sup guys – I'll be moving things a bit faster. very sorry that you all had to wait so long. I hope some of you are here to stick around to read it to the end.

Skipper seemed impressed that Link had gotten his boat back, which was a surprise, since it was full of tentacle holes – but apparently his crew had gotten it back to working condition in no time. And Link, meanwhile, was heading back up to the Isle of Songs to learn Naryu's tune. But first, Fi had a message for him. One from the goddess himself. As he listened, he couldn't help but think of Zelda. Again.
"He who seeks the sacred flames, listen well, for I am the one guiding you from my place at the edge of time. The last of the sacred flames still eludes you. To obtain it, you must claim another sacred gift. For each trial you overcome, you will be blessed with another gift. Make use of the power of these gifts, and you will most certainly find the path to the sacred flames. Now, I bestow unto you another melody. Let it serve as a key to unlocking your final trial. It awaits you upon Eldin Volcano."

Oh, great – the volcano. Link frowned as he took out his harp, unable to hide his feelings towards that place. Still, the tune was at least catchy. Fi danced as he played, the notes coming out of nowhere and storing themselves in his memory, a red light igniting in the temple.

"That song is called Din's Power," Fi informed him when he was done, and Link stuffed his harp away before turning and heading back for his loftwing. The trials were bad enough, but one in the volcano sounded about as shitty as it could get. Lucky for him, by the time he arrived, he showed up right next to where the trial would begin. A strum of the harp revealed a floral pattern on the ground, and Fi sung along as he played, the petals swaying.

Thrusting his sword into Din's mark on the ground, Link felt that all-too familiar feeling of, well, falling out of your own consciousness and showing up in a spirit world. Yeah. Not a lot of people could really relate.

The same eerie blue vibe that the other trials had was here in this one, too, besides the yellow glow from the lava, which of course, remained. The guardians were in full force here – more lanterns this time, which was a pain. Link squinted, trying to spot tears nearby. As much as he wanted to put off doing this as long as possible, he was still on a time limit. Zelda was waiting for him. Throughout all of these trials, he was becoming almost bitter, and couldn't help but wonder if Hylia had planned for him to fall in love with her so that he would do all of this – who else? Groose? He would have been taken out by a bokoblin by now. But even if it was Hylia's choice – even if she made it happen, it was happening. What he felt was real, at least to him. Puppet or not, he loved her. He had to keep going.

With a sigh, he listened to Fi's warnings before taking a look at his surroundings and trying to figure out the best way to start. This area would, apparently, test the limits of his power.

Another vessel showed up out of his chest, a feeling that he would probably never get used to, and he hung onto it while Fi continued. He noticed a tear nearby. Bright red, sitting next to a guardian, of course. As he left the circle, they woke up – the entire volcano lit by a harsh red light, his heart pounding, and he ran. It was already traversing the cliff to get to him, and he circled around, rolling beneath a swish of its blade and grabbing hold of the tear before it could catch up. Things returned to normal. For now.

The tears were everywhere; floating in mid-air next to some vine-covered Cliffside, on little islands, on bones floating in lava, but worst of all were the several that were sitting on sand-covered slopes that Link was forced to slide down, all while avoiding patches of water that would wake the guardians if he hit them. A couple were accessible only by air vents, which he rose tentatively, scanning the sky as he went for more red pillars of light. When he finally collected the last, the guardians awoke, as he had alerted a lantern to his presence, and he found himself running in a panic back to the start of the trial, sliding beneath the outstretched blades of a guardian as he finished it.

Out of breath, he lay down on the stone as Din's gift floated down to him. He peeled open a little red bundle to find a pair of earrings, with a fiery theme to them, bright red. Link couldn't resist the grin that tugged at his lips. How did Din know he'd been searching for new earrings?

A moment later and he was woken back up in the real Eldin Volcano, gasping for air as he was returned to his body, getting up shakily and taking his sword out of the ground.

"Master, those are Fireshield Earrings," Fi said, a tone of respect in her voice, "they will allow you to travel to extremely hot areas. In fact- there is a spot in this volcano you were not able to access earlier," she added. "I suggest checking there first for the sacred flame."

He nodded in response as Fi disappeared, finding his way to the lava tubes, which were still hot, but not unbearably so.

The tunnel from the lava tubes led him to the Volcano Summit. Fi informed him that they were near the crater – and that he should search for flames. No shit.

"Thanks, Fi," he said with a weak smile, and she retreated back into the sword as he surveyed his new, hotter surroundings. Not surprisingly, monsters had found a way to live here, and Link would have to hack and slash his way towards the flame if he wanted to have any luck. At his first step into the temple, lava chuchu's dropped from the ceiling, a welcome to their home. The blonde sighed. Something told him he'd be fighting more of these before he got out.

It wasn't long before Link spotted a familiar face – the adventuring Goron from earlier.

"Oh! Long time no see! I rumbled over here 'cause I heard someone had spotted Goddess Cubes in the area."

Who on earth could he be hearing from? Other gorons?

"I've got a hunch they may be down in that direction, but…" he turned, gesturing to a wall of fire next to him, "this flaming wall is blocking my way! I wish there was something we could do to put out these flames."

"Hmm," Link mused, glancing at the wall and then looking up to the right, where some sort of frog statue with an outstretched tongue was stuck to the wall. There was a stone tablet nearby, and what it read had an easy-to-understand message: "Quench my thirst to clear your path."

So the frog needed water. And that meant Link needed to leave to get some.

"I'll be back," he said to the Goron, "just wait here."

A moment later he returned, bottles filled with water. Maybe not the best idea to dump out his potions, but you never knew when you'd need more water. He'd just have to deal with it. The Goron watched curiously as Link dropped the bottle above the frog's tongue, and it retracted, the flames disappearing and the path clearing. Perfect.

The Goron headed in ahead of him and Link followed, seeing a massive ornate temple ahead of him. It had to have been another dungeon. Another frog was above the door, this one twice as big, but the mouth was closed; there was no fire blocking the way. The Goron stopped at the entrance, staring down at the staircase that led into the temple.

"I-I don't think I should be the one going in there," it said simply, nodding affirmatively to Link, "s'gotta be you."

"I know," Link snapped back, a bit wary about the flames that were already gone and wondering if someone had gone in ahead of him. Ghirahim wouldn't be here, would he? He was at the sand sea, but he was looking for the second gate of time; if he was here, that meant he was way off track. Which would be good, if it meant Link probably didn't have to fight him. Hopefully it didn't come to that.

He headed inside, and one of the first things he found was a little fairy; dumping his water out, he caught the tiny floating creature and pocketed it. Now he had one fairy, one empty bottle, and one filled with water. Great.

The temple was hot, and a pain to navigate; he had to use his bug to drop water bursts onto the lava to create platforms, which he then rode until he could find another place to get off. Other than that, it was beautiful, and a little nicer to move around than the first eldin dungeon. That one was a mess. At least this one had proper stairs. And some artwork. And even more bokoblins; the ones with bows. Of course, Link had a bow too, and for the most part, they went down before he did.

Ghirahim's first enemy was an armored Lizalfos. Link encountered it on a bridge, of course, and the gate locked behind him. The Lizalfos came at him with a screech, and Link lifted his shield, pushing it back and then slashing away before the armored arm rose up and a tail swung around, knocking him off his feet. He rolled out of the way, getting back up just in time to shield again, and slash again – and that was all it took?

"Really?" he asked, watching as the beast exploded into a few rupees, "is that all you've got, Ghirahim?"

He took a moment to enjoy the outside air on the bridge before heading back inside, this time a new part of the temple. It had some more outside areas – and more water vs fire play that Link figured at least kept things interesting. He passed a mogma suspended by a chain above a pool of lava, which didn't believe that he wasn't a bad guy, and eventually ended up in a massive room with lava floating ominously beneath a grated floor.

When he jumped down, trying to find a way to press on, two large groupings of lava began to follow him around the floor, and he clambered on to a rock to try and escape whatever they had in store for him. Magma fingers grasped the rock, and for a moment he thought it would crush him and the rock to pieces, but instead it shot up in the air and Link had the chance to jump onto a platform where two water plants were growing.

Stabbing his sword through the stem of one, he jumped back down and waited for the hands to lift up; one, he threw the water at, and then slashed away at it until it shattered. A moment later, the other one met the same fate, and the lava disappeared. The mogma from nearby yelled through a grated wall.

"Hey – I'll believe ya – you really gave it to those lava suckers! Maybe, uh, you could come let me down?"

It would be easier now that the lava had receded, and so Link agreed, finding his way back to that room and letting the chain down until the mogma found himself on the floor. Link greeted him, and the mogma cried out happily.

"Thanks man! You here looking for treasure too? Of course you are – gotta find that sleepin' statue! But those mitts are all busted up. I owe you, so how 'bout a replacement pair? Hang on."

The mogma dug around in his bag a bit before pulling out a new pair, and Link stared at them in wonder; they looked so much better than the crap mitts he had been given. With a grin, he pulled them on.

"Thanks!"

"You bet! Beat ya to that treasure then, bud!"

When digging for more rupees, Link found himself burrowing underground thanks to the mitts; and suddenly he was crawling around an underground tunnel, accessing a part of the temple he wouldn't have otherwise found. Thank god for that mogma. It wasn't pleasant, and he was covered in dirt when he finally climbed back up, but it was sure useful.

The entire dungeon was filled with puzzles, but every now and again a path would be clear that Link wasn't expecting; who had come in ahead of him? Eventually he had to throw himself off a bridge towards lava just for a platform to appear beneath him, and by the time the entire ordeal was over he was covered in dirt, burns, scrapes, scratches, and absolutely exhausted. This was the worst so far. No wonder it was power.

His next test of power was two of the armored lizalfos, just like the one he had fought on the bridge, earlier. As he blocked one, the other would attack; by the time he defeated one, he was bleeding, grabbing at the hearts it had dropped with desperation as the other one roared and came at him. It hit his shield and staggered backwards, and Link slashed away at it with newfound anger and energy, finally dropping it to the grated floor and picking up the life it had left behind.

He was about ready for this to be over with.

Where he was supposed to find his key, he found only five lit bird statues instead and an empty chance. Damn it. Whoever was ahead of him was ahead just barely, leaving enemies in their wake for Link to deal with. He had to hurry. Running back to the main door, he found it cracked open already, and ran down into a circular room to be greeted only by slow laughter.

Ghirahim.

The demon had his back to him, laughing slowly, and Link drew his sword without hesitation. Ghirahim turned to face him, staring at him curiously, smiling and looking more relaxed than ever.

"Oh, hello, Link. I see you're still among the living. Fancy meeting you here. We seem to bump into each other time and time again. Oh, it's no coincidence, though, hmm? You and I… we're bound by a thread of fate."

"Get to the point," Link said through gritted teeth, watching him.

"Hm. I'm doing some art viewing, you see," Ghirahim explained, turning and spreading his arms out; above him, on the wall, were depictions of what could only be gates of time. Two of them. One in the desert, and one in… the forest. But it seemed Ghirahim hadn't figured it out quite yet.

"Until I found these, I was upset about that little stunt the goddess' guard dog pulled at the Gate of Time. What was that twig's name again? Impa?"

"Well, nevermind that. Now that I know there's two… and one is somewhere… green… this news has just filled my heart with rainbows! I've been a busy boy, you see – searching here and there – and yet I hadn't found a single clue. Since I know I can be honest with you, I'll admit I got a little sulky."

Ghirahim disappeared. Link's eyes widened and he turned, trying to watch the room as best he could while taking careful steps backwards, but the demon re-appeared not far from where he had been before.

"It was frowns all around. The thought of never getting my hands on that darling young girl again was… well, more than I could bear. But then…"

His arms spread out in a wide gesture and he dove towards Link, who staggered backwards, only to feel Ghirahim's hands take hold of his shoulders from behind.

"I found this place!" he exclaimed, his voice quieting, whispering in Link's ear.

"The prospect of a second Gate of Time has made me positively giggly!"

Link swung sideways, hitting only air as Ghirahim disappeared again, showing up now only a few feet away.

"That girl… the one you care for so much… she will be instrumental in bringing about the revival of my master. And though I feared she was quite beyond my reach, I despair no longer. But before we talk any further on that subject, there's still the outstanding matter of your punishment… Link. You've been gallivanting all over, slaying my lovely demon creatures… confusing that clone I made of you… Nil… well, he's gone now, so there's plan number two you failed for me!"

Ghirahim's voice rose, and he hissed at Link, whose shoulders fell a bit at his last statement.

"…Gone?"

"Gone!" Ghirahim exclaimed, waving his arms dramatically, "destroyed, obliterated, torn apart… no, I used his parts to create something far worse," he mused, resting his chin on his fingers and looking at Link with a sadistic grin. "But you shouldn't have to face that. I'll be taking you out right here. Unless… you're willing to strike a deal."

Link scoffed.

"No? You can tell me where the gate is, and maybe I'll let Nil's heart rest in peace… instead of pieces," he added with a deep laugh, "and I'll let you off the hook as long as you stay out of my way."

"No deal," Link replied – as if it had to be said. He lifted his sword. Ghirahim's shoulders dropped, his smile disappearing into a disappointed scowl.

"Well, I tried," he sighed, lifting his arms and watching them lovingly as the white skin broke off to reveal jet blackness beneath. Armored. The cracks spread to his face and chest, and he seemed to admire himself for a moment before returning his attention to Link.

"Come to me, Link. You and I… we're bound by that thread of fate. Destined to fight."

"If we're destined to fight," Link started, taking a breath as he began walking forwards briskly, turning into a jog, "then I'm destined to win!"

He ran at him, swiping forwards, but Ghirahim merely took hold of his blade and held it there before kicking him backwards. He stumbled, using the momentum to catch his footing again, and ran around, making eye contact momentarily before noting the two blades spinning on either side. An open spot. This time he hit him, and then again, before he jumped backwards, summoning more tiny blades, this time in a square.

"You know – that spirit maiden of yours – she's just manipulating you anyway," Ghirahim drawled as Link stabbed at him. Again, he caught the blade, pulling Link close this time.

"That's not real love – that's just destiny." He spat at him, and Link pulled away, rolling sideways before hitting him from behind with a stab. The demon staggered.

"It sounds pretty," he snapped, "but it's cold. She doesn't really want you."

Another stab. Ghirahim summoned swords this time, licking his lips.

"It's the same as us, really," he pondered, disappearing behind Link and giving him a fast slash down the back. Link gasped, falling forwards and rolling as the two black blades were stabbed into the tile floor.

"We're bound by a thread. That same thread is bonding you and that spirit maiden. You're not doing this out of the good of your heart, boy."

"I love her," Link replied simply, standing up shakily and relocating the demon, trying to ignore the searing pain on his back. Goddamnit. He shouldn't have to explain this to a demon. Ghirahim was just trying to throw him off. He ran at him, watching as the demon lifted his swords, and hit his open spots several times, pushing him backwards.

"Fate or not," he added, swiping behind him as the demon disappeared – and he missed. The two blades came swinging at him from either side, catching him a cross fire and sending him spinning to the ground, stars popping up behind his eyelids. Fuck. The demon lord ran his tongue across his blade.

"You're just a pawn!" Ghirahim declared, laughing, "And you think you can defeat me!?"

"You're more a pawn than I am!" Link yelled back, grasping his chest as he stood up, wishing badly that he'd had a potion with him. He fell to the side as Ghirahim jumped, stabbing his blades down – and then he couldn't lift them back up. Link took the opportunity to slash at him, stabbing him in the chest and pushing him backwards. A flurry of little blades surrounded him now, floating tauntingly in a circle, and Link spun in a full circle to deflect them all. A couple of them glanced Ghirahim, and again he jumped, stabbing down, and Link hit him from behind, finally letting out a yell and stabbing the sword through the demon's body. A gasp escaped him, and he disappeared, the swords clattering to the ground.

"…Enough of this…"

He was a little ways away in the room, and Link stared at him, trying not to give away the fact that his vision was currently blurring.

"It shouldn't matter how powerful your sword is… you are still human! A child! And yet you prevail!"

There was a sick curiosity in Ghirahim's words and Link took a step back, breathing shakily, watching as the demon gave him a nasty, sad stare, and then disappeared.

A heart container dropped into the room and Link took it gratefully. The feeling of his health returning to him was enough to cause him to collapse in relief, his sword clattering to the ground next to him. For a moment, he watched the tiled floor as the sun came back out, lighting it; either it had been cloudy, or Ghirahim changed the weather to suit his mood. The latter would not have surprised him.

After a short moment he stood up, heading through the door at the far end and into a chamber where a hylian crest sat dormant. A skyward strike brought it to life, and Din's flame lit, bright, red, and powerful. For the first time in a little bit, Fi flipped out. She had been quiet lately. Now, the fire engulfed her, and she turned to Link, firing off small plumes of the flame that covered the sword in a bright and powerful light. He lifted it to the sky, and after a moment, the fire disappeared into the sword; the hilt changed from a light blue to a dark one, the shape facing more upwards rather than sideways, and the blade itself was nearly glowing with white light, all smooth, unlike how it had been after Naryu's wisdom.

He had done it.

After a moment of admiring it, he sheathed it, looking expectantly at his hand as the final triforce piece lit. Power.

"Master, now that it has been tempered by the last of the sacred flames, your blade has finally revealed its true form. You now hold the master sword. With this sword's great power, you can now awaken the Gate of Time within the Sealed Temple. I recommend you make your way to this location."

Right. He had nearly forgotten. He could finally see Zelda. Link turned on his heel and took off running outside the temple, heading straight for the bird statue that was outside, and took off to the sky.

He got to the sealed temple probably within five minutes, and when he came up to the elderly woman standing by the familiar large stone slab, he was already out of breath. Groose cast him an amused look from a little ways away.

"Geez, the hero of time looks a-"

"I have it," Link panted, interrupting Groose, and he drew out the master sword, causing the woman to gasp.

"Your sword! Yes. There can be no doubt. The sacred flames have purified your blade. Well done, Link – that sword holds tremendous power. It is called sacred force. It is a divine power left to us by the gods of old. The same power that is spoken of in the Ballad of the Goddess. To look upon you now is to see that same power, flowing through you and the sword you carry. …Come, Link. You must now open the Gate of Time."

She led him up the steps, and Link stared at it for a moment before lifting his sword, charging up a skyward strike. It felt more powerful than before, and in fact, the ground began to rumble, and Groose was yelling, and the old lady moaned… no.

"No… I fear the seal has given way once again. That terrible beast is awakening even as we speak. It has reacted to the power given off by your sword. There was no way other way to open the gate… So it goes… Link. You must imprison the beast once again."

Link's heart sank. The last thing he wanted was to face that thing again. Groose, on the other hand… seemed excited.

"All right! This is what I've been waiting for!" he exclaimed, punching a fist into the air, "It's time to break out my new toy. That flabby bag of teeth doesn't stand a chance. Well? What are we waiting for? I'm heading out there!"

With a last challenging look towards Link, Groose took off and ran out the doors, and left the hero of time standing with his jaw dropped. What happened to the Groose he knew? Nonetheless, his enthusiasm – and outright challenge – was refreshing. It would be nice to have help this time, assuming his "toy" wasn't completely useless, which, let's be honest, it probably was.

As he got outside, all he could hear, besides the deafening roars of the imprisoned as it stretched its chubby toes, was Groose.

"Yo! I call this the Groosenator. Try not to drool all over your shirt from staring at it."

"Get to the point, Groose!" Link yelled, drawing his sword.

"Just – just tell me where to place my shots! I'll put a hurtin' on that ugly monster!"

With a frustrated sigh, Link muttered 'got it' to himself and ran down to meet up with the beast itself. If only he could be the one up there, safe, firing bombs at it from afar. Of course, someone had to do the dirty work.

By the time he got to the bottom, the Imprisoned was up already. Fear overtook Link again, and he shut his eyes tight as it formed into shape, trying not to think about the nightmares he had had before this entire journey; trying not to think of the image of Zelda flying into it, with him helpless to save her, trying not to think about – what the fuck? When did it get arms?

There was no time to be afraid. No time to think. Red energy shot out from each step and every time Link landed a hit on the toes, he was pushed backwards, narrowly dodging the beast as it began to reach to the next level of the sealed grounds. A yell came from Groose, and for once Link was glad that he was so obnoxiously loud, because it meant he was ready to fire. Link ducked as the bomb began to whistle through the air; it hit the Imprisoned hard on the top of the head, and the beast let out a guttural roar in response. Once again, Link had to fight the toes. At least now they weren't shooting off that red crap. It had begun to walk again, but not for long, when Link finally had the thing down.

He slashed at the head, pushing the seal further and further back into it as much as possible, then jumping out of the way as it began to walk again. Groose fired off another bomb, and it stopped, and Link took the chance to take out the toes; surprisingly, things were going better this time than the first time it had shown up.

Down again and he slashed at the seal, pushing it with all his might before the hot breath of the Imprisoned engulfed him and the beast found its footing once more, toes growing back, the seal rejected from its skin. It shot along the ground for a while, and Link had to catch up with the air vents, using his sail cloth to lift himself up another level. It stood up after a moment, and Groose didn't miss a beat, hitting it with another bomb.

Link slashed at the toes for the third time, but the beast began to walk again before he was done, and he fell to the side, his legs crushed by the weight of the beast as it came bearing down on him. He let out an agonized scream, breathing short as he tried to walk again, tripping as he brought out his bow and shot out the final toe.

Even though it took him a moment to get back to the front of the beast, when he hit the seal for the third time, the Imprisoned shattered into light and was visibly sucked back down into the seal. He didn't have a moment to lose, and tossed himself downwards, using his sail cloth to cushion his fall but still crumpling when he hit the ground. He barely managed to lift his sword skyward and hit the seal with a strike, adding an extra few slashes in for good measure. It plummeted into the ground, and Groose let out a cheerful call from up above as Link fell to the ground. His legs felt broken, but he could still walk, and cut some grass nearby to regain some hearts before heading back up the long spiral to the temple.

"You have my thanks, Link," the woman said, "as do you, Groose. I do not wish to dwell on what may have happened if you two hadn't been here."

"Aw… you give me too much credit, Grannie," Groose giggled, "You're the one who got me to stop feeling sorry for myself, and put my energy into doing what I could to help."

"Link, you must wonder what it is you've been fighting out there in the great pit," she continued, turning to face him. He nodded.

"There is much I could tell you, but suffice to say it is the root of the evil we face. When you pass through the Gate of Time, you will learn more. We may seal it and reseal it into its prison a thousand times, but it will always shatter the bonds that confine it. Such is its awesome power. We must destroy it at its source, or suffer this fate again and again. …There's no time to lose. Hit the gate with a skyward strike."

Link had about a million questions for the elderly woman, but he was too impatient at the prospect of seeing Zelda again, and ran to the gate, lifting his sword and then hitting the gate with a powerful slash.

Light spread through the cracks on the gate, lighting up the inscriptions one by one, until the entire thing glowed a bright white light. It burst into pieces that floated in the air momentarily before rearranging themselves like a puzzle into a circular gear shape. For a moment it was soft blue, but after that, lights shown in front of it. The familiar symbols of Farore, Naryu, and Din spun in a circle while other mysterious symbols spun counter clockwise to them. It resembled the one from the desert.

"That is a path that transcends the very flow of time. It is a portal to the past… to the very place where Zelda now waits. Go bravely, Link. If everything is as I suspect, the reunion with Zelda you've fought for so hard lies beyond this gate."

He was about to walk through – and then he remembered.

"…Groose. You don't want to come with, do you?"

The red-head seemed surprised, but Link stared at him evenly. He had helped fight the Imprisoned. Survived on the surface and earned respect from the very woman who had helped keep Link alive. He deserved a say.

"…Nah, don't worry about me. I'll hang back here. That beast never knows when to quit, and Grannie here keeps yapping on and on about how we never know when it'll bust free again. Someone's gotta stick around and guard the place. May as well be me. And… you know-"

Groose lifted an arm to his head, scratching the back of his neck nervously before he turned around, waving his hand dismissively.

"Nah. Forget about it. Just, when you see Zelda, tell her I said 'what's up.'"

Link grinned – just a little – and then turned to face the portal. Softly, he touched it with his fingers, and the gears changed to a pitch black darkness with a path illuminated. Taking a hesitant step, in, he stood on solid ground, and so began to run into the darkness.