Chapter Three

Link's POV:

"Hello Hero," a familiar voice said from behind me.

I snapped around in time to have a piece of steel shoved up to my neck. I was pressed up against the lock box and two scarlet eyes bore into mine. The person that'd me pinned looked like...me?! His face was shaped exactly like mine, only older. He seemed to have fangs poking out from his mouth. Dark ebony locks fell unevenly in front of his eyes and shock framed his face.

"Who are you?" he asked. His face hardened up again.

"I think I should ask the same question."

He stepped back, still holding the point of his sword to my chest.

"Are you the Hero of Twilight?" he asked. "Are you the one Ganondorf wants?"

"Ganondorf?" I killed him, didn't I? "I thought he was dead."

"Apparently not, now are you the Hero?" he pressed his sword against my collar bone.

"Will you kill me if I am?" I asked.

"If you are the hero I wont. If you, however, continue to stall, I will consider it." He said.

"Well I am the hero, so if you're not going to kill me, could you please…?" I gestured to the blade at my neck.

He reluctantly lowered his sword and sheathed it. I sighed in relief.

"Now, who are you?" I asked him.

"I wasn't born with a name," he seemed uneasy, "My sister called me dark." It seemed like a fitting name, considering his appearance.

"Called?"

"She died." He looked away sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I scratched my head, "so Ganondorf is back?"

"Yeah. And he wants you dead."

"Probably because I killed him,"

"You did? How?" His eyes widened. "Could you do it again?"

I thought about the battle; how it left me nearly dead with my sword in his heart. The hate in Ganondorf's eyes still burned into my memory, his yellow stare as his life was drained from him. There was ferocity in his eyes until he stopped breathing. He howled as he died, it was a horrible howl, like his soul was being disintegrated.

"I don't know if I could; I mean I had a lot of help in our fight and…" Midna flashed through my thoughts, "one of my friends who did help is gone now."

"Oh, I'm sorry; I guess I just got a little too hopeful."

"It's ok. I've done my goodbyes."

"I'm sorry for almost killing you, too." He said with a shrug.

"Yeah… so, how did you find me? I've been keeping my identity pretty secret."

"I overheard you talking to Zelda about being the hero. I was hiding in your shadow."

"WHAT?! How?" He wasn't Twili; he didn't have the tattoos or the pale skin. So how did he do that?

"I think Ganondorf gave me powers to help kill you."

"That was generous of him."

"Yup. So you really don't know how to defeat him again?" his face saddened slightly.

"No, I'm sorry. Zelda will probably know how to though."

He nodded and stepped into the corner of the alley. His shadowy figure faded into the shade and vanished.

"Meet me just outside of the city when you've talked to her." His voice echoed in my head.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Oh goddesses what's happening?" I murmured under my breath. I checked my pocket for the key that Telma gave me. I dropped it in me and Dark's encounter. Luckily it was right next to the lockbox. I picked it up. The weapons check had many storage boxes within it. Pulling out one labeled: Link, I set my pouch and sword in it along with a dagger Rusl gave me as a welcome home present after I defeated Ganondorf.

Ganondorf. Was he really alive? It seemed impossible. Zelda had to know about it right away. The lock on the weapons check clicked and I turned back to the bar.

Dark's POV:

My heart beat hard and uncontrollably as I emerged from the shade of a tree outside of castle town. That was the first time I got to see the hero's face in detail. There was a longing feeling throughout me and my thoughts held only the image of him.

His defined jaw framed a perfectly clean face. His cheek bones were set slightly higher than mine and his lips were like that of an angel. The most apparent feature on him, however, was his cerulean eyes that were identical to the man's in my dream. They matched his dirty blonde hair magnificently and, although they'd most certainly seen hell, were gentle like a mother's.

There was a weird tingling in my stomach as I remembered how his voice was soft but strong. I'd never felt like this before. The foreign feeling felt comforting, but at the same time it left a sort of ache in my chest. I wanted to see him again. No, I had to see him again.

"What's happening? Why am I feeling this way?" I said to myself.

I felt a stinging pain in my hand suddenly. I held it up and removed my glove. There was a strange marking on it that hadn't been there before. It was an eye, only it was bleeding and there were three triangles above it instead of a solid eyebrow.

"What the hell?"

Right then it started to glow and strange markings began to spread from the eye. I pulled up my sleeve to see it was going up my appendage. It seemed like another language as the text coiled itself around my arm. I ripped open my shirt as they continued advancing. The symbols kept spreading until they stopped half way across my chest, enveloping the left side. I tried rubbing them of but they stayed put as they started constricting my arm. The tattoo started pulsing light and the air around it started shimmering. A burning sensation ripped through my arm. I tried screaming but nothing came out. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes. I mouthed profanities while the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt continued for what seemed like years.

Then, as suddenly as it'd started, it stopped. My limb felt dead as I shook from the shock of it all.

"Wh-… what was that?" My eyes widened.

"Di-… did he do this?" Staccato breaths fell from my mouth as I attempted to regain my composure. It had to be Ganondorf who made these tattoos. Was it punishment for helping the Hero? I fell against the tree behind me. As my vision started to blur, I felt consciousness slip away from me. The last thing I thought of was the Hero's calming stare. A smile spread across my face as the image of him left me at peace.

"What did I get myself into?"