Well, to make up for the late arrival of chapter 10, here's an early arrival of chapter 11!

As always, please review this chapter!

Chapter 11: Fear Regained

Fear was still shivering in fright as Anger approached him.

"Fear..." Anger began.

"Why did you come back for me?!" Fear said, angry and scared. "You don't want me around!"

"I do, Fear!" Anger said. "We all do!"

"Since when?" Fear challenged. "You guys don't need a coward like me around!"

"Fear, listen to me!" Anger said, raising his voice. "You're not just a coward! You're a valuable member of our team!"

"He's right, Fear," Link added.

Fear, still shivering, lifted his head and looked at Link. He noticed the small bandage on his left cheek. "Link!" he cried out. "What happened to you?!"

"Don't worry about it, Fear," Link reassured. "I'm fine now."

"How did you get so hurt?" Fear asked.

Disgust stepped up next to Link. "Link got careless during one of our battles. Anger pushed Link to keep on fighting. You weren't there to protect him from getting harmed."

Joy stepped in as well. "That was when we realized we needed you back."

Sadness nodded. "You always have been important to us, Fear."

"I have?"

"Yes!" Anger continued. "YOU gave us the motivation to do this quest; to save our friend Zelda! YOU helped us figure out how to defeat those giant monsters! YOU were our driving force this whole time!" Anger lowered his head and his voice. "We just didn't see that before."

"We all misunderstood you," Joy added.

"And we're sorry for treating you like such an outcast," Sadness said.

Fear's lips quivered as a smile beamed across his face. His eyes started to fill with tears. "You... you mean... that I...?"

Joy nodded. "Yes, Fear," he said. "You're a part of our family. And family stays together no matter what."

Joy pulled Fear up from the ground and into his arms, embracing his long slender body. Fear couldn't help but let the tears flow from his eyes. Before long, Link decided to join in, hugging Fear and Joy. He was soon followed by Disgust and Sadness. Even Anger, though begrudgingly, found himself joining in the embrace as well. At long last, Fear felt like he had discovered his true purpose; to protect his family.

"Hey," Disgust said amidst the group hug. "Sorry to be a spoilsport, but we kinda have a princess to save!"

Upon Disgust's words, everyone broke out from the hug. "Of course!" Link said. "We now have all four keys to the palace!"

"But the question is," Sadness pointed out, "where is the entrance to the palace?"

Then, Fear remembered something. "I saw this strange rock among some ruins when I was out here in this valley. It had four keyholes carved into it."

Joy's face lit up. "Where is it?" he asked. "Show us where it is!"

In no time at all, Fear led the group to the old ruins he mentioned. Sure enough, there was a big rock with four keyhole-shaped holes in it. Link approached the rock and inserted each key into the holes. Then, a portal opened up where a ruined archway stood.

"This is it, guys," Link said.

"For Zelda!" Fear declared.

"For our kingdom!" Anger declared.

They all stepped through the portal.

"Well, my dear?" hissed The Unfeeling. "Have you finally made your decision?"

Zelda solemnly nodded. "I cannot reason with you. Nothing I say will change your mind. Please, just end this suffering." Tears began streaming down her cheeks.

The Unfeeling grinned. "Much better," he said. "Your beginning to see what I hope to achieve. Now there's just one thing left to do." He formed multiple tentacles from his body and slowly reached out for Zelda's forehead. "I have saved the best for last. Your sense of sorrow and despair will soon be gone, and then you will finally see things my way."

In Zelda's mind, Sadness was backing away from the control panel as the Unfeeling slowly approached Zelda. Black tentacles seeped into her mind and slowly slithered toward Sadness. The tentacles came closer and closer. The Unfeeling was just about to grab her...

...When The Unfeeling suddenly heard footsteps coming from within his own palace.

"They're here!" he hissed. He retracted his shadowy tentacles from Zelda's mind and back to his own figure. "Pardon me, your highness. I'll be right back. I need to do some..." he grinned menacingly. "...pest control." He turned away and slid out of the chamber.