Chapter 13

-Not Of Your World-

"Link…awaken. Open your eyes, now."

Link groaned at hearing the voice, but it sounded familiar. Curious and sensing a feeling of hope bubbling up inside him, he rolled over to better see the visitor.

"Papa…?" he said sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and within a few moments, his vision cleared.

"Oh," Link sighed, seeing who the voice really belonged to, "Jikoku. Good morning."

"Good morning," Jikoku returned the greeting, "I am sorry to disappoint you."

"No!" Link exclaimed, realizing how he must have sounded, "Oh, no, I didn't mean… it's not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, but I was just hoping to see-"

"…your father," the man finished, "I understand completely."

"Oh," the boy sighed with relief, "That's good. So, um, about how long do you think it'll be until my Papa gets here?"

"Not long, I believe," he said, staring evenly at Link, "However, before you depart, there is something that… Hakumei… and I would like to show you. Something very important."

"What is it?" Link asked.

"Get dressed, then take up your sword and follow us," he said.

"But I thought you two still have Papa's sword," Link said.

"Look, just there."

The boy turned to look in the direction that Jikoku pointed. He gasped to see his father's rusty old sword lying just next to him. He softly and carefully wrapped his hand around the hilt.

"We have returned the sword to you, as promised," Jikoku said, "Now come. Follow us."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"…but what about Ms. Ilia?" Link asked, stumbling after the two men as he finished pulling on a boot.

"She will be fine," Jikoku answered.

"Yes, she will figure out where you've gone and she will understand," Hakumei added.

"So…" Link said, jogging in order to keep up, "Where are we going?"

"You will see," Hakumei said, "and then, when we arrive, I'll return this to you." He pointed to the sword that rested in an old hilt on his back.

"Are… are you sure you don't want me to carry it…?" the boy asked hesitantly.

"Positive!" the young man laughed, "Believe me, you do not want to be carrying this all the way to our destination. But I promise you, when we get there, I will return it to you."

"…okay," Link said softly, "but… I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Where did you get these clothes for me? How old are they? They smell funny- kinda musty. Where are my clothes?" he burst.

"That is several questions…" Jikoku corrected with a sigh. Again, Hakumei laughed.

"That's fine," the young man said, "Those are indeed very old. However, they are special."

"How so?" Link asked.

"Those clothes once belonged to the Hero of Twilight," Jikoku said.

"The Hero of Twilight?" the child gasped, "No wonder it's so big on me! I bet he was a lot older than me when he wore these! But… why do you want me to wear this?" The two men exchanged glances.

"Link," Hakumei said, "I think it's time we explained a few things to you."

"Ah, but only once we cross this chasm," Jikoku said, pointing out down to a deep, seemingly endless pit. Link nervously glanced down.

"That's really, really deep…" he said, swallowing nervously.

"Come here," Hakumei said gently, picking him up, "Now, close your eyes and just talk to me. Before you know it, we will be on the other side. Are you ready?" Link snapped his eyes shut and held on tight to the man.

"You know," the child said after a few moments, "How far have we gone? It seems like we got really deep into the woods and it didn't seem to take long at all! Why?"

"There. Now, open your eyes," Hakumei said, ignoring the question. Link carefully and slowly opened his eyes as the young man gently placed him back down. Curious, the boy glanced back to see where they had just come. He was shocked to see that everything looked quite different, though they were clearly still in the forest.

"H-how did you-"

"We can explain later," Jikoku interrupted, "But, at this moment, we have more pressing matters at hand."

"Uh, what?"

"He means that we have more important things to tell you right now," Hakumei said.

"Oh, that's good. I think," Link said, "Because I… I really don't understand what's going on."

"I know," Hakumei said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"But do follow us as we explain," Jikoku said, "and follow us very closely. For if you become lost in these woods…"

"What'll happen?" Link pressed.

"…you may never see your 'Papa' again," the man said ominously.

"But we don't want that to happen," Hakumei quickly added, noticing the expression of horror on Link's face, "You see, this is the Lost Woods. It is very easy to become confused here. One generally has to know exactly where one is going to make it through here, and at times even those who are the most familiar with these woods become lost. So, here. Hold onto my hand." Link hesitantly slid his own rather small hand into his friend's. The young man smiled encouragingly and began pulling the child along, with Jikoku leading the way.

"I don't know if I really want to go…" Link said softly, "I… I just want to go back to my Papa…"

"I'm sorry, Link," Hakumei said, "But, please… it is very important that we show you this."

"Okay…"

"Now…" the young man sighed, "What we need to tell you… how should I begin?"

"We are not quite of your world," Jikoku said, glancing back.

"What do you mean?" Link asked, narrowing his eyes.

"We are and we are also not of this world," the older man replied, "We once were more, but now we are like… memories, in a sense."

"W-what?" Link said, "I don't get it."

"Link," Hakumei sighed, as they entered a clearing filled with ruins, "We are ghosts."

-Argh! I had to break up a long chapter again. It seemed like a better stopping point. But, finally! I'm done with school! Well, at least for the summer, anyway. I've finally had some time to work on this story! Hopefully, I should be able to type out and post future chapters faster, now. I have the whole story planned out, pretty much. I just have to get to it and type the rest out. This story will definitely be my longest yet, because by the time I'm done with it, it will probably be at least between 25-30 chapters! That's not including the bonus chapters- which I'm also currently working on. Sorry for the rant, but I just thought that should give you guys an explanation, since It's been a few months since I last updated. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon!- TwilightFairy928