Ghirahim stood just outside the little hut he had assigned to his memory, allowing the child to sleep for a while longer. Link was somewhere else in the camp, and though the demon could have located him easily, he found no reason to disturb the human, especially after their discussion an hour or two before.

The sword spirit watched the serene face of his younger self as he slumbered, wondering if he had actually looked like that once upon a time. Of course he had, but it was difficult to imagine, thousands of years after his childhood. He did not remember anything before becoming Demise's weapon, and now it seemed certain that he had been something very different previous to that life. It begged the question as to how he had become the Dark Master Sword...

The child probably held the answers to these inquiries. Based on past experience, the demon would have to destroy his memory to take it, but that in itself posed little difficulties. He had not really thought it through until Link had asked.

"What're you gonna do with him?" the boy had asked, curious as always. When Ghirahim had not replied, Link blurted, "You can't kill him! It's wrong, and... he's just a kid..."

The demon waited another beat before saying, "It must seem to you that I do not have many moral qualms about dealing death, and in general I do not. However, I find myself agreeing with you, although for different reasons. Despite this, I see no other way to go about returning him to within my memories other than to kill him."

"Then why did you save him in the first place?" Link said, incredulous.

Ghirahim considered the question carefully, his eyes straying from the human to the child resting. "I sense that I must be the one to kill him, not some ruffian who thinks himself special because he knows things about my past. If he was murmured by another, I suppose the memories that reside within him would simply die, and I cannot allow for that to happen."

The boy seemed unsatisfied with the way the conversation was going, ad and Ghirahim hoped he could at least see the demon's point. Before he could find out, the human had turned away, leaving Ghirahim where he was now, observing his smaller self.

The sword spirit returned his attention to the present as the child shifted in his sleep. With a slight shock, the demon realized that although essentially the same person, they looked nearly nothing alike. He could see how Link had been skeptical; while they shared the dark eyes, white hair and black diamond upon their left cheek, his younger self had two whole ears. He was not so nearly as pale as he would come to be, and his alabaster hair was as cut short, barely touching his ears... If it weren't for the fact that he could feel a connection between them, he almost wouldn't be able to believe that this being was what he had once been.

He sneaked closer, eyes intent on the child's small form. He was curious; was his miniature double a sword spirit, like he was, or was he a mere human? His fingers were prepared to snap as he concentrated on removing illusions – his pale skin and somewhat human countenance were definitely not real, simply a facade that was to disguise from others the fact that he was, indeed, a sword spirit. Using the illusion did in fact weaken him, since he spent a certain amount of concentration on maintaining it, although by now it was an unconscious effort.

His fingers clicked together, and to both his surprise and delight, the child's pale skin peeled away in a trickle of his signature diamonds, revealing the chocolate-brown reality below. He was very much like the present Ghirahim's true humanoid form, although he lacked the white diamond markings, and his skin appeared smooth, not fragmented repeatedly into smaller and smaller diamonds, as his elder's was.

"What are you doing?" asked an angry voice, and the absorption in his examination snapped. He straightened, turning a glare to whoever it was who had interrupted him. Link. "You're not gonna kill him right away, are you?" the boy continued, but his voice faltered as he got a good look at the child. "What... what did you do to him?"

Ghirahim continued to glare for a few more moments, but it seemed to be having no affect. Upon thinking that, he returned his attentions to the object of Link's gaze. "I revealed his true form. It isn't as complicated as my own, but power doesn't come to the young on its own. You have to earn it."

"So... you were always a sword spirit?" Link asked, no longer appearing to be angry. He seemed more curious than upset at present.

"Apparently so," Ghirahim said, amused by the boy's behavior. "Although I doubt he has the same sword form I currently do." There was a way to find out, although he was not willing to submit his younger self to that without express permission. He knew how it felt to have the sword part of himself ripped forcibly from his body, and although he had laughed during the experience, it had pained him deeply.

"Now," the sword spirit said, snapping his fingers. A small jeweled dagger appeared, spinning lazily as it floated in a halo of red light. "Unless you would like to watch, I suggest that you leave while I... take care of this."

Link had been almost mesmerized by the view of the young sword spirit, but the sight of the blade brought him back to his purpose. "No! You can't," he said weakly, attempting to make a grab for the dagger. It danced out of his reach, almost as if it were mocking him, and seemed to focus on the gunmetal-gray diamond on the child's chest.

Annoyance flickered across Ghirahim's features, and his tone was icy as he said, "You had no objections when I killed my last memory. Why would you? He was intent on ending your life. But now that a memory takes on the face of a child, you can't let me kill it." He leaned closer to the human, the intensity in his eyes making Link flinch back. "It's an illusion, boy. You're protecting something that doesn't exist in the physical world. Now get out." The demon turned his back to Link and bent over, his hand reaching for the memory as he muttered something under his breath.

Link glared hatefully at the segments of Ghirahim's red cloak. He couldn't do anything to stop the sword spirit, and even though he knew Ghirahim was right, to kill the child just felt... wrong, somehow. "You're a monster," the human managed to snarl angrily. He turned and left before he could see Ghirahim's reaction, immediately feeling a wave of guilt as he regretted uttering those three words. It wasn't the sword spirit's fault... And they were his memories. So why did Link feel this way?

Word spread quickly of the evil magician and his green-garbed companion. Villages that Link had visited became frightened of his return and cursed his name. They requested more Royal guards to protect them against this new boogeyman, and fliers with the pair's descriptions circulated throughout the kingdom. Over the light of traveling fire, tales of the Hero of Time were replaced by idle rumors of the pair that became more and more elaborate and unrealistic, the threat of an unforeseen attack creating a near-paralyzing fear.

In a corner of the world, a certain jewel-crowned sorcerer laughed as the terror spread. And this time, he hadn't even had to twitch a finger.

This chapter fought me all the way until the end. Link didn't want to cooperate, and Ghirahim certainly did not. That and I got distracted by the urge to write a TF:P Starscream fanfic (hasn't worked out so far D:). But the next chapter's going a bit easier. Yay!

FatGuy OnFire: Of course not! He is shown not snapping at least three times in the game, although admittedly that's when he's waving his sword around after each encounter. I have a feeling you'll like how I'm doing the sword spirit memories. Just saying, ;D. *is mesmerized by rainbow soup* I'm sorry to hear about your Wii, D:. Soup has no idea what he's missing. Good luck to you, my lady. *bows*

meijosui: I have enjoyed our conversation greatly, :D. Yeah, I also wanted not to kill little Ghira-child, but... Ghirahim said he had to die. So... *shrugs helplessly* XD, I hadn't realized it until you said that, but Link is sort of stuck in a twisted soap opera. And Ganondorf DEFINITELY needs to learn respect, agreement there.

Iubire: You'll see what he looks like, I promise. :D

increak96: Well, here's some more! And please, let's share the Ghira-child. He's too cute to keep to ourselves. XD

Comments, questions, concerns? Please review! I love you guys! (I mean it, people. There is love. XD)

-SeascapeMural