Shadow of the Dead
・A Twilight Princess Fanfic・
Disclaimer: This Zelda fic is mine. I had the idea the last time I played through Arbiter's Grounds. However, the actual characters, places, and references are not. They belong to Nintendo. All hail Nintendo!
Author's Note: Auru's words are paraphrased from my memory (which is really bad), sorry. My friend thought I should mention (you'll understand when you get there), that it's the third Poe, not the second. And 'Poe' is capitalized for a reason; it refers to the big ones, not just any poes. By the way, I happen to love Arbiter's Grounds, but I do think it's a creepy place when you stop to consider what it was. And most importantly, I suppose, I do have this fanfic finished, it just wouldn't be cool if I uploaded it all at once. That would take away the drama, wouldn't it? But I'll update very quickly, I promise.
Arbiter's Grounds. The name sent a shiver of unease through Link. What ancient, horrible place was this, a prison with a bloody, wicked history. As he looked for the first time at the shadowed, sandy prison, he remembered Auru's words: "It was a place where the wickedest criminals were imprisoned. From here they were sent to the underworld, never to return to Hyrule. In short, it was a memorial to the purest evil the kingdom had ever seen. And this was the resting place for the Mirror of Twilight.
"Hey!" Midna's sharp voice pierced through Link's somber thoughts. Spiraling up from his shadow, she stopped to hover near his face. "This place is . . . creepy. Can you feel it?"
Link licked his already sandy lips, then nodded slightly. The room they were in was dark, and he could hear creatures burrowing in the sand up ahead. He could feel the oppression of spirit, the pervading gloom that was worse than any walls of stone.
"Link, maybe you should . . ." Midna trailed off, but her eyes pleaded with the young Hylian. Understanding her desire, he nodded again, then reached into his pouch to retrieve his lantern. As the small glow pushed back the shadows, he heaved an inward sigh. This place was so dark, it even got to Midna, a being of the Twilight Realm.
Thinking of the Twilight Realm brought Link's mind back to Zant, and the Mirror. They had a reason for being here, and it would not do to waste time. Hanging his lantern on his belt, he unsheathed his sword and moved into the dungeon. Sinking back into his shadow, Midna followed.
The Poes that greeted them farther into the prison had such a strong aura, it caused Link to step back instinctively. He watched as they captured the dungeon's blue flames, whisking them away to various areas.
"That can't be good," Midna announced quietly, her usual boisterous nature stifled by the building's atmosphere.
Link ignored her. His attention was focused on the pale blue lamp hovering several feet in front of him. Holding out his shield, he cautiously stepped forward. The lamp swung crazily, and a wicked, hollow laugh echoed around him. He could not see the creature, but all of his instincts told him it was there. Charging his sword, he swung in a great horizontal arc. "Hyaah!" he yelled.
To his shock, his sword passed cleanly through the air in front of him, catching nothing more than another eerie laugh. "Link, watch out!" Midna cried, just as the blue lamp crashed into the back of the hero's head, sending him sprawling.
The Hylian lay where he had fallen as Midna swept over to him. "Are you all right?" she called. Link made a small grunting noise, then pushed himself to his feet. Turning to face his enemy once more, he raised his shield. "Wait, Link!" Midna had perched on Link's head and was urgently tugging on his green hat. "Use your wolf senses! This is no living enemy you're trying to fight!"
His friend's advice made sense to him, so he nodded and sheathed his weapon, closing his eyes as he waited for the transformation to come.
A great rushing filled his ears, as if he were caught in a tremendous wind. Shadows seemed to seep toward him, covering his form as he shrank, falling to his hands and knees. His neck grew long and his ears rose upward. In a moment it was over, and he stood as he had so many times before, a blue-eyed wolf, the sacred beast. Giving him an encouraging look, Midna landed on his back.
Wasting no time, Link honed his senses. Almost immediately he could see his enemy, a tall, pale Poe, one of the flame thieves. The creature laughed again, then swept toward him. Jumping to the side, Link pounced on the creature's back, gripping hard as he attacked multiple times. Enraged, the Poe threw him off, but with a few more quick dodges, the wolf was able to get on his back once more, and soon the creature was defeated. Sinking to the sandy ground, the Poe screeched once, horribly, as Link attacked a dark, glowing orb in its center. Pulling the orb away, the hero watched the Poe deflate, losing its force.
The Hylian sat back on his haunches, holding up the dark orb for Midna to see. "That's the Poe's soul, just like the ones that Jovani guy told us about." Link panted once, agreeing, but frowned, an emotion that looked strange on a wolf. Although he and Midna had caught several poes before, this one was different. He could feel the evil aura radiating from the orb, so much stronger than the ones he had found in Kakariko Graveyard.
It seemed that Midna could feel it, too. "Do you think that soul belonged to one of the prisoners here?" she asked. "After all, some of them probably died here, right?" Her voice had grown low, and it was not marked with her telltale humor. "Do you think . . . the others are going to be this bad, too?"
Link shivered, an action that caused Midna to lose her balance. Floating over to the Poe's remains, she covered her mouth and nose with her hand. "Well, not only does this thing reek of evil, it just plain reeks!"
Panting a little, Link trotted over and put his nose to the Poe. It did, indeed, smell awful. The wolf felt like the stench was burning his eyes. Stepping back quickly, Link shook his head, trying to dispel the pain. He knew he would not be forgetting that scent any time soon.
"Come on, Link." Midna floated back over to her perch on his back. "We still have three more of those creatures to fight, don't we? We can't waste any more time getting to the Mirror of Twilight."
Honing his senses, Link set off in the direction of another Poe, following the evil aura. Together, the Twili and beast headed deeper into the prison.