A/N: Hello everyone! Happy 2 year anniversary! I'd just like to thank everyone for following and reviewing my previous story, and for being so patient when I decided to revise. (A good decision really, I had no writing skills in grade 8. I'm glad I've fixed it :) Anyways, welcome to part 2 of Legend of Zelda: Fourth Bearer of the Triforce! I would recommend you read my previous installment if you haven't already, otherwise this will make no sense.

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own LoZ at all whatsoever. I've said it before. On that same note, I do own my own OCs.

PS. For those who don't already know, (in which case, read part 1), this series is Link/OC. If that's not your cup of tea, that's okay, but I won't tolerate flamers or hate. I'm always open to constructive criticism, I know my writing isn't the best, so I'm always looking for ways to improve myself.

Here's the review replies!

MasterShortPantsx3: I'm glad you're excited. I'll be the first to admit I'm not on my info blog all that much, I spend more time on my Supernatural one. I hope to see your reviews on this story as well, hon :)

Flame Darkmoon: Good to know :)

godofmadness43: Yep, Twill's in this one too. There won't be any dramatic discoveries about her until just after the TP arc, though.

Meatbun Attack: Indeed I did update! And you'll have to see for yourself, no spoilers! I don't think it'll be in this chapter, though.

LordWoodrow: I fully intend to keep going, thank you for reviewing! :)

RandomButLoved: I can't imagine passing out being very fun, but after going and going and going after nearly drowning, well... it couldn't really be helped :/ And yeah, Rose's dream was kinda suspicious. Better keep an eye on Twill, huh? And now you don't have to wait for the anniversary, it's here! Also, you don't have to apologize for long reviews, I love reading them :D

Hylian Mage: I'm so glad to hear that! I'm sorry to say I don't have much time for reading outside of school. I had quite a few setbacks, I'm still running catch-up, but I'm happy to know that I inspired you to write your own story :) And don't worry, I've no intentions of not writing. You couldn't pay me all the money in the world. I hope you like this one just as much as the last, if not more!

Anyways, enough rambling, let's get to the story!

Chapter 1: Breath Before the Plunge

It had been nearly three weeks since Link and I had arrived in Kakariko. I'd originally suggested we wait a few days, but a few days turned into a week, one week into two. Midna didn't seem to mind, nor Link. In fact, he seemed glad to spend time with the kids again, and they were doubly delighted.

Today, though, I knew it was time to get back on our feet and get going, as much as I would have liked to stay with my friends a little longer.

"You two are actually going to be careful this time, right? No drowning, or getting shot, or dying?" Carmen asked when I announced -after speaking with Link beforehand- our plan to leave that day. I couldn't help but laugh at the bluntness of the question.

"As much as we can." I responded. "But neither of us will be dying, I'm at least ninety percent sure of that." The other ten percent was a margin for change, in case something else was waiting for us in the Arbiter's Grounds than the Stallord and Death Sword.

"Forgive me if that's not exactly reassuring." Bethany said sarcastically, drawing out a few laughs from the people at the table.

"We're not that bad, are we?" I asked, looking for an ally in Link. He just laughed with a shrug.

"Murphy's law; Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Scott quoted. "You can't blame us for worrying, especially with everything you guys have already told me."

Ever since Bethany filled him in on just what we've been up against in the last two and a half months, he's worried for us.

"But Murphy's law doesn't apply to Hyrule, nobody here even knows who Murphy is!" I exclaimed, faking exasperation and causing more laughter. "Coming back to a more serious note, are we almost ready to go?" I asked, looking to Link.

"Whenever you are," he answered.

An upside to the whole mess with Zant was that the dark crystals cut down travel time by a lot. Warping made it so much quicker, even if the transformation from human to wolf and back wasn't the most pleasant thing.

"That works a lot better than spending hours avoiding monsters." I thought aloud. Things were getting easier, though I knew that was just for now. The second we got to the desert, bad stuff was gonna start happening again.

"It'll certainly make travel a lot easier, even if it means fighting Shadow Beasts to get more portals." Link added. That was the downside, unfortunately. But he was right; it made travelling a lot easier.

"Now, we should go see the Golden Wolf before we forget, you've got another hidden skill to learn. If I'm right, that one's…. the Back Slice." I added, pointing out the stone where the wolf stood, some distance along Castle Town's ruined outer wall. There was only a lone Helmasaur between us and it and that would be easy to avoid.

Avoiding the spike-shielded little pest was not as simple as I'd hoped. It saw us much sooner than I'd hoped it would, barely giving me any time to get out of the way before it charged at us.

"I hate those things…" I allowed myself to complain just a little bit when we got away from it. It just wasn't worth the effort of taking it out. "Either way, here we are…" With that, I started climbing a lattice of vines hanging over one side of the stone, our way up.

It turned out that the shade wasn't through with me quite yet.

"We meet again. This is the last skill I was instructed to teach you from the goddesses."

Getting right to the point, he held out a third scroll to me. Din's fire. The energy of Din's Fire was more... aggressive, than Nayru's Love or Farore's Wind had been. Then again, it was the only one of the three powers traditionally used as an attack. Farore's Wind was evasion, Nayru's Love a shield. It made sense that their energies would be less aggressive.

That, and Din's part of the Triforce was Power, so... it made sense to me.

The Shade gave me a quick rundown on how to channel the energy into my attacks, had me throw a ball of the magic fire at him to knock him back. It went much better than Nayru's Love had, through it was more draining.

"The more you train, the easier it will be." the shade assured me. These were his parting words, before I was back on Hyrule Field. That had gone much quicker than I'd expected.

Castle Town was much less crowded, for that I was grateful. Market days weren't as often as they used to be, given that there was a much smaller population, but even then they got crowded. As we turned down the southern road, to avoid the center of town –market day or otherwise, it would still be quite crowded– I remembered something else.

The memory was accompanied by the sight of a dark purple big-top tent; The Star Game, possibly the most helpful, if challenging, minigame in all of Twilight Princess.

"Oh! Link, can we check that out?" I asked, pointing towards it. "Believe it or not, that game can really help us out!" I added, when it appeared he might say no. I could say that I didn't resort to using the puppy-eyes on Link, but then I'd be lying. After another moment and a glance between me and the tent, he gave in with a nod.

On the way in, I noticed the three girls whispering –though, not being nearly as quiet as they thought they were– about the Star Game's host. Purlo, I was pretty sure his name was. Back to the girls, Hanna, Kili, and Misha, they were whispering that they hoped someone would go in soon, and I saw the one with purple hair turn to see us as we entered, pointing us out to the other two. They rushed in after us elatedly.

The lights were out inside, but I could see the faint outline of a cage inside, much larger than the outside of the tent let on, and in front of that a silhouette of a person. Within the cage, there were a number of small glowing balls. They looked like stars. Hence the name Star Game, I supposed.

Suddenly a spotlight lit up in front of us, shedding light on the host of the Star Game. The man looked ridiculous, honestly, with pants too short and a shirt fit for a court jester, with a hood that pointed over the top of his head. A large stopwatch was pinned to his belt. Overall, a very overdone outfit. Then again, it was show business.

"Greetings and salutations, good sir and madam! Welcome to the kingdom of hopes and fondest dreams!" Gods, even his voice was overdone. "In this place you can taste the life of a circus star and get your hands on gear that boggles the minds!" In our case, a larger arrow quiver. "It is my earnest hope that you find delight playing the STAR game!"

"…Interesting…" I wasn't quite sure what to say, knowing he was going ahead with his explanation of the game anyways.

"So all you must endeavor is to

Track down all the glowing orbs

And collect them all before time

Runs out!"

"Heh... Rather outstanding name, I must say. Step right up! Shyness, BEGONE! It's only 10 Rupees! Who's up to the challenge?"He sounded pretty proud of himself, fitting in the name of the game in the explanation. I gave Link another pleading look, and he raised his hand.

"I'll do it." Purlo grinned widely, accepting a yellow rupee from me.

"Many thanks, good sir! The game will begin once you enter the cage! May chance favor you! Heh heh heh..." I didn't like the sound of that sinister laugh, I just couldn't wait for Link to win. Then I could laugh at Purlo in my head. Oh ye of little faith. "Good sir, are you at the ready?! Then away we go!"

Purlo led Link into the cage, and I saw him pull the clawshot out of his bag. Meanwhile, I was taken to stand beside the fangirls. When we were all set and ready, Purlo blew his whistle, and the clock was on. Link had thirty seconds to get the floating balls of light.

"You've got this, Link! Come on!" I shouted my encouragement when he started, shooting off with the clawshot towards the first ball. I caught a smile and a little wave from him before he went on for the rest, back and forth across the cage.

"He waved at me!"

"No, he was waving at me!" Two of the girls beside me argued, and I rolled my eyes. They couldn't be more than twelve. Then again, I hadn't been much better when I first played Twilight Princess.

When the time was nearing its end, Purlo started to grin. He thought Link wasn't going to make it. With just three more to go, and five seconds left, I admit I was a little worried myself. He got the three of them in one blow, and I jumped up with a cheer. The three younger girls were cheering and clapping right alongside me.

That was so much cooler than the game version.

Purlo wasn't nearly as happy as I was. In fact, he looked horrified.

"Im-Impossible..." he muttered to himself, before opening the cage for Link. He received a raised eyebrow, and quickly spoke again to save his dignity. "Er... Oh, what a happy day that is! The debut of a new star! Showers of applause all around!" I knew I wasn't the only one to tell that Purlo's tone was fake, but Link didn't seem to care.

Purlo began rummaging through the bag behind him, trying to find something. "To the star...I shall give THIS!" The game maker pulled out a large quiver. If I was right, it held double the arrows of the one Link currently had. Sixty arrows could fit in it, adding to our combined thirty-arrow quivers, which made for a hundred and twenty arrows. Adding the Huge quiver we'd get later, that was two hundred and twenty.

"...Very well! The next stage will be one created just for you, good sir! I would expire should you decline! Please, you must try it when it is ready!"

It didn't take much persuasion; it seemed Link really had enjoyed the game. On our way out, I could have sworn I heard Purlo mutter under his breath.

"Pbbbth! I shall remember this... "

"What was that?" I called, pretending I hadn't heard.

"Oh! N-Nothing! Just... hoping to see the two of you again! When I... make my new stage!" Purlo stammered, waving us away as we exited the tent. The three girls from earlier caught us moments after we stepped out, swarming and fawning over Link and 'how amazing and handsome he was'. I sighed, trying really hard not to laugh, I swear I tried, but I couldn't help a few snickers behind my hand.

Somehow he managed to get away from them, and we were headed to Telma's finally.

"They seemed...thrilled."

I laughed openly, though not unkindly.

"Fangirls will be fangirls. You should see some of the ones on Earth." I listed off a few I remembered having some pretty squealy fangirls; Twilight, Justin Bieber, I wasn't as sure about Avengers, but their fan-base was pretty equally divided male and female.

"Speaking of Avengers, I'm kinda disappointed I'm never going to see it again. It was a good movie." And then came the explanation of what exactly Avengers was. That was all I talked about on the way to Telma's. We passed Agitha's house along the way, her stalker trying to peek into the window.

"That's really creepy, I hope you know," I called behind me when we passed. That guy always irritated me in the game, but I knew Link was too polite to say anything about it. I heard him spluttering, trying to form a response, but we were already too far ahead.

"But how can the suit fly if it's made of metal?" Link asked when I tried explaining Iron Man, as we entered Telma's bar.

"Because Tony Stark made it? I don't know. And I don't think it could happen anyways. The amount of energy needed to make the suit fly is... more than my Earth was ever capable of. Maybe in another decade or three. "Thor, though, Thor is... plausible, given my experience with other worlds lately, but still. Captain America, also possible, but less likely." Our conversation about superheroes ended there, as Telma had come to greet us.

"How've you been, honey? You both look a sight better than I thought you would, after the letter Renado sent me." No doubt the shaman had mentioned the drowning, electric shock, cracked ribs and severe bruising we'd sustained by the time we returned to the village oh-so-long ago.

"It has been a while since he sent it." I reminded her. "We're fine now, and I'm pretty sure we won't be drowning anytime soon."

"I sure hope not, sweetie. Now that you're here, let me introduce you to my friends I told you about." Telma turned to the three people in the back room, gathered around the far right table. "Hey, everyone! Introduce yourselves!" Three more sets of eyes turned to us, though one was covered by a helmet. Rusl, I remembered, was sitting on the right head of the table. Shad, the scholar, was on the left end, Ashei against the far wall. She looked the least friendly of the bunch, but I wasn't too worried.

"This handsome young man is Link, and I'm sure Lillian's already told you all about Rose by now."

Turning to us again, Telma added, "There's one more of us, but there's been a disturbance in the eastern desert, he's gone to check it out." Auru. "If you happen to meet him, take the time to talk with him.

Telma left us to our introductions from there, from reuniting with Rusl -who, it turned out, had stopped by Kakariko why we were in the lakebed temple- to meeting Shad and Ashei. Shad practically had a field day when I mentioned Earth. He was utterly captivated, almost reminding me of Arthur Weasley.

I answered his questions to the best of my ability, but some weren't all that easy to explain. The government systems, the number of countries and continents on Earth -I didn't even know for sure how many countries there were on Earth- among the harder ones, but probably the hardest was technology, like my phone.

"I don't know how it works, I just know it communicates with other phones. Not here, because there aren't any here, but on Earth there's billions."

We only stayed for a few minutes after that before we had to get going.

"We've got to meet with the shade again before we go to Lake Hylia." I reminded Link before we could warp away. "And then there's another howling stone by the lake that we can get before meeting with Auru."

"You've got the map, lead the way."

So I led him back up the stairs, further down the Southern Thoroughfare, and back onto Hyrule Field. This exit pointed towards the Faron and Ordon provinces, though the path was blocked by what looked to be a nasty rockslide.

Agitha was in this smaller field, too. The self-titled Princess of Bugs seemed to be looking for golden bugs in the field, while the golden ladybug was somewhere in this courtyard. When we came down the massive stairs from the courtyard, the girl saw us right away.

"Oh wow! I thought you were a giant grasshopper, and a ladybug!" she exclaimed as she rushed up to us. She was much...squeakier than I thought. Almost like a cartoon character. "But you're not bugs, you're people!"

She went on to say that she 'knew' we were bug lovers like her because we wore the colours, I didn't have the heart to tell her that I actually really didn't like bugs. How could I? She was obsessed, it would have been easy to tell even without my foreknowledge.

From the pink butterfly wings seemingly sewn into the back of her dress, the earrings and necklace that resembled beetle shells, and the second butterfly on the front hem of her dress, I bet that even if I hadn't told Link about her before, her obsession with insects would be quite clear.

Agitha also introduced herself, and requested that we bring the golden bugs of the world to her 'castle'. An errant thought crossed my mind, not for the first time. I wondered who cared for her. Certainly not her creepy stalker, who peered in the window day and night. It was never shown in Twilight Princess, and Agitha was certainly too young to have known me before I was sent to Earth. I didn't want to come right out and ask, though.

As it turned out, there would be no need to distract her so Link could get to the golden wolf, she dismissed us and returned to bug hunting herself. Within moments, it seemed like she had forgotten us all together.

"She's a sweet girl, if a little strange." I thought aloud as we made our way over to the wolf.

The shade had given me the last of my powers from the goddesses already, so I wasn't taken to the ghostly ether for the next lesson. I supposed that was good, it meant I could keep an eye out.

While I waited, I started experimenting with Din's Fire. I hadn't been given the chance before, other than frying a Bulblin that had gotten too close, and the Helmasaur that chased us into town. I started with a simple fiery orb cupped in my hands, and started to play. I moved it around to see how I could control it, split it into several tinier fireballs and rejoined them, before throwing it into the side of the stone stairs. It extinguished in the time it took me to blink, barely leaving any mark on the white stones.

A thought occurred to me as I played; I hope I don't become a firebug*. Seeing as we'd just met the self-proclaimed princess of bugs, the wording of the thought made me laugh.

Link awoke from his lesson soon after, now equipped with the Helm Splitter if my memory served correct.

"Why do you think you've been given magic, and I'm given new skills?" Link asked upon warping to Lake Hylia, shifting back into humans.

"Probably because the Goddesses know that I'm hopeless with a sword. Or maybe because I already know your hidden skills?" I shrugged. He shrugged with me, though added, "You're getting better," to my comment about my skills with a sword.

We started across the irregular land masses that made the southwestern shore of Lake Hylia. I wondered, jumping from one platform to the other, if the designers added this part in just to be annoying. It certainly seemed that way.

After making a short ladder climb, we came across the fourth howling stone.

There was no need for me to howl the song with link, so I was left waiting again. I tried talking with midna, but she didn't seem to be in a very chatty mood.

I admired the lake instead, like I hadn't been able to in the Twilight, nor on our way to the Lakebed Temple. It was all so alive, fish and Zoras were swimming freely, even the wind swirling around me, carrying the smell of the fresh water and grass, seemed to be alive. In the shallow areas closer to me, closer to the shore, there were many smaller fish and tadpoles. Some of the fish were hard to spot, dark and hiding, and others had scales like rainbows. Below them were many coloured stones. I remembered trying to make my mother a necklace of a green one, though I didn't remember how well it had gone, such a long time ago.

"Rose?"

Ah, Link was back.

"Met me guess; Mortal Draw, right?" It was kinda fun knowing stuff like that, even with the earlier issue with the Bulblin King's attack.

"Yeah, that's the one. Is that Auru up there?" Link pointed ahead of us, a few levels higher, to the stone tower that overlooked the desert. Someone was at the top.

"That's him." I confirmed, getting to my feet. A quick try at climbing the mess of sloping land that led to the level with the tower told me that I definitely was not in the mood to negotiate with that. I grabbed Link's hand and used Farore's Wind to bring us past it. Magic really made this whole thing easier.

And, my fear of heights seemed to have gone away, I saw when we started climbing the ladder to the top of the tower. I risked a glance down when I was nearly to the top, and was pleasantly surprised to not feel the familiar icy fear that curled in my stomach whenever I was somewhere high up looking down.

"I guess jumping off the bridge did help..." I thought to myself.

Thankfully the tower was larger around than the game depicted, so there would be standing room when we reached the top.

It also provided a lovely view of the lake below; the misshapen rocks we'd come from, the boardwalk ahead of it that led to Lanayru's Spring and Fyer's cannon. I was still wondering how it managed to float above the lake's surface at all. It didn't look very balanced.

High above was the bridge we'd earlier crossed with Ralis, the recovering Zora prince, and to the East of that was Falbi's contribution to Fyer and Falbi's...ride, thing. The landing pad, and the way back down that didn't involve jumping off the bridge or warping.

"I thought it was about time for you to arrive..." Auru's gruff voice rumbled, as he turned to face us. "Master Link, yes? And how could I ever forget Rosalie?" he gaze turned to me, and a fond smile came to his face.

Auru had been like a grandfather/uncle to me when I was younger, it was good to see him again.

He looked mostly the same, just a few extra wrinkles.I'd never been more glad for the slowness of the Hylian aging process.** It meant I got to see my grandfather-uncle figure again, elsewise he'd be dead. Same with my mother and brother, along with...well, everyone I knew from Hyrule.

"You'd never forget me Auru, I'm irreplacable." I grinned. "And yes, this is Link." At the quick introduction, the two shook hands.

"I have heard of both of your deeds from Telma. Very brave, yes, very brave, but also... worrisome." One grey eyebrow raised, and he looked to me reproachfully. I sighed.

"Go ahead. I've already been given the 'You need to be more careful' speech more times than I can count." The older man chuckled at that.

"If that's the case, I'm sure you needn't hear it again. You have more the look of a fighter than when I saw you, before you and Link escorted Telma to Kakariko." he gestured to my clothes, more particularly the chainmail beneath my shirt. I laughed.

"Yeah, I think the goddesses got tired of my near-death experiences and decided to help me out a little." I shrugged.

I was glad he wasn't going to lecture me. I wasn't going to be scolded for something beyond my control. Again.

"Now, being the courageous youths I've heard so much about, you have likely heard of the strange events in the desert and have come to investigate, yes?" I feigned confusion, shaking my head. "Or... am I mistaken?" The man went on to explain, pointing towards the desert to the east, more specifically, some kind of structure in the distance, barely visible through the rippling heat visible over the lake's border.

"The Gerudo Desert once held a prison, built to hold the worst criminals this land has ever known... The ones sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror kept in the prison." Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw Midna flinch in Link's shadow. "The prison is condemned now, and the road leading to the desert is impassable." He pointed more to our right, where the road used to be. Not even a goron could clear that path, it looked to be caved in completely.

"It still holds the cursed mirror, that prison... and all the malice of the doomed inmates... I may be old, but I feel it in my bones that the evil plaguing Hyrule is linked to that wicked place..." The man frowned deeply, closing his eyes.

"How long do you think it'd take to travel there, if we had a way over?" Link asked. The serious expression mixed with worry and incredulity.

"Don't tell me you plan to enter the prison and confirm my suspicions with your own eyes?" He looked between us, and our expressions must have convinced him.

"I see... then let good old Auru help you out... assuming there's no way to convince you not to..." continuing to mumble under his breath, Auru pulled out a scrap of paper, scribbling a hasty note and handing it to me. "You see Lake Hylia below us? That man, Fyer, runs an amusement ride of sorts. Give this to him. I saved his life some time ago, and he helps whenever I call in a favour. Leave it to him, it should go well." He assured us. "I, on the other hand... I think I'll be returning to Castle Town quite soon, see if we can do anything to get back into the castle."

Auru's words reminded me that Zelda was no longer in Hyrule Castle. I almost told him there was nothing he or anybody in Castle Town could do, but held my tongue.

"It was good to see you again," I said instead. "Safe travels, watch out for Bulblins." I added after, making to climb back down the ladder.

"You too, Rosalie. It was good to meet you, Link. You watch out for her, okay?" He said something else to Link, but I didn't catch it.

"We've got each others' backs, Auru, don't worry!" I called, taking a shorter route and simply allowing myself to fall. Nayru's Love, my crystal barrier, softened the landing as it had done so many times before, like when I decided to jump off the bridge.

"I don't think that reassured him at all, Rose." Link chided when he rejoined me on the ground. I shrugged at him.

"You should see my brothers. And I'm sure he," I pointed back up to Auru. "Would love to meet Bethany, the dragon-shifting thrill-seeker."

That made him laugh, saying that I had a point.

"My brothers would drive Auru up a tree. Dean and Braeden especially. Dean's the oldest, he knows how to be an annoying older brother, and Braeden's the youngest. He knows how to be an annoying baby brother. Anthony's just all-around annoying. But... they're my brothers just as much as Roran is."

I told him more about the three as we made our way to Fyer; How Dean was the one to introduce me to Legend of Zelda, Anthony held my hand on the way to the hospital after my fall out of the tree, how Braeden and I constantly got involved in Dean and Anthony's prank wars.

"You miss them." It wasn't a question. I just nodded.

"Yep. Not much I can do about it. Besides, even if I could go back... my responsibilities are here, and I don't want to let you or anybody else in Hyrule down."

Fyer perked right up when the two of us approached, his green and yellow hat nearly falling from his head as he jumped up to greet us. We returned it, but got to business quickly.

"We need your help. Auru sent us." I held out the note he'd written. The stout man took it, humming thoughtfully as he read it.

"Hrrrm... From old Auru, huh... Ah well, I guess I oughta do what the old coot says... Oasis flight...right? So here you go, one of our secret options not available to the general public... This time's all paid for...so whaddaya say? You wanna go?"

Link and I both nodded, and the man stepped out of the way. He pointed to the open cannon.

"All right then... But remember, next time, you gotta pay! Sweet sailing, buddies of mine. Two for oasis..."

I wasn't sure how well this was going to go. The flight up to Falbi's wasn't nearly as far as halfway across the expanse of the lake, and into the desert. I realized I'd been shaking when Link put a hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be fine, we'll be okay." However, I heard nervousness in his voice as well.

"Fire in the hole!" Fyer shouted from outside, and with a deafening boom, we were flying.

A/N: So, I hope this wasn't too bad for a first chapter. Not too slow? Either way, happy anniversary!

(I swear, the universe was against me writing this on time, but I sure showed it! Hah! First I was sick, then the internet was down, then I lost my notebook, then I sprained my fingers just today so I could barely type, but I finished it! Yay!)

PS. '*'s will be placed where I see fit to add an explanation at the end of the chapter.

* a firebug is basically a pyromaniac.

**I have a theory that Hylians age slower than humans, somewhat like the Elves in Lord of the Rings, but on a much smaller scale.

Also, yay, Rose isn't afraid of heights anymore! Well, she's afraid within reason, but it's not as bad as it was before.