Legend of Zelda 1. Hope

**Just a little scenario idea that popped in my head a few days after finishing Hyrule Warriors' story mode. The chapters won't be very long as I want to focus on my other fic but I'll try to update this one when I can.**

* * *

_Hope_

Feminine hands were waving around a small crystal ball, manipulating and warping the energy inside of the object.

The owner of those hands, a woman with white hair, yet looking no older than twenty, was concentrating on her task.

Her hands stopped moving and her concentration broke away from the crystal ball, her gaze still on the object but looking absent now, as if deep in thought.

Putting a hand under her chin, the woman was thinking about what to do next to prepare her plan perfectly. She wasn't about to mess up something as perfect as her reunion with her beloved and she had to make sure that everything would work correctly.

Right now, things weren't looking particularly good for her. She had been searching for allies to help her in her quest. The little voice in her head, mostly affected by darkness, had given her quite a large number of names of villains that had appeared to confront the Hero through different ages, yet out of all of them, only two to three were worth keeping.

A demonic sword that was looking to revive his master, a battle addicted dragon knight, a powerful wizard monster, and finally the demon king himself.

Even then, she couldn't quite fully trust them as they all had joined her with their own desires and motives. Who knew if they wouldn't try to double cross her, though she could easily dispose of them thanks to her enormous power, she would prefer to not even have to bother with that possibility.

"Ghirahim, Volga, Wizzro, Ganondorf… That's four." Cia muttered. "This twili named Zant could also be useful…" The woman pondered over this option, this particular man looked slightly more… unstable than the other four she had mentioned.

The sorceress' hands slowly moved again around the glass globe with no particular path in mind, Cia still deep in thought.

What she needed was somebody she knew she would be able to put her complete trust in, just like how the Hero trusts the holder of the triforce of wisdom with his life.

Cia's whole body abruptly stopped moving, examining the thought she just had. "Somebody just like the holder of the triforce of Courage?..."

Her hands shifted position, the movements much faster than before as an insane idea came to life inside of the witch's brain.

Perhaps it would be possible to have one of the Hero's reincarnation on her side. But would they truly accept to aid her in her dark quest?

Images of various versions of a man clothed in green spread on the crystal ball, Cia's analytic eyes staring straight into each of their soul.

"That won't do, they're all too pure and righteous…" A hint of disappointment appeared in her voice but just as she was about to give up, she noticed one particular soul that was completely different from the others.

Each reincarnation of the Hero felt fulfilled or content once they got rid of the bearer of Power and even though some might not be as happy as the people they saved, they still had no regrets whatsoever.

But this soul right here had regrets. This soul had fulfilled its purpose of beating the Demon King and yet couldn't even be happy about saving his world.

There was also something else about him, Cia approached her face slightly closer to the glass ball, trying to make out what was inside of the hero. Something ferocious, almost like…

"A beast."

The sorceress' hands stopped moving, the revelation shocking her more than she thought.

This individual was unique and so different from the other reincarnations.

A mad grin spread across Cia's lips. This was her chance to get a strong, trustworthy ally and she would make sure to study him well before she went to meet him.

With a snap of her fingers, the magic ball glowed, showing the boy's past. Cia crossed her arms as Link's entire adventure defiled before her eyes.

* * *

Arbiter's Grounds, the place where everything had ended. The place where he saw the most beautiful woman shed a tear for him.

The place where he had lost her, his best friend and the one he had shared his pain and joy with during his adventure.

A lone young man wearing a green tunic was standing alone in the Mirror Chamber, where a special portal that connected the world of light and the world of twilight had resided three months ago.

Three months ago, that mirror had been completely shattered, breaking the Hero's heart at the same moment as his best friend vanished from existence along it.

Even after all that time, Link's heart was still in pain. Why had she broken that mirror? She didn't have to, they had beaten both Zant and Ganondorf, so why would Midna cut all ties between her and this world, between her and Link? Yes, maybe having both realm interact between each other normally would've been a bit difficult but if they worked hard, him and the other two princesses would have found something to make everything work out just like they always had.

_Why would she leave me?_

This question had haunted Link ever since that incident, his mind unable to comprehend the logic behind Midna's actions.

_Why didn't I stop her?_

He was feeling empty and angry. Angry after himself for not reacting fast enough to stop her nonsense.

She said see you later, but Link knew that there wouldn't be a later. They would never ever be able to meet each other again.

The pain in the boy's heart intensified and the beast inside of it cried out in rage.

This was not fair. He and the little imp had saved both realms from tyrants and destruction and this was how it was going to end?

The man knew that it wasn't right of him to be selfish, but the beast inside of him angrily protested.

Oh yes, heroes needed to be selfless, but he had been selfless enough, he had risked his life and his friend's life enough for the sake of the world. Of both worlds.

This was not fair at all.

The sound of shoes hitting the stones behind him suddenly appeared and Link immediately turned around, unsheathing his sword and shield just like he had been used to during his adventure, his body tensing up. What he found in front of him was a strangely clothed woman with an even stranger mask.

"Bearer of the triforce of Courage, do not be afraid, I am no enemy." Cia started, staring at the man's ferocious blue eyes. "I know what you have been through."

'…_What?'_

Link wasn't sure of how to react to that woman. What was she talking about? Never had he seen somebody like that before…

"I know of your adventure and of the twilight realm. I know about your… bond with that twili as well."

"…How?" Link replied, something he very rarely did, usually when he was very surprised and that was the case right now. Aside from Zelda, nobody should know about Midna.

"I am Cia, the observer of time. I can help you see the Twilight Princess again."


	2. Trust

_Trust_

"I can help you see the Twilight Princess again."

A million of questions were racing through Link's mind. The woman's knowledge on him and Midna alarmed him.

Who was this woman and how did she know so much? What in the world was an observer of time? How did she get there without him noticing? Of course, the most important question was…

Could he really see Midna again?

Link's glare did not leave the sorceress, watching for any suspicious movements and demanding answers.

"You were more talkative and less menacing when you were with that imp… You bearers of Courage all have this bad habit of talking so little, I guess that's part of the hero's charm." Cia started, walking slowly toward said hero which tensed him up even more. "I am no merciful being of course, I have come to strike a deal with you. But first, I shall give you the explanations you so much desire."

"As the Observer, my duty is to make sure that darkness and light are balanced constantly at any point in time, a duty forced on me by the goddesses." She said; hate dripping like venom when she pronounced the word goddesses.

Link didn't move but listened very carefully to each of her words. "Forced?" He asked.

She nodded. "I was originally a mortal like you, I came from a clan of magician and studied at the most prestigious magical school of my country. I was extremely talented to the point where my power grew too strong for the goddesses to ignore. The goddesses decided they wanted me on their side for the sake of "keeping the cycle" intact."

_What cycle?_ Link wasn't sure of exactly what she was talking about but with the tone she had in her voice, he knew what came next wasn't good.

"The catch was that I had to end all of my relations with my current world. I refused. I had a nice life you see, I had a lover, I was happy." Cia lied. There was some truth in it but the man she was talking about hadn't been her lover. Her Link and herself had been very close friends in reality and might have ended up as a couple if it hadn't been for the goddesses intervention to set things "right".

"The man I loved was the Hero of my time, the one that supposedly had the triforce of courage as well. It didn't please the goddesses at all, insisting that his soul was destined for another and… They took everything away from me."

"They took him away from me, just like they did with your travel companion." The witch concluded; a sad tone in her voice.

Link's eyes widened after hearing that last sentence, his grip on the Master Sword tightening. The sword he had not been able to put back to its place after killing Ganondorf as he felt that it would mean that his adventures were over, that his days with the little imp were now the past and that he would be forced to truly realize that she was gone for good. He had hoped that if he kept the sword then one day, the Goddesses would come down and help him get to his friend just like they did help him fight off evil.

But now, this woman was telling her that the divine beings were the cause of Midna's final goodbye? That it wasn't her own decision?

"You're lying." Link accused, it was impossible. They couldn't do this to him or to his best friend! They had been through too much and even killed Ganondorf together, so why, just why would the goddesses take his happiness away?

"They erased my memories as well as my lover's, my family and anyone else that knew me. I simply went on as the Observer of Time, unaware of the brainwashing they had done to me but when I saw his face again… It was like a trigger that gave me my memories back."

This part was true. It had only been a few weeks ago but Cia had truly been forced by the goddesses. She had tried to fight back and even run away but she had been defeated every time. You couldn't hide from them, you couldn't beat them, you couldn't even try to reason them.

And Link couldn't believe her words, it was absurd, absurd that the divinities that he had fought so hard with to defeat evil would act like that.

"I know what you're thinking Link, I can read souls. It's one of the perks of being the Observer." She said, surprising the man. "The reason why the goddesses would go so far is because of the cycle. Every time the bearer of Power comes back, the bearer of Wisdom and Courage are reborn and have to fight together against him. That is the cycle, and for the cycle to work, anything that has even the slightest chance of disrupting it will be rid of, for the sake of Wisdom and Courage being reunited together every single time the cycle repeats."

"Don't tell me…" Link started, his mouth hanging open slightly. He had never considered the possibility before but now…

'_They forced Midna to destroy the only way to the Twilight Realm because she could possibly make the future cycle fail?!'_

Cia nodded. "That is correct, just like they did for my case. They separated me from the bearer of Courage from my time because I had enough power and influence to become a nuisance to the reincarnation process and so could have the Twilight Princess."

Link nearly let his weapon drop from his hand and slowly sat down on the ground, the shock too much for him to bear, as if he had been lied and used like a puppet all of his life. As if his friends had been too.

Everything that the witch had said made perfect sense. Midna's decision to leave, the fact that no matter how hard Zelda had tried for Link's sake, she couldn't find another way to the twilight realm and was also constantly interrupted when she tried to study it. Link thought that it was because she was a ruler and had much more important things to do than that, such as restoring Hyrule but he had found it a bit odd that she had been interrupted specifically when she tried to work on that matter.

But now everything made perfect sense. The Goddesses were behind all of this.

"This has to be some kind of sick and twisted joke!" Link practically roared, the beast inside of him having nearly taken over his mind, furious at the revelation and punched the ground under him, bruising his fist.

"I thought the same thing when I learned of it." Cia said, remembering her anger when she regained her memories. Anger that let darkness slip into her supposedly pure heart. "That is why I have come to you and not another bearer of Courage, because we share the same pain." Cia walked much closer to the man in pain and knelt down. She placed a hand around his bleeding fist and started casting healing magic. "I need your help to break this cycle, Hero of Light."

"…Tell me what I have to do." Link's blue eyes stared at the woman in front of him, his stare had never been colder than now, making Cia nearly shiver at the sight.

Keeping her composure, the witch continued. "Before everything, I need to tell you that we won't be alone on this. For the sake of keeping the balance right, we will have to work with beings of darkness."

The beast's fury calmed down slightly, letting the human part take up his mind once more and though he was just as angry, he still needed to understand what he was getting into. "Explain yourself."

Cia stood up after having fully healed his fist and sighed internally. This was about to become the most difficult part of getting this hero to join her but it was a needed step. If she didn't tell him now then she would lose his trust completely.

"To keep balance, there are three elements required: Light, Darkness and Chaos being the neutral party. Very often, Light is considered as the good one and Darkness as the bad one when in reality they cannot exist without each other. The goddesses' goal is to create a world of pure light, but do you know what this would mean?"

Link didn't move and listened very closely to her, unsure of what would happen in a world where only light exists.

"It means that the light would be so strong that it would burn everything that is not light like a purifying fire. The Demon Realm would be utterly and completely destroyed, any evil intent would be burnt with its owner and only pure hearted beings would be able to live. Do you know how many pure hearted beings there are in this world? I could count them on both of my hands if I wanted to. But more importantly for you…"

"…The Twilight Realm would be completely wiped out." Link completed, having finally understood how important the balance was and remembering the day where Midna had been forced to pure light and nearly died, hadn't it been for Zelda sacrificing herself to save her.

"Along with 99% of the Light Realm." Cia finished.

A part of what she said wasn't true. In reality, the goddesses would spare quite a few with darkness in their heart from the Light Realm and she wasn't even sure if it would even affect the Twilight Realm but what was a good lie without a bit of truth in it?

To Link, what was at stake was too big to be ignored. He couldn't refuse Cia's proposition anymore, not after what he just had heard and not after he knew he would be able to meet Midna again.

"Let us meet again here in three days, be ready by then. Also, do not talk about anything we discussed about without me nearby or the goddesses could hear you. I can make sure they don't hear us with my own spells but you cannot." Cia warned before a portal appeared behind her. And one appeared behind Link. "This portal will bring you back to your house, better than having you go through the entire desert again right?"

Link nodded and once Cia saw his approval, she turned around and walked into the portal, a devilish grin on her face, her mission had been a complete success.

The hero stood there. The last half hour had been full of emotions for him and he had been completely tired out, wanting to go home and back to his bed already.

First things first though, he had somebody he needed to visit, a friend that had helped him a lot after Midna was gone. He needed to talk with Zelda, or at least tell her that he was about to leave for another trip.

And with that, the Hero exited the Arbiter's grounds through the portal, readying himself mentally for the challenges that were to come.


	3. Resolve

**To be clear, and answer one of the review that asked, this fic will have TPLinkxMidna as a couple and NOT TPLinkxCia.  
**

* * *

_Resolve_

Link stepped out of the portal, looked around to find himself back in the basement of his house, the portal lighting the room around him.

It had been a while since he had used something that teleported him and though this portal wasn't quite the same as the one his imp friend had used during their adventures, he did experience a similar dizziness, it felt very nostalgic to him.

He thought about how he should prepare for what had to come and that maybe he should have asked a bit more details of what exactly would be needed.

Laying on the floor was a large sized bag he had never used before, Midna's ability to store everything he gave to her had come quite handy during their travels to the point where it had become necessary especially when they found items as heavy as the Spinner or the Ball and Chain. Therefore, any bag was utterly useless and thus he threw what was not needed in there, thinking he wouldn't ever need it.

Of course, everything had been lost to him after the Twilight Princess had departed. The hero wasn't sure of what had happened to nearly all of his weapons and armors, only a single item had remained on his belt on that day: one of the Clawshots.

Everything else was with Midna. Had the entirety of his weapons been destroyed? Maybe she kept them with her or perhaps she even just threw everything away.

"I'll have to ask her once we meet again…" He muttered, lifting the empty bag and climbed the ladder. He took a glance at the portal behind him, it didn't move and didn't look like it would until he used it again.

Once he got out of the basement, the hero of light started to wander around the room to see what he'd need, trying to make sure his bag would stay as light as possible.

Food and water? He doubted he'd need any and if he did, he would just hunt like he has done before. Then again, what else could he take? He already had everything on him, from his tunic with a chain mail equipped under to his sword and shield and his clawshot ready on his belt, the man was already good to go.

He had been ready to go on another adventure as soon as his first had ended and it hadn't been just because he wanted something to keep his mind occupied to not think about his best friend leaving his side for eternity but also because the man had learned to love adventuring.

The sights he had seen and the fields he had explored, the battles he had fought and the thrill they had given him, the relief he felt after facing and winning against death itself… It was an unique and addictive experience.

The hero tossed the bag aside, deciding that it could wait until he actually finds something he needs to bring with him later on. For now, he needed to get to Hyrule Castle as soon as he could.

Opening the front door and going outside, Link jumped down before noticing that Epona had been waiting for her master patiently.

Link had not taken her with him for that trip to the Mirror Chamber as he had wanted to be completely alone. Not a very wise decision from the hero of light as it had made the trip much more longer but also because his thoughts ended up making him feeling worse than when Epona wasn't near him.

He wasted no time and after checking that Epona was ready to go herself, he mounted his horse before going at full speed toward Hyrule Castle Town.

* * *

Being recognized as the hero that saved Hyrule saved Link a lot of time to enter the castle. The guards let him in without even a second thought and the hero had free access to nearly every single room of the castle, aside from the royal bedroom for obvious reasons.

Two days after his duel with Ganondorf, Zelda had asked for Link to come so that she could announce him as the champion that defeated the demon king.

Link at first didn't want to come, he honestly didn't care if people knew about him or not and at that time his mind was completely somewhere else. After the princess of Hyrule insisted enough, the hero decided that he might as well do it for her and be done with it as fast as possible. And so, with a fake and sad smile, the Hero had followed the princess to the town.

That's when he appeared in front of all of the citizens he had saved and helped, a few already knew him, some recognized him when they saw him pass the streets running… It ended fairly quickly, Zelda giving him an absurd amount of privileges and him receiving a lot of praises from everybody around him, praises he couldn't hear as the only voice that reached him was his companion's last words repeating over and over in his mind.

Now the man was heading to the royal library where Zelda was currently according to one of the royal guards.

Opening the doors of the library, the hero found himself in a very large room surrounded by an enormous quantity of books.

After walking down the path created by the bookshelves around him and soon enough found the princess of Hyrule, her nose deep in a book. He cleared his throat in hopes it would catch her attention but it failed, the princess too focused on what she was reading to even notice his presence.

"Princess." Link called out, making the girl jump slightly in surprise, startled by the sudden sound that broke her concentration.

"Oh, Link it's you! I apologize for not noticing you earlier, I was caught in those legends about a kingdom sunken underwater. I'm sure you're not here to listen to me talk about my books now, are you? Tell me friend, what can I do for you?" Zelda said with a smile, happy to see somebody she could act more naturally with rather than having to act as a proper monarch.

"I need answers." Link replied.

Zelda nodded. Having gotten used to Link's small and blunt sentences, the princess already knew that the hero was troubled by something. "Ask away."

Link hesitated a few seconds before talking, trying to make sure he wouldn't let any unwanted information slip out of his mouth by mistake. "What would happen if there was no more darkness?"

"That wouldn't be good, darkness and light need to be in balance, neither should overpower another. I'm afraid I don't know the exact consequences about light recovering the world, all I know is that many lives would be lost, just like if darkness completely recovered the world." The princess explained, wondering why Link needed to know that.

_'__That sorceress was telling the truth.' _He thought, crossing his arms and trying to find what he could ask next. "I assume the Goddesses keep that balance in check?"

"Not exactly, they gave that duty to another being of pure heart they chose, an extremely powerful sorceress called The Observer of Time. Legend says that she watches over the past, present and future all at the same time and notifies the Goddesses if the balance starts to break at a point in time."

_'__She really is the Observer of Time then…'_ That cleared any doubts the Hero previously had, he was now sure he could trust Cia, at least to an extent. "Thank you Princess."

"Please Link, call me Zelda. Why the sudden interest in old legends? I'm sure you did not come all the way to my castle to have a history lesson."

"You're right, I didn't. I came here to tell you that you don't need to bother anymore with trying to find a way to the Twilight Realm without the mirror."

Zelda raised an eyebrow, confused at Link acting so oddly. "…Why? This is not like you to give up Link. I know I haven't made much progress on the subject but if you give me more time, I might find something."

"I'm leaving Hyrule."

The blunt statement surprised Zelda. "Where are you going?"

"I can't tell you where, I don't know for how long either, all I know is that we won't be able to see each other for a moment."

The look in Link's eyes was not one of a man running away. No, those were the eyes of a man that had found something to fight for again, the flame of the hero was lit up once more.

Zelda could see and as such couldn't object to his decision. For three months she had to endure his fake smile, unable to help him even though she tried to, nothing had managed to bring his real smile back, the one she had seen after they had defeated Ganondorf and had seen that Midna was actually alive.

The princess didn't know what exactly had suddenly motivated the Hero again but she was secretly thankful for it. If he wished to keep his destination secret from her then he must have a good reason as well, she decided that she wouldn't bother him about that.

"When will you leave?" Zelda asked.

"Tomorrow I'll go back to Ordon to say goodbye before moving."

"Then how about staying here tonight? I believe you and Epona both need some rest before tomorrow."

Link smiled, knowing better than refusing a favor from the princess as she could become quite persistant. "That would be nice, thank you Zelda."

"Good, I'll ask a few maids to prepare your room as soon as possible." Standing up from her seat, Zelda grabbed the book that she had been reading before putting it back in one of the nearby shelves. "Let's go to the dining room, it's almost time to eat."

Link nodded and followed the Princess, thinking that he should later check the markets to see if he could find some more weapons to bring with him if he had time. For now though, his stomach needed to be filled and he definitely wouldn't refuse an offer for free royal food.


	4. Departure

_Departure_

The following morning, Link woke up rather late. With a small yawn, he took a look outside of the window and he judged that it might be close to noon once he saw the position of the sun, high and mighty in the sky, shining down rays of light upon Hyrule.

The hero got out of the oversized guest bed before taking his clothes that had been neatly put on a drawer next to him, they had been cleaned and dried by the royal maids. Link was grateful for it, enjoying that his usual tunic felt like completely new clothes.

After picking his gear up, the hero noticed a sheet of paper on the same drawer. On it was a message by the Princess.

She apologized that she won't be able to see him off on his adventure as she was quite busy with multiple meetings. Reading the last words of the letter, it seems the princess had apparently left some kind of gift in the bedroom he currently was.

He pocketed the sheet of paper before looking over the door and seeing two bows leaning against the wall, one shorter than the other, each having their own quivers filled with arrows.

_'A long bow and a short bow, that's very thoughtful of the Princess. The only problem is that I can't take both with me...'_

In either case, both bows would hinder him and he wouldn't be able to bring either to battle if he took his hylian shield and the Master Sword with him so the hero picked up the larger bow with the right quiver. He doubted he'd end up using it as the Master Sword usually ended up more effective than everything he had used so far but there was no harm in bringing it with him and letting it stay put at a safe place, just in case.

After checking out a bit the new weapon he had, he understood that it was a pretty high quality bow, yet not quite as good as his old one.

Link went out, heading directly to the stables where Epona was supposed to be, he decided that there was no point in going to town to get more weapons as he wouldn't be able to carry anything else at this point.

Upon arriving, he was greeted by a young soldier that was taking care of the hero's horse. After thanking the young soldier, Link mounted Epona and gave a last glance to the castle before riding toward Ordon.

* * *

When Link arrived back to his village, he noticed that there was a woman waiting in front of his house. It was Illia, she had gotten worried as she hadn't been able to find Epona.

The girl saw her friend coming toward her and a look of relief washed upon her once she saw the mare she had been taking care of.

"Link! Epona's with you oh I'm so glad! Next time please tell me when you come back before taking Epona with you."

Link unmounted his horse before giving his steed a pat. "Sorry Illia, I had urgent business to take care of."

Illia crossed her arms. "Like what? Having to meet with the princess of Hyrule?"

"Uh... Actually, yes."

Illia was taken aback, having forgotten that Link wasn't exactly the same person she had grown up with now. "Oh... My bad, I'm still not used to your whole heroic status thing even after so much time has passed after that official announcement. Just make sure to drop a letter at least so I won't have to worry again." She relaxed her stance, thinking about how much her friend had changed ever since monsters had attacked the village.

Illia had honestly thought that everything would've gone back to normal once Link had come back for good to the village. And it nearly did, nearly everything had stayed the same...

Except for Link. Aside from the sudden rise in status and the fact that he had single handedly saved Hyrule, the boy had changed drastically. The naive look he had always given her before was now replaced with one that was cautious and wise, he hunted on his own to eat alone rather than eating with the people from the village, he always looked around him and listened carefully to every sound just in case danger would happen to be close...

Illia had taken a look once at Link when he had been unaware and had found that behind those smiles and kind words was a sad, almost miserable man. He would always look beyond the village whenever the sun started to set and would take a few glances until it was completely night, as if he was waiting for something, or someone, to come to him.

As his friend, the girl had tried to confront him on the subject but there was nothing to do. He had closed the road to his heart to everyone else and it didn't look like he was about to open up anytime soon.

"How was your trip by the way? Did it clear your mind?"

Link nodded. "A bit."

"Does that mean you'll talk to me about why you're not happy now?" She asked, making Link shake his head in answer. "I see... You know Link, one day you'll have to tell me about it, you can't keep this sadness to yourself forever."

Link only smiled and didn't say anything anymore, Illia already knew that this conversation was over.

"Typical Link... Anyway, tonight you should come and eat with us at my dad's house, I'm sure it'll cheer you up."

"Sorry Illia, I don't think I'll come."

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you're going to be all alone today again? I'm not going to-"

Link held his hands up defensively, interrupting the girl. "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't. I'm leaving Hyrule today."

Illia had her mouth stuck half open in surprise, not expecting her friend to leave the village for a second time. "Wait, why?"

"That's um... a secret royal mission. I can't tell you more than that." Link lied.

Illia stared at her friend for a second, suspicious that he might be hiding something though it did make sense, if he had truly gone to the castle without even telling her about it then for sure, it had to be about an important subject.

And even if it wasn't, what could she do? Stop him? No way that'd work, maybe if he was still the same naive kid as before she could've done so but now he was a completely different man.

"For how long?"

"I don't know, all I know is that it won't be a short trip. Can I ask you to take care of Epona for me while I'm gone?"

"You're not taking her with you?"

"I can't."

Illia sighed in defeat, it didn't look like Link would tell her why he couldn't. "Okay, I'll take care of her. Just promise me you won't get yourself into too much troubles."

Link smiled, happy that he could count on his friend to take care of his precious steed. "I'll try."

They shared a moment of silence before Illia stared at her friend, sad that he had to leave again.

"So, this is when we say goodbye right?" She started, feeling uneasy but trying hard to not show it. "Whatever happens, don't get yourself killed okay?"

Unexpectedly, Link wrapped his arms around Illia before giving her a tight hug, surprising the poor girl with his strength. "I promise." He then released her before smiling softly at her. "I'm off then, see you later, Illia."

"Yeah. Bye Link…"

The girl turned around and started to walk toward the village, leaving Link alone in front of his house.

He entered it before going directly to the basement where the portal was, he wasn't about to wait another day and a half to go, he needed to go now.

'_If my guess is right, if she can truly see the future and the past, then she will know that I'll already be there.' _He thought as he stepped into the portal and appeared in the middle of the Mirror Chamber again. The portal suddenly closed as he heard a voice behind him.

"You were correct but frankly, I would have preferred for you to wait longer before coming here again, it takes me a lot of energy to create those portals."

There she was, the masked woman, floating in the air in a sitting position, her legs crossed as if she was sitting on an invisible chair. Behind her, where the Mirror had previously been was a bigger portal glowing ominously. The witch eyed the bow the man was carrying on his back for a second before speaking again.

"I see that you've gotten yourself a weapon other than the Blade of Evil's Bane, that's good, we'll need that. Let's go then, we have much work to do."

The sorceress stepped into the bigger portal and without hesitation, Link followed her into it. Once he stepped out, the dizziness felt much stronger than before, it took him a full minute before feeling fine again.

In front of him stood a large castle, its walls partially recovered with thorns and its towers impossibly twisted.

"This is our main base of operation." Cia said as she appeared before him. "If you were wondering, those thorns aren't for show, they are part of a protective spell I have put on this place." She moved toward the castle and opened the front doors, revealing a very bland interior compared to the outside.

_'Even if it's a protective spell, I didn't expect that the main base of a supposedly being pure of heart would look like that.'_ Link thought before he looked at the witch he had been following. "What are we going to do here?" He asked.

Cia paused in front of another set of doors. "Planning, mostly. For now though, you're going to meet with those you'll have to work with."

With a push of her staff, the doors opened up, revealing a large and practically empty room save for the 3 beings residing in and a large table in the center with multiple chairs surrounding it. A man clad in red armor with a large spear sitting in a corner, some sort of ghost-like monster with a map in his hands and a strange pale man sitting on one of the chairs, polishing an equally strange looking sword.

While the first two didn't even bother to turn their head, the pale man did and once he saw Link, his stare had gone from uninterested to angered in an instant.

Once their eyes met, the hero of light's animal instincts warned him that this man was in fact no man. He had the same vile smell Ganondorf had, the smell of a demon.

They had just met and yet both already hated each other for what they were.


	5. Conflict

**Thank you for the reviews everyone, I hope this chapter won't be too short for your liking.**

* * *

_Conflict_

Since the moment she had decided to bring a Link back with her, Cia had prepared herself mentally for this moment in particular.

She had taken care of hiding every single sculptures and portraits of her beloved as it would only scare this Link away, which made one of her ally very happy.

Ghirahim, the pale demon had told her multiple times that she had terrible taste in men and while she honestly couldn't care less about the opinion of a demon, she knew the moment she reached for the Hero of Light that he would be a problem.

And here they were, Link and Ghirahim were already glaring at each other.

The demon stood up from his chair before advancing toward the Hero who kept his eyes on his natural opposite, wary of every of his movements. Link put his long bow next to a wall behind him to free his sword and shield in case he needed to use them.

"Cia, my dear Cia, I had honestly hoped that your condition about loving that foolish hero was getting better, it seems that I was mistaken." The demon started, he had stopped a few feet away from his nemesis and was now slowly walking around him. "To think that I'd see a near perfect copy of that cursed sky child and that cursed blade too… It makes my blood boil in anger."

The witch sighed internally, having foreseen this situation easily she had even prepared to talk the demon out of the situation and if he wouldn't cooperate then she would force him to. Immediately making Ghirahim submit was not good because Link was with them but she didn't really want to talk with someone like him as after all, questioning her taste about the Heroes she loved was something the witch found very infuriating.

For the sake of her plan, she couldn't do much to him, at least not yet.

Cia was about to say something but the Hero of Light spoke up before she did.

"Take one more step and I'll erase your existence, demon." Link coldly said, his tone clearly stating that he wasn't joking around while oddly enough having a very relaxed stance, his weapons sheathed and his arms on both sides of his body.

Cia was very slightly surprised at the hero's intervention, it had been a possibility she had taken into account, albeit it had had a very small chance of happening. She had not expected this to actually happen.

Ghirahim brought the sword he held to his lips before liking the blade with his unusually long tongue. "A step? Shall we test this out then?"

The demon dared to raise his foot forward and put it down, a mocking smile on his face.

Link's expression changed the moment Ghirahim had put his foot down. The demon, looked in the hero's eyes and knew he had made a mistake.

Those eyes were not the eyes of the sky child he had previously met.

Link drew out his sword in an instant and sliced down at his opponent. Ghirahim managed to block the strike with lots of difficulty, to the point that he had to step back.

The hero took his shield out and got into his usual fighting stance, his eyes locked on the demon in front of him.

"Is he important?" Link asked to Cia, obviously meaning if it would matter if he got rid of the demon right now.

The witch smirked, thrilled to be able to witness such a rare sight from so close. A Link fighting so seriously was something she had seen everyday from every angle through her crystal ball, but to see it live gave her a whole new sensation.

This Link in particular… Such a powerful and fearsome aura radiated from him, it made the witch tremble in anticipation. Ah, if only she could have this Link too… that was impossible though as it would go against her plans.

Well, at least this time it wasn't the Princess Zelda that had taken his heart.

_'__Oh right, my plan.'_ Cia dropped her smirk and replaced it with her cold, uncaring face. "Unfortunately for us, he is."

Ghirahim's face was distorted in anger as he pointed his sword toward the swordsman and the witch. "You…! I won't tolerate you mocking me like this, both of you!"

"**Silence!**" Cia suddenly stabbed the tip of her staff on the ground, causing a large shockwave of purple energy to rise from the ground and spread into the room, surprising everyone inside. "**You do remember why you're here Ghirahim, yes? Or would you rather rot at the deepest part of hell just like before?**"

The demon gritted his teeth, knowing full well that it was thanks to the witch that he was standing here as of today. "…Tch." He dematerialized his sword before walking back to his seat, his fists clenched hard in frustration and his hateful stare still locked on the hero clad in green.

From the corner of the room came the sound of clapping, the knight in red armor was slowly clapping his hands together, an amused smile on his face. "As expected of our mistress, shutting up that guy is a feat only you are capable of."

This earned him a death glare from "that guy". "Might I remind you what happened during our last duel practice, Volga?" Ghirahim taunted back, getting a scowl from the proud knight.

Volga decided to ignore Ghirahim entirely, not having enough wits to talk back to the demon. Instead, he walked toward his new interest, the Hero of Light.

"And you… Where did you learn how to execute the Mortal Draw?"

Link's eyes locked on Volga, his sword still in hand just in case he would try anything funny. "…How do you know about the Mortal Draw?" The hero asked, wondering how someone else than him would know about a technique that is supposed to be secret.

The amused smile came back on the half man, half dragon's face. "Answering a question with a question? Should I just beat the real answer out of you?"

"Enough." Cia said, her tone clearly indicating that she was irritated now. "I have not come here with him to watch you three fight meaninglessly. The Hero of Light will join us in our quest, you will have to work with him."

"**I hope this is some sort of terrible joke, my dear Cia.**" Ghirahim growled, feeling like he would vomit if he stayed anywhere near the hero he despised for too long.

"My decision is final, neither you, Volga or Wizzro have a saying in the matter. If we want to be successful, we need him."

Ghirahim's fist smash on the table near him. "…Are you serious?! Why do we need him, in what way will he help us?!"

"The Hero of Light is unbelievably strong, he also has his very own reason for helping us which means that he cannot betray us."

This time, it was Volga's turn to frown, his pride hurt. "Hold on, mistress, are you implying that we're not strong enough by ourselves? I can take on an army by myself."

"As you are now, you cannot win against Link. Nor can Ghirahim."

The demon gritted his teeth harder, angry to hear her talk about him like this. "And what makes YOU think this Link can, or that he won't turn traitorous? Those heroes keep going against demons, there is no reason that he wouldn't ally with your Link and give us even more troubles."

"Oh but there is a reason, isn't that right Hero?" Cia smiled as she turned to Link.

The Hero of Light's face was stoic and his voice was silent. He had many questions he needed to ask but for now he was going to listen carefully to every word they were saying.

After all, Link was still suspicious of the witch, even though those portals she had created were proof that her powers could help him reach his goal, he still felt like something was amiss.

Volga crossed his arms, still not able to believe that the witch would bring one of light here. "What about his strength then? What proof do you have that he could beast our version of the Hero?"

An evil grin spread across Cia's face. "The Hero of Light killed the strongest incarnation of Demon King I have observed so far. The killing blow was so great that the Demon King became the weakest kind of wandering soul."

The room became completely silent and the last, uninterested individual now turned his gaze on the hero clad in green. The demonic wizard approached carefully, making sure to have a nice, large of distance between him and Link. "This guy… did that?"

"Do you wish to see the proof through my crystal ball?"

Volga smirked, a bit of sweat dropping from his face, excited to hear that such a strong fighter was standing right in front of him. "No mistress, your word is enough. If you say that he is that strong then it can only be true." Volga walked to the door behind Cia and Link. "If we are done then I'm taking my leave, it was nice meeting you, swordsman." He said before leaving the room completely.

Ghirahim stood up from his seat and headed for the door as well, casting one last glare at the hero before leaving silently.

Cia, Link and Wizzro were now the only one left in the room.

"Did you do as I told you about our attack plan, Wizzro?" Cia asked.

"Yes mistress, I've already added our… newest ally position in the plan, just as you asked." The monster said as he took the map he had been studying before and gave it to the witch. "For this mission, he will act alone and sneak into the castle after Volga-"

"I'll inform him about the details myself Wizzro, you may take your leave now."

"…Yes mistress." The monster bowed and casted a glance at the hero just before he left.

Once the large door finally closed, the witch walked to the large table and put the map on it.

"Have a seat, I'm sure that you have a lot of questions to ask. If I predicted correctly, your first question should be "What is your goal?", isn't that right?" She said, a playful smile on her lips as she knew she was right.

_'__I don't even need to speak.'_ Link thought as he sat down in front of her and nodded. "It's about time I heard what you're going to do. If you're looking to destroy the goddesses, as much as I hate them for tricking me, you can count on me to fight against you." Link said menacingly.

"Now now, Hero of Light, my goal is far from destroying the goddesses or conquering the world, I will tell you everything about it."

This was it, the moment where Link would decide on the path he would walk, if he was going to help the witch or not. It would all depend on what she was about to say and how she would word it.

Of course, her trump card was the Twilight Princess the hero liked so much and if she gave him absolutely undeniable proof that she could make him see his beloved companion again then that would seal the deal completely.

_'__It is time to "officially" recruit my dear Hero of Light.'_


	6. Interrogation

_Interrogation_

"My first priority, although you might have guessed it, is to get back what was taken from me by the goddesses." The witch started, making the hero in front of her raise an eyebrow.

"Your old life?"

"A part of it, I realized long ago that regaining the entirety of my old life was impossible. I will regain what I can, starting with my lover."

_'__The chosen one of her world.'_ Link thought, remembering what the witch had told him of her story. "And your secondary objective is?"

"To make the goddesses suffer the same way they made me suffer or in simpler terms, I will wish for them to fall in love with somebody they will never be able to reach. You and I both know how painful that is."

Had it been the Link before the start of his adventure, he would have thought this to be a childish. The Link of today knew though, he knew how much it hurt to not be able to reach the one you want.

It was a terrible pain he wouldn't wish on anyone, not even on his enemies.

"…As long as you don't try to actually harm the goddesses, I'm fine with this. Emotional pain is not something that will kill a divine being." Link said.

Cia crossed her legs, somehow looking a bit surprised. "I didn't expect you to still want to protect them after how they used you."

"They helped me take down the evil beings that were in my land, they helped me protect every citizen of Hyrule and those close to me. That is just a debt I will repay them, nothing more."

"I see… In any cases, those are my two goals. Do you have any other questions?"

_'__Is that really it? Somehow I can't help but feel like she has other goals…'_ Link stared at the witch intensely as if to see through her mask. "Those are your sole objectives?"

Cia's face stayed stoic, her poker face never dropping. "That is correct. It seems you are doubting me which is natural after all, we only have met recently after all."

_'__I won't get anything out of her anymore about this.'_ "…This Ghirahim, how necessary is he?"

Cia didn't show it but was relieved that Link dropped the goal subject, all was going according to her plans. "Extremely, he is the one that brings the large majority of our force into battle along with Wizzro, his summoning skills are very powerful."

"So we have an army of demons too?" Link asked, thinking of how ironical his situation was. To think that him, the Hero that had slain countless devils might now be working with them.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to avoid having you and Ghirahim anywhere near on the same battlefield. I understand you being uneasy about this but having an army of demon is more than optimal as they require little training, barely any resources and can very easily get replaced. If it makes you feel any better, Volga has his own small army of Lizalfos type monsters."

_'__Just great, first demons now monsters as well.' _The hero of light nearly wanted to groan out loud. "…My next questions are: What is your plan to reach your goals and what is my role in it?"

The tip of Cia's lips went upward very slightly. So far, so good, the Hero hadn't given her any troubles just as she had predicted. "My plan will be divided in two parts. One will consist of gathering the Triforce, the other will be to open the Gates of Souls."

"The Gates of Souls…? I have never heard of them before."

"Obviously as they've been kept hidden by the goddesses since the beginning. The Observer of Time is the only being with the knowledge of how to access and use them." The witch put her finger on the map in front of her, pointing at a small red cross. "I already know where each of them is. Once we open them all I will be able to tap into their power, giving me enough strength to break the curse that has locked away my lover's memories and more importantly for you, enough strength to freely transport you to the Twilight Realm whenever you wish to." Cia finished, smirking as she knew that the end of this discussion was near.

Cia's last words echoed in the Hero's head, never had he thought that one day somebody would provide him a solution to see Midna again, and although he never had any intention on giving up the search, the pain in the Hero's heart has worsened exponentially during that time without her.

Yet the woman in front of him had the solution to an impossible problem.

"As for your role, you will have to incapacitate key targets so that I can safely open the Gates of Souls and so that we have a higher chance of succeeding in our plan."

"…Elaborate on key targets."

"Those who hold the parts of the Triforce of my world and their allies who are strong enough to become a real threat to us. Only you is capable of efficiently taking care of those targets, mind you this will be no easy task."

"I should've known. And incapacitating…?"

"Whether you have to capture or slay the target will be up to you, all I ask is that you make them unable to hinder our progression."

Link silently pictured in his head what he would supposedly do if he did agree to help Cia. Those key targets weren't monsters or demons.

They were beings of lights.

" How can I trust you?"

The tension in the room had become suddenly heavier for Cia, Link's attempt to look imposing worked this time as the witch couldn't move her eyes away from his, feeling that if she looked away a beast would suddenly lunge at her from those perfect blue pools.

And as happy as she was that a Link was… looking at her in a certain way, she needed to focus on her own little mission as this now was the perfect moment to throw in the bait.

"In some cases, actions are better than words." The witch brought her hand up, opening her palm in front of her as if she was about to cast a spell on Link who didn't blink to make sure he wouldn't miss what she was about to do. "Let's take a look at what the Twilight Princess is currently doing."

A large, floating crystal ball appeared in between Cia and Link. The Hero's gaze went from Cia to the ball, his stare getting more intense after hearing what she just had said.

An image slowly formed inside of the sphere, showing the inside of an immense room, large windows giving a good view to the abundant twilight outside. The sight of the black particles flying in the orange sky made Link feel very nostalgic.

The Hero then realized that he currently was in control of the image, he decided to look around.

Link's focus went back to the inside of the room, he noticed the place had the usual twili patterns: the black stones with blue markings that had an ethereal glow to them.

Seeing nothing of interest, on the side of the room aside from a large bed, he turned the vision around and found himself in front of a sight that nearly knocked the wind out of him.

A humanoid shape was sitting in front of a rather large and extremely messy desk, scribbling notes on a piece of paper.

While seeing Midna again felt like a shock to Link, it wasn't what had caused him to hold his breath subconsciously.

It was the wall right in front of her, decorated with what seemed to be all of the equipments he had found in his quest, from the Ordon sword and shield to the Hero's Bow. All of them were neatly arranged with items too heavy leaning at the bottom of the wall, such as his iron boots.

_'__She didn't forget me.'_

The sound of scribbling stopped as the princess turned around, disturbed by something and at the same time, showing her beautiful, uncovered face to Link.

And although she was unaware of his presence, it was like she had directly looked at the hero's eyes for a second.

Link wanted to call her out but was suddenly pulled back, his vision fading from the Twilight Realm as he saw that his sight was back on Cia who was still sitting in front of him.

"I apologize for the interruption but it seems like a minute of sightseeing in the Twilight realm is the extent of my power as of now." The witch said, a hint of a smile showing on her lips. "Of course, it would be a different story if the Gates of Souls were open."

If the hero of light hadn't kept his pokerface up, he would be smiling an extremely soft smile. Never in his life he thought he would be able to see her face again even if it had been for a brief moment, the pain in his heart had been replaced with a completely different feeling, one of warmth. He wanted to see her again.

"If… If I do accept, what exactly will be my first mission?"

Cia wanted to scowl but kept her own expression neutral. She was annoyed that he hadn't jumped on the offer he had been given. Just how wary could he get about this stupid mission anyway? What a troublesome hero. "For this first step, we will declare war with Hyrule using our very own army. Wizzro and Volga will be leading the charge with our dear Dragon Knight on the frontlines. Once the commotion has started, I will directly teleport you behind the castle. Then you'll sneak inside, make your way to the Royal Chambers and capture Princess Zelda. Once you are done bring her back to where you started and I will immediately extract the Triforce of Wisdom from her."

"A war, then this means…"

"Yes, there will be many deaths on both sides. I assure you that I take no pleasure in this either but if we want to be even somewhat close to victory, sacrifices will be necessary. Remember Hero of Light, the real opponent we will be facing isn't the army of Hyrule but the Goddesses themselves, this will be far from easy."

Link's fists clenched. Was he about to let innocents die? Would he be the cause of their death? All of this for his selfish desires? "I…"

"Whether we would continue our plan or not, whether you would choose to fight against us to attempt to reduce the number of deaths, the results will be the same. Those numbers have already been written on the thread of fate. A war against demons was supposed to happen in my world in any cases, that is not something we can change."

It didn't matter if he was there or not, those people would die anyway, was this what she was saying? Even after hearing that, he believed that he would still feel incredibly guilty.

But if he refused her offer, then what hopes would there be for him meeting Midna again?

Nearly none. The witch in front of him had the solution he was desperately seeking.

**If he refused, then he would regret it his entire life.**

"She looked incredibly sad." Link muttered. "Those eyes, when she turned around, they weren't happy."

"Pardon?"

"…She doesn't deserve that. She doesn't deserve this sadness. If guilt is the burden I'll have to carry to bring a smile on her face again then I'll bear it. For her sake."

To hear a Link that looked so much like hers talk like this about another woman made the witch feel sick._'… I cannot believe I'm jealous of a Twili out of all things.' _"You still believe your desire to be with her is selfish after all you've done for your world, is that why you're hiding it under a noble cause?"

Link didn't answer and only clenched his fists.

"We deserve happiness, Hero of Light, we who had to sacrifice major parts of our lives because of the Goddesses." Cia said as she stood up and started to walk toward the door, feeling that it was enough for now. "Once you leave, go right and you will find a golden door, it will lead you to your personal quarters. I will meet you there later to give you your new equipment." She left through the doors, leaving the man alone to his own thoughts and headed to the garden outside.

She opened up a portal while walking and entered it before closing it as quickly as she could. She was now in her bedroom which had the size of a throne room and was full of paintings and statues of her beloved.

The witch threw her mask away and held her head with her hand, panting heavily as if she was in pain. The noises in her head kept growing as the soul of the Demon King that was in her body kept telling her what to do, kept telling her that she would fall deeper and deeper into darkness.

"Shut up you damn voice! Stop whispering in my head all the time!" Cia clenched her hand hard, a dark magic circle forming over her head as she locked away the voice temporarily.

Her breathing became more stable, she held her staff firmly, her anger slowly distorting her face. "I won't lose to your ghost Ganondorf, you are nothing but a tool to me."

Cia faced one of the portraits of her Link, not even the sight of his smile could quell her anger.

"**They're all nothing but tools that will bring me closer to what is rightfully mine!**"


	7. Preparation

_Preparation_

Link had found the way to his own chambers, the golden door having been very easy to find.

The insides looked similar to the few inns he had slept in, the rooms weren't too small, the one person bed was comfortable and there was everything you'd need to have a good night of sleep followed by a good morning.

He snickered once he thought back to how Midna would always complain about him being such a cheapskate and never getting a room with two beds with one for her, saying that sleeping in his shadow at night was colder than lying in the snow. She often snuck up in his bed, trying to be as stealthy as she could but always failed to, giving Link an opportunity to tease the embarassed small imp although he always ended up sharing the bed with her.

Had he known Midna hadn't been just a little imp at the time but a beautiful woman that was taller than him he definitely would have gotten her a bed of her own.

The sounds of steps made the Hero abruptly turn around, his senses fully alerted as he hadn't expected a visitor so soon.

"Recalling fond memories? I did make this place based on where I thought were the places you were the most relaxed at."

Upon recognizing the witch, Link's stance loosened.

"So? How do you find your new place?" Cia said, inspecting her own work as well.

"...It's nice." Link muttered.

"But it's missing something, isn't it?" She completed as she stared at the bed, deep in her thought.

The hero knew exactly what the witch was talking about. It wasn't an item that was missing but a presence that should've always been by his side.

Judging by the absent minded gaze Cia was giving to his new bed, Link understood that she felt the same in her own private chamber. The hero felt sympathy toward the woman that seemed to share the same painful feelings he had.

She turned around to face Link again. "As much as I would love to discuss how much care I put in designing this room, I have not come for this today. Here," The witch flicked her fingers, making a purple, star shaped magic circle on the ground.

From it came out an entire set of armor Link immediately recognized.

"That's the golden wolf's armor!" Link exclaimed, very surprised that Cia was even aware of this.

"That is correct, it is from the one that taught you those secret moves, although I had to give it a few upgrades with my magic. And before you ask, as the Observer, I know of every single event that happened in your life, including those hidden training sessions."

The hero should have expected as much from someone appointed by the Goddesses to observe everything.

He stared at the armor and although it looked near identical, the only difference being that the midsection as well as the arms and the legs were now completely covered in armor as well and that it obviously had been repaired. The helmet had been slightly reworked to be more... practical. Rather than having three "horns" it now only had the two on the sides, those two were also now slightly shorter. The lower body had an extra belt made so that he could carry certain items without being hindered, like his clawshot.

Link wondered what she meant by upgrades.

"Thanks to my magic, it is not only stronger but it will also hide your identity from every being of light, the Goddesses included. It will also automatically fit on you to avoid any discomfort."

_'How convenient.' _Link thought as he immediately took off his tunic, revealing his well shaped body and not paying attention to the stare Cia was giving him. He started putting on the suit of armor.

_'...Maybe I should've kept the midriff part open and just use magic to protect it. Ah, what a waste...'_ The witch quickly stopped that thought process to kept herself in control. _'Now is not the time to drool over another Link.'_

After doing so, he tried moving around to see how it would feel. The armor certainly felt heavier yet aside from this difference it was even more comfortable than his green garment. Once he put the helmet on, Link suddenly felt like a shadow fell over his eyes and he felt... dirty. He gazed at Cia, his eyes asking for immediate informations.

"What you just experienced is a Shadow Veil, a magic used to diminish the light in one's heart. As you are a hero chosen by the goddesses, the light of your heart is too strong to even be affected by darkness so it will only act to cover your pure and easily recognizable light." The witch opened the palm of her hand, summoning a small mirror to show Link his own reflection. "The helmet also has been imbued with more disguising magic."

There was quite literally a veil of shadow that had been set on Link's eyes, in fact you couldn't barely see anything aside from his nose and mouth on his face, the usual gleam that came from his clear blue eyes was still there but you had to be really close to notice it.

Strangely enough, that darkness didn't bother his sight at all.

"I haven't had time to take care of the sword and the shield so your bow will have to do for now. You can leave the Master Sword in this room, it's a safe place that only you and I can enter."

The hero nodded, knowing that fighting with the sacred blade would only make him stand out like a sore thumb.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he should have taken the shorter bow rather than the long one if he had known he wouldn't be able to use his sword for close quarters.

"I also took the liberty of enchanting your bow so that you won't have to take a quiver with you. Just by pulling the string you'll create a Magical Arrow."

Unlimited ammunition, now that was something the Hero had always wanted to have. "Are those also made from darkness?" Link asked, wondering if Cia wanted to keep everything in the same dark magic theme.

"Why would I bother with darkness when the wind element is more suited for the job?" Cia answered, as if it had been obvious from the start. "Lightning would've been ideal but giving such an unstable element to someone with little experience in magic would cause more harm than good."

_'Glad I won't have to use more darkness than necessary.__' _The hero thought.

After equipping himself with his bow and giving a slight tug on the string to see if the magical bolts of wind worked right, Link gave a nod to Cia as if to say everything was in order. "When are we starting?"

Cia smirked and tapped the tip of her staff on the ground, opening up a portal beneath them. Seconds later, they ended up in a completely different place right next to a large stone Castle. "Volga and Wizzro have already started. Welcome to Hyrule Plains, Hero of Light."

The echoes of war cries and weapons clashing echoed in Link's ear, confirming what the witch had just said. He gazed upon what he guessed was this world's Hyrule Castle. "This is what I'll have to infiltrate?"

"Yes, it should be empty as of now, save for maybe a few guards. Head to the royal chambers, by the time you get there, the Princess should have gotten back from the battlefield."

"Back from the battlefield? Aren't royalties supposed to stay inside during wars?"

"This world's Bearer of Wisdom is much different to yours, Hero of Light. Be wary of her, she will be a much greater threat to deal with than any of the guards or warriors you might have to face."

"...Seriously?" Link said, taken aback by this. _'I did fight Zelda once but that was when she was under Ganon's influence...'_

"I am completely serious. Do not let your guard down, do not let her words make you hesitate and under no circumstance should you trust her. Wisdom brings her much more power than you realize, Hero of Light."

_'This mission seems harder than I thought it would be.'_

Once again, Cia tapped her staff on the ground, this time opening a portal only beneath her feet. "If you ever feel like you're about to doubt your actions, remember why you're here."

Link nodded, he wasn't about to be dissuaded to continue on his quest to reach **her **with mere words. "...Got it." He muttered.

"I have to go now, Ghirahim is waiting for me. I wish you luck."

The witch disappeared, leaving the hero alone in front of the castle.

How ironic, he thought, that he who had saved the Princess Zelda before was about to go and capture her like villains in fairy tales did.

This role did not fit him at all yet he wouldn't stop at anything to be able to see the Twilight Princess again.

Long bow in hand, the man now clad in armor sneakily walked toward the back entrance of the castle.

_'Turning back isn't an option anymore, right Midna?'_


	8. Execution

_Execution_

_'Two well equipped guards in the inner garden blocking an entrance.'_

Link had to travel a small amount of time before arriving where he currently was, on high grounds. The Hero was in the surprisingly empty southwest tower, he had used his clawshot to quickly climb the wall before getting himself into a position where the view was the best.

It was strange that only two soldiers would sit to guard the back of the castle when there was a war currently going. Did they think demons weren't smart enough to attack from behind, or perhaps they seriously needed all the man power they could get?

Not that it mattered to him, what he needed now was to deal with those two guards at the same time so that they wouldn't manage to activate any alarm in time.

Link pulled on the string of his arrow as air began to take a shape similar to a drill, spiraling at a very fast pace.

_'I'd rather not have to use something that pierces on a human. Since this is made of magic, maybe I can modify it a bit to change the form...'_

He tried to imagine a blunt weapon in his mind, a hammer was the first thing that came to his mind. The spiraling bolt of wind didn't change shape.

_'I'm not affecting it, then it's only the bow that can do so. Since pulling is what makes the arrow, perhaps...'_

The hero tried to twist the string very slightly and had immediate results. After trying out multiple angles, he finally managed to get a shape that looked as blunt as it could be, the drill like bolt of air had now become a spinning orb.

_'Alright, that's one problem taken care of, now to deal with them both at the same time.'_

Link started to think on how he could handle that. He wasn't sure of how far they were from an alarm mechanism so taking one out and aiming for the other will be risky.

_'I bet this bow got other hidden functions. If the string was to create the arrow and control its shape, then is there a way to have more than one bolt on at the same time? Now that'd be really convenient.'_

He tried to move the bow around and twist the string even more but got nothing else than what he had already discovered.

_'Guess I hoped for too much, having a shape shifting arrow is already a great thing.'_

Link twisted the string lightly to get the wanted shape to prepare the shape beforehand and avoid any fatal accident.

Although Midna's help would've been greatly appreciated to get both soldiers down at the same time, the Hero had to deal with this situation on his own right now.

_'I can't afford to shoot more than one arrow at each guard.' _The hero took a deep breath as he fully pulled the string of the bow, which made him notice that the air around him was visibly moving to the sphere of air that now spun much faster than before. _'The more I pull the string, the more wind gathers into the arrow and the stronger it will be?' _To test his new theory, Link stretched the string slightly more and just as he did, the air began to move even faster, making a loud sound at the same time.

Link aimed at one of the guard's head before letting his fully powered bolt of air go, it whizzed through the air before hitting the first guard, effectively knocking him out in one shot. The hero wasted no time as he shot another, just as strong arrow at the second, now panicked guard who was about to move from his post.

He was knocked unconscious as quickly as the first and with the two soldiers down, the road was now clear.

_'That went better than expected.' _Link thought as he went downward, setting foot in the inner garden and proceeded to enter the previously protected entrance.

Link was now in a long and completely silent corridor. A bit farther than where he was standing and on his left, there were stairs going upward. He took them, figuring that if the royal chambers were going to be anywhere, they would be at the top.

Before stepping on the last stair, Link heard the voices of worried men asking the Princess if she was truly alright, he immediately hid behind the wall next to him and listened attentively to their conversation.

"Your highness please let us accompany you to the doctors to see if you sustained any injuries!"

"I am completely fine, I have barely gotten scratched. You, my soldiers, on the other hand..."

"We're used to this! Please-"

"Soldiers, go get checked by the field medics right now. This is an order."

"B-but your Highness-!"

"I will be fine alone, now go."

"...Yes ma'am!"

The sound of steps going further and further away, the sound of a door opening and then closing... Link waited for complete silence before taking a peek to confirm that the road was clear.

_'She doesn't keep guards in front of her own room? I didn't even hear the sound of her locking the door... This is almost too easy.'_

The hero slowly approached the door the Princess had entered, his bow in hand.

He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do.

He realized that he was seriously going to try to kidnap the Princess in a few moments, the thought still felt unreal to him...

But he was resolved, he knew he had to be.

Link kicked the door open and immediately pulled the string of his bow, aiming at the surprised Princess with a deadly looking spiraling bolt of air. If he wanted to get Zelda without hurting her, he had to be as menacing as possible.

Zelda attempted to reach for her rapier that she had left leaning on the wall next to her, Link released his arrow in reaction on the weapon, causing the princess to flinch and stop right in time to stop her hand from being skewered along the hilt of her sword.

Strangely enough, the rapier dissolved into light particles before completely disappearing, the hero paid it no mind before pointing another arrow at Zelda.

"If you surrender and come with me, I won't have to hurt you, Princess."

"Who are you, what do you want? And what did you do to the guards that were in the castle?"

_'Worrying about her knights before herself, that's Zelda alright. I have to give her some credits for staying calm in this situation.' _"They're still alive, just asleep. All I want is for you to follow me peacefully."

"If I do accept, where will you bring me?"

"I cannot answer that."

"Are you working with the demons?"

"..."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Princess, if you follow me, I will guarantee that you won't be harmed, so please, do not force my hand."

"I refuse. I have a country to protect and you will not stop me from doing so, even if I have to use my own strength against the likes of you."

"...So be it."

Zelda's words hurt Link a bit. He wasn't quite used to being called "the likes of you" by a being of light and much less by somebody that was as kind as the Zelda he knew.

The cold stare the Princess gave him would have definitely made any lower level demon shiver, although the Hero of Light felt more disturbed by it than anything else because it just didn't fit her.

It just felt wrong.

The rapier that had previously vanished appeared in Zelda's hand as she attempted to lunge at the Hero. Link, wasting no time, twisted slightly the string and shot a sphere of wind at the blade to deflect the incoming blow, effectively stopping the blade from reaching him.

"I won't be beaten by simple wind magic!" The Princess exclaimed as her rapier was now engulfed in light.

_'Light magic... I should avoid getting hit by that, my helmet especially as I don't know how vulnerable it is to the light element.' _

Zelda slashed vertically at the air, creating a beam of light that went straight to the Hero who avoided it with minimal movements by sidestepping. He shot another sphere of air, aiming for the rapier again but this time Zelda swung again, slicing the bolt of air to render it ineffective.

She observed the man in front of her for a second. Link was immobile, his bow aimed at the Princess and the string already pulled, yet he had no intentions of actually shooting her.

"You have an opportunity to attack, why are you not doing so? Were you told to not hurt me?"

"..."

"Or could it be that you do not want to harm me?"

Bingo, the Princess was already seeing through him. Was he that obvious?

"Are you doing this against your will? You don't look like a complete demon, perhaps you have been threatened? I could help you if you cooperate." She lowered her weapon and offered him a smile.

_'...She's right... Maybe...' _Link started to think, her words having a seemingly magical effect on him, making him rethink his choice.

"Do you not wish for peace? Do you not wish to see your loved ones again?"

This last sentence triggered something inside of Link as he suddenly saw the face of the Twilight Princess in his mind, clearing whatever doubts and hesitation he had. _'...As if. If the Zelda from my world couldn't find anything in three months then you won't fare any better.'_ He felt angry with himself, to have his resolve waver so easily with just words.

"Just lower your weapon and I'll gladly give you all of my support no matter what the problem may be, warrior."

He gripped his bow tighter. _'What was that strange feeling... So that's the power of Wisdom, it almost felt like she was about to take control of me with her words, this is probably what Cia warned me about. No wonder she wanted me to be careful... This won't work on me anymore.' _

Not only had the Princess been trying to get as much informations as she could from him, she also had made him promises. She probably noticed how skillful he was and wanted to add him to her forces as well while she was at it. A strange scene for the hero, he hadn't thought the Princess was capable of this, or maybe it was just this Zelda in particular.

She tentatively took a step forward and Link, by pure instinct, unintentionally released an arrow directed at her left arm, effectively hitting the target.

_'Darn it, hurting the Princess was one of the last thing I'd ever want to do in my life!' _The hero slightly panicked in his mind although he showed no sign of movements at all and just pulled his bow again to make another arrow appear.

Thankfully for him, he had reflexively twisted the string before shooting, giving him a blunt arrow rather than a piercing bolt. The smile on Zelda's face had disappeared and her stern face had appeared back, this sudden mood change gave the hero an idea.

_'Wait... Maybe I can use this to my advantage?' _He thought, thinking that he could appear more intimidating thanks to this accident. "You are mistaken, I was just asked to not harm you. If I could have my own way I wouldn't have to hold back. Now Princess..." He honestly hoped this would make her surrender.

Zelda got back into her fighting stance again. "It seems like I am fighting a real demon after all. Fine, I'll fight you with all of my power."

_'Of course she wouldn't back down. What was I expecting?' _He sighed internally, aware that he was back to square one.

With a burst of light, Zelda's rapier transformed into the Bow of Light Link had seen when he had fought against Ganondorf.

Now he was worried, he knew he was a good archer but compared to his enchanted bow, this one had much more firepower.

_'I can't give up now.'_

Zelda was the first one to shoot, aiming at the only part that currently wasn't covered in armor: his neck.

Link immediately shot an arrow of his own, a blunt one. Knowing that his arrows probably wouldn't be able to destroy hers, he aimed in a way to deflect the light arrows. It worked although not everything went according to plan as the arrow he had deflected suddenly exploded in a blinding burst of light, forcing him to jump away from his spot. Just as he landed, the Princess had already switched back to her rapier and had rushed to slash him.

Thanks to Link's superior reflexes, he managed to avoid the diagonal slash at the last moment by jumping backward, forcing him out of the room and into the large corridor.

_'Close... I need more space to move in if I want to win.'_

The princess shot more arrows and faster than before as she tried to follow Link's movements, the Hero threw as many arrows as she did while jumping around to avoid losing speed as he was trying to come up with a way to disarm her.

_'How do I get rid of a magical weapon she can materialize? I don't know if there's a way to seal it so... is my only option physically stopping her? Should I just pin her down? Then that means I need to get closer to her.'_

This idea wasn't one Link particularly liked but he didn't see more options than this one, and even then it wasn't going to be simple to get into optimal range, especially without any weapons made for close quarters. His position right now wasn't very good either as he was forced on the defensive by the powerful bow of light.

Another one of Zelda's arrow blew up in a burst of light, Link put an arm in front of his eyes in reaction to avoid being blinded.

The Princess thought that this was the best opportunity to go for the kill as Link's guard was completely open. She lunged with a stab as she attempted to pierce the heart of her enemy.

_'The second option is letting her come to me rather than having me move.' _

Right before the tip of the rapier reached his armor, Link fearlessly grabbed the blade of his opponent and stopping it dead in its track and locking his opponent with him.

"Shine!" Zelda shouted, refusing to yield as she commanded her sword to emit a purifying light. Any man or demon would've closed their eyes by now while grunting in pain.

Unfortunately for Zelda, Link's helmet enchantment, Shadow Veil, also acted in a way similar to sunglasses, he had noticed it when the first arrow that had blown up hadn't had too much of an effect on him, and after judging her first attempt to close the distance once the arrow had attempted to blind him, he gambled on whether she would use the same tactic twice in a row.

He stared coldly at the helpless Princess who was now scowling at him. "Give up." He said, feeling that continuing the fight would be pointless.

The Princess wanted to answer but noticed something strange about the man in front of her, she hadn't been able to see his eyes thanks to that strange shadow over them since the beginning but now that she was that close, she could make out the azure pupils that were looking at her. "...Never in my life have I seen or heard of a demon with blue eyes. What are you?"

Link kept his calm and ignored her question. "This battle is over, I have no reason to answer to your questions. Stop being foolish and surrender."

Zelda let go of her weapon still stuck in Link's hand before quickly stepping back to gain distance. "I will admit that you are skilled... Although if you think you have won just because you managed to take my weapon away, you are completely wrong."

Link didn't let go of the rapier in his hand and raised an eyebrow under his helmet. _'A bluff or... a trump card?' _He thought, unsure of what else she could do. It didn't look like she was going to get her weapon back, so Link carefully observed her until he saw that the Princess now had a strange round item in her hand. She threw it at her feet fiercely as a massive smokescreen engulfed her.

"A smokebomb?!" Link exclaimed as he thought that she was going to try to escape him. "You're not-!"

In the next second, a strange looking man leaped from the smoke at lightning speed, aiming for the hero's neck, knives in hand and his red eyes full of killing intent.


	9. Miscalculation

_Miscalculation_

Everything had happened so fast.

Link had barely had any time to react to the man's sudden attack as he had hastily put one of his arms up in a similar way to the defensive stance of a boxer to avoid having his neck sliced in two. Instead, the knives cut the armored arm, leaving a small, unimpressive scratch on it.

Sheik's assault didn't stop there as the ninja teleported behind the hero who had no time to react and immediately got hit by a powerful kick on his back, Link stumbled forward a bit but managed to stay on his feet and twisted around to face the sheikah.

Link, still having his bow on his shoulder and his left hand on the blade of the rapier, quickly spun the weapon in his hand to wield it correctly. He wasn't used to having such a light kind of sword but it was already much better than a a ranged weapon for this situation. There's no way he would be able to use his bow against such a fast opponent.

He noticed the sheikah's eyes narrow when he grasped the hilt of the rapier. _'Either he's not happy I'm using the Princess' sword or he's surprised I can even use it.'_

The Hero had a strange feeling while using this weapon, for some reason it felt really uncomfortable to use it, he wasn't sure if it was because he had never used a sword as slim as this one before or if it was because it was a weapon with the light element and that the Shadow Veil was acting against it.

Not like he had much time to think about it as the ninja in front of him was once again attacking him with extremely swift and precise slashes of his knives and although the attacks might be weak, the Hero couldn't find a moment to counter attack.

There were absolutely no openings and Link couldn't defend against every strike as he felt his cheek get cut lightly, making blood drip from his face. In an attempt to hit Sheik, he swiftly swung in an upward slash, completely missing Sheik who had jumped backward to avoid the blow.

"Tell me where the Princess is." The hero demanded.

The only answer he received was a knife thrown at him, the man clad in armor deflected it. Sheik rushed forward to continue his assault on Link.

_'What now? I have no idea where Zelda went, this guy won't talk and I don't know how much time left I have before the fight outside ends and the soldiers come back. Have I failed this mission?'_ The hero worried, trying to think while defending from the ninja's attacks.

Zelda was nowhere to be seen, which meant she had either escaped or was hiding. The goal of this mission had been to capture Zelda.

He had failed.

_'...No, it's not a total loss.' _Link started to think as he remembered his role in Cia's plan. Incapacitating key target, that was what he had to do.

Key targets didn't only include the bearers of the Triforce but also anyone strong enough to become a threat to the witch's plan.

Right now standing in front of him was such a being.

_'I also have the Princess' weapon. It hasn't disappeared yet, which means that as long as I have it in my possession, it'll continue to stay with me. I'm not sure of how it works but if I bring it with me, there's a chance Zelda won't be able to get it back. Getting rid of the Bow of Light would give us an advantage.'_

Once again, he attempted to slash Sheik, this time trying to go as fast as he could with the light blade in his end but even then the rapier barely grazed his target.

_'How do I deal against something that fast?! His attacks barely do anything but if he keeps that up, it'll start to hurt. Nothing I have will catch him at this speed, he could play it safe and only use those weak attacks but it'll take hours for him to beat me. So at one point, he will try something that will have a big enough opening for me to counter.'_

For now, Link had to play the waiting game and protect his neck until the ninja gets frustrated enough to try something else.

So he waited.

And waited.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes... Sweat was dropping from Sheik's face at that point while Link stayed impassive.

At seventeen minutes, he stopped his assault, his breathing becoming heavier.

Link didn't say a word at his silent opponent as he patiently continued to wait. He knew that soon, Sheik was going to try something but for now, he had to observe if he wanted his planned counter to work.

The sheikah reached for the harp that was on his back before playing a quick tune using it.

The surprised hero didn't move, wondering what the ninja was doing when he noticed a red, circle shaped sigil under his feet.

If he knew anything about this kind of situation, it was that he had to get away from his position as fast as possible.

Link dived to side and rolled on the ground to avoid hurting himself before a giant, burning boulder fell where he had once been. _'Is this what happens __when he plays music?' _The hero tried to rush forward as Sheik played another, different tune.

This time, sparks of electricity crackled from the harp. The man clad in armor immediately stopped his advance before jumping back to avoid an incoming thunderbolt. _'...Okay, I got it now, I don't have to test him anymore.'_

Once more, Sheik brought his fingers to the harp as he started to play another of those strange musics. But now, Link knew how to deal with that.

The hero immediately took out his clawshot and pushed the button, projecting the claw part fast onto the harp, latching on it and stopping the ninja from going any further in his tune.

"Uooh!" Link yelled as he pulled with all of his strength.

The surprised sheikah hadn't released his grip on the harp and had been caught in the hero's pulling along his harp.

_'I have to create a wound deep enough to take him out and avoid killing him at the same time!'_

Link slashed diagonally at the ninja's body, effectively cutting him.

Alas, not deeply enough as the hero's righteous mind has stopped him from using the necessary to get an effective blow on the human in front of him.

Sheik backflipped and just as he reached the ground, teleported away, this time he moved from the corridor to the royal chambers. His long yet light cut had slowed down enough that Link had managed to follow him with his eyes.

The ninja got into a fighting stance again, his eyes fiercer than ever as he put his harp away on his back, taking his knives out again.

_'I didn't put enough strength!_ _I've got the advantage now though. I just need to corner him-'_

"Princess! Where are you?!" A female voice cried out from the end of the corridor.

No wonder she'd sound panicked after seeing a flaming boulder in the middle of it.

A voice rang inside of Link's head, one he immediately recognized. '**_Hero of Light, I am using telepathy to reach you. Volga and Wizzro have retreated, one- no, perhaps two of the stronger warriors are heading toward you. Return immediately._**'

"Time's up huh..." The hero muttered. _'Strong warriors or not, I still have something to finish.'_

It seemed like the sheikah had no intention to back down either, this made Link wonder if he was waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

More reasons for him to finish quickly, the hero had a plan that could work. He gave a quick glance at the rapier he was holding, hoping it would obey him just like it had obeyed the princess.

It was Link's turn to go on the offensive as he run forward and thrusted his weapon forward, attempting the stab the ninja's face who bent backward slightly to narrowly avoid it.

"Shine!" Link yelled, making the weapon in his hand glow much brighter than before.

And for the first time, Sheik let his voice out as he looked in horror at a sacred weapon being used by a vile being. "This is imp-!" He didn't have to finish his sentence that his eyes were burned by the blinding light.

A growing number of footsteps echoed through the halls, reaching the hero's ears.

_'I can't waste anymore time.'_

Although Link felt bad for doing this, he kicked the sheikah into the window, breaking it and sending him outside. He jumped to follow the falling ninja into the air.

_'No more hesitation!'_

The hero, while they were still in mid air, slashed once again at the body of his opponent, this time making a deep enough wound to have a real impact. He just hoped it wouldn't end up fatal.

Link landed on his feet while the ninja on his back. Sheik managed to get up but didn't look like he would be able to fight anytime soon. They were now in the inner garden the hero had came from.

_'As much as I'd like to capture him, my clawshot won't be able to carry two armed men at once, if it had been Zelda then it could have worked but... This should be enough for now.'_

"Get some medical attention and stay out of my way, got it? Otherwise I'll make sure that you won't survive next time we meet." Link said before running off and leaving the ninja behind, really hoping that he would get his wounds looked at quickly.

Arrows started to whizz right past him as he ran, it seems like the guards had finally noticed him. He took out his clawshot and aimed for the top of the wall.

It successfully latched itself on it and pulled the man in armor up. Once he got up there, he was faced with another dilemma: There was no safe way down to the other side.

Another arrow went right past him, scratching his armor. Link got rid of any doubts and just jumped.

Just as he was about to painfully reach the ground, a portal opened under him, making him land at a slower speed inside of the room with the large table he had been previously in.

"It seems that aside from opening the first Gate, nothing went quite as planned." Cia said, sitting not far from Link, at the large table.

The hero noticed the other threes in the room. Volga's armor was damaged and he certainly wasn't looking happy, Wizzro had a few cuts here and there on his robe while Ghirahim looked the same as ever. The pale demon had a smug smirk when he looked at Link, the hero definitely didn't appreciate that.

"You didn't tell me I'd meet an opponent like that." Link answered to the witch who nodded.

"I'm aware, our intrusion on this world seems to have changed the "planned story" into something uncertain... At least, you didn't come back empty handed, it seems you've gotten possession of the bearer of Wisdom's sacred weapon." She observed the rapier that was Link's hand.

At least, this part of his plan had been successful.

"Come now, sit down. We have some things to discuss about and I have some explanations to give."

Link nodded and took a seat in front of Cia, thankful that it was the dragon knight that was next to him.

The hero wanted to hear those explanations fast as failure left a terrible taste in his mouth.

Heroes aren't supposed to fail.


	10. Anticipation

_Anticipation_

"The planned story?" Link questioned as he took off his helmet before putting it on the table in front of him, feeling better now that he wasn't under the veil of shadow anymore.

"Yes, everything we did was in accordance with how it should have been." The witch began. "The war, the monsters used, the number of monsters we had, the overall strength of our army, the correct number of commanders, the tactic used to capture the princess... Everything was correctly following the story that had been written before. And yet... Things did not go as they should've gone."

"Did we forget about something then?" Wizzro inquired "Maybe there's a detail we overlooked, Mistress."

"No, because the change did not come from us."

Everybody aside from Ghirahim was staring at the masked witch, waiting to hear why this mission had been such a mess.

"Why is it, Hero of Light, that I would not tell you about this mysterious opponent that you have had to fight instead of the princess? Why, Volga, wouldn't I tell you that you'd have to fight our Hero, Link, during this mission? Why would I not tell you about critical details like these when I, who can see both future and past, want my plan to be as perfect as possible?"

"...Indeed, it does not make sense, Mistress." Volga nodded, sensing that the witch was as unhappy as they were.

The hero of light thought the same as he quietly stared at Cia.

"You are right Volga, it does not. I've made sure that we could perfectly replace the villains that were supposed to declare war on this Hyrule. And we were the perfect replacement in every single way." The witch continued "As I said, the change did not come from us, something unexpected happened: Link was in no way supposed to come and fight our army."

"Wait." Link interrupted "What happened while I was trying to get Zelda? What should have happened instead?"

Volga looked at the one next to him before he explained. "The hero of our world came out of nowhere and fought me. This wasn't supposed to happen, that Link should've never appeared at the beginning of this war."

Cia nodded, approving of Volga's words. "That is right, what should have happened was that the Hero, being only a trainee in the military forces of Hyrule, should have fled as soon as the war started. Instead, he rushed to the battlefield."

"A trainee? You mean that Volga lost to a trainee? And that this supposedly amazingly strong Hero we have with us failed his to capture the princess because a trainee acted? How hilarious." The pale man that had appeared uninterested said with a smug smirk on his face.

Volga immediately brought up his spear and slashed at the demon before stopping centimeters away from his unfazed face. "**Shut it.**" He growled menacingly. Although the only reason for his defeat wasn't just because of the new Hero facing him but also because Impa came to attack him as well, the Dragon Knight would never make any excuses.

Link also wanted to cut the demon but only gave him a deadly glare as he thought that listening to Cia was more important.

"The skills he possesses is far, far above a trainee, or any soldiers in Zelda's army for that matter, you'd probably have troubles against him as well Ghirahim." Cia calmly said, earning a glare from the pale demon.

"Was... Link's advance the trigger to the changes that happened? Is it because of him that I had to fight that strong guy?" Link asked, feeling awkward to talk about another hero named like him.

"It seems to be, Hero of Light, as I cannot find any other explanation. As to why Link acted like this, I cannot find an explanation to his actions either as of now but I soon will." The witch concluded.

Link nodded as he guessed that she would use her power over time to look into the past to do so.

"Let us see to more important matters now. We might not be able to change to past so we will have to deal with the early threat of the hero of our world now, we have to be more cautious. Although this seems to be a disadvantageous situation for us, there are some advantages of the hero having been recognized so early."

Ghirahim raised an eyebrow at the strange use of word. "Recognized? Don't you mean awakened?"

The witch shook her head. "No, I meant recognized. As far as I saw, although he might know he is the hero, he still isn't fit to be one. When Volga attacked Link with a breath of fire, the Triforce of Courage acted up to protect Link and avoid an early death of the hero." _'Thankfully.'_ Cia added in her mind.

"Then Mistress, wouldn't now be the right time to attack and capture him?" Volga asked, which made Ghirahim laugh.

"You want to go fight that child and lose again? Please Cia, let me handle this, and I will bring you his head on a silver-"

Before the pale demon could finish, Cia's fist hit the table out of anger, effectively destroying it and surprising everybody that was seated.

"**You are playing a dangerous game, Ghirahim. Didn't I state that Link should never be fatally wounded, tortured or killed?**" The witch snapped.

"Oh my, I am truly sorry. I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies for using that expression. I am sure you know that I didn't mean that literally." Ghirahim bowed.

Even with those words, everybody in the room could hear the amusement from his tone. However Cia let it slide as Ghirahim was an important part of her plan, throwing the one that gives her a majority of her army would be foolish.

The witch faced Volga to answer his previous question. "No, it's not yet the right time. Although he was recognized and bears the mark of the Triforce of Courage, the fact that he was not awakened means that even if we capture him, I won't be able to take the Triforce out of him." She explained. "We have to let him mature so that Courage manifests fully and once it does, I can snatch it with ease."

It was something Cia was aware of: The trials of the Hero that were planned by the Goddesses. Each hero from all the different generations had to prove themselves through various hardships and rough fights to be fully deserving of the Triforce of Courage and become true Heroes, for a just and pure mind was required to be able to defeat Ganondorf. Without the mindset of a true Hero, there was no hope winning against the Demon King.

Link nodded, understanding the situation. Capturing him and restoring his memories immediately would definitely trouble the rising hero, making it much less likely for the triforce of courage to become his and thus making Cia unable to steal it. So that would hinder the progress of one of the witch's goals.

Truthfully, it wasn't a goal Link cared about, but he still respected it because Cia could help him reach his own. He also wanted to restore the other Link's memories too, feeling as it was just as unfair and unjust as what had happened to him and Midna. In a way, it sounded even worse for the witch as her lover had forgotten about her completely.

"Another troublesome point is that the Princess is now missing. Hyrule's Army elite soldiers have started to advance to search for her, thinking that our forces captured her."

"What? I thought she had escaped because of that agile man's appearance. What do you mean she's missing?" Link inquired.

"She has gone into hiding and has hidden her presence with magic or in other words, it's like she disappeared from the world." She said before standing up from her seat. "No matter, I will find her..."

Locating the bearer of wisdom would be a tough job even for Cia, but the witch would not give up easily.

"Hero of Light, Volga, for now you shall rest. Wizzro, as you are the least tired of my commanders, go and slow down the advancing army. Ghirahim, provide troops and support for Wizzro."

Everybody nodded before the witch departed out of the room.

* * *

A dim lit cave.

The sound of heavy breathing.

A sheikah was sitting on the ground, his back leaning against the stone wall. Blood leaked from two cuts on his body, one deeper than the other.

From his hand came a soft, white glow, attempting to appease his wounds.

Healing magic, known as the hardest magic to use in all of Hyrule, and only one person was capable of such a feat: Princess Zelda.

Still, because of the sheikah's wounds, the healing spell was very weak.

At least, Sheik could take his time to heal. The place he was in was devoid of life, a perfect hiding spot for him.

_'That demon... Why didn't he kill me? He didn't know that I was Zelda in disguise, so why?'_

Sheik couldn't understand why he was still alive. That demon had shown little mercy to even the Princess, why would he leave the sheikah alive?

_'It doesn't make any sense.'_

The ninja closed his eyes feeling like there was no point dwelling on it too much.

_'I need to get back to my troops quickly, but with those wounds...'_

He was no fool, the wounds he had received weren't light and he needed to rest properly.

But Princess Zelda was brave. As soon as she could stand up and walk, she'd rush to help her kingdom again. Not as the people's leader as it would be too risky, but as a powerful military aid.

_'I need to tell Impa about that demon with blue eyes as soon as I can.'_


	11. Galvanized

_Galvanized_

"Guh..."

Sheik let out a pained grunt as he forced himself to continue walking toward the Eldin Caves. He had managed to find infos of where his army went by by finding a troop of soldiers not far from where he had been hiding at first.

Obviously he hadn't asked them but had listened to their conversation. The soldiers were really angry at the enemies as they believed Zelda had been kidnapped by them.

Her elite troops with Impa leading had given chase toward the Eldin Caves.

_'The Eldin Caves... This definitely looks like a trap set up by the enemy. If I had been kidnapped then they would have used me as a bait to bring my soldiers to the most disadvantageous terrain for us. But I haven't been kidnapped, so how come the enemy has followed with the plan?' _Sheik thought it was strange. _'I know that my disappearance wouldn't be announced immediately to make sure the people of Hyrule don't panic so how could they be aware that I have not returned to my army?'_

For the opponent to be aware, there were two possibilities:

Either there were spies in the Princess' army or the opponent had planned much, much farther than she thought possible.

The latter possibility was absurd, she couldn't help but think that a demon couldn't plan that far ahead. The first possibility would have been just as absurd, a demon being able to get inside of her ranks was unheard of and one of her own betraying her was completely impossible.

Yet...

The armored demon with blue eyes. He existed.

He seemed more skilled than even her elite soldiers, he was intelligent, ruthless... And looked extremely humanoid.

That was possibly the worst part. Zelda knew quite a few soldiers with the same height or eye color.

If there were more than one of those armored demons then...

_'It's highly probable that there are spies in the Royal Army.'_

Zelda absolutely hated to think that way of her very own men and even thought that maybe that blue eyed demon was unique. But being optimistic in her situation would only lead her to her doom, she had to be especially cautious.

She couldn't strike out the likelihood that there were more of the same kind of armored demon.

_'I need to reach Impa faster.'_

After thinking this, Sheik dropped the hand she had held over her body to use the healing spell on herself during the whole time she had walked.

His wounds hadn't healed well, the reason being that he had been cut with a sacred artifact.

The princess' very own artifact the armored demon had stolen from her.

Although she was bitter over that enormous loss, that wasn't the only problem.

Because of his wounds, Sheik would not be able to fight as good as before until he is fully healed, making him less helpful.

His harp had also a few cracks over it caused by the claw shot's strong grip during his fight against the demon. This meant that if he played his magic tunes too much, the harp would end up breaking under the magic pressure.

All in all, Sheik was definitely not in a good state to fight.

However, once the Princess' mind was set on doing something, it was impossible to stop her.

Raising his hands to the sky, the sheikah muttered the magic words of a special kind of teleportation magic.

"Farore's wind."

In a flash of green light, the ninja disappeared.

* * *

With incomparable speed, a man clad in green cut through the hordes of evil skeletons.

Refreshing!

Echoing throughout the cave was the sound of bones being crushed.

Invigorating!

In mere minutes, monsters fell by the hundreds as if a tornado was sweeping the battlefield.

Revitalizing!

Link, the rising hero, felt like he could take on every monster in this cavern by himself.

The shy yet talented soldier had become a hero mastering the sword and shield in the span of a day and was now leading the best troops of the Kingdom along with the Princess' right hand, General Impa.

Of course Link would be excited!

The boy had always wanted to become a respected Knight of Hyrule, protecting his country and its people.

He had dreamt that he would climb up the ranks and become the Princess' personal Knight, or even better: a General like Impa, a woman whom's strength he admired immensely.

And right now, not only was the boy fighting side by side with the person he admired, but he had been given a title unattainable through hard work or talent: the title of Hero!

Fate!

Destiny!

He who will save the Princess, save Hyrule and slay the vile creatures and their vile masters, he had his path written down already.

He was destined for greatness! For good and justice!

With the triforce of Courage, he would be able to master any kind of weapon, overcoming any enemy on his way to the princess.

"Link, watch out!" Yelled the little fairy he had saved before, Proxi, as a Lizalfos attempted to backstab the rising hero.

He spun around so fast and parried the sword with his own with so much precision that it surprised even himself, and before the poor lizard monster could even react, it had been sliced in two.

To Link, this strength and those skills were gifts to the Hero chosen by the Goddesses.

The fact that the Triforce of Courage had appeared to protect him from the villainous Dragon Knight was the very proof that he indeed was the Hero and that if he followed the path laid by the Goddesses, he would be victorious in each of his fights against darkness.

And he will gladly follow that path.

However... There was something that nagged the hero at the back of his mind. He felt that he had forgotten something very important yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Ambush! We've been ambushed!" Cried out the soldiers as a massive amount of skeletons came from all sides.

This snapped the boy back into action, thinking that there was no point in thinking about it, he had heroic deeds to do after all.

* * *

Cia was troubled.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the princess, the only clue she had was that Farore's divine magic had been used at some point to transport someone.

Divine magic could only be used by the bearers of Wisdom or Courage and since Cia was monitoring her Hero's advance at the same time, so she was sure that Zelda had been the one to use it.

The problem with this very specific type of teleportation was that the witch couldn't track, she could only be aware that the spell had been used.

"Zelda... Where exactly would she go by using Farore's Wind? Seeking help from other kingdoms would be unlikely but she's not stupid enough to show herself on the front lines to take command of her troops... She might want to tell Impa about the Hero of Light she fought as she might think that the information would be crucial..."

She continued to mutter to herself, flipping through images and videos inside of her crystal ball.

The princess was not the only problem on her mind.

The witch had made a critical mistake and thought that giving the Hero of Light only an enchanted bow would be enough to capture Zelda. Had he gone with a sword, things would have been much more different.

The difficulty in having a sword ready for the Hero was that it needed to be as close as possible to the Master Sword in terms of quality, otherwise his opponents would be able to disarm him very quickly, whether he would be facing Zelda, Impa or her Link.

Cia was no blacksmith and obviously, no matter how powerful her magic was, she could not create a legendary sword out of thin air. What she could do on the other hand was to use an extremely high level magic called "Origin", able to restore any item back to a previous state. But there were also more complications with the already tough to execute spell, like that the better the quality of the item, the harder it will be for the sorcerer casting the spell.

It goes without saying that it was impossible to cast the spell on legendary items such as the Master Sword or the Bow of Light.

So far, the only high quality weapon Cia had managed to get her hands on without disturbing the flow of time too much was the Hero's Shade worn sword. Said item's quality was impressive, nearing the level of the blade of evil's bane itself and giving the witch a lot of troubles in restoring it.

In the meantime, she couldn't just give any sword to the Hero of Light. A normal sword wouldn't be durable enough, he'd immediately refuse a sword created by Ghirahim and she had doubts on whether or not he'd be efficient with different melee weapons than the sword and shield combo.

Strangely enough, the Hero's Shade armor was far from having the same quality as the sword, you could compare it to a regular hylian soldier's gear.

And last but not least, the ten platoons she had sent at Faron Woods to secure the area so that they could fight the hylian army on advantageous grounds had met an unwanted opponent, Cia's light that had been forced out of her body: Lana.

_'As if I didn't have enough troubles already, but now this wench is going to approach MY Link?! I won't let that happen.'_

She shifted the image of Faron Woods back to the Eldin Caves, this time watching Wizzro.

"He's doing well. He'll buy us enough time to open the second Gate of Soul before Hyrule's army reach Faron Woods."

The witch put the crystal ball aside and made her staff appear in her hand. She tapper the weapon on the ground, making two portals appear next to her.

"Ghirahim, I want you to continue watching Hyrule's army's progress while I'm away and notify me once they get out of the caves. Volga, keep an eye on Ghirahim."

"Your lack of trust toward me hurts my heart, Cia." The pale demon said with an amused smile.

The witch ignored it and looked at Volga, who nodded to affirm that he understood her order.

She opened a portal beneath her own feet an disappeared into the darkness, before reappearing in another room, more precisely, the Hero of Light's room.

When Link had noticed the sudden portal, he had quickly jumped from lying on his bed to a fighting stance, snatching the nearby Master Sword from its sheathe.

"You are as wary as ever, hero." Cia said.

Link dropped his stance when he saw that it was the sorceress.

"...My apologies. Do you need me for something?" He said, putting the legendary sword back in its usual spot.

"Yes, I want you to come with me to open the second Gate of Souls."

"Me?" He asked, as last time she had taken the pale demon with her.

"This Gate is related to the world of Twilight, hence why I chose you and not Ghirahim. Will you come?"

Upon hearing this, the hero of light immediately put on his armor and enchanted bow before grabbing his helmet and putting it on as well.

"Good. Let's go." She answered, pleased with the hero's reaction.

The real reason why Cia wanted to take the Hero of Light with her was that this was the perfect opportunity to make him trust her even more than before.

_'Giving him some more "truth" will definitely make him loathe the Goddesses even more.'_


	12. Swayed

_Swayed_

A purple sigil appeared on the ground before a dark portal spawned from it, making Link and Cia appear in the middle of a desert.

"We have arrived." Declared Cia.

The hero somewhat doubted the witch's words after looking around him: He couldn't see anything else than sand and ruins for miles.

"Have we truly?" He questioned, making Cia smile in amusement.

"Watch well." She said before crouching and placing a hand on the sand under her. "Spread."

The sand under them grumbled as it opened up, leaving place to an endless dark pit where light couldn't even reach the bottom.

"Float." The witch immediately cast her spell on both her and Link right as they started to fall, their descent immediately slowed down to a crawl. "Illuminate."

The last spell created a flame in front of Cia, effectively illuminating everything around her.

_'Magic sure is handy.' _The hero thought, enjoying the bizarre feeling of standing in something similar to an invisible elevator.

The witch took a sitting stance as if she was sitting on an invisible chair, she crossed her legs before gazing at Link. "You might want to make yourself comfortable Hero of Light, we have a long way before reaching the bottom."

"I'm fine." He truthfully answered.

She nodded, aware that he wasn't rude but only cut his sentences short because it was how he was used to speak. She was, in a way, glad that he spoke like that, as it let her initiate her current plan much faster.

There was a reason why she hadn't just teleported with him to the bottom of the pit after clearing the sand.

"Tell me, Hero of Light, what do you think of when you hear "Gate of Souls"?" She asked.

Link crossed his arms, wondering what she was going on about. "Souls... The dead?"

"Oh, a surprisingly close guess. What do you know about the gates?"

"Not much."

"I see, then I believe I owe you some explanations." The witch began. "Although the Gates can act as a source of power for the Observer of Time, that was not its desired use. They were created in an attempt to seal Ganondorf away."

Upon hearing this, Link frowned. He disliked very much hearing this name.

"Like every time, the Demon King managed to break away from his prison. However, this seal lasted much longer than all previous seals."

_'I have a bad feeling about what comes next.' _"Why is that?"

"Because the Gates of Souls were fueled by millions of souls stuck inside them. Souls of previously living being."

"Millions?"

"Yes. And unlike the bearers of Courage and Wisdom, regular souls don't fully reincarnate. They are first sent to the afterlife to get cleaned of their sins and memories before coming back and bring new lives."

"Wait, that's not possible. If that's true then-"

"That if the souls are stuck, no new life would be created, that's right. Obviously, the Goddesses would never be foolish enough to do this with their world. On the other hand, what they could do was create another world. One where they could harvest enough souls to fuel those powerful gates. The Goddesses wouldn't create just any random world as they wanted complete control over their new creation, while knowing the exact number of souls they could harvest so that they could successfully infuse the gates with them."

_'Numbers again...' _The hero of light had heard this word multiple times now, and it bothered him every time. Was that what living beings were to the goddesses?

"What they did was create a certain amount of small worlds reflecting different parts of the original one, giving them the exact number of souls needed. They mirrored the beginning, the point where time was split in three and finally the point where your world collided with another. The Gate of the First, the Gate of Time and the Gate of Twilight."

"They mirrored my world then... Is there another me?" Link asked, unsure of what he'd do if he met himself. He didn't have much interest into the other gates, although the Gate of Time intrigued him a bit.

"No, beyond those gates there is no such thing as a bearer of Courage, Wisdom or Power. Those worlds were created without them, as those particular souls are unique to the original world we are in."

This made the Hero of light feel better, he wouldn't have to deal with another himself. Already knowing that the person Cia was trying to get back was also a hero named Link as well made it difficult for him to imagine it, but literally meeting himself? Now he'd probably be in total shock.

"The ordinary people, and thus the regular souls, were all reflected in those mirrored worlds."

The hero stayed quiet, intently listening to Cia's words.

This moment was now perfect for the witch to see how far she could push him around into disliking the Goddesses more. She'll have to be very careful to make sure he doesn't notice her true intentions, but it was a golden opportunity for her to test the hero's limits, moral wise.

She also wanted to have an impact on his sense of justice, she wanted to try to make him see the world in "gray" rather than in "black and white".

"All of the people you met and saw, and those you've never seen before, all of them except for Zelda and Ganondorf, they were duplicated into that fake world, and then were used like fodder once they died."

This made Link feel uneasy. "But those... Those are just copies right?" He asked, hoping to be right.

The witch frowned. "Do you think dull copies would be enough to make new souls? Souls come from beings that are alive, creating lifeless dolls would amount to nothing. The duplicates created by the Goddesses are so close to the original that there's no way to distinguish the two. The only difference between them is that they lived their lives without you, Zelda and Ganondorf."

"...Peaceful lives, then." Link concluded, thinking that if Ganondorf wasn't there, then his village and Hyrule wouldn't have had so many troubles.

"I'm unsure if living in a world where everyone is fated to disappear can be considered peaceful, Hero of Light."

He was harshly reminded that those duplicates had been created for the sole purpose of dying. "That's... Even while knowing that they were copies, this is disturbing." He said, his eyes looking downward, in doubt that the Goddesses would go that far.

Cia growled under her breath once she saw the hero's hesitation. "Yes, they would go that far. They already did and would do so over and over until they manage to get rid of Ganondorf completely so that they can start their absurd plan of covering everything with light, no matter the sacrifices!" She snapped, surprising the hero of light.

What a terrible lie!

The gates of souls had never been used to seal Ganondorf himself, but a part of his power and evil influence in an empty world and that power still was sealed until Cia opened the gates to absorb it. The part with the souls Cia had lied about was not completely false, although the Goddesses had indeed made duplicates of already existing persons, it's not like they had forced them to live again just so that they could die. The copies of the souls had been directly infused into the gates so that they wouldn't be born again and suffer living in a world where life never comes back.

"They go that far only to beat Ganondorf? To make somebody live and then die so that they can use them only for that reason?" Link gritted his teeth, finding it unbelievable. But he was talking with probably the person closest to understand the Goddesses, so what she said had to be true.

"All of this for their plan to create a world of light, rid of darkness. Ganondorf is the only one that stands in their way from achieving that goal." The witch said more calmly before continuing. "Ironical, don't you think? That the only thing stopping the Goddesses from burning the world with their pure light is the Demon King that wants to conquer it with darkness."

This made the hero freeze at the thought. Just what had he been fighting for? He's only been fighting the one that wished to rule the world, does that mean Link got it closer to destruction?

"This is why we are here, Hero of Light. Do you remember when we first talked? I spoke about light, darkness and chaos. We, who cannot side with either light or darkness, are chaos. We are here to stop this madness." She concluded.

"Just why would the Goddesses want to cover the world with light when they know that it'll bring a lot of deaths?" Link wondered.

"Because they think that doing that is the right thing to do. That it is true justice and that is how they will transform our imperfect world into an utopia." She answered, making him fall silent.

The witch and the hero finally reached the bottom of the pit, softly landing on the sand under them. The flame summoned by the witch moved forward and illuminated a very imposing door of stone.

Cia walked toward it and stopped, turning to look back at Link.

"I'll ask you one last time, Hero. Are you ready to go against the Goddesses?"

Link gave the witch a fervent nod.

"Will you follow me until the end?"

Once again, the hero nodded, showing that he would.

There was much more at stake than just seeing Midna again, or than helping Cia with getting her lover back.

He had been fated to fight against darkness once to bring light back into a dominant position.

Thanks to the sorceress, he had realized that the chains of fates that had previously guided him also had bound him to a life without the princess of twilight.

And now that he knew that the Goddesses had an objective to create a perfect world that would cost many lives, he knew what he had to do.

Fate was not pushing him into battle once more, this time it was his own decision, the decision he made as he was aware that he had enough power to change things for the better.

He will fight against both light and darkness if it meant that he would save many innocent lives, including the lives of the ones he loved.

"I am glad to have somebody as trustworthy as you are, Hero of Light." The witch said, an honest smile spreading on her face. "Let's move."

Cia put her staff on the large door. The tip glowed purple as it resonated with the stone door, opening it.

The witch moved forward and Link followed her.

_'Midna, Zelda, my friends, everyone... I'll protect you all.'_


	13. Misled

_Misled_

The witch and the hero had passed the giant stone door and now were standing in a large room in the shape of a dome, right under their feet was standing an oval surface made of glass where the reflection of the duo was shown.

"This is what we've been looking for." The sorceress said.

Link had expected the Gate of Twilight to have similar patterns to the usual twili items, like the mirror or the palace he had seen before, but the Gate was unusually plain looking.

"For the Goddesses, there was no point in decorating something they wanted to hide for all eternity." Cia said to answer the hero's thoughts, "They made it so that even if somebody somehow managed to get in front of one of the Gates, they wouldn't know what to do with it."

The sorceress approached the glass ground and knelt down, putting the palm of her hand on it, whispering something that sounded like a magic chant.

The hero of light stared curiously at the witch, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do right now.

A minute later, Cia stood up and turned back to the hero.

"I cannot travel myself to the other side of the gate but I can send somebody through it, this is why I needed you to accompany me. Outside the fact that I wanted you to come because it is related to the world of Twilight, you are also the most fit person to go through the Twilight Realm."

Link nodded, understanding her point. He had traveled a lot during his adventures and that also included walking in the strange parallel world, getting himself used to being forcibly transformed into a previously uncomfortable form as well.

"Whether you will turn into a wolf or not once you enter the twilight again is something that I do not know myself, however if you do transform, you might have a different form than the sacred beast thanks to Shadow Veil's influence."

"Will it affect my abilities?"

The witch put a finger under her chin, thinking for a second about the answer. "I doubt it will." Before Link had time to ask another question, the witch tapped the surface of the mirror with the tip of the staff, creating something similar to ripples. "When you're ready to go, simply jump and you'll fall into the other side."

"One last thing," The hero started "How do I activate the other side of the gate when I find it?"

"Touching it will be enough."

Link nodded and, without another word, jumped, making himself pass through the ground.

* * *

Once the hero arrived, it only took him mere seconds before he felt a familiar sensation pass through his body, one that he would have preferred to avoid entirely.

Link's body turned black as his form shifted into a more animal one, the form of the sacred beast. Although, not quite the form he was used to.

Because of the magic infused helmet's influence, his fur had turned completely dark, the markings on his forehead were also completely gone, the only remaining feature from before were his striking blue eyes.

Ignoring the unpleasant feeling the veil of shadow still gave him, the man turned beast focused on his eerily silent surroundings to find that he had been teleported not far from a large twili building, one he thought he recognized to be the Palace of Twilight, a place where him and Midna had once fought Zant... Yet it somehow looked different from the one from his memories.

Link started moving toward the entrance, quickly yet carefully out of habit. Upon arriving, he noticed that there was no light inside of the twill markings the walls sported.

In fact, there was nothing but inanimate objects everywhere he looked. No traps, no guards, no twilis, no shadow crystal fog, not a single sign of life or death. It was as if every living being had suddenly disappeared one day without leaving a trace.

And as easier as it would make his job to search for the mirror, he would rather have to fight off guards than experience being the last person in the realm.

The beast shook off the bad feeling to concentrate on his mission, he wanted to be done as quickly as possible.

Thus, without fear of being interrupted by anyone, the wolf rushed from room to room to find where the mirror could be.

* * *

"We have to move forward, quickly soldiers!"

This was the first thing Sheik heard upon arriving, followed by the sounds of steel clashing against bones and the battle cries of Hyrule's soldiers.

The ninja had teleported on high ground to be able to get a good look at the current situation her army was in, while at the same time giving herself time to heal her recent wounds.

The first thing she noticed was that her troops were moving fast and that Impa wasn't at the front, leading the troops, but that a man clad in green was.

_'Could it be... Did Impa find the hero from the legends?' _Sheik thought, relieved to know that they could count on the help of the goddesses and their chosen one.

Her relief quickly turned into confusion when she saw that her troops didn't look as organized as they should be when pushing forward. She understood when here eyes shifted to find the rearguard that the situation was not as bright as she thought it was.

Her troops weren't pushing forward.

Her soldiers were being chased by **thousands** of skeletons and hundreds of lizard men.

They were being forced to move forward as the rearguard, lead by Impa, was desperately fighting off the horde of monsters to make sure no soldier was left behind.

"This... This is bad." Sheik immediately stopped healing himself and immediately took out his damaged harp. "I have to help Impa out now."

The wounded ninja closed the distance as quickly as he could without being noticed and once he was close enough, he started playing a tune.

"Song of storms."

As impossible as it sounds, a dark cloud started to form above the monsters, growing bigger and bigger until overtaking almost half of all of the monsters attacking the rear guard, confusing both man and monster.

Sheik then leapt in front of Impa, who immediately considered him a new threat until she realized that Sheik wasn't facing her.

"Rain thunder upon my enemies!"

Lightning bolts came down like arrows on the battlefield, obliterating a part of the unsuspecting enemies.

Sheik immediately turned to Impa "It won't last long, let's move." He said, wasting no time on doing so himself.

Zelda's best friend wasn't one to trust people she didn't know or take orders from then but right now, her priority was to get her own soldiers to safety, she'll deal with this new person later.

"Everyone, forward! We need to catch up with the hero!"

* * *

The sacred beast had finally found was he was looking for.

Located behind the throne of the throne room was standing an unusually plain and big glass reflecting everything in front of it.

Now, all he had to do was touch the mirror to open the gate on both sides, giving what Cia wanted.

The dark wolf approached the mirror, wondering at the same time if life would come back once the souls had been released from their prison, and what they would become.

He slowly put a paw on the glass and let it stay here for a few seconds before ripples started to show on the surface, much like what had happened back when he was with the witch.

The light of the twili markings on the walls started to light up again, much to Link's pleasure.

**'_I can finally communicate with you Hero of Light, good work on opening the gate.' _**Cia's voice rung into his head, he was now sure that he had done the job properly. _**'Now all you need to do is to go through the Gate of Twilight to come ba-'**_

Suddenly, the doors of the room bursted and by instinct, the beast quickly hide behind the throne.

"ZAAAAANT!" A voice furiously shouted.

One he hadn't heard in such a long time, yet one that Link would never forget.

"My, even though you were the previous ruler of our people, you sure have no manners, Midna."

Another voice the Hero of Light knew very well, the one that started his quest to save Hyrule and the one that placed the curse upon his friend.

"You-! How dare you attempt to overthrow me! Break the curse this instant, you traitor!"

The sacred beast dared to take a look from behind the throne and there he saw it.

Zant, a smirk on his face, slowly walking toward the imp form of Midna.

_**'Hero of Light, I cannot see what you are seeing from the other side, why have you not returned yet?'**_

The voice in his head asked him, yet Link couldn't give an answer as his eyes were locked on what he was about to see.

"Traitor? I am no traitor, I am King Zant! I deserve this place, this world!"

Midna's hair turned into a closed fist out of anger. "You're just a power hungry madman!"

"Shut up, you pathetic imp! I'll show you, I'll show you all who the real ruler is! Those who won't kneel before me will be executed, just like you are about to be!" Zant said, his weapons coming out of his sleeves as he took a battle stance, ready to attack Midna.

Link stared in fear as he understood that Zant was about to fight Midna when most of her strength was locked behind the curse of being transformed into an imp.

His friend was about to lose her life and he could barely do a thing to help her because of his own cursed form.

_**'I see, I understand what is going on now, you have come in contact with the inhabitants of the mirrored side. I'm guessing you're near the Twilight Princess, otherwise, you would have left already.'**_ The witch spoke inside of the beast's head_** 'Be aware, Hero of Light, this is NOT your true friend, but a copy. This copy isn't even aware that you exist. The faster you come back, the faster you will be able to be with the real Midna.'**_

Oh but the hero was already aware of this. In front of him were not standing Midna and Zant.

Yet they still _are_ Midna and Zant.

One didn't waste any time to attack the other, as a giant orange fist attempted to hit Zant, who deflected the attack before rushing at the imp, slicing in an unpredictable manner, making dodging much harder for the princess.

The imp couldn't dodge the last attack, rushed to make a magical barrier around her. Alas, in vain, as the superior twili broke it with ease before materializing a large hand to smash Midna into a wall.

The mad king burst out laughing. "Look at yourself, Midna! With such a pitiful amount of strength, do you truly think you are fit to rule?!" Zant hide his blades back into his sleeves. "You're nothing more than a bug, and I shall give you a fitting ending." He said, before the twili started to grow in size, transforming into a giant very quickly.

"Damn you... Damn you!" The weakened princess exclaimed.

The giant twili raised his foot above her.

"Goodbye, previous ruler."

Adrenaline shot up into the sacred beast's system as he rushed out of his hiding place.

There was no way he was about to let her die.


	14. Rescued

_Rescued_

The witch was impatiently waiting on the other side of the Gate of Twilight, waiting for the hero she had sent to come back.

It wasn't very common of Cia to be impatient, though she did have a few reasons that put her in this state, with the first being the fact that even when though she held so much power, she couldn't go or see beyond the Gate, the only option available to her were to send telepathic messages to Link and hope that he would react, or somehow answer, which was impossible as you needed a certain level of magical control to be able to communicate through minds, something the hero of light didn't have.

Speaking of skilled mages, Ghirahim should be contacting her in a few moments to tell her how the opposing army is faring.

Supposedly, Cia would already be aware of what was going on if it wasn't for the fact that fate had taken a turn into an unknown path that even she couldn't visualize, and the sorceress was sure that it was Lana's doing, her counterpart of light. She hadn't found how she had managed to change fate in such a way, if she had gone to do a drastic change somewhere in Hyrule or if it had been something incredibly small.

She'd find out, eventually.

A voice the dark sorceress disliked very much echoed in her mind.

_**'Dearest Cia, it seems like what was supposed to happen did happen, just like you foretold. However...'**_

As expected, another element had changed. She was hoping that it was just her own Link being on the battlefield.

_**'...A man appeared out of nowhere and is now supporting the enemy troops. It seems to be a sheikah that uses powerful, although not very refined magics.' **_The demon speaking continued.

"The one the Hero of Light had to fight in Zelda's room." Cia murmured to herself.

_**'Aside from that, Hyrule's Army has been ambushed just like planned and is now advancing toward Wizzro who has the bigger monsters ready to attack.'**_

The witch didn't bother answering, too preoccupied with her own thoughts now. Wizzro would now have to face not only Impa and her soldiers, but the combined might of her own rising hero and this new sheikah threat. It was certain that the evil wizard wouldn't be able to stall for time for very long, meaning that she should already be on the way to open the last gate with Ghirahim.

Unfortunately, her strongest ally hadn't come back yet, which was quite the problem as she now seriously needed his power on the battlefield.

With the new sheikah threat and her own rising hero, she needed someone that would even the odds, just as it was supposed to be. The closer history was to what it was supposed to be, the easier it'll be for her to collect the triforce.

* * *

With his system pumped with adrenaline, the wolf rushed as fast as he could toward the fallen imp's location.

Zant's gigantic foot was descending faster than Link had expected, the madman's grin becoming wider with each passing moment.

So with a final push, the wolf pushed harder than before, managing to grab Midna's ponytail with his mouth and pull her away from the danger zone, a millisecond before Zant's foot landed, raising a lot of dust around it.

Link used his sharpened senses to navigate through the dust and look for a place to hide but unfortunately, there was no such thing. It meant that Zant would realize soon enough that he hadn't killed Midna, and that the wolf was here.

Speaking of the twilight princess, she hadn't quite realized what had happened as she had closed her eyes, expecting to get crushed.

"W-what in the..."

The imp didn't even have time to finish that Link forcefully moved her on his back. It took her a second to realize that she was alive thanks to what she was currently mounting.

"You... look like a creature from the light realm but... Impossible, you couldn't be a demon, then why would you help-"

A scream of rage interrupted the princess' monologue, Zant had turned in the direction of the duo and was fuming.

"Why aren't you dead?! **Why, why, why**?!" He shouted, stomping his foot multiple times on the ground, making the castle shake.

The mad king raised his fist and attempted to smash Midna and Link, but the wolf skillfully avoided the attack, making Zant's arm go through the ground. It looked like he had a hard time pulling it out.

The twilight princess immediately leaned herself toward her mount's ears. "Listen dark... wolf thing, whatever you are, think you can get me close enough to his face so that I can punch him back?"

Link didn't even bother to nod, he immediately climbed on top of the buried arm and rushed to the shoulder part.

"Nice job pup, now it's payback time!" The imp reeled her magical hair fist back before throwing it full force at the mad king that wasn't paying attention to the tingling sensation traveling on his arm.

Shouting in pain, Zant finally pulled his arm free and staggered back from the shock, while Link jumped down from the giant's shoulder.

"Youuuuu...!"

"What's the matter, oh mighty Twilight King, it couldn't be that you're afraid of a small bug like me?" Midna provoked with a grin.

Screaming in anger, Zant's form grew even more. "I'm going to kill you!"

"You told me this twice already and look, I'm still alive and well."

"**RAAAARGH!**"

Link wished he could make Midna stop taunting their enemy, although it could be against certain opponents, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea against a powerful magician like Zant.

...Though to be honest, it looked more like a giant child throwing a tantrum in the hero's eyes than a powerful magician right now.

"Alright wolfy, the moment he raises one of his feet, I want you to run in a straight line toward Zant, I'll do the rest."

Link nodded in answer.

Zant started attacking again, smashing the ground with his fists multiple time, Link dodged them every time, making the mad king even madder than before.

"Die already!"

Once again, he started to raise his giant foot, finally presenting Link his opportunity, he ran full speed forward, wondering what Midna had in mind.

Just as the foot started to descend, the imp launched her magical hair at the mad king's ankle and successfully grabbed it.

"Wh- What are you-?!"

Gripping Zant's ankle tightly, the imp pulled with all of her strength the moment Link was behind Zant, making the fake king fall forward, on his belly.

Now was the perfect opportunity for Midna to deal the finishing blow, with Zant being enraged and the surprise the fall should have given, he was bound to be defenseless.

She retracted her hair from Zant's ankle, although not completely as her magical hair now was above the mad king's lying back, deployed like a claw. Mustering what little magic she had after being cursed, indulging her hair with what looked like dark electricity.

And without warning, the claw plunged straight through Zant's back, through his heart.

The mad king's final, bloodcurdling scream resonated through the entire Twilight Palace.

This was neither a proud death nor a proud victory, but that didn't matter to the twilight princess, she knew full well that she had no chances of winning by fighting in this cursed form, and the curse wouldn't go away without Zant's death.

Without an army, without anyone to side with her, and without any hope, Midna had decided to go fight him directly.

She wouldn't run away, she had to bear her responsibility as the ruler of her people, she would fight, knowing that there was an extremely slim chance of her winning if he let his guard down.

Unfortunately, the moment she had seen him on her throne, her emotions had gotten the best of her.

If it wasn't for the dark wolf, she would've died very quickly.

She unmounted the wolf.

Zant's body started to dissipate and at the same time, Midna's body was covered in light.

The curse was broken, the princess was safe.

Link had fulfilled his duty here and headed toward the mirror.

"Wait." Midna called out with a voice more mature than before. "What... No, who are you? Why did you save me?"

The wolf turned around slightly, enough for him to face the true form of the twilight princess.

Midna's eyes locked with his, and for a second there, she had the impression that it wasn't a wolf in front of her, but a young man giving her a smile.

The wolf turned back and jumped in the mirror, disappearing from her sights, leaving the princess confused.

For sure though, she wouldn't forget the help from the black wolf with blue eyes.

"Thank you."

* * *

The wolf came out from the mirror, surprising Cia.

"So you did transform into the sacred beast, although it is not quite the same appearance." The witch commented, "We don't have much time, so I'm not going to ask why it took you so long."

Cia waited for Link to transform back into himself before creating a dark portal under themselves.

"For the next mission, you will be working with Wizzro, you'll have to stall the opposing army's advance until I tell you to retreat with Wizzro. Volga will be preparing his troops for the next battlefield, while me and Ghirahim will take care of the last gate." She briefly explained.

The hero of light nodded.

"Well then." The witch said, activating her portal and teleporting both of them into what seemed to be a large forest. They appeared on a very big branch, right next to a large amount of bublins. Link took out his bow and almost drew a magical arrow by reaction but stopped himself, remembering that he was siding with them. "Follow this path and you will meet up with Wizzro quickly, he'll tell you more about this soon-to-be battlefield."

After saying this, Cia immediately disappeared into another portal, leaving Link alone.

The hero of light headed where Wizzro was, unsure of what awaited him in this next battle.

He just hoped he wouldn't have to hurt too many people.


	15. Planned

**Planned  
**

"It's finally over..."

A few knights breathed heavily in relief, they had managed to destroy the entirety of the monsters that had been blocking their way, even managing to kill a great amount of the ones that had been following them thanks to Sheik's magical spells, reducing their numbers enough to the point where they now could afford to relax.

The soldiers were tired, dirty and sweaty, the heat from the cave being difficult to bear while wearing their armors, and the fight having used up nearly all of their stamina.

And while the regular soldiers and knights had taken care of the regular monsters and lizardmen, Link and Impa had to fight off two giant dodongos by themselves. The battle had been rough, and they had lost quite a few men, but now the exit was right in front of them, and it would soon lead them to Faron Woods.

After making sure that the coast was clear and that they wouldn't be interrupted anymore, Impa called out to her troops. "Ten minutes break, soldiers! Then, we move out and into the woods." She said, before turning to Link, who looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat. "Take the least tired knights and stand guard until everyone has rested." She ordered him. "You did an excellent job, hero." Impa praised him with a smile.

Link nodded with a big grin, happy to have been praised by his superior, before immediately running to gather a few knights to help him out.

Having someone as strong on her side certainly gave a feeling of relief to the general. Hadn't the hero been there, she probably wouldn't have been able to get to the end of the cave with as little casualties. And now she could also deal with a certain someone...

Sheik was sitting away from Hyrule's army, his back resting on a wall and his eyes closed, his hand over his belly healing his previous wound without anyone noticing.

When the sound of footsteps he recognized reached his ears, he instantly dismissed the healing magic and opened his eyes. The general was looming over him, looking at him straight in the eyes, her arms crossed.

Sheik patiently waited for Impa to break the silence.

"...I would like to thank you for assisting us in this fight. Hadn't you been there, we would've had many more losses."

"I only did the right thing. I'm aware you didn't come just to thank me, though." Sheik bluntly answered, aware that gaining Impa's trust was going to be very difficult.

"State your identity."

"I am Sheik, and I have come to help."

The general didn't look pleased with this answer. "That is all you can tell me?"

The sheikah nodded. "I've also come to deliver important informations about the demons."

"And how am I supposed to trust your "information" when you won't tell me who you are? For all I know, you could be a spy."

"I'm well aware that you do not trust me. However, will you at least hear me out? Keeping what I will tell you in mind will definitely be beneficial."

It seemed as if Impa hadn't reacted to the ninja's words, but in reality she was deep in thought about this situation. Although Sheik clearly had helped them, there was no denying that he could just be someone working with the enemy.

But right now they were lacking in informations and saving Zelda was Impa's priority.

"Fine, I'll take the bait." Impa said, sounding like it might be false data that would just lead to a trap. "Speak."

Sheik nodded. "I've come to tell you about a new kind of demon I've never seen before."

* * *

Even though Wizzro looked like he was carefully reviewing today's strategy, his mind was elsewhere. He still couldn't believe that Cia would bring a hero from another time and somehow manage to make him work for her.

He was curious, how did she manage to rally a hero to her dark cause? Had she gotten a hold of his weakness? Or perhaps she had brainwashed him? Wizzro doubted heroes were weak to spells that affected directly the mind.

Knowing how powerful and cunning the dark witch was, both possibilities were likely.

In any cases, that could only mean troubles to Wizzro's own plan. The monster had big plans for himself, which included betraying Cia at the right moment, stealing the source of her power and becoming the strongest monster ever.

"Simple yet effective, keh heh heh." The wizard muttered.

To anyone else, it would sound like the monster was too simplistic, and almost dumb. But in reality, Wizzro was well aware of the growing darkness inside of the dark witch, she was bound to get drunk on power sooner or later and make a mistake.

That's how it was supposed to go, except it wouldn't. Because of a single element nobody could have predicted: the appearance of a being pure of heart next to her.

"His appearence was so unexpected, I need to figure out how to deal with him..." The wizard muttered to himself, unaware that said problem had arrived in silence and was waiting behind him.

"For now I should just continue..." Wizzro started before turning around and noticing the hero of light standing there. The monster managed to hide his surprise and shock, somehow. "You've arrived early."

Link didn't bother answering and just nodded.

"Uh... Alright then. I'll just tell you where you need to be." The wizard was feeling a bit uncomfortable, unsure if Link suspected anything. "This," He pointed at a spot on the right of the map he was holding "is where we are. North east of here is the shrine of the Great Fairy. The keep in the middle is of the map is the most important one. Hyrule's army will come from the west soon."

Link grew tense when he heard the words 'Hyrule's army'. He still couldn't believe he would participate in an all out war while being on the side of monsters and demons. Having to fight against soldiers he should've fought with was...

_'No, now is not the time to lose my will.'_

Wizzro continued, unaware of the hero's thoughts. "You were supposed to guard the shrine but there was a last minute change by our mistress, so you'll be guarding the keep at the very south. It's more than likely that the opposing army will divide its forces to cover a lot of ground, they'll mobilize the majority of their soldiers to the north and middle. It's expected that they'll dispatch a smaller force south to catch us by surprise." He snapped his finger, making four shadows appear around Link, who remained seemingly unfazed. "You'll be stationed in the keep directly south of the map, on its western entrance and all you have to do is to make sure none of them pass through that keep. You'll also be accompanied by four Darknuts."

The hero scowled, unhappy with the idea of having monsters follow him. "I don't need them."

Wizzro shrugged, obviously not caring about Link's opinion. "Those are mistress' orders, if I had the choice I'd use them on the frontlines. Now go."

From the four circles around Link appeared the darknuts. Three of them were as large as the hero remembered, back when he had to fight them himself. The fourth one was only as tall as Link.

The three big Darknuts had already started moving south while the smaller one was observing the hero. Link ignored the stare the monster was giving it and followed the other darknuts to where he would have to fight.

Even though from the outside the hero looked calm, he felt anxious. How was he going to deal with an army and avoid casualties?

* * *

On their way to Faron Woods, General Impa couldn't help but think about what Sheik had told her about, a new kind of demon, one that had the appearence and intellect of a man, one that was more skillful than a sheikah.

Sheik has told the General that he didn't know whether there were more than one of that kind of demon, and that if there were more than one, it was possible that a few had infiltrated Hyrule prior to the start of the war.

_'This person, almost telling me to be wary of my own men... Nonsense. If anything, I'm more wary of you, unknown sheikah!' _Impa thought, glancing at the sheikah she had decided to bring with her, so she could be sure to keep an eye on her.

The moment Impa and her troops reached Faron Woods, they found a camp set up right at the entrance. Impa's army was allowed passage and discovered that the people living there were a militia formed because of the fast growing number of demons, and was led by a surprisingly young woman named Lana.

A charismatic and talented lady, to say the least. Lana had quickly explained the situation to Impa, about how demons had recently started to attack her village. Impa agreed to help her as she was sure those were the same demons that had kidnapped the princess.

They agreed on the plan of attack, separating the combined army of Hyrule and the militia in two: the largest body would move directly toward the enemy while the other part would flank them. This would result in a highly effective pincer movement.

Little did they know that the dark witch had already predicted how they would attack, and was very much ready for them.


	16. The General's Pride: Part I

**The General's Pride: Part I  
**

Impa had finished organizing her troops to move into Faron's Woods and confront the demonic army. She had divided her army in two: The largest part will head straight forward and split in two to cover the upper and middle zones of the area, while the smallest part would go directly south and flank the enemy. Reports from the militia's scouts said that the number of demons was very low in the south keep, it was definitely an opportunity Hyrule's army should seize.

_'This could also be a trap.' _Impa had thought.

Trap or not, the General wished as few casualties on her side as she could manage, and ending a battle as fast as she could was one of the best solution.

_'Even if it is a trap, I'll destroy it.'_

The largest group of soldiers was led by Lana and Link.

The smallest group, of only a mere 100 men, would be led by Impa, who was accompanied by Sheik.

* * *

Link, the Hero of Light, was waiting.

After he had followed the large Darknuts to the south keep, two of them went to place themselves at the north entrance, and one of them was placed in the middle of the keep. Link himself was at the west entrance of the keep, alongside the smaller darknut who hadn't stopped following him.

The Hero of Light didn't care about the small darknut, he was busy thinking of how he was about to fight the incoming army.

It didn't bother him that he was alone, and it didn't bother him either that he only had his magic bow.

Fighting a strong being of light was one thing, and even though Zelda certainly wasn't trained in combat, she had the blessing of wisdom with her.

On the other hand, fighting regular foot soldiers was something entirely different. Link already knew that they were no match for him, and that if he wanted he could kill them very easily.

But he didn't want to kill anyone. Yet they wouldn't hesitate to pierce his heart, since he is currently wearing the mask of a demon. He couldn't lose his life, but he couldn't bring himself to murder an innocent.

Aiming to constantly knock out people that are trying to kill you was an awful lot of work.

Link wasn't naive, this kind of behavior would end up hurting him more than anything.

Nonetheless, he wouldn't give up.

There's no way he could face anyone, especially Midna, if his hands were stained with innocent blood.

His train of thoughts were interrupted when the smallest Darknut walked next to him, not emitting a sound. Link gave it a curious glance, wondering what it was doing.

The Darknut took out his oversized broadsword and suddenly plunged it deep into the ground right next to the hero. The small Darknut then just proceeded to walk back to the inside of the keep, leaving the broadsword stuck in the ground right next to the hero.

Link was fairly confused. What was the point of that? Shouldn't it keep its sword on itself?

The hero then remembered the words of Wizzro that had told Link that it was an order from Cia to have darknuts accompany him.

_'Considering she can see past and future, could she have planned something with that broadsword?' _He wondered, until he realized that there was no point thinking about this too much.

Soon, the sound of warcries echoed in the forest.

The battle had begun, and it wouldn't be too long until Link had to fight.

The hero firmly held his magical bow and waited for the enemy to come.

* * *

Impa's troops, along with Sheik, were moving to the south keep. Sheik was fine with following Impa, after all, the general was Zelda's best friend and so she knew her better than anyone else. To gain her trust as Sheik, she'd need to prove herself through her actions as a valuable and trustworthy force.

Zelda thought that Impa's plan was good. Even if it was a trap, both of them would surely be able to overpower whatever monster was thrown at them.

The report from the scouts had mentioned five darknuts holding the keep, 4 of them were regular and the fifth one had a golden armor.

That information troubled Sheik. He remembered the demon he had fought before, who was also wearing golden armor, and he was sure that it was no Darknut. The ninja truly hoped that the one the scouts had seen was a darknut with a different armor.

A foe with high intellect like the demon he had fought would prove much more troublesome than a simple minded and slightly stronger Darknut.

Soon enough, the targeted keep was in view.

60 meters in front of Impa's troop stood a single demon clad in golden armor, with a longbow in hands.

"..It's him." Sheik murmured to Impa, who did not answer as she kept her eyes on her opponent.

The general had understood though, it was the demon Sheik had spoken about.

* * *

The enemy had finally arrived, with a rough estimate Link counted about a hundred soldiers, and few seemed to stand out. The woman on the front seemed to be the one leading the other soldiers, next to her was the person he had fought before, behind them were 10 soldiers that seemed to have a high rank since they had better looking armors than the soldiers behind. They also had incredibly big shields.

By experience, the hero already knew that the ninja was a troublesome opponent, and although Link was glad that he wasn't dead, he would've preferred him to still be healing.

The woman leading seemed to be strong too, Link could see the weapon she had and it looked enormous, yet she was carrying that on her back without breaking a sweat.

_'The best way to deal with this would be to immediately take out the head, it might become too dangerous if I focus her only, especially with the man on her side...' _The hero thought, thinking of a plan.

_'Then there's only one thing I can do.' _

Link drew the string of his bow back, putting every of his enemy on guard. The soldiers put their shields up, the woman had her hand on her weapon's handle, and Sheik, with a small flinch of pain the hero noticed, took out his harp.

_'As expected, that man has not recovered yet. Good. That should make things easier.'_

Link twisted the string to get a blunt arrow of air and immediately released it at Impa, who took out her weapon to use it as a shield. Before that arrow even reached her, Link immediately drew his bow again and released another arrow, this time aimed at Sheik, who was ready to deflect it with his knives.

He wasn't done though, as with incredible speed and dexterity, he released three more arrows, this time his targets were the high ranked soldiers. Said soldiers had their shield blocking the view from their body and the only thing visible was their eyes peeking above it.

They hadn't expected Link to aim exactly at their foreheads, knocking the 3 of them out as the powerful bolts of wind made contact with their helmets, denting them.

Three down, seven to go, the hero needed to hurry up as the two opponents he was the most worried about had just recovered from blocking and parrying the arrows. He needed to keep them busy.

Once again, he drew the string and shot two more arrows at incredible speed, fast enough that neither Sheik or Impa would have the option to dodge them.

Link accelerated, aiming at three more high ranked soldiers, he knocked them out as well with the same tactic.

Only four were left.

_'Once those four are down, it should be enough... I hope this isn't gonna cause strong concussions or bones too broken.' _Was what Link was currently thinking.

Impa started to become impatient and gritted her teeth as she ordered her soldiers to close the distance while keeping their shields high to cover their head.

It would hinder their line of sight but it would be fine as where they were fighting was a giant branch of the monstrous trees growing in this specific forest. It was a straight road, and she would make sure to pay attention to the surroundings in case there was an ambush awaiting for them.

What she hadn't expected was that the demon they were facing aimed at the now uncovered legs of her subordinates, and took them down one by one.

The general couldn't believe her eyes, this kind of marksmanship was incredible, the distance between them was still over 40 meters and yet bolts of wind were perfectly hitting precise targets and throwing her soldiers off balance.

_'This... Only a sheikah could do this... No, even a sheikah wouldn't be able to do that so many times at such speed.'_

A new kind of demon, one that had the appearence and intellect of a man, one that was more skillful than a sheikah.

Impa remembered Sheik's words.

By the time they were only 20 meters away, all of the high ranked soldiers were down, and Impa had been unable to do anything to protect them as the demon had never forgotten to shoot arrows at her to force her to defend herself.

More importantly, the lower ranked soldiers were panicking. She had to do something.

Now that she was sure that there was no ambush planned as she hadn't felt any other presence than that single demon, she stopped her men.

Surprisingly, the demon had stopped shooting, though he kept the bow drawn, just in case.

"Halt! Ten soldiers from the back, help out the knights that cannot move anymore. The rest of you, keep your shield up and stay there." Her priority was to keep her men alive.

"I was told you could communicate, demon." Impa continued, thinking about the informations Sheik had given her. "Your strategy to take out my most important soldiers first while keeping me busy at the same time... You are indeed smart and skillful." Her eyes narrowed.

"Why have you spared every single of my men?"

The general had realized this when she didn't see an ounce of blood come out from her soldiers after they were hit by the magical arrows.

_'...Why do these people keep noticing that I avoid killing them? Am I seriously that obvious?' _Link was not quite sure how he should answer that. If he didn't want to be discovered, he needed to keep acting as a bad guy.

But what could he say? Orders from higher up? _'No, that'd only bring more questions, plus the other demons are not as merciful as I am, so it wouldn't make sense.'_

Just keep silent? _'That didn't go well last time with Zelda...'_

What did vile demons do at these kind of times? How did they act?

_'They... boast about how it's not worth to kill inferior beings, don't they? Would that work? No choice but to try.' _

The hero thought about what words he should use before lowering his bow. He tried to make his expression impassive yet menacing at the same time.

"I have no reason to waste my strength on the weak."

Link very bluntly announced.

"Turn back and leave. If you do I will let you live."

The soldiers gritted their teeth, feeling humiliated, yet knowing that they stood no chance against that single being. To think that he wasn't even going all out and yet had already incapacitated the strongest knights.

What a fearsome demon, indeed.

Impa's expression looked calm as ever, though on the inside she was furious.

"I'll admit it, demon, you are strong. Far stronger than even my best knights. But," The general took her enormous blade with both of her hands while getting in a fighting stance "They've done their very best to arrive where they are today, and now they form the army that Hyrule is proud of."

She narrowed her eyes as she stared threateningly at the demon in front of her.

"**I will not let you insult my comrades any further.**"


	17. The General's Pride: Part II

**The General's Pride: Part II**

Link had done it now, by acting like an evil character, he had angered a strong looking opponent.

The hero honestly felt bad, looking down on people was something he never did, and he himself would be angry if someone looked down on him or his friends.

After all, those knights and soldiers must be training daily and were willingly risking their lives to fight off demons, that was something he respected immensely.

He out of all people would know how important hard work and efforts were, considering the amount of times he had to surpass his own limits to stay alive.

Still, the Hero of Light had a role to play, and he would play it until the end. He needed to look as high and mighty as he could.

Link stared at the woman in front of him that had readied her weapon. An immense sword, and by the looks of it the wielder seemed skilled with it.

There's no way he'd win if he used his bow, he'd get overpowered really quickly considering there wasn't much distance anymore between them.

And so, to Impa's surprise, Link nonchalantly threw his bow behind him, inside of the keep, as if he was getting rid of an useless piece of wood.

Continuing with the act, he cracked his knuckles and his neck as if he was warming up.

There was no change in Impa's expression, though he saw the soldiers behind her get irritated that he was looking so casual when he was about to fight their amazing general. Sheik was confused, the demon certainly hadn't acted like that against him, it was way too strange.

Impa herself wasn't sure what the demon was planning. He was currently full of openings, however she was certain that this was done on purpose to get her to attack first, and so, she prefered to wait.

There were multiple reasons as to why Link was doing this.

First, it was to continue to play the role of an evil character. Refusing to kill was too odd for a demon, thus he had to make sure that they thought he was indeed a demon through his behavior. It would be much easier if there weren't any suspicions about him being something else.

Last time, Zelda had almost managed to make him spill out informations, thankfully he had remembered why he was doing this in the first place, with Midna's face flashing in his thoughts.

The second reason was to judge the woman's behavior. She actually would've been correct to attack him right away, even if he would've dodged. Her not attempting anything meant that the hero had successfully installed either "respect" or "fear" in her heart, thanks to his first impression being overwhelmingly strong.

Finally, it was to take the time to think on how he was gonna deal with the situation. Link might be smart and have a lot of experience fighting, he still needed to plan his battles as far as he could. Strategies have always brought him victory.

_'The biggest problem is her weapon. From what I can see it looks like top notch craftsmanship, I doubt my armor will be able to take many hits from that, and I don't think anything else than the Master Sword would survive clashing with this, unless I had something as big as-'_

His thoughts were interrupted when he remembered the small darknut's strange previous actions. Link glanced at the broadsword the Darknut had previously stuck in the ground next to him.

_'...Oh.'_

He was certain that Cia had completely predicted this moment and made the darknut act like that to let the hero fight Impa on equal footing.

_'My only option is to use the weapon of a monster.' _He disliked the thought, but he had no choice.

The hero grabbed the broadsword's handle with both of his hands before pulling it out of the ground. The Darknut Sword was a bit smaller than Impa's Giant Blade, nonetheless it was still huge compared to regular weapons. It was rather heavy, so if he wanted to use it effectively, he'd have to use it like a two handed sword. Would the situation require him to, he was confident that he'd have the necessary strength to use it one handed.

"You could've attacked anytime you wanted." Link started, catching everyone's attention. "Are you afraid?"

The general didn't seem to be affected by provocation. "No, I'm only careful."

"...You're right to be." The hero pointed his blade toward Impa. "Come."

An invitation for Impa to make the first move, the general understood as much. The demon in front of her was so confident in his strength that he _allowed_ her to go first.

For Link, those words were merely part of a play. The real reason was that it would be much easier for him to judge his opponent if she were to attack first. It would give him a good idea on how serious he'll have to be.

_'She's definitely going to make a strong impression to rival mine, that would be the most effective way to get her troops' morale back up.'_

Impa said nothing and switched stance, she lowered her sword and put it at the height of her waist, edge of the blade toward the ground. She bent her knees a little to lower her center of gravity.

Link wasn't sure what she was going to do, there was still enough distance between both of them where the only two options would be to either approach carefully or dash in.

_'With such a heavy weapon there's no way she can close the distance at a speed I wouldn't be able to react to. What is she planning?'_

The hero's eyes were stuck on the general, unblinking.

In a moment, the general had been replaced by dust being lifted into the air.

_'She disappeared?!'_

With his animal instincts, Link swiftly picked up on the brutal change in the air coming from his left, permeating his being with dread. He immediately shifted towards it, switching his stance as he gripped the broadsword's handle and raised the blade in front of himself, angling it downwards. With the sword as his shield, he planted his right hand firmly on the flat of the blade, ready to take on the incoming blow.

With the speed and strength of a cannonball, Impa's blade clashed with the hero's.

Link snarled, his opponent's power was no joke considering he had been pushed back a few centimeters.

But neither was his own arm strength to be underestimated. The man had wrestled with Gorons with only the help of iron boots to make himself heavier. By the end of his adventure, he had gained even more muscle mass and became heavier.

Maybe not enough to make a difference against gorons, but enough to make a difference **now**.

The general withdrew her blade before immediately attacking again, on the hero's right side. Link managed to shield against it in the same manner as before, except this time he pushed with more brute force in an attempt to destabilize Impa and land a counter.

The woman was shoved away successfully, yet didn't even leave time for Link to attack as she did something he would have never predicted.

She **leapt**, while still carrying that giant, heavy sword of hers, the blade looking toward the sky, before Impa swung it downward, straight at the hero's helmet.

The hero reacted as fast as he could and quickly put his weapon in a protective manner above his head, in an attempt to block the overhead attack with the flat side of his sword.

The blades clashed. Link gritted his teeth, enduring the full weight of the blow.

Impa landed on the ground, about to attack again as she had expected her ennemy to have been stunned by her strike. To her surprise, he had already recovered and this time, he was already on the offensive.

The general took a defensive stance just as Link unleashed a ferocious horizontal slash. With lots of difficulties, Impa had managed defend herself, though she had been pushed away farther than he had been. She understood that the demon's physical power was about the same as her own.

With the newly created distance between the two warriors, the hero of light used the breathing room to think about the situation he was in.

An opponent with great strength, speed and wits.

The small army behind her that might attack by surprise at any moment.

The very narrow terrain.

His type of weapon he wasn't quite used to wield.

Overall, this was a very bad situation to be in.

_'...If I don't go all out in this battle... I'll get killed.'_

* * *

**Hello, Author here, I'm looking for someone that has read this story and that also knows how to draw as I want to commission a cover image for Between Dusk and Dawn on this website.  
Anyone interested please do contact me through private message (or you can also put it in the review if you're writing one I guess) with a link showing me your previous drawings. Thank you.  
**

**And to answer the confused Guest review: There are 2 different Links in this story: the one in Hyrule Warrior (with the scarf), and the one from Twilight Princess. The helmet has no voice changing properties.  
**


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