::One::

Serena was awed. Completely and totally awed. How'd he do that?

"Hey!," she called out. The boy looked up. "How did we get here without actually going through the Time Gates?," she wondered aloud, totally forgetting that he would know nothing about the Sacred Gates. He shrugged, not really caring. It was just another song afterall.

She suddenly gave a sharp gasp, and startled, he felt himself tense all over, looking hastily around for the inevitable enemy that must be there. There was none. Instead, the girl's gaze was situated on something above his head, to the left of him. Something bright and warm, something he himself had become so accustomed to, that it was almost like another part of him..

"WHAT'S THAT?!" She looked enchanted, completely mystified by that little light.

"Oh. This is my fairy. Her name's Navi," he introduced proudly. He'd never had his own fairy before. The girl leaned closer, her wide crystal blue eyes staring in shock. She was staring intently, so hard that her eyes began to feel crossed. But try as she might, she couldn't see the actual fairy...just a bright blue glow. Navi flicked away, brushing the girl's nose. Serena sneezed, and Link stifled back laughter. He guessed she'd never seen a fairy before.

"So...what now?" Serena asked, looking around curiously. They had landed in an open field. Evening had just begun to touch the horizon, and the sun was setting. She shivered slightly in her sleeveless pink shirt and jean shorts. Fine for a hot day, but they didn't offer much warmth in the evening chill.

"Now we go to the castle," he answered digging into his pockets. He produced a large blue gem, exquisitely cut.

"See? I got all the stones. Now I guess I'm done." Serena face-vaulted. The Brat!

"WELL, WHY THE HECK DID'JA NEED ME THEN?!," she screamed.

"Uh...dunno?"

She sighed. Little kids were all the same; wasting people's time. Somehow though, she'd thought he was different.

"And anyway-," he continued indignantly, "I don't need you...I needed the goddess. But it's too late now. I guess you'll have to do." But the look on his face said he didn't think she'd do at all. Serena sighed.

"Listen kid," she began. He scowled. Kid? He didn't like being called that. How hard was it to remember his name? "How'd you find out about me?" She looked serious.

"Zelda told me."

"Who's Zelda?"

"The princess."

Serena gave a sigh of frustration. She was getting nowhere fast. Did he have to be so difficult? He glanced up at her angry face in confusion. Why was she so upset with him all of a sudden? He guessed it was a girl thing. But Saria didn't get like that...and neither did Marin.

Okaaay...so maybe it was an older girl thing.

"Well...," she tried again. "How did this 'Zelda' find out about me?" But his attention was wavering fast. Blast little kids and their short attention spans!, she thought angrily to herself. Link glanced about uneasily, shrugging helplessly.

"She's the princess...they're s'posed to know things, aren't they?" Anything to make her stop. Why was she asking him all these questions? They couldn't afford to waste time. They had to go. Evening was beginning to fade into twilight and distantly he could hear the faint howl of a wolf. The moon shone brightly overhead.

Oh no.. He thought. That girl and her questions. He didn't like being here at night. Not here. But maybe...maybe they could make it to the ranch. It wasn't far. Serena, who'd continued talking, suddenly grew quiet, noticing his expression.

"Link-"

"RUN!" he shouted suddenly. And he took off, speeding across the field, hoping she'd have the sense enough to follow.

After a moment she did.

"Why are we running?," she asked, her long legs catching up to him quickly. Golden streams of hair billowed behind her.

He didn't answer. Just a little further...stupid girl, he thought. Alone, he could handle them just fine, but with that girl...he didn't know if he would be able to protect her as well.

He stopped dead.

A boney hand had begun to claw its way from the ground, and beside him, Serena screamed.

"WHAT'S THAT??!!!!," she cried out, alarmed. A Zombie? She'd seen them on T.V. once...and had had nightmares all night. But this one...this one was real. This thing..it had actually been alive once. She felt sick.

"Stalchild." Link murmured shortly, and drew his small sword. He glanced up at the frightened girl. "Run!" he ordered curtly. "Straight ahead. The ranch is close by!" No one would be up, but the Stalchildren never seemed to venture there. He took a fighting stance as more of the horrible creatures began to rise. He just had to keep them from banding together. Individually, they weren't that bad, but if left to group, they could easily become an impossible threat. He swallowed, swinging the Kokiri sword viciously into the head of one of the creatures.

Link was taking charge. No longer was he that difficult little boy with the ability to make her irritated. He was a fierce young warrier, fighting with an authority that told her he'd obviously done this before.

And he wanted her to leave?

No way was she leaving a kid to this. No matter how experienced.

Got to give that girl a chance to escape, he thought giving another hard swing. But as fast as he struck them, another took its place. They scratched and clawed at his skin. He kicked them away, ignoring the pain. If he kept them occupied, maybe they wouldn't chase after her.

If I had a chance...I could play the sun song. But he saw no opportunity.

"Link!" Above the clicking of the skelotons, he could hear her voice. That girl. Was she STILL here? Why wasn't she running?!

"NO! RUN!," he shouted. But she ignored him, knocking the skeletal creatures away with a quick swing of her arm.

They aren't so tough, she thought proudly as the small, seemingly frail creature fell apart. She began to freak however, when the disconnected torso began crawling toward her. These things just didn't give up. She suddenly cried out as a sudden sharp pain erupted in the back of her leg. Spinning around, she met with four of the skeletons. And then Link was there, jumping protectively in front of her and slashing his sword through the creatures. But as fast as he swung, more seemed to appear. And he was getting so tired...he'd never had to fight them for this long before. His strength was beginning to wear.

Serena had had enough. And besides that, she could feel something warm and thick sliding down her torn leg, and the pain was almost unbearable.

"How dare you attack us, you evil skeletons?!," she shouted while doing her famous hand motions. "You've picked your last bone!"

Link looked up. That girl. Yelling something. What was she talking about? And at a time like this! But he was too busy holding off the Stalchildren to turn and watch her. If he had, he would have seen her hold up a beautiful round brooch. A brooch that glowed in the moonlight. He heard her utter something odd.

"Moon Crystal Power!"

And then the dark field exploded with light.

Link stopped slashing. He stood watching, the Stalchildren momentarily forgotton, completely transfixed by this sunny girl who claimed herself the Moon Goddess. The Stalchildren however, were not as impressed, and after a moments confusion, began to take advantage of the situation, slashing, tearing at his skin.

He cried out in pain.

This is it..., he thought faintly. He had failed, and now he was going to die. But.. to be killed by mere STALCHILDREN? And when he had survived so much MORE. It almost seemed insulting. And I really wanted to save Hyrule too... He thought of the Great Deku Tree...he'd promised it. And Zelda too.

And suddenly the Stalkids were gone, falling to the ground, in pieces, beside him. A bright glowing frisbee cut through the air, ricocheting back to its owner like a boomerang. His cornflower blue eyes widened with shock.

Serena caught it.

Only, it wasn't Serena...not quite anyway. She was different...seemed stronger somehow. Dressed in a strange new outfit...no longer the sleeveless shirt and shorts he'd first seen her in. Now, she wore a sort of uniform. Complete with elbow length white gloves and red knee length boots. The middle part of her outfit clung to her like a second skin, and her pleated blue skirt was altogther short. Even her hair was decorated. The two buns atop her head were dressed with ruby-like jewels.

The Stalchildren returned, digging their way out the ground.

Faster than Link could blink, and with a flick of her wrist, the girl threw the frisbee again. It sailed past Link glowing brightly and charging into the Stalkids ruthlessly. When it hit them, they didn't just fall apart; They were dusted.

Wow...She really is a goddess.., the boy thought wonderingly. His own personal goddess who'd saved his life. His golden haired guardian angel. The Stalchildren continued to rise.

"Moon Tiara Magic!"

As fast as they rose, her 'tiara' would dust them. "LINK!," she screamed suddenly. "These things aren't stopping!!!" He snapped out of it, then. Grabbing his sword from the ground, he raced towards her.

"Don't worry!," he assured. He took out his fairy ocarina, and putting it to his lips, blew the simple notes. Almost instantly he was surrounded by a yellow column of light. Sailor Moon kept her tiara rotating in a steady circle around them, keeping the Stalchildren from coming too near. That didn't stop them from digging under her barrier, however.

"Link whatever you're doing, I hope you do it fast!"

But just seconds later the moon had disappeared, dropping past the horizon. The sky turned a rosy pink. Somewhere, a rooster crowed, and she thought she heard, faintly, the echoes of that melody Link had played. Most miraculous of all, the Stalchildren froze in midstep, and slunk back underground, retreating until the day was done. Sailor Moon let out her breath.

"What just happened?," she asked looking over the ground warily and brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"The sun song." Link answered gazing at her in wonder.

And then the world went black.

And the scouts continued to plan.

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