A/N: Edited 28.8.2013. Minor misspellings and such fixed.
I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?
Have fun!
Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!
This IS continuation for CaH!
IMPORTANT! The creature called Dragmog the Fluffy/Dragmos is THOROUGHLY MINE! Do NOT steal or copy or anything else! DRAGMOG IS MINE AND MINE ONLY!
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LEAFLESS MAZE
CHAPTER 2: Dragmog and information
The two Hylians walked out of the castle through the back door. Link took the lead while Dark still checked that his sword and shield were properly with him. The Hero guided the darker Hylian past the maze and into woods at the back of the garden.
"So... Why we're not taking the horses?" Dark asked while coming next to Link.
"Because the walk's not that of long and there is something that really isn't too happy about horses." Link replied nonchalantly. Dark just nodded but refused to even glance at the Hero. Link dropped his gaze to ground again while trying to come up good enough apology that the darker Hylian would actually accept.
They walked long while in silence and eventually Dark glanced backwards The dark Hylian had passed the Hero at some point during their walking. Dark flinched a bit and contemplated for a short second whether or not he should open his mouth and say something. "Um... Link?" The dark Hylian eventually called.
Link raised his gaze up and half gasped in shock. He stopped straight off and stared at the tree right in front of him. The Hero chuckled bit nervously while going around the tree. "Um... Thanks..." He whispered while catching up with the dark Hylian.
Dark just shrugged. "I did wonder for a while whether or not I should warn you." He stated while turning his gaze off of Link.
Link sighed. "Yeah, well, you could've gotten a revenge if you would've kept your mouth shut." He replied and flinched straight off after saying it. "Damn it! Can't you keep your mouth shut at least once?!" The Hero thought bit angrily.
Dark grinned a bit but soon it turned into an angry frown. "Maybe but even until now you haven't asked if I'm okay after falling to that darn fountain." He said with a shrug.
Link flinched again and sighed. "So... Are you okay?" He asked carefully. Dark snorted.
"Isn't that a bit too late by now?" The dark Hylian replied coldly. He glanced at the Hero who had once again dropped his gaze to the ground. "Why can't I just forgive him already? I mean that..." Dark sighed and turned his gaze back to the road. Suddenly the ground shook a bit. "What the...?" He asked in slight shock.
"Oh shit..." Link said quietly and suddenly he moved real fast. He went right behind Dark, pulled him behind the closest tree and brought his hand over the dark Hylian's mouth. "Close your eyes and stay quiet." The Hero whispered sharply.
"The hell...?" Dark asked in shock even though his words were muffled while trying to pull free. The ground shook again. Link closed his eyes tightly and held even tighter to Dark.
"Do as I say, Dark." Link hissed. "Close your eyes." He continued straight off when the ground shook even more and the heavy footsteps were heard. Dark was startled about Link's voice and eventually closed his eyes. "Come on... Lay down..." Link whispered quietly and while still holding to Dark, he started to slowly crouch down. Dark followed him mainly because Link was holding so tightly to him.
"Keep your eyes closed and stay still." Link whispered quietly while laying down to the ground. The ground was still shaking while the creature came closer to them. Link held tightly to Dark and made sure he was fully laying on the ground. Suddenly there was heard a sound of sniffing.
Link was bit shaking and breathing fast. Dark then again was fully confused. "What in earth is he scared of?" He wondered but even he was happy when the creature started to move away from them.
Once the creature was gone, Link sighed in relief, let go of Dark and sat up. "Whew. That was close one." He whispered and chuckled a bit. "Sorry for being rough but I really didn't want to start a fight with that creature." The Hero explained slightly nervously.
Dark sat up too and looked at Link while waiting him to continue. Link sighed and looked to the way the creature had left. "That creature has really few of points to hit. And that's not all. The creature is huge as the castle, fast and really mean. After getting one hit dealt it won't give any more chances for it. The only way to get away from it is by running and getting a place to hide at. Laying at the ground is one of the best ways to avoid it if it hasn't had a chance to see you yet." He explained bit grimly.
"How'd you know?" Dark asked carefully. Link chuckled.
"Because I've fought with it before. The only reason I haven't killed is the fact that it's the pet of the royal gardener. He wouldn't be too happy to hear that I've killed the creature." The Hero replied with a slight grin."Now, come on, we don't have much of time before it comes back." Link continued and stood up. He left straight off to continue towards the way they were going to.
Dark followed him but fell into his thoughts. There was something familiar with the creature but he couldn't figure out what. Soon the duo came to a huge and round clearing. In middle of it was an old house. Link glanced once around before rushing to the door Dark right behind him. The Hero knocked on the door in tune of the royal song.
"I'm coming!" Came from inside and soon an old man opened the door. "Link! Nice to see you around again. And you must be Dark. Come on in." He said quite happily. Link nodded and went straight in. Dark followed him and nodded too to the gardener.
Once the trio had sat down around the table, the gardener asked straight off: "So, how can I help you?" Link took once a deep breath.
"We came to talk about the leafless maze." He started but suddenly the place started to shake. Then, out of nowhere, there was mad growling from right outside the window. Link stood up in bit of shock and with slight yelp. Even Dark was startled but he stayed at the table while staring right at the creature.
The gardener sighed. "Just a second. I'll handle this." He stated and walked out of the house. "Fluffy!" He called bit angrily. The huge dark creature whined quietly, glanced at the window and growled shortly. "They're my friends! Just stop that already!" The gardener shouted commandingly.
"No... It can't be..." Dark whispered and stood up from the table. For Link's shock he walked out of the house and right behind the gardener. He fully ignored Link's scared commands for him to come back inside. The creature stood up on its full height and growled even harder.
"FLUFFY, NO!" The gardener shouted in anger as loudly as he could. Dark just stared at the creature.
"He wouldn't have been having really fluffy and soft fur when he was little?" The dark Hylian asked in amazement.
"Uh... Yeah, he had... Why?" The gardener asked.
"Grew up fast? The softest part having been the neck fur that turned into spikes? The fur itself turned into really, really thick and hard armor?" Dark asked quietly.
"Yes... Do you know he's kind?" The gardener asked in confusion. Dark just nodded.
"Dragmos..." The dark Hylian whispered quietly. The creature stopped growling right after that and stared at Dark. Dark moved to a clearer place and kept his eyes on the creature. "Hey, there... I'm no harm, okay?" He whispered gently while the creature came back down to all four and kept its eyes right at him.
The gardener stared in pure horror at Dark. "I wouldn't do that if I were you..." He whispered when Dark reached out to touch the creature. Link stared in shock and fear at the scene while being too bewildered about the situation to move.
But the creature didn't do anything. It let Dark touch it and it even closed its eyes. After that it opened its eyes and gave a huge lick. The dark Hylian gasped a bit when the creature licked him from toes to head but he stood quietly on his place. "See... I'm no harm. Remember?" Dark whispered smiling. "Do you have a ball?" He asked from the gardener.
"Uh... What?" The man asked in pure shock.
"A ball. You know, round thing that one can throw around?" Dark asked bit confused. The gardener blinked few times, nodded and returned back inside. He came out real soon with a red ball and gave it to Dark. "Thanks." He replied smiling.
The creature stood back to its full height. "Hey, wanna play?" Dark asked from it. The creature fell back to all four and did a full circle before nodding eagerly. Dark moved the ball from one hand to another, threw it in the air and caught it few times. The creature's eyes followed the ball eagerly. "Fetch!" Dark screamed and threw the ball as far as he could. The creature gave out a half bark half growl and ran after the red ball.
"How in earth...?" The gardener asked quietly. Dark chuckled.
"I've had a Dragmog too. It's a funny little creature. And I'm surprised it has grown up this much." The dark Hylian replied smiling.
"A Dragmog?" The gardener asked fully confused. Dark nodded smiling.
"Yeah. One of a kind." He whispered quietly. "It is actually something between a dragon and a dog. That's the reason it's so faithful for its owner... And likes to play." Dark explained. "And that's not all. It is very great guardian too." The dark Hylian continued and grinned when the creature came back with the ball. It dropped it right in front of Dark and did a fast circle again while its tail kept swishing really fast from side to side.
Dark chuckled. "You okay if I call you Fluffy?" He asked while picking the ball up. The creature gave a fast bark growl to him and nodded. "Nice~. Fetch!" Dark replied and threw the ball again. The Dragmog left right after the ball.
"Can you tell me more about Fluffy's kind?" The gardener asked quite hopefully. Dark nodded.
"Yeah, sure." He replied and crossed his arms over his chest. "There's always only one Dragmog alive. When it dies, it lays an egg. The egg is to be hold in very hot place and it takes about year or two for it to hatch." Dark explained.
"How do you know all this?" The gardener asked quietly. Dark smiled sadly.
"Because I had one long ago. Really faithful creature and loving. Not to mention very playful too." The dark Hylian replied quietly.
"What happened?" The gardener asked worriedly. Dark sighed sadly.
"Ganondorf. He attacked and hurt my Dragmog. By the time I got back he had died and all I found was the egg. I hid the egg in hopes of coming back someday." The dark Hylian explained grimly. "But I never got the chance..." He whispered quietly.
By that time Link had slowly come out of the house and was fully startled when the Dragmog came back and started to growl at him. "Fluffy, no!" Both Dark and the gardener shouted simultaneously. The creature flinched and whined quietly.
"Link, get in here." Dark half growled and the Hero came right next to him. The dark Hylian took the ball and gave it to Link. "Talk and throw." He half commanded. Link stared at the quietly growling creature and gulped. "Trust me. If you want Fluffy to trust you, you'd better do as I say." Dark whispered to him. Link nodded.
The Hero raised the ball and waved it in the air. The Dragmog looked bit confused but followed the ball. "I'm no harm for ya. You want to play?" Link whispered quietly but it was still clear that he was actually afraid of the huge creature. Dark sighed and shook his head.
"Idiot..." He mumbled and came right behind him. "That's exactly not the way I was talking about." Dark told to him, took a grip of Link's hand and extended it towards the creature. "Come here, Fluffy." The dark Hylian called and the Dragmog lowered its head down to his touch. "This is Link. He's friend of mine and your owner's. Get him known." Dark told to the creature.
The Dragmog let Link touch him and sniffed few times slowly to get the scent memorized. Dark took his hand off and backed few steps. Fluffy kept on sniffing few more times before pulling off and licking the Hero. Link was fully shocked and pulled back by stepping few times backwards. Fluffy started to growl at him and bared his teeth fully. Dark sighed and facepalmed.
"You really shouldn't back off like that, Link." He mumbled and pushed the Hero back in front of the huge Dragmog. "Now, reach back up at him and stay put." Dark half hissed into Link's ear while backing off. Link stared at the creature in pure fear but did as the dark Hylian told him.
Fluffy glanced once at his owner and at Dark. The gardener was worried but Dark nodded encouragingly. The Dragmog went back down, let Link touch him, sniffed few times and licked again. Link fought back at the urge of backing off and he closed his eyes tightly. Then the tongue of the creature was off and the Hero was actually confused about not being fully wet.
Link was startled when Dark came back right behind him. "Get the ball up, talk and throw the ball." He half hissed to him before backing off. The Hero frowned a bit but started to smile slightly.
He raised the ball up and waved it. "I'm no danger for ya. I'd actually would like to be friends, if you'd like." Link said bit hopefully. The creature followed the ball and Link wasn't fully sure if it was actually listening to him. "You wanna play?" He asked and Fluffy gave again that strange sound of mix of a bark and a growl. Link smiled and threw the ball as far as he could. "Fetch!" He shouted and the creature ran right after the red ball.
Dark came next to him. "Bit uncertain but quite good first impression." He said grinning. Link glanced at him.
"Well, I'm sorry but that creature freaks the hell out of me." He replied bit grimly. Dark chuckled and shook his head.
"Well, at least it won't be trying to eat you when you come here next time." The darker Hylian stated grinning. Link nearly deadpanned but nodded.
"That is actually a good thing." He replied quietly and was startled when the creature came right back at them.
"Just think of it as one big and odd looking dog." Dark whispered to him while backing off. Link glanced at him with a look that clearly said: You kidding me, right? Dark just chuckled with a wide grin on his face. Link sighed, took the ball and threw it again.
After a while the trio went back inside and left the Dragmog outside to guard the house. "So, you were talking about the leafless maze, right?" The gardener asked smiling.
Link nodded while calming down from the meeting of the creature. Dark grinned a bit. "Let's make an exchange. I'll tell you all I know about Dragmogs and you'll answer to our questions. Okay?" He asked happily.
The gardener nodded eagerly. "It's a deal! So, what do you want to know?" He replied grinning.
"Is there a way to revive the maze without starting from a scratch?" Link asked. He had calmed down enough and had a chance to concentrate to their actual mission again. The gardener nodded.
"Actually, I might have a way." He replied and frowned a bit. "I heard a rumor that there'd be a temple not too far from here. There should be a bag of special seeds." The gardener started and stood up. He walked to a bookshelf and watched the books for a while before pulling one out. "When I heard about the seeds I had a feeling of reading of it before." He continued and put the book down to the table.
The gardener started to go it through and eventually found the page he was searching for. "I thought this was just a myth but it actually might be true. These seeds are very rare and don't even grow at Hyrule. It is said that it can revive anything but they are to be planted at winter." He started while skimming through the page.
"Why at winter? I thought that plants always grew at summer, not at winter." Link sated bit confused. The gardener chuckled.
"I know what you mean but like I said, these are special ones." He started and glanced at the Hero. "They're supposed to be put into the snow underneath the plant it is supposed to revive. They're to be put into the depth of the seed's height. Not deeper nor higher. And they are not supposed to be hid by the snow. If it is going to affect the way they're supposed to, it'll be gone after twenty-four hours. It will leave a trail down to the ground. Don't touch the trail nor hide it. The nature will do its work at that." The gardener explained.
The two Hylians were quiet for a while and thought about the information that was given to them. "So, did you understand that?" The gardener asked after a while. Both Dark and Link nodded slowly. "Good. You probably should head forward then. The temple's not that of far from here." He continued with a nod.
"What direction?" Link asked carefully. The gardener thought for a while before pointing to the opposite window.
"You just keep going forward. It is quite well just straight line between the castle and the temple. My house is in middle." He answered and stood up. "I wish you two lot of luck. The rumors are also telling about monsters having taken over the place. But, you two are great swordsmen so I doubt there to be any of trouble for you." The gardener continued and started to make bit of food.
Link was ready to continue the way but Dark wasn't. "Thanks. Now my part of the deal." He stated smiling. The gardener nodded "So, what do you want to know?" The dark Hylian asked while taking a bit better position on the chair. Link sighed, closed his eyes and leaned over the table while bringing his arms under his forehead. Dark grinned at him knowing that the Hero didn't see it.
"About the egg... Why does it need year or two to hatch? And doesn't anyone actually try and destroy it? Like other monster or even people?" The gardener asked puzzled.
"It's hard as a steel." Dark replied. "It needs the heat to get it possible to be broken. If you try and destroy the egg before heating it enough, it won't break. One can smash it for days without getting even a scratch to it."He explained grinning. "Like steel, it needs heating to get it shaped into something useful." The dark Hylian continued.
"How does the Dragmog get out then?" The gardener asked confused and turned around to look at the dark Hylian.
"When it's hot enough, it can break through it." Dark replied with a shrug.
"What if the egg is heated well enough inside a month or so?" The gardener questioned puzzled. Dark shrugged again.
"Then the Dragmog can get out faster. The creature is actually already ready for life inside the egg but the shell of the egg is so strong that it can't really break it until it's heated enough." Dark explained carefully.
"Okay... Since Dragmog is half a dragon and half a dog... Does it ever grow wings?" The gardener asked while turning back to the food he was cooking.
Dark nodded. "Once old enough, he will get wings. But that needs lot of years. On Fluffy's case it would mean about ten to twenty years, at least. Oh, and how did you find Fluffy?" The dark Hylian replied.
The gardener smiled bit sadly. "He was in bit of trouble. Several Moblins were surrounding the poor thing. Fluffy fought hard but he was badly outnumbered. So, I went to help him. After that Fluffy's been by my side." He explained and shrugged. "I didn't do much but I'm grateful for his friendship." The gardener continued happily.
Dark nodded smiling. "So... How long does Dragmogs live?" The gardener asked bit uncertainly. Dark shrugged.
"I don't actually know but I've heard rumors of them being actually able to live as long as dragons do." The dark Hylian replied. "Anything else?" He asked carefully. The gardener thought for a long while but eventually shook his head. "Okay... Well, I do have one simple advice, though." Dark said with a slight grin.
"Oh, and what's that?" The gardener asked. Dark's grin widened.
"Try feeding fried chicken to Fluffy. He might actually like it." He said and winked once. After that he stood up and gave quite harsh push to Link. "I think we should head towards the temple now." Dark stated.
Link huffed, gave bit of angry look to Dark and got up. "Thanks for the info. We'll head off to the temple now." He said and headed towards the door. The gardener turned around smiling and nodded to them.
"Okay. Good luck. And Dark... Thank you." He said smiling widely. The dark Hylian nodded with a grin.
"Thanks and it was nothing. Really. I just kinda know Dragmogs so it's always nice to share the info." He said before following Link out of the house. Fluffy was waiting for them and his tail was wagging madly. "Sorry, pal, but we'll play later." Dark said bit sadly and waved his hand to the creature. Link walked quite fast out of the place and into the forest.
"How come you never told me about Dragmogs?" Link asked bit angrily. Dark grinned.
"You never asked." He replied while his grin widened. Link growled a bit and shook his head. "And you didn't tell much about the creature either so I didn't know until I actually saw it." He continued. Link sighed but stayed quiet while continuing his walk towards the temple.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!
Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P
IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED: I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!
So, in short: Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.
There is no deadline for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)
NOTE! Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!