Chapter 5: Enter Dark Link

Sean awoke to the gentle sound of the ocean; the water lapping up against the side of something. He opened his eyes and yellow sunlight peeked in through cracks in the basket's weaving. Yellow! The only sunlight he had seen for so long was red. Where was he? Sean punched the lid off and peeked out. Sure enough he was on a small boat, traveling down a narrow river that was separated from the ocean by a thin sandbar.

On the left side was the shore, heavily forested and filled with life. Sean had never seen anything like it since he was at least three. He turned around and saw a somewhat over-weight man sitting at the steering rudder, looking extremely shocked. His cloths consisted of a simple tunic, pants, and knee-high boots.

"Where the hell did you come from?" asked the man; he must've been the man from before.
"I was in the basket," Sean answered.

"In the basket?" He was surprised about that as well. "Why?"

Sean shook his head. "Is it okay if I just ride until you stop?"

"Sure," the man answered with a shrug. "It doesn't really matter."

Sean crawled his way out of the basket carefully onto the boat. The boat was sort of long, like a canoe, but a little wider. The air around him was clean and smelled of water and salt. The air around the fortress was dry, dusty, and harsh on your skin. Sean simply glanced around at his surroundings; this was the most color he had seen in five years, along with many wild animals.

"Where are we?" Sean asked, his ice blue eyes shining with wonder.

"Somewhere far south of that demon's fortress," the man answered. "Good thing he hasn't reached this far yet, but he gets closer everyday." For some time, the man just watched Sean look around in awe, beginning to feel somewhat guilty.

Sean looked over the edge of the boat. The water was so crystal clear, he could see the bottom. He dangled a hand over the side and let it slide through the water as the boat moved. It was so clean and cool on his skin. The water back at the fortress was no where as clean as this. He watched fish of many sizes and colors swim by and under the boat.

The man watched Sean silently. 'The boy is dressed in dirty rags, is barefoot, and has a dirty blanket tied around his neck. Where did he come from?' the man thought to himself. The boy was acting as if he had never seen color before. This was beginning to worry him. 'What if,' he began to think, 'What if he came from the fortress?'

A shiver ran up the man's spine. If that were so, the boy would be hunted; either to be killed or brought back. He was starting to feel sorry for Sean, he was just so young. He was also very thin and frail-looking, like he hadn't eaten in days or weeks. The man bit his lip and looked off to the side in somewhat sorrow.

"Hey kid," he said, causing Sean to turn around and look at him. "There's some food in the bag next to you if you want something to eat."

Sean's eyes widened. "You would give me food?" He asked in astonishment.

"Err…yeah," the man answered slowly. "You look like you could use it."

Without another thought, Sean dug into the bag, pulled out something (he didn't care what it was), and started to chow it down.

The man watched Sean for a moment. "When was the last time you ate something?"

Sean shrugged, his mouth too full to answer.

"Where you a slave?"

Sean nodded.

"That would explain it then," he muttered under his breath.

Sean turned around again to face the man. "Where are ya headin'?" he asked, tossing the rest of whatever he was eating into his mouth.

"No where in particular," the man replied. "I just go around and sell this stuff, trade it, and so on."

Sean nodded, swallowing the rest of his food. "I'm just trying to live long enough to get out of here."

"What do you mean?"

Sean shook his head, not wanting to answer that question.

Eventually Sean went back to staring over the edge of the boat at all the fish and the man went back to steering the boat. The current had been good enough to keep the boat going straight at a steady pace, but needed a little steering help every so often.

The silence lasted for some time before the merchant's stop finally came up. He tied the boat to the dock and Sean hopped off onto it.
"Thanks for the ride," Sean said facing the man after hopping onto the dock.

"Don't mention it," he answered. He called Sean back when the boy began to walk away. "You don't plan on traveling in those do you?"
Sean looked down at his tattered dirty clothes.

"Here," the man said tossing a bundle of something to Sean. "Wear these instead."

Sean unfolded it to have a pair of pants and boots fall away from the long sleeved shirt he was now holding. He had never seen new clothes before.

"You can go change over there," the man said pointing at several large bushes. "And then give me your old clothes and I might be able to find someone who could use them."

Sean nodded and disappeared behind the bushes, reappearing a few minutes later wearing his new set of clothes and boots. He walked down the pier and tossed his old clothes to the man.

"Well, doesn't that look a lot better," he said catching them and putting them away. "I bet you'll be glad you have them too." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch and tossed it to Sean. "You might need these as well."

Sean fingered the pouch as its contents clinked together. He untied the drawstrings and opened the top; within were a couple dozen different colored rupees. He pulled one out and held it between his finger and thumb, the sunlight causing its red light to dance across his young features. It had been awhile since he had seen the jewels that were Termina's currency. He looked at the rupee a bit longer and returned it to the pouch. He tied the pouch shut and put it in his pocket.

"No need to thank me," the man said before Sean could even utter a word. "You'll need them if you plan on running around, considering how young you are." He sighed and gave one last look at Sean. "Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" he asked. "These forests are crawling with monsters and thieves."

"I'll be fine," Sean answered. "It's worse where I'm coming from. Anything's better than that and I never want to go back." He turned around, but looked back at the man. "Thanks again."

"It's fine, but I just hope you know what you're doing," the man said as Sean turned and began walking away. "I can only hope."

Sean had been walking for awhile with no clear destination. He was quite a way from the ocean, but salt still distantly lingered in the air. Birds flew and chirped in the trees, sounds that Sean couldn't remember from before his time at the fortress. The sky was a bright blue and the clouds were white; much different from the red sky and black clouds he had gotten so used to seeing. He looked around. The grass was lush and green and the trees were coated with green leaves that swayed in the faint sea breeze. Clusters of multi-colored flowers dotted the ground and a variety of insects hovered about them.

A stench suddenly filled Sean's nose, one he knew well; the smell of decaying flesh. 'Why would that smell be in a place like this?' Sean though jumping off the path he had been following; his childish curiosity too strong to resist. He quickly ended up in a small clearing among a few very huge trees. This clearing was the source, but there was no carcass and that's what confused Sean.

No sooner than when he had placed one foot into the clearing, a hand suddenly erupted from the ground and grabbed his ankle. The hand was four fingered and the flesh was bleached death white, but the dagger fingers were salmon pink. Soon after the first, another hand shot from the ground and grabbed Sean by the throat; only squeezing hard enough to have a firm grip.

Sean was so shocked by what was happening that his body wouldn't react to the commands he gave it. The hand on his ankle released its grip and disappeared underground, while the one around his throat lifted him off the ground; its joints creaking and cracking. The arm was only flesh and bone, but seemed to surging with nonexistent muscle. The hand then turned him and began to lower him near the middle of the clearing. As it did, four more hands rose from the ground and clamped onto his arms and legs. With being in the four hand's clutches, the one on his neck released him and sunk into the dirt once more. Sean winced as the dagger claws dug into his flesh, drawing blood.

Just then, a little ahead of him, the ground began to roil and bubble like molten lava waiting to erupt. The ground then shot up like a geyser and fell away to reveal the monster itself. Its body was slug-like and thick. It had two thin arms that it kept tucked against its flabby bulk. Its head was a human skull with the same bleached skin stretched over the boney features and held up by a long, thin neck. The creature was the same bleach white as the arms and splotched the same with salmon pink and stood around seven feet tall.

Sean shivered, looking at the creature's razor sharp teeth that glistened in the sunlight. The creature worked its jaws, staring at its prey with deep eyeless sockets. It opened its mouth, which seemed to hang limply by just the skin, around two feet. The rotting stench was definitely coming from this monster and Sean was having trouble inhaling from the sheer thickness of the smell.

The creature began to close in on Sean, to bite him in half, and the dagger claws of the hands dug deeper into his flesh with glee. Before the creature could close its jaws around the boy's torso, a voice cut though the air causing it to stop.

"Mekoh!"

A shadowed figure dropped soundlessly from one of the huge trees and both Sean and the creature were staring at the figure as it approached them. Sean couldn't make out anything from the figure except for the swaying of a cloak. Sean shivered with a different fear than fear he had with the creature; a fear that he had suffered with for five years.

The figure eventually stepped into the sunlight and Sean saw that his prediction on who it was, was only part correct. This man was the exact same height and age as Link; in fact his body-build and facial features were exactly the same. The only differences this man had from Link were that his hair was raven black and his eyes were a piercing blood-red. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt and pants, knee-high black leather boots and a hooded black cloak that trailed to his ankles; a long sword hung from a belt around his waist.

"How many times must I tell you, this is my territory!" he demanded.

The creature, whose name appeared to be Mekoh, made a pleading hissing sound and earned itself a punch in the jaw from the man. The man smirked when he heard Mekoh's jaw crack with the impact.

"I don't care if you were hungry!" he snapped. "Eating random people will bring on the authorities and I know you don't want that."
Mekoh snapped its jaw back into place with its tiny forearms and the arms on Sean placed him on the ground and withdrew from him. Sean fell back onto the dirt, his legs sore from the punctures that were deep in his muscle. The man reached out and grabbed one of Mekoh's long arms, slowly squeezing it and causing the strange creature a great deal of pain.

"Better watch yourself Mekoh," the man warned coldly, "or you'll see why this arm doesn't bend this way!" As he said that, the snapped the arm backwards so it was now twisted in an awkward direction.

Mekoh gave a high pitched screech and pulled the injured arm under.

"That's one," the man muttered, smiling. "Let's see," He counted on his with a smug look made Mekoh began to shudder. "You've got seven more. Which one's next?" He tightened a fist making his knuckles crack and Sean and Mekoh jump.

Mekoh started his shriek sounds again and the man rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean you're mortally wounded?" he asked calmly, repeating Mekoh's plea, "You're one of the Un-Dead. You can just fix your stupid arm." He turned around in a huff. "Stupid excuse for a –" He looked at Sean through the corner of his red eyes. "That's just sad, Mekoh," he muttered in a mocking tone. "Trying to eat a defenseless kid. Where's your dignity?"

Mekoh hissed something in its strange tongue, staring at the ground.

"He was the first to come around?" the man said, making a question out of Mekoh's phrase.

Mekoh nodded.

"Damn it, Mekoh! Just get out of here!" he snapped.

In less than ten seconds, Mekoh and its arms were under the ground and gone. The man gave an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms, his back facing Sean.

"I really do hate him," he muttered before the corners of his red eyes locked on Sean again. "I forgot about you."

Sean shivered on the ground, his leg muscles ached horribly from the deep punctures. This black-haired man looked exactly like Link and Sean hated and feared Link's guts. 'What if the man is working for Link? What if he decides to kill me?' were the questions that ran through Sean's mind.

By now the man had turned around and Sean felt his cold gaze full blast; like a fire burning from the inside, slowly to the outside. Something was at work behind those crimson pools, as if he was thinking about what to do with the boy. Sean simply whimpered softly and shuddered, blood seeping from his skin and darkening his clothing. He couldn't run, even if he wanted to.

"I wouldn't want to stay there if I were you," the man said eventually.

"I can't move my legs," Sean replied weakly, hiding he eyes behind his white hair.

The man gave a half annoyed, half amused laugh. "You're pretty weak for one with white hair," he muttered.

"Huh?" Sean's face was twisted in confusion.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked; dark eyebrows rose slightly. "What a shame." His face relaxed, but was still hard. "What a shame."

"What are you talking about?" Sean demanded lifting his head so he could see the man clearly with his ice blue eyes.

"You really don't have a clue," the man replied calmly. "Though it is possible it's only a fluke…" He trailed off.

Sean was feeling confused. The man was only speaking half of what he meant, possibly trying to hide the truth. As far as Sean was concerned, he was doing a pretty good job. He stared at the man and slowly slid his right hand into the long sleeve of his shirt, hoping to hide from the man what he had there. He wasn't sure if the man had seen the movement, but tried to hide the thought from his eyes.

"What are you going to do to me?" Sean asked after a while of tense silence.

The man gave no answer. He bent down and grabbed Sean, slinging him over his shoulder much like what the Lizalfos had done five years ago. Sean remained silent and limp as the man began to carry him off somewhere. He had no clue on what was going to happen, but at least he wasn't walking.

With every step the man took, the punctures would throb and Sean would wince with the pain. That creature had held him tightly, possibly in an attempt to injure him if he had gotten free of its grip.

"What was that thing?" Sean asked aloud, but to himself.

"What, Mekoh? He's a Dead Hand," the man answered in a voice much like Link's, but colder and deeper.

"What's that?"

"You saw one."

"Who are you?"

"Dark Link."

"Who?"

"My name is Dark Link."

"Link?" Sean squeaked, his entire body tensing in fear despite the pain.

"I'm nothing like that bastard," Dark Link answered, smirking to himself. "He'll always be a wimp and coward."

"You know him?" Sean asked in astonishment.

"Know him? He's me and I'm him," Dark Link replied.

"How does that work?"

"It's too long of a story and I don't need to spill my life to the likes of a kid!" he snapped in return.

"Some other time then?" Sean squeaked softly only to have Dark Link growl in return.

He sighed and fell silent, the pain of the trip and Dark Link's tight hold around his middle all came flooding back to him. He couldn't understand how this guy could be related to Link, more less be him. It didn't make any sense. Sean lifted his head and looked at the scenery that passed by him. There were many tall, ancient, and massive trees that could easily be two-thousand years old or more. Faint bird calls echoed through the air from high up in the canopy. 'Where am I?' Sean thought to himself. Was Dark Link taking him somewhere so he could kill the boy without any worry of the public? Sean could only hope for something better.

The sound of running water brought Sean out of his thoughts. He looked around, but saw nothing more than Dark Link's black cloak. Sean sighed and let his head hang limp, but lifted it when he felt Dark Link's hold on him shift, lift him up, and set him gently on the ground. Sean was a bit surprised about the gentle part after seeing how Dark Link treated Mekoh. He put his hands down beside himself and felt that he was sitting on a rock and now could now see the stream he had heard earlier.

Dark Link kneeled down beside the stream, reached into the folds of his cloak, and pulled out a piece a piece of cloth which he ripped up and put one in the water.

"I'm going to wash out those wounds on your arms and legs," he said, not even giving Sean a glance, "because if I don't, you'll surely die."
Sean gulped and nodded slowly, remaining silent. He didn't like the idea of dying too much and also remembered the way Dark Link had snapped at him the last time he had spoke. After wringing the excess water out of the wet cloth, Dark Link turned to his little patient; his expression as hard as stone.

"Roll up your pant legs," he ordered, glaring Sean in the eyes.

Sean did as he was told, used to being beaten if he didn't, and winced when the cold wet cloth touched his bleeding skin; as many wounds do. After flushing out anything Mekoh's rotting fingers may have left behind, Dark Link tied a few of the dry strips around Sean's thighs and pulled his pant legs back down.

Sean watched Dark Link soak another strip and he pulled the sleeve on his right arm, but not before those cold red eyes locked onto him.
"What's on your arm that you don't want me to see?" he asked though demanding Sean show him.

Sean shook his head like a rebellious child and held the sleeve down tighter.

Dark Link reached out and grabbed Sean's wrist tightly and roughly forced the sleeve back. There on the back of Sean's hand was a black silhouette tattoo of Volvagia. The dragon's head took up the back of the hand, a clear spot for the eye, and the thick serpentine body coiled up Sean's arm and the end of the tail was located somewhere by his shoulder.

"One of Link's favorites," Dark Link muttered. "He had something in store for you. You've put him in quite a mood with your little escape plan," he added with a smugly amused smile.

"You can tell all that by this?" Sean asked, pointing at the tattoo with his free hand.

"I told you, I know him," Dark Link shot back. "I know how his twisted little mind works."

Sean looked away and found the bark of a tree quite fascinating while Dark Link finished working on his arms. Dark took a few of the remaining bandages and began wrapping them around the back of Sean's hand and up his arm until it met with the other bandage. "You don't need anyone seeing that," he muttered, tying them off. "It'll only cause you trouble that you don't want."

Sean nodded slightly wondering why Dark Link was actually treating him nicely, though that may not be the intention. He still felt pretty crappy, even with the bandages, but Dark Link wasn't finished yet.

The dark-haired man reached back into the folds of his cloak and withdrew a small vial filled with a rusty red liquid. He popped the top off with his thumb, releasing a thin eruption of vapor that traveled down over the rim; much like dry ice. He held it near Sean's face, who was forced to inhale the liquid's foul odor. Sean wrinkled up his nose in disgust.

"What the heck is that?" he asked.

"Drink it," was all Dark Link said.

"Why?"

"Just drink it."

Sean's eyes traveled back to the vial. To him, it looked like blood and smelled like it too.

Seeing that Sean wasn't going to drink it voluntarily, Dark Link forced the boy's head back and dumped the metallic tasting liquid down his throat until he swallowed it.

Sean gagged and wrenched his head free from Dark Link's grasp, his eyes watering from the burning liquid going down his throat. He coughed and his breath escaped from his mouth colored the same red as the liquid. He held his breath and watched the red smoke swirl in the air, eventually disappearing. Sean could only drop his jaw in amazement and with every exhale, his breath was red.

"It's just a side effect," Dark Link said, keeping his eyes averted from Sean and returning the vial to his pocket.

"What does it mean?" Sean asked, the air in front of him turning red with every word until disappearing a few seconds later.

"The potion's working," Dark Link answered, standing. "Give it time, it'll go away."

Sean coughed, his throat still burning slightly. The puncture holes weren't throbbing anymore and he had trouble even feeling them at all. He slid off the rock and slowly lowered himself so his weight went to his legs gradually. He was surprised that his legs could hold him up like they did before Mekoh got him. He jumped around like a little child, testing the strength of his legs while Dark Link growled impatiently.

"What was that stuff?' Sean asked, stopping his jumping.

Dark Link wasn't facing Sean. "It was a healing potion," he muttered in reply. "It helps speed up the healing and takes away the pain."

"Why did you give me one? More less, help me."

"Because you're traveling with me from now on, since you know what I look like and who I am. I can't let you roam around free. And since you'll be traveling with me," He turned his head enough to only glance at Sean. "I don't need you lagging behind because you are wounded.