It was an odd voice, definitely one I had never heard before. I could feel its relentless energy around me, calling out, demanding my attention. I didn't want to wake up, it was safe and warm in my dreams and whenever I woke up something bad happened.

"Hellllooo?" the young voice cooed. "Hey, you alive or what?"

My hair was brushed aside, a child perhaps, wondering why I still asleep. My fingertips explored and met with cold, hard stone. The floor? Why was I sleeping on the floor? Slowly, my senses began to regain their sharpness; dripping water, the taste of iron on my tongue and the smell… I could only think of one place where this pungent, stench of decay could be found.

Within seconds my sword was drawn and thrust towards the voice. I staggered to my feet. My breath dragged through my nostrils as my eyes adjusted to the surrounding gloom.

"Whoa, take a chill pill."

In all my life in Hyrule, I had battled countless monsters of all shapes and sizes. There had been dragons, stalfos, carnivorous plants, witches and dreaded redeads, but what I saw now I could not explain.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here," it called from the other side of the room. How the blue creature had managed to avoid having its head cut off I could not fathom. That strike had been at point blank range. I stared at the sight, tall and lean like a Zora but without fins, webbed feet or gills. There were a curious number of spikes protruding from its back. I suspected it to be male but I had been wrong about such things in the past.

The spiky stranger came forward holding up two gloved paws. "I'm not gonna hurt you. The name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog." He tried to smile; however, his eyes betrayed a wary glance at my sword. "I come in peace?"

I narrowed my eyes. I wasn't about to trust this hedgehog that had somehow dodged the Master Sword.

"No doubt about it, you're definitely a dude." He chuckled.

A quick survey of my surroundings proved my nose to be right. Old blood, stained the walls, rusted chains jingled from the taunting breeze of a barred window, and the skeletal remains of a hunched body lay in the far corner.

Sonic tapped his foot. "So, what's your name? Did Eggman capture you too?"

Who this Eggman was I didn't know, unless he was an underling of Ganondorf maybe, either way I didn't have time for questions. I spotted something of interest. Keeping one beady eye on the hedgehog, I strode past and retrieved my green cap.

"Er... You know, it's kinda rude not to introduce yourself, buddy when someone's told you their name."

My attempt to open the cell door proved fruitless, there had to be a key somewhere. I knelt down to check under beams, tapped randomly on the walls, lifted up a few crates and smashed them, which caused Sonic to jump out of his skin. The hedgehog liked to talk, a lot. Time to try something different.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound of steel scratching steel could never be described as pleasant, but it was necessary. Clang! Clang! Clang!

It was clear that Sonic didn't share this line of thought. His gloves clamped tightly over his pointed ears and his teeth gnashed together. Finally, the hedgehog stood in my path mid-swing causing me to freeze a bare millimetre from his chest.

"Give it a rest, that's not gonna work." He pushed me back with surprising strength for someone so small. "Look," he suggested, "let me take care of this, before you strain something."

I looked at the door there wasn't a single mark on it. It couldn't hurt to see what skills the hedgehog possessed I supposed, so I sheathed my sword. Sonic gave me a thumbs up and cheeky smile before curling into a ball and spinning on the spot. I was reminded of the Gorons that liked to spin around in a similar fashion. Round and around his body went until his quills had completely disappeared into a shiny blue sphere. The ground underneath started to smoke.

After charging, 'the spinning force' was unleashed with a terrific boom! Sonic slammed into the door full force making it light up in a shower of silver sparks. As he increased the pressure the metal screamed encouraging him to drive all his momentum forward. The hinges started to buckle and for a moment I was sure it would cave in. But then, a crackling lightning bolt appeared from nowhere and struck Sonic. The electric surge sent him flying backwards through the air as the hedgehog gave a horrendous shriek. A dozen golden rings bounced chaotically around the cell. I tried to catch one of the rings in my hands, but curiouser and curiouser, it disappeared without a trace. When I looked across to where Sonic had landed, he was lying there deathly still, my stomach turned.

Sonic had been trying to help me. He didn't deserve to die for it. My head swam with such awful thoughts as I turned him over. I shook his fragile shoulders terrified that I might snap his neck. Please wake up. By the Great Deku Tree, I don't want to mess up again, please. I closed my eyes, prayed to the Goddesses, surely, they would help me in my hour of need?

"Hey, Greeny," Sonic slurred. "Why are there flickies everywhere? Did I show that door who's boss, or what?"

By Din, Nayru and Farore… My throat felt tight as the hedgehog rubbed his temples furiously.

"Aww, were you wondered about me, buddy?"

A stupid grin spread across my face. Whether it was being referred to as Greeny or the way Sonic's spines were standing on end I couldn't be sure.

"Hey, you should do that way more often it suits you!"

I raised an eyebrow and retrieved a bottle of Lon Lon Milk from my satchel. After a quick shake, making it slosh and glug about I presented it to him. I knew from experience that if anything would make him feel better this would be it.

He sniffed tentatively at the bottle. "You wouldn't happen to have any chilidogs in there instead would yer?"

With a lot of encouragement, Sonic drank the milk and wiped away his milky moustache. "Oh yeah, that hit the spot, thanks a bunch." But then his peridot green eyes latched onto the door. "You've got to be kidding me, it's still standing?" I nodded with similar disbelief. "Must be reinforced with a force field or something. I won't be able to try that again. Hey, don't you have anything else that can bust us out?"

Brute force had achieved nothing, so next up was magic. I assembled the Fairy bow and tried to ignore the low number of arrows I had left.

"So, you just pull, aim and let rip, huh?" Sonic said as he stood on tip toe to get a better look. I took one of the arrows and began to whisper to it. "Erm, you giving it a pep talk or something?"

When the arrow started to glitter a fantastic blue, the hedgehog backed off giving me some much-needed room. He was fascinated by the whirling sound it made and the spiralling waves of lapis, azure and navy blue surrounding the tip. As I took the shot, we watched with baited breath as it streaked across the room.

The door was engulfed by the blue light and ice started to form on its frame. Unfortunately, this did nothing to open the way and it soon melted, leaving a sorry puddle on the floor. I repeated the exercise with light magic but the result was the same.

Meanwhile, mischievous Sonic had helped himself to something out of my satchel. "I've got a friend who likes hammers too," he said, "I'll have to introduce you." And without even asking he took a hard swing at the door. Unfortunately, the hammer didn't make the slightest dent either and Sonic's arms wobbled so uncontrollably that he nearly dropped the hammer onto his foot.

Not to be discouraged, I tried the longshot and the slingshot, and when these had no effect, I allowed Sonic to use the boomerang, only to have the kind gesture nearly behead us both.

"Heh, you better have this back." Sonic laughed nervously before he pressed the seemingly innocent stick back into my hands. "I choose life."

I shrugged and tucked the boomerang away. Reaching into my satchel, I felt around for the bomb bag. Although an essential piece of my kit, to use explosives in such a confined cell... I turned the dark grey orb in my hands over and over considering the risk.

Suddenly, Sonic shouted in alarm. "Bomb bot!" He tackled me to the ground trying to wrestle the bomb from my grasp. "What are you doing with a badnik like that? Don't you know they explode?"

Of course, I know they explode, it's a bomb! I just couldn't understand why he was so upset. I tried to kick Sonic away but his speed and reflexes were astounding. Again, he tried to prise the bomb from my fingers. He wouldn't give up, green eyes bored into my own and I saw genuine worry reflected in them. Finally, I stopped and relinquished the disarmed bomb for him to inspect.

Sonic took the bomb, chewing the inside of his cheek. "Huh? It isn't even a robot," he said with surprise turning it over in his paws. "Must need a light...like fireworks or something." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry bud, I had a really hard time in the Scrap Brain Zone with bomb bots when I was a kid. They kept blowing up at random and I can't help but react, you know? I bet you have things that scare you too, huh?"

I appreciated the apology even if I had no idea what a bomb bot was, and had never heard of a Scrap Brain Zone in Hyrule. Being asked such a question did make me think however. If there was one monster that did give me nightmares it had to be the redeads. I could never forget the first time I saw one, as a small boy in the Royal Family tomb. Their hollow, soulless eyes and sharp teeth hidden behind wooden masks. Their moaning cries in the darkness always made me shudder, but if I should fail to pass by unnoticed, their screams were the most terrifying sound on earth. Sonic was right; there were things that would always scare you.

"Are we cool?" he asked holding out his fist.

I looked at the fist, and then back again, was this some sort of ritual?

"It's called a fist bump."

I scratched my head.

"Okay..." Sonic rolled his eyes. "All you have to do is make a fist like this?" I complied as he bumped his fist with my own.

"Now we're cool, yeah? I've got your back and you've got mine."

I found myself warming a little to Sonic the hedgehog. He wasn't such a bad sort, even if a fist bump could not help us to escape.

Under my direction, we moved to the north corner of the room. I lit the wick, gave an over arm throw and then hastily took cover. We waited for the bomb to detonate, fingers jammed in our ears, and it was not long before a loud kaboom followed. As debris showered down from the ceiling, I held up my shield to offer us some protection. We waited awhile for the dust to settle before slowly raising our heads.

"Do you think it worked?" Sonic asked. I held up a hand with crossed fingers. "Yeah, me to."

A few seconds later and we had an answer. The door was still locked tight, as firm and unyielding as it had always been. I sighed dejectedly as our options continued to run out fast.

"If I had the Chaos Emeralds, we'd be outta here by now." Sonic banged his head against the door, his muscles were twitching. Then he looked at me, face very pale. "Heh, I don't like being cooped up for too long, start to go a little crazy."

I didn't particularly relish the fact of being trapped either. The hedgehog was struggling though, and having only travelled alone, I suddenly realised that I wasn't used to comforting others. My kokiri friend, Saria had always managed to cheer me up when I felt down. I tried to remember what she did, and then it came to me. I pat Sonic gently on the head.

Immediately he squirmed away and protested, "Hey, don't mess with the spikes. Do you know how long it takes to look this good?"

With an awkward smile, I shrugged my shoulders. Perhaps it was time for a stock take of my inventory. I crouched down and began to empty the contents of my satchel, there had to be something else we could use. After a while, the hedgehog joined me to study the contents. Again, came the questions; what's a bombchus? Why do deku nuts flash? How does the Eye of Truth work?

"What's this?" Sonic asked, pointing to a jar but I shushed him.

Suddenly there was a tinkling sound like a soft bell. "Please let me out," a tiny voice said. "I'm a fairy, trapped in here against my will! My name is Navi."

"Navi?" the hedgehog repeated.

At once my eyes grew wide, I lunged for the bottle but it was too late.

"Keeping a fairy cooped up in a bottle is not cool!" Sonic exclaimed holding it just out of reach. "I'm used to rescuing trapped animals, so I know what I'm talking about."

I couldn't let him open that bottle. I scowled at the hedgehog and tried again to snatch it back. Sonic however was far too quick for me, and dashed with exceptional speed to the far corner.

"You're too sloooow," he teased before pulling out the stubborn stopper. There was a squeak as the fairy squeezed out and then hovered in front of her rescuer.

"Hi, you okay? The name's Sonic, Sonic the ulp -"

He swallowed his words as the fairy came closer to inspect his wet black nose. Sonic watched in wonder as the little trails disappeared while the fairy danced around him.

Oh yes, this is how it all starts, very cute Navi. But I knew better.

At once there was a distinct change and the fairy's wings expanded to their full length. The pleasant soft light illuminating from the fairy transformed into an angry vibrant red.

"Horrible boy," it shrieked.

"What?" The next minute Sonic was assaulted by the fuzzy bundle. "Hey, cut it out." He put his arms up in a feeble attempt to shield himself. "Crazy fairy, I let you go, didn't I?"

I leaned back against the wall, not lifting a finger to assist. The hedgehog had brought this upon himself. With hooded eyes, I smirked as Sonic zipped from corner to corner trying to escape from the demented pixie, but speed didn't mean a damn thing if you were trapped inside a prison.

Navi struck the hedgehog on the head and poked his sides for good measure. "Crazy fairy indeed," she fumed, "what a rude brute. You're just as bad as Link." As I knew she would, having finished tormenting Sonic, the fairy flew in the opposite direction to confront me. "And as for you, Hero of Time, I can't believe you captured me in a bottle. After everything we've been through, how can you be so heartless?"

Sonic winced as he cradled his throbbing ribs. "I think I can see why."

"Shut up, Spiky," she yelled back. Then Navi turned on me. "Maybe I was a little rough on you in the Water Temple," she admitted reluctantly. "It's just we'd been stuck in there for nearly a week, and I'm pretty sure the puzzles aren't that difficult."

And here was I, just beginning to feel guilty about trapping my partner in a bottle. Deliberately, I picked the empty bottle up again and Navi gulped. "Or then again - maybe they were."

I sighed, cupped my hands together allowing her to rest in them.

"Link, I'm really sorry if I upset you. I just get mad sometimes because the Great Deku Tree is counting on us and I don't want to let him down."

But the Great Deku Tree was dead. He'd been cursed and eaten from the inside by the spider beast, Queen Gohma. And even after I'd defeated her there had been no way to save the forest guardian, so I had to watch him shrivel up and die.

"Do I really have to apologise to that?" Navi asked. I gave her a meaningful look and pointed clearly in the hedgehog's direction. She hovered for a while until finally she flew to Sonic very very slowly.

"Hey! Sonic! Listen!" she said, but Sonic flinched away. "Aww, come on, don't be like that. I only came to say sorry."

Sonic put both hands up in a defensive gesture. "Fairy dudette, seriously - stay back."

"You say the strangest of things, Spiky," Navi sniffed with disapproval. "Do you come from a faraway land?"

Sonic sighed. "Mobius, if you really wanna know and the name's Sonic, not Spiky," he added. "I'm the fastest hedgehog alive."

My fairy had always struggled with polite conversation. "Well, yes that's nice and everything..." her voice faded. Eventually, she gave up and shook her head. "None of that matters. We have to defeat Ganon before he sacrifices Princess Zelda and becomes the King of Darkness forever."

Sonic gave a confident smile. "Oh, you've got a damsel in distress situation? I can help with that." He slid over and clapped me on the back. "So, Link, this Princess Zelda, is she like a total babe?"

"Princess Zelda is a member of Hylian Royal Family, not a babe as you put it." Navi was appalled at the hedgehog's disrespect. "And I'm his Guardian Fairy. We do not require any help from the likes of you."

I didn't appreciate the direction this was taking.

"But she must be pretty, right? I mean, if you're going to all that trouble to rescue her. You got a crush on her or something?" Sonic started to laugh as my face flushed scarlet. "You sly dog."

The fairy whizzed between us. "How dare you insinuate such a thing," she snarled. "Link would never have such impure thoughts. He's Hyrule's only hope, the Hero of Time, charged with vanquishing evil wherever it may be."

"Right..." Sonic smirked. "Look Fairy Girl, hate to break it to yer, but he definitely has a thing for the princess."

"Be silent," she shrieked again. "Stop spouting such utter nonsense. We should be trying to escape," she hissed, "not standing around involved in idle chatter."

"Geez, it's not like we've been sitting here on our butts," Sonic replied. "We've tried loads of different stuff, it's just -"

But she was off again, flying higher and higher towards the barred windows leading to the outside world. Don't go up there Navi, I winced.

But there was a familiar sizzling sound, a high-pitched squeak and within seconds she returned slightly char grilled and muttering angrily under her breath. Her next target was the reinforced door; she attacked the steel, her small body smacked and bounced off it at an alarming rate. Boing! Boing! Boing!

"What the...is she always this crazy?" Sonic asked me, jabbing a thumb in her general direction. I nodded before hurrying to scoop up Navi to prevent her from being injured further.

Navi's heavy breathing echoed around the room as she gasped, "We...We have to...get out. We have to save...Hyrule." Her small voice broke as if on the verge of tears, and her wings drooped pathetically. "There must be a way. There has to be."

"Chillax, we'll get out of here, no problem," Sonic said trying to rally the disheartened fairy.

"That's easy for you to say," she sulked, cuddling into my chest. Then suddenly her head jerked up. "Hey! Have you tried the power of the Great Fairy?" she asked with a quiver of excitement, but I shook my head. "A blast of Din's Fire might weaken the barrier."

I looked around the cell uncomfortably, and this didn't go unnoticed by Sonic who came to my side. " Hey Link, what's up?"

Din's fire wasn't just any spell and I only had enough magic left for one blast. My heart felt tired and heavy. I was fed up of shouldering responsibility all the time. If this did not work, we truly would be in great trouble and it would be my fault, again. I held up the bottle, a quarter full of green liquid.

But Navi understood, a little. "That's all the magic you have left?" I exhaled deeply and nodded. "This is no time to hesitate – you still have to try."

"I'm with Fairy Dudette on this one," Sonic agreed, ignoring the withering look from Navi. "If there's a chance you should take it. I believe in you."

I tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. What Sonic didn't know was that Ganondorf had stolen the power of Triforce right under my nose and kidnapped Princess Zelda. Memories of returning to Hyrule Castle Town only to discover a burnt out, lifeless place infested with redeads. It haunted me. You don't know me, Sonic. Don't put your life in my hands because all I do is let people down. Suddenly, I felt a light bump against my fist.

"Hey, you've got this," the hedgehog said. "It isn't easy being the hero, right? Can't hang out with your friends, or do what you want. I wanted to get some rays at Emerald Beach but then I ended up here, go figure." He shrugged. "There's always someone or something that needs saving. You've just gotta do the best you can."

Perhaps he did understand what it was like after all. I turned away from the pair and walked slowly towards the taunting door. Whether this worked or not there would be no regrets. With a yell I swung my right fist across the body and punched the floor.

Meanwhile, Sonic bent low to what he guessed were Navi's ears. "Hey, what's the deal with this Din's Fire?"

"I'd have thought it's pretty obvious." She gave an exasperated huff. "But since you are unfamiliar with our ways I will explain. Din is the goddess of power who created the earth with her strong flaming arms. The Great Fairy bestowed the gift of this fire upon the Hero of Time to help in his hour of need."

Sonic thought about this before he said, "So basically it burns stuff?"

"Yes, a simplistic interpretation, but accurate." Suddenly Navi gave a loud cry, "Watch out." But Sonic had already whisked the fairy away from the wave of fire erupting from Link. Crackling flames licked the ground as they went and devoured the splintered remains of the crates smashed from before.

As he pressed his back into the corner Sonic watched in horror as the fire spread. The large wooden beams crisscrossed against the wall set ablaze one by one, and it didn't take long before the heat grew as intense. Despite the windows, thick black smoke enveloped the room. He coughed trying to clear his throat. "Keep behind me Fairy Girl, I'll protect you."

But it appeared the fairy had no interest in self-preservation. "Link," she wheezed. "Where are you?" When there was no reply she panicked and prepared to dive into the smoke.

However, two quick paws snapped shut around her body. "You can't fly in there; you'll be fairy toast."

Infuriated, Navi wriggled out of his grasp. "Unhand me, Spiky."

"No way," Sonic said firmly as he pinched her wings and dragged her back to safety.

"Link!" she yelled, "Link, answer me."

As time drew on the fate of Hyrule's hero became less certain. It was all Sonic could do to stop Navi from charging blindly into danger. His chest ached from coughing so much and he collapsed onto his knees. He could hear Navi squeaking but it didn't make any sense. His vision blurred. "I'm sorry guys, this might be it." But just as he was about to lose consciousness music began to play.

The instrument sounded like a flute and drifted through the roar of the flames. At once a loud rumbling was heard and somehow rain started to fall. There was only a light pitter patter at first but soon it came down in thick wet sheets, slowly but surely extinguishing the flames. As the last of Din's Fire died out all that remained were charred marks on the stone work. Sonic's eyes watered as he tried to focus.

"Shoot." His hands balled into fists. "Damn, that stupid door!"

Navi sneezed as she shook off the water droplets coating her wings. "Link, you're okay, aren't you?" she pleaded.

It was tempting to just leave them there, the look on Sonic's face was priceless. But cruelty was Ganondorf territory, something I couldn't abide. Stepping through the remaining smoke, I dusted down my faithful red tunic. It wasn't the first time I'd been caught in a tight spot, but from the state of the cell I'd only just stopped the fire in time.

My partner whizzed towards me, bobbing and quivering all at once in mid-air. "Thank the Goddesses..." Then she smacked me on the head. "You idiot, making me worry like that."

"Aww man, this is the worst day ever." Sonic moaned as he took off his red and white trainers and began to squeeze the water from them. He ran a paw through his limp spikes and cringed. "I mean, where did that rain even come from?"

"That would be the Song of Storms," Navi stated as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It summons the rain."

The hedgehog cocked his head to one side. "I'd rather brighten things up in here, feel some sunshine instead."

"Oh, that's easy." Navi giggled. "Link, could you play the Sun's Song?"

I retrieved the small instrument from my pocket and proceeded to give a demonstration. When I blew into the mouth piece and placed my fingers over the holes it produced different notes. At once golden rays of the sun filtered through the bars lighting up the entire room.

Navi swayed from side to side hugging herself. "See? I told you."

Sonic's attention however has been diverted towards the Ocarina of Time in my hands. I had to admit; it was a beautiful thing. The smooth curved edges and the blue surface was so polished that it reminded me of marble. Below the mouth piece was a silver band carved with the yellow triangles of the Triforce, it was more like a piece of art.

"That was awesome, know anything else?"

I smiled and obliged with another song. This tune had a much quicker tempo it was cheerful and light to the ears, and always lifted dwindling spirits.

"Saria's Song." The fairy gave a tiny sigh. "How I would love to be in the Kokiri forest instead of-"

Suddenly, there was a blast of sound, loud and raw. It didn't have the same finesse or pleasant soothing tones of the ocarina; it was electric and scratchy. My mouth gaped open as I watched Sonic fine tune a purple and yellow guitar in his paws. The curious object had three blue finger boards and red tuning pegs. I peered behind the hedgehog several times. Where in Hyrule had it come from?

"Oh this?" Sonic said. "This is Rocker." And he strummed the strings again until he was satisfied. "I'm ready to jam, can you play that awesome song again, buddy?"

The only jam I knew was the type Malon made at Lon Lon Ranch, but as requested, I brought the ocarina to my lips and began to play. Sonic listened carefully to the tune trying to work out where to place his fingers on the guitar's frets. Amazed, I heard the introduction to Saria's Song on the strange new instrument and gave the guitarist a round of applause.

Sonic bowed. "Yeah, this is how I roll."

After a few bum notes my companion mastered the song, and the result was music I have never heard since but would remain with me for as long as I lived. Navi buzzed in my ear, I ignored her, eager to hear more of the strange, scratchy sounds. I could feel my heart growing lighter and the darkness that had surrounded me beginning to clear. Since leaving the Temple of Light, I had worn nothing but a permanent frown. I'd felt like I was slowly going mad, being torn apart by the very destiny I was meant to claim.

It was only when the recital ended that Navi's words finally reached me.

"The door is open!"

Sonic snapped his fingers. "Geez, just as we were starting to have some fun." He rested the guitar against his side. "Hey, you're pretty good." He gave me a thumbs up. "Time to go I guess, Princess Zelda's waiting, right?" I nodded but glanced sadly at the guitar.

"Link, come on." Navi snapped from beyond the door, my impatient fairy had of course left the cell long ago.

It was strange, I now had the freedom I yearned for, and yet my feet didn't want to move. A silence stretched between myself and the hedgehog. Time was moving on and Princess Zelda needed my help. I shouldn't be standing around like this.

"Hey Link," Sonic said. "Wanna give Rocker a try?"

Ah, so that was it. I could barely contain my excitement as he placed the guitar into my shaking hands.

"Life's too short so knock yourself out..."

Eventually, we made our way out of the belly of the dungeon and into the bright sunshine. The pleasant green hills bloomed to burst with a carpet of colourful flowers. The fields of poppies, daffodils and purple peonies could be seen for miles around. We walked together for a time, listened to the birdsong until at last Sonic decided to part ways.

"Been a blast, Link. Good luck with rescuing the princess and everything."

Shyly, Navi replied, "We wish you every success in your own endeavours too, Sonic Hedgehog."

"Aww, thanks Fairy Dudette." Sonic smirked and held out his fist for one last fist bump. "Well, be seeing yer." And with that, he took off in a burst of super speed which nearly blew Navi away.

She shouted after him, "Irresponsible hoodlum!"

I continued to watch in silence until the hedgehog had disappeared over the crest of the furthest hill.

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" Navi asked.

Taking the Master Sword in hand, I shrugged. Perhaps we might meet again someday, who knows?