Zelda Story

by Kilica

This story, which is NOT completed yet, is a kind of fanfiction based after the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time game from N64. The main character is Link, as usual, but this story does introduce a few different characters, but still has many familiar fa

Link opened his eyes. It was another day in the Kokiri Forest for him. He slowly climbed out of bed and sat Indian style on the floor. Wincing in pain, he removed his sword from under him. "What a place to put a sword." He mumbled.

He stepped out onto his porch overlooking the forest and yawned, stretching his muscles in the process. He proceeded down the ladder, careful not to miss a rung like he did last time; landing on a pouch of deku nuts. Needless to say, that hurt a lot.

Link finally landed on the ground, scanning the area around him. He took out the ocarina Saria had given him before he departed to Hyrule field. Link sighed. He missed Saria so much. Well, she was a temple sage now. She had more important matters on her hands.

Link slowly unsheathed his sword and swung it around at some 'invisible' monster. The sword that had slain so many monsters that had endangered Hyrule. It had killed Queen Gohma and her minions that took the life of the Great Deku Tree. It had also slain King Dodongo and Barinade along with everything else that infested Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly.

The sword, shield, and ocarina had saved his life so many times. Not to mention the deku nuts that momentarily blinded and stunned his enemies. Clutching the hilt of the sword, he walked to the entrance to the small meadow where the Deku Tree Sprout resided.

The sprout looked up and shouted Link a greeting.

"Hey Hero of Time! Long time no see, eh?!" He said merrily.

Link nodded and sat down Indian style in front of the sprout.

"Well, Link. All's well that ends well, eh?"

Link nodded again.

"So, you miss being grown up?" The tree sprout asked.

Link shook his head.

"Oh, so you miss the Master Sword?"

Link shook his head again.

"Your horse?"

Link shook his head again.

"Navi?"

Link sighed and again, shook his head. The Deku Tree Sprout looked at Link in utter confusion, and then taking a moment to think about it, came to a conclusion.

"So it is Princess Zelda you miss?" The sprout gazed at Link, who looked down and blushed.

"Ah ha!" The Deku Sprout said. "I know all and see all!"

Link gazed up at the sprout. "I need to go back."

"How do you mean?" The sprout asked.

"I need to go to Hyrule Field."

"Why? All you need is in this forest."

"I... want to visit Epona." Link shifted in his seat.

The Deku Tree Sprout smiled. "Who am I to stop you, Hero of Time?"

Link stood up and unsheathed his sword. He nodded once to the sprout and headed off to the entrance to Hyrule Field. The Deku Sprout watched him leave.

"He feels it as well as I do." He said to himself. "He just doesn't know it. Evil is about, but its presence is not here. It would be a shame to have him fight again so early in his childhood. What a childhood to waste! I ponder if Princess Zelda knows of this..." he trailed off as he gazed up at the Great Deku Tree who, through his spirit, still watched over the forest.

Link hopped across the small stream towards the entrance to Hyrule Field. He hadn't been out of there for so long. Ever since he walked back from Zelda's castle after he defeated Ganondorf. One of his friends spotted him and ran over to greet him.

"Hey, Link!" She greeted merrily, her blond hair shining in the morning sun. "You're up early!"

Link managed a smile and nodded. "I was just taking a walk."

"Oh." She smiled back at him. "You wanna walk with me?"

"Sorry, I'm supposed to be meeting someone."

"Oh, well, see ya around then!" She waved to him and galloped off.

'That was close.' He thought. He continued through the small forest village; being as subtle as possible.

Finally, he came to the entrance. He eyed Mido, the Kokirian child who kept a constant vigil on the entrance. To Link's advantage, Mido was asleep. Carefully, Link tiptoed past Mido who was still fast asleep.

'Bum.' Link thought. He successfully entered through the entrance and plodded across the bridge, hearing an owl hoot. Finally, he was in Hyrule Field. The Sun shone brightly on him, despite the alley he still stood in, clad with trees.

He walked out into the open area and stretched his muscles. It felt so good to be out in the field instead of the confines of the forest. With his right hand clutching his sword, he started towards Lon Lon Ranch. It would be a long walk from the forest entrance, so he had to start now.

Link ran down the dirt path; making sure he kept on the path so he wouldn't be chased by any monsters. He looked up to see the sun already about to set.

'Should've brought some food with me.' Link thought. 'I guess I'll be staying over at the ranch for tonight.' He quickened his pace as he heard a wolf howl in the distance.

Link had gotten to the entrance of the ranch when a skull child jutted out of the ground, catching Link by surprise. He landed on his rear (and to his relief, not on the deku nuts). He swung his sword around and severed off the skull child's skull.

Its decapitated body still searched for Link like a zombie. Link swung his sword again, and the skullchild's bones shattered and seeped into the ground.

'Nice warm-up.' Link thought, and headed to the safety of Lon Lon Ranch.

He stopped behind the gate and looked around. The lights to the barn and ranch house were still on. Link looked back out at the ranch. He could just make out two figures in the middle. It looked like a small colt and a tall, skinny man.

Link recognized Epona immediately, but he couldn't recognize the man. The man seemed to be trying to tug Epona back into the barn, but she was resisting and was bucking wildly. Finally, the rope snapped and the man tumbled back.

Epona ran away from the man, bucking and kicking wildly. She turned towards the man who had tried to force her against her will into the barn. With an angered neigh, she started charging towards him. The man stumbled up and started running towards the fence.

Epona was no more than 5 feet behind him when the man hastily climbed over the fence.

"Ha-ha! Missed me!" Taunted the man. Link frowned at this. He took out his ocarina and played a low-pitched tune.

The man stopped in his tracks. "Who's there?" He asked nervously. After waiting for a few seconds for a response, he continued toward the barn. When the tall man was far enough away from Epona, Link threw a deku nut in front of the man, creating a blinding light.

The man screamed and ran towards the barn door. Link laughed to himself and walked through the ranch house door. He knew he couldn't jump the gate leading to Epona. He needed a key, and he knew just who to ask.

He walked up the stairs and headed into the bedroom of an old friend. There, in the bed, was a red haired girl; fast asleep. Link thought to himself. He didn't want to just wake her up. He figured he'd just wait until morning to talk to her, and find some food and shelter somewhere else.

Link pushed the door back open and began to walk out.

"I saw what you did down there." A soft voice said behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder to meet the gaze of a pair of blue eyes. The girl was sitting up. Curious on what Link was up to.

"It was funny to see Ingo all scared like that, but don't tell him I said that." She said. Link nodded.

"Hey, I remember you. You're that fairy boy with the ocarina. What are you doing around these parts after such a long time?"

"I came to see Epona." Replied Link. "And I need a place to stay for the night."

"Well, you can stay here. I hope you don't mind sleeping downstairs. I all of a sudden fell ill and I don't want you to catch anything. This is the reason Ingo had such a hard time trying to get Epona into the barn. I usually sing her a song to get her in, but my illness has messed up my throat. I can't sing for now."

Link nodded, then yawned and stretched his arms. "Well, before you go to bed, you probably want to see Epona." The girl undid her necklace and handed it to Link. On the end of the small chain was a key with a horse's head engraved on it.

"This key will open the gate. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them Malon sent you."

Link nodded and headed downstairs and out the door towards the gate and walked out into the open coral.

Epona was standing on the far end, snorting and pawing the ground; Warning Link to stay away. Link stopped several feet away from the angered colt. He would be pushing his luck if he tried to get any closer.

He took out his ocarina and played Epona's Song. Epona's ears perked up. After a few seconds, Epona pranced over to Link. She sniffed his cap and attempted to pull it off. Link tugged his cap out of Epona's teeth and positioned it back on his head.

Epona backed away. The Link she remembered had a fairy, yet this boy had none. Epona wrinkled her nose. There was an itch on it, and she couldn't scratch it. Link reached out a hand and scratched her black tinted muzzle. Epona neighed in relief, and gave Link a big, wet kiss with her lips.

The memories came rushing back to Epona. She remembered the foresty scent that always hung around Link. She remembered his green tunic and brown boots. She also remembered, when they were adults, how much he depended on her to go from town to town and temple to temple.

Epona nuzzled Link's face, tickling his cheek with her velvety black muzzle. Link patted her on the side of her neck; an old habit he formed when she got a little spooked when they were riding out at night.

"Hey, you!" Said a husky, deep voice from behind them. A large man with a bald-head and a bushy mustache walked up to Link and Epona.

"Get away from that colt! She's dangerous!" He exclaimed. Link just stood there, still patting Epona's neck as she stared down the man.

"H-how'd you tame her?" The man asked. Link held the Ocarina to his mouth and played Epona's Song. Epona neighed and licked Link's face with her wet, pink tongue.

"Hey. Only Malon and her mother know that song. Malon must've taught it to you."

Link nodded. The man smiled and held out his hand. "The name's Talon, owner of this ranch, but you might know that already." - Link nodded.

"Well, it's a bit late out. Why don't you stay here for tonight?"

Link nodded and headed inside.

"You're going to have to sleep downstairs though." Talon said.

"Malon's sick, and I don't want you to catch anything." Link nodded his head.

Awhile later, Talon had helped Link set up a little cot downstairs with the chickens, and Link went to bed.

He had drifted off to sleep when he heard a loud clap of thunder. Link found himself standing out in the middle of Hyrule Field. Black clouds were billowing above him. Before him stood an iron clad horse with a blood-red mane. On the horse was a tall shadow with familiar red eyes; Eyes link would never forget.

"Where are they, boy?" The shadow asked. The horse gazed at Link; its eyes as fiery as the Underworld's flames. It grinned maliciously at Link, as if it were about speak. Then, bright jolt of lightning zipped toward Link... it was about to hit him when...

Poof! Link woke up and found a chicken sitting on his head! He pushed it off his face (while spitting feathers out his mouth) and sat up. It was morning again. 'I wonder what that was about.' Link thought. 'Oh well. Better see where Malon and Talon are.' So Link headed outside towards the stables. He only found a couple of cows and the mumbling Ingo. Link left the stables hurriedly trying not to be noticed, in fear that he'd have to listen to Ingo's whining.

A little while later, he finally found Malon standing in the middle of the fenced in part of the ranch, singing. He looked around and saw Epona prancing around Malon. Link went through the gates, walked up to Malon, and asked, "Hey, where's your dad?" Malon sighed and answered, "He left earlier this morning to deliver some milk to the castle. I'm worried because he should've been back awhile ago. He probably fell asleep again!" "Well, I'd better go over and check on him." Link told Malon exasperatedly. "Thanks Fairy boy!" Malon said gleefully and waved him off.

Soon, Link was on his way towards Hyrule Castle. Luckily, he made it into the marketplace right before they closed the gates for the night.

'All I have to do is find Talon, and I'm out of here.' He thought. Link walked through the marketplace; noting all the weirdoes he saw. The couple that always danced glared up at him, warning him not to interfere with their dance.

Link resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at them and walked on. He recognized the little girl chasing the chicken and the little dog that followed everyone around and barked. Link glanced at the Temple of Time; quietly tucked away in the corner of town.

He stopped and stared up at it. Memories of the Master Sword flooded his head. He remembered feeling the cold hilt in his hand; connecting to a steel blade wielding enough power to bring Ganon down to his knees.

Link shook his head. No, he had to get Talon and get back to the forest, but something was calling him to the temple. The great mass of stone and brick beckoned to him. The temple was pulling Link into its power.

Link finally gave in and walked towards the Temple of Time. Then slowly climbed the stone steps. He started to hear faint whispering. Then it grew louder and louder. He pushed open the massive doors and walked in.

A blast of cold air rushed at him, rippling through his golden bangs. Link looked around the aged structure. Everything was in its place. Except the three sacred stones were missing and the door that led to where the Master Sword resided was closed.

The voices Link was hearing started to echo off the walls. He couldn't figure out what they were saying, but whomever the voices belonged to seemed desperate. Link unsheathed his sword and gripped it tightly, afraid that the sword might slip from his sweaty palms.

He walked further in, where the three sacred stones used to reside. Now the voices were whispering again; calling for him. Link looked around once more and found no one. He gazed up at the giant windows that poured in moonlight. It was a beautiful sight for him.

He walked up the carpeted stone steps and stopped at the towering door that sealed the Master Sword and Ganondorf. The voices had dwindled down to one voice with a barely audible whisper.

"Hero of Time." It said, "Free the River of Time."

Link gazed up at the gigantic door with the moon engraved on it. He laid his hand on the cold, stone door. It was like picking up a handful of ice. He felt a light rumbling sound from inside of the chamber. Link moved his hand over the stone-cold door in awe.

'Is this alive?' He asked himself. He jumped as he felt something on his shoulder. Link swirled around, sword in hand, to see Talon staring at him curiously.

"What're you doin' here?" Talon asked. Link stared wide-eyed at the man, still in shock.

"Malon said you went to find me. I guess you got a little side tracked, I see." Talon nodded his head. "And for your information, I didn't fall asleep.I had to stop by the potion shop because one of my horses looked kinda sick. Some of those potions can do miracles, ya know, why the other day-"

Link ignored Talon and his rambling. He just wanted to know just what exactly was on the other side of that door. Link sighed heavily and turned towards Talon.

"I can show you the horse if you want." Said Talon, wrapping up the conversation. Link just nodded his head, not really interested in what Talon had to show him. They soon stepped out onto the bridge leading to Hyrule Field.

'It's morning already?' Thought Link, "But I was only in there for 5 minutes.'

"Well, there he is." Said Talon, presenting the horse to Link. Link stopped in his tracks. 'No.' he thought repeatedly.

'This isn't happening!' He shouted to himself. There, standing before Link was a horse with a blood-red mane and a navy-blue hide. The horse turned to Link; its pupils disappearing in the depths of its obsidian eyes every now and then.

"It wandered over here the night you came. It was just standing outside the ranch. I couldn't just ignore the poor thing."

Link stepped back from the horse. He had seen that horse before. Yes, as a child, right after Zelda rode away with Impa. The horse that Talon had taken in was the mighty steed of Ganondorf.

'Maybe it's just a dream.' Thought Link. 'Maybe it's just the effects of going into the Temple of Time late at night.' Link looked at the horse again. This time its pupils had completely disappeared; lost in the depths of its soul.

"Unless there's anything you want from the market, I suggest that we get going." Said Talon. Link was about to say no, and then nodded his head.

"Well, me an' the horse will go ahead to the ranch. I'll be guessing that you'll catch up later?" Link nodded his head. "Do you want to ride this horse back to the ranch?" Talon asked. Link thought about it, then nodded his head. Perhaps it was a good idea to keep his eye on the horse. He certainly didn't want that thing near Epona.

"Stay here." Link ordered, knowing the horse did understand, but not necessarily obey. He went back through the market place and headed toward the castle. Perhaps it was time to talk to Zelda again...

Saria gazed hopefully at Rauru, the aged sage of light. She studied his worried eyes. Everyone started to turn their attention to Rauru. The sages were on one of the rocky dunes near the Gerudo Valley overlooking Hyrule Field.

"What is it?" Asked Ruto, worried more for Link than Hyrule itself.

"It's not who we think it is, is it?" Asked Darunia.

"I'm afraid so, my friends." Rauru replied gravely.

"You mean he's out?" Nabooru half yelled. Rauru gazed up at the sage of the spirit temple, and then looked around to each of the sages.

"Not yet, he's not. And we should try to keep it that way." Everyone nodded their heads.

"How can he possibly get out? We sealed him in with all of our powers." Said Impa.

"He's gotten out before." Said Rauru gruffly. "He has the Triforce of Power, remember? Any upset to the balance of that Triforce may break the seal."

"You mean, if Link or Princess Zelda-" started Impa.

"Came too close in contact with the seal, that may very well do the trick." Finished Rauru.

"But I thought the Triforce was only activated when they were adults." Saria said.

"You forget that the Triforce of power holds the most ruling over the Triforce, and Ganondorf knows that. The 3 goddesses failed to make all parts of the Trifoce equal."

"What if Ganondorf does break out?" Asked Ruto.

"He probably won't plan his base in Hyrule, this time." Said Nabooru. "Knowing him, he'll go beyond the territory of Hyrule." Everyone turned to Nabooru.

"What?" She asked, noticing everyone staring wide eyed at her.

"Nabooru. You know the most about Ganondorf, do you not?" Questioned Rauru.

"I do. I knew his mother, too."

"Then... you know how he thinks. I mean, you're accustomed to his intentions."

"I think everyone's accustomed to his intentions." Quipped Nabooru, "but yes, I know more than the average Hylian."

"Then tell us. What are his chances of getting out?"

"The realm that Ganondorf is being held in is a pure void."

"Meaning...?" Said Ruto.

"A pure void means it's closed off from other voids and dimensions. Ganondorf cannot call on his dark armies if everything is closed off."

"Well, that's good." Ruto said with a sigh of relief.

"Yes, but he can call his minions through the Temple of Time's seal. We made the seal to hold Ganondorf himself, but not necessarily his power."

"What minions could he possibly have besides the usual monsters that roam the land, but they're not powerful enough." Said Darunia.

"Hehe! He'll call his horse." Laughed Ruto. Darunia and Saria chuckled along with Ruto, but Rauru, Impa, and Nabooru stood silent.

"Rauru, Impa, Nabooru? Why aren't you laughing? It's just a horse!" Giggled Ruto.

"A horse straight from the depths of the twisted under world. The place we should've sent Ganondorf to in the first place! You must not underestimate Ganondorf and his power!" Rauru snapped.

Saria stepped away from the crowd of safes and stopped at a rocky cliff. 'Oh, Link.' She thought. 'Looks like we might need you again.'

Link crouched behind a tree in front of Hyrule Castle. He hoped that he hadn't lost his touch in sneaking past guards. He crawled on his belly up the small grassy slope to find a guard looking off in the distance. Using this opportunity, he dashed between the two guards and stopped at the shallow canal.

Holding his breath, he jumped into the cold water and swam until he came across the small hole in the side of the castle. Boy, he hadn't done this in years.

'Nothing starts the morning off like sneaking past guards.' Link mused to himself. 'If only I had a bow and arrows...' he trailed off in his thoughts as he slid past the first three guards, ending up at the fountain with the stone angel in the middle of it.

He ran past that guard and snaked through the bushes. Finally, he was in the courtyard where he first met Zelda. He saw her seated near the shallow stream, gazing into its waters. She looked up to see Link approaching her.

"You managed to get past the guards again?" She asked a hint of smile on her lips. Link nodded and sat down beside her. She sighed and picked up a yellow flower that resided at the edge of the stream.

"It's been so long, hasn't it Link... Hero of Time?" Link nodded and shifted his weight to sit in a more comfortable position.

"Somehow, I was expecting you, Link. My dreams shave been peaceful, but it is what I sense when I am awake." She grasped the flower tighter and looked at Link, meeting his gaze. "I went to the Temple of Time recently." She looked back down at the flower. "This may sound crazy but... I heard voices. Voices from the temple. I went in and stopped at the sealed door. They were calling me."

"Voices were calling me, too. They said 'Hero of Time, Free the river of time."

"How unusual." said Zelda. "You don't think... it was him?" The thought made Link's stomach flop.

"I hope not." He replied. "And I hope his horse isn't in on this."

"Why?" Zelda asked.

"Because, strangely enough, his horse just appeared outside of Lon Lon Ranch the night I stayed over there." Zelda suddenly stopped and looked up at Link.

"This could turn out to be something horrible." she whispered in a frightened tone. "That horse... I don't know what it is, but what I do know is that it isn't your average horse." Link and Zelda sat there, silently, thinking of what new, or old, foe could be after them this time.

A few minutes later, Link stood up.

"Well, I think I'd better get back to Lon Lon Ranch."

"If you're going, I'll let you use one of our horses." Zelda suggested.

"That's okay. I already have a horse to ride back." Link replied.

"Oh, really? Did Malon let you borrow Epona?" Zelda asked in a surprised voice.

"Actually, no. I'm going to be riding the horse we were just talking about."

Before Zelda could utter a word, Link was off, dodging the guards and running toward the market. As he passed through the market, he heard the little dog barking tirelessly towards the Temple of Time. Everyone else seemed to be oblivious to the fact that something was wrong with the temple.

Out of nowhere, a wave of darkness ravaged Link's senses. The little dog was sent yelping towards its master. To Link's fear, he heard a horse neigh.

'Oh, no.' Link thought. 'Don't tell me everyone just let a huge blue horse trot to the temple.' Link ran to the courtyard of the temple to find the morbid-looking horse staring intently at him.

Link swallowed hard. How could he be intimidated by a horse when he had previously faced Ganondorf? He walked up to the horse. It surprised Link as the deathly-colored animal towered over him. It was much bigger than Epona.

The giant horse stood amazingly quiet. It didn't snort or neigh. It didn't even swish its tail or flare its nose. It just stood there. All senses were locked on Link. The small Kokiri boy merely came up to the beast's chest. It did not move its head to follow Link's movements. The horse only stood still, like a stone statue.

Link searched for any reins or bridals, but found none. Now how was he supposed to lead it back to the ranch?! Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw the horse swivel its ears. Then one by one, its legs folded under the massive body and it eased itself down so Link could easily climb onto its back.

Link blinked in confusion, then complied and climbed onto the saddle. The saddle itself was soft like leather, but the rim of the saddle was clad in steel. Cold steel that stung Link's legs. The horse stood back up, which almost gave Link a nosebleed. This horse was huge!

'Now how do I make him move?' "Uh... go?" The horse stood there as if it were teasing Link. "Hey! Come on! I have to get back to Lon Lon Ranch!" Then he kicked the sides of the horse and the horse reared on his two back legs and started galloping off. Link, while hanging on for dear life, started to try to look around. 'So much for that idea.' Link thought. If he tried to look anywhere, all he'd see were blurs. A few seconds later, they stopped. "Whoa! That was fast!" Link said.

The horse merely remained still. It's tail swishing every now and then. 'Now how do I get him down again?' "Hey... uh, horse? Can you lie down for a minute, I-" Link stopped talking as the horse turned its head to the side so one eye was peering at Link.

The beast's pupil flickered back, and then its whole eye was enveloped in a red, glowing light. Before Link could say anything, the horse turned violently and galloped off toward Kakariko Village. Link was barely hanging on. His cheek pressed against the muscular neck of the lightning fast steed.

It felt as if they were flying, the horse was moving so fast. Link managed to look up, despite the stinging wind against his face. To his horror, he saw the entrance of Kakariko Village getting closer and closer.

He dug his nails into the horse's neck, but its hide was too thick. He kicked its sides and shouted stop, but the horse paid no mind to the panicking Hylian. In one fluid jump, the horse passed over the small stream that led to the Zora's Domain. It landed on the other side and charged up the steps.

Link shouted warnings to the villagers, but stopped short when a chicken smacked him in the face. He heard women shouting and the men yelling in terror as the animal galloped up the steps leading to the foot of Death Mountain. It continued at the break-neck speed; dodging large boulders and rolling Gorons.

Finally, they came to the long valley where large rocks engulfed in flames usually aimed themselves at Link. The horse stopped, slightly catching its breath. Link remembered this part of his journey from long ago. He needed a Hyrulian Shield to get past here.

The horse shook its head and headed off towards the mountain. Death Mountain almost immediately started erupting. 'Some monster must be living near the mountain.' Link thought. A boulder with burning flames barely missed Link and the demonic steed.

"Are you trying to get us killed!?" Shouted Link. The horse only neighed and continued to dodge the fiery onslaught. Finally, they came to the base of the cliff, crawling with blue tektites.

"How are you going to climb this?" Link asked, almost teasing the horse. In response, it leaped onto the first ledge. Amazed and in shock, Link stared down at the horse. The horse backed up a little, then leaped onto the next ledge, knocking off a blue tektite in the process.

Link peered up. The edge of the cliff was too far up. The horse would never make it. Moreover, that probably meant that Link wouldn't make it either. He gazed back at the horse, which just stood there.

"I guess I can climb the rest of the way. You clearly want me to go up there." Link said, but the horse refused to let him get off.

Instead, it turned so that its rear faced the cliff side. It reared forward and, using its hind feet kicked the face of the cliff. Small cracks appeared where the horse struck. Then, slowly, the cliff collapsed into an inclining slope.

The horse started up the slope with surprising speed - heading straight for the entrance of the infernal heart of Death Mountain. Link's eyes widened as he saw the horse's destination. He would be burned alive. Feeling the adrenaline rush, Link reached into his deku nuts bag and threw five in front of the horse, creating a painfully blinding light. The horse panicked and reared back, incidentally falling backwards onto Link.

Black.

That was all Link could see. He focused his eyes; barely making out a figure of a woman.

'Help us, Link.' It whispered. Link strained to focus his eyes even more on the figure.

"Don't let him get us!" The figure cried. In a blinding flash of light, the image and the voices disappeared. Link opened his eyes and found that he was on top of the mountain alone.

He sat up and rubbed his head. Had it been a dream? Was the horse real? He paused in his thoughts. Then how did he get up here. Was he- Link noticed a gaping hole near the entrance of the Death Mountain Crater, where the Fairy Fountain resided.

'Oh no.' Link thought as he scrambled up and ran towards the hole. To his horror, he saw that the stone pillars lay in ruins and the gentile, blue trickle of water now ran red. With trembling fingers, he played Zelda's Lullaby on the ocarina, but no fairy came to his aid.

'Was that the person in my dream?' He thought. 'The fairy?' He scampered back out of the fountain; only to come face to face with one horrified Goron.

"The fountain! Have you seen our fountain?!" The Goron wailed. Link walked up towards the Goron and comforted him.

"What happened?"

"The Dodongos are at it again! But this time they kidnapped the Great Fairy!" He cried.

"But I thought the Dodongos ran off."

"Well, they haven't! They're meaner and bigger in every way! Will you stop them and bring back the Great Fairy? Hero of Time?" The Goron looked up hopefully at Link. The young Hyrulian gazed back down at the Goron. He was a bit tired of being called 'Hero of Time.' It wasn't as if he did all the work...

He could only nod his head at the Goron's request. 'It's going to be a long day.' thought Link as he climbed back down the mountain.

"There's the entrance." Said the tiny Goron, tugging Link into a rather large hole in the ground.

"They've burrowed in here. Be careful!" The Goron shouted as Link climbed down the tunnel. Dusting himself off, he continued down the tunnel.

"Oh, just great. There's no light in here. Now how am I supposed to- ahhh!" Something brushed up against his leg. Something small and scaly.

'Please don't let it be a baby Dodongo.' He said to himself; knowing now they like to explode once they've been defeated. Well, whatever it was, out of instinct, he stuck his sword into it anyway.

To his horror, he heard a familiar screech of pain. Jackpot. He just defeated a baby Dodongo. In a hasty reaction, he grabbed its tail and threw it down the tunnel. The baby, of course, exploded, catching bits of roots and grass on fire.

'Ah, nature's candles.' Mused Link as he headed down the now lit path. Upon coming towards a door, he stumbled over something. Looking down, he noticed a treasure chest. Curious, he opened the lid to find a sling shot. 'Haven't seen you in awhile.' said Link to himself. He opened the metal door and was met by an onslaught of keese.

After fighting them off, he continued down the corridor. He eventually came to a fork in the paths. 'Now, where am I supposed to go from here?' Link thought. 'Oh yeah! It's this way!' Therefore, he went down the right part of the fork. Soon, he had reached the cavernous room that had a hole leading to the King Dodongo. "Ooo! Goody! I get to fall about 20ft. to the ground!" Link declared sarcastically. "Well, better get it over with!" Then he walked up to the hole, and jumped in.

In what felt like hours, Link finally fell with a 'thud' on the hard, rocky floor. "Ouch!" Link shouted. "They need to put something like a pillow here if I'm gonna keep defeating these Dodongos!" Soon Link started to look around. "Hey, who am I supposed to be fighting?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Because, standing there in front of him was what seemed to be the Queen Dodongo! Almost immediately, she started attacking Link with huge fireballs. "Hey! Watch it!" Link shouted while getting his hat singed.

Queen Dodongo paused in her fiery assault. Her head was covered in sharp, curving horns. Unlike King Dodongo, she was bigger, more ill tempered, and bent on revenge. She roared loudly, making the walls shake.

Link uprooted a bomb flower and threw it at the Queen as she was about to open her mouth. Abruptly, she snapped her jaws shut and the bomb exploded against her unbreakable armor. She tucked herself into a ball; exposing her needle-like spikes, and charged towards Link.

Link scampered over to the edge of the lava pool; Queen Dodongo's spikes barely missed him. He unsheathed his sword although he knew it would be useless against her armor. Old habits die hard.

The Queen stopped and un-tucked herself as she collided on one of the four walls. She turned towards Link; her teal eyes flashing dangerously. She opened her mouth; flashing her full set of canines, and spewed two fireballs. One in front of Link and one behind him.

The small warrior coughed as the dust and dirt got caught in his throat. He tried to see past the billowing clouds of dust and debris - searching for a towering shadow. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large, scaly tail appeared before him and whacked him hard. Sending him into a nearby wall.

Link collapsed to the ground. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt a trickle of blood run down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and slowly got up. The dust had finally cleared and he saw the large monster rolling towards him in a spiky ball.

The ground beneath him shook violently underneath the Dodongo's force and power. An idea came to Link as he quickly ran to the edge of the lava pit. Her spikes barely missing him again.

He sensed a pattern in her attacks. She would roll towards him, throw fireballs at him and purposely miss him, create a dust cloud to confuse him, knock him down with her tail, and then charge him again. And by the looks of the ground, it couldn't handle anymore of her spikes impaling themselves into it.

As planned, she spewed two fireballs, purposely missing him. Link ran quickly in the opposite direction of the Queen. On the way, he picked up two bomb flowers. He lay the two bomb flowers down at the corner where she usually unraveled.

Right before she reached the two bombs, Link threw a deku nut to set them off. The ground crumbled beneath Queen Dodongo's weight and sent her falling into the volcanic pits of Death Mountain where not even her armor could save her from the bubbling inferno of lava. A light, blue warp platform suddenly appeared to the left of Link. Breathing heavily, he trudged over to the warp light and soon appeared in front of the Great Fairy. Beside her stood the pint-sized Goron.

"You saved us, Hero of Time!" The Goron exclaimed. The Great Fairy nodded and laughed maniacally. Link wasn't sure if he would ever get used to the sight or sound of the Great Fairies. As usual, she was adorned in vines, and her hot-pink hair floated behind her.

"Hero of Time." She said. "You never fail to amaze me. It's been so long, but you've still got it in you." She giggled.

'Get to the point.' Link said mentally.

"You're probably wondering why a monster was still in Death Mountain." She paused. "The Sages and I… we think it might be Ganondorf."

In those few seconds, it felt like his heart had dropped to his feet. The fairy had uttered the words he never wanted to hear again.

"Link, we need you one last time."

Link's grip loosened on the hilt of his sword, and it dropped to the ground.

The clatter echoed through the void they stood in, but he didn't hear it. All he heard was his own heart beating. Could he really fight Ganondorf again? Was he strong enough? He was just hoping he could live peacefully in the Kokiri Forest and live a like a normal kid.

Link was startled from his thoughts as he felt something soft on his right cheek. The Great Fairy had her hand softly placed upon his cheek; a pleading look in her eyes.

"Me, the Sages. All of Hyrule. We all need you to fight him one last time. You are the Hero of Time and possessor of the Triforce of Courage. You know, you may decline from our request. No one's forcing you to do this."

Link glanced at the small Goron who watched on anxiously; awaiting Link's response.

"I will stop him." Replied Link. "And I will restore the peace to whatever he has corrupted."

The Great Fairy smiled and planted a light kiss on Link's forehead, making him blush slightly.

"The Sages wish to see you. Hero of Time."

Link could hear the crazy laughter of the fairy and the cheering of the little Goron as he felt himself being transported to the realm where the Sages resided.

He blinked to focus his vision and saw that Rauru was standing in front of him. He looked around and saw Saria, his childhood friend, Ruto, Darunia, Impa, and Nabooru.

"Hero of Time." Started Rauru. "I trust you have heard from the Great Fairy that Ganondorf's forces are about. Those words, I regret to say, are true. The King of Evil has tainted this land with his impurities and he's twisting it into his favor.

"He is bent on revenge and we are set in his targets. If you are to accept this mission -"

"I do." Link said, cutting Rauru off.

"Link! Be careful!" Said Ruto.

"I believe in you, Brother." Said Darunia. "And thank you for saving my people from Queen Dodongo."

"Hey, kid." Called Nabooru. "You hang tough, alright?"

"Link." Said Impa. He turned towards her. "You might be needing this." She tossed him the Ocarina of Time. "Princess Zelda had a hunch you'd agree to save us again. But then again, once a hero, always a hero."

Link nodded and tucked the Ocarina safely away. He then turned to Saria who had her hands clasped to her chest, her blue eyes burdened with worry.

"If I know you, Link, and I do, you will save us from Ganondorf and his forces. Because you're Link. The Hero of Time. My friend; our guardian." Saria took a deep breath. "You remember my song, right?"

Link nodded. He took the Ocarina back out and played Saria's Song. Saria smiled with tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't get too stubborn." She half chuckled.

"We will transport you to the Temple of Time." Said Rauru.

"And we'll open the seal for you. But from there on, you're on your own, kid." Said Nabooru.

Link nodded, and with one last glance, was transported to the Temple of Time.

He lightly touched down on the warp platform of the Temple of Time. The thud of his boots against the hard, tiled floor echoed throughout the room. The familiar voices chanting the Song of Time greeted him with their mysterious melody.

The small warrior gazed up at the towering stone seal with a moon and star engraved on it. Small clouds of dust erupted from the sides of the seal as it moved backwards, the slid itself into the wall; its bottom grating against the floor.

From where he was standing, Link could see the familiar silhouette of the legendary Master Sword. He walked towards the pedestal; half excited, half depressed. He placed his shaking hand upon the hilt of the sword and grasped in tightly.

"Hey!" Shouted a familiar voice. Link swerved around and was surprised to find his little, blue fairy friend, Nave. "Link!" She shouted as she zipped over towards her old friend.

"Navi!" Shouted Link; overjoyed to see his friend no matter how annoying she sometimes seemed.

"The Deku Sprout sent me just in time! You're going to need all the help you can get!"

Link nodded. "I'm glad to see you Navi. I didn't want to go in alone." He smiled warmly.

"Then what are you waiting for, then?!" She exclaimed.

Link took a deep breath and once again gripped the purple hilt of the Master Sword. With a light tug, he raised the Legendary Blade out of its resting place and felt a strong surge of wind blow against him. He felt his bones and muscles stretching into that of an adult. In a blue flash of light, seven years had passed.

He gripped the Master Sword and swung it around to get the feeling of it. He stretched his taunt muscles and looked around for Navi.

"Navi?" He asked, surprised at the sudden deepness of his voice. He felt a light tap on the head, under his cap. Navi wedged herself out and greeted him happily.

"My, you look handsome!"

Link blushed at the sudden compliment. He started to walk out of the room, when he felt a light rumble. The rumble turned into a quake which created giant cracks in the temple's structure.

"Navi! What's happening?!" Link shouted.

"I don't know!" Navi replied from under his cap. "But we better get out of here!"

The warrior did not hesitate to comply. He ran towards the open part of the aged structure; dodging falling pieces of ceiling as he went. Just as he entered the doorway, a sharp piece of rock nicked him on the arm; staining his white undershirt and turning it into a maroon color.

Just as he entered the dreary courtyard, the sacred Temple of Time collapsed. Link watched in horror as clouds of dust rose from the fallen structure. He couldn't believe his eyes as the dust formed itself into a horse and rider. Link could already tell who that rider was before it even approached him.

Ganondorf grinned down at Link from atop his horse.

"Looks like you've lost, boy. Your little sacred temple and my prison are gone for good. Now I can just take my time in taking over this wretched land. I think I'll start by turning everyone against you. Then maybe, after they've served my evil deeds enough, I'll kill them."

"NO!" Link shouted and raised the Master Sword above his head to strike the evil king. Ganondorf easily caught the blade and laughed. "Not so tough without your little sage friends, now are you?" He shoved the blade back at Link which sent him tumbling to the ground.

"You're in over your head, this time, boy. I'm going to rule the planet, and soon the universe, because I have the Triforce of Power!" His horse reared up at the sound of his maniacal evil laughter. "Think you can stop me? I'd like to see you try." He grinned. "But I wouldn't suggest that you look in Hyrule for me. Let's just say I like to be the outcast."

With that said and done, the horse galloped past them; Leaving Link and the ruins of the Temple of Time behind them. Link slowly got up. His legs felt like they would buckle under his weight at any second. He held his head down and gritted his teeth.

"Link?" Navi asked cautiously. "Are you alright?"

In an act of utter frustration, Link thrusted the blade of the Master Sword into the ground and fell to his hands and knees.

"Link!" Navi exclaimed. "What's the matter?!"

"I should have seen it!" he hissed to himself. "I was so foolish to let it pass by!" he balled up his fists.

"Link?! Make sense of what you're saying!"

"The voices! The horse! Everything! The voices were telling me to open the seal to the Temple of Time and sacred Realm! The same voices drew Princess Zelda to the temple. The voices were Ganondorf's! He tricked us into letting him out!"

Navi looked on in worry and sadness as she saw a tear drop onto the cobblestone ground.

"I let him, Navi. I let Ganondorf free. I've doomed us all. Now," he choked back a sob, "his prison is destroyed and there is nowhere to seal him."

"Link! This isn't your fault! You, Ganondorf, and Princess Zelda are bound together by the Trifocal's powers. It is fate that has led you together."

"Fate." muttered Link. "So Hyrule's fate is to be doomed by Ganondorf?"

"No!" exclaimed Navi. "No one's fate is set in stone. Not yours, not Princess Zelda's. Not even Ganondorf. Fate can be changed, Hero of Time."

"Why did they pick me? What if I fail?"

"Stop talking such nonsense, Link! You can't change anything by just sitting there and complaining about it!" Navi hovered in front of his face. "We understand how you feel, Link. What would Saria say if she saw you like this?"

At the mention of his childhood friend's name, Link's head shot up. "She'd say 'Link. If I know you, and I do, you will save us from Ganondorf and his forces... Because you're Link. The Hero of Time. My friend, our guardian'."

Navi giggled. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Link answered her by picking up his sword and running off towards Hyrule Field.

"Hey! Wait!" she shouted after him. To Link's surprise, the marketplace was not broken down, or gloomy. It just looked like a regular night. The redeads weren't even there.

Link looked up to see a couple of keese flying overhead.

'Strange.' He thought. 'Nothing's here to attack-' suddenly, a Lizalfos jumped in front of him from one of the roof tops. Then two others jumped on each side of him; screeching and snapping their jaws.

"Link! Watch out!" Navi called. 'Naw duh.' Link thought as he battled the three monsters. When they were defeated, Link decided it was best to leave the marketplace. To his complete surprise, the drawbridge was not broken and he was able to cross it with ease.

'I guess I'll be needing Epona, again.' he thought as he hurriedly made his way to the ranch.

"What?!" exclaimed Link to the weeping Malon; now in her teens.

"They're all gone! The horses! He slayed them all! He and his minions!" She cried. "And Ingo's working for the King of Evil now, and my father... he-" she collapsed to the ground in a weeping heap.

Link's arms encircled her small frame; trying to comfort her. He knew it wasn't the right time to ask, but he needed to know the answer.

"Where's Epona?"

Malon sniffled and looked at him with her blood shot eyes. She somehow looked strange to Link because he had never seen her not smiling.

"If I know Epona, she escaped safely." Malon touched his arm lightly. "She's probably out there waiting for you to play her song. Go to her."

He hesitated at Malon's request. "I'll be fine." she assured him. "Knowing that you're here and that Epona is safe is all I need to comfort me."

"C'mon Link!" Said Navi. "Let's go find Epona!"

Link nodded and glanced one last time at Malon before exiting the ranch and entering Hyrule Field. Before he played Epona's Song, he played Saria's Song, just to keep in touch with the sages.

"You want to talk to Saria?" Asked Navi. Link nodded. "Then I'll make the connection now."

In a few seconds, Link could hear Saria's voice in his head.

"Glad to know you're okay." she said, her voice merry as usual. "I think there's something you need to know."

"Well?" Link asked as she paused in her information.

"If you're wondering about Epona, she rescued Zelda from the castle when Ganondorf attacked. I don't know where they went, but I trust it's somewhere safe."

Link nodded.

"Speaking of Ganondorf, he said he wouldn't be found in Hyrule. He said something about a being an outcast."

"Well, I guess you could say that..." Saria replied.

"What do you mean? What's he talking about, Saria?" Link asked.

"See, Ganondorf has set up his base outside of Hyrule."

"Outside of Hyrule?" Link repeated in a surprised tone.

"Yes. Outside of Hyrule." Saria replied again.

"I guess I sort of expected that." Link sighed. "I guess I'd better hurry up then."

"Good luck, Link." Saria said as the connection was broken.

As Link was headed down the path towards Gerudo Valley, he decided to go to Lake Hylia instead.

'Might as well.' Link thought as he went to the side of the entrance to climb up the partially-hidden ladder. As he was climbing the ladder, the sun started to set in the West.

'Great! My little stroll has turned into a midnight Keese fest!' Link thought angrily. 'Can't I have a little peace?!' Just as the words popped into his head in his head, two Keese came streaming toward him from opposite directions. 'Oh well.' Link sighed as he took out the Master Sword. He slashed first to the left, so he could kill one Keese. he then waited, and attacked as the other one got closer. "Gotcha!" Link said in a final voice. 'I'd better get moving before any more come after me!' he said to himself. So he headed toward the underwater entrance to Zora's Domain. 'How about I give King Zora a little visit.' Link thought. Link went through the warp and swam upward in Zora's Domain. He got up on the shore, went past the Zora shop, and went around and up the stairs to King Zora's throne room.

There, atop his watery thrown sat King Zora. Sleeping.

'Oh, come on!' thought Link with a frustrated sigh. "Ahem. Excuse me." King Zora still slept; wavering back and forth.

'What does it take to wake up a fish?' he walked to the dark hall leading to the top of the waterfall. He looked at the small underground cave. 'Everything seems to be okay. Nothing's frozen. It seems a little empty, though. Maybe they're all sleeping.'

He jumped off the waterfall and gracefully dived into the water. Navi batted him on the head with one of her wings.

"Would you like to tell me when you're about to jump in some water!" she said, coughing and sputtering.

"Sorry." he said, swimming to the shore. 'I guess everything here is okay. I guess I could go to that thing outside of Hyrule now. It's time to put Ganondorf to rest. And for good!' "C'mon Navi!" he shouted as he ran out of Zora's Domain and into Hyrule Field. He put the Ocarina of Time to his lips and played Epona's Song.

In a matter of seconds, he could hear the rhythmic hoof beats of his beloved horse. her built form appeared over the horizon; her white, spiky hair danced in the wind. She slowed her pace as she approached him.

Link patted her on the neck and mounted her. It felt good to be on a horse he could trust.

"Okay, Navi. Which direction do we go?"

"Well, the sages said west. Past Lake Hylia. you should see a canyon a little ways into the new territory."

"Then we're off!" shouted Link. With a click of his tongue, Epona was off. Galloping towards the unknown land. On the way, he passed the ranch. He saw Malon waving to him happily.

"Take care of yourself!" She called after him. "You too, Epona! I believe in you!"

Link waved back, flashing a smile in her direction, and then turned back towards his destination. Malon clasped her hands together and held them to her heart and watched Link until he disappeared into the sunset.

Link started to notice that it was getting dark. He patted the side of Epona's strong, mahogany neck for reassurance. They soon came upon the small canyon. They stopped at the narrow entrance.

"Think you can squeeze through?" Epona neighed softly, the sound echoed off the canyon walls. She proceeded through the canyon cautiously.

Link looked around slowly. Taking in the dark, rocky features dripping with water. he could hear Epona's hooves splattered with mud.

"I'm going to have to clean you up." he said to her, running his hand through thick, spiky hair. She broke into a steady gallop as a wolf howled in the distance. As she did so, she kicked up even more muddy water.

"Hey! Watch it!" said Link as he felt wet splatters on his face. Finally, they came to an opening. The land looked just like Hyrule, except for the absence of buildings. It was grassy with a few worn trails and many trees.

"I guess this is it." stated Navi. "Unless there was a fork in the canyon that we missed." she giggled lightly. "We should keep heading west, so just go straight."

Link nodded and soon, they were galloping across the field. The moon shone brightly in the dark blue sky. A couple of stars glittered.

"So, is the thing we're looking for suppose to stand out?"

"I don't know! Just ride until you see something!" Navi replied, and so they did. After what seemed like hours of riding, Link motioned Epona to stop.

"We can rest here." he said dismounting his trusty steed. "She needs to eat."

Epona walked (er, trotted) off a couple of feet and started grazing on some grass.

"In the meantime, you can contact Saria and ask about where we are supposed to go." Navi suggested. Link nodded and played Saria's Song.

"Link." A voice piped up in his head. "I'm guessing that you've made it."

"Well, so far, so good. I'm in the field. Where am I supposed to be heading?"

"You'll be looking for a gorge. It's not hard to miss, although it's called Moon Tear Canyon. When you get there, you should meet with the sage that presides in the temple."

Link nodded. "Okay. Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Saria giggled. "Good luck." and then the connection was cut off.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us." said Navi. Link only nodded. He lay down on his back and gazed up at the stars. Navi settled onto his nose. "Don't get too comfortable. We're in unknown territory. We don't know what to expect."

Link glanced at the blue fairy perched on his nose, then gazed back at the stars.

"You know, Navi. I've never really taken a chance to look at the stars before."

Navi sighed in frustration. "Link! We really should-"

"-be careful." Link finished. "I know."

Epona listened to the conversation while munching on some grass. She didn't understand a word of it, but she was happy to see that her rider was relaxed. She went back to her monotonous business of chewing grass.

Link pulled out his sword and turned it so the moonlight reflected off of it. He exhaled, and to his surprise, a puff of 'smoke' came out.

'It's getting kinda cold.' he thought. He turned toward Epona. 'Maybe I should let her rest a little while longer.'

He turned his head back to the stars; feeling his eyelids growing heavy. As soon as he started to doze off, he bolted upwards.

"Navi, do you sense something?"

Navi awakened from the perch on the tip of his boot. (She moved.) She fluttered up towards his face. "We should head out." Link nodded in agreement and called Epona, who came galloping to his side.

He mounted her and they were off again. Riding into the night with a blue fairy trailing behind them. Link noticed that the ground was going from grass to pure sand.

'A desert?' he thought. Navi peered around to see great dunes of sand seeming to sparkle in the huge moon's rays.

"Be careful, Epona." Link warned. "It's not easy to run in sand." As the night dragged on, Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword. Epona kept her moderate pace of galloping; heeding Link's warning. As they moved on, tiny spikes appeared out of the sand.

Epona paid them no mind and kept going. Suddenly, whatever that was attached to the spikes, jumped out of the sand and bit Epona on one of her hind legs. She neighed in surprise and nearly tripled her pace.

"Slow down!" said Link, trying to calm her. He peered behind him and saw that her back left leg was bleeding.

"Navi, did you see what bit her?"

"No." the fairy replied. "It was too fast."

"We'll see about that." Link mumbled. He watched as another spike flew out of the sandy ground.

This time, Link managed to catch it by what seemed like a tail.

"A fish? In the sand?" he asked, confused. The fish wriggled in his grip angrily. Its metal spike studded back reflected the moon's light. It snapped its jaws at its captor; showing off its razor-sharp teeth.

Navi neared the small creature and turned a bright yellow. "It's a sand guppy." she announced. "A good swing of the sword oughta do it." With that said, Link slashed the sand guppy in half. The thing let out a piercing scream before falling to the ground.

Perhaps triggered by that scream, hundreds of the sand guppies sprang out of the ground towards Link and Epona.

"Get under my cap." Link ordered Navi. She complied and flew under his green cap. Link swung his sword, which was immediately followed by many tiny screams.

Epona tried outrunning them, but they were too fast in the sand. One of the creatures jabbed itself into Epona's side; making her falter in her already hastened pace. Link swung his sword at it just before it hit the ground. Cutting it in half. After that, no other sand guppy surfaced and the remaining survivors fled. Link let out a sigh of relief. 'Well, that's over with.' He ignored the shooting pains in his arms and legs and the many cuts and bruises he now sustained.

He looked down at Epona who had stumbled to a halt. The sight of her sent Link through a guilt trip. Her beautiful white hair now lay matted against her neck. A thin layer of sweat had accumulated on her mahogany hide and she was panting heavily. He could feel her sides heaving from the side of his legs. Her tongue drooped out of her mouth like a tired dog. Not to mention the cuts and scrapes she had gotten.

"Is everything all right out there?" Navi asked. Just as Link was about to respond, a large rock jutted out of the sand from beneath them, sending both the horse and rider flying. Link did a mid-air back flip and landed on his feet. He coughed as sand got up his nose and throat.

"Epona!" he called out between gags. "Where are you?!" He clutched his sword even tighter as he stood up to scan the area. he just happened to look up, through the dust cloud, and spot Epona's silhouette. A wave of relief passed through him... until he saw what was behind her.

He nearly dropped his sword as a large, red, ruby eye that was at least ten times Epona's size, blinked once. Navi peeked from under Link's cap and nearly doubled over in terror.

"It's a Sand Shark, Link. They are extremely tough and fast moving through the sand. But, their eyesight is based on movement. So don't move!"

"Then how am I supposed to get Epona?!" He whispered fiercely.

"Tell her to stay still until the shark goes back under the sand!" Link sighed in frustration and looked towards Epona.

"Epona!" He whispered as loud as he could. "Stay!" Epona turned her head tiredly towards Link. Alarmed, Link looked up at the shark's eye. It was already locked on Epona. The dust soon cleared and Link could see some kind of metal covering surrounding the creature's eye. The rest of the body was still under the sand.

"Distract it, Navi!" Link hissed.

"What am I supposed to do?!" She screeched.

"Lead it away from here for awhile. I need to help Epona!"

With a nervous sigh, Navi brightened her blue aura and flittered away from Link and his tired horse. The Sand Sharks eye followed Navi carefully. Under her, formed a whirlpool of sand. And out of it jumped the rather large creature. Its jaws gaping; hungry for the blue fairy. Navi looked down looked down the throat which looked like a red, endless pit. She managed to fly just out of reach of its serrated, sharp teeth.

Link stopped in his tracks. Now he saw the full size of the menacing creature. It looked as big as a medium sized mountain. Its towering and metal studded features cast a great shadow over Link. Now was his chance.

He half ran, half stumbled over to Epona. "Are you all right?!" Can you walk?"

Epona looked at him as if that were the most stupid question he could possibly ask. She nudged his side. Motioning for him to get on. Link smiled at her. Amazed by her bravery and persistence. He mounted her carefully so he wouldn't brush up against any cuts or scrapes.

Soon, they were off. Riding towards the gorge.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Shouted Navi, speeding over towards the escaping horse and passenger.

"No, don't come this way! It'll follow you!" shouted Link. But it was too late. Navi hid herself under his cap. The monster saw this and tunneled back down into the dunes and followed them under the sand. A long, slender (yet tall) metal fin followed them.

"Can you out-maneuver it, Epona?" Link asked the already tired horse. She swerved to the right, but the fin followed her movements and got even closer. She swerved to the left and nearly tripped as the fin bumped against her leg.

"Stop!" shouted Link, and Epona skidded to a stop just in time to narrowly miss the gaping jaws of the sand shark. It continued to follow them with half its body submerged under the sand.

'It's risky, but I'll have to try.' thought Link as he directed Epona around to charge at the shark.

"Link?! What are you doing?" screamed Navi. "Don't run towards it!"

"I've got a plan." said Link, a little short of breath. He lightly jabbed Epona's sides with the heel of his boots to make her go faster.

The creature's ruby-red eye locked onto the opposing target. Link raised his sword as he neared the sand beast. When he came across the eye, with all his strength, he swung the sword into the shark's eye and heard a rough, scraping sound.

Link looked at the sword he held. The tip had tiny scratches on it. To his dismay, the creature still lay unscathed. It dived back under; hiding itself under the numerous sand dunes. Link pulled Epona to a stop.

"Where'd it go?" he panted. Navi shrugged.

"Wait! Look over there!" she said. In the distance was the silhouette of a large mound. Dust and sand sprayed everywhere. The mound turned into a cave with jagged rocks pointing out.

"What's that?" asked Navi.

"...his mouth. And it's heading straight for us!" Link jabbed Epona into running as fast as she could. He looked back to see the gaping mouth getting closer and closer. The sand started to slide beneath them into its jaws.

Epona lost her footing and collapsed onto the river of sand. Link hurriedly dismounted her and tried to get her back on her hooves.

"Link! Hurry!" Navi cried as they neared the open mouth.

'If only I had my hook shot!' Link yelled to himself. "Hang on!"

Link grabbed Epona by her saddle and used all his strength to try and pull her out of the quick moving sand. Epona started pawing the ground to help his efforts, but she was too worn.

"I...can't... give... up!" yelled Link as he jerked Epona back, her being just inches from the animal's gigantic teeth. At the side of his eye, Link saw a flicker of light, and the sand shark's jaws abruptly shut. Epona's back legs were mere centimeters from its clamped down mouth.

It let out a squeal of pain. Link squinted to see something stuck in its eye. Something sharp and jagged. It went under the surface again. It thrashed violently under the sand; causing giant cracks to appear on a nearby mountain.

Link peered over his shoulder to see the silhouette of a horse and a rider atop of it. The horse reared up, then started galloping toward the mountain. Of course, the lone, metal fin followed it.

Link watched curiously as the horse and rider stood at the foot of the mountain. The shark sped up from under the ground; awaiting its meal. The tremendously large monster leapt up from the sandy depths. The mysterious horse and rider leapt out of the way, and width a great crash, the shark hurled itself against the mountain.

The mountain cracked in half, and then crumbled on the dying monster. It flitted its massive tail twice, and then it flopped down in its final rest.

'Wow.' Link thought. 'I never would've thought of that.' he turned his attention back to Epona who lay gasping for breath beside him.

In the dim moonlight, Link could see the two figures approach him. He stood up and withdrew his sword.

"Who are you?!" he yelled.

"Name's Kira!" the feminine voice greeted merrily. Kira held out her hand for him to shake. Link looked down at it dumbly.

"Okay... guess we're not going to shake hands. Where are you from?" Link just stared at her. From what the moonlight permitted him to see, she was wearing a green tunic, like his, except the left sleeve and part of the shoulder area was cut off. She wore white leggings, just like him, and their boots looked remarkably similar. Her long, silver hair was pulled back in a bun (although some hair was hanging loose from the bun) and she wore a colored scarf tied to the back of her head.

She blinked once. Her blue eyes piercing into his. "You going to answer me?"

Link rubbed his forehead. "Hyrule. I'm from Hyrule."

"Are you... Link?" she cocked her head curiously.

"Who wants to know?!" exclaimed Navi, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"Yes." Link replied. He looked towards Epona who was lying on her side.

"Looks like you could use some help." she said as she brought her horse around to her side. "Your horse is beautiful. What's its name?"

"Epona." Link replied carefully. "And she needs help. Do you think you could lead us to the nearest village?"

"I have just the thing." she bent down in front of Epona and took out a small, brown, pouch. She reached in and sprinkled some blue powder over Epona's head.

Almost immediately, Epona was back on her hooves.

"There! Now she can walk with us back to town!" she chirped merrily.

"Wow, thank you." he said, amazed.

"Anytime. Hop on and let's ride to town."

Link glanced over at her horse. "Your horse is beautiful, too. What's its name?"

Kira patted the built, silver colored neck of her steed. The night wind ruffled through its dark-blue mane.

"His name is Keroh. He's a desert horse."

Link mounted Epona. "He's awfully beautiful to be a desert horse." Kira got on Keroh.

"A lot of people say that. Your horse is too cute to be riding out in these wastelands."

"I guess so..." Link trailed off in his thoughts.

"Now, off to the village!" shouted Kira, motioning Keroh to go. Link did the same with Epona, and they were off to the village. They traveled through the sandy dunes for what seemed like hours.

Finally, they came upon a lit area with a small village surrounded by a large, tall, stone wall. They entered through a metal gate and crossed a wooden bridge. Into the village was a grassy area with many trees and a single stream running through it. The sun was well over the horizon when they arrived.

"Thank you for leading me here." said Link.

"No prob." replied Kira. "But before you go anywhere, you might want to get patched up." she pointed to his tattered and torn tunic.

"I can fix you up at my place. It's just a little ways from here." And so they trotted along. Passing many small houses and shops. Finally, they came to a quaint little house at the far end of the village next to a very tall tree.

"Here's my humble abode." she said dismounting off of Keroh.

"C'mon, Link." she said, opening her front door.

"Should we?" asked Link to Navi. She only shrugged.

"It's not like you listen to me." she 'hmphed.' Link dismounted Epona and headed in.

The room he entered was only lit by the morning sunshine. Also in the room was a round table seating three, a fireplace, a bed, a couch, and a stove with a couple of cabinets.

She opened one of the cabinets and took out a bottle and what looked like a cotton ball.

"Have a seat." she said, motioning to the couch. Link complied and sat down. She sat down next to him and started to dab his wounds with the cotton ball.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"Woman's intuition." she responded. Link looked at her strangely. "Just kidding." she chuckled. "I was told by the sage of our temple. She awaits your arrival."

"Then I have to go." he said, getting up. Kira pulled him back down.

"She's patient. She knows you're here. You want to look presentable don't you?"

Link nodded and sighed. "It's really kind of you to do this. I'll have to pay you back."

Kira shook her head. "No, you don't. Just thought I'd do something nice for the Hero of Time."

Link looked at her strangely. "How do you-"

"The sage told me. She knows a lot about you." she smiled.

"How?"

"She has connections to the sages in Hyrule." she responded, dabbing a deep wound that made Link flinch. "The monsters sure love you, huh?"

Link shrugged. "Tell me more about this sage I'm supposed to meet."

"Well, she has two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth-" Link frowned.

"Kidding! She's one of the four sages that watch over this land. Well, now that the evil King is here, she is the only one."

"You mean Ganondorf? He's here?!" Link stood up.

"Stop doing that!" Kira shouted, pulling him back down. "Anyway, he's somewhere around here; Commanding his evil minions no doubt."

"And you're calm about this?" Link asked.

"Now that you're here, I'm relatively at ease." she wrapped a bandage around his right arm. "There. All done." she walked over to a wooden chest, apparently hidden by the couch, and pulled out a green tunic.

"Here." she handed it to him. "Change into this. I'll be outside. Come out when you're ready." she then walked outside.

"Are you sure we should trust her? asked Navi.

Link ignored her and proceeded to change. Navi turned away, blushing slightly.

"You know, Link, all this talk about sages has got me wondering about Zelda's whereabouts. The Deku Sprout didn't even know." she turned back around to see Link tightening his belt buckle.

"You worry too much, Navi. She's fine I can sense it."

"Well, when you're as big as me, you have to worry about a lot!" Link gave a slight chuckle and walked outside. He spotted Kira brushing the dark blue mane of Keroh. Two silver ears perked up in his direction as he stepped out of the doorway.

Epona's ears perked up also. Her obsidian eyes showed relief when she saw that Link was okay. Kira peered over her shoulder and smiled. "That was fast."

"Yeah, I guess I've gotten used to changing quickly." he replied in a somewhat awkward tone. She nodded.

"Then let's go. We can leave the horses here. It's not that long a walk."

"So, is there anything else I need to know before I meet the sage?" Link asked as they headed toward the temple.

"Hmm... I don't think so..."

Link spotted a little girl chasing a chicken. He remembered when he used to do that in the Kakariko Village. Of course he stopped when he learned that the chickens could gang up on him and chase him.

His train of thought was interrupted when they arrived at the temple. It was a very massive structure surrounded by aged trees. The stone-gray building towered over them; the large wooden doors were slightly ajar. The windows were tall and dreary; reaching up to the lonely bell tower that housed a few harmless Keese.

Outside in the courtyard stood several statures leading to the stone-stepped entrance. The first two they came across were two maidens; one clad in armor wielding a sword, the other in loose cloth, holding a bow and arrow. Besides them were two statues of men. They were eroded to the point where Link couldn't make out what they were wearing or what they held.

The four stone statues just outside the entrance seemed to be types of animals. Before Link could figure out just what types of animals they were, Kira tugged him inside. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked on the gray tiled floor.

"It's huge." Link said in complete awe as he looked around. "It looked a lot smaller from the outside..."

"That's what everyone says." giggled Kira. They passed through the huge foyer and into a darkened corridor. There, at the end of the narrow hall was a pool of water with the statue of an angel in the middle, holding an intricately decorated urn that poured the water back into the pool.

"Is she... here?" he asked.

"Looks kinda empty to me." said Navi.

"Only to the untrained eye." stated Kira. "To find, you must seek."

'Another riddle. Great.' Link thought. He looked around, but still he could find no one.

"Geez. You're so old fashioned! Don't look with you eyes. Reach out with your mind. Tap into her essence."

A confused look crossed Link's features. 'Reach out with my mind?'

'Yes.' whispered a voice. Link's head snapped up.

"Who's there?" he said aloud, but this time there was no response. Kira watched him curiously. The Hylian warrior closed his eyes. 'Are you there?'

'Yes.'

'Are you the sage?'

'Yes. You are Link, yes?'

'I am.'

'You are the Hero of Time?'

'Yes, I am.'

'You come from the land of Hyrule. You defeated Ganondorf.'

'That is correct.'

The voice let out a curt chuckle.

'I am Nereiyu. The sage of Moons. The sages of Hyrule have informed me of your arrival.'

A mist in the fountain appeared. It swirled around, and then slowly formed into a young woman. Her hair was blue with blue highlights, and her weary eyes were an aqua blue. She wore a white body suit with a blue skirt and navy blue boots.

Her neck was adorned with a unique wire necklace. The top of the suit was a v-neck which was outlined with blue waves. Her short cropped hair barely touched her shoulders. In her right hand was a dangerous-looking scythe with the end of a lance sticking out of it.

She walked toward him slowly. Link looked down to notice that she was walking on the water. He peered back up to see her standing a few inches away from him.

She smiled at him. "Stand at ease, Hero of Time. You are safe on these grounds." her smile disappeared. "I have heard of the fate of your temple, and I am sorry. And I know of your run-in with Ganondorf. That is why you're here."

"How much damage has Ganondorf done?" Link asked anxiously.

"He has done nothing. So far." she replied. "But that is bound to change somewhere along the way." Link nodded at her statement.

"Unless we do something about it." he said. She smiled at his bold statement.

"You're just as brave as I thought you were, Hero of Time. That's why I have put so much faith in you." she placed her hand gently upon his shoulder.

"Believe it or not, you can still turn back, Hero of Time. If you choose to abort this mission...-"

"I'm sticking to defeating Ganondorf. He is my mortal enemy to us and the rest of the world."

"Glad to here it, Hero of Time."

"Now, let's get down to business!" Kira stated. "We have to lay out some sort of plan on how we're supposed to approach Ganondorf!"

"Yeah. So would you happen to have any specific ideas, Kira?" Navi asked in a somewhat teasing voice.

"Actually... no." Kira responded.

Everybody let out an exasperated sigh.

"What? You expect me to do all the thinking?" Everybody looked at Kira except for Nereiyu who had her head in her hand, shaking her head and grinning slightly.

"Well, I don't see any of you guys thinking of anything!" Kira shouted.

"Well, I'm good at thinking up things on the spur of the moment." said Link.

"Good." sighed Kira in relief. "Because I'm not." she placed her hands on her hips. "So... think something up, Link." she smiled at him. He sighed.

"Well, first, we have to know where he is. Then we have to know where he's going."

"Good idea, Link!" shouted Kira. "I say we go for it!"

"But we need to know at least the area he's in." stated Nereiyu.

"We can just scout around. We'll find him eventually." suggested Kira.

"That's too risky." Nereiyu said. "We won't take any chances with Ganondorf." she turned to Link. "You know Ganondorf better than we do. Where do you think he is?"

Link gave a short laugh. "Are there any temples?"

"Well, yes." replied Nereiyu, unsure of why he laughed.

"If I know Ganondorf, and I do, he probably stationed his minions at the temples. I doubt he's far behind."

"Good thinkin' Link!" exclaimed Kira.

"Hmm... there are 4 main temples to the North, South, East, and West of here."

"All we have to do is pick one we think he's in, right?" asked Kira.

"We could scout around the area." suggested Navi. "I could sense his power if we get close enough."

"Then it's settled. Link, good luck in your journey." Nereiyu smiled at him.

"What?!" Kira looked at Nereiyu strangely. "You're not coming?"

"I'm the only sage left. I can't leave my post. If I do, Ganondorf will surely try to overtake this temple."

"I guess you're right." Kira scratched her head.

Nereiyu smiled at Link.

"I wish you the best of luck. Oh, and here." she held up a beautifully decorated egg. Link looked at it strangely.

"You're giving me an egg?"

"Not just any egg. Throw this at an enemy and it turns into something strong, like a tiger or a dragon. If you throw it when it's a cool color, like purple or blue, it will turn into something fragile and small, like a rabbit or turtle. When it's white, that means it's a neutral animal. It will pick up one trait from a strong animal, and one trait from a weak animal. So, be careful when you throw it."

Link took the egg from her hand and nodded.

"I understand."

"I don't!" huffed Kira. Link gave Nereiyu one last look and exit the temple.

"Should I help him?" asked Kira.

"Why not? We need all the help we can get, but it's up to him whether or not he should be accompanied or not."

"Understood." said Kira as she took off after Link.

The green-clothed Hylinian adjusted the saddle on his trusted steed. Epona swished her tail once and swiveled her ears.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us, girl." Link said to Epona, running his fingers through her silky white mane.

"You might need this." spoke up a voice behind him. Link turned around in time to see a leather pouch being thrown at him.

"It's fairy dust." Said Kira. "It's what I sprinkled on Epona. It restores a horse's health."

"Thank you." said Link before turning back to Epona.

"You know, Link. It would help if someone who knew the routes came with you. I mean, you are new around here."

"I'll get a map." he replied curtly.

"What I mean is," she twiddled her thumbs, "it's kind of dangerous to go out there alone."

"I won't be alone. I'm with Epona."

Kira let out a frustrated sigh. "What I mean is-"

"I know what you mean." Said Link, cutting Kira off.

"Then can I?!" she chirped hopefully.

"I'm sort of… a loner with these things."

"No, you're not. You have Epona."

Link raised an eyebrow at her clever word play.

"Where's your weapon?"

Kira's eyes lit up in excitement.

"In the house. I'll go get it." She ran into her house.

"I must be crazy." Link said to Epona. She only snorted and laid her head gently on his shoulder. Kira soon came out carrying what appeared to be a lance with two pointed ends on each side.

"Like it?" she asked, obviously out of breath from running.

"It's carved from pure Dodongo bone, and the metal is supposedly unbreakable."

Link eyed the weapon carefully. "Dodongos live here?" Kira nodded. "Where there's a mountain, there's a Dodongo."

Link questioned the subject no further. "We'd better get going."

"Right." Agreed Kira. She mounted Keroh. "What're you waiting for?"

Link mounted Epona and they were off.

"Where do you suggest we go first?" asked Kira as they passed the village entrance.

"Where are your forests?"

"In the North. Why the forests?"

"Call it a hunch." Was all Link said. He happened to peer down at the ground. It was grassy, not sandy like where the sand sharks attacked.

"What's with the ground?" he asked. "It's all grassy in one area and sandy in another area."

"Under the grassy parts is bedrock. Here, the soil is too hard for the sharks to roam, so they don't get a chance to upturn the soil. The sandy parts only lead to the mountains."

Link nodded in understanding. He noticed that they started passing several trees.

"I guess we must be getting close." he said.

"Yep. The forest is just beyond this grove of trees."

"Okay. So, once we get into the forest, what kind of creatures am I supposed to be expecting?" Link asked.

"Well, as I already said, there probably won't be any sand sharks or guppies, so you won't have to worry about those." Kira replied.

"Hmm... I find relief in that."

Kira smiled at him. "But a forest can be a very mysterious place. You may never know what may pop out at you."

Link nodded his head. "I've been in that situation before."

Kira chuckled. "We should hurry. The monsters get meaner as the night approaches."

They quickened their pace as the night slowly crept on.

"So, Link... what's it like in Hyrule?" she looked over at him.

"... Hyrule is okay. It's peaceful. Most of the time anyway. The people are nice... for the most part. The water and sky are blue, and the grass is green."

"It sounds nice. A lot nicer than here."

Link looked at her curiously. "This land seems nice. The grass is green. Where it grows, anyway."

Kira chuckled. "That's only half of the picture. This place is really war torn. That's why there is so much sand. The sand sharks were supposed to be our guardians, but ever since Ganondorf came, they have turned against us." she sighed, "Everything has been just horrible for the last seven years. Ganondorf has done a lot."

"But Nereiyu said-"

"She didn't want to trouble you too much."

"Don't you mean discourage?" Link asked wit5h an eyebrow raised.

Kira glanced down at Keroh's blue mane. "...yes, I guess so... Are you?" she looked up at him hopefully.

"No, not at all. I'll go to great lengths to rid the world of Ganondorf. But who wouldn't?" They both gave a light chuckle.

"Oooooo." Navi said with a sly smile on her face. "Link... let's not get sidetracked..." she winked at him. He gave her a menacing frown.

"So, Kira. What is the forest temple like?" he asked her.

"Actually, I've never been to the forest temple before. I've heard about it though. I've heard it has lots of mazes, and the monsters have you solve riddles. And if you don't get them right, they put a curse on you and you turn into a tree. But that's only what I've heard."

"I see..." replied Link. "The mazes I can handle. But as for the riddles..."

"Don't worry. You've got me! I'll help you!" she patted him on the back. Epona rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I saw that, Epona!" Kira growled. "Just remember; I saved you!" Keroh gave a short snort of the nose.

"Don't you start with me." Kira warned the blue-maned horse. She looked up at Link who was trying to suppress a grin.

"Care to join in?" she asked. He only shook his head. "Good. Keep it like that."

Link sighed deeply. The sun was just beginning to dip in the horizon when Kira spoke up.
"Here it is." she pointed to a mass of towering trees. "It's right in there."

"That's a tight squeeze, it looks like." said Link. "The trees are so close together."

"That's why we go by foot! We can leave Epona and Keroh outside. They'll be able to fend for themselves."

Link nodded and dismounted off of Epona. Kira got off of Keroh and led them to a nearby tree.

"You and Epona stay here, okay?" she patted Keroh on his strongly built neck. "I trust you won't go wandering off again." Keroh neighed his reply. "Okay! Let's go!" Kira said as she walked off into the forest. Link followed, and they soon came across a village made of hollowed out trees.

"Strange. I thought the Kokiri were the only ones who made their houses like this." Link said. "Well, let's see if we can find anybody here..." So Link and Kira went to one of the houses and looked in.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Kira shouted into the house. There was no response.

"Hello?" Link said in a quieter voice.

"Who's there?!" a small voice asked.

"What was that?" Kira whispered to Link.

"I don't know. Let's find out." Link responded quietly.

"Umm, hi. My name is Link, and this is my friend, Kira. We've come to see the Forest Temple. Could you please come out and show us where it is?"

"Well, okay." The voice replied. And then, from underneath the table, stepped out a small, elfish-looking child.

"Hi! My name is Emik. I'm the head of this forest. I'm a Kokiri." Link stared at the supposed Kokiri with a somewhat bewildered look on his face.

"What's wrong, Link?" Kira asked, noticing the expression on his face.

"The only Kokiri I know live in Hyrule."

"Hey kid, don't get me wrong! I'm not a Kokiri from Hyrule."

"Explain yourself." Link ordered his voice dropping to a dangerous tone.

"There are different branches of Kokiri people. You know, like there are different kinds of birds and horses. They all look the same, but they're different, you know?" Emik shrugged his shoulders.

"I've never been told of these different 'branches.'" Link said with a skeptical look in his eyes.

"You don't get out much, do you kid?" Emik winked his eye.

"Now tell me; what's your business with the Forest Temple?"

"Well," Kira started, "there's this evil king we're after, and we think he may be in your Forest Temple."

"Oh…" Emik said in an understanding tone. "Just how do you come about defeating this 'evil king'?"

Link narrowed his eyes at the 'Kokiri' person. He was asking too many questions. Especially for someone who lived near a temple festering with monsters.

"Um, I don't really know." Replied Kira scratching her head. "I guess we'll think of something when we get there."

"Navi." Link whispered. "Get a reading on this guy." Navi nodded and fluttered over to Emik.

"Ah, you've got such a pretty fairy." The Kokiri commented.

Link's eyes widened. A fairy. All Kokiri had a fairy. Or perhaps Emik was of another race, but Emik fit every description of a forest-dwelling Kokiri.

"He seems all right." Navi whispered back to Link. He nudged Kira with his elbow to notify her of his suspicion. She gave him a confused look.

Emik crossed his arms. "The best way to defeat Ganondorf is to-" In a blink of the eye, Link's sword was centimeters from Emik's throat.

"How can you know his name if you're clueless about him inhabiting the temple?" Link's sword pressed against Emik's neck.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" shouted the Kokiri.

"Link, put your sword away! They're peaceful people!" Kira shouted.

"No, he's not." Said Link, glancing over to Navi who turned a bright yellow.

With a flick of his wrist, Link's sword swiped through Emik's neck. The headless body of the Kokiri swirled into a purple mist. Two red eyes opened and a shrill laughter filled the room.

"A poe!" Navi shouted to Link. The poe threw a fire ball from its lantern. It laughed again and disappeared through the wall. Link hurriedly ran after it. 'I have to catch it!' Link thought. 'It might come in handy later on. And anyway, it really annoyed me!'

The poe cackled evilly as it waved its lantern about. The elfish forest's inhabitants screamed and ran away as the poe flew through the air.

"Come back here!" Link yelled, "Or are you too scared?" The poe jerked to an abrupt stop and peered over its shoulder. It narrowed its glowing eyes at Link. It laughed and started speeding towards the brave Hylinian soldier with its lantern raised.

Link gripped his sword, and began to raise it, when a silver blur sped past him. He heard the poe scream and the lantern shatter as it dropped to the ground. He blinked once, and found a familiar land imbedded into the ground. Next to it floated the spirit of the poe, still cackling.

Link looked over his shoulder to find Kira grinning up at him.
"Are you going to catch him or what?" asked Kira. Link sighed.

"I would if I remembered a bottle. Looks like we'll have to let him go."

"Aw man!" exclaimed Kira. "All that work for nothing?!"

"Looks like it." Replied Link. "At least it was a good warm-up."

"Yeah, I guess. What about that Emik guy? There has to be some leader of the forest."

"There is no leader of the forest." Spoke up a small voice behind them. Link and Kira turned around to find an elfish looking girl with brown hair and green eyes. She was clad in green, like a Kokiri, except she had long sleeves.

"What do you mean?" asked Kira.

"There isn't a leader of the forest. Not in… this form… anyway."

"Oh." Said Kira. "Well, what's your name?"

"My name is May." She bowed her head to them.

"What do you know about the Forest Temple?" asked Link. Kira elbowed him in the ribs.

"Link! That's rude!" she whispered harshly. She turned back to May. "Hi, I'm Kira, and this is Link. We were searching for the Forest Temple. Do you know where it is?"

May nodded her head. "But it is dangerous to venture in at night."

"Huh?" Kira peered up at the sky to see the orange sun setting. "Heh, I guess we lost track of time." Kira sheepishly smiled and scratched her head.

"I know a place where you can stay for the night. There, I can tell you more about the temple." She smiled at them.

"I accept!" Kira replied, following May to her house. "C'mon Link!" Link reluctantly followed them with Navi following them close behind. They came upon a large, hollowed out tree near a small pond. They entered into the house, smelling the fresh sent of wood. Link growled as he smacked his head on the top of the doorway.

"You're just too tall, Link." Giggled Navi. Link ignored her laughter and followed Kira and May into what appeared to be the living room.

"Please, sit down." Said May. They took their seats at a table, but Link remained standing.

"The Forest Temple," started May, "isn't actually a temple. It's a castle, built hundreds of years ago. It was home to the royal family of the forest. They guarded and protected us from evil spirits. As long as they lived, the evil spirits were kept at bay, but one day, our king was killed in a battle. Only the queen and the princess were left." May sighed.

"Then one day, the queen died of a broken heart. The princess was the only one left. The only one left to protect us. She was to be wed, but she mysteriously disappeared. They blamed her fiancé and exiled him. No one had ever heard from him again. All of that was 7 years ago."

"That's terrible!" exclaimed Kira. "Whatever happened to the princess?"

"No one knows exactly, but some say her spirit roams the forest and castle, broken hearted. Now, there are all sorts of monsters roaming around the castle." She sighed.

"Ganondorf." Whispered Kira to Link. He nodded his head.

"Is there anything else you need to know?" May asked.

"Yes, where is the castle?" Kira asked, scratching the back of her head.

"It's past the potion shop with the blue sign, and up the steps. You have to pass through the Arbor of Shadows."

"I'm guessing that's a maze." Said Kira. May nodded her head.

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." Kira said, patting Link on the back. He only looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

'Unfortunately, there is only one bed."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Asked Kira.

"Oh, I work at the item shop at night."

"Well, we can manage." Said Kira. May nodded.

"Help yourself to any of the food." May bowed, then turned and walked outside.

"You sleepy?" Asked Kira. Link shook his head. "Hmm… neither am I. Tired?" Link shook his head again.

"Are you going to answer my questions with anything other than body gestures?

"Kira." Link finally spoke up.

"Okay, fine." Kira used the sleeve of her tunic to polish the handle of her lance. 'I wonder if I could take a bath in the pond.' She thought. She walked out of the house, leaving Link and Navi alone to thin about their next move.

"Real smooth, Link." Said Navi. "You really are tired, aren't you?" He nodded. Navi landed on the tip of his nose. "Then go to bed."

"There's only one." Link reminded her.

"Oh, well, you can take shifts."

Link rolled his eyes. "Navi…"

"What? I'm serious!"

He sighed and walked toward the entrance to the forest.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Navi shouted.

"To check on the horses. " Was all he said before disappearing into the misty shadows of the trees.

He spotted Epona leaning against a tree. Keroh stood nearby, scanning the area for danger. They soon spotted Link and trotted over to him. Link patted Epona on her black, velvety soft nose. Keroh gently nudged Link in the back. Link ran his fingers through the blue, spiky, yet soft, mane.

"I wish there was a ranch I could leave you two in. You'd be a lot safer that way." He sighed and gazed up at the now starry sky.

"You know, Epona, we never really stop and look at the stars. I guess that's the life of a warrior and his horse, eh?"

Epona shook her head in agreement.

"The forest reminds me of home. I miss the Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods. I guess I'm homesick." He looked over to Epona's obsidian eyes. "And you miss Malon?"

Epona neighed softly in response. Despite her constantly swiveling ears, Link could see her eyelids growing heavy.

"Heh, we should both go to sleep. Why not out here? Kira can have the bed to herself."

Keroh came up behind him and shoved him towards the forest. The silver coated horse looked at him with perked up ears.

"Are you sure you want to sleep out here alone?" He asked the two. Keroh let out a soft whinny in response.

"All right. Have it your way. Good night, you two." He said before finally heading off towards the forest. Navi hurriedly greeted him.

"Link! It's not safe to venture out alone at night! What if I wasn't there to warn you of anything?!"

"Relax. Where's Kira?"

"Grrr, I don't know! I was too busy worrying about you!"

"Hmm, it's empty out here."

"You should be on guard all the time!"

"Everyone's probably asleep."

"Link! Are you listening?!"

"Are you sleepy, Navi?"

"Link!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going to splash some water on my face."

"Why are you trying to wake yourself up?"

"I'm an insomniac. I can handle it." He strolled over to the small pond beside May's house. He kneeled down at the water's edge and scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he submerged his hands again, this time, brushing against something under the blue surface. Curious, he grabbed it, only to have something under the water lash out and punch him. Surprised, he recoiled and fell onto his butt.

Link quickly drew his sword, ready to kill the thing that attacked him. A head surfaced from the silvery water.

"Hey, why'd you pull my hair- Ahhh!" Kira screamed as she saw Link sitting there; his face turning beet red upon sight of her.

Although everything from her shoulders down was submerged under the water, she instinctively covered her chest with her arms.

"Link! Stop staring!" She screamed. Snapping out of his shock, he noticed something at the side of his eye.

Lying beside the waters of the pond were her clothes. All of her clothes. He turned back to her, turning even redder. Navi came speeding out of the house. "Link! What hap…" she stopped short when she saw Link and Kira's situation. "…whoa… you might want to go inside for that."

"Navi!" Link growled. He turned back to Kira, his face still red.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." she splashed water onto him.

"Apologize later! Just go inside or something. Facing away from me!" She shouted. He nodded and stumbled inside. Navi followed him closely behind.

Kira growled in frustration and embarrassment and quickly got dressed. How could she face him now? A wave of sleepiness washed over her. Perhaps it was time to go to bed. She gave her hair one final twist to squeeze the water out and headed back inside.

She cautiously looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. 'Maybe he went back out.' She thought. Noticing the bed was empty, she climbed in and snuggled her head into the pillow. Despite the high comfort level, she couldn't go to sleep. A second ago she was ready to sleep the moment she closed her eyes. Now she was wide awake.

Kira sat up in the bed, ignoring her still damp hair.

"It's too quiet in here! Where is he? And Navi too!"

She looked around the darkened room, lit only by the moonlight. She spotted a small stair case leading up to what she guessed was the roof.

'Hmm,' she thought, quietly climbing the stairs. Too her amazement, she was right. The stairs led to the roof. She noticed the roof was flattened out, yet slightly slanted. A familiar silhouette from the far side of the roof caught her eye.

To no surprise, there lay Link on his back with his arms folded behind his head. Kira walked up to him carefully.

'Aw, he's sleeping. How cute! He look's like an absolute angel!' A light breeze blew through his golden bangs. His silver earring glistened once in the moonlight. She quietly kneeled down beside him, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath he took.

She could feel herself blush as she noticed his well built chest pressed through the fabric of his tunic. She rested her head on her hand. 'I could watch him sleep forever! He just looks so... peaceful.'

"Like what you see?" Asked a familiar fairy voice. Surprised, Kira screamed and lost her balance. Link opened up his eyes just in time for his quick reflexes to catch her.

Kira cracked one eye open to find a pair of blue eyes staring up at her. Link had unwittingly grabbed her waist to keep her from falling on him, and now she lay on top of him with both eyes open wide. Navi fluttered over to the shocked pair, giggling.

"I guess you two aren't going to be sleeping tonight." Chuckled Navi.

"Eep!" Kira squeaked, her face turning red again. "I'm so sorry, Link! I didn't mean to! Navi snuck up behind me, and..." Link silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"Now we're even." He said, smiling. She smiled back sheepishly and climbed off of him.

"So, uh, I guess I'll be heading back inside. Unless of course you want the bed."

"Kira."

"Huh?" She turned to him.

"Have you ever looked at the stars?"

"Well, yes. They happen to be there every time I look up at night."

"No, I mean, do you take time to really look at the? Do you ever wonder what makes them shin so bright?"

"Link…" She trailed off as she gazed upon his peaceful expression. She shook her head and spoke. "I wonder about a lot of things."

Link turned his head towards her; studying the expression on her face. Their eyes met, but Kira turned away, blushing. She hugged herself in an attempt to fight off the icy chills that the forest winds sent down her spine. She shivered once, then chuckled.

"I guess you're pretty used to this, huh? Living in a forest and all."

"Why did you journey with me to defeat Ganondorf?" Link half blurted out.

"What… do you mean?" Questioned Kira, her back still facing him.

Link shifted his gazing blue eyes back to the stars. "I mean… never mind."

"Do you not want me here with you?"

"No, it's snot that. I guess I just have to get used to the company."

"Oh," Kira twirled a strand of silver hair around her index finger.

"Link, what's it like to fight Ganondorf?"

He closed his eyes and sighed heavily at the question.

"Adjectives fail me."

Both of them kept silent for several minutes, yet it seemed like hours. Link just wasn't in the mood for anything right now. He longed for his own bed, in his own house, in the forest he called home.

He missed the laughter and talking coming from the market, and even the annoying little dog that barked at nothing all the time. He missed not having a care in the world, and being just an innocent little boy who didn't have a whole land lying on his shoulders.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Stated Kira, standing up. "Good night, Link." Link mumbled a reply and turned onto his side, facing away from her. "Boys." Kira mumbled, rolling her eyes. She climbed back down the short staircase and climbed into the bed. She leaned her lance against the foot of the bed, then snuggled under the covers.

Just as she started to doze off, a small fairy voice piped up.

"Disappointed?" The blue fairy asked, landing on the tip of the lance.

"What do you mean?" Kira narrowed her eyes at the fairy.

"About Link."

"What about Link?"

Navi fluttered gracefully onto one of the folds on the covers. "You like Link, don't you?"

"Well, as a friend-"

"Back off, Kira. Link isn't your type."

Kira gasped at Navi's sudden outburst. "How dare you?!"

"I've seen the way you looked at him; the way you talked to him!"

"I was just talking to him like any other person! What of it?"

"Well, as an early warning, he should marry Princess Zelda. It will do good for the kingdom."

"What are you saying Navi?"

"I'm saying don't get Link sidetracked! He has enough on his shoulders already."

Kira narrowed her eyes at Navi as she sat up in the bed.

"Who made you the manager of Link's life?"

"I'm just protecting him."

"Get out." Kira growled, reaching for her lance. Navi yelped and sped out to the rooftop.

As soon as she fluttered to the rooftop, she flew headfirst into Link.

"Uh, h-hi Link." Navi stuttered. He frowned suspiciously.

"Navi, what were you doing?"

"I was… telling Kira good night."

'She's obviously lying.' Thought Link, but decided not to push the subject further.

"Well, you've never told me good night for ten minutes." He said before walking away.

Navi 'hmphed' and followed him. "I think we should start off early tomorrow." She suggested. Link nodded his head. He settled back down onto the roof and lay onto his back, looking up at the stars.

"Get up early, Navi. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

The sunlight shone through the cracks between the tress surrounding the Kokiri Forest. It was a new day. The light touched every thing, and eventually woke up a sleeping Hylian.

"Well, it sure took you long enough to get up, Link!" Navi's greeting tease was the first thing to reach Link's ears.

"You always have something to say, don't you Navi?" Link replied while throwing his hat at her.

"Hey! Watch it!" Navi screeched. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today!"

"I was just playing, Navi. You don't have to go all ballistic on me!" Link laughed. "Well, let's go down stairs and see what Kira's up to." So they slowly went down the stairs to find May cooking some food. Link looked towards the bed. "Where's Kira?" Link asked May.

"She went out to take another bath." May replied.

"Oh. Okay." Link sighed. "So, what are you making?"

"Breakfast."

'What kind of breakfast?" Link asked teasingly.

"You'll have to wait and see." May retorted. Link looked at her with a smug grin on his face.

"All right, then." He turned to look at the bed where Kira once slept. 'Her lance is still here.' He thought. "Navi, is Kira still out there?"

Navi fluttered over to the window. "Well, the surface is still. I don't see her clothes. But from what happened last night, I'd take a bath with my clothes on too."

Link blushed and turned his back to the fairy.

"Where could she have gone without her weapon?" He said to himself.

"I'll be back, May." Link said, grabbing Kira's lance and heading out the door. May nodded, her back still turned to Link.

"We have to leave for the temple right after breakfast." Noted Navi. "The early Hylinian gets the evil king." She laughed, amused at her joke. Link rolled his eyes.

"You think she's in the field?" He asked. Navi didn't respond. Link noted her silence, then shook the thought off. They headed towards the field. Link was only half surprised to see Kira sitting next to Keroh; her head leaning gently on one of his powerful forelimbs. Keroh's ears swiveled over to Link's direction, but the silver horse did not take his eyes off his apparently tired rider. Epona on the other hand, trotted over to Link; greeting him with a lick on the face.

Kira turned when she heard the anxious hoof beats of Epona.

"Good Morning, Link!" She greeted merrily. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"Why were you out so early?" He asked.

"I like to watch the sunrise." She smiled gently at him.

"Well, we have to leave soon after breakfast. The earlier, the better."

Kira nodded. "I'm hungry! Let's head back to May's house! And remember, we have to bring something back for Epona and Keroh!"

Link nodded in agreement and followed Kira back into the village. They reached the house and went inside.

Just in time!" Announced May. "I hope you like berries and muffins."

"Boy, do I ever!" Exclaimed Kira. "I'm famished!"

"Then by all means, help yourself." Said May, setting the food on the table.

Link watched as Kira scarfed down her food, obviously not joking when she said she was famished. He popped a berry into his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. May just stood and watched as Kira practically inhaled her food.

"Is she always like this?" May asked Link.

"I wouldn't know." He replied.

Kira lightly dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin and patted her stomach.

"Man, that was good. Hey, Link! You've hardly touched your food!"

"All with good reason." He said under his breath. "I'm taking my portion to the horses." He excused himself from the table and walked out to the field.

Epona and Keroh awaited him anxiously with perked up ears and flared nostrils.

"Here you go." He said, setting the plate down for them to feed. He watched as the two made short work of the various blue and red berries and the plump, sugary muffins.

"All right, Link," Said Navi, "let's head out!"

May led Link and Kira to the aged castle, surrounded by trees and overgrown with ivy seen in the distance.

"It's huge!" Exclaimed Kira, noticing the large stone statues as they passed by. May only nodded.

"It's five stories tall, with a really large basement and attic, along with a humongous courtyard."

The three stopped as the mist around them thickened.

"Here is the Arbor of Shadows. I can go with you no further. Be careful. There are many monsters."

So, the pair walked on without their Kokiri comrade.

"Umm, Link? Is it just me, or did it suddenly get really cold?" Kira whispered in a scared tone.

"No, it definitely got colder. But don't get worried about that, because we've got a lot of other stuff to look out for." Link replied.

"Oh, thanks! Now I'm really creeped out!"Kira said as she shivered.

"Well, I'm just telling it how it is. Anyway, like I said before, keep your eyes open. You never know what may be lurking in the shadows." Kira shivered again and they continued walking into the shadows.

"Okay, this is getting kinda annoying." Kira suddenly said.

"What?" Link asked in an I-don't-really-care tone.

"This whole walking through the shadows thing. I mean, I'm scared, hey; I'm even terrified of what could be out there. But still it is getting kinda old, don't you think?" Kira finished, then waited for a response. But she didn't get one. "Link?" Kira whispered half to herself, more scared then ever. "Okay, Link. You can come out now! This isn't funny!" She looked around again, hoping to see some sign of Link, or even Navi.

That isn't a monster, I mean." She listened for a response, but the darkened forest smothered all sounds except for the occasional hoot of an owl and the chirps of crickets.

"Link! It's not nice to play tricks on me! You get out here right now!" Still, there was no response. Kira growled in frustration and grabbed her lance.

'Why can't people cut down some of these trees and let a little sunlight in here?'

She hacked away some of the brush, only to see it grow right back again.

"What the…" Kira half shouted. "Is that legal?!" she hacked at it again, but it still grew back. "Just… great…!" Kira said between hacks. 'How come I get stuck with the hyper-active house plants?!' Kira thought to herself. 'Speaking of which, I hope Link is stuck in something really bad, 'cause if he isn't, he will be by the time I get to him!'

"May could've told us that these grow back when you try to destroy them!" She screamed to herself. She rested her lance against a nearby tree.

'Phew! I'm out of shape! I should've packed some water. Sheesh.' She wiped some sweat from her forehead and picked up her lance.

"LINK!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "If this is one of Navi's tricks, I'm going to have Keroh eat her!"

An owl hooted in the distance. Kira peered over her shoulder to see nothing but green. Green was everywhere. Green and black. Green, black, and yellow. Green, black, yellow, and an armored skeleton wielding a sword.

Kira stopped in her thought and looked again at the skeleton who caught sight of her and started to charge her.

"Eep!" Kira yelped as she held her lance up just in time to block the onslaught. 'Hey, what the heck is this thing?!" Kira thought while she dodged another swipe of the 'thing's' sword. 'For once, I wish Navi was here to tell me what this thing is!'

The skeletal creature grunted as the sharpened end of Kira's lance narrowly missed its head. "Okay, this is getting way too old!" Kira shouted at the monster. Then she dodged another attack, jabbed her lance in the creature's stomach, spun around, lifted her lance again, and chopped its head off.

"Oh well. I'm sure that was bound to happen someday!" Kira said in a satisfied tone. "Okay. Time to find Link." So she looked around, found a pathway, and followed it. "Link! Navi! Where are you!?" Kira shouted. She kept on walking, and looking into the brush, when suddenly. "Ouch! What was that?" she said as she picked herself up from tripping on a stair case.

"Very graceful, Kira." Said a familiar voice. "Took you awhile."

Kira looked over to see a little blue fairy coming her way.

"Why you little… When I get a hold of you, you'll be fairy bits!" Kira shouted. "Where have you been? And more importantly, where's…"

"Navi! Where'd you… Oh! You found Kira!" said a now smiling Hylian. "Where have you been?"

"Well, I was walking, I turned around, and you had disappeared!" Kira shouted loudly. "On top of that, when I started to look for you, not only did I encounter some hyper-active house plants, but some sort of skeleton warrior attacked me!" She yelled again as she sat down on the stairs.

"Kira! Calm down! We're here now. Okay, tell us a little bit more about this skeleton warrior." Link said as he walked toward Kira and sat down.

"Well, before I chopped its head off, it was putting up a pretty good fight!" Kira said. "It, of course, was a skeleton, it had a sword, and it was armored. That's about as much as I remember." Link let out a he3avy sigh and looked at Navi.

"Do you have any information that matches this description Navi?" Link asked.

"Well, I can't think of anything right off hand, but let me think for awhile, and I'll get back to you." Navi said finally.

"Okay. Well, how about we check out what's at the top of these stairs." Link said with a little bit of curiosity in his voice.

"Whatever you say Link." Kira said. "Well, let's get going!" And the trio headed up the stairs towards unknown mysteries.

"What a nice smell. Nice and... foresty." commented Kira. "It's kind of dark in here. You have a torch?"

"Nope. I didn't think about bringing one." Link stated bluntly. "But until we find a different source of light, Navi, you should stay in front so we can see a little bit better. Okay?"

"Fine. You'd just better hope I don't get eaten by anything, 'cause if I do, it'll be your fault!" Navi said as she flew to the front of the small group. "You owe me!"

Link only nodded and directed Navi through what seemed to be the foyer.

"Nice chandelier." commented Kira. Link rolled his eyes as they continued on. "I hope there aren't anymore of those skull things. Or any plants that are high on miracle grow."

"So you encountered those too?" asked Link.

"Yeah. It was everywhere." Kira finished.

For a few minutes, ther4e was a total silence. Soon, they had reached a corridor filled with doors on both of the walls, and another door at the end of the hall.

"So, which one's first?" Kira asked.

"To be frank, pick a door, any door!" Link responded goofily.

"Ooookay... That was strange... but anyway, how about we start with that door on the left!" Kira said, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Alright! You heard her! To the left!" Link said.

They proceeded through the large metal door, covered in ivy.

"Um... you can go first." Said Kira, shoving Link in front of her.

"Gee, thanks." replied Link sarcastically.

"Anytime!" she said gleefully. They walked through the darkened cobblestone walkway.

"It looks like some sort of garden." Kira bent down in front of a large, orange flower. "Look, Link! This flower is so beautiful! The royal family were really good gardeners."

Link nodded at the statement.

"Navi, you think you can brighten your aura a little more?" Navi fluttered her wings and brightened the light surrounding her body.

"Hey," said Kira. "This room has no roof. Where's the sunlight?" Link shrugged and walked over to a giant blue flower.

"Don't these flowers seem a little... big?"

"Maybe it's just another hyperactive plant. After all, this is a forest. Rich soil can do that to a plant." Link looked at her with a skeptical look on his face.

"Navi, can you get a reading on this place?"

"Hey, I can only do so many things at once. Do you want light or not?"

Link sighed and unsheathed his sword.

"Hold still Navi." he said as he angled his sword in the light. A thin beam of light shot into a corner, onto a giant red and yellow flower.

"Ingenious, Link." said Kira. "Glad I thought of it!" Link rolled his eyes as he moved his sword so that the beam of light moved around the room.

"What's dripping out of the plants?" Link asked, focusing the light on the big blue flower. Kira bent down in front of it and touched her finger to the dripping substance.

"Eew! It's drool!" she exclaimed, wiping her finger on the cobblestones.

"Look!" said Navi. "The sun's starting to show!" The trio looked up to see the sun shining brightly onto them.

"Finally!" exclaimed Kira. "A little light!"

"Maybe for the worst." said Link, peering over to the giant flowers, who started to awaken. They opened their drooling mouths; lined with rows of serrated teeth.

"Man, this is ridiculous!" shouted Kira.

"You're telling me." grumbled Link as he raised his sword to defend himself. "Navi, can you get a reading on those th9ings?"

"Do I have to go near them?" Navi whined. Link gave her a death stare that certainly got her moving. She almost immediately turned a bright yellow. "It's a 'Light Baba'. They only come alive when light hits them. Beware of their vines because they act as tentacles to hook and real you in."

"Well, that's pleasant." said Kira sarcastically as she pulled out her lance. "I just hope they don't grow back when we kill them."

The red Light Baba's tentacles snaked over towards Link and wrapped around his leg. Link slashed off the vines with a swing of the Master Sword. The vines didn't grow back, but then more came out of nowhere trying to grab the tree of them.

"Great! Now what are we supposed to do?!" Kira shouted while trying to pull her leg free from a vine.

"Well, first of all, we have to get these things away from us!" Navi shouted while dodging a whipping vine.

"And how do we do that?!" Kira shouted again, while hacking ways at the vines.

"We distract them somehow!" Link yelled over the screeching of the Light Babas.

"And how exactly do we do that, if I may ask again!" Kira half screeched.

"Navi?" Link looked over at her with a hopeful look.

"Umm..." Navi said as she dodged yet another vine. "Try finding a way to block the light! And if you can't, do something to get rid of the heads!"

"I'm on it!" Kira said enthusiastically. "I'll take off the vines and I'll try for the heads while you find a way to block that light!"

"Got it!" Link said. 'Now how exactly am I supposed to do this...' Link looked around the room, and he saw a big board.

"Perfect!" Link grabbed the board and yelled out to Kira. "We can use this to block the light for a few seconds, and you can kill them when I hold it up!"

"I can do that!" Kira said as she picked up her lance into a fighting stance.

Link nodded, grabbed the board, and held it over one of the Light Baba's heads. It automatically went into a kind of 'sleeping' state. Kira took that opportunity, and went for its head.

"Yes!" she jumped for joy. "One down, two to go!" The other two Light Babas shrieked as they saw their former comrade disintegrate in front of them. They looked around to see who had killed their fellow 'flower' and found Kira standing there with her lance out. They started toward her, lashing out with their vines.

"Hey, Link! It'd be about the right time to use that board!" Kira shouted. Link nodded and held the board up to block the light. The Light Baba jerked to a stop, just inches away from Kira, and collapsed in a heap of vine and leaves. Kira raised her lance to finish it off, when she felt her lance jerk to a stop.

She turned to see a dark green vine wrapped around her lance. The other Light Baba tugged the lance, along with Kira, towards its gaping mouth, armed with rows of tiny spike-like teeth.

"Ack! Link, help me!" she screamed, trying desperately to tug her weapon free.

Link dropped the board and ran over to help his friend. He held up the Master Sword, and brought it down with a crash through the vine.

"Now go for the other one's head!" Link shouted at Kira.

"Yes!" Kira said as she stuck her lance in the creature's head, and then pulled it up and cut the rest of the head in half.

Get the board Link!" Kira said as the last Light Baba. Kira ran foward, raised her lance, and brought it down, cutting the monster in half.

"Woohoo! They're dead!" Kira said while jumping for joy. Link started walking around the room.

"Yeah, now I wonder why... Argg!" Link said as he tripped over something.

"What was that?!" Link half-yelled in frustration as he looked around the room.

"Is this what you're looking for? Kira asked as she pointed toward a small treasure chest.

"Umm, I guess so..." Link said as he walked over to the chest. "Well, let's see what's in here..." Link said as he opened up the chest.

"It's a key!" Kira said in a surprised voice.

"I'll hold on to this, because we'll probably need it later on." Link said as he slipped it into his pocket.

"Well, what should we do now?" Kira asked.

"I guess we should just keep exploring the temple until we find something!" Navi said.

"Alright, then, let's head back to the corridor. And this time," Link paused, "I'll pick the room."

The tree friends started to walk again, nervous at any strange sound or unknown movement.

"So, which door do we go into?" Kira asked Link.

"Hold on! Let me think for a second…" Link looked at Navi. "Any suggestions?"

"Umm, how about this door?" Navi flew over to the door at the end of the hall.

"Alright. Let's check it out." Link said as he walked toward the door. He put out his hand to turn the door knob, but it wouldn't budge.

"Okay… what's up with the door Link?" Kira asked.

"It won't open!" Link said with frustration. "Looks like I'll have to use this key sooner that I thought."

Link took the key out of his pocket and inserted it through the keyhole. "Well, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?"

"…Good news."

"The key fits."

"And the bad news?"

"It won't turn."

"What do you mean 'it won't turn'?!"

"It fits but it won't turn! It's not the right key."

"A key is a key! Turn it harder!"

"It won't budge."

Kira angrily shoved past Link and gave the key a twist with all her might.

"See! It moved a centimeter to the right!"

"Kira," sighed Navi, "give it a rest. It doesn't fit, so take it out."

Kira let out an angry sigh and walked past them. "Then what's behind door number three?"

Then looked around the dark foyer for another door.

"Stupid rooms shrouded in darkness!" growled Kira.

"Calm down." said Link. "I've been in this situation before. We probably missed a door along the way."

"Like that one?" Kira asked, pointing to a door with the symbol of a spider engraved on it.

"Exactly." replied Link as the group walked over to the door.

"It looks like a Skulltula." spoke Navi. Link nodded his head in agreement.

"Definitely."

"What's with the spider?" questioned Kira.

"It's a skulltula. They're really easy to defeat."

"Oh, okay." said Kira, a bit uneasy. The trio preceded through the rusted, metal door. A rush of a cold forest-like scent rushed through their senses.

Kira blinked a few times.

"It sure is dark in here..." she said while slowly walking into the room.

"Yeah. Skulltulas like dark spaces." Navi said with a hint of fright in her voice.

"Alright everyone, keep your eyes peeled, and weapons ready." Link said. Link took out his sword as Kira pulled out her lance. They walked towards another opening.

"Stop." Link said.

"Why?" Kira asked, in a somewhat annoyed voice.

"Skulltulas have a tendency to come flying down out of nowhere." Link said as he took out a Deku stick.

"Let's see if there's one up there..." he said as he stuck the stick out into the doorway. Suddenly, a huge spider swung down onto the stick, breaking it.

"AAAA!" Kira said with surprise as she fell backward.

"What is that thing?"

"That, Kira, is a skulltula." Link said as he ran toward it with his sword held high. Then, he jumped into the air and brought his sword down, cutting the skulltula in half.

"See? They're not that bad." Link said as he stood back up.

"Yeah, whatever you say..." Kira said with uncertainty.

"Okay, let's keep going." Link said as he walked further into the room.

"Link!" Navi said suddenly.

"What?" Link said as he stopped.

"I don't think we're alone in here... there's an evil presence coming from all around us. Do you think you can light up the room for a few seconds without putting us in danger?" Navi finished.

"Umm, let me see..." Link said as he searched through his pockets. "This should do it!" he said as he pulled out a small sphere-shaped object. He threw it down and there was a sudden flash of light.

"Deku nuts always get the job done!" Link said as he looked around. Soon, he saw what the evil presence had been.

"Great. Just great!" Link said as he saw ten skulltulas hanging from the ceiling.

"Kira, get ready. Navi, stay out of the way." Link said as he pulled out his sword again.

"Well, this shouldn't be too hard." Link said. "Kira, you get the right, I'll take the left."

The two spread out, each in their own directions.

"Well, here it goes!" Kira said with a bit of excitement in her voice. She went forward, and looked up just in time to see a skulltula coming down. She thrust her lance up, cutting the skulltula in half from the bottom.

She turned just in time to see another Skulltula falling towards her. She swung her lance, but it only clucked against the spiders hard armor.

"Link! What do I do now? The armor on its back is too strong!"

"Then go for the belly." he shouted back at her, a little occupied.

"Grrr... All right... here it goes..." she circled the dangling spider carefully, It turned it's body towards her, following her circling advance. She stopped and the skulltula turned its belly towards her. She took her chance and thrust her lance through the Skulltula's delicate insides.

It fell from its web and landed on its back; disappearing in a cloud of dust.

'Sheesh. That's only my second one.' she huffed to herself. Link on the other hand had finished off his 5 skulltulas already. He stood there, arms crossed, watching her.

"Hey, Kira. There's one behind you." Link pointed out. Kira screamed as the Skulltula behind her nearly bit her head off.

"You know, you could help me!" she yelled at him.

"Looks like you're handling things pretty well to me." said Navi.

"When I'm done, you're gonna be next on my death list, Navi!" One of the Skulltula's legs hooked around Kira's arms and hoisted her up.

"Hey, that's not supposed to happen." said Navi.

"I suppose not." replied Link. "Does that one seem bigger than usual?"

"I think so."

Kira screamed and kicked as the Skulltula opened its mouth, exposing fangs dripping with venom.

"Well? Are you going to do anything, or are you just gonna stand there?!" Kira screeched as the skulltula pulled her closer.

"I guess we should go and get her." Navi said, a bit sarcastically.

"What are you waiting for then?!" Kira screeched even louder than before.

"Okay! We're coming!" Link told her. 'But how are we supposed to get her down?' Link finished to himself. "Hey Navi! Got any ideas of how to get her down?"

"Yeah! How about you shoot your hook shot at her?" Navi said with mischief in her voice.

"Navi! This is no time to play around like that!" Link said as the extremely slow skulltula was pulling Kira closer to its mouth.

"Hey, I was being serious..." Navi said loudly, but not so as to let Link hear her.

"Kira, try to grab my hand!" Link shouted, extending his hand to her. She reached out, her fingers only inches from his. The Skulltula's eyes flashed when he saw Kira reaching for Link.

With a piercing squeal, it tuned abruptly, knocking Link back onto the ground.

"Geez, Link! Be more graceful!"

"Oh, hush." Link growled, rubbing his sore bottom. He stood up and dusted off his tunic.

"Um... why are its fangs dripping like that?" Kira asked Link.

"Because I need a cigarette." came a voice. Kira and Link looked at each other, confused.

"Link? Did you say that? I didn't know you smoked!"

"I don't smoke, and I didn't say that!" replied Link.

"Navi?" Kira turned to Navi.

"Not me!" she said.

"Up here, girls and boys."

Link and Kira looked up to the Skulltula.

"That's right, boys and girls. I can talk. Get over it." Link and Kira stared at the talking insect.

"As for you, chick. You can go free." the skulltula dropped Kira to the ground.

"Gee Link! You could've caught me!"

"Yeah," quipped the skulltula, "he should've caught you a long time ago. I've been hanging here for three months. June. July. August. Now that all of my blood has rushed to my head, I have a frickin' headache. Argh, I need a drink."

It reached behind his back and pulled out a brown paper bag with a bottle in it. He took a sip then took a deep sigh.

"You kids. Always trying to be heroes. And you," the skulltula pointed one of its legs at Link, "You call yourself the Legendary soldier of Hyrule? The 'Hero of Time?'"

"How do you know about that?" asked Link.

"Word spreads." he took another sip from the paper bag. "You couldn't even hiccup rescue your lil' girlfriend hiccup. What if I hic decided to eat her hic? Oh, and by the way, I like the hook shot idea from the fly."

"I'm a fairy!" shouted Navi.

"Bee, whatever. Dang, I need a cigarette." He took out a cigarette and held it to his mouth. "Anyone got a light?"

"Link." Kira whispered. "What should we do?"

"You heard him. Give him a light."

"Link! I'm serious!" Besides, smoking is bad for your health."

"Tell that to him."

"Hey hic sweet cheeks." the spider pointed to Kira. "Looks like you could give me a light. You're lookin' hic pretty hot..." Kira turned red in embarrassment.

"That's it! I've had it!" she raised her lance. "No one, and I mean NO ONE calls me 'sweet cheeks!'"

While the skulltula just hung there drinking, Kira backed up, went into a run, and thrusted her lance upward, throwing it into the drunken spider.

"Ow." It said as its web broke, and he fell dead onto the floor, with Kira's lance.

"Well, I guess that worked." Link said, somewhat dumbfounded.

"HA! Serves you right, Mr. 'sweet cheeks!'" Kira said triumphantly.

"Okay... now that that's... Hey Link! Look over there!" Navi floated over towards the now fully appeared treasure chest.

"Oooo! I wonder what's inside! C'mon Link! Open it!" Kira exclaimed as she shoved Link towards it.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Link said as he walked toward the chest. When he reached it he bent down, opened the lid and pulled out...

"What the... We got a piece of paper?! For three months I was hanging there, and we got a piece of cruddy, brown paper!" Kira shrieked towards the ceiling.

"It's not just any piece of paper, Miss 'I-was-hanging-by-my-foot-for-three-months!' It's a map!" Navi said as she floated next to Link.

"Oh." Kira said dumbly.

"Yeah, a map of the temple which will come in handy on this 'quest.'" Link commented.

"All we have to do now is figure out where we are, and where we have to go." Navi said.

"That would require a compass." stated Link.

"It would help, greatly." Navi said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" shouted Kira. The trio exited the room and walked back into the foyer.

"Ahh, light! I was getting withdrawal symptoms from all that darkness!" said Kira.

"Now that we have a map," started Link, unfolding the map, "we can at least get our bearings straight."

"So," said Navi, "which room do you think we're in?" Link stared at the map, then looked around him. "Well, since we're in the foyer, I guess we'd be right… here." He pointed to the middle of the map.

"Hey, is that a doorway where we're standing?" asked Kira.

"That's what it looks like." Replied Navi.

"Then that means…" everyone looked down. "It's a trap door!" Before anyone could move, the door below them gave way and they fell.

In a few seconds, the trio landed with a 'thud' on the hard cement floor.

"Ow! Again with the falling stuff!" Link shouted out as he stood up.

"You can say that again." Kira remarked bluntly as she stood and looked around the room. "So, where are we now, Link?"

"Well, I think we're probably one floor below the room we just fell out of."

"Okay, that helped. So, what're we supposed to do now?" Kira asked Link. He looked down at the map he had in his hand.

Slowly, a shadow was cast over him and an eerie chill was sent down his spine.

"Kira, watch out!" shouted Link as he shoved her out of the way. A large purple hand thudded onto the ground, barely missing Link.

"Eeep!" screeched Navi. "A wall master!"

"A what?!" yelled Kira, cringing at the sight of the veiny, purple hand. Before Link or Nave could respond, it crawled toward them on all five fingers.

"Eew! Get it away, Link!" yelped Kira. Link rolled his eyes and thrust his sword into the vile thing. Kira blinked in surprise at Link's calm and collected expression.

"I'm guessing you've done this before."

"Many times." He replied. "From now on, watch your shadow. Those things are quick and stealthy IF you don't know what you're doing."

"Hmmm… that would be me." Kira sheepishly replied. Link nodded his head and peered again at the map.

"It looks like there should be a door right inform of us." He looked up to find rusting metal bars in front of the doorway.

Kira put her hands around the cold metal bars and tried to pry them open.

"You can't do that!" exclaimed Navi, rather irritably. "Those bars are there for a reason. We probably have to fight a monster or solve a riddle to get through."

Kira looked around the small room.

"I don't see anything we can fight or solve!"

"I know what I'm talking about. You just have to look harder!"

"Why do I want to look for something that could kill me?!"

"You want to get through this temple don't you? I suggest you look for some place we can get out!"

"ME?! What about you, Little Miss Information Fairy!"

While the two bickered, Link wandered off, placing his hands against the cold, damp wall; searching for a way out. In his search, he came across something rough and hard. He took a closer look and saw it was a giant grey block with a moon and star on it.

'The Song of Time should take care of this.' He thought as he brought out the ocarina. Kira and Navi stopped arguing upon hearing the tune.

In a flashing blue light, the stone disappeared.

"Wow, Link. Good thinking." Commented Kira.

"Link…" said Navi in a hushed tone as she turned bright yellow, "We're not alone…"

Link and Kira raised their weapons as low growls echoed from the space in the wall where the stone used to be.

"N-Navi, what is it?" Kira asked. Before Navi could respond, two shadowy figures shaped like large cats slinked out of the small space. They were all black except for their demonic red eyes that pierced through the darkness.

Walking stealthily, they circled the trio, baring their glistening white teeth.

"I've got a reading." Spoke Navi. "They're called Tigalfos."

"And their weakness?"

"… light."

"Where're we going to find light down here?!" Kira shouted. The two tigalfos snarled at Kira's outburst.

"Well, wherever we find it, it's gotta be fast!" concluded Kira. The two tigalfos backed the trio up into a corner.

"They're not attacking us." said Navi.

"Yet." added Kira. "Now somebody think of something."

Everyone looked to Navi who glowed brightly in her aura.

"Hey! Don't look at me! My light is too small to scare them off!"

Link turned back to the two Tigalfos. "I guess there's only one thing left to do."

"What's that?" asked Kira, completely clueless.

"Attack!" he shouted, charging the shadowy figures with his raised sword. One of the tigalfos jumped out of the way, but the other just stood there.

With a loud 'whoosh', the Master Sword penetrated the shadowy figure, but it stood unscathed.

"Link! What are you doing?!" Kira shouted at him from across the room. "Hurry up and kill it already! Hit it with your sword!"

"I've already tried that! It's not affected by my sword!" Link shouted back, while slowly inching backwards, trying to buy himself some time.

"Well, do something!" Kira said as she took a hit at the other tigalfos, not affecting it either.

'C'mon, Link! Think! There has to be something...' Suddenly, he stopped backing up. "I've got it!" He started searching his pockets and pouches.

"Well, I hope whatever you have works, because that cat behind you sure looks hungry!" Kira shouted as the cat continued to slowly progress toward Link.

Suddenly, Link turned around with a 'whoosh' and faced the giant feline with confidence.

"You want me?!" Link shouted towards the beast. "Then come and get me!"

Obviously a bit peeved by these words, the tigalfos leapt forward, when Link backed up quickly, and threw down something, it creating a large flash of light. Both tigalfos, quite disturbed by this light, became a bit flustered, running around frantically, trying to get away from the light.

"Kira! Now! Attack at their necks!"

Getting the message, Kira hurriedly ran into the frantic scene with her lance in the air. She brought it down, and in one fluid swipe, the tigalfos disappeared in a black mist. She turned to see that Link had quickly taken care of the other creature.

He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Whoa, Link. You look tired." said Navi. "Are you okay?" Link nodded, obviously lying about his condition.

"And you, Kira," said Navi flying over to Kira, "you look pale."

"I feel an awful case of vertigo..." Kira replied. "And my stomach feels icky."

Ignoring Navi's concerned rants, Link looked around the room. Although the room was very dim, he could make out where Navi's bright aura glowed. But it seemed faded; almost... shrouded. Link shrugged it off and searched the ground. To his hopeful expectations, he found a small brown chest.

He opened it to find a compass. As he turned to tell Kira and Navi of his find, he heard Navi's frantic voice calling to him.

"Link! Link!" she frantically yelled, almost fly into Link. "It's Kira!"

"What?! What happened to her?"

"She can hardly breathe! There must be something in the air!" Link furrowed his eyebrows as he realized what was in the air. Poisonous gas.

When he killed one of the tigalfos, a dark gas was emitted. That must have been where the poison came from. Link rushed over to Kira who was leaning on her lance for support.

"Kira, are you all right?" Link asked, feeling a little light headed himself.

"The air, Link..."

"I know. C'mon, let's get you out of here."

"I... can't move." she replied in a tired tone. Link took a deep breath and lifted Kira into his arms. Carefully, he bent down and maneuvered her lance into his hand and headed for safety.

Kira slowly opened her eyes. At first, everything was blurry, but then her eyes slowly focused.

'Where am I?' she thought, turning her head. She saw Link standing in a door way with his arms crossed. He looked asleep, or maybe just deep in thought.

Almost as if on cue, Link opened his eyes and turned towards her.

"Feeling better?" he asked, walking over to her.

"Where am I? Are we still in the temple?" Link shook his head. "No, we're back in the village. We're in May's house."

Kira tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced her back down.

"Take it easy." said Link, watching her effort to get up. "You need your rest."

"But what about the temple?"

"That's not important right now."

Before Kira could respond, Navi came flying into the room.

"Finally, you're awake!" Did you thank Link yet?"

"... Thank him?" Kira blinked in confusion.

Navi sighed impatiently. "Yes, thank him! He saved you by carrying you out the temple. There was poison-"

"- in the air." finished Kira, suddenly remembering the events in the temple.

"Think nothing of it." said Link. "Besides, we needed to take a break from that temple anyway."

"Yeah," replied Kira, "I've seen enough killer plants to last me a lifetime." She laughed lightly to herself.

"You get used to it." Link replied. "Almost to the point where you are expecting it."

"Okay! Enough talking!" shouted Navi. "We have to let Kira get her rest!"

"Yes," said a voice behind them. Link turned to see May standing there with a bowl of soup in hand.

"And you do too. You did inhale some of the poison too."

"I'm fine, really."

"Yeah," agreed Kira, "this is Mr. Tough-Guy we're talking to."

"Or Mr. Stubborn." Added May. Link 'hmphed' and turned his back to them.

"I'll be outside." he said, starting across the room. Navi hurriedly trailed behind him.

"Wait up Link!" she cried after him. "Where are you going?"

"I said, outside."

Navi sighed in frustration. "Well, while we're here, we should stock up on supplies at the item shop."

Link shook his head in response. "Whatever they sell, we can find in the forest. It's a waste of money, and I only have 200 rupees."

"Well..." Navi fluttered about, trying to find something to say.

"As it seems you don't have anything else important to say, I'm going to go for a walk now. I'll be back soon."

"But...!" Navi shouted after him, but he had already walked away into the forest. "Hmph. Fine then. I hope he has fun." She finished as she went back into the house.

"So, did you get him to reconsider coming back in for some rest?" May asked as Navi made her way through the door.

"No." she stated, her voice having a little worry in it.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be back soon. He couldn't wander to far off."

Navi flew to where May was watching over Kira.

"I hope you're right, May."

The village and forest were bustling with activity as Link walked away from the small hut. Birds were chirping, Kokiri children were playing, and the 'adults' were out in the streets and in stores, running some daily errands.

'Feels like home.' Link thought to himself as he strolled down one of the streets. 'But it certainly is a lot busier than the Kokiri Forest. After all, only children lived there...' Link stopped as he came across a crowd of people. A man shouted at the crowd from atop a crate.

"Come one, come all. Compete for prizes!"

'Prizes?' thought Link, raising an eyebrow. The loud man continued.

"Fight the champion Lumpostix and his fists of fire! Survive for three minutes and get our fabulous prize!"

'Navi would kill me for doing this.' mused Link as he made his way through the crowd.

"What have we here?" said the announcer. "A challenger?" Link stared on blankly. The announcer stepped down from the crate and walked up to Link.

"You wish to fight Lumpostix?"

Link nodded in response.

"And what is your name, young man?"

"Link."

"Well folks," the short announcer said, turning to the crowd, "It seems that Link has decided to fight Lumpostix!"

The crowd cheered.

"All right, Lumpostix," called the announcer, "your challenger awaits you."

From out of the forest came a hulking mass of muscle and power. Lumpostix towered over the crowd; his feet leaving large imprints in the ground. He clearly wasn't a Hylinian or a native to the forest.

Lumpostix grinned down at Link with his murky grey eyes. He grinned, showing yellowed, if not missing, teeth. He wore a green tunic except the shirt part was partially ripped; unable to accommodate and hold such massive amounts of muscle.

"Is this punk my opponent?" Lumpostix boomed. He then burst out in laughter. "I'll crush you like an ant." Link only looked on calmly; his hand nowhere near the hilt of his sword.

The crowd surrounding the fighters screeched in surprise as Lumpostix came charging towards Link. At the last second, the Hylinian quickly side stepped, missing the gargantuan charge by mere inches. The large beast roared and beat his fists on his chest.

'Two minutes to go.' Thought Link. Lumpostix growled and readied for another attack. Instead of an anticipated charge, Lumpostix righted himself and pulled a dagger out of his belt. A dagger the size of a grown horse. Link couldn't help but smirk. Finally, a real challenge.

"Stop evading my attacks and fight." Slurred the giant Lumpostix. Link still made no move to defend himself. He only stood there, hearing the crowd gasp and whisper behind him.

"Little runt!" cried Lumpostix, swinging his dagger towards Link. Link jumped up and gracefully back flipped out of harm's way.

"Woah! Looks like our challenger Link has got a few tricks up his sleeve!" cried the announcer. "But will Link finally fight back?"

Lumpostix growled impatiently and lunged at Link but this time, with his fist. Link back flipped again, but winced as a pang of heat coursed through his arm. Lumpostix grinned, licking Link's blood off of the giant dagger.

Link landed and regarded his wound. The weapon sliced through the tunic's sleeve, leaving behind a mottled maroon color.

'Navi's going to have conniptions.' Thought Link.

"Predictability will get you killed." Guffawed the giant. "Your blood tastes good. I want more!"

Link narrowed his eyes. Now he was mad.

Lumpostix rammed his fist toward Link. This time the Hylinian only jumped. As anticipated, Lumpostix's dagger came rushing toward him.

'Predictability.' Mused Link. In a flash of light, Link flipped onto the ground. The grin that Lumpostix held on his face melted away. The blade of the giant dagger broke off and landed onto the ground with a 'thump.'

The surrounding crowd gasped in awe as Link held up the legendary blade of the Master Sword.

"Is that the sword of legend from Hyrule?" whispered one of the crowd members.

"I think." Replied another. Lumpostix held up his once powerful weapon, now only reduced to a hilt and a sliver of metal.

"Predictability." Hmphed Link. "Practice what you preach." The giant creature growled and threw down his useless weapon. "I'll take you down with my bare hands!"

'50 seconds left.' Thought Link. Lumpostix aimed a left hook at Link, but the Hylinian blocked it with his sword. Lumpostix tried with his right fist, putting the pressure of both hands behind the sword.

Link gritted his teeth, his heels digging into the ground.

"Heh! I will break your weapon just as you did mine!" Lumpostix opened his fists and grabbed the Master Sword, now trying to pull it away from Link.

"Fine, have it." Said Link, letting go of the blade. The giant yelped and tumbled backwards, creating a small crater in the ground. Link calmly walked up to the dazed creature and reclaimed his sword.

"I believe the three minutes are up." Said Link turning toward the announcer. The short announcer, along with the crowd, stood wide eyed with mouths agape.

"L-Lumpostix? Are you all right?" asked the announcer. Lumpostix only groaned.

"My prize." Said Link, getting impatient. "I lasted three minutes." A smile appeared on the announcer's lips. "But," he started, "you get an additional prize if you defeat him."

"I did." Countered Link. The announcer shook his head.

"Look." He pointed toward Lumpostix who was standing and brushing himself off. "Ol' Lumpostix can take a fall… so how about it?"

Link grunted in response and turned toward Lumpostix. In the blink of an eye, Link rushed toward Lumpostix and buried the hilt of his sword into the giant's midsection. Oxygen escaped Lumpostix's lungs on impact and his eyes rolled back. Unable to utter a word, he fell forwards.

Link caught him with one hand and threw the defeated monster to one side. The announcer meekly walked up to Link with the prize in hand.

"The prize was an empty bottle, but for your show of strength, you get a bottle of milk from the renowned Irb Irb Ranch. It should restore your health completely with one sip." Link took the bottle of milk, ignoring the loud cheers of the crowd.

"And you," growled Link to the announcer, "never bring that thing into another village. Ever." Link flashed the blade of the Master Sword.

"Understood?" The announcer nodded his head in compliance. "Good." Said Link sheathing his sword and walking away. The crowd parted for him, all of the people in awe. The men grinned at him, while the women fluttered their eyes and giggled.

'Shoot me.' Thought Link as he made his way back to May's house.

"Oh this little thing? I fell out of a tree and cut myself." said Link, desperately trying to come up with a reason he hurt himself so Kira and Navi wouldn't freak out (or get mad. Whichever first came first.) "No, they'd never believe that. How about 'Oh, I sneezed when I was swinging the Master Sword and I managed to nick my arm!' No... not that either."

Link sighed as May's house came into view.

"What are you talking about? This isn't a cut. It's a figment of your imagination." Link blushed as he realized how stupid he sounded. "I guess that got pretty pathetic." Link sighed again and scratched his head. He could already hear Navi's screeching voice in his head. "Link, I told you to come back to the house! And what do you do? You get into a fight and almost get yourself killed! You think Kira can defeat Ganondorf by herself? And what about Saria? What would she say when I told her that her best friend almost died in some stupid fight. And Zelda-!"

Link grimaced when he realized he had given himself a headache. 'Maybe I should take another stroll around the village. It'll give Kira more time to heal and me more time to come up with a good excuse for my injuries.'

Ignoring the dull pain in his left arm, Link ambled along, eventually coming across an item shop.

'I know I shouldn't, but I'm curious.' thought Link, walking through the wooden doorway. The smell of herbs and spices filled his nose as he entered the small hut. Behind the counter was a skinny man with a rather large smile on his face. He wore a blue shirt with a red vest and green pants.

"Ah, greetings!" spoke the clerk. "May I help you?"

Link looked around the place before he answered. "Do you have any potions to heal poisoning?"

"Hmm... no, but we have shields, fairies, and arrows. Do you have a bow?"

Link shook his head.

"Well, then I guess I can't help you with that." the clerk still stood smiling.

"Thank you, anyway." said Link, exiting the item shop. 'How unusual.' he thought. He searched out a tree on the outskirts of the village and perched on one of its branches. He took out the ocarina and played Saria's Song.

"Taking a rest, I see." Saria mused to Link.

"If only." Link replied. "I'm giving Kira a chance to rest up. She had a little incident with a monster."

"Is she all right?"

"She's fine. Navi's holding out pretty good too. Although she still worries a lot."

Saria chuckled. "Heh heh. Of course. That's Navi for you."

"So," Link started, "how is everything in Hyrule?"

"Everything's all ri-"

"Hi Link!" inserted another voice.

"Who was that?" asked Link.

Saria sighed, "Ruto says 'Hi'."

Link let out a loose chuckle. "So I guess everything's all right."

"Yes." agreed Saria. She sighed, "I miss you. We all do."

Link smiled, "I miss you and all of Hyrule too. This village really reminds me of the Kokiri Forest."

"That should be somewhat comforting."

Link nodded to himself. "So," Link paused to look up, "about the Forest Temple... what exactly am I looking for in there?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Nereiyu that question?"

"I guess... I don't exactly have a song for her, though."

Saria giggled. "Don't worry Link. All you have to do is defeat the temple boss and you'll get what you're looking for."

Link didn't respond.

"Well," the sage started, "I'll leave you to your thoughts. Rest well."

Link felt the connection between them break. He settled back against the tree and gazed at the stars. From his high perch, he could see the silhouette of a towering mountain. He sighed as he thought of the arduous journey ahead. Well, no one said it would be easy.

'Oh crap.' were Link's first thoughts as he woke up to a pitch black dark sky. 'I must've fallen asleep.' he stretched, yawned, then hopped down from the tree.

He noticed the business of the streets had died down and only a few lights in the all-night stores remained on. He quickly walked towards May's house.

Quietly opening the door, he stepped inside. Kira was asleep on the bed, and if he remembered correctly, May worked late at night. Now, where was Navi? He peered around the room, and to his relief, found the small fairy perched on the tip of Kira's lance that lay propped against the wall.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he crept up the small flight of stairs that led to the roof.

"LINK!" yelled two voices in unison. Link winced and turned around.

"Where were you?!" screeched Navi, fluttering around Link.

"Out." he curtly replied. Kira got out of bed and walked up to him. She examined his wound.

"Out doing what?" asked Kira, raising a silver eyebrow.

"Link! You're hurt! How'd you do this?!" cried Navi. Link desperately searched for words, but Kira cut him off.

"We'll talk about this in the morning. Right now, I need to clean Link's wound. And gosh Navi, stop worrying so much!" Kira led Link over to the sink. Navi angrily fluttered after them.

"I told you to stay inside, Link!" said Navi, "but no, no one ever listens to me!"

"And with good reason," grumbled Kira. Navi shot her a menacing glare and perched atop Link's cap.

Kira ran some water over a cloth then turned towards Link.

"Uh, Link," Kira said, slightly blushing. "your tunic is in the way. And so are the sleeves of your undershirt."

Navi nearly fell off Link's cap. "And just what do you propose that he do?"

"Well," Kira replied, blushing a little more, "if he wants the wound dressed properly, he'll have to take off the top part of the tunic."

"You want Link to STRIP?!" screeched Navi.

"NO!" yelped Kira. "I didn't say for him to take the whole thing off!"

"Hmph, yeah right!" countered Navi. "You just want to see his-"

"Navi." interrupted Link. "Wait outside."

"B-but,"

Link glared at her from the side of his eye.

"Oh, okay." Navi sighed. She turned to leave out the window, but not before giving one last glare at Kira.

"So," started Link as he undid the belt to his sword sheath, "how was your recovery?"

"Long and arduous. Navi wouldn't stop worrying about you. I hardly got any sleep." Kira replied, watching Link place his shield on the counter.

"I'll have to get on her about that. She means good, though."

Kira smiled as she looked down, playing with the loose threads of the dampened cloth nervously. When she looked back up, a deep blush crept onto her cheeks. Link stood, bare-chested, facing her. A thin rivulet of blood ran down his arm from the wound. Kira marveled at his well built form, seemingly flawless.

She gulped down any remaining nervousness and carefully tended the wound.

"How did you get hurt?" she asked. "It's really deep."

"What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell Navi."

Well, it's not like I voluntarily talk to her, but your secret's safe with me."

Link smiled slightly. "There was a contest in the village. The prize was a bottle of milk from the Irb Irb Ranch. I had to fight this huge guy with a dagger the size of a horse. I had to last three minutes against him."

"That explains the wound and why you were gone for three minutes. Now what's the excuse for being gone the other six hours and 57 minutes? Navi wasn't the only one who worried about you."

"I fell asleep." Link replied sheepishly. Kira rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Only the Hero of Time would chance falling asleep while his friend may be lying on her death bed from poison gas." She poked him in the stomach. Link laughed.

"But you said you felt fine."

"Things could've taken a turn for the worse! Then where would you be?"

"I'd be a Hylinian with two horses."

"Hey!" Kira playfully growled. "Keroh's mine!"

"How? You'd be dead." Link suppressed a grin. Kira tried to keep a straight face.

"Oh yeah, well-" Kira and Link glared at each other, then burst out laughing.

"You're impossible." Said Kira as she finished bandaging Link's arm. "There. All done. And you didn't even cry once." She teased him.

Link smirked and flexed a muscle with his injured arm.

"Was it supposed to make me cry?" he asked enjoying the blush that returned to Kira's face. She turned away. "Well, no."

"Why are you blushing?" he asked, straining to keep from smiling. "And why won't you look me in the eye?"

"Link!" she squeaked. A smug grin graced Link's features.

"Thank you for your concern about my arm."

"Think nothing of it." Kira laughed nervously. "What're friends for?" Link smiled and slipped his shirt and tunic back on.

"Well, it's late. You must be sleepy."

"Nope." Kira shook her head. "I was sleeping pretty much all day. What about you?"

"No, I just got done sleeping." He turned towards her with a smirk on his face. "Right after leaving my friend on her possible 'death bed.'"

"Oh yeah, how could I forget?" sneered Kira. "So, what do insomniacs do this late at night?"

"Most would wander aimlessly around," Link shrugged, "but I enjoy conversing with Epona, or looking at the stars."

"Hmmm…" Kira walked out of the hut. Link curiously followed her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To talk to Keroh and Epona of course!" Kira flashed a smile at him.

Navi, who was perched on the rooftop, fluttered down quickly towards Link.

"Where are you going this time?" she huffed.

"I'm going with Kira to check on the horses. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"Oh, yeah. I've heard that before! I'm coming with you."

Link sighed in agreement as they came across the village entrance. Two pairs of ears perked upon Kira and Link's presence.

"Keroh!" Kira greeted her beloved desert horse. She hugged the built silver neck of her steed. Link approached Epona and patted her on her velvety black nose.

"Link!" said Navi. "Aren't you sleepy?"

He shook his head. "Wide awake, Navi."

"Geez, Navi. Don't be such a worry wart! You're not Link's mother…"

"I wouldn't have to be so worried if you didn't get into so much trouble!"

"Me?! How is it my fault?"

"If you were more careful in the temple, we could be fighting the boss right now. But no, you had to go and get high off of poison gasses!"

"Yeah, like I did it on purpose. And I didn't get high!"

"Heh. How can you tell?" snickered Navi. Kira growled angrily.

"Look you stupid little pixy, if you just told us what to do about the monsters in the first place, we could've been more prepared!"

"Hmph! Since when have you listened to me?"

"Ever since you started nagging and worrying day and night!"

"It's better to worry a little than be careless and fool hardy like you! … Brat…"

"What did you call me?"

"Did I stutter ?"

"You little fly!"

"I'm a fairy, you hag!"

Kira's eye twitched in anger. "H-hag?! How DARE you?! I'll turn you into fairy dust!"

"I'd like to see you try! C'mon, let's take this outside!"

"We are outside, stupid."

"I'm not stupid!"

"They're at it again…" Link said to Epona. She only neighed and shook her head.

"You are so lucky I don't have my lance." Growled Kira.

"Heh. It's just an overgrown tooth pick."

"How would you like to be skewered with an overgrown tooth pick?"

"Sure. As if you're strong enough."

"How about I rip your wings off?"

"How about I rip your hair out?"

Kira and Navi glared at each other. "Link," said Navi, "What do you – Link? Where'd he go?"

"You scared him off!" yelled Kira.

"If it's anything that scared him off, it was your face!"

"That's the last straw!" roared Kira, Lunging at the fairy. Keroh tugged Kira back by grabbing the back of her tunic with his teeth.

"Let me go, Keroh!" the angered girl yelled. "Just let me get one punch in!"

"Haha." Said Navi as she flew back to May's house. "Serves you right."

"You just wait till Keroh lets me go…"

"Heh. As if." Laughed Navi as she headed out of sight.

Link watched through the window of May's house for any signs of Kira and Navi.

'They bicker like little children.' Link thought. He watched as Navi came fluttering towards the house. He opened the door to let her in.

"Hurry." She said. "Close the door and lock it before Kira gets in."

"Why isn't Kira with you?"

"Her horse had to hold her back. I'd hide her lance if I were you. She's crazy."

"Why don't you take a nap. You deserve it."

"Oh, why thank you… hey, this isn't a trick is it?"

"You're as paranoid as they come."

"Better to be paranoid than crazy…"

Link turned his head to see Kira storming toward the house.

"Here comes the storm." Mumbled Link as Kira walked through the door. Kira's eyes blazed with fury as her sights fell upon Navi. Navi yelped and flew under Link's cap.

"You're lucky Link is holding me back!" she yelled. "Or I'd have to unleash the fairy!"

"That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Said Kira.

"Okay, all right." Spoke Link, trying to calm them down. "No more fighting." Navi peeked out from under Link's cap.

"Yeah," she agreed, "no more fighting!"

"You'll have to come out from there sometime." Growled Kira. "And when you do, me and my lance will be waiting."

Kira then flopped onto the bed and turned her back to them.

Link returned to his usual spot on the roof and Lay down on his back.

"Tomorrow is another big day." He said, heaving a heavy sigh.

"Yep." Agreed Navi, perching on his forehead. "And plenty of big monsters to go with it."

The sun arose over the canopy of the small forest as the hustle and bustle of the streets began. Link opened a sleepy eye to the droning of villagers' voices. He looked up to see the sun just climbing out of the horizon, engulfed by a pinkish hue.

Navi, who was lightly sleeping, stirred. "Morning already?" she yawned.

"I'm afraid so." Link replied as he stretched. Somewhere out in the distance, a rooster crowed. "Well, now it's official."

He stood up and stretched out his arms, wincing a bit at his injured arm. "C'mon. Let's go down for some food."

Navi agreed and followed him downstairs.

The smell of home cooked food, and Kira's glare greeted them upon their arrival.

"Good morning!" May greeted cheerfully. "You're just in time! Have a seat." Link and Kira seated themselves at the table as May set their breakfast in front of them. Kira, forgetting her grudge over Navi, practically inhaled her food. Link, on the other hand, took his time to chew. Navi fluttered down from her perch on Link's shoulder, settling herself down on the table.

"Well, someone's hungry today." Navi stated sarcastically as Kira continued to scarf down her food.

"Oh be quiet, ya lil poof ball. I'm trying to get a nutritious meal in before we head back out to the Forest Temple." Kira took a moment from eating her food as she held up her fingers, ready to flick Navi. Link grabbed her hand.

"Okay you two. I'd like to have a little peace in my life, so couldn't you just give it a rest for now?"

Kira glared at Navi before taking her hand back and beginning to slowly pick at the remains of food on her plate.

"So…" May started, trying to break the silence surrounding the table. "What are you three going to be doing today? Are you going back to the Forest Temple?" May turned and looked to Kira, who shrugged and nodded over to Link. "So Link?" May asked again.

Link looked up from his plate, seeming to have been in somewhat of a daze. "Huh?"

May sighed. "I was asking where you were planning on going today."

"Oh. Well, I was planning on going back to the temple eventually…" Link drifted off a little.

"Good idea! Well, we'll have to make sure we have enough supplies before we leave." Navi chimed in.

"So, how about we go into the village and do some quick shopping?"

"Sure." Link replied, shrugging.

"Hmm… I guess we should start to make a list of items we'll need then." Kira suggested.

Navi nodded then flew over to Kira. "Where should we start?"

"How should I know? You've been on these adventures more than me. You should know what to get."

Navi batted Kira on the head with one of her wings. "Why did you suggest we make a list if you don't know what to put on it?"

"It was a suggestion."

"Ugh! You're such an amateur."

"Who are you calling an amateur?! At least I don't uselessly float around and bother Link unlike somebody I know!"

"Watch how you talk to you elders!" growled Navi.

"Yeah, I guess you're pretty old. Those wrinkles say it all."

Navi gasped in disgust. "How DARE you!" Navi repeatedly charged at Kira, who tried to swat the fairy away.

"Are they always like this?" May whispered to Link.

"Every… day." Replied Link, holding his head in his hands. Kira grabbed her lance and turned to Navi.

"Want to see first hand how they make fairy dust?"

"Bring it on!" yelled Navi as the two charged each other. Link stepped in between them and caught Kira's lance before it had a chance to slice through Navi.

"Can we not trash May's house?" he sighed.

"Yeah, Navi." Said Kira, sticking out her tongue.

"He was talking to you too!"

"No, he wasn't! I'm not the trouble maker like you. I help him out."

"Yeah, you help him in getting a headache."

"Quit it, you two." Said Link. "We'll head for the temple after I stop by the item store." He exited the house with Kira and Navi trailing close behind.

As Link and Navi walked into the item shop, a stray chicken caught sight of Kira. She approached it curiously, poking it with the tip of her lance.

Link leaned on the counter of the item shop.

"What can I help ya with?" the shop keeper asked.

"The bag of 20 deku nuts, please." Replied Link. The shopkeeper handed Link the bag of deku nuts. "That's 20 rupees." Link handed him the 20 rupees and turned to the exit. Outside, through the window, Link could see Kira screaming wildly, running from a flock of chickens.

"Oh geez…" sighed Link.

"I say we leave her out there." Said Navi. Link shook his head, then walked to the door. "Kira, get inside, quick!" he yelled.

Kira scrambled inside. "What's up with those chickens?!"

"Maybe we should've warned you…" Link helped her up. "The chickens are a bit short tempered when you bother them."

"Now you tell me…" Kira glared at Link, then turned her sights to Navi. "I bet you knew about them."

Navi settled onto Link's shoulder. "Maybe, maybe not."

"Okay. Well, now we all know about the chickens. So, before we leave, do we need anything else?" Link looked over at the elfish girl and fairy who were still glaring at each other. "Well?"

Navi finally looked over at him, while still glaring at Kira out of the conrer of her eye. "No, I don't."

Link looked over to Kira.

"Nah…" Kira broke her glare at Navi. "I'm fine."

"Alright then. Let's get going." Link walked out of the shop as the other two followed close behind him.

A while later, after going through a few more shops and then going back to the forest, the trio finally arrived back at the doors of the temple.

"Shall we go in?" Link asked with a slight smirk.

"Welll, we have nothing better to do, now do we?" Kira replied sarcastically, smirking as well.

"So, LET'S GO!" Navi yelled at the two, startling them. They started to walk forward, but not before giving each other a quick smile. They pushed open the two doors in front of them, and then stepped into the dark corridor, looking at the doors along the hall.

"Alrighty then.." Kira said as they walked in through the fayer into the hallway again. "Where to go now.." Link blinked slightly as he walked ahead of the two girls, he trying to get used ot the area's dark lighting.

"Okay. We already know which rooms we have been to... So, it's just a matter of picking which one to try next..." Link hesitated slightly as he spoke, he suddenly receiving an ominous feeling from aroudn him.

"Link?" Navi flew slowly towards the stopped figure in front of her. "Why did you stop?" The Hylinian slowly looked around him, he bringing his hands down to the sheath at his side. "Something's not ri-"

A large, shadowy figure rushed down from the ceiling. Navi ducked under Link's cap. Kira swung her lance and heard a 'thud' as her weapon struck something. Link searched the darkened ceiling for traces of a monster.

"Navi, can you get a reading on this?"

"Yes."

".... would you care to act upon your answer?"

"...... now?"

"YES, now!" should Kira as she yanked the small fairy from under the cap.

"Go easy on me!" hissed Navi. "These wings can't be replaced!" She fluttered up to the darkness and turned a bright yellow.

"It's a wallmas-"

Suddenly a veiny, purple, severed hand crashed down onto Navi from above.

"Eww! A severed hand!" exclaimed Kira. "How unfortunate for it to have landed on Navi..."

"Help!" the tiny fairy screeched as the wallmaster started floating back to the ceiling. Link stood there, almost as if nothing was happening.

"Link!" Kira yelled. "Aren't you going to do something?! Do you know where it's taking her?!"

The Hylinian simply pointed behind them. "To the entrance." Kira turned to see Navi fluttering through the aged doors of the entrance.

"That... accomplished... NOTHING!!" screamed Navi. As if in response, the same wallmaster thudded down onto the floor. It stood still, 'facing' them.

"Looks like Round 2." said Kira, raising her lance.

"Kira, be careful." warned Link. "You don't know what it might -" Before he could finish, the purple wallmaster lunged forward and poked Kira in the stomach. She nearly dropped her lance as she giggled.

"H-help!" she wheezed inbetween giggles. The wallmaster hooked its thumb under her legs and pinned her down while the index finger delivered merciless tickles.

Link and Navi watched, confused beyond repair.

"That... never happened to you, did it?" Navi asked Link. He slowly shook his head, only partially listening to what Navi was saying.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle..." came a haughty disembodied voice. Link and Navi looked at each other. "Wallmasters can talk?" They looked back at Kira who, by now, was beet red from her fits of laughter.

Finally, Link had had enough.

"This... is extremely... annoying!" Link said in an exasperated tone. "Why..." Link began again as he raised his sword, "are you tickling Kira? Be careful with your answer, because I've gotten really tired with this place already." The veiny hand turned its "face towards Link while keeping Kira pinned to the ground.

"Why should I, the great , answer to you?" Link gawked at the hand, standing there for a moment as if he were surprised the tickler could actually form a complete sentence. Navi, seeing Link in his slightly dumbfounded state, picked up some of the slack before Link could stop her.

"This, Mr., is the Legendary Hero of Time, Link!" stated the fairy.

"... I'm sure..." said the hand. "And this is important, why...?"

Navi blinked slightly, apparently thrown off by the purple-creature's remark. "B-because... He's the Legendary Hero of Time, Li-" The hand cut her off.

"Yes, yes, that's all good and well. But, seeing as you creatures do not seem to want your fellow here, I shall be heading off with her now..."

Kira looked over at Link as the tickling wallmaster began to pull her up into the air.

"LINK!!! DO SOMETHING!!!" she screamed, finally waking Link up again.

"Kira!" He shouted as he began to run after them. However, instead of the hand pulling Kira up to the darkened ceiling, it stayed within sight as it led Link and Navi back to the foyer and through a doorway left of the entrance. Link, still looking up and tryin gto follow the rising creature, did not notice the sudden rise in ground level. "$!#" He grunted as he fell forward on his face, hitting the beginnings of a spiral staircase. "Where in the WORLD did this come from?!" He muttered loudly as he got up, beginning to dust himself off. Glancing upward, he began surveying the distance up the staircase.

"It doesn't seem to go too high, Link..." Navi said as she flew upward a few steps. "I think it leads to the second floor of the castle..." Link followed the fairy with his eyes. "well, if this is where that thing took Kira, the I guess this is where we're going." The current duo began up towards the second floor, when Link suddenlystopped, letting Navi run right into his back.

"Ow! Liiink! Why did you stop there?!" The fairy flittered around slightly, trying to shake off the hit as she heard Link trying to stifle the beginnings of something like a laugh. "... Link? What are you... HAHA!" Navi burst out in laughter as she finally saw what had stopped the Hylinian. Straight ahead, on what appeared to be the first platform of the second floor, was Kira, tied to an elaborately designed chair, wearing the fluffiest, most princess-like dress Navi had ever seen; it even outdid Zelda's.

However, the look on Kira's face did not match the happy aura of her new "outfit."

"Link... Navi... GET THIS FRIGGIN' DRESS OFF OF ME! NOW!!" she screamed loudly as the duo continued trying to stifle their laughter, but to no avail, as Navi began to audibly cackle at Kira's predicament.

"Ha! Kira finally looks like a girl!" Navi bellowed with alughter. Link was the first to regain relative composure. "Sorry Kira. It's just that," he gestured towards her, "it was an unexpected sight."

Exhausted from laughter, Navi settled onto Link's shoulder. "Now now, Kira. This is no time to play dress up and bondage games with the monsters." She succumbed to another fit of laughter.

Kira was practically trebmling in rage. "You just wait you little bumble bee." The corner of her eye twitched. "I'll kill you in your sleep... I swear it!" Link sighed and walked toward Kira to undo the nnots that bound her. Navi quickly fluttered off Link's shoulder, distancing herself from the angered Kira.

Navi fluttered around the room while Link (unofortunately) freed Kira. She noticed the room's bedroom setting in the dimmed light. There was a twin sized bed with a canopy. The sheets were tattered with age and the lacey canopy sheet was laden with dust. The mirror, dresser, and vanity also accumulated a few layers of dirt. On the far side of the room, Navi spotted Kira's lance propped up against the wall. Navi followed the lance's tip upwards and spotted a rather large painting of what appeared to be a woman, but the face was covered in overgrown ivy. The dress this woman was wearing had an exact resembelence to the one Kira wore.

"Is this... this princess?" Navi wondered aloud. While Navi remained occupied, Link struggled to undo the many ropes and chains binding Kira.

"Maybe if I hit them with my sword..."

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Kira screeched. "There must be an easier way to get them off."

The two were too distracted about the current situation to notice the ominous shadow that loomed in their wake. Before Link could react, he felt something knock him onto the ground and start a poking assault on his sides.

"Tickle tickle tickle." came a familiar voice. Link blinked as he noticed the same wall master from before trying to tickle him. Link smacked the monster with the flat side of his sword. The wallmaster recoiled and growled.

"Argh! Why won't you laugh? Aren't you ticklish?"

The Hylinian raised an eyebrow. "I don't know why I'd want to tell you that."

"Rargha! Fine! You keep your little secret and I'll keep the girl!"

It turned towards Kira who let out a yelp.

"This is stupid! Let Kira go or I'll-"

"Or you'll what? The girl stays tied up unless I die! ... Oh crap, I shouldn't have said that..."

Link charged at the wallmaster with his sword raised.

"Okay, okay let's not be hasty - EEP!" the wallmaster practically squealed as it was just barely missed by Link's sword. "Hey! Now, I know you didn't really mean to get that close... ACK!" Link swung his sword down again, just barely missing the creature as it dodged. He continued to swing his sword at the tickler, getting closer with each try. "Would... You... stop... that!!" the wallmaster was shouting louder as the swings began to graze its wrinkled skin.