Wild's POV

I wake up with a start, sweat coating my skin. I glance around the campsite, but all the others are still sleeping, sans Legend who's currently on guard duty. I sigh heavily, shaking my head. Just a nightmare. Another one. I haven't been able to sleep well all night. I don't think anyone has. I've woken up more than once, only to find that several of the others were also awake, staring up at the sky or burying their face in their pillow. We're all worried sick. But my last dream was the worst. Twilight, stuck in some kind of cell, his body infected by Malice, begging to be let out. I shake my head. Surely, that was just a dream. It just has to be. I refuse to accept that that's reality. He's fine. He's trapped, he's probably upset, but he's fine.

"Morning, Wild," Legend says to me numbly without turning around.

"Morning," I reply, running my hands across my legs shakily.

"We should get moving soon," he says. "I think we've all gotten just about as much sleep as we're going to."

I nod, pushing myself to my feet. "I'll make breakfast."

Legend just nods.

I go about making food, and don't bother to be quiet. The others are woken up by the sound of rattling pots and pans, and they all force themselves to alertness, just watching as I prepare a meal. Nobody says a word for a long time. Time has bags under his eyes, Warriors's jaw is clenched, Sky's hands are constantly fidgeting with something, we're all upset. We all want Twilight back.

"Next time we find that lion, we need a plan," Warriors says as I serve him a bowl of steaming stew.

"What do you suggest?" Time asks.

Warriors sighs, running his hands through his hair. He looks exhausted. I wonder if he slept at all last night, or if he spent every hour running through his mind possible ways to defeat that stupid beast. "It was scared of the Master Sword," he says. "And Sky could get us out of that dark stuff. We need to centralize our attack around the Master Sword."

Sky nods, the blade on his back shimmering.

"Which means absolutely none of us can attack it ourselves," Warriors says sternly. "Sky can't be forced to untangle us from that blackness constantly. We need to back him up, not the other way around."

We all nod now.

"That thing will run from him," Four says, his eyes violet. "Sky can't just chase it aimlessly. It'd be easier if we could corner it."

"Who says we need to kill it?" Warriors replies. "Our only goal as of right this instant is to get Twilight back, isn't it?"

We nod vehemently.

"So who cares if that thing plays cat and mouse with the Master Sword," Warriors concludes. "If Sky can just distract it long enough for us to get Twilight out of wherever he's being held, that's still a victory."

Sky smiles. "I can do that. I'm sure of it."

Warriors pats him on the back. "I'm sure you can." He looks at all of us. "We've got this, okay?"

Wind shivers, pressing his face into the older hero's tunic. "We'll get him back."

"That's right," Time agrees, pulling his fingers into a fist. "We're going to get him back."

"Then let's get moving again," Legend suggests. "We're all done eating."

That settles it. I take everyone's dishes and with Hyrule's help wash them as quickly as possible. Once breakfast is cleaned up, I give Time the crystal again.

"Why don't you let someone else use it?" Sky asks. "I'm sure you don't want to do that again."

"Waste of time," Legend says bluntly. "We'd have to figure out who else can track things. Wild can't, we know that now. It's a waste of time to pass it around and just hope someone else can track like a wolf."

"Legend's right," Time agrees. "I'm fine."

Sky nods slowly.

Time presses the sparking dark stone against his skin, and the black squares roll across his body rapidly, soon accompanied by his screaming voice that becomes the pained howl of a wolf within a few moments. Once the transformation is complete, Time shakes himself off and sniffs the air. Then he gestures with his head for us to follow him, and begins trotting towards a row of trees.

"Thank goodness for that crystal," Wind says. "Or we'd really be lost."

"This forest all looks exactly the same," Legend mumbles.

"I wonder if he knows where exactly we're going," Warriors says.

"We're going to Twilight," I say.

"Yes, obviously," the Captain agrees. "I mean, I wonder if he knows what kind of place we're going to; a cave? A prison? A barracks?"

"That thing was just a cursed lion, Wars'," Wind says nervously. "Surely it's not part of some bigger scheme."

"I sure hope not," Four mutters, his eyes flashing blue.

"We'll find out when we get there," I sigh.

Only after a few hours of walking, we get there. It's obvious. We push through another line of identical lavender trees, Time still leading us, and then we all just stop walking. The forest isn't so identical anymore. We've found a huge clearing, at least the size of Hyrule Field. Built in its center is an enormous structure. It looks somewhat like a castle, with tall spires and high walls and a large gate at the entrance. It isn't elegant, the way Hyrule Castle is, constructed of white stone and standing proudly atop a spiraling hill. This thing is built of black rock and has a blocky structure, with only a few towers and mostly a flat roof devoid of any kind of decoration or opulence. Common monsters roam the ramparts, bows in hand and focus in their gaze. The scent of Malice is thick in the air, and Time coughs beside me as it invades his sensitive nose. Wind absentmindedly pats him on the head.

We all just stand and stare at this huge castle. Twilight must be in there somewhere. It's a familiar scenario for the others; a huge, unknown structure, a treasure to find or recover inside, and doubtless obstacles along the way-a typical dungeon. But I've never explored a dungeon like that. The closest I've come is my own infected Hyrule Castle, that I explored by myself as hurriedly as possible.

But now, it looks like we've just got to explore this thing. Hopefully not in its entirety. Hopefully we'll find Twilight soon and get out of there. But it's more likely that this venture will take a lot of walking and backtracking and fighting to get to wherever our missing hero is being kept.

"No use just standing around," Legend says finally.

"Look," Wind breathes, pointing at the front gate. We watch as the heavy wooden doors are pushed open from the inside. And that dark lion that started this mess in the first place walks out. The Black Lizalfos comes to stand next to it, rubbing its leg affectionately. It steps away from the physical contact, baring its teeth in annoyance. The Lizalfos only laughs.

"It's the Black Lizalfos!" Four cries.

"So it was in charge of that thing," Warriors says, his eyes narrowed.

"Twilight's really in trouble," I say softly.

"We'll get him back," Wind says firmly. "We'll beat that stupid lizard and his pet cat."

"Let's wait a moment," Sky says. "See what they do."

Time bumps my leg. I glance at him. He cocks his head.

"Do you want to turn back?" I ask him.

"He can't," Warriors says. "Not here."

"He'll scream too loud," Legend agrees.

Time nods.

"We shouldn't let him fight like that," Hyrule says. "He doesn't know what he's doing."

"It came easily enough to Wild," Sky points out.

"I didn't do much," I object. "It was easy. My body was on fire, I just flew into them."

"The fact that you flew at all is impressive," Legend says. "Normally it takes time to learn to just walk in a new body like that."

"Back to the mission," Wind says pointedly. "Are we going to let Time fight or not?"

Time growls.

"I'm sure you want to," Warriors says curtly. "But I don't know if it's-"

"Why don't we just let him turn back?" Four questions.

"We already covered that, he'll-"

"Yes, but who cares?" the smith pushes. "Were we planning some kind of surprise attack anyway?"

"...No."

"The archers are up there!" Wind objects, pointing.

"They're going to notice us as soon as we engage with that lion!" Four argues. "Here's my idea. If we let Time turn back all the way over here, the lion will hopefully come to us. Which will mean we're out of the archers' range and can focus on fighting that thing."

Warriors considers the idea. Time nods in approval, then nuzzles Four's waist.

"Makes sense to me," I say.

"Me too," Warriors decides. "Alright. Go on, Old Man."

Four steps away, and Sky draws the Master Sword. He places the blade against Time's body, and then black squares once again rise from his skin. He starts howling seconds later, and the lion jerks its gaze upwards, staring straight at us. Beside it, the Lizalfos nods to itself before turning and retreating back inside the castle walls.

The lion charges. Black smoke once again curls around its entire body, tendrils of the inky blackness poised and ready to strike. The squares clear from Time's body. He pulls himself to his feet and draws his blade. We all follow suit. Sky raises the Master Sword to the sky. Blue light flows down the blade. The lion gets closer, its heavy paws thundering across the stiff grass.

Sky slashes horizontally, and a beam of light fires from his precious sword. It cleaves through the air saturated with malevolence and quickly closes the distance between us and the rapidly approaching monster. The beast takes the blade beam square in the chest. The holy light burns through its darkness and the monster cries out as the white beam makes contact with its fur. It shivers in pain, then growls and continues its rush.

"Do that again!" Wind urges.

"We're out of time," Sky replies, setting his feet. We all come to stand behind him. The lion looms over us, raising a paw adorned with those horrible claws. Sky rolls under it, and dashes over to the beast's other foreleg, slicing vertically. The tendrils of darkness are vaporized, and the monster roars in pain again.

"It's working!" I cry.

The darkness tries to retaliate, but Sky releases a spin attack, protecting his entire body with the Master Sword's power of light. The lion snorts in annoyance, and turns on the rest of us. Black tentacles bear down on Hyrule, but Sky runs to his side and cuts them away. The darkness around the lion flares out, leaving its skin widely exposed, and shadows attack each of us. I swipe my sword at the blackness, but my ordinary steel sword makes no contact with the slithering vapor. It curls around my body and pins my arms to my side. I tug against my bonds, but just like last time I find myself powerless against this thick darkness.

Sky hesitates, unsure who to help. All of us are bound but him. Wind is being choked. Four has the darkness across his eyes. Legend is pulling helplessly.

"Don't worry about us!" Warriors commands. "Look! It's exposed itself!"

Sky glances back at the monster. It's golden fur is visible. It's expended too much of its darkness to keep seven of us trapped. Sky looks one more time at us.

"Go!" Wind adds, then coughs as more air is forced from his lungs.

Sky nods, turning and running towards the lion. It swipes horizontally. Sky swiftly dodges it, retaliating with a slice across the beast's paw. Black blood runs from the gash along its wrist, and it holds that paw off the floor. Our bonds are somewhat loosened, but not enough to move yet. Wind inhales deeply. Sky keeps moving. He slashes across the beast's back leg, right along its heel, and it whimpers almost pathetically. More blood flows. As it bleeds, the darkness thins. It shakes itself off and jumps away from Sky, growling. Sky raises his sword to the sky. It realizes what's happening and dashes towards him.

"Sky, you don't have enough-" someone yells.

The lion reaches him, pinning him to the ground and slamming his head against the floor. He grunts in pain, the Master Sword tight in his grasp, but he can't raise it. Lightning smashes into the monster's back and it screams in pain, rearing up and releasing Sky. I glance at Hyrule, still bound, breathing hard, but grinning slightly. He looks back at me and nods reassuringly.

Sky picks himself up off the ground, blood leaking through his hair, and runs while the monster is somewhat stunned. With a fierce cry, he hurls the holy Master Sword straight upwards, into the monster's chest. The blade digs deep, burrowing into the thick fur and allowing a thin stream of blood to slip out around it. The lion roars in agony, and its shadows disappear entirely now. We're all free. The lion falls to the ground, the Master Sword embedded in its chest, and Sky rips the sword out, allowing a river of black blood to rush forth. The lion closes its eyes as we all draw near. Its lips curve upward in what might almost be interpreted as a smile.

Warriors raises his sword over the beast's neck. An explosion of black light pushes us all back. We cover our eyes for a few moments, and when the flash of light clears we all step forward. Warriors's sword falls from his hand. Sky gasps in horror. A Hylian is resting where the lion was, his body much smaller and much more damaged. He has cuts along his wrist and heel that are still bleeding black, given to him by Sky. There's a hole in his chest and his breaths come in and out very shakily. The worst of it is the Malice that coats most of his skin. Half of his face, the eye within it exactly like the orange and black ones I always aimed to shoot back in my Hyrule. His entire left arm, the fingers on that hand adorned with sticky claws. And parts of his legs. He's wearing a tattered green tunic with a golden shoulder pauldron that's dented and cracked. A threadbare red scarf clings to his neck desperately, fluttering weakly in the wind.

He smiles weakly at us. "Twilight...is waiting…" he says, the words labored.

We all exchange frightened glances. "Where?" I demand. "How do we get him?"

"I...can't say…" he replies, coughing up black blood. The Malice on his skin pulses like a heartbeat, its pulsations steady despite his dire wounds. "I'm...sorry…"

"I'm sorry!" Sky corrects. "I didn't mean...I didn't know that thing was...a person…"

"I'm hardly...a person...any longer…" he groans.

"I-I can fix you!" I realize. A phoenix tear would be enough to heal these injuries. And maybe it'd be enough to cure an infection like that too. "Just h-hold on. Time, where's the-"

"Don't bother," he interrupts me. "I...I have to go…"

"Go?" Wind repeats. "You can't possibly-"

Familiar black squares rise from the man's body, covering him. Screaming doesn't follow. He remains silent. When the squares fade, the man is gone too. The spot he was laying in is laden with his thick blood, and flecks of Malice squirm in the grass for a moment or two, before falling limp and dying without a host to provide for them.

"That looked like...another hero…" Wind says thoughtfully.

"What happened to him?" I mutter. Infected by Malice...I shiver. His eye was terrifying.

"The Black Lizalfos must've taken him too," Time says slowly.

Warriors glanced at him, his eyes wide. "You don't mean-"

"I do," Time says sternly. He looks towards the castle. "We need to hurry. Twilight is waiting."

"What do you mean?" I question, my thoughts whirling. That other hero knew Twilight. He said he was waiting for us. Then Twilight must be alive. That's good news. B-but did Time mean-

"How do you think that hero got infected by Malice?" Time questions coldly. "You think he just chose to?"

We all shake our heads.

"That lizard must've forced him to somehow. And the Black Lizalfos currently has Twilight in his custody. Which means he probably wants to-"

"-infect Twilight with Malice?" I finish, my hands shaking. My dream was right. I shudder.

Time nods, closing his good eye for a moment. "We'll have to hurry."

"What if we're too late?" I whisper.

"Then you can cure him," Sky says. "A phoenix tear ought to cure him, right?"

I shudder. "B-but what if it doesn't?"

"Let's not chase hypotheticals," Warriors says sternly. "We need to get moving. Come on."

"What about the archers?" Hyrule asks. "We can't approach the castle without being shot."

We glance upwards at the castle's high ramparts. All the archers are staring at us. Our showdown with the cursed hero wasn't exactly subtle. We can't even hope to plan something sneaky.

"I can fly up there and burn them alive," I reply.

"You'll be shot out of the sky," Time says. "A phoenix isn't immortal; when it gets too old or injured, it revives itself through a sacred ritual."

"That we haven't got time for," Legend adds.

"Not to mention you getting yourself killed won't exactly accomplish anything anyway," Warriors says.

I sigh.

"Can your spells reach that far?" Wind asks Hyrule.

Hyrule shakes his head.

We all stand around just thinking. Twilight is in that building. We know for sure now. But how to even get into it?

"We could make a run for it and ignore them," Warriors says thoughtfully. "We've all got suitable shields."

"But the problem is that the front door is locked," Time objects. "We'd have to stop to get the gate open."

"We've got fire," Legend says. He pulls out his fire rod. "That door will burn."

"We can cover you while you do that," Warriors says thoughtfully.

Time nods. "Sounds like we have a plan."

We all pull out our shields and stare upwards at the archers, who stare back at us with evil eyes.

"Ready?" Legend says.

We all nod.

"Then let's go." He starts running, raising his shield over his head and bracing his arm. Several arrows make contact with the metal surface only a few moments later. We follow behind him, doing the same thing. Volleys of arrows rain down on us, but with our shields up nobody is shot. The monsters are too stupid to come up with any other plan besides just continuing to shoot at our heads, so it looks like we'll be okay.

We reach the gate. Legend gestures for Warriors to cover for him, and the Captain holds his shield over both his own and Legend's body. Legend grabs his fire rod and points it at the wooden gate. At his command, flames rush forth from the end of the rod, consuming the door in seconds. We stand and watch the wood burn for a minute or so, basically ignoring the arrows that continue to come down on us. My arm is getting tired, but I push aside the fatigue. We're almost there.

The door burns enough for us to step through. Legend quickly puts out the fire with his ice rod, allowing us to walk through without burning ourselves. We push our way through the smoldering gate, stepping through a thick barrier of smoke. The archers lose us within the grey substance, and arrows fall more to our left or right than on top of us now. Time coughs as the offensive smoke invades his lungs.

We push onwards, and make it to the double doors of the castle, instead of just its huge walls. The doors are wide open. Waiting for us. We step inside, leaving behind the downpour of arrows, but all of us are tense. The Black Lizalfos invited us inside. It didn't need to. The doors to the castle are metal. It would've taken more than Legend's fire rod to get them open.

"It just let us in," Wind mumbles, putting our collective confusion into words.

"It's ready for us," Time mutters.

I put my shield away and square my shoulders. "We're ready for it, aren't we?"

Warriors nods. "We are."

I stare into the creepy hallway before us. A red carpet leads deeper into this dungeon, stone gargoyles sitting on both sides of it. The walls are black smeared with red, maybe blood. Shivers go down my spine. Here we are. The Black Lizalfos's hideout. Or one of them, anyway. But Twilight is waiting. We need to get to him, over all else. I nod, more to myself than any of the others. "We're coming, Twi."