Chapter 2
Bump in the Night

The sun beat at Link's back again. He'd changed into his red tunic, gift from the Gorons and specially made to ward off the heat.

He sat on Epona at the fortress' front, surrounded by the red-headed women who called him their own. A few laughed, waved, or blew him a kiss. Funny, they hadn't been this flirty when they'd thrown him into a cell on that first meeting.

A pair of Gerudo guards emerged from the fortress, Link's "shadow" walking ahead of them at spear point. Its eyes glared daggers and Link avoided looking at its face. The women kept talking, unbothered and unafraid, as it was forced to walk right into their midst.

"Alright, shadow," Link said slowly, pulling a length of rope from his pack. "You walk alongside. And try ta keep up." He reached down, tying one end of rope to the chains around its wrists and the other end to his saddle. Epona shifted uneasily but didn't fight, as long as the creature didn't touch her. There was a fair bit of slack, hopefully enough for the shadow to keep its distance.

Link half expected the creature to swear at him, but instead it just gave him a dull glare. "You know, I really must protest, my non-ethereal counterpart. This isn't dignified and I can't say I'd enjoy being dragged along behind if I tripped."

"You know, I don't particularly care."

The girls laughed, some slapping the shadow on the shoulders or back. It flinched in alarm, or probably disgust.

"He looks just as handsome as Link!"

"So serious, though! Come on, crack a smile."

"Don't let Link kill you. Be such a waste!"

It grimaced, actually looking a touch horrified with each passing second. Link laughed, turning Epona 'round. He waved a farewell, gave Epona a light kick, and set off, his quarry in tow.

That had been hours ago. The sun was setting now, gray twilight slowly claiming the world.

They'd made little progress. Not as much as Link would have hoped at least. Usually, if Epona were feeling fast, he could make it across the whole of Hyrule Field in as little as a day and a half. But with their new baggage it was looking like it would take three. He was forced to keep his horse going at a walk or a slow trot instead of the usual flying gallop. It didn't help that Epona kept spooking every time the creature moved somewhere she didn't like—and that turned out to be a lot of places. If the shadow walked too far behind, where she couldn't see it, she bucked. If it walked too close, she'd try to bite its head off. Too far to the side and it was nearly dragged. It turned out to be a delicate balance, one that Link didn't have the patience to watch.

"This is ridiculous!" the creature shouted, not for the first time. Only this time it planted its feet, yanking back on the rope. Epona was jerked, suddenly braying and rearing up. Link struggled to bring her under control.

"Damnit! Will you cut it out?" Link snapped, not at Epona but at the thing his horse was being forced to drag along. "Do you want to be kicked in the face?"

"It's sounding more appealing by the second. I'd rather have my corpse dragged behind at this point."

Link was about to say that could be arranged. Instead he closed his eyes, taking a slow breath, counting seconds in his mind. After a moment he could feel his heart rate slow and his mind began to clear. Usually he was a lot better than this... He knew it was stress. Being around that thing. And the downright eeriness of it all.

Navi shuffled, again appearing from his hat. He wondered if she had any sympathy for his plight or was just trying to hold back a laugh. She rested on his head, laying down, one tiny arm hanging over his face. "Camp?"

"Camp," Link agreed.

He dismounted, staggering as the blood rushed to bring feeling back to his legs. Red-eyes was watching him from the other side of Epona the whole time, visibly fuming at its own abuse and rubbing its wrists to get the circulation flowing.

So it can feel?

No. He, Link corrected himself. If the thing could feel pain then maybe it was at least worthy of being called a he. If cattle could be called by their genders then so could this thing, Link thought grudgingly.

He drummed his fingers against Epona's saddle, wondering if he should apologize. In the end he drew his sword. He stepped around to Epona's other side, smiling grimly. "So, shadow. What'd you think of our first day?"

"You try that again and I'll kill you. Somehow, I swear I will. And don't call me shadow."

Link thought about that for a moment, shrugging. "You got a name, then?"

"Heh. Link."

Of course... Link barely resisted rolling his eyes. "No, that's my name. Keep your foul lips off it."

"Well I'm not 'shadow'. Sounds like a name for a cat. Or a dog."

"Exactly! We already got the leash!" Link laughed.

"How about Spot then?" Navi suggested, still on Link's head.

"Or Bob."

"Or Bill!"

The shadow scowled. "Hey, you want me to start handing you two nicknames?"

"Sorry, sorry. But honestly, what kind of name are we supposed to give a creature of darkness? Not to mention, you are my shadow."

Silence greeted him. A reluctant silence that made Link curious.

"Sorry. It just seems to fit," Link concluded more softly. He toyed with the idea of "Shadow" as an actual name, then tried to fit the name to the face – his face.

Unfortunately for his double, the name stuck rather well.

Epona lashed her tail, irritated. "Oh. Sorry, girl. We'll get the demon away from you now." Link spun his sword once just to bring his captive's attention back to it before untying the rope from Epona's saddle.

A copse of trees was nearby, few but ancient. It was a good place to make camp so Link led his charge over there. He stopped by one of the trees, gesturing with his sword for "Shadow" to sit. It only earned him another defiant glare.

"You know, there were a few times, in our fight at the Water Temple, when I could have killed you."

"Yea?" Link asked, unimpressed. "We were evenly matched. I honestly don't think either of us would have won easily."

"I would have... before you cheated, that is."

"That so? Why didn't you kill me, then?"

Shadow shrugged nonchallantly. "Not as much fun. Gets boring, you know. Living in a room filled with water ankle-deep, waiting seven years for some hero to come and fight me to the death. Forgive me if I wanted to make it last."

"Well then forgive me if I don't thank you for your kindness." Link grabbed him, kicking him in the shin and shoving him down hard. Shadow landed with his back smacking against the bark.

"Ow! Damnit!"

Link grabbed his wrists, still chained, using the rope to tie them to a branch higher up. When possible he held the master sword at the ready, and when not possible he kept it close and out of the shadow's reach.

"You think that'll hold him?" Navi mumbled. In answer, Link clicked his tongue. His horse reluctantly approached and he pulled another rope from her pack. Rope is a handy thing. He should probably carry more of it from now on. He wrapped it around Shadow and the tree, pinning him there stomach and chest before tying it off.

"There. You stay."

"I'll try," Shadow said dully.

With that, Link stood up again, unsaddling Epona and setting up camp for the night.

The moon was high overhead, the sky a sea of black. Link had fallen asleep on the ground, his soft snores hardly breaking the silence of the night. His hat was off (for probably the first time in ages), Navi having taken it, using it for a sleeping bag nearby. The fire was dying, barely more than glowing embers. Even the horse was probably asleep.

Their captive watched with the same dead eyes, wondering when or even if he'd be able to force himself to sleep.

Shadow. What kind of name is Shadow?

Link. That's what his master had called him. But it wasn't his name. It was this boy's name.

Could he have ever had another name? Was there ever a time before all of this? Stupid notion, of course. He was Link's shadow, his dupilicate, the sum of all the dark in his heart. He had no name, nothing to call his own. He was just some spell, some conjure of Gannondorf's. That's what he'd been told, at any rate. And it had always made sense, for the most part. He had a lot in common with Link. Even the memories. Still, it was weird. They weren't his memories. His personal memories extended back exactly seven years, and the madness that came with his watery prison. But...surely there was something before that. He had a firm feeling of self-he existed-and so he assumed he had a soul, whatever that was. And his soul wasn't Link's soul, and so they were diffrent. He could almost sense a different personality between them beyond just that he didn't have all the same morals Link did. It shouldn't matter, he supposed, except that he wanted to believe that he was more than just a weird doppleganger, a copy or some crap. He was...well, himself. There was no other way to describe it.

"Doesn't matter," he repeated out loud, softly to himself. So Link was taking him to Hyrule Market? Or what was left of it. The inhabitants of that little town had been slaughtered, the few survivors fleeing and taking refuge elsewhere, in Kakariko or far countries. Rumor had it Zelda was rebuilding the place with the few who had dared to come back. And frankly Shadow thought she'd be rather too busy to listen to the claims of one of Gannondorf's old monsters. Heck, if she had any sense she'd kill him on the spot.

So...optimistic as he was, Shadow saw little more than death in his future. Cheery thoughts for midnight.

"Absolute waste of t-" his breath caught. He held it, listening. He wasn't even entirely sure that he'd heard anything. Felt something, more like.

Suddenly a distant howl broke the night. The wind nearly drowned it out, but it was undeniable. Shadow's eyes went wide. It wasn't a wolf howl. It was too high-pitched, too wild, too carnal. Years ago, Hyrule field had been plagued by skeletal creatures that only came out at night. Crawled right out of the ground. Undead creatures, sometimes men, sometimes dogs. Even Gannondorf couldn't tame them, finally wiping out most of their kind during his reign. But by the sound of things they were making a comeback.

Another howl. Was it his imagination or did it sound closer? Just a little bit? Shadow tugged at the chains and ropes on his hands, gritting his teeth. Again, he heard it. A whole bloody pack of them.

"Link!" he hissed. The mess of blonde hair didn't stir. "Hey. Link! Damn it..." His boot found a stone, kicking it up hard. He hit dead-on, the rock striking the back of Link's head.

"Mhn. Wha?"

"Fairy boy! There's something out there."

Link's arm moved slightly, then suddenly he rolled, throwing his arm out. Something whistled through the air, imbedding itself in the bark and barely missing Shadow's head. Shadow stared at it in alarm. A boomerang?

"Jeez, man! I'm serious! Get up!"

Link finally rolled over on his side, turning to face Shadow, blue eyes narrowed with sleep. "Ulgh. What?"

"You nearly took my head off!"

"S'ry. Don't wake me up."

"Had to. Listen."

A howl had started halfway through Shadow's words. Yes, there was no doubt about it. It was closer. Link's face cleared, finally looking like an alert, proper warrior.

"Great." He rolled to his feet, grabbing his sword and pulling it from its sheathe. Navi suddenly swept up past his head.

"What's going on?"

"Wolfos. Maybe."

"Hey! Get me out of this!" Shadow pulled at his bindings pointedly.

"Are you nuts?"

"Are you? I don't want to be a sitting shish kabob! Let me out!"

"You'll be fine...they'll probably just ignore us." They still sounded fairly far away. Link kicked dirt over the fire, the last embers hissing and fading. He crouched down behind it, eyes and ears alert.

They were so intent on the dogs none of them considered that there might be other monsters out there. Ones with the good sense to keep quiet while they hunted their prey.

That is, no one considered that possibility. Until an arrow suddenly imbedded itself in Link's back from behind.

A/N: Next few chapters include some TP crossover, namely those...um...I don't actually know what they're called. Bulbin soldiers? I think? The green guys who were kind of big antagonists in TP and road around on boars.