Making a Comeback and a New Friend

by InigoShadow92

The second in my trilogy. Four years after the first one, Brianna has a job and a life kinda . Then Link shows up and throws the already tedious balance off. And when Darklink shows up as well, Brianna could lose her life. Will she? Only time will tell.

The New Friends, Old Foes Saga: Making a Comeback and a New Friend

Prologue

The year was 2010. I had just turned 18. My name was Brianna, and this is my story. I'm not exactly your average teen girl. About two years ago, I had an incident that left me in a coma for about three months. During those months, I had gone to Hyrule. Now I still didn't know if it existed or not. Just about everyone I had known before then thought I was crazy, except Megan, for she had been there with me. I still had my insanely bright crimson Sheikah-like eyes to prove my point, though. I had moved out of the house for fear that my parents would discover that their daughter was a freak, and to be able to practice my magic without being disturbed. I now lived in an apartment, though it was arguable that I lived in one of the back rooms in the fencing school I owned. That was where I practiced my magic, and I fell asleep there as much as in the apartment. I was the only teacher there, so all tuition money from the school went to pay my bills. Megan lived with me. My favorite age group was the 15-20 year olds. My friends Nick and Jesse were in it. Jesse, a black-haired punk, had been very excited about joining. His best friend Nick, however, had not been so thrilled. Jesse had dragged him into it, saying that they would make idiots of themselves together. It turned out that Nick was even better than Jesse was. Figures. On to the real story now.

Chapter one: Enter Nick and Jesse, stage right!

I was walking to work when I saw a brief glimpse of black. "Hmmmm… Maybe Jesse or Nick?" I wondered aloud, "But maybe not. There's a ton of Gothic people around here." Whatever it was, it was gone now. Today was Monday, so, I was going to be teaching Nick and Jesse today. Today was also the last day of the month, so, I was going to test the students by having them spar. I would watch every match, and I hoped I wouldn't get as worked up as last month. I looked at my watch. It was 6:30 PM. "Oh, Crap!" I yelled, and I ran the last block to the building. I got in there and took role. I paired up all the students and they fought it out as I was the ref. The first round was no challenge. It ended up that Jesse and Nick fought each other in the semifinals of the tournament. As I said before, Nick was the better swordsman. He won with a glancing blow at just the right angle, making Jesse's sword fly across the room and get stuck in the door. Now was the fun part. If he wanted to, Nick could now fight me. "Are you going to?" I asked. "Absolutely. I've always wanted a chance to show you that you aren't the best." He answered. "So you think, huh?" I replied, a sword in my left hand. It started just like the times that I had fought my own teacher. We just tested each other, blow for blow, blocking and striking the other's sword. It would appear to a novice that we were actually battling it out, but we weren't just yet. "Is this all you got?" I asked teasingly, "I could have stayed asleep and still beat you if that's it." "Then let's kick it up a notch!" Said Nick, lunging at me. It took five minutes, and because I had been using my left hand to give him a chance, he had won with a flick of the wrist. "Very well done. Next time, I may use my right hand against you, Nick. You could probably stand to the challenge." I said. "Thanks for the backwards compliment, Brianna, but aren't you left-handed?" Nick asked, looking confused. "No, did you think I was?" I said. "Well, you use your left hand more than your right, so I just figured you were left-handed." He said. "The reason that I use my left hand at classes more than my right is because I don't think that most of the students there could stand to the challenge. In fact, the last person to stand to that challenge was the person that taught me." I answered. As we walked down the street, Nick asked me, "Who taught you how to use a sword? I mean, they must have been the best of the best, right?" "You could say that." I replied, laughing a little at that description of my teacher, "He was the best of the best where he came from. The problem is, I don't know if the things I did with him were even real." "What do you mean?" asked Jesse, "You know that you did those things, don't you?" "Yes, but it's ……complicated." I answered, "Do you remember how I told you that when I was fourteen, a drunk driver ran into me while I was in my yard?" "Yeah. You went into a coma for about three months." Said Nick. "Well, that's when I met him. During that time." I said. "You're kidding, right?" asked Jesse, an expression on his face that if I hadn't been so depressed I would have laughed out loud. "I'm dead serious, Jesse." I said, "The problem is, I don't know if it was a fever dream, or if it might have been real." "What was his name?" Asked Nick. "Yeah, What was his name?" Jesse Chimed in. I knew they were just trying to make me feel better, but I wasn't in the mood. It really wasn't helping at all. "His name was…w-was…" I said, stuttering with the pain of lost love, "Link." I started to sob, thinking about the one that I had loved and seemed to have known for so long, the man who had captured my heart. I felt an arm around my shoulders as Jesse said, "We're sorry we made you cry." Then he added with a change in his gentle tone of voice, "Right, Nick?" "Right." Said Nick, "We just thought that if you finally told someone, you wouldn't feel so depressed. You might think that we don't see, but we do, and we feel for you, Bri." "Thanks, guys, I really needed that." I said, a half-forced smile appearing through the tears. "Hey, Brianna, can I talk to you when we get to the apartment building?" Jesse asked. "Okay." I replied, despite the fact that I didn't know what the heck this was about. Suddenly as we drew near to the apartment building, Jesse exclaimed, "What in the world?" I looked around and saw a column of blue light, going down into the forest in the park at the center of town. A crystal-like thing drifted down in the beam. "Brianna, do you know what that is?" asked Nick, seeing the stunned look on my face. "I…I'll tell you later, Nick. If I don't get there NOW, I don't know what could happen." I said, adding a hurried "Bye!" as I ran off. Could it really be him…? I thought as I ran.

Chapter Two: Guess who's back! (back again! Shady's back! Tell a friend! Oops. Wrong thing.)

I slowly walked into the forest. I had a hunch about what had happened, since I had seen that happen about five billion times. I found the center of the woods, and sure enough, there was a guy, on his back in the dirt. "Get up, you." I said in perfect Hylian, then realizing exactly who he was, added, "Oh! Nayru's Love! Link!" "Huh?" He said also in Hylian, getting up. He was a full five foot eight. Still a lot taller than me. "Don't you recognize me?" I asked him. "Sorry, but no." He said shrugging. "Well, isn't that nice. Yeah, 'I feel like I've known you my whole life.' Sure, Right." I said with fake offense. "Brianna?!" Link Yelled. "So you do remember." I said, smiling. "Well, you sure have grown." He said, "Geez. I think you're about a head taller than the last time I saw you." I laughed. I had grown a bit in the past four years. "I see you haven't changed a bit." I said. "I see you haven't either." Said Link. We both laughed at the way we were talking to each other. "I didn't think I would ever see you again." I said, now softly sobbing. He hugged me and I hugged him back. "I thought you were lost forever when you fell through that hole. I spent the next six months moping. It got really bad." He said. "I never stopped. Until now." I said, and we kissed lightly. (Megan: oooOOOooh! Me: Shut up!) "Do you want to see my apartment?" I asked. "Sure. I don't know how to get back, so I'll come with." He said. For the next few minutes, we chattered away to each other in rapid, fluent Hylian. We got a few odd glances, and we laughed at the people giving them. I told Link everything, from my moving out of my parent's house to starting the Fencing school. When we reached the apartment complex, Jesse was waiting for me. "Nick told me to let you know that he went to work." Said Jesse. "Wait one moment." I told Link in Hylian. "Whoah, Who's the freak show over there?" Asked Jesse. "He's not a freak show! And F.Y.I., That's Link." I said, smirking at the end. "What the Heck?!" shouted Jesse. I told Link what Jesse had said about him, and he just sighed really loudly. It was just like him to let insults just roll off of him. "How come he knows our language?" asked Jesse. "Oh, He speaks it natively." I answered like it was common knowledge. "I taught Jesse and Nick Hylian when I met them." I told Link, "Now let's go." Link nodded and we started to head inside, but as we walked in the door, Link stubbed his toe on something. If this were a video, it would be going Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep as Link demonstrated his extensive vocabulary of Hylian swear words. As soon as I realized what he was saying, I clapped my hands over Jesse's ears. He didn't need to hear that stuff. Knowing Jesse, he'd start using them and then they'd catch on with other people. "Link! Stop swearing!" I yelled. "Uhh…sorry." Link replied and we headed to the apartment. "If Link is going to be here for a while, he is going to really need some new clothes." Jesse suggested. "You're right. He'll have to be able to blend in." I said, "Jesse, Link, stand back to back please." "Why do I always get roped into stuff like this?" muttered Jesse, obeying grudgingly. "Well, it looks like you are about the same size, although Link is more muscular." I said, "Jesse, What are your clothing sizes?…No, wait, write 'em down. I'll never remember them." Jesse wrote them down in my notebook. "Okay, Jesse, make sure Link does NOT leave the apartment until I get back. I'm running to the store to get him some clothes." I said. Then I turned to Link. "If you leave the Apartment, you will be in deep trouble, 'Cuz I will come after you, teach you a lesson, and drag your sorry butt back here. Got it?" I said. Since I had to look up to see eye to eye with him, it was almost comical. "She's dead serious, man." Jesse whispered to Link. He knew from experience. Once, he was teasing me, and I threatened to knock him out with the hilt of my dagger that I kept in my belt (literally 'In my belt', I was paranoid about where Darklink went.). He had kept teasing me anyway and when he had woke up, he had a lump the size of an egg on the top of his head. "I don't make empty threats, and this is serious. Now that we know that what I experienced in Hyrule was real, we know that Darklink was warped somewhere, but we have no clue where. The sooner that Link blends in, the better." I left without another word. I found Link a couple of T-shirts, a couple pairs of blue jeans, and a couple pairs of shorts, along with a bunch of weird boxers. They had patterns on them. I felt really weird buying them. When I got back, Jesse and Link were fighting. "What in Nayru's name are you fighting about?!" I yelled, seriously freaked out that Link had lost his temper so fast. "He called you crazy!" yelled Link. "Is that all?" I asked, "I know I'm not crazy, and that's enough for me. Now Link I need you to try this stuff on." Everything was a perfect fit. "Take off your hat, please Link." I said. "My hat?" he said, "Alright, but don't be shocked if what's under there isn't pretty." He took off his hat, and his hair was a crazy length. Jesse started laughing when he saw him like that. "You really need a haircut, dude." Said Jesse, stifling his laughter. It took me a half hour just to goad him into letting me cut his hair. "I saved your life before. You'd think you would trust me by now." I said, giving him a weird look, "Just look in the mirror. You don't look half bad." I had just made it shorter, keeping his original hairstyle so he wouldn't hate it. "Thanks, Brianna." He said. I laughed at how he had changed his mood so fast.

Chapter 3: A History Revealed!

The next day, Link and I decided to have a swordfight just for old times' sake. Link swung his master sword over his head as I blocked it with mine. He was forcing me to be on the defensive which, unbeknownst to him, was my fighting style when I went all-out. Why is she not striking back? Link thought, She's just giving up the fight! That's not like her at all. Something's wrong here. I was on the defensive for too long though, because Link knocked the sword from my hand. "I win." Said Link. "Not quite." I said with a menacing smile, "You see, I'm not as skilled with a sword as I am with, say, daggers." I had pulled two daggers from their holsters hidden in my long sleeves. "Hey, what are you now, some sort of street fighter?" asked Link. "No, but I'm still armed to the teeth." I answered lightly. "That's not fair, though!" said Link, "You agreed to a one on one fight with me, just steel!" "These are steel, too." I said, "and besides, you are starting to get chubby. You need a real opponent that can whip your sorry butt back into shape. You might meet an enemy that's just as heavily armed as I am. Imagine if an iron knuckle or a fiercer monster appeared right now. You wouldn't be able to fight them. You'd be disarmed too quickly." "That proves just what you know." Said Link arrogantly. "Yeah it does. I've beaten both video games that you are in about a thousand times, so much it made me sick of them, and I had to move on to different games." I said, as arrogantly as he had, "But I did say a one on one fight with me and I will keep my word. You win. Carrying that many weapons isn't my only trick. Watch." I snapped my fingers and a flame popped up, just like in the movie 'the fantastic four'. I loved doing that. (Me: I'm such a showoff.) "Wow!" said Link. "Holy crap!" Yelled Jesse who had just come in, "Where did you learn that stuff, Brianna?!" "I just did ordinary things and they had very different effects. I perfected them so I could control it enough to hide that I have magic if needed. It took literal years. The only magic I have not truly mastered is portal summoning. I can create them, but I can't control where they go." I answered. "Dear god, Brianna, you get weirder by the day." Said Jesse. "Oh, I've been weirder." I said almost sarcastically. I shook my head and turned to Link. "Link, I've stood out for four years like a sore thumb because I am partly from your world. One of my ancestors was a Sheikah who found a portal to this world hundreds of years ago. The dormant Magic in me reacted to the living Magic in the very air in Hyrule and I started having strange things happen to me, including strange types of Magic I had never seen before, not from you, or any of the seven sages." I answered, and I returned to cleaning up the practice room of the fencing school.

Chapter Four: 'You Like Her, Don't You?'

As each day passed, I got even more paranoid, especially about the moving darkness I had seen the day that Link had arrived. According to both Nick and Jesse, neither one had been there at the time. Link had been staying in a room at the fencing school that I had used before to practice my Magic without being seen. I had to go get groceries that day, so I left Jesse and Link at the apartment. "Are you sure I shouldn't go with you?" asked Link before I left. "Yes. Even if I was ambushed by Darklink, I doubt he would do it in front of a bunch of people." I answered, "Especially at a grocery store." I left then, not letting Link give me a reason to get seriously worried. Him worrying wouldn't exactly help my already paranoid state of mind. "Why are you so protective of her?" asked Jesse. "She was and still is my student." Link answered, "I don't want her to get hurt. Plus the danger is very real. I have never seen Brianna this scared." She's scared? Thought Jesse, She's acting just like normal! She doesn't even sound scared! "You like her, don't you?" asked Jesse accusingly. "I…I…I…"said Link. "Ha! So you do! Well, She's mine!" yelled Jesse. He was jealous, and if that wasn't enough, he added, "I have worked for her heart for years, and I am not going to let you take all of my work and throw it away!" Just then, a key clicked in the locked door of the apartment. There was a thud as the door opened. "Why are there two AWESOMELY hott guys in my apartment?" asked my best friend Megan. "Aw, I knew it couldn't be true! The crazy one lives here too!" cried Link. He was on the floor now, because the door had hit him in the face. "Hey, I know you!" Megan yelled, "You're Brianna's boyfriend!" She was pointing at Link. All of a sudden, Nick walked in. "Jesse! You were supposed to meet me an hour ago!" Nick yelled. "Hehehe. Let's see you worm your way out of this one." Muttered Link in Hylian. "Uhh… Brianna told me to stay here and keep an eye on her boyfriend and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Said Jesse. "Sure, blame Brianna." Said Link, giving Jesse a look. "Hey, Nick." I said, standing in the doorway, "I see you have met Link." I nodded towards Link as I spoke. Nick looked as stunned as Jesse had when he had first met Link. "That-That …prettyboy is the guy who taught you to fight? The best of the best where he comes from?!" asked Nick. "Yes." I said, bluntly, furious at Nick, "And don't you dare call him names. If anything, call him a hero, For he is a hero, The Hero of Time! He saved his home world not once but twice from the clutches of Evil. He has truly done something to earn respect, so actually show him it!" By the end, I was actually yelling, I was so mad. Something you need to understand is that I don't yell unless I'm mad enough to kill. It gets horrible sometimes. No, scratch that, I get horrible sometimes. "I'm sorry!" said Nick in a high, squeaky voice. He was terrified. "I've never seen you this angry before!" said Link. "Yeah, the last time it happened, you were passed out by Lake Hylia." I said. "Let me help you with those groceries." Said Link, trying to switch the subject. "Why, thank you." I said, letting one of the bags slide into his arms. Stupid Link, moving in on my turf! Thought Jesse angrily, I was about to ask her out When HE showed up! My soul-piercing crimson gaze caught Jesse's stormy gray one and I heard this, "I wish Link was gone!" I sent a telepathic message to him, "How can you think such a thing?" "I've gotta get going." Jesse said aloud. "Ok." I said, "See ya Jesse." Jesse left with a weird look on his face. I had a weird feeling that someone had just come into the room, though I had not seen anything. I used some Magic to allow myself to see what is invisible, and sure enough, Dark Link was standing right next to me. He leaned close to me, close enough that his breath played against my ear. "You poor fool, you have no idea who you're up against." He murmured to me, and he left, silent as a shadow. "So that's where…" I said aloud. "Where what?" asked Megan, "And why are there so many people here? Did you try to throw a party while I was out?" "No, I didn't." I said, smiling, "Let's go for a walk, Link." "Okay." He said, and we went to the park, and I told him what I had seen. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was flipping out but wouldn't let it show.

Chapter Five: The Dream

"No! Brianna! Link, don't take her away!" Jesse mumbled. He was dreaming that Link was taking me back to Hyrule for good. "Dumb Link!" He said, waking up, "I wish he was gone." He fell back asleep almost immediately. "So, your heart's desire is for Link to vanish without a trace, is it not?" asked a voice in his dream, "I can help you there." "What on earth?!" yelled Jesse, "Who's there?" "I am." Said a disembodied voice. "Where are you?" asked Jesse, squinting in the dark. "Behind you." Said the voice and Jesse turned around to see a pair of crimson eyes, almost like mine, except they had no pupils or irises. "Link is a common enemy of you and I. If we get rid of him together, we both get what we want." Said the voice, "Will you join me?" "Let's see, a disembodied voice is asking me to join him to get rid of Link, who is the boyfriend of the girl I want to be my girlfriend." Jesse said, "Maybe I should think about this…… Nah, the opportunity is too good to pass up. You've got yourself a deal." "Good. I knew I could count on you." Said the voice, "Meet me at the forest where Link first appeared tomorrow morning. We'll talk about it more then." "I'm going to see a voice?" asked Jesse. The voice laughed sinisterly. "No, I will appear to you in my true form tomorrow." said the voice. Jesse woke up overjoyed. He wrote himself a note so he would remember the voice's directions, rolled over, and went back to sleep. "He's buying into my plan…" said a cloaked figure outside, in the alleyway. The figure walked deeper into the alleyway and disappeared out of sight.

Chapter Six: Enter Shadow!

"Jesse!" Nick called, "Where are ya, buddy?" Jesse was normally hanging out by the fencing school, but not today, so, Nick checked their apartment. He tried to open the door, but it was locked, so he unlocked it and opened it. There was a note on the table.

Nick,

I left for the woods. Needed some time to think. Don't know when I'll be back.

-- Jesse

"Great." Said Nick to himself, "I run all over town, and now I find out that he left a note saying that he was going to the woods. I gotta find him." In the woods, Jesse was waiting for the voice to show itself. "Why is it taking so long?" Exclaimed Jesse. "I see you're impatient." Said the voice, "If you had been more patient, you might have been able to see me before I woke up." "Where are you this time? Let me guess, right behind me." said Jesse, turning around. "Very good guess. I think you're catching on." Said the voice. It belonged to a man. He was about Link's height, and his eerie crimson eyes almost glowed out from under the hooded cloak he wore tightly wrapped around himself. "Wow. I didn't imagine you to look this… cool." said Jesse. "Well,…" said the man, "Let's just say you wouldn't imagine a lot of things about me. He doesn't know you are here, right?"

"If by 'He' you mean Link, then no." said Jesse, "What's your name, anyway?" "Call me Shadow." Said 'Shadow'. "Nice to meet you in person, Shadow, My name's Jesse." Said Jesse, holding out his hand for 'Shadow' to shake it. Shadow took the hand and shook it firmly. Jesse noticed he was wearing gloves. "Are you alright?" asked Jesse, concerned, "You're freezing. Are you sick?" "No." said Shadow, "I'm fine." "Ok, so what's the plan?" asked Jesse. "I need you to let me perform some Magic on you." Said Shadow, "Once done, everything will be ready." "Okay." Said Jesse. "Close your eyes…" said Shadow. Nick was crouched behind some bushes. He had arrived at the same time that Shadow had appeared. Shadow murmured strange Archaic words and then…He disappeared! Jesse finally opened his eyes, and they were no longer the stormy gray that was the norm, but a bright crimson, the color of freshly spilled blood. Once Jesse blinked, they returned to the normal, stormy gray color they were before. Then he spotted Nick.

Chapter Seven: Some New Students… With Strange Similarities to Old Acquaintances.

Today was Tuesday, so I had to teach a second class of 15-20 year olds. For some reason, I had gotten so many of that age group, it was the only one to have two classes, and they were both filled to the bursting point. I persuaded Link to come with me on the account that we knew that Darklink was at large. We got there early, so we started a sword fight. We were still at it when the first students arrived. "So, you're here for the class?" I asked. They were two girls, and new students. "Yes. I can't wait." Said one of them, "I'm Ella, by the way, and this is my friend Jennifer." "I didn't want to be here at all, but Ella was going, so my mom was all, like, 'You'd better go too.' And here I am." Said Jennifer. "Well, it's Déjà vu double time, today, I guess." I said, "A couple of my friends are the same way. They're in the Monday class, though." Ella looked exactly like the girl in my dream that day in Hyrule, the one that said I had to defeat and reform someone. I went into my own warm-up routine, a few stretches, sit ups, just about anything that you can think of, including unarmed fighting like side-jumps. "I wonder when we'll meet the instructor." said Ella. Link smirked uncontrollably. Ella walked over to Link saying, "Are you the instructor?" "No." said Link. He could speak English now, because though he was illiterate, he wasn't stupid. He figured out what a lot of words meant. "Then who is the instructor?" asked Ella. "She is." Said Link, nodding his head backward towards me. "So you're the instructor???" said Ella, surprised that I was teaching at least five or six age groups older than I was, and that I was a master swordsman. "That's me, alright. I started this school about … a year ago? I don't know." I said, "My name's Brianna." "If you are the instructor, then… Who is he?" asked Jennifer. "He was My teacher, but while he's here, he's my assistant." Just after I said that, Megan burst through the door of the school. She tripped and fell flat on her face. "Brianna!" she yelled, gasping for breath, "Someone…broke into…our apartment…..and… trashed the place!" "I locked the door when I went out this morning." I answered, "No one could have gotten in. Unless……Megan, Where are your keys?" "In my pocket." Said Megan. "Well…? Can I see them?" I asked. Megan fished around in her pockets. "OH, NO!" cried Megan, turning her pockets inside out, "They're gone!" Megan's wallet, along with a tiny journal with a picture sticking out of it tumbled out of her pockets. I picked up the journal and pulled out the photo. "Megan, why do you have a photo of Jesse?" I asked. "Uhh………………." Said Megan, turning the color of my eyes. "Oh, gawd!" I said, laughing my head off. When I finally calmed down, I said, "Sorry. Anyway, did you talk to anyone today?" "Yep." She said. "What happened?" I asked.

Chapter Eight: Megan's Moment (Megan: I have a chapter to myself! Ha! In your face, Brianna! Me: so? I have a whole trilogy! Megan: shut up! Why does my blanket smell like tacos? Me: I didn't have a late night taco-fest using your blanket as a picnic blanket in the living room………………………………)

~(Megan's Point of View)~

Well, I was walking down the street when I saw Jesse. "Hey Jesse." I shouted. "Hi, Megan." Said Jesse, "Have you seen Nick? I've been looking all over for him." Out of the blue, Nick came at us, running at a dead sprint. He just about plowed into Jesse, but turned on his heel when he was about two inches from Jesse. "He-llo Nick. Goodbye Nick." Said Jesse, as Nick ran at a dead sprint away, "Did you see the look on his face?" "Yeah, like you were a ghost, or something." I said. "What's gotten into him?" asked Jesse. "How should I know? He's your best friend." I said. A very uncomfortable silence followed. "Hey, uhh… I was wondering…… will you go to the movies with me, Megan?" Asked Jesse, casually putting his arm around me. "Sure." I said, "But why are you asking me and not Brianna? I've seen you making goo-goo eyes at her. I know you like her." "Well, she has Link, and that guy looks like he could flatten me in about two seconds. Besides, I've always thought you were prettier." He said, smiling sweetly. "Awww… You're so sweet, Jesse." I said, blushing slightly. He blushed too. "So, I'll see you Friday?" he asked, still blushing. "Of course." I said, smiling, and I waved goodbye to him as he left, shouting back, "See you then!" I didn't think of it then, but he was running to the apartment complex that Brianna, Nick, he, and I lived in. I stopped at Burger King™ for a Frozen Coke, and sat down at a table, deeper in thought than I would ever be. What could have changed his mind about Brianna? I thought. After about an hour, hour-and-a-half, my brain started to hurt because I was thinking too hard. Time to go home. When I got to the apartment, the door was unlocked. "That's odd." I thought aloud. Then I thought that maybe I was at Burger King™ longer than I had thought. I was doing a lot of thinking today. I figured that the class at the fencing school had gotten out and Brianna was already home. I walked in, and everything was a mess. The couch was tipped over, Papers were all over the floor. I walked into the bedroom to find Brianna's desk ripped apart, the drawers scattered on the floor, …like someone was looking for something.

Chapter Nine: Strange Behavior (It's my Point of View again now, sorry Megan.)

That night, I had a strange dream. First, I saw Ella. Then there was a flash of light and Darklink appeared. I saw a great sympathy and kindness in his eyes, the likes of which I had never seen before. He had a heart, even though he was a shadow. I could see that now. Then I saw the two of them, holding hands like two lovers. I woke with a start. I was at Nick and Jesse's apartment, because mine and Megan's had been too trashed to recognize. "I guess I fell asleep on the way home." I said. Link was still sleeping. The both of us were on the couch in the kitchen/dining room/living room in Nick and Jesse's apartment. He must have carried me up here. I thought. Nick and Jesse's apartment was on the third floor, just a floor above Megan and I. I let Link sleep and went down to Megan and my apartment. I looked in the bottom drawer of my desk, which didn't look like it had been touched, because it was half open, but mostly closed. I opened it all the way and breathed a sigh of relief. My 'Project' was still there, in its box. None of the protective spells had been breached. I lifted the box and… all my papers on Portal Magic were gone! "Three guesses who did this…." I muttered to myself. I used Magic to see who exactly had wrecked the apartment, and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was… ………

………

………

………………

………………………………………. Jesse!?!

Chapter Ten: The 'Project'

I ran back to Jesse's apartment. I was furious. "Hey, Brianna. Did you sleep well?" he asked, before I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside. Before he had the chance to say anything, I yelled in Hylian, "Why in the name of Din did you destroy my and Megan's apartment?!" "What are you talking about?" asked Jesse, "I didn't do it, I swear!" There was something in his voice that made me believe him. "Jesse, are you feeling okay?" I asked, concerned, "Let me check if you have a fever." I put the back of my hand on his forehead. "I am perfectly fine. I think you are the one who's sick. One second you look about ready to murder me, and now you're asking if I'm okay." He laughed and gave me that silly little half-grin that always made it so hard to stay mad at him. That made me laugh, too. "Brianna!" I heard Link yell. I looked up and saw Link leaning out of the window of my apartment. "There's something you need to explain!" he yelled nearly falling out of the window in the process. "Like what?" I yelled back. "I found something!" he shouted. "Oh shi-shkabob." I said, nearly swearing. "Never heard that one before, Brianna." Said Jesse, laughing. I ran up the stairs of the apartment building, Jesse following close behind. I was blushing so bad because of Jesse teasing me. As we walked into the apartment, I saw Link standing in the middle of the living room, holding my 'project'. "What is in this thing?" he asked, frustrated, "I can't get it open! I even tried chopping it open with my sword, but it put itself back together!" I laughed as he handed it to me. "I forgot about that. I put a spell on that box so that the contents would never fall into the wrong hands." I said, "I'll put them on and show you what power it has." I went into the bedroom and put them on. When I came back, I was wearing gauntlets and holding large daggers. Megan could have had a heart attack from how she looked at me when I had those things on. "Now watch closely." I said, and I struck a stance so that I wouldn't get blasted backward by the power of the daggers. I crossed the daggers in an x shape, so that the edges were barely touching. I slid the edges across eachother so it made a noise and a wave of pure energy shot out of the daggers, making everyone's hair stand on end. The energy was so powerful that it ripped a hole in the space-time continuum, and a warp hole was created. "So you see, if it were to fall into the hands of, say, Darklink, we'd have an adversary of tremendous power that we would not be able to defeat." I explained, "I've been working on these gauntlets for about a year and a half now, and I haven't mastered the technique of getting the warp hole go where you want it to lead. I'm going to see where this one goes to. Don't let me fall in all the way, or it'll seal up and I won't be able to get back." I leaned through partway. "Where does it go?" asked Link. I came out of the portal. "It leads to your house in the kokiri forest, Link." I answered, "I can't let it stay open, though, and I don't know if I can get another portal to go there." "I'd rather stay with you than go back." Said Link, "Besides, you need me more than they do right now. Close it." "Are you sure?" I asked. "Close it." He said again, more sternly this time. "Okay." I said and I made a slashing motion through the portal with my daggers. It dissipated almost instantly.

Chapter Eleven: Christmas

It was a couple weeks before Christmas now. My parents called and asked me to come to a party at the place I grew up. I asked if I could bring a few friends to the party, and through much arguing I got my way. A few days later was the day of the party. When it finally came, I found out how much of a diva Link was. "Hurry up, Link! Ya Diva!" I yelled up at the apartment window. I was getting fed up with him. I finally lost my patience and ran up to the apartment. I found him in front of the mirror in the bathroom, trying to fix his very unruly hair. Needless to say, he was failing miserably. "You look fine! Now let's go!" I said impatiently. "But this is the first time I'm meeting your parents!" Link protested, "I want to make a good first impression." "If you just be yourself, messy hair and all, they should like you." I said, "Now let's go." We took Jesse's car to my parents house. I sat next to Link, who was sandwiched between me and Nick. Megan was riding shotgun, and Jesse was obviously driving. He would never let anyone other than Nick or himself drive his 'baby'. Link stared at me as I was singing songs off the radio, smiling. I stopped singing when I noticed this. "Keep singing. You have a beautiful voice." He said. "I don't know this song, though." I said, "Maybe next song." By the next song, Link was asleep. When we got to my parents house, I shook him awake, repeatedly smashing his shoulder into Nick's. "Brianna, just say something to him. I don't need waking up too!" said Nick. "Oops, sorry, Nick." I said, blushing slightly. I know what'll wake him up. I thought, mischievously. I kissed him on the lips. He woke up instantly. "I knew that'd wake you up." I said. "No you didn't." He answered, "You just wanted to do that." "Maybe I did, but we're here." I said. We walked up to the house. I knocked on the door. Nobody answered. I knocked louder. Still no answer. "Link, please knock on the door." I asked. Link nodded and pounded on the door. My dad peeked out from behind the door. "Brianna!" he said and he hugged me. "I missed you daddy." I said, "I brought some friends. I know you know Megan already. Then there's Nick and Jesse, two of my closest friends who are also my students at the fencing school I started. And finally, there's Link, the one and only hero of time, My Boyfriend." "You've gotta be kidding me." said my dad. "No, he's the real deal, daddy." I said, smiling. He still didn't believe me. "Come in, Everyone. It's cold outside." Said My mom from inside the house. We partied the night away.

Chapter Twelve: Playing with Warp Holes (Now that's fun!)

The next day I rallied everyone up, except for Megan, who was still sleeping. "If anyone wants to back out now, then leave." I said. No one left. "Then time for the first part." I said. I opened the portal. "Someone keep their arm in there so I can get back." I said. Link volunteered. "Okay. I'm going in." I said. I waved goodbye and disappeared through the portal. I was somewhere I had once been at in a dream. It was crazy, but I could tell I was in the right place. It was burning hot. I turned myself invisible, and just for good measure, I transformed into my alter-ego, Brian Nabowski. He was a guy, and looked just like me, just a little more like a guy, and he talked with an English accent that I thought was awesome. I did that a lot when I didn't want people to know it was me. The name Brian Nabowski was a nickname that Megan made up for me when I was twelve. When I found out how to use the spell, I had talked to her as Brian. She completely fell for it. I talked to her later as myself and found out she had a crush on my alter-ego. I used a payphone to call her and made Brian dis her bad. She never got over it. Anyway, It was so hot out, it made me dizzy. I sat down somewhere and didn't realize where until it was too late. I had sat down in the worst possible place. I sat leaning on a bench next to three girls about my age in a park. Oh, great. I thought. Then the impossible happened. Even though I was invisible to the average human eye, one of them spotted me. "Hey, has that guy been there the whole time?" She said. She was a redhead, and her friends were a blonde and a brunette. "What guy?" said the Blonde. "I don't see anyone." Commented the brunette. "There's a guy sitting and leaning against the bench we're sitting on." Said the redhead. I silently told her to be quiet, but then she added, "And he doesn't look too good." The Redhead started to poke me. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. The fifth time she poked me, I slapped her hand aside. SMACK! "What was that?" asked the blonde. "That guy slapped my hand!" said the redhead. "Serves you right for poking me when I'm in a right foul mood." I said. "Who's there?" Asked the brunette. I faded into sight next to them. "Just some guy who ain't got a clue where he is." I answered. I was still leaning against the bench. "Well, goodbye." I said, and I faded from sight. I stood up and took about three steps before my legs gave out. Why on earth did I pick today to wear black? I thought, Oh yeah. It's actually cold today back home. Then I passed out, not only from the heat, but also from using that much magic to keep myself invisible for so long. "The guy needs help!" said the redhead. "Where is he?" asked the blonde. I faded back into sight because I had passed out. The only reason that I didn't change back to a girl is that changing genders is separate magic. If you change genders, you stay that way no matter what until you get changed back. "Come on, help me lift him." Said the redhead, and they carried me into a car and took me to one of their houses.

Chapter Thirteen: "How did you do that?"

"Hey, Cara. What are we going to do with him once he wakes up?" asked the blonde. "I'm going to get him to answer some questions of mine, Zelda." Said the Redhead to the blonde. My consciousness finally returned, but I was so tired I couldn't move! After about two minutes, my eyelids were able to flutter. "Hey, Saria! Has that guy woken up yet?" Asked Cara. "I think I just saw him flutter his eyelids!" said the brunette. She left to get the others. My eyelids were half open now. I heard voices. My eyes shot open and darted around the room. I was in someone's bedroom. With great difficulty, I reached for my dagger. It wasn't there! Boy, did I feel vulnerable without my weapon in a strange place. I moved my hands to make sure that my gauntlets were still there. They were still there. Must have been the burning spell I put on them. Anyone who touches them without my permission, even subconscious, gets burned. I thought. I managed a smirk. All of a sudden, three girls who were my age walked into the room. "Where am I?" I asked. "You're in my bedroom." Said Cara, "My name is..." "Cara. I know." I said, "I overheard. For girls, you sure are noisy." "Now tell me who you are." Said Cara. "Me? I'm Brian Nabowski, Sorcerer and Fencer Extraordinaire." I said, bragging a bit. Hey, what's wrong with bragging as long as you know what your limitations are? Anyway, I reached for my jacket pocket. My jacket was gone. I had no shirt on. Boy, this is embarrassing. I thought. I had had the insight to stick a green potion from Hyrule in my pocket just in case I used too much magic energy. My hair fell in front of my face. It was nearly platinum blonde. Perfect. I gotta explain to these girls that my skin and hair color is like a magic meter. I thought. "Does anyone know where my jacket and my shirt are, by any chance?" I asked. "We were the ones who took them off you. We also found some things of interest." Said Cara, stretching the word interest. "Uh-oh. This doesn't sound too good." I said. "We found three daggers on your person." Said Cara, "Two of which we couldn't get out of their sheaths. Why were you carrying them? And why couldn't we get them out of their sheaths?" "I was carrying two at my hips and one at my back, right? Well, the two at my hips have, if used properly, tremendous power. That's why they do not come out for anyone except me or a blood relative of mine. I made them. I also made the one at my back, but that doesn't have the magic powers of the other two." I answered, "And as for why I was carrying them, I have enemies everywhere, but only the one that I don't know where he is is a threat. I carry daggers around because of that, every place I go." "Could you show us the tremendous power of those daggers, because I don't think you tell the truth." Said Cara. "I am afraid I cannot. I am too weak. You can tell this by just looking at me." I said, "But, if I were to get my jacket back, I may have just the thing to help." "I'll go get it." Said Saria. When she returned, she had my black jacket. I fished through the pockets, pulling out a bunch of strange things, before I found what I needed. I pulled out a bottle of lime-green liquid. "What is that?" asked Zelda. "This is a green potion, and exactly what I need." I drank it and stood up. My hair turned it's usual brownish-black and I felt better. "How did that happen?" asked Zelda. "My magic has built up a little. That's just what happens when I lose too much magic energy. The inverse happens when I haven't used my magic in a long time. Anyway, are any of you strong? Strong in the way of you could take me down in a single hit even if I wasn't tired?" I answered. "I am." Said Cara. "Then I dare you to punch me in the stomach." I said. "What?" said Saria, laughing a little. "I'm dead serious, love." I said. Cara nodded and tried to punch me, but I dodged out of the way by cartwheeling out of the way and onto one hand. I cracked my neck and pulled out my warp daggers. "Now I will show you the power of my daggers." I said, and I went through the practiced motion. Cara shuddered a little because I'm guessing that she saw the blasts of magic that formed the warphole. I stepped forward and looked through the warp hole. It went into my very girly room. "Oh crap!" I shouted, and I jerked myself out of the warphole. When I turned back, I was blushing slightly. The portal closed itself. "How long was I unconscious?" I asked, changing the subject. "Three hours, maybe." Zelda answered. My jaw dropped. "Three hours!?!" I said, "My friends must be worried sick! I need to go." I stopped for a moment. "Wait. Maybe ……" I said, "Do you think you could take me back to that bench in that park?" "Yeah, of course." Said Cara. We traveled back to it and I found what I was looking for immediately. I sent a telepathic message to Link. "Link, I need you and the guys to come through the portal. You will have to keep the portal open, so come through last. There you will see a guy named Brian Nabowski. Act like friends. It is crucial at this point. Relay the message to the others." I ended it at that. A few minutes later, Jesse was here, followed by Nick and finally Link. "May I introduce Jesse, Nick, and Link, my closest friends." I said. "How did you do that?" asked Saria.

Chapter 14: The Best of the Best

I was walking with Link and the others when suddenly I wanted a fight. A really good match. "I'll be right back." I said. I went into the alleyway and changed back into myself. I stepped out of the alleyway. "Funny seeing my boyfriend in such company." I said. Link had been with his back to the alley, and he whirled around. "I thought you and Jesse hated eachother. Anyway, how about a friendly duel?" I finished. "Ok." Link answered. "Are you ready?" I asked. "I'm always ready." Link answered. I slashed, He blocked. Slash, slash, slash went Link's sword. Ching, ching, ching went my dagger. I purposely let Link dominate the fight. I flipped the sword out of his hand in one fluid motion. "Beat you." I said, smiling. "Aww… no fair! You've gotten better!" Link complained. "The score is even, then." I said. I picked up a piece of paper from the ground. "Hey, what's this?" I said, reading it, "There's a fencing competition, and the registration ends… Today! lets go!" "Okay!" said Link, Jesse and Nick in unison. We all were in different groupings from eachother. I pulled out a cloak from my pocket. I had a lot of stuff in my pocket, including a short sword. (The pocket was made out of a bottomless Kokiri bag.) I pulled out the short sword as well. The first matches ended in about five minutes each. By the third round, I was against Jesse. I disarmed him in ten minutes, of course, if I hadn't been using my left hand I would have disarmed him in less. Of course his potential said that eventually he would beat me. Just not today. "I've taught you well." I said after the match. Jesse winked. "You sure did." He answered. I liked the fact that no matter how badly he lost, he was never a sore loser. I went on to the finals. Link had made it to the semifinals, which I had always expected of my former teacher. In his next match, he was up against some hotshot named Seth. "Seth's a master swordsman." Said Cara when I asked her about him, "He's never been defeated." The match ended as soon as it had begun. Seth had won. "Well, I just hope he doesn't have his heart set on winning the tournament. His record is about to be broken. He's up against me." I told Cara with a smirk on my face. "Next up, The guy in the cloak, as I call him, against the Hotshot most likely to win, The one and only undefeated swordsman, Seth!" said Pat the announcer guy, "Lets see if the guy in the cloak can give Seth a run for his money! If the guy in the cloak does as well as he has in the previous rounds of this tournament, he just might have a chance!" "If I want to do my best, I need to get rid of this cloak." I said, more to myself than anyone else. I whipped off my cloak and threw it into the crowd as soon as I had stepped into the Arena. "Oh my God! The guy in the cloak is a……Girl!" Yelled Pat the announcer guy in amazement. "Don't hold back just because I'm a girl, Seth. Give it your all. I plan to. If you want a chance of winning this match at all, you will do the same." I said, "I've been holding back in the previous rounds, just enough to give myself a challenge." I had an almost ironic smile on my face. "I won't be defeated by some girl!" Seth yelled, and he stepped a little closer. "I'm not just some girl." I said, and the duel began. I swung overhead. Seth blocked. Seth quickly recovered from the impact and swung sideways. I blocked and nearly lost my sword. "You're good." I said, smirking. "Sure am." Said Seth. "No wonder you're undefeated." I commented. "Why are you smiling?" Seth asked. Just like the rest of the tournament, I had been using my left hand. "I'm not left-handed." I said, and I switched to my right hand. I swung my blade from overhead with twice the strength that I had used before. She was just toying with me! thought Seth. Now it's just a matter of time until I find his weak point. I thought. I attacked with both vertical strikes and horizontal strikes, but neither worked. I started to get frustrated. What is this guy's weak point?! I strained my mind to think of a tactic that would disarm him and not hurt him. Then it hit me. I struck his sword at a downward diagonal. It flew out of his hands. "Beaten." Said Seth, sweat dripping down his lean figure, "By a girl of all things!" "Don't beat yourself up over it." I said, "You'll keep getting better and someday, you just might beat me. Maybe." "What do you mean, 'Maybe'?" asked Seth, "I will beat you. The only reason you won is that I underestimated you. THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!" "I run a school for fencing. The only reason I even entered in this thing is to find someone who could possibly defeat me. You almost did. If you were any stronger, you would have." I said, "I'll see you later." I then waved to Everyone and faded from sight. I dashed off to the alleyway.

Chapter 15: A Little Secret… Or Two.

I stayed in the alleyway until I saw the group walk by. I changed into Brian. "Hey!" I yelled. Link stopped dead in his tracks. "Where are you guys going without me?" I asked. Link looked relieved. "Whew. I thought you were someone else for a minute, Brian." He said. "Guys, can you wait here?" I asked, "I need to borrow Link for a moment." I dragged Link into the alleyway. "Link, There's Something I need to show you." I said, and I pulled back my sleeve, showing him my gauntlets, "Do you recognize these?" "Those are Brianna's!" Link said, astonished. "Right, and these?" I asked. I held out one of my daggers, out of it's sheathe, and twirled them the way a rocker might. "That's Brianna's too!" Link answered, "What did you do to Brianna?!" He looked about ready to kill me. "Cool your jets, Rocket boy." I said, losing the accent, "Don't you think it's odd that I'm never around when Brianna is? And that as soon as she leaves, I show up?" "Ya know, I never thought of that before. That is odd……" he said, thinking about what I had just said. I made Brian stand in a way that I always did. Link looked clueless. "Have you figured it out yet?" I asked, "Have you figured out my secret?" "No. I have no idea what it is." Link answered. "Then I'll show you." I said with a glint in my eye. I transformed back into myself again. "No way!" Link said, amazed and relieved at the same time, "You did the same spell that Zelda used to turn herself into Sheik!" I winked and changed back into Brian. "Brian is my alter-ego. Now, Let's go back to the guys. Promise me you won't tell." I said. Link agreed, and we went back to the guys and went home.

The next day, I decided to have both my 15-20 year old classes at once. Also, I decided to teach as Brian. "Today, I am going to pair you up with someone you don't know from the other class. Begin warming up while I do so." I said and I walked over to a corner of the classroom, where I kept a chair and my clipboard. Link walked up to me and said, "Done yet?" "No." I answered. Link leaned against the wall and waited. "Hi." Came a voice from behind me. I jumped and spun around and swore my head off in a mix of Hylian and Spanish. When I finally calmed down, I said to Ella, "Please, don't scare me like that." "I'm sorry." Said Ella, looking a little startled, "I was just wondering who that boy over there is." "Him? That's Jesse. He's a friend of mine and a fairly good student here." I told her. She was trying to hide a certain thing and failing miserably. A smirk crept onto my face. "What are you smirking about?" asked Ella. "Oh, nothing." I said. I finished pairing people up. I read the names aloud. "Pair #1… Jesse Osborne and Ella Hergovitz." I saw them look at eachother and both blushed very slightly. I listed off names for about 5 minutes. After class, Ella caught me. "So I was practically transparent." She said. "About as transparent as well-maintained glass." I remarked. "Jesse asked me out." Ella said. Score 1 for my matchmaking ability! I thought. "Thanks for pairing me with him." Ella said. "Oh, De nada." I answered. "It was nothing." I added when I saw the look on Ella's face. She smiled.

Ch. 16: Oh great. Another unwanted crush.

I took two of my long Daggers that could almost qualify as swords and put them at my hips along with my warp-daggers. (I had a rather large collection of them, some of which I made.) I was ready for anything. I strapped my final dagger to my back, hidden within my belt. It was thin enough for that. "Link?" I called, "would you like to go to another world again?" "Yeah!" Link replied. "Can I come, too?" asked Jesse. "Sure." I said, "Okay, here we go." I opened a portal and we walked through it. I was the last. The warp hole vanished. I looked around. "I don't think I've seen this place before." I commented. I walked to the front. "Don't get lost." I said to the both of them, "I don't want to have to go looking around for you." All of us wandered around for a while. Din, this place looks so familiar. I thought. Then I saw something, or should I say someone I recognized. My eyes slowly widened. "Could it be?" I whispered. The guys walked on without me. I just stood there, staring. The guy I was staring at looked up. "What're you looking at?" he asked, snapping me out of my trance. "Oh, nothing." I said. I looked at his swords. "Are you a swordsman, by any chance?" I asked. "Yeah…… Why?" he said. "You remind me of someone." I commented. "Who?" asked the guy. "A great swordsman named Roranoah Zolo." I answered. The guy looked away nervously. I laughed. "I knew it!" I said, "You are Roranoah Zolo!" "Yeah, but who are you?" Zolo asked. "I'm Brianna, a swordswoman and a huge fan of yours." I said. "I didn't know I had fans." Zolo commented. "Well, you do now." I said, "Now where did those two go? Crap! I tell them once, I've told them a thousand times. They shouldn't wander off!" "Who are you looking for?" asked Zolo. "My friends. They never listen to me, and now look where it's gotten them." I said. I started pacing. Then I got an idea. "Zolo, I know how to get them to come back!" I said, "I need you to have a swordfight with me, disarm only. Alright?" "Why?" asked Zolo. "The guys love swordfights more than anything else. The sounds of the match will draw them here." I explained. "I guess." Zolo answered.

~ (Link's P.O.V.) ~

"Oh great." I said, "We're lost!" "Stop whining! We need to find Brianna!" Jesse said. For once, I couldn't argue with him. I heard the sound of metal scraping and hitting metal. "What's that?" Jesse asked. He had heard it, too. "Sounds like a … Swordfight!" I said smiling, "And if I can tell by the rhythms, Brianna's in it." I grabbed Jesse and we both ran towards the noise. It was more like I dragged him along behind me, but… that's beside the point. Other people were running, too. I saw a guy in a red shirt and a straw hat and some blond guy in a suit. Jesse and I just kept running, When we got there, we saw Brianna fighting a guy with three swords. "If you hurt her, I'll kick your butt myself!" Yelled the blond guy. Geez. What a girl-crazy guy. I thought. Brianna was doing very well against this guy. She flicked her dagger. One sword down. She crossed her daggers to block a two-sword swing. She took her dagger, let him dominate, and flicked another away. He took the sword from his mouth and put it in his hand. He flicked one of Brianna's daggers out of her hand! Brianna was now left with only 1 dagger in her left hand. "You're good!" said the guy. "Thank you." She replied, "I should be after practicing for over four years. You're not too bad yourself." Brianna made an over-exaggerated bow, twirling her dagger in a small circle. "Aren't you worried about Her?" Jesse asked me, "She's left herself wide open." "No. If I know Brianna as well as I think I do, she has some kind of trick up her sleeve." I replied. While Brianna was doing her bow, The guy tried to attack her. Most of the crowd gasped when she blocked it, like she had a sixth sense. She gave her dagger a little flick, and sent the guy's sword flying.

~ ( Brianna's P.O.V.) ~

Zolo fell over. "I'm impressed." I said, helping him up, "Not many people can last that long against me." "Thanks." Zolo said. I whirled. "It took you long enough!" I shouted, furious. "But Brianna, we thought you were with us!" Jesse said. I turned back to Zolo. The whole of the straw hat crew was there. I heard Zolo talking to his ship-mates. "This is Brianna. She's a fan of mine and a fellow swordsman." He said, "Brianna, may I introduce my shipmates, Luffy, Sanji, Nami and Oosap." "It is a pleasure to meet all of you." I said, smiling a very plastic smile. I was still mad as heck at Link and Jesse. Sanji stepped forward. "No, no, the pleasure is all mine." He said. He kissed my hand. Link looked about ready to explode. Typical Sanji. He's such a lover-boy. I thought, Now Link on the other hand, I've never seen him like that before. Is he jealous? Well, he may be the Hero of Time, but he is still a man. "May I introduce my friends, Link and Jesse." I said. Jesse, being the outgoing and friendly person he was, started shaking everyone's hands immediately. Link, however, shook everyone except Sanji's hands. Sanji was talking to me again. "You crimson-eyed beauty, would you like to go on a date with me?" He asked me. Din, I thought, Why do so many guys fall for me? Why me!?! Link stepped between me and Sanji. "Back off, lover-boy! She's already taken." Link said in a voice that didn't really seem like him, "She's My girlfriend." I had never seen him so angry and protective! Sure, I knew about his little noble protective streak, but this was nearly rage! I stepped in. "Guys, guys. Break it up! Sanji, there's no use trying to fight over me. Link's right. I AM taken." They just kept at it. "I said, BREAK IT UP!" I fumed, "Or do I have to knock some sense into the both of you!" They backed off and mainly stayed away from eachother after that. I sighed and turned to Zolo. "That was a great match. I can't remember when I had that much fun!" I said, "I think you did great. Maybe someday you will beat me. Who knows?" We shook hands as etiquette and sportsmanship required. "You did well too. And I hope we have the chance to battle again." Zolo said. "Until we meet again." I said, giving him my ironic and extravagant bow, "Good-bye, Roranoah Zolo." "Goodbye Brianna." Zolo answered. I opened a portal home and with a wave, disappeared.

Ch. 17: A True Identity

I woke up the next morning and the day went by as usual. Nothing strange until the afternoon. In the middle of a fencing class, Jesse came rushing to me. "Brianna, Link's in trouble!" He said, freaked out beyond imagination, "This guy who is as dark as night with crimson eyes attacked him! He's at the park!" "Take me to him!" I said, and we ran to the park… only, Link was no where in sight! "Jesse, Where's Link?" I asked. "I'm not Jesse." said Jesse. Jesse's eyes, which were normally a stormy gray color, were a bloody crimson. "You." I said, coldly, "Darklink." "Me." He replied, smirking. He caught me unawares and struck me on the head with the hilt of his sword and tied me to a tree in the clearing Link had first appeared in. When I woke up, Link was fighting Jesse. "Link!" I yelled, "Don't hurt him! He may be Darklink, but he's in Jesse's body! Find a way to force him out!" Link did as he was told, defending, but not going on the offensive. I fiddled around with the ropes that bound my hands together to see if I could get ahold of the knife I kept in my belt. I found the handle and slid it out of the sheath. I quickly cut through the ropes that bound my hands and started to do the same with the ones around my ankles while Darklink was distracted. I cut through and raced over to Link. He was disarmed, and Darklink/Jesse was preparing to strike a death blow. I blocked the attack with my dagger, and not a moment too soon. The blow meant for Link's heart had hit the ground just inches away from its target. I then realized something and sent a telepathic message for some help.

~ (Ella's P.O.V.) ~

I was sitting in my room listening to music when I heard a voice in my head. It was Brianna's voice. Ella! Brianna's voice said, I need you to come quickly! Jesse is going to try to do something horrible, and only you can stop him! Drop whatever you're doing and come to the park! It's a matter of Life and Death! For whatever reason, I obeyed the little voice's pleas. When I got to the park, Jesse was fighting Link like I had never seen before! He had this evil, and I mean EVIL smile on his face. He looked as if he was trying to kill Brianna! Link was lying unconscious next to her. It was obvious that she was protecting him, and was barely alive herself. "Jesse!" I yelled, "What are you doing?" I ran up to him and grabbed his arm, stopping him from dealing the killing blow. "Stop!" I cried, "Please." Jesse stopped resisting my grip on his arm. "Ella," He said, turning around, "I cannot rest until Link is destroyed! Anyone who gets in my way will be destroyed also. They are mere obstacles to be moved out of my path, things to be pushed out of the way." Jesse's eyes were frightening. They were normally a softer, stormy gray color, but in his rage, they were cold and hard as steel, completely lacking emotion. That was one of the only times I saw cruelty in Jesse's eyes. He turned away. Then he smiled slightly, and said, "I have no more need of this puppet." Then Jesse split. I don't mean he left, he split. In two. Literally. One part of him stayed standing up, and the other fell down in a faint. Where Jesse had stood was now standing a man made of pure darkness. "Who are you?" I whispered, not in fear, but more from the awe that this man's power inspired in me. It was kinda weird. The man began to speak again. "Who am I? I am the master of shadows, the brother of the Hero of Time himself, the pathetic fool though he may be." He said turning around, "I am Darklink." His eyes were the most entrancing things about him. They were blood colored, without pupils or irises. He attacked Brianna, disarmed her, knocked her out, and threw her aside in one fell swoop. He walked over to her. "This girl's meddling ends now!" He yelled. I rushed over, grabbing his arm again. "Darklink, No! I know it was you who I spent so much time with, and I don't want you to be a murderer!" I said. "Ella, I don't want you to get hurt in the fight, please go home, so that you may live another day. Besides, I already am a murderer." He said, getting a shocked look from me, "A murderer of innocents by the thousand, when I served the evil King Ganondorf. I regret this, but this girl nearly killed me and so did her little boyfriend. Lucky for me that I cannot die whilst he lives." "Darklink, please, these are my friends. And, if you won't leave them alone, I'll make you myself!" I said, picking up Link's sword, which was very, very heavy. "Ella, don't be rash." Darklink said, trying to stop me. He cares. I thought, He doesn't want me to get hurt. Darklink then put down his sword, laying it on the ground. Link woke up at that moment. He got up as quickly as he could, pulling out his bow from the bottomless Kokiri bag Brianna had sewn as one of the pockets on his jeans. He nocked an arrow to it. "Don't you move, shadow." He said. Then Darklink did move. Link loosed the arrow. "No! Darklink!" I shouted, and I rushed to push him out of the way. The arrow hit me in the arm. "Ella!" Darklink shouted, and he rushed over to me. He pulled the arrow out and, using a piece of his tunic, he bandaged my wound. He knocked Link down, then he advanced on Brianna, and this time, I couldn't stop him. Link was right next to Brianna now. When Darklink went to stab through her heart with his sword, Link whacked it away so that it hit flat ground. "You stopped me." Darklink said. "Of course I did." Link replied, "I love her. I know you don't want to show it in front of me, but I can see you love Ella. We are the same person, you know. Look at it this way. What if it was Ella there instead of Brianna, and I was going to finish her off? What would you do then?" "I would give my life to protect her." Darklink then attacked Link and knocked his sword out of his hand, and knocked him out. Darklink raised his sword, then, slowly, he lowered it to his side. "If this is what I'm supposed to do with my life, then why does it seem so wrong?" Darklink asked. I walked up to him and took his hand. "Because it is wrong." I said, "You don't need to kill him. You don't need to kill anyone, least of all your own brother." "Ella, it is my destiny!" He said, "This is the very reason I was created!" He raised the sword again. "You make your own destiny, Darklink." I said. That triggered something. I stood in front of him. I leaned forward, and somehow, we fell into a kiss. "I love you, Darklink. I said. "I love you too, Ella." He replied.

Ch. 18: Getting Caught Up

~ ( Brianna's P.O.V. ) ~

Megan had won a trip to Canada to meet Simple Plan, one of her favorite bands, so she had been gone for a while. Meaning, she missed the whole Darklink episode. When Jesse had woken up, he had seen Darklink and got really mad at him for possessing his body for so long. After a while he simmered down some, though he was still miffed for quite some time. It was hardest to get Link to forgive and forget. "Link, I know he is on our side now." I said. "How? How do you know for sure?!" Link yelled, "He nearly killed you!" "He is no longer a shadow, Link. He is something else, something very different, although it doesn't have a name." I said. Link gave me a look. "You want me to prove it, do you?" I said, "Fine then. Darklink, could you come over here?" Darklink walked over. "What is it?" He asked. "Just hold still. We want to check something." I said. I felt around his neck and then found what I was looking for. "Link, put your finger right here and press lightly." I said. He did, and then Darklink said, "That feels weird, like there's something moving there." "There is. You have a heart, Darklink, and you always have." I said, "You just didn't know it yet." Eventually, Link forgave Darklink. It was about noon the next day when Megan got home. Link and Darklink were talking, even sometimes laughing. "Ok. I'm confuzled. I must be seeing things." She said. She unpacked and came over to me. "Isn't that the guy who skewered you four years ago?" She asked. "Yeah." I replied, smiling, "It's extraordinary how hearts can change." "He has one?" asked Megan. "Yes, and I think it's one that's bigger than Hyrule." I said, and I explained the whole episode with Darklink.

Meanwhile…

In Hyrule, all was peaceful. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing. That is until Princess Zelda felt a strange magical pulse from the seal that held Ganondorf prisoner in the Sacred Realm. "Oh, where could Link be?" She said to herself.

The

End