Chapter One

AN: Now, usually I have a few chapters written before I post the first one, but this time I ran out of time, as I get to miss the entirety of E3 because I'm travelling.

Shame on me for not writing Crossing. Inspiration has been stuck for that one. And after looking at some great fanart, this inspiration struck me. It's actually going to be in SS, but AU, for reasons that happen later on. If you don't like death, please don't read this. But then again, if you have read some of my other stories, you'll know it's not a new subject I write about. What is interesting is that I don't know anyone close that has died. Weird, huh?

While Ghirahim is far from entering my favourite villains of Zelda, he is fun to write. As much as I love Ganondorf, I can't see him being sporadic in his actions, like the Demon Lord is. Ghirahim is creepy and disturbing and it took me a while to be able to fight him, not for a lack of trying, just that I can't take a man in spandex and does that tongue thing while talking about something 'filling his heart with rainbows' seriously. Also, the slapping thing didn't help.

-:-

Kinsley cartwheeled across a log in Faron Woods to avoid stepping on the wet grass as much as possible on her way to check in with the Kikwi's elder, Bucha. As of late, Kinsley had started to see more and more Bokoblins and Deku Babas around the woods and it worried her. She had no way of combating them, so the only way for her was to try her best to avoid them, or, if all else failed, run away very quickly and climb a tree.

Never had she seen monsters in the woods until now, and she remembered the first time she encountered a rogue Bokoblin. She thought they looked strange and smelled funny, but when it tried to attack her with its sword, she made sure after that to steer clear of them. As well, ever since the monsters started to appear, Kinsley had a feeling like she was being watched, which seemed ridiculous to her after she thought about it. "I'm in a forest," she said out loud, "of course I'm being watched. There are so many creatures and animals and bugs here, I'm surprised I'm feeling watched now."

She continued on her way to where Bucha usually stayed, walking up a steep incline and around a hill. After walking a bit further, she came to a complete halt. Normally where she would just walk across a bridge was now a gap, and she knew she couldn't jump it.

Across the gap, she saw Bucha, but she knew that if she yelled, she would only frighten the Kikwi more. Below her she some Bokoblins, and Kinsley surmised that they had torn down the bridge. Sighing, she looked for a different way across, one that she could actually accomplish without hurting herself. Seeing no other way across, she made her way back to her house.

-:-

The moon was high in the night sky when Kinsley awoke to the sound of someone or something outside her small house. She stayed still in her bed and kept her breathing quiet, trying not to draw attention to herself. After a few minutes she heard some shallow breathing and a distinctive koo-kwee outside her door.

Sighing in relief, Kinsley stood from her bed and walked to the door to open in. Outside her door, she saw Machi, one of the Kikwis. "Hey Machi, what happened?" Kinsley asked the scared Kikwi.

"There's something hiding in the woods, kwee. Please help?" Machi said, before walking into Kinsley's house.

Kinsley rubbed her eyes and stared out into the darkness. "You sure it wasn't a Bokoblin or a Deku Baba?"

"It was at least twice as tall, koo."

After Kinsley had grabbed the lantern off her table and had instructed Machi to stay at her house until either she came back or it was daytime, she set off into the dark forest, searching for the thing that scared Machi.

From previous times she had been out at night, Kinsley knew that, as scary as it was, there were actually less monsters out, except for Keese. However, she had a sinking feeling that the Kikwi was right and that made Kinsley even more uncomfortable.

"So, if I were a tall, scary monster that frightened Machi, where would I be hiding?" she wondered out loud. She hadn't been expecting an answer, so when one came, she nearly dropped her lantern in fright.

"It wasn't my original intention to scare that tiny thing," someone said from high above.

After recovering from the initial scare, Kinsley looked up to see someone standing on a branch in a tree. She couldn't tell what they looked like, given that it was night time, but she could tell they were quite tall. "What are you doing up there? And why are you out this late at night?"

"Well, you asked a question, so I answered it; though it was not my intention to arrive in a tree. And I thought it was common knowledge that demons worked well under the moon; you should know."

Kinsley cast a look of disbelief at the person in the tree, though she wasn't sure they saw it. "I should know? How should I know, I'm not a demon."

It was at that point that the person in the tree jumped down and gracefully landed on their feet. Their face came into view and Kinsley was finally able to see them. "Oh really, then what are you?"

"I- uh, I just know I'm not a demon, okay?"

The person crossed their arms and almost glared at Kinsley. "Where are my manners, I am Demon Lord Ghirahim, though you may call me Ghirahim, I do prefer my full title."

"Hi. I'm Kinsley, and now that I know that you're not a threat, I need to return to Machi," Kinsley said, turning to leave. Before she could move, though, she felt a sword blade pressed against her throat.

"I am plenty lethal and you will not leave until I say so. Understood?" Kinsley muttered a quiet agreement, though she barely understood where the sword had come from. Now, my little storm demon, I need your help," Ghirahim stated, lowering his sword.

Kinsely turned around. "What was that you called me? I told you, I'm not a demon."

"To be fair, you hardly look the part. But that is beside the point. Storm demons are known to be very tricky, and I'm honestly surprised you're this calm. Anyway, I need you to tail a certain someone and try to befriend them."

"And I'm helping you because?"

Ghirahim made a tsking noise. "I thought you'd like to have your little forest dwelling creatures not ripped to shreds by my monsters." The Demon Lord then put his hand on his chin and appeared to be deep in thought. "I suppose it's lucky I found a storm demon who doesn't have a clue to her identity. You'll not be seen as a threat by those who can detect a demon. Anyway, I trust you know these woods, yes? At sunrise tomorrow, meet me by the giant tree."

Kinsley didn't get a say in the matter, as Ghirahim disappeared in a flurry of diamonds. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she made her way back home, to let Machi know that it was safe for now.

-:-

The next day, Kinsley awoke with the sun, barely registering what had happened during the night before. Slowly, she rolled out of bed and onto the floor, her hair in a slight mess and her eyes shut tight. "Stupid dream," she said as she went about her early morning routine, fixing her hair and eating some bread and fruit.

Taking her sweet time, she moved on to making her bed and cleaning up any other mess she saw. She didn't get very far, however, because there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, she realized that what had happened last night was not a dream, and had been very real.

On her doorstep stood a very agitated Ghirahim, who was barely able to mask it. "I thought I gave you clear instructions to meet me at sunrise," he said, some venom seeping through to his tone.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I honestly thought that was a dream."

"Dream or not, when a demon appears, it is wise to follow their instructions." Ghirahim rubbed his temples in frustration. "We've already lost precious time standing here. Come on," he said, waving Kinsley outside.

The girl cautiously stepped outside, before she was grabbed by the demon lord and felt the air in her lungs rush out.

A moment later, Kinsley recognized the area of the woods they were in, or more specifically, the area of the Skyview temple they were in.

"Why are we in this old place? There's nothing important here," Kinsley stated, looking around the circular room.

"Just beyond this room is someone who I dearly need to perform a resurrection of my master. Now, please be quiet." As soon as Ghirahim finished talking, he snapped his fingers and chains now bound Kinsley to the ground where she stood. She also felt something heavy on her head, and realized it was some sort of mouth piece; when she tried to speak, no noise came from her.

Feeling defeated, Kinsley sat down and stared up at Ghirahim, who simply smirked back at her. She grit her teeth; she didn't like any of this, but she had very little choice.

It felt like hours had passed before she heard the large doors at the other end of the room open. Curious, she turner to look at who had entered, but the person didn't look all that special to her.

However, when she turned to see who Ghirahim would react, she was surprised to see a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

Over the next few minutes, Kinsley watched silently as Ghirahim introduced himself and teleported around the circular room. She then watched as the two of them fought, the new person seemed to have heightened sensed and was able to turn around extremely quickly. And although Ghirahim mostly focused on the other person, he would occasionally throw a dagger or two at Kinsley, hitting her.

She wasn't too thrilled about that, but soon enough, the demon lord seemed out of breath. "I can no longer feel her presence. Next time I will not be so easy on you, Skychild." With that, he disappeared from the room and it seemed to feel less stuffy to Kinsley.

A moment after Ghirahim disappeared, the chains that had bound her fell loose. She stood up and stretched, before walking over to the person who had bested Ghirahim in battle.

"Thanks. I'm Kinsley. What's your name?"

The person who had defeated the demon lord gave a half smile at Kinsley. "I'm Link. Uh, why were you chained up like that?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. Yesterday, I was minding my own business in the woods, and today I'm here. Weird. Well, it was nice meeting you, Link, but I think I should probably-"

"Would you like to come along?" Link said, interrupting Kinsley. "I think we'll be seeing that guy again, so if you come along, you might get some answers."

Kinsley thought on this for a moment. On one hand, she could go back to her house and forget this entire thing ever happened, which sounded quite pleasant. On the other hand, she could tag along with Link, and maybe even help him. "Hmm… I suppose I could come along with you."

Link grinned at Kinsley, before a strange person appeared out of his sword. Kinsley took a step back, eyeing the person.

"Master, Zelda's presence is no longer behind the door. Also, it would appear that Kinsley has the same aura as a demon."

Kinsley looked at the strange person and almost glared at them. Link blinked a few times before turning to look at Kinsley. Sure, she looked strange for a human, but she wasn't that different, was she?

"Thank you, Fi," Link said in an almost bored tone as he watched her disappear back to the sword. "So, what are you?"

"Well, according to a few people, I'm a demon. I had no idea that I was one until last night, but evidentially, I am one. I think a storm demon, whatever they are."

Link shrugged as though he couldn't care less and carried on to open the door. Once it was open, Link and Kinsley passed through a short hall and into an open spring. Once there, Link stood at the end of a walkway and held up his sword to the sky, before slicing through the air at a floating crest.

Kinsley was confused by what Link had done, and why he was receiving a piece of stone that looked broken, but nonetheless, she went along with it. "So, what's that thing for?"

"It will open up a new area on the surface I couldn't reach before."

"The surface? Where's that?" Link rolled his eyes before walking back into the temple to head back outside. Kinsley ran to catch up with Link. "Seriously, where is the surface?"

After sighing, Link explained what the surface was. "We're on it right now. However, where I come from, an island high above the clouds in the sky, almost no one can get down here. Some think that the surface is just a myth."

"Well, that's stupid; though if someone had told me there's a chunk of rock floating about in the clouds with people on it, I'd call it a myth as well," Kinsley mused as they walked out of the temple together. "So, where to next?"

"Skyloft," Link said, as he approached a bird statue.

-:-

AN: Hey guys. I actually have a plan for the middle part of this fic. The ending is still up in the air, as I have no idea what to end it with… While I'm gone on my trip I think I'll be planning out the chapters and what not, something that I rarely do because I find it hard to stick to that. The M rating will kick in soon… though I wonder if I should have a pairing in it or not… hmm…