Chapter 1

The Forest Temple…The Insanity Begins

Written by Stephanie

                With an abrupt slam of the iron gates, Ingo locked Link and his newly won mare Epona, into Lon Lon Ranch, with seemingly no way out.  Link gazed out across the farmland in despair.

"Great, just great.  How do we get out of this one?" he grumbled to himself.  A shriek rang in his ear as Navi yelled, "Hey!  Listen to me!"

"You don't need to yell, I can hear you," Link said. "What is it?"

"You need to go to the Lost Woods!  Now!  There's something wrong there!" Navi reminded him.  Link sighed.

"Did it ever occur to you that you've told me that twenty times?  I need to get out of here first!" he said, clearly annoyed.  Suddenly, Epona spoke up.

"I can jump that outer fence if you want out.  I just need some room to build up speed," she whinnied.  Shocked at hearing her speak, Link could only gasp.  Epona snorted, "Yes, I can talk.  At least I'm not as irritating as the fly that keeps screaming at you."

Navi shrieked, "Who are you calling a fly?  I am a fairy!"

"Yeah, and would you shut up already?  Some people would like to get out of here!" Epona neighed irritably.  Link agreed with her, and nudged her into a canter around the horse yard.  When they reached the outer fence, Epona broke into a dead gallop toward the fence.  It looked much too high for her to jump to Link, and he held his breath as Epona lifted her forelegs and leapt into the air.  She carried him over the fence, landed on the other side, and cantered ahead a few yards more before slowing down and rearing out of sheer delight at finally being freed.

"Whoa," Link breathed.  He looked around to make sure that they had truly made it out of the ranch, then patted Epona's shoulders happily.

"Let's go to the Lost Woods!  There's something wrong there!" Navi whined.  Link and Epona rolled their eyes, and then Epona trotted up to the bridge connecting Hyrule to Kokiri Forest.  Link dismounted, and just as his feet hit the ground, he heard a strange noise coming from his hometown.  He ran out onto the bridge, then stopped in the middle of it, listening for the sound again.  Silence.  He looked around himself.  Navi was gone; he was alone.  Then he heard the rustling again.  He whirled around just as Navi screamed, "Now!" and a creature he had never seen before let loose with a pair of vines that smacked him across the face.  Just before Link hit the ground, he thought he saw a red streak fly by and tackle Navi to the ground.  Then everything went black.

*          *          *

Moments later…

"I swear, I'm gonna get that damn Navi if it's the last thing I do.  Little twerp's double-crossed me for the last time," she muttered.  The fairy then flew over to the unconscious Link, who was just beginning to wake up, and whistled.  He held his head and slowly sat up, then did a double take as he tried to figure out what had happened, and who or what had saved him.

"Navi, is that you?" he groaned.  The fairy in front of him turned a fiery red, and he realized his mistake. "Wait, no, you're someone else…"

"Damn straight I'm someone else!  I just saved your fine butt from that ditz Navi and her pal Bulbasaur," the new fairy replied, with a tone of anger in her voice.

Link shook his head, trying to get rid of the pounding headache in his skull from the vine lashing he'd gotten. "Then, who are you?  And what's with Navi?" he asked.

"That little pipsqueak?  I'll explain later.  My name's Stephanie, and here, let me lemme help you up," she said, introducing herself as she grabbed ahold of Link's tunic sleeve and pulled him to his feet. "I'm your new fairy companion.  Saria told me about you, so I already know you…well, not know you know you, but…ah, forget it.  We've got bigger problems," she finished with a flourish.

"I thought I saw a red fairy go after her," Link muttered to himself, but when he saw Stephanie growing impatient, he asked, "So what’s going on?  I heard a strange noise when I came here.  Then Navi and that dinosaur came up from behind and ambushed me."

Stephanie rolled her eyes skyward. "Bulbasaur, not dinosaur.  It's a stupid Pokemon, and it's the problem.  Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods have been overrun by Pokemon.  The kids are hiding out in their homes, and Saria's gone to the Forest Temple to see if she could fix it.  So now we gotta go there, so let's get moving!" Stephanie explained, flying slightly ahead of Link.  As they crossed the entrance to Kokiri Forest, a huge yellow creature jumped out.  Link quickly unsheathed his sword and grabbed his shield.  The Pokemon backed away hesitantly, and Link took his opportunity to slice the thing in half.  It collapsed, and died with a high pitched whine.  Link and Stephanie crept around the dead creature, then entered the Lost Woods.  After crossing the entrance, they stopped.

"What was that thing?" Link inquired, putting his sword and shield back, and trying to remember how to get to the Sacred Forest Meadow without getting lost.

"That ugly thing was a Bellsprout.  It's a wussy Pokemon that tries to pass off as a hideous daffodil.  Really easy to kill, since they're so shy," Stephanie said.  Link nodded, then the two ran off into the woods, remembering which way to go, and having to stop a couple of times to retrace steps.  They were doing a pretty good job of not getting lost until they hit a roadblock: Link's childhood bully, Mido.  He stood in Link and Stephanie's way, and stuck his hand out snobbishly in their faces.

"You can't go through this way.  I promised Saria no one would follow her.  Besides, who are you anyway?" he jeered.  Stephanie glowed fiercely as her temper flared.  Link rolled his eyes, as he remembered Mido very well, unfortunately.  But instead of arguing with the child, Link brought out his ocarina, and played the tune Saria had taught him long ago.  Mido reluctantly let the duo pass, and Stephanie began to vent her frustrations.

"Man, what a jerk!  Is it true that he was meaner to you than anyone else?" she asked.  Link nodded, and Stephanie said, "Man, why did you put up with it?  Oh, never mind, here we are." She stopped as she and Link approached the Forest Temple.

The temple loomed above them.  A huge tree branch hung above the entrance, which seemed unreachable to Link, since it was twenty feet above where he was standing.  Stephanie flew up easily, and waited for Link.  He pulled out his hookshot, aimed it, and fired.  The hook flew up and latched onto the branch, and he was pulled up in seconds.  He then put it away, and the two ran toward the entrance.  Instead of an easy way in, however, they were ambushed by two Vileplume.  Link took out his sword and shield and prepared to fight.

"What are these?  I was expecting some Wolfos, or even a Monblin or two," he said to Stephanie.

"These are Vileplume, and they live up to their name.  They can and will poison you, so I would watch out," she responded.

"Wow, you're so helpful!  How am I supposed to get past them?" he said sarcastically, then anxiously, as the Pokemon began to stalk him.

"Slash like hell, and block when they spew," Stephanie said.  The Pokemon crept closer, and Link leapt into the air and dispatched one with a jump attack, then whirled around and sliced the other in half.  Stephanie was already headed toward the entrance, and Link quickly followed, opening the door, and running in.  The two dashed through a twisting hallway until they reached the main hall.  An eerie looking elevator was set in the center of four different colored, glowing torches.  Link hesitated for a moment.

"C'mon, let's go!  Don't you want to get outta here?  This place gives me the heebie-jeebies," Stephanie insisted.  When Link didn't respond, she grabbed his tunic and yanked him toward the elevator.  They stepped aboard, and the elevator descended, landing in a huge room.  When the duo stepped off, the elevator disappeared, and Stephanie gasped.

"What the hell?" she shrieked.  The room she and Link had been dropped into was shaped like an octagon, with a door on every side.  Each of the eight doors looked exactly like the before and after it.  The question was, which one led to the boss's chamber?

Link and Stephanie both sighed in apparent defeat.  Link then spoke up. "We might as well try a door; since they all look alike, there's no telling which one is the right one." Stephanie opened her mouth to object, then reconsidered.

"Point.  Where do we begin?"

"I have no idea.  Pick a number."

"Uh, okay….umm, three?"

"All right." Link counted off three doors. "Let's go in this one."

"Yipes.  I sure hope you know what you're doing," Stephanie said, then followed Link into the room.  The door slammed shut behind them, causing them both to jump and spin on their heels, just in time to see inch thick iron bars close over the door, sealing them in the room.  The room was pitch black.

"Terrific.  We're blind," Link muttered. "Just what we don't need right now." He had barely finished speaking when a torch was abruptly lit.  Two more burst aflame after the first, although no one had a burning Deku Stick on them.  Stephanie gasped, and Link once again whipped out his trusty sword and shield as they both heard a sound they didn't really want or need to hear right at that moment.  It began as a whisper, and grew increasingly louder.  Then, they appeared.

"Exeggutor," the huge tree-like thing groaned.  Instead of fruit hanging from its branches, it had bunches of eggs with faces that didn't look too happy.

"Chikorita!" shrieked the group of about twenty-five living, breathing lima beans.  These beans had legs and a single leaf growing out of the tops of their heads.  The room was silent for a split second, as Link looked up towards Stephanie.

"Uh…a little advice would be nice right about now," he murmured.  These creatures standing before him were like none he'd ever seen.  He'd heard the expression, "Don't play with your food," but this took it to absurd new heights.  Stephanie snapped back to attention.

"Wha?  Oh!  Exeggutor is the tall tree-egg-thingy.  The eggs are its weak part.  The little lima beany-things are Chikorita.  For them…"

"Slash like hell?" Link asked hopefully.  The egg-tree was advancing on him, and this room wasn't exactly big.

“Yeah!  It couldn’t hurt,” Stephanie said.  That was all Link needed to hear.  He let out a yell as he raced toward the Exeggutor.  It reared and attempted to trample him, but he rolled out of harm's way and instead stabbed upward.  Three eggs were sliced away from the creature, and it slammed into a wall, then slumped to the ground.  Link turned to Stephanie with the eggs on his sword and grinned.

"Shish kabob, anyone?" he joked.

Stephanie saw the advancing Chikoritas and shouted, "Link!  Behind you!" Two of the animals were nipping at his heels, and he kicked them forcefully into the wall.  Several more leapt up to attempt an aerial attack.  Link quickly hacked them out of the air, sending their halves crashing to the ground.  Stephanie could only watch as Link slashed his way through the Chikorita herd.  Finally, the last one squeaked out its dying breath, and Link leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.  Stephanie flew down.

"Man, are you all right?  Those things were vicious!" she said, her voice full of concern.  Link looked up with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, but still breathing hard.

"I've never had so much fun playing with food.  I mean, come on!  Eggs in trees, and living lima beans?  What's next?" He uttered a short laugh, but then an alien voice spoke up.

"You're next."

"Great, now what?" Stephanie moaned, as she and Link turned around and gasped in unison.  For a moment, neither could speak.  Then…

The creature roared. "Venusaur!" It appeared to be a majorly oversized Bulbasaur with a flower on its back, but it certainly didn't have a flowery attitude.  A person beside the monster soothed, "Yes, baby, there's your dinner." She then looked up and laughed.  Another laugh accompanied hers, as another person, clad in black and astride an ebony steed, walked in.  The man on the horse had flaming red hair and piercing eyes with an insane gleam in them.  Angered and with renewed energy, Link stood ready for battle, recognizing his nemesis.  Stephanie stared at the strange woman, whom Link had never seen before, in shock.  She had shoulder-length dark red hair, and eyes with an identical insane sheen as the man's.  Both persons let out a peal of maniacal laughter.

The woman faced the fairy. "So, we meet again.  How pitiful," the woman sneered.  The beast beside her eyed Link and Stephanie, while the man and his horse circled the pair.

"After you betrayed our family and ran off with Ganondorf, I never thought I'd see your ugly face again," Stephanie retorted.  Upon hearing this, Link looked at the fairy in shock, just as Ganondorf noticed the tiny red fairy.  He urged his horse forward, then batted Stephanie hard enough to knock her to the ground.  She hit with a small thud.

"No one dares speak to Queen Alison with anything but respect!" Ganondorf roared.  He jumped down, then raised his boot in the air, so as to crush the fairy beneath his foot like a common ant.  He would have succeeded too, had Link not had suddenly appeared in front of Ganondorf, shielding Stephanie.

"Leave her alone.  This is between you and me," Link growled.

"Ahem.  Don't forget me," Alison called.  She slapped Venusaur's backside. "Go on now babe, go home," she cooed, then shoved the Pokemon away.  With it out of the way, she advanced on the crouching Hylian and the fairy still sprawled on the ground.

Stephanie finally came to, and saw Alison creeping closer.  Link was oblivious to her advancement, as he was still facing his foe.  Stephanie cried out, and Link turned around just as Alison jumped into the air, with her sword pointed downward.  The fairy shot up into the air, and the room was suddenly bathed in a scarlet glow.  After a moment or two, the glow subsided, and Link and Ganon saw two women, their faces inches apart, their swords together in a shove, neither backing down.  Link was confused and shocked.

"Steph…?" he asked unbelievably.

"Yes, it's me.  Don't mind us; you concentrate on Ganon.  This is between me and my sister," Stephanie growled, never once turning her attention away from Alison.  Stephanie now stood about five-four, clad in a black, floor-length dress.  Flames shot up the sides of the skirt.  Fingerless black gloves covered her hands like gauntlets, and in her hands she wielded a mid-sized sword, the handle matching her crimson hair.  Red wings sprouted from her back.

Ganon took Link's distraction to make his attack.  He grabbed his double-edged spear from his horse's saddle, slapped it away, and headed straight for Link's turned back.  Stephanie sensed Ganon's plan, and she let out a yell as she kicked Alison's stomach, doubling her over, then spun around to help Link block the razor sharp staff Ganon brought down upon Link.  The pair tried as hard as they could to overcome Ganon's power, and as they fought, Link tried to find out what was going on.

"That, that's…" he gasped.

"My sister?  Yeah," Stephanie replied, and grimaced.  Her arms were becoming tired, and she didn't know how much longer she could help.

"But you…are you…" Link asked again, as the pair finally shoved Ganon back, sending him crashing to the ground hard.

"A fairy?  Yes.  Evil?  No.  Explain later," she said hurriedly, as she saw Alison rise.  She rose to her feet, but instead of rushing Stephanie, she ran to the collapsed Ganon, helping him to his feet.  Both, evil king and queen, faced the people who had thrown them down.  With renewed fury, they ran toward their enemies, intending to see the demise of Link and Stephanie.

Link and Stephanie edged closer, back to back, and prepared for the clash that followed.  Each went off in his and her separate battle, for their own reasons.  The battles raged on for what seemed like an eternity.  Finally, with simultaneous battle cries, Link and Stephanie leapt up into the air and pointed their blades downward, in an unplanned mirror attack.  Ganon and Alison screamed in unison as the swords drove home.  Link and Stephanie landed on opposite sides of the chamber as a bright white light filled the area.  The bodies of the evil monarchs hovered above the light.  Their voices rang through the room as Link and Stephanie watched.

"These were only doppelgangers, mere phantoms of our real selves!  Beware when you face us in our true forms, for we won't be so easy on you!" Link and Stephanie covered their ears as their insane, ghostly laughter filled the chamber.  When the spectacle ended, the duo uncovered their ears, then Link looked toward Stephanie, who merely smiled, then warned,

"Shield your eyes.  The glare may be too much." Link shook his head, but as the red, fiery glow filled the room, he covered his eyes.  The glow grew dim in seconds, and when he looked up again, a tiny red fairy floated in the air.  She flew over to Link.

"Thanks for your help, and sorry I couldn't have helped you out more," Stephanie said.  Link laughed.

"I just want to hear the story behind what's going on,” he replied, when a blue light surrounded them.  They were teleported outside the temple, where Saria, along with a band of Kokiri children, cheered.  Stephanie flew over to Saria.

"Where the heck were you?" the fairy demanded.

"Me?  Oh, after I found out I couldn't get up to the temple, I snuck past Mido and hid in my house," she said with a smile.

"That's IT?!" Stephanie shrieked frustratingly.  Suddenly, a scream rang out, as Stephanie and Saria both turned and looked.  Link got up from the ground, and a few feet away, a new Deku Tree Sprout shot up, and began to speak.  Saria then turned to Stephanie, and in response to her outburst, laughed and said, "Stranger things have and are happening." Irritated at Saria, Stephanie flew over to Link and pulled on his tunic sleeve, interrupting the Deku Tree Sprout. "Let's go.  I'm getting angry with Saria over there.  Plus, I've got a strange feeling that something bad is happening nearby.”

"Hold on.  Maybe this Deku Sprout can tell us something helpful," Link argued.

"Yeah, and Gorons can fly," Stephanie responded sarcastically, crossing her arms and sitting in midair. "Come on, we've got a world to save, Pokemon to slaughter, and revenge on a certain threesome."

Link pondered her words. "You’ve got a point there."

"Thank you.  Now let's go!" Stephanie said, and she flew into the nearest log.  Link followed, and they began the trek back through the Lost Woods.

Chapter 2

The Fire Temple and More Crazy Pokemon

Written by Diana

                "Boy, I never thought I'd have to go through that place again," Link said as he left the Lost Woods.

                "Well, be glad you've got me now.  I actually know something about those Pokemon creatures.  That ditzy Navi doesn't know squat about anything.  She just screams and hollers in your ear all day." Stephanie said.

                "Yeah, that's true.  I wonder where she went." Link stopped as Stephanie glowed a fiery red. "Hey, it's not like I miss her.  I'm just wondering where the heck she is now."

                "No doubt helping those crazy Pokemon in their quest to take over Hyrule."
                "That could be true.  You know, I wanted to ask you--is that Queen Alison girl a fairy, too?"

                "Wait a second, I'm getting some strange vibes now…there's something going on at Death Mountain!" Stephanie said quickly.

                "Are you serious?"

                "Do I lie to you?"

                "Let's go." He whistled--he was getting fiercely tired of using his ocarina to call Epona--and the horse galloped up to him.

                "Okay, let's go," she said. "Man, and I was just eating a good snack in that field over there…"

                "You can eat all you want as soon as we get to Death Mountain, I promise." Link mounted, and Stephanie sat on his shoulder. "Let's move." Epona set off at a breezing gallop, and within minutes they had reached Death Mountain. "Go on, get outta here.  I'll call if I need you."

                "Yeah, sure you will." Epona said, and she galloped off again.  Link thought he heard her mutter "Jerk" as she turned, but Stephanie was already taking off toward the mountain.

                "Hey, Steph, wait up!" Link said, running after her.  They finally got to Goron City, where they found the city deserted.

                "Hey!  What the heck!" Stephanie said.  As they looked around, they saw that all the Goron symbols had been changed to look like weird balls. “Poke Balls,” Stephanie muttered.

                "Pokey-what?" Link asked.

                "Poke Balls, doofus.  They're like the Pokemon seal, if you will.  And it looks as though the Pokemon decided to take over this place."

                "This calls for a visit to the Crater," Link said.  He pulled off his tunic to put on his Goron tunic, but stopped when he saw that Stephanie was watching.  She looked very entertained--she was sitting in mid-air, with one knee over the other and her arms crossed, and she had an amused smile on her face. "Hey!  Do you mind?"

                "What, you think Navi never watched when you changed clothes?" Stephanie said. "Besides, you have a pretty nice-looking bod." Link glared at her, and turned around, pulling on his Goron Tunic.  They went to the Crater, but Stephanie knew something was wrong the second Link stepped in.

                "This isn't right," she said.

                "What?  I don't see anything wrong." Link said.

                "Maybe you don't, but I think there's something different about this place…Aha!  Look over there!" She pointed to the Fire Temple.  The design that had been painted above the entrance to the temple had been changed to resemble a Poke Ball.

                "One of those weird ball-things," Link said.

                "A Poke Ball, you idiot, how many times do I have to tell you?  Let's go inside."

                "Hold on, I need to see if I have enough Deku Nuts…"

                "The only nuts you'll want to make sure you still have are the ones you were born with, so let's go!" She grabbed his tunic and yanked him in.  They entered the main hall, where it was totally empty.

                "Strange.  There are usually a couple Keese flying around in here…" Link said.

                "Like I care.  C'mon!" Stephanie said, and they went to a nearby door.  Steph swung it open, and the duo rushed in.  They found themselves in a huge room, in the center of which was a huge lava pool.  In the middle of the pool was a small platform, and beyond that was another platform with a door just behind it.  Link guessed by the gold seal on the door that it led to the boss room, but he stopped the second he stepped toward the pool.

                "Steph…what the hell is that?" he said quietly.  A huge Charizard was sleeping in front of the boss room door.

                "That, my dear Hylian-Kokiri friend, is a Charizard.  Be careful not to get burned by him." Stephanie said, yawning.

                "Thanks, you’re a lot of help." Link said sarcastically.

                "Look, all you need to do is whack him with your sword and block with your shield.  He's really easy to beat, I know that for a fact."

                "Really, is that so?  Okay, then, I'll just go up to him and poke him, maybe he'll die on contact." Link said.  He jumped over the lava to the platform on which the Charizard was sleeping, and raised his sword.  Suddenly, the Charizard's burning red eye opened.  He lifted his head, and roared in Link's face.  Before Stephanie could react, dozens of Pokemon were popping up from out of nowhere.  Soon, the Pokemon were sitting on the lava, floating on it as though it were made of wood to them.  The first ones were a weird fox-like thing that had six pink tails and a white fox-thing with nine brown-tipped tails.  Next came a tiger-striped orange dog with a beard, and an even bigger tiger dog with a big fluffy mane and tail.  The next ones were two orange lizard things that appeared to be miniature, wingless versions of the Charizard.  Then came three little horses with fire for their manes and tails and three big unicorns that had fiery manes, tails, and fetlocks.  Next was a weird red-and-white dinosaur thing with blue eyes and a maniacal look on its face.  Then there was a strange monster that looked like it had a butt for a head, and a weird dog-fox-thing that had a thick mane of fur around its neck and a huge fluffball of a tail.  But what really caught Stephanie's eye was the huge fiery bird that had perched high near the ceiling.

                "Oh, shit," Stephanie said.

                "Uh, Stephanie--help?" Link said.  Stephanie snapped to attention, and saw that the Pokemon had surrounded Link.

                "Uh-oh.  Okay, Link, listen!  The pink-tailed fox is a Vulpix, and the nine-tailed fox is a Ninetales.  The two tiger dogs are Growlithe and Arcanine.  The little mini-Charizards are Charmander.  The little horses are Ponyta, and the unicorns are Rapidash.  The red dinosaur is a Charmeleon, and its butthead buddy is a Magmar.  The red fluffball there is a Flareon, and that bigass phoenix crow up there is a Moltres.  They all breathe fire, they're all really good at fighting, and they're all really fast, so don't turn your back to any of them!"

                "That doesn't help me much," Link said.

                "Well, excuuuse me, Mr. Hero!  There's too damn many of them to tell you how to kill all of them!  Waste 'em all at once if you have to!"

                "How?!”

                "You're the heroic knight in shining armor!  How the hell should I know?!"

The Charizard had risen onto its hind legs now.  Link leaned back with widened eyes as he took in the dragon's full height.

                "Just kill them, for crying out loud!" Stephanie said.  Link turned, and saw that the Pokemon had completely surrounded him.  He raised his sword, and suddenly the Vulpix. Growlithe, and Charmander leapt up in his face.  Link screamed as their toothy mouths almost grabbed at his face, and he jumped away.  He slashed away as the Vulpix and Growlithe tried to bite at his legs.  With two tiny yelps their throats were slashed, and the bodies fell into the lava.  Their mothers bent over them, whining and howling in sadness.  Link looked down, and saw the Charmander watching him.  He saw them take big breaths, and open their mouths.  But only tiny trickles of flame exited their throats.  Stephanie started laughing. "Look at that!  They're too young to even breathe fire!" Link grinned, and slashed downward, slicing the Charmander in half.  The Charizard roared, and Link frowned.

"I don't think he liked that," Link mumbled.

"Neither do I," Stephanie said.  The other Pokemon on the lava were backing away, and were all preparing to breathe fire at once.  Link knew he was in trouble now.  He looked around, and saw other platforms in the corners of the room.  Just before the Pokemon could release their flames, Link leapt back toward Stephanie. "Hey!  What, are you trying to get them to kill me, too?!" Stephanie cried.

"On the contrary," Link said, snatching her in his hand and leaping toward another platform.  The flames just barely missed them.  Link continued jumping around, letting the Pokemon waste their precious fire.

"Um, excuse me, but a certain someone is ready to puke right about now," Link heard a muffled voice say.  Link realized he still had Steph clasped in his hand, and let her go.  Her hair was messed up, and her skirt was badly wrinkled, but fortunately her wings weren't broken. She glared at him. "You know, if you want to get me out of the line of fire, don't try to crush me instead of save me," Steph said.  Suddenly, Link saw the Magmar shoot a huge fireball at Stephanie.

"Steph, look out!" Link cried.  Steph turned, and ducked.  She looked very livid.

"You'll pay for that, buster," she snarled, and zoomed downward.  Link winced as she plowed straight through the Magmar's belly.  She came back to Link as the creature died, covered in green goo.  But instead of complaining, she screamed in Link's face. "What are you standing there for?  Go kill them!" Link noticed that the Flareon, Ninetales, Arcanine, Ponyta, and Rapidash were all tiring.  Suddenly, Link got on idea.  He jumped off the platform, and onto a nearby Rapidash's back.  It whinnied, and started galloping around the pool.  Link whooped, holding up his sword.  At first, Steph was confused.  What the heck was he doing?  She got her answer within seconds.  As the Rapidash came back toward its comrades, Link grabbed the horse's neck and slipped downward at an angle, holding out his sword.  The Rapidash, scared out of its skin, went even faster, and Link held on as he extended his arm.  The other Pokemon shrieked with fear as they saw the blade sweeping toward them.  In a second, the Flareon, Ponyta, and Rapidash were decapitated, and the Arcanine and Ninetales were dead with slashed throats.  Link jumped off his mount, and swung his sword like a baseball bat.  The dead horse's body crumpled, and its head fell to the ground.

Now the only Pokemon left were Moltres and Charizard.  The Moltres remained on her perch, obviously waiting to see how Charizard would do.  Link jumped back up onto the center platform, and then leaped over to where the Charizard stood.  Charizard lazily opened its mouth, and blew out a huge stream of fire.  Link barely managed to block it, and he retaliated with a slash from his sword.  Stephanie looked away in disgust as the dragon's head fell to the ground, and the dragon's body walked around a little before falling into the lava. "Is it just me, or do you have a habit of slicing off the heads of your enemies?" Stephanie hollered.

"Hey, I have a good sword, I might as well put it to good use," Link retorted.  Now it was Moltres's turn.  She flew down, and Link stood ready.  Moltres beat her wings, forming a cyclone of fire that rushed toward Link.  Link blocked it, but suddenly Moltres had gripped him in her talons and was holding him above the lava.  Link struggled to free himself, but the bird was too strong.  Suddenly, Stephanie flew in, flying directly into Moltres, and giving the bird a fierce uppercut.  The bird squawked and fell into the lava, and Stephanie caught Link before he fell in too.  She lowered him to the ground, and he straightened his tunic.  He looked up at her. "Explain to me how you're able to do that," he said.

"Unless you're really good at physics, you'd never understand."

"What're physics?"

"Never mind.  Look--we can go in now," she said, pointing to the door.  Link opened it, and they went in.  When they got inside, they saw a huge Whac-a-Mole-like platform, and something else standing on it.  Link heard Stephanie breathing heavily. "Damn, it's hot in here!" Steph cried, wiping her forehead.

"Well, there's a reason why this is the Fire Temple," Link said.  Ignoring her glare, Link jumped onto the platform, and Stephanie followed.  When they landed, they saw that they were not alone.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Stephanie shrieked.

                "Howdy.  I don't suppose you know me, but I'm Lance Bass of N'SYNC," the man said, grinning.

                "Lance Bass?  Weird name," Link said.

                "Not as weird as yours.  But hey, let's just get on with this, shall we?  I don't like to keep my dragons waiting, you know." He snapped his fingers, and several Pokemon popped out of the holes surrounding them.  The first was a weird goblin-gargoyle thing with a long tail and a huge mouth.  The second was a small, pale blue and white snake with big brown eyes, fin-like ears and a white dot on its forehead.  The next one was a long, blue snake-like creature with blue marbles on its throat and tail, a white horn on its head, and wing-like ears.  The third creature was a big gargantuan orange dragon with tiny wings, weird antennae on its head, and huge feet.  The last was a fiery demon that Link had heard Darunia talking about some time before--Volvagia, a dragon that seemed to be made of lava.  Link cleared his throat, and Stephanie looked down at him.

                "I'm guessing you want information?" Stephanie asked.  Link gave her a 'what do you think?' look. "Yeah, yeah, okay, just give me a second.  Alright--that ugly gargoyle there is an Aerodactyl.  I'd say you could do with cutting its head off.  The little stuffed animal there is a Dratini.  It's a pathetic little thing that's incredibly easy to kill, so do as you will with it.  The next one is a Dragonair, but I have no idea how to kill it.  Same with the big orange lummox, Dragonite."

                "What about Volvagia?" Stephanie gave him a sullen look.

                "I don't know anything about him.  I hate to say it, but I'm only an expert on Pokemon--unfortunately.  Just do whatever pops into your head.  I might even help you for once."  Sighing with exasperation, Link took out his sword, and jumped into battle.  The Aerodactyl was the first to go--Link chopped its head off as quickly as Epona could run.  Then came Dratini.  Link just stared at the squealing little thing lying before him, and he kicked it into the lava.  It died with a quick shriek.  The Dragonair wasn't too hard.  Link grabbed it by one end, twisted it, and cracked it across Dragonite's face like a wet towel.  Both Pokemon died.  Now there was just Volvagia and Lance left.  Volvagia tried to dive into a hole, but Stephanie grabbed the end of his tail and stretched him so that his head was still down the hole, but the rest of him was still outside of it.  Link took that opportunity to first tickle him a little bit, then stabbing and poking him with his sword.  He walked on Volvagia, stabbing him every once in a while, then commenced with the execution--he started slicing the dragon up like salami.  The dragon screamed in pain as Stephanie held him so Link could cut him up.  Soon, Volvagia slices were all over the place.  Lance was staring at the remains of his beloved pets, and Link was drenched in Volvagia's blood.  Lance looked at Link in distress.

"You killed my lil' darlins!  How could you?!" Lance cried.  Stephanie cocked an eyebrow, and made a motion across her throat to Link.  With a cry of victory, Link leapt high into the air and cut Lance in half.  Lance disappeared, and Stephanie cheered. "Coolness!  Now there's one less N'SYNC guy to worry about!" A moment later, she and Link were teleported outside, where the Gorons were waiting.

                "Good show, boy!  Knew you could do it!" Darunia said.

                "Where were you guys?" Link asked.

                "Us?  We were in the Dodongo's Cavern, of course!  We saw those strange creatures coming, so we evacuated into the Cavern.  Why, did you think we had been kidnapped?"

                "Well, you've been in deep trouble with Ganondorf before," Link said.

                "Oh, who cares, we have to go now, bye-bye," Stephanie said, pulling Link away.

                "Hey, what are you doing?  He might have something important to say."

                "Since when?"

                "Point.  Okay, where's my horse?"

Chapter 3

The Water Temple and Their Worst Nightmares

Written by Stephanir and Diana

                "That was fun," Stephanie said as she and Link climbed down Death Mountain.

"Fun?!  What are you talking about?" Link cried out.  He stared at the fairy in annoyance.  She looked back at him, trying to keep a straight face; finally she gave up and burst into laughter.

"Relax!  I was kidding!" she said. "Man, you should see the look on your face!" Link rolled his eyes and continued down the mountain.  Minutes later, he jumped down onto the rocky trail.  The duo left the mountain valley, walked through Kakariko Village, and down the hills back into Hyrule Field.  When they stepped into the sun, however, Stephanie shivered.

"Dang, I'm cold!" she said.  Link glanced at her with an 'if this is a joke I'm not falling for it' look. "No, really, I'm freezing!  Can't you feel it?" Stephanie cried, exasperated.

"Steph, it's sunny.  It's warm.  It's--" Link began.

"Very cold.  I think something's wrong at Zora's Domain," Stephanie interrupted.  He glanced at her again, and the fairy turned scarlet, shaking. "I'm not joking this time.  Let's go!" she said, then flew off toward Zora River.  Deciding to leave Epona--and her apparent attitude--alone for the time being, he ran up to Stephanie and followed her up the riverbed.  As they passed the pedestal where Kaepora Gaebora used to roost, Stephanie noticed the new Poke Ball design etched into the stone.  Before she could say anything, though, Link spoke up.

"The Pokemon did some remodeling, eh?" he said to the fairy.  She nodded, shivering violently.  Suddenly, she heard a splash.  Both turned to the river, where two Tentacool were sitting in the water, watching them with their beady red eyes.  Stephanie rolled her own eyes as Link unsheathed his sword and shield. "Hey, mind telling me who they are?" he asked.

Stephanie glanced down as she hugged herself, trying to stay warm. "These idiots are Tentacool.  Psycho jellyfish, if you will," she said through chattering teeth. "They'll try to whip you with their tentacles." No sooner had she said that than the creature closest to Link slithered out an arm and tried to grab his ankle.  Link backflipped away.

"Thanks," he said.  The two creatures began wildly flailing their arms, trying to hit Link.  He kept jumping, flipping, and shielding, growing bored with the repetitious attack. "Isn't there anything else these things do?" he cried out, annoyed.  Stephanie shrugged.

"I don't know much about these guys!" she said. "Try cutting an arm off when it reaches for you!" She saw another tentacle reach out for Link’s arm.  He saw it too and jumped back, then slashed.  The Pokemon squealed and pulled its shortened arm into the water.  The second Tentacool snaked its arm out and grabbed Link's ankle, and tugged.  He fell to the ground, and the creature pulled him closer to the water.  Stephanie growled, "Oh no you don't," and flew toward the blob, forgetting about her chilliness.  Link dug his heels into the dirt to slow the creature down, and saw the familiar red streak zip past.

Stephanie flew right into the Tentacool's face and stared at it.  It looked at her, then waved an arm at her, trying to grab her.  She darted out of the distracted creature's way, then dove in and kicked the jellyfish's fiery red eye, just as Link hacked its arm off.  The creature let out an alien shriek and dove into the water, swimming away in pain.  The fairy flew back to Link as he removed the tentacle from his ankle, then replaced his weapons and brushed the dirt off his tunic.  He let out a loud sigh and crossed his arms.

"Explanation, please?" he said, turning to Stephanie.  She was staring off into the distance, toward the entrance to Zora's Domain.  She shivered again, then looked back down at Link.

"It's snowing," she murmured quietly.  Link snapped back at her, looking at her as if she were insane.

"WHAT?!  Are you nuts?" he said. "First, it's cold to you, even though there's no snow or ice, and it's sunny out.  Then you say there's something wrong at Zora's Domain, so we come here and we're ambushed by two more Pokemon, their symbol's on the pedestal, and now you say it's SNOWING?!  Are you crazy?!" he shouted.  No sooner had he finished than a tiny snowflake dropped down between the pair.  Stephanie glanced at Link, who seemed to be searching for words, and cocked an eyebrow.

"Told you.  Just follow me," she said and promptly flew off towards the Domain.  They reached the entrance, but instead of playing Zelda's Lullaby for the upteenth time, the fairy parted the water, and the duo jumped inside, then glanced around in shock.  Zora's Domain was entirely encased in ice.  The river, lake, even the waterfall and the shop were covered in shining, clear ice.  It looked almost pretty, in a bizarre alien way.

The silence was broken by a sneeze.

"Gesundheit," Stephanie said, still looking around and shivering.  She was now so cold her glow was beginning to flicker and fade.  Link straightened up.

"Thanks," he said, then peered up at the fairy.  Instead of her usual scarlet, she was flickering a bit.  Soon she let out a sneeze through chattering teeth. "Whoa, are you alright?" Link asked.

"Not really, but I'm not worried about myself.  C'mon," she said, then flew up a path to the throne room.  Link, who was beginning to feel the chill, ran up behind her.  As they reached the room, both let out a shocked gasp--King Zora was encased in a pillar of red ice.

"Great, a giant fishstick," Stephanie grumbled.

"What happened here?" Link asked.

"Obviously, the Pokemon and their masters got here before us," the fairy explained.  She flew out the tunnel behind the frozen monarch with Link at her side.  They both ran up the pedestal where Jabu-Jabu used to reside.  He was gone.  In his place were giant ice floes, icebergs, and swirling, blinding snow.  The duo glanced around, trying to see through the snow.  Link's arm shot out as he pointed out a cavern embedded in the side of a mountain.

"Look over there!  Would that cavern help us at all?" he asked the fairy.  Shivering violently, she turned to look where he was pointing, and answered.

"Let's try it.  Can't hurt, and maybe we'll find something to thaw out King Zora," she murmured, teeth clicking rapidly.

Link began to walk ahead, but stopped when he realized he was alone.  He spun around.  Stephanie was hovering weakly in the air, her glow not much more than a pale pink shadow.  Link ran over to where the fairy hovered, and saw her shivering and chattering.  He held his hand out.

"Here, let me help you," he said.  Stephanie slowly descended, landing in his outstretched palm.  He looked down at her and she gazed up weakly.  He placed her on his shoulder and she laid there breathing slowly, still shivering. "Relax.  You'll be safe," Link reassured her. "Just tell me where to go."

Stephanie raised herself up on her forearms. "Okay.  Thanks," she whispered, as she began to warm up. "Just listen to me…"

*          *          *

Minutes later, the duo was in the Ice Cavern, and they were in the final room.  Stephanie was now revived, and Link had two bottles filled with a strange blue fire they'd discovered.  Now they were trying to find their way out.  Unfortunately, the room they were in seemed to be full of…

"Mirrors.  Why are there mirrors here?" Link grumbled.

Stephanie hovered in the air near Link. "Beats me.  Wait!  Maybe there's the exit!" she exclaimed, flying forward and slamming into another mirror. "Ow!  Never mind," she mumbled, picking herself up and holding her head in her hand.  Link came over to where the fairy hovered, and both heard alien footsteps.  As they turned, they saw only their reflections.  Sinister laughter rang out, though Link and Stephanie saw no one else.

"Who or what is here?" Link asked, annoyed.  His eyes darted everywhere and saw nothing but the reflection of himself and the red fairy near his shoulder.

"I wish I could tell ya," Stephanie said.  She began to fly away in search for the perpetrator when she saw something that infuriated her.  She shrieked and dashed head-on into her reflection. "Yowza!  Dammit!" she shouted, picking herself up.

"What was that all about?" Link asked, running over to the downed fairy and scooping her up in his hands. "What did you see?"

"That twerp Navi!" Stephanie grumbled. "She's here!"

"Where?"

"I don't know!  There's mirrors everywhere!" she cried in frustration.  Stephanie then saw movement behind Link and gasped.  Hearing her gasp, Link spun around and looked into the mirror.  Stephanie heard him growl and flew up to see what had angered him.

His reflection was in the mirror, but then again it wasn't.  The Link she saw in the mirror wore a black tunic and cap.  Silver hair framed his face, which bore a calm yet cocky smile.  His red eyes burned fiercely as he stood and waved to the duo.  Link charged the mirror and slammed his shoulder forcefully into the glass.  Stephanie heard him groan in pain as he staggered back from the impact, and she flew over.

"Are you alright?" she asked concernedly. "And who was that?  It looked like you, but it wasn't you." A chill ran up her spine as she again saw the fiery red eyes.  She grabbed ahold of Link's shoulder and helped him up.

"That was my twin, of sorts.  Dark Link.  He's an evil clone of myself," Link explained, clutching his throbbing shoulder.  A laugh rang out again, as a male voice spoke.

"How pathetic.  Well, you've finally arrived.  Too bad you'll have to wait even longer to face me," the voice calmly said.  Link and Stephanie spun around, trying to find their enemies.  A second voice squeaked out.

"My gosh Stephanie, you are stupid.  Trying to help that loser Link out.  Man, your sister was right.  Oh well, can't wait to beat you senseless!" the female voice crowed.  Stephanie glowed scarlet.

"Get out here and fight me now, wench!" Stephanie shouted angrily.  She dashed about in a frenzy, searching for Navi.  The male voice returned, laughing.  She grew more infuriated.

"Such a fiery little sprite!" he chuckled. "We will meet again.  Prepare for your demise, Link," he snarled.  The two voices let out a peal of laughter, then silence.  Link and Stephanie glanced about.

"That was bizarre," Stephanie murmured.  Link nodded in agreement.

"Got that right."  A sound leaked out after Link spoke.  Stephanie opened her mouth to say something when Link raised a finger to his lips, shushing her.  The sound came again, and the duo faced a mirror.  It was cracking.  All the mirrors were cracking.  Link realized what was going on as Stephanie flew closer to inspect the glass.  The sound grew louder.

"What the…" she said to herself.  She reached out to touch the glass when she felt Link's hand on her waist. "Hey!  What's going on?!" Stephanie shrieked.  Link held onto her and ducked, shielding her with his own body, as the mirrors exploded in a shower of glass.  Shards flew everywhere, and the fairy gasped, then threw her arms in front of her.  When the last pieces of glass tinkled onto the floor, Link stood, still grasping the fairy in his hand.  He glanced down at her, then released her.  She hovered above him and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks," she said.  Link smiled back at her.

"Did you really think I wasn't going to protect you?" he asked jokingly.  Stephanie laughed, then flew close to Link as the pair surveyed the destroyed mirrors. "Huh," Link said, "wonder what that was all about." Suddenly Stephanie glowed, and he glanced up.

"Check it out!  An exit!" she crowed.  A sliding door had appeared on the wall where a panel of mirrors once stood.  The duo walked up to the door, which opened and brought them back to the mouth of the cavern.  They rushed back to Zora's Domain, where Link dumped one bottle of blue fire in front of King Zora, thus unfreezing him, then defrosted the shop, freeing the two Zoras inside.  After replacing his bottles, Link glanced up at the fairy hovering above his head.

"Where to next?" he asked.  Stephanie glanced at the exit of the Domain, then turned back and answered.

"Lake Hylia.  The temple's underwater, but there's been a severe drought," Stephanie said. "Wonder who could've done it." Suddenly she heard a voice call out in her head.  She held her head and closed her eyes, concentrating.

Link glanced up at the fairy, eyebrows raised in silent questioning. "Are you alright?  What's going on?" he asked.  Stephanie opened her eyes and looked down at the Hylian in fear.

"There's someone in the temple who needs our help.  We've got to hurry!" she exclaimed.  She flew over to the exit, Link hot on her heels, then stopped.

"Play the Serenade of Water," Stephanie commanded.

"What?"

"Just play it!"

"Alright," Link conceded.  He drew out the ocarina and played the melody.  A blue shimmer surrounded the pair and they were immediately transported to Lake Hylia, where it was pouring down rain.  The lake, however, was the size of a small pond and encircled the hill Link and Stephanie stood on.

"Whoa!" Link exclaimed.  Stephanie flew past him.  Wordlessly, he followed her, carefully sliding down the hill until they came to the lake.  Yet again, the Poke Ball design was scratched onto the plaque bearing the Zora crest.  Both persons sighed in exasperation and anger, then looked down at the water.  It was deep near the entrance, and they would need a way to sink to the bottom of the lake to enter the temple.  Stephanie was puzzled.

"How are we gonna get in there?" she questioned.  Link turned, smiling, and winked at Stephanie, who arched an eyebrow.

"Already ahead of you," he replied, slapping iron soles onto his boots, and pulling out a blue tunic and cap.  Stephanie grinned.

"Changing again, huh?" she said jokingly.  Link glanced up at her.

"Yeah.  Only this time, you aren't going to watch," he said.  Stephanie pouted. "Cover your eyes," Link said, and she complied, putting her hands over her eyes.  She heard cloth rustling and a belt buckle, and she peeked through her fingers just as Link grabbed his shirt.  She whistled at him, and he spun to her, still shirtless. "Hey, no peeking!" he cried. "Cover those eyes!"

Stephanie giggled and closed her fingers. "All right, Mr. Modesty.  I like your chest, though.," she said, smiling.  After a few seconds, she asked, "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Alright," Link answered, and she took her hands off her eyes.  Stephanie laughed as Link glared at her.

"What did I do?" Stephanie asked innocently.  Link rolled his eyes and leaned down to fix his boots, but the fairy caught a glimpse of a smile. "A-ha!" she cried.  Link drew back to his full height, still smiling, then turned serious.

"How do we get into the temple?" he asked.  Stephanie sighed as she glanced at the entrance, then faced Link.

"You gotta shoot the turquoise doohickey up above the door.  The gate will rise, and you can walk or swim in," she answered.

"Sounds easy enough," he responded.  The pair descended into the water and walked up to the temple door.  Link took out his hookshot and aimed at the switch.  The hook fired and knocked the switch loose, raising the gate.  The two walked through the entrance, then Link removed the iron soles and floated to the surface of the water.  He pulled himself up onto a ledge and waited as Stephanie came out and shook herself dry.  She flew up to Link, and the duo surveyed the temple.  The entire place was nearly submerged in water.  A structure rose up in the middle of the indoor lake, and paths were carved into the walls of the temple.

"Wow," Stephanie breathed.  Link nodded, still glancing around.

"Where do we go from here?" he asked without looking up.  The fairy closed her eyes, listening for the voice.  She pointed right.

"That way.  There's an underwater passageway we'll have to walk through, and the person's waiting in a room there," she responded.

"All right then.  Let's go," Link said as he slapped the iron soles on his boots again.  He walked to the ledge, stepped off, and sank quickly to the bottom.  Once he hit the ground, the duo ran for the passageway.  They were stopped, however, by two giant goldfish. "What the heck are these?!" Link cried out.  Stephanie shrugged them off.

"Oh, these are just Magikarp.  Just walk by slowly and they won't even know you're there, they're so stupid," Stephanie answered.  The two slid up against the wall and crept slowly around the fish, who stared blankly ahead as if nothing were there, dumb grins on their faces.  The duo made it to the path and dashed through, coming to a large room.  They weren't alone.  Link let out a shocked gasp as Stephanie rushed up beside him. "What's going on?" Then she saw it.

A Zora stood in the room.  She appeared to be in her late teens.  Sapphire drop earrings hung on her ears.  Large fins extended from her forearms and hips.  She had large violet eyes, with smaller eyes on either side of her head.  Her hands and feet were slightly webbed.  She smiled.

"I have been waiting or you," she said calmly.  She then turned to the now-scarlet fairy. "Thank you for bringing us back together." Stephanie’s eyes widened.

"Excuse me?  What are you talking about?" she retorted. "And who the hell are you anyways?" The Zora ignored her and turned to Link.

"You're a horrible man to have kept me waiting all this time," she said, less calmly.  Link tried to say something, but Stephanie darted in front of him.

"You leave him alone, little miss sushi!" she said. "And answer my questions!  Now!" The Zora turned back to the fairy and dropped her smile.

"I am Princess Ruto, daughter of King Zora.  And that young man you stand beside is my fiance," she replied coolly.  Stephanie laughed.

"You expect me to believe that?" she cried. "Do I look that dumb?"

"Ask him yourself," Ruto said with a smirk.  Stephanie turned to Link, shocked.

"What the hell is going on?" Stephanie asked, irritated. "What's Ruto talking about?" Link stood in shock.  The fairy waved her hand in front of Link's eyes. "Hello!  Asking you questions!  Need answers!" Ruto laughed at the confusion and continued addressing Link.

"I never forgot those vows we made seven years ago," she said, watching the fairy's reaction.  Stephanie watched Link.

"Damn, I was hoping she would've forgotten," Link mumbled.  Stephanie darted in front of him.

"What's going on, for the upteenth time?!"she demanded.  Her temper was nearing the breaking point.  She heard Ruto giggle and fixed her with a look that could kill, if given the chance.  Ruto smirked and continued to speak.

"However, this isn't the time or place to discuss matters of love.  I wish to save my race and I need your help.  Follow me," Ruto commanded, then swam up through a hole in the ceiling.  Link and Stephanie watched her leave, then Stephanie smacked Link's shoulder.

"Ow!  What was that for?" Link asked.  Irritated, Stephanie glowed blood red.

"What the hell is going on?  And what's this talk about you being engaged?  I didn't know you were taken!" Stephanie snapped angrily.  Link's head shot up and he glared at the fairy.

"Taken?!  No I'm not taken!  I don't know what Ruto's talking about!  Honest!" Link argued.  Stephanie crossed her arms, then sighed.

"Alright, I believe you.  Now let's go," she said, then swam up after Ruto.  Link shook his head in exasperation, reached down, and tore the iron soles off again, then swam up after Ruto and Stephanie.  He reached the platform where Ruto stood, talking and arguing coldly with the blood-red fairy.  When the two saw Link climbing out of the water, they stopped talking.

"What?" Link asked.  The two women, Zora and fairy, eyed each other.  Stephanie flew over to Link.  She sat on his shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Ruto, who flinched.  Ruto then straightened up and began to talk.

"I called you here for a reason.  As you've already seen, Zora's Domain is completely frozen over.  I barely managed to escape, but I saw who committed this evil act," Ruto said sadly.

"Who did you see?" Link asked.  Stephanie rolled her eyes, but remained silent.  Ruto continued.

"Ganondorf was there, along with a mysterious woman and a blue fairy.  Strange creatures followed them.  They destroyed the Domain, etched their crest over ours.  Then Ganondorf and the woman froze my home and sent the fairy and creatures out to the river, cavern, and this temple," Ruto said.  She glanced up, tears glistening in her eyes. "I want to rescue my people!  The only person I could think of to help me was the one I had entrusted with the Zora Sapphire, which was you, Link.  I sent a message out, and your fairy intercepted it," she continued.  She glared at Stephanie, who smirked.  Ruto then turned to Link. "Will you help me?"

Link was about to respond when Stephanie let out a long, loud sigh. "Oh puh-leeze.  If you got yourself out of the Domain in one piece, why can't you make it through here?" she asked.  Ruto rolled her eyes and let out her own sigh.

"I don't have the necessary weapons, Link does, and since he is the one I am to marry, he should help," Ruto retorted.

"You have got to get off this whole wedding trip, girlie, 'cause it ain't happening," Stephanie shot back.  Before Ruto could reply, Link spoke.

"We'll help you," he said, glaring at Stephanie. "We've been following Ganondorf's trail and that of Queen Alison, the woman you speak of.  The fairy with them is Navi."

"Who is this Queen Alison and why is she with Ganondorf?" Ruto asked.  Link turned to Stephanie, then back to Ruto.

"She's Stephanie's sister," Link explained.  Ruto bristled in fear, and Link quickly spoke while Stephanie sat and listened.

"No, no, Stephanie's not evil!  Alison is, but Stephanie isn't!" Link said.  Ruto arched an eyebrow.

"Are you sure Stephanie isn't on Ganondorf's side?" she asked, eyeing Stephanie, who turned scarlet.  She dashed toward Ruto, but Link caught her in his hand, and she struggled.  Ruto smirked.

"Yes, I'm sure.  I trust Stephanie," Link replied. "Hopefully you two will learn to get along in time.  Now, how do we find our way around here?" Link asked, still holding the hot-tempered fairy in his hand.  As Ruto rose, Link brought Stephanie up close so they could talk. "You've got to calm down or else I'll have to put you in a bottle," he said.  Stephanie stopped struggling and sighed.

"Fine.  I'll try," she conceded.  As Link let her go, she warned him, "I can't promise anything, though." He glanced at her, and she flew by his side.  Ruto stood by a plaque which had a Triforce on it.

"Use these plaques which bear the Triforce symbol to raise and lower water levels by playing the song of the Hyrule monarchy.  You do know it, I gather?" Ruto asked.  Stephanie sighed loudly.

"No, we don't.  We've only had to use it seventy times," she replied sarcastically.  Ruto ignored her and looked at Link, who nodded.  Ruto continued.

"I'll be going ahead of you.  When I'm gone, lower the water level and you can go on your way," Ruto explained.  Link and Stephanie nodded.  Ruto went to the edge of the platform and raised her hand in farewell, then dove into the water and swam away.  Stephanie flew over the water and saw the smallest ripple where Ruto had dove in.  She glanced over and saw the Zora disappear into another room.  Link stood by the plaque as Stephanie flew back to him.

"Alright, she's gone.  Hit the switch," Stephanie said.  Instead of pulling out the Ocarina, Link whistled.  A rumble shook the temple as the water vanished.  The duo walked to the ledge and peered over to see the sandy ground below.

"You honestly expect me to jump down there from here?" Link questioned.  He turned to Stephanie, arms crossed.  She looked down at the bottom, then glanced back at Link and nodded.  He threw his arms up in the air.

"Are you nuts?!" he cried.  The fairy shook her head.

"You'll be fine.  Trust me," Stephanie replied.  Link sighed in defeat.

"I still think you're crazy," he said.  The fairy shrugged.

"Think what you want.  I'm just telling you the truth," Stephanie said.  Link rolled his eyes, then walked to the edge and jumped.  Stephanie flew down with him.  Right before he hit the ground, Stephanie shouted, "Roll, don't stand!" Link hit the ground rolling and stood up, brushing off sand, then looked at the fairy hovering in front of him.

"What was that all about?" he questioned.  Stephanie arched an eyebrow, crossed her arms and stood in mid-air.  She smiled.

"Yeah, like I'm gonna let you break your leg in a jump, doofus," she replied. "I told you you were gonna be alright.  Believe me now?" Link imitated the look on the fairy's face, and she laughed, "How dare you mock me!"

"I had to," Link said, grinning.  The duo turned and began to walk to the central building when a horrendous high-pitched whine erupted through the temple.  Link and Stephanie clamped their hands over their ears, grimacing. "What's going on?  Whose cat is dying?" Link shouted.

"Believe it or not, I think that's a human voice singing!" Stephanie hollered back.  The squeal carried on for a few more seconds, then stopped as abruptly as it began.  Hesitantly, Link and Stephanie dropped their hands, then glanced around, trying to find the source of the agonizing voice.

"That was horrible!" Link exclaimed.

"Yeah, like I was enjoying it," Stephanie replied sarcastically. "I would guess that it was my sister…" Link looked up anxiously.

"Why would she be here?" he asked.  Stephanie paused, hovering in mid-air, then continued.

"Like I was saying, I would guess that it's Queen Alison, except that voice was a guy's," she explained.  Link grimaced in pain.

"Ouch," was all he could say.  The fairy nodded, then quickly dashed away.  Link followed her to a door on the western side of the building.  She turned to Link, who glared at her.

"Sorry," Stephanie said.  She turned back toward the door. "That obnoxious singing came from in here.  I'd be prepared if I were you," she said.  Link opened the door, then drew out his sword and shield as the duo walked inside.  The door slid shut behind them, and they glanced around the room.

It seemed empty; a large square room with four lit braziers, one in each corner.  Link dropped his arms in frustration.

"Don't tell me this was all just a trick," he complained.  Stephanie shrugged anxiously.

"It seemed like it was coming from in here!" she cried in defense.  Then she held a finger to her lips and pointed upwards.  The fairy and Hylian stood in near silence as they both heard a creak.  Their heads shot up as they looked at the ceiling.  A trapdoor was opening in the ceiling, and snarls and growls were coming from above.

"Damn it," Stephanie murmured, "not again." She and Link edged closer to the wall as the trapdoor slid open and the creatures dropped down.

Two of them looked like foxes, only they were sea-blue and had fins and scales instead of fur.  Another pair looked like cute little turtles with swirly white tails.  The last couple were miniature alligators strung out on caffeine.  All six Pokemon let out their own roar, then started forward.

"More of these guys?" Link asked, circling the pack. "What are these?"

"The fox-fish are Vaporeon, the turtles are Squirtle, and the mini gators on caffeine are Totodile," Stephanie explained. "They're all water-types, so they'll spit poison, use water jets, or attack you naturally." A Vaporeon leapt at Link, teeth bared and claws out.  Link barely got his shield in front of him, and he thrust out his sword.  A tiny yip escaped the skewered dog, and the second soon followed.  Next was Squirtle.  After it became painfully obvious to the turtles that Link's shield wasn't going to be lowering anytime soon, they ceased their water jets and raced for him.  Link sliced downward, and the creatures froze.  Their halves split and fell apart.

"Icky," Stephanie said.  Link kept his eye on the Totodile running about aimlessly as he responded.

"Somebody's gotta do it," he said.  Stephanie nodded, then flew in close just as a Totodile came right for her.  She flew upwards and saw the creature slam into the stone wall with a crunch.  It slid down the wall, twitched once, and was still.  The death of its comrade made the other Totodile stop and turn to face its partner's corpse.  Its hesitation gave Link enough time to string a fire arrow into his bow.  The Totodile turned too late.  Its eyes widened, and Link let the arrow fly.  It struck the Pokemon square in the chest, pinning it to the wall.  It screamed in agony as it burned into a black shell of itself.  Link replaced his weapons as he and Stephanie crossed the room to inspect the charred corpse.  Stephanie crossed her arms, a hand under her chin, then turned to Link.

"Original recipe, or extra crispy?" she asked.  Link smiled and looked at the burned gator.

"Extra crispy, definitely," he said.  As the duo walked to the center of the room, a birdcall rang out, and a gust of wind made all but one brazier go out.

"What now?" Stephanie cried.  Beating wings were heard, and Link dove out of the way of the huge bird that hovered in the air.  It grasped Link with its blue talons and flew up through the trapdoor.  Stephanie darted upwards and through the ceiling just as the trapdoor slammed shut.  She followed the struggling Hylian and the giant bird until the trio reached a huge room.  The bird flew up high, then dropped Link.  Stephanie dashed up and caught him, lowering him to the ground as the hole they had come in from sealed shut.

"What the hell was that?" Link asked.

"A stupid Articuno just dropped us in here," Stephanie grumbled.

"Where's here?"

"Got me." The room was huge.  A mist covered the floor, and a single, lone, dead tree stood on a tiny island in the center.  Nothing else seemed to be in the room.

"Why are we in here?" Link questioned in frustration.  He turned to Stephanie, who glowed scarlet.  She looked back at him and shrugged.

"Am I supposed to know?" she said.  Link rolled his eyes and threw his arms up.

"No, you're just here for the ride.  Yes!" he shouted.  Before the fairy could reply, footsteps echoed through the room as a familiar shape came in through the mist.  Stephanie turned blood-red in frustration.

"Ruto, what the hell are you doing back here?  Isn't one meeting enough for you?!" Ruto glared at her, eyes flashing.

"You know very well that I'm not going to let Link fight alone.  You have no idea what you're about to face, but I do.  A horrible creature of monstrous proportions, one my race has feared for centuries!  I'm afraid of what it might do to Link, and since I know more about it, I'm going with him.  And before you say anything else, there's no way you're going to stop me." For a moment, there was silence as the two women glared at each other.  Link finally stepped up, and cleared his throat.

"So, uh, who exactly is this creature we're looking for?" Ruto looked at him, then Stephanie, then Link again.  She looked down, and Stephanie realized Ruto probably didn’t like talking about the creature very much.  After a pause, Ruto spoke again.

"All right.  The creature's name is Morpha.  According to legend, he's one of the evil water spirits.  He controls all the water in Hyrule, and helped Ganondorf and Queen Alison freeze my home." Ruto said.

"Well, do you know what he's like?  I mean, what he looks like, how he fights, anything?" Stephanie asked.

"Well…basically, he's just a bunch of tentacles controlled by a nucleus.  He also looks like he's made of water, but he's really purple goo.  He's also extremely powerful, and is known to destroy any enemy within minutes." Stephanie cocked an eyebrow.

"That's it?" she said. "No ice cannons or big razor-sharp teeth or anything like that?" Ruto shook her head. "You mean to tell me that you're afraid of a puddle of purple slime?" Stephanie asked incredulously.

"Hey, knock it off.  We've got business to take care of here." Link said, glaring at Stephanie.  No sooner had the words slipped from his mouth than they heard a metallic slamming sound.  They turned, and were just barely able to see a door through the mist.  As they looked harder, they realized that inch-thick steel bars had come down over the door, blocking their only way out.  As Ruto and Stephanie stared in amazement at the sudden barricade, Link groaned. "This is wonderful.  We're trapped."

"I don't like this, Link," Ruto said.

"I'm getting a really bad feeling about this," Stephanie said.  Link looked around.  As his gaze rested on the tree, he had the feeling that Stephanie and Ruto were looking at it, too.  It stretched up, like a hand begging for help from some passerby.  Something was odd about it, but none of them could place it.  Link walked over to it, and Ruto and Stephanie followed in silence.  Link approached the tree, keeping his distance.  He gazed up at it, frowning.  Ruto shuddered.  The tree looked too creepy for her taste.  It looked like it could just bend down and scoop them up in its finger-like branches.  Link looked around, scowling.

"Ruto, you stay here," he said.  Ruto turned to him with a 'say that again?' look on her face.

"What?" Ruto said.

"Stay next to this tree while Steph and I check things out.  I have a feeling someone's going to challenge me, and I don't want you to be in the middle of it." He looked up at Stephanie, who had a smug look on her face as she flew down next to him.  He turned and headed toward one side of the room, Stephanie's red glow shining like a beacon in the mist.  Ruto crossed her arms and pouted.  She hated being told what to do, but she knew he was only trying to protect her.  She watched him investigate, unaware that the mist was growing thicker.

Link and Stephanie were also unaware of the mist's building up, but they were very suspicious of the pool's layout. "There's something really wrong about this room, buddy.  I doubt if any room goes on forever like this," Stephanie said.  Link's eyes widened.

"Someone's put a spell on the room," he said, looking around.  He put one hand out in front of him and walked slowly forward.

"Uh…Link?  What are you doing?" Stephanie asked, arching an eyebrow.  Link didn't reply.  He kept going, and suddenly stopped.

"There's a wall here," Link said.  Stephanie flew over, and placed one hand in front of her.  Her fingers touched cold, wet tile.

"Whoa!" Stephanie said, recoiling. "Whoever redecorated sure wanted to confuse the hell out of us." She stopped, and looked around. "Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm right here."

"Oh. 'Cause I can't see you." Link looked down at his hand, and realized that the mist was rapidly thickening--he could just barely see his hand.  He looked up, and could barely make out Stephanie's glow.  He lifted his hands up behind her and pulled her gently toward him.

"Oh, there you are," she said as her glow reached his face. "Thanks." She flew over to his shoulder, and sat down.  Link looked around.

"Great.  Now we've lost Ruto." Link muttered.

Meanwhile, Ruto was waiting on the island.  She was growing anxious, and the creepy tree behind her didn't make her feel any better.  She tapped her foot and rubbed her arms, and watched as the mist grew thicker and whiter.  She grew scared, and didn't notice the figure approaching her from behind.  She gasped as the figure put his hand on her shoulder, and she whirled around to see who had frightened her. "Oh, Link," she said. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he said.

"Did you find anything?" Ruto asked.

"No," Link said.  Then he grinned devilishly as a bright blue fairy came out from behind him.

"Nothing except you and that wimpy friend of yours," the fairy tittered, her blue eyes flashing.  She wore an ankle-length blue dress with a rope belt, and had long blue hair, pale blue skin and blue slippers on her feet.  She didn't look like Stephanie at all.  Ruto trembled in fright as she recognized the fairy, and turned to the man in front of her.

"You're not Link," she said.

"Oh, I am," he said, grabbing her arm. "I'm just his evil twin." Navi flew up to the top of the tree, and scattered blue dust over it.  The tree glowed for a moment, then returned to its normal color.  Suddenly, it began to grow bigger and taller, until it was twenty feet tall.  Then it suddenly moved on its own.  It waved its branches, stretching them towards Ruto.  Ruto tried to scream, but Dark Link clapped his hand over her mouth. "Hope you like trees, Princess," he sneered, and the tree scooped Ruto up.  It straightened, and bent its branches over Ruto's head so it formed a cage.  Ruto screamed. "Link!"

Link and Stephanie gasped as they heard Ruto scream. "Oh, shit," Stephanie said.  The mist suddenly thinned out, and they looked for the tree.  They were astonished by what they saw.  What had once been a small, frail tree had suddenly turned into a tall, monstrous tree that was holding something in its curved-in branches. "Holy crap!  It's got Ruto!" Stephanie cried.  Ruto looked ready to faint, and was staring at something below her.  The duo ran toward her to help, but stopped short.  Icy chills ran up their spines as they saw the figure looking up at Ruto, a blue fairy hovering next to him.  The man was twirling his sword in his hand, admiring its blade.  The man was an exact copy of Link, right down to the buckles on his boots--only he had silver hair, flaming red eyes, and wore a black tunic and cap.  They listened in shock as Dark Link spoke to Ruto.

"Well, well, Princess Ruto, we finally meet.  Dark Link, at your service." He bowed to her mockingly. "Guess you don't recognize the Master Sword…or me, for that matter."

"Are you really…?" Ruto couldn't believe her eyes.

"Link's evil twin?  Oh, yes, you could say that.  You could also say that he and I could be brothers, because we're so much alike." Dark Link sneered.  Navi giggled, and both Link and Stephanie felt their blood boil.  Link stepped forward, Stephanie right next to him.

"Let Ruto go," he said. "She has nothing to do with this." Dark Link looked up at him, as if he had been expecting him, then grinned.

"Aww, how very chivalrous of you.  Not wanting to see a woman in any harm or danger.  I'm sure you have a sort of soft spot for her, too, don't you?  And not to mention the fairy as well.  I must say, that was very heroic of you to save her from being killed by the mirrors in the Ice Cavern." Stephanie turned scarlet, her rage burning. "Always was one of your weak points, your chivalry.  One of these days it's going to kill you." Suddenly, his eyes brightened. "Say, that gives me an idea.  Tell you what.  Why don't we fight, and if you win, the Zora girl goes free?  Doesn't that sound good, Navi?"

"Yep.  As long as I get to fight Miss Scarlet over here." Navi said.  Stephanie's color darkened to blood red again.

"With pleasure," Stephanie snarled.  Dark Link turned to Link.

"Agreed?" Link glared at him, but Dark Link didn't wait for a reply from him.  He raised his sword, and leapt toward Link, slashing wildly.  Link jumped out of the way, receiving only a grazing cut on his side.  Link unsheathed his own Master Sword, and took out his shield.  The two Links circled each other, shields ready. 

Stephanie turned to Navi, and Navi abruptly charged her.  Stephanie ducked to the side just before Navi could hit her, and jabbed Navi with her fist as she turned around.  Navi fluttered a bit from the impact, but as she recovered she rammed into Stephanie's gut.  Stephanie slammed into the tree, and she started to see stars.  There was a bright flash of light, and she saw a five-foot-four Navi walking toward her, sword in hand.  Stephanie shook her head vigorously, and closed her eyes.  She felt her body growing bigger, and a sword appeared in her hand.  Stephanie opened her eyes and raised the sword just as Navi was about to attack her.  Navi stared at her in amazement, but leered at her as she started circling Stephanie.  Stephanie did the same, not taking her eyes away from Navi's.

As Link and Dark Link slowly circled each other, Link sized up his opponent.  He knew that this evil twin was everything Link didn't want to be, and appeared to be dead set on destroying his benign twin.  Link scowled.  Let's just see how quickly I can beat him to it, Link thought.  Link tried a jump attack on his twin, but Dark Link jumped back--and did his own jump attack.  Link rolled away before the sword could strike his back, but the sword slashed at his ankle.  Link cried out, but was able to regain his footing.

Stephanie and Navi continued their circle for a few moments more, then Stephanie stopped. "Are you going to attack me or what?!" she shrieked. "I'm waiting for you here, you pathetic little ditz!" She regretted saying that, as Navi angrily attacked in a flurry of swings and jabs.  Stephanie had a time blocking her, and tried to back away while blocking at the same time.  Navi, however, did not back down.

"No one calls me pathetic and gets away with it!" Navi cried.  She lunged at Stephanie, but in a quick movement, Stephanie reached out and grabbed her wrist.  Navi cried out as she dropped her sword and was flipped over Stephanie's shoulder.  She cried out as she landed on the floor, and Stephanie pounced on her, pinning her down.

"You forgot 'ditz,'" Stephanie sneered with a grin, and spat in Navi's face.  She leapt up and hovered backwards as Navi tried to attack her.  Navi grabbed her sword, then took off from the ground to attack, screaming in rage.

Link, in the meantime, was trying to hit his twin with his quickest slashes.  However, Dark Link appeared to be a living, breathing mirror--Link's sword kept connecting with Dark Link's as he executed the very same moves.  Sparks flew between the blades, and Link got the distinct feeling that this wasn't going to work.  He tried a forward thrust, hoping that he would make a hit.  But to his amazement, Dark Link jumped up and landed so he was standing on the sword--then slashed at Link with his own.  Link cried out in pain and astonishment--none of his past enemies had ever done that, and nor had he himself.  Dark Link let out a peal of laughter. "So, what's it like fighting against your own skill?" Dark Link asked.  Link looked up, clutching his wounded shoulder.

"You only know my swordfighting skills," Link growled. "But I'll bet you don't know this!" In a swift move, he sheathed his sword, held his hands out in front of him, and released a huge ball of fire at Dark Link.  Link grinned as Din’s Fire burned away at his evil twin.  He whipped out his sword, and hacked away at him.

Stephanie smiled as she dodged the angry Navi's blows.  Navi was so enraged by now she could hardly see straight, let alone aim accurately.  Finally, Stephanie disappeared in a flash of light.  Navi stopped swinging, and looked around, hovering in mid-air.  Her eyes narrowed. "Where are you, Stephanie?" she called softly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." When she got no reply, her face contorted into a snarl. "I know what you're doing, Stephanie.  And if you think I'm not going to find you, you're wrong!" Navi turned back to her normal size, and flew around, searching for Stephanie.  No red glow anywhere.  Navi stopped, and looked around anxiously.  Suddenly, she heard a cry of rage.  Navi turned, and what appeared to be a tiny fireball flew at her.  Navi cried out as Stephanie rammed into her at top speed, sending Navi flying through the air.  She slammed into a wall, and fell to the ground.  There was another flash of light, and Navi looked up to see Stephanie in her big form, standing over her with her sword in hand.

Dark Link cried out in pain as his benign twin hacked away at him.  Link was enraged now, and there was no way he was going to lose this fight.  But suddenly, Dark Link used one of his special tricks--he disappeared, vanishing into thin air.  Link looked around, searching for the enemy.  Ruto looked around from her prison, but couldn't spot Dark Link.  Suddenly, Dark Link appeared, right behind Link.

"Link!  Behind you!" Ruto cried.  Link whirled, raising his shield to block the blow Dark Link had so carefully plotted for him.  Dark Link whacked his sword against Link shield repeatedly, as though trying to break through it.  Suddenly, Dark Link stepped back, lowering his sword.  Link lowered his shield to see why Dark Link had stopped--and saw a fist fly into his face.  Link staggered back, dropping his sword and shield, and fell to the ground.  He shook his head to get rid of all the stars, the heard a fierce scream of rage.  Link looked up to see Dark Link jump into the air, sword pointed downward.  Link grabbed his sword and shield, even though they were in the wrong hands, and raised his shield just in time to block.  Dark Link stood over Link, steel scraping on steel as Dark Link realized the sword didn't hit in time.  He leapt back, and Link got up, tossing his sword into the air.  He switched the shield to his right arm and caught the Master Sword in his left hand, ready to fight.

Navi gazed up at Stephanie in terror, not knowing what to do.  Stephanie grinned menacingly, and held the tip of her sword close to Navi's throat.  Navi was paralyzed in fear for a moment.  Suddenly, she trembled, and screamed.  In a quick movement, she flew away from the sword and Stephanie, and then disappeared in a tiny blue flash of light.  Stephanie smiled in satisfaction.

Dark Link saw Navi disappear, and Link could see the look of fear in his eyes. "Navi!" Dark Link cried. "Navi, where are you?!" Link smiled as he gathered power in his sword arm, raising his shield.

"Guess you didn't know she's a stupid little coward, huh?" Link asked.  Dark Link looked back at him, and gasped as he saw the now-glowing sword in Link's hand.

"No," he whispered. "Navi!  Please!  Come back!  You swore you'd protect me--AHHHH!!!" Dark Link screamed in pain as Link spun around in a blindingly fast circle, slashing him deep in the chest.  Stephanie suddenly came up beside Link, and although he was a bit surprised to see her in her big form again, he grinned.  Together, they finished Dark Link off--in unison, they executed a perfect jump attack, and their aims were true.  Dark Link screamed just before he collapsed and faded away.  The door just behind Link unlocked.

"Coolness!  We can get out of here!" Stephanie cried, punching her fist in the air.  But suddenly, they both heard a cracking sound.  It was different from the one they'd heard from the mirrors, and they turned toward the tree holding Ruto.  The entire pool setup had been a manifestation of Dark Link's, and the spell was breaking--and so was the tree.  Link dashed to the island just as the tree crumbled to bits, and caught a startled Ruto in his arms.

"Hey, Ruto," Link said, wincing as he was reminded of his wounds.  He set her down just as Stephanie flew over.

"Crap, look at yourself!  You're a mess!" Stephanie said.

"I can take care of that," Link said as he pulled a bottle out of his tunic.  Inside was a tiny pink fairy that Link had caught a few days ago.  He took out the cork, and the fairy flew around Link, healing any wounds and exhaustion Link had.  He grinned. "Hyrule fairies--instant relief and healing in just a split second!  Catch one today!"

"Are you feeling better?" Ruto asked.

"Better than I did a few seconds ago." Link replied.  Suddenly, Ruto stepped over to Stephanie, who stared at her with an arched eyebrow.

"Stephanie…I'm sorry about my being sharp with you.  I admit I'm pretty stupid and stubborn sometimes, and I didn't mean to rub my and Link's engagement in like that," Ruto held out her hand to Stephanie. "Apology accepted?" Stephanie was startled at first, and looked at Link.  He shrugged, and nodded.  Stephanie turned back toward Ruto, and sighed.

"Sure.  Why not?" Stephanie took Ruto's hand and shook it.  However, they frowned and narrowed their eyes at each other for a split second so that Link wouldn't see it.  They returned to happy poses as Link grinned.

"Well, now that you two have finally gotten along, I believe we should get moving." The trio went to the door, which Link opened.  He stepped aside and motioned inside. "Ladies first." Stephanie and Ruto walked in at the same time, glaring at each other, and Link followed.  Ruto suddenly turned rigid.

"There it is," she said, pointing up ahead.  A tall, forty-five-degree slope was in front of them, with three spike sliders moving slowly across it.  At the top of the slope was an ornate door. "That's where Morpha is."

"How do you know?" Stephanie asked.  Her reply came in the form of a horrible, high-pitched whine coming from the other side of the door.  It was even louder than before.  They covered their ears as the voice grew louder and screechier, and suddenly stopped.  As they removed their hands from their ears, Link looked at Ruto. "Please tell me that was Morpha I just heard."

"Morpha doesn't even have a voice," Ruto replied.

"Damn.  I would've taken greater pleasure in killing him if that had been him."

"Okay.  Let's go up there," Stephanie said.

"Say what?  We can't make it up that!" Ruto said.  Stephanie smirked and pointed at her wings.  Ruto glared at her. "Sure, you can brag about that.  But what about those who have to walk?" Stephanie looked back at the slope, then the sliders, then turned back to Link and Ruto.

"All you gotta do is walk along the side, go straight forward without changing directions, and keep a steady pace.  The sliders won't hit you," Stephanie said calmly.  Ruto looked at Link, who shrugged.

"Don't see any other way," Link said, and he walked forward.  He waited until the first slider went past, then started up.  Stephanie flew next to him, and he watched the other two sliders warily as he went up.  They missed by several feet, and he made it to the top.  He called down to Ruto. "Come on, it's okay!" he said.

"Yeah, Ruto-dearest, you don't want to keep your honey-buns waiting," Stephanie said.  She tried to look innocent as Link and Ruto both threw vicious glares at her.  Ruto stormed up, narrowly missing one of the sliders, and went up to Stephanie.  Before Link could stop her, Ruto grabbed Stephanie in her hand and pinned her against the wall.  Link had a feeling what was coming just by the furious look on Ruto’s face--along with the fact that Stephanie's color was slowly turning orange.

"Listen, you little pip-squeak," Ruto snarled, "I've had enough of you and your smart-aleck attitude, and I won't stand for it!  I only apologized to you to make Link happy, not to satisfy you.  Now, if you dare to insult me again, I swear you'll--AAARRGH!!!" Ruto snatched her hand away abruptly, holding it in pain.  Stephanie was glowing a hot orange now, and looked absolutely livid.  Ruto's hand was pink now where Stephanie had burned it slightly.  Link examined Ruto's hand, and glared at Stephanie.

"Would you stop glaring at me already?!" Stephanie cried. "She came at me first!  Besides, what I said was meant as a joke, not an insult!  And I'll have you know I don't like being pinned like that, either." Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Ruto.  Ruto rubbed her hand in pain, and Link looked at Stephanie with a 'you didn't have to burn her' look.  Stephanie gave him a sullen look of her own. "Hey, I could've grown and put a sword to her throat instead.  Or I could've bitten her or spat in her face.  Which would you rather prefer?  And don't say 'apologize' because that's one thing I'm incapable of doing at this time."

Link sighed in exasperation. "Ruto, your hand is fine.  You won't die from it," he said.  Ruto shot a glare at him now.

"She burned my hand!  SHE...BURNED…MY…HAND!!!" Ruto shrieked, waving her pink hand in Link's face. "She dared to do that to me!  Princess Ruto of the Zoras!  She should at least be punished for it!" Link looked at Ruto, then Stephanie, then Ruto again.  He turned to Stephanie and strode toward her.  She recoiled slightly, but stood firm.  Link took a deep breath, the pointed his finger at the fairy.

"Bad fairy.  No growing big for four hours." Then he turned back toward the door.  Ruto's jaw dropped, and Stephanie looked amazed, to say the least.  She'd been expecting Link to put her in a bottle.

"That's it?  That's all you're going to do to her?" Ruto screeched.  Link turned back toward Ruto, a look of annoyance and exasperation on his face.  Behind him, Stephanie was smirking a bit.

"Look.  I'm tired.  I want to get out of here.  I just fought my evil twin.  I have a headache from that screechy voice in there and the screechy voice in your throat," Link said, pointing to Ruto and leaning toward her a bit. "And really, I'm getting sick and tired of you hanging all over me when all I really want to do is get rid of Morpha and that freako behind this door.  So yes, that's all I'm going to do to her because that's the way she is all the time.  Her attitude doesn't really bother me anyway.  Now, let's get in there, kill whatever the hell is inside, and get the hell out of this godforsaken temple.  Got it?" Ruto was somewhat stricken for a moment.

"Okay," she conceded.  Link nodded.

"Let's go." He turned to the door, and stopped.  He peered at it, and noticed that it looked like some sort of design had been molded into the gold.  It was a depiction of four tentacles waving above bubbling water.  He narrowed his eyes, and opened the door.  The trio went inside, and looked around.  Huge white spikes lined the room except for the corners, and huge gold plaques--which looked exactly like the door--were set into the walls.  A huge pool was in the center of the room, and weird purplish-blue liquid was inside the pool.  Stephanie flew up, and screamed in horror.

"YOU!!" Stephanie cried.  A man just a shade older than Link stood on one of the four platforms in the pool.  He had short, curly blond hair, and a face like that of a mouse.  He stood with a cocky smile on his face.

"Yes, it's me.  Justin Timberlake, present ruler of the Water Temple," the man said.  Ruto walked up.

"You were the one who was singing?" Ruto asked.  Justin gave her a sullen look.

"No, the walls were singing.  Yes, it was me!  But for your information, that wasn't singing at all.  That was my birdcall." Justin said.

"One hell of a terrible birdcall," Stephanie muttered.

"My Articuno thinks otherwise." Justin said.  Suddenly, in a shower of white sparkly snow, the huge Articuno Link and Stephanie had seen earlier appeared.  It landed next to Justin, let out a soft cry, and nuzzled Justin lovingly. "You see?  Articuno doesn't have any problem with it."

"Yeah, well, we do.  You have a voice like a dying cat." Link said.  Justin's eyes flashed.

"Well, I suppose you must be that Link kid Queen Alison spoke of.  Yes, she warned me that you might come.  But I've been waiting…with some friends of mine, of course." Suddenly, he broke into song again.  As the trio covered their ears, Justin sang on.  Suddenly, several big creatures jumped out of the water, and several huge tentacles came out as well.  The creatures were of varying shapes and sizes.  One looked like a giant turtle with the head of a bear and huge metal cannons coming out of its shell.  The second looked like a weird blue duck with a ruby on its forehead, and the third looked like a yellow duck that had recently lost its brain.  The fourth was a tiny blue and white creature with a long tail and big red lips.  The fifth looked like a monster version of the fourth, with menacing eyes and big powerful arms.  The sixth was a huge jellyfish that looked like a Tentacool on steroids.  The seventh was a strange seal-like Pokemon that kept saying "Dew" over and over.  The eighth was a gigantic crab that had one menacing pincer and one huge menacing pincer.  The ninth was a weird seahorse of sorts that looked ready to zoom around uncontrollably.  The tenth was a big spotted goldfish with a horn on its head.  The eleventh was a big purple starfish with a huge ruby in the center of its body.  The twelfth was a strange, nautilus-like creature with zonked out eyes and an alien mouth.  The thirteenth was a weird brown creature that had a head similar to Ruto's, but with scythes instead of hands and a skeleton-thin body.  The fourteenth and fifteenth looked like oysters of some kind, only one was small and the other was huge.  The sixteenth creature looked like a blue dinosaur with a weird shell on its back.  The seventeenth and final creature was a humongous blue dragon that was blue, white, gold, and had a very big mouth.

"Whoa!  Release the hounds!" Stephanie said in amazement. "Got enough Pokemon?" Justin stopped singing, and glanced around at the Pokemon standing around him.

"If you're going to have company, why not make it a party?" Justin said.  He suddenly glanced at Ruto, and smiled.  He snapped his fingers, and one of Morpha's tentacles lashed out and grabbed Ruto.  She screamed as it carried her over to where Justin was standing and set her down.  Justin grabbed her by the waist. "You know, you're kinda pretty," Justin said, and he abruptly kissed her on the lips.  Stephanie gagged, and Link bristled.  Justin pulled away after a moment, and grinned. "And you're a wonderful kisser, too."

"Let go of me, you brute!" Ruto said, slapping his face hard.  The creatures seemed to whisper amongst themselves as Justin glared at Ruto.

"As you wish," he said.  He nodded to Articuno, who flew up into the air.  It grabbed Ruto by the shoulders, and in a swift movement, tossed her in the air and swooped under her.  She was now on its back, and it looked as though she wasn't about to try to get off anytime soon.

"Oh, boy," Stephanie said. "First she's trapped in a twenty-foot tree, and now she's fifty feet above the ground on the back of a giant bird.  Not to mention she was kissed by that sleazebag."

"And your point is?" Link asked irritably as he watched the Articuno fly in slow circles near the ceiling.

"Hmm?  Oh, I think she'll be left mentally traumatized for about twenty or so years." Suddenly, Justin raised his hand.

"Everybody ready?" he called out.  The creatures all snarled and roared. "GO!"

"Okay, this is where you tell me what the hell they are and how you'd like me to kill them," Link said as the monsters slowly advanced.  Stephanie took a deep breath.

"Okay.  The big bear-turtle is a Blastoise.  The blue duck over there is a Golduck.  The blanked-out yellow duck is a Psyduck.  The pathetic tadpole thing there is a Poliwag.  The big monster next to it is a Poliwrath.  The big monster pyscho jellyfish is a Tentacruel.  That white seal-thingy is a Dewgong.  The bigass crab there is a Kingler.  The psycho seahorse is a Seadra.  That leopard-spotted goldfish is a Seaking.  That ruby-faced starfish is a Starmie.  That weird shellfish there is an Omastar.  The psycho Ruto monster is a Kabutops.  The little purple oyster is a Shellder, and the big oyster is a Cloyster.  That weird dinosaur-turtle-fish thing is a Lapras.  And that big dragon there is a Gyarados.  I don't care how you kill them, just do it carefully, because Morpha will try to grab you if you get too close!" Stephanie said this all very quickly.

"Well, thank you for your help.  I'll remember it when I die." Link said sullenly as he whipped out his sword and shield.

"I feel so loved.  Get going!" Stephanie said, pushing him toward the monsters.  Link went forward, and found himself staring at the belly of the Blastoise.  It glared down it him.

"Blass," it roared.  Link stared at it for a moment, then raised his eyebrows when he saw the two cannons on its back aim at him.  Dropping his sword and shield, Link whipped out two bombs, which lit up instantly, and threw them into the cannons.  The big turtle stared at them for a moment.  It turned back toward Link, and Link picked his shield up and raised it.  A second later the Blastoise blew up into tiny little bits.  Link heard Stephanie cheering as he turned toward the Tentacruel.  It leered at him, and sped toward him.  Link whipped out his bow, and yanked out an ice arrow.  He fired it just before the Tentacruel reached him, and it froze into a giant ice cube.  Link picked up his sword, and did a jump attack, slicing the Tentacruel completely in half.  The two pieces fell into the weird goo and dissolved.  Link turned around, and saw the Golduck and Psyduck behind him.  Suddenly, their eyes turned blue, and Link found that he couldn't move.  Then he was thrown into the wall.  He cried out as he slammed into it, and he fell to the floor.  He got up just in time to see both ducks preparing to jump on him.  He held both hands in front of him, and Din's Fire shot away at the ducks.  They squawked and screamed, and soon were no more than ashes.  As Link got up, he felt something jumping against his leg.  He turned, and was suddenly punched in the gut.  He was then punched in the jaw, and he fell to the floor.  He looked up, and saw the Poliwag and Poliwrath advancing on him.  Link got up, and the Poliwrath leapt at him.  Link dodged, and the Poliwrath flew right into the spikes on the wall.

"Oh, gross!" Stephanie said as blood dripped onto the floor. "Frog brains!  Ew, ew, ew!"

"Sorry," Link said.  He turned to the Poliwag, who was staring at the body of its buddy.  It looked up at Link with a smile, hoping to charm him.  Link gave it a fake smile, then kicked it straight into the other wall.

"Oh, more frog brains!  Yuck!" Stephanie cried.

"Hey, either shut up or help me out!" Link said.

"Shutting up."

"Thanks a lot." Link then turned to face his new opponent, and found the Kingler waddling sideways toward him very quickly.  Link grinned.  He whipped out the Megaton Hammer, and whammed it on the ground.  The crab flipped over, and couldn't turn itself right side up.  Replacing the hammer, Link thrust his sword into the underbelly of the crab, and after a roar of pain, it died.  Suddenly, he noticed the three speeding rockets going around in circles in the water.  Apparently, Seadra, Starmie, and Dewgong had decided to have a race while waiting their turn to fight.  Link sighed in exasperation, and pulled out a Deku Stick.  He strolled over to the water, and held the stick just below the surface.  He gripped it in both hands, and waited.  The three stupid Pokemon ran right into the stick headfirst, and were killed.  Their bodies dissolved in the liquid, and Link dropped the stick in the liquid as well.  Stephanie was laughing her butt off.

Link suddenly heard something hopping on the ground behind him.  It was the Seaking.  It was struggling futilely to get to Link quickly, but it couldn't move.  Link went up to it, cocked an eyebrow, then skewered the Seaking with his sword.  He tossed the body into the water, and heard vicious snarls behind him.  He turned, and saw the Kabutops and Omastar slinking toward him.  Link took out his bow again, and fired a fire arrow at the Omastar.  The arrow landed in one of its eyes.  For a moment, it didn't react.  The it suddenly ran around, hollering and waving its arms around, frying to death.  Finally, it disintegrated into a pile of ashes.  The Kabutops, however, wasn't about to die so quickly.  Instead, it raised its arms and scraped its razors against each other.  Link replaced his bow, whipped out his sword, and readied his shield.  Suddenly, the Kabutops lunged.  Link blocked and parried, dodging the razor-sharp blades.  Finally, he found a break and managed to swing his sword at the creature.  It gurgled, then its upper body fell off.  The legs bent, and the remaining half fell over.

"Nice!" Stephanie called.

"Thanks!" Link called back.  He looked around.  Ruto was still on Articuno's back, looking mortified.  Link looked back down, and saw the two oysters advancing on him.  Link got ready to attack, but suddenly they shut themselves up in their shells. "Oh, great," Link muttered.  He walked around them, wondering how to attack them.  Suddenly, he got an idea.  He sat in front of them, sheathed his sword, put away his shield, and took out his bow and two arrows.  Notching the arrows together, he held the bow crosswise. "Yoo-hoo," Link said.  Shellder opened up a crack, then Cloyster.  Suddenly their shells whipped open, and Link grinned. "Gotcha," he said, and he released the arrows.  The oysters fell back into the water, dead.

Suddenly, Link felt a sudden cold hit him like a mallet in the back.  He screamed as pain washed over him, and became dimly aware of ice covering his entire body.  He struggled, and the ice broke off.  He rubbed himself to get some warmth back in his body, and whirled in fury.  There was the Lapras, looking very smug.  Frost lined the edges of its mouth, and Link knew that the stupid thing must have used some sort of ice beam to freeze him.  The Lapras opened its mouth, and Link saw a weird blue glow forming in its throat.  Link dashed to the side just as another ice beam was fired.  Furious and exhausted, Link jumped onto the Lapras's back.  The Lapras squealed in surprise, and started swimming around the pool.  Link tried to dodge the tentacles that lashed at him, and heard Justin laughing.  Narrowing his eyes, Link took out the Megaton Hammer again.  With one heavy swing, Link pounded the Lapras's head flat.  The dead fish began to sink, and Link jumped back to the safety of the outer platform.  Stephanie flew over to him, and patted him on the back, grinning.

Now there was the Gyarados.  It was huge, and even the tentacles had to make way for it.  The dragon roared, and Link took out his sword and shield again.  The Gyarados breathed a huge stream of fire, and Link knelt down behind his shield.  He could feel the heat of the flames, and crouched lower.  The flames stopped, and the Gyarados came closer.  Link slashed with his sword.

CLANG.

"Uh-oh," Link and Stephanie said in unison.  The Gyarados was completely covered in armor.

"Having trouble, Link?" Justin asked mockingly.  Link glared at him, and looked back at the Gyarados.

"Alright, you big nightcrawler," Link said. "Time for dinner." Dropping his sword and shield, he started throwing bombs into the dragon's gigantic mouth two at a time.  The dragon had no choice but to swallow them, and Link soon jumped away and raised his shield.

BOOM.

Gyarados scales flew all over the place.  Stephanie yelled while trying to dodge them, and Link got up.  Justin looked absolutely livid. "Well, you got this far.  But you've got a long way to go.” He snapped his fingers, and Morpha’s tentacles suddenly began to wave faster.  They flung themselves close to Link, trying to grab him.  Link dashed to a corner, trying to stay away from the tentacles.  Whenever one got close, he would hack at it with his sword.

"Link, you idiot, you have to go for the nucleus!  It's the only way to beat him!" Stephanie called.  Link looked around, and saw the nucleus floating inside a tentacle.  Problem was, that tentacle was staying close to Justin while the others had trapped Link.  Link reached for his quiver, but his face fell in horror when he realized it was empty.  He was out of arrows.

"Steph, I can't get to it!  It's too far away and I'm out of arrows!"

"What do you mean, you're out of arrows?"

"I mean exactly that!"

"Damn!"

"My thoughts exactly." Stephanie looked around.  Justin was smiling cockily, and Morpha was still keeping Link trapped.  Articuno had started to fly faster, and Ruto looked sick.  Stephanie threw her hands in the air.

"I might as well!" Stephanie said.  She closed her eyes, and concentrated.  Link watched her, and gasped when a huge line of sparkles formed.  It stretched from Stephanie's hands to the wall--about forty feet between them--and as Link watched, it solidified.  Link and Justin gasped when the object formed.  It was a huge, double-edged forty-foot sword, held by Stephanie, who was still in her tiny fairy form. "Link!  You'd better duck!" Stephanie called.  Link complied, and he watched as Stephanie swung the sword in a graceful arc.  It sliced through each of the tentacles, and sliced the nucleus clean in half.  Justin screamed as the blade came toward him, and Link could see a hint of a grin on Steph's face as Justin was sliced right in half.  Link winced as the man fell apart at the groin and fell into the water.  The tentacles waved around wildly, and the water suddenly evaporated.  Link stood up, but Stephanie was watching Articuno.  She had a bit of a smirk on her face.

"Steph!  Ruto's on that bird's back!" Link cried.

"I'm aware of that," Stephanie said calmly.

"Well, aren't you going to do something?"

"Yes.  I'm just trying to figure out how I would kill Articuno without accidentally slicing Ruto in half, too." Link cocked an eyebrow, and looked up.  Indeed, Ruto had fainted, and was now lying on Articuno's back.  Steph risked killing Ruto if she were to slash at the bird.

"Hold on, I've got an idea." Link said.  Holding his sword downward in his hand, he drew back and aimed.  He threw the sword into the air.  It whistled through the air and then sliced right through Articuno's neck.  The bird cried out in an ear-piercing tone, and plummeted toward the ground.  Stephanie quickly made her sword vanish, and dashed forward.  She grabbed Ruto in mid-air just as Articuno slammed into the floor.  Link jumped down and retrieved his sword, putting it back into its scabbard.  He then went over to Ruto, who was still out.  Stephanie lowered her to the ground, and for once she looked concerned.

"Is she okay?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know," Link said.  He bent over her, turning his head to check her breathing.  Suddenly, Ruto threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.  Link was startled, and he tried to pull away immediately.

"AACKK!!  THOSE LIPS TOUCHED JUSTIN'S AND NOW SHE'S KISSING YOU!  EWWW!" Stephanie screamed, covering her eyes.  Link pulled and tugged, but Ruto wouldn't let go.  Finally, after a full minute, she released him.  Link gasped for breath, clutching his chest.

"What the hell was that for?!" Link cried.  Ruto gave him a 'that's a dumb thing to ask' look.

"First of all, that miserable snake kissed me and you did nothing about it.  Second, I was trapped on that cretin of a bird's back, and again, you did nothing about it.  But," she calmed her voice, "you did rescue me twice, and you deserved a hero's kiss."

"Um, excuse me, fishface, but I don't think that was a real great way to give it to him.  You scared the living daylights out of him."Stephanie said sharply.  Ruto ignored her as she gazed admiringly at Link.  Link took a deep breath.

"Okay.  I admit you're a good kisser," Link said.

"WHAT?!" Stephanie cried.

"But please don't do that to me again." Link continued.  Ruto pouted.

"But Link, you're my fiance," she said, giving him a sad look.

"Oh, please, don't even try the sad puppy face.  It never works," Stephanie said.

"How do you know?" Ruto asked sharply.

"Because I gave it to him when he told me not to watch him undress for the second time." Stephanie clapped her hand over mouth, and her eyes widened. "Oops," she murmured.  Ruto's jaw dropped, and she stared at Link.  Link groaned, and put his face in his hands.

"Is that true?" Ruto demanded. "Link, is it?"

"Yeah, it's true." He looked up, and was met with a slap in the face.

"You do fancy her, don't you?!  You defend her in arguments, and you let her watch you undress!  How shameful of you!" Ruto cried.  Stephanie smiled.

"Look, Ruto, it wasn't my fault.  I didn't even realize she was watching the first time before it was too late.  And the second time, she only caught me shirtless!"

"It doesn't matter, Link!  Really, I thought better of you.  But now you're choosing a simple fairy over me.  Link--it's over.  Consider yourself a bachelor." She crossed her arms, waiting for him to beg forgiveness.  However, he didn't.  Instead, he smiled.

"Okay.  Thank you." As Ruto stared at him in amazement, he took her hand and pulled her up.  He turned, and spotted the blue light that would transport them out of the temple. "Let's get you back home.  And Stephanie, don't even say a word until we get out of the Domain."

Chapter 4

The Shadow Temple and the Darkness Within

Written By Stephanie

                "Okay, you can speak now," Link said, walking down the bank of Zora's River.  Stephanie, who had been sitting on his shoulder whistling the Minuet of Forest for the past five minutes, looked up.

                "Hmm?  Oh, I can speak now?" she asked innocently.  Link nodded.  Stephanie flew up and looked behind herself, then let out a loud sigh. "Thank the goddesses!  Ruto's finally out of our hair!" she said happily.  Link rolled his eyes and laughed, then turned to face the fairy.

                "Got a question:  why didn't you get along with Ruto?" Link asked.  Stephanie stared at Link incredulously and dropped her jaw.

                "It wasn't obvious to you?!" she asked, amazed.  Link didn't answer, but watched Stephanie and waited for her response.  She glowed fiercely. "Ruto was your typical princess!  Snooty, whiny, and clingy!  She kept acting like you were hers only, and that I was an annoyance!" Stephanie rolled her eyes at Link, who stood with an amused smile, arms crossed. "And she called me a pip-squeak and a 'simple fairy,' and don't forget she pinned me against a wall.  Then," she took a breath before finishing her tirade, "then she kissed you after that scum kissed her, and expected you to like it!" Stephanie shivered in digust. "Yuck!" She head a laugh and turned to see Link laughing quietly. "I'm glad you find this funny," Stephanie said, irritatedly. "What are you laughing about?"

                Link shook his head as he laughed and Stephanie glared at him, scarlet.  She flew in front of him and stood in the air, arms crossed, feet tapping.  His laughter trailed off, and he looked at the irritated fairy, arching an eyebrow.

                "And?" he asked.  Stephanie threw her arms up.

                "And?  What 'and?'" she cried. "You need me to elaborate?  Draw you a diagram?  What's 'and?'" she asked in exasperation.  She hovered in Link's face as he looked at her calmly, smiling.

                "And," he said, "I think you were just a little bit jealous of Ruto." Stephanie's color flared scarlet and she dropped her jaw. "Well?"

                "Please tell me you're kidding," Stephanie said in amazement.  Link shook his head slowly, a grin spreading across his face, his eyes twinkling.  Stephanie slapped her forehead. "Oh my…jeez!  Tell me why I would be jealous of Princess Sushi.  Please, I want to know," she said, arms crossed, eyebrow arched.  Link shrugged, smiling, then began walking back toward Hyrule Field.

                "You tell me," he said over his shoulder.  Stephanie darted after him and stopped him just short of leaving the river.  Her eyes widened, irritated.

                "Excuse me?" she cried in frustration. "'You tell me?'" Link stared back at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

                "What you think it means," Link said, walking again.  Stephanie stood in mid-air for a second, speaking silently, then flew in his face again.  He kept walking, and Stephanie flew backwards, searching for words.

                "You little," she began, pointing a tiny finger at Link.  He stopped just outside the river's mouth and leaned against a wall, arms crossed, waiting for Stephanie to finish.  She pointed at him as she spoke. "You little, why I oughta," she said, slowly turning scarlet.  With just the barest hint of a smirk, Link nodded.

                "Me what?" he asked.  Annoyed beyond belief, Stephanie threw her arms up.

                "Forget it!  I can't believe you!" she shrieked.  Frustrated, she descended, sitting in the grass.  Link took her cue and sat down with his back against the wall.  He held his hand out and Stephanie conceded, flying up and sitting in his palm.  She was quiet for a few seconds, scarlet fading to red.  As Link watched, Stephanie sat up straight, looked at Link, and tried to hold her temper in as she broke the silence. "You think I like you, don't you?" Stephanie asked, peering up at Link and waiting for an answer.  He simply looked back at her. "I'm waiting!  And don't you dare shrug again!" Stephanie flew up and looked at him.  He arched an eyebrow, and smiled.

                "Well?" Link asked.  Stephanie smacked her forehead.

                "Jeez!  I don't have to answer that!" Stephanie flew upwards, turning bright crimson. "What is this, the freaking 'Hyrule Love Connection'?!  I can't believe this!" she grumbled.  Link stood and watched the tirading fairy with a knowing smile.

                "I'm waiting for an answer," he said teasingly.  Stephanie whirled around, bright crimson, holding her hair back from her forehead nervously.

                "Huh?  I'm not gonna answer that!" she said in astonishment.  Suddenly she stopped her tirade, sniffing the air.  She flew over to the steps leading to Kakariko Village, her color fading, sniffing the air fearfully. "Link…" she called.

                "What's wrong?" he asked.  Stephanie turned to him, fear in her eyes.

                "Smoke.  I think there's something really wrong here.  C'mon," she said, pulling on his sleeve.  They dashed up the steps as quickly as they could, rushed to the entrance to Kakraiko Village, and froze.  Nothing could prepare them for what they beheld.

                Kakariko Village was an inferno.  Flames shot up from nearly every building.  The sound of crackling fire and splintering wood filled the air.  Black, acrid smoke poured out everywhere.  Link and Stephanie gasped in shock as their eyes flew over the wreckage, then stopped on a figure standing in front of the well, looking down.  Before they could react, planks of wood burst up from the well, and a giant violet and black cloud dove up from the well.  It solidified enough to grab the person standing before the well.  Link and Stephanie heard a scream and saw a flash of silver before the creature dove back inside with the person in its grip.  Stephanie flew over the well and shrieked as the thing burst forth again, as if searching for something.  The fairy flew to Link's side as he took out his sword and shield, preparing for battle.  Stephanie gaped at him.

                "Link, are you nuts?!  That thing just snatched Impa up like a rag doll!" Stephanie cried.

                "I know," Link growled.  The wind grew stronger, whistling loudly.  The amorphous creature sensed Link and headed straight for him, batting Stephanie out of the way.  Link braced himself as Stephanie raised herself up, holding her head, and saw what was about to happen.

                "Watch out, Link!" Stephanie cried.  She saw him brace himself, then the creature picked him up like a toy.  She clamped her hands over her eyes as she heard Link shout out in surprise, then scream.  She then heard a loud, sharp thud, and took her hands down slowly.  Link was on the ground unconscious, and the creature slunk back into the well.  Angered, the fairy flew to the well and screamed down, "Just wait 'til we get you!  I'll get you and your masters!  JUST YOU WAIT!" Then she flew over to Link and looked over him.  She flitted down to the ground, sat, and concentrated.

                Link tried to move and instantly regretted it.  His entire body felt like one giant bruise.  His skull pounded as if someone had taken his Megaton Hammer and whacked him over the head with it.  Slowly, he raised himself onto his elbows, opened his eyes, and shook his head.  He heard something coming from his right side and turned.

                Stephanie sat on the ground, in her big form, her eyes closed, her face in a grimace of anger, pain, and worry.  Link stared at her in astonishment, and let out a pained gasp.  Her eyes flew open, full of concern and anger.  She looked at him and tried to smile.

                "Not feeling too hot, huh?" she asked.  Link tried to sit up further and grimaced as his wounds shouted out their existence.

                "Nope," he said, grimacing.  Stephanie looked down, exhaling slowly.  She then looked back at Link and took his hand into hers.

                "Just wait a sec," she said.  Holding his hand in both of hers, she closed her eyes and concentrated.  Stephanie murmured an incantation as Link looked at her.  Thunder rolled above him and he glanced up at the sky.  Storm clouds washed over Kakariko and a gentle storm poured down, extinguishing the flames.  As the rain hit Link, he felt his pain and wounds fade away.  He glanced over at the fairy, who was still holding his hand.  A red aura surrounded her, her brow furrowed in concentration.  She finished the chant and slowly opened her eyes.  Stephanie glanced at Link, their eyes met, and she smiled. "There.  Feel better now, Mr. Hero?" she said, standing.

                "Yeah.  Thanks," Link murmured.  He hoisted himself up with Stephanie's help.  She glanced up at him, then gently let go of his hand as a bright red light suddenly came.  Link shielded his eyes with his arm; when he dropped it, he saw Stephanie back in her tiny fairy form.  She flew close to Link as he glanced around. "Would you know where to go now?" he asked.  The fairy looked over at a nearby path and pointed in that direction.

                "Just to the graveyard.  The temple's in there," she said.  A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and she bristled. "The quicker, the better," she murmured.

                "And the fastest way is--"

                "The only way.  Play the Nocturne of Shadow."

                "That's the only way?"

                "That's what I said, isn't it?"

                Link took out the Ocarina, raised it to his lips, and played the mournful tune.  As the final notes faded away, a purple shimmer enveloped the duo, transporting them to a large, dark room.  The platform  Link stood on was surrounded by about twenty unlit braziers.  Except for Stephanie's red glow, the room was pitch-black.  The fairy sighed.

                "Man, it's dark in here," she said.  She turned and saw Link grin.

                "Nothing a little Din's Fire can't solve," he said, bringing his hands in front of him.  A huge ball of fire engulfed the room, lighting the torches.

                "Whoa!  Nice!" Stephanie crowed.  The sound of grinding stone echoed throught the room as the duo spun around and saw a giant door opening, allowing them to enter the Shadow Temple.  Link walked to the end of the path, turned, and saw the deep abyss between himself and the next platform.  He let himself be pulled across, then climbed up and ran toward what appeared to be a wall and stopped.

                "What the--?!" he cried.  Stephanie flew up beside Link and blew out a short, unimpressed sigh, then flew through the wall as Link stared in amazement.  The fairy flew back through and beckoned for Link to follow.

                "What are you waiting for?" Stephanie asked impatiently.

                "You just flew through the wall," Link said, astonished.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and came up to Link, pulling on his tunic sleeve.

                "It's an illusion!  C'mon, use the Lens of Truth if you don't believe me!" she cried, puling him through.  They entered another room with an even bigger abyss to the other side.  A strange bird statue stood in the center of the room, surrounded by eight skull torches.  Wordlessly, Link strode over to the bird, read the inscription, then pulled out the Lens and looked at the torches, pushing the bird until its beak faced a certain torch--the only one actually lit.  Stephanie watched this all silently, an eyebrow arched in question.  When Link let go of the statue, both he and the fairy heard a click and saw a door across the abyss open.  Link tried shooting his hookshot, but it wouldn't grasp the stone.  Annoyed, he reached down and slapped gold, winged soles onto his boots.  Stephanie took one look at them and burst into laughter. "You actually have to wear those things?" she cried, and was met with a glare.

                "Hey, at least they work," Link said.  Stephanie shrugged as her laughter subsided, and flew across the pit.  She watched as Link took a deep breath, then ran across.  The hover boots kept him up for a second and a half--just long enough for him to grab the ledge and pull himself up.  Stephanie gasped as he grabbed the ledge and flew down to him as he stood up.

                "Oh yes, they work so well.  Just give me a heart attack, please," Stephanie muttered.  Link glanced up at her as and continued down the dimly lit passageway, to a chamber of horrors. 

                "Damn it!" Link and Stephanie cried in unison.  The chamber consisted of floating platforms with platforms on the end.  The blades dropped at varying speeds-some quickly, while others took their time.  The final platform was solid and empty.  Link began walking forward, and stopped when he saw Stephanie point upwards.

                Toward the ceiling, two huge, violet, menacing creatures waited.  Their claws were bared and razor sharp, and their devilish grins revealed sharp, sharklike teeth.  They looked ready for anything.  Stephanie yanked on Link's tunic sleeve, pulling him back before the demonic Pokemon looked their way.

                "What are those and dare I ask what they do?" Link asked, eyeing the creatures warily as Stephanie responded.

                "Those demons are Haunters.  They'll either pick you up and drop you at the temple entrance, or attack you with poison and natural weapons."

                "Anything else I should know?"

                "Um…there's also a horde of Gastlies swarming in the pit.  Little screechy faces surrounded by purple smoke.  They don't do anything but bounce around, fly, and try to bite you," she explained.  Link glanced at her sideways and she shrugged. "All I can really say is run as fast as you can to avoid a huge fight.  That work?"

                "It's going to have to," Link said sullenly.  Stephanie shrugged apologetically.  The duo faced the room again. "Wish me luck," Link murmured.

                "Luck."

                "Thanks." With a deep breath, Link dashed through the room, Stephanie following close behind.  He heard the air whoosh above him and nearly stopped.

                "Keep going!  You're an easy target if you stop!" Stephanie hollered.  Link rolled under the first guillotine and landed, running on the second platform.  He could sense the Haunters coming closer.  Stephanie saw what he was thinking. "Don't…look…back," she growled.  Link ran to the second falling blade and rolled.  He felt the whoosh of air as the blade dropped right where he'd been a second earlier.  He raced toward the final razor and saw the last platform looming above him.  Link groaned in defeat and stopped. "Uh, Link?  Why are we stopping?" Stephanie asked hurriedly.

                "How am I gonna make it up there?" he cried.  A purple glow rose over the edge of their platform as four Gastlies pounced on the idle Hylian.  He looked down in shock, then kicked them away.

                "And we were doing so well," Stephanie grumbled.  She saw the pack rising up from the abyss and shouted, "Link!  The word sword mean anything to you?" In response Link whipped his sword from its scabbard, slicing two Gastlies behind him, and took out his shield.  Link held the shield in front of him as two more Gastlies crashed face-first into the steel.  They fell to the ground and shrieked as they saw Link's sword come down on them.

                "Oops," Link said mockingly.  He heard chittering behind him and spun to see the rest of the herd charge him.  Link cut a swath through the pack, slicing wildly.  Soon the cries of the fallen Pokemon stopped, and Link stood amid the slain Gastly clan.  Link leaned forward, catching his breath, and Stephanie flew down.

                "Nice!" she said, patting his back.  Before they could go on, though, two huge shapes hurtled through the air, toward Link’s turned back.  Stephanie yelped as she saw them and Link spun around as the lead Haunter tackled him, knocking him to the ground.  Link dropped his sword and it spun away, inches from the edge.  He tried wrestling the demonic creature off of him, and finally slammed his shield into the creature's face.  It fell back in surprise, then prepared to attack again.  Before it could attack, it screamed in pain as a blade appeared through its mouth.  Link recognized the blade of his own Master Sword jammed into the thing's mouth, but before he could react, the second Haunter flew up and shoved Link under the guillotine, knocking his shield off his arm.  Link watched the blade above him with growing terror while trying to push the Haunter off of him.  The creature grinned evilly and flew backward just as the blade began to fall.  Link slammed his eyes shut, waiting for the blade, then heard a loud clang.  He opened one eye and saw his shield holding the blade up, mere inches from his neck.  Link opened both eyes and heard the Haunter screech.  He saw the thing fall to the ground in two, his Master Sword floating in the air, save for the tiny red glow near the handle.  Link slowly inched out from underneath the guillotine as Stephanie flew over, handing him his sword.  She then flew up to the guillotine and bound it so it wouldn't fall.  Link retrieved his shield, then put his weapons away and glanced at the fairy gratefully.  She bowed.

                "Yes, I know, I rock," Stephanie said jokingly, and saw Link smiling gratefully.  She grinned.

                "Thanks.  Thanks a lot," Link said.  Stephanie shrugged.

                "Aw, it was nothing.  I had a double heart attack when the Haunters snuck up, though. 'Sides," Stephanie said, "I had to help.  Can't let you get beaten by those idiots now, can I?" Link laughed, then stopped as they both heard a faint ripping sound.  They looked up to see the blade slowly cutting through the rope Stephanie had bound around it.  She groaned. "Please tell me you still have your stupid shoes on."

                "Yeah."

                "Good.  Run underneath the blade and grab the edge of the cliff."

                "Alright." Link dashed underneath the guillotine and ran into the air, grabbing the edge of the platform just before the hover boots’ power gave out.  He pulled himself up and brushed off his tunic as Stephanie floated down and sat on his shoulder.  The duo glanced around.  A chain to the right creaked, and Link could barely see a door on the opposite wall.  He opened his mouth to ask a question when a loud rip resonated through the quiet.  The duo spun in shock to see the blade slice through the rope, hitting the ground with a loud, metallic wham!, then rise up and drop again.  Link gulped and rubbed his throat involuntarily and turned to Stephanie, who eyed the blade in fear.

                "Yipes," she murmured, turning back to Link. "Shall we get going?"

                "Please, and fast," Link answered.  Stephanie nodded in agreement, rising up, and flew toward the creaking chain.

                "C'mon.  There’s an invisible platform here that'll take you to the door," Stephanie called back.  Just to be sure, Link took out the Lens and peered at the chain; sure enough, a platform moved across it.  He pocketed the Lens and jumped onto the mass, waited for it to get to the door, then jumped off in front of the door, where Stephanie waited impatiently. "'Bout time, slowpoke.  C'mon!" she cried, ignoring Link's glare and floating down, hovering above his shoulder.  Link reached out and opened the door, then walked through.  The door slammed shut behind him; he jumped and the fairy gasped.  The room they were now in seemed to be empty, except for a door on a ledge with the gold boss seal, and two creatures sleeping on either side of the room.  The creatures seemed to be large Dobermans; one had bone-like armor on its ankles, back, and forehead.  The other was twice the first's size and had an additional bone collar and gazelle-ish horns protruding from its head, behind its ears.  As Link and Stephanie watched, the larger dog raised its head and yawned.  They then heard a tiny bird caw and looked up to see an ugly olive crow with a bad spiked hairdo perched and napping.

                "How are we going to do this?" Link whispered, watching the sleeping creatures.  Stephanie scanned the room quickly and saw spikes protruding from the floor, a ledge in the corner, and hookshot targets in the walls and ceiling, invisible to Link.

                "Uh, listen here.  There's spikes on the floor, so watch your step, a few targets so you can pull yourself around, and a ledge in the corner.  Trust me," she said after seeing the look of disbelief in Link’s eyes, "and I would be quiet so these guys don't…" she trailed off as the smalled dog sniffed the air and opened its glowing yellow eyes.  It howled, waking its comrades and calling more demons to the room.  One creature was in the air and looked like a giant hornet.  Two more on the ground seemed to be rabid bunnies-one blue, the other pinkish-purple.  A small purple moon with a face and twenty craters floated in the air with a big dumb smile.  A violet cottonball with big pink eyes and feelers gnashed its teethm and a tye-dyed weaselish thing scraped its claws together in antici…….pation.  The creatures narrowed their eyes, bared their teeth and claws angrily.  Link quickly unsheathed his sword and retrieved his shield as the Pokemon stared the duo down.

                "Help," Link murmured to Stephanie, who hovered above his head.  She snapped back to attention and saw the Pokemon standing in an attempt at intimidation.

                "Crud, alright!  The hellhounds are Houndour and Houndoom, ugly crow is Murkrow, giant bee is Beedrill, psycho bunnies are Nidoran, cottonball is Venonat, disgusting moon is Koffing, and the weasel is Sneasel.  They're either Poison or Dark, the dogs are Fire, Sneasel is Ice.  All I can say is block when you see spewage and slash like there’s no tomorrow!" Stephanie stopped after rattling this out to take a breath.

                "No tomorrow.  Hah, funny you should say that," Link said sullenly.  Stephanie blew out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes.

                "My aren't we positive today.  Go!" she shouted.  Link strode forward, his boot touching an invisible spike, and beckoned for the creatures.  The hounds let out a fierce howl and the battle was on.

                The Nidorans were first.  They leapt at Link, teeth bared and venomous spikes at the ready.  Link held up his shield and the rabbits hit it headfirst and fell onto the spikes, skewering themselves.

                "Fatality," Stephanie murmured.

                "You betcha!" Link called up.  The bunnies and spikes disappeared, and Murkrow and Houndour rushed for Link, roaring madly.  Houndour’s forehead armor shone, and the dog released a beam of fire.  Link quickly blocked the shot, then aimed his shield so the beam bounced off.  The fiery blast hit the dive-bombing Murkrow, which let out a squawk as it plummeted, frying, onto another bed of spikes.  Houndour shut its mouth and snarled as it leapt into the air.  Link took out his bow and an ice arrow and shot the dog in mid-air.  It froze and slammed into the ground, smashing into small chunks.  Stephanie grimaced a bit as she called down to Link.

                "Nice shot!"

                "Thanks!" Link glanced up to see the Beedrill homing in on the fairy. "Look out, Steph!" he called.  Stephanie whirled around and saw the giant hornet coming in fast.  Instead of hitting her, it stopped and sprayed purple goo on the fairy.  She grew angry, her color turning scarlet, and she shook the poison off.  The Beedrill looked stunned.  Stephanie raised her hands in the air, forming a ball of fire at her fingertips, then brought her hands toward the insect.  The flame slammed it into the wall.  Its buzzing grew louder, and it finally burned to ashes.

                "I love being a fairy!" Stephanie crowed.  She looked down at Link, who was watching her with wide eyes.  The fairy saw Koffing and Venonat creeping up on him, and she yelled, "Pay attention, doofus!  We've got company!" Link turned to see Venonat jump into the air, snarling, just as Koffing drew in a deep breath.  Link thrust out his sword and caught Venonat on its blade, then flung it into Koffing's main crater.  Koffing turned blue and Link raised his shield just as the two Pokemon exploded.  Link stood his ground, kneeling with his shield raised, but the blast sent Sneasel into a bed of spikes.  It screamed in pain as Link stood, walked to the creature, and sliced its head off.

                "Anything else?" Link said as the creatures' bodies and the rest of the spikes disappeared.  Stephanie glanced about and saw no sign of Houndoom.  She shrugged as she flew down.

                "Looks like Houndoom went home whimpering, 'cause he ain't here anymore," she replied.

                "Then let's go," Link said.  He put away his weapons and took out his hookshot. "Now how do we get to the door?" Stephanie pointed up.

                "There's a hookshot target on the ceiling.  Shoot and it'll drop you in front of the door," she explained.  Link nodded and fired.  The hook latched on and pulled him up, dropping him in front of the door.  Link put away the hookshot and opened the door, walking into a giant room with a huge hole in the center.  He walked to the edge of the hole and peered over, but couldn't see anything but darkness.

                "Terrific.  How are we supposed to know if this this is a trap?" Link grumbled.  Stephanie flew up and looked down.

                "Hold on," she said.  She summoned a small fireball and flung it down the pit.  It glowed long enough to reveal a floor at the bottom before going out. "There you go.  Now let's jump."

                "Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

                "Do what?"

                "Summon fire."

                "There's a lot I can do that you don't know about."

                "Oh really?" Stephanie glared at Link, who smiled back at her.

                "Yes really.  Now let's go!" she said in frustration.  Link stepped to the edge, took a deep breath, and jumped down.  Stephanie dashed down after him.  Seconds later, Link landed on a strange floor.

                "What the heck is this?" he shouted.

                "Haven't a clue," Stephanie murmured.  Suddenly, a loud bang echoed out, making the floor shake and sending Link a foot into the air.  A second pound came as Link regained his footing and stood through the bounce.  Curious, Stephanie flitted toward the shadows, when two shrill singing voices pierced the air.  Stephanie clapped her hands over her ears and flew back to Link, who was doing the same. "I should've known these idiots would be here!" she hollered in frustration.

                "Now who is it?" Link asked loudly.  There was no need to ask, though, as the sources of the singing came forward.  Two men walked out of the darkness, followed by a massive one-eyed beast with giant hands.

                "I'm JC," said the taller man with bed-head hair.

                "And I'm Chris," the shorter man with the hedgehog 'do said.

                "And we're N'SYNC!" they cried in unison.

                "Well, half anyway," JC said.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and Link stood his ground, arms crossed.  The four stared at each other for a minute before someone finally spoke.

                "So what's your huge threat?  You guys gonna try and torch us?  Drown us?  Give us your best shot, wusses," Stephanie growled.

                "Actually, we aren't going to do anything just yet," Chris said.

                "I don't know about these guys though!" JC crowed.  The two men raised their arms into the air as they sang higher and higher.  Link and Stephanie grimaced as they tried to block out the horrendous sound.  When the singing was silenced, the duo dropped their hands from their ears and their jaws.  Nine huge Pokemon now stood behind and around the N'SYNCers.  Two of them looked like armored dinosaurs--one cyan, the other dusty pink--plus a giant violet cobra.  An ugly purple thing stood on two legs, had short, tiny clawed arms and had a mischievous grin, while another looked like a gypsy ghost.  A dog stood beside the returning Houndoom, only this one resembled a greyhound with a ruby on its forehead, and a large, ugly, lavender moth hovered above the crowd. "Oh, and I wouldn't want to fall over the edge to see purple sludge grin back, then swipe at them with gloppy hands.  Link bristled as he stepped back and eyed JC and Chris.

                "Is this the best you have?" Link growled.  JC crossed his arms and pretended to think.

                "Uh, no.  When and if you survive this," he began.  A snarl came up from the shadows and the giant hands reappeared.

                "Bongo-Bongo will be sure to put on a show!" Chris finished.  In response, Bongo-Bongo began beating on the drum-like platform slowly, as if waiting for his chance to fight.  JC put a hand on Bongo’s and shook his head, then faced Link and Stephanie. "Ready to be pulverized?" Chris asked menacingly.  In response, Link drew out his sword and shield.  The two men waved mockingly.

                "Then all we have to say is," JC began.

                "Bye bye bye!" Chris joined him in the duet.  Taking their cue, the creatures strode forth while Chris, JC, and Bongo-Bongo stood in the shadows.

                "Who are they, what do they do, and how do they die?" Link shouted.

                "Allrightythen!  The dinos are Nidoking and 'Queen, steroid cobra is Arbok, purple thing with a mischievous grin is Gengar, wispy witch is Misdreavus, moth-wannabe is Venomoth, greyhound is Umbreon, you know Houndoom, and the snooze is Muk.  They're Poison, Dark, and Ghost, meaning spewage, disappearances, and I don't know what!" Stephanie reeled off quickly.

                "How am I supposed to kill 'em?" Link cried.

                "I don't know!  You tell me!"

                "Oh great.  Just great," Link grumbled.  Venomoth began the battle, swooping through the air.  Link swung his sword in a downward arc, and the insect squeaked as it split in two and vanished.  Next was Gengar.  The creature ran to Link and punched him in the gut, doubling him over.  As Gengar prepared to jump, Link regained himself and thrust out his sword, catching the Pokemon between the eyes.  The creature opened its mouth in a silent scream as Link sliced downward, then to the right, removing his blade near Gengar's right arm.  The thing fell to his side with the L-shaped slash deep in its face and torso.  Stephanie slapped her forehead.

                "Now we're Zorro, huh?" she mumbled.

                "Who's Zorro?" Link turned to look up at the fairy.

                "Don't pay any attention to me while you're fighting!" she hollered.  Umbreon took its opportunity to leap at Link, letting out a menacing snarl as it landed right behind.  Link spun around when he heard the snarl, and stopped, not knowing what to do.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and flew down as she saw Houndoom slink out of the shadows and stop right behind Link.  Stephanie flew down to Link and said, "Umbreon--barbeque him.  I'll take Houndoom." Link nodded and watched Umbreon warily as Stephanie turned to Houndoom.  The hellhound's horns began to turn scarlet, and it opened its mouth to release a ball of flame.  Stephanie shoved Link out of the way so that Umbreon caught the blaze.  The dog ran aimlessly, yipping in pain, then burned to ashes.  Houndoom shut its mouth and ran to Link, who now faced the charging hellhound.  Link swung his sword like a hockey stick and the dog fell, minus a head.  Link glanced up at the fairy.

                "I thought you said--" he began.

                "So I lied.  We've got more to worry about!" Stephanie shouted.  She came up alongside Link as Arbok raised itself onto its coils and prepared to strike.  Link knelt and raised his shield.  A loud clang! echoed through the air as Arbok came away stunned and missing a few teeth.  Link took out his bow and a fire arrow and shot the confused snake.  The arrow landed below the snake's head, and it screeched as it burned to a crisp.  Misdreavus took its cue and dove down.  Link put away his bow and grabbed his sword and shield.  He tried slicing the ghost down, but it cackled as the blade went through without injury.

                "What the--?" Link gasped.

                "It's a pure ghost, doofus!  A blade can't hurt it!" Stephanie said, rolling her eyes.

                "So now what?" he asked in exasperation.

                "So now I'll take care of it!" Stephanie flew up to the cackling ghost, which looked at her before laughing again.  The fairy began to glow bright red, and the ghost grew angrier.  It dove for Stephanie, who stood her ground and held her hand out in front of her.  A bright red light encased the ghost, and it screamed as it slowly disintegrated into nothing.  Stephanie dropped her hand and flew down to Link as Chris and JC laughed.

                "Aren't we forgetting something?" JC sneered mockingly.  While Link and Stephanie looked on, the two men stepped aside, revealing Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Bongo-Bongo.

                "Muk's still down there too!" Chris said, pointing over the edge.  In response, a sludgy hand raised up and waved.

                "Who's first?" Link asked as JC and Chris retreated again.

                "Um, I'd take the Pokemon first," Stephanie replied.  As soon as she finished, the Nido-couple strode forth, roaring with every step.  Link held his sword and shield at the ready, then heard Stephanie clear her throat loudly. "That's not going to work," she said.

                "Why not?"

                "They're armored.  Like Gyarados."

                "Damn!" Link grumbled.  He sheathed his sword, then remembered the obnoxious dragon's weakness. "Will these things swallow bombs?"

                "I dunno," she said.  The two dinosaurs opened their mouths and purple fire shot out.  Link raised his shield, but some poison fire caught his arm.  He gritted his teeth and held his shield high until the fire stopped.  He lowered his shield and Nidoking whipped his tail around, tripping Link and sending him toward Muk.  The purple sludge grabbed for Link's feet as he clung to the edge and kicked it away.  Seeing the trouble he was in, Stephanie flew down to help.  She held her hands in front of her and let out a small fire beam.  It burned the Muk long enough to allow Link to climb over the edge where the Nidos were waiting.  Nidoqueen took her turn, snapping at Link with her huge jaws.  Link backed up as much as he could and tried looking for a quick escape route, and found none.  The dinosaurs advanced on him and were about to attack when a huge hand slammed them away.  They roared as they hit a distant wall and slid into the Muk.  Link moved away from the edge and raised his eyes to see an impatient Bongo-Bongo towering over him.

                "Looks like Bongo-Bongo couldn't wait to cream you," Chris sneered as he and JC strode out of the shadows, ginning cockily.  At the same time, Muk growled.  JC laughed.

                "Oh, this will be so much fun!" he crowed.  He snapped his fingers and two thrones appeared, floating over Muk.  The men beckoned for Muk to bring the chairs and it did, setting them on a separate platform in the darkness, out of Link's reach.

                "Let the show begin!" JC and Chris cried in unison.  Link grabbed his sword and shield as Stephanie flew down beside him.  They watched in horror as Bongo-Bongo's eye raised up above them and vanished.  Its hands remained visible and began circling the duo wildly.

                "Aw, hell," Stephanie cried, "This really bites." As soon as she spoke, one of the giant hands clenched into a fist and tried smashing Link.  He rolled out of the way in the nick of time, and the hand rose, shaking.  Link raised himself to his knees and drew out his bow and quiver, shooting the hand.  It froze in pain, turning blue; before Link could do anything else, the other hand swooped down and caught him in its grasp.  It held him tightly and Link struggled to free himself.  Chris and JC laughed cruelly, watching the debacle as if it were a play.

                "This ain't no lie," JC began.

                "Baby bye bye bye!" Chris finished.  The two began laughing again.  Stephanie heard them and shone with a fierce scarlet color.

                "Not if I can help it," she snarled.  She dove for Bongo-Bongo's fist, the one which held Link, and let loose with a fireball.  It struck the creature's hand and it shrieked, dropping a dazed Link onto the ground.  Both hands of Bongo-Bongo were in pain, twitching in midair.  Stephanie flew down to Link, who was a bit dazed, but climbing to his feet nonetheless.  Chris and JC leapt out of their seats in shock and anger.

                "Interference, huh?" Chris hollered.  Link and Stephanie turned to the men, who stood in frustration.  Bongo-Bongo's hands still twitched in pain.  Devilish grins came across Link and Sephanie's faces as Link drew his sword and Stephanie glowed scarlet.  JC and Chris's eyes widened.

                "Bongo, after them!" JC screeched.  The giant creature obeyed, charging the duo standing in front of it.  Its eye visible, fists healed and clenched, it went straight for Link and Stephanie.  Link held his sword and shield, waiting for the creature to attack, when a bright scarlet flash enveloped the room.  Blinded, Bongo-Bongo stopped and Link took his opportunity.  With a fierce battle cry, he leapt forward and slashed wildly at the downed creature.  With the final blow, the thing began pounding its fists wildly before collapsing and fading away into an amorphous violet-black haze.  Chris and JC jumped down to the platform, angrily confronting Link.

                "You think you've got us beat, huh?" JC snarled.  Link stood, weapons in hand, and nodded.  Chris looked around and noticed that the little red light that was usually near Link was gone.  He smirked.

                "And your little helper isn't here to help you now," Chris said mockingly.

                "Your point is?" Link asked.  JC and Chris laughed.

                "Our point is…" they began in unison.  A throat cleared behind JC, and he turned and gasped.  A quick slash, and his torso fell forward, and he disappeared.  Chris saw JC collapse in death, and looked at Link fearfully.  Link arched an eyebrow and nodded to Stephanie, who came forward in her big form from behind JC, sword in hand.  Chris held his hands up defensively, a look of terror on his face.

                "Wait!  I can explain!  Really!" he cried. "Just let me explain!" Link and Stephanie both shook the heads slowly.  The fairy then made a slicing motion across her throat with finger.

                "Bye, bye, bye," she said, a devilish grin on her face.  Chris's eyes widened.

                "Oh, no," he murmured.  Taking Stephanie's cue, Link gripped his sword and swung it like a baseball bat.  Chris slumped forward, his head gone.  Link twird his sword before sheathing it, and turned away from Chris's disappearing body.  Stephanie stood on the edge of the platform, staring at the Muk below.

                "How do we get rid of it?" Link asked.  Stephanie turned and pointed to the other side.

                "You go over there.  When say say three, we both cast Din's Fire, and that should boil him to death," she answered.  Link nodded and strode over to the opposite side. "Okay, ready?" Stephanie called.

                "Waiting for you!" Link called back.  As Stephanie shouted the signal, Link brought his hands in front of him and released Din's Fire.  A guttural scream arose from the purple sludge as it was boiled alive by the fire.  It dissolved, disappearing with a miniscule shriek.  Link arched an eyebrow, Stephanie let out a low whistle, and they both turned to see the familiar blue light.  The duo stepped in, and the beam deposited them outside the temple, in Kakariko Graveyard.  Impa stood before them, arms crossed but still a bit shaken.

                "Good job, young hero," Impa said calmly.  She turned to face Stephanie. "And who might you be?"

                "Me?  I'm Stephanie," she responded.  Impa arched an eyebrow, and Stephanie was confused.  “Wha--oops!" she cried, forgetting she was still big.  She snapped her fingers and shrunk to fairy size in a red flash.  Impa let out a low laugh, then turned to Link again.

                "There is still more evil to face before you can defeat Ganondorf and his queen," she told him.  Link nodded.

                "So you've also seen Queen Alison," Link said.  Impa nodded.

                "I also saw the blue fairy, Navi. 'Tis a shame that she has left to join the forces of evil," Impa said. "However, I have faith in you and the new fairy." Impa stepped back, the raised her hand up, pointing west. "The future of Hyrule depends on you.  Hurry!" Before Link or Stephanie could react, Impa made a quick motion with her raised hand and disappeared in a flash of silver light.  Link shielded his eyes with his arm, then dropped it after Impa had vanished.

                "I'm gonna go blind from all these bright lights," Link mumbled.  He then glanced up at Stephanie. "Where do we go from here?" he asked.  Stephanie rolled her eyes.

                "Didn't Impa point it out to you?  West! 'Sides, I've got a feeling something's up in Gerudo territory, anyhow," she replied.  She flew off toward Hyrule Field and waited for Link.  He whistled for Epona, and the chestnut mare cantered up to him.

                "Wow, you actually need me?" Epona asked.  Link glared at her as he mounted, and she whinnied.  Stephanie flew up and sat on Link's shoulder.  Before they started off, though, Link spoke.

                "Steph, you never answered my question." The fairy turned crimson.

                "And I won't be answering any questions until we're through with the desert!" she grumbled.  Epona turned to face the duo.

                "Ooh, the fairy's hiding something, huh?" she neighed.  She was met with glares from both Link and Stephanie, and she turned again. "Okay, okay, I won't ask," Epona snorted. "Off we go!" she whinnied, and the trio galloped off toward Gerudo Valley.

Chapter 5

Time Travel, Funky Music and the Spirit Temple

Written by Diana

                "Okay," Link said as Epona galloped across the bridge in Gerudo Valley. "I understand that Impa told us to head west.  And I know you sensed that something was up in Gerudo territory.  But explain to me why the heck we have to come to the desert in the first place." Stephanie was lying on Link's shoulder, arms behind her head and one leg crossed over the opposite knee, with sunglasses over her eyes.  She leaned up and raised the glasses a bit to peer up at him.

                "Well, obviously the last temple is in the desert," Stephanie said.  She shrugged as she added, "We just have to get the Gerudos to let you find it." She placed the glasses back on her nose and laid back, but she nearly fell off Link's shoulder when Epona came to a sudden halt.

                "Hey!  Watch the hair!" Epona whinnied as Link dropped her mane.  Link turned to Stephanie, who was moving back onto Link's shoulder, pulling her hair away from her face and glaring at him.

                "Stephanie, do you mean to tell me I actually have to go into the fortress?" Link asked incredulously.  Stephanie sat up and gave him a sullen look, taking off her shades and putting them away with a swift wave of her hand.

                "No.  We're just going to sit on this bridge and hope that the temple suddenly appears from behind that waterfall.  Of course we have to go into the fortress!  It's the only way we can get to the Spirit Temple!" Stephanie said.  She noticed the arched eyebrow and sullen frown on Link's face. "What?"

                "Stephanie, the Gerudos are vicious women who kill anyone that enters their territory!  They're ruthless, merciless, and anyone who lives in Hyrule has more than enough sense to stay away from the fortress!" Stephanie stared at him and blinked.

                "So?" Stephanie said, shrugging. "Link, after dealing with the first four N'SYNC guys, I would think that you wouldn't be afraid to face the Gerudos."

                "The Gerudos are different," Link said.

                "How?" Stephanie asked irritably.

                "The N'SYNC guys don't carry huge sabres, move with lightning speed, and rape any guy who comes in their territory so they can have kids before killing him right after." Stephanie stared at him in astonishment.

                "Are you serious?" she asked.  Link nodded.  Suddenly, Stephanie burst into laughter.

                "What?" Link demanded. "What's so funny about that?" Stephanie held up a finger as she tried to catch her breath, then she turned to him.

                "First of all, who told you all this about the Gerudos?" Stephanie asked.

                "I heard it from the Gossip Stones."

                "When?"

                "A bit before I met you."

                "Okay, question two:  how the heck could you know what rape is if you were in stasis from the time you were ten until seven years later with no grownup to explain the whole…thing to you?" Stephanie said somewhat delicately.

                "I don't have to answer that," Link said sharply, lifting a finger in warning.

                "Yes, you do!" Stephanie was about to continue when she suddenly heard a weird cry.  They both looked up, and saw a Gerudo standing on a nearby ledge, raising her long, deadly sabre and looking over her shoulder at something. "Oh, damn," Stephanie muttered.

                "Intruders!  A man has entered our territory!  Seize him!" The Gerudo screamed at the top of her lungs.  Epona's ears pricked as they heard the shouts of at least a dozen Gerudos coming toward them from the fortress.

                "Um…do you want me to turn around and run like hell?" Epona asked, slowly walking backward.

                "That would be nice," Link said, gripping Epona's mane tightly.  Stephanie barely had enough time to grab Link's collar before Epona whirled around to head back to Hyrule Field.  But all of a sudden, boulders that were sitting against the cliff walls moved aside on their own, revealing tunnels--and armies of Gerudo women on horses, all of them charging toward Epona.  Epona laid back her ears and dashed toward the entrance to the field, which now seemed miles away, but the Gerudos' horses were too fast.  Two horses were soon on either side of Epona, and their riders threw out lassos.  They looped around Epona's neck, and she reared in fright.  Link couldn't hold on, and slid off her back.  He looked up just in time to see the Gerudo riders trying to hold Epona, and he suddenly felt several hands yank him up.

                "Hey!  Let me go!" Stephanie screamed as a Gerudo grabbed her and stuffed her in a bag.  Link tried to get away, but the Gerudos swiftly tied him up and put a gag in his mouth, tossed him onto Epona's back, and galloped back to the fortress.

                When they got to the fortress, Link could barely withhold his fright as two Gerudos pulled him off Epona.  They stood him up, and called to two more women, who led Epona away. "Hey!  Where are you takin' me?  Lemme go!  Link, help!" Epona cried, trying to yank her lead rope away from her handlers.  But as much as he wanted to, Link couldn’t help her--his captors were already leading him toward the huge building that was their home.  He could barely hear Stephanie yelling from inside her bag, which was hanging from the belt of one of Link’s captors.  A few minutes later, they stopped at a trapdoor.  One of the women yanked it open, and the other shoved him in.  Link screamed as he fell twenty feet down to the stone floor below.  He groaned as he lifted himself up and looked back up at the trapdoor.  One of the women held up the bag, and dropped it in.  Link caught it, and opened it.  Out flew Stephanie, who was furious and glowing a very deep scarlet.

                "About time you let me out, you skank--oh, sorry, it's just you," she said sheepishly, her color turning to normal.  They both looked up again as they heard a creak.  The guards were closing the door, but had left it open a crack to peer down at Link.

                "Stupid kid," one of them said. "Should've stayed away from our borders."

                "Now you keep quiet and stay in here until we figure out how we're going to deal with you," the other said with a sly smile.  They both laughed, and slammed the door shut.  Link could only stare at it, but Stephanie charged up toward the door.

                "Let us out!  C'mon, we only came to get to the stupid temple!  Let us out!" Stephanie rammed against the door with apparent fury, but it didn't budge.  She glared at the door. "I hate being tiny.  Guess I'll just get bigger, maybe that'll--"

                "Stephanie," Link called.

                "What?" Stephanie snapped, turning to Link with her hands on her hips.

                "Come down here."

                "Why?  I'm trying to get us--"

                "Come here." Link said firmly, holding out his hand toward her. "Banging against the door like that isn't going to help, whether you're big or not.  Now come down here right now." She scowled at him for a moment, then conceded.  She flew down, but didn't land on his hand.  Instead, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, floating in front of him at eye level.

                "What makes you think you can order me around?" Stephanie asked in a livid tone.  Link gave her a stern look.

                "I'm a Hylian, you're a fairy.  If I feel you're acting out of line, then I have the right to order you around." Link replied.  Stephanie's jaw dropped.  Before Link could react, there was a bright flash of light, and Link suddenly felt a sharp slap in the face.  He turned back to Stephanie, who had now grown to her big form, and saw that she was furious.

                "Excuse me, Mr. Hero, but I don't take orders from anybody!  And as for my being a fairy, that does not make you my superior!" Stephanie snarled.  Link rubbed his face, and glared right back at her.

                "You are here to advise me and make sure I stay out of trouble.  Nothing more.  I can tell you what to do, and I'm the one who ultimately decides on where we go.  And I'm the one who's trained in fighting, so don't tell me I'm not your superior." Stephanie's eyes widened.

                "Are you saying I'm not skilled in fighting?" Stephanie asked, as though daring Link to respond.

                "Not as much as I am." Link replied.  Stephanie stared at Link, and he stared right back.  Suddenly she let out a scream of rage and let fly with a fist to his face.  He staggered back, holding his jaw, and turned back just as Stephanie pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.  He tried to get up, but she quickly pinned him to the ground.  She then started punching him around the face, screaming in rage.  Link tried to shield himself, but she was too fast.  Suddenly, she took out her sword, and held it against his throat.  He lay still, eyes wide with fear, and he felt the blood drain from his face. "Stephanie, please…"

                "Take back everything you said."

                "Steph…"

                "Don't you 'Steph' me!  Take it back!"

                "I take it back…all of it…"

                "Now…tell me I'm a great fighter." Stephanie leaned in a little closer, tightening her grip on the sword.

                "You're an excellent fighter."

                "Good, good.  Now tell me I'm not just some guardian fairy."

                "You're a wonderful fairy who's saved my life more times than I can count and I'll be eternally grateful to you for as long as I live." Stephanie beamed.

                "Very good.  Now say you're sorry for thinking you're some big Mr. High-and-Mighty."

                "I'm very sorry, I promise I won't do it again." He felt her sword draw back a little bit, but he didn't move, because he had a feeling she wasn't through with him yet.  Indeed, her face softened, and a devilish grin spread over her face.

                "Now…I want to make a deal with you." Link raised his eyebrows.

                "What kind of deal?" Her grin widened.

                "If we manage to beat Ganondorf and my stupid ditz sister…" her voice trailed off, and she paused. "Hmmm…should I really make him do this?"

"What?"

"Oh, but it might make him too nervous to fight anymore…"

"Stephanie, what the heck are you talking about?"

"Then again, he's awfully handsome, and I've always wanted to meet a guy like him…"

"Stephanie?"

"Listen up," Stephanie said, turning back to him and leaning in close. "I'm going to tell you a secret.  It has to do with the other day.  Remember how you asked if I was jealous of Princess Sushi?  Well, guess what--I was.  I just so happen to have a crush on you.  A very, very big crush." Link gaped at her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes.  Now, I'll let you up…if you make a promise."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Stephanie’s grin grew even more devious.

"When we beat Ganondorf and Alison …you have to be my fiance." If the sword hadn't been against Link's throat, he would have jumped to his feet in shock.  His eyes widened so much that they were ready to pop out of his head.

"You've got to be kidding me," Link said.

"Nope."

"But Stephanie…"

"Hey, do you want to get out of here or not?  We've got business to take care of.  Or, I could just keep you pinned for a bit longer."

"Stephanie, come on…"

"Promise or I'll make the Gerudos look like they're polite, harmless women."

"Stephanie, I can't make a promise like that."

"Oh, really?"

"Really." Suddenly, she bent down and kissed him on the lips.  Link's eyes widened, and he would've sat up straight if she didn't have the sword against his throat.  He felt her free hand run over his chest, and he realized that she wasn't kidding after all.  He gently pushed on her shoulders, and she pulled away, looking satisfied. "All right, all right!  I give up!" Link cried.  Stephanie smiled.

"See?  I can be just as flirty as they can.  Now…do we have a deal or not?"

                "Yes, yes.  I promise."

                "Promise what?"

                "I promise that when we beat Ganondorf and Alison I'll be your fiance."

                "You said that a little too quickly." Link arched an eyebrow.

                "Who's being the skank now?" She gave him a look that, had it had that kind of power, would've buried him fifty feet underground. "Sorry, sorry!  Okay--I promise, Stephanie, that when we beat Ganondorf and your sister, I'll be your fiance.  Cross my heart and hope to die." She smiled with approval, and stood up, sheathing her sword.  Link got up, rubbing his throat, and looked at her.  She looked extremely proud of herself, and had a look of satisfaction on her face.  Link gave her a sullen look.  She held up her finger in warning.

                "Hey--I could easily do that again," she warned.  Link wiped the look off his face and looked around.

                "Okay, so how are we going to get out of here?" he said. "Looks like they made sure there wasn't any way for us to get out." Stephanie went back to her small form, and flew up higher.  She looked around, and found a window a few feet above her head.  She flew over to it, and looked outside.  She gasped when she saw that they were fifty or so feet above the ground, if not more.  She looked around, and saw that the cell had been built inside the side of a cliff--if she looked to her left, she could see the desert.  She looked to the right, and saw the immense fortress nearby.  Stephanie looked down again--and saw that there were guards everywhere.  They carefully patrolled the grounds, and Stephanie could tell that they would not be easy to get past. "Stephanie--what do you see?"

                "We're in the middle of hell," Stephanie said.

                "What are you talking about?" Link asked.  Stephanie looked down at him.

                "Does the word hookshot mean anything to you?" Stephanie asked.

                "Oh," Link said, pulling out his hookshot. "Watch out." He pulled the trigger, and the hook shot out, grasping the wooden awning above the window.  He landed on the sill, next to Stephanie.  He looked around, and nodded. "Yeah, I see what you mean." He looked down at the guards, and knelt down. "So, once we get down there, what do we do?" Link asked.

"Well, looks like you'll have to gain the Gerudos' respect before they'll let you go anywhere.  I'd say you'll have go into the fortress and find their leader." Link paled.

"Nabooru?" Link asked.

"Who--Oh, yeah, her.  Well, hold on, let me check something." She closed her eyes, put her fingers against the sides of her head, and concentrated.

"Um, Stephanie…what are you doing?" Link asked.

"Quiet," she said.  He waited, and she opened her eyes.  She saw the quizzical look on Link's face, and smiled. "I just scanned the fortress for Nabooru," Stephanie explained. "Apparently she's not here--must be in the Spirit Temple somewhere.  But I did find a Gerudo girl who's probably Nabooru's second-in-command here, from the clothes she's wearing."

"Right…um, how do you know?" Link asked.

"Well, look down there.  See the guards with short hair and white outfits?  They're probably rookies.  The ones with long hair, purple clothes, and orange gems in their hairbands are the guards.  The girl we're looking for is wearing a dark green outfit, with long hair and a yellow gem in her hairband." Link nodded.

"Gotcha," he said.

"But I should warn you--I did see four other guards in there with her.  There are some purple-cloth guards in the fortress, too, but there are four others with them.  They're wearing red clothes, and they're probably the ones you were afraid of--they're carrying huge swords, and from what I can tell, they appear to be swordswomen." Link groaned.

"Wonderful.  I have to fight them?"

"If we want to get to the lead chick, yeah." Stephanie replied.  Link looked back down at the ground.  He watched the guards for a while, then looked back at Stephanie.

"So how  big is this place, anyway?" Link asked.  Stephanie sighed and gazed at the fortress.

"Well, let's put it this way.  There's a lot of hallways and a lot of rooms."

"So it's like a maze."

"Almost.  You'll be able to find your way through.  It's just that it'll be hard with all the guards around here."

"Oh.  So what do you suggest?" Link asked.  Stephanie gazed at the fortress, thinking.  Suddenly, she flew back a bit, and grew big again.  Link gave her a quizzical look.

"I know how to get you to the room where the leader is rather than just have you run around aimlessly," Stephanie explained.

"Oh really?  And how do you plan on doing that?" Link asked.  She flew up behind him, and wrapped her arms around his torso, clasping her hands firmly at his chest. "What?  What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna carry you."

"Carry me where?"

"To the room where the chick is."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Hey, do you have any better suggestions?"

"Stephanie, are you sure you can do this?"

"Hey, I can summon fire, can't I?  Why shouldn't I be able to carry you?"

"Two different concepts."

"How about my tackling you and beating the crap out of you?"

"Okay, you've got a point there."

"Ready?"

"Yeah, sure, let's go." Stephanie made sure she had a tight grip on him, dimmed her glow as much as she possibly could, and flew out of the window.  Link tried as hard as he could to keep his mouth shut.  Stephanie flew to the end of the fortress that was closest to their cell, and landed.  Link stared at her, waiting for her to change back. "I'm not going to change back!" Stephanie said. "It's dark out here!  The guards will know something's up here!" Link shrugged, and turned to go through the doorway.  He stopped as soon as he entered, though, and Stephanie soon found out why--a guard was patrolling the hallway just ten feet away from where they were standing.

"You have a bow for a reason," Stephanie whispered impatiently.

"I'm on it," Link said.  He took out the bow and an arrow, and aimed.  When the guard passed by again, Link fired.  She fell to the ground unconscious.

"Very nice," Stephanie said, and she changed back to her small form as they went past her.  They continued down the hallway and around the corner, and entered a huge room--it had to be forty-by-forty feet, at least.  And in the center stood the lead Gerudo, who was indeed wearing dark green clothes and a yellow gem in her hairband.  She stood with her arms crossed, with two red-clothed guards on either side of her.

"Hello," she said, cocking an eyebrow. "I heard that we captured a young man earlier, but I never thought he'd be quite as cocky and stupid as this." The other guards laughed, and Stephanie glowed bright scarlet.  The leader came forward, and spoke again. "I must request the name of this brave yet very stupid young man."

"My name is Link," Link replied. "This is my partner, Stephanie."

"Ah, so you have a fairy as well.  Impressive," the girl said. "Well, my name is Maltika, second-in-command to Nabooru." She stepped back, and gestured to the girls next to her. "And these are my four underlings--Vartila, Tulari, Yotanu, and Sajado.  All of them are very skilled in swordfighting."

"Yeah, well, can we just get this over with?  We've got business to take care of." Stephanie said shortly.

"Do you now?  Well, I'm afraid you won't be getting very far.  If you want to leave, you must first fight them." The girls on either side of Maltika each took a battle stance.  Link regarded each of them, then turned back to Maltika.

"I accept the challenge." Link took out his sword, and Maltika smiled.  She looked at a girl on he right.

"Vartila," she said.  Vartila stepped forward, and the other girls stepped to the back of the room.  Her golden eyes glared at Link, and she raised her sword slightly as she made her way toward him.  Link took a battle stance, and beckoned for her to come closer.  She accepted the invitation, and leapt toward him.  Link managed to block her blows, and tried to slash at her.  However, she flipped backwards, avoiding the attacks.  Link called to Stephanie.

                "Stephanie, advice!" Link said as Vartila came forward again.

                "Whatever you do, don't get hit!"

                "Well, I know that, but how do I hit her?"

                "Try using a forward thrust!" Link did so, just as Vartila was about to slash at him, and struck her in the side.  She cried out, but came at him again.  Link stabbed at her again, and got her a little bit deeper.  This time, she went down on her knees, and Link put his sword to her throat.  She looked up at him, and smirked.

                "You are a very skilled fighter," she said. "I concede." With that, she leapt upward, and through some sort of trapdoor set in the ceiling.  Link looked up after her, then back at Maltika, who smiled.

                "Don't get too cocky now," she warned. "Vartila's still quite young, and only just received her own sword." She turned to the remaining girl on her right. "Your turn, Tulari." Link raised his sword as Tulari raised hers and came forward.  They regarded each other for a moment, and Link could see that this one was obviously a bit older than the one before.  Suddenly she charged forward, and Link parried her blows, trying to fight back.  Unfortunately, she was causing him to walk backwards into a wall.  He made contact with stone, but he leaned back against the wall and forcefully kicked Tulari to the floor.  She got up, showing virtually no sign of pain.  They circled each other, and Link took the opportunity to move a bit closer.  Tulari barely had time to react when Link suddenly stabbed her with his sword.  She cried out, but didn't falter.  Instead, she seemed to grow angrier.  She tried to strike him, but he managed to block her slashes.  Then he swung his sword so forcefully that her own went flying out of her hand.  Link caught it, and faced the girl with both swords.  She stood there, then raised her hands in front of her in surrender, smiling.  After a moment, she held out her hand, and Link tossed her sword back.  Tulari caught it, and jumped up into the hidden trapdoor.  Maltika looked a bit impressed, but she didn’t comment.  Instead, she turned to the third girl. "Yotanu."

Yotanu came forward, and this time she waited for a split second before attacking Link.  Link could tell by the way she fought that she was definitely more experienced--not to mention fast.  She was very agile, and Link could barely get a hit off her.  Finally, after a few minutes, he managed to give her good slash in the side, and another just above the waist.  She fell to her knees, and Link drew back.  She looked up at him, and smiled before jumping up into the trapdoor.

"Okay, that trapdoor is beginning to annoy me now," Stephanie said.  Maltika appeared amused.  She turned to the fourth girl.

"Go ahead, Sajado." Sajado came forward slowly but eagerly, glowering at them.  Link could see that she was definitely well-trained. They waited, and Sajado attacked swiftly after a split second.  Link went forward to meet the attack, and started blocking and parrying blows.  He tried to attack, but like Yotanu, Sajado was very fast.  Finally, after about five minutes of just blocking, Link muttered, "Screw it." He jumped back a bit, drew back his fist, and punched Sajado in the face.  She staggered back, and he rushed forward to give her a swift uppercut.  She fell to the ground, shocked and in pain.  He jumped on her and pinned her down, knocking her sword away.  She stared at him for a moment, and blinked.

"I've fought in many battles before, but I've never fought anyone who used hands instead of blades--let alone dared to pin a Gerudo to the ground in such a fashion," Sajado said with a smirk.

"All right, Sajado.  That's enough." Maltika said.  Link stood, and Sajado rose to her feet, swaying a little bit.  She leapt up through the hidden trapdoor, and Link and Stephanie were left to face the leader.  She looked Link up and down, and nodded. "Yes, you have proven that you are strong and clever.  Apparently you have fought in many battles yourself."

"More than I can count," Link said.  Maltika stood for a moment, then started walking around Link. "It is very strange for a man to fight against us--ordinarily they just wait in their cells for us to…deal with them." Maltika said delicately.

"And what exactly do you do to them?" Stephanie asked.

"Why, I thought you knew," Maltika said. "We imprison them, keep them in their cells for about a month or two, depending on how we feel about them.  Then, we decide which of us should go and…shall we say…seduce them."

"You were right," Stephanie said to Link.

"Didn't I tell you?" Link replied.  Maltika smirked.

"Of course, after that whole process is done, we can't allow the men to just leave.  So we kill them, and dump the bodies in the river.  I hear the Blue Tektites in Lake Hylia have grown so fat they can hardly move." She must have noticed the look on Link's face, because she added, "Oh, we haven't always been this way.  We actually used to just keep the men long enough to seduce them, then we let them go without another word.  If a female traveler comes here, we let her stay for as long as she needs to and then send her on her way.  But after Ganondorf became ruler of Hyrule, he declared a law forbidding anyone to enter our territory.  Of course, we still treat women the same way that we used to.  Sometimes we even allow them to join us, if we think they have some potential.  But men…well, Ganondorf wouldn't hear of us sparing men's lives."

"But why…why do that to innocent men?" Stephanie asked.

"You mean kill them?"

"No."

"Oh…seducing them.  Well, see, being a tribe of women, we have to have some way of carrying on our line.  Ganondorf doesn't really seem to want to have anything to do with us--which is fine for many of us--so we depend on outsiders to help us with that little problem.  It is primitive, I know, but it's the only way we can prevent extinction of our race." Maltika said.  She turned back to Link. "Now, I must ask you a question:  why did you come here?"

"Well, we have to get to the Spirit Temple." Link said.  Maltika stared at him for a moment, then chuckled.

"And what business would you have there?" she asked.

"We have reason to believe that Ganondorf and Alison have taken over the temple, and we're the only ones who can stop them." Link replied.

"I see," Maltika said. "That is strange…Ganondorf never wanted to have anything to do with the temple…well, I suppose I could allow you passage."

"Thank you, we--"

"However," Maltika continued, "you must fight me first."

"You?" Link asked.

"Me.  And without the help of your fairy, I might add." Stephanie looked offended at first, but then nodded.

"Okay.  Another good source of entertainment, I suppose." She sat down in mid-air, crossing one leg over the other, and watched them.  Link turned to Maltika, who unsheathed her sword.  He looked at Stephanie, who raised her eyebrows at him.  He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Like I have a choice.  Okay, okay, I accept." He raised his sword, and faced Maltika.  There was a moment of peace, then suddenly they charged at each other.  Sparks were flying from the swords as they clashed together, and Stephanie leaned forward in anticipation.  Link was concentrating very hard on not getting his throat slashed, but at the same time he was trying unsuccessfully to find an opening to hit Maltika with.  Maltika seemed to sense his frustration, because she began to move even faster.  Link was having an extremely hard time blocking now, but he couldn't ask Stephanie for help.  Besides, he could see her out of the corner of his eye, reclining in mid-air.  Suddenly,  Maltika jumped back, bending low to the ground, a devilish grin on her face.

"Link!  Watch out!" Stephanie cried.  Link dashed to the side of the room, and looked back just in time to see Maltika execute a perfect spinning jump attack.  He felt the breeze from the blade against his face, and felt a chill run up his spine.  Maltika landed, and looked very surprised.  Link took that opportunity to jump behind her, grab her arm in one hand, and wrap his other arm around her neck in a chokehold.  He then pulled her arm up so that he was chicken-winging her.  Maltika cried out in pain, and Stephanie cheered.  After a moment, Maltika dropped to her knees, and Link let go.  She rubbed her throat, then her arm, then her throat again.  She gazed up at him, and stood up.

"Well, you truly are a natural," she said. "I never would've expected a man to fight so well." She smiled, and reached into her pocket.  She pulled out some sort of badge. "This is a badge that all the Gerudos wear.  With it, you can explore the grounds, move through the fortress, practice on the archery range, go on the training grounds, and even enter the desert." She handed it to him. "And it's all yours." Link stared at it.

"You mean…I'm a Gerudo?" he asked.  Maltika nodded.

"Consider yourself part of the family now.  You've earned your place here.  Besides, the young ones will want your influence at some point." Maltika said with a smile.  Link looked down at the badge, and took it.  He attached it to his tunic, and looked back up at Maltika.

"Thanks, Maltika," Link said.

"No problem.  Oh, and just so you know…the reason why I wanted you prove your mettle was because there have been problems at the temple.  We haven't heard from Nabooru for about a week and a half now, and she usually reports to us every other day.  We've been getting pretty worried about her, but I had a feeling none of us were ready to take on whatever's got her.  Anyway, the Spirit Temple is in the middle of the Haunted Wasteland, which is the desert beyond the fortress.  The reason why we say it's haunted is because ghosts tend to bring you back here if you go the wrong way…and because there's a Poe who acts as a guide to the Desert Colossus.  Now, three things you have to remember.  One--there's a river of sand just after you enter the Wasteland.  You can't walk across it, and unfortunately, there have been so many sandstorms out there that we never got around to building a bridge across it.  We did put crates up on either side, in case you have something that can pull you across.  Two--after the river, you have to follow the red flags we've put up leading the way to a small fort.  You can rest at the fort before you go further, but to get there, you have to follow the flags.  It'll be hard, because we're in the middle of a bad sandstorm right now, and this one is taking its sweet time going by.  But you'll be able to find your way.  Third and foremost--the Poe guide.  He'll be waiting at the top of the fort for travelers, ready to guide them to the Colossus.  However, he's invisible.  You need the Lens of Truth to see him, because he doesn't even have a shadow.  But when you spot him, he'll guide you through the desert, and then to the Colossus."

"Anything else we should know about?" Stephanie asked.

"Hmmm…oh, yes, I almost forgot.  You'll want to be careful while you're following the guide, because there's been a recent infestation of Leevers in that part of the Wasteland.  They'll attack anyone who comes near them, and they're a real nuisance.  They also live in the Colossus." Link nodded, and looked up at Stephanie, who seemed to be raring to go.  Suddenly, a question arose in his mind.

"How far is it to the temple from here?" Link asked.

"Technically, it's not far, but the storms will probably take a good deal out of you before you get there.  Why?" Maltika asked.

"Well, I was hoping I could just ride my horse through the Wasteland.  I'm sure she'd be able to jump over the river…" Link stopped when Maltika shook her head.

"For some reason, horses won't even enter the Wasteland.  Even Ganondorf's horse Kumate refused to go in, and he was the bravest horse in the fortress!  I expect it's because the desert is haunted, but it could also be because of the sandstorms."

"Well, Epona isn't a Gerudo horse," Link said. "I'm sure she'll go in."

"You can try," Maltika said. "But don't be alarmed if she refuses." Stephanie flew down next to Link.

"C'mon, what are we waiting for?  We've spent more than enough time here!" Stephanie said.  Link nodded to Maltika, and turned to leave.  Stephanie and Link dashed out of the building, and the guards simply regarded him with smiles as they passed.

"Well, guess it pays to be one of them," Link said.  He went to a nearby guard. "Excuse me, where do you keep the horses?" Link asked.

"Up at the horseback archery range," the guard replied, pointing to a steep bank. "It's just past that hill."

"Thanks," Link said, and dashed to the bank.  He climbed up, and Stephanie whistled when they reached the range.

"Wow," she breathed.  It was huge.  An oval-shaped track had been set up, with targets standing on the sides and ends.  Off to the sides Link saw the stables, which had dozens of stalls.  Link saw with dismay that many of the horses were chestnuts and bays.  A nearby guard noticed Link and came over.

"Hi there!  You must be Link," she said.  Link nodded.

"How did you know my name?" Link asked.

"Word travels pretty fast around here." She held out her hand. "I'm Colmika.  I train and groom the horses here." Link smiled and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"You've got a lot of horses here," Stephanie said. "Are they all Gerudo horses?"

"Actually, no.  Some of them are--Ganondorf's Kumate was a purebred Gerudo stallion--but the others aren't." Colmika replied.

"Where do you get them?  Do you steal them?" Stephanie asked.

"Well, that used to be our line of work a very long time ago--probably a century or so back.  But after a while that old gimmick faded, and we resorted to more civilized ways of obtaining mounts."

"Such as?"

"Well, sometimes when travelers come in, they may have more than one horse.  If we helped the traveler in some way, we often request some form of payment.  More often than not they give us one of their horses.  Occasionally there'll be a traveler who has a pregnant mare, and has to stop for a while.  We'll allow the traveler to stay long enough to see that his horse births and nurses the foal, and then when the foal is weaned, we often keep the weanling to train as a Gerudo horse."

"Interesting way of getting horses."

"Well, we don't really do that kind of stuff anymore.  It only happens every once in a while.  And you may not know it, but we have very close ties to Lon Lon Ranch."

"Really?" Link said.

"Yup.  See, because there are so many horses there, Talon often requests for us to come by and see if we'd like any of the horses he has over there.  We still do that, right under Ganondorf's nose."

"Wow," Link said.

"So, any reason why you're here?" Colmika asked.

"Well, I'm looking for my horse.  She was brought in earlier--"

"Oh, let me guess.  The one who can talk, right?"

"That would be the one, yes."

"Follow me." Colmika led Link and Stephanie to the stables, and they went past the stalls.  They soon came upon Epona, who was sulking angrily in the back of hers.

"Took you long enough," she muttered.  Link nodded to Colmika, who opened the door. "Do you know how much I hate being in a stall?"

"I could take a guess," Link said as he led Epona out and mounted her. "Thanks, Colmika.  Okay, let's go." Epona set off at a brisk trot out of the range, and Link guided her to the gate that led to the desert.  He saw a guard standing near the ladder, and she grinned at him.

"Hey, rookie," she said. "I'm Lanida.  Planning on going to the Wasteland?"

"Yes," Link said. "Could you open the gate for us?"

"Sure, hold on." Lanida looked upwards, and Link saw another girl standing on the tower above. "Hey, Rilane!  Open the gate!  Kid wants to go to the temple!" Lanida called.  Rilane looked over the rail to gaze down at Link.

"We've got permission from Maltika," Stephanie called matter-of-factly.  Rilane nodded.

"Okay!  Let's pull her up!" Lanida climbed the ladder, and Link wondered what she was doing.  He and Stephanie then heard a crank turning, and the gate began to rise.  They waited, and soon Lanida looked over the rail and gave Link the thumbs-up.

"Okay!  Go on ahead!" Lanida called.

"Thanks!" Link called back.  He nudged Epona forward, and she walked on.  Link smiled as he saw the desert ahead, but frowned when Epona stopped.  She had stopped right before the sand. "Hey, come on, Epona!  Let's go!" Link said.  Stephanie had settled on Link's shoulder, and had a didn't-Maltika-warn-you-about-this look on her face.

"Don't think so," Epona said.

"Why not?" Link demanded.

"I have my reasons."

"Epona, please, we don't have all day."

"I ain't going in there."

"Epona, if you won't go in because you think the desert is haunted, you're the most pathetic horse I've ever met."

"Nice try, but I'm not going any further."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Would you rather I bucked you off?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." Stephanie was laughing her head off by now, and Link glared at her.

"You're a real help." Link muttered.

"Link, why bother trying?" Stephanie said. "She's not going any further." Link sighed, and dismounted.  He started toward the desert, and heard Epona say, "Hee, hee, hee.  I won that argument." Link turned to her, raised his fist, then put up a single finger in her direction.  Epona's eyes widened.

"Why, you little--" But Link had stepped onto the sand, and Epona couldn't get to him.  She flattened her ears against her head and glared at him.  Link grinned.

"'Bye, Epona.  See you later." He then turned and headed for the Wasteland.  It was indeed in the middle of a bad sandstorm--Stephanie had to keep a tight grip on Link's collar to keep from being swept away.  Link walked on, and soon came to a wooden crate.  He looked a bit further ahead, and saw the river of sand flowing. "Well, this is wonderful," Link muttered.  Stephanie cleared her throat, and pointed to the three crates that stood on the other side. "Oh.  Right." He took out his hookshot, and fired it at one of  the crates.  The hook grabbed hold, and Link was pulled to the other side.

"Well, that's one problem solved," Stephanie said. "How do you think we'll get past this?" Link looked ahead and groaned.  The sandstorm was so bad now that he could barely see two inches past his nose, but he could see the red flags waving here and there.

"Damn," Link said. "How do I know which ones to follow?  I can't tell which is closest!"

"Play the Song of Storms!" Stephanie said.

"Why?  How will that help?"

"The lightning will help you tell which flags are closest and where the rest are!" Link nodded, and took out the ocarina.  He played the tune, and black clouds formed overhead.  Lightning flashed, and Link saw the silhouettes of flags on the hills. "Go!" Stephanie said.  Link followed the flags as the lightning flashed, and he was doing fine until the lightning stopped. "Play it again," Stephanie said.  Link did so, and the lightning resumed.  Link continued, and soon came over a high hill--and a stone fort just beyond it. "C'mon!" Stephanie cried, and they dashed to the fort.  The sandstorm subsided just a bit as they reached the fort, and Link led the way in.  He climbed down a tall ladder, and they relaxed once inside.

"Ah, this is cozy," Link said. "Kinda dark, though." Stephanie found a pair of braziers off to the side, and lit them with her special brand of magic. "Much better." Link sat down against the wall, and relaxed.  Stephanie settled on his shoulder, and leaned against his neck.

"I'm sorry about attacking you earlier," Stephanie said.

"Oh, it's all right.  I shouldn't have said what I did," Link said. "You really are a good fairy--a hell of a lot better than Navi ever was."

"Thanks." Stephanie was silent, and Link knew she had gone to sleep.  He looked around, and listened.  He could hear the wind blowing gently on the hills…but there was something else.  He got up very carefully, and slowly got up the ladder.  He concentrated on the sound, which sounded almost like wind, but it wasn't.  He went outside, and looked around.  Nothing except sand.  He climbed to the top of the fort, and he could definitely hear it.  Stephanie yawned, and woke up. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Shhh," Link said.  Stephanie listened, and looked around.

"Is that what I think it is?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah," Link said as he yanked out the Lens of Truth. "It's the Poe." He held the Lens up to his eye, and saw a big Poe floating above him.  It regarded him with a nod, and beckoned for Link to follow.  Link jumped down from the fort as the Poe started off.  They had been on their way for a while when Stephanie screamed.  Big green blobs were coming at them from the sand.

"Ignore them," the Poe said. "They're just Leevers.  They're all over the place." Link concentrated on following the Poe, but he had a distinct feeling that Stephanie didn't like the Leevers very much.  Soon, the Poe stopped between two cliffs. "Here we are," the Poe said. "Go on in and you'll find the Colossus.  But just so you know--I won't be coming back to guide you back to the Gerudo Fortress.  You're on your own if you want to go back."

"Got it," Link said. "Thank you." The Poe promptly left, and Link dashed in.  They gazed around in awe--the Colossus was a region of desert totally surrounded by canyon walls.  A huge temple stood at the opposite end, and a small oasis rested near the temple.

"Let's go!" Stephanie said.  They dashed through the Colossus, dodging Leevers on their way.  Guays cawed and dove at them, but Stephanie simply rammed into them to chase them away.  Soon they reached the temple entrance. "Well, look at that," Stephanie muttered, pointing at the seal above the doorway.  A Poke Ball had been etched over the seal of Hyrule. "Guess we were right."

"Yup. Let's go see how bad it is." They went in, and looked around.  Stephanie whistled.

"Nice," she said. "I kinda like it here."

"Good to hear that for once," Link said.  They went up the stairs, looking for doors.

"Uh-oh," Stephanie said. "I think we have a problem."

"So do I," Link said.  There were no doors--just a tiny crawlspace on the right and a gigantic black marble block on the left.  The crawlspace was way too small for Link to fit through, and they both knew Link didn't have enough strength to push the huge block. "Any ideas?"

"Nope.  Hang on, I might have an idea." Stephanie flew through the crawlspace.  Link waited, then he heard a loud shriek.  Stephanie came zooming back out, looking as though she had seen a ghost.  She slammed into him, shaking like a leaf.

"Hey, whoa, what's the matter?  Calm down!" Link said as Stephanie clutched his tunic in fright.  She took several deep breaths, and pointed at the crawlspace.

"In there--there’s--there’s--"

"What?  What's in there?"

"There’s--there’s--a whole army of Pikachu!" Link stared at her.

"I'm sorry, but what?" Link asked.  Stephanie managed to relax enough to explain.

"Pikachu," she said. "They're the scariest little monsters on the planet.  They're yellow-and-brown electric mice with lightning-bolt-shaped tails and shoot lightning from their cheeks.  And there's about twenty of them in the room past that crawlspace!" She practically shrieked the last few words out.

"Hey, hey, settle down.  Okay, I guess there's no way you can fight them, since you're obviously afraid of them--"

"Only in large numbers," Stephanie said coldly. "If there was just one in there, I could take care of it--even though I'd be scared beyond belief.  But twenty of them…no."

"Okay.  Well, I can't make it through that little hole, and I can't move that block either, so we're in trouble." Suddenly, Stephanie's face brightened, and she flew up to face Link.

"Link, I just got an idea," Stephanie said.

"What?"

"If we go back in time, we can come back when you're a kid and you can get in there!"

"Not a bad idea.  I'll play the Prelude--"

"Don't bother with that.  I don't even like the Temple of Time." Stephanie abruptly changed to her big form. "Here, give me the ocarina."

"Why?"

"Trust me on this." With an uncertain look on his face, Link handed Stephanie the ocarina.  She led him outside, put the ocarina to her lips and played an odd little tune.  Suddenly, a weird blue-green light surrounded them, and Link felt himself becoming younger.  The weird tune kept playing over and over again, and soon the light faded.  Link looked at himself--he was seven years younger, a ten-year-old.

"Oh, no!" He heard Stephanie cry, and he saw a bright flash of light as Stephanie went back to her little form.

"What?  What's wrong?" Link asked.  He looked back just in time to Stephanie fly behind a boulder. "C'mon, Steph, what's wrong?"

"Promise you won't laugh."

"I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"And hope to die." With that, Stephanie came out slowly--but Link almost didn't recognize her.

"I didn't expect this to happen!" A ten-year-old Stephanie cried. "I only wanted to turn back time so only you'd be younger, not me!  Now I'm seven years younger, too!" Link put a hand to his mouth to hide a smile. "What?"

"Oh, nothing."
                "Link," Stephanie warned.

"Oh, it's just that you look like a lot like Malon." Suddenly, he saw the look on Stephanie's face. "Uh-oh." He raised his shield just as Stephanie charged at him.  He heard a clunk as Stephanie rammed against it, and a soft thud as she landed on the ground.  He looked down, and saw her rubbing her head.

"Ow," she said.

"Sorry.  I shouldn't have said that," Link said.  Stephanie glared at him.

"Be glad I can't swear right now.  That's all I can say." She got up, and brushed herself off.

"What was that song you played, anyway?" Link asked.

"It's called 'The Time Warp,' of all things."

"Where'd you learn it from?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know." She then looked up, and her eyes widened.  She clapped her hand on her forehead. "Dang it!"

"What?  What's wrong?"

"Look!" Stephanie pointed to the Hyrule seal above the doorway.  Link couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that a Poke Ball had been etched there.

"What the heck!" Link cried. "But it's seven years in the past!  How can that be there?”

"Because my sister knows that song, too!" Stephanie wailed. "That ditz must have used it, and I'll bet you anything that's why those Pikachu were in that room!"

"Are you saying we still have to fight Pokemon?" Link asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Stephanie mumbled, her face in her hands. "I can't believe she did this!  Only I'm allowed to play that song!  But then again, she never did give a dang about rules." She settled down, and turned to Link. "Okay.  Look.  We have to find the Silver Gauntlets.  They're the only chance we have of getting past that block.  We find them, we can go back to being grown up again.  But we can't leave without the gauntlets."

"And I'll bet she made sure they're well-guarded," Link muttered.

"You don't have to bet.  I know she'll have picked out the perfect opponents for us.  I suggest you switch to your Hylian shield, though--I'm sure Alison will have picked some pretty nasty Pokemon for us." Link obeyed, and they headed in.  Again, the main room was deserted. "That's funny," Stephanie said. "I had a feeling Nabooru would have been here."

"I wouldn't have liked to meet her anyway." Link said.

"No, see, this is seven years in the past.  At this time Nabooru's actually pretty civilized--she wouldn't hear of killing anybody, especially women and kids.  Not to mention she hates Ganondorf."

"Well, that's good to hear, I suppose.  But where do you suppose she is?"

"No idea." They went up the stairs, and headed toward the crawlspace.  Stephanie took a deep breath, and followed Link as he crawled in.  He could hear the sound of something skittering around on the floor, and something saying "Pika, pikachu." He heard Stephanie groan, but he continued to move forward.  Soon, they entered the room, and Link was taken aback at what he saw.  Twenty Pikachu were running and jumping about, shooting sparks and crying, "Pikachu!  Pikachu!" at each other.  Stephanie moved close to Link, and Link gazed at the weird mice.

"These are what you were afraid of?" Link asked.

"Yeah," Stephanie said.  Link shrugged, and went forward.  Stephanie realized all too late what he was going to do. "No!  Don't hit it with your--" Link swung his sword down at one of the Pikachu, but instead of even hitting it, a huge shock of electricity shot up from the mouse's fur, through the sword and into Link.  Link screamed in pain as he flew backwards. "Sword," Stephanie finished as she flew to his side.  All the Pikachu giggled, then went back to their party.

"That hurt," Link said as he got up to his feet.

"Next time I tell you not to do something, at least listen to me!" Stephanie said. "They're electric--you can't hit them with metal blades!"

"I figured that out already." Suddenly, there was silence.

"Uh-oh," Stephanie said as she turned around. "I think their party's over." Indeed, the Pikachu all started firing bolts of lightning at Link.  Not to be electrocuted again, Link whipped out his Deku Shield and blocked the bolts.  Stephanie screamed as some of the mice started firing at her.

"Stephanie!  A little help here!" Link cried.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a little bit of trouble myself!" Stephanie replied.  She dodged lightning for a few more moments until she muttered, "Ah, screw it." She put up a barrier around herself, and then started dancing and singing in mid-air. "'Cause this is thriller, thriller night, and no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike!" Link looked up to see her lower the barrier--just as a huge pool of fire formed on the wall.  He heard a deep whinny, and wondered what the heck was coming.  Suddenly, a huge horse came barreling out, and Link pressed himself against the wall when he saw the horse in its entirety.  It was a deep red bay buckskin stallion--roughly the color of rosewood--with a black mane and tail, wings that were made completely of fire, and bright green eyes.  But what amazed Link the most was that this horse was twice as big as Epona.  Stephanie grew to her big form, and flew onto the horse's back.  She yelled, and the horse dove down toward the Pikachu.  The mice squealed in fright and scattered, but the horse's huge hooves trampled every Pikachu with very little aiming done at all.  Link winced as one Pikachu was flattened like a pancake right in front of him.  Soon, all the Pikachu were gone, and Stephanie dismounted.  She turned to Link, and smiled proudly.

"Meet Lestat," Stephanie said. Link stared at the horse in shock.

"But how…how did you make him appear?" Link asked.

"Just another one of those things I can do that you don't know about," Stephanie said slyly, stroking Lestat lovingly on the neck.  Link glowered at her.

"How come you get a bigger horse?!" Link said.

"I'm a fairy, deal with it!" Stephanie said, sticking out her tongue at him.  She turned to Lestat. "Okay, baby, you can go home now.  I'll call if I need you again." Lestat snorted, and the pool of fire formed on the wall again.  Lestat sailed through, and the portal closed.  Link glared at Stephanie again.

"One of these days I'll have your head on the wall," Link said.

"No, you won't.  You like me too much." Stephanie went to a door on the left, and went in, closely followed by Link.  Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and Stephanie and Link whirled around. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Stephanie asked.  There was a sudden rumble, and a deep roar.

"I think that's why," Link said.  They turned around, and saw that they were in a room that was divided by a very deep chasm.  A long iron grate stood on the opposite side of the room, and Stephanie could see a door past the grate.  But the growling persisted, and Link gulped. "Stephanie?  You know Pokemon, right?"

"Yeah." They were both staring at the chasm, pressing back against the wall.

"You an expert on what each Pokemon sounds like?"

"Yes."

"Any idea on what that is?"

"I know what that is…but it sounds like there's more than one of them."

"What is--I mean, what are they?" Stephanie was silent as the roars grew louder.

"A group of Onix," she said.  Suddenly, three snakes popped up from the chasm, leering down at Link.  But they didn't look anything like snakes except in that they had no legs and were extremely long.  They were made of huge boulders, and had some kind of horn on the tops of their heads.

"I'm guessing these are Onix," Link said.

"Yup." Stephanie said.

"So…what do you think I should do?"

"How about the Ice Arrows?"

"Ummm…"

"Don't tell me you can't use the bow!"

"Okay, I won't tell you."

"Well, we're done for now.  I don't know how else we can beat them."

"Can't you use fire on them?"

"If I could, they'd already be fried.  But Onix are Rock-type Pokemon.  Any attack other than Grass, Ground, Ice, Fighting, or Water is useless." The Onix appeared to be waiting for them to attack first.

"Well, I don't know what to do!  I can't use my Slingshot, because it just shoots Deku Seeds--"

"Wait, say that again," Stephanie said.

"The Slingshot uses Deku Seeds." Stephanie grinned, and she swooped down and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're a lifesaver!  Get the Slingshot out!"

"But Stephanie, you said--"

"Link, seeds make plants, right?" Link thought about it, then a grin spread over his face.

"Got it!" He whipped out the slingshot, and aimed a seed at the nearest Onix.  He fired, and the seed hit the Onix dead in the center of the forehead.  It screeched in pain, and fell to the ground dead.  Stephanie cheered, and Link aimed another seed at the second Onix.  It tried to dodge, but Link was too fast.  The seed struck the Onix, and it crumbled to pieces.  The third Onix gave Link a pleading look, but Link smirked. "Bye-bye," he said, and fired a seed.  The Onix died instantly.  Stephanie was cheering her head off.

"Well, took care of that problem," Link said. "Now we have to get across this." Stephanie flew over to look at the chasm.

"Yup," she said. "looks like a long way down.  But I have an advantage, remember?" She pointed at her wings, and promptly flew to the other side.  She went behind the grate, and pushed with all her might. "Incoming!" She yelled as the grate fell over.  Link jumped to the side as the grate fell to the floor. "Coming?" Stephanie said as Link faced her.  He ran across, and met her at the door.  They went in, but the moment they did Stephanie's eyes widened.

"Link," she said.

"What?"

"Better get your sword out."

"Why?"

"Just do it." Link did so, and Stephanie pointed upwards.  A Haunter was slowly circling the ceiling.  Link smirked, but then he noticed something else.  They were in another chasm-divided room, and the tall iron fence that stretched from end-to-end, floor-to-ceiling served as a perch to several blue bat-like things.  A long iron grate was right in the center of the fence, but it seemed to be held in place by something.  Then Link noticed something else.  Several silver rupees were scattered around the room.

"What the heck is this?" Link asked.

"A really tough puzzle," Stephanie said sarcastically.

"I got that," Link said. "What are those things on the fence?"

"Those?  Oh, they're Zubat and Golbat.  Although I have no idea why they would be here." She looked up, and noticed that the Haunter was gazing back at her. "Oh, no," she said. "Link, run around!" Link didn't have to ask why; he'd seen the Haunter, too.  The Haunter pounced, but missed.  Link and Stephanie both unleashed Din's Fire at the Haunter, and it wailed in pain as it fried to death.  Suddenly, they became aware of the flapping.

"Great, we woke them up," Stephanie muttered.

"Think I could hit them from here?" Link asked, holding up his slingshot.

"Yeah.  Wouldn't be a bad idea, because we don't want them attacking when we bring the grate down." Link aimed very carefully at a nearby Zubat.  He fired, and made a hit.  The Zubat squeaked, then fell to the ground, dead.  A Golbat started pounding against the fence, but Link smiled as he fired at it.  The seed went right through the back of the head, and the dead bat fell into the chasm.  Stephanie crinkled her nose.

"That was vicious," she commented.

"But a quick and easy kill," Link said.  He aimed and fired at the last two bats, and after they had been disposed of, Link started collecting the rupees.  He found most of them on the floor, but two of them were up on the fence.

"Careful," Stephanie said as he climbed up.  He grabbed the last two rupees, and the grate fell.  Link jumped down, and they went across.  They stopped, however, when they noticed the two braziers. "Link, I have a feeling we're supposed to light these."

"Care to do the honors?" Link asked.  Stephanie held up her hands, and fired two fireballs at the braziers.  They lit up, and a chest suddenly fell on the side with the fence. "Wait here," Link said.  He dashed across, opened the chest, grabbed its contents, and came back.  He held up a small silver key. "Check it out," he said.

"We might be needing that," Stephanie said.  They left the room, and found themselves in the Pikachu room.  Stephanie went to the crawlspace, and Link followed her.  It led to a door, which Link promptly unlocked.  It led to a deserted room with narrow catwalks.  Apprehensive, they walked across the room, but nothing happened.  They then entered another room, which was huge.  It had a humongous statue of a woman with a snake wrapped around her.  Stephanie eyed it, but didn't say anything.  She led Link through the room, and they went to a door at the other end.  They entered, and found themselves in a smaller room, with six brick columns, a red carpet--and a weird Pokemon sitting in a throne on the opposite end.  Link took one look at it and cocked an eyebrow.

"What the heck is that?" he asked.  Stephanie, however, gulped.

"Link, cast Nayru's Love." Link knew by the tone of her voice that he should obey, and he cast the shield.  Stephanie kept her gaze on the Pokemon, but crept closer to Link.

"Link, that is an Alakazam." Link still had one eyebrow raised.

"And we are afraid of it because?" Link's question was answered as the Alakazam's eyes opened.  It floated up, and Link suddenly felt himself being lifted off the floor.  Then he was abruptly thrown through the air.  He crashed into one of the pillars, but the shield prevented any harm done to him.  Stephanie flew over to Link.

"Alakazam is a Psychic Pokemon, Link," Stephanie said. "It uses its mind to perform telekinesis or telepathy."

"Great, just what I need right now," Link said. He stood up, and faced the Alakazam.  It stared at him, then its eyes glowed.  Link felt himself being lifted up again, but this time he fired a seed from his slingshot--right into the Alakazam’s eye.  It screamed and wailed in pain, and Link dropped to the floor.  He ran forward, and hacked away at the Alakazam.  It tried to use its powers, but it couldn’t due to its blindness.  Within moments, it was all over.  Stephanie sighed with relief.

"That was an awesome move you made," Stephanie said.

"Thanks," Link said.  They dashed past the chair, and through the door.  They were back outside, standing on one of the hands of the big statue, and a huge treasure chest was waiting for them.  Link eagerly opened it, grabbed what was inside, and held up the Silver Gauntlets.  Stephanie grinned.  Suddenly, she noticed something else.

"Hold on," she said. "Wait here." She flew to the opposite hand, where Link saw a big chest.  He saw Stephanie lift the top, and pull out something.  She brought it back, grinning from ear to ear. "Lookit what I found!" She said like a five-year-old who had just found a piece of jewelry.  Link gasped when he saw it.

"Is that the Mirror Shield?" he asked.

"It most certainly is," Stephanie said.  Link took it, and put it on his back.

"Cool!  Thanks, Stephanie!"

"You're welcome.  Now come here so we can go back." She turned to her big form, and carried Link down to the ground.  Link promptly handed her the ocarina, and she played the Time Warp song.  They were sent back to the future, and they could feel their bodies growing.  Once the change had finished, Link heard Stephanie sigh with relief. "Oh, it feels so good to be myself again!" Stephanie said.  She turned to Link. "Well?  Aren't you going to put those gauntlets on?"

"Oh!  Right!" Link said.  He took off his original ones, and threw them onto the sand.  Leevers promptly came and tore them to shreds.  Stephanie looked at him in amazement. "Hey, I know I'm going to get really attached to these, so don't look at me like that." He then put on the new Silver Gauntlets. "Whoa," he said. "Feels almost like I could punch the wall and it would crumble."

"Very nice.  Okay, let's get moving." Stephanie pulled on his sleeve.  They went inside, and Link pushed the big block.  He and Stephanie were equally amazed when he pushed it down a short hallway and into a hole. "Coolness!" Stephanie said.  They looked around, and found themselves in an empty room, with three doors--one in the center of the back wall (it was locked) and one on either side of the room.  Stephanie sighed, and looked at Link. "You want to take a break?  I have a feeling this will take a while."

"Sure.  Why not?" Stephanie promptly sang the weird song she'd sung in the Pikachu room, and Lestat appeared.  As Stephanie greeted her horse, Link stepped up. "What was that song you sang, anyway?"

"That one?  That was 'Thriller.' Don't ask." She went to her big form, mounted Lestat, and charged through a nearby door.  Link sat down on the steps, and took a bottle of milk from his tunic.  He heard a bunch of weird roars and growls, and a few whinnies here and there, but he ignored them as he gulped down the milk.  He stopped and raised an eyebrow as he heard Stephanie singing, "Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it!  No  one wants to be defeated!  Show me how funky and strong is your fight!  It doesn't matter who's wrong or right!" After half an hour, Lestat and Stephanie came charging in again.  Stephanie looked as though she had just had the time of her life--and her dress was covered in blue and green blood, and she had a proud grin on her face.

"Looks like you had fun," Link commented.

"I had a hell of a time!" Stephanie said.

"Right.  And what, may I ask, was that hollering and singing I heard in there?"

"Oh, that was me, singing 'Beat It.'" She then whipped out her sword, and started singing it again, swinging and stabbing at invisible foes.  Link laughed as he visualized Pokemon, dying at the mercy of the sword held by a crazy redhead fairy. "What did you just call me?!" Link heard her say.

"Huh?" She was facing him, eyes wide, and teeth clenched.  She looked ready to kill him now.

"You just called me a crazy redhead fairy!"

"Well, look at you!  Anyone would think that!" Link said. "Besides, I didn't mean to say it.  I was merely thinking aloud!" Stephanie frowned and sheathed her sword.

"Right," she said.  Suddenly, she looked down at her dress. "Aw, man, I'm covered in Pokemon blood!  EW!"

"Strange, I didn't think you minded it at first," Link said.  Stephanie glared at him.

"Hey, I don't like Pokemon, and I don't want their blood all over my clothes!" She flew out of the room and went outside.  Link followed her while Lestat remained inside.  Link saw Stephanie looking around outside.

"What are you doing?" Link asked.

"I'm looking for a pool or something…Bingo!" she flew off to the right, where Link saw a small oasis.  He followed her, and she landed on the sand near the water.  She took off one of her shoes and stuck her toe in the water. "Very nice," she said.  She turned to Link, and frowned. "Do you mind?"

"What?" Link asked.

"I'm going to swim here," Stephanie said.

"And that concerns me how?" Link asked.

"Well, let's see.  The blood soaked through the dress onto my skin, and I have rinse that off, and I also have to wash my dress as well." Stephanie said.  When Link didn't seem to get that, she shrieked, "Turn around!" Link raised his hands in surrender and turned around.  After a moment, his eyes glittering with curiosity, he turned his head just enough to see out of the corner of his eye.  Stephanie pulled her dress up when she saw him turn his head. "Excuse me!" she screamed. "I can sic Lestat on you if you do that again!" Link immediately faced the opposite direction again.

"You know, I don't see how you can get away with seeing me shirtless and not the other way around," Link said.

"Because I'm a girl," Stephanie replied.

"So?" Link asked.  There was a splash, and after a moment Stephanie spoke again.

"Don't get me started on that," Stephanie said.  After about ten or fifteen minutes, when Stephanie had cleaned up, she finally said, "Okay, you can turn around." Link turned around, and received a slap in the face.

"Ow!  Steph!" Link hollered.

"Hey, I gotta punish you somehow.  Okay, let's get going." They went back into the temple, and found Lestat waiting for them.  Stephanie patted the horse's muzzle, went to the nearby locked door.  Lestat and Link followed, but Lestat laid back his ears and snorted fire at Link.

"Hey, watch it!" Link cried.

"Lestat!" Stephanie said. "I'm mad at him, but not that mad!" She stroked the horse's forehead. "Now you go on home.  Take a nice rest." Lestat promptly left, and Link glared after him. "He's just overprotective," Stephanie said. "He's been mine since I was little."

"Yeah, I got the overprotective part," Link said.  Stephanie pulled out a silver key, and unlocked the door.  It led right back to the Snake Woman room, and Link and Stephanie looked around. "Okay, so what should we do here?" Link asked.  Stephane looked up at the face of the Snake Woman, and frowned.

"There's something about that statue…wait a second!" Stephanie spotted the beam of sunlight streaming in through a hole in the ceiling…right down on a platform that hung in front of the statue's face.  Remaining in her big form, Stephanie yanked Link up, ignoring his yells, and carried him up to the platform.

"What the hell was that all about?" Link said.

"Use the Mirror Shield!" Stephanie said.

"On what?"

"Use it to reflect the sunlight onto the statue's face!" Stephanie said.  Rolling his eyes, Link took out the Mirror Shield, and raised it up.  It reflected the light, and he directed the beam toward the face of the statue.  It began to crumble, and suddenly it fell away completely…revealing a door!

"I don't believe it," Link said.

"Use your hookshot!" Stephanie cried eagerly, changing back to her little form.

"I'm on it," Link said, and he promptly fired it at the door.  He was pulled over to it, and it opened.  Stephanie settled on his shoulder, and they went in.  What they found was a huge room, made comepletely of red stone.  A huge platform stood in the center.  Link climbed up, and found a grand red-and-gold carpet on the top.

"Help!  Please, help me!" a voice cried.  Link looked up, and saw a woman cuffed to the wall, hanging there helplessly.  Stephanie gasped.

"It's Nabooru!" Stephanie cried.

"That's right!" Two voices cried, and suddenly there was another screechy voice.  Link and Stephanie covered their ears, and suddenly a man appeared in the center of the platform.  Stephanie growled deep in her throat.

"I guess you know who I am," the man said.

"Unfortunately, yes," Stephanie said. "You're Joey."

"Yup, and I gotta say, you're pretty lucky to have gotten past all my buddies." Suddenly, in a bright flash of light, another man appeared next to Joey.  He was dressed in Egyptian-type clothing, and had weird makeup on his face.  Link had no idea who this guy was, but Stephanie screamed.  The new guy smiled.

"Well, apparently she knows me.  A big fan, I suppose?" the guy said.

"Fan?!  I ain't no fan of yours!  You're the worst singer to have ever gone on stage!" Stephanie cried.

"Who is he?" Link asked.

"Vinnie Vincent, at your service," the guy said. "Quite a spunky fairy you've got, young man."

"A little too spunky, if you ask me," said a cold female voice.  In a bright flash of white, a huge sorceress appeared.

"TwinRova," Link whispered.  Stephanie's eyes widened.

"Shit--a giant prostitute!" She paused for a moment, then her face fell. "I don't believe it…IT'S MY MOTHER!" TwinRova laughed.

"Shocked , are you?" TwinRova asked.

"But…how…how could you do this?  I thought…I thought you were on my side…" Stephanie said.  Link realized that this must have been one of the things she had refused to talk about.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I was always on Alison's side.  I've always been evil, Stephanie.  I'm sorry it had to come to this," TwinRova said.

"You betrayed me, along with Alison!" Stephanie screamed.  Suddenly, Vinnie raised a finger.

"Now, now, now, let's not start off like this.  We actually wanted to get off on the right foot with this little encounter," Vinnie said.

"Alison put you up to this, didn't she?" Stephanie demanded.

"Maybe, maybe not," Joey said. "But we were hoping on having a nice little battle with you before we start with any civil brawls.  What do you say?" He snapped his fingers, and suddenly a bunch of Pokemon appeared.  Stephanie snapped out of her rage as she noticed the swift appearance of monsters.  One of them looked like a boulder with arms and legs.  The second looked like a bigger verison of Pikachu.  The third was a weird rhino-like thing made from rock.  The fourth looked like a rock-lizard.  The fifth looked like a bizarre cross between a tiger and a bee.  The sixth looked almost like a spiked yellow dog.  The seventh was a huge yellow and black bird.

"Bringin' da noise, bring down da house!" Joey sang.  The Pokemon all advanced, and Link unsheathed his sword.

"Okay.  Need advice." Link watched the Pokemon come closer.

"Listen up--the big boulder-thing is a Golem.  Use your Ice Arrows on him.  That Mega-chu over there is a Raichu.  Use anything except your sword against it, and stay away from its tail.  The rhino is a Rhyhorn.  Use your Ice Arrows on him the first chance you get.  The rock-lizard is a Rhydon.  Again, Ice Arrows.  That weird tiger-bee thing is an Electabuzz.  Whatever you do, don't use metal on it, along with the Jolteon--that's the spiked dog over there.  And the super-sized yellow crow up there is a Zapdos.  Use anything you can except metal." Stephanie watched the Pokemon warily.

"Got it," Link said, and he rushed forward, whipping out his bow.  He charged the arrows up with ice, and pulled one out.  He saw the Rhyhorn barreling towards him, and he fired.  The arrow froze Rhyhorn solid, and it shattered to pieces.  The Rhydon was apparently angered by this, and it charged toward Link.  What it got was an ice arrow in the mouth.  It froze solid, and Link waited as it broke apart.  The Golem was waddling toward him now, and Link decided to have a little fun.  He shot an ice arrow at the floor, creating a solid patch of ice.  The Golem slipped onto its back, unable to right itself.  Link took out the Megaton Hammer, and smashed the Golem in half.  He turned, and saw the electric Pokemon coming toward him.  He took out two arrows, and fired both at the Electabuzz.  It froze, and Link took the risk--he slashed at it with his sword.  Amazingly, he didn't get shocked.  The Electabuzz was sliced cleanly in half, and it died instantly.

Now it was Raichu's turn.  Link was about to fire an arrow at it when suddenly the tail wrapped around him.  Link screamed as electricity pumped through him.  Suddenly, a flash of red shot straight through Raichu's head.  For a moment, it stood there with a blank look on its face.  Then it fell over, dead.  Stephanie looked extremely proud of herself.  Link shook himself to get rid of the tension, and faced the Jolteon.  It circled him like a Wolfos, watching his every move.  Link waited, then made a quick draw as he threw a Deku Nut to the floor.  The Jolteon yelped as it was blinded.  Link shot an ice arrow at it, and it froze.  Link then chopped its head off.

Now it was time for Zapdos.  Link looked up, and saw that the Zapdos was watching him.  Suddenly, it dive-bombed.  Link barely managed to dodge it.  Zapdos swooped upwards, and then dove once more.  This time, Link fired three ice arrows at it--two for the wings, and one for the head.  It worked.  The Zapdos was frozen before it hit the ground, and it shattered to tiny pieces.

"Yea!" Stephanie said.  But she knew it wasn't over yet.  Joey came forward, grinning maliciously. "Come any closer and I swear you'll be sorry," Stephanie said.

"Oh, why should I be worried about a little thing like you?" Joey said.

"Because I've got this!" Within a split second, the forty-foot sword appeared in her hands.  She heard Link, Vinnie, and TwinRova all say, "Damn!" before ducking, and Stephanie swept the sword sideways and vertically in such a swift motion that Joey couldn't react.  He was sliced in half at the waist and straight down the middle of his entire body, so he fell in four pieces to the ground.

"Ow," Vinnie said as he rose to his feet. "That had to hurt." Stephanie put away the sword, and glared at him.  Suddenly, he whipped out a huge sword, and charged toward Link.  Link was ready for this, and raised his sword to block.  Vinnie wasn't that great a fighter, though--Link could tell he had rarely ever used the sword in his life.  Finally, Link kicked him back, and stabbed him in the gut.  Vinnie gasped, and fell to his knees.  He then fell onto his side, and turned over onto his back.  Stephanie flew over to leer at him.

"You know, I gotta wonder why you're here in the first place," Stephanie said.  But Vinnie smiled warmly, and a chill ran up Stephanie's spine.

"You really want to know?" Vinnie asked. "Well, you see…please believe me when I say this…Stephanie…I am your father…" With that, he died.

"NOOOO!" Stephanie wailed.  She whirled toward TwinRova. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Why do you think?  I'm evil, you're good.  I didn't think you should know." TwinRova had a smirk on her face. "You thought Alison was the only evil one in the family, didn't you?  That she was the one who 'betrayed our family?' Well, truth be told, you are the one who betrayed our family, Stephanie.  We had hoped that you would also ally yourself with the great Ganondorf when he came to power.  But no, you had to go and track down this wimp here." Link felt a bit of rage run up his spine.  Stephanie glowed a very, very deep red.

"How dare you," Stephanie whispered. "All this time, you've raised me under the illusion that I was in a good family, then I suddenly find out that they were all under Ganondorf's rule!" She grew to her big form again. "No more of these lies, TwinRova.  They end today.  You will end today." TwinRova's eyes widened with rage, then she suddenly raised one of her wands.  She was about to fire a beam of flame at Stephanie when the fairy suddenly charged TwinRova, and plunged her sword into the sorceress's gut.  The witch screamed, and Link ran forward.  He whipped out his sword, and stabbed it into her side to the very hilt.  TwinRova screamed even louder, and Stephanie flew up so she was at eye level with TwinRova. "Hope you meet Ganon in hell, Mom," was the last thing Stephanie said before slashing TwinRova's throat.

"I can't thank you enough for this," Nabooru said, hugging Link fiercely.  It had been ten minutes since the end of the battle, and Nabooru was outside the temple with Link and Stephanie. Link was very relieved to find that Nabooru was still the civilized woman Stephanie had told of. "I was so worried that no one would come for me."

"It was no trouble at all," Link said.  Nabooru gave him a warm smile, then turned to Stephanie.

"I'm sorry about what you had to go through in there," Nabooru said. "I heard them talking about it just before you came.  TwinRova seemed intent on getting rid of you--she seemed to hold a lot of hatred for you.  Vinnie Vincent, however…he didn't seem very evil at all.  In fact, I have a feeling he did it only to appease TwinRova.  But I think he also wanted to see you again, too, and be able to tell you the truth." Stephanie nodded.

"I still can't believe that she would hide something like that from me," Stephanie said. "But then again, I never really did like her in the first place."

"Well, I think you'd best be off.  I have to tend to a few more things before I can go back to the fortress--mainly, clean up the mess that was left behind." Nabooru crinkled her nose. "I swear, I've never seen so much blood and gore in this temple."

"Sorry," Stephanie said.

"Well, we'll be going now.  Hope we see you again, Nabooru," Link said, extending his hand.  She shook it, and nodded to Stephanie.

"Thanks again, you two." With that, she went back in.  Link sighed, and looked out at the Colossus.

"Well, that was a real hectic day we had," Link said.

"You're telling me," Stephanie said, stretching her arms and yawning.

"Oh, and we still have to walk back to the fortress!" Link moaned. "Damn you, Epona!" Suddenly, Stephanie grinned.

"I have a good idea," she said, flying up.

"Oh, no.  Not Lestat."

"You bet." She sang the song again, and the huge horse appeared.  Stephanie became big, and went up to him. "Okay, sweetie, think you can carry Link and me back to the fortress?" Lestat bobbed his head and snorted. "Good boy." She flew over to Link, grabbed him around the waist, and hoisted him onto Lestat's back.  Link looked around.

"Jeez, he's big," Link said.

"No matter.  Just hang on tight.  Let's move!" Stephanie yelled.  With that, Lestat spread his wings, and flew away from the Colossus toward the fortress.  However, as they were flying, Link decided to say a few well-chosen words.

"You did look a lot like Malon when we were younger, you know.  A lot like her."

Stephanie merely raised her fist and stuck up one finger at him in response.

Chapter 6

The Final Battle and Wishes Granted

Written By Stephanie and Diana

                With a mighty beat of his fiery wings, Lestat flew into the flaming portal and disappeared, leaving Link and Stephanie standing next to Epona just outside of the Gerudo Fortress.  Stephanie waved good-bye to her horse, then looked out over the wasteland, deep in thought, as Link walked over to Epona, who whinnied when she saw Lestat leave. 

                “What a horse!” Epona sighed, watching Lestat depart.  Link looked over and saw the huge horse disappear and the fairy wave, then gaze out over the desert, and he watched the fairy.  Epona let out another sigh, then turned her head and saw Link looking at the fairy. The mare raised an eyebrow and gave Link a teasing yet knowing look. “Ooh, do I see what I think I see?” Epona teased.  Link glared at her, then mounted and called to Stephanie.

                “Steph, I think we’d better get going.” Stephanie turned and looked at Link and Epona waiting for her.  She shrugged and snapped her fingers, shrinking in a bright flash of scarlet light.  The now-tiny fairy flew over to Link and sat on his shoulder, letting out a long sigh as she landed.  Epona turned her head to look at Link and the fairy.  She began to say something, but the look Link gave her silenced the mare before she could say a word.  With a loud whinny, Epona took off through the fortress and out the desert.  When the trio reached Hyrule Field, Link signaled for Epona to slow down, and the mare let up and decided to go at a leisurely trot instead.  As she paced along, Link and Stephanie went silent. 

                Stephanie looked out over the field from Link’'s shoulder and thought in silence.  She couldn’t believe the events that had just transpired.  Her own family, allying themselves with Ganondorf and his forces!  And they expected her to join them?!  Yeah, right! she thought.  She felt a twinge of pity for her father, but as for her mother and sister, well, that was a different story.  She couldn’t wait to face Alison again, and she imprinted the memory of slaying TwinRova in her mind.  She felt relieved now that she was gone, and quite proud of herself too, but couldn’t shake the feeling that something even worse was going to occur sometime very soon.  She also felt a little guilty for beating up Link and putting him in such a compromising position in the Gerudo prison.  Stephanie looked up at the Hylian and decided to talk to him.

                Link gazed out over the plains, thinking about the adventures at the Spirit Temple.  He thought about the fact that he had actually survived going through the Gerudo Fortress, not to mention the whole debacle at the temple.  Then his thoughts turned to the fight that he had started with Stephanie in the Gerudo prison cell.  He felt a little guilty for riling her up so, but had to admit that even he was surprised by her fighting spirit.  He had been even more shocked when she had admitted that she liked him and kissed him, but then again, Link thought, it wasn’t all that bad.  In fact, he had to admit, he’d liked it.  When he thought about it, actually, he liked her, in a more than “just friends” way.  He turned to look at the fairy on his shoulder and saw her looking out toward Lon Lon Ranch.  Epona sensed something and turned her head, catching Link looking at the fairy again, and whistled.  Link threw a glare at the horse, then gazed out ahead of them.  He contemplated telling Stephanie how he felt about her, but before he could say anything, Stephanie flew up to Epona.  The mare slowed to a walk, smiling at the red fairy, and Stephanie smiled back.

                “Why don’t you take a rest for awhile, Epona?” Stephanie said. “I need to talk to Mr. Hero here for a minute.” Epona gave the fairy a knowing look, arching her eyebrow, and Stephanie gazed at the mare in nervous confusion.  Epona tossed her mane.

                “Okay.  I’m hungry anyways,” Epona replied.  She promptly halted and Link looked at the horse in confusion.

                “Hey, what’s going on?” he asked.  Epona and Stephanie both faced him.

                “Stephanie here’s giving me a break,” Epona whinnied, nodding toward the fairy.  Link looked at Stephanie, and she flew up to him, hovering at eye level.

                “Yeah.  I…kinda need to talk to you for a minute,” Stephanie told him.  Link shrugged and dismounted, and Epona let out a long sigh before lowering her head and grazing.  She kept an eye on the duo, however.  Link turned to the fairy hovering in the air.

                “Okay.  What’s going on?” Link asked.  Stephanie flew ahead of him slightly, Link following, and stopped a few yards away from Epona, settling on the grass.  Link arched an eyebrow but sat down also, and waited for Stephanie to begin.

                “Um, I need to talk to you.  About what happened earlier,” Stephanie began.  Link nodded, and she continued. “About that whole fight in the prison cell…damn it, hold on,” Stephanie said.  She flew up in the air and hovered backward a few feet, then turned to her big form with a snap of her fingers.  She sat back down on the hill and continued. “There, I feel better now.  Anyways, about that whole fight in the cell…well, I’m sorry for tackling you and beating you up,” she said, looking out at the sky at first, then turning to look at Link.  She was a little surprised to see him grinning, but she continued. “And, uh, that whole…um,” Stephanie trailed off as she turned bright crimson, her hand waving in the air. 

                “That whole what?” Link asked.  Stephanie looked out again, too nervous to look at him.

                “That whole ‘'I-tackled-you-and-made-you-promise-to-be-my-fiance-then-kiss-you-without-you-expecting-anything’…I’m sorry about that, too,” she said nervously. “Actually, I was thinking, you don’t really need to keep that promise.  That was very Princess Sushi of me,” Stephanie admitted, shivering.  She finally turned to look at Link again, and was shocked when she saw that he was still smiling.  He waved everything off.

                “It’s alright,” Link told the surprised fairy.  Before she could object, he assured her, “I forgive you.  For everything.”

                “You can take back your promise, too.  I mean, you don’t have to live up to it,” Stephanie told him.  As she said that, Link took in a deep breath before responding.

                “No.  I’m a man of my word,” Link said. 

                “But…” Stephanie objected.  He shook his head and looked at the fairy seriously, but felt very nervous.

                “I mean it.  I’m a man of my word.  I’m keeping that promise,” Link told her.  Stephanie looked at him as if he were just a little looney tunes, and Link sighed again.  Might as well tell her how I feel, he thought to himself.  He opened his mouth to tell her, but stopped when he saw that she was in pain.  Her brow was furrowed and she seemed as if she had an excruciating headache.  Her hands flew to the sides of her head, and she seemed deep in concentration.  Her eyes fluttered open and shut and she groaned.   Link held her shoulders and asked her, “Steph, are you alright?  Steph?  Steph!”  After a few more seconds, she opened her eyes, and he saw that she was scared…very scared.  He kept his hands on her shoulders and asked, “Stephanie, what’s wrong?  What’s going on?”

                Stephanie was in pain.  She had just received a terrifying message, and she was scared.  So much in fact, that she was shuddering.  Wait, no, that was Link shaking her a bit.  She finally opened her eyes and saw Link’s blue eyes looking at her concernedly, heard his voice asking what was wrong.  She blinked a couple times, then responded.  “Link, there’s something very wrong at the Temple of Time.  Very wrong,” she said in fear, trying to calm herself down.  Link gave her a quizzical look, and she simply gazed back at him. “I mean it.”

                Link trusted her, and held her shoulders as he helped her up.  The duo rushed to Epona, who was still calmly grazing in the same spot Link and Stephanie had left her in.  Her ears pricked when she heard their footsteps.  She raised her head and looked at the duo as they ran up to her.  Epona arched an eyebrow as if to say I knew it! and whinnied, “My, you two make a great couple!”  Link simply gave her a look, and she noticed that Stephanie wasn’t in great shape.  The fairy seemed like she’d just seen a ghost, and was leaning on Link to keep her footing as he held her by the shoulders.

                “No time for jokes, Epona.  We need to head for the Temple of Time, quickly,” Link said seriously.  Epona heard the tone of his voice and knew that he meant business.  She almost asked about Stephanie’s condition, but thought better of it at the moment.  Link quickly mounted and held his hand out to help Stephanie up.  She shook her head and shrunk to tiny fairy size, then flew up to Link’s shoulder and held on to his collar as Epona reared and galloped toward the bridge to Hyrule Castle.  They reached the moat, but Epona came to a dead halt when she noticed the broken bridge, then swallowed her fear and jumped, landing on the cobblestone path to town.  She galloped to the front of the temple, through the charred, destroyed remains of Hyrule Market Town, and halted.  Link jumped off her back, Stephanie flew up, and they raced toward the temple entrance.  They dashed up the steps of the temple and gasped.  Neither Link nor Stephanie could believe their eyes.  A figure stood in the shadows of the Door of Time.  Stephanie flew up to the person standing in the shadows as Link slowly followed.  As they neared the person, it stepped out, and both Hylian and fairy were in shock.

                “Princess Zelda?!” Stephanie whispered.  The blond-haired maiden nodded slowly, then faced Link solemnly.  Stephanie flew up to Zelda curiously. “Were you the one who sent out that message?” she asked.  Again, Zelda nodded silently, her eyes full of fear and sorrow.  Stephanie shivered and flew back to Link, who stood in complete shock.  She hovered a bit before landing on his shoulder, and Zelda finally began to speak.

                “Before I say anything else, I have something of great importance to tell you,” Zelda began. “On that fateful day seven years ago, when Ganondorf followed you through the Door of Time, all the premonitions came true.  He did, in fact, seize the Triforce.  Fortunately, the Triforce separated into its three parts, so that Ganondorf only received the part he was always destined to have; the Triforce of Power.  The Triforces of Courage and Wisdom went to their predestined owners also.” As Zelda said this, Stephanie noticed Link’s hand beginning to glow unnaturally.  Her eyes widened and she tugged on Link’s collar.  He turned to her and saw the fairy pointing at his hand.  He looked down, and saw a golden triangle on the back of his hand.  Shocked, he raised his eyes and nodded for Zelda to continue.

                “As you have seen, you hold the Triforce of Courage.  As for the Triforce of Wisdom…” Zelda raised her own hand and showed that hers was also glowing with the Triforce within.  She sighed deeply, then continued.  “I am sorry to have caused all of this trouble, and for shocking you in such a way, but I had to wait this long because I was in hiding from the King and Queen of Evil,” she said in an apologetic tone. “As you can see, they have laid this beautiful land of Hyrule to waste, and something must be done to stop them!”  Zelda let out a small gasp before continuing.  “I have a plan that just may work, though.”  Link and Stephanie nodded, waiting for the princess to go on. “The castle is unreachable since the evil monarchs have it floating above a lake of lava.  The six sages will form a bridge to the castle.  Inside, you must find and destroy the King and Queen of Evil.  Once they have been weakened, the six sages can then seal them inside the Sacred Realm so that they can do no more harm, then I shall seal the door to the Sacred Realm from this world so that they may not return.  For this to happen, I need you to help me.  Lend me your courage and protect me while I do my part,” Zelda finished.  Link tried to digest everything that had just been told, and slowly nodded.  Stephanie understood everything, but before she could agree, she got a very queasy feeling.  She looked behind the princess and gasped, then began tugging on Link’s collar.

                “Um, Link?”  Stephanie said nervously. “You might want to pull out that Lens of Truth right about now…” Link turned to the fairy.

                “What is it?” he asked.  Stephanie noticed that Zelda was also giving her a quizzical look, but all the fairy could do was point behind Zelda and motion to the Lens.  Shrugging, Link pulled out the Lens of Truth, held it to his eye, and just barely held in a shocked gasp.  A horde of Pokemon, monstrous in size and invisible to the naked eye, stood right behind Zelda!  Link quickly pocketed the Lens and withdrew his sword.  Zelda’s eyes widened in fright, and she turned just as a huge bearlike-doglike creature leapt up to her, growling madly.  Stephanie, without thinking, flew forward and tackled Zelda to the ground just as the monster would have jumped on her.  The two women crashed to the ground as the bear-dog-thing landed, mere inches away from the duo.  Snarling, it stalked toward the fallen princess.  Stephanie flew up and let loose with a beam of flame right at the creature’s snout, and it roared in pain as it pawed its muzzle, putting out the small fire that had begun.  She then zipped down and helped Zelda to her feet, then flew to Link, who had his sword and shield drawn and was watching the huge furry creature warily.

                “What, dare I ask, is that?!” Link questioned.  Stephanie stared at the strange new monster.  The furry creature was almost as big as Lestat, with spikes and a cloudish cape-thing on its back, and weird red, yellow and silver appendages around its face.  It bared its teeth and growled fiercely, and its red eyes shone angrily.  Stephanie gulped.

                “I think it’s called Entei,” she replied.  Link shot a surprised look at her.

                “You think?!” he asked.  Stephanie turned to him, her eyes wide, eyebrow cocked.

                “Yes, I think!  I’ve never seen this thing before!  Ganondorf and Alison must’ve kept it in hiding for this!” Stephanie cried.  The duo eyed the creature warily as it snarled.  Just as Link was about to slash the beast, it opened its jaws and let loose with a huge fire beam.  Link wasn’t expecting the attack and was nearly struck by the beam, but managed to hold up his shield in time.  When the beam disappeared, Link lowered his shield and saw the monstrous Entei rush up and slam into him, shoulder-first.  Link flew into a stone wall and crumpled to the floor, knocked unconscious by the impact of the slam.  Stephanie saw Link fly through the air and fall, and she growled, her color deepening to blood-red.  She watched the Entei stalk over to the Hylian and it opened its jaws, preparing to blast him with fire again.  Quickly, the fairy snapped her fingers, growing to her big form and unsheathing her sword.  Ignoring Zelda’s shocked gasp, Stephanie flew in front of the Entei just as it released fire, and formed a shield around herself and Link.  As the creature shut its mouth, Stephanie slashed her sword and saw the dog-bear collapse, its throat cut from ear to ear.  The fairy dropped the shield and sheathed her sword, then turned to Link and grabbed ahold of his shoulders, shaking him.  She heard Zelda’s footsteps coming closer, and she looked up to see the princess bending over them with fear in her violet eyes.  Stephanie threw her a fearful look, then both of them turned to the unconscious Link.  Stephanie held his shoulders tight and continued shaking him, then began lightly slapping him in the face.

                “Hello?  Link, c’mon, wake up!  Wake up, Mr. Hero!  C’mon!” Stephanie cried.  She looked up at Zelda and saw her fear mirrored in Zelda’s eyes.  Stephanie continued trying to revive the fallen Hylian as Zelda looked on, and didn’t notice the click of the Pokemon’s claws until it was almost too late.  Stephanie looked up again and saw what appeared to be a living, muscular, four-armed boulder standing behind Zelda, and her eyes widened. “Zelda!  Behind you!” Stephanie shouted, and Zelda turned and shrieked.  The monster, which Stephanie knew to be a Machamp, roared, holding its arms above its head, then tried to snatch the shrieking princess.  With one arm around Link, Stephanie held her free hand out and let loose with a fiery blast, sending the monster backward.  Zelda turned wide-eyed to the fairy as the creature slammed into a distant wall.

                “Thank you,” Zelda said shakily.  Stephanie shrugged as she unsheathed her sword and tossed it to Zelda.  She was a little surprised when the princess caught it, but saw the confused look on Zelda’s face as she held the sword in her hands.  She glanced at Stephanie hurriedly as the Pokemon regained its footing and began running toward them.

                “Just slash it as best you can!” Stephanie shouted.  Zelda nodded and as the Machamp neared, she began swinging the sword at it.  Stephanie looked in the shadows of the Door of Time and saw a herd of more Pokemon entering the hall.  Stephanie let out a quick sigh and looked down at the knocked-out Hylian in her arms.  She gently laid Link on the ground, then stood alongside Zelda and prepared to fight. 

                Amid sword slashes and fire blasts, the Pokemon’s numbers increased.  As one perished, it seemed two more came in its place.  The only sounds were the creatures’ roars, Zelda’s shrieks, and Stephanie’s shouts.  A few seconds later, though, an animal scream pierced the air, and both women turned to find the source of the noise.  Stephanie heard Epona’s voice ring out, and she gasped.

                “Link!  Stephanie!  Help me!  These things got me!”  Epona shrieked.  Stephanie and Zelda saw the chestnut mare being led through the hall into a strange blue portal just beyond the Door of Time.  A Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee held tightly onto two ropes around Epona’s neck and yanked her toward the portal as the mare tried digging her hooves into the smooth marble floor.  The two women watched helplessly as the monsters pulled Epona toward the portal, and Stephanie shrieked.

                “What the hell do you think you’re doing?  Let her go!” The fairy zipped toward the Pokemon and the thrashing mare and tried pulling the Pokemon away from the horse.  The Hitmonlee turned and smashed its clawed foot into her stomach and Stephanie doubled over, holding her stomach in pain and trying to catch her breath.  She looked up to see the Pokemon and Epona disappear through the portal, Epona’s loud whinny echoing through the chamber.  Stephanie growled and turned to see Zelda trying to fight off the Machamp still.  The princess was tiring, and the fairy could see that Zelda wouldn’t last much longer.  Sneering, Stephanie stood and strode behind the Machamp.  She tapped the musclebound boulder on the shoulder, and it turned.  She grinned, “Peek-a-boo,” and punched the creature in the face, sending it reeling to the ground.  Zelda stood in shock, holding the sword tightly in both hands, watching the creature fall to the ground again.  She looked up at Stephanie, who glanced back at her with a grin, and pointed behind her.

                “Stephanie!  Look out!” Zelda shouted.  Stephanie spun on her heels and came face to face with not one, but a pair of Alakazam.  The eyes of the giant dingoes glowed with a unearthly blue light, and Stephanie felt herself being lifted into the air.  She tried as hard as she could to fight it, concentrating, trying to break the Pokemons’ spell.  The fairy heard Zelda scream in fright, and felt angry yet completely helpless.  The Alakazam tilted their heads toward the wall where Link was knocked cold, and the fairy felt herself flying through the air.  She struck the wall with a hard slam, and she grimaced as she fell to the floor near Link.  She climbed to her feet and saw the psychic dingoes grab Zelda’s arms and tug her toward the portal, causing the princess to drop her sword.  Zelda scanned the room and caught Stephanie’s eyes, throwing her a pleading look. “Stephanie!  Help me!  Please!” Zelda screamed, trying to fight the Pokemons’ strong grip.  Stephanie growled and let out a fierce cry as she ran to the Pokemon.  She was almost to them when she felt two arms grab her waist from behind, and heard the Machamp growl.

                “Lemme go, you idiot!” Stephanie screamed as she was lifted into the air and thrown against the same wall as before.  She groaned and picked herself up just in time to see the Pokemon stroll into the portal, Zelda struggling and screaming.  Her eyes met Stephanie’s, and Zelda stretched her hand out as much as she could, screaming for help.  Stephanie raised herself and flew toward the portal, but it disappeared just before she could grasp the princess’s hand.  Stephanie growled as she dropped to the ground, picked up her sword and sheathed it, then remembered Link.  The fairy gasped and ran over to Link, who was still lying on the ground out cold, and held him by the shoulders, shaking him.  “C’mon, c’mon, wake up already!”  Stephanie whispered.  She began slapping his face again, all the while talking to him, trying to wake him up.  After a few more seconds of slapping and shaking, Link’s eyes fluttered open, and Stephanie gasped in mid-slap.  Link blinked a couple times and was a little surprised when Stephanie hugged him tightly.

                “Finally, you’re awake!” Stephanie said.  She then realized what she was doing and let him go, standing up and offering her hand out, her face growing red and warm.

                “What happened here?” Link asked, holding his head in his hand.  He took Stephanie’s hand and hoisted himself up, sheathed his weapons, then glanced around the room.  Stephanie sighed as she gazed around the room.

                “The Pokemon ambushed us.  That Entei knocked you out cold, then a Machamp tried kidnapping Zelda.  I blasted it back, then lent her my sword and she fought it as best she could.  Then a Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee took Epona captive and pulled her through a blue portal.  I tried stopping them, but the Hitmonlee kicked me hard,” Stephanie said quietly. 

                “And Zelda…” Link said.  Stephanie shook her head sadly.

                “Two Alakazam overtook us.  They slammed me into the wall here next to you,  then took Zelda.  When I tried to save her, the Machamp grabbed me from behind and hurled me into the wall again.  As I regained my footing, I saw them taking Zelda into the portal.  She stretched her hand out, but they disappeared just before I could grab her hand,” Stephanie said, dropping her face into her hands. “I tried so damn hard, but there were too many here, and you were knocked out…I…” the fairy went silent, holding her face in her hands, trying to hold her temper and emotions inside.  Link glanced around the room, feeling guilty for being knocked out, and shook his head to clear it.  The duo stood in near silence for a moment, then Stephanie raised her head up, a hand holding her hair back from her forehead.  She stared into the shadows of the Door of Time, feeling as if she and Link were being watched.  An eerie feeling overtook the duo, and they both faced the shadows.  Laughter flowed into the room, quiet at first, then increasingly louder; a deep male, and a high-pitched female.  Link and Stephanie felt their blood boil, and their eyes narrowed fiercely as they watched the King and Queen of Evil stroll non-chalantly out of the shadows, laughing cruelly.  Although she was still in her big form, Stephanie took on a blood-red glow, and Link tensed in anger, his fists clenching.

                The evil couple looked even more powerful than their phantoms had in the Forest Temple.  Ganondorf was nearly eight feet tall, it seemed, and had a long maroon cape in addition to his Gerudo armor.  His hair had grown a bit longer and was a deep red-orange, and his orange eyes shone maniacally.  Queen Alison, on the other hand, resembled a Gerudo in appearance, with a emerald and ruby jeweled hairband, ruby and emerald earrings in her ears—three in each ear—rings on each finger, and a ruby choker.  Her gown was floor-length and black, with a deep violet center and red criss-cross pattern on the violet.  Her blue eyes sparkled evilly, and her hair was longer and now a dark blond color, in contrast with her husband.  The King and Queen of Evil stared down at Link and Stephanie with cocky smiles on their faces.

                Ganondorf spoke first, his deep voice echoing through the temple. “Thanks, kid!  Once again, you’ve led me to what I need, this time Princess Zelda and her Triforce of Wisdom.  Who would’ve known she was holding it for these seven years?” he said mockingly to Link.  The Hylian growled deep in his throat as he glared at Ganondorf.  Queen Alison took her opportunity to taunt her sister standing beside Link.  She stepped forward  until she was two feet in front of Stephanie and giggled cruelly before beginning.

                “So, you’ve actually made it this far?  Shocking, absolutely shocking.  I thought I would’ve had you thrown off the trail when I appointed Mom, Dad, and Joey to the Spirit Temple.  You know, have them mess with your mind for awhile, then kill you and this”—Alison waved her bejeweled hand snobbishly in Link’s direction—“this whatever he is, so Ganondorf and I could rule without your interference,” Queen Alison finished with a smirk.  Stephanie clenched her fists and without thinking, swung at her sister’s face.  Alison leaned back with a smirk, then slapped her sister across the face.  Stephanie held her cheek in her hand and glared at her sister, who laughed. “I knew you were going to do that!  Ganondorf here has helped me with my powers, and taught me how to read minds,” Alison crowed.  The queen then leaned in as close as she dared to the blood-red fairy and whispered, “And my, my, my, what you have in mind!”  Stephanie snarled and punched at her sister again, this time connecting.  The queen screamed, her hands flying to her face, covering her nose, and Stephanie smirked.  Alison’s eyes flared and she sneered at Link and Stephanie, “Just you wait until I really get my hands on you!  The both of you!  Ganondorf,” she shrieked, “let's go, before I kill these two now!”  Ganondorf turned to the Queen and smiled.  She smiled back as she came back beside him and he held her, an arm around her shoulders, as they both stepped back into the shadows, and Link and Stephanie saw a white portal opening behind the King and Queen.

                “Before we depart, we’d like to extend an…invitation to you.  Both you and your fairy,” Ganondorf said to Link. “We know you are both dead-set on destroying us, and since we are holding Zelda prisoner, we would like to have you come to our castle.  That is…” Ganondorf paused and laughed before continuing, “if you think you can get inside and through the barriers.  Adieu, kid.” The King and Queen of Evil laughed cruelly as they stepped backward into their portal. 

                It seemed that they were gone when Alison stepped out again.  She walked up to Link and Stephanie and looked at them with her eyebrow arched and giggled before saying, “Just thought I’d tell you that you two make an absolutely a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e couple,” with a sneer. The queen then went back into the portal, giggling still, and the King, Queen, and portal disappeared.  Their laughter echoed throughout the chamber.

                Link and Stephanie watched as the evil monarchs disappeared, bristling in anger.  When their portal disappeared, the temple was engulfed in silence for a moment.  Then a scream rang out, and Stephanie punched a wall in pure frustration.

                “Dammit!  That little wench!” Stephanie shouted. “Who the hell does she think she is?!” the fairy shouted.  Link stood out of the way of the tirading fairy, watching her to make sure she didn’t hurt herself too badly.  When she’d finally calmed down, she turned to an astonished Link and sighed. “Well, you heard them, didn’t you?  Let’s go,” she said, stalking toward the temple’s door.  When she didn’t hear any footsteps behind her, she whirled around to see Link standing in place, eyes wide, an eyebrow arched.  The fairy walked over to the Hylian and pulled on his arm. “Come on, let’s go, I want to get in there and kick my sister’s face in!” she said impatiently.  When she saw that Link wasn’t going to move, she sighed and crossed her arms. “Okay, what am I doing wrong now?” she asked.  Link shook his head.

                “Nothing except going into the castle angry,” he said.  Stephanie stared at him with an eyebrow arched, and Link stared right back as he spoke. “You can’t be storming in there angry and screaming or else they’ll be able to beat us,” he explained, trying to calm the hotheaded fairy down.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and dropped her arms.

                “Alright, alright,” she conceded, “I’m sorry about losing my temper…again.  It’s just that she gets me…”

                “Riled up at times?”

                “Yeah!  And I just want to kick her…”

                “Into the ground?”

                “Yeah!  Hey,” Stephanie said, giving Link a puzzled look, “since when do you know what I’m thinking?”  Link smiled as he walked over to the exit of the temple.

                “Oh, I don’t know.  I’ve only been with you for how long?” he replied.  Stephanie threw her arms up in the air, then shrunk to tiny fairy size as she flew up next to Link.  They stepped outside the temple and looked around. “Do you know where we’re headed?” Link asked.

                “Right where Hyrule Castle used to be,” Stephanie replied.  Wordlessly, she flew ahead, up the path of the charred town to where the castle formerly stood.  When they reached the palace grounds, however, the duo was met with an astonishing sight. 

                “Ganondorf wasn’t kidding when he said ‘if you can get in’,” Link muttered, gazing at the huge black fortress floating above a pool of fiery hot lava.  Stephanie merely whistled, and the duo stood in apparent defeat, looking up at the immense castle.  Suddenly, an elderly man’s voice rung out of nowhere.

                “We have been waiting for you, Hero of Time,” the voice said.  Link gazed around, looking for the source of the voice, and heard Stephanie let out a long sigh. 

                “It’s Rauru.  About time he decided to help out,” Stephanie muttered.  Link gave her a quizzical look, but Rauru’s voice spoke before Link could say anything to the fairy.

                “We six sages will create a bridge to the fortress of King Ganondorf and Queen Alison,” Rauru said. “Inside, you will find six barriers which protect the castle’s keep, Ganondorf and Alison’s tower.  In order to get to the tower, you must dispel the six barriers.  Bring down the barriers, defeat the monarchs, and save Princess Zelda!”  Seconds after the mini-speech, sparkles filled the air and formed a rainbow bridge going into the immense castle.  Link gazed at the bridge in confusion, and Stephanie groaned, smacking her forehead and rolling her eyes.

                “Rauru, it’s a rainbow bridge!  Couldn’t you have come up with something better?” Stephanie asked, looking up at the sky.

                “Stephanie…” Rauru warned, and Stephanie shrugged.

                “Yeah, yeah, I know, don’t annoy the Sage of Light.  Jeez,” Stephanie mumbled, hearing Link let out a small laugh.  The duo began crossing the bridge, and Link noticed the fairy was singing another weird song to herself. “My little pony…my little pony, My Little Pony Tales…” When they crossed the entrance, he looked over at the fairy. 

                “What song was that?” he asked.  Stephanie flew up to his eye level, shrugging with a sheepish smile on her face.

                “Just another strange song that I happen to know, that’s all.  Don’t worry,” Stephanie replied.  Link shrugged as they both looked at the staircase leading down to a large stone door, lit by a few torches.  Stephanie slowly turned deep scarlet as she looked down, then turned to Link. “Shall we get going?” she asked.  Without turning, Link nodded, and on silent agreement, the duo dashed down the stairs. As they reached the door, Link noticed two Beamos on pedestals guarding the door.  He nodded and Stephanie took the cue, distracting the laser beam eyes until the door was opened and Link was through, then she flew through just as the door slammed shut.  Once again, the duo stood in shock, gazing at the entrance to the tower.  It was guarded by six colored barriers, just as Rauru said it would be.  The entrance looked like a demon’s mouth, huge, dark, gaping, lined with sharp teeth.  Link let out a low whistle as Stephanie shuddered.

                “Well, where do we begin here?” Link asked.  The duo gazed around until Stephanie snapped her fingers and pointed.

                “Let’s go over there to the Forest Barrier.  It shouldn’t be too hard,” she said. 

                “Okay,” Link responded, nodding.  The duo walked over to the door underneath the symbol of the Forest Sage and weren't too surprised when it slid open, allowing them inside.  They jumped a bit when it slammed shut, then looked around the room.  It was dark, with a red carpet adorning the ground, and a circle of braziers standing unlit in the center of the room.  Another torch sat above the door across from the entrance, which was barred shut.  Nothing else seemed to be in the room.

                “Seems easy enough,” the fairy muttered, breaking the silence. “All we really have to do is light these braziers and that door will open.  Piece of cake.”  She turned and saw Link giving her an “are you sure?” look, and she shrugged. “What can go wrong?  Here, if you’re not sure, I’ll light these,” she said, and held out her hands.  A fireball engulfed the torches, and the circle was lit.  The fairy turned just as a low growl echoed throughout the room.  Stephanie groaned as Link drew out his weapons.

                “I told you so,” Link said.  The fairy threw him an annoyed look.

                “Okay, fine, I was wrong.  Sue me!” she said, watching the darkness.  A hidden door slid open, and a herd of miniature dinosaurs with plants on their backs waddled out, all growling and gnashing their teeth.  Their eyes glowed, and Link groaned.

                “These are what knocked me out before, aren’t they?” he asked.  Stephanie nodded, turning deep scarlet.

                “Yep.  Stupid, stupid Bulbasaur.  These things shouldn’t be too hard.  Just hack ‘em to pieces,” she said.  “Oh yeah, and watch out for their—” she was cut off as the lead Bulbasaur let loose with its vine whips.  Since Link had experience with tentacles and vines by now, he didn’t have too much trouble slicing off the whips.  The mini dino shrieked, and Link ran in, slicing the creature in half.  The other creatures watched in terrified horror as one by one, Link slaughtered every single dinosaur.  These little creatures couldn’t stand up to him now, even though they’d had the advantage way back at Kokiri Forest.  Mere seconds later, the entire herd lay dead, and Link whistled as he sheathed his sword and shield, then looked up at the fairy.

                “What were you saying now?” he asked jokingly.  Stephanie glared at him, then looked up at the brazier above the barred door.  She turned back to the Hylian, and he nodded, signaling the fairy to let loose with a fire beam.  The torch lit and the bars raised up, allowing the duo to walk into the next room.  This room held five platforms, with a huge seemingly-never-ending abyss, and four giant fans that switched on and off at random times.  A Beamos stood on the center platform, and a foot switch stood on the platform to the farthest left.  A hookshot target was next to the exit.  Link took out his hookshot and tried aiming it at the target from where he stood, and growled when the hook couldn’t reach far enough.  He pocketed the weapon and turned to the fairy.

                “Got any bright ideas now?” Link asked.  Stephanie looked over the room, making sure to look in the shadows.

                “Well, I have some good news,” she said. “There aren’t any Pokemon in here.” 

                “Okay.  Now how are we supposed to get to the other side?”

                “Um, that could be a problem, considering these fans here are too strong for me to fly through.  Got your stupid shoes on you?”

                “Yeah.  Why do you call these things stupid shoes anyway?” Link asked as he slapped the winged soles onto his boots.  Stephanie arched her eyebrow.

                “You have to ask?” she said.  Link glanced down at the soles and sighed.

                “Yeah, I see now.  Nevermind,” he said.  He watched the fans closely, and as the one to his left began, he ran into the wind.  It blew him over to the platform with the switch, and he landed.  The Beamos was slowly turning its eye toward Link, and he looked back at the fairy.  She flew over and distracted the robot as Link leapt over to the switch.  He stepped on it and watched the door unlock, then saw the Beamos turning its head rapidly, trying to follow the circling fairy. 

                Stephanie was having fun taunting the stupid robot.  Its eye kept trying to follow her, and every time she stopped for a split-second, it would ready its laser, then she’d zip away.  The robot repeatedly kept following her, and she circled around and around until the thing began flickering.  She flew to Link’s side just as the robot blew up, allowing the duo to climb higher up and reach the target.  Link gazed at the fairy with an arched eyebrow and she shrugged, grinning, before growing big and unexpectedly carrying Link to the middle platform.  She set him down, then shrunk again before he could question her.  He aimed the hookshot and fired, the hook grabbing onto the target.  The chain pulled him across and he pocketed the hookshot as the fairy came up beside him, then walked toward the door as it slid open.  The last room held only a huge, orange glowing sphere, with a greenish light surrounding it.  Link eyed the sphere warily, reaching for his bow and a light arrow.

                “Why do I have the feeling I have to shoot this thing?” Link mumbled, notching the arrow and aiming. 

                “’Cause you do,” Stephanie said, just as Link let the arrow fly.  It pierced the sphere, dispelling it, and the duo looked up as Saria suddenly appeared, hovering above them.  She smiled.

                ‘The Forest Barrier has been dispelled.  Hurry!” she said as she crossed her arms and disappeared.  A strange sensation overtook Link and Stephanie, and in seconds they found themselves outside the barrier, watching the green light vanish.  Stephanie shivered unexpectedly.

                “Okay.  That was weird,” she muttered.  Link gazed over at her, then looked out across the room.

                “One barrier down, five to go,” Link muttered.  He glanced around at the rest of the barriers as Stephanie came and landed on his shoulder. “Should we try going in the order of the temples?” he asked.  Stephanie looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.

                “We could try it,” she said.  With that, Link ran down the staircase to his left and ran up to the door underneath the Fire Sage symbol, and walked in.  The second they stepped in, the duo was assaulted by the heat of the place, and Link drew his arm across his forehead, wiping off the sweat that had formed on his brow already.  The room was a lake of lava, with a few small platforms to the left and right holding silver rupees and random Pokemon.  The rig in the middle, he supposed, was strong enough to support his weight.  Link went to walk onto the rig when Stephanie cleared her throat loudly.

                “We gotta go,” she said. 

                “What are you talking about?” Link questioned.  Stephanie pointed to the far left, and Link followed her gaze to a platform with a huge granite pillar.  Link shrugged. “Your point is…”

                “Unless you’re the strongest man alive, you won’t be able to lift that thing, and there’s a silver rupee underneath it,” she explained. “But…” she trailed off, thinking.

                “But what?”

                “If we find the Gold Gauntlets around the barriers somewhere, you could maybe pick that up.”

                “Alright, and they would be…”

                “Not here, so let’s go.  I’m dying from the heat, anyways,” Stephanie said.  Link obliged and turned, walking out the door and coming back to the main hall of the Barrier Room.  After standing in thought for a few seconds, he ran back to the Forest Barrier and went next door to the Water Sage door.  As they walked in, Stephanie groaned.

                “Do we have to come in here?” she complained.  Link shot her a sharp look.

                “We're going to have to sooner or later,” he explained.  The fairy rolled her eyes.

                “Okay.  Might as well get it done sooner than later,” she conceded, then let out a small sneeze.  She sniffed and shivered, landing on Link’s shoulder and moving close to his neck. “Okay, if this is the Water Barrier, why is it icy and cold in here?” she said, leaning on Link’s neck to keep warm.  She glanced up at him. “Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to answer that.”

                “I didn’t think so,” Link answered, glancing around the freezing room.  Stalagmites stood along the walls and surrounded a fountain of blue fire.  A sheet of red ice covered the door to the next room.  Taking a deep breath, Link stepped toward the circle of stalagmites, and stopped when he heard claws click on the icy ground.

                “Terrific,” Link groaned, once again removing his weapons.  Stephanie sat up attentively, hearing the clicking noise on the ice.  The duo stood ready as the creatures stalked out.  Totodile, Vaporeon, Psyduck, and Kabutops walked out, snarling, narrowing their eyes in anticipation.  The four creatures tried to surround the duo, but Link backed up as close as he dared to the door without it opening, ready for the fight.  The fairy flew up into the air, preparing to help.  With a doglike bark, Vaporeon rushed toward Link and swung its tail forward, nearly tripping Link.  He landed on one knee and held his shield up, prepared for the dog-fish to attack, and heard a clang as the Pokemon struck the cold steel of the shield.  Link regained his stance as the Vaporeon stumbled backward and he quickly jumped, hacking the creature in half.  Kabutops then strode forth and bared its sabre-like hands in anticipation.  Link assumed his battle stance and held up his shield as the beast swung its left hand at him.  Link parried the creature’s attacks as best he could, and saw Psyduck approaching Stephanie out of the corner of his eye.

                Psyduck held its head in both hands as it walked toward the scarlet fairy hovering in the air.  It whined its name, its eyes wide and seemingly blank.  Stephanie beckoned the creature, wagging her finger tauntingly as the duck quickened its pace.  Right before it could swipe her out of the air, however, the fairy darted upwards and behind the creature, then shot out a small fire beam, burning the duck’s tail.  The Pokemon shrieked as its tail burned, and it ran about aimlessly.  Stephanie looked over to where Link and the Kabutops were fencing, and got an idea.  She flew in front of the obnoxious duck and it followed her, though in pain, toward the swordfight. 

                The fencing match went on.  This Kabutops was much more aggressive than the one in the Water Temple, and it was beginning to wear Link out.  He just barely dodged a slash to his right side, and as he regained his footing, he saw a bright scarlet streak zooming toward him and the Kabutops, the Psyduck following madly, a stream of smoke coming from its tail.  What the heck is she doing?  Link thought, just as the Kabutops swung at his head.  Link quickly ducked and heard a high-pitched whine, and saw the yellow duck Pokemon collapse in front of him, headless.  Slowly, Link stood up and saw Stephanie floating in front of the sabre-handed monster, zipping backward as it swung at her, trying to hit her out of the air.  He followed the pair as they moved toward a wall with stalactites hanging overhead, and as he looked up at the giant hanging icicles, he figured out just what the fairy had planned. 

                Leaving the Kabutops and Stephanie alone, Link watched the Totodile running around, and he sighed, knowing how easy this creature was to beat.  He waited for the mini-gator to acknowledge his existence, then calmly held his sword out in front of him.  The gator ran straight for the Hylian, oblivious to the blade, and ran itself right through the sword, dying with a small yelp.  Link held his sword out still and shook it fiercely, getting the dead Totodile off, then watched the Kabutops and Stephanie.

                The fairy couldn’t believe this.  This was all her sister and Ganondorf had to fight them with?!  This would be a piece of cake!  She hovered in front of the Ruto-monster and taunted it onward, glancing up every so often to watch for the stalactites overhead, and saw Link watching her and waiting.  The Kabutops snarled and swung again, and Stephanie flew upward, knowing the creature would try to follow her.  Sure enough, the beast jumped and swung, and one of its claws struck the wall.  The force caused a stalactite to fall down, and Stephanie flew away as the Kabutops looked up and got a giant icicle through the head.  The creature collapsed soundlessly, shook once, and was still.

                “Ew,” Stephanie mumbled.  She then turned to Link. “What do you say to getting some blue fire and getting out of here?”

                “Let’s go,” Link answered.  He strode over to the stalagmites surrounding the fountain and smashed them with his sword, then replaced it and filled two bottles with the blue fire.  The duo then unfroze the red ice by the door and strode through, entering another icy room with two huge blocks and another locked door.  They both sighed. “Great, just freaking great.  What’s this?” Link grumbled.

                “Um, a really hard puzzle?” Stephanie answered sarcastically.  Link threw her a glare and she shrugged, then flew up toward the first block.  She saw a small alcove where a block of red ice hid a rusty switch.  She flew back down and hovered at Link’s eye level.

                “Okay, this is what I think,” she began. “See that block here in front of us?  Push that one into the hole in the ground over there”—she pointed to a square hole in the floor not too far away—“then grab the other one and push that into the wall there,” she said, pointing to the wall to their left.  Link nodded, and the fairy continued. “Climb up on the block, unfreeze the slab of red ice, pound the switch with your hammer, and that should open up the door and let us out of this freezer,” Stephanie finished. 

                “Will do,” Link answered, walking to the first ice block.  He grabbed ahold of it as best he could and pushed it toward the hole.  The block slid easily across the icy floor and fell into the hole.  The Hylian turned to the next chunk of ice, pushing it into the wall.  It slid over to the alcove and Link climbed up, defrosted the switch, then whipped out the Megaton Hammer and smashed the rusted thing.  He heard a click as he replaced the hammer, and the iron bars lifted up from the door, allowing them to enter the last room, where the sphere stood, now encased in a blue light.  Link pulled out his bow and a light arrow and shot the sphere, and it vanished, revealing Ruto, who gazed down at the duo.  Stephanie glowered at the Zora and Ruto glared back, then turned to Link.

                “The Water Barrier's been destroyed.  Hurry up!” she cried as she crossed her arms and vanished.  The same strange thing that had come over the duo in the Forest Barrier whisked them back outside the Water Barrier, and they watched the blue light vanish.  Wordlessly, Link began walking toward the door with the Spirit Sage symbol, to the left of the Forest Barrier, and he and Stephanie entered.  As soon as they did, though, they got the distinct feeling that they were being watched by something in the darkness.  Sure enough, the torches were abruptly lit, and Stephanie screamed.

                “Get-me-out-of-here-now!” the fairy shrieked, turning bright scarlet.  She turned and flew right into Link’s chest, knocking the Hylian to the ground.  “I’m sorry, but you’ve got to get me out of here!” Stephanie said, clutching Link’s tunic in terror.  Link gave her a puzzled look.

                “What’s the matter?” he asked, sitting up and looking down at the fairy shaking in fear.  She threw him a ‘you really have to ask?’ look, eyes wide.  Before she could respond, Link looked up and fifteen pairs of eyes watching him knowingly.  The tiny yellow and brown mice gazed at the seated duo with seemingly innocent brown eyes.  Then, they all spoke at once.

                “Hello, Link.  Hello, Stephanie,” the mice said, in insane Welsh accents.  As the creatures spoke, Stephanie let out another yelp and darted up to Link’s shoulder, hiding behind his collar.  Link stood and peered at the strange creatures warily, and saw the electricity crackling in their cheeks.

                “THAT’S what the matter is!  These things are terrifying!” Stephanie said.  Link opened his mouth to ask what they were, but Stephanie beat him to it. “Before you ask, they’re Pichu, little baby Pikachus.  They’re electric, and they can also be taught how to speak!  And in this case, they sound like Hannibal Lecter!” 

“Who?”

“Don’t ask, just kill!” The fairy shivered in terror, and Link pulled out his bow and readied his quiver.  The Pichu closest to him readied itself for an electric blast, but Link didn’t give it enough time.  He let loose with an arrow and it struck the creature right between the eyes, and it toppled over.  Seeing their leader fall forward, the other Pichu gathered together and concentrated.  The room began to fill with a yellow glow, and Link dropped his arms, holding the bow in one hand.  Stephanie peeked out and saw the Pichu gathering.

                “Umm, Nayru’s Love would really help,” she said quickly.  Link obliged and cast the shield.  The diamond-like shield surrounded the duo just as the Pichus’ eyes opened. 

                “Piii-CHUUU!” the critters shrieked, letting loose with all the electricity they had.  The impact sent Link to the floor again, but the shield prevented any injury and he quickly rose to his feet again, then readied his bow.  As the Pichu tried to regain their energy, Link let the arrows fly, fast and furiously.  Within minutes, all the Pichu were down for the count, arrows in their heads and bellies.  The shield dissolved and Link replaced his bow and quiver, then turned.

                “Stephanie…the little maniacal mice are gone now,” he said.  Stephanie was still hovering behind Link, clutching his collar tightly.  She peeked out.

                “Are you sure?”  she asked.  Link smiled.

                “I’m sure,” he replied, and the fairy slowly reappeared beside him.  She gazed out at the carnage on the floor and let out a long sigh. 

                “Phew,” she sighed, then glanced around the room.  Now that the Pichu were gone, Link and Stephanie could see the silver rupees scattered about the room.  Link carefully stepped around the Pichu corpses as he gathered the rupees.  Stephanie noticed one by the ceiling and flew up, grabbing the jewel and handing it to Link.  Once the rupees were gathered, a door in the right wall opened, and the pair warily stepped inside.  This room held a crystal switch, behind bars and a locked door, with an opening near the top of the cell.  As Link and Stephanie glanced around, they noticed that the room was also populated by four small, red, duck-like creatures with large bumps on their heads.  They walked around, unaware of the duo standing by the door.  As quietly as he could, Link turned to the fairy.

                “What are these things, and what do we do in here?” he whispered.  Stephanie took one look around the room, then replied.

                “Those bumpy ducks are Magbys, baby Magmars, so they’re fire,” she said.  She glanced up at Link and saw the look he was giving her. “Yeah, I know, that’s a no-brainer.  Anyways, you have to hit the switch to get the door to open in here,” she finished. 

                “Okay,” Link said, and crept toward the switch, staying along the wall.  He was almost within sword distance of the switch when a Magby turned and fixed him with its fiery gaze.  It squealed, alerting the other three Pokemon to Link and Stephanie’s existence. 

                “Damn it,” Link groaned, whipping out his sword and shield.  The Magbys charged him, all together in a pack, but stopped two feet in front of him and took in a big gulp of air.  Link knew what was coming, and raised his shield as the ducks all released a ray of flame at the duo.  Stephanie flew upwards as the Pokemon wasted their flame on Link’s shield, and tapped one Magby on the shoulder.  It spun around, still spewing fire, and accidentally cooked one of its comrades.  The charbroiled Pokemon collapsed in a heap of ashes, and the killer duck stood in confusion.  Stephanie took her opportunity, holding her outstretched hand toward the creature, and firing her own brand of flame at the Magby.  It didn’t even have time to squeal as it joined its friend on the floor, another pile of ashes.  Noticing the disappearance of their pals, the remaining Magbys stopped their flame-throwing and peered over.  Link lowered his shield, hearing the animals’ cease-fire, and saw the red fairy hovering in the center of the room, between two small piles of ash.  He stood as the Magbys stalked toward the fairy, holding his sword arm outward.

                Stephanie was growing tired of the Magbys.  She saw the other two walking toward her, and she began flying backward.  C’mon Link, any time now, she thought to herself, seeing the Hylian rise from the floor.  The Pokemon were coming closer, and she didn’t have much more time before she’d strike the wall.  She let out a frustrated sigh as she felt behind herself; just a few more inches, and she’d have her back against the wall.  Just before she hit the wall, however, there was a bright flash of light, and the Magbys froze in place, their eyes wide.  As the fairy watched, the Pokemon let out a tiny whine.  There was a weird slicing sound, and the creatures fell to the floor, in half at the torso.  Stephanie looked up in disgust and saw Link holding out his glowing sword.  He grinned as he replaced his weapons and stepped around the dead ducks.

                “Gross enough?” Stephanie asked, flying up to Link’s side.

                “Hey, they aren’t going to bother us anymore now, are they?” he replied.  Stephanie thought about it and shrugged, then eyed the switch behind bars.  The door beside the barred wall was locked, and it obviously wouldn’t open until the switch was activated.  Link crossed his arms, a hand under his chin, and thought aloud, “Well, I do have some Bombchu.  They could get over the wall and activate the switch…”  He heard the fairy groan.

                “Bombchu?!  Those things?  Man, they’re too unreliable!  Let me handle this,” she said as Link threw her a quizzical look.

                “You sure?” Link asked.  Stephanie grinned.

                “Yeah, I'm sure.  Just hang on,” she said.  Link watched as she flew through the space between the bars.  Once on the other side, the fairy snapped her fingers and grew big in her usual scarlet flash.  She strode up to the switch, unsheathing her sword, and whacked the switch with her blade.  It clicked, and Link saw the bars raise up.  He walked up to the door and saw Stephanie standing on the other side as the door  opened, grinning.  She sheathed her sword, then shrunk and flew to his side as he walked into the room.  There was yet another locked door in here, and strange sun emblems on the walls.  Link and Stephanie both let out annoyed sighs at the sight of the locked door.

                “Y’know, I’m starting to get sick of all these locked doors,” Link mumbled. 

                “Yeah, me too,” Stephanie said.  The duo looked at the suns, and Stephanie gasped. “Link, look up!” she said, pointing above his head.  He looked upwards, and saw a skylight covered by spidery webbing.  He looked at the fairy, arching an eyebrow.

                “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Link asked.

                “I think I hope so,” Stephanie responded, gazing back at Link.  He reached behind himself and drew out his bow and a fire arrow, aimed at the webbing, and fired.  The webbing burned away, revealing sunlight.  It shone down on the duo as Link replaced his bow.  Stephanie glanced up toward the light, shielding her eyes with her arm, then glanced at the ceiling of the room, letting out an involuntary gasp.  She tapped Link on the shoulder and pointed toward the ceiling above the emblems.  He followed her gaze and saw the bars across the ceiling, covering every emblem but one.  Haunters floated across the bars, clenching their fists and baring their teeth, not knowing that they were being watched.  Link dropped his gaze to the sun emblems, then looked up at the barred ceiling again, once again drawing out his bow.  Stephanie arched an eyebrow and flew back a bit, wondering what the heck Link was up to. 

                Quietly, Link eyed the Haunters as he drew out a light arrow.  Once he was sure that the creatures couldn’t escape, Link then fixed his gaze on the emblem just right of the doorway he and the fairy had come through.  He raised the bow and arrow, aimed it at the emblem, and fired.  The sun brightened and took on a bizarre smile, and a whirring sound rang out.  The Haunters froze and flew around frantically as Link held onto the bow, and  Stephanie came back toward him.  The door promptly unlocked, and the duo raced through as they heard the Haunters shriek in defeat, and came upon yet another glowing sphere surrounded by an orange light.  Link shot it, it disappeared, and Nabooru rose out of the darkness.  She smiled at the duo.

                “The Spirit Barrier is no more.  Hurry up kid!”  she said, disappearing with a cross of her arms.  As Link and Stephanie were returned to the Barrier Room, the orange light dissipating, Stephanie groaned.

                “Hurry up!  Hurry up!” she mimicked.  “Jeez, people.  We’re going as fast as we can!” Link nodded in silent agreement, glancing around the room.  There seemed to be only two more doors left, but that granite pillar at the foot of one staircase seemed too out-of-place…

                “Shadow’s next, right?” Link said.  Stephanie nodded.

                “Yeah.  The Gold Gauntlets must be in there, and you’ll need them for the Fire Barrier and the Light Barrier.”

                “The Light Barrier?!” Link asked incredulously.  Stephanie peered at him, then pointed at the granite pillar that he had just been thinking about.

                “Yeah!  It’s behind that pillar,” she said matter-of-factly.  Link shrugged, then went down the staircase, passed the pillar blocking the Light Barrier, and entered the door with the Shadow Sage symbol adorning the top. 

                “O-k-a-y,” Link muttered, gazing across the room.  A huge abyss divided the room, with a central platform in the center, and another platform at the other end with the door to the next room, which was locked, of course.  A torch sat on a tiny ridge in the wall to the right.  Link sighed and began to say something, when a strange noise filled the room, and a squelchy sound rang out.  Link arched an eyebrow and walked to the edge of the platform, peering over, and saw that the abyss was filled by a strange grey-violet creature resembling the Muk he’d dealt with in the Shadow Temple.  He saw Stephanie flutter upwards, gazing over the platform, and she groaned, a look of disgust on her face.

                “Yuck!” Stephanie muttered. “Grimer!  That’s just gross!”  The fairy then turned and looked at the torch on the wall, then gazed across the abyss to the platform in the center.  She saw a treasure chest on the platform and guessed that it held the Gold Gauntlets inside.  She darted over to Link excitedly. 

                “Link! Check it out!” the fairy said, pointing to the center platform. “There's a chest there!”  Link glanced over and just barely saw the outline of the chest on the land mass.  A slow smile spread across his face as he realized what the chest held, then dropped as he remembered that he had no way of getting over there.  He turned to the excited fairy.

                “How are we…I mean, how am I supposed to get over there?” he asked.  Stephanie shot him a quizzical look and glanced at the torch to the right, then glanced at the distance between the platforms.  She floated in the air with a hand under her chin, thinking. 

                “That could be a problem.  Unless…” she trailed off and came back to the platform Link stood on.  With a flash and a snap, she grew to her big size and held her hands out, measuring the distance between platforms, glanced at Link, looked at the torch, then let out a long sigh, turning to a confused Link. “Okay, I think I have a solution,” Stephanie began.  Link nodded for her to continue. “Well…either you or I could shoot the torch, which would light it and create a bridge of ice for a short time, or I could try to carry you across.  I’d go for the torch first, though, just to see if the bridge will appear,” she finished.  Link nodded thoughtfully, drawing out his bow and a fire arrow.  He notched the arrow and aimed carefully.

                “Might as well give it a shot,” he said, aiming at the torch, one eye closed.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

                “Ha ha ha.  Real funny,” she said.  Link smiled as he let go of the arrow.  It left a red streak in the air as it flew across the abyss and struck the torch, lighting it.  Suddenly, a bridge of ice formed, and a loud clicking sound filled the room.  Stephanie rolled her eyes in frustration as Link replaced his bow, and the fairy began frantically shoving him toward the bridge.

                “Hey hey, what’s the rush?” Link said in confusion.

                “There’s a time limit, that’s what!” Stephanie grumbled through clenched teeth. “The second that click stops, the torch goes out, and we get to do this all over again if you don’t get your butt moving!”  Link held his arms up, feigning surrender, and started toward the bridge.  It was slippery, and he began running across as quickly as he could without slipping.  Grimer noticed the two people running across the bridge and it growled as it began to fling sludge at the duo.  Link and Stephanie dodged the flying glop as best they could, Link trying to keep his footing.  When he made it to the center island, the clicking abruptly stopped and he leapt across the abyss as the bridge vanished, landing on the platform by the skin of his teeth.  Stephanie flew over to Link’s side, a surprised look on her face. 

                “Okay, technically, I should be dead right now from about three or four simultaneous heart attacks,” she muttered, walking over to the treasure chest.  Link laughed as he followed the red fairy over to the chest and opened it, reaching in and pulling out the Gold Gauntlets.  Stephanie watched as he promptly pulled off the Silver Gauntlets and slipped on the Gold ones, flinging the Silver Gauntlets into the abyss.  The duo both heard a small grunt as the gauntlets struck the Grimer, then Link gazed at his arms in awe.

                “Whoa,” he muttered. “Feels like I can do almost anything with these!”  Stephanie arched an eyebrow, a small smile on her face.

                “That’s nice.  Now let’s go!”  she said, strolling over toward the platform with the door, which was across the abyss.  As Link followed, he saw something fly through the air, heard a skittering sound.  He whirled around and saw what seemed to be a horde of tiny, green, horned spiders crawling across the floor and dropping from the ceiling.  One of the creatures shot something at the fairy’s wings, and Link shouted.

                “Steph!  Look out!”  The fairy turned and just barely dodged the webbing flying right for her.  She growled and held her hands out, torching the bug closest to her.  It let out a high-pitched whine as it fried and fell over the edge, promptly boiling the Grimer to a crisp, then Link and Stephanie turned their attention to the rest of the critters.  Link drew out his sword and shield and spoke to Stephanie over his shoulder.

                “And these would be…” he said quickly.

                “Spinarak.  Spiders that shoot webbing at you, trying to trap you, then they’ll poison you,” she answered.  She glanced over the edge and saw a switch on an ice platform to the left of their platform.  It was a bit of a ways down, but Stephanie decided to go for it.

                “Link!” Stephanie shouted.  Without turning, Link responded,

                “Yeah?”

                “There's a foot switch on an ice rig over to the left!  I'm gonna go for it!  You hold these things off!”

                “Are you gonna be okay?”

                “Trust me on this!” Stephanie said loudly.  She drifted up and flew over toward the rig, forgetting to look behind her.  A Spinarak noticed the fairy zooming away and reared up.  Link saw what the Spinarak was doing and reached over with his sword, slicing it in half.  It managed to spit out webbing before it met its demise, and the webbing’s aim was true.  It clung onto the fairy’s wings when she was nearly to the platform, clamping them together, and she froze in mid-air.

                “Aw, damn it,” she muttered, plummeting through the air.  She saw the icy block and reached out as she fell, screaming as her hands met cold ice.  She clung to the side in shock, her breathing rushed and ragged, her heart pounding.  Link heard the fairy scream as she fell, and he finished slaughtering the last of the Spinarak.  When the spiders lay in a lake of their own green blood, Link sheathed his weapons and rushed over to the edge of his platform.  He could’ve sworn his heart stopped for a second as he saw the bright-scarlet fairy clinging to the icy edge. 

                Stephanie dug her nails into the ice as she tried to catch her breath.  When she thought she’d calmed down enough, she swung her legs toward the rig and climbed up.  She knelt on the ice—still in shock—and looked up, seeing the Hylian gaze down at her with a look of concern.  She stood as she looked up at him, throwing her arms in the air.

                “Help?” she muttered.  Link gazed down at her, and she pointed to her feet.  He nodded and slapped the hover soles on again, then ran across the abyss and dropped down, landing beside her. 

                “Are you okay?” Link asked concernedly.  Stephanie threw him a ‘duh’  look.

                “No, I’m having the time of my life.  Please tell me why I’m still here and alive,” she said, a little shakily.  She peered up to see Link giving her a look, his eyebrow arched.  Stephanie shrugged and stepped on the switch.  A clunk rang out and the door unlocked.  The duo looked upwards, seeing the bars raise up to allow them entrance.  Link glanced at the door and saw a hookshot target right above the door.  He removed the hookshot, aimed, and saw the ruby’s light hit the target.  He was about to shoot the hook when he remembered the fairy’s predicament.  He turned to the fairy with a small smile.

                “Ready to go?” Link asked.  Stephanie glanced at him strangely.

                “Wha—?” she said, looking up at the target.  Without warning, Link raised his hookshot, aiming it at the target, then slipped his arm around Stephanie’s waist, holding her tightly.  Stephanie was shocked, and glanced up at him with a surprised look.  He smiled back.

                “Hold on,” Link said, firing the hookshot.  The hook grasped the wall, and both Hylian and fairy were pulled rapidly across the abyss.  They dropped right in front of the door, and Link replaced the hookshot, then looked down at the fairy.  Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her eyes wide with shock, fear, and…something else. 

                “Ummm…that was unexpected,” she said slowly.  She looked up to see Link smiling at her.  Blushing, she quickly dropped her arms from his neck and brushed her dress off.  “Oh! Uh, sorry about that.  And thanks for the lift,” she mumbled, her face growing warm.  She then grasped her wings behind her and felt sticky webbing binding them together.  She groaned and peered up at Link again. 

                “A little help here?” she asked impatiently, pointing behind herself. 

                “Is it possible to slice the webbing without cutting your wings?” Link asked.  Stephanie shrugged.

                “Dunno.  Haven’t really tried to get my wings stuck together before, so we’re gonna have to try it,” she said. 

                “What if you shrunk and just sat on my shoulder for the rest of the time?” 

                “Um, slight problem.  I can’t do that if there’s something wrong with me, and I think this is that something,” she said.  The fairy reached down and unsheathed her sword, then reached behind herself and brought her wings as far apart as the webbing could manage.  She tried to slice the webbing herself, but couldn’t reach that far back, and threw Link an “I could use some help here” look, replacing her blade.  Link sighed and walked behind the fairy, unsheathing his sword.  Stephanie loosened her wings as much as the webbing would give, heard a quick whoosh of air as the webbing was sliced off, and she spread her wings happily.  She spun on her heels and faced Link as he replaced his sword, a grateful smile on her face. 

                “Thank you!” she said happily. 

                “No problem,” Link replied.  The duo turned to the door, walked through, shot the barrier sphere, and saw Impa rise from the violet light.

                “The Shadow Barrier is gone.  Hurry and save Princess Zelda!”  With that, the Sheikah disappeared, Link and Stephanie were whisked back to the Barrier room, and the purple light vanished.  Now all that was left was the red glare of the Fire Barrier, and the yellow glow of the Light Barrier.  Link looked to his right and saw the Fire Sage symbol adorning wall above the door, then glanced toward the fairy, who hadn’t yet shrunk to her tiny size.

                “Fire first, or Light?” Link asked.  Stephanie looked over to the Fire door and wordlessly walked over to it, standing right in front of the door, and waited.  Link followed and the duo both walked back into the blazing-hot room and glanced around.  The room was the same as before, and just as hot too, if not hotter.  Link began walking forward and stepped onto the rig in the center, making his way toward the platform on his left.  He was nearly to it when the floor began falling below him, and he realized the rig was sinking into the lava.  He was too far away from the entryway to jump to it, and not close enough to the left platform. “Damn!” he muttered, noticing the quickly-rising lava at his feet.  Before the lava could touch his feet, however, Link felt himself being lifted up, and he saw Stephanie’s arms around his chest as she flew toward the entryway platform with him in her grasp.  She landed and let go, then came around and shot him a “that was intelligent” look, hands on her hips.

                “Okay, did you just lose your mind there?  ‘Cause if you did, then I can excuse that temporary lapse into insanity,” she said sarcastically.  Link looked at her sullenly.

                “Was I supposed to know that thing was gonna sink?” he retorted.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

                “Okay, fine, I should’ve warned you sooner.  Just be glad I was there to save you,” she replied, her eyebrow cocked, a small smile on her face. “Now, throw on the stupid shoes and you should be able to walk on that rig.” Link complied and once again slipped the golden soles onto his boots, then carefully walked onto the now-afloat rig.  He was a little surprised when it stayed afloat, and he saw the look of satisfaction on the fairy’s face.  Before she could say anything, he said, “I know, I know, you told me so.”

                “Sure did!” she crowed, and the duo veered to the left platform, jumped aboard, and grabbed the first rupee.  Link jumped back down onto the rig and dashed for the right, but stopped when he saw the Charmeleon raise its head out of the lava and snarl.  It then climbed aboard the rig and growled again as Link reached for his sword and shield.  The dinosaur opened its mouth and let out a stream of fire, which Link had anticipated.  He held up his shield and waited for the Charmeleon to take a breath, then quickly slashed across the beast’s belly.  It screamed and toppled over, dead, and Link replaced his weapons and made his way to another rig to the right, leaping over the dead dino’s corpse, and grabbed the silver jewel there.  There were still a couple rupees left though;  one on a platform to the right that was too far away to reach, another on a rig that held a couple Flareon, and a solid platform to the left with a giant granite pillar on it.  Link headed for the granite pillar and jumped up onto the platform.  He stood in front of the pillar and took in its height first, letting out a low whistle.

                “Yipes.  Well, here I go,” Link muttered.  He grasped his fist, then leaned down and grabbed the bottom of the pillar.  To Link and Stephanie’s surprise, Link lifted the pillar up out of the ground.  Stephanie’s eyes went wide with astonishment.

                “Now I’ve seen everything,” she whispered, looking at the giant pillar in Link’s hands.  Link looked up at the pillar for a second, let out a low groan as he threw it behind himself, then turned and saw the pillar fall into the lava, creating a bridge to the platform with the last rupee.  Link bent down and snatched the silver rupee that had been hiding underneath the pillar, then jumped down onto the center rig and strode over to the platform on the right.  It was too far for him to jump, though.  Link pulled out the hookshot and fired, letting himself be pulled across, then climbed up to face two growling Flareon, who looked none too happy to see him and the fairy still alive.  The creatures paired up and tried stalking Link to the edge of the platform.  He backed up as much as he could, nearly falling over when his right foot stepped back and felt nothing.  Stephanie flew behind the Hylian and gave him a small shove, and he kicked his foot out toward the fire-dogs, sending a Flareon crashing to the ground and giving him enough time to regain his stance.  The Flareon stood up again and leapt toward him, swinging its claws at him.  Link whipped out his sword and sliced outward, catching the flaming furball by its neck.  The fire-dog howled as it crashed to the ground, its throat cut.  Link then turned to the other Flareon looking down at its fallen comrade, then it gazed up at Link in fear.  Before he could do anything, the dog let out a shrill yip and ran into the lava, disappearing.  With a look of slight confusion, Link replaced his weapons and grabbed the gem, then stepped onto the granite pillar and jumped onto the last rig.  He snatched the final rupee and leapt back onto the pillar as the platform collapsed into the lava, then pulled out the hookshot and yanked himself to the exit door, which had just unlocked.  When he landed, Link pocketed the weapon, then realized that Stephanie was missing.  He glanced around the room, looking for the fairy.  No red glow anywhere...

                “Peek-a-boo!” Stephanie said, floating up to Link’s eye level, back in her small form.  Link sighed in relief, then shot a glare at the fairy.

                “Don’t do that again,” he warned.  Stephanie arched her eyebrow while glancing at Link.

                “Why not?”

                “You scared me there.”

                “I scared you?!  Fine, I won’t do it again.  Let’s go,” she said.  Link nodded and walked through the now-open door, where they saw the all-too-familiar sphere covered in a red glow.  When Link had dissolved the sphere with a light arrow, Darunia appeared.

                “The Fire Barrier has been destroyed.  Go, Brother!” the Goron said, disappearing as he finished speaking.  Link and Stephanie were taken back to the Barrier room once again, and saw the red barrier vanish into the air.  Stephanie then let out a small whistle.

                “Didn’t know Gorons could float,” she murmured.

                “Stephanie…” Link said, shooting a glance at her that clearly said “watch it.”  She shrugged.

                “Sorry.  Okay, five down, one to go,” she said quickly.  She dashed over to the pillar blocking the Light Barrier entrance, Link following, and looked up at the pillar before turning to Link. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got left,” Stephanie said teasingly, backing up from the pillar.  Link strode forward, grabbed the pillar from the bottom and hurled it behind him, revealing a door with the Light Sage symbol.  He brushed his hands together, then glanced at the fairy.

                “Let’s get this done and over with,” he said.  Stephanie nodded, and the duo walked through the door and into a room filled with…treasure boxes?!  “What the heck is this?!” Link said incredulously.  Stephanie put her hands against the sides of her head and closed her eyes, checking the boxes.  When she was finished, she turned to Link.

                “Okay.  Whatever you do, don’t touch these boxes.  They all have some sort of trap in them,” she said seriously. “Oh, and take out your bow.  There’s some sleeping Golbat on the boxes, and if you take ‘em out with that, they shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Stephanie finished.  Link promptly took out the bow and notched an arrow into it.

                “Where are the bats at?” he asked.  Stephanie pointed to a chest in front of them and he shot it.  A shriek rang out as the Golbat came into view and collapsed.  Link then aimed and shot every chest, killing the pesky Pokemon that were perched on them, and they all let out a small whine upon being shot.  When the last one squealed out its dying breath, a shimmer enveloped the center of the room and another treasure chest appeared.  Link replaced his bow and walked over to the chest, turning to the fairy before he touched it. 

                “Is it safe?” Link asked.  Stephanie quickly scanned the chest and opened her eyes, nodding.  Link kicked the box open and took out a small silver key.  He walked over to the door ahead  and promptly stuck the key in, unlocking the door, and opened it.  The new room was tiny and simple; two torches to the right, a locked door ahead, and a Triforce painted on the floor.  Link glanced around warily before walking forward, and stood on the Triforce.  Stephanie grumbled.

                “Oh yay! Zelda’s Lullaby for the zillionth time,” she said irritably.  Link drew out the Ocarina and played the song.  As he pocketed the instrument, he saw a chest appear between the two torches.  Stephanie flew over to the chest and opened it, picking something up.  She glanced up at Link. “Catch!” she cried, throwing another key at him.  He caught it in one hand and unlocked the door in front of him, then waited for the fairy to fly over before walking into the next room.  Upon seeing the layout of the room, both Hylian and fairy let out an annoyed groan.  There were two boulders circling a strangely shaped pillar in the center, and a hookshot target was in the ceiling above the pillar.  Stephanie flew up to the top of the pillar and waited as Link once again pulled out the hookshot and fired.  He landed next to the fairy and surveyed the room.  Three alcoves were in the walls, each holding a silver rupee.  The boulders were constantly circling the room and didn’t allow for much room to maneuver.  Link rolled his eyes in exasperation.

                “How am I supposed to do this?” he growled.  Too late, he saw the fairy shush him, a finger to her lips.  He turned to the locked door before them and saw why.  A huge clock had just been activated, and it gave them only a minute to figure out how to retrieve the rupees and unlock the door.  Stephanie glared at Link.

                “Good going, Mr. Hero,” she said.  He threw a glare back at her.

                “Like I’m supposed to know these things!” he argued.  Link then glanced at the alcoves again.  “How much time do we have?”

                “About fifty-five seconds left.”

                “Terrific,” Link mumbled.  He knelt, trying to think of a way to get down without the boulders hitting him, when he heard a loud sigh behind him, and a flash of scarlet burst out.  A second later, Stephanie came up beside him, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind again.

                “Hello!  Fairy with wings!  Can pick you up, drop you in alcove, pick you up again, we be done with this with a couple seconds left to spare!” Stephanie said hurriedly.  Link glanced up and saw that only thirty seconds remained now, and he stood.

                “Let’s go,” he said.  Stephanie rolled her eyes, then came behind Link and wrapped her arms around his chest, picking him up, and brought him over to the first alcove.  She hovered for a split-second before lowering him, and he grabbed the jewel, then the fairy grabbed him and lifted him to the next alcove.  By the time Link had retrieved the final rupee, they had seven seconds remaining.  Stephanie dashed down and lifted Link up, bringing him in front of the door, and it opened, letting them enter the next room.  Stephanie abruptly shrunk to tiny fairy size again and hovered near Link’s shoulder as they came into the seemingly empty room.  The duo looked around, and Link took a single step forward, then heard a low growl. 

                “Sword, sword, sword,” the fairy said quickly.  Link whipped out his sword and saw the giant pink lizard appear, a shell atop its head like a crown. “It’s a Slowking, and I would kill it quick, cause it’s psychic,” Stephanie muttered, staying on Link’s shoulder.  The beast’s eyes glowed a surreal shade of blue, but Link didn’t give it enough time to think of what to do.  He quickly spun in a circle, his sword outstretched, and sliced Slowking in half.  It fell to the ground in two, its eyes still retaining their surreal glow.  As the creature collapsed, a formerly invisible corridor appeared.  Link sheathed his sword and ran down the hall, Stephanie still on his shoulder, and saw the final sphere encased in a golden glow.  Link shot the sphere with yet another light arrow, and Rauru appeared with the demise of the barrier.

                “The Light Barrier is no more.  Hurry to the Tower!” Rauru intoned as he vanished.  Link and Stephanie were brought back to the main Barrier room for the last time, and the yellow barrier disappeared.  The six barriers were gone, and the force field surrounding the demonic entrance to the Tower was weakening.  As Link and Stephanie watched, the force field shone bright violet as it shook violently, and dissolved with a bright flash of white light.  Once Link lowered his arm from his eyes, he saw that he and Stephanie could now enter Ganondorf and Alison’s tower.  They ran up the slope and across the bridge, stopping before they reached the doorway.  They gazed at it for a moment.

                “Well, we can finally go in,” Stephanie said. “After dealing with those stupid Pokemon Barriers and seeing Princess Sushi again, we can finally take care of that she-devil and her demon husband.” Link smiled and turned toward her.  He bowed and held one hand toward the door.

                “Ladies first,” he said.  Stephanie gaped at him.

                “You want me to go in before you?  I don’t think so!  Not if there’s going to be a Pichu or Pikachu in there!” Stephanie said.  Link gave her a sullen look.

                “You don’t even know what’s beyond this door,” he said.

                “My point exactly,” Stephanie said. “It could be a bunch of those demonic rats.” Link shook his head, rolling his eyes, and sighed.

                “Stephanie, you’re pathetic.”

                “Excuse me?”

                “You heard me.  You’re afraid of a bunch of electric mice!  One of these days I bet you’ll be jumping onto a nearby chair holding your skirt up to your knees the next time you see one of those things.” If Link thought that this would raise Stephanie’s courage, he was wrong—it only raised her temper.  She didn’t even bother growing big—she flew up to him and gave him a fierce jab across the face.  Link staggered from the impact, and looked up at Stephanie, who looked ready to explode. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry!  I’m just trying to get the message across to you that this whole Pikachu thing is ridiculous!”

                “If you must know,” Stephanie said in a low voice, her hands on her hips. “My sister used to torture me when we were younger.  Technically, it should have been the other way around, but instead she was the one antagonizing me.  Wanna know how she did it?  She kept turning my stuffed animals into Pikachu every time I held one of them.  So each time I hugged my teddy bear, all of a sudden, it would turn into one of those mice and shock the living daylights out of me!  Then, to make matters worse, she used to have them hide right under my bed, whispering to me while I tried to sleep.  And sometimes, when I least expected it, those things would attack me while I was asleep!  Can you imagine being awakened by ten Pikachus shocking you to death?  I’m surprised I’m even alive!  But that’s why I hate those things.  I’m sure you can understand that now.” She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then went over to him and tugged on his sleeve. “Well, let’s go.  I want revenge for all that torture that little witch put me through.” She settled on his shoulder, and Link readied his sword and shield.  He then went through the door.

                At first, all Link saw was a nicely sized room with a spiral staircase leading up.  But when he saw Stephanie raise her gaze out of the corner of his eye, and heard the telltale flapping sound, he realized that they were not alone. “Um, Link?” Stephanie said.

                “Yes?”

                “I think you’d better run.” Several purple bats were flying around the room, but they certainly didn’t look like Golbat or Zubat.  These bats appeared to have four wings instead of two, and deadly-looking fangs protruding from their mouths.  Not only that, but they were flying at very high speeds around the room, scouting for intruders.

“Just out of curiosity, what are they?” Link asked.

“They’re Crobat, and if you are wise, you’ll start running right now!” Link decided not to find out what the bats were like in battle, and he dashed up the stairs.  He heard the flapping slow a bit, and he realized that they had been seen. “Damn!  Go, go, GO!” Stephanie cried.  She left her perch on Link’s shoulder to fly ahead, and Link sped up.  They reached the door at the top of the staircase just before the bats could reach them.  Link leaned against the door, trying to catch his breath.  Stephanie was doing the same, but not for long.

“Is that Stephanie?  Ah, hello, Stephanie,” came the creepy Welsh accent again, this time more demonically human than before.  Stephanie screamed and hid behind Link, but Link didn’t blame her—they had just been confronted by something that looked as though it had walked out of a nightmare.  It was at least six feet tall, very slender in the waist, neck, and arms, and it had bulky hips, legs, and feet.  It had two toes on each foot, and three fingers on what looked like bizarre crosses between paws and claws.  It had a weird, almost catlike head, and a long purple tail that swished back and forth through the air.  Its blue eyes glowered at them, and Link knew this was no ordinary Pokemon.  He could feel Stephanie trembling behind him.  Link narrowed his eyes at the Pokemon.  Something told him it could talk in a normal vocabulary, so why not?

“What are you?” Link asked.  The Pokemon narrowed his eyes at Link.

“What you would call a living nightmare,” it said in the creepy Welsh tone. “My name is Mewtwo.” Link drew his sword. “Ah, ah, ah,” Mewtwo said, waving a single finger-claw in the air.  Link sheathed his sword promptly. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

“Why not?” Link asked.

“Because otherwise I might accidentally throw it at this beautiful creature here,” Mewtwo replied.  Suddenly, a door opened on one side of the room, revealing a barred alcove.  And inside was…

“Epona!” Link cried.

“Link!  Get me out of here!” The horse whinnied, pawing the ground excitedly.  Stephanie growled and flew up.

“If you want us to fight, at least let us fight our way!” she said.

“‘Us?’” Mewtwo replied. “Whoever said I wanted to fight you?  It’s the boy I’ve been sent to fight.” Suddenly, before Stephanie could say anything, Mewtwo opened the bars to Epona’s cage just enough to leave a small hole.  Then, without warning, Stephanie felt herself being thrown in.  She tried to fly against the tug, but it was too strong.  She slammed against the wall inside the cage, and the bars closed.  Stephanie tried shooting fire through the bars at Mewtwo, but the fire rebounded off the bars.  Stephanie ducked just before the fire could hit her face.  Mewtwo chuckled. “As you can see, I come prepared,” he said.  He turned to Link. “As for you—”

“You’ll allow me to fight my own way,” Link said firmly. “I don’t have any psychic powers.  The only way I can fight you is with my sword.”

“Tsk, tsk,” Mewtwo said, shaking his head. “But you do not understand.  See, if you so much as raise that sword, I will yank it from your fingers so quickly you won’t even realize it’s gone before it’s too late.  Then I’ll have a chance to have a decent meal,” he eyed Stephanie and Epona with hungry eyes.  Link narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t rely on special powers to help me win,” Link said. “I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I?” Mewtwo nodded.

“Indeed you have.  But you don’t stand a chance against me,” Mewtwo said.  Link smiled.

“Maybe not,” he said. “But I think I’ll go for it anyway.”

“Link, no!  He’ll kill you!” Epona cried.  But Stephanie silenced her.

“I think I know what he’s planning.” Stephanie said.  Mewtwo smirked.

“If you’re so bold, then give me your best shot,” he said.  Link took out the Biggoron Sword, and indeed, Mewtwo yanked it from his hand.  But just as Mewtwo brought the sword down toward Link’s head—

CLANG!

Link had whipped out the Master Sword, and had blocked the blow by the skin of his teeth.  Mewtwo was astonished.  Link grinned, and quickly drew the Kokiri Sword. “Ta-ta,” Link said mockingly, and plunged the Kokiri Sword into Mewtwo’s gut.  Mewtwo screamed as the sword went straight through him, and soon burnt to the ground in a burst of blue and violet flames.  Link looked very proud of himself as he replaced his weapons, and looked up as the bars disappeared, releasing his horse and comrade.  Epona dashed over to him, nudging him firmly with her muzzle.

“You finally came!” Epona said as Link rubbed her forehead. “Took you long enough!  I thought that wacko was going to kill me for sure!”  Link smiled.

“You know I wouldn’t let that happen to you,” he said, and stepped back. “Now, how do we get you out of here?”

“I think I have an idea,” Stephanie said, a sly grin on her face.

“Uh-oh,” Epona said, eyes widening.

“Oh, don’t worry—in fact, I think you’ll like it.” With that, she summoned Lestat.  Epona whinnied with delight as Lestat thundered into the room.  Stephanie went up to him. “Hello, Lestat.  I need you to escort someone for me.”

“Certainly.  Who?” Lestat suddenly asked.  Link’s jaw dropped, as well as Epona’s.

“He can talk!  We can both talk!” Epona said excitedly.  Lestat looked over at Epona, and his ears perked up with interest.

“Hello there,” he said, stepping forward.  Epona gazed up at the huge horse. “And who might you be?” He said this with a smile, and Link didn’t have to ask to know that Lestat liked Epona.

“I’m Epona,” she replied.  Stephanie flew up to them.

“She’s the one I need you to escort out of here.  In fact, it would help if she stayed with you for a while.” Stephanie said.  Epona’s ears pricked with glee.

“What!  Stay with Lestat?” Link said incredulously.

“Hey, it’s not like you’ll be needing me anytime soon,” Epona said. “And besides, I’d like to have a nice chat with this big fella.” Stephanie tried hard not to laugh as Epona sidled up to Lestat.

“All right, fine.  Go on and enjoy yourself.  But try not to go overboard,” Link said.

“Do you have any idea how bad that sounds?” Epona asked. “But you know, since I’ve never had a boyfriend before…” Before Link could stop her, Epona and Lestat dashed through the portal together.  Link slapped his forehead into his hand, shaking his head.

“Me and my big fat mouth,” Link muttered. “Next thing I know there’ll be little Lestats and Eponas running around.”

“Look on the bright side—you don’t have to deal with her attitude anymore.” Stephanie said.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Link sighed, and looked around. “Okay, let’s move on.” They went to the next door, and found themselves in a stairwell corridor—stained-glass windows made up the walls, and cast green and yellow shadows on the burgundy and gold carpet.  Link was about to move forward when Stephanie stopped him. “What?”

“Listen,” she said.  He listened.  At first he didn’t hear anything, but then it slowly reached his ears.  He could just barely hear it.

“Music,” he said. “Where’s it coming from?”

“Most likely upstairs…and it sounds like an organ piano.”

“‘Sounds like’?”

“Well, it’s too soft for me to hear!  But I get the creepy feeling that someone’s playing it to lead us to Ganon and the witch.”

“Well, we might as well follow it.  No sense in just standing here.” He started up the stairs, pricking his ears for the music.  It was still barely audible.  As soon as they reached the door, though, the music stopped.

“Okay, I think that’s a warning,” Stephanie said.

“You think, Madam Stephanie?” Link teased.

“Hey, I’m not a fortune teller, but I know when there’s something bad behind a door.” They opened it, and Stephanie groaned. “And I was right.”

Standing in the center of the room were three creatures—one of them looked like a pale green dinosaur with flower petals blooming around its neck, the second looked like a blue and yellow badger with a fiery collar, and the third was a huge blue and red alligator with a big lower jaw, long arms with vicious claws, and fierce teeth protruding from its jaws.  Link didn’t mind the badger and dinosaur, but he didn’t think he was going to have fun with the alligator.

“Okay, Steph, anytime,” Link said.  Stephanie looked at the creatures carefully.

“That dinosaur with a flower growing out of its neck is a Meganium.  It’s evolved from those lima-bean Chikoritas, but this guy’s a heck of a lot tougher.  That badger is a Typhlosion, evolved from a Cyndaquil.  Just watch out for its fire and you’ll be fine.  But the alligator is a Feraligatr, evolved from Totodile.  But this guy won’t run around aimlessly—he’ll simply chomp your head off if you drop your guard.”

“Thanks for the boost of confidence, Stephanie.” Link muttered as he went forward.  The Feraligatr growled something to its comrades, and suddenly stepped back. “Hey!  What’s it doing?” Link asked.

“It’s going to wait until these two are gone before it attacks,” Stephanie replied. “Guess that is good news in a way.”

“Yeah.  Sure.” Link stepped forward, and the Meganium came over to him.  For a moment they stared each other down.  Then Stephanie saw that the Meganium’s petals were starting to wave around, emitting a pink powder.

“Uh-oh,” Stephanie said. “Link, cover your mouth and nose!” Link saw the powder, and did as Stephanie said.  It floated around him for a moment before dissipating, and Link lowered his hand.  Meganium stared in amazement.

“Stephanie, what was that stuff?” Link asked as he raised his sword threateningly.

“That was Sweet Scent.  If you breathe it in, it’ll cause you to stand there and look like you’re about to fall asleep.”

“Oh.  Okay.” Link jumped back as the Meganium suddenly snapped at him, and slashed at it.  However, he only managed to slice off some of its petals.  Suddenly, the dinosaur stopped in its tracks, and opened its mouth.  A glowing yellow ball formed, and Stephanie gasped.

“Link!  Shield!  Now!” Link raised his shield, and a huge beam of what looked like sunlight shot out from the dinosaur’s mouth.  It bounced off the shield, and right back at the dinosaur.  It struck so heavily that the dinosaur was slammed into the wall.  Link took the opportunity to slice its head off.  He turned, and saw the Typhlosion advancing on him.  He raised his sword, and Typhlosion dashed right at Link.  Link slashed downward, but the badger was too fast—it rammed right into him, knocking him into the wall.  It raised one paw to slash at Link’s face, but suddenly a red streak shot right into the badger.  It was knocked to the ground, and Link looked up to see Stephanie pin it to the ground just as she had done to him in their prison cell.  She started pounding away at it, and Link watched as Stephanie finally slit its throat with her sword.  She grinned as she turned to Link, sheathing her sword. “Hey, it’s a good way to attack,” she said.  Suddenly, a huge stream of water struck Stephanie, slamming her into the wall with such force that she was pinned momentarily.  When the water jet stopped, she fell toward the ground, dazed.  Link caught her, and glared at the Feraligatr.  It looked very smug.  Link looked back down at Stephanie, who was waking up. “Ow,” she muttered.

“Are you okay?” Link asked.

“Yeah, I’m just lucky to be alive,” Stephanie said.  Suddenly, Link saw the Feraligatr shoot another water jet from its mouth.  Link raised his shield, holding Stephanie against him.  When the jet subsided, Link looked down at Stephanie.

“I think that thing is after you,” he said.

“You think?!  It knows it can beat me, because I use fire attacks!  That’s why it’s trying to drown me!” Link quickly yanked out a bottle and opened it. “Wait a second, what are you doing?”

“You’re going in here.”

“Oh no I’m not.”

“You are.”

“No.”

“You want to get drowned?”

“I’ll live.”

“Not if you’re dead.  That oversized croc will keep attacking you until you’re finished off.  Now get inside.  I know you don’t like bottles, but trust me—it’ll be safer.” Stephanie took one look at the Feraligatr, who was giving her an evil grin.  She dashed into the bottle.

“You let me out the second that thing is dead.” She said before Link popped the cork in.  Stephanie sat down, and leaned against the glass. “Sometimes I hate being a fairy.” But as Link placed the bottle in his tunic, right against his chest, Stephanie grinned. “Then again, it isn’t all that bad.”

Link glared at the Feraligatr and stepped toward it menacingly.  It glared right back at him, and stepped forward, growling.  Suddenly it tried to slash Link with its menacing claws.  Link jumped back, and slashed with his sword.  He got it right in the face, viciously slashing through the eyes.  The croc hollered in pain, staggering around as it tried vainly to find Link.  Suddenly—it must have caught Link’s scent—it rush toward Link, opening its mouth wide.  Link leaned back and plunged his sword up through the creature’s head.  It was still for a moment, then slumped to the floor.  Link yanked the sword out, then took Stephanie’s bottle out.

“Aw, come on!  I was enjoying the show!” Stephanie said.  Link cocked an eyebrow, but grinned.

“Sorry,” he said.  He pulled the cork out, and Stephanie flew out.

“Okay.  Onward ho,” she said, and they went to the exit door.  As they entered another stairwell corridor, Link heard the organ music, this time just a bit louder.

“Sounds…almost mournful,” Link said.

“Like something Ganon would play,” Stephanie said.

“How do you know?”

“If it were my sister, it would either sound like nails on a chalkboard or it would be an N’SYNC song.”

“Oh.  Well, who cares—let’s move.” Link dashed up the stairs, but stopped as the music abruptly ended when he reached the door.  Stephanie’s brow furrowed.

“Okay.  I really don’t like this.”

“What do you mean?  You said almost the same thing last time.”

“No, I mean that there’s gonna be something way worse behind this door.”

“Whatever,” Link said, and opened the door.  Stephanie followed, and promptly flared a bright orange.

“YOU!” she snarled.  In the center of the room stood two green mantis-like things with scythes for hands, and two red mantis-like creatures with pincers.  And standing between them was Navi.

“Hello again,” she said, smiling cheerfully. “How wonderful it is to see you in such fiery spirits.” Stephanie tried hard not to attack her.  Navi turned to Link. “Ah, and you’re still alive as well!  I guess Dark Link couldn’t kill you after all.  I was hoping he would, but oh well.  Oh, and how did you like my pet Feraligatr?  Did it take to you, Steph—oh, dear me, you’re soaked to the skin!  I guess it didn’t like you, did it?” Navi’s eyes brightened.  Stephanie, however, was on the edge of going insane.  Navi apparently noticed this.  She went further. “Oh, and you don’t need to tell me about you and Link—I know everything.”

“You know nothing,” Stephanie said through gritted teeth.  Link noticed her face growing red.

“Oh, yes I do.  I know all about the little promise he made to you back in Gerudo Valley.  And I also know that he likes you, too.  Why else would he keep his promise to you instead of taking it back?”  Link didn’t try to hide his face as Stephanie turned to look at him in astonishment.  Instead, he straightened, and glared at Navi.

“Some reason why you’re telling us all this, Navi?” Link asked.  Navi gave him a surprisingly warm look.

“Well, I must admit, I’m a bit jealous of Stephanie here.  See, I had a crush on you, too, but I knew you’d never really take to me like you did with her.” Navi said.  Link clenched his teeth.

“Really?  Then why did you decide to turn on me in Kokiri?” A smirk formed on Navi’s face.

“Well, like I said—you’d never like me.  So I decided, what the heck.  I have a better chance with his evil twin.  And hey, Alison and Ganon were already invading that town, so I had a chance to explore my options.  Dark Link was a lot better than you were, but that relationship didn’t really last long—we found you in the Water Temple, and he met his demise.”

“While decided to run off like the little coward you are,” Stephanie said.  Navi glared at her.

“Like I had a choice!  Besides, I hoped that I could somehow get Ganon’s attention—” she was cut off by a sudden burst of laughter.  Stephanie was laughing her head off, and Link cocked an eyebrow at Navi.

“My, I didn’t know you were one to have multiple interests,” Link said with a grin.  Stephanie stopped to take a breath, and looked up at Navi.

“You and Ganon?  Together?  Fat chance!  He may be crazy, but he’s not stupid!” At this, Navi lost all the small amount of sweetness that remained inside of her.

“So you think it’s funny, huh?  Well, you won’t be laughing when I sic these guys on you.” Stephanie suddenly became aware of Navi’s bodyguards.

“Ah, crap,” she muttered.

“Meet my Scythers and Scizors.  Should be worthy opponents for you, Link.” Navi said. “But you, Stephanie…I think we should settle the score once and for all.” Stephanie narrowed her eyes.

“With pleasure.” She reached for her sword, but Navi shook her head.

“No, no, no—no swords.  Too primitive for us, don’t you think?  Why don’t we use our own brands of magic for this one?  Make it a battle to remember?” Navi said.  With that, she held up her hand, and a misty ball of ice formed in it.  Stephanie nodded.

“Fine by me,” she said.  She formed a ball of fire in her hand, and Link watched as she and Navi faced each other.  He looked back at the four creatures standing in the center of the room, and wondered how he was going to fight all of them.  Suddenly, Navi and Stephanie threw their balls of magic at each other, and the spheres connected, creating a blinding flash that signaled the start of the battle.  Link raised his shield just as the Scythers rushed toward him, wielding their blade-like claws.  The blades scraped on the metal, and Link slashed at them.  They jumped back, but didn’t retreat.  Link lowered his shield, and rushed forward, parrying the blows and slashing away at the bugs.

Stephanie and Navi, however, were taking their sweet time, circling each other.  Each one appeared to be concentrating their magic.  They stopped, and Navi charged at Stephanie, her fist glowing blue.  Stephanie flew downward, and Navi missed—but received a gut-wrenching blow to the stomach as Stephanie swooped up and powered her fist into Navi, burning her in the process.  Navi flew away, rubbing her injured skin, and shot a powerful blast of ice at Stephanie.  Stephanie smirked and shot a small flame out of a single finger.  It was enough to melt Navi’s attack, and Navi gasped.  Stephanie then shot an even more powerful fireball at Navi, and her aim was true.  Within seconds Navi was flying around screaming, her hair on fire.

Link stood, breathing hard, as he gazed at the remains of the Scythers.  He had received blinding cuts on his sides, but he would live.  The Scizors, however, didn’t appear to be very forgiving.  They advanced on him, then attacked with blinding speed.  Link dodged just before they could ram into him, and they stopped just before they hit the wall.  They turned—and their jaws dropped.  Link had gotten very sick of swordplay at this point, and had whipped out his bow and notched two Ice Arrows.  He grinned, and released the arrows.  The Scizors tried to dodge, but Link was too close to them for them to stand a chance.  They froze solid, and within seconds they crumbled to pieces.

If Navi had been mad before, it was nothing to how mad she was now.  She powered up a blast so powerful that when she fired it, it formed a giant icicle.  Stephanie gasped as it shot toward her, and vanished in a shower of red sparkles.  The icicle crashed against the wall, and Navi screamed with rage. “You can’t hide, Stephanie!” She grew to her big form, and was hovering in the air when she noticed Link standing there, watching in amazement.  Navi smirked, and dove down so quickly Link had no time to react. “Well, looks like she decided to ditch you,” Navi said, pinning Link against the wall. “Which means I have you all to myself.” Before Link could say anything, Navi wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.  Link’s eyes widened, and his first thought was to wrestle her away.  But suddenly he saw Stephanie reappear, but instead of looking angry, she had a sly look on her face.  She pointed to herself, then made a motion like she was swinging a very powerful sword, and then pointed at Navi.  Link realized that Stephanie had an idea.  Gathering his courage, he leaned forward slightly, kissing Navi back. This had better work, Link thought.  Navi appeared to be enjoying this, as she went up on her tiptoes.  When she pulled away, Link faked a warm look on his face.

“You know, if you really liked me that much before, all you had to do was say so.” Navi’s brow furrowed slightly, and a small smile formed on her face.

“What’re you saying?” she asked.

“I mean that if you want, I can dump Steph so that you can be with me instead.” Navi gave him a suspicious look, but she had a feeling that he wasn’t lying.

“Are you serious?” she asked, brushing her fingers against his cheek.

“Of course I am.  I kissed you back, didn’t I?” he said, smiling broadly.  He tipped her chin up, and lowered his face toward hers.  She was closing her eyes when she heard him whisper something. “Psych!” With that, he dove to the floor, and Navi turned to see a grown Stephanie swing a forty-foot-long sword at her.  Link rolled away as Navi’s body crumpled to the floor, and stood up, smiling like he never had before.  Stephanie was giving him a partly satisfied, partly-suspicious look.

“You know, you sounded almost too serious during that little speech of yours,” she said.  Link smiled.

“Come on, you think I actually liked her?  Not a chance!” Link said.  Stephanie nodded, and snapped her fingers, becoming her little self again.  She still had a strange look on her face, though. “What, something else you want to ask me about?” Link asked.

“No,” Stephanie replied. “Just…thinking.” She flew to the door, and Link followed.  They stepped into yet another stairwell corridor.  The music was a bit clearer now. “Yup, we’re getting close.” Stephanie said.  They dashed up the stairs, and through another door.  This time, however, the music did not stop.  They looked around—they were in an extremely large room with a very high ceiling and a huge pillar in the center.

“What the—” Link began.  But he noticed that Stephanie was looking up.  He looked up, too, but didn’t see anything strange. “What?”

“The music,” Stephanie said. “It’s like we’re standing right under it.”

“Are you saying this is a two-story room?”

“Probably is.  But if it is, we can’t climb up this pillar because of the ceiling.  Hey, over there!  Yet another door!” She pointed off to the right, and flew over to another door.  Link followed, and they went through.  There was another stairwell corridor, and this one was bound to be even taller than the first few.  They climbed it, and they noticed that the lighting became brighter as they neared the top.  Soon they reached a huge door.  The music was even louder now, and Link took a deep breath before opening the door.  Inside was a very elegant room, with a gigantic organ on the far side.  Sitting on the bench was Ganon, and standing next to him was Alison, who had a broad grin on her face.  And right above their heads was a huge pink crystal, which held Zelda inside!

As Link and Stephanie stepped to the center of the room, Alison raised her hand for Ganon to stop.  He turned, and smiled when he saw Link and Stephanie. “Ah, so you finally arrived.  We thought we heard a bit of noise going on downstairs but…well, we were just enjoying the music.” Ganon said.  Alison stepped forward, still grinning.

“Well, it seems you managed to deal with Navi, huh?  I suppose you had a nice chat before the fight?” Alison asked.

“Oh, yes.  We even had a nice cup of tea with biscuits and jam on the side, and then we went fox-hunting.” Stephanie said with a slight mocking tone.  Alison’s gin wavered.

“You think humor is going to save you, do you?  And I suppose you think it’ll be a breeze to save Zelda here.  Well, guess what—we’ve invited some other friends of ours to make your life a little bit harder.” She snapped her fingers, and two doors opened, one on either side of the room.  Stephanie flew close to Link.

“I don’t think I’m gonna like this,” Stephanie muttered.

“Neither do I,” Link said.  They watched as two huge dogs stepped into the room.  One was sleek and elegant, the other was very burly and rough-looking.  The first was blue with white spots, with a violet mane, an aqua appendage stretching back from its forehead, and a white ribbon floating around its body.  The other looked like a saber-toothed tiger of sorts, only it had weird lightning-like appendages on its, back, a weird cloud-like cape on its back as well, and huge paws.  Ganon smiled.

“Meet Suicune and Raikou,” Ganon said. “We were going to have Entei here as well, but we figured he should be there to help in the Temple of Time instead.” Alison smirked and raised her hand.

“All right, babies,” she cooed. “Come and get it.” She snapped her fingers, and the dogs attacked, snarling.  Stephanie grew big, yanking out her sword.  Link took out his Biggoron Sword, and each faced off with a dog—Stephanie with Raikou, and Link with Suicune.  Stephanie watched Raikou very carefully—she knew that these dogs were extremely fast, and that if she was going to beat this one, she’d have to be fast, too.  She beckoned for the dog to come forward, and it attacked.  Stephanie flew upward, and Raikou bit down on thin air.  It tried to jump up and catch her, but she only flew higher.  Raikou snarled, and the cloud on its back began to glow.  Stephanie’s face fell.

“Uh-oh,” she said.  Crossing her arms in front of herself, she formed a shield around her body just as a lightning bolt shot straight at her.  The shield blocked the blow, and Stephanie fired a huge ball of flame in return.  The dog was so surprised about the miss that it didn’t have time to dodge.  The fire scalded its fur, and Stephanie charged down, stabbing the dog right between the shoulders.

“NO!” Alison shrieked.

Meanwhile, Link was carefully circling Suicune.  It was eyeing him, watching him.  Link knew this wouldn’t be easy, but he continued circling.  Suddenly, the dog let loose with a strong water jet.  Link dropped to the floor—he knew that if he tried to block he’d end up sailing into the wall.  He jumped up, and Suicune snarled before charging toward him.  Link slashed at the dog, and got it right in the side as he jumped aside.  The dog yelped, and whirled to face Link.  Link glared at the dog, and was ready to jump attack it when suddenly a small tornado formed right in front of him.  Link cast Nayru’s Love as he sailed upward, and slammed against the wall, then fell to the ground.  He got up, and Suicune stared at him.  It snarled again, but Link made the first move.  He threw some Deku Nuts right in front of Suicune.  Suicune yelped as it was blinded, rubbing its eyes.  Link took the opportunity and plunged his sword straight through Suicune.  Suicune howled in pain.  Alison screamed, and Link stepped away from the dead dog.  He turned to face Alison, and Stephanie flew over to him.  Ganon looked positively vengeful.  Alison looked, if anything, worse.  Her eyes flashed for a moment, and she stared down Stephanie, who stared right back.  Finally, Alison took a deep breath.

“You won that round,” she said. “But let’s see if you can handle this!” She clapped her hands, and two more doors opened—these were much bigger, and were closer to the ceiling.  Ganon smiled, and gathered power in his hand before pounding the floor with his fist.  Stephanie grabbed Link just as part of the floor fell out from under their feet, revealing the room with the pillar below.  Stephanie flew over to the top of the pillar, and set Link down.  Suddenly, two huge birds flew into the room.  Stephanie’s jaw dropped.

“Oh, no,” she said.

“Good luck fighting Ho-oh and Lugia,” Ganon said. “I know that they’re very hungry today.”  Stephanie looked down at Link, who was already looking very fatigued, then looked up at the birds.  Then she got an idea.  She reached into Link’s belt, and grabbed the Ocarina.

“Hey!  What’re you doing?” Link asked.  But Stephanie was already playing the Song of Storms.  Suddenly, rain began to fall, and Link suddenly felt like a million rupees.  But Stephanie had a very big grin on her face.

“Hey, Alison!  You like fireworks?” Stephanie asked, growing small.  Suddenly, dozens of lightning bolts crashed upon Lugia and Ho-oh.  The birds cried out as they were repeatedly shocked, and Alison’s hands flew to her mouth.  When the storm subsided, the birds let out soft cries and fell to the floor below.  Alison looked down, and screamed so loudly the glass around them shattered.  Link grabbed Stephanie and held her close, shielding her from the falling glass.  When the crashing subsided, Link and Stephanie looked around.  Alison and Ganon were gone.

“Where did they go?” Link asked.  Suddenly, Zelda came floating down, and the crystal imprisoning her disappeared.  She rushed to Link and gave him a hug.

“I knew you’d come!” she said.  When she pulled away, her smile was gone, and she looked into Link’s eyes. “Link, there’s something I must tell you,” she said.  But just before she could continue, the castle began to shake.

“Oh, great—the castle’s gonna fall!” Stephanie cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

“We must get out of here, fast!  Follow me,” Zelda said.

“Wait a second!  You really want to run through this place when a big chunk of ceiling could fall on you?  I don’t think so!” Stephanie said.  She grew big, and took Zelda and Link’s hands. “Hold on tight.” With that, she teleported them right out of the castle and back to the ground outside.  Zelda looked around, and sighed.

“That was fast,” she said. “Thank you.” They watched as the castle imploded, and Stephanie looked out of the corner of her eye to see Link gazing at Zelda in a strange way.  But before she could say anything, there was a strange rumble beneath their feet.

“Umm…anyone want to tell me what that was?” Link asked.  He got his answer—Alison and Ganon suddenly appeared not far from them, both of them looking furious.  Ganon stepped forward.

“She had her chance to kill you, now it’s my turn,” Ganon said. “I want those Triforce pieces, now.  That way my queen and I can rule the world.” Link glared at him, but looked up when another voice pierced the air.

“Correction, darling,” Alison said. “That way, I can rule the world.” Ganon turned to her, a quizzical look on his face.  As soon as he did, he noticed her sword was drawn—and glowing with a strange green light.  She smiled at him, and then stabbed the sword right into him, the sword going right through his armor.  Link heard Ganon gasp and lurch forward as the blade went through him.  Ganon gave Alison a look that plainly said, “Why?” Blood trickled out of his mouth, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he crumpled to the ground.  He was dead.  Alison put away the sword, apparently satisfied with her work.  Stephanie gaped at her.

“You just killed him!” Stephanie said.

“Well, of course,” she said. “I never really loved him anyway.  I married him first to get ahold of his power over the country, then to get ahold of Link here.  Not to kill him, I mean.” She cocked an eyebrow slyly.  Link threw his arms up in the air and looked towards the sky.

“Why are all the girls in Hyrule after me?” he asked.

“Well, why do you think?  You’re hot, you wield a cool sword, and…you’re hot,” Alison said with a smile. “I mean, come on, a beautiful queen like myself deserves a handsome guy like you, not a big oversized troll like Ganon.  Who’d want to stay with a guy like him?  His nose was as big as Lake Hylia, and he had feet and hands the size of Octaroks.  No, I think I’d much prefer a guy like you.”

“Well, I’m flattered, but I’m already taken.” Link said.

“Oh, no you’re not,” Alison said. “See, you haven’t killed me yet.  So technically, you’re still available.” Her grin widened as Stephanie and Link’s jaws dropped. “Yes, I know about that, too.  Ever wonder how Navi knew about that little promise?  She was spying on you from the start, that’s how.  Very carefully, of course, but she kept careful watch over you every second of every day.  I also know about her little crush on Ganon, but like I’d care.  She was a twit anyway.  But to get back to the point,” Alison continued, “I want you to be my husband.”

“And I’m sticking with my first response.  No.” Link said.

“Link, Link, Link, don’t think that I don’t know your weaknesses.  I can use them to very easily twist you around my little finger.”

“I’ll say it again.  N-O.  No.”

“Well, if that’s the way you want it…” Alison snapped her fingers, and suddenly Zelda was standing right next to her, bound tightly with a thick rope, a dagger floating in midair at her throat.  Link gasped.

“No, not Zelda,” Link said.

“Change of heart yet?” Alison asked.  She was rubbing her fingernails against her dress and examining them.

“Please, don’t do this.”

“All you gotta do is say yes, and she goes free.”

“Just let her go.”

“Not until you give me the answer I want.”

“Stephanie, can’t you help out?”

“Link, if I make one move toward her, Zelda goes bye-bye,” Stephanie replied.  Link felt helpless.  What was he going to do?  Alison starting making clicking noises like a ticking clock.

“Time’s a–wastin’, Link,” Alison said.  Link looked from Zelda to Alison and back to Zelda.  Suddenly, he did something both very brave and very stupid.  He quickly drew his bow and fired an Ice Arrow at the dagger, and quickly fired the Hookshot at Zelda’s bindings.  The dagger was encased in a block of ice just as Zelda was yanked back to Link.  Link cut the rope, freeing Zelda, and he glared at Alison.

“My sincere apologies, Alison—I must decline.” Link said.  Stephanie smirked.  But Alison’s face contorted into a snarl.

“If you won’t join me, then you shall die!” Alison screamed.  Suddenly, she began to grow bigger…and bigger.  Soon she was twenty feet tall, but her transformation had only just begun.  Her skin turned pale green, and her hair and fingernails turned black.  She bent over, crossing her arms in front of her chest, and suddenly threw her arms out as huge black wings shot out of her black, sending a shower of huge black feathers everywhere.  Her eyes glowed a demonic green, and so did her sword.

“Oh, no,” Zelda whispered.

“This is where it gets really bad,” Stephanie muttered.  Alison spread her wings, and flew into the air.  But instead of flying up, she swung her sword so forcefully that a shockwave flew in Link’s direction.  Link didn’t have time to move, but someone else did—Zelda shoved him out of the way, taking the hit for him.  She slammed into a nearby rock wall, and crumpled to the ground.

“NO!  Zelda!” Link cried.  He and Stephanie rushed over to her.  Stephanie tried using the Song of Storms, but it was no use—Zelda was dying.  She looked up at Stephanie, and smiled as she feebly took off her crown and placed it in Stephanie’s hand.

“Here, Stephanie,” she said. “You help Link take care of Hyrule for me.”

“But—”

“Please, Stephanie.  And Link…there’s something you need to know.  Your mother died after taking you to the Lost Woods.”

“I know that, Zelda.”

“I’m not finished yet…Link, that woman was the Queen of Hyrule…my mother…” Suddenly, Zelda closed her eyes, and her head dropped to one side.  Link was stunned.  Zelda was dead…and she was…his sister?  Then, before Steph and Link’s eyes, Zelda began to glow.  Soon she seemed to be made of light…and suddenly, she was an arrow with an arrowhead that glowed with a golden aura.  She had become a Light Arrow.  Stephanie was beyond angry now.  She flew up to face Alison.

“You!” She screamed at Alison. “You killed her!”

“Hey, she got in the way, it wasn’t my fault.” Alison said.

“You knew she was going to do that!  You knew she was going to sacrifice herself for Link!”

“Well…okay, yes, I knew.  But so what?  One less person to get in my way.” Alison said.  Link looked up at these words.  His eyes were filled with rage.  He stood up, standing next to Stephanie.

“If you think we’re going to sit back and let you kill us without a fight, you’re wrong,” Link said.

“I’m gonna pay you back for all the hell you’ve put me through, Alison,” Stephanie said.  Alison grinned.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” she said.  She flew up about a hundred feet into the air, laughing her head off.  Link could only glare up at her, but Stephanie had a plan.  She called Lestat, who immediately powered through his portal, looking irritated.

“Hope there’s a good reason for—WHOA!” Lestat snorted and shied away as he saw Alison in the air.  Stephanie flew up to him and led him over to Link.

“Link, get on.” Stephanie commanded.

“He’s not getting on my back,” Lestat said.

“He is,” Stephanie said. “He’s the only one who can kill Alison, and he needs your help in getting close to her.” Lestat sighed, and went down on his forelegs so Link could mount.  Then he flew up into the sky as Link drew his bow and notched an arrow.  Alison stopped laughing when she saw them.  Link fired as many arrows as he could, firing straight into her face.

“AAAUUGGHHH!  My face, you ruined my face!” Alison screamed as dozens of arrows landed in her flesh.  Then Link shot some Ice Arrows at her.  One landed on her left ear, another on her nose, and another on her hand.  Now she was screaming with pain as the ice coursed over her skin and froze her ear, nose, and hand solid.  Lestat barely dodged one of her flailing wings as it threatened to clout both horse and rider on the heads.  Link fired as many more Ice Arrows as he could, hoping he wouldn’t go deaf from the screaming.  Soon Alison was a frozen ice statue.  Lestat hovered in the air, waiting for Link’s next command.  Link, however, simply took out Zelda’s arrow, and notched it.  He aimed carefully, and released it.  His aim was true.  The glowing arrow struck Alison in the heart, and the ice cracked.  Alison screamed louder than ever, and soon fell to the ground.  Within second, her body fell into ashes.

Link signaled Lestat to land, and was greeted by an exhilarated Stephanie, who practically jumped on him as she hugged him. “You beat her!  You killed her!  SHE’S GONE FOREVER!” He hugged her back with a grin.

“Hey, where’s my kiss?” Link teased.  Stephanie was too excited to object.  She kissed him on the cheek, and hugged him even tighter.  After a moment, Lestat spoke.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go back to my wife now.” As he left through the portal, Link and Stephanie stared after him.

“His wife?” Link asked.

“Must mean Epona,” Stephanie said.  She pulled away, and looked around. “You know, you really don’t have to keep that promise if you don’t want to.” Link smiled.

“Who else am I gonna go to?  Malon?  Ruto?  I don’t think so.  Besides, like I said earlier, I’m a man of my word.” With that, Link drew the Master Sword, held it it point down on the ground, and knelt on one knee. “To show that I’m serious…Stephanie, will you marry me?”

FIVE YEARS LATER

                Link leaned back in his chair at the castle, drinking a glass of Lon Lon Milk, as he watched Stephanie play with their three children.  Epona and Lestat were in a nearby pasture, grazing with their daughter, Danita.  Danita looked exactly like her mother, except that she had fiery wings like her father’s.

                Link’s children had also taken after their mother.  Fiora, Armand, and Alucard all had Stephanie’s red hair and wings.  Fiora was five, Armand was four, and Alucard only two years old, and all of them had taken on their parents’ high energy levels—they were always running around, playing tag and swordfighting with Deku Sticks.  However, as Link noticed now, they had also developed a bad habit—they had all recently learned how their wings worked, and thus caused their mother quite a bit of work in trying to keep them on the ground.

                “Fiora!  Down on the ground!  Thank you…Oh, no you don’t Alucard!  Get—down—here!” Stephanie was having an especially hard time keeping Alucard on the ground.  Just the other day Stephanie had had to drag him down fifteen times.  Link chuckled as Stephanie ran back and forth between their children, trying to keep them down.

                “Steph!  It’s a losing battle!” Link called.  Stephanie shot him a sullen look.

                “I don’t see you helping!” Stephanie called back.

                “Hey, you left me to fend for myself how many times during battle?”

                “That was five years ago, and against crazy Pokemon!  This is now, with three kids who are constantly driving me nuts!” Link laughed.  She loved her kids, and so did he, but she was easily irritated by their rambunctious behavior.

                Later that night, as Stephanie left the children’s room, Link greeted her in the hallway.  He peered through the doorway, and gazed at his kids. “And to think they wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t come to me in the Lost Woods five years ago,” Link said.  Stephanie nodded.

                “Yup.  And to think we wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t made you make that promise in Gerudo Valley.” Stephanie said.

                “Well, you know, that was actually the best thing that happened to me.  When I was a kid I used to dream of getting married, living in a castle, and having a few kids.” Stephanie looked at him.

                “Um, Link?”

                “Yeah?”

                “I…have a bit of news…” She turned him around and started leading him toward their room.

                “What?”

                “Well…when you say ‘a few,’ did you mean just three?”

                “Well, I wouldn’t mind having more than that, but I thought three was a good start.”

                “Oh, good.”

                “Why?”

                “Because I think, in about seven months or so, we’re going to end up with four or five.”