A/N: Hello again, my Minish minions!

Oh, Goddesses. School. Grr. This chapter is SUPER important, and sorry if I confuse you. I tried to clear up some things in this, and I hope I did a good job. If I'm still not clear, PM me about it.

GOTJayPlay: Thank you, Jay-sama. I've explained everything to you already.

Skydragon74193: All in due time, my young padawon.

Rauscser000: That was the point… MWAHAHAHAHA!

Dia Newman: I think I found a fan-girl. JAY-SAMA, QUICK, GRAB NEKO-CHAN!

ImaginationThat: I'm glad I cleared some stuff up for you.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter. 27?! 88 reviews, 14 follows, and 11 favorites?! That's amazing! Thank you all for your continued support.

Bai!

XXXXXXX

One Year's Eternity

Chapter 27

Thursday, January 16, 5:17 P.M.

There was another knock at the door.

I hid Vaati quickly behind my Ocarina. As I walked towards the door, I could feel some sort of essence, similar to that of Midna's, but more in shadows.

As I opened the piece of wood, I was surprised to see not one person behind it, but three, two of which had looks of utter shock on their faces.

"Harp," Ms. Impa Shiekah's strong voice echoed into my small room. "What's going on here?"

"Zelda?" Saria's light voice asked. "What's going on? How could I hear you?"

"Me too!" Ruto broke. Her silver-blonde-blue hair moved like waves of water.

"I-I'm not exactly sure…" I stuttered. You all can hear me? I experimented.

"Yes, and we've made that clear," Ms. Sheikah pounded. "Now, tell us, what is going on?"

I blinked thickly. I turned around abruptly and grabbed the Ocarina and Vaati off of my desk. I held them out to Ms. Sheikah, and her stone expression faltered, if at all.

"The Ocarina of Time…" she whispered, "and a Picori?" Saria's mouth gaped open, and I saw Ruto take a comical double-take.

Suddenly, I saw an orange hand reach out and tap Impa on the shoulder. I turned on my heel to see Midna controlling the hand that was made out of her hair.

Her hair?

"Who are you?!" the teacher started to panic.

"Oh, please," Midna stepped forward, her hair morphing back into a ponytail, "you don't recognize me?" She pointed to the scar on her face.

Saria and Ruto gasped in chorus. "Midna?!"

The Twili's smug expression explained it all.

Nice party trick, I sent her.

I'll use it on Beck later, I saw her hair choke an imaginary neck.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk about this?" Shade offered.

"Good plan," I said, handing Vaati to him. He looked at the Picori skeptically.

"I'm not an item, you know?" Vaati spoke through the air.

I got the Book of Legends off of its shelf, flipping madly to the Legend of Time. I sat down on my bed while I searched rapidly, careful not to tear any pages. I got to the pages with the songs the Hero had to use during his journey. Link's gaze followed mine once I found the teleportation songs.

"Do you think they'll still work?" he asked, sitting down next to me.

"I hope so," I whispered, my gaze stopping suddenly when I got to the 'Prelude of Light'. "This'll be the closest one to the school."

I raised the small instrument to my lips, silently thanking my mother for teaching me to play. I played the joyful song, and as the last few notes rung through my room, a yellow light started to envelop Link and I. I stood up, him following me.

"Everyone, get in!" I yelled. Impa, Ruto, and Saria stuffed into the room, reaching their arms into the light to try to be in the light like Link, Shade, Midna, and I already were.

I felt the magical light envelop me. I felt like I was floating through warmth itself. I still held the Book in my hands. I saw Link materialize in front of my eyes, followed by the rest of our group. As I took in my surroundings, I saw that we were in some sort of sanctuary.

"The Temple of Time," Impa muttered.

There was someone standing in front of a pedestal-like stone, looking at a set of doors with a sun on it. The person turned around slowly.

"I never thought I'd see it," Ms. Dragmire mused. "I never thought that I'd witness the next war in the cycle bloom."

"You seem awfully calm about this, Genin," Impa scolded.

Shade exclaimed in surprise. He put the Picori, who was already transforming, on the ground, and watched as he grew into his child form.

"Zelda, Link, come here," Genin directed us to the pedestal. He and I exchanged a curious look, and walked towards her slowly, our footsteps ringing through the Temple. "I suppose you already know what to do."

The door!

I poured my attention back into the Book's pages. I found the songs again, and found the Song of Time, the one the Princess of Destiny left her Hero through a vision. I placed the Book on the pedestal so I could see the notes. Genin reached into her bag that was slung around her shoulder and grabbed three stones, one red, one blue, one green.

"The Spiritual Stones," Link gasped. "How'd you get those?"

"They have been lost for ages," Genin slid, "to all but me."

He clenched his jaw, keeping himself quiet. She placed the stones into specific slots in the pedestal.

"Now, Zelda," she demanded.

I nodded. I raised the cold flute up to my lips again, playing the sad tune that would unlock the stone doors. The simple melody floated through the sanctuary. I finished the song and lowered the flute.

I heard stone scratching on stone.

I saw the sun split into two.

I saw a room with one window, high above a set of steps.

I heard footsteps running towards them.

I saw Link walk slowly to them.

The brothers looked at each other.

"Why are you running, Shade?" Link asked.

"I haven't seen it since-" Shade broke off and looked into the room. He turned his head back to Link. "I guess it is yours now, though."

"Oh, now this is strange," Genin walked towards them. "Two Heroes, one past, one present."

Link's eyes bugged at Shade. Shade bowed his head away.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you once I knew," he said ruefully. "But I guess I've always known."

"Shade?" Link whispered, his voice magnified by the echo in the room.

"Ms. Dragmire wasn't lying when she said two Heroes. I guess one's just… let's say, retired." Shade gave a light laugh.

"What are you talking about?!" Link demanded.

"I don't know what Hero you will become, but I know which one I was called. I was once the Hero of Twilight. The Goddesses must have made my spirit come back to help you." Shade held his hand out to the smaller room with the one window.

"That's insane!" Link screamed.

"You've accepted so much so far, but you can't accept this," Shade pushed. "This has happened before. I have went through this. I was greeted by the spirit of a past Hero, the Hero of Time. I was greeted by his Shade. This is no different. You need to accept this. Believe in your strengths.

"This is the first step, brother."

Link swallowed. He only nodded numbly in reply. He stepped into the smaller room, and I got close enough that I could see what the small steps led to.

Link neared the smaller pedestal. Shade walked in with him, stopping at the bottom of the steps. I walked in after him, keeping my steps as quiet as possible.

The sword seemed to glow. Its hilt was a beautiful indigo, with an amber stone welded just below it. Below the hilt, there was a faint shape molded into the metal, that of the sacred Triforce. My hand started to burn and sting. I itched at it, trying to make the pain subside, to no avail. It started to glow. I saw Link's left hand glow as well, but he didn't acknowledge it. He stepped closer to the sword.

"All of this in one day," I heard Ruto murmur. I also heard Saria shush her.

Shade's expression turned to one of proud nostalgia. He must have remembered how it felt for him when he once did the same.

Link gripped the sword's purple hilt firmly. He started to pull it up and out.

It moved with him.

A blue light glowed through the small room, causing me and Shade to hide our eyes until it passed. I heard a voice, Shade's voice, when the light died down.

"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage."

And when I opened my eyes again, Link stood there, swirling his sword like he'd been fighting his whole life.

Only, it wasn't my Link.

It wasn't my boyfriend.

It wasn't my Hero.

There, clad in green, stood Hyrule's Hero.