Trigger

Chapter Six

He ignored Link's low whistle of appreciation, attached his earring, and teleported into the room, sealing all of the barrier energy in place. It was silent save for a magical hum. The demon stared at the portal for only a moment before stepping in.

It was two seconds of darkness in which he remembered his life in Hyrule - as an evil creature, obeying Ganondorf for no reason other than the love for destruction and the threat of death; that and the fact that Demise, his old master, had some sort of relation to him. He also suddenly recalled his battle with Link.

The two seconds after that, he was trying to orient himself. He was laying on hot sand, gazing almost blankly to his right, and he couldn't move his right arm, but he knew that should be appropriate, since Link had heavily wounded it while they were battling.

There was a gasp in Zant's voice, with an accent like Midna's. Right - he was a Twili, too. "No, don't attack, fools!" Footsteps sounded, and Zant appeared at his side. "Ghirahim! Where have you been? What happened?!"

He tried to push himself up, but everything was suddenly spiked with pain. He growled under his breath as his vision blurred a little and responded as he would have, had he been the same person he once was.

"Don't you have a potion, Zant, or are you going to let me die? Last I checked, my service was an asset to Lord Ganondorf's forces."

Zant started to speak, but then looked up at something Ghirahim couldn't see and sunk into a bow. Only when he heard a deep, commanding voice did he know why.

"Ghirahim. Where is the Hero?"

He almost flinched, struggling to turn his head to see Ganondorf. "My lord-!" He convulsed for a moment with pain, trembling as he tried to push himself up enough to manage a bow.

"Enough. You're clearly wounded. You may remain there."

Hesitantly, he let himself back down, cringing with authentic pain. "Yes, these are - these are the same wounds I had before I was transported from Hyrule." His vision darkened dangerously, and he shut his eyes. "I'm sorry, my lord, I - "

"Zant, give him a potion before he dies."

"Yes, my lord."

A bottle was passed to him, which he drank immediately. His vision returned, and the pain slowly diminished. He passed the empty bottle back when Zant held out his hand - er, sleeve - for it, at last managing a bow.

"Lord Ganondorf." He hid his fear well, keeping his gaze calm and his voice steady, with an undertone of arrogance. It was how he used to do things, after all. "My apologies for taking so long to return."

"Where were you?"

The demon lord was glad that Ganondorf didn't seem to be furious with him, but it was often hard to tell. He was always angry.

"Such an odd dimension," Ghirahim muttered. "There were no people there; it was completely barren save for myself, at least until I realized the Hero was there, as well."

And there it was - his original persona started to clash with him. Why are you lying for the Hero's sake? This is absurd. When has he ever done anything for you?

Miraculously, he divided his consciousness into two parts, arguing with himself as he falsely described the other dimension to Ganondorf.

One doesn't always need incentive to want to protect someone.

His darker side scoffed, and in his mind's eye he could see it physically manifest, arms crossed as it glared over at him. Don't be ridiculous. This is what we've always done. If we assist someone, we want a decent reason. The Hero doesn't even care about you - he hates you, last I checked.

"...it's rather vast, despite it's barrenness. Such a hassle to navigate when everything looks the same..." You've been dormant since I left Hyrule, forgotten in the back of my mind. You know nothing of my experiences in the other world.

I do have access to our memories. Don't forget: I am you. I am the part of you that ruled this body before you nearly got us killed. The dark manifestation examined its nails contemplatively. He doesn't care about you, or at least you don't think so. It paused, then started laughing. Oh, how amusing. You have feelings for him, and he only slept with you because he was 'feeling antsy'.

Ghirahim managed to shove back his darker self, locking it away - at which it threw a hissy fit. With that done, he returned his full attention to Ganondorf. "The Twilight Princess managed to catch me by surprise and injured me, but I found a portal back here just in time to avoid an assault from the Hero. He didn't dare step in, because he's aware that I brought him to the verge of death here in Hyrule. I planned to return with a potion, restore my health, and bring both of them down."

Ganondorf had a gleam in his eye that replaced the anger. "Good work, Ghirahim. Since none of us can go through, I'll leave this job in your hands." He glowered down at the demon. "Do not fail me."

"I won't, my lord." A Darknut - a large, dog-like creature dressed in heavy black armor - passed him another potion, and he stooped into a deep bow before turning and starting back towards the portal. Ganondorf's army stood at his back, watching silently, and somehow didn't notice the small figure of Princess Zelda, ducking behind a large outcrop of stone.

The demon lord, however, did notice, and met her gaze. When he was sure she was looking, he flashed her a wink and vanished into the portal.