I can go home? Just the thought of all that I've yearned for makes my knees weak.

Din starts next. "We can create a portal for you to return, with our powers. Or would you prefer to make your own?"

My face heats up, and I squirm in my embarrassment. They saw me do that in the Silent Realm? Can you say, embarrassing? But if they're creating a portal, then I guess I can come back to Hyrule whenever I want. Especially if I'm a Goddess.

Cool, it's a two-way street.

Farore raises her hand, and a Triforce appears midair, with a hollowed center. I nod at her, and run forward. Before I jump through, I turn around and wave. "Bye everybody! See you soon!"

I almost jump through, but the Goddesses glide in front of the portal with grave expression.

"Once you pass through, you will be unable to return, Lively One," Nayru says. My heart falls to the pit of my stomach. What?

"This will be the last time you see your friends," Farore says. No way... After all of this heartbreak, there's more to come? I turn around slowly, and see Link, Zelda, and Midna with aghast faces.

"What? She's the Goddess! Can't she come back whenever she feels like it?" Link asks incredulously.

Din shakes her head sadly. "No. As we said before, our powers limit even us from freely traveling from realm to realm."

Farore sighs. "Please, say your goodbyes, Lively One. Go through the portal whenever you are ready."

"No!" I scream. "I don't want to go! I want to stay here, with Midna, Zelda, Fi, and Link! I don't want to leave them."

Din places her hand on my shoulder. "Lively One, your family hasn't seen you for two months."

The pit in my stomach grows deeper. Two whole months? What have I put them through? How can I possibly make this decision? "Can't I make a portal myself whenever I want so I return?" I ask.

They shake their heads. "When you return to your realm, your powers will be severed. You no longer will have your Triforce when you arrive."

My heart speeds up.

"But," Din says, "we can erase the time. It'll seem like all of this happened in a flash, and wouldn't be more than a second. Your family will never know you left."

"Okay," I say without even paying attention.

This is just getting worse and worse, and there's no way out. I don't know how I'll choose. I look up at the disappointed faces of Zelda, Midna, Fi, and Link. I can't help but feel like I've let them down.

Slowly, I walk to Zelda. She smiles through her tears, and holds out her arms for a hug. I jump into them, and she holds me tight. "It's okay, Neri. I know we'll meet again. But I'm really going to miss you."

I sniffle. "I'm going to miss you too, Zelda. By the way, I never told you how much I loved your hair, did I?" I smile sadly. She grins slightly, and brushes my hair with her fingers.

"It's okay. You didn't need to tell me."

Letting go, I inch towards Midna. She floats up to my height. And looks distraught. I feel horrible for having to be the bearer of bad news. "Midna..." I start. She breaks, and just flies into my arms.

"Neri, you can't leave us! We'll never see you again!" she chokes out.

"I know, I know. But right now, my family's going through the same thing. I have to go back, you know that. It is just as hard for you..." My voice breaks and I start to cry again. "As it is for me."

"You were lots of fun, Neri. You could joke and never hold a grudge, and you fought so hard... But you didn't get to see my true form," Midna whispers.

"Don't worry Midna, I've seen it. And you look beautiful."

I let go, and she wipes her eyes. Bye, Neri, she mouths. Moving onto Fi, she actually looks somber. "Fi," I say.

"Mistress, I have a request," she informs me. A request? At this time?

"What is it?"

"I request..." She pauses. "A hug."

I stare at her, dumbfounded. A hug? All at once, I remember when Ghirahim took over Fi and I hugged her so that she would stop apologizing. She remembers that?

"Sure thing, Fi." I reach up, and she lowers. I put my arms around her neck, and close my eyes. "Fi?" I whisper.

"Yes, Mistress?"

I lick my lips. "You were the best friend a person could have. You went above and beyond my expectations. Fi, you helped me so much. You're amazing." Fi backs up, and I look deeply into her eyes. She gives me a small smile, and a tear rolls down her cheek, dropping off her chin and splashing against the floor. She is capable of emotion.

Finally, Link. I can't do this. I can't say goodbye to Link. He looks at me, and we just stare at each other. After our conversation with our eyes, I run into his arms as well. "Link..." I whisper.

"Shhh..." he hushes me. "It'll..." His voice breaks. "It'll be all right." To make everything worse, my iPod falls from my pocket at that moment, and shuffles my songs.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home,

Tell the world I'm coming home

Let the rain, wash away,

All the pain of yesterday

I know my kingdom awaits,

And they've forgiven my mistakes

I'm coming home, I'm coming home,

Tell the world I'm coming...

Home

I back up, and see tears falling down Link's face. Gingerly, I place my hands on his cheeks, and kiss each cheek. He grasps my hands, and closes his eyes. We both just stand there, taking in our last moments.

"I'll never forget you, Neri," he murmurs.

"Neither will I, Link," I reply.

"Neri?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay beautiful. Don't change for anyone."

I feel my tears start to come for the hundredth time, and put my head down. He pulls me into my arms, and rocks me back and forth. After a minute, I back up and out of his embrace. I bend down to grab my iPod, and shut it off, slipping it back in my pocket. "As cliché as this is, I'll always be with you." Link points to the leather-string necklace under my hoodie.

Him and I, both as wolves. The light wood wolf with the dark wood designs is me, and the dark wood wolf with the light wood designs is Link. Together, we sit with our backs together, howling.

"Link, I want you to have this."

I take off my treasured rose quartz bracelet that my mom had given me for my golden 14th birthday. The highly polished stone reflects the sun, and is smooth to the touch. It's my most special belonging, but that just means he'll remember me for it. I gently take his hand, and slip it onto his wrist. The elastic stretches, and then shrinks down to size. He looks at, and gives a small smile.

I can't take this anymore. These prolonged "goodbyes".

I walk to the Triforce, surrounded by the Goddesses.

"We wish you a wonderful life, Neri," they say.

"Ditto," I reply. I place one leg through, and then the other. It's nothing but blackness.

Turning around, all I see is Link, Midna, Zelda, and Fi waving at me as they get smaller and smaller. They're yelling something, and even though I can't hear it, I know what they're saying.

We love you, Neri.

"I love you guys too!" I wave back, until I see the Triforce behind me shrink and shrink, to the point where I'm left in the darkness.

The Terrae Realm

I gently massage my eyes, and roll over on my couch. The sweet smell of my mom's perfume is on it. I love that smell. Wait, my couch?!

Bolting straight up, I look around my living room. The velvet couches, the love seat, and the flatscreen with the tall lamps standing on the floor. Everything comes back to me, and I pat myself down. iPod? Check. Bracelet? Nope. Necklace?

...Check.

I feel my cheeks get wet again, and I look at my necklace. My wolf necklace. It did happen. It really did happen.

Suddenly, I remember the time. What time is it? 7:49 pm.

The same time that I got home from swimming, and popped in that strange disc. The date hasn't changed either! No time has passed!

I feel air whoosh into my lungs in relief, but there's still the pain of losing all my friends. All of them, gone... And I don't have my powers, and I can't go there ever again. But as a confirmation that all this happened, I look at the back of the Wii, and tears start to fall down my face again.

All the wires have been mussed and convoluted from when I had been rearranging them.