Chapter 3: And Back Again

Warning: Character death in this chapter!

Link gazed the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. It has been so long since he's seen it. He could remember when Zelda placed the keys back in their rightful places, making sure that nobody would enter the Gate of Time again. He never expected Ganondorf to return after the seven years that had passed. How he fell asleep was a mystery to him…He shook these thoughts out of his mind as he glanced over at Izzy. She had been unconscious with a high fever, and her cheeks were red. Navi had watched over her as he traveled through the dark corridors of the Great Deku Tree, trying to find the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. This time, it was a bit harder because of the moblins, and he couldn't find the weapons he had before. He returned to the two girls, dirty and a bit sweaty. Navi covered her nose. "You stink." She said

Link sniffed himself and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on." He said

He picked Izzy up and concentrated on the stone. In a bright light, they were in front of the Great Deku Tree. Link's eyes widened as he saw a shield up. Behind it was his rival, Dark Link. The dark twin blinked twice and snarled. Unlike Link, he had black hair and red eyes. "Y-you!" he yelled

"Why are you here!" yelled Link

"Give me that brat, and the Spiritual Stone of the Forest!"

"Fat chance!"

"Then I'll take her and the stone by force!"

The barrier that the Great Deku Tree put up was instantly gone. The dark twin pulled out his sword and charged straight at Link. The hero picked up the Kokiri Sword that was lying on the ground. It was smaller than the Master Sword, but it would do at a time like this. Dark Link smirked and chuckled. "That's a pretty weak sword you've got there." He said, blocking the hero's attack

"It's working against you." Said Link

Izzy groaned and awakened. "My head…" She moaned

Her eyes widened at the sword fighting the twins were having. "Link?" she asked, softly

"Child, get behind thee!" said the Great Deku Tree

She limped and got behind a root. Her body was weak, so she felt a bit dizzy. Navi felt her forehead. "You're getting worse!" she said

"Who's that guy?" asked Izzy

"Him? That's Dark Link. Ganondorf created him to fight Link."

"Dark Link? That's a stupid name, but then again…this is a crazy world."
Dark Link had Link on the ground, and the blond had a cut on his shoulder. Link growled and kicked Dark Link in the face, making him drop his sword. Dark Link growled and gripped his face. "Insolent fool!" he yelled

He summoned his dark power and attacked Link. The blonde blocked by taking his Kokiri Sword to deflect the blast. Unfortunately, it went straight for Izzy. "No!" yelled Dark Link

"Izzy!" yelled Link

Out of nowhere came Mido and blocked the dark magic with is own body. Izzy fell to the ground in shock and passed out again. Dark Link growled, picked up his sword, and left. "Get back here!" yelled Link

Dark Link smirked and ran off, Link almost followed when he heard a scream. He ran back to Izzy, where she was holding Mido. He knelt down to her and looked at her sorrowful red eyes. "Mido…" she whispered, looking down at his small body "He's…"

Link's eyes widened and he shook his head in shock. He was so busy fighting that he didn't even see Mido get hit before it was too late. He opened his arms and Izzy handed him over to the hero. Her white 'Angel' shirt had a big blood stain on it. "Why!" sobbed Izzy, "Why did he do that!"

Mido's eyes slowly opened and he put a trembled hand on top of her's. "You're…too important…" he said, softly

"No! I'm not important! I'm just a normal girl, I'm nobody!"

"Yes you are. You shouldn't cry so much it…doesn't…suit…you…"
His eyes slowly closed. "Mido…?" whispered Izzy

The kokiri sighed out his last breath and just laid there, still. "No!" sobbed Izzy

His body disappeared in a deep green light. She gasped and looked around. "Mido!" she yelled

She stood up and started coughing. She looked around in panic. "Where is he!" she yelled

"All Kokiri disappear when they die…" said Link

She looked at him with tearful eyes. "No!" she yelled, "Mido can't be dead! He was just scratched!"

Link stood up and looked at her, coldly. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her to calm her dead. "He's dead, Zelda!" he said, sternly

She slapped him, hard across the face. "Don't you ever call me that!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face "Only he's allowed to call me that!"

Link touched his face, he had never been hit so hard by a girl before, except for Nabooru, but she was a trained Gerudo woman. Izzy then began punching him but he grabbed her wrists. "Let go of me!" she yelled

"Izzy, calm down!" he said

He saw her face, she was on the verge of crying, but she was fighting it. She then hung her head sorrowfully. "It just like last time…" she muttered, "They'll blame me for his death."
Link let go of her wrists and they just fell to her sides. "It's not your fault." He said

"Yes it is!" she yelled, "If I had just stayed asleep then he wouldn't have died!"

All of a sudden, Izzy just broke down and cried. Link grabbed her small body and hugged her. Her body collapsed on her and she passed out again. "Mido…" she whispered

Izzy smiled up at the figure before her. It was her boyfriend, Tom Sloane. He had short brown hair and blue eyes. The two of them were coming from a party that a friend of theirs had from school. Izzy's curfew was 12:30, and Tom was determined to get her home, or face another lecture from her mother. They were walking across the street when they saw a speeding car coming. Izzy's body froze with fear and Tom pushed her out the way, taking the hit. Izzy's eyes widened as she saw Tom's body collide with the car, then go limp. "Oh my God!" she yelled

She ran to him, tears in her eyes. She shook him for a bit and he only looked at her, smiling. "Don't cry…it's…not…like…you…" he said, softly

Other people began crowding around them. In a flash, they were in a hospital. Izzy sat there with her mother, bandages on her cuts. Mrs. Sloane gave Izzy a stern look. "How can you let his happen to him!" she yelled
"I…I.." started Izzy

"It's your fault my son is dying!" she yelled

"Now stop it!" yelled Françoise, "It was an unexpected attack from a drunk driver! Izzy couldn't have known this would happen!"

"Don't take up for the little tramp! Both of them knew they were going to a party with alcohol involved."

"So did your son!"

"That doesn't excuse your daughter's actions! I'd bet anything she's drunk right now!"

"I'm not drunk!" yelled Izzy, tears streaming down "We were walking and it happened!"

Izzy awoke to find herself looking up at a wooden ceiling. She could hear an Ocarina playing, so she got up and walked out of the room. She recognized this area as the Kokiri Forest. On the side sat Link, playing an Ocarina, Navi rested on his shoulder. She walked to him and he looked up. "You're awake." He said with a small smile

Navi flew up to her and felt her head. "Your fever's gone!" she said, happily

She merely nodded and sat next to Link. "What were you playing?" she asked

"The Minuet of Woods." He answered

"Oh…that's a beautiful sound."

She looked at him, then at the moon. He began to play the Minuet of Forest again. She tucked her knees into her chest and just listened to the song. She then looked over at his cheek, where she smacked him. She took two fingers and traced the red mark. "Ow!" Link said, pulling away "It's still sore!"

"Sorry…" she said

The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Izzy blushed then looked away. "I shouldn't have done that." She said, "It was foolish of me."

"No, I shouldn't have shaken you." Said Link, "I deserved the slap."

"Still, it was rude of me."

"Ow…damn you sure know how to hit."

"Yeah well I took self-defense classes back at home."

"Where is your home?"

"Earth Realm."
Link's eyes widened and he looked at her in awe. "That's why your ears are so short!" he said

Izzy blushed, but then gave him a death glare. "What's wrong with my ears?" she growled

"Nobody in Hyrule has ears like yours. You have the same height as a Hylian, though."

Izzy crossed her arms and gave him a cold glare. "I guess I should take that as a compliment…" she said

Izzy sighed and looked down at the quiet Kokiri Forest. "We should leave in the morning…" she said

"Why?" asked Link, "You still need to rest up from you fever."

Izzy stood up and walked into Link's doorway. "You don't understand…" she said, "Nobody else should be hurt for my sake…"

"Izzy…" said Navi

"Nobody ever understands…"

"Did he understand?" asked Link

"Yes he did." Answered Izzy

"Who is he?"

Izzy gave him a stern look. "It's none of your business, so quit asking!"
With that, she went into the room and went to bed. Link sighed and looked at Navi. "She's more stubborn than Zelda." He said

"She must've loved him if she got snippy like that." Said Navi

The next day, Izzy sat there on the ledge, looking at the funeral the Kokiri were giving to Mido. Link asked her if she wanted to attend, but she refused, saying that it would only make things worse. As she watched the children sob, she made a quiet promise to make Dark Link pay for what he did. Taking an adult's life was one thing, but taking a child's was another. To Dark Link, taking Mido's life was nothing more than hitting a bird with a small stone. Izzy got up and climbed down the ladder once the funeral was over. The other Kokiri had left, but Link stayed, under the Great Deku Tree. "He was a great friend…" said Link

Izzy blinked at him. She didn't think he would notice her approaching. He got up from his spot and walked past her. "We should get going." He said, "Dark Link will be back."
Izzy turned back to the grave, and then left. When she entered the Kokiri Forest again, she noticed Link packing two different bags. It was as if he wanted to get away from the pain he was feeling. She could sense it, a painful aura surrounding his body, and ready to break free at any moment. Someone tapped her on the side and she looked down at a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Kokiri. She had a pair of clothes for her. "Put these on." She said

Izzy quirked an eyebrow at the outfit. It was a green Kokiri outfit. "This won't make you stand out so much." She said

Izzy was about to make a smart comment but then decided against it. The Kokiri had never been to Earth Realm, so fashion taste was different here.

Dark Link grumbled under his breath as he sharpened his sword. He didn't expect the Kokiri to sacrifice himself for her. He just wanted to get rid of her in one fail swoop, no questions asked. All this time, he had served Ganondorf, but now it was time for him to rule. He knew the only way to sever the power Ganondorf needs is to kill both his good side and Zelda's doppelganger. The waiting period was killing him, because he needed Ganondorf to slip-up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the ruler pacing up the hall. Dark Link sucked in a breath of air, which was keeping him from killing the evil man right then and there. Ganondorf gripped him hard by his neck and slammed him against the wall, the concrete cracking against his back. "Why haven't you brought back that brat!" he growled

"No way…" gasped Dark Link, "Too much…power…"
Ganondorf dropped him and scoffed. "Fine, I'll handle this myself." He said

He walked into the throne room with a pissed off Dark Link following. He knew the real reason why he kept Izzy alive, but he wasn't going to tell him why. Ganondorf pulled out a handful of powder from his pocket and sprinkled it on the floor. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Heart of Deception?" he asked

"No." said Dark Link

"Good, then this should be educational for you. The Heart of Deception are for people with weak hearts. Basically a fool who actually believes in love."

"What does this have to do with finding the girl?"
"So simple-minded. This copy of Zelda has a weak heart. She was created to be highly sensitive, and she has a past love. We can re-create a past love in this world to work for us."

'Idiot…' thought Dark Link

"I'm sure this Zelda copy is willing to trust him, despite what has happened in the past."