A/N: As always, I would like to thank Soda for reviewing my fic (I can't get rid of you, can I?). In answer to her question… when I write him I do picture him as attractive, but I don't want to spoil anyone else's mental picture.

I hope you guys like this chapter. It's not exactly where I want it to be, but I can't get it any better without forcing you guys to wait another month or so. Someday I'm going to go back and revise this story anyway, so I suppose you'll just have to wait until then…

Chapter 14

A Brief Interlude

The boy let out a low growl of frustration as the duo disappeared before his eyes. A spark of light in the corner of his vision caught his attention. Looking up, he saw the Hero's fairy flitting about worriedly. A wicked smile spreading across his face, he pulled out a jar and scooped the shining person out of the air.

Navi gasped in surprise as the jar came crashing around her, enclosing her in a prison of glass. She banged her tiny fists on the side of the jar and yelled. "Hey! Let me out!"

Mellie's brother smirked. "I think not. Fairies can be very useful." Tucking the jar out of sight, he spread his hands in front of him and muttered an incantation. The air shimmered, and a clear view of Link and Mellie's destination appeared. The boy smiled a sardonic grin.

"You think you're safe? I'm not through with you yet."

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Mellie's staring at me, trying to comprehend what I've just said. She breaks out into a huge grin.

"I've always wanted to see earth. Let's go!" She rushes off, leaving me to run after her.

"Hey, wait! Mellie, you still have pointy ears!" I catch up to her, and find her changing her appearance. Her ears are no longer pointy, and she's wearing a light blue shirt with jeans. I wonder where she learned what earth people wear.

"How do I look? I thought about going for a punk rock look, but this seems more sedate."

"You look fine, though punk rock would work too." I blink. "Wait… how do you know about…" But before I can finish that thought, Mellie's grabbed my hand and is dragging me away, out of the woods.

We travel quickly through the small patch of trees that I at first took to be a forest. As we emerge from the foliage, I see a field. Not just any field. It's filled with corn, so I can't see over it. No real need to though. I remember this field. We're very close to my neighborhood.

"Come on! We can get to my house from here!" I dart in among the corn, habit taking over. I don't know how many times I'd come here to be alone, just walking along the towering plants. Mellie's looking at them in amazement.

"What are they?" I have to laugh.

"It's called corn. You see those things growing out of the stalk? You peel off the leaves and eat the inside." Mellie looks at the corn with new respect. "How do you know about earth anyway?" I ask.

"My mother used to come here all the time. If you know where to look, you can find those with great power. She sought to find someone like that, but she never told me if she did. She started coming here less and less, eventually stopping altogether. Like I said, I don't know what she did here, but she always seemed to be better at more powerful spells when she got back."

"I wonder what she did here," I speculate. "Sounds like some kind of magic lessons." Mellie suddenly stops.

"Do you smell that?" she asks. I stop and sniff the air. It smells like something's burning.

"Yeah. Wonder what that is?"

Mellie walks by me, trying to judge where it's coming from.

"This way!" I make off at a swift run. We travel through the corn until I don't know my way through it anymore. Mellie's leading us with her nose. I'm faintly reminded of a bloodhound. I look up at the sky, and see a faint red glow coming from one direction, smoke billowing in front of it. We're heading in the general direction of it.

As we stumble through the corn, the sound of sirens reaches my ears. It's becoming quite clear to me that something's on fire. Mellie stops suddenly, causing me to bump into her. She doesn't even feel it.

"In what direction is your house?" I pause, trying to comprehend her meaning. Then it hits me.

"It can't be…" I take off running in the direction of the flames. I break out of the cover of the cornfield, and look up at the burning mass of buildings before me.

My neighborhood is on fire.

I run unheeded into the area. Burning debris surrounds me, occasionally falling at my feet. I stumble through the wreckage, trying to find my house. I need to see it, even if I don't want to. Every instinct tells me to turn back now, but I have to get there. I need to…

I can vaguely hear Mellie's footfalls behind me, but I barely care. I race down my street, not wanting to face the inevitable. I will myself to keep going. I must see…

I've reached my house. It's burning, like the rest of the neighborhood. I don't believe it. My home…

Mellie calls out to me. I don't hear her. I walk toward my house, my home for eighteen years…

"It's burning…"

Mellie runs up to me and commences to tell me how stupid I am for running into a burning village. I'm not listening. I look up at the destroyed house. This was once my home…

"Are you even listening to me? Link!" She grabs my arm. I don't feel it. I'm too numb to feel anything. I walk toward my door.

"Don't you even think about going in there!" She stands in front of me. I push her out of the way, barely seeing her. All I see are the flames…

I'm sweating from the heat. All I can do is stare at it. Someone steps out of the shadows, and I instinctively step in front of Mellie and draw my sword. I'm slightly surprised I have one. I never would have thought that it came to earth.

"I am not here to hurt you. You are hurting enough as it is." A boy about my age steps towards us. The flickering firelight gives his face a slightly eerie red tinge. His hazel eyes look at us pityingly. He seems very calm despite the current situation. "You may put your weapon away." I slowly slide the sword back into its sheath.

"Who are you?" I ask. He smiles.

"My name is Michael. I have come to find you. Come with me." He walks toward the door. I follow. "This is your house." It's not a question. "I do not know about your sudden appearance, but many people have been searching for you, not all of them with good intentions." We walk into the house. I notice charred remains of my possessions. I choke back a tear. "Your family searched for you. You have been gone but a few days, though it seems like an eternity. The Magi have been sitting, biding their time. It seems that this is the first step."

"The Magi?"

"Yes. I myself am a Magus. Have you noticed that you have not been touched by flame in here?"

I have noticed. We're surrounded by flame, but none of it touches us. "A spell?"

"Yes. As I was saying, this is but the first step. They will go farther. They have already wreaked havoc on this town, scaring the innocent, constantly searching for their leader. He has not been to this realm in over one hundred years, but all of the magi felt his presence on your birthday. They are returning to him. Few remain faithful to the side of the light. But such is the case. We are trying to persuade those that have not decided where to run to yet, but I fear that we are just not getting quite the response we need. It is fortunate you have arrived." We arrive at my bedroom. "I think you should see this." I step up to the door. Opening it slowly, I look in and see…

I'm looking into a huge room, covered in vines and dimly lit by torches. The damp brick walls on either side give the impression of being underground. "What's going on?" I look at Michael.

"This is the last remaining portal to one of our hideouts. There are no longer any people inside, you need not fear for any of our number. We needed a way to destroy the gateway to a powerful hidden artifact so that none who are undeserving may lay claim to it."

"Shouldn't it be held somewhere close so we can keep an eye on it?" I reach out my hand toward the doorway.

"No!" His arm shoots out and holds my hand back. Slightly embarrassed, he looks down at his feet. "It is not necessary to retrieve it. Come, we have lingered here far long enough." I glance suspiciously at him, but head back down the stairs with him anyway. Mellie's waiting for us on the ground floor.

"Link! Get out of there! It's not safe!" She's really ticked off at me. Must be because I ran into this burning mass of buildings. She's standing there, hands on hips, glaring at me. I take my time.

"Come. We should leave here. You should also change your appearance while you are here." Michael walks down to where Mellie is waiting. I linger a moment on the stairs, staring at the wreckage that once was my home.

"Link! Get down here!" Mellie sounds extremely annoyed. I really don't blame her, but I want one last look at my memories before I never see them again.

"Come Link. We must not be found here." Michael looks expectantly at me.

"I can't change my appearance. Mellie?" She hurries over to me, and I feel my hair getting slightly longer.

"Your hair is black like mine, and your eyes are gray. In short, you look like my brother."

"Thanks… Come on, let's go!" I walk purposefully towards the door, the others trailing behind.

We walk out the door to the street, Michael leading us. As we walk out of the neighborhood, I see the full extent of the damage. All of the houses are burning. None were spared.

"Michael? What happened to the people living here?" Michael looks over at me, his eyes pitying.

"A few made it out of their houses and into a safe haven. We helped as many as we could. Most, however, did not make it." He looks away. "Your parents were among those lost."

His words strike me like a blow to the face. My parents are gone? I stop walking, and a single tear slides down my cheek. "They're gone? What about my sister?"

Michael smiles. "Your sister was saved."

This dulls the pain some. "Where is she? Do you know?"

Michael smiles even broader. "She is with us. She has chosen to help the Magi." Mellie looks at Michael, utterly perplexed.

"His sister is with you? She knows magic?"

Michael smiles again. "Yes, and she is quite good at it, considering her parentage."

We continue walking. I don't feel the wind that ruffles my hair. My parents are dead. It's not possible. This is all Ganondorf's fault. He's so gonna pay. We're walking through the corn again. I barely feel the ground beneath my feet. Mellie keeps looking at me. I wish she'd quit. We come once again to the forest that we appeared in, and I get the peculiar feeling of being watched. Soon I'm lost among the trees, not even recognizing the paths that I used to come along to escape life for a while. It's a while before we stop at a very large tree. Michael puts his hand in a certain groove, and the bark disappears from one part. It's big enough for me to walk through if I crouch. We step through it, and into a very small dark space. As we begin to descend, Mellie gives a small gasp. After about a minute, we emerge in a huge space, about the size of a large warehouse. It has pearly gray-white walls, and it's filled with bookshelves, desks, chairs, and other things. There are about fifty people in here, all of them either reading, talking, or eating something. Michael smiles his biggest grin yet.

"Welcome to headquarters."