Hey, here's an update. I haven't gotten any reviews, but I was hoping that maybe if I posted another chapter, someone will pity me and leave a review. Ha, ha. Well, here's chapter two. I'll start it off with the dream, for a memory refresher.

Once again, The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me.

Part Two: Blood Legacy

It's raining, but the liquid that pours down from the sky is sluggish and heavy, unnatural. Colors are inverted, like a negative for a photograph. Everything seems sharp and unyielding. I'm standing in an abandoned warehouse. A rotten stench permeates the air, and I walk forward without my own consent. Then I'm watching a fight between two people; a third is hanging in the background motionless. Flashes of light and sound engulf me, and I can hear strains of speaking, sometimes screaming. I'm back in the warehouse. Chains hang from the ceiling, and massive crates line the walls. I hear someone scream the words "be less!" A hole in the roof lets that sluggish rain in, and as the droplets cover me, I realize that blood rains from the sky. I drop to me knees and raise my head. I drink the falling blood. My heart pounds unnaturally in my chest. I look forward, and I am no longer in the warehouse. I recognize some of my surroundings, but I can't place the setting. Three women are crouched over a body. They rip it open and begin to gorge themselves on blood and flesh. I feel my body awaken to it and know that I want to join. My pupils dilate and fangs lengthen. Saliva coats my mouth in anticipation of a real meal. But before I can take my share in the body, I realize that I know the mangled face of the victim. The person still lives, and they look up at me. Our eyes lock, and he seems to be begging for help. But I lean forward and take my share. Blood coats my hands and face as my teeth rip open his veins. He screams, and I pause to look at him, blood dribbling down my chin. But he is dead, and I realize that I'm the one screaming. The women laugh raucously at this and offer me more flesh. The scene begins to fade, and I catch flashes of people and places, all of it jumbled and nonsensical. Only my screaming reaches throughout the images, like an overriding theme. I can feel my mind slipping away from me; I can feel all that I worked for falling apart. Soon there is nothing but blackness and my own horrified screams.

I awake to voices and pounding at my bedroom door. The screaming continues to ring in my mind, like a terrible song. That's when I feel the sound reverberating from my throat. I gasp suddenly, and the sound ceases. I cough; blood spits out of my mouth from my damaged larynx. Shaking, I stand and look around. During the day, in the thralls of my nightmare, I had left the bed and I was halfway across the room now. I look at my hands; they are contorted into claws, and I have to mentally force them to relax. A voice overrides my thoughts, calling my name. Zelda. Still shaking, I walk to the door and unlock it. A moment afterwards, Zelda barrels in, followed by Spindeloff and a horde of guards. She grabs me and begins asking questions, but my shell-shocked mind doesn't comprehend any of them. I keep seeing that body in my head, its chest cavity ripped open with blood spurting out of it.

"Link! Please say something!" Zelda pleads, but I'm still unable to find my voice. All the screaming ripped it from me. "Link what happened?"

"He had a dream." It was Spindeloff. I raise my head to look at him. "Isn't that right, Link? You dreamed." Vaguely, I nod my head once. Zelda seems to calm a little, knowing that I wasn't being viciously attacked, but I can still feel her tension. She dismisses the guards.

After the men leave, Zelda turns to me and says softly, "What was your dream?" Her hand runs through my hair, and I take comfort in her presence. But when I still don't respond, she says with a hint of panic, "Why won't you say anything?"

"Give him time," the doctor tells her, "Based on his last dream, I doubt this one was any better."

I shudder at the memory of both dreams, and Zelda wraps her arms around me. She manages to coax me out of my shell, and I describe what I saw. When I finish, Zelda kisses my cheek gently and tries to reassure me. Spindeloff stands contemplatively without speaking. After a moment, I say, "What are the odds I would have two dreams in one lifetime?"

"Very small, but the first one held meaning, and I bet this one does, too."

I look at Spindeloff seriously and say, "If it does, then I don't want a part in it."

"Dear boy," he responds, "I don't think you have much of a choice."

Nearly a week has passed since my dream, and my sleep hasn't improved much. I haven't had any more nightmares, but lately I've woken early while the sun still pierces the sky. At first I didn't tell anyone, but as I began to wake earlier and earlier, I was forced to tell Zelda, who in turn told Spindeloff. Not exactly what I had hoped for.

Now I'm watching for another freak. This one isn't the usual Bat, I don't think. Reports had been coming in about a nighttime disturbance in Zora's Domain, and this one didn't sound pretty. Several mangled corpses of the water-people had appeared. The Bats had never attacked people directly in the past, only ate wild animals and livestock. Now they were getting more aggressive.

I stand at the edge of a pool, gazing into the cool water. I used to love swimming. Since being Turned, I've shied away from deep water quite a bit. I can handle shallow pools, but the idea of being immersed in water disgusts me. Needless to say, Princess Ruto isn't too happy, but at least I have a real excuse to avoid her now. The last thing I need is another woman hanging off of me. Although, I have to admit, the miffed look on Zelda's face when she sees me with some else of the opposite sex is very amusing.

Movement stirs the air, and I tense. The creature is nearby. Before I realize what's happening, something hits me square in the back and catapults me into the water. My first reaction is to panic. The water closes over my head, and I feel incredibly bogged down. I force my thoughts to clear and remind myself that I know how to swim, but still the idea does me no good. Every inch of my body is screaming that I'm drowning, even though the pool is only about ten feet deep. Through the shimmering water, I see the beast crouch and reach for me. All I can do is flail as it takes hold of my waist and yanks me from the water. I gasp with relief as I am freed from the pool, but now I am face to face with the animal.

It is hunched over, so I can only estimate its height, but it is definitely larger than the usual Bats. It brings its face close to mine and opens its massive jaws. Acrid breath floats out of its maw, choking my senses. I grab one of its ears just before it attempts to rip my face off. I yank hard, and the creature yowls and drops me. I pull out a long knife and stab the beast in the shoulder, but before I can pull the blade back out, it tosses me to the side and roars. I hit the side of some rock and my vision blurs for a moment, then I stand and face the being. It looks pissed. I mean, honest to god, girl just told she was fat pissed. It rips the knife out of its shoulder and hurls it at me. I manage to move just in time to avoid being skewered with my own weapon. It stands at its full height – easily eleven feet – and charges at me. I jump and land on the creature's back. It immediately begins thrashing in attempt to throw me off. I grab onto its neck and hold on for dear life. The beast makes so much noise that several Zoran guards appear and chuck a few spears into it. Of course, this only makes it madder, and it takes off into the sky with me still hanging on. I can't get any of my weapons to stab it, because if I let go even just a little, I know that I'll be thrown. So I use a more natural weapon: my teeth. I open my mouth wide, and my deadly canines enlarge. I bite down roughly into the creature, making it scream. Thick black blood flows into my mouth and down my throat. The liquid is disgusting, but I've drunk worse, so I just clamp down harder and pull back, taking out the animal's jugular. It screams again, and its wings fold. We plummet towards the earth, but I release the beast before hitting the ground and spread my own arms. I stop about a foot or two above the earth and hover there before releasing my hold on gravity and alighting beside the dead animal. The few remaining Zoras stare bewildered and then run off. It's probably for the best, but I know I'll be in trouble with Ruto later on. I spit the remaining blood and flesh out and look down at the beast. It's nearly done disintegrating now, and I scoop up a few ashes for the doctor. Just another normal night, I suppose.

Before I can leave, though, I hear footsteps behind me. Thinking it to be a wayward Zora, I begin to leave, but a voice calls out, "Wait." A very familiar voice.

I turn, but already know who it is. "I thought you said you'd leave me alone."

"I said I'd leave you alone until we needed you again," Seri says.

"The last time you needed me, I ended up dead."

"It won't happen again." Somehow I doubt that.

Seri is a female vampire much older than me. She is the Huntress of the Mater Clan. That basically means she's second in command of a group of vampires. The Mater Clan is one of the oldest vampire groups in existence. The only other clan with as much, if not more, power as them is the Sondiel Clan. The two used to be at war until a short while ago. Now they exist in cooperation trough a strained treaty. I lost touch with other vampires after I finished their tasks a year ago. I guess you could say that I'm not exactly fond of vampires. But I've been around Seri long enough to be comfortable with her, at least mildly comfortable, anyway.

"So what does this Huntress want from me now?"

Seri smiles playfully and says, "Oh, not Huntress anymore, now I'm the Madraas." "Madraas" basically means "master", and in this case, it means she's been promoted to full-blown leader of the Mater Clan.

"I'm impressed. You must have been elected just after I left, then."

"Correct."

"So why is the Madraas of the Mater Clan approaching me one-on-one tonight?"

"Like I said before, we need you help."

"And I need detail."

She stares at me for a long moment before saying, "The problem is these creatures. The ones that you kill." The Bats. "We need to know their source."

I raise an eyebrow; the thought that one of the most powerful clans is troubled by freaks is surprising and slightly unsettling. "What do you want me to do? I have enough trouble with them as it is. Why would you think that I could do anything about these things when you yourself cannot? I'm not even fully initiated."

She sighs at my words and says, "If it were as simple as a full vampire taking out these abominations, then we'd have done it a long time ago. You know you're powerful; no one can deny that. But what you don't know is the untapped strength you have inside you. We need that strength to find the Maker."

"Maker?"

"These things aren't natural; they're the product of some hideous experiment. We need to kill whoever is creating them."

"What if he's already dead?"

"Then we terminate him." Not a pleasant thought. Terminating an undead being involves erasing every inch of their soul so that they can never return in any form. I've seen someone be terminated before; it's not pretty.

"You sound pretty serious about this."

"You must help us. It's your duty as a member of the clan."

"I belong to no clan, and you know that!"

"You were Turned by a member of the Mater Clan; you belong in our ranks!"

Anger seethes in me at the thought of being a part of any vampiric group. I know she has a point, and the blood relation in me wants to wholeheartedly agree, but I push those thoughts away.

She softens when she sees my distress, "Link, please listen, we give you autonomy because that was our old Madraas' wish. Just grant us your power to kill these demons, and we'll leave you alone. Destroying these things would be in both our interests, wouldn't you agree?"

I know she's right, but I don't say so. Instead I tell her, "Speak with me later. I need to return to the castle. I am not as autonomous as you think." I leave without giving her a chance to respond.

The first thing Zelda notices when she sees me are my battle wounds. I am not easily caught off guard and attacked, so they gave her good cause to worry.

"What happened?"

"It had some spunk."

She smiles lightly at that and says, "Link, if you would carry the Master Sword, then these Bats would be so easy to defeat."

I snap back, "I won't touch that sword any more! Don't even mention it!"

Startled, she said, "What's gotten you into such a mood? I know you don't like the thought of wielding the sword, but it's sensible!"

My hands clench shut for a moment before opening again; I can tell Zelda's worried about me. I have a pretty good disposition most of the time, even with unsavory topics. I sigh and say, "I guess I'm just short tempered because I haven't been sleeping well." I neglect to mention Seri. She and Zelda don't agree well at all.

Worry crosses Zelda's face, "It still hasn't cleared up? What does Spindeloff think?"

"The usual: I need to start drinking human blood." Distaste strikes me at the thought, but deep inside, a part of me agrees fervently with the doctor.

Zelda remains silent, but she slips one of her hands into mine and squeezes it. I have a feeling that she wouldn't care if I drank human blood on a nightly basis, just so long as I remained the same person. Only I have a feeling that if I did such a thing, I would never be the same again. It's a scary thought.

"Zel," I start to say, but she covers my mouth with her other hand, effectively silencing me. She leans forward and kisses me gently, and all other thoughts leave my mind. When she pulls back, I can still feel her, the taste lingering on my lips. My heart begins to beat. She touches my chest and whispers, "Your pulse is back."

"You should leave." I can see that she knows it's true, but she hesitates anyway. "Zelda, you know I'm dangerous."

Looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes, she says, "I wouldn't have you any other way." And then she is gone.

My heart beats a few more times, but slows and then stops. With the absence of human blood, it no longer stirs. A vampire's heart beats only during blood lust and feeding. I've come to discover that sexual lust for a vampire leads swiftly into blood lust. The two are almost interchangeable. And that's why Zelda and I have been so distant since I was Turned. I hate the thought, but we both know that any connection between us could be disastrous. So all we have are memories of each other that seem to fade more and more each day.

Feeling frustrated, I walk towards my room. I know that I will wake up early and lie silently in my bed, awaiting darkness. The thought frustrates me further and I punch the wall. The marble cracks. "Shit." I glance around, but luckily no one is in the hall to see me. I hurry off as quickly as possible. Maybe no one will notice? Yeah right. I enter my room and lay down. I lie awake for some time before slipping off. Before I do, though, I think about how much earlier I will awake today. Many think nighttime is lonely and forsaken, but the truth is, twilight is the loneliest of all times. It is the moment just before the sweeping blanket of dark envelops the earth. The sun sits low and fat on the horizon, its seeping rays spread over the world. It is the final breath before the dying embrace their last call; it is the moment when full, healthy things become skeletal and weeping, no longer belonging to the light, but banished from the dark. Nothing moves or breathes as the fading light caresses them. Time seems suspended; it is the calm before the storm. I hate the twilight. I once thought it to be beautiful and profound, but these sleepless times have taught me to loathe those moments. I know it waits for me. And in my bones, I feel that it is not the only thing that does so.

End Chapter Two

Well, there you have it. The next installment is complete. I'll see what sort of response I get to this, and then I'll post the next chapter.