"Well, well, well. What do I see in front of me? Do mine eyes deceive me? Skychild, …oh, I seem to be at a loss for your name again. Tell me once more, what might it be?"

Link's face contorted in a mixture of surprise, anger, and something else. "It's Link." He growled.

Ghirahim smiled and shifted his weight to his left foot as he strode forward with his right; striding with the grace of a lithe cat about to strike its prey.

"Ahh, Link, it is, then." He pointed with a slight finger, stopping abruptly in mid- stride. "And whom might you be?"

Groose whimpered. "Hmmm hahhh… heeee…" He sank even lower into the water.

Ghirahim raised an eyebrow and continued gliding across the room. "Link, who is this creature who seems to think it is funny to make these sounds when I ask but a simple question?"

Link looked down at Groose. He considered his choices. He could completely deny any relationship with the bully, which was partially true, or he could stick up for Groose and fight Ghirahim. The second choice would not only leave him tired beyond sanity, but would reveal his privacies to all of Skyloft. And Link knew that rumors spread in Skyloft like a wildfire would in Faron Woods. He didn't like either of the options presented, but time ran too short to contemplate any longer as Ghirahim quickly closed the range between he and himself. He chose a third option, which he knew would leave him scarred and broken when he was done.

Ghirahim was three feet away from Link and Groose, who hid even deeper, (if possible), into the water. Link stood as slowly as he dared and made his stance as un-aggressive as possible, so as not to set off Ghirahim's senses and have him rip right through Groose and then himself. He spread his hands out to either side, and felt the uncomfortable feeling of Ghirahim's piercing gaze dart from one part of his nude body to the other. He tried not to shake, and breathed in a steady rhythm. The one time he broke the rhythm was when he took a deep breath to speak.

"Ghirahim, you know I cannot harm you, nor can I call for help; you would get me first. You have the upper hand, and this I know. I ask, in peace then, what you want from us-" he looked down at Groose at this point, "- and from me." He looked back up, holding Ghirahim's razor- sharp gaze. He tried not to flinch.

Ghirahim stopped walking a foot from where Link stood, a foot smaller than he, the Dark Lord himself. Ghirahim could not help but smile. Not a loving smile, but not a truly malicious smile either. He held a fingernail under his nose to inspect it for a second, then dropped it back at his side. His mind carefully formed the words before he spoke them, as if an incantation that could obliterate into a thousand pieces before him. His words were chosen wisely, for he must make them count. Unfortunately, this ithing/i was keeping him from speaking them. He had to get rid of it.

"Link. I cannot speak to you in front of such a sorely creature as this." He pointed with a clawed finger.

Groose trembled as attention was drawn to him. He scrambled out of the bath, keeping as low to the ground as possible, and ran out the door, water streaming from his wet body. Link forced himself not to smile. When he was left alone with Ghirahim, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then let his hands drop to his sides; the muscles were getting sore from holding them up for so long. He looked back up again, only to find Ghirahim's ravenous gaze exploring his most private areas and licking his lips repeatedly. Link remembered then that he still had not lost his erection.

His face felt hot as it resembled the color of the feathers of his loftwing, which he thought was an achievement in itself. The thought left him with a sense of humor that quickly turned into disgust as he realized he was beginning to feel giddy with excitement. iWhat am I getting excited about? Surely not…/i

Ghirahim seemed to snap out of the daze he was in by clearing his throat, demanding the full attention of Link's mind.

"As I was going to say, Skychild, Link, whatever-" at this mess-up, Link felt his self- esteem lower dramatically, "I don't think this place, nor its iinhabitants,/i are fit for my standards. The only reason I have come to this place is for business of the likes of Demise. I do not like, nor should I like being here, and I am very pleased to tell you that, most unfortunately for you and your iboyfriend/i, I am taking you with me to iNamae no nai basho,/i or the iPlace with no name./i My master wants to ask many a question pertaining as to how you are able to consistently defeat him, and, as a reward, will let you and your island abode live somewhat peacefully with the exception of my guards patrolling constantly to… ah, keep the peace. If you want to fight, you may, but, as you stated so kindly in my favor before, 'I have the upper hand.' I believe you could guess what would happen to this overly happy place if you refused, of course, after one part of you were here, one part there, and one part of you waaay over there" He pointed with his index finger across the room, a now evil smile spreading across his face as his eyes seemed to almost iwanti Link to refuse.

Link lost all feeling. He'd thought Ghirahim was going to tell him how much he liked Link, or how he felt about him, and Link wanted so badly to do the same, but now he could not even feel the pain that consumed his empty mind from his broken heart. He felt constricted and trapped by his feelings that had been cast aside like leaves blown away in a strong Autumn breeze. His knees bent and his back slouched. Link's head hung low as he tried to conceal his hurt that leaked from his eyes. He wished his they weren't so sensitive to everything. He now foolishly realized that before, Ghirahim was not looking at his body with lust, but only curiosity or something unknown to Link, for he knew deep in his heart how perverted the wretch could be. Why he even regarded Ghirahim as fair game was unknown to Link.

"Ghirahim…" His voice trembled. Link's mouth clenched and unclenched as he fought against his conscience. He kept his head down and tried not to sob as he raised his arms forward in easy reach of the Dark Lord. "Ghirahim." He said with more courage. He put an emphasis on 'him.' Link raised his head back up, not caring if he saw his tears. "Take me if you want. But I want you to know that whatever you do, my home, Skyloft, will always be free and will never fall into the clutches of evil as long as I live."

Ghirahim did not seem fazed by his speech, as if he'd heard the same thing too many times, but his smile did falter for a fraction of a second. He then nodded his head, snapped his fingers, and a solid metal pair of irons clamped over Link's hands, making him top-heavy for a few seconds, so that he was forced to make a fool of himself and stumble forward- right into Ghirahim himself.

He seemed surprised for a moment, throwing his arms to his sides and evoking an involuntary yelp. Link grimaced and rushed backwards, trying to get as far and as quickly away as possible.

His back was bent like a bow ready to fire, his body rested on his knees, head bent once again, arms weighted down and laid on the floor. Link looked identical to a wounded animal, knowing it was about to be slaughtered and unable to do anything about it. Link knew he could not, should not give up. But he almost did. If not for Groose.

At that moment, Groose bashed in the door and came flying through it, now fully clothed, wielding nothing but his fists, and jumped onto Ghirahim's back, forcing the slim, lighter body down on the ground. He grabbed Ghirahim's legs and pulled him under his own, a scene so ridiculous, if not for the given situation, Link knew he would have exploded into laughter. He did not feel like laughing at the moment.

Link ignored the goings- on and slumped his shoulder against the back wall of the room. He knew what had to happen. "Groose." He mumbled in an almost inaudible voice weak with pain and sorrow. Groose stopped moving and held his position on top of Ghirahim, who did the same. They both looked at Link.

"Go. Now. This is my fight to win, not yours."

Groose looked hurt and it reflected the tone he used. "Link! You always fight everything by yourself. You never let me or anyone else help. Ever! Please, don't leave me here alone. Let me help you!"

Ghirahim smiled. "Link, that's a good boy. I knew you would be easy to use. Just tell him to get off of me and we'll be gone quick and easy as that. …Go on, tell him."

Link tilted his head away from the wall, then rested it back on it. "Groose,"

"Link, no!"

"Groose. Do it."

"No! I won't! I can't! No, no, no, no, NO!"

Link's hands curled into fists as he clenched his teeth so hard he thought they would soon start to bleed.

"Groose. Please, don't make this harder for me than it is. I can't fight him; neither can you. And you know it. What are you going to do; what ican/i you do about it? Nothing! So do as I say and get the FUCK OFF OF HIM!"

He yelled the last words because his voice was starting to tremble again. Groose looked like he was about to cry, and did as a tear ran down his cheek, falling to the floor in a beautiful drop of perfection. Groose pushed Ghirahim away from under his legs and stood up, trembling. "Link." His voice also trembled, either with hate, fear, or other feelings. "Don't forget that we're still gonna be here when you get back, and that we will fight to the death if we have to. I know that we'll rescue you, even if we have to kill ourselves in the process. iYou have to promise me, Link. You will come back to us./i"

Link raised his head up once more as Ghirahim stood up.

"Groose. I promise."

Then he was gone.