"Gods above!" Ghirahim exclaimed loudly. His eyes were wild and frantic. "Move, get out of the way!"

Then he's pushing past link and practically sprinting up to Zelda before the Skyloftian can blink. As if in a daze, the demon kneels above the girl and begins doing some complicated hand motions, humming and muttering to himself. Soon, a dark aura began wafting out of Zelda's body, causing LInk to cough on its acrid smell.

"Stop that," Ghirahim hisses, almost sounding like his old self. "I must concentrate."

Then as quickly as he had begun, he was finished. Whatever he did seemed to take a lot out of him, and he wobbled as he straightened up, his breathing slightly labored. His chest seemed to bother him again as well, as he was rubbing it and groaning softly in pain. Honestly, Link was still trying to process the fact he managed to injure the demon so badly. He'd never been able to make a lasting mark on him before this point. It's a wonder Ghirahim was still alive, much less moving around and performing magic.

But most of those thoughts took a back seat when it registered that the demon had done something to Zelda! It didn't seem like a bad thing, though the girl was still unresponsive, she seemed to be regaining some color in her face. But the hero was still suspicious. "What did you do?"

"I ended the ritual that was draining away at her soul and life force." Ghirahim's tone was Grimm, and he looked shaken. "I assume this is the work of a follower of the evil god you spoke of earlier. You were certainly not wrong to call this deity evil. The two of you cannot be older than, what, seventeen? Anyone who would do something like this to anyone, much less children is a depraved, sick bastard!"

Seeing Ghirahim angry wasn't new. Hearing him rant wasn't either. But seeing the demon practically bursting with righteous indignation on he and Zelda's behalf, the ones he had spent so long opposing, certainly was. And that's not even mentioning the swear. No matter how enraged he was, the demon had never sworn. At least, not that LInk heard.

Said demon seemed to be trying to calm himself, though, taking slow, shaky breaths, hand still on his chest. "It's a good thing I was able to stop it when I did. Had it continued for a moment longer, it almost certainly would have killed her. But now, if she takes it easy and gets a lot of bed rest, she'll be fine. Oh, and plenty of good meals as well. The kind of meals that make people say, 'this is food for the soul, not just the body.' Because, they are."

"Wait," Link interjects, his mind finally catching up with everything that just happened. "How do you know all of this?" It was suspicious how Ghirahim appeared not to remember his name, but just performed a complex counter spell with no problem.

"I…" But the demon appeared just as confused as the hylian was. "I do not know. However, I must be a being of considerable power if I was able to reverse the ritual so effortlessly, despite my injuries. And surely I possessed a great deal of spiritual and magical knowledge. But how did I get in this state? Is it the reason for my memory loss? And the diamonds earlier—I must have more powers other than stopping dark rituals! But just what might I be capable of? Are you aware of the extent of my abilities?"

Link felt a headache coming on, himself. Ghirahim was more talkative than ever before, and he was asking him nonstop questions.

"Oh, where are my manners? Going on about my situation when yours is clearly more dire. I cannot imagine what sort of depraved fiend would do this, but let us only hope they are nowhere nearby. For their sake, of course. I am confident that, even in my weakened, ignorant state, I would absolutely obliterate them!"

Link distracts himself from bursting into deranged laughter at the sheer irony of that statement by focusing on the here and now. "Let's just get Zelda to safety for now, okay? Then I'll see about answering some of your questions."

"Oh, yes, of course. As stunning as it is, this platform is no place to nap upon. Terrible back support, bound to get joint pain. Let's be off." And he kneels once again, lifting Zelda off the ground and into his arms. He was surprisingly gentle about it. The girl's blonde head lolled sideways onto the demon's shoulder.

Link winced, reaching out for his friend. "Uh, I'd actually prefer to carry her myself, thank you." No matter how different the demon was and how softly he cradled her, Link still did not trust him anywhere near his friend.

Said demon agreed without a fuss, Likely being so amenable because carrying her could not have been comfortable for him at the moment. He helped him get Hylia's vessel situated on his shoulder, across from where his sword was. She was a little heavy, but Link forced himself not to show any discomfort should Ghirahim decide to take Zelda back.

As Link walked back across the platform, pointedly ignoring the drying blood, the hairs on his neck stood on end. Ghirahim was following him like a lost puppy, a puppy who had absolutely no concept of personal space. I guess some things just never change, he thought grumpily.

"May I ask where we are headed, exactly?" Ghirahim looked relatively put together despite losing all of his memories, if a bit battered and bloodied. His past self would've thrown a fit if he saw what he looked like now. And possibly for more reasons. "I don't mind where, as long as there is somewhere to bathe. My blood is drying in my hair; it's horrid. I hate it, and must be rid of this deplorable, sticky mess as soon as possible."

Link sighs. "I don't know for sure yet. I need to discuss it with Zelda when she wakes up. First we have to go back through the Gate of Time."

"The Gate of Time?" Ghirahim is leaning forward now, whispering in His ear, but he doesn't seem to be trying to intimidate for once. A considerable step up from the first time he asked about it, that was for sure. Still,

The hylian picks up the pace, so that he, Ghirahim and most importantly Zelda were at a more reasonable distance. "We're in the past," he responds bluntly. "We have to return to our present time."

"Okay, way to drop a massive bombshell out of nowhere, Link. Do you realize how this sounds? 'My friend is being sacrificed to an evil god, oh and also there is time travel involved'? Do you even have a clue as to how this would be like to learn as an outsider? At least… that is what I… I don't know how I fit into all of this. I surely must factor in somehow, but where?"

Loathed as he was to admit it, Ghirahim had a point. His quest really was sort of crazy, but he had been so focused on making sure he succeeded that he never had the time to really ponder the strangeness of it all. "I would've said something sooner, but I forgot."

"You forgot," the demon drawled. "Is traveling into the past to save your friend's soul such an ordinary experience for you that it simply slipped your mind? How exactly did you forget about something so crucial?"

"The same way you forgot everything, I guess," the Skyloftian blurted before he could stop himself.

For a moment, the two of them froze. Link slowly turned to face his companion, who thankfully didn't look offended. Instead, he just smirked. "Touché."

I am never going to stop being weirded out by how different he is now, LInk thought.

When they were nearly at the gate, Zelda began to groan and shift slightly on LInk's back.

"The Spirit Maiden wakes!" His companion exclaims, in a relieved and happy tone that still sounded so out of place in his voice. He shrugs off the use of the nickname quicker than he had for LInk's, and tries to come closer again, but Link turns so he's between the two of them.

The demon cocks his head in confusion at the movement, which was oddly cute in a strange sort of way. "I only want to see if she is alright."

"You already said she was fine," LInk insists."

"Yes, but—" Then, out of nowhere, Ghirahim flicks his long purplish tongue in their direction.

Link moves back even further, and fast. "What are you doing!"

"You're injured too!" Ghirahim once again tries to approach, but LInk isn't having it. "Sky Child!" The demon is almost whining.

"I'm fine."

"No, you are not!"

"How do you know?" Link scoffs. "Could you taste my health?"

It was intended to be a sarcastic statement, but Ghirahim actually nods in confirmation."Yes, of course. Can you not?"

This gives Link pause. Ghirahim could tell things like that about him with his freaky tongue? That put a whole other perspective of why the demon had flicked out his tongue and licked his blood from the blade in their previous encounters. But that was something to ponder later. "Um, no."

"Well then, are you at least aware of the burns on your face?"

"Oh." Link had actually forgotten about them because of, well, everything. But now that they were mentioned, the hero winced at the painful stinging on his cheeks where the demon's blood had hit him earlier.

"I also tasted your strength, which is the only reason you have yet to fall over. But you will if you do not receive medical attention immediately."

Link pulled out a potion and downed it in one gulp. "Happy?"

"Potions are not a substitute for an actual healer," Ghirahim grumbles, looking very unimpressed.

"I'll go see one as soon as we get out of here, alright?"

"You had better. And take Zelda as well, for good measure."

Ugh, he's like a mother hen. LInk thinks as they finally keep moving. I almost wish he was trying to kill me again, almost.

Zelda groans again. "Link? What… is happening…"

A/N: i headcanon that Ghirahim can sense things like health, strength, and magical powers with his tongue, and he flicks his tongue at LInk not just to intimidate him but also get an idea of how strong he is and thus, what amount of power he'll need to use. And he can get even more detailed information by outright licking someone's blood, to the point that he can tell whose blood it is by taste alone. I don't think I've ever really seen anyone else play with this idea.