fleets: while it's true that starcraft 2 is extremely distracting in a wonderful way, it's also true that I cannot play games during my work hours. However, I can still write during work hours muahaha.

Chapter 26: Swan Song

Skull Kid watched helplessly as the battle between the sorcerer and the deity begin. He didn't care what happened to the 'white guy' since he didn't like the way he treated him, but at the same time he didn't understand why his new friend needed to kill anyone. He was all for pulling pranks and playing games, but he had never wished real harm on anybody. Only pain and hurt came out of killing, and Skull Kid didn't want to believe that Letti had no qualms about erasing the existence of anyone she didn't like.

All he wanted was someone to accept him so he could share fun times and make memories together, and yet…

"S-stop," he said hoarsely. Skull Kid took a few paces towards the fierce exchange of spells. Why were they fighting? Was it because of the mean wind mage?

Skull Kid gripped the oversized sleeves of his sweatshirt tightly. That had to be it; if that stupid white guy hadn't been so mean to Letti, then she wouldn't be fighting now. She would be paying attention to him, and he wouldn't be feeling so rejected. If it weren't for Vaati, he would be having fun. Skull Kid ran towards the fight. "Stop it!"

The boy was knocked backwards when an arm shot out from nowhere and hooked him around his chest. Zelda held him in a tight embrace to keep him from approaching the fight. "No, Skull Kid! You can't go near them."

As soon as he felt the girl's arms around him tighten, he struggled furiously. Tugging and clawing at the arms that held him, Skull Kid protested to get his captor to let go. Zelda was too strong for him, however, and wouldn't let him budge.

Suddenly, a violent rumble stopped his efforts of escaping Zelda's grip. All this time, Vaati had just barely been holding his own against Letti, and he had finally resorted to using his most powerful beam attack. The vicious ray had connected with the grinning girl, as well as hit the wall behind her. Skull Kid felt his head forced downwards by Zelda as she tried to protect him from the falling rubble that rained down from the quake.

Their surroundings were strangely quiet compared to the continuous sound of explosions and bombardment from earlier. Vaati stood panting with his arms tense and claw like, and he squinted at the space where Letti had been floating. Skull Kid shook a piece of concrete off of his head and slowly looked around for Letti. She was nowhere to be found.

The boy stared blankly until he began to feel moisture collecting on his eyes. Heads turned when he let out a tormented howl, and he buried his face into the depths of his sleeves so no one could see him cry. Damn it, he never cried! He bit his lip, hard, trying to keep the sobs down.

Noticing how upset Skull Kid was becoming, Zelda's face creased with worry. One of her hands relaxed a little, and she tried to comfort him. She wasn't expecting him to recover so quickly.

"Ah! Skull Kid wait!" Zelda cried when the boy wrenched her arms away from him with strength he didn't have earlier. His eyes were tinted slightly red and they were on their way to becoming puffy from the tears, but his general expression was one of vengeful fury. Both fists clenched and held stiff by his sides, he confronted Vaati with a voice full of hate.

"I HATE YOU!" He screamed. "You ruined everything! I wish you would just die!"

Vaati's eyes moved towards the boy with indifference. He watched calmly as Skull Kid charged, howling in rage. The boy was halfway towards the sorcerer when Vaati's eyes suddenly narrowed and his face contorted into a snarl.

"Move!"

Vaati roughly shoved Skull Kid, knocking him back several feet away. An inferno swept past and a fit of giggles from the corner of the room signaled Letti's return. It looked like Vaati's previous attack had caused some damage, but most of it was insignificant and she seemed perfectly fine. "Ahaha! Careful now, you don't want to bury your friends with a reckless attack like that," she laughed.

The wind mage let out a hiss of breath, scowling at the fact that she didn't seem hurt in the least, even with a direct hit of his most powerful spell. He noticed Skull Kid yelling at him from the floor where he had been knocked downwards earlier. Irritation getting the better of him, the sorcerer snapped. "Don't get in my way, brat."

Furious, Skull Kid dug his heel into the ground and pounced on Vaati. In his surprise more than anything, the sorcerer fell onto his back and unleashed a string of curses while he tried to knock his attacker off of him. Letti watched the commotion with mild interest, and something about her changed as she regarded the struggle between Skull Kid and Vaati. The little girl's face had darkened momentarily as she brought up a hand, and Zelda called out in warning.

"Watch out!"

White flames in the shape of a phoenix dove towards them from the tips of Letti's fingers. In a split second, the two were engulfed by the powerful blast and it was impossible to even see their silhouette. Zelda cautiously looked towards the place where Vaati and Skull Kid had been, feeling fearful of their safety. She had felt the heat from where she had been standing.

Letti smirked when the smoke cleared. "What are you doing, Vaati?"

The sorcerer was standing in front of a startled Skull Kid, and though he had managed to shield himself from some of the attack, he had taken a good amount of damage. His hands, now raw red from his injuries, gripped the collar of his sweatshirt and ripped it off. The tattered, singed cloth came off easily since it had become so damaged. He didn't answer the deity and stood with a slouch, breathing heavily.

Skull Kid blinked, sitting behind him with a baffled look on his face. The boy hadn't sustained any damages from the attack thanks to Vaati, and the most he had was a smudge of ash around his cheeks. Open mouthed and speechless, he stared at the wind mage.

"Saving others, little evil wind mage? Are you going soft on me?" Letti taunted. Upon seeing rage flicker across the sorcerer's face, she laughed gleefully. Her laughter was interrupted by Skull Kid's voice from behind the pale teen.

"Letti…" he walked into view. His voice was uncertain and scared. "Letti… you attacked me." The boy trailed off, asking for an explanation so he could understand why. At the moment, however, he could think of no good reason why his friend would attack him. That's not what friends did, right?

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her chin disdainfully. "I did," she stated plainly.

"But… why? I thought we were friends."

Letti snorted, and Skull Kid cringed from the pain of her words. It hurt. "And I thought you were important. Apparently not, seeing how the sorcerer treated you with no respect." Every word that came out of her mouth cut deeper into his insecurities until he was huddled into a ball. "I don't need someone like you anymore, and to tell you the truth, I'm the one who's hurt because I'm so disappointed that you're not who I thought you were."

In his shock, Skull Kid didn't realize he'd stopped breathing. He also didn't realize how his nails were digging deeper into his sides as though physical pain would let him be deaf to her words. Memories of the all the times he'd felt betrayed by people he had thought were friends surfaced – the times when the people he had thought he could trust had abandoned him because they thought he was strange; it was so painful. I can't trust anybody. No one cares. No one wants me. He squeezed his eyes shut, not seeing Letti's new attack approaching him. If it's my fate to be alone…

I'd rather die.

Letti's fire engulfed him and he brought his hands up to block out the light. His tears had dried up from the instant heat, and he hung his head to accept his fate. It was then that he noticed a dark shadow casting over him, and Skull Kid slowly looked up to see Vaati holding back the attack for the second time with a barrier. It wasn't strong enough to completely hold the magical fire back, and he could see Vaati's hands were beginning to suffer from severe burns. As though that weren't bad enough, one of his arms was beginning to slump from the continued strain of using magic. The sorcerer was in tatters, yet he had still jumped to save him.

Why…?

"Oh wooow, who made you into a hero, huh?" Letti stuck her hands on her hips with one eyebrow raised at Vaati's actions. She sneered. "You really did turn into a big softie. Haha! Doesn't that bother you at all? Just look at you – you can't be the most powerful sorcerer in the world at this rate." Letti snickered when Vaati momentarily turned his head towards the ground, upset. "Aww, poor you. All of those years of not being a sorcerer really screwed you over, didn't it? Look how sad you are." To prove her point, she summoned a shimmering mirror and propped it in front of Vaati.

Zelda stood up angrily. "Don't talk about him that way!"

"Quiet."

Zelda flinched at Vaati's command. He had a look of pure, murderous hate towards Letti, and at that moment the person the mirror reflected was someone merciless in their viciousness. Forcing his shaking arm to relax, he took a deep breath and slowly brought it up. Muttering a spell, he shattered the mirror to pieces and the glass tinkled to the floor. "You are right," he began, lowering his arm again. "The old Vaati wouldn't have cared if that brat had been incinerated by you."

At these words, Skull Kid frowned from where he was sitting. The sorcerer continued.

"However, 8,000 years is a long time. If that old Vaati hadn't changed at all after all of those years, it would mean he hadn't grown as a person." He winced slightly from the pain in his arms, but shook the feeling away. "If there is anything I've learned from that idiot Link, it's that fighting selflessly," Vaati glared, "ultimately makes you more powerful than fighting out of greed."

Zelda didn't take her eyes off of Vaati in shock and awe. She'd never really expected anything wise like that come out of the wind mage's snippety mouth. Of course, his words were still laced with his usual, underlying objective for power but it was a step in the right direction. Vaati… you've changed.

Letti blinked. She giggled, but they were far from amused. Instead, she sounded annoyed by the sorcerer's words. "Pah. Well good for you."

Skull Kid's big golden eyes followed Vaati as he sat frozen speechlessly. There were only a few times in his life where he had felt as touched as he felt now. He had never expected the mean sorcerer of all people to be the one to help him. Then again, he'd also never expected his friend to be the one to attack him. Skull Kid glanced over at Letti and her twisted sneer. Letti hadn't cared whether or not he had gotten hurt or not, and yet Vaati and Zelda had cared.

Maybe, maybe Vaati wasn't the mean bully he had thought he was…

"All right you little twat. If you don't get out of my way I'll have the pleasure of beating you out of here myself."

"Huh?" Skull Kid snapped to attention. Vaati's glowering red eyes met his yellow ones, and he squeaked and hopped over to Zelda. He ran behind the girl and peeked over from behind her; Vaati was still mean.

The sorcerer spat on the floor and sneered, ignoring the fact that his body hurt all over. "Now that the distractions are gone, I'm going to obliterate you."

"Keep dreaming," Letti grinned devilishly.

From a few yards away, Zelda watched the fight recommence. She shook her head; even with Vaati's big words, she could tell that if this kept up, he would die. He was severely outmatched by Letti and the deity was completely playing with him, sending out attacks that were only slightly more powerful than Vaati could handle or attacks that purposely missed. The sorcerer, on the other hand, was struggling to stay alive. If only she could do something…

Zelda took Skull Kid sternly by the shoulders and propped him next to her. "Wait here," she commanded. Skull Kid looked like he wanted to object, but decided against it when he saw how serious Zelda was. He nodded and let the girl inch further away from the fight while looking around the room.

There has to be something I can do! Zelda thought frantically, avoiding the stray shots of magic and the rubble falling from the unstable room. She tried to hurry when she glanced over at the fight and noticed Vaati starting to limp. Letti seemed to have found it funny to shoot off his limbs one at a time with excruciating slowness so it appeared like he had a chance. Vaati was managing to hold back most of the attack, but it was evident that he was losing resolve because it was so obvious how unmatched he was. Granted with godlike powers he may be, he was not even close to the real thing.

Think! Zelda whirled around, trying to focus on the peculiarities of the room. She didn't really know why her gut told her to look around the room, but she'd had a feeling that something was off as soon as she'd stepped inside earlier. Doing her best to ignore the fight behind her, she turned to the machine Dr. Willits had been working on. Compared to everything else, that was the only thing in the room that remained untouched.

Zelda's eyes widened. That's it! The machine!

The reason why something had seemed weird about the room was because among all the rubble, the most fragile looking thing remained standing. Its thin pillars could have easily fallen over or broken, yet it remained perfect. Even the electricity was still running along its wires. She looked over at Letti momentarily; the goddess had completely healed from Vaati's previous attacks and she was laughing cheerfully. The answer lay in the machine… Zelda was sure of it. If they wanted to stop Letti, they had to stop the machine.

Maybe I can wreck it? She picked up a broken piece of concrete, and then set it back down when she noticed an eerie shimmer around the machine. Zelda bit her lip. Of course there'd be a magical guard around it… I won't be able to attack it directly.

If anyone could break the seal, it would be Vaati. Zelda was about to call out to him, but her voice was stopped short by a hideous slamming noise. She flinched when she saw Vaati pressed against the wall by a desk that Letti had set on fire. He was barely safe, and sweat was rolling down his forehead like a river from his effort to keep the flaming furniture from burning and crushing him at the same time. Five seconds later, he had broken the desk to pieces with wind magic but not before he'd fanned the flames with the same spell. In tatters, he listened to Letti snickering about how fighting flames with wind was one of the worst ideas ever. Vaati responded that winds that were powerful enough could snuff out any fire – a comment that was followed by fits of hilarity by the deity.

"Just look at you! You're practically a ragdoll now," Letti cried.

Zelda frowned and looked around the room again urgently. The goddess was right. Vaati didn't have the ability to hold Letti back and take care of the spell around Dr. Willits' machine at the same time. Zelda was about to lose all hope when her eyes landed on a lone computer that still appeared to be working. Its monitor glowed with a dim blue light, and the last person to have used it had been in the middle of typing out an exit program command.

Zelda brightened. It was a glimmer of hope, and it was her turn to help. That computer HAS to be connected to the machine. If I can just complete the command, then the machine should stop running. Sticking close to the floor, she crawled her way over to the computer. She didn't even know if anything good would happen by shutting the machine down, but seeing how protected it was, she could safely assume that it was something Letti didn't want anyone to mess with. I have to get there without attracting Letti's attention.

She had a feeling that Letti wouldn't let her go easy if she found out what she was attempting to do…

On the way over to the computer she passed Skull Kid who gave her a weird look. She was worried he would draw attention towards them, but it appeared that he was going to follow her previous orders of staying where he was. Breathing a sigh of relief, she made her way closer and closer to the computer.

It was only a few inches away now… All she had to do was complete and execute the command.

Just as her hand reached towards the keyboard and touched its keys, an explosion knocked her backwards. "Aaaah!" She screamed, and then moaned when she hit her head on the floor and momentarily lost her vision. A jolt struck her in the ribs and she cried out when her head was yanked up violently by a fistful of hair. Zelda never knew how scary little girls could be until she saw Letti smiling sweetly at her, still pinning her to the ground with a knee and holding her by her hair.

"Aww, it looks like I broke the box thing you were trying to use. It's called a computer, right? You can always get a new one."

"Ugh…" Zelda squirmed a little until she realized that the more she struggled, the more Letti pressed her weight against her stomach to make it harder for her to breathe. She yelped when her head was wrenched towards the ruined computer.

"See? Completely destroyed. Don't be too sad, okay?" Letti giggled.

Zelda froze and she felt all of her energy leave her. That computer had been their last hope and now it was gone.

The goddess sighed, rolling her eyes like she was berating a troublesome child. It was a strange change in personality considering Letti was extremely childish herself. "Did you really think I, one of the Four Goddesses, wouldn't notice you trying to sneak around?" She tittered. "Don't be silly, mortal."

Zelda closed her eyes, her hand falling limp to her sides when she lost the power to continue fighting. It's… over. We can't win.

A few yards away, Vaati struggled onto his feet after having been slammed down by Letti before she'd gone to attack Zelda. His breathing was coming out in rattling gasps, and he suspected a few ribs had been broken. The sorcerer then noticed Zelda at the mercy of Letti.

Why am I so outmatched against her? Is this… what it means to be a god?

He felt his arm twitch, and looking down he saw it begin to turn a dark, shadowy purple. He had been considering turning into his ultimate form, and several times he had exerted self-control to keep himself from becoming impatient; turning into a demon now would be to risk burying everyone alive beneath the remains of the ruined facility. Seeing how he and Zelda were reaching their limits, perhaps it was time to take the risk. If they were all going to die anyways, it was better to die trying, right?

Just as he was about to reach a convicted decision to transform, a glint of silver caught his eye. It was a twisted steel bar that had snapped so that its end had become pointed like a spike. Vaati paused, and his arm returned to normal.

No… there may be one more way.

The sorcerer casted a spell and summoned the metal spike towards him. He was really getting the hang of magic now; the spike came to him swiftly and smoothly.

The metal was slightly warm from Letti's fire, and as soon as it was in his hands Vaati made sure the goddess had her attention elsewhere. The wind mage took a deep breath and momentarily closed his eyes to calm his nerves. This was his chance - if this didn't work then he really was going to have to turn into his demon form.

Recalling the sorcery he had used eons ago at the sword fighting tournament that had started it all, Vaati lunged towards Letti with his makeshift weapon. Letti whirled around, sensing the wind magic that ran along the edge of the steel spike.

Four different cries rang out; one horrified, one shocked, one agonized, and one determined. The metal spike protruded from the center of Letti's forehead, directly in the circular spot of her eye-like markings. Vaati's hands were squeezed tightly around the metal and he didn't dare to let go as Letti stared at him with a look of blank surprise. A single line of blood dripped down slowly as it pooled around the spike, and it traveled along her markings like a tear.

"I told you… not… to mess with me," Vaati panted.

No one was prepared for the unsettling response by the goddess. Letti roared in laughter and her stubby little child's hands shot out towards the sorcerer like a snake. Her one hand twisted Vaati's away from the spike that was still in her forehead, and the other clamped around his neck with a grip of iron. "What an effort! I applaud you. I encourage everyone in the world to follow your example." She smirked as she watched the sorcerer struggle powerlessly. "Seriously though, did you actually think you could beat me? You cannot defeat a goddess. You would know that, wouldn't you Vaati, the one who declared that you cannot be defeated because you are a god?"

Goddesses blast it I can't win! Vaati gasped for breath, occasionally glaring at Letti with all the hate he could muster. And now I can't even change forms with her strangling me! He scowled when he could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness.

Letti smiled with chilling sweetness, enjoying every moment of holding the proud sorcerer at her mercy. "You're pretty good for a mortal. I'd say you're even more powerful than some of the lesser gods like Zephos." She watched the sorcerer's expression contort into a grimace as she allowed his throat to gradually burn from the heat of her palms. "I have to thank you all for stopping the flood, by the way. If that had happened it would have been such an inconvenience. Also, I want to thank you for providing me with a little entertainment to pass the time." She giggled. "I'm satisfied. I think all of you are spent now, so I'll go and pick up Wisdom and Courage and put an end to playing. Thank you for your time, little mortals! I had fun."

"L-Let him go!"

Skull Kid's voice made Letti stop and look down her nose at him. He froze under her gaze, but regained his courage. "I said let him go," he demanded again with a little more force. He felt nervous from having all eyes on him, and a part of him was wondering what he was doing. Still, what Letti was doing was wrong and he didn't want to stand and watch like Zelda had told him to.

The goddess sniffed. "Why should I do that?"

"Because it's wrong."

"Are you telling me I'm wrong? I'm a goddess. I'm never wrong."

Skull Kid took a deep breath and hung his head. In his hands was the Ocarina of Time, and he let his fingers trace the outline of the Triforce that was carved into its side. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zelda urgently asking him what he was thinking and that he should stay out of this. He ignored her and continued to look at the Ocarina.

It was so pretty with its deep blue wood. He had been so happy when Letti had first spoken to him after he had randomly spun a tune, and every time he had approached the completion of the Adagio she had become more and more personified. He had thought that she would be someone who he could be friends with since she had been so encouraging. Anger and sadness overwhelmed him; anger that Letti had turned out to be so intolerable, and sadness for what he was about to do.

"This sucks." Skull Kid's brows scrunched together and he glowered at the floor. Putting the Ocarina of Time to his lips, he brought his head up and looked straight at Letti. "Let him go or I'll reverse the Adagio."

Letti frowned disdainfully. "I'm hurt, Skull Kid. I thought we were friends." With a wave of her hand, a scorching lance flew towards the boy. Zelda exclaimed in panic.

"Skull Kid!"

Skull Kid glared at Letti with a hint of hurt. He blew a note into the Ocarina and began to play a song. I thought so too. As soon as the first notes left the Ocarina, the lance split in two and swerved on either side of the player. They dimmed, and then they disintegrated into the air.

Letti chuckled half-heartedly and threw Vaati to the side like a broken doll. She paid no attention to the wheezing as the sorcerer gripped his slightly burnt neck and took gulping gasps of air. "I'm sorry, but you can't seal me in that thing again. I'm too powerful, and only my sisters have enough power to be able to use that properly." When Skull Kid continued to play, she finally lost her temper and lashed out with a vicious attack. "I order you to stop!"

White flames surrounded Skull Kid, but as long as the music played they couldn't touch him. Little by little, each plume of fire vanished into the air. The goddess was enraged into a tantrum when bits of her began to fade away. With a look that was outright evil, she ripped out the spike that was stuck on her forehead and lunged at Skull Kid. "I said stop!"

A flicker of fear passed over the boy's face when Letti came at him like a wild animal with the metal spike poised over her head. Halfway through, she screeched furiously when she was interrupted by a vortex that slammed and pinned her to the floor. Skull Kid's music faltered momentarily when he stared at the deity thrashing on the floor.

"Hey, brat."

Skull Kid looked up to see Vaati using the last of his energy to hold the goddess down.

"Keep up the good tune."

The boy nodded and picked up where he left off. It was an uncomfortable sight with Letti screaming at them to stop the music, and then eventually becoming reduced to a sorry, sobbing sight as she began to fade away. Several times Skull Kid pitied the goddess and was tempted to stop playing the Reverse Adagio, but then he remembered the sight of her harming everyone around her. She'd gone too far, and she needed to be stopped.

The last note echoed beautifully but was tainted by Letti's last wails. In a tearful voice that was so expertly poignant that there was no doubt it was all faked, she whispered, "I don't understand… it shouldn't have worked. I am the Fourth Goddess…"

Zelda slowly picked up her head. Sighing, she said with a tone of sadness, "Gods and goddesses die all the time. When people cease to believe in them, they disappear into nothingness and lose all of their influence. Belief is a powerful thing." She paused and watched as Letti was reduced to a small fire fairy she had first seen back in New Jersey. "When Skull Kid stopped believing in you, you lost your power, Letti."

The tiny ball of light wavered in the air. Though it had no face, they could hear a slight tone of regret. "… I see. I guess you were… important after all, Skull Kid."

Finally disappearing into the air, everyone took in the quiet calm that settled around them. Vaati, however, didn't give himself time to relax and prepared one last spell. He grit his teeth. "We're not done yet. We have to get Link and Dark." He vanished in a flash. "I'll be back."

Now it was only Zelda and Skull Kid who were left in the broken facility. It was quiet again, and Zelda finally allowed herself to breathe at ease. After a few moments, her ears picked up a faint sniffling noise that was trying its hardest to remain unnoticed. She looked over at Skull Kid and noticed the boy huddled over the Ocarina of Time in his hands, his shoulders trembling from the strain of keeping a poker face. Picking herself up, Zelda limped over to Skull Kid. He jumped when she put a hand on his arm.

"Hey…"

Skull Kid quickly jerked away and hid his face under his baseball cap. "Leave me alone." It was too late, however; she could already tell he had been crying.

"I'm sorry about," she shook her head, "everything."

The boy only nodded. He didn't dare speak because he could tell that he would break down at any moment.

Zelda considered Skull Kid for some time. Then, she smiled kindly. "It's okay to cry." She laughed quietly to herself when she could feel her own tears start to form. "See? Even I'm crying haha. I don't even know why…"

Eyes widening, Skull Kid snapped his head to look at Zelda. Seeing what Zelda had said was true, he finally let go and allowed the tears to flow freely. Bawling, he jumped into her arms and hugged her tightly.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The gigantic bird suddenly unleashed a shrill scream, making Link and Dark uneasy. They were both badly burned and in tatters from having gone through numerous 'games' Avilux Ignis had thrown at them. Fighting to stay upright, Dark swayed weakly and gave a pessimistic laugh.

"I think that bloody sorcerer finally did it. Look at how upset it is."

Link smiled, equally grim. "I suppose that means it's not going to play around with us anymore."

On cue, Avilux Ignis brought its wings closer to its body and its core began to glow a painfully bright white. The temperature began to increase at an alarming rate, and Dark dropped his sword when it became too hot to hold. It howled with its neutral voice. "You will regret this!"

As the bird threatened to take them down with it, Link and Dark felt their collar yanked gruffly from behind. A disgruntled voice complained with a hiss of air. "It is so freaking hot – we're getting out of here."

Angry protests from the disappearing projection rang in their ears as they were teleported to safety.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Five figures lay sprawled in the middle of a grassy clearing that was strangely devoid of snow. Icy water dripped steadily from the trees around them, creating a peaceful tune. The cool water that had collected on the grass felt heavenly refreshing against everyone's various burns.

Link groaned as he gradually regained consciousness. His hands moved along the grass and he enjoyed every minute of the cooling sensation. His whole body still felt hot, and he could see to his dismay that blisters were already beginning to form on his palms. However, he welcomed the pain – at least it meant he was alive.

Closing his fist around a clump of grass, he pulled himself up onto his knees and slowly propped himself straight. Dark was already sitting up next to him, Zelda was curled on her side next to Dark, and Skull Kid was flat on his stomach with his face buried in his arms next to Zelda. On the other side of Link, Vaati was sprawled on the ground in complete tatters with a face of extreme unhappiness and irritation.

Only Vaati's red eyes moved to glare at Link in the way Gale would have done. "What's so funny?"

"We're alive. I'm happy," Link explained. He hadn't felt so relieved in a long time, and now that all the tension was gone he had smiled involuntarily.

Vaati huffed, and he glowered at the sky. The moisture on the ground was soaking what was left of his purple t-shirt, and his skin was becoming discolored by the burns and bruises from the fight. He was misery itself. "Well I feel terrible. I'm unhappy."

Just then, a few specks of white flickered in the air and floated down around the broken little group. They hovered down and flitted around them where the wind took them. A cool gust blew the tiny white specks like glitter and surrounded the injured teens before they disappeared.

"This is…" Zelda gasped after the mysterious white things had dissipated. He brought her hands to her face and turned them over again and again, not trusting her eyes to see what they were seeing.

"We're – "

"completely - "

"healed." Vaati, Link, and Dark gawked at themselves. All of their burns and bruises had disappeared after the white specks had passed. Another cold gust blew past and this time it brought along a flurry of snow. Zelda was looking at the passing snowflakes in wonder when she felt a shy poke on her side. It was Skull Kid.

"Those were fairies," he said solemnly.

There was a moment of silence from the group and they all exchanged glances. Vaati was the first to laugh.

"Fairies? You must be jesting. That was only the snow falling."

Skull Kid frowned. "But – "

Vaati stood up and waved him away. "I've had enough fantastical things for a long time. I'm sick of this place. Let's go home." Brushing himself off and holding out his hands to feel the snow land gently on his palms, Vaati stretched and looked up at the sky. Link, Dark, and Zelda followed suit.

Skull Kid was the last to stand up. Sticking close to Zelda, he looked out over to the forest where he was sure the fairies had gone and then at the Ocarina of Time in his hands. Vaati was right; he was ready to put all of these adventures behind. For the first time since they had escaped the ruined facility, Skull Kid cracked his mischievous little grin.

"Yeah, let's go home."

fleets: This chapter was a monster to write. You have no idea how happy I am to have finished this, since I thought I would never finish. Well, there are at least 2 more chapters until I take my leave and say adieu to this story. You can count on a possible 3rd chapter where I include a sneak peek on what I may tackle next.

Also, disclaimer: This chapter had influences from the all mighty Terry Pratchett (i.e. the philosophy on the death of gods) and general adventure manga (i.e. One Piece lol - helped me imagine the boss fight)

Midna Hytwilian: I don't know if Zelda would have been okay with that especially with Skull Kid there...
lol her little brother is bigger than her

Shadow R-B: The bullet's not there, but the potion wasn't potent enough to completely heal his wounds. They would have been completely dead if it weren't for Skull Kid ;)

i-wish-799: She's a goddess for a reason - I'm not going to give them an easy time defeating her haha. Surprisingly enough, I didn't kill off any characters who were fighting her like in my other stories (where at least one character died from the last fight)

Purplegc: Hope you liked it! You're right... I'm not going to be a free person until I run out of ideas to write (cries)

Reily96: Poe! Haha, he puts his deadness to good use. No word on Dugal yet. I can say his fate will be mentioned in the next chapter... D:
For the sake of the world, I seriously hope TS and Letti never get in a fight. Let alone meet.

Ephriokko: That's cause Vaati's no longer Vaati, but Vaati + Gale :D He's a very different Vaati from the one I wrote about in BC. And dang, I feel kinda guilty for making Skull Kid go through all of that crap (hugs him).

xBlackDragoonx: Letti was defeated! Whew, just barely though...

LinkxDark Link: She was really starting to scare me in this chapter. I have no idea how she turned into this little devil. Haha, if only Vaati could've cheated - it would've been a less painful experience for everyone.

Sapphiet: I am contemplating whether or not Letti or Dethl is more evil. At least Dethl is openly evil... but for some reason I can tolerate Letti more than that nightmare bugger.

SubZeroChimera: I can totally see FD kicking Letti's butt. She's jealous XD

LunaticEyesInaba: There definitely was an Edward Elric influence - I loved FA.

Thaine: This story is definitely different from my other ones. Ahhh I really wish I could find an emulator that worked with my stupid Mac :(

msfcatlover: Huh, I never heard of peril beam before (I also don't know much about Dark, actually). I like that name though :) Hmmm, it's also possible I had the potion colors mixed up.