::shakes head:: My, my, A few days ago I reread this story word for word and thought "What the hell was I on when I wrote this?" I appreciate the fact that many people have been enjoying this but there were a few things I saw that I just couldn't stand. First off, I'm going to be frank when I say that I made Malon a complete and total wimp. That is not the way I intended her to be. It really made me mad to see that I made her cry at practically her every waking minute, and I turned her into a helpless little damsel in distress waiting for her hero to rescue her. From this chapter on I'm going to try and change her. Don't worry though, it'll fit in with the story and I won't change her completely and totally.

The second thing that made me angry was the fact that I think I'm turning Maku and Zuku into Mary Sues (or would that be Gary Stus?) That is something that I really do not want to happen so I'm going to try hard to reform them a little bit too. I hope that by changing these two things it'll make the story a lot better than it is right now. Oh and by the way be prepared for some plot twists after chapters 8 & 9 ;) I honestly don't know how you people put up with me.

Going on to other business I'd like to apologize for making people wait so long for this chapter. My excuse? School. I joined a few sports and I'm working hard to keep my grades up. My other excuse? I got a puppy! Everyone knows how much work that is right? But enough about my personal life. The bottom line is I'm very sorry this took so long to update, and I do plan on continue this till the bloody end, so you don't have to worry about a thing. Read on now.

Disclaimer- I, sadly, do not own Zelda, only enjoy writing fanfiction about it!

-----

-------

---------

Chapter Eight: Choosing Life or Death

---------

-------

-----

In fairytales, and fairytales only, people live the lives they love. They can all be happy with the way things are because it's perfect. Every single thing in their world is perfect. No one is bad or mean or rude, and the people are always kind and sweet. But the same cannot be said for reality. The fact is realities and fairytales have nothing in common. Fairytales are perfect. Realities aren't. That's the main difference between the two. Usually people can realize that right away, but sometimes it takes everything to make them understand.

----

There was a loud noise sounding across the bridge separating Hyrule and the Kokiri Forest, accompanying it the sound of someone heavily breathing. He stopped for a second, the boy running across the bridge, and brushed his black hair away from his sweaty neck and face. He still couldn't fully understand why he needed to come all the way back here just to retrieve Link, but he didn't want to question his brother's ideas. He knew that Maku only meant for the best, and that he believed this would be the right thing to do. Zuku sighed as he entered the Kokiri Forest.

Bustling in delight with a strange kind of energy this forest was. He quickly ignored everything going on around him and ran to Link's house, hoping to find him in there. He scanned the area. There was a small table, a bed, a few pots here and there and a couple of arrows and a shield. However, Link was no where in sight. He sighed and exited the house, disappointed… what now?

"Hey, you! Do you need something?" Zuku perked up at the squeaky voice he heard and looked down the ladder. Sure enough he saw a young, curious looking Kokiri boy looking back up at him. The boy cocked his head to the side, waiting for Zuku's answer. Zuku calmly came down the ladder to talk to him.

"Well, I'm looking for a man by the name of Link. Do you know where he is?" The boy rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking. Zuku, sighed already beginning to feel impatient and was about to tell the boy never mind when he spoke up.

"I think I remember seeing Link go over there," he pointed, "in the Lost Woods. Good luck finding him." The boy then ran off without further explanation, leaving Zuku slightly confused. He sighed for about the millionth time that day and slowly trudged on to the woods.

----

The woods were confusing and the mountainous trees that loomed high above didn't help at all. Zuku struggled to keep up and remember each direction he turned and very single inch of land he covered. He had suspected that these woods would be hard to navigate in and that he might get lost once or twice, but at the moment he had no idea where he was and this was not a good thing on his part. He had planned to come here get Link and go back to the ranch. He didn't want to stay too long, but he had no other choice.

There seemed to be a soft melody that played in the background of the woods, but he really and truly didn't know and couldn't tell. There was a strange mist lingering in the air and it somehow seemed to be calling to him. He didn't know why but it was as if it was bribing him forth in a certain direction…

A shadow.

He stopped suddenly and felt his muscles begin to tense up slightly. There was something watching him. Lurking in the shadows… something or someone strong. He had just seen it. Then again. He spotted it again, out of the corner of his eye and turned to face it, but it was gone. He began to back away slowly, preparing to go look for Link somewhere else.

Then he hit something. He froze up.

There was something standing right behind him. It was so close he could hear its breath on his neck, lightly tickling the hairs. He swallowed and prepared to fight. The he stopped. It had grabbed him. His neck, and was turning him around. He closed his eyes, then opened them and was surprised to see a person standing behind him. A person he knew. Link.

He relaxed immediately and was dropped quickly to the ground by Link. Once he looked back up, he saw Link looking awkwardly down at him.

"Zuku… why are you here?"

Zuku took a deep breath. "Link I… I have something to tell you…"

----

There was darkness. And yet, there seemed to be a small corner shrouded in light. She had to know what was there. She had to. But it felt as if something was preventing her to do so… like there was a strange force that kept her from discovering what it was. She was sure of it.

She tried to speak, but she had no voice. It was an eerie feeling; no sound would come out of her mouth no matter how hard she tried. 'What's going on? I don't remember ever coming here…' Slowly, she shrank down to her knees and looked at herself. She was dressed in white from head to toe. Her hair had turned from its naturally fiery red color to a dark auburn color, making it look dirty and tousled. Even the liveliness of her bright blue eyes and the cherry red of her lips seemed to be faded away. She didn't even recognize herself. She looked so different.

She looked back up quickly, hoping to escape her frightening appearance, and it was then that she noticed a different bright light in front of her. She stared at it for a moment, then cautiously crawled towards it and as she reached it, found herself entering a whole new room as the one she had just been in began to close up. When she got in it she was nearly blinded by light. Gradually regaining her vision, she was awestruck as she saw how beautiful this room was. Floating around in random places were different colored orbs, some golden, and others black. The color in the room was not permanent as whenever you closed your eyes and opened them the room would turn to another color, like green or yellow. This room was so odd… she longed to know more about it. Suddenly a strong voice pierced through her thoughts.

"Stand up." She blinked twice and stood up as the voice had ordered. Looking behind her to find the person who had said that, she was surprised to see how odd he looked. He was a middle-aged man with white hair, a stern face and knowing green eyes. He wore white and black robes that hid every part of his body beside his head and face. She began to tremble. This man… just looking at him frightened her.

"Your name is Malon, daughter of the owners of Lon Lon Ranch, correct?"

She was confused suddenly. Malon? That was… her name? Yes… it was coming back to her now. She was Malon; her father was Talon and her mother was Kakau… But how did this man know? If he knew this about her then… did he know more? She had to know, but there was no way she could ask him this. She still could not speak. Reluctantly she nodded her head in response to his question. He nodded back at her.

"Kakau will be with you in a short while. Stay here." He turned and walked on, almost as if he had walked straight out of a door. Malon stared after him with a blank look on her face. Where could he be going? And why… why had he said that he was going to get her mom?

She got up to try and get away, when a sharp pain on her neck suddenly caught her at full surprise. She rubbed the area that had been hurt but there was nothing there, only some sweet smelling powder. She looked at her fingers covered with the purple solution for a while until she could soon smell the whole room filling with its aroma. She unexpectantly dropped to her knees, feeling slightly limp, and then felt her eyes slowly dropping. Before she closed her eyes completely, she saw a bright light. It was the last thing she remembered before she fainted.

O.o.O

"Malon… please wake up…"

That voice… so familiar…

"Malon, I beg of you… please wake up…"

Someone was calling her name…

"Open your eyes."

But who was it?

She shifted in her sleep, turning towards the direction of the voice that she had heard.

"Malon, please open your eyes."

She didn't open her eyes. Soon she heard more voices.

"Ioris… what did you do to her? She's not waking up. Is she all right?" A brief pause.

"She's all right, just probably a little exhausted from the fumes. I suppose she'll wake up in due time."

"I hope you're right." Another pause. "She sure is lovely… what a beautiful young girl—no… woman-- she's become." There was light hand placed on her face. She shivered and it moved to her hair which it ran its slender fingers through. Someone was touching her, and whoever it was their touch was so… comforting and familiar. She shifted again and the people spoke once more.

"Ioris I believe she's waking up. You are free to leave now."

"Yes. Good bye and good luck."

"Thank you."

Just as the woman had suspected Malon began to stir in her sleep and soon enough her eyes started to flicker open. Once she sat up Malon was pull pulled into a tight embrace by the lady. She felt too weak to fight back and so she didn't but instead began to stare at the auburn colored hair the person embracing her had. She stared at it long and hard, trying to find out why it looked, and smelled, so familiar. She came up with no conclusion though.

Finally the woman pulled back and stared at Malon. Blue eyes stared into blue eyes, one pair of eyes blurred slightly with tears and the others taken over by confusion.

A long silence passed and Malon stared at the woman. Who did she think she was that she could just come and embrace her like that? And why was she crying. She shifted her eyes away from the stranger, beginning to feel uncomfortable looking into the eyes of a person she didn't even know.

"…Who are you?" Malon asked uneasily.

Immediately she saw shock appear on the woman's face, and began to wonder if she had said anything wrong.

"I'm sorry," Malon began, apologizing, "But I just don't seem to remember a thing. You look familiar, like I should know you, but… I just don't." The woman looked down silently, now with a slightly hurt expression on her face.

"Malon," all was silent as she spoke, "I am… your mother. I am… Kakau." Malon gapped in disbelief. Memories of her mother instantly began to come to her. Her mother… this person who claimed to be her did have a shocking resemblance to Kakau. However, she soon realized that none of this could be true. Her mother had died a long time ago.

"I-I don't believe it. My mother has been gone for far too long, how do you expect me to believe any of this? It makes no sense. Who are you really?" Again she saw a look of hurt appear on 'Kakau's' face.

"Have I really been away that long, Malon, that you do not remember the look of my face? Tell me, if I am not your mother than who else would I be? How else would I know so much about you?" Malon hesitated. She could not think of an answer to this woman's question of who else could she be, but still it could not be true. This lady probably didn't even know a thing about her.

"What do you know about me?" Malon questioned, testing her.

She sighed and looked Malon straight in the eyes. Malon noticed that her eyes were tired and worn out, there was almost not life left in them. Another sign that this could not be Kakau. If she remembered correctly her mother's eyes had always been cheerful and full of energy. She just couldn't be her.

"Malon, even if I did prove to you that I am who I claim to be would you believe me? You would just bring up yet another reason as to why I couldn't possibly be your mother. So really, there is no point in bringing up all the knowledge of you that I know of. If you do not believe me when I say I am your mother in your heart, than there is nothing else that I can offer to make you believe it. All I ask is that you trust me Malon."

Malon stared at this woman for a while. She seemed so honest and truthful… but how did she know that this really was Kakau. She closed her eyes and thought back to moments she shared with her mother, grasping for the details, but only getting small pictures to come up in her head. She remembered… a sunset… a horse… and then… sweet smelling auburn hair… a funeral. She looked back up at the woman and realized it.

This lady was Kakau.

Malon felt almost every muscle in her body begin to tense up. Her voice refused to let her speak and her jaw opened on its own, hanging there without her control. Her mother was sitting right in front of her. She couldn't believe it. What was this place? What was going on here?

"You-you are my mom…" she managed to croak out, "but how?" Kakau pulled Malon into an embrace once again and slowly began to explain.

"Malon, you may be wondering where you are at the moment, and the truth is not even I really know. Many call it the Land of the Undead, but really it is a land where people's souls go when they are dead and yet not dead. Basically you have died before you were suppose to and so your soul came here." Malon nodded weakly in understanding. "Anyway," Kakau continued, "I'm sure when you came here you met a man, correct? His name is Ioris and he is the ruler of this land. He called me here to see you… No, I was not surprised to see you here, for I figured that you would be coming eventually… but before I say anything more I suppose I should restore your memory to you so that you understand."

"My memory?" Malon inquired, breaking apart from her mother. Kakau nodded and stood up, extending a hand to help Malon up also. She then led her to the center of the strange room, and motioned her hand upwards so that she was staring at the many orbs that floated in the sky.

"That is your memory Malon. Right now I am sure that you do not remember who Link, Chronos or Zero are, correct?" Malon gave her a strange look.

"Not really… am I supposed to or something?" Kakau only smiled.

"Now, close your eyes and clear your mind okay?" Malon didn't look too sure.

"What will happen?" Kakau shook her head.

"Just be prepared to feel a small shock. Now close your eyes." Malon nodded hesitantly and closed her eyes.

A strange aura of energy soon began to take place around her. Then… tiny objects flowing into her body. She felt a sharp pain in one side of her and a calming air around the other side. This was… this was almost too much to take. She began to feel faint as sudden memories came to her. One night… two strange boys… Maku and Zuku? Then a kiss… Link? And finally… blood, death… Chronos and Zero. At the last memory that came back it was almost too much for her mind to take in. She was falling. Back… back… back, and then someone caught her. A soft touch. Her mother.

After falling into her mother's arms she could feel a cold sweat beginning to form on her. Those memories… all of those horrible memories… why? Why did her mother have to give them back to her? Did she even know how horrible those memories were? She pulled herself up from her mother's chest and quickly spun around to face her.

"Why did you do that?!" she screamed, "You knew how much I despised all of those memories didn't you? So why did you bring them back to me. Why?" Her mother just stared at her for as moment and then sighed.

"I did it for your own good Malon. You have to understand that—"

"Understand what? You knew about all of it didn't you? You knew about everything that was going on! You knew how much I hated it there! Why did you give me all those memories back? Why?" Her mother glared at her once she finished.

"I gave them back to you for your own good Malon. You wouldn't understand now, but I assure you that once I finish talking to you, you will." Her mother stood up. "Come now. No questions, there is something I need to show you." She stood up and began to walk away. Malon followed her, curious about her mother's words. Curious about where they were going next.

----

The field of Hyrule remained wet, and the fog in the distance was not helping in the least for the two to get to their destination. They had set out for what seemed to be the ranch, being swallowed up more and more by the deep mist that refused to leave them alone.

It was no joke that sooner or later all of them—him, Link, Malon, and Maku—were going to have to meet Chronos and Zero face to face, Zuku thought. If not than they would have to stay in hiding until death. Chronos and Zero would not give up. All of them would have to work together to defeat the villains. They'd surely need time to figure out a strategy, though, since it was obvious they couldn't just go find the two without having a clue to what they were going to do. 'Link is strong though… he can defeat Chronos and Zero.' He thought. But was it true? Sure Link was strong, but to try and beat both Chronos and Zero seemed nearly impossible.

"Do you think she's all right?" Link's question interrupted the boy's train of thought and he glanced sideways for a moment to meet the man's gaze.

"… Yes, I'm sure she is. Maku's… well can be responsible. So there's not a doubt in my mind that she hasn't been harmed."

Link nodded, not feeling too reassured though, what with all Zuku had told him about Chronos and Zero. However, Link was glad that he understood it all now. Malon, he understood almost everything she had spoken to him and why she had acted the way that she did. She just didn't want him to find out about all of this. He was glad he knew now. Even though the words she had spoken to him truly did hurt… 'Fog out here sure is getting thick.' Link looked around himself, and indeed, the fog had become much thicker, he could only vaguely see Zuku as he traveled on with Epona, but said nothing and continued.

The winds began to pick up around the boys, making the trees around them sway this way and that. The clouds in the sky began to darken considerably, casting a dark glow on things below.

"The weather's turning foul. We'd better hurry." Zuku said. Link nodded in return, though he could barely hear the boy. Indeed the weather was beginning to get worse and worse. The fog was becoming thicker, the sky darker. Now, they felt rain drops beginning to fall from the sky and so they hurried along, even more anxious to get to the ranch.

"I… think... almost… near…" Link was very aware that Zuku was talking, but he could only make out a few words, what Zuku was really trying to say was almost impossible to understand.

"Zuku what are you talking about? I can't understand you." Zuku repeated the words he had said before, but still Link barely heard a thing. Deciding that it was probably no big deal he shrugged it off and followed Zuku farther.

Even as they continued on Link seemed to notice that things were become even windier. It was then that he began to wonder if he was even going the right way. The small figure that he thought he had been Zuku was slowly disappearing from his eyesight. He could only vaguely see it in front of him, fading.

"Zuku," he called out, "where are you?" He got no answer but only heard the wind whispering loudly into his ears. "Zuku…" he said again, this time quieter. He sighed when no answer was heard. The fog had become so thick, he'd lost track of him. He lightly scratched Epona behind the ears. "I have no clue where we are at the moment; I'm depending on you now. Lead us to the ranch." The rain began to pour as they went cautiously out, seeking the ranch.

----

Where was he? Zuku looked around himself for about the hundredth time. He knew for a fact that he had lost Link while making his way to the ranch, and it was tempting to go back out to look for him, but first he would look for Malon and Maku to make sure things were all right here. He went through the gates to the ranch to see what he would find.

The ranch was extremely quiet. He heard no horses, birds, or even the sounds of Ingo and Talon working. He began to wonder what was wrong, getting an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. He walked on more towards the corral with silent, careful steps, not wanting to awaken anything that might have been lurking in the shadows.

It was raining still, but harder, making the grass more slippery. The light fog over it wasn't too bad although his vision wasn't too well at the moment. At one point he had thought he saw a drop of red in the soil. He had ignored it though not really wanting to know what it was and saying that it was all his imagination.

'I left Malon and Maku in the tower. I should go there now.' He quickened his pace, and looked up seeing the distant blur of the large tower. It was then that he saw it. The red marks that highlighted the grass and soil. He stooped down for a moment and picked it up, running it through his fingers and examining it. What could it be? He could think of only a few things, but none of them seemed very likely.

Then he realized it. What it could really be. Blood.

His eyes widened in slight shock at this thought. What if it… how could… he continued on towards the tower, now running. Then he tripped. He fell hard on his face and winced in pain. Slowly getting up on his hands and knees he began to wonder what it was that he tripped on. He looked behind him, trying to make out the strange form on the ground.

And he saw it. It was Maku.

His eyes widened greatly, but he quickly shrugged off the realization that had just come to his mind. This wasn't Maku; it was simply his mind playing tricks on him. This rain combined with this fog, after all, was a good way to get someone confused. He closed his eyes for a few seconds the opened them, expecting to see the "thing" gone. But…

It was still there.

He suddenly felt panic begin to rise up inside of him. It was real, it was all real… He took his hand and slowly ran it over Maku's face. It was so cold and lifeless, covered in blood everywhere. He took a deep breath and quietly spoke his name.

"Maku…" he said almost inaudibly. "Maku… please tell me you're only sleeping… you've… you've got to wake up…" He could already feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes; he quickly wiped them away and put his ear to Maku's heart. It was still beating, but slowly… too slowly. He sighed deeply and stood up, taking Maku in his arms.

"Don't worry Maku… I'm going to save you… somehow…"

----

"Mom… what is this place?" Malon backed away, walking closer to her mother in disgust at the room they had entered. In every corner there seemed to be some kind of cobwebs with monstrous looking bugs on them, there were puddles of a red liquid, which she suspected was blood, thrown around in random places, and a dark mist seemed to be clouding around them, completely freaking her out. But the worst thing in here, the most horrid thing that managed to disturb her so much, was the smell. It was the smell of death, and she just couldn't stand it.

"Why are we here and what is this place?" She questioned again. Kakau sighed and took Malon's hand to sit her down. Malon flinched when she saw that they were sitting very close to a puddle of blood, but sat down where her mother wanted her to be nonetheless. She stared at her mother, as the woman seemed to be calm about whatever matter it was that she needed to discuss with Malon. There was a long silence between them, in which Malon could feel the darkness begin to wrap around her almost completely, and the acrid smell begin to get stronger. She felt a cold sweat begin to come back to her again until her mother spoke up.

"Malon, there is something important I need to discuss with you," Once she spoke Malon could feel all of her senses begin to come back to her and everything return to normal, "I don't want you to be surprised about a lot of this, and I'm quite sure you won't be since you, most likely, know a lot about it already. I'll start by saying that I know of every single thing going on with you and Chronos and Zero, and I do realize that they are after you; sadly I cannot help you with any of this as much as I want to. I think it would also be beneficial for me to let you know how it was that I really passed away…" Malon looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean mom? You passed away from a sudden illness, and the only reason none of us had seen you or heard about it for a while was because you had run away so that you wouldn't spread around the disease. You had been gone for three months before they found your body…" Kakau smiled sadly shaking her head in a thoughtful state.

"So that's what everyone believes is it? If only they truly knew how off they were on that…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Malon's mother started again with slight edge to her voice, "That the real way I died has nothing to do with having a disease or running away. Yes, I disappeared, but that was only because they took me…"

"Who are they?" Malon asked, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.

Her mother looked at her for a moment then shook her head. "Chronos and Zero, that's who they are." At first Malon was shocked, then that shock turned to disbelief, and then to disappointment. Her mother, one of her greatest heroes of all, being taken away by those two villains?

"I… I… how did you get captured? It seems so unreal."

Her mother smiled kindly, bowing her head down to tell her daughter what happened. "When you were about six, I had begun to have many strange dreams coming to me out of nowhere. Most of them consisted of two figures, both glowing brightly, one was indigo and the other was gold. They each had piercing gray eyes, and I was truly frightened of them. The dreams kept happening almost every night until one night when I was out late delivering milk I was confronted by two strange boys, Maku and Zuku. That's all I remember from that point on. I believe I had then woken up and was in a strange place in the forest. They were both there it was then that I learned about my highly unbelievable past, that I was from an ancient clan that killed off another and two very dangerous assassins were after me. Of course I hadn't believed them at first, but my proof finally came when Chronos and Zero appeared in front of me for the very first time. They tried their hardest to capture me, but Maku and Zuku let out a sudden bright burst of energy and I was transported back to the ranch in an instant. I had no choice but to believe them after that. They told me almost everything else I needed to know and that's why I… that's why I left. I was afraid of putting you and your father in any sort of danger."

Malon was looking down, thinking. She suddenly remembered it all. Her mother had told her father a few weeks before she disappeared that she was having some sort of strange dreams. She had also told him she hadn't been feeling well which was why they had all assumed, as soon as she disappeared, that she had caught some sort of disease… but… they were wrong. This was the truth of it all; this was exactly how everything had happened.

"Malon I… I'm sorry…" Kakau began, but was cut off quickly.

"Then how did it happen? How exactly did you die?"

She frowned. "I was getting to that. While I was in hiding with Maku and Zuku, strange things began to happen. I went to sleep and when I awoke there were all kinds of cuts and bruises on me, I knew not of what was happening for all my dreams were peaceful. Zuku had been saying that we needed to travel instead of staying in one place. The day after he had said that we were going away, to a land not even I knew of. But as soon as we began to set out they came. They caught us by surprise, and there was nothing we could do to prevent them from coming. It was then that they captured me, and shortly after that I was used as their sacrifice." She sighed deeply and started up again. "Malon I truly am sorry about this, if there was one thing I could change then I—"

"Where is it? Where is the way out of here?"

Her mother looked at her strangely. "Malon what are you talking about?"

"You said that I'm not really dead and that I died before I was supposed to. That means that I can go back, correct?"

Her mother nodded. "Of course, you are allowed to go back whenever you please. But I must warn you. It may be wise to think this over some more. Are you positive that this is the correct action to take? Do you know what the consequences will be if you do this?" Malon abruptly turned silent. What was she doing? Her mother had an excellent point. What would happen to her if she made the wrong choice? Was this even the right thing to do? So many questions. So many of them left unanswered…

She thought more on the topic. If she went back, Chronos and Zero would be after her… but if she stayed here there would be no possible humanly way that they'd be able to get to her… she would also have no problems to worry about here and… she'd be able to stay with her mother. She absolutely loved her mother… she couldn't give up a chance to stay with her… could she?

She frowned. On the other hand if she went back she would be able to solve all her problems. She had never been known to give things up. If she stayed here that would make her weak. She wanted to be everything but. And if she stayed here she would be able to forget everything.

Everything… it clicked.

She would forget all the pain and suffering, all the things and people that made her life miserable. She could forget about the way it felt when you fell off of a horse, the way it felt when people assumed that you had so little money just because you lived at a ranch. The way it felt having to wake up every morning to do chores, and the way it felt having to withstand all the rumors people had spread about you and your family…

Everything… there was nothing more she could ever ask for.

"Mother… I think… I think I've made my decision…"

To Be Continued…

And I guess that concludes Chapter 8! I am so sorry it took me so long to update! I know I've said that about a million times but I do really mean it. It's just that… ah enough of my excuses. Any-hoo I guess I'll do a quick preview for the next chapter.

Chapter Nine: People have the right to make their own decisions, whether good or bad. And those decisions lead to other things, many that they can't control. Malon must learn to live with her decisions and live with the consequences that come after wards…

Eh, that was a pretty bad preview, but hey, it'll keep you guessing I suppose :D Ah, well here's something just for my amusement. I'm doing a poll on how many think Maku will live and how many think he will die. Now let's just see how many actually care enough to take this --' VOTE PEOPLE!

Okay, let's get to the review responses already. Here we go!

JoJo10- Thank you so much! I'm sure everyone's pretty pissed at Zero for hurting Malon like that, but don't worry, there will be some 'ass-kicking' later in the story!

KrystalFox- Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad somebody actually likes this. And believe me, I think we all think that Link would look good with us :)

danielle- Don't worry, I assure you things will get better for our two heroes. After all, this is a Malink story and we haven't even gotten to the best fluffy parts yet! Thanks for reviewing!

gamesrcool- Thank you so much for the review! You're so nice, I'm glad this is one of the best stories you ever read, I feel warm and fuzzy inside now. I'm sorry I had to torture you by making you wait though!

Geez, only four review this time? I must be pretty bad --'

Confused? Love it? Hate it? Wanna make a suggestion? Let me know people! REVIEW!

::chel bel::