The Light Rod

Chapter 1

Link awoke on a strange beach. He glanced around. He was alone. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was falling asleep at home, and now he was somewhere he had never been before.

As he looked around, he saw a huge mountain in the distance with a black tower on it. Even closer, he saw smoke rising from the trees. There must be someone here. He decided to go check it out.

Struggling to get through the sea of plants, he heard voices up ahead, in the direction of the smoke. At least, he thought it was in the direction of the smoke. He looked up, but the trees were too close together and there was no way to see past them. The voices seemed to be getting farther away. Where were they coming from?

"Hello?" he called out, but the sound was absorbed in the jungle foliage. He could not hear or see anything at all now. He would have to go back. Maybe there was another way. He turned around, but could see no light.

Where had he come from? He had turned so many times, he could not remember the way to the beach. Suddenly he heard a deep, menacing voice, but he was so startled he didn't hear what it said. He reached for his sword, but it wasn't there.

He gasped. A huge black shape was moving through the darkness, darker than the black of the forest. It was moving so fast, he could not tell where it had gone. Suddenly the voice spoke again. "We meet again, Hero of Time."

Link spun around, but could not see anything. Suddenly a cold, dark hand grasped his neck from behind. Link tried to scream but couldn't. Everything went darker than it already was and he slumped to the ground unconscious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Link awoke to find he was in bed. "Whew, it was just a dream," he thought. He headed for the door, but when he opened it he saw a strange village, and far away he saw the same, dreadful mountain.

"Oh, no!" he thought. This was getting too weird. He did not remember setting out to sea at all, and there was no debris near him when he awoke on the beach. How did he get here? He saw someone hurry by that looked important and ran towards him.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" An odd question to ask, but he needed to know.

The man turned towards him and quickly said, "No time. I must hurry."

"How strange," Link thought, "I wonder why he is in such a rush?" He followed the man and soon they came to a large house. There was nothing strange about the house.except for the fact that it was burning. There was a crowd of people outside it, and they were all calling out somebody's name. "Excuse me again, but why is everyone yelling someone's name?"

"It's my daughter's name, and she is trapped inside! We cannot get in, the flames are too hot!" replied the man. Link looked down. He happened to be wearing the Goron tunic! Now he remembered, he had come home from Death Mountain Crater and was too tired to change back into his Kokiri tunic!

"I will go," Link said, and headed towards the burning house.

"But it is too hot! You will die!" called the man, but it was too late. Link had already gone in.

Chapter 2

Link squinted in the blistering heat. He saw a small moving shape in the back and headed towards it. "Hello!" he managed to yell.

The figure turned toward him and gasped back, "help.me." Link dodged a falling beam and made his way to the back. Suddenly the roof started to collapse. The door was blocked off, and there was no other escape! The girl said again, "help.me move this.statue."

He saw she was desperately pulling on the statue, but he did not see why. Maybe she knew of a secret passageway behind it. He started helping her and they managed to pull it away from the wall. "Thank.you." she fell limp in his hands. Link quickly carried her behind the statue and sure enough, there was a door behind it.

As soon as he went through, he heard a huge crashing and splintering sound outside and then the moaning wails of the people. It was very cool in the tunnel. Looking up, he discovered the ceiling and walls were made of stone, as was the door. The tunnel sloped downwards, and there were torches along the wall. Link grabbed one and continued down the passageway.

Soon he came to another door and went through. There was a large room with a chest and a large gaping hole in the far wall. There were no torches in the hole, and even the light from the others did not illuminate anything in there. Link shuddered and set the girl down. He felt something, and he did not like the feel of it.

Suddenly the girl awoke. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Link. What's your name?"

"Link! The king of Hyrule and Hero of Time! I have always dreamed of meeting you! You are so amazing! Sorry, my name is Kimi. What brings you here?"

"I don't know what brought me here, but whatever it was, it wasn't me." Suddenly he remembered the black shape in the jungle. That voice was familiar, and how it had said, "We meet again" made him shudder even more.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "You look worried. Well, a lot of things are wrong, but the way you shuddered gives me the creeps."

"I have a feeling I know what brought me here, but I'm not sure. Where is here anyway?"

"You mean you came to a place you don't know about?! Did you get shipwrecked?"

"I don't think so. I have almost no idea how I got here."

"You say 'almost' as if you know how you got here."

"Well, I'd better not tell you now. But where are we?"

The young girl replied, "This is the island of dreams."

Link was startled. "Do you mean this whole place is a dream?"

The girl sighed. "Well, not exactly, but whenever something is dreamed about, the island grows bigger and the things in the dream appear here. Nightmares supposedly don't come here, but." she glanced over at the gaping hole in the wall. "But since that Ganondorf guy came and took the Light Rod, nightmares have been coming and destroying the island."

"Ganondorf!" Link exclaimed. But how did he get here?"

"We don't exactly know, but ever since he came, the island is slowly losing its power. The volcano erupts sometimes. Fires start, and holes open up in the ground and swallow people! This is a place I used to go to a lot, but recently I've been too scared because that hole opened up in the wall." She nodded towards the hole. "The Light Rod was separated into eight parts and scattered over the island. The pieces are somewhere nobody would know about. I think one is here."

"There's only one way to find out," Link said.

"You're not going in there without a weapon, are you?"

"You're right. I don't have my sword with me."

"Well, I think you'll find something of interest in there." Kimi pointed to the chest. Link walked over to the chest and slowly opened it. He reached in and found a sword, it looked pretty good too. "That is my grandfather's sword, I don't think he would mind if you used it to save the island.and maybe the whole world too.oh, and you'll need this too." She pulled off her necklace and gave it to him. "This will light the way for you, the shadows are too thick for any other light."

Link looked at the mesmerizing glow of the necklace, but finally pulled his eyes away. There was a task at hand, and he shouldn't waste time. "Get inside the chest," he told Kimi, "you'll be safe there."

He closed the lid over her, making sure it didn't lock in case she needed to get out quickly, and set off into the darkness.

Chapter 3

Kimi listened for the sound of Link's footsteps. She could not resist the urge to go with him. Even though she was scared of that place, with Link by her she felt.stronger, braver, as if she could take on Ganondorf himself. Oh, how she wished to defeat him herself, but she knew she could not.

Cramped up in such a small place was hurting her legs. She decided to get out and stretch for a minute. Just as she was lifting the lid, she heard something outside the chest. She quickly shut it and peeked through the keyhole. Nothing.

She opened the lid just a bit and looked around. There was nothing there, it must have been her imagination. She quietly lifted it all the way and climbed out. Now she felt better, it was good to stand up. Suddenly the torches flickered and the wind blew them out.

Wind? But there were no windows, and if the door up there had opened she would see light coming through. "Get back in the box!" she thought to herself when all of a sudden the strange wind came again and an evil cackle broke the silence. Kimi screamed, but it was too late. The thing, whatever it was, had her and she lost consciousness.

Link started to open the chest he had just found when suddenly he heard a scream. He gasped. It was coming from the room where Kimi had been hidden! He quickly opened the chest to find a bow with a bundle of arrows. Then he ran back towards the room, but the torches had blown out and the chest was empty.

Suddenly he heard a cackle from the depths of the shadows. What?! That sounded like Twinrova! "But I destroyed them!" he thought, but then he remembered - he had had a nightmare about them a few days ago, and they had been stronger and faster! He realized that because he dreamed about them, they had come here, as strong and fast as they had been in his nightmare!

"Oh, no!" he thought, "if I hadn't had that nightmare this wouldn't have happened!" He looked at his weapons. If the Sorceress Sisters were stronger, he would need a shield even stronger than the mirror shield, and he didn't even have a shield with him! The cackle broke the silence again and sure enough, Twinrova, more powerful than ever before, emerged from the darkness and headed straight towards Link.

Chapter 4

Link watched in horror as Twinrova moved towards him. Thoughts raced through his mind, trying to remember something, anything, about his nightmare. Suddenly he remembered - she had one weak spot.what was it? He held the bow up and looked at it. It touched the necklace, and suddenly it started glowing.

"Oh, yeah," he thought, "she has to be hit in the head with a glowing arrow!" He looked up just as a blast of ice hit him. "Agghh!" he screamed as the ice formed around him. The evil cackle again. He broke his way out. "I'd better pay more attention," he thought.

The tip of the arrow was pressed against the necklace and then he aimed and shot. Miss! He wasn't used to shooting arrows at flying things, and she had gotten faster as well. He got another arrow ready and dodged the fire as it screamed towards him. He shot again, and this time hit her!

She was taken by surprise and didn't notice Link pulling back another arrow. He fired and hit her dead-center of her forehead. She fell but quickly sprang back up before he could hit her again. "Oh, great, she's too fast!" he thought.

But he shot again, and this time she fell to the ground long enough to hit with his sword. She wailed and slumped to the ground, dead. "Whew," he thought. But then he gasped. "Kimi? Where are you?"

"I'm here," came a small and scared voice in the corner. Link walked over there and helped her up.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I - I was getting too cramped up in there, and so I got out to stretch, but then the torches went out and." She started sobbing into Link's tunic.

"Shhh, it's okay, she's gone now," Link said to comfort her, "And I got something she was keeping."

Kimi was quiet and looked up. "What?" Link held up a glowing rod. Kimi gasped. "It's a piece of the Light Rod!"

"Yes. We'd better get back up there so they don't think we're dead."

"They probably already do," replied Kimi, "but, yes, let's go." And so they went up the stairs. Link listened through the door. He could not hear anything. He tried to open it, but it would not budge. Something heavy was blocking it, probably debris from the house.

"Kimi?" Link said.

"Yes?"

"I think we're trapped.

Chapter 5

They tried to push it out, but it still did not move. The statue might have been lying against it, or it was covered in debris, or both. The door would not move, and there was no other way out. Link glanced back down the stairs. What if, just what if, there was another way out from there?

Maybe even another Light Rod piece was down there. "No, Link," he told himself, "it's too dangerous for the girl. She's so young and scared." But he had no other choice. The door was blocked, and nobody would come open it. They were assumed to be dead, and they had to find their own way out or wait here in hopes that someone would come.

"Kimi?"

"What?"

"I don't think anyone will come. We have two choices - to stay here and wait for someone to come, or we can go back and look for another exit. If you choose to wait here, it is possible that nobody will come."

Kimi thought and looked into Link's face. The same, powerful feeling she had felt before was returning. If she went down there, there might be something else scary, but they might find another Rod piece. If they stayed here, somebody might come, or not. "We will go back down and look for another way.and possibly another piece." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Kimi scurried along after Link. "Slow down, I can't keep up!"

"We must hurry if we are to get through unnoticed," Link replied.

"What does he mean, unnoticed?" Kimi thought. Suddenly there was a whooshing noise. Link gasped and looked up. Kimi looked up too, and suddenly Link pulled her away just as a large rotten hand fell from the ceiling. Link quickly destroyed it. "Wh - what was that?" she whimpered.

"A wall master," Link replied. "If you ever hear a sound like that, run or else it will pick you up and take you to the beginning of the.temple, or wherever you are."

"Doesn't it hurt you?" asked Kimi.

"Strangely enough, it doesn't, but it is good to stay away from them." There was another whooshing sound, and Link and Kimi dashed off through a door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ As they were walking around trying to find their way, Link had a thought. He had dreamed about other horrible things, and he wondered if they were here right now. He saw a chest and opened it, inside he saw a strange item.

He picked it up and wondered what it was when all of a sudden the floor crumbled beneath their feet and they fell onto a strange platform. Link tapped the ground and moaned. "Why did you just do that?" Kimi asked.

"It's just as I suspected," said Link, but just then they heard a sound. Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

"I hear a drum," said Kimi. She gasped. "Link, more wall masters!" Link spun around.

"Ohhh, nooo.not this." The two hands pounded the skin faster and faster, and Link and Kimi bounced.

"How come the other ones we saw didn't jump like this?" Kimi asked.

"Stay back," said Link.

"Why? Are they harder than the others?"

"More than you know," said Link as a huge shadow emerged from the darkness, with one glowing red eye, "It's another one of my dreams, and I have no idea how to fight it."

Chapter 6

Kimi stared at the gigantic shape moving around the platform, thumping, thumping, until she could not take it anymore. She was screaming inside to know what it was, but Link only said, "Stay back, I'll tell you later."

"Link, watch out, one of the hands is coming!" Link saw it, jumped to the side, and shot an arrow at the hand, but it just bounced off. Link turned just as the other hand knocked him off the platform. He barely grasped the edge, and below him was nothing but shadows. Climbing back up, he remembered the thing he had found earlier and pulled it out.

It was shiny, like metal, and it was about as long as his finger. There was a hole in one end and a button on the side. "Must be somebody's dreamed-up device," Link thought, as he dodged another hand. "Maybe this will work against this guy." He aimed the hole at a hand and pressed the button.

A brilliant beam of light! An explosion! Suddenly Link found that one of the hands was gone. He heard a horrible groan, as if he had hurt this beast. He looked at the thing in his hands, and it was smoking.

As the other hand swept towards him, he aimed and shot again. This time he saw that a red line shot from the hole, it was glowing. A red glowing line? He gasped. This is what his own daughter had told him she dreamed about earlier! She had called it a laser or something like that.

He had called her silly, but if it wasn't for her dream he would not have been able to kill this guy. But, even though the hands were gone, the rest of the body was still there, and it swooped towards him. He spun around and shot a beam of light into the glowing red eye. The shadow melted into the ground and Link found something glowing on the ground. "Kimi, I think we found another Rod piece!"

"That's great, but how do we get out of here?" Kimi replied. Suddenly the platform rose. "Oh." When it reached the top, they kept walking. "Link, there's one thing I can think of that is why you are here. Someone must have dreamed about you."

Link slapped his forehead. "Of course!"

"But I'm glad you are here. You saved me from the fire, and got two pieces of the Light Rod. How long will you stay?"

"Well, I can't stay forever," Link said, "and I don't even know how to get off."

"The Light Rod has the power to transport people," she said.

"Then I will get the last pieces of the Rod and then I must leave. Back home they must be worried sick."

"What was that anyway, back there?"

"That was Bongo Bongo, the phantom shadow beast, except the first time I fought him he was not as strong. Because I dreamed about him, he came here, even though I had defeated him. We must find the other pieces before the island is shrouded in darkness!" They continued on in silence, and soon saw light up ahead.

"Look, we did it! We found our way out!" Suddenly a hand grabbed them from behind and pulled them back into the shadows.

Chapter 7

"Sshhh, don't make a sound," said a voice from behind them. They were pulled into a dark corner and turned around. It was a Goron! The Goron gasped.

"It is the Hero of Time! And Kimi, what are you doing outside your village and in that dreadful place?"

"Link saved me from the fire, but then we got trapped and had to go through the tunnel, and we almost got killed by Bongo bon-"

"Woah, slow down there, what fire?"

"My house burned down."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Come with me, but you must not go near the Goron giant, he is ill and you must stay away from him."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Link.

"We do not know," replied the Goron, "but whatever it is seems to be slowly killing him from the inside out!"

"Has he done anything strange latetly?" asked Link.

"Well, yes, a lot of things, but I can't explain them!"

"Will you allow me to go in?" asked Link.

"Huh?"

"Go in."

"You can't possibly mean you want to go in his body!"

"Well, I have a hunch, and I might be able to cure him if I go. He is big enough to go inside, isn't he?"

"For goodness sake no! He is not THAT big! We only call him giant because he is the tallest of all of us!" said the Goron. Link sighed. This must be what he thought it was, but if the giant Goron wasn't big enough to go inside, then it couldn't possibly.unless.

"Kimi, if you dream about something, where will it appear?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think if someone on the island dreams about something, it should appear right in front of them."

"Can you control your dreams? Can you fall asleep whenever you want to?"

"Everyone born on this island can do both, so yes, I can. Why?"

"I have a plan."

Chapter 8

"What is your plan?" asked Kimi. Link whispered something into her ear and she fell asleep. Suddenly a strange thing appeared in front of her, it was shiny and looked just like the laser except it was a different color.

"What is that?" asked the Goron.

"With any luck, it will make things small, small enough to fit inside the giant Goron's mouth."

"How?"

Link shrugged. "Who cares, as long as it works?" Kimi woke up.

"Did it work?" she asked.

"Well, it appeared, but I still have to test if it works or not." Link aimed the device at himself and pressed the button. He shrunk to the size of a beetle, and the Goron and Kimi seemed to grow miles high. "Well, I guess it works," Link said.

"What?" said Kimi. "I didn't hear you."

"Oww, you're too loud," said Link, "and I need you to take me to the giant!" Kimi picked him up and asked the Goron where the giant was.

"He is through there," replied the Goron as he pointed to a door, "I hope you know what you're doing!" Kimi thanked him and went through the door.

"Kimi, I need you to stay with the rest of the Gorons until I get back," said Link, "it's too dangerous for you."

"But I can do it!"

"I saved you from the fire and brought you through the darkness," said Link, "and I don't want to have to put you through more. Don't you want to see your father and everyone else again?"

"But I want to help you," she said.

"And you did," Link said, "by showing me the tunnel and the sword, and dreaming up the shrinking thing. But you should stay here until we can get back to the village, because I don't want you to get in any more danger than you already are."

Kimi held in her tears long enough to let Link go inside the Goron's mouth, and then she sat in the corner and cried.

Chapter 9

Link stepped through the goo and rocks stuck to the giant tongue. A huge boulder that was probably just a tiny pebble fell from the roof of the mouth and hit the ground with a splat. Suddenly the tongue moved, and Link slid down towards the throat.

His feet must be tickling the Goron's tongue, because the whole mouth started moving and the tongue flipped back, sending Link flying through the air. He managed to grab the uvula, but it only made the movement worse, and he slipped off into the throat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi soon fell asleep, she was so tired, so tired. She dreamed about the Gorons, they were running, running away from something. She looked around the corner and saw a horrible dragon, a flaming dragon, flying towards the Gorons. It came closer and closer, and it made the volcano erupt, spewing lava, fire and smoke everywhere. She dreamed that it took the Gorons, and hid them somewhere, and then went into the crater itself amid the flames, into the magma.

Suddenly she woke up. Thank goodness it was just a dream. Suddenly the ground shook, and she heard an explosion. She gasped, and opened the door slightly. There was no Goron in sight, and all was quiet. The only Goron left was the giant one, the room they were in was left untouched.

Her dream had become real. "Giant Goron, how can I get to the crater of the volcano?"

"I think there is a way from here, but I do not know where."

"Thank you, I shall try and find it." She searched the cavern, it was once a city, but cavern seemed a better word for it now, without any Gorons. As she was looking, she thought, "I do not have any weapons! How do I expect to fight the dragon with nothing?" She tried to fall asleep but couldn't anymore.

"Oh, dear! Someone is taking the power of the Light Rod! I cannot fall asleep anymore! But, if I do not find a way to get the other pieces, the island will overflow with nightmares and the whole world will be destroyed! How will I find something to fight the dragon with?"

Suddenly she saw a chest. She opened it, and inside found a bomb bag full of bombs! She would have to fight the dragon with these or nothing, she would probably not find a better thing. So she started looking for the entrance to the crater. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link felt like he was going to burst, the walls of the esophagus were squeezing him through. "I recall going through Jabu Jabu was a lot better than this," he thought. But he felt air on his feet, he had come to the part he had dreaded. He would fall and surely dissolve in the acids!

He quickly grabbed the fleshy roof of the stomach, but it was not a good place to hold onto and he fell into the liquid below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi walked through the whole place looking for a possible entrance, but she could not find one. Suddenly there was another eruption and the wall cracked next to her. She looked through the crack, there was reddish light shining through. Suddenly she had an idea, and set a bomb next to the wall. It blew up, and she went through the hole, into the crater. She had to undo what she had done. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link quickly swam to a ledge and climbed out. "Oh great," he thought, "how will I get out of here?" He saw movement in the water. "Don't give me this," he said. But suddenly from behind him a cold, slimy arm wrapped around him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Kimi covered her eyes, it was extremely hot. She could only stay for a short amount of time. Suddenly as she stepped onto the middle platform, the fire dragon burst from the magma and flew towards her, its eyes glowing with a fiery light, and all she had to defeat it were bombs. How would she do it?

Chapter 10

Link gasped for air as the wet thing curled around him. Suddenly he was lifted from the ground and found himself suspended in the air by a huge transparent blue tentacle. It waved him back and forth before throwing him all the way across the stomach into the water. Link quickly climbed out and unsheathed his sword. It was Morpha, the boss he had fought when he was younger, except this time it was bigger than ever. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi gasped and almost ran away, but then she imagined Link's face and regained her strength. He would be so proud, if she defeated this beast! But then again, would he? He had wanted her to be safe and stay with the Gorons. But the Gorons were gone, and this beast would soon destroy them if she didn't kill it.

She lit a bomb and waited for it to get close to the end of the fuse, and then threw it at the beast. It went over and into the magma, spewing it everywhere. She lit another. She couldn't stay in here much longer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link thought of ways he could defeat this guy, but it would be nearly impossible, it was so big. Big.he suddenly had a plan. If it failed it would kill the Goron and himself, but if it did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi threw another, it missed again and the Dragon was getting mad. It started coming closer. She reached into her bag to get another, but suddenly the dragon ran into her. "Yeowch!" she yelled, and rolled on the ground. She quickly lit another and threw it, this time it was a direct hit! The head exploded and the rest of the body fell and slithered into the lava. Kimi fell to the ground from the heat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link pulled out the shrinker device and searched the water. Nothing so far. Suddenly he heard a splashing behind him and spun around. It was Morpha all right. He aimed the device at the nucleus and shot. The beam hit it, and Morpha was shrunk to the size of a worm. Link grabbed the tiny nucleus and stepped on it.

There, he fixed the problem, but how would he get out? Suddenly a glowing thing caught his eye, in the water. He grabbed it, it was another Rod piece! "Well, three so far, but there are five more to find!" he said. Suddenly the Rod started glowing brighter, and he was lifted up into the esophagus and through it until he reached the mouth. "Wow, this piece is pretty powerful," he said as he floated toward the front of the mouth and glided between the Goron's lips when he was yawning.

"Thank you, giant Goron," Link said.

The Goron opened his eyes. "No, it is I who should thank you," he said, "you healed me."

"Then you're welcome." He floated towards the door.

"Oh, wait," said the Goron. Link stopped. "Kimi went to look for the volcano crater. I do not know if she has found it or not."

"You let her go to the crater?!"

"She seemed very worried about something."

Link flew up to the door. "Oh, no! I can't get through! And I don't have anything to enlarge myself!"

"Here, let me help you, I feel good enough to walk." The Goron opened the door and ducked through behind Link. They looked around. Something was not right. There were no Gorons anywhere.

"Look over there!" Link said, pointing to a hole in the wall with red glow coming out. "She must have gone through there!" They quickly went over there, inside they saw the crater. Link gasped. Kimi was lying in the middle of the platform, motionless.

Chapter 11

"Kimi!" Link flew over the lava and dropped down next to her. "Kimi! Wake up! Giant Goron, help me get her out of here!" The Goron hopped over to the platform and picked her up. They took her back to Goron city.

"Link, there is something in her hand," said the Goron.

Link gasped. "It's another piece of the Light Rod!" Suddenly Kimi awoke.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Kimi, why didn't you stay there?" Link asked in his sternest voice, although he didn't seem very powerful that small.

"I dreamed about a dragon taking all the Gorons away, and then it came true and I had to stop it!"

"Where are the Gorons?" Link asked.

"I - I don't know," Kimi replied, "but I know the dragon hid them somewhere." Suddenly the piece of the Light Rod she had been holding floated away, towards the wall. It bumped against it and seemingly tried to get through. Kimi walked toward the wall and took the Rod piece. She put her ear against the wall.

"I hear something," she said. She set a bomb by the wall and stood back.

"Where did you get that?" asked Link.

"From a chest in the city," she replied. "I needed it to kill the dragon."

"So did you kill it?"

"I think, the head blew up and the rest of the body fell into the lava." Suddenly the wall exploded, and they saw a huge room full of Gorons! They were free! They started walking towards them with their arms outstretched.

"Kimi, RUN!" Link said. She started running after Link, and they finally made it to a higher level, there was an exit from the city up there. They went outside.

"Why did we run away from them?" Kimi panted.

"They were going to give us Goron hugs," Link said, "and you don't want one of those. By the way, can you dream up a device that will enlarge me? It's getting pretty annoying being so small."

"There are two buttons, one enlarges and one shrinks."

"Oh." Link pressed the button that he didn't remember pushing and he grew back to normal size.

"Hey, look!" said Kimi. "My village!" They ran down the path, but soon came to a broken bridge.

"Oh, great." Link said. Kimi looked around and found a cave behind a boulder.

"Link, this sign says the tunnel leads to Zora village!"

Link thought. There might be a way to Kimi's village from there, and there also might be another Rod piece. He followed her into the tunnel.

Chapter 12

"How far down is it?" Link asked. They had come to a problem. The tunnel ended in a deep hole.

"I'm not sure." Kimi threw a rock down there, and she heard a splash pretty quickly. "It's not that far, and there's water too."

"Let me get past you," Link said, as he tried to get through. He jumped into the hole and soon came back up. "It's safe," he said, and got out of her way as she dropped into the water. Searching around underwater, she found there was a tunnel through which faint light was shining through.

"What's down there?" Link asked when she came back up.

"There's a tunnel, I think it leads to Zora village." They both dove under and swam through the tunnel to find what they were looking for. In fact, more than they were looking for. The cavern was beautiful, and there were waterfalls everywhere. Link knew it was a mistake to come here, it seemed Kimi had become attached to it now.

She would want to come here again, but Link knew she would not be able to. "Follow me," he said, and they swam over towards the shore. A Zora came up and saw Link.

"Hero of Time! Please help us, there is something very strange inside our palace!"

"What thing?" Link asked.

"I don't know, but it makes strange scratching noises on the ceiling."

"Where is the palace?"

"Behind that waterfall." The Zora pointed to the biggest waterfall in the cave.

"Thanks, I'll go," Link said. "Kimi, I believe you will be safe here, not to mention happy."

"What?" She said as she was looking around the cavern.

"She'll be fine," he said to the Zora. "Make sure she doesn't go off anywhere though." He swam off through the waterfall. Inside it was deserted. There was a chest across the room, he went over and opened it. He found the lens of truth!

Suddenly he heard a scratching noise and a thump behind him. He spun around, but there was nothing there. He thought for a moment, and then looked through the lens. It was Ghoma, the first boss he had ever fought! But she was bigger and had become invisible!

He pulled out his bow and shot into her eye. He ran up and sliced her with his sword. She sprang back up again. He rubbed an arrow against the necklace and shot it into her eye again. There was a blinding flash of light, and Link fell to the ground.

Chapter 13

Suddenly there was an explosion and heat scorched Link's back. He rolled away and stood up. Ghoma was gone. Wait, he didn't have the lens out! He looked through it to see a pile of guts.

Suddenly there was a voice, and the wall slid open. "Link, Hero of Time, you have done well." Link turned to look at where the voice was coming from. There was a large Zora, probably the king. "I offer to you this thing I have been keeping for you." A glowing thing floated towards Link, he saw it was another Rod piece!

"You knew I was coming?" Link asked, as he grabbed the fifth piece.

"I was the one who dreamed about you, I was worried about the island and thought you could help."

"But Kimi said that when someone on the island dreams about something, it will appear right in front of them."

"Well, you appeared right over me," said the king.

"You mean we are under the beach right now?" The king nodded. "Do you know where any of the other pieces are?"

"I believe there is another Rod piece at another Zora village out to sea, according to my brother, who is king there."

"But how will I get there?" Link asked. "And how do I know how to get there?"

"There is a tunnel to the ocean from here, and there is a path of stones that leads there. Here is a Zora tunic, it will allow you to stay underwater without having to go to the surface to breathe."

"Thank you, I cannot stay any longer, I need to get Kimi home."

"Here is a tunic for her as well, she will not be able to swim through the tunnel and to the top of the water holding her breath."

"Thank you," said Link as he took the tunics. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ "What are those?" Kimi asked when Link finally tore her eyes away from the waterfall.

"These are Zora tunics, you will need to put one on."

"Are we leaving so soon?"

"Yes, you need to get back to your village."

"I guess so," she said, "but will I ever see you again?"

"If you dream about me, yes, but don't go dreaming about me all the time, I have a life too." They put on the tunics and swam underwater into the tunnel, and finally out into the ocean. It was beautiful, but Kimi had to go home. They swam up to the surface.

They heard explosions and saw the volcano erupting. Debris was being thrown into the sea, and they dove under to avoid getting hit. Link grabbed Kimi's hand and pulled her back through the tunnel and to the surface. "You will have to come with me to the village out to sea," he said.

"What village?" Kimi asked.

"There is a Zora village in the ocean, and the king said another Rod piece is there." They swam out through the tunnel and into the ocean again. They did not notice the dark shape following them.

Chapter 14

They followed the path and finally saw lights ahead. Kimi started to gasp, but salty water started pouring into her mouth, so she quickly shut it. The village was even more beautiful than the cavern.

There was a golden palace in the center glowing with lights, and the houses themselves seemed to be glowing from the reflection of light from the palace. Beautiful fish swam among the colorful coral, and Zoras were swimming about like mad.

"Wait," Kimi thought, "why are they swimming away so fast?" A huge shadow gave her the answer. She turned just as a huge fish opened its mouth and swallowed her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link dove into the sand as the giant fish passed inches above him. He looked around. Where had Kimi gone? He saw the fish disappear into a cave and thought. What if she had been swallowed by that creature?

Then he had to go save her. He brought her here, now he had to get her out. But how would he fight such an immense thing? He would go to the king first, maybe he could help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi swam for dear life as the water gushed back towards the throat. She found a place to hold on to on the wall and grabbed it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link swam into the palace and up into fresh air. He climbed out of the water and up the steps. "Halt! Nobody is allowed to see the king unless invited!" said a Zora as he blocked Link's way. "Wait, are you.Link, the hero of time? Ahem, sorry, you may go. Follow me." The Zora went through the door, embarrassed.

"Who wishes to see me?" came a booming voice as Link entered the room.

"It is Link, the hero of time," replied the embarrassed Zora.

"Link! It is an honor to be in your presence. What brings you here?"

"I am looking for pieces of the Light Rod, and your brother said that you had one."

"Ah, that is true, but I can't just give it to you like that. How about if you kill the giant fish that has been terrorizing the town, I will give you the piece I have and tell you where to find another."

"I would, but I'm afraid I do not have a good weapon to fight it with underwater."

"Then take this," said the king, and a chest dropped from the ceiling. Link slowly opened it and gasped. It was the hookshot!

"Thank you, but I must be going, I must defeat it quickly." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi struggled as wave after wave washed over her. Her grip was loosening. She saw a huge wave coming. She held on as tightly as she could, but it pulled her away and she floated away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link went into the tunnel he saw the giant fish go into. He looked around. Suddenly he realized.the fish was not there.

Chapter 15

Link swam out of the cave and looked around for the fish. Suddenly he had a plan. He would get king Zora to dream about the fish, and.but the king was not from the island, he would probably not be able to control his dreams, and nobody from the island was near!

He would have to search for the fish, it couldn't be that hard. He swam out into the ocean, and thought to himself, "it will be that hard." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi splashed into the wet depths of the fish, and she could feel it moving. Suddenly there was a bright light, and an electrical sound. She glanced around trying to find the source of the light and sound but it had disappeared. "Oh, great," she thought, "Link better come befo-" suddenly the fish jerked and she heard a terrible gushing sound.

The electricity started again and she caught a glimpse of a strange shape that had weird satellite things and tentacles sticking out. It was spraying electricity everywhere, and she ducked to avoid a shot right above her. She screamed, "Link!"

Where had she left her bomb bag? She did not have it with her. Another shot, and she saw it on the other side of the creature, right next to it. She scrunched up in the corner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link shot the hookshot again, piercing the fish's flesh, and blood clouded the water. He shot again, and suddenly the whole side of the fish tore open. "Ugh!" he thought, but he kept looking for signs of Kimi. He saw her swimming out with her bomb bag, but there was something behind her. Link was about to shoot the hookshot at it, but then he realized that if he shot it, the electricity from that thing would shock him.

Being underwater did not help. He would probably die if he got shocked now. Quickly he thought. He would have to lure the creature to land and use another weapon on it, like his bow. He motioned for Kimi to follow him and swam back toward the cave. The rocks went up to the surface, so maybe there was an island.

The creature followed them with squid-like movements, constantly shooting at them with its satellites. Link burst through the surface, it felt good to be in the air again. Kimi followed and they climbed out onto a fairly large island, not as large as dream island but bigger than Link had imagined.

He scanned the water for the creature and drew his bow. As he got the arrow ready, he saw movement coming towards them. A giant tentacle came out of the water and seven more followed it. Then came the satellite things, and a huge head rose from the waves.

Link gasped. It looked like Barinade, the creature he had fought as a child. Except for a few changes.tentacles, and the head, and a mouth, and also, it could swim quite well. In fact, it could also move on land, which it was doing right about now heading straight for them.

He pulled an arrow back, making sure to touch it to the necklace, and fired into the mouth, but it kept coming. He grabbed another arrow shot again, this time it seemed to have an effect. The shrinking device! He reached for it but it was not there.

He quickly pulled another arrow back and shot into its eye. It squealed and swung a tentacle at them, picking up Kimi.

"Help!" she screamed, as she dangled upside-down above Barinade's mouth. Link shot another arrow. Suddenly Barinade swung another tentacle and Link was grabbed, dangling above the mouth next to Kimi. The necklace flopped down and fell into Barinade's mouth, and the tentacles loosened their grip. Link and Kimi started slipping right above the wide open mouth.

Chapter 16

Link gasped as he slipped toward certain death. Suddenly he heard a powerful voice in a strange language say something. The grip tightened and Link stopped slipping. Barinade looked over to the source of the voice, and Link managed to get a hand free.

He grabbed his sword and took a stab at the mouth. Barinade squealed and dropped Link and Kimi onto the sand. Link swung his sword over and over and finally Barinade was defeated. It exploded and Link found the necklace in the remains.

He heard Kimi talking in a strange language and looked over his shoulder to see she was talking to a man who looked like the source of the voice. She turned to Link and said, "he says his village is in danger."

"What's wrong?" asked Link.

Kimi turned back to the man and said something, and he answered back. "He says shadows are creeping over the village, and they seem to be coming from the graveyard," Kimi told Link.

"Tell him we'll come," Link said, and Kimi told the man. He motioned them to follow and rushed off into the trees. They quickly followed and found a village that was indeed covered in shadow. The sun was out but there was no light in parts of the village. It got darker and darker.

The man said something to Kimi and she said, "He says this is the entrance to the graveyard and he will not go any further."

"Well, let's go," said Link, and they set off into the dark graveyard. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ They crept along, and saw the shadows seemed to be gushing out of a hole on the far side of the graveyard. Suddenly the ground under Link collapsed and he tumbled down some steps and rolled into a chest. He slowly got up, rubbing his back, and opened the chest. Inside he found a boomerang.

"Are you okay?" yelled Kimi from above.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he replied. He slowly went back up and they kept inching toward the hole. The shadows were so dense it was hard to move through them. Suddenly a strange force pulled Link forward and he slid over the edge of the hole. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi stared into the hole and could see nothing. A foul smell flowed out with the shadows. "Link!" she yelled down into the hole, but it was absorbed in the thick shadows. She moved away, and thought, "Link, don't leave me here." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link stared into the darkness and stumbled on something.strange, he didn't even know he was walking. Suddenly he tripped again. There was a strange wooshing sound, and he quickly got up and scurried back the way he had come.

At least, he thought it was the way he had come. This was a little familiar, it seemed like his dream. At least, he thought it had been a dream. Maybe it was real, but then how had he escaped?

Suddenly he heard the sound again, and a shape emerged from the darkness. Link gasped. It was Ganondorf! He grabbed the boomerang and tossed it at him. It hit and Ganondorf was stunned. Link ran up to him and introduced Ganondorf to his sword. Suddenly Ganondorf got up again and flew above his head.

Link gave the boomerang another toss and gave him a good whacking with his sword. Ganondorf flamed up and started burning. Suddenly he heard a voice. It said, "You have only defeated my phantom. If you wish to be a fool and fight the real me, go ahead and try. Come up to my castle on top of the volcano, it's lovely this time of year. Oh, and one more thing, I have the Diamond of Light, I believe you need that for your little Light Rod, eh? Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Chapter 17

Link groaned. Suddenly there was a light from the ceiling and a piece of the Light Rod floated down. He grabbed it and looked around. The huge emptiness transformed into a small cave. He climbed the ladder by the wall and came out in the graveyard.

Kimi was staring at the hole and shrieked with joy when she saw Link. "The shadows went away and light was shining from the hole, so I thought you were probably alive."

"Yes, but I heard Ganondorf and I must fight him at his tower on the volcano on dream island."

"How many pieces of the Light Rod do you have now?"

"Six, but I have to go get one from the Zora king of the village where you were swallowed by that fish. He promised me a piece if I destroyed the fish, and I not only destroyed it, I destroyed what was inside it. As for the eighth piece, Ganondorf has it."

"Is that why you have to fight him?"

"Yes. It is the Diamond of Light, and it fits into the Rod and completes it. If I want to get home and free the island from nightmares, then I have to fight him." They walked out to the village and the man they had seen before was waiting. He thanked them in his language, and they went down to the beach.

There were the remains of Barinade. They passed them and waded into the water. After talking with the king, Link came back out with another Rod piece and they followed the underwater path to the entrance to the other Zora village. Along the way, Link found the shrinking device, and picked it up. Surfacing, they saw that the entire island was covered in ash and hardened lava.

They both gasped and swam to the shore. The village was gone, and nobody was in sight. Kimi started crying.

"It's okay," Link tried to comfort her, but she refused to be comforted. Link walked around the remains of the village, but he could not find anything. "Come on," he said, "you'll have to stay with the Gorons while I go up the mountain."

Kimi slowly got up and followed him. The broken bridge on the mountainside had been totally destroyed, and the hardened lava served as a new bridge. They carefully walked across it and Link left Kimi in the Goron town. As he continued up the mountain, the volcano shook and fire surrounded the peak. He kept going. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi cried in a corner as Gorons surrounded her. "What's wrong, dear?" asked one of them.

"My village has been destroyed in the eruption!" she sobbed.

"Oh, no!" the Goron looked outside and came back. "Is it the village you can see from the entrance?"

"Yes, that's it," Kimi replied.

"I saw people running into a cave near that village, right before it was buried."

Kimi gasped. "Where?"

"In the jungle over there." The Goron pointed.

"I must go," she said, "They do not know I am alive! I'll give them a nice surprise."

"Wait!" called the Gorons after her, "Link told you to stay here!" But she was already running as fast as she could down the mountain.

Chapter 18

Link crawled up the mountain. The path was covered in ash and hardened lava, so he had to find his own way up. Once in a while the ground shook and he slid a few feet down, and he had to climb back up. There was a dead tree up on a ledge nearby, so he got out the hookshot and pulled himself there.

Behind it was a cave, and there was hot air flowing out. "It must lead somewhere," Link thought. Well, it was better than going up the mountain like this. He went into the cave. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi thrust her way through the jungle. She knew Link wanted her to stay there, but if her family was alive, she had to go see them. After all, they didn't know she was alive and she could surprise them. Maybe she would even.she suddenly realized the jungle was getting thicker and darker, and she looked back but could not see the way she had come. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ It was dark, too dark to see anything. Link pushed through the cave. The heat was becoming unbearable, so he changed into his Goron tunic. At the end of the tunnel there was a bridge over the huge volcano crater. He looked down and saw that the platform they had been on down there had been demolished in the eruption.

Yet the dark castle in the middle, on the other side of the bridge, was left untouched. He started carefully crossing the bridge. Suddenly it started cracking. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Kimi kept going, and it just got darker. It was hard to move, probably because the vegetation was getting thicker. There was a strange sound, and Kimi turned around. Suddenly she floated into the air! She looked over her shoulder to see a shadow in the shape of a huge man with a cape.

She screamed as he flew up through the trees and up the mountain with her hanging below. He was heading straight for the tower in the volcano! She gasped. He must be Ganondorf!

"That's right, dear," Ganondorf said, as if he could read her thoughts, "Let's have a little feast up in my tower, sound good? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link ran across the bridge, and suddenly, just as it was collapsing, something grabbed him and set him down at the door of the castle. He turned around to see Ganondorf holding Kimi! "Oh, no," he thought.

"Oh, yes," said Ganondorf, reading Link's mind. "And I'll see you again once you reach the top of my tower, if you, in fact, just happen to make it in time for dinner."

He laughed and flew up to the top of the castle. Link groaned and ran into the castle entrance. He was met by king dodongo. Link quickly defeated him with his hookshot and continued up the steps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Ganondorf dropped Kimi into a cage and closed it. "Now, I've decided I do not want to eat such a scrawny thing, so I will let you live. However, if your little friend does not come or I kill him, you will get to stay here with me, in your nice little home." He tapped the cage as if showing her that that was what he meant by home.

Kimi gasped and called for Link, but she knew he could not hear her. She had to hope he would come. If he didn't, she would have to spend the rest of her life in a cage on Ganondorf's castle.

Chapter 19

Link kept running, and soon he came to a door. He went through and suddenly it closed behind him with iron bars covering it. He gasped. He was outside, in a sea of mist and shallow water at his feet.

This place seemed familiar.suddenly form behind a tree came a voice. "I've been waiting for you, Light Link."

Link gasped. It must be.Dark Link, his evil shadow twin! Sure enough, Dark Link stepped out from behind the tree with a huge sword and shield. "By the way, here's a new trick I learned." Dark Link crouched down and suddenly a wall of fire hurdled toward Link.

He gasped. How did Dark Link get Din's fire? But he had other things to think about, like how he was going to escape the flames. He ran, but the fire caught up and burned him. "Ouch!" he thought, and rolled in the water. His shrinking device was melted!

As he looked up, he noticed Dark Link was flaming, but still walking toward him. Link gasped again. Dark Link now had Din's fire and he didn't get hurt by flames anymore! Suddenly Link had a plan. He scooped up water and flung it in Dark Link's face.

Dark Link gasped and tried to dodge it without success. His face slowly melted along with the rest of his body. Suddenly Link was in a room, and a chest dropped by the tree. Inside Link found the megaton hammer. He quickly dashed through the open door on the other side of the room. Kimi was waiting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ The sun disappeared along with Kimi's hopes. Ganondorf was watching her constantly, and there was no way to escape anyway. If Link came, what if he died? Her hopes were gone, and she felt like dying rather than living in this cage. "Please, Link," she whispered, watching the door on the other side of the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Link gasped for air but there was hardly any up here. He kept going and soon came to a switch next to a locked door. When he stood on it, nothing happened. He noticed it was rusty, and he hit it with the megaton hammer. The switch disintegrated and the door remained closed. "Oh, great," he thought, "now what?"

He leaned against the wall and suddenly saw an eye above him. As he shot it with an arrow, he heard a whooshing sound and so he hurried through the door. He had come to the top of the tower, and he saw Kimi in a cage with Ganondorf watching and with his back to the door. Link touched an arrow to the necklace, pulled back and shot at Ganondorf.

The arrow bounced off his armor and he turned around. "So, you have finally come," Ganondorf said. He spread his cape and flew. "Then let the fight begin." He lifted his hands and threw a ball of black magic at Link. He dodged it and shot an arrow.

The arrow bounced off and Ganondorf laughed. "Have you really forgotten the last time we fought already?" Link put his bow away and waited. Ganondorf laughed again. "Because I do, and I am not as stupid this time. I have a few new tricks."

He threw another magic spell and Link swung his sword at it. Suddenly he was electrocuted and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Chapter 20

Kimi's mouth dropped open. Link did not move. Ganondorf laughed and moved toward Kimi's cage. Looking around frantically, she saw that the laser had rolled near the cage.

She reached for it and barely grabbed it. Ganondorf was getting closer. The bars broke off in the red beam of light, and Kimi crawled out just before Ganondorf reached her.

She was lifted, and she pressed the button on the laser. Ganondorf yelled as his armor fell to the ground, split in half. He dropped Kimi and the laser flew off the tower.

She looked up and rolled away just as Ganondorf swung a hand at her. She rolled towards Link and grabbed his bow. Pulling back the arrow, she suddenly remembered the necklace, grabbed it, and rubbed the arrow against it. The arrow hit Ganondorf right in the middle of his forehead, and he fell to the ground, stunned.

Kimi grabbed Link's sword and rushed up to Ganondorf. She swung the sword at him but it seemed to do nothing, and Ganondorf flew up again. She shot another powered-up arrow at him and suddenly had an idea. If she rubbed the sword against the necklace, would it do anything?

She tried it and the sword glowed. With her powerful sword, she sliced Ganondorf and he gave a groan, but got back up again. Kimi glanced at Link, but he was still out cold. "What's this?" she thought, and grabbed a large silver hammer. Rubbing it against the necklace, she found it glowed too.

Suddenly she felt like someone had punched her back and she flew across the tower, almost falling into the fiery crater below. She quickly got up and shot Ganondorf with an arrow. The powered-up hammer seemed to do some more damage than the sword had. In fact, Ganondorf slumped to the ground.

Kimi slowly went toward him. "How.did.such.a little.girl.defeat me?" he yelled and Kimi fell backwards. "You leave me no other choice," he said, "I must destroy you."

He exploded and Kimi covered her eyes. When she looked again she saw not Ganondorf, but a huge pig-like creature, as big as her house, with two golden blades! She gasped and backed away. Link was still not moving. She would have to fight, and if she lost, the whole island could be destroyed.

"Link, wake up!" she screamed. She was too afraid to fight such a gigantic thing. It was covered from head to toe in armor, except for holes for his eyes. "That's it!" she thought, "I have to hit his eyes!" Suddenly the round shook, and magma, fire and smoke exploded around the edge of the tower.

Kimi fell down and rolled back toward Link. She grabbed his weapons and looked through them. The shrinking device had been melted, so she would have to fight this guy the size he was.

Speaking of "this guy," he was about to swing his swords at her. She rolled away and shot a powered-up arrow at his face. It bounced off his helmet and she got another arrow ready. Suddenly he grabbed her and hung her upside down. The sword and all the other weapons fell to the ground.

Kimi screamed. Suddenly Link woke up, and saw Ganon carrying Kimi toward the edge of the tower, where there was a wall of fire. He quietly picked up his bow from the ground. The necklace was gone, and he saw it on Kimi's neck.

He grabbed the sword and flung it at Ganon. It pierced his tail and held him there. He squealed, and Link grabbed the megaton hammer and smashed Ganon's tail. The beast dropped Kimi to the ground and fell off the edge, into the flames where he belonged.

Link walked over to Kimi. "Are you okay? What happened?"

And so Kimi told him what happened while he was unconscious, as Link stared in amazement.

"Kimi, you are a very brave girl. I will be happy to visit you once in a while, and maybe sometimes you could even come to Hyrule and stay in the castle." Suddenly a bright light floated down to the ground and Link picked it up. It was the Diamond of Light, the last piece of the Light Rod.

He fit the diamond into the space in the rod and it shone. The tower became white, and the shadows fled as dreams re-inhabited the island and the nightmares were chased away. The fire became sparkling clear water and it splashed all over the island.

Link looked out over the land as it became clean and bright again, and he said to Kimi, "Let's get you back home." They used the Light Rod to glide down to the place her village used to be. The villagers were standing there dumbfounded by the glistening crystal water, and the houses had been rebuilt along with fountains overflowing with dreams.

"Wow," Link said, "Is this what the island was like before Ganondorf came?"

"Yes," Kimi said, "but it is even better now." She ran to her father and hugged him.

"Kimi, you are alive!" He seemed like her father almost had a heart attack, but then he smiled and laughed. He looked at Link and said, "All is well with us. The nightmares are gone and Kimi has returned. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Link said, "but I must be going now, back home they must think I am dead just like you thought Kimi was."

"Then farewell, and someday maybe you can return to visit us."

"Goodbye Link," Kimi said.

"Goodbye, I look forward to coming back sometime." Link held the Light Rod up and vanished. The Rod remained, floating in the air, and glided to the top of the fountain nearby. Kimi looked up at the clear sky, thinking about Link.

The End