Hello all! I am back once more, and this time not quite as long after the last chapter! This time, I have only now actually had a clue as to what to write for this chapter, otherwise I would have written it sooner. So, without further ado, here is the disclaimer!

The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own The Legend of Zelda series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own The Legend of Zelda (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.

Acknowledgments:
Amanda
FaolanLupa
Skuldette

Now, young ones, let us commence with the story. However, we will not be continuing whence we last ended. We will be returning to the first crossroad of this story; the scuffle in which Colin was taken while Link was busy fighting. It is from that point that I shall now tell a separate, yet entwined, part of the story.

It was a dreary day. Not one part of the world seemed to convey so much as a remotely pleasant feeling. The trees seemed to loom overhead, reaching for the sky above. The bushes seemed to grab and scratch at all who passed. The grass crunching underfoot alluded to brittle bones cracking and shattering under pressure. The sky was a grey sheet over the body of the world. The wind sounded as though Hyrule itself was screaming in agony.

Through this sickening atmosphere, a lone rider made his way through the forest atop a horse larger than any other. Clothed in a drab green and riding a large brown horse with a white mane, this man was clearly Link and he was riding Epona. As he rode through the forest, his face set in a cold, steely anger, the flora of the forest seemed to be trying to drag him into the misery it conveyed. The trees seemed to reach out to grab hold of him, their roots placed solely to impede his progress. Nonetheless, Link pushed Epona on, thundering between trees and over rivers.

While a casual observer might have thought him to simply be riding madly through the forest without particular aim, he was following tracks like a hound. The path was clear enough to a trained hunter such as him; a crushed bush here, a couple of prints there, even a few trees with bark torn from one side. He followed this trail as though he would die if he did not make it to the source immediately. It was only natural; he was following the tracks made by one who could only have been the King Bulblin himself, and he had Colin.

Mind fully devoted to following the trail, Link paid little attention to anything or anyone else around him. It was not terribly uncommon for him to ride straight through a Hyrulian patrol as they stared at him with a mixture of confusion, terror, and anger. While this did allow him to follow the tracks without failure or mistake, it also left him completely unaware.

As he plowed along the winding trail left behind by the immense bulblin and bullbo, Link failed to notice the he was being followed as well. The figure could be best described as ethereal; it was constantly shifting in shape and almost translucent. It was of a dark golden color, one that immediately imbues the viewer with a sense of foreboding. It seemed to be able to move many times the speed of Epona, for it was able to keep up with Epona without any apparent trouble. More so, it was catching up with Link.

Even as the intangible mass drifted closer to Link, he stayed totally focused and oblivious to the mysterious presence. The figure slowly drifted closer, and closer still. All this time, Link remained unaware of its presence.

Abruptly, the mass surged forward! At this, Link noticed that Epona seemed to have begun to run from something, rather than to something. At this he turned around, and saw. He saw an immense wave of shimmering mass, rolling at him with a speed of a magnitude greater that its size. Realizing that there was imminent danger, his hands immediately drew forth his sword and shield. Link no longer had hands on the reins, but Epona knew well enough to run away as fast as she possibly could, and Link was well aware of his steed's intelligence.

As the mass came closer, Link chanced a slash at it; the material simply flowed around the edge of the blade without so much as brushing it. Link's eyes widened in surprise and fury. Knowing perfectly well that his shield would be of no use at that, and his sword of less use, he returned both tools to his back. Realizing that he was running out of time, he quickly ran through a list of his equipment: his sword and shield, both useless; his bow, which would not be of use unless he had a specific target; and his boomerang. Quickly realizing that he had no weapons that would be of use, Link decided that running would be his only chance. He suddenly remembered the power that the Spirits of the Lakes possessed; maybe if he could reach the Faron Lake in time...

Link took a quick look at his surroundings. He quickly saw that he was not far from the lake. Upon this epiphany, Link placed his only hope of escape. At this, he promptly spurred Epona directly towards the valley that contained the lake.

Once Link and his pursuer were in the valley, Link peeked behind him to check how far the mass was. It was naught but a few horse-lengths behind him; Link knew it was going to be close.

Suddenly, Link rounded the corner in the valley; Faron Lake was in sight now. However, the mass appeared to gain a sudden surge of speed; it launched forward and knocked Link off Epona. Epona just kept on running, for she was so panicked in her fear of the pursuer that she had not noticed her rider being dismounted.

When Link hit the ground, he rolled back to his feet and drew forth his sword and shield once more. Despite the knowledge that the sword would be useless and, considering the fact that this creature seemed to be able to move as liquid, his shields would be useless as well, Link drew comfort and courage from having the weapon and tool in hand.

However, instead of simply collapsing in on Link as he had expected, the mass simply maintained its form and position, although it was still undulating about like waves on water. As Link prepared to attack, for lack of a better plan, it abruptly pulsed; the whole being seemed to resonate with power and glowed with it as well. The pulsing continued. It was speeding up. It kept getting faster. Suddenly, the mass stopped; it totally froze in all motion. However, Link still heard the pulses of power; they seemed to come from him however, not the creature surrounding him. Link felt a piercing pain in his skull; it felt as though his head were trying to change shape. The pain spread to all of his bones, and many of his muscles as well. However, nothing seemed to be changing. The creature then surged in, straight at Link. Link saw this, and began to think that his doom was nigh...

Instead of impacting and buffeting him though, the mass seemed to fuse with his body of its own will. The pain Link felt in his entire body intensified seven-fold. Now, Link felt his limbs shifting, his bone structure changing. He felt as each bone broke, melted, fused, and repeated many times until his body was an entirely different shape. He felt as each muscle fiber tore and reattached to and melded each other to conform to the new bone structure. Link came to the realization that this process was actually quite familiar to him, something he had done dozens of times before, although the strange being that was absorbed to his body was new. The mass's appearance did remind him of something from the Twilight though...

Link was abruptly forced back into reality; the pain had ceased. He took a few moments to take stock of his limbs; they were precisely as he expected. Link walked over to the lake which had been so close to get a look at his reflection. He did see much of what he expected; a large wolf with an impressive mane peering back at him. However, he also saw something else, something that made him worry about his new situation greatly; his mane and eyes were glowing with the same hue of the mass that had apparently caused this transformation. The glow did fade a few moments later, but it was still cause for concern.

All of a sudden, Link heard rapid hoof beats form valley, coming from the direction that he and Epona had been facing before he was knocked off. He promptly realized that it was no doubt Epona herself. When Epona arrived, she saw what had become of her master; she remembered the first time this had happened all too clearly.

"Return home." Link said, "Ilia will take care of you."

"Where are you going?"

"To get Colin."

How did you like it? If you have any form of an answer to that question, please do leave a review. If you do not like the way this is going, I will never know unless you tell me, so please do! Even if you do like the way it is going, I would appreciate a review to know that I am doing this right! If you happen to have any advice instead, I would also appreciate that! I will be back later, although I am sure I would return with a new chapter more frequently if someone left a review... *wink wink*