Link rode Epona hard to a town known simply as Lune. He did not truly care as to what it was called; he just wanted to get back to Hyrule as soon as possible. He needed to discuss this newfound threat with Zelda before Ganondorf ended up conquering the lands beyond his mountaintop. Link shivered as he rode along, wishing that he had a cloak on hand. But all he had was the tunic he wore, and the spare cloth to patch up said tunic that was stuffed away in Epona's saddlebags. He'd look ridiculous if he tried to wear random bits of fabric for warmth.

With this thought in mind, he instead decided to urge Epona a little faster. The quicker he got to this town, the quicker he could get warmed up. Despite his coaxing, the mare didn't comply to go faster. Instead, she acted skittishly, starting to even come to abrupt halts before reluctantly picking up the pace again when Link dug in his heels. Whenever she would stop, her eyes would roll, an obvious sign of her distress as she stamped her hooves and nickered with anxiety.

Finally, Link couldn't handle waiting to see whatever was bothering his steed to emerge. Giving a light tug on the reins with an added, "Whoa, girl" as he brought Epona to a complete stop, Link nimbly slid off of her back. The rusty-red colored mare threw her back her head, a white froth developing at her muzzle from churning saliva mixing with sweat from running as she gnawed the bit in her mouth. Frowning in puzzlement, Link reached out to pet her soothingly, only to hear a familiar grunt from the shadows, which soon was followed by a string of low gibberish. Whirling, drawing the Master Sword from its sheath, Link narrowed his eyes at the Stalfos that revealed itself, the broad sword in its boney hand flashing in the dim sunlight. How had a Stalfos gotten all the way out here?

Link didn't think they were the most travel-ready creatures, nor very fast. It had clearly managed to keep up with Epona, though, so maybe he was wrong. Concealing his surprise well behind a mask of indifference, the Hero slipped into a fighting stance, sword glinting in the sunlight as it was adjusted. The Stalfos seemed to ignore this, its fleshless jaw working away at some invisible treat, teeth grinding together senselessly. Link's already developed frown sunk lower when he noticed the eyes of the thing. Wait, could they even be considered eyes? More so an intense glow coming from empty sockets. Nonetheless, what he saw was disturbing.

Rather than the usual red, what leered back at him was a vivid blue, churning angrily like a stormy sea, with two twin pinpoint white dots for pupils in the center of each 'eye'. The Stalfos hissed as it moved forward, boney feet clicking lightly as they stepped forward. Link was startled from his observations when the Stalfos lunged with little hesitation at all.

Link moved for his shield, but then remembered that he no longer had it. It had to have still been at the empty throne room, for it had not been swept away by the black hole. Cursing his foul luck, the blonde stepped back before he would have been cleaved in half, the Stalfos accidentally lodging its sword into the earth in the process. Frustrated with this outcome, the skeleton proceeded to desperately tug at the weapon, and Link jumped forward to end it all with a quick slash at the neck.

But the Stalfos seemed to realize this, smoothly leaping back before Link could make his hit. Blinking, the Hero stared at the empty air where his foe had once stood before looking up at his adversary. He wore an expression of shock, not bothering to hide it from view this time. When had Stalfos become so intelligent? He had thought that they had no tact in battle, aside from blocking with their round shields and lashing out with their hefty swords at random intervals. When their swords got stuck, they tried to get them out no matter what; they didn't pay attention to Link when he moved to finish them off.

To sum it up, they were just simply mindless drones, more monsters to pick off without a second thought.

But what was this one…?

"What are you?" snapped Link, voicing the question he had just previously thought as he glared at the ever-grinning Stalfos, the jaw somehow able to contort itself to give it a smug look. {Why so quick to anger, Hero?} cooed the Stalfos, using nonexistent vocal cords as its words flowed like honey. Link's eyes widened. Only one man called him 'Hero', and only one man had a voice such as that. Before he could call the Stalfos out, it darted past him. Shocked, he whipped around just in time to narrowly avoid being cut into bits.

"Ganon-!" Link began to bite out, only to stutter to a halt. The Stalfos had returned to normal, its eyes their natural hue once more, and the only thing coming out of its mouth being grunted gibberish. Had that all been a part of his imagination?

Scowling, Link growled before he moved to finish the Stalfos off. No, it couldn't have been. Ganondorf was toying with him!

Without that abnormal intelligence, the cackling Stalfos had been dispatched within seconds. Shoving the Master Sword back into its scabbard, Link turned back to Epona. The mare was still uneasy, but was not as upset as she had once been. Glancing back to the slowly disintegrating Stalfos, Link pursed his lips. Ganondorf was plotting something. Was he trying to make him go mad? Or provoke him so that he'd meet a premature death by marching off to his castle in the mountains?

Probably both.

Shaking his head, Link swung himself into the saddle. Clucking his tongue and tapping his heels against Epona's sides, he allowed the mare to go at a slower pace. After that incident, she needed some time to calm down. Alongside the fact that Link didn't want to get thrown off if she were to bolt out of fright.

~x~

During his travels to Lune, Link felt a creeping sense of paranoia easing up his spine. Bats that looked close to Keese, but not quite, fluttered about above. They perched in the trees like birds and watched him with their beady eyes, tiny teeth gnashing together with eagerness. He even thought once or twice that he heard his name called from the direction of the bats. The voices that called were high and had an almost comical squeaky pitch, but when Link turned to look for the owner of the voices, all his blue eyes met were the cold stares of over twenty bats.

He was sure that they followed him and maybe even brought a few more of their friends each time. The damned creatures grew in numbers, from ten to twenty, to even forty at one point until he had threatened them off with his bow and arrow. He even thought he saw one with eyes nearly as clear as ice themselves, yet burning with an all-too familiar intensity.
Watching, waiting…

Link shuddered and shifted back to face forward on Epona, the mare whickering softly out of anxiety. He reassuringly rubbed her neck.
"We're almost there, don't worry," he murmured into her ear, though the mare showed no change in demeanor as she trotted onward, the bats continue to watch with unblinking eyes.

Author's Note:

Another day, another chapter. … Or should I say another couple of weeks? ;^; Sorry for the lack of updates, guys! I admit, in the beginning I was just stalling because my brain died, but with school back in session, I am swamped. Crazy stuff, man. Darn math. –shakes fist- Anywho, thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far, you guys are awesome! C: The same goes to those who are following and have favorited this. If you guys weren't about, I most likely would have just ended this at the start xD And, to say it outright, I have no idea what pairing in particular will be in this fanfic. I'll admit, I tend to lean towards homosexual fanfics (or yaoi, I just feel odd using that term). Just as a warning, but you never know! I might just surprise you all. Anyways, I'll end this note here before it gets too long. Next chapter is actually in the works, so hopefully it'll come sooner. Thanks!
~ Zombie