"Alright… Well if you really are sure you want to do this, we're going to need a plan. A good one at that. If we get caught…" Midna shuddered at the thought.
"If we get caught trying to break two of the most evil beings in all of these lands out of a highly guarded prison I have absolutely no doubts that we would be shunned, banished, or executed." Zelda shifted in her chair, her voice calm and steady, as though she'd been thinking about this for quite awhile.
"Well… what are we gonna do?" Link chimed in.
"We're going to need cloaks, possibly even magic-fueled disguises. Maybe someone who knows about the place…" The Hylian princess trailed.
"Maybe an ex-criminal?" Midna suggested.
"Maybe… Can we go to my castle? I think better when I gaze out of my courtyard window…" Zelda looked back out the window, the perpetual dusky light making her uneasy.
"How about Hyrule field?" Link asked. "Your castle has all those nosy guards, and I know a nice area where those weird creatures don't go. It's really pretty, too." The two princesses simply smiled and agreed.
Zelda and Link showed Midna the secret passage, but not before she had clarified that she may be gone awhile. She told her father she needed a break and was going out to their summer estate. With all of that out of the way, they traveled without worry back to the realm of Shadows, and through to Hyrule field. The place Link had told them of really was beautiful. They sat on a bridge overlooking Kakariko Gorge, the water was a sparkling shade of crystal blue and the sky was an almost perfect match. There was several butterflies and numerous small birds fluttering around. It was the perfect epitome of a spring day. It eased the trio's minds from their current predicament. The air was fresh and pure. It was almost impossible to worry while sitting there. Zelda immediately understood why Link loved it here so much. It was a place even a hero could cleanse his thoughts. It was peaceful and held a beauty not able to be accomplished by most places. This general area almost radiated.
"Wow, you were right, Link…" Midna praised his decision.
"Well, ya know, when you're the person everyone depends on you need to get away sometimes. And I made sure those dumb Lizalfos don't come anywhere near here. I gave them a beating to last a lifetime." Link stated nonchalantly. "We're completely safe here."
"Well no matter where we are, we need to form a plan." Zelda pointed herself as well as the other two back on track.
"Well," Link started, standing up. "I think if we did some sort of magic-y thing to ourselves like you did with the whole "Sheik" thing…-"
"Actually Link, I hired Sheik and made you think that it was me in the end."
"Well… it worked." Link stated slumping back into a sitting position disappointedly.
"Couldn't you ask this "Sheik" person to help us?" Midna questioned.
"Yes! I'll be right back!" Zelda exclaimed happily and used Farore's wind to teleport.
Being that it was early noon by this time, the sun was shining and it was just starting to warm up. Link and Midna had stood when Zelda teleported, as they had not been expecting it so it scared them just a tad. Midna stood and got a good look at the green-clad hero. He really hadn't gotten much more mature looks wise. He still looked the age of seventeen. He was, in fact, now twenty-one. His dirty blonde hair was still slightly disheveled and he wore the same garb. It was probably the exact same one, too. Midna wondered if he wore this all of the time or only on special occasions… It was a mystery she had no desire to solve at the moment. Her eyes trailed downward, looking at the ground more than anything. Link was standing perfectly still, currently mesmerized by the sun making the little gorge sparkle and glisten in a way that was majestic even to a hero, one who has seen much beautiful scenery at that. Midna continued staring until she saw a slight twitch in the hero's shadow. She blinked back in near astonishment as she inquired that the hero had been perfectly still. His shadow, however, seemed to have a mind of its own.
"Uh, Link…" Midna started unable to know how to tell the hero.
"Hm?" Link looked back noticing the Twili princess' look of bewilderment that was fixated seemingly on his boots.
"Your…."
"My what? Boots? These things are real old… I don't know why they're so-"
"No you idiot! Your shadow is moving!" Midna shouted.
"What? Holy goddesses you're right!" Link exclaimed, beginning to hop around on his shadow in a vein attempt to stomp whatever it was out of his dark reflection on the bridge.
"What are you doing? Stop fooling around and get it out, Link!"
"I'm trying!" The hero yelled back and continued stomping.
"Try harder!" Midna commanded.
"How do I do that?" Link asked growing frantic.
"I don't know! You're supposed to know how to fight enemies you dummy!"
"WELL I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT MY SHADOW!"
All of the sudden the hero's shadow seemingly sprung from the ground, materializing into a very Link-like figure. This figure, though, had dark raven hair and eyes that matched the color of blood near-perfectly. His tunic was like a black night compared to Link's forest green one and his knock-off Master Sword had a deep onyx blade in the stead of the shining silver that Link held. Even the other man's skin had a different feel to it, he was slightly more tan in comparison to the hero's.
"What in the name of the goddesses were you stomping around for?" He yelled, apparently angry with Link for freaking out.
"What?" Link looked back, confused.
"Oh wow you are an idiot." The darker version of the hero himself brought a palm to his forehead. "You don't remember me, do you?"
"…No…" Link continued staring in disbelief.
"Oh wow. Okay, well nice to meet you, buddy. I'm your shadow, created by the mighty and evil Ganondorf to destroy you and all that blah blah blah." The shadow explained.
"Uhm?" Link uttered.
"What? Still don't remember?" Link only shook his head with a slight 'no', the shadow version of himself only sighed. "Well I guess it has been awhile… wait… no never mind. I've never met you." The shadow stated, only confusing Link and the Twili princess even more.
"Okay, what?" Midna stared between the shadow and real Links with such extreme confusion that it may have overworked and killed someone's brain cells.
"Alright, allow me to explain. First of all, who are you?" The scarlet-eyed man inquired, staring at the Twili.
"I am Midna, Princess of the realm of Twilight." Midna clarified.
"Okay, well when I was real real little, my mom told me a story. A story that actually happened. I was a shadow of this guy here, born into the realm of the Shadows. Everyone in that place is a shadow of a more important person, a dark side if you will, and well, I was one of them. The only person that isn't a shadow of a better person is the guardian, or some refer to them as sages, to the realm of the Shadows. Well, when I was about five or so, this big, scary looking guy, that would be Ganondorf, came and took me away from my family. He trained me, raised me, and gave me power. Power I was instructed to kill you with. I was the anti-hero. The being who's sole purpose was to defeat you. Alas, though, when it came my time to shine, another being, you may know him, took my place. This guy was crazy, a grade-A nutcase, but he was stronger than me. He was more able. Since Ganon had been sent to the realm of Twilight by then, I'm sure you know exactly who I speak of now. That's right. Zant. He stole my thunder, so to speak. I was so jealous, that is until I realized one thing- I was free. He was Ganon's little minion and I was forgotten, almost. Ganondorf didn't care what I did. You know what I said after I figured that?" The shadow stopped in his monologue to look at the two beings before him.
"What did you say" Asked Midna, slightly interested in hearing it.
"I said, "Let him be the slave, I'm outta here." and I left. Then when I saw you two and Zelda, I knew you were up to something. So I used a little secret of the Shadow realm and hid amiss my opposite's shadow."
"So you stalked us?" Link asked bluntly.
"No, absolutely not. I much prefer 'followed without the knowledge of others'." The raven-haired boy stated with a smirk.
"So… should I call you Dark Link?" Link asked cocking his head to the right.
"No, I much prefer to be called Shadow Link. It sounds cooler." Shadow Link clarified.
The next thing the three knew Zelda had returned, Sheik along with her.
"Uh… who is…?" Zelda gestured to Shadow Link.
"He's my shadow." Link shrugged
"I have a name, it's Shadow Link."
"It's very… original." Zelda smiled.
"Hmm… So, what is this plan we were speaking of, Zelda?" Sheik threw a questioning glance Zelda's way, his own scarlet eyes glimmering in the afternoon sun.
"Well… we could use a diversion… and magic disguises. But for that to work properly we'll need to know how a couple guards look so we don't seem out of place. Best of all… I know just how to get them!" Zelda grinned excitedly.
Zelda had taken the group to a local bar. It was local to the prison, though, so they still had to travel a bit. The guards of Alchea Prison went here often after their shifts or during breaks. Before they entered, Zelda found it would be slightly suspicious if two princesses were seen at the mangy bar near Alchea prison, so she used her magic abilities to disguise herself and Midna as men, and Shadow Link took his place in Link's shadow as to avoid suspicion and/or the slim chance that someone here knew him. Currently, though, they were in the midst of some of the toughest, burliest looking men they had seen in their lives.
"Alright, this group over here looks promising, let's go check them out." Zelda suggested very discreetly pointing to a group of rookie-looking guards. "The newer the better. It means we don't have to act as though we know everything." With that, they went and sat at an empty table near to where the group they set their hopes on were seated.
"Did you guys here about cell 314?" One guard asked, with a chorus of "No's" following soon after. "Well I heard it has the worst criminals in any of the lands. That's why they're in the cell with the steel door as opposed to bars." He told.
"Why? I mean, what did they do?" Asked another of them.
"Well I heard the one has been blessed by the goddesses and used it to give the other guy power… They almost succeeded in taking over the Light and the Twilight realms… They only lost because we found the chosen hero also protected by the goddesses." The first guard explained.
"No way, is that possible?" Asked yet another of them.
"I didn't think it was, but he found a way…" Trailed the first guard.
Link smiled smugly while Midna and Zelda smirked.
"Bingo. Now we know where their cell is, and we have some rookie guards to pose as… We just need to lure them out… and I have the perfect idea…" Zelda giggled as she whispered instructions into Link's pointed ear. Link looked back at her and nodded. He then began walking toward the group of guards as the others ducked out of the bar.
"Hey, uh, can I possibly get your help outside? There's a little problem." Link smiled, the guards took one look at him and scrambled to their feet, giving him salutes as if he were their leader.
"No problem, Mr. Hero, sir."
"Great, follow me." Link inwardly smirked as he led the unsuspecting guards around the side of the small tavern.
"What's the problem? You said-" The guard was cut off as Zelda froze the whole lot of them.
"I'll be right back, I need to grab something." Zelda informed the others as she warped away to her castle.
Upon her arrival, she grabbed two empty bottles, and put the same set of miscellaneous ingredients into both. Possessing magic meant she also had the ability to make potions. This particular potion was a more effective alternative to using up her magic. Grabbing the two bottles now each half full of a purplish liquid, she warped back to meet the others.
"What's that?" Shadow Link asked, having materialized while Zelda was gone.
"I'll tell you in a minute. Can you go get enough cups for all of us from inside?" Zelda requested of Shadow Link. He shrugged and almost disappeared into the shadows.
"Why do we need a cup?" Midna asked.
"Because, I'll tell you soon. Just go with it for now. Each of you pick a guard to pose as. I've knocked them all out. They won't remember a thing about this. Then when we're done, I can use magic to give them memories. All except for the breaking Zant and Ganon out, of course." Zelda finished as Shadow Link appeared next to her with enough cups for the five of them.
Once each of them had a guard picked, Zelda poured a certain amount of her possession potion into their cup.
"Alright, now this is going to sound weird, but pluck one single hair from their head and put it in your cup." Zelda instructed, while doing the exact same to prove she was telling them the correct command.
The others followed soon after and then awaited Zelda to instruct them further.
"Now, we drink. This will give us twenty-four hours of time to do this." Zelda's calm voice sent a soothing wave throughout the group.
"Well, I've but one thing to say now." Sheik stated.
"What's that?" Shadow Link asked.
"Bottoms up."