One minute they were inside the room of the Laundry Pool, and the next, a glimmer of light teleported them away from danger and onto the floor of a familiar space. As it dissipated, Link recognized the house as his, still disorganized from the earlier attack from the Lizalfos. After ascertaining that both Kagome and Shippo were free of harm, his blue eyes shifted to the individual seated at his dining table near the shattered window.

It was the magic-user, whose name remained a mystery.

He supposed a thanks was in order, otherwise; he wasn't sure how he could break through the many canine guards back at the room, but why here, of all places? Why not the Great Fairy's spring? Whoever this person was, he seemed content to examine the four transformation masks lying in front of him, one in particular the Fierce Deity.

His smile unnerved Link.

"So happy you could drop in," He said, turning halfway. "What's with those faces? Be thankful I got you out of there when I did. It would be a shame if the heroes were imprisoned so shortly after their transmigration. Don't you agree?"

Link didn't answer him and instead helped Kagome to her feet. Just standing in his presence left the hairs on his neck and arms stand on end. But just beneath his friendly countenance, he noticed something peculiar. An ominous aura. Magic-user or not, it was clear he wasn't the average Terminian. What was his real identity? Regardless, the Great Fairy trusted him, so he supposed he'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Thanks for saving us," Kagome said. "I hate to imagine what would have happened."

He laughed. "It's probably best you don't think about it. I almost forgot to deliver an important piece of information to you, as it seemed to slip past me and the Great Fairy earlier. The Mask of Armaros causes illusionary spells. Hence what you've already seen in Clock Town. If you wish to destroy the spirit possessing that mask, you need to destroy the illusion first."

"But how? Are you referring to that cloud monster?" Shippo asked.

"No. That cloud monster, as you call it, was a demonstration of its powers. Think of it as a… detached ligament. What I'm referring to is the barrier shrouding not only the tower but also this entire land. As you'll find out soon, it's not only Clock Town that's infected."

"So, what must we do to break the illusion?" Kagome asked.

He smirked. "The key needed lies in the stones your demon friend has," He said, and on account of their surprised expressions, he leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs. "When I went to investigate the barrier, I heard an interesting conversation from the minions near the gated walls outside of town. Seems like your friend… Inuyasha, was it? Well, he was ordered to deliver those stones to each of the four regions. Whatever their purpose is, I cannot say for sure, but I know they are necessary in up keeping the barrier. Last I saw, your friend and the two-tailed feline went West."

"And you found all this information in short of an hour?" Link asked, narrowing his gaze.

"Indeed. Now, if I were you, I'd make haste to Great Bay. I sense something ominous brewing there."

Before the mysterious person could disappear into a flicker of light, Shippo bounded forward and pointed. "Wait a minute! Who are you?"

The inquiry surprised him, and he laughed. "Oh, how forgetful! I suppose a name is necessary in these circumstances!" He said and mused thoughtfully. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. It's Emmett. Now that we have our introductions out of the way, we'll surely meet again! Good luck, heroes!"

And with a snap of his finger, he vanished from the room, and Link approached the table, accessing the transformation masks before turning to his new traveling companions. "There's not much time. Let's gather what we need and head out," He said, placing the masks into his satchel.

"To… Great Bay?" Kagome asked.

"I don't like that guy… I feel like he knows more than he lets on!" Shippo said, crossing his arms.

Kagome nodded. "Yeah. I got that impression as well… But if it wasn't for his interference, we might have gotten into big trouble back in town. For now, let's trust him."

With the hero's shield and his gilded sword strapped to his back, he made a note of all the items stored inside his satchel. There was an extra bow and quiver of arrows stored inside, along with a few bottles of red and green potion, an extra shield, and his transformation masks. Realizing these probably weren't nearly enough to sustain them on their voyage to Great Bay, he crossed the remaining distance of his room to the right and left walls, where his other items and weapons hung.

Link paused when he reached for the Ocarina of Time, its glassy-blue surface sparkling in the dim light of the room. There was no doubt in his mind he might need to rely on its magical abilities to travel through time, if the Goddess of Time deemed it necessary. It placed it into his satchel and withdrew a slingshot and sack of deku nuts before handing them to Shippo.

"Huh?" The fox child turned his head at the items. "What is it?"

"Since we're traveling together, I believe this will be an adequate weapon for you. Take this sling shot and bag of deku nuts. The more items at your disposal, the more helpful you'll be in the group."

Shippo took the weapon and bag with curious wonder and showed it to Kagome. "Look, Kagome!"

But before Kagome examined the slingshot, Link called out to her. "Kagome… you said you're a priestess… Forgive my ignorance, but… what is that? I understand you fight alongside your friends, but is there a preferred weapon you use?"

She nodded. "I'm better at using a bow, and I'm also able to fuse my spiritual powers in arrows to defeat my enemies, along with the ability to heal minor wounds."

Interesting. Spiritual Power… Link wondered if it was something similar to what the Great Fairy possessed, but he didn't inquire further. Instead, he reached for a bow off the wall and handed it to her, along with a quiver of many arrows. "Take this. It was blessed by the Great Fairy many years ago. The bow can transform your arrows into three different elements. Fire, ice and light."

Kagome gasped. "So… it's an elemental bow? Whoa…" She said, reaching for the weapon.

For a moment, while he browsed his selection, he allowed his eyes to shift between Shippo and Kagome. Since the priestess could handle a bow just fine, as well as heal wounds, the small child could only muster a little magic. The slingshot would not doubt come in handy, but he was certain he could find something else for him to use. A thought occurred to him and he turned to the opposite wall and retrieved the fairy boomerang from his travels in Hyrule.

Serena's pink light fluttered around him. "Come on already! If we keep dawdling, who knows when those monsters will come back!"

"Don't worry, Serena. It will only take a moment longer," Link reassured her.

"How many more weapons are we going to need?" Shippo asked.

"Just a little more… The last thing we want to do is backtrack to stock up again. We need to make use of our time wisely," Link said and handed the child the boomerang, as well as the Kokiri sword and Deku shield. "I used these when I was much younger. It's only right that I pass them onto you, Shippo." Besides, he'd already outgrown them, so there was no reason to keep them.

The mere sight of the weapons amazed him. "Wow! For me! I get a sword?! Look, Kagome! I have a sword!"

A giggle escaped the young woman. "Aw! Look at you! You're looking like a young warrior now!"

Shippo puffed his chest, but his eyes wandered to the shield in his hand. "But what is this wooden thing, Link?"

"It's a shield," Kagome answered. "It not only blocks attacks from your opponents but also keeps you safe," She said and bent down to point at the leather straps inside it. "You see those? They wrap around your arm like this," She said, and once it was fastened, she pulled away. "There you go! Just like that!"

Although it was slightly bigger than him, he thrusted his sword here and there and raised his shield as though he were fighting someone. "It's a little awkward… but I think I understand. Thanks, Link!"

"I have one last thing to give you, Shippo."

"Another weapon?!" He asked, his eyes sparkling once again. But when Link handed him a golden bracelet, Shippo tilted his head confusedly. "Huh? A band? What does it do?"

"It's called the Goron Bracelet. If you wear this, you can lift heavy objects, like boulders. It comes in handy when you're in tough situations," He said, placing it around Shippo's wrist. He turned a mechanism on the side which allowed the bracelet to constrict around his wrist, since his were a lot slimmer than Link's. "If you need to, just turn this knob here, and it will expand if needed."

Satisfied that Shippo was prepared for this arduous journey, Link once again examined the walls for the last items they'll need. Fortunately, he had multiple selections of red and blue tunics, ones which he'd let Kagome borrow, but Shippo was far too small to wear them. He threw more items into his satchel, such as the iron and hover boots, Lens of Truth and a few empty jars just in case.

Finally, he grasped three separate chained pendants of red, blue and green. The small crystallin, diamond gems were a gift crafted by talented artisans many years ago, and were said to be imbued with the Goddesses' powers. Din's Fire, Nayru's Love, and Farore's Wind.

"Kagome. Take this."

"Huh? What is it?" She asked with her palm outstretched. The moment he placed it in her hand, she gasped. "Oh, it's so pretty!"

Serena gasped. "You're really giving that to her? I thought that was one of your prized treasures, Link!"

"It's fine. It will only be temporary. Besides, I'll rest easy knowing they'll be safe. No offense, but I have my doubts you and your friends have fought monsters such as the ones in this world. Better safe than sorry…"

Kagome nodded and clapsed the chain around her neck. "You're right. Actually, if I trained hard enough, I would be able to conjure my own barriers, but I'm not at that level just yet. Thank you, Link."

Shippo pouted. "What about me? Do I get a magic necklace too?" Shippo asked, bouncing on the heels of his fox feet, his emerald green eyes staring at the last two remaining pendants.

"Don't you have enough items, little fox? You can barely carry that shield as it is and yet you want more?" Serena asked, but Shippo only turned his nose up at her.

Would it be okay to give Shippo such an important and dangerous item? Not that he didn't trust him, but from his understanding, the small child already had a fire ability, though it only targeted enemies rather than friends. "How much magic can you use, Shippo? How far do your abilities stretch?"

Now this surprised him. "Well… I'm still learning, but you already know I can transform into just about anything, but only for a limited amount of time. I can summon my fox fire, spinning top, as well as a few other tricks, but my powers aren't as strong as my friends."

That was a little worrisome, but he couldn't deny that child possessed a great deal of spunk. Link held up the chain of Din's Fire, watching Kagome and Shippo's eyes widen as the flame danced within the gem. "Each of these pendants possesses a small fraction of the Goddesses' powers. The blue one conjures a barrier, the green one makes it possible to teleport to the last place you visited, and this one ensnares its enemies in a wave of fire, disintegrating them in one blast…"

"As you can see, Shippo, it's very dangerous. The last thing we'd want is an accident to occur."

Kagome couldn't agree more and knelt beside Shippo and ruffled his hair gently. "She's right, Shippo. In the mean time, it wouldn't hurt to get some practice in with your sword and shield."

Shippo's shoulders slumped and he nodded. "Okay… How long do you think it will take to get to Great Bay, anyway?"

"That's roughly a half a day journey. If we're lucky to get that far on foot. If only we had a horse…" She said, side-eyeing her partner.

Link ignored her and swept his gaze around the room once last time, hoping he hadn't forgotten anything. Satisfied they were ready, he beckoned everyone outside. "Now that you mention it, Serena… we should probably visit the ranch before we head to Great Bay. After all, we'll definitely need Epona."

A/N

Sorry for the late update, but I haven't given up on the story. If you haven't read the last a/n, I combined "Retelling of Ancient Times" with "ApItH (Alternate Story)" since they are very similar to each other. Hope everyone has a happy holiday/New Years!

In case anyone is confused, here's a brief recap of all the chapters: The heirs to the Kingdom of Ikana flee from an outside attack, the Sacred Relic is shattered during the escape and a darkening sweeps the land of Termina. They take refuge in Clock Town and seek out a powerful sorcerer named Emmett who warns them that only the Four Heroes can save the land. He gets help from the Great Fairy and they transmigrate the Inuyasha gang/Link to the Spring Cave. They explain that the darkening is a result of the Sacred Relic shattering/Sakon unearthing an evil mask called Mask of Armaros that causes illusionary spells. Sango, Miroku, Kirara get swallowed by a shadowy tendril, Inuyasha turns full demon and it's up to Kagome, Link and Shippo to save the land!

The Sacred Relic is similar to the Triforce. Overall chapters: 35 (Romance will be somewhat fast paced)