When the early light of dawn had touched the skies, Ordon had finally quieted down. Fado had gone to the ranch early and seated himself outside among the goatherds, still paranoid about the bloodthirsty marauder wandering into the corral while he was absent. Before the sun had risen, and while the sky was a periwinkle blue, he patrolled the reaches of the corral, calling for his partner, Link, to help him.

No response came.

Presently, Mayor Bo was standing outside the porch of his house, looking bleakly between the houses surrounding him in case the beast came back. He was slumped, tired, and nearly falling asleep while standing up. When he had finally decided to call it a "night," by the request of his daughter Ilia, he visited each house asking if Link would take the next watch.

No response came.

Rusl had taken the forest trail dozens of times that morning, sword still in hand and on the defense, but so far his efforts had been futile. The glow of his lantern had begun to fade, due to the fact that the last of his oil had been burned. Every place he visited had proved to be disappointingly empty, for during the many trips he took to the Spirit's spring, the Forest Temple, and to Coro's house, he found no signs of Link, or the wolf. Rusl wanted to keep looking, but fatigue and a lowered morale assailed him, eventually bringing him back to Ordon for rest.

The village children were all safe inside of Mayor Bo's house. Ilia watched the lot of them closely while the adults were still out looking, though thankfully she had no work cut out for her. Even Talo and Malo were propped up dejectedly in the corner, not talking and not complaining. Beth had fallen asleep some ways away; the girl made no disturbance at all. Meanwhile, Ilia and Colin spoke quietly.

"D'you think that wolf was a man eater, Ilia?" asked Colin, his voice small and whispering.

"I don't know," said Ilia, an anxious frown crossing her face. "We've seen worse things though, Colin. I'm sure that my father and your father can take care of it. I'm just worried about Link." She gazed out of the house window, looking helpless. "He hasn't come back since last night, and he's all by himself out in the woods. I can't help but fear that he ran into trouble with that beast…" Her voice diminished.

"Don't worry," Colin assured Ilia. "He's saved both of our lives before. In fact, maybe he went to kill the wolf!"

Ilia shrugged, looking forlorn. "Maybe…it just baffles me how that monster made it into Link's house. I never would have thought of him being that careless."

"Well, I dunno…yesterday I went to see him and he kind of exploded at me," said Colin, shivering slightly as if he remembered an awful memory.

Ilia looked at him suddenly, surprised. "Why?" she demanded.

"He- I looked at something of his and he got really mad…crazy even, and told me never to touch it. He was in some state of shock afterward. I don't know…do you think he's not telling us something, Ilia?"

Now Ilia was deep in thought, her forehead resting on the palm of her hand. "I don't know, Colin, but I have the feeling we may find out sooner or later."

The first thing Link noticed was sand. It was in his hair, in his mouth, and in his torn and bedraggled clothes. Making a face, he wrinkled his nose and spit into the dirt. Next he felt the pain; a throbbing wound on the back of his calf was unrelenting, and the crackling he heard when he moved told him that it was crusted with dried blood. He lifted his head weakly, finding himself spread over his belly on a sandy place. He twisted his neck around as far as his sore muscles would allow.

He sighed with relief to see that he was in the Ordon Spring, and not in some unfamiliar place. His respite soon faded when he saw that it was morning; the light creeping over the tops of the trees roused his growing alarm.

Oh no…what happened last night? I can't remember a thing; the last I recall was talking to Colin…He realized that he must have been in wolf form last night.

But…he did not recall uttering the transforming spell. Not at all. He would, since he would have said it while he was still human, but there was no recollection of the event, nor did he remember doing it for any particular reason.

Did the shadow magic work on its own? he wondered. The idea was not only ridiculous, but also terrifying. Link scrambled to his feet, howling as the gash on his leg flared up in pain. And how did that get there?

Despite his malady, he limped through the woods to his house, which was tucked in a clearing not too far from the spring. He groaned as he met with the ladder; it would hurt him greatly to climb it. He was considering his options when a voice shouted, "Link?"

Link whipped around, startled, only to see Rusl emerging from the village. The man was slouched; exhausted, and dark circles adorned his eyes.

"Link! Thank the goddesses it's you! We have all been looking for you!" Rusl was excited. "Did you catch anything of the commotion last night?"

Being in somewhat of a stupor, Link could only give the older man a blank stare. He quickly lied. "No, I didn't. Is everyone okay?"

"Fortunately, yes," said Rusl. "This wolf came barging into your house last night, heaven knows why, but we were able to scare it away, I think." He paused as his eyes drifted to the gash on Link's leg. "Goodness, Link, are you all right? You don't look well at all."

Unable to meet his eyes, Link gazed at the soil. "I don't think I am well," he murmured.

Rusl studied him, concerned, and asked, "Is it anything worth telling me about?"

Link considered the question, his face remaining blank of any emotion. Finally, he shook his head.

"Well okay then, Link," said Rusl, sounding slightly disappointed. "I won't pry. I hate to drag you out since you look so beat up, but Fado desperately needs you on the ranch, so after some breakfast, why don't you go on up there and help him out?"

"Fine."

Around midday, the sun had made its climb to the highest peak of the sky. The sun was shining cheerfully over the ranch, improving the atmosphere but making the temperature warmer and less comfortable for the two ranchers. Fado and Link were both busy building up a fence around the farthest boundary of the pasture, while the herd of goats scattered farther away. Due to the recent killings of their herd members, the animals flocked in groups and clustered more closely together than usual, the head ram bellowing a fierce note every now and then as a warning to enemies.

Fado's shovel rhythmically pounded the dirt as he dug holes in a straight line cutting across the pasture, filling them all with wooden poles as he went. Since Link was injured in his leg, he volunteered to nail the wire on each pole, enclosing the entire area. The work was physically hard, and tedious to no end, but Link appreciated the distraction.

He barely said a word throughout the entire day, but Fado's monologues were never-ending. "This fence will keep them varmints out of our herds," he said confidently as he shoved yet another pole into a finished hollow. "I took the liberty of reinforcin' that wire there with barbs, just in case."

Link fingered a sharp barb with his thumb and swallowed nervously.

"An' even if they get in, I'm gonna stand out here all night an' show those scoundrels what fer! They won't be getting our goats, no sir." Fado chuckled at the unintended pun and started refilling his hole with dirt, securing in the post.

Though still remaining silent, Link listened to Fado's words, feeling absolutely dreadful. He barely paid attention as he lifted his hammer and inadvertently struck his finger. He yelped at this new pain and kicked the ground, cursing.

Fado turned his head, perturbed by Link's outburst. "Careful there," he said. "Those things hurt, and y'all look pretty pounded already."

"Thanks for the update," Link muttered rudely, and returned to his hammering with less gusto than before. He looked across the pasture to see eight more holes, ten feet apart from one another, leading up to the edge of the barn. He sighed. This is going to be a long day…

It certainly was. Link continued his work at the ranch until the afternoon, ignoring the incessant flares of pain in his leg, until he at last retired to his house. On his way there, he was hounded by at least every member of Ordon Village, being bombarded with questions about his condition and about the chaos of the night before. It took all of his efforts to remain pleasantly ignorant in their eyes, but his composure and his temper were on the verge of breaking. He gave short, curt replies to every question asked. "Yes, I'm fine." "No, I didn't see anything."

When he was alone in his house, he became infuriated to see that his door was swinging open. It was hanging by only one hinge now, and leaned dangerously over the ledge of the tree trunk. He lost his temper and slammed the door shut behind him, shouting something loud and incoherent to the air. The door merely creaked and lurched in reply.

Link began pacing back and forth across the room like a caged animal. I have to think about what's happening here…why did I use the gemstone last night, and why can I not remember anything about it? Why did I wake up this morning bruised and cut on my leg? Why is the smallest thing upsetting me today? …And what the hell happened to my door? He turned and glared at it as if the inanimate object had said something unkind. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself, and ended up sitting cross-legged on the floor, resting his chin on his hands.

And the goats…I can't remember it happening, but my wolf form must be killing them off. Why has my wolf form become more primitive lately? I don't understand. I can't tell Fado about this, that's for sure. Nobody can know about this. They would shun me, and with good reason…Suddenly he became utterly miserable about his predicament. How did I get myself in such a mess?

His gaze focused on the old quilt lying over his table, on the small lump beneath it. Link rose from the floor and walked to it, peeling the cloth away. The gemstone, though still beautiful and alluring, seemed almost seductive now, in a dark and intriguing way. That was when Link spotted an oddity.

The gemstone was still pure black, its orange lines absent. It did not levitate, but it lay still on its side, looking almost dull of energy. Much like it always did when Link was in his wolf form…

On impulse, Link looked down the front of his tunic, holding his gloved hand out in front of his torso, flexing his fingers as approval. I'm still human, he confirmed. So why is the gem deprived of its magic? He stared blankly at the object for a long time, his thoughts piercing together gradually minute by minute. He eventually came to a conclusion.

The gem's magic is still within my body, though I still appear human. I no longer switch between the two forms, but live as a halfa…a man and a wolf. Yet logically, I still must be able to change by uttering the spell aloud or in my head…so why did I change last night against my will? Perhaps…perhaps it came to me randomly, with no rhyme or reason, and I transformed. That means…I no longer have control over it.

Link released a shuddering breath, realizing his danger. It could happen anytime…even now, if I'm not careful. He distantly recalled Midna's warnings to him from the past, about how certain shadow magics were deadly in the hands of light dwellers, and how many terrible things happened under the influence of these powers. His predicament was no different. He had become a treacherous threat to everyone in Ordon, everyone he loved.

I cannot allow this to happen again, he told himself. I will not. Even if I must exterminate myself, I won't allow my carelessness to hurt my friends. I will fix this problem, if it's the very last thing I do.

I am pleased at how well this story is going. Unfortunately, it was never meant to be a long story, so the final chapter is likely to be two more away. But stick around, because it ain't over 'til it's over!