Static: Done.

Wang: Yay! Faster!

Shadow: I just love what we did here.

Wang: What did we do?

Time Stop: We don't own Legend of Zelda.

Chapter 28: Bongo Bongo

It was a rather impressive ship. As no one there had seen a ship before beyond the small fishing vessels on Lake Hylia, it did give them a moment of awe. It had to hold at least three hundred people easily. Even who they were, landlubbers would be the appropriate term here, they could tell that it was made well. Dark purple and black cloaked the ship as if it were a mantle, the sails nonexistent on the mast. Sans the demonic skeletal head for a figurehead, it was a very beautiful ship.

The only way they could get aboard the ship was to jump; there was no possible way to get aboard without it. Upon the deck appeared a man. He was dressed in black robes, the hood pulled low over his face. He seemed to stare at them, the dark void where his face should have been pierced their skins. Link and Nadai both shivered in silence. Navi, who was the only one who remembered him, gulped in fear.

"Ah, you three have arrived." His voice hauntingly reached them. But the noise didn't originate from him, instead, it sounded like it was planted inside their minds. "Are you coming aboard?"

"Navi? Is this our ride forward?" Nadai asked.

Link nodded. "We could swim down this…river, if we needed to. But I would prefer to ride the ship if possible."

Nadai gave him that look. It was a mix of explain yourself now and what was going on. "Don't worry." He replied. "I'm not afraid of swimming. I'd just prefer not to right now. We did enough swimming in the Water Temple."

Navi gulped. This was their ride alright, but it wouldn't be something that they would enjoy. "Yeah, this is our ride."

The man nodded slowly at him. "We leave now." The ship started forward. Link surged forward, aiming for the moving ship. Navi could easily make it by flying, but Link and Nadai would have it harder. He turned to Nadai, and braced himself. She was hot on his heels. She jumped, landed on his feet, and together worked for the ship. She pushed off with her feet while he pushed up with his hands. It gave her enough momentum to get high enough to land on the ship's rail.

Link kicked up. His boots were loose enough to fly up to the ship, where they were caught by Nadai. He then jumped up and started to hover due to his Hover Slippers. Then he jumped again, landing even higher. The trick to the slippers was not how far or how high you could get to with each step, it all depended on the time. So within the limited duration he had, Link jumped high enough to grab the railing and flip himself over onto the deck.

As Link pulled his boots back on, the ship picked up speed. Soon enough, they were going at a considerable pace. The cloaked man had moved to the helm, where he gripped the dark wood. His hands weren't visible because of the dark mantle he wore to cover himself. Navi gulped. It would begin soon. She sat on the rail watching him, her eyes trained on his every move. He was strong enough to kill them without a second thought, so why would not do so now? She smiled grimly. It would be the same reason that he would have spared Link and herself before. But is it now all changed because of Nadai?

"Who are you?" Nadai had been watching the water rush by when his voice came into her mind. "There is no need to talk, only think."

"I'm Nadai. And you are?"

"I am known by many names. Who are you?"

"But I already have answered that question. And you haven't exactly answered yours."

"You have not answered that question, Nadai, daughter of Yew."

Nadai's eyes went wide, and she tried to turn to see him. But some other worldly force kept her from moving.

"How did you-" She started to ask, panic was set in her thoughts.

"Know? I've known you since your birth. I am not some simple ferryman to be taken lightly."

Ferryman? That would mean-

"Indeed, you are correct. One of my many names is Charon."

Charon. He was only a myth. "So why is death's ferryman doing here?"

"Death, my dear, with a capital D. Why else would I be here, you have boarded my ship."

Nadai gripped harder. "So that must mean we are dead."

"Not yet. We are not yet to that point." There was a pause. "Who are you?"

"You already know that, if you are Charon."

"Perhaps I do, daughter of Yew. But I know more than you do about yourself. Training daily to get even with Gannondorf before you even given a mission to stop him. You fell in love with a Hylian. And not just anyone, but one of the Heroes of Time."

"And what about it!" She could feel herself blush.

"Are you sure you can do this? Granted, both of you are Hylians, but you were raised as a Gerudo, and himself as a Kokiri. Gerudos and Kokiris do not mate, not even in an extreme circumstance as this."

Nadai could feel the anger building up inside of her. "What do you know about love!"

"I know that giving your backgrounds, that the two of you are not as compatible as you would like. You were trained to fight, he was trained to have peace. And yet, you are together. Do you really think that I can't see it?"

Nadai's breath hitched in her throat. "See what?"

"The truth. Have you really conquered your fears? You see, I never stopped you from moving earlier." Nadai twitched her arm. He was right, she wasn't paralyzed. "And what about young Link? Has he really conquered his fear? You could have swum this river to its course and not have gotten upon Death's ship."

Charon was right on that account. Why wouldn't Link want to swim it?

"And, we are not alone here."

"What?"

"This is the ferry for the dead. The dead gather here for a few days before moving on."

"A few days? That must mean…Talon!"

If she could have seen his face, she would have seen a sinister looking smile. "Yes, the Lon Lon Ranch holder. I believe he is still onboard."

Nadai ran off, her hair flying behind her. She went unnoticed below deck. Link was likewise watching the water, but his eyes were drooping from the welcome rocking of the waves. Navi only noticed a few seconds later.

The fairy was going to go and find Nadai, when the ferryman turned his attention to her. Feeling his gaze upon her, Navi looked at him from the rail. "We have not spoken in a long time, Navi."

So he knew of the predicament she was in. "Yes, fairy. I know of Link's decision and of what followed. I am outside of Father Time, I am able to understand it all."

"Then what are you this time?"

"Me? I'm only Death's messenger. Call me one of the Valkyrie if you will."

"Aren't they supposed to be women?"

"And aren't you supposed to be dead?" He laughed. "You mortals choose for me my name long after I leave. Having a gender confusion is the least of my concern. My main concern is you."

Unlike Nadai and Link, Navi could see under the hood. And it wasn't what she wanted to see right then. "What about me."

"Will you tell Link? Will you ask him the one thing that he is dieing to know?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You haven't noticed him doing things that sometimes don't make sense at first glance. Doing things that wouldn't make sense without prior knowledge."

"What?"

"He is slowly regaining his memories. It might have been easier for him at first to remember, but harder as time went on. It went buried into the vaults of his mind, vaults in which he holds the key to unlocking."

Navi just stared at him. "So what does that mean for me? I'm talking to you about it right now, how come the world isn't unraveling?"

"It's because of two things. One is the fact that you are thinking these things. The other is because of what I stated before, I am outside of time."

"I won't be able to talk to him then."

"That shouldn't be your concern. Your concern should be the what if he remembers. What if he remembers the life he had before, and the fact that Nadai didn't exist for him in that world. Or maybe, just maybe, he blurts it out before remembering the fact he isn't supposed to talk about it."

Navi gulped. That was a big what if. "How close is he to remembering?"

"Time is not something I worry about. Normally, I wouldn't care. But I would say something around the lines of soon."

"Soon?"

"Soon enough to happen in the present age at least. In his lifetime, yes. While I don't know if it is tomorrow or ten years from now, I do know that it will happen."

Navi furrowed her brow. "This isn't good. I've been hoping he wouldn't remember for a while now. I don't want anything bad to happen for him."

"But isn't that keeping it from him, the fact that this is the second time through he has done this?"

"You know as well as I that I cannot talk about that."

He smiled. "Or can you? How much will you risk for this to happen? To finish the quest?"

Navi looked through the darkness under the hood straight to where his eyes would be. "You already know that answer. I gave it to you when we first met here."

He laughed, his shoulders slowly rocking. "Very good answer. Maybe though, you might not choose to sacrifice him now that he is no longer fully damaged."

Navi glared at him. It was time for her to leave him. What happened to Nadai? Did she? No she couldn't have. She flew down the hatch. What she would see wouldn't be something that she would want to see. Talon was dead now; it meant that he wouldn't be the same. She had to stop her fast.

Inside the hold, it was if she entered a different world. The dead littered the halls. She could see them of course; it hurt her to see them. Elderly, youth, man and woman lay there. Some were from natural causes, others not so much. The spirits of the dead tended to avoid the living. It was as if life was a disease to them now. Having that helped her find Nadai.

Talon was where she would suspect, in a small room that could be described as a bedroom. Nadai must have only arrived, she stood at the door. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open, disbelief and shock in her eyes. There were three small holes in his chest, Navi could only assume that came from a pitchfork.

"Talon? Dad?" Nadai entered slowly, her eyes wide.

"Nadai, no."

"Navi, he's right there. We can bring him out of here, bring him back."

Talon finally stirred, his eyes opened and he looked at Nadai. "Talon!" She cried.

"Who-who are you?" He asked softly. His eyes held a distant gaze to them.

"It's me. It's Nadai. Please!"

Talon blankly looked at her. "Nadai?"

"Yes! Me!"

"I don't know a Nadai." Nadai broke into tears then. Navi hung her head. This was the problem with the dead. They don't remember anything. And if they left the ship to rejoin the living. Navi shuddered. Monsters, that was all that remained of them. Vengeful spirits without a chance of returning to sleep.

"Dad!" Nadai looked at him, the tears falling onto the ground.

"Nadai." Navi whispered. "We can't bring him back."

"But we can. Maybe if we take him outside, he will remember!"

"Don't." Navi flew down to sit next to her. "When the dead, go off of this ship, and it isn't their final destination, then they stay dead. They become spirits."

"No."

"It's true."

"No."

"Why do you think there are ghosts? Because they are taken from this ship before the ship has docked."

"No!"

Back topside, Link finally noticed everyone else was gone. He gripped the Master Sword, and turned to the cloaked man. "Where are they." He ordered.

The man's voice came to him, this time it originated not in his mind, but from the man. "What makes you think I did something to them?" He asked. He let go of the wheel and stood there.

"What makes me think otherwise?"

"Nothing. Good of you, Link. You made it this far."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember when last I saw you was when I took your mother away to this ship."

"Who are you?" Link jumped forward and slashed. He disappeared and reappeared behind Link.

"I have many names. You shall call me Muut."

"Muut?"

"Yes. I shall be called that. See, I am Death's ferryman. His guide."

Link narrowed his eyes. "So you are the ones to take souls with you to the underworld."

"That is one way of thinking of it."

"So that must mean that we are on the way to the underworld."

"Ah, how clever of you to put two and two together." He mocked. "And what does that mean?"

"That we can die here, if we aren't fast enough."

"Fast enough for what?"

"To leave. This river, it obviously is a part of death."

"I see, how interesting."

"That means that we need to leave the ship. But we needed to board."

"Interesting."

"Which means there is one last passenger you wish to board."

"Oh?"

"Bongo Bongo."

"So you figured it out?" He laughed. "Maybe you did, maybe you didn't." He clapped his hands. "You won't know. It is time for me to leave this world." Then he paused. "But what would Malon think of you?"

"What are you saying?"

"Malon, your first lover, left in the hands of Ingo. Doesn't that make your furious."

"It does make me furious. But I can't do a thing about it until I beat Bongo Bongo."

"And what of Nadai? Will you go back to Malon?"

"Never. My mind is made up."

"Is it? Didn't you say that you loved Malon as well?"

Link gritted his teeth. "I thought that was love. That was lust."

"And what are you feeling now? Are you sure that that is love?"

Link growled. "I will kill you if you talk to me like that again."

"I am outside of Father Time. I am immune to your petty attacks."

Link growled, then quieted when he heard muffled sounds from below. "Where are they?"

"I'm not done talking yet."

Link narrowed his eyes and readied his feet. "Not so fast. Where are they?" He waited a second more. "Tell me!"

"A word of caution to the wise." Muut looked at him. "I do not have a side in this fight. But, are you sure what you are doing is right?" Link stopped. "Is this really what you want?"

Link looked at him dead in the eyes. "I can see you for who you really are. A trickster. Of course I know I am doing the right thing. I wouldn't be doing this otherwise." Link pulled out the Megaton Hammer with his other hand and slammed down on the wooden boards beneath him.

He fell below, down to land next to Nadai and Navi.

"Time to get off." He took one look at Talon, his face got sad. Nadai looked at him, tears in her eyes.

"Please, no. We can't-"

"Nadai!" Link shouted. "We can't take him. It's impossible to take souls away." He looked sadly at Talon. "If only." He grabbed Nadai in both hands and threw her up and onto the deck. He climbed aboard, Navi already leading the way.

"Where do we go off?" Link looked around, but Death's messenger was already gone.

"Nadai, the Glasses!" Navi cried.

She dried her tired eyes, relaxed, and then put the glasses on. In front of the ship was a wall, in fact, the entire ship was surrounded by walls on all sides. But, about deck height was an invisible wall and a door.

Link felt the ship buckle beneath him. "We're sinking! Where do we go?"

Nadai jumped off the rail, not waiting for Link. He followed soon after, feeling that membrane feel of the illusion. Inside the little hole in the wall, they were able to watch the ship sink below the waves. The cloaked man stood there on deck, watching them until they went out of sight.

"Did he try and screw with your mind too?"

"Mess with it?" Nadai nodded. "Yeah, he did."

Navi nodded as well. "Same here."

"Well, I'm not going to let his words get to me." Link stood up straighter. "We need to save Malon and stop Ingo. The only way to that is to stop Bongo Bongo and get out of here."

Nadai nodded. "Talon would want us to."

Navi sighed in relief. Death's messenger didn't stray them from their path. "Then let's go. We shouldn't be that far off."

Link opened the door, and was blasted back by a column of air. He grabbed onto the edge, and hauled himself back up. Meanwhile, Nadai struggled for a moment until the door closed. They took a moment to breathe in deeply.

"What was that?" Link asked when he regained his breath.

"I would have to say some sort of blast of air." Nadai said.

Link smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Well, how do you think we should get by it?"

Navi hovered at Link's pack, which was normaly hidden beneath his shield. "What about the Iron Boots?"

Link nodded. "That would work."

"Wait, this isn't the first time we had to deal with wind. What about the Hover Slipper?" Nadai reminded them of the wind. Link had found that with wind he was propelled as if he had a sailcloth.

"Then I'll just put on the Iron Boots over them." Which he proceeded to do. "Now we're ready."

Nadai climbed onto his back, so she was being carried in a piggy-back style. They had found that this was the one way it was able to work, so she would be able to use her hands more efficiently to do, well, whatever needed to be done. Before, Nadai couldn't use the bow to fire, since it would be hitting Link in the face. Now at least, she could shoot without damaging either of them. She opened the door, and Link slowly stomped inside.

The wind was strong, and it blew at them hard. But due to his intense training, his limbs had grown stronger, especially his legs. Moving about in the Iron Boots did help with not only speed, but it gave Link muscle memory needed to combat this. He pushed back, despite having Nadai on his back. He stomped forward, going slowly only to help keep his footing.

There was a giant fan across the hallway, and the sheer amount of wind that it was pushing through was enough to knock down anyone, as the heroes already well knew. Link made his way to the middle of the hallway, his eyes scouring for holes. From what they could see, there was no way out other than the one they had entered.

"Nadai, you see anything?" Nadai slipped on the glasses, and scoured the room. There, beside the wall next to the fan was a hidden eye.

"There's an eye!" She had to shout to be heard. Reaching behind her, she found the Long Shot and aimed it. Using the bow in such a room wouldn't happen. The wind would blow the arrow away without it reaching far. The Long Shot however was much sturdier for the job. She took aim, and hit the eye. As per usual, the eye closed when it was hit, revealing its secrets. The secret in this case was another fan. The first fan turned off, but a second one opened. This one slid from the wall from a hidden compartment, and blew perpendicular at them. Its destination was revealed when another wall slid aside to show a small alcove with a door.

Link saw it. "There?"

"It looks like the place!" Navi shouted. The wind noise had died down a bit, but the fairy had to yell in order to be heard. It was easy for Navi to let go of Link and fly over there.

"What do we do?" Asked Nadai. They could try and jump it, or use the Hover Slippers to go across. There really only one way, at least that was Link's perspective. If he took off the boots, then they would be left behind, and it would almost be nigh impossible to retrieve them again. Or, he could jump, Iron boots and all, and try to clear the ten foot gap. It shouldn't be that hard. He had enough practice in the boots to know he could do it.

He stepped back, and gripped onto Nadai tighter. He started slowly, but in another step he went to a flat-out sprint. Nadai screamed, her voice echoing in the small room. Link pushed off, his legs reaching for the other side. Then he saw an even bigger dilemma than he had thought of before. The alcove wasn't as tall as the ceiling was. Nadai and he wouldn't fit inside in their current position.

Either Nadai would make it in, or he would. The other would hit the wall and slide down into the darkness below. Link smiled, and dropped. He could have made the jump, he just could, but he chose not to. At least, that's what he kept on telling himself. While he was still in midair, he pushed Nadai off of his back.

"What?" Nadai managed to shout before she saw what Link was doing. She pushed off his back as gently as she could, landing in a sprawl in the alcove. There was just enough room for two to stand there, though it would be a bit cozy. Link's hands grabbed onto the edge, his body slamming into the wall. The Iron Boots dragged down at him. He coiled up, kicking at the wall to find a purchase. Unable to do much, he hung there.

"Link!" Nadai reached down and grabbed his arm. She started to tug upwards.

"Careful!" Navi hovered close by. "This floor is at a slant, if you slip, you're going to fall too."

Nadai looked down and noticed the slant. She gritted her teeth, and braced her feet against the sides of the alcove. Locking them in place, she reached down again and pulled on Link's arm. Meanwhile, the young man gritted his teeth even more. He flexed his muscles. He managed to lift himself up a little bit more than before. But the Iron Boots were just too dang heavy.

"On three." Link gasped. He wouldn't hold out for long. The training he had helped him, but without a serious push, it would be almost impossible.

"Three!" Rushed Nadai. She heaved upward, forcing Link up a few inches higher. Which was exactly what he needed. He heaved, and brought his head to the floor height. He then shoved one arm after another onto the slant.

Navi fluttered to the door. "Hurry, open it!" Nadai turned, unable to move her feet due to Link's arms in the way. She opened the door. Luckily, there was no wind this time. Link grabbed onto the door, keeping him half on the alcove floor.

"Get in!" He shouted. Nadai twisted her body, and slipped inside the door, back onto level ground. He pulled upward and brought himself fully up. He collapsed onto the floor, and slipped off the boots.

She closed the door, and he leaned against it. For a minute or so they rested; their hearts racing from the experience they had just done. "Never again." Nadai muttered.

"What was that?" Link stood up, his feet carefully balanced so he wouldn't slip due to the slippers.

Nadai gripped Link, and buried her face into his chest. "Don't do that ever again." She whispered to him. "I almost lost you."

Link was surprised for a second, but he returned the hug. "I promise I won't."

Nadai fought back the tears. "I can't lose you." She looked up at him. "You are too much of my life to lose."

Link chuckled softly. "I love you." He whispered into her hair.

They both smiled. Navi looked about. She didn't want to see them right now. It was another hallway, and if she remember rightly, there was one last room before Bongo Bongo. No more hidden panels or invisible beings, just one last, easy room before the boss. She gulped. She had no idea how the two of them would beat him.

A rumble, one that came from the belly of the earth happened. Again, with that rumble. Navi turned, and watched as the two of them split apart from their kiss. Was it only her feeling the rumble? She shrugged, nothing to do about it now, there was only Bongo Bongo to worry about.

"Guys, keep it up." Navi took the lead to the next door. The two young adults behind her disentangled themselves from each other, and stepped in line. Link quickly slipped the Iron Boots back into his pack, and slipped on after them. Nadai opened the door, and stepped in. There was a single door in another room on the other side. There was only one occupant. Shadow Link had died, yet again. So it only made sense that Shadow Nadai was there.

She sat in a chair to the side, her appearance suggested she had been there for quite some time.

"You!"

"Me."

"Her?"

"Why are you here?" Navi asked.

"I await my fate." The shadow shrugged. "I simply wait the end?

"The end?"

"Think of this place like purgatory. Shadow Link had another purpose, I'm not sure if I do."

"You mean when he fought me?" Link asked.

"No, something more. He had said something about going back to the kingdom."

"Kingdom?"

"Kingdom. Where do you people think we come from? Thin air? Gannondorf summoned us from the Twilight Realm. Think of this world, but one of shadows."

"Woah." Was all Link could mutter.

This was news for Navi, and she thought she had seen it all. "So there are doubles in this Twilight Realm?"

"Supposedly. I mean, there's my double right there."

"So doubles can exist together?" Nadai asked.

"No." Shadow Nadai replies. "Which is why I look like this. I would normally look like you do right now, only under the light of twilight. When there are doubles, I guess we end up changing forms."

"Changing forms?"

"It's not down to a point yet. What I surmised is that because I joined this world, I ended up a Shadow. I don't know what would happen if one of you entered my world. And quite frankly, I don't care." She stood up. "Bongo Bongo wanted me to help him and tire you guys out a little." She smiled. "He's not that strong, he rules by fear. From what I have seen from you two, he will not be a match."

They watched as she started to disappear. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go back home." She disappeared, and left the three of them alone.

"Well, that was anti-climactic." Link muttered. "Let's hurry and beat Bongo-Bongo."

"Wait a second." Navi flew in front of him to stop him. "She gave us a warning."

"Yeah, Bongo Bongo isn't going to be that hard to beat." Nadai said.

"Yes, but no. He rules by fear." Navi explained. "He's going to try and tap into Nadai's old fears."

"I got this, don't worry." Nadai boasted.

"I know you do." Link encouraged.

"You don't get it! Fear is one way he rules. The other way is going to be trickery. He will play dirty, he will be smart. He certainly will be easy to beat, as long as he doesn't get into our heads."

Nadai and Link quieted down after that. "That's true. Thank you, Navi. Let's go and get him, together."

Link opened the door, and it was a sheer drop below. He took a deep breath, and jumped. The Hover Slippers on his feet had other plans. And he suddenly remembered he had not put his boots back on. Then the enchantment wore off, and he fell down. Nadai followed him, and Navi hung onto her for the ride.

They landed on something akin to rubber. They bounced with the floor, and it took a little while to gather their balance. It was a darkly lit room, sans the bright light the shown on them like a spotlight. This hardly looked like a place to battle, with a floor that moved and the darkness. Every time they would move the floor reacted in tangent. It rocked and rippled like it would as if they stood on water.

Out of the darkness Nadai saw it. It was the jailor, is flesh and blood. "You!"

Bongo Bongo smiled. "Little girl." He said. "It is time to finish what we started a long time ago."

Link looked at him, his pale skin and gray hair made him more like a ghost than anything else. "That's him?"

Nadai nodded. "It is. He must be strong enough to take a corporeal form."

He readied his sword, "Let's get him."

Navi shook her head. "That isn't him." She muttered. "Nadai! Use the glasses!"

Nadai placed the glasses onto her nose, and gasped. It hurt to use them right now, like someone was using her head to play the bongos. She looked at where Bongo Bongo was, but he wasn't there. An illusion! Behind him came a being. Two gigantic hands appeared, both easily big enough to crush Link or Nadai with ease. A...head? It had a single eye in front of it, glaring at them, and not much else.

"What is that!"

"I don't see anything." Link muttered.

"That'll be him then." Navi cried. "That's the real Bongo Bongo!"

Link watched as the human in front of him raised his hands. "He's raising his hands." He warned. At the same time, Nadai watched as the invisible enemy behind the illusion do the same.

"Watch that illusion, it looks like they are connected." She warned.

"It's an illusion?" Link asked.

"Yeah." Navi answered.

Both versions of the monster dropped one hand after the other. For Link, the illusion dropped his hands to a certain point before raising them again. Nadai watched as the invisible Bongo Bongo hit the floor at the same time. Before raising the hand again and repeating the process. The rubber floor bounced and rolled to the beatings, and soon it was hard for Nadai to keep her balance. For Link, he was propelled upward, but the Hover Slippers kept him aloft for a few seconds, before he fell. Then he was raised again and stayed there.

"What?" Link asked.

"Bongo Bongo is hitting the floor, we can't get a footing!" Nadai shouted. She struggled to stay upright.

"Link, aim for the origin of the bouncing." Navi advised.

Link ran up, and struck the air above the bouncings' origin. He struck something hard, but his sword deflected off whatever it was. Nadai watched as he struck, then as the other hand came in and slapped him back. Whatever monster Bongo Bongo had now become, he was now strong and fast. Link groaned, the slap had hurt more than he would admit. He slowly got to his feet as the bouncing began again. Nadai couldn't attack, not with this rocky terrain.

"Nadai, try the bow, I bet you might be able to prick through that tough skin of his. Link, aim for the eye."

"Eye?"

"I'll guide you, I'll hover over where it is when you can reach it."

Nadai pulled out the Fairy Bow and readied an arrow. She aimed and fired, but missed because the ground shifted at the last second, skewing her aim. "I can't shoot like this!"

Link watched the illusion. "They are in tangent, right?"

"Yeah." Nadai answered, trying to aim another arrow.

"That might be why it was faster than what we would expect when he hit me. He didn't have that great of a distance between his hands when it was only a foot or so for that illusion."

Navi nodded in approval. "Good idea. So how can we get that eye lower for Link to hit?"

Nadai had been studying Bongo Bongo's invisible body for a while now. "It looks like he is a puppet."

"A puppet?" Link asked.

"Yeah. He is pushing himself up every time he hits the ground. I bet if we hit his hands, then he would fall for a second. Close enough so that Link could hit him."

Navi nodded in approval once again. "Perfect, but that all depends on you hitting his hands with the arrows."

Nadai shook her head. "Not with this footing. I only have about five arrows left too."

Link thought for a second, then got behind Nadai. Before she could react he hoisted her up onto his shoulders. He held the Master Sword in one hand, and her legs in another, keeping her steady. He planted his feet apart, and held steady.

"What are you doing!" Nadai shrieked. This wasn't the first time Link had decided to act without her knowledge.

Link gritted his teeth. When he hoisted her up, he felt something give inside of his chest. That slap that he had must have really hurt him, more than he had thought. "Take your shot." He answered. "The Hover Slippers will give us some time aloft. Use it and hit his hands. I'll get the eye when we need to."

Nadai didn't need a second thought. He had done good, choosing this way. She could still shoot while on his shoulders, though it was a bit awkward. She aimed, and then paused as the pain in her head doubled.

"It's Bongo Bongo." Navi said as she watched Nadai struggle with the growing headache. "The banging on the floor is causing an increased pain for you in the head due to the glasses. He is basically amplifying the effects of the glasses."

Nadai clenched her teeth and aimed. She drew back and fired. Her shot was true, as it hit the right hand squarely. Both invisible and illusion shook out their right hand as Nadai hit it. The arrow had gone in to the feathers. The banging ceased for a moment.

"Watch out! Left high!" Link warned as the illusion aimed his left hand for them. Nadai reacted instinctively, letting an arrow loose. The other hand hit the ground, sending out a rumble. She watched as the Bongo Bongo hit the ground, causing one final ripple.

"Link, here!" Navi floated by the eye. He saw that the illusion had slumped over too. Navi was about a foot or so in front of it. He charged forward, Nadai falling in the process. He stabbed straight in, the sword going until the hilt caught it. It looked to Link as if the hilt was stuck in illusion's head. Nadai had flipped to land on her feet as she fell.

Bongo Bongo and his illusion went on fire, the flame purple as it lit the room. Link pulled out the Master Sword, and landed next to Nadai as the Hover Slippers propelled him backwards. He slipped on his boots, as the fight was over.

The blue circle appeared when the fire was finally over with. Bathed in the blue glow, Link took one look at Nadai. "That was easy."

Navi laughed in relief. It had taken Link and herself forever before to finish Bongo Bongo. Between the three of them now, it was nothing. "That's because he is probably the easiest of the bosses we have faced so far. The big problem was finding out how to hit him, and to hit him while he was keeping us from our footing."

Nadai laughed along with the rest. It was easy, but it was as if Bongo Bongo had given up. Had he? She glanced about. Nothing was flying out at them. She slipped on the glasses. The headache was back, ten times worse than before. Then she saw something.

"We're not done yet!" She flipped out her daggers. Link turned, and he too could see.

"Again?"

Navi sighed. "Yes, it looks like again." Bongo Bongo was back, and with him a ghost army.

Nadai spun her daggers. "We just need to beat him, right?"

Navi shrugged. Fortunately for her, no one was watching. "Let's start with that." She agreed. Link ignored the pain in his chest.

"Wait until he is almost on top of us, then we have him."

They waited until Bongo Bongo was almost on top of them. He wielded a lantern, much like a Poe, and from the way he swung it about, he knew how to use it. He attacked, the lantern emitting a purple flame that sparked through the air. They dodged backwards, wary of the flames.

Black tendrils came from the ground and ensnared Bongo Bongo. Link and Nadai traced them back to a familiar looking cloaked man. Bongo Bongo gave him a deathly look. "No, not you!" He shouted desperately. His voice hung in the air like a wrong chord.

"How dare you!" He voiced. The voice came through their heads and from his…mouth. "How dare you defy me?"

"Reaper! No! I have not had my revenge! Goddesses! Grant me more time!"

He shook his head. "Thrice you have lived. Thrice you have failed. Your payment is up." The tendrils tightened, and a dark hole appeared underneath the former jailor. "It is time to serve Death!" Bongo Bongo screamed an unearthly wail as he was dragged below. The ghostly army behind him following without a second notion or thought. The ferryman turned to the Heroes of Time. For the briefest of instances they thought they saw him smile. "Time for you to go." He waved his hand and the three of them were pushed back into the blue circle.

Death's Ferryman had just saved them. None of them expected that. Before they could thank him, they disappeared into the blue light.

They reappeared in the Sacred Realm, inside the Chamber of Sages. Impa stood before them, older and more worn than they had remembered.

"Link and Nadai, with the Ocarina of Time. You two came right on time, as usual."

"Impa!" Nadai and Link both cried out.

"I, as you know, am one of the Shiekah. I am caretaker to the Princess of Destiny, and also the Sage of the Shadow." Impa gave a small smile. "My people has served the Royal Family for generations, since the beginning of Hyrule."

"Impa." Link interrupted. "What happened that day?"

They all knew he meant the day when they had last met.

"When we last met, you two were just children, little more than babes fresh out of their weaning. I rescued Zelda from Gannondorf when he cornered her in the courtyard. I was charged with saving her, so the first thing I had to do was to have her as far away from the castle as possible. She had on her the Ocarina of Time, which is what Gannondorf needed to enter the Sacred Realm and obtain the triforce. You two delayed him enough for me to save Zelda, and for that I thank you.

"She told me as we were escaping that she had to give you two the Ocarina of Time; that she had sent you on a dangerous quest. I had not known of the extent of this quest until she told me. I am glad you two managed to complete just the first part of this quest. Now I see before me the very Heroes of Time, the ones which has been prophesied for centuries."

"I see. And where is Zelda now?"

Impa sighed. "Safe, I hope. When I return to Hyrule, I have to help lead the army. But the day is soon coming when I will be needed more as a Sage than as a general. When that day comes, Link, Nadai, I need you two to protect Princess Zelda with everything you have."

They nodded.

"She is more important than I think any of us realize. It is my duty to save her, to keep her safe. Since I shall be preoccupied, keep her safe for me. I pass onto you my strength to do so." From above, a purple medallion came down. It burned into their right arms. They now had five medallions. The Light Medallion, the Forest Medallion, the Fire Medallion, the Water Medallion, and the Shadow Medallion.

Link looked about. "Then it is time for us to go."

Nadai nodded. "We have to hurry."

Link turned his gaze to Impa. "When you get to the army, let them know we will be a little late."

Nadai nodded. "Ready for this?"

Link sighed, his stomach turning butterflies. "This won't be easy."

"He will be tougher than before, remember that." Navi warned them.

Nadai stretched out her muscles, ready to get going. "Next stop, Lon Lon Ranch."

Time Stop: Time for a rest.

Shadow: I'm glad we're done with this. Time for this next part!

Static: These dolts are doing too many projects again. I'll make sure they don't fool around this time.

Wang: We're only doing like, three other things!

Static: That's too many.

Shadow: Well, we got some ideas for this next part; might even make it a whole chapter instead of a side note.

Static: You were going to make this next part a side note?

Time Stop: Oh dear. Please Review!