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100percentwhumpjuice · 2 months ago

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Whumptober 2024 Prompt 1 - Race Against the Clock

[Roleswap AU Twilight Princess - Zant and Zelda] [Contains whump. Of course. It's the Roleswap AU version of the Midna's Darkest Hour scene.]

Zelda warped back to the lakebed outside of the temple. Taking one last satisfied look at the lake, she turned around to leave--

Someone was standing in the way. Someone tall, robed in black, wearing a horned warhelm of shadow-colored stone.

Zelda nearly screamed. Instead, she gasped and stepped back, albeit careful not to step over the edge of the cliff overlooking the lake. She knew who this was from the prince’s description. The Queen that Rules the Twilight.

Zelda’s hand went for the sword at her side. The Queen was faster, a hand of orange hair emerging from beneath her warhelm and freezing her in place, the same as it had done to the prince of Hyrule when he had tried to fight.

Zelda heard a great splash. From behind her, the Light Spirit Lanayru emerged from the lake. It was only after the initial feeling of relief at possibly being rescued that Zelda remembered who was responsible for Lanayru’s scattering.

The Queen chuckled. “How noble. But have you really forgotten so soon?” She raised a hand, outstretched as though to push something away.

With a roar and another great splash, Lanayru was repelled back into the lake. With another wave of the Queen’s hand, the area once more turned to Twilight.

Zelda cursed her own helplessness as she was once again overcome by the curse of the Twilight. The Queen released her from her spell, and Zelda--now a beast once more--collapsed to the ground. Though exhausted, she fought against the pull of unconsciousness. Even if she couldn’t do anything…at least she could know what was happening. But she couldn’t let the Queen know she remained conscious, or the Queen would surely finish the job. So she kept her eyes shut and played possum.

Thrown unceremoniously out of Zelda’s shadow, Zant stared up at the Queen before him, eyes wide in fear. He scrambled away, tried to flee--

The Queen’s hair repeated its earlier spell upon Zelda. Zant was frozen mid-flight, held above the lake like a shackled prisoner awaiting torture.

Raising her hands, the pieces of the Fused Shadow, save for the one Zant wore as a mask, emerged from the shadows and flew to the Queen. Though she had chuckled at the Light Spirit’s attempts to intervene, the Queen sounded furious when she spoke to Zant.

“The Fused Shadow, Zant? Really?” she hissed. “I’ve been willing to overlook a lot of transgressions from you lately, but I’m beginning to lose my patience. Besides, did you really think such an ancient and withered power would stop me? You really are a fool.”

“Ngh--!” Zant struggled against invisible bonds. “ENOUGH OF THIS! Why are you doing this, Midna?! ANSWER ME!”

“I’m doing what’s best for our people,” she replied, as though it were the most simple fact in the world. “I really thought you would understand that, Zant. But maybe you’re just a traitor. Maybe you’ve always been. Selfish little coward…”

She ripped him from his invisible bonds in a single motion of her hair, and cast him aside roughly. He landed hard on the ground, face in the dirt.

“There. That’s where you belong,” the Queen snarled. “You are vermin. Do you hear me?! VERMIN!”

Zant propped himself back up on shaking, unsteady arms. Defying her with a confidence he hadn’t known he’d had.

“You think yourself some selfless savior of both worlds? If that girl knew how you just tried to abandon her…”

“I…I didn’t--”

“This power is the one thing that can free our people…” she continued, slowly, menacingly advancing towards him. “And you want to take it from me?! After that goddess has so generously granted it to me? To us!”

“It isn’t right--what you’re doing to them--”

Zelda opened her eyes. She still needed to keep up the act until the right moment, but now she wasn’t so sure remaining down was the right move.

The imp must have heard her move. He glanced behind him, and quickly scrambled over to her. “Zelda! Come on, we have to get out of here before--”

The Queen scoffed. “Just look at you now! You’re still just trying to run away and hide! PATHETIC!”

As if commanded by her outburst alone, Zant was pulled away from Zelda and to the Queen’s side. Zelda had seen enough. She got to her feet and lunged at the Queen, snarling.

And she hit a magic shield the Queen had conjured before her. Zelda flew back, tumbling head over heels and landing a short distance away.

“NO!” Zant cried. “Why would you do that?!”

Zelda raised her head drowsily, the world before her hazy and out of focus. She was developing a splitting headache, and couldn’t resist the pull of unconsciousness any longer.

And the imp was alone with the Queen.

“Heh…she looks much better this way,” she sneered. “That pretty face didn’t suit her.” She turned to Zant, face still concealed by that terrible warhelm. “Don’t look at me like that. You and I both know what she is. An oppressor, who should be put in her rightful place beneath us. Where does she get off, pretending to care about you?”

“I…I don’t--”

“Did you think she would save you?” she continued. “That she could fix the parts of you that are broken? Even I couldn’t do that. But I can fix this world. I can make this into a world where light and dark can exist together. Wouldn’t you like that? Then you could keep your little pet.”

The Queen leaned into him, squishing his cheek in one hand in a mockery of affection, as her warhelm exposed her lips and she whispered in his ear.

“Come on. I’ll give you one. Last. Chance.”

“...Prove to me that you’re not a coward. Submit to me and give up this petty rebellion. If you’re good, I might even give you your body back.”

Zant considered it. He pictured a lifetime of servitude beneath the Queen’s heel. Even worse off than he’d been before. No hope of promotion. Enduring her belittlement of him every day. Being transfigured back into an imp any time he failed to please her, treated like a jester at best, and at worst, a pet.

And then he looked back to Zelda. They hadn’t gotten along right away, and they had their disagreements, their fights. But Zelda had tried to protect him. Despite everything, Zelda cared.

…And the Queen who had once been his closest friend and confidant--did not.

Much as he knew he’d be in for it whichever choice he made, Zant turned his head to face the Queen. Stared into those terrible stone eyes. “I won’t help you,” he spat. “And I--I hate you!”

The Queen’s smile fell. Her warhelm once again hid her full face from sight. She shrugged halfheartedly, concealing her true rage behind feigned indifference. “So be it. If you really want to stay in the light so badly…”

Zant was ripped from her side and thrown to his earlier place above the lake, this time facing away from her. “...Then you can have it!”

The Queen summoned Lanayru back above the surface. In the harsh glare of the spirit’s light, Zant flinched away, shutting his eyes. For all the good that would do him.

Compelled by the Queen that Rules the Twilight, Lanayru had no choice in the matter. The spirit could only watch helplessly as its sacred light was used to destroy this unfortunate being of darkness. Even if his ancestors had been fools who sought to subjugate the world…Lanayru knew that their crimes were not his. If it could only break free of this Queen of Twilight’s will, it could send him and the heroine away from here.

From the darkness of her unwilling rest, Zelda’s wolf ears heard the sound of Zant screaming. Worse than he’d ever cried out at a monster’s advance. It wasn’t a sound of fear at all. It was the sound of pain. Terrible, mortally-wounding pain. She tried to get up, to do something, anything at all--but her body wouldn’t move.

The pitiful imp sagged like a ragdoll in his invisible bonds. Discolored from the light. For a moment, the Queen’s control wavered--and it was just enough. Lanayru sent the imp and the legendary heroine far from the lake, to Hyrule Field. It could only hope it wasn’t too late for either of them.

The Queen that Rules the Twilight watched in surprise as Zant vanished from sight, along with the Light Spirit. She turned around, only to find that the transfigured Zelda was no longer there. She clenched a fist in rage. “Always running away…”

…

A flash of light above Hyrule Field. Zelda was slowly lowered to the ground by an unseen force. She at last awoke, and immediately looked around for her companion, eyes desperately searching for his shape in the darkness of night.

There was a familiar weight on her back. She looked over her shoulder…

And gasped. The imp was there, in his usual perch…but slumped over upon her back, limp and lifeless in appearance save for the faint sound of his shallow breaths. Zelda didn’t know what to do. She sniffed, detecting no trace of blood or injury, but her companion looked as though he were on Death’s doorstep all the same! What could she do? She had not a clue what the Queen that Rules the Twilight had done to him.

Zelda nudged him with her nose, cold and wet as a dog’s. The imp shuddered weakly, and clenched a single fist--the one that didn’t hang limply from her side--gripping her fur as he’d done so many times before.

“Zelda, heroine chosen by the goddesses…” Zelda heard the voice of the Light Spirit Lanayru, as faint as evening wind. “Go to the prince locked away in the castle. That prince holds the key that can unlock you from your shadow form…”

Link…If Link could restore her original form, then--perhaps he could heal Zant as well. Zelda wasted no time in racing off through Hyrule Field, gunning for Hyrule Castle in the distance as rain began to fall. She ignored all manner of monsters that tried to stop her in her tracks, pushing past them and darting away from their grasps. An arrow nicked her flank as she ran. Zelda winced, but didn’t dare stop. She was, for once, grateful for her Twilight form, for its speed and agility.

Onward she raced. Panting, paws flying across the ground, kicking up rain-soaked dirt in her wake. Zelda reached the bridge that led to Hyrule Castle Town, and lost not a fraction of her speed. She’d race through crowds of terrified townsfolk if she had to. She just had to reach that castle in the distance…

In through the great wooden gates. Down cobblestone streets. Past curious cats and the shocked gasps and frightened shrieks of the townsfolk who didn’t recognize her shape. Zelda kept racing past, until at last she reached the gate that led to Hyrule Castle itself.

The gate was firmly shut. Desperate, Zelda ran to the gate and scratched at it furiously with her paws. But it was simply no use. The gate was locked, and no amount of futile struggling she could do would open it.

Zelda turned around, looking over the town. She must have missed something. Surely there was another way into the castle! There had to be! She needed to think…how were the monsters getting in and out?

Zelda paused. A small cat came slinking down the cobblestone path towards her. It twitched a single notched ear, then opened its mouth. It only mewled, but in Zelda’s beast form, she understood what its mewling meant. “I haven’t seen you around here before. You look kind of lost.”

Zelda had to try something. She padded over to the cat, and tried to speak. It came out as soft barks, but she knew the cat would understand her in this form. “Please…I don’t have a lot of time. My friend--he’s badly hurt. I think the prince can help him, but I have to get to the castle for that. Is there another way in?”

The cat twitched its ear again, and flicked its tail once. “I believe so. But you’ll have to ask Louise, Telma’s cat. She’s at the same place her master stays. Come on, I can show you.” It turned around, waving its tail to beckon Zelda to follow.

And so Zelda followed. The cat led her down an alleyway lined with vendor stands, some of which were occupied. Their occupants turned away from her and cowered in fear. She didn’t blame them. She’d likely be afraid of herself in this form, if she weren’t stuck in it.

“It’s just up here. But wait, you’ll probably scare all the humans inside--!”

Zelda didn’t listen. She barged right in through the door. If anyone wouldn’t fear her in this state, would see the condition of her companion and want to help--it would have to be--!

But as Zelda burst into the bar, a haggard-looking beast in rain-slicked fur, the barkeep screamed. “BEAST! GET OUT!”

She should have known. Zelda tried to search for a cat. If the humans couldn’t help her, then--!

A soldier clad in a helmet obscuring the top half of his face and clothes that looked perhaps a bit familiar approached her with a sword drawn. “Go on…we don’t want any trouble.” His voice gave Zelda pause. She got the feeling she’d heard this man speak before. Many times before. And that facial hair…

“I said ‘go on’!” he insisted, jabbing the sword in her face. “Be smart. Don’t make me use this.”

Reluctantly, Zelda turned around and slinked out the door, which was roughly shut behind her. What now?

As she reluctantly turned away from Telma’s bar, she heard the meow of another cat from high above her. “You there!”

Zelda glanced up. Perched on a window ledge was a thick-furred white cat. The cat used a pile of boxes to leap down onto the street, and looked back at Zelda. “You’re Zelda, correct?” She approached her, sniffing at Zelda’s paws. “Mmm, yes, I thought so. I could just tell, you know.”

The cat walked a short distance away before Zelda could reply. Again, she cast a glance over her shoulder as she meowed to Zelda. “I’m Louise. Do you remember meeting me in this shop before? Though I don’t think we were properly introduced…”

Zelda opened her mouth to speak, but the cat continued. “In any case, I must tell you, I’m a bit puzzled as to why you look like that. Really, dear, you can’t blame the humans for sending you out, the way you look.”

“I really don’t mean to interrupt,” Zelda finally got a word in. “But I don’t have much time. Not enough to explain why I’m like this. Please, Louise, I need--” Zelda paused, and looked back over her shoulder, realizing she hadn’t checked on her rider in a while. The imp’s yellow eye fluttered a bit as she watched him, but he didn’t seem able to stay with her for long. Even his grip on her coat was beginning to loosen. Zelda turned back to Louise. “We need your help.”

Louise glanced toward Zelda’s back, her eyes focusing on the dying imp. “Oh…Another patient? You certainly are a curious sort…”

“Plea…” Zant’s rasping voice startled Zelda. She hadn’t thought he still had enough strength in him to speak. She was about to tell him to save his breath, but he kept pleading with the cat. “Please…Prince…L-Link…”

Louise seemed to have gotten the message. She turned away, and walked back towards the pile of boxes. “This way!” As Zelda padded over, she continued. “Here, get in through the window. The attic is connected to the castle’s waterway. It’s an old waterway, though…so it could be a rough trip.”

“If it’s our only chance, I’ll take it,” Zelda replied.

Louise flicked an ear as a raindrop landed directly on it. “Well…I suppose all that’s left to do is make sure that the humans don’t notice you.” And she walked over to the door, standing by it like a watchful guard.

Zelda gave her a grateful nod, and set to work on shoving a nearby box towards the pile, as the pile was initially only scaleable by a cat. Once that was done, Zelda clambered onto the first box in the pile, careful to make sure her passenger didn’t slip off of her back. She did the same for the other boxes, until she reached the window.

Zelda crept into Telma’s bar through the window. She paused for a moment, trying to locate the path. Below her, the patrons of the bar went about their business, talking amongst themselves. Zelda located the path then, spotting a few ropes stretched across the way, like narrow bridges. Louise must have used them to get around. Would they support the weight of a wolf, though?

She’d have to try. Zelda took a cautious step onto the nearest rope, and grimaced at the way it wobbled under her. She took a deep breath, and stepped onto it fully, taking care to keep her weight centered on the rope so she wouldn’t fall off.

“How’s it come to this, huh?” the voice of Telma reached Zelda’s ears as she carefully crept by overhead. “Monsters walking in the streets of town…What in the WORLD are the soldiers of Hyrule doing?! The Gorons are so much more reliable than they are, it’s not even funny!”

Zelda kept going. Across another rope. She’d done well so far. Maybe, she thought with a bit of amusement to drown the worry she felt, she could get a job as a circus performer once this was all over.

“I heard that an acquaintance of Telma’s defeated the beast that had been attacking tourists on the bridge,” another patron said as Zelda crept by. “Her name was Zelda. It sounds as though she brought Telma and her young ward to Kakariko Village.”

“And here I was, thinking Hyrule was empty of anyone of valor…,” another voice said.

“Oh no, I don’t believe she’s from Hyrule proper at all,” a third voice said. “No, my understanding is that she’s from the small neighboring province of Ordona. This may sound horribly elitist, but people who do not know the city simply do not know fear.”

Hmph, thought Zelda. Folks who think they know everything…They’re often the most ignorant of all.

Zelda made her way into the attic then, only to be met with a room piled with gold coins and with a golden statue of a short, rotund man with a cat curled up on his head sitting in a regal chair at the far end of the room. Odd. But Zelda didn’t have time for that.

Zelda leapt down into the room, her paws splashing in a shallow amount of water upon the floor. She must be close to the castle’s waterway by now, she thought. She searched every corner of the room, becoming increasingly frantic as time ticked by. She did not have time for this! Why had Louise not been more specific?

As despair began to creep its way into Zelda’s heart, she felt a hand wearily stroking the fur of her neck. Zelda turned her head to look back at Zant. The hand was his, of course. He tried to lift his head up, and gave her a halfhearted smile. “H…hey…” he rasped. “I’m…still…holding on…so…it’s okay…”

Did he really believe that? No, Zelda got the impression that he was every bit as afraid as her. Probably more than she was, in fact. But he was trying to hide it. He’d never done that before.

Zelda watched him with sorrowful eyes, trying to think of something, anything, that she hadn’t tried. Otherwise…

Otherwise…he would…

And if he did, what would she do? Could she really defeat the Twilight Queen all by herself? Without the assistance of another being from the Twilight? And what if she remained a wolf?! She’d stand even less of a chance, then!

Suddenly, Zant’s eye went wide and his face turned to one of shock. For a moment, Zelda feared his time had already run out. But then, something began to lift him upward, as though trying to drag him away. Despite his injury, the imp held on tight, shuddering and whimpering in fear.

An invisible foe! Zelda honed her senses, shutting her eyes and taking in a deep breath through her nose. She saw the room in a dim teal glow, and behind her, its ghastly arms wrapped around her companion, was a ghost. Upon its back it carried a scythe, bringing to Zelda’s mind images of the personification of Death. Was it trying to claim Zant, then?

No. This creature wasn’t Death. It was a wretched spirit, and she’d drive it away from her companion at once. Zelda snarled at the ghost, and snapped at it. Her teeth made contact. Strange. Ghosts weren’t supposed to be solid.

The ghost reeled back, taking up the scythe from its back and brandishing it as a weapon. Zelda turned to face it directly, keeping Zant away from it. The ghost swung its scythe, and Zelda leapt to the side. While it reeled its weapon back in, Zelda ambushed it from the side, tackling it to the floor. The ghost’s head made contact with the floor, and the impact seemed to knock it out cold. That’s when a small round object the color of a plum emerged from its chest, pulsing like a heart. Zelda saw her chance. She grabbed the object in her mouth, and began wrestling it from the ghost’s body, who revived and writhed under her. She tore the object free, and the ghost fell limp, then vanished into smoke. The object vanished as well from its place between her jaws.

So she’d defeated the ghost that had tried to drag her companion away. But she was still stuck without a means of entering the waterway.

And then a meek voice called out to her from the far end of the room. Zelda glanced over, and saw only the statue. It couldn’t have been--!

“Oh. Th-thanks for beating the ghost. Can I call you…doggie?”

No. The statue was speaking. Zelda padded closer.

“I’m Jovani. I…became consumed by greed long ago, and sold my soul to a dark creature that did this to me…,” it explained. “I can’t move…I can’t go see my girlfriend…My pet cat Gengle is frozen on my head…I don’t think I could be any more miserable…”

Zelda huffed. Of course she had sympathy for the man, but now was hardly the time for a sob story! She could help him later. She began to turn away.

“Wait! Don’t go, doggie!” the golden man pleaded. “I-I’m sorry for being so long-winded. I guess you’re in a bit of a hurry. But--please, can you find and defeat the 20 ghosts that lurk in the dark for me? When--when you have the time, of course! It’s just that…I think if you can free the pieces of my soul from the ghosts that hold them, I’ll be free.”

Zelda huffed again. Still, she nodded.

“Thanks…Hey, you’re a pretty smart doggie, aren’t you? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were really a person! But…hahah…that’s impossible, right? Actually…you wouldn’t happen to be trying to get into the waterway, would you?”

Zelda gasped. She turned to face him completely and nodded again, enthusiastically this time.

“Great! Now we can help each other. Here, I’ll open the door for you.” And just like that, a large treasure chest in the center of the room opened up. Zelda could have sworn she’d tried that chest earlier. It had been locked firmly then. “When you’re able to come back, just start digging around the front wall where the cats gather. Good luck, doggie!”

Zelda wasted no further time. She leapt into the chest, and fell down into the old waterway. As Louise had described it, it was a rough ride. Zelda let the water carry her down into a chamber below, then pulled herself up onto the stone surrounding the pool she’d landed in. She crept past giant rats, then opened the gate the same way she’d opened the ones in the dungeon of the castle, which felt so long ago now. She jumped down into the tunnel beyond the gate, and the current took her further down into another large pool of water.

Zelda climbed out, and saw the path before her blocked by a large Skulltula web. Zelda looked around, and spotted a lit brazier standing nearby. A stick just large enough to keep the flames away from her mouth as she carried it was just beside it. Thank the goddesses for good fortune.

Zelda picked up the stick, lit it on one end, and rushed the web, using the flames to keep the Skulltula away as well. Once the way was clear, she kept going, through more webs and past dive-bombing Keese. At last, the tunnels led to a dead end. Zelda spat out the still burning stick, using the light to search for a possible exit. She noticed that the ground in the middle of the room was soft. Zelda started digging, kicking up dirt and little stones as she tunneled through the soft ground.

She dropped down into a chamber below. Glancing over her shoulder once more, she saw that Zant was still there. Still alive, though for how much longer, she didn’t know. She didn’t have high hopes. Link…the prince had to be near. He just had to be! And surely…surely he knew what to do!

Running out through the tunnel ahead of her, she noticed familiar stone walls and iron bars. This was it! The dungeon! She’d finally reached the castle. She rushed up the familiar stone spiral staircase. When she reached the first gap in the stairs, she realized something. The first time she’d crossed those gaps…Zant had helped her. He was in no condition to help her now. And looking over the distance of the gaps, she wasn’t sure she could do it with just her own agility.

Then Zelda noticed that the monsters patrolling the castle had set up ropes around the gaps. She’d done some tightrope walking today already--Zelda knew she could do it again.

Zelda carefully stepped onto the rope. She crept across to the next section of staircase. Then did it again. And again. At one point, she slipped, and wound up dangling over the edge of the staircase several stories up. It was here that she noticed just how sore her legs were. All four of them. It was, regrettably, tempting to give up. She didn’t want to--but her body was putting up a serious fight against her efforts to continue. She thought about the children of Ordon Village. They…would be okay. Ilia, too…she was safe, now. Even if she didn’t remember Zelda’s name or her face. But…but if Zelda never saw her again…could she accept that?

No. She couldn’t. Zelda strained to pull herself up with everything she had left. Growling, snarling at her situation and those who had forced her into it. And just as she pulled herself back up onto the stone, chest heaving…she felt her companion’s grip loosen and slip.

Time moved as if in slow-motion. Zelda whirled around to face the yawning abyss below. She saw the imp begin to fall. She reached out with her jaws, the only part of her that could grab--!

--And caught his arm in her jaws. Zelda winced, hoping she hadn’t put too much force into her bite. But he didn’t react. Didn’t so much as whimper. Fearing she’d been too late even despite preventing his fall, Zelda pulled him back onto the stone beside her. The arm she’d grabbed in her jaws was bleeding somewhat. This is my fault, Zelda thought. If I could have put up an actual fight against that Twilight Queen…I tried, I really, really, tried! But is none of that good enough in the end? I’m so sorry…

Zelda nudged his small body with her snout, her ears pressed back against her head in worry. Zant let out a quiet groan and partially opened his eye. It looked unfocused, almost dim. “Sss…sor-ry…I let…go…” he wheezed.

Zelda gritted her teeth to steel her nerves. She lowered herself to the ground, and painstakingly nudged him onto her back. They still had to get across the roof…

Zelda reached the top of the staircase. She raced through the door that led to one of the allures and from there, the castle’s roof. Zelda tore into the storm, which had only gotten more intense. She darted past the rows of Bulblin sentries stationed upon the allure, wincing as more arrows nicked her hide. She tried to weave through what little space she had to minimize the risk of them hitting her or her companion dead-on. Scrapes were trivial injuries that could be treated later, but if either of them got an arrow lodged in their bodies…

Across the castle’s top, through driving rain and whipping wind, past swooping Argoroks, across wooden bridges flapping in the wind, staying up just long enough for her to use them as a springboard. Soaring down onto the shingled roof below that led to the prince’s bedchamber, fighting to keep her balance upon the rain-slicked surface and steep incline. They were so close now! Just through that window and then--!

Zelda leapt down onto the stone staircase inside. She scaled the stairs until she reached those familiar doors. Zelda dashed into the middle of the room, searching wildly for the prince, panting heavily. She heard a soft groan from just behind her, and a soft thump as her rider lost his grip once again and fell to the floor. Zelda turned to him, looking on with a feeling of pure helplessness as he struggled for breath. She prayed that Link would know what to do. Prayed she hadn’t been too late.

The prince’s fine gloved hand seemed to appear out of nowhere. Had Zelda missed him in her haste to spot him? Link placed a hand gently on the imp’s shoulder. His own face appeared as grim as Zelda felt.

“Please…,” Zant’s voice was little more than a whisper. “Tell me…that her curse can be broken…” He reached one shaking hand out towards the prince, who took it and held it firm in one of his own. “She…she’ll be the only one left…who can save your world…If she…can be healed…then…then I can…greet my fate…with a smile…”

Link turned his cobalt gaze to Zelda. He raised his other hand, and passed it across the shape of her cursed body. “...I am truly sorry,” he said softly. “This is a different magic than what transformed her when she first entered the Twilight. It is an evil power. I do not have the means to break it myself.” He sighed. “But you are not without hope. A sacred grove lies deep within the lands guarded by the spirit Faron. That is where you will find the blade of evil’s bane that was crafted by the goddess Hylia many eras ago, forged by the wisdom and courage of the first heroes. It is a sacred blade that evil cannot touch. That blade alone can undo this curse.”

“Zelda…heroine sent by the goddesses…Like you, I have been granted special powers. Our fates are intertwined. We both have a role to play in this war. That is why…you must defeat the Queen that Rules the Twilight…and the master she speaks of. No one else can defeat both of them.”

“G-good…,” Zant rasped. “I’m glad…that there’s still a chance…Z-Zelda…good luck…you…you’re going to…have to do it alone…from here…I’m sorry…”

Zelda shook her head in desperation. She wanted to shout at him. To tell him off for being so defeatist. To tell him not to give up. Even though by now she knew that he’d only been prolonging his suffering to see her off for the rest of her journey. She held in her tears. She didn’t want them to be the last thing he saw.

“Prince…one last request…” Zant continued. It sounded as though every syllable caused him pain now. “Please tell her…where to find…the Mirror of Twilight…”

Link shut his eyes for a moment. He inhaled deeply before opening them again and speaking. “Zant…I am sorry for my earlier words towards you. I misjudged. Despite your fears, you have a good heart. And now, mortally wounded, your concern is with us. These dark times are the result of our ancestors’ deeds…and yet, it’s you who suffers the worst of it.” Link’s expression softened, yet determination sparkled in his eyes. “Zant. I want you to stay by Zelda’s side for the rest of her journey, and see both of your worlds restored to order. That is why…I pass this now, to you.”

Link placed his other hand upon the one that held Zant’s own. From the prince’s hands, a light began to glow. Slowly, it enveloped the two of them, and Zant’s condition seemed to improve. But Zelda saw that as his condition improved, Link’s form began to fade. As the imp began to float once more, he reached out with his free hand towards the prince, crying out in desperation.

“NO! You--you can’t do this! I’m not--I’m not worthy!”

Link closed his eyes and smiled. It was the first time Zelda had seen him smile.

“PLEASE! Link, I--I CAN’T HAVE YOU DIE FOR ME!”

The prince let out a soft chuckle. Slowly, he released his grip upon Zant’s hand…and faded into nothing.

Zelda watched as her companion slowly descended back down to the floor. His color restored, even his wounds had been healed. He stood upon the stone floor, staring at his hands. He looked as though he were about to cry.

And then, he closed his eye, breathed deeply and slowly, and lowered his hands to his sides. When he opened his eye again, his face was calmer than Zelda had ever seen it before. Determined. There was still fear, but he no longer seemed paralyzed by it. He turned to face Zelda. “Let’s finish this. To Faron Woods.”

Zelda nodded. The imp clambered back onto his usual perch, and she slowly turned to leave. She paused as Zant spoke quietly into the stillness of the room. “Link…I understand, now. Why someone would risk their life for someone else…I just wish…I’d understood it sooner…”

#holy hell this one is so long #can't help it. i got in the zone #this is practically an entire chapter of the roleswap fic #credit to redrumrose for a lot of the ideas behind the au #whumptober 2024 #twilight princess #role swap au #zant #twilight princess zelda #put this one just here instead of on my canon x canon ship blog because i don't really ship them in this au #though maybe someday i'll expand that blog's definition to include platonic and queerplatonic ships and not just romantic

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