Sorry for the wait!


Link frantically stumbled back, knocking over several things in his haste. Zelda felt behind her for something to help them, forgetting, as most usually do when panicking, to use a weapon.

"Aaah!" Link yelled as a huge merman dragged him out of the building. He was kicking and biting and fighting like crazy to break free. Zelda stayed back; no one had discovered her yet. But it was only a matter of time before the little boy said something.

Link had his sword out and was facing the merman that had captured him. He moved closer . . .

"Stop." A voice from behind Link said. Tiroko casually brushed past Link and turned to the guard. "Leave him to me." He spun to face Link and drew his own blade. It was big. Really big.

"No! Link!" Zelda's voice was loud in the crowded courtyard. She was held by the guard who had captured Link.

Tiroko rushed at Link, who ducked and did some counter . . . parry . . . attack . . . thing. But Tiroko was suddenly behind him, slashing at his arms and chest. For a guy with no legs, he was fast. Link moved out of his reach and turned toward Zelda. She was struggling with her captor. Her eyes were wide as she tried to free herself.

"Link!" she screamed.

Link whirled around to see Tiroko before him, sword drawn. Link cursed inwardly for being an idiot and lifted his sword just in time. There was a horrible clash of metal against metal as the blades locked.

Link glared at Tiroko through the X that their swords made, commanding every ounce of energy he had left on shoving his sword into Tiroko's smug, arrogant face. He pushed forward, bringing the steel inches from Tiroko's forehead. Link was about to bring the sword crashing down, slicing him in two (something extremely unpleasant and usually fatal), but he stopped. There was a look in his eyes . . . Tiroko was planning something.

Before Link had time to think, Tiroko ducked and pressed his blade into Link's stomach. Link lost his balance and staggered backward. He checked himself hurriedly to see if he was hurt. Good. Nothing. Thank Din for belts.


Zelda dug her nails into her captor's flesh, ignoring his death grip on her. She watched with horror as Link stumbled, then looked himself over. His belt was severly dented, but he was fine. "That moron is either incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky," she muttered, amazed that he wasn't hurt.

But he could be. And he would be, if she didn't try to help him. (She has little faith in Link's ass-kicking abilities).

Zelda leaned forward, trying to get out. Her guard tightened his hold around her waist. She sighed, and went limp. Feeling a slight relaxation from the guard, she jerked forward, kicking him hard in the gut. Ramming her knee into his chest, she scrambled away.

She reached behind her, grasping for her sword. A sickening feeling of dread filled her as she realized exactly where the sword was. On the ground. In the house. Out of reach.

Or maybe not. Zelda's eyes lit upon the boy. He was hiding in the back of the crowd, not wanting to be seen. He was holding something behind his back, and a corner of a hilt stuck out from behind his hands.

A million thoughts flew through her mind, but only one registered. The boy. He's got the sword.

Ducking into the crowd, Zelda hurried toward the boy. Kneeling beside him, she grasped his hand, forcing him to look at her.

"My sword," she said firmly. "Give it to me." He looked at her for a moment. Fingers shaking, he handed it to Zelda. "Thank you." Standing, she moved away.

"Wait." Zelda turned at his voice. He walked toward her. "I'm coming." It wasn't a question.

"I don't . . ." She sighed. She really didn't have time for this. "Okay." Holding the boy's hand, she led him inot a dark corner, overshadowed by the staue. "What's your name?" she whispered, looking out for guards.

"Koey."

Zelda nodded, watching the ever-searching guards and Link's battle.

"Look out!" Koey exclaimed, pointing behind her. There was a group of people pointing at them and talking. A burly merman (or woman. It was hard to tell) lumbered (moved? Swam out of water? How do you describe the movement of legless people?) up to them. He (or she) leered down at Zelda and reached out to her. Scooping Koey up into her arms, she swerved out of the way and bolted. She heard voices behind her, and sped up, Koey clinging to her neck for dear life. "Oh, Din, oh, Din, oh Din oh Din ohDinohDinohDin!" Suddenly she didn't hear anything behind her. Total silence. She tried to see behind her, still running. What the--

SMACK. Zelda crashed into something big. And hard. She craned her head back and clutched her sword, ready to face her oppenent. Ready for anyhthing. Including...

A wall. "Damn."

"You said a bad word," Koey remarked from his position on the ground. He had let go in an attempt not to hit the wall.

"Right now I don't really care," Zelda said, turning to face the crowd that had gathered behind her. The merperson (who is not a boy or a girl) stepped forward again. Raising its arm high into the air, it smacked Zelda in the neck, the temples, the head. Its hits were lightning fast and accurate. Zelda felt everything around her go black in a burst of pain. Blindly she lashed forwa,rd missing more than she was hitting, but hitting the merdude nonetheless. Her one thought was, I hope Link's winning . . .


Link was losing. Badly. He was bleeding in more places than he could count, places he didn't even know existed, and Tiroko was virtually unharmed and just plain spiffy. Stupid mermaid healing.

Link didn't lose. He was the Hero of Time! He wasn't allowed to lose! Unfortunately, that didn't change the facts.

"Link?" Navi asked, peering out from under Link's hat. "Is everything ok?" A blade flew by, inches from Link's nose. Navi sighed. "I think I'll just stay in here and let you climb out of the mess you've made. Good luck."

"The mess I made?" he shot back. "I believe this is all the fault of a stupid princess, who shall remain nameless."

"Yeah," Navi replied, her oice muffled by the hat. "Because you know so many princesses."

Tiroko slashed, narrowly missing Link's shoulder and preventing him from smushing Navi to a pulp. Forcing himself to concentrate, he lunged at Tiroko, who dodged, causing Link to trip over Tiroko's tail. Tiroko tried to stab him but he rolled over. Link tightened his fingers around the hilt of his sword, which was sticky with blood. In pure determination he pushed himself off the floor. Stumbling, he could not walk straight, slipping on his own blood. Another merman came behind him. Link, stubbornly not giving up, disarmed the merman, but there was soon another. More kept coming, and Link, tired with exhaustion and blood loss, striked aimlessly in the air, missing by miles. Finally his knees gave way, and he fell to the ground. He glared up at the merpeople as Zelda was thrown down next to him. As fatigue won out over determination, he heard Tiroko say triumphantly, "Take them to the dungeons."


Rauru slammed his book shut with a sigh. Nothing. An entire book full of blathering that didn't actually tell him anything. He gazed hopelessly at the piles of books surrounding him. He knew so little about the Dark Triforce. What could he do?

He knew about the legend, and some of its powers. But that wasn't enough. That wasn't even close to enough. Nayru, he didn't even have a clue what it looked like!

There was a knock on the library door, jolting him out of his depressing thoughts. Impa poked her head in. "Rauru? What are you doing?"

"Looking for information on the Dark Triforce."

"Again? Rauru, what will that do to help Link? He's probably there already; it's not like you can contact him."

"I know. I just think that this whole quest he's going on is too . . . easy, I guess."

Impa raised an eyebrow. "You have a funny definition of easy," she said, taking a seat across him.

"Well, it's just . . . there's so much . . . you know."

Impa shook her head. "Nope. Not even a little bit."

Rauru closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to explain this to Impa. He had such a hard time making sense of it himself. "You know how most of Link's adventures are full of red herrings and mini-quests and whatnot, right?"

"Yeah . . ." She raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"It's sort of like . . . this one's so simple. 'Go to Ryia, get the Dark Triforce, come home, destroy it.' No hidden problems, everything straightforward. I just think that there has to be something hidden, something we have no idea about."

Impa nodded, thinking it over. "So," she said quietly, "what do we do?"

Rauru sighed. "I don't know," he said. "But we'd better do it soon."


"What do I say to him?" Impa asked Rauru as he, Impa, and Saria stood outside the king's chamber.

"I don't know. Tell him something, though. It's a miracle that he hasn't figured out that she's missing yet. I have to go get the others." And with that, Rauru disappeared down the hall.

Impa rolled her eyes at Saria, who giggled, and knocked on the door. "Come in," the king said.

"Hello, Your Highness," Impa said, looking at Saria imploringly. She just shrugged.

"Good day, Impa. And Saria, right? The queen of the vampire gophers?"

"That's what I go by," Saria chirped brightly.

"Right," Impa jumped in. "We know each other. Good. Knowledge is good. Lots of times. And it is a good day today . . . nice and uh, blue."

Saria stared at her in incredulous amusment, as though to say, You're talking about the weather?!

"Zelda loves days like this, you know," Saria said conversationally.

"Yes," King Hyrule said thoughtfully. "I haven't seen her for a while, actually. Such a large castle. And her always off with that Link. I suppose it's almost a relief that he's gone. Zelda doesn't act much like a princess, and since he's not a prince . . ."

"Mm-hmm," Impa said. "Zelda has been um, on a . . . sleepover. With Malon."

"Oh really?" Daphnes asked, raising his eyebrow in amusement. He wondered what story they were going to tell him this time. He knew exactly where Zelda was, but he didn't want to cause panic for the rest of Hyrule, so he pretended that Zelda was just hiding in the castle somewhere. It worked; the Hylians were clueless, but the others--who also knew where the princess had disappeared to--thought he was a moron.

Oh, well. Life was suffering, wasn't it?

Saria nudged Impa and whispered, "No, not Malon! They hate each other!"

"Wait, I uh, meant that she's been . . . uh, she's . . ."

"In the bathroom," Saria said.

Daphnes bit his lip, hiding a smile. "For how long?"

"No!" Saria wailed. "She's . . . decorating the bathroom!"

"With paper; toilet paper." Impa immediately felt stupid.

King Hyrule stared at them as though they were crazy. "Really, now."

"It's a bathroom theme," Saria added helpfully.

"And how long did you expect me to buy this?" he asked with a sigh.

Impa winced. They were caught. "She's--"

"She's on a secret mission with the Sheikah," Saria exclaimed, kicking Impa.

"Working," the Sheikan added.

"Why wasn't I alerted beforehand?" Daphnes was enjoying this. For once he wasn't the only one being made to look like an idiot. He was planning on milking it for all it was worth.

"Well . . . she was worried you wouldn't approve."

"What type of mission?" he inquired, resting his chin on his hand and smirking.

Uh-oh. Saria shrugged at Impa and mouthed, 'You're the Sheikah.'

"She's helping the Sheikah, fixing something." Impa thought that sounded smart.

"Yeah, their bathrooms," Saria said.

"Will you shut up about the bathrooms?" Impa demanded impatiently.

Saria hopped up and down slightly. "Well, it's not my fault that I have to pee," she said, comepletely forgetting that the king was in the room. Impa slapped her forehead.

Daphnes sighed. "I know where Zelda is. She went with Link, didn't she?"

They nodded.

"That's all you had to say," he replied. "Now I can do something, instead of pretending nothing's wrong." He stood and strode out of the room, leaving Impa and Saria alone.

"Finally," Saria exclaimed, running toward the king's private bathroom.

"Saria!" Impa shouted angrily, but Saria was already gone.

"What am I supposed to tell Rauru?" she mumered to herself.


Rauru came back to Hyrule Castle to find the King sitting on his thorne with his head in his hands, sending soldiers out to Ryia to look for news. Rolling his eyes, Rauru hid behind the castle wall and hurried to an alleyway, where he, Impa, and Saria were supposed to meet.

They were there, looking extremely guilty. He crossed his arms and waited.

"Is there any chance you didn't see them?" Saria asked hopefully.

"Nope," Rauru responded. "They're pretty much everywhere. The question is why."

"Well . . ."

"Did you tell Daphnes where Zelda went?" he interrupted.

"Technically . . . no," Impa said triumphantly.

"Did you not tell him?"

"No," she admitted grudgingly.

"This was supposed to be secret. Do you know what secret means?"

"I'm a Sheikah. We own the word secret."

"Hey," Saria broke in, "why did we even have to talk to the king? How did that help?"

"He wasn't supposed to figure out his daughter was missing...we've been over this!"

"But he already knew!" Impa replied. "He knew the whole freaking time!"

"Whatever," Saria cut in. "It's done, we can't change that, and . . . will you just leave me alone?!" she said to a small dog scurrying around her ankles.

Rauru nodded. "You're right. There's nothing we can do about this. Follow me." He turned on his heel and rushed away.


Link was banging his head on the wall. "Damn, Damn, Damn," he muttered each time his head made contact.

"Link," Zelda asked calmly from her corner, where she was inspecting something or other, "are you trying to hurt yourself? Because that hat is fluffy; you're going to just bounce off again and again."

Link looked up and flashed her a smug grin. "Told you my hat was useful," he said happily.

Zelda sighed. "I think the loss of blood has affected your brain," she said. "Where is that girl, anyway? I thought they said she'd fix you up."

"Stupid mermaids," Navi muttered from on top of Zelda's shoulder (she had fled from Link's once he'd begun his head-banging ritual).

At that moment a small serving maid came up to them. Fumbling with the keys she was holding, along with food, water, and bandages, she opened the door.

(Just so you don't start thinking they're all wimps, I figured I'd clear this up. Now, normally Link and(or) Zelda would ambush the girl (or at least break the lock) and try to escape. But normally Link is not injured badly and Zelda unarmed (the sword was lost. Again). Plus, even if they did escape, there would be an entire population of crazy fish bent on either destroying or capturing them. That might ruin their plans a bit. Finally, if you think that things are taking too long without magic, just look at it my way. Life would be way to easy if they could just go, "Poof! We're at Ryia!" and "Poof! We've got the Dark Triforce!" and "Poof! We're home! Poof! It's destroyed!" That would be my entire story. Yay. Also, this way's funnier).

Anywho, the girl lay the food down and bandaged Link up. "Don't move too much," she warned. "You'll get hurt even more." She left.

"Screw her," Link muttered, and got up. "Shit!" He fell back down in a heap of arms and legs.

"Link!" Zelda ran over to him. "What's up?" she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"Hmm . . ." Link said sarcastically. "Let's see. We get stuck in some freakin' phsyco zone, where fish are people who can move on land and kill three stupid people they've never met before! Then my--" insert bad word of your choice "--is kicked by some stupid fishdude who doesn't even have legs! And now I can't even do anything about it." He slumped back down again.

Zelda had no idea how to respond to that, so she decided to let him mope. She continued examining the wall. There was somethnig there, that was obvious. But what? It was too dark, almost black.

"Holy--" She clasped a hand over her mouth and drew back. How could she have thought it was a way out? Who builds dungeons with escape routes? What she had mistaken for a thicker part of the wall was a almost-worn-away skeleton. It crumbled in her hands, and she shuddered, backing away farther.

"Hey," a small voice whispered.

Zelda turned to see Koey peering through the bars at them. "What are you doing here?" she asked, as Link said, "Who the hell are you?"

Koey blushed slightly and stared at his feet. "The leaders . . . they're bad. They want to hurt you guys. I'm going to help you escape."

"Really?" Zelda asked with a smile. Link was still trying to figure out why this random kid wanted to help them.

"Yeah." Koey nodded, as though to convince himself.

"But won't you get in trouble? We can't do that. We can find another way out."

"Yes, we can, and no we won't," Navi said.

"Don't worry," Koey said with a shrug. "I won't get caught." He grinned confidently, and tossed Zelda her blade. "Here's your sword back. You've got to keep a better watch on it."

"Oh. Okay."

"How do we get out?" Link asked, straightening up.

Koey held up a key ring. He's smart for a little kid, Zelda thought. But she couldn't dwell on it, because the cell door had swung open and Link was standing outside, waiting for her, and Koey was trying to fix Link up so he could move better and Link was telling Koey to shove it and footsteps were coming closer, so Zelda just scrambled behind a statue with everyone else.

Right outside the cell, two people stood, a man and a woman. They weren't merpeople; they were regular humans--humans with Gerudo-like ears--close enough to touch. Zelda wanted to call out to them, she was so relieved to meet someone without a tail, but Koey put a slightly pudgy hand over her mouth.

"Shh," he whispered, so softly that Zelda had to strain to hear him. "They work for the leaders."

"What are we even doing here?" the woman said iritably.

"Because our orders say to be here, so we'll stay here. If you want to live, Evelyn, you'll do as you're told."

"And what, Ray, are we doing here?"

"We have to get the elf-people."

"No. We can't do that."

Ray turned and raised his eyebrows. "What? Why?"

"They're not there." She gestured to the cell calmly.

Ray stiffened, then went pale. Frenzied, desperate eyes scanned the area, while Evelyn was as tranquil as though she had informed Ray of the weather.

"They've got to be here somewhere."

Evelyn crossed her arms across her chest. "They're not."

"No!" Ray began searching for them, in every shadowy corner and behind every object. He came closer and closer to their hiding place. Zelda tightened her grip on her sword. His face was inches away . . . Zelda held her breath . . .

"What's taknig you so long?" A harsh voice rang out. Nina appeared at the cell door. She took in the empty room, Ray's frantic search, and Evelyn's laid-back posture. "What happened?" she asked Ray through gritted teeth.

"Well . . . they got away. But don't worry! I'll find them soon!"

"Idiot!" Nina's sword flashed and Ray fell to the ground. She turned to Evelyn, who was leaning back, totally relaxed. "And you! Not even bothering to find them!" Another swipe, and Evelyn fell next to them. A smile crossed her face as she saw the group. She winked.


"What are we doing here?"

Every Sage in the room was whispering to one another. Saria, Impa, and Darunia were talking in one corner, Saria on his back. Ruto and Nabooru were talknig in another.

"I think this is all rather pointless," Ruto said imperiously. Rauru's face warmed, and he busied himself with books and papers.

"Why are you telling me? I don't care," Nabooru shot back. She thought Ruto was too pampered, to used to getting her own way.

Rauru cleared his throat. "Um, excuse me." He instantly regretted speaking; the second all eyes were on him, his brain made a mental runthrough about why this was a stupid, pointless waste of time. Too late to back out now, though. "You are probably all wondernig why you are here," he began. Ruto snorted derisively.

"Well, I need two people to go. On a journey. To Fotmea." Foot in mouth.

"Why?" Nabooru asked suspiciously.

"It's about the Dark Triforce, Link and Zelda. Just trust me. It is important." Sort of.

Rauru told his brain to shut up and continued. "Is there anyone who will help?" he asked hesitantly.

Dead silence. People shifted in their seats, some thikning it over, some just hoping they wouldn't have to go. Then a small voice offered, "I'll do it."

Rauru wanted to hug Saria, he was so grateful, but even though she was certainly capable, she couldn't go anywhere. "No."

"Why?" she said hotly. "I want to go. The forest will be fine without me."

"Yes, but . . . why would you even want to go?"

She rolled her eyes. "Link is my best friend, duh. And I'm bored. I haven't had an adventure since Daphnes went to--" She realized only Impa actually knew about that particular fiasco. "I'm going."

Rauru just shook his head. "Fine. Go. But I need someone else."

Darunia stood up and clapped Rauru on the shoulder, practically knocking him down. "Don't worry, Brother." Rauru hated being called Brother. "We'll find whatever you need."

"What do you need, anyway?" Ruto was not going to let it go.

"Information on the Dark Triforce."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Give it a rest already."

"Alright," Rauru said, ignoring Ruto, "Darunia, Saria, stay. Everyone else, you're free to go."

Once the other Sages were gone, Saira asked, "So, where do we go?"

"Oh, just to the beach. I believe that's where it originated. Talk to the people, see what they know."

"How do we let you know what we find out?"

He laughed. "I'll be coming with you."

"But . . . you're old."

"And wise. I don't think you'd understand a word they told you. Anyway, come here, I'll tell you everything."


Nina stared at the bodies on the floor for a moment, then turned to the top of the stairs. "Kanami!" she shrieked.

Kanami scrambled down the stairs (not an easy feat) and hurried to Nina. "Yes?" she panted.

"Kanami, they've escaped."

Kamani sighed, turning er head to hide her relief. "You sure?"

"Yes, look at the cell, imbecile."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"You will find them."

Kanami nodded, then watched Nina disappear upstairs. When Nina was gone, Kanami closed the door. She walked around the room, not searching, just walking.

"If you guys are in here, I won't hurt you," she said softly. "I'm glad you're out. And I want you to stay free. But they're looking for you. Don't ask me why; you seem pretty normal to me." She shrugged. "So, uh, I feel pretty stupid," she offered. "I'll just be leaving." Kanami strode back out the door she came in. She suddenly poked her head by into the room. "See ya."

Once Kanami was gone, Link cracked his knuckles, breaking the silence. "That was easy," he said.

Koey grabbed Zelda's wrist. "Come on," he said. "There isn't another way out."

"Well, good," Link muttered sarcastically. "There's nothing better than having shit luck your entire life, right?"

They listened carefully at the door. "I don't think there's anyone in there," Zelda whispered.

Suddenly the door flew open, sending Link crashing into the wall. Zelda ducked; how ducking would help, she had no idea. Koey continued forward--straight into Kanami's arms. They both toppled backward, landing on the ground in a heap. Zelda instinctively leaped backward, but her foot slipped on the blood that pooled across the floor, and she collapsed less-than-gracefully.

"Koey?" Kanami murmured. "How'd you get here?"

"No one there, huh?" Link asked, his voice muffled.

"Are you okay?" Zelda replied, ignoring him.

"Fine, fine." He pushed away from the wall, shoving the door closed with a bang. "Nothing like a nosebleed and a mouthful of wall to wake you up in the morning, eh?"

"Actually, it's the middle of the night," Kanami pointed out hesitantly.

"How asked you! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Right." She shook her head. "I thought that if you were here, I'd help you get out."

Koey shook his head. "No, we couldn't. What if you--"

"I've decided I don't care anymore." And the smile she gave him was one of bliss; of total freedom.

They crept into the hall. Koey led the way, obviously knowing where the exit was.

Suddenly they heard voices. Kanami grabbed Zelda's arm and dragged her into the nearest room, which turned out to be a broom closet. They huddled in the corner of the room, listening to the sounds of shouting and swords clashing.

Once the sounds had died down, Kanami put her finger to her lips. "I'll be right back," she whispered. "Stay here." Opening the door slightly, she cautiously left.

There was a scream, and a thud. Then silence. Zelda didn't move until she was positive that whatever was out there had left.

"Kanami?" she called, opning the door a crack. "Where are you?"

There was nothing.

"What--" But Koey was gone, too.

"Link--" So was he.

Zelda was alone.


"So, you see, we need to hear the legend of the Dark Triforce."

"The what?!" croaked the old woman Saria was talking to.

"The Dark Triforce."

"What?!"

"The . . . Dark . . . Triforce."

"Talk louder!"

"THE DARK TRIFORCE!!!!"

"Oh, why didn't ya say so? Yeah, I know all about it. ALL ablout it. It's . . . it's . . . I forgot, what do you need to know?"

Saria turned amd stalked away. Behind her the woman was humming as though they hadn't spoken.

They had been ain Fotmea for half a day, ever since the early morning. Splitting up, they had asked different people about the legend.

She didn't even know why Rauru wanted them to come here. So far, there were huts full of useless people. It was as though the Dark Triforce didn't exist.

And for all they knew it didn't.

The thuoght hit Saria like a sledgehammer. What if Rauru had just read of a fairy tale in a book? What if what they were doing was pointless? What if Link and Zelda were going to die for nothing?

"Saria!" Darunia ran up to her, out of breath and excited. "Come here!" Grabbing her hand in a gentle grasp that almost broke her wrist, Darunia dragged her to the foot of a mountain, where Rauru was supposed to be searching. He found Rauru quickly and, with no more explanaiton than he'd given Saria, began pulling them along back to the beach.

"Darunia! What are you doing!" Rauru shouted. "I was close to getting something!"

"You don't need to," was Darunia's reply, and pulled them faster.

Finally he stopped at the water's edge, and gestured to an island. "I talked to someone, and they said that they didn't know what the Dark Triforce was, but they did remember a scandal, about twenty or so years ago. Some guy--ninteen, I heard, and used to live here--killed this little girl. The guy had what looked like a black triangle on his hand." He paused a moment to let that sink in. "Then he sailed away to that island. They haven't heard of him since."

"Well," Rauru said, genuinely impressed, "Let's check it out."


"Link?" Zelda asked, looking around. She thought she'd heard feet shuffling, but she wasn't sure. "Koey?"

"Hey! What about me?"

"Navi!" Zelda spun around, her hand on her heart. "Thank Din you're here! Where's Link?"

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. "I was just sitting here on that chandelier, checking my wings, 'cause I thought they were ripped, ya know, and then there were all these mermaids, and they beat the crap outta Link and Koey, and then Kanami. Then they left. I was waiting for you. Link said to." She began bouncing up and down on Zelda's nose. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Go where?"

"To find Link, duh! Hurry!" Navi fluttered down the hall, away from Zelda. She kept up as best as she could, until Navi stopped outside a door.

"Is this it? Where Link and Koey disappeared into?" Zelda asked.

"I dunno. I just thought it looked like a good door. It's probably the right one, anyway. We'll find them in no time."

They went through it. Navi was right and wrong. They did go through the right door. But they didn't go any farther.

They entered the brightly lit hallway. It was empty, except for a large chair, somewhat like a throne. Zelda ran across the room to the small door on the other side. Her hip bumped into the chair, sending it skidding into the wall.

Zelda screamed as the ceiling opened up above her. A monster fell out, the size of an elephant. It was a demon, with black, oily skin and orange-brown eyes.

"Navi, what is it?" Zelda asked, barely moving. Navi was flying around its head, out of sight.

"I dunno," Navi said in her constantly-too-loud voice, causing the moster to growl and spin around. As its eyes landed on Zelda, they narrowed and it snarled. She tightened her grip on her sword, and glanced around the room. There was next to nothing to work with.

There was an ungodly shreik, followed by a wailish moan. From the hole in the ceiling a girl holding a stick leapt down, landing gracefully on the monster. She swept limp, unkempt black hair away from her face. Her deep black eyes showed no expression, and her thin mouth turned up in a sneer. Silently she stared at Zelda. Her expression amused, she turned back to her monster. With a suddenly malacious grin, she threw back her head and screamed. She dug her stick into its neck, and it lunged forward.


Okay, I was a bit lax in proofreading this (as in, I didn't), so if there are any errors, let me know and I'll fix them.