Chapter Text
His prison evolved so quickly while he was free from it. How or why he has no idea, but there are no longer any holes in it, no way for him to free himself from it unless the prison began to fail. Vaati seriously doubted the Four Sword would ever be removed from its pedestal, ever distanced from the elements, for the energy maintaining his sealing to drain away.
But then an energy he could only describe as familiar neared his prison. Something dark, something shadowy. Something his .
But yet also different. So very different.
The sword is pulled and the seal weakens, then shatters, as he pushes out as the darkness of this strange visitor pushes inwards.
He gathers air to himself, swirls it into a whirlwind and fills the sanctuary with it, cackling at his own freedom as he blows what appears to be a freshly duplicated Link far far away.
The sound of clapping meets his nonexistent ears and Vaati turns to see the visitor who helped his freedom.
A shadowy double of the hero. But not quite like the ones he’d made. This one was gerudo-skinned .
“I did not make you,” Vaati said, “and yet you reek of my magic.”
The child smirks and bows. “Lord Vaati, I owe my existence partly to you… and partly to my other lord. To Lord Ganon, king of the demons.”
The child’s voice is haughty even while speaking such reverent words. Such a strange creature.
“Elaborate,” Vaati demanded, drawing near.
The doppelganger looked up, a wide smile on his face making him look challenging.
“I was once a child of another world, brought here by happenstance. Lord Ganon stole me, cared for me, and filled me. Replaced my light with darkness you left behind. The Dark Mirror he thieved changed me, used your magic as an anchor to my soul and turned me into Shadow Link .”
He stood tall once more and held out an open palm. “My Lord Ganon would very much so like to meet you, Lord Vaati. We have much to discuss with you.”
His thoughts whizzed. A Dark Mirror? A King of Demons? His freedom at the hands of someone else’s plan?
Vaati preened, his wings flexing. “Well, if your lord has need of my presence so badly, who am I to deny him?”
Shadow Link’s smile was wide and poisonously pleased, fangs sharp like a keese.
Vaati dropped himself to the ground, focusing, recalling, until he took upon a form he had not for many years, until he resembled the Hylian body he had constructed upon the evening of his betrayal to his master.
He may yet need the poetry of its shape.
The towering blue demon king, face ugly like a boar, greeted him while holding a trident so steeped in darkness and destruction Vaati was surprised he could see it till through the cloud of magic surrounding it. But perhaps that was just him and his ability to see .
“Lord Vaati,” Ganon greeted him. “Though you have been bested by the hero Link before, he still has yet to kill you. This is admirable.”
Vaati considered this and nodded. Recognition of his failure but praise for his skill and success.
“The hero is tenacious, but so am I.”
A grin spread around the tusks protruding from Ganon’s mouth. “There is very little known about you, but… I have watched your struggle with the hero boy,” he turned to the large arched mirror of polished obsidian standing behind him, a horned face with claws at the top looking horrid and pained.
“This is the Dark Mirror, capable of looking through visions of the present and the past, of pulling near infinite power from a realm made entirely of dark energy. Tied to its power, I am sure there is no way the young hero will be able to best us, even with the Four Sword by his side.”
Vaati stared for a moment, then reached out a hand. “May I?”
Ganon stepped back and Vaati walked forward, gently touching the surface with his fingertips.
The Mirror was freezing , cold and buzzing and intense. He could feel just how deep the realm hidden behind it was, how much power lay dormant behind the enchanted glass.
He turned to Ganon with a face of utter shock. “You say I can share in this power?”
The pig beast nodded. “It would be my honour to have your thoughts and insight. The mirror only shows things. You may tell me how best to destroy the hero. And in return, you may have access to the mirror’s power, to its infinite potential. We will be the kings of darkness over this land of Hyrule, perhaps of even the world.”
Vaati grinned. “Lord Ganon, I think we will enjoy working together very much .”
The pleased look on Ganon’s face was thunderous, but his eyes, oh his eyes… they shone with the darkest of intentions. Intentions Vaati would so greatly like to see become reality.