In a dark structure, camouflaged by shadows and not easily noticeable to the untrained eye, a hidden dungeon lay in wait of a victim to succumb to it's daunting puzzles. Inside, at the heart of the temple, a gerudo man stood in an empty room waiting for his servant to return bringing new information. Impatiently he drummed his fingers and looked around, wishing for a way to pass the time. Suddenly, a new figure burst into the room with news to bear.
"Shadow," said the gerudo man. "What took you so long? I sent you out yesterday, and it's been hours since then. Surely checking to see if there were any boss monster survivors shouldn't have taken that long?" He arched an eyebrow, waiting for a response.
"Many apologies, Lord Ganon," Shadow Link replied, slightly inclining his head in respect as he spoke. Shadow wouldn't admit that the respect he was displaying was forced, or that he wanted nothing more then to rip Ganon's throat out then and there. Of course, he had to pretend he was still loyal to his master. "I checked for any boss monsters who might have survived their battle with Link as you instructed, but unfortunately it seems as though all of them have been killed and disposed of."
"Even Helmaroc?" Ganondorf questioned. "He was our strongest, I was certain he would have survived."
"No, my Lord," Shadow said regretfully. "Actually, he was alive when I came to check for him atop Death Mountain. It was all rather odd, the series of events that occurred next, and I'm sure you will be very interested in what I've got to say." Looking at Ganon, who made a gesture for him to carry on speaking, Shadow continued with his tale.
He recounted how he had reached the top of the mountain to speak with Helmaroc when Vaati appeared with a girl. He mentioned that the three had a brief exchange and then fought to the death, Vaati managing to defeat Helmaroc.
By the end of Shadow's explanation, Ganon was practically speechless. "How is that possible?" He demanded, confusing and anger evident in his words. "I thought we had gotten rid of Vaati already! I didn't 'team up' with him and send him to battle Link first because I wanted him to win and survive! There's only room for one villain, and that's me! I thought Link had defeated Vaati, after which I went into hiding, so why has he returned?"
"I was curious as to why that was as well," Shadow began. "You see, the reason I took so long in returning is because I stayed behind to spy on Vaati and the girl he was fighting alongside. By sticking around and listening to the conversation they had with each other in the morning, I learned some things that answer your questions."
"Apparently, Vaati was defeated by Link and given a chance at redemption. He told the girl he was with that the goddesses themselves promised to forgive him for his crimes if he in turn promised to complete three specific tasks. It sounded like defeating Helmaroc was the first of these tasks, and it seems to me as though he no longer wants to be evil but has had a change of heart and now wishes to become good."
"Why, we can't let that happen," Ganon said, still trying to get over the initial shock of his newfound knowledge. "One hero is bad enough, and knowing Vaati he won't want to stop at forgiveness and becoming a normal person. No, he always goes over the top in all that he does, so if he wants to be good I'm certain he'll stop at nothing short of heroic. Link is difficult enough to deal with, so imagine what would happen if we had to start dealing with Vaati as well."
"You're right, my Lord," Shadow said in reply. "So what do you think we should we do about it?"
"I want you to go do some more snooping around," Ganon stated. "Find out what his second task will be, because if we find out what it is maybe we could add to its difficulty somehow." He finished with a thoughtful look on his face, as though contemplating something.
"If Vaati is truly working to become good now, then that means he no longer has any interest in being villainous and evil, therefore he is not on our side anymore. Soon we will have to make it clear to him that if he's not with us, he's against us," Ganon said severely. "If that's the case and the pest still wants to be good, he must be eliminated."
"Sorry to interrupt, my Lord, but isn't that a bit harsh? I mean, he isn't like Link and he used to be one of us..." Shadow trailed off, practically melting under Ganondorf's fiery gaze.
"That doesn't matter! Shadow, if you're going to turn soft on me you may as well get out of my face," Ganon replied angrily. Calming down a bit, he added, "he has the potential to become a threat, and I don't want another somewhat strong enemy. If you're so worried about this, why don't you just go back to work under him as your master, hmm?"
"I can't do that," Shadow replied sullenly, wishing he could walk out right then and there on Ganon. In his mind, even teaming up with Vaati would be better than working under the ruthless Ganon.
Ganon sighed. "I don't understand why you can't. Surely since Vaati created you with his dark magic you've still got some loyalty to him, right? So why do you choose to work under me?"
"I didn't choose this," Shadow said flatly. "When I was first created, I had a magical bond placed on me to ensure my loyalty to Vaati, making me his servant. When Vaati teamed up with you, he changed the bond he placed on me so that I would be equally loyal to both him and you. When he was defeated, the magic bond tying me to him broke, leaving me as solely your servant. Even though Vaati has returned, the bond between him and I can't and won't ever mend, leaving me completely as your servant, and yours alone."
"Oh, I see," Ganon said. "Thanks for explaining that to me, but does that mean you'll never be free?"
"Yes," Shadow said, though he added a few more words under his breath so Ganon couldn't hear. "I'm a servant for life until you die, Ganon. Then I'll be free..."
"Get going then," Ganon snapped suddenly, impatient as always. "Find out more information and report back to me as soon as you figure out what the second task is going to be."
"Yes, Lord Ganon," Shadow said. With that he turned away silently and left the dungeon, preoccupied with new, wishful thoughts of an impossible freedom.
xxxxx
"So now that we've completed out first task, what is to be our second?"
Vaati and Lexi were climbing down the side of Death Mountain together, in what had been peaceful, silent moments before Lexi asked a question.
"I don't know," Vaati replied irritably. "The goddesses have to come tell me what the next task is, and hopefully they tell me sooner then later. Last time they made quite the point of arriving late."
"Wait, so you're saying that the goddesses are actually going to come down and talk to us!?" Lexi squealed excitedly. "Oh my goodness! I'll get to meet them for real? This is amazing, I can't belie-"
"I never said that you would get to meet them," Vaati cut in. "It's only a possibility. They might not appear to you."
"Oh," Lexi said, looking downcast for only a moment until her usual happy attitude took over again. "Well, at least I have a chance of meeting them! A possibility is better then nothing!"
At this Vaati said nothing, amazed at how she always kept up her chipper attitude. These thoughts brought on the curiosity as to why she would be spending time helping him of all people... Oh well, it's better not to question the few good things that appear in my life Vaati thought miserably.
"Lexi, I didn't ask this earlier because I wasn't sure if you would be comfortable with my magic," Vaati started. "But I'm not interested in climbing down this entire mountain, it's going to take hours! Would you allow me to bring the two of us to the base of the mountain with magic?"
"I'm not scared of your magic, don't worry," Lexi said. "I trust you now. But all I'm wondering is how, exactly, do you plan on getting us down there?" She looked down the slope nervously, calculating all the ways in her head she could die with one wrong step down the mountain path.
"Well, I don't have the power of the wind for nothing," Vaati replied haughtily. "I would create a cyclone to sweep around us and carry us up into the air and down to the ground. I've done it a few times before, though I usually teleport places."
"Why can't we just teleport?" Lexi questioned. "It sounds... I don't know, safer?" She finished, trying unsuccessfully to hide how scared she was.
"I would be able to teleport down without problem, but it's a long distance and I can't teleport the two of us that far away. It's one of those things that takes up too much of my power."
"Alright," Lexi said, pretending to put on a brave face. "Cyclone it is!"
Smiling, Vaati raised his arms and summoned strong gusts of wind from every side of him. Lexi couldn't help but notice how free Vaati looked when he was using his magic, and how uncharacteristically happy he seemed. It was as though he transformed into a whole different person entirely, smiling and full of joy.
It was true, for when Vaati used his magic he felt as though it was the one thing he truly understood. The calming breezes or the strong gusts of air were what made him something special, and he loved the feeling of supremacy that came along with it.
As the blowing wind grew stronger, Lexi felt her feet lift off the ground as her whole body gracefully floated upwards into the sky above. She had to admit, it was quite the extraordinary sensation.
Together Lexi and Vaati flew gently down the mountain, and in minutes they had reached the bottom. During the entire flight down, Lexi was in complete awe and had to stifle her disappointment when the time came for her to land on solid ground again.
"Now, you can't say that wasn't amazing," Vaati said, pride evident in his tone of voice. Lexi could tell how proud Vaati was of further demonstrating his powers to her, and decided to play along and say what he wanted to hear.
"It was truly breathtaking," she replied honestly. "I've never experienced anything like it before... What's that?" Lexi broke off, looking up at the sky.
Vaati followed her line of sight and inwardly groaned when he saw what had caught her attention. High in the deep blue sky, coming down through the clouds, were three glowing orbs colored red, blue, and green. The goddesses were here.
"My, what do you think those are?" Lexi asked curiously. "I've never seen anything like that in all of Hyrule!"
"Oh, I think we'll find out pretty soon," Vaati replied tersely. Damn the goddesses and their impeccable timing he thought, completely uninterested in talking to them at that moment. He took back what he had said earlier about wanting them to arrive quickly, for their mere presence irked him. Apart of him wished that he'd never have to see them again.
Astonished, Lexi watched with wide eyes as the glowing orbs floated down in front of the two people. Whereas Lexi couldn't take her eyes off the glowing, magical orbs, Vaati was looking around in complete disinterest, feigning boredom.
Soon the goddess orbs had floated down to the surface and they transformed into their gorgeous Hylian forms, leaving Lexi standing there in complete and utter shock at the sight before her.
"Greetings Vaati, Lexi," Nayru spoke, nodding to each of them in turn. "Why Lexi, I do not believe we have been fully aquatinted yet. Allow me to introduce ourselves to you. I am Nayru, this is Din," she gestured to the woman dressed in red to her left. "And this is Farore," she said, looking at the woman wearing green to her right.
"Oh my," Lexi breathed in awe, inclining her head out of respect. "You're the goddesses."