"Why do you insist on going here?" Link whispered. "Ganondorf still has to be in the castle."
Ukyo looked around the corner, down the path and saw the guard standing in front of the gate. "We just have to make sure we're not caught," she whispered back. "I know there's something hidden nearby, I just know it... or would you like to try and find out if the same thing still is near Ganon's Castle in the future?"
"That would be even more dangerous..." Link grumbled. "But why here?"
Ukyo grinned and pulled out a piece of parchment. "See this map? Navi showed it to me earlier. It's supposed to show places where fairies are hidden."
Link looked at his fairy. "And you haven't shown this to me because...?"
Navi blushed. "S-sorry, Link..."
"Either way, the last time I met a Great Fairy, she taught me a magical attack," Ukyo explained. "So I'm betting that if we meet this fairy, she will have something for us as well."
"Well, Great Fairies always like adventurers that are fighting to help Hyrule," Tatl said.
"See?" Ukyo smirked. "And as I said, visiting that fairy in the past will be much less dangerous than approaching Ganon's Castle in the future."
"I still say this is madness..." Link grumbled.
"Madness?" Ukyo giggled. "This. Is. HYRULE!"
And she climbed up the ivy that was hanging next to them.
Link and the fairies exchanged a confused glare.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Link wondered.
Captain Mikado grunted when he saw how the Sheikah girl left. "Mikado, you old fool..." he muttered to himself. "Why do you always have to play hero? You could have easily asked that girl to bring you some potion..."
But he knew it was too dangerous. The safety of the kingdom was more important than his life. And if Princess Zelda told those children to fulfil their mission, they would have to do so. After all, who would miss him...?
When he heard a noise, he looked around. "Hello?" No answer. "Sheikah girl? Is that you?"
He blinked in surprise when the figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a little boy... clad in green. And he was holding a sword in his hand.
"You are... Princess Zelda's messenger... aren't you?" he muttered weakly. "Link... that was your name, right? Your, your friend, she was just here and... hey, wh-what are you doing?"
The blonde boy looked at the wounded soldier with a malicious grin as he raised his sword.
Akane got startled when she heard the horrible scream coming from behind her.
"That was... Captain Mikado!" she gasped, and ran back.
She arrived just in time to see how Mikado's killer pulled his sword out of his body. A dark, pulsating energy was running along the blade.
"L-link..." Akane stuttered. That couldn't be... Link would never do anything like that...
Link's evil double grinned at her while blood ran down his blade. "You are too late, little girl!" he cackled. "This... will please my master!"
And he rammed his sword down into the ground. Akane didn't really know why, but then she saw how the dark energy ran down the blade... and seeped into the shadow of the dead soldier lying in front of her.
And while that happened, the little boy changed his shape, growing into another form.
Akane gasped. "G-ganondorf..."
The tall, armored man grinned as he pulled his dark blade out of the ground. "Not quite..." Phantom-Ganon chuckled. "But my master will be glad to hear that my mission is complete."
And then, he turned into a dark shadow and vanished in the ground.
Akane shuddered. She didn't understand what had just happened, except that this... monster had killed the captain. But what did he do to his shadow...
Akane knelt down next to Mikado. A grimace of disbelief was on his face. She looked at the shadow his body was casting, as the sun slowly crept over the rooftops. It was still glowing and pulsating with dark energy.
And then, she heard another horrible scream... and that shadow, too, vanished into the ground.
Akane gasped. What kind of evil magic could steal the shadow of a dead man? And that scream... she had heard the exact same scream just minutes ago. It was the voice of Captain Mikado...
But the yell hadn't come from his mouth... it had come from his shadow.
She yelped when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around... and saw Link standing in front of her.
"Akane, what happened?" the boy gasped. "What was that scream? And who is that lying over there? Is he dead?"
"Link... are you... are you really you?" Akane asked. She didn't want to fall victim to another evil ploy.
Link raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? Of course it's me, who else?
"Akane, are you all right?" Navi asked as she fluttered next to her friend.
Seeing the blue fairy, Akane sighed in relief. This had to be the real Link, the evil double didn't have a fairy with him.
"But... I've just seen... Ganondorf was here, and he... gods, I'm so confused..."
A grim expression appeared on Link's face. "Ganondorf?" he asked and drew his sword. He looked around. "Where is that creep? Did he follow us from the castle?"
"No, he was... wait a minute... what in the name of Nayru did you do in the castle?" Akane wondered.
"Well, not really in the castle..." Link said sheepishly. "It was Ukyo's idea, see? She wanted to meet that fairy... and I admit it, she gave us that magic spell as a present... but I still think we should have stayed in town."
"Where is Ukyo, anyways?" Akane asked.
"She's buying some Deku Nuts, and Tatl is with her," Link said. "But what about Ganondorf? What did he do?"
"Captain Mikado..." Akane whispered. "He... he killed him..."
"Damn that jerk!" Link grumbled. "I wish I could teach him the lesson, but I guess I should wait with that until we are back in the future and have saved your Mom..."
"But... but the strangest thing was, he... he did something to the captain's shadow," Akane said. "And it vanished into the ground."
"Vanished? A shadow doesn't just vanish, Akane," Navi pointed out.
Akane gestured at the corpse lying next to them. "See his body? Do you see any shadow? I'm telling you, it's gone!"
Link looked at Mikado's lifeless body. "She's right," he mumbled. "No shadow... but why? What for? Huh?" He saw something sticking out of Mikado's belt pouch. "What's this?"
"Link, don't steal from the dead," Akane hissed.
"Yeah, but just let me take a look..." Link pulled something out of Mikado's pouch, then he reached into his own bag and took something else.
Akane looked over his shoulder and saw that Link was holding two drawn pictures in his hands... both of them showing the same image of a woman.
"They are identical," she realized.
"No way..." Link whispered. He looked back at Mikado. Then he thought of the vanishing shadow and the picture he had found in the Water Temple. It was the same as the picture Mikado had in his pouch, so...
"Dark Link..." he murmured.
Seven years later...
In the same dark alley in which seven years ago a brave soldier had lost his life, a female sorceress in dark robes walked past the ruined buildings.
She then saw a black shadow kneeling on the ground. It was a monster with black skin and red eyes.
"Captain Mikado?" Veran asked in a voice that was much softer as anyone was used to hear from her.
Dark Link turned around his head. He groaned when he saw the Sorceress of Shadows. "Princess Kodachi..."
Veran was surprised. "So, you knew it was me?"
"All the time..." Dark Link whispered. He looked down, at the ground and let his hand sweep across the dirty ground. "This... this is the place where I died..."
Veran came closer. "Why do you look like this?"
Dark Link snarled. "Because the devil who killed me looks like this," he spat.
"I always thought Dark Link was an evil demon that just took on the shape of the Hero of Time..." Veran said. "A demon summoned by Ganondorf..."
"That's what everyone believes..." Dark Link muttered. "No one knows that I am just a dark spirit... a soul that only wishes to find peace. But how can I, knowing that green-clothed devil is still at large?" He pounded the ground with his fist. "I wasn't even able to beat him in combat... the only reason why his final blow didn't kill me was... that I was already dead." He looked down at his hands. "How can you kill... a ghost?"
"Captain Mikado..." Veran said hesitantly.
"Don't call me that," the former captain growled. "I am not that man anymore..."
"Well then, Dark Link... if you know what Ganondorf and General Onox... I mean, Tatewaki Kuno have done... why are you still working with them?"
"I can't change the past..." Dark Link whispered. "But I can still make the man pay who did this to me..."
He then looked up at Veran. "What about you, Sorceress of Shadows? Do you still remember your past life as Princess Kodachi?"
"It's... beginning to come back to me, piece by piece," Veran admitted. "I remember... how those ghostly girls put that spell on me..." She snarled. "Asuka was among them..."
"Asuka Saginomiya, heh?" Dark Link snorted. "Could never stand that bitch... always so concerned about her money, always sending me presents..."
Veran was taken aback. "But... didn't you use the sword she gave to you?" she wondered.
"Do you think I would throw a fine blade away like that?" Dark Link grumbled. "That doesn't mean I would have any feelings for her... I'm glad she found her end in the Forest Temple..."
"Yeah, I think that's something we both agree on," Veran nodded.
They both stayed silent for a while.
"Will you come back to serve Lord Ganondorf?" Veran then asked.
"Heck no!" Dark Link spat. "I only did it because he gave me a way to come back for my revenge... in the end, I will kill the Hero of Time on my own... So, you are still loyal to him, then?"
"Of course I am!" Veran said with outrage. "He is my only master!"
The dark doppleganger smirked. "Heh... looks like the spell they put on you is still in effect, then..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing!" He stood up. But before he left, he hesitated. "I... always wanted only to serve your family, princess..."
"You aren't the only one who has changed..." Veran grumbled. "Princess Kodachi died a long time ago."
"Still... you are one of the last remains of the old, royal family of Hyrule. I want you to know... when Link is dead, and I still can't find peace... I will return to serve you, as I have done all my life."
Veran was surprised. She didn't know what to say.
"Your sister... is still alive," Dark Link added. "And she knows you are. That's all I wanted to tell you." He turned around to leave.
"Farewell... my princess!"
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(Posted Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:55)
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