Sarin: ... *is debating poking Jem with a sharp stick to get her started on this updating thing already*

Jem: Thanks to reviewers and people who favorited! Someone (coughNeoRyu777cough) dropped liquid on my notebook with the story in it and as we all know, pen and drinks do not mix well, so I had to do some revising and ... umm... redo it in general. But said silly husband is now mentioned on for his fic A Protector's Pride (SHAMELESS PLUG!) so he's happy about that. Life is... well, being life. Which is mostly exciting. Sometimes not so much.

Sarin: No one cares. They want their update already.

Jem: Jeez... cranky this morning? *sees Sarin brandishing the pointy stick* Ok, ok, on with the show where I own nothing.

_FINALLY A NEW CHAPPY!_.

After much difficulty, especially upon discovery that Navi's upgrade had included the unfortunate installation of a camera, Harry finally managed to get through his first riding lesson, which included the threat of getting trampled as well as being forced to bet all his money and the life of one of the horses (why the life of the horse was included in his bet when he didn't even own the creature, he was totally confused by) in two races. Naturally, Navi's camera could be remote controlled (much to his frustration) by Saria, so all of this was handily recorded for much posterity. And Sheik, after having a laugh over the idea that Harry'd thought that riding a horse would be no more difficult than riding a broom, managed to win quite a bit from his broker once the races began, even daring to shout out amidst the noise "maybe you're worth more alive after all!"

Luckily, Harry didn't manage to hear that last jab of snark and managed to escape from the cursed race track where he and the horse he'd somehow come into ownership of had been locked in to race for eternity. Jumping the fence, an old and overused technique, apparently did work at times... although it did make him wonder how the horse had managed it since the gate was taller than she. Plus, unfortunately, said escape did not include getting rid of Navi who was getting quite into the new role as a paparazzo.

Harry's ride back to the forest where as Link he had supposedly grown up was pretty uneventful. He had the chance to ponder why the sky was blue, the grass green, where the real Link had gone (although with all the trouble so far and no end in sight, he couldn't blame him for disappearing) ... and in deep thought, almost ran into a tree from being thrown from the horse. No matter how he tried to get the horse (he vaguely remembered it being called Epona if what he remembered of the red haired girl from those years ago was accurate) to move into the forest, it wouldn't. Finally giving up with a muttered curse about how he didn't care if she ran off, he entered the forest... only to be attacked in the town by some biting plants. His musing as he headed toward the Lost Forest (which was starting to play creepy music) started to the disturbing - How had they gotten into this secluded area? Where were the children who lived here?

As he entered, he realized the "creepy tune" was the one Saria had always been playing, the one he had tried so hard to scrub from his mind the whole rest of his journey so far. Even through he didn't want to go see her, he somehow knew that he would have to follow the tune. With reluctant steps, he almost tripped over the red haired bratty boy who had given him such a hard time seven years ago (even though he still felt it was yesterday despite the echo still ringing in his ears of Voldemort's laughter). He hadn't aged a bit from the looks of it. A couple of wasps and a troll later, and he finally found a glade with the largest tree he had seen in a while. The stump in front of it had three triangles arranged in a shape that looked oddly familiar. He looked up and could see something akin to a tree house in the branches... but how to get up there. He tried the Lullaby, he tried every other song he could think... he even called upon the shiney thing stuck to his hand. Nothing.

"Did you forget s mini-quest or something, oh Grasshopper of Sleeping?" The drawl rang out from right behind him. Harry spun.

Oh... it was only Sheik... he released his arm from where he had been about to go for his sword. For a second there, he had almost thought he had heard Draco. But that was ridiculous, right? Because Draco was missing and hiding from MoldyShorts - not that Harry cared if he'd gotten captured or not...

"Heeeeello... Hyrule to Liiiiink..." Shiek came closer and waved his hand in front of Harry's face. Surprised, he jolted and then glared at the intruder.

"What do you want?"

"Well, I WAS going to give you a warping spell so you could get back here quickly... but if you don't want it..." Sheik moved as if he was going to throw something.

"Wait!" Sheik paused, looked at Harry curiously.. "How?"

"How what?"

"How could you give me a song?"

Sheik looked at Harry like he was a moron as he pulled a golden harp from behind his back and began to play. Harry, figuring he'd better not try any more arguments while Sheik was in this 'good mood' (at least until learning the song was done) quickly joined in.

"You better hurry," Sheik suggested as the song finished. "Your Friend is not one who has been gifted with patience."

"Who IS patient here?" Harry grumbled, blinking. But no answer was evident... Sheik was gone, disappearing in the microsecond of the blink. Feeling the sudden urge to duck, he did... and was rewarded by the sight of a metal detector nailing Navi who had floated to where his head had been to check on him. Somehow, Sheik's laughter at the strike carried the same drawl as the hookshot followed the metal detector.. including the strike point first into Navi, who was getting over being stunned from the detector itself. Harry just thanked him for the favors and entered the temple.

_Forest_Temple_.

Harry smiled as he practically waltzed intothe forest temple. He pretended he wasn't worried about Dr- Malfoy and instead marveled at the idea of Sheik doing him a favor. If he'd been anyone else or Sheik hadn't been in a helpful mood... well, he didn't want to think about how annoying having to get the hookshot could have been. Plus, seeing Navi get nailed by two metal objects in a matter of minutes totally made his day.

Entering the main room, he saw four girls in Victorian dresses sprint off in different directions. Just about the time he was about to shout a warning so none would run into a wall, they vanished right through it. His mood drooped a little. Great... Ghosts...And one of them had the key that would release Saria so she'd stop whining through Navi about how he was taking too long already. He'd even seen the glint tied to her apron string. Terribly inconvenient, he through with an eye roll as his steps also slowed into a trudge.

Later -

"Hello? Anyghosty here?" He had entered a long gallery of paintings... or more accurately frames. He heard a giggle as he turned the corner to go down the stairs, saw one of the ghosts - who winked at him saucily before vanishing to another frame. He tried following her, but the pattern kept repeating - line of vision, a wink, and she'd go to a different frame. Frustrated, he moved into the next room and took his emotions out on some skeletons... and received a bow and arrow set. He muttered something about being better than a slingshot (which he was still mad he couldn't use even though it was for "kiddie Link" and now he had a bow) and headed back into the room with the ghost.

Navi was sure there was only one recourse to dealing with the flirty painting ghost. And though he had to do it... Harry felt there was something wrong about having to shoot her. But when he defeated her to get her portion of the elevator's power since he'd had to quiz her about what was going on, Jo calmly shrugged and commented that her novels would be best sellers from telling the true story.

"My sisters and I were killed, you see... which is just as well. After all, no one truly becomes famous until after they are dead. Like saints!" She struck a pious pose. Harry felt it would be cruel to disillusion her and just responded by smiling. With a bat of her eyelashes, she told him where her next sister could be found... just across the hall.

Beth was a little more difficult, but since she was still sickly even after death, she was more than happy to give up. Amy was apparently the third ghost and liked to play with blocks. She decided over-dramatic was the way to go with her defeat, screaming "LAURIE!" before telling Harry how to beat the eldest sister Meg - "She spins... the others don't" -, who would be waiting for him in the lobby where the elevator to Saria's cell would be. The hint didn't make sense until Meg started to create clones and he would have to guess which was her when they appeared.

Down the elevator and into the central chamber he went, expecting Saria to be right there. But she wasn't... instead, he was confronted with a "phantom Voldie". It was kind of like a ghost and kind of like a dementor, so he handled it as such a creature - Arrows charged with a hint of Din's Fire. It seemed to work...

Before long, he found himself with refilled health and back in the Chamber of Sages where Saria was standing on one of the platforms for sages. Well that's weird. Plus...

"Dang it... So I'm Dead? Pift, and before I got to do all the things I wanted to to you... guess I don't need this anymore." She threw him a shiney green disk. Harry decided it would be much easier to not correct her assumption and went on to the next problem.

"I thought you never grew up..."

"Apparently, being a sage kind of messed that up too. Dead and having to be a sage..."

And before the Light Sage could correct her assumption, Harry vanished to start the next stage of his quest.