Chapter 10: The outcasts (Part two)
Brown gulped as they neared the far side. In the distance, he could see a dead forest that had a dark aura. Brown shivered, and gripped onto Time's shoulder. Time looked down at him, and gave him a pitiful look. 'Poor kid. He must be terrified.' Time gave Brown a reassuring smiled. Brown looked up, and nodded. Sky glanced back at the two.
"We're almost there. Prepare yourselves!" Sky told. Time and Brown nodded. They then flew through a dark mist. Time took out Twilight's lantern, and shone it through the darkness. The darkness dissolved, and allowed them to see ahead. Sky then landed on the edge of the forest, and looked back at Time and Brown. "I won't be able to go with you. I need to stay here and watch my loftwing." Time nodded. Brown's eyes widened.
"Wait, I'm not going alone, am I!?" Brown started to panic. Time smiled.
"No need to worry, I'll go in there with you. There's no way in hell that I'm leaving you by yourself. And besides, you need someone to guide you through this place." Time then looked at the forest. "Just don't freak out. They won't hurt you, but they might do something weird." Brown nodded, and looked at the forest. He and Time then walked into the forest. Time held up the lantern as they walked. Brown strained his ears to hear anything, then his eyes widened; the forest was silent. Brown tugged on Time's tunic, gaining his attention. Time looked down, and raised his eyebrow. "What is it, Brown?" Time questioned.
"I don't hear anything. It's too quiet." Brown stated. Time frowned. He then strained his ears.
"Hm, you're right. I don't hear anythi-" Time immediately stopped when he heard moaning. Time then quickly grabbed Brown, and hid behind a hollow tree. Fear started to build up in Brown's chest, and he shut his eyes tightly. 'Calm down, Brown. You've faced worse situations than this.' Brown thought to himself. Time and Brown then heard footsteps.
"Soooooorrryyyy." One voice moaned.
"Escuuuuusse meeee princeeeeessss." Another voice moaned. Brown's eyes then widened in realisation. 'Wait, these two are the ones that I've been looking for!' Brown then struggled out of Time's grip, and ran out of their hiding spot. Time gasped.
"Hey! Get back here!" Time whispered, but it was too late; the two Links had spotted Brown. Brown stood in front of them.
"You're both Links, correct?" Brown questioned. Their eyes widened, and they smiled.
"Look PC, another one was thrown here!" The other brown haired hero stated. PC nodded.
"Yeeeeaaaaah! And he looks just like youuuuuu!" PC told. They then walked towards Brown. Brown gasped, and took a step back. He then remembered Time's words, and sighed. 'That's right. They wouldn't hurt me.' Brown then gasped when Time grabbed him, and ran away. Brown looked at Time in shock.
"Time!? What do you think you're doing!?" Brown questioned. Time frowned.
"Saving you obviously! They were going to make you stay here if I hadn't intervened!" Time cried. Meanwhile, the other brown haired hero and PC stood there with frowns on their faces as they watched Time run off. They then turned to each other.
"He's taking away our new friend." The other hero told. PC nodded, and looked after them.
"We'll make them both stay here with us. We can all become friends!" PC exclaimed. The other hero, and PC then ran after them. Time looked behind him, and gasped when he saw the two Links running after him. Time then took out his bunny hood, and put it on, increasing his speed. He then ran out of the forest, and jumped onto a surprised Sky's loftwing.
"GO GO GO!" Time shouted. Sky gasped, and nodded. His loftwing then flew up just as the two Links ran out of the forest. Sky then flew away as the two Links jumped at him. Sky then sighed in relief when he couldn't see them. He then turned back towards Time.
"What the hell happened back there!?" Sky questioned. Time panted, and took off his bunny hood.
"They… spotted us. If Brown hadn't revealed himself, then we would have been fine." Time told. Brown frowned.
"I really don't think that they're bad people. What you guys did was wrong!" Brown shouted. Time growled.
"We did what was right!" Time shot back. Brown frowned, and turned away from him. Time sighed, and turned the other way just as the sun started to rise. Sky sighed, and continued to fly towards the mansion.
First frowned as Brown, Time, and Sky sat on their knees in front of him. First then rubbed his forehead.
"I can't believe that you three went to the far side. Do you know how reckless that was!?" First questioned. Time looked down in shame.
"We're sorry, First. I promise that we won't do anything like that again." Time apologized. First sighed, and nodded. Brown clenched his fists.
"I'm sorry, First, but I think that your decision was too harsh! They both deserve what we have too!" Brown shouted. First frowned. He then sighed.
"Listen, Brown. This matter has already been discussed. I'm not going to-" Brown interrupted First.
"No, I'm not going to listen! This place was made for our paradise, right!? Then they should also have rights! I know that my look-alike may have consistently gone to the mortal realm, but what if that was because he was lonely!? And PC didn't mean to harm Twilight, he was only trying to help!" Brown reasoned. The other Links watched them with worried looks, and glanced at each other. Twilight then stepped forward.
"Um, if I may say something? I think that Brown is right. Sealing them away is awful. They've done nothing wrong." Twilight reasoned. Time gave him a look. Mini leaned towards Sky.
"Oi, say something. You're his first reincarnation." Mini whispered. Sky raised his eyebrow at Mini.
"What can I do?" Sky questioned. Mini sighed.
"I'm starting to agree with Brown. What we did was way too harsh. So, reason with First." Mini suggested. Sky sighed, and nodded. He then stood up.
"First." Sky addressed. First looked over at him. "I'm not saying this as your first reincarnation, but as Link, hero of the skies. The decision that we made was not a wise one. You go on about how we're family, but we did nothing for those two. All we did was evade our problems. They too, deserve to have a chance, and live this bliss with us. They are also your reincarnations." Sky stated. Time was about to object, but Sky raised his hand. "You don't honestly think that they're bad people, do you?" Sky questioned. Time stayed silent. First sighed.
"Alright, let's say that we let them stay here. What if they try to go into the mortal realm?" First questioned. Sky frowned.
"Then we'll help them. We'll teach them. We will BE there for them. We won't just cast them aside. We're supposed to be heroes. And as heroes, we help people. No matter how troublesome they may be." Sky stated. First frowned, then sighed.
"Alright, I'll give them another chance." First muttered. Brown smiled, and cheered.
"Yay! Thank you, First!" Brown thanked. He then ran over to Sky. "Let's go pick them up right away!" Sky smiled, and nodded. Sky and Brown then left. First looked down solemnly.
"Did I make the right decision?" First questioned. Time stood up, and smiled.
"Even though you may be the first, Sky can sometimes be right, you know." Time told. First smiled.
"Yes, you are correct. After all, Sky was made to fix my mistakes." First then looked up. "I'll welcome those two back with open arms!" Time nodded. Mini sighed, and smiled.
Sky and Brown arrived at the far side, and Brown immediately jumped off the loftwing. He then ran towards the forest.
"PC! Other hero! We're here to take you home!" Brown shouted. He then heard footsteps, and was immediately glomped by the two other heroes. Brown laughed, and hugged the two heroes. "I'm here with Sky to take you both back to Paradise." Brown told. The two other Links glanced at each other, and looked at Brown.
"Take us… back…?" The other hero questioned. Brown smiled, and nodded. Tears then appeared in their eyes. "It's been so long… that I've forgotten what the world of light looks like." PC sniffled.
"Finally, we can go back." PC muttered. Brown nodded, and held out his hands.
"Let's go! Sky's waiting for us!" Brown exclaimed. PC and the other hero nodded. They then followed Brown outside the forest. Sky's eyes widened when he saw the two other heroes, and smiled.
"Hop on, we're going home." Sky told. The other two nodded, and smiled. The three other Links then climbed onto the loftwing, and Sky flew them back to the mansion. There, the other Links were waiting for them. Red gasped, and smiled.
"They're here!" Red exclaimed as he jumped up, and waved. PC and the other hero's eyes widened when they saw all the other Links. Brown laughed.
"Yeah, you guys have been in that forest for a while." Brown told. PC looked around in excitement.
"Woah! There are so many Links! I can't wait to speak to them all!" PC exclaimed. The other hero nodded.
"Yeah, but they could never compare to Zelda." The other hero told. Brown sweat dropped while Sky rolled his eyes. 'God, he's worse than Groose!' Sky thought. He then landed his loftwing on the ground, and hopped off. First then walked up to the group, and smiled.
"I'm glad that you're back." First told. PC and the other hero frowned at him. PC then pointed his figure at First accusingly.
"You tricked us! You told us that place was paradise, but you tricked us! You LIED to us!" PC shouted. First looked down in shame.
"I'm sorry, I never meant any harm, but I thought that what I did was necessary, but I was wrong. Brown taught me that." First stated as he smiled at Brown. Brown grinned. PC sighed. First then smiled at them. "To make up for it, I've prepared rooms for you two with the help of the other Links. I've even decided to give you a nickname." First told as he looked at the other hero. "We've decided to call you Ani." Ani put his finger to his chin in thought, and frowned.
"That sounds like a girl's name." Ani told. Mini frowned.
"Well, we could always call you lover boy. It was my idea." Mini stated as he pointed to himself. Ani shook his head.
"I think Ani is good enough." Ani told. PC and Ani then looked at the mansion. First then put his hands on their shoulders.
"Welcome home." First told. Brown smiled at them, and they smiled back. Brown then raised his eyebrow.
"I've been meaning to ask, but why did you two act crazy in there?" Brown questioned. Ani sighed.
"You try living in a dark and silent forest for eons." Ani told as he patted Brown's shoulder.