AN: You're going to hate me. Not only did this take long (I wasted valuable writing time doing trivial things like eating and sleeping,) but its short. Very short. Easily the shortest yet...

Outofstategrl: Yeah, I pretty much made up the fish on a chain thing. At first it was more of a harpoon on a rope, but I changed it to a fish to avoid doing major damage to the boat. Then I made it a chain so Link couldn't just cut it. Thanks for the review! (By the way, you might be thinking of the Wind Temple, I'm pretty sure you use the iron boots/hookshot combo in there a couple of times.

Simbiot2.0: No "k" in quick, no "l"s in will or "h" in have, and no "m" in amounts. Oh, and no "I" in will… heh heh heh…

Freakyanimegal456: You don't have to be so apologetic! It's ok not to like one of my chapters, I appreciate the review anyway.

Herooftimes: Oops, sorry, I somehow missed you last time. I'll respond to both reviews here. I think Link does rely on the Master Sword a lot, but he has to. It seems like the Triforce of Power protects Ganon from death to anything but the Master Sword. I was just going off of what happens in Wind Waker, where Ganon was invincible to the Master Sword when it lost its power. And yes, I love the final battle A LOT. I'm pretty sure Ganondorf genuinely wanted Hyrule back like you say; he was sort of… living in the past. I don't really know what the king's deal is… I think he's like a wizard or something, if he was a ghost it would defeat the purpose of his "death" in the end. I really don't know why he would have been immortal though… I really don't know. And he didn't get the triforce because… uh… ask the triforce, doesn't make any sense to me really. Wow. That's one long response, so I'm not going to waste any more space except to say that no, I didn't know that thing about Phantom Ganon's sword. Kind of interesting though…

Link Fangirl01: Oh, I got it. I don't mind if your repeating yourself as long as it isn't a flame!

The island was a small beach, with a small mountain peak covering a half of it. Link and Naito dragged the King of Red Lions onto the beach, before approaching the mountain peak. A giant stone head was blocking what seemed to be a way in. Naito rapped it with his fist. Solid stone.

"Oh. Great. Just absolutely perfect. Now what? I suppose, you'll pull some crazy super bomb, or mega statue mover, or…" Naito began to gripe, but was cut off as Link placed his hands at the bottom of the statue. Link grunted, and slowly lifted it up off the ground, raising it above his head. He stood there for a minute, tendons on his neck standing out and his arms shaking, before giving it a might heave. He put his while body into it, tossing it backward over his head. It landed in the water, a fair distance away.

"Or you'll just perform a superhuman feat of strength. How did you do that?" Naito finished.

Link sighed, and quickly showed him the golden gauntlets he had slipped on. He then took them off and replaced them with the silver, explaining to Naito that he wore these usually because they were easier to control. With that out of the way, the two entered the cave before them.

Only to find another large rock blocking the next entrance. This one was stuck to the ground. It was blue, with inscriptions on the front that seemed to depict a song. Naito examined these, deciding to do something productive instead of complaining. They marked movements and timing for a conductor's baton.

"Can you play it?" Link asked, now studying them as well.

Naito nodded hesitantly, drawing the wind waker. It was confusing, and he was a bit nervous at first. But as soon as he began, it all seemed easy. He moved fluidly, and didn't even notice as Link joined in on the ocarina. There also seemed to be a harp, but it barely registered with him. He continued the complex pattern, and the gods' voices and ocarina and harp all blended into a haunting yet cheerful melody.

"O great heroes, chosen ones of the land!" A female voice rang out.

Both Naito and Link snapped their heads up. A large Zora spirit was floating, looking down at them with gentle eyes. She hovered with graveful ease, smiling sadly.

"My name is Laruto. I was the Zoran sage of earth… I was one of the two that maintained the temples that would give the Master Sword its power. You Link, you used it to defeat Ganon. I have lived on, hidden from the world but at peace, praying for the power of the sword even as it was moved to Hyrule Castle. Ganon returned in a red wrath, and discovered my existence. I was murdered within this very temple by him personally. He removed my very soul, knowing that the sword would lose its strength. The only hope for the land is for you to find my descendant, whom resides in Dragon Roost Island and carries an instrument like mine." She said, showing them a golden harp.

"The song you just conducted is the Earth God's Lyric. Play it for the new sage, and awaken their power within." She finished, fading away even as she said it.

Link watched all this with interest. This was a whole new tale to the sword he thought he knew. What a terrible existence it must be… having to spend eternity in a temple so that he could use the sword for about a month. Naito seemed lost, but Link understood. This was similar to what he had to do with the six sages of Hyrule.

"Come on. We should get to Dragon Roost quickly, and awaken the next sage." Naito said, surprising Link. Maybe he was underestimating the kid's intelligence. He nodded, and the two headed back to the boat.

Dragon Roost took them several hours to reach, but they made it alright. Naito hopped out, and beckoned Link to follow.

"I think you should do this yourself. You have the Wind Waker, the tool needed to awaken the sages. This is your duty." Link said.

Naito shrugged, and hiked up the mountain trail to the home of the Rito. He didn't know what to do from here, so he explored. He searched inside and out, looking for a golden harp. At one point he found himself on a balcony, and as he turned to leave he heard a faint harp sound from above and to the left. Wasting no time, he used his grapple to swing to a ledge and then climbed the craggy rock face to the ledge up top.

Medli was the source of the music. She was looking out over the ocean, with her back turned to him. Most importantly, she was playing a golden harp, one that exactly resembled Laruto's. She must have heard him coming, for she turned around before he could say anything.

"Oh! Naito! You're ok! That's good… Komali was wondering if you were alright. You've become something of an idol to him! We can rest easy now…" She said.

Naito smiled a bit, embarrassed, and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I should keep practicing. Playing music is an important duty for an attendant…" She said. Link pulled out the Wind Waker as she said this, a bit unsure how to do this.

"Hey! A conductor's baton! Will you conduct me?" She asked.

Naito nodded, calling the Earth God's Lyric to mind. He began to move the baton, again slipping into that calm feeling as he conducted. Medli joined in, playing along on her harp. He finished with a quick slashing motion, and the silence rang out for a little while. Medli stood absolutely still before collapsing without warning.

Naito gasped and dove forward with unexpected speed. He slid to one knee and caught her before she hit the ground. He knelt there for about two minutes, unsure of what to do. He was about to go for help when she opened her eyes.

"Just now… a sage spoke to me… her voice was so gentle. Link… I now know just who I am. There is something I must do, as I'm sure you know. You must take me to the earth temple… immediately, before Komali comes. I wish him to remember me as a simple attendant." She said, getting up quickly.

Back in the boat, Link waited with growing apprehension. He was starting to wonder if he should go find him when he saw Naito and Medli coming down the trail. So Medli was the sage…

He waved to them, and they waved back. The approached the boat and got in carefully. It was a tight fit, but everyone was on and relatively comfortable. They raised the sail and cast away immediately, worried about Ganon finding them.

They sailed long into the night before they finally reached the temple. Link was expecting Ganon to have sent some creatures to wait for them, but it was empty. They got out of the boat into the ankle deep water, and approached the temple.

"This is it. Link and Naito, you must protect Medli all the way to the central room. If Ganon has killed the sage… he will have left terrible creatures behind. Guard each other… and stay close." The King said.

Link nodded, looking down at the other two. He wasn't very happy with how things were playing out. He spent the first two dungeons watchin gout for Naito, and now that Naito could defend himself he had Medli tagging along. She didn't even have a weapon! He missed his solo dungeon expeditions.

He quickly unclipped his pouch of deku nuts from his belt, and passed them to Medli. "Throw these down and close your eyes. They make a bright flash of light, use one if you get in trouble." He said.

She thanked him, clipping it to her own belt. That done, Link led the way into the dark tomb before them. Naito and Medli followed quickly, wanting to get this over with.

AN: Review! Thought I'd shake things up a bit by leaving out the "please."