Chapter Twenty Three

~Normal POV~

It's been four days.

Four days.

Link has been in the Twilight Realm for four freaking days.

Sheik, Zelda, Navi and I have been camping out at the top of Arbiter's Grounds ever since he left. For the last day we haven't said very much, just stared at the mirror. Navi flutters around nervously, Sheik doesn't move at all, Zelda plays with her dagger, and I play with my necklace. That's it. Nothing else. But inside, I'm screaming with worry. All of us are.

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours, and hours into what seems like centuries.

Suddenly the mirror flashes with light. We all rocket to our feet and stare at it in anticipation. Other Link steps out of it. And then our Link steps out too. I feel like collapsing with relief. He looks horrible, with bags under his eyes, cuts, scrapes and bruises everywhere. He's walking with a limp, and by the way he's holding it, he's sporting a broken arm too. But it's him, and he's alive, and that's basically all that matters. There's a collective sigh of relief from the four of us. For a minute we just stare at him, and he stares back. Then he grins crookedly and I can't help it. I run over to him and wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight. He laughs and hugs me back with his good arm. Sheik and Zelda run over too, along with Navi who flies over as fast as she can. This time I don't cry, thank Heaven.

"I swear Link, that was even worse than Dark Link!" I tell him.

"Yeah, it was." His voice is raspy. "Spending a few days as a wolf isn't as much fun as it seemed when I was 11." He gives me a squeeze and lets me go. Zelda hugs him too, and Navi crashes into him.

"How are you doing, hero?" Sheik asks, lightly clapping him on the back, then pulling him into a bear hug.

Link nods at his arm when he lets him go. "A Shadow Beast broke my arm. But other than that, I'm pretty good considering I've only gotten about five hours of sleep in the last... how many days has it been?"

"Four." Navi tells him.

"Four?" He asks, surprised. "I thought it'd only been two. Three at the most."

"Twilight can have that effect on you." Other Link says. "You did good, Link."

Link smiles. "Thanks."

"And now, your reward, yeah?" He hands Link something wrapped in cloth. Link takes it and carefully unwraps it. A black crystal lined with red streaks lies inside. "The Shadow Crystal." Other Link explains. "When you touch it you'll turn back into a wolf, but it won't be anywhere near as painful as the first time. You can use it to sneak into the Dark Castle."

"Yes! Not an instrument! Cooler than an instrument!" Navi yells triumphantly.

"Thank you," Link says, examining it. He touches it, and immediately transforms into Wolf Link.

"To turn back just think of becoming human again." Other Link tells him.

Wolf Link concentrates, and then turns back into human Link. He smiles. "Why couldn't it have been that easy the first time?"

Other Link laughs. "Tell me about it, yeah?"

"So, we're done." Sheik says.

"Yes, with the Sacred Weapons. Now, you must receive the Ultimate Weapon to defeat Ganondorf." Other Link answers.

"Another test?" Link asks wearily.

"More weapons?" Navi says with a huff.

Other Link laughs. "No, no more tests. And this is the last one, don't worry. You've already proven yourself your worthy of it. Just go to the Great Deku Tree, you'll be rewarded with it there. Good luck in your fight, Link. Just fight him like you did those Shadow Beasts and he'll surrender pretty quick." With those words, Other Link turns into Wolf Link and dissolves into Twilight.

~X~

Link collapsed from exhaustion once Other Link left. Like, he literally collapsed. Luckily Sheik was standing next to him and caught him so he didn't hit his head on the stone. We gave him some potions and bandaged up his arm, but he still looks pretty beat up. Mostly all he's done is sleep, like right now. He's lying on the ground in the same fitful sleep that he's been in for the past two days. He needs it, though. I didn't even know it was possible to survive four days with only five hours of sleep.

We traveled to the Kokiri Forest with the Ocarina of Time after we got Link stable enough. The Kokiri were sweet and offered us beds, but since their beds are about half the size of us we kindly declined. But they did insist on feeding us and gave us warm blankets. They've also let us one of their empty houses for as long as we need. We've decided to stay here until Link gets better, just in case he has to do something worse than the Twilight Realm to get the Ultimate Weapon. Twilight Princess Link said he wouldn't have to do anything to get it, but Sheik didn't want to take any chances.

Sheik and Zelda sit talking quietly on the other side of the room. Sheik seems so much more happy when she's around. He smiles all the time, and the worry in Zelda's eyes melts away when she looks at him. They're practically the perfect example of what I imagine as love. It's sad that they have to postpone getting married because of Ganondorf. At least they're together.

My thoughts wander to my family. It's been so long. David's probably started skipping classes to stay home with Mom, which sucks because he went through so much trouble to get that scholarship. But I know it's what he'd end up doing. Dad's probably staying home too. And it's all my fault. I wish I could tell them where I am, and that I'm safe... well, kind of safe... okay I'm not safe but I'm okay for right now. And Link wouldn't let me get hurt, not to mention Zelda gave me a few sword lessons, so I'm at least a little safe. It hurts to think about them.

So I start thinking about Link's family instead. He told me that he had a brother in Castletown but he never elaborated on it. When I tried to get more information about him, he just looked down and tried to change the subject. I'm sure it hurts him to talk about his brother as much as it hurts me to talk about mine. In the end, it was Sheik who told me everything. His name is Tanner, he's 23 years old and he works in the Market in Castletown selling weapons. At least, he did until Ganondorf's soldiers took him prisoner. Sheik said that once Ganondorf found out that Tanner is Link's brother he put him in a kind of concentration camp. Bait for Link.

Zelda comes over and sits down next to me. "So, tell me more about this Doctor Who. It sounds fascinating. I've always loved learning about space and the stars."

I smile. Zelda and have become pretty good friends over the past few days. For a princess she's pretty down to earth. While she's a princess, and she's definitely more proper and sophisticated than the rest of us, she reminds me more of her Skyward Sword version.

Before I can answer her Link suddenly sits up, scratching his head. I jump. "So, everyone ready to go find this Ultimate Weapon?" He slurs sleepily.

I laugh. "Link, you still need rest. You're still hurt."

Link yawns and waves his hand in my general direction. "Nah, I'm okay. I love the Kokiri, but if we spend one more day here, I'm gonna go insane. I just wanna defeat Ganondorf and get this all over with."

Sheik smiles. "Okay Hero, lead the way."