I thought... I thought it wouldn't be so bad. I was wrong. Year ten and eleven have been utter hell for me so far. Most of my best friends have become really depressed, it's becoming harder to keep on top of schoolwork, I'm uncertain all the time... I'm coming back to this for comfort, and bcause I enjoy writing. you're going to see some new characters pop up around near here. Anyway, aside from my vacant form, I'm back now, but I can't promise how permanent this will become. As you know by now, I'm a very sensitive boy. I have social issues, and so do most of my friends. Anyway, (again, I know) enjoy this chapter, because you never know, it might be the last one!

Chapter 21 - Link's Awakening

The icy grip of a headache made Link's eyes swim sorrily around his battered skull. The first thing he became aware of as he sat up was that his tunic was soaked through with, what he presumed was, water. He could make out very little of his surroundings, as it was almost pitch black, aside from a narrow beam of phosphorescent yellow light filtering in from high above. He could just about make out thin particles of dust glimmering through the beam like dancers in a theatre spotlight.
And that made Link upset. For once in his life, he began to feel alone, like nobody loved him anymore. The connection, he could not make out, but he felt alone. And then he remembered why he was down in the cave.
His friends were outside, he presumed. After playing the lullaby all he could remember was falling, almost infinitely. Then dim lights danced around in his head, and then no dim lights, not even bright lights were there.

The rocks in the back of the cave were now shifting into Link's clearing vision. they were jagged and cracked, huge stalacites reaching up the the tall cave roof. Link walked over to it, regardless of the pain in his aching, stuffy legs. He pushed against it, and it gave way, nothing more than an empty shell rather than an actual rock. Like a snail's shell, it crumbled, and Link felt like doing so too. Being away from Saria was proving to be a burden for Link.

"Hello?" Link croaked, after a while of staring into the powdery cloud he had just created. A droplet of water hit the ground, hard, which caused Link to reel on his feet, alert even after a knock to the head.

Suddenly, a melody filtered out of the darkness, an almost siren-like singing, which didn't startle Link at all, surprisingly. In fact, it filled Link with a surge of warmth as he recognised the tune, but couldn't quite put a name to it. He turned his elflike ears towards the source of the melody, then the rest of his body followed. Before he knew it, he was following through a narrow passageway similar to the one he had met the Deku Scrub in. The voice had a feminine twang to it, but it also reminded Link of a male Kokiri child's voice too. This puzzled Link immensely, as he had met many Kokiri children in his life. This must have been one, Link could have assured himself there and then.

Link turned one last corner as the melody grew louder, not knowing what to expect - and what he saw shocked him greatly.

Link saw not a Zora, but a human child. Link had only ever seen a human once before, and he didn't particularly want to remind himself of that. But this child... it was as if they shared a connection... He couldn't have been any older than twelve, and it was probably wrong to even speak to the kid, but he looked so upset and out of his body that Link couldn't help himself. He wore thin rimmed spectacles, a purple garment with two eyes in the centre, and shorts that came down to just below his legs.
"What... are you doing down here?" Link asked, calmly.
The boy didn't answer at first, instead, he looked up in shock, frozen. The pain in his sparkling blue eyes was evident immediately to Link. He tugged at his T-shirt, and merely stated "I don't know, Link".

It was Link's turn to be confused, this time. "How do you know my name, and what is yours?"
The boy tugged at his shirt again, and lowered his glasses into his lap. "I... I don't know. It's like I met you before. Maybe three... or four... years ago. You were out camping in the woods near my house, weren't you?"
Link stood, astonished. "I think I know, now. You are Jake, aren't you? Wow, you have quite a remarkable memory! We barely spoke..."
Jake shuffled on his rock, comfortably. The sadness was beginning to show in his eyes, again. "That's right. But you see... I started training in the human art of Taekwondo... and the pressure has really been getting to me lately. My parents do not understand. They heap loads of pressure on me, and it really hurts me. So I decided to run away..."
Link wondered why the boy was dumping his troubles on him, but decided that he enjoyed Jake's company and sat down softly on the rock next to him. "I understand it, Jake. I have been training in the swords art for quite some time, as well as some martial arts suh as Taekwondo. Perhaps you could teach me a thing or two."
"Well... Just what are you doing here, anyway?" He smiled nervously, looking away quickly.
"I'm... Well. Do you want to hear the full story, Jake?"
"Of course."
Link explained his quest, and everything to Jake. When he was done, Jake had long since fallen into a depressed, tired slumber. tears rolled from the boy's face, and Link stopped and stared at the boy. There had to be something he was missing...
Hoping that it was what Jake would have wanted, Link picked up the boy and carried him on his shoulder. He must have been about two foot shorter than Link, and he weighed virtually nothing. Jake didn't even stir at this gesture.

Link suddenly remembered Saria, and took his Ocarina out of satchel and played the glorious notes of Saria's song. He had memorised it quickly and easily.
"Hey, Saria", Link grinned eagerly.
"Link!" Saria exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're okay, Link! We were worried sick!"
"I'm so sorry, Saria! I got a bit caught up. i think we might have a new companion for our journey ahead!"
"No problem, Link. I'm just glad you're okay. Is it a Zora?"
"Actually, Saria, it's a human"
"What?"
"From my calculations, he's about twelve. he's currently homeless, and he seems to have taken a shine to me. He knows Taekwondo so he can pretty much look after himself if we run into any danger, but I guess I'll take care of him. You see, he's a bit depressed."
"Do you know why he's depressed?"
"I don't have a clue. He hasn't said anything. Other than that he's under a lot of stress from his parents and exams."
"Oh. Well, are you going to let him speak to us, Link?" Saria winked sweetly.
"Actually, he's in a deep sleep at the moment. I'll try and find a way out of this cave, hang on."
"Come quickly, Link! That waterfall down here opened up!"
"Say w-" The connection was severed, causing a drone like feedback to rebound around the chamber.

When Link arrived at the main cavity he had fallen down, Link was relieved out of his mind to see the owl. "Hoot ho, Link! One at a time please" the owl winked and pointed at his talon to the boy on Link's back.
"Be careful, please" Link pleaded to the owl, handing the weightless Jake over to the Owl's outstretched talon.
"Of course, Link. Up and away we go, jolly good!" The owl exclaimed, and rose up into the beam of yellow, phosphorescent light, the dust falling from his wings like stars suspended on a thread of air.

Jake is featured in this fanfiction now, as Link and Saria need a third companion. And also, you can probably guess, Jake is one of my best friends that are depressed. So please, send out positive thoughts for him. He needs it. This chapter is for you, Jake!