Link glanced between the child and the demon, looking for a resemblance. Sure the kid had white hair, but that didn't mean he was a younger version of the sword spirit. "Is he serious?" the boy whispered, noting Ghirahim's shocked expression.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ghirahim said grimly, his mouth becoming a thin line in his displeasure. "I can feel my mind teasing at the memories that the child holds."

Link nodded and followed his gaze. "Hey, you!" he called suddenly, a wave of bravery making him ignore his fear. "Who're you, and why are you hurting that kid?"

The man laughed, apparently finding some sort of amusement in the boy's statement. "I'm surprised you should ask. I'm Ganondorf, the first male Gerudo in a thousand years. And this is payback." He paused, smiling, and the look on his face reminded Link of the malice from his reflection in Ghirahim's blade. "Your friend over there knows what I'm talking about. I'm just returning the favor."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," the sword spirit replied, his eyes narrowing into a glare. Despite this, his tone was playful. "After all, we have just met."

"It was a long time ago. Remember, your master died because of you. And now you'll pay." Ganondorf held up the tyke again, as if this was proof of his words.

Ghirahim examined the fingertips of his glove, feigning boredom. "I don't see how." His patience was waning, and he let out an irritated sigh. He let this vexation guide him as he plucked a pair of rapiers out of a sudden rush of diamonds and handed one to Link, keeping the other for himself. "Give us the child, and we shall let you live."

The stranger chuckled. "Oh, I'm giving you the kid, don't you worry. But not before I do this." He pulled what looked like a knife from some hidden pocket and stabbed it into the 5-year-old's side, earning a blood-curling scream. "Maybe next time you'll remember who's blade you really are. Find me then." Removing the blade swiftly, he dropped his burden over the edge toward the wild waters of the river below and fled, not once looking back.

Link dropped his blade and ran as fast as he could, arms outstretched. He just barely managed to grasp onto the little boy's arm before they hit the water. He felt the rapids tug at him fiercely, and then they were both pulled under, carried against their will away from the waterfall and the demon, who had made an attempt to follow after Ganondorf only to spot his younger self and the boy floundering under the assault of the water. Link felt his consciousness fade as freezing liquid pulsed into his lungs, suffocating him...

He sputtered, coughing up gallon after gallon of water until he was dry-heaving, his body refusing to believe that he was free of death yet. Squinting, he managed to pick out the grass and rocks beneath him, and beside him was a small, pale shape that was curled up into a ball, a bright red substance forming a pool around it.

An instant later, he snapped back to reality, and the creature beside him suddenly made sense. Ghirahim's younger self. He sat up, coughing one last time, and scooted closer to the child, feeling an ache beginning to form all over his body. He felt like he'd been smashed against a thousand pieces of rocks repeatedly, and he probably had, considering his ride down the river. But the child had to feel worse; not only had he been subjected to will of the river, he had been stabbed, as well.

Link rolled the child so that he could examine the wound, the miniature Ghirahim not even putting up a fight. The child looked utterly exhausted, and he didn't even seem to have the energy to cry as he silently watched Link go about trying to stop the bleeding. While trying to be gentle, the human boy knew he had to apply pressure. But without the help of a doctor or even a dealer of magic, the likelihood of survival was low...

Memory spiked in Link's mind, and he used one hand to fumble around in his pockets, keeping the other tight on the child's wound. After a few moments of unsuccessful searching, he pulled out the dark steel of the small diamond. The boy ran his fingers over it, trying to figure out how it worked. Last time, he hadn't had to even mess with it, but now he had no idea where he was... And he wasn't afraid for his own life.

As a last resort, for he felt a little stupid yelling at thin air, he yelled, "Ghirahim! I could use some help now! GHIRAHIM!" When nothing happened, he slammed his fist into the ground in frustration, forgetting the object in his grasp. He felt pain course through his hand and raised it to find several cuts along his fingers, each dripping blood steadily. "Great," Link muttered, a sense of helplessness wrapping itself around him.

"Link?" the demon's voice called, echoing slightly, as if he were in a contained space. "Where are you?" The volume made it appear that he was right next to the pair, but he was obviously no where in sight.

The boy sat bolt upright, looking around as wildly as he could without jostling the child. "Ghirahim! We're over here!"

Sounding annoyed, the sword spirit's voice said, "If I knew where 'here' was, I wouldn't be asking. That diamond I gave you is like a... communicator. Now, I will ask one more time. Where are you?"

Link glanced at the little diamond again once more, wondering what else it could do, before for the first time looking around to observe their surroundings. Tall stone walls lined the opposite side of the river, a few vines of ivy creeping upwards in pursuit of sunlight. What looked like a drawbridge was pulled up and away from him, guaranteeing no help from whoever was on the other side. "Err, we're either by Hyrule Marketplace, or we somehow got past the grate and are somewhere near Hyrule Castle." Please hurry...

"Be right there," the former-sword said.

Ghirahim had followed the length of the river for hours, searching for where it had deposited the boy and his memory. He had even gone all the way back to the lake, but somehow he had missed them.

When he had felt Link's blood coat that small piece of himself he had given the human, he felt something, as if a great pressure was slowly being lifted off his chest. Perhaps he was feeling worry... But he would not have to much longer, for the human child and his memory would be with him again soon.

He didn't bother snapping, for it would be a waste of dramatic effort if no one was there to see it, and appeared at one of the two locations Link had mentioned. Not the Marketplace, then... The castle... He felt a touch of dread at the thought, but he had no idea why. There was nothing he knew of to fear there, or at least nothing he could remember. And this time he did snap, more out of habit than anything.

He was rewarded with the sight of Link, his blue-eyed gaze focusing on the smaller being in front of him. Upon Ghirahim's arrival, he glanced up, relief making his shoulders relax, releasing the tensions that had built there. "Hurry," the human said, strain continually evident in his voice. "He's still bleeding."

Ghirahim stepped forward swiftly, prying Link's hands aside to view the damage. The child sighed when he felt the elder version of himself near, although the demon had no way of knowing why. The stabbing the child previously received had injured several internal organs, and he had lost a lot of blood. Focusing his will, the sword spirit thought of repairing, of reversing what had happened to his smaller self, of what the child had looked like before that insolent fiend called Ganondorf had stuck a knife inside him, and snapped his fingers.

Both Link and Ghirahim sat back when the wound was sealed closed with a flow of miniature diamonds, although the demon only relaxed when the little boy opened his dark-brown eyes to stare at the pair solemnly. They closed again within several seconds, and the soft sound of deep, even breathing reached the sword spirit's ears. His younger self was sleeping, and the sight made his lips twitch upward for an instant.

"Time to go," he whispered and carefully pulled the child into his arms, not wanting to disturb him. Link held on to Ghirahim's arm once more, and they were gone.

A Castle Guard rounded the corner at that very moment, watching in shock as two people and what looked like a bundle of rags disappeared in thin air, leaving behind a cluster of diamonds. There was no other explanation than magic, and if there was some type of magician near the castle, evading detection and running when others came, then he or she must be up to something. In any case, it was the guard's duty to protect the royalty from harm, and these two might pose as a threat.

He raced back to the guardhouse, spinning exaggerated tales of an evil magician bent on destroying the King and his precious daughter, Princess Zelda.

Thank you all so much! Your support keeps me going.

... Admittedly, I have a slight problem. I have one of two ways to go with this and child-Ghirahim, and I can't seem to decide which to go with. So I need you guys to tell me what you want. Should the Ghira-child have been a human who somehow became Mr. Fabulousity, or should he have been a sword spirit from the start? I can see things going nicely either way... It's the decision that's killing me. So, please review and tell me what you think!

meijosui: As in Demise actually talking to Ganondorf? Or something else. I'm kind of intrigued by this idea, so if you would like to elaborate (besides reviewing, XD), feel free to PM me!

FatGuy OnFire: XD, Ghirahim says your Soup is definitely fabulous. Not necessarily a baby, but.. we'll see.

increak96: I'm glad you're enjoying the show, my darlink. And yes, Ghira-child is terribly adorable... *cuddles with Ghira-child*

Please review!

-SeascapeMural