The next morning Emile played it off as though nothing had ever happened, like the night before didn't exist because he believed that Mina was asleep. He wasn't as discouraged as he thought he would be though, if anything, the fact that she fell asleep was even more incentive to make it an even better moment when he tried to tell her again. It would be the best goddamn confession she had ever gotten!

At least that's what he hoped. He hadn't even meant to tell her the night before, it sort of just came out, seeing her so vulnerable, so innocent brought something out inside of him that made him tell her, and he didn't regret it, not one bit. And the next time he told her, she would be awake!

And as far as Mina was willing to admit, she really was asleep.

They made it to Proton within two hours of getting their things together and beginning their trek. Jon was met by cheers and hollers and he ate it all up like a dog getting his first sips of fresh water in weeks. "Come on," he said with a grin, "We can go to my house, my parents will be so proud I know the Traveler" he joked and Mina chuckled and they followed him in the direction he led them.

"Jonathan!" the heard from the house they were headed towards in the voice of a mother who had just seen her son for the first time in an extremely long time, which she was. Mina smiled softly when she saw the way Mrs. Wheeler hugged her son tightly and Jon tried to play it off as though she was embarrassing but she knew he was extremely excited to be seeing his mother again.

Jon had been telling her at one point about how his mother was frequently sick, and he was always worried about her, and seeing her looking so healthy had to be calming to the boy.

"Who is this?" Mrs. Wheeler asked the group looking at Mina and Donna spoke,

"This is Mina, she's the traveler" she told the woman and Mrs. Wheeler gasped loudly,

"I heard that she was back but I didn't believe it to be true!" she exclaimed clapping her hands loudly. "Oh I'll make dinner for everyone, for your visit Jon as well as yours
Traveler"

"She likes to be called Mina Ma, and we um…" he trailed off not sure how to tell his excited mother they didn't have time to stay there, they had to keep moving, and he had to be fair to Reese, they would be passing through Lucahjin and he knew that she would want to stop but they couldn't, they had to keep moving. "Ma, we can't stay, I'm sorry" he admitted finally after a few moments, his mother faltered for a second but she brightened up again,

"I understand, Ashlee will be disappointed though, but I'm sure you have time to stop and say hello to your fiancé"

"What?!" the group exclaimed, having never heard of this development before

"Ma" Jon groaned, obviously upset that they knew about this girl now. "Guys I'll explain on the way to her house" he then turned to his mother and sighed, "I'll have some time off after we finish this whole epidemic, then I'll bring everyone and we can all have a big dinner with the neighbors too if you want"

His mother had a few tears in her eyes but they hugged tightly for a few seconds and she
went back into the house, wiping her eyes lightly. "Her names Ashlee. It was an arranged marriage between her and I so our families would stop feuding. I was supposed to get married though since I joined the warriors I couldn't get married, once we have some time off I'm getting married" he explained carefully as they neared the next door neighbors front door.

"We met when I was six, and our families, like I said, were feuding, but we became best friends, so in order to fix their problems, they decided we would be together. "
With a deep breath he knocked and motioned for the others to leave. "I haven't seen her in almost six months, do you really think now is the time to introduce you guys, go find something else to do" he shooed in an almost joking voice but his eyes told them he was serious.

Rolling their eyes they left to find a place to get some lunch. They stopped into a small restaurant where they were immediately served, despite insisting they could wait in line, though everyone told them to go in front of them. Mina was in the middle of ordering her meal when it happened.

She felt it

And she knew that feeling

It was the key, it was in Proton, and it was close too. Mina sprang up and they looked at her weirdly, "I-I'm not very hungry, I'm going to head over to that bookstore we passed" she didn't listen to their questions as she bolted out of the restaurant as quickly as she could. She ran through the town, ignoring the people she bumped into until she was just on the outskirts of the area, just barely able to see the town from the thick trees behind her.

'It's here' she thought to herself, 'but there's something else here too, it's like in the castle' she then realized what she needed to do, and why,

"Show yourself" she whispered softly and her voice was carried into the wind but right in front of her was the hazed figure of Damian. Mina only knew of his physique from pictures in Melonia, seeing him in front of her was different. She took a deep breath and spoke, "Traveler Damian, it's a surprise, I had a feeling I would be seeing you soon, but this is surprising to be seeing you so soon, only a day after I saw my brother" she said softly.

"Traveler Mina" he breathed out, his voice rough and husky, "I haven't met someone from Melonia alive in years," he looked to be only a few years older than Mina, "You've been doing this for six years now, wow, you lasted longer than I or anyone else had, I only lasted five years, but I started older than you did, I was slain at twenty-seven." He told her, "I used the key to come back here." He added.

"I see" Mina agreed her voice sullen and quiet.

Damian turned serious, "Mina, I know of Taboo, he's your centuries Saramonia, she was the evil here in Nintendo when I was here the first time."

"Jack, he mentioned her," Mina told Damian,

"You need to leave here Mina, come to Heaven, it's the one place that we can go to so we can make a plan with the other Travelers, if we work fast enough, you can come back and destroy him." Damian explained,

"I have people to work with, thanks though for the offer" Mina said as if it were no big deal. She turned and began to walk away but Damian called her name, "What?"

"Mina this is serious, do you really think those warriors you're with can save the worlds?" he asked and Mina looked at him in the eyes with a soft look,

"We were from two different worlds, with two different lives. By fate, or maybe a coincidence, we came together as one, and now we share a common goal. They may not be as strong as I am, but together we have a better chance of defeating Taboo than me alone.
They have things their fighting for too, they can do this, I believe in them." Damian looked taken aback by her words but he refused to give into her,

"We have a lot of keys, once this is over you could come and we'll give them all to you, all those worlds, yours for the taking" he tried, "Here take this one now, it's for this world" he threw at her a thin necklace, and at the end was a tiny black cage, and a bird flying out of it, it wasn't like any of the other keys Mina had found, but she immediately put in onto her neck,

"Damian, I appreciate it and all-"

"So let's go" he insisted, "Let's break free from this world, take one deep breath and say goodbye for the betterment of everyone" but Mina finished her sentence,

"I love someone and he loves me back" Mina finished. Damian stopped for a second and they stared at each other. Mina looked down with a small smile, "I really do, and I made a mistake when he told me, because know he doesn't know I love him back, but soon I want to tell him because I think it's meant to be, you know what that's like right Damian?" she asked, using his love for Allison against him.

"It was different for me, I was in love with the girl I hated from the beginning, and it's
not the same"

"Isn't all love the same" Mina asked rhetorically as she continued speaking before he had a chance to answer her, "But it may only have been a few weeks, but I still feel this connection to him that I wouldn't dare try to break by leaving, thanks for the key but this is where I need to be for now, maybe one day we'll meet up again."

"How can you be so sure when it hasn't been long at all" he asked her and she looked at
him,

"I want to tell him everything, my past, my present, my dreams for the future, everything, that's how I know, because I've always held it all in, and now there's someone I want to tell" she told him softly, letting herself be on the line for once, knowing full well that this would mean something one day. She may have to leave one day, and it was going to be the worst thing for her to have to leave the people she really cared about, but she would regret not spending the time she could with him and the others.

She wanted to soak up every minute she allowed in this world with him, and she had never had such feelings before. Sure she had had boyfriends in Melonia, but none of them she had felt so strongly for, and she knew her feelings might freak him out, but it would all be so worth it one day, she was sure of it. She could always visit throughout time, they could make it work, but until then she wanted to let herself be happy.

"I understand" Damian breathed, "Mina, this is all on you now, if you really think you can do this with them, then I'll leave" he offered and with a deep breath she didn't need Mina nodded once. "I have one further piece of advice for you then, Taboo has his own castle in eastern Hyrule, the opposite direction of Ganondorf, but if you were to leave soon, and defeat Ganondorf, you still would have a chance to get Taboo if you can weaken him even slightly, but no more rest stops, leave immediately."

"Understood" Mina said with a small smile, "Thank-you Traveler Damian, one day, I'll see you again" Damian shared her small smile and he slowly began disappearing but he had one more question,

"Which one do you love?"

Mina took a deep breath, "Emile"

"Then turn around Mina" Damian said with a grin as his figure left finally and Mina turned around and was greeted by the sight of the aforementioned boy looking shocked and happy at the same time.