Wow, been awile hasen't it? I promise I'll try to move a bit faster for the next chapter. Of course your reviews always help...

Once again I want to thank Inimitable for proof-reading this chapter and to all the people who have reviewd so far. Thanks guys!

Chapter 12

Kakariko was still and quiet in the darkness. The outline of the windmill could be seen in the moonlight, its creaks and groans the only sound to be heard.

Keeping himself hidden in the shadows, Dark Link slowly made his way towards the well. The guard had left only a few moments ago, and he had to be quick in order to avoid any new guards that might show up to replace him.

Dark Link crept up to the well, looking down to make sure it was safe. Any normal Hylian would have only seen darkness, but thankfully Dark Link was no ordinary Hylian. The bottom seemed safe enough, and Dark Link slowly climbed into the well, getting a firm grip on the rusty ladder before climbing down into the depths of the well, reaching the bottom with no difficulty. Luckily the well had dried up years ago and there was no water at the bottom. Dark Link didn't care much for water.

"You sure took your time." The poe materialized, his arms crossed and his one eye glaring at Dark Link.

"There was a guard outside so shut your mouth. I've had enough trouble today, the last thing I need is smart talk from a ghost."

"Hmph. Alright but remember, I'm not the one on a time limit here, you are."

Dark Link scowled and turned away from the poe, looking around the bottom of the well. His eyes fell upon a small opening, big enough for only a child to fit though, and apparently the only entrance into the rest of the well. The poe floated next to Dark Link.

"Well? Think you can manage?"

Dark Link didn't reply, instead simply taking his shadow-form; his physical body forming into a dark form on the ground. The shadow made its way through the small hole, slipping through easily and appearing on the other side in a hallway, once more taking a physical shape.

"Ooo, Very impressive!" The poe said as he floated though the wall, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "One question though: if you could do that, why didn't you just sneak past the guard?"

Dark Link said nothing, his mind drawing a blank.

"Well?"

"Shut up."

The poe simply giggled to himself as the both made there way down the well. The hallway was damper than the entrance, with small pools of water and who-knows-what else on the floor. Dark Link kept moving forward avoiding the numerous skeletons that served as a warning to anyone foolish enough to go this far, eventually reaching what looked like a dead end.

Dark Link stopped, while the poe kept going and simply went though the wall. He couldn't quite explain, but Dark Link got an odd feeling about this wall. Approaching slowly, Dark Link moved his hand forward to touch it, surprised as he simply passed through.

"It's nothing more than an illusion. A shadow…like me." Dark Link made his way through the illusion, finding himself in a larger room on the other side. To Dark Link it was just more of the same: damp walls, skeletons, and a dreary atmosphere. Nothing he wasn't already used to.

Trying to decide which of the two hallways that where in the room Dark Link spotted the poe waving to him at the entrance to the right hallway. He walked towards him, only to hear more criticisms from the poe.

"I swear, where would you be without me? Do I have to hold your hand through this place?"

"That's it!" Dark Link drew his sword, pointing it towards the poe, who gave him an unimpressed look. "You say one more damn word and I swear I'll shove my sword right up your ghost ass!"

The poe moved closer to the sword, almost touching the tip. "That's a very nice threat. Really, I'm shaking. But do I have to remind you of the horrible demise that will befall you without my help? Or did you forget?"

Dark Links face contorted in anger, and for a brief moment he considered just killing the poe and being done with it, but eventually rational thought won out and he slowly put his sword away.

"Very good," The poe said before turning back down the hallway with Dark Link following. Eventually he stopped in next to a seemingly ordinary part of the wall.

"Heh heh, the illusion used here is so powerful not even the Lens of Truth can see through it." The poe motioned through the wall, and Dark Link placed his hand on it, finding it difficult to go all the way through. With a little effort Dark Link forced it all the way through, the rest of his body soon following. Whoever made this illusion sure put a lot of effort into it, it almost felt solid.

On the other side Dark Link found him self in a large, circular room. On the other side he could see a door with bars blocking it off. In the center of the room were two statues of the grim reaper, with large scythes that spun around the room, threatening to cut down whatever was in there path. Also scattered throughout the room were silver rupees.

"Well? Get to work!" The poe told Dark Link.

"Son of a bitch…"

Phantom Ganon kept his eyes on the well, never taking them off. At least half an hour had passed since Dark Link had ventured into the well and there had been no sign of him yet. He hoped that everything was going alright; it would be unfortunate to lose his only ally in this world.

Hyrule was definitely an interesting place. Being charged with protecting the Forest Temple he never had the chance to explore the outside world, not that he had ever wanted to. Simply fulfilling Lord Ganondorf's will was enough for him. Still, now that he was out in the world, he found it quite different from his usual surroundings. He couldn't remember in his entire life seeing such bright colors or being around this many people. It was definitely interesting to say the least.

Phantom Ganon turned his eyes toward Malon. Perhaps it was time he made himself known.

"You can stop pretending now. I know you're awake."

Malon eyes opened slowly and turned towards the phantom, raising her self on her arms.

"How long?"

"I noticed a little while after Dark Link left. I would have simply left you alone but your attempts to hide it were so obvious it was beginning to annoy me." Phantom Ganon turned to look back out the window. "So, did you listen to our conversation?"

Malon tensed up at his question. Did he know she had heard them talking?

"It doesn't really matter if you did or not. It's no real concern to me."

Phantom Ganon didn't look at her as he said that. It's was really unsettling how he could just stay in the same position for hours without moving Malon thought, but at least he didn't seem to have any desire to harm her. Malon twitched nervously and decided to take a risk.

"Why are you doing this?"

Phantom Ganon turned to look at her again, a little surprised by her question.

"Why am doing what?"

"All of this! Kidnapping me, coming here, the well, wanting to kill…" Malon stopped herself, seemingly having trouble getting the words out. Phantom Ganon regarded her for a moment before turning back to the window.

"Do you know what I am?" He waited for a moment, getting no reply from her he continued. "I am a phantom. Do you know what that is?"

"Is it like a shadow?" Malon asked. Phantom Ganon's eyes shifted back towards Malon.

"So you were listening."

Malon brought her hand to her mouth realizing her slip. What would happen now?

"Like I told you before it doesn't matter to me. I can see no consequence coming from you listening to our conversation. But know this; do not think that things will be easier for you from this point on. Dark Link is still a very dangerous creature, and so am I."

Malon stared into the phantom's glowing red eyes, and could tell that he meant it.

"To answer your question however, no, a phantom and a shadow are not the same. A shadow is created from the dark thoughts and emotions of a person, whereas a phantom is a portion of a mans magical energy given physical form. Phantoms have the same abilities of the original to a lesser degree and a similar physical appearance. However, it is there the similarity ends."

"What do you mean?"

"You have noticed Dark Link's habits I assume? He eats, drinks, and bleeds like a living creature. That is because for all intents and purposes he is a living creature. He is not a man of course, but he is still technically "alive". Phantoms do not share this luxury. We are nothing more than ghosts. Soulless creatures created to serve our masters will, no matter what."

"That…sounds like a sad existence." Malon looked at the creature in front of her, and could feel genuine pity for him.

"Whether it is or not does not matter. I accept what I am, a tool to be used however my master sees fit until the day I die, at which point I will simply cease to be." Malon could hardly believe what she was being told. How could someone talk about this so calmly?

"I believe that I…understand things a bit more clearly now." Malon tried to get her words right. She wasn't quite sure how to approach him at this point. "But you still haven't explained why you're doing all this."

"To prove myself."

"What?"

"While Dark Link and I are allies in this, our reasons for doing so are…different. Dark Link is simply in this for revenge against the Hero. As you may have guessed by now Dark Link faced the Hero once before, and was nearly killed in the process. It was a similar experience for me. I faced the hero, but was too arrogant and lost, failing my master. Afterwards I was cast into a dark prison for my failure." The phantoms clenched his hands and turned towards Malon. "He called me worthless! He told me I was nothing more that a useless creation to him! That it why I must do this! That is why I must find a way to destroy the Hero of Time! To prove to my master that I can still be of use to him! That I am not worthless!" The phantom was close to shouting at this point, whether he noticed or not she wasn't sure.

"I… don't believe that anyone is worthless." Malon spoke softly, so softly that Phantom Ganon wasn't sure that he had heard her.

"What did you say?"

"I simply said that no one is worthless. Everyone has a purpose. At least, that's what I think…" Malon voiced trailed off, slightly worried she said something to upset the Phantom.

"Thank you."

"What?"

The phantom turned back to the window, not saying another word. Malon looked at him for the longest time, she was sure she had heard him thank her.

Dark Link shut the door quickly behind him before the screeching keese made it though. He had traveled through three rooms already and was getting really tired of these damn puzzles. He had already dogged swirling blades to collect some rupees, avoided a crushing boulder to get a key, and just escaped a room full of fire keese that seemed to fulfill no there purpose except to make it harder for him. And that damn poe wasn't making this any easier.

"Well looks like were almost though. You've been doing a pretty good job so far. Link probably could have made if through faster but than again you are just his shadow."

Dark Link was so going to kill that ghost after this was over.

"This looks like a relatively simple puzzle." The ghost remarked.

This room was smaller that the others, containing nothing more than a door, once again blocked off with bars, with a switch in front of it. Dark Link walked over to the switch and stepped on it.

Nothing happened.

"Uh Dark Link?" The ghost gestured upward, pointing to a crystal attached to the ceiling. "The lock has two parts: you have stand on the switch and hit the crystal at the same time to open it, so just hit it with an arrow so we can move on."

"That's a great idea except for one thing: I don't have any arrows."

"What! You're the shadow of Link and you don't carry any arrows? That's pathetic! Sigh, wait here." The poe disappeared leaving a fuming Dark Link to wait alone in the room. Deciding to look around he stepped off the switch, and as soon as he did so four stalfoes appeared out of nowhere, all glaring at him with a desire to kill.

"You picked a really bad time, boys."

Not a word had been spoken between Phantom Ganon and Malon since their previous conversation. Phantom Ganon had not moved from his position at the window, keeping himself focused on the well. Malon was trying to get back to sleep, but found no matter how hard she tried sleep wouldn't come. Sighing, Malon decided to try talking to the phantom again.

"You never told me who your master was."

Phantom Ganon looked at her, hesitating at first before answering. "He was a great man with great ambitions. He is destined to rule over all one day."

"Who?"

"The great Lord Ganondorf." Phantom Ganon's voice was filled with pride as he spoke. He then noticed that Malon's face had turned into one of shock. "I take it you've heard of him?"

Had she heard of him? Who hadn't heard of Ganondorf, the King of Evil, the man who almost took over Hyrule and plunged the land into darkness? "Yes, yes I have heard of him."

"How is this possible? I was told that the princess Zelda had erased him from history."

"She did but…we didn't forget." Malon remembered back to that day. How confused she had been waking up a child again. "It was like waking up from a dream…or a nightmare. Some people don't remember anything, some can recall it vividly, but mostly everyone can only remember bits and pieces, but the memories they do have are usually the worst." Malon could only recall a little bit herself. She could remember how Ingo had treated her and the horses and the day Link rescued her. Ingo remembered that too and to this day they were still a little uncomfortable around each other. But the clearest memory she had was the day Ganondorf himself came to the ranch to take it away from her father and put Ingo in charge. She had been only thirteen, but even she could feel the evil aura that seemed to radiate from this man. She still had nightmares about it sometimes.

"How could you work for such an evil man?" Malon asked, anger in her voice.

"I thought I explained the nature of a Phantom to you. I have no choice in the matter."

"Everyone has a choice in what they do with their lives! You can't just say you don't!

"It is the truth. Serving Lord Ganondorf is the only purpose I have, and I must fulfill it."

"Couldn't you find a new purpose in life?"

"That. Is. Impossible." Phantom Ganon was quickly getting annoyed with all these questions.

"Why?"

"Because I was created with one purpose and one purpose only! If I do not complete that purpose I am nothing! Worthless! Do you understand!" Phantom Ganon walked over to the bed where Malon sat, bending down so that they were face to face. "Serving Lord Ganondorf is the only meaning my existence has! If he wanted me to guard a temple, I would do it. If he wanted me to destroy this town, I would do it. If he wanted me to kill you…I would do it." Phantom Ganon stood back up. "This conversation is over."

Malon was shaking as the phantom made his back to the window. Even though she knew it was a bad idea, and that it may only serve to angry him more, Malon spoke again. "So you really hate us that much?"

Phantom Ganon didn't move. "I never said I hated you."

"But…"

"I am a phantom. We are not supposed to get emotionally involved in anything. Just because I would destroy you does not mean I would feel anything about it. I feel nothing for you or your Hyrule. I neither hate nor care for anything."

"You sure seemed to get pretty emotional a moment ago."

Phantom Ganon did not reply, instead trying to focus his thoughts on the well. But for the first time in a long time found that he just could not concentrate.

"Alright I'm back! So did…oh." The poe looked over to see Dark Link sitting against the wall, his hand going over his sword. "Have fun while I was gone?

Dark Link said nothing, simply shooting the ghost an angry glare as he got off the floor.

"Well you'll be happy to know that I found something to solve our problems. Here." The poe snapped his fingers, and a chest materialized in front of Dark Link. "Open it."

Cautiously, Dark Link unlocked the chest and opened it. Inside was a strange looking device with what looked like an arrow head attached to a chain. Picking it up he noticed what looked like some kind of trigger mechanism.

"That my friend it what is called a hookshot. It is a spring loaded device designed to shoot that chain out, attach to a wall, and drag the holder to the spot. It should suit our need fine. Link actually used to use this, but has since exchanged it for a longer version."

Dark Link examined the device, a look of disappointment in his eyes.

"What's a matter boy? Hookshot envy?"

"Shut up." Dark Link steeped onto the switch and aimed the hookshot, pulling the trigger and sending it towards the crystal, hitting it straight on and retracting. The crystal glowed brightly and the bars in front of the door opened. Taking no chances, Dark Link rushed thorough the door before it had a chance to close.

"HA HA! We did it!" The poe laughed.

They were in a familiar looking room. It was large and in the center was a pedestal with a hole in the center, a perfect fit for the medallion.

"Hurry up and put it back boy! What are you waiting for!"

Dark Link walked over to the pedestal and took out the medallion. He looked at it his hand before turning back to the poe.

"No."

The poe stopped laughing to himself and his voice became angry. "What do you mean no?

"I mean I want answers! Like why the hell do you want the Hero dead so badly?"

"I told you I have my reasons."

"And why do you need me to put this medallion back so badly? How does that help you?"

"I need you alive to help me kill Link! Now just put the medallion…"

"Stop avoiding the questions! This whole thing reeks of …aaahh!" Dark Link collapsed against the pedestal as a familiar pain racked his body.

The poe floated over to the shadow, his voice deadly serious. "You feel that boy? That pain is only going to get worse and worse over the next few hours and eventually it's going to get to be too much for your body to take. So I suggest you either put that medallion back or you can finally get your revenge on Ganondorf when you see him in HELL!"

Dark Link struggled to get his body back under control, the pain made it very difficult to concentrate. Summing all his willpower, he forced his arm with the medallion to move it over the pedestal, and then jam the thing back into place. Almost as soon as the medallion touched the pedestal, the pain stopped.

Breathing heavily, Dark Link backed up from the pedestal to look at the poe, who seemed to be giggling a lot more so than usual. Looking back at the pedestal Dark Link could see what look like purple sparks coming out of the medallion.

"Thank you Dark Link. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Dark Link turned to say something but was stopped as a purple lighting bolt shot out of the medallion and hit him right in the chest, sending waves of pain through his body. Dark Links body was raised into the air, and he could as if something was being drained out of him. It stopped after a minute and Dark Link fell to the floor, feeling weaker than he had ever felt before.

But the medallion wasn't finished yet. It shot out another lighting bolt, only this one was aimed at the poe, and he didn't seem to be in any pain at all.

"Yes…that feels good…" The lighting traveled all over the poe's body, which Dark Link noticed had begun to change shape. He was growing larger and taking another form altogether. His arms grew more muscular and his hands seem to rip off of his wrists and float in midair. The rags he had worn as a poe disappeared and underneath was revealed a purple chest. Atop it all was a stalk with one large red eye attached, surrounded with flaps of skin, making it look like some kind of strange flower.

"Oh it feels good to be free of that body. How are you feeling Dark Link?" The creature turned to the shadow, looming over him. "I'm sorry but I sort of fibbed a bit about the medallion. You were going to die whether you put it back or not. Lucky for me though you decided to put it back."

Dark Link looked up at the creature, finding it difficult to lift his head as he did so. "What the hell are you?"

"Oh that's right, we never formally introduced ourselves! I am Bongo-Bongo, Master of the Dead."

"You used me…"

"Hmm, yes, yes I did. It was a brilliant plan I must say. I mean, I couldn't touch the medallion or put it back, because even if I did the medallion needs the life force of someone in order to unlock my power!"

Dark Link summoned up his remaining strength to rise to his feet, drawing his sword in the process. He knew his chances against the still growing Bongo-Bongo where slim, but he wasn't about to let this bastard get away with what he had done.

"So then I thought, 'I'll just use Dark Link! He's already in the Shadow World so it will be easy to use him!' But then I realized, 'But wait! Shadows can't use magic! How will he get past the barrier…? I know! I'll have him use Phantom Ganon!" I had originally planned on using Phantom Ganon from the start, but as he was a ghost with no life force it would have been rather pointless wouldn't it?"

Dark Link charged forward with his sword drawn and slashed at Bong-Bongo, but in his weakened state Bongo-Bongo easily dodged the attack.

"And the timing couldn't be better! With Zelda and Link in Termina there will be no one to stop me from destroying Hyrule! And of course that damned Impa follows her princess everywhere so she's out of the picture. I really couldn't have asked for everything to go so well! Are you listening?" Bongo-Bongo moved over to Dark Link, who had collapsed to the floor, his sword lying next to him. "I still have some more gloating to do."

Bongo-Bongo's words fell on deaf ears. Dark Link could barely keep his eyes open, and the only thing he could hear at this point was the beating of his own heart.

Bu-bumb

Bu-bumb

Bu...bumb

Bu...bumb

Bu...

And that was it. Dark Link eyes closed as the last of his life force left his body. Bongo-Bongo looked over him one last time.

"Pity, I kind of liked him." Bongo-Bongo disappeared from the room, leaving the lifeless corpse of Dark Link at the bottom of the well.