Link was the first to awaken. Looking around, he found that he and the rest of his friends were all nestled deep within an unfamiliar wooded area where the trees loomed rather high up towards the reddened sky, their leaves vibrant and lively. From his spot on the grass and hard soil, he saw Kagome sprawled out upon his lap. From her peaceful expression and steady breathing, he knew she was fast asleep. Her long, ebony tresses were messy as her arms hung over his knees. Tucked under her arm beside his boot, he saw the sleeping Deku child and when Link was sure he was also unharmed, he sighed.
Beside him, he saw the familiar faces of his companions and just like Kagome, they were also asleep. To Link's relief, he saw that they were well and unscathed and alive thankfully; it seemed time was on their side.
Thinking back, Link couldn't fathom why the magic in his Ocarina had suddenly decided to work again; after all, it had been at least four years since it last worked. Faintly he could recall hearing a very soft and soothing voice of a woman speaking to him, but Link wasn't sure if it had been a dream. One thing was for certain, the Goddess of Time must have saved them and fortunately re-winded time.
The question was, when in time were they sent back?
Without getting up, only due to the fact that Kagome was sprawled upon him contently dreaming, Link searched his surroundings. Trees, grass, weeds, bushes, and more trees obstructed his vision and well off into the distance and both directions he saw more of the same.
Where in Termina were they? Link didn't recognize the woods as the one nestled deep within Southern Swamp nor those near Great Bay. The trees were a lot thicker and abundantly full of greenery and moss.
The young warrior didn't recognize the area. It couldn't be possible they were somewhere else other than Termina; after all, Termina by itself was simply one land governed by four distinct regions and nothing more. There was nothing else out there to venture to; Link knew this; in fact, he had tried long ago to find other places in this peculiar world, but this was it.
"If we are in Termina, then…where are we located?" He muttered to himself in deep thought. Not to mention they had gone back in time, but how long until that horrible fate would consume the land once more?
A sudden thought struck him, and he reached his hand into his satchel at his side. As his fingers slid across the familiar glossy exterior of the Ocarina, some parchment and bottles, Link finally felt the rough edges of a very important item. Releasing an exhale of breath, Link pulled the Amethyst pendant. Thank the Goddess of Time; they still had it in their possession.
"Good… It's still here," Link sighed in relief.
Just as he said this, he noticed Sango and Miroku move to sit up, already awakened as they surveyed their whereabouts. He saw from their puzzled expressions they were confused and as soon as their eyes connected with Link's, the young boy gave them a reassuring smile and a nod.
Sango fell back against Miroku's shoulder, her hand placed to her chest as she closed her eyes. "We're alright. But I don't understand… What happened?"
While Miroku helped her to stand with Kirara in her arms awake and nuzzling her nose against Sango's neck, the monk knelt beside Link with the slayer beside him. "Is Lady Kagome alright?"
"Kagome?" Sango called out somewhat worried.
There was a pause after this and the young priestess slowly turned her head against Link's knee. Sleepily, her eyes fluttered open and as Sango and Miroku crouched down at eye level with the young girl, her eyes immediately snapped open. "Sango? Miroku?"
A smile graced their faces.
For a moment, she wondered if it had all been a nightmare, but as her tiredness faded, she realized she was leaning her head against something firm but comfortable. Kagome recognized the beige pants as that belonging to a very important person and as she slowly lifted herself, the priestess's face flushed in embarrassment.
Link was smiling at her as he lifted the Deku Child off the ground and into his lap as it continued to sleep.
"Link!" Kagome blushed, but she couldn't help but smile back at him and her friends. They weren't hurt!
He smiled at her. "Kagome."
Kagome's vision was then clouded by brunette tresses as the slayer enveloped her arms around the young girl's shoulders. "Sango… I'm glad you and Miroku are alright."
As Sango pulled away, almost close to shedding tears, she and Miroku watched as the priestess suddenly threw her arms around Link's shoulder. They weren't oblivious to the affection between the priestess and Link; in fact, that affection had started blooming ever since their first encounter. A love triangle had started out during their time back at Great Bay and the feelings suddenly became mutual to a point after voyaging from Ikana and their night stay at Romani Ranch. Sango and Miroku never said a word however, but they exchanged knowing looks as Link and Kagome smiled at one another.
Pulling away from Link, Kagome looked down at the sleeping Deku child in Link's lap. It hadn't moved much and was a very silent sleeper. "Is he still sleeping?"
"Yeah. I'm surprised he could sleep through all that's happened," Link replied.
"Who is this little one?" Miroku asked, moving closer to Link.
Kagome smiled. "He is the Deku Butler's son," She answered. When she explained briefly that she and Link had found him deep within the Clock Tower and how Link had revived the Scrub, both Sango and Miroku were surprised.
"You said you felt his sadness calling to you?" Sango asked.
Kagome nodded. "Yes. At least he's safe. I wonder when he'll wake up…"
"He sure is a cute one," Commented the monk as he touched one of the few leaves atop the Scrub's head. "But he looks a little different from the usual Deku Scrubs that we've come across, doesn't he?"
A moment of silence passed as they silently stared at the sleeping child. Miroku was right; there was a definite difference between them. The usual Deku's they had crossed paths with had an abundant of colorful leaves on its wooden body, but this little guy only had three leaves atop its head and nothing else. Why was that?
A whining and loud voice interrupted their thoughts suddenly when they recognized the irritation behind it; they knew it was their friend Inuyasha. They found him very easily, his red clothes sticking out from one of the bushes near them. The entirety of his head was consumed by the thick foliage of greenery that they were at his side in an instant.
"What the hell is this!" His voice cried out as he struggled to free himself from the bush. The branches pulled on his hair and he felt a number of things prick him through his clothing, not to mention a strange taste in his mouth.
After a few moments of trying to free their friend from his questionable predicament, they managed to untangle his black hair from the branches, though he lost a few strands in the process. A few small leaves were stuck in his hair and many small thorns had scratched his face and arms when he had fought to escape from the bush.
Inuyasha spat the leaves from his mouth with disgust before pulling away the sharp thorns that had stuck itself onto his clothing. "Damn it all!" He cursed and he allowed Kagome and Miroku to help him to his feet.
"Are you alright, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, brushing some dirt off his shoulder.
He shrugged her hand away. "Yeah, I'm fine. But where the hell are we?" He questioned, eyeing the lofty trees surrounding them. The last he remembered was becoming consumed by darkness in order to allow Kagome, Shippo and Link time to escape. Satisfied that everyone was okay, Inuyasha couldn't help but notice someone in the group was missing. "Hey, where's Shippo?"
Kagome gasped in realization. "Oh no!" Her hands immediately went to each side of her face as she scanned the area around them. There was no sign of her little fox friend anywhere. "Don't tell me he isn't with us…" The last she remembered, he had jumped off Link's shoulder and used his fox fire to create a barricade around the forest to impede Armaros's magic from swallowing them.
A thought suddenly occurred the Slayer. "Wait… Where's Noah? He was in my arms not long ago…" She knew the child had lost its life, but to see that it was nowhere in sight bothered her greatly.
"The kid?" Inuyasha asked. "Wasn't with us when I woke up, if that's what you're wondering."
They searched the woods, pushing away shrubbery and searching behind trees. In the end, it was Kirara who found Shippo; the child was laying halfway out of a stream fast asleep.
Picking him up, Kagome patted his face. "Shippo? Shippo wake up."
When the child refused to wake up, Inuyasha approached the priestess and raised his fist. With one strike atop his head and the surprised gasps from those around him, Shippo released a loud and painful wail.
"Ow! That hurt! What'd you do that for, Inuyasha?!" Fully awake, Shippo held his head where a small bump protruded. Tears prickled his vision as he clung to Kagome's uniform.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome glared at him. Unfortunately, the beads of subjugation were no longer around her friend's neck. After all, in the past, they had scattered to the ground when he took off in his demon form. There hadn't been enough time to pick them up either when they were suddenly surrounded by the Garo.
Pleased everyone was well and safe from a horrible happening just moments ago, Miroku shifted the attention away from the beginnings of a fight between Kagome and Inuyasha. "As Inuyasha was asking before, where are we? As I recall and I'm sure all of you do as well, were we not confronted with a most troubling conflict with Armaros back in Clock Town?"
"That's right," Sango replied beside him. "The last I recall was being swallowed by that… thing."
Before either Link or Kagome could voice what had happened, Shippo, who was still holding onto Kagome, couldn't help but notice something in Link's arms; he was holding it rather carefully and close. "Link, what's that?"
Kagome smiled at the child in her arms. "Well, Shippo… This is a Deku child. Do you remember the Deku Butler back in Southern Swamp?" From Shippo's nod, Kagome continued. "We found him in Clock Town and he's a long way from home…"
Shippo only nodded, still staring at the Scrub in Link's arms.
Since they were all together now, Link decided it was a better time than any to explain what had happened after their disappearance during their first encounter with Armaros. "Well," Link began. Where would he start? So much had happened since returning and meeting up with the others in town that Link wasn't too sure when he should start. Fortunately, they weren't rushing him, but Inuyasha seemed a little impatient what with his forced glare and irritable scowl. "All three of us were sent back in time because of the Happy Mask Salesman back in Clock Town."
Sango and Miroku, including Shippo, found this hard to believe.
"Huh? But how?" Shippo asked, voicing both the slayer and monk's thoughts aloud.
How indeed. Link awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "It's to my understanding that he was connected to Ikana long ago, a thousand years to be more exact," Link explained but it only furthered the other's confusion. "Though his mortality remains a mystery, I can only assume the great powers he holds and his knowledge of time travel was what allowed us to regain something of much importance."
When they saw Link upturn the lid of his satchel to reveal a very familiar pendant with an amethyst gem centered in its middle, they gasped. Its exterior was circular, polished and smooth, almost silver in appearance like that of the other three pendants, but unlike the others, there were remains of dried blood splattered on its surface.
Miroku took it from Link's hand and examined it. "I had thought Armaros destroyed it, but as you said…the Happy Mask Salesman sent you three back in time to retrieve it…" How extraordinary! Looking at Inuyasha, Miroku couldn't help but recall the conversation with Armaros before a strange manifestation of dark energy sprawled out of control. "Armaros spoke much resentment towards the salesperson. I believe he referred to him as Emmett. Am I right?"
Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Yeah. I don't know what their history is, but we ran across Armaros in the past. Like Link mentioned before, those two have lived for over one thousand years and haven't aged a bit!"
Miroku mused as he recalled the conversation between them and Armaros. The sorcerer had said some baffling things to them and surprisingly revealed he was not the source behind Termina's curse.
Flash Back
The silence was beginning to agitate Inuyasha. Why wasn't he saying anything but just hovering there watching them. "What, are you scared now that we've got all the pendants to put a stop to you?"
Armaros's eyes narrowed at this. "Like I said during our pitiful battle earlier, pointing fingers will simply get you nowhere. I have nothing do to with the curse of this world," He replied, and it brought on unbelievable stares. "You should already know who's responsible or are you too dense to realize this?"
For a moment Inuyasha realized he was right. It wasn't truly Armaros's fault for this land's suffrage. As Link and the Great Fairy mentioned before, it all linked to the Happy Mask Salesman and that of the wickedness in the hearts of the ancient people. "Well explain to us why you stole the Sacred Jewel! And why the hell were you using that scum Sakon to kidnap Kagome to harm my friends?!" He shouted.
The sorcerer was quiet for a minute. "My reasons are my own. I simply cannot break a promise …"
A promise? Inuyasha didn't understand this guy at all. "It still didn't give you an excuse to kill off all the Great Fairies in this world!" The thought of losing Serena still grieved him and he knew Link still felt the pain from that loss.
Annoyed, Armaros uncrossed his arms. The wind around him picked up and a crackling of dark energy spewed from his form threateningly. "Enough with your questions! My patience with you pests has run thin. Though I detest your alliance with my rival, I'm sure you must all know of his whereabouts. Tell me, where Emmett is hiding. If you do so, then I shall show some mercy."
"How the hell would we know where he is?!" Inuyasha growled back. "And even if we did, we wouldn't tell you! You are just as much to blame as he is for this stupid curse!"
End Flash Back
Miroku turned to Link. "Armaros explained he wasn't behind the curse that plagued Termina. At least that's what he told us back in town after you, Inuyasha and Kagome returned to us."
Link blinked. "He said that?"
Inuyasha nodded. "So if it's not Armaros, then it falls completely on that peddler!"
"The Happy Mask Salesman?" Sango asked with intrigued curiosity. "But how would he be responsible?
To answer her and everyone else's questions, Link told them of his first encounter with the mysterious merchant which connected to a devilish mask that connected to the ancient past of Ikana. After explaining this Sango, Miroku and Shippo understood, at least to a degree. Unfortunately, Link was unable to fill in all the gaps that surrounded the Happy Mask Salesman; after all, he was a complete mystery left unsolved.
"So I see," Miroku mused, holding the pendant in his hand as he examined it further. "but as of now, Armaros still remains a problem for this world. I believe, since it was the Happy Mask Salesman that aided us in trying to restore peace to this world, there must be some shred of righteousness in his heart. We should seek him out and go from there."
Sango nodded. "Now that we have all the pendants, we can summon the Goddesses and make our wish." With that, then Termina could be saved.
"The Happy Mask Salesman said he would help us summon the Goddesses after retrieving the pendant as well as stopping him from stealing the mask in the past. Unfortunately we failed in that mission…but I believe Miroku is right," Link replied. "Let's seek him out."
"Do we have any idea where he is?" Sango asked.
Inuyasha grunted. "The guy admitted to stalking us a while back, so I bet we'll cross paths with him sooner or later. For now, we should focus on figuring out where we are and seeing how much time we have left before all hell breaks loose again!"
Back and forth, Shippo kept turning his attention from one to the other of his comrades, but he was confused. "Wait… I don't understand," Shippo spoke up from Kagome's arms. "If we really did go back in time, then where is Serena? And where is Noah?"
When Kagome saw Link lower his gaze to the ground completely silent, she stared at the fox child in her arms. "Well... time travel is a bit confusing, Shippo," She began with a fake smile. How could she explain it in a way that he and the rest of her friends would understand?
"Probably because we are at a time in Termina where she wasn't alive," Miroku replied back, and this caused some of his friends to nod in agreement.
The priestess supposed that made sense, but if that was so, then how did it explain all the pendants in their possession? If they truly went back in time again, wouldn't the pendant from ancient Ikana have disappeared?
After a moment of careful thinking, Kagome finally came up with an explanation. "I know!" Placing Shippo on the ground, the priestess searched around the area for a stick and when she found one a small distance away, she turned to the monk. "Miroku, can you give me all four of the pendants real quick?"
"Sure, but what is it?" Miroku asked as he retrieved three of the pendants from his pocket, including the one handed to him from Link.
Gathering them in her hands, Kagome then kneeled upon the ground and laid each pendant beside the other in order. With her stick, she drew a line in between each one before she pointed at the first line in front of the first pendant. "Do you see this line, Shippo?"
Everyone gathered around the priestess as they looked at the lines carved into the dirt in front and at the end of each pendant. Shippo was on his knees, staring very closely.
"This line here represents our first appearance in Termina. It was also our first meeting with Link," She explained and at this, Shippo nodded. "This line also symbolizes when the Great Fairy told us that in order to summon the Goddesses and restore everlasting peace to Termina, we needed to acquire four pendants from each region of the land." Kagome pointed to the second line after the first pendant. "This line represents the end of our first event at acquiring the first pendant. I guess in a way, it's like a save point. Each line after the pendants represents a save point."
"What's a save point?" Shippo asked.
"Well…" Kagome pondered for a second before smiling when a good example popped into her head. "Let's take for example, my Game Boy. You know that every time you get an item from your adventure on it, that it automatically saves. So even if you lose all three of your hearts, the game will restart back to your previous saved entry, right?"
Shippo's eyes widened at this. Kagome was right! This entire time travel was just like the game Kagome was referring to! "That makes sense. So time travel is like a game almost?"
Kagome nodded, though she somewhat doubted herself on such an explanation towards time travel. "It's just like that," She replied. It made sense since the pendant still remained with them even after their time travel experience in ancient Ikana. "So everything that has happened before and after each pendant has happened. It would also explain why… Serena is not with us. Do you understand, Shippo?"
The fox child nodded dismally. "Yeah… I guess so. But what about the dark shadow that was swallowing everyone? It's not here."
Kagome patted him upon the head. "Well I might have an explanation for that as well." She pointed to the final line after the last pendant before drawing a circle around it. "After the three of us retrieved the final pendant Armaros used his powers to attack the people of Termina. This is also the point where we were all sent back in time to avoid that calamity," She explained.
"Your explanation seems good so far but wouldn't everything after obtaining the final pendant count as a save point?" Miroku asked.
Kagome nodded. "Yes," She smiled. Looking around the encampment, she was delighted to see her yellow backpack lying there; she had thought she had left it back in town somewhere. Digging through its contents, she pulled out her pink Game Boy Advance before turning it on. From there, she told everyone to gather around.
The game started out with a single character wielding a sword and shield as he braved the dangerous world inside the small game. Kagome pointed out all the items the character slowly acquired throughout his journey before facing a terrifying image of a monster. One attack from the monster caused the screen to go blank and a Game Over appeared on the screen. It was after that, that Kagome restarted the game and clicked on the previously saved file where she was once again near the beginning of the final battle with all of her items. Her character hadn't died; it had another chance to win the fight.
"See?" Kagome asked. "The warrior in the game was offered a second chance, just like we were. So in a way, yes it counted as a save point but since we were all brought back in time before our confrontation with Armaros, we still have a chance to make things right."
"I get it!" Shippo smiled. Kagome was right; it was just like a game!
Inuyasha placed a hand upon the slayer's shoulder. "That would explain why Noah isn't here. So he is still alive then. You shouldn't let it upset you now."
A heavy weight fell from Sango's shoulders. Thank goodness the child was still alive. "What a relief…but how did we travel back in time?" From all this talk of time travel, the slayer was surprised no one had brought it up.
Link pulled out his Ocarina. He told them of the magic that was once entrapped within the instrument and it was an item long ago blessed by the Goddesses. He told them that the magic must have returned after so long, or it could have been that the Goddess of Time had offered them a final chance to make things right.
"There is something bugging me though," Inuyasha suddenly voiced aloud. Grasping the medallion around his neck, he eyed it curiously. "When we got back from the past, shouldn't I have regained my half demon form?"
"I have been wondering the same myself," Miroku replied curiously circling his friend.
Link stared at Inuyasha for a few seconds before shaking his own head in confusion. It didn't make sense. "It's strange…the sword originally belonged in the Palace back then, but here in the present the Great Fairy had given it to you as a blessing in exchange for your other sword. So it would make sense that you would regain your original form as well as the sword, but that is not the case."
Finished with circling the young man, the monk came to a stop beside Sango. What Link said made sense. Inuyasha should have regained his half demon form as well as that of his sword. Could it be that this is what fate had intended? But doing this to the heroes of Termina… would put them at a great disadvantage. "The medallion you wear… it came from the past, correct?" He asked and from Inuyasha's nod, he furrowed his brows. "Then the medallion should have disappeared then. This is very puzzling…"
"Since it was the Happy Mask Salesman who sent you three back in time, maybe he will know something about it," Shippo replied as he dusted his pants clean of dirt. "He might know more about time travel than all of us, so I bet he might have an answer to change Inuyasha back."
Sango found this doubtful. "Perhaps…"
With that figured out, Kagome returned her Game Boy back inside her back pack before slinging the yellow bag onto her back. It had been a few days since the bag was absent from her and it felt a little heavy after such a short time. "Well I don't know about you, but I think we better find the Happy Mask Salesman and hurry back to town!"
Shippo nodded before jumping onto her shoulder. "Yeah!"
As the priestess started down an unknown path with her friends following behind her and Link beside her, Inuyasha couldn't help but reply back to her from a small distance. "You're never in such a rush to get things done! Usually you're just complaining about wanting to take a break or something."
Pausing on her trek through the woods, she turned around and pouted her lips before placing both hands upon her hips haughtily. "We've got a lot more going on than what we did in the Feudal Era!"
With a roll of his eyes, he handed Link the pendants he had picked up before Kagome had started down the through the trees. "Here. Put these in your magic purse."
Link only glared as he paused on his walk after the others who had also stopped to turn around at the hold up. "It's a satchel…" Because it was difficult to take them from his hands because he was holding the infant Deku in his arms, Link awkwardly reached for them one by one from his outstretched hand.
"Whatever it is, purse, satchel or fanny pack, it still looks like a purse to me."
"What's a fanny pack?" Shippo curiously asked from Kagome's shoulder, also answering some of Link's thoughts as well.
Inuyasha smirked. "A lot of men in Kagome's world carry around the same thing as Link. But they call it a fanny pack. If you ask me, it's too feminine. After all, Kagome carries a lot of weird girly things in there." He still recalled the terrible perfume that had burned his eyes not long ago. It could probably be used as a weapon if she so felt like it.
Hearing this Shippo laughed. "Fanny as in butt? So it's a butt purse?" He snickered, and hearing this Link blushed.
Kagome could only shake her head. "They're not called fanny packs anymore, Inuyasha." She sighed before turning around.
Male laughter unexpectedly shrieked through the woods, and it was so startling, that it caused all heads to turn in all directions quizzically. For the most part it sounded very crazed and like that of a teenage boy; the sound seemed to resonate every which way.
"What the hell was that?!" Was Inuyasha's voice as he whipped his head around to pinpoint its location.
Shippo held onto Kagome's shoulder tightly as he nuzzled himself closer to her. "I don't know… It sounded like a boy…or something…"
A sudden thought struck Inuyasha. It couldn't be that it was him? "Is that you Emmett?! You better show your ass now or else!" Inuyasha shouted, his brown eyes darting from tree to tree and bush to bush. Someone was in the woods and definitely eavesdropping on their conversation, and he had no other reason to believe it was the merchant; after all, he did stalk them throughout Termina.
The laughter suddenly stopped and followed after was a husky voice, but it was not one that belonged to a peddler that sold masks and nor was it was one that belonged to a certain sorcerer. "That schizophrenic won't show his face while I'm around!" The unknown person replied.
Unexpectedly, the trees around them swayed and the ground beneath their feet shook. Birds that had nested in the branches of their homes took flight into the sky and away from the abrupt danger trampling through the woods.
In an instant, the gang defensively awaited the unexpected danger lurking around them. Something was quickly approaching and from the sounds and looks of it, it was rather large.
Loud grumbling from a monstrous sort resonated all throughout the woods and as the trees were forcibly parted and thrown aside, the gang found themselves surrounded by giant Ogres or monsters of some sort. Their built was sloppy and punchy, their skin gray and their hands massive. Atop their foreheads were single red horns and their ears upturned and pointed. Yet they merely stood around them, blocking all paths and staring at them with their empty golden stares. Fortunately they were somewhat clothed from their waist to their thighs in ragged and torn cloth.
They knew they were no match for these beings, and they simply stood there, almost frozen with fear. Yet it was not these monsters that had laughed and spoken to them, and since there was no hint of any attack, they warily searched around.
It was then that something dark shifted through the branches and with great speed, leapt from branch to branch and from Ogre to Ogre before settling atop one beast's head where he looked upon the group below. Unlike the other foes they had fought back in the Feudal Era, this one was a bit different; rather than just stand there and attack them immediately, he sat back atop the beast's head, his legs hanging off its forehead as he grasped its large horn with his pale hands.
Though he wore a black cloak and hood to hide his identity and any kind of facial features, he was nonetheless no bigger than themselves. In fact, his mannerisms seemed rather childish and taunting.
"Hey losers," The young man leaned forward, still grasping the Ogre's horn. "Long time no see, Link. Did you really think that by time traveling we wouldn't find you?" He cockily asked and from the priestess's surprised gasp, he leaned back and laughed.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Who the hell are you?!"
There was the sound of a 'tsk tsk' from the cloaked individual. "Did you really think you were the only ones that could transcend time?" He asked, outright ignoring Inuyasha. "You're not so special, and neither are you, Hero of Time."
Link glared. "How do you know of my former title?" He asked. Even Sakon had known of his personal life in Hyrule, but the only other person in this world that would know of this would be the merchant, but even then Link doubted he'd tell another soul.
In a dramatic fashion, he raised his hand before offering a slight bow and a nod of his head to the young warrior, though it was merely a teasing gesture and one that Link and the others were not pleased with. "I know everything there is about you. Call me… a fan… if you will," He tipped his head and the sharpness of his teeth stood out from the hood hiding his face. "A deadly fan, if I might add."
Inuyasha wanted to roll his eyes. "More like a nutcase! Now answer the damn question. And how did you know about our time traveling?"
Another laugh escaped him and he leaned himself against the horn of the monster's. "Well I would think dear, sweet Kagome had explained it all…"
Hearing this, Kagome took a step back. There was something strange about this guy. Something sinister…
Immediately Inuyasha took a stance in front of her. "Just answer the question! Who the hell are you?!"
"Inuyasha… there's something strange about him…" Kagome muttered as she grasped his sleeve worryingly. She felt Shippo on her shoulder grasp her uniform tightly.
Another 'tsk tsk' escaped him and he shook his head in disappointment. "I'm hurt. You didn't tell your "other worldly friends' about me, Link?" When the only other look he got from the young swordsman was a glare, he shook his head again. "It couldn't be that you've forgotten already. After all the great times we spent together back in Hyrule…" There was a feigned sadness that fell upon him and he suddenly stood up holding a hand to his chest. "I'm hurt. I'm really, deeply hurt. But then again… it's your fault. It's always been your fault." He gripped the horn tightly and a painful sound escaped the Ogre beneath him.
Miroku leaned next to Link, who was trying to put together how he knew this man from Hyrule. "Could this be someone you knew long ago? Does his voice sound familiar?"
Even Sango and Kagome looked back at the young boy in question while Shippo, Kirara and Inuyasha kept their stares focused entirely on the guy and the Ogres.
Link shrugged. "I don't know… I don't recognize his mannerisms or his voice at all…" Then again, back in Hyrule he fought against a number of enemies.
Unexpectedly, a dark energy of power like that resembling Armaros's spilled from his cloak and from the palms of his hands. That energy seemed to surround him eerily like and he suddenly hovered into the air. "Do you know how long I have waited for this opportunity? To have you kneeling with your blade through your heart and to hear your pleads for mercy…"
The group sensed the dark powers emanating off him and were prepared to the best of their ability to battle, but the chances of a victory seemed rather slim especially while they were surrounded.
Link held the Deku infant protectively as he narrowed his eyes. "You want to kill me? Why only me?"
Again the young man grew dramatic and he ran his hands down his hidden face slowly. "How about stabbing you in the back? No… no that's way too subtle. Perhaps I shall pierce you through the neck and sever your head just like you did Sakon?"
All at once he waved his finger in the air and a dark substance formed itself into a familiar head of a notorious thief and kidnapper. With a chuckle of lost sanity, he threw it at the gang and directly at the priestess.
Both Kagome and Shippo shrieked, and she held her hands in front of herself fearfully. But the head never hit her or Shippo and instead evaporated into air.
Inuyasha raised his fist towards the laughing creep. "You bastard!"
A shiver ran through him and he felt goosebumps upon his skin. "Yes! Scream, cry out in terror!" He shouted. It was like music to his ears. "I always love hearing you scream…"
Unexpectedly he vanished from sight, and startled by this, everyone turned and searched the trees past the unmoving Ogre's.
To Kagome's surprise, she heard someone whisper behind her ear and wrap his hands around her waist and it sent a cold chill through her as she stilled.
"Scream for me again… Ka-go-me," He huskily whispered, his lips pressed against her ear. Suddenly, he licked her lobe, and smirked as she gasped in fright.
Everyone reacted immediately but Inuyasha was faster. He swung his fist right at the creep behind Kagome, touching her but his fist went straight through him as if he was never there at all. "What the hell?! Don't touch her!"
Miroku was appalled by this mysterious man's behavior. "How dare you do such a thing to our friend!"
Shippo raised his fist. "Keep your filthy hands off her!"
He disappeared from behind the priestess and reappeared directly above them, reclining back in the air cackling and slapping his knee. Just the sight and sound of their reactions was enough to bring him joy. It was almost delicious.
When Kagome fled to Sango's side, the slayer found herself unable to stand for anymore of this. Kagome had already been through enough as it was! In her battle stance, she pulled her Hiraikotsu and threw her weapon directly at the man, but unfortunately it sailed right through him but not before hitting the Ogre behind him square in the face.
Hearing the agitated grumble from behind him, the cloaked figure decided it was time to take things more seriously. "Well this has been fun and all, but I think it's time for you all to die…" He replied. "Before I kill you, I'll give you all the pleasure of knowing who I am. Especially you, Link," He pointedly shook his head at the young boy. "Since you seem to have this weird case of amnesia going on for 'Old Friends' tsk tsk…"
Link swallowed nervously. This was it. This was the moment he would find out exactly who it was from his past that knew all about his heroic deeds in Hyrule. This was the person who must have told Sakon and Armaros about his past.
Throwing back his hood, the scarlet eyed and silver haired young man flashed the gang a cocky smirk. He had a face that was very recognizable yet in his youthful appearance, there was much evil.
From the sight of his face, Link's eyes widened. No…it couldn't be… "D-Dark Link?!"