I stared at my other half, lying there covered in blood. There was only one thought running through my mind, over and over and over, getting stronger by the second.

Whoever did this was going to die.

"Tell me!" I yelled, grabbing his shirt. "Who did this? Where is he?" Tell me and I'll hunt him down...

Time groaned weakly, his eyes opening ever-so-slightly.

"You're not helping him!" Malon yelled, grabbing me by the shoulders and yanking me away. "Stay back if you're not going to help!"

I stepped back and glared at her. I was helping, just in my own way. I shifted my glare down to my other half, thinking loudly. "What happened?"

Time's mental voice was as weak as the rest of him. "Something attacked me... near the gates. It's dead."

"What about that arrow?"

No answer.

"Damn it, Time! Where'd that arrow come from?"

Still no answer. I watched Zelda gently pour a few drops of potion down Time's throat. Fine, he could just be that way. It wasn't like there were many possibilities as to where the bastard who did this could be. If he didn't want to tell me, I'd just go find the guy myself.

"I'm going to the lake. Don't follow me," I muttered, not really sure if they could hear me or not. I didn't care either way. Neither Zelda nor Malon gave any sign that they heard me as I walked towards the gates blocking the lake road.

Someone would pay dearly for this.

Fade to Black
Chapter Seven: Hunter and Hunted

I'd found the 'something' Time had mentioned near the gates, a massive wolf-like beast with half of its head missing. Time said he'd killed it, but just to make sure, I picked up a large rock and threw it at the beast. It didn't move or make a sound.

Good. It was dead, then. I walked over for a closer look, trying to find something that might help me figure out what was going on here. The beast was just a beast, though clearly one created by magic. Its claws were bloody and scraps of fabric from Time's undershirt were stuck between its fangs, as well as something else, something white. The uniforms of the Hylian Royal Guard, maybe?

I smiled coldly. At least now I knew what killed them. Time killed the magical beast, so I'd go kill the summoner. Then we'd be even and Hyrule would be safe.

I turned towards the gates and headed for the ladder --

It was gone; all that remained was a charred streak on the stone and a pile of ash. All right, I wasn't getting in that way. And I didn't have a horse to jump the gates, which left me one alternative.

I took a slow, deep breath and dissolved into the shadows, wincing as I passed through the first gate. It didn't hurt as much as that portcullis did, but it still wasn't very comfortable. I turned around and looked back towards where the girls were helping Time, seeing the small flickering light of a distant lantern. Hopefully that light wouldn't attract anything.

And then I passed through the second gate and started down the road to Lake Hylia.

The frozen lake shone in the moonlight. It didn't even look like anything in Hyrule anymore. I shook my head to chase away memories of Snowhead. No time for memories. I forced myself to look away from the lake and back to shore.

In the distance, to the northeast, was a small fire with two figures next to it. I could also see a few other figures standing still in the grass away from the fire. If I listened closely, I just made out the tell-tale moaning of the walking dead. This was just great.

I sighed and slid deeper into the shadows, my view of the world distorting as if I were looking through a piece of smoky glass. With the distortion came the auras, ranging from the pitch black auras of the animated dead to the brilliant white with flecks of varying colors that shrouded the living.

My own aura flickered into view as I glanced down at myself, my arms and torso shimmering with the strange yet familiar pattern of white flecked with crimson, forest green, and a faint hint of gold. I sighed. My aura never was constant, nor was Time's; for some reason, the amount of red and green -- or blue and green, in Time's case -- constantly changed. Usually, one color was stronger than the other, and that was true now: the crimson was bright and pulsing strongly, the green barely visible. There had to be a reason for that.

Not that I had time to think about that now. A laugh brought my attention back to the men by the fire. Both shone brightly with the colors of life. Two men. Every other figure on the shore was dead. I had to get closer, although whether I was just going to eavesdrop or attempt an ambush, I wasn't sure. I sighed and started that way, moving carefully even though I wasn't really corporeal at the moment.

The lake was ice. The wind was cold. The grass was dead. The very air hummed with magical power I wasn't familiar with.

The two men by the fire had to be the ones responsible for all of this -- for the lake, for the attack on Castle Town, for the attack on my other half!

"Coming in here without a plan is suicide!" a voice from the past screamed in my head as another memory played itself in my mind. I growled again and stopped. That damned fairy had had a point then, not that I'd been willing to hear it, and she still had it now. I couldn't just run over and get myself killed. Time and I didn't even know what would happen to the other if one of us died. And no matter what, if I died, at least part of Link died.

I grit my teeth and shook my head violently. No! This was not the time to stand here and contemplate my own mortality. I had a job to do. I started towards the men again. I had to learn what I could from them. This wasn't the time to fight. It wasn't.

The dead paid me no heed as I slipped past them and towards the fire. I chuckled to myself as I slipped past a Stalfos, enjoying the feeling of power I got from doing so. It couldn't even tell I was there! It would be so easy to slip back into the physical world just long enough to take its head off...

...no. If I did that, everything on the shore would be after me. I needed every advantage I could get. The temptation was still there, so I forced myself to move away from my would-be target and closer to the fire.

"My Lord," one of the men said as I approached the edge of the circle of firelight. "He lived? I do not think that it was wise to let him live!"

The other laughed. "Are you daring to question me?" For some unknown reason, I felt like I'd seen him before, long, long ago.

"No, my Lord. I am merely saying that he seemed strong. Perhaps we should have killed him before he could cause trouble for us."

"Elis, you fool! He will cause us no trouble. In fact, he will prove to be quite useful... I have told you before of the monster in a man's body, have I not?"

"I have merely been told that he murdered your family and that you hunt him," Elis replied softly.

I moved closer to them, careful not to enter the light. Their clothing was of a style I remembered from the region around Triar. Why would Triarans travel this far east? Few that far away even knew of Hyrule...

The second man laughed bitterly. "There were two of them, both children. They were twins and yet opposites. My family took them in on a stormy night... I went outside to check on the animals, and there I heard screams. I ran back to see one of the two finish taking my father's head off while the other just stared at the room.

"I'd heard one of them say they were from a land called Hyrule. Which is why we are here: to get revenge on the man and the land responsible for the deaths of my family."

"Lord Karnon, if I may, what will you do if he shows up?"

Karnon smirked, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. "I will kill him, of course. Then I will cast his corpse into the lake to join my army."

"And what will you do then, my Lord?" Elis said, his voice sounding... sad? Confused? I couldn't really say for certain. It wasn't anything like the gleeful yet spiteful tone Karnon spoke in.

"I will kill his brother for not stopping him sooner."

What? If he was going to kill Time anyway, why didn't he do it when he had the chance?

Karnon stood up and stared pacing slowly around the fire. "I have no home to go back to... so I suppose I should make a new home for myself. I think that I am worthy of a kingdom. And once I kill that monster, then I shall start making this kingdom my own."

I folded my legs under me and sat down. I'd figured as much. No matter what he claimed was his motive, this Karnon guy had already started reminding me of Ganondorf. And now he wanted Hyrule for his own, did he? I scowled. An army in the lake? I thought there was evil in the lake.

Or maybe the evil was his army. Meh, not that it mattered. I'd handle his army for him.

"My Lord," Elis said, shaking his head, "Hyrule has a ruler. What of her?"

"What of her?" Karnon replied, sounding more like he was talking about a bug than a person. "She will give us no trouble."

My scowl deepened. What did that bastard plan to do to Zelda?

"You saw how they fell, Elis!" Karnon said with a triumphant laugh. "Even the supposed 'royal guard' can't withstand my power. Who is there to try and stop me?"

I drew one of my blades. I was here, cocky son of a bitch. I'd stop you.

"I'll simply go to the castle and give the Princess her options."

Elis shook his head. "It doesn't seem to be so easy, my Lord. What if she resists? Could you fight an army?"

"I have an army of my own. If the soldiers resist, I will set my army upon them. And if the Princess resists, I will kill her and take her throne. It is that simple."

What? I drew my other blade and jumped to my feet. It took every bit of self-control I had to not leap out of the shadows at him. I couldn't break my cover. I was outnumbered. My hands were shaking; my chest was tightening. No, I wasn't going to get into a fight I couldn't win. I wasn't!

"Now, if you are done with your asinine questioning, Elis, we have an ambush to prepare."

"Ah, yes, my Lord."

I just stared across the flames at Karnon as he turned to survey the moonlit shore. He'd just threatened to take over Hyrule, and to end Zelda's life, and just like that he'd changed the subject? I grit my teeth and closed my eyes. My entire body shook. My heart pounded in my ears. The tight feeling in my chest shifted, becoming a violent churning.

And I knew I was going to kill him or die trying.

xXx

My vision flashed red for a heartbeat. I sat up rigid in Epona's saddle. Shadow... no, something's not right; it's never been this strong before...

"Time?" I heard Zelda ask. She and Malon were already searching for anything threatening.

I closed my eyes and tried to keep my voice even. "It's not our problem yet." With any luck, it wouldn't be ours later, either.

"What do you mean?" Zelda turned to me, looking worried. Maybe I hadn't kept as much of my concern out of my voice as I had thought. "Is something wrong?"

I shifted in the saddle, feeling my scabbard and shield rub against my back. "We're riding into a battle. Shadow snapped."

"You mean..." Fear flickered across Zelda's eyes for a brief instant, quickly replaced with purpose. "We have to help him."

"Wait! What do you mean Shadow snapped?" Malon demanded. "You know what he's doing?"

"I don't know every move he makes, but I can sense when this happens. He's snapped. He's been pushed past his breaking point and is currently attacking something at the lake in a near-blind rage." I shook my head.

"We have to help him," Zelda repeated. "We're in this together, remember?"

Were we? With a sigh, I nodded. "Just be ready. We don't know who or what he's fighting."

I urged Epona forward, towards the gates, praying to the Goddesses that we could make it in time.

xXx

"That's what you think, you worthless son of a bitch!"

How was this for an ambush, you worthless sack of shit? I thought as I rushed him from behind, leaping over the fire and bursting out of the shadows with blades drawn.

Karnon tensed as my blade slid effortlessly into his side.

"Don't even think you can have Hyrule..." I purred into his ear.

"You!" Karnon hissed, drawing his sword.

I flipped backwards, yanking my blade free while in motion, and landed on the other side of the fire. I stared thrown the flames at Karnon, daring him with my eyes to try something. Anything.

He met my gaze for the briefest instant. "Rise!"

A spell fired off. He was a mage? Shit. I tumbled to the side as bony hands burst from the ground where I had been standing. Not just any mage, either; a necromancer.

I hit the ground hard, rolling up to my feet and lashing out to the sides with my blades. Resistance to my left -- I whirled that way and blocked a slash aimed at my head. I kicked out at the Stalfos in front of me, smirking as I heard bone break.

Somewhere behind me, I heard chanting.

Two more Stalfos met their second death when I jumped up and used their skulls as footholds to launch myself back towards Karnon. Whatever spell he was trying to cast failed miserably thanks to a boot upside the head. He staggered back; I caught myself with my hands and vaulted back to my feet.

I didn't give him time to recover, instead slashing for his throat. The strike was blocked by a long, narrow blade.

"My Lord, allow me to handle this distraction." Elis stood between us, his face neutral.

Karnon just laughed. I tried to dodge around the swordsman, but he moved with me, blocking my path to the mage.

Karnon started chanting again. Behind me, I heard at least two more Stalfos moving my way.

"I'm going to give you one chance, boy," I spat at Elis, crossing my blades over my chest and focusing my magic in them. "Drop your sword and I might just let you live to see the sunrise."

"On the contrary, you are the one who may not see the sunrise," Elis replied, raising his sword. "Surrender."

"Oh? What, so you can take my head off? I think not." I smirked, releasing the energy I'd stored up. "Whirling Blade!" Just like Link's beloved spin attack, only with twice the steel.

Elis let out a grunt of pain and staggered backwards, clutching at the bloody line in his stomach. The Stalfos coming up behind weren't so lucky; they shattered in a cloud of dust and bits of bone. I laughed and licked some of the swordsman's blood off my weapons.

"Monster of a man..." Elis said softly. I might have called his tone wistful if I was in a position to care. "I see why my Lord wants you dead now." He held his sword out towards me as a challenge.

His Lord? Shit, Karnon! I had forgotten about him!

I rushed Elis, knocking his blade to the side and slamming my knee into his face. He hit the ground hard; I hit it running. Why had I been so stupid? I knew this was a distraction, but I let it work anyway!

And work it had. I pulled my blades back and prepared to strike as soon as I got close enough...

...as Karnon finished his incantation with a triumphant smile and thrust his hand towards me, palm out and fingers spread.

The magic hit like a wall, knocking me into the air and sending my blades spinning into the darkness. I barely had time to yell as the world spun around me... and then I hit the frozen lake hard.

xXx

I winced at the sudden sharp pain in my chest. This wasn't good at all. Shadow was... I couldn't sense him anymore. I hoped that he'd been knocked out or had collapsed on his own, but the chance was there that he...

No, he had to be alive. Shadow wasn't the type to die easily.

"Something wrong?" Malon called from nearby.

I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the sudden hollow feeling deep in my gut, tightening my legs against Epona's sides to steady myself in the saddle. "I'm... I'm fine. Now it's our fight. Ride!"

I could only hope we wouldn't be too late.

xXx

The eastern sky was starting to glow when I woke up. How long had I been out? I groaned and tried to stand up --

I couldn't. I was stuck up to my waist in the ice! Oddly enough, I didn't feel cold; shouldn't it hurt to be half-buried in ice? My legs still felt perfectly normal. I just couldn't move them. Or get out.

And my blades were nowhere to be found. Shit. They probably landed back on the shore, far enough that they wouldn't do me any good.

Judging by the slight vibration the ice had, it was probably magical. What was I saying? Of course it was magical. There was a damned good chance that my blades wouldn't do me any good even if I did have them.

I glanced down at the ice. I immediately wished I hadn't.

Buried beneath the frosty surface lay dozens of people. Some were wide-eyed, their hands curled and their fingers bloody. Others were curled up in balls as if trying to stay warm. Still others were frozen in mid-strike with various weapons, none of which seemed to do them any good. The closest one to me was a Royal Guardsman; his uniform was tattered and bloody, his shield cracked, his sword broken. The worst was his eyes, wide yet dead, staring up at me from a face twisted in desperation and fear.

I shuddered and forced myself to look up, to look out, to look anywhere other than at the bodies frozen below and around me. Now that I actually took the time to look, the lake wasn't perfectly smooth... there was an arm, and there a sword, and over there was a head...

My chest ached. The magic? Or something else?

I stared up at the twilit sky and forced myself to breathe. All around me were dead people. How long did I have before I was one of them?

A sharp pain in my chest, like a dagger between my ribs... I leaned forward and clutched at the ice. What... was this...?

Destroy. A voice that wasn't mine echoed in my head.

"Destroy what?" I forced myself to say, my strained and weak voice breaking the stillness.

Destroy your enemies.

"I'm stuck in a Goddesses-damned lake!" I snapped, now more annoyed than anything. "How am I supposed to destroy anything?"

Destroy my enemies.

I growled. This was just great. I had no way to get out of the ice, no weapons, and no help except for a voice in my head telling things that I just couldn't do. "Goddesses, if You hate me that much, just kill me and get it over with!"

"I can arrange that, boy."

I snapped my head around. Karnon! The bastard walked slowly across the ice towards me, stopping just out of my reach. He smirked.

"Then why don't you?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

He laughed. "You're cocky enough for one half absorbed, aren't you?"

I smirked at him. "You haven't seen cocky, you bastard. What are you trying to pull anyway?"

"Revenge, boy. I'm here to kill you because you killed my family." He tapped the base of his staff against the ice as he talked, the metal-shod base chiming with each strike.

"Uh-huh. Because I'm an evil monster and your family was innocent."

"You dare speak of the dead in such a way?"

I glared. "Look, if your precious family hadn't attempted to steal from me, I never would've been forced to defend myself!"

Karnon flicked his staff up and smacked my cheek with the end. I just stared at him, not even bothering to dodge. It didn't hurt much.

"That the best you can do?" I said coldly.

He glared back. "I know what you are, beast. You've attached yourself to that boy you call your brother... haven't you? How long have you been draining him?"

I laughed. I didn't know why; something deep inside me found that hilarious. Even my laughter sounded different, like it was someone else's voice mixed in with my own.

Karnon stepped back, concern flashing across his face. "What?"

"You don't even get it," the something-in-me said with my voice. "You're too blinded by your pathetic concept of reality to even attempt to see what lies beyond." The ache in my chest was worse now.

"And now you wax poetic?" He chuckled, though his voice wasn't amused. "You don't even seem to understand what's happening to you."

"I don't believe I care. Your magic will be your undoing." And just as suddenly as it had come, the voice in my head faded away and the ache in my chest eased somewhat.

Well, wasn't that wonderful? Whatever that had been showed up just long enough to piss off the person who had me half-stuck in a frozen lake half full of corpses. I closed my eyes and sighed inwardly. I didn't find that the least bit helpful!

Karnon found it amusing. "I don't think you understand, fool. You're going to die, and then your corpse is going to help me conquer this kingdom."

At least one of us found the situation amusing. He was just lucky that I wasn't in any position to attack him, or I'd rip his throat apart with my teeth.

"All right then," I said, waving one hand in the air to indicate the lake around us. "If you're so determined to kill me, why aren't I an icy corpse? I don't really see why you're wasting so much time trying to talk me to death when I don't care what you say one way or the other."

"Very well. If you want to die so badly, I shall allow it!" Karnon raised his staff and started chanting yet another of his damned spells. A faint rumble came from the shore.

I grit my teeth, trying to figure out how I was getting out of this one...

...that rumbling wasn't magic; it was hoofbeats! Someone screamed a battlecry. Karnon lost his focus and turned towards the sound.

Once he moved I could see three figures on horseback riding towards the shore, weapons raised. Malon, Zelda, and Time. Thank the Goddesses.

"What's the matter, Mage Boy?" I said with a sneer, now much more confident in living through this. "I thought you were going to kill me!"

"I will, boy. I will. But first, I shall make you watch those fools you seem to call allies meet their demise. Know this. You've all underestimated me."

The something in my head was back then, saying simply, "You underestimate me. That will be your final mistake."

Karnon whirled around to face the shore and started walking towards the fight that was already beginning. "We shall see about that!"

And then I was alone again, still trapped in the lake, as the sounds of yells and clanging weapons filled the early morning air.

xXx

"There's an opening! There, left side!"

I tried to swing my blade towards that opening, but it instead swung back towards the mask floating behind me. Odolwa.

"No!" I yelled, forcing the blade out of its trajectory by sheer willpower, missing Odolwa by little more than a hair. "Focus on Majora!"

"Kill them all! They're all working together!" that angry voice growled in my head.

"No! They helped me. Leave them alone!" I felt a single tear run down my left cheek and wiped it away, turning my attention back towards Majora --

-- except it didn't, turning my body towards Odolwa again.

"Stop resisting me!" the voice boomed. "Sleep and let me fight!"