Here we go, two chapters in one week. Yes. Anyway, I'm afraid I have some bad news.

This is the last chapter of A Different Path.

It's just, I feel like this is a good place to stop, you know? Everything is solved, there's a happy ending for everyone, everything is wrapped up in a nice little bow. Okay, maybe not. Maybe I'm just getting tired of this. Updating is so much WORK. And I'm struggling with writers block and laziness. I think it's just best to pull the plug. I...I...I'm getting emotional. And also...

APRIL FOOLS HAHAHA

You didn't think I'd forget? Sure it's past midnight, but who cares? Did I get you? Or did you cheat in read ahead? Or do you just not care?

Anyway, now that I've had my fun, don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing and writers block hasn't been much of a problem. I love writing this story, and I hope you love reading it. I have a plan for this story, too. I know exactly where it's going and I already wrote several of the ending scenes. It's happy, don't worry. Even if at first it doesn't seem that way... And if you are liking this story, don't worry. There's a lot more left. We aren't even close to done. We're just getting started.

To continue my huge A/N, I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews, as always. I'm glad you liked seeing Ghira back to normal. And guesses at my age...I don't know what to say. I'm overall pleased.

Lastly, I should apologize for a lack of action in this chapter. But it's mainly supposed to explain some things, so here goes:

Disclaimer: I do not own LOZ.

Marissa's POV

The roof was a nice place for a lot of things. It was a great location to meet with your friends—make that, one of your best friends—unless, of course, you were forbidden to talk to him. Then the roof was lonely.

It was also a pretty good place to simmer off after telling a jerk that they deserve to die alone, after they almost kill your good friend's little sister. And then, kiss said good friend on the cheek to spite the jerk. I'd never done anything like that. I'd never kissed someone not related to me, even on the cheek. Come to think about it, I think Ghirahim was the first unrelated boy that I'd hugged since elementary school. So yeah, physical contact was definitely not my thing. And yet, I'd casually hugged the two several times in the past week.

What the hell was happening to me?

When I was Marissa, in my old world, I was that shy, reserved wallflower who hated crowds. I liked my time alone, and I preferred animals to people. While I still loved animals, and I still was shy at times, Ocean was much more confident than Marissa had ever been. Ocean was like a different person. She was witty, assertive, loudmouthed, and could be pretty bad-ass when she had to be.

Marissa never would've dreamed of saying half the things that Ocean has. I never would've dared to kick anyone, and yet I had hit Ghirahim right where it hurts. The Marissa I had been before coming here wouldn't have even been able to use half the words people refer to said place, besides genitals, maybe, or groin. And yet, as Ocean, I said whatever came to mind. Whether it was a swear word or vulgar slang, I didn't care.

The fact was, my alter ego was much different than I ever thought I'd be. It was like in this world, I was Ocean, a super-hero with magical powers, and Marissa was my secret identity.

It was a strange situation. It was like I was being turned into an entirely different person. And I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that. I didn't mind being timid, but it seemed the more popular kids were always the more bold ones. And now I was one of them. I acted on impulse, instead of thinking things over, until my chance was gone.

I mean, it was like just being with Ghirahim was boosting my confidence. Here I was, defying my 'master', after a fiery argument. I wasn't fiery! I was like an ocean, for heaven's sake. What would my parents think of me now? Would they be proud that I was growing out of my shell? Or would they be disappointed that I acted so often without thinking about the consequences?

Who am I kidding? I mean, of course they'd be proud of me, but that shouldn't be a concern of mine. I should be concerned about getting back to them. They were probably worried sick by now. Or...not. Being someone who'd been pushed away by older siblings and cousins as a child, I always felt like I was overestimating my own value and importance. Some days I felt like I was a burden. And then others, specifically when I was around people like Allison and Malice, I felt like some people actually wanted me around. And then I would wonder if they just hung out with me because they pitied me. It was an awful sensation, always feeling like you need to re-earn your friendship with someone. But it was a feeling I couldn't shake.

I stared off the roof, caught up in my reflection. It was so easy for me to be lost in my thoughts and fears. I needed something to distract me before I went back to my mindset from fourth grade, when I felt isolated and utterly worthless. That's where my phone came in.

I turned it on, intending to listen to music. I then realized I forgot my ear buds inside.

I glanced at the rising half-moon. I wasn't quite ready to go back in. Up here, Ghirahim couldn't bother me. I could keep him out of my thoughts. Except...except just now. Dang it!

I shook any thoughts of him out of my mind. Yes, all thoughts of his sly smirk...his dark serious eyes...his perfect white hair...his clearly chiseled muscles...,STOP IT.

I then proceeded to shed my nervous energy by throwing around my phone. I concentrated all my effort on catching that device, just to toss it back in the air. Of course, it only took a few cycles of this pattern before I slipped up, and my phone clattered to the ground.

"Careful."

I jumped at the voice behind me. It couldn't be true.

"Zelda?" I turned around. The woman who stood in front of me was not Zelda, but an outline of the girl. The outline itself seemed to become more transparent the more I looked at her.

"Close; it's the Goddess—Hylia." She corrected.

"Oh," I sat down, too exhausted to react. "Zelda sleeping again, I presume?"

The goddess nodded.

"You don't have to be worried about my phone—it's pretty unbreakable."

"I wasn't talking about your 'phone', though you should be careful. You wouldn't want to wake Ghirahim. He's having a fitful time sleeping as it is," she warned, glancing down, as if looking into the room below us.

I rolled my eyes. "Poor baby."

Hylia was dead serious. "It's true. Your words got to him more than you think. He's already fragile enough as it is."

"Fragile?" I scoffed. "Pfft. Right."

"Mentally, yes." Hylia confirmed.

"Yeah, right."

"You don't believe me?" She raised a holographic eyebrow. "I thought I made it clear in the simulation. He doesn't seem at all bizarre near the end of the game?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, he pretty much goes off the deep end by the final battle with him. I mean, the first hint was when he started to show his sadistic side...And then he started to strip down in the second battle. That wasn't exactly normal." I laughed aloud. "Okay, I'll admit it: He basically goes insane by the end of the game. But I don't see why..." I blinked. "Oh."

"Your purpose, as I told you, was to shift his loyalties, but it's also to keep him safe. He's the leader here. No one can keep everyone happy. And if he turns against Demise, the official king of this realm, he's going to make enemies, I'm afraid. People will be hurt." She sat next to me. "You will be one of them. I will admit that to you now. But it is not you I'm worried about.

"You've already heard of the Rebels. They will be the main problem, and he will be their main target. Your job is to make sure he doesn't suffer from his choice. I could not bear it if my influence caused him to perish before his time. And that isn't for a while yet. But it will come sooner if we aren't careful. He is mortal, after all."

"Mortal? I thought you said he didn't age." I asked, confused.

Hylia nodded slowly. "This is true: He does not age. But that is due to a spell put on him by his master. No demon is immortal, save Demise himself. The fact that he is toying with Ghirahim's mortality...and the fact that he has made the boy his sword..." Hylia trailed off. "I created Fi to be an immortal sword spirit. That is why she seems in good health. Ghirahim, however, was born a normal demon. Demise's tampering with his life force like that..." Hylia sighed. "He will go through more pain than many will ever know. And it is up to you to be with him, every step of the way. For not only will the stress and attacks take a tole on his physical health, they will also come to haunt him. All his experiences, all his failures, and every time he's been hurt emotionally...they will all weigh heavy on his conscious. All this pain will slowly tear his sanity apart."

"So..." I stared at my shoes. "that means I not only have to keep him alive, but I also have to keep him sane? Call me crazy—no pun intended—but that seems kind of hard. I mean, have you met him? He has, like, half of the mental problems we learned about in health class. I mean, what all is he? Bipolar? Masochistic? He sure has a bad case of narcissism. And that's just the beginning."

"Yes, he does have challenging problems. Due to Demise's influence, he also has a condition you would call...'schizophrenia'".

I stiffened. "You mean, he's delusional? He hears voices in his head?"

"In a sense, yes, he does. You see, Demise communicates with him by directly speaking into his mind. This way, Ghirahim thinks the voice is a fraction of his own conscience. But that's not the case. In truth, it's Demise intruding on the privacy of his mind. I would never communicate with my...allies...in such a way. I prefer to speak with you through visions and dreams. It's much easier for the mortal mind to handle. Demise's communication is just contributing to his servant's crumbling sanity."

I was quiet for a moment. "So...can Demise read Ghirahim's mind?"

"No, thankfully not. When Ghirahim directs a thought at the voice, as if speaking with it, Demise can understand it. But Ghirahim's more personal, private thoughts are hidden from Demise's spell. Even I don't fully understand the process—it is very dark magic."

I nodded slowly. Then I looked at her. "So, you said this is a vision? Are there specific times when you can send them to me, or is it whenever you feel like it?"

Hylia laughed quietly. "No. While I am reincarnated in Zelda, her entire consciousness isn't my own. And my entire consciousness isn't hers either. Rather, they are intertwined. So, this means that if she's asleep, I can separate just long enough to conference with you. For you to receive the visions, however, you must be unconscious, or in a very deep sleep."

"But...I'm conscious..." I pointed out.

"Yes...but you aren't..." She thought for a moment. "You are, as they say, daydreaming. Your head is so far in the clouds that your mind can handle this vision without being snapped back to reality."

"Ugh, my brain hurts." I whined.

"Don't think about this too hard—visions aren't particularly good for the mind either," she warned, grimacing.

"What," I felt my lips twist into a wry smile. "is it going to give me brain cancer or something?"

Hylia shook her head, "No, nothing like that. I've never heard of that happening, anyway."

"Good." I smiled a little, feeling relieved. "Wait..if you're some pure, golden goddess, then how are you in the demon realm? I thought Demise shielded outsiders from entering this place, like how you you have a barrier around Skyloft?"

Hylia winced, and her image rippled. "Yes, it is challenging. But, since only a fraction of my being is visiting, I have a bit of time before the incantations realize my disturbance. Even so, our time is limited; we must make this brief. Now, as I was saying, Ghirahim has several mental...challenges.

And after all he's been through, I wouldn't be surprised if his past experiences haunted him like..." she stopped, as if thinking.

"PTSD? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?"

"Precisely. She nodded. "Do you remember that seizure Ghirahim had earlier? That was a sudden vision with Demise. Only he could hear and see his master. This is similar to the circumstances in which we meet, except..." Hylia cleared her throat. "Demise enters his mind quite suddenly. It is painful and taxing for a mortal to communicate with a deity in such a way. That is why he seemed to be in excruciating pain. And that isn't the only vision he has. Ghirahim managed to push many of his traumatic memories to the back of his mind, but when one resurfaces, you must be prepared for an attack. They will be brief, but he may harm himself if he's alone. Some of his memories are of torture, and they are unbearable."

I wasn't sure what to say. This was all so sudden, and honestly, I felt a little awkward as Hylia was telling me all Ghirahim's secrets.

"So, when he does have a...a vision. What do I do?"

Hylia rested a hand on my shoulder. "Be there for him. You can help him through this. He's been alone most of his life. I understand you can empathize with his loneliness?"

I remembered the loneliness that came with being the most reserved girl in school during fourth grade. I'd had no friends. I thought of all the days I'd wandered, alone, around the playground while everyone else had fun with their cliques. And I was by myself.

What if that's how Ghirahim felt? What if he's felt like since Demise's imprisonment?

Suddenly, much of my empathy for the demon was restored. And if he had at all thought of me as a friend...

I shivered. I couldn't imagine what he would've felt like after what happened earlier, in the courtroom.

"Oh." I said in a small voice. "Wha...What do I do?"

Hylia's image flickered. "I don't know. I'm sorry. But this is up to you. Decide what you think is best. I don't blame you for being angry at him for what he did to your friends, but it isn't like you to hold a grudge. That's one of the reasons I picked you."

"I do like to forgive," I admitted. "But part of that is the way I was taught. I mean, I was raised a little Christian girl. So...technically, I shouldn't believe that I'm even talking to you. And in the demon realm no less! I should be disgusted. Ghirahim's a demon! And I'm supposed to, what, give him some TLC? Hold his hand like he's a little kid? What would my parents think?"

I found myself erupting into panic, all my concerns spilling out. Because, that was the whole blockade in this entire plan. I felt like if I was mean to Ghirahim and went against him, I'd disobey Hylia, and I'd go against my own morals. But then...being with a demon...wasn't that a sin? Like, a bad one? But then...showing him compassion and forgiveness and maybe even...love...isn't that a good thing? Isn't that how I'm supposed to be?

"Faith is complicated," Hylia admitted, her image growing dimmer. "Faith is where things get complicated. But...ask yourself this: What do you think? What do you believe in?"

"What do I think?" I noticed my voice was beginning to rise. "I think a freaking goddess showed up in my world just to blackmail me into giving up my life to protect a demon. I'm scared, okay? I mess everything up. This is why I don't sign up for stuff like this. I don't want someone's life on my hands—demon or not! And frankly, I'm kinda mad right now. This is way more than any fifteen year old girl should have to face. I mean, I'm just a kid—not a trained bodyguard slash psychiatrist! I was fine in my old home. Happy even. You can't just pick me up and drop me in this messed up world and tell me to help an enemy! You have no right! I mean what's next? Tell me to fall in love with Voldemort? Ask me to adopt Loki? I mean, really, this is just too much stress!" I took a few deep breaths, close to tears. Here's another thing Marissa wouldn't do: First, she wouldn't get so emotional. I mean what was this? Some Disney Movie?

And second, you'd never find Marissa yelling at a goddess. I mean, a freaking goddess. I'm uber-respectful around my elders—even upperclassmen—to the point that it could be weird. And here I was, telling a goddess that she had no right to assign me an important job. I always thought of myself as an expendable, humble pawn. I'd accepted it. And now, I was whining that this was too hard. I never would understand Ocean, even if she was me.

Hylia didn't seem offended, thankfully. She rested a ghostly hand on my shoulder, and warmth spread throughout my body. I realized this was clear proof that she was good, and that I should do what she tells me to. I should be honored to be part of her grand plan.

"Marissa, child, don't fret. You said that there are over seven billion people in your world. I chose you for this job. If I didn't think you could handle it, I would've picked someone else. But I thought you were the ideal person for the job. Not only is your memory and knowledge of the game stellar, but you are also more selfless than many. And that is a trait that a shield very greatly needs."

"A shield..." I echoed.

"Yes. While I would like you to lure him away from Demise, your primary goal always is to shield him from pain—emotional and physical. A shield for the sword."

I nodded. "I...I kind of like that."

I decided to change the subject. "You never told me I had magic powers. I mean, how powerful am I? What can I do?"

Hylia smiled a little. "Upon entering this world, I blessed you with the gift of magic. But in this world, magic is limited. Each user has their own skill. While they have several abilities, everyone has a specialty that is more natural than any other."

"What's mine?" I asked eagerly. "Fire? Some other element? Flying? Breathing underwater?"

Hylia's smile widened. "You'll find out."

"When?"

"All in good time. I will tell you, though, that this gift is tailored specifically to your needs. It is incredibly rare among magic users, and it will cost you much energy. Therefore, think of it as a...a last resort for if anything goes wrong."

"What do you mean?"

Hylia's image nearly disappeared this time. "I cannot divulge any more information on this particular topic. Our time is growing thin, it seems."

"But I have so many more questions! Like—"

"I'm afraid it will have to wait until next we meet," Hylia interrupted me gently. "But I must warn you: be careful who you trust. Some of your acquaintances can not be trusted. Every demon would like a powerful position like Ghirahim's. But there can be only one sword. I fear that Demise will take advantage of this. Be wary of anything suspicious—you never know what Demise has offered to his followers."

"I don't understand..."

Hylia's image had all but faded. "Be careful. Keep Ghirahim close. Only together can you face the pain ahead. It is your job to lead him down a different path. Remember, it will be hard. You can't trust anyone. Not even yourself. I sense betrayal in your future..."

Her voice became more distant. "Betrayal...pain...grief...death..."

And then she was gone.

I was alone on the roof once again.

So, there you have it. Another meeting with Hylia. If I now made some secrets blatantly obvious, sorry. I'm sure many of you guys are starting to make sense of her ambiguous answers.

Sorry if Marissa's soliloquies are getting a little long, but I like to show her thought process. Given her situation, I thought you may be curious what's going through her mind. I thought this also tells you a bit about her past, so that's helpful.

And to be clear, I'm not trying to throw a pity party for Ghira. Hylia was just summing up Marissa's mission. And I'm just expressing the risk of insanity, because, really, if you've played the game, can you really argue that he doesn't completely lose it by the end? I mean, seriously.

As always review if you can, and favs/follows are greatly welcome. Please and Thank you. Ciao.

~Catwhiskers24~