Hey guys! Guess what! I am NOT dead after all! I'm just lazy. You can blame the lack of

updates on Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Darn good game. I'm definitely going to have to do a GS

fic some time soon. On a special note, I will be referring to Zelda from OoT as Zelda, and Zelda

from WW as Tetra. Anyway, I suppose you all (not y'all) would like the next chapter now, huh?

Please be sure to review and tell me what you think. Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Legend of Zelda. But I will! Some day. It may be tomorrow.

The Legend of Zelda

The Golden Land

Chapter Seventeen

Courage, Wisdom, Power

LAST TIME:

Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes. Then LinkW began to chuckle softly. Then he

began to laugh outright. He patted his sister on the shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked.

Biting down his laughter, LinkW grinned. "Congratulations, Aryll. You just defeated

Ganon."

Then everyone broke out into laughter. Everyone except Ganon, who couldn't seem to

brake the pink glass.

NOW:

Atop Ganon's Tower, the laughter began to die away. Aryll was blushing at all the attention

and her older brother was having trouble breathing from laughing so hard. Saria had to wipe tears

from here eyes she had been laughing so hard. Tetra had been laughing as well, and now her side

was killing her. LinkT was in about the same shape. Medli and Makar had rejoined the others and

had their fair share of laughter, Makar had fallen over and couldn't get himself back up. They just

left him like that.

As the laughter died, the adventurers lowered their tired bodies down onto whatever they

could find. LinkW, Makar, and Aryll took seats on the ground. Tetra, Medli, and Saria all took

seats on various rocks. LinkT and Zelda sat on the remains of a fallen pillar.

After a few moments of silence, Tetra finally spoke up. "So, what exactly happened here?"

she asked. Everyone looked around from one to the other. Finally, all heads faced Zelda.

The blue spandex-clad Hylean Princess gave out a soft sigh. She motioned towards Aryll.

"She brought my pendant up here. That pendant was actually a magical talisman. It was designed

for the sole purpose of sealing Ganon away in an unbreakable magic jar."

The others nodded. "Okay," Tetra replied. "And, uh, who are you?"

"My name is Zelda."

"Oh . . . . WHAT?!"

LinkT chuckled softly at the pirate's facial expression. This was going to be interesting.

LinkW turned to Tetra. He scratched the back of his head in confusion. "But . . . I thought

you were Zelda," he said to his pirate friend.

Tetra rolled her eyes. "You really are dense, Link, aren't you?"

The Zelda wearing blue spandex turned to the Hero of Time in confusion. "But . . . I

thought you were Link."

LinkT let out a long sigh. "Oh boy," he muttered. He cleared his throat to get everyone's

attention. Once everyone was looking his way, LinkT stood and made his announcement. "Look,

he is Link." He motioned to LinkW. "And I am Link." He pointed his thumb at himself. "She is

Zelda." He motioned towards Zelda. "And she is Zelda." He motioned to Tetra. "Any questions?"

". . . . ."

LinkT's shoulders sagged at the bewildered expressions he was receiving. The only person

not confused was Saria, who knew everything he did.

"Oh! I get it!" Everyone turned to Aryll curiously. She blushed slightly at the stares.

"Well, uh, she's the Zelda from your time, isn't she?" she blond girl asked the Hero of Time.

LinkT raised an eyebrow in amusement and nodded. He turned to LinkW. "You know, I

think your sister would make a better hero."

"Shove it."

Tetra studied her past counterpart intently, who just so happened to be studying her as well.

"So," the piratess finally said, "you're from before the flood, right?"

Zelda nodded. "So, you're a descendent of my family?"

Tetra shrugged. "I guess so."

"Excuse me," interjected Medli, "but, how can she be your descendant if you are here?"

Zelda shrugged. "I had a brother. She must be descended from him."

"Oh."

Tetra stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Alright, but, um, what exactly are you doing here?"

Zelda repositioned herself on the fallen pillar before answering. Finally, she spoke, "When

Ganon returned from his banishment to the Sacred Realm, Hyrule was unable to defend itself.

Before we turned the fate of the land over to the gods, that pendant was forged. It was infused with

magical power so that it could seal Ganon away, even if we couldn't send him back to the Sacred

Realm. However, the pendant required an incredible amount of energy to work. Before it could be

used, it would have to charge up for over a century."

Zelda paused to take a breath and make sure everyone was following her story. "My father

gave me the pendant and sealed me in a magic crystal hidden deep within the Shadow Temple. The

crystal was designed to release me if and when Hyrule was raised again from the sea. I'm guessing

you all had something to do with that." The others nodded.

Tetra folded her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Alright, that was a sort of 'just incase'

weapon."

Zelda nodded. Then she turned to LinkT. "But, what are you doing here? AND WHERE

THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

The Hero of Time let out an, "Eep!" and fell off the pillar he was sitting on. He climbed

back up and dusted himself off. "Well, uh, you remember the Fierce Deity?"

Zelda gave him rather dangerous look. "Oh course I remember! You went charging off

after him and we never saw either of you again! I thought you were dead!"

LinkT blinked in surprise. He could have been mistaken, but did Zelda just have a tear in

her eye? Oh well, it didn't matter right now. "Well, just about," he explained. "You see, I finally

caught up with the Oni, but I couldn't beat him. Any normal sword could not injure him, and I

didn't have the Master Sword then."

Zelda nodded, signaling for the Hero to continue. Link took a breath. "Well, when I

realized I couldn't win the fight, I used the Triforce of Courage to trap myself and the demon in

stone. The intent was to seal the both of us away forever. Obviously, something went wrong. The

Oni and I were both released a little under a month ago."

Zelda listened with rapt attention and LinkT continued. "When I awoke, I found out that the

Ganon had risen again and these two," he motioned towards LinkW and Tetra, "had beaten him.

They had used the Master Sword to seal him in stone att he bottom of the sea. Unfortunately, we

now needed the Master Sword to deal with the Fierce Deity. This resulted in us using the Triforce to

raise Hyrule and then picking that battle with Ganon."

Zelda let out a low whistle. "Never thought I'd see the day you actually started a fight with

Ganondorf." The Hero of Time shrugged. Then the Hylean princess stood up and walked over to

her old friend. She surprised him by hugging him tightly. After getting over the initial shock, the

Hero of Time sent the snickering Wind Waker a death glare. He then blushed when he saw Saria

wink at him.

The next several minutes were spent explaining the current situation to Zelda in more detail.

Soon everyone was discussing their next course of action. The Links were both all for going after

the Fierce Deity within the next few days. The Zeldas thought it better to wait. Aryll and Saria

sided with the princesses, while Medli and Makar sided with the heroes.

Zelda gave an exasperated sigh and brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face. "You

know, sooner or later the Fierce Deity will find us. I suggest we just wait for that."

LinkT shook his head. "When we fight, I want it to be on my own terms. Not his."

LinkW quickly agreed. "It would be bad if we waited and he caught us by surprise when we

were vulnerable."

"Yeah, that would be a crying shame."

All heads suddenly whipped around to the direction that the new voice had come from. A

pale figure stood off to the side, leaning against a large stone slab. The figure had its arms folded in

front of its silver breastplate. A smirk graced the figures lips and its pupil-less eyes burned with

wicked mischief.

"Daoshin!" LinkT cried as he and LinkW leapt to their feet.

The smirk on the Fierce Deity's face faltered slightly. "Where did you learn my name, Hero

Boy?"

The only response he got was the readying of swords and the drawing of arrows. The god of

wrath's smirk turned to a fiendish grin. "Well, anyway. I believe I can solve your previous

argument for you."

LinkW rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"But of course," the Oni replied, straightening himself and walking away from the stone slab

he had been leaning on. The Fierce Deity held his massive sword in one hand, the blade slung over

his shoulder. He approached the heroes, but stopped several yards away. "I believe we have some

unfinished business."

The Links braced themselves, swords and shields ready. Tetra and Saria aimed their bows at

the demon, Light Arrows ready. Zelda held her dagger in one hand, prepared to use magic with the

other. Aryll, Medli, and Makar backed off to a safe distance. The deity grinned. "Why don't you

lead off?" he prompted.

LinkW nodded his head slightly and the twang of two bow strings sounded. The Oni stood

unmoving as the Light Arrows approached him. He didn't bother to dodge. He merely stood still,

unaffected by the explosions of light that lit up his body. He grinned.

Tetra blinked in surprise when she saw that her arrow had no effect. She then quickly strung

a second, as did Saria. The two fired, but again got no results.

After the second volley of Light Arrows had proven ineffective, LinkT decided that it was

time to try out the Blade of Evil's Bane. He yelled and charged at the demigod. The Master Sword

glimmered brightly in his hand. Unfortunately, the Hero of Time never reached his target. The Oni

raised his free hand, directing it at LinkT. The green-clad hero was lifted off his feet and propelled

backwards. He slammed into a large stone slab. The invisible force working against him continued

to force him into the stone. Cracks began to form on the slab, until a small crater was formed

around the Hero of Time as he was pushed into and through the stone. Finally, the stone gave way,

and LinkT went sailing out the other side to collapse on the ground, Master Sword falling from his

hand.

After seeing his counterpart thrown through the air, LinkW also attacked the Fierce Deity.

He, however, managed to close the ground to his opponent and unleash a flurry of attacks with his

sword. The Fierce Deity, however, lazily dodged every attack without once moving his weapon.

LinkW's offensive was brought to a close when the Oni fired a blast of magic in his face, sending the

Hero of Winds sprawling to the ground.

The Hero of Time struggled to his feet and rejoined his comrades. LinkW also crawled back

to his feet. They faced the Fierce Deity, who only grinned at them wickedly.

"I thought I wouldn't stand a chance against your precious sword, Hero Boy," the demon-

god taunted. LinkT cursed under his breath. What had happened? How had the Oni gotten so

strong?

Daoshin grinned more broadly. "Don't you see?" he said. "I have gained ultimate power. I

am invincible!"

"What are you jabbering about?" LinkW asked in annoyance.

The demon grinned all the more. He raised his free hand in the air, the back side facing the

heroes. "See for yourselves. I cannot be defeated!" Markings on the Oni's hand became visible.

Golden markings. Soon, the symbol of the Triforce shone brightly on the demons hand. The full

Triforce.

The heroes gasped in surprise and horror as realization dawned on them. The Fierce Deity

had the Triforce!

"Crap," LinkW muttered, summing up everyone's feelings on the situation.

Tetra and Saria kept arrows trained on the demigod. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Don't you see? Your weapons are useless." The girls exchanged nervous glances before lowering

their bows. They had seen just how much good the Light Arrows did.

LinkT tightened his grip on the Master Sword. "No. This sword can still kill you!" he

cried, again charging.

Daoshin's amused smile vanished. It was replaced by an irritated look. "Look boy! You

can't beat me!" He raised his sword and swung it. The double-helix blade connected with the

Master Sword in a loud explosion of energy. The force of the blow hurled LinkT backwards,

skidding across the ground. The Fierce Deity was unharmed.

The Hero of Time couldn't believe it. *This can't be happening!* he screamed in his mind.

*There is no way! Not now!* he struggled back to his feet. There had to be something to do! *I

can't think of anything to do but run away.* LinkT straightened himself. "Medli," he called back.

"Give your harp to Zelda." The Rito maiden quickly complied to the strange request. Zelda looked

at LinkT confused.

LinkT narrowed his eyes, turning them to one side. "Medli, Tetra. Each of you put a hand

on Zelda's shoulder." The girls complied, although they still didn't know what was going on.

LinkT turned his gaze to the other side. Aryll, Makar. Each of you touch Saria." Puzzled, but not

in any kind of mood to argue, the human put a hand on her friend's shoulder while the Korok placed

one on her boot.

"What are you playing at, boy?" Daoshin demanded.

"You'll see," came the reply. LinkT turned to his counterpart. "Put a hand on my

shoulder." Shrugging, the Wind Waker did so.

LinkT then pulled out the Ocarina of Time. He rose it up so that it nearly touched his

mouth. "Zelda. Saria," he called out. "Play the minuet."

The girls' eyes widened as they caught on. Soon the sound of two ocarinas and a harp filled

the air.

"What ARE you doing?" the Fierce Deity demanded.

LinkT smirked as he finished the tune. "See you later."

With that, the group of heroes was caught up in a shimmer of green light. They all vanished

in a shower of green sparks. The Fierce Deity blinked in surprise. What the? They were gone!

Then he understood. They had gotten away. Again.

"CURSE YOU!!!!"