"Look out!"

Link dove and yanked Zelda out of the ball's path before it crashed. The trooper struggled to wrench it out of the mound of rubble it made in the floor.

Navi cried, "WHAT DO WE DO?!"

Link drew his sword and shield.

"Get out of here! I'll take of him!"

"Don't forget what I told you about the armor," Zelda reminded him.

"I remember… but it's easier said than done."

"You can do it…"

She beckoned Navi with her hand as she ducked into one of the empty cells and pulled the iron bars closed behind her. The ball and chain trooper followed them with its ghastly eyes, but Link dashed forward and whacked its armor with his shield.

"Your fight's with me. Leave them alone."

A husky laugh came from the trooper's helmet as it began to spin the chain above its head.

"It took him way too long to pull the ball and chain back when he tried to attack Zelda. By the time he attacks me, I can–"

Link thought too slow. The ball, twirling faster and faster around the trooper's head, launched in his direction.

"Watch out!" yelled Navi.

Link lifted his shield and blocked the oncoming ball, but the force behind the throw was greater than he expected and knocked him to the ground. The trooper pulled hard on the chain and caught the ball in its hand.

"It is fortunate that the Hylian shield is unbreakable, is it not, Master?"

"Fi! Give me a hand here!"

The trooper flung the ball toward him again.

"To begin, I highly recommend you stand up and dodge his second attack."

"Yeah, I got that!"

He rolled out of the way and barely escaped having his skull crushed. The ball bashed into the wall behind him and landed heavily on the floor, forcing the trooper to reel the chain in slowly.

"It takes him forever to get the ball back if it hits the floor…"

"But it only requires a short duration if he hits his target, or if the ball is still airborne. I highly advise refraining from using your shield, Master, and instead dodging his attacks then attacking while he is distracted and take advantage of his weakness."

"Right!"

"You can do it, Link!" Navi cheered. "Kick his ass!"

Link stood up and prepared himself. He grasped the Master Sword tightly in his left hand, and the Hylian Shield in his right. He bent his trembling knees and lowered his head, keeping his eyes on the trooper that swung the chain around and around.

"Come on. Come at me!"

Faster and faster the chain and ball went over the trooper's head, but it did not attack Link.

"What're you waiting for? Come on! Hit me already!"

It finally came for him. The ball launched straight toward Link, but he dove underneath and rocketed toward the trooper, whose first reaction was to swing his metal hand down at him. When the hand struck Link's left shoulder, a loud crunching erupted.

"AAGH!"

"Link!" Navi and Zelda cried out. He tumbled away as the trooper shoved him aside. The Master Sword slipped out of his hand and flung across the room.

"My arm!"

He sat up and attempted to lift his hand, but there was no response from his limb. He touched his shoulder and gasped at the flaring pain that answered, and knew there would be no resetting his arm this time.

"Watch out!" Navi pointed.

He looked up at the trooper looming over him. With the chain in its hand, it dropped the iron ball on him from above.

"LINK!"

He lifted his shield in time to deflect the iron ball, and before the trooper could drop it again, Link rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. His shoulder screamed in fire as he moved, but he ran to where the Master Sword lay.

"Hurry, Link!" shouted Zelda. "He's going to throw another attack!"

He grabbed the sword with his good hand and double-stepped back toward the trooper. He dove once more under the oncoming ball and chain, but instead of moving straight this time, Link side-jumped and rolled on his side around the trooper. Before the soldier could turn to face him, Link shoved the Master Sword into its back.

Zelda and Navi watched speechless at what happened next; the trooper froze as Link twisted the sword through its suit. Its upper half broke apart from the legs, and the separated armor pieces hit the floor with a clang. Link waited for the trooper to pull itself together and stand back up. It did not.

"Link!" Navi jumped up for joy. "You did it!"

His sword dropped out his hand as he collapsed, writhing as he grasped his shoulder. Zelda yanked her cell door open and was at his side in a second. She set to work examining him by holding her hands over his shoulder. A magic aura emitted from her hands as she analyzed him.

"Something like this happened to him the day before. Do you think you could reset his arm?"

"His shoulder isn't dislocated. It's been shattered. His glenoid socket and humerus head have been completely shattered."

"Eh…English please?"

"There's no way for me to fix his arm from the outside, not even with my magic."

"What?!"

"If Impa was here she could do it, but there's no helping that."

"What do we do?! Link can't continue like this! Look at him!"

Hot tears flowed from Link's eyes as he clenched his teeth and clawed at the ground with his good hand. It was all he could do to keep himself from fainting. He breathed hard and fast.

"Hang on, Link." Zelda put her hand on his forehead. "I have something that will help."

She pulled a tiny pouch from her belt, and to Navi's surprise opened it wide and thrust her entire arm into it.

"Dang! It looks so small on the outside. How big is that thing?"

Zelda pulled her arm out, and in her hand was a tall, sealed jar containing a thick red fluid.

"Sit up if you can, Link, and drink this."

She removed the seal and put the jar's brim to his lips. The viscous concoction, which tasted like bug guts, slid in greasy chunks down his throat. The questionable medicine made him heave, but Link felt the pain drain from his arm nonetheless and it wasn't long before he was sitting up and drinking on his own, swallowing hard with every awful mouthful.

"Make sure you drink all of it. Every last drop."

"How do you feel?" Navi touched his arm cautiously.

"Like brand new! My arm doesn't hurt at all! What is this stuff?"

"Just a potion," explained Zelda. "It'll do you right, that's for sure, but it's better if you don't know what's in it."

"I think I can take a guess. Ugh!"

He gagged at the taste, and Zelda and Navi laughed.

"Hey," Navi pointed. "What's that?"

A faint glow came from the empty trooper armor. As it faded away, a wooden treasure chest, sealed with metal strips and encrusted in jewels, appeared in its place.

"Hey!" the inquisitive fairy grinned. "Link got a prize for winning!"

"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Zelda shrugged.

"Come over here and open it! I wanna see what you won!"

"No way! It's probably a trap."

"But what if it's something good? Maybe there's money inside!"

"Maybe it's something to help us get through this dungeon."

"Is it worth taking a chance?"

"If there is something bad inside," Navi pumped her fist as she spoke, "I bet we could handle it!"

"You mean I'll handle it."

"Yeah, that."

"If something bad does come out, we'll be ready for it. What do we have to lose?"

Zelda placed her hand gently on Link's shoulder, and he put his hand on top of hers.

"Oh, all right. I'll open it, but it's probably locked for all we know."

Link approached the chest, glared at it, walked around it a few times, and kicked it lightly. The top popped, making him jump back and draw his sword. When no venomous snakes or face-eating acid jumped out at him, he knelt down, lifted the lid, and looked inside.

"What the–"

"What is it?"

He pulled out the object in the chest and showed it to them. He held a smoothed piece of wood, carved angularly with a red gem that decorated its center.

"Ah," Zelda smiled. "This is a treasure worth finding."

"But what is it?"

"It's a boomerang, Link. It doesn't look like much, but it's designed so that when you throw it, it always comes back to you."

"To be honest, I'd rather have the gems on the treasure chest."

"It's also one of the Royal Family's magical artifacts. If you strike your enemies with this, you can stun them temporarily."

"Okay, that's cool, but it would've been nice to have this against that trooper."

The sudden 'shink' of metal made Link throw the boomerang in the direction of the sound.

"What now?!"

"Hey!" Navi called. "I think the door's unlocked. We can get out now!"

"With that boomerang, we can make it past the other guards with no trouble."

They carefully opened the door, peeked outside, and watched the patrolling dark knights in the main chamber.

"Think you can hit that one over there?"

Link tossed the boomerang up and down in his hand as he targeted the closest knight. He bent his arm over his head, licked his lips, then swung out. The boomerang flew from his hand, leaving a trail of sparkling dust as it zoomed straight for the dark soldier and hit it square in the helmet.

"Direct hit!" Navi announced.

"Let's go!" Zelda directed as she ran in. The boomerang whirled its way back to Link, who caught it and went after the princess.

"Hit as many of them as you can!"

Every time a dark knight saw and charged for them, the boomerang launched from Link's fingertips and stunned it. Soon, all six dark knights stood paralyzed as the three made their way to the other side of the chamber.

"I saw another door this way!" Navi explained as she darted ahead. Across from the warden's room was another gated door.

"The knights are starting to move again!"

"Then let's hurry!"

Link yanked the door open for Zelda and Navi, then slammed it shut behind them. When Zelda saw the lock on the door, she closed it tight.

"What if we need to go back through there?"

"We won't. Look."

She pointed behind them. Link and Navi turned, and their mouths gaped. Before them was a great double door, covered in gold leaf and thirty feet tall, bigger than any other door in the dungeon. A giant silver lock bolted it shut.

"This is it!" Zelda said excitedly. "This door leads to the secret entrance of the Temple of Time! We're almost there!"

"But it's locked super tight," Navi said as she flew over to and jumped on the giant bolt. "It's gonna take a really big key to open lock!"

"There's another hallway down here. If we look around, maybe we can find the key in there."

Link led them down the new hall. Though the ceiling was high above them, dusky gray light filtered down. They could hear the pounding rain and clapping thunder outside, but no water fell on them.

"Where's that light coming from?" Navi whispered. "That can't be the moon, can it? It was raining too hard for us to see it earlier."

Link stopped.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh is right."

All that awaited them at the end of this abrupt hall was a statue identical to the ones in the main chamber.

"It's a dead end…"

"Now what?"

"This doesn't seem right. Hold this, please."

Zelda gave Link her lantern and pulled out the map.

"According to this, there should be another room at the end of this hallway."

"Maybe they destroyed it? Or moved it somewhere else? Like you said, this map isn't the same layout as the dungeon anymore."

Zelda tucked away the map and approached the statue. She looked hard at it while holding her hand under her chin. She knocked on the statue gently, moved around to its side, and began to push.

"Give me a hand, Link."

With their combined strength, the statue groaned and rumbled out of the way. Behind the statue was a low, narrow tunnel that came up to their thighs.

"I don't know why," smiled Navi, "but I'm loving all these secret entrances!"

She headed into the opening, but didn't go far. Link reached inside and yanked her out.

"Hey! Whatever happened to 'ladies first?'"

"I need to go in first, Navi. If there's another dark knight or something worse in there, I need to be able to protect you two."

"…On second thought, you go first."

Link got down on his hands and knees and peered into the tunnel. He saw light come in from the other end, and crawled inside. Navi succeeded him, and then the princess. He felt the bottoms of his hands and the knees of his tunic get cold and damp as he pulled himself through. It was a brief crawl, for as soon as they clambered in the tunnel ended and they wriggled out into a new room.

No monsters waited here, much to Link's liking. All that existed in this hidden room was a lit torch hanging in each corner, and four milky orbs. Each orb was set on its own display; a black metal stand welded into an upright arm and an open hand, so that it appeared as if the displays were 'holding' their orbs. The four stands and orbs were arranged in a square in the middle of the room.

"What is this place?" Navi questioned as she darted about the room.

"Why…I'm not sure."

"Navi, don't touch that!"

Her curiosity got the best of her, and before Link or Zelda could stop her, Navi had laid her hand onto one of the orbs, and it lit up brightly. They braced themselves for whatever trap they expected to surely spring upon them, but when nothing happened, they sighed in relief.

"Relax, guys. All they do is light up when you touch them."

"You're lucky that wasn't a trap, you know."

Zelda approached another orb and laid her own hand on it. It, too, began to glow.

"So what are these things?" said Navi half-mindedly as she rapidly took her hand on and off the orb, watching it turn on and off over and over.

"Perhaps it's a riddle?"

"Maybe we're supposed to touch them in a certain order."

"But if that's the case, then in what order, and how many times? How will we know if we've done it right?"

Link walked up to one of the opaque orbs and looked deep into it. He watched as murky clouds swirled and tumbled around inside.

"I can't stand when I'm talking to someone, and they don't look me in the eye… You've plagued me so greatly in the past that it just wouldn't be fair… What is your name…?"

Link suddenly shook his head.

"Whoa! Where did those thoughts come from?"

"What thoughts, Link?" asked Zelda.

"Oh… nothing. Never mind."

Link looked back at the orb, and when he touched it, the clouds disappeared as the orb lit up.

"Maybe we're supposed to touch all four of them at the same time."

"How are we gonna do that?" wondered Navi. "There's four of these and only three of us."

"Fi?"

"I understand, Master."

Fi back-flipped from the sword on Link's back and levitated to the last orb.

"Would you like me to touch this orb?"

"Yes, please."

"Oh right. Forgot about her."

"You guys touch your orbs. I'll try this one."

The girls laid their hands on their respective orbs while Link pressed his hand firmly on the cool surface of his own. With all four orbs illuminated under their touch, a gold key as big as Link's arm appeared in the center of the orbs.

"Look!" Navi cried. "That key is huge! It's gotta open that door we just saw!"

In her excitement, Navi pulled her hand away from her orb and zipped toward the key. The moment she did, the key disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, what gives?"

"I guess we need to be touching all the orbs in order to get the key," Zelda realized.

"How're we supposed to grab the key that fast? I barely let go of my orb and it was already gone! It's like the Goddesses are trying to torture us."

"It's too bad we don't have a fifth person here to grab the key while we hold the orbs."

"Maybe we don't need one. Touch your orb again, Navi."

She laid her hand upon her orb, and as soon as the key reappeared, Link launched his boomerang. It caught the key in its spiraling ends as it wound around the room and back into Link's hands.

"Good thinking, Link."

"Congratulations, Master."

"Let's get outta here. Something about this place is creeping me out."

"EEEK! Lemme go!"

Link and Zelda whipped around toward Navi. They watched in horror as the metal arm that once held an orb now wrapped its fingers tightly around her little body.

"HELP ME!"

Link dropped the key and jumped to her rescue, but something pulled him back. He turned around to see the stand that clenched his arm.

"What's happening?!"

"They're wallmasters! It's a trap!"

Zelda fought and pulled as hard as she could, but the stand for her orb was glued to her arm. Link reached for his sword and jammed it between his wallmaster's fingers, prying himself lose. Fi phased through her wallmaster's grip and dissolved back into the Master Sword. Link launched himself toward Zelda and stabbed the wallmaster's wrist. The disembodied hand cried and released her as it retreated upward.

"Run!"

"Link, wait a–"

"Just go!"

Zelda grabbed the Big Key and dove into the tunnel while Link ran toward Navi. The wallmaster holding her began to rise into the ceiling.

"Link! Help me!"

He jumped up for her, but was pulled down immediately. He fell onto his stomach and looked back at the wallmaster holding onto his leg. He swiped his sword blindly at it until he sliced off its fingers. The hand wailed as it crumpled into a pile and died.

Link stood back up and jumped again, but as he did a pit sank in his chest. The wallmaster holding Navi had gone too high for him to reach and was getting farther away all the time. He could barely see Navi in the darkening ceiling.

"Navi! I'm coming! Just hold on!"

"AAAH!"

Her cries for help devolved into shrieks of terror. It was now that Link began to panic.

"What do I do?! C'mon, Link! Think!"

He reached for the boomerang at his belt and aimed for the wallmaster.

"Please, oh please don't miss!"

He put blind hope into that boomerang as he threw it as hard as he could. It flew in a half-circle as it trailed up and struck the wallmaster's thumb. With its appendage paralyzed, it released Navi.

"Yes!"

The poor little fairy took no time getting away from her captor. She zoomed down to Link and shot into his chest, sobbing. He held her in his arm as he ducked into the tunnel and scooted himself out of the room.

Suddenly, the wallmaster stuffed its fingers into the tunnel and grabbed Link's tunic. Navi screamed and clung to his chest.

"Make it go away!"

"Get your hand off me!"

Link reached up and dug his teeth into the wallmaster's skin. It relinquished its hold on him, but Link didn't let go. Instead, he threw his fists and heavily punched the wallmaster's fingers, snapping them back. The hand pulled back as it tried to escape Link's onslaught, but his teeth only tore deeper into its flesh.

Finally, Link opened his mouth, flipped onto his back, and kicked the wallmaster as hard as he could with both feet. The wallmaster screeched as it bounced against the tunnel walls and back into the room. Link crawled backward to the hallway where Zelda waited and plopped down on the floor, breathing heavily while Navi whimpered into his chest.

"That…was way too close."

"Don't leave me!" Navi wept. "I don't wanna die!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here, Navi. I won't let you die."

He gently rocked her back and forth in his arms as he soothed her. Zelda knelt down beside them.

"It's all right, Navi. Wallmasters don't kill people."

"…They don't?" she sniffed.

"No, little one. They pick you up and carry you to another room in the dungeon where they drop you off safe and sound. They look frightening, but they're harmless."

Navi wiped her eyes on her arm.

"Well now I just feel silly," she brooded.

"It's my fault for not telling you. I'm sorry."

"At least it's nice to know they wouldn't strangle us to death."

"I was so scared! From now on, I promise I won't touch anything weird!"

"It would've been pretty inconvenient to go looking for you if they dropped you off somewhere in here."

"Especially if it had dropped you back in the room with the dark knights."

Link pulled out his boomerang and look at it gratefully.

"Forget what I said. I'd rather have this than any amount of money in the world. I've had this boomerang for maybe fifteen minutes, and it's already saved us twice."

"It's helped us get this, too," Zelda replied as she held out the Big Key. "Now we can leave this dreadful place and get to the safety of the Temple of Time. We're almost done. We just have a little farther to go."

"Okay," Navi breathed deeply and stood up. "I think I'm ready."

Link took the Big Key from Zelda and tucked it under his arm. They got to their feet and began to walk back down the hallway, where the Big Door awaited.

"Wait a minute."

Zelda put her hand on Link's shoulder as he shoved the key into the lock.

"What is it?"

"I want you to have this."

In her hand was the tiny pouch.

"That's what you were carrying that potion in," Navi remarked. "Which reminds me; how'd you get that big jar to fit in such a tiny little pouch?"

"It's a magic pouch. No matter how big something is, it will fit in the sack. You can put in as much as you want, and it will never get full or grow heavy. You won't have to worry about anything breaking inside either."

"Are you sure, Princess?"

"Please take it. When the time comes, you will need it more than I do. Why don't you try putting your equipment in it, like the boomerang?"

He took the pouch hesitantly from Zelda, opened it wide, and dropped the boomerang in. After some thought he decided to store his clawshots and ocarina, too.

"Link!"

Zelda's stunned tone caught Link off guard, and he looked up at her.

"What?! What's wrong?"

"Where did you get that?"

"Get…get what?"

"That."

She pointed at the ocarina in his hand.

"Ohh…I bought this in town yesterday. Why? Is it bad?"

"Link, that ocarina belongs to me."

"What?!"

"It's a treasure that has belonged to the Royal Family since the Force Era. It was one of the artifacts retrieved from the bottom of the Great Sea when the university's archaeologists discovered the Old Kingdom. They found this ocarina when they excavated the submerged castle of my ancestors, and they were kind enough to let us have it back, but it was stolen from us not long after. It's been lost ever since."

"Do you want it back?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't mind giving it back, especially if it belongs to you."

"But Link," Navi pleaded. "You spent 300 rupees on that ocarina. Are you sure you want to give it back?"

"300 rupees? Good gracious, you were cheated."

"I know, but it wa–"

"They should have charged closer to 300 million."

"300 mil…"

Link's mouth dropped at the insane appraisal.

"Are you serious?!"

"Yes. That ocarina's worth is beyond what most people can imagine. It has magical properties that enable its player to create a number of mysterious effects, depending on the song one plays."

"Mysterious effects? Like what?"

"Well for example, you remember the Song of Storms I taught you, yes?"

"Yeah?"

"If you play that song on this ocarina, you can summon and create a storm of your own."

"Seriously?"

"Even without considering the ocarina's magic, its composition is rare, its quality elegant, and its utility in the right hands is extremely high. But disregarding all of that, its…it has a lot of sentimental value. Link, you have no idea what this ocarina represents for me… or how happy I am to see it again…"

"That settles it, then. You can have it back."

Link held the pretty blue ocarina out to her, but Zelda just smiled and pushed it back.

"No. You should keep it."

"…Are you sure?"

"This ocarina was used to save the Hylian Kingdom by one of the first Legendary Heroes. Now that I see it in your hands, I can't help but feel that it was an act of divine fate that put it there. You must keep the Ocarina of Time, and use it to save the kingdom once again, just as your predecessor did before you. Besides. I have a new ocarina of my own."

Zelda reached into the pouch, and retrieved a small tan ocarina.

"Hey! It's Saria's ocarina that she gave to Link! How did you find it?!"

"A friend of mine brought it to me the other night. He found it right outside Telma's Tavern as he was leaving his meeting with the Resistance. Link, I know this Fairy's Ocarina belongs to you, but if you wouldn't mind, I'd like very much if I could have it while you hold the Ocarina of Time."

"Of course you can! I'm just glad to know what happened to it. I thought I'd never see it again…"

"Good. Then you understand my feelings…"

Zelda held the Fairy's Ocarina close to her heart before dropping it into the pocket of her cloak, while Link stored the Ocarina of Time in his new pouch.

"The empty potion bottle should still be in the pouch, and I'm sure you will find it useful. Why don't you take this, too?"

Zelda blew out her lantern, and it too went into the pouch.

"Why are you giving me all this?"

"Because," she said softly. "I don't know what's going to happen next. All I know is that from here on out, things won't go as well as we want, and that's without considering what we just went through. So even though what I'm about to say seems out of the blue, please listen carefully."

"I don't know if I like where this is going."

"The Master Sword is more powerful than most people realize. You've held it for yourself and felt its power pulsing through your veins, but even you don't realize its true potential. It's a relic that exists outside the temporal limitations of our universe, which means that it has gained new abilities from previous Heroes that didn't even exist in our dimensions; Heroes that existed in alternate timelines. Keep that in mind when what happens next takes place."

"Your Highness?" Navi whispered. "What's gonna happen?"

"Link, hand me your sword and kneel."

"Huh?"

"Please give it to me so that I may imbue it with my knowledge."

"I thought I was the only one who could hold the Master Sword, though."

"Please trust me."

He gave no further argument. Link pulled the blade from its sheath and presented it, then knelt before Zelda. She held the sword tightly in her hand and gently touched both of Link's shoulders with its tip.

"Great Sages," she chanted. "Guardians of Hyrule. Pay witness to this event as I, Zelda, Sage of Time, bestow upon our Chosen Hero the wisdom to overcome and vanquish evil. Arise, Hero of Legend, and let the power of time be released in you!"

The Master Sword began to glow gold. Zelda presented the blade to Link as he stood up. He felt its warmth surge through his hand and into his brain, and received its first vision.

He saw himself holding the Master Sword before him, charging energy in its blade, and slashing it forward. A beam of light rose from the sword and cut through the air, slicing through any unlucky foe in his way.

"Master. I have vital information to report: thanks to Princess Zelda's help, you have unlocked a new ability within the Master Sword; when you are at full health, such as you are now, you will be able to focus your energy into the Master Sword and launch that energy at your enemies."

Link grasped the Master Sword in both hands and closed his eyes. His strength flowed from his fingers into the sword, and he swung toward the hallway of the hidden room. A powerful beam shot out the sword and down the hall, where it crashed into and shattered the statue at the very end.

"Whoa!" Navi breathed. "That was pretty cool…"

"This attack has to consume your energy in order to work, so be careful how you use it or else you'll drain yourself…and remember, Link; just as the Master Sword has more potential than you can imagine, you have courage within yourself that even you have not unlocked."

"It feels so weird…Even though I'm carrying the Master Sword, it still hasn't hit me yet; that I'm the new Hero of Time…"

"Have faith in yourself, the way I have faith in you…"

Zelda took Link's hand.

"Princess, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"I'll be fine, Link. No matter what happens to me, I promise I'll be fine…"

Link exchanged a worried look with Navi before returning to the Big Door.

He began to turn the key counterclockwise. Suddenly, the lock sucked the Big Key out of his fingers and devoured it. A moment passed and nothing happened.

"Um…?"

The bar on the lock clicked and retracted. The door groaned as it slowly opened inward to reveal the final room of the dungeon. Waiting behind the door was a grand marble staircase, garbed in a velvet tapestry. Torches lined the walls on both sides as the stairs climbed up and up. Link tried to see where they led, but the stairs went on forever before disappearing into dark shadows above.

"Link," trembled Navi. "I'm getting a really bad feeling."

"I know. I am, too."

He swallowed hard and stepped through the Big Door. His footsteps echoed as he neared the staircase, but softened when he tread onto the tapestry. He didn't look back to see, but sensed Zelda's presence as she followed behind him and Navi's minuscule weight as she sat on his shoulder. The staircase continued endlessly, and all the while they climbed in silence. The spaces between each consecutive wall torch grew bigger and bigger, until they were spaced so far apart they created a dismal, barely passable source of illumination. A draft moaned as it whisked down and rustled Link's hair.

"Someone say something. It's too quiet in here."

"You're right," Zelda's voice wavered. "It's too quiet."

Link stopped immediately and turned around.

"What is it, Princess?"

"The sages aren't singing…"

"Huh?"

"We're getting closer to the Temple of Time, so we should be hearing the sages sing, but they're not!"

"Princess…what is it?"

"Link, the sages' song is an essential component of the Temple of Time itself. Even in times of war or famine, they never stop singing. There are enough of them in the temple where they can stop to rest while others take up the song and continue, thereby creating an endless melody. The only time they ever stop singing is…is when they sense an enormous evil presence within the temple…"

"We went to the Temple of Time this morning," Navi realized. "They weren't singing then, either, and that's when we bumped into Agahnim…"

"Something's wrong," Zelda repeated. "Something's wrong…"

She sprinted past Link up the stairs.

"Princess!"

"Link!" Navi shouted. "Wait for me!"

He took off after her, but she'd already disappeared into the declining shadows that grew with every ascending step. Link ran blindly up the stairs and hoped he didn't trip.

"Princess! Come back!"

"Aagh!"

"That was Zelda!" shouted Navi. "She's in trouble!"

Link jumped three steps at a time as he dashed up the stairs. He came to the top so quickly that he stumbled on the last step and swung out his arms to keep his balance. All around him were the stained glass windows and marble and bronze statues that were the Temple of Time's. He looked in every direction, but couldn't see Zelda.

"Princess? Where are you? Princess!"

"Up here!"

Her voice was muffled, but Link heard her and looked up. There was Princess Zelda, floating high above him in the temple's groin vaulted ceiling, and encased within a black and gold crystal. She beat her fists, rammed her shoulders and kicked against the walls of her prison, but succeeded only in exhausting herself.

"Princess!"

"Look out!" she called to him.

"Look out? For what?"

"Excuse me."

A male yet effeminate, disdainful voice addressed Link, and he circled around for the source.

"I do believe Her Royal Majesty is referring to me."

"Who are you?!"

Link walked in circles across the temple's nave.

"Show yourself!"

He looked past the temple's altar and turned, stopped, and looked again. Sitting on the tall altarpiece was a slender man with white hair and black eyes.

"Good evening," the man laughed. "Although at this time of day, it might be wiser to greet you with 'good morning.'"

"You!" Navi hissed. "You're the demon who killed the king!"

"Right you are, my friend. I don't belie–"

"I'm NOT your friend!"

Link drew his sword and shield as he glared angrily at the man atop the altar.

"Hmm…I thought those dark knights I sent would have tossed and torn you apart, yet here you are. Not in pieces."

He gazed down curiously at Link before standing and leaping from the altar. He landed squarely on his feet a few inches from Link's face. Link recoiled from the man's sudden intrusion on his personal space.

"I'll be honest with you, boy. I'm somewhat surprised to see you here and now, although I can't say it's a terrible shock."

In a flash of black and gold rhombuses, the man disappeared.

"Where'd he go?!"

"Behind you!"

Link whipped around but saw nothing. He froze when a hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder from behind.

"You look very much like another young man who troubled me greatly once before. I'd almost go so far as to say that the resemblance is uncanny. Of course, you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Link ripped away from the man's grip and swung his sword around, but only caught air.

"It's no matter, because I've learned my lesson."

Link turned to see the man teleport in front of a nearby statue.

"By the grace of my master, I've been given a second chance at life, so I won't make the same mistake with you as I did last time. It was foolish of you to draw your sword, boy, because you've opened a door that was better left closed for your sake."

The man flung his arms wide open. A violent whirlwind erupted from his stance and ripped through the temple's interior, cutting Link's cheeks and legs as it blew past him. Link covered his head to keep his face from being ripped open. He could feel his feet being pushed from underneath him by the sheer force of the wind.

"Link!" Navi cried as she clung to his cap for dear life.

"I apologize for how unfair this must seem to you, considering that you've never done anything to me personally. But you see, that other boy left me with so much bottled up rage all those years ago, and you just look so much like him. I can't help but feel a little giddy at the opportunity that has been presented to me."

The whirlwind stopped instantly as the man drew two longswords.

"I'm not going to bide my time and watch you suffer like I did with him. I going to tear you apart limb from limb before you ever have a chance to get up on your high horse. I'll make sure that unlike him, you understand my wrath. I'll see to it that you remember the name 'Lord Ghirahim.'"

"…Crap."

Ghirahim teleported in front of him so fast that Link never saw the demon lord's foot plant firmly in his face. Link's body tumbled wildly as he was sent flying across the temple.

"Link!" Zelda screamed.

He teleported, kicked Link again, and sent him flying in the opposite direction. He did this again and again, flinging poor Link every which way.

"Link!" begged Navi. "Do something! He's beating you to a pulp!"

"He's too fast! I can't see him!"

Ghirahim punted him up toward the ceiling, zoomed after him, and kicked him back down. Link crashed like a bombshell into the floor of the temple, the wind knocked entirely out of his lungs. He laid on his back in overwhelming shock and watched helplessly as Ghirahim aimed the tip of his sword straight for his throat.

"LINK!"

"Ghirahim!"

The demon lord froze centimeters from his target.

"For goodness sake, control yourself. He's just a boy."

"I don't care! Let me kill him! It'll save us so much trouble! I want him to die!"

"Relax, Ghirahim. You'll get your chance. But until then, the Goddesses will not allow you to destroy him so quickly. If you don't wish to meet your untimely demise at Their hands, I suggest you stand down."

"Pfft! Fine!"

Ghirahim scoffed as he pulled back.

"Wait for me at the revival site. This won't take long."

"As you wish, Master," Ghirahim growled as he swung his sword, and disappeared in a flurry of gems.

Link finally exhaled. He held his breath again though, as his supposed savior stepped forward to reveal himself.

"My apologies, young man. I hope my servant hasn't bothered you."

Agahnim's yellow eyes flashed out of the open slit of his hooded turban. His heavy robes draped over his body so that only his gnarly fingernails were visible. Link trembled as got to his feet with sword and shield in hand.

"Well, Link, it seems we meet again, and this time you've got yourself a fancy outfit and sword. You've met Ghirahim, I've met you, and we all know Her Royal Majesty. There's obviously no need for introductions since we've all become so acquainted, so I hope you don't mind if the princess and I take our leave."

Agahnim beckoned with his hand, and the crystal-encased Zelda levitated across the temple down to him. Zelda ripped an arrow from her quiver and began to jam its tip over and over into the crystal wall.

Navi zipped across the nave, darted into Agahnim's face, and began to pull on his robe in protest.

"I don't care how evil you are! You let Princess Zelda go right now!"

"Oh please."

Agahnim grabbed Navi and started crushing her in his big hand. She choked in pain as he closed his grip tightly around her.

"Stop it!"

Link grabbed the boomerang from his pouch and launched it toward Agahnim, who took one look at it, snatched it out of the air, and cackled.

"You barely escaped with your life against my subordinate, and yet you have enough vigor left to challenge me?"

He continued laughing as he released the fairy and tucked the boomerang into his robes.

"Fine. I've got time to play."

Agahnim raised his arms and floated high into the ceiling. His robes flowed weightlessly as he levitated high above Link. Electricity zapped into Agahnim's hands as he collected loose static from the air and compressed it into a ball of power.

"Meet me in battle, boy, and I will grant you your wish to be totally destroyed!"

"Uh oh…"