Holy crap, I am soooo sorry this took so long to come out! This chapter is super long, and I've been super busy, so yeah...you get the picture. But it's out now!

Jeez, I noticed that this chapter is really romantic...

Anyway, I've begun a second version of Hidden Fire. It won't be up on the site for a long time though.

SEQUEL NEWS

Also, I have been planning The Sister's sequel. I don't know why, seeing as this story isn't even half way to being finished. But the sequel's going to be pretty good, and far different from WW, HF, and TS. It's called Fair Lady. The main characters in this story will no longer be the main characters in FL -- they will still be a major part in it, but won't be the heroes. Aryll is the main character. You will finally get to see some time skippage, as Fairy Lady takes place 6 years after The Sister's end. That means that Aryll is about 12, and Link and company are 18 or 19. Here are some random facts:

-The story starts out with Bambi in labor with her first child

-THERE WILL BE MPREG, AS IN MALE PREGNANCY!

-Aryll is the hero, along with Isabella (the little girl from Casterwaul) and Ivan (the little gang leader kid on Windfall)

-There are THREE enemies, one of which you will meet briefly in this story, another of which is in The Prince of Ny-Potho

That's all for now!

REVIEW FOR THE SAKE OF ZORA SEX!

Chapter 10 -- Petals on the River

Dark jolted awake from his terrible nightmare. He lay there for a moment panting and sweating, trying to calm his nerves. Such a strange dream... In it, a voice told him a long poem while the images of his pitiful life played before him. Dark didn't quite know why something like that would scare him so bad...

It was when he finally started to calm down did Dark Link notice a heavy weight on his back. He grew alarmed momentarily until he looked to see Shadow asleep on top of him. Dark knocked Shadow off his back, causing his twin to awaken.

"What do you think you're doing in my bed! You have your own!" Dark snapped.

"Sorry...I had a nightmare..." Shadow murmured softly in reply.

"Well, you could have soothed yourself, you know. We're getting too old to sleep in the same bed together."

"But it was scary!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it was. But I sleep naked, you know!" Dark said, pointing to his...erm...uh.

Shadow looked at Dark's...umm -- then down at his own.

"So what? I sleep naked too!" he retorted haughtily.

"You dope, that's the problem!"

"I told you, I had a bad nightmare!" Shadow complained. He gazed into Dark's eyes pleadingly, begging for understanding and forgiveness. That look was one that Dark gave in to all the time. Dark Link sighed.

"Tell me about your dream..."

"I was looking back on the worst parts of my life, while in the background was a woman's voice telling me some long, weird poem... I don't know why it was so scary, but it was..." Shadow quietly told him.

Dark swallowed. His heart pounded briefly from surprise.

"I had the same dream," he admitted.

Shadow's bright, youthful red eyes widened.

"You did?" he asked, incredulous.

Dark nodded.

"Yeah...I know how you feel."

Shadow hugged Dark quickly and tightly.

"We're still nude, you know," Dark reminded him uneasily. But regardless, he hugged Shadow back anyway. And not in a sexual way, mind you perverted people out there.

The moment Dark and Shadow shared then was, as they new, like so many they had experienced before as younger children. When they were little, they were inseperable, and that bond continued now through their lives.

Feeling a great deal more comforted, Shadow broke off and looked at Dark worriedly.

"Do you think it was, you know...some kind of sign?"

Dark considered the thought for a moment. His spine tingled at the idea.

"Maybe..." he agreed solemnly. "Or...maybe we're just being paranoid."

"Now," Dark said, "I'm tired, and it would really help if you'd move over to your own bed, ok!"

Shadow grunted, slipped out of Dark's bed and retreated back to his own, facing the opposite direction and pulling the covers up over his head. Dark glanced at him a moment before laying back down himself.

"Grumpy... It's those Bum-Ferrets of yours acting up again, huh?" Shadow spat.

Dark blushed crimson but said nothing. Instead, he focused on trying to get back to sleep, as did Shadow after a moment.

Though, what was the point of attempting to drift off to sleep again? No matter what, it was sure to be a restless night full of strange dreams once again. And plus those Bum-Ferrets WERE acting up again.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit... I hate horses. They're so stupid, and they never listen. We should have ridden llamas instead... Or better yet, we should have never come here in the first place! ...Maybe I was best off not knowing I had a sister and a father," Tetra said to herself as she rode along aimlessly.

Tetra had somehow managed to find herself back in the Great Forest, but this time, the southern tip of it. She had spotted no life -- but maybe that was a good thing.

The raindrops fell through the leaves of the towering trees above, splattering onto Tetra's blonde hair in sync. She was sick of the rain, she was sick of Oceana, she was sick of the seemingly hopeless quest at hand, and she was sick of all the damn horses. Pity hers didn't share the same fate as Link's first horse, she thought. But the biggest weight of despair on Tetra was how much she missed Link and Bambi.

Tetra never thought she would fall in love with Link. He was obnoxious -- actually, he still was. But maybe that's what she loved about him.

And besides,she thought, no one else would take me, that's for sure.

Then there was Bambi. Of course, Tetra had gotten the wrong impression of Bambi at first: a sick-minded lesbian rapist that had a fondness for sitting in dark corners and talking to herself.

But at the end of that quest, Tetra found out that the so-called villainess was nothing more than a prisoner of her own mind while the evil sorcerer Vaati did what he pleased in her body. Tetra remembered how she freed Bambi, and in return gained not only a skilled ally but the only female friend she had since her mother died. At last, there was someone to talk to about girl stuff who wasn't a gay male and wasn't Link. Whenever Tetra had tried to talk about "girl stuff" with Link, he would get frightened and ask if she was pregnant.

But then Bambi was gone again, sacrificed in a way, and for the soul purpose of protecting Tetra. And admittedly, Tetra felt genuinely guilty. She was a traitor to her own best friend.

Ah, yes, it seemed as though everyone close to Tetra was going away... But she didn't particularly care about all of them.

Tetra felt a little bit guilty for not missing Pike more. But she hadn't grown attached to her. Sisters as they may be, Tetra didn't even know she had a sister until recently, and then she was rushed into this whole ordeal.

Tetra didn't miss Aryll -- skip the explanation for obvious reasons.

But then there was Arnav. It had crushed the young pirate to get her hopes up about having a father, only to find that said father despised her and cursed her very existence.

"Dammit, my life fucking sucks. I'm all alone with who knows how many villains putting a price on my head. Fuck," Tetra said out loud, squeezing the reins.

But then she nearly shit her pants when a voice uncomfortably close called out to her...

"Excuse me, miss. Please...stop the horse."

Tetra stopped.

"Yo, I wasn't riding too fast! I don't need no fucking ticket!" she snapped, looking around for the speaker. Then she saw who: a cloaked woman holding a bundle.

"No, no, uh...I'm not fining you anything. It's just that...well...I left my home because of this terrible fate that has befallen this land. It is just my baby and I, and we are off to my mother's house. But...it is so far. It's to the north up near Oceana's town and kingdom. If it's not too much trouble, will you give me a ride?" A pair of green eyes glinted in a strange way in the shadows of the cloak's hood that hid most of the woman's face. She hugged her child closer to her.

Strange...that's an awfully quiet baby. And this lady's a freak... Tetra thought uneasily.

"It isn't too much out of your way, is it?" the lady asked again when Tetra did not speak.

Tetra hesitated. It really wasn't out of the way if she didn't have any particular destination. But on the other hand, the northern end of Oceana was probably very dangerous, and this lady made matters even weirder. But then again, it was something to do, helping the lady.

"Er...it's not too out of the way I guess. Get on the horse then..."

The young woman, holding the bundle carefully, mounted slowly behind Tetra.

"I'll give you more directions when we get further north. And thank you, young lady," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing," Tetra grumbled, changing her direction to north.

Tetra and her strange new companions rode on in silence for a while. The ride seemed to be a long time, long enough for the rain to stop and an odd mist to rise.

"There's a lot of fog. It's hard to see," Tetra commented, half out of annoyance over having to ship some chick somewhere, half out of desperation to break the heavy silence.

"Mm, don't worry. I know the way..." said the woman, her eyes flashing again. Her tone of voice was strange, causing Tetra to shudder. Even the steed seemed uneasy.

They finally reached the end of the forest and broke out to meet the northern plain of Oceana. The fog was even worse here out in the open.

"I'd really rather not go any further. We should stop here..." Tetra said slowly.

"Nonsense. Keep going!" the woman said so shrilly that Tetra jumped.

"What's your problem?" the pirate snapped. "It's some crazy fog out there! And you're creepy enough as it is!"

"Oh, shut up and move!"

"What!"

"If you don't have the guts to ride in a little fog then I'll steer the horse! Hold the baby," the woman growled, shoving the bundle at Tetra. The two females switched spots. The cloaked woman lashed the reins, kicked the horse, and rode on blindly, Tetra clinging on for dear life while trying to hold the baby at the same time.

"HEY, SLOW DOWN!" Tetra yelled.

The young woman grunted and slowed the horse to a walk.

"Fine," she sniffed. "I'll slow...for now."

The silence picked up where it had left off. Tetra thought she heard a groan somewhere to her left...an inhuman, ghastly groan, but still quite soft in audibility.

"Did you hear something?" Tetra asked.

"Not a thing," said the woman plainly in reply.

Tetra sighed and shrugged. Maybe she was hearing things.

"...Your baby's really quiet..." she commented.

The woman glanced back at Tetra slowly through her green eyes.

"Yes...he's a good baby," she said after a while, turning to face forward again.

It was such an odd baby. A little TOO odd... Tetra was getting the impression that there was something wrong with it. After all, it was such a light-weight child, even if it were a newborn. Or maybe it just inherited weirdness from its mother or something.

Another moan sounded from somewhere off in the distance, but Tetra ignored it. She focused her attention on the baby. Curiously, she parted the flap of blanket covering its face...and froze.

There was no baby. There was just a white face with two blank, staring black eye sockets... No, not the face of a child -- the face of a skull, a skull attached to a complete skeleton. These were the remains of a baby.

Tetra's scream was caught in her throat. Shocked and chilled more than she ever had been, she began to shake, her blue eyes wide. At last, her horror erupted: she screamed loudly and threw the bones and the blanket away. The horse reared up in surprise.

"THAT'S NOT A BABY, YOU FREAK! W-WHO ARE YOU?" Tetra asked. Her voice had almost been lost in her throat again.

The woman stopped the horse.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Tetra cried again.

"Hmm. I was hoping you wouldn't find out so quickly..."

The young woman threw off her cloak and spun in the saddle to face Tetra, grinning maniacly.

She was no more than 16 years old with dark tan skin, long, flowing red hair and those green eyes that showed a door to her wicked soul. She was garbed in the clothing of a Gerudo.

"I am Ciara, loyal servant of Majora. And you, dear princess, are being kidnapped."

"Uh, excuse me? Did you just tell me that you're kidnapping me?"

"Hahaha, yes!"

"Thanks for letting me know!" Tetra said quickly, frantically jumping off the horse and dashing back in the direction they had come.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE!" Ciara screamed. She tried to get the horse to pursue her, but it did not budge, leaving the young noble with no choice but to get off the horse and run after Tetra herself. But then she fell flat on her face.

"IF I DON'T CATCH YOU THE UNDEAD WILL!" she cried shrilly after Tetra.

Tetra caught the words that issued a chill up and down her spine. The undead? A spark lit in her brain...that moaning she heard. That inhuman, ghastly, heinous moaning and groaning... Tetra quickened her pace. What the hell was the world coming to?

Tetra had run a good distance from the chilling scene. She was back in the forest, close to a river that cut through it. Her energy spent, the young pirate leaned against a tree, gasping for breath and clutching a stitch in her side.

Lord knows if I'm safe anywhere now! Hot damn, I'm in trouble, Tetra thought, closing her eyes.

Trying to calm herself enough to think up a good plan, Tetra shut off all the feelings of panic and just focused on the sound of the nearby river. It did work in calming her...at least until she felt something on her leg.

Tetra's eyes popped open, and she screamed in horror to see a rotted hand poking up from the earth to wrap itself around her ankle. Panicked once more, Tetra frantically kicked at it and kicked at it until it released its grip on her. When it had, the pirate stumbled away, disgusted, and became even more so when a complete zombie followed its hand out of the ground. Her heart nearly beating out of her chest, Tetra watched as even more zombies pulled themselves out of the earth...

"F-fuck... That Ciara girl was right...!"

Tetra began to back away as the heinous ghouls lumbered closer and closer to her... And then a large roar pierced the air. Tetra snapped her head to the direction of the noise, and let out a wail as a large tiger leaped out of the trees and nearly landed on her.

"WHAT THE FUCK'S A TIGER DOING HERE!"

The tiger eyed her with green eyes, and then slowly morphed into Ciara, grinning insanely.

"Oh, did I scare you?"

Images of the dreams Tetra had had before coming to Oceana flashed in her mind. The girl turning into a tiger... This was that girl!

"You...you turned into a...a tiger...?"

"Yes." Ciara stepped closer. "It is a little gift Majora gave to all of his faithful followers such as myself. It comes in handy..."

The gerudo grabbed Tetra's upper arms, holding onto her tightly as the undead crept closer. But hot damn, they were so fucking slow without muscle tendons and crap.

"I was in that tiger form when I kidnapped your best friend Bambi... Heh...I nearly mangled her arm!"

Tetra glared furiously at Ciara.

"YOU CRAZY BITCH! LET ME GO!" she screamed.

"Oh, no, I'm not letting go..." Ciara whispered, her eyes flashing. "I'm not letting go of you until your safely in the hands of my leader..."

"I SAID LET GO!" Tetra yelled. Lord, she didn't know if she had ever yelled so loud.

But that wasn't the part that surprised Ciara most. Oh, no, that part came when Tetra dug her nails into Ciara's arm. A blue light surrounded the young Hyrulean, and that light spread to her fingers and jolted through Ciara's body like an electric shock. The teenage villainess cried out in pain and released Tetra.

Panic and surprise at what she had just done blinded Tetra. She dashed off in the direction of the river as more zombies popped up around her, adding to her wild fear. But when Tetra finally saw the raging body of water before her, it was too late -- she fell in, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Ciara watched as her prey slipped into the wild water, having recovered from the magic attack.

"NO!" Ciara dashed to the river's edge, and could only watch as Tetra was swept away wailing.

"DAMMIT!" shouted Ciara to the skies.

All the zombies stopped and stared at Ciara with their blank eyesockets. Fuming, Ciara rounded on them.

"Whatchoo lookin' at, foo's? Get back in the fucking ground, you bags of useless, rotting flesh!"

The zombies shrugged their shoulders. Actually, a few zombies' arms fell off in the process. But regardless, they all made it back into the ground and out of Ciara's sight.

"What in the hell is going on!" loudly questioned a new voice. Ciara turned to see Agahnim running through the trees toward her.

He stopped before Ciara, huffing and puffing from the run.

"Ciara? What are you doing here? I saw the undead. What were you using them for?" he demanded.

"I was so close to capturing Tetra! But...she..." Ciara swallowed. It was exactly part of the plan for Tetra to fall into the river and most likely drown.

"Capture Tetra? She was here? And more importantly, what are you doing in Eastern Territory? This place belongs to Vaati and I, you know; Vaati and I alone! You and Ganondorf are responsible for the SOUTHERN TERRITORY, remember! All tasks that take place in the East are MY responsibility!" preached Agahnim.

"YOUR responsibility? This is a team effort, you know! And what about Vaati?" Ciara retorted for the sheer purpose of venting her frustration.

"Vaati has his smart periods and his dumb periods. His smart period was when he tried to take over Hyrule while in Bambi's body and was nearly successful. But now he is in his dumb period, meaning he is mentally incapable of doing things such as reading Go, Dog, Go! by Dr. Seus.

But that matters not, Ciara! Now why are you so reluctant to tell me what happened to Tetra!"

Ever reluctant, Ciara slowly told Agahnim her tale of failure.

"You idiotic bitch! Majora is going to KILL you!"

Ciara glared heatedly at Agahnim.

"He'll go easy on me, I'm sure! After all, it was I who turned him into the man he is! Me and my spell book! Without me, he would never have gotten the chance to even ATTEMPT his plan!"

"Tch...you don't matter much to him. He'll kill you anyway, girl. In fact, you are SO gonna be dead that you're practically the living dead. Like that guy," said Agahnim, pointing at a zombie that was poking its head out of the ground, eavesdropping.

"HEY! Get back in the ground, bone-sack! What did I tell you and those other assholes about eavesdropping? HUH!" barked Ciara, staring down the zombie. It sadly retreated back below the earth.

Agahnim chuckled, shook his head, and started off.

"You're pathetic, Ciara. I should get on your ass about being in my part of Oceana with a stupid purpose, but I won't. You probably have enough on your mind what with how Majora's gonna kill you and all...heh."

Frightened and frustrated, Ciara ground her teeth, clenched her fists, and watched him leave.

"Hello? Uh...Majora?" Vaati called. His voice bounced back to him off the darkened walls of the now-eerie Oceana Castle.

There had been butterflies in Vaati's stomach all during his trip to the Dark Mirror to teleport to Majora's base. Majora had said that he had wanted to see Vaati, and judging by his tone, it did not seem much like business...

"YO! MAJORA!"

Majora stepped out behind Vaati from a door in the corridor, rubbing his eyes as though he had just woken up.

"Fuckin' dammit, what the fu -- Vaati? Oh...you're finally here..." He smiled. Vaati's already uneasy stomach did flipflops at the way he looked at him as though he were looking at him naked or something.

"Uh...yes sir, I'm here now..." said Vaati quietly, shifting his weight from one foot to another, looking all over the room but anywhere but the man who stood before him.

"Oh, come now...don't call me 'sir'." Majora stepped closer.

"Ok then..."

A moment of awkward silence ensued.

"Soooo...uh...what is it you wanted?" Vaati asked.

Majora grabbed Vaati's hand.

"Let me be blunt." He licked his lips and looked Vaati up and down. "It's you I want, if you know what I mean..."

"Woah, dude, you want me?"

"Mmm...yes, Vaati."

"By 'want me', do you mean you want to have sex with me?"

"Yes."

"The type of sex that involves us putting our penises up eachother's asses!"

Majora raised his eyebrows.

"Well...yes, that's sort of what I had in mind."

But then he narrowed his eyes.

"But why all the questions? Are you saying that you don't want to fuck me?"

"No, no, it's not that! I mean, of course you want to fuck me, who doesen't (no disrespect mean by that, sir)? It's been a sort of dream of mine to have sex with you or something of that nature," Vaati explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But...why me?"

"You're better looking than the others... I think you're hot, Vaati," Majora admitted, grinning.

"Sweet. You're pretty hot too. I didn't know you were gay though."

"Well, I'm bisexual."

"I don't know what the hell I am, but hey, I like having things up my ass! Let's go do it," said Vaati.

"Ok! Where do you want to do it?"

Vaati thought for a moment.

"Hmm...the floor is too dusty...the dining room table is too splintery... Let's be classic and do it in the bed, shall we?"

"Great. Let's do it in the king's bed, it's the biggest."

Majora twirled his finger around a strand of Vaati's long, silvery hair and tugged him along to the king's bedroom.

Upon entering the king's quarters, Majora and Vaati fell onto the bed. Sensually but eagerly they undressed.

Majora perched on his knees, stroked Vaati's cheek, down his neck, shoulder, arm, and then stopped at his thigh. He bent down and started kissing Vaati from the navel up. Vaati moaned and tilted his head back when Majora's lips came to his neck.

Vaati entwined his fingers in Majora's long, black hair, then bent forward and started kissing his face. He felt himself beginning to erect.

Majora grabbed Vaati's face and lay back, pulling the other man on top of him. He rubbed his legs up and down Vaati's rear and the backs of his legs, making him moan. But then a noise sounded below...a sound like a door opening.

"Did you hear something...?" Vaati muttered into Majora's neck.

"Yeah, but who cares..." Majora groaned, enjoying the pleasuring chills that spawned from the feeling of Vaati's tongue and lips on his neck.

Both men were getting pretty hard by that time. Vaati slid off of Majora, who mumbled something in protest. Vaati hushed him, flipped him over onto his stomach and entered him roughly from the back. Ultimately pleasured for the moment, Majora let out a small wail. Vaati brushed his long black hair out of the way and proceeded to suck his neck. Majora let out a gasp and arched his bach, harder than ever. Vaati pumped him, and both issued screams and moans and sweat like the horny-yaoi-sluts they are. In fact, they were so into the horny-yaoi-slut gig that they did not notice that more noise was coming from downstairs...

Dark moved quickly and quietly over the floor of Oceana Castle. He knew he shouldn't be there, but doubted that he would be noticed. Majora was occupied, judging by the screaming and creaking of bed springs coming from above. Having spoken to Agahnim quite recently, Dark was also aware that Vaati was absent from his territory. All that needed to be done was to put two and two together, and wham -- it all equaled Majora/Vaati intercourse! Not that Dark and the others hadn't seen it coming, anyway.

Dark Link paced swiftly up a flight of carpeted stairs. Once at the top, his red eyes scanned the corridors and all the doors. He made a right down another corridor and pushed open the nearest door on the left: his destination.

Dark now found himself in a bedroom. It was dark, but still clean. The bed was made and everything was still intact. It wasn't hard to spot what he was looking for, which happened to be a traveling bag labeled "Bambi". It was sitting on a small table near a window in front of him. Dark went over to retrieve it when something caught his eye...a worn old piece of paper with a poem written on it. A sense of eerie deja vu swept over Dark as he read the words:

To smite the moonlight's lover

Thou must thwart those who are unpure

He who drains the night's day

The children of darkness will come forth

To lend aid to those true

To lay hand on the six Tools of the Gods

To help small girls find their way

Look for their red blood amongst the black

Seven heinous souls

One who reigns

Four who are weak-minded

And two who come forth to do what the gods see right

Spare the two

And leave all else to die

Unlock the door for he

Who is one, become four

Using time's key, save a boy and his lover

Then hurry to the church as the sky rains blood

Or else all will be gone for good

Dark read it over and over. At last, he dropped it with a shudder.

That poem...that was the one in my dream! Maybe it was the one in Shadow's, too! Holy shit! he thought, shaking his head in disbelief.

Dark stood motionless for a while, his thoughts racing. There was no mistaking it now -- that dream was indeed some sort of sign.

Cautiously, he began to read it again, only this time there was a part that caught his eye:

The children of darkness will come forth

To lend aid to those true

To lay hand on the six Tools of the Gods

To help small girls find their way

Look for their red blood amongst the black

Seven heinous souls

One who reigns

Four who are weak-minded

And two who come forth to do what the gods see right

Spare the two

And leave all else to die

He wasn't quite sure what it was about the part that intrigued him, but it did. Those words replayed themselves over and over again in his mind.

Dark then heard a loud scream of ecstasy sound from a few corridors away. It meant no danger, but regardless, it made him jump. Hastily pocketing the poem and snatching up Bambi's bag, Dark hurried out of the room, down the stairs, and to the entry hall of the castle where he stepped into the large, swirling, smoking, liquid-like mass on the floor that would transport him back to the Dark Mirror.

A feeling like a strong gust of wind and cold water trickling around him overcame Dark after entering the portal before he found himself stumbling out of the mirror. Still deep in thought, Dark hurried in a western direction. At last, he reached the Old Manor.

Shadow eyed Dark curiously from his spot on a couch near the door as his brother entered. He was surrounded by bags of potato chips and was wolfing them down, as one is supposed to do with potato chips...

"Dark, where were you? You were gone a while," he said through a mouthful.

Dark did not answer. He just stared back at Shadow as he stuffed himself.

"And you wonder why you're fat, eating like that," Dark Link commented.

Shadow swallowed, frowned, and looked down at his stomach.

"You really think I'm fat?"

"Well, yeah. But nevermind that..."

Dark hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"Uh...where's Bambi?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Cut the crap man, where's Bambi?"

"Chill OUT, Dark! Jeez...what's your problem? You're all stormin' in here and calling me fat --" Shadow wolfed down another handful of potato chips -- "And then you demand to know where that slave girl is. Is something wrong?"

"No -- well...I'll talk to you about it later, Shadow. Where's Bambi?" Dark asked again with a sigh.

Shadow still looked confused.

"Well, I think she's out on the top balcony or something..." he answered slowly at last.

Dark left the room, heading for the top balcony while thanking Shadow over his shoulder.

Bambi was just where Shadow had said -- out on the top balcony, looking over the moon-bathed treetops. Dark came up behind her quietly, her traveling bag in his hands.

"Ahem...excuse me..." he said quietly. Bambi turned to look at him.

"Oh...there you are... I was wondering where you were." She smiled kindly.

There was a moment of silence before Dark took a nervous breath, shifted, looked around and then back at Bambi again. He held out the bag.

"I went and got your things for you..."

Bambi took the bag gently, looking down.

"Thank you," she softly said.

Dark looked her straight in the face.

"Listen...I guess I was a dick the other day, and I'm sor --"

"No...I'm sorry. That was all my fault, Dark. I didn't have any right to accuse you of any of the things I accused you of..." said Bambi, frowning.

"No...all those things were true. I shouldn't have disrespected you like that," Dark admitted.

"Please, don't apologize! You've treated me far nicer than the others. I should have thanked you from the very beginning. I was letting my unhappiness cloud my better judgement, and I took that unhappiness out on you. That was wrong." Bambi smiled nervously, apologetically.

Dark felt his face grow hot under her gaze. Adding to his initial flustered state of being was the way the moonlight fell on her.

Holy shit, she's pretty. And her boobs are -- damn... he thought.

Bambi noticed his staring. She chuckled nervously and slowly turned back to look out at the scenery again. Dark hesitated, but then he joined her, and they looked on in silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Bambi asked.

"Umm...sure...er...what is it?"

"Do you really like working for Majora? I mean, he doesen't treat you and your brother very well... I don't mean to sound as though I were spying, but I saw him hit the two of you a couple of times... He really shouldn't abuse you and your brother just because you're younger than the others."

Dark thought over her question, searching for the best answer.

"Well, he brought me back to life. I owe it to him to work for him. I suppose some of the things he does to Shadow and I are unfair, but that's how life is," he answered, trying to make his words seem as guarded as possible. After all, they were on opposite sides of the whole good vs. evil bit.

Bambi twirled her finger around one of her pale blonde curls nervously.

"But I mean, do you like doing it? It sounds like you're just doing it out of a feeling of debt... Does he stand for the things you value?" she inquired hesitantly.

The feeling of uneasiness in the pit of Dark's stomach grew.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking..." Bambi apologized, looking away. "You just didn't seem like the type of person that belongs in a place like this. I was wondering if maybe you did or didn't... But I'm being too nosy, aren't I? I apologize..."

Dark sighed heavily. They were both picking around nervously in the conversation, neither he nor Bambi wanting another argument.

"Don't be sorry," he said. "Honestly, I don't know how I really feel about working for Majora. And I don't really have any values or morals, so the things he stands for don't really reach me in certain ways, I guess..."

"You don't have morals or values? None at all?" Bambi asked with a frown.

"I...I guess not," Dark admitted, blushing.

"Everyone does. Personally, I value friendship, family, and doing what's right." Bambi smiled. To Dark, it suddenly felt as if the cool night air had been exchanged for a desert temperature. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

Damn hormones. Fucking puberty, he thought bitterly.

"Well...can I ask you something?" he said. The words had just sort of tumbled out, and he wasn't sure he should have asked.

"Sure, ask me anything," Bambi replied.

"Well...I know Majora made you admit to being a decoy for the real Zelda... But don't you feel betrayed by your friends?"

Bambi looked out ahead at the moon and starts, a thoughtful, troubled look on her face.

"Well...it had to be done, but I can't say that I'm not hurt by it," she finally said after much consideration.

"I would be..." Dark said softly.

The two gazed at eachother for a moment, then quickly looked away again. But it wasn't long before they started talking. Both were surprised and a little unnerved by how much about themselves they revealed to eachother, seeing as they were on opposite sides of the ordeal with Oceana, but it didn't seem wrong. Dark and Bambi held a conversation that lasted for an hour, maybe more.

"Wow...we've been out here for a while," Dark said at last.

"Yeah. This is nice though. You're...a really good guy, you know. You really don't belong with Majora and the others. But that's just my opinion," said Bambi. She smiled at Dark again.

"Well, I uh...I, um...better go back in and make sure Shadow's not still eating those potato chips...don't want him to explode or whatever. It was nice talking to you... Er...good night..." Dark said, grinning awkwardly, his cheeks bright pink as he started to leave.

"Good night..." Bambi called softly after him.

When Dark had left, Bambi sighed and leaned against the railing of the balcony.

Wow... she thought. There's just something about him... He may be Dark Link, but he's nothing like Link, and he certainly isn't dark. So easy to talk to, too...

She thought about the conversation they had. She and Dark had talked about their pasts, almost everything... Their previous argument had been forgotten.

But then Bambi began to stop thinking about the conversation. Her thoughts of it were replaced by thoughts of Dark alone... And she felt her cheeks flush and her heart begin to thump.

"Hey...! Wake up! Come on, miss, wake up...!" cried a male voice.

Tetra moaned and rolled over. That voice...it had started out to faint and far away sounding, but it was growing closer, accompanied by a gentle tapping on her arm.

"Go away, Link...I ain't fuckin' you tonight. Too...tired..." Tetra muttered.

"What? Who's Link?" asked the voice.

"Huh...uh...uh...?" Tetra opened her eyes slowly and looked around.

She was on what seemed to be a sandy bank. It was apparent that wherever she was was near a beach, but wasn't actually one. The first blue sky and sunshine she had seen for so long gleamed overhead, warming her. She was no longer by a river, but instead, a quaint stream.

But then Tetra caught sight of the boy that had been touching her arm and calling out to her. Her eyes widened. He was her height, and judging by his voice and body, was a male her age. But that was about the only normal thing about him. He had blue, scaly skin, black eyes, and fish-like qualities such as fins and a fish tail coming from the back of his head.

"HOLY SHIT, IT'S DOLPHIN BOY!" she screamed in horror, leaping to her feet and stumbling backward. However, an aching pain in her head caused her to fall back. The fish boy gasped and ran to her, but hesitated when he was rather close. He blushed slightly.

"Miss, are you ok?"

Wincing from the pain, Tetra squinted up at him.

"Wha...what are you...?" she breathed.

The fish boy looked confused.

"Huh? But aren't you an Oceanan? An Oceanan would know what I am..." he said, frowning.

"I'm not an Oceanan..."

"Oh, well...I'm a zora. I guess if you've never seen a zora before, I must look pretty weird. But we are what we look: aquatic people. I don't bite or anything, don't worry." He smiled weakly, then held out a web-fingered hand for Tetra to take. Hesitantly, she accepted his offer of help. The zora boy blushed when her hand grasped his.

"I'll take you to Zora's Domain. We can get you proper medical attention there. It's this way," he said, leading Tetra forward. The whole time, he seemed genuinely nervous.

"I found you on the bank of the stream. Did you fall into the river that's a way up from here?" the zora asked.

Tetra rubbed her aching head. It took her a moment to remember what had happened previously, but slowly the memory returned.

"Yeah...I think I did..." she said.

"You're lucky to have lived...that river water is something rapid. Oh, by the way...my name is Dalit. I'm the son of the Zora king and queen's advisor."

"My name is Tetra. Er...nice to meet you dolphin b -- I mean...Dalit."

Dalit looked at her.

"Tetra...that's a pretty name." But his gaze did not linger long, for he looked quickly away in embarassment.

At last, they reached the Zora's Domain. The entry way was a waterfall that ceased its movement when Dalit approached. He and Tetra crossed into the domain. It really was a beautiful place, Tetra thought. Covered in clear blue water that gave the white stone walls and floors a blue glow... There were zoras all over, talking happily and laughing. Many stopped to look at Tetra and Dalit.

Tetra was surprised to see how peaceful the place was. Everyone was unharmed in Zora's Domain, and the sun still shone just outside its walls. But then the thought unnerved her... What if this place was like Ipoli, where everything seemed normal while in actuality everyone was posessed? Tetra realized she couldn't trust anyone here.

Oh, Link...Bambi...I wish you guys were here... she thought mournfully. What ever had become of them? Tetra had to wonder. Tetra was so deep in her self-pity that she didn't notice that she and Dalit had entered what must have been the Zora's throne room.

Three zoras looked up when they entered. Two, an elegant male and female, were seated on thrones made of white stone at the back of the room. Between them sat what appeared to be an ornate stone bowl containing three round, see-through eggs with blue spots in the middle. Tetra assumed that the male and female zora were the king and queen. They wore elegant, royal attire, while the other zoras were butt-ass-naked. The third zora was a tall, slender male standing to the left of the king's throne.

"Tetra, this is King Aquarius and Queen Kendra," said Dalit, nodding and bowing to the king and queen. They nodded at Dalit, but gazed at Tetra suspiciously. She hastily bowed.

"And this is my father and the king and queen's noble advisor, Fisher." Dalit gestured to the tall zora standing by the king.

"Dalit, what is the meaning of this?" demanded King Aquarius.

"Your Highness, I found this girl washed up on the side of the stream. She fell into the river. I am certain she is of no danger...she is injured," explained Dalit, bowing his head respectfully.

"Who is to say she is not a part of Majora's army?" Queen Kendra inquired sharply.

"You're against him too?" Tetra asked. Her heart lifted -- maybe these people were normal (not counting the fact that they were fish people) after all!

"Yes, we are very much against him! He is the one who put that monster in our lake!" boomed Fisher.

"What monster?" Tetra looked from zora to zora as their expressions darkened.

"A few weeks ago, one of Majora's followers came here. He was a man by the name of Agahnim, and he demanded that we give in to Majora. But we refused, and managed to ward him off with our powerful zora magic. But he cast a spell on our main water source, causing the ressurection of an ancient fish monster named Gyorg. Now no one is safe at that lake, and it is oh-so important..." Kendra told Tetra sadly.

"That's right," added Aquarius. He gestured to the three eggs in the bowl next to him. "These eggs are mine and Kendra's, and when they are ready to hatch, we shall have our children." Aquarius shot a loving look at Kendra before continuing. "But on the day they are supposed to hatch, zora eggs are supposed to be placed in that lake. But Gyorg is there, and we cannot... But if we can't, our eggs will die. And this may be our last chance at having children, for we had trouble conceiving..."

Tetra shook the thoughts of Aquarius and Kendra getting busy out of her head. Fish people sex was too weird to think about.

"Well, we all have something in common then," Tetra declared. "We all want Majora dead." And she told the zora nobles all of what had happened, and also told them a little bit about her background as a hero and a princess. High on the respect and interest she was receiving, she also happened to let it slip that she was the daughter of Oceana's King Arnav.

All the zoras gasped.

"So the rumors are true...! Arnav has TWO bastard daughters!" Fisher exclaimed. "It was rumoured that Pike's mother had twins and left with the other baby!"

"Yeah, and -- wait, did you call me a bastard!"

"And you're a hero out to kill Majora! You can surely help us!" Dalit exclaimed, his eyes full of admiration. His cheeks turned pink with blush again.

Kendra clapped her hands together.

"This is excellent! We'll get you some medical attention tonight, and tomorrow we'll show you the lake where the monster lives!" she announced.

Tetra gulped.

"Shit..." she murmured under her breath.