"The Destiny Stone"

Disclaimer: If I owned this franchise I'd be one very rich person. However, I am just a poor college kid. Darn.

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Author's Note: Was the last chapter action-filled enough for ya? Hope it was, as there's more where that came from! A lot morebut for now, more humor. Sort of. Actually, there's a lot of funny stuff in this chapter. But there's some plot stuff too, so it's all good.

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"The Destiny Stone" – Chapter 2: Lost and Found

Voices from above slowly trickled into the cavern, breaking a silence that had hung over the place for an extensive amount of time. It was almost a welcoming sound, despite the fact that the two that were making the noise were arguing in rather harsh, loud tones that echoed too much.

"I'm-a tellin' yeh, this tunnel's a dead-end!"

"An' I'm *squeak* telling you, that it ain't! Not anymore"

There was a commotion near the worn tunnel, and suddenly a small lantern was thrust into the cave. The light was followed by a round, snouted brown head, which was unfortunately upside down. The creature's glowing, coal-like eyes served as a secondary light source. Seemingly satisfied with itself for finding the exit, the creature, unmistakably a Deku Scrub, called up to its companion.

"Told ya. *squeak* Now you owe me five rupees."

"I thought t'was only one rupee..."

"No, it was *squeak* five."

"What'everyou gonna move out or what? S'kind of stuffy, stuck up ere, y'know."

With a small pop, the Deku Scrub wriggled its way headfirst out of the hole. Hitting the floor in a crumpled heap, he squeaked in alarm as his lantern skidded away several yards, but fortunately remained lit. The wooden creature stood up, dusting himself off. He readjusted his cape, and gave a shake of his spiked leaf-like hair so that it wasn't in front of his eyes.

Unfortunately, he hadn't thought to move out of the way.

A moment later, the slightly larger bulk of a Skull Kid squashed the unfortunate Deku flat as he popped out of the tunnel. Wheezing, the Deku struggled feebly for breath. The Skull Kid blinked, and looked around dully.

"'Ey Benz, where is this? Where are yeh?"

Benz, whose glowing eyes were squashed shut in agony, managed to wheeze a few choice words. "Getnow!"

The Skull Kid looked down and snickered. Standing up, he hauled his companion up. "Y'sound like a squeak toy when y'do that"

"Do what, get squashed by *squeak* idiots like you, Aka?" The scrub dusted himself off a second time, retrieving the lantern. Thrusting it out to his full arm's length, the Deku twisted a small knob on the side of the lamp. Suddenly it's light flared brilliantly, ten times as luminescent as it had been before. The cave was lit up considerably. Benz surveyed his surroundings with a critical eye. "We gotta be far under th' Lost Woods by now, eh?"

Aka nodded. "T'would make a cool hidin' place for our loot, but-"

"We've already got one. B'sides, this place is *squeak* much too deep for that. Everything would *squeak* get ruined by the damp." The Deku had a rather annoying squeaky hiccup that often interrupted him in the middle of sentences. Aka liked to tease him about this incessantly by randomly calling him Squeaks.'

"Ahar! Well, mayhap there be treasure ere?" Aka's dark featureless face would've otherwise sported a smirk as he put on his best corsair brogue, pulling the brim of his hat down at a roguish angle. "Whad'ya think o' that, Squeaks?"

Benz rolled his eyes. "What? The possibility of treasure, or that horrible *squeak* pirate impression?" Then the scrub looked around, considering. "Well, maybe this was a *squeak* mine or something once, there might be stuff aroundWouldn't hurt to look while we're down here"

"Wot if somethin' lives down ere, though?" The Skull Kid sounded concerned, having second thoughts. "They migh' own things down here,"

"Who'd want to *squeak* live in a dump like this? There's no sunlight. Besides, if they *squeak* are stupid enough to just leave their stuff around, they deserve to have it taken away."

"That's stealing." Aka scuffed a foot on the ground childishly.

"How many times do I have to *squeak* explain this to you, Aka? We're archaeologists,' not robbers." The scrub started forwards, his much too large cape dragging behind him comically. The scrub was barely even 2 1/2 feet tall, and the badly mismatched navy blue cape was obviously made for a grown adult human. The Skull Kid, who felt nearly a giant at 4 feet tall, trailed behind his companion nervously.

"Ar-archaeologists?" Aka blinked owlishly. "Wot's that word mean again?"

Benz rolled his eyes again. "It means finders keepers' on anything we happen to *squeak* find when we're explorin'. That's what archaeologists do."

"Ohkind of like ow we discovered' all that stuff in that Kokiri's house," Aka said after a while, "An' all the shiney things we found inside those tents in th' Woods."

"Exactly. Hmmthis is weird" The scrub paused.

"Wot?"

Benz pointed forwards. "You see that *squeak* offshoot tunnel there?" As the lantern was held forward, it lit up a small, very rounded tunnel. "Look at it. If that ain't *squeak* been carved by someone other than Mother Nature, then my aunt was a beech."

The Skull Kid chuckled. "We're gonna go in there, right?"

"Of course, Aka. Where there's tunnels like that, at the end there's always-"

"TREASURE!" Aka roared twenty minutes later as they emerged into a huge smooth walled chamber with a pedestal at its center. It was a chamber that hadn't been disturbed for a long time, at least, not since two certain small boys entered it and never came out again. Aka pointed forwards, his glowing eyes wide.

"'Ey Benz, you see that, right?"

The scrub rubbed his eyes, setting the lamp down. "Sure *squeak* do."

There were two statues in the chamber, glinting brightly in the sunlight that streamed down from high above. Link and Timbre were still frozen in the exact positions they had held when so ensorcelled, undisturbed and both still staring forwards in slight surprise. Only one thing had really changed.

While years ago, the two statues had been those of two young boys, the statues had, strangely enough, grown. The two stone figures were now exact replicas of two young men, taller than they had been, but still frozen solid, and still rather inanimate.

Of course, neither of the robbers who had just entered the chamber knew this, all they knew is that they had just discovered something really worth examining.

"Wow," Benz squeaked to himself. "Never *squeak* thought we'd find stuff like this down here. Do you think this is some kind of shrine or tomb?"

But Aka wasn't listening. With a bound, he appeared in front of the Timbre statue, staring up at the stoneworked face. "Hey Spikes," he said smirkingly after a moment, "Nice hair."

Timbre continued to stare blankly forwards, mouth still slightly slack in a sentence that had never been completed.

"Aka!" The scrub sounded annoyed, "Aka, would you stop that at once!"

"What? Why?" The Skull Kid propped himself up on the green statue's shoulder, giggling. "I dun think e minds too muchan e can't do much about it either way, can he?"

Benz approached the blue Link statue, which still stood at the pedestal. "Hmmthis one's carved *squeak* in Kokiri dress," he mused quietly. "But Kokiri are kids, not big grown-ups like this dude." Benz rapped his wooden knuckles against Link's knee. The blue stone thudded dully but that was all. "Woah. This thing looks like it's made out of pure sapphire"

"Wha?" Aka stopped poking Timbre a moment. "It's what?"

"Aka, that green statue, is it made out of-"

"Emerald?" The Skull Kid blinked. "I think soWow, you're a valuable commodity, Spikes," Aka remarked to the Timbre statue. The robbers, being somewhat attracted towards valuable objects, were rather adept at quickly deciding the make and worth of things.

"An' this dude's *squeak* got somethin' in his hands," Benz pointed out. "Though it's just a regular quartz stone, I think. Pretty big an' all, but not really that special" The scrub looked at Aka. "So, you think these things are worth taking back, right?"

"Well, sure, but" The Skull Kid paused.

Benz twisted his nonexistent lips into a frown. "You ain't *squeak* back on that whole stealing' thing again, are you? Remember, we're *squeak* archaeologists. Finders Keepers."

"S'not that," Aka said. "It's just, these things are gonna weigh a ton an' a half eachhow're we ever gonna get em back to the surface?"

"Easy. Use your Homing Charm." The Deku cleared his throat importantly.

The Skull Kid seemed taken aback. "B-but Squeaks, I can only use that once-a day!"

The Deku looked up at the sunlight streaming down. "It's past noontime. We'll be okay until tomorrow."

"Yeah, wellwhat if we found ourselves chased by people? Or worse, what if you're being chased down by a pack of mad dogs and I can't teleport yeh to safety?"

The Deku swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. If there was one thing Benz was afraid of, it was canines. Normally Dekus and things of the canine persuasion held some sort of animosity;-maybe it was because of the squeak-toy hiccup that all Dekus seemed to possess-but Benz's experiences with dogs had been even worse than the norm for his race. The wooden head shook in thought.

Treasure versus being eaten by dogs. Treasure. Dogs. Treasure-

Finally, the allure of treasure won out. "No, I think I'll take *squeak* my chances, Aka. These statues are too *squeak* valuable to just leave here."

The Skull Kid nodded. "Alright, but it's your funeral, Squeaks." Unraveling a rope, he threw one end to the Deku, while he busied himself tying his end around the stone Timbre's waist. "Tie that around Mister Blue over there. They need to kind of be attached f'me to teleport em at th' same time."

"Right." Benz lassoed Link about the knees (he was a bit short to reach Link's waist), then clambered up onto the statue's shoulders. "Beg pardon," Benz said to the stone young man. Then, making sure he was secure, he called over to his companion.

"Beam me up, Scotty."

The Skull Kid coughed from his perch on Spikes' head, confused. "What?"

The scrub rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. Just zap out outta here."

"Oh, right." The Skull Kid closed his eyes and concentrated.

There was a small pop as air collapsed into the space where the statues, scrub, and Skull Kid had existed moments before.

On the other side of the Lost Woods, there existed a shallow, earthy domicile. Lining the small room were shelves, and the shelves were stocked with odd trinkets, shiny objects and clutter. All over the floor, random objects from the two's discovery missions' littered the floor. In whole, the lair resembled a badly organized antique store, only without the dust. It was here that the odd collection of archaeologists and statues reappeared, though not all at once.

"To discovery and concentration!" Benz declared as he reappeared in the center of the room.

There was a second pop. "To offer shiney things our liberation!" Aka answered the rhyme.

"To bring more treasure to our domicile!"

"We're explorers bold, and we've got style!"

"Benz!"

"Aka!"

"Archaeologists, blast off at the speed of light!" Benz posed.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fi-ACK!" Aka's pose and prose was interrupted as the statues finally made their appearance.

CLUNK, THUD! Unfortunately for the two would-be robbers, they made their appearance right were they were currently posing. Benz found himself squashed flat for the second time in a day by the blue Link statue. "Ouch," he groaned. "Stupid *squeak* Aka! Your aim was off!"

"Hey, I dun' usually teleport this much loot at once!" The Skull Kid declared, under similar crushed abuse by Timbre. He, however, was strong enough to push the green statue off him. Standing, he rebalanced Timbre so that the young man was standing again. "You're lucky all this stuff even made it, it was kind of heavy. And we're lucky it didn't break in transport."

"*squeak* Whatever" Benz managed to squirm his way out from under the other statue, which was now lying on its side, stiff legged. Link still clutched the odd clear stone in his hands. The scrub stood up, and began yanking his cape, which was still mostly trapped. "Hmwonder how much money these things'd fetch."

"Dunno," Aka said. "I though' we could use em as lawn ornaments or summthin"

"Lawn ornaments?!" Benz's squeaky voice raised even higher in indignation. "Aka, these things are *squeak* valuable! We should sell em, or *squeak* cut em up and then sell em, not just sit em down someplace!" The scrub yanked furiously at his cape.

"Cut em up?!" The Skull Kid looked shocked. "Bu-"

"Yeah, they're made of precious stone, right? If we broke em in pieces an' cut an' polished th' *squeak* pieces, we'd ave a nice liddle pile o' emeralds n' sapphires t'call our own. What do y' *squeak* think about that, Aka?"

Aka suddenly jumped up and threw himself between Benz and Timbre's frozen form, gloved hands spread out wide. "You stay away from Spikes, you hear me?!" The Skull Kid warned. "You ain' cuttin' him up in pieces, not if I can elp it!"

Benz shrugged, and desisted from ideas of chopping the statues up, at least for the moment. Abandoning his futile attempt at pulling his cape out, he instead turned his attention towards the stone clasped in Link's crystalline hands. "HeyI think this *squeak* part's separate. If I'm careful-"

"Don't break any fingers off-" Aka warned again.

The Deku's small prodding fingers gently wriggled the clear stone from the statue's firm grip, inch by inch. With a small scraping sound, the eight-sided stone came free, and the Deku held it in both hands.

"Wow this thing's a bit heavy," he remarked casually. "Too bad it's not worth anything. Oh well, we *squeak* could always use it as a paperweight." Setting it aside, he looked back at Aka. "You sure you don't *squeak* wanna reconsider cutting them up?"

"No way!" Aka turned his back on Benz, staring up at the statue he'd dubbed Spikes.' "Someone probably spent a lotta time carvin' these two. It'd be a shame to his or her memory to just cut em up. Besides, these things are so lifelikeI'd feel like I was really chopping a live person upyou almost expect em to start movin" Aka smirked, staring up at Timbre's emerald green face. Both the statues were strikingly realistic, the Skull Kid thought, even eerily so. He half wondered if the statues had been carved in the likeness of real people. Maybe they'd been carved in the memory of a pair of great heroes. It might have been neat to know Spikes, he thought to himself as he looked up at the green statue. Even with that goofy kind of surprised expression, he looked like a decent sort. Aka could almost imagine the guy in real life, could see the face living, and blinking-

Hey! Aka did a double take. Had Spikes justblinked? Swallowing nervously, the Skull Kid poked his companion. "H-hey Squeaks"

"Not now, I'm busy," Benz squeaked, back to pulling at his cape.

"No, I think Spikes just blinked" the Skull Kid said, poking the scrub again.

Benz did not turn around. "Stop hallucinating, stupid. Statues don't blin-"

"Aaaah!" Aka suddenly gave a yell. "There! He just did it again!"

The scrub rolled his eyes. "Maybe when you *squeak* teleported us, you left your brain behind by mistake," he muttered. "Statues don't blink."

But Aka was staring upwards, dark face blank as he watched the green statue blink again. And this time, the pupils of the eyes turned down, staring towards him. The Skull Kid made several choked noises, and started pulling furiously at Benz.

"Argh!" Would you stoppit, Aka? I'm trying to get this ca-AAAAH!"

Next moment, Benz yelled as the blue statue his cape was under suddenly groaned loudly. Back to back, Aka and Benz whimpered, stiff with fright. Slowly, they turned around and stared each other in the face.

"P-possessed demonic statues!" They choked to each other. There was a beat, and then both of the would-be robbers screeched loudly and bolted from the room. Well, Aka did, anyway. Benz was still stuck by his cape, and found himself flat on his back. Jumping up, the scrub started yanking on his cape with a strength he wouldn't have been normally capable of. The blue statue groaned again, louder this time. With an almighty wheeze, Benz managed to yank his cape free, and scuttled after the yelling Skull Kid, still squeaking in panic about possessed statues.

The blue statue blinked, and groaned a third time. The clear eight-sided stone, which had remained rather inert, suddenly flashed an eager gold, as if it had received a signal it had been awaiting. Then, like magic, colors started rippling back into Link's blue stone body. Nearby, Timbre too was slowly coming back to life. With a shimmer, precious stone rippled back into living skin, hair, or clothing, depending on what it had been. Thirty seconds later, two young men stood (or reclined, in Link's case) where two statues had before. Timbre swayed vaguely.

"-ou," he grunted, finishing his long ago started sentence. Then his knees buckled, and he fell heavily to the floor in a disheveled heap.

"Wuh," Link spluttered, levering himself halfway upright. His vision was heavily blurred, and he stared blankly around, cross-eyed. "II can't feel my legs," he rasped quietly, his voice a bit husky, as if he hadn't been using it for a while. But he had, he thought, just a few minutes ago

"Link?" Timbre voice, oddly deeper and also raspy, rang in the Hylian's ears. "Link? What's just happened?"

Link was still numb in the legs, but he could feel pins and needles working. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his paralysis was only temporary. "II dunnolast thing I remember was picking up that weird stone, then a kind of rushing sound, and then I just kind ofseized up."

"Same here," Timbre said dryly, blinking and rubbing at his eyes, which were also heavily blurred. But his vision was slowly clearing. "Only I wasn't stupid enough to go and pick up that stone."

"The stone!" Link said after a moment. Groping around, he noticed a vague shape at his knee. Prodding it, he felt the cool eight-sided surface. "Hey, it's still here."

"And where, exactly," Timbre grunted, "Is here?'" As warmth and feeling spread through his numb body (why had he been so cold in the first place?, he wondered), Timbre scowled. He feltdifferent. Not completely different or anything, but something about himself just seemeda little off. He sat up, and a blurred green shape roved into view. Assuming this was Link, he pulled himself over. "And where is Tatl?"

"I dunno, but we're not where we were before, and I don't know where Tatl is." Link's voice was less raspy, but it was still stubbornly remaining low and dusky. He reflected on this a moment. Last time his voice has sounded like that, had been seven years ago. Or more appropriately, seven years in the future, in a different time line. The Hylian groaned, rubbing his eyes. Forcing his eyes to come into focus, he stared over in the direction of Timbre's voice.

"Dah!" Even having a hunch about what had happened couldn't dampen his surprise, not completely. "Timbeolder."

"Don't call me Timbe, you-What did you say?" Timbre's left eyebrow went up.

"Youboth of usolder." Link sputtered, staring down at his hands.

Timbre glanced down at himself. Now that Link mentioned itthe world did seem a bit smaller than it had been beforeand his arms and legs were longer, which accounted for his vague disorientated feelings. "Woah." Was all he uttered. "II grew up?" He stared over at Link, his eyes still a little out of focus, but clear enough to notice Link now.

"We both did," said older Link's face.

"B-but" Timbre stared. "How?"

At the same time, their heads turned towards the large stone nestled in Link's hands.

"You don't supposethat had anything to do with this?" Tim said after a moment.

Link shrugged. "I dunno, it-"

They both stared as the stone suddenly changed color. It turned a bright emerald green.

"Weird," Link said. "It's like a mood rock, or something"

At this, the stone turned a deep blood red, as if displeased at this remark.

"Heh, guess it didn't like that too much," Timbre laughed. The stone turned green at his voice. Timbre blinked. "Odd"

"Yeah" Link echoed.

Suddenly, Timbre looked up, as if he'd thought of something. "Link, what's my name?"

The Hylian scoffed. "What is wrong with you? Something in that skull of yours finally let go completely? Duh, your name is Timbe-"

The stone instantly turned red again. Timbre smiled triumphantly as if he'd just discovered something fascinating. "Aha!"

Link scowled, but Timbre ignored that for the time being, and addressed the stone again.

"So does red mean no,' and green mean, yes,' then?"

The stone turned clear a moment, then returned to the emerald green. Link's eyebrows unfurrowed. "It's answering questions and statements with yes' and no?' Is that all it can do, then, say yes' or no?'"

The stone turned red. "You-" Link blinked and corrected himself. "This thing can answer other stuff too, then?" Link asked, and the rock immediately turned green again. "Guess so." Link looked up. "Alright, what do we ask it? How do you think it'll answer? Doesn't exactly have a mouth"

Timbre thought. He really wanted to know just what the heck was going on, but another question was nagging at him. It was a little bit odd, having a random stone that just happened to be able to answer questions. For all he knew, it could have a bad intention. With this in mind, a different question poured itself out of his mouth first. "What are you?" he asked the stone sternly.

In response, the stone started vibrating. Link let it go with a cry of shock, and the stone began to levitate until it hovered at eye level. It started to rotate slowly, and as it did, words began appearing on its surface, written as it would seem, from an unknown source:

I am a leader, a path and a guide,

I in whom you two, bewildered, confide,

Listening always, though Stone I might be,

I am the last; Destiny's sanct'uary.

Both of them had been slowly reading the words of the stone aloud in the same monotone voice, as if it were some kind of spell or prayer. As its rhyme ended, the stone became clear and inert once more, coming to rest back in the Hylian's palms.

"So" Link said finally, figuring it out. "A StoneDestiny. A Destiny Stone?"

The stone turned green in response, almost as if it were smiling.

"Well then" Timbre furrowed his brow. "Okay, Destiny Stonedo you have anything to do with us suddenly being older?" He demanded of the stone, a little more sharp-toned than he'd wanted.

The stone turned clear, then returned to the yes' green, somehow seeming almost apologetic. Link scowled heavily. "This thing did this to us?!" He said angrily.

"Apparently." Timbre nodded. "But I wonderdid it mean harm?"

The stone immediately turned red.

"SooI guess it meant good then," Timbre said slowly, and the stone turned green in response.

At this, Link shook the stone angrily. "Good?! WHY?!"

The stone started to vibrate again, and Timbre groaned. "Here comes another rhyme"

The Destiny Stone began hovering again, and soon recited an answer:

A dark spell was woven, and spitefully cast,

To send the eight Heroes of Time to their past,

The Parting of the Ways a storm did invoke,

To erase all their deeds as if nothing but smoke.

But Destiny struggled against the spell's chill,

And so you remember, though no one else will,

Six were enchanted; whilst you two neglected,

As statues immune; from the dark force protected.

"'From the dark force protected?' What kind of garbage is that?" Link yelled, frustrated, as the Destiny Stone came to rest in his hands again. "Dumb artifacts, why must they always insist on speaking in riddles?"

The stone turned an abject orange, surprising both of them. After a moment, Timbre said sarcastically, "Well, congratulations. I think you managed to insult it, Link."

Link growled. "Maybe I wouldn't if it actually felt like cooperating. Well, would you like to clarify a bit?" He said to the Stone in a mocking voice. The Stone remained stubbornly orange.

"Maybe it can't," Timbre said. "Maybe it can only say yes,' no,' and produce a rhyme every once in a while"

They stared at the stone, which still stayed orange. Link cursed aloud, and plunked the Destiny Stone in Timbre's hands. "Dumb rock." He stood up in a huff, suddenly becoming rather interested in the trinkets of the room they were in. The two of them had been so disoriented before that they hadn't even noticed the collection of objects around them. Link's knees were still a bit wobbly, but he stood firmly, rather than be anywhere near the Destiny Stone.

Timbre sighed and looked down at the stone. "Hmm, some things never change, even if the person changes, do they?" The stone agreed with him, turning from the stubborn orange to the complacent green. Timbre snickered.

"Harrumph," Link said, his back to his companion. The Hylian blocked out most of Timbre's talking as he chatted in an amiable voice to the Destiny Stone. Apparently, it had decided to start responding again. Not that he cared. Timbe' could keep the dumb rock for all he cared. All Link wanted to do right now was get himself properly equipped (as his Kokiri sword was more like a pocket knife than a weapon now), and then get out of here. Wherever here' was. Link's blue eyes roved hungrily over the shelf piled with weapons, especially the small array of swords. Whoever this storeroom belonged to, they'd stocked it well.

"Oy, Timbe!" The Hylian yelled suddenly, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

Timbre made an exasperated noise. "What do you want?"

"Ask that thing if it knows where we are and who this stuff belongs to." Link was eyeing several of the longer broadswords. Some of them were finely made, indeed. But if he was going to claim something, he wanted to make sure he wasn't stealing. Borrowing,' maybe. But not stealing.

"What? You mean the dumb rock?'" Timbre's voice sneered back at him.

"Just ask it."

There followed a short one-sided conversation between Timbre and the Destiny Stone. Then his voice piped up again. "It says we're in a thieves hideout," he said finally.

"What? Why are we in a thieves' hideoutand better yet, how'd we get here? Weren't we in a cave before?"

"Well, from what I make of it, this Stone apparently tried to preserve' us from some sort of disaster that happened, and that's why we're in here instead of the cave."

"Preserve us? What do you mean?"

"Well, it's kind of foggy, but I think we've been stuck in stasis for a few years. Remember feeling kind of seized up, and then suddenly we were justhere?"

"So what?"

"Well, all the time that we missed in between was because we were statues."

Link turned around. "What? Like you mean, frozen?"

"No, I mean, literally-stone statues. Like the rhyme said: as statues immune.' It was the Stone's way of protecting us."

"Oh, wonderful," Link said, voice dripping with sarcasm. I've been cursed as a rock for who knows how long, thanks to some stupid inanimate hunk of igneous refuse that suddenly decided we needed protecting.' Huh, some protection. What exactly was it shielding us from again?"

Timbre shrugged. He still hadn't attempted standing up, and was instead seated cross-legged on the floor of the trinket room. "Something called the Parting of the Ways, and something about a storm, and dark forces. It's very vague, you know."

"I hadn't noticed," Link said dryly. "Well, anyhow, at least I know we can take some of this stuff without feeling too guilty, I mean, if was stolen once" Link lifted a sword down from its shelf, and swung it about, testing its weight. "Wish I had the Master Sword with me, I'd be able to wield it now." Shaking his head, he returned the first sword, and took down another.

"Anyhow, apparently the thieves whose storeroom this belongs to found us frozen down in that caveand then, thinking we were valuable, brought us back up here. And then we woke up for some reason." Timbre fidgeted.

"So that's what all that possessed statue' screaming was about," Link mused. "We must've given those robbers a bit of a fright, suddenly coming alive like that." He laughed. "Think they'll mind if we borrow a weapon or two? Ooh, and maybe a shield" Link was pacing down the length of the room, sizing up a burnished metal shield that had caught his eye.

Timbre finally decided it was time for him to try his legs. He slowly wobbled to his feet, and carefully threaded his way through junk until he was next to Link, who was now holding up the shield to inspect it more closely. The shield was unmarked and uncarved, and simply reflected everything in the dim light of the storeroom. It wasn't a magical reflection like the Mirror Shield, although it certainly tried to mimic it.

Link was currently admiring his new reflection, pleased with what he saw. "I hate to sound vain," he said, "But man I look good" Timbre rolled his eyes, and looked at the burnished shield.

For the first time, Timbre was able to catch his newly changed reflection. On the whole, he remained the samesame green eyes, same spiky black hairstyle, same birthmark over his left eyehe just looked, well, older. Link, too, looked generally more adult, though his eyes remained very mischievous and sky-blue. Their clothes, luckily, seemed to have enlarged, so that they fit their larger selves, which was likely a blessing. Timbre winced a little, thinking about his feet being crushed to death in boots about seventeen sizes too small, or being strangled in clothes much too short for his new height. And speaking of height-

"I'm taller than you," Timbre said to Link, snickering.

"Say what?" Link peered. In the shield, they stood reflected next to each other. Slowly, with his left hand cradling the Destiny stone against his side, Timbre raised his right hand and placed it palm down against the top of his raven-haired head. Then he passed his hand evenly towards the green-hatted head of Link. There was an inch or so of space between Timbre's gloved palm and Link's hat.

Timbre guffawed. "Guess you can't call me shortie anymoreshortie."

"Bu-" Link's face fell. "You've always been shorter-"

"Guess I just hadn't hit my growth spurt yet," Timbre observed.

"Impossible!" Link turned slightly red. "You've always been th' shortest of all of us-"

With a start, both of them looked at each other. Link's outburst had jogged them out of their argument as they both suddenly remembered the rest of their friends. "Good grief," Link said, letting the shield down with a small clang, "What do you think the others did when we never came back?"

"They must at least be wondering where we are," Timbre said quietly, gently putting down the Destiny Stone and staring instead at his hands. "I mean, we've been gone a long time, that's for sure"

"And how come they never came looking for us?" Link asked quietly. "Was it because they couldn't?" He chewed his lip. As sarcastic and cynical as he could be, the Hylian knew deep down inside that his friends would search for him and Timbre until they were either found, or-

The Hylian shook his head sharply to rid himself of the thought that had been sneaking up into his brain. He didn't want to think of things like that. With a jolt that startled even himself, he clapped his hands. "Alright then," he said busily, taking time to buckle his new sword shield to his back. "Time to leave here. Looks like we've got some catching up to do with everyone."

"Yeah," Timbre said duskily.

Link strode over back to the weapons shelf, paused, selected a sword still in its scabbard, and threw it back towards Timbre. "Catch."

Tim flinched, and caught the proffered weapon out of instinct more than skill. Puzzled, he looked up at his companion.

Link just grinned. "I think that one'll be a good weight for you. Come on, give it a try."

Timbre looked a little bit dubious as he drew the weapon with a grimace. "I'm not a very good swordsperson, you know" he remarked, stretching his sword arm out and attempting a few half-hearted swings.

Link tut-tutted. "Pathetic. I'll have to teach you up a bit, I suppose."

"Yeah," the other sighed vaguely as he buckled the sword under his trenchcoat. Then he picked up the Destiny Stone again. "Let's get out of here."

"What the-hey!" Link kicked out angrily as his head popped out of the hole. "I'm stuck!" The hole, which was just the perfect size for Deku Scrubs and Skull Kids, was not a very good fit for adult Hylians. Grunting, Link managed to get his arms out and start levering himself out. His legs kicked out blindly behind him before finding something solid. With this extra leg leverage, Link was able to drag himself out of the hole. He tumbled ungracefully into a pile of leaves, staring upwards.

Above him, the tree canopy blocked out all direct sunlight in a viridian umbrella. With a sigh, Link rubbed his temples. "Tim, problem."

"What?" The youth's tousled black head appeared out of the hole. Timbre levered himself out of the hole without any trouble at all, much to Link's annoyance, though he decided not to say anything.

"You see where we are? This is the Lost Woods. And we're right smack in the middle of it."

"Well, that's a bit unfortunate, isn't it?" Timbre blinked. "Lost before we've even taken a step." He swallowed. "Those stories, about Stalfos"

Link picked himself up. "Uh, I wouldn't know if those stories were true or not, bit I've never been keen on tempting fate."

"How about Destiny?" Timbre said after a moment, pulling the Destiny Stone out of his pocket. The minute Link approached, however, it turned that stubborn orange. Apparently it was still cross with him.

"Alright, rock," Link intoned with no grace whatsoever. "Now what? You got us into this pickle, so you're gonna get us out, understand?"

The stone's orange color took on a slightly red hue, but didn't respond otherwise.

"I think it wants you to apologize," Timbre said after a moment.

"What? You want me to apologize to a rock?!" The Hylian crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, I'm giving you way too much credit," Timbre smirked sarcastically. "You couldn't apologize if you wanted to, could you?"

Link's right eye snapped open irritably.

"Hey, do you want to get out of the Lost Woods in one piece or not?" Timbre looked around. The forest, as it had always been, remained silent and ancient. But something was definitely more sinister about the place. A kind of foreboding hung in the mist and fog that had definitely not been there last time he'd checked.

The Hylian sighed, and his left eye opened. "Fine." Looking down at the Stone, he cleared his throat. "I apologize for insulting the Destiny Stone," he said in a kind of monotone voice. It was a little bit strained for an apology, but Link supposed it would suffice.

At first, it seemed like the Stone wasn't responding. Then, it grudgingly went from its orange to being perfectly translucent again. "Guess it accepts," Timbre grinned. "Now then, think you could offer us a hint as to get out of the woods?"

"If Tatl were here," Link mused to himself. "We'd-"

"Hey, quiet!" Timbre hissed, as the Stone began to levitate again. "It's going to answer."

This is what the Destiny Stone had to say:

Lost is this way without some guiding light,

But possible to yet escape here it might,

Though the path here is foggy, wherever it goes,

If all else is failing – then follow your nose.

Link peered. "Follow your nose?" He stared at his nose, eyes crossing as he did so. "A lot of good that'll do. How do you follow something that's attached to your face?" The Stone riled a little, turning slightly orange again. "I'm not insulting you!" Link said quickly, and the Destiny Stone settled down, but not before surprising them both again.

It shimmered a moment, then started to glow until its entire outline was wreathed in a halo of bright light. Both Timbre and Link were forced to shield their eyes. When the glow died down, the Destiny Stone had shrunk into a small pendant-sized rock, complete with a chain to hang from.

"Heh," Link smirked after a moment. "The New, Improved Destiny: now in handy travel size!"

Timbre had to laugh. "Well, at least we're spared the burden of carrying it around full-sized." Holding the chain, he thrust the pendant suddenly at the Hylian. "You wear it."

"Why me?"

"Because," Timbre said. "I just figured out the clue."

Link raised an eyebrow. "I fail to see how those two ideas connect." But he accepted the chain anyway, and thrust it over his head. The Destiny Stone rested quietly against his chest. It wasn't too heavy, which Link found fortunate.

"Guess I'd better clarify. You know how I found you in the first place, back when-well, before all of this happened?" Timbre was removing his trenchcoat as he spoke.

"Uh" Link blinked several times. "Luck?"

"Try again," Timbre said dryly. He poked his nose knowingly. "I followed your scent."

The Hylian's face twisted to the side. "Come again?"

"Wolves have a very acute sense of smell," Timbre offered. "If I change form, I might be able to sniff the way out. The only problem is, I don't know if there's a particular smell that'll lead us to the exit."

"Eh," Link said. "It's worth a try."

"Hold this for me, will ya?" Link found the trenchcoat suddenly thrust into his hands. The next moment, Timbre had changed form.

If Link hadn't known the big wolf in front of him was actually not a threat, he would've felt, well, threatened. Even as it was, he had to stop his reflexes from drawing his sword. As a child, Timbre's alternate form had been equally juvenile. It only made sense that as he grew up, his alternate form would also be adult.

To put it lightly, Timbre was big. His shoulders easily came up to Link's waist. Although Timbre lacked the heinously out of proportion teeth and claws of a Wolfos, he still carried a bit of a threatening air. Despite appearances, the wolf regarded Link with what was unmistakably a smirk, a bit of a twinkle in those green eyes of his. He was apparently pleased with his newly gained prowess, and circled Link so he could catch his reflection in the metallic shield still strapped to Link's back.

"Eh," Link peered behind him, trying not to convey any sense of nervousness.

Timbre made an odd noise, which Link translated as a snicker. The wolf was now posing, twisting his head back so he could see himself at all angles in the mirror.'

"Look, can you tear yourself away from yourself for a moment?" The Hylian spluttered. We're supposed to be finding the way out of here, not admiring your big floofy tail!"

Timbre rolled his eyes, abandoned the shield, and sniffed experimentally. He wrinkled his brow, looking at Link in seeming disgust.

"Oh, like you smell like a bed of roses," Link said cynically. "I've been cooped up as a rock in some grotto for who-knows how long, for Nayru's sakes! I haven't exactly had time for a bath recently!"

Timbre rolled his eyes yet again, and with a flick of his tail, started a slow circuit of the general area. Every few feet, he paused and sniffed carefully at trees, or the ground, or both.

"You finding anything?" Link asked after a few minutes.

The wolf gave a quiet kind of woof, which could've been either an affirmative or a negative, Link wasn't too sure. The Hylian groaned, and sat down. This seemed like it was going to take a while. He was right after all, as nearly an hour passed with no sort of response whatsoever from Timbre. After the first third of the wolf's circuit, Link got bored of watching Timbre, and started tracing random patterns in the dirt with a stick.

His chin propped up in his hand, Link stared at the ground with a bored sort of expression. It's getting a bit dark, he thought to himself. In a few hours, there won't be much daylight left. And Link's sense of foreboding was probably going to grow with every passing sweep of dusk. I hope that big fuzz-head knows what he's doing, Link started thinking again. He'd known Timbre for quite a while, and had, just as the rest of the group had, generally become accustomed to the wolf's nature.

Timbre could change between his two forms at will (although his odd trenchcoat didn't like to), and although he often appeared to be human, he clearly wasn't. That fact had gotten him, Link, and the rest of his friends into a lot of trouble last time they'd been to Clock Town, Link reflected. Word of Timbre's nature had almost been revealed, and the resulting events had been quite chaotic. And just to clinch the chaos, he thought, there'd been that girl, who just happened to be a wolf too. Link snorted, wondering if it was just he and his friends' fate to attract all amounts of oddness. Then again, he thought, grinning, our entire group is weird to begin with.

His friends. Link shook his head before a dreaded thought could find purchase. But it did all the same, stubbornly. What ifwhat if they found their way out of this forest, only to discover that their friends weren't around anymore? The Destiny Stone had said something about a disaster. What if some kind of bad fortune had befallen them? Link stared down at the pendant-sized rock that seemed to grow heavier as his heart sank.

Why, he thought at it angrily. Why? Why me? Why us? The Stone didn't respond by floating or changing color, although it seemed to suddenly vibrate gently, as if trying to be comforting. Then again, it might have just been Link's imagination.

Suddenly, with a crinkle of foliage, Timbre jerked upright, his ears perked forward. Startled, Link jumped to his feet. "What's up?"

The wolf didn't answer right away. He stood stock still, nose pointed between two ancient, moss-ridden trees. Then, blinking, he turned his head and stared right at the Hylian, inclining his head. He clearly wanted them to go that way.

"What? What do you smell?" Link asked, a bit excited at the prospect of finding a path. But Timbre didn't answer. The wolf turned and began trotting the way his nose had indicated. Every few yards or so, he would pause, sniff, and adjust his path to follow whatever it was he had scented.

Shrugging, the Hylian followed, fallen branches cracking under his booted footsteps. The sounds echoed hollowly through the misty wood, but Link felt slightly comforted in the fact that his guide seemed to know which way he was going.

At least, he hoped he did.

*****

Long after the mismatched pair of Hylian and wolf had left, two figures materialized next to the hole of the thieves' lair. Aka and Benz had spent most of their afternoon trying to find each other in the forest, as their panic-stricken flight had led them off in separate, dizzying directions. Benz scowled as best he could at Aka. Neither of them seemed very eager to re-enter their hideout.

"You go in *squeak* first."

Aka shook his head. "No way! You first!"

"You!"

"No, you!"

"*squeak* You!"

"Not for all the rupees in Hyrule!"

"Fine!" Benz said after a moment. "We'll *squeak* jump in together, okay?"

"Alright," Aka said. "On the count of three."

"Right," the Deku squeaked.

"Onethree!"

They both jumped, Aka into the hole, and Benz over it. There was a loud clatter as the Skull Kid collided with something near the doorway. A stream of colorful utterances emitted from the doorway. Benz sniggered.

"Falls for it every time. Oy! Aka! Anything *squeak* down there?"

Aka poked his head furiously out of the hole. "You did that on purpose, you connivin' liddle scrub!" Grabbing the Deku by the clasp of his oversized cape, the Skull Kid hauled Benz into their lair.

"Well, *squeak* sorry," Benz grunted, brushing himself off as he was deposited none-too gently onto the ground. Blinking around, he sighed. "Those statues're gone."

"Like I said, they must've walked off," Aka said, his voice shaking. "Maybe they're off prowling the Lost Woods at this very moment." The Skull Kid seemed both terrified and thrilled at the prospect.

"Don't talk rubbish," the Deku scoffed.

"Bu-but you saw the statues blink! I know you did, cause you were scared n' screaming just as much as I was!"

"I, unlike *squeak* you, have come to the conclusion that what we *squeak* saw was simply an illusionist's trick." The scrub drew himself up importantly. "There must've been a *squeak* thief in here. He (or she) simply made it look *squeak* like those statues were coming to life. In our *ahem* moment of, er, weakness, they made off with some of our loot. See?" Benz waddled over to the shelves. "Two of our best *squeak* swords are gone, an' that nice shield's missin' too, not to mention those *squeak* priceless statues."

Aka blinked. "But wot if Spikes an' his friend just needed some protection? It wasn't like we were gonna use those swords anyway, Squeaks. They were a might too big an' heavy for people like us."

"It wasn't the statues that took them, dummy, it was some dirty thief," Benz re-iterated. "And the *squeak* fact that those swords are too big isn't the point. The point is *squeak* is that those are our swords. We found them."

"Well, we found' em after those soldiers left em in that tent for a few minutes, anyhow" Aka still looked uncertain. "So wot do we do?"

The Deku armed himself with a short sword, which was still abnormally huge compared to him. "Seems obvious, don't it? We gotta *squeak* go find th' dirty rotten scoundrel an' bring em to justice!"

Aka blinked. Then, with a determined glint in his otherwise emotionless visage, he took a second short sword and buckled it around his belt. "If Spikes is out in that forest alone, we gotta go find im an' his friend before they gets into trouble!" He said finally, apparently oblivious to Benz's previous statement.

Benz rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's go."

They both climbed out of the hole, though Benz, as always, needed a boost up first. Then Aka turned towards the hole and gestured. "Huzzah!"

The hole abruptly disappeared, a large moss-covered rock appearing in its place. "Nifty trick of yours, that," Benz remarked. "It's just a *squeak* shame that your brain's an illusion as well," he muttered, as the Skull Kid ran on ahead, posing heroically at random.

"Doncha worry, Aka the Mighty's here to save yer butts! Aka, an' his trusty sidekick Squeaks!" Aka was already making up a theme song to go along with his superhero tirade, humming the vaguer parts under his breath as he skipped through the darkening forest.

Benz groaned and mournfully buried his face in his hands.

*****

Although they were far from the Deku and the Skull Kid, Link and Timbre were still under the threat of spending the night in the Lost Woods. The night air had become cold, and things like fatigue and hunger were slowly dawning on Link.

Check that, he thought to himself. I'm STARVING. Link wondered if Timbre was suffering similarly. It was hard to tell from the back, as the most he saw of his friend was a large floofy black tail with a white tip that flashed back and forth like a beacon as the wolf walked.

"Are we nearly there?" Link groaned.

Timbre turned around, looked at him, and shrugged his furry shoulders. He'd been following a scent that was very familiar. At first it had been nothing more than a faint whiff, a shred of aroma, but as he'd followed the trail, it had become stronger and stronger, until it almost seemed to overpower the normal scents of the forest.

Timbre knew the smell of coffee when he sniffed it, alright. And coffee meant one thing. His friends. Wondering idly if they could really be this close, Timbre pressed on, threading his way through the trees. As the light faded, he was beginning to depend on his nose more and more to find his way. Unfortunately, Link had no such luxury, and cursed frequently when he accidentally walked into or tripped over random bushes and pieces of foliage.

"Slow down, will you?" Link snapped. It was difficult, but Timbre tried to comply. The coffee smell was getting so strong now that it was making him jumpy.

"Man, this forest just goes on forever," Link whined, his stomach gurgling.

And, as suddenly as that, the Lost Woods spat them out, right into a clearing, a kind of arboreal oasis. The dimming daylight problem was solved marginally as small, glowing, firefly-like orbs suddenly surrounded them. Here and there the clearing was littered with small treehouses, surrounding a small rivulet that ran through the area. It was a place Link knew all too well.

"This is the Kokiri village," he said, pausing to catch his breath. After a beat, he glared down at the wolf. "You were supposed to find us the way out, not get ourselves further in!" He groaned.

Timbre glared, and Link sensed the slight hint of a growl.

"Er, I suppose this works for now though," he corrected himself, realizing he'd inadvertently offended one of his friends yet again. "At least we can find something to eat and crash for the night, if my old treehouse is still around."

Timbre nodded slowly, then froze as a dark shape suddenly burst out of one of the nearby treehouses. It screeched as it spotted them, and ran back into the house, slamming the door loudly.

"Intruders!"

"Oops," Link said sheepishly. "They don't sound too pleased with us, do they?"

Several more doors opened, and half a dozen young Kokiri faces glared out at them, eyes wide in fear. Some of them made faces at them.

"Intruders! A big dude an' a big dog-thing!"

"Doofus, that's a Wolfos!"

"Halp us, we're bein' ambushed by a Wolfos an' a grownup!!"

Link blinked. "Well, apparently if we were thinking of a warm welcome, we are to be sorely disappointed."

All further talk was abruptly stopped as two arrows darted towards them from somewhere above. There was practically no warning at all, just a kind of quiet swoosh of displaced air.

Zip! Swish!

Link swallowed hard as an arrow buried itself in the soft moss, an inch from his left foot. Timbre gave a similar gasp as an arrow hit the ground in front of him, narrowly missing his nose. Both froze, not sure whether to bolt, stand their ground, or prepare to fight. Timbre sniffed. The smell of coffee had become so strong, it was practically smothering him.

A loud voice rang from somewhere above.

"Stop where you are, intruders!"

*****

Ack, I hope this isn't too much of a cliffhanger. Eep. Anyhow, reviews do seem to have a direct effect on the alacrity at which I release further chapters. Translation: You review, I write more. Oh, and a few pronunciation remarks. Timbre's name is pronounced Tim-bruh.' When Link is making fun of his name, he pronounces it Tim-bee.' Okay, feedback. How do people like Benz and Aka? Are they funny, or just annoying? I do think they'll be showing up randomly from time to time, kind of a comic relief sort of thing. Just what this story needs, more comedy, eh? Oh, and if you review first, I might decide to be nice and draw you a picture! Ciao!