I don't own Zelda
Link ran through the gates of Kakariko village leaving all who he passed dumbstruck. All the villagers saw was a green streak followed by a smaller blue one. The villagers watched as the streak ran toward the well, and then made a sharp right, and then they lost sight of it after it passed Anju's house. They chose not to follow it though since they assumed it was heading for the graveyard. No one had been to the graveyard since the late Danpe, and since his death many creatures had been lurking in the area.
Link hadn't stopped to take a break since he had started running over two hours ago, and it was beginning to its toll on him. Right after he had lost contact with Saria he went into a mad dash toward the village. Navi had been taken by such surprise she didn't catch up until he had reached the stairs to the village. At that time he filled her in as he ran, and even the calm Navi's aura fluctuated with ripples of anger.
The village was a shadow of its former self, and had been run down to be a depressing sight. The house with the cursed family had definitely seen better days with visible holes in the roof and all the windows were broken. Anju's chicken pen had broken and it looked like no one had ever bothered to fix it. The well was also drained of the water, and as Link passed it he got a very uneasy feeling.
The people looked even more crestfallen than the village as they seemed to be on there last legs. They all looked immensely tired, and none really reacted much to his and Navi's presence. They didn't even try to stop him or greet him a ridiculous amount like the first time he came here.
Upon entering the graveyard Link and Navi noticed a big change. The graveyard had grown in size and occupants. Most appeared to be tombstones with no bodies, most likely memorials to the soldiers who fell in the fight against Ganondorf, and had nobody to bury. Other graves looked disturbed as if the corpse had risen and had walked about, and even more had the evil aura of a poe.
"Navi, you're much better at sensing spirits right?" Link asked.
"By a long shot; you shouldn't even have to ask. I already know what you're thinking though so I'll get right on it." Navi boasted
Navi went to work searching for any auras among the graves that were similar to the late Danpe. Some 300 or so graves later they came up with four graves. Link nodded his thanks to Navi as she flew under his hat to take a break.
Link picked one of the random four graves that she had pointed out, and positioned himself behind the tombstone. He grasped both sides of the tombstone and with a great heave he began to pull. The strain was huge and so he tried to let most of his legs do the work. Little by little the stone was moving but it was training his strength very quickly, but he kept pulling until it wouldn't budge at all.
Link peered down into the hole and couldn't see the bottom at all. Contemplating whether to jump in or not he paused to look for any sign of movement below. Again he looked into the hole and saw a faint glow of pink, and with that jumped down.
Now having a reason to be in the hole Link looked around. Most everything was too dark to see and for some strange reason there was no strange odor like he expected in a grave. He began to wander forward slowly toward a small glow in the distance. Upon getting a closer inspection he realized it was a very fountain.
Letting out a disappointed sigh he wandered into the center and let a fairy revitalize him. As the fairy finished it hovered down to the floor to rest having now taken all his fatigue for itself. Mouthing words of thanks to the fairy Link left exited the way he had come in.
He could see the sun setting and could already sense the spirits of the dead begin to stir. Not wanting to have to deal with the undead spirits while trying to move to the tombstones he hurried to the next one. Again he placed himself behind the tombstone and took hold of it, and pulled.
Poes were awaking in the area and the dirt was beginning to shift in some of the graves as Link finally stopped pulling. Without hesitation ran and jumped down into the hole, and lifted on an aged white platform. As he looked around the area it was once again too dark to see anything, but this time there was no light in the far off distance.
Suddenly a faint glow appeared in front of him and let off a low laugh before materializing into a ghost. Link reached for his sword and shield and had them at the ready. He studied the ghost; it appeared to be a bluish tint with a pale aura. The ghost was bald and had a disturbing looking protrusion in its back. It held a lantern in one hand, and the other hung down lazily.
"Whoa there, what the hell do you plan on doing boy? If you haven't noticed I'm a ghost and can't be hurt by common weapons boy." The ghost explained.
"Are you the ghost of the late Danpe?" Link asked.
"Yes I am boy. Have you come to put my spirit to rest? Figures those cowardly villagers wouldn't do it themselves."
Link became overcome with joy since he knew that Danpe would have whatever he needed to get into the Forest temple. "No, I have not come to put your spirit to rest. I actually have another request. If you have an object that I need if you would give it to me I would appreciate it."
"Hahaha. I assume you are talking about the hookshot in my possession, but if you want it you'll have to play a little game with me."
In a flash Link was face to face with Danpe with his sword to his transparent neck. An intense anger coursed through him that consumed almost all rational thought. His eyes looked like they could pierce the hardest of metals, and rip through any substance.
"Listen you damn ghost! I wasn't asking you for the hookshot I was telling you to give it to me. While you wait down here free from the pain of living we, the living, are still suffering. Now if you don't give me the hookshot I won't have any problem carving you to pieces until I find it." Link yelled.
Danpe's eyes went cold and in a voice void of emotion answered, "Boy I hold no value for the lives of living, because of that I was not able to pass on. I must wait for some one to send me off, and no one ever will because my hideous appearance frightens them. In life people looked down on me because of my disfigurement, and I came to resent them. Now what makes you think that I really care what you want, boy?"
Link chose not to answer with words at the moment, but instead shifted his sword to the man's ghostly shoulder. With a quick flick of the wrist he left a cut along his shoulder that began to release a bluish smoke.
"Aaagh. That hurt, but how, boy? It must be that sword you have; I can sense its power in the air." Danpe said surprised.
"Don't fuck with me dead man, now hand over the hookshot." Link replied in a low dangerous tone.
"I won't, not after you defile my grave and then attack me. I'll trap you in here so you die slowly and painfully."
With that the ghost levitated high into the air and began to hover off into a tunnel Link hadn't been able to see in the dark. Thanks to being the owner of the Triforce of courage Link was able to give chase after the ghost at an inhuman speed. He quickly passed into the tunnel and heard a heavy door fall into place behind him. Without looking back he followed after the glow of Danpe's lantern never letting it out of his sight.
The damn boy is chasing after me and actually able to keep pace. It doesn't really matter these tunnels are a maze, and the horrors in them can't affect me. He will die and I will continue my existence.
Link was steadily becoming aware of the undead beings and the resentful spirits in the tunnel, but he tried his best to ignore them. After ten minutes he was beginning to become infuriated with this chase, and pushed even harder to catch up to the ghost as it turned a corner. He was steadily closing the gap and was all too eager to bury his sword in Danpe's chest.
Looking back Danpe noticed how much closer Link had gotten and began to panic a little. In response he began to leave trails of fire in his wake. He was hoping it would slow the boy down, or it would be even better if he got burned. He liked that thought and started leaving fire everywhere in hopes of one of the flames consuming the boy.
As Link hurdled over walls of flames or weaved between them he started losing ground on Danpe. Luckily the flames provided an easy trail to follow, but he still couldn't trail too far behind otherwise the doors Danpe passed through would close behind him sealing Link in.
Link then turned a corner that led to a particularly long corridor and saw Danpe heading toward the end, and a redead with its back to him. Flames consumed all areas around the Redead making the only way forward through the redead. Unwilling to give in Link charged forward with no real plan in mind. Drawing nearer to the redead he knew he couldn't let it turn around otherwise he would be paralyzed and left to die in the tunnel.
As if on cue the redead let out a moan and began to slowly turn.
Everything ticked by in slow motion Link was running with his blade ready, but he knew there was no way he would reach the redead before it finished turning. He would be frozen and then die in these tunnels. He still hadn't thought of a way to stop it from turning, and then his thoughts drifted off to those who would be left to suffer.
The look of a strong resolve once again became visible through Link's eyes as he hurled the Master sword at the redead's back. It pierced through the withered skin at the top of its back and the redead crumbled to its knees while letting out a pained moan. Link continued running taking note that the redead still wasn't down for good. In one swift movement he leaped forward and his right foot connected with the back of the redead's head. Link grabbed his sword's handle as he jumped onto the redead's head plunging it face first into a pool of flames. Then as swiftly as he had jumped on the redead's head he jumped off while wrenching the sword free.
Link continued running; ignoring the dying wails of the redead, and pushing himself even harder to catch up with the damn ghost. He followed the ghost relentlessly dodging flames here and there, never letting it out of his sight. Finally they entered a room with a massive hole in the middle. Link came to a sudden stop getting much more of a look than he needed down the hole. Danpe continued floating up toward an exit at the top, and it had a heavy looking stone slab above it. Link looked for a way across the pit and noticed a small path along the left wall that was slightly illuminated by the lantern of Danpe.
Link sprinted up the path toward Danpe, who had just reached the door. Link wasn't even halfway up when he heard the door begin to slide down at an astonishingly slow rate. It was as if it was mocking him; going slow enough so that he would come close but not make it. The scraping of the stone against the wall was already starting to get to him, and was closing down over his hope.
Once again Link became even more infuriated and pushed himself harder. His veins felt as if acid flowed through them, and they were beginning to go numb. His lungs burned from all the running and his throat ached from the lack of water. Still he pushed himself harder and faster realizing it would be the end if he didn't make it through. As he reached the platform the door was on less than a foot of space remained for him to squeeze through. He ran to the door dropped to his stomach and tossed his shield to the other side, and began to crawl through. He squeezed through just in time before his body would have been crushed, because it fell suddenly with the last six inches.
Link stood up heaving and sweating all over and soon knelt down to catch his breath. He looked at Danpe square in the eyes; the man's spirit had nowhere else to go. He would pass on here, very soon, unless he thought of a damn good excuse for that chase.
"Well boy, it looks like you got me. I can't go beyond this point, so here take this hookshot you have earned it." He said as if nothing had happened.
"You're gonna die for this you bastard. Making me go through this wild goose chase, because you don't like people." Link replied angrily.
"As I recall you invaded my grave and put sword to my throat."
"Funny, you said the sword couldn't hurt you, so I figured you didn't mind. Anyways what did you need the hookshot for anyways?"
Danpe sighed and closed his eyes before replying, "I just didn't like you boy. I never needed the hookshot I just didn't want you to have, but now I'm going to pass on anyways." Danpe opened his eyes too look at Link, but was surprised to see him missing.
"I never liked you either!" Link yelled at the ghostly man. As he descended from his jump he slashed the ghost vertically in half.
The reaction was the same as if he had slashed a monster. A moment of surprise, anger, and resentment in the eyes. Followed by a pained scream. Blue smoke was flowing freely from the gash and showed no signs of stopping. "That was for trying to kill me in those tunnels." Danpe had barely acknowledged Link and continued to scream in pain as Link approached him. With a blindingly quick upward thrust he impaled Danpe threw the chin with the blade coming out the top of his head. "And that was for wasting my time." The spirit dissipated completely afterwards followed by a loud clank as something fell to the ground.
Link retrieved the hookshot and studied it quickly, eyeing the sharp end it had and what appeared to be the trigger in the hand grip. With a little experimentation in the area he got the feel for the distance and how it functioned. Now he just needed to get the hell out of the place he thought.
Finally finding his way out he lumbered through the insides of the windmill ignoring the insane glare of the man with the music box. Fatigue had finally kicked in and Link barely made it outside before he collapsed against a wall.
It was some time before someone walked by and acknowledged him, and offered some help.
"Stranger are you all right? It is rather late to be roaming around tonight." Said a soothing voice.
Link couldn't respond though he could feel his eyes growing heavier and got a brief glimpse of a familiar red head before everything went black.
"Hey, listen! Hey, listen! Hey, listen!"
"Aahhhhhh!" Link screamed as he awoke.
"What is wrong with you sleepy head?" replied a startled Navi.
"Oh goddesses. Nothing. I just had this horrible dream that you were completely useless and drove me insane by repeating everything I already knew."
"Why did I ask?" replied an annoyed Navi.
"Hey, where are we anyways?"
"We are at Anju's house. She found you right as you passed out and brought you here. I guess all that running throughout the day finally caught up with you. You must have been beat though, because you have been out for a whole day."
"I'll have to thank her later, but right now we've wasted enough time. We need to get to the forest and rescue everyone."
"Not so fast. You haven't healed fully and I won't let you leave on an empty stomach." Said a cheerful and lively voice.
In through a kitchen door walked a beautiful woman with fiery red hair, and deep blue eyes, much like Link's. What made her even more attractive to Link was the plate piled with food she was holding. Link suddenly became torn between his duty and his stomach, but came to the quick realization that he couldn't perform his duty on an empty stomach. In a flash he grabbed the plate and began devouring everything on it at a rate that only he could do.
Anju and Navi were huddled in the corner watching as Link inhaled the food at a frightening pace.
"Oh crap I hope you have more food Anju, because if you don't were next." Said a frightened Navi.
"I do, there is plenty more in the kitchen, but I'm afraid to move because he might eat me instead. He is kind of cute though when he tears the meat with his teeth like that." Said and equally frightened Anju.
Link's sharp ears had perked up at hearing about a source of more food, and headed to the kitchen. What happened in the kitchen was unspeakable as Link ate like an animal. Growls could be heard coming from the kitchen and the horrible ravaging of Anju's meal.
Finally after the noise died down a little Navi and Anju cautiously entered the kitchen. "Link?" whispered a worried Anju. "We heard growling are you alright?"
"That was my stomach actually and I've never felt better. Thanks for the meal Anju." Replied Link with a huge grin across his face.
"Well glad to see the danger has passed. Just so you know I filled Anju in on everything that has happened while you were out." Navi interjected.
"Okay well we'll be on our way then. We got a lot of work to do."
"Hold it Link do you even remember me?" Anju said while pushing him back down in the chair.
Link's face looked back at her blankly as he tried to recall. Finally after a minute he smiled and said, "Nope".
Anju sighed and averted her gaze to the floor. "Do cuccoos ring a bell, Link?" she asked.
Link's eyes widened as it came flooding back to him. Chasing cuccoos down for her, and then becoming curious and abusing the damn things. Finally a swarm came and he had to take refuge in Anju's house for a whole day.
Link looked her in the eyes and they said it all for her. Looking her over he realized that she had discarded the dress she had in the past, and only wore the red vest with nothing underneath. Also she was wearing some brown hunting pants with a make shift belt.
"There we go Link, you remember now don't you? Well I didn't forget you after all these years, so imagine my surprise when I find you passing out and you're carrying an even bigger and sharper sword." She said with emphasis on the last part of the sentence.
"I'm sorry I forgot about you Anju, but I haven't really had time to sit down and reminisce about the past lately." Link said as he stood and walked to the bed he woke up in.
He sat down on it and watched as Anju walked to him from the kitchen with a lustful gleam in her eyes. He looked through the window right behind her and noticed the last rays of the sun fading away.
"Well Link I'm hurt that you would forget me, so now I'm going to make sure you can never forget me."
"What? How?"
Link had just finished his question when Anju straddled Link's lap and pulled him into a deep kiss. He felt her maneuver her tongue into his own mouth and explore it. Link having no idea what was happening sat stock still not daring to move. Soon the he began to relax and enjoy sensations he was getting. Anju pulled away though almost as soon as he began to fight back with his tongue though earning an irritated grunt from Link.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" yelled Navi. She looked from Link to Anju who each seemed to be in there own little world. "Link, snap out of it you damn horn dog!" Link completely ignored Navi not even acknowledging her presence. He had his eyes locked on Anju unwilling to let her hypnotic figure escape his sight. "Why are you doing this anyways Anju? Have some damn decency for crying out loud he has the mind of a ten year old."
Navi told her in vain.
"My fiancée, Kafei, was the only man who had me, and he was killed in the siege on the castle while getting me out. Since then I have become withdrawn and I haven't opened up to anyone. No one was anywhere near as pure and innocent as Kafei; he even liked those damn cuccoos. I was once pure and innocent once like him, but this living hell can get to anyone. When I stumbled across you and Link the other night though, and you told me the story of what happened. I realized he is damn close second to Kafei, and I want to feel that innocence and purity inside me again." She replied.
"That is so fucked up." Navi said casually.
She looked at Link once more who hadn't heard a word of what she said, and then back at Anju who had an insane hunger in her eyes. She advanced toward Link dead set on satisfying her craving for contact and lust. Link continued looking at her still immobile and so far gone that he wouldn't come back till Anju finished with him. Navi sighed defeated and disgusted at the same time. She couldn't stop them. She watched the bounce as Anju came to a stop, and then she turned away as she removed the vest and let it fall to the floor.
Navi flew into the kitchen and was quickly followed by the moans of Link and Anju. She couldn't leave Link there alone as much as she wanted too, but she couldn't stand to watch. She just sat on the kitchen table trying to block out the moans, grunts, and obscenities they yelled. Eventually she fell asleep, but even her dreams weren't free of the images as Link and a woman whose image was wrapped in shadows were entangled.
The next morning she woke and ate alone in silence and then flew out the house. She wandered around the village until the sun had almost reached its peak in the sky, and Link finally left Anju's house.
Navi flew over to Link and they stared at each other as if they were total strangers meeting for the first time. Finally Navi perched herself on Link's hat and they left toward Kokiri forest without another word.
Link was running through the fields of Hyrule toward the forest, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He knew what had happened between him and Anju was supposed to be special, but it felt far from that. He couldn't understand what had happened and what had compelled him to do what he did, but it must have been the wrong thing since he couldn't look Navi in the eye, and she wouldn't talk to him. Eventually though he got up the nerve to apologize at the least, he wasn't sure what for but it felt like the right thing to do. "Navi?" he began. "I'm sorry about what happened. I don't really know what I did, but I couldn't stop myself."
For a while Navi didn't answer and just stared off into the sky with vacant eyes. "I forgive you, Link. It's not exactly something you knew about anyways, so I'll let it slide this time, but you'll are both whores now." She said in a steady controlled voice.
"What's a whore?" asked a confused Link.
"Don't worry about it I was just kidding. I still have to talk to you about last night though." She said in the same tone.
For the rest of the trip to the forest Navi explained the birds and the bees to Link, and what he had missed out on while he was ogling Anju.
Finally as sunset was fading away into the nights embrace a very enlightened, proud, and slightly regretful Link arrived at the entrance to the forest.