(ZGen/Adv/Rom)Legend of Link II: Adventure of Caleb[T]

Okay, this is the one you've all been waiting for. Or at least, I hope you have. I have written up to chapter 6 already, but will continue to post one or two a week, so I'll still have time to write more (I've learned the hard way that it's best to have some material ready in case of Writer's Block, or last-minute appointments).

So, as is implied by the title, this is the sequel to my latest fan fiction, Legend of Link: The Fatal Game. The title's obviously supposed to be like AOL's. Don't worry, you'll know who Caleb is really soon...

After reading, please reply with reports of typos and any form of criticism that will help me improve this story. Praise is welcome too, but try and keep it on the helpful side. No noobish "OMG, awsum!!!!!11!!!1!!!!"s in here, 'kay? Nor any "Wtf?! This sux!" Please, be constructive. A few promising threads have been locked because of such spam, so I'm warning you now not to let that happen here.

Additional info: As said before, chapters will come out every weekend. Usually just one, and usually on Saturday. But I may post two, one for each day, if I'm on a roll/on fire/whatever you want to call it, as long as you understand that I don't mean those figures of speech literally. Chapters may be revised after you read them, so feel free to read again if you'd like. I do it mostly for the benefit of new readers...and also to...clear things up (a.k.a. to make sense of mistakes I make later on that I thought were perfect ideas at the time). But don't worry, it won't always be anything that big.

First one (read it, or you'll be confused): <<Legend of Link: The Fatal Game>>

I believe that is all...Enjoy!
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Legend of Link II: Adventure of Caleb



Chapter 1

Link is not a normal Hylian. As you most likely know, he is the Hero of Time, the savior of Termina, and after being found by Fierce Deity, entered the Trivulian Tournament. After much hardships, he helped Dark Link fight Fierce Deity and Eleah (an Emotion electricity mage) at the interrupted fifth round. He saved Laura (though she really hadn't been in any danger), and married her five months later. It has been sixteen years since that time.

A lot of things are possible at this point. Dark Link, the Gray Wizard, and Hannah, his assistant, could find the whereabouts of the Death mage any second, and ask Link to tag along in fighting him. Possibly, Eleah could find a way to defeat the Death mage and visit them whenever he wanted. Link and Laura's marriage could suddenly become horrible for both parties. Or the world of Hyto, where they lived, could break out into war.

But this story is not about those possibilities, or an account of the sixteen years prior. It is about what is currently happening to this retired hero, on August 14, as he continues to live his wonderful life with Laura. He is currently in bed, blindly fumbling for the alarm clock to end its annoying reminder of the dawn's arrival.

Finally reaching it, he pushed the snooze button slowly, as if savoring his victory over the small piece of technology. As his sight became clear, he turned over to gaze into the shining emerald green eyes of his wife.

"Good morning," Laura whispered, before they kissed, as they did every day. She shifted and sat up, yawning quietly. The dark red sheets fell from her naked figure, and Link sneaked yet another quick glance before her black cloak materialized to cover her. It was a very weird summer, where it was cold in the morning and hot at night. They had started to go to sleep without any clothes, but with sheets, to keep their temperature medium. Link swung his legs out of bed, and stood up swiftly, as his jeans and white T-shirt appeared on him in the same fashion (this was the outfit that Laura had picked out for him). "What time is it?"

"Five thirty," Link replied, not knowing why she didn't just check herself. He grabbed his small orange bracelet from beside the alarm clock, and slipped it on.

"'Kay, let's wake up Caleb and his friends, they'll want more time to play their games..." she sighed, taking the silencing spell off of their room. The second she had done so, they heard an indistinguishable exclamation from downstairs: the very reason she had made the silencing spell last night. "Never mind, doesn't sound like we need to..."

"Don't tell me they stayed up all night..." Link said with a hint of rising anger.

Apparently not sensing their son's impending punishment, she joked, "'Kay, I won't tell you," and only made him feel angrier. This called for the worst weapon in his arsenal...

Without another word, Link stomped out of the room. Laura giggled as she heard a silence (obviously Caleb had turned the game off to futilely hide the noise). She reluctantly left the cover of the bed, and walked out into the hall to check on Sara and Lucia, their two daughters.

"And as punishment..." she heard Link's voice carry up the stairs. Finding Sara and Lucia sharing a room, she joined them in their laughter. "Caleb, hand me your controller. I get fifteen rounds, one-on-one. The rest of you take turns fighting me." And after a loud sigh from the group, the game started again. Laura led the girls downstairs, and into the kitchen for breakfast.

Their house was very big; almost like a mansion. Each room had at least ten square feet of open space, including the kitchen. Their refrigerator, counter, sink, cabinets, etc. were all on one wall, and the table stood five feet away, almost in the center. The rest of its area was for walking towards and away from the glass slide screen doors, which allowed them to view the magnificent lake behind the building. The kitchen was attached to the living room by an empty doorway, which also led to the staircase, and the three of them watched Link beating Caleb's friend, Steve, at Halo on their huge TV. They were soon bored of it, not caring for video games.

Laura filled three bowls with Frosted Flakes before Caleb walked in, looking resentful. He took the box, pouring his own bowl, and headed back, swiftly procuring a spoon from the drawer. Laura closed the forgotten drawer, and sat down across from Sara. As you may remember, Sara and Lucia were the names of Laura's best friends, and partners in her successful attempt at winning the Trivulian Tournament 20 years before. She and Link had decided that whichever gender their kids were, the parent of the same gender would name them. Link had wanted to name Caleb, their firstborn, after himself, but Laura insisted that they save his name for a son who looked exactly like him.

For, as I've implied, Caleb's similarities with Link stopped at his facial features. His eyes were green, and his hair jet-black. He looked like a young Eleah, though it was impossible for him to have had any part in it. Dark Link had told them the day after he was born that he had inherited their recessive traits for hair color, and it was only coincidence (it seemed that both Link and Laura were heterozygous blondes). To Laura's continued discontent, they had Lucia, and then Sara, who both had the same hair as her, but with Link's eyes. Of course, the worst of it all for Laura was that they only had three kids, when they'd been married almost sixteen years, and had had lots of chances to have more.

Sara wolfed down as much of the cereal she could, and jumped off her chair. "Mommy, can I go swimming?" she asked eagerly. Lucia ritually dumped Sara's cereal into her own bowl.

"You just ate! You have to wait an hour after eating before--"

"But I've done it before! Please?"

"Oh, okay. But I'm coming too. What about you Lucia?" Lucia nodded, her mouth still full of cereal. Laura jumped away from her unfinished bowl, and stepped into the living room. "Link, we're gonna go swimming. If anyone wants to come, they can." And she walked out, still unnoticed.

"Damn Caleb, your dad's better than you," Steve laughed, as the others agreed, staring in a mix of awe and hilarity at Link's skills.

"Shut up," Caleb said through gritted teeth, now wishing that he had made the others go to sleep. Link had practiced a lot more than him, since he had more opportunities to do so (Link didn't need to work since Laura still had a fortune saved over from her time as the Princess of Sonura which her parents weren't able to legally take back when they disowned her; she was a wizard too, so she could summon lots of things anyway). "The only reason he's beating you is because he's screen-peeking."

"So am I," Steve chuckled. "We all do it. I'm surprised you're so good when you don't... Crap, he's got a rocket launcher!"
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Fourteen hours later, Link knocked on Caleb's door, and as usual got no response. He pushed it open and found Caleb sitting on his bed, holding his iPod. It was the same scene, every time. The room was a mess, which Laura was repeatedly forced to clean up magically. His guitar was in the only empty corner. Equally immaculate posters of bands like U2, Def Leppard, Queen, and Oingo Boingo adorned the walls, completely covering them, and in some instances, overlapping.

Caleb scowled as he noticed Link, turning his music off. "What?"

Link disregarded Caleb's defiant tone. "Well...tomorrow--"

"Crap, I forgot," Caleb interrupted, removing his headphones by yanking the iPod.

"We thought we'd spend the day here, so we hoped maybe you three could go somewhere with your friends or--"

"No," Caleb said firmly. "You do that every year! Don't you ever think we might have stuff to do at home too?"

Link raised his eyebrows. "And do you?"

"No, but it's the principle! You don't give us any freedom, any privileges--"

Link snatched the iPod from Caleb's hands. "Yeah, well what d'you call this? And your guitar? And your Xbox?"

"An iPod, a guitar, and an Xbox," Caleb said with even more steel to his voice.

Link sighed. "Look, why don't you just call Angela, see if you can go out tomorrow. I think her father said they'd be free this weekend--"

"We broke up," Caleb said flatly, removing his black cell phone from his pocket. "Which reminds me, I gotta take her outta my five..."

"You broke up?!" Link had done the same with Laura at one point, and was quick to ask, "Are you sure about this? I mean, you were always so happy with--"

"Pfft. Happy? Being with her was hell. She's got a damn superiority complex..."

Link calmed himself down, accepting this a lot easier than he thought he would. Their two families had become great friends, and now this...well, not everyone had his luck. It wasn't always that easy to pick the right person on the first try. "Laura's not gonna like this... She's been joking that you two were gonna get married for ages. Half believed it myself... Please tell me it was mutual agreement. If it was either one of you separately who ended it, they'll look down on us as parents too, ya know."

"'Mutual agreement'? Do you know how stupid you sound saying that? No one wants to break up. Just a matter of how long you can stand it. Relieved I'm through with that b--" he caught himself, and quickly improvised. "--that narcissist."

"Well...just go to Steve's," Link suggested, not picking up on Caleb's delay. "Get the band together; practice."

"I told you, we can't," Caleb said, irritated. He was the lead singer and guitarist for a small band he'd formed with fellow students at his high school. Last year they'd played at the talent show, and were now very popular. "We need new drums because Steve's broke his. That's why we were playing Halo."

"Then play Halo at his house! Heck, it's summer! Go do something outside!"

"No, I'm staying inside," Caleb insisted, pulling his iPod back out of Link's grasp. "If it means that much to you, I'll stay downstairs, okay?"

Link sighed. "Okay, but the girls are going to Celia's, and you'll be alone. I knew you wouldn't want to go, so I didn't ask. Good night." He walked out, and Caleb resumed his song ("Rio", by Duran Duran). He thought darkly to himself, just one more year 'til I get my license...then I'll drive away from this hellhole.
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Link awoke the following morning feeling extremely energetic. He shot straight up, and jabbed accurately at the snooze button, checking the time as he did. Laura yawned next to him. "Happy anniversary," she said, before he bent over and kissed her. "I'll go wake the girls, and you can get Caleb, 'kay?"

They got out of bed, dressed, and proceeded to follow the plan. Link found Caleb still asleep, somehow deaf to the very loud alarm (most likely as a product of staying up the night before). He jostled him awake, told him to meet him and the others for breakfast, and walked out, running down the stairs to prepare the food. He put five waffles in the toaster (for it was one with that capacity, thanks to Laura's modifications), and started to cook bacon and eggs in two frying pans by the time Laura, Sara, Lucia, and Caleb had entered the room. Laura summoned five plates, and they all sat down.

In less time than it normally took, all the food was done, and Laura teleported portions of each to every plate, followed by forks and knives on either side. "So," started Laura, "Juyk says he'd feel better if I brought you two there physically. Thinks it'll be safer." She rolled her eyes, meaning she thought Juyk was being paranoid. Or maybe he hadn't entirely gotten over her... "So we'll be walking."

Juyk was the owner of a vintage store, which had somehow stayed in business for as long as anyone could remember. He had been infatuated with Laura for almost his whole life, but upon meeting Ruto, he had begun to control his desires. He'd gotten married to a woman named Jessica, and now had one daughter, Celia, who had befriended Lucia and Sara.

"So...Caleb..." Laura said slowly, not knowing what exactly she expected of him now. "I hear you broke up with Angela. Which one of you--?"

"Me."

"Why--?"

"She's bossy! I don't know why I even went out with her in the first place..." Caleb said angrily, stabbing his waffle with his fork and slicing it with the knife.

"Who're ya gonna date now?" Laura asked childishly. She snapped her fingers, and Caleb's phone appeared in her hand. She flipped it open and giggled. "You like Mary?"

"No! Give me that!" Caleb exclaimed, dropping his utensils and reaching for it. But Laura held it above her, and they both stood up as he struggled to try and take it back. A few seconds later, Laura got bored of it, and handed it to him gracefully. "Steve's her boyfriend. And I think she's ugly."

"I know who he likes," Lucia said teasingly. "Claire. He even changed his schedule so they'd have all the same classes--"

"I do not, and did not," Caleb lied. He had done exactly that, but...how did she know?! "That's only coincidence."

"But I heard you talking to John about her--"

"What, I'm not allowed to talk about girls unless I have a crush on them?"

"But you were saying how beautiful you thought she looked!"

"Yeah, so I can't have my own opinion?" Caleb shot back, trying his best to control the redness of his face. "I think Angela looks good too, but that doesn't change anything!"

"Well, we should get going," Laura said hastily. She leapt from her chair, leaving the completely uneaten food, which Link took as his own. Caleb did the same with Lucia and Sara's. The girls got up from the table and walked into the living room, and after about a minute, out the door.

"Do you like her?" Link asked, thinking he'd have more luck. "I won't tell, I promise."

Not wanting to look like a liar, he replied, "No!" and pushed his loaded plate away, no longer hungry. "Is that all anyone cares about?!"

"I was just asking... You know, when I was your age, I didn't exactly have the opportunity--"

Caleb slowly rose from his seat and walked out, upstairs, and into his room. Link started to go after him, but stopped, thinking better of it. He had been telling him far too many times about his seven year journey in the Lost Woods, but still...a simple "You told me already" would've sufficed...

Caleb had already lost himself in his music ("All Star", by Smash Mouth). If he'd wanted a lecture on how his Dad had gone without all the privileges he now had, he would've asked for it. Lying in bed, he felt very comfortable, and his eyes closed involuntarily as the song continued, his place in it forever to be forgotten as he drifted into what his body felt was much deserved slumber.

His eyes burst open, and he turned to avoid the blinding light. He couldn't hear anything, and looked around to see his iPod next to his guitar, turned off. Link had been here, no doubt. He checked the time on his cellphone. 1:26. By now they'd probably moved on to that...so the house was basically his for another half hour. Only one thing to do: catch up on Halo training.

And so, after making sure his parents were in their bedroom, he settled himself into the living room sofa, his iPod playing every song he had on it. Though, he had not gotten his Xbox turned on before he heard what he now realized had awoken him: the doorbell. Cursing whoever was there, he ran to the door, looking through the windows on its side. For a second, Caleb was sure he was still sleeping. A pinch to his left arm told him differently. Standing on the steps to their house was Link, wearing a light gray cloak, and staring directly at him, as if to ask why he wouldn't answer the door. Beside him, there was a tall woman with brown hair, eyes, and cloak.

But Link was upstairs! He'd just checked...and who was this woman? Slowly, unsure of what to expect, he opened the door. The Link look-alike stepped forward, offering his hand to shake. "Hello Caleb. My name is Dark Link."
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(One line = break in chapter. Two lines = end of chapter.)
Again, please reply with any criticism you may have. I'll be putting a link to this story in my sig, and a link to the first story in this post in a few minutes. Meanwhile, go ahead and post.

Yeah...okay...ummm how did Link's family (ugh...never thought of that.) get those items fourteen years after He killed Fierce Diety? I thought they didn't even have electricty back then...Thats really all i see wrong with it.

Originally Posted by Jeaulm

Yeah...okay...ummm how did Link's family (ugh...never thought of that.) get those items fourteen years after He killed Fierce Diety? I thought they didn't even have electricty back then...Thats really all i see wrong with it.

They live in Hyto, a world very much like our own. And it's sixteen years, not fourteen. As stated in The Fatal Game, Hyto's about as advanced as we are. I'd say they're about where we were in 2006, except without any wars going on anywhere. That's why there's electricity, TVs, video games, etc.

ohhhh i get it...didnt read the epilouge...dont know why... ok continue on!

HAHAHAHAHHAH YAY! *happy dance*

It's the new story! *runs around in circles* I"M SO HAPPY!

Ahem, sorry about that. Alright I find it ok I'm just confused at one thing, how many kids do they have? As far as I counted they have three: The two girls and Caleb. I'm not sure if they have another boy though.

Congrats on the new story.

Originally Posted by Forseti

HAHAHAHAHHAH YAY! *happy dance*

It's the new story! *runs around in circles* I"M SO HAPPY!

Ahem, sorry about that. Alright I find it ok I'm just confused at one thing, how many kids do they have? As far as I counted they have three: The two girls and Caleb. I'm not sure if they have another boy though.

Congrats on the new story.

Yeah, just the three. I probably should've made it more clear...the other kids there were Caleb's friends. I'll go back and edit, can't believe I didn't say that straight out, lol. See, that's why it's good that not many of the other fans have read it yet...

Oh no problem though I just didn't know how many of the kids were Caleb's friends. It was probably just my fault.

[brainwashing here] You will make me the villian called Sutur...you will make me the villain. [end brainwashing]

This is a complete joke. (my post)

Originally Posted by Forseti

This is a complete joke. (my post)

I sure hope it is...I had the strangest brain wave the moment I read it...but I already have the bad guy's name, and have no need for a second one. Unless...hmm, Sutur? Well, I sure need a name for...yes, that may work...well, maybe a variation...

Anyway, I forgot to mention something. As most of my stories consist of things I think up in my head, including this one, some parts may have residual "mature-rated-ness". Just warning younger readers who go by the 10 and up rule for T-rated stories. I would just think that by the time you're a teen, you sorta know these things.

Also, some way down the road there will be an elevated level of swearing. Hopefully not too much though. I'm trying hard to keep this T. Though it may not seem like it, I am trying...

And I've made it clear now, just in case, Forseti. It might just be you now, but might be more people later, so I'm playing it safe (not like it's that big a deal in the first place, lol; I mention the amount of kids later on).

GASP! Matured ness? Ah well I probably knew most of it when I was ten anyway. But ya if most of it comes from the top of your head then it might be hard to keep it...ya know [I]teen[I].

Good luck.

*Is still waiting to glomp next chapeter*

Its been almost a week! where is it?

Lol! Ya, we should know it...
Moving on...

Yay! It's the sequel!!!

*waiting for next chapter*

Originally Posted by Jeaulm

*Is still waiting to glomp next chapeter*

Its been almost a week! where is it?

Lol, almost a week? I remember saying it would be once a week. Just cuz you're used to reading them so quickly, don't expect them to come out that fast.

Anyway, chapter 2 is a bit short. I apologize for that. But, against my better judgement, I've decided to post chapter 3 tomorrow, to make up for it. As my really long-standing fans my remember, the first three chapters of The Fatal Game were posted within a day of each other. This was because at the moment it was unbelievably easy to write it. From now on, the most you get at a time is two a week, on Saturday and Sunday. The least, and more common, is one, on either Saturday or Sunday (usually only Sunday if I'm having a hard time writing it).

So, to start off the two-chapter set, here's chapter 2!
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Chapter 2

Dark Link is not a normal wizard. As you most likely know, he was the mini-boss of the Water Temple, but left it out of boredom, and after being forced into the Trivulian Tournament by Fierce Deity, he found out that he was, in fact, destined to become the Gray Wizard. You may also remember that he had been married to Zelda for a brief time, in which he found himself very tired out, taking the role as the King of Hyrule as well. They had one daughter, but divorced for Dark Link's convenience. He then freed Hannah, a Bonded Matter Wizard, and she, having a crush on him, decided to help him track down the Death mage, who had ordered Eleah and Fierce Deity to kill Laura.

A lot of things were possible at this point. Some believe he was killed by the Death mage, while others believe he and Hannah were captured by him, and are currently doing his bidding. And others think he may have actually defied his duties and either married Hannah or re-married Zelda.

But this story is not about those possibilities, nor an account of his sixteen years of studying. It is about what is currently happening to him, as he receives some very grave news. He is currently in the Crystal Chamber, which had become his headquarters, about to initiate sleep mode (a new spell he'd recently acquired). In the previous 24 hours, he'd learned absolutely nothing new that would help their cause.

So far, the only information they'd gathered was the Death mage's influence on different people, the only surviving history on the evil dragon Brakek, and all the limits of a Death mage, their new spells, and features to identify them by. He'd started searching for his past, to at least have some way of finding a name, his relatives, or any other small thing that could help (he couldn't sense him for some reason).

Another hindrance came when they ventured to Tulpar for research. They had found lots of diaries and records of The Death mage and Brakek's attacks, but the timeline in this world was so out of control that upon return to Hyto, they found themselves one year ahead of when they left. They decided they'd never go back there if it could be helped.

Overall, it wasn't a very productive sixteen years. Everyday, Hannah would make breakfast from the surrounding rock, then they'd go to either an old ruins of some significance or to Xeria, where they'd look over the news to find out what the Death mage was doing, eat lunch, continue, eat dinner, continue, and go to sleep. One memorable day, however, Hannah had desperately confessed her love for Dark Link, who hadn't known how to handle the situation. When he rejected her ever so cautiously, she used her magic to force him to kiss her, which, he later said, was good reason not to. She became a lot more distant after that, but had gotten over it in recent years. Dark Link himself was just getting over his feelings for Zelda.

Presently, he sat down cross-legged, and put his hands together, interlocking all fingers except the forefinger and thumb, which now made it look like a fake gun. Hannah had fallen asleep five minutes ago. Dark Link had never tried this technique before, but now seemed the perfect time to learn. He manipulated his brain to start the sleeping process, and his head drooped. Immediately, he was in pitch-black darkness, for he hadn't yet figured out how to also simulate a dream. But apparently, he didn't need to...

"Dark Link!" shouted a voice from inside the vast nothingness. Out of nowhere, a blond head appeared. It was Tylk; the first Black Wizard, who had taught Dark Link to use magic. He had killed Tylk when he had attempted to take over Hyrule, also influenced by the Death mage. It was because of his final words that Dark Link even knew about the Bonded Matter Wizards, and he respected Tylk greatly.

"I've placed a Dream Message in your brain. Hopefully this gets to you before it's too late... You know how we discussed the manipulations of the dream state? Well, this one in particular only affects magical sleep, which you've obviously entered. It takes a few tries before you can create a dream, so this spell lets me leave a message to take its place. The limit for how long this message will go varies, so I'd better hurry it up...

"First of all, I have information you may find very useful. The Death mage's name is Evol. A small deviation from 'evil', and, of course, 'love' backwards. He was born in southern Aftal, right before the Eradication. Brakek, the evil dragon, had been sent there before anyone knew his intentions. It saw the horrible things being done to the mages, and helped them in fighting off Allara. But he wasn't strong enough yet, and was almost killed. Evol tried his magic on Allara, but since dragons' magic is so different, he only managed to scratch it. Brakek, seeing there was no hope, saved Evol and fled. That is how he survived.

"Second! Evol has hideouts in Xeria, Termina, and Hyto. The reason you can't sense him is because he's practically dead, being the Death mage. Eleah has the new immortality spell on him, so Evol might try to make him untraceable as well. He achieves this by using his worst weapon, Eternal Death. Since Eleah can't die, this just makes him unable to be found by any means other than the naked eye.

"Third! Evol plans to use Eleah's new magic to create a spell three times as dangerous as Fury Fest. Namely, a spell that eliminates three worlds at a time. He hopes to use it on Hyrule, Termina, and Hyto, once he perfects it. This is, undoubtedly, unavoidable.

"Now, you have a few choices of action, but it mostly comes down to one thing: Laura must die before she bears her fourth child. This is of the utmost importance. If you're still in the Trivulian Tournament, allow either Eleah or Fierce Deity to kill her, but only after Firah has died. I have reason to believe your wish is the one he chose to grant if it comes to the worst. Once that has happened, let Laura die, and everything will be made right.

"If she has had her fourth child already, kill it, or--"

Suddenly, Dark Link snapped back into consciousness, feeling very refreshed. He straightened up, and scowled as his head hit the wall. Hannah smiled as she saw him awake, but Dark Link didn't respond to her greeting, nor when she told him it was past one o'clock, and that he should try making the spell shorter. What had just happened? Tylk...instructing him to kill Laura? He checked his magic's record of what had just happened. There was no denying it; a Dream Message had been planted, and he'd just activated and watched it. And they could only be made to look like the person who cast them. So he had done it. But...of course, under the instruction of Evol (if he was to believe that the small biography had been true, then that was his name).

"What are you, a Vulcan?" Hannah laughed, pointing at his still conjoined hands. As you may be wondering, Hannah had gotten over her small delays in her sentences, and was now completing them without hesitation.

"A what?" Dark Link asked, bewildered and annoyed that she had interrupted his thinking.

"You know, from Star Trek. They have that meditating thing where they..." She imitated him, then sighed. "Never mind."

"I've just had the strangest experience," Dark Link informed her, as if she hadn't said anything. "It seems that Tylk used the Dream Message spell on me. If what he said is correct, either he's evil, or the Death mage, who he calls Evol, is trying to trick me into helping him."

"Most likely the latter," Hannah said reasonably, not thinking much of it.

"But I've just realized...he told me that Firah was most likely to have granted my wish before he died. And I wished that it would be possible to defy the Prophecy...so that means...from now on, nothing is predestined. Unless, of course, it just means a one-time deal, and reading the Prophecy itself'll just tell us what should've happened, and we'll get to change one thing... Most likely that, when you think of the serious nature of the act. Well actually, the timeline should continue on its course, but just be able to change. As long as we know what happens, we can probably change it."

"Yeah, whatever," Hannah sighed, summoning a glazed doughnut and eating it thankfully. She was really bored with Dark Link analyzing every little detail, turning it into something extremely elaborate. No matter how infatuated she was, his voice had lost its charm, and no amount of obsessive love could change the fact that he talked way too much.

"He told me that Evol's planning to destroy Hyrule, Termina, and Hyto...using Eleah's new powers."

At Eleah's name, Hannah stopped, and paid attention again. Eleah was her ex-boyfriend, and after she became a Bonded Matter Wizard, he had thought she died and later was married. When Dark Link released her, she had gotten angry with Eleah, but her heart still felt weird whenever she heard someone say his name. "How can we stop him?"

"We can't, that's the problem. Eleah's immortal. The only way we could stop him is by killing Evol, but Death mages can only be killed by Allara or Life mages. As neither are alive..." Dark Link hung on that note, but immediately a thought occurred to him. Maybe Tylk had been telling him that of his own free will! "Wait! He told me to kill Laura before she had her fourth child, and everything will be made right. What if...what if their fourth child is Evol?"

Hannah laughed. "Yeah, well the only problem is Evol's sorta old. Much older than them. Plus, he's a wizard, and Link isn't."

Dark Link, however, knew his idea wasn't far-fetched. "Remember what we heard in Tulpar's ruins? The rumors of the Time mage? What if, for some weird reason, we have to take her into the past, and he's born then? Whenever a male is born in Aftal, they immediately become an Aftal mage. If we just don't go back in time--"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "It's a myth! If there was a Time mage, he'd do something about the Prophecy, and that'd be im--"

"But now it's not impossible to change it. I bet we could get to him if we gather the three Wise Wizards. 'Course, Rulm won't want to, so we'll have to deal with him."

And then something happened which Dark Link had been waiting for for sixteen years. At his words (and probably because of them), the figure of Rulm appeared before them, looking completely weathered and weak. His hazel eyes were the only feature about him that looked alive. He was surely nearing the end of his life.

"Dark Link...I apologize..." Rulm wheezed painfully, as if every word hurt him to speak. "Please, stop me...Go to Link's...residence."

Before either one of them could question him, he disappeared. Dark Link had the feeling that his Cue (what he'd come to name the phenomenon where his words triggered events) had been very lucky to catch Rulm at this moment. Nodding to Hannah, they teleported to Nakeem.
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Again, sorry for the length, but this comp only has WordPad, which doesn't count pages, and the one that has normal Word isn't very reliable. It said this was three pages...

Ok, after this you gotta wait til next week. Just so you know, Eleah and Hannah like to make references to things in media, as you may have noticed. If you're not familiar with what they refer to, oh well. Then you're just like the person they're talking to, lol.

Anyway, here's ch. 3! It's one of my personal favs, since it deals with none other than...Eleah! Enjoy!
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Chapter 3

Eleah is not a normal Hytoian. As you most likely know by now, he is an Emotion electricity mage, who lost Hannah when they had been dating, and his anger towards Tylk, her supposed murderer, had been redirected at any bystander he could reach. He was eventually confronted by Evol, and was persuaded into thinking that if he helped him carry out his evil plans, then Evol would be able to resurrect her. But, once he got over her, and went to the Gerudos to make an alliance with their army for the small war Tylk waged against Hyrule, he fell in love with their new leader, Nahara. As was Gerudo custom, they mated to seal the deal, and after the war ended, married her (at least, in the Gerudo definition). They had one daughter, Sahara, but Nahara died after her birth, and Eleah went back to Evol's side.

A lot of things were possible at this point. Some believe he found yet another love, and abandoned Evol, and, more coldly, Sahara. Others believe he overpowered Evol and forced him to bring Nahara back to life. And still others think he may have left Sahara the instruction to do that very thing, and that that was what he was referring to when he had told Link and Laura that he had given her something to remember him by.

But this story is not about those possibilities, nor an account of his sixteen years of servitude. It is about what is currently happening to him, as he continues to act obsequious towards Evol, under the influence of the Servant Spell, which Evol has no time limit for, being an Aftal mage. On this day every year, Evol grants Eleah one hour of freedom, to visit his daughter and tie up any other possible loose ends. And so, Eleah appeared in the Spirit Temple, to see Sahara and Matt, her godfather, eating a late lunch.

"Hello," Eleah greeted.

"Eleah! We thought something had happened to you for a while there..." Matt said, standing on the spot as if about to salute. Matt was Hannah's cousin, and shared her brown hair and eyes. "Ever since Evol threatened not to allow this, you know--"

Eleah took off his hood and revealed his slightly older-looking face. A beard had made very good headway in the year before, and he decided now not to cut it anymore. "I'd never let him take this privilege from me. It's the only thing that keeps me sane. But let's forget that for now. I've only got an hour, remember?"

Looking around, he saw they were in the temple's boss room, on one of the four island platforms. Sahara was staring off into the distance, a glum look on her face as she swallowed her grilled cheese sandwich. Eleah summoned his own and sat next to her. She sighed deeply, pushing back her long black hair as it struggled to push itself farther towards her face.

"So, how're things going here?"

Matt sat on Sahara's left and shrugged. "Nothing new. She's doing exceptionally well in her training, and taken it upon herself to learn Xerian."

"And my clone?" Eleah asked. The thing he had left behind for his daughter was a Permanent Clone of himself. Normal clones could be dispelled easily, but Permanent Clones could only be taken away by the spell-caster, and did whatever the real person would, with a time limit of one year (convenient, eh?).

"Annoying as ever," Sahara said in her sweet voice, which she frequently tried not to use in Eleah's presence, because of its resemblance to her mother's (he could get really nostalgic). "When can I leave?"

"It won't be long now..." Eleah replied, throwing away his sandwich, no longer hungry. "Once Rulm carries out his part of the plan, you're free."

"Why not now? He won't take that long, will he?"

"It doesn't matter how long he takes. We have to wait until he's finished."

Sahara opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, trying to think of a way to get her father to let her go for once. With all the times he'd told her about love, what did it really matter, if she was never going to meet anyone anyway?

"Who're you visiting today?" Matt asked, trying to take the attention off of Sahara's desire to explore outside of the Gerudo Desert.

"Malon. I've been putting her off for too long," he added, as both Matt and Sahara looked at him with worried expressions. "It's best that I do it now. She's bound to be over Firah. But seriously, do you want me gone that badly? The hour's only just started; I've got fifty-eight minutes at the least."

"It makes no difference to me," Sahara sighed. "You're always here anyway."

"I've already told you before, I'm not. It pains me to know I can't really be here with you all the time. I wish the clone could take my place... And I can't remove the clone except when I'm here in person because I'm not letting anyone else I love get killed, or worse, scarred for life. No offense, Matt."

"For the sixteenth time, none taken," Matt said, smiling. Eleah knew he could trust him, but still, he didn't want to take any chances. And Matt couldn't blame him. "In all fairness, she does well by herself. You shoulda seen how she wiped out that room full of Iron Knuckles! In two seconds!" he added, realizing that it wasn't such a surprising feat without the time specified.

"Two seconds?!" Eleah exclaimed. "No way! The quickest I got on that challenge was five! Wow, two..."

"Two point nine..." Sahara corrected. Unlike normal people, she didn't become pink in the face whatsoever, as if the accomplishment meant nothing to her, and she didn't want them thinking it was any better than it really was.

"Well, I think I'll go visit Nahara..." Eleah said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say in this situation. And without further warning, he teleported himself to the central room of the temple; the one with the statue of the giant snake goddess. On the small platform at the statue's foot, Nahara's dead body remained, kept from rotting by magic. Even her smile hadn't faded after sixteen years of lying there, her arm limp at her side, fallen after she touched Eleah's cheek with her last ounce of strength. Eleah fell to his knees ritually, and kissed her lips in the way he would were she still alive.

It all felt so strange. Seeing her there, it looked as if she were merely half-asleep, and was grinning because of Eleah's presence. The eerie silence in the room echoed louder in Eleah's ears than the biggest roll of thunder he'd ever created with his magic (and that was saying something).

"Hi," Eleah said, as if Nahara could hear him. "Rulm's gonna do it today... I might not be able to return here ever again... But who knows? If the Time mage exists, I might get you back." His eyes started to water, and he did nothing to stop them. This happened every year. "I...I hope this is the right thing to do. Every since you...left, I've been known to make stupid mistakes. Going back to Evol being the worst. He can't bring you back. I can't bring you back. Our only hope is the Time mage. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to wait for me.

"I love you..." Eleah continued, kissing her again on the cheek. "I'm sorry you have to stay here like this, but Sahara needs to remember why you...left: For love. The greatest of human emotions; that which 'makes nonsense of space and time'." Here Eleah laughed. "Evol allows me to indulge in music, and I've taken quite a liking to this band called U2 (that was an excerpt from 'Miracle Drug'). Well, at least, their songs about love. I've decided not to listen to much else than what I like now. If I have to hear anything like 'what's love got to do with it?' again, I'm killing every band that thinks that way. Seriously, one band had this song called 'Love Stinks'. Oh, they're on my list alright...

"But listen to me ramble on. I still gotta go talk with Malon. Hmm, that rhymes..." Eleah chuckled, noticing his return from the sad rut of the one-way conversation. "I hope I see you again...and that you do too." With one last kiss to the forehead, he teleported to the others to say his farewell.
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Malon sat on the table in the small house in Lon Lon Ranch, a thick red journal in her hands. Its green-rimmed pages were open seven-eighths of the way, as she read yet another entry.

March 13

Earih's just got done choosing the event. I don't know what took him... Lucky guy, he doesn't have any annoying people like Flaria hanging around him. Don't see how he keeps busy.

I'm still not sure why Flaria left yesterday. She's usually a lot more aggressive than that...not like I'm complaining or anything... Malon doesn't seem to have taken it so horribly. I remember Romani cried for days when she met her. Guess Malon's just that much stronger. I love her! She's so...so...I don't know what it is, but I love it! I hate time for being so slow whenever something good's gonna happen! I finally find the girl of my dreams and I gotta wait so long to marry her...

Malon closed the book, sighing. No matter how many times she read Firah's journal, the effect was the same. Every entry after that Christmas of sixteen years ago was filled with at least a paragraph that explained just how much he loved her.

Firah, as you most likely know, was a Fire mage, the supervisor of the Trivulian Tournament, one of the ten Wizards of Termina, and Malon's fiancé. He'd been killed by Eleah during what would've been the fifth round of the tournament, and all he'd left behind was a son (who died upon his premature birth) and this journal, a summary of every day since he'd started his second year at the Magical Institute of Hyto.

Malon had also lost her father, Talon, as Firah was being targeted by Eleah, and was given as much grief as was possible to be given. Among the list of deaths were Warih (Firah's great-uncle) and Telwyn (one of Firah's old teachers). Even through all this sadness, the two had been able to stand their ground. But when Firah died, Malon let herself go, keeping up a cheery facade when she felt necessary. In the place where her heart usually was, a void now hovered, destroying all pleasure upon contact.

The ranch was very prosperous, and Ingo was uncharacteristically easy to deal with. Everything in her life was going fine, but she still had that hole in her heart where Firah had previously fit so perfectly. Zelda had tried her best to comfort her over the years, but to no avail. She'd given up on the impossible task, and now Malon continued to live her monotonous life, devoid of happiness.

Malon stared into space, as sadness consumed her again. Did she really want to do this? Spend another day with nothing to look forward to but three meals and Ingo returning with the money from the delivery to Hyrule Castle? Did she really want to resume this way of life...or life itself, for that matter? What else did she have? With Firah dead, she couldn't be happy...nor could she be if she started dating again (she'd tried it, and it only left her worse off than before). What was left for her? What was there left to live for if the love of your life died?

Suddenly, the form of Eleah appeared before her eyes. Without wondering why he had, Malon's mind immediately told her body to avenge Firah. Before she could even register the fact that Eleah's eyes looked as if they'd just been cried out, she'd already flung herself across the room and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards against the door.

"Damn, I didn't think you'd be that mad still," Eleah said. "Didn't even ask why I came!"

"You killed Firah..." Malon growled, gaining slight control of herself and noticing that a tear had slid its way down her cheek already.

"No, really?" Eleah said sarcastically. "That's what I came here to apologize for."

Malon donned an expression of deepest loathing. "You think you have the right to apologize? You deserve to die for what you did."

"Too true," Eleah agreed, though not as convincingly as he felt it. "I would welcome death, actually. Probably woulda done it myself, were I not immortal and invincible. Before you try and give your all too justified righteous punishment, I'm gonna tell you something you need to know: my wife died three months after I killed Firah."

"Serves you right!" Malon snapped.

"Excuse me? 'Serves me right', does it? Okay then, let's check the balance... Your mom died when you were young, Talon died after you met Firah, Firah died sixteen years ago, and your son died upon birth. Four deaths. Immense emotional damage, which you obviously haven't the capability of withstanding.

"As for me...I was raised by foster parents, told that my real parents had been killed, but not told whom their murderer was. My foster parents, whom I had become attached to, died in an accident which resulted in me learning of my abilities. I went to the Magical Institute of Hyto, hooked up with Hannah, who was later supposedly killed (yes, that counts). Then Evol forced me to murder Warih, Telwyn, and Firah (he counts for me too). Fierce Deity pretty much committed suicide, and then Nahara (my wife) died. Ten deaths. Unbelievable emotional damage, which I've been told I am able to deal with greatly, yet I have my moments of crazed shout-to-the-heavens behavior.

"So, after nine deaths of very important people, I deserve a tenth, when you've only lost four? I've had to endure a whole lot more than you have, honestly. I don't see how Nahara's death is fair."

Malon, nonplussed, loosened her clenched fists, as a new tide of tears came rolling down. Why did he have to say it so bluntly? "So what, you're trying to make me pity you?"

"Not at all. I just wanted to apologize--"

"Why?! So I don't hate you anymore?! So you can try and make me your next wife?!"

"No! I'd never try and take Firah's place. I'm not a Fremen, I don't do that sort of thing," Eleah laughed.

"A what?!"

"You know, from that book, Dune... Wait, never mind. I keep forgetting that Hyrule's still so far behind... Forget what I said. The point is, I only wanted to apologize so I could clear my conscience. Making amends is the only thing I can do if I've already killed someone... You know what? By some strange coincidence, you're a widow of sorts, and I'm a widower... As if the term is explaining that I'm the cause... Just thought it was interesting. They oughta make a new word for being a male widow, don't you think?"

"If you're gonna apologize, do it and get out of here!" Malon exclaimed, annoyed by Eleah's tendency to speak his mind whenever he felt like it.

"You're right, I only have less than an hour to do this, and I haven't yet made you believe that I am sincere." Eleah unnecessarily straightened up, and removed his hood. "A wizard only removes his hood in front of someone he respects. He cannot remove it if the person before him is someone he mistrusts. But he may keep it on if he does, and wishes to do so. It's a sign of sincerity... Well, at least for people who respect the old ways." He took a deep breath. "I am sorry for killing Firah. If I had the choice, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. I completely understand what you're feeling. You have every right to hate me. But from the depths of my heart, I regret that action. Please accept my apology." Eleah held out his hand.

Malon stared at it. Her mind was of two opinions. He had faced a lot more deaths than her, and he'd only killed Firah because...Evol, was it?...had ordered him to. But he had had the choice to not follow Evol in the first place. And when he'd killed Firah, he had even said out loud that he was indifferent on the topic!

Eleah sighed. "Look, I'll even throw in a nice little spell. If you're in danger, this'll make me appear and save you. And if, for one moment, I'm glad that I've killed Firah, then your word will be law. In other words, if I break my promise and feel good about what I've done, then I become your servant." He thrust his hand a bit further, expecting her to shake it finally.

Slowly but surely, she lifted her hand to his, and gripped it tightly. They shook on it, and sparks flew from their hands, stopped in midair, and shot towards Eleah, stretching themselves into ribbons of magic material and tying themselves around his body. As they touched him, they evaporated and rose as steam.

"So...what's the point?" Malon heard herself say. "You can't get him back."

"Ah, that's exactly what I wanted to tell you about!" Eleah said, smiling again. "You see, on Evol's orders I followed Dark Link to the world of Tulpar, where I heard a very interesting myth. In one of Tulpar's many legends, it states that a man was chosen from the elite clans of Aftal and was taken outside of time itself. In this realm, all time exists as one. This man, the Time mage, is able to go anywhere and any when he wants. He can manipulate things to be how they were at a previous point in time, or how they will be later."

"You mean...he could make Firah...?"

"Yes, he could make Firah be exactly how he was before I stabbed him. What's even better is that he can make it so Firah comes back to life right after I kill him, so my past self isn't tempted to do it again any time soon. Or...what was soon then, at least. You know how hard it is to describe time travel stuff."

"How can we find the Time mage?" Malon asked, overly intrigued at the thought, and not even caring that it was only a myth, and therefore there was no proof.

"That's the hard part. To reach him, you need the power of the three Wise Wizards...of the current generation."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Rulm is the White Wizard, but Tylk and Okin died. Dark Link is now the Gray Wizard, and my daughter the Black. They are part of the second generation of Wise Wizards. Rulm is from the first. This means, obviously, that we need Rulm to die, and for the next White Wizard to show him or herself before we can proceed to finding the Time mage."

"Then why doesn't someone kill Rulm?"

Eleah opened his mouth to answer, but a loud telepathic message cut him off, actually causing him pain. There's been a change of plans. Commence operation now. "Crap, I have to go. I'll be back later." Eleah hastily bowed, and teleported to Hyto.

Malon remained standing there, hope starting to rise. If Rulm died...if the Wise Wizards banded together...Firah could live again. She could live again. She sat back down, and opened Firah's journal to her favorite entry.

February 14

Valentine's Day...greatest day of all, in my opinion. We went to Termina, did some sightseeing... It's just so wonderful that I finally have someone to love on Valentine's Day. And there never was a better woman than Malon. Link doesn't know what he's been missing!

We got a little...carried away, but I don't think anything will come of it. I could get Rulm to check, but...why spoil a good mood? This has been the best day of my life!

She could remember, all too clearly, the things they had done on that day. The day after Firah had asked her to marry him (he said he wasn't able to hold it in for another day). It was the day their son had been conceived. The greatest day for both of them. And that happiness could return...
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K, some criticism would be nice. I'm having trouble writing ch. 7, but once I'm past it... things should go smoothly. I'm not sure just how long this one'll be. So far, it looks as though it may be equal to the first one, if not longer. Well, Sekal out.

Very nice Sekal. Sorry I couldn't respond on the last chapter though that one was very good as well. I'm interested on what Malon said "why doesn't someone kill Rulm." I'm going to need to check in the previous story but hey I like where it's going.

And here I am again. I'm in the middle of writing ch. 8 right now, just so ya know... It's getting awfully hard to write this...maybe cuz my deadline is pretty far off? I mean, I have up to three weeks before that chapter gets posted, so I become careless. >.>

Anyway, what is said in this chapter is as far as I'm going, "mature-ness"wise. Enjoy!
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Chapter 4

"D-Dark...?" Caleb stuttered, disbelieving. This was who his parents had told them about. The Gray Wizard (or as he called him, the Grey Wizard, in relation to the Oingo Boingo song "Grey Matter"; Laura had actually supported this idea, because she said that Dark Link was dating a Bonded Matter Wizard). And this woman must've been Hannah.

"And this is Hannah," Dark Link introduced, rather unnecessarily. "Are your parents available? I think Laura's put some sort of Veil Spell on the house..."

"N-no, they're..." Caleb stopped, and shook off the surprise. "You're Dark Link?"

Dark Link raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that's what I said..."

"So...you were actually the King of Hyrule?"

"Yes, I was," Dark Link sighed, rolling his eyes. "Look, can we talk with Link or not?"

"Um, no," Caleb said distractedly. He stepped back and let them in, going back to the couch without thinking. He turned on the Xbox and picked up his controller mechanically, trying to gain back his composure while doing so.

"Where are they?"

"Upstairs," Caleb replied, as Hannah closed the door behind her, and sat next to him. Finally returning to his rightful personality, he added, "They're making out."

"They're what?" Dark Link asked, not sure he'd heard him right.

Caleb laughed. "Making out. They do it every year."

Dark Link stared at Caleb, just as skeptical as he had been moments before. "They talk about that openly?"

"Doesn't take long to figure out," Caleb said, wondering why Dark Link was acting so stupid. He, Caleb, was fifteen after all. What did he expect? He wasn't a little kid like Sara; he'd known about that stuff for years...

"Yeah, but...in the middle of the day?"

"They're idiots; the time doesn't matter to them." Caleb stopped, handed Hannah the second controller, and continued setting up the game. "They're usually done by two though..."

"Hold on," Dark Link said abruptly, not taking notice that Hannah didn't seem to care, and was actually going along with Caleb's assumption that she wanted to play. "So you're saying that every year they send your sisters to a friend's house, and--"

"They try to make me leave too," Caleb interjected.

"Yeah, so they clear out the house, put a Veil spell on it, and close themselves in their room until they're done?"

"Yup."

Dark Link slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh my god... I knew they love each other, but this is a bit too..." Unable to think of a word, he merely laughed it off. "Unbelievable... At that rate, it's a wonder they only have three kids..." Suddenly, something clicked in Dark Link's mind. Three kids...so that meant, at this moment...their fourth child was being... "Which room is theirs?"

"First you come to," Caleb replied distractedly, as his character dodged behind a snow-covered boulder, still baffled as to where Hannah's reports originated.

Dark Link, not wasting a second (magic really messed with reproduction, so Laura would be pregnant much sooner than a normal woman; almost like a Gerudo), teleported to the top of the stairs, and checked the door. There was an Inward Lock spell (the lock was unable to be picked, have a key used to open it, or undone by magic, unless you were inside), a reinforced Veil Spell (he could sense Link and Laura inside, but couldn't pinpoint their locations), and, naturally, a Silencing Spell. Hopefully, he pounded on the door. No use. The Silencing Spell--and apparently a Shield Spell, for the door didn't break after a second, more violent punch--were protecting their privacy.

As he got the idea to try and slip something under the door, the enchantments lifted. Too late. He allowed a few seconds before knocking again. "It's Dark Link," he said, to take the blame off Caleb, who was supposedly the only other person in the house. As soon as he said this, he heard frantic scrambling from behind the door, accompanied by hurried whispers, which he couldn't hear the words to. After about a minute, the door opened slightly, and Link, clad in nothing but jeans, slid out, closing it behind him.

"Dark Link!" he said, as if he had believed that Caleb had actually been the one to disrupt them by some change of voice. He held out a relatively dry hand, and Dark Link shook it, still looking him over. His body was covered in sweat, shining by the light of the living room chandelier, parallel to their heads. The thin orange bracelet on his left arm slipped down to his hand; he'd obviously just put it on seconds before. His hair was disheveled (though it normally was, now it was much more pronounced). "What brings you here?" He laughed, as Dark Link's appearance made its full impact. "And what's with the get-up?"

"Well..." Dark Link laughed with him. "It's the traditional Gray Wizard's cloak. You know, wizards get their colors depending on their magic. White's shared by wind, Emotion, and White Wizard, Black's shared by Emotion and Black Wizard. And, very uniquely, the Gray Wizard gets this silvery one. Plus, it serves as something to distinguish the two of us. Thought it might be convenient if we had to team up again."

"And I'm guessing that's the case today?"

"Not necessarily. Rulm popped in a few minutes ago and told me to stop him from doing something, and to be here. Plus, I...well, I don't think it'd be good to discuss this just in case anyone else is listening--"

"Let's go to the kitchen, I'm thirsty..." Link answered before the question, running down the stairs, as Dark Link sighed and teleported into one of the five chairs in the designated room.

Dark Link activated his own Silencing Spell as Link walked in, pulling open the refrigerator and taking out a two liter bottle of orange soda and pouring it into a large glass, sitting down next to him. "Your son knows an awful lot about your habits."

"Yeah, teenagers..." Link sighed. "They know a lot more than we give 'em credit for."

Dark Link continued, not caring that he was getting further away from what he'd come to say in the first place. "But really, now? I mean, it's just after lunch. Why don't you do that at night, like normal people?"

"Cuz we're not normal," Link replied simply. "And then we're not tired before or after."

"Caleb said you're usually done by two. Judging by the fact that it ended at precisely 1:28, I'm guessing you started a while ago, and that you planned on--"

"The duration of our activities is none of your business," Link said firmly, his face turning red all the while. "Now what did you have to tell me?"

Dark Link turned grave once more. "It's about...Laura. Just last night, I decided to use a new spell to help me fall asleep. Once I did, I got what's called a Dream Message from Tylk. He told me a bunch of stuff about Evol. And after--"

"Wait, who's Evol?"

"Oh, that's the Death mage's name. So anyway, he told me that Eleah was being used to make a spell that can destroy three worlds at once, and that there was only one way to stop this: By killing Laura before her fourth child is born, or by killing the fourth child itself. It ended after he said that, because the spell doesn't allow you to make that long of a message. And when I woke up, Rulm told me to stop him by coming here. I don't know what Evol's planning with him, but he's gonna be a lot more careful now that we got the tip-off. In any case, I thought it best if I tell you."

Link had stopped listening after he said the part about killing Laura. "What? What would our fourth child have to do with anything?" He seemed completely and utterly outraged, as if Dark Link had been the one to suggest it.

"I don't know for sure, but I have a hunch. In Tulpar, there's this myth about the Time mage, and I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, he might take that child into the past for some reason. It could turn out to be someone we know, for that matter. Hell, your fourth child might turn out to be you! The point is that this child must have some significance somewhere else in the timeline, and it's either in ours or Evol's best interests to get rid of it."

As Link opened his mouth to speak again, Laura walked in, making the Silencing Spell unnecessary. He stopped himself, but continued to stare at Dark Link. "Darky!" Laura exclaimed, hugging him. She sat next to Link, and they briefly kissed. "So, what were you two talking about?"

Laura, having had more time than Link, wasn't sweating. She had on her usual black cloak, and her hair was mostly straight, though it stuck out in some places. Link smoothed out one of these irregularities while he answered, "We were talking about you."

"Me? Link, you didn't tell him anything...private, did you?" she giggled.

Dark Link stopped paying attention for a second. Link?! She still called him by his name?! She'd given Dark Link the nickname "Darky", but after sixteen years of being married to him, she still called him Link? That didn't seem right. He felt momentarily embarrassed at being the only one to have such a pet name; a name which Zelda, and even Hannah, had considered calling him as well.

"No, but I think he wanted me to. He's pretty nosy. Wanted to know how long we can go." Link smiled, knowing Dark Link was gonna hate him for having said that.

"I never said--" Dark Link began hastily, futilely attempting to undo the damage.

"Ooh, you wanted to swap records?" Laura said in the most childish way she could possibly manage.

"I'm not dating Hannah! I've never kissed her, let alone--"

"Well!" Laura said, even louder than him. "Our record stands at two hours and a half. Beat that!" She poked him playfully.

"Anyway..." Dark Link said awkwardly, half surprised at this fact, "we came here because Rulm wanted us to stop him from doing something, but he still hasn't shown up."

The Cue worked...sorta. At that moment, Eleah, his hood down, appeared behind Link and Laura. This being the first time that they had seen him in years, they were a little surprised to see his slowly growing beard. Not giving them time to react, he grabbed the couple by the arms, hoisted them from their seats, and threw them across the room, yet not with enough force to knock them against the wall. They struggled to their feet, and watched in disbelief as Rulm, sword in hand, appeared next to Eleah, his back turned to them.

"Link, I'm sorry about this," Eleah apologized quickly. "The moment Evol told me what we were going to do, I knew I had to stop him..."

Link stood in front of Laura, knowing now what this must've been about. Tylk was on Evol's side, and their fourth child was someone good, apparently. "My sword," he demanded at Dark Link, who immediately snapped his fingers, as the Ordon sword materialized in Link's hands. Rulm turned to face him. He must've been expecting that Laura was sitting at the table. Eleah had saved both their lives. Link made a mental note that he owed him one. "How's it going, Eleah?"

"Well, supposing this goes as planned, I'll be having the best day of my life," Eleah replied.

"Eleah, you traitor!" Rulm shouted at him. Dark Link removed the Silencing Spell and beckoned Hannah (she'd just won for the second time, and Caleb followed her into the kitchen, muttering curses). "You were supposed to get her ready for me!"

"Yeah, well my loyalties do not, and never did, lie with him. I do what I think is right, therefore following his opposite, Love." Eleah smiled, and nodded to Dark Link. "You can use the Aging Spell, I presume?"

"Yes, but isn't there something physical you have to do to activate it?" Dark Link asked. It seemed that everyone was frozen, waiting for them to confirm their actions. Caleb was gaping at the abnormality of it all.

Eleah sent him instructions via telepathy, but before Dark Link could reach out at the old man, he'd dashed forward, and clashed swords with Link. "Get out of the way," Rulm said dangerously, stepping back and moving around him. Link cut him off and slashed down at him, only to be blocked by this white blade that was glowing with an ominous red near the hilt. What did that mean? A spell attached to the sword, no doubt, but which spell? There were far too many for Link to keep track of them all, and he was sure that neither Laura, nor Dark Link, nor Fierce Deity had ever mentioned one like this. As their swords touched, he felt something drawing him towards the blade. As if his soul were being dragged in, but his flesh was pulling it back...

Link executed a difficult series of strikes, which were all blocked easily. Rulm seemed to grow tired of this, and teleported next to Laura, on Link's left. Without thinking, he lunged between them, head hitting the wall, though not hard enough to fall unconscious. His chest felt very strange, and he saw that Rulm's blade had caught him instead of his wife, the rest of the sword's length diverted by Link's weight. He did, in fact, feel pain. But he also felt great relief. Whatever spell was inside the sword, it had made contact with his soul, and his heart now felt both extremes of hurt and contentment. No blood trailed from the wound.

Laura screamed, and Link laughed bitterly as she did. He wanted to tell her it was okay, that this sword was causing him no harm, that she was being silly...but that spell now had a firm grip on his soul, and he felt it being ripped away...then, seeing it couldn't accomplish such a task, the magic grabbed his body along as well. He disappeared in a flash of light; Laura's crying was the last thing he heard.

Caleb had already fainted from shock, and Hannah, without tears, teleported next to Laura, and tried her best to get her to shut up. Dark Link, however, had already grasped one hand on the front of Rulm's neck, and the other on the top of his head. The old man grimaced, then, with his self returning, smiled wide and whispered, "Good luck," before his one second ended, and his body fell limp, the magic disappearing into thin...nothingness.

Dark Link dropped Rulm, teleporting him to the Crystal Chamber, to be buried later. The room was silent, except for Laura's loud sobbing, which Hannah tried her best to muffle by making her lips close with magic. Eleah saluted Dark Link. "I gotta go hide from Evol now. See ya in a while..." And he was gone.

Dark Link felt desperately around all known worlds for a sign of the next White Wizard. But there was none. The Prophecy...surely, they'd just gone against the Prophecy...
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Wait....in the first book you said that you couldnt even say the word Death Wizard unless there as one already in your world....but now your saying Laura is pregnant with him/her? Its been almost 16 years! i thought malon was the one who was preganant with the Death wizard.....

Originally Posted by Jeaulm

Wait....in the first book you said that you couldnt even say the word Death Wizard unless there as one already in your world....but now your saying Laura is pregnant with him/her? Its been almost 16 years! i thought malon was the one who was preganant with the Death wizard.....

No, it's "Aftal mage" you can't say. Death mage is fine. They needed to have something to say for it, lol. And they're speculating whether or not their fourth child will be Evol, taking what Tylk said into consideration. Malon was pregnant with Firah's son, who died, thus can't be him, of course.

I think you got a little confused.

Faite plays a huge roll in this... (Faite....Fate...I made a funny!)
I understand now :embarrassed:

Need...more... I just read this work's prequel a week ago and ended up quite impressed at your works. Good luck with this one. Wait... I just said something really weird.... whatever. By the way, you had great inspiration.