Link stopped at the sand sanctuary. He hopped out of the train as everyone came out of the passenger cart.
"Ok this is what we heard." Link started but Zelda but across him

"I told them everything on the way here."
"I see…what do you make of it?" Link asked. Anjean was the one who answered.

"I think Ganondorf is trying to find some way to get inside his own barrier…"
"He can't enter it himself?" Link asked.

"Link…forgive my rudeness but you know very little about magic and how it works." Anjean said "When making something such as a barrier the side facing yourself is always more powerful, it's closer to the source of it's strength…the wielders magic, although admitingly when used in combat the weaker side is usually the one facing your opponent. Ganondorf clearly doesn't want to take any chances, he's going to build a barrier around the castle and do it facing the castle; this will make the barrier stronger to intruders and easier to break should he want to escape. However by doing this he renders it impossible to enter the castle without destroying the barrier…unless he can transport himself there."

"He can't." Traan said suddenly "He had to rely on you last time he wanted to teleport somewhere."

"That is true; he can't teleport…with his own power."
"What do you mean, Anjean?" Zelda asked

"The Tower of Spirits, as you know, was made to keep Malladus contained. As such it is filled with the power of the spirits…and the power of the Lokomo. It has more Lokomo power than I do in fact. Ganondorf…he plans to harness this energy…I can tell he's very skilled at magic and would easily recognize the tower's powers. He's going to use the tower to create a dark portal to Hyrule Castle, and then seal it….then he will be truly safe from all outsiders."

"We need to stop him, then!" Zelda said.

"Yes, I agree…if he wanted an engineer by tomorrow then that must be when he plans to make the portal. I assume it will take him at least three hours to make the portal."
"That long?" Link asked
"Yes, it will take long to create a warping point between the tower and the castle if a barrier is there." Anjean said.

"So we wait until tomorrow then?" Zelda asked

"Exactly, my dear. For now…Traan would you mind fetching us some fish for dinner? I think we have a few in the supplies bag we have." Anjean said. Traan nodded and went to fetch some fish. "Rael dear, would you mind getting a fire ready? I'll cook the fish when it's done. Meanwhile you kids can go and play, you have done enough, I believe I ruined a moment for you…you can go back to that if you wish." Link blushed a bit, Zelda however smiled and said "Thank you." Link and Zelda both made a beeline to the Sand Sanctuary. Zelda saw Link's clothes in there and sighed

"I should have been smart enough to change here! It was so embarrassing to change when Traan and Rael were so nearby…sleeping but still." Link chuckled a bit at this and sat down next to Zelda in the sanctuary. It was too cold to swim now; the desert became cold fast during the night. It now felt warmer in the sanctuary compared to the desert. Zelda sighed and rested her head on Link.

"Can you believe we're going to face Ganondorf this soon?" Zelda asked.
"What do you mean?" Link asked

"Well…we haven't done any dungeons! When we were against Malladus we had to go through five of those temples…and the Tower of Spirits. I feel that we kinda got it off easy don't you?"
"I'm not complaining." Link said. Zelda giggled and added seriously

"You…won't stop me from fighting him…will you?" Link looked at her. He really didn't want her to fight Ganondorf…but he knew she wanted to protect her kingdom and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

"I suppose so…" Link said not fighting the inevitable.

"Thank you…" Zelda said softly, putting her arms around Link and embracing him. She needed to make a move…but not now. Tomorrow maybe, but she didn't want to do it when she felt so comfortable. Zelda closed her eyes and began to continue the conversation in a much softer voice.
"What do you think happened to Russell?" Link asked
"I don't know…" Zelda said "Maybe he found out what happened and fled as soon as he arrived…he must have arrived by now." Link nodded.

"You find it weird to see Anjean in a kid's body? It feels so strange to me." Link said laughing a bit.
"Mmm-hmm…" Zelda mumbled softly

"Why do you think Traan's so against getting his memory back?" Link asked. Zelda didn't respond, Link looked at her and saw she had fallen asleep. Smiling Link patted her a bit and sat quietly in the sanctuary. Ten minutes later Rael came down

"The fish is ready, feel free to come up and eat." Rael said heading back up to get his food. Link stood up and looked down at Zelda. For some reason he didn't want to leave her, despite the safety she had there. Link stooped down and picked her up, she sure was heavy for her size. Link carried her out and placed her next to himself, and the fire. Anjean gave him some fish and sat down next to the fire as well.
"Is she asleep?" Anjean whispered. Link nodded

"She had a rough day…I don't think I will wake her up." Link took out a piece of paper and quill and began to write as he ate. They all ate in silence, except for Zelda who was asleep. Link finished his fish and continued with his paper. He kept glancing at Zelda, making sure she was asleep.
"I'm heading back to the train to get some sleep." Rael said getting up and heading off. Anjean and Link wished him good night. Link continued writing and when he finished he sighed, crumpled the paper up, and threw it into the fire along with his fish bone.

"Dear, you threw the paper in there too." Anjean said.

"Yeah I know…" Link said scooping up Zelda and headed towards the train. "Good night Anjean…Traan…"
"Good night, dear." Anjean said

"….Yeah." Traan mumbled staring moodily into the fire. Link walked back to the train with the sleeping Zelda in his arms. She's so cute when she's sleeping. Link nearly tripped on a rock, on his way there.

"Link…?" Zelda mumbled drearily.
"Oh, sorry for waking you Zelda." Link said

"I fell asleep…?"
"Yeah you did…you missed dinner, sorry."
"It's ok…" Zelda mumbled. Link didn't put her down as they continued walking to the train. "I'm cold…" Zelda added and began shivering.

"We're almost there, ok?" Link said gently.
"Ok…" Zelda said. She nuzzled her head against Link's chest, and Link felt love for her again. With difficulty Link headed in the passenger cart. It was more difficult due to carrying Zelda. Link sat down on one of the seats and moved Zelda off his lap to his right. Link was about to get up and sleep on his own seat when Zelda rested her head on his lap. Link sighed but smiled as he stroked Zelda's head, slowly putting her to sleep…suddenly Link felt pretty sleepy himself. He closed his eyes and continued stroking Zelda who rested peacefully…

Link woke up the next morning feeling very hot like last time, however he wasn't nearly as sweaty thanks to his new robe. Link immediately felt like swimming again, he woke up later than last time so it was warmer. Link carefully started trying to get up without waking the peaceful Zelda. He then remembered that she complained last time he hadn't woken her up. Deciding he may as well wake her up, Link started softly rubbing her head whispering

"Zelda….wake up, Zelda….come on….rise and shine." Zelda gave another one of her cute, soft sighs and opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Link…" she said sleepily.

"Good morning…would you like to go for a swim?"
"Oh, sure!" Zelda said with some vigor. "Let's go to the sanctuary and change." Link nodded and helped her up. Zelda went over to her suitcase and picked up both their swimsuits, handing Link his, and headed out. They walked over to the Sand Sanctuary and headed down. Link distinctly thought he heard squeaking as they headed in. When they reached the end a rat suddenly popped out of his hole and scurried around. Zelda screamed and jumped into Link's arms.

"Oof…Zelda I can't get rid of it when your in my arms…I'm going to have to let you down." Link said.

"No! No, please don't, Link, please!" Zelda pleaded

"I need to, Zelda, otherwise we will never get rid of it."
"O-ok…" Zelda said worriedly. Link slowly set her down behind him and leapt at the rat with his sword. He killed it quickly and feeling a little revolted picked up its dead body and threw it. Zelda's arms were on Link's shoulders and she was breathing heavily.

"It's ok, Zelda." Link said gently patting her on her back to reassure her.

"A-alright…t-thank you Link. Let's get changed and swim now." Zelda said. Link nodded and they both turned away from each other as they changed. They were getting good about this now, although it still made them both feel a little nervous. "U-um…L-link can I ask you a favor?" Zelda asked awkwardly

"Hang on a second," Link said finishing up with his swimsuit "ok, I'm done, what is it?"

"Can you tie the back of my top?" Zelda asked. Link blushed, not that Zelda could see this of course.
"You can't do it?" Link asked.

"Well…I can but it's hard…would you mind?"
"Oh…ok sure. Are you ready now?" Link asked

"Hang on; let me hold it more securely…ok now I'm ready." Zelda said. Link turned around. Zelda was holding her top up manually with the string dangling in the back. Link took this and began tying a knot. For some reason this excited him a fair bit. Half of him was tempted to do a poor job so the top wouldn't stay on right. But Link knew this was wrong and he didn't want to let Zelda down, now that she was placing this kind of trust in him. "Ok, it's done." Link said when he finished. Zelda hesitantly took her hands from her front. Link giggled a bit as she jumped up and down to test it. Zelda giggled too.
"Ok, let's go!" Zelda said heading out. Link followed her; he grabbed her before she made his same mistake of walking directly to the water.

"Remember the sands very hot now, follow the path." Link said. Zelda nodded

"Hey maybe we can build a sand castle?" Zelda suggested

"Sure…we can name it Hyrule Castle!" Link said

"Yeah! Let's do that!" Zelda said enthusiastically as they headed to the water. Rael had already woken; he was holding the Sand Wand and was making sand rise, sink, and move all around.

"Oh you don't mind if I use this, do you?" Rael asked as Link passed

"Sure you can keep it, I don't need it and maybe you can put it to use." Link said thinking of how little he used the wand anymore. He and Zelda headed to the shores of the water where the soft muddy sand was. Zelda began building from scratch right away but Link grabbed his arm and stopped her. "I have a better idea…hey Rael mind giving us a hand?" Link asked. Rael looked over at them and waved the wand. A block of sand rose up.
"Brilliant idea, Link!" Zelda said and began shaping the castle once more. Link took the other side, after an hour's work they managed to make a pretty good replica of Hyrule Castle.

"And now all we need is a throne for our beautiful princess." Link said. Rael heard this and waved the wand again, a few feet from the sand castle another block rose. Link took out a bit of it until it looked a bit like a chair. Zelda sat down in it smiling.

"How is it?" Link asked

"Very good, royal carpenter." Zelda said in a mock royal voice. She then shook his hand and then wiped off her dirty hands on his arm, sticking her tongue out and winking.
"What the…!" Link cried as Zelda laughed. Link pushed the sides of the sand throne so it buried Zelda and then he began to laugh. Zelda got out, her lower half covered in muddy sand. She then tripped Link and pinned him down; she smeared mud all over his exposed body. Link rolled over and began doing the same to her. They both laughed as they continued to wrestle in the mud for awhile until Zelda began to worry what she looked like after all of this and checked herself in the waters reflection.
"Oooh… I haven't been this dirty in my life." Zelda said sadly

"Aww come on, you had fun." Link said with a grin.
"I suppose…" Zelda said smiling and winking at Link "But all the sa—AAAYYYIII!" Zelda screamed, a block of the muddy sand had rose under her feet and she sank through it. Link quickly rescued Zelda from the depths of the sand. She immediately screamed
"RAEL!!!" as Rael laughed at the site of her. Link thought she did look pretty funny; she was covered completely in mud, every inch of her body was brown. "Ooooh…Link please help me wash this off." Zelda pleaded.

"Ok, Zelda, I will." Link said smiling. Zelda smiled gratefully back as she submerged her body and head in the water for a bit and came back up.

"How do I look?" Zelda asked. The water helped but she was still pretty sandy.

"Not quite." Link said honestly. Zelda sighed and began washing her front with water, as Link did her back. Zelda found to her horror that the sand had even got in her swimsuit. Feeling a little self conscious Zelda cleaned these parts too, making sure she didn't leave anything for Link to see. As Link started washing the sand from Zelda's hair they were both reminded of the first swim they had in Aboda. Zelda sighed thinking of the old days. "Do I look ok, Link?" Zelda asked. Link examined her

"You have a little on your upper leg." Link said wiping it off himself, Zelda blushed quickly at this. "Now I just need to get myself clean too." Link said doing what Zelda had down and went underwater.

"You still have a little bit on your back…and your hair." Zelda said apologetically. "Here let me help you get it off." Zelda sat Link down in front of her and began wiping the mud off his back and cleaning it out of his hair. Link closed his eyes and smiled. Zelda noticed this and she pulled his head on her lap and continued working on his hair. She remembered her promise to herself to start something today. She couldn't simply tell him her feelings but she could try to make a start. She was going to ask Link out on a date, she was going to make it perfectly clear that this wasn't something they were going to do as friends. She was too scared to do more at the moment but this was a start, she had to try something she couldn't just wait for it to happen, it wouldn't. Zelda was still nervous but not as much as before, she could tell by the expressions he was making now that he liked her…maybe more…she wouldn't get her hopes up yet; she needed to build a relationship with him.

"Ok, you're clean now, Link." Zelda said.
"Oh…thank you." Link said sounding disappointed. He walked over to the island in the water, Zelda followed. They both sat down and watched the water. Zelda turned her attention to Link. He had gotten a little tanner than before, she examined herself and saw that she was still inexplicably white. Zelda didn't care that Link wasn't very muscled, his slight chubbiness made him cuter to her. Zelda looked from Link's body to his face; he was smiling as he watched the waves in the water. He had a really cute smile, his eyes were cute too. Zelda wanted him badly. She found herself staring at his long, wavy, and always untidy hair. She loved his hair. Come on…ask him already. She couldn't, she changed her mind; she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Come on do it already! Ok she would do it; she really wanted to be with Link. I will do it now…now...ok…now. Finally Zelda steeled herself and spoke.

"L-link, I have a question."

"What is it, Zelda?" Link asked. Zelda didn't know what it was about Link that intimidated her. He was smiling, and he looked like he was in a good mood. This is the best time to ask him! Just do it already! Zelda began stuttering as she finally decided to ask Link

"L-l-link I-I was won…wondering if you wou—"

"Hey, Link, princess, we need to go now! Or we might miss him!" Rael called

"Uh, oh he's right, we better hurry Zelda. Come on let's change and get Ganondorf!" Link said heading towards the sand sanctuary. Zelda was growling angrily, they had been interrupted AGAIN! Why were these Lokomo so tactless!? Zelda sighed, it was ok, and maybe it was better to ask him once the business with Ganondorf was over. But there was one thing for sure; Zelda was going to ask Link far away from everyone else. She was not going to get interrupted again. Realizing she had been stalling, Zelda set off to the Sand Sanctuary. When she arrived Link was already dressed in his robes.

"What took you so long?" Link asked.

"Oh…nothing." Zelda said. Link left her some privacy as he headed to the train. He peeked through the passenger window; neither Traan nor Anjean had left. They were both awake too.
"Rael come on, we need to get ready!" Link called.

"Ok, I will be right there!" Rael called heading over. Link heard the door close and waited for Zelda. She came out a few moments later; she had both swimsuits in her hands.
"Sorry for leaving those, I forgot." Link said as Zelda climbed into the passenger side. He heard the door close again and started the train. Link headed to the Tower of Spirits wondering if they had stalled too long. Perhaps Ganondorf had came early morning? It was now noon so the day was still far from over, but Link couldn't help but worry. When he reached the tower he had to pull the emergency breaks. The tracks leading in the tower were facing the other way. Link hopped out and apologized to everyone for breaking like that, as they made their way to the tower manually by walking. There was already a train there.

"He's here…" Anjean said "I can feel the energy of the portal he is trying to make….he's on the very top. Rael and I will stay here. The tower is protected from even Lokomo so while I can warp things from above the first floor and to a level below, and I can warp you in the tower… I can't send you higher than floor one. The warp point you two made when you were here last is probably gone as well, you must go up without help. You three will go up and beat Ganondorf. Rael and I will try to slow him down with our combined powers against his. It won't last forever though so hurry up." Traan, Link, and Zelda all nodded and began to make their way to the entrance. "Wait!" Anjean called again. They all turned back to her "Traan…take this…it's something you have worn as long as I have known you. You wore this back when you were Byrne…it's an ideal weapon for you and it will help against Ganondorf." Traan looked at her confused. Anjean held her hand out and a blue light flashed. Suddenly she was holding the gauntlet Byrne used to always wear. Traan took this and put it on his left hand, it didn't fit well, but suddenly it flashed and it shrunk down to fit Traan. Traan smiled and gave a few slashes with it.
"Thank you…Anjean." Traan said gratefully. Anjean smiled as Link and Zelda headed back to the tower staircase. They turned around for Traan had not followed them. "Anjean…no matter who you are I have always known you as Wistil my sister…I no longer need this as I need at least one hand free to use magic so I want you to have it." Traan said pulling out his sword "I want you to be protected…so take it." Anjean took the sword.

"Thank you, Traan….if only Byrne had matured as fast as you." Anjean said. Traan smiled and headed towards Link and Zelda. "Zelda, dear," Anjean continued "Make sure you shoot the dark portal with a light arrow; that should destroy it. Zelda nodded

"C'mon, Link, let's go!" she said. Link grunted his approval and they set off. The tower stairs was as long as ever, when they reached the top Zelda said "Phew…why didn't you tell me how long this staircase was, Link?" Link laughed a bit as they headed inside. They saw a Wrecker Phantom pass as they came in; luckily they were in a safe zone. "Oh no!" Zelda gasped.

"What is it?" Link asked

"The Phantoms…I can't possess them anymore!" Link's eyes widened at this. Traan didn't seem as concerned, it was because he didn't know how vital having Phantom assistance was.

"Oh…i-it's ok Zelda…" Link said "I always thought you looked prettier in your normal body anyway." Zelda smiled. Traan shook his head; he was getting tired of their constant fawning. He hoped they would reveal their feelings and get it over with instead of all the constant hinting. Were all humans this stupid about their love life?

"O-ok, let's go!" Zelda said stepping out of their safe zone. Link and Traan followed, they hadn't even taken five steps when they heard a yell
"HEY YOU." Link, Zelda, and Traan turned around in fright. A Phatom had spotted them and it was already past the safe zone, they couldn't go back

"RUN!" Zelda yelled. They ran away from the Phantom only to find his friend around the corner, they were trapped. Zelda buried her face against Link and closed her eyes, waiting for the sword to strike her, or else to get crushed. Neither happened

"WHAT'S WRONG, LITTLE HUMAN GIRL." A Phantom asked. Zelda looked up and saw the Phantoms weren't attacking. Link looked equally confused; Traan merely looked caught off guard.
"Y-y-you're not going to attack us?" Zelda asked.

"NO, YOU'RE GOOD OF HEART. WE HELP YOU. DARK MAN, WE WANT OUT." The Phantom said. Zelda could only guess the dark man was Ganondorf. She was still confused though.

"Zelda, Malladus is gone! That means the Phantom's are good guys again!" Link said

"You're going to help us then!?" Zelda asked

"YES, YOU WE HELP. NO FEAR PHANTOMS ANYMORE, LITTLE HUMAN GIRL." The Phantom said. "FOLLOW ME." The trio obliged. Link found the way to the alter much easier than before. The Phantoms were all as helpful as Zelda had been. They seemed as enthusiastic to help as she had. They crushed enemies and helped them solve overcomplicated problems with ease. Link, Zelda, and Traan made it, in no time.
"Thank you for your help!" Zelda called, waving to the Phantoms as they made it to the battle arena they had faced Byrne in.

"YOU'RE WELCOME, GOOD LUCK DEFEATING THE DARK MAN, HUMANS." One of the Phantoms said.
"Alright you two…let's pay Ganondorf back shall we?" Traan said.
"Ok," Zelda agreed "Come on everyone!" Zelda put her hand down and looked at Traan who didn't do anything "Put your hand on mine!" Zelda said. Trained sighed

"Let's just go!" Traan said impatiently not bothering with Zelda's instructions. Zelda looked a little let down, so Link smiled and put his hand on hers. Zelda looked and saw what Link had down, she smiled back.

"Ok….letssss GOOOO!" Zelda exclaimed putting her hand up, Link copied her.

"Can we get going, already?" Traan asked impatiently.
"Ok, ok." Zelda said "Gee Traan, you have no spirit at all, do you?" Traan ignored this comment and headed out to the top of the tower. They ran up another long staircase bracing themselves for what was ahead…to their surprise there was nothing. It looked the same as it had when they went searching for the compass of light.

"Where's Ganondorf?" Zelda asked. Link and Traan looked around for him, with her. Link half expected Ganondorf to pop up out of nowhere and yell 'surprise!' but he didn't.

"Look there!" Traan said pointing. Link turned just in time to see a dark circle rise up quickly around the tower. They stood still; Traan looked at the roof of the tower and seemed to be concentrating. Another wave rose from the bottom to the top. "He's on the very top of this tower…" Traan said "The dark energy you are seeing is from the tower being channeled by him for the portal. Link nodded even though he had no clue what Traan was talking about. "Link grab my hand, Zelda grab Link's I'm going to get us up there." Link nodded and took Traan's hand. He looked at Zelda who looked a little frightened but took his hand. Traan used his left hand, the one with the gauntlet, and shot the hand at a rail. He reeled himself in, it was slow but soon they were on the roof of the tower. It was scary to walk uphill but they managed it. Ganondorf was standing on the decorative Lokomo symbol on the top of the tower. He was on the square top of the triangle that resembled an upside down force gem. His hand was stretched out in from of him and in front of his hand was a blob of blackness slowly forming into a portal. Zelda was nervous. This is it…one final challenge and then you will be alone with Link again. Ganondorf looked at them just as another wave passed through them into the black blob.

"I see you came…" Ganondorf said. His voice was calm but Link could sense malice behind it. "It does not matter…" Ganondorf continued "I am almost done." Link was wondering how Ganondorf could be so confident when he had to keep one hand on the portal. Traan charged at Ganondorf with a battle cry, Ganondorf sent a spell out from his free hand and Traan recoiled, however it wasn't an attack. The black and blue ball of energy turned into a black and blue figure, it looked a bit like a Phantom but far more sinister

Note: Yes this is Phantom Ganon

The being hovered between Traan and its master. Link took out his sword, and Zelda took out her bow, then she remembered they needed a light arrow to win and put it back. Instead she took out the recruit's sword to save arrows. Traan sent the hand at the ghost; it disappeared for a second and appeared back right next to Traan who was defenseless. It swung it's blade at Traan, who closed his eyes waiting for the impact. However Link had jumped in the way and countered the ghost's swing with his own slash. Link struggled for a moment to overpower the ghost while Zelda ran behind and slashed it with her own sword.

"Good job, Zelda!" Link said as the ghost reappeared in the air. It sent an energy attack while Link reflected with his Great Spin Attack. The ghost had trouble reflected all of Link's counters back at Link; however Link grew dizzy and was defenseless. Zelda jumped in between Link and ghost and reflected the next one for Link.

"Th-thanks…" Link said taking over again. The ball of energy was getting faster and faster, and they were getting closer and closer to Ganondorf. Link did another Great Spin Attack. This time the ghost failed to reflect it back; Zelda ran and stabbed the ghost several times as Link recovered. The ghost escaped and was back in the air. It sent a volley of spells, Link managed to stop all of these with a well timed spin attack. The ghost reflected them back, just as he did this Traan's hand got him in the stomach. The ghost dropped it sword and fell on the ground, dead. Ganondorf looked a little concerned at how close they were getting. He sent a volley of spells their way. Link dodged these and charged at Ganondorf, he was only three feet from him. As Link sent a blow with his sword Ganondorf had a momentary vision of another youth doing this. Water was falling as his beloved kingdom drowned. Not again. Ganondorf struck Link just in time with a powerful dark spell. Link fell back two feet and dropped the Lokomo sword. Ganondorf gazed at the sword and thought for a moment it was the Master Sword. An image of a sword falling out of a boy's hands and next to the princess. I won't lose again. Ganondorf saw Zelda aiming a bow at his precious portal. She's in range! He saw yet another image. He wanted to do it again, to strike the princess and knock her unconscious. But he couldn't leave the portal…it was almost done. He couldn't be thwarted again when he was this close to triumph. Ganondorf raised his free hand and Link flew into his grasp. He held the boy as a shield, it was small but it had the desired effect. Zelda lowered the bow looking scared. Link blearily opened his eyes. Ganondorf was done for, the target was small but Zelda was an excellent shot…but why wasn't she shooting.
"Zelda, shoot the portal!" Link called and was immediately silenced by Ganondorf's senseless shaking to make sure all areas of the portal were covered. I can't shoot…I might hit Link! No…she had to shoot, the chances of hitting Link were nil; he was so small compared to Ganondorf and the portal. She would hit one of the other two. Ganondorf noticed Zelda's rising confidence as she fit another arrow into the bow and aimed. She knew she would miss Link. Ganondorf panicked; then suddenly he had an idea. Ganondorf held Link over the edge and guarded the portal with his own body. Zelda stopped. She knew if she hit Ganondorf…a much larger target, he would be wounded to the point where he couldn't hold Link. Link would fall off the tower…and…I can't think of it. Link saw what was going on.

"Zelda, don't mind me! Fire! Do what's best for yourself, and for Hyrule." Traan was speechless. The princess's chances of missing with her shot were pretty low…but admitingly possible. Link however was ok with giving up his life…what was he thinking? How could he ask Zelda to do this? Traan didn't want it, but he felt it would be easier on Zelda for Link to just attacked Ganondorf and fall, if he was so prepared. Then he saw the Lokomo sword. There was little he could do. If he tried to fight Ganondorf he would drop Link, while this made Zelda's job easier it made defeating Ganondorf harder. And Traan was starting to feel attached to the kid. Traan stuck his left hand out to the cliff side.

"Princess…shoot! I will catch Link!" Traan said; he knew it was still hard for her but he wanted to help. Zelda still couldn't shoot, she loved Link, she couldn't bear to live without him…but she had to act. Arms trembled Zelda raised the bow again afraid her nervousness would make her miss. She was still hovering between shoot and remain stationary. Suddenly Ganondorf laughed with glee

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha….HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! MWAU HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" The laugh was creepy and somehow this was even scarier than him being angry. "The portal is finished!" Ganondorf screamed. He causally threw Link into the air, as soon as he did this, Zelda let the arrow soar. It hit the portal, but it was too late. The hem of Ganondorf's robe disappeared just as the portal disappeared from the arrow shot. Link had landed on the roof, due to Ganondorf's carelessness.
"Hello? This is Anjean!" Anjean called

"What is it, Anjean?" Traan asked

"The dark energy is gone; I'm going to open a portal for you to take back, ok?"

"Right…" Traan said just a blue portal appeared. They all walked to it and disappeared. Zelda couldn't bring herself to look at Link, she had failed them; she had let Ganondorf escape… Zelda suddenly found herself on the bottom floor.

"Good work, kids." Anjean said "Now Ganondorf will be heading down, I say we ambush hi—"

"Ganondorf escaped" Link interrupted "Now let's go back." Link headed immediately to the train. Everyone followed and went in the passenger cart. Anjean was curious, Zelda was miserable. Link seemed upset…had she let him down that badly? The ride to the Sand Sanctuary was quite and felt long to Zelda. When they stopped and climbed out the first thing said by Anjean was
"What happened? How did he escape?" Zelda's heart stopped for a second. It was Link who spoke
"Zelda decided not to fire the light arrow at the portal." Zelda wondered for a moment if she heard correctly. Did Link say that!?

"Link I did it because you were in danger!" Zelda said indignantly

"So why don't you stop and think about someone other than yourself for a change?" Link asked. Zelda really couldn't believe her ears.
"Someone other than myself!? I was thinking of you! Who's been helping you all of this time!?" Zelda yelled. Link once again had just now been reminded of how scary Zelda could be, but he stood his ground.

"You mean you consider running away and screaming about rats and insects all the time like a coward was help?"
"I thought you said courage was facing your fears!" Zelda said red faced now.

"Exactly, so I guess its official you don't have any courage." Link said. The Lokomo stared with gaping mouths, they had never seen the couple fight so much…or at all.

"What does that mean!?" Zelda shrieked.
"It means that every time you helped me it was because you weren't that afraid in the first place. That or you were in a Phantom's body while I was actually risking my neck." Link said. Zelda blushed a bit and chose a different tactic.

"If it weren't for me you would have never been able to complete the Tower of Spirits!" Link glared at her and said

"…If it weren't for you…I would have never been dragged on that adventure in the first place! If it weren't for you I would have been in peace!"
"Malladus would have taken over!" Zelda yelled

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you screamed in my face to do all the work while you waited with Anjean, the fact is that you told a child to do dangerous work the castle guards couldn't do. A child with no experience in fighting I might add. As well you wouldn't have gone anyway unless Anjean made you!"

"Don't bring me into this…" Anjean said softly.

"And you never even did it for Hyrule, you only did it to get your body back—for yourself! Which shows what a selfish coward you are! An unfit, spoiled, brat of a princess!" Link finished. Zelda's expression changed. Her face was unreadable; she then turned around and said

"I-if that's how you feel….O-ok…." Zelda's words made no sense but she sounded very hurt. She ran to the Sand Sanctuary, not showing her face. Link frowned a bit, why had he said that? It didn't make him feel better, it made him feel worse. She was probably crying because of him…and all because she wanted him to be safe. I'm a pathetic friend… Link now wanted to go to comfort Zelda…but he found he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Meanwhile Zelda was crying, not because she was offended by Link, that was only a small part, not because Link was mad at her, but because she felt that deep down he was right. What kind of unfit, poor ruler sent a child to do such dangerous work? Zelda thought of all the times Link could have died and cried harder. If Link had died there was nobody she could have blamed but herself. Link faced his fears several times…Zelda still screamed and froze with terror at the sight of rats and had to wait for Link to kill them…even though he was afraid too. She had been of no use when confronted by these even though she was a phantom and these much were much more of a threat to Link than her. Anything that Zelda had actually fought didn't scare her…even Malladus. Zelda saw Link's recruit uniform, and not knowing why she picked it up and hugged it and continued to cry, thinking of Link, and how she had ruined his life.