I didn't forget about you guys! How could I ever forget about you guys? No, I just got sidetracked with a.) school (exams are coming up, here in Canada) b.) counselling at Outdoor School (if you don't know what OS is, you've missed out on a phenomenal experience as a child) and c.) getting this story just right. You'll see what I mean later - thanks for all the lovely reviews! And to all those who alerted and favourited - this is really an awesome fanbase.
shoot. did I spell his name wrong in all of the last chapter? well... no one caught it

I'm Sorry

Ghirahim watches in paralyzing horror as the Statue of the Goddess crashes down on Demise's head. The delicious sense of the terror and pain of all on the surface simply vanishes in a flash; the disappearance manifests as a physical pain in Ghirahim. He lets out an ear-splitting roar to which the sky-child is oblivious.

He watches in cold hatred as the boy leaps off the statue and runs into the temple. Of course – the Spirit Maiden would be waking now that Demise was no more.

A pained grin pulls at Ghirahim's pale lips; he would enjoy ripping the girl from the sky-child's life.

Rising to one knee, the Demon Lord realizes how weakened he really is from the lack of Demise's presence; the Dark King created him, and his energy sustained him; indeed, the only reason that he didn't simply fade from life was the existence of the Gate of Time

Giving a growl of hate and determination, Ghirahim forces himself to his feet and staggers towards the Temple. With the Spirit Maiden and the grounds own sacred aura, the Demon Lord almost doesn't make it.

He steadies himself against a wall, hissing against the burning feeling that scalds his hand. Forcing away the pain and weakness, he summons his sword and enters the building in a flash of diamonds.

Dark laughter echoes off the walls as those present recover from the bolt of his entrance.

"This is all very touching, really, but I'm afraid I have to cut this emotional moment short," he is sure the pain is evident in his words – but the presence of his master, just beyond the Gate of Time, is tantalizingly powerful.

"It's best for everyone if you forget about your friend. The little goddess is mind now!" He lifts the girl, near unconscious, with magic – he doesn't wish to touch her anymore than necessary in his weakened state.

"My master may have perished in this age, but in the past he lives yet! I'm taking the girl back through that gate to help me revive the demon king!" Yes, there laid the hero's greatest mistake; with the Gate active, Demise still lived.

"You've been so adorably dogged in your quest to get in my way, and as much as it delighted me, I can no longer tolerate you nipping at my heels," his speech is interrupted by the spirit-maiden groaning out the child's name. Ghirahim is tempted to punish her for it, but risking a fight with the child now puts the entire mission in jeopardy; no, it would have to wait. As it was, her murmur is enough to bring the boy to his feet, sword in hand. The Demon Lord gives an unsatisfied grunt.

"… You know, boy, you've really pushed me too far. The moment I sweated and bled for is at hand. I don't even have the time to grind my heel into a worm like you. Not now," summoning what strength he has left, Ghirahim disappears in a flash of colour. With the girl slung over his shoulder, it takes a moment longer to reach his destination. The haggard servant of the goddess and the red-haired oaf stand in front of the Gate.

Behind the pale Lord, the hero takes a step before collapsing once more. To Ghirahim's displeasure, the oaf stands, casting out one arm to defend the old woman; his legs shake, though from fatigue or fear, he doesn't know. With an annoyed snort, Ghirahim begrudgingly addresses him,

"…Stand down. You're in my way, and the sight of your appalling hair makes my gorge rise," neither makes a move. With a pained sound, the Demon Lord kicks them out of the way, no longer having the energy to use magic.

Finally, he opens the gate. The flood of power from Demise's presence causes Ghirahim to chuckle and turn,

"You've done a fine job of spoiling my plans to revive the demon king in this age, so I see no point in dawdling here. But the past… oh the past…. So full of possibilities. I shall resurrect him there with the divine soul of this golden-haired girl. But Link," he narrows his eyes at the boy, "don't forget your choice," with no more left to say, he enters the Gate, laughing giddily as his power begins flowing back to him.

Emerging on the other side, Ghirahim is greeted with a kick to the face. He drops the girl on the ground, holding his mouth. He throws out a single, steel arm to defend himself against another kick. Getting enough sense about him to look up, the Demon Lord is greeted with the face of that dreadful Sheikah.

With a snarl, Ghirahim begins fighting back. Throwing his arm out from his face, he pushes her leg away and is inside her guard before she has it up. Firing a quick fist into her nose, he's rewarded with the lovely crunching of bone. His other fist sinks into her stomach though she bends to absorb the impact. As her face lowers, Ghirahim grabs the back of her head and slams it into his raised knee. She stumbles back, giving herself room to maneuver. The Demon Lord begins circling; she follows his steps.

The Sheikah wipes some blood from her mouth; Ghirahim licks his lips with a smile.

Link bursts through the Gate and trips over Zelda's unconscious form. Impa and Ghirahim are locked in a vicious fight, complete with growling and taunting.

Zelda's guardian looks up long enough to notice the green-clad boy,

"Take her to the back room and close the door – I'll seal it and fend off Ghirahim," her words are punctuated by a few feints and a punch at the Demon Lord. He snarls and launches himself at her, taking the Sheikah off her feet and slamming her into the ground, hard. Straddling her hips, he tries to find an opening in her guard, but she keeps her arms locked in place.

She catches Link's eye, "Go!" The Hero picks up Zelda's slim body and jogs up the stairs to the stone doors at the back of the Temple.

The Demon Lord untangles himself from Impa and lunges towards the pair. The Sheikah flicks her fingers and sets up a flimsy barrier; the wall in enough to stop his momentum and give Link time to close the doors.

Ghirahim turns on her with an animalistic howl. Without a moment's hesitation, she snaps her fingers and puts a seal on the entry.

Inside, Link carefully puts Zelda down, cradling her head in his lap. On the other side, the thumps, bellows and general cacophony of battle rage on.

With a worried sigh, Link gently brushes golden-hair from his childhood friend's face. She stirs somewhat from her unnatural sleep and murmurs out his name. Her eyelids flutter open to find Link above her. The Hero is looking towards the door, brow furrowed in concern; Zelda takes the moment to relish in his defined features before raising a shaky hand to stroke his cheek. His gaze snaps towards hers in surprise, then happiness. Zelda sits up and, with Link's help, stands.

"What happened? There was that bolt, and then I remember Ghirahim taking me…" she pauses a moment as the sticky gears of her brain try to piece together splintered memories. "Impa and Ghirahim are fighting, aren't they?" Link nods confirmation, azure eyes dark with apprehension.

Both look towards the door as there's a startlingly loud wham. The gate shakes on its hinges and some dust falls from unseen cracks. The silence after is disturbing in its absolute entirety; not a single creature dares to defy the finality of it.

"Perhaps she's won?" the optimism is quickly dashed from the both of them as dark laughter echoes from outside the door.

"Spirit Maiden," the sing-song voice turns Zelda's blood to ice, "Sky-child! Are you hiding from me? Why would you ever do that?" Link pulls the Master Sword from its sheath, Hylian Shield drawn as well.

The door rocks on its hinges, then again, and again.

"Goddess… he's trying to break in," Zelda's voice is quiet with the revelation. The door continues to stand against the relentless abuse it's taking, though each time it groans a little more. Link stands stock still beside Zelda.

The moment is all a blur.

As the door bucks in once more, the Spirit Maiden feels something warm spread across the front of her dress. Looking down, she sees red liquid spreading outwards from the center of her stomach – where the Master Sword is lodged, protruding straight through her body.

She looks up to see Link's face, crumpled with pain and grief, staring right at her. In his hands is the Sword.

Zelda slides backwards off the blade and begins to fall. Link drops his weapon and catches her, slowly easing her to the floor. He holds her head up as blood flows freely from the gaping wound, contrasting scarlet against the snowy white of her clothing.

The Hero holds his closest friend near to his heart. Her blue eyes look up at him, not with hate or anger, but with relief and forgiveness. She finds his hand with hers and squeezes it.

"I understand, Link. If Ghiarhim resurrects Demise, if we couldn't stop him," she pauses to cough as blood bubbles up her throat, "you've put Hylia's soul out of reach, Link," she smiles weakly at him.

She can feel herself slipping away from her body, but she's not afraid. The other part of her, Hylia, remembers this from when she'd given up her immortal form. There was no pain or fear, but a warm tingling where there was supposed to be sensation. Her mind begins to fog as it slides further from life.

But one sensation brings her back briefly.

Lips against hers, urgent but kind all the same. She pushes into those lips, however weakly, as life finally slips away and blackness take her.

Link pulls back from his love. He tucks her golden locks behind her ear and brushes his knuckles softly against her cheek.

The boy from the sky is pulled from his mourning by Ghirahim's screech.

"You insolent child! You've undone all my work," he stalks forwards as he speaks, fueled by anger hot as flames. "Do you even understand what you've done? The girl was the only key to releasing my Master," the Demon Lord is in front of Link now, and he picks him up by the scruff of his shirt and slams him against a wall. The Hero's legs pinwheel through the air trying desperately to find footing. "You know what the only good thing about this is?" Ghirahim leans in close, "there's nothing to disturb us from our game now." He drops the boy who quickly picks up his blood-stained sword.

I know that some of you probably wanted this to be something different (seriously, did I say this was going to be smut? I'm pretty sure I said this wasn't going to be smut!) but I wanted a more tear-jerky feeling vs. dark-sexy feel. Boo-hoo, I know - you'll be okay, I promise. What did you guys think of this one? I didn't want it to be predictable as fuck, so yeah, I killed her. Reasoning behind that? After Demise eats her soul, her body doesn't die - she just in a coma. Now, if you killed her, would her spirit and soul not move on to be reincarnated once more? Putting little Hylia out of Ghirahim's reach for quite some time (I'm assuming there's a reason that he hadn't "plucked Her Majesty from her perch in the clouds" earlier then he did). No, but really, did you guys like this? I'm no entirely sure how the next section is going to play out but I have the final image in my head and it's just so SCRUMPTIOUS! ... jesus, Ghirahim is rubbing off on me...

also, if there are any good artists out there - I'm going to demand an image! (...please...) When Link kisses Zelda - can I get just their faces? No background, no bodies all knotted up in some twisted, steamy smut. Just locked lips and a.) Link's pained face and b.) Zelda's serene one. Of course, if no one draws me that, it's fine but a happy author may post the last chapter sooner...

okay, I'm going to let you guys go... for now *evil cackle*