Disclaimer:
I do not own the Legend of Zelda.
If I did, not only would I be rich,
but I would be having Zelda games made left and right, that could actually be played multiplayer without the use of friggin' Game Boy Advances. Stupid manipulation of the consumers... But alas,
despite this annoyance, I must admit. The Legend of Zelda; Four Swords Adventures is a pretty awesome game if you have the money to grab atleast two GBAs and an extra Link cable. And now I will shut up, as this is the longest disclaimer I've ever written and we all know no one even reads these things so I'm wasting space and words.
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Author's Note:
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Fourth chapter, and so far our hero's luck, though still a little bad, is starting to change. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering... Link, and all of his equipment in this tale, are all from Ocarina of Time.
Ruto's, on the other hand, is all the things that are in Zelda III; A Link to the Past that weren't included in Ocarina of Time. Hence the red Magic Cloak that made her invisable ) Oh, the cleverness of me. Sort of. oo -
Anyway. Expect to see more of these elusive SNES items.
And in case you didn't notice, the plot is finally getting away from Zora's Domain. Which is good, because the lack of having to describe everything over and over agan was beginning to hurt the length of chapters. I think. Oh yeah, and though there may be an Ocarina of Time sequel in the works now, this story was started, and shall finish, ignorant of that game's plot, because I don't want to wait for it to come out, nor do I like having to work my story between the plotlines of many sequels.
Sorry it took so long to write. It takes too long to explain.
Writers block, school, vacation, computers messing up constantly.
Bah.
Just wish me luck, I'm hoping to make it six or seven chapters,
possibly more. And then who knows, maybe I'll pull a disney stunt and make a crappy sequel! D -
(kidding about that)
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)Serenade of Water
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Chapter Four
Sadistic Proposition
-(note: all the little dashes is to save this story from the horror that is Document Manager. THank you)
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----As the morning sun began to climb into the sky over Hyrule, a blue-clad Hylian and a red cloaked Zoran were dashing down the Zora's River, with eight zoran guards in close pursuit. -
----Ruto pulled out a burnt orange tinted staff, and held it behind her as she ran. Magic sparkles came from the tip of the staff, before suddenly big red blocks began to materialize seemingly out of nowhere.
They landed along the river, creating quite an obstacle coarse for their pursuers.
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----One of the guards tripped over a block and got stuck between two others, but the other seven continued as fiercely as before, leaping nimbly over the blocks with ease. They seemed to be going a pretty good job of distancing themselves from the soldiers, as two more of them slammed into blocks head-on.
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----"Uh oh, a little low on magic.." Ruto said, as she put the Cane of Byrna away and sped up a bit. ----"Take to the waters, men!" the guard in front yelled as they leapt into the river and began to close the distance between themselves and the fugitives at an alarming rate.
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----Ruto pulled out a small bottle of green liquid and downed it, before pulling out a blue rod with a crystal tip, aiming for the river. Small white sparkles shot out of the rod, and as they hit the water, it began to freeze.
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----The first three guards slammed into the ice, as all five poked their heads out of the water just in time for the rest of their bodies to be frozen in the patch of ice that now covered a rather noticable chunk of the river.
"Dang it!" shouted one of the guards through chattering teeth. -
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- ----Link and Ruto reached the entrance to the Hyrule Field. "We're almost there, finally!" Ruto said, before suddenly a shadowy figure fell from above,
landing gracefully and slowly rising. Before the two young heroes stood a shadow-black Zoran soldier, with shining crimson eyes.
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----"Why are there so many of these shadow things lately?" Link said with a sigh as he reached for an arrow, realizing that, for the first time in ages.. he was out.
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----The Zoran shadow took a fighting stance and got ready to fight as Link pulled out the Kokiri shortsword, and Ruto took out the blue rod once more.
The creature suddenly lunged at Ruto, slashing madly; she leapt out of the way and shot another burst of icey magic at the shadow, as it rolled away and stood up to face Link, only to feel a blade thrust between its eyes. The shadowy figure screamed in agony and the two took off, Link kicking the creature off his blade before dashing away beside Ruto.
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----The shadow Zoran guard slowly stood up, coughing, as heavy footsteps drew near. The creature turned to face the Gerudo prince, Garland, glaring at him.
"You let them get away, you useless doppelganger." he said with a scowl. "But fortunately for you, I have another task. Go seek a shadow such as yourself, one who looks just like the Hylian scum, and bring him to me." ----The shadow nodded and darted away, vanishing in mere moments as the gerudo prince sighed and began walking towards Hyrule Castle. "Good help is so hard to find these days..." he muttered as dark clouds began to envelop the skies.
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----Link and Ruto slowed their pace to a walk once they were sure no one was pursuing them. By now they were halfway across the Hyrule Field, though they had no idea of where to go next. "Well, so long as we aren't ambushed again,
I think we made it." Ruto said with a grin, putting the ice rod away. Link nodded in agreeance, catching his breath for a moment or so. "You owe me a lot for all the times I've saved you." laughed the Zoran princess. "Maybe I should become a wandering hero like you"
- ----Thunder rumbled in the distance as dark clouds began to cover the skies overhead, a few drops of water falling upon their heads. "Uh oh, we better find some shelter..." Link said, looking around quickly. "Talon should let us stay atleast until the storm blows over"
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----"Hylians don't like a little rain?" teased Ruto as the began to walk towards Talon's ranch. ----"It's going to get bad soon..." said Link, wishing they were closer to the ranch. Ruto laughed a bit. "How bad could it possibly get?" she said with a hint of amusement.
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----As if the very words caused it to happen, a bolt of lightning tore into a tree not too far away, a ground-shaking, thunderous roar filling the air moments later. Ruto shrieked as it began to pour down rain, before glaring at Link. "Don't you dare say 'I Told you So.'" she threatened before they both began running towards the ranch.
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-----Link and Ruto ran into the ranch and towards the horse stables.
The storm had gotten even worse over the last minute or so, the icey raindrops stinging as they lashed against the skin of the pair, the winds howling loudly, threatening to blow them away at any moment.
Link grasped the doorknob and tried to open to door, to no avail. -
----"I thought you said we'd be able to stay here!" Ruto shouted over the gale.
----"They must be asleep, but they won't mind if we take shelter!
Follow me!" Link shouted back, his voice barely audible through the howling winds.
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----The pair began forcing their way across the ranch, though the wind was making it very difficult for them. After what should have been a short journey across the ranch's threshold, they finally opened the door to a large cylindrical stone building and dashed into it, slamming the door shut after a short struggle with the wind.
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----Link and Ruto plopped down on the soft hay nearby to catch their breath and rest. "I've never seen this big of a storm spring up this fast ..." Ruto said, picking off pieces of hay that were clinging to her drenched form.
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----"I know.." said Link, "It's not even the right time of year for a hurricane-like storm such as this"
- ----"Atleast we're safe now, though." Ruto said with a grin. "This is the first time I've been free like you ... is it always this rough"
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----"It's not usually this bad." Link said with a chuckle. "But you can't expect it to be an easy life all the time"
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----"Mmm, I think I'll just stay like this long enough to see the world ... then I want to just find a nice, secreted place to settle down"
Ruto said, stretching out in the hay. "Somewhere with a good bit of water,
preferably"
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----"I'd like to join you, but I have some unfinished business to take care of..." said the Hylian boy, pulling his hat off and tossing it on the floor to dry. -
----"Like what?" Ruto asked, placing her hands behind her to rest her head upon as she turned to look at Link.
- ----"Garland won't forget what we did very easily, and we can't run forever." said Link. "He seems to be a very pursuasive person, and given time he could have atleast half of Hyrule hunting us down"
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----"Then let's run away, see realms beyond Hyrule." Ruto suggested.
"There's no way his influence could reach us then"
----"He'd still hunt us down eventually... There's no avoiding it.
Besides, he can't be any tougher than Gannondork." Link said with a smirk.
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----"Guess you're right. Either way you're as stubborn as I am." Ruto said with a sigh. "We'll do it your way. But after this whole ordeal is over, you'll owe me big"
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----"Deal." Link said. "For now, let's just try to get some rest"
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----As the storm raged on, a creature moved unseen through the Lost Woods; although the rain was mostly stopped by the walls of trees surrounding these woods, the wind roared quite strongly, and the branches above creaked as they shook violently.
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----The shadowy figure dashed silently through the moss-floored woods, moving as gracefully as if it were floating as its search continued. The thing it had stalked all the way from Zora's Domain had to be nearby, it just had to .
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----And as if the very thought had summoned the beast, the slender shadowy form slammed into a different dark figure, falling backwards.
The dark figure stood his ground, slowly turning to face the one who slammed into him, his crimson eyes piercing through the darkness of the storm with an intense light to glare at the unlucky fool who had the misfortune of bumping into him.
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- ----The more slender, Zoran-shaped shadow slowly stood up, opening his own pair of red glistening eyes to return the unwelcome stare. "You're the one my Masster seekss..." hissed the Zoran guard.
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----"Am I, now?" the taller of the two shadows said with an unseen smirk, pulling out his blackened blade. "And tell me, creature, who might this Master of yours be?" -
----"Garland seeks your assistance"
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----"I bet he does." the shadow Link said with a dry laughter. "And I assume the concieted imbecile let my half-wit, pathetic alter ego escape his grasp, leaving me to be his last hope of attaining his petty little revenge"
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----"He requires your help in stopping the Hylian, and nothing more." the Zoran shadow hissed. "Why are you so harsh? The Master created you as well"
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----"Pitiful lies from a pitiful being." the Link-like doppelganger said, looking at the other shadow boredly as he began pacing in slow circles around it. "You are naught but the corrupt waste drawn from a Zoran soldier like venom from a wound. You are nothing but filth. I, on the other hand, have been distilled, purified through the dark actions of my old host, destined to escape eventually whether that fool had released me sooner or not"
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----"You and I are just the ssame"
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----"Pathetic whelp! Hold your tongue!" the shadow Link said, grasping the other shadow's neck and jerking him up into the air, kneeing him in the gut. "I overestimated your ability to process any form of intelligent thought, it would seem. You would be too stupid to even follow a simple command such as delivering a refusal message back to your so-called Master, therefore you are not, never were and forever more shall remain useless"
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------Shadow Link tossed the Zoran into the air, holding his sword out to impale the beast. The zoran shadow let out a bloodcurling shriek of agony; although most physical weapons do poorly against a shadow such as these, it would appear fellow shadows can be quite harmful, indeed.
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-----S.Link held his sword up high, the other shadow dangling from it with labored breathing. "Spare me ... brother.." coughed the Zoran shadow.
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----"Brother? How dare you speak as if we were equals!" the sinister shadow said, smirking as he twisted his blade inside the zoran shadow's gut,
causing more agonized cries to emit from it. "You will refer to me as Master. Then I will consider acknowledging you"
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----The dark swordsman's free hand turned into a sharp claw and, using his sword to keep the Zoran dangling in the air, he began stabbing the other shadow at lightning speed, a shower of black blood drenching the grass and plants around them.
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----"A..Alright... M...Master... please...!" coughed the shadow zora in between screams of pain. After a few more stabs, the dark alter ego of Link seemed pleased, and dropped the zoran, setting his knee upon its chest and pressing his weight into it, laboring the creature's breathing even worse than it once was.
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- ----"I will have pity upon your pathetic existance if you will end my curiosity about a certain matter involving Garland." the dark Link said with a smirk.
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----"Wh.. Whatever you wissh.." hissed the zoran shadow, his red eyes fading a bit as he coughed up more of the pitch black blood.
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----"I understand his petty little plots for revenge perfectly, what vexes me is why he wanted the Zora's Sapphire." Shadow Link said. "All I need to know is whether or not he will attempt to acquire the other two stones "
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----"Yess. ... more than likely ..." the shadow zoran coughed. "Please.
releassse.. me"
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----"Of coarse, in a moment, worm." Shadow Link said, pressing down hard on the weaker being's chest, grinning sadistically as a few weakened gasps of pain filled his ears. He held up his blade above his head and cackled darkly.
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----"... what ... what are you doing...?" the Zoran coughed, panick-stricken.
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----"Why, I am only fulfilling my word." stated the shadow link. "You wished to be released. Or did you wish for me to let you live?" The creature seemed to ponder for a moment, mostly to mock and annoy his prey, before grinning wickedly once more. "Ah well, too late to worry about such confusions in negotiation now, I suppose"
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----"But ... you said... you'd spare .. me..!" gagged the zoran guard as his chest was stomped once more by the shadow above him. Lightning crashed in the distance as bone-chilling maniacal laughter filled the air.
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----"No, I said I would have pity upon your pathetic existance. And so I do." reminded Shadow Link. "Such a waste of negative emotions "
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-----And with one final thrust, a gargled scream echoed throughout the woods, which was slowly drowned out by the howling of winds once more. The Zoran shadow melted away untill it ceased to exist, and Shadow Link chuckled dryly as he leapt into the shadows, the crimson glow of his eyes vanishing in the distance.
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-----As night fell upon the land of Hyrule, the horrid storm raged just as badly as it had earlier. Though now, with every flash of the frequent bolts of lightning, a man could be seen walking across Hyrule field, unmoved by the powerful winds and not flinching in the face of the heavy, ice-cold rain. His cape flailed wildly in the wind behind him as he strode camly towards Hyrule City. What kind of idiot would be walking aroud in this weather, you ask? Garland, of coarse. His inherited big nose could be easily recognized at first glance, even in this heavy downpour.
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----The Gerudo prince stopped at the flooded moat of the royal city, glaring at the closed gate before him. "Why must there always be SOMETHING in my way..." muttered Garland, before leaping into the air and clean over the wall. He plunged into the marketplace on the other side, landing on the cobblestone walkway,
which was currently flooded up to his ankles. The Prince began wading through the flooded marketplace and towards the Temple of Time behind it, Thunder rumbled in the distance as he climbed a somewhat small flight of stairs, turning rigt to traverse behind the market buildings and straight towards a large white cathedral. "The other stones should still be right here..." Garland said with a wicked grin as he opened the doors into the large temple, walking in and closing the doors behind him. -
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----The place was very poorly lit; so bad that the only way he could see was from the light of frequent lightning flashes. He strode down the large, open hallway towards a small alter with slots for three stones to be placed in.
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----"After the trouble it took to get ahold of the Zora's Sapphire, the rest of these stones will be like taking candy from a baby..." Garland said with a smirk, pulling out his enchanted sword, running his thumb along the two empty slots of the icey blade. Lightning flashed once more, revealing two stones floating before him above the altar, Garland's cruel, triumphant smirk also coming into light. As the light of the storm was consumed by darkness once more,
Garland reached out to grasp the stones.
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-----A second later, another bolt came down, illuminating the cathedral. Garland's eyes widened as he watched his hand lash out at nothing. "What the ... Where are the stones? What happened to them?" yelled Garland with a glare as he began to look around the room. "Who's there? Do you realize who you're dealing with"
the prince shouted into the darkness.
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-----"But of coarse. I am merely interfering with the pitiful plots of a derranged, pathetic man with a wasted life." -
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-----Garland turned around to the source of the voice and glared as his eyes met a pair of glowing crimson ones, the only thing visible of his newest annoyance in this darkness. "The shadow Hylian..." -
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-----Another bolt of lightning flashed, revealing for a mere moment the silhouette of Shadow Link, who was twirling the green and red stones Garland seeked between his fingertips. "To quote the last words of a child who recently had the misfortune of attempting to steal my blade, 'Finders Keepers"
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----"You insolent creature, give me those stones if you want to live!" Garland said with a growl.
----"I don't believe you're in much of a position to make demands." the shadow said with a glare. "In fact, I believe that threat calls for giving you even more of a difficult time in accomplishing your goal"
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----Garland held his free hand out, a short sword created of beams of light materializing in his hand, its golden glow softly illuminating the room. "You could have been useful to me, a shame you're forcing me to do this." Garland said, leaping at Shadow Link. The shadow merely stood tall, staring him down as the prince thrusted his sword through the Shadow Link's gut.
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---"Aaaahhh! It buuurrrnns uss!" Shadow Link screamed as a cruel smirk twisted Garland's lips. But after a moment or so, the shadow creature quit flailing around in feigned agony and stood still once more, the sword of light remaining impaled in his abdomen. "Enough joking. Your insolence will not remain unpunished." -
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----THe shadow tossed the stones into the air, the pair of gems vanishing into the shadows, never to fall back down. "Wh.. What have you done?" Garland practically roared. Shadow Link held a hand around the blade of light, causing a darkness to spread through it and consume it like a plague, the sword melting into a black liquid.
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-----"Allow me to educate you on something, you spoiled egotistical maniac.
You have no power over me." the shadow said with a smirk. Garland merely scowled, looking as if he were plotting a million different slow and torturous deaths for this meddler.
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----"You're aiding the Hylian!" Garland said after a moment or so. The Shadow busted out laughing. ----"Aiding? I am aiding nobody, you simpleton. I hate you, and I hate that little peon in the green skirt." the Shadow link said. "Therefore, I wish to amuse myself by troubling you both. Your plot means nothing to me. By all means, if you can accomplish my petty little task, I'll be more than happy to concede the stones to you. I am merely inserting a little much needed irony into the land of Hyrule"
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-----"... Fine." Garland muttered, realizing that he had no other choice, for the time being atleast. "What do I have to do"
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-----"I have hidden each of these stones in a different dungeon. For red, the temple in Death Mountain. For green, the temple in Kokiri Forest. You must do as my weak alter-ego has done in the past. Go through each dungeon completing a series of petty, meaningless tasks, engage in epic duel against some sort of gigantic beast, then claim your prizes. Simple, really. Oh, and on the way,
if you harm a single innocent person, the deal is off. You are playing the hero,
after all." Shadow Link said with a cackle.
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-----"You are really annoying. You know that?" Garland said with a scowl.
-----"Oh, by the way, because I loathe the Hylian even more than you, I have given you a head start." Shadow Link said. "You see, if the Hylian can complete whatever petty task I give him, I will give him whatever stones you haven't collected. Better take advantage of your extra time untill I find him." the shadow said with a psychotic cackling as he leapt into the shadows and vanished.
The storm outside seemed to be calming now somehow as the skies began to slowly turn to dark shades of blue. Garland growled and began walking out of the temple.
"Mark my words, shadow, as soon as this is over, you're as good as dead ..." -
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-----As the light of dawn began to pour over the momentarily peaceful realm of Hyrule, the world began to awake to a new day. Roosters began to crow, a certain Gerudo prince began his grim trek to the Forest Temple, and a 'vicious' outlaw.
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-----Was currently oversleeping in a rock silo outside of a ranch in the middle of the open countryside. He'd had a hard night, and were clearly exhausted, the sound of loud snoring filling the silo. The farm hands were just waking up at Talon's ranch, getting theselves ready for a long day of tending to animals. The storm had fallen to a light drizzle of rain today, but other than that all seemed right in the world again.
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------Unfortunately, the storm had blocked the moon and stars, therefore no one could hope to have seen a certain intruder who gave a visit a mere hour before the sun began to rise.
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------Inside the silo where the young Link slept, a shadowy figure was pacing back and forth. "How much sleep do you wretched mortals need?" the shadow-hylian wondered as he glared at his alter ego, before stopping to take a better look around the silo. The shadow walked over to a stack of several bails of hay tied up into cubes, picking them up and hurling them at Link one by one. "Wake up already, you lazy Hylian"
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------He heard a noise from under the pile of hay and smirked, but began to quickly become annoyed as he realized this noise was naught but further snoring. The Shadow Link yelled in exasperation as he reached through the hay, grabbed Link by the collar of his blue tunic and jerked him up into the air, violently shaking him.
"Ju.. just a few more minutes, mommy..." Link muttered, furthering his alter-ego's annoyance. -
------Shadow Link sighed, walking outside and carrying Link over to a long horse trauf filled with water, dropping the young hylian in it. Link jumped awake as soon as he woke up with a cry of "Ahh! Ruto! That's n-not funny! This water's freaking cold"
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------"Well maybe if you'd woken your pathetic self up sooner I wouldn't have had to resort to this!" Shadow Link yelled, kicking the trauf over and tumbling Link into a nearby fence. Link jumped up as soon as he realized what was going on,
pulling out his Kokiri sword and glaring at his shadowy counterpart. "What are you doing here? Where's Ruto"
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------"She's in my care at the moment.." Shadow Link said with a grin. "In good condition at the moment, so I wouldn't recommend making me mad, or that may change"
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------Link yelled and charged at Shadow Link, thrusting his blade out as if to stab the shadow. Shadow Link jumped up and landed on Link's blade perfectly as the hylian held it in the air, the weightless shadow balancing perfectly atop the thin strip of steel. ------"Imbecile.." the shadow said with a sigh, kicking Link in the nose as he backflipped off of the blade and landed on his dark feet. "You can have the brat for all I care if you really want her. But you'll have to do something for me first, or we can't guarentee her safety, now can we"
------Link scowled, keeping his sword out just in case he felt he needed it.
"What do you want"
------"Glad you've come to your senses." the shadow said with a wicked grin.
"Here's the deal. You see, I had a meeting with Garland recently. He is having to play the hero and rid the land of a couple of terrible beasts and endure a pair of obnoxious, pointless dungeons to attain his stones. Since you were so rude to me just now, I don't believe I'm going to give them to you if he fails. You'll have to figure that part out on your own." the shadow said, giving a bit of a glare to Link as he said the word 'rude'. "For you, however.. To save the princess, you must play the villian"
-----"What do you mean?" Link said, continuing to glare at his evil twin.
------"There is a priceless gem in the treasury of Hyrule Castle. All you have to do is steal it for me." Shadow Link said. ------"That's it? Then you'll give her back?" Link asked. The shadow looked mildly surprised. "What's this? No objections from the noble hero?" the shadow asked.
------"I've snuck into the castle before, and they won't miss the gem that bad"
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------The shadow laughed. "You've still got some of me in you." the shadow said with a smirk. Link scowled. ------"I'm only doing this to save Ruto"
------"Right, whatever." the shadow said with another snicker, before walking towards Link, standing on the Hylian's shadow. "I'll be accompanying you in case you choose to defy my wishes to steal the gem." he said as he slowly melted into Link's shadow. "Oh, and if anyone gets in your way... kill them"
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End Chapter
I do not own the Legend of Zelda.
If I did, not only would I be rich,
but I would be having Zelda games made left and right, that could actually be played multiplayer without the use of friggin' Game Boy Advances. Stupid manipulation of the consumers... But alas,
despite this annoyance, I must admit. The Legend of Zelda; Four Swords Adventures is a pretty awesome game if you have the money to grab atleast two GBAs and an extra Link cable. And now I will shut up, as this is the longest disclaimer I've ever written and we all know no one even reads these things so I'm wasting space and words.
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Author's Note:
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Fourth chapter, and so far our hero's luck, though still a little bad, is starting to change. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering... Link, and all of his equipment in this tale, are all from Ocarina of Time.
Ruto's, on the other hand, is all the things that are in Zelda III; A Link to the Past that weren't included in Ocarina of Time. Hence the red Magic Cloak that made her invisable ) Oh, the cleverness of me. Sort of. oo -
Anyway. Expect to see more of these elusive SNES items.
And in case you didn't notice, the plot is finally getting away from Zora's Domain. Which is good, because the lack of having to describe everything over and over agan was beginning to hurt the length of chapters. I think. Oh yeah, and though there may be an Ocarina of Time sequel in the works now, this story was started, and shall finish, ignorant of that game's plot, because I don't want to wait for it to come out, nor do I like having to work my story between the plotlines of many sequels.
Sorry it took so long to write. It takes too long to explain.
Writers block, school, vacation, computers messing up constantly.
Bah.
Just wish me luck, I'm hoping to make it six or seven chapters,
possibly more. And then who knows, maybe I'll pull a disney stunt and make a crappy sequel! D -
(kidding about that)
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)Serenade of Water
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Chapter Four
Sadistic Proposition
-(note: all the little dashes is to save this story from the horror that is Document Manager. THank you)
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----As the morning sun began to climb into the sky over Hyrule, a blue-clad Hylian and a red cloaked Zoran were dashing down the Zora's River, with eight zoran guards in close pursuit. -
----Ruto pulled out a burnt orange tinted staff, and held it behind her as she ran. Magic sparkles came from the tip of the staff, before suddenly big red blocks began to materialize seemingly out of nowhere.
They landed along the river, creating quite an obstacle coarse for their pursuers.
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----One of the guards tripped over a block and got stuck between two others, but the other seven continued as fiercely as before, leaping nimbly over the blocks with ease. They seemed to be going a pretty good job of distancing themselves from the soldiers, as two more of them slammed into blocks head-on.
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----"Uh oh, a little low on magic.." Ruto said, as she put the Cane of Byrna away and sped up a bit. ----"Take to the waters, men!" the guard in front yelled as they leapt into the river and began to close the distance between themselves and the fugitives at an alarming rate.
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----Ruto pulled out a small bottle of green liquid and downed it, before pulling out a blue rod with a crystal tip, aiming for the river. Small white sparkles shot out of the rod, and as they hit the water, it began to freeze.
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----The first three guards slammed into the ice, as all five poked their heads out of the water just in time for the rest of their bodies to be frozen in the patch of ice that now covered a rather noticable chunk of the river.
"Dang it!" shouted one of the guards through chattering teeth. -
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- ----Link and Ruto reached the entrance to the Hyrule Field. "We're almost there, finally!" Ruto said, before suddenly a shadowy figure fell from above,
landing gracefully and slowly rising. Before the two young heroes stood a shadow-black Zoran soldier, with shining crimson eyes.
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----"Why are there so many of these shadow things lately?" Link said with a sigh as he reached for an arrow, realizing that, for the first time in ages.. he was out.
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----The Zoran shadow took a fighting stance and got ready to fight as Link pulled out the Kokiri shortsword, and Ruto took out the blue rod once more.
The creature suddenly lunged at Ruto, slashing madly; she leapt out of the way and shot another burst of icey magic at the shadow, as it rolled away and stood up to face Link, only to feel a blade thrust between its eyes. The shadowy figure screamed in agony and the two took off, Link kicking the creature off his blade before dashing away beside Ruto.
-
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----The shadow Zoran guard slowly stood up, coughing, as heavy footsteps drew near. The creature turned to face the Gerudo prince, Garland, glaring at him.
"You let them get away, you useless doppelganger." he said with a scowl. "But fortunately for you, I have another task. Go seek a shadow such as yourself, one who looks just like the Hylian scum, and bring him to me." ----The shadow nodded and darted away, vanishing in mere moments as the gerudo prince sighed and began walking towards Hyrule Castle. "Good help is so hard to find these days..." he muttered as dark clouds began to envelop the skies.
-
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----Link and Ruto slowed their pace to a walk once they were sure no one was pursuing them. By now they were halfway across the Hyrule Field, though they had no idea of where to go next. "Well, so long as we aren't ambushed again,
I think we made it." Ruto said with a grin, putting the ice rod away. Link nodded in agreeance, catching his breath for a moment or so. "You owe me a lot for all the times I've saved you." laughed the Zoran princess. "Maybe I should become a wandering hero like you"
- ----Thunder rumbled in the distance as dark clouds began to cover the skies overhead, a few drops of water falling upon their heads. "Uh oh, we better find some shelter..." Link said, looking around quickly. "Talon should let us stay atleast until the storm blows over"
-
----"Hylians don't like a little rain?" teased Ruto as the began to walk towards Talon's ranch. ----"It's going to get bad soon..." said Link, wishing they were closer to the ranch. Ruto laughed a bit. "How bad could it possibly get?" she said with a hint of amusement.
-
-
----As if the very words caused it to happen, a bolt of lightning tore into a tree not too far away, a ground-shaking, thunderous roar filling the air moments later. Ruto shrieked as it began to pour down rain, before glaring at Link. "Don't you dare say 'I Told you So.'" she threatened before they both began running towards the ranch.
-
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-----Link and Ruto ran into the ranch and towards the horse stables.
The storm had gotten even worse over the last minute or so, the icey raindrops stinging as they lashed against the skin of the pair, the winds howling loudly, threatening to blow them away at any moment.
Link grasped the doorknob and tried to open to door, to no avail. -
----"I thought you said we'd be able to stay here!" Ruto shouted over the gale.
----"They must be asleep, but they won't mind if we take shelter!
Follow me!" Link shouted back, his voice barely audible through the howling winds.
-
-
----The pair began forcing their way across the ranch, though the wind was making it very difficult for them. After what should have been a short journey across the ranch's threshold, they finally opened the door to a large cylindrical stone building and dashed into it, slamming the door shut after a short struggle with the wind.
-
-
----Link and Ruto plopped down on the soft hay nearby to catch their breath and rest. "I've never seen this big of a storm spring up this fast ..." Ruto said, picking off pieces of hay that were clinging to her drenched form.
-
----"I know.." said Link, "It's not even the right time of year for a hurricane-like storm such as this"
- ----"Atleast we're safe now, though." Ruto said with a grin. "This is the first time I've been free like you ... is it always this rough"
-
----"It's not usually this bad." Link said with a chuckle. "But you can't expect it to be an easy life all the time"
-
----"Mmm, I think I'll just stay like this long enough to see the world ... then I want to just find a nice, secreted place to settle down"
Ruto said, stretching out in the hay. "Somewhere with a good bit of water,
preferably"
-
----"I'd like to join you, but I have some unfinished business to take care of..." said the Hylian boy, pulling his hat off and tossing it on the floor to dry. -
----"Like what?" Ruto asked, placing her hands behind her to rest her head upon as she turned to look at Link.
- ----"Garland won't forget what we did very easily, and we can't run forever." said Link. "He seems to be a very pursuasive person, and given time he could have atleast half of Hyrule hunting us down"
-
----"Then let's run away, see realms beyond Hyrule." Ruto suggested.
"There's no way his influence could reach us then"
----"He'd still hunt us down eventually... There's no avoiding it.
Besides, he can't be any tougher than Gannondork." Link said with a smirk.
-
----"Guess you're right. Either way you're as stubborn as I am." Ruto said with a sigh. "We'll do it your way. But after this whole ordeal is over, you'll owe me big"
-
----"Deal." Link said. "For now, let's just try to get some rest"
-
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- -
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----As the storm raged on, a creature moved unseen through the Lost Woods; although the rain was mostly stopped by the walls of trees surrounding these woods, the wind roared quite strongly, and the branches above creaked as they shook violently.
-
----The shadowy figure dashed silently through the moss-floored woods, moving as gracefully as if it were floating as its search continued. The thing it had stalked all the way from Zora's Domain had to be nearby, it just had to .
-
-
----And as if the very thought had summoned the beast, the slender shadowy form slammed into a different dark figure, falling backwards.
The dark figure stood his ground, slowly turning to face the one who slammed into him, his crimson eyes piercing through the darkness of the storm with an intense light to glare at the unlucky fool who had the misfortune of bumping into him.
-
- ----The more slender, Zoran-shaped shadow slowly stood up, opening his own pair of red glistening eyes to return the unwelcome stare. "You're the one my Masster seekss..." hissed the Zoran guard.
-
----"Am I, now?" the taller of the two shadows said with an unseen smirk, pulling out his blackened blade. "And tell me, creature, who might this Master of yours be?" -
----"Garland seeks your assistance"
-
----"I bet he does." the shadow Link said with a dry laughter. "And I assume the concieted imbecile let my half-wit, pathetic alter ego escape his grasp, leaving me to be his last hope of attaining his petty little revenge"
-
----"He requires your help in stopping the Hylian, and nothing more." the Zoran shadow hissed. "Why are you so harsh? The Master created you as well"
-
-
----"Pitiful lies from a pitiful being." the Link-like doppelganger said, looking at the other shadow boredly as he began pacing in slow circles around it. "You are naught but the corrupt waste drawn from a Zoran soldier like venom from a wound. You are nothing but filth. I, on the other hand, have been distilled, purified through the dark actions of my old host, destined to escape eventually whether that fool had released me sooner or not"
-
----"You and I are just the ssame"
-
----"Pathetic whelp! Hold your tongue!" the shadow Link said, grasping the other shadow's neck and jerking him up into the air, kneeing him in the gut. "I overestimated your ability to process any form of intelligent thought, it would seem. You would be too stupid to even follow a simple command such as delivering a refusal message back to your so-called Master, therefore you are not, never were and forever more shall remain useless"
-
-
------Shadow Link tossed the Zoran into the air, holding his sword out to impale the beast. The zoran shadow let out a bloodcurling shriek of agony; although most physical weapons do poorly against a shadow such as these, it would appear fellow shadows can be quite harmful, indeed.
-
-----S.Link held his sword up high, the other shadow dangling from it with labored breathing. "Spare me ... brother.." coughed the Zoran shadow.
-
----"Brother? How dare you speak as if we were equals!" the sinister shadow said, smirking as he twisted his blade inside the zoran shadow's gut,
causing more agonized cries to emit from it. "You will refer to me as Master. Then I will consider acknowledging you"
-
-
----The dark swordsman's free hand turned into a sharp claw and, using his sword to keep the Zoran dangling in the air, he began stabbing the other shadow at lightning speed, a shower of black blood drenching the grass and plants around them.
-
----"A..Alright... M...Master... please...!" coughed the shadow zora in between screams of pain. After a few more stabs, the dark alter ego of Link seemed pleased, and dropped the zoran, setting his knee upon its chest and pressing his weight into it, laboring the creature's breathing even worse than it once was.
-
-
- ----"I will have pity upon your pathetic existance if you will end my curiosity about a certain matter involving Garland." the dark Link said with a smirk.
-
----"Wh.. Whatever you wissh.." hissed the zoran shadow, his red eyes fading a bit as he coughed up more of the pitch black blood.
-
----"I understand his petty little plots for revenge perfectly, what vexes me is why he wanted the Zora's Sapphire." Shadow Link said. "All I need to know is whether or not he will attempt to acquire the other two stones "
-
----"Yess. ... more than likely ..." the shadow zoran coughed. "Please.
releassse.. me"
-
----"Of coarse, in a moment, worm." Shadow Link said, pressing down hard on the weaker being's chest, grinning sadistically as a few weakened gasps of pain filled his ears. He held up his blade above his head and cackled darkly.
-
----"... what ... what are you doing...?" the Zoran coughed, panick-stricken.
-
----"Why, I am only fulfilling my word." stated the shadow link. "You wished to be released. Or did you wish for me to let you live?" The creature seemed to ponder for a moment, mostly to mock and annoy his prey, before grinning wickedly once more. "Ah well, too late to worry about such confusions in negotiation now, I suppose"
-
----"But ... you said... you'd spare .. me..!" gagged the zoran guard as his chest was stomped once more by the shadow above him. Lightning crashed in the distance as bone-chilling maniacal laughter filled the air.
-
----"No, I said I would have pity upon your pathetic existance. And so I do." reminded Shadow Link. "Such a waste of negative emotions "
-
-
-----And with one final thrust, a gargled scream echoed throughout the woods, which was slowly drowned out by the howling of winds once more. The Zoran shadow melted away untill it ceased to exist, and Shadow Link chuckled dryly as he leapt into the shadows, the crimson glow of his eyes vanishing in the distance.
-
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-----As night fell upon the land of Hyrule, the horrid storm raged just as badly as it had earlier. Though now, with every flash of the frequent bolts of lightning, a man could be seen walking across Hyrule field, unmoved by the powerful winds and not flinching in the face of the heavy, ice-cold rain. His cape flailed wildly in the wind behind him as he strode camly towards Hyrule City. What kind of idiot would be walking aroud in this weather, you ask? Garland, of coarse. His inherited big nose could be easily recognized at first glance, even in this heavy downpour.
-
-
----The Gerudo prince stopped at the flooded moat of the royal city, glaring at the closed gate before him. "Why must there always be SOMETHING in my way..." muttered Garland, before leaping into the air and clean over the wall. He plunged into the marketplace on the other side, landing on the cobblestone walkway,
which was currently flooded up to his ankles. The Prince began wading through the flooded marketplace and towards the Temple of Time behind it, Thunder rumbled in the distance as he climbed a somewhat small flight of stairs, turning rigt to traverse behind the market buildings and straight towards a large white cathedral. "The other stones should still be right here..." Garland said with a wicked grin as he opened the doors into the large temple, walking in and closing the doors behind him. -
-
----The place was very poorly lit; so bad that the only way he could see was from the light of frequent lightning flashes. He strode down the large, open hallway towards a small alter with slots for three stones to be placed in.
-
----"After the trouble it took to get ahold of the Zora's Sapphire, the rest of these stones will be like taking candy from a baby..." Garland said with a smirk, pulling out his enchanted sword, running his thumb along the two empty slots of the icey blade. Lightning flashed once more, revealing two stones floating before him above the altar, Garland's cruel, triumphant smirk also coming into light. As the light of the storm was consumed by darkness once more,
Garland reached out to grasp the stones.
-
-
-----A second later, another bolt came down, illuminating the cathedral. Garland's eyes widened as he watched his hand lash out at nothing. "What the ... Where are the stones? What happened to them?" yelled Garland with a glare as he began to look around the room. "Who's there? Do you realize who you're dealing with"
the prince shouted into the darkness.
-
-----"But of coarse. I am merely interfering with the pitiful plots of a derranged, pathetic man with a wasted life." -
-
-----Garland turned around to the source of the voice and glared as his eyes met a pair of glowing crimson ones, the only thing visible of his newest annoyance in this darkness. "The shadow Hylian..." -
-
-----Another bolt of lightning flashed, revealing for a mere moment the silhouette of Shadow Link, who was twirling the green and red stones Garland seeked between his fingertips. "To quote the last words of a child who recently had the misfortune of attempting to steal my blade, 'Finders Keepers"
-
-
----"You insolent creature, give me those stones if you want to live!" Garland said with a growl.
----"I don't believe you're in much of a position to make demands." the shadow said with a glare. "In fact, I believe that threat calls for giving you even more of a difficult time in accomplishing your goal"
-
-
----Garland held his free hand out, a short sword created of beams of light materializing in his hand, its golden glow softly illuminating the room. "You could have been useful to me, a shame you're forcing me to do this." Garland said, leaping at Shadow Link. The shadow merely stood tall, staring him down as the prince thrusted his sword through the Shadow Link's gut.
-
-
---"Aaaahhh! It buuurrrnns uss!" Shadow Link screamed as a cruel smirk twisted Garland's lips. But after a moment or so, the shadow creature quit flailing around in feigned agony and stood still once more, the sword of light remaining impaled in his abdomen. "Enough joking. Your insolence will not remain unpunished." -
-
----THe shadow tossed the stones into the air, the pair of gems vanishing into the shadows, never to fall back down. "Wh.. What have you done?" Garland practically roared. Shadow Link held a hand around the blade of light, causing a darkness to spread through it and consume it like a plague, the sword melting into a black liquid.
-
-----"Allow me to educate you on something, you spoiled egotistical maniac.
You have no power over me." the shadow said with a smirk. Garland merely scowled, looking as if he were plotting a million different slow and torturous deaths for this meddler.
-
-
-
----"You're aiding the Hylian!" Garland said after a moment or so. The Shadow busted out laughing. ----"Aiding? I am aiding nobody, you simpleton. I hate you, and I hate that little peon in the green skirt." the Shadow link said. "Therefore, I wish to amuse myself by troubling you both. Your plot means nothing to me. By all means, if you can accomplish my petty little task, I'll be more than happy to concede the stones to you. I am merely inserting a little much needed irony into the land of Hyrule"
-
-
-----"... Fine." Garland muttered, realizing that he had no other choice, for the time being atleast. "What do I have to do"
-
-
-----"I have hidden each of these stones in a different dungeon. For red, the temple in Death Mountain. For green, the temple in Kokiri Forest. You must do as my weak alter-ego has done in the past. Go through each dungeon completing a series of petty, meaningless tasks, engage in epic duel against some sort of gigantic beast, then claim your prizes. Simple, really. Oh, and on the way,
if you harm a single innocent person, the deal is off. You are playing the hero,
after all." Shadow Link said with a cackle.
-
-----"You are really annoying. You know that?" Garland said with a scowl.
-----"Oh, by the way, because I loathe the Hylian even more than you, I have given you a head start." Shadow Link said. "You see, if the Hylian can complete whatever petty task I give him, I will give him whatever stones you haven't collected. Better take advantage of your extra time untill I find him." the shadow said with a psychotic cackling as he leapt into the shadows and vanished.
The storm outside seemed to be calming now somehow as the skies began to slowly turn to dark shades of blue. Garland growled and began walking out of the temple.
"Mark my words, shadow, as soon as this is over, you're as good as dead ..." -
-
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-----As the light of dawn began to pour over the momentarily peaceful realm of Hyrule, the world began to awake to a new day. Roosters began to crow, a certain Gerudo prince began his grim trek to the Forest Temple, and a 'vicious' outlaw.
-
-----Was currently oversleeping in a rock silo outside of a ranch in the middle of the open countryside. He'd had a hard night, and were clearly exhausted, the sound of loud snoring filling the silo. The farm hands were just waking up at Talon's ranch, getting theselves ready for a long day of tending to animals. The storm had fallen to a light drizzle of rain today, but other than that all seemed right in the world again.
-
-
------Unfortunately, the storm had blocked the moon and stars, therefore no one could hope to have seen a certain intruder who gave a visit a mere hour before the sun began to rise.
-
-
-
------Inside the silo where the young Link slept, a shadowy figure was pacing back and forth. "How much sleep do you wretched mortals need?" the shadow-hylian wondered as he glared at his alter ego, before stopping to take a better look around the silo. The shadow walked over to a stack of several bails of hay tied up into cubes, picking them up and hurling them at Link one by one. "Wake up already, you lazy Hylian"
-
-
-
------He heard a noise from under the pile of hay and smirked, but began to quickly become annoyed as he realized this noise was naught but further snoring. The Shadow Link yelled in exasperation as he reached through the hay, grabbed Link by the collar of his blue tunic and jerked him up into the air, violently shaking him.
"Ju.. just a few more minutes, mommy..." Link muttered, furthering his alter-ego's annoyance. -
------Shadow Link sighed, walking outside and carrying Link over to a long horse trauf filled with water, dropping the young hylian in it. Link jumped awake as soon as he woke up with a cry of "Ahh! Ruto! That's n-not funny! This water's freaking cold"
-
-
------"Well maybe if you'd woken your pathetic self up sooner I wouldn't have had to resort to this!" Shadow Link yelled, kicking the trauf over and tumbling Link into a nearby fence. Link jumped up as soon as he realized what was going on,
pulling out his Kokiri sword and glaring at his shadowy counterpart. "What are you doing here? Where's Ruto"
-
------"She's in my care at the moment.." Shadow Link said with a grin. "In good condition at the moment, so I wouldn't recommend making me mad, or that may change"
-
------Link yelled and charged at Shadow Link, thrusting his blade out as if to stab the shadow. Shadow Link jumped up and landed on Link's blade perfectly as the hylian held it in the air, the weightless shadow balancing perfectly atop the thin strip of steel. ------"Imbecile.." the shadow said with a sigh, kicking Link in the nose as he backflipped off of the blade and landed on his dark feet. "You can have the brat for all I care if you really want her. But you'll have to do something for me first, or we can't guarentee her safety, now can we"
------Link scowled, keeping his sword out just in case he felt he needed it.
"What do you want"
------"Glad you've come to your senses." the shadow said with a wicked grin.
"Here's the deal. You see, I had a meeting with Garland recently. He is having to play the hero and rid the land of a couple of terrible beasts and endure a pair of obnoxious, pointless dungeons to attain his stones. Since you were so rude to me just now, I don't believe I'm going to give them to you if he fails. You'll have to figure that part out on your own." the shadow said, giving a bit of a glare to Link as he said the word 'rude'. "For you, however.. To save the princess, you must play the villian"
-----"What do you mean?" Link said, continuing to glare at his evil twin.
------"There is a priceless gem in the treasury of Hyrule Castle. All you have to do is steal it for me." Shadow Link said. ------"That's it? Then you'll give her back?" Link asked. The shadow looked mildly surprised. "What's this? No objections from the noble hero?" the shadow asked.
------"I've snuck into the castle before, and they won't miss the gem that bad"
-
------The shadow laughed. "You've still got some of me in you." the shadow said with a smirk. Link scowled. ------"I'm only doing this to save Ruto"
------"Right, whatever." the shadow said with another snicker, before walking towards Link, standing on the Hylian's shadow. "I'll be accompanying you in case you choose to defy my wishes to steal the gem." he said as he slowly melted into Link's shadow. "Oh, and if anyone gets in your way... kill them"
-
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End Chapter
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-(OmG, Garland didn't have the last word for once)
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