How Zelda Got Her Groove Back

by ZeldaRubix

Seven years after the events of Twilight Princess, Zelda is queen. However, she must right the wrongs of the past and help a broken hero heal. What lies ahead for the queen? She will be guided with the help of an unexpected friend. Reupload. Original upload May 2012.

44. Chapter 44

Inspiration: The Cretans Paradox and... shouting in a bottle (have you tried it?).

Original Shout Outs: Azreah, Inebriated Panda, Scooter JLM, TetsuyaKonan, ThatZDFan, Psyche Girl, Megadarkness, Riddle-Me-This, PeterPokeFreak, Royal Skunk, and Zeldafanatic97.

Author's Note: The original from 2012-2015 ~ZR~.

Word Count: 16,156

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Chapter 44 (originally chapter 34)

The Arbiter's Grounds

Link, Hylia, and I all stared at the newly transmogrified Ghirahim with open discretion in our continued battle stances. We couldn't let our guards down for a moment. At this point, we all knew that all of the demon lord's power had regenerated back to him. Ghirahim probably stalled for that very reason. However, the now disconcerting realization was that he was going to be a lot more dangerous than when we fought him in the Twilight Realm the previous time. We were going to have to use all of our wits to overcome him now, and the only way that was possible was if Link could destroy him with the Master Sword. Even with that being the case, I also saw the irony in our task at hand: the implement of Ghirahim and Demise's destruction was also the means the demon lord needed to resurrect his master. If we shuttered for even an instant, Ghirahim was going to find a way to make that happen. But another question was, how was he going to conjure darkness? How was he going to create the mechanism to get his master back? Those were inquiries I needed, but didn't want him to answer.

In the interim, there was a tense silence that coursed throughout the room, with Link standing at the fore of Hylia and myself. He was acting as our cover, but we may have had to switch roles in order for him to get the attack he needed. The goddess and I probably would have been more useful as decoys. Elbourne's body was still on the ground unconscious behind us, and I had no idea how we were going to protect him from Ghirahim's influence. I worried for his immediate safety even though he was initially spared. What was Ghirahim willing to do to him to resurrect his master?

Almost at an invisible cuing, Ghirahim took a step towards us in an almost taunting manner. His last statement was a little bit too precise to be coincidental...all Hylians are liars. Ancestral father had warned me to take heed of such a saying, as did Hylia. However, I couldn't lie and say I wasn't thrown for a loop by it. The perplexity of the words were more than apparent. Hylia explained it had something to do with strategy, but why was Ghirahim now making reference to it? What would the demon lord know about the phrase? Why was he bringing this up in this current situation? Why in this way?

All Hylians are liars…I thought again.

At my thoughts Ghirahim took another small step forward, but the hero immediately cautioned him.

"Stay back!" Link warned with his sword raised.

The demon lord simply narrowed his eyes in response and didn't feel the least bit threatened, but he also wasn't a fool. The monster knew the full power of the Master Sword could kill him. He was going to try to use a different tactic to siphon what he wanted.

"What's the matter great hero?" Ghirahim taunted. "Afraid of a little affection? And here I thought we were becoming friends."

Link didn't reply to his obvious instigations and instead raised one of his hands to keep Hylia and me at bay.

"I don't want either of you engaging him," he stated, "I'm well aware of what he wants, donotinterfere!"

I knew Link was saying that more to me than the goddess. I understood his concern, but I wasn't certain that that was a promise I could make. Even so, I didn't want to be an unnecessary distraction and a cause for division.

"Alright," I said anyway.

Hylia, on the other hand, remained silent.

Ghirahim grunted softly at Link's words.

"Such arrogance," he replied, "it permeates to the core of you useless Hylian retches, doesn't it?"

The hero raised a brow.

"Isn't that a little ironic coming from a creature who refers to himself as a lord?" he countered.

A useful point was a useful point. However, the monster didn't back down from the statement.

"Irony?" he repeated. "Let me tell you something about ironygoodhero. What's ironic is that a so called force for ambiance eradicates an entire indigenous population already settled here, only to then colonize the world for their own selfish devices. Through this colonization, this dictator both forces assimilation and enslavement on her captors. What 'goodness' is really in that?"

Of course his warped version of history was riddled with inconsistencies.

"Your recollection on those events is flawed," Link replied.

The monster groaned.

"My recollection is based on a specific point of view as is yours," he said, "and nonetheless I was there."

The goddess scoffed slightly at his words.

"You're a fool Ghirahim," Hylia spoke up suddenly, "your loyalty to that devil has blinded you to reality. You know Demise was initiallygovernorof the lands below before it was repatriated from him. He challenged my and the other goddesses right to rule by being belligerent and disorderly with his station in life. So, to put his claim to rest and in order to show fairness in the universe, we allowed him to state his boast. He, and his minions who wanted to follow him, ruled for a thousand years and created the chaos that became the lands below. The 'suffering' you speak on was his own doing. He forced his dominance and way of darkness on everyone, causing an illogical shift in balance. That shift led to the necessity of putting that monster back in his place. After seeing he was completely ill fit for the role of arbiter of the lands below, I fought him. I wasn't going to allow that monster to dictate his boast at the expense of innocent people any longer. You were there, you remember how badly you and he lost. Stop acting as though a birthright was taken away from you. It was never his or yours to have in the first place. You nor he had the right to rule. You were only ever in your positions because I allowed you to be."

Ghirahim got slightly indignant by her statements.

"The only thing that should have happened back then was your death!" he practically spat.

Hylia narrowed her red eyes at the demon lord and never broke out of her stance.

"Very well," she said, "you'll have an opportunity to see if you can make that happen on this day." She then turned her attention to Link. "I'm your back up number one."

It was fascinating hearing the true history of the events of the world that happened back then from the goddess herself. I could only imagine what she was like in all her glory. She must have been a sight to behold. However, I knew now wasn't the time for such admiration. I had to keep my guard like the others.

"And I'm your back up number two Master Link," I chimed in.

My input seemed to anger Ghirahim more. Our numbers, coupled with Hylia's words, must have sent what little composure he had out the proverbial window. He took several steps forward only to stop several feet in front of us.

"One, two, three of you against me?" he inquired mordantly. "Well… that doesn't seem fair."

Even though she was acting as a secondary defense, Hylia growled slightly in frustration at the monster's continued reluctance and barked her reply.

"Shut up and make your first move you tyrant!" she snapped. "Don't think I don't already know what you have up your sleeve!"

Both Link and I looked at Hylia surprised just then.

"What?" I inquired, trying not to sound so shocked.

She didn't reply to me, and Link looked a little unsettled by her outburst, but not enough to deter him from his stance. However, given our brief befuddlement, Ghirahim then saw fit to make his move.

"As you wish," the demon lord replied with no qualms, "since it is your desire, I shall try to even the odds."

Afterwards, Ghirahim took another step forward and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, from behind us the ground began to shake slightly, and Elbourne's body abruptly levitated off the earth. I gasped and turned from my intended position to see what was happening first hand. His body was now surrounded by a casting of red refracted light. The spectra was similar to what Ghirahim surrounded himself with when we fought him in the Twilight Realm.

"Oh no," I whispered to myself, with a growing sense of dread, "he's going to use his body as a shield."

Almost at the beckoning of my voice Elbourne's closed eyes suddenly opened, and his now green irises shined with a powerful iridescence. His new dark brown hair illuminated with a yellow light, and his clothes went from white with his black dragon crest cote of arms, to platinum black with a red prodigy seal of the demon lord on the back of the cape. After the brief modification, the dragon prince once again closed his eyes momentarily and took in a deep sigh. When the transformation was complete, he opened them once more and eerily had the same expression on his face as Ghirahim. Unfortunately, the same expression as his... his father.

"Dear goddesses," I heard Link whisper.

I shared his sentiments. This was becoming just as much a dilemma for him as it was for me. Link wasn't the type of man to harbor a grudge against a person when he knew they couldn't help it. He didn't want to hurt Elbourne.

What in Hylia's name do we do now?I wondered, already knowing the answer to that question.

It seemed the answer was going to be supplanted for us when thenewElbourne stretched out one of his arms and summoned, as it were, his adamantine axe. It came to him by means of telekinesis, then afterwards he immediately engaged himself in his battle stance. I felt my heart sink in pure disbelief at the sight.

Elbourne…I thought with a trail,that bastard is going to use you as a bait and switch.

The only one of the three of us who acted with no hesitation was Hylia. The goddess whipped out, not one, buttwo kodachisand readied herself to fight.

"I told you it might come to this Zelda," she warned, then turned her attention to the hero, "if you have to kill him Master Link to get to the demon lord,killhim!"

I looked at Hylia shocked, but knew what she was saying had merit.

"No," I whispered to myself anyway, "please no."

Link glanced over at me and a quick look of remorse came to his eyes. I knew at this point that whatever actions needed to be taken, were going to be so strictly for the greater good of Hyrule. There could be no sentiment or emotional contrivance here if it meant the entire kingdom was going to suffer. I couldn't allow my emotions to cloud my better judgement, even if it meant losing a dear friend.

Even so, Hylia heard my plea and turned slightly to look at me from her periphery.

"I'm sorry Zelda," she said to me, "but as it stands, we might not have any other choice."

I knew that and swallowed hard at her words.

Ghirahim, deciding to instigate, shook his head at the goddess's utterance.

"This is your lineage your majesty," he mocked to me, "this is the callous blood that runs through your veins, and she has the nerve to defame my master? She wants you to be a party in killing your childhood friend. She wants his blood on your hands, but what can you expect whenall Hylians are liars."

I grunted in frustration and kept my guard up when he uttered his nonsense and that phrase once more.

What the hell could that possibly mean?I thought.

However, there was no time for inquiries or small talk after. Ghirahim snapped his fingers once again and Elbourne lunged in an attack.

The battle unfortunately had begun.

~SSS~

Dragon Roost Impasse

I watched in quiet horror as the king of Dragon Roost slumped to the ground from his mortal wound. However, I was surprised to see that the monarch was still alive, still breathing, but he was definitely fighting for his life. I turned my attention back to the impostor in complete and utter disbelief. There was no way I was going to allow such an egregious act to go unpunished. This wasn't just an interdict against the kingdom of Dragon Roost. These aggressive actions were a threat to the kingdom of Hyrule as well. Who was this impostor? How had he subjugated himself by capturing the king? What gave him the right to believe he could do such a thing? Not only was this... thisfakedragon prince maligning the treaty of peace, he was inciting violence against the entirety of the state by using encrypted philosophical language to start an act of war. This monster was the worst kind of maniacal.

You will pay for this...I thought,you will pay because Hyrule is not a country to be trifled with.

It was in that moment I wasted no time and sounded the alarm to strike.

"Spare no one! Men of Hyrule attack!" I called out.

My battalion acted precisely, by drawing their blades and careening forward into an attack formation. Considering we were going up into the crevice, whereas the opposing army was coming out of the crevice, the advantage was the impostor dragon prince's. The Roostians knew this territory better than anyone, and now, given this man had Twili fortifications as well, his advantage grew substantially.

I was well aware of the disadvantage me and my men faced, but at this point I had no choice. This madman had lured the Hyrulean army away from protecting the people to initiate a coup de grais of the worst kind to split her majesty's forces. This was unprecedented. Even so, a man of Hyrule was a man of Hyrule. There was no way I was going to ride here and do nothing. This traitor was going to find out that fighting my battalion was not going to be an easy victory.

This is not going to be squandered here,I thought.

Elbournesmirked at the advance and unhinged his large axe.

"Let's get this over with," he replied, and gestured for his Twili cavalry to move forward.

The Twili warriors were a mixture of Shadow Beasts and Twili riders. The riders were in the front behind the disingenuousElbourne, while the ground troops were in the back. The Twili army were dressed in an unfamiliar prodigy like armor. The armor carried a strange emblem of a woman begging for her life with a man, or what appeared to a man, standing over her ready to kill her with a spear.

What sort of cote of arms is this?I wondered proceeding forward.This is not from the Roostians or the Twilight Realm.

I didn't have much time to ponder that inquiry, I rode forward, and targeted the dragon prince directly. Apparently, thisElbournehad the same goal in mind, as he locked onto me also. We were on a collision course towards mayhem, but not just the two of us, the whole bloody brigade. The cavalry coming towards us were imposing and eager. And once the first set of blades clashed, that was it, there was no turning back. However, I recognized a startling difference in our fighting strategies right away. My men were used to orderly, fixated rules of engagement. The Twili, on the other hand, were more caustic and bombastic in their approach. They fought almost like otherworldly creature, which considering their unusual mystique and culture, was not a surprise. Their unorthodox method was honestly much more effective, pushing us to rethink our counter measures. The Twili had longer reaches, with their natural biological and anatomical differences, and more impactful swipes when they struck. My men were practically in a perpetual state of defense, making very little ground going forward. In fact, instead of proceeding forward, we were steadily getting drawn back. This was going to be the fight of our lives.

Don't give up men,I thought, realizing we were being overwhelmed quickly.

At the head of the charge of all this, my sword finally met the wide tang of the dragon prince's adamantine axe. The clash caused a brief friction of sparks to fly in the air. I drew in closer from my slightly advantaged position, asElbourneslid his axe down the metallurgy of my blade. I saw a small opening for a parry caused by the attack and went to knock the prince off his horse. However,Elbourneregained his balance quickly from the recoil and struck again. I immediately had to raise my shield before the axe met my face. Damn this bastard, how did he know such a maneuver?

The impostor went to taunt me as he pulled back and narrowed his eyes.

"Is this all you have general?" he asked. "Am I to believe the men who protect their queen have such mediocrity at best?"

I wasn't going to be taken in so easily, but I understood where his conceit for boasting was making him feel advantageous.

"We shall see about that!" I replied through gritted teeth.

I struck again, attacking low and aiming for the gut. However, the outcome was still the same.Elbournecountered the strike with his axe and pushed the me back.

The fake dragon prince then shook his head.

"I'm done playing with you," he said with complete contempt.

The brevity in his voice was gone, and afterwards he snapped his fingers.

His actions caused me to pause for just a second.

What the hell is going on now?I wondered.

I kept up my guard, thinking he was coming at me with another attack and raised my shield in behest. However, I then lowered it when I looked on bewildered as a billow of smoke suddenly surrounded him as well as the field in front of him. My men and I were becoming more overwhelmed by these stronger contrarian forces, and with their obvious use of dark arts, the advantage was ever so discreetly becoming theirs. The confusion was starting to show in my men's fighting. I knew for their sake and for our sake we had to keep rallying on. We were not going to retreat. I had to encourage them forward.

"Come on men of Hyrule!" I called out. "Reform your ranks! A little illusion isn't going to defeat the guard of the queen!"

My intentions for a moment seemed to work. The men went back into battle formation and continued countering the Twili with a mild resurgence. We were aggressively pushing the Twili back, but unfortunately the tide was about to turn once again when the smoke cleared. I covered my nose so as not to breathe in the noxious gas. However, once the smoke cleared my eyes widened almost involuntarily in surprise and disbelief.

"What in the name of the goddess…?" I trailed shocked.

I didn't know what to make of this. Through some kind of substantiation there appeared to be an apparition at my fore. No… not appeared, therewasan apparition in my sights. How was this possibly?Whywas this possible? The look on my face must have said it all because he still felt the need to taunt me.

"Surprised?" he asked.

I was dumbstruck .

"My goddess," I whispered, "indeed I am."

He most certainly was not the dragon prince.

~SSS~

Hyrule Field: Midna's POV

I watched as the cavalry moved forward and engaged the enemy combatants. I stayed back for the time being taking a more wait and see approach as a defense. I knew how my Twili people fought and if I could protect a few Hylians from becoming indentured servants to a slave state, I would surely do so. I reinstated my guard position when in particular I sawElbourneapproach with the two aerial warriors. I still didn't understand how it was possible that an army had been elicited from my realm. There was no power surge from me, there were no obvious effects to the elements around us, and there were no longer any derivative portals connecting to this world, with the exception of the one in Dragon Roost. Is that how this was possible? Had they all festered from there? But then what about the shadow beasts? What accounted for their presence? This situation had mystery upon mystery tackled upon it. However, there was a clue to unraveling the mystique, and that was due to the very nature of the creatures themselves. I didn't detect the same essence I normally would from a Twili from my kingdom, which strongly suggested to me this was a hoax. This had all the methodologies of a tenured bait and switch. But if it wasn't, this bastard was creating an international conflict of gargantuan proportions between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. A conflict that could cause greater sanctions with the world of light. I was livid at this realization.

"You will not get away with this," I whispered to myself.

Meanwhile, in front Maximillion led the counter charge.

"Fire!" he called out.

On command, the archers released an array of arrows that briefly darkened the sky before hitting their intended targets. At seeing this, the dragon prince stopped his forward engagement and raised his hand. Suddenly, he induced a force field out of nowhere surrounding him and the Twili army accompanying him. The arrows blazed through the sky and were destroyed on contact. They simply disintegrated when they hit the shield. My mouth dropped a little, especially when I glanced over at Maximillion who appeared just as shocked.

"Dear Hylia," the general said quietly, "what sort of conjuring is this?"

My thoughts exactly.

How is he able to generate a force field?I wondered.

To answer the general's question simply, it was the kind that didn't come from a mere Hylian. It was becoming more and more evident that this representation ofElbournewas not a true representation of Elbourne. The realization of that made my resolve a little stronger.

"Two can play that game," I whispered, "you aren't the only one with the possession of extraordinary abilities... dragon prince."

I gripped the reigns to my horse tighter and headed for the front.Elbournethen continued forward and undid his axe, however, when it got into his grip it suddenly transformed into a bow and arrow. I wasn't going to pretend that that did not astonish me.

"My word," I whispered.

With my attention temporarily distracted, the so called dragon prince took advantage of my hesitance and readied an arrow to take aim at me. I met his gaze for a moment, and all he did was smirk at me.

"So incredibly beautiful," he said of me, "such a waste."

Elbournethen released the arrow, but before I could defend myself, the projectile was instantly countered by General Maximillion's blade. He sliced the missile in half before it punctured my chest. I looked over at him stunned, his timing was impeccable, but I allowed myself to become a sitting target.

"Are you alright your majesty?" he asked anyway.

I just nodded, a little taken aback with my life suddenly flashing before my eyes. I turned my attention back to the dragon prince. He looked unscathed at his murderous attempt, but equally aggravated that it was thwarted. This creature was relentless.

"I'm fine," I said finally.

However, the provocation was merely a set back forElbourne. He attacked again unprovoked with two more quick shots, this time however I was ready with a counter. I quickly induced a power surge and rose my arms to create an aura barrier made of dark Twili energy. The barrier flickered the black and orange electricity with a scattered sequence of valence energy cells. The dragon prince's arrows were quickly disseminated when they made contact. This was the same shield I used to protect my beloved Link when we traveled the land together. The Hylian army looked around in amazement at the protective covering, but now wasn't the time for stalled action. The men needed to move out and move out now.

"Sound your men general!" I said in a hurry to Maximillion. "I won't be able to keep this up forever!"

There was no further hesitation on the general's part.

"Indeed!" he replied, then pointed his sword forward. "Men of Hyrule charge!"

I rode forward with the charge, but then abated the barrier so the men could rush through and attack the opposing army. The Twili however were more than ready, and as they made contact shield for shield and blade for blade, the Hylian soldiers were in for a surprise. These Twili soldiers for some apparent reason were well versed in Hylian battle tactics. The problem it garnered was every attack presented by Maximillion and his men was countered with greater measure. This was going to be a massacre if the fighting went on like this. Longevity was going to be an advantage of the Twili, not the Hylians.

I looked on concerned.

How are they this versed in Hylian battle informatics?I demanded of herself.My people have never been oriented to the light world for such an education.

This was just another indicator that this army coming forward now was not one of my countrymen. However, I didn't have too much time to ponder over such revelations as another arrow flew my way. I quickly reinforced my barrier and again went to protect the rest of the Hylian soldiers. They were starting to become overwhelmed and Maxmillion began pulling back into the safety of the barrier. He sounded the order for the rest of his men to do the same.

"Fall back into guard formation!" the general called. "Fall back!"

Throughout the chaos of the fighting, the men that did hear him obeyed implicitly. The remarkable realization was that there were no causalities at this time. I moved forward next to the general keeping the force field intact until all the men were safely underneath it. This was worse than I could have imagined. The general was going to have to promptly rethink his strategy. There was no way he could take this unpredictable fight head on. I didn't divulge my concerns as Maximillion had enough to ponder, and the situation only promised to get worse from here on.

The impostor on the other side narrowed his eyes at the general and me, looking between the both of us determined.

"Enough of this nonsense," he muttered suddenly to himself and snapped his fingers, "it's time we ended this."

After his beckoning, a cloud of smoke suddenly engulfed the dragon prince and the two aerial Shadow Beasts hovering next to him. I looked over at the general while he just stared on in silence. The smoke surrounding the prince suddenly became cylinder-like, but when it dissipated it was all the confirmation I needed regarding my suspicions. After the cloud subsided, my eyes widened, not in disbelief, but more in surprise as to who this person truly was. Considering the nature of this fight, I shouldn't have been shocked by who was now presented before me, but I was.

"Well, well, well look what we have here," I whispered to myself.

It seems the illusions of shadows and dust were needed no longer.

~SSS~

The Underground City of Hyrule

I kept Lydia close behind me and stared at the dragon prince confused. I had no idea what to make of what he just uttered.

All Hylians are liars?I wondered again.What in the world was that supposed to mean in this moment?

However, I dismissed the inquiries when the fighting officially started and Zelvious leapt into an aerial strike. Even with the general being precise,Elbournedodged the maneuver and quickly countered with an attack of his own. Unfortunately the dragon prince's connected, forcing Zelvious to jump back, grip his side, and grunt a little in pain. I could tell by the look on Zelvious's face that he was a little taken aback by the dragon prince knowing of his move sets so readily. He hadn't fought the young royal before, so it very well could have been that the general was simply unaware of the prince's combat skills. Even so, the minor set back encouraged Zelvious's men to intervene, but the general held up his hand to stop them from coming closer.

"I'll do this alone," Zelvious said to them, still staring at the prince, "it seems I underestimated the skills of my opponent."

The men were hesitant to comply, which I didn't blame them, but they also saw that the general was serious. ThiswasZelvious after all. He was one of the three Riders of Hyrule, with Maximillion and Gunter completing the triad. He was considered one of the greatest warriors in the kingdom, and ifhewas having problem with a foe, chances were his subordinates would as well. Age was possibly a factor here as well, but the fifty-four year old fighter was a disciplined seasoned veteran, who was well condition and kept his skills sharp. He taught many of the new combatants how to fight with the sword. Even so, these facts didn't allay the current disturbing reality. These circumstances, coupled with the fact the dragon prince was engaging in combat without a weapon made this situation exceptionally more dangerous and unpredictable.

This is not going to bode well,I thought.

Zelvious backed up and reinstated his battle stance, however, I was already seeing a problem in what Zelvious was doing. The general was making his attack patterns too obvious from his initial area of engagement. Even I could tell what he was going to do before he did it and I wasn't a fighter. I wanted somehow to convey the minor flaw to him, but I knew my doing so would cause more trouble than help. When the general went to attack again,Elbourneread his body language and readied his counter easily. Again, Zelvious was unsuccessful in connecting, while Elbourne continued to undermine him. Zelvious was going to have to come up with another strategy or allow his men to assist him.

Even Lydia behind me was starting to question whether or not this was a good idea.

"Do you think the general needs help?" Lydia asked quietly so only I would hear.

I took in a deep sigh.

"For now he wants to go at it alone," he said, "but he is going to have to use a different tactical approach. The dragon prince is too knowledgeable otherwise."

Lydia looked at me puzzled for a moment.

"Too knowledgeable?" she repeated. "But the general is the best fighter in the army, it can't be knowledge alone."

I didn't reply right away, and shook my head. She was definitely onto something, there was something off about the power and knowledge ofElbourne.It almost seemed otherworldly.

"See for yourself," I replied.

Lydia was visibly unsettled with my words, but turned her attention back to the fight anyway and paid closer attention to what I mentioned. In this instance, Zelvious had his sword sheathed and was now engaging in the eastern Hylian stance of thejudo.I assumed it was the general's hope that the dragon prince wasn't well versed in eastern styles of combat. We would all see momentarily. However, before the general attacked, it seemed like an oddly conceived thought on the part of the dragon prince to defend becauseElbournestill wasn't fighting with a weapon. Instead, he readied his parry by initiating the grappling stance of theakido,a subsidiary ofjudo. So... he was versed in eastern battle informatics. It seemed to be going as I was foreboding, this wasn't going to end well. Even so, Zelvous readied himself and attacked again. He ended up lunging at the elusiveElbourne,but instead of connecting, he was not able to land the strike he intended.Elbournedodged the attack, then quickly took hold of the general's disengaged arm and twisted it behind his back. This was insane. How wasElbourneable to dodge that maneuver and still at the same time take hold of the general? The inquiries had to wait. All of Zelvious's men were on full on alert at their commander's sudden entrapment.

"General!" a few men said together in unison.

I couldn't lie, I looked on shocked as well. It took a person of extraordinary power to man handle Zelvious of Hyrule. It was rare for anyone to even challenge the general, let alone best him. It seemed Zelvious underestimated the skill of the dragon prince. Even so, with all that being stated, there was still something not… not right aboutElbourne.I had seen the prince fight in the past as well, and it was never anything like this. He was almosttoogood,tooprecise. Something else was at play here, some other means of evil was setting his will against ours. His methodology of coming down here alone was a red flag into something more sinister. It was a massive empirical clue that perhaps... perhaps this man wasn't the dragon prince at all. There was a strong possibility we were dealing with someone else different entirely.

Lydia behind me was getting more worried.

"We have to help him," she whispered to me, "it was just as you said, he's predicting everything. We can't just stay here idly and do nothing."

She was about to get up, but I held her back.

"Wait," I cautioned when something in Elbourne's appearance suddenly caught my eye, "what'sthat?"

Lydia turned to see what I was talking about and her eyes narrowed slightly. There was a strange smoke filtering fromElbourne'sruffled shirt. It caught everyone off guard.

What in Hylia's name?I wondered.

"Dear goddesses," she whispered, "I have no idea what that could be, but it can't be good."

I took hold of Lydia's hand and kept her steady so she wouldn't run away. Panic began to course through the room when the smoke suddenly enveloped the dragon prince and the general together.

Dear Nayru,I thought anxiously,what the hell is going on here? What sort of prodigy is this?

The men looked on in disbelief

"General!" several of them called out in alarm. "Commander Zelvious!"

Zelvious managed to hold out his free hand from the smoke before the appendage disappeared behind it.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" he called out, but then coughed. "Clear the area if you can!"

However, Zelvious should have known none of us were going to heed that warning. He was captured protecting us, there was no way we were going to leave him in such a confinement. When the smoke cleared, we were all relieved to see that the general was alright, but we also beheld something we weren't expecting. Something completely out of the ordinary.

Lydia looked on in confusion.

"What in the-?" she didn't finish.

I understood it completely, I was too stunned myself to reply.

How is this even remotely possible?I wondered.How?

~SSS~

Ordon Bridge

Rusl reached out quickly to try and stop his strong willed son from his overzealous attack, but it was too late. Colin was already engaged. He initiated the fight with a mid-aerial strike, the tang of his blade met nothing but air when the dragon prince simply moved out of the way and avoided the attack.Elbournecountered it with a strike to Colin's back. The young man fell hard from the attack.

"Colin!" Rusl called out and hurried to his fallen son.

Uli covered her mouth terrified.

"Oh dear Hylia!" she whispered.

Beth's eyes widened at the sight and she nearly jumped out of the wagon to help him, but Ilia stopped her.

"You can't!" Ilia warned. "You'll only get in the way!"

Beth looked at her friend in taken aback.

"I can't just sit here!" she exclaimed. "He could be seriously hurt! Didn't you see what that monster did to him?!"

Ilia was again about to protest, when Talo suddenly hurried out of his wagon and went to help his friend. His departure sent shock waves throughout the small caravan, especially his parents.

"Talo!" both his parents called after him, horrified for his safety.

His father even tried to grab him, but the youngster eluded his grip.

"Talo!" he called again. "Talo! Come back!"

Even Ilia attempted to stop him.

"Talo wait!" she called. "Talo get back here! You'll only get hurt!"

However, the young man already made his mind up.

"I can't," Talo said, turning to look at Ilia defiantly, "I'm not going to sit here and do nothing!"

Ilia stared at the young man at loss for a moment, but couldn't deny his reasons. Talo hurried over to Rusl who was kneeling down checking on his son.

"Collin!" Rusl said in a worried voice. "Collin!"

Colin didn't respond right away, but raised his hand to show he was still coherent.

"I'm okay father," he reassured finally, "just a little shaken."

Rusl was not convinced and helped his son up anyway. With Rusl helping Colin, Talo focused his attention on the clearly more powerful dragon prince. The youngster unsheathed his wooden practice sword and tried to aerial strikeElbourne. Rusl turned quickly with his son in tow to see what was going on.

"No!" Rusl called out, hoping to stop him.

However, the swordsman caught the potential disaster too late. The dragon prince maneuvered and got out of Talo's attack zone. The adolescent missed his target and hit the ground hard.

Elbournegrinned at the boy's tenacity.

"You have some heart," he said, "it's too bad you don't know when you're outclassed."

Talo moaned slightly and grabbed his head while trying to regain his composure. The dragon prince smirked at the failed attack, and to add insult to injury he came over, picked the young man up by the neck, stared him straight in the eyes, and began choking him out. Everyone looked on in absolute terror. Colin even tried to free himself from his father's grip, but Rusl wouldn't let him go.

"Let him go you bastard!" Colin demanded. "He's no match for you and you know it!"

The dragon prince merely glanced his way.

"That isn't how you address royalty Master Colin,"Elbournesaid to the young man, "if you want your friend to survive this, you'll have to ask me nicely."

Colin looked at the prince surprised.

Wait a minute... why is he speaking to me like he... like he knows me personally?he wondered.

Rusl got back in front of his son and sheathed his sword trying to diffuse the situation.

"You just saw what I did your highness," he said, "you just saw that I made myself defenseless and am not coming at you aggressively. Now let the boy go."

Talo's poor face was turning white. If something wasn't done soonElbournewas going to kill him.

Rusl looked between Talo and the dragon prince. He was starting to fear the worst.

"Elbournelet him go!" he yelled.

Elbournesmirked at Rusl's alarmed reaction and surprisingly obliged.

"As you wish Lord Rusl," he replied and let the boy go.

When released, Talo fell hard to the earth and coughed.

Colin hurried from behind his father to see about his friend. He hurried to him before his father could stop him.

"Are you alright?" he asked the aspirating youth.

Talo only nodded, still trying to catch his breath.

Rusl watched his son helplessly, and wished he didn't make such uncouth decisions. He was putting his life in considerable danger by being presumptuous. Both young men were stationed at the feet of the dragon prince. Seeing his upper hand in the situation,Elbournesimply grinned at the impetuous youngsters, but then snapped his fingers suddenly. Out of nowhere, a cloud of smoke suddenly engulfed the three of them including the dragon prince.

Colin looked around surprised.

"What's going on?" he asked loudly.

Rusl looked on in horror.

"Colin! Talo! Get out of there!" he screamed.

However, at this point the smoke had completely veiled Colin's and Talo's line of sight. Colin made sure to check on his friend.

"Talo are you alright?" he asked.

Colin couldn't see him but Talo nodded and took hold of his hand to reassure him.

"I'm okay," he replied.

Colin was aware that neither one of them were out of the woods yet, andElbournemade sure to make them realize that fact.

"It's time you found out whyall Hylians are liarsyoung man," the prince said from beyond the mist, as if clairvoyant.

Rusl, still staring on in disbelief, then took to flight and hurried over to his son and Talo. The smoke was still surrounding them when he knelt down within it to make sure they were both alright.

"Come on!" Rusl stated, helping both boys up.

The embattled soldier got his son and Talo up and out of harm's way before the smoke cleared. However, when it did, everyone was in for an unexpected surprise. The villagers were all staring at the dragon prince taken aback. However, Talo was the first to respond to what was happening.

"Wait," he said shaking his head confused, "I don't understand,whydoes he look like that now? What happened?"

Collin and his father had no immediate explanation for him. The apparition now before him smiled and didn't answer.

Collin looked on in utter disbelief.

"So…" he whispered to himself, "thatwas why he seemed so familiar."

~SSS~

The Arbiter's Grounds

Elbourne launched into the air like a lancer and pivoted his axe downward towards the earth. Link held the Master Sword above his head and parried the attack before the adamantine blade cut into him. Link twirled the tang of his sword several times and rotations before releasing himself from the attack of the dragon prince. When he saw that his initial attack was unsuccessful, Elbourne took advantage of Link's unguarded middle and kicked him towards his center. Unfortunately, Link wasn't able to parry the secondary strike and fell backwards from the force. The hero landed hard on the ground below.

"Ah!" Link grunted of the fall.

Ghirahim, distanced behind the dragon prince, snickered at Link's plight and readied Elbourne onward. It was then I took note of the full extent that Ghirahim was using him. The demon lord was maneuvering his hands in the air towards the dragon prince, the way a puppet master manipulated the strings of a marionette. This was confirmation that Ghirahim was controlling all of Elbourne's moves. This was going to prove disastrous one way or another if a strategic intervention didn't happen soon. I felt it necessary to do something myself, however, Hylia was already one step ahead of me. Without waiting for a command from Link, she lunged at Ghirahim and readied both herkodachis. Unfortunately, even with her resilience she was met with some unexpected resistance. The demon lord saw her coming and raised his arm, instituting a pulsating wave to thwart her attack. He countered her intended strike by blasting a beam of dark energy at her. Hylia dodged it, but she was still affected by the fall out. She landed hard on the ground and that was when I knew it was time for me to step in. I wasn't going to allow the goddess to be pummeled to a pulp.

"I'm coming Hylia!" I whispered.

I then leapt to action and ran towards Ghirahim's right side. He didn't see me coming as I was swift and powered into him, knocking him to the ground. The temporary disequilibrium made the demon lord lose control of Elbourne for a moment. The red light surrounding the dragon prince suddenly abated, creating a new problem, confusion. Without completely realizing what was happening, the dragon prince was in the middle of another strike towards Link, but then stopped himself when he realized he didn't understand what he was doing.

Elbourne suddenly shook his head and looked at Link confused.

"Farm boy?" he inquired.

Link was slightly taken aback at him saying that, but didn't let his guard down.

"I see even in a controlled state you try and be ridiculous!" he replied

Link then lunged at him, but Elbourne looked at him shocked and hurried to defend himself. The two men locked weapons and eyes for a moment.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elbourne demanded, straining from the hero's strength. "Controlled state? Have you lost it? It's me! It's Elbourne!"

Link gave him another offhanded look, but narrowed his eyes at him, realizing in that moment that the dragon prince wasn't possessed anymore. However, the hero didn't disengage him either.

"What game are you trying to play?" he demanded anyway.

Elbourne was giving it all he could when he saw he was still caving to Link.

"I'm not playing any games you crazy son of a bitch!" he retorted. "I'm defending myself so you don't kill me!"

Link wasn't being baited.

"Do you take me for a fool?" he demanded.

"Of course I do!" Elbourne replied. "How the hell else am I suppose to take you if you act like you've got no damn sense?!"

The hero stared into his eyes a little longer and realized then he wasn't dealing with Elbourne's alter ego any longer, but the real dragon prince. He looked to be lucid without any deceit.

"Elbourne?" Link inquired anyway.

The dragon prince growled and nodded back towards the demon lord behind him.

"Yes goddamn it, it's Elbourne! And aren't we supposed to be fightinghim?" Elbourne demanded. "Why are you leaving it to them?"

Link pulled back only marginally.

"You were under his control!" he disclosed. "You left me no choice!"

Now Elbourne looked at the hero taken aback.

"What?" he demanded.

However, the question was short lived. Elbourne was about to be reengaged by the demon lord. While Link dealt with Elbourne, Ghirahim knocked both me and Hylia off him to reengage control of the dragon prince. The red light recast around him and Ghirahim got Elbourne into his clutches once more. Unfortunately, the demon lord wasn't as subtle about his grasp as he was the first time.

"Ahhh!" Elbourne screamed before falling to his knees.

I stood cold, thinking the repossession was going to be worse than the initial, when suddenly something strange and fascinating happened. It was particularly to me, a voice suddenly called out to me.

"Zelda!"the voice said.

I looked around momentarily, thinking I was losing my senses for a moment, but then it happened again.

"Zelda!"the voice said once more.

This time I knew it was for real. I looked to the others to disclose if they could hear what I was hearing, but both Hylia and Link were paying attention to Elbourne. I trembled slightly at the mild isolationism. The voice was directed to me and me only.

"Who... who are you?" I whispered carefully.

The voice spoke again, but it paused briefly before hand.

"You know who I am,"he said calmly.

That was when I realized it was the Hero of Skies.

"Ancestral father," I whispered at the recognition.

"Yes,"he replied,"but you must listen to me carefully for there is very little time. Ghirahim is going to use the dragon prince as a catalyst to bring back his master."

I felt my blood run cold.

"What?" I replied.

"Yes,"he said.

I tried to remain calm.

"But how?" I asked.

There was a brief pause.

"The only way a monster knows how,"he continued afterwards,"if you want to save the world, you must intervene when the time calls for it. If you want to save the worldandyour friend, you must trust that evil's bane will after a blood letting help your and his life sustain."

I looked on confused and shook my head at hearing that.

"A riddle?" I whispered. "Now?"

"Life is full of them,"he replied.

I closed my eyes briefly and took in a deep sigh.

"I don't understand," I whispered, "we don't have time for this, please tell me what you mean?"

There was a brief pause on his end.

"You know what I mean Zelda because you have the blood of the goddess flowing through your veins,"he replied,"a riddle hasn't stopped you before, and it won't stop you now. Just as when you seek a moment of clarity in a very dark hour you will understand why 'all Hylians are liars'..."

This wasn't making any sense to me and it was frustrating me, but I nodded my understanding anyway. I didn't have time in that moment to keep carrying on a conversation.

"Alright," I whispered.

I could almost see his smile in my head at my reply.

"That's my girl,"he said gently, as his ethereal voice began to fade,"and remember youknowwhat to do, you just need to do it."

I looked heavenward in the dank cavern when ancestral father's voice and presence left, but saw that nothing was there. I didn't expect there to be. The Hero of Skies was always so soothing... just like when I was alone in the dark in Ghirahim's capture. I wonder if ancestral mother felt his presence as well. However now, there was something very specific, very purposeful regarding his visit. That riddle was esoteric for a reason, but the deciphering of it was going to have to wait as I was transported back to reality when Ghirahim had Elbourne initiate his battle stance once again. Link at the opposite of it reestablished his guard as well. But this time the hero didn't wait for the dragon prince to strike first. Instead Link preempted the strike by lunging sword first into a jump strike. I thought with how Ghirahim was using Elbourne that he was going to naturally pull him back out of harms way. However, it was in this moment I began to realize the gravity of ancestral father's words. I had no idea when he stated he had very little time that he did indeed have very little time. The reason for my new found revelation was Ghirahim's different use of his hypnosis methodology. When eliciting his control over the dragon prince, instead of having Elbourne dodge the impending attack, the deplorable monster instead led the dragon prince's bodyintothe attack.

My eyes widened immediately when I realized what was about to happen.

It was this.

Thiswas the very moment ancestral father was trying to warn me about.

He was right.

"The purge!" I whispered.

Suddenly my own beloved Link's voice recalled through my head.

"...He wants the Master Sword to free Demise..."his voice echoed through my mind.

I saw Link's raised blade and Elbourne's positioning and realized this was exactly what Ghirahim was anticipating. He wanted Link to pierce Elbourne through with the Master Sword to start the resurrection process of his master.

"He's going to use Elbourne's body as the purging catalyst!" I said panicked, and scrambled to my feet.

Hylia looked over at me just then in mild confusion, but tried to intercept me.

"Zelda what are you doing?" she demanded quietly.

I ignored her and ran faster.

I had to stop this.

"Link wait! Please wait!" I called out. "Please don't do it!"

In my periphery I saw Ghirahim narrow his eyes at me in mild perplexity.

"Whatis she doing?" he asked asked more to himself than anyone in general.

I ran even faster without thinking and without a plan, then before Link made contact, I pushed Elbourne with all my might out of the way of the attack. However, as the dragon prince was now out of harms way, I unfortunately was right in it. During the strike Link caught sight of my actions and tried to prevent himself from landing into me. He tried to stop his forward momentum, but his velocity was far too great. I watched in silent horror as Link and the Master Sword came unconsciously down and impaled me through my gut to the ground. I braced myself for impact, but nothing prepared me for that piercing pain that soon followed. There was an eerie silence that coursed throughout the chasm when the attack was over, but it was immediately followed by me collapsing to the floor with a resoundingthud.I coughed up a sudden gush of blood as it rose to the recesses of my throat immediately.

Dear Hylia,I thought, feeling surreal as everything went dark for a moment.

I blinked several times as shock set in, but it compared to nothing like the shock on Link's face. The hero's eyes were widened, his skin was suddenly glistened with perspiration, and he was staring at me in complete and utter disbelief.

"Zelda!" he whispered.

I coughed as my first response, it only seemed to deepen his reaction. He looked like he was about to lose his footing.

"No!" Link whispered.

Ghirahim in the background, who was initially surprised by all this, suddenly smirked.

"Well," he said, "isn't this an interesting turn of events."

I coughed up more blood as it surged again.

"No!" Link whispered again, letting the blade go and dropping to his knees next to me.

The look on his face was indescribable.

"Zelda!" Link whispered again.

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.

"Link..." I whispered finally.

The hero then cradled my face between his now trembling hands and stunned regret filled his eyes.

"Why?" he demanded gently, his voice broke immediately, but he trying to control it. "Why in Farore's name did you get in the way? Why the hell didn't you stay back?"

I had no answers that would suit him, but I knew I had to do it.

"I... I couldn't let you stab Elbourne," I whispered, "that's what Ghirahim wants. He wants you to strike Elbourne with the sword to begin his purge."

My words were not a comfort to the hero.

"So you sacrifice yourself?!" he demanded, letting his emotions get there better of him for a moment. "You think this is the better solution?!"

My vision was starting to get blurry.

"I did it for Hyrule," I whispered, "I'd do anything for Hyrule."

Link's frustration only amplified.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" he demanded. "I would have stopped myself!"

I shook my head.

"There was no time," I replied.

"I would have made time!" he replied.

I was breathing a little faster and Hylia who was listening silently in astonishment finally walked up. She was looking down at me wide eyed, but there was something in her face that had a hint of peculiarity in it, like she understood my actions more than she was initially shocked by them. She too got down on her knees and stared at me long and hard like a mother wanting so desperately to chastise their child, but knew now wasn't the time for it.

"Zelda..." was all she could conjure.

The blurred affect to my vision was steadily getting worse.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

She took in a deep sigh.

"What drives you to be so bloody stubborn?" she asked anyway, keeping her voice steady.

I attempted to grin.

"You know what drives me," I whispered back, "it's you, your essence runs through my veins, the blood of the goddess."

She paused suddenly and grew silent when I said that.

"What did you say?" she whispered suddenly.

My phrasing was completely unintentional. I was breathing harder, not sure what she was trying to divulge from my words.

"The blood of the goddess," I repeated.

For some odd reason she narrowed her eyes slightly at my utterance. When she heard what I said again she looked over at the disenfranchised, but still possessed Elbourne lying on the ground like a puppet, then quickly to Ghirahim who remained strangely catatonic through this, then back at me. It was like she realized something very important in that moment.

"The blood of the goddess," she said more faintly to herself than to me.

Link had a mild look of desperation on his face when he addressed Hylia next.

"Why are you repeating that?" he demanded with a slight impatience. "What does that mean in the here and now?"

Hylia stared down at me at his questions.

"Remove the sword," she ordered suddenly, ignoring Link's inquiries.

The hero was slightly annoyed with the goddess avoiding him.

"Hylia-" he tried.

"Do it Link," she interrupted quietly, "I know how to save her."

The hero looked at the goddess surprised, and instantly said nothing further. He then stood and pulled the impaled sword from my gut. The extraction was beyond painful.

"Ahhhh!" I couldn't help but scream.

Once it was removed, blood gushed from the wound like a spring, but Hylia immediately put her hand over the area to pressurize it. Link placed the blade on the ground beside him and came back down to tend to me. He held me steady as he saw I was trembling now. Hylia stroked my blonde bangs away from my face and looked into my eyes. Just then a small smile curled her lips.

"You really would do anything for your friends, wouldn't you?" she said cryptically.

I gave her an offhanded look.

"What do you mean?" I whispered.

Her smile broadened and she turned to the hero.

"Link hold her steady," she ordered and never answered my question, she then looked back at me, "hold still, this is going to hurt like hell kid."

I looked at her surprised at her unconventional bluntness for the moment.

"Like what?" I repeated.

All of a sudden, Hylia pressed her hand down on my wound and pulsed it with a surge of power. The initial contact sent shock waves through my body.

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed at the impact.

The goddess didn't let up and I looked at her stunned through it all. Hylia kept the surge going until the wound seal up and closed over. The residual effects were immediate, I was completely healed. I gasped when her hand left my body, but now I felt a renewal I hadn't felt before. I felt stronger, more powerful. I balled and unballed my fists several times from the effects. I couldn't believe it.

I stared at the goddess amazed.

"How did you...?" I trailed.

Hylia gave me a tender look just then.

"You're not going to be a martyr Zel," Hylia whispered, "not on my watch. You still have too much life to live." She then reached over and placed Link's hand in mine. "You two still have a kingdom to rule together."

I looked at her surprised at the brief moment of sentimentality and glanced over at Link who was staring at me in open amazement and relief.

"She's right," he agreed, "there's still so much for the both of us to accomplish Zelda."

I unintentionally blushed at his words and sat up just then.

"Link..." I trailed.

Ghirahim, watching our entire ordeal, suddenly groaned in open disgust from the background.

"This is sickening," he bellowed and suddenly reengaged Elbourne, "you idiot Hylians feel it fitting to talk about such things when your world is on the brink of destruction?! It's no wonder why my master hates you so much Hylia, your offspring are fools and dreamers just like you. It's time to understand when you as an inferior species have been defeated! It's time to end this!"

The demon lord suddenly plowed the puppeteer dragon prince at the hero. Link had to hurry and pick up his sword to parry the dragon prince's attack, then got back up into his battle stance. The two men were once again staring each other intently in the eyes while straining their weapons. It was then Link made a plea for Elbourne's senses.

"Fight itdragonprince!" Link was saying, trying to reach him in some way. "Fight it! Think about the people you care about! Think about Mystere! Think about Zelda! You know you would never hurt them!"

But it was no use, Link's words were falling on deaf ears.

"That nonsensical talk isn't going to work," Ghirahim stated, "Elbourne belongs to me now."

At this point Hylia and I were off the ground, ready to spring to action to help, when Hylia surprised me with her preemptive verbiage and talk.

"Oh no he doesn't," she whispered more to herself than to me, then she turned to look at me, "you stay back for a moment."

I looked at her confused.

"What? Why?" I demanded, but afterwards she took off and never gave me an explanation.

I saw a surge of anger flow through her, and then she lunged at Ghirahim. Her body then got very, very bright as if she were an encapsulated triboluminesence.

Wait a minute...I thought taken aback,what the hell is she doing? Is she about to sacrifice herself?

"Hylia!" I cried out in alarm. "Hylia! Wait no!"

~SSS~

Snowpeak Mountain: Ashei's POV

My children surrounded Mystere happily as she cut onions and spoke with them about the importance of its anti-inflammatory properties. The stew she was cooking smelled wonderful and my children were all too eager to help her finish it. I was glad they were comfortable, because admittedly I wasn't. I couldn't get over how I never heard of such a woman who bore such a resemblance to Queen Zelda. Where had she been residing all this time? Why did she feel the need to keep her face hidden if there wasn't something deeper here than her appearance? Who was she? I didn't want to naturally be suspicious of people who were in need, but I couldn't help myself. Mystere seemed nice enough, but she specifically requested no questions regarding her very questionable appearance. However, considering the implications, I couldn't say I blamed her.

"So you have to remember that the holy trinity of cooking is: onions, carrots and..." Mystere was saying.

"Celery!" my children said excitedly in unison.

The pretty stranger smiled and nodded.

"Very good," she replied, "always think about the basics when when you're cooking, that helps you build to higher forms of flavor."

My children clung on every word.

"What do you mean 'higher' forms?" Aura asked.

Mystere grinned.

"Well, all things start off with a basic premise, even cooking," she explained. "When you make a stew, or a meat pie, or anything for that matter, you should always remember to start with a base. I used to do so for my friends when I cooked for them all the time."

My ears perked a little when I heard her say that. It was the first semi specific thing she said without seeming guarded. The children relished it.

"Do you have a lot of friends Miss Mystere?" my second child asked.

The stranger paused for a moment and stared at the little boy with a slightly nondescript look that came into her eyes.

"I... I used to," she said quietly, "I live pretty much by myself these days."

My son seemed perplexed.

"But why?" he asked. "You're so pretty and nice, plus you know how to cook!"

Mystere smiled and my goodness she looked just like Zelda.

"If only life were that simple," she replied.

Aura then stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"Why don't you live with us then?" she asked excitedly. "That way you'll never have to be alone again!"

I raised a brow at my daughter's proposition, but understood she was just doing what she did best, be herself.

"Aura..." I trailed, "will you stop badgering Miss Mystere? You can't just demand that people come and live with us."

My daughter looked at me indignantly just then.

"But mommy you always told us to help those in need just like Uncle Link does," she stated, "if Miss Mystereneedsfriends then she should stay with us!"

I took in a deep sigh at my daughter. Her nonchalant look at the world was what I missed about being a child myself, but it was interesting to note the reaction of Mystere. She looked at Aura surprised by the unconventional divulgence, and that signaled to me that she either knew something specific about the hero or was just surprised that we were contacts of the hero. Before I had an opportunity to reprimand my child, the pretty stranger inquired further.

"Uncle Link?" she asked quietly. "Are you speaking of the great hero little one?"

Aura nodded.

"He comes to visit us from time to time," she said, "and he's friends with my mommy!"

I knew children were unfiltered, but this was getting ridiculous. Mystere looked over at me almost dumbstruck just then.

"Youknowthe great hero madam?" she asked me quietly.

I cut my eyes to my daughter, not necessarily upset she spoke so openly, but that her innocence and trust only made her guilty of one thing, being a child. I then cut my gaze to Mystere and didn't answer her directly.

"Do you?" I asked.

Mystere's eyes widened slightly and she hesitated at my question, and that hesitation was all the answer I really needed. It was obvious she knew him in some capacity.

"I... I met him a few times in the past," she answered honestly, "he was always very kind."

I was a little surprised she was so open with her answer, but at least she wasn't being unnecessarily secretive about the matter. However, seeing that Mystere was impressed with us knowing Link, my oldest son decided to disclose more than he rightfully should have, which was surprising considering he was generally more cautious than even me.

"Master Link was also best friends with my late father," he said, "they fought and traveled together."

That I wasn't going to let slide.

"Bastion that's enough!" I scolded and my six year old son looked at me surprised suddenly.

He didn't understand what he had done wrong.

"But mother... its true," he replied.

However, it was Mystere's reaction that was the most telling. For some odd reason she was now staring very intently at my eldest son. The little boy was too enamored with the stranger's quiet charm to be suspicious of her gaze, but I recognized that familiar look on her face from a mile away. I had seen too many spies give it away when something paramount had just been revealed. The fact this woman was unable to conceal her small emotive reaction told me she wasn't a covert agent. However, it didn't give me any other insight as to why she found the information so compelling either. She was still staring at my son intently.

"Your name is Bastion?" she asked quietly.

My son nodded.

"After my father," he replied.

Her eyes widened a little more.

"Really?" she repeated.

It was time I interceded.

"Yes really," I replied, "why is that such a surprise?"

My children all then looked at me shocked regarding my slightly sharp tone, but I was starting to lose a little of my patience as to why she found all of this so interesting. What did the name of my son have anything to do with her? How did she know Link? And if implications were any indicator, how did she know Bastion? She was all but inferring that to be the case with her behavior.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I didn't mean to pry."

I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I think it's too late for that answer my dear Mystere," I said with a slightly authoritative voice, "I think now would be a good time for you to start talking. Who are you?"

My children suddenly tensed up when they saw me this way, but I couldn't worry about that right now, I was doing this to protect them. All they saw was a pretty face and a soft voice. They didn't realize that their innocence made them ignorant to the cruelty of the real world. This woman was extracting information from my children, but was giving very little in return about herself. I was no longer going to sit here and be a party to it.

"Whoareyou?" I asked asked again. "Start talking."

~SSS~

The Arbiter's Grounds

What in the world was the goddess doing?

"Hylia!" I cried out again. "Wait!"

But it was no use, the goddess of Hyrule's mind was already made up. I assumed she was going to use the remaining bit of her strength to emit a suicide-like explosion to stop the demon lord that way. Hylia's body powered into Ghirahim's once more, forcing him onto the ground and making him lose control of Elbourne once again. She then wrapped her arms and legs around him from behind and started glowing even more with a gold iridescence around her. Ghirahim was unable to move against Hylia's newfound strength. It caught him by complete surprise.

"Get off of me you contemptible witch!" the demon lord growled.

Hylia immediately turned her attention to Link.

"You have to destroy the crystal in his chest!" she ordered. "Do it! Now!"

Link looked at her surprised but needed no further instructions. He hurried to pick up the sword and readied his jump attack. Once the hero was engaged, he ordered for the goddess to free herself.

"Release him!" he ordered.

Hylia acknowledged the order, but moved only at the last minute, she wanted to make sure Ghirahim had no chance of escape. Ghirahim was met with surprise when Link landed hard onto the demon lord's chest, cracking the large crystal, and impaling the Master Sword all the way through to the ground below.

"AHHHH!" the monster screamed.

Link didn't let up, in fact, he drove the sword farther into the ground. The impact caused a residual blow back, fall out, and a steady stream of seismic oscillations drawing forth. Everyone in the blast radius immediately lost equilibrium: I fell and landed on my rear, Hylia flew backwards into a wall since she was closest to the attack, and Elbourne managed to snap back to reality from it. Link was the only one standing steady with the Master Sword through Ghirahim's chest. As he came to, the dragon prince shook his head, releasing himself from a short onset of vertigo. Afterwards, he raised his arm to protect himself from the force of reverberations permeating throughout the vault from the Master Sword. Elbourne's eyes then scanned the room and when he saw me his eyes widened, but I hoped he wouldn't chance hurting himself by trying to cross the chasm. The force was just too great.

Don't do it Elbourne,I thought.

However, my thoughts were in vain. Elbourne willed himself to his feet and slowly but assuredly made his way to where I was across the chasm. The effort took a great deal of strength, because the wave forms in the room were steadily increasing, causing more pressure. Link's impalement with the Master Sword was halting Ghirahim true, but it was stopping the rest of us as well. When Elbourne arrived to where I was he dropped down to the ground and covered my body with his own as a protective shield.

"Are you alright?!" he managed to say to me above the reverberations.

He was practically shouting. I tried to nod, but the action took a great deal of effort. The gravitational forces were too great.

"Yes!" I replied. "But you shouldn't have risked doing such a thing!"

Elbourne held me tighter.

"You're insane if you thought I was going to just sit there and watch you get hurt!" he replied, then looked around. "Where's Hylia?!"

Good question.

I scanned the area and found her pressed up against a rock formation to the left of the perimeter of Elbourne and me. It was obvious the pressures actuating in the vault could even affect the goddess, but it left me a little perplexed. How was that even possible when she could change from her tangible and intangible self at will? Why didn't she just teleport from the location? Even so, my inquiries had no time for true recognition. Our lives were in danger.

"Hylia!" I called out to her. "Are you alright?!"

My voice didn't carry and I was certain the goddess didn't hear me. I was getting more concerned for her safety by the minute.

Is she hurt?I wondered.

However, when I saw the concentrated look on her face I recessed my initial thought of concern and followed her line of sight. She was staring intently at Link in the center of the room and I soon understood why. Link was starting to give way to the immense pressure of the gravitational force. For whatever reason, it was taking a great deal more time and effort to stop the demon lord than we had initially anticipated. There was only so much Link's body was going to be able to endure before he eventually caved. This situation was gradually getting worse.

"We have to do something!" I said above the forces. "We have to make our way over to Hylia to help her!"

Elbourne understood my conjecture, but shook his head in disagreement at my words.

"But how?!" he replied. "We won't get two steps without getting blown away! The best thing for you is to stay out of danger!"

I understood Elbourne's concerns, but I didn't agree with them. I suspected part of the reason he was being so cautious was because of his reoccurring hypnosis by Ghirahim and he wasn't sure if he was free of it. To be honest, I wasn't sure he was free of it either, but I was certain the breaking of that crystal in Ghirahim's chest was a catalyst for the start of him being completely free. That was enough to make anyone chary. Even so, lying here and letting Link carry the entire burden of this situation was not something I was going to do. We had to help him somehow.

"I understand your worry Elbourne!" I replied. "But waiting here is not an option! We have to figure something out!"

Elbourne didn't look as hopeful as I, but nodded anyway.

"Fine!" he replied. "But if it gets too dangerous we're not proceeding!"

That seemed fair enough.

"Very well!" I said. "Let's get moving!"

With that, it took Elbourne several attempts to stands up and line himself up against the wall. Once he was steady, he reached for me and helped pull me up next to him. It took a more concerted enough to get me up without him falling back down. This gravity was definitely going to be an obstacle. Once we were on our feet we sidled our way around the perimeter to where Hylia was still barricaded. The pressure gradients were becoming more and more cumbersome with each passing moment. My chest was having a hard time with the natural action of breathing. There was no way we were going to be able to withstand this over a long period of time. The increase in the gravitational force was making it exceedingly difficult to stand or walk, let alone breathe.

I can only imagine how Link must be feeling,I thought.

When Elbourne and I got closer I attempted to call out to the goddess.

"Hylia!" I called. "Hylia are you alright?!"

I wasn't sure the goddess heard me at first, because she was slow to respond. However, when she looked my and Elbourne's way she looked relieved, which in turn relieved me.

"Are you two okay?!" she called out.

I attempted to nod but saw my efforts were still in vain, so I gave her a thumb's up sign instead to reassure her.

"We're okay!" I replied.

She nodded.

I then turned my attention back to the hero.

"We have to figure out some way to help Link!" I said. "He won't last much longer like that!"

She started pushing herself away from the wall. I could tell it took her a great deal of effort.

"I was just thinking the same thing!" she called back to me. "And I have an idea that might work!"

At hearing that, I was starting to feel a bit better about how we were going to counteract this otherwise dire situation. However, when the goddess started making her way over to Elbourne and I, I noticed something strange about her appearance. When Hylia went to step forward, the opacity of her body began to flicker and change from solid to translucent. I felt my eyes widen in alarm at the sight.

What in the world?I thought in disbelief.

It was happening even more with every step she took.

What the hell is going on?I thought, feeling a new onset of panic.

"Hylia!" I practically screamed. "What's going on?! What's happening to you?!"

Elbourne beside me was in just as much disbelief.

"She's disappearing!" he whispered more to himself than to me.

Stating the obvious wasn't going to prevent it from happening, we had to find a way to help her.

"Hylia stop walking!" I called out to her, trying to figure out what to do. "You're fading away!"

However, instead of heeding my warning, the goddess ignored me and continued on her way towards us. I was sure she was already aware of what was happening to her, and from the look on her face it was as if she was expecting this outcome. Even so, I wasn't willing to accept this. I wasn't going to lose the greatest asset we had in stopping Ghirahim. Besides that, she was my ancestral mother, I wasn't going to just let her fade away. I loved her and needed her.

Why isn't she-?I thought bewildered.

"Hylia!" I called to her.

She ignored me and kept walking.

"Hylia!" I called again. "Please don't come any closer! We have to figure out why you're disappearing!"

She still ignored my pleas.

"Hylia-!" I tried once more.

This time she felt it necessary to put a stop to my concerns.

"I know I'm disappearing Zelda!" she interrupted me. "I know that! Stop stating what we all already know! We have other more important things to worry about right now!"

I looked at her stunned.

What could be more important than losing the goddess of Hyrule?I wondered.

"Hylia-!" I tried again anyway.

"That's enough Zelda!" she interrupted me sternly. "Enough!"

My disbelief deepened a little more, but it was obvious I was on the losing end of this argument. Hylia was even more stubborn than me and there was nothing I could do to convince her that she needed to take heed to my words. This had to be the results of her healing me the way she did. She expended more energy to extend my life while sacrificing a great deal of her own. I was in a temporary state of shock at the realization of what was happening to the goddess. She was slowly fading from this world. She knew she put herself at risk to save me. Now she wouldn't even allow me to acknowledge it. Duplicity was too much of a royal trait.

"Alright ancestral mother!" I digressed anyway. "Alright! You win! I won't ask you about it again!" I then redirected the conversation. "What did you have in mind to help Link?!"

The goddess hesitated for a moment, but she seemed more resolved now that our brief scuffle was over.

"We were going to have to find a way to take hold of the Master Sword while using its virtues to activate the mirror!" she stated loudly, realizing this was no time for reluctance. "Activating the holiness of the blade is the only way to encase Ghirahim once again in the mirror!"

This was a revelation to me.

"So you mean we'll be able to entrap him again?!" I asked.

Hylia nodded.

"Yes!" she replied. "But it's going to take all our efforts! Once Ghirahim gets freed from Link's hold, he's going to do everything in his power to use the sword to free his master!"

The rationale made sense to me, but Elbourne still had his reservations.

"I don't think I can touch the Master Sword Hylia!" he said. "Won't that defeat the purpose of us even doing the extraction?! It repels evils... Ghirahim is my father! I can't go near it!"

It seemed Elbourne was now aware of the implications of his presence regarding the sacred blade. However, Hylia went to reassure him.

"Don't let the 'would be's', 'maybes', and 'ifs' cloud your thinking!" she said. "Since Ghirahim took most of his essence back, your hair and eyes have changed, representing the change in you! You'renotevil Elbourne! Even if there is a chance that the blade runs you through, don't give up, because that could mean your salvation!"

I looked at her taken aback.

"What?!" I asked. "His salvation?!"

She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it!" she replied. "Just remember what I said Elbourne!" She then pointed to the hero. "Let's make our way over to Link! I'll go on ahead and try to relieve some of the gravitational force while you two follow behind me!" she disclosed. "It'll be sequential: with me in front, Elbourne you'll come behind me, and Zelda you'll be last so the least resistance hits you! Once we're allocated you'll grab the Master Sword, hold it down, and instruct Link in how to unlock the spiritual virtues within the blade!"

I looked at her slightly perplexed.

"How am I to explain to him how to unlock the sacredness of the blade?!" I asked. "I don't know myself!"

Hylia shook her head at my utterance.

"Yes you do!" she replied. "All you have to do is touch it with the hero! The courage and wisdom will then herald from the sword and emit towards any direction you will it! Just make sure that direction is the mirror!"

I stared at her surprised, but nodded my understanding.

"Okay!" I replied. "I have it!"

Elbourne nodded to, but I wasn't so enthusiastic about the situation. I understood his concerns, but it was a chance we were going to have to take. Even so, I thought it odd that Hylia was taking the point position when she was already physically damaged. She should have rightly been at the guard, my position.

"Hylia!" I started. "Doesn't this put you at greater risk physically? You're already disappearing! Let me go out in front, you need to-"

She seemed angered by my proposal.

"This is not negotiable Zelda!" Hylia interrupted. "You have the most important task! You need to be protected!"

I knew it.

I knew she was putting herself at unnecessary risk.

"But ancestral mother-" I tried.

"That's enough!" Hylia interrupted. "Stop worrying about things you have no control over Zelda! What will be will be!"

I clamped my mouth shut and looked at her dumbfounded for a moment. I had nothing more to say, but I knew she was right, I just didn't want to accept it. I didn't wantwhateverwas going to happen to her to be a result of her sacrificing her life for me. In any such case however, that was exactly how this was proceeding, and there was nothing she was going to do to let me stop her.

"Alright!" I finally answered, realizing we needed to get to the task at hand. "Alright!"

Elbourne looked over at me concerned, but then turned his attention back to Link.

"Whatever it is we're going to do we need to hurry!" he said. "Farm boy looks like he needs a break!"

Hylia and I both looked at the Hero of Twilight just then and saw that Elbourne was right. The pressure was starting to become overwhelming, Link needed to just hang in there a little longer.

"The dragon prince is right let's go!" Hylia reiterated Elbourne's sentiment, and then started out in front. "The longer we dawdle the more serious this situation becomes!"

I couldn't agree with her more. With the resolution made, Hylia set out first, with Elbourne and me following close behind her. The closer we got to the center of the room the more retrograde the forces became. Each step took a monumental amount of strength and effort, and it was only made worse when I saw what was happening to Hylia. The closer we got to Link, the more transparent she was becoming. I was worried for her safety, but I couldn't let that become a primary concern. Even so, I had to stay focused, the goddess wouldn't want me worrying about her.

I raised my hands to guard my face and looked ahead. Link's teeth were gritted as he was forcing the Master Sword downward into Ghirahim's innards. He twisted the blade so that the crystal cracked. The demon lord was completely at the hero's mercy. It was evident that Ghirahim was succumbing to the Master Sword's holy quintessence, but he was still strongly willing against it. The demon lord had mustered up enough strength to wrap his hands around the blade and try extracting the sword from his body. Link saw that and pushed down harder, forcing the demon lord to serrate his hands.

"Ahhhh!" the monster groaned in pain. "You better kill me, because if you don't I swear you're going to be begging me for your death!"

Link narrowed his eyes at the demon lord.

"I have no problem granting that request Ghirahim!" he said over the weighted air, and pushed down even more. "None whatsoever!"

Ghirahim's crystal cracked more, and the demon lord tried to removing the blade once again.

"Damn it!" he screamed when it wouldn't budge. "I'm going to kill you! I swear you son of a bitch!"

Even with Ghirahim controlled, Link's body broke out into a sweat. He had to watch his grip as the blade nearly slipped from his hands from the perspiration. I saw that and tried to hurry the others.

"We need to go faster!" I said. "Link will give way if we don't!"

Elbourne and Hylia were well aware of that, but an added problem to this situation was Hylia's condition. It was getting worse, and we needed her fighting abilities in a worst case scenario. What if she disappeared? What then? Why was she being so stubborn regarding this? When we got to the center of the room the goddess was completely see through. I swallowed hard and was disturbed at the sight of her, but pretended not to be bothered by it. I had to focus on Link. When we reached Link, Hylia and Elbourne made a tunnel of sorts from the strong reverberations emitting from the Master Sword. Link wasn't able to immediately deduce what we were doing due to his concentrating efforts on keeping Ghirahim immobilized. I reached out and touched his shoulder so as not to alarm him, but he was already giving me a look of warning because of my last stunt.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded.

I tried to reassure him.

"Don't worry!" I said loudly over the aerial seismic waves. "We have a plan!"

Link gave me an immediate look of distrust.

"I've got it Zelda!" he said. "I want you to stay back!"

We didn't have time for an argument.

"I understand why you may doubt me!" I replied. "But we need to set up the Mirror of Twilight to entrap Ghirahim again! The only way to do that is to release the spiritual virtues of the Master Sword! We have to do so together!"

Link looked at me surprised as eased his cynicism a little.

"What do you plan to do?!" he asked.

I took in a deep sigh, grateful I once again had his trust.

"I'll hold the Master Sword down along with you for a moment!" I said loudly. "Afterwards there should be some indicator that the essence within it is released and used as a catalyst for Ghirahim's entrapment!"

Link stared at me taken aback for a long moment, then finally nodded.

"I understand!" he replied. "But are you sure you're able to hold the Master Sword steady with me for the time needed?!"

Before I could answer, Hylia intervened.

"She'll be fine!" the goddess called out. "I'll help her if I need to!"

I didn't let it show, but I was troubled by her statement.

How?I wondered.

"I'll be alright!" I reassured Link. "We have to work quickly!"

Realizing I was right, Link nodded and held on tighter to the Master Sword.

"Grab on and hold tight!" he replied.

I took hold of the sword while Link still had his grip on it. Slowly he encapsulated hands, making sure my grasp was secure.

"Let me know if you're struggling!" he called out.

I tried to nod, but the force here was even greater than at the perimeter. I held the Master Sword down with all my might along with Link. It proved to be a more tedious task than I thought as it was both working for us and against us. The oscillations from the blade were pulsating at such a rapid frequency that they were keeping Ghirahim down, but they were also slowly uprooting the blade from its stead. However, with our combined strength, we were making a less than ideal situation better. I had to push with all my strength.

"Argh!" I grunted as my teeth gritted.

Hylia was close behind me and came to help me when she saw me struggle. She was careful not to touch the blade or the tang of the sword. She kept her hands fixed over mine.

"Keep at it!" she encouraged.

We never stopped.

"We've got it!" I called out.

Soon evidence of our teamwork was manifesting. An ethereal bluish green light suddenly arose from the blade and began to shift and sway in the vibrating room. That had to be the representation of courage and wisdom. The energy continued its unaccompanied way throughout the cavern, until somehow we willed it to the Mirror of Twilight. I wasn't certain how this was taking place, but it was. The energy shined and activated the mirror, causing a shift to happen in its kaleidoscopic appearance, it began rotating in the opposite direction. It was working.

"What's it doing?!" Link asked.

I got hopeful.

"I think it's working!" I replied.

I didn't want to become too optimistic, but it was evident that Hylia's plan was working. The virtues of the blade glowed seven different colors within the glass. As I stated before, the inverted rotunda within the mirror went from clockwise to counter clockwise in a matter of seconds. Soon after, seven words flashed throughout the mirror:castitas, caritas, industria, patentia, humanitas, humiltas,andtemperatia. A kaleidoscopic circular rotation continued throughout the glass, and an image possibly resembling a seal came to the fore. The mirror was now ready for its prisoner. I was grateful to see our efforts weren't in vain, but my arms were beginning to feel tired, and the demon lord was still trying to fight back. And unfortunately in that moment, something strange and unexpected happened.

Wait a minute…I thought.

The diamond in Ghirahim's chest cracked continuously from the impalement, however suddenly from the anatomical aperture there flowed an odd purple and black electrical kind of current. It resembled dark energy.

"What in the-?!" I stopped myself.

From behind me Elbourne looked taken aback.

"What is that?!" he asked.

Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword.

"I have no idea!" he replied. "But Zelda, you and Hylia can let go now! Your part is done!"

I wasn't sure I wanted to just let go the way Link was insisting, but right now I didn't want to be a hindrance. Slowly, Hylia and I obeyed. We stepped back, or stumbled back rather, and watched as Link regained control. Elbourne then moved forward to guard Hylia and me when he saw the purple and black current shifting and swaying provocatively in the air. The dragon prince used his axe to protect us from it as it began instigating a rhythm in our direction. He managed to fend it off and shield us from a constant flow. However, when Hylia broke away from the tripod we created to negate another wave, she wasn't so fortunate. As soon as she tried diving for a rock, the current went after her and nicked her transparent body from behind. What happened next left me stunned. Hylia then fell forward as if she were about to hit the ground, but before her body resounded an actual thud, she disappeared completely.

Seriously.

The goddess was gone.

There wasn't a trace of her anywhere.

I was beyond mortified at the result.

"Hylia!" I screamed. "No Hylia!"

I was yelling at air.

Elbourne and Link looked on stunned as well, but our group disbelief was going to have to be subsided momentarily. Something else was about to take place. Link had a handling on the Master Sword, when suddenly it began to emit a red orange flame. It was an occurrence no one was expecting.

"Dear goddesses!" I heard Link utter. "What the hell is that?!"

Oh no!I thought.

I wasn't about to lose Link too after what just happened to the goddess. I was about to run over to him, but Elbourne stopped me.

"Wait!" the dragon prince warned. "It isn't safe!"

I looked on and saw what he was cautioning me against, and it made the situation all the more dangerous. There was a scaly like limb starting to draw forth from the blade. It was in that moment I realized Ghirahim was using his own body as a purging catalyst. Somehow this monster managed to outsmart us all. Somehow he was still able to call his master, Demise.