**All Standard Disclaimers Apply**

Book Three in the Doppelganger Trilogy
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Stasis
by Jennifer Wolfe

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Chapter Thirteen: Fierce Deity

Watching from the branch where the Sheikah had placed him, the wood sprite forgot his instructions to stay put. He leapt off the branch and jumped over to Ikal's body as fast as his tiny legs could get him there. By the time he landed on the side of her hip, the body had stopped moving and the odd scream had faded away. The little sprite whimpered and poked at the body, but there was no response. Still, he could tell that it was breathing so he kept trying. She was, after all, his rescuer and his friend. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew he wanted to help.

It was a few minutes before there was any movement. Finally, a deep, bass-toned groan came from the figure and it stirred. Startled by the sound of a deep voice, the little sprite hopped off and backed away, staring at the figure in confusion and caution. Perhaps it was better to watch from a safe hiding place. The body sat up, rubbing its face with its hands as the sprite got a clear view. It hunkered down in the grass and began to shake a little. Whoever that was, it did not look like his friend anymore.

Sitting in the grass was a male figure. He was taller than Ikal had been, about the same height and build as the life-size statue of the Hero of Time at whose feet he sat. His face looked almost identical to the statue as well, except that there was a blue V-shaped tattoo on his forehead and crimson red slashes on his cheeks under his eyes. He was blinking and looking around, unsure where he was. He looked up at the trees and over at the statue, his expression blank. Holding his hands out in front of him, he stared at them and turned them over, rubbing his fingers together as if curious about the sensation. He then looked over the rest of his body, the same curious expression on his face.

It was his eyes that made the wood sprite peek its head out of the grass. They were blank and white—just like his friend's eyes. The man's white hair was long and braided too—just like her hair. Even the clothes the man was wearing were her white clothes. The leggings and shoes were too tight and ripping at the seams, but the tunic, though a bit snug, seemed to fit. In fact, the more that the wood sprite looked at the man, the more he saw of his friend. Growling to himself, the wood sprite jumped out of his hiding place and landed on the man's shoulder.

The man jumped, his blank eyes widening. "Who are you?" he asked. The sprite shook its head and patted the man's cheek with one hand, pointing at him with the other. The man blinked. "Who am I?" he said. The sprite nodded. The man lifted his hands again, looking from them to the statue and back. "I…I do not remember."

He screwed his face up, clenching his eyes tight. Flashes of memories flew across his mind's eye. A giant moon and a small boy. A red-haired woman who lives in shadows. A town full of people with scared eyes, pointing up at him. A red enemy with a heart-shaped body spinning in circles, whips for hands trying to hit him. A wolf, a mask, a different enemy made of darkness itself with deep, red pools for eyes. People pointing at him, their eyes wide with fear, chanting something. "They called me a 'demon'," he murmured, remembering the voices of the people. "Oni…Oni. That was the word they used. I think that I am called Oni."

The sprite squeaked and shook his head, as if saying that he couldn't be that. He pointed to the man's eyes and pulled on his hair and growled a little. Oni frowned. There was someone else, some other memory on the edge of his mind. It was all jumbled and mixed together. "There is another name," he murmured, closing his eyes again as if straining to hear distant voices. "Ikal," he murmured. "I hear that name spoken repeatedly by a female voice. But…I do not think that I am her. No, I am not the Sheikah woman called Ikal. I think that I am Oni, a demon." The sprite growled louder, his face growing angry. He curled his tiny flowering fingers into fists, his little body beginning to shake. Oni opened his eyes and looked sadly at the sprite, not understanding why it was so angry. "I am sorry, little friend, but I do not who she is. I remember her, but she is like a fading dream only seen through a fog of sleep. I am not this person."

The sprite drooped a little and made a sad sound. Turning his back to the man, he jumped off of Oni's shoulder and over to the branch where Ikal had placed him. He wasn't sure what to do now. The woman had saved him, so he swore himself to protect her, as it was only right to do. Now that she was gone, what did he do? Where did he go? Where was he now? Having no answers, and sad at the sudden loss of his new friend, the wood sprite sulked on the branch and grumbled to itself.

"Please do not leave me," the new man said. The sprite didn't respond, so Oni pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He was a little shaky at first, but it didn't take him long to steady himself and stand. His body felt weak, as if it had been through some great physical ordeal. Memories washed over his mind again, the mist clearing enough for him to perceive a long journey and a series of trials. She had gone so long without sleep, all for his sake…but why? He couldn't quite remember. The fog rolled back in again. Maybe he was wrong about not being Ikal as well as Oni. Maybe, somehow, he was both?

Oni crossed over to the tree the wood sprite was sitting in. His legs were shaky, his first steps wobbling. When he reached the tree, he gripped a low branch to steady himself. "Please do not be mad at me," he said again, addressing the back of the sprite's head. He didn't know why it mattered so much that the sprite stay with him, but somehow it did. "I do not know where I am or how to get out. I do not want to be trapped here. Can you help me?"

The wood sprite sniffed a little and looked at Oni over its shoulder. He knew what it felt like to be trapped. Drying his eyes, the little sprite nodded and turned around to face the man. "You will help?" Oni said, a smile spreading on his face. The wood sprite nodded, and leapt over to the man's shoulder. There he sat himself, as he had once sat himself on Ikal's shoulder. "Thank you so much…uh…what shall I call you?" Oni frowned at the sprite, who just shrugged. He didn't have a name—at least, not one that humans could pronounce.

Oni furrowed his brow in concentration. "Okay, then I shall give you a name," he said. He looked at the little sprite intently, then around at trees. What to call something that looked so much like part of a tree? "What about Branch?" said Oni. The sprite made a face and shook its head. "Okay, no. Maybe Tree? Leaf? Nut? Woody?" At each of these names, the wood sprite shook its head. It was starting to look a little offended. "I am sorry, creativity is not my strong suit," Oni said. "Maybe…uh…Twig? I could call you Twiggy." The wood sprite seemed to sigh. It wasn't the best, but it was better than being called 'tree' or 'nut'. He squeaked and nodded at the pale man. Twig would be fine.

Oni grinned. "Twiggy it is," he said, proud of himself. "Well then, Twiggy, shall we find a way out of here?" Twig squeaked again. He tugged on Oni's hair and pointed at the door that he and Ikal had entered the grove out of. Oni nodded and started to walk over there, when he glanced back at the statue in the middle of the grove. At the statue's feet, he saw a long weapon with a red handle and two masks laying on the ground. Something tugged at his mind, some memory he couldn't quite call up. These were important.

Oni crossed over to them and picked them up. He strapped the weapon to his back, for he found he was already wearing a sword belt that could hold it. The two masks he held in his hands. One he remembered vaguely to be called the Mask of Truth, although it looked different now than it did in his memory. The other he recognized as his own face. He frowned at this, and felt the distinct impression of years of nothingness. The mask felt empty now, but somehow he felt tied to it. Strapping both to his belt, Oni thought no more on the matter of the mask that looked like him, and continued toward the door. He wasn't sure how they would get out or where to go once they did, and secretly neither was Twig, but together they would figure it out.

~! #$%^&*()

The Temple of Time's crumbling, ancient walls stood about the destined. Ethereal light drifted through the tree tops and spackled a dancing pattern on the ground below. For lack of an altar, Link and Zelda had chosen to kneel in the middle of the Triforce symbol on the ground of what was once the temple's main chamber. Here they sat in prayer, asking the goddesses for a sign of their will. They were full of questions needing answers. Where was Dark Link now? What was his plan? Was their country safe from harm for this lifetime? Where was Ikal? Was she okay? What should they be doing now to address it all?

In return, all they received was silence and birdsong. Under her long, warm cloak, the queen started to shiver. They had been at their prayers for a while, and there was a biting cold in the early spring air that was sinking through her layers. Link, meanwhile, seemed fine. He always did seem to produce his own heat somehow. Zelda suspected that it had something to do with that ratty hero's tunic he wore. How else was it that changes in temperature never seemed to bother him too much?

Link caught her looking. "You're cold," he commented, noticing her shiver. Zelda just nodded, so Link scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her. "Maybe I can help." He flashed her a mischievous smile. The queen batted his arm, but sunk into his embrace anyway. The heat was welcome. "Have you heard anything?" Link asked once she had settled.

Zelda shook her head. "No, nothing. The goddesses are silent. Perhaps we should be talking to the Light Spirits. At times, they do seem to have the ear of the goddesses. Although, most of their instructions came from a bygone age, not from recent communication."

"Worth a try. Faron and Ordona are nearby. Do you wan—" Link stopped abruptly and sat up. If he was in wolf form, his ears would be turning around to catch more sounds. At one time, the queen would have asked what he was hearing, but now she also sat up and looked around. Her hearing in hylian form wasn't as good as Link's, but perhaps it didn't have to be.

At first Zelda didn't hear anything. It was only a moment, however, until she did hear it—the distinct sound of heavy boot steps. Link stood up, drawing his sword and shield in one fluid movement. Zelda also stood and drew a rapier she had brought with her, just in case of a situation such as this. The Hero turned his body toward the direction the sound was coming from and positioned himself slightly in front of Zelda. Whoever it was, they were coming from the direction of the Lost Woods. Oddly, only now did the hero see the entrance to the Lost Woods—normally covered over by large stones—was wide open.

A few tense moments crept by during which the boot steps came closer and the destined stood ready. They had never seen anything but animals, skull kids, and puppets here. The presence of another person was not a good sign.

"Maybe up here?" said a distant male voice. "I heard something up this way, I think." A man in white walked up the path. Link and Zelda gasped in unison. The facial markings, the white clothing—there could be no mistaking what this was. Only the questions of who had found and stolen the mask, and for what purpose, remained. Zelda tightened her grip on her sword and narrowed her eyes. They would discover this fiend's plot before it even began.

Link took three large steps forward, quick as a wolf on the hunt, and pressed the tip of his gilded sword to the man's throat. Oni gasped and threw his hands up in the air. "Woah!" he said, swallowing hard. Twig scooted behind his neck, hiding underneath Oni's long white braid.

"Who are you and why have you put on the Fierce Deity's mask?" Link growled, his eyes narrowed.

"The wha—I am afraid I h-have no idea what you are t-talking about," Oni stammered. "But I m-mean you no harm! My tiny friend and I are merely lost. Obviously we went the wrong way. Our apologies!"

Link growled in the back of his throat and pressed his sword a little harder. "It's not like you just woke up and it happened to be on your face. You can't expect me to buy that."

"Buy what?" Oni said, obviously confused. "Are you talking about this?" He reached down with one hand and pulled the mask that bore his face off of his belt. "If you want it that much, you can have it."

Zelda gasped. "Link, look…" she was pointing at the mask Oni was holding. The hero looked down to see what made her look so shocked. When he saw the mask, his jaw dropped.

"How…I don't understand," he said, lowering his sword. He still kept the weapon ready, just in case, but he looked from the mask to Oni's face and back with his jaw dropped. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Oni shrugged. "I wish I could tell you, but I am afraid I do not know myself. That is what my friend Twig here and I are trying to find out." When he heard his name, the little wood sprite poked his head out from behind Oni's neck and waved a little.

Zelda stepped up beside Link and touched his sword arm. "Link, wait," she murmured, her face blank of expression. Link eased his ready stance, frowning as the queen stepped past him and right up to the strange man. Without saying a word of explanation, she placed her hands on either side of the pale man's face. Oni's eyes widened, confusion covering his features, but he dared not move away.

One of Zelda's hands drifted from Oni's face to the long braid hanging down his back. She lifted it and looked at the barb on the end of the braid, her eyes narrowing. She then let go of his face and started to walk around him. She looked at the naginata strapped to his back, staring at the Sheikah eye at the point where the blade connected with the handle. Her eyes moved down to look at his feet, where the sight of the now-broken shoes upon his too-large feet caused her to make a pensive sound. She then touched the familiar mask strapped to his waist, the lupine Mask of Truth that could have been no one but her friend's. Tears welled in her eyes.

Link's eyes followed Zelda, finally resting on what her hand touched. He knew the mask immediately. His teeth grit together, his fist tightening on the hilt of his sword. Moving without warning, Link used his mirror shield to slam Oni back against a pillar near them, following quickly with his sword. "What have you done to Ikal?!" he demanded, overflowing with anger. He pressed the blade of his sword against the pale man's throat, pressing hard enough to produce a line of blood. "Tell me now you murdering demon!"

Zelda's hands touched the hero's back, her touch feather-light. "Link, he did nothing to Ikal," she murmured, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please," she said, addressing Oni directly now. "Tell me how it happened."

Oni closed his eyes and pressed the heels of his palms against them. He looked like he was in pain as he began to sway forward and back. "I…it is like a haze in my mind…I cannot remember…"

"Let me help," Zelda said. Link moved as if to block her from stepping closer to the crazy-looking man, but Zelda just brushed him to the side. She stepped up to Oni and placed her hands on either side of his head, closing her own eyes. After a moment, the triforce on the back of her hand began to glow. "What do you see?" she asked.

"I see a girl," he whispered. "A woman. Sheikah? And…AH!" he cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

Zelda went down with him, keeping her hands on either side of his head. "It is okay," she murmured. "Let them come."

Oni face was contorted in pain. "No, please stop!" he begged. "It hurts!"

Zelda sighed and did as he asked. Link helped her to stand while Twig patted Oni's cheek in worry and the pale man collected himself. "What in Farore's name is going on?" he demanded, glaring at his new wife.

"Link, this man did not do anything to Ikal," Zelda explained, "because he is Ikal."

The hero's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" he practically squeaked.

"That was very painful," Oni said as he sat up and craned his neck up to look at the two destined standing over him. "Why are you willing to inflict pain upon living beings in order to achieve your designs?" He looked genuinely confused.

Zelda frowned. "Sometimes the greater good necessitates suffering," she said. "Tell us what you remember."

"As you wish. Whatever you did, it opened up some of the memories but not all." Oni said, rubbing his head with one hand. "The past is like a riddle strewn about time. I have pieces of the riddle, but I am still missing the key verse. There is something about time travel, and an ancient goddess who bears your face. I remember…the red-haired woman who loved you left seeking healing for her soul. Instead, she found deadly questions and challenges to face. Your friend who was a wolf was killed. The Sheikah who loved you took up the task assigned her by destiny. It led her here."

Zelda held a hand over her heart, her tears renewed. Link wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Oni continued. "This part becomes clearer. She faced a series of trials alone to prove her worth. She succeeded…but learned, in the process, that completing her task would be the death of her in this life. For love of you," he looked at Zelda pointedly, "she ascended to a higher plane and sacrificed herself so that I could come into life."

Zelda shook her head, tears streaming from her eyes. "I do not understand," she said. "Why? Why did she have to do this? Why are you here?"

Oni frowned and looked down at the ground. "I…" he sighed. "I do not remember. I am sorry. There is something about light and darkness, the balance of the world. But I am missing the key. I do not know what it means. I only know that I am here…and that there are things she never got to say to you."

Zelda looked up, surprise on her face. The pale man rose to his feet. He took the naginata and the mask of truth off and held them out to the queen. "You should be the steward of these. The weapon is called the Sheikah Nagitata. It should pass to her people. She believed it to be a sacred relic. The mask…I do not know it, but you should keep it safe." Zelda took these items from him. Before she could speak, he continued. "Ikal sacrificed herself so that the world could be safe and so that you could be free. In her last moments, she did not say goodbye to you because she believed that she would see you again in your next life. Her words were that it was not a goodbye so much as a very long parting. This should comfort your sorrow."

But this did not comfort her. The queen turned away from both men and began to walk toward Faron Woods. "Zelda, wait," Link said, jogging over to her. "Where are you going?"

Zelda face was stony, her eyes red. Her hands clutched Ikal's things in a white-knuckled grip. "Our trip is over," she said. "We are returning to the castle."

"Okay," he said, "but what about Dark Link? And this guy? What do we do with him?"

Zelda stopped walking and shot a glare over at the pale man. Oni was talking to the wood sprite, completely oblivious to the two destined leaving or any of the emotions going on. It was as if he didn't feel emotions the same way regular people did. "Ikal knew the answer to the Dark Link problem," she said, anger filling her voice. "She would not have sacrificed her body to bring this thing into the world if it was not to stop the darkness. Somewhere inside his head is the answer as Ikal understood it. We just have to pry it out of him."

"So, he comes with us?" Link asked. Zelda nodded, so the hero turned back to where Oni was standing. "HEY! YOU!" he shouted. Oni and Twig looked at the hero, their faces equally confused. Link sighed. "Come on, you're both coming with us." The pale man shrugged and followed. Zelda was already putting on her mask to leap over the canyon. Link shook his head. Whatever was happening, he already knew that this wasn't going to be an easy riddle to solve.

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Author's Notes: Hello! As sad as the last chapter was, I've been excited about this point in the story for a long, long time. Many adventures to come for our new dynamic duo, Oni and Twig, so stay tuned for future chapters!

In other news, the summer is almost over. I hope yours has been full with as much (or more) adventure as mine. For those of you starting school this month, good luck!

Thanks for reading! All reviews are read and appreciated.

~The Wolfess a.k.a. Jennifer Wolfe

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