A/N: Sorry about the short chapter. That said, I'm kind of surprised at myself for how long I've been keeping this fic going; I tend to lose interest in long series or get distracted and forget to continue. Fortunately, I've got a good idea of where I'm going right now, so hopefully I can keep it up. Of course, feedback DOES help motivate me, so if you have anything at all to say about the fic, please do so. With that shameless begging for reviews out of the way, enjoy!

"Why would he go to all that trouble to get the Fire Emblem, only to leave without it? Doesn't he need it to free that ancient evil he's working for?"

"Ganondorf isn't one to follow other people, Simon—he might be plotting against his benefactor. In which case, the real question is 'what does he know that we don't?'" Samus responded. "You know him best, Link. Any thoughts?"

The Hero of Hyrule shook his head. "I agree with Samus. Ganondorf is a schemer, and the only reason he'd be helping anyone else at all is if it benefited him. What really scares me is that he'd let Casey live after finding out about the Triforce mark."

I looked up at that, then back down to the mark on the back of my hand. Here I had been, so shaken by my experience on the battlefield, wondering about my role in all of this, even considering giving it all up, when I find out that even more expectations had been shoved on me—and the worst part was, I didn't feel like I deserved it.

"Why the hell would it choose me, anyway? I was so terrified of him that all it took for him to make me tell him whatever he wanted to know was to glare at me!"

Link glanced in my direction. "Casey, you're being too hard on yourself—"

"No, don't you get it? If I'm such a coward that I can't even look a bad guy in the eye without freaking out, how the hell am I supposed to be worthy of the Triforce of Courage?! Hell, I don't even think it actually CHOSE me! One of the first transformations I tried after Rock's mega buster was you, Link, and at the time I thought it failed because it looked like nothing had happened. But what if I just copied your 'worthiness'? Face it. I'm no hero. It chose wrong..."

Link frowned. "Casey, if you think the Triforce would be fooled like that, you're wrong. Remember what the Princess said about the spell that brought you here? It wouldn't have picked you if there hadn't been at least potential to be a hero. Just give it time."

I looked up at him slowly, terrified of his reaction to what I was about to say. He and the others had put so much time and effort into me; it almost seemed ungrateful. But everything I had been through was weighing down on me, and Samus' earlier words to me still rang in my head. "I think... I think I don't want to be the hero anymore. I'm not ready for this."

Silence followed my statement as I lowered my head in shame. But I had made up my mind—at least for the time being.

"I'm starting to wonder if you're competent enough to bother with, Ganondorf. That's TWICE you failed to get what I needed."

"I may have failed to acquire this artifact, but there are other artifacts to consider. Besides, even if they collect all of them, that would simply mean we wouldn't have to bother finding them ourselves—we could just steal them out from under the enemy all at once. Plans for the next world are currently under way, and there aren't any tactical geniuses there to worry about."

The eldritch being considered this. "Perhaps you're right. Not to mention we'll have two tech geniuses on our side there... that could be the edge we need."

Ganondorf smiled inwardly. Whatever power this being could grant paled in comparison to the power he was now after, but for the time being he still needed his benefactor. Wily was already on board, and with Eggman's help, the plan to surpass even the gods themselves would proceed even faster. All he needed to do was keep this thing in the dark for a little while longer.

"I'll start the planning and preparation for the next magic world we visit. With any luck, we could begin before the Royal Guard are finished with Mobius..."

Albert Wily may have been an egocentric man, but even he had to admit that Dr. Eggman was a genius worth his respect. The two had gone over various plans and designs for both the latter's eggbots and his own Robot Masters, and the results were promising.

"So if we reroute the power matrix here, we might be able to increase the output of the plasma stability field generator by .07 percent, which would definitely improve shield efficiency in models 05 through 09. I have to say, your creations may lack the flair or durability of mine, but the quality of their weapon design is impressive."

Eggman smiled proudly. "Well, I've always been a believer in a strong offense being the best defense. Sonic and his allies may be able to damage them too easily for my tastes—I've yet to find a design with power output to my liking that they can't seem to ruin—but when they do manage to land a hit, even a glancing blow can be enough to kill. With your modifications, I might be able to make something that can hit even that infernal hedgehog!"

"If you two are quite finished, perhaps we can discuss our other plans," Ganondorf said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I spoke to our benefactor; he remains oblivious to our scheme, but he is no fool. It won't be long before he suspects something is amiss."

Wily huffed in anger. "Who made YOU the leader here? Your magic may be powerful in, say, Hyrule, but science rules in this world, and if you want an efficient machine, you'll have to be patient; trial and error must be considered before any prototype is deployed."

"I wouldn't say that," Eggman replied. "I have a few old concepts that could work. The Chaos Emeralds have curious properties beyond the obvious; aside from being a near-endless source of power, they can also convert any form of energy to any other form of energy. Minor tweaks to a few of my early generator blueprints could turn that to our advantage in our endeavor, and those have already been tested enough that we could have a working prototype within the week, providing we actually manage to retrieve at least one complete emerald. It wouldn't even have to be the Master Emerald."

Ganondorf ignored Wily's slight against him as he considered Eggman's words. "Indeed. The emeralds seem to be a unique paradox; science and magic in one? I wouldn't mind studying them myself. Speaking of magic, the Triforce of Power seemed to resonate with the emerald shard you possess. The implications are fascinating. With any luck, it may be the key to our goal."

The three villains continued their discussion long into the night. With every word spoken and every idea put forward, they grew more convinced of their course, more confident in the potential success of their scheme.

As the Chozo lifted off, I sat looking at Sparks' pokeball. Sorry, but your trainer is a total loser. I didn't even get the chance to pull you out in this world. The others took my confession better than I thought they would, though they were definitely disappointed. Some discussion about where I would live had occurred, but in the end it was decided that I would stay in the palace for the time being.

I recalled Princess Zelda's offer from before, about being adopted in the event of me not being able to go back to my world; what effect would my decision have on that? Would it just serve as a reminder of my failure? Maybe I could stay with Ethan and Professor Argento. If I can't be a hero, maybe I could be a trainer or something. At least then I'd be able to say I accomplished things during my time here.

Suddenly, a loud beeping shook me from my thoughts; the source was the holoterminal in the main hold of the ship, indicating an incoming priority message.

"Zelda to Chozo, are you there?"

Samus put the ship on autopilot before answering. "We're here, ma'am. What's the situation?"

"We just received word of an enemy incursion in Mobius; reports are vague, but one of Wily's Robot Masters has been spotted among Eggman's forces there. I am sorry, but I'm afraid Casey's situation will have to wait until this one is resolved."

"Copy that, Your Highness. We'll handle it."

I reacted with interest. Mobius... Eggman... that was the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, wasn't it? Before that train of thought went any further, I abandoned it and shook my head. I had made my decision. I wasn't going to get involved here. Or so I had hoped at the time. But while I'm still not sure if destiny was involved, one thing was certain: my bad luck meant that my adventures were far from over.

Can you guess what the baddies are planning? If so, well, I'm certainly not going to confirm or deny any of it-you'll just have to wait and find out if your guess is right like everyone else! See you next chapter!