I want to give a huge thank you to those of you who reviewed! :D
I have to say…I really love writing this story. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did… xD
Destiny's Game is rated "T" for mild language, violence, and adult themes.

Never Do That Again!

"Yeowch!"

"Oh, shut up, you big baby. You're fine."

Zelda couldn't help but give a small smile as she listened to Midna and Sheik bicker. Apparently, during the encounter with the Eighth Kingdom, Midna had stepped on Sheik's toe so hard that it cracked his toenail in half. Ever since the battle ended and there was no immediate threat of danger, he didn't stop giving her grief about "dismembering" his "precious" toe. It was definitely clear that Midna and Sheik knew each other, but from where? They couldn't be that close, because Midna didn't know about Sheik's identity as a Sheikah. Well, given their relatively close ages, Zelda deduced they were probably classmates. As she thought, putting her sharp mind to good use, she realized just how little she actually knew her companions. She knew their names and that was about it. Zelda chewed her lip nervously. She wanted to know more about the others, but she didn't know what questions to ask. She was bad at this "social etiquette" thing, dammit. Asking their present addresses would probably be considered improper and, in the words of the "hip" teenagers, "stalkerish". Perhaps she could ask them the general area they lived. Yes, surely, that would work…but how should she word it? Yo, dude, where you from, homie? Ugh. No. Too uncouth. There simply must be a more refined way to ask the question, preferably with proper grammar…

"That reminds me, Beautiful. Where are you from?" Zelda frowned. Before she had the chance to make the initiative, Sheik effortlessly asked her the same question she was so desperately trying to convey. It didn't even seem difficult to him. Then again, for a socially-adept creature—she couldn't say he was skilled, given his flirtatious nature—this sort of "small talk" was probably second-nature to him by now.

"Don't answer that, Zelda. You'll never understand the meaning of the word 'privacy' again." Midna smirked, leaning against the broken windowsill—how that didn't hurt, Zelda had no clue—and blowing yet another gum bubble. Zelda found her frown grow even bigger. How did that girl get her hands on more of that disgusting rubber stuff? She made a mental note to find Midna's resources and dispose of them all immediately.

"Speaking of privacy," Impa spoke up from her spot on top of Link's shoulders—Zelda couldn't help but feel a bit jealous despite herself, just a teensy bit—as she attempted to replace the light bulb in the broken light fixture. After a few twists and turns and still no light, Impa gave a groan of frustration and just whacked the light bulb with her homemade (fake) bomb. With the impact, a mellow yellow light filled the room, illuminating the pink and green floral couch that had been parted in half, likely from Nabooru's curved sword. Impa gracefully leapt off of Link's shoulders and landed on a section of the couch that wasn't completely destroyed. She stuffed some of the cheap wispy filling back into the crevasses of the couch and resumed her cross-legged position from earlier. "You should probably alert your families that you will not be coming home any time soon."

Zelda's heart sank, even though she was fully anticipating that Impa would say something like that. As much as she hated to admit it, there was no way she could go home. What if a Kingdom attacked her home? Her family? Her precious book collection? Not to mention, as much as she hated to admit it even more, they should probably stick together. Who knew when a Kingdom would attack? It would be far too dangerous to leave Link alone, even for a moment.

"Oh, it's no prob," Midna said, gum bursting with an obnoxious pop and leaving her with a messy pink mustache. "I'm in college, for cryin' out loud. The 'rents don't give a crap. They figure no news is good news. Besides, what am I gonna tell them? 'Oh, sorry Daddy dearest, I'm in the middle of a fight to the death, can't come home now. See ya later!' No, it would be better if they were left blissfully aware. It would def help Mom's drinking habits."

While Zelda found Midna's parents' lax parenting methods a bit…discouraging, the girl did have a point. She nibbled at her nails—a nasty habit that she had desperately been trying to break for years with no avail—and became deep in thought. What would she tell her parents? She had to let her parents know something as they were probably already having panic attacks. Zelda never came home this late. Perhaps her father had already filed a missing persons report. Surely her father would never approve of any reason that would cause her to miss school for so long. Maybe she could fake an illness? She knew the ins and outs of doctor's reports and she was an expert forger, if she may say so herself. But no, her father was too thorough. He'd certainly call her doctor to confirm. Perhaps she could say she went on an unexpected archery trip? No, he'd see through that one too. He'd call the supposed competition location to make sure their equipment was failsafe. What could she say?

"You have to call your mother, Sheik. You know how much she worries," Impa chided.

"You should probably be the one to call, Grannie," Sheik replied with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "She'll be fine if she knows I'm with you." Impa opened her mouth to give a not-so-pleasant response to the "Grannie" comment but ultimately decided to let it go with a sigh. After figuring Sheik was taken care of, she turned to Link, who had been eerily quiet since the battle with the Eighth Kingdom.

"And what about you, dear?" She asked softly, in a much different tone than the one she used with Sheik. Instead of harsh and lecturing, her voice was gentle and kind, the type of soft melody that a mother would use with her beloved baby. For a moment, Link didn't answer, his blue eyes despondent and almost lifeless. Zelda looked downcast. She felt for him, she really did, as ultimately he was the one most affected by this so-called "game". Emotions must've been swirling throughout his entire being.

"It's probably better if no one knows that I'm gone," Link said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. Everyone in the room fell silent, choosing that moment wisely to reflect for a moment. Midna even stopped chew her gum for a time, allowing Zelda to relish in the precious seconds of silence without having to endure a mind-numbing pop and smack every two seconds. They all felt for Link. Impa placed her hand on his shoulder soothingly, giving him a small nod and allowing him to concentrate on his own thoughts and emotions for a little while.

Well, that was pretty much everyone. That left Zelda and Groose, although Groose hardly counted. The coward wasn't even present at their first battle. What could Zelda say to her parents? Unlike Midna and Link, Zelda had to say something. Her father was far too protective, and more importantly, far too rich to deal with a random disappearance. Was there any reason in the world that Zelda could use to effectively convince her father? Any at all?

It suddenly dawned on Zelda. She was a master of knowledge. Her brain was her biggest asset and she was going to use it, darn it. She was clever enough to come up with a reason—one so foul her father wouldn't dare question it—and use this putrid situation to her advantage. She grinned from ear to ear, almost chuckling aloud at her brilliance. Yes. That was what she would do. She walked over to the old wired phone in the corner on top of the wobbly corner table; trying to make sure she walked properly and didn't skip with glee. Whoa, the old phone was ancient. Her grandmother probably used a fossil like this. Thankfully, the lull of the dial tone assured Zelda that it was still at least functional, and she dialed her father's number. She wasn't concerned about long-distance fees or collect calls, because her father would gratefully pay millions in order to hear his oh-so-precious baby girl's voice.

"Hello, Daddy?" Zelda called, using her oh-so-perfect nauseatingly-sweet childish voice. Her father's joyful sobs practically deafened her, as she quickly made shushing noises in order to quiet his wailing. Her father was very sensitive and prone to emotional outbursts quite frequently. She'd have to apologize to him profusely for the trouble she caused him later. After he begged and pleaded to know where his sweet little girl was—yes, he had called the police and yes, there was a search team looking for her—Zelda smiled. She was ready with her reason. She cleared her throat delicately. In order for this whole scheme to work, she had to be 1000% convincing. What she was about to say would normally cause her to vomit, but these were trying circumstances.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry to tell you, but…but…" Zelda let out a soft sob, sniffling loudly for an added effect. She tried not to grin—she had to be in character, even if her father couldn't see her—at the sounds of her father's desperate cries for her to tell Daddy whatever was wrong. After another stifled (fake) sob, Zelda continued. "I've been such a bad girl!" She wailed, sniffling incessantly into her sleeve. Her father insisted that his perfect little baby could never be bad, and she continued after allowing him to freak out for a moment.

"Daddy, I…I…" She gave one more sniffle for good measure. I've almost got him! "…I couldn't take it any longer. I had to do it! I just had to!" Her father echoed her sobs on his end 'what, my dear? What did you have to do? Tell Daddy!'

"I HAD TO ELOPE!" Zelda screamed into the phone, her voice resonating throughout the broken hotel, causing the unstable building to creak and shake as if a hurricane was tearing it apart from the foundation out. "I CAN'T STAND IT, DADDY! I LOVE HIM! I LOVE GROOSE!"

It took all of Zelda's mental power to block out the shocked responses of her companions. Midna's gum fell clean out of her mouth and stuck to the "K" on her shirt, Sheik grasped his heart as if Cupid's Arrow had cleanly missed, Impa's eyes widened wider than she'd ever seen, and Link…and Link…almost looked…jealous.

Well, at least Zelda hoped he did.

As if on cue, the entire building shook, this time not from Hurricane Zelda, but from an overweight, pompous buffoon that could cause the Stone Windmill monument to collapse. The whale of a boy bumbled in, barely squeezing through the already broken doorway, eyes nearly swollen shut from crying and a huge wad of snot dripping from his nostril to the rickety floor. Poor baby must've been scared from the big bad ladies earlier. The sight of him was so repulsive that Zelda choked back bile, but she kept up the act, just like the professional she was. She let out a sob of her own, putting on her best and most enchanted smile.

"My love," she said so quietly so only Daddy could hear. She already had to scream that she loved him once. She sure as hell wasn't going to do it again. Not loudly, at least. She'd wash her mouth out with soap when this was all over.

"I knew you would come to me, my love!" Groose sang, practically slobbering all over her, pausing for a moment when he was close enough to recognize the voice on the phone, "Are you on the phone, Mr. Haiden? Leave it to me! I will take care of her!"

Yes. Perfect. Just what she wanted him to say. Everything was going exactly according to Zelda's calculations.

Damn, she was good.

Zelda relished in the sounds of her father's tearful approval, saying that he would punish her later for making her worry but he was oh-so-happy that she finally saw the light. Daddy insisted he call her from time to time, but he assured her that he'd notify the school of her absence and that they had a week to do whatever they felt was necessary to further their relationship. Zelda hung up with a victorious click! Sure, he'd only given her a week, but at least it was something to work off of. She'd improvise the rest later. She had to pat herself on the back for a job well done.

She hated to lie to her parents—really, she did—but this was for the better. This way, they wouldn't worry about her, but at the same time, they wouldn't have half of Hyrule on the lookout for her whereabouts. No, for now, Zelda had to remain in the shadows, just like the ninjas in her favorite childhood stories. The whole thing was still utterly crazy and she was still half convinced she was dreaming, but for right now…those stories were coming real, and she was the protagonist.

Now that she didn't need to keep up the act, she shoved Groose off of her, making no motion to help him off the floor as she walked to the other side of the room, sitting in what was left of a wooden rocking chair.

"Da fuq…was that?" Midna finally asked, pulling the gum off her shirt and popping in back into her mouth. Sheik still seemed unable to move, similar to when Nabooru had him trapped in her attribute's spell. Even Impa still seemed a little shaken up, as if she too, despite her infinite knowledge, was unable to comprehend what the hell just happened.

"I had to come up with a convincing reason to tell my parents," Zelda said with a small shrug, as if what she just did was no big deal. "This was the only thing my Dad would be satisfied with."

Sheik suddenly snapped up, a childish grin crossing his face as if Zelda just said the magic words that unlocked the spell. "That's it?" he asked. "You were just pretending?"

"Of course," Zelda said, a little offended that Sheik would even suggest that Zelda actually had feelings for Groose. She was just using him, naturally. Deep down, she was more than a little bit pleased that the entire group had fallen for her act. She must have put on quite the show.

Record that, you stupid robo-fairy.

"Zelda…" Groose slobbered—gross, there were snot stains all over his pants—as he practically crawled over to her. "How could you be so cruel? I've told you so many times that I love you. Why can't you reciprocate my honest and true feelings?"

Zelda huffed, her long brown hair swishing against her shoulders as she raised her head and closed her eyes, refusing to look at Groose. Sure, a little part—and it was a tiny part—of her felt bad for him, because she did just use his feelings like that, but still…this was Groose. He had the ego the size of Hyrule and he was the biggest coward she'd ever seen. No, her ideal man was someone who wasn't narcissistic at all. A man with a great intellect, a kind heart, and genuine emotions. She wanted to truly believe his words when he whispered those three special words in her ear. Yes, her ideal man was truly perfect, with honey blond hair and blue eyes and…

Zelda instinctively blushed, biting her lip gently as she returned from her fantasies and landed back on Hyrule. She peeked open one of her emerald eyes to look at the sniveling coward in front of her, blubbering on and on worse than a baby. She was still miffed that he hid in a corner while Link and the others risked their lives.

"By the way, where were you when we were fighting for our lives, ya big tub of lard?" Midna suddenly growled from the corner, as if she was reading Zelda's mind. Now that the excitement of Zelda's elaborate ruse was over, she noticed that many of the other group members were staring at Groose with not-too-pleasant expressions on their faces.

Groose let out a cry, physically taken aback by her words. He clutched his chest as if her words wounded his ego—please, if anything could damage that—or something. As Groose frantically glanced around the room, he began sobbing again—would he ever stop?—as he realized everyone was glaring at him. Even Link of all people didn't look particularly thrilled. Huh. Zelda kinda liked Angry Link. It was…exhilaratingly out of character.

"Those women were scary," he said, his honker buried into some old blanket covered in moth holes. Good. Maybe he'd finally blow his nose. Didn't his mother teach him proper manners when he was young? He probably thought his boogers were just as entitled as he was. "I'm not a fighter. I'm royalty."

Pah! Royalty? Groose? Now Zelda just had to laugh at that.

"Haven't we already gone over this?" Sheik said with a low sigh, as if Groose was sapping all the energy out of him. "Doofus. You are a protector. It's your job to protect the monarch, and acting as his double doesn't count. Besides," he said with a scoff, "…you're hardly convincing."

"Of course I'm royalty," Groose said, standing up proudly with a still un-wiped nose. He once again assumed his pompous pose, his too-tight shirt revealing flab that no one wanted to see. "My name is Groose DeArcy. My family owns 10% of…"

"…Hyrule's economy. Yeah, we know, we know, we've done this before," Midna groaned, sounding just as exhausted as Sheik. "In case ya haven't noticed, you're still not royalty. See this?" She held up her palm, revealing the number "6". "You've got one too. You were complaining about your little boo-boo earlier. The number means you're a protector. Not. Royalty."

"Well," Groose spat, as if Midna was a mere commoner and she had no right to speak to someone as worthy as he, "…if I'm not royalty, who is?"

Midna and Sheik pointed to Link. Zelda contained a squee of glee at Groose's shocked expression, his mouth agape and his jaw practically on the floor. Groose looked so dumbfounded. Where was that robot? Zelda wanted to take a picture of this fantastic sight so she could replay the moment over and over again whenever she felt down.

"Kokolo?" Groose asked finally after he was able to move his jaw again. "Link Kokolo is royalty!? You honestly mean it's my job to serve and protect this scrawny little brat!?"

Kokolo? Come to think of it, that was Link's last name, wasn't it? Huh. Zelda should start paying more attention when teachers call attendance from now on. But…what did that mean? Groose knew Link? Well sure, that made sense, they all attended the same school, but Groose was hardly ideal company for Link. Then again, Zelda was no expert in lowlife lingo—this she admitted without shame—but she was pretty certain guys didn't call each other "scrawny little brats" to bond. She felt her eyes narrowing as anger built up inside of her as she realized what was going on. How dare Groose insult Link? How dare he…!

Groose ambled over towards Link, mouth still agape, although his sobs quickly turned into maniacal laughter. He pointed right at Link's face, bending over as he laughed so hard his sides hurt. Link's eyes narrowed but he continued to stay silent. With every laugh, Zelda felt the rage inside her bubbling, bubbling, bubbling…

"Kokolo…is…royalty…" Groose managed to snark between hysterical fits of booming laughter. "Kokolo…honestly expects that he is above me! Kokolo!"

"Why, you little…" Sheik started, his fuse obviously shorter than Zelda's as he leapt towards Groose, two small daggers in his palms. Was he seriously about to attack Groose? Zelda didn't care. She made no motion to stop him.

"Down, boy," Impa, tired of all the childish nonsense, finally interrupted, smacking Sheik on the back of his head. Sheik fell to the ground, sprawled all over the shedding carpet, brown fuzzies all over his clothes. With a sigh, Impa took out her patented massive fan and this time, instead of hitting her student, she smacked Groose upside the head.

Well that shut him up real quick. Zelda made sure to remember that nifty trick for later.

"You are a protector, boy! Don't you understand the severity of the situation? You sobbed in a corner while your teammates fought for their lives. Don't you understand that this is not some silly joke? Don't you understand that this is life or death? Don't you understand that you must grow into the man I believe you can be?" Impa shouted angrily, smacking him with every point. After her outburst, Groose simply stared at the small elderly lady, shocked that she would dare lecture him, but at the same time, it almost seemed—almost—that he was taking her words into consideration. Well, that was a start.

Groose opened his big mouth to either insult her—or at the very least, refute her—when there was a thunderous crash that shook every member of the Sixth Kingdom to the very core. The few bits of the hotel that were still remaining shook at the very slightest wind as if it was one block trying to support three hundred.

"There is an enemy Kingdom approaching," Navi said—where the hell did she go, anyways?—as if again it wasn't totally obvious or anything. "I'd be careful of this team," she added somberly—if a robot could sound somber, that is—and in a low voice.

"Power…" Link spoke quietly, his blue eyes shining in an almost beautiful golden rainbow light. Now, Zelda was trying to figure out when his eyes did their little color-changing trick, and she had a few ideas. So far, from what she observed, his eyes became golden when he seemingly used his Doll power. It was just a working theory, but she was pretty certain regardless of her theory's accuracy, they were in danger. She didn't have to be a Doll to sense that something wicked was coming their way.

"Such intensity," Impa breathed, as Groose began to sob and hide behind a broken lamp post. Sheik finally got up from his position on the floor, daggers raised, but even he seemed a little…tense. Midna cast a worried glance at Impa.

"We all feel it," Midna's voice was almost buried under a boom as the sky parted and a golden light, as golden as Link's eyes, lit up the sky. Zelda drew her bow apprehensively, wincing at the drops of rain that pitter-pattered on the roof and snuck into the room through the cracks, tickling her body from head to toe. The feeling…this feeling…it was different then the emotions she felt during the Eighth Kingdom's approach. If she thought she was scared then…then she clearly didn't know the meaning of the word, "fear".

"We cannot fight them," Impa hissed, motioning at the others to move their asses, and to move them quickly. "They are too strong. We would be overwhelmed within minutes."

"We can't run," Sheik retorted with a wave of his own hand. "There's nowhere to go. They have us surrounded."

Zelda didn't need to be an expert on battle techniques or be trained in the way of the Sheikah to know that Sheik was right. She could feel them. She could sense the ones that were causing her to be shaken from the very core. She could feel the fear running through her veins, causing her limbs to shake and her resolve to falter. Would all battles be like this? How long would she have to endure this torture? Forget thinking about other battles! She wasn't even sure if she'd survive this one. No, if she survived this ordeal, she would consider herself to be the luckiest person alive. She knew that she should feel more confidence and not have such a negative attitude—the self-fulfilling prophecy came to mind—but she couldn't help it. The fear was so strong inside of her that it really did eat at her inner soul. She tried to stop it, but a tear slid down her cheek. She gulped, trying not to actually cry. She wasn't like Groose. She wasn't a coward, was she? Then why was she so scared? Why did she feel so utterly helpless? Was this…was this the enemy Doll's attribute?

"Zelda?" Link's serene voice brought her back to reality for a moment, although even his soothing presence was fading, his image morphing into a grotesque gargoyle that tricked her. She screamed, trying to pull away, to run, run, run away, away from this awful place and this awful game, away from the heartbreak and terror, away from this fear…this damned fear…

"I'm scared," she whimpered, too scared to be ashamed of her own weakness. "I'm so scared…"

Link glanced from side to side, she could see thoughts swirling around his beautiful blue eyes but even he, even with his Doll powers, even he would be lost to the Darkness, just like all of them…she would lose him, she would lose him, and she would be forever alone again, forced to deal with her failure, to never see his smile again, to live with the guilt of letting him die, to live with the fact that she was too scared, too scared, too terrified to even save him…

"Please, power that sleeps inside me, hear my call…"

Link was saying something, but it was too late, too late to do anything, too late to stop the enemy kingdom, too late to stop the fear that had overcome her heart. It was hopeless, oh-so-hopeless, and she would be doomed to toil the darkness for the rest of eternity…

"…guide my beloved companions to a place of sanctity!"

With the sound of Link's strong voice, the light that was fading among the darkness, the room spun, spun, spun, images becoming distorted as the fear within Zelda built, built, built until falling, falling, falling apart like the room before her. Reality warped, once concrete items turning into mere figments of the imagination. The world turned upside down and over, over, over again until the room that was scrambled in front of her regained its self, the room once again regaining its sense of self in the world and the furniture reformed as if being built anew.

The shock of everything that just occurred forced Zelda to her knees as she gasped for air, trying to grasp an understanding of what the hell just happened. Whatever Link did—at least, she assumed Link was responsible—seemed to have driven the fear from Zelda's heart, her inner soul whole once more. She turned to thank him for saving them when he let out a pained cry. She reached for him, trying to catch him but he fell and she grasped only air.

"Link!" She cried, her voice finally returned to her. Impa scurried over to the pair, laying a wrinkled but gentle hand on his forehead. He writhed in pain; eyes changing from blue to golden so fast the light show was enough to give anyone a headache. Why was he in pain again? Zelda couldn't bear to see him like this especially after he saved them…he saved her again. Wasn't she the one who was supposed to be protecting him?

"What. The. Hell. Just. Happened?" Midna asked slowly, making her way over to Sheik and asking if his holiness and his "boo-boo" were okay. Sheik waved her off, observing his surroundings with a look of amazement on his face. Zelda followed suit. Where…where were they? They certainly weren't in the old barely-standing porno hotel anymore. They seemed to be in a basement of sort, the walls gray and concrete. There was a couch made out of metal in the middle of the room with an old TV from the Stone Age. The chill that filled the room indicated to Zelda that they were in some sort of underground base.

"The Sixth activated his ability," Navi spoke up. Really, she had the most goddess-awful timing. "Every Doll has a special ability to go along with their natural set of powers. The Sixth's, as you should have guessed, is teleportation."

"Teleportation," Midna mumbled, face aghast. "The dude just teleported us."

"Naturally, it is a very exhausting skill," Navi said as if Link's condition wasn't a big deal or anything. "He will need a significant amount of time to rest and recover his strength."

"He's in pretty bad shape," Impa said, glancing around the room. She noticed a sink the back corner—and please tell Zelda that there wasn't a hole in the ground intended to be a toilet next to it—and gave a wave of her hand. "Zelda, please go fetch me some water." Zelda nodded, nearly tripping over her feet as she shot up, eager to get something that would ease Link's pain.

"Yeah, about that…Link?" Sheik called from where he was standing, still winded from the affair. "Y'know I appreciate you saving our hides n'stuff, but…"

There was a pause as he struggled to regulate his breathing.

"…never do that again."

So Link has another power! Cool! And we have a mysterious unnamed Kingdom coming after our team…this should be fun. ;)

I'm really enjoying sassy Zelda. Her little "act" was a lot of fun to write.

As always, please leave a review! Reviews brighten my day and I love to hear all of your thoughts. Constructive criticism is welcomed and greatly appreciated. I've already been keeping in mind some of your points. :)

I hope you are enjoying the story and I'll see you in the next chapter!