Chapter Two: The Twilight

Link opened his eyes to a stone floor. He stood on all fours and shook his head a little, his ears flapping.

…

What?!

Link looked down in horror at his arms, which were now furry with white paws attached at the end. Turning around, he saw a long, dark grey tail sticking out of his rump. From what he could see of his body, his back and the upper half of each of his limbs were the same dark grey, but a jagged white streak slashed through on the sides from his shoulders to the tip of his tail. His right paw was chained to the middle of the cell he was contained in. He noticed a strange light grey marking on that paw; it looked like three triangles forming a pyramid. Somehow, it looked familiar.

"How the heck did this happen?!" he tried saying. Instead, he got a series of pants and whimpers.

"You can talk?" said a voice behind him.

Link turned around, growling. There was a small, light-grey and white female wolf looking at him. She had the same fur pattern as he did, but on her head was a larger version of the same mark that was on his paw, except a dull gold color. Her right paw was also chained to the same fixture as he was. She was crouched in a threatening position, her tail bushy. Her face was full of caution, and curiosity. Her eyes were a grassy green. They somehow looked familiar.

Link stopped growling. "Leyla?"

The small wolf's face conveyed shock, then anger. With a snarl, she propelled herself at Link, knocking him to the ground. She placed a sharp claw on the bottom of his snout, forcing him to look up and making his throat very vulnerable to being sliced open.

"How did you know my name?" she demanded. "Who are you?!"

"Leyla!" Link choked. "It's me! Link!"

Leyla paused. "Link?" she whispered. She released him, and backed away. "Since when could you turn into a wolf?"

"I don't know," he answered, righting himself and panting heavily. "What about you? What happened?" He looked around. "Wait! Where's Jav?"

"Finally remembered me, did you?" said a voice from the corner. Link looked at the back of the cell. In the right corner there was a pile of dirty straw, and on this was a wooden stick with a metal point on one tip. On that tip, was a pair of tiny blue eyes and a miniscule mouth that was pulled down in a frown.

Link's jaw dropped. "Jav? Is that you?"

"What are you?" Leyla asked, her shaggy head tilted to the side.

"I'm a freaking javelin, can't you tell?" the little face said.

Link and Leyla looked at each other before bursting with laughter, rolling around on the floor.

"It's not funny!" Javelin yelled, clearly embarrassed at his inability to move.

"No," chuckled his brother, "it's pretty dang funny."

"Where are we, anyway?" the weapon asked.

"Who knows?" Leyla replied, looking around.

"What happened to you, Link?" Jav asked. "After you ran off, totally ignoring what I had said, by the way, I heard you screaming."

"Didn't you see that thing past the bridge?" Link asked. "There was this giant…wall of something."

"Yeah, I saw that," Jav said. "A huge black hand pulled me in. The thing that I saw, by Nayru, it was creepy! It was all black, and-"

"Yeah, that's what got me in, too," Link interrupted. "What about you, Leyla? What were you doing after you left us?"

Leyla shifted a bit. "Well, after I reached the spring, I saw something on the bridge. I don't know what it was, but after it saw me, it seemed to limp away. I thought it was an injured animal of sorts, so I was gonna try to see if I could help it. I kinda lost it in Faron Woods, though. Next thing I knew, everything got darker, like at dusk."

"Wait," Jav interrupted. "You were looking for that animal until dusk?"

Leyla glared. "No," she said, "I'm saying it suddenly became twilight. In the morning. Once I realized what happened, my right hand started glowing, and I felt…pain. I blacked out, and the next thing I saw were those black creatures chaining you up, and throwing you on that pile. That's when I noticed I was wolf, and I couldn't change back."

"Well, Jav," wolf-Link said, "what about you? Did you see anything after you got pulled in?"

"Yeah. You. After I got pulled in, my hand started glowing, and then that thing kinda flung me away. Then my bones started, like, twisting. Last thing I saw before I blacked out, was you, Link, screaming. You were turning into a wolf."

There was a moment of silence before Leyla broke it.

"We should probably try to get out."

"Leyla," Link said. "We are wolves. How on earth are we supposed to do anything?"

"Link," Leyla said, mimicking his tone. "We are wolves. We can fight our way through." She stared at the chain binding her, and began to pull. Link followed suit.

After about two minutes of pulling, Link gave up, and started to bite his way through the shackle.

Suddenly, Link felt eyes on him. He looked up, and saw a strange creature.

It had a petite feminine look, so Link assumed the gender to be female. She was about as tall as he was in this form, but her feet were dainty little stubs, and they were hovering a few inches off the ground. Her tiny body was black and white, with bright green-ish blue markings glowing on her limbs. Her face was partially obscured by a large stone mask, covering her right eye and forehead. Her left eye was large and reddish orange. Her nose was tiny, and her mouth was large. Two long ears protruded out of her mask, as well as long bright orange hair pulled back in a pony-tail.

This strange being just stared at Link for a while. Then she grinned mischievously, showing a tooth longer and more pointed then the rest. She gave a nod, then jumped over the two wolves in front of the bars, flipping so that she still faced them.

"I found you!" she cried, her voice high.

Link and Leyla crouched low, growling at the strange intruder.

"Oooh! Aren't you two scary!" she said, giggling. "Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me?"

"Yeah, pretty sure," Link growled, unmoving.

"Well, that's too bad. I was planning on helping you…if you were nice."

Link and Leyla looked at each other.

"Can we trust her?" Leyla whispered.

"What choice do we have?" Link muttered back.

"I don't know," Jav called from his corner, "this straw is starting to grow on me."

"Let's try it," Link suggested. And he stood straighter, looking at the imp in silence.

"Eee hee! That's much better!" she said, floating over to him. "You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you?" She put on a face of mock concern. "Oops! But you aren't a human anymore, are you?" She tapped Link's chin, saying, "You're a beast! Eee hee!"

Link glared at her, and snapped at the tiny hand. The stranger giggled as she jumped back out of his reach.

"There, there. You be a good boy and calm down. No need to bite!" She closed her eyes and put on a look of concentration. She brought her hands close together, forming a ball of black and red energy. She swiped them away from each other, destroying the energy ball to a spark. That spark somehow traveled to the chains binding Link and Leyla, snapping a link. Now they only had the bracelet and a few links, but they could now freely move about. Link stared at his paw.

"You look kind of surprised!" the imp giggled, bringing her face close to Link's. She hopped back to the bars. "So!" she said, floating slowly closer to the wall. "I bet you're wondering, where exactly are we?!" Link and Leyla stared at her, shocked to see that she seemed to be turning into bubbles. She gave a little spin, bubbling up completely, passing through the bars, and converging into one being again. "Well," she continued, as though nothing happened, "I'll make you a deal. If you lot can get over here, maybe I'll tell you!" She gave a little yawn, and stretched, lying a bit in the air.

Link and Leyla looked around.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Link asked.

"Well, however we are," Jav said, "it's up to you guys to find out. And one of you is gonna have to carry me."

Link walked over to his brother, and opened his mouth. Before picking him up, Link noticed there was the triangular shape etched onto the shaft. What did it mean, and why was it so familiar?

"Hey!" called Leyla. "I've got something!" With a snarl, she attacked the broken crates at the left corner near the bars. They shattered, scattering debris everywhere. There was a small patch of dirt underneath. Leyla dug at this, and wriggled under the bars. Link pushed Jav through the bars to her before following her through the hole she made.

Link shook the dirt off, and was about to take Jav back, when he heard a loud giggle. He looked around. The impish creature was no where to be found. Suddenly, he felt something land on his back. He looked back, and saw that the stranger had mounted him, as though he were a steed! He snapped at her, and tried to shake her off.

The creature giggled again. "Hmm! I guess you're not completely stupid after all!" she said. She leaned on top of him. "Listen, I like you three, so I think I'll get you out of here. But," she added, pulling Link's ear back, "in exchange for my help, you have to do exactly as I say! If you need anything from me, just let me know." She released his ear. Link rubbed it a bit; that hurt, a lot.

"So," Leyla said past Jav, "do you even have a name?"

"Maybe," said the imp, evasively. She grinned widely. "But you will learn that later. For now, shouldn't you try to find a way out?"

Link looked back at her. "I thought that's what you were here to do."

"Eee hee! Don't be silly!" she giggled. "Where's the fun for me if I just tell you what to do?"

"Come on," Jav urged. "Let's just look around for a place."

"Agreed," Leyla said. "How about we look in the next cell?"

Link rolled his eyes. "Right, cuz there is bound to be an escape route in a cell."

"Well," said Leyla, defensively, "I don't know why, but that chain just hanging there is bugging me a lot. Go pull it."

Link looked at the cell adjacent to their previous prison. There was a chain with a large handle in the middle of the ceiling. It appeared to have no real purpose. The ring was too large for a limb, and there was no clasp to wrap it around a neck. Leyla was right; something about it didn't sit right with Link either.

He walked through the open cell door, and stared at the chain for a while.

"Well, c'mon," his rider said, "you should know how to do this!"

Easy for her to say, Link's never been a wolf before; just how was he supposed to know? Actually, on second thought, this did seem pretty simple. He leaped off his hind haunches, and grabbed at the ring with his teeth. The chain lowered due to the extra weight, and a grating to the left of him opened up. Link released the ring and stared at the opening.

"Why," Jav asked, "in the name of good, common sense, would they even think of putting an escape hatch so obvious in a cell?"

"Don't question the logic," Leyla chided. "Let's just get going!" She nudged Link with her head, and he started running down the tunnel. The passageway turned left, and Link could see some light ahead. He rushed toward it, and jumped at the end. The path ended about a foot above level ground.

They seemed to be in a sewer of some sorts. "Lovely," Leyla commented through Jav, looking around at the stone paths and the gap, probably to hold water.

"That was sarcasm, I hope," Jav said.

Leyla rolled her eyes. "No, Jav, I actually enjoy the smell of sewage, and musty water, and the sight of stone and weird, black square things coming out of ground-what are those?"

"Forget those, what's that?" Link was staring at a floating green flame in the corner.

"Oh, well, well," said the imp, ignoring the others. "Eee hee hee! Want to see something interesting? Two of you are beasts! You should know what to do! Use your senses to poke around."

"Senses?" asked Link. He thought, and decided to just close his eyes and breathe. Suddenly, it was as if he never closed his eyes. Things were colored differently though; almost a muted green, or blue. And the flame was different as well. There was a man there, dressed as a guard. He... looked like a ghost. He was leaning on a spear and panting heavily.

"Huff... Huff... Can't...run...any...farther... That's... far enough... right? I'll be safe here...I think..." Suddenly, he looked up, and frantically looked from side to side. "What was that noise?! Don't... Don't anything come near me!"

Link opened his eyes. He turned to Leyla, who was looking at the flame with eyes of pity.

"The poor guy is so scared," she whispered.

"What guy?" Jav asked. "If you're talking about me, I'm not scared!"

"Not you, Jav." Link glared at his brother. "The guy there."

"Dude, all I see is a green ball of fire."

"He's not a beast, Link," Leyla said. "He must not be able to sense like us."

"Aw, you guys get sensing powers? No fair! I hate being a stick."

The imp giggled again at the bickering trio. "You know what that was? That was a soldier's spirit. Maybe it was something from the other world? Eee hee! There are lots of other spirits roaming about here. Hone with your senses to see them. They might know things."

"So, you're still not gonna tell us where we are, then?" Leyla asked.

The strange creature grinned, but changed subject by saying, "I doubt the two of you are used to your bodies yet, so I'll just tell you, think about how you fought in your human forms. Just because your shapes have changed, doesn't mean your instincts have as well!" With that, she was silent again.

"Come on," Link said, "let's get out of here." He walked up the path leading north, coming across a fork. "Which way, left or right?"

"Right's a dead end, let's go left," Leyla said.

"Ooh! But I see a chain!" Jav cried. "Maybe it'll open another passageway!"

"Worth a shot," Link shrugged. He leaped over the gap onto the pathway and walked toward the chain.

"Watch out!" Leyla shouted. Link spun around, looking for an enemy. There was a black blob of something, with tentacles squirming around it. It was quite revolting, and obviously wanted to hurt the band. Well, their guide had said to use their instincts. Link snarled and crushed it with his jaws, ending its life simply and easily. He tossed it away, and heard it explode. Well, at least that hasn't changed.

He turned back to the chain and jumped toward it. Pulling it down opened another grating.

"No good," Leyla called. "It's just a dead end."

"Wait!" Jav said. "Check the crate! Check the crate!"

"Why?" Leyla asked.

"There might be a hole or something! Just do it!"

"Alright, alright," Leyla sighed. She entered the tunnel, and used Jav's spearhead to bust the crates up. "Hey, look, Jav, you're not entirely useless."

Jav ignored her. "Look, look, look!"

"What?" Link called from outside. "Is it a way out?"

"No, it's a blue rupee!"

Link stared. "...Are you kidding me?!" he yelled. "Even now you're obsessed with money?"

"But," whined his brother, "it's a blue rupee."

"Javelin," Leyla said, "we're not wearing anything! Where would we put it?"

"If you really want them," called the imp, "I could hold any money we see on the way for you."

Link paused. It's bad enough they were trusting her for escaping, but holding their money, as well?

"Thanks!" Jav called. That idiot. Oh, well, what's done is done. The stranger's hair suddenly grew longer, formed a hand, which reached toward the bright blue gem, and grabbed it.

"Seriously, now," Link said, "let's get out!"

He ran back to where they came from, and ran through an open door.

"Chain!" Jav yelled. Link rolled his eyes, and grabbed at it. A grating on their right opened.

"Dead end," Leyla stated. "And we are not wasting time by going through them!" She did her best to look pointedly at Jav; an awkward task.

Link let go of the chain and continued walking. On their right was a barrier of sharp metal spikes protruding from the ground.

"Why would a sewer need this?" he asked aloud. Leyla walked up and looked at the floor.

"Who knows? Anyways, we obviously can't go through that way, so let's keep looking." She walked on ahead, and looked up at another chain. "Do you think this opens that grating?" she called to Link.

"Probably," Link answered. "But this is something new." He walked down the path and stared at the metal door. There was a chain connecting to it. Link jumped at it and pulled down. The metal door rose, and water came pouring out.

"Din!" cried Leyla from the end of the path.

Link let go, and dropped into the water, which was now at level with the high paths. He swam toward Leyla, who was over the spikes.

"That was cold, and fast. I nearly dropped Jav. Warn me next time!"

"Well, I didn't know what was gonna happen, did I?" Link retorted. "Got us over the spikes, didn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go!" She swam completely past the dangerous floor, and clambered on the wall.

One of those dark beasts flung itself at her. Leyla quickly jumped aside, and thrust the spearhead at it. Jav's point pierced the head, and it shrieked with pain before exploding.

"Thanks, Jav," Leyla smirked.

Jav's face was screwed up in disgust. "Never," he said, emphatically, "do that again! That tasted horrible!"

"Well, keep your mouth closed next time!" she chided.

Link looked up ahead. "There's another spirit," he said. He trotted toward it, and upon reaching it, he closed his eyes. Again, he could sense a person there; another guard it seems. This one was shaking uncontrollably, looking around skittishly.

"What are these black things... Where are they coming from... And how do we get out of here?!"

Link reopened his eyes. Apparently, the spirits, though unable to see the beasts in front of them, could see the... shadow vermin. And were terrified. Hmm, some guards these were.

Leyla walked up to the side of him, looking at the flame with sympathetic eyes again. "Isn't there anything we can do for them?" she asked Link's rider.

The imp looked at her with a lazy eye. "The best thing you can do for them now is to get out of here. I thought you guys would be done by now," she added under her breath. Leyla glared at her and started muttering to herself. Jav looked at his holder with curious eyes.

Link shook his head, and looked ahead. The path led to another dead end, so he turned to the left. The path here ended before reaching a large wall of bars. Suddenly his back felt lighter. The imp had jumped off him, and was floating towards the wall, bubbling up again as she had before. She appeared on the other side, and smiled mischievously at the three she left behind.

"This way! Over here!" she laughed, gesturing with her hair, which took the form of a large hand again. "I'll be waiting for you, but you'll have to help yourselves for a change!"

Link, Leyla, and Jav gaped at her.

"And just how did she help us before?" Jav muttered.

"Come on," Link said. "Let's check this way." He headed the opposite way, and jumped in the water to the other side. He glanced at the chain to his left, then to the grating on his right, shook his head, and kept walking. Up ahead, he could see another spirit. Curious as to what this one might say, he closed his eyes as he walked toward it.

It was yet another guard, whimpering, cowering in the corner, whispering, "What are these black monsters...? I've never seen anything like them."

Link opened his eyes and looked around. The spirit was next to another metal door. Well, seemed logical to open this one as well. Link found the chain, and was about to jump at it when Leyla stopped him.

"Hold up!" she said. "It's your turn to carry him, and my turn to do this sorta thing!"

Link stared. "Fine," he sighed. Walking over, he brought his head close to hers and reached for his brother. The shaft was really strong; Leyla's teeth made no marks on it. Just as well, it'd probably be really bad for Jav if he ever turned back with teeth marks.

Leyla smacked her mouth a bit, rolling her tongue around to give it moisture. Then she leaped at the chain, and pulled it down.

The metal door was raised, and water went rushing through it, draining quickly. Leyla dropped into the ditch, and Link jumped down to join her.

"Now what good did that do?" Jav asked.

"Well, let's see if there's anything new back where she is," Leyla replied, leading the way.

When they reached their guide, she looked through bars. "Did you find a way here, yet? You're such slow pokes!"

"Oh, shut up," Jav mumbled.

Leyla gave an excited bark. "Hey! I found something!" She was in the upper left corner, in front of a tunnel.

"Nice," Link commented. "Ladies first."

Leyla raised an eye at him. "No way am I letting you carry metal-head behind me," she told him. "You're going first."

Link looked at the mouth of the tunnel. "Actually, he won't fit. He's too long for me to carry through."

"Um, hello!" Javelin yelled. "I'm right here! Stop talking over me!"

"Sorry, bro," Link said, looking around. "And I'm sorry for this, too," he added.

"Sorry for wha-AAH!" Jav cried out in surprised as he soared through the air, sailing through the bars, and grunted as he landed on the stone floor with a clatter.

"Ladies, first," Link repeated.

Leyla stared at him. "Right," she said, as she entered the tunnel, Link right behind her.

"There's another guard here," Leyla whispered.

Link sensed around, and saw that there was indeed a fourth guard. What sort of place had guards in a sewer system?

This one was cowering as well, and praying, "Please, I'm but a lowly soldier. Please, someone save me from these evil creatures."

Leyla looked away. "I hate this," she whispered. "Being so close, and yet unable to do anything!"

Link nudged her a bit with his head. Wait; what did that mean to wolves? he panicked. But he only said, "Like the mystery girl said, the best thing we can do is get out of here. Let's go."

He led the way to the large entry way. The architecture of this place didn't make sense. How did the three previous soldiers get inside? Oh, well, not my concern, thought Link, bending down to pick up Jav. Leyla gave a small grunt as the imp landed hard on her back.

"Aww," she mockingly whined, "did the detour tire you out, little wolf?"

"Took your sweet time, didn't you?" Jav asked grumpily. "I'm so getting you later for throwing me."

"Yeah, yeah, keep barking," Link said.

"That's your job, Fluffy," his twin replied. Link glared and tightened his grip. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry!"

"Link! That's enough!"

The imp rolled her eye. "Yeesh, are they always like that?"

"Most of the time," the she-wolf replied.

The little being gave a shrug. "By the way, have you two been honing with your senses like you should?"

"Yeah," Link answered, "why?"

She gave him a side-long glance. "It looks like the spirits here are all soldiers... Where on earth could we be?" she giggled.

This was getting annoying. No, it was annoying from the beginning. She obviously knew the answer, but seemed to find great pleasure in watching them struggle in the dark.

"You guys want outta here, right?"

"Yes, so let's go," Leyla said walking a little ahead, getting her bearings.

They were in a large circular room. Along the wall was a large spiral staircase leading upwards. This must have been an old room; huge chunks were missing from the stairs, leaving large gaps.

"Well," said Link, "let's get walking."

He and Leyla walked side by side until they reached the first gap. It seemed close enough, so Link jumped. He landed perfectly on the other side and was about to turn to Leyla, when the stone crumbled away. He fell below into the water.

"Ugh," the imp called below, "what are you doing?"

Link glared up at her, and started to run back to them.

The stranger stretched. "I guess I have to do everything for you guys... I'll guide you both to sure footing, so just follow me. Don't worry, you'll definitely reach me."

With that, she floated ahead, and turned toward them. Link and Leyla looked at each other. Leyla shrugged and said, "Together?"

"You bet," Link answered.

Simultaneously, they leapt toward their guide, who disappeared immediately afterwards, reappearing farther ahead. Without thinking, the two wolves jumped toward her again, just as the stone crumbled away. The imp landed on Leyla again. They looked behind them.

"That would not have been fun," Jav commented.

Link and Leyla walked on ahead in silence, jumping the smaller gaps on their own, relying on the imp for the larger ones. Before long, they reached the top. Another circular room was here, with a metal grate for a floor, and a bolted door right in front of them.

"So," the imp giggled, "you know where we are yet? Well, if you go to the top, you might figure it out."

"Top?" Link repeated. Looking up, he saw a door about twenty-five feet above them, swinging in a breeze.

"Who in their right minds would put a door so freakin' high?!" Jav yelled.

Leyla looked around. "Well, those ledges along the side of these pillars might help us reach it, so let's give it a shot." She walked across the room to a small ramp. "You coming?" she called to Link.

"Oh, right," Link said. He ran to reach them.

Their strange guide floated ahead and helped them wall-jumping to the door. Upon reaching the final ledge, they walked through doorway outside.