A/N: Sorry about the delay! The next chapter is soon but this one is extra long so please forgive me and keep reviewing!

To Atchika: I don't think Zelda is weak at all! Believe me! She's my second strongest character in Super Smash Bros.! It's just that she seemed very preoccupied with the sealing spell at the time so I thought it was appropriate!

To Youkai: Sorry, no serious action yet! But there'll be more next chap, promise!

To T-bone: Glad you like it, plus, I suppose it is a bit original. Next chapther will be MUCH sooner!

Thanks for the reviews… DON"T STOP!!!

Zelda: the Legend continues

Chapter 5: something…

At Hyrule field…

It was early in the afternoon; the Sun's position in the sky told Link that he'd definitely overslept. It didn't matter though, because he'd have ended up arriving at his next destination too early anyway.

He was thinking about what Saria had mentioned about the forest earlier. She said that the problem of the Lost Woods going into rapid over-growth was her reason for venturing in search for Forest Temple in the first place, but when the Sage entered, her ability to navigate the woods was proven useless as it's size had grown much larger.

Link wondered what the cause for this phenomenon was. It was recent, so could it have been something to do with his return to Hyrule. He didn't let it bother him though, as he started off for Lon Lon ranch, hoping that it would be the last journey that he would have to make on foot for at least a while.

And so, the Hero of Time headed towards a ranch, only just visible on the horizon in front of him. "This is gonna take a while." he said to himself.

Somewhere deep within the Temple of Spirit…

Kiva the Gerudo was walking briskly along the narrow stone bridge that arched over a chasm. She dared not look down, she done that the first time she crossed it and felt dizzy, and since the crumbling excuse of a pathway was only a few feet wide she decided it possibly fatal to do such a thing again.

Reaching the other side of the large room, she gave a small sigh of relief.

"Why does that stupid hag have to be so far down in this bloody-forsaken place!" she hissed under her breath, glancing from side to side thanks to the creepy atmosphere the dungeons emitted. Small movements in the deep darkness and chilling drafts unsettled the red head.

Soon, Kiva reached a large black door engraved with a serpent and scorpion in red, hardly visible in the dim light that nearby torches provided. The double doors slowly and noisily opened themselves, allowing Kiva into the witch's room.

Its walls also, were made of stone, and the temperature dropped significantly as Kiva gave a shudder. Regaining her composer, she saw the witch in the center of the room with her back to Kiva, deep in meditation, standing over a large Triforce symbol painted on the cold, hard ground in what seemed like blood. The aged woman turned around without moving a muscle. It was hard to tell thanks to the long red robe being worn, but Kiva thought that the sorceress was levitating just above the ground.

The young Gerudo cleared her throat, "Queen Naburoo and her guards are still searching in the upper levels of the Temple for us, but are no where near our bandit hide out."

The witch opened her eyes, "That's good… However, I know that you wouldn't travel all the way down here just to give me a patrol status report…"

Kiva shifted uneasily, "Well yes, I suppose not. But the search party that I sent out to look for the Forest Temple a week ago returned not an hour ago. They said that they found the Hero of Time nearing the forest and took a hostage there, and when a few of the search party members confronted him, he defeated them…"

"I already assumed that you would tell me this information." Replied the witch

"Wha…?" Kiva was not used to being interrupted. Taking the statement in, she soon realized something "Then why didn't you say that before! It would have saved me a whole trip down to this stinking rat hole!"

"Because I have also gained some information that disappoints me…" the witch was staring directly at the woman, "apparently, it seems that you, my dear, are lying. There was more than 'a few' that attacked the Hero, in fact, due to my unique talents, I saw that there was a total of 18 of what you call your 'finest warriors'. And 2 Staflos, which didn't last 5 seconds, might I add, that didn't confront him, but AMBUSHED HIM! It is also apparent that he didn't even posses the Master Sword at the time!"

As she rose up in the air the witch's eyes burst into red flames and Kiva was forcefully dragged up into the air as well by an invisible force that the witch conjured up. Terrified, the woman struggled to free herself but to no avail.

"And yet" the powerful being continued through baring teeth, "the blasted Hylian knocked down all of these odds, WITHOUT THE POWER THAT MADE HIM A THREAT TO US IN THE FIRST PLACE! THE TRIFORCE OF COURAGE!" suddenly, she shot lightning out of her bony fingertips, which enveloped Kiva in a painful, constant surge. Her shrieks echoed loudly throughout the numerous stone corridors of the dank catacombs, yet they were heard by none, other than the foul-infested monsters that roamed the area.

At least a minute passed by as Kiva hung in the air being tortured. It felt like hours to her, but finally, the surge stopped as the Gerudo was flung back onto the ground, but the immense pain still lingered.

"And that, is why I have let you travel down here to pathetically give me false witness to this current event. I hope you have learned your lesson, as you shall now carry out this order. Kill that damn elf! I don't care whether that excuse of a shadow of his is doing the same, Link has been underestimated and it shall not happen again. He no longer possesses any mythical weapons or power so failure will result in a much worse treatment than tonight's. Now go!" And with that, the same magic threw Kiva out of the room and again left sprawled on the cold floor as the huge doors shut behind her.

After a few moments she dragged her badly burnt body off of the ground and began to limp back to the Bandit hideout...

Back to that blasted Hylian!

Link approached the closed gates of the Ranch with concern; it was during the mid-afternoon, yet the strong steel gate were bound shut with a heavy lock.

Fortunately, Link heard footsteps as there was someone walking by…

"Uh, hello? Is anyone there?" Link tilted his head to try and see around the twisty path into the farm.

The footsteps stopped to an abrupt halt, but the person decided to step around to the gate to greet Link. As the figure came into view, Link's hopes dropped significantly as he recognized the man instantly.

It was Ingo, and he hadn't seemed to have changed much, considering the fact that Link saw the man as a grumpy sleaze-ball even from the last time he met him. Trying his luck anyway, Link decided to ask before Ingo could start his expected rant of disapproval.

"Um, hi there! You might not remember me but I'm a friend of Malon, is she here?" Link thought that this would be a funny sight. A farm ranch has been practically isolated for the most of a year. And all of a sudden, a kid shows up dressed in green rags that are stained with blood, is armed to the teeth with weaponry and he wants to see a farm girl that hasn't been as far from home as Kakoriko village!

The crooked man's face turned into a scorn. "You're right, I have no idea who you are, but there's no 'Malon' here, so get lost!" Ingo pressed this message further by jabbing a pointing gesture away from the farm.

Although Link was planning on staying calm with this guy, it didn't stop him from looking surprised. Already, his anger was building up as he saw Ingo turn around and begin to leave him.

"Wait! You don't understand! I need to ask Malon a favor, I'd be really grateful if you'd just let me talk to her… or even Talon!"

He must have hit a nerve as Ingo hunched up in fury and quickly spun round again, "I've already told ya! There's no Talon or Malon here so you'd better beat it before I set the hounds on ya!"

Link was finding it hard to control his rage "You've never kept any dogs here cause they'd just attack the cuckoos!" But with that Link quickly stopped, cause he knew that cuckoos were much more dangerous than any mere dog. Thankfully, Ingo didn't seem to notice this slight trauma that Link experienced in some of his previous visits.

"Listen, it doesn't matter!" Link put his hand to his forehead and suppressed the urge to smash the gate open with any means necessary to do so. Then he decided to ask Ingo himself for what he was looking for. He knew that thanks to his recent travels, he had gained enough money for any stupidly unfair price that the greedy jerk might demand. "You rent out horses don't you? Well I'll pay for one, any horse, but I'd prefer Epona if you wouldn't mind cause I've already tamed her…"

At this point it seemed that Ingo was at boiling point, "YOU LISTEN HERE, YA WRETCHED TWIT! THE ONLY REASON YOU WON THAT HORSE WAS 'CAUSE I WAS PISSED AT THE TIME!!!" His face looked as though the man had lost all sanity. Ingo was already back at the gate, screaming and yelling while he grabbed the bars and moved about furiously. "AND BELIEVE ME! GANON HIMSELF IS GONNA BE LET IN HERE BEFORE YOU ARE! SO SCRAM!"

Link was now sure that his politeness was completely futile at this point, if he was going to check on one of his friends, that he was now seriously concerned about at this stage, he knew a different approach was going to be needed. "I've gotten through a closed gate here before, and if I have to, I'll do it again…"

"As if you'd have the balls, forest shrimp!"

Link unsheathed his sword threateningly, "try me."

Just at that point, a worried looking red-head girl stepped around the path. "Ingo, what's going on over there? Who's at the gate?"

Ingo spun round hastily, looking as though he had been caught out red-handed, "Oh, uh… No one ma'm! Jus some trouble maker lookin' ta sneak into the ranch!"

Link quickly sheathed his sword once he noticed Malon's voice, whom, sensing no sign of threat, stepped further around the corner to get a glimpse of the assumed 'stranger' outside of the gate. Quickly noticing who link was with a gasp, she swiftly stepped in front of the dastardly-mustached man, who was in silent, yet infinite frustration.

"Why, he's not a bandit, Mr. Ingo!" Malon laughed, "That's Fairy Boy!" She already began to unlock the gate that just moments ago, stopped Link from doing something that he'd probably regret. He didn't care anymore that Ingo was being so difficult, so long as he knew that Malon was okay. This didn't, however, stop Link from giving him a triumphant grin as Malon bent down to release the shaft that was holding the gate closed. That was returned with a glare that would scare half of an army of Moblins.

Link followed Malon around to the ranch's house. Just as they approached the door, it was opened by Talon who was carrying a bucket full of meal. He quickly recognized Link and shook his hand.

"Welcome back 'Mr. Hero of Time'!" he bellowed out with a hearty voice. He then gave Link a look over. "Seems you've been busy lately! But I bet those monsters got what was coming to them!" he let out a chuckle. "You've helped us out a lot, thanks ta getten' rid of that damn mad man!"

Link smiled, realizing that a lot must have spread while he was gone, though it was a nice feeling to be praised for what he'd done for Hyrule.

"You mean Ganondorf?" Link asked.

"Of course I do! What else would I be talking about! Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if you've saved the world three more times since you've been on yer travels!" Talon said in a proud manner. Link was about to answer, but Malon whispered a small comment to Talon.

"Dad! The cuckoos!"

Talon snapped back to reality and apologized to Link. "Sorry kid, I'd love ta chat but it's time for these critters ta get fed. They get a little cranky if they get it late. But don't mind me! Go on in!"

Link made no attempt to slow down Talon from feeding the cuckoos, in order to prevent any difficult situations, but instead followed Malon on in to the small house.

Once Malon had let Link into the house, he felt much more secure. The inside of the building had changed, instead of hay, chickens and farm tools, there were chairs, a table and a fire place, generally meaning that the place was converted into something between a dining and a living room.

Malon just stood in front of him waiting expectantly. Link was slightly confused. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Aside from the bruises and green blood, no." Malon folded her arms.

"Then why are you staring at me?" Link asked.

"I'm waiting for you to ask for what you're looking for, isn't that what most customers do?" said Malon.

Link raised his eyebrows, "What makes you think that I'm not here to simply say hello?"

Malon gave out a laugh, "Oh, come off it Link! I doubt that after a whole year away from your home doing Goddesses knows what, then arriving here all of a sudden, dressed in bloody rags, that you would 'simply' like to say hello."

Link took a downward glance at the condition of his clothes. She was right; he was in a real mess, with scorch marks, rips and monster remains on his tunic. His leather weapon belt that held most of his inventory was barely hanging on his shoulder due to a narrow dodge from a blade. Plus his face had a few small bruises and cuts that weren't bleeding but still noticeable. Add to this a large amount of splattered mud from falling onto the ground several times in the forest, and you end up with a rather unpleasant way to look when your visiting a friend.

"Um, something came up along the way." Link tried to explain.

"I'm sure something did!" Malon let out another giggle.

Link sighed, "Well I suppose you're right anyway, seeing that I was going to ask you if I could borrow Epona for a while."

"I knew it! You're so predictable!" Malon smiled in victory.

"Well?" Link was waiting for an answer.

"Of course! But only if you're gonna stay for the night. It's obvious that you need cleaned up and rested."

Link took a step back, "What? But I've got some important things to take care of! I can't stay here that long!"

Malon folded her arms again, "Tough! I don't care if you've got errands! But if you leave, then you don't get Epona and you'll just end up getting hurt without rest and food."

Link was about to argue but just then his stomach growled, loudly. Link tried not to look embarrassed, but he then noticed how tired he was when he found himself starting to have trouble standing up so long. He suppressed a yawn…

"Okay!" He gave in with a sigh. "But first thing in the morning, I'm outta here!"

Malon cheered up a little more, "good! There's a spare bedroom next door. You can use that. Dinner will be ready in half an hour so I suggest that you get yourself cleaned up before then" And with that, she left the room.

Navi flew out of his hat. She was waiting for them to be alone to discuss something.

"Well, it's great that everyone's okay here!"

Link put set down his items on the floor, now feeling much lighter. "Yeah, you're right."

Then the small fairy turned slightly red. "But I don't know what that creep's problem was! He was acting just like he did when Ganon was running the place. Why was he being so mean."

Link took a big stretch while yawning. "I dunno, maybe he was just being careful with who to trust. After all, I'm sure that there would be a lot of thieves about lately, that'd explain the big gate at the entrance."

The fairy continued to persuade the tired elf. "But he didn't need to be so rude about it, after all, he could've just…"

"Navi, drop it." Link cut her off with a weary voice. "I don't care anymore. Besides, I need to get changed soon before Malon finishes cooking."

Just then, the entrance door opened. Navi managed to hide before Talon walked in with an empty bucket and a few scratches on his arms.

"Damn little gits!" He turned around to Link. "Ya know, if I didn't need those bugger's eggs, then I'd shove my boot inta every one of 'em!" then he remembered Link's current state. "Oh yeah! If ya need to take a wash, you can use the well around the back."

"Thanks." Link headed outside.

A few minutes later…

Link felt much better, he had gotten washed and changed into his Zora tunic since his green one seemed beyond washable at the moment. He was very tired at this point though, so he decided to go back in before he accidentally fell asleep.

On his way back into the house though, Mr. Ingo stepped around a corner with an icy glare and stopped him.

"Listen here brat! You're lucky you've gotten in here! But believe me, if you make one false move…" he pointed up a finger in front of Link's face, "… then I'll have your hide!"

Link was only subconscious; looking at Mr. Ingo with his eyelids half closed. He'd received hundreds of threats before, and this one wasn't anything special compared to those form demonic warriors. But then he faintly heard Malon shouting from inside. "Dinner's ready!"

Link didn't really bother to answer Ingo and instead he started lumbering on towards the wafting smell from the house, "…don't care… need food… go now…"

And with that, he left Ingo before he could stop him and left him extremely aggravated. He stomped of towards one of the barns, refusing to join the others with their meal.

End chapter.

Sorry to everyone that bothers to read this. I've been really late this time (two months late actually!). But I've got reasons! School was really taking over my life lately so I done this over the Christmas holidays. Please review and Happy New Year!

P.S. The next chapter will be up much quicker and have action. Promise!