Note: I don't own any character from the legend of Zelda series; also note
that only characters that belong to me are Brett and Itenion. The
characters Larz, Leisis, and Kyle belong to my friend at the Vinculum by
the name xXOniLinkXx. Vincent belongs to Kyr, and WCS belongs to WCS II.
Hey they deserve as much credit for this as I do, give yourself credit guys
*Round of applause *
Return of Shadow Link…
Prologue: Too Good to Be True
"Ahh, it's been a looonnnggg week," Link yawned to himself, soaking in the Kakariko hot springs, "If these are supposed to be relaxing, then why am I so edgy?"
"It could be the fact that your using the only hot spring both men and women can use," said the manager of this little resort.
"No, that wouldn't bother me," said Link, running one of his hands through his rather shot hair, after all, it had withstood searing flames, the coldest temperatures in Hyrule, and more.
Meanwhile...
"Well, isn't this place lively," spoke a little blue rodent. Brett looked down at him in his shirt pocket.
"Now, quiet Itenion, it's not like we haven't been to a place with hot springs before," Brett said.
"Sir, may I ask you something," asked a villager, who had watched Brett from the time he had entered this morning, "Who are you talking to?"
"Nobody, just to myself," Brett said, "Now, let's go take a look at these hot springs"
1 Somewhere out in Hyrule…
A shadow sites calmly on a boulder in the distance of Death Mountain pondering...
"Mwa ha ha ha... now my little friend, Link, you have fallen into my trap just like all of the other fools… Ha ha ha..."
A shadow with no owner creeps up behind Shadow Link without making a sound. "M-Master I h-have n-news to re-report... Link has fallen into our trap and we are ready and waiting for the next part of your master plan... sir..."
"I know that you fool!" Shadow Link sighed, "But that's okay, tell the others that I'm about ready... now go! All will fall into place as said 'Shadows come live once new allies arrive.'"
"Y-Yes master..." says the shadow as he left as quietly as he came.
Elsewhere in Hyrule...
"This is such beautiful air, much better then what we are used to don't you think so Leisis... Leisis, LEISIS!" yells Larz.
"Huh... what, oh yeah, it's much less stuffy without the smell of rotting flesh in the dungeons. By the way Larz... who are supposed to meet here in Kakariko?"
While staring out into the distance of Hyrule, "Link... he saved Hyrule while we were away in another land. On our way back I saw a group of shadows on Death Mountain after we came out of the portal. I only heard part of their conversation though..."
Kyle was listening in on the conversation while he was checking on his horse but decided to leave it at that.
Kyle broke the silence as he said, "Well here we are, Kakariko. Although I am getting a little hungry, how about we go get something to eat first?"
Larz and Leisis nodded their heads as they both dismounted off of their horses. Soon Brett was walking in the same crowded street as Larz and company. He looked around, losing his concentration, until...
"HEY, watch it!" someone screamed, Brett was shocked from his dazed state to see he had knocked Leisis to the ground.
"Oh, uh, sorry, didn't mean to do that, this is my first time in Hyrule you see," Brett began, he wasn't sure where to go from there.
"Brett, tell them who you are at least," Itenion hissed from his shirt pocket.
"Oh, uh, right," Brett looked at Itenion. Larz, Leisis and Kyle looked between each other, confused by this weird behavior, "I'm Brett Satoru, Dream Master of Galia and Mercenary, and you all would be?"
"Oh... well sorry about that there but we are getting a little hungry you see... I apologize. By the way I'm Leisis, this is Larz, and Kyle. We just arrived from a far away place, would you like to join us as we eat, we could get to know each other maybe," Leisis replied.
Brett looked at them for a minute, considering the offer, then a growling sound interrupted his thought, he soon realized that that was his stomach answering his question for him, "Uhh... there's your answer for ya, I haven't eaten anything since the day before I got here."
"Hexians and your weaknesses," mumbled Itenion.
"Shut up Mouse," Brett screamed. Then he looked up to notice that the three were looking at him like he was crazy, "WHAT?"
"What", yelled the three in unison.
"Ekkkkk, there is a mouse, EW EW EW!" Leisis screamed as she jumped up onto Larz who fell, Leisis' golden hair got into Larz's line of vision. Leisis was then sitting on top of Larz very comfortably... but not for Larz that is...
Larz tried to get up as he said. "Ummm, you can come with us as we go get some food then, once Leisis gets off of me!"
"Alright, let's go," said Brett.
"Got some grain or cheese on you?" Itenion asked Leisis, he loved people who were freaked out by mice, and he'd do anything to get under their skin more.
"Shut up Itenion, she just knew that I said MOUSE, not that she sees you," Brett said.
"Oh yeah, her seeing me, that can be arranged," Itenion said, he jumped from Brett's shirt pocket, scrambled along the ground and up the back of Larz, then he bit down hard.
"Itenion NO," Brett screamed as he watched Leisis go flying because of the sudden pain in her ass Itenion had sent.
"OUCH! What the HELL bit me... urg uhh ehh uhh, t-that was w-weird... another MOUSE eekk! It was that mouse that bit me! That's it, now that mouse is going to die for that!" Leisis scrambled as she went for her horse, out of a bag she pulled out a silver and gold sword. "I'll use my King's Sword, it's never failed me." Leisis raised the sword to the sun as light glistened off of it, "That's it mouse, and now it's the end for you! I'll finish it nice and quick," Leisis ran up to the mouse as she begun to swing. Larz finally got up as he looked at Kyle.
"Hey, that bite could of caused her to go insane?" said Kyle.
"Hmm that could be it, we'll never know until we ask her ourselves," said Larz
Brett watched in horror as Itenion was about to get cut right before his eyes when he decided to do something about it...
2 Meanwhile…
Vincent left Hyrule Market town. He had just spoken with the King, and found Ganon was defeated. He sensed a faint energy in the distance. He looked towards Death Mountain.
"Strange, I sense both good and evil there," he said. He ran to his horse, Flame, mounted it, and rode into Kakariko Village to see a person about to stab their sword into the ground.
"No way," said Itenion, teleporting out of the way just as the sword cleaved it's way into the ground where he once stood, "Don't think your gonna get rid of me that easily," Leisis looked at her shoulder to Itenion standing there, "Hehehe, I love getting under people's skin."
"Itenion, get over here, now," Brett screamed, Itenion groaned.
"That's not even funny," Itenion replied, "I was just havin' some fun, it's not exactly comfortable in that shirt pocket of yours."
"I don't care, get your fury butt over here," Brett said, Itenion reluctantly leapt off of Leisis and climbed back into Brett's shirt pocket, "Now, shall we go to lunch?"
"Hey, who are you guys," came a voice from a little far away. Brett's necked instantly snapped around to looked at the source.
"I'm Brett, mercenary and Dream master of Galia, and you would be?" Brett replied.
"Vincent," replied the man.
"I see, well, that's kind of odd, meeting a bunch of people all at once, that normally only happens to me when there's trouble," said Brett, "So, what kind of currency is accepted here, I'm guessing it's not Dragon Coins."
"No, it's rupees," said Kyle.
"Rubies?" Brett questioned.
"Not rubies, ruPEEs," Leisis corrected, pulling out a green one to show to Brett.
"Looks like an emerald," Brett said.
"Well, it's not," Larz said.
"Okay, well, I was coming in from Galia, and picked up a few from some the monsters I defeated on the way here," Brett pulled a couple of red rupees, five or six blue rupees, and 10 green rupees.
"Well, at least he has some money," said Vincent.
"Well, my job rakes in tons of money, usually, this place is WAY to peaceful for a mercenary to make a living," Brett replied, "So, what say we all go grab a bite to eat, and get on over to the hot springs."
"Can you hold on as we go and find our horses, we left them besides a restaurant and we can feast over there," said Larz.
The group walked on being following behind Larz who obviously had the best sense of direction. Larz walked past a merchant who begged them to buy something, but they refused. "So Larz, where did you and the rest of your group come from, by the look of it seems as though you came from somewhere in Hyrule," asked Brett with a spark of curiosity.
"Umm... we actually came from a distant land away from Hyrule but we were all born here in Hyrule... I'd rather not talk about it though... it's kind of a long story..."
"Excuse me, I need to see someone, out of the way! Do any of you know anyone named Link; I need to speak with him? Out of my way!" A woman in her early 20s wearing a robe and had silky golden hair ran through the crowd of people.
"Well here we are, the restaurant I saw. Hey who's that that just ran inside. Looked like Zelda... naw, it couldn't be, could it?"
"Um, Leisis... who's Zelda, do you guys know her?" asked Brett.
"Zelda? Why she's the princess of Hyrule and owner of the Triforce of Wisdom. Zelda lives in the castle up past that hill," responded Leisis as she pointed off into a direction.
Vincent began to rub his stomach being reminded that it was still empty. "Hey, I would love to chat but can we do it after we eat something? I'm starving!"
After Lunch they headed to the hot springs. "I wonder what the woman wanted?" Vincent said. When they got to the hot springs, Link had gone already. Vincent got a slight headache as they neared the springs.
"Are you ok?" Leisis asked.
"Yeah, its just a headache," Vincent replied rubbing his head. By the time they got to the springs Vincent's head was pounding. He was going to turn down getting into the Hot spring, but he stumbled and fell into one.
"Owe, my head... what's going on? I better get out of the spring before..." Vincent couldn't finish when he saw a shadow disperse from his feet as he climbed out.
"Mwa mwa ha ha ha.... s-shadow mu-must find shadow.... link..." said the shadow as it left and climbed up out of the spring. It then went in the direction of Death Mountain.
"Looks like my job is saved, you guys do have some bad guys roaming around here now don't you?"
"Hmm, I better investigate this a little more... I know Link might know something about this! Ek… Better keep my voice down," said a shadowed person watching our heroes. Though he did his best not to move, his shivering was causing a slight rustling of leaves, then he made the biggest mistake, he shifted his position.
"Hey Vincent! How's your headache, you took a nasty fall into that spring and then… there... was.... what's that noise?" said Kyle as he realized that there was something in the bushes!
Oh no! They saw me! Better run out of here! A shadow thought
"You'd think we'd have enough weird things happening to us," said Itenion as he saw what all the noise was about.
"Be quiet Itenion, we have enough trouble as it is! Hey that looks like that lady that we saw in town! I wonder if she IS Zelda!" said Leisis
"Arg I better stop running and introduce myself... besides, one of them already has a lead on me anyways. Please stop, I'm sorry for the disturbance!" the woman stopped and looked at the odd group, "My name is Princess Zelda and I'm looking for someone named Link. It would also be of help to me if I could ask you some questions…?"
"Wow, so that was Zelda," replied Brett.
"I guess we could talk, besides, we don't have many ideas on our situation so you could be of some help. Let us go to the inn, where it's more private. I think I can get us inside for free," said Larz as he put away a sword in the blink of an eye.
"I think I have some explaining to do, don't I," said Zelda as she placed down her hood.
"Oh yeah, you sure do. By the way, I'm Leisis. That's Larz, Kyle, Brett, and Vincent. Welcome to the club of New Arrivals and Friend... that's you," said Leisis
Once they got to the Inn, Vincent immediately said that he would go to for Link. "I can sort of home in on powerful forces of good and evil, " Vincent drew his sword for the first time since before he came to Hyrule. It was made of a very reflective metal. The rim of the blade was made of gold, and all along it was strange writing all in gold. He then left the Inn. Vincent proceeded to go to Death Mountain trail for he sensed a great evil there.
3 Near Death Mountain…
WCS checked, "Okay, so... lets see, you guys need about twenty gallons of water for the public dispersion, and fifty bundles of Deku sticks for torch lighting, right?"
A fairly tall guy about six feet, with blond hair just going past his shoulders, in a ponytail. His blue eyes were fixed on a giant creature that didn't look anything Hylian. It was indeed a Goron, King Darunia to be exact.
King Darunia reassured WCS with his answered, "Yes, and we need a few pounds of meat."
Another male that seemed about the same age, height, and colored eyes as the first chimed in.
Link: "Meat? Since when did you guys start eating meat?"
King Darunia: "We've always eaten meat, it actually substitutes for the rocks when we have a shortage, but we try to stock up on it when we can, because much like those crops you guys tell me stories about, there are times of good harvest of sirloin rock, and sometimes it isn't so plentiful, so..."
He trailed off, to give them the idea, and they both let it be known that they then understood.
WCS turned around, "Okay then, we'll take this to the King, and see what we can get back to you with. See you around old buddy." WCS finished with a slight snicker, only to have King Darunia clap him on his shoulder, and causing him to buckle for a second in his step. King Darunia never liked being called old.
King Darunia stopped the two, "Wait, before you go... I was wondering. Why did you let your hair grow out S?"
WCS self-consciously stroked his hair, "Well, the princess made a comment about how we would both look with our hair grown out, and we both decided to see who she would think looked the best with long hair."
King Darunia, "What, you two trying to get her attention?"
"NO!" Link quickly responded, always trying to hide his crush on the princess, while WCS calmly stated his "No."
WCS commented, "We just thought it would be funny to put her on the spot, since she always liked to torment us."
Link's face flushed for a second, but Darunia caught it, while WCS was looking away, though Darunia didn't press the matter, he knew Link all to well, and knew that that meant Link rather liked the attention the princess gave him, no matter what it was.
King Darunia, "Far be it for me to get it way then."
WCS retorted at the comment, "What's that supposed to mean?"
King Darunia snickered, "Nothing, it's just that, well it don't rightly look your style, if the both of ye's know what I mean."
Link grunted, "For the umpteenth time Darunia, don't call us that."
"Call you what?" King Darunia asked innocently.
"Just because we are letting our hair grow doesn't make us ladies, so I have to agree, just lay off with that joke o'yours," said Link
King Darunia burst out laughing, and clapped both of them on the shoulders as they both struggled to stay standing from the impact. After a few more minutes of conversation, and conformation, the two guys left to take the requisition to the King of Hyrule. And were heading down hill, when Link thought he recognized someone coming uphill from Kakariko village.
"Hey WCS, didn't that guy that walked past us look familiar," asked Link as he pointed to a distant person.
"Hmm, you are right, he does look pretty familiar..." said WCS
4 At the Inn…
"So Zelda what did you come all the ways up here for," said Larz as he stroked his chin.
"Well... it concerns Link, the hot springs, and someone named WCS... it may sound odd but what Vincent did at the springs may be a lead to what I need to find out," said Zelda as she looked out the window and saw two figures coming their way...
"Well, until this Link gets here, I might as well ask a few questions myself," Brett got up from leaning on the wall in the darkest corner of the room, "First of all, I've heard about a man named Ganondorf, who was he?"
"Are you kidding, anyone from this dimension knows who Ganondorf is, he plunged Hyrule into an area of apocalyptic darkness, and cut off trade to other nations unless he could rule over them as well (Typical Evil Overlord)" Zelda said.
"Never heard of 'em," Brett mumbled, "And what is 'Death Mountain' sounds like Chaos Mountain from my home world."
"Well, it was given its name because it is an active volcano, and the path is perilous, the Gorons live up there," Zelda explained, Brett gave her a quizzical look, "You haven't heard of the Gorons?"
"Nope, not at all, see I come from an entirely different planet, I got here by teleportation, EXTREME teleportation," Brett said, "And I'm sticking around cause my intuition tells me that there'll be need of my services soon."
"What do you do anyway Brett?" asked Larz, he knew Brett was a mercenary, but what was Brett's 'services'.
"I am a body guard, a mercenary warrior, you know, something that requires this," Brett pulled out a very eloquent longsword, it shined in the dim light, on the hilt of the blade was the word SATORU, "It's my family heirloom, the Satoru Longsword, my father gave it to me when he..." Brett stopped and bit his lip, "Nevermind, I think I've talked enough, I'll wait for this Link guy to get here before I do anything more."
Near Death Mountain Summit...
"I... must report... to Shadow Link," mumbled Shadow Vincent, "Must tell him of the newcomer, he must know of... the change."
With that, the Shadow made its way into Death Mountain Crater.
"Hmm... looks like a very nice blade that you got there! If it ever loses its sharpness, don't worry. Up there on Death Mountain they got Gorons that can make it like new. Although mine could use a little sharpness itself... it's been through a lot... But, never mind," finished Larz as he gazed to a sword that he pulled out.
"If you don't mind, Kyle, why's Larz so attached to his blade," asked Brett while looking at Larz's sword. The blade itself seemed as if made of gold and the middle was a clear dark blue, the hilt was as dark and as black as a raven's feathers with swirls of red.
"Aye, he and that sword there have been through too much. His father died at the hands of Gannondorf... his mother died when he was a wee lad... not many know much about him though... A year ago we all left to another world and that's when he found his beloved blade. That sword has killed thousands, seeking revenge on all those evil and a blackened heart. Should see him in battle though, tougher then steel on the outside but gentle on the inside," replied Kyle.
5 At the foot of Death Mountain…
"Hey WCS, what do say about a rest at the little inn out yonder there? We could use a little rest till we go back to the castle," said Link with a glint of tiredness in his eye.
"I suppose so... we could use a rest, we just came down from Death Mountain."
Link and WCS walk into the inn to be surprised by a large group of people chatting away, noticing one of them was Zelda. "Zelda! What are you doing here? Aren't ye supposed to be at the castle!"
"Link! I was coming for you and then I ended up with these nice people," said Zelda as she showed Link and his companion the rest of the group.
"So this is the fabled Link that I heard about eh! He don't look like too much to me," said Brett as he leaped out of the group of people.
6 Somewhere in the crevices of the crater…
"Master... I've come with news. There's been a change of plans, same as with our enemies..." a shadow bowed to the back of his master
"Yeah, and who might you be there...?" asked Shadow link indifferently
"Vincent, Shadow Vincent," The shadow snickered.
"Sir, our enemy has a few knew members, including one that has never been to Hyrule," said Shadow Vincent.
"Really, well, that could work to our advantage, I don't care now about Link, it would be good to catch him and his allies by surprise, that was Ganondorf's greatest error, allowing Link time to realize the path to defeating him," Shadow Link directed a few of his soldiers to rally his troops, "I on the other hand, will NOT make the same mistake, I care not for what they are doing now, prepare the attack, go to phase 1, Destroy Kakariko. Buwahahaha!"
In Kakariko
Brett had stepped out for some fresh air, Link had finally arrived with WCS and Vincent in tow. Brett had decided not to get involved unless either his life was at stake or there was a reward in all of this.
"Even a mercenary has to make a living, I don't make too many friends, but that's only because they don't understand how hard my line of work really is," Brett said to himself.
"Now, don't say that kid," Itenion said, "You made plenty of friends back home, right?"
"But, you see, they are part of Mercenary Unit USF," Brett said, "They are my allies, no matter what."
"You're right, everybody resents you," said Itenion.
"It's because one day I could be their ally, the next I would be their enemy if the pay was worth it," Brett said, "Wonder when they'll finish."
7 Outside Kakariko…
Vincent was meditating, while the rest of the group was talking to Link and Zelda.
Suddenly, a clocked figure fell from the sky. Vincent immediately leaped up, and drew his sword. The clocked figure draw his blade, which was identical to Vincent's.
The two battled for ten minutes, until two more clocked figured grabbed Vincent. The first figure beat Vincent until he was unconscious. Vincent's sword fell to the ground. The clocked figures dragged Vincent into the distance. His sword was left on the ground.
8 Back at the Inn…
"So Zelda... why did you come all the ways out here for? You could of been badly hurt if you didn't watch yourself, thank the goddesses that these guys saw you!" said Link
"Yes, well it was fortunate for me that I saw them... although they do seem to know more about this then I do," said Zelda as she quickly glanced towards Larz then to Brett, and back to the eyes of Link.
"Does Impa know about your little runaway? If not, she soon will..." said Link
"Yes, Impa does know but I told her to keep a low profile for me. Now, let's move on to more important matters. I... sense a great evil beginning to brew. For all I know... it is one of Gannondorf's minions, but he seems to know more then I," she looked to Larz who was talking to Brett.
"Yes... he seems to know quite a lot. I'll try to get something out of him..."
"Yeah... so will I..."
"... So that's how my job works," said Brett as he perked himself up. He liked to explain his job to others. "By the way Larz, have you seen where Vincent went...?"
"Ahh yeah. He said that he went to meditate outside of the village or something like that..." said Larz.
"He's been out there for quite a while now, wonder if he is okay..." Leisis said.
"Sure hope so, sure hope so," said Larz as he peeked out a window...
Chapter 1: The Kakariko Raid
"I'll go check, okay," Brett walked in the direction Larz was pointing, "You guys concentrate on the matter at hand."
"WhAt MaTtEr," screamed a very odd creature, it looked a lot like one of the many carpenters who had worked on the Bath House Hot Springs Building, "Oh, YoU MeAn ThAt IdIoT gIrL's ReMaRk."
"Who the heck is that?" Brett exclaimed.
"Oh, JuSt A sOlDiEr Of My GrEaT mAsTeR," said the shadow, "AnD tHeRe ArE mOrE."
"Soldiers...? What kind of soldiers, explain you," screamed Brett lashing out his sword.
"MiNiOnS Of ShAdOw LiNk, HeRe To DeStRoY tHiS eNtIrE vIlLaGe! AnD yOu!" said the shadow.
"Shadow Link! He's still alive! I'll finish him. Stay back Zelda," said Link as he stood up off his chair.
"So shall we begin or are we just going to stand here, eh?" said Brett.
Link and Larz and all the others pull out their swords simultaneously. "So... shadows... enjoy the last light that you'll ever see," said Larz as Brett saw a glint of fire in Larz's eyes. More shadows of beings began to appear from the corners of the inn... Suddenly, the carpenter shadow leapt from the roof of the Inn and set to bombard anyone under him on the ground.
"BREAK," screamed Brett as he leapt from the spot in time to see the shadow rip into the ground, the rest reacted this, taking on every warrior 2 to 1. Brett had to take on three though, because his skills could barely be matched by two, the rest were having a hard time keeping up with the agile shadows (Brett is INCREDIBLY fast, these shadows are overwhelming to fight when you really can't hit them, and I'm assuming your characters are used to fighting with brute strength, not speed).
"What's wrong, the people these shadows depict could never go this fast, aren't they like mirrors?" Link screamed, then one of the shadows he was fighting let loose a ball of fire from its mouth, he dodged, and it hit the side of a building. Soon it was caught ablaze, fortunately the people within escaped the burning of the house before it was life threatening, "T- they can breathe fire?"
"Seems so, don't worry, just try to make sure you aren't between a building and them," Larz screamed, adjusting himself so that the fire would hit the north wall of Kakariko, just missing the graveyard.
"I don't like this at all," Leisis said, "This attack was so sudden, no minion of Ganondorf's would be this reckless."
"Maybe it was a more reckless member," suggested Brett, "The shadow link they talked of must be after revenge."
"Because I beat him," Link mumbled, Brett's elven ears caught the remark.
"Exactly," Brett said as his ears twitched. He swung his sword, but the shadow he swung at made it a glancing blow.
"Hmm, if what Brett said was right... these are shadows, then light must have some effect. Everyone that has a shield take it out and try to reflect the light! This should work," said Larz while bringing out a shield. It was plain black, a black darker then coal. It seemed to be made of some kind of metal.
"Are you sure that this is going to work! I'd hate it if you were wrong," said Brett while ducking away from a blast of fire.
The light reflected off and hit one of the shadows. "Arg! Light... too strong!" One of the carpenters flew back and hit the wall of the inn. The sudden shock made part of the burning inn fall down and destroyed the carpenter.
"Hey it looks like if we back them off with light and hit the inn then they would die faster! Lets try it," said Kyle bringing up his shield. Four more of the carpenters hit the inn and burned away to dust. "Would you look at that! Only four more and we're done," Link said while knocking away a sword swing.
"You fool! Don't think you'll get rid of us that easily!" Then the remaining three began to breath fire. Brett used his speed to go behind the carpenters. Then using his sword to knock them down.
"How about I finish this. I barely got to kill much, I'll use a spell," said Leisis as she brought out a bottle with black fire. It was dancing around inside the bottle itching to get out. Leisis opened it and let it fall onto the prostrating shadow carpenters.
"Hey Leisis, what was that stuff it looked really odd. Kind of like fire or something," said Zelda coming out from behind a tree.
"Almost, almost..." mumbled Leisis
"Well, where are we going to stay? The inn burned down and that was our only choice..." said Link brushing some sweat from his forehead.
"Did you forget already!? I'm a princess, I live in a castle," said Zelda buffing out her chest.
9 In the Crater…
"Curses.... I better send out more shadows. Maybe I should send out the Vincent's...." mumbled Shadow Link.
Vincent woke up to find himself chained to a wall. The shadows guys were guarding him. He pulled as hard as he could against the chains, but they wouldn't budge.
"Save your strength fool," one of the shadows said.
"Din's Fire," Vincent whispered. He grabbed the chains as heat began to build in his hands. So, the chains caught fire just before melting. Vincent flung the molten chains on two of the shadows. They turned to dust moments later.
"Fool!" the remaining shadow said. He leapt at Vincent. Vincent rolled forward, then grabbed for his sword, just to find it wasn't there.
"Great. Just great," Vincent mumbled. He swiftly dodged the shadow. Vincent clapped his hands together, then slowly moved them apart. Electricity gathered between them. Vincent thrust one hand at the shadow, and a stream of electricity hit the shadow. He thrust the other hand at the shadow, and another stream of electricity hit the shadow. The shadow flew into the wall, knocking it unconscious. Vincent, opened a vortex to Kakariko Village. He stumbled into the vortex.
10
11 In Kakariko…
"Guys, this isn't over yet, look!" Brett pointed to the Inn, above it was a black dragon, and Link instantly recognized it.
"Volvagia?!" Link screamed, then ten more shadows came out from behind buildings. Snickering on about a man from a ranch.
"He was an easy kill, good to get us started, so fat and lazy," said one.
"Ha, well, looks like these guys mean business," said another.
"We'll get them though," said a third one, they were all coming closer. Then Vincent appeared through a vortex, "It's him, but we caught him hours ago," then the shadows made leaping attack, catching everyone one prepared, soon they had knocked the shields into the flames of the inn, "No way you can stop us now."
"Guys, anytime you get a good idea, I would recommend you use it," said Brett, everyone was slowly being backed into the Inn, "If not, I suggest we run and hope for the best."
"No, we can't run," said Leisis, "This is a town, with PEOPLE!"
"Well, if we don't survive, ALOT more PEOPLE are going to suffer," said Brett. Then the shadows came at them, Brett suddenly got bold, "Everybody, attack with what you can."
"I must get my sword," Vincent said.
"Go ahead, we can handle these guys," Link said.
Vincent closed his eyes for a moment, then ran out of the village. He found his sword near the entrance to the village. Vincent grabbed the sword then ran back up the stairs. Vincent ran up to a shadow, creating fire around his sword, then sliced straight through the shadow. Vincent noticed that the shadows hated the light, so conjured a sphere of light, and threw it into a shadow. Then, the shadow exploded. Vincent fell to one knee.
"Are you alright?" Leisis asked.
"Ya, it is just that I've used a lot of magic recently, and it is seriously draining me," Vincent replied.
He stood up and threw a ball of fire into a shadow, but instead of burning up, it split into two.
"Oh, this is just great!" Vincent said, dodging a punch.
"Vincent... if you haven't noticed. They need to be hit with light first, then with fire," said Leisis dodging a sword blow.
"You should have told me that before I wasted energy!" said Vincent
"Fools! This attach isn't just on you, we plan on destroying the entire village," screamed a shadow before blowing some fire.
"I think we should check behind us," said Kyle turning around, "would you look at that, they're goin' for the town as well." Behind the inn there buildings catching on fire, shadows running around destroying everything in their paths.
The clashing of swords did not stop Leisis from noticing one of her combatants. "Ekk," yelled Leisis jumping back. Her face was filled with terror and fear.
"What!? Did Itenion bite you again," said Brett with a smirk on his face.
"No, just look at him or it, or whatever! Who out of us does he most resemble!?" stammered Leisis
"Hey, is... that... V-Vincent!?" said Link
"Mwa ha ha ha! You seem to be good with faces Link. Too bad it shall be the last that you shall see!" said Shadow Vincent
Vincent jumped at a shadow, only to fall through it, "Owww. Well, that is a new one," Vincent replied.
As the heroes battled against the shadows, a cloaked shadow looked down at them from the top of the windmill. He jumped down, landing in front of Vincent. The shadow threw off his clock, and he was an exact replica of Vincent, except his skin was darker, and he wore a black tunic.
"I am the latest creation of the master," the evil Vincent said.
"Ha, I have fought replicas of myself before. You are nothing new," Vincent said. He charged at his double, but his double jumped, and flipped straight over him. Vincent fired a blot of electricity, only to his it countered by his double.
"You fool. I am no mere replica. I have been made stronger a fast then you!" The evil Vincent leaped into the air. In mid-air he fired a stream of dark energy at Vincent. Vincent barely dodged it.
"This may be harder than I thought," Vincent said, charging at his double with his sword high.
"Vincent, if you fight them alone then you have no chance. We should try to double team them and see what we can do in pairs! Besides, some of us are starting to get worn out and are running out of power... I hope that we stand a chance," said Leisis looking around at the wreckage surrounding her.
"All right but I should warn you, my double is pretty strong," replied Vincent blasting out bolts of electricity.
"Brett, Link, Larz, and Kyle start to pair up. Then we can work together to get rid of these guys!" Leisis screamed through the roar of the flames.
"Alright," replied the four in unison.
"Brett! Want to partner up. Power and speed make a pretty good team, don't you think," said Larz looking out towards the shadows.
"Um yeah, I guess..."
Brett began to hack away at the shadows as Larz began to concentrate. A blue aura began to form around Larz as his sword began to change colors.
"Would ya look that Brett, Larz's using time to build up his power. Be careful cause he starts to attack at full force without care for anyone," yelled out Kyle.
Larz opened his eyes to reveal green eyes that were different from the usual brown. Then suddenly they returned to normal. "Larz!? What the hell are you doing!? I'm working while your changing the color of your eyes," said Brett swinging his sword at the advancing shadows.
"Aaaa! Out of the way!"
Larz yelled as he began to run, passing Link and Brett with eyes opened wide. Larz jumped high into the air after slashing through three shadows. Larz brought his blade swinging down and crashing into a fourth. Brett and Link came from behind taking on the rest. "I'll try to go assist Leisis and Vincent, they need a lot of help, keep swinging Link!"
Clang, clang could be heard as swords clashed, sparks expelling from every blow. Neither side giving up or taking a rest. "Larz, help us! Vincent and I need more help!"
Larz jumped up the wall and climbed up to Leisis and Vincent. "Don't worry, I'm coming. I'm coming, slowly..."
Vincent blasted some fire and electricity at his enemy, each blow taking power from him. "I-I'm getting w-weaker. Larz better get here s-soon..."
"Eeeaahh!" Larz screamed as he jumped onto Shadow Vincent, slashing his back. Flames leaping and dancing from his legendary blade. Shadow Vincent jumped around doing a spinning slash. All swords were up in a defense.
"I don't think we're doing so well... There are hundreds of them, and only six of us. We need more help. Even in groups we are losing," said Brett searching for any other signs of people in the village. There were none to be seen...
A shadow passed over a portion of the group, and clinking sound as a few shadows were hurled over the group from behind. Turning they saw that WCS was back into the fray. Taking out twin golden swords that seemed to glow with light. The group backed into a circle.
"Nice try, but you are a little late," said Link
A couple ducked a rushing blade. Vincent took off after his double again, seemingly charging up for one more attack. But he wasn't releasing it, and it was causing him to loose his grip on reality, and realized to late that he missed a swiped at him. Slashing into his lower rib, and somehow crumpled him to the ground. As he looked up, he was grinning.
"Go ahead and try it fool, you'll only kill yourself and your friends," said Shadow Vincent.
Vincent was reading the attack when the shadow raised his sword for final strike. Vincent held his arms open with a smile on his face 'If I die, at least I'm taking you with me' was his thought as he began to wait for the finale blow to release the power he had built up. Just then he heard a hum, and a dull thud, then another, a blast of energy ricocheting, and another dull thud. Vincent opened his eyes to see that the WCS had clamped his arms together that formed what looked like a shield, and a force bubble around the group. The shadows couldn't get in, and the shadow Volvagia was billowing fire down on the thing. Vincent grabbed WCS's shield just were it attached to his gauntlets, and something weird happened. Both Vincent and WCS screamed in what sounded to be pain, but neither really in pain. And in an instant a bright flash illuminated the entire town, in a blinding white light that covered every corner. When it was done, the force bubble was gone, and the shadows looked paler, all the shadows did. They were hit with some massive spell of light. Some noticed this, and took to running, and the shadow Vincent smirked and leapt away. As Vincent moved to take after him, only to crumple to the ground again, having forgot about his injury. But the battle wasn't over, there were still legions of shadows in the village, all weakened from the massive light attack. Link could see some of the tougher opponents leave, including the shadow Volvagia. But the group was still surrounded and with wounded. Not to mention that whatever just happened somehow drained WCS of most of his fighting energy, and so they were all tired.
Shadows were attacking everything. Not a crumb of land was left unnoticed, each building had flames working their way out from the inside. Possibly everyone had died, no people or any signs of life could be seen, except the shadows and our heroes.
"Zelda! Zelda! Where are you!? You left when we were being attacked," yelled Link cupping his hands so his words were heard loud by anyone around.
"Umm, yes I'm here! Behind the bush," said a voice when rustling of leaves was heard. Out popped Zelda brushing away a few stray leaves.
"I was a little scared when they attacked so I hid here..."
"Well... it looks like we aren't done yet... stupid shadows... yawn too... tired yawn" said Brett sheathing his sword.
"We need to try and put out the fires, they may spread to the rest of Hyrule. Then there would be no way to ever possibly stop them. We need more help if we want to put an end to these shadows. Hey... did you hear someone. Sounds like," ended Leisis. "Over here, hey! You guys need some help," was the voice getting ever louder, "People!"
Vincent stood up, using his sword as a staff. "I will... put out the... fires," Vincent managed to said. His sheathed his sword, then stood tall, holding his hands above his head. Vincent mumbled something inaudible, then a greenish orb formed in his hands. The orb exploded, sending out three waves of greenish winds. The winds extinguished most of the fires. Vincent fell to the ground.
"No energy left," Vincent said as he lost conscious.
Return of Shadow Link…
Prologue: Too Good to Be True
"Ahh, it's been a looonnnggg week," Link yawned to himself, soaking in the Kakariko hot springs, "If these are supposed to be relaxing, then why am I so edgy?"
"It could be the fact that your using the only hot spring both men and women can use," said the manager of this little resort.
"No, that wouldn't bother me," said Link, running one of his hands through his rather shot hair, after all, it had withstood searing flames, the coldest temperatures in Hyrule, and more.
Meanwhile...
"Well, isn't this place lively," spoke a little blue rodent. Brett looked down at him in his shirt pocket.
"Now, quiet Itenion, it's not like we haven't been to a place with hot springs before," Brett said.
"Sir, may I ask you something," asked a villager, who had watched Brett from the time he had entered this morning, "Who are you talking to?"
"Nobody, just to myself," Brett said, "Now, let's go take a look at these hot springs"
1 Somewhere out in Hyrule…
A shadow sites calmly on a boulder in the distance of Death Mountain pondering...
"Mwa ha ha ha... now my little friend, Link, you have fallen into my trap just like all of the other fools… Ha ha ha..."
A shadow with no owner creeps up behind Shadow Link without making a sound. "M-Master I h-have n-news to re-report... Link has fallen into our trap and we are ready and waiting for the next part of your master plan... sir..."
"I know that you fool!" Shadow Link sighed, "But that's okay, tell the others that I'm about ready... now go! All will fall into place as said 'Shadows come live once new allies arrive.'"
"Y-Yes master..." says the shadow as he left as quietly as he came.
Elsewhere in Hyrule...
"This is such beautiful air, much better then what we are used to don't you think so Leisis... Leisis, LEISIS!" yells Larz.
"Huh... what, oh yeah, it's much less stuffy without the smell of rotting flesh in the dungeons. By the way Larz... who are supposed to meet here in Kakariko?"
While staring out into the distance of Hyrule, "Link... he saved Hyrule while we were away in another land. On our way back I saw a group of shadows on Death Mountain after we came out of the portal. I only heard part of their conversation though..."
Kyle was listening in on the conversation while he was checking on his horse but decided to leave it at that.
Kyle broke the silence as he said, "Well here we are, Kakariko. Although I am getting a little hungry, how about we go get something to eat first?"
Larz and Leisis nodded their heads as they both dismounted off of their horses. Soon Brett was walking in the same crowded street as Larz and company. He looked around, losing his concentration, until...
"HEY, watch it!" someone screamed, Brett was shocked from his dazed state to see he had knocked Leisis to the ground.
"Oh, uh, sorry, didn't mean to do that, this is my first time in Hyrule you see," Brett began, he wasn't sure where to go from there.
"Brett, tell them who you are at least," Itenion hissed from his shirt pocket.
"Oh, uh, right," Brett looked at Itenion. Larz, Leisis and Kyle looked between each other, confused by this weird behavior, "I'm Brett Satoru, Dream Master of Galia and Mercenary, and you all would be?"
"Oh... well sorry about that there but we are getting a little hungry you see... I apologize. By the way I'm Leisis, this is Larz, and Kyle. We just arrived from a far away place, would you like to join us as we eat, we could get to know each other maybe," Leisis replied.
Brett looked at them for a minute, considering the offer, then a growling sound interrupted his thought, he soon realized that that was his stomach answering his question for him, "Uhh... there's your answer for ya, I haven't eaten anything since the day before I got here."
"Hexians and your weaknesses," mumbled Itenion.
"Shut up Mouse," Brett screamed. Then he looked up to notice that the three were looking at him like he was crazy, "WHAT?"
"What", yelled the three in unison.
"Ekkkkk, there is a mouse, EW EW EW!" Leisis screamed as she jumped up onto Larz who fell, Leisis' golden hair got into Larz's line of vision. Leisis was then sitting on top of Larz very comfortably... but not for Larz that is...
Larz tried to get up as he said. "Ummm, you can come with us as we go get some food then, once Leisis gets off of me!"
"Alright, let's go," said Brett.
"Got some grain or cheese on you?" Itenion asked Leisis, he loved people who were freaked out by mice, and he'd do anything to get under their skin more.
"Shut up Itenion, she just knew that I said MOUSE, not that she sees you," Brett said.
"Oh yeah, her seeing me, that can be arranged," Itenion said, he jumped from Brett's shirt pocket, scrambled along the ground and up the back of Larz, then he bit down hard.
"Itenion NO," Brett screamed as he watched Leisis go flying because of the sudden pain in her ass Itenion had sent.
"OUCH! What the HELL bit me... urg uhh ehh uhh, t-that was w-weird... another MOUSE eekk! It was that mouse that bit me! That's it, now that mouse is going to die for that!" Leisis scrambled as she went for her horse, out of a bag she pulled out a silver and gold sword. "I'll use my King's Sword, it's never failed me." Leisis raised the sword to the sun as light glistened off of it, "That's it mouse, and now it's the end for you! I'll finish it nice and quick," Leisis ran up to the mouse as she begun to swing. Larz finally got up as he looked at Kyle.
"Hey, that bite could of caused her to go insane?" said Kyle.
"Hmm that could be it, we'll never know until we ask her ourselves," said Larz
Brett watched in horror as Itenion was about to get cut right before his eyes when he decided to do something about it...
2 Meanwhile…
Vincent left Hyrule Market town. He had just spoken with the King, and found Ganon was defeated. He sensed a faint energy in the distance. He looked towards Death Mountain.
"Strange, I sense both good and evil there," he said. He ran to his horse, Flame, mounted it, and rode into Kakariko Village to see a person about to stab their sword into the ground.
"No way," said Itenion, teleporting out of the way just as the sword cleaved it's way into the ground where he once stood, "Don't think your gonna get rid of me that easily," Leisis looked at her shoulder to Itenion standing there, "Hehehe, I love getting under people's skin."
"Itenion, get over here, now," Brett screamed, Itenion groaned.
"That's not even funny," Itenion replied, "I was just havin' some fun, it's not exactly comfortable in that shirt pocket of yours."
"I don't care, get your fury butt over here," Brett said, Itenion reluctantly leapt off of Leisis and climbed back into Brett's shirt pocket, "Now, shall we go to lunch?"
"Hey, who are you guys," came a voice from a little far away. Brett's necked instantly snapped around to looked at the source.
"I'm Brett, mercenary and Dream master of Galia, and you would be?" Brett replied.
"Vincent," replied the man.
"I see, well, that's kind of odd, meeting a bunch of people all at once, that normally only happens to me when there's trouble," said Brett, "So, what kind of currency is accepted here, I'm guessing it's not Dragon Coins."
"No, it's rupees," said Kyle.
"Rubies?" Brett questioned.
"Not rubies, ruPEEs," Leisis corrected, pulling out a green one to show to Brett.
"Looks like an emerald," Brett said.
"Well, it's not," Larz said.
"Okay, well, I was coming in from Galia, and picked up a few from some the monsters I defeated on the way here," Brett pulled a couple of red rupees, five or six blue rupees, and 10 green rupees.
"Well, at least he has some money," said Vincent.
"Well, my job rakes in tons of money, usually, this place is WAY to peaceful for a mercenary to make a living," Brett replied, "So, what say we all go grab a bite to eat, and get on over to the hot springs."
"Can you hold on as we go and find our horses, we left them besides a restaurant and we can feast over there," said Larz.
The group walked on being following behind Larz who obviously had the best sense of direction. Larz walked past a merchant who begged them to buy something, but they refused. "So Larz, where did you and the rest of your group come from, by the look of it seems as though you came from somewhere in Hyrule," asked Brett with a spark of curiosity.
"Umm... we actually came from a distant land away from Hyrule but we were all born here in Hyrule... I'd rather not talk about it though... it's kind of a long story..."
"Excuse me, I need to see someone, out of the way! Do any of you know anyone named Link; I need to speak with him? Out of my way!" A woman in her early 20s wearing a robe and had silky golden hair ran through the crowd of people.
"Well here we are, the restaurant I saw. Hey who's that that just ran inside. Looked like Zelda... naw, it couldn't be, could it?"
"Um, Leisis... who's Zelda, do you guys know her?" asked Brett.
"Zelda? Why she's the princess of Hyrule and owner of the Triforce of Wisdom. Zelda lives in the castle up past that hill," responded Leisis as she pointed off into a direction.
Vincent began to rub his stomach being reminded that it was still empty. "Hey, I would love to chat but can we do it after we eat something? I'm starving!"
After Lunch they headed to the hot springs. "I wonder what the woman wanted?" Vincent said. When they got to the hot springs, Link had gone already. Vincent got a slight headache as they neared the springs.
"Are you ok?" Leisis asked.
"Yeah, its just a headache," Vincent replied rubbing his head. By the time they got to the springs Vincent's head was pounding. He was going to turn down getting into the Hot spring, but he stumbled and fell into one.
"Owe, my head... what's going on? I better get out of the spring before..." Vincent couldn't finish when he saw a shadow disperse from his feet as he climbed out.
"Mwa mwa ha ha ha.... s-shadow mu-must find shadow.... link..." said the shadow as it left and climbed up out of the spring. It then went in the direction of Death Mountain.
"Looks like my job is saved, you guys do have some bad guys roaming around here now don't you?"
"Hmm, I better investigate this a little more... I know Link might know something about this! Ek… Better keep my voice down," said a shadowed person watching our heroes. Though he did his best not to move, his shivering was causing a slight rustling of leaves, then he made the biggest mistake, he shifted his position.
"Hey Vincent! How's your headache, you took a nasty fall into that spring and then… there... was.... what's that noise?" said Kyle as he realized that there was something in the bushes!
Oh no! They saw me! Better run out of here! A shadow thought
"You'd think we'd have enough weird things happening to us," said Itenion as he saw what all the noise was about.
"Be quiet Itenion, we have enough trouble as it is! Hey that looks like that lady that we saw in town! I wonder if she IS Zelda!" said Leisis
"Arg I better stop running and introduce myself... besides, one of them already has a lead on me anyways. Please stop, I'm sorry for the disturbance!" the woman stopped and looked at the odd group, "My name is Princess Zelda and I'm looking for someone named Link. It would also be of help to me if I could ask you some questions…?"
"Wow, so that was Zelda," replied Brett.
"I guess we could talk, besides, we don't have many ideas on our situation so you could be of some help. Let us go to the inn, where it's more private. I think I can get us inside for free," said Larz as he put away a sword in the blink of an eye.
"I think I have some explaining to do, don't I," said Zelda as she placed down her hood.
"Oh yeah, you sure do. By the way, I'm Leisis. That's Larz, Kyle, Brett, and Vincent. Welcome to the club of New Arrivals and Friend... that's you," said Leisis
Once they got to the Inn, Vincent immediately said that he would go to for Link. "I can sort of home in on powerful forces of good and evil, " Vincent drew his sword for the first time since before he came to Hyrule. It was made of a very reflective metal. The rim of the blade was made of gold, and all along it was strange writing all in gold. He then left the Inn. Vincent proceeded to go to Death Mountain trail for he sensed a great evil there.
3 Near Death Mountain…
WCS checked, "Okay, so... lets see, you guys need about twenty gallons of water for the public dispersion, and fifty bundles of Deku sticks for torch lighting, right?"
A fairly tall guy about six feet, with blond hair just going past his shoulders, in a ponytail. His blue eyes were fixed on a giant creature that didn't look anything Hylian. It was indeed a Goron, King Darunia to be exact.
King Darunia reassured WCS with his answered, "Yes, and we need a few pounds of meat."
Another male that seemed about the same age, height, and colored eyes as the first chimed in.
Link: "Meat? Since when did you guys start eating meat?"
King Darunia: "We've always eaten meat, it actually substitutes for the rocks when we have a shortage, but we try to stock up on it when we can, because much like those crops you guys tell me stories about, there are times of good harvest of sirloin rock, and sometimes it isn't so plentiful, so..."
He trailed off, to give them the idea, and they both let it be known that they then understood.
WCS turned around, "Okay then, we'll take this to the King, and see what we can get back to you with. See you around old buddy." WCS finished with a slight snicker, only to have King Darunia clap him on his shoulder, and causing him to buckle for a second in his step. King Darunia never liked being called old.
King Darunia stopped the two, "Wait, before you go... I was wondering. Why did you let your hair grow out S?"
WCS self-consciously stroked his hair, "Well, the princess made a comment about how we would both look with our hair grown out, and we both decided to see who she would think looked the best with long hair."
King Darunia, "What, you two trying to get her attention?"
"NO!" Link quickly responded, always trying to hide his crush on the princess, while WCS calmly stated his "No."
WCS commented, "We just thought it would be funny to put her on the spot, since she always liked to torment us."
Link's face flushed for a second, but Darunia caught it, while WCS was looking away, though Darunia didn't press the matter, he knew Link all to well, and knew that that meant Link rather liked the attention the princess gave him, no matter what it was.
King Darunia, "Far be it for me to get it way then."
WCS retorted at the comment, "What's that supposed to mean?"
King Darunia snickered, "Nothing, it's just that, well it don't rightly look your style, if the both of ye's know what I mean."
Link grunted, "For the umpteenth time Darunia, don't call us that."
"Call you what?" King Darunia asked innocently.
"Just because we are letting our hair grow doesn't make us ladies, so I have to agree, just lay off with that joke o'yours," said Link
King Darunia burst out laughing, and clapped both of them on the shoulders as they both struggled to stay standing from the impact. After a few more minutes of conversation, and conformation, the two guys left to take the requisition to the King of Hyrule. And were heading down hill, when Link thought he recognized someone coming uphill from Kakariko village.
"Hey WCS, didn't that guy that walked past us look familiar," asked Link as he pointed to a distant person.
"Hmm, you are right, he does look pretty familiar..." said WCS
4 At the Inn…
"So Zelda what did you come all the ways up here for," said Larz as he stroked his chin.
"Well... it concerns Link, the hot springs, and someone named WCS... it may sound odd but what Vincent did at the springs may be a lead to what I need to find out," said Zelda as she looked out the window and saw two figures coming their way...
"Well, until this Link gets here, I might as well ask a few questions myself," Brett got up from leaning on the wall in the darkest corner of the room, "First of all, I've heard about a man named Ganondorf, who was he?"
"Are you kidding, anyone from this dimension knows who Ganondorf is, he plunged Hyrule into an area of apocalyptic darkness, and cut off trade to other nations unless he could rule over them as well (Typical Evil Overlord)" Zelda said.
"Never heard of 'em," Brett mumbled, "And what is 'Death Mountain' sounds like Chaos Mountain from my home world."
"Well, it was given its name because it is an active volcano, and the path is perilous, the Gorons live up there," Zelda explained, Brett gave her a quizzical look, "You haven't heard of the Gorons?"
"Nope, not at all, see I come from an entirely different planet, I got here by teleportation, EXTREME teleportation," Brett said, "And I'm sticking around cause my intuition tells me that there'll be need of my services soon."
"What do you do anyway Brett?" asked Larz, he knew Brett was a mercenary, but what was Brett's 'services'.
"I am a body guard, a mercenary warrior, you know, something that requires this," Brett pulled out a very eloquent longsword, it shined in the dim light, on the hilt of the blade was the word SATORU, "It's my family heirloom, the Satoru Longsword, my father gave it to me when he..." Brett stopped and bit his lip, "Nevermind, I think I've talked enough, I'll wait for this Link guy to get here before I do anything more."
Near Death Mountain Summit...
"I... must report... to Shadow Link," mumbled Shadow Vincent, "Must tell him of the newcomer, he must know of... the change."
With that, the Shadow made its way into Death Mountain Crater.
"Hmm... looks like a very nice blade that you got there! If it ever loses its sharpness, don't worry. Up there on Death Mountain they got Gorons that can make it like new. Although mine could use a little sharpness itself... it's been through a lot... But, never mind," finished Larz as he gazed to a sword that he pulled out.
"If you don't mind, Kyle, why's Larz so attached to his blade," asked Brett while looking at Larz's sword. The blade itself seemed as if made of gold and the middle was a clear dark blue, the hilt was as dark and as black as a raven's feathers with swirls of red.
"Aye, he and that sword there have been through too much. His father died at the hands of Gannondorf... his mother died when he was a wee lad... not many know much about him though... A year ago we all left to another world and that's when he found his beloved blade. That sword has killed thousands, seeking revenge on all those evil and a blackened heart. Should see him in battle though, tougher then steel on the outside but gentle on the inside," replied Kyle.
5 At the foot of Death Mountain…
"Hey WCS, what do say about a rest at the little inn out yonder there? We could use a little rest till we go back to the castle," said Link with a glint of tiredness in his eye.
"I suppose so... we could use a rest, we just came down from Death Mountain."
Link and WCS walk into the inn to be surprised by a large group of people chatting away, noticing one of them was Zelda. "Zelda! What are you doing here? Aren't ye supposed to be at the castle!"
"Link! I was coming for you and then I ended up with these nice people," said Zelda as she showed Link and his companion the rest of the group.
"So this is the fabled Link that I heard about eh! He don't look like too much to me," said Brett as he leaped out of the group of people.
6 Somewhere in the crevices of the crater…
"Master... I've come with news. There's been a change of plans, same as with our enemies..." a shadow bowed to the back of his master
"Yeah, and who might you be there...?" asked Shadow link indifferently
"Vincent, Shadow Vincent," The shadow snickered.
"Sir, our enemy has a few knew members, including one that has never been to Hyrule," said Shadow Vincent.
"Really, well, that could work to our advantage, I don't care now about Link, it would be good to catch him and his allies by surprise, that was Ganondorf's greatest error, allowing Link time to realize the path to defeating him," Shadow Link directed a few of his soldiers to rally his troops, "I on the other hand, will NOT make the same mistake, I care not for what they are doing now, prepare the attack, go to phase 1, Destroy Kakariko. Buwahahaha!"
In Kakariko
Brett had stepped out for some fresh air, Link had finally arrived with WCS and Vincent in tow. Brett had decided not to get involved unless either his life was at stake or there was a reward in all of this.
"Even a mercenary has to make a living, I don't make too many friends, but that's only because they don't understand how hard my line of work really is," Brett said to himself.
"Now, don't say that kid," Itenion said, "You made plenty of friends back home, right?"
"But, you see, they are part of Mercenary Unit USF," Brett said, "They are my allies, no matter what."
"You're right, everybody resents you," said Itenion.
"It's because one day I could be their ally, the next I would be their enemy if the pay was worth it," Brett said, "Wonder when they'll finish."
7 Outside Kakariko…
Vincent was meditating, while the rest of the group was talking to Link and Zelda.
Suddenly, a clocked figure fell from the sky. Vincent immediately leaped up, and drew his sword. The clocked figure draw his blade, which was identical to Vincent's.
The two battled for ten minutes, until two more clocked figured grabbed Vincent. The first figure beat Vincent until he was unconscious. Vincent's sword fell to the ground. The clocked figures dragged Vincent into the distance. His sword was left on the ground.
8 Back at the Inn…
"So Zelda... why did you come all the ways out here for? You could of been badly hurt if you didn't watch yourself, thank the goddesses that these guys saw you!" said Link
"Yes, well it was fortunate for me that I saw them... although they do seem to know more about this then I do," said Zelda as she quickly glanced towards Larz then to Brett, and back to the eyes of Link.
"Does Impa know about your little runaway? If not, she soon will..." said Link
"Yes, Impa does know but I told her to keep a low profile for me. Now, let's move on to more important matters. I... sense a great evil beginning to brew. For all I know... it is one of Gannondorf's minions, but he seems to know more then I," she looked to Larz who was talking to Brett.
"Yes... he seems to know quite a lot. I'll try to get something out of him..."
"Yeah... so will I..."
"... So that's how my job works," said Brett as he perked himself up. He liked to explain his job to others. "By the way Larz, have you seen where Vincent went...?"
"Ahh yeah. He said that he went to meditate outside of the village or something like that..." said Larz.
"He's been out there for quite a while now, wonder if he is okay..." Leisis said.
"Sure hope so, sure hope so," said Larz as he peeked out a window...
Chapter 1: The Kakariko Raid
"I'll go check, okay," Brett walked in the direction Larz was pointing, "You guys concentrate on the matter at hand."
"WhAt MaTtEr," screamed a very odd creature, it looked a lot like one of the many carpenters who had worked on the Bath House Hot Springs Building, "Oh, YoU MeAn ThAt IdIoT gIrL's ReMaRk."
"Who the heck is that?" Brett exclaimed.
"Oh, JuSt A sOlDiEr Of My GrEaT mAsTeR," said the shadow, "AnD tHeRe ArE mOrE."
"Soldiers...? What kind of soldiers, explain you," screamed Brett lashing out his sword.
"MiNiOnS Of ShAdOw LiNk, HeRe To DeStRoY tHiS eNtIrE vIlLaGe! AnD yOu!" said the shadow.
"Shadow Link! He's still alive! I'll finish him. Stay back Zelda," said Link as he stood up off his chair.
"So shall we begin or are we just going to stand here, eh?" said Brett.
Link and Larz and all the others pull out their swords simultaneously. "So... shadows... enjoy the last light that you'll ever see," said Larz as Brett saw a glint of fire in Larz's eyes. More shadows of beings began to appear from the corners of the inn... Suddenly, the carpenter shadow leapt from the roof of the Inn and set to bombard anyone under him on the ground.
"BREAK," screamed Brett as he leapt from the spot in time to see the shadow rip into the ground, the rest reacted this, taking on every warrior 2 to 1. Brett had to take on three though, because his skills could barely be matched by two, the rest were having a hard time keeping up with the agile shadows (Brett is INCREDIBLY fast, these shadows are overwhelming to fight when you really can't hit them, and I'm assuming your characters are used to fighting with brute strength, not speed).
"What's wrong, the people these shadows depict could never go this fast, aren't they like mirrors?" Link screamed, then one of the shadows he was fighting let loose a ball of fire from its mouth, he dodged, and it hit the side of a building. Soon it was caught ablaze, fortunately the people within escaped the burning of the house before it was life threatening, "T- they can breathe fire?"
"Seems so, don't worry, just try to make sure you aren't between a building and them," Larz screamed, adjusting himself so that the fire would hit the north wall of Kakariko, just missing the graveyard.
"I don't like this at all," Leisis said, "This attack was so sudden, no minion of Ganondorf's would be this reckless."
"Maybe it was a more reckless member," suggested Brett, "The shadow link they talked of must be after revenge."
"Because I beat him," Link mumbled, Brett's elven ears caught the remark.
"Exactly," Brett said as his ears twitched. He swung his sword, but the shadow he swung at made it a glancing blow.
"Hmm, if what Brett said was right... these are shadows, then light must have some effect. Everyone that has a shield take it out and try to reflect the light! This should work," said Larz while bringing out a shield. It was plain black, a black darker then coal. It seemed to be made of some kind of metal.
"Are you sure that this is going to work! I'd hate it if you were wrong," said Brett while ducking away from a blast of fire.
The light reflected off and hit one of the shadows. "Arg! Light... too strong!" One of the carpenters flew back and hit the wall of the inn. The sudden shock made part of the burning inn fall down and destroyed the carpenter.
"Hey it looks like if we back them off with light and hit the inn then they would die faster! Lets try it," said Kyle bringing up his shield. Four more of the carpenters hit the inn and burned away to dust. "Would you look at that! Only four more and we're done," Link said while knocking away a sword swing.
"You fool! Don't think you'll get rid of us that easily!" Then the remaining three began to breath fire. Brett used his speed to go behind the carpenters. Then using his sword to knock them down.
"How about I finish this. I barely got to kill much, I'll use a spell," said Leisis as she brought out a bottle with black fire. It was dancing around inside the bottle itching to get out. Leisis opened it and let it fall onto the prostrating shadow carpenters.
"Hey Leisis, what was that stuff it looked really odd. Kind of like fire or something," said Zelda coming out from behind a tree.
"Almost, almost..." mumbled Leisis
"Well, where are we going to stay? The inn burned down and that was our only choice..." said Link brushing some sweat from his forehead.
"Did you forget already!? I'm a princess, I live in a castle," said Zelda buffing out her chest.
9 In the Crater…
"Curses.... I better send out more shadows. Maybe I should send out the Vincent's...." mumbled Shadow Link.
Vincent woke up to find himself chained to a wall. The shadows guys were guarding him. He pulled as hard as he could against the chains, but they wouldn't budge.
"Save your strength fool," one of the shadows said.
"Din's Fire," Vincent whispered. He grabbed the chains as heat began to build in his hands. So, the chains caught fire just before melting. Vincent flung the molten chains on two of the shadows. They turned to dust moments later.
"Fool!" the remaining shadow said. He leapt at Vincent. Vincent rolled forward, then grabbed for his sword, just to find it wasn't there.
"Great. Just great," Vincent mumbled. He swiftly dodged the shadow. Vincent clapped his hands together, then slowly moved them apart. Electricity gathered between them. Vincent thrust one hand at the shadow, and a stream of electricity hit the shadow. He thrust the other hand at the shadow, and another stream of electricity hit the shadow. The shadow flew into the wall, knocking it unconscious. Vincent, opened a vortex to Kakariko Village. He stumbled into the vortex.
10
11 In Kakariko…
"Guys, this isn't over yet, look!" Brett pointed to the Inn, above it was a black dragon, and Link instantly recognized it.
"Volvagia?!" Link screamed, then ten more shadows came out from behind buildings. Snickering on about a man from a ranch.
"He was an easy kill, good to get us started, so fat and lazy," said one.
"Ha, well, looks like these guys mean business," said another.
"We'll get them though," said a third one, they were all coming closer. Then Vincent appeared through a vortex, "It's him, but we caught him hours ago," then the shadows made leaping attack, catching everyone one prepared, soon they had knocked the shields into the flames of the inn, "No way you can stop us now."
"Guys, anytime you get a good idea, I would recommend you use it," said Brett, everyone was slowly being backed into the Inn, "If not, I suggest we run and hope for the best."
"No, we can't run," said Leisis, "This is a town, with PEOPLE!"
"Well, if we don't survive, ALOT more PEOPLE are going to suffer," said Brett. Then the shadows came at them, Brett suddenly got bold, "Everybody, attack with what you can."
"I must get my sword," Vincent said.
"Go ahead, we can handle these guys," Link said.
Vincent closed his eyes for a moment, then ran out of the village. He found his sword near the entrance to the village. Vincent grabbed the sword then ran back up the stairs. Vincent ran up to a shadow, creating fire around his sword, then sliced straight through the shadow. Vincent noticed that the shadows hated the light, so conjured a sphere of light, and threw it into a shadow. Then, the shadow exploded. Vincent fell to one knee.
"Are you alright?" Leisis asked.
"Ya, it is just that I've used a lot of magic recently, and it is seriously draining me," Vincent replied.
He stood up and threw a ball of fire into a shadow, but instead of burning up, it split into two.
"Oh, this is just great!" Vincent said, dodging a punch.
"Vincent... if you haven't noticed. They need to be hit with light first, then with fire," said Leisis dodging a sword blow.
"You should have told me that before I wasted energy!" said Vincent
"Fools! This attach isn't just on you, we plan on destroying the entire village," screamed a shadow before blowing some fire.
"I think we should check behind us," said Kyle turning around, "would you look at that, they're goin' for the town as well." Behind the inn there buildings catching on fire, shadows running around destroying everything in their paths.
The clashing of swords did not stop Leisis from noticing one of her combatants. "Ekk," yelled Leisis jumping back. Her face was filled with terror and fear.
"What!? Did Itenion bite you again," said Brett with a smirk on his face.
"No, just look at him or it, or whatever! Who out of us does he most resemble!?" stammered Leisis
"Hey, is... that... V-Vincent!?" said Link
"Mwa ha ha ha! You seem to be good with faces Link. Too bad it shall be the last that you shall see!" said Shadow Vincent
Vincent jumped at a shadow, only to fall through it, "Owww. Well, that is a new one," Vincent replied.
As the heroes battled against the shadows, a cloaked shadow looked down at them from the top of the windmill. He jumped down, landing in front of Vincent. The shadow threw off his clock, and he was an exact replica of Vincent, except his skin was darker, and he wore a black tunic.
"I am the latest creation of the master," the evil Vincent said.
"Ha, I have fought replicas of myself before. You are nothing new," Vincent said. He charged at his double, but his double jumped, and flipped straight over him. Vincent fired a blot of electricity, only to his it countered by his double.
"You fool. I am no mere replica. I have been made stronger a fast then you!" The evil Vincent leaped into the air. In mid-air he fired a stream of dark energy at Vincent. Vincent barely dodged it.
"This may be harder than I thought," Vincent said, charging at his double with his sword high.
"Vincent, if you fight them alone then you have no chance. We should try to double team them and see what we can do in pairs! Besides, some of us are starting to get worn out and are running out of power... I hope that we stand a chance," said Leisis looking around at the wreckage surrounding her.
"All right but I should warn you, my double is pretty strong," replied Vincent blasting out bolts of electricity.
"Brett, Link, Larz, and Kyle start to pair up. Then we can work together to get rid of these guys!" Leisis screamed through the roar of the flames.
"Alright," replied the four in unison.
"Brett! Want to partner up. Power and speed make a pretty good team, don't you think," said Larz looking out towards the shadows.
"Um yeah, I guess..."
Brett began to hack away at the shadows as Larz began to concentrate. A blue aura began to form around Larz as his sword began to change colors.
"Would ya look that Brett, Larz's using time to build up his power. Be careful cause he starts to attack at full force without care for anyone," yelled out Kyle.
Larz opened his eyes to reveal green eyes that were different from the usual brown. Then suddenly they returned to normal. "Larz!? What the hell are you doing!? I'm working while your changing the color of your eyes," said Brett swinging his sword at the advancing shadows.
"Aaaa! Out of the way!"
Larz yelled as he began to run, passing Link and Brett with eyes opened wide. Larz jumped high into the air after slashing through three shadows. Larz brought his blade swinging down and crashing into a fourth. Brett and Link came from behind taking on the rest. "I'll try to go assist Leisis and Vincent, they need a lot of help, keep swinging Link!"
Clang, clang could be heard as swords clashed, sparks expelling from every blow. Neither side giving up or taking a rest. "Larz, help us! Vincent and I need more help!"
Larz jumped up the wall and climbed up to Leisis and Vincent. "Don't worry, I'm coming. I'm coming, slowly..."
Vincent blasted some fire and electricity at his enemy, each blow taking power from him. "I-I'm getting w-weaker. Larz better get here s-soon..."
"Eeeaahh!" Larz screamed as he jumped onto Shadow Vincent, slashing his back. Flames leaping and dancing from his legendary blade. Shadow Vincent jumped around doing a spinning slash. All swords were up in a defense.
"I don't think we're doing so well... There are hundreds of them, and only six of us. We need more help. Even in groups we are losing," said Brett searching for any other signs of people in the village. There were none to be seen...
A shadow passed over a portion of the group, and clinking sound as a few shadows were hurled over the group from behind. Turning they saw that WCS was back into the fray. Taking out twin golden swords that seemed to glow with light. The group backed into a circle.
"Nice try, but you are a little late," said Link
A couple ducked a rushing blade. Vincent took off after his double again, seemingly charging up for one more attack. But he wasn't releasing it, and it was causing him to loose his grip on reality, and realized to late that he missed a swiped at him. Slashing into his lower rib, and somehow crumpled him to the ground. As he looked up, he was grinning.
"Go ahead and try it fool, you'll only kill yourself and your friends," said Shadow Vincent.
Vincent was reading the attack when the shadow raised his sword for final strike. Vincent held his arms open with a smile on his face 'If I die, at least I'm taking you with me' was his thought as he began to wait for the finale blow to release the power he had built up. Just then he heard a hum, and a dull thud, then another, a blast of energy ricocheting, and another dull thud. Vincent opened his eyes to see that the WCS had clamped his arms together that formed what looked like a shield, and a force bubble around the group. The shadows couldn't get in, and the shadow Volvagia was billowing fire down on the thing. Vincent grabbed WCS's shield just were it attached to his gauntlets, and something weird happened. Both Vincent and WCS screamed in what sounded to be pain, but neither really in pain. And in an instant a bright flash illuminated the entire town, in a blinding white light that covered every corner. When it was done, the force bubble was gone, and the shadows looked paler, all the shadows did. They were hit with some massive spell of light. Some noticed this, and took to running, and the shadow Vincent smirked and leapt away. As Vincent moved to take after him, only to crumple to the ground again, having forgot about his injury. But the battle wasn't over, there were still legions of shadows in the village, all weakened from the massive light attack. Link could see some of the tougher opponents leave, including the shadow Volvagia. But the group was still surrounded and with wounded. Not to mention that whatever just happened somehow drained WCS of most of his fighting energy, and so they were all tired.
Shadows were attacking everything. Not a crumb of land was left unnoticed, each building had flames working their way out from the inside. Possibly everyone had died, no people or any signs of life could be seen, except the shadows and our heroes.
"Zelda! Zelda! Where are you!? You left when we were being attacked," yelled Link cupping his hands so his words were heard loud by anyone around.
"Umm, yes I'm here! Behind the bush," said a voice when rustling of leaves was heard. Out popped Zelda brushing away a few stray leaves.
"I was a little scared when they attacked so I hid here..."
"Well... it looks like we aren't done yet... stupid shadows... yawn too... tired yawn" said Brett sheathing his sword.
"We need to try and put out the fires, they may spread to the rest of Hyrule. Then there would be no way to ever possibly stop them. We need more help if we want to put an end to these shadows. Hey... did you hear someone. Sounds like," ended Leisis. "Over here, hey! You guys need some help," was the voice getting ever louder, "People!"
Vincent stood up, using his sword as a staff. "I will... put out the... fires," Vincent managed to said. His sheathed his sword, then stood tall, holding his hands above his head. Vincent mumbled something inaudible, then a greenish orb formed in his hands. The orb exploded, sending out three waves of greenish winds. The winds extinguished most of the fires. Vincent fell to the ground.
"No energy left," Vincent said as he lost conscious.
