Chapter 24: Gate

Link could only see in the cold darkness of the mining facility because Fi glowed with blue light as she led the way. She was a beacon in the otherwise pitch dark maze of rooms and sand. His skin still burned from the scorching sun, and he suspected he was going to have a very unpleasant sunburn, but at least he found the cool dampness of this new area a soothing and welcome change.

The hero listened carefully to the sounds from inside the darkened mine, while trying to supress his sense of smell. The scent of death had grown stronger, and he heard skittering coming from inside the walls of the room.

"The number of scorpions in this place indicates a nest," Fi said into his mind. She hovered in front of Link, and he walked in her wake.

He could see the floor right under him was covered with faint overlapping circular patterns, some of which came together to form what looked like curved diamond shapes. The diamond shapes reminded link of Ghirahim, though he quickly put the demon lord out of his mind. He had to concentrate on his new surroundings right now. To his left and right, he could barely make out the pattern of bricks on the rest of the floor. The bricks and circular pattern were separated by four groups of tiles-one thin, one thick, another thin, and a much thicker one. He tried to make sense of the patterns but the only one that reminded him of anything was a vaguely eye-like pattern in the outermost set of tiles.

"I know the way through the mine," she said. "We'll need to head through the door straight ahead."

Link was startled for a moment as a face much like the LD-301's came into view to his left. To his relief, he realized that the face was just part of a tall statue. Directly in front of him was a six-stair staircase. He walked slowly up the staircase, his hand brushing the metallic rails.

A question about Fi's earlier statement formed in Link's mind. An image of the Goddess Sword, locked in the statue as the years and decades and centuries flew by. How could she know the layout of the mine if she had been in Skyloft since before this place had even been built?

"Yes, my sword form has been locked away for over a thousand years, and this place is only perhaps eight centuries old. I had to await the one who would be born with the unbreakable spirit. You. But the Goddess Statue in Skyloft is linked to this place, as well as the Sheikah Temple. I can materialize my form in any location with sufficient time stones, so I have visited the surface many times while my sword form dwelled in Skyloft."

Link nodded, though Fi was not facing him. That would surely be less dull than simply waiting in the sword all of that time.

"Yes. Also, the Sheikahs were engaged in many tasks which required my assistance."

As Link considered those words, they came to a door covered by a metal grating. Fi used her magic to force open the grating, however, exposing a yellow door with a stylized image of an LD-301 on it. Link and Fi went through the door and into the next room.

"Please use caution to not fall in this room," Fi said. "Two bridges intersect each other over a deep mine shaft here."

Link had suspected that the empty darkness on either side of him was a deep chasm of some sort, and Fi's warning confirmed his suspicions. He walked cautiously, turning to the right only when the sword spirit did.

Suddenly three skull-like heads snaked out at Fi, hissing. The sword spirit tilted her head and grabbed the creature. Link watched in surprise as she lifted it without seeming effort and held it up from the ground. One of the heads opened it's jaws and veered downwards, it's gaping maw moving towards Fi's head. In a moment, Link severed the neck of the creature.

As he moved to sever the other two heads, the one he had cut off grew back. "The staldra regenerates its heads," Fi stated calmly. "Unless all three can be destroyed at once."

Link slashed across the length of the three heads this time, yelling a battle cry in the darkness. As two heads writhed on the ground, the still-twitching body fell over the ledge, and Fi threw the remaining head into the chasm.

"Very good, Master."

Link stood gasping for air, staring at the blood on his blade. That had been-exhilarating.

"Yes. Staldras were one of the creatures created by the curse of Demise. You exist to battle the darkness of that curse as the chosen warrior of the goddess, Link. You are fulfilling your purpose, just as I am."

Link looked over to her. She had seemed so fearless facing the Staldra. How could she not be afraid of such a creature?

Fi looked over at him. "The staldra was never a threat to me. But I am hardly fearless, Master Link." Her expression faltered a moment before resuming its previous neutrality. She turned to him. "I am powerful in this place, so I will lead us through quickly. But once we leave this area, my power will wane. I can only use the power of the timestones when I am near them." She paused, turning briefly to survey the area. "Let's move on."

Link nodded, and for a moment looked pensively down the side of the bridge. He had lost both Firestar and his sailcloth earlier, which made him feel as if he was a bird with clipped wings. Heights held an ominous threat now that they hadn't before. As he continued walking across the bridge, following Fi's luminescence, Link thought on her earlier words after his defeat of the staldra. If they were they both weapons, were they only weapons, meant to fulfill a single purpose? Link didn't like to think that.

"No," Fi said. "Hylia would never create a creature meant for only a single role. But that is one of the roles we play, yes."

Link considered that as Fi nonchalantly broke a large lock attached by four chains on the door. He didn't like thinking of himself as a weapon, or Fi, despite how closely she was entwined with the goddess sword. A query formed in his mind as he opened the sandstone door and walked through it into the next room.

And Fi responded. "You wish to know more about-me?"

He nodded.

"Very well. Goddess Sword—forged by the goddess Hylia herself in the era of the first demon war, this blade has existed for one thousand three hundred and forty two years as the sword of Hylia's chosen Hero-"

Link shook his head.

"Is there specific information you wish to know, Master?"

Link nodded. He supposed he had been unclear. He tried to organize his thoughts to be clearer.

"Oh," Fi said. "No. I was not always bonded to the sword."

So she was younger than the Goddess Sword?

"No," Fi said again. "Older. I am three thousand, two hundred, and thirty nine years older than the Goddess Sword."

Link stopped waking abruptly and looked up at her. He pulled out his notebook and scribbled the two numbers down, calculating their sum. A memory of a history lesson with Owlan surfaced. And though the old schoolteacher was much less precise, Link realized that if his numbers were accurate, then Fi must be near the same age as Hylia herself.

"So—If you would repeat that?" Ghirahim asked, speaking into the stone.

"The Sky Hero is gone. Lord Terrin has taken him. My lord, I take full responsibility for this-"

Ghirahim waved a hand, though he realized belatedly that the person he was talking to wouldn't see that. "No, no, this is not your fault, Circe. It is Lord Terrin who will be taking full responsibility for this, let me assure you."

"I-thank you," the soldier said uncertainly. "What should we do now? Rejoin Captain Darrow's group?"

"Hmmm, no. There was an earthquake in this region recently. Soon after that quake, I noticed there was a new structure in the desert. I'm sure the two events are related, so I'd like you to investigate that. It could be vitally important, but I'm unable to stop there myself as I must continue directly to the Temple. I will relay you the coordinates."

"Very well, my lord. We will make our way there immediately."

"Thank you." Ghirahim gave the location of the structure and then watched the rock as it stopped the glow that indicated it was on. He handed the stone back to Ferrik.

Then the demon lord screamed. The sky darkened and lightened erratically, in rhythm with his clenching and unclenching fingers. He would have felt better if he could teleport, but he hadn't lost himself in rage enough to forget the dangers of the timestones.

"Terrin will pay for this."

Orynx frowned up at the shifting hue of the sky. "I don't think we should be advertising our presence like this."

Ghirahim grit his teeth. "I can't help it. I am upset. Help me be less upset, and it will go away."

Ferrik tilted his head. If Terrin took the Sky Hero..."

"Then he's dead," Orynx said, scratching his beard. "And no longer our problem."

"If Terrin has had his way, then yes," Ghirahim said. "There is some small possibility that has not occurred."

"I suppose," Orynx said, frowning. "But surely it would be worse if Terrin failed? That would mean that our enemy was loose again."

"No," Ghirahim said. "My plans...require the Sky Hero to be alive."

Ferrik looked taken aback. "But-why? How will we win, then? He's fated to destroy us!"

Ghirahim took a deep breath. Ferrik's words were upsetting, but he was only speaking his mind. "You're right. But the only way to win this is to cheat fate. Killing Link solves nothing. Hylia's chosen hero will just be reborn if this one dies. The best approach is to-end the cycle entirely."

"What do you mean?" Ferrik asked. "Isn't that impossible? I thought her hero was always reborn."

Orynx raised an eyebrow.

"My plan is to make sure he doesn't die. Convince this hero to aid us. Then Hylia will no longer have her hero, and a new one will not be born if the old one hasn't died."

"My lord," Orynx said. "You know I am doubtful of the wisdom of this plan. Perhaps you will be better able to negotiate with the next hero. After you have defeated the Sheikahs, you will have a more stable position as ruler-"

"That was not what I planned to do!"

"Your current plan is void. The hero is dead."

Ghirahim snarled and turned to glare at Orynx. The wind began to lift the sand around them into the air.

"That is not certain!"

The sky darkened, alternating between a green and purple cast, and the sand whirled furiously around them in a vortex. Ghirahim grimaced and looked up at the funnel of sand coaelescing above them. He snapped, trying to stop the sandstorm, but to no avail.

"My lord," Orynx said. "It's getting worse."

"I've noticed! I thought I fixed this!" He covered his face with his hands. Ghirahim hadn't had this problem in years. He'd only lost complete control of his powers twice before after regaining his use of them. Besides the minor lighting issues when he was angry, he had had no other problems. But both of his other episodes had occurred when his emotions had gotten out of hand. It didn't help that he couldn't teleport. He found teleporting very calming. How could he make this go away?

The Shard of Truth indicated that the issue would subside if he could calm down. Thanks for that incredibly useless tip. Unfortunately, Ghirahim knew that the shard was not going to be any more helpful now than it had been those other two times. Normally, he would find the shard's comments insightful, or at least amusing, but right now he didn't need advice like don't hyperventilate.

Ferrik looked around them anxiously, but Orynx only frowned. "Why does this bother you so much?"

Ghirahim took a deep breath. "I am afraid. Afraid I will fail." Anger he could deal with. But fear was so much worse.

"Why?" Orynx asked.

"All of my plans have gone awry," Ghirahim said, covering his face with his hands. "My plans for capturing the goddess, my plans for the Sky Hero. Everything." He made a strangled sound.

"One thing went right," Orynx said.

"What? What could possibly have gone right?"

"You're not dead yet."

But Link might be. Ghirahim thought about Link's often serious countenance, and his occasionally vivid smiles. He had always been so incredibly courageous. And stubborn. He was sure that his goddess could do no wrong. But no. I must put myself at fault as well. I did not make a good enough attempt to persuade him. If only I had- Ghirahim cut the thought off.

I cannot afford to dwell on this. And perhaps he survived his encounter with Terrin after all. But I musn't place all my hopes on Link, regardless. Orynx is right. I'm not dead, and I can still win this.

Ghirahim blinked. The shrieking winds had abruptly died out and the sand fell to the ground and onto the three demons. The sun shone again in a clear blue sky.

"Thank you. You're right. I shouldn't let it affect me so. It's just-all that effort-wasted. It is so very, very vexing."The demon lord brushed the sand off of his shoulders and hair. He had been neglecting his personal appearance given all that had been on his mind recently, and so he decided to calm himself by running a comb through his hair a few times and re-applying the body paint he had scrubbed off during his last bath. Then, taking a deep breath, he said, "But you're right, Orynx. I can handle this. I'll just need to improvise."

Zelda gazed at the water rushing under the bridge of the open air temple. The time stone they had activated had brought the entire place back to its former glory. And at the other side of the bridge, an enormous clockwork gear rested, its intricately detailed face still.

"Is that-?"

Impa nodded and smiled. "The greatest achievement of the Sheikah? Yes. It is the Gate of Time."

Zelda walked towards it, wanting to examine the ancient relic in further detail. She turned her head towards Impa. "How does it work?"

"I will show you how to operate it, what it does, and why. But as to how it works?" Impa shrugged. "Smarter people than me have devoted entire lifetimes trying to explain it. Probably only the inventor truly understood it, and even she-" Zelda saw Impa turn around. Turning herself, she saw a cloaked figure.

Impa turned to see the tall cloaked figure. A hood covered their head and their face was covered entirely with cloth, except for the eyes. Their hands were covered in thick grey gloves, with silver claws sticking out of each finger. Their black wings stood out on their back. Only demons ever had wings like that. Ghirahim must have sent this assassin to kill the goddess. But it shouldn't be possible for them to be here, Impa thought. Then again Ghirahim shouldn't have been able to get as far as he had in either of the other temples. The defenses were failing-that must be the reason. Still, Impa had little time to ponder that as the demon attacked with a bolt of blue energy.

She deflected the magical attack with her shield. The winged ones are the worst. She still remembered how the other winged demon had nearly taken the goddess with her trick, and that one hadn't even had any magic. She looked up as the demon launched themselves in the air.

Never again, Impa thought as the demon launched themselves at Zelda.

The demon hissed when they hit the shield, but fell only a few feet before righting themselves in midair. This dislodged their hood, revealing the stark profile of their cloth covered head.

The demon scraped at the shield with a dagger and screeched in rage when this had no effect. Then they latched onto the shield with the silver claws sticking out of the fingers of their gloves with one hand and and slashed repeatedly with the other.

"Surrender or I will destroy you!" Impa growled.

The demon laughed, a sound that seemed metallic. They're using a concealing spell on their voice. But why? It's not as if they can conceal what they are with those enormous wings giving them away.

"You Sheikah always underestimate us. It will take more than tough words to vanquish me."

The demon slashed again at Impa's shield and she saw to her dismay that the slashes were starting to tear through her shield. They have magic. Powerful magic.

Impa had a sudden idea. She dissolved the shield and grabbed Zelda as she moved swiftly out of the demon's way. The demon crashed into the ground, growling as they flapped their wings erratically.

"Why don't you show your face, spellcaster?" Impa called out, for that's what she realized the figure must be. The demon carried no weapons, so they couldn't simply be an oddly dressed soldier. And they had demonstrated more than sufficiently that they had magic.

"Because I don't wish to," the figure said, stopping several feet in front of them. They placed the hood over their cloth-obscured face again. Then they held out their long-fingered hands, which ended in the long silver claws they had attacked with earlier.

"Then maybe you'd like to die instead," Impa growled.

The demon shook their cowled head. "Not really. I don't particularly wish to kill you, either."

"That seems to contradict your actions," Impa said.

"Again, not really. I never planned to kill either of you. But I had to do something, for I know that's the mortal form of Hylia." A clawed finger pointed at Zelda. "You will doom my kind if you restore her memories, as I know you plan to do."

"So you wish to fight me, then?" Impa asked, holding her fists out.

The demon shook their head again. "I could not hope to defeat you, I see that now." They gestured toward Zelda. "Perhaps you would let me have some words with your Goddess?"

"Perhaps, if you stay where you are," Impa said, wondering where the demon spellcaster was going with this. Realizing she had been carrying Zelda the entire time she set her back down on the ground next to her and said, "This demon wishes to speak to you. Do you wish to hear what they have to say?" She lowered her voice then, and added, "I advise we not bother."

Zelda bit her lip briefly and looked over at the demon. "I'll hear what you have to say, but—no tricks."

The demon nodded and folded their wings. "Agreed. My concern, of course, is with your plans to recreate the Seal."

"I know none of you wish to be sealed away," Zelda said. "Lord Ghirahim told me that."

The demon tilted their head. "Lord who?"

"Ghirahim," Zelda repeated. "You should know him-he's the leader of the demons. You are a demon, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course," they replied. "But I do not know of any Lord Ghirahim. I have been in Lanayru for many years, waiting for you. I knew you would come here, eventually."

"You found a way out of the Seal yourself!" Impa growled.

The demon laughed the same metallic laugh that they had laughed before. Impa wondered again why this one had chosen to mask their voice. What would be the point? Impa knew all the demons were out to kill them. It wasn't as if she was going to be nicer to ones she didn't recognize.

"The Seal has long been imperfect," the demon said, their metalic voice cutting into Impa's thoughts. "Do you think the various pretenders to the throne were the only ones capable of going through it?" The spellcaster flexed a hand. "Yes, a few of us had the means to make it through ourselves, though you Sheikah certainly do your best to exterminate us. But we digress. I wish to discuss the Seal with your Goddess."

Zelda nodded. "What did you wish to discuss? I know you think I wish you ill, but when my memories are returned to me I promise I will find a way to-"

The demon waved a hand impatiently. "Do not promise me anything, Hylia, unless you are willing to swear a true oath, and pay the price of breaking it. Will you do that?"

Zelda frowned. "I—sorry, I don't think I should."

"Then don't bother with empty words. All I wish is to tell you the cost of your punishment of myself and the other demons."

"Very well. I will listen."

"Worse even than the utter desolation of the centuries upon centuries of darkness in which we live, are the creatures with which we are imprisoned. Hylia, death itself walks in the Lower Realms, because just as the Seal you created to keep us there is fading, so is the Seal you created to keep those beings partitioned from any still among the living, including the demons. So I beg of you, whatever you do with the Seal you used to lock us away, make sure you restore the magic meant to lock them away forevermore."

Zelda stared at the demon in horror.

Impa frowned. "The Redeads are nothing more than a myth."

The hood turned towards Impa. "The Redeads are as real as I am, and considerably less friendly. Your Hylia can tell you all about them, I'm sure, once her memories are restored."

"Is that all you wished to say?" Impa asked.

"For now," the demon said. Their hooded head turned to Zelda, and they bowed. "We will meet again, Your Grace," Suddenly the cloaked figure melted away into smoke until there was no trace of them.

"They're gone," Impa said, and she knew that to be true. She had felt a massive amount of magic leave the area. The spellcaster had teleported. She briefly wondered how that could be possible due to the interference from the timestones, but decided to ponder the puzzle further at a later time. She turned to Zelda. "We should get started now, before we get any more unwelcome guests."

Zelda stared at Impa. The taller woman was beaded with sweat and breathing heavily, but she seemed absolutely unafraid for herself. She had thrown herself in harm's way, again and again, for Zelda's sake alone. She was confident and strong, intelligent and beautiful.

"Impa, I wanted to say-thank you."

The Sheikah smiled. "It's no problem. That spellcaster clearly overestimated their ability."

"Er, I mean you mean a lot to me," Zelda said. She tried to think of how to say what she should say. How did Sheikah do these sorts of things? Was it different than in Skyloft? "You're really beautiful."

"Ah, thank you, Your Grace. I try to keep fit for battle."

Zelda sighed. Well, I guess that's not how they do these sorts of things. I suppose I need to be more direct.

"You're very fit," Zelda agreed. "But I said that because you are very beautiful and-I-really-would-like-to-kiss-you-a-lot."

"What do you-oh. Oh." Impa's eyes widened. "I-I don't-I mean-"

"It's fine if you don't feel the same," Zelda said, feeling her face heat. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"No! I didn't mean it that way! I mean, I do have feelings for you, but I never thought you would feel that way about-me."

Zelda closed the distance between them and smiled up at Impa. "Well, I do."

"I thought-you and Link-"

Zelda shook her head. "I thought so, too, before all this happened. But even then, that didn't seem quite-right. We're friends, but I don't feel that way about him."

"Well, that's good," Impa said. Her face reddened. "That didn't come out right."

Zelda placed her arm on Impa's back and smiled. "No, that's fine."

Their lips met, first softly, and then more insistently. It was slightly awkward because Impa had to bend down quite a bit. That was, until the Sheikah woman scooped Zelda up into her arms.

Finally, Impa broke the kiss and set Zelda back on the ground. "I'm, ah, honored, Your Grace. But we should prepare for the ritual."

"Oh. The ritual. Of course."

Ghirahim stared out at the dead, broken landscape ahead of them. "This must be a joke." He gestured at the rusted minecart rails. "Look—if this place wasn't in such decay, we could ride along to the Temple of Time in some rickety mine carts. What style!"

Ghirahim looked down the edge of one of the cliffs. Though demons could survive fairly large falls, he was confident that that the seemingly endless canyons in this area were far too deep for even the hardiest demon to survive such a fall. This was inconvenient for them at the moment, but his mind had come up with an excellent use for such a height. Terrin is not hardy, just wily. One good kick, though, and he would go falling to his doom. A fast and certain way to die. Unfortunately it would make getting to the body to burn it more difficult...

Orynx interrupted Ghirahim's thoughts of execution by canyon with his response. "You mean you could," the guard said. "I don't think I'd trust those things to hold my weight."

Ferrik growled. "There has to be some way across—the Sheikahs wouldn't have cut themselves off from their own temple. There must be a secret passage or something-"

The demon lord sighed and turned his attention away from fantasies of murder. "You're right. This can't be the real way to the temple. Otherwise they'd have, I don't know—a bridge?!" Ghirahim closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. There must be something we've missed. I can figure this out. It'll be good for me. Just a little test on how to get across impassable barriers without teleportation. It has to be possible...

What galled him was that he couldn't simply use his wind magic, either. One mistake—one momentary separation from the sword—even by an inch, could send them all tumbling to their deaths. He couldn't risk that.

If only those accursed timestones weren't—wait. Ghirahim opened his eyes and grinned. "You know, Orynx, I'm fairly confident those minecarts would hold your weight if they weren't so terribly rusted as they are now..."

Orynx glanced over at Ghirahim. "No. I know what you're thinking. I vote we go around the other way."

Ghirahim chuckled. "No time for that." He looked over at Ferrik. "As we've seen, the timestones seem to be set off whenever they are hit. So if we-"

"Sure! Already on it!" Ferrik said eagerly, unslinging his bow.

"I could go around the other way by myself," Orynx said.

Ghirahim gave him a bright smile. "Don't be silly. We shouldn't split up now! What kind of reunion would that be?"

"You're right. You'd get yourselves killed," Orynx said. "And then I'd have to hunt down whoever killed you and make them regret their choices."

"Nice to know you would be so torn up over my death," Ferrik said, pulling his arrow back.

"Don't flatter yourself, Ferrik," Orynx said. "Replacing a guard as inexperienced as you would not be difficult."

"Ha! Well, if it wouldn't be me you'd be so upset about, then it would have to be Lord Ghirahim. Maybe you're not as horrible as you seem."

"Well, you're right about that," Orynx said, his expression neutral. "One should always try to appear less horrible than they are."

"Ha, then maybe you should do something about that ugly face of yours," Ferrik said, laughing.

They seem to be getting along better recently, Ghirahim observed. He knew neither of the two guards particularly enjoyed working together, Orynx thinking that Ferrik was unsuited to the job and Ferrik feeling that Orynx was untrustworthy. Still, it seemed to him that they worked well together despite their disagreements.

Ferrik released the arrow. Ghirahim heard a 'clink' as it hit the timestone. There was a strange metallic sound as the effects of the timestone spread from the source and filled the space with color and life. The minecart track reconstructed itself across the cliff.

Ghirahim grinned at Orynx and gestured towards the minecart. "After you."

"No way. Ferrik goes first. I don't trust that thing."

Ferrik laughed. "Fine with me. All those muscles, and you're still such a coward, Orynx."

"Think what you will," Orynx said. "It doesn't matter to me."

Ferrik scoffed and jumped into the minecart. He looked back and waved at Ghirahim, giving Orynx a smug look.

As the cart was travelling across the chasm, a large bird dove down from a ledge and dropped a stone directly in the path of the minecart. Ghirahim was able to push the rock aside with a strong gust of wind, which also momentarily disoriented the bird. The bird righted itself, however, and dove towards Ferrik.

Orynx threw a rock, which hit the bird's head. The bird squawked and flew away.

Ferrik grimaced and gingerly dismounted the minecart on the other side of the chasm. "Thanks, Lord Ghirahim," he said.

"Think nothing of it," Ghirahim said. "But if you want to thank me, you should thank Orynx as well."

"Thanks, Orynx! I guess!" Ferrik yelled accross the chasm.

Orynx only grunted, his expression bored.

Ghirahim crossed his arms. "What comraderie you two have! Anyway, I guess it's my turn now."

"Wait," Orynx said. "What if that bird comes back?"

Ferrik took out his bow from across the chasm. "Then its luck runs out."

"I don't trust that contraption," Orynx said, gesturing towards the mine cart. It surely uses Sheikah magic of some kind."

Ghirahim frowned. "Of course it uses magic. It has to be powered somehow."

Orynx scowled. "I mean they could have set some sort of trap in it."

"Unlikely. It's a mine cart. It would have been used too commonly for it to be worth such measures. Besides, if there was some sort of trap, surely Ferrik would have triggered it already."

"Are you sure? Because of Relaris, much magical knowledge was lost. They must know a great deal that no demon does about magic."

Ghirahim jumped into the minecart. "I'm sure enough. See you on the other side."

Orynx grabbed the cart, which squeaked in protest at the large claws preventing its acceleration forward. "This is a bad idea."

"Your advice is duly noted," Ghirahim said, pulling Orynx's hands off the cart finger by giant finger. He gave his guard a small wave as the cart hummed across the precipice.

As he crossed the canyon, he pondered if he should kill Terrin differently depending on whether the other demon had killed Link or not. He's still a treacherous traitor either way, but it does make a difference to me. Death by canyon sounds fun, but cleanup would be so much trouble. So death by sword it is, I suppose. Maybe I should use a spikier sword if he's killed Link...

Ghirahim noticed he had reached the other side of the canyon when Ferrik rushed over to help him out of the minecart.

Ghirahim turned and gave Orynx a smug smile after he reached the other side of the canyon. He could just make out the guard's frown. He gave the cart a tap, and it began its journey back across the canyon to Orynx.

When the cart reached the guard, Orynx only scowled at it silently for a few moments before crawling in. However, despite his reticence, his trip across was uneventful. Still, he eyed the mine cart with suspicion as he climbed out of it, as if he expected it to suddenly launch an attack against him.

Ghirahim rubbed his hands together. "That worked quite well for us, I'd say." He gestured at the rusted minecart in front of them. "I'll bet I know how we can get across this next impassable chasm!"

The odor Link had smelled earlier had gotten stronger when they had moved into this larger room. Something, or someone, had died in here. Actually, from the smell, there had to have been more than one who had lost their life in this place. Link shivered, both from the cold and from his morbid thoughts. Who could have been in here that recently? It had been hidden in the sand until Fi had revealed it.

"Unknown, Master Link. However, it is likely the lifeforms that died in this place are some form of desert animal that took residence here."

Link supposed that made sense.

Fi turned to Link. "We must retrieve an item here called the Gust Bellows. It is a magical item that will be essential to our quest."

Link wondered what the item was. It didn't sound particularly important.

"It is much more useful than it may appear," Fi said. "It saved Eldren's life twice in the Great Demon War, and aided him countless other times."

Link tilted his head, trying to imagine what such an item could be used for.

"Many things. It can create a whirlwind that clears sand and dust, clear the air of anything that would be foul to breathe, and even repel spells."

Link stared at her in surprise.

"It is an item imbued with powerful magic. We must retrieve it, both to aid in our quest and to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands."

He wondered what she meant by the wrong hands. And wasn't getting to Zelda more important? He remembered Impa's sharp words when they had met in the last Temple. He had been late.

"Assisting the Goddess is our first priority, yes. However, we should not rush into battle unprepared. That is the mistake that Eldren—I mean, it is inadvisable."

Link placed his hand on her shoulder. Fi turned around. "You really wish to know what happened?"

He nodded. This was important. Whatever Eldren had failed at, he wanted to make sure he didn't make the same mistake.

"I feared it would upset you," Fi said. "And I didn't think it relevant to our current situation. But you have a right to know. Eldren-thought he could defeat Demise in his own realm, where none would be able to assist him. He cut into the lifeless realm Demise had created to face him alone. I-could have insisted that he wait. His words convinced me that his probability of success would be high, though. But he was wrong and-so was I."

Link considered her words and responded with his own thoughts. He thought she blamed herself, but it seemed to him that she shouldn't. The only one to blame had been Demise.

Fi's expression seemed to change marginally. Some might not notice the small change in her features, but Link could see that she had expressions. And he thought her expression now seemed relieved.

"Thank you, Master Link. You are right. It doesn't do to dwell on what could have been, only to learn from our experiences. I will simply do my best to advise you on all matters in which my knowledge may be of assistance."

Fi directed Link through the room, informing him that he would find the gust bellows in the next room. While she wasn't able to physically levitate or teleport Link as she could herself, she was able to destroy dangerous items and deflect the creatures who lived in the area. The strangest of them looked like a pufferfish that was able to float. Fi informed Link that the strange creature was called a froak, and that it was actually more closely related to frogs than to fish.

She explained that the room was an ancient processing area for the timestones. And she explained to him what a 'conveyor belt' was. Link was glad that she did, because after the sword spirit activated the timestone in the ceiling Link could see that the room was filled with them. Fortunately, she also told him where the exit to the next room was and how to reach it. The timestone-activated room was filled with color and movement. Link even noticed an enormous mural of stars and clouds painted on the ceiling. He wondered at the time that must have been devoted to creating this place. He also suspected that the room wasn't meant to be casually walked through. Running across the conveyor belts was exhausting!

The next room was filled with raised platforms. Fi warned Link that spikes were set in various places in the room to rise out of the floor if they sensed an intruder. Link carefully traversed the room until he finally came to a bright blue chest. He opened it, and a strange item lay inside. The gust bellows. he picked it up. How was he going to carry this?

Fi responded quickly. "I can use magic to make this item shrink to fit into your belt pouch. Normally I wouldn't consider this a wise use of power, but I am not in short supply of that here."

Link held up the item for her and watched in interest as it shrunk to the size of his fist.

They continued on, Link eventually climbing a ladder to reach the exit of the room. Once there, he used the gust bellows for the first time to blow away the large pile of sand in front if the door. Then he followed Fi's instructions for activating the shrinking spell on the device.

The next room was larger than any of the rooms they had been in before.

"This was the main processing room for the timestones used in the Gate of Time," Fi said quietly. "On the other side lies the central storage room for the timestones. There's an exit to the Gate of Time from that room."

Link nodded. So they weren't far from their goal now.

"There is one other detail," Fi said. "That room was sealed using the magic of the timestones to prevent unauthorized entry. Even I cannot undo that seal, so we will require the key."

She pointed a fluttering wing to the right. "There is a room on that side in which such items were stored."

Link looked across the gaping chasm in the direction Fi was pointing. He supposed that sounded relatively straightforward, even if he had hoped they were finally getting close to the Temple. This building seemed peaceful to him, despite its hazardous machinery. Once he left it, there would surely be much more difficult foes to battle than some strange cursed creatures. And it was actually an interesting place, with a history he was quite curious about about. What Fi had told him already made him wonder how it all actually worked.

As they passed a minecart, Link stopped.

"Master?"

Link eyed a timestone on a motionless conveyor belt. Fi had said that she gained power from the timestones. An idea formed in his mind. Maybe they should take some of these with them?

"That could be useful," Fi agreed.

He felt the weight of the stones in his hand and picked the largest one he could carry. It was a sharp crystal formation that seemed to have been hastily cut from the rock. In the dim blue light given off by Fi, it glimmered a black-blue color. He placed it in one of the pouches at his waist. Since his pouches had been emptied by the demons, there was more than enough space to accommodate it.

"Yes, if you carried that with you, I could draw on its power later. Though of course the amount you can carry can only assist me with minor expenditures of power."

Link nodded, and placed the stone in his pouch. Even a small difference might be important.

Suddenly, Link heard a sound coming from someone, or rather, he realized, something. It was a sound that Link wouldn't forget, because it had come from the redeads he had seen while in the lower realms. He realized that this must be where the scent of death had come from.

He unsheathed his sword. Looking over at Fi, he noticed that the light around her had dimmed.

"I apologize. I shouldn't have ignored your worries earlier," Fi said quietly. "We will take them down together."

Link saw an entire group of redeads approach him. His eyes flicked around at the redeads surrounding them when he heard laughter.

"Well isn't this exciting?!" A voice called out.

Link stared in horror as he realized that one of the redeads was speaking. The redead was a tall Sheikah man with one missing eye and his mouth in a rictus grin. At a gesture from the speaking Sheikah, the others stopped their approach, though their one dead eye still seemed fixed on Link.

"Who are you?" Fi asked. "How do you retain your sense of self?"

The Sheikah pointed skeletal fingers at himself. "You mean this body? Oh, no, you're mistaken. He's well and truly dead. The only thing animating him is the desire for living flesh such as that which your friend possesses. As for who he was?" The Sheikah redead shrugged. "Don't know. Can't really ask now, either. He just seemed to have the most workable body out of this lot."

"Then who are you?" Fi asked.

"I'll tell you what. If you tell me your name and the name of your little green friend here, I'll tell you who I am. Deal?"

"Agreed, then. I am Fi." She gestured at the Hylian. "And this is Link."

The Sheikah redead straightened and said, "Why, thank you. My name is Thressan. You haven't, by any chance, heard of me before?"

Fi was silent for several moments, and though Link could never quite read her pupil-less eyes gaze, he thought she might be thinking.

"No," she said abruptly. "Your name is not in my memory."

The Sheikah tilted his head. "Ah, well. No surprise, really. I'm no one important."

"What do you want from us? Why have you sought us out?" Fi asked the Sheikah redead. This was certainly an anomaly. No one, as far as she knew, was capable of inhabiting the bodies of the redeads. Of course, the redeads were supposed to have been locked away for all time anyway.

"Is it so surprising that one would seek out company besides the mindless undead?" Thressan asked.

"We do not plan on staying in this place for very long," Fi said. "We have urgent business to conduct."

Thressan shrugged. "No problem. I'm not going anywhere. Perhaps you could drop by later. Is there anything I can do for you, before you go?"

"Do you know how the redeads have reached this place?" Fi asked. "They should not be here."

Thressan's shoulders shifted stiffly up and down in what Fi assumed to be a shrug. "They traveled here. Pitch-dark meandering ground tunnels are ever-so confusing, so I can't say I know the path they took."

"You must have been a spellcaster," Fi said.

"You could say that," Thressan said. "Still am, actually." He stiffly waved a bony hand and a fish fell to the ground between them, flopping gracelessly.

"A bit hard in this body, though," he said mournfully. "That was meant to summon a bit of light, but the wrist flick is difficult to manage with all the rigor mortis."

Something about Thressan seemed very wrong to Fi, but she thought that perhaps she was being unfair. Also, it would surely be of great interest to Hylia to know how this one had managed to end up in his current situation. Information about the redeads had always been important to her.

Fi glanced over at Link, who stood to her right. Link watched silently, a slight frown on his expression. Fi could see that he was concerned about something, but apparently had decided not to communicate it with her.

"How did you come to animate this redead? Where is your true body?"

"Indisposed, I'm afraid," Thressan said. He made a slicing motion across his neck with his hand. "Quite gone. So I'm rather stuck in this sorry situation."

Link gave Fi a concerned look. This time he did send her his thoughts. Fi nodded slightly to acknowledge that she had understood and turned to face Thressan again. "Link wants to know what we can do to assist you, once we return."

"Why, how considerate of you. Well, you see, it's rather simple. I need a body with reasonable freedom of movement that won't have people running and screaming the moment they see me."

Fi nodded. Link wanted to help the sorcerer, so Fi told him that they planned to return later to attempt to assist him.

"Why, how kind of you."

"It is no problem," Fi said. "Link believes the magic you've learned could be of great use to others, to save them from certain death. So he hopes you would be willing to explain it to us, though he will of course help you regardless."

Thressan laughed. "Ah, I see! And an exchange seems only fair. So, yes, I'll tell you how it is I live if you give me a body that works!"

Link nodded.

"Say, could you help me get past that barrier over there? I'd try a spell but-most of them don't work as intended, as you've seen."

Link nodded. Fi and Link walked with Thressan to the door sealing off an area of the enormous room. Fi used her magic to force open the door and they walked into the area. Fi was curious why Thressan would be interested in this particular area.

Thressan said, "Why, thank you. Redeads don't really have much in the way of entertainment. About the only thing I can enjoy these days is a nice sand bath, you see, so I wanted to get to this quicksand. If you come back later, I'll know, so don't worry about how to find me again. I'll find you."

He walked over to the area filled with quicksand and stepped in, his retinue of undead companions following in his wake. Slowly, he sank under the sand, his hand waving stiffly before he disappeared underneath the surface entirely.

As they made their way towards the central storage room key, Link thought about all he had seen in the strange subterranian building. Cursed creatures. A distant past, bustling with activity. A person trapped in the body of a redead. But despite all that had happened here, his thoughts kept coming back to Ghirahim, his gloved hand reaching out towards the hero. The demon lord had asked Link to join him. But Link couldn't do that. Ghirahim was actively hostile to the Sheikahs. Link had to help Zelda and the surface dwellers.

Ghirahim wasn't concerned with any of that. And though he had said he only planned to restrain Zelda, not harm her, Link didn't think it should be up to Ghirahim what she decided to do. She surely would want to regain her memories as Hylia. Link wasn't sure what that would mean. It was difficult to think about the fact that Zelda literally was Hylia. But he knew it was important, and Ghirahim was working to actively prevent it.

But what Ghirahim had showed him in the Lower Realms-the demon lord really did have a reason to distrust Hylia. Why would the demons have been imprisoned like that? The next time Link found Zelda, he needed to explain what he had seen. Surely she would do something to help the demons. There had to have been some mistake.

He knew Ghirahim had been deeply displeased when he had refused to join him. And Link had-really wanted to. But he would make it up to him. He wouldn't let the demons be sealed away, whatever happened.

Link was brought out of his thoughts when he realized he had finally reached the area that Fi had stated was where the key was kept. She jumped out of the sword and surveyed the scene.

Link saw two overlapping semicircles and a barred entrance leading to a small room with a treasure chest. Two enormous statues stood inside the semicircles. At least, Link thought they were statues until they moved.

"Halt!" The one to his left exclaimed.

"State your security clearance!" The one to his right added.

Fi moved towards them. "Link is the hero chosen by the goddess. Security clearance is not required."

The left stone creature turned to face her. "Oh. It's you, Fi. So-that's really the hero?"

"Yes," Fi said.

The face of the stone creature on Link's right squinted. "Looks awfully runty."

"Yeah," the one on the left said.

Fi glowed slightly brighter. "Time is of the essense, and the hero is quite aware of his current height." She held out a wing. "Open the key room. Now."

"Sorry!" the two said in unison. They both started hopping toward the barred entrance at once, which shook the floor so much that Link nearly fell over.

After they opened the bars, Link retrieved the key. He reflected that this was one of the few times a security measure in some ancient building that was meant to repel demons hadn't also tried to kill him, too.

Link made his way through the darkened, sand filled room. He had used the strangely shaped key to open the enormous door to the storage room Fi had directed him to. Now he tried to follow Fi. He cried out as he suddenly nearly tripped over something large and sticky.

Link tensed as he heard a 'click', followed closely by another 'click'. He looked up and in the dim blue light emanating from Fi, he could just make out an enormous black monstrosity approaching them. The creature looked like the many desert scorpions he had seen, but it was incomprehensibly and unimaginably large. The creature emitted a scream, and Link realized that the sticky, gooey mess he was standing in was an egg sac.

Fi floated towards it and spun to kick the creature. But her leg flickered and passed right through it. She quickly retreated back to Link's side.

The scorpion lashed out at Link with its stinger, and he used his sword to deflect the blow.

"The creature has swallowed an activated silent realm stone," Fi said. "You will have to use my sword to defeat it."

Link remembered that the sorcerer Astaroth had also possessed a stone like that, but Fi had seemingly been unaffected by it. He rolled away as one of the pincers snapped at him.

"True," Fi said, reading the thoughts he directed at her, "But that one was considerably smaller. It is only due to the effects of the timestones that this stone has not confined me to the sword, as occurred in Eldin temple. However, I am unable to directly attack the scorpion."

Link ran through the sand filled room with an enormously angry arachnid mother trailing right behind him. He could hardly believe how unlucky they had been. Though he had to wonder if it really was a mere coincidence that that egg sac had ended up where it had been, almost directly in front of the entrance.

"This is a moldarach, a thousand year arachnid, so known because only those that survive to great age will grow to such a size," Fi intoned. "The creature's eyes are its vulnerability." She stayed in the same place, which Link guessed was because she didn't want the light she gave off to further attract the Moldarach to Link.

Link thought someone must have placed this creature here on purpose in order to waylay them, especially since he'd only seen the silent realm stones used purposely. He assumed they must be rare. Still, he had no time to ponder who might have done that as he dodged the creature's next attack.

Ghirahim briefly considered the Temple. Someone had used a considerable amount of power to fill the entrance with rubble. He could tell the rocks hadn't formed there naturally or even been dropped there by the birds here since they were simply too large and too well-positioned. He could also tell the enormous blue shield around the place had been activated recently.

He couldn't sense anything within the shield. Fortunately, a shield like that works both ways. If we can't see or hear them, they won't be able to see or hear us, either.

As they approached the Temple, they saw the goron, and the goron saw them. He seemed tense. He held his fists toward the three demons who approached him. Ghirahim lowered his voice and muttered, "Let me handle this, and remember what we've discussed earlier."

"No attacking any gorons," Ferrik said. "Understood."

Orynx nodded curtly.

"Good," the demon lord said.

When they reached the goron he said, "I don't want any trouble."

Ghirahim smiled widely and said, "What a coincidence. Neither do we." He looked over at the goron's pack. "You seem to be an archivist of some sort, if all those scrolls you have are any indication. If I may ask, what should we call you?"

The goron relaxed, putting his fists down. "I'm Gorko, son of Granite," he said proudly.

"Granite, as in the guardian of the Shard of Truth?"

"Why, yes—hey, how did you know that?"

"I know a lot of things," Ghirahim said. He frowned at the rubble in front of them, and then at the shimmering shield that surrounded the ruins. "Perhaps we could exchange some things we know?" He gestured to the Temple. "I'm—really interested in this Temple, you see."

Gorko brightened. "Me too! I've been wanting to study it for years. And then I finally thought 'well, why not?' and I rolled all the way here!"

Ghirahim smiled at that. "So you've learned some interesting things, surely?"

"Well, uh—no."

Ghirahim, still smiling, repeated the Goron's response. "No? Not even a single thing?"

"I guess I learned that the entrance is filled with rocks and the Temple is surrounded by an impenetrable magical field."

"Yes, I kind of noticed that, too," Ghirahim said, peering up at the rocks. "It's very inconvenient."

"Yeah, I really wanted to get a chance to talk to that Sky Person some more, too."

"Wait—what? What Sky Person?"

Gorko frowned. "Ooops," he said, quietly. "Me and my big mouth." He squinted at the demon lord. Louder, he rumbled, "I'm not sure I want to elaborate on that. You're a demon, aren't you? You and your friends."

"Yes," Ghirahim said. "I take it you do not trust us?"

"The last demons I tried to have a friendly chat with wanted to use me as a spear sharpener, so no."

Ghirahim held out his hands, "We don't have any spears," he said.

Gorko looked from Ferrik to Orynx, who stood flanking Ghirahim.

"True, but that one has a bow and arrows, and that one has a great big sword."

Ghirahim sighed. "The desert is a dangerous place."

"You're probably their superior. You don't look like you have any weapons, so you're not a soldier. You must be a lord or a spellcaster. Maybe both."

"You're quite the detective."

"I know a few things," Gorko said guardedly.

"I propose a trade-" Ghirahim began, but was abruptly cut off by two rocky arms grabbing him and squeezing in an uncomfortable grip.

"Sure," Gorko said. "Tell your two henchmen to back off and keep their hands away from their weapons and I'll let you live."

"Grrgffargl," Ghirahim said. Need air need air need air...

Ferrik growled. "Why, you-"

Orynx had taken out the Unbreakable Sword and pointed it at the goron. "Let him go."

"Grrffkl!" Ghirahim said, waving his arms frantically.

"Ooops," Gorko said, "That's a bit too tight for you to talk, I guess." The goron loosened his grip slightly and Ghirahim took in a ragged breath. Relief coursed through him.

"I'm fine! Do as he asks!" Ghirahim said, waving away his guards. As fine as I can be after receiving a bear hug from a boulder, anyway.

Ferrik backed up a pace. Slowly, Orynx put the sword back in its sheath and backed up as well.

The demon lord took a few deep breaths. "I see you must have had a very bad experience indeed, Gorko," Ghirahim said. "For things to come to this. We mean you no harm."

Gorko laughed. "That seems unlikely. Say, why don't you tell me what you're doing here?"

"We came to examine the temple, just like I said," Ghirahim responded. His mind raced to think of what to say next—this had not been part of his plan.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a lord, as you said," Ghirahim replied.

"Do you have a name?"

"I do. But we haven't exactly met on the best of terms."

"I told you my name," Gorko said.

"You've also threatened me. Release me, and I will tell you my name."

"If I release you, what's to stop those two from turning me into a pile of rubble?" Gorko sounded skeptical.

"I have asked them not to. If you release me, no harm will come to you, I promise that. Also, I can tell you something that will surely be more important to you than my name."

"And what's that?"

Ghirahim plucked the glove off of his left hand, and used his magic to remove the paint covering the single golden triangle etched into it.

"I can tell you why I have this," Ghirahim said.

"The Shard of Truth!" Gorko exclaimed. "How did you get that? What did you do to my mother?!"

Ghirahim took a breath and removed the Shard from his hand. "You might prefer to hear my answers if you can fully judge their truth. I assume you can bear the shard."

"For long enough to hear you answer that, yes." Gorko took the shard. "Now talk."

"Granite is well. I talked with her only a few days ago. I owe your mother a great deal, Gorko. I would never harm her or you. It was Granite who gave me the Shard. Will you release me, now?"

"You won't get anyone else to try to harm her or me, either? Like those two?"

"No," Ghirahim said. "That was never my intention. Like I said, I was curious what you might know about the Temple of Time."

Gorko was silent for several moments. Finally he let Ghirahim go. The demon lord breathed a sigh of relief and dusted himself off.

"Who are you, anyway?" Gorko asked.

"My name is Ghirahim."

Gorko winced. "I'd forgotten how awful this thing is. Here, take it back."

Gladly, Ghirahim thought. He quickly obliged and returned the shard to his hand. Then he bent down and picked up his glove, pulling it back over his hand and arm.

"You—you're the ruler of the demons, aren't you?"

"Yes," Ghirahim said. "And so I am most upset to hear that any of my soldiers have troubled you, as I have been quite clear in my instructions to them. I do accept responsibility for that, as I should have checked more carefully that my words were heeded."

"Well, you don't seem too bad, I guess. I've heard the Sheikahs talking about you. I was told you bathed in the blood of your enemies and sought to crush all the surface dwellers under your heel."

Ghirahim laughed nervously. "Ah, well, that's all quite untrue, and sounds so unhygienic besides, but people will spread such wild stories."

Gorko said, "Well, I thought they might be exaggerating, but like I said, I've had some problems with your, uh, demon army."

"Yes, well, your reaction was understandable, all things considered. Is there anything else you wish to ask of me? I would like to make it up to you."

Gorko placed his hand on his chin and stared off into the distance. "Where is my mother? You said you talked to her recently."

"Indeed. She was most worried about the war, and in quite a bit of danger, so I offered her a place to stay away from the conflict."

"Okay, but where is that?"

"Er, well she didn't feel she could escape the war if she remained on the surface, so as ruler of the Lower Realms I moved her to my palace-"

"She's in the demon realm?" Gorko asked, his tone concerned.

"Yes."

The goron frowned. "I don't know how I feel about that. If she really thought it was for the best, I'll accept that, but I'm worried about her."

"Yes, it's not ideal, but it's all I could offer. The only other place free of war right now is the Sky Realm, and of course I have no access to that."

"Could I see her?"

"Ah, certainly, but first I must finish my business at this Temple."

Gorko looked between the Temple and Ghirahim. "This has to do with the war between the demons and the Sheikahs, doesn't it?"

Ghirahim gave the goron a carefully neutral expression. "You could say that."

Gorko frowned. "I find myself in a difficult situation, then. The Sheikah have long been friends of the gorons. But if my mother saved your life, it would be wrong of me to harm you."

Ghirahim smiled widely and said, "That's good! About the not harming me. I like that."

Gorko bit his lower lip, frowning. "But my little sister is a Sheikah."

"Hmmm, yes. Granite has discussed this with me," Ghirahim said. "Not to worry, I won't kill Impa," he assured the goron. "Though I doubt she'd give me the same courtesy."

Gorko's frown only deepened. He scratched at his chin with a hand. "Mother always told me I should stay out of the war. Now it seems I'm stuck right in the middle of it."

"You said you saw a Sky Person earlier," Ghirahim said.

"Yes, a young woman. She was with-"

"Your sister?" Ghirahim tilted his head to the side.

"Yes," Gorko said. "They went into the Temple. That's why it's sealed."

Ghirahim looked up at the Temple of Time and then back down to Gorko. "Well, you're not in the middle of a war, yet, Gorko. But I highly advise you leave this place."

Gorko sighed. "Impa said I should leave, too. But-this Temple is important to me and-it's probably about to be destroyed-"

Ghirahim frowned. "That's not a good reason to stay. If it does get destroyed, your life would be in danger. I'm sure your relatives would be heatbroken if you got destroyed, too."

Gorko laughed humorlessly. "You don't understand. But I'll leave. I expect you to keep your word about me seeing my mother again. And about Impa. Don't forget that."

"I won't forget," Ghirahim assured him.

As the scorpion pursued him, Link considered his options. He had accidentally destroyed the moldrach's eggs. So the creature was angry and intent on killing him. But the sooner he got out of here, the better. He didn't think fighting the moldarach was a good idea if there was a quicker way to reach Zelda. He needed advice.

"Uncertain," Fi responded to his query. "However, The moldarach is unlikely to cease hostilities until it percieves the threat to be eliminated. That would be you, Master."

Link considered her statement as he ran from the creature, screaming for his life. He was probably making himself easier to find by screaming, he realized. So he stopped doing that. Then he sent a thought at Fi-a single doorway, bathed in sunlight, with Zelda standing on the other side.

"The exit is buried in the sand," Fi said. "This area is much deeper than it appears."

Link considered this fact. How was he going to get to the exit then? Wait. Could Fi do something to clear the sand?

Fi didn't reply for several long seconds. Then suddenly, abruptly, she said, "Affirmative. I can clear the sand from this area. You should stand on the platform under the entrance while I do so."

Link went back to the solid platform he had entered the room on, and Fi held her wings up in the air. Suddenly, a whirlpool formed in the sand, and it quickly drained from the area. At the bottom of what was now a deep pit was a very angry upside-down Moldarach.

Link saw a ladder leading from the platform down into the pit and quickly descended it. Just as he reached solid ground again, he noticed six doorways, one of them the typical golden door he had seen twice before, and the other five were open doorways that had tracks leading down them. Empty carts sat on each of the tracks. Sand filled the tunnels they led to, and Link guessed that Fi must have drained the area by opening the doors to the tunnels.

Link didn't have much time to ponder that, however, as the scorpion abruptly righted herself and screamed at Link. He ran for the golden door and reached out to open it. To his relief the door disappeared immediately and he ran through it. He turned around and fell to the ground as the moldarach rammed her head against the open portal. Fortunately she was much too large to get through. Aso the door seemed to flicker in and out of existence whenever she tried to ram through it. Link was sure there was some very interesting explanation for why the silent realm stone in the moldarach was causing that, but right now he was just relieved that he'd made it.

Ignoring the moldarach, he turned to look around the room he was in now. He saw a minecart poised near a precipice. Carved onto the sides of the walls of the narrow but deep gap were giant statues of the LD-301 robots. And at the other end of the room, across the gap, was a portal with sunlight streaming through it. Finally.

"I'm confused," Ferrik said. "You got the Shard of Truth from-a goron? Why would a goron have it?"

Ghirahim shrugged. "I-don't really know."

"What I want to know about is the agreement you have with this particuar goron," Orynx said. "You never mentioned it before."

"I didn't think the specifics were important."

Ferrik and Orynx both looked at him expectantly.

"Ah, perhaps we should discuss this now."

Ghirahim felt deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he trusted Orynx and Ferrik. On the other, this had always been between him and Granite.

He had let people draw their own conclusions after he had killed Releris, because he hadn't been willing to expose Granite to their scrutiny. What if they pursued her, thinking she had other treasures? Better that people think he had somehow regained his magic himself. Of course he had justified his command to not attack the gorons by saying that would reduce antipathy between the demons and the surface dwellers. Which was true, of course. Ghirahim was interested in weakening whatever alliances the Sheikah had with the other surface dwellers. Still, his agreement with Granite had influenced that decision considerably.

He remembered the last time he had spoken to the goron. He had teleported them to a remote location in Eldin so they could speak privately. She had been wary of him, having just seen him kill some of her Sheikah friends. But her main concern had been for Impa.

Which had been an enonormous problem for him. Impa, the powerful Sheikah guard for the Spirit Maiden. Impa, the one who had foiled his plans to capture Zelda. Every. Single. Time. If only she had picked a different Sheikah, any other Sheikah, to have adopted as her own. But he had still felt he had to offer Granite some hope, since he owed her such a great deal. If not for her, after all, he'd probably still be amusing Releris and sleeping in some dank cell. He shuddered slightly. Of course he had had to assure her of something. So he had promised he wouldn't kill Impa.

Which was going to be quite a problem, he was sure.

"-told us all this earlier," Orynx said. "Hey, are you even paying attention?"

Ghirahim hastily turned his attention back to Orynx and Ferrik. "Ah, sorry. I was just thinking. This is not a conversation I wanted to have. It could be bad for Granite if certain people learned of her, and I owe her a great deal. I trust you both, of course, but the less one talks of secrets the more secret they stay, hmmmm?"

Ferrik nodded eagerly. "Of course, my lord! My apologies. You needn't speak of it any further. I'm sure you have your reasons."

Orynx rolled his eyes and crossed his enormous muscled arms. He was clearly expecting an explanation. Even Ferrik seemed uneasy. Ghirahim was sure the red demon guard was still curious now, even if he might not want to press for details as Orynx was. And given what they had already heard, it would be best to tell them the rest rather than have them try to guess it.

"It's alright, Ferrik. I'll explain to you both," Ghirahim said. He sighed. "Granite, you see, is the reason I stand with you here today."

"But-isn't that because you killed Releris?" Ferrik asked, his brow wrinkling.

"Well, yes. But she was the reason I was able to do that. I regained my magic because of her, you see. She gave me the Shard of Truth because I realized it could help me access my magic again, and because I agreed to release her from Releris' cells if my plan was successful. Well, as you know, my plan was successful, so I did release her and also agreed that I would not harm her family."

"What about the Sheikah Gorko mentioned earlier. Impa?" Orynx asked, frowning. "She's the one guarding the Spirit Maiden!"

Ghirahim laughed nervously. "Yes, Granite neglected to tell me about that when I released her. She only told me about the Sheikah later. Of course I have no choice but to fight Impa. But I did agree not to kill her."

"You should have told me sooner," Orynx said. "This is important information and I will not divulge it."

"I owe you and Ferrik a great debt, Orynx," Ghirahim said. "Still, if you hadn't already heard the part I told Gorko out of necessity I would not have spoken of it at all. After all, I would not feel at ease divulging anything either of you have said in confidence to me, to the other. Why should I do any less for Granite, to whom I also owe a debt I cannot repay?"

Both of his guards looked briefly uncomfortable, each one looking between him and the other.

"Understood," Orynx said, giving Ghirahim a hard look. I can bet exactly which of his secrets he's thinking about right now. At least he should understand now why I didn't mention this earlier, though.

"Yes, that seems only fair," Ferrik said.

"Well, then I'm glad we had this talk," Ghirahim said.

"Yes," Orynx said. "Though we should also discuss your plan for capturing the Spirit Maiden." Orynx looked thoughtful. "She may have regained her memories."

Ghirahim grimaced. He was worried about that, too.

"True," he said. "I'm hoping we can somehow capture her before that happens. But even if we don't, she still won't have her immortal form back. We can overpower her as long as we get past Impa."

"How can we help?" Ferrik asked.

Ghirahim paused, thinking. "That's going to be a problem. As you know, I must protect the Unbreakable Sword. If Orynx goes into battle with me, he'll be a target for Impa. If she neutralizes him, she'll be able to separate me from the sword and then-"

"It's over," Orynx said, frowning.

"That's perhaps a bit fatalistic, hmmm," Ghirahim responded. "But there would indeed be cause for pessimism in that case."

"You need a sorcerer to wield your sword, my lord," Orynx said. "I can't be a useful wielder."

"Well, I don't have a sorcerer to do that," Ghirahim said. "So you're going to have to do."

"Why does the wielder need magic to use the sword's power, anyway," Ferrik said. "Is it for the power requirement?" He glanced over at Orynx. "Gigantic muscles don't count?"

"They do," Ghirahim said. "The power requirement takes into cosideration more than one kind of power. However, the reason the sword doesn't allow a nonmagical wielder is a technical one. The sword requires a power source to draw upon in order to interface with the wielder. Drawing on magical power allows that to be done. It can also be done by drawing directly on a person's life force, but because that's inherently dangerous, the sword was not designed to allow that."

"Is it possible to use your magic for that?" Orynx asked.

"I've thought about that, but I haven't found any way that wouldn't require bonding my magic to the wielder. Which of course isn't possible. Releris was able to use my magic, but that was because he already had enough magic himself to wield the sword."

Orynx scowled. "So what am I going to do?" He paced agitatedly. "Just stand around somewhere hiding while you two risk your life?!"

Ghirahim laughed nervously. "Well, the first part is correct. But Ferrik is going to have to stay with you."

"What?!" Ferrik protested. "I-I don't understand. Why would I need to babysit Orynx? You're the one who's going to be in danger!"

Ghirahim sighed. He gestured towards Orynx. "Orynx, could you remove the sword from the sheath."

Orynx complied, frowning.

"Ferrik, please take a very good look at the more important part of me," Ghirahim said.

"I know what the sword-" Ferrik protested.

"Look at the sword, Ferrik." Ghirahim said.

Ferrik frowned, but turned to face the sword.

"Part of me resides in that sword. Not just my magic, which is admittedly considerably important in itself, but me."

"But-"

"This is important! If something untoward should happen to my beautiful, beautiful body, you will still literally have a part of my personality in that sword." Ghirahim closed his eyes and smiled, focusing his attention.

"Tell me I'm amazing," Ghirahim said.

Ghirahim was observing Ferrik through the sword. The guard had a confused expression. Ghirahim saw Ferrik turn towards his own body. His attention lingered a moment on the novelty of observing his features from an outsider's perspective. It was-a bit different than looking at ones reflection. After taking a few seconds to admire his own muscle tone, he spoke again.

"No, Ferrik. Turn around, and tell me I'm amazing."

Slowly, Ferrik turned back towards the sword.

"You're amazing, my lord," Ferrik said.

Ghirahim concentrated. That should be-

"You-you're glowing!"

Ghirahim chuckled. "Yes, indeed I am."

"But-if you died would the sword still-?"

"Yes," Ghirahim said confidently. "The Unbreakable Sword would still recognize both you and Orynx." He was silent for a moment, deliberating. "And I can prove that." Ghirahim pointed to an area within perhaps 200 feet. "There's a timestone over there. Orynx, please give the sword to Ferrik and I'd like both of you to walk over there until you pass the stone's threshhold. I'll let you know when you do."

Ghirahim watched as Ferrik carefully took the sword and walked with Orynx to the timestone. When Ghirahim felt the cold sense of emptiness that always accompanied him being cut off from the sword, he called out to his guards.

Ferrik and Orynx stopped, and Ferrik held up the sword, speaking to it. Ferrik wasn't loud, so Ghirahim couldn't hear what he was saying. But the sword was lighting up, sometimes several times in succession. He could see Ferrik's eyes light up. Even Orynx looked less gloomy. Which meant he was probably just as excited as Ferrik.

Ghirahim had known that the once separate personalities of demon and sword had begun to overlap slightly after they had been merged, but this was the first time he had seen the results of that himself. It was-kind of encouraging to Ghirahim, too, actually. He was the one about to put himself into mortal peril, after all, so it was at least a bit comforting.

Not that such an irreversible separation would be acceptable to him. Even the short one he was experiencing now, with the sword and his guards within sight of him, was not a pleasant thing. It was always a most distressing experience, both for his demon and sword half. The thought of that being permanent-well, he couldn't allow that to happen.

But at least his guards understood now why he was asking this of them, and why it was important. They were protecting more than just a magical sword.

Zelda frowned. "So, where is the last spring?" She squinted, panning her head around the Temple to try to find it. She and Impa had taken time to eat and rest after the attack, while Impa had discussed what would need to be done for the final ritual. But in order to actually regain her memories, Zelda would need to know where the spring was.

Impa pointed towards the bridge. "See the water under there?" she said. "That's the spring."

"That looks more like an endless river of doom than a spring." Zelda backed up several paces. The water under the bridge filled what she had seen to be a deep chasm before the timestone had been activated. "I'm not really much of a swimmer." The other rituals had been straightforward. She had stood in the spring near the bird statue and sung a song. Nothing notable had happened except some very impressive golden lights had appeared for a bit and then they had left. But this would be different, she knew.

"It's not an endless river of doom," Impa assured her. "Not for you, anyway. When you walk onto the water, your feet shall sink no more than six inches. It is written."

"By who?" Zelda asked. "Sources are very important."

"By Hylia. So, by you," Impa said.

"Okay. I'll do it." Zelda frowned. She began walking towards the water.

Impa placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait. You need to be prepared for the ceremony."

"Prepared?"

"You need to take that off." Impa blushed suddenly. "That didn't come out right."

Zelda smiled. "No, it's fine. I know what you meant." Zelda was still wearing the dark robes and hood the Sheikah woman had given her. She began to untie the various...sashes...belts? She wasn't sure what to call them. She scowled as she tried to reach the clasps at her back. The design had its uses, but it was a pain to get on and off.

"Here, let me help with that," Impa offered. Zelda stood quietly while Impa carefully removed her outer robes, her hands brushing gently across her back as she undid the clasps, and then her shoulders as she removed the robes.

Zelda sighed in relief. She was now in the white dress Impa had given her when they began this quest. The dark robes were indispensible against the dry desert heat, but unnecessary, even uncomfortable, in the milder but more humid timestone-activated area.

Impa folded the robes and put them aside. She also removed her own robes. Underneath, she wore the same blue clothing emblazoned with a red eye that she had worn when Zelda first met her. It seemed strange to her that they had both worn the same clothes for so long, though of course they'd hardly had much opportunity to obtain new ones. Impa was thin, but Zelda could see her wiry muscles.

Zelda felt her hair and sighed. "I should brush my hair and redo my ribbons."

"Let me do it," Impa offered.

"Thank you," Zelda said. She stood still while Impa brushed the various bits of dirt, sand, and tumbleweed out of her hair.

"I really do feel nervous about this," she said as Impa ran a brush slowly through her tangled hair.

"Mmmm?" Impa said. "Nervous, or excited?"

"Both, I guess," Zelda said. "I'll finally be able to do something about this war when I finish the ceremony. But-becoming a goddess? That seems like a big responsibility. I don't know if I'm up to it."

"Of course you are!" Impa said. "You escaped Ghirahim's confinement, and you escaped from the other-the one you said called himself Lord Terrin. That one is very infamous among the Sheikah, but many had thought he was dead. He has killed countless of our number and sought to destroy you utterly."

"You're the one who saved me from both of them, though."

"Nonsense! Of course I came to help, but I would have been too late if you had not saved yourself with your words. Ghirahim is cruel and utterly depraved, but you doubtless convinced him to expend what small mercy remains in him to spare your life. Terrin wishes for nothing less than the destruction of all that is good, there is no mercy in him. But you convinced him to flee the area he had spelled against me. If you hadn't done that, even my best efforts might have failed as I would have had to wait and fight his sorcerer again. He managed to waylay me twice-he very well might have done so again. I was so worried for you. It made me sick to think what he would do, and what you told me only confirmed my worst fears on what he had planned."

"I was so glad you found me! You always find me."

"Ah, well, I'm good at finding, you know."

When Impa had finished brushing Zelda's hair, she re-tied the ribbons in her hair. "There," she said. "Now you must become everything you truly are. Are you ready?"

Zelda took a deep breath, and then nodded. She walked towards the water and carefully placed a foot on the surface. As Impa had assured her earlier, she sunk only a few inches in the water before she felt her feet touch something firm and smooth. It was as if she was standing on glass. She began to play the harp and sing.

At first, she wasn't sure anything was happening, but then she saw the golden light appear around her again. I guess that means I'm doing something.

When she finished playing the song, she looked up at Impa. She didn't feel any different. Did it even work? She tried to remember something Hylia would remember, but the farthest back she could recall was her own childhood. Maybe I did something wrong? "Impa, I-" she began, just as she was pulled under the surface of the water.

She tried to hold her breath and swim to the surface, but it felt like a force was pulling her downwards. There was nothing she could do to move against it. Eventually she ran out of breath.

A gasp. Water.

Water...that she could breathe?

She was okay. She was...

A flash.

Hylia opened her eyes and saw three figures before her. Her body glimmered gold much like theirs. She was wearing a white dress. She stared at everything in awe. What was this place that was made of rough-hewn rock and filled with so many bright things? Who were these people? What was she, besides a name, a single word-Hylia?

"There she is, Din," Nayru said, standing in a stream. "At last, there she is."

Din, who was lounging atop a floe of bright lava, smiled. "She has so much power, and so much potential."

Nayru glanced briefly over to Din. "We are in so much trouble. She's perfect, though."

"Sublime," Din agreed. "And anyway, who cares about what the other deities think? Illegal is an opinion, not a fact."

"She's everything I could have hoped for, but-" Farore sighed, standing on a grassy hill under a tree. "What will the mortals think?"

Hylia felt comforted. She understood what the figures before her were saying. They were her mothers. And they approved of her. She was good. She was wanted. But she was also starting to formulate more questions in her mind.

"They'll take it all in stride," Din said, unconcerned. "There were three goddesses, now there are four. The more the merrier, right?"

"I mean, what will we tell them?" Farore said.

"The truth, of course," Din said.

Nayru pursed her lips. "But you know how they keep calling us sisters-"

Din waved a hand. "Not my problem. The priestesses just seemed reeeaaally uncomfortable about the actual word we meant. Anyway someone thought it would be a good idea to make their minimum number of mates two. And now they think it has some sort of divine implication. Most of them won't even try for three-"

"I didn't know they'd read so much into it!" Farore protested.

"Ah, what's a mortal?" Hylia said, and was startled by the bell-like sound of her own voice.

Din smiled indulgently. "What lovely first words, my dear one."

A stream of memories rushed into her after that.

She saw Arthur, a bearded black demon with moss covered horns, clothed in golden armor and a thin gold crown.

She saw Guinevere, a tall blue demon with wings, also clothed in golden armor and a crown.

"We have journeyed far to discuss an issue of great importance," the queen began.

"We hope you will hear us out," the king said, his eyes anxious.

The time and place changed. Lancealot stood on the beach in Lanayru at night, alone except for the presence of Hylia.

"To have a thing about you known by gods but not mortals? Yes, that is a pain I understand," the knight said, throwing a stone into the sea.

The scene changed again and again. The memories were coming faster now.

Hair like flame and eyes like molten pits, the emormous frame of Demise towered over Arthur. "I now bestow upon you the title of Sir Demise," the smaller demon said cheerfully. "May you serve peace and justice for all your days."

A stream of mortal faces, places, and events assailed her, seemingly all at once. Percival. Gawain. Merlin. The graceful running dance of Fi across the surface of a lake. Then the memories slowed.

"This is not goodbye," Nayru said solemnly. "We will meet again. But we must travel the spaces between worlds now."

Farore nodded. "The stars call to us-we cannot linger here indefinately."

"But we will return," Din said. "Someday."

The scene melted into the red eyes of Demise.

"I bring unfortunate news, Hylia," the demon said solemnly. "Arthur became angry and struck out at those he once called friend. I barely escaped with my life, but the Round Table is no more."

"What?" Hylia asked, appalled. All of them-just gone? How could it be?

"Why would he do such a thing?!" Hylia demanded.

"Jealousy," Demise said. "Guinevere declared her undying love for Lancealot, which enraged Arthur. The rest of us tried to stop him, but-"

Hylia felt a burning anger, then.

"How could you say such falsehoods?! What treachery is this?!"

Demise frowned. "I know you placed great trust in him, but he failed you. And I have been forced to crown myself-"

"That's what this is about? You wanted to be king? I will not allow this! I will-"

Demise gave her an amused look. "You'll what? Rule the realm yourself? But you promised you wouldn't do that. You made a binding vow. Strike me down where I stand? I would retaliate with the final curse of a demigod. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

She had wanted to take matters into her own hands then. Instead she had watched in a cold rage as the demon king had turned and calmly left her presence.

A flurry of faces came after that. Tala's concerned face faded into Alat's battle-hardened glare.

Then she saw Eldren.

"What may I do to serve you, Your Grace?" he asked, bowing low.

"You needn't be so formal, Eldren. I do not wish for servitude, only assistance."

"Very well, Hylia. I shall try to remember that, though your presence is quite-overwhelming."

Memories of the Great Demon War flashed through her mind. She saw the Elite Guard of Demise in their featureless masks.

She saw Demise, the master sword in his chest, intoning his final curse. He stood in the shallow waters of the realm he had created, a clear blue sky above them.

"Hylia," he gasped, laughing. "All demonic power shall be turned against you and those who serve you, and none shall ever come to your aid. But not just that. That part of your power which you sealed away, I turn against you, to bring fear and death to the land. I warned you the price you would pay. And now you will pay it. For all eternity."

There was a wicked smile on his face until the life at last left his eyes. Demise collapsed to the ground, his body immolating itself in its own fires after the last spark of life left him.

Hylia staggered. Her body was changing, warping. She screamed from the pain. When it had finally ended, she stared at her hands. No longer golden, they were the hands of a mortal now.

Rising shakily to her feet, she turned to see Eldren, his eyes staring blankly. Dead. Then the face gained color and filled with life. Link.

Zelda opened her eyes. Above her, she saw the light streaming through the water's surface, and swam towards it. She broke the surface, coughing and sputtering. Instantly Impa grabbed her and pulled her onto the tiles. The water cascaded onto them and her wet clothing clung tightly to her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking her over frantically.

Zelda nodded. "I remember. I remember everything." There was exhilaration. And crushing worry. Hope. Fear. Joy. Regret. She was Hylia. But she was also Zelda, and that fact brought her thoughts to the present, grounding her in her desire to help the Sheikahs. And Impa. And Link.

Impa sighed in relief. "I was worried something had gone wrong for a moment there-"

Zelda smiled. "So was I." She looked up at the gate. "I guess it's time to activate this portal."

"Yes." Impa said, helping her to her feet. Zelda realized she had the harp in her hands again. I dropped it, but it came back to me. She knew now that was part of the magic of the harp, that it would travel to anywhere she wanted it to be, but it was comforting nonetheless.

She walked up to the gate of time, and paused. "I may be a goddess, but Impa-I have no idea how this thing works. It didn't exist in my time. Perhaps you can tell me what needs to be done?"

Impa laughed. "Sure. I suppose it's not exactly obvious, is it?

"How do you plan to get into the Temple?" Orynx asked.

Ghirahim looked at the inpenetrable shield and the enormous rocks covering the entrance. "That's a very good question, Orynx."

It was then that the demon lord heard several very distinct popping sounds and turned around. To his surprise, a cloaked figure stood before him. They had large black wings and long, silver claws.

"Hello," they said. Their voice was sounded metallic, almost like the voices the LDs had. Ghirahim suspected that it was intentionally being cloaked. "You look like you could use a hand."

"You!" Orynx exclaimed. The guard's eyes were wide and his mouth gaped. Ghirahim looked between the mysterious cloaked newcomer and his guard. "Do you know this person, Orynx?"

"Th-that's-him-"

"Hmmm?" Ghirahim asked, concerned.

"The sorcerer-who helped-destroy Thressan," Orynx said.

"Nice to see you again, too, you oversized oaf," the cloaked figure said.

Intrigued, Ghirahim looked carefully at the figure. Only his eyes are visible. Voice being masked, entire body covered with cloak and thick clothing. Sure there are those wings, but no one recognizes someone just by some very ordinary-looking wings. How did Orynx recognize this guy? Then he remembered the popping sounds he heard from earlier.

"Are you a teleporter?" Ghirahim asked.

"Why, yes," the sorcerer asked. "What's it to you?"

Well, that answered the question of how his guard had recognized the sorcerer. He had described their teleporting method in some detail, so clearly it had made an impression on him. A sudden thought occurred to Ghirahim. "It's dangerous to teleport in this desert," Ghirahim replied. "The timestones cause-"

The sorcerer waved a hand dismissively. "Only if you don't know what you're doing."

Now Ghirahim was really interested. "Could you-explain how you do that? Teleport around the timestones, I mean."

"What, do you mean right now?" The sorcerer asked. "I don't even know who you are and you want me to give you a magic lesson right on the spot like that?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me!" Ghirahim said with an embarassed laugh. "My name is Ghirahim. I am the Lord of the Surface and ruler of the Lower Realms." He gave the sorcerer a small bow.

"King Ghirahim?"

"Lord Ghirahim," the demon lord corrected. "Releris was the last Demon King, may he rest in a million pieces, haha. The title didn't didn't suit me, so I chose another."

"I see," the sorcerer replied.

"Hope you aren't upset about that, by the way. Orynx has told me you helped Releris rise to power. But, ah, I suspect the reward was not quite as sweet as you had hoped?"

"May Releris rest in a milion pieces," the sorcerer replied, clenching a clawed hand, "the ungrateful wretch."

"Well, I'm glad we can agree on that," Ghirahim said, smiling. "But I don't believe I've caught your name."

"That's because I haven't given it," the sorcerer replied. "Trust issues, you see."

"I suppose that's understandable," Ghirahim said. "Still, perhaps you can give me something to call you by?"

"Sure, why not? If I'm going to make up a name it should be something dramatic. How about-Oh Great and Wise Insightful One?"

Ghirahim smiled. "And is that what you want me to call you each and every time, Oh Great and Wise Insightful One?"

"No. Just call me W," the cloaked figure said. "For the W in Wise."

"Could I just call you Wise instead?" Ghirahim asked.

"Even better."

"Excellent. So, Wise, would you perhaps be willing to explain how you can teleport in Lanayru? My understanding is that it's exceedingly unwise to do so."

"Haha, very funny," Wise said. "But no. That would take too long. I can tell you something better, though." He gestured to the Temple. "I can tell you how to get into the Temple of Time."

Ghirahim wasn't sure how the stranger would react, so he restrained himself from doing a victory dance, but only just barely. Instead, he said very, very calmly, "I would like that very much. Is there something you would like in return, Wise?"

"Just don't stab me in the back and we'll be great friends, alright?"

"Done," Ghirahim said, smiling brightly.

Link had been elated to see Zelda again at last. She was with Impa, as she had been the last time. They were standing in front of what looked like an enormous clockwork gear. The Gate of Time. But Link's gaze didn't linger on the relic for long because he was much more interested in who was in front of it.

But as he waked forward towards Zelda, the stones filling the entryway burst apart and the sky darkened. Link saw Ghirahim leap through the portal, laughing as he landed nimbly on the ground. Ghirahim gazed at Impa and Zelda who stood in front of the Gate of Time, and grinned. Then he suddenly turned as he seemed to notice Link. His eyes widened in shock for a moment before a true smile broke out on his face. He waved his hand, and magical diamond-patterned flames seemed to rise between them.

"Still alive, I see!" He ran a finger across his sword and gave Link a long look. "But we can talk later. I have a goddess to deal with." He turned back to face Impa and began running across the bridge. They met in the center, Ghirahim's sword clanging off of Impa's blue energy shield.

Link touched the magical barrier and pulled his hand back, grimacing. It really was like fire.

Ghirahim hit the blue shield repeatedly with his sword. I didn't come all this way to fail now. At first the shield seemed to be impenetrable. But then Ghirahim started to see cracks beginning to form in the magical barrier. He grinned at his opponent, who snarled and seemed to redouble her efforts into the shield.

The power Ghirahim was expending was taking a toll on him. The shield was made of an incredibly concentrated energy, probably even more concentrated than the energy he used in his own barriers. He'd also never seen someone continuously pouring energy into a barrier like Impa was doing with this one.

But then I've always been better at breaking shields than making them.

He's channeling his magic through his sword. That's so inefficient. Though Impa had to admit it was working. The demon was grinning maniacally now. Impa turned and gestured towards Zelda.

"Your Grace! Quickly, to the gate! Go! now!"

Zelda nodded and turned to run towards the gate. Meanwhile Impa turned back to face the demon. To her dismay, she saw Ghirahim had plunged his sword straight through the shield. It shattered, the magical impact sending Impa sprawling to the ground.

Impa heard the demon's triumphant laughter as he approached her, sword in hand. She tried to rise, but could feel her legs buckle. No! I can't fail Hylia!

Though her body protested, she finally jumped up and held her arms out, her hands balled into fists. Ghirahim gave a brief and dismissive laugh. Her eyes trailed over to his left glove. The shard. She had to try.

She leaped towards him and felt a sense of satisfaction when his eyes widened in surprise. She was still faster than he would ever be. A plan formed in her mind.

She kicked the saber out of his left hand and tackled him to the ground. Time itself seemed to stop. The moment was hers. As she pinned both his hands to the ground, she quickly removed his left glove, took the shard and absorbed it into her own hand, and then replaced the glove. Then she punched him in the face.

"Ow!" Ghirahim protested. He kneed her in the stomach and she grunted as she was flung backwards again. She tried to rise again, but she had already overextended herself with her previous attack.

You have stolen me, the shard noted plaintively.

I missed you, too.

Ghirahim rose, and Impa could see him wiping the wound on his face with a glove. The fact that he hadn't healed it instead indicated to her that he had also expended much of his energy in the fight. Breaking her shield had probably been more effort for him than he let on. He was limping forward, though, which was unfortunately more than Impa could do right now.

Ghirahim snapped, and the saber materialized back into his hand. He grinned evilly.

You are afraid to die, the shard commented.

And you are more trouble than you're worth. Impa prepared to throw the shard from the bridge. If she was going to die, at least she could make sure the wretched thing didn't fall right back into the demon's hands.

Suddenly the demon lord stopped in his tracks, frowning. Impa wondered why he had stopped when he suddenly backflipped away from her and Link leapt down in his place, his sword coming down where the demon had been only moments earlier.

Impa gaped as the Sky Hero turned and pointed his sword at the demon. She felt a sense of triumph as she saw Ghirahim's incensed expression in the distance.

The Sheikah smiled and nodded to the green-clad Hylian. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she rose. Link glanced back towards her, and smiled in return, gesturing towards the gate. You surprised me after all, Link. She ran to meet Zelda at the Gate.

"Go to Tala," she yelled to Link as she formed a ball of energy in her hand.

"Link!" Zelda called out. "We'll meet again! This isn't goodbye!"

Impa saw that Ghirahim was approaching the hero. Time had run out. She pulled Zelda into the Gate, dropped the energy ball, and stepped back. The gate closed in front of them just as a loud crack and a bright light blotted out everything else.

Hah, let's see the demonspawn follow us now.

"Did you see that?!" Zelda said. "Link, he-"

"-was very timely, yes. You were right about your hero. Seems he's made of more than sky fluff after all."

Impa smiled. She held up the back of her hand to Zelda. "Also, I have another bit of good news. I retrieved something from the demon that belongs to you."

Ghirahim crumpled to the ground, his head in his hands. "How could you do this?!"

The demon lord snarled at him. "You -!"

Then the anger seemed to drain out of him and he deflated, sobbing. "I was so close...too late now...too late..."

Link began to walk towards him.

"Stay away!" Ghirahim rose fluidly from the ground and waved his sword at Link. "Stay away from me!"

Link stopped.

Ghirahim scowled. "Now you've done it, Link. My one chance to capture Hylia is gone. I will have to take drastic measures now. And all because you nearly killed me."

Link shook his head.

"You don't think so? You have no idea, Link. I should have dealt with you the last time we met. Instead I was...soft." Ghirahim began to walk forwards with his sword, when Fi materialized in front of him.

Ghirahim stopped abruptly and scowled. "So—we meet again, Fi."

"If you attempt to harm my Master, I will destroy you," Fi said.

Ghirahim lowered his sword. He suddenly began laughing. The sound was continuous, uninterrupted, in a way that that seemed alarmingly unhinged to Link. When the sound finally stopped, Link could see it was only because the demon lord had to catch his breath. His heavy breathing was evident, even from this distance.

"It was you who broke through the barrier I had confined Link in, wasn't it, Fi," he asked, his expression suddenly serene.

"Your assessment is correct," Fi said, her pupil-less blue eyes staring straight at the demon.

"And you threaten to destroy me if I harm your precious hero?" His head turned to face Link. "Well. I don't have the time for recreation right now. But the next time we meet, Sky Hero, I will make the affair so excruciating you will deafen yourself with the sound of your own screams."

He turned to Fi. "Do what you will, but if you decide to break your end of our arrangement, then I break mine. I only ever agreed not to kill Link. Punishment is an entirely different thing."

"That may be true," Fi said. "But I only said I would destroy you. Killing is an entirely different thing."

He glared over at Link. "Do you truly believe in what you fight for, Link?"

Link nodded.

Ghirahim laughed. "Of course you do! I was foolish to ever think otherwise."

Link tilted his head.

"Well, if you truly believe in it, I have a question for you. If your cause is so great, why is your sword enslaved to you?"

"You ask a foolish question, Lord Ghirahim," Fi responded.

Ghirahim laughed. "Foolish, am I? Maybe so. But unobservant I'm not. I heard what Scervo said. The thing is, Fi, he was telling the truth."

"His version of it," Fi said.

"Ah, so are you disagreeing with his version of it?"

Link turned to look at Fi. What kind of question was that? How could Ghirahim even think that-

"Irrelevant question," Fi said.

Link stared at Fi in shock. He had expected her to deny such an outrageous claim. Surely she would unless-it was true? He clutched the sword more tightly, suddenly more aware than ever of its connection to the sword spirit. He wanted to drop it, but at the same time, worried that explaining why would only upset Fi. And give Ghirahim an enormous advantage that he would no doubt take advantage of.

"I see. I had thought, had hoped, I was mistaken," Ghirahim said. "But apparently not, if your rather indirect response is any indication."

"I would not join you under anycircumstances."

"That is likely true," Ghirahim said. "But it changes nothing."

At last, he turned to look at Link. "You are not the one who did this, but if you care at all for Fi, you will not stand for it to continue." He gave Link a wicked smile. "Maybe when you see your little goddess next time, you can ask her why she enslaved your sword, hmmm?"

Ghirahim twirled his saber, then, and disappeared in a flash of diamonds. The sky brightened, and the clouds parted.

Link sighed and turned to face the Gate. When he had first seen Zelda, he had thought they might be able to talk again at last, her with words, and he with his drawings. But now she was gone, and so was Ghirahim. And now he wondered if he had really made the right choice. He had to find Zelda, and for long enough that he could actually ask her about this. He remembered what Impa had said-to find Tala. He would do that. He needed answers. What was he really fighting for?