First of all, I promise that Link's not dead.

Second of all, I will be borrowing some stuff from the Zelda mangas. I suggest you read them. They are pretty good. And they leave you with actual ideas of what the characters are like. For example, at the end of Four Swords, Shadow Link turned good. And after I read that, I thought that he would make a good character to use for my story. So here he is.

And I blame my friend E. It's all her fault that Shadow Link turned out like this. This is also my first time writing for a character like Shadow Link. It's kind of amusing, actually. You'll see what I mean soon enough. Til then, you can start feeling sorry for Medli. Yes, Medli. I have such a huge soft spot for winged people.

Chapter 2: To Trust a Shadow

The sweet, soft notes of a harp floated out across the ocean, blending with the rush of the waves. High on a cliff top, a girl stood, her fingers dancing over the strings of her small lyre. She wasn't any ordinary girl though. For she had a beak and there were feathers on her arms. As her song drew to a close, she paused for a moment, listening as the last notes faded away into the wind.

Medli lowered her harp and smiled. She set her instrument down and spread her arm-wings wide, feeling the wind between her feathers.

I wonder where Link's got to, she thought to herself. He's the one who taught me that song. Last I heard, he went out on Tetra's ship. I thought he'd be back by now.

She was distracted from her thoughts when several birds fluttered past. At least she thought they were birds until she noticed that they were glowing.

There were three of them. One was pale yellow, the other light blue, and the last was bright purple. They flew past her, then paused and doubled back to examine the rito girl.

They were fairies!

"How did you get all the way out here?" Medli asked, surprised

"They're not alone."

Medli whirled around, her heart skipping a beat.

There was someone on the ledge behind her. He was leaning back against the cliff wall, hidden in the shadow of Dragonroost Island. His arms were crossed and he was smirking slightly. He seemed familiar.

She tensed and took a step backwards. He seemed a little like Link but he was definitely not the same. This boy was quite a bit older than the Link she knew, and taller too. His hair was black, and so were his clothes. His skin was very pale, and his expression was different than any she'd ever seen on Link's face.

"Who are you?" Medli demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, good questions," said the dark boy, standing and taking a few paces across the ledge.

Medli automatically took another step backwards towards the cliff. She picked up her lyre as well.

"As for why I'm here, I would assume that I need to speak with you. Otherwise I wouldn't have been brought here."

What?

"You didn't answer my first question," Medli said suspiciously. "Who are you?" Although she already had a good idea of who he was. After she'd awakened as the incarnation of the sage Laruto, she had learned many things about past worlds and the battles that took place in them. And this boy seemed to fit the description of one of them perfectly.

"Who are you?" the boy retorted.

"Very well then. If you won't answer my question," Medli said, "then I will. You are Shadow Link, the evil force that took the form of the hero."

"Evil, am I?" Replied Shadow Link, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm. Luckily my solid self has a bit more faith in me. Enough to grant me a very important task."

"Is that right?" Medli replied. Though she didn't expect a direct attack from him, she remained wary. "And exactly which Link are you a shadow of?"

"The original Link. The hero of time, the one who opened the door to the Triforce and first sealed Ganondorf away. Now tell me, bird girl, where is the Link from this time?"

"Link is away," Medli replied stubbornly.

"That's for sure. Along with Princess Zelda."

"What?"

"Shadow Link!" shouted one of the fairies. The three of them fluttered over to join them. It was the blue one who had spoken. "Stop teasing her! Tell her what's going on! She may be in danger too! You were brought here for a reason!"

"Hmph," Shadow Link muttered. "Well then, I'll make it simple. Ganon is back. And I don't think it's overly dramatic to say that everyone's in danger. Especially Link and Zelda. If they haven't been captured already. Luckily for you, I escaped, so there's someone the world can depend on." He examined his fingernails nonchalantly.

"Impossible," Medli snapped. "Ganon is dead. He lost the Triforce of Power. Hyrule is at the bottom of the sea."

The yellow fairy gave an alarmed ringing sound. "At the bottom of the sea? How can that be?"

"But that means Termina is too," the purple fairy cried.

"How did it happen? How can Hyrule be at the bottom of the sea?" the blue fairy cried.

"If you'd be quiet for a moment, Navi," said the white fairy, "she might be able to answer."

"Oh, shut up!" Shadow Link snapped. "Why on earth did you guys have to come with me?"

"Well, you were glad when he brought…"

Navi didn't get a chance to finish. Shadow Link swung his hat up, swiftly trapping all three fairies in it. Before the fairies had a chance to fly out again, Shadow Link rammed the hat back onto his head.

"Just be quiet! Tatl, Tael, and Navi! Hush up so I can ask the questions. I didn't want to bring you along anyway!"

"I liked the other Link better," came Tael's muffled voice from inside that hat.

"He certainly wasn't so touchy," Tatl agreed. "But I guess we got to go with him if we want to save the real Link."

Shadow Link gave his hat a whack, and all of the fairies fell silent.

"Finally," He muttered. "So, tell me. What's happened?"

"I'm not sure I can trust you," Medli said, rather startled at the scene with the fairies. "But the sage Laruto has told me a lot, and she even mentioned Navi, so I believe the fairies at least."

"Laruto?" Shadow Link repeated. "Who is that?"

"She was the Zora sage of the Earth Temple." Medli was talking more so the fairies could hear her more than Shadow Link. She expected them to be more helpful. "I am Medli, the incarnation of Laruto. I am the current sage of the Earth temple."

"Earth Temple?" Shadow Link repeated blankly. "There was no Earth Temple. And Ruto was a Zora, but she was the sage of the Water Temple. And you're a bird. They're not of the earth. They're of the air."

"Well," Medli said haughtily, "Obviously things have changed since your time. And as for Hyrule being under the sea, that is due to time. Oceans move and kingdoms fall. The highest mountains on the mainland were once under the ocean. It was Hyrule's turn to sink beneath the waves."

"Hmph. What a way for the great kingdom to finally fall. To be engulfed by the sea. All that time defending Hyrule-wasted. Whatever. So, there's a Link in this time at least. And you say that he killed Ganon and took the Triforce of power from him?"

"Yes."

"Well, then it's possible that the Ganon who just attacked me came from a time before this one. But if that were so… then how would he know about the Link from this time? Maybe Link didn't really kill Ganon."

"Link left the Master Sword embedded in Ganon's head," Medli snapped in defense of her friend.

"Yuck."

"And the ancient King of Hyrule took the whole Tirforce and used it to set Hyrule at peace at last."

"In other words, he let it remain buried at the bottom of the ocean. A sad fate for Hyrule. Only a few little mountain peaks remain above the water level. Well, that means I can't get the Master Sword. I wonder why it brought me here if the Master Sword isn't available."

"What brought you here?"

"The Ocarina of Time. I played the Song of Time and it brought me here. I assumed it brought me here because this is where I'd be able to get the Master Sword. That's the only thing that can defeat Ganondorf. But you say it's under the ocean. So that doesn't do me any good. I can only assume that it brought me here for you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You say that you're the incarnation of a sage. Which means that you'll have useful knowledge. It also means that Ganon may be after you. He captured the sages from my time. So you might be next. Are there any other sages in this world?"

"Only Makar."

"Makar?"

"Yes. He's the wind sage."

"Then he might be in danger too. It's lucky I got here before Ganondorf did." He smirked importantly. "Though it's curious. If this Link did kill Ganon and he lost the Triforce… Well, now's not the time to be worrying about that. Do you know where I might be able to get the Master Sword?"

Then Link's hat floated up off of his head and the three fairies zoomed out. The hat flopped to the ground.

Cursing, Shadow Link snatched the hat and rammed it back onto his head.

"You stupid fairies. Why did Skull Kid have to bring you? All I wanted was those masks!"

"Skull Kid?" Medli repeated.

"Yes. That little imp who stole Majora's mask and almost dropped the moon on Termina."

"You trust someone like that to help you?" Medli exclaimed.

"It wasn't Skull Kid's fault!" Tael cried. "He was being controlled."

Shadow Link continued loudly to drown out the fairy's voice. "He has nothing to do with Ganon. Which is probably why you didn't learn about him from the sage before you. When I escaped Ganon, I ran into Skull Kid. I asked him to help me, so he brought me some… useful tools. But I still lack a sword. And unfortunately he also brought along these three." He gestured to the fairies. "Which is ironic. Because my solid self spent quite a lot of time searching for Navi. And here she is, with me." He grimaced.

"Well, I'd much rather be with the real Link than with you," Navi snapped. "And besides, we escaped your hat to tell you something. Remember, the Master Sword can only be wielded by a true, pure-hearted hero. Though Link gave you the Triforce and the Ocarina out of desperation, that doesn't mean that the Master Sword will allow itself to be wielded by you."

"I've never seen the Master Sword," Tael cut in.

"Hush, Tael!" Tatl snapped. "The Master Sword is a very special sword. Almost better than the Fierce Deity sword. And they need it to beat Ganon."

"But surely Ganon can't be worse than Majora's Mask?" Tael asked, worried.

"He surely can," Navi hissed.

"Oh, shut up!" Shadow Link snarled. He took a swipe at the fairies, but they dodged. "I almost wish I hadn't asked that little imp for help! The masks aren't worth the trouble of dealing with the three of you!"

"We're not leaving this in your hands, Shadow Link!" Navi snapped.

"Yes," Tatl agreed. "We're still not sure you're up to the task. What's to stop you from keeping the Triforce of Courage for yourself and leaving the real Link in that dungeon?"

Shadow Link smirked. "True. The Triforce is the only thing that keeps me in solid form. Though I doubt I'd fare well if sunlight struck me full on. Which is why I'm glad we're in the shadow of this island."

"Exactly," Navi continued. "We can't trust that you'll return to Link. Therefore we're going to keep an eye on you."

"That's a very good idea," Medli agreed. "I think I should accompany you."

"No way!" Shadow Link snapped. "I already have enough baggage with these three."

"You said yourself that you needed my information. And if you intend to search around this time period anymore, you'll need my help. How do you plan to get from island to island? You don't have a boat. And I know a dragon who may be able to fly us where you want to go."

"I don't need anything else from this time," Shadow Link snapped. "I need the Master Sword."

"And how are you going to find the sword?" Medli retorted. "You need me. And we need to check on Makar. You said that he's in danger."

"Everyone will be in danger if I don't do something."

"Then we'd better get a move on. I'm going to tell the rest of the Rito. They might be able to help us too. And I'll ask the dragon Valoo to give us a lift to Forest Haven."

"You can't tell everyone!" Shadow Link exclaimed. "I'm trying to keep this quiet!"

Medli glared at him. "You'll need as many allies as you can get. The Rito are messengers. They'll soon tell everyone on the oceans of the danger. There is strength and safety in numbers. Everyone needs a chance to defend themselves against this evil."

Shadow Link glared at her for a moment. Then he shrugged. "It doesn't make a difference to me. Hurry up then. Get your dragon to take us to find the other sage."