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The final section of my Link stories, and hopefully the last. Link returns and finds, like the Incredibles did, that the world doesn’t stay out of trouble very long…
30+ chapters?
Chapter 2: “…What?”
In the Shadows Beyond This World
Chapter 1: Ten Years of Grief
Link opened his eyes. He felt heavy. His gaze swirled around woozily, coming to rest on a large man on a golden platform.
Only then did Link realize that he himself was on a grey platform, an island in a vast darkness. Light and beautiful patterned waterfalls came from above.
Directly in front of him, there was a golden platform. Standing on the pedestal was a man; a rather stout man; a man with rich red and gold robes and white hair and beard.
“Greetings, Hero of Time.” Link, still partly asleep, blinked before he realized the man was speaking to him.
“I am Rauru, the Sage of Light.”
“Where are we?” asked Navi. Thank goodness, thought Link, she’s still with me.
“We are in the Temple of Light, in the Sacred Realm.”
What? Link thought to himself. He had been here before. What was going on?
As Link curled up on his old bed, he looked at Navi.
“Do you think the king would know of my father?”
“I don’t know if the king is alive,” Navi answered hopelessly. “Go to sleep. We need to save the Gorons in the morning.”
Link smiled slightly and rolled over, breathing gently.
…And woke up, staring at the ceiling of an inn. He lay there for a moment, remembering where he really was. He was in a valley, in a rather remote area. Hyrule was still months away. Summer had only just come, but it had been seven years since the princess had sent Link back in time. Which meant that the dreams were only just beginning.
Link grimaced. He was not looking forward to the end of them.
Navi stirred beside him. “Link? You’re awake? It’s only about sunrise… too early…” she mumbled.
Link turned his head to look at her delicate blue glow. “I just had a dream.”
Navi sat up. “Not really a good dream, huh? Will you tell me?”
“It was when I first came out of the time warp and met Rauru.”
“Oh.” She began to flutter and lifted off the pillow, hovering over his face so he could talk to her better. “That’s not good, is it? You’re going to fall apart when the end comes, aren’t you?”
“I know.”
“Drat! And you were just getting to enjoy yourself, too!”
Link smiled broadly. “That’s what it seems like, doesn’t it?”
“I hope you’re not going to do a repeat of what happened the first time.”
“Yes…”
“Well?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ll break down and turn into a silent personification of grief. I don’t think I will, but if I think about it…” He grimaced again. The memory of Rana’s death was still vivid, if he brought it up. He had just gotten much better at blocking it.
And Navi knew it.
She smiled down at him. “Don’t forget who’s also here for you.”
“I won’t,” he said, smiling back. “Thanks, Navi.”
Once Link had woken from Koholint Island, freeing the Wind Fish, he had told Navi, Tael, Tatl, and Demon everything. The mask was not impressed by what was essentially ‘the tale of a mushy twit’, but forbore to make many snide remarks – perhaps because Link showed no sign of susceptibility to anger. When they reached land again, almost a year later, Demon took Tael and Tatl and disappeared. Link parted from him cheerfully, though not without wondering whether his disciple would be a force for good or evil. Or maybe not involving himself in anything, but observing, as he had often done while travelling with Link.
In the ensuing weeks after the first dream, Link became increasingly distracted from his current life with his dream life. The dungeons seemed to flash by, and he met again Saria, Ruto, Sheik… and then he defeated the Twinrova. Then he rescued Rana from the Redead farm.
The next week was both bliss and agony, as each night brought Rana to him, more and more the girl he knew and loved, and the clock ticked down. He saw Sheik joining them in their week of preparation and relaxation, and Saria, and Malon, and Rana herself, and their first kiss… and then the final battle…
It was fall, two years after Ganondorf had fallen. Winter was not far behind, and Link was as cold, grim, and silent as the hills surrounding him.
His double life was over, but the nightmares continued… Every night, every night for two years, Rana died in his arms…
Journeying north, with Epona, who had somehow come to him a short while ago, even bigger and stronger and faster than he remembered her, he was at last trying to go back to Hyrule, or at least near to it. In recent months, he had found and tamed a hawk, whom he named Forest. She rode on his shoulder, and Navi sat on his head. His clothes had changed slightly. His hat and tunic had received worse buffeting than could be repaired by fairy magic, and he had had to make stylistic changes accordingly, including redoing the neckline and adding reinforcement to both. He also replaced both his boots and his gauntlets, and wore a chain mail shirt under his tunic. Just in case.
He came to a tiny village, pleasantly situated in a narrow valley. Nearby was a small ranch, with a field full of grazing circular-horned goats.
For a long moment he gazed down from his vantage point in the pass.
Then he made up his mind and rode down, sending Navi away. “I’ll call you if I need you…”
The first thing he noticed was that his clothes were vastly out of place. He turned to the small shop, setting Forest on the saddlehorn.
The stout woman inside, Sara, he guessed from the sign, sat up sharply, as if she wasn’t used to tall, handsome swordsmen walking in everyday. “What can I do for you, m’dear?”
“I need new clothes,” Link said simply. “What’s appropriate?”
She asked few questions, and Link guessed she was feeling overwhelmed. He wasn’t sure what his purpose was himself, but he was forming a vague plan in his mind.
There was a back room where Link got changed into a sleeveless white shirt, brown shorts, a blue sash, and sandals. It felt strange to see the Kokiri tunic with no one in it, but he folded it up, went outside after paying, and put his old clothes in one of his saddlebags.
He went back in and looked at himself again in Sara’s tiny mirror. He froze for a moment, then nodded. His mind was made up, definitely this time. But he didn’t want a welcoming parade…
“Is this village close to Hyrule?” he asked.
“Yes, sir!” Sara answered. “Just half a day’s travel north through the forest, sir!”
“You don’t have to call me ‘sir’,” Link said automatically. “I’m – my name is… Green.”
Sara gave him a slow, puzzled look, but shrugged good-humouredly. “Anything else you’ll be needing, Green?”
“Is… is the mayor here?”
“The big house you passed, m’dear. Why?”
“I want to live here.”
“Oh.”
Link – Green took Epona’s bridle and walked toward the big house. Faces were appearing in the windows of other houses, and two small boys – one hardly a toddler – came to gawk on a small footbridge across a stream.
Green walked up the ramp to the mayor’s house and knocked. The door was opened by a very pretty girl with hair the colour of pale honey and hazel eyes. She smiled shyly at Green. “Do you need to talk to Daddy?”
“Yes… if it’s convenient.”
“DADDY!” she called into the back of the house.
A tall and very heavy man came out quickly. “Oh? What is it, Ilia? Visitor?”
“This man wants to talk to you.”
Green bowed his head in greeting. “I’m Green. I’m a wanderer… But I’d like to settle here.”
“Oh?” The mayor peered closer at Green. “You certainly look capable. That your horse?”
“Yes… Epona.”
“That’s the name of the hero’s horse! You’re not the hero, are you? But his name’s Link.”
“Um… I did find a country on my travels in which Epona was the name of the goddess of horses…”
“Well, then… I suppose you’re good with livestock?”
Green shrugged. “A bit.”
“You could help out on the ranch, how’s that?”
“That sounds fine. I’ve never worked with goats before, but I’m a fast learner.”
“You don’t sound terribly cheerful about it.”
Green hesitated. “My fiancé died two years ago, killed by monsters, and I’ve been having dreams about it ever since…”
“Oh! Oh, well, then, perhaps you’re right to come here. We’ll help as we can.”
“Thank you.”
“Now all you need is a house…”
“I can build a house.” Green’s mouth quirked lopsidedly. “Not as good as I’d like to, though.”
“Come with me. I’m Bo, by the way.”
Bo, with Ilia skipping ahead, led Green past the shop to a wide path near the edge of the forest. There were people standing in the doorways, now, staring curiously.
In a small hollow on the edge of the forest, a tall rock sat comfortably. On top of it was built a small wooden tower, it seemed.
“This was the first mayors’ house,” Bo said. “But then Ilia joined me out here in Ordon, and it wasn’t big enough anymore. All the folks around here have families. For all it’s so tall, it’s really only a one-person house. Do you like it?”
“It’s perfect for him, Daddy!” Ilia called from the balcony where the front door was.
“Yes, I agree,” Green said, nodding slowly. “I like it a lot. Thank you, Bo. Already you’ve done so much for me.”
Bo waved a large hand. “It’s nothing. I have the idea that you’ll be a great addition to our community. We’ll have a welcome party for you tomorrow.”
Green hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Bo had already turned away and didn’t see the hesitation.
Ilia hopped down. “Lovely horse. Her name’s Epona?”
“Yes.”
“There’s something I should show you. Something important that Daddy forgot.”
“What is it?”
“Follow me!”
She walked down a path leading further into the forest. Ducking his head under a branch, Green followed rather apprehensively.
Ilia turned off the path into a sandy beach on the edge of a lovely pool of water. “Here!”
Green’s eyes widened. “It’s beautiful. What is it?”
“This is the spring of the Light Spirit Ordona. I guess you wouldn’t know, being a traveller, but after the Hero of Time defeated the Evil King Ganondorf, we found more ancient protectors! The Goddesses, the scholars said, gave them to Hyrule long ago, but they were sort of forgotten over time… Anyway, with their help, we can defend ourselves against whatever attacks Hyrule next. There’s a spring in Faron Woods, too.”
“What about Kokiri Forest?” Green said without thinking.
Ilia looked at him with her head cocked. “I guess you know a bit about Hyrule?”
Green shrugged noncommittally.
“Well, yes, but the Kokiri part is farther away. I think. I’ve never been there. I stayed on the path when we moved. Or when I came to join Daddy, yes. Anyway… That’s what I wanted to show you!”
“Thank you,” Green said, bowing his head to her.
His house was almost unfurnished, but there was a large oven, and a deep, cool celler, and a few shelves, and ladders to the upper platforms. Skylights let cool air inside in summer, but they were closed now.
The topmost platform had a tiny round window looking down on the hollow. Stars came through when he finally climbed up to it. He sighed and sat down, looking upwards. For a moment his face relaxed and it was the face of a small boy gazing at the stars.
Then he came back to real life. Going back down, he settled Epona, took his bed-roll, climbed back up, and went to sleep on the top platform.
The next day, Bo did indeed arrange a party. The whole village was there, but the whole village was only five families. There were lots of introductions. Green met Sara’s family, that was her husband, her daughter Beth, and her cat, and he met the two little boys, Talo and Malo, and their parents, and Fado, the man who owned the ranch and who was very knowledgeable about goats but a little slow on most other things, and Rusl, Ordon’s swordsman, with his wife Uli and his son Colin.
Green warmed to Colin almost instantly. The boy was about ten, and was terribly shy, but kind-hearted. There was a person that he reminded him of… but they didn’t come to mind, so Green simply ate and drank and tried to enjoy himself. He surprised himself in succeeding pretty well. The children, especially Beth and Talo, tried to monopolize his time, but Rusl managed to wade through them whenever he wanted to ask a question, or comment on something Green said.
Ilia was always in the thick of the talking, but she had lots to say to Sara and Beth, as well. She had no reserve, it seemed, and she was very spirited. On asking, Green learned she was sixteen. Then, he learned, without asking, that Beth was twelve, Talo was eight and a half, and Malo was three.
They all made him feel at home, without any pretensions or false hospitality, and Green felt at ease. He knew his decision to stay had not been wrong.
The next months were full of the same, easy-going harmony that marked the whole of Ordon’s life. In the morning and the evening, Green helped Fado with the goats, though there was slightly less to do during the winter, and then Rusl would usually challenge him to a sparring match at some point during the day, having learned that Green was also an expert swordsman. Green often won, but not always.
Colin was a great comfort during that time. With Navi hiding in the big pool that the stream led to, it was not always safe to go to see her, and when the snow came, it was far too cold to swim out to her. Colin was not the same as his father; he was more pacific. Perhaps his shyness contributed to that, perhaps it was the innocent but constant snubbing he endured daily from the boisterous Talo. Whatever it was, Green looked out for the boy, and Colin trustingly confided in him his hopes and fears and desires. Green wondered why. He still found it difficult to smile easily, but Colin said:
“You listen, you know, as if you know exactly what I mean… You’re trustworthy? Um… You know a lot of things that no one else knows… and you don’t laugh when I talk about fairies and fish and stuff… Mother doesn’t think fairies and fish should be in the same story… It doesn’t matter that you find it hard to smile, because I know you still love everyone.”
Green gave Colin a little hug when he told him this. He did still love everyone…
There was just one thing that he felt uneasy about. Ilia, pretty, spirited Ilia, had taken it upon herself to make him smile, and had enlisted Beth on her side. It would be awkward to avoid her, so he let her lighten his mood as she could. Occasionally, he thanked her, which she laughed off.
Spring came, and the goats were in the field all day. Now there was less need to clean the barn, but more responsibility towards herding. Epona certainly got her exercise that spring.
It was still April, and Rusl and Green had gone to the forest for fallen wood, a certain type of wood that Rusl needed for carving – for Rusl made wonderful carvings.
In the evening, they stopped beside Faron’s Spring. It was wonderful in the sunset.
“There is a certain sadness as twilight falls,” Rusl said quietly, as they sat gazing into the rippling water.
“Perhaps it is the day not wanting to wait for tomorrow,” Green replied.
“There’s a tale that those who have… gone before us, they are the closest to us at twilight… with their lingering regrets.”
Green sat very still, and Rusl felt it.
“I don’t mean to disturb you, lad.”
“No, I know.”
“I shouldn’t have brought that up. It’s just what I feel about this time of day. My late mother told me about that… but on another subject, it’s going to be the Princess’s birthday this week.”
Green turned to look curiously at him. “Is it? Princess Zelda?”
“Yes. Ordon is going to send her a present, as will all the other villages, I’m sure. But my question is… would you like to take it to her?”
Green stared in silence for a long while. “It’s been so long since I was in Hyrule. …Yes. I will go.”
“If you don’t want to…“
“I do want to. I want to see how far the reconstruction has come since Ganondorf fell. And besides… it’s time I went back. Perhaps I’ll be rid of nightmares if I go.”
Rusl glanced at Green, then shifted his shoulders and stood. Green followed.
“As you like,” Rusl said. “We’d better be getting back, then. I’ll talk to Bo.”
Green nodded and reached for Epona’s bridle. They walked slowly back to the village, over the narrow bridge across the wide ravine that lay between Ordon and the forest, past the spirit’s spring. At Green’s house, they unloaded the wood and Rusl managed to carry a great deal of it. Green offered to help him, but Rusl waved it off.
“You can keep the rest. Still gets cold at night.”
Colin came running up to greet his father, with a wave and a smile for Green, who waved back.
Then, as his friends went out of sight around the bend in the path, he went inside to make his supper.
He was interrupted when he was just finishing by a hail from outside. “Hey! Green, you in there?” It was Fado.
Green nimbly scaled the ladders to the top window.
“You are! You want to come help put the goats to bed?”
Green nodded. “I’ll be right there.”
Fado nodded back. “Right. Hey, where’s-“
Green didn’t hear the rest, jumping down to the door.
Fado looked nervous. “Where’s Epona?”
Green looked around. His horse had vanished. There were so many horseprints around his house it was a futile endeavour to try to track her, but he could take an educated guess.
“I think Ilia’s taken her.”
“It might be one a those monkeys,” Fado said dubiously. Some monkeys had been seen in town recently, and the villagers associated them with missing items and general trouble. “I’ll be right back.”
He trotted down the path to the spirit’s spring.
Epona was there, her hide gleaming. Before her, a short and slender figure reached out to rub her nose.
The figure turned and saw him. “Oh, hi! I washed Epona for you. She’s a girl, too, so you have to treat her nicely!”
Green relaxed a bit. He was not going to get a dressing down for not taking care of his horse.
“What is it?” Ilia asked.
“I was just wondering how I could treat her like a girl,” Green said. “The only thing I can think of is buying her ribbons… but that seems a bit silly.”
“No, it isn’t. Not for a horse. Well, I guess it’s time to take care of the goats, huh?” Ilia continued cheerfully. “Go on, then. Watch out for monkeys!”
Green nodded and mounted, riding off to find Fado.
The days passed, and Green practiced his swordplay more diligently, just in case. The boys and Beth showed up to watch him a lot. They seemed to have an uncanny ability to know when he was practicing. Rusl had made him a practice dummy.
Colin told Green that he was making a fishing rod for him. It had been a while since he had handled a fishing rod, but he was touched by Colin’s project. Though the boy knew that Green had to go away just about the time it would be finished, he said cheerfully: “You’ll be back soon, and then we can go fishing together. And then, could you teach me how to ride a horse?”
Green nodded reassuringly.
Then he had to go help Uli, who had lost her baby cradle. There was a monkey near it, but Green just called Forest and she grabbed the basket right from the monkey’s paws. Green wondered if the monkeys really were bad, even if this one had taken the cradle. The ones in Termina had been friendly.
The day before he had to leave, he was just finishing his practice when Talo gave a shout.
“Hey! There’s a monkey!” And he ran off down the path towards the wood.
His brother and Beth began to follow out of reflex, but Green stopped them.
“I haven’t seen any monsters in the forest, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Let me go.”
“He’s an idiot,” Malo grunted. “Go get ‘im.”
Green made sure his sword was secure on his back and mounted Epona. Colin took off towards the village.
Green rode fast into the forest, Epona leaping effortlessly over the fences set up between Ordon and the outside world. They flashed past Faron’s Spring, and through almost a tunnel.
Then there was a smaller tunnel in front of them, and Green hastily tugged Epona’s reins. She almost didn’t stop in time, and bumped into the wall before coming to a prancing halt. Talo’s footsteps led into the tunnel.
“Thanks, Epona,” Green said, patting her shoulder. “I’ll go on from here.”
He wished he had brought his shield as well as his sword. He felt slightly unbalanced. At least it would give him a chance to try some of his new two-handed techniques.
If he ran into trouble.
He ran into trouble. The cave had several vicious bats, which was normal, but there was a Deku Baba near the exit. Green frowned. That shouldn’t have been there.
Past the tunnel was a wide, sparsely wooded opening. The trees that were there were tall and wide.
There were more Deku Babas. Not only that, but some sort of Bokoblin, as well…
Green charged through them all. His goal was not to kill them all – yet. His goal was to save Talo, whose footsteps had vanished.
It would be easy to get lost in that part of the forest. Keeping the location of the tunnel in his mind, he headed north. After a time, he found a sort of path, with animal tracks – and Bokoblin tracks.
The path led up along hollowed out logs to –
“That’s not the Great Deku Tree, is it?” Green stopped in surprise. “No, it’s too big. It’s not the same at all.”
He ran up the log path to the very foot of the cluster of giant trees.
Talo was huddling in a barrel-shaped cage, along with a young monkey. Both were squeaking in fear. Two Bokoblins were guarding them.
“Don’t look, Talo!” Green cried, and chopped each of the monsters in half.
Then he turned to the cage and lopped the top off. The rest burst in pieces.
Talo jumped up and down and shouted, his fear completely forgotten. “Yay! You saved me, Green! And the monkey’s not a bad monkey at all. She tried to help me… ‘course, I wouldn’t have gotten caught if I hadn’t been chasing her… I wonder what she wants – Hey! Where’d she go?”
The monkey had disappeared.
“Never mind,” Green said, taking Talo’s hand and pulling him gently along. “We should definitely go back to the village. It’s not safe in the woods anymore.”
“Boy, am I gonna get it…” Talo sighed dejectedly. Then he perked up. “Unless you promise not to tell anyone! Will you promise? I don’t wanna get yelled at!”
“Well… I don’t know. It wouldn’t be right…”
“Just don’t say anything! If they find out, you can say they didn’t ask you about it. Or something.”
Green’s mouth twitched. “I still think it’s a bad idea. I’ll think about it.”
When they reached Epona, Green helped Talo up and led the horse back. He heard a shout.
“Hey! Green!” Rusl was jogging towards them, a sword and shield on his back. “Did you find him?”
“Yes.”
Talo cringed. “I guess you don’t have to promise, then…”
“I’m sorry for not being here earlier,” Rusl said, panting slightly. “Colin came to tell me. You shouldn’t have had to do it on your own.”
“It’s all right,” Green replied. “There are monsters in the woods… will this affect tomorrow? Is it still all right for me to go?”
Rusl thought about that. “I think it should be. I can guard the village from those weak things. They’re tenacious, but weak. As long as everyone stays in Ordon, it will be fine. But… if you could hurry back, that might help us.”
“Do you know why they suddenly appeared?”
“No.”
Green was silent.
In the village, Talo jumped off the horse and ran, aiming for the ranch so he could go and hide in a pile of hay, but Rusl caught him and dragged him to his home at the watermill.
Green watched them go, then began to check Epona over. He had just discovered a bloody scrape on one shoulder from hitting the rock when Ilia hailed him.
“Green? Daddy wants to talk to you about tomorrow.”
“All right. I’ll be there.”
She ran away. Green caught Epona’s bridle and followed her.
Bo was waiting for him. “Here you are, Green.”
“Yes. Um, Talo is safe, but there are monsters in the woods. You should know.”
Behind them, Ilia snuck up to Epona.
Bo nodded. “Thank you. About tomorrow, I was thinking. If you left early in the morning, you could be at the castle in perhaps two hours. Maybe less. Then, I was thinking, depending how long you want to sight-see, we won’t expect you back until tomorrow night, or later, if you like…”
Green nodded back. “Thank you. I should pack tonight, then. I want to get changed, too.”
“Court clothes?”
“No, not really fancy… just… more appropriate.”
“This is a pretty important mission, Green. I’m glad you’ve taken upon your capable shoulders…”
Ilia gasped. “Green, what’s this?”
Green turned and winced. She had discovered the scrape.
“How COULD you? You were pushing her too hard again, weren’t you?”
“Ilia, now-“ Bo tried to intervene.
“Father! Don’t stand up for his carelessness!” She began to lead Epona away. “It’s all right, we’ll go bathe your shoulder in the spirit’s spring.”
“Wait! Ilia!” Bo ran after his daughter, arms flailing. “Without Epona, it’ll take too long to get there!”
“Bo – wait – it’s all right,” Green interjected. “I’m sure I can get to the castle without Epona. It won’t take that long.”
Bo sighed. “I don’t know, lad. Perhaps she will listen to you better than to me.”
“Right.” Green hurried after her.
He found the children sitting in front of his house, eating last year’s apples.
“Way to go, Colin, really,” Talo was saying sarcastically. Colin, hunched up on Green’s balcony, curled up even more.
“Hey,” Green said mildly. “Colin did the right thing. If I hadn’t been there, Rusl would have been the only person able to help you.”
Talo grunted. “Well, you put it nicer than Dad did, anyway… I thought he’d never stop yelling… and I’m still mad at Colin.”
“That’s all right,” Green said, reaching up for Colin and swinging the boy to the ground. “I can see this from both of your views. That doesn’t change my mind either. Colin, did Ilia go by?”
“Yes, and she looked a bit huffy. Did you make her mad?”
“Epona got scratched running through the forest, and Ilia went to heal her. Bo’s afraid I won’t get her back in time for tomorrow.”
“I’ll go talk to her!” Colin volunteered, running off.
By the time Green came up to the spirit’s spring, Ilia had let Colin in and had locked the spring’s gates again already.
“Colin?”
“Green? She won’t listen when I try to tell about Talo and the monkey. I’ll try again, but you’ll have to come in through the back –“
“If you’ve come for your horse, forget it!” Ilia called from further back. “You irresponsible jerk!”
“Ilia, that’s too strong,” Colin protested gently.
Green turned away to find the narrow crawl-hole in the rock wall around Ordona’s Spring.
It was a tight fit, as usual, but he made it through.
Ilia had sat down with Colin, and was murmuring gently. From her expression, she had finally listened to the tale. Epona’s shoulder was healed from the magical fairy water.
“I guess I should find him and see if he’ll forgive me,” she said finally.
“I have,” Green said softly.
Ilia jumped and looked at him. “I’m sorry, Green. I didn’t know. I should have listened to Colin.”
“It’s all right. You know now.” They all stood up, and Green walked closer. Colin hopped over to him and gave him a hug, which he returned. “So, Epona can come with me tomorrow?”
“Yes… but, Green?”
“Yes?”
“Could you promise me something?”
“What is it?”
“Don’t do anything… too heroic while you’re away. Don’t… get hurt going out of your way for people.” She looked more directly at him. “Yes, that’s what I mean. Come back safely.”
He nodded. “I will. I can promise that.”
“Thank you.”
“Well…” He moved over to Epona.
He felt a vibration in the ground, and his ears twitched suspiciously. “I think…”
He whirled. Moblins on boars crashed through the closed gate, sending heavy pieces of garlanded wood flying everywhere. Colin gasped. “Green…”
“Get behind me!” Green barked, flinging out an arm. Epona reared and screamed.
One of the Moblins had a bow, and aimed it. Green turned, to jump in front of the target, Ilia, but something heavy hit the back of his head and he fell like boned fish…
No! screamed his mind, but his limbs would not respond. Water filled his ears. In darkness, he heard Ilia shriek…
Chapter 2: “…What?”
