Shadows of the Past
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"Shadows of the Past", Prologue to Chapter 2

Shadows of the Past

By: Clayton

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following story you are going to read is my very first attempt at a Zelda fanfic It takes place about a year or two after Links trip in Termina. I tried to make it as entertaining as possible. I am a very big fan of Zelda. I love to read, especially about Zelda. Though I love to read, I'm not that great at writing. When you finish reading this please feel free to e-mail me at  vejitta50@hotmail.com  with any questions and/or comments. I updated my story because I didn't like the way it was done. I tried to be more descriptive and make the storyline clearer.

Slowly, dark storm clouds rolled over the tranquil blue sky that hangs over the Haunted Wastelands. A dry, hot wind picked-up and blew through the entire area. Lightning can be seen over the horizon, soon followed by the low rumble of thunder. There sits a small Keep in the middle of this Wasteland. A small ray of light penetrates the clouds and enters a small room in the Keep. The room is dark, illuminated by only a few candles on a table. They cast an eerie shadow on a man who sits on his knees in front of the table. This man is in his early forties and is very muscular in build. He wears a scar, which, goes from his left cheekbone to his chin then it curves under his mouth. Behind him stand two servants who watch nervously as their leader, who goes by the name of Kain, reads over a scroll. The smell of incense hovers thickly in the air. On the table, in between the candles, sits a crystal prism. Once done, he started to chant and perform an ancient ritual. Some time went by and still nothing happened. The two servants stood with uneasiness about them because they both knew all two well that when Kain loses his temper, heads roll. The servants exchange nervous glances towards each other. 'Wasn't something supposed to happen,' one of the servants thought to himself? 'I'm going to pay for this', thought the other servant as he glanced at his friends arm which had a brace around it and was hanging in a sling. They soon brought their attention back to Kain as he started to rise from his prone position. Kain stood and leaned over the table. With an intense roar of anger, he slammed his left fist into the table. The blow sent the contents of the table crashing to the floor, which echoed throughout the room and adjoining hallways.

"Damn it!" Kain yelled in a fit of rage, "Why doesn't this work?" he picked up the scroll and proceeded to read it over. He had done everything properly. The preparation, the chant, everything was done as the scroll read. He read it over and over again, but still failed to see what he had done wrong. Frustrated, Kain turned and headed for the door that his two servants were standing along side of. Both of them brook out into a cold, nervous sweat, as they feared Kains anger, but he just stormed out of the door. The servants release the breath they had unconsciously held. A sigh of relief escaped from both of them as they slowly realized they had escaped Kains wrath. They turned to leave with Kain, but one of the servants was hit in the face with the scroll that Kain was reading. "Find who ever wrote that and bring him to me." Kain ordered as an evil smirk emerged from his sweaty face, "I want to.question him." The servants bowed to their masters order and set off at once to find the person.

Kain walked over to his throne room and sat down on his throne. The thunder could still be heard in the distance, and was only getting louder as it approached the silent Keep. The dry desert wind blew in through one of the many windows. Kain swung his right leg over the right arm bar and while leaning against the left arm bar he began to count the multi-colored little tiles plastered on his ceiling. God this place is so dull', thought Kain while he counted aloud. Just then, his advisor came through the door. The sentry was about to announce Kains guest presence, but his guest shook his head in disapproval. While he approached, he saw that Kain hadn't even noticed his guest.

"So, this is what you do all day my lord. I didn't know that this job was so nerve-racking on you. Mayhap I should come back when you're not so. busy," said his advisor in a cynical tone of voice. Kain looked at the man who would talk to him so abruptly. He saw his advisor dressed in his usual garments: a cloak with a hood over his head, which covered his face in a shroud of darkness. The only body part exposed outside of the cloak was his hands. His advisor always gave Kain the creeps, but they both shared the hatred for most of man-kind. All Kain did was shoot him a dirty look.

"What is it you want, Shanaar?" Kain said as he got back to counting his tiles, "See what you made me do. You made me lose count.damn it! This better be important." Shanaar sighed aloud in complete frustration and thought to him self, How could this brainless ameba be my boss'.

"It is very important." Shanaar turned and signaled the sentries to leave the room. Once they left Shanaar continued, "I have important matters to discuss with you." Disappointed that he couldn't finish his task at hand, Kain sighed and gave Shanaar his undivided attention. "Thank you my lord. Now where was I? Ah yes, the Gerudos have found the site you asked them to find. They say no payment would have been necessary, but they had trouble finding it. They want 25,000 rupees for their trouble." Kain gave a smile to Shanaar.

"They had trouble finding it!?" Kain bellowed, "It's a freaking Pyramid! Plus it's a huge, black pyramid! How can you have trouble finding that!?" Kain removed himself from his throne and began to pace about the room in intense thought. "Fine," Kain continued, "We'll pay them what they want. It won't matter anyways. Two days from now they'll all either worship me as their God or be dead" Kain smiled at that thought. 'Mmm yes', Kain thought,'I like that idea a lot.' Just as he had finished that fanciful daydream, a guard burst into the room. He was out of breath and covered in blood. His clothes were torn, and tattered from the battle that could be heard coming from the next hallway.

"Excuse me Sir for interrupting, but we're under attack!" exclaimed the weary solider, "We've got everything under control, but I thought it best to come warn you that a rebel band of Gerudo are here to try and stop you from finding the Pyramid." Kain smiled and walked over to the wall to grab his sword.

"Find the leader of this group and bring her to me. Alive if possible," Kain paused for a moment then he smirked, "Dead is just as good." The guard saluted and headed off back to battle.

"You know Sir," spoke Shanaar, "If Gerudo are here they, more than likely, have assassins here as well." Kain nodded.

"This I am aware of Shanaar." Kain said as he sheathed his sword, "I'm sure we're not alone in this room as we speak!" with those words an assassin dropped from the ceiling and pulled a dagger. Kain eyed her up and down and a low chuckle rumbled from his gut. "What's this!?" he kidded himself, "You're the assassin who is here to stop me? Why you can't be any older than 15!" With those words the Gerudo assassin charged him and plunged the dagger deep into his right shoulder. "Wow!" exclaimed Kain, "That was a nice shot. If I wouldn't have moved you would've gotten my heart." With equal lightning-like speed Kain grasped hold of the young, frightened Gerudo assassin's throat, and began to squeeze tight. With one hand he picked her up and brought her eye level with himself.

"I may have missed your heart," the Gerudo coughed, "But the poison will not." Kain squeezed even tighter as he thrust her frail body against the wall.

"Fool," Kain hissed, "Poison won't work on me." A look of fear and defeat came across the young assassins face as she realized that she was out-classed. Kain removed his face from hers and realized that his attacker was quite the beauty. He began to sniff her hair slowly, and proceeded to lick her cheek. The young Gerudo closer her eyes and let lose a very low squeal as Kain did so. With a sharp, blinding pain to Kain, she was released from his vice-like grip.

"That was for licking my face you animal," she again kicked him in the crotch and ran for the door; tears streaming from her face out of fear and terror. Kain waved his hand and the door slammed shut, just before she could leave. "No!!" screamed the Gerudo, as she pounded on the door. Hearing the screams another assassin climbed in through one of the open windows, and charged Kain who was regaining his composure. With I swift knee to his face, Kain went sailing back against the wall, and she began to pummel Kains stomach with lightning-fast punches. Soon realizing they were doing nothing she bolted for the door only to stopped cold in her tracks. Kain had grabbed the Gerudo's head from both sides and lifted her from the ground. The young assassins screams could be heard from the other side of the room as Kain snapped the neck of his current attacker, before making his way over to the frightened assassin. Kain tossed the body aside and got into her face.

"Play time is over sweetie," said Kain with his eyes glowing a bright red, "Your soul is mine!"

Chapter One

The sun shone brightly this morning. The gilded rays of the sun penetrated the deep foliage of the Kokiri Forest and managed to hit Link square in his face disturbing his peaceful slumber. Link rolled over to try and escape the bothersome rays, but failed to elude them. He sat up then proceeded to stick out one hand to block the light. His other hand was used to rub his eyes to remove the crust, which had formed during the night. Once he actually dragged himself out of bed, he began to go about his daily routine: making his bed, carving a path to the kitchen through his dirty tunics, and making himself some breakfast. "What should I have today?" Link thought aloud as he ran his fingers through his dirty, and wild hair, "Oatmeal, oatmeal, or oatmeal? That is the eternal question isn't it," Link chuckled aloud. He decided, after a couple minutes of debate to himself, that he would go fishing for his breakfast. Link grabbed his rod and bolted out of the door to fish for breakfast. He was so hungry he and every other Kokiri inside a one-mile radius could here his stomach growl. He made his way through the forest to his usual fishing spot and prepared for a long wait. The fish here were more stubborn than Saria. It took forever to catch one, but when he did, watch out because it was usually a whopper. Hours elapsed with still no luck. Link grew increasingly frustrated. While fishing, he heard a noise behind him. Startled, he turned around and drew his sword. He was surprised to see Saria walking towards him. After his little adventure with Ganondorf and his trip through Termina, Link always carried his sword with him. "Sorry. I didn't know it was you." Link said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it." Saria said as she prepared to sit down next to Link. "How long have you been out here fishing?" asked Saria inquisitively.

"I don't know.an hour or two." Link said while he shrugged his shoulders, "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I guess." said Saria as she drew in the dirt with a stick, "You look frustrated so I assumed you had been out here for a while. Can I try it? It looks like fun." Saria said as she gave Link her sad puppy-dog look.

"Whatever," Link sighed and handed the fishing rod to her, "But don't expect to." but before he could finish his sentence Saria stood up and shrieked with joy.

"I got one!" Saria yelled with excitement. Link just sat there in disbelief. I spent an hour and a half trying to catch a fish, she comes along, not even spending a minute with the pole, and see catches one', Link thought to himself. Saria started pulling on his shirt to grab Links attention. Link turned to see one of the biggest fish he has ever seen. His jaw dropped in amazement.

"I.I can't believe you caught that.that thing." Link stared in awe at the fish Saria struggled to hold. It was the largest Catfish he'd ever seen. "Can we eat it, or will this fish taste bad?" Saria said with a grin across her face. Seeing no sign of excitement from Link she began to avoid his death-like stare. "I'm sorry I caught this. I know you must have spent a lot of time, and I ruined it for you. Please don't be mad." Saria said sniffling like she was going to cry. Link gave her a sarcastic smile.

"I'm not mad. Just frustrated, that's all. Don't worry about it. We can show Mido the fish you caught, and rub it in his face. He's never caught anything this big before. He'll wet his pants when he sees it." Link chimed as he thought about the look on Mido's face. Soon a huge smile emerged, and Link lead Saria back to his house. "Lets go."

Kain's two servants, Shiryo and Finreir, marched at a leisurely pace towards the farming village of Anlec. The sun baked them under it's scorching rays.

"What an asshole." commented Shiryo as he kicked a rock, "I hope he takes a long walk off a short pier."

"I hear you man. Can you believe what he broke my wrist for?" complained Finreir, "He couldn't figure out a damn crossword puzzle, so I told him the freaken answer to one of the questions. Then he broke my wrist, and hit me in the face with the salami he was eating." claimed Finreir rubbing his arm. He turned and faced the fortress they were walking away from. His face grew red and he turned around, "DIE SLOW!" Finreir turned around to face the front and smiled. He felt better now that he let out that steam. He hated Kain with a passion. He could not stand to be around that incompetent moron. If he were strong enough he would have done Hyrule and the rest of the world a favor. No one he knew liked him. They all acted as if they liked him so they could get something out of him. Kain was very gullible. The only reason he worked for Kain was because he wanted to be on the winning side for once, and was promised anything he wanted once Kain got what he was after. He hated having to kiss that boobs ass every day. He felt like he had to puke every time he said 'yes, my lord' or 'sorry, my lord'. It made him so mad that he could scream. He heard Shiryo yelling and snapped out of his daydream. He turned around to see Shiryo motioning for him to come. Finreir looked over to see the small village of Anlec.

"Oh, were here already." He said looking surprised at Shiryo.

"Once we left you zoned out till I snapped you out of it. Lets find this guy then bring him back so I can get back to my family. I've got better things to do with my time. Today is my little girls birthday. She's eight." said Shiryo proudly.

They walked through the village looking for anyone who could tell them anything about the scroll they had in their possession. Shiryo decided to split up to make the search faster. He desperately wanted to go home, but first he had to get his little girl a present for her birthday. He walked around, but found no one who was of any help. He looked up to see a temple belonging to the goddess Nayru. This looks like a good place to look', he though as he walked into the temple. "Hello.is anyone here! I could use a little help! I have a question!" he heard nothing but his lowly echoes bouncing off the four pillars towards the center of the room. On the wall straight a head he saw a gold statue of the goddess Nayru. On the adjacent walls were huge torches, this gave the temple an eerie effect, casting creepy shadows as he walked about the temple. In front of the statue lay a marble alter with a gold goblet and a silver sheath that held a gem encrusted dagger. Shiryo's mouth began to water. He could make a large profit on the stuff in this place. Shiryo looked to see if anyone was a round, but before he could do anything a man walked out of a room.

"How may I help you?" asked the priest rubbing his ever-balding head. Shiryo showed him the scroll and asked if he knew who wrote it. The priest shook his head and said that the man who wrote it was killed in a fire. The priest also elaborated on what the scroll meant. It turns out that the scroll was a prayer to call forth spirits from the other side. He also said that only someone who had a strong soul and even stronger magic could use this. Any lesser a man would burst into flames suffering a most horrific death. "Be careful on how you use this, or who uses this. The man who wrote this was obsessed with death and finding immortality. Ironically, the fire he died in was due to not being strong enough for his own magic. Served him right. It contains powerful magic." Then the priest gave him an amulet with a glyph on it. "If something should happen that amulet I gave you will protect you from the waves of evil energy. It will also give you enough power to take out the person who used the scroll." The priest then eyed Shiryo up and down, "Because I can tell you have no clue how to use it. Be careful." Then he turned and walked back to the room from which he came. Amazed at what he heard, Shiryo turned and left the building to see Finreir approaching the temple.

"Oh, you're here too." said Finreir surprised to see Shiryo, "What's that in your hand?" he asked pointing to the amulet. Shiryo told him what the priest had told him and his theory about what Kain was up to. He told Finreir that he thought that Kain wanted to have either immortality or wanted to bring someone dead back to life. With Kain's I.Q. of a Deku stick, they figured maybe they should keep an eye on him before he did something stupid.

Kain was in his office leaning in his chair, almost asleep, when someone knocked on his door sending him crashing to the floor. Shiryo walked in to see Kain on the floor with his right leg dangling in the air. Shiryo tried not to laugh at him for fear of repercussion. Kain shot up to see Shiryo hiding his smile. After dusting himself off he sat back down in his chair.

"Was I disturbing you, sir?" asked Shiryo with a smirk growing ever more clear-cut across his face.

"No.no, I was just doing some paper work." replied Kain as he started shuffling through some of his papers, "What can I do for you?"

"The man who wrote the scroll died using it. Some man told me to be careful when you use it. You do know what it's for.right?" he asked giving Kain a blank look.

"Of course I do." replied Kain offended by the remark, "Now give me the scroll and you may leave for the rest of the day. Thank you.you've done well."

Shiryo had a look of surprise on his face. Had he heard correctly? Did he say he could take the rest of the week off? Maybe the waxy build up in his ears had returned, but he decided to just count his blessings and leave.

"I hate that guy. I'm glad I won't need him after tomorrow." Kain said going over the scroll.

"He may get in the way. You should keep an eye on him." interrupted Shanaar, "Do you think he knows what your plans are, sir? Shall I send someone to take care of him?" Kain jumped up scared out of his wits by Shanaar.

"Damn it Shanaar!" yelled Kain, "Why must you always do that? Use the door like any other normal person . Do what you want, cause I don't care. Kill him if you wish. I don't care." With those words Shanaar left and headed towards his quarters. Kain began to re-read over the scroll to see if he could find what it was he was missing. Shiryo was no help in finding anything Kain didn't already know. Relentlessly Kain read over, and over the scroll. Searching tirelessly for his answer. How was he supposed to conquer all of Hyrule with this band of misfits already under his control? Just then something caught Kains eye as he scanned over the paper. In the drawing on the bottom left-hand corner was a side note that seemed to be scribbled down. Kain placed the paper in better lighting and was surprised to see what it was. The spell failed to work because he didn't have enough etherl power, and the only way Kain knew to get etherl power was to absorb the souls of the living. With enough souls under his belt he could finally call forth the Demon World and rule this world with an iron fist.

'That fool doesn't know who he's messing with', Shanaar thought as he opened his door to his room. His room was clouded in total darkness. The only thing in the room were twelve stones, each with different runes, spread evenly in a circle. Shanaar sat down in front of the circle and began to chant. Soon a beam of light-green light emerged from the circle. In the middle of this light was a face that could barely be made out.

"Are things going as planed?" asked the face in a low, scratchy voice.

"Yes my lord," replied Shanaar, "The fool doesn't know the power he holds with that scroll." The face smiled and spoke again,

"Then you know what you must do?" asked the mysterious face. Shanaar arose and nodded. "Good. Now go!"

Chapter Two

"Ummmmm." Saria moaned as she finished eating her trophy catfish, "That was good. Nice job on cooking it, Link." She looked over to see Link stuffing his face while he nods. Saria leaned back into her chair and let a belch slip out that made Link look straight up at her. Link was surprised that Saria had done such a thing. She was such a girly girl. The kind who is scared of a spider, and freaks out when a lizard crawls by. Saria's face turned red. She was so embarrassed at what she had done. Links table manners were starting to rub off on her. She shuttered at the though of doing all the nasty things Link did. Playing in mud, climbing trees, breaking bones, catching bugs, and other things most boys do. Link leaned back into his chair then proceeded to give her applause. Link then let out a burp louder than the one Saria had just done, and when she wasn't looking, he blew it at her.

"Your burp was good, but you still have a ways to go to catch up to me." Link smiled warmly at Saria who sarcastically smiled back. Saria started to sniff the air "Do you smell." before she could finish she looked over at Link to see him smiling at her, "Oh.gross! You pig!" she scolded. She shot him a dirty look that he happily returned. Then he began to giggle uncontrollably. Those giggles turned into an outburst of laughter.

"That look on your face was the same look Mido gave me when he saw the fish you caught.its.its priceless." He fell out of his chair then started rolling around on the floor while laughing. Saria stood up then gave Link another nasty look. Link stopped and stared at the expression on her face. "If you stare to long like that your face might stick." Link said as he soon broke out into another fit of laughter. Saria sighed and shook her head, then proceeded to do the dishes while Link suffocated himself with his own laughter. After his bout of laughter he got up then tried to help do some dishes, but Saria told him to go bug someone else. Link shrugged then decided to go buy a new pillow or something along that line. His busted last week when he threw it at a cricket who was hiding somewhere in his room. He'd been sleeping on a pillowcase filled with his boxers. It's amazing that when you go to where the sound of a cricket is it stops then starts in the other side of the room. Link spent most of the night trying to catch the S.O.B. He decided to bring a little extra money so he could get something else too. Link trekked the long journey to the Market in Hyrule Castle. The sun was out and beating down hard. No wind made it all the worse. Once there he saw some familiar faces. Malon and Zelda where there talking to each other. It was great to see them again. His attention was diverted elsewhere when he saw a cart that sold jewelry. Link collected rings that spoke to him. He walked over and saw a ring, which begged to be bought.

"How much is that ring?" Link asked as he pointed to the one he wanted. The sales woman sat there thinking for a while.

"Because you look like a man who knows what he wants I'll give it to you for.300 rupees. What do you say?" said the old hag with a smile exposing grungy, yellowed teeth. Links jaw dropped to the floor.

"300 rupees! Have you gone crazy or just senile old woman!" Link said as he threw his hands up in the air. "For 300 rupees that ring should clean my house for me! Do you think I have 300 rupees? I can hardly see the top of this cart!" The two of them began to argue over the price of the ring. This happened every day in the market place, but Link and the old hag where screaming at the top of their lungs making sure that everyone there could hear it. Soon a crowd of spectators crowded around the two as the spared off in a verbal fight. Even Malon and Zelda went over to see what was going on. They saw the merchant woman was Saiyuko, and the person haggling was Link. Zelda's face flushed when she saw him. Zelda has had a crush on Link from the first time she met him. Zelda remembered when she first met Link. They met in the courtyard at the castle. She was spying on Ganondorf. Zelda snapped out of the daydream when she realized that they had stopped arguing. Link turned and walked away a happy person. One hundred rupees for the ring. 'God I'm good,' he thought to himself as he squeezed past the crowed that had gathered. He bumped into someone and was about to apologize when he saw who it was. Malon and Zelda were standing there. Links eyes lit up as he gave both of them a hug.

"How have the both of you been? I was going to stop by today to see Epona, and maybe you too Malon." Link said as he started to smile. Malon gave him a look that could've made Ganon squirm. Link cringed then hid behind Zelda to avoid the death-glare Malon was giving. She just brushed it off and her and Zelda continued to shop, leaving Link hanging. They spent the day together catching up for old times sake. After hours of shopping with these two girls, Link was exhausted. He could run a marathon, but couldn't shop with two girls. For Link, it was pathetic. He suggested that they should sit down. Before they could say anything Link was already siting on the fountain in the east wing of the market. Link sighed and got comfortable. The sound of running water was inviting, so Link splashed some water on his face. It felt great. The water was so cold, and on this hot day, it was a blessing. They sat there and talked for a while before they were interrupted by the sound of screaming and crying.

"Do you hear that?" Link asked as he stood up and looked towards the ally were the sound was coming from, "I'm going to go check in out." Malon and Zelda stared blankly at each other for a moment then continued the conversation they were having before they saw Link.

Link walked into the ally way. It was cold and very cramped. The ally was about six feet wide and had garbage bags siting next to most of the doors in the ally. Link figured those must be back doorways to the homes. As he traveled further into the ally, he could hear the sounds of two men yelling at each other. Then he saw a little girl sitting in between four crates crying softly. Link peered over to get a better look. The girl had a pink party dress on, which appeared to be new. It had mud and dirt stains on it though. The girl looked up to see Link starring down at her. Frightened she began to run, but was stopped by Link who had her by the arm.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Please, stop struggling." Link pleaded to the little girl. When she stopped he continued, "What's the matter? Are you okay?" the little girl started to calm down and told Link what was happening.

"My daddy is inside wrestling with a man. They're yelling at each other." she said in between sniffles, "Then someone tried to grab me and my dad hurt him. Dad told me to run away so I wouldn't get hurt by their wrestling." She began to cry into his chest uncontrollably. Link picked her up and carried her over to Malon and Zelda who gave Link looks of confusion as to what was going on.

"Link, what's going."

"Just take care of her and go find some help." Link interrupted. Zelda got up to find some help while Malon took care of the little girl. Link ran back into the ally. He saw a door that was open and decided to go there first. As he approached the door, the screams of the two men were growing louder. Link stopped then leaned up against the wall. He peered in to see two men fighting. The one on top had a knife and was trying to stab the man under him. Link ran into the room to help him. He kicked the man on top right in the ribs. The guy dropped the knife when he rolled on to his side holding his ribs. Link the proceeded to help the man up.

"What are you doing here kid?" before Link could answer he continued, "You must leave now! You don't know what's going on here, or what you're getting yourself into by helping me! Thank you, but leave! Now!" Link gave the man a puzzled look. He just helped him and he was telling him to go home. During this bout of confusion, Link felt something dripping onto his hair, hat, and face. Link wiped the liquid off his face and was stunned at what he saw. Blood. He looked up to see blood coming from the mouth of the man in front of him. He then collapsed onto Link. Link looked up to see the man he had kicked starring at him with a sinister smile of approval.

"Thanks kid.for keeping him still long enough for me to kill him." He said while bowing in gratitude. Like lightning he came up and slashed Link across his right cheek knocking Link back and giving him a bloody gash. The blood trickled down Link's cheek, leaving crimson stains on his tunic. The guy then jumped over Link, who was on the floor now, and ran like hell. Link struggled to his feet to chase after him, but was stopped by the man on the floor.

"Wait.please." gurgled the man on the floor. Link stopped and bent down on one knee. The man handed Link a picture of the girl who Link had just left with Malon. "This is my daughter. She holds the only weapon that can be used to stop him now. Please..take care of her, and tell her.that I love her," and with those words he passed away.

"No no!" yelled Link, "What does she have? What's her name? Stop who damn it.who!?" but his words fell on deaf ears. Pissed, Link bolted out of the ally almost hitting the guards Zelda had gotten. He looked frantically searching for the man who cut his face.

"Damn it! Where did he go?" Link said with his blood boiling. Finally giving up, Link saw that the girls and the guards were starring at him. Zelda ran up to Link and put her handkerchief on his cut.

"Are you okay? What happened? How did you get this cut on your face?" Link put his finger to her lips to silence her.

"I'm okay." Link said praying that no one would notice his face was flushed. The low levels of light coming down made that possible. Link then turned his attention towards Malon who was holding that mans child in her arms. She was doing a great job comforting her. She was cracking jokes to keep her from crying. Link walked over there to see if she was all right. Link kneeled besides Malon and took the girl in his arms. He then proceeded to ask her if she knew anything about the man who her father was fighting with. The girl nodded nervously at Link's question. She told him that her dad worked for a man that he didn't like that much. He also told her that the man was planning something in the Haunted Wastelands. She didn't know what, but her father gave her something to give to anyone who looked like they could help. She proceeded to pull out the amulet her father gave her. Link looked it over. 'This must be the weapon he told me about,' Link thought as he stared at the glyph on the amulet. He had seen this glyph before, but where? He remembered now. The Hall of Heroes in the Lost Woods. It was just south of the Forest Temple. "I have to go." Link bolted for the forest to go see someone, as he ran he yelled, "Take care of the girl for me. I'll be right back!"

The sun was a wonderful yellow-orange mix while it set over a horizon of trees by Hyrule Castle. Breathless from his run, the man who had just killed Shiryo, decided to walk the rest of the way to the Keep. First, he would take a break. He was breathing very hard. He'd never run so fast before in his life. A couple yards in front of him were a group of trees. He decided to sit down and lean against one of them. As he caught his breath, a slight breeze picked up gently rustling the tree leaves causing some of them to float amiably to the surrounding ground. As he stood up the breeze went through his hair drying up the sweat beads that formed from his little run. 'This feels so good. It must be nice to not have to worry about anything and be able just sit to enjoy this place,' he thought as he walked to tell Kain that Shiryo was dead. He had done his job well. This assassin was going to get big bucks. He heard a rustling in the bushes next to him and a voice spoke out. "How much did Kain pay you to kill that man?" questioned the voice from the bush.

The assassin thought he was hearing things before he realized there was someone in the bush. "500 rupees.why?" answered the assassin.

A bag flew out and landed at his feet. He picked it up and opened it. His mouth watered in delight. There were five hundred rupees in there. He was interrupted by the voice, "There's more where that came from. That's payment for your first job." Then a second bag landed next to his feet. Excitedly he picked it up and opened it. There was one thousand rupees in the bag. He almost had to catch himself from collapsing in faint. "Half now, half later. I want you to kill Kain." exclaimed the voice. The assassins head shot up. He dropped the bag of money then walked backwards slowly while shaking his head no.

"I can't kill him. He's too strong. He'll rip me apart like the chicken he eats. You're gonna have to find someone else man. I'm good, but not that good," grunted the assassin. Two objects flew out of the bush and landed next to him. It was a sword and shield. Both were eminently well done. The sword had a black blade with foreign runes on it. The hilt was nothing special. It was leather with a colossal ruby encrusted on the bottom. The shield was nothing-special either. Pure black with the same symbols from the sword on the shield. They went around the border with a huge ruby in the middle. 'Defiantly a matching set,' thought the assassin.

"With these you can take him out. However, you must do it now while he slumbers on his throne. He has consumed vast amounts of souls during a three-hour timeframe. He has been weakened by this. Go now! Go." the voice trailed off. He picked up the weapons and his money then ran to the keep that Kain was at. When he held the weapons in his hands, he could feel unlimited power coursing through his veins.

The assassin crept through the noisome corridors of the deathly silent keep. Eventually he made his way to the kings throne room. Silently he stalked forward across the floor of black marble until he confronted the towering, silent figure of Kain. Kain had devoured so many souls that he had grown three times his normal size. His skin was pale as if he was dead, and his eyes gave off an unholy red glare. The kings eye-fires were dim. Was he really sleeping as the voice said? He made no move to his presence though so he must be. Terror filled every bone in his body as he peered at him in awe. The runes in his crown gave off no internal lambency. For a moment, the assassin wondered if this was some evil trick, some new form of torture then he realized that he didn't care. He raised his blade and brought it down in a flashing arch. At the last moment, warned by some sixth sense, Kain stirred and raised his arm to ward off the fatal blow. The sword cut through his wrist and his hand fell to the floor. So great were the evil sorceries permeating from his body that the hand maintained some animation and scuttled off into the dark corridor like some huge spider. Kain was still exhausted from eating so many souls, but his power was still vast. He blasted the assassin with an evil bolt of lightning, which shot out from his eyes, that threatened to strip away the flesh from his body. The shot hit the assassins shield and sent him flying through the air. A great hiss of frustration escaped from Kains lips. The assassin struck again, shearing Kains ribs. The evil that held Kain together was so great that not one ounce of blood spilled from his mammoth body. Kain lashed out with his remaining hand and grasped the assassin by the throat, throttling him. Jewels of ruby red blood stood out of the assassins neck where Kains finger nails bit deep. His feet left the ground as Kain lifted him one-handed. Kain turned and catapulted him out the window sending him to a horrific death among the jagged rock face below. Kain smiled with delight. Then he realized that his left hand was missing. In a fit if anger, Kain screamed at the top of his lungs. Rage made his blood boil as he realized he could no longer cast the spell he had so diligently prepared for, or could he. He remembered his hand running of. After a frantic search, he sat down frustrated. Then a light went on in his peanut-sized brain. If he could not find his hand, he simply would take one from someone. An unholy smile grew ever so larger at his own idea. Kain yelled for a guard to enter the room. A few seconds later one came rushing in to see what he wanted.

"Yes.thank you for coming my good man. I need to ask you a favor. Could you give me.a hand?" The guard proceeded to look upon Kains face. His eye-fires glowed a bright red along with an ever-present smirk stretching across his face.