Hey, I must apologise for the delay... I've been busy...

Thank you to the following WONDERFUL people:

Linkofazeroth, harrypotterfan, BlackRose, Sheik's twin, Squirt Saphire, and blondie91.

Read and review, please!

To Find The Future, Find The Past

Chapter Thirty Five

The Third Link in a Chain

"Wow, it's hot in here!" Link moaned, wiping a corner of his tunic over his sweatting forehead. They had just arrived at Death Mountain Crater, with Darunia's help, of course. The volcano hadn't erupted for several centuries, and the pressure buildup was getting worse by the minute. The Goron Tunics that they had been given did not help much against the heat, either.

"Stop whining." Impa commanded, irritated, "We have to get this over and done with. The sooner we get started, the sooner we get out."

"Actually, Impa," Daruina pointed out, "I think you should stay behind. No one but the Sage of the Temple and the Hero should enter. It's probably too dangerous."

"I'm coming." Impa stated, but Link agreed with Darunia.

"Impa, he's right." Link spoke up, "Besides, we need you in top form for your Temple." Impa stopped dead. She hadn't thought of that.

"Alright." She agreed, "But I expect you to be in and out quickly. Even with the tunic, you won't last long in this heat." Link nodded, and they went their separate ways. Impa headded back to Goron City, and Link and Darunia headded to the Temple.

Link came to the ladder first. He cautiously put his foot on the first rung, and slowly descended. Stragely, as if by magic, the metal ladder was cool, not hot. Link expected to see big red welts when he took his hands off the ladder, but they looked normal.

He made his way to the ground without incident, with Darunia not far behind. Unlike the Crater outside the Temple, the temperature inside was much cooler. This surprised Link, as they were in the middle of the lava pit.

"The ancient ones built this place to keep out the heat." Darunia looked around proudly, "If I may say so, it truly feels welcoming." Link looked at Darunia as if he were crazy.

"Well, if you say so." Link muttered, but Darunia continued.

"Yes, I believe I shall stay here after our little adventure-- Link! Look out!" Link felt something sharp pierce his arm, and he blacked out. The last thing he saw was something that looked like a dragon fly towards them. He tried to focus, but lost the battle, and fell into unconsciousness.

REMAINS OF LON LON RANCH

Linn, Nabouru and Ruto hauled the chest up out of the ashes, and set to trying to open it. They tired every way they could think of, and they still hadn't opened it. They had tried bombs, arrows to pick at the lock, Nabouru's hair pin, and many other various methods besides. The three of them stood around, trying to figure out a way to open it.

"I got it!" Ruto said after a few minutes.

"What?"

"The Master Sword!" She blurted excitedly, "The Master Sword should be able to cut through the lock!" Linn looked at Nabouru.

"It's worth a try." She shrugged. Linn also shrugged, and unshethed his Master Sword. He directed a substantial amount of his energy to the blade, and lunged it towards the lock. There was a 'ching'ing sound, and nothing happened. Linn, frustrated, kicked the chest with all his might.

"Ouch!" Linn hopped around, but stopped when he heard a click. He leaned over the chest, and lifted the lid. It came open without any effort.

"Weapons..." Nabouru looked over his shoulder, "Hey, I recognise that!" She pointed to a pair of silver-plated gloves, "Those are the treasure of the Spirit Temple!"

Linn, intrigued, reached into the chest. He had just wrapped his fingers around one of the objects, before half of them faded from sight.

"What in the name of the Triforce was that?" Ruto yelled in fright. Nabouru, though, looked worried.

"The beginning of a new quest is marked by the disappearing of old weapons..." She muttered.

"What was that?" Linn looked over his shoulder at the Gerudo.

"Part of an ancient Gerudo saying." She told them "'The beginning of a new quest is marked by the disappearing of old weapons'. It's supposed to ease the women's hearts when they must let go of their lovers in the towns." Linn arched an eyebrow skeptically, but chose not to say anything. He looked inside the chest, and pulled out some familliar-looking objects. With a smirk, he pocketed them.

OUTSET ISLAND

"Who are you?" Zel demanded, not letting go of the pirate named Tetra.

"My name is Link." He said, sounding very worried, "Now, I would thank you to kindly let go of my wife."

Zel was so shocked by those statements that she dropped her hold on both Tetra, and her weapon. Tetra then stooped low, knocked her off her feet, picked up the sword, and aligned it to strike a fatal blow. Just before the weapon made contact, it was knocked out of her hand by a dart.

Tetra looked around wildy for the source of the dart, and her eyes settled on Sheik. She was so shocked that she fell over her own feet, and crawled over to her husband. He stood in front of her, and drew his sword.

Sheik blinked in surprise. His sword looked so familliar... It looked like Linn's sword. But... wasn't Linn's sword the Master Sword?

"Where did you get the Master Sword?" Sheik asked, cocking her head to the side. Link blinked in surprise, then regained his fighting stance, with Tetra still crouched pathetically behind him.

"What's it to you?" He demanded, a murderous glint is his eye. Sheik got worried, and put her hands up to show that she meant no harm.

"We have no wish to fight." She reasoned, "If your wife had've just answered our question, we wouldn't have been in this situation. Please. We are lost, and are trying to get home."

"Is that true?" He asked Tetra, who was still behind him. She hung her head, and nodded. He shook his head in disappointment.

"How many times have you gotten yourself into these situations? Twenty, in the past moon?" He asked his wife. She looked up in outrage.

"They should have just answered mine. I still don't know who they are!" She wailed.

"Well, you know our names, what are yours?" Link eyed them with caution. Sheik, annoyed, transformed back into Zelda. She noticed that they tensed when she transformed.

"I am Zelda." She put out her hand to shake. Link blinked at it, and then took it, and pressed the back of it to his lips.

"Zelda, you say?" He asked, and then turned to speak to Tetra, "Do you think this is a coincidence?" Tetra shook her head. Zelda was just about to ask what, when Dark Linn introduced himself.

"My name is Link, too." He stood off a little to the side, "But I am known as Dark Link. However, these girls call me Dark Linn, so call me that." Link and Tetra were now scared beyond belief.

"My name is also Zelda, but call me Zel." Zel did not give Link time to kiss her hand. In fact, she did not even offer it. She gave the pair of them a small curtsey, and stood straight.

"So... we have Zelda, Dark Linn, and Zel?" Tetra rattled off, and they nodded, "OK, next question. Where are you from?" Zelda, Dark Linn and Zel looked at each other nervously.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Zel said eventually.

"Let's just say we are not of this dimension." Zelda put in. Link and Tetra seemed to know that that was as close as they were going to get to an answer.

"Very well, I don't find that so hard to believe." Link shrugged.

"Why not?" Zelda asked, intrigued by his tone.

"Well, when you discover a whole kingdom underwater at the age of eleven, nothing much surprises you any more." Zelda was just about to open her mouth, when another person came through the fissure.

"Big Brother," The young girl said, "Grandma wants you and Tetra back at the house to help... Oh, hello, my names Aryll." She said, noticing the three of them standing there.

Alarm bells went off in Zelda's head. It seemed that it was not only names and appearances that were similar across dimensions, but also relatives as well. The Link from home also had a sister called Aryll.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Aryll." Zelda said pleasantly.

"You are all welcome at our house, I think. I'm sure Grandma won't mind having more of Link and Tetra's friends around." The girl said, and bounded off down the path. Zelda arched her eyebrow at the bouncy girl.

"Come on, then." Link said, "If you're gonna be here, you need to change. You'll stick out badly if you wear that." Zelda, Zel, and Dark Linn looked at each other, and followed the new Link and his wife through the fissure.

DEATH MOUNTAIN

Linn, Nabouru, and Ruto made it to the base of Death Mountain without much of a hitch. The only real problem were the Red Tektikes.

"Damn... These... Things!" Linn shouted, as he fought with the bouncing monsters, "I... Hate... Spiders!" He stabbed the final creature in the eye, and it died on the spot. He used a rag to wipe the green blood off the blade, and sheated it. They continued up the summit, until they came to Goron City.

"Um..." Ruto said, as if only just remembering something, "I'm a Zora..."

"So?" Linn asked, not stopping.

"So I can't go into the Crater. Unless someone wants fried fish-Sage for dinner." She blurted out, "I don't fancy cooking, thank you!" Linn rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure you can stay in the city." They continued their way up the mountain, until they came to Goron City. Entering it, they saw Impa on the ground floor.

"Impa!" Linn called out to her, waving.

Well? What did you think? I had a hell of a time writing it... :groan: I hate writer's block...