Warning that this is a very dark fic. If torture and stuff bothers you I'd recommend not reading. Unsure if this will continue or not. I'll see what the response is and go from there.

Comments are always appreciated.

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It was dark and cold. The ground was hard and even colder with the moisture of his own blood. He could barely feel his limbs now, which he supposed was preferable to pain. His Master was keeping it intentionally cold as punishment, but he couldn't remember what he did wrong. All Master ever did was beat him and ask confusing questions, but the slave never knew the answer. He didn't know how to answer any of it, which only seemed to draw out the pain.

He didn't know why he held on anymore. Honestly the thought of letting go was becoming more and more tempting. There was something that kept his consciousness here though, or at least little bits of his fantastical imagination. A place with giant birds that soared the great expanse of open sky, people with no faces riding the birds and waving to him. The ground never was clear in his mind, he could never make out what covered it. Only the sky seemed to offer some respite, with him even on the back of a bird and flying alongside another. Her face was blank like the others, most of her details completely blurred out, but he could picture her laughter like they were in the same room. The sweet chiming of an angelic voice he longed to hear but didn't know who the owner was. Perhaps the voice was never anyone's to begin with, a figment made up in his desperations to find respite from the pain. It all led back to the pain eventually, being brought back to reality by HIM. At least he couldn't see the Master's face anymore, but that didn't stop his laughter from breaking through the safety of his mind. No, nowhere was safe from Master, and everything would always lead back to pain in this inescapable place.

The sounds of heavy footsteps echoed outside his cell.

No, no, why couldn't they leave him alone? He wanted to be left alone! He braced himself, tensing as the footfall got louder and louder, but something was off. The footsteps certainly didn't match any of the Guardsmen, and his Master rarely choose to walk, so who could this be? Someone to finally end him? He wasn't ready for that right? There were still things he needed to do, he thought anyway.

The door behind him creaked and moaned. Someone was breaking in. The guards finally got tired of waiting for him to die and came to finish the job. He couldn't defend himself now. He couldn't even sit upright. Maybe if he stayed still the monsters would leave? The prison door crashed open with a bang, followed by loud footfall of the one responsible getting near. He could hear a masculine voice cursing under his breath.

"Shit!" The footfall rushed closer, he could feel their presence as they kneeled behind his back. He squeezed his eyes tighter despite the pain it caused, praying they would leave.

Please go away.

Please please go away.

But they didn't go away. He could still feel their presence causing his skin to crawl. What did this guy want?

The slave could feel the sensation of fingers brushing along his face, his gut reaction to withdraw but the command not reaching the rest of his limbs. Instead the teen let out a small whimper, but no rough handling or punishment followed. The hand released immediately with a loud gasp, before it came back more forcefully.

"Link!" The rough voice choked out. "Fledge! Get over here! He's alive!" He vaguely heard lighter footsteps rushing into the room followed by a gasp. The larger one barely reacted.

"Link, it's your best pal Groose. We're here to help."

Help? He didn't understand, though nothing truly made sense right now. It was a lie. He was being lied to again. They would just take him somewhere and… and…

The slave didn't want to think about it. At least he wouldn't be able to see it this time. His suffering was now a prison of sound, smells and sensation. He could remember the torture so vividly in his mind's eye though. Those images would never leave.

He tried to focus on the here and now. What did these monsters want? This was too much of an unknown, but asking would only lead to more punishment. Instead he stayed quit, intently listening for any signs of ill intent. He could hear the smaller one rushing to his front and grabbing at his shackled hands. This time his body manage an involuntary flinch, but the large hands on his side held firmer.

"It's alright bud. Fledge is going to free you is all. Here!" He could hear the sound of rummaging, never a good thing. If the monster was going for a knife or something he wouldn't be able to stop it. The large being carefully grabbed his torso and rolled him gently on his back. He couldn't stop himself from tensing.

"Drink this." A cool glass rim was set to his lips and a bitter liquid spilled over his dried tongue. His throat close up instantly and he couldn't stop the ragged coughs spewing the liquid down his chin.

"I-is that blood?" The quieter one, Fledge he thinks, whispered worriedly.

"Shhhh!" The louder one, Groose, shot back. "Try to keep it down Link. I promise you'll feel better!" He lifted The boy's head a bit higher, assaulting his lips again with the terrible sludge. The slave tried to resist, but Groose wouldn't let up. Finally he let the bitter fluid down his throat, coughing and hacking most of it up but managing to keep a little bit down. Strangely he could feel some sensation returning to his fingers and toes. The limbs were starting to burn now, and he honestly wished he could go back to that numbness again.

"You got any more pipsqueak?" Groose ask worriedly as a large hand tried wiping some of the mess off the boy's chin.

"N-no, sorry." He could hear the Groose monster cursing under his breath. A loud click noise made the slave flinch, suddenly noticing how much lighter his arms felt. They removed his bindings, but he didn't know why.

"We'll need to hurry then." The larger replied. Something thick and scratchy was wrapped snugly around his body. It was fabric but he didn't know the kind. The new monsters were restraining him and he didn't want it!

He tried to struggle at first but the gentle smaller hands patted his head reassuringly. "Please don't Link, you'll hurt yourself." The boy ignored him. This was new and strange and confining. He didn't know what they were going to do but he didn't want to find out. Clumsily he pulled harder before the larger hands scooped him off the ground. He froze, waiting for the pain to hit but nothing happened. The strong arms held the slave to his large chest protectively.

"We told ya Link. We're here to save you, so leave the rest to us!" The deeper voice vibrated through the man's chest. The boy refused to relax, feeling the rise and fall of the foreign body as he breathed, taking in the scent. These monsters were very strange indeed. The large one lacked that horrible smell of death and rot the others monsters possessed. This one smelled like sweat and blood. It was still unpleasant, but preferable to what he's come to know. This Groose smells alive, feels alive, and that alone was a comfort.

"Guys! Are you done yet?!" Another male shouted from down the hallway. "We have to move!"

"We're coming!" Groose replied before he started moving. He couldn't see where they were going, but the change in scent was immediate. It didn't smell like blood and body fluids anymore. He was out of that cursed prison. The sounds of shouting and clanking metal soon replaced it, and the two that took him were heading directly towards the violence. The screeches of monsters he recognised and the cries of those he didn't intensified followed by a loud explosion and Groose's pace increasing. It sounded like more footsteps had joined the original two as well.

"Who's that?" The strange male voice from earlier asked between pants.

"It's Link idiot!" Groose growled. The other male was silent for a second before exploding with rage.

"What in Hylia's name happened to him?! Did you forget to give him potions?!"

"Maybe if some idiot in a yellow tunic didn't alert the whole cave of our presence, I would have had more for later!"

"Why you-"

"That's enough Pipit!" A female voice yelled in agitation. "We'll talk later." The new monster, Pipit she called him, grumbled unintelligibly but went quiet soon enough.

Slowly the slave forced his swollen eye open, but quickly shut it again at the searing pain in his eyeball. That was a horrible idea. He wanted to know what was happening, but everything remained a screen of black and pain.

Instead he manage to worm one of his hands free from the binding, feeling aimlessly until he came upon softer fabric. What was going on? The Guard monsters don't wear shirts. Unless these aren't really grunt monsters. What if they're demons like Master? Was he changing ownership? But he could feel hard metal under the cloth, much like his chains in that cell. Master doesn't wear metal. Do other demons wear it?

"I see it!" The female shouted. "It looks like a snow storm. Do you think the Loftwings will fly?"

"Only one way to find out." The male, Pipit, answered.

"Brace yourself Link!" Groose hollard before jumping. The cold hit hard like a boulder. He could feel his face getting pelted in snow, stinging in the unexpected chill. He definitely recognized this feeling, when he tried to escape long ago. They were going to die out here. Didn't they know leaving the caves meant death?!

He barely had a chance to notice his stomach churning as the ground seemed to leave. They were falling, the arms around his legs tightening when the one around his torso moved. Groose gave a long whistle, but what would that do?!

A monsterous caw echoed from somewhere nearby, before the two landed on something solid and his stomach jerked at the fast change in momentum. they must have landed on a beast of some kind, the thing letting out another screech when it started lurching in a new direction. He clenched his teeth and gripped the shirt tightly, trying not to heave at the wave of nausea.

"We made it!" A voice called from nearby, though he wasn't sure who's. Groose let out his own cry of victory, the beast suddenly lurching even more.

"I told ya we'd get you out Link!" Groose laughed, but the slave wasn't sure how to feel. They were out, out of the underground nightmare he's called home for so long. That didn't answer where he was going now. The thought filled him with dread, but curiosity at the same time. These monsters hadn't hurt him yet, if anything they've shown nothing but mercy so far. Would that continue though? Or were they luring him into a false sense of security? Either way, that didn't stop him from enjoying the cold crisp air. It was fresh, clean and calming. He never thought he'd breath this kind of air ever again. He inhaled deeply, only to be sent into a coughing fit and spitting up blood all over the Groose monster.

"Link?! Hang in there!" Groose pleaded with worry. The slave could feel his mind dipping in and out of consciousness, any adrenaline keeping him awake finally wearing off. He still cringed at the change in Groose's demeanour. The larger male had gone from an excited air to a tense seriousness. The slave's face scrunched up in fear expecting a blow, but all Groose did was pull some fabric from the bindings over his face. It blocked some of the harsh winds pelting his cheeks. "Stay with me pal, I promise we'll take care of ya."

The slave didn't know how to react, but ended up laxing his shoulders at the unexpected response. His mind was fading at the edges, the entire trip becoming nothing more than a blur. He was pretty sure the Groose monster had tried to say more things to him, but everything was sounding so distant and muffled now. For once he felt a sense of relief, feeling safer now then he had any right being. The cold bite entering his nostrils finally overwhelmed him, and he sank into the deep darkness.