Section 3

Dawn of Death

Corb walked down the torchlit passage grimly. It was dawn, time to retrieve the prisoner and take him to the courtyard. After a few minutes he came to Link's former cell. The astounded guard gasped as he saw the bars of Link's confinement area, bent like forks. His mouth dropped open in surprise, then he heard a noise farther down the hall. Startled, he walked the corner of the wall that turned to the right and pressed himself up against it, listening. It was ragged breathing from someone who was obviously wounded. Corb turned the corner and saw none other than Link.

"Link? What kind of a monster are you? Bending the bars of your cell..." Corb trailed off, observing Link's condition. Link looked up weakly, putting pressure on a huge slash across his chest. His shoulder looked bashed, and red blood poured down his face from a wound on his head.

"Corb..." Link muttered, colapsing. Corb looked down at him, dumbfounded. The boy was prabably already going to die, and Corb didn't have the heart to bring him before eveyone like this, he could hardly talk! Corb wondered what had happened as he looked at Link's tired form. Surprisingly, it was painful for Corb to see him hurt. Why? The little brat had tried to kill the King, so why did Corb still feel a bond with him. Irritated, Corb walked over to Link and pulled out an Arlia bud (all Royal Guard officers had one), healing his wounds with it. The one on his chest was too big to heal completely, but it stopped bleeding and became much smaller, almost unnoticable. Link slowly got to his feet, still not feeling very strong, but feeling much better than before. "Thank-"

"Don't you thank me, you criminal!" Corb said, cutting him off. Link gave him a wounded look, and submissively allowed him to tie his hands. "Right, let's go." Corb said in a milder tone. He couldn't shake his hot anger against Link, but he couldn't bring himself to be rough with him, either. As Corb led Link out of the dungeons, he wondered about something. How was Link able to bend his bars? If he was that strong, why didn't he escape rather then stay? Also, what had beat the tar out of him? Corb swallowed the piece of his pride that said he was above talking to traitors, and asked.

"Well, Corb, I doubt you'll believe me if I tell you, so it's a waste of time." Link said quietly.

"I don't care if you think it's a waste of time! Tell me anyway." The soldier ordered. Link laughed quietly at his arrogance. It would be so easy to get out of this siduation. Still, Link decided to stay with his former plan so everyone wouldn't think he was a murderer.

"Well, I think the guy who impersonated me broke in last night, and used the King's keys to get into the waterways. I got out of my cell and followed him, which really wasn't very smart because I didn't have a weapon. He stole the Swo...eh, something from the waterways and then wounded me. Then we both got caught in the water and separated. When I washed up I knew I was too weak to follow him, because I lost blood from every step I took. So, I just came back to the dungeons because I knew that if I died down there or died tryng to get the Master Sword back, everyone I know will think I really tried to kill the King."

"Ridiculous!"

"I knew you would say that."

By now, the two were out of the dungeons and in one of the halls that let to the courtyard. Link yawned tiredly, but knew he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. At least, not the temporary kind of sleep. Link still couldn't believe this was happening to him. How had he gone from savior to murderer in one night? His impersonator must have been an excellent actor to turn the whole castle against the Hero of Time who had saved them from numerous sticky ends. Once again, it was depressing. The two men emerged into the colorful light of a sun that had risen moments ago. At least I can feel the light of the rising sun one last time...Link instantly chided himself for the thought. He couldn't resign himself to death just yet! There was still a chance to convince the King it wasn't him who had been the King' attacker. What about Zelda and Chain? Surely they would defend him, along with Taig and Sohran. What would the King do? Act on an impulse and kill the Hero of Time, or think it through and decide that the whole thing must be a mistake? It was rather unnerving because Link didn't know the King well enough to know which one he would choose. Link discovered a large crowd in the courtyard, all standing around a wooden platform about two or three feet above the ground. They were all Hylians except one person. Taig the dragon prince. The dragon was tied, aparently the guards expected him to try and rescue Link. At the sight of Link everyone began talking amongst themselves, and Taig struggled against his ropes and muzzle.

"Bring the prisoner forth, Corb." The King said. As Link and Corb traveled through an opening made by the crowd, Link saw the King. The warrior instantly felt frozen by the Royal man's cold glare. What was even more disturbing was the huge, reddish scar on the King's neck. It really made Link want to fight the man who had tried to kill the King. How could the guy be audacious enough to attack a King who the Hero of Time had sworn to protect!? At the same time, Link was mad at himself for failing in that duty. Link was led onto the wooden platform, on which stood a very musculer man with an ax. Are you serious?! The executioner is already here?! I guess the King is really mad at me! Link eyed the huge man nervously. "Link!" Everyone went silent. Ignoring the guy with the ax, Link turned his attention to the King, who was sitting about twenty feet in front of him on a chair. Zelda stood beside that chair looking very pale. "You know what you are accused of...breaking into the castle, stealing, comitting treason by trying to kill me, and injuring many soldiers on your way out!" The King's face was pratically red. Link could tell he was outraged by this percieved treachery. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" There was a long, expectent silence. Link kneeled to the King and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I have sworn to protect you and your country, and have done so many times. Never in my life, even if I was threatened with death, would I attempt to kill you. The one who did those things was an imposter." The crowd broke into an excited chatter, which quickly died down.

"Link, I think I know my own guard. I know your face and your voice. I know your sword." Once again, chatter could be briefly heard before it became silent again.

"I cannot tell you who the person who looked like me was, Your Majesty. I can only say it wasn't me and I don't know how they could possibly resemble me so closely. I promise, Your Majesty, I wasn't even in Hyrule when this attack occured!"

"It's true, Great King Hyrule! Link was with me and Feelock, in the cave of three sea griffons...." Sohran started to say. The King glanced at him irritably for speaking out of turn.

"We do not bring other species into our feuds, Captain Sohran." At this, Taig struggled visciously. Unfortunately, the ropes around him were extremely strong. The dragon's voice rang out loudly, though muffled.

"You all know Link's personality! He would never hurt your King! I cannot believe you fools are going to execute your own hero!" Taig managed to speak through his muzzle. The crowd was a little mad at being called fools, but some recognized that the dragon was right. How could they kill the boy who had rescued them from utter destruction or imprisonment at the hands of Ganondorf and others? "Do you really think the dieties will grant you another Hero of Time if you kill this one? No! You'll all be wiped out when the next great threat appears, because your savior will be dead!"

"Shut that dragon up!" The King ordered, and some guards tied ropes around Taig's snout, tight enough to prevent talking. Smoke drifted from the dragon's nose and he glared ferociously at the King. You know I'm right, the glare said. "Sometimes people who are powerful seek more power. Sometimes that power turns them evil and they try to kill their King." Daphnes said, looking at Link. He rubbed his scarred neck, and Link almost flinched from his intense gaze.

"King, if I had been turned evil, don't you think I would be fighting right now? If I was evil I wouldn't care if everyone knew it and I wouldn't care for their health, so I would be doing everything I could to escape. I submit myself to your judgement because I am innocent and I want eveyone to know it, even if I die!" Surprised noises from the crowd. Zelda began to look very sick, and Link could hear some guards trying to calm down his brother somewhere to the right.

"He has a point, father." Zelda said, not able to restrain herself. "Don't you think-"

"Quiet, Zelda. I have the testimony of many soldiers who saw him with their own eyes. Can I not impose justice for their sakes? Yes, Link's argument was very touching, but you wouldn't believe his evil laughter as he stuck the Master Sword into my shoulder!" Zelda put her hand over her mouth in astonishment, looking at Link.

"Not guilty." Is all Link said. I'm really in up to my neck now, Link thought. Before I could have escaped and got my sword and hunted down my imposter, but I was so involved in my thoughts that that opportunity is past. If I try to escape now, I'll have to hurt, maybe kill, innocent people. My life is entirely in Daphnes's hands.

"I'm not going to take any more of this denial. I know you did it and you know you did it." The King said. He was disgusted that someone who had been so loyal could be so dishonest.

"Father, there was something different about him two nights ago, he's different now, as if it wasn't the same person!" Zelda said, becoming very worried. How could she stop her friend from being killed? She cursed the stubborness of her father. Daphnes recalled 'Link' attacking him, the terrible, bloodthirty strength...it made the King shudder in spite of himself. It had been a terrifying and painful night. He didn't want to look at Link anymore. Every time he did, his thoughts returned to the pain of being betrayed.

"Execute him." The King said stiffly. The hard-spoken words fell heavily on the crowd, creating a suffocating environment for a brief moment.

"No, father! Please!" Zelda couldn't stop from throwing herself on her father, pleading pitifully. Link's stomach was ice. It's over. He thought.

"Liiink! Daphnes, don't!!" Chain screamed, five soldiers holding him. The whole crowd was suddenly engulfed in a surge of emotion. Half seemed happy the traitor was going to die, and the other half were not so sure they were ready to see the Hero of Time be destroyed. Many of Link's friends and supporters other than Chain had to be restrained, including Raykel and Sohran, and some other Royal Guards. Everyone went silent as the executioner put a strong hand on the back of Link's neck and forced him down on a cutting block. Link wondered if this would hurt a lot, and decided it would. Link's eyes were shut and his whole body tensed up as the man raised his ax. It hung in the air a few moments, wavering slightly, and no one breathed. Then the executioner threw it down, a sob racking his large frame.

"I can't...do it, Your Majesty! He...he saved us all!" The man said emphatically, looking at his King. "Sorry..."

"No...I expected you wouldn't be able to, Brun. Hans..."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Another tall man (the second executioner) named Hans took up the ax.

"King Daphnes, I will protect Hyrule with all my energies in the afterlife! I will always serve you, princess Zelda!" Link yelled as the ax was raised over him a second time.

"Halt!" The King ordered. Hans held his ax still, looking at the King expectantly. The King couldn't bring himself to kill someone pledging to serve Hyrule. Plus, the sadness and loyal support all Link's friends were displaying broke the coldness of the King's determination. Perhaps, just perhaps, this time he was wrong. "Don't kill him. Such words...even now, on the brink of death, the Hero of Time denies hurting me. Even though he has the strength to escape, he stays...pledging to serve the Royal Family. How can such a man hurt me? So many people love him, I cannot break their hearts. I am firmly convinced...Link is declared innocent!"

"Father!" Zelda cried in joy. She and Chain rushed onto the platform, both hugging Link tightly. I have such good friends, Link thought, getting emotional. It was special to him to have friends that would openly oppose the will of the King of all Hyrule, who had the power to do just about anything, because they cared.

"Well, now that I'm not going to die, I need to take a nap." Link said simply, yawning and falling asleep on the spot. Tiredness from lack of sleep and running and fighting all night, combined with extreme stress from almost dying for no reason, took him out. Zelda and Chain carried him to his room, and everyone in the crowd was suprised to find his or herself relieved. All of them knew in their hearts that they would have been devestated by Link's death, traitor or no.

Section 4

Carefree...or Not

Link woke up a few hours later, and found Zelda and Chain and Taig all in his room.

"Hi, guys," He said, yawning and sitting up. Taig jumped on him.

"Link! Ha, didn't you have faith in the Great Taig to save you? I bravely...ah, what am I saying? I'm glad you're alive, pal!" Taig gave Link a hug that was even tighter than a Goron Hug.

"Uh, Taig...I like you too, but can I have some air, please?!" Link asked, barely able to talk. The dragon was very strong.

"Oh, of course!" Taig said, getting off him. "Eh, sorry about that. I guess I forgot how small Hylians are. So, how are you feeling?"

"Well, I was feeling good..." Link said, laughing. Taig grinned. "Well, thanks for all your support, guys. I'm pretty sure I'd be dead now without it. I know this is going to sound really gay...but I love you."

"Awww..." Zelda said. Chain and Taig blushed.

"It was nothing..." They muttered.

"Zelda, do you know where all my stuff is?" Link asked, smiling at her. She smiled back for a few seconds before talking.

"Your sword was taken to the Temple of Time, and the rest of your things are in a storage room. I can have them brought..."

"No, a walk would be good for me. I'm going to go to the temple first. Anyone coming?" Of course, everyone was coming.

"Hey Link, after we get your sword, why don't we do something fun before getting the rest of your stuff?" Zelda suggested. "Since we'll be out, why not go swimming in Lake Hylia?"

"That sounds cool," Chain agreed, and eveyone thought it over, deciding that it was a good idea. Zelda and Chain put on some swimming clothes under their normal ones (Link would just swim in his tunic, like he always did) and the group of four left the castle. As soon as Link left the castle walls, he was once again pounced apon. His horse had sensed the danger a while ago and had been maddened by the fact she couldn't get into the castle. She was now overjoyed to see Link, and knocked him over, licking his face with her thick pink toungue.

"Yuck...I'm glad to see you too, Epona!" Link said, shoving her huge weight off him. The horse pawed the ground and nieghed loudly, demanding that her master get on her back. Link did so, and the horse was imediately happy.

"Horses are wierd..." Taig said. He did not like getting ridden on. But then it really wasn't so bad when Link's riding on me...he brushed the thought away indignantly. I am not a pack animal! Epona, Link, Taig, Zelda and Chain quickly covered the short distance between the castle and the Temple of Time. Link found that the Temple doors had sealed themselves after getting the sword put back inside, and he played the Song of Time to open them again. He then dismounted and went inside by himself to retrieve the magical, evil-repelling sword that had chosen Link to be its bearer. Link walked out of the temple and all three Hylians got on Epona. The strong horse easily carried them to Lake Hylia, Taig flying along behind. They reached the lake in about thirty minutes, and Link went to go visit the fisherman while Zelda and Chain got ready to swim.

"Hi, Mr. Fisherman." Link said, walking up to the man's counter.

"Oh, it's the nice boy who gave me my hat back and bought some fishing poles. Hello, Link." He was talking about one time he had been rude to Link and Link decided to take his hat. It had been very tempting to leave the rude, bald man's hat in the fishing pool, but Link had given it back in exchange for 'cheap' prices on fishing poles.

"I'd like to buy some more fishing poles, you see my other ones got...lost." Link said, shrugging.

"Lost? Those were state-of-the-art, hand-made fishing poles! You lost them?!" The fisherman's face was twisted into an ugly, angry expression.

"Um, yeah, sorry. I'll pay the same price for a few more..."

"Same price? I don't think so, you got a discount last time. One thousand each!"

"What? That's half as expensive as a horse! You've got to be kidding!"

"No. You pay full price this time, and if you even think about taking my hat, I'll call a Hyrule Army officer on you!"

"How annoying..." Link said, wondering if he should pay the unreasonable price. He had the money, but it was still the highest price for anything Link had ever bought. Taig opened the door to the fishing area and stepped in.

"Hey, Link! What are you doing in here?" The red dragon asked, looking at the fisherman.

"Wh-whaa! Is t-that a...DRAGON?!" The fisherman didn't get out much and had never seen one.

"Yeah, Taig's a dragon. A small one, too. You should see his mom..." That made the fisherman shiver.

"Get that monster out of my fishing pool!" He yelled.

"Hey, that's not very nice...uh, fishing pool?" Taig licked his jaws. "I could really go for some fish right now..." He looked over at the pool and saw the many fish swimming in it. "Yummy!! They're greenfins, my favorite kind!" Taig leapt/flew into the pool, making a huge spash that scared all the fish. He then proceeded to catch as many fish as he could, stuffing them into his mouth.

"Nooooo! My fish!" Holding his head and screaming, the fisherman left his counter and ran to the edge of his pool, jumping up and down. "Stop that! Stop that! Stop that, stop that, stop thaaat!" Link had never seen him so upset, not even when he had taken his hat. The flustered man turned to Link desparately. "Get him out of here, please! If you do, I'll sell you as many rods as you want, promise! Only...450 rupees!" That was a much better price.

"Hey, Taig! Cut that out, those fish belong to the fisherman. You can eat as many as you want from Lake Hylia!" Taig raised his head from the water, a fish wriggling in his mouth.

"Really?" The dragon spit the fish out and rushed past Link, out of the fishing pool area.

"Oh, thank you! I have ten poles left, how many do you need?" The fisherman asked.

"Four would be nice." Link said, and the fisherman sold them to him. Link payed some extra for the fish Taig ate, then left. Link didn't particularly feel like swimming at the moment because of his recent water experiences, so he fished and let anyone else who wanted to fish use one of the poles. Chain was the only one who joined him, the other two preferring to swim in the lake. Zelda politely swam in a place far away from Link and Chain's fishing, but Taig kept scaring all the fish away.

"Aw, Taig! That big fish was about to bite my line, and you scared it away! Go swim with Zelda!" Chain growled, watching a tasty, looking fish swim away in fear of the dragon.

"But there's more fish over here! Who says you should get all the fish? I'm a prince!" Taig said, showing off his gold bracelets.

"Well Link is the Hero of Time, and I'm his brother!" Chain argued, and the two glared competetively at eachother. Chain ditched his pole and went to go wrestle Taig, and Link gave up the idea of fishing. Taig and Chain would scare all the fish away and Pierre, the scarecrow he was sitting near to, had begun to sing loudly and annoyingly. It was a hot day, and he warmed up to the idea of swimming.

"I could catch more fish than you with a pencil-sized pole and a string!" Chain said, climbing up on Taig and giving his scaled head a noogie.

"And I could catch more fish than your silly pole if I was sleeping!" Taig retorted, grinning and shaking Chain off. He then proceeded to splash him with a tidal wave of water by means of his wings.

Zelda was swimming peacefully next to the island in the middle of Lake Hylia in her blue, one-piece bathing suit. Suddenly, a monster grabbed her ankle and she screamed. The hand released her and she swam away, then Link surfaced right next to her, laughing.

"Why you! Don't scare me like that!" She said, splashing the laughing warrior.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist!" Link said, and Zelda splashed him a bunch in the face.

"Hey! Two can play at that game..." Link started splashing her back, and soon a little splash-war had begun. After a while of Link winning the splash-war, Zelda used her magic to dump a bunch of water on his head.

"That's cheating!" Link said, and heard someone else laughing. He looked up on the island and saw the Lake Professor giggling in his old, scratchy voice.

"Heheheh, I think the princess got you that time, sonny. Say, since you're down there, would you mind doing something for me?" The white-haired, skinny, big-toothed man asked.

"No, not at all," Link said. He and the professor were friends and Link had helped him with a lot of experiments in the past. "Just as long as you don't try to give me some of your 'herbal tea'..." The old man cackled and Link grimaced, remembering when he had given Link some 'herbal tea' which was really a very nasty-tasting medicine.

"Don't worry, no tricks this time. All I need is a sample of the mud in front of the Water Temple's entrance. Will you do that for me, sonny?" A boney arm held out a jar to Link.

"Sure." Link took the jar and dived dwon to the bottom of the lake, in front of the opening that led to the Water Temple (he didn't put on his boots because they were with eveything else back at the castle). Link held on to the island wall next to him so he wouldn't float, then used the jar to scoop up some mud from the lake bottom. Suddenly Link got a very unusual and eerie feeling, like he was being watched by something evil. He gazed into the black, gaping opening in the wall of the island and felt it even stronger. Something was in there...

"What's taking him so long, princess?" The lakeside professor asked.

"I don't know...it looks like he's staring into the temple opening, but I can't tell...oh, here he comes." Link swam up and surfaced next to Zelda, then handed the mud-filled jar to the professor. "Enjoying yourself down there, Link?" Zelda asked, suspicious.

"I guess..." Link said, not really understanding why she asked.

"You were down there for over a minute, did you see something?" She persisted.

"Huh? No, I didn't see anything, just forget it," Link said, not wanting to worry the princess. He would check out the temple later. "Is that enough mud, professor?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you very much, Link." The old man walked with his peculiar limp on the bridges (there is a bridge that links the main island to a smaller one, and a bridge that links that one to the shore) back to his house on the shore.

"Hey Zelda, want to see a really good view of the lake?" Link asked the princess.

"Sure! But where can you get that? There aren't any hills..."

"Climbing the tree, of course." Zelda didn't look like she approved of that. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. You just have to hold onto me." Zelda wasn't scared, because she vaguely remembered climbing the tree before as Sheik. She could hardly remember it because that was back when she still really thought she was a sheikah (Impa had brainwashed her a bit and helped her become Sheik in order to hide from Ganondorf).

"Okay," She agreed, and the two Hylians climbed onto the island. On the relatively small island there was a stone memorial and a tall, leafless tree with only one branch and a huge slash in the trunk. No one knew why the slash was there, or how the tree could not be decaying without leaves. It would have been a difficult feat for most people to climb the tree without gear, but Link been raised in a forest and climbed trees all his life. Zelda held onto Link tightly, and he began to climb the tree, griping pieces of protruding bark to raise himself. The Hylians quickly reached the top, and Link helped Zelda stand next to him on the little dip between the trunk and the single branch. From the top of the tree the whole lake was visible, and the reflecting sunlight made it sparkle. "Wow, this really is a good view..." A little evil blackbird spotted the two Hylians and dove down, wanting to peck them just because it could. Link didn't have his sword (he left it on the shore) so he just snatched it out of the air and held it. The little thing struggled but couldn't move its head far enough to peck anything.

"Hey, look at the cute bird, Zelda." Link said, showing it to her.

"Cute? Isn't that one of those annoying little blackbirds that would peck your eyes out if you let it?"

"Yeah, but what should I do with it? I can't just kill it now that I'm holding it..." The bird kicked and twisted, but Link wasn't about to let it go so it could peck something. It pecked at the air and sqwaked angrilly. The it suddenly calmed down and hunched its head. Link thought it looked scared. "Hey, what's wrong with it..." Then Link felt a dark feeling again. Something evil was watching him, waiting for him. Link suddenly remembered that the 'Dark One' had said he would be in Hyrule...is he here, in lake Hylia?!

"Link, what's wrong? What are you staring at? Just because the bird is acting wierd, it doesn't mean you should, too! Is this another trick to try to scare me? Link!" Link was brought out of his thought by Zelda's voice.

"It's not...safe here, Zelda. You should leave." The feeling was getting stronger, and Link knew for a fact that something was waiting for him in the Water Temple, and it wasn't Morpha. He let the bird go, and it flew away as fast as it could.

"What? You are trying to scare me, aren't you? Hmf!" Zelda jumped off the top of the tree and gracefully dived into the lake. She didn't know Link was being serious. He could sense that if he didn't go into the Water Temple soon, evil things would start to come out. He waited for Zelda to swim out of the way, then dived in after her. She slashed him playfully when he came up, but Link was no longer in a playful mood. "Hey, Link, seriously. What's wrong? Lighten up, we're trying to have fun today!" Zelda went silent as she watched Link's stern face, and guessed it wasn't fun time anymore. She sighed. "Things are always troubling you, Link. This isn't something you can worry about later?"

"No. Sorry, Zelda. I'll go get my sword..." Zelda watched him swim back to shore and equip the Master Sword.

"Going somewhere, bro?" Chain and Taig stopped wrestling for a moment and looked over at Link.

"Yeah. I'm feeling some bad vibes from the Water Temple, I'm going to go check it out. You guys be careful...I'm serious."

"Huh? Done having fun already? Hey, we'll come with you! Won't we, Taig?" The dragon nodded. Link shook his head.

"I feel like it's serously dangerous, guys. You stay here." Taig leapt out of the water and stomped over to Link, placing a finger on his chest.

"Are you implying that whatever is in the Water Temple is too dangerous for the Prince of Dragons, but perfectly safe for a tight-wearing little Hylian?"

"W-what? These are not tights!" Link protested. Chain started laughing.

"We're going with you whether you like it or not! I, for one, have had quite enough of being told what to do by Hylians." Taig growled indignantly.

"Well, if you insist..." Link muttered, frowning irrtably. He did not like it at all. He sincerely felt that whatever was in the temple was very deadly, but it didn't seem like he would be able to convince Taig to stay. Besides, he was a capable warrior, and so were Zelda and Chain. Link still didn't like it, though.

"We insist! Let's go, my tight-wearing Hylian friends!" Taig said, pointing at the temple in a very corney way.

"Hey, these are not tights, Taig!" Chain yelled, but the dragon only snickered.

"Heheh, you know I'm only kidding, guys." The dragon said. By now Zelda had decided that she was going too, and her and Chain quickly put their normal clothes back on. Link didn't even try to convince Zelda not to come. The four of them entered the temple together.

Section 5

Dark Dimension

"What is this? It's not the Water Temple..." Link said, looking around. The four companions had emerged into a very strange place. It wasn't like a building at all, in fact, as far as the eye could see there was nothing but a few ruins and rock here or there. It was a misty and gray land. All the ground was covered in a foot of water, which seemed to be flowing sluggishly to the right. There was no sky or living things. It was like a dark dimension. It did remind Link of a room he had seen in the Water Temple, though...the room was an illusion of a place that looked like this, except there had been a door and a tree, and...Dark Link? This looks just like the room I fought that shadow in! But he was desroyed...wasn't he?

Dark Link was a Dark Hylian, and Link had no idea where he had come from. He didn't no much about Dark Hylians, but Dark Link had been see throughish and silvery black. To Link, he had just been another one of Ganondorf's monsters. He had been a very formidable opponent, though. Next to Ganondorf, Dark Link had been the biggest challenge, because he had copied all of Link's moves. Link had nearly died twice when they fought. Was it possible that Link hadn't destroyed the Dark Hylian...? No, it couldn't be Dark Link. He simply wasn't powerful enough to conjure black monsters and turn the temple into a wasteland. But who could it be...? Certainly not Ganondorf. He was sealed permanently, and Link had no doubt that if he ever did escape, he would make it widely known rather than hiding in the Water Temple and controlling Feelock.

"Now what? I have no desire to get lost in this abyss...do you have any idea where we are, Link?" Zelda asked. Everything was silent as she waited for a reply.

"I don't know where this is, but I have to explore it. You all can stay here if you want..." Link suggested. Taig growled loudly. "Eheh, or we can all go together! Yeah, why not?" Link said, scratching the back of his head and walking forward. He bumped right into a wall that wasn't there. "Ow! Hey, what on earth?" Link stretched out his hand and felt a sturdy wall where there was apparently nothing. "It's an illusion, guys. There's something here."

"Let me try to cast a visibility spell, Link." Zelda said. This was one she didn't need to chant for and had immediate effects. Instantly a black wall appeared in front of Link and a black roof overhead. There were no visible lights, but strangely everyone could see.

"This is really wierd," Link said, then stepped away from the wall as it started dissappearing again, replaced by the misty abyss of before. Then part of it turned into a wall again, and partof it faded...black wall and illusion abyss swam around erratically. "why is it doing that?" Link asked Zelda.

"This is an evil place, and my magic ability is lessened...my spell only made it partly visible, it seems." Despite the strange, moving surroundings, Link was determined to move on. He found an opening in the wall, and he and his companions went that way.

Link....

Link stopped walking. Had he just heard a voice in his head? That wasn't a good sign...

Link, help me...

"Hey, what's wrong? Let's move, man." Taig said, impatient to keep going.

"Maybe he hears something, Taig. You have to trust the Hero of Time's instincts." Zelda said.

"Eh, sorry about that. Let's go." Link said, walking on, the rest following. They walked down the passage for a long time. It was hard to tell because of the distorted environment, but sometimes the way widened, or got smaller, or turned and twisted. There were no branching ways, and Link was glad for that because it meant they wouldn't get lost. They walked on for a dozen minutes, everything silent except the splashing of feet and paws through a foot of water.

Link, he has me...

Link kept walking. Who are you? Link asked in his mind. There was no answer. I must be going crazy! This quiet whisper in my mind isn't being heard by anyone else...who could possibly talk to me in my mind? The passage opened up into a room. The room was all illusion, appearing to be nothing but a wet wasteland, but on the other side was an opening that was fading in and out of view. The companions made for that opening, and Link looked carefully around the room as they walked through it.

...don't let him squash me...

The quiet voice was beginning to freak Link out, but he stayed alert anyway. He sensed the black monsters approaching before they appreared.

"Get ready for battle, everyone! We're being surrounded." At first Chain, Zelda and Taig were confused, then they saw black things begin to detatch themselves from nothingness. They were made of the same black magic as the assasins who had attacked Link and Sohran on the green island, but were different in form.

"What are these things?! That one looks like me - only completely black!" Taig yelled, pointing at a dark copy of himself that had glowing red eyes. Some looked like the three Hylians, others looked like Taig! About twenty appeared before they started attacking. The dark things had an almost metallic shine to them, and all of their eyes glowed red as they closed in.

"They look powerful, but they can be defeated with normal weapons. Try it!" Link slashed the nearest one, a pitch-black, faceless thing shaped like Zelda, and it fell in half soundlessly as the Master Sword cut through it.

"He's right - these guys aren't so tough!" Taig said, easily biting the head off one of his dopplegangers. "Yowch!" Taig yelped as another one chomped his wing. It had tremendous jaw power, and broke the bone. Roaring, Taig slashed the thing's blank face with a spike on his tail. Link wanted to go help Taig, but a Link-shaped monster stepped in front of him, red eyes gleaming. It reminded Link of Dark Link, but this kind of monster was a different kind of black than the Dark Hylian had been, and Dark Link had not simply died when hit with the Master Sword. Link slashed at the annoying obstical, but it raised a dark sword and blocked Link's blow. The two forced their swords against eachother, in a test of strength...

...Chain cut the black moster in front of him into halves with a divider spell, then two more Chain-shaped ones attacked him from behind. One cut his back with the very same spell he had just used, and he fell forward on his face. The second one put a black booted foot on his upper back to keep his down, under the water. He tried to get up and the one on top of him almost fell off, until the first one joined in. Their combined strength was too much to move...

...Link finally mustered his strength to force the monster back, then hit its sword away. It then tried to punch Link, but he sidestepped and slashed it in half, just like the other one. Its halves dissolved into blackness, and Link ran over to Taig, who was being clawed and bitten by two dragon-shaped shadows. Link cut one's snout with his sword and it recoiled, hissing. Taig began grappling with the second one as Link slashed at the first, unaware of the Link monsters behind him...

...Zelda casted a fire spell on the the monster in front of her, and, being too mindless to roll in the water, it burned to ashes. That was the third one Zelda had defeated, and she was feeling pretty good as she looked over at Link and Taig, locked in battle with dragon shadows. Where was Chain? She looked around for him and saw two Chain shadows standing on something as a hand grabbed her from behind.

"Link-" Link turned at the call of his name and saw Zelda, straining to get a monster's hands off her throat.

"Zelda! Hold on!" Link did a quick, blue spin attack to back up the dragon he was fighting, then jumpslashed it, splitting it in two and destroying it. More dragon and Link shadows were between him and the princess, and as more approached him from behind, he decided to use his best sword technique. "Taig, hit the floor!" Link yelled, and Taig obeyed, dropping and getting as low as possible for a dragon. "Kai-ten-giri!" Link shouted, performing his powered-up spin attack. The magic red flames coming from the Master Sword demolished all the shadows that had been surrounding Link, as well as the one Taig had been fighting. Link rushed over to Zelda and quickly destroyed the creature that had been gripping her neck, as well as two more that had been about to attack her. Zelda fell to her knees, coughing. "Are you okay, Zelda?" Link asked, trying to hear her reply over the roaring of a shadow monster Taig was frying.

"Yes..." She said, and Link helped her to her feet. "Link! Chain is in trouble, look!" Zelda pointed to the two shadow monsters standing next to eachother, and Link sprinted over as fast as he could. Zelda blew one up with a spell and Link, filled with hot anger, slashed the second one into six pieces before it dissappeared. He pulled Chain out of the water, but Chain wasn't moving.

"Oh no...Chain, say something!" Link turned his limp brother over and rested him on his knee, shaking his shoulder.

"Link, put some pressure on his lungs to get the water out!" Zelda said, running over. There were no more black mosters after Taig had defeated his, and the dragon came rushing over as well. Link pushed on his brother's chest firmly, but nothing happened. Chain, please don't be dead! Link prayed silently. "More pressure, he can handle it." Zelda said, leaning over. Link nodded and pushed down hard on Chain's chest. A bit of water came from his mouth and his face twitched, then he sat up and began coughing deeply, getting out all the water. Link patted him on the back, thinking it might help.

"Oh, thank goodness..." Link said, extremely relieved. "You gave me quite a scare, Chain." Chain finished coughing and sat down tiredly.

"Man, that didn't feel good...thanks, Link. Don't fuss, I'm okay. Let's get going...I don't want to stay in this room." The feeling was mutual, and the companions continued, not a trace of their battle remaining except a few areas of water that were slightly redder than the rest.

"How is your wing, Taig?" Link asked as they walked.

"Well, it's broken. I won't be able to fly for weeks unless I get this healed." The dragon prince replied.

"Oh, silly me, I can heal you and I forgot! Here.." Zelda layed a small hand on Taig's broken wing, chanting quietly and healing it as they walked. "There, how's that?"

"Much better, thanks." The two had slowed down a bit and were behind Chain and Link, who were still walking toward the exit of the room. Link and Chain realized their companions had fallen behind and stopped to wait for them. Just as Taig and Zelda were about to reach them, they bumped into an illusion-hidden wall.

"What the..? That wall wasn't there a minute ago!" Link said, running up to it and putting a hand on it. "Wierd...it's not just an illusion, it's invisible! If it was simply illusion, I wouldn't be able to see you through it, Zelda." Link said.

"You're right...hey, maybe if we back up a bit we can find where our two sides meet..." Zelda suggested. Both parties tried retracing their steps, but the wall had completely separated them. Link got irritated and tried slashing the wall with his sword, but it did no good.

"Great, now what? We really shouldn't separate..." Link said, worrying for his companions' safety. But, he knew they had no choice.

"The only thing we can do is explore and look for another way around, Link. If we don't find one, we'll go back to the entrance and meet you later, okay?" Link didn't like it, but it was the only thing they could do. He had a dark feeling that someone was controlling this place, separating them on pupose...

"Okay. See you later, guys. Be really careful. Come on, Chain." Link said, and he and his brother left the prince and princess behind, reaching the half-illusion-half-wall entrance quickly. Link was distracted by a familiar whisper in his mind...

Link...are you really here? Or am I imagining things?

I'm the one imagining things, Link thought irritably. Who was this person speaking to him? If they would stop whispering and use a normal voice Link might recognize it, but then that might be too dangerous in this place...Link just hoped it really was a someone, and not just a voice in his head. He and his brother walked quietly down the hall, following the changing walls. It wasn't long before they came to another room, close in appearance to the first, but a bit smaller. Chain observed that his brother looked very stressed, and put a hand on his shoulder. Link smiled back at him, not stopping.

"Don't worry, Link. Zelda and Taig will be fine. So will we." Chain said.

"If you say so," Link said, and hoped it was true. "I've had a lot of bad experiences with bringing people with me on my journeys...but a lot of good ones too, I suppose. You know, I would never forgive myself if one of you got hurt."

"You worry too much, that's your problem. You just need to have some faith in your friends. They have tons of faith in you, and always will."

"Heheh, you're right, Chain. You should be a counselor or something," Link joked. Chain shook his head, laughing. The two of them reached the middle of the room and stopped, looking around. "Well, I thought something might attack us in every room, but I don't see anything in this one." Link said. He was unaware of the black, long-legged monster directly above him.

"Yeah, seems too quiet, doesn't it? Oh well.." Chain said. More monsters were detatching fromthe ceiling and lowering themselves toward the Hylians. As an afterthought of searching, Chain looked up. "Whaaa! Link, look at those!" Link saw them, and quickly pulled Chain with him to the side, dodging one that meant to drop on him. It was a very large, long-legged, sharp-toothed creature. It's four long, boney legs came from its body, which was suspended about ten feet off the ground, and it had a beady-eyed, long-fanged face. It looked vaguely like a spider.

"Sshhhccaaa! Let's kill them, brothers! They are no match for us bladethreads!" The ugly creature hissed as its slightly smaller companions joined it on the ground. All together, there were six of them.

"Bladethread? What kind of a name is that?" Chain asked, looking at the tall black thing.

"W-what? Well what's your name, if you're so smart?" The thing asked in its hissy, scratchy voice.

"Chain. And it's much better than 'bladethread'. You sound like you're a monster made to sew sharp objects onto clothes or something!" Chain said, making the spiders hiss indignantly.

"Are you arguing with the monsters, Chain? Let's just fight them!" Link said impatiently.

"Chain sounds like you're made to tie things up, stupid little boy! And you're the weakest Link!" The spider said, pointing at Link, somehow knowing his name.

"Hey! I'm not the one who insulted your name!" Link said, frowning. Were these monsters sent to kill them or distract them?

"Yes, but you're linked to Chain by your blood....which, uh...will soon be all over the ground! Attack!" Link had to restrain himself from laughing at the stupid comment, because he knew that he fought terribly while laughing. The largest spider thing and three of its companions jumped at Link, and the other two went after Chain, who was already chanting some spells.

Link cut the first two legs off of the spider to reach him the quickest, which was the smallest one. The monster screetched and tumbled past Link, white blood spurting from its cut apendages. Then the two other smaller spiders got on either side of Link, while the largest one watched.

"Yes, kill him, he injured our brother!" The large spider growled.

"Why don't you kill me?" Link asked the spider, wondering why the leaders always hung back and watched their 'brothers' get massacred.

"Yeah, how come you never help us, huh? You scared of the little Hylian?" One spider asked his elder.

"How dare you! I'm not scared of anything!" The big one protested. This is pathetic, Link thought. Did the Dark One really think these ununited creatures could defeat anything? Link looked over at Chain, who had frozen one spider thing and was struggling with the second one. Link knew he could beat it, though. The bladethreads were not very strong. Link heard a loud hiss of pain as the large spider slashed a smaller one with a sharp claw on the end of its leg. The smaller two then pounced on it, and Link watched as the larger one went into a chopping frenzy. Before he could control himself, he had killed both of his smaller companions. "You...you did thisssss!" It said, shaking with fury. "You turned my brothers against me!"

"Well, it looks to me like you had no love for them in the first place. Monsters never do." Link said quietly. It was true, it never took much to get monsters to fight eachother.

"I'll kill you! Yes, I'll kill you using the attack for which us bladethreads are named!" The spider opened its big mouth and silvery thread came out, spraying at Link. He hacked through some of it with his sword, but inevitably some got by, and soon Link had web all over his chest. The spider stopped spitting web, but the web on Link was connected to the creature's mouth by a thread. "Let me introduce you to a new kind of pain, Hylian!" The creature yanked on its thread, and the pain that resulted was indeed new. It was bladethread stinging venom on blade-like tendrils of web getting ripped through Link's skin.

"Ahhhh!" Link screamed as all the web was ripped off him, leaving long, painful lacerations filled with stinging fluid. Link's blood looked like little threads themselves, flying through the air as the web left him, and he fell to his knees.

"Gyaahahahhh....How do you like that, cocky little Link?" The spider asked, grinning as well as it could with its deformed mouth.

Chain had summoned a magic spear and killed his spider with it when he looked over at Link, who was about to get pounced on by the largest spider. Chain quickly cast a pressure spell to throw the spider away from Link and ran over to him.

"You okay?" He asked Link as the warrior got to his feet. The spider got up as well, rushing toward the Hylians.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He's coming back!" Having time to do nothing else, Link threw his body between Chain and the spider beast as it opened its ugly mouth wide and shot more blade webs.

"Link!!" Chain yelled, seeing his brother get slashes all over from having web shot past him. Ribbons of blood followed the web, making it look as if little red threads of webs were coming out of Link. Chain flinched as the threads of red splattered on him. Link fell over, and the large spider started cackling.

"You wont get away with that one, bladethread!" Chain was infuriated and casted a forest blade spell at the blade-loving spider. As Chain chanted, sharp leaves surrounded him, flying on magic wind. Chain pointed at the spider and the blade-leaves rushed forth, giving the bladethread twice as many slashes as it had given Link. The thing screetched and toppled over, dead, and Chain bent over Link.

"Ouch..." Link said, putting his hand over a particularly large slash on his shoulder. "I didn't expect that ignorant spider to have such an advanced attack." Chain helped Link get to his feet, frowning as he discovered his brother had more slashes than he thought.

"I'm lucky my spiders didn't do that to me! Good thing they were dumb, huh? Well, I don't have much experience in healing, but I'll try to heal you anyway." Chain put a hand on Link's biggest wound, concentrating whatever light magic he had on it. Unfortunately, his lack of training rendered the spell ineffective. "Well, I tried. Sorry, bro. Can you walk?"

"Sure, I can walk. I've had worse than this, I'll be fine." Link said, wishing he had gone back to the castle and gotten his gear before entering the temple. It was pretty easy to walk and Link wasn't losing much blood, but it might be difficult for him to fight in his condition. He just hoped he found Zelda and Taig before he found the 'Dark One'. "We'd better keep going and get this over with. Stay close." Link said, an inward fear of being separated from his brother knawing at him. What would he ever do if Chain got killed? Link didn't want to think about it. Link picked up his sword and the two walked on, toward an area that looked like another hallway.

-What is that pathetic little ball of light jumping around for? It has no reason to be excited...maybe it's gone insane. Solitary confinement for two weeks can do that...but, since its behavior hasn't changed recently, I can only assume Link survived my bladethreads. Rats, I only have one more line of defense, but who am I kidding? I'm actually glad he's making it through my guards. That way, I can kill him myself, yes...and his friends, too. But I'll deal with them later. First, I'll get him all by himself and we'll have a little chat, heheh. I turn to my five strongest shadows and send them forth. Separate the Hero of Time from his brother....-

 Something unexpected happened as Link and Chain emerged into a new room. The hallway behind them and the one ahead vanished, leaving nothing but miles and miles of watery nothingness to be seen. Apparently, Zelda's spell had worn off. To make matters worse, more shadow warriors appeared from nowhere.

"Is there no end to these things? I'm getting bored of them!" Link declared, drawing the Master Sword. Oddly, there were only three warriors this time. They were all vaguely human-shaped, tall, and faceless, with glowing red eyes. All three drew evil-looking longswords out of nowhere.

"Well, at least they have something more than daggers this time." Chain said, forming an ice ball over his palm. "I bet I can kill two before you do, bro!"

"You're on!" Link said, and rushed at the closest shadow warrior. It ran to the right and Link followed it, but the monster was quick and Link only began to gain on it after they had been running for a few moments. The monster turned around suddenly, cutting at Link's legs. Link jumped but didn't have time to stop himself, and slammed right into the monster, taking them both to the water-covered ground. Link jumped up first and was about to slice the monster in half, when he heard splashing behind him. He turned quickly and brought up his sword just fast enough to block the blow of one of a second shadow monster. The one he had knocked down got to its feet, and Link had to bring his blade around to block another sword strike from the first monster, leaving his back exposed. The second monster tried to take advantage of this, bringing back its blade for a devistating blow. Unfortunately for it Link was faster, and ducked just in time to avoid the second monster's sword. The blade cut into its parter, making the creature screetch and giving it a long slash in its midsection. Link rolled out from between them and jumped up. He expected to see them angry at eachother as he turned around, but to his surprise, they were slashing at him with perfect teamwork. It took a lot of speed to block the rain of blows aimed for Link, and his exhertion was making his wonds bleed more profusely.

"Chain, watch out! These guys are a lot more skilled than the others we've fought!" Link said, struggling to keep up with his enemies' fast pace.

"I noticed!" Chain's voice replied. It sounded strained and Link risked a look behind him, over at Chain. The monster was behind Chain and holding him, trying to cut his throat with its sword! Chain was barely holding it off with both hands on the hilt. The sword was inching closer..."Link!" Chain yelled, feeling cold metal on his neck. Needless to say, Link was distracted by this. He missed parrying the blow of one of the shadow beasts he was fighting, and recieved a large slash across his chest for dropping his guard.

"Eauuggh!" Link screamed as the sharp blade tore through his skin. The slash was deep and Link was thrown off his feet, landing with a splash. A shadow beast quickly knocked the Master Sword out of Link's hands and grabbed the front of his tunic, hauling him to his feet. It then turned him around and put him in a full nelson (for those of you poor people who have never experienced wrestling and don't know what a full nelson is, it's when a person puts both their arms under another persons arms from behind and locks their hands on the back of their neck. It's very hard to get out of without causing a lot of pain to the person doing it...). "Chain, hold on!" Link yelled, struggling violently to get out of the monster's hold. Link could feel the thing's grip loosening, then felt something else much less pleasant. It was the breath going out of him as the second monster kicked him in the gut really hard. "Ugh..." Link gasped to get some air back in him, but the monster wasn't finished. It began puching Link in the gut over and over again, each time a little harder than the last. Link really hoped Chain was doing okay, because he didn't know how to get out of this one.

"Get...off...me!" Chain growled, using all his strength to resist the sword on his neck. How could this monster be so strong?! Chain was using both his hands against its one hand, and still the sword was getting closer to cutting him! Even more miraculous was the fact that the monster's complete strength was not focused on the sword. Its other arm still had the power to squeeze Chain's chest very tightly so he wouldn't escape. Chain started to chant, but the arm around his chest tightened, making it very difficult to talk, much less concentrate. Chain knew he should have learned some non-verbal spells before walking into danger. But, it was too late now. Chain inhaled sharply as the sword cut his skin a bit. It had already been choking him, but now it was drawing blood! "Link!" Where was his brother? Chain looked over and saw Link getting the daylights beaten out of him by two shadow monsters. Now what? Poor Link...I want to help him, but I can't even get away from this monster! Chain coughed, and felt a drop of warm liquid slide down his neck.

Link ignored each flare of pain caused by getting punched by the monster, focusing on the struggling Chain. I have to help him! In another minute or so, that thing will have cut his head off! The very thought enraged the warrior. The black monster holding Link was very surprised when the Hylian found some sudden strength; crouching and leaning forward, pulling it onto his back. The monster let go and tried to get off, but Link grabbed it and slammed it onto the watery ground in front of him. Link turned to Chain and was about to dash over to him, but the other monster launched itself at Link and latched onto his legs. Link tried to pull the thing off, but its spiteful hold would not let him go anywhere. He heard a choked scream from his brother. He had to act; now.

Link picked up the Master Sword and powered it up until it was glowing. He then did something he had never done before. Link executed a stabbing motion at the monster holding Chain, and a scarlet blast of energy left the Master Sword, shooting straight at the beast! The red, fire-like blast reached the monster in a splitsecond, shredding it instantly and burning it to cinders. The monster on Link's legs was frightened by the power of this new technique and it let go, backing away from Link. Its partner, who had gotten up, also backed away; it would not quickly forget how its fellow shadow beast was just cut up and burned by a simple blast. Chain rubbed his neck and smiled gratefully at Link.

"Thanks. I didn't know you could use your sword like that, bro." Chain said simply.

"Neither did I," Link said, bewildered by what he had just done. He hadn't practiced, attempted, or even seen that technique ever before. Link turned to the monsters, ready to do battle with them, only to see them dash past him, toward Chain. "Hey! Get back here, you cowards!" Link shouted, running after them. Unfortunately, Link smacked right into an invisible wall that had suddenly sprung up from nowhere. "Youch!" he said, backing up and rubbing his head. How'd this wall get here?! Link wondered, watching helplessly as the two monsters got closer to Chain. Chain chanted a spell and managed to set one on fire before it reached him. It flailed and dropped to the water to put the fire out. The second one, however, reached Chain before he could conjure a new spell to defend himself with. With all its evil strength, the black beast drove its fist into the pit of Chain's stomach. Chain groaned and fell over, a bit of blood dripping from his mouth.

"Chain!!" Link yelled, pounding on the clear wall separating him and his sibling. The black monster grabbed Chain's collar and began to drag him away, joined by its partner which had successully extinguished all the flames from the little Hylain's spell. "You'll regret this, you monsters!" Link yelled, powering up his sword again. Just as Chain was dragged out of sight and Link was about to attempt to break the wall, something hit him from behind. It was a three-inch-long throwing knife, and it buried itself to the hilt below his right shoulder blade. After a short scream of pain, Link slid to his knees and dropped his sword, still staring at the last spot he had seen his brother. "Chain..." Link murmured, not paying any heed to the thing approaching him from behind. He regretted it when the monster grabbed the hilt of the knife in his back and twisted it. "Eaaaahhh!" The monster enjoyed the Hylian's scream as it forced him downward by twisting the knife. Link finally got a grip on himself and decided to put an end to the shadow's enjoyment. He reached behind and grabbed the shadow's hand, then turned around and sat down. He then leaned back and pulled on the hand to position the monster's body over his own, and kicked it in the stomach as hard as he could. Moaning, the shadow stumbled backwards and Link got to his feet. "Yah!" Link shouted, puching the monster square in the face. In his anger he unknowingly called apon the power of the Platinum Gauntlets, and the monster's head exploded in a puff of smoke.

'ello there, friends! thx for readin, plz review no matter if its flames (reasonable ones) or compliments or constructive criticism. I hope you liked this, cuz I like writing it! keep reading to find out if Link ever sees his brother again, wooooo O.o -Talonclawfange