FicWad

The Switch of Fate

By: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda series belong to Nintendo.

Author Note: Sorry this took so long to get out, I had the biggest writer block when it came to the Ice Cavern.

Chapter 13

"Good luck Link!" Kain said as he waved goodbye to the older blond after the younger teen teleported the elder to the edge of the woods. Link turned and waved his hand, watching as Kain tossed a Deku nut down and disappeared in the flash.

"Link, we left Epona outside of Kakariko Village," Navi said once they were alone. "Without her, you're going to have to walk to Zora's Domain."

"It would be quicker with Epona though," Link said as he looked out over Hyrule Field. He remembered something that happened when he was younger, at Lon Lon ranch when Malon taught him Epona's song. "Let me try something first."

"What are you doing?" Navi asked as she watched Link remove the Ocarina of Time from his pouch. Link gave the fairy a smile then brought the magical instrument to his lips. He played the notes to the sweet song that Epona loved. The song echoed over the field, reaching the ears of the cinnamon colored mare. Epona lifted her head from the sweet grass she had been eating, her ears swiveling forward. She nicker and galloped off toward the woods.

Link and Navi waited for a few minutes after Link finished playing the song.

"I don't think it worked," Navi said. Link sighed and slipped the ocarina back into storage.

"I guess," He said. The blond looked up as he heard a horse neigh nearby, grinning as Epona galloped toward him. "Or maybe it did," he said with a grin laughing as his horse came to a stop and playfully bumped her head against Link's chest. "Good girl Epona."

"Alright let go then," Navi said. Link nodded and climbed up on Epona's back. He patted the mare's neck then nudged her forward with his knees.

"Heya," Link said, Epona nickered and trotted out of the tree line.

**

"Burrr," Link shivered as he stood at the mouth of Zora River.

"I guess the prince was right, you can just feel cold drifting from the Zora kingdom," Navi said, floating close to Link's shoulder as she tried to block the wind from blowing against her. Link trudged on up the river, wrapping his arms around himself to try and keep warm. The closer he got to Zora's Domain, the colder it got. Soon flakes of snow started to float down around them, clinging to Link's hair and tunic. Navi shivered as she climbed inside of Link's hat. "Nayru it's cold!"

"I wish I brought a thicker tunic to wear," Link agreed. They reached the head of the river and the waterfall that blocked the entrance to inner chambers of Zora's Domain. Link brought the Ocarina of Time up to his lips, shivering as he tried to play Zelda's Lullaby. It took two tries before he was able to play the song correctly and slowed the flow of the waterfall so he could enter the tunnel.

"Oh... Goddess..." Link said as they exited the tunnel.

"I didn't know it was this bad..." Navi said as she flew out of Link's hat and looked around. She flew over the ice, looking past the top layer. "I can see the Zora inside, the ice is so thick it goes all the way down. They are frozen in place."

"Where do you think Ruto is? Do you think she's under the ice too?" Link asked. "And where is Sheik?"

"I don't know... let's go see if King Zora escaped," Navi suggested. Link followed the fairy up the stair case to the royal audience chamber. "Din! He's encased in red ice!" Navi exclaimed when she saw King Zora.

"What is red ice?" Link said, looking up at the large Zora.

"It's a spell, ice so cold that it's dangerous to touch," Navi explained. "We need to find or go get some blue fire, it's the only thing that can dispel red ice. If we don't hurry King Zora will die."

"It'll take too long to leave and return to Kakariko Village," Link said. "We'll have to see if there is anything in here in Zora's Domain."

"Yes, you're right. Let's try Zora's Fountain, maybe we can ask Lord Jabu-Jabu," Navi suggested. Link edged past King Zora, careful not to touch the red ice that surrounded him, and ran out to the area behind him. Link slid to a stop as the fountain area came into view.

"Lord Jabu-Jabu is gone," Link said in shock. "Where could he have gone?"

"I don't know... it's not really important now. I see a cave on the other side of the lake, let's see what's in there. There's a path along the ice you can use to get in there," Navi said. She flew up under Link's hat to try and get warm again while the blond carefully jumped from ice to ice while avoiding or sending the rocks back at the Octorocks. With one last jump and a grunt Link pulled himself up into the lip of the cave.

"Burr, I think it's colder in here than anywhere else," Link said with a shiver, rubbing his arms and chest. Navi poked her head out from under the hat shivering.

"I feel the magic swirling around the place, I think it's always this cold. The cold in this cave is natural unlike everywhere else," Navi said. Link shivered again then got on the move, going deeper into the caves. The tips of Link's long pointed ears started to numb with the cold as did his nose. He couldn't wait until he was done with this place, he swore the cold was seeping in through his clothing, a summer Kokiri tunic was no place for an icy, cold place like this!

**

Link slowly and carefully walked across the ice covered floor, the Master Sword in hand. He had nearly fallen twice on the slippery floor and he was sure something was in the room with him. Around the edge of the room swung a Blade Trap which Link had to jump to avoid, nearly falling again.

"Keep a look out Link," Navi said. "There's something here... I can sense it."

Link just nodded slightly, he could almost sense it as well. Halfway across the chamber Link eyes widen and he gave a yelp as something made of ice appeared in front of him. He stepped back startled and slipped on the ice, landing on his back with a grunt.

"Link! It's a Freezard!" Navi yelled, flying out from under his hat in alarm. "Roll away before it starts to attack! If its icy breath touches you, you'll be incased in ice!"

Link heeded Navi's warning and rolled to the side just in time to avoid the stream of freezing cold wind that the Freezard spewed out in his direction. With a grunt Link go to his feet and swung the Master Sword in an arch, nearly slipping again as he swung at the ice creature.

"Rolw!" The Freezard gave a pain-like noise as the top half of its body shattered. Link swung his blade again and shattered the lower half of the Freezard.

"Link, there's another one!" Navi warned.

"Hey!" Link spun and crashed his sword into another Freezard that tried to sneak up on him. As he shattered the Freezard to pieces, a third one materialized behind the Elvin youth.

"Link!" Navi tried to warn as the Freezard breathed a stream of cold breath in Link's direction.

"Ah! Cold!" Link yelped as the freezing breath clipped his leg. He jumped back, swinging his arms to keep from falling on the ice, and then brought the Master Sword down on the Freezard. It made the same sound as the first one as Link hacked it to pieces. Movement from the corner of his eye gave Link enough warning to spin and cut a forth Freezard in half. Panting Link cast a watchful eye across the room to make sure there was no other Freezards, his shoulders relaxing when he saw none. He reached down to rub warmth back into his freezing leg.

"Good job, look the wall opened when you defeated the Freezards," Navi said. Link turned and looked, the fairy was correct. While he really hadn't much chance to notice before, part of the wall had opened like a door. Link carefully stepped into the passageway past it, stepping to the side when he heard the tell-tell scratching noise of a Stalactite falling. He had already encountered the loose Stalactites near the mouth of the Ice Cavern where he had nearly been hit by one.

Midway through the passageway the pair came across another Freezard which Link dispatched like the first ones.

"To bad we don't have a fire spell," Navi said as the Freezard was defeated. "A fire spell would melt these things in no time flat."

"I don't even know where to find one," Link said as they continued.

"Maybe the Great Fairies know one," Navi said. "They have knowledge of spells that haven’t been seen by humans for years."

"Do we even know where the other Great Fairies are?" Link asked as they reached the end of the passage way. "What in the name of Din is that?" He asked as he pointed at the large double sided spinning scythe.

"It's a scythe, it might be something the Zoras put in," Navi said. "You know, to stop thieves." Link looked around the chamber, careful not to get to close to the spinning blades. He could see two other passageways but both were blocked by more red ice. And up on a ledge he could see bars covering a doorway.

"Do you see anything that can open that door?" Link asked.

"Hmm," Navi flew off to circle around the chamber then stopped above the spinning scythe, making Link groan. "I sense something under here." (1)

"Great," Link muttered to himself as he eyed the trap. The whole thing looked like it was made out of ice; he couldn't melt it as he didn't know any fire spells so he had to think of another way to destroy it. "Do you think it would it would shatter if I hit it with the hammer?"

"You can try, just be careful," Navi said. Link nodded and removed Megaton's Hammer from his magic pouch, watching and timing the movement of the scythe trap. Once one of the blades passed by him, Link darted over to the middle and raised the hammer over his head.

"HEY!" Link stuck the middle piece with all his might, the blades wobbled for a second then started to spin again much slower this time. Link ducked down under the blade nearest to him, letting it pass over his safely then stood again.

"Look! I can see cracks in the ice," Navi said as she looked closer. "Hit it again."

Link grunted as he hit the top of the middle piece again, the blades jerking and slowing down even more. The cracks became larger and more wide spread, Link could even heard the ice groaning as they spread. Link raised the hammer again a third time and struck with a loud yell, the cracks spreading all the way to the bottom of the trap. The blades crashed to the ground as the middle piece shattered, sending pieces to scatter everywhere. Under the trap was a crystal waiting, which when Link hit it with his blade lit up and the bars blocking a nearby door on a ledge slid open.

"The door is open!" Navi said as she flew up to the ledge, floating in front of it. "Come on!"

"Hold your wings, I can't fly like you can," Link said as he placed the Master Sword back on his back and climbed up the ice to the ledge. He shivered as the wet cold from the ice seeped through his breeches and chilled the tips of his fingers. The door opened as he pressed against the door, also made of ice, and walked down a short tunnel to a smaller room with two blade traps and a Freezard waiting for him. Link sighed as removed the Master Sword, running and sliding across the ice. As he passed the Freezard, the Master Sword dug into the ice monster, causing it to give out a sound of pain. Link slid to a stop and quickly made short work of the creature before it could recover. When another Freezard didn't appear Link quickly sprinted down the next tunnel. The cold was starting to get to him, the tip of his nose numb and his finger tips freezing. He hoped by running he could warm himself up.

At the end Link and Navi entered a large chamber with icy pathways suspended over the solid ice floor. Link could see some Freezards gliding around in the background and a few Ice Keese flying above them.

"Link! That's it!" Navi said excitedly as she spied the large blue fire roaring merrily on one of the pathways. "That's the blue fire! It will melt the red ice!" Link grinned and ran over to the nearest pathway, climbing up the small ice-steps. "Look out! Don't let the Ice Keese touch you or you will be frozen!" Navi quickly warned when she saw one of the Keese headed straight for Link. Link whipped out the Fairy Bow and nailed the Keese with an arrow as it dived at Link. The Ice Keese disappeared in a flash as the arrow ripped through it.

Link carefully walked across the high icy path, taking out a Freezard or two that were in his way as well as any Ice Keese that swooped down toward him. With careful walking and timed jumps Link reached the roaring blue fire, sighing happily as the warmth from the fire started to warm his cold body up.

"Navi, how am I suppose to carry this fire to that red ice?" Link asked a few minutes later once he could feel his fingers again.

"You can store it in one of your bottles," Navi said as she flew lazily above the fire to warm up her own cold small body. "I suggest filling all of them just in case we run into any red ice inside the cavern so we don't have to keep coming back."

Link sighed and reached into his pouch, taking out all his bottles. All three of them contained healing fairies and as he let all three of the pink fairies out they hung in the air in front of Link.

"You do not seem to be very hurt," the fairy in the front said with a soft female voice.

"Sorry, I needed the bottles," Link said, waving a hand at the fire behind him.

"We need to melt some red ice," Navi said as she came to float in front of her fellow fairies. "King Zora is encased in it." The three Healing Fairies turned and spoke quietly among themselves.

"We understand the urgency," the fairy on the right said with a male voice.

"We shall wait outside the cavern for you," the fairy on the left, a strong female voice.

"When you are done we shall rejoin you," the original female fairy said.

"Thank you," Link said with a smile. The three fairies seemed to bow as they dipped in the air then turned and flew away. The blond teen watched trio of Healing Fairies leave then turned back to the magical blue flame. With Navi instructing him, Link managed to capture a part of the fire inside of his bottles. The bottles became warm from the fires inside which lead to Link holding one of the bottles in his hands as he backtracked to the chamber where the icy scythe had been.

Link could see two other passageways in the chamber other than the one he just came out of and the one that lead to the front of the caves. Both passageways were covered with red ice, blocking the way.

"Which one do we take?" Link asked Navi.

"Ummm..." Navi looked at both passage ways then turned back to Link. "I'm not sure. I guess just pick one." Link sighed as that was no help then looked at both red ice covered passage ways before taking the one to his right. Link opened one of the bottles and turned it upside down, gently tapping the bottom of the glass. The Blue Fire fell out and lit up brightly as it caught the red ice wall on fire, the ice melting away with a hiss.

The next large chamber had a large icy floor much like the last chamber and across the way Link could see another burner with blue fire burned merrily. He could also see another passageway on the side, the problem was that both were on high up ledges that Link couldn't reach on his own.

"Din... how do I get up there?" Link asked as he jumped down onto the floor, waving his arms to keep from sliding onto his ass. He caught onto a large ice block nearby to catch his balance on the ice. As he put his weight on the ice he yelped as it moved forward, sliding across the floor to one of the outcropping of ice that stuck out of the floor. He had fallen to the floor when ice block moved, groaning as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. "Ow."

"I think that's how you'll get up onto the ledges," Navi said. "Refill your bottle just in case."

Link only nodded as he carefully stood up and walked over to the block of ice. With another push it slid to another large chuck of ice then toward the ledge with the blue fire. He quickly filled the bottle then climbed down looking around as he tried to figure out how to push the block back to where he could use it to get onto the other ledge out of the room. When he looked at where the block was flushed against the wall, trying to figure out how to move the block away from the wall, his hand against the ice. His fingers were freezing and he could barely feel them now. The blond accidently pushed on the ice block, pushing down into a pit not far away, groaning loudly.

"Now what do I do?" Link asked with a groan as he stuck his hands under his armpits.

"Link, look!" Navi said. "Another ice block!" She flew over to the ice block that had seemingly grown out of the floor where the other had been. Link looked a bit confused but shrugged his shoulders then eyed the chucks of ice sticking out of the floor throughout the room. His purplish blue eyes followed a path from ice chuck to ice chuck until he was sure he knew a way to push the ice block in a way to reach the ledge to get out of the room. He carefully walked over to the block and with a grunt pushed it away from him, following after it to push it in all different directions onto it landed up against the wall with a low thunk.

Link grinned and pulled himself up on the ledge and walked down the passageway until he had to stop in front of a bunch of red ice. He pulled out a bottle, sighing happily as his fingers wrapped around the warm bottle, warming the skin and bringing feeling into them again. Once he could feel his hands again, the blond teenager dumped the blue fire onto the ground and let it melt away the red ice. On the other side of the ice was a door which Link entered.

"Wow..." Link breathed in awe, the room was beautiful; lights seemed to gleam through the ice on the walls and looked like twinkling stars. As Link walked further into the room he heard a low growl within the room. The blond's eyes narrowed at the sound and looked around the small room for the source. As he turned back toward the door, a Wolfos jumped out from behind a large chuck of ice along the wall, saliva dripping from its jaws as it growled at Link. What surprised him was that it was snowy white, he had never see a white Wolfos.

Link quickly drew his sword and blocked a swipe from the Wolfos's claws. It might be white but it attacked just the same as its gray forest dwelling cousins. He figured that if it attacked the same as the forest Wolfos's then it should have the same weakness. When the Wolfos swung at him again Link back flipped from the attack making the monster spin from the momentum of the swing. Link then swiped the blade across the creature's back. It howled a dying song and collapsed onto the ground with a thump, it twitched once then went up in blue flames, burning the body until it was gone. Link relaxed his stance as the body burned away, never noticing the second White Wolfos creeping up behind him.

"Look out!" Navi shouted in warning. Link turned and brought his shield in front of him for protection as the Wolfos leapt forward.

"HOOOWWLL!" a crack of a whip rang through the room and struck the Wolfos on its weak spot on its back, stopping the white beast in its tracks. The whip came around again to strike the same spot, ending the creature's life just like its mate. Link blinked and lowered his shield, looking up as a lean, limber form jumped down from the ceiling.

"We meet again, Link," Sheik said playfully as he coiled his whip back up.

"Sheik!" Link said happily. "Llyr told me you would be here."

"He sent me to assist the Zoras," Sheik said with a nod then sighed. "A waste of time it seems, this is all there is. With one exception, the Zoras are now sealed under this think ice sheet."

"Everyone?" Link asked.

"I did manage to rescue the Zora Princess from the witches, they tried to incase her in red ice like her father," Sheik said, "but she left to head to the Water Temple. Link, this ice is created by an evil curse. The monster in the Water Temple is the source and unless you shut off that source, this ice will never melt."

"I understand," Link said. "Ruto, she's the Sage of Water isn't she?"

"Why do you ask?" Sheik asked.

"Well, both Saria and Darunia both were drawn to the Forest and Fire temples," Link explained. "And so far it's been people that I met as a child. Ruto was the one I had to save inside of Lord Juba-Juba and now she's gone to the Water Temple in Lake Hylia."

"You already figured out where the next temple is," Sheik said with a pleased smile behind his face mask. "I can teach to the next melody that leads to the temple then. Time passes, people move, and like a river's flow, it never ends." Sheik removed the Goddess Harp from its place on his back. "A childish mind will turn into a noble ambition... young love will become deep affection."

That struck a cord with Link for some reason, his blue eyes meeting Sheik's red ones.

"The clear water's surface reflects growth. Now listen, listen to the Serenade of Water... and reflect." Link's eyes closed as he listened to Sheik place, memorizing the notes so he could play it back on the Ocarina of Time. Like the first two times, the two blond youths played a duet, the sweet soft melody seeming to swirl around the small icy chamber.

Link gasped softly as the music of the Serenade of Water filled him, it was like a chilly rushing brook, water trickling down his skin. The soft babble of the water as it ran over the rocks that helped his mind to clear. The Elvin teen let out a breath as he opened his eyes, Sheik giving him a knowing look.

"Link, I will see you again," Sheik promised. He stepped back and tossed a Deku nut onto the icy floor. Link held up a hand to block out the blinding flash from the nut as Sheik teleported away.

"Well... he's gone again..." Navi said once the spots in her eyes went away.

"We'll see him again," Link said as he turned to investigate a chest on the far side of the room. He had noticed it when they entered the room and was curious to what was inside. He popped open the top and reached in. "What are these?" He asked as he picked up two flat, heavy items from the bottom of the chest.

"They look like they could fit around your boots," Navi said. Link looked at the heavy items in his hands again and agreed with the fairy. Both ends of the items were raised up and looked like they could hook around his boots. He closed the lid of the chest and sat on top of it, sliding both of the items on. As Navi had guessed, both of them fit perfectly on the bottom of Link's Kokiri style leather boots.

"These are really heavy," Link said as he stood and took a step. He found he couldn't walk very fast with the iron soles on and each step let out a loud clang.

"Oh, these must be what Prince Llyr was talking about!" Navi said. "I'm sure they are heavy enough to allow you to walk under water."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be able to breath," Link pointed out.

"Hmmm," Navi thought about it for a minute. "That is true. Well, I'm sure we can come up with something, maybe we can visit the Great Fairy and she can make it so you can breathe under water."

"Maybe," Link said as he removed the iron soles off the bottom of his boots and tucked them into his pouch. "Let's go."

"Yes, we still have to free King Zora," Navi agreed as she followed Link out of the room.

***

Outside of the Ice Cavern night had started to fall, making the chilly air even colder. Link shivered and rubbed his arms as the bitter cold wind blew past him. Outside, floating above the alter where the Zora's guardian god had laid, was one of the healing fairies waiting on Link.

"Hero, when you are done with your quest to free his majesty, return here," It was the male fairy who had waited on him. "We sense one of the Great Fairies nearby, we are sure she will help you on your quest."

"Really?" Link said.

"Indeed, I will lead you to her after you return," The healing fairy said. Link thanked him and quickly ran down the short tunnel that ran from the Zora Fountain to the throne room where King Zora sat frozen within a large block of red ice. Link took one of the two remaining warm bottles and tapped the bottom of the glass, letting the blue fire fall onto the ice to melt it away. The air was filled with hissing steam as the fish king was set free.

"Oh!" King Zora said as he suddenly found himself able to move and breathe again. He looked down at the young Hylian teen standing, with a blue fairy hanging in the air above him, across from him. "I've come back to life! Was it you who saved me?" There was something familiar about the boy but he, King Zora De Von XVI, could not put his fin on where he seen the blond teen before. (2)

"Err, yes your majesty," Link said with a slow nod.

"Don't be nervous," King Zora said. "How can I ever repay you?" The king peered at Link, trying to think up of a good reward for his savior. "It looks like you have a hard time breathing underwater. As an expression of my gratitude, take this to the Zora in the store and he will give you a Zora Tunic. With it, you won't choke underwater." He wrote out a note on a sheet of paper and pressed his royal seal to the bottom.

"Thank you," Link said, relieved that he had a way to get around underwater now, as he took the paper from the king.

Downstairs Link found the shop that King Zora had mentioned, the entrance covered in more red ice. Using his last bottle of blue fire, Link melted away the ice to open up the space once more.

"You the one who opened the door?" A Zora behind the counter asked as Link entered. "Thanks for that, I was afraid I was going to be stuck in here."

"You and the King are the only ones who are around out there right now," Link said as he handed the paper to the Zora. The Zora read the request from his King and nodded as he took down one of the requested tunics off a shelf.

"Here you are, one Zora Tunic," The Zora said as he handed it to look.

"Just how does this work?" Link asked as he ran his hand over the tunic. He could feel each of the scales under his fingers that made the tunic up.

"Put it on and it allows you to breathe right air out of the water without taking any water in," The Zora explain. "The first time you try it you might panic. Just remember to stay calm and breathe slowly until you get use to it." Link didn't think he liked the sound of that but nodded his head anyway and headed back upstairs to meet the healing fairies back in the fountain.

***

Boom!

Link ducked down to avoid the flying shards of rock as he blew up the wall blocking the way to the Great Fairy. The male healing fairy, who was back in one of the bottles alongside the two female fairies, had lead Link over to a large stretch of wall next to a lone tree in the Zora Fountain. Knocking on the rocky surface produced a hollow sound which showed that there was something on the other side. As the ringing in Link's ears went away he looked at the new hole he created.

"Let's go," Navi said as she flew on ahead. Link followed her at a more sedated pace; the fairy fountain they found on the other side was just like the one back on the top of Death Mountain. He could see water running down the walls on all sides and in the middle of the cavern was a stone pool filled with rippling water. In front of the pool was the Triforce emblem. Link pulled out his ocarina and played Zelda's Lullaby.

A soft laugh filled the air followed by a second that was much louder with a hint of crazy behind it as with a splash the Great Fairy who lived in the fountain burst forth. She was different looking from the Great Fairy of Power who had long blood red hair pulled up into a high pony tail and a tight revealing dress. (3)

"Welcome Link, I am the Great Fairy of Magic," The fairy said as she seemed to lie on her side in the air. This fairy had long pinkish red hair that was pulled back into three different pigtails. She was also very nude with only a collection of leaves covering her form. Link blushed heavily and adverted his eyes. The Great Fairy chuckled softly, the Hylian boy was so cute! "Allow me grant you a spell. With this you will be able to teleport between two points within the temple after making a warp point of course. I give you Farore's Wind!" A green light gathered between her hands then flew over to Link, flying around him once then entering his chest.

Link blinked and shivered like a cool breeze had blown past him and suddenly the knowledge of the spell entered his mind.

"Thank you," Link said.

"Don't forget you visit my friends and my other fountains," The Great Fairy said.

"Where are the other Great Fairies?" Navi asked.

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell ya," The Great Fairy said. "Better yet, I'll mark them on your map." With a snap of her fingers, Link's map of Hyrule appeared in front of him. Another snap had little points of light appearing on the map where each of the other fountains was. "I had another fountain near Hyrule Castle but I had to abandon it after Zelda took over. Still, maybe one of the others moved in there. Whenever you are wounded, come to me and I'll heal your wounds." The Great Fairy winked and blew Link a kiss before laughing loudly again and disappearing back into her fountain.

**

"Whoa!" Link stumble a bit as he appeared in a flash of blue light in the middle of a stone platform in the middle of Lake Hylia. It was the first time he had ever used one of the warp songs that Sheik had taught him and he hadn't been prepared for the sensation.

"Oh my Goddess," Navi said as she looked out in the pouring rain at the lake. Lake Hylia was completely dried up barring the small pool of water at the bottom of the hill they stood on and the pool of water at the end of the water fall on the far side of the lake. The fairy observed that no matter how much rain fell and no matter how much water came from the waterfall, the lake did not seem to fill up at all.

"The monster inside must be affecting the lake just like Zora's Domain," Link said as he pushed his wet bangs out of his face, the rain water plastering the blond strands to his skin.

"We have to hurry," Navi said. Link nodded and quickly changed into the Zora Tunic. He walked over to the pool of water and looked inside. "There's a gate here, it must be the entrance to the temple."

"I guess, I don't see any place else it could be," He agreed. The iron soles were slid onto his boots, allowing him to sink to the bottom of the pool of water. He did panic for a second, surround by deep water and far from the surface. He forgot for a second he could breathe underwater now. He closed his eyes, trying to get his heart rate to slow down as he hesitantly took a breath. As the Zora from the store promised, air was the only thing that entered Link's body, allowing him to fully calm down. It was strange, there was no doubt about that, but he was able to focus on the task at hand now. He found the switch that opened the gate above it, using the Hookshot to pull it out of place. The gate slowly rose with a grinding rumble, allowing the blond to slide under it. (4)

**

Link surfaced on the other side of the gate and climbed out onto a ledge that over looked the Water Temple. In the middle of the long deep chamber stood a tall structure that had at least one door Link could see under the water. Across from him on another ledge was a large door with a lock in the shape of a water drop, no doubt the chamber were the boss of the temple hid, Link knew he couldn't entered that room without the key.

"Do you have any idea where we should go?" Link asked everything looked locked up or too high up for him to reach.

"Go to the bottom, I think that there is an open door way there," Navi said. Link followed the fairy’s line of sight, narrowing purplish blue eyes until he saw what she did. He dropped into the water and let the iron boots drag him to the bottom of the temple. He took steady breaths as he fought to keep the panic as the water closed in around him as he sank deeper and deeper in. Once he reached the bottom Link made sure not to look up, he had a feeling he would really panic if he saw how far from the surface he really was. As he headed for the open doorway they found, Link was glad that unlike outside of the water, he was able to walk normally in the iron boots under water.

The room at the end of the tunnel confused Link; he could see at least three torches in the room as well as a locked doorway.

'What good are torches under water?' He thought to himself before noticing the figure in the middle of the room who saw him at the same time.

"Oh, you... if I'm right, Link?" The Zora woman asked. "You're Link, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm Link," the blond Hylain said.

"It's me, your fiancée, Ruto, Princess of the Zoras!" the Zora woman, Ruto proclaimed. Link stepped back startled a bit.

'Fiancée?' He thought to himself in confusion. He had already figured out that this was Ruto as Sheik had told him the Zora Princess had come to the Water Temple.

"I never forget the vows we made to each other seven years ago!" Ruto said with a wistful sigh and a dreamy look in her black eyes. She then scowled and stepped up to Link, poking him in the chest. "You're a terrible man to have kept me waiting for these seven long years. But now is not the time to talk about love." Ruto turned away from him, her hands folding against her chest. Link mouthed the word 'love?' behind her. He did not remember ever proclaiming to love her. Beside him Navi gave a nervous little laugh, she never took the time to explain to her charge what Ruto had done by her actions when they retrieved the Scared Stone of Water seven years before.

"I'm sure you've already seen it! Zora's Domain - totally frozen!" Ruto continued, turning to face Link again. "A young man named Sheik saved me from under the red ice, but my father and the other Zoras have not yet been rescued."

"I did save your father," Link said. "I freed him from that red ice stuff."

"Thank you," Ruto said. "I want to save the rest; I want to save them all! I want to save Zora's Domain! You, you have to help me! This is a request from me, the woman who is going to be your wife!" The Zora princess said with passion. Link jerked back in shock at the words.

/'WIFE!?'/ He thought to himself.

"Link, you have to help me destroy the evil monster in the Temple, ok?" Ruto asked, not seeming to notice Link's reaction.

"Yes, I'm here to help," Link said as he recovered.

"Thank you, I'll head on ahead," Ruto said with a smile then started to swim up the hole in the ceiling. As soon as Link couldn't see her anymore, he turned all his attention to Navi.

"Wife!?" Link nearly yelled. "What did she mean by wife!? When did I agree to marry her!?"

"Well... remember what she said when she agreed to give you the Zora's Sapphire?" Navi said with another nervous laugh.

"Yes, whoever she gives the stone too she was engaged to, but you never explained what that meant," Link said. While he knew what a 'husband' and a 'wife' were from stories that Saria use to tell him, Link had no real concept what marriage was as the Kokiri had nothing like that.

"Well... it means to be married," Navi said.

"Married?" Link asked. "But I don't want to marry her."

"I didn't really think we would really see her again," Navi said. "We were going to just give Zelda the three Spiritual Stones and go back to the forest at least that was how I thought it would play out."

"Well how do I get out of this?" Link asked. The idea of marring Ruto just didn't sit well with him, not that she wasn't pretty but the thought make Link's heart ache for someone else though he didn't understand the feelings.

"Calm down, we'll figure out a way out of this," Navi said. "Come on, Ruto is waiting for us."

Link sighed, a pretty impressive feat under water, and removed the iron soles off his boots, floating up through the ceiling after Ruto.

**

Meanwhile Ruto reached the surface and pulled herself out of the water onto the ledge. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she waited for Link to join her.

"What is taking that man so long?" She muttered to herself. A noise behind her caught her attention and she turned quickly. "Who are you!?" A young Elvin teen who looked very much like Link, but with black hair and a dark tunic, stood in front of her. He looked at her with blank red eyes and quickly reached out, grabbing Ruto by the arm and teleporting the both of them before she had time to scream for Link.

By the time Link and Navi broke the surface, Ruto was long gone.

"Where did she go?" Link asked as he wiped the water out of his eyes. He checked the only door in the room but other than a map in a chest there was nothing or no one in the room. Ruto hadn't past them as Link and Navi floated up to the top floor and now she was missing.

"I don't know," Navi said worriedly. "Hey! Look at this, it's the Triforce." She spotted and floated over to an image of the Triforce on the wall.

"It's an odd place to place it," Link said, tilting his head to the side as he looked at it.

"Play Zelda's Lullaby, let's see what happens," Navi suggested. Link shrugged his shoulders and played the royal tune as he didn't have any better ideas and every time they came across the image playing the song made something happen. As soon as the last note played, the Triforce image gave a golden flash then as Link watched shock the water started to drain. Link quickly jumped back into the water and let it carry him back down to the bottom most floor. He noticed that as soon as the torch in the middle from before was out of the water a ball of fire appeared and lit it brightly.

"Well now we know how to control the water level," Navi said.

***

"Wow..." Link looked around with wide blue eyes. The room he and Navi just entered was different from the others in the water temple. The room appeared to be endless, a water landscape with a lone tiny island in the middle of the room with a single dead tree. Everything seemed to be covered in a mist, giving the room a mystical look. The only thing out place was the door he just came in and another door across the way as both appeared to lead to nowhere as there didn't appear to be any walls.

It was a bit shocking to see after all the other rooms in the temple. The temple had been pretty straight forward; Link had found two more Triforce emblems that controlled the water level within the temple. He had also discovered that there were a couple of places where his Hookshot, a very useful item he picked up from the ghost of the Grave keeper Dampé, was too short to reach no matter where he stood.

"I don't like this," Navi said as she hovered over Link's shoulder. "There is something wrong with this place... you need to be careful Link, none of this is real." Link just nodded and carefully walked across the room, the water rippling under his boots as he walked. He passed the tiny island with the dead tree and reached the other door in the room. But as he reached to open the door a set of bars fell down, blocking the way. At the same time Navi sensed a new presence in the room with them and spun around.

"Link!" She called in warning. Link heard her warning in time to spin, drawing the Master Sword at the same time and brought it up to block the blade that been aiming at his back. Link grunted as he pushed his opponent back and quickly moved back to put some distance between them.

"Din!" Link exclaimed startled once he saw who he fighting against. "He looks like me!" The teen across from Link did look just like him; it was the same face and same body. The only difference was the boy across from him had black hair instead of strawberry blond; his skin was much paler than Links and his eyes, which had a blank look as if he wasn't completely there, were a blood red color. He also swore a smoky black tunic and his undershirt and pants were a light gray. Even the other Elvin teen's blade was like Link's, a dark mockup of the Master Sword.

The dark version of Link gave a yell as he moved in to attack Link again. The two elves matched each other blow for blow, neither of them gaining an upper hand as they moved around the room. Sometimes when Link attacked his doppelganger, the other would leap up and stand on the tip of the Master Sword then back flipped off the blade. Link was panting as they neared the tiny island in the middle of the room, he hadn't fought against anything like this before. As it was like fighting himself, the other seemed to know all of his attacks and what he would do.

Link yelled in alarm as his heel slid in the wet sand that surrounded the dead tree, stumbling to regain his footing. The other Link caught the Master Sword with the hilt of his own sword, jerking the Master Sword out of Link's hand. Now weaponless, Link thought quickly, and remembering the times he had to fight against Milo as a kid, reared back his fist and planted it in the middle of the other teen's stomach. Caught by surprise by the attack, the darker Link lost his breath and fell to the ground, dropping his blade as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, coughing as he tried to regain his breath.

As Link quickly kicked away the other's sword, the room wavered for a moment then changed as the misty landscape and the island disappeared, revealing the true appearance of the room that looked much like any other in the temple.

"What just happen?" Link asked, glancing over his shoulder when the bars blocking the doors rose up.

"You managed to defeat him," Navi guessed. "There is something different in the air, about /him/, like the evil darkness that was there is gone." The Hylian and the Fairy looked down at the dark hair teen that had moved onto his knees, one hand wrapped around his stomach still as he gasped for breath. Link walked over to where the Master Sword landed and picked it up then slowly walked back over, sword at ready if his darker counterpart decided to attack.

Link frowned as he heard a sound from the other teen, it sounded like... crying? He hesitated for a second then reached down, touching the other's shoulder. The other Link jerked in surprise, falling over onto his rump as he tried to put some distance between himself and Link. Link was startled by the movement, taking a step back.

"Why did you hit me?" Link's doppelganger asked, his voice a little deeper that Link's. "That hurt!" Link and Navi were surprised by the other's eyes; while still red they were no longer blank and dead looking, reminding Link of the Sheikah instead of something evil and had a look of innocents in them. The eyes were also filled with tears as they looked at Link in fear. Navi on the other hand was struck by how child like this darker Link was, even more so that her own Link who still mostly had the mind-set of a child.

"I-I'm sorry?" Link said in a questioning tone.

"Hey! You attacked us first!" Navi said as she flew into the other Link's face. "He was just defending himself."

"I-I don't remember that," Dark Link sniffed as he rubbed the tears out of his eyes. "Y-you're not gonna hurt me again are you?" he asked fearfully.

"I guess not... as long as you don't attack me," Link decided. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't get the vibe of evil from the other boy.

"What do you remember?" Navi asked.

"Just waking up," Dark Link shrugged. "And the blond lady! She said I had to do something but I didn't want to, it made her really mad."

"Zelda," Link said, not surprised. He sheathed his sword and shield then held out his hand to the other boy to help him up. The other boy looked up at the blond with a wary, shy look then took his hand, letting himself be pulled up to his feet.

"I don't know, she just said she was my master but her game didn't sound like fun so I said no," Dark Link continued.

"And after that?" Navi asked. Dark Link shrugged his shoulders again.

"She got really mad and said these weird words and a light shot out of her hands," Dark Link made a motion as he was the one shooting the light from his hands. "Then nothing, I thought I went back to sleep and was having a bad dream until you hit me. That hurt too." he pouted at Link while his arms wrapped around his middle.

"Well... what do we do with him?" Link asked Navi.

"I don't know, I'm not sure how to handle this," Navi admitted. "There was an aura of evil around him but after you knocked his breath out it disappeared. This isn't anything I came across before."

"Do we leave him here?" Link asked uneasily, he didn't like the idea. He didn't feel right about just leaving his darker counterpart by himself in the room and where Zelda might get to him again. Plus neither of them understood just what he was either. A frightened look crossed the dark Hylian's face.

"Don't leave me!" Dark Link said, grabbing Link around the middle in fright and burying his face into the blond's chest. "That blond lady wanted me to do a lot of things I didn't like; I don't want to go back to her." Link hesitantly placed a hand on his dark twins back, looking up at Navi with a bewildered look.

"I guess we don't have a choice," Navi said as she watched them. "We do need to clean the temple of Zelda's evil but we can't just leave him alone. At least we should leave him with Sheik or someone else who can tell us more about what in the name of Nayru is going on!"

"Ok, let go of me for a minute," Link said to the other teen. Dark sniffed and let go of Link, setting back and nibbling his lip as he watched as the blond held out his hands until they started to glow green. "Farore's Wind!" a gust of wind circled around Link as he held up his hands above his head. The glow from his hands came together and formed into a glowing ball of green light which flew over to float in front of the door that he had original entered the room from.

Next Link took out the Ocarina of Time and motioned for Dark to come closer again.

"What was the pretty ball of light?" Dark asked, he had been amazed by the show of magic. It hadn't made chills go down his spine like Zelda's show of magic had.

"Just a spell," Link said. "A quick way for me to get back here. What I'm going to do next is a type of spell too but you need to hang on." Dark brightened and wrapped his arms around Link again while Navi flew under his hat. Link brought up the ocarina and played the Serenade of Water. In a flash both Hylian teens and fairy were swept away in a group of blue lights and out of the temple.

***

Author Note: And there you go, that's my version of Dark Link. I've read about a lot of different Dark Links in TOOT fanfics. Some are evil, just like in game, and some where dark but not completely evil. But I've never seen one that was childish and kid like. I'm sure there a version out there somewhere I've just never seen it. This is one of the parts of the story I've been looking forward to writing.

(1) For some reason you can target the middle of the spinning scythe. In the real game you have to collect 5 silver coins but that seems silly in the 'real world' so I'm using the scythe instead. You can't really destroy the scythe in the game by the way, it's just something I'm doing for the story.

(2) According to Hyrule Historia this is King Zora's full name.

(3) All the Great Fairies in TOOT look the same, at least in MM they were different colors. I like in Minish Cap where each Great Fairy looked different from each other so I'm making the Great Fairies of Power, Courage and Wisdom look different from the Great Fairy of Magic who has the original look. Think of the other fairies looking a bit like the oracles from the Oracle of Seasons and Ages.

(4) I have never understood how the Zora Tunic worked. At least in Twilight Princess, the Zora Armor had a breathing mask that came down over your face when you were under water, that makes sense but the tunic never did.

Edit 8-3-14: Not much here, just little mess-ups found here and there that were fixed.