Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, or characters of these games including Link, the Kokiri, keatons, wolfos, Hyrule, Termina, et cetera. This story has been written for the fun of it, not for the sake of money.
Identities and personas of the characters such as Trey, Shadow, White Foot, Twiggy, Blaze, et cetera are all figments of my imagination.

Author's Notes: Phew. This chapter, for some or other reason, was next to impossible to wrap my mind around. Excuse my absence (once again) et cetera, et cetera. In any case, here's chapter thirteen. Some good news is that I've already finished chapter fourteen, so the wait shouldn't be that immense for that. Afterwards, there'll only be one more full chapter and an epilogue. Holy oleo, Batman!

-oOoOo-

Wolfos in Sheep's Clothing
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Chapter Thirteen: Truth Buried in the Sands, Part 2

-oOoOo-

Trey's knees felt positively weak. He stared, wide eyed, at the familiar she-wolfos across the room from him. This was the last thing he had expected from his escapade into the catacombs of this desert temple. Autumn still had the same striking auburn coat that Trey remembered so vividly from his childhood, but she had certainly grown and matured over the long years. Her body was muscular and sleek—undeniably a model specimen for any female-wolfos adult. If he had not known any better, she could have easily fooled the keaton into mistaking her for someone else. However, it was her overconfident demeanour and her father's fiery gaze that made her so recognizable. At once, a surge of muddled emotions, heavily influenced by events from the past, welled up inside of him, making it nearly impossible for Trey to clearly articulate his thoughts.

He stood fumbling for the appropriate words for what seemed like ages to him when Autumn scoffed, as she had always done so particularly in her youth: "Well, are you just going to stand there babbling like an incompetent fool, or are you going to actually say something?" she hissed with an annoyed flick of her bushy tail.

The matte grey wolfos that had escorted his troop and Trey into the Main Chamber stepped forward, dipping his head respectfully towards Autumn as he did so. "Alpha Autumn," his deep voice drummed off the rocky walls, "does this intruder…speak the truth? About being a part of your father's pack?"

Autumn snapped her head to the direction of the bulky wolfos, her expression calm yet authoritarian. "Yes, in fact, he does." She coolly replied, shifting her gaze between her follower and the keaton before her. "This…keaton…was once a part of my pack." She snarled visibly.

Finally, Trey spoke: "Autumn, I cannot believe it's really you!" His voice was strained with both shock and a bitter humour. "After all these years of being separated…To find the wolfos I grew up with in my pack…"

He was interrupted swiftly by Autumn's condescending, superior voice. "'Your pack'?" She narrowed her glittering amber eyes. "Oh no, no, I believe you are horribly mistaken, keaton. You were never part of my father's pack, as much as you might think yourself to be. You were an outsider. A hindrance. An ugly blemish on an otherwise perfect society."

Unsurprisingly, these words failed to shock Trey. He had come to this conclusion some time ago, but never forced himself to fully admit it so blatantly. Autumn's words, while laced with disdain and hatred, made the past events come completely full circle.

A small group of wolfos, of all colours and sizes had begun to gather in the Main Chamber, dutifully sitting behind their leader, listening intently to the discussions that had stirred up so many hostile feelings. Autumn smoothly seated herself on the sandy floor, back straight and head perfectly parallel to the ground. She neatly wrapped her auburn tail around her paws, her stare never leaving Trey. "Tell me, keaton, what has happened that you managed to find me, especially in a far-off place such as this?"

Trey hesitated, but was cut short by the matte grey wolfos. "He tells us that he had been deliberately searching for the remains of your father's pack, but also for Boar."

At the mentioning of Boar, Autumn's attention was instantly seized. Her ears perked up and she turned her attention to her subordinate, but then back to Trey. "Is that so?" Her glittering, fiery eyes bore holes into Trey's skull, right through to his subconscious, it seemed. Was she trying to pry information out of him with her intimidating stare?

Trey gulped. He didn't like lying in the first place, and he wondered how far his lie would get him now, especially since his old pack was physically here. "Y-yes." He managed to remain calm, responding to her inquiry.

"Well, now that you have found us, what do you intend to do?"

Trey's mind raced for an answer. Hundreds of eyes turned to him, expectantly, and he could feel the weight of their stares as his mind calculated his options as fast as it could.

When he didn't answer as quickly as Autumn had wanted, which had not been a lot of time, she grinned maliciously. "I knew it. There is no real reason, is there? You have lied to me and my guards." At this, the grey wolfos' fur bristled in insult. "Of course, this was no accident, either. There is definitely something else going on, isn't there?"

The keaton paused, then, with a cool and reassuring tone, he said, "No, Autumn, there is not. I have merely wanted to see my foster parents, and my friends."

The corners of Autumn's mouth curled upwards into a sinisterly sarcastic smile. "You lie." She succinctly stated, "You only tell part of the truth. It is possible that when you did find us again, you would naturally want to see those who, surprisingly, were fond of you. However, it was not your deliberate search for us that brought you to the West."

Trey registered this, but before he could open his mouth to speak, another brute of a wolfos came sprinting through a side-entrance. He was jet-black all over, save for two white front paws and white tipped tail—another member of Boar's old pack, Trey guessed, as he had never seen him before. He ran straight to his leader and immediately ducked his downwards in deep respect for her. "Alpha Autumn, excuse my rude intrusion," He began, "but I bring urgent news."

Autumn sprang to her feet and temporarily disregarded the keaton before her. "Well, what is it?" She demanded, anxiously flicking her tail side-to-side.

"Scouts spotted an intruder in the Northern Chambers…A Hylian." Instantly murmurs of disapproval broke out in the spectators at this news. They were hushed quickly by the assertive, strong voice of their Alpha.

"Are you positive? He was actually seen?" Autumn snapped, her brow furrowing in thought.

The black wolfos nodded. "Without a doubt. Even I saw him—it seems as though he was searching for something in the thick sands." He paused momentarily. "Uh, what are your orders, madam?"

Blaze's daughter snapped to attention, her eyes flashing dangerously as she began to bark out orders: "Send some of our most able-bodied wolfos out and stop him in his tracks—he cannot proceed any further than he already has! I don't care what it takes; he must be stopped from desecrating our home any more than he already has!"

Trey, who had been listening intently to the conversation since the black wolfos' interruption, sprang forward slightly at these ominous words. He caught himself in the nick of time, as he was about to add a hasty interjection in response to Autumn's call for action. Out of the corner of her eye, Autumn caught this movement and grinned slyly, piecing together two and two.

"Aha, so that's what it is," She said slowly, turning to face Trey once more, while the black wolfos hurried off in the background to find fighters. "You're protecting a Hylian."

Trey grimaced, furrowing his brow in annoyance—he shouldn't have been so impulsive with his actions. He knew that Autumn, or any wolfos for that matter, would not take his unconventional friendship with Link too well; he had seen this first-hand in his old home. Not knowing how to respond to Autumn's accurate statement, he stood stock still, growling softly under his breath at his carelessness and the bellicose nature of Autumn.

The auburn she-wolfos tossed her head back bombastically, looking down upon Trey with scornful eyes. "You haven't changed at all, keaton; you're still attached to those useless Hylians. I'm not surprised at this, no…In fact, I should have known better than to doubt your traitorous past." She silently nodded towards the matte grey wolfos from earlier, and within the blink of an eye, Trey found himself horseshoed by three massive, unfamiliar male wolfos.

He turned his attention to the bulky wolfos next to him, before turning towards Autumn. "What's all this now?" He demanded, not liking where this brute force method was going.

She ignored him for a moment, keeping her attention fully fixated on the grey wolfos. "Escort him to one of the underground chambers. I don't want him out of your sights, understood?"

The captain nodded as he hurried over to join his troops around Trey. "Without a doubt, madam."

Autumn then addressed Trey, registering his question for the first time: "Your incorrigible and unusual habits are not going to be tolerated any more, keaton. Until I can sort out your little Hylian pet, I want you within my sights, lest you go off and rat us out." She sneered in disgust, flicking her tail angrily to dismiss her subordinates.

"Right. You heard your Alpha: Take this trespassing keaton to where he rightly belongs." The matte grey wolfos ordered, his deep growl enough to make any wolfos stop and pay attention. Almost instantly, the entourage began moving forward, completely boxing in Trey. As they went forward, Autumn concisely skipped into the background, eager to slow Link's further advancement in the temple. Trey ground his teeth together angrily, trying at the same time to figure out a way to escape this tight mess he was in. There was no possible way he could take on all four of these brutes at once, nor could he slip away from their grasp and make an escape. No, what he needed now was a miracle.

-oOoOo-

Without any sort of refinement or sensitivity, Trey had been roughly escorted down deep underground. A passageway, one that looked nearly identical to all the other routes, was the threshold to a cramped, dank chamber. It was dark and chilly—the only stream of light coming from the passage which he had been led down, and a small opening in the ceiling. Presently he lay on a small pile of sand in the corner, curled up and trying to find any physical comfort he could obtain. He had already been sitting in an uncomfortable anxiety, his mind racing ahead of itself in thoughts of what could possibly be going on in the world above his head.

Two of the thugs that had accompanied him to this dingy chamber were guarding the threshold to his confinement; their backs were turned, but they were alert, despite their statue-like behaviour. Growling softly under his breath in despair, Trey turned on his side, shifting his weight as he continued to try and devise some sort of plan of action. He was startled, however, by the noise of paw-steps. His black-tipped ears instantly perked and he raised his head up to see what was coming.

The guards were on their feet, and Trey saw the familiar face of Autumn coming down from the end of the passageway. On her right, she was complemented by the matte grey wolfos. The keaton grimaced slightly; she was the last creature he had wanted to see. As she passed through the opening to the chamber, the guards bowed silently to show their subservience to their Alpha.

Slowly, Trey also rose to his feet as Autumn entered his domain. She looked him in the eye as she began with, "Enjoying your home-away-from-home, keaton?"

Trey laughed sarcastically under his breath. "Oh, it's just peachy. You treat your guests as though they were royalty, really. I must remember to come back and vacation here sometime."

"I'm glad you think so," Autumn played along briefly before continuing, "Actually, I came to discuss a proposition for you."

The keaton raised an eyebrow in surprise. This was unexpected, but no doubt she had captured his attention. "I'm listening," He began slowly.

"I'm willing to mitigate your sentence, or to even let you go entirely, if you agree to my conditions." The she-wolfos watched with luminescent amber eyes as Trey noticeably changed his expression from somewhat tensed, to genuinely intrigued. He kept his guard on, though, as Autumn went on, "It seems as though your Hylian plaything is trickier to stop than we had anticipated. Normally, the Hylians fear our strength and size, but this one seems to be different, and just as powerful, if not more so; in fact, many of our warriors are either gone or severely wounded."

Trey grinned slightly at this, knowing that Link was certainly capable of this. It was Autumn's own fault that she underestimated Link.

"So, in an effort to stop his movements, my right-hand guard and I have developed a plan that will suit all our needs, it seems." She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if the idea of helping Trey out displeased her in some way. "The Hylian favours you, and trusts you. If you can distract him, we can launch a full-scale offensive at him, and bring him to his demise."

Startled, Trey looked from Autumn to the grey wolfos beside her. He nodded in agreement to his Alpha's suggestion as he too talked, "Yes, this plan is most suitable for our needs, as well as yours. We would get rid of the threat of being discovered and destroyed by a strong adversary, and you get your freedom. Well, on the condition that you never return, naturally."

Trey's brilliant yellow fur bristled angrily, and he barred his teeth. "I…I cannot believe what you are suggesting!" He growled softly, "To go against someone, regardless of species, who has trusted me, all for my own sake?! That is—that is—"

Autumn was losing control of her temper. She had tried holding her disdain and hatred for Trey as long as she could, but her attempts were slowly crumbling at the keaton's decisions. "That is exactly what happened in my father's pack, you hopeless, brainless imbecile! Your unruly ways cost you your freedom, as you went against our rules and associated yourself with those vile Hylians! Today, I was giving you the opportunity to redeem yourself, to prove your loyalty to the wolfos who raised you, but it seems I have misjudged you once again." She spat on the ground before him, her haunches raised and her ears flat against her skull.

"Unlike the wolfos I grew up with," Trey impulsively retorted, "this Hylian has treated me with equality and dignity, instead of being perpetually looked down upon by those whom I was supposed to find as my pack-members."

The tension in the small chamber was steadily rising, as the guards lined up behind their Alpha dutifully, defending their ground and preparing themselves at the drop of a hat for an attack. Autumn eased off a little to snarl disgustingly at her former pack member. "The apple does not fall from the tree. You are just like your foster father: A wanna-be hero. Ideological. Impractical. You fight for your lost causes, and all it winds up doing is finishing you."

"'Finishing me'?" Trey repeated, turning the phrase over in his mind. "What did you do to my father?!" When Autumn answered only with one of her typical, twisted grins, the keaton lost his temper and roared a great and furious cry as he began to charge the entourage in front of him. He was too blinded by his rage to care about the impracticality of his emotional reaction.

The bulky guards at once leapt forward, bowling the keaton over on his back. He smacked against the wall of the cramped chamber, knocking the wind out of him for a split second. He could feel the pressure of the two wolfos upon his body, and their sharp claws beginning to pierce his skin, and winced in pain as he struggled to find his regular breathing patterns. He glared daggers at Autumn and the matte grey wolfos, furious beyond all reason.

Autumn shook her head sadly. "What a pity. I did give you a decent out, keaton. It's your own fault if you wish to continue living stubbornly like this. The only way to end your suffering is just to comply. I'll give you one last chance to save your skin. Will you help us?"

Breathing heavily, Trey growled deep in his throat. "I will never betray him!"

Autumn sighed. "Fine. Have it your way. Enjoy your stay—you'll be here for as long as it takes you to come around." And with that, Autumn turned on her heels, swiftly making her exit, the grey wolfos at her side.

When she had left, Trey relaxed a little and was relieved when his guards eased off his body. Aggressively, one of them swatted his massive paw at Trey's face, cutting him across the cheek. He reeled back, startled by this unpredictable movement. He was not ready to fight these humongous beasts, so he sucked up the burning pain and ignored the strong scent of hot, fresh blood. "That was a warning for your insubordination to our Alpha, you fiend." The attacker said slowly, with a deep, rumbling growl in his throat. "Next time, I'll do more than just nick you." Confidently, the guards resumed their positions at the threshold of the chamber, but this time, turned only sideways instead of exposing their backs to Trey.

Futilely, Trey tried to clean his wound on his face. He sat back down in the sands, resuming the task of devising an escape plan. However, everything seemed next to impossible.

-oOoOo-

Some time later, Trey found himself dozing off. He had wrapped his three gloriously warm tails around his body in an attempt to keep himself warm in the cool underground room. Time was irrelevant and elusive to him, as he did not know for how long he had been cooped up. His stomach rumbled noiselessly in a noticeable sign of hunger. Passively, the thought of food entered the keaton's mind, and he wondered if Autumn was going to allow him a simple bone to gnaw on. Rolling his eyes sarcastically, he concluded that this was highly unlikely.

As if on cue, a single set of paws could be heard carefully coming down the sandy pathway. Soporifically, Trey blinked his eyes, no longer caring who it was. He tucked his head in towards his body, still trying to keep warm and comfortable in the conditions he was bound to. He was about to go to sleep when a whiff of meat and a strangely recognizable voice caught him out of his drowsy state.

"Hello there, Claw. Hello, Boulder," It was a female voice by the pitch; sweet, yet confident. "I came with a small morsel of meat for the prisoner. Is that alright?"

There was a gruff voice in response—whether it was Claw or Boulder, Trey knew not. "Hmm, did Alpha Autumn send you? I'm not sure if we are allowed to pamper this one."

"Yes, she said it was alright. Oh, and she also sent me to tell you that you are relieved of your guarding shift. You both are to report to the Western-most chambers."

The other guard's voice replied to this. "Finally! I am ready for a break."

"Wait there, Boulder," Came the other guard—presumably the one called Claw. "We shouldn't just leave this little lady alone with the keaton; he's a maniac, you know, and she might get hurt."

The female huffed, a little annoyed. "Really now, Claw! I can take care of a pipsqueak pup such as him! Do I need to remind you how many fights I've won in the past three months?"

A brief hesitation before, "No, I guess not. You should be able to handle yourself if needed."

"That's right. Besides, a new team of guards is on the way. I was just coming to give you two a head start."

Boulder's voice came in again. "Well, thank you very much for that, miss. I can't tell you how dull it is to be here. I'm ready for a good chunk of meat myself." His racing paw-steps faded into the distance, as Claw spoke for the last time.

"Thank you too, I suppose. Just watch yourself with this wild one, here. There's no telling what he would do to a pretty thing like you, is there?"

A soft, playful growl came as a response. "Enough of the flattery, Claw. Enjoy your break." And with that, the second guard's steps also faded away.

Uncaringly, Trey kept his head tucked away. He attempted to ignore whatever strong she-wolfos this was—the one that had won all those fights. Whoever she was, she was probably one of those aggressive, power-hungry fighters that resided here in this new pack. Trey felt a cold, wet nose press into the top of his head, nudging him gently. "Trey, Trey," She whispered, continuing to nudge him. "Trey, get up, quick. They're gone now, it's safe." He stirred slightly, but refused to adhere to this random wolfos' desire. However, her voice seemed so uncannily familiar that Trey had to keep from second-guessing himself. "Trey, please, get up! This is very important! You cannot sit here, sleeping!"

Grudgingly, the keaton picked himself up from his cosy position in the sand, and faced the she-wolfos who was so persistent on rousing him. When he opened his hazel eyes, he gasped in shock and relief at what he saw before him. The first things he noticed were two striking clear blue eyes; they were soft and friendly, warm and motherly. He then noticed the sleek body of the she-wolfos in front of him: Gorgeous and feminine, instead of bulky and hefty like so many of the wolfos he had the displeasure of seeing. Her coat blended in perfectly with the surroundings, as it was a healthy, fluffy pale beige fur.

Trey gasped, speechless and excited beyond his wildest dreams. "Sandy!" He exclaimed joyously, bounding straight up from his corner, and running to meet his old pack-mate head on.

Sandy was taken aback a bit when Trey came close to her, rubbing against her neck very friendlily. She flushed a little in the pale lit chamber, but smiled and returned the action briefly before backing away to see Trey, all grown up. "You've changed," She said simply, smiling gently.

Trey nodded. "So have you. I knew it was you from your face, though." He grinned and looked at her more closely, but was taken over by surprise when he really studied her features. The right side of her face was marred by an ugly pink scar. It looked as though it had been there for quite some time, but Trey could only have imagined what sort of beast could have done such damage. "Wha-what happened to your—"

He was about to go on but was cut short by Sandy. "My face. I know." Embarrassed, she turned her gaze away from Trey briefly. "That is just one sign of the new hardships we face here, in the desert." She looked over her shoulder and picked up the hunk of meat she had brought for Trey. She tossed it at him and signalled quietly for him to eat before continuing her story. "Ever since our pack merged and joined forces with Boar's aggressive pack, we've had to change our lifestyle dramatically. Every day is like a battle; a never-ending power struggle to see who's tougher. That's why the massive wolfos—those from Boar's pack—pride themselves on brute strength rather than reflexes or cunning or anything remotely like that."

Sandy sighed softly, watching Trey hungrily tear away at the meat. "I have never liked to fight—you know that—but in order to survive in this new world, I had to change. I couldn't be the last link on the ladder, not with my best friend in power. Well, long story short, I obtained this scar from one of my past brawls."

Hastily Trey swallowed a bit of meat, licking his lips in satisfaction. "Excuse me, but…When exactly did you all move out here? I'm completely in the dark as to everything that's happened since my exile."

Sandy jumped a little, realizing she had forgotten all about the gap in Trey's knowledge. "Oh my, I'm sorry! Well, you see—" She was about to tell the tale when she paused abruptly at a small sound from afar. She turned to Trey, watching him gulp down the last bit of food. "Look, I'll tell you on the way, but we need to leave. Now." She emphasised clearly. "That little white lie I fed the guards back there will only buy us so much time. If you want to get out of here in one piece, I suggest you follow me. There are many secret shortcuts in this place, but without the right guide, you'll never figure the way out."

A little surprised at this new, confident Sandy, Trey nodded hurriedly. Sandy turned tail without another word, and Trey followed suit. She crept fast up the passageway, and turned her head around the corner, to make sure no one was coming. "The coast is clear," She whispered, running around the bend.

Everything was desolate and quiet above the underground chamber, and as they ran Sandy said to her old friend, "Most wolfos are in the main chamber or to the South for the time being," she explained, "It's time to eat, and we mostly do that together, in either of those two places. So for the most part, things should be okay for now."

"So then," Trey started, "what's happened since I left?"

Sandy laughed shortly, sarcastically, without taking her eyes off the route before her. "Lots." She continued to race on silent paws, Trey beside her. "Boar led our pack on a massive attack on the Deku Scrubs. All to no avail, however. The Scrubs took over and we were forced to leave the forest. With nowhere else to turn, we followed Boar back across Hyrule in a mass migration to this lousy place. Our packs merged together, but it took a long time before we were all used to each other and begun to assimilate within their culture."

The duo paused for a breath in a shadowed corner before racing off again, swiftly and silently, as though they were back in the forest, stalking an elusive piece of prey. "For awhile, things were okay. Then Boar had to leave out-of-the-blue to some 'urgent' business of his." She turned briefly to face Trey, her blue eyes filled with concern. "Nobody knows what, and nobody ever will. All that matters is that he left, and took Blaze and his Alpha Female—a light auburn wolfos with unusual gold bands around her forepaws—with him. That meant only one Alpha left: Blizzard. I must say, Boar's old pack was extremely loyal to him and their Alpha Female; to this day they still refuse to replace them."

Trey interjected here, "Then, did Blizzard appoint Autumn in her place?"

Sandy didn't say a word for a moment; holding in her breath as she strained her ears to hear if anyone was around. When she was satisfied with the lack of company, she let out her breath and nodded slowly, registering Trey's question. "Yes and no. Blizzard did rule as Alpha Female for awhile until she got so bothered and old, that she renounced her title and gave it to Autumn. She can do that, you know, because Autumn is the related by blood to Blaze. To this day, Autumn has reigned over the union of our packs single-handedly." Sandy looked over her shoulder. "Come, we still have a ways to go." Once more, the two wolfos were on the move.

"What of Twiggy and the others?" Trey asked cautiously, hoping the fates of his family and friends had been good.

Sandy smiled. "Twiggy is still the same eccentric character he is and always will be. He followed in Skunk's footsteps and now leads hunting expeditions. Often those are quite the laborious task, as there is hardly any prey in this place, and a team will have to make long journeys out into the nearby human settlements to steal food. Skunk is also still leading some hunting expeditions."

They rounded a couple more corners, and ducked behind walls in fear of being caught by a stray wolfos. Sandy was going to continue on, but was stopped by an outstretched paw from Trey. She turned to look at him, to see what he wanted. "Wait," He started, "Before we go on, tell me about…my parents."

Sandy lowered her eyes, worried that the conversation might turn to this. "Your mother is perfectly fine, just horribly grieved. Ever since you left she has been quieter than normal. It was obvious she was pained by your abrupt and unceremonious exodus. But…it was what happened shortly afterward that has made her unconnected to the events of the present." Sandy took a deep breath before continuing. "Your father…Your father always stood up for what he believed in, Trey. You should feel honoured that he was there to raise you, as if you were his biological son. Some of us quietly disagreed with what mad laws Boar imposed on us, but Shadow always was the outspoken one.

"Shortly after you were exiled, a big fight erupted between him and Boar in front of the entire community. He and Boar were so heatedly divided on the issues that they somehow got into an actual battle. Due to the overpowering size and strength Boar possessed, Shadow was physically overwhelmed and lost the fight. Boar…Boar killed him as a warning to anyone else that dared stand in his way." She looked back up at Trey, and felt her heart heavy with compassion for him. The keaton's face was long and sorrowful at this news, but in his heart of hearts he was somewhat proud that his father died for a noble cause. "I'm so sorry, Trey." Sandy whispered apologetically.

Trey merely nodded and looked up at his old friend, smiling weakly. "Thanks for telling me, though. I'd rather know than not know."

"I understand. Now, I hate to do this, but we have to keep moving. We're almost out of this labyrinth, and you'll be reunited with your Hylian friend shortly." And with that, the duo continued on their trek.

After that, it was only a matter of minutes before Sandy and Trey reached their destination. Neither had said a word after the terrible news of Shadow's death. Trey was still turning the horrid words in his mind, wrapping his thoughts around it, and trying to only imagine what the circumstances were like. If only he had been there…

Sandy's sweet, good-natured voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Here we are, Trey." They looked over and out towards a great room, one with a massive Gerudo statue on the far wall. There were snakes twisting around the woman, and Trey could only wonder why on earth the Gerudo people had decided to build any altar like that. "This is where scouts last saw the Hylian. With any luck, you'll find him fast and get the blazes out of here."

Trey nodded and almost leapt forward thoughtlessly before he stopped himself and turned to Sandy. "How can I ever thank you for this, Sandy?" He asked genuinely, his hazel eyes soft and thankful. "If it wasn't for your courage, I would have been stuck back there."

Sandy smiled and shook her head humbly. "You're the one who has the courage, Trey. There's something different about you that is…right and good." She sighed and looked out towards the room before her vacantly. "I don't know what it is, but this world has changed, and not for the better. Ever since you left I could feel it. A dark presence swept over this earth and swallowed it up. And now, I feel that you somehow are entangled in the affairs of bringing it back to the way it's supposed to be. To the way things were when we were young. That Hylian…I never generally approved of Hylians, but I think he needs you. He's needed you for a long time."

There was a brief silence between the two. It was not an awkward pause, but rather, a pause filled with admiration and affection for the one and another.

"Why don't you come with me?" Trey asked finally, hope shining on his features. "There is no future here for you."

Sandy shook her head sadly. "There will be no future for anything if we are careless. No, I cannot leave. This is my pack, and I am bound to them. You have the opportunity to be free and to obey only your own desires; that is the power of being outcast. But now, you really must leave."

"I understand. Thanks again, Sandy. I'll never forget this."

Sandy stepped towards Trey at this, and lovingly licked his face briefly. Trey, startled momentarily at this, flushed slightly before grinning broadly and bounding away. The beige she-wolfos sat silently on the ledge, her tail over her paws, watching her old friend bound away into the distance.

-oOoOo-

Trey had found Link later on. He had just come out from his last battle, and was tired and beaten. However, he pressed on, especially after seeing his travelling companion safe, save for the few scratches along his belly and face. As they left the temple, they were still met with three last wolfos whom Trey had recognized from his ordeal: Boulder, Claw, and the matte grey captain. They charged at Link, but he quickly beat them back enough to make an escape out of the temple for good, Trey right at his heels.

Presently the duo was entering the sacred Temple of Time. Sheik, the human from Kakariko Village was already there to greet the travellers. "Welcome, Link," He stated as Link and Trey entered the vicinity. He looked down at the keaton with hesitation. "and your companion, of course." Trey barked at this. "The time has come for me to reveal my identity to you at least, Link." A brilliant flash of white light emerged from Sheik, and when it faded, a glorious and beautiful woman stood before them. She smoothed out the nonexistent creases in her pink skirts before saying: "I have deceived you, Link. Yes, Sheik is actually me, Princess Zelda Harkinian of Hyrule."

At a loss for words, Link stood before her, dumbfounded. He knew not whether to drop to one knee or to ask a series of questions, but before he could do anything, an evil cackle was heard from above.

"Yes, at long last, the Princess Zelda! I have waited seven long years for you, your majesty!" Instantly, a blue crystal engulfed the princess and shot straight into the air. Trey barked ferociously, not knowing what else to do.

Zelda screamed. "Link! Help! It's Ganondorf! He's captured me!" With that, Zelda was out of sight.

Link tightened his grip on the Master Sword's hilt, barring his teeth angrily. "Hazel, this is it. Once we get Zelda back and defeat that mad sorcerer, our ordeal will be over.

-oO T.B.C. Oo-