*Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! :D You all really seem to care for poor Young Link, so I'll try to give him a little moment of peace. (Key word is "try.") And thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially you, SortofAnonymous! I would've sent you a PM answering some of your questions, but they should be answered this chapter, mainly the one about Lana sending Young Link away. :3

Also, for those of you who read this when it first came out, I left a sentence in there about Young Link taking the Mask from Lana while I was editing. I've since taken it out, but to be clear, Young Link DOES NOT have the Mask as of this chapter. Please tell me if I left anything else in last time about it. ^^

This chapter is also named after an important episode in a certain show... Anyone know what it is? ;)

Lastly, Happy New Year, everyone! :D Enjoy this next chapter!*

"Hurry up, stupid!" Midna crossed her arms defiantly as she glared at Wolf Link. While she was hurrying to get him back to the temple, he was just taking his damn time. Admiring the cloudless sky, taking in the densely-packed flowers… Could he be any more clueless?

"Come on, we're not in that much of a rush," the hero sighed. "Thirty seconds of sightseeing isn't going to kill anyone."

Midna pushed away the urge to punch him with her hair. "Yes, we are! For all we know, there could be a huge battle going on right now. And we might want to be there to stop it, don't you think?"

"Stop it?" Link smirked in amusement. "You think just the two of us will be able to stop a battle?"

"If I'm there," Midna nodded confidently. "And you saved the world almost singlehandedly, so you must have some worth in swordplay."

The hero simply rolled his eyes. This Midna certainly reminded him of when he first met the one from his world. He wondered if the Twilight Princess with him now would warm up to him too.

"Honestly, I just want to be there to protect Cia," Wolf Link admitted, diverting his attention to a bunch of daises. "I'm sure she can take care of herself, but her aim is a little off…"

Midna quirked an eyebrow judgingly. "Cia? That sorceress? You…like her?"

"L-Like?" the hero stuttered, his face flushing. "No, of course no-"

"Don't give me that. You have that dumbass look every man has when they're in love." Midna rested her chin in her hands with a mocking smile. "Guys are so simple minded. I've had quite a few crawling my way before… Well, before this happened." She held out her arms, fully showing her form.

"Yeah, about that…" Wolf Link studied her impish body. "How did that happen in the first place?"

The princess slapped a palm to her face. "Cia and I are enemies. Cia is a sorceress. Who do you think did this?!"

Wolf Link cringed at her yelling. "Alright, alright. Once we get back, I'll ask her to restore your true form. Deal?"

"…Deal," Midna huffed. She didn't have the heart to tell Link is new girlfriend was an evil bitch, but whatever. He'd be out of her hair soon enough. Plus, the sooner they defeated Cia, the sooner Midna would be restored to her former glory.

And the sooner she could unleash a ball of her full power on Wolf Link's face.

Sky Link leaned against the wall of Cia's study. An invisible wall prevented him from going anywhere, so he did his best to look overly irritated. The sorceress herself was flipping through some books on her desk, humming as she ran her finger across the pages.

"Don't worry, dear," she assured him sweetly. "I'll let you out soon. Just be patient."

Sky muttered a few expletives under his breath, but went silent after a stern look from Cia. She went back to intently reading and left the hero to his angry thoughts.

He never should have come here. Right now, he should be with Zelda, sitting in the temple or exploring the forest more. Instead, he was trapped by a mad woman who had a deranged love for him…or whatever she felt. Sky wasn't too sure how her affection could ever be classified as "love." It was more along the lines of craziness How could he ever trust such a person?

"Ah, here we are!" Cia picked up her book and sauntered over to Sky. He pressed himself against the monochrome wall as she came closer. "Don't panic, sweetheart. This won't hurt a bit."

Her words were returned with a harsh glare. She sighed impatiently and tapped her long nails against the bind of the book. "Why are you so frightened? You know I'd never try to harm you."

"You tried to kill my younger self!" Sky shouted, clearly referencing Young Link.

"I didn't do anything to you, did I?" Cia smirked. "That foolish child is out of our hair anyway. He won't be bothering us from now on. Now, hold still…"

Sky Link stood frozen as her statement slowly registered. "What did you do to him?" he asked meekly, fearing the worst.

"Nothing you should fret about," the sorceress smiled. She tapped a passage written in her book in an upbeat manner. "Soon you'll be happy as can be serving me."

The hero blinked his blue eyes stupidly. "What?"

Without an answer, Cia reached out a hand through her unseen barrier, touching her fingertips to Sky's forehead. She began muttering something under her breath, earning a confused stare from the hero.

However, a confident grin crept into Cia's face. At that moment, everything started to seem to slip far away. Though he understood the severity of the situation, Sky struggled to string together a coherent thought. His eyelids drooped as an unexpected calm washed over him.

"See? I told you it wouldn't hurt," Cia giggled. Sky groaned, trying and failing to stay awake. "And when you wake up, you won't have to worry about a thing."

The hero's eyelids shut against his will and he slid into unconsciousness. Because he was fading away so quickly, he failed to hear one last sentence from Cia:

"And you won't have to remember Zelda ever again."

Lana gazed over the edge of the cliff, a worried expression on her face. She teleported Young Link away without thinking. It wasn't a bad plan. In fact, it was her only choice. But would he really be safe where she sent him?

Lana's reasoning was pretty sound in her mind. Sending the Hero of Time back with her would put him in an obvious place where Cia could find him, and Goddesses forbid that happened. No, he had to be somewhere Cia wouldn't have time to look, or somewhere she wouldn't bother: another dimension. Now that Cia had Sky, and soon Wolf if they were unlucky, she had no need for Young Link. And as long as he wasn't bothering her, he was safe.

The sorceress sagged her shoulders regretfully as she wondered how she would get Young Link back after this was over. In her panic, she wasn't sure where he was sent; he could be in another Link's time. But that wasn't priority. Priority was getting back Sky and making sure Wolf wouldn't be captured as well. Lana turned away from the cliff's drop, letting a hand wander to the Mask on her belt. For now, she supposed she had to keep it with her.

At least now it couldn't corrupt the hero any further.

Young Link's senses came to him quickly after he woke up: the sight of a forest, the smell of trees, the feeling of grass, the sound of a trumpet…

Wait.

He bolted up to a sitting position, clasping his hand to his face to stop the violent stinging in his eye. The feeling was unbearable, and the hero was sure there was blood seeping out of the wound. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting back to Sky and saving him. Then they'd find Wolf and find some way to get back home.

Young Link's good eye widened as a fit of giggling snapped him out of his thoughts. The trumpet began playing again just behind him. But that's not what he was worried about.

That song… He knew that song!

Without a second thought, Young Link spun around on the ground and looked up at the boy standing before him. Well, if it was even a boy at all. The figure was short in stature with a grotesque appearance: blue-grey skin, an unnaturally wide smile, and a round head that tilted so far its neck appeared to be broken. Young Link instantly regretted throwing his sword on the ground in a fit of boredom. He was an idiot for not picking it back up.

But much to his surprise, the creature's grin faded once it was the hero's wounded eye. It stumbled backwards a bit with a shocked, even frightened, expression plastered on its face. Perhaps this thing wasn't dangerous after all…

"H-Hey," Young Link called in a raspy voice. "I won't hurt you, I promise. Can you tell me where I am?"

The boyish monster hugged its horn to its chest, gazing at Young Link with unfocused eyes. Its pupils were pointing in two different directions, so the hero could only assume it was giving its attention to him.

"I'm lost…" Young Link continued quietly. "I don't know how I got here, but… I have to get out of the forest. I have someone I need to save."

The creature suddenly became saddened, drooping its shoulders. Tears began to well up in its eyes, but it nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"Thanks," Young Link replied. "Um… I might go slow, though. I got a little…beat up."

The boy's tears streamed down its cheeks and it pulled down its oversized hat to hide his face. Young Link couldn't help but pity it, even if it was a monster.

"Why are you crying?" he asked. "I told you I wouldn't hurt you."

His words were ignored as the boy strode past him and stopped at a large hollow log. It pointed into the tunnel began to walk into it.

"W-Wait!" The hero stumbled to his feet and started to run after his guide as fast as he could.

Young Link was about ready to drop. They had been walking for, what, an hour? He was being led through a series of logs that didn't seem to go anywhere towards an exit. The scenery in between was undeniably beautiful, complete with waterfalls and lakes to quench the hero's thirst, but he tired of it quickly. And to make things worse, the blood loss he was suffering didn't help.

"Hey," he huffed, his voice having fully returned to aid his complaining. "Are we almost there? I have some pretty important crap to do."

The back of the creature's head nodded. They must've been getting close. Young Link was headed through another log when he heard that familiar tune again. But this time it came from a sort of flute… He peered through the tunnel, but the forest was too dense to see past the trees.

The boy halted in the middle of the path and disappeared in a flurry of leaves. Young Link opened his mouth to shout at it to stop, but it left before he could. The hero's hand dropped to his side in defeat. Well, this must be the exit, right? He strode through the log and was greeted with a packed patch of trees and overgrown bushes on the other side.

Young Link rolled his intact eye furiously. This was the exit? Whatever, it had to be past these plants, right? He pushed some twigs and feeble branches out of his way, crunching leaves in his path. The flute was getting closer, growing louder with every step he took. Eventually, he reached the end, nearly tripping over the last of the thick branches. He brushed the bristles off his tunic and looked up at the clearing he was standing in. The flute music abruptly stopped upon his arrival, a round instrument dropped carelessly next to a tree stump.

The hero took a second glance at the flute. It was a dull pink ocarina, just like the one his friend gave him when he left the forest. His gaze shifted left, focusing on a terrified little girl on the verge of running. But once they locked gazes, her expression turned from scared to surprised.

"Link?" she gasped in disbelief. "B-But we thought you were…"

Young Link was frozen in place as he stared at her. The girl's sight was now set on his bleeding eye socket, and her hands flew to her mouth. They each expected the other to make the first move, but both were too busy studying each other. She was paying attention to his injury, while he was amazed how much the girl hadn't changed since the last he saw her. Finally, he overcame his shock and his voice returned to him, saying the name of the one he had almost replaced so long ago:

"Saria…"