I would have made this longer, but I was writing on commercials. When the movie ended, I lost my motivation, haha. This is the double update chapter, and my gift to you all. I hope you like it!

Also, like I mentioned last chapter, some weird stuff going on. I'm well aware. This is my way of making my Majoras Mask unique compared to all the other ones on the site. Just try to cope with it for now, everything will be explained eventually. Although, if you read my fic Imitation Is The Sincerest Form of Flattery, you can probably figure out what's going on.

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is not mine. I'm just as poor as I was five minutes ago!

Warnings: Minor yaoi. Violence. Some swearing.

A Wandering Soul Precedes All Darkness

Chapter – IX

Title - Premonitions

It came familiar to him in a confusing muddle of images, a brief flash of light that made him double back in a moment of déjà vu. The push of water and waves, dragging him back and forth from the edge, pulling him to a moment of finality. To death. The pain he'd felt, caused by nothing and everything in particular, threatening to break his very soul itself. Great bellows of laughter and vivid amber eyes, a grip on the core of his being, overwhelming and strong. A voice so familiar, a hand so familiar, a presence so familiar...

And a name, one that the old people of Hyrule had shuddered at the very mention of.

A voice, echoing in the back of his head...

… I told you myself that I would return, that your body belonged to me...

No...

… I created it for only two reasons after all...

Please...

… The Goddesses gave you three days, and you failed...

Why...

… Your body is mine.

Stop!

Dark!

Sucking in a deep breath of air, Dark shook his head, nursing his skull against the raging headache rampaging behind his eyes. He'd drifted off for just a moment, lost himself in thought and began to daydream, unaware of anything and everything going on around him. But... he'd gone too far, and what he had found was nothing short of terrifying.

Because that voice had belonged to Ganondorf.

Link, at his side, looked just as worried as he had up on the platform, back when he had feared Dark's life was at stake. But... perhaps it actually was.

"Are you alright? I've been talking to you for a good ten minutes now, don't tell me you haven't heard a thing I've said." Looking concerned as always, Link put his hand on the shadow's shoulder, rubbing into the muscle gently. "Feel sick?"

"I think I'm alright, just tired." And annoyed, but he kept that to himself. They'd been ambling about Clocktown for the better part of the morning, trying to decide just where to go first. The guards offered little information, and for the most part proved to be a group of morons. High overhead, the sun grew hotter and hotter, making him sweat beneath his charcoal tunic. And now, of all things, he had voices in his head. Great. Just great.

They were somewhere in south Clocktown, ambling about with no clue as to what to do next. With the Great Fairy's request in mind, not to mention the impending doom above them, the trouble of the people, his own death, and Tael being MIA, there was much too much to be done. And, at the same time, no way to go about doing it.

What were they to start with? What had more importance over everything else?

"Oh, no."

"What?"

Link pulled Dark aside, hiding them in the shadows of the construction sight, ducking under the platform itself. Keeping a hand over Dark's mouth, Link pointed, directing his attention towards the Clocktower and, more importantly, the man standing outside it.

"Agh, you can't be serious! Why is he standing out there?"

"I... I don't know... But, doesn't he look like he's waiting for someone?"

They watched and waited, seeing if the Happy Mask Salesman would tire of his fruitless search and retreat to the dark, dank depths of the mill beneath the Clocktower. But much to their dismay, as five minutes, then ten, then fifteen went by, he didn't appear to be leaving any time soon. In fact, he looked quite happy to wait.

"I say we walk right on out there. Ignore him, don't look at him. I bet he won't talk to us if we don't pay him any mind."

"And if he does?"

"Well... we can always run, right?"

Tatl, having decided her rightful place was Link's shoulder, scoffed and shook her head. "You two are childish."

"Are you volunteering to be the one to go out and test whether or not he'll recognize us? 'Cause if you're interested, I'm not about to stop you." Tatl stuck her tongue out at him, tempting Dark to lash out to smash her, but Link grabbed his fist before he could and gave him a stern look.

"Stop fighting. Let's just... let's just go. What's the worst that could happen?"

Retreating from the platform, which resulted in them scaring the living daylights out a man carrying a large plank of wood and then having to explain in hurried garble of words as to why they'd been hiding under the construction, they managed to extract themselves from the situation and hung low in the square. If they just walked fast, Dark reasoned, there was no way the man would notice them. It wasn't like they stuck out all that much in the crowd. He cast around at all the plain colors and normal faces, people who were giving him the same curios stare proving that, hell, they stuck out like sunflowers in a field of grass.

And because of that, Dark wasn't really surprised when a sharp, "You three! Come here!" ordered them to halt and listen. Turning slowly, they came face to face with a very irritated, very angry salesman.

"Come with me." He growled, turning sharply on his heel. He marched away, and really, they had no choice but to follow him. Dark gave Link a worried look, but then settled back on his usual glare.

They were lead into the shadows beneath the Clocktower where the man rounded on them in a fierce voice. If he hadn't had such a funny face, Dark might have actually been worried. But with the sword on his back, he felt pretty safe.

"You two! I told you I only had three days to wait, and this is what happens? You've messed up the entire time-line, you fools!"

"Hey, it's not like we planned any of this." Link pouted, trying to glare but failing horribly. Dark made up for it by stepping in front of him a bit, shielding him from any harm.

"Look, Skullkid isn't a problem right now. As long as we turn time back before the moon falls, there isn't anything to worry about."

Silence met Dark's aloof reply, the Happy Mask Salesman staring passively at the man in the dark tunic. But then, quite suddenly, he snapped. Taking Dark firmly by the shoulders, he lifted him and began to shake, surprising them all with his strength.

"You fool! What would you know? The imp isn't the one we have to worry about, the mask is! You must get that mask back! You must!"

"Put him down!" Tatl took to the air and started batting the salesman on the head while Link tried to tug Dark free, shouting and yelling for help. But the crowd growing around them could only stare, unsure as to what to do about these strange people and their even stranger argument.

But when all was calm once again and Dark's feet had been reacquainted with the ground, the Happy Mask Salesman had yet to give up.

"I insist. You must retrieve my mask, I don't care by what means, all I know is that, if you don't, we will all die. Regardless of whether or not you turn time back, you can't do it forever. And this will go on forever, my boy."

"Then we'll get your damn mask back, for Din's sake. Man, you're so annoying." Clearly displeased, Dark turned away and grabbed Link by the elbow, trying to lead him away. "Just leave us alone and we'll get your mask. Can't say I won't bring it back in pieces though..."

"And just how do you intend to go about this? Do you even know where you're at?"

"They don't have to." Sparkling in the midday sun, Tatl glared down at them all with her usual sneering smile, "I've been around Termina a time or five. I know the place pretty well. I say our best bet is the swamp, seeing as how it's the closest thing here."

"What? A swamp? Why?"

"Because," Tatl drawled, thinking it obvious, "the Great Fairy fountains are distributed equally about this world. There is one fountain for each point on the standard compass. To the north, east, south and west you will find one. And then here in Clocktown lies their leader, the Great Fairy of Magic. Anyway, since our primary goal is to go and find the other fairies, obviously we should start with the closest one. Thus, the swamp. Got a problem with that?" Her tone implied that, if they did indeed have a problem, they could stuff it and walk the issue off.

"She knows what she's talking about." The Happy Mask Salesman said, smiling his eerie smile. "I say you follow her instructions. But," His tone dropped a few octaves, "do not forget what I have said here today. Turn back time one thousand times, I do not care. But if I do not get my mask back, you will all face its wrath. Now. Good day to you all." Bowing at the waist, he gave them one last smile, but his eyes were dark and clouded, the smile itself more of a sneer. As he left, Dark gestured rudely at his back, his lip curling up in a grimace.

"I really, really hate that guy." Dark growled.

Link, as passive and kind as he was couldn't help but add, "I must say, I have to agree."

And Tatl, arms crossed over her chest, only let out a noise of distaste as she landed on Dark's shoulder and seated herself for the trip out of town.

The guard standing under the sign to the swamp gave them all an odd look as they approached, her spear clutched loosely in her hand. People never really left Clocktown, nor did they often come in. So it was quite odd to see a group of... three, was it? Actually leaving? When they stopped before her, she stood at alert, back perfectly straight.

"Names?" She said strictly, her spear now held tight by her side, easily capable of impaling them on its sharp tip.

"Link."

"Dark."

"Tatl."

Humming, the guard raised the lid to her helmet and stared down at them curiously, eying them up and down. "You're not planning on leaving are you?"

"Yes, we are. We've got business in the swamp." The blond man smiled up at her, she instantly liked him. Manners had become quite hard to come by lately, especially with all the rumors flying around about the moon falling. Of all the silly things...

"Are you sure you want to leave? The festival is in a few days, you wouldn't want to miss that, right?"

"Look, Miss, we've gotta get going. So if you'd just, you know, step aside, we'd be ore than grateful."

Just as quickly as she'd liked the blond, she hated his dark-haired friend. He exuded a rude and pompous, and somehow, lecherous, aura.

"Well, I was going to warn you about all the monsters running amok outside, but if that's how it's going to be..." She stepped aside and 'failed' to salute them as they walked by, Link giving her an apologetic smile and Dark smirking at her, glad to finally be on the move once more.

Watching them leave, she saw Link punch Dark in the side, scolding him for being so rude. The guard shook her head, just as Tatl did, and went back to her post, hoping the rest of the people who happened to come by that day weren't as odd as the trio she'd just let by.

Words failed to describe how glorious it was to finally be back outside. Free to roam the grassy fields of Termina, and to explore the farthest corners they could find. It was a brand new world full of brand new creatures. New treasures, weapons and people were eagerly awaiting them. All they had to do was find them.

Dark stepped off the platform that separated Clocktown from the grass and the creatures roaming it. He stretched and threw his head back, sucking in as much fresh air as his lungs could take, then exhaled noisily, throwing Link a contented smile. It was lazy and cat-like, and Link made the mistake of smiling back.

Before he'd had the chance to object, Dark was upon him, wrestling him down into the grass. He was laughing and grinning like a madman, glad to be rid of Clocktowns huge stone walls and its tumultuous crowds. And, obviously, he'd been waiting for his chance to openly grope Link for quite awhile.

Still, that didn't keep the blond from clocking him on the ear, "Do you think of anything else?" He asked, annoyed but, at the same time, not exactly protesting.

Smirking, Dark leaned in close, "Nothing and no one, Hero."

They proceeded to kiss one another madly, further annoying the already agitated Tatl. She lighted down on the back of Dark's head, grabbing a handful of his scruffy ebony hair and tugging. He waved her away, ignoring her completely in his conquest of Link's mouth and body.

"Why don't you go prance around the field for awhile you little pest. Us adults have a few matters to attend to..."

Link made to tell him off and apologize to Tatl, but a sudden grope to a particularly delightful part of his body emptied his mind of such thoughts. So instead of hitting Dark with the fist he'd raised, he settled it on the nape of his neck instead, twining his fingers around the tangled hair protruding from Dark's cap.

"Guys..." Tatl crooned, attempting a different approach. Perhaps if she asked nicely...

The ignored her.

"Guuuys..." She drawled again, smiling sweetly.

Link let out a moan in reply.

"Dammit! Would you two cut it out already? The moon is falling. The fairies will only wait for so long! That creepy mask guy is expecting us! Let's go already!"

Dark was reaching for the hem of Link's tunic, ignoring Tatl's rant in favor of sucking the long expanse of his Hero's neck.

"Look!" Tatl gasped, "Skullkid!"

The desired effect was immediate. Link and Dark jumped away from one another instantly, stumbling and dizzy as they tried to regain their footing and take in all their surroundings at once.

"Where? I don't see him!"

Dark put a hand over his brow and stared down the rolling fields and plains around them, completely absorbed in finding any sign of a threat. Who knew what the imp would do to them if he showed up. But when a sudden bout of laughter rang out and both warriors turned to see Tatl laughing hysterically, they realized at once that they'd been tricked.

"Y-you should have seen your faces!" Cackling madly, she only laughed harder when Link began to blush furiously. He'd only just noticed the disheveled state his clothes were in. How low his breeches had fallen. Or, at least, how low they'd been tugged. Rushing to fix it, he stuttered a quick apology and turned away. Dark watched him with an almost despairing look, swatting Tatl out of the air as he moved away to adjust his own clothing as well.

As he stalked away, he growled lowly, "Little pest. Ruin all my fun why don't you?"

Tatl sneered.

With nary a threat and no sign of Skulkid to worry a lip over, they set off for the southern part of Termina, Tatl in the lead. Her presence there, for the span of a heartbeat, wavered out of place. Instead, all Link could see was blue. All he could hear was the friendly, almost irritating voice of a long-lost friend.

'Where is she?'

"Hey, what's that?"

Rolling his eyes, Link pushed Dark aside, "Not you, too!"

"No, really." Chuckling, the shadow pointed at a nearby tree stump. On its side was rather suspicious looking markings.

Dark continued, obviously intrigued, "Looks interesting."

"Don't get all excited. It's probably just a landmark someone put up, or a sign so you know where you're headed."

"Actually," Tatl interrupted, "it's a drawing." She took off without them,landing atop the large stump. Link and Dark, confused, followed her and crouched close-by to observe the supposed 'drawing'.

Dark chuckled, "Looks like a three-year-old drew it."

Sneering, he elbowed Link in the side. They'd both seen his pitiful attempts at drawing, be it to describe a certain sword technique to his partner, or a doodle of Epona, they hadn't exactly been the greatest presentations.

"You're one to talk. Your maps look like ant trails!"

"Well fine, I'll give you that one... But at least they still look better than this thing!"

"Hey!" The pair looked up, meeting the gaze of the estrange fairy looking down upon them. "Skullkid drew this the day Tael and I first met him! Don't make fun of it!" She turned away, frowning. Skullkid had been so different back then. All lonely and sad, not a friend in the world to hold him close, to laugh the weary days away with. On the day they had met... they'd all been down on their luck.

At Tatl's sudden brooding silence, Link grew concerned and reached to comfort her, but before he had the chance, she had already taken flight, buzzing just out of reach.

"Anyway, we shouldn't stay out in the open for so long. Rumor has it that the crows around these parts are pretty vicious. Bunch of mugging buggers..."

Link wanted to apologize, even if he didn't know what was wrong. To tell her that everything was okay, and that Tael wasn't really hanging around with the most dangerous creature in Termina. But she was already gone, twisting in and out of the thick trees bordering the entrance to the path to the swamp. But he promised himself that, at some point, he would definitely become the fairies good friend, and that whatever sorrows she was feeling, he was perfectly capable of dealing with.

For the moment however, all he could do was grab Dark by the elbow and lead him down the path before them.

Almost instantly, trouble was upon them.

From the hedges erupted a pair of Wolfos, snarling and angry. They made a beeline for the approaching trio, howling for backup in case their advances somehow failed. Claws digging into the dirt to propel them forward, Link and Dark had but a second to draw their swords and prepare for battle before the creatures were upon them.

Flesh met steel, biting and cold. A keening whimper filled the air as the first Wolfos fell, instantly downed by a strike through the heart. Link gave Dark a cocky smile, pulling his sword out of the bleeding mass before him.

The shadow was locked in combat with the second beast, slashing and parrying whenever an opening appeared. When it bounded forward, snapping at his face with gnashing teeth and wet, hot breath, he lashed out at its chest, but met only claw as the Wolfos used the blade to push itself away.

Link rushed to Dark's aid, swinging downwards at the beasts back to sever fur from flesh. The Wolfos howled in fury, spinning to rake its claws down Links thigh. The blond stumbled, but managed to block the next batting paw with the side of his blade. And while the beast was occupied with trying to chew Links face off over the side of his sword, Dark swept in to stab the mutt through the spine, snapping it clean in two.

The Wolfos slumped, falling numbly to the ground. Dark panted heavily, reaching to help Link up on his feet. He stumbled a bit, but was otherwise fine. Blood was seeping through the thin fabric of his breeches however, but Link waved it off, "It doesn't hurt, and I don't think it hit anything important."

"You got lucky." Dark grumbled, settling his arm around Links waist to keep him upright. "Damn, we're not even in the swamp yet and you're already hurt. Playing the part of damsel in distress, baby?"
Link blushed, but his jaw was set in a snarl, "I killed my opponent just fine, thank you. If you weren't so cocky, you would end the fight as quickly as possible. Forget the fancy footwork, just slice them up next time."

Rolling his eyes, Dark grinned, "I'm just trying to impress my Hero, can't blame me can you?"

"Actually-"

A chorus of howls filled the air, alerting them to encroaching danger. It sounded like an entire pack of Wolfos, dead set on avenging their fallen comrades. The scent of blood was heavy in the air, after all. Nearly tangible in its strength.

"Well? Are you two planning on proving your worth to me? If you can't take on a few Wolfos, you can't help my brother, after all. And forget stopping Skullkid, that's way out of your league." Sighing, Tatl yawned, "I'm sure you two could find the fairies though."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny, brat. I'll have you know that I've taken on freaks one thousand times stronger than any Wolfos."

"Then you shouldn't have any trouble taking on a few mutts, huh? Good luck!" With that, Tatl flew away, taking shelter in a nearby tree.

'Wouldn't want to accidentally meet the wrong side of Dark's sword, after all...'

Struggling through the trees, the Wolfos' drew ever closer. Reluctantly, Dark released Link's waist, but stuck close by just in case he needed something to lean on. But the blond looked completely fine, going so far as to smile.

"Just like old times." Grinning, he leaned in close for one final kiss, one that Dark easily granted him.

Breathlessly, Dark said, "'bout damn time."

Elsewhere, in the dimly lit throne room of a rampaging king, an innocent creature found himself drawing on the events of the last few days. How he'd just been having the usual outing with a close friend. How happy they had been, smiling and laughing, joking like the old friends they were. Celebrating a forbidden friendship, kept secret in the furthest reaches of the swamp.

How suddenly, everything had changed. In a swooping rush of claw and reptilian laughter, his friend was gone, leaving him with nothing but her final cry, "Go find help! Help!"

Yet when he had, they'd failed to hear him out. They'd failed to care, the only thing on their mind being a justice that could not be sought without the help of the very creature they were condemning.

So as the inhabitants of the room jabbed their spears through the bars of his prison and mocked him, swore at him, he turned away and prayed that someone, anyone, would find his friend before it was too late.

He also prayed that someone would find him before it was too late.

Reviews Are Love!~