A/N: So I had made plans to hoard this chapter for a little while longer so I could skate along at my own pace in writing this but then I saw how happy everyone was that I was back and how many of you liked the last chapter or thought it was funny and so I'm here to deliver the second, funnier half of that chapter. Thank you all so much for your kind words!

Important information: Just a reminder for you all (since I've been gone for so long that some people may have forgotten): when the ". . . . ." happens, it's a perspective switch, and the narration changes from one Link to the other. So if the chapter starts with TP Link as the main subject, and those multiple dots happen, it becomes OoT Link's perspective.

Twilight Princess Link's perspective.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Old Hyrule

Unfortunately, gaining those skills did indeed take a while. Link did eventually become a notable opponent to the Hero of Time and managed to win several games, earning himself a bag full of Bombchu and several purple Rupees. After he proved himself at Bombchu Bowling, the other Hero had lost interest in the shop and scurried off outside, forcing Link to go chasing after him with prizes in hand.

The runt didn't stop sprinting even as they darted past rows of houses and over a drawbridge, instead continuing along through Hyrule Field. The Hero of Twilight noticed that the field itself seemed to have remained relatively the same across seven years. It appeared Ganondorf had only really terrorized the towns, what a cretin.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Link chased after the younger Hero, heading south towards Lon Lon Ranch. The Hero of Time didn't even cast a backwards glance at him as he sprang past a lone tree and thundered up the hill leading to the entrance of the ranch.

Link slowed down as he walked into the ranch, scarcely managing to catch the other Hero disappearing into the door of the building on the right—the place they had met Malon as an adult. The Hero of Twilight followed him inside and was greeted by the incessant mooing of the animals there. At least the cows were eager to see him again. Part of him wondered what would happen if he transformed into a wolf and spoke to them.

The Hero of Time distracted him by approaching the individual who appeared to be Ingo seven years previous. As expected, the ranch hand was complaining about how he, the great and hard-working, should be in charge of the ranch. The other Hero just regarded him with wary, knowing eyes, before skipping over to a cow and rattling off Epona's Song on his Ocarina.

Link had to do a double-take at the cow as it mooed loudly at his friend and began to actually talk to him. His eyes widened as his friend had a conversation about the melody before the shrimp accepted a bottle of fresh milk. The Hero of Twilight stared at his friend with a bewildered expression as the child returned to him.

"What?" the Hero of Time asked, seeing Link's face.

"Why does the cow…speak…?" Link inquired.

"Because I played Epona's Song for him." The other Hero gave Link his own curious stare, as if to ask why this would be surprising. He seemed not to realize that his answer raised even more questions. "Anyway, let's go run around outside!" He dashed for the door, leaving a thunderstruck Link to trail after him.

The pair went to check up on Talon in the building opposite them, entering a room filled with clucking and squawking Cuccos. Link got smacked in the head by one of the birds as it jumped and flew past him. He spat the feathers out of his mouth and adjusted his hat as his friend was informed by Talon that Malon was currently outside. The pair proceeded back outside after the Hero of Time declined a game with the ranch owner.

"I've already won anyway. He said I can come work there when I grow up," the other Hero explained before he began to scamper off towards the large pasture.

Link looked out at the expanse, noting the absence of the gates and fences he had grown accustomed to when he and his friend had been imprisoned there. Horses galloped freely around the track where the Hero of Time had raced Ingo. In the very center of the pasture, enclosed in the only fence—which still had a large opening for the horses to go as they pleased—stood a young girl with vibrant red hair. She was singing, her voice echoing all around the pasture and attracting the attention of a very small and adorable sorrel foal.

"Malon!" the Hero of Time called, racing over to her and spooking what Link guessed was baby Epona. The young Hero whipped out his Ocarina and played the horse's song for her, which called her back to him and caused her to start pushing him away from Malon like some kind of game. He patted her muzzle before having a short conversation with his redhead friend about how the horse liked him.

Link had just managed to get close to little Epona, even playing the song himself to make sure she didn't dart, as his friend shot past to leave for their next destination.

"Come on, Link!" the young Hero called.

Link patted Epona, fluffing her spiked mane and baby-talking her for a bit as he ignored his friend. This horse was too cute for him to not meet her. It felt like an eternity since his own Epona had been this small; he hadn't realized how much he missed her being tiny.

"LINK!" Navi shouted at him from the very entrance of the ranch.

"She's like the size of your wolf form," Midna noted from his shadow, also apparently ignoring the other Hero's questing.

"Still want to talk to me?" Link asked her quietly.

"Later, when we have more time." She scrutinized the horse some more, returning to her previous topic. "I have found my new steed."

"You could always ride Epona with me when we get back home," Link whispered under his breath as he waved farewell at both young Malon and her precious horse. He began to chase after his friend.

"Sure, set the tiny imp on the horse that's twice your size. I bet I'll look great."

"I bet you're right," Link teased as he exited the ranch and spotted the tiny green cap of his friend weaving east. He did his best to increase his pace, trying to catch up with the Hero of Time. Why did children have to be so fast?

"Any ride would be good right about now," Midna said, voicing his thoughts. "Your Spinner is fastest if you have the rails for it, but I guess as a rancher you prefer your horse."

"Why does Epalon have to be in the future and not the past?" Link growled in agreement as he gained on his friend. He only managed to catch up to him at the entrance to the Lost Woods, following the other Hero past the towering trees and into the hollow fallen log that led the way to the Kokiri Forest.

Link could see the excitement on the Hero of Time's face as they entered the village; his friend was happy to be home, and even happier that everyone would finally remember him. As soon as they walked into the central part of the forest, someone called out to the other Hero.

"Oh, you're okay? You didn't leave the forest after all, did you? Huh, who's that with you?" the two turned to see the kid, a young boy unfortunately cursed with a noticeably large nose, and strawberry-blonde bangs so long they hid his eyes from view. The Hero of Time evidently struggled to contain his excitement. He giggled before running through the village, which Link realized was now completely devoid of any monster presence.

So that's why he was so angry with them being there when we came here, seven years later, Link understood. I was also furious with the presence of monsters in my own village, when I returned there after Midna warped me from Zelda's castle for the first time and sent me home. He looked around, spotting children scattered throughout the expanse and enjoying themselves. Each one was accompanied by a glowing fairy, making them easy enough to spot. Some were giving him confused looks, so he decided it would be wisest not to leave his friend in case they started asking questions.

A blonde girl with a green headband called out to the younger Link and informed him that Saria was looking for him. Another kid standing beside a house drew the smaller Hero's attention, and as he tried to ask him how he was doing, he got sucked into a never-ending conversation about how cool his Slingshot was.

Children really love slingshots, don't they? Link mentally chuckled to himself, remembering his days in Ordon before he had been sent on his quest. They seemed like an eternity ago…

Pushing those thoughts aside, he followed his kid friend up a hill opposite them, approaching a kid with his hands clasped behind his head, looking relaxed. Behind him stretched a maze of wooden fences, with a tiny tunnel in the wall Link figured his shoulders would be too wide to fit through; maybe if he transformed into a wolf and became more long and thin, he could just barely squeeze through it.

His friend began a conversation with the Kokiri boy, asking if the other kid had missed him. Instead, all he got was an explanation on how to jump off a cliff and roll to avoid taking damage. It seemed pretty useful, but the Hero of Time decided that since everything was okay with this friend of his, it was time to move on. He darted into the house to their right, which Link followed him into, but the boys enjoying the house began a lengthy conversation about how to do things.

"Ugh, the Know-It-All Brothers," the little Link commented under his breath as he nodded along to what they were saying. He grabbed Link's hand, politely excused himself, and dragged them both outside again. "Nothing's changed here; they still think I have no idea what I'm doing. I already know how to look around: use my eyes, duh."

"It's my job to tell you want to do," Navi agreed.

"Yeah, like that time you told me how to open a door."

She seemed to spark slightly, dive-bombing the Hero of Time's head and disappearing into his hat so he couldn't brush her away. "It was for your own good."

"I could have figured out how to open a door!"

Link chuckled, causing Navi to fly out of the other Hero's hat and mimic the Hero of Time in giving the Hero of Twilight an unamused stare.

"What's so funny?" the two asked in unison, to which Link just shrugged and followed them towards the eastern part of the village. A young girl was sitting on top of the red fabric suspended like a porch roof over the entrance of the largest building in the village.

"Hey!" the younger Link called out to her. "Have you seen Saria?"

"Mido might know something about Saria's whereabouts," she called back as she kicked her dangling feet.

"Is Mido out in the forest?" Link asked her, remembering where he had met the village leader seven years afterwards.

Although the girl looked at him skeptically, she still answered his question, probably because she knew the shrimp standing beside him. "I think Mido is sulking in one of the houses around here."

"Thank you!" the Hero of Time called, before running underneath her and entering the building.

Link followed wordlessly, allowing his friend to do all the talking and show all the enthusiasm. He took in the new environment, studying the shelves stacked with items of all kinds. A Kokiri sat behind the counter, manning what Link assessed as a shop. Another Kokiri stood to the left, holding her hands in front of her as she spoke to the fun-sized Hero of Time.

"If you lose your shield, will you come back?" she asked, concern ebbing away at her voice. Link could tell she was quite concerned for her friend.

As the duo exited the building and continued heading to the east side of the village to talk to the girl who stood in front of another path, the Hero of Twilight felt it appropriate to ask a question to his companion.

"Why do they all speak as if you haven't left? While I recognize that you've returned to the past, you have left your village; that reality has not been reversed."

"It's because Kokiris can't leave the forest," Navi explained, hanging back with Link as her own Hero spoke to the girl ahead. "If they do, they die. They can't survive without the guardian of the forest."

"Oh…" Link responded. Well, that explained everything. He didn't pursue the matter further, instead accompanying his friend back toward the entrance of the village, before stopping at the house where the kid had told the Hero of Time about how cool the Slingshot was. They entered the building, which had a raised platform and a royal red carpet leading to the stage. Mido, self-proclaimed boss of the Kokiri stood there, sneering down at the young Hero before flinching and staring bewilderedly at Link standing beside him.

"Link, who's that?! How did an outsider get into the village?!" the Kokiri asked.

"He walked in," the Hero of Time answered in an intentionally vague way, before changing subjects. "I want to see Saria. Where is she?"

Mido glared at him before replying in a snotty tone, "If you're looking for Saria, she's in the Lost Woods, as usual." There seemed to be a very harsh bite to his words, as if he hated having to give away this information, especially to the young Hero.

Inconsiderate, Link thought, but he remained silent.

"Don't tell me you don't know where that is!" Mido snapped at the Hero of Time, seeing that neither Link had made any attempt to leave yet. "The entrance is up on the cliff overlooking the village! I know you'll get lost! Don't worry, you'll just end up back at the entrance!" He shot Link a warning stare, as if to say, He might not, though. Mido looked away from them dramatically, sticking his ugly nose in the air and snorting a "Harumph!"

This kid has way too much anger for someone living in a peaceful forest, Link thought as they left the house.

"Everyone still knows me!" the Hero of Time celebrated as he began skipping towards the steep wall covered in ivy. He began to climb up, with Link at his side. "Let's go see Saria now! I'm sure she'd love to meet you!"

Link smiled approvingly as they entered the forest. He began looking around at the scenery, surprised that nothing had really changed in seven years. His friend took the paths at a leisurely trot, allowing the pair to wander through together. They did not deviate from the paths, paying careful attention to the melody of Saria's Song floating through the air and walking through whichever fallen log the sound could be perceived through most.

"So tell me about Saria," Link said, remembering how much she meant to his friend. All the Kokiris seemed to know her, and weren't at all surprised that the Hero of Time would be looking for her. Mido himself had seemed to view her with great respect, enough to let Link through the Lost Woods seven years later. But Link himself had never met her, and he had to admit he was quite curious.

"She's the greatest person ever!" the Hero of Time decided. "She said she knew I was different, but that never stopped her from always playing with me. She's really smart and really nice, and she's always believed in me. When I had to leave the forest because of the Great Deku Tree, she gave me her spare Ocarina—the one you're holding." At those words, he seemed to freak out for a moment before turning to Link with a wild expression on his face. "Don't let Saria know I let you borrow it from me!"

Link pulled the borrowed Ocarina from his inventory and held it out for his friend to retrieve. "Would you like me to temporarily return it to you for the time being, then?"

The Hero of Time eagerly snatched it out of his hands and fished out the Ocarina of Time. "We'll have a temporary trade, so that I don't have to explain why I'm holding two Ocarinas."

Link accepted the Ocarina, feeling partly anxious about holding a royal treasure that he knew didn't belong to him whatsoever. Even so, he still felt a strong urge to tease his friend about it.

"You know you'll never get this back from me now, right?" he asked.

The Hero of Time gave him the evil eye. "Yeah we'll see about that, won't we?" he replied. "If you don't give it back I'll shoot you with my Slingshot."

Link whipped out his own. "Is that a competition?"

Navi sighed dramatically at the two boys horsing around in the middle of the Lost Woods for no other reason than to prove they could. Even so, the Hero of Time disregarded her, unable to hide his expression of confusion at the fact that Link had his own Slingshot.

"Where did you get that?" the younger Link asked.

"I bought it," the Hero of Twilight answered.

The Hero of Time snorted. "Fine then, I'll just conquer you with my Boomerang!" He brought out the curved wooden tool, which was inlaid with a diamond-cut ruby set in gold, and had ink bands of green and yellow at both ends.

Oh kid, you're about to find out how truly mistaken you are, Link thought, reaching into his own pouch and revealing his own weapon. It looked like a pair of wings, with one capped in a green band and bound to the other with a larger joint. A pale teal diamond-cut stone of his own was embedded there as well.

Wind began to arc up Link's arm as the Fairy of Winds began to empower the Gale Boomerang. She would probably be disappointed in him for using her as an example, but in that moment he couldn't bring himself to be concerned about it. Vibrant green leaves flew all around his weapon, and he flicked it forward, drawing his friend's hat off and catching it in the gust.

"Are you sure it will be a match for me?" Link asked as his tool began to arc back, and he retrieved both it and the Hero of Time's hat.

The younger Hero snatched his hat back, but he had an incredulous expression. "Where did you get that from?!"

"Dungeon."

"How do you have access to all the same tools as me? I can't use them as an adult; why can you?!"

"Because I'm better."

The Hero of Time snorted. "Yeah, but I have a hammer."

"Which you can't use as a child." He pulled out his Ball and Chain. "But I can still use my own, better weapon."

"Well I've got sticks!" the Hero of Time said, far more dramatically than should have been necessary, considering what he was talking about. Who got that excited about sticks? Other than the dogs in Castle Town, of course. Even so, the fun-sized Hero pulled out a giant stick the size of a herder's staff.

Link nodded, feigning being impressed. "Truly fearsome."

"I can light stuff on fire with them!"

Link pulled out his Lantern, holding it over the stick and setting it on fire.

"Why do you have a better version of almost every one of my weapons?" the Hero of Time demanded. He fumbled around his inventory for a moment before pulling out a peapod with multiple diversely colored peas. "Do you have Magic Beans?"

"What do they do?" Link asked.

"I can plant them and they grow into those massive flying plants."

"No but suddenly I wish I did. Then I could levitate away from you and become master of flying."

"Pff, you have to have a plant for that," Navi laughed mockingly, before flapping her wings dramatically beside him and showing that she didn't need any vegetable assistance to levitate away from both of them. If only Link's friends knew about Midna; she would have just used her Twili magic to drift past all of them. The competition would only get better with her presence.

"And I've also got this, which is better than your dumb lantern," the younger Hero said, distracting Link from his thoughts as he pulled out a transparent crystal with a small orange sphere glowing in the center of it. Despite Navi's protest that he shouldn't waste magic unnecessarily, the Hero slammed his fist to the ground, crystal in hand.

An explosion of fire caused Link to yelp in an undignified manner as a sphere of fire twisted all around him and knocked him to the ground, singing his permanently angry eyebrows. He rubbed his face as the flames sputtered out a great distance away, patting the flames out from his tunic as he got to his feet before pushing his friend back with the Dominion Rod.

"Get away from me," he decided.

"What in Hyrule is that?!" his friend asked, returning the crystal to his inventory and staring at the steel blue tool.

Link quickly put it away and hopped onto his Spinner, gliding away dramatically. "Bye." Because he had no tracks, the Spinner slowed down significantly, but he was only messing around anyway.

The Hero of Time walked alongside him. "You have a giant top? But you're an adult!"

"I'm a Blade Trap, see ya later." He launched the spikes of his Spinner to prove his point and gain a miniscule burst of speed.

Navi bounced up and down before turning yellow and zipping over to him. "Blade Trap," she confirmed. "Appears in various areas. It's a trap with sharp blades. Some are triggered by nearby intruders, while others follow a set path."

Link laughed so hard he fell off his Spinner. "You have a sense of humor?" he asked, retrieving his tool and returning it to its pouch.

The fairy didn't answer but she seemed pleased enough with herself.

"What's the coolest weapon you have?" the Hero of Time asked, staring intently.

"This," Link said, pulling out his trusty Fishing Rod.

The Hero of Time shrieked. "WHERE DID YOU GET ONE OF THOSE?!"

"My friend made one for me."

"I have to rent my own!"

"Then rent one and let's go fishing sometime."

Navi knocked into Link. "Alright boys, we've had enough fun here. Let's go see Saria, like we came here for."

Both boys quieted down, listening for the melody that drifted through the forest. After exiting the main maze, they found themselves in the smaller maze that was once filled with those ugly pig monsters. Now there were only tiny nuisances firing nuts at the pair, but they were easily dispatched by both Heroes using their Slingshots in unison and continuing along the path.

"Hey Link, you want to be able to use the flame technique, right?" Navi asked as they began ascending the stairs leading to the area near the Forest Temple.

"Yes," Link answered immediately. Of course he wanted to be able to set off giant fire explosions. Who wouldn't?

Navi landed on her own Hero, drawing his attention. "Why don't we take him back to Hyrule Castle and help him meet the fairy so he can get the technique himself too?"

"Sounds good. We'll do that on our way back to the future," the Hero of Time agreed. He reached the top of the area, welcoming them back to the location where Sheik had taught him the Minuet of Forest. Nothing looked different. The giant dais was still in the grass nearby, and one of those talking statues that looked like the kind Link howled at back home was on the opposite side of the area. In front of them, the stairs leading to the Forest Temple were still crumbled and completely unusable.

A young girl sat on the single tree stump beside the debris, playing her Ocarina song. Short green hair curled around her long elf ears, long enough to fall to the shoulders of her dark green turtleneck shirt that she wore beneath her tunic. She stopped playing as the Hero of Time approached her, opening her vibrant blue eyes and looking up at him.

"Saria," he said softly, his voice shaking like he almost couldn't believe she was right there again.

"Link?" she asked, before spotting the Hero of Twilight hanging back slightly. "Who's that with you?"

The other Hero looked back, before eagerly beckoning Link to come join him. "This is my friend. His name is Link too, isn't that cool?"

Saria smiled at him.

"I found him on my journey, and we're friends too!" the young Hero said, as if Link were some convenient item he had located in a dungeon. He gestured to Saria, his eyes locking with the Hero of Twilight. "Come say hello, Link!"

"Hello there," Link told her.

"Hello!" she replied.

The Hero of Time looked between them before returning to Saria and saying, "I really missed you, Saria. The quest was getting really hard."

"I missed you too," she told him, running her fingers over her Ocarina. "Remember, when you want to hear my voice, play Saria's Song. You can talk with me anytime…"

He can talk to her by playing a melody she taught him? Link wondered. That information seemed very important.

"Well, you need to go finish saving the world so you can come back and play with me!" Saria told the Hero of Time. She pushed him playfully away.

"Okay then, see you later, Saria!"

"Take good care of Link for me, Mister," she told Link as he began to follow his friend a short distance away.

"I will," Link told her.

He only reconsidered his promise later, after he found himself once again being dragged all over Hyrule. His friend, having spoken to everyone and excitedly enjoying everyone recognizing and remembering him, had decided the best thing to do would be to visit the other locations of Hyrule that were in ruins in the future. He led Link through a small body of water in the Lost Woods, causing them to stumble out near the giant waterfall entrance to Zora's Domain.

As Link racked his brain to figure out how that one worked, they had already parted the waterfall and began to explore the Domain. Nothing really looked too different, other than the fact that everything was no longer icy and Zoras were wandering around aimlessly everywhere. They didn't really look like the Zora's from Link's own time, and he had a hard time getting over the fact that most of them were nude. One of them thanked the younger Link for his help in saving Jabu-Jabu, whoever that was. A different one told him that he was all Princess Ruto would talk about, which caused the smaller Hero to begin stealthily sneaking off.

Link only really enjoyed the place when the Hero of Time had gone upstairs to talk to King Zora and was spotted by a small fish-girl standing right beside him. The Hero had paled and made like he was about to run for the exit, but she just giggled at him and asked if her most precious possession had come in handy.

The Hero of Time began to slink off towards the giant waterfall, and Link's day only got better because the shrimp wasn't really paying much attention to him—too concerned with that small fish-girl. So Link pushed him off the waterfall.

"That was my job," Midna said from beside him as the little Hero fell into the water below, howling some angry words at him all the way down.

"I'm always doing your job for you," Link said with a smirk. "You're welcome." He jumped off the falls too.

The severe scolding by Link's mom-fairy wasn't as fun, but they shrugged off the encounter reasonably quickly afterwards. The little Hero guided them to the westernmost part of Hyrule, the sun setting on the horizon as they weaved past dead trees, shrubbery, and boulders. They crossed a sturdy wooden plank being used as a bridge, with the little Hero firing his Slingshot at a Gold Skulltula on the wall underneath a small trickling waterfall, and using his Boomerang to retrieve it.

They halted in front of a large wooden bridge with massive wooden beams suspending a flag between them, adorned in Hylian Link couldn't read. A Cucco fluttered past him, but he paid little attention to it as his friend ran up to a very pretty dark-skinned redhead standing guard at a metal gate at the opposite end of the bridge. She had a large, suspicious smile plastered across her face as the tiny Hero of Time approached her, and as Link joined his friend he caught sight of multiple other female guards patrolling the area.

"The Gerudo's Fortress is located beyond this gate," she told the pair. "Kids like you have no business there."

The pair turned around, both somewhat grumbling under their breath about how unfortunate that was.

"You're not even a kid," the Hero of Time told him.

"She seems to have deluded herself into believing I am," Link replied.

"Well, whatever, I guess now we go visit the Gorons."

The journey was unnecessarily long, but the two managed to arrive in Kakariko by morning. Link noted the absence of several houses he had seen in the future, as well as the presence of multiple armored soldiers who either told the time or asked needless questions. The pair passed by the gate guarded by a soldier wearing a bright yellow fox mask, before making their way up the hill guarded by Tektites but no boulders.

Convenient, Link thought.

The visit with the Gorons was a little more fun than the one with the Zoras. Most of the Gorons talked about how much they admired the little Link and called him Big Brother. Link snickered at that one, considering that his friend was smaller than most of the Gorons, but he didn't say anything about it. Other Gorons mentioned a red stone, with one of them expressing the strange desire to eat it and then complaining when the Hero of Time told him no.

"He's talking about the Goron's Ruby, a priceless treasure," the other Link explained. "You saw it in the Temple of Time, remember?"

Their visit ended with Darunia, who surprised Link because his tiny friend had told him, "Watch this," before playing Saria's Song for the Goron leader. Link shot back as the leader began dancing wildly, and the little Hero snickered at the Hero of Twilight, before both of them began to make their way back down the mountain.

"I think we'll stop by Kakariko, and once I've checked in on everyone there, we'll go back to Castle Town," the Hero of Time suggested, their journey having finally exhausted him. "We'll visit the Great Fairy and get Din's Fire for you, but then we'll go seven years forward again and save the Zoras."

"Are you certain you will be ready to go back?" Link asked him. "We can stay in the past for any length of time you wish."

"I think I'll be ready, yes," the Hero of Time answered. "Now that I know we can come back to the past whenever we want, I'm not too worried. If I ever miss home, I can always see it again." He turned to Link, a serious expression his face as they walked back into Kakariko. "We will save Hyrule from what Ganondorf has done to it. We'll save everyone, future and past!"

Link smiled. "I'm glad you've returned to your fiery self."

His friend set off to talk to every person there. He first ran into every house, listening to people's stories about the great Impa, or getting nagged by individuals not too keen on strangers walking into their houses whenever they pleased. The pair also talked to four carpenters running around aimlessly, one seeming awfully suspicious for expressing his curiosity about what life would be like as a thief. Their boss himself wouldn't stop shouting at everything that moved and breathed, telling both Links that the carpenters were all absolutely worthless.

He's not very polite, Link had decided as the pair walked up a flight of stairs and entered a door below the massive windmill, walking into a strange location neither one knew what to make of. In the very center of the room, a large circular disk with a column rising out of it spun slowly in a circle, and four low walls all pointed to it. At the opposite end of the room, across the giant disk, a man played some strange musical instrument Link had never seen before, and a unique melody drifted through the air.

"Last location, and then we go back to Castle Town," the Hero of Time decided as he stepped onto the spinning disk and marched across it towards the guy.

Link stepped onto the moving disk, watching his friend but not giving chase.

This seems like it could be fun, he thought to himself. At least there's no ice water below the spinning platform this time.

"Go around!" the man at the other side of the room said to the young Hero. "Go around and around and around! What fun! I'm so happy!"

"Who are you, mister?" the Hero of Time asked him.

"I'm a music man who loves to go around and around! Go around and around!" he replied, as if that explained everything. "I'm trying to come up with a musical theme inspired by this windmill…going around and around and around!"

"There was this one song you taught me," the Hero of Time said, pulling out his Ocarina before realizing he was still holding Saria's. He turned back to Link, stepping onto the spinning platform and joining him. "I want the Ocarina of Time back," he said, holding Saria's Ocarina out for Link to accept.

I suppose I'll let him have it, Link thought, reaching into his inventory to retrieve it. We've already bickered over it once before, no need to do it twice. He handed over the Ocarina, before restoring Saria's to his inventory once again. His friend stepped away from him and returned to the strange windmill man, before playing a foreign melody that Link didn't recognize ever hearing before.

Rain began to fall, even from inside the building. Thunder crackled outside, and Link was immediately soaked by the mystery water.

Argh, I should have fought him for it! he thought to himself as he covered his head with his arms. Below him, the ground started to tremble. He glanced at the spinning disk, eyes widening as he realized it was picking up speed.

"Aah!" Link cried as he whizzed past the Hero of Time, who snickered at him. However, he quickly quieted himself and listened to the increased rate of creaking that seemed to be coming from the windmill's rotating fan blades. There was a faint sound like draining water, barely perceivable over the howling of wind and rain.

"Go around, go around, go around…" the windmill man said, looking confusedly from side to side. His eyes followed the form of the Hero of Twilight as he raced around the floor. "What? It's going way too fast!" he exclaimed.

"Agreed…" Link whined from on top of it. He began trying to crawl off, and the Hero of Time noticed his predicament. The smug little kid jumped onto the rotating floor, only to instantly do a one-eighty and trip off.

Link saw his chance as the door whizzed closer. He sprang off, exiting the building as his friend called after him.

"Wait, Link!"

Link decided he was not in the mood for waiting. He staggered out the door and began shakily making his way down the stairs.

"Too much spinning for you?" Midna asked, not leaving his shadow.

"I liked it better when it was slow," the Hero of Twilight agreed. The door to the windmill opened behind him, and the Hero of Time scampered in a zig-zag after him.

The pair began to slowly make their way down the stairs, practically holding onto one another they were both so dizzy, before meandering over to the well in the middle of the village.

"Hey, look!" Navi called out to them. "The water…it's gone…"

Link risked a glimpse at it, noticing the ugly red tint to the bricks. "Is Kakariko going to be mad you just drained all their water?"

The young Hero paled.

"I guess if Ganondorf doesn't cause trouble for Hyrule, you do," Link remarked casually.

"The water was probably too dirty to drink anyway," the Hero of Time decided, but he still looked hesitant about his actions. He quickly shook it off though, instead leaning over the rim of the well and peering down at the floor far below. "Want to go on a quick adventure before we go back to the future?"

Link noticed the bars sticking out of the wall, so he tried to chase away his dizziness. "I've no objections."

The Hero of Time smirked. He placed his hand on the rim and flung himself down into the well, with Navi shouting after him, "You looked before you leapt and you still made a bad decision!"

"Aaaaaaaaah!" was all her Hero had to say in response.

Link, thinking that the fall would probably be easier for him since he was better at rolling also leapt in. He found out only after he hit the ground and slipped on the slick floor that he had been mistaken. He glared at his cracked Heart Containers before crawling back to his feet and following his friend through a massive gaping passageway with a roof that seemed to narrow and turn the entrance into a triangular shape. The pair passed through the shadows clinging to the walls, their boots tapping on the stone block floor as they walked.

The sound of monsters greeted the pair; a rustling like leaves indicated a Skulltula somewhere, while some strange growl indicated one of the many Bubble monsters—one of those flying skulls encased in flames that the pair had encountered in the Forest Temple. However, the fiends were somewhere out of sight, hidden by a towering wall also made of stone blocks, with a small square tunnel bearing an entrance framed in metal.

"We have to crawl to enter?" the Hero of Time asked.

Link didn't like the sound of monsters lurking somewhere in the area, so he turned to his tiny Hero friend. "Would you mind if I go first?"

"Sure," the Hero of Time agreed. "But, ummm…I'm not sure if you'll…fit…"

Having crawled through tunnels in his own time, Link wanted to believe his size would not be an issue. Unfortunately, as the other Hero had expected, the Hero of Twilight's bigger adult body couldn't fit through the tunnel. His shoulders were just slightly too wide to permit him access to the dungeon.

"I can't go through!" Link protested.

"Well here, let me!" the Hero of Time said, approaching the entrance. He began to crawl through, his tiny body having no issues fitting. He quickly crawled back out and sat there, staring at his friend. "Only one of us can go through. I really want to know what's back there, so would you mind waiting out here for me?"

Link wasn't sure what to think about that. He didn't like the thought of the other Hero going in alone, especially when he could hear all the monsters located farther within. However, he had to keep reminding himself that this was still the same Hero of Time he had been adventuring with for the entire quest; why should the Hero's age matter to how he perceived him? The younger Hero had already bested several fearsome foes and explored dungeons as a child anyway; there was no reason to stop him now.

I don't want him to get hurt, Link thought. He stared at the entrance. But we are adventurers. This is what we do. He'll be fine in there. I suppose this will provide me with time to speak with Midna for a few moments.

"I will wait for you up in Kakariko. If you believe you can't handle what lies in this…" Link looked around, not sure what to make of this strange environment. "…place," he decided, "then return with haste."

"Excellent!" his friend celebrated.

Link wasn't so sure about that part, but he didn't protest. This place was giving him a strange feeling, and he was certain he was hearing wailing voices somewhere in the dungeon. He really didn't want to abandon his friend in this place.

"If you're going, take my items and be careful," he said, providing his friend with his four bottles once again. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before also handing over his improved Boomerang and then his Lantern.

"I got the better Boomerang!" the Hero of Time celebrated. He slipped the items into his inventory before looking back to the entrance of the dungeon he was eager to hurry up and explore.

"We need to develop some way of communicating so that I can know if you're safe," Link told him. "You can talk to Saria at will by using your Ocarina; we need to be able to do the same."

"Okay," his friend agreed. "Think of a melody, and then when I come back, teach it to me."

"I will," the Hero of Twilight agreed, knowing he couldn't hold the other Hero back from adventuring for even a moment longer, even to consider the tune.

The Hero of Time nodded, before he turned away from him and crawled into the tunnel, disappearing from sight. Link clenched his fists and lowered his head before also turning, walking out of the horribly depressive location and back through the shadows. Far above, the light of Kakariko could be seen, scarcely illuminating the bottom of the well where Link stood. He began to climb the bars sticking out of the walls, unable to shed his guilt about leaving his friend to face the dangers alone.

"Be safe, Link…"

. . . . .