Their night of happiness over, Link and Sheik readied to head out on their individual quests. "What will you be doing this time, Sheik?" Link asked as she bundled herself back up.

"I'm going to see if I can find any more Zora survivors," he answered. "The ice won't thaw until you break the curse at the temple, but in the meantime I can at least attempt to save as many as I can. King Zora might appreciate the help."

"That's a good idea." Link unfolded and donned her new Zora Tunic, then packed the old one away along with the boots and her other tools. "Any advice for the Water Temple?"

"Yes, actually." Sheik took Link's hand, and looked her straight in the eyes. "You'll need that water tunic of course, but other than that I've heard tales of a dark force at the bottom of Lake Hylia. Make sure you have your strongest weapons with you, and that you are ready for the fight of your life."

"The king gave me this tunic when I let him out of that pink ice," Link explained, "so I guess he was thinking ahead. Do you think I need to go train some more, so that I'm prepared?"

"Hmm." Sheik looked through Link's tools, raising an eyebrow at the poacher's saw. "Maybe you should go see the carpenters stuck on the gorge into Gerudo Valley," he suggested.

"Gerudo Valley? But the bridge is broken!"

"Epona is a strong horse, she can make the jump," he assured her, before picking up the saw. "But this little saw can net you a fine weapon if you give it back to Boss Mutoh."

Link giggled. "Now why would the boss of the carpenters have a weapon?"

"They don't know the treasure they have," Sheik clarified. "The Gorons on Death Mountain are master craftsmen, Biggoron in particular. It takes years for a piece to be completed, but only days to repair one. And from what I hear, Mutoh managed to break his. Trade him the saw for the broken sword, and you can ask Biggoron to repair it for you. Then you'll have a mighty weapon to reinforce the Master Sword."

"If you say so..."

"Trust me, my love." Sheik smiled as he withdrew a deku nut. "Be careful out there..."

Nodding, Link gathered her equipment and kissed Sheik goodbye. Before leaving Zora's Fountain, Link tried out her new gear. She found the tunic and boots combination a little less annoying than the heat of the volcano, as the buoyancy of the water was a blessing for her sore muscles, but the cold was a different beast altogether. Hopefully the lake water was warmer, and the temple easier than that horrible volcano.

"Link, you've really been packing on the pounds lately..."

Link looked up from her meager dinner, eyes wide in shock. She immediately grabbed her boot and threw it at the snooty little fairy, a sharp pout on her face. "Who asked you?"

Dodging the boot as it thwacked against the ranch fence, Navi sighed. "I just don't get how you can barely eat anything, yet still be gaining weight. I mean, if it weren't for the villagers or Malon giving you food for helping them out, you wouldn't even eat at all!"

"Shut up," she growled, staring at her tummy. "You're always picking on me. Who cares if I'm gaining weight? I'm small, maybe I'm supposed to get bigger since I slept all that time."

"I'm pretty sure when you gain that kind of weight, it doesn't stay all in one place like yours is," Navi muttered to herself, dragging the boot back toward the tree Link was sitting under. "Sheik probably didn't say anything because it was dark and you weren't as noticeable, and I'll bet Malon is just being polite."

"I am NOT FAT!" Another boot sailed through the air, this time hitting its target.

"OW! Hey, stop it! Okay, I'll quit talking about your weight, geez..."

Link picked at her food, contemplating what Navi had said. She never gained weight like this as a kid, maybe this was some kind of adult thing. It was weird that the only things that were getting bigger were her breasts and her stomach, but then again all women grew breasts as an adult. Did they grow bigger stomachs too?

"Hey, when are you going to go back to the temple? You're keeping Ruto waiting."

"Huh? Oh, soon," Link answered, using her new Biggoron Sword to help stand up. After spending a week to get the sword, she had gone to the Water Temple and found Princess Ruto. The puzzles in the temple proved too challenging however, and after another exhausting week had passed, she'd only managed to unlock all the doors on the top level. "I have to be fully rested before I face off against that demon, Sheik said it was going to be the fight of my life."

"Laaazy..."

"I am NOT lazy! I'll probably head back tomorrow or the day after. You don't want me getting dizzy again by going too soon, do you?"

Navi conceded, and sat down in the grass. "No, I don't want that."

Standing on the other side of a spike wall, Link stared down a particularly annoying Like Like. "You're not getting this tunic, you slug." Using her Biggoron Sword, she stabbed wantonly through the spikes until the creature finally died, then used her hookshot to climb over the obstacle. "There, problem solved."

"Well done," Navi snorted.

"Zip it!" The next room creeped Link out. When the door locked behind her, Link realized she may have found the creature Sheik had warned her about, however the room appeared to be empty. Only a single tree in a misty pond.

"Navi, go see if anything's there."

"Nuh-uh, you're the hero."

Link sighed, and slowly approached the tree. Nothing was there, so she continued on to inspect the far door. Nothing there either, so she decided to return to the tree. When she approached it this time, however, something materialized into view.

"...Great Goddesses, you're fat."

Link jumped back as a black toned copy of herself lunged forward and slashed at her. It got in another good hit before she had enough sense to strike back, though the copy was faster and blocked the strike.

"Link, watch out! It's an exact duplicate of you!"

"Not quite, I'm nowhere near as tubby. Or slow!" The Dark Link smacked Link on the side of the head with its sword, knocking her to the ground. Link was quick enough to roll out of the way as it stabbed the ground, and countered with a horizontal slash.

"Navi, what do you mean an exact copy? How is that possible?" Link tried to block an incoming slice with her Biggoron Sword, but the Dark Link's slash cut through the block and tore a nasty gouge in her arm.

"You are defenseless with that thing! Put the butcher knife away and get your shield and Master Sword out!" Navi yelled, as Link ran from a jump strike. "Like I said, it's an exact copy and knows all the same things you know. That means it has the same weaknesses!"

Link squirmed as the Dark Link grabbed her leg and knocked her to the ground, but she had switched her weapons and was able to block its next strike with her shield. Thinking on her toes, she grabbed a deku nut and threw it at the shadow's head, stunning it enough to get a good slice in from the other side.

The Dark Link fell away in agony, but quickly sprung up to continue the assault. Link rolled to her feet and tried to swipe again, but the Dark Link was blocking at every opportunity. Then Link remembered one weakness that even the shadow wouldn't be able to overcome.

Link backed off the assault, attempting to lure the Dark Link into another jump strike. She pretended to trip so as to set it up, and as soon as the shadow started to lunge, Link rolled to her feet and threw all her weight behind a counter blow using the magic hammer. It worked, and Link connected with Dark Link's unguarded flank.

Dark Link shrieked as it took the final blow, and began sizzling away. "No, can't be... beaten... by... a... preg... ugh..." The creature faded away, and with it, the room slowly returned to normal. Exhausted from the grueling duel, Link fell back onto the ground and passed out.