Legend of Zelda: Shadows of the Past - Chapter 1

"The eyes, ears and nose of a wolf can sense many things, says the human, but he cannot truly grasp the truth of those words unless he himself has experienced the unique powers of the beast. A human cannot smell the dry, dirt-laden air of the desert, nor can they feel the tiny rumbles beneath their feet as the dirt-dwelling creatures snake their way through the earth. They cannot hear the sound of sand churning underneath the rocks, or feel the gentle breeze as it caresses thick animal fur. It is much different to be a beast, a feral predator in its prime. Everything becomes sharper, more acute than ever before.

Link's heart began to race, hearing its frenzied and erratic drum of excitement as the rush of adrenaline pulsed through his veins.  He glanced at his familiar white paws, itching with the urge to run freely. The beast inside begged to be unleashed, and he could feel his Hylian conscience give way to predatory instinct. The putrid scent of Bulblin carried on the winds of the plain, and the wolf inside felt as though nothing would be more satisfactory than to feel them wriggle and scream as he sunk his teeth into their skin.  

After Midna mounted herself onto his back, he sprung into the desert. The dust could not keep up with him as he dashed and leaped and bounded his way across the desert, the smell of Bulblin his only guide to their destination. He needn't become so dependent upon it once he spotted the pillars of the prison, standing erect among the sandy hills of the desert."

I turned the page, feeling the regular rush of adrenaline as I read the passage.

"Arbiter's Grounds was a bold structure, high and mighty as though it were a house for the Gods themselves. The two prodded slowly into the surrounding terrain, feeling a bit intimidated as the huge structure seemed to swallow them whole. Link followed the scent of Bulblin to its founding point, and it turned out that Auru's words of caution were correct. Countless Bulblins guarded the entrance to the prison like hounds, complete with watch towers, tents, and camp grounds.

Link gave a nod to Midna, who then dismounted. She pocketed the black magic stone - the curse which had kept Link in his current form. A few moments later, a new black fog surrounded the hero, blinding him with dark magic. When the magic cleared away, he was once again in his human form, feeling a bit disappointed as his senses were dull, and he could no longer grasp the feeling of ferocity that his beast-self so surely fondled.

He then took out his bow, and-………………"

"Hold on a minute. What's goin on here?" I said with some confusion.

"This story is over." It rewrote itself.

"What in Farore's name-?!" I flipped through the pages, hoping the magic book would stop being a dumb Din and correct its words. All I found after page three hundred twenty seven were blank pieces of parchment.

"Doc you bastard!" I yelled angrily, throwing my book on the ground. 'Damn that mage! What did I do this time!?' I thought to myself as I bounded down the stairs, leaping three steps at a time. I made sure to be extra obnoxious as I slammed the door to Doc's ward open.

He wasn't facing me, the little cheeky bastard. He was focused on one of his patients - looked like Mr. Whisk had cut himself with the saw again. I gave an impatient sigh as I waited for Doc to finish, but he took his sweet time chanting the healing spell. The room began to glow a bright red color as a magic ball of light formed around Doc's hand, and I watched as he channeled the healing magic into the gash on Mr. Whisk's arm. Immediately the wound stopped bleeding, and we watched as it began to heal itself, a thick scab quickly forming over the gash.

The walls turned back to their usual beige color as Doc stopped chanting his spell. His white robes turned with him as he moved to retrieve a red potion from the back cabinet, and then handed it to Mr. Whisk.

"Here you go, Mr. Whisk," He said gently, as he always did with his patients, "Please try to be a little more careful next time, hmm?"

Mr. Whisk gave a small laugh, "Of course, Doc Sky! Thanks again for your help." And with that Mr. Whisk hopped off the gurney and walked out of the room.

As soon as he was completely gone, Doc turned to me and sighed, brushing back a bang of violet hair, "How many times have I told you to wait until I'm done with my patients before you come barging in?"

"What in Farore's name did you do to my book?" I half-yelled, ignoring his question.

"What are you talking about?" He asked with a puzzled look. "I didn't do anything to your book."

"Liar!" I snapped back at him, "You stole half the text! Give it back!"

"Really, Melody-"

"Mello," I spat, "M-E-L-L-O. Got it?"

Doc stopped anxiously adjusting his glasses and turned to me, his pale blue eyes glaring at me like pointed icicles, "If you don't change that tone soon, it's not just going to be the text in the books you'll be worried about."

I bit back an angry reply and ran out of the room fuming. I stomped on the ground, making sure to disturb all of the patients and customers as I slammed every door I passed.

"Gods damn them!" I yelled with rage, my hands balled into fists. I was frustrated- I mean, my all-time favorite legend was completely ruined because of some stupid magic spell!

"Where are you going, young lady?" I heard from behind me.

I gave an aggravated sigh, "I need some air, Mima. Doc is pissing be off again."

The old lady gave a laugh, and I watched her twist her long silky grey hair. Though her face was old and wrinkly, she had a fire in her that burned brighter than most people my age. I felt my own inward fire cool a bit as she took my hand and swung it back and forth, "Oh come now, he's your father! It's his job to do that," She winked, "Just like it's my job to make you feel better. Tell me, what did he do this time?"

I gave a frustrated snort, feeling the fire burn brighter, "He ruined my Hero book!" I said with a bit of a whine. I took my hand away from hers before she could console me further, "It's too hot in here. I'm gonna go out for a while."

"Go out? As in the field?" Mima asked a bit wide-eyed.

"Yeah. So I'll catch up with you later. See ya!" I turned and ran out the main entrance to the Stock Pot Inn before she could stop me, and I felt a rush of relief as the cool air of the outdoors washed over me.

It was another busy day in Clock Town. Everyone was getting ready for the annual Carnival of Time, even though it was over a month away. Most of the children ran around outside while their mothers were in the market, shopping for gods knew what. A lot of young lovers were busy making masks to wear on the day of the carnival. Some of them were probably gonna get married, as was tradition in the town. There were the sounds of hammers knocking nails into wood, and I watched as the carpenters began to put together frames for signs that advertised the whole charade.

COME TO CLOCK TOWN FOR THE CARNIVAL OF TIME, one of them read, CELEBRATE THE LEGEND OF THE HERO.

I smirked. The hero of legends - long said to have been the one who travelled across dimensions to save us Terminians - was roughly painted in his usual green garb, wearing a pointed hat and holding a sword in his left hand. His face was left blank though, probably so people could imagine what he looked like – even though we already knew of his blue eyes and blonde hair.

He looked so proud on the billboard - almost cocky, even. I rolled my eyes and continued on, ignoring the rest of the signs. It was disturbing to think that our town portrayed Link, the legendary hero, as a cocky bastard. Quite frankly, I wanted nothing to do with the festival anyway. It was just a bunch of people running around with masks, getting drunk and having bar fights for three days straight. I was too young to drink, much less go to a bar, so what's the fun in that?

Clock Town hadn't changed much since the turn of the century. It never really expanded, and the giant clock tower in the middle of the town was still the tallest thing around for miles. It was pretty peaceful, yet festive and filled with culture. I loved that town, despite all of the annoying people that lived there.

I was making my way across South Clock Town when I spotted a figure running towards me. His deep blue hair shined darkly against his sharp yellow eyes, and I could make out the light tink tink of his armor plates clanging together, though most of it was hidden behind his light blue short jacket.

"What are you up to now?" Said the Knight of the People, his usual suspicious gaze fixed on me.

"What do you think? I'm gonna piss on the clock tower?" I answered with a scoff, "Good morning to you too, Pierre."

"You're always up to something," Said Pierre, ignoring my comment.

"Shouldn't you be with the Mayor?" I asked with curious angst.

He shrugged, his metal shoulder pads clanking together, "The Mayor told me to take a break." He sighed as he leaned against the wall of the clock tower, focusing on tightening the strap that fixed his sword to his waist. "It's been too quiet around here lately. I feel like I need to train more."

"You already train six hours a day," I noted, putting a boot and back against the wall, "Really, man, you work yourself to death."

"I'd rather work myself to death than to have someone die because I wasn't strong enough to protect them." He answered simply as he took a seat. For a moment, he looked miles away, though his eyes were fixed on his knees – the only skin exposed on his body beside his hands and head. I watched him with a bit of sadness as he slowly traced over his scars with his finger. After a while, he turned to me with unclouded eyes, "I thought you were on a reading spree."

My blood started to boil again. "I was on a reading spree, until Doc decided to erase the text from one of my novels!"

"What'd you do?" He asked bluntly.

"Aww come on! Am I that bad!?" I practically yelled, feeling as though I were about to explode.

"Well," Pierre said with a thoughtful look, "You were pretty bad last week when you decided to ransack the post office, and the time when you caused a full scale riot during the Mayor's speech. There was also that one incident involving the bunny hood and the-"

"Okay okay, so I'm pretty bad!" I interrupted, resisting the urge to smack my hand over his mouth, "But seriously, I really didn't do anything this time!"

"Hmm. And your father's not the type to randomly punish you…" Pierre looked toward the entrance to the town with a frown. "Well – don't do anything stupid."

I gave a little laugh, "Oh come on Pierre, you know me better than that."

I could see a little smile form on his face, "You're right. You're the definition of stupid."

"You too, dumb Din. The mayor probably let you off because you passed out again, didn't you?" He looked away guiltily, "Ha! I was right! See? I told you that you were working yourself too hard!"

He didn't respond. Instead, he sighed and stood to his feet – in other words, this conversation was over. I gave a small sigh of frustration, and the need I felt to run around outside of town grew stronger. I pushed myself off of the wall and began walking towards East Clock Town. "Like I said," Pierre muttered warningly, "Don't do anything stupid."

"Shall do something stupid!" I yelled back at him with a salute and a smile. He rolled his eyes and gave a small wave before turning in the opposite direction, headed towards his home. I guess it was kind of weird that the town rebel and its knight just happened to be best friends. But hey, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, am I right?

After Pierre left, I started on my way again. Since I wasn't the goodiest-two-shoes around, the guards had banned me from ever leaving the town unless I had permission from the mayor.

Of course, that meant I always had more exciting means of escape.

"What's the code?" Asked one of the children from the bomber's gang, a group of little kids who liked to go around helping people, or whatever. The little organization had been around for a really long time, and there were even rumors that the hero had once been a part of them.

"Seriously kid?" I gave him a frustrated look, staring down at his tiny figure, "You know who I am by now."

"Hmm…." He sighed quietly, "but the boss said that members should always say the code."

"Come on!" I strangled him in my head as I tried to remember the numbers, "Okay – let's see here… 5..3..2..1.4?"

"Good memory!" Said the kid with a big, overly sheepish grin - What's with kids and being so overly enthusiastic? "You can go." He stepped aside, revealing a small passageway just big enough for me to fit through.

"Thanks, kid." I said, and then walked inside.

Ugh, those damn sewers always gave me the creeps. I hated them with a burning passion, and I always had to hold onto my daggers, ready to throw them at anything disgusting that might be crawling down there. They were so dimly lit that I couldn't see a damn thing anyway, and I always had to watch my step in case there was a deep water hole instead of ground.

Scree, scree.

"What in the Gods' names-!?" I practically squealed as a giant, filthy, disgusting sewer rat jumped out of a small hole in the wall and scurried to the other side of the sewer. Before I had time to ready my dagger, another scree scree sound echoed from within the wall.

What emerged from the depths of the sewer walls was the biggest Gods damn Skulltulla I had ever seen.  It was the size of my leg, crawling around in the dark with its horrendous skull-shaped shell as though it were a proud demons advocate.

Before it could see me, I whirled around with my dagger and brought it down vertically on the beast. I managed to slice the bugger's head clean off, but much to my surprise its body still scurried around a moment before falling into one of the water pits.

"And stay down, bastard." I muttered with a cocky grin, cleaning the edge of my blade with a cloth.

It was pretty much like that for the next twenty minutes or so as I fought my way through the sewers. Damn skulltulla's were tough buggers, but I managed to down them all with my dagger, catching them off guard. When I reached the ladder leading to the exit, I gave a sigh of relief. My destination was finally within reach!

The Astral Observatory was an ancient dome-shaped building. It was rumored to have once boasted a giant telescope that could see pretty much every star in the sky, but if it was ever there, all evidence of it had been erased over time. All that was left of the crumbling old building were the once-colorful walls, which had long-since faded into dull blues. I climbed the rickety old staircase leading to the top of the Observatory, and then walked out the front doorway.

"Daylight! Finally!" I yelled in cheer as the field came into view. Termina field was huge, and from where I was standing, I could easily make out the Southern Swamp, Eastern Canyon, and the Northern Mountains. The Western Sea was a little harder to see because of Clock Town, but that didn't really matter to me because all I wanted to do was run around in the field like I did when I was an overly-enthusiastic little deku nut.

I eagerly hauled myself over the rusty old gates of the Observatory, throwing off my boots as I jumped into the grass. It was a clear day - the sun was shining bright, and a cool breeze blew across the field. My previous anger about my book was totally, completely gone as I ran, feeling the soft summer grass and occasional mud stick to my toes. The wind blasted in my face, leaving me nearly breathless as it collided with my skin, and I leaped into the air. I was like a wild horse, totally untamable and completely free. I wasn't meant to live behind walls, I was meant to run around in a field like a lunatic!

It was then, as I stopped to take a breath, that I spotted a small shadow on the ground. I looked up for a moment, trying to spot the cloud that was causing it. All I found was a strange black dot.

What in Din's name-?

I squinted, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand to try and make out the dot. It kept getting bigger, and it seemed to turn from black to green. By the time I realized it was something falling from the sky, it was too late for me to dodge.

"Oh gods!" Was the last thing I could yell before the giant green blur flew into me at high speed. Its heavy weight crashed into my body, knocking the wind out of me as I fell to the ground. My head must've smacked a rock or something, because the instant I hit the ground, everything went pitch black.

*            *             *

I groaned. My head hurt- ached, really. I could feel a large lump on the back of my head where it hit the ground, and it was sore to the touch. I struggled a bit as I tried to rouse myself further, since the pain left me in a rather dull state of mind. My vision was a little blurry when I first blinked my eyes open, not that it really mattered. The sun was nearly gone and the sky was a salmon color, but the rest of the world was one grey blob.

Damn. Just how long had I been out?

I tried to sit up, but something was covering me. Something annoyingly heavy - and warm.

What in the God's names was this thing?

I tried to push the thing off, only to give a yell when it moaned. Damn! This thing is alive! I snaked myself out from under it, but I still couldn't tell what it was, as the darkness kept me from truly seeing it. So, instead, I tried to feel it. Yeah, don't get me wrong, that sounds weird as the Dark Realm, but what other choice did I have?

At first I felt fabric – a soft cloth of some sort. It was wet and sticky - ugh, this was gross. My hands traveled to the left, and I felt something else. It wasn't fabric this time. It felt soft, yet pointed in some spots, and hot… Skin! Hold on, this was a nose! And a mouth, and eyes - A face – It was a person!

I leaped backwards, wide-eyed in surprise. Gods damn them; I had just felt up a person! Well - good thing it was unconscious.

By now, my eyes had adjusted to the dim light a bit, and I was beginning to make out a figure. The thing that had fallen on me was a guy. I leaned a little closer to investigate a little more. He was pretty young - it looked like he wasn't much older than me, and he wore a tunic and a hat that looked like a night cap as his garb. On his back were a shield and a sword –

"Oh my gods…" Was all I could stutter, my eyes wide in amazement.

I hadn't noticed it before, but now I could see the blade glowed in the darkness, casting off a faint, pale blue light. The hilt was a deep shade of violet, and a single yellow gem sat in the middle.  It had wings spread across and wide, as though the sword itself were a proud eagle. And at the tip of the hilt, just where the blade began, a symbol was etched into the blade. Three triangles, touching each other's tips to create a single unified triangle – it was the Triforce.

The Master Sword...

It was astonishing – I had never seen anything like it. I turned back to the figure, who I could now see in full focus, his body slightly illuminated by the light of the blade.

I – I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, hoping the person would disappear. He didn't. Oh gods, had I hit my head too hard on that rock, and now I was deku nuts?! I didn't mean it when I said I wanted to be a lunatic!

Groan. The person let out a small noise, and I could hear a quiet cough escape from him. 'That sticky stuff' I thought with a bit of alarm. I turned back to the blade, letting it illuminate my hands.

Blood.

My hands were covered in blood.

Oh Gods, my hands were covered in blood!

'Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!' I thought in a panic, 'What do I do!? That guy over there is really hurt, and he could be-'

I turned back to the figure, and slowly moved towards him. I could see the blood covering his tunic, as well as a large gash on his side, near his chest area. His blonde hair was clumped with dirt and sand, and some blood smeared across his face.

I didn't want to do it, but Gods; I had to be sure it was him. I gently took his eyelid with my thumb, and lifted it so I could see his pupils.

I found a beautiful deep azure color staring at me. I flinched, and the eyelid closed as he groaned again.

I couldn't believe it – it was really him. The one from the books I always read over and over. The one who had banished countless evils and drove away darkness. The person who had once risked life and limb to save our country.

It was Link, Hyrule's chosen hero. Here he was, right in front of me.

Dying right in front of me.

"Oh Gods!" I yelled, panic-stricken, "What do I do?! What do I do?!" I was in a frenzy, trying to figure out how in the world I was going to help this guy. I mean, I couldn't just waltz in with him; the townspeople would go absolutely deku nuts! And there was still the matter of the entrance. The guards would notice me if I ran through one of the gates, and I really didn't want to stir up any trouble.

But time was running out.

I watched as he heaved for breath, and every time he breathed, he made an odd crackling noise, like he was gurgling on something. It was amazing that he was still alive - it looked like he had lost so much blood.

I quickly moved over to unconscious Link. I felt horrible for leaving him there the way I did, but I didn't have a choice, really. "I'll be back with help," I reassured him, even though he probably couldn't hear me.

Then I dashed as fast as my feet would carry me. I practically sprung over the gates to the Observatory, grabbing my boots and throwing them on, not bothering to tie them. In the sewers, the skulltulla's and rats were out in larger numbers because it was nighttime, but I just kept slashing at them like crazy, clearing my way through as though I were some cruel butcher. I was so determined that I probably made it back into town in less than ten minutes.

I didn't stop once I was within the walls. I must've looked like a mad woman, sprinting in the middle of the night with shoes untied, covered in what-looked-like paint (at least, I hope they thought it was paint), but I didn't care. I ran all the way to the Stock Pot Inn, slamming the front door open with a newfound fury.

"Doc!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Doc, where are ya!?!?" I dashed madly around the Inn, trying to find him. Tears came to my eyes as my frustration welled within me; where in gods names was he!?

"Melody!?" I heard a man yell from behind me. I skidded to a halt, and pivoted to see Doc, staring at me with wide eyes, "Oh Gods Melody, what happened!?" He yelled in a worried tone.

"Doc!" I yelled back at him, relief rushing over me. My lungs began to burn, my exhaustion catching up with me as my adrenaline wore off. I felt myself falling to my knees, my legs failing to support me as they had weakened from running. "Doc, thank the gods I found you."

He rushed to my side, supporting me with his arm, "What is going on Melody?"

"Don't worry about me," I rasped in-between breaths, "Someone's hurt. He's hurt real badly, Doc. I think he might've broken some ribs."

"Where is he at?" Doc asked me, his voice still a little shaky. Oh boy, this looked bad. I hoped he didn't think that I hurt someone.

"He's outside," I sputtered, "By the eastern gate."

"Alright, I'll go get him. You wait here-"

"No! No dad," I hoped that by calling him by his title, he would realize how serious I was, "it's more complicated than that."

"What is it Melody?" He said quietly, having gotten a hold of himself.

"Okay… Don't think I'm deku nuts, okay? Promise me."

"I promise Melody."

"I- I think it might be Link."

Doc stared at me with confusion, "Link who?"

"Link, dad. As in the Link."

"The Link?" His eyes were as bold as a Zora's.

"You told me you wouldn't think I'm deku nuts!" I yelled at him.

"I don't!" He protested, "That's just.. A little hard to believe."

"I know, Doc, but you've got to trust me!" I yelled with ferocity. Doc stared at me, and then looked away with a thoughtful, yet very serious gaze. He almost looked intimidating.

"I need you to get Pierre." He said, finally.

"But dad!" I protested, "He'll tell the mayor! Do you know how deku nuts everyone'll get if they found out that-"

"I know, Melody!" He interrupted, "That's why I need you to get Pierre. He's better at cloaking spells."

I gave him a surprised look before nodding slowly, not knowing what else to say. He then let go of me - as I had regained my breath at that point - but not before giving my hand a reassuring squeeze, "It'll be okay, Mello. Alright?" He gave a faint, yet saddened smile.

And I watched as he ran out the door.

I followed suit, but turned sharp left as I full-out sprinted to the mayor's office.

"Pierre!" I yelled, slamming the door open - again. I was greeted with a handful of bitter stares. Oops, didn't mean to interrupt the super important Carnival of Time meeting. Guess I'll knock next time – not.

"Mello, what in the Gods' names happened to you?" Pierre half-yelled, greeting me with the same look of disbelief Doc had. Before he could say anything more, I grabbed his hand and started dragging him out of the office. He didn't struggle much - or maybe he couldn't struggle because my desperation was so great that I had somehow obtained inhuman strength (I'm so cool like that)!

"No time to explain!" I yelled, "Just come on!"

Pierre looked to the mayor with a bit of confusion, and the mayor let out a sigh, rolling his eyes and motioning for Pierre to leave. I guess the mayor thought it would be more than stupid to try and keep Pierre there, as I was renowned for my stubbornness.

Pierre didn't question me as the two of us dashed through Clock Town – he knew me better than anyone and he could probably tell by my attitude that something very serious was going down. We darted past the guard of the Eastern Gate before he got the chance to react, and once outside, I scanned the field, looking for Link and Doc. I soon spotted a bright red glow coming from some distance away – Good. Doc was already working his magic (no pun intended!). Pierre and I ran towards the light, and I soon found myself staring, once again, at Link.

The glow of Doc's magic illuminated him even further, and now I could fully see the extent of the damage. Doc had removed the sword and shield from his back and shed him of his tunic and undershirt, leaving his bare chest exposed. There were huge black welts on his right side, along with a gaping flesh wound that looked as though the skin had been torn off by a blunt object. A small bump stuck out unnaturally on his chest from a broken rib, and his right arm bent inward in an odd angle. There was blood trickling from his mouth, and every once in a while he would cough and a little more blood would spew. I suddenly felt the urge to hurl – It was truly a gruesome sight.

"He must've punctured a lung." Said Doc, "It's a good thing you found him Melody, I don't know how much longer he would have lasted."

"What happened?" Pierre asked quietly. I looked at him, and although his expression seemed stoic, I could see the look of shock in his eyes. They were fixed on the wound, as though somehow he could heal it just by staring at it.

"I don't know. Melody was the one who found him," Said Doc.

Pierre then took his eyes off of the wound and turned to me, "So? What happened?"

Even Doc fell silent for a moment, pausing from his endeavor to listen to my story.

"Okay. You guys are gonna think I'm completely deku nuts, but – he kind of – fellfromthesky." I tried to say it as quick as possible, hoping to hide my shame. Gods, they must've thought I was totally bonkers.

"What?" asked Pierre brusquely.

"He fell from the sky, okay?!" My voice rose in pitch and volume as I started to yell. I was determined to defend myself, "I was running around out here, minding my own business, and I looked up and there he was! Bugger knocked me out for a few hours; I even have a bump on my head to prove it!" I yelled, pointing to the back of my head in a swift, furious motion.

Doc stared at me in utter disbelief, while Pierre simply raised an eyebrow, neatly folding his arms in a quiet, nonchalant matter. Everything was silent for a few moments as they tried to understand me.

"If you think about it, The whole thing is crazy," I continued to defend, "I mean look – it's not every day a gods damn hero falls from the sky and smacks you on the head! Look, Pierre! If you didn't notice, that's Link, the hero!" I ran over to Link's equipment, picking up his heavy shield, "Look at this stuff! The shield, the sword – even his outfit is right down to the tee!"

This time, Pierre's look of astonishment was written all over his face. His mouth hung agape as he tried to stutter out some words, but nothing came out. He took another look at Link, this time staring at his face, and then his weaponry.

"I need to tell the mayor." He said finally.

"You can't do that," Doc replied, beating me to it, "Do you know how crazy the town's people would go if they heard about this? This young man, even if he is the hero, is in no condition for that kind of commotion. As his current physician, I will not allow it."  

Pierre gave Doc a puzzled look, "Well then why did you call me out here?"

"I need your help," Doc said with a small sigh as he pulled out a vial of red potion. He took it and opened Link's mouth, propping his head up with one arm while he poured the liquid down his throat. "This is no good," he continued, "There's fluid in his lung, but I can't drain it due to the risk of infection. I can't do much for him here."

"You want me to get him inside unnoticed then," Pierre quietly stated. He seemed to be rather deep in thought. I knew what he was doing: debating whether or not to tell the mayor. I knew he was loyal to the spoiled old rich like-like, but it annoyed me that he seemed so blind to the situation.

"Come on, Pierre." I said to him, "Look at him; do you think he'd be up for any of that?" I motioned to the dying boy in front of us. Pierre looked at me for a moment, holding my stare, and then gave a quick, frustrated sigh. He held out his hand towards link and chanted something I couldn't understand. Then, there was a flash of blue light, and the next thing I knew, we found ourselves staring at an old bearded man with a heavy brown cloak instead of Link - a perfect disguise.

"Come on man," I tried to joke, "You didn't have to make him a geezer."

"You're welcome." Pierre muttered, a little bit of agitation in his tone. He then moved to grab Link's middle while Doc took ahold of his legs. The two of them groaned as they lifted the fully grown teenager off of the ground. I picked up his sword and shield, walking close behind Pierre and Doc so people were less likely to see them.

We passed through the gate without much trouble, even though the guard glared daggers at me for passing through the gate without permission. I replied with a tongue and a finger, mocking him before turning back to my previous endeavor.

As soon as we made it back to the Inn, however, all chaos broke loose. Pierre and Doc rushed to get Link into one of the healing rooms, stationed at the back of the Inn across from the kitchen. Mima ran out to see what was going on, but I reassured her that everything was okay, and told her to go back to bed. There was lots of yelling and shouting as confused and curious customers struggled to see what was happened. When Link was finally on a gurney, and the door was closed, Pierre removed the cloaking spell, and Doc immediately got to work to fix him up.

From that point on, pretty much everything was a big blur to me. I was kind of numb – Doc told me it was from something called shock – and I don't remember much of it. The last thing I could recall clearly was the sound of the clock ticking as I waited outside Link's room. It was tick tock tick tock tick tock for about three hours before I finally went deku nuts enough to throw the damn thing right out the window.