Chapter ate

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Wolf-Link and Ilia ran from the room through the cold, stone hallways of wherever they were being held as prisoners. Guards attempted to stop them, but upon hearing the growls of the ferocious wolf, they had second thoughts.

Link's nose was twitching wildly as they were running. He was searching for the smell of the outdoors. Any scent of plants or earth would mean there was an exit somewhere. But the only scent that filled his nose was the smell of the stony building.

Link also smelled for Zelda's scent. He remembered when he had first breathed in her scent. It had been the first time he'd transformed, and Midna had been with him. Zelda smelled of lavender and clean linen, with the slight scent of metal.

A right here, a left down this corridor... Wherever Link and Ilia were, it didn't seem like a small building. From what Link could tell, looking out of the slits in the walls which were barely classified as windows, they weren't on a ground floor. Perhaps they were being held in a compound or a fortress.

Link wasn't expecting to turn a corner and catch his own scent -- leather and pine needles. A pair of guards stood at the door of a room which Link's scent wafted from.

With a few snarls and well-placed bites on the rear, the guards were quickly dispatched of. Link made sure to snatch the ring of keys from one of the guards. He looked at Ilia, holding the keys to her and trying to appear cheerful because she looked nervous. Link scratched at the door and looked at Ilia expectantly.

"You want me to open it?"

Link nodded.

Ilia did so, turning the key in the lock. Inside was a storeroom filled with junk. Link followed his nose to a cabinet, and poked it with a paw. Ilia smiled. It was very strange to see a wolf scratch gently at a cabinet.

She opened it and found Link's sword and shield, and all of his other toys and gadgets. Eyeing the ball and chain, the Zora suit, the money-eating armor, the iron boots, the lantern, and the top, she raised an eyebrow at Link.

"How in heaven's name do you carry all this with you? And you do know I can't carry all that!"

Link rolled his eyes and looked for some dust to write in. Ilia followed with a curious look.

In some dust on the floor, Link pawed, 'Press (-) button. Put them on wheel.'

Ilia looked confused, so Link pressed the (-) button for her.

"Oh! Is this magic?"

It's technology, Link thought. Crazy Japanese technology. But he nodded at Ilia, letting her think what she wanted. He didn't understand how it worked himself.

Ilia loaded the wheel with the toys, and they were on their way again.

Link and Ilia left the room only to meet a dozen sword tips. Link growled, showing his teeth, and he noticed the swords were held in shaking hands.

"Come quietly," one of the men said. He was taller than the rest, and he wore quality armor, unlike the other men who wore mismatched and salvaged pieces. He had a noble face and short brown hair. The hardness in the man's red eyes showed that he'd faced many opponents before, and seen many things.

Link noticed this man's sword was held confidently, and the man's stance was relaxed yet ready to spring. Link knew the other trembling excuses for warriors could be beaten easily, but this tall man might pose a problem.

Link showed his teeth to the man, but he seemed unaffected. He gave a command to the men to close in and entrap the prisoners, not kill them. It appeared that their fear for their commander overrode their fear of Link in wolf form, and the men moved closer.

Link moved in front of Ilia, standing proudly at a little over three feet (one meter) tall. He snarled, bristling the fur on his back and pointing his ears forward.

Unfortunately, looking tough didn't work and the men closed in. Link felt the instinct to leap over them and make his escape, and he could have easily done so. But Ilia couldn't jump, and he wasn't going to leave her defenseless. They had no choice but to be led away at swordpoint by the men.

They were taken up stairs to the top floor. Herded like goats by the men, they went through a door to a room. The walls were hidden by bookshelves.

Eshu was there, sitting at a table thumbing through a book. Upon seeing their arrival, he set the book aside and stood. He was still wearing the ringleader's outfit and his strange red and black top hat. It would have been comical looking in different circumstances.

Link was surprised to see that Eshu's skin was really a mixture of milky black and a bluish-grey. He must have painted it pasty white with makeup before the show.

Link also saw Eshu's eyes. Unmistakably, they were twili eyes; yellow, with red irises like shining rubies.

Eshu raised his arms wide. "Well!" he cried extravagantly. "Did you like the show?"

Link snarled, lunging slightly at Eshu's fanged grin.

Eshu laughed, "I guess not. And to think, I let you have a piece of heart. He ha! Look at you! What a frightening little puppy!"

Eshu turned his face from Link, saying to the tall man, "Gordric, dismiss these cowards you call soldiers."

Goldric gave the command. Eshu smiled politely at Ilia, and smirked at Link.

"So, I hope you made yourself at home here in my fortress. I never thought I'd see you, of all people. I honestly must say, I didn't recognize who you were at my show. I grew up hearing stories of how the great hero would appear to save my people in the form of a heavenly beast. But you were an unimposing human who was just a little skilled at Sumo. You're so unremarkable to look at -- I never would have guessed you were the Hero. Tell me, Hero, why did you have to meddle in my plans?"

Link glared at Eshu with stormy blue eyes, and Eshu laughed.

"Oh? Can't you say a single word, little wolfie?"

Eshu cradled a sparkling black ball of energy in his hands, shooting it at Link. Link didn't even try to dodge because it came so fast. It made no physical impact, but Link felt it hit his mind. Waves of agony tore through his being. He heard Eshu's laughter and taunts, but they were in his mind. A sudden blackness blanketed his vision, and he saw Eshu's face flickering in and out of his thoughts.

Link howled, and the howls turned into screams. Link felt himself transforming again, but this time, it was more painful. Link watched his paws change to hands; it never failed to fascinate him, watching the fur retreat into his skin and the claws shorten and flatten into fingernails.

Ilia gave a cry, and Eshu guffawed, "There you go. I even gave you a little something extra. Why don't you thank me?"

Link stood up and glared, anger apparent in his features. "Where is Princess Zelda! What are you planning to do to her?"

Eshu chuckled at sat at the table again. "Straight to business, I see. I have no reason to tell you anything at all. In reality, you have no need to even be here. You shouldn't have meddled. I could kill you and your girlfriend, but I have something worse in mind."

Link heard Ilia gasp behind him.

"No, not you, girlie. But one of my human cannonballs quit. You can have his job if you want.... No? I didn't think so."

Eshu's mischievous face became serious as he looked at the two of them.

"Hero. Touch your girlfriend."

Link wasn't expecting that. "Why?"

"Touch her. Anywhere, it doesn't matter where."

"I said, 'why?' "

"And I said, 'do it.' Unless you want Gordric's sword to touch her instead."

Link had no idea what was going on, but he reached his hand to Ilia and touched her forearm.

Link was in the Ordon spring, standing next to Epona, and, strangely, looking at himself. The other Link was standing in front of him, wearing the farmhand's clothes.

"Can you at least promise me this?" said Link, speaking in a voice different and higher than his own. He looked at his feminine hands, petting Epona's side. "No matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything ... out of your leage. Please. Just come home safely."

The Link standing in front of him smiled warmly, and nodded.

There was a crashing sound. Link turned his head to see what it was, and a hideous green monster riding a giant boar tore through the gate to the spring. Its henchmen rode in behind it.

Link felt his throat give an involuntary cry, as the monster came towards them, galloping on his boar. The serenity of the spring was broken as Link watched a club connect with the other Link's head. Link screamed as he felt hands seize him roughly, and he was lifted in the air.

"Colin!" Link shouted. Panic and terror filled him like never before. Link squirmed in the tight grip of his capturer. The rough edges of armor dug into his skin. He tried to fight, but the arms around him were much too strong. The arms tied ropes around his wrists, pulling the knot tight. They began to gallop away.

Link fell the the floor, gasping and rubbing at his wrists. Ilia looked very startled.

Eshu was laughing at Link. "Looks like it worked. Get them out of here, Gordric. Just let them go free. Mr. Hero can't do any damage the way he is now."

In a haze of pain and shock, Link felt himself being dragged. He hit the ground, and felt grass between his fingers. He heard Ilia land beside him, and he felt her hands tugging at his tunic. Numbly, he stood and they walked into the nearby forest, away from the angry looking fortress behind them.

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A/N: did anyone get the chapter 8 joke? Ate, eight. They sound the same, yet are spelled different and mean completely different things. Yah, dumb joke, I know. Ooh! And I noticed that 9 people have this story on alert, and 7 have it faved. Those aren't many, but to me it's a lot and I'm glad you like the story. Thanks!

Oh, and if the last part of the story confused you, wait till next chapter. All...well, nearly all, will be explained.

Review responses:

IsaacGaretMia - Thank you! I made Link transform on his own, but I didn't know how to make him transform into a human again in this chapter, so I had Eshu do it. With a twist, of course. I was tempted to type that Link transformed back into an elf instead of a human. He's totally an elf. But the game says "human" so I wrote that.

Wolfen Dreams - I'm actually better at writing humor than other kinds of stories. I'm not a funny person in real life, but everything changes when I'm writing something. And I take it you're a fan of wolves? I actually looked up how tall wolves are at the shoulder for this chapter. They're big.