The door bursted open and Link picked up his whip. Now this might come in handy. He tucked it through the loop in his belt and continued on. Ghirahim must be at about 50 now. Link walked faster.

The walls closest to the original room where Link had been captured had gone from being a plain white to having a few paintings here or there. Shapeless blobs on a canvas. Reds and yellows and whites slopped onto an old piece of paper. They didn't mean anything. But then, as Link proceeded further and further into Ghirahim's castle, the ceilings turned black and wrap-around murals decorated the walls. Battlescenes, with bodies and body parts cast to the ground, people with swords through someone else's throat. What appeared to be woman, restrained by hideous beings in strange clothes, screaming and reaching for something too far away to grab.

The paintings made him cringe, but that was all they were- paintings. He contiued through the castle, searching for any of his items. The door before him looked too big to fit in the castle- it was nearly as high as the doors on the sealed temple!

He grunted as he pushed on the doorknob. It actually gave way after a few seconds, causing a loud creaking that Link cursed. What if Ghirahim had heard it? Then he would know exactly where to find him!

Link hurried into the room, but was forced to stop in the center. The walls held no paintings this time. They were painted so dark a red that they almost appeared black. It looked like blood. The ceilings and archways were a smooth black, and the soft, shaggy carpet was also black. It felt... depressing. Link looked up and saw a single light, hung by a chain. He continued to look around and spotted a chest placed on a ridiculously high shelf on the far right wall. He threw his hands up and let them flop to his side. Without his Adventure Pouch, how was he supposed to get up there?

He approached the wall and looked up at the chest. This one was clearly of importance. It was, unlike the smaller wooden chests, decorated with gems and was painted a cheery blue color. It didn't fit here. Link slapped the wall and leaned his head against it, sighing in defeat. The wall, obviously stone overlaid with drywall, was completely smooth, and there were no dents in its surface. Not even a chip in the blood-red paint.

Link continued to stare down at the floor. There is no way, he thought, that I'll ever get up there. As he continued to stare down at the seam between the floor and the wall, he noticed that a piece of carpet was pulled up from the floor. Almost three inches back, perfectly straight, for about ten inches across. It looked like someone had cut it out of the carpet and then laid it back down to try and cover the hole. Link squatted down and lifted the carpet. It made a glorious tearing sound. Grinning to himself, he pulled the carpet sideways, until he had gone halfway around the massive room. It must've only taken him ten seconds to do so, what with how excited he was.

The strip of carpet had torn right in the middle, so Link tied the two ends back together. Not a big deal. He then tied the very end about three feet down to make a lasso of sorts. A shaggy black lasso.

He planned on throwing this lasso up, pulling the chest down, finding something actually useful, like his sword, and getting out of here. He threw the lasso up once and saw that it was not even close to being long enough. He cursed and pulled the rope back in, brainstorming other ideas. He noticed that directly across from the shelf, almost too conviently placed, was another, yet considerably smaller, shelf that seemed to be miles up. A solitary red plush chair sat underneath it. It appeared Ghirahim really did want to play a game.

Already putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Link sprinted across the room, stood on the chair, not caring if he got the upholstery dirty, and swung his rope up around the post at a forty-five degree angle that pushed the shelf out from the wall. The loop fell through and swung back to Link. He slipped the free end through the loop, pulled till it was tight, and started to climb up. There really was a Goddess- it held his weight!

He clambered up on the shelf and hurried to untie the rope. It was a simple slip knot, but the shaggy carpeting was tangling, it was so long. There could be no more than ten seconds left!

Link, sweating and panting now, swung the freed lasso above his head like a cowboy, then threw it directly at the light in the center of the room. It missed, but Link knew this was his only chance. The chest was directly across from him and was within swinging distance. He stood a chance!

Link tried three more times before it caught. Link, though there was none, thought he could hear footsteps. He was almost drenched with sweat by the time he had tightened the knot. He pulled as hard as he dare on the makeshift rope, then decided he had nothing to lose when he heard, "Ready or not- here I come!"

With a loud yelp he jumped off the shelf and wound his legs around the rope. He swung toward the chest as the circle of light danced around the room- the light fixture wasn't sturdy at all and groaned in protest under Link's weight. He stuck his foot out and his toes grazed the shelf, but he missed. As he swung away he allowed himself a short cry. Link pulled his weight back, trying to gain momentum, and then leaned into the rope, going full speed at the shelf.

It looked ridiculous to watch- a boy swinging from a piece of carpet that was hanging from a wimpy light fixture. He was flailing about, moaning and kicking for the shelf that held a chest that was locked anyway. The Goddess's sword was locked inside, and the key was hidden. It was quite funny to see the boy like this. Ghirahim thought so.

Ghirahim stayed in front of the door, watching Link with a smile on his face. The boy looked on the verge of tears- just the way Ghirahim liked him.

Although he loved seeing the boy being so resourceful, he quickly decided he couldn't allow hope to reach him. He flicked his wrist and sent a row of daggers to cut through the rope as soon as Link let go. But he wasn't yet high enough. He slapped into the wall, hanging onto the shelf only by his fingertips. His legs swung and tried to find purchase, but he dangled too far out.

"You've ruined my carpet!" Ghirahim bellowed. He quickly strode to stand underneath the boy, who was determined to hang on. The longer section of rope fluttered to the floor. Ghirhaim stooped to pick it up. He held it delicately in his hands. "My carpet..." he whispered. The carpet was curled in his fist as he yelled to the opposite side of the room, "And look at my chair!"

Link gasped and struggled. He swung his body sideways and kept going back and forth until he got his right leg up onto the wood. He rolled over on his back and rolled again onto his stomach. Finally! He was on the shelf! He could get whatever was inside now! He smiled, still panting, into the smooth wood, until the air was forced from his lungs. A firm foot stepped on his back, cracking his ribs. Link felt Ghirahim's hair tickle the back of his neck as he whispered, "I've let you come here to play with me and now you're destroying my home? Unnacceptable." The foot was lifted off his back and two hands grabbed under his arms. He was pulled straight up and his back was crushed against Ghirahim's front. They stood precariously close to the edge of the shelf.

Ghirahim clucthed Link's shoulders tightly and pushed him toward the edge of the shelf. He was not going to let go, Link knew that, but Link's weight against Ghirahim's nails did not do good things for his shoulders. "Should I push you, or should I make you jump?" Link wimpered and debated: would it be better to jump, or to push himself back against Ghirahim? He decided the latter would be best. A little humiliation was better than a broken neck. He shook his head and backed away from the shelf.

Ghirahim hummed in his throat- Link was pressed against him. His cheeks burned red in shame, but he would not jump off the shelf, or be pushed. He would do whatever it took to get down safely. Link battled internally for a long time, but finally gritted his teeth in determination, tried to relax his jaw, and spun around. He put his hands on Ghirahim's shoulders and tried to smile. "I'm sorry about... last time," he stated weakly. Ghirahim raised an eyebrow. He glared down at Link, and he didn't return any of Link's advances.

Link smiled up at him, leaning his head on his chest and watching him through his eye lashes. Ghirahim's eyes narrowed. Ghirahim harshly shoved him away and snapped his fingers before Link could grab onto him. Ghirahim reappeared on the floor, looking up at Link. Link whimpered and stomped his foot. Ghirahim smirked up at him. "How's it feel to be the one left behind now?" Ghirahim taunted. Link held a hand out as Ghirahim walked for the door. "Wait!" he squealed. Ghirahim stopped walking but was still facing the door.

"What can I do?" Link asked. Ghirahim slowly, so slowly it was painful, turned around and strolled toward the chair under the far shelf. He made it a point to brush it off and then sat down, propping his foot on the opposite knee. "Get yourself down," Ghirahim said with a smile. Link shouted in protest. "I don't have any rope!"

"Make another one."

"With what?" Link screamed. Ghirahim raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at him. "Watch your tone. You've already ruined our evening. I won't have you causing me a headache, now, too." He glared at him and then smiled. "You could make a rope out of your clothes," Ghirahim said cheekily. Link didn't even blush. "Then what would I wear?" he asked dumbly. He already knew the answer.

"Nothing."

He sighed. He only had his pants, long underwear, and regular underwear. He had socks, but they wouldn't help much. "Or you could just jump and break every bone in your body...?" Ghirahim said, turning his head away dramatically. Link shrugged and retorted, "It wouldn't break every bone."

Ghirahim's head snapped forward. "Then I would," he said icily.

Link sighed again and pulled his boots off. He took his socks off, tied them together, then stripped off his pants. Ghirahim was deathly silent. He still had his white long underwear on, but he might as well have been naked, the way Ghirahim was laughing quietly. He tried not to feel anything as he tied the right pantleg to his sock, then stood on one foot to remove his long johns. Ghirahim let out one laugh as Link finally blushed in shame. He quickly tied the underwear to the pants and, trying to cover himself up, leaned over the edge of the shelf to tie the pathetic rope to the support beam under the shelf.

In the very middle of the room, there was a huge wooden table.

Link pointed at the table and squinted at Ghirahim. "That wasn't there before," he stated. Ghirahim shrugged, crossing his legs tighter. He leaned his head back against the chair and turned his head to the side so he could still see Link.

The desk was within jumping distance from the shelf. It was very far down, but it wasn't far away. Link eyed it carefully. Maybe...

Ghirahim chuckled and said in a happy tone, "I wouldn't try it, Linkie. Solid oak. It would break your back before you dent it." Link shouted back immediately, "Well what am I supposed to do? Stay up here forever?" Ghirahim's mouth twisted into a sneer and his eyebrows rose comically high. "Maybe you should," he whispered. Link, still angry with Ghirahim and angry with himself for getting stuck up there, stood up, jumped, and watched the hard desk come closer and closer until his chest thudded into it, hard.

Well? Bad cliffhanger? I thought so. Nothing much today... EXCEPT THE HUNGER GAMES COMES OUT TOMORROW! IS ANYONE ELSE FREAKING OUT AS MUCH AS ME? OHMIGONDOLA I CAN'T TAKE IT AY LONGER! PROBABLY NO UPDATES UNTIL AFTERWARDS... Oops... Caps is still on. Lol. Review lovies!