A/N: So here's a warning for Chapter 6. A lot of people on the last site I posted, dubbed this as a "swift kick in the nuts" kind of chapter. I'm sure you'll see what I mean at the end.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews this has been getting!

Chapter 6: A Dark Truth

Zelda stood in front of the tribal leaders of Hyrule. She had invited them into her throne room to tell them of the new plight facing Hyrule, a plight they would have to fight without Link. To Zelda's left stood Prince Ralis of the Zora tribe. She had felt her words had a strong effect on the young zora, but not quite the effect she wanted. Instead of getting the Prince to realize the gravity of the situation, he merely saw it as a way to put the Zora tribe to fight and redeem themselves for his mother's loss. Zelda feared for his people's safety. To her right stood Darbus and Gor-Coron, the main tribal leaders of the Gorons. Their response to her news of the contents of the note was a little more what she was looking for. They responded with a quick grasp of how dire a situation it was, and could feel an aura of responsibility coming from them. Zelda was glad she would have some allies for this fight, even if they weren't all Hylian.

"It seems to me," Gor-Coron said, "that we should try to learn more about the enemy that is about to invade Hyrule."

Zelda nodded her head in agreement. "The men we faced weren't very strong according to my soliders. They did use magic however."

Ralis stood up and asked, "If they weren't that strong, then why are we having a counsel of war?"

"Let me finish Ralis," Zelda stated. "I feel however, that we may see the strength of the man I saw, the one who could transform into the beast, more than the strength of the normal warriors that went along with him."

The leaders all stood in silence. They knew if that was the case, then there was little hope of saving Hyrule. That man had beaten the hero in battle after all. How in the goddesses name were they supposed to stop an army of men like him?

Darbus spoke up. "We must first figure out the face of our enemy, before we figure out a battle plan."

"But how?" Zelda asked. "We know nothing about this threat. A force like this has no precedent."

Darbus then had a bold idea. "One tribal leader may know more about these people…"

"Who?" Zelda asked desperately.

"He's not in this room, we must find him first."

"What could you possibly mean Darbus?" asked Ralis, "All the leaders in Hyrule are here."

"No, there isn't," said Zelda. Ralis looked at her confused. She continued on. "But I never thought that we would need HIS help…"

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Link was dreaming again. He was surrounded by an endless abyss of white. He could vaguely hear footsteps. The footsteps were getting closer behind him; he could hear them getting louder too. Finally the footsteps stopped. Link turned around with a smile on his face, as he turned around and said,

"Hello, Midna."

Standing before him in his dreams was the Twilight Princess in her true form. She was as beautiful as Link had remembered, but she wasn't smiling like Link. She walked up to him and put her hand on his cheek as she used to do.

"Oh, Link…" she said sadly, "What cruel fate has befallen upon you?"

Link looked slightly confused. "What do you mean Midna?" he questioned, "I've found a way to see you again."

Midna smiled sadly as she said, "My time is short Link. You must seek the Twili. They will explain to you what you need to know." She took her hand of his cheek and started to slowly back up away from Link.

"Link… I… See you later."

She turned around and started to walk away. "Wait!" Link shouted. But she was already gone in the white abyss.

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"Wake up Link!"

Link could feel cold water over his face as he sprung to life.

"It's about time, we need to go."

"Huh?" said Link, dazed over the dream he just had.

"We have to meet up in the forest with Thornir, it's almost midnight!"

Suddenly Link remembered where he was. He looked up and saw Othae equipping himself in light chain-mail armor and putting a small, but sharp blade in a scabbard.

"We can't be late Link, let's hurry."

Link went ahead and grabbed his shield and the Master Sword from his bedroll beside him as they hurried out of the tent. Thornir and Lithe were waiting outside the tent as Link and Othae came out.

"It's about time you two," Thornir said, "C'mon, take this pouch."

Link caught a small brown bag that Thornir threw at him.

"What are these?" Link asked.

"Pocket crystals," Lithe said, "They allow portable light for an hour for every mini crystal in the pouch. Our shift ends at daybreak, so we are given six crystals so we can explore the woods."

"I thought we were just going to protect the base?" Link questioned.

"We were," said Thornir, "but the group who was watching before us said he saw some funny movement in the woods. The boss wants us to check it out."

Link silently nodded, not paying a whole lot of attention. Link's newest dream had him perplexed even more than his old one. He hoped that his new dream turned out better than the last dream.

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The group was finally ready to go.

"Follow me," said Thornir.

He led the group all the way to the far side of the base where Link saw two other men equipped with maces waiting for them.

"Good to see you Thornir," replied the first man. The second man just silently nodded.

"Well, have you seen anything else moving in the trees?" Thornir asked. The first man responded again.

"No, nothing since ten minutes ago when we called you over. My guess is they weren't expecting us to be at this spot and panicked when they saw us."

"If that's the case," Thornir said, "Then they'll be easy to track. Let's go guys. We'll be back shortly to watch over the base." The two men nodded as Link and the others went into the forest.

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As they left the protection of the light bubble behind, the small crystals in their pouches activated immediately. Link was back in twilight. He would have been a happy, if it wasn't for his dream.

"What cruel fate has befallen upon you?"

Midna's words were not one could shake of easily, even if in a dream.

"It seemed so real," Link thought.

"Hey," Othae nudged him, "pay attention. We have to be prepared for anything out here."

As the group continued into the forest, Link could tell that they were tracking something and the men who told of the disturbance were correct. The path they were following had broken branches and small outlines of footprints in the dirt. Suddenly, Thornir stopped.

"What is it?" asked Lithe.

"I don't know…" he said, "the path just suddenly… shit!"

A net was thrown at them straight ahead of where they were standing. Link used his lightning reflexes to draw the Master Sword out and cut the net in half. Then there was a ruffle in the trees and the sound of running feet.

A small voice in Link's head went against reason and told him to run after it. It got louder and louder until it consumed Link's thoughts. Link then sprinted after the fading sounds of the enemy. Link could barely hear Othae and the group shouting at him to come back, but he kept running. The voice was now giving him directions, telling him which way to turn. He could feel a sense of trust from the voice, as if it was an old friend. Finally, as Link turned the corner, he saw what he was chasing after, along with two others of its kind.

"Freeze!" shouted one of the dark figures.

Link held up his hands. He had gotten careless and he knew it. Then, out from the small shadows the trees offered, came on of the figures into full view. Link gasped. Standing in front of him was a Twili, in their uncursed form. This particular Twili had sharp red eyes with small blue pupils, and had on a robe that looked remarkably like Zant's.

"You're a Twili," Link said.

"Seek the Twili. They will explain to you what you need to know." Midna's final hint in the dream. The Twili was taken aback.

"How do you know…"

Link cut him off. "I need to see your Princess," he said forcefully, but polite.

"Our Princess?" the Twili questioned. "But…"

Another Twili from the shadows emerged, slightly enraged. "How dare you make demands!" he said, "How dare you insult the throne with mentions of…"

"Stop."

The third and final Twili then came out from the shadows. He spoke with calm demeanor and with an aura of friendship.

"You know much for an ordinary Hylian," said the Twili. Link looked hard at him. They were all male, Midna was not in the group.

"Then I guess I'm not ordinary," Link said. The third Twili smiled.

"I guess not. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Link"

The two other Twili looked at each other and started speaking in harsh whispers. The third Twili hushed them with a wave of his hand. "You say your name is Link… let me tell you that name has great meaning to us, in the past and present."

Link looked confused. "The past?" he questioned.

The Twili gave him the saddest look, almost knowing why he was confused.

"I'm guessing your wondering where you are, what this place is, and why the Twili are here, am I right?"

Link was dumbfounded. He had just guessed all the questions Link was going to ask.

"It's a gift," the Twili said, "I can partially read peoples mind. Before I answer your questions…" he stopped, almost unwilling to finish the sentence, "Before I answer your questions, you must tell me the name of the Princess you speak of."

Link swallowed hard. "Princess Midna... is her name."

The Twili looked at him hard, almost with a sad expression on their face.

"What is it?" Link questioned, angrily. "What happened to her?" The third Twili sighed.

"Nothing happened to her," he said, "Let me tell you a little more about this place. You may not know it, but you are in the kingdom of Hyrule, in the old forest that used to be known as Faron Woods. It's now become desolate and is only used by the rouge band that confuses us as enemies."

Link was now confused as ever. This was not the Faron Woods he knew, they could not have changed so quickly. The Twili looked at him.

"Your right, Link, they could not have changed in the couple days you were gone. So maybe you'll be quick to comprehend what happened to you…"

Link still looked at him, confused, unsure of what the twili meant.

"Link, take off your gloves and look at your hands," the twili said kindly.

Link did as they Twili told him. On one of his hands was the symbol of the Triforce of Courage, now glowing as it usually did without the influence of the dream on him. But on the other hand was something new. It looked like an ancient symbol, deep with the hue of blood. It periodically lit up, almost in short burst like it had its own heartbeat. Link looked back at the Twili, almost with awe.

"The Mark of Time," the Twili whispered.

"You have been sent into the future, and this is Hyrule as it stands now."

Link felt a wave of horrible comprehension coming over him. He now understood why the group made snide remarks to him, and why he felt out of place among them.

"You still didn't tell me why your here," he said, depressed.

"You have new questions on your mind that it would not matter if I told you."

He spoke the truth. Link had to know more.

"How long?" he said, "how many years was I sent into the future?"

The Twili looked at him, afraid of divulging the information. "Judging by how you know of Midna," he said, "I would say one hundred years."

"Why would you say that," asked Link, fearful over the answer.

"Because," the Twili said, "Because Queen Midna has been dead for the past thirty years."

As soon as the twili finished his sentence, Link felt his world come crashing down on him. He fell to his knees in weakness. He couldn't believe it. The dark monster had ensured he would never see his lost love again. He started to cry. He didn't care about the Twili watching him, as he banged the ground in frustration and sadness.

"Why?" he thought, "Why goddesses why?" The Twili watched the scene, saddened. The third one bent down to the level of Link.

"I think that is the end of this conversation. We will not harm you, the truth seems to have hurt you enough. Goodbye Link," he said.

"Wait," Link said, tears still in his eyes, "Take me to your leader. I must see him." The Twili started to murmur again, and the third one hushed them again.

"To do so is impossible. The light you carry blocks the way."

"Then to hell with the light!" Link shouted as he slipped on his gloves covering up the mark, and threw the bag carrying the crystals away.

He saw the shocked look upon the Twili, but Link knew what hew as doing. He could feel the Twilight covering his skin, the jolt of energy coming over him, his triforce about to burst. Link shouted in pain as his voice turned to a howl, and he was a wolf again.

The Twili looked stunned. The man in front of them suddenly turned into a beast, a beast which held an old twili prophecy. The third Twili looked into the Link's blue eyes, tears still in them even as a wolf.

"Come with me."

The Twili then went further into the forest with Wolf Link not far behind. He had been robbed of what he was searching for, and he couldn't shake of the feeling that he had no chance of seeing her again. As he walked onwards with the Twili, he was deep in thought.

Suddenly, he was in the white abyss in his human form. The footsteps came again, and it was Midna. As Link looked at her, he knew that she was gone, and only a ghost of the past. He fell down and cried. She went over to him and put his head on her shoulder, as he gently wept.

"I'm sorry," she said, as she gently rubbed the back of the saddened hero. He said nothing, and continued to weep silently into her shoulder.

In his thoughts, Link was crying. In reality, he was walking along a wolf, trying to right another wrong. Despite being many years in the future, nothing had truly changed about the hero.