LoZ: Dark Times

Atticus sighed. "...Kakariko village has been attacked. It was...burnt to the ground." he said gently, but he almost sounded guilty.

Before Shadow could raise his voice again, Konbei shifted to the side to reveal Niamh fast asleep in the other room. The ice absorbed back into his hands and he looked back at Shadow.

"She's fine."

Niamh yawned loudly, she then sat up and rubbed her eyes, when her senses had returned she looked over and saw that Shadow had woken up, she squealed in glee and ran to Shadow's side and hugged him tightly "Thank goodness you're alright."

=====

"I managed to buy us some time." a new voice said from behind all of the ones at the infirmary.

Shadow looked where Konbei had moved- and after seeing a sleeping Niamh, visible sighed in relief. "Thank the goddess," he mumbled under his breath- but before he could do anything else, the girl awoke and ran towards him-

And once more tightly hugged him. He stumbled back once, wincing slightly at the tenderness of his wounds. Still, he lightly patted her head in response. "Again with the hugging...?" he asked with a dry, amused smirk as he looked down at her. Thank the goddess... She looked relatively unharmed.

Looking back up, Shadow's eyes settled back on Konbei- and he frowned, pausing for a moment before speaking. "So, what now?" he asked with a calm frown. "You going to kill me?"

Niamh looked to her father, would he really kill Shadow? Her new friend? He couldn't, after Shadow had risked so much to save her.

Konbei raised his eyebrows. "If I was going to kill you why would I bother getting you help first?" He said.

Niamh smiled brightly, she leapt at her father and hugged him around the waist "Thank you Papa."

Shadow smirked. "I dunno, maybe to torture me?" he answered dryly with sarcasm. As if in response to his words, he winced lightly in pain as a hand went up to the wound in his shoulder.

"Damnit," he muttered under his breath as he looked at the heavy bandages wrapped around his shoulder and bare chest. "Not that damned wound again..." He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"It's Arthur's portals," he said firmly, looking up at Konbei with a hard-set frown. "That's what happened with me in Kakariko, and it happened again in Ordon. He can summon shadow monsters from it, and... well..." His voice trailed off, and he gave a single, bitter laugh, laced with self-loathing as he raised his hand. "One right here."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help you?" Niamh asked, looking to everyone for an answer.

Konbei put his hand around Niamh's shoulders and looked down at Shadow. "Then why are you different from the other monsters he summoned?"

Shadow looked at Niamh first, grinning.

"No more hugs," he answered simply.

He then looked back at Konbei, his smile turning into a frown.

Crossing his arms, he sighed as he said, furrowing his brow, "It's a long story. Basically, though, as weird as it sounds, I'm not from this world." He looked off to the side, frowning deeper still. "I must've been pulled from my world's Dark Realm to this one when this Arthur guy started playing with dark magic." He glanced back. "In my world, Zelda is only a child, and Link is very much alive. I should know-" here, he couldn't help it. He'd told them enough as it was already, why not the rest? He gave an almost devilish grin. "I'm him. Well- part of him, that is." He shrugged. "Like I said, long story."

Niamh started to think about it, getting a headache from all the over thinking in her small head.

Sergius, who had been leaning against a doorway nearby, had listened intently to what Shadow had said.

Nuala's eyebrows lifted slightly - that was unexpected. So this boy was part of Link? "A reincarnation?" She asked.

"You're Link?" Konbei said bluntly. Although his tone suggested that he didn't believe Shadow, his story did make some sense. "Wait... does Arthur exist in whatever world you're from?"

Shadow looked over at Nuala and shook his head. "Not exactly," he said with a frown. He then looked at Konbei, explaining as best he could, "Remember when I asked you about the Four Sword Sanctuary?" He crossed his arms again. "I was trying to figure out if I was still in my world or not. Because in my world, Link is the Four Sword hero- y'know, the one that draws the sword out of its pedestal and gets split into four copies." He smirked lightly, bitterly. "I'm the fifth."

He then thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he said simply. "I'd never heard of him before I got here. Even the geography of this place is different than mine."

"Hm," Nuala toned, going over Shadow's story in her mind. "This could mean so much..." she said half to herself.

"What are you gonna do...?" Konbei said.

Shadow thought about this for a moment.

"My first thought was how to get back home," he admitted. He then shook his head, his voice becoming fierce as he snapped, "but I'm not going ANYWHERE until I'm sure that bastard Arthur is dead. As long as I'm breathing, he won't lay a finger on the castle- or anyone inside."

"But if he's the one who can open the Dark Realm, how are you gonna get back once he's dead..." Konbei pointed out.

Shadow smirked.

"He's not the only one who can open portals to the Dark Realm," he said with a small laugh. "The way I figure it, his interfering is what brought me here- and what is most likely keeping me trapped here. Get rid of him, and I can probably go back. If not, well..." He paused for a second, frowning- then shook his head. "I'd rather kill myself before I side with him. So, I guess you're stuck with me," he added with that trademark fanged grin of his.

"Huh..." Konbei thought about what he said and the Dark Realm. "'Spose we should hurry up and kill Arthur then."

"That might be best," Shadow remarked with a smirk. "We should meet up with the others back at the castle." He paused then for a moment, looking down at himself and his numerous dressings- and his lack of a shirt.

"I think I might need some clothes before I go visit Zelda first, though," he added with a dry smirk. Remembering something, he reached up and tugged the hat off his head, looking at it with a frown for a moment- the trademark hat of the hero, Link- before setting it aside.

"... It's probably best she doesn't figure out who I am."

Celeste jumped up and disappeared to another room. She returned a few moments later carrying a shirt a pair of long pants. "Here," she said with smile and held the clothes out to Shadow. "These were Konbei's but you can have them."

Shadow gave a dry smirk, taking the clothes with an appreciative nod. He set them down- and winced slightly once more, looking over at his bandages. They were stained with blood- and, with a scowl, he lifted his other hand as he gently peeled one of them off. Already, beneath the bandage, his wound could be seen- and it was almost entirely scabbed over.

He gave a dry laugh, muttering bitterly to himself as he continued to take the rest of the bandage off and set it on the table, "at least there's one upside to being a monster..."

Nuala went to stop Shadow from removing the dressings but when she saw they were all but completely healed, she let him go.

Konbei cleared his throat and did his best to swallow his pride. "I wouldn't call you a monster," he said. "Niamh would... wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

Niamh had already run off to the other room, so Shadow finished taking off the bandages off his chest and slipped over the shirt. It was a little big, but he didn't care much. It offered little protection, but, hell... He never wore any kind of armor or anything like that, anyways. Once he was clothed, he looked up at Konbei, giving a small smirk. "Well, thanks," he replied bluntly, looking back away to his arm as he took the last of the bandages off his arm and set it on the bed. "Speaking of her, though," he said bitterly, looking back up at him, "I wouldn't get close to me, if I were you- and don't let her near me, either. Next time Arthur makes an attack, I might be pulled through the portal again unwillingly." He shook his head. "God knows I don't want to go through that hellhole again."

Fortuna looked away as Ember's shock appeared on his face. "We did what we could... but that bast-" She stopped herself, nearly biting her tongue in the literal sense. "His magic was too strong. He overran Kakariko with Shadow Monsters."

Her eyes narrowed. "What a shame Arthur is to your people."

-S-

Thorne was walking towards the infirmary soundlessly, Miles' letter in hand.