The Fire Sanctuary had been a trying dungeon. Link was covered in ash and dirt and lots of sweat. They must be able to smell him all the way in Skyloft. However, he kind of liked this temple better than the others. Well, he liked the mogmas being here with him, it was less lonely than the other temples.

But then there was this guy again.

Link could do with some loneliness at the moment.

"Lovely, aren't they? You'll find the supple skin of my arms tougher than any armor. Doesn't their shape just leave you… breathless?"

Yeah… This…

Maybe he had gotten lonely with nobody to talk to for hundreds of years.

"Such an exquisite physique! Such stunning features!"

Or maybe he just liked hearing his own voice.

"So come close Link! Meet me in battle, and the thread of fate that binds us will be soaked crimson with your blood!"

Link squared his stance and raised his shield.

Once upon a time, he would be afraid right now. He would be in fight-or-flight mode desperately struggling to survive against a demonic onslaught. He would make mistakes, take desperate risks, and neglect opportunities.

Not anymore.

He wasn't some scared kid with a sword from a statue and a rickety wood shield anymore. He was not the kid who staggered into the Faron Woods chasing the trail of his friend. Like his sword, he had outgrown his original form and was now more than he ever expected he would be.

He had braved desert, volcano, forest, sky, temple, and dungeon. He had destroyed the mighty Koloktos, slain the enormous Tentalus and beaten back the equally titanic Imprisoned itself. He had run, bled, slashed, bashed, shot and stabbed his way to where he was and he had come out on top.

He was the Goddess's Chosen Hero, the champion of Skyloft, the heir of the surface, and the damn Hero of Legend. He had not come this far, grown this much, to only make it this far.

And he did not make it here alone.

"Fi, analysis." Link whispered behind his shield.

Her voice spoke directly into his mind. "Ghirahim displays superior mental and physical prowess, as well as expert command of magic. He will devolve to his true nature when enraged."

Make him angry. Well that wasn't too hard. His continued survival pissed the demon off more than anything.

"Analysis indicates that the daggers that appear around Ghirahim also act as a defensive barrier. Removing these daggers before attacking should be an effective means of breaking down his defenses."

Little pointy things are bad. Break them. Got it.

"From past experience, it appears that Ghirahim prefers to use his right hand to attempt to grab your sword, Master."

Link remembered that. Ghirahim had nearly killed him with his own sword when he ripped it out of his hand and threw it back at him in the Skyview Temple.

"To land an attack on Ghirahim, I advise you to swing your sword from a direction that cannot be blocked by daggers or Ghirahim's right hand. Ghirahim will move his right hand in time with your attacks. However, Master, there will be times when he is too slow to meet your attack."

Link had grown faster and stronger, and so had his sword. The demon would be surprised.

"Understood."

Link advanced cautiously, evading the red daggers that Ghirahim launched at him. When he got close enough, he went on the attack. He got a few good strikes in, but jolted violently to a stop as he swung.

Ghirahim smirked at Link, the Goddess White Sword restrained in his hand. The smirk only lasted a moment as Link did his level best to force-feed the demon his goddess shield. It didn't work, but the true goal was to obscure Girahim's vision.

Ghirahim's grip was strong, but Link had learned a few things. He shifted his grip, keeping his thumb hooked around the hilt but flipping the rest of his fingers up and onto the crossguard. Link planted a foot on Girahim's thigh and wrenched his sword back like the reigns of a raging animal.

A harsh metal-on-metal screech sounded as the Goddess White Sword tore through Ghirahim's grip violently, leaving no small amount of damage on the demon's fingers and palm.

Link caught his sword by the hilt as Ghirahim shook his hand like he had been burned. Ghirahim glared at the young hero and Link let a small smirk slip out behind his shield.

That's right demon freak. He got some new moves.

Link leaped at Ghirahim with a snarl, his sword gleaming proudly as it came down upon the demon.

Hello! Thank you all for sticking around and for the reviews. It means a lot to get positive (or any) feedback as a new author on something that I put a lot of effort into. To some of you veterans this might look like a weekend project, but this is me pushing my limits as an author. I have a new appreciation for the people who put out a 3,000 word chapter every weekend, the amount of work that is! I'm even skipping the hard part because the game is my storyboard, I just add more flesh to the story. What you guys do... Dang! There is a reason that my Pokemon story is killing me, I can't even get it off the ground despite having almost 70 google docs pages filled with story-bones, and the reason is it is as close to an original work as a fanfiction can be. It is all new stuff that I have to come up with and it. is. hard.

Anyway, this chapter came about when I beat the second Ghirahim battle without losing a heart. I felt like it was a turning point of the game, where Link goes from protagonist to hero. I currently have three more chapter ideas left and one additional special one, but none of them are beyond the 'hey, what if...?' stage, so you might have a wait. Chapter ideas welcome.