As a general disclaimer, to those who wouldst peruse this tale...

Yo, this is a sequel. So if you haven't read 'Hit List' yet, I highly suggest you do so.

OK... uh, if you're still here, then... read on. I guess.

Chapter 1

Adventure Time!

"Alright boys, let's go over this one last time: you've confirmed with the bus agency for tomorrow afternoon?"

"Check."

"All of the students who've turned in permission slips have had them signed by parents and paid the fee in full?"

"Double-check."

"You made sure they repeated the time of departure on this afternoon's announcements so that nobody forgets?"

"Triple-check… Wait, weren't you listening to the announcements? Shouldn't you know that yourself?"

Mr. Auru flashed Sheik a cheeky grin and continued. "Have you confirmed our reservations with the Stock Pot Inn in Castleton?"

"Yes." Link answered, as Sheik was too busy shaking his head in mock-disapproval at their teacher whose grin was steadily growing all the more pronounced.

"And lastly, have you visited all the volunteer chaperones and made sure they haven't had any last-minute changes of plan?"

"Yeah… We divided them between us and tackled that during lunch. Me and Zelda visited Mr. Alfonzo, Professor Ezlo, and Coach- I mean, Vice-Principal Nabooru. And Sheik and Midna handled the others."

"Well, Sheik?"

Link's best friend rolled his blood-red irises in faux-impatience. "Yeah yeah, Astrid's on board, and so is Syrup. We didn't bother visiting you, because we figured you were in, but seeing as you didn't even listen to the announcements like a good teacher…"

"I was a little occupied." Auru shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, telling me off for not paying attention to the announcements!" Sheik exploded.

"Exactly. I couldn't pay attention because I was too busy getting you to pay attention!"

"Anyway," Link cut in hastily, drawing attention back to the matter at hand; school was out and he was hungry, Din blast it! He didn't have time for their shenanigans, he wanted to get home! "I think we've got it all covered. Unless there's anything I'm forgetting…?"

"No, I think you're right, Link my boy," Auru replied, shuffling absently through the stacks of papers on his desk. "You two can head on out now. My goodness…" Auru screwed up his face grotesquely as he twisted his arms behind his back and stretched, groaning loudly. Several loud pops were heard before he slumped forward again with a relieved sigh; Sheik nodded approvingly.

"Link, this field trip idea of yours was a great idea; you kids'll have fun, learn a lot, and be able to get away from... well, the nastier bit of the weekend. Hopefully. That's our goal, at least. But by Nayru, it was a lot of work to put together… I'm grateful you and your friends were able to help me out, or I don't think we would've done it."

"It's no big deal, Mr. Auru." Link said, rising from his seated position at the desk in front of Auru's and slinging his backpack over one shoulder, Sheik doing the same at his left. "I'm just glad we could help. See you tomorrow."

"The bus leaves at one pm sharp! Don't be late!"

"Yeah yeah," Sheik said, dismissing Auru with an impatient wave. "We're the ones who scheduled the bus, we know when it leaves."

"Which means you'll look even stupider for missing it."

"Hey!" Sheik retorted hotly, "When am I ever late to anything?!"

"Um… to class? Every day?" Link answered.

"Oh."

There was an awkward pause as the three men exchanged eye-contact. Auru shrugged as if to say, 'hey man, he's your best friend.' Link laughed.

"Later, Mr. Auru!"

"Yeah, see ya!"

"Until tomorrow!" he called back, smiling once more, and Link and Sheik exited the World History classroom, heading down the hall.

The two best friends followed the familiar curve of Ordon High's second floor, heading toward the stairwell by the band room that led out towards the parking lot, exchanging idle banter. The lockers still bore the look of fresh paint despite the year that had passed since the refurbishment, and the tiled floor, though dirtier, also retained that 'new school look'; Link was sure it had something to do with the fact that the janitor who'd replaced Linebeck after he'd quit was much more competent at his job than his portly counterpart had been.

The fact of the matter was, the school had changed a great deal since the nightmare that had occurred the year before. New paint, new lockers, new flooring, almost an entirely new staff, and surprisingly a flood of new students. Even the atmosphere was different. Where before, the school had been rife with cliques and cast systems that resembled a bad eighties' movie, the new Ordon High was incredibly open and friendly; not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but a remarkable step forward from where they'd been before the shooting.

After Link had given his speech at the memorial service, he'd known he'd have a lot of work to do to live up to all the bull he'd pulled out of nowhere during his oration, and he'd gotten to work immediately. All of his efforts would have been for naught had it not been for the support of his friends. In an effort to branch out, Link had joined the Lacrosse team, as well as the Baseball team, though he was far from the MVP in either sport. Zelda, to nobody's surprise, had joined the student council and was now Senior Class President. Sheik, to everybody's surprise, joined the swim team. Midna… well, she was still Midna, but she at least stopped shooting death glares at the underclassmen, which was a miracle in and of itself. Throwing off the tired shackles of a broken, oppressive teenage society was difficult, to be sure, but Link and his friends had taken the job to heart and had tried their best, leading through example, to improve their flawed but now beloved Ordon High.

Thankfully, they had help. It's fascinating how nightmares can spawn total changes of heart in certain people. For example, Darunia and Ruto, the captain of the football team and lead cheerleader, were major factors in the positive changes that they'd seen over the past year, despite being perpetrators in the initial problems. Darunia still had his smothering personality and Ruto could still try the patience of a stone, yet the two seemed to tag-team social issues with a zeal and fervor that astounded those who knew the old them and were paragon defenders of the lonely or left out. Link had been hesitant at first, having been victim to a few of Darunia and Ruto's past mockeries, but had changed his mind about the dynamic duo shortly after the school year started; at the start of the football season, Link and co. had been invited to a private memorial service held by Ordon's football team in memory of those who couldn't play with them that year. Link had been touched my Darunia's sincerity as he begged his new team to honor Link's plea at his speech at the end of the last school year and become the backbone for their new student body. Ever since then, Link had considered them friends and had often been invited to their parties or hang-outs, attending with Zelda when he could.

There were a few other minor changes. The school hired a new counselor, and the entire county had opted for electing a school psychologist whom the students could visit during or after school just to talk for when they needed some private time. Principal Oshus and Vice-Principal Nabooru were quick to crack down on bullying, and with Nabooru's famous iron-will, it was quickly learned that she was not to be crossed.

But this biggest change of all was simply in the demeanor of the students. Even in his most optimistic moments, Link had never hoped for the school to progress as far as it had. They were simply… happier as a student body. They laughed more. They participated in school events. When it was pep rally or spirit time, they went all out, and the competing schools at sporting events were drowned out in a tidal wave of pure Ordon pride. The credit for that didn't go to any particular individual either but to the students as a whole. They'd been changed by the Ordon High Massacre, forever. They'd learned they had to look on the bright side, seize every opportunity and treat others the best that they could, because who knew when the last time you'd see your best friend was?

In spite of all the good, there was still a sort of gloom that lingered underneath, the kind of pallid shadow that would likely take years to cast off. Certain students still avoided certain sections of the school. Aryll refused to enter dark rooms, particularly closets, and there were certain nights when Link would awake in the dark to the sound of her sobbing in the next room. Worst of all, fourteen students had been sent home in uncontrollable hysterics after the first fire drill of the year resulted in mass panic, and the school had had to begin announcing beforehand when they'd be performing the drills on any particular day.

Link and Sheik reached the ground floor and exited the doorway, heading to the student parking lot which was virtually empty by now. Passing the memorial garden, they headed off down the sidewalk, still lost in nonsensical conversation as was normal, and began their trek home. It was the beginning of April, and spring was well on its way, making the would-be chilling breeze less-than threatening. Link had foregone his normal oversized hoodie and walked down the street in a simple blue T-shirt and khaki cargos. Sheik still sported the ripped skinny-jeans look and had one of those short sleeve shirts that was purple with white-striped longer sleeves that came out from underneath. He was sure that there was a name for that kind of shirt, but he had no idea what it was and cared even less.

Link supposed he was lucky they lived just a few blocks down the road from the school building, about a fifteen-minute walk. His less-than-faithful truck, Epona, had finally kicked the bucket earlier in the year, meaning that Link's daily schedule suddenly included a lot more exercise. He hadn't gotten a new car yet, but it wasn't so bad. If he ever needed a ride, he'd call Zelda, whose father had replaced her late mother's ruined car after the shooting without so much as a scolding remark, so grateful he'd been that she was ok. He could also call Midna, who had access to her mother's mini-van, but he preferred the Zelda option, for more reasons than one.

As the two teens arrived at an intersection, Link stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants and turned to Sheik, who was finishing his rant.

"…was it. I mean really, so much wasted potential. I don't understand why Midna likes Sword Art Online so much. I felt like I lost hours of my life that could have been spent on Fullmetal Alchemist."

"You working today?" Link asked, changing the subject; they'd already had this conversation before, no need to rehash it. Obviously, Fullmetal Alchemist beat out any other animated TV show on the face of the planet. That wasn't even in question. Midna was just in denial.

Sheik sighed, seeming to deflate a bit. "Yeah, I gotta head straight over to the pet shop. No time to even grab a snack. Madam Mamamu Yan can be a bit of a stickler."

Link smirked. Complain as he might, Link knew that Sheik loved his job. He was a closet kitten lover and thought nobody knew. Everyone did. Midna had pictures.

"Granny'll be irritated. She thinks they work you too much. She probably made us dinner already, and now I'll have to eat it all by myself."

"You're going to save me some if you know what's good for you. It's too early for dinner anyway." Sheik grumbled, and Link gave a light chuckle. Glancing impatiently across the intersection, he checked the little black box that showed whether it was safe to walk. The stick figure was still red. He frowned; stupid intersections and their wait times with no respect for the common pedestrian… He could see a girl at the opposite side who was also waiting for the appropriate traffic signal while she read something on a sheet of paper in her hand. You see? Yet another innocent person, inconvenienced, probably starving to death like he was. Curse traffic laws and all those who obey them!

"Dude, what's with that face?" Sheik laughed, finally catching on.

"I'm hungry!" Link blurted out, throwing his hands into the air in frustration. "I mean, come on! We miss the light at this intersection every time! You'd think they'd wisen up and build one of those walkways over the street to help all the poor, helpless feet-bound highschoolers who are dying of malnourishment after a long and grueling day at school! What else is our tax money good for?!"

"Dude, you don't pay taxes. You don't even have a job."

"So what? I stand by my rant."

"I worry for your sanity when you're hungry."

The cars passing on the road began to slow to a stop and the stick figure flashed green.

"Oh look, it seems the cosmos heard your whining and deigned to pity you."

"Shut up." Link grunted, adjusting his backpack and stepping out onto the asphalt, his best friend following suit with a grin.

As they passed the girl, nose still buried in her papers, Link noted Sheik's gaze trailing after her.

"Midna would kill you if she could see you right now." He commented lightly.

"Just because I'm dating someone doesn't mean I'm blind." He shot back cheekily. "Besides, you can bet she ogles every attractive man she sees. And it's not my fault I have a weakness for redheads."

"Something tells me she doesn't share your viewpoints."

"When do women ever share our viewpoints?"

"When do women's viewpoints matter?"

Sheik let out a snort of laughter, making Link's grin widen, but his best friend's response was lost as Link turned his attention back over his shoulder. He wasn't sure what made him do it; maybe it was the sound of rustling papers as the wind blew them out of the girl's hands. Maybe it was the crunch of gravel as she crouched down, desperately trying to gather them up before they all blew away. Regardless of the motives, at the moment that Link turned his head, he saw a fire red sports car flying down the street, swerving drunkenly in both lanes, heedless of the girl crouched down in its path.

"Dude," Sheik went on, ignorant of the scene about to play out behind them, "imagine if-"

Link turned on the spot and dropped his backpack, breaking into a full-out sprint. There wasn't time to consider a better course of action; the car was seconds away from hitting her and the girl had only just now noticed, too late to do more than throw up her arms and begin to scream. Link did the only thing that crossed his mind; taking a page from Darunia's book, he threw himself forward and slammed his body into the girl, and the two of them crashed to the side. His body hit the pavement as the car shot past, its horn blaring, and he rolled a few more feet, pain flashing throughout his body.

When the world stopped spinning he let out a pathetic moan and pushed himself into a sitting position, one hand on his head which hurt because his brain had been rattled fairly harshly. His elbow was throbbing from where he'd initially hit the ground, and his knees weren't much better. His breathing was ragged, and his heart was racing almost as fast as the idiot who'd nearly made him into a pancake. It wasn't until he realized he wasn't dead that the thought occurred to him, 'what in the name of Din were you thinking?!'

Casting his eyes about him quickly to make sure there weren't any more renegade cars coming their way, Link turned his attention to the girl who was still laying on the road a few feet away. Suddenly worried she might have been hurt in the fall, Link clambered hastily to his feet and hurried to her side. She was lying on her back staring wide-eyed at the sky, a traumatized look on her face.

Kneeling beside her and concerned about the potential of brain damage, he gently nudged her shoulder and murmured, "Hey, are you alright?"

The girl, whose long scarlet hair was now wildly mussed, took a sudden, shuddering breath and squeezed her wide, sea-green eyes shut. After a moment she blinked her eyes back open and stared up at Link in confusion.

"What… what happened?"

"Car ran the light. Almost ran you over. I pushed you outta the way."

"You saved me?" She breathed softly, her voice taking on a wondrous quality, and Link gave an uncomfortable shrug.

"I… guess? You ok?"

He held out a hand and she grasped it, letting him pull her to her feet. As she hurriedly adjusted her sundress, Link got a better look at her. She was a startlingly pretty girl, if truth be told, with a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and a surprisingly cute, dimpled smile which she flashed at him shyly, staring up at Link through her long lashes. Her dress was a little dirty from the fall and slightly torn at the hem.

"So, um… thanks. For saving me, I mean. That was really cool."

"It was nothing, really."

She giggled. "Heroically saving a girl from certain death is nothing?"

"Yeah, he's kinda got a 'saving people' thing. Don't worry about it, this is just another day at the park for him." Came Sheik's dull voice as he joined them with the girl's scattered papers gathered in his hand.

"Is this sheet music?" He asked as she took them back with a grateful smile and began shuffling them back into order.

"Yeah! I'm a bit of a music aficionado, actually. I'm in the choir."

"Oh yeah? I don't think I've seen you before today."

"I'm actually new here…. This is my first week." She sighed despondently, puffing out her lower lip. "New kid at school and I already nearly died. Worst first week ever."

Zelda might have something to say about that, Link thought darkly.

"So what's your name?" he asked instead, casting off the negative memories.

"Um guys, maybe we should get out of the road…?" Sheik suggested, and Link and the redhead both turned around to see a line of cars waiting impatiently for them to get out of the way.

"Oh."

"Whoops!"

Giggling, the girl skipped ahead of the two boys as they relocated hurriedly to the sidewalk on the side of the road where Link and Sheik had initially started out. Link noted this with a dark scowl and his stomach gave a mutinous rumble. Looks like food still wasn't on the menu.

"So…" the girl drawled, twirling around and grinning at them both. "I'm Marin! What are your names?"

"Sheik Shadow."

"I'm Link."

The bright, friendly smile slid off her face, replaced by a look of sheer awe. "Y-you're Link? Like, the Link? Link Hero?"

Link scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I dunno if my name deserves a 'the' in front of it, but yeah, I'm Link."

"Oh… my… gods…" she breathed, and Link sighed internally.

"Here we go..." Sheik muttered.

"Like, I can't believe it! I got saved by Link Hero! Din, this is awesome! It's like I actually fit in here now! Did you really do all that stuff everyone says you did last year? That's so cool! I mean, no, it's awful, but it's so amazing how you saved everyone! Goddesses, you really are a hero! Ah, Nayru, this is so exciting!"

"Uh…?" Link muttered, feeling flushed and uncomfortable.

"Yeah, he's definitely something, isn't he?" Sheik deadpanned.

The girl, Marin, was a little breathless, and it was sort of freaking Link out. Sure, he'd been a little hero worshipped ever since the events of the end of the last school year, but it had died down a lot since the new school year started, and he had never been comfortable with it. Zelda liked to say that he had a problem accepting praise, but even she would agree this was a bit much.

"So… anyway, you sure you're ok?"

"What? Oh! Oh yeah, I'm fine! Just a little scratched up but nothing major. Thank you so much for saving me, that was super cool! Um, so…. I guess I'll see you guys at school?"

"Sure." Link replied with an earnest smile; it seemed like the conversation was drawing to a close, and that meant food would come sooner.

"Yeah… so, you guys going on the field trip tomorrow?" Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was biting her lip and swaying on the spot with her arms hooked behind her back, her eyes glued to Link's.

"Yeah, we sorta helped plan it… wait, are you going too? I thought you said this was your first week, how does that work?"

"Before I moved here, I was chosen to sing 'The Ballad of the Wind Fish' in honor of the Hero of Time celebration with the Hyrulian National Symphony Orchestra, but then my dad got a new job here in Ordon. We thought I wouldn't be able to go, but my dad contacted the school and Principal Oshus told us about the field trip. I guess somebody dropped out and I'm taking their place? I don't really know myself, I guess Mr. Aur-whatever is taking care of it. I'm actually really excited; I love the Hero of Time, it's my favorite legend. So you guys are going?"

All of that came out in one breath.

"Yup." Link replied after a moment, realizing he was staring.

"Oh, that's so cool! I'll actually know some people!" She gushed.

"Right…. Well hey, I need to get to work now, so we need to go…" Sheik cut in a little pointedly, and Link was secretly grateful; the girl seemed nice and all, but seriously- nourishment.

"Oh, ok! That's totally fine! Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Sure thing."

"Ok! So, um… bye!"

"Uh-huh."

"Later."

The girl waved ecstatically before turning on the spot and bouncing off down the street, humming something under her breath, leaving Link and Sheik once again waiting for the light.

Silence engulfed the duo.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…She seems nice."

"Mmm."

"…"

"You really have a thing for saving the pretty new girl, don't you?"

"Shut up."

"…"

"…"

"Oh hey, the light's green."

"Yesss…"

The rest of the walk was uneventful; Sheik peeled off a few streets later and Link continued the walk to the house alone. Unbidden, his thoughts wandered in the direction of the anniversary that was coming up in just two days' time. This coming Friday was the one-year anniversary of the Ordon High Massacre. Out of respect for the fears of students and parents, and in order to dissuade the unfortunate possibility of copy-cat attacks, the school had decided to close on that particular day and to have a half-day on Thursday. Link was all for an extra day off school; he just wished the reasoning didn't have to be so dark.

As it turns out, this weekend was also another anniversary; the Hero of Time celebration's tricentennial anniversary, to be exact. The holiday wasn't anything super-special, at least not here in Ordon, but being the three-hundredth anniversary was exciting for just about anything, even a historical figure, and the Museum of National History up in Castleton had decided to go all-out.

They'd redesigned the museum in honor of the Hero of Time, entire rooms and wings of the building dedicated to aspects of the various legends, and would be holding a festival in honor of the Hero this weekend. When Link had heard about it, he was naturally intrigued; how could he not be, it was a festival dedicated to himself.

Ever since discovering last year that he was the current reincarnation of the legendary Hero of Time, Link had discovered that life was literally no different. Sure, he had weird dreams sometimes from past lives that he could scarcely remember, and he had a bizarre mark on his hand, and there was the whole Ganondorf thing last year, but aside from that he was your average teenage guy. It was a little disappointing, truth be told. He could handle the lack of heart-stopping terror and reckless self-endangerment that he knew came with being the Hero, but why couldn't he have a few cool perks? Like well-toned muscles, or supernatural good-looks, or… something fairytale heroes were known for. Fair, he was more in shape now since joining a few sports, but deep down he was still the same lazy Link he'd always been. He wondered sometimes if any of those old depictions of the Hero were even true.

Which was another reason for why he'd wanted to go to Castleton so badly. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but nobody had the answers. Zelda had mentioned how she'd heard the voice of Nayru a few times during the shooting, but Link had never heard the voice of Farore, or anybody, guiding him. Maybe the Goddesses were sexist? Or maybe it didn't matter anymore because their job was done and the world was safe? That last thought kept him up at night sometimes, though he couldn't say for sure why.

Link and Zelda had taken to hiding the Triforce marks on the backs of their hands. Not from embarrassment, but rather to avoid running into anybody who understood their significance and asking too many questions. Zelda had tried to use makeup at first but it kept rubbing off, so the two of them had taken to making a rather bizarre fashion statement; they both wore a single fingerless glove, Link on his left-hand and Zelda on her right. If it weren't for their popularity and for the fact that the students at Ordon High were walking on eggshells when it came to teasing others they might have received a number of weird comments from their peers, but most people seemed to think it was in honor of whatever had gone down between them and Ganondorf in the Principal's office that day. There were whispers that their hands were horribly scarred, or that they covered the hands that had failed to hold on to each other when Link had slipped through Zelda's fingers and fallen from the window. That last one was probably perpetrated by Ruto, but regardless, the student body basically revered them for it. The faculty might have had a problem, but thankfully Oshus and Nabooru, who had seen the marks themselves, and thought they were tattoos due to some unbelievably bad lying on Link's part, allowed them to remain covered up without comment. Link only removed the glove if he was alone, and sometimes it kept him up at nights, too. What was he supposed to do with it now? Just live with it until he died, and it passed on to the next Hero?

In any event, knowing that his grandmother would decline taking him up there (she hated museums with a burning passion for reasons she claimed she wasn't legally able to explain), and lacking a job and therefore funds necessary to go himself, Link had had a brilliant idea; get the school to pay for it! He'd pitched the idea to Auru in private, knowing the man was a history buff and hoping that if he spun it not only as a great way to help his students 'learn to love the magic of history', but also as a way to get their minds off of the anniversary of the shooting, he'd have a better chance at succeeding.

And succeed he did. It helped that Zelda was on-board instantly; she was every bit as excited as he was to glean some information from their past lives, and what better place to do it? Their friends jumped on the bandwagon not long after, because who doesn't love school field trips to other cities when all your friends are on board? And once it became clear that Link and his friends were going, everyone else wanted to come along, and the trip wound up being a tremendous success. Or it looked to be, at least. They had around sixty to seventy kids signed up, which was pretty decent all things considered. Link felt strangely proud of himself. Who knew his harebrained scheming would end so well, and make him look like such a caring, concerned citizen? He definitely deserved a pat on the back.

Finally making it home, Link slipped his key into the lock, swung the door open, kicked off his shoes, and entered the house aiming for the kitchen where he could smell what was undoubtedly his Granny's famous gumbo cooking on the stove. Sure enough, the travel-sized older lady stood before a large silver pot, stirring away with gusto and humming to herself as she did, a trait she and Aryll shared.

"Hey Granny, I'm back." Link said, as per usual, heading to the fridge and sticking his head inside, looking for a snack. He felt a slap against his back and jerked upright, shooting his grandmother an indignant look as she brandished the wooden spoon at him in a threatening manner.

"You get your head out of that fridge before you ruin your supper! Dinner will be ready in a half an hour, you can wait until then!"

"Aw, but Granny…" Link whined, but she'd already turned back to the stove.

"No buts. Go wait in your room until I'm done, I don't need you cluttering up my workspace. Good grief, you are a handful. Where is Aryll when I need her? She'd actually be willing to help me."

"Aryll's not here?"

"She's got track practice, remember?"

"Oh yeah." He never could remember what it was Aryll did with her life. She was always starting something new and it was hard to keep track of sometimes. Heh. Track. He was hilarious. "So I guess that means more food for me."

"No, you rotten child. We'll be saving some for her and Sheik, so don't you get any ideas."

Link gave an affectionate grin and leaned back against the wall, watching his grandmother work. "Y'know, if you really need help I can give you a hand."

"You mean if I really want my house burned down? No, I think I'm good. Go finish your homework or something and get out of my hair."

"Yes, ma'am!" Link mock saluted and headed towards the hallway.

"You still have that field trip tomorrow?" Granny called just before he left the room.

"Yup. Bus leaves at one o'clock, right as school gets out."

Granny Hero clucked her tongue and shook her head disdainfully. "You kids… Back in my day, a three-day weekend meant going to the beach and having parties with my friends, but you three are going to spend all your free time at a museum learning about history. Honestly, I don't know where I went wrong with you."

"Well, you know me, so dedicated to my studies..."

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and shooed him from the kitchen.

So, no food just yet. His stomach growled rebelliously, but even it knew better than to cross Granny Hero. Trudging to his room, he cast the door open and made to belly-flop dramatically onto his bed.

Problem was, it was already occupied.

"Oh, you're home."

Link blinked. "Hey Zel, Granny didn't mention you were here."

She shrugged but otherwise didn't comment. She was lying in his bed, propped up against the headrest and using his pillow as a cushion, carefully reading over something on her tablet as she took notes in her spiral-bound notebook, one of those fuzzy pens clasped in her gloved hand. Her hair was the same as it had been a year ago, long and straight and extending to just above her middle-back, in that gold-blonde-brunette-ish color that he so loved. Her amaranth eyes were glued to the screen without emotion and she sported rainbow socks under her jeans and a canary yellow shirt-thing… what did girls call them? A blouse? He actually didn't know what a blouse was, but that was usually his go-to word for a girl's shirt. Why couldn't they just call them all shirts like guys did? It was a frilly, yellow shirt. Done.

She flicked her gaze up to him when she realized he hadn't moved and quirked an eyebrow.

"You ok?"

"I'm starving." He muttered, deciding not to inform her that he'd really been ruminating on the various quirky eccentricities of female fashion and tossed his backpack across his cluttered room towards Sheik's bed, finally stepping inside.

"Granny should have dinner ready soon." She commented idly as Link collapsed onto his face on the bed beside her.

He gave a short grunt and she began running her fingers through his hair.

"Don't you have any homework?"

He grunted again.

"Link."

"Maybe…"

"Hun, do your homework."

"I don't wanna…"

"You don't want to graduate from high school either?"

"And if I said no?"

"I can't very well date a dropout. Guess we'd have to break up."

"You can't break up with me. Destiny won't let you."

"Watch me."

"You're being cruel… I miss nice Zelda. Where'd she go?"

"There is no nice Zelda. Everything you know is a lie."

"Even the cake?"

"Especially the cake."

They were quiet for a moment, and Link let his eyes drift closed as he drew in the peace of the moment. He loved it when it was like this; just him and Zelda, relaxing and having stupid, meaningless conversation. It almost made all they went through last year worth it.

"So… hey. Get up. There's something I want to show you."

Link groaned, and Zelda jostled him roughly.

"I don't wanna do my homework…" he whined pathetically, and she shoved him again.

"Well you have to, but it's not about that. Pretty please get up? There's something reeaaaaally important I want to show you, but you need to open your eyes."

"Is there food involved?"

"Um… I have a granola bar?"

"Sold." He answered, immediately righting himself and sitting cross-legged in front of her.

She blinked in surprise. "That was fast."

"Never underestimate my hunger. Now, what is it you wanted to show me?"

An eager grin cracked across her face, excitement twinkling in her eyes, and she adjusted her position so she was mimicking him. "Ok, so, you know that I've been trying to work out how to use magic ever since the shooting, right?"

"Uh-huh…"

"And you know that I've never really had any success, right?"

"Uh-huh…"

"And you know that I've studied and read and done all the research I could into the old legends but they never tell you anything even remotely useful, right?"

"Zel, can we get to the part with the granola bar?"

"Look!" She squealed excitedly, ignoring Link's desperate plea and, practically bouncing up and down in eagerness, held her hand in front of his face and snapped her fingers.

A swirl of dancing lights appeared above her fingertips and vanished a moment later.

"I finally got something! I don't know what I did, or how I'm doing it, but it works! Is that not the coolest thing you've ever seen?!" Zelda gushed, her face pink with emotion.

"Um, yeah Zel, that's super… weird."

She slapped his arm. "Hey! What is wrong with you! This is the most exciting thing that's happened in my entire life!"

"I mean yeah, it's cool, but… I mean, what's does it do?"

"What does it…? Well… nothing, I guess, but that's not the point! Link, this could be the gateway to bigger discoveries! I mean, imagine what I can do with magic! What if I can cure cancer? What if I can predict earthquakes or stop wars or… The possibilities are endless! How are you not more excited?!"

"…do you think your magic can get me food?"

She stared at him in disbelief for a moment before dropping her arms with a disappointed sigh and rolling her eyes, reaching for her bag. "You are unbelievable."

"Love you too, Zel."

She ignored him, holding fast to her angry face.

"You can just be so…" She said as she handed him the granola bar and he plucked it gleefully from her hand, but she trailed off before she finished her sentence, her eyes glued to his arm.

"Holy… Link, what happened to your arm?!"

"My what?" he asked through a mouth full of granola, but she'd already grabbed his hand and yanked it toward her.

There, on his elbow, was a sinister looking bloody gash. He'd forgotten all about his fall, and his arm throbbed viciously as if to say 'hello, remember me?'

"Oh look."

"Hold on, I've got something, just tell me what happened!"

As she began digging through her bag again and pulling out random odds and ends, Link crammed the other half of the granola bar into his mouth and began his explanation.

"Well… there was… this girl… and a car…. Ran the light… football tackle… hurt my arm… totally forgot… OW!"

"Stop being a wuss." She muttered, carefully wiping at his gash with a Kleenex covered in hand sanitizer. "Did you say you forgot about this? How?! It's still bleeding! And there are bits of gravel stuck in it!"

"Um… I dunno? Ow! Hey, be gentle!"

"Gods, you are such a baby…" Biting her lip, she tried again, this time with less force. "What happened with a girl and a car? I didn't understand."

"She almost got ran over and I had to tackle her out of the way." He replied nonchalantly, still cringing over the stinging on his arm. Honestly, it hurt worse now than it did before she started…

Zelda stopped wiping and looked up at him in surprise. "You saved some girl's life?"

"Um… yeah?" He scratched at the back of his head uncomfortably.

There was a pause, and then she returned to treating his arm with a small smile on her face.

"Of course you did… Who was the girl?"

"Some new kid named Marin. It's her first week or something. Oh, get this; she says she's coming with us on the trip tomorrow."

"Really? So… some new girl gets you hurt in her first week at school and you save her life. Should I be jealous?" She sent him a playful look to show she was kidding.

"Nah, she doesn't carry granola bars on her person. We'd never hit it off."

Zelda laughed as she peeled the paper off a Band-Aid and carefully placed it on his arm.

"Well, that's a relief, I must say. And you are all done!"

She leaned forward and pecked him briefly on the lips.

"Thanks, Princess."

"What would you do without me, Hero?"

"Die, apparently."

Granny peeked her head around the corner of the door. "Hey, Zelda. Dinner's ready, so you can tell that pathetic grandson of mine that he can stop whining now."

"Hey!"

"Will do, Granny! We'll be there in a sec!"

The older woman beamed at the blonde girl on the bed before shooting Link a threatening glare and vanishing back down the hallway. Link frowned; why was he always the one who got abused?

"So, carry me to the table?" Zelda asked sweetly, cutting through his thoughts.

Link rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the smile on his face. "Din, you're high maintenance. Remind me again why I love you?"

She scooted forward and slid her arms around his neck once he'd turned himself around. "Masochism, I'm sure."

He laughed and hoisted her into the air, and the two headed down the hall to join Granny Hero.

"I mean, honestly. She's got some kind of nerve."

"Uh-huh…"

"Just sitting up there, smiling all prettily, flirting like there's no tomorrow."

"Yup…"

"She's practically drooling all over him! Zelly, how can you stand it?"

"You bet…"

"…Zelda, are you even listening to me?"

"You're right…"

The next thing Zelda knew, a petite hand entered her line of vision and snatched her book away from her.

"Wha- Hey! Midna, what are you doing?! I need to finish that book, I have a report due on it next week!"

If there was anything Midna Twili could be said to be gifted at, it was crafting looks of disdain.

"Zelda, do you not even care that some trollop is schmoozing your man?"

"Trollop? Schmoosing? What year is this again? And really Midna, she seems like a nice girl, and you know Link just has a helping people thing. He's just trying to make her feel welcome. Besides, he's totally oblivious."

As she said this, Zelda cast her eyes up towards the front of the Greyhound bus where the subject of the conversation, Link, was currently sitting near the new girl Marin. It was true, Marin was being bubbly and flirting for all she was worth, but from what she could tell, Link wasn't reacting to any of it. She wasn't overly concerned; it's not like they were alone together. Sheik was sitting beside Link, and Marin was with two other kids who Zelda knew were in the orchestra. Medli Wings and Makar something-or-other. She wasn't in any danger of 'losing her man', or whatever Midna wanted to call it, and she trusted Link besides.

"That's where it starts, Zel." Midna began in a lecturing tone. "And then before you know it, they're hanging out together, going to see movies, talking on the phone late at night, and then WHAM!" She punctuated her sentence by suddenly punching the seat in front of her. "...You've been replaced by the ginger airhead wonder."

Zelda sent Midna an exasperated look. "Seriously, Midna? Seriously? And what about your boyfriend? Not a comment about him sitting over there?"

Midna shrugged nonchalantly, the orange highlights in her raven hair bouncing playfully. "Oh please, who in their right mind would flirt with Sheik? He's such an emo."

Zelda rolled her eyes and snatched her book back, flipping back to the page she was on and settling back in her seat, hoping the din of dozens of loud conversations on the bus around them would drown out the rest of Midna's words.

They didn't.

"I hear he saved her life yesterday."

"Yup. "

"That doesn't concern you at all?"

"Link's saved lots of people's lives. Am I supposed to wish that he'd let her die?"

Midna huffed. "Well. If you're not going to go take tabs on your boo, I'll do it for you. That's what best friends are for."

"Don't forget exaggerated conspiracy theories and preventing you from doing your homework…"

"By the way," Midna added after she'd stood and adjusted her shorts and lime-green Maple the Witch shirt, "Heathcliff dies, Hareton and Catherine inherit Wuthering Heights and that Thrushcross place and get married, and the whole story is a boring, stupid waste of time. So ha. Suck it."

Zelda kept her eyes clenched tightly closed and breathed slowly through her nose until Midna had walked away. Curse Mrs. Twili and her stupid book club… Not that she was overly invested in the story, but still. She didn't like it when people ruined the ending.

Sighing, Zelda maneuvered herself so she was leaning against the window and was about to prop her legs up on the vacant seat beside her and continue reading when suddenly, it became occupied once again.

"Hey, Zelda." Colin greeted morosely, gazing blankly ahead of him at the bad seventies pattern on the back of the seat.

"Colin," Zelda replied curtly. She didn't want to be mean, but she wasn't in the mood for conversation and she really needed to get her book read. But after a moment's pause and a handful of wistful sighs from Colin, she gave in and gave the pathetic boy her attention.

"What's wrong now?"

"The same thing that's always wrong." He muttered bitterly.

"Aryll?"

"Yup."

"What's she said this time?"

"Nothing. You know she won't talk to me. It's just… It's Ralph."

"Ralph?"

"Yeah. He's decided Aryll's the girl of his dreams or something and has decided to begin 'courting' her, or whatever he calls it."

"Ralph is… 'courting' Aryll? Aryll Hero? Farore, you've got to be kidding me."

"He's calling it his 'Romance Quest'."

"Oh, light…"

"…"

She couldn't help but notice how defeated he looked. Every time she saw Colin, she found herself flashing back to the boy she'd first met during the shooting. His eyes weren't sunken in anymore, and he looked neatly dressed, as usual, in slacks and an off-white polo, but the hollowness in his eyes had never quite dissipated. She'd heard the whole story from him, Midna, and Link; of Colin's so-called betrayal, Ganondorf revealing the 'truth' in front of Aryll, their confrontation in Ezlo's classroom, and finally Colin asking to be arrested. He'd even gone to Link to beg forgiveness and was promptly told off by Link for being an idiot, but the boy still hadn't gotten over it. The full story of what went down involving Colin miraculously never got out to the general public, and the only ones who knew anything were in Link's personal circle. The only people who still held a grudge against Colin were Colin himself and Aryll… And Malon, though that was more of the obligatory best friend thing.

Common sense would be to tell Colin to get over her, but Zelda wondered how much of his grief was because of their breakup, as opposed to the 'why' of their breakup. Zelda liked Aryll, she was a sweet girl… but the situation between her and Colin was ridiculous at best. Somebody needed to slap some sense into them, but she didn't think she was the one who should do it.

"How is Aryll dealing with it?"

"See for yourself." He muttered and gestured ahead of him. Confused, Zelda sat up and peered over the seat tops again in the direction of the front of the bus. She could see Midna sitting on Sheik's lap, laughing with Link, seemingly succeeding in her goal of distracting him from Marin, who for her part seemed totally enthralled in a conversation she was having with Mr. Alfonso, the wood shop teacher. Darunia and Ruto weren't too far behind them, ardently making out and utterly oblivious to the world around them. Across the narrow aisle and a few seats back sat Aryll and her group of friends, near the middle-back part of the bus. And standing beside them, leaning against the overhead shelving unit in his odd blue jacket with flaring sleeves and faded black jeans, stood the Ralph Ambi.

"What are they saying…?" Zelda muttered, leaning forward and straining her ears to catch any wayward snippets of dialogue. It was difficult over all the babble, but she was pretty sure the conversation was going something like this:

"Aryll, my sweet, you mustn't be shy. Go on, you may ask me out if you wish."

"Alright. Get out."

"Don't be so quick to decline! You haven't even considered what an incredibly devoted boyfriend I would be! I would give myself to you completely!"

Malon looked disgusted. Aryll, again, was on top of things. "Sorry, I don't accept cheap gifts."

"I would go to the very ends of the world for you!"

"And yet you wouldn't stay there… What a shame."

"Aryll, what must I do to win your affection?"

"For starters, you should probably stop with the lame pick up lines. I'm pretty sure you just stole those from Google. I mean, really, those lines are older than my grandma. You need to get your head in the game."

"Aha!" Ralph cried out triumphantly, pointing his finger dashingly into the air. "Then you mean I must seek out wittier and more charming manners of introduction before returning to woo you once more! Fear not, my sweet, I shall return better prepared to conquer your heart!"

And with that, Ralph turned and began making his way down the aisle back towards where he'd presumably been sitting, leaving a stymied Aryll in his wake.

After a few steps, Malon poked her head up over the seat and yelled, "That jacket makes you look like a rapist!"

The bus was flooded with scandalized laughter, and Vice-Principal Nabooru turned from where she was sitting to fire a cursory warning glare. Malon quickly ducked back down again.

Smiling ruefully, Zelda turned back to Colin and said, "I really don't think you have anything to worry about there, Colin."

"That's not the point." He replied, exasperated. "I get that literally no female in the entire student body can take Ralph seriously when it comes to romance, but seeing Ralph go at it just sort of reinforces the fact that she's… available, you know? I guess I just feel like I'm losing her all over again."

Zelda sighed. After the shooting and their breakup, Zelda and Link had tried to include Colin into as many of their group hangouts as possible in an attempt to pull him out of his shell of misery and self-loathing, but it became difficult when Aryll flat out refused to show if she knew Colin would be there, and after a few public fights, they'd stopped trying to force it. Colin, it would seem, had come to view Zelda as a sort of councilor and would come to her for advice whenever he was feeling particularly down. She didn't really mind; he wasn't her only friend who did so nowadays, ever since the Triforce incident. The only problem was, sometimes, even when she knew the answer, she didn't know how to deliver it without offending the person or making the situation worse. Sometimes, people just weren't ready.

Now was one of those times.

"Colin…" Zelda began, picking her words carefully, "You think that maybe it's time that you accept the fact that you lost her and move on?"

That wasn't exactly what she'd been meaning to say, but it was a nudge in the right direction. Colin, however, met her words with a hollow, crushed look, and she sighed again. Clearly, he still wasn't ready.

At that moment, another figure chose to appear in the aisle directly beside their seat. He was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular boy with a large nose, a ridiculous pompadour, and a cheesy grin that made her queasy in all the wrong places. He also always wore rugby jerseys that were entirely too small for him, as if in an effort to make him look bigger. His name was Groose, one of the new students who'd transferred to Ordon High at the start of the school year. And he had a massive crush on Zelda.

"Hey there, Zel." He began, smiling in what he thought was an attractive way. "This guy botherin' you?"

Zelda took another slow, deep breath. She really should have brought some painkillers on this bus ride. These constant interruptions were seriously beginning to irritate her, she had barely gotten any reading done, and now she had to deal with her biggest headache of all.

"Hello, Groose." She replied in a strained voice. "No, Colin is my friend, he never bothers me. You, however…"

She added that last bit as a mumbled afterthought.

"Heh. That's good to hear. So anyways, I was thinkin'… The trip from Ordon to Castleton bein' eight hours an' all, and with another six hours to go, you and I could maybe get to know each other a little bit more."

Zelda felt revulsion wash over her but tried her best to keep it off her face. Groose was the captain of the rugby team; which is to say, he had an ego the same size as Darunia's, with a fourth of the popularity. He also didn't come across as being very bright, which was odd, because she was told he was a genius in woodshop and physics class, though you would never hear that from his mouth. He was also one of the few students who didn't take the strict 'No Bullying' policy at Ordon High to heart, probably because he hadn't been involved in the Massacre the year before, having lived somewhere in the north.

Still, just because he was unpleasant didn't mean she had to be unpleasant to him… though it was a strain sometimes.

"No, Groose, that's ok. As you can see, I already have company, and we're sort of in the middle of a conversation, so if you could just…?"

"Ah, come on now Zelda, don't be like that. You can't just shoot a guy down without givin' him a chance!" He delivered, as though pre-rehearsed, with his cheesiest grin yet. His goons Cawlin and Stritch, whom she'd just noticed standing behind him, nodded at each other as if in congratulations. Had they planned his response to her inevitable rejection…? They're so weird!

To her surprise, Colin spoke up. "Groose, I think the lady just told you no. It would probably be better for you to back off now before she has grounds to file a harassment complaint. And anyway, you know full well that Zelda's dating Link, so you might as well stop trying."

Groose's face grew dark as he turned his attention to Colin.

"I don't remember askin' for your opinion, pipsqueak."

"Hey!" Zelda snapped, losing her patience and jabbing her finger at his face. "Don't talk to my friend like that!"

Groose's head snapped up, looking very much like a confused dog, and just as Zelda was gearing herself up for a shouting match, a calm, controlled voice cut in from somewhere behind Groose and his goonies.

"Um… is there a problem here?"

All five sets of eyes turned their attention to the newcomer. Zelda felt a relieved smile split across her face; it was Link, looking about as confused as ever as he took in the five faces one by one.

"No, Link, everything's fine, Groose just came to ask me a question. He was just leaving." She said the last line a bit forcefully, and Groose, catching on, scowled at Link and Colin before jerking his head and stalking off back down the aisle towards the back of the bus.

Colin shot Link a grateful look and immediately hopped to his feet, offering her boyfriend his seat, which he took with thanks, and Colin headed off towards the front of the bus to sit by Sheik and Midna.

"Everything ok?" Link asked, looking at Zelda quizzically. "You look stressed."

With an unattractive growl, Zelda let her head flop down on Link's shoulder for a moment and said, after taking a deep breath, "Why does everything have to be so complicated?"

"I dunno, Avril, why don't you tell me?" he replied, reaching into the front pouch of the seat before him and removing his iPod and a package of Gardettos.

"It's just… first Midna was bugging me, then Colin had to come and complain about your sister, whom, by the way, is currently the romantic interest of one Ralph Ambi, the pick-up line failure of the century, and as I was trying to convince Colin to man up and get over his heartless ex, no offense, I love your sister, Groose decides to show up and start picking on Colin and flirting with me, simultaneously, and I can feel a headache coming on and honestly the only thing I want to do is finish reading this stupid book so I can get that homework assignment done."

"…Ralph has the hots for my sister?" Link asked, bemused.

Glancing up at him wryly, Zelda leaned forward, pecked him on the cheek, and said, "Stay the way you are."

"Roger that." He replied, popping more trail mix into his mouth.

Zelda sighed and sat back, opening her book once again to the correct page, and prepared herself to begin reading, when it was once again plucked unceremoniously from her hand and shoved into the pouch of the seat in front of her.

Zelda took a calming breath and tried to quell the rage tearing through her chest.

"Link…"

"Zel, this is a field trip. We're here to relax and have fun and take our minds off of school. Besides, I happen to know that Midna already ruined the ending for you, and in any event, it isn't even due until Friday. You can put aside your obsessive need for earning brownie points from your English teacher for one weekend so we can relax and have fun together. This is for your sanity. Listen to me, I'm only doing this because I care."

Zelda's glare could have peeled the tinted lining off the windows of the bus, but Link, it seemed, was impervious to death rays. Grinning cheekily, he offered her one of his headphones and said, "You're about to lose control and we've got another six hours of this bus ride. Take a nap."

Sighing in resignation, she accepted the earpiece and while she fitted it into her ear, Link adjusted the armrest so she could lie down against his side. As she settled down, she couldn't help the small smile from forming on her face.

"…I don't have an obsessive need for brownie points."

"Sure you don't."

Two figures met on a lonely dune in the middle of the vast Gerudo Desert.

One, proud and strong, stood defiantly atop the dune, the sunlight illuminating the simple white of his v-necked T-shirt and casting shadows along the tears in his jeans. The dirt swirled in eddies around his heavy combat boots, but other than ruffling his scarlet hair and silver dog tags at his collar, he remained unaffected by the wind.

The other approached the high dune from its shadow, advancing toward the man with cool decision, his footsteps plodding calmly and methodically. His garb was dark, and his face impossible to discern in the shadows.

The second figure stopped a few feet below the ridge of the dune whereupon the first remained standing. The two regarded each other for a moment in silence.

"You are not a hard man to find." Spoke the second in a surprisingly young voice.

The first said nothing, merely regarding the second in silence.

"I have come here bearing news you may wish to hear."

Again, silence.

The second man continued. "It would seem that you have been searching for-"

"I know you."

The voice of the first man was deep and powerful, as vast as the very desert in which they stood, and his words seemed to startle the second, making him fumble momentarily over his words.

"I… I am not who you think I-"

"I am aware." Said the first, cutting off the second once more. "Your presence differs from his, yet I could feel you approaching."

The second seemed to frown. "I am not here to serve you."

"Then why have you come?"

There was silence for a moment, and the second seemed to regain his footing.

"They say you are dead, you know."

The larger man stayed silent.

"They say you died that day, and nobody suspects a thing. Strange, that… how you managed to fool them, nobody the wiser… and yet, here you are, hiding in a desert rather than seizing your advantage. Is the once-great king frightened of children?"

"Tough words from a man who cannot leave the shadows." The first rebutted calmly.

"Hmm… Or can it be that you are not hiding? Is it, perhaps, that you are searching for something? Something you believe will tip the scales in your favor?"

The man on the dune said nothing, but his eyes narrowed as he examined the man in the shadows. Sensing he'd struck gold, the second man seemed to grin.

"What would you do if I told you I knew where lies the object for which you seek?"

"Why ask a question for which you know the answer?"

The second figure nodded. "Wise. Not your attribute, and yet you wield it cunningly. Perhaps we are not always doomed to repeat history. Very well; the strength you seek lies in Castleton, guarded with the rest of what remains of Hyrule's once great history."

"Why come all this way to tell me this if you are not to serve me?"

The shadowy one smirked. "Let's just say… an enemy of my enemy… You are not the only one headed to Castleton, King of Thieves. The Hero and the Princess make their way as we speak. The timing is ripe for you to exact your revenge."

"And if I am not to trust you?"

"Well, then the pieces remain where they lay, and the wheel ticks on. Perhaps in your next life you'll have another chance… or the next… or the next… or the next…"

Laughing the laugh of a younger man, the shadowy figure departed, fading into the distance until the mirages carried him away, but still the first remained on the ridge, watching as the sun slowly slid down the horizon.

At last, as half of the sun was eclipsed by the earth's surface, Ganondorf turned and strode away, anticipation building in his chest.

It is time once again, Hero…

This is, officially, the rewritten, revised, re-dittled version of FtD. From this point on, I'm removing all of my AN's, so there'll just be you and radio-silence 'til the end. Don't be scared, though; I'm here with you in spirit.

Good luck, and tell me what you think!

And remember to Keep it Zesty along the way.

ZC