Author's Note
I hope that everyone reading this is finding as much enjoyment out of this as I am finding in writing it. I do really want to hear what you all really think about it, so feel free to leave a review. I read all reviews sent my way.
LEGEND BELOW
"Well aren't you adorable." = Normal speech.
''I wonder what he really looks like.'' Normal thoughts.
"Oh Hero, chooses by the goddess." = Higher beings speech.
CHAPTER THREE/A HOSTILE WORLD
"Alright. Happy now?" Link had spent the last ten minutes watching the village of his origin from a small hill surrounding it. He wanted to make sure that everyone was safe, at least relatively speaking. The kids were all gone, Illia too. He was hoping above hope that they were spared from the darkness, even when he knew in his heart that they weren't. But it alleviated some stress from his heart to learn that almost all the other residents were safe and unharmed. He hadn't seen Rusl yet, and only hoped that he was safe as well. He would have continued to sit there and watch, but Midna's questioning voice put a stop to that.
"Your little village is fine. See." The imp pointed out impatiently, tapping her foot against his side. He knew she was right, but he wanted to stay longer. But she wanted to go, so he guessed he had to go. He stood up from his position on the ground, glancing down to her shadow for an order. She almost felt bad at how fast he took to listen to her orders, almost...
"Well now that you're done wasting my time, I can finally begin to make you useful." She said blandly, ignoring his pointed look. The imp took a moment to scan his village over, looking for something. "Alright then. You need a sword. You're not going to be much use without one..." He wanted to refute that, saying that he defended her in Hyrule Castle's underground tunnels, but decided against it. That, and he was sure she didn't understand 'bark bark woof' too well.
A sword huh? Hmm. He could do that at least. Prove to her that he wasn't useless! He remembered that before this all went down he was supposed to deliver a sword to the Princess herself. It was supposed to be special. That plan went out the window, along with probably every other plan.
That being said, that meant that the sword was still here in town somewhere. All he had to do was track it down and take it for himself. Easier said then done most likely.
With a plan set, he made his way down the hill, stopping at the village entrance. He trotted right through, noting how the sun hung low in the sky. The sun would be setting soon, and that might help with stealing the sword. He slowly made his way through, careful to keep an eye out for anyone. No one was out right then, everyone seemingly preparing to settle down for the evening. Perfect! This way it would be easier to steal the-
His train of thought stopped dead at the sound of a door opening only five feet from him. He froze, head whipping to the doorway. "Please stay inside honey, we don't know if it's safe outsi-" It was Rusl! He was leaving his house to do a quick check of the village when he stopped dead. "Monster!" He shouted suddenly, brandishing a sword dangerously. Link's eyes widened in shock when the blade was swung at him. He didn't have time to comprehend what was happening before it was too late. The sword struck his muzzle, slashing across it sharply. He recoiled in pain, a painful whine escaping him as he did.
"Back away beast!" The man shouted angrily, raising his sword up for another swing. Link recoiled quickly that time, avoiding anymore damage. Rusl didn't approach, but kept ready for another attack. Link backed away with a whine, his tail and head down, trying to come off as non-aggressive. The commotion caught the attention of the other villagers, and soon enough everyone was alerted of his presence. With blood covering his muzzle, he realized that the situation had devolved very quickly. Now he had to worry about getting killed by his own people! Suddenly torches and anything that they could use as a weapon were gathered, and Link found himself cowering away from the people.
"Well this accelerated quickly. Get us out of here!" Midna pointed out, before shouting at him to run away. Link couldn't agree with her more, and took the first chance to make a run for it. He slipped past Rusl, narrowly avoiding another swing. In his haste, he couldn't stop fast enough when someone else joined the group.
Rusl's wife, Uli, had heard the commotion outside, and against her better judgement had decided to come out and check. She only made it a few steps outside before something large and furry barreled into her, knocking her down. It was a blue wolf, that had run blindly into her. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't find her voice. She could remotely hear her husband shouting something angrily, but all her cognitive power went to carefully studying the face of the beast that could easily kill her, but didn't. Her soft brown eyes locked with his sharp blue ones, and for a moment she saw fear. But instead of bringing harm to her at all, the beast seemed to scramble to his feet before quickly and carefully getting away from her. She heard another pained Yelp when Rusl's sword struck one of the beast's back legs.
"Get away from her, beast!" Rusl shouted, preparing to cut him down. Link scrambled to his paws, limping in pain as blood now fell freely from his back leg. This was bad. He scrambled to get away as the sword came down on him. He wouldn't have gotten away from that last strike, and the only reason he did was because Rusl hesitated when his wife shouted at him to stop. Link didn't stick around that time, and hightailed it out of there the second he got a chance, leaving a trail of blood in his haste. He ignored the pain in his leg as he ran, putting enough distance in between him and the village. He only stopped when he collapsed at the spirit springs, the shallow water washing away the blood.
He hurt all over. His back right calf was cut badly, and his nose was still bleeding. He didn't want to move, and he doubted he could very well if he had to. Suddenly his shadow lurched, and Midna appeared, partially physical in form.
"Well that plan didn't go well..." She pointed out blatantly. In his pained state, he missed the small amount of concern on her face. "Look at yourself Wolfy, covered in blood!" She said in annoyance, though it wasn't all there. "Get yourself cleaned up, we'll try again another time..." He decided to take up her advice, and chose a corner of the spring to rest in. The water washed away the blood, and come morning the wounds had closed up. When he awoke hours later, he was cleaner and all traces of the blood were gone. He didn't know how he had gotten cleaned, but he didn't question it at the time. Perhaps the water cleaned him up, not like there was anyone else around that would.
"Wake up! You should be good now. Now go steal that sword from that stupid guy!" Midna ordered, kicking his sides like one would a horse. He got the message, and quickly made his way back to the village. This time however, he was hesitant to enter. She couldn't blame him, after what happened last night. That being said...
"Come on, stop waiting around!" She whispered in his ear. He hesitated, but did enter the village. This time he stuck to the shadows and the tall grass. There were people out this time, probably due to last night. He didn't want a repeat of last night, and was determined to stay hidden until he got that sword.
He stuck to the grass, secretly listening in on the conversations that passed his way. He quickly learned that the owner of the waterwheel house had recently finished constructing a shield out of high quality wood. He decided to take that too. He waited for as long as he needed to, before a chance finally arose. Talo's dad left the window open, and he used that to sneak in. He quickly found the shield hanging on the wall, and with Midna's help, he managed to get it down and strapped to his back.
Now all he needed was the sword. He quietly snuck out of the house, before sneaking over to Rusl's house. He saw the man walking with his heavily pregnant wife down to the river. But they left the door open, and he used that chance. He found the sword sitting on the couch, ready for the taking. He quickly took hold of the blade with the handle in his mouth, while Midna strapped the scabbard to his back alongside the shield. Now all he had to do was quickly get out of-
"Hey! Rusl! That beast took your sword!" Link stopped as someone caught him. Back out in the open, he quickly gained the attention of the villagers. But this time they didn't dare come near, seeing him brandish the sword in his mouth. He didn't need hands to use it. Using their hesitation, he hightailed it out of the village. His time however, he had what he came for.
Once he got far enough, he took a moment of rest, before presenting the items he acquired to Midna. She tried to act nonchalant, but she was rather impressed with him.
"A good looking blade I guess..." The imp muttered, looking it over. She took one look at the shield and scoffed. "Wood? Really? Should have expected that..." She was disappointed, and let it show. But that wasn't his fault, so she let it go. "Whatever, it'll serve its purpose." She looked to the horizon, spotting the ever encroaching wall of twilight. "Alright Wolfy, lets go!" Midna ordered, and with a snap of her fingers the shield and the scabbard vanished, but the sword stayed. "I'll hold onto those, don't say I've never done anything for you." She stated with a grin.
Happy that he didn't need to carry the items, he took hold of the sword in his mouth and took off for the twilight, a small limp with every step. Minda noted with minor concern, she told herself, that Link was favoring his left calf over the right. The wound was still red, and only just recently closed up. But too much activity could rip it right back open. As much as she wanted to start on her objective, she knew that a dead wolf couldn't prove to be of very much use.
After a short ten minute jog they reached the wall. It was night the first time Link saw it, so he couldn't really take it all in. But now? Now he felt so insignificant just by standing next to the thing. This is what he had to contend with? This level of evil? How in the name of the Goddess Hylia was he supposed to stop that?
Suddenly Midna appeared in her shadow form, giving him a sly grin, before flying off into the twilight. He watched her go with a curios gaze, patiently waiting for her to do whatever it was that she was doing. Suddenly a massive orange colored hand shot out from the wall and took hold of him. He tensed with fear, but his fears were washed away as he realized it was just Midna's magic hair. The hand quickly pulled him through the wall, and back into the land of twilight.
"Ahh.. I missed this!" He looked up to find Midna stretching in the air, taking enjoyment out of the darkness. Ignoring her for a moment, he took the time to examine his surroundings in detail. He recognized it as the land of Faron, as he had been there before. But it was different, twisted into something wrong. That being said, he knew his way around the forest fairly well. He walked forward, weary of his surroundings, knowing well that the forces of darkness were probably waiting for him.
"Alright Wolfy, lets get down to business." Midna spoke up from beside him. "As much as I hate to admit it, we've got to find a way to deal with this twilight." She said, crossing her arms over her little chest with a frown. "But I don't have the faintest idea how to even approach that..." She admitted with a faint blush, not that Link noticed.
Picking up the Ordon Sword, Link began to explore the forest. He hadn't made it too far in before he stumbled across a spring much like the sacred one in Ordona. He didn't have to see it to feel that there was something special, something sacred about the place, even with the twilight choking it out. He felt that if he was to rid the area of twilight, the best place to start would most likely be something that was connected to the goddess in some form.
He'd heard stories of a great spirit that protected the land it represented, and how many of the lands across the world, Hyrule and outside of it had one. And in this new beast form, with his heightened senses, he could tell that something was residing in the springs. And as he drew near, he could feel something drawing him in, beckoning him closer. He could see it now, floating weakly above the surface of the water. A form of golden light, almost entirely blotted out by the darkness, but still hanging on by a thread. As he neared it, he could hear a voice calling out to him weakly.
"... Please... One changed... by the darkness..." It spoke, its ethereal voice like a whisper across the waters. "... This land... was once the blessed land... of Hyrule..." It tried to explain, struggling to do that even. Above Link, Midna scoffed, crossing her arms.
"Yeah obviously! We knew that already..." She responded with a grunt. Rude as it was, the being ignored her, as it didn't even have the energy to rebuke her.
"... But... my light... my beautiful light... was stolen... from my custody..." It continued, ignoring Midna all together. Link listened with rapt attention, watching faithfully as the being spoke. "... These beasts...surprised me with their power... They took my light... And without it... This land... is doomed..." The gravity of the situation had been slowly dawning on Link over the short period of time since his beastly transformation, but it didn't really hit until just now. "I am Faron... Guardian Spirit of this land..."
Even Midna had the decency to look shocked. Link's eyes widened in shock and horror. This? Was the guardian spirit of the forest? And the dark beasts had done this to him?
"Please... You who were changed by evil... return my light to me... Or this land will forever be shrouded... in darkness..." Then, without warning, the spirit vanished, leaving behind only a vessel shaped like that of a grape vine. Thinking quickly, Link caught the vessel out of the air before it could fall. "Please..." And then the voice vanished as well. Unsure as to what to do, Link turned his gaze back up to Midna.
Perhaps for the first time in their relatively short companionship, Midna felt safe in calling Link a lost puppy, and it made it even better because he practically was one.
"Well.. Go on then!" She urged suddenly. "Go get this spirit's light back! You don't want him to die, do you?" Link shook his head vigorously with a look of horror, getting a grin from the imp. "Good boy!" With a slap to his rear and a surprised yip, Link took hold of the sword and ran off. Midna took it upon herself to hold the Vessel of Light for him...
An hour had passed since they left the spirit's spring, and the two had been traveling the forest in search of the beasts that took the light. As Midna has assumed, the forest was filled with monsters, more then usual. Link was surprised to find that even the monsters themselves were not spared the effects of the twilight, and were transformed into darker versions of their former selves.
Link had apparently not been paying enough attention to his surroundings, and what at first looked like merely a dark rock, turned out to actually be a Deku-Baba transformed. The plant-like monster had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, and had found it when Link went to pass. The wolf wasn't aware of it until a large plantlike maw completely surrounded his head, shoving its large slimy purple tongue down his throat aggressively.
"Gah! What in the-!? Wolfy!" Midna shouted in disgusted horror, watching as Link's head was enveloped by the plant monster. She didn't know what was happening in there, but from the way he was struggling violently under her she could tell that it was bad. Reacting quickly, she took hold of the sword he dropped, struggling to lift it with her smaller body. She swung the weapon with all her might, decapitating it. The plant monster dropped lifelessly to the ground below, Link quickly struggling away from its remains.
The wolf coughed violently as he pushed the head away, the feeling of the plant's purple tongue leaving his throat something he never in the rest of his life wanted to repeat. He coughed up purple, spitting it all over the ground. Midna watched from the side, unsure what to do. Was he poisoned? Was it worse then that?
"Geez! Don't let it sneak up on you like that!" Midna found herself scolding him, crossing her arms in annoyance. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was scared for a moment. That being said, she wasn't just violently violated by the slimy tongue of a wild plant monster. She took a closer look and saw a little blood leaking from his neck where the monster's teeth sunk into him. She really was going to get him killed at this rate. Maybe she oughta pay a bit more attention to their surroundings, and let him worry about keeping her safe, and killing anything that gets too near.
Link felt a revolting shiver run up his spine as he glanced at the dead Deku-Baba, the smile on its lifeless maw unsettling. Wanting to put this horrible experience as far behind him as possible, he took hold of the sword in his now purple colored mouth, before walking away quickly. Midna was quick to take her place atop her trusty steed, already annoyed with having to move on her own.
A few hours passed since then, and Link had busied himself with tracking down the dark creatures that had stolen the light. He had managed to strike most of them down before exhaustion began to set in. Midna suggested that they make camp for the night, as it was starting to get really cold out. Link apparently didn't have a say in it, as Midna decided she wanted to rest, and so he had to stop. It was cold out too, and even in the twilight it was clearly night, with how it was almost impossible to see. It was Midna that chose the spot and Midna that chose how long they'd sleep.
"It's cold..." She spoke up, giving Link a look. The wolf seemed to sigh before shakily standing up from where he was resting, taking hold of the sword once again. Midna watched him go with a feeling of unease. She knew it was ridiculous, but every time she was left alone she felt as if they wouldn't come back. But she was his master, he had to come back. Yes, she told herself. He would come back to her.
Ten minutes passed alone in the darkness, and suddenly she was worried. She told herself that she was being overdramatic, that she had nothing to worry about. But as the seconds ticked on in dead silence, her stupid worries began to get the best of her.
She stood up from where she was sitting under a dying tree, looking into the darkness. She was used to living in the dark of twilight. But where she came from there were no trees to block the light like here in the forest. What was already dark became as dark as a void, sucking up all light.
"Wolfy...?" She called our unsurely, attempting to keep up her tough bravado. But that bravado was quick to slip away in the dark of lightless night, the only sound being the lifeless breeze that occasionally swept throughout the forest.
She looked, straining her eyes to try and adjust to the dark, but it served her no good. Without really meaning to, she found herself slowly drifting away from the makeshift camp in search of her companion. Maybe he had left her? She had been just a little mean to him.. Maybe he had enough of it? No, he wouldn't do-!
Suddenly she heard something approaching her, branches crunching under its weight. Her shoulders slackened when she realized that it was just him.
"Good grief Wolfy! Took you long enough! What.. get lost or... something..." Midna trailed off when she slowly realized that it was, in fact, not her companion. Her eyes widened in fear when she realized that it was a monster, and a big one at that. "No.." She whispered in horror as the beast approached. It was the shadow beasts, same as the ones that originally captured Link and pulled him through. The same ones that had been searching far and wide for her. The same ones that Zelda warned her about.
The same ones that served under the king of evil, and wouldn't hesitate before killing her, or worse. If they captured her alive, they would bring her back, to him! She would be completely defenseless against him, and wouldn't be able to stop him if he... if he...
The beast screeched as it approached, its long gangly hands slamming into the ground below. She was paralyzed with fear, and found the ability to run vanish. What could she do!? She couldn't outrun it! It out classed her completely, and if there were more? Her legs felt like jelly under her weight, and she collapsed to the ground. Faintly, she heard two more approaching from behind. She didn't know what to do. And so, she did the only thing she could.
"Help!" She screamed, her emotional mask falling away in the face of death. She looked around frantically, searching for... she didn't even know his name! She was asking for his help, and she never even bothered to learn his name! "Please!" This was it. This was where she'd die, or worse. She didn't think it would happen like this, and she could only hope it would be over quickly. She closed her eyes tightly in fear, bunching up on the ground in an attempt to block out the world.
The monster screeched as it reached out to grab her, only a few inches away when... Midna's eyes opened wide in surprise when, standing protectively over her little frame, was non other then her companion. It was then she noticed the dark colored limb on the ground, completely severed from its body. An unholy screech filled the air as the monster reared back in pain, cradling it's missing limb. Blood dripped freely from Link's sword, the weapon brandished dangerously.
"... You came..." She found herself whispering. Link for his part, ignored her, fully focused on bringing bloody harm to anything that dared to touch her. Suddenly the monster lunged at him, but he found it easy to dodge it in its pain induced frenzy. It dropped to the ground dead with a sword wound to the throat. He quickly focused his attention to the other two. They were quick to learn from their friend's mistakes, and moved to surround him.
He watched them move carefully, waiting for one of them to move. One over stepped a bound, and lost its balance momentarily. Link was quick to react, and lunged it. The beast couldn't react fast enough to stop the sword swung at its neck, and dropped dead. But it seemed Link forgot about the last one, and with his back turned, the beast attacked. He wasn't able to avoid it, and the beast's massive hand slammed into his side, throwing him into a tree with a loud mean crack. Much to Midna's horror, he didn't get back up.
With the threat dealt with, the beast turned its attention back to her. With another screech it quickly approached her. She was unable to stop it as it took hold of her, bringing her up to its face with a angered growl. It was going to originally capture her, but after loosing its brethren, it decided that she needed to be dealt with immediately. It was ultimately her pained scream as it started to crush her that sealed its fate for good. Midna found herself hitting the ground as it dropped her suddenly, a blade sticking straight through it. The beast gave the weapon a once over, before it dropped dead.
Midna looked up, spotting her savior standing over it, blade in mouth. He turned his attention to her, approaching her to make sure that she was ok. Despite the whole ordeal, she came out relatively unscathed. Good. He was glad. He didn't know what he would do if she was harmed. He didn't think he was the type to take to someone so strongly, and so fast. He let out a pained laugh, which sounded strange considering his wolf form. Midna ran up to him, shoving her face into his neck in an attempt to hide her tears, hitting him softly as if she were angry.
"Don't ever leave me again!" She scolded, and struggled heavily to keep the sob out of her voice. Link just smiled, happy that she was ok. He just stood there, waiting for her to let him go. When she finally did, he turned his attention behind him. He had gathered a lot of sticks for a fire, and came running when she screamed. She quickly ran over, using a her magic to create a spark and start a fire. He smiled, before following her to the quickly growing fire. Midna noted with concern that he definitely wasn't walking normally anymore. There was a heavy limp, and his body jerked in pain with every step he made to her. His breathing was labored, and there was a hitch with every breath he took. A pang of guilt washed over her as he realized that this was her fault. She tried to act nonchalant as she motioned to her side, urging him to her side. He obliged without a struggle, and plopped down next to her with a pained whine.
She stared at the fire in an attempt to distract herself from her thoughts, and it didn't serve her too well. She didn't want to think about what would have happened to her if he didn't come along. What they would have done to her? She shivered at the thought. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt him cuddled up next to her, his head laying in her lap rather indecently. She blushed and instinctively went to scold him, only to realize that he was already out cold. Her features softened and she found herself being lolled to sleep alongside him. After everything that happened, she couldn't help but feel safe in his presence...