Time had lost meaning as each day blurred into night and then repeated over and over again. Skull Kid staggered about the fields, amazed at how many caravans, travellers and carts passed him by. Not one person even noticed him or even glanced in his direction. It seemed that Termina had chosen to ignore him and rightly so. After all, his desperate need for friendship to end his loneliness had almost destroyed Termina. His entire soul had become numb as his mind struggled to process such a fact.
He also did not understand why Link felt so familiar to him. For years Skull Kid had lived peacefully, travelling between Termina and the Lost Woods with ease. Even upon their first encounter, where Link gifted him with a skeleton mask, the blue eyed Hylian felt like an old friend. Skull Kid felt tears roll down his face. He had cast that mask aside so quickly when the mask salesman came to the forest. The allure of such beautiful masks was too much. Even now he felt like less of a person with his bare face on display.
For the first time in what felt like ages, he felt something. Razor sharp talons tore through him as he was sent sprawling to the ground. As he weakly clambered to his knees he saw a monstrous bird turn sharply overhead. It circled back around and dove in once more, its claws poised to rip into his frail body. Skull Kid screamed as the scavenger's claws latched onto his chest.
On that same day, at that same time and in that same general area, Sable was marching through the fields. Her nightly hunt had gotten a little out of hand the previous evening as her monstrous senses had sent her halfway across Termina. Now she was simply marching back to the southern fields to intercept Veran's caravan as they migrated to the north. Her mind was momentarily alerted by the sound of a scream. Looking up she saw a bird rise in the distance with a figure tangled in its claws.
She whistled to herself "That is one big bird. What has it got? A child?"
Hesitantly she shrugged to herself and kept walking, the nagging thought lingered 'It's not like I can do anything for him. I don't have wings.'
A shiver twitched her spine as the soul chilling scream of agony echoed from above. Sable looked up at the bird as it flew away. She kept her eyes on it 'Oh for the love of the Giants, how the hell am I supposed to help him!?'
"You don't even know him." replied a woman's voice in her head that resonated with wise nobility.
'Who are you? How did you get in my head?'
"I've been reading your thoughts for quite some time, ever since you placed that Fused Shadow around your neck and Midna gave you the lecture."
'Then… you're Argorok, aren't you?'
"Yes and I've watched you through your mind. I must say you're a peculiar child indeed."
'Please, please help me! That bird is getting away.'
"So what? Probably just some stupid kid."
'I don't care! Give me wings so I can fly! I can't just stand back and go on with my life knowing I could've done something about that person's fate!'
"Very well, child. I'll let my lineage live on through you."
The shadow coated her body lined with blue light, indicating that something was different this time. The transformation did not tire her initially as her mind slipped effortlessly into her new skin. Argorok's body felt eerily familiar, her wings stretched out as Sable moved her arms. Her black scales were studded with ornate metal fused with the skin like organic armour. A final swish of the tail demolished a nearby log, her mighty wings flapped, propelling her high into the sky.
Effortlessly, with the dragon's wingspan, Sable had easily caught up with the scavenger. The bird squawked at the sight of her approach. The dragon's maw stretched wide to reveal rows of pearly fangs that then clamped around the bird's neck.
Skull Kid froze completely at the sight of the menacing dragon. He could not recall the last time he had seen one in Termina. Where exactly this creature came from also proved a mystery. His body then dropped from the bird's claws as he plummeted towards the earth, or so he thought. With a swift movement of the dragon's tail, he was swatted upwards towards its feet. Strangely it did not clamp hard and almost cradled him. He remained overwhelmed by terror as he was carried off into the distance.
Something had changed in the air as a familiar ether manifested, a crackle of electricity shot through Veran. Her heart sank when the realisation dawned. Turning to the skies she saw an all too familiar dragon soar overhead and circle around. Iris and Onox were more preoccupied with tending to the horses as the caravan had taken a break from its route. Neither could ignore the cry of a dragon as they simultaneously looked up.
"No way!" Iris screeched out loud "Where did that thing come from?"
Onox was stunned, jaw hanging open "A real life dragon… I never thought I'd live to see one."
"I know, I thought the Gorons wiped them out eons ago."
"Do you think I can harvest its soul?"
"You will do no such thing," Veran literally materialised beside them with a shadow warp from her resting place atop the caravan. Her expression was one of dread as she grabbed Onox by the shoulder "Are you feeling any different now?"
"Uh… no… well, maybe a little warm but that's nothing to be worried about." He nervously replied, freezing up before Veran's intense gaze "Is there something I should be worried about?"
Iris pulled away from them as she excitedly ran ahead. The dragon finally came to a halt with a mighty flap of its wings, sending the Deku tumbling from the powerful gust. It landed safely only to be engulfed by darkness and shift to Sable's visage. An unconscious Skull Kid was at her feet and barely conscious.
"Do that again! It was fun!" Iris cheered after picking herself up, she then saw Skull Kid and looked between him and Sable.
She quickly informed "He was being carried off by a Takkuri so I intervened… by turning into a dragon. I know, it's insane, but that's basically what happened."
Iris was by his side and checking his breathing and heart rate "He's not looking too good, we need to get him to Mistress Kotake right away." She chirped happily "So, can you turn into a dragon again so we can all go together?"
"Let me get my breath back first, that was intense."
"We got bigger problems than a hurt kid!" Veran yelled from afar, she had cast a force field around Onox. A circle of darkness surrounded him while orange tendrils of energy bound his limbs. "Sable! I can't hold on for long, so when I release him, turn into Argorok again and lead him to the Stone Towers. I'll do the rest. Iris, get to Twinrova and tell her the Dark Dragon has awoken."
With each passing moment Onox was breaking free of the force field. His eyes reflected an insatiable bloodlust as his body moved in a violent frenzy. His body was already becoming covered in black scales as a pair of massive horns grew from his forehead. A blood red gem parted the skin on his forehead and large tusks emerged from his mouth framed by sharpened teeth. With a final strike he shattered the force field like glass, sending Veran to the ground. Her magic instinctively went to work as her body twisted with dark magic and fragmented into the air as a vapour.
Iris immediately snatched Skull Kid by his tunic and mounted her broom with some difficulty. The need to survive took priority as she sped off into the distance. Before Onox could divert his attention he saw the dragon emerge once more from where Sable stood. It roared back to him as a challenge and took to the skies. Dark energy coursed through his veins as the grass withered around him and the nearby horses fled. Shadows enveloped him as he too, took on a new form.
Another peaceful day at the potion shop left Kotake feeling a little bored. The two fairies she had captured were becoming mentally broken in their glass bottle prisons. They now only sat on the glass without so much as a complaint or a sneeze. She pondered whether or not to let them go seeing as they lost their entertainment factor. A crash at the door jolted her into awareness as she caught the bottles in question before they could hit the floor. This was followed by the door bursting open and Iris running in. A Skull Kid was barely moving with the aid of her apprentice.
Iris immediately blurted out "I'm sorry for crashing into the house but something bad has happened. You see, um… Sable finally learnt to turn into a dragon and brought this kid to us because he was hurt. Then Onox went crazy and Veran went weird and then she said to tell you something about the Dark Dragon awakening and-"
Kotake calmly raised a hand to say "Breathe child. Let's handle one problem at a time." Then placed the bottles that held the fairies onto a nearby table.
"Alright, so what first?"
"The Dark Dragon takes priority, I need you to act as my conduit in Ikana. You will not be going into the Stone Towers. It's far too dangerous for a mortal who is not of the Gomess." Kotake helped Iris lay Skull Kid on a nearby couch "Instead I need you to go to the castle, you can't miss it. You must insist that you be brought to their king, then simply allow me to take control of your mind and I'll handle the rest."
"What is a Dark Dragon anyway?"
"The remnants of the dragon patriarch that ascended to immortality long ago. His hatred was so great that his ghost lingers on as a wild deity."
Iris nodded to herself as she recalled more details "And Argorok? Apparently that's what Sable can turn into now."
"Probably a dragon matriarch and I'm guessing she was once a concubine of the dragon patriarch. But she betrayed him when she allowed a Gomess Arch Mage to bind her soul to a Fused Shadow."
"But how does this have anything to do with Sable and Onox!?"
Kotake bluntly ordered "Child, go to Ikana Castle now."
Iris pointed to Skull Kid "And what about him?"
"I'll take care of him, now go!"
Reluctantly Iris left the unconscious stranger in Kotake's care. She quickly mounted her broom and headed to the east as fast as she could travel.
For the first time in days, Tatl immediately sprang up within her bottle. Of all the places to be reunited, she never would've guessed Skull Kid would wind up here. She and Tael had been searching for him in the Woods of Mystery at the time when the witch pounced on them. Although she still could not understand why they were merely captured and held prisoner.
"Sis! Skull Kid is here!" Tael exclaimed as he awoke "Hey Miss witch-lady! Please save our friend!"
Tatl threatened "If you do anything wrong by him, you'll regret it!"
"A friend of yours? How unusual… I have no intention of harming him, in fact, I wish to help him heal himself." Kotake mused out loud, she smirked back to them "Now why are two little fairies friends with a broken deity?"
The two fairies fell silent as they shyly descended to the bottom of the bottles once more. The old witch cackled to herself as she went over to her cauldron and rolled up the sleeves of her robes. Various ingredients levitated over to her hands as she began brewing the strongest potion she could concoct.