"Malvettix was kicking our asses around the block last time we fought him," Matt said with a wide gesture. "But did you see what happened this time? We actually managed to knock him around quite a bit. Plus, judging by what he said when he did that lightning attack...he had to flee."

"He's normally STRONGER?" Helena asked, repositioning Ileyna in her arms to hold her more neatly. "Thank God we didn't fight him like that."

Matt raised a finger. "But that's the thing. He's SUPPOSED to be way too strong. But for some reason, he ain't."

"To be fair, he was expecting a one-on-one," R.D. pointed out. "He may have been holding back on you deliberately. Link having the Master Sword didn't help him out that much, either."

"It'd be nice if Malvettix's strength is only ever equal to yours," Alasea said, looking over at Matt. "But it'd be stupid of us to bank on it."

"You mean he's still alive?" Link asked, looking curious. "How could he have survived an attack like R.D.'s?"

"From what I felt... the light energy he used against him was like antimatter," Alasea explained. "The energy and Malvettix's life force canceled one another out, and only the greater amount would remain. And Malvettix... from what I felt, Malvettix was the greater amount. He survived."

Matt frowned. "This IS Malvettix we're talking about. Dude's hard to kill."

"And remember what he said," Hugo added. "He wanted to finish this once and for all. I don't think he was lying. You know how much he wants to kill you."

"True."

"So we need to keep our guard up. Not just for that - we still have no idea who he's working for." Hugo tapped the side of his helmet with a slow rhythm. "I don't buy the idea that he just popped up for no reason. He's got some kind of purpose."

"Well, let's figure that out later," Helena said. She looked down at Ileyna, ran her right hand over the little girl's forehead. "Ileyna needs to recover. But since we need to keep moving, I don't know what we can do for her."

"She just hit a wall," Matt remarked, strutting over and brandishing the elemental energy of nature. "If we heal her and keep her safe, she'll bounce back pretty quickly."

"Let's get back up to the doorway at the end of this room," Link said with a nod, as he sheathed his weaponry. He snapped his fingers and caused another bottle to appear in his hands, this time one holding a glowing pink creature within it. "Come here, R.D.."

As R.D. approached the Ordonian warrior, Link uncorked the bottle, causing the fairy to flutter out. It rapidly flew through the air in circles around Link, and upon reaching the floor, it zipped over to R.D. and flew in circles around him, traveling upwards. R.D. tried to follow its quick movements, but he was unable to, and in moments, the fairy had disappeared--as had all of his wounds.

"With any luck I'll be able to find another one somewhere in this dungeon," Link said as he corked the bottle.

Matt folded his arms and looked up at the high ceiling. "Let's just hope we don't have to jump around. With Ileyna conked out, we'll have a hard time moving together."

It was only a few more minutes before Ileyna woke up again, and they explained to her that the battle was over. At that, it only took them a little bit to reach the upper ledge, and in doing so, they saw the devastation wrought by the annihilation between the Sunburst and Malvettix. The next room saw them back in the circular chamber they had started in, and before them was a large, black chest with a red jewel set into it.

"That looks important," R.D. commented, as Link opened it up. He pulled out a large, gothic-looking key from it. "Though I do think the chest is a bit big for something that small."

"Either way, we can get into the deepest part of the Grounds now," Link said. "Let's go."

They crossed over the funnel of quicksand ahead of the black chest and returned to the large, circular chamber. Link walked over to the gear pit in the center, looking at it closely. "Hugo," he said, motioning to the robot. "Do you think the Spinner would fit into this?"

Hugo walked over and peered down, studying the workings only for a moment before replying. "It'll fit."

"Good," Link said, bringing it out. He fit the device into the slot, which, true to Hugo's word, fit snugly. Stepping on, he looked at the sunken wall that, according to the map, was blocking off another chamber.

He kicked off, like a teenager would on a skateboard, and the mechanisms within it began to turn, giving it the strength it needed to turn the massive gears beneath the floor. The room made subtle shakes as the gears sped up. The wall shuddered as something unlocked, and it began to turn within the other walls, slowly opening up.

What they saw ahead of them was another circular chamber, filled with more quicksand, and a massive pillar rising up from its surface. A broken down stairwell spiraled up the wall, broken in places, but the Spinner track running along it would allow Link to travel up rather well.

"I'm beginning to hate this place," Alasea muttered at the back of the group. She did not like the idea of what they'd have to do to get up to the top.

"Me too," Helena said. "If I have to jump over any more sandy pits..."

She paused, studying the spiralling walls. Darting over to a section of the wall closest to them, she flattened her left palm on its surface and reared back her right. Claws exploded from her fingers as the hand shifted into a draconic claw, and with heavy force, she slammed the talons into the wall, digging deep within the brick.

"... what are you doing?" R.D. asked, watching the girl's actions.

"I've got an idea!" Helena said, her face marked by an excited smile. "R.D., you-" Here she tried to point with her right arm, but with her talons firmly embedded in the wall like that, it only amounted to a flailing of her shoulder. "-uh, you fly up with Alasea. Matt flies up by himself, and Ileyna can get Hugo!"

"Are you going to climb up like that?" Matt asked.

"Yeah!"

R.D. shrugged once, and motioned for Alasea to come over. The girl spared him a look before relenting and joining him, allowing him to carry her up as he flew up to the top of the pillar with a burst of wind energy. Link shot up after him, spiraling across the walls with the Spinner before launching himself through the air with it, to the pillar.

The device landed and skimmed over until it fell neatly into another gear slot like the one in the previous room. Thinking quickly, he used the momentum he had built up to spin whatever mechanisms were stored within the pillar, and soon a pair of torches on either side lit, and a second, spiral-shaped rail rose up around the pillar, neatly against the four balconies extending from the top.

Once it had locked in place, Link used the Spinner to climb it, and R.D. and Ileyna followed after him, carrying their fares. The Spinner launched him onto the massive ledge at the top of the tall chamber, and there, a gigantic door awaited them, locked with a large padlock and chains. The lock looked to be at least half their size.

As the two fliers set down and let Alasea and Hugo disembark, they waited with Link for Matt and Helena to get there. Ileyna looked at the door, feeling nervous.

"What's wrong?" Link asked the girl, spotting her distress.

"Its in there," Ileyna said, not taking her eyes off the spike-covered padlock. "Just past this door."

As Matt flew up and landed next to the others, Helena climbed up the wall, tearing new holes in the brick with her clawed hands and feet. Mind you, she was taking a while, and several times she struggled to keep her balance. High stakes were involved - Matt thought that any time those claws would snap.

Fortunately, they didn't, and with a final huff, Helena dragged herself to the party's level. "That's harder than it looks," she said.

"Well, come on down and let's go," Matt said. "The Essence is in the next room."

Suspended high above the sand and planted at an angle, Helena glanced around. "...I'm not sure how..."

"Just dislodge yourself from the wall and push off of it at the same time," R.D. said. "Matt'll catch you in case you fall."

"If Helena pulls out her claws, she'll just fall anyway," Hugo said. He walked over to the edge of the platform. "Lift Option." The hovering energy board slid itself a few inches underneath Helena. "Drop down. It'll be fine."

"Here, lemme get up there." Matt hopped onto the Lift Option, and after securing his balance, he held out his arms. "All right, go for it." Helena plucked out her claws and fell, heavily and lopsided, into Matt's arms. "There we go. That wasn't hard."

Helena humphed. "Says you - you're not the one almost falling into quicksand."

"Here," Link said, handing the black key to Ileyna. "Go ahead and open up the lock."

Hesitantly, the girl took the key from the Ordonian, and opened herself up to her power once more before taking flight. She moved over to the padlock, and carefully inserted the key into it before turning to unlock it.

She flinched slightly when the padlock's center sunk in on itself and four sections opened up around it. The outer edge spun about, and with a sharp click, the padlock collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud, the chains falling with it to the floor. Link proceeded over to the door and grabbed a hold of it, and as he forced his weight upwards, the door dislodged and moved up into the ceiling.

"Make sure you've got everything," Link said. "Its time to get that Essence."

Setting Helena down on her feet, Matt summoned his armor, flicking his wrist. "You want your shoes?" he asked Helena.

"That's okay," Helena said. "I have to get into fight mode anyway." At that she changed en masse, her wings and tail bursting free.

"You just need an awesome catchphrase to show when you change into that form. Like..." Matt swung his fist in a dynamic gesture. "Dragon UP!" He rubbed his chin. "No, wait, don't use that. That sucks."

"You two can come up with something later," Alasea said. "We've got work to do now."

They proceeded through the open doorway, and as the last of them came through, the door slid back down and shut, locking them within the chamber.

The first thing they noticed is that it was cold. Alasea shivered as the air came in contact with her bare skin, and she rubbed at her arms while she looked around. The air within the round chamber was misting, much like it had in the room that contained the demon sealed within the cursed sword. It was dark in the massive, circular chamber and she could barely see the far end of the room. Thankfully, it felt empty to her--there didn't seem to be any sort of presence, dark or otherwise, in here.

"Look!" Ileyna suddenly exclaimed, her voice echoing in the chamber as she pointed down. Most of the room was taken up by a sand-filled pit. A makeshift ramp of black rock extended down to the center of it--and across from it was the massive skeletal remains of a monster from an ancient past. It lay half-buried in the sand, its skull leaning crookedly, and a single, gigantic claw sticking out next to it. The remains looked silent and still in death.

But the exposed eyesocket was glowing with the familiar blue light of the Omega Essence, which rested within it, as if waiting for someone to bond with it.

"There it is," Matt said. "Let's take it easy as we go in, guys."

"Just be careful," Link said, proceeding forward. "We don't know what could be waiting for us in here."

"I don't sense anything," Alasea said. "No magic, no spirits... nothing."

Ileyna was already carefully making her way down the ramp to the skeleton, though she was nervous about approaching the gigantic corpse. She took comfort in the fact that Link was following her down. At least this time, they wouldn't have to worry about the Essence bonding to anything!

She spoke, of course, too soon.

The moment the two of them arrived at the base of the ramp, laughter could be heard in the air. The sound caused Ileyna to jump and back away, looking for the source of the noise. And then, atop the skull half-buried in the sand, a robed figure appeared, as if slipping into place out of thin air. A shrill cry cut through the room, and Link drew his weapon immediately.

"You still live... how astonishing. No wonder some call you 'hero'," said the newcomer. "But this is truly a bittersweet reunion... truly!"

"What the hell!?" R.D. swore, startled by this stranger's sudden appearance.

"Zant!" Midna snarled at Link's shoulder.

"For I fear this will be the last time I will see you alive!" the Usurper King bellowed, spreading his arms out wide.

Wow. Zant was...not impressive. Matt resisted the urge to make a comment, though - Zant looked stupid, but that could hide major power, for all they knew.

Still, had to open the conversation somehow. "So you're this Zant character I've heard so much about," Matt remarked with a lazy point. "And I hear you're in a little tiff with my friend Link, here. A tiff which I have been personally involved in, much to my annoyance. Got anything to say for yourself?"

Zant seemed not to care about the presence of the others, which in R.D.'s opinion, was never a good thing. It meant that the enemy had power, and was confident enough in it, to take them all on, and not just the one opponent. Instead, the Usurper King began to bring his hands, pale, sickly looking things, together at his chest.

And red light burst up between them, flecked with motes of black shadow magic. It seemed to shrink a bit as the hands grew closer to one another, before he crashed them together. And in the light's place was a wicked-looking blade, one with the design of a snake slithering up the flat of its dark blade.

"That's not good," Alasea exclaimed, eyes going wide as she felt the immense power flowing through both Zant and the sword he held in his hands. "Get away from him!" she shouted at Link, Midna, and Ileyna. The weapon spun in Zant's hand twice until the tip of its blade pointed downwards, and he lifted it up to thrust. Red light glowed along its length as the power within it activated, and Alasea feared for the worst.

With a roar, Zant plunged the sword into the skull of the dead creature. Lines of red light blazed out from the sword across the skull, then disappeared. With a snap of his wrists, Zant whipped his hands back into the sleeves of his robe. Calmly, the Usurper King turned his back on them, and teleported away.

Link braced himself, and watched as the ground began to rumble and the skull begin to shape. In shock, they all watched as the malevolent red light glowed in its skull, the right eye socket's new eye clashing with the soft light of the Omega Essence. The demon began to rise as new life flowed into its ancient bones. Against all possibility, the beast roared as it awakened.

And the bones blazed with azure power as the Omega Essence found its new host.

The beast roared in challenge in Link's face, and Ileyna screamed back in terror. With a jump, she opened herself to her power and shot up into the air.

"Ah, HELL naw!" Matt shouted. His gauntlet shifted to earth - ground-based opponent. Hit the spine, and it should topple easily.

Hugo turned on the G-Stone and fired his opening valleys. "Get back!" he called.

Link turned and ran, heading back up the steps. He dove out of the way, as Stallord reared its skull back as the energy blasts pinged off of its bones, which flickered blue with each strike. The beast flung its head back forward, and a torrent of flame erupted from the skeleton's maw, blazing forward at the group by the door.

"Scatter!" R.D. bellowed, flinging himself to the side. Alasea shrieked as she did the same.

Shit! Matt bolted up the steps, drawing power from the nearby sand. He gestured and sent it spiralling towards Stallord's max to hopefully choke the flame back. "We gotta take out the spine! That's the only thing holding it up!"

"How can we hit it without getting caught by the quicksand?" Helena shouted.

"Hell if I know! Let's just chuck stuff at it!"

"Look!" Ileyna suddenly shouted, pointing down at the pit. The Stallord was rearing back up, staring at them with its malevolent red eyes. The sword jammed into its snout was blazing with blue light this time, unlike before. Blue lines ran across its skull and down the length of its body, and suddenly, streams of energy tore out of the hilt of the sword.

They raged down into the sands, just as numerous undead creatures clawed their way up to the surface. Long dead men clad in armor rose up, and the energy collected into them. An unearthly moan rose up as they gathered weapons and held them before them in ready stances.

"Oh, that can't be good," R.D. muttered. The undead suddenly roared, and charged up the sands.

"Blade Option!" The blade exploded from Hugo's pickaxe as he leapt in front of the advancing undead. "Bring it on!"

"We've got to pull out the sword!" Helena called. "I bet that's the source of its power! Matt! Can you use your Avalanche Dragon to ride me up there?"

Matt glanced back at her just as he kicked out, sending a chunk of boulder exploding from the platform's edge at Stallord's ribcage. "You think you can do it?"

"I'm the strongest one here! It's the only way!"

Well, he'd argue that point, but she was right - that sword was clearly the monster's weak point. "All right, let's do it!" Matt said. "R.D., cover me!"

Another roar signaled an incoming wave of flame from Stallord's jaws, washing over them and forcing them all to dodge again. "I think that's gonna be a little difficult!" R.D. shouted back, moving away from Alasea where he had grabbed her, pulled her away from the flames, and shielded her using Lumiya's power. He ran into the sand, ready to fight.

Seeing the undead knights rushing from the center of the pit where Stallord rose up, he drew his blade to meet them head on--or at least, he drew half of it. Pulling the weapon from the scabbard on his back, R.D. saw that the top half of the blade had broken off, and the remainder had a large crack running through a good portion of what was left. "Ah, shit," he snarled, looking back up. He dodged to the side as a spear came down, but a shield rose up and smashed him across the face, sending him into the dirt. His gun and his sword fell from his body, and the remains of the blade still in the scabbard slipped out onto the sand.

The spear came back down, and R.D. rolled out of the way and into a kneeling position. A wave of plasma smashed into the skeleton and shattered it. "Asshole," R.D. sneered, standing up and firing another wave at another skeleton that was coming in.

Hugo was running through the skeletons, chopping through their legs with his blade, then finishing them off when they stumbled. "They're just skeletons, keep your guard up!"

"I guess I'LL do it, then!" Matt remarked. He bent low, summoning power. "Avalanche Dragon!" The mighty stone dragon erupted from the platform and surrounding wall, and Matt curved it around to ram it right in Stallord's face.

Link watched as Stallord reached up with a massive claw and snatched at the stone serpent that Matt had called forth from the now-buried stone ramp, grabbing hold of its face and holding it back. The undead beast roared as the Avalanche Dragon struggled against the monster's strength.

Quickly, Link looked around at their surroundings, looking for some sort of chance to knock Stallord off-guard. He used the Master Sword to cut down one Stalfos that neared, and it was then that he heard the telltale sounds of a spinning blade trap rushing past. He looked up and saw it circling the arena's edge, using a Spinner track. He knew his chance was there.

Midna summoned the Spinner and Link took off, skimming rapidly across the sand upon its top-like structure. The teeth of its gears latched into the track and it increased in speed, sending him careening halfway around the arena and at Stallord's exposed backside. Stomping the trigger, Link shot off the track. The Spinner cut across the sands and the green-clad warrior stomped the trigger again as he neared the base of Stallord's spine--the teeth jutted out, striking hard against the vertebrae, rebounding off with such force that he nearly fell off the device.

Stallord howled as its spine fractured at its base, and the immense weight of the top-heavy beast caused it to shatter underneath it. The Avalanche Dragon managed to prevail the strength then, but still only glanced off of its shoulder. Snarling, Stallord swept its other claw in a backhand at Matt's attack.