(Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been busy busy busy. But I'm back, and I'll be posting more regularly now. –Forrest)

Chapter 12: Renado

As I stepped out of the cavern, I immediately felt an arrow nick through my hair. I drew my bow and launched an arrow through the skull of the guard before he could sound an alarm. He fell dead, but none of the other guards were close enough to notice. Not that that's taken care of… I thought, never actually finishing the statement, because before I knew it, Dark Link stepped from the shadows to stand in front of me. I gasped and drew my master Sword, as he drew his tainted mirror version of it. Our swords clashed, and we both fell back. The noise seemed to draw the attention of the guards because their heads peeked out over their ledges, but no arrows came. I assumed that they were afraid to hit Dark Link. I'll have to use him as cover, I thought, rationalizing that if I got to far away from him his minions might shoot me. Just as he swung his sword at my head I ducked jumped to the left, dodging his blade, and I rolled around him in a sideways shoulder roll, coming up behind him to use a spin attack on his back. He grunted in pain, but nothing else. His tunic was torn and purple blood oozed from his wound underneath.

He turned to scowl at me, his deathly complexion and red eyes adding to the look of pure malice. I staggered away from him as our eyes met. Suddenly, without my own volition, the image of Ilia, in pain, flooded my mind's eye. I tried to dismiss it, but it just got more and more vivid. She was covered in bruises and spattered with blood, and she was crying. I tried to think of anything else, but my mind was consumed with this image this thought. It then occurred to me that I was hurting her. I didn't know how, but I felt responsible. A voice called out from far away, but it was near at the same time. The thought of Ilia vanished and I was back in Kakariko village. I had the realization that Dark Link was responsible for this. He was using his dark power to force me into my deepest fear. I took a mental note of this ability and turned to see who had saved me, as Dark Link was no longer facing me, and had an arrow in his side. It was the very last person I would have expected… ZELDA!

She muttered a spell and a fire ball hit Dark Link in the chest. I rose to me feet and picked up my weapons, assuming I had dropped them during Dark Link's mental barrage. I slashed at him with my sword and made contact. He blocked my next few attacks, but with an arrow sticking out of his sword arm, it was all he could do. I eventually knocked him into the spirit spring and he screamed in pain. Anything of the goddesses BURNS him! I thought. He rose into a portal which had appeared in the sky and immediately hundreds of arrows rained down on Zelda and I. We rushed under the cover of a still somewhat standing building. I noticed a hand sticking out of a pile of rubble and after digging through it, I unearthed the Shaman Renado. He was in bad shape, but he looked like he'd heal.

Eventually the rain of arrows stopped and by this point Zelda and I had awoken Renado and she was tipping sips of red potion into Renado's mouth. With each swallow, he looked stronger. By the end of the bottle, he could move on his own. He was in no shape to run though.

"Should I go get Epona?" I said, not really intending it to be a question. She nodded. I started running, and the arrows started again. I blocked as many as I could with my shield, but I still took a couple still hit me, but none in the chest or head so I could deal. I made it to Epona and quickly played Safiir's blessing. She appeared as the song ended and kissedme on the cheek, and as much as I despised letting her kiss me, I was grateful. That privilege is reserved for Ilia, I thought. Though Ilia and I weren't actually dating, I still thought this way about her.

I rushed back into the village, launching bomb arrows all over the place, taking out a lot of the guards as I did so. I jumped off of Epona's back and placed Renado in the sling as best as I could. I sat back down on the horse and helped Zelda up. Zelda cast a spell and the sling began to levitate slightly above the ground, and I assumed that it was so that Epona could run. And run she did as our shelterblew up. We made it out alive and when we made it back to Telma's bar, we laid led Renado in. Ilia looked very happy to see him, and hugged him gently. Then she turned to me and hugged me too. It felt really good.

Renado went to sleep on a bed we made him to rest. When he awoke he would begin work treating Colin and the others. Bo slapped me on the back and explained to me about how a dark lookalike of me had destroyed the village and I told him all I knew about Dark Link. Oddly enough, the air about the room was happy, and I was glad.