Last chapter was a great one, but this one even better! First, replies for "A Doll Upon Evil's Shelf"!

EvilRobotZombieLoofaOverlord: You sure I'm the crazy one? I mean, you actually liked the poem. That makes you crazier than I could ever be…

Wow, that was short! Next!

CheeseFromJupiter: I wish I had a cake! Glad you liked the chapter, though.

FireDancer: No need to suffer from a case of pyromania… the update's right here. But here's a question for you! Why did you read the story? The title sucks and the summary is awful… I'm just curious why anyone would read this unless I asked them to. Heh. Thanks for reviewing, though!

Dragon-Charmer16: Well, Kaze… I think I have an interesting idea for an interesting story. "REVENGE OF THE OCs!" or something like that. Yep, that's Hieke with the wings. You can see it well in the eyes and hair. You don't miss a beat, do ya? And a surprise in "Trust Me"? Does it have to do with Kaze saying how there's already a girl he likes? AH! I wanna know! Heh, here I am in my story begging for the update of another. Am I pathetic or what?

Jana+Anthony: All of them? Like, individually? Maybe one group shot of the Spirits… But I'm bunching that in with your request for a drawing of Acarsis. Hah, no one likes to wait, but it's necessary. You see, if you want the speedy updates you're used to, you have to give me time to write the sequel! I'm hardly sure of the plot yet!

EvilRobotZombieLoofaOverlord: It'll probably only take about a couple hours for it to get sent to the second page, unfortunately. Zelda is one of the most frequently updated categories I've ever seen. Grand master of writing stuff? I write one story and suddenly everyone loves me! Well, that's why I signed up for creative writing in high school, I guess. Help is on the way! I'll try to piece together a plot for you as best I can!

FireDancer: Hieke being the last Spirit is only the very beginning of the three epic last chapters. If that surprised you, this one will knock your socks off! That is, if you're wearing socks. I'm not. I'm wearing slippers. Four days… that's an interesting suggestion. (shrug) Sounds good to me! Four days it is! And by the way… I update once a day, in the mornings/afternoons.

Zeldafreak123: One word that speaks volumes upon volumes… Thank you! (bow)

And now I have this to say: My story has been hit 294 times! So tell me why I only have 99 reviews! And you! NoOnSh! I know! My story's on your favorites list! Thanks for that, but why won't you review? Well, anyway… Onto the next chapter! Second to last, not counting the preview for the sequel. Yes, there's a preview for the sequel!

Chapter 15: Failure

"So the Moon Pendant was the Amulet?" Link asked. Shou shook his head. "It was merely a vessel for our power. Once the Moon Pendant became instilled with the strength of the Seven Guardian Spirits, it fulfilled its purpose and became the Amulet of Epochs," the little bird explained.

"What do we do now?" Jaruko inquired, turning to his brother. The white wolf shrugged and looked at Hieke.

"I… I don't know," Hieke whispered, staring at the ground. "I think we have to find the site of Ganon's resurrection and seal it off." Link objected. "But… You'll come back, right?" he asked hopefully. Hieke smiled. "I'm not sure," she replied in honesty. Link nodded and bowed his head.

"It is time we fulfill our own purposes," Acarsis said bravely. "Despite the consequences, we must do what we can to protect Hyrule!" The other Spirits murmured their agreements to one another. "How can I help?" Link asked, eager to provide all the assistance he was able to.

"Link… We must find the location of Ganon's revival! Spirits, can I trust you to come when we find it?" Hieke said. Each of the Spirits gave their assent, and they vanished in a white light. Hieke sighed. "Link, whatever happens, please just… just trust me, all right?" she whispered. Link, confused, nodded.

Hieke held the Amulet of Epochs carefully in her hands. "Oh, great Amulet of Epochs, collection of the respective powers of each Guardian Spirit, please guide us to the place of Ganondorf's rebirth," she said softly, lifting the treasure above her head. Each of the diamonds flashed and the crescent shape glowed.

Elsewhere in Hyrule…

"Oh, Lea! If you die, Hieke may not have the will to complete her journey!" one of the Gerudo guards said as she wiped the feverish sweat from Lea's face.

"Hieke will succeed… She will not give up… She is strong…"

"Father!" Ruto cried. "Now, now, Princess. You should be resting in bed," Ruto's attendant said. "I'm sure the King will be fine…"

"That girl… She had tremendous power… I know she can stop this…"

"Is everyone all right now?" Saria asked weakly. She leaned against the doorway and closed her eyes. Mido spoke up from the bed he was laying in. "Don't worry about it, Saria. I'll… protect all the Kokiri…"

"No… Link's friend… I saw her… She's… the one…"

"Please, Princess," Impa pleaded. "You must get some rest." Zelda protested. "When my time comes… I must be ready to… help however I can!" she whispered. Impa shook her head. It was hopeless. All the inhabitants of Hyrule were riddled with this malicious disease.

"The girl… the one called Hieke… She will… not give up…"

All throughout Hyrule, people were thinking about the blonde girl raised by Gerudos and the potential for power that she held. Everyone who had come into contact with her at any point in time was now putting all their faith into her. She didn't know it, but Hieke was the one person in all of the land that everybody was relying on. For once, Link was getting a break with the pressure.

"It's in… the market! The site of Ganon's revival!" she exclaimed. Link growled and started for the exit. "We have to hurry! There's no way we can make it in time…!" he whispered fiercely. His hand moved to his pocket where he had put the ocarina when it was returned to him.

"I can no longer use the Pipe of Ages," Hieke said. "You must get us to Hyrule Castle Town." Link nodded and played the Prelude of Light on his ocarina. They were shipped off to the Temple of Time in a flurry of pale yellow lights.

"Hurry!" Hieke shouted, running out of the small church. Link followed, his heart racing. What if they didn't make it? What if they failed? Failure is not an option! he told himself. You know that full well! You cannot fail! You will not fail!

Hieke paused with a cry of shock when she saw the market square. Bodies were littered all over. In the very center was a vortex of blackness. Link walked forward just slightly, but froze when a booted foot emerged from the portal.

"We have… failed," he breathed. The revived Ganondorf let out a long, wicked laughter.

"How could we have failed?"

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Now THAT, if nothing else, is a cliffhanger! UBER-CLIFFHANGER! You're a dirty, dirty liar if you tell me you saw that coming through anything other than the chapter title! Next chapter is the last one (not counting the preview), and I want a whole lot of reviews if you wanna read it! How many reviews is a whole lot of reviews? I'll be the judge of that! (coughfivecough) R&R, please!