"So, why are we coming here?" Knil grunted, eyes narrowed on the sickeningly quaint little houses of Kakariko village, as he begrudgingly hung onto Link for support.

Link smirked. He really didn't know why he found his other side's constant complaining amusing. "Because it's close, and the Shadow Temple is nearby."

"How nearby?"

"In the graveyard right behind the village actually."

Knil paused, thinking on this a bit as they made their way along the street. "That's strange."

Link shrugged. "I guess they wanted it to be simple for the townsfolk to go in and worship."

"Who the hell worships in something called, 'The Shadow Temple'? I mean, it's a temple about death, right?"

"Well, some people think that death is more of a reason to celebrate that life. Something to do with the world being full of hatred and sorrow, and mourning that a new soul has to be born into this world."

"What?"

"Well the afterlife is said to be far more appealing than the life we have on this planet."

"But if someone's never born, then they can never die."

"It is a conundrum. I guess it all depends on your perspective of life and death."

Knil groaned. "And that's where I cut this conversation off."

"What, too deep for you?" Link laughed.

"I guess you could say that. More like my brain can't stand the boredom of a religious conversation."

Navi laughed, listlessly fluttering around them. "Or perhaps you aren't smart enough to come up with a compelling argument."

Knil scowled at the little faerie, growling deep in his throat. "Why you little-"

"Hey Navi." Link interjected, to try and diffuse the impending bomb, a bright smile on his face. "Why don't you head on back to the castle."

"Huh?" Navi's jaw dropped, glowing a red-violetish hue. "Why?"

"Well, Zelda should be getting back soon and is going to wonder where we went."

"Oh."

"Just tell her where we are and that we're working on a strategy to obtain the Spiritual Stone."

Navi drooped slightly. "I guess I can do that." Feeling a bit dismissed, she took off back towards the castle.

Knil scoffed. "We?"

"You did say you were coming." Link responded lightly, heading into one of the houses in the little square. The one that had formerly been Impa's home. Typically other Kakarikans had used it as they needed, for their own dwellings, or a meeting place, but it currently stood empty.

Knil snorted, pushing away from Link, as they entered the small house. His legs were still shaking, so he made his way over to one of the beds. That really needed to stop. He couldn't stand feeling so weak. "I'm only coming along to make sure you don't get your fool self killed."

Link smiled, cocking an eyebrow at his darker self, as he rummaged through his satchel. "That's very kind of you."

"I'm not doing it for you." Knil growled.

"Yes, yes, I know." Link pulled out a map and smoothed it flat on the small kitchen table. "Either way, I appreciate it."

Knil folded his arms scowling. Ivan flitted over and landed on his knee, staring unsure at her master. That glare in his eyes was awfully nostalgic, but there was something off. Almost like he couldn't decide what he hated anymore. He just seemed angry, for no reason. Or at least she couldn't tell what the reason was.

xXx

Zelda made her way back up to the castle, when she was stalled by the sight of several of her guards keeling over. "What happened here?" She exclaimed, rushing over to two guards huddled around another, sitting on the ground. "That shadow, your Majesty." One of the standing guards growled. "He snuck out of the castle and knocked several of us out."

Zelda's brow creased with both annoyance and confusion. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he's a psychopath." The guard on the ground added, rubbing at a lump on the back of his head.

Zelda sighed, and dropped her head in her hand, fingers rubbing the line of her eye. That shadow was likely to be the death of her. Maybe she should reconsider asking for his help.

"I'd definitely be a lot happier if Link didn't bring him back."

"What?' Zelda's head snapped up, eyes wide. "Link went after-" She cut herself off, mid-sentence, with an exasperated sigh. Her palm hit her face again. "Don't know why I'm surprised. Of course he did."

"Now that I think about it, Link's been gone for a while."

Zelda rubbed away the last of her annoyance. "Do you have any idea where they went?"

"Afraid not, Princess."

Zelda sighed. "Alright. Have the injured tended to, and replace the lookouts. Let me know if you see sign of either one of them."

"Of course, Princess." The guards bowed out, attending some of Knil's victims back into the castle. Although most went without a second thought, some still insisted they were fit for duty.

Zelda made her way into the castle, and up to her chambers. Once the door was closed, she fell back against it, heaving a deep sigh. "What am I going to do?" Her attention drew to a light sprinkling sound, from the direction of her desk. She looked up to see Navi flying towards her. "Welcome back, Princess."

"Navi? Where did you come from?"

Navi drifted up in front of her. "Link sent me here. He wanted me to tell you that they're in Kakariko Village and working on a way to find the stone."

"Oh, are they." Zelda sighed, with relief. "I suppose that's good to hear. Is Link doing alright?"

"Huh?" Navi sparked, in confusion. "Yea, he's ok. Knil's still trying to shake off whatever was wrong with him still, but Link's just fine."

"That's good." Zelda's head drooped. "I suppose I'll have to trust Link to handle it from here."

"Don't look so down, Princess." Navi exclaimed, clenching her fists in victory. "Link will come through. When has he ever failed?"

Zelda thought about this briefly, then smiled sadly at the thought. "I suppose you're right."

xXx

The two Hylians sat in silence as the day rolled on. The sun had nearly fallen, and Link skimmed over the map by candlelight, diligently trying to find some room he hadn't yet explored. Navi had returned and was perched on the table, looking over it as well. Knil hadn't felt like getting any more rest and was sitting against the wall pouting. At least he looked like he was pouting. It's very possible he was in deep thought as well, and it was just difficult to tell the difference. Ivan, on the other hand, was fast asleep on his shoulder. Her dull sleepy light casting odd shadows over his face.

Knil was distracted when Link groaned in aggravation, rubbing his hat off and laid in on the table. He sighed, dropping his eyes into his hands.

"What's your problem?"

Link sighed, rubbing his strained eyes. "No matter how many times I look over this map, I just can't find an area I didn't already explore." He slumped, his head falling back over the chair. "Something like this should have been obvious to spot. I think I would remember it."

Knil snorted. "Maybe it's an area not on the map."

Link leaned his head back further to look at him. Even if he was upside down. "But this map was made by the old sage of Shadows. Why would something not be on the map?"

"It's very possible this 'old sage' didn't want anyone stumbling across the stone." Knil snorted, his fists clenching in their folded state. "You said yourself, it'd be dangerous in the wrong hands."

Link thought about this logic for a bit. "I guess you're right, but I didn't even see anything leading to an alternate area."

"What about under the temple?"

"What? Under it?" Link sat back up and scanned the map. Was there a way under the temple?

"There's plenty of pits in that place. Maybe it's down one of those."

Link located several dark pits indicated on the old parchment. "Oh." He'd never even thought to ever go down in any of them. He could never see the bottom. It just didn't seem logical to try that. Suddenly something occurred to him, and he spun around towards Knil. "Hold on. How do you know about that?"

"What?"

"I get how you can have some of my residual memories, from childhood, but I never went to the Shadow Temple as a kid."

"Residual memories? What are you talking about?"

"Well, how else do you explain how you got through the Lost Woods?"

Knil's face flushed. "I don't know. I just did." He snapped, although his eyes narrowed unsure. Ivan was startled awake, fluttering from his shoulder.

Link felt a ping in his chest, and found himself just staring at Knil in a mix of confusion and a strange touch of annoyance. (Where did that come from?) Navi however, flew from the table, and right up to him. "No one, 'just gets through' the Lost Woods. It's deep and confusing and only a real Kokiri knows how to navigate it."

Knil growled, slamming a hand onto the bed. "Well Link isn't a Kokiri either, so neither of you have a right to talk."

"He was raised as one, and you weren't. So there." She stuck a tongue out at him, and Knil raised a hand to smack at her, which she barely managed to dodge. "Hey, watch it, ya twerp."

"Who you calling twerp? Bug."

Navi started turning red again, and Ivan decided to join in. After all, she couldn't let that dimwit talk to her master that way.

Link drew a hand to his chest. What was that? Was he feeling Knil's unease, or possibly causing his own? I suppose it must be strange to have someone else's memories in your head. "Hey guys." Link began, calmly, but somehow alerting all three of them enough to stop what they were doing. "Maybe our efforts will be better spent actually exploring the temple. It'd be good for us all to rest up first, though." He stood, his head down enough to where his eyes were shadowed, and made his way towards the other bed. "Why don't we head out in the morning."

Slowly, Navi started drifting over towards him, starting to feel the uncertainty in the room. "Ok, Link. Whatever you say."

Knil, however, buried his own insecurity and waved a nonchalant hand his way. "Yea, sure. You're the boss, right?"

"I guess." Link stated plainly, having cocooned himself under the blanket, facing the wall.

At the slow faded tone of his voice, Knil's eyes widened on him, feeling he was actually concerned. Nothing he ever said got to him before. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, trying very hard not to actually sound concerned.

"Nothing." Link yawned. "I'm just tired."

Navi stared down at Link, then glanced back at Knil. He was now failing to hide his mildly concerned curiosity. That is, until he realized Navi staring at him. Then, he sneered, and flopped down in the bed, pulling the blanket tightly around him.

Navi just rolled her eyes, and flitted over towards Link, settling down on the pillow. She laid a small hand on his forehead. "Are you sure you're ok, Link?"

Link turned his head up towards her and smiled. "I'm fine, Navi. Just go to sleep."

xXx

Bright and early, the next morning, the four adventurers set out for the graveyard. Knil stood in the entrance, glancing around. He saw a small shack, to the right, a few bobbing lanterns, and varied assortment of tombstones... but no temple entrance. "So, where is this place?" He asked, throwing his arms out.

Link pointed towards the back of the graveyard. "It's up there. This way." Instead of heading towards the back, Link made his way to the left.

Knil was rather confused, but followed anyway. As he stepped by, one of the bobbing lanterns approached him. Knil glanced down at it, but gave no further notice or caring. That is, until it started spinning and smacked him in the shoulder, igniting his sleeve. "The hell?" Knil drew his sword and knocked the lantern away. Once back off, some ethereal creature appeared, dangling the lantern threateningly. "What is that thing?"

Nimbly, Link drew his bow, and nailed it with an arrow. The creature let out a high pitched squeal, dissolving into a small violet flame. "It's a Poe." Link sheathed his bow, and made his way over. "They appear here, in the graveyard, sometimes. You ok?"

"Yea." Knil checked his scorched shirt. It went out almost instantly, but there was a blister forming on his shoulder. That was gonna be sore for a while.

"I don't just mean that." Link added, stepping around in front of him. "Overall, how ya doing?"

Knil cringed at the insinuation. Maybe his head was still a bit dizzy, and over-all, he couldn't stop shaking, but how dare he try to figure that out. "I'm fine." He huffed, turning his head away.

Link's lips tweaked at him, questioningly, then laughed, shaking his head. "Whatever you say, Knil." He definitely seemed to be in better spirits. Link made his way over to a large leaf that appeared to be hovering above the ground. He turned around, holding a hand out to Knil. "Come on."

Knil just eyed it unsure, then stepped closer, but he sure as hell wasn't taking his hand. "What's this thing?"

"It's our way in." Link answered matter-of-factually then stepped on. "Hurry up."

Having no time to think, Knil jumped on the leaf, nearly losing his balance when it started rising up into the air, and floated around the graveyard. It was kinda cool, but Knil was cursing how small it was. Fortunately, they didn't have to stand that close for too long, before Link grabbed Knil's arm and they jumped off and onto a small balcony type area etched into the side of the mountain behind the graveyard. Knil wrapped his hands around the railing and looked back down at the graveyard. "This is supposed to be easily accessible?"

Link shrugged. "Maybe it was at one point. Stay here, for a minute."

"What? Why?"

"Knil, please." Link sighed. "Just listen, for once, and stay here."

He wasn't too happy about it, but Knil hung back as Link descended down the stairway into the darkness below. He didn't know why he needed to stay back. Link was nearly blind, in the dark, anyway.

From down the stairs, there was a bright eruption of red tinted light, stopping his thought in their tracks. Ivan quickly hid behind his shoulder, and peered over. A bright flash of fire rushed up the stairs towards them. Knil yelped, and took a step back, but the fire dispersed into the air as soon as it was out the door. Something, down the stairs, started sliding, and echoed through the area. What the hell was that?

"Alright, you can come down now." Link called up from the bottom, which was relatively brighter now.

Slowly, Knil made his way down, Ivan following slowly. At the bottom, of the stairs, Knil could make out a wide array of torches, standing tall as they covered the circular floor. A stone pedestal stood in the middle, and a door was just making its way into the ceiling. Knil wound through the torches, trying to figure out what Link did. The memory of Link using a dome of fire, against him, came back into his memory. The knowledge of this aggravated him. Yea, that spell was very familiar. "So, how do you light the torch, without burning it down completely?"

Link took full note of the annoyance in his voice, but smiled pleasantly. "I'm just special that way."

Knil had to agree with that one.

They ventured on into the temple, soon coming across a hole blocking the way. Knil snorted, fists propped on his hips. "Oh yea, this is a real easy temple to get into."

"It hasn't been used in a while, and has been falling apart." Navi retaliated.

"I don't think this was ever fit for humans."

Link just rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore them, and pulled out his hook shot. He aimed it for the other side, and fired, allowing himself to be drawn across, then climbed on up.

Knil scoffed. "Really?"

"Stop being condescending, and get ready to grab this." Link stated, aiming the hook shot back towards the other side.

"Don't bother. I don't need it." Knil backed up to the wall.

"What? You can't make that jump."

"Just watch." It didn't matter how much his legs were shaking, he wasn't about to pass over a chance to show Link up. Even if he was right. Knil wasn't very confident he could make that jump either.

Knil took off towards the hole and jumped up, off to the side. He planted a foot on the wall and ran along it until he landed on the other side. Then, just for good measure, struck a pose of 'Yea, I know I'm awesome'.

Navi scowled, sitting on top of Link's hat. "Are you gonna be like this the whole time?"

"Yes. Yes I am." Knil stated back, nearly sticking his nose up at the impertinent faerie.

"Well, I'm impressed That was pretty cool." Link commented lightly, completely shattering Knil's smug attitude. "Come on, let's go." He drew his sword and started for the entrance.

Knil resigned to the compliment and followed, drawing his sword as well.

xXx

The first room had a tall statue surrounded by a series of short pillars with skull adorning each, and another large hole. Hanging on the other side of the hole was a tongue shaped platform leading for you to walk into the owner's mouth.

A sharp ping of familiarity hit Knil in the stomach. Not in the sense of any lingering memories, or whatever Link described it as, but a sense that he'd actually been here before. The cold dank scent of foreboding. The wind and the screeching of the creatures echoing through the dark hallways all seemed unnervingly familiar. The impression of a large hand on his shoulder, drawing him through the temple. Every sense he had cried out in welcome to these familiar surroundings. It was almost enough to make him want to turn around and leave immediately, but at the same time drawing him in. Wrapping around him with its familiar comforting cold that even stopped the shaking.

Link pulled out the map and started scanning over it again. "Well, there's a number of pits, in this temple. Should we just head down here?"

"No." Knil responded, in a very odd airy voice. "We need to find a boat."

"A boat?" Link looked up, very confused, just in time to see Knil run for the edge and jump over, onto the tongue. "Knil, wait. What's going on?"

Knil looked into the doorway then stopped, glancing down the dark hole. "I can't explain it-" He trailed off, looking over to Link. "But I've been here before."

Link was speechless. He really didn't know what to think about this comment. Knil had grown up in the Water Temple. That was all the way on the other side of Hyrule. Why would he have actual memories of this place? Was it, perhaps, just the resemblance of his being made from darkness? "Well, hold on." Link fished the Phoenix attachments from his satchel and attached them to his boots. "Don't go without me." He ran out over the gap, letting the Phoenix boots carry him as far as they could, then jumped for the ledge. Knil backed up a step, since Link slid, when he landed. Almost like he was walking on ice.

"What are those?" Knil asked, eying the strange boots.

Link held up his heel, revealing the golden feather attachments. "My phoenix boots. They're very handy in here."

Knil just blinked slowly, then headed on through the door. "Whatever."

Link was tempted to take the boots off, and run after him, but soon resolved to just sort of skate through the hall.

After a few feet, Knil stopped, blocked off by a rock wall. This road-block didn't register in his memory. "Hey, Link, you got any bombs?"

"Yes, but you don't need them." Link responded cheerfully, sliding up to the wall, and right on through, as though there were nothing there. Knil stared at the wall, in shock, as he heard Link chuckled from the other side. "Things aren't always what they seem, in here."

Slowly, Knil reached a hand forward, and through the wall. He didn't even feel anything as his hand disappeared before him, and he stepped on through as well. Still a bit shocked, he cast a glance back to the deceptive wall. "Neat."

"So." Link began, stepping up to Knil. "You said you remembered a boat?"

"Yea." Knil responded rather distantly, eyes scanning the room. It was another small circular room, that teased on the edges of his memories. Except for the strings of scorch marks scattered across the walls and floor, as well as a large burn in the direct center. Almost as if something had been shooting lasers, then then exploded. "Everything's a bit fuzzy, but I remember seeing some kind of floating boat." He thought about that statement, for a bit, then shook his head. "But this place is nowhere near the water. That can't possibly be right."

"Not true." Link stated confidently, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. I know a short cut." With that, he spun towards the left hand side and through the wall again. Not bothering to question it, Knil followed him on through the door behind the wall.

This next room held a much larger floor plan, but they couldn't exactly access much of it. In the very center were two conjoined hooded figures rotating two large scythes along the majority of the room. This definitely didn't look familiar. "What the hell? Are all the temples like this?"

Link shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Who would build something like this?"

Link started laughing.

"No, seriously." Knil exclaimed, throwing his hands out towards the statue. "Who thought this was a logical design for something like this. No wonder people never come to this place anymore."

"Come on, Knil." Link said, still trying to shake off the last of his amusements. He often wondered about this as well, but never really cared to question it. All that really mattered was getting through and freeing the sages. "Just stick close to the wall, and you'll be alright."

The blade spun particularly close to them, and Knil flinched. "Yea, right." Even still, he proceeded on, following Link's lead. The two faeries flew up higher, watching over their non-flying compatriots. There were sections of the wall where they had to wait for the blade, and then run across before the blade came back. At one point, Knil hadn't crossed quick enough, and the blade caught into the side of his tunic, dragging him back.

Ivan gasped, clapping her hands over her eyes. She was too nervous to watch, but still peeked through her fingers. Navi, on the other hand, learned long ago not to freak out if Link got hit with something. He was very resilient. Also, so it seemed, was Knil, as he quickly regained his balance and ducked under the blade as it spun around again.

"In here." Link slid into an offshoot, of the room, in the far north-east corner. Knil continued his way around, rolling under the blade once more, and into the nook. The faeries soon followed. Knil looked around, and found nothing. Although, given Link's knowledge of this temple, there was likely a hidden passage.

He was right, for what he saw when Link walked to the far end of the nook. A small halo of light appeared around the bottom of his shoes. Link had just enough time to glance back and Knil and grin. "Down here." Just as the words escaped his lips, Link fell through the floor and landed with a loud thunk. Navi flew down after him.

Well, that definitely didn't look safe. Knil crept closer, feeling with his hands for the edge of the actual floor. When his fingers slipped through, he drew closer and poked his head through. Link was standing at the bottom, waving him on down. There was a wall trailing down to him, with vines climbing all the way up to the hole. Knil frowned. What a show-off. Gingerly, Knil slid through the hole, and grabbed onto the vines, about half-way down. From there, he just jumped on down to where Link was standing. Link had taken this time to remove the Phoenix attachments, and jumped down a second hole into a whole new area.

This new room was far more expansive, although just as equally empty. There was a high ledge to one side, but it only had half a floor. The entirety of the other side was just a dark bottom-less cavern.

"Is this it?" Knil asked a tad sceptically. It was somewhat familiar, but everything was very hazy now.

"This is where the boat was, yes." Link answered, stepping closer to the edge. He knelt next to the ledge, and peered down into the dark depths. "Is this drawing up any memories"

Knil joined him, and looked down as well. Once looking over the side, he could feel a gentle nudge, guiding him closer to the hole. "I believe so." He answered lightly.

Link glanced up, noting how Knil's eyes glazed over again, as if they were allowing what memories he had to pass through them, into his head.

"So, how do you propose you two get down there?" Ivan inquired, settling on Knil's shoulder.

Link turned up to Navi, making her flutter from atop his head. "Hey, Navi. Think you can shed some light on the area?"

"Yea. I could do that." She flew out over the cavern, and turned back. "You coming, Ivan?"

"What? Me?"

"I could use a second set of eyes."

Ivan's light turned a touch pinker, and she glanced over at Knil for support. "Go on, ahead." She frowned deeply, but followed anyway. That wasn't the support she was hoping for.

The two faeries flew down into the chasm, their light growing brighter as they drew further away.

"Be careful, you two." Link called after them, watching as the lights retreated into the darkness.

The swordsmen waited, in silence, straining their eyes to see the two specs of lights in the darkness. It seemed eternal, but was only a matter of moments before the bobbing lights zoomed back up. Ivan arrived first, speed racing Navi back to her master. She clung to Knil's neck, burying herself in his hair. "What's wrong? What happened?" Knil asked, for the first time, since Link's seen, showing legitimate terror for his faerie friend's well-being.

"N-nothing." Ivan chirped. "It's just scary down there."

Knil rolled his eyes at the skittish faerie.

Navi drifted in front of them, rolling a chill from her arms. "To be honest, I agree. I don't like it down there."

"But what did you see?" Link asked, holding out his hands.

Navi drifted closer and landed in his outstretched palms. "There is definitely an unexplored portion of the temple down there, but..." She trailed off, shivering again, and sat down.

"But what? Were there any monsters?"

"Well, no. Not in the immediate area anyway."

"Don't forget the floor." Ivan chimed in.

"The floor?" Knil asked, reaching a hand back to try and pull her out. She didn't want to come out.

"Yea, that." Navi decided to elaborate. "There's not exactly a visible floor down there."

"What do you mean? Can we not walk down there?"

"Oh, you can walk. It's just covered in stuff I wouldn't want to walk on."

Knil just rolled his eyes. This little faerie was being annoyingly cryptic. Link however, had no problem letting Navi not say what she didn't want to, as she clung to his thumb. "Well, we can always come back out, if we need to." He tucked the blue faerie into the hem of his hat, and rummaged in his satchel again. He pulled out the hook shot and aimed it at the ceiling, where it lodged deep in the rocks. However, instead of drawing him to it, Link allowed the chain to go slack. "I'll check it out first, then you can follow."

Knil rolled his eyes at him, but resolved either way. Waving his hands to tell him to hurry up.

Link swung out over the chasm, hanging onto the hook shot. Slowly, the chain unraveled, lowering him down into the darkness. Navi tried her best to not hide and give him some sense of light as he drew ever deeper. As he lowered himself in, the sound of distant skittering and moaning started to get louder. Almost as if this was where a large chunk of those creatures he kept hearing were hiding.

Finally, the bottom came into view, as the uneven faerie light flickered off of the uneven floor. Link slowed his descent, eying the strange floor. Navi mustered up her courage and flew out of the hat to better illuminate the floor. Even Link's chest gave a strange lurch of unease. The floor was completely covered with corpses. Bones and skulls littering the area at different stages of decay. More than he would have liked to admit were still rather juicy. Link swallowed hard, pushing it back down, and gently set a foot down. His boot crunched against the brittle bones, testing the sturdiness of what flooring he could find within it. Feeling a tad satisfied with the resilience, Link transferred his full weight to the ground, still keeping a hand on the hook shot. Another shudder ran up his skin as the bones were almost up to his knees. This was not gonna be fun. "Ok, Navi." He began, trying not to show his unease. "Follow this back up, and accompany Knil down."

"What?" Navi shrieked. "You want me to leave you down here alone?"

"I'll be fine." Link drew his sword, eyes still flicking around. "It's not gonna be for that long, and Knil doesn't know how to operate the hook shot. It's fine, just go."

Navi obviously did not want to go, but knew it'd be a lot better to get Knil down here as soon as possible. She gripped onto the hook shot, and shoved in the retract feature. It took off, back up, and Navi flew after it, keeping Link in her sight for as long as she could.

Knil watching Link rest on the bottom, shortly before the hook shot snapped back into place, in the middle of the ceiling. Navi joined it, messing with the settings, and dragged it over towards Knil. "Alright, your turn."

Knil grasped onto the end, and (a bit hesitantly) swung out over the hole. Navi landed on his hand, activating the feature to lower Knil down. He definitely wasn't liking this. Link really liked to rely on these gadgets. Sure, they were handy, but there was no way he'd trust them this much. Soon, Knil reached the bottom, more than happy to let go. He jumped off, a few feet up, crunching loudly on the bones. Navi fluttered over to Link, resting in the hem of his hat again. Link's anxiety melted away as soon as she had returned to illuminate the small area. Ivan, however, wasn't going to try to help with any light. She was buried deep in Knil's hair, whimpering softly. Whatever. It's not like he needed it anyway.

"So which way from here?" Link asked, eyes squinting to try and make out something, in the surroundings, from Navi's limited light source. Even though she didn't want to leave Link's side again, Navi slowly drifted out along the long stretch of bones and walls. Unfortunately, that was all she could make out. Occasionally some armor and shields mixed in with the corpses. "I don't see any other doors. Are you sure there's even a way out of here?"

Link whipped around with the sound of bones crunching behind him. The crunching was soon accompanied by Knil's voice. "There's something down that way."

"So, what, you can see in the da-?" Link glanced back at Knil and froze mid-sentence. All he could really make out from his dark side was a vague outline of a shadow, but that wasn't what stumped him. Two red glowing orbs standing out against the stark contrast of his form, where his eyes would be. His eyes had always been strange, but Link never realized how they glowed like this. On the other hand, he supposed that made perfect sense. Being born from darkness himself, Knil should have no problem seeing in the dark. Guess his eyes glowed to compensate or reflect this sight. Knil realized he was being stared at and turned towards Link. "What the hell are you staring at?"

"Uh, nothing. I'm afraid I just can't see as far as you can."

Knil groaned, and pointed in the direction of Navi. "There's some big vessel down that way."

Link looked, squinting to see through the darkness. Even with Navi's light he still couldn't make out anything but mounds and shadows. "Um."

"Can you seriously not see that!?"

Link grinned sheepishly and shrugged. He couldn't help it if his sight wasn't as good.

Knil rolled his gleaming eyes and grabbed Link's wrist, dragging him on through the piles of bones. "Come on."

Navi noted their venture and more than happily retreated to perch in Link's hat.

"So." Link began a touch hesitantly. "Does any of this look familiar to you?"

Knil thought about the inquiry, debating both on how or if he should answer. "It's not so much of a look that seems familiar." At least not anymore. "It's more that I can almost feel which way to go."

"Like a muscle memory?"

Knil took a bit to consider this question as well. "Maybe some, but it's mostly the atmosphere." Link saw the glowing eyes narrow a touch. "It's all just very hazy."

Link fell quiet, glancing up at the bluish light over his head. After a while of trudging through the floor of bones a large shadow began to appear. Propped up against what looked like a large wall.

Navi floated over towards it, illuminating the vessel. "Link, it's the shadow boat."

"Oh, that's right. It crashed when I rode it down towards Bongo-Bongo." Link looked up at the ceiling to try and see where it had fallen from, but what little light there was reflecting off the dense fog obstructed any visibility up top.

Knil's brows creased in confusion. "Bongo-Bongo?"

Link walked up to the boat, looking it over. "Yea, it was the monster that had sealed Impa's sage powers."

"That may be, but it's still a stupid name."

"I didn't name him." Link shrugged, looking over the boat further. He and Knil slowly worked their way around the vessel. "See any way out?" Even Navi moved out and squeezed into the small cracks to see better. "Nothing yet."

Knil made his way around, moving into the large hole the crash had caused in the underside of the boat. It was dank, and the echos bounced off the inside of the wooden structure more rapidly. On the left side, nearest to the wall was a pile of planks from the impact. Knil moved the planks, and found nothing but the wall behind it. He was sure this was right. Gently, he placed a hand against the wall, and it melted through, just as he had with the other walls. Nothing was what it seemed. "I found something." Knil called out. Navi managed to squeeze in to where he was, lighting up the area. "What did you find?"

Navi lit up the wall as he stuck his hand through again. "There's a hole over here. Show Link where it is."

"Sure." Navi swept out of the hole and made her way around to find Link. Soon, Link climbed into the boat, and over towards Knil. They exited through the wall into a much brighter room. Knil shaded his eyes against the purplish hues the torches cast upon the room.

It may have at least been brighter, but there were still very deep shadows in every corner. The uneven lighting making it difficult for either of them to see well. "So, where are we supposed to go from here?" Knil asked, glancing around the room for a way out.

Link fished out the Lens of Truth and held it up. It also helped sometimes in low light. The other end of the small square room stretched on for a bit longer than it initially appeared. "This way." Link lifted his feet over the crumbling bones and made his way through the wall. Knil rolled his eyes. If it wasn't for the urge to keep going, he'd turn back now. Especially with his timid faerie friend cowering in his hair.

The next area was at least half times brighter than before, except this time the dim lighting was caused by the winding luminescent pool of green liquid, stretching around the next corner. "Well, at least the lights getting better." Link commented, surveying the area with his lens. It was good to see the floor only had stray bones here and there.

Knil scoffed, mumbling, "Sure it is." He stepped around the pool, and Link followed on around the corner. It lead into another larger area where the pool circled into a maze-like pattern, with a real doorway on the other end. Knil noticed the door first, and turned to Link. "Is there any hidden things."

Link took a quick survey of the room. "I don't see anything."

"Well, good." Knil jumped over a thin part of the pool, and started on through the area. Link followed slowly behind. Considering what the area above was like, it was a bit surprising to see such a lack of offense.

Navi fluttered off to survey the room. She circled, catching Knil's eye. She definitely was a brave little bug. Definitely practiced in alerting Link to any dangers. He vaguely wondered how Link would fair without her. His attention diverted back to Ivan. He could feel her tiny fingers twisting nervously in his hair. Navi fluttered up next to him.

"Hey, Nav."

Navi flinched at hearing such a friendly call to her, from Knil. "Huh?"

He gestured a hand towards his neck. "Think you can do something to help her out?"

Navi glanced around at the faint violet glow echoing behind his neck. She smiled a sigh and fluttered up to Ivan. "Come on, Honey. You wanna help me look around?"

Ivan curled in further, hiding her face.

"Oh, come on." Navi landed on Knil's shoulder, resting a hand on her arm. "There's nothing that can hurt us. We can fly." She scooted onto her knees, managing to draw her face out. "Plus, you can heal."

"All the more reason for me to stay here."

"You're not really that safe back there." Knil added. "You'd be much safer if you - " He had just reached the open area, in front of the door, when a strange moan caught his ear. Knil gripped his sword, and spun to the sound to see something shuffling in the shadows.

Navi drifted up. "What is it?" Instinctively, she lit up the shadow, running right into a thin dark-brown face, and shrieked. "LINK! REDEAD!" It swatted at her, but she zipped away, hiding with Ivan in Knil's hair.

"Knil, get away from it!" Link cried, from a few feet away.

What was the big deal? It was a weak scrawny thing. Knil raised his sword, but was stopped dead in his tracks when a loud, ear-splitting screech echoing in his head. The sound sent a thrill of fear through his spine, paralyzing his body. He stood, frozen, with his sword held in the air as it slowly stepped closer. Knil wasn't really one to paralyze from fear, but this was different. It was as if his body was encased in amber. No matter how much his muscles ached against the strain, Knil could not make his body move. What the hell was this thing?

As those hollow black eyes turned up towards him, the terror intensified, sending waves of cold chills through his body. Without even a hint of buildup, the reDead leaped at him. A sudden flash caught the area, as a flaming arrow caught the creature in the left eye socket. It crumpled to the ground, dead, but somehow, Knil still couldn't move. Another flash hit somewhere behind him, and a slow moan cried out from the impact.

Finally, Knil could feel movement return to his body, but it was all he could do to catch himself from face-planting the hard stone as his knees gave out. He panted, feeling as though a large bolder had just been moved from his chest. His jaw was shaking, and cold sweat streamed off the end of his nose.

Link rushed over and knelt next to Knil, dropping a hand on his back. "It's alright, Knil. Just breath."

Even though the chills over terror were gone, all Knil wanted to do was scream. Although he didn't know if it was from the lingering fear of that monster, or anger at his own incompetency. Knil managed to draw in a deep breath and growled. "What… the hell.. was that?"

Link sighed, seemed like he was ok. "That was a reDead. It's scream can paralyze you, then they jump on you, and start to suck out your life."

Knil's eyes glowed with an extra spark of rage as he turned to look at Link. "You couldn't have warned me about that before?"

Link's blush was barely visible in the low green light. "I'm sorry. I really didn't think about it. They're not ever smart enough to hide like that."

Knil scoffed. Yea, sure he didn't think about it. "Is there anything else you didn't think to tell me about?"

Link thought for a bit, trying to remember what all obstacles he had encountered in here. "Well, there's possibly Gibdo, which are similar to reDeads, except that they look like they're wrapped in bandages."

Knil sat back, wiping his brow. Navi drifted out, flittering in front of him. "Wallmasters are kind of annoying."

Link cringed. "Yea, I hate those things."

"What?"

"They don't actually hurt you, they just fall from the ceiling and transport you back to the entrance. Navi can usually sense when there's one nearby."

Knil rolled his eyes, and started to stand. "I'm starting to think this damn stone isn't worth it."

Link opened his mouth to retaliate, but closed it again. He supposed, to Knil, it really wasn't worth it. He could have just stayed in Kakariko… so why didn't he? "You can always head back." Link finally added, standing up.

"Link." Navi started, but Link grabbed her, overhand, completely shutting her off. He held onto the little blue faerie to keep her quiet. "I can handle this, so you can just head back to the village, and wait there, for me." He released Navi, and walked on past Knil. He opened the door and started out, when Knil spoke. "There aren't like-likes in here, are there?"

Link thought on this again. "I've seen a couple, yes."

Knil groaned. He hated like-likes. "I might as well come anyway. Better than you getting yourself killed."

Link smirked. "I think I can handle myself."

"Not if you forget what creatures are in here."

"I didn't know when I first came in here."

"Shut up."

Link laughed. "Fine. But if you're still coming, you need to stop complaining." He left through the door, Knil following close behind. "I make no promises."

##

AN: I concur, Knil. Like-likes and ReDeads are the worst. I hate things that eat me. This chapter may get revised a bit, but I really want them to find the stone.