Legends of the Hero of Time

by Ryan-Sinclair

The Hero of Time, Link, is blessed by the Golden Goddesses with a normal existence, free for himself to rule over. He must learn the true meaning of life as he attempts to join Hylian society. Along the way, he finds a family to call his own. Protecting and loving them, as a new threat emerges, he grows to understand how he must still endure the challenges of fate.

13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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[Time: 6:15 P.M. (Evening)]

[Date- Month 4 'Late-spring', Day 12, 8th Era]

[Location- Hyrule, Castle Town - Temple of Time]

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Standing behind the Temple of Time, the odd little man known as Mr. Happy, the proprietor of the Happy Mask Shop, patiently awaited the arrival of several individuals he had personally hand picked for the adventure of a lifetime. Leaving a scroll behind at their residence with their name on it as well as a wax seal bearing the royal crest, he assumed it would be enough to grab their attention, force them to read its contents and then abide by its message. Without much to do until then, he read one of the scrolls he didn't use since he only needed eight. The message within was to the point, not overly exciting either. Its words existed only to order the reader into submissive cooperation. Yet, for Mr. Happy, it would do exactly as he needed it to do.

Upon the scroll's surface was a fancy, handwritten letter which read as follows.

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By Decree of his Royal Majesty, King Harkinian Nohansen of Hyrule; He or She who receives this scroll must aid Mr. Happy by holy order of the Golden Goddesses themselves. Refusal to accept responsibility will be considered treason under full awareness that failure to complete this task may result in untold fatalities and or the collapse of the entire kingdom itself.

Signed, King Harkinian Nohansen of Hyrule

Dictated by, Jubahl; Royal Amanuensis

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Underneath the message was the king's signature, or at least stamped copy of it; plus the name of the person who dictated the writing. In the bottom right corner, the page bore a complete depiction of the Royal Family Crest stamped on with bright gold ink. If it didn't look official enough to the people whom Mr. Happy had hoped to acquire, then using the tactics of noble authority wasn't going to work. Worst case scenario, he'd have to meet the recipients one by one and explain in person as to why they were needed for this grandiose adventure. Amongst anything, the strange man could only hope that it wouldn't come to such a laborious task. It was far easier to do it this way, without immediate confrontation. Until then, there was no way to know who would heed the scrolls prior to their actual arrival.

'Oh, oh, oh… I do hope they decide to show up.' Mr. Happy thought while combing his fingers through his reddish brown hair. 'Time is most certainly of the essence and dallying is a waste.'

If there was one thing the strange man disliked, it was his time being squandered. He wanted to slow time down at the moment so he could have more of it to contemplate. Unfortunately, halting the flow of time would have rendered itself redundant since the outcome wouldn't allow those he wished to arrive to do as such. Being stuck in normal flow with only his thumbs to twiddle was annoying, yet he suffered through the nuisance of boredom for the greater good of his cause.

Eventually, instead of doing nothing at all, Mr. Happy began going over the plan in his head once more. Though he'd gone over it numerous times, it couldn't hurt to think it through one more time. If anything, it was beneficial to go over it again as there was a massive amount to remember, especially for as long as he'd had to keep it in his memory. The Royal Sages may have thought of themselves to be the bearers of revelation; on the other hand, nothing said by them was really of any concern, surprise or new knowledge to him. The salesman himself had already been one to bear witness to the events unfolding as the millennia passed, unlike the rest of the mortals walking amongst him. What made it out of his control was how he couldn't force anyone to do what was prophesied, only guide them into the proper direction. That was the only reason why he couldn't be sure everything would go as planned.

'Once, or if they show up, we'll have to have a humongous discussion regarding everything. That will be the hardest part, truly.' Mr. Happy understood. 'For normal people in a reverted timeline, what I have to say won't be very believable outside an amusing tale from an excellent or perhaps famous bard…' Sighing, he glanced up to the skies. 'If I was one of their kind, living my own life without any clue of my purpose, I don't think I would believe it either, even if The King himself said it. I'd say the man had struck ill in the head.'

In more than one way, Mr. Happy was right. Not many would accept an outlandish tale on how the Princess of Hyrule was actually the reincarnation of Her Grace, the goddess Hylia, who is the ancestral mother of Hylian civilization; or that there's a Hero of Time, roaming the surface world awaiting his next mission without even being aware of how dangerous it would actually be.

'As for convincing them that they're needed to go on a journey across the continent, that's going to take serious conversations. Some of the people who I messaged have jobs, jobs where they either need the rupees to support a family or their bosses wouldn't allow them to miss a day of work.' Leaning back against the Temple of Time, in the shade, he sighed. 'If I could just summon rupees, I'd be a real happy man. I could pay off anything.' Shaking his head, he adjusted his thinking with a chuckle. There wasn't any sense in hoping for something that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to be able to use wealth as a way to get through this easier. Charisma or persuasion was the only solution. 'No… I'll just have to prove to them that what I have to say is true…. Even if that means showing them things they may not want to see. It's the best assurance.'

Cutting away from that, grabbing his attention was the sound of footsteps approaching. Soon, a male voice could be heard speaking over that of a woman. "Yes, Ma'am… That's an official Royal Seal. As captain of the Hylian Royal Guard, I should know. If it's any consolation, I received the exact same scroll and I'm going to the same location. You can follow me if you want. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

The female spoke up immediately following. "Thank you, but I don't think I need protection while I'm in the presence of Their Holy Light. The Temple of Time is a very safe place." The woman grumbled a bit in advance of continuing "However, we are going to the same place, so I don't see why we couldn't travel together." Shortly after, with the footsteps coming closer, the woman inquired on who the man was. "Aren't you Captain Osun?"

The middle-aged man came into view as he nodded in confirmation to the woman. He had short brunette hair, a thick handlebar mustache and a chin puff goatee. Although he was highly ranked in the military, he donned regular clothing; a simple off-white cotton shirt, a dark gray vest and brown trousers. In spite of the average civilian attire, he was equipped with a short sword he had sheathed to his leather hip belt. His acknowledgment lasted a mere second, as once the captain's eyes connected with the Happy Mask Salesman's, his mood changed drastically.

"You! You were the one who sent the scrolls!?" Captain Osun demanded to know.

Mr. Happy rolled his eyes while crossing his arms; unhappy, yet unable to express that considering he still had a smile plastered on his lips. "Why say it like that? It's not as if I've done anything to wrong you."

The woman turned out to be Sister Marrie, the nun who works at the hospital there in Castle Town's Eastern Section of the Marketplace. Being peaceful, she refused to get in the way and merely watched as Captain Osun freaked out.

Approaching the skinny little salesman, the captain harshly grabbed him by his golden frill collar and yanked him forward then up off the ground so the two were face-to-face. "You froze time, managed to sneak into The Castle and refused to speak to anyone about any of the 'genius little plans' you had. You just ran off to that little shop of yours and pretended like things are completely normal!" The Captain was furious, feeling threatened by the powers of Mr. Happy in addition to the guy's overall mysterious demeanor. Although he meant the salesman no real harm, he wanted him to spill the secrets he'd kept to himself all this time. Little did he know, he would soon get exactly what he wanted. "How can you act so calm after what the Royal Sages told us? How can you do all that magic?"

Mr. Happy kept his ear-to-ear smile as he gently tried to push Captain Osun out of his personal space. "Captain Osun, Sir, please… Let's keep this civil in the presence of a lady of the cloth." As soon as the Happy Mask Salesman's feet touched the ground, he brushed off his shirt, fixed his overcoat and then explained. "There's so incredibly much that I have to tell you. Unfortunately, there's also so little time. To make it easier, I suggest we happily wait until the others arrive."

Captain Osun most definitely didn't like hearing this. He wanted answers now. In fact, for starters, he wanted to know what 'others' Mr. Happy was referring to. "What do you mean, others? Who else is coming, other soldiers?"

"No, not soldiers. Goodness no." Mr. Happy replied. Even though he still wanted to wait, he knew he'd have to at least speak to the captain in order to keep the man's impatience from taking control. "I've assembled a team on my own of those who I've decided were invaluable to our mission. As I said, just give some patience for the others to arrive. All will be explained, you have my word…" Motioning toward the bag he carried, he offered Osun a drink. "I think I have a cup of tea left in my satchel, perhaps you'd like some. Tea is quite good for one's nerves."

Nothing was going to calm the captain at the moment other than having all his questions satisfied. So he grunted, then sternly rejected the offer in frustration. "I don't want your damn tea! Don't play games with me! What do you mean you've assembled your own team!? I demand you tell me everything; I'm The Captain of the Hyrulean Royal Guard!" Watching the Happy Mask Salesman continue to grin only enraged the skilled swordsman. He didn't know that Mr. Happy's perpetual happiness was more than a mere association with the name. To Osun, the smile made him think that the salesman was getting a thrill out of not divulging information.

It was something Mr. Happy had become accustomed to after the longest of time. "You're not listening." He nonetheless pleaded as he shook his head, trying to diffuse the situation.

Captain Osun simply took more offense. "Don't you shake your head at me! I'll have you carted away to the dungeon at the blow of a whistle!"

"Captain Osun, Sir… Please, calm yourself." Mr. Happy finally managed to interject. "It would be unwise to threaten me further. Surely you've read the scroll which led you here?" He watched as the captain eyeballed him for around thirty seconds prior to taking the scroll from his pocket to give it a quick re-read. Mr. Happy went ahead and reiterated why assaulting him would be a bad idea. "King Harkinian himself is responsible for my expedition here today. He wrote that scroll so you and the others would trust me. There's no reason to suspect me of any foul play; I'm here to happily help. The kingdom is in danger. It would be an utter waste for us to senselessly turn against each other like this."

Upon looking up from the scroll, Captain Osun relaxed, giving a long sigh to reciprocate the release of tension. The Happy Mask Salesman was pleased by the situation returning to normal. However, he had a fast question of his own. "If I may ask you captain; my name is literally written on the scroll; who did you anticipate you'd encounter here if not me?"

Captain Osun scowled. Looking away, he crossed his arms, then huffed. "I was expecting there to be an informant here wanting me to complete an errand of yours. That, or it to be a lure for a trap."

Although the captain had calmed down, he still remained impatient. Mr. Happy knew this and was glad that the time mentioned in a side note given to everyone was nearly upon the hour. The individuals who were going to be there would either be there by then, or not be coming at all. "I assure you, there's no trap." The salesman assured the two. "What we're here to discuss will intervene with fate and change the course of history… From the looks of it, you won't need to be waiting that much longer either. There's only another five minutes until we start." Looking at his pocket watch, the little man eagerly watched as time ticked by, ever wanting the hands of the clock to go faster than they were. He'd waited a very long time for this moment, a very long time. Now, having it so close, he couldn't wait much more than the captain himself.

Sister Marrie was the only one who waited patiently. Besides that, she listened to their bickering and conversation without saying a single word.

Captain Osun tapped his foot impatiently.

Mr. Happy stared at his pocket watch.

Within the following minutes, they all heard chatter coming from down the path leading from the Temple of Time back to The Marketplace. Mr. Happy was pleased to know more than three had shown up. It was going to be much easier to convince a group than it would be to get each individual to understand as well as agree to what he would have to propose.

The voices from down the path weren't recognizable to either Sister Marrie nor Captain Osun. Mr. Happy, on the other hand, knew who it was and found himself to be quite as happy as his name would suggest. One voice was gruff with a lot of power behind it, the other, slightly nasally and much softer. Shortly after, the group were all allowed to see whom it was that were chattering amongst themselves. Captain Osun seemed fairly surprised. Those who appeared were two people; at least one was, considering the other was a Goron.

The person accompanying the Goron was a frail, elderly man who had quite the unruly gray hair, a mid-length pointed goatee as well as an extreme case of well spaced buck teeth. Donning a long blue lab smock overcoat atop his white robes, he was a stark contrast to that of the imposing muscular Goron. Members of the Goron needed no clothes to cover their lack of genitalia. What people focused on was their strength and this individual wasn't one to be reckoned with, having fists equally the size of its gigantic head. The goron's upper-arms, forearms, thighs and calves being comparable to branches on a tree. All that muscle came together, adding up to nonstop power with a giant gut perhaps stretched a bit from years of eating quality rock. The only thing the Hylian and Goron had in common was their wild hairdos, as the Goron almost had a mane.

Mr. Happy greeted the two approaching individuals with a warm smile once they grew close enough, same as he did to everybody else. "Ah. Darunia, Dr. Mizuumi. I do trust you didn't have any troubles getting here? Hmm?"

After clearing his throat, the elderly gentleman known as Dr. Mizuumi responded first. "I may be old, yet I do enjoy a relaxing stroll whenever the weather is this nice." Showing a toothy grin, the scientist of Lake Hylia chuckled. "Still, I have a feeling I wasn't summoned here to talk about the weather and neither were these fine people. Do you care to explain what we're needed for?"

It may have been vaguely answered by the Happy Mask Salesman whenever Captain Osun had his fit, yet Dr. Mizuumi said what remained on all of their minds. Darunia stood slightly behind the scientist, now quiet. Nonetheless, even he wanted to know. After all, the huge goron leader had traveled all the way there from his home in Death Mountain, just to investigate the source of the scroll he'd been given.

To all of their relief, the time was nigh. Mr. Happy knew that those who were there were all that were going to be there for the group outing. He was disappointed that two individuals either ignored the scroll, did not receive it or befell a tragic outcome. It was, however, delightful to him that more than half chose to arrive. "Yes, well… You would be correct. Mind you, we're missing two; it's happily time all six of us learn what journey the Goddesses have entrusted us with."

Turning toward the Temple of Time, Mr. Happy grabbed the door and was about to pull it open whenever he was stopped by Darunia, who had decided to speak up concerning a subject only Captain Osun caught onto besides himself. "I am Darunia, leader of the Hyrulean Goron Tribe, I'm here because my sworn brother wrote his name on that scroll saying I was to help you, and so be it. While we gorons may have a reputation for not being the brightest beacons of light, I'm certainly not dumb. I can see quite clearly that there are only five of us."

Upon saying that, the others all looked around, confirming to themselves that Darunia was indeed right.

Being difficult to tell due to his demeanor, it was true that in that moment Mr. Happy smiled a little wider. He was definitely glad that another person noticed. It would've been a shame to him if those he'd chosen were too dimwitted to count. "Aha…" He chuckled. "You're onto something. I do suppose that it is time for Ms. Myantha to come out from behind that bush over there." The salesman pointed to a bush located along the row of stained glass windows adorned upon the Temple of Time, focusing everybody's attention toward it. After twenty seconds and nothing happened, a few people thought the Happy Mask Salesman had taken ill in the head. It wasn't until a figure slowly rose up from behind the very bushes he'd mentioned that they gasped softly. "See?" Mr. Happy chuckled again. "Six people. Now, if we may happily adjourn to the inside, I'll be glad to get right down to explaining everything during tea." As he opened the heavy wooden door to the Temple of Time, he motioned for all to follow him inside the ancient stone monastery.

The figure that had risen from hiding in the bushes revealed itself to be that of a thin young woman hooded in a tattered cloak. She didn't smell overly pleasant and looked like she'd missed a number of meals, clear status that she was homeless, living on the streets as an urchin. She couldn't have been more than nineteen, yet it wasn't easy to tell considering her emaciated state. "How did you know that I was there?" She asked the Happy Mask Salesman after approaching.

Mr. Happy smiled down at her, then reached into his satchel to remove a muffin that immediately caught the poor girl's eyes. The muffin was fresh, still wrapped in thin paper to contain the heat steaming off it. Smelling of banana and topped with chickaloo nuts, it was more than enough to entice the tummy of anyone, muchless that of someone starving. Holding her hand over her stomach, Myantha had to look away, partially offended he'd take out a food so scrumptious in front of her. To her amazement, he sort of pushed it into her face, not letting her look away. It took several moments before she realized that he was trying to give it to her. She thought that he was going to eat it. "My dear Ms. Myantha, I knew you were there the entire time."

In the blink of an eye, before he could take back the offer, she snatched the gourmet muffin away from him, smashing half of it into her face without regard of manners as hunger certainly didn't care about slowing for the taste. After scarfing down the muffin, she moved on into the Temple of Time with the others, licking her lips and sucking her fingers to make sure she'd gotten every crumb available to her.

Once all six were inside, Mr. Happy closed the door behind them. The inside of the Temple of Time was elaborately designed with expert masonry. Ancient builders put decades of precise planned craftsmanship into floors so buff they shone reflectively in the sunlight and walls sculpted smooth enough to remind one of silk. Currently, the room of which the group resided in was that of a large hall with a tall cathedral roof supported by sturdy stone pillars off to the side. In between each pillar was a gorgeous multi-paneled stained glass window of assorted colours. In front, the middle of the room, was a unique platform with an ancient Symbol of Light overlaid upon that of the Triforce Emblem. Toward the end of the room was a red carpet lined with gold fringe that led to an altar where three majestic stones laid upon it; one an emerald, one a sapphire, the other a ruby. An intricate slab for a door separated them all from the next room. From the looks of it, the next room was inaccessible as the slab was embedded in the ground. The carvings on the door were just as religious looking as the others; made into a design of unknown origin. Air on the inside was crisp. It smelled like a library. Those of pure heart who walked into the light shining through the windows felt the warmth of what many sages called 'The Embrace of the Goddesses'.

"Okay, we're all here. Tell us what it is that you need." Captain Osun instantaneously replied before anybody else could get a single word out. His impatience was beginning to not only pester Mr. Happy, but also made the salesman briefly ponder as to whether or not the soldier was the right choice for such an endeavor. Either way, the captain wasn't afraid to get pushy again if need be. "You've made us all wait long enough. There's nobody around to hear us and you've already admitted that this is all that's going to arrive." Crossing his arms, he demanded answers. "We've come all this way to find out what you want. Tell us, now."

Mr. Happy stared at the group he'd gathered. Sister Marrie, a hylian nun who knew medicine and was deeply in touch with her religious side. Captain Osun, the hylian captain of Hyrule's Royal Guard. Dr. Mizuumi, an elderly Hylian who knew more about science than the entire local university dedicated to it. Ms. Myantha, a sickly homeless hylian who knew how to sneak about and Darunia, the physically fit leader of the Goron Tribe. Each person had strengths that presented an advantage to this noble quest of legends, a few they were unaware of themselves. The salesman felt content and for the first time in millennia, ready to open up, to divulge details of a prophecy foretold eons ago.

"Very well…" Walking past the group with his hands held behind his back, Mr. Happy smiled up at the emblem of the Royal Family as well as the Triforce. "Have any of you heard of the Oracles of Time?"

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[Time: 6:23 P.M. (Evening)]

[Date- Month 4 'Late-spring', Day 12, 8th Era]

[Location- Hyrule, Forbidden Forest, Lost Woods]

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That blue glimmer Link had seen was a heaven sent relief to him. The boy's legs wasted no time in running to the spot. His hands took over digging through the leaves and weeks worth of settled topsoil. Finally, he found it. There it laid, filled with dirt and cracked at the mouthpiece. Nonetheless, the ocarina was in his possession. All the worrying and bewilderment regarding its location was worth it. Despite being bruised, battered and sustaining a significantly hurt shoulder from a massive horde of roaming wolfos that nearly tore them all in half; this was the end result, exactly what the hero wanted it to be. The Ocarina of Time was finally safe from those who might abuse its powers.

With his heart beating out of his chest, Link swiftly made an attempt to blow the dirt out by using the mouthpiece. Unfortunately, because of the crack, it didn't work correctly. Air leaked out the split in the porcelain instead. "Great…" The young hylian uttered unhappily in response to the damage to the relic. He proceeded to try his best in tapping out the gunk caked inside of it. After trying for what felt like ten minutes, he eventually decided to give up and stop. "I think it's broken. There's a crack in it."

Saria peeked over his head to see what he was talking about prior to saying. "We'll find some clay when we get home and get the Know-It-All Brothers to repair it. Then, it'll be good as new." She tried to cheer him up. "We can even repaint it together."

In theory, what Saria said should actually work. The clay would mend the gap where air was leaking out. However, this wasn't an ordinary ocarina. It was the Ocarina of Time, and its magical capabilities were unique to it alone. There's a good chance that it won't be the same after merely 'patching' it. "I don't think it works that way." He lamented. "This isn't an ordinary ocarina."

Giving it several more blows, an unnatural whistling sound abruptly emanated forth. The notes didn't match what should've been produced; in fact, it sounded like a completely different instrument. "Wait a second. What's wrong with this thing?" Blowing harder, the notes actually became deeper. He soon stopped altogether, confused as well as slightly disturbed. "I've never heard it make that pitch before." Carrying on without letting anything in the background interrupt him, the hero kept blowing. Before long, black goo began forcefully seeping out the toneholes. "Eww! What the…!?"

The black goo oozed out freely, fizzing outward prior to being sucked back inside the toneholes the moment Link ceased. "Huh!?" Now, as frustration began to rear, the hero blew even harder to get out whatever was stuck inside. It wasn't dirt, but it still needed to go. "Come on!" Sucking in a giant breath, he then let forth a gale which blew through the ocarina until the black gunk expanded outward quickly, as if it were a bubble trying to come out, a black bubble that grew larger and larger until it literally pressed against his face. In an impulsive moment of haste, he didn't stop like he probably should have. It didn't help either that when the bubble touched his cheek, he felt nothing other than a crisp chill, much colder than that of the fog surrounding them. Along with the lack of feeling came more expansion of the bubble until his entire body slowly became enveloped in the strange black aura.

Saria's voice seemed to fade into the distance as the low pitch hum of the ocarina took its place instead. Link took a breath for half a second in advance of resuming, blowing harder and harder as the darkened cloud rapidly grew monumental in size, covering the forest floor, trees, even the floral canopy hanging above. He knew that he should have ceased by now as it certainly wasn't a normal function of the musical instrument. What kept him going was the desire to uncover what was happening. The musical pitch was strangely entrancing. Plus, the hero really wanted to get out whatever was clogging the ocarina. It only became totally obvious that things had gotten worse on a completely different level whenever he looked up and realized just how much the environment had been drained of colour.

Gasping, he finally stopped blowing into the ocarina. There was a sudden popping noise, as if whatever it was residing inside the cavity of the instrument suddenly bursted. To support this theory, the black goo spilled out of the toneholes and mouthpiece, falling to the ground where it was promptly absorbed by the soil. "What in the Holy Three Goddesses!?" Link questioned in shock, staring straight at Saria, who looked like she'd seen a ghost. "What's happening!? Are you guys alright!?"

Standing back up, the hero drew his sword as fast as his racing pulse. Ready to defend everyone, he stood there for what felt like thirty seconds to a minute, unsure of what to do until he spoke again. "Hey! Pay Attention!" The realization hit him that nobody in the group was budging a single muscle. "SARIA!" Link shouted louder, trying to get her attention in case she merely didn't hear him or wasn't paying any attention. After that, he knew something was wrong.

However, the kokiri weren't purposely ignoring him. Instead, they were staring blankly into the woodland, intensely focused on where they had last been looking prior to his retrieval of the Ocarina of Time. Seeing this led to the speculation that time had been frozen, somehow stopped in place. However, that theory went by the wayside whenever all of the kokiri suddenly fell to the ground with a thud. Even the fairies fell, nosediving straight to the forest floor. All of them were as stiff as statues. It was a surefire way to ensure Link knew things were still happening; time was most certainly still flowing. Nonetheless, it was difficult to clearly see what was happening since the darkness had consumed everything, leaving only white outlines for people, plants and objects.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Link freaked out. "SARIA!? SARIA!?" His voice grew ever louder with sheer concern as he raced over to them, literally dropping the ocarina in the process. "SARIA, WHAT'S WRONG!?" The hero screamed in terror, horrified regarding the reality of what could potentially be a devastating situation. "WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

No matter what the boy yelled, the green-haired kokiri girl made no attempt to move. Her eyes were open wide, with pupils dilated and yet she appeared to be unconscious. Going so far as to shake her, it made no difference. Nothing the hero did woke her up or snapped her out of her trance; which wasn't a good indication for the status of her health. Link's heart rate sped up uncontrollably while he looked around, staring at the eerily darkened surrounding forest in a search for signs of anyone unwanted. Looking back down at Saria, his lip trembled. It proved to be exceedingly hard for the hylian to accept what was happening, especially whenever he wasn't able to understand it in the least.

"COME ON, SNAP OUT OF IT!" He shook her once more prior to standing up, bolting to check on the rest of the kokiri. Each individual had the same blank expression, indicating they weren't aware of what was happening. Their unconsciousness wasn't comforting, however, for the hero was now completely alone and certainly frightened. This was the last place he wanted to be during nightfall, even if that nightfall was caused by ungodly means. "MIDO! FADO! BREENA! LAILA!" Going around to all of them, he tried to rouse them all, with the hope that at least one would awaken. His wishes fell upon deaf ears as nobody would budge a single inch.

"EPONA!" The boy's mind raced, giving him a burst to check on her. "COME ON, GIRL! ARE YOU OKAY!?" Precisely as the others were, the equine was lying down on her side, collapsed onto the ground. Fortunately, unlike the others, he could definitely tell that she was breathing, as her nostrils flared with each breath. "NOT YOU TOO!"

All of them were in a state of strange comatosity. Link had to accept their condition as well as the fact that he knew not of how to restore their lucidity. Despite that, it still wasn't as easy as merely convincing himself to move on. Looking at them, his beloved family, suddenly seeing them in positions that resemble death, it was about as shocking to the young boy as it could be. 'They took care of me for as long as I can remember and now there's a chance there's a serious problem with them.' His mind scrambled as it analyzed the situation. 'If they die, I'll be too distraught to carry on.' Due to that very reason, he knew he had to pursue the cause of the darkness forbidding their consciousness from returning. Although he couldn't immediately fix their ailment, he figured fixing the problem which caused it may do the trick. At this point, it was the only thing he managed to rationalize, so it had to do for a plan.

Gently stepping away from Saria and the others, Link had to be careful not to accidentally step on one of the fairies. Further onward, he tried to calm himself more in order to focus on the current task at hand. With eyes darting rapidly, he stayed on high alert. Nothing was going to sneak up on him, not with his sword at the ready for an instantaneous slicing backflip.

'I don't understand what's happened.' He momentarily continued to reflect upon the woe, questioning what might be the cause of it. 'It must have been whatever it was cursing the area to begin with.' The boy shook his head. 'All of this fog... It couldn't possibly be natural. I knew it from the start. Whatever it was that scared off and killed those wolfos has to be the culprit… Nghh…' He grunted. 'I just don't know how it or he/she had the power to affect the Ocarina of Time.'

Out of nowhere, Link's eyes widened as his train of thought shifted back over to the Ocarina of Time. Foolishly, out of terror, he had dropped it. The blue musical instrument was the whole motivation behind this trek, the entire reason he was out here in the middle of the woods in the first place. It also resulted in his family being hurt. All that and he had dropped it without haste the moment he saw Saria's condition. Never before had he felt as though he was such an imbecile in his entire life.

Giving himself needed confidence again wasn't easy, but he did slowly build it back as he at least succeeded in remembering where it was he let go. That relief was enough to keep him going, especially when he saw that the ocarina was indeed still there, lying on the forest floor in the leaves. Steadily, he walked over to the musical instrument and picked it up again, this time making well sure to pocket it. It wasn't going anywhere now.

Reanalyzing as well as recalling the circumstances which led up to that point, he then tried waving his hand in front of his face to see if he could move aside the unnerving translucent black fog. This proved fruitless as it made no change in the atmosphere. It wasn't fog he was dealing with, because it would've dispersed even in the smallest of degree during rapid movements such as he had made by waving his hand. Instead, it was just a white outline of his hand moving through the air.

Deliberating mentally, he kept thinking back until he recalled the black gooey substance which had expanded outward in a bubble-like fashion. Remembering that, he cursed himself under his breath once he realized he likely caused the strange event currently transpiring. 'Dammit… I just had to keep blowing in the mouthpiece. What's wrong with me? It's not like I was on some hopeful endeavor to get out dirt and leaves. I should have just left it until I got back to the village.'

That black goop in itself was incredibly ghastly. The hero had a hunch that there was far more to it than what little he had come to understand. Initially, he felt it was his fault for continuing to try and expel soil from the ocarina upon noticing the otherworldly sludge. Most normal people would have stopped and yet for some reason he kept going until it grew to the size it currently was. The tone made while he blew was hypnotizingly encouraging too. Nevertheless, the sole person or thing to be held accountable for this was whom or what placed the accursed trap in the first place, for it most evidently wasn't ordinary for the Ocarina of Time to do this.

The Ocarina of Time isn't used for evil purposes, it was built to assist the forces of good; he or she who is guided by the holy light. It definitely wasn't within the power possessed by the instrument to do such harm as rendering his entire innocent family unconscious. This left the highly likely potentiality of this being a setup by an unknown individual.

'Who could do such a thing?' Link resumed thinking while walking about the blackened meadow, hearing only the muffled crunch of his boots traversing the grass. 'Ganondorf? He would absolutely be powerful enough to do such a thing. What doesn't make sense is how he knew the Ocarina of Time was out here…' Tapping his lower lip with his index finger, he kept contemplating. 'That is, if he's the one who did this. If he's not, then I don't really know who.' His teeth grit as he kept coming to the same conclusion. 'It has to be Ganondorf. He has to be the one who's been causing all the problems I've encountered lately.' Slowly yet surely, he convinced himself that it must have been the wicked Gerudo King himself. 'It had to have been him. The strange dreams, the doppelganger who's been haunting me, this vile curse on my home… It's all gotta be Ganondorf.'

Gripping his sword's handle tighter, he wished his nemesis would reveal himself so the lad could cleave him in twain. Regardless, Link knew it wouldn't happen, for the bastard was far too cowardly to show up for a fight himself.

"Tehee!" A boyish voice abruptly laughed, sounding creepily happy.

Like a bolt of lightning, Link jumped around toward the direction of the noise. It came from the tree; the massive one with the thick trunk sitting in the center of the ominous meadow. Seeing the location, the hero grit his teeth while wondering why it had to be so disturbing out there without anybody else to accompany him.

'Son of a…' Link thought lamentably prior to shouting at the disembodied laughter. "WHO'S THERE!? COME OUT AND REVEAL YOURSELF!"

Nothing happened, the only sound was of Link's own laboured breathing and quickened heartbeat. The new situation was dreadful. The hero had beliefs in supernatural demons mostly because of how he'd personally seen what one was. He knew they were nothing more than pitiful monsters obsessed with defiling, corrupting and terrorizing the innocent. On the other hand, there were other unnatural events which still spooked him and things like a sinister laugh from a child made his hair stand on end. Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies scared the daylight out of him because real ones weren't supposed to exist. The only encouragement to keep going in cases like this were the continued assumptions that they didn't exist, thus had to be something else.

"I'M WARNING YOU!" Link resumed yelling. "COME OUT RIGHT NOW AND FIX WHAT YOU DID TO MY FRIENDS, OR ELSE!"

Following ten seconds of silence, the voice replied. "Tehee. You've truly met with a terrible fate, haven't you, Link?"

On a scale of one to ten, zombies were a seven to the young boy; this was a fifteen. His jaw gradually dropped open and he felt as though his blood was being sucked out the bottom of his feet, leaving him cold and scared no matter how tough he presented himself. The voice knew his name and it said what the Happy Mask Salesman said to him when he was trapped in Termina. This was something Link had told nobody and he was positive this wasn't a prank cast upon him by the strange salesman himself. Who or whatever this was knew who he was and found itself intent on putting fear into him. Although he didn't want to give in to its wishes, the hylian wound up doing just that, having to give his own input.

"WHAT!?" He paused. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME!?" Again, he waited for an answer before saying. "YOU DON'T SCARE ME! COME OUT RIGHT NOW SO I CAN STAB YOU IN THE LUNGS! I DARE YOU!"

It made Link angry that the voice decided to stop talking from that moment, forcing him to investigate by moving closer. Things around him were still stuck in black, outlined in a white silhouette. While the hero could see decently enough to do nearly anything, it was getting in the way as he found himself blinking repeatedly or straining his eyes for no apparent reason. If he had to fight in this condition, it wouldn't be a cinch.

Slowly approaching the tree trunk, Link stopped fifteen feet (5 yards) away, not daring to go any closer into what was, in one way or another, darker than everything else. The inside seemed to contain absolutely nothing. Grunting, with a grimacing expression, he chose to stay put. Risking his life would mean the death of Saria and the others if he failed; that being unacceptable. The hero had to stay alive so that he could help them. It all fell down to him, nobody else. If whatever it was wanted him to come in after it, then it was going to be in for a sad surprise as he decided he wouldn't do it. Instead, he made the decision to try and make use of a torch in an attempt to see whether or not he could force light into the area.

Reaching into his satchel, the voice made an abrupt return, this time deeper in tone than before. "Your light shall perish in the shadow of my darkness."

The boy wasn't sure if it were specifically mentioning that due to seeing him grab a torch. There was a possibility that it was a metaphor. Either way, Link didn't give in to the pressure and instead chose to remove the stick wrapped with cloth. Igniting it wouldn't have been easy if he hadn't known how combustible Deku material was. He used the very last of his Deku Seeds, since the Deku Nuts were gone thanks to Saria's brash thinking back with the wolfos horde. Split one with his fingernail, a tiny spark was produced. Any contact with the smallest of fire sources was enough to ignite the oil soaked material attached to the end of the stick. Sure enough, the spark lit the stick aflame exactly as he speculated it would.

The relief at having fire to fend off the encroaching shadows was swiftly thwarted when he came to see that it did little to the atmosphere. The flame at the end of the torch raged on, yet parted very little darkness and hardly made any brightness. As bland as everything around it, the fire was black too, outlined white as if it were a drawing with chalk on a blackboard.

Frustrating as it was to not have been able to rid the area of this blanket of ominous twilight, the hylian champion found himself proceeding with his original plan by throwing the burning torch straight into the gaping hole in the trunk of the massive tree; right where the voice was coming from. Upon release from his hand, the torch flew through the air in advance of landing on the ground with a thud. Within a second of time, the flame was snuffed out by an unforeseen force. Seeing this using his own two eyes made them widen in frightened curiosity. In the time which he'd hoped to gain a better understanding, he managed only to accomplish wasting his own resources.

"I told you…" It spoke, voice deepening demonically. "Your light shall perish in the shadow of my darkness." Pausing for wicked laughter, the boy felt a chill roll down his spine. "Now, how about a present?"

Link's disgruntled expression quickly changed to that of deep concern as he stood by, fearing what it would be that would come out of the darkness. He knew that its 'present' was going to be horrid. "W-What!?" The boy asked hesitantly, unable to get a response.

He felt a breeze blow by his neck instead, instantly causing him to swivel with overreaction. "YHAAA!" Link screamed, spinning around with his sword at the level for decapitation. "GET AWAY!" Unfortunately for him, he made a fool out of himself once it was clear no one was there. Regardless of the false alarm, his heart was hammering against his chest, trying desperately to escape the prison cell that is his body. It didn't help that the hero felt the breeze once more from behind. Although he didn't flip around like an idiot, he did slowly turn, unprepared for what he was about to see.

Adjusting his vision, he bore witness as what looked like a box was thrown out of the dark entryway to the forest floor, landing about eight or nine steps in front of him. The hero's line of sight was instantly drawn to it. Due to the inevitable evil nature of it, he found himself wondering what it was before even getting a good look at it. The following ten seconds were spent investigating. What was supposed to be a 'present' appeared to be that of an old fashioned wooden treasure chest that had obviously been handcrafted long ago. Aside from the regular metal latch, two loops of chain rope held it extra locked. Excluding the box's age, the real interest was in what the contents of it were.

"NO WAY!" Link was slightly confused, but angrily shouted back into the darkness from the inside of the tree. "HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM!?"

Clearly it was a trap, one that the hylian most certainly wasn't going to fall for. The scary incident was all too quickly becoming utterly ridiculous. Nobody in their right mind would open the container just to have a monster come jumping out at them. If anything, he should just leave it. Whatever was inside could simply sit there and rot.

"I'm not interested in a lousy ploy such as this! Come out and let's fight!" Readying his shield alongside his sword, he patiently awaited the unknown entity's presence as he wouldn't be bamboozled. "I'm not going to ask again!" The boy yelled louder, trying to taunt it and also let it know he wouldn't be frightened any longer. "Come out of the tree, and fight me fair and square!"

From then onward, things were quiet. Notwithstanding the white outlines in the perplexing eclipse of light, Link couldn't see or hear anything for a decent period. However, very slowly, a steady low as well as deep hum replaced the malevolent condescending silence. Staring straight ahead, Link's ears tingled as if to alert him of his close proximity being breached by an unknown entity. Giving the area a brief glance, he didn't see anything though, so he chose to keep his eyes directed toward the dark opening in the massive tree. From where he stood, the young hero would be able to get the best advantage in defense. Whatever the entity was, it wasn't going to sneak up behind him when its only way out was coming straight on.

No matter what kind of creature or 'thing' it turned out to be, Link knew for sure that it wasn't as intelligent as it thought it was; leaving itself trapped, using failed methods to scare the boy in ways that didn't make much sense outside of storybooks, it was all rather dumb. The only thing that still kept him on edge was not knowing how the entity knew the phrase the Happy Mask Salesman spoke to him during his time in Termina, how it knocked out his group without even being physically present, how it corrupted the Ocarina of Time and how it produced this thick shadowy blanket of fog.

'Come on…' Link thought in preparation, still continuing to stay firm in his combat stance. 'Come out and show yourself alre-...'

*WHAM* An abruptly loud bang came from the strange treasure chest.

"AHHH! WHAT IN THE-...!?" Jumping back a solid foot, Link's voice broke as he screamed in sudden fright. Something from within the box was trying to escape, causing a banging sound so loud it could probably be heard from a mile away. If it wasn't attached to him, the boy's skeleton would have come out of his mouth from the abruptness of it. Over and over the banging sound repeated as the box violently shook with enough intensity it began putting a clear strain on the surrounding chains.

*WHAM**WHAM**WHAM*

By now the hero had begun backing up, unsure of what was about to happen. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good. The rattling chains wrapped around the ancient treasure chest appeared weak from the start. Now, with so much stress being placed upon the metal links, they stretched abnormally, bending and snapping until they were barely holding together at all. Instead of steel oblong ovals, they looked more like hooks attached to one another. However, it got worse with every bang.

*WHAM**WHAM**WHAM**WHAM*

After the last bang, another demonic voice spoke from within the box. This one, while different in tone, was just as disturbing and reminded him of a voice he'd heard recently. It didn't take him long to identify it either.

"Let…... me…...… OUT!"

While still in utter disbelief, Link nearly fell over backward as he stumbled. It made no sense to him. There he was trying to figure out what was wrong with his fellow teammates, why a sinister voice was calling to him from inside an everloving chest and what the darkness was which appeared to be inhabiting the massive dead tree before him. None of it should be happening, it confounded him beyond all means attempting to comprehend it. Never in his life has such disturbing nonsense occurred. He'd fought countless spirits, each with their own spiteful curiosities. This, however, was in its own league of horrific confusion.

As the wooden treasure chest shook evermore violently, the champion felt as though there was something that he had to do. Unfortunately, at the time being, he was stiff with fright. Once that wore off, he could only mutter to himself on how the situation made no sense.

"What's that, Link? I can't quite hear you." The voice asked.

Hearing it taunt him like that sent his anger over the limit. The boy couldn't stand to let such a vile being, one that hurt his friends, joke around with him as if this was just a silly little game the two were playing with one another. This was real life, not a laughing matter. This jest of a show needed to end and it needed to end now. Coming to that boiling point, he snapped again, proving that his patience was truly wearing thin.

"I said, STOP IT! STOP THIS ABSURD BABBLE!" Groaning out in frustration, Link didn't ease up. "For goddess sake! I came to get the Ocarina of Time, not deal with this bullshit! I mean, come on. What kind of sick trickery is this!? Who the hell throws out an old wooden treasure chest with some sort of demon locked inside of it!? I mean; tell me! Tell me, who does that!?"

For the next several minutes, the malevolent voice was quiet, not making a single peep. It would seem for the time being that the entity was contemplating that which the hero had said to it. No matter who it was, it had to admit that Link had many valid points. From an outside perspective looking inward, this was absolute insanity; which was saying something after having come from a fresh battle with a gigantic horde of wolfos. It almost seemed as if the situation was some kind of twisted prank. Thankfully, he knew that wasn't the case since something like that would be incredibly unlikely to take place in the center of this horrid place. Ruling that out, Link had to admit that it was amazing, absolutely amazing to actually come across something as excruciatingly odd as what he was witnessing.

"Well…" The ominus voice finally spoke up, sounding very much as if it were going to be apologetic. "I have to say, Link. You're probably right... I see what you're saying. For a hylian like you, this must be absolute craziness."

Link's heart was pounding out of his chest as the darkness around him grew ever more black, pitch black. It wasn't good. The hero knew he had gotten in exceedingly more trouble than he was to begin with. Nonetheless, he replied with a nervous tone while glimpsing over his shoulders, up, down,and all around. "U-Uhh… Yeah. Now, would you get out here and fight me like a normal-… whatever you are? I don't have all day and this is plain weird."

"Hold up, hold up… There's just one problem with what you're talking about. I'm not by any means 'normal' to your realm's definition. Hehe!" The voice responded.

"What are you talking about!?" Link demanded to know before being instantaneously plunged into total darkness. "Whoa! W-What did you do!?"

No answer ensued. Since he couldn't see any movement in such darkness, he sensed that his main focus should shift away from talking and back toward the freaky treasure chest lying on the ground in front of him. The hero might as well be blind right now, yet he could still hear just fine. Thanks to having that one sense, the moment he heard chains rattling, his defenses went up. The intense rattling continued as his ears wiggled in response to picking up on an audible snapping sound, one that clearly came from the chains that had been wrapped around the wooden treasure chest.

*SNAP**SNAP**SNAP**SNAP**SNAP**THUD*

'Din, give me power to make it through this.' Link prayed in terror. Since he couldn't see, all he could do was ask for assistance from higher powers. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face anymore. Because of the situation growing as dire as it was, his heartbeat felt as though it was at maximum. To be honest with himself, he admitted he was scared. He was really scared. The only thing he knew was that he had to persevere. No matter how freaked out he was, he couldn't allow himself to give up. The hylian had to fight, not only for himself, but also for his friends, friends that were depending on him to rescue them. Fate could be changed by the goddesses, which was exactly why he was praying to them. 'Grant me the fire to shine amongst the darkness.'

Keeping the location of the treasure chest in mind, the boy strafed around it in a partial circle hoping that changing position could potentially allow him to avoid whatever attack might have been predetermined before the eerie blanket of darkness choked out all the light. After that, he chose to remain still again with his sword vertical and extended, looking every which way he could in spite of having no visibility. Link couldn't stop himself from trying to locate some form of movement that he could identify, anything he could use to become aware of where the entity in question might now be at. For the time being, he found the hardest part was trying to control his breathing as it sped up in response to all the stress occurring around him. All he could hear was his breath, droning out the dreadful hum of nothingness.

Standing still for what felt like twenty minutes, he was frozen in wait for what would happen. The young hero knew he couldn't run away, so it was his only option.

Shortly after the decision to move around a tad more, he came to the awareness that there was another set of breathing coming from nearby. This made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, yet was a great chance for him to try and figure out where this thing was at. From the sounds of it, it seemed to be in front of him, to the left. Narrowing his eyes, Link wanted to make sure, so he stayed put for another minute. The entire time, the breathing stayed at a constant laboured heft, as if it was difficult for whatever had actually been contained within the chest to take normal breaths.

It wouldn't make sense for it to be what he suspected the entity was posing as or allowing him to believe was inside of the box. No. It couldn't be. Nonetheless, it was still obviously aggressive and likely ready to attack as soon as he made enough noise to draw its attention. Link's plan didn't involve making much sound though. He intended to stay as motionless as possible while resuming the generation of any plan he could summon. Under no circumstances was this going to be easy. What it would be is a testament of his faith in the goddesses as they'd have no other choice than to lend him assistance in one shape or another if they wanted him to survive the encounter. Knowing of his need for help, he refused to cease prayer, even throughout despair or feelings of hopelessness from the vile darkness. Had he excessive means to contemplate it, he would've wondered why he was so hypocritical regarding divinity. Normally he wouldn't hold his fate so strongly in the hands of those he couldn't see. This was, as he said, a test to his devotion and he knew he'd pass if he merely held forth hope.

'Din, grant me light. Din, oh mighty Goddess of Power, grant me light!' Link mentally shouted in order to confirm his intent while not giving away his location by being vocal. Within that moment, two things happened; one, the breathing of the entity nearby groveled with grunts as well as a sudden whipping sound, and two, Link's ears began to tingle as he put more and more faith into his prayer, going so far as to repeat the phrase over and over in his head. 'Din, grant me light. Din, oh mighty Goddess of Power, grant me light! Din, grant me light. Din, oh mighty Goddess of Power, grant me light! Din, grant me light. Din, oh mighty Goddess of Power, grant me light!'

Briefly, Link saw a spark out of the corner of his eye. As much as the darkness played tricks on his vision, he was positive he had seen a source of light. Sure enough, as he prayed and continued to stare into the direction upon which he had seen the spark, it created a tiny hole, a parting in the dense fog of darkness that was surrounding everything. While small, it allowed the beams of sunlight above to strike down amongst the haze of the unknown. Obviously, this was Link's answer to all the prayers. The Goddesses had come through in his time of need by providing him with light. It truly was more than enough to see what he was dealing with. The darkness receded as soon as it was lit up; retracting into the surroundings in a way that made it seem as if it was literally alive, unable to stand that which destroyed it as it was forced to retreat into the safety of itself. Although the boy was thankful, there wasn't any time to dally.

Amidst the light, Link caught sight of something he wished that he hadn't. "N-No…" The boy uttered in fright as the entity turned to see him at the exact same moment. "It couldn't be." There, standing before Link was the entity which must have been locked inside the box, the one who repeated a phrase in identical fashion to that which the hero thought it was.

Standing at approximately eleven feet tall, the being known as Majora's Wrath stood out of place amongst the forest, somehow there instead of where it belonged; which was trapped inside of Majora's Mask and in the possession of the Happy Mask Salesman. Link knew the monster shouldn't be there, not after having defeated it in Termina, not after saving everybody from the immediate danger it posed to all of humanity. Regardless, there it stood.

Same as previously, it was difficult to differentiate the demon's skin from its armour. It was barefooted with red bulging muscle-like flesh being clearly visible all over its body. There was also the unusual appearance of leg armour and chest armour fashioned in imitating the style of Majora's Mask; purplish hardened grieves as well as a rough, spiked backplate and chestplate, the latter of which had two orange-yellow eyes protruding from both breasts. At its robust shoulders, two giant spikes stuck out. In the middle of those spikes was located the monster's head. Looking just as demonic as the rest of it, the hellish beast had a face that was nightmarish; hideous fangs, no nose, two fiendish horns reminiscent of a devil, two dark and hollow eyes, then a single wide open eye in the middle of its forehead which darted back and forth sickeningly fast. To top that, its hands wore purple gloves to better grip the massive two whips upon which it used to viciously attack whoever or whatever it needed to. The dual whips looked organic, almost tentacle or tongue-like; this fact was often overlooked, as it was hard to notice when they were being flung quicker than the word 'go'.

"By the Goddesses… It is." Link spoke in utter shock, knowing that the time was now among him to fight the demon. The boy had no choice other than to accept that it was indeed Majora's Wrath, the final incarnation of Majora's three forms. What assisted the most in believing it was real was whenever it opened its gaping mouth to let out a deep humanoid roar, signifying that it had definitely seen Link. That big eye located in the center of its forehead stared straight at the hylian with hatred burning a metaphorical hole directly into the core until he could actually sense it. After that moment, it took off running toward him, feet crunching on the forest floor and dirt being flung from that.

"I'm not prepared for this!" Link shouted the obvious in spite of readying himself. Beforehand, whenever he first encountered the monster, he had plenty of experience from roaming Termina, and for completion, the Fierce Deity Mask was his ace in the hole. This time it was different.

"RHAAAAAAAAAAH!" Majora's Wrath screamed as it charged forward.

Racing toward Link, the demon flung its left whip like a demented taskmaster, fully intent on debilitating the kid's movement with a wicked slash directly to his neck. If he hadn't dashed aside at just the right second, Link could have had his throat slit wide open. Doing just that, jumping to the side, he barely made it. The hero immediately saw that the entity stopped just short of the ring of light illuminating the small meadow battlefield, sliding back into the surrounding darkness prior to quickly resurfacing with the same amount of rage as before. From that first attempted attack, Link knew it wasn't a game and that he was going to have to fight it on his own. The second attack, a series of twenty swift lashes directed to his torso, led the boy to believe that this wasn't going to be simple either.

Dodging the furious lashes from both of Majora's Wrath's whips, the hero took the opportunity to glance around, only to be relieved that Saria, Mido, Fado and the others were out of sight; which could only mean that they were safe seeing how he and Majora were contained within the circle of visibility. With the safety of his friends no longer top priority, he allowed himself to fully focus on the battle. 'Pay attention, Link.' He thought to himself. The hylian was yet to make a single attempted blow before the demon had already started ramping up his tactics. It threw a cut that came so close to the boy that he could feel the shockwave blast his face as the whip broke the sound barrier; dirt and gravel being thrown into his eyes. Quickly blinking the debris away, he strafed away with his shield up. Although the Hylian Shield definitely did its job, Link wasn't by any means free from the danger. Majora resumed its attack by pounding the steel guard with several dozen more rapid-fire strikes.

"DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE!" The devilish entity boomed.

With grit teeth, Link barely held back as the force proved to be too strong for him to defend against for very long. "Nghhh… What the hell do I do!?" He thought aloud, trying desperately to come up with a good strategy. Formulating something from the randomness of the situation wasn't easy. Eventually, the only thing that came to mind was to try and do the same thing he did to defeat it the last time. 'I don't have the same tools I did then; no Fierce Deity Mask, no bioelectric shield, no bombs, no arrows, heck, I don't even have my boomerang on me at the moment.' Nonetheless, he had to do something as his defenses weren't going to be able to contain the threat much longer.

The whipping never stopped. Link could physically hear the metal of his shield being cut into from such immense strength. Shavings of steel flew off to the side.

"Okay… That's it. That… is… it!" Dashing off to the side, he managed to evade the next attack, only to have the demon in hot pursuit of him. They were now both running in a circle around the area of visibility. Link's original intent was to try and get behind the monster, hoping to have been able to flank it. Unfortunately, due to its height and ability to stay right on his tail, he knew that wasn't going to be a possibility. Majora's Wrath was fast. But, since it was so big as well, the ground vibrated as it ran so the hero was able to tell that it was directly behind him without even looking. "Get away, you freak!" He shouted, swiveling around only to raise his guard, stopping a quick attack. Following the block, he finally gave an attack of his own; a simple slice with his sword which hit Majora's left whip, cutting it deep. "GOTCHA!"

"RHAAAAHUAAA!" The monster screeched, as if Link had somehow injured it. In fact, from the trickle of blood now running down the left whip, the boy figured it was true. As initially speculated, those whips were tendrils and not just regular whips.

Even though Link moved quickly, in the time that he allowed himself to prepare for his next attack, Majora's Wrath had swung its whip forward, wrapping it around his foot in advance of pulling it out from underneath him. "WHOA!" The boy cried out as he hit the ground head first. Since he was facing the dirt, his automatic reaction was to roll and thank the goddesses he did. Majora used the whip as if it were multiple flails or even a nunchuck, pounding into the dirt exactly six times until it realized it had missed. By then, Link had fully reoriented himself into an upright position, only to dodge the same attack numerous times over, like a game of cat and mouse.

As soon as the champion thought he was free, the demon grabbed his leg again with its whip. He didn't tumble this time, however, for he instead succeeded in scoring another slice with his sword, forcing the monster to retract its vile grip from his leg. "TAKE THAT!"

Lunging forward, Link took the entity's failure as an opportunity to proceed with more strikes. Blocking one hard lash of its whip, with the momentum built up from his jump, the boy tried to stab the devil directly in the heart, right between the two disturbing patterns shaped like eyes on its chest armour. Unfortunately, he was immediately blocked. Majora saw it coming and moved at the very last second. In swift retaliation, it swung the whip at Link faster than any arrow from any bow; striking his shield right as he blocked.

Although not really an attack, Majora's Wrath scored a decent knock back as it used its huge leg to force Link away with an extra powerful kick, one which thankfully landed on the Hylian Shield instead of his person. Nonetheless, afterward he staggered backward in slight disorientation.

Seeing that the demon was already racing toward him, he stood his ground. He figured that if he could continue to block its attacks while getting in a few of his own, he'd be on course to defeating it. Putting that theory together, he allowed it to get closer so he could enact his strategy. 'I just need to get rid of those accursed whips. Without them, it'll be nearly defenseless.' Doing as such would truly be difficult. Taking on such a big humanoid was never a simple task. 'Come on. Throw another slice at me.'

As soon as Majora's Wrath threw an attempted snap at the hero with its right whip, Link immediately used his shield to deflect and then jumped forward, intending to slice the tendril in two. Midway through the air, this proved to be a failure as his endeavor was thwarted by Majora's left whip smacking him in the ribcage, the force of which sent him rolling to the forest floor. An intense sensation followed suit as the whip stung worse than an angry Deku Hornet. It brought side-throbbing agony along with grit teeth, but again, Link didn't have time to focus on the pain or else he'd receive a lot worse than what he did.

'Uhh… Okay... I'm going to have to rethink that… Oww…' Knowing that he couldn't do the same move as before, Link now had to reconsider how to deal with both whips at the same time. While there was always the chance he could feign a slice attack in one direction, only to switch to the other; it was dangerous and he didn't really want to risk anything yet if he didn't have to. The next best plan he had was to slow down and take his time, allowing the furious devil to expose an opening all on its own. If the hero blocked repeatedly or evaded, he felt he would surely get a chance at one point or another. 'I'm going to have to time this better than before. I know that I can put up with a lot of physical damage, then again, I'm no fool and I know just how dangerous this freak of nature is to anything or anybody around it.'

"YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE!" Majora spoke in a deep demonic voice. Although it was much deeper than Link last recalled, it wasn't anything to put thought into considering the circumstances.

The young hero's plan was put on pause as the entity suddenly backed off, distancing itself from him, taking awkward strides backward until it stood thirty or so feet away. "LET'S SEE HOW YOU FAIR AGAINST MY BEIGOMA!" Majora shouted.

During Link's battle with it in Termina, he never recalled the demon naming any of its attacks, nor did it scream at him as they fought. Lifting its arms, the monster threw two giant spinning tops out onto the battlefield. These oversized tops spun amongst the ground, tearing into the dirt as they circled around with deadly spikes attached to their side. Dodging them, they merely spun around to come back toward the boy. Again, he jumped out of the way, not wanting to get squashed as they violently collided, sending sparks flying from the impact. The way the weapons normally propelled themselves was by rotational momentum, yet these seemed to be controlled by Majora as they quite literally hunted Link for upward of three minutes. By then, their inertia began to wane, slowing them down. Nonetheless, for another thirty seconds, they remained a serious threat. In that time, Majora took advantage of the distraction by repeatedly whipping at Link. The hero did well dodging all the attacks until the 'beigoma' finally toppled over prior to disappearing in a proof of black smoke.

'I really really dislike those things.' He thought while watching as Majora's Wrath turned to throw another two, performing the same move twice. Again, as before, the spinning tops raced toward Link at the speed of an eight horse carriage. This time, the Hero of Time ran for it as Majora flailed its whips like a madman. 'Something's got to give.' He thought. 'I've done a lot today and I'm not going to have the energy to keep this up for very much longer.' His muscles ached, yet he kept on the move as he had to dodge the beigoma. The Hylian Shield simply wasn't strong enough nor was its owner able to hold back a massive spinning top with ceaselessly rotating spikes. His only option was to get out of the way. 'I need to get close to him to do damage, otherwise he's going to keep throwing these goddess forsaken spinning deathtraps with the intent of crushing me.'

Majora's Wrath growled at Link from afar, taking a step back in a similar manner as prior. In dread, Link momentarily presumed that the demon was about to unleash another two spinning tops. Fortunately, this proved to be incorrect. On the other hand, it was nearly as bad seeing as how it was preparing to strike by reeling back. This offensive consisted of Majora twirling around to mimic a demented ballerina; its whips revolving so swiftly that it too looked like one of its 'beigoma'. Avoiding all three, Majora and the two tops, the hero had to wait until their advancing stopped so that he had another opportunity to attack. In the meantime, numerous instances of the whip came incredibly close to him; plus, the spinning tops almost sliced him as they rotated maliciously.

In the back of his mind, he contemplated the possibility of using the tops to his advantage. If he could somehow direct the tops toward Majora, they might injure it since they're likely powerful enough. It seemed logical considering it was its own attack that would be directed back at it. The only problem was the tops were probably going to slow down before he could make such an attempt. However, it was a great tactic to remember.

Soon enough, the beigoma slowed to a halt, just like the other two did, they fell over and then disappeared in a plume of black smoke. Majora's Wrath ceased its wild thrashing, giving Link a stare that said 'I hate you with everything I'm made of'. Perhaps the boy had frustrated it by being unable to conquer him in battle. Either way, the situation was intense and certainly not straightforward. The only good thing was that a battle such as the one he was dealing with was exactly what he needed to prove his sanity as well as test his true strength. It had been quite a while since his previous altercation involving skill comparable to extraordinarily high-level opponents. Not even the pack of wolfos from earlier were equivalent to this. The wolfos weren't as inherently evil as this monster was. 'So, while Majora might 'hate' me, I truly despised it beyond all measurements.'

Without further ado, the two took off running full speed toward one another. Both knew it was a competition. As he raised his sword, it raised its whips at the same time. Whoever moved the fastest was going to be the one who made the first strike; Link thought for sure that he was going to be the one to do it. Although his muscles were a bit fatigued, he was far too revved up, with adrenaline coursing through him, effectively keeping him wide-awake and ready to go. His stance was perfect, his timing correct, even the wind was virtually non-existent, which was ideal for sword fighting. Like a true hero, Link allowed the movements to come to him on their own, to flow through him naturally and guide his hands. Using all that he knew, after eluding all of the demon's swats as he came within striking range, only when he was close enough did he make the jump, propelling himself upward a good five feet with the expected outcome of stabbing the freak directly in its throat.

"DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE THAT EASY, LINK!?" Majora taunted with its voice booming.

With the tip of Link's sword at its throat, Majora only barely managed to succeed in yanking the steel blade out of the boy's grip, swiftly disposing of it by throwing it a decent fifteen yards away. Not having his sword was unexpected, in fact it came out of nowhere as he previously thought he was about to murder a crazed god-murderer. Obviously, Link had to return the blade to his possession. It just wasn't as easy as it sounded seeing how Majora was well aware of his intent and had now wrapped its right whip around his legs. The hero's feet were once again pulled out from beneath him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground hard enough to cause a bright flash in his head as his brain hit the side of his skull. Opening his eyes, he saw the devil itself. His only consolation was the trickle of blood leaking from its neck, proving that he had indeed stabbed it during his attack.

Freeing himself from the whips proved to be as challenging as he expected it would be from a powerful entity capable of mass destruction. The tendrils encompassing his legs squeezed hard, leaving purple bruises on ankles. As Majora began to reel the boy in like a trapped fish, he decided to act on freeing himself. Taking his shield, he slammed it down on the tentacle-whip using the bottom part. The base of the Hylian Shield not only cut into the flesh coloured whip, it also smashed it hard, causing a squirt of blood to shoot out. Having its organic whip bashed so deeply, Majora screamed in pain, sending out a loud roar amongst the forest. As fast as possible, the demon withdrew its hold from Link's legs, yelling out in anguish another time as the shield was torn from the wound during the retraction. There was no way the hero had any plan of leaving behind his own form of defense, especially now that he was lacking his sword.

As soon as Link was released from the tendrils, he jumped to his feet and rushed in the direction of his sword, praying that he'd be able to recover the weapon in advance of any further offense Majora had to give. Whenever he heard those heavy footsteps, he turned back with his shield lifted; this yielded the best result it ever could have as Majora's good whip impacted the crest, leaving the tendril unable to be used again until the devil pulled it back. From the looks of it, the tendril-whip which he'd bashed earlier was out of commision, for it was curled up into a roll in Majora's hand. Taking the convenience, the hero returned to his mad dash toward his sword, his legs running as fast as they could move. While he had his back turned this time, out of nowhere came the very whip he expected to be too injured to be used; wrapping around the arm which held his shield, completely stopping him from his sprint.

"Ghaa! Let go of me!" Link shouted at it fiercely. His arm felt as though it was about to be torn from his torso. Had it not been for his constant tugging, he was sure that at the very least his arm would have been dislocated. He could hear the joints in his elbow pop following the tentacle slipping down to his shield, now beginning to wrap around it instead of his hand or arm. Although it was better to let go than have his arm ripped from his skeleton, the hero definitely didn't want to lose his only remaining means of defense. Regardless, his only solution was doing just that.

Letting go, the moment his grip let off of the shield, it was wrenched from his person. The force was so much the metal had been bent from the sheer brawn of the thick tentacle. In the blink of an eye, the Hylian Shield was then flung incredibly far out, way beyond the boundary of light graciously blessed upon the boy by the Golden Goddesses. Wherever it landed, the shield hit with a clank. Although he knew it was nearby, he wasn't going to be able to retrieve it at the moment as, out there, he wouldn't be able to see a single thing. The shroud of darkness was still very much at play outside of the perimeter. Nevertheless, the light appeared to have grown since the start; though it still wasn't much in terms of room to fight.

So, without further ado, Link started for his sword, which was a mere ten feet away. Once his hands wrapped around the handle of the steel blade, his confidence promptly rebounded. Not once since the beginning of his journeying had he felt safe with no defense and only his bare hands. Having now re-acquired the sword, he even still had a somewhat ability to block, even if it was nowhere near as effective as a shield would be.

"WITHOUT YOUR SWORD, WITHOUT YOUR SHIELD, WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU!?" Majora's Wrath questioned Link with a profound off-the-wall inquiry.

The devil's metaphorical hoofed-foot stuck itself in its mouth. Thinking on his own without distracting himself, Link came to the conclusion that the entity was only trying to get to him mentally. He couldn't allow that though. No matter what it said, he couldn't give in.

"YOU PASS YOURSELF OFF AS SO TOUGH, SO POWERFUL, AND YET YOU'RE NOTHING WITHOUT YOUR PRECIOUS GODDESSES OR YOUR BELOVED WEAPONRY." Majora continued to interrogate.

As Link rotated to make his attack without listening to the demon's rambles, his sword sliced the right tentacle, cutting it down the middle a decent yard in length. This made him smirk as he proved the monster wrong by not even listening to it; whatever it had said.

"RHAAAA! NGGHHHH! YOUR DEATH IS IMMINENT, JUST GIVE UP!" The entity cried in pain in advance of still carrying on with its speech. "EVEN THOUGH YOU DEFEATED THIS OPPONENT BEFORE, YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT ME, YOUR TRUE FOE!"

Link had no honest clue what it was talking about. He wasn't even supposed to be listening. On the other hand, it was difficult for him to ignore this. Whomever his true foe was, he figured Majora was referring to the only rival he had and probably ever will have, and that was none other than Ganondorf. To his understanding, based upon what the Happy Mask Salesman had informed him of, Majora shouldn't have any knowledge of Ganondorf, someone from Hyrule, which is in itself another world in another realm entirely. However, going by those same terms, it didn't make sense for Majora to be there either. To the young hylian's dismay, he wasn't able to contemplate the matter for very long as, not only would it distract him from the battle, it would also make his head hurt trying to think about it too much. Regardless of the reason how or why Majora was there, it was in fact there and he needed to do something about it quickly.

"Shut up and die already!" Link yelled at it in advance of making another attempted slice. The demon avoided it twice, then smacked against his sword, clanking into the steel as its attack was blocked. This carried on a total of six times until Link knew he had no choice other than to change strategy. Strafing backward, the boy soon held his sword oriented outward, targeting the monster by boldly pointing toward it. "You're so persistent, yet you don't even belong here! You have no business in this realm devil spirit and I will not allow you to cause any more harm to its inhabitants." With that being said, it was reality too as he'd rather die than allow this monstrosity to run free causing unspeakable mayhem. His purpose in life as a hero most certainly fell under this condition.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" It laughed at him rather sinisterly. "I HAVE JUST AS MUCH PURPOSE HERE AS YOU! I WAS MERELY DENIED MY RIGHTFUL FREEDOM UNTIL NOW…" Running forward, it grunted before finishing what it was saying. "AND IT'S ALL… BECAUSE… OF YOU!"

It leapt a decent ten feet into the air in order to fling itself at Link. The hero braced for the impending attack, only to instinctually jump and then roll out of the way as the monster's foot smashed into the ground where he was. Frantically jumping back to his feet, Link began an immediate brainstorming session. Time was running short as his adolescent muscles requested a break that he was unable to take. Taking anything and everything into consideration, a plan began to formulate, yet he needed to be at a further distance to put it into motion. This new brewing idea made more sense than taking the demon head on, which wasn't likely for a boy of his stature, no matter his status as Hero of Time.

Thinking it was now or never, he went ahead and put his newfound strategy to the test. Backing off to about thirteen feet away, he noticed the devil had the very look in its crazy eyes that he was relying on. Reaching back, Majora threw forth two of its so-called 'beigoma' in another attempt to have them squash Link. Doing what the weapons were supposed to do, the spinning tops spun their way toward the hylian with otherworldly guidance. Of course, he ran. Nonetheless, this was all part of his ingenious scheme, one which he'd already thought of prior, but only now had the determination to follow through with. Everything was going according to what he'd mentally laid out in his head. The tops followed him in a circle and the boy thankfully only had to dodge one of Majora's whip attacks. Within the next few seconds, things came together as he made an abrupt turn toward the demon, running toward it as fast as he could in spite of his quickly tiring muscles.

When Majora saw Link's aboutface, it threw a quick series of strikes the likes of which the young hero only barely managed to avoid. Ducking the final strike, he slid between and beyond Majora's legs; ensuring the pursuing 'beigoma' collided with their master soon after, directly impacting its chest in a side-by-side manner. The giant tops broke upon collision, only to disappear into a trail of smoke, leaving Majora hollering out in pain from one of its own attacks.

"GHAAA!" The entity cursed the much smaller mortal. "YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

Given the immense force of the spinning tops, the devil was shoved back by them, allowing Link time as it recuperated from stumbling. Using the opportunity, he threw a powerful slice in the direction of the being's right arm. As soon as it made contact at the angle Link stood, the blade cut halfway through the flesh and ligament, only to then lodge itself stuck in the demon's upper-arm muscle.

While Majora screamed out in utter agony, Link grunted and tried to tug the sword free of the wretched monster's bloodied body. The blonde hylian received further yelling as the motion hurt the entity for sure. To stop him, it grabbed Link using its left arm and lifted him up by his neck, tightening in on his small throat.

"RHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I'll KILL YOU FOR THAT!" Majora foamed at the mouth as its two eyes widened while the third darted in a circle.

As its right shoulder rose with intent to bring the other whip around in Link's direction, they both happened to notice the fact that nothing happened. Majora's right arm, hand and whip ceased moving altogether as blood dripped down from the gaping wound which had nearly severed its arm in half. This meant the nerves in the devil's right arm had been cut and like anyone with a humanoid body, without connection to the spine, it might as well be hanging meat.

"GRRRR! THIS FORM SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO END YOUR LIFE AND YET STILL YOU PERSIST!" Majora spat.

Link had no idea what the entity meant by 'form', unless it was talking about it being Majora's Wrath, the third bodied incarnation used by Majora's Mask itself to cause worldly destruction. Either way, at that moment, he was more focused on keeping his windpipe from being crushed as it gradually tightened its already rigid grip. He grabbed and tried with all his might to pry himself free. His legs kicked throughout it all. Gasping did nothing now as he was already cut off from precious oxygen. "Ugnnn!" The young hero painfully groaned, his teeth grit so hard they began to bleed from sheer pressure pushed into his gums. Fear and panic surfaced as he could feel his life already beginning to drain from his body. "HGrnn!" His eyes gradually turned red as blood vessels in them popped. Not having anything to defend himself with was always on his mind whenever it came to worrying about death, especially considering how it was a very easy possibility whenever he was disarmed and/or overpowered.

This time, however, instincts led the way as mankind's most primitive weapons proved to be more than effective. "RhgaAGHa!" Biting down onto Majora's forearm, having been staring it right in its eyes, Link could see the look of surprise flash within them. The boy's teeth sunk in deep, tearing straight through the skin, into its demonic flesh and blood. On impulse, it let go. As Link fell from its grasp, a chunk of flesh was torn from its arm, leaving it flapping in his mouth until he hit the ground, only then choosing to spit it out. The piece of flesh was of decent size too, definitely more than enough to hurt like hell. Although it had been ejected from the hero's jaws, the fact that it had rested atop his tongue at all left a foul as well as bitter taste of copper flavour behind from its vile blood.

"GIVE UP!" Majora insisted. "YOU'll NEVER DEFEAT ME!"

Gathering his bearings, wiping his mouth; Link stared upward at the being with determined anger coursing through his body. For all the high and mighty talk upon which it spewed like a fountain, it had received plenty of damage to indicate that this battle could go either way. So far, the boy had held his own. If he were to stay alive, he obviously had to continue to do as such.

Even though he was free of Majora's grasp, he was also still defenseless, exactly as he always feared he would one day be. If it were the Master Sword with him, the boy wouldn't have had this problem. The Master Sword's blade has a unique ability, the Power to Repel Evil; something so special it had to be bestowed upon it by the Golden Goddesses themselves using the Sacred Flames. In a scenario such as this, that incredible talent would have cleaved the entity's arm in twain, likely slicing through it like butter with an inability to get stuck in the flesh of evil. If anything, the Master Sword would have continued to hurt so badly to someone of this evil stature, that it would keep causing damage while lodged inside the demon's body. Granted, he never used the Master Sword against Majora before, Link was still sure the overall effects would have remained the same. He knew that no matter what, nothing could stop the might of the goddesses.

Unfortunately, other swords, such as his modified Kokiri Sword, lacked the particular influence to do such otherworldly damage. Still, his objective for now was to regain that sword. He just didn't know how, as Majora wasn't going to simply hand it over knowing what the boy planned to do with it.

'The Kokiri Sword.' He thought to himself as Majora turned to face him, raising its left arm to retaliate. 'I remember whenever I first got it.' Contemplating the sword brought the situation back into light. He realized the area he was in was still considered part of the Forbidden Forest. Similar to before whenever he first began his quest; there he was, basically doing all of what he was for the place and people who he loved. Yet again, a shameful evil had polluted this beautiful land, corrupting its purity and defiling its innocent inhabitants. The mere notion made the hero sick. He hated so intensely that everything bad was occurring again, to his home, to the one place he had always felt safe. Wickedness was truly bent on ruining all which was good.

While the Great Deku Tree might not be there to help Link using all-knowing wisdom, the hylian couldn't help other than to wish malevolent beings would face doom of their own accord by the deities of these woods, of this world, of this realm. He wished the spirits and souls of all who had ever made the forest what it was could step forward and put their foot down, to say 'No! Never again!' The boy was sure the essence of such ancient ground must be as tired of the nastiness as he was. He felt the guardians would certainly want to extract their own form of vengeance in response to this constant unforgivable intrusion into their sacred land. Be there any way for that to possibly happen, Link would've done anything within his control to ensure it. Unfortunately, he didn't see that happening any time soon.

Instead, he refocused on what truly mattered more than the land beneath him; those who took care of him, who raised him from birth to become the savior of the kingdom. Saria; for whatever purpose, it made Link want to frenzy in rage that she was disrespected so many times, that her entire race, the kokiri, were made fools of twice by malicious entities with darkened auras. His beloved mother-figure was always powerless to stop the encroaching danger.

Each time this happened, the monster always thought that they were going to get away with it, that the evil forces they commanded would seize the land for themselves without anything or anybody to get in the way. This time, it wasn't going to happen. Link wasn't going to let them. He planned to summon the entire spirits of the forest himself if he had to, because the hylian hero promised to ensure the revival of the sacred woodland.

"You'll never win, do you hear me?" Pointing directly at the monster, without a care in the world Link told it what he thought, how he felt about all it was doing. "What you've done to this beautiful land, the way you've tainted it… I'm going to kill you for it. I'm going to make sure that you can never hurt these innocent forest folk ever again, the same lesson I taught to the last person who thought they could disrespect my home like this!" Cracking his neck, he continued "The Great Deku Tree shall guide my hand on this one! You have my word! I… will… kill you!"

As the hero spoke, a strange and peculiar thing began to happen. The sword, which was still embedded in Majora's arm, started to glow an off-white hue. It took several seconds to notice it and yet, once he did, it caught his attention. 'Hmm?' Staring at it curiously, Link realized that wasn't the only thing happening. The radius in which he had to fight in, that lit circle provided to him by the Golden Goddesses themselves, grew in circumference. The battlefield was expanding.

Nonetheless, back to the sword, it became clear that the boy was no longer the only one to realize something was occurring. Momentarily ceasing any attacks it was about to proceed with, Majora took a single glance at the glowing sword and suddenly began hollering out in agony, as if the blade was now searing into its flesh like molten lava.

Although he didn't truly understand what happened, he came to the conclusion that it had to have been a response from the Golden Goddesses again, or even perhaps the very spirits of the forest. What took longer to fully comprehend was why his sword was emanating such light. 'Wait…' Within the next few seconds he had an answer to both questions, the first now becoming a two part question that would be confirmed by the second. 'My sword is the Kokiri Sword, just modified. The Great Deku told me a story of how it is their 'secret treasure', the heirloom of the Kokiri Tribe from a time long ago, back when they participated in a war, a particular battle that was located here in the Lost Woods. After forsaking all aggression, the blade became their last remaining sword, sealed away for when it was once again needed…' Smirking, he chuckled too. 'This has to be the spirits of the land.'

"RHAAAAAA!" Majora screamed, the pain it was going through seemingly immense, both in strength and surprise. "IT BURNS! IT BURNS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? RHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The intensity of the pain made the demon's legs buckle for a moment, but then it looked down at Link with that twisted masked-face, staring the hero in the eyes with eternal hatred. The hylian was going to return the hateful gaze, however, in advance of saying anything, his eyes widened as the big demon-god completely lost its left arm. No longer hanging by a thread, the sword, which appeared to have heated itself to an unknown temperature, had utterly sliced all the way through the monster's arm. It fell to the ground with a loud thud. Looking on in disbelief, Majora was furious, yet not as stunned as Link thought it would be, seeing how its arm was lying on the forest floor surrounded by dark blood. "YOU… YOU TREACHEROUS FUCK! I'll KILL YOU!"

Once Majora took off running toward Link, the boy instinctually ran toward his sword now that he had the opportunity to retrieve it. Since Majora was on a direct collision course with him, he had to duck and slide between its legs to avoid a direct smack to the face by its only remaining whip. Once he jumped back to his feet, he immediately started running again in the direction of the sword. Halfway there, to his dismay, he felt the dark being's disgustingly fleshy tendril wrap around his right ankle, jerking him off his feet and causing him to plummet to the ground. Thankfully, his forearms broke the fall so he didn't whack his head, however, now they were hurting from landing so rough. The ten additional feet the monster drug him backward wasn't a mere tickle either.

His mind raced wild trying to figure out how to get free. The last thing he wanted was to have his head beaten in by a demon several times his own size. "Let go of me!" Link shouted, having twisted around to punch the tendril with all his given might. It made no difference. Soon enough, he was underneath the horrid devil. Within the next second, the hero received three sharp blows to the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs as well as making him gag as he spit up bile from being so heavily punched in the gut. "Ghaack!"

The very instant the whip lost its grip on his ankles, he hastefully rolled off to the side. It was a good thing he did as well, for Majora was in the process of performing a direct bodyslam. Such force would have been devastating as it managed to smash a hole in the ground.

Before Majora came back to its feet, Link had already resumed his trek toward his sword. This time, he managed to reach it without any trickery from his enemy. Once his hand wrapped around the handle he felt a massive rush of adrenaline kick in, added together with relief. He had his weapon. Now he wasn't defenseless anymore. It was twice now that he had been disarmed by the brute. If he didn't want it to happen again, he would have to take it up a notch.

They had both sustained enough damage and exhausted enough energy to be at their limits. It was Link's opinion at the moment that Majora was in worse shape than he, considering it just lost its entire left arm. Unfortunately, the attack which left it in such a state also happened to cauterize it. Although Link didn't know that term, he knew that it wasn't bleeding anymore due to the heat that was applied. He also knew that after he finished the fight, there would be plenty more blood; he could guarantee it.

"You've already lost the fight, Majora… I've taken your arm and next I'll take your life." Link shouted with confidence. "I don't know how you managed to cross from Termina into this realm, but your conquest ends here. There's no Happy Mask Salesman to save you either. Once you're defeated, I shall crush your mask beneath my boot. I shall see to it." His taunting wasn't out of disregard for his combat professionalism either. If anything, he wanted Majora to get mad. The boy knew that whenever someone loses their composure, it's difficult to fight at maximum efficiency. Taking that into consideration, he wasn't really being cocky so much as being truthful and sometimes the truth hurts. "I've taken down Ganondorf, I've killed Ganon, I killed you once and I'll kill you again!" Now, rushing forward, Link could tell that the entity knew he was serious. There may have even perhaps been a twinkle of worry toward its own inevitable defeat. "Now suffer the consequence for what you've done to this holy land!"

The devil tried its best to hit Link with its last bloodied tendril, yet he proved to be too fast. Less than fifteen seconds passed prior to him getting close enough in distance to lunge out, slicing the back and side of Majora's heel. Such a critical spot was highly vital for humans; while it bled profusely and it fell to one knee, Link had a feeling it wasn't even close to a deathblow for it.

Circling around, he then made a swift jump to bash Majora in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword, making sure that it was hard enough to knock a little sense into the monster. Dodging a retaliation strike from its whip, he went straight back to business. Amazingly, as he spun around, he succeeded in giving multiple quick jabs to its chest, stabbing through the tough leathery armour as blood trickled from the puncture wounds. The hero was forced back soon after that though as the demon went for a sweeping leg kick while up-righting itself. Not only did Link manage to get out of the way of the kick, but he also noticed a limp coming onto Majora from that ankle cut. It was clear he had succeeded in crippling those nerves too. For that he was grateful, as it served to slow it down, which was fantastic since the being was over twice his size.

Now that Majora was weaker, Link felt confident he could do it. His next plan of action was put to use immediately following a simple duck from another attempted whip strike. The monster was slower now, so the hero knew he'd be able to avoid any sudden jumps from it. In addition to lacking an arm, it couldn't get much easier in terms of the enemy being disabled. Although, with that said, it by no means meant the enemy was harmless as his right shoulder received an abrupt crack from its whip. "Ahh!" It stung, but Link persevered so he could have another chance to strike by slashing at the tendril until it withdrew. As it came back, he did the exact same thing seeing how it was using the same strategy as well. Once that concluded, they both switched things up, trying with all their might to end it as fast as they possibly could.

Alternating attacks, he made his run toward it with his sword extended at the ready. The boy had to duck and even jump once in order to not get struck. It mattered not though as he closed the gap in preparation for another vicious series of stabs to its bloody chest. Just as he thrusted his blade outward, he felt himself being flung back by the whip, leaving him unable to score a hit. This time, he landed on his back, his head hitting the ground with a crack. At first, he thought the crack was from his skull, yet he ruled that out fast as he didn't believe he had hit the ground hard enough to bust his skull open. Quickly checking anyway, Link's hand wrapped around a stick that he had broken in half with his head whenever he collided with it and the ground. Thanking the goddesses that he didn't have a cracked skull, there wasn't enough time to even let go of the stick as he had to instead roll out of the way like he did the last time unless he wanted a dire thrashing.

Most people would have flung the stick off to the side as useless; on the other hand, Link's brain clicked with an ingenious idea as he stared at the piece of wood for the briefest of moments. The stick had broken halfway down and was fairly sharp at the break, sharp enough that it would poke him if he didn't hold it correctly. In fact, it technically made it a natural wooden stake. This was nothing more than luck of the draw, a coincidence, and yet if used properly, could be the game changer he was looking for. Majora saw what he held, the boy just didn't believe it had any clue as to what he intended to do with it. The smirk he had on his face must have enraged it as the monster's own anger would force it to fall for the hero's makeshift idea.

As Link's smirk faded, the two both stared at one another with that same hateful look as before. Good and evil, looking down the blade at each other with total hostile intent. 'This has to be it.' Time had reached its limit and they needed to end the battle now.

On the mark of three steps, they both ran forth giving a ferocious battle cry, one which echoed out into the forest as their voices summoned intense psychological emotions. It actually happened faster than the boy thought it would. But, before he got close enough to throw a strike with his sword, Majora tried to hit him with its accursed whip. The monster was sure of itself so it didn't expect for Link to smack the tendril down to the ground with the blunt fuller of his sword.

He then stabbed the wooden stick into the whip as deep as his muscles could forcefully ram it. Blood squirted out, splashing amongst the hylian kid's face. Taking it a step further, he did just that by stepping, jumping on the natural wooden stake in order to stomp it into the ground as if he were pitching a tent. Screeching in pain, Majora knew it had screwed up. That didn't stop Link though as he waited for it to make a tug to attempt freedom. The motion brought its whip to a flush level that was taught enough for the hero to quite literally take steps upon. Without dally, he ran, darting up the squishy tendril while raising his sword high.

Majora's eyes widened considerably as Link made his last step in its direction, about to make a lunge. "YOU BASTARD!" It cursed the youngster. "YOU HAVEN'T DEFEATED ME, YOU KNOW!? HAHAHAHA!"

Smirking at Majora's own fatal error, Link wasted no time in jumping into the air and slamming the sword directly down into the center of the devil's head, sending the blade slicing down to the hilt. Eighteen inches of searing hot kokiri steel was shoved through its skull. Instantly, the monster's body stiffened as it lost all control with there no longer being a brain to tell it what to do; the sword made sure to slice it in half.

"UGNN!" Link grunted while jiggling the blade, hearing disgusting squishing as he did. The moment he stopped, the eleven foot tall demon fell to its knees, mouth agape, dripping with blood and eyes rolled back. When the hero gave a hard tug, the sword slid halfway out and Majora's body fell to the ground limp, lifeless. "I… told you…" He panted as he got up before continuing "I told you that I'd kill you." His muscles quivered as he fully withdrew the sword from the hole it had penetrated in the top of Majora's skull. Without the blade stuck in it, the perforation gaped with blood, sending another unpleasantly warm splash onto the front of his once green Kokiri Tunic.

Slinging the blood off his Kokiri Blade, he momentarily analyzed the glow still emanating from the blade. Looking over at Majora's dead body, he assumed it was over. He knew the demon's corpse should undergo the process of shrinking, turning itself back into the form of the mask which it once was. Following the next minute though, it came to be obvious that wasn't going to happen.

"What the…?" For a brief time, Link wondered if the entity wasn't dead. But, that couldn't be. There was no possible way anyone could survive such a fierce deathblow. 'I know I didn't miss. My sword went right through the center of the top; it has to be dead.' Giving the corpse a poke in the shoulder with the tip of his blade, he watched for any sign of movement. Eventually, he felt satisfied that he'd completed his mission in killing it, even if the circumstances were outrageous.

Finally, following another several minutes, the corpse began to change. However, instead of changing back into a mask, it started swelling up in a sickening manner. It happened gradually, which was the reason why he began backing up a bit. He had no clue as to what was about to happen. If anything, the boy merely assumed it was about to blow up into a gory mess of sticky organs. "W-What the hell!?" Reaching its bursting point, the monster suddenly exploded. Then again, instead of a revolting sight, nothing laid affected as Majora's body appeared to disintegrate afterward, falling to pieces before his very eyes.

In advance of any other response Link could summon, the liquefied remains of what was once Majora shot upward into a hideously distorted glob of black gunk. Staring at it in shock, he realized it sort of reminded him of the goop which had been blown out of the ocarina earlier on. Unfortunately, his thinking was soon cut short as the gooey black tar morphed into something the boy had never seen before, something straight out of a nightmare. In reality, he couldn't fully describe it. Five horribly mutilated arms stretched out to him as several feet formed from nothingness, two of which were snapped backward to resemble chicken legs. How it managed to walk was anyone's guess. Shambling toward the hero, a wicked mouth suddenly opened sideways with dagger-sized teeth clacking as they tried to bite at him. Hearing it hissing loudly in the boy's direction, he had absolutely no clue what was happening. All he knew was that it was terrifyingly ugly and brought dread to his heart from even looking at it.

"GHAAA! W-WHAT THE H-HOLY HELL ARE YOU!?" Link screamed while jumping back in fright, unsure of what else to do since he had never encountered such a truly scary looking foe prior to now. Instead of getting an answer, the creature merely screeched as its repulsively stretched arms tried to grab the young hero, its twisting disjointed fingers wiggling as they extended outward. "G-GET AWAY YOU FREAK!"

As it grew closer to him, Link's feet buckled, falling out from beneath him. When his posterior hit the forest floor, his feet immediately started kicking, trying their best to move him away from the unknown monstrous entity. "HAUUUH! STAY BACK! S-STAY BACK!" His breathing grew evermore laboured while his heart rate quickly rose to the pace of a speeding wagon. He'd never encountered such a being before, so he had no idea on how to combat it. He knew nothing of its weaknesses nor its strengths. While this had never stopped him in the past, being as afraid of it as he was, it made it utterly difficult to so much as look at it; but, at the same time also impossible to look away. Link's eyes widened further as the abomination wobbled closer, drooping as if it were still melting. What fell to the ground looked more like blood. What was left of the eyes from Majora elongated like ends of rope, squirting putrid smelling black tar as they twisted around in a stomach turning manner. "O-OH… OH GODDESSES!"

The hero managed to crawl backward more, yet it mattered not as the entity's nauseatingly mangled legs rushed at him faster than he thought they could transport it. To make it far worse, within the next step toward him the abomination lurched with foul sloshing sounds, resembling a gagging motion. Its jaw unhinged itself, opening wider and wider until a cracking sound could be heard. But, even then it didn't stop. The mouth forced itself open so much that it split the slimy black flesh around what might perhaps have been lips. Chunky black blood poured from the tears as they grew bigger alongside the insanely abnormal protruding jaws. As the entrance to its inner-mouth enlarged, Link soon saw that it had somehow obtained over three rows of extraordinarily razor sharp teeth drenched with bloodied saliva. Seeing them that close was more than enough to put the boy into action.

What really screwed him up was the fact that he'd retreated until his back was pressed against a tree, leaving him no more room to back up. Had he thought about it, he merely could have used common sense and ran off to the side. However, Link was too terrified to think of such a reasonable solution. Scared stiff, he was forced to bear witness to the monster's atrocious transformation, watching as it got closer to him.

"G-GET BACK! I M-MEAN I-IT! I'M NOT A-… I'M NOT A-AFRAID OF YOU!" Lifting his sword, he realized how feeble his grip was. His hand shook as much as his legs were quivering. All the combat had taken a serious toll on his body. The hero was beaten, battered and bruised; on top of that, he felt as if he had broken a few bones. Nonetheless, he didn't have a reason for having such a weak hold on his weapon. It then occurred to Link that it wasn't from fatigue, but from the terrible dread he felt while looking at the abomination which stood before him. It was still lurching and gagging as its mouth widened in preparation to have the hylian for a nice crunchy snack. "FREAK OF NATURE, WHAT ARE YOU!?

Fight or flight took hold, forcing him to make up his mind. In a matter of milliseconds, he chose the first available option, thrusting his sword forward on impulse. Once he heard a shriek, he glanced up to see the steel of the kokiri blade piercing through the back of the distorted creature's head, right through the center of its hundred-toothed mouth. For a minute, it stood there as Link did the same. Whenever blackened blood started dripping down the sword, he was able to confirm that he had injured it. But, he still couldn't be sure of what the outcome would be since he'd never fought the enemy before.

In the following seconds, the entity bursted into that same black goo it had been prior to this ungodly mutation. Swirling in the air, it floated like thick shredded smoke before utterly dissolving. As it disintegrated, Link's heart slowed a bit. Nonetheless, he was still horrified beyond words over what it was he had just seen. The abomination was nauseating, yet hard to get off his mind. Because of that, he watched as the remaining pool of darkness hit the ground, shattered, then receding into the distance. Before retreating, it appeared to leave behind a small humanoid form. Momentarily ignoring what it dropped, Link continued to try and quickly track the darkness to where it was going, but it was hard to see as it blended in with shadows. Thankfully, he managed to catch a glimpse of movement going toward the giant tree in the center of the meadow there.

He wanted to take off in pursuit, to ensure that he had actually defeated the darkness. What stopped him was the figure that had been left behind by the surging glob of monstrosity. Not only was he aware of it, he was also unable to get it off his mind that the form looked identical to that of a body. So, although he refused to let his guard down, he chose to investigate what could potentially be someone's life hanging in the balance.

With his sword still at the ready, he gradually moved backward to the location in which the body had been dropped. Stepping back foot by foot, he continuously watched for a sudden attack from all directions. As soon as he arrived at the body, having oriented himself in its direction, he looked down, taking a good observation at who it was. To his surprise, he found it to be a Skull Kid and not just any Skull Kid either, rather the one he'd encountered in Termina, the one who stole Majora's Mask and he was forced to subdue to free the land. His pulse slowed and he stared in shock, hardly able to accept that he was truly seeing the same Skull Kid; being given more proof of how he wasn't delusional, that he really had visited another realm just as the Happy Mask Salesman had said.

The Skull Kid's clothes were that of a scarecrow, similar to what he wore in Termina. What struck like a bolt of lightning was the same face. Link had seen it more often with Majora's Mask adorned, yet he could still recognize that wooden skin and beak-like lips. It was definitely him.

The Skull Kid's chest slowly rose with each breath he took, confirming that he was indeed still alive. The imp was unconscious, but alive. Relief for Link soon turned into fixation on his new goal. He had to find the source of that blackness. It had to be the cause of all this, it was clearly what tainted the entire land.

"You're a real piece of work." An ominous voice spoke.

Link spun around with his sword in mid-swing in case someone was behind him. Thankfully, other than the comatose Skull Kid, nobody appeared to be in sight. Calmly, he backed away, leaving the Skull Kid there in order to figure out where the disembodied voice was speaking from.

"You want all the answers in the world, don't you, Link? No matter what title you give yourself, no matter what era you inhabit, it's always the same. Always speculating, always wondering, always searching for what's hidden behind the curtains, anything that'll answer all of life's questions."

Sweeping through the air like a cool midnight breeze, an uncanny sensation of impending danger flooded the boy's senses. The voice was demonic as before, like whenever it spoke prior to transforming into the Monster Majora. What struck out as odd, different than before, was how the speech sounded increasingly more like that of his own. That similarity took him by surprise, nonetheless, it was hard to show it considering the events upon which had already transpired.

Looking around, he couldn't find the source of the voice. It sounded as if it was bouncing from every direction. Although the black goo retreated into the insides of the giant dead tree, the echoing didn't make any sense. Somehow, it seemed as if the words were coming from all around him.

"You still can't get it through that thick head of yours that you're a victim of your own actions." The voice proceeded to degrade the hylian hero. "All that you do is because of that which you have done, as well as that which you will do. You cannot win against him. No. You will never win because you've already lost by trying."

Link's teeth clenched along with his hands. After all that he had done, all that he had gone through, only to have the disembodied voice continue speaking in riddles. It made him angry to not understand what it was talking about. If anything, he felt as though the entity owed him an explanation. After all, the situation was a clear attempt on his life, the first since the completion of his journey to be Hero of Time. There was definitely a reason behind what it was doing and ganondorf or not, he wanted to know who was in charge of it. So, even though going on with nonstop riddles wasn't going to get him anywhere, he also couldn't let it get to him. He chose to stay calm, especially since he had already exerted far too much energy. Conservation of his strength was vital, even if it were over a topic as outrageous as this. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"No, of course not…" The voice retorted with a short sarcastic chuckle. "It's not something a person of your stature could ever hope to comprehend… You and I could never relate to each other. We're vastly different, yet at the exact same time, we're somehow supposedly made of the same cause."

Raising his eyebrow, what Link heard still didn't make sense to him. All he was truly able to do was speculate who the darkness might be. Of course, thinking outside of the box, he put together that this was all the same entity. After all, the black goo had been there all along; during every event, it was there. 'Perhaps by an extraordinary cause, the black gloop is the real cause of all of this… Everything I had fought within the previous twenty minutes may well have been identical…' His eyes narrowed as he pieced together the puzzle. 'The voice, Monster Majora as well as whatever that freaky mutant from hell might have been; they're all connected to this unworldly fog… same as the plague infecting the Lost Woods and Kokiri Village.' The hero's eyes then widened as he began to think back even further. 'There's a chance it's caused other disturbances as well… such as my odd hallucinations. I initially believed they were from stress, but now….'

"You're…" Link spoke hesitantly, partially unsure despite all his deep contemplation. "You're what I fought in the Water Temple."

The voice's reaction was another remark of sarcasm preceded by a long sigh. "I'm surprised. Honestly, I was beginning to think that you were too dim to understand how reality works. I suppose you deserve to meet me in person now that I know you at least have the slightest form of intellect." This time the voice was no longer speaking from all around. Now it was clearly coming from within the giant tree. "Whether or not you learn a few things the goddesses don't want you too, I don't really care. You won't be making it out of this forest today." The threat was unwelcomed. However, it wasn't as if the hero didn't already expect the entity to be hostile. What he didn't anticipate was what it said next. "I don't really have a name picked out, but I'm not just a 'you're' or an 'it', as you likely think I am. You already have something in mind though…. What was it?"

In that instant, from behind the black veil of darkness hiding within the tree, emerged a figure reminiscent of that which Link had seen prior, that which he'd seen for a long time, every time he looked into a lake, river or a mirror. In fact, he'd seen the figure even by looking at his own shadow. The silhouette instantly reminded him of himself for a very logical reason. Because it was; it was him. The entity looked exactly like him.

"Dark Link…" The hylian hero uttered in shock.

Coming forth, the being breached that shroud of darkness, revealing Link's suspicions to be true. Now that it was no longer a mere shadow, he could see as plain as day that it was who he thought it was. With skin black as the midnight sky and eyes searing red, its clothes were the same as Link's, so was the hairstyle. However, all its features were poisoned by foulness, corrupted in colour to represent the swirling black hatred which had brought forth its life. It could be easily passed off as a cheap imitation were it not for how the two looked facially identical as well as physically. For as the name implied, it was Link, only a dark version of him.

Whenever Ganondorf made Dark Link, he essentially used black magic to make a replica of the champion. The gerudo then filled its head with nothing other than twisted thoughts on how to kill. With that malicious motivation, in addition to having all of the boy's skills and abilities, it proved to be a worthy foe, one of which mirrored him to a tee.

"You're only half right." It spoke, this time sounding much more similar to Link. "What you fought in the Water Temple was a mirage, a doppelganger. Ganondorf created this vessel in images of you, then materialized it out of sheer anger." A smirk slowly came upon its face, exposing white teeth, the only contrast to the vision of malice.

Immediately reacting to the entity reaching into its tunic, Link's stance stiffened along with his sword being held at the ready. Thankfully, instead of brandishing any form of a weapon, Dark Link withdrew a corked bottle. Had the real hero not seen the contents, he would have been skeptical of what it was; as fate would have it, he saw right then and there that it was a Red Potion, a healing tonic which could truly do him some good. Whenever it tossed the potion toward him, Link was in disbelief. However, it certainly didn't keep him from catching the bottle out of the air, not daring to miss. Then again, he did try to act as if he wasn't being too desperate. He knew there was no need to appear weak.

"Back then, this vessel wasn't conscious." Dark Link continued "It was new to the world and had to grow, to adapt. As luck would have it, you were there so it kept duplicating you, staying in your shadow, mimicking each move you made in order to learn; carefully awaiting new orders from its next master."

Following a few more seconds of staring at the dark entity, Link uncorked the bottle and began chugging intently, glugging as the thick red goo dripped down his throat. From the first moment it went down, he could feel its magical ingredients going to his bones and muscles; both feeling the rejuvenation coursing through them. His fatigue level decreased too, giving him that extra boost of strength to get through the accursed day. Even his bruises faded and the lacerations bled less. The young boy knew people who got inebriated or under the influence of herbs often obsessed over certain sensations; for him, he could never tire of how it felt to receive such sudden relief from pain. While nothing made him thankful to the dark being before him, he knew it was a great thing to get, as he certainly wouldn't have made it considering how exhausted he was.

"You might call me Dark Link. On the other hand, you'd never be farther from the truth. I'm so much more than a doppelganger. I'm driven by the same motive as you. I am Link, a new Link." It laughed, then continued "You've failed as The Legendary Hero of Hyrule and you've been rejected from the right of being called Hero of Time. It's time for me to step in, not only as your replacement, but your superior."

Suddenly, Link wasn't sure of how to proceed onward. He was confused, unable to respond properly without a stutter. "W-What are you saying? I don't understand…" Partially, the lad did understand. He understood that the entity wanted him dead. What he couldn't figure out was what it was trying to say. He was actually curious in wondering whether or not it truly believed it was going to replace him. 'In all of my time adventuring, of all the enemies or foes I'd encountered, I never had one toss me a health potion, say it was going to kill me and then attempt to replace me in some sick desire to hold the title of Hero of Time.' The situation was most definitely different, that much he knew for sure. This dark version of him wasn't lying regarding changing from the last time they met. Back then, it just mirrored the hero, now it wanted to replace him. Nonetheless, the charitable act of giving the potion made no sense, that is, until Link realized it merely wanted him to be at full strength for an honourable battle. That in itself proved that it was speaking the truth again, it wasn't a doppelganger made from black magic, not anymore. It was something far worse. "You-… want to kill and replace me? For what purpose?"

"What purpose? WHAT PURPOSE!?" It yelled in anger. "TO KILL GANONDORF! TO END THIS CONSTANT CYCLE OF TORMENT!" Raising its fist, it shook it high into the air, as if pledging forward. "YOU'VE FAILED AND I SHALL BE THE ONE TO TAKE YOUR PLACE, TO FINISH THE JOB THAT YOU WERE CREATED FOR, THE JOB I WAS HELD BACK FROM ACCOMPLISHING!"

Taken aback, it was disturbing to hear such a sudden revelation. Never would Link have expected to encounter another opponent who wanted Ganondorf dead, not an opponent he had to fight and certainly not an enemy who had been created by his own vile nimesis. It felt weird, unusual beyond normal expectations. From the beginning, he was well aware it wanted him dead. Yet, what was so fascinating to him was that it wanted Ganondorf dead as well. "What reason do you have for killing Ganondorf? How would it further your goal? What is your goal?" The boy threw questions at random. "Ganondorf made you so you'd kill me, why is it that you want to kill him too?" Without any answers, he wouldn't be able to gain a grasp on the situation occurring. Sure, he felt he learned just about everything that he needed to know in order to be briefed on what was happening; the wisest scenario was still to continue the interrogation for as long as he could maintain it. "Can't we talk about this?"

"Enough…" It growled, unsheathing its sword in the process. "There's nothing else to talk about, nothing else you need to know. Whatever's going through your head, end it right now; because, that's what I'm about to do to you."

Negotiation broke down then and there. If Link wasn't startled the first time, he was now. In response, his muscles automatically went into a defensive position with his sword at the ready. Although he prepared, he had to wait as the dark version of him, 'Dark Link', decided to do yet another action the boy had never witnessed in their previous encounter. Holding its arm out to the side, it quickly untied the leather straps wrapped to its wrist from the doppelganger Hylian Shield on its arm, letting it fall to the ground with a thump. Following the relinquishment, it then held its duplicated sword, holding it with both hands; the left hand, just like with Link, being predominant. That sword of his though, the replica, it abruptly increased in length a decent ten inches, turning into a longsword.

In that instance, they stared each other down; Link's eyes locked with the entity's red eyes. The hero held his ground. But, it didn't take long from then for it to start coming at him with a fast dash. Not holding back, he utilized a strategic mixture of defense and offense. His plan was to attempt a first strike by slicing right diagonally. Although Dark Link was already in the process of throwing out a downward chop, its face contorted once it realized what the real Link was doing. That initial attempt at a diagonal slice successfully blocked the chop, making the steel clank as its sword slid down the edge of Link's blade, going straight for the cross-guard as the boy's sword continued onward toward its unguarded chest.

Seeing what had happened, Dark Link jumped backward, performing a hanging left guard to parry Link's attack as fast as possible. Another loud clank ensued from metal on metal. The demon wasted no time in going for an overhead thrust. To protect himself, Link used his sword to guard high horizontally.

The danger was so high that the hero knew he needed to recover his shield. Even though the doppelganger Hylian Shield was on the ground nearby, it quickly dissipated into nothingness, rendering that idea inert. Taking a chance to look for his own shield, the boy avoided the next couple of attacks prior to retreating a bit. He thought looking for it would be difficult due to it being tossed outside the perimeter of light. However, having the goddesses and spirits of the forest on his side proved to be immensely helpful as a ray of sunshine shone through the treetops, perfectly illuminating the shield a short distance away.

Dark Link could see what Link was planning, so the entity tried to stop him. The hylian had to dodge several more attacks in order to keep traveling toward the shield. Eventually, he just started running, sprinting as fast as he could until he came within range to slide the rest of the way. In a heartbeat, Link snatched up the shield; just in time too since the shadowy being was hot on his heels. Quickly strapping the Hylian Shield to his forearm, he immediately stood up and used it to deflect another slice.

Sword fighting like they were was intense, fast and unpredictable. Link had to multitask like no other. Fighting, protecting himself, being aware of his surroundings, watching the opponent for clues as to its next move; he had no choice other than to do all four at the same time. Thankfully his skills were superior to most from practice; due to that, he caught the plan of attack whenever he saw the entity's wrists rotating the sword in preparation for a powerful back left swing. His feet swiftly paced backward, giving his arms the space to go for a close right guard, even as he moved out of the way to protect himself from another possible move it might attempt.

Dark Link saw his intent, adjusting by turning its slice into more of a jab, hoping to jab the boy in the gut. Link noticed the move and chose to dive off to the side, letting it miss altogether. Following the miss, the shadowy being backed up during the period it took for Link to begin circling the perimeter. Dark Link turned to track him, not allowing the hero time to move around so he could get a better angle.

The two of them then walked in an aggressive circle of intimidation. Neither of them made a move. Even though it was easy to feel the intensity of the emotions both of them shared, Link still found that staying calm wasn't easy. The boy had a terrible time thinking of how to get through the situation. It was still too unique that he was battling an entity on a level as this one, under the circumstances presented to him there. Personally, he would rather have discussed more, to have been more rational about this for an opportunity that might never again present itself. Unfortunately, it didn't go that way. So, instead of dwelling on it, losing focus, he had to put the disappointment aside and do what he had to do.

From the looks of it, Dark Link was the exact opposite. It had no interest in learning or understanding Link. In fact, the dark being conducted itself in such a way that indicated it was far more informed of the situation than the boy was. Link could see in its demonic red eyes that it simply wanted him dead. There was no desire to cooperate, only eliminate.

Confirming that came quick, just as the shadow went for an inside right slash on his abdomen. He blocked with his shield, letting the demon's sword impact the side. This gave him the chance for a counter-attack. He immediately pushed its blade away with his own in advance of using the moment to try and stab Dark Link in the chest. To his dismay, the entity already put in motion the hell-bent move of trying to cleave the young hylian's arm in twain. Link was forced to react by pulling back, swiping a high block as a substitute for a scored hit to Dark Link's body. Making contact for another time, their swords visibly wobbled, the steel flexing without giving away to bending or breaking. Several times more, the process repeated. Link aimed his attention more toward defense while Dark Link definitely remained fixated on offense. Over and over again, it came at the boy with no regard for anything other than seeing to his death. Such an opponent made this exceedingly difficult. At no point did he predict it would relent.

"I hope you don't think I'm going to give up. This will be a fight to the death; your death." It suddenly spoke, smirking. In fact, its timing with words made it clear the entity thought similar to the real Link, exactly like a doppelganger would since it's a duplicate.

"A foe such as you can't be allowed to roam free." Link responded in stern confidence. "You've tainted this land, endangered my friends and tortured my family… Your monstrosity ends toda-..." Prior to finishing his sentence, he saw a difference in their morals. Unsportsmanship. Unlike Link, the imitation had no problem with cheating, doing just that by pushing forth a sudden vertical slice. The blade flew between Link's sword and shield. Had the boy not lunged further behind, it would have been a painful, but at the same time, cheap shot considering how they were supposed to be participating in a duel. More and more, he was realizing it only meant this being had its own personality. In the moment, however, Link only grew frustrated, wrinkling his nose with narrowed eyes. "You treacherous little-...!"

"Shut the hell up and fight!" It interrupted again, this time going for a powerful high back-left long swing which could have easily disemboweled had it struck. Only the hero's shield saved him. "I don't want to hear your pathetic reasons for being heroic. They're nothing other than excuses that have slowed you down from conception!"

Several things were happening at that time. First, subconsciously, Link understood that the shadowy entity seemed to have some sort of fragile ego, having noticed that it got irate after he subjected it to pride with a rude taunt. Second and most importantly, it struck a nerve with Link for the demon to dare call his friends and family excuses. The people who assisted him most in his success of defeating Ganondorf; the entire Kingdom of Hyrule can't be one big excuse. The hylian champion knew that was wrong. In fact, he knew it was only trying to get under his skin so he'd lose focus. It was purely because of how much he cared about his loved ones that he kept going on his adventures to begin with. His loved ones were far from an excuse, they were a motivation, a real reason.

The motivation Link felt from those he held dearly was why he came there and why he suddenly ran forward with full momentum, planning to unleash his pent up frustration in a way that would benefit him; turning it into incentive.

Their swords clashed combatively, metal clanging over and over until it nearly sparked on the occasion. For the next thirty seconds, their battle turned into more of a scuffle. Both of them wrestled to get their swords free from sliding up and down the central ridge of their blades. Link's shield became a weapon as he thrusted it forward, bashing it against Dark Link's torso. Although the entity didn't stumble back any, it still gave Link the fortune of the two then being on par.

A solid minute must have gone by with nothing other than deadly monotonous jabs, parries, slices, blocks as well as thrusts. Neither of them managed to injure the other. At one point, Dark Link nearly cut Link's hand off. Retaliating, Link almost had its shadowy head. The onslaught carried on; metal banging and clacking endlessly. None of their moves seemed to work on each other. However, sooner than later, the righteous hero felt the effects of the Red Health Potion's stamina boost leave him. Beyond that point, his body was on its own. He knew he would eventually get too worn out to proceed with an hour long sword fight. Such a feat was likely beyond what the condition he was currently in would allow. In spite of that contrary, he would certainly try by giving it one hundred percent of his all. Being the Hero of Time was more than just a title to him, it was a dedication of giving his life for the greater good. Defeating the psychopathic replica was definitely for the greater good as the doppelganger held only ill will and bitterness.

Whenever it came upon the moment for them to approach again for another round of attempted strikes, Link put effort into analyzing what he could do. Soon, he saw a weakness or at least a flaw in the entity's technique. After rushing the hero with its sword held to the side, Dark Link swiped diagonal in advance of coming back for a vertical cut. Granted, since Link was unable to identify any vulnerability, he used his shield for another block before coming up with the idea of using it to his advantage. Link found it foolish of the evil entity to abandon its own shield in favor of primary attack. Keeping his previous thoughts in mind, it didn't take long for him to go for another series of shield bashes. It worked only once though, giving the demon a sudden sharp smack to the face with steel.

It quickly changed its strategy after that. Link's accomplishment failed to work a second time. Dark Link adjusted to the boy's pursuit by holding his sword sideways to block the offensive blows with the strong part of its blade's steel. Luckily, Link wasn't out of maneuvers yet as he was then free to use his sword since the evil duplicate was occupied using its own to defend itself.

Dark realized its mistake fast. Thankfully for Link, it was too late. The hero scored a jab to the entity's far side abdomen. While the jab only hit non-vital areas, the attack got the demon's attention regardless. Jumping to the side, it stared at its wound, then returned to gaze at the boy with searing hatred. Enraged, with eyes burning fire red, its face contorted to serious anger. Dark Link yelled, then came at the hero. Their swords met instantly, repeating like their previous skirmish a minute ago. Rotating around, the entity's hands became erratic, clattering its sword against Link's with evermore speed. Whether or not it was testing if he could keep up or not was in question; if it was, then he was proving things in his favor. Eventually, it employed another tactic that caught the boy off guard. Swinging its sword for a low left, it stopped halfway, feigning a second attack to fool Link into a useless block. The hero should have seen it coming, but he didn't. Instead of giving a nasty gash, Dark Link lifted its leg, extending it thereafter to kick Link directly in the center of the chest.

Even though he tried not to, with all the force that had been applied to him, Link couldn't stop from being propelled backward. He felt his balance give out as he tumbled to the ground, all the while trying to keep his sword straight in the air to avoid stabbing himself as well as to stay ready to defend himself.

Rolling out of the way, he nearly escaped unscathed until he saw Dark Link's blade coming right for him. He had no choice other than to block and whenever the demon's sword passed his shield, the boy was forced to guard with his own sword. This saved his life, on the other hand, the entity proceeded with relentless pushing, attempting to overpower him or maybe even break his sword. Using adrenaline, Link fought back. During the struggle, he soon made an effort to shove its sword away. Ultimately, he prevailed. It came with a consequence though as the edge of its steel blade sliced its way fairly deep down the inside of Link's forearm. Hollering in pain, Link was also robbed of his shield when the tip of Dark Link's sword yanked at the handles to the point the hero was forced to release it from being sliced open on the arm. "AHH!"

Although Link wanted to grab his shield back, there wasn't enough time. He had to reorient himself so he wouldn't be stricken by Dark Link's next move. Seeing it dive at him, exerting the motions of a readied overhead swing, Link had to stop the entity by rotating his body and thrusting forth with a stab. Had the demon not stopped, it would have impaled itself upon his blade. That would've been too easy though. No; it saw and reacted by ceasing its lunge to slash, smacking the hero's sword out of the way with its own instead. Link came right back, pointing the blade in the shadowy replica's direction yet another time, allowing him the opportunity to safely get up without worry of a sneak attack.

Both of them stayed at the ready. Using that, Link walked forward, forcing Dark Link back. The last thing the hero wanted was to be pushed outside the fighting range, out into the darkness that had somehow been produced. Following a few feet back, he made his next move, jabbing at the entity's heart, then rotating for a hanging left slice whenever that didn't work. Both strategies missed. Before he knew it, they'd returned to their clash of steel.

Neither of them managed to win the advantage over the other, not until they came to another standstill with their swords again sliding amongst the center ridge of each other's blades. Wrestling onward, the demon suddenly pushed Link's sword up, sliding its blade beneath the hero's sword to keep it raised prior to advancing. Immediately upon approaching, with Link still unable to strike since his sword was being held away by his, the evil entity used its free hand and forearm to grab at the back of the Hero of Time's neck, then shoving him downward. Link spiraled amongst the forest floor ahead of impacting with a roll. Coming back to his feet just in time, he managed to block Dark Link from a horizontal slice. Swinging its sword around for another, the hero did the same, again and again and again.

Dark Link's technique proved to be nearly uncompromisable. No matter what Link did or thought, the entity would counter him. Then again, right as the moment was presented to him, Link took the chance to go on the offensive. All of the movement they'd made battling one another caused them to start pressing closer to the side of the large dead tree. Waiting and guarding, the boy continued to bide his time by blocking until it finally slipped up, falling for the same maneuver as it had previously tricked the hero with. Link faked the doppelganger out with a phony back right swing, only to go for a horizontal long middle slice. Dark Link reared back for a side blow, but Link's blade had already struck, cutting into the evil being's blackened skin. From getting that wound, it turned as it fell away from the hero, falling to the ground on its back during the time Link rebounded, regaining his composure. Dark Link tried to roll, however he found himself backed against the tree, the Skull Kid's home. Getting itself temporarily stuck, Link attacked fast, trying to strike before it could get up.

Not giving in, the entity straightened its sword, letting Link's impact hard. Their battle then resumed with thrusts, parries and slices for the next fifteen seconds. Same as beforehand, the situation ultimately wound up with them both wrestling back and forth, swords sliding amongst each other's blades. To combat this, the hylian boy let his sword hit the rain-guard and cross-guard, then pushed forward, rotating them around. Dark Link blocked his attempt by shoving him away, immediately throwing another diagonal slice afterward. The champion did what he could for as long as he could manage, having to go through vicious blow after blow. Dark Link's power was extreme, making the real Link use all of his own power just to keep up.

Ducking to dodge a fatal inside-left jab, Link came back with a short guard to stop the demon's back-right swing. They both tried to outmaneuver, outsmart as well as prove superiority through a game of who could outwit the other. Ten seconds of the hero's blade banging against the steel of Dark Link's was all it took till he won the short lived game, breaking through the entity's defense to go for another high horizontal chop. He meant more than anything to have decapitated the evil doppelganger, but was frustrated to find that he'd miss. On the other hand, in a quick change of events, Dark Link's motion of dodging backward such as it did forced the shadowy being to accidentally fall over. Once again it was on the ground, lying on its back. Link wasn't going to allow it to regain footing. If he timed his next tactic right, he knew he could end the fight right then and there.

Standing in front of Dark Link, the Hero of Time swiftly swung down vertically, intending to chop the malicious entity in two. To his never ending dismay, while it was still down on the ground, the demon blocked him with a long side guard, forcing the tip of his sword down into the dirt. It then extended its left leg outward prior to slamming its heel down onto Link's inner-elbow, on the brink of making the boy drop the Kokiri Sword. The hero stumbled to the side, barely keeping his palm wrapped around the grip of his sword. In the time it took him to reposition, Dark Link had already gotten up and had its sword pointed directly at him.

"Don't you see? Your time is over, 'Light Link'. It's time for Dark Link to reign as champion." It laughed at the boy, mocking him with a disrespectfully juvenile name. "I don't care about being called Dark Link, but I'll take what I can get so long as that makes you different from me." The entity's face flickered from laughter to aggression. "I'm going to have your head, Light Link… I'll prove to those useless Gods and Goddesses that I'm the real Chosen One. I'll spit in any deities holier-than-thou face by killing Ganondorf like a real hero would have already done. Then, I'll shape this world into a utopia! THIS IS MY TIME! MY… TIME!"

Link refused to respond to the demon's taunts. There was nothing he needed to say to it because it would never listen to reason. Whatever motivation hid behind those piercing red eyes, it likely only involved sheer senseless murder. Of course, no reply infuriated Dark Link, sending it flying with a fierce twirl and stab.

Link dove sideways, narrowly missing a good gash. Nonetheless, they were far from done as upon re-engaging, that very same game of who was better started up with a fresh round. Truly, it had been a long time since the young hero had literally dueled one on one for so long with such a worthy adversary. Although he had managed to keep himself alive so far, at any point he could acquire a life threatening injury. That much was just plain obvious; it was also what he signed up for when he chose to be the Hero of Time. Each approach he made, he knew it could be his last. Yet, be that as it may, he still had confidence; not cockiness, rather, confidence.

The boy might have rudely joked about the entity being Dark Link and himself being 'Light Link'; the thing was, in a battle of darkness versus light, the light would always prevail.

Holding onto what he knew to be the truth, remaining righteous, Link fought onward. At one moment, he had nearly broken through the demon's defenses again. Unfortunately, Dark Link turned the tables on him with a horizontal slice that tore into his tunic, ripping a flesh wound all the way across his chest, from shoulder to shoulder. It hurt, bled and only made the demon doppelganger increasingly arrogant. What was scarier proved to be how close the attack had come from his throat, a mere three inches from his jugular. Even though he suffered another injury, he didn't give up. If anything, he pushed harder.

As soon as it ran forth with another attack readied overhead, Link blocked, using the central ridge of his blade as leverage to both push away the monster's sword as well as come closer to it, coming within proximity for a short brawl to ensue at the same time as a round of tug-of-war. Dark Link desperately tried to free his sword and Link from holding it away, so the boy was able to go for a few good punches. Only a single punch landed, yet felt excellent to pop the vile mirror version of him right in its devilish face.

Becoming aware that his grasp on its sword was waning, Link reared back to elbow the demon in the face, knocking it backward onto the ground and on its back for another time. Just like previously, Link took it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to end it. Before Dark Link could upright itself, the hero was atop it. Link had learned how the entity thought and knew it was going to try to stab him with an inside left jab. To prevent this, he used his thigh to hold its arms back, stopping it from being able to take a swing.

Raising his sword up high in preparation to plunge down, he fleetingly thought for sure that he had caught the evil replica. Link assumed Dark Link couldn't escape from his grip or from being pinned down. Shamefully, he was proven wrong. In advance of a single second later in which he would have driven the tip of his sword right between its demonic eyes, the hero felt the wind being knocked out of him with a serious blow to the back of the head. Tumbling to the forest floor, his sword fell to the ground from the severity of the wound. The only possible thing the boy could think of at the moment was that it was Dark Link's foot. From feeling leather boots, replicas of his own, he was evermore sure that it was indeed a kick in the back of the head.

Having little time to ponder, he spun upright, quickly getting a look at where the evil being was as well as what it was doing. Somehow, in the heat of the moment, the entity had managed to lose its grip on its own sword as well. Instantly, they locked eyes, both seeing that the other had been utterly disarmed. Misfortune played a part in how their swords laid next to one another's. From the bitter gaze they held, they had already chosen to keep the fight going wordlessly by hand-to-hand combat.

Unarmed combat wasn't Link's specialty, and yet, he still knew how to rumble. Darting toward each other at the exact same time, both of their first punches impacted one another's fist, sending them reeling back and holding their wrists in minor pain. That lasted the blink of an eye until they returned to a brawl of fisticuffs. Throwing jabs, uppercuts, crosses, hooks and even a more complex move called a 'gerudo machete punch', half a minute passed and all they had to show for it were incredibly sore bruises all over their bodies. Neither could take out the other until the other began to wear down. Interestingly, throughout the countless punches, Link noticed that slowing, tiring, and yet it was hardly enough to be of any advantage to him. All he could do was keep on to see how the altercation would play out while also protecting himself at the same time.

Focusing on blocking, he made a sudden uppercut, clocking Dark Link in the jaw. The angry shadow swiftly retaliated with an overhand as well as a hook. However, it wasn't until it shocked Link with an abrupt headbutt, conking him in the forehead, that the entity started getting the upper hand again.

As Link reeled back to shake off the pain, Dark Link shoved him away to make an attempt at going for its sword. Spinning back to face it, the hero threw a cross jab, missing, only to have it wrap its arms around him and use a lot of strength to flip the hero over, ramming him to the forest floor. Link chose to hold onto it, to not let go so that the demon wouldn't be able to either hit him or run for its sword. Dark struggled to try and free itself. Reaching up to grab it with his other hand, Link yanked the entity downward while also propelling his legs upward. Having it down far enough, he was able to wrap both of his thighs around the evil doppelganger's head and neck, squeezing as hard as he could in advance of jerking it off of its feet and smashing its head in the dirt.

Upon letting go to jump to his feet, Link started running for his sword. He didn't know how Dark Link had gotten up so fast, and yet, it did. Knowing it was just a step behind him, the hero wound up turning about-face, throwing a wicked short straight-punch. The demon caught his hand though, forcing it away before then grabbing for his throat. Link did the same; they both circled, choking each other blue in the face. If the hylian hadn't contemplated his next strategy, he likely would have lost consciousness attempting to strangle the life out of the freak of nature. It wasn't long until his lungs burned for a breath, also causing him to become dizzy in the head. To combat the stalemate, Link let go of Dark Link's throat, only to reach for its duplicated face. The boy knew it wasn't going to let go, so he was left with little choice other than to gouge its eyes out until it stopped. The idea worked faster than he actually thought it would, receiving a yell of anguish until the demon let go and kneed him straight in the crotch. It was Dark Link's fifth cheap move. Dirty as it was, it certainly forced Link to let go as well and momentarily hold onto his aching male parts.

Without a single second to lose, Dark Link took off sprinting toward its sword. This time, because of the stinging pain in his groin, Link trailed behind, persisting only because of the hope he held of recovering his weapon prior to it. That hope was crushed the very second the demon reached down to wrap its hand around the grip of its sword. Link's blood ran cold, sending shivers along his spine at the sight. Time slowed, on the other hand, it only made the torment of undesirable anticipation longer. There wasn't any foreseeable way around this either.

Right as the boy pondered if he could make a mad dash to his sword, the entity put its foot atop it, completely ending that idea. Link still wasn't going to go down without a fight, that much he knew was guaranteed. So, unhindered, he ran through each scenario that came to his mind and yet not a single solution came clear or without a high likelihood of failure. Dark Link could see in the young hero's eyes that he knew his defeat could very well be at hand; it even made it smirk that ungodly cocky smirk.

During the steps Link took back, it began laughing, mocking him after having cheated to gain the upper hand in the first place. Even though Link screamed in frustration, he didn't blame the Golden Goddesses.

Dark Link took pleasure in seeing Link emotional, letting it please the disgusting need to conquer the real version until it had its belly filled with hubris. Reaching down slowly, with the entity's sword and eyes kept aimed directly at the boy, it defiled the hero's sword by wrapping its sinful fingers around the grip. Lifting it from amongst the forest floor, the dreadful anticipation Link felt turned into horrific wonder as to whether or not the demon planned to duel wield his own weapon against him. Seeing it stare at him like it was, with a fiery hatred, it was clear Dark Link was likely thinking about doing that too. The demon doppelganger took a few more seconds to give its hard and long stare and then suddenly tossed the kokiri sword in Link's direction in a way he'd be able to safely grab it out of mid-air.

Link caught the sword. He took a brief time-out to gather his head. It made no sense at first to him that the demon returned the weapon he had used against it; the weapon that the boy was now going to use to fight it once more. Raising his head to its eye level, Link then realized that it wasn't a random decision. Dark Link didn't want the fight to be easy or it felt it wouldn't count as a truly honourable duel-to-the-death. Strange as that sense of honour was considering how it cheated multiple times, Link settled on that it was simply because the entity was a psychopath. It was setting rules for itself as well as its own standards to go by. Facing his own failure was more pressing to Link now. The boy knew that he'd partially screwed up earlier by not protecting his vulnerable spots. He couldn't allow himself to falter like that again. Dark Link's twisted morals probably wouldn't be gifted to him a second time. He had to put forth every single thing he had in the depths of his soul to win the skirmish. The vile duplicate had to be stopped.

Shrugging off what had happened, the hero returned to reality. The battle immediately resumed. They circled one another, strafing side-to-side. Link decided he wanted it to be unpredictable whenever he lunged forward with a middle slice. However, Dark Link blocked with a side guard while at the same exact time, forcing the tip of his blade forward, stabbing the boy in the right eyebrow before he jumped back a decent four feet.

Holding his right eyebrow, the blood which seeped out of him gradually dripped from the boy's hand to the soil beneath; every drop representing a metaphorical kick to himself for getting struck a fourth time. It was difficult to stop his confidence from wavering after that. Part of him just couldn't believe that he was taking such a beating from the shadowy menace. No matter how much he didn't want to believe though, it was happening. Subconsciously, in the back of his mind, he even started praying to the Golden Goddesses to give him the strength he needed to end the fight. 'I can't fail; failure isn't a choice, it was never a choice presented to me by any other opponent, be it Ganondorf, Ganon, or even the real Majora from Termina.' Link thought. 'This knock-off copy of me surely won't be my undoing, not after all that I'd trained for, all that I'd worked for. I've come too far to be unsuccessful.'

Hyping himself up in preparation of one final furious fling, Link steadied himself as best as he could; readied his hand as well as the sword, focused intently on what he was about to do and then let his body flow naturally as it did during all the other times he'd won.

Breaking his contemplative recuperation, Link then ran at his evil doppelganger, reengaging with a quick multi-thrust series of stabs. Dark Link kept that rude grin the entire time, dodging every attack thrown at it. Ending the boy's desperate attempt to win, the demon suddenly used the pommel of its weapon to ram into his stomach, forcing Link back just enough for it to slice at his stomach. Thankfully, it only cut into him barely deeper than superficial. He still tumbled to the ground. Nonetheless, he didn't relent. Link swung his sword as hard as he could, clashing against the side of the demon's blade in advance of it twisting, contorting the sword and his hand upward to give Dark Link the perfect opening for a kick to the hero's chest. Link's hand stayed gripped to his sword, and yet, he fell back with it, sliding down the blade and slicing into his palm. The hylian's blood dripped from his own sword while he fell onto his back, now staring down the tip of the doppelganger's blade as it pointed menacingly, coming a mere inch from his throat before it stopped.

Now, with the enemy hovering over him, having disarmed and wounded him, Link had to face the facts and consider himself defeated... Unless he could talk his way out of it.

No.

He was going to die.

There was no talking his way out of this. Link knew he was doomed by the twisted look on Dark Link's face.

'Perhaps the entity was right all along.' The boy thought as his ego deteriorated. 'If he managed to beat me like this, unlike no other, then perhaps I was a failure.' It wasn't the first time he'd reflected upon his inadequacy either. Throughout his adventuring, he'd made numerous mistakes, a few of which made everything worse than it might have been had he not screwed up. 'It's true. Ganondorf should have been destroyed in this timeline as well, not just left to run free without access to the Sacred Realm. That man will never stop from finding another way to reign in terror.' He questioned everything about himself since he foresaw impending defeat. 'This whole time I considered myself the Hero of Time, maybe I really was nothing other than a fraud buying as much time as I could for myself as well as all those I knew. I've lost my father figure and my best friend, I've been abandoned by Zelda and never allowed the honour of being acknowledged for all I've done.'

With a tear forming in the corners of his eyes, they suddenly grew wide in realization. What Link had last thought struck something within. Feeling sorry for himself or his errors was nothing compared to 'all he had done'. Link had already defeated not only Ganondorf, but Ganon too. He'd even defeated all of those the gerudo king had entrusted under his command. He'd killed the Parasitic Armored Arachnid: Gohma, the Infernal Dinosaur: King Dodongo, the Bio-Electric Anemone: Barinade, the Evil Spirit from Beyond: Phantom Ganon, the Subterranean Lava Dragon: Volvagia, the Giant Aquatic Amoeba: Morpha, the Phantom Shadow Beast: Bongo Bongo and the Sorceress Sisters: Twinrova. He'd been everywhere in Hyrule, the greatest kingdom in the entire realm. He had gone through almost every temple dedicated to the elements; the Forest Temple, the Fire Temple, the Water Temple, The Shadow Temple and the Spirit Temple; a quest thousands of scribes, monks and sages have all desired. He had met and made friends as well as allies with countless other races from Zora to Goron or Hylian to Gerudo. He'd even gone as far as to explore a parallel realm all on its own. Hundreds of thousands of lives had been saved by Link.

'This corrupted mirror monster is so far from being worthy of being called the Hero of Time that it's laughable.' It took the liberty of further proving its unworthiness by stepping on Link's chest, keeping him held to the ground with its sword hovering above him. 'He isn't a hero, he's a villain.' Link reconciled with reality. 'Even if this thing murders me to go defeat Ganondorf, it won't be anybody's savior. It said so itself that it wants to take over the world thereafter, enslaving those it deems useful and slaughtering the rest.' The boy blinked as the thoughts flew through his head. 'Those I love will be savagely massacred. After doing away with me, it'll just turn and do the same to Saria, Mido, Fado, probably even Epona too…' His left eye twitched as his brain thought about someone else. 'Malon... If he hurt her... I'd lose everything. Surely he'd hunt her down, torture her, harm her family; Talon, Ingo.' With a twitching eye, he grit his teeth. 'I can't let that happen. I won't let it happen. The Goddesses wouldn't allow that to happen as long as I live.' He stared at Dark Link with disgust. 'That means I just have to keep taking these breaths, no matter what.'

"Time to die, Light Link." The evil entity said to the young hero. "Say hello to the Goddesses for me… if they still want you after this."

Dark Link pushed its boot down on Link's throat, stopping him from breathing. Though he tried to grab, he wasn't able to remove the doppelganger from atop him, even with all the adrenaline he had coursing within him. Watching it raise the sword he was going to be stabbed to death with, he decided he just couldn't give up hope. Hope was what got him as far as it had, hope was all he had whenever everything could potentially be taken from him. Hope was what made the days go by.

Hope was the most basic ingredient in making a true hero.

.

.

.

.

"YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU MONSTER!" A young boyish voice screamed, breaking Link out of his hypnotized and focused state. A figure jumped into view, wrapping itself around the back of the doppelganger's head. As the mysterious person began furiously punching and slapping the demon, Link came to realize that it was the Skull Kid, Timi, who had supposedly rescued him once prior. "I HATE YOU, HATE YOU, HATE YOU, HATE YOU, HATE YOU!" Timi hollered, attacking Dark Link until the entity stumbled backward enough to let up on the real Link.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Dark Link shouted. "LET GO OF ME YOU LITTLE SHIT! I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!"

Link's mouth hung open in shock. The hero took his chance to grab his sword. At that moment, time slowed down. He had a clear shot and he wasted absolutely no time in thrusting his blade forward, watching as the tip pierced the center of Dark Link's chest, going all the way through the demon until it came out of its back. Thankfully, he narrowly missed Timi, who was still holding onto the evil entity. The look on its face as it realized what had happened would forever remain in the hylian's memory.

Dark Link couldn't believe what had happened. The change of events which occurred were truly fated by a higher purpose. It grunted, stopped moving with a sudden jerk and then stared down at the hero with its red eyes widened. The sword it held in its hand swiftly fell to the forest floor, followed by its arms coming to a rest at its sides.

"N-No… Impossible…" The entity bemoaned. "My plans ruined… by a pathetic little imp."

Shaking his head, Link withdrew his sword with quivering arms. "You're wrong. It was the Golden Goddesses who took you down. They provided their Hero of Time with the means to defeat you and I took it." The boy proceeded to explain. "When you help your allies, they help you. If you want to be a hero, you can't do it on your own."

Left with those final words of wisdom, Dark Link's hands tightened into fists, watching as the sword was pulled from its torso. Timi jumped off in advance of the doppelganger falling to its knees, essentially collapsing into Link's lap.

"I'm sorry." Link then told it.