This is my re-write of Chapter 20, since the previous version just didn't sit right with me. Not descriptive enough, too much talk, not enough action, and it really could have just been overall better. I'll try and update sooner, but I can't make any promises, since it takes a while for me to get an idea. Either way, I hope you enjoy this re-write.

Disclaimer: I most definitely don't own Legend of Zelda. And, unlike a friend of mine, I don't proclaim myself to be "The Zelda God". That title belongs to Shigeru Miyamoto.

Chapter 20: He Ruins yet ANOTHER Good Date…

Zelda and I… We were finally happy during this dark time of waiting… We wee to be married now. I had just proposed to her, and life was good… The hour of twilight was fast approaching, and we looked at the beautiful orange sky with hope…

"Link…" Zelda started, looking into my eyes. "When do you think the wedding should be?"

I looked at the Princess of Destiny fondly. "I think we should have it within the year, so that your father can see it."

Zelda smiled warmly at the idea. "I think that would be great…" She closed her eyes and rested her lovely blond head against my shoulder, huddling for warmth.

That's when things started to change… I don't know why, but it started to get warmer for some reason. It confused me even more as the river flowing into the lake suddenly stopped dead and steam started rising…

Queen Ruto suddenly appeared on the surface of the lake, and I thought she was just here to say hello, like always.

Zelda looked at the Zora woman, and waved. "Hello, Ruto!" she said. "How are… Oh no…"

She was floating on her back, and not in her usual playful manner. Her arms were floating lifelessly at her sides and her eyes were closed… Something was wrong… The lake wasn't normal and neither was she...

I immediately swam out to save her… "RUTO!" I screamed between breaths as I hurriedly swam, arm-over arm. Scooping her up into my arms, I noticed she was unusually warm… And… So was the lake! I was right in my initial speculation, it was boiling, which meant the Zoras in Zora's Domain were boiling, too...

I looked over to the island in the middle of the lake, seeing bubbles coming up from a familiar gate… Black squares started floating up into the sky, and I finally realized… He was here…

With a large splash of water, the demonic man appeared from under the lake, holding what looked like part of a helmet… His black attire was as plain as day as he floated down towards the surface of the water, causing more bubbles to come up in the area immediately under him.

"Finally…" Zantauri began. "Only one Fused Shadow left…" At that moment, he looked towards me. "Oh! And it looks like my God has granted me favor! Now I can watch you squirm…"

I looked up at the man, knowing what had to be done… He merely directed his attention towards the lake… I could tell that he was smirking insanely under his mask.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't intend to kill you yet… But… You might try coming after me, so…" With that, he lowered a hand, sending strange energy into the lake… Bubbles increased dramatically and the water got even hotter. I could tell from how Ruto twitched that the Zoras were suffering worse than ever before!

Zelda looked at me, then at the Zora Queen… "What should we do?" She asked desperately.

I closed my eyes in thought… "What should we do?" Was the thought that repeated itself the most… Then I decided…

"We have to save the lake… I don't know how, but it's what we have to do..." Upon stating my decision, I looked over at the women that were in my company as Zelda closed her eyes.

Zelda nodded. "So how do you propose we do this?"

I looked at Ruto, who was only starting to look a little better… "We ask for help."

Ruto's eyes opened as I looked into them. "Link? What's going on?" she asked, almost in a daze.

"The lake, and all the water in Hyrule, is boiling…" I breifly explained.

The Zora Queen blinked and had a puzzled look on her face… "And…?"

"I thought you might be able to help us fix that…" I told her as bluntly as I could.

"How do you expect me to be able to help with something like that? You're the Hero here!" she suddenly screamed.

"Yeah, and you're the Sage of Water!" I blurted out… That was something she was supposed to find out on her own…

"What?" she started… "I'm… By the Triforce…"

Zelda looked at me. "How do you know for sure?"

I took the Princess's hand… "That's something I'll have to tell you at another time… Until then…"

"Then…" Ruto continued. "I can do this?"

All I could do was nod.

Ruto suddenly stood up… "Then I'll have to try…"

The Zora Queen walked up to the surface of the lake, closing her eyes… At that point, she started glowing bright blue… She walked out onto the water, litterally walking on top of it and held out one hand. Her eyes had yet to open. Looking at the outstretched hand, I could see what looked like shards of ice forming into a strange-looking staff. As soon as the staff had been formed, Ruto began a strange ritualistic dance. Her body moved as if the Godesses were controlling it. She moved like the flow of a river, yet was as calm as a lake at the same time... It was mezmerizing, and all either I or Zelda could do was simply watch as the dance continued. Her movements had picked up in speed and the rhythm increased at the same time all while pillars of water formed under her, lifting her up as if to give her praise. After ten more minutes of the dance, she held the staff up and slammed it into the lake, suddenly stopping the bubbles and steam as the pillars of water froze and shattered into millions of tiny sparkling shards of ice. It began to rain…

Zelda looked at Queen Ruto in awe… "That was amazing…" she said simply.

Ruto walked back to the shore and collapsed, with only my arm to hold her up. "Thanks, Zelda…" she replied. We stayed with her and told her of the recent goings-on, including what had been happening concerning Zantauri, King Daphnes, Darunia, and all of Hyrule. The Zora girl seemed to take it rather well. When she had finally regained her strength, she walked back to the water and dove in, not coming up. I assumed she had gone back to Zora's Domain.

We left the lake in relative peace, but I had to admit, it was a depressing ride back…

"Just when things start to go right…" I started to say.

"Let's not talk about him…" Zelda interjected. "I just want to go home and go to sleep…"

I want to thank Player4 for submitting his review of this chapter. If you hadn't, then I wouldn't have been able to re-write it and make it as good as I think I may have gotten it. It's not perfect, but I hope it's much better than the previous version.