picori, it could not be seen by adults, but Link and his friends had to find it. Link felt for a hidden switch ot an opening in the wall. Suddenly, his hand went right through. "I think I found it," he told his friends, and he walked inside with everyone else following him.
Inside was an altar surrounded by four pillars. Yugi, Joey, Kaiba, and Emily placed the Element Crystals on top of the pillars. Afterwards, Link sheathed the Picori Blade in the pedestal in the center. The Elements began glowing and their lights made their way to the sword, infusing their energies into it.
At last, the Picori Blade was fully restored. But then its light began reflecting on the walls, revealing stained glass images. The images told the story of how monsters and evil spirits attacked the land and how the Picori bestowed the Picori Blade to the great hero. But the last image, much to everyone's surprise, was of Princess Zelda with a light in the center.
Yugi knew what this meant. "The Light Force is inside Princess Zelda!"
"Say what?" Joey asked.
"Just like how the Millennium Star is inside me," said Emily.
"It makes sense," said Max. The Light Force has been in the royal Hyrulean family's possession for generations. But I bet even Zelda herself had no idea." She and Emily both gasped as they sensed a Cobalt Star shard. Vaati was here!
"Splendid!" his voice boomed. "All this time, it was right under my nose!"
Everyone looked and saw him in the middle of the altar. "Vaati!"
"I have all of you to thank," he said gratefully. "Especially you, Lady Max. You did know where the Light Force was all along. But you kept that information to yourself so that your so-called friends could continue to do all the work."
Link looked at her. "Max, is that true?"
Emily quickly defended Max before she could even say anything. "Max did know, but she wasn't using us. She kept quiet for Zelda's protection. If she had told us from the start that the Light Force was inside of Zelda, Vaati would have gone after the princess right away."
Max smiled and nodded, signaling to Emily that she was right. Normally, she'd be surprised, but she wasn't. That just goes to show how well the two girls know each other.
"It doesn't matter!" Vaati snapped. "Once I seize the Light Force, I shall become the most powerful being in this world and all will belong to the Dark Lord Cobalt!" And he cackled as he vanished.
"We've got to stop him!" Yugi shouted.
Emily frowned. "If I'm right about Zelda and I being in the same situation, she'll die if Vaati takes the Light Force!"
"Then why are we just standing here?" Kaiba asked. "Let's go!"
The heroes stepped out of the Elemental Sanctuary, but when they hurried inside the castle, they saw that the king and his subjects had all been turned into stone. The castle had also been turned into one of darkness as it was filled with monsters and evil spirits. Using the Picori Blade, Link broke the curse on the king. There was no time to help the others, though. The heroes ran through the corridors and climbed the tower with the girls leading the way.
Upstairs, Vaati continued trying to drain the Light Force out of Zelda. It seemed she was able to resist him despite the curse she was under. But Vaati wouldn't give up. He could sense the Stars, meaning his foes were getting closer.
"Vaati!" Yugi shouted. The mage turned around and saw the heroes behind him. "Surrender now!"
Vaati laughed wickedly. "You're too late! Princess Zelda is now just a lifeless lump of stone! I've drained the Light Force from her and now, I have been reborn!" And he began taking on a new form. His robes looked more regal and his cap turned into a monster-shaped helm.
Vaati exhaled in satisfaction. "I can feel the Light Force coursing through my body.
"Vaati, stop!" Emily pleaded. "The powers of both the Light Force and the Cobalt Star shard will destroy you!"
But he wouldn't listen to her. He roared, "Now behold my awesome power!" And he began attack the heroes with his magic.
"It's no use," said Kaiba. "The only way to get through to him is to fight him."
Max looked at Emily. "You know what we have to do."
The blonde girl nodded. She released the Millennium Star from her heart and began transforming into her true form as a princess. Exposed to the light of the Millennium Star, Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba also began transforming into Millennia's warriors. Max also tapped into the power of her Cobalt Star shards and transformed into the Dark Knight.
"They've all transformed!" Link said in amazement.
"Now behold our power!" Kaiba shouted. He tossed his boomerang at Vaati and a ring of fire encircled around him. Joey shot an arrow and as it pierced Vaati, electricity began surging through his body. Yugi waved his sword and with one fell swoop, an icy wind blew towards Vaati, freezing him.
Link continued to watch in astonishment. "Their weapons couldn't do that before!"
"This is their true power as warriors of Millennia," Ezlo observed.
Vaati sneered at the heroes as he recovered from their attacks. "How brazen of you to tap into the powers of the Stars. Now allow me to do the same." The Cobalt Star shard around his neck began glowing. "I'll combine the power of my Cobalt Star shard with the power of the Light Force!"
"Vaati, no!" Emily shouted.
But he began taking on a more fiendish appearance. "Behold me now! In this form, I can do anything!" But as he was about to attack again, he began taking on even more monstrous features. "What? What's happening to me?"
"We tried to tell you," Emily cried. "The Light Force is pure, but its power can be distorted when possessed by someone with evil in their heart. And the power of the Cobalt Star shard has caused it to reflect the evil within you a hundredfold!"
"What's wrong, Vaati?" Max asked mockingly as he heard him crying out in fear. "Isn't this what you wanted?"
No, it wasn't what he wanted at all. Vaati didn't realize that acquiring all of this power would turn him into a monster. Frightened and overwhelmed, Vaati started pleading for help.
"The Light Force and the Cobalt Star are out of his control now," said Max.
"So it's up to us," Emily replied. They nod at each other and hold hands and begin pooling their energy. The combined powers of light and darkness become a silver fire, engulfing the girls and taking on the shape of a great bird.
"Another monster?!" Link cried.
"No, it's the Firebird," Ezlo answered. "This creature can only be released when the Knights of Light and Darkness join together and become one."
"As you can see, the powers of light and darkness have clashed within Vaati, hence why he's taken on the form of a monster," Yugi explained. "But within the Firebird, the two powers merge. And it's the synergy of the two powers that can stop this monstrosity."
Link suddenly heard Max's voice. "Link, once Emily and I attack Vaati, you use the Sacred Sword to finish him off." Link nodded in understanding. The Firebird screeched at Vaati and flew towards him, attacking him. Vaati screamed in pain as the fire burned him.
Link readied himself as he held the Sacred Sword. "Vaati, it's not your body that makes you a monster. It's that you use other people to strengthen yourself. But, me, I rely on my own power!" He charged at Vaati and struck him with the Sacred Sword. After that, a great light illuminated everyone's surroundings.