"Oh, Wolf!" Cia called, waving him over. "Could you and Young Link come here? I need you to do a little something for me."

Wolf Link, who was carrying his ancestor around on his back, hurried over towards Cia in the main room. "What do you need?"

"Nothing much," Cia replied. She gestured to Volga, who stood silently to her side. "I just want you to recon around the temple with Volga. I just want to make sure there aren't any monsters sneaking around."

"How come you don't just look through your crystal ball?" Young Link asked over his grandson's shoulder.

"That uses energy," Cia explained. "It makes me tired. Even when you used it you were feeding off of my power. I don't want to use it when it isn't necessary."

Young Link's face lit up with a smile. "In that case, I'll go."

Wolf Link blinked stupidly. "Uh, maybe Sky should go instead. Because…you know…"

"Nah, it's fine," Young Link assured him. "I have a good feeling about this. The Mask isn't bothering me lately, so why not? We're not in a battle right now anyway."

"Yeah, but-"

"Listen to your elders, would you?" Young Link slipped off his grandson's back and hurried over to Volga. "Let's go, old man!"

"Old man?" Volga repeated incredulously.

"Oh, sorry. What about Old Man Goatee?"

Volga grit his teeth and a heat wave began to form around him, but Cia grabbed his arm. "It won't be any more than a few minutes. Young Link, Volga will use his dragon form so you can ride on him and be an extra set of eyes. Volga…" She grabbed his collar and pulled him down to her level. "Don't try anything."

"Come on, Old Man Goatee, this'll be fun!" Young Link took Volga's hand and forced him out of the room.

"I really don't think this-!" Wolf Link reached out to stop them, but Cia put a hand on his shoulder.

"Wolf, please," Cia sighed. "I'll keep an eye on them. There's no reason to worry."

"You don't get it," Wolf Link argued. "I have to be with him! If I'm not, he might…" His voice trailed off as he thought about his ancestor hurting Lana.

Cia rolled her violet eyes, becoming tired of this. She wanted Young Link to go. She planned on it! If she had specifically asked for him, the other Links might have gotten suspicious when something happened. She knew Young Link would volunteer. He'd never pass up a chance to help or annoy Volga. Cia didn't need recon in the first place. She'd seen Lana and Impa forming a plan not more than a few minutes ago. It would be a perfect opportunity to get rid of Young Link and get closer to Wolf Link. Even if the process may be slow, she needed to take the chance!

"Volga!" she thought. "Volga, can you hear me?"

"Sadly."

"Good." She smirked to herself despite the insult. Telepathy certainly came in handy. Plus, Wolf Link couldn't hear what they were saying! "What's Young Link doing?"

"Trying to get me to give him a piggy back ride. Ugh… I hate kids."

"Deal with it, Volga. I have a plan. Impa's coming after Young Link. Once you catch sight of her, drop him out of the air and she'll get him."

Impa squatted in the tall grass outside the temple. She'd snuck out here pretty easily… Cia must've had a plan. No matter. Whatever she had planned, Impa was ready. Lana had sent her here with a plan. A very crucial one, in fact.

"Impa, this is important," Lana had said. "One of Cia's Links is a child. There's something on him I need you to get for me."

Impa had accepted, despite the danger. She'd also denied the need of a guard or companion. It was dangerous to go alone, yes, but it was even more dangerous to have someone in need of protecting. But she still wasn't quite sure what the point of this mission was…

"I can just tell," Lana informed Impa earlier. "The evil coming from the temple… It's so strong I can feel it all the way over here. It must be coming from that kid. I just know it…"

Well, whatever kept Zelda safe. Even if it was something so simple as stealing some kid's mask.

"This is awesome!" Young Link cried. "Hey, look, Volga! No hands!"

"HOLD ON, IDIOT!" Volga shouted. "Do you want to fall off?!"

Young Link ignored his yelling and continued to hold his arms up in the air. He and Volga, in his dragon form, were soaring through the air at lightning speed around the temple, searching for suspicious activity. Well, at least Volga was.

"Ah, yes, isn't this fun?"

Young Link's grin quickly disappeared. It was back. The Mask. Why couldn't it just keep quiet for a while longer? He was having fun.

"I assume you missed me. I missed you. I was generous enough to give you some quiet for a while. Don't tell me you never even noticed I was gone."

"Oh, trust me," Young Link huffed, rolling his eyes. "I noticed. It was much appreciated."

"What?"

"Nothing, Volga." He gazed half-heartedly at the ground, thinking the recon would distract him.

"…nk…"

Young Link quirked an eyebrow. "Did you say something, Volga?" The dragon groaned in response. Nope, wasn't him. Then who-

"LINK!"

The hero almost fell off his ride. "Y-You?" he stuttered. "You're back!"

"Back?" Hylia's Hero repeated. "What do you mean? Ugh, how long have I been out?"

"Honestly, couldn't you have slept for a few more days?" the Mask sighed. "You were bring so good and quiet."

"Mask, what did you do?" Young Link groaned.

Hylia's Hero was silent for a moment. "Ah, I know. The Mask made me sleep for a while to take the opportunity to possess you. We're lucky he didn't do more damage than he did."

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me." Young Link slapped a hand to his forehead. He felt Volga jolt him. "H-Hey! Wha-?"

"Look down," Volga said. "We have a visitor."

The hero quirked an eyebrow and leaned over the side of his ride. He could see a distant figure sneaking through the rose garden. "It's Impa!"

"My, what could she be doing here?" the Mask chuckled. "What a nuisance. Why don't we get rid of her?"

"Would you shut up?" Hylia's Hero huffed. "We have to tell C-"

He was cut off by Volga jolting Young Link, nearly throwing him off. "Hey, asshole!" the boy shouted. "Watch what you're-"

Another jolt sent him into the air, hurdling towards the sky. He screamed in desperation as Volga quickly flew away, deliberately avoiding rescue.

"H-Hey!" Link cried to no one in particular. "Help!"

His ascent halted as he lost momentum. Time froze for a moment as he hung helplessly in the air. He stared fearfully at the blurry ground hundreds of feet away. The concrete path of the garden was now growing steadily closer. There was no way to survive this! This was where it ended!

"Volga!" Link yelled. "Help me!" The dragon ignored his plea and headed towards the temple.

"Kid, use the Mask," Hylia's Hero suggested hastily. "Maybe you could survive the fall that way."

"Right!" Young Link rushed for the Mask on the back of his belt. He felt around for it but found only leather. "I-It's gone!"

"Gone?!" the Hero gasped. "No, wait. It's up there!"

Young Link's gaze shot above him. The Fierce Deity's Mask was tumbling in the wind. The young hero was dropping much faster than the Mask, creating a growing gap between them.

"I can't reach it…" He felt tears form in his eyes, his childish personality showing through. "I can't do anything. And…" His cheeks became damp as a thought crossed his mind. An almost amused smile formed on his face as reality sunk in. "If I die here… My grandson won't exist anymore."

Hylia's Hero didn't bother to respond. The ground was so close now. They only had a few seconds left. Young Link shut his eyes and wiped his tears away. At least this would be quick…

"Oh, no. I can't have my plaything die so pathetically."

As Young Link's eyes widened in fear, the last thing he saw was a soft purple glow around a barely-there mask.

*I'm so sorry for being away for so long! ;_; My mom, sister, and I are moving into a new house so we're spending a lot of time cleaning it. But we're almost there! I want to put Zelda posters and a Young Link Nendoroid in my room! ^^

Hopefully the next chapter will be up faster. Remember the dark magic used to heal Sky and Wolf in one chapter? Perhaps we'll see it used on Young Link. And I have plans…. *evil laugh* =w=

K bye.*