Ok, another chapter is here!  School, D&D, and walking the dog have kept me busy, but I managed to get this finished.  Hope it turned out alright, as I was a bit tired toward the end...

Rival

Not every villain is a bad person: some just want to do what's best in a way the heroes don't agree with.

In a time and place far removed from Vesomdel, the Lord of Chaos was smiling. Against all odds, he had managed to salvage what was very close to a totally failed plot. He had intended to simply take the item he needed by force, but without the Lifesong Orb, that was not an option. However, he had managed to strike a bargain with his visitor: if the young explorer was able to recover the Orb and hand over the artifact he already had, the Lord would create a continent for his people to settle on.

Tracking down the green-haired boy after he had walked through the dimensional rift wasn't easy, but that didn't stop him from doing so. Once that was done, the Lord of Chaos opened another portal and his newest pawn walked through it. With any luck, the saying "set a thief to catch a thief" would work equally well to heroes.

Music: Zelda Reorchestrated, Ocarina of Time, Hyrule Field Main Theme Redux

It was a week after Link had been brought before the Maku Tree. The guardian spirit had told him of an ancient prophecy stating that a hero in the shape of a beast would come in Vesomdel's hour of greatest need to rescue the lost Oracle. There was also some gibberish about a "great transformation", "the fires of Heaven", and "the forgotten one", but those likely wouldn't make any sense until the events they foretold had already come to pass.

However, there was also a bit of information that wasn't a prophecy. The Oracle of Change, who had pretended to be the Oracle of Secrets in an attempt to evade the spirit that had captured her, knew that she would one day be kidnapped. Armed with the knowledge of her eventual loss of liberty, she made a couple of backup plans for when that day came. First, she created the eight Essences of Change, shards of her power that could combine to form what amounted to an emergency stop button to her magic. These Essences were scattered across Vesomdel, hidden in the depths of secluded ruins.

Second and of more immediate importance to Link, she had left a number of "dispelling beacons" across the land. These beacons were pillars of light approximately three metres in height, and had the power to restore creatures to their true forms. As soon as the villagers left the Maku Tree's clearing, the wooden colossus activated them, including the one within sight of itself. As soon as its use was explained to Link, he stepped inside and regained his human shape.

Now, a week later, he had recovered the first of the eight Essences. He had entered an ancient underground shaft known as the Wizard's Well and battled his way through the enemies that waited. Taking advantage of both the dispelling beacon at the entrance and the polymorph spells of some of the monsters within, he had reached the very bottom of the ruin and claimed the Growing Forest. Soon he would be back at the village of Holia to report his success to the Maku Tree.

Suddenly a man dropped down from the treetops and landed in front of Link. He wore a blue shirt, brown leather pants, and a mask that looking something like what the Deku Scrubs might make if they were to move to a topical island. He had a sword and shield strapped across his back. Reaching behind his blond-haired head, he readied his equipment. He grabbed his sword with his left hand and his shield with his right as he announced, "I'm here for the Orb!" As Link jumped back and prepared his own weapons, the young man charged.

Music: VG Music, The Wind Waker, Miniboss

The two remained locked in combat for some time, neither scoring a blow on the other. It seemed that they were equally skilled swordsmen, though Link was slightly faster and weaker than his opponent. While they duelled, a small conversation sprung up.

"Why… are you attacking… me?" asked Link, while ducking his foe's blade.

"I told you… I need… the Orb!" the young man answered while twisting out of the way of Link's weapon.

"I don't have it!" yelled Link as he leapt into the air, sword raised high. His opponent nimbly back flipped away and stood back, bringing the fight to a momentary pause.

"I was told you'd say that. I was also told that the only way anything could get it would be literally over your dead body, so if you're alive, you have what I need."

"Told by who?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I get the Lifesong Orb. I'm not going to ask again."

"Look, I don't have it anymore. As far as I can tell, it was destroyed by a creature called Phasmatis."

"I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but I need the Orb. One way or another I'm not leaving without it. If you won't hand it over, I'm going to have to take it by force."

With that, the masked man pulled a lit bomb out of nowhere and threw it towards Link, who promptly bolted. He didn't get very far before having to jump back in order to avoid a boomerang thrown past him. The bomb then went off. He was slightly scorched by the explosion, but by sheer luck it knocked him out of the way of an arrow. Whoever his foe was, the man was very well equipped. He turned to face the masked person, who was surrounded by a glowing aura. Link knew a forcefield when he saw one; he had no choice but to flee.

To that end, he invoked the power of the magical amulet he had found deep within the Wizard's Well. He removed the rabbit's foot on a string from the D-bag and placed it around his neck. The transformation began instantly: his hands changed, his feet and ears lengthened, his face and spine shifted, and he sprouted pink fur and a fluffy white tail. The changes were completed within a second, and Link the anthropomorphic rabbit dropped to all fours and took off past his opponent.

Despite not being able to wield weapons effectively, rabbit form was still highly useful. Though Link was not interested in staying to fight, his powerful legs allowed him to launch kicks of devastating power. However, at the moment, he was more interested in speed. By dropping to all fours, Rabbit Link could move at about two and a half times his normal speed, provided his motion was relatively straight. With enough of a running start, he could even jump small gaps that were a little too wide for his human form to get across.

With the added agility, Link easily managed to get away from his opponent. The man tried to keep up, but realized he couldn't. He pulled out a hookshot, thought better of it, and then grabbed his bow. However, the masked man was unable to strike Link, who soon vanished into the forest.

With a muttered curse, the young man turned away. He decided it was better to let him go for now. However, he wouldn't stop looking. Some day, he would meet the boy again, and when that time came…

He sighed, sheathed his sword, and took off into the woods.

Comment: Those who've read Lifesong Orb should know for certain who this guy is.  Those who haven't might have a good idea anyways.  Regardless, his identity shall not be formally revealed until Link finds out.