A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry about the long wait. It's my fault. I'm a procrastinator. (If you don't know what that means, look it up.) I'm starting to see a love/hate relationship with this story. I like the characterization, but the plot isn't what it should be. And so I love it and I hate it. And therefore put off posting it. And you suffer because of it. So... if this happens again, don't hesitate to tell me to get off of my lazy behind and post another chapter or two. I'll try to get regular again, but now that school's started, I also have other things on my mind, and stories often are given up in favor of homework.

In other news, Insanity! is on hiatus until realizes that script fics aren't as evil as they seem, but until that point, I don't want to draw attention to it, and it's doing no harm sitting there. So read it over and over again, and if you ask nicely and review all of my other stories, I might just email you the next chapter in advance. Maybe.

So, without further ado, I give you...

Chapter 6

I'm in the training room again. Somehow, I'm still not sure how, Zelda managed to get me off my lazy backside and come to training again. Every inch of my body screams in protest, but I have to train if I want in the brotherhood.

"You're doing much better Link. Put some strength behind your swings."

"What strength? I'm on the verge of collapse here!"

He smiles. "All right, we'll take a break." He walks over to lean against the wall, but suddenly my vision becomes cloudy...

"Link! Are you alright?" he's shouting at me. I stumble backwards, just barely able to catch myself. My vision swims, and I try and take a step, but I can't seem to tell the rest of my body what to do. I can't hold myself up anymore. I faint.

-----

I'm floating in darkness. Voices whisper around me. A sudden wave of de-ja-vu overtakes me. This is just like when

I was floating in the void between the Sacred Realm and Hyrule. I know now what lies on the other side. Suddenly, a sinister voice whispers to me.

"I see you, Hero. You can't hide from me."

Talk about sick and wrong.

"I know who you are! You will never overtake me!" I shout back at him.

Sinister laughter fills my ears. I wish I could block out his voice, but it seems to be coming from within my own head.

"Foolish child. You will see... In time, you will learn. No one can overcome me. I am all-powerful!"

He laughs at me again. I just wish I could get him to shut up.

"You're wrong." I try and sound as convincing as possible, because I'm shaking with fear on the inside.

"I am?" he asks sarcastically.

"Yes. You're wrong." I'm starting to feel better. "The Hero of Time will be your downfall."

"No one can overcome me," he says, but I'm surprised to hear he doesn't sound so confident anymore.

"Don't be so sure about that."

The darkness starts to fade, and I can feel myself waking...

-----

"Link! Are you all right?" My trainer's standing over me, clearly worried.

"Just a little dizzy," I lie. My whole body feels as if it's on fire. I try to sit up, but the dizzy feeling increases, and I stop. My trainer puts a hand to my forehead.

"You feel feverish. Perhaps we should stop." He looks at me, worry filling his gaze.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't be training right now. I think I'll just take a nap." I try to sit up again, but I'm still too dizzy.

"You need some help?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that." He helps me up, and we slowly make our way back to the room I'm staying in, me leaning on him the whole way. I get lots of curious stares, but I'm too out of it to care. We get to my room, and I sit on the bed, feeling like I could sleep all the way through the rest of the week and still feel awful. Just as I sit down, Zelda rushes in.

"Link! Are you okay? You look awful! Lie down, you need to rest. I'll call the nurse up here; she can have a look at you. Oh, Link! I'll hurry back, I promise!"

My trainer and I stare at each other, and then burst out laughing.

"How does she have so much energy?"

"I'm not sure, but she puts it to good use!"

I lay back, enjoying the comfort of the bed. "At least this gets me out of practice. I just hope I feel well enough for tonight."

My trainer stares at me. "What's tonight?"

"I met this group of swordsmen who want me to join them. They're inviting me to practice an hour after dinner. I want to give them my best performance, and I need to be in top condition for that."

My trainer's giving me a funny look. "Link, I don't want you to get involved with these people."

"Why not? They seem alright."

"I got involved with them a little while ago, and it was fun for a while, but they expect you to do stuff, like homicides, and you can't back out of it. Once you join, you're in it for life, and don't try and tell them any different, or you'll find yourself at the bottom of Lake Hylia." He's looking at me, trying to judge if I believe him. I don't.

"They were nice enough when I met them. They offered to teach me how to fight."

"Isn't that what I'm trying to do? Do you really need them?" I look at him critically, studying his face.

"You have to believe me. I've heard nothing but evil rumors about these guys lately. It's even rumored that they're trying to pave the way for Ganon's return!"

"Do you have such little faith in my judgment? I think I know an evil person when I see one." I turn over with some difficulty. "I'm going to sleep now. I'd appreciate it if you left me be."

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

-----

A Brief Interlude

"Don't worry about him. He'll see the right choice in the end." Zelda told Link's nervous trainer.

"That's what I'm worried about, that he'll see it when it's already the end of him. He needs to choose correctly now, so it doesn't get him into trouble later," he argued.

"Yes, but you're forgetting that he's only an eighteen year old teen. Don't try to tell him anything, he'll ignore it with all the willpower he has."

They stood watching as the obstinate Hero slept. They had been arguing for almost half an hour.

"Even if he is, he needs to make the right choice. It could be the end of him if he doesn't."

"Just don't try to force it on him. He needs to at least think he made the choice himself."

"How do you know so much about him?"

"He's just like me."

-----

I awake to find Zelda standing over me. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

"I feel like I just got run over by a pack of horses." She laughs.

"At least you're well enough to joke. That's a good sign." She smiles down on me, and in that moment, she looks just as I would picture an angel.

"When's dinner?" I ask.

"Men. All they can think about is their stomachs. Dinner's in an hour."

I laugh, but regret it, as I instantly go into a coughing fit.

"Link!" Zelda looks at me, panic registering in her eyes. "Link! Are you okay?"

I smile up at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to rest."

"Here, drink this." She hands me a small vial containing a deep blue liquid. As I drink it, warmth flows through my body, energizing me and taking all of my soreness away. A wave of sleep blankets all of my senses, and I fall back onto the bed...

-----

"Link..." A voice calls to me out of the darkness...

"Link... Link, wake up!"

Someone's calling me... Who is it?

"Link, wake up! Someone's here to see you!"

It's Zelda, she's calling me, but who's here to see me? A new, softer, higher-pitched voice calls to me.

"Link! Hey! Get up! Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?"

Where have I heard that before? I try to sit up, but give a small gasp and lie back down. The medicine must have worn off.

Zelda gasps. "Link!" I can barely hear her. What's wrong with me to make me this weak? I'm swimming in and out of consciousness, catching bits and pieces of conversation. Zelda's calling me. She wants me to take some more of that medicine. I try to hold the bottle, but I'm shaking too hard. Why is it so cold in here? The potion slides down my throat, the familiar warm feeling little comfort to me. Just before I lose consciousness again, I hear laughter.

Horrible, sinister, evil laughter. The laughter of Ganondorf.