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"Another damn fire! Get the buckets," a guard yelled over to his colleagues.

There were so many people, coughing with distressed looks on their faces. With all the chaos, it was easy for Link and Midna to make their way back into Castle Town undetected. Link walked past them with Midna hiding away in his shadow. He figured the last thing these people needed was to think they were being invaded by demons. It appeared all the guards were busy trying to deal with fires springing up within houses and shops alike. It was clear that Ganondorf did this, but he did not know why.

Midna flew out of his shadow in full view of everyone else. "There's a lot of guards here, good thing they're too busy dealing with the fire to notice me."

Link looked back to her, noticing more than a few people casting gazes their way. "That doesn't mean it's safe for you to come out," he replied before thinking back on Midna's words. She was right, there was a lot of guards here, too many. "Maybe we should go check on the palace."

"They better not surrender to Ganondorf as fast as they did last time." Midna knew that the guards around here weren't exactly the bravest, or the strongest, or even the smartest. She just hoped that the palace had upped its security since the last time it got attacked. She figured even if Ganondorf wasn't preparing to overthrow Zelda just yet, they could at least warn her of what was coming.

"Even if Ganondorf has taken over already, we can handle it. We beat him last time, and we can do it again."

"You're right there! Come on, let's get to the princess before he does!" Midna exclaimed as she flew alongside Link.

Together, they made their way down the streets, hurrying towards the castle. They ran past the fountain in the central square and kept on going until they stood in front of a sloped path they had to walk up. At the end of the path, there were was a heavy looking set of double doors that led into Zelda's gardens. No ordinary citizens were allowed past those doors, and they were usually kept closed at all times to keep the odd traveller or trespasser out. The double doors were now open, not a good sign.

"He's probably in front of Zelda right now, trying to get her to surrender!" Midna exclaimed.

"Let's hope that he's following the same plan he had last time," Link replied. Then, there was a familiar voice speaking to him from behind.

"He's not." It was the blond haired man who attacked them at Link's old home. Seeing as Link had destroyed his mask, he no longer wore one. Both Link and Midna both spun around to face their foe, but he raised his hands as if to show he wasn't about to fight.

"You again," Link spat with hatred in his voice as he raised his bow, ready to put an arrow in this man's eye if he tried anything. He noticed a few scrapes on the man's otherwise perfect skin from the fight they had gotten into.

"Save your arrows," the man said as he lowered his hands and reached behind himself to pull out a wooden mask of a brown owl. He put it on, adjusting it a little. "How do you like my new look?"

"It's...shit," Link bluntly replied.

The blond haired man sighed. "Do you know how hard it is to find a good mask for a reasonable price around here?"

Midna shook her head, not believing they were actually having this conversation. That man had tried to kill them both, and almost succeeded. She couldn't hide her anger. "You tried to kill us! I should make you choke on your own tiny prick!"

"Whoa, save all that anger for someone else! More specifically, save it for him. That guy is a lot deadlier than I am." He pointed towards the double doors, and towards a man fully clad in full plate armor.

Link looked over his shoulder, shocked to see the man in some very serious looking armor. The style of the armor was very similar to that of the darknuts he had faced in the past. That wasn't the part that caught him by surprise however, it was the fact that he was holding the master sword. "So that's where it went to." Without a second thought, he let loose an arrow right towards the knight. The armored man raised his blade, blocking the arrow with the flat side of the sword.

"Now, it's not very sporting to bring a bow to a sword fight, Link. I'll leave you two to get reacquainted." The blond haired man turned around and walked away while both Link and Midna's attention were both on the much bigger threat.

"Reacquainted? Do you think this is someone we know?" Midna asked Link.

Link watched the knight approach them, clutching the sword tightly in his hand. "I don't know, but I don't think he cares." He immediately reached for another arrow, and let it fly towards the man once again. The knight aggressively knocked the arrow out of the air before then charging right towards Link.

Midna watched him draw another arrow, only to let it loose when the knight was dangerously close. It was an arrow the knight couldn't block in time, and it found itself lodged right in the warrior's eye socket. However, there wasn't a hint of blood, or even a single yelp from the armored man. It did stagger him a little, but he still managed to make a stab for Link's gut. Skilfully, Link lept back into a roll. While the knight was distracted, she used her hair to make a fist, throwing a punch towards the side of the knight's helmet. The knight noticed what she was up to, and swung his sword in the path of her fist. The blade connected with her hair, cutting right through it. "Shit!"

Link wanted to tell Midna to stay out of this fight before she gets hurt, but he knew that she wasn't about to let him fight alone. He took aim again, and let the arrow fly right into the knight's breastplate. Although the arrow managed to penetrate the armor and leave a big dent in it, the knight didn't seem bothered by it. The knight simply turned his attention to Link, and pointed the sword at him as if warning him. There was something familiar about the way he did that. The knight sprinted right towards Link with surprising speed, catching him a little off guard as the heavily armored assailant made a quick slash with his blade. Narrowly, Link avoided it, but the blade struck and broke the bow in his hand. He couldn't fight this knight like this, so he ran, running straight towards the fountain in the town square. He could hear the man following him every step of the way, his armor clinking away.

Midna flew into the town square too, but she didn't follow Link. Instead, she picked up a flower pot, and tossed it through the window of a nearby shop. Link needed a sword, and he needed it now. She flew inside the shop, and thankfully, it looked like no one was in to stop her. She immediately spotted a bastard sword, which she grabbed with her small hands. It was wasn't as heavy as it looked, allowing her to quickly fly out of the shop with it.

Link jumped up onto the edge of the nearby fountain. The knight made a swipe for his leg, but Link immediately raised his foot, and brought it down onto the knight's blade, stopping him from taking another swipe.

"Link!" Midna yelled as she threw the sword over to him.

With little effort, Link caught the sword by the blade with both hands. He used the sword as a hammer, swinging it down onto the warrior's helmet. The crossguard of the sword left a big dent on the helmet and seemed to seriously affect the knight. He let go of the master sword as he stumbled back, and took off his helmet. The arrow that was stuck in his eye socket snapped as he took off the helmet to reveal his skeletal face. There wasn't so much as a shred of flesh left on his bones, so it wasn't immediately clear who he was supposed to be. Right now though, Link didn't care. He picked up the master sword in one hand, and kept the bastard sword in the other.

Seeing him standing there, triumphant once again brought back some great memories for Midna. "Hee hee, looks like all those years of experience are coming back to you, huh?" She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little turned on.

"Certainly feels like it!" Link hopped off the side of the fountain, and walked towards the skeletal warrior.

Despite being disarmed, the warrior wasn't backing down. It seemed like it was incapable of feeling fear, or pain.

"Need any help with this one?" Midna asked.

"You've already helped enough, I can take it from here." He waited for the undead fighter get a little closer before unleashing a devastating blow. He made a horizontal swipe with both swords, but the knight ducked underneath both of them. The undead fighter slammed his fist into the side of Link's knee. The force combined with the pain of the punch brought Link down to his knee. He was determined to end this fight, so he tried to slam the pommel of the master sword into the side of his opponent's head. The knight raised his armored forearm, blocking Link's blow and following it up with a vicious headbutt. Link's head whipped back soon after feeling the warrior's skull clashing with his own. It opened up a wound in his hairline that refused to stop bleeding.

Midna couldn't watch this, she had to jump in. She used her hair like a thick whip, smashing it right into the warrior's face. Her attack knocked the knight onto his back, and loosened his teeth and jaw. "This one isn't staying down!"

Link got back up to his feet, and tossed the bastard sword aside, instead opting to use the master sword alone. "Everything has a weakness! We just need to figure out his!" Link wiped away the blood that dribbled down his face.

Midna looked back towards the path that led towards the castle, seeing a few bokoblins rushing towards them. "Reinforcements... I'll hold them off while you finish off that bone head!" With a frustrated sigh, she floated towards the bokoblins.

Link knew she could hold them off, so he kept his attention on the warrior in front of him. Even unarmed, it was clear that he was a massive threat, but so was he. "Come on... Hit me!" His words seemed to provoke the warrior into making a move. The knight ran towards Link, but stopped just short of his sword's reach. Link tried to decapitate the warrior right then and there, but he backed up just in time to avoid the sweeping blade. The warrior had to weave his way around every one of Link's stabs and slashes, but he did so with exceptional skill. At one point, the armored warrior ducked and rolled right past Link, positioning himself behind him. Link saw something attached to the back of the skeleton's skull, it looked like some kind of jewel. For a moment, time seemed to slow down for Link when he realized that the warrior was going for the bastard sword he had tossed aside. With both hands, Link gripped the master sword and made a powerful swing for the undead man's skull. The warrior managed to grab and raise the sword just in time, catching the master sword inbetween the crossguard and the blade. For a moment, memories flashed in Link's mind, taking him back a time where he learned skills from a fairly similar skeletal warrior. For a moment, he found himself wondering if this was the same skeletal warrior, or another one entirely. Either way, it was his enemy now.

As both Link and Midna fought for their lives, the blond haired man watched from a nearby rooftop. "Ahh, we have an excellent view from here, don't we?" He turned his attention to his nearby companion.

It was a woman. The lower half of her face was hidden beneath the thick black cloak she wore. She wore a chain mail vest and a thick black long sleeved shirt beneath it. Covering her legs were black trousers, and black boots. Her light brown hair blew in the wind ever so slightly as she gazed down to the man and the imp. "You're an idiot, and a coward. You had a chance to kill him, and you failed."

He quickly looked back to his companion, a frown crossing his face. "I'd like to see you do better against him.. You'd get torn to fucking shreds."

The woman watched as Link and the skeletal warrior let their swords clash together. "I'd do a better job than you... Part of me thinks you don't want to kill him. Is that it? Have you developed a little man crush on him?"

"I swear to every fucking goddess there is, if you don't shut up, I'm going to toss your worthless hide off this roof!"

"Colin, you couldn't toss a salad even if you tried. You don't scare me, and you won't live long enough to be Ganondorf's right hand man."

Colin balled his hands up into fists, but he didn't strike her. He knew that Ganondorf wouldn't tolerate his own people tearing each other apart. He watched Link battle the undead knight, and listened to the sound of her footsteps. She was walking away from him. "Sleep with one eye open..."

Midna let out a loud scream as she wrapped her hair around one bokoblin's neck, and lifted him into the air. She then threw him head first at the fountain, and watched as his skull split open like a watermelon against the hard stone water feature. She then turned to the other bokoblins with a wild smile on her face. "Another one down..."

Link grunted as he blocked and parried his opponent's attacks whilst desperately trying to land a blow of his own. At one point, they both got up in each other's faces as their swords locked. They both used this opportunity to attack. Link kept one hand on his sword, but used his other hand to deliver an uppercut. The skeletal man threw a punch of his own, a hook headed right for Link's jaw. Both blows landed, and both blows sent each man stumbling away from each other. For a moment, Link was dazed. That blow almost knocked him out, but when he saw his opponent was recovering too, he went for the killing blow. Link raised his sword, looking as if he was about to bring the sword down onto the skeletal man's head horizontally. The knight raised his sword with one hand horizontally, not knowing that Link was actually feigning his attack. Link suddenly spun himself around and severed the skull from the spinal cord. The skull dropped dropped to the ground, and began its steady roll towards the fountain. Just like that, the fight was over.

Colin smiled a little as he clapped his hands. "Congratulations, you just beat your own skeleton. I knew you would, I mean it isn't like it had your soul, is it? Then again, it did give you a run for your rupees, didn't it? It makes you think...are you the real you? Or are you living another person's life?"

Link panted a little as he walked over to the skull, and used his blade to smash the jewel on the back of it. He didn't feel like fighting himself again anytime soon. "Why did you bring my remains back? Just to fuck with me?!"

Colin couldn't help but chuckle at his response. "Maybe... Or maybe I am trying to help you out! Who knows! Either way, it doesn't matter now. You're too late, Ganondorf has already won this battle."

Midna floated over to Link's side, looking at him. "I want to kill him, can I kill him?"

Colin stood dangerously close to the edge of the roof, almost as if daring him to do order the imp to kill him. "Go ahead, kill me! Kill your old friend Colin!"

Link thought he recognized him, and now he knew for sure who he was, he only felt more pissed off at Ganondorf. He must've intentionally recruited Colin knowing he'd have a tough time killing the people he knows. He didn't mind destroying his remains, after all, it was just bones at this point. Killing someone he knew in his past life was far tougher, especially when he had seen Colin grow up so much. He could feel the memories flooding back, and along with his old attitude. "Colin... You little shit! You always did cause me more trouble than you were worth. What are you playing at now? Are you playing mercenary? Working for Ganondorf will put you in an early grave."

"Hah, you know, I don't actually remember my past life. I don't remember either of you, but I do like your style. Anyway, if you'll stop with the threats, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Midna didn't like listening to this guy, but she did remember Colin from her previous life. It was hard to believe that such a nice kid could end up like this. It was even harder to believe how much she wanted to kill him right now. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt Link. "Why should we listen to anything you have to say?! You're just another pawn for Ganondorf."

Link knew that Colin might just try to mess with them, but he wanted to listen to what he had to say. "Alright, what secret? And why did you say Ganondorf has won this battle?"

Colin sat down on the edge of the roof, kicking his legs back and forth as he answered his question. "Ganondorf has built an army, and he plans to use this army to kill you. Oh, and in case you're wondering where the castle guards are, they are either dead or working with Ganondorf to overthrow the princess, and kill every last living relative she has, right down to the babies in their cribs! We've got ourselves a good old-fashioned coup. It's about time if you ask me, I mean Princess Zelda is just a hopeless ruler, isn't she? You've seen the state of her guards, and she continues to do nothing to secure our roads between towns. All she does is sit on her big fat arse, and look down on people like me and you! While traders risk their lives bringing goods to our markets, she stuffs her face with expensive food and dresses in overpriced shit! Doesn't that anger you? Well, it angered enough people to make it easy enough to overthrow her!"

"And you are telling me all this...why?" Link retorted. It was hard for him to believe a man that tried to kill him not so long ago.

"Because you were bound to find out all this information sooner or later. People do tend to talk about this sort of stuff! Oh, and by the way, I was also stalling for time. Time to run, Link."

Link and Midna noticed a whole battalion comprised of guards and bokoblins quickly approaching their position. It seemed as if someone had warned Ganondorf of their presence. The group was far too big to fight alone, they would've stood no chance if they stayed and fought. They took Colin's advice, and ran down the market streets. They past many stalls that were either closed, or had been abandoned at some point, possibly during the coup or when the fires were started. They had to leave through the way they came. Together, they got on their bullbo and rode away, trying to put as much distance between them and the castle as possible.

"Great, now he has an army," Midna said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "What now? We can't just walk in there, we'll be torn apart before we can even reach Ganondorf."

Link was a skilled fighter, but even he couldn't kill an entire army. He had to take a breather at some point, and he knew as soon as his guard was down, they would've ended him. "Unless we can figure out some magical way of teleporting into the castle, we've only got one option... We need people, lots of people..."

"Where are we going to get a large fighting force from? The Zoras?" Midna remembered those large spears they carried on them. She hadn't seen them fight, but she was curious to see what they could do.

"The Zoras, the Gorons, we'll go to everyone and try to convince them to fight alongside us... Their leaders have to know what they're up against, it's only a matter of time before Ganondorf comes for them too."

"Do you think they'll really listen to us?" Midna asked.

"I don't know, I haven't met the new rulers of either domain. I do know that if we don't warn them soon enough, we might have to go through another damn fire or water dungeon all over again!"

Midna giggled a little. "On the bright side, we did get to see new and interesting places. How's your head?"

"Could be better," Link replied as he wiped blood away from his forehead. "The bleeding seems to be stopping. I still can't believe they used my own remains against me. At least I got my sword back, Ganondorf can't be happy with that."

"It seems a little strange though, doesn't it? Ganondorf must've known that you could beat that skeleton, you've beaten far worse in the past. I feel like we're playing right into his hands."

"Me too," Link admitted. They both had a difficult fight ahead of them, they both knew that. They just hoped that it wasn't too late to gather a force strong enough to beat Ganondorf.

Author's note: They beat him once, they can beat him again, can't they? Then again, Ganondorf may have had a while to think about what he did wrong last time. Let's hope they can get that army! Thank you again to BigBossSonic for editing as usual! And thank you all for reading this far!