No real warning this time, but a VERY mild trigger warning for the depressed.

Hey!

Look!

Listen!

A/N: Two weeks late, whaaat? Nooo! Not me!

Okay, I'm sorry this is so late. Basically shiz is going down in my life, so I haven't had time for this, but I'm not dead. Yet.

NoSignalBlueScreen: Your advice never fails me. No warning here, heh... I hope the balance here is just as good as last chapter. ^-^' For those who read this, good for you reading author's notes, and the story will be about 4 more chapters. You now have a heads up! Yay!

lockbird: Yes. Exucuuse me princess will be everywhere soon. SOON.

Thanks to: Many guests, UndeadOctopus, lockbird, Rex888, NoSignalBlueScreen, NerdFighterDFTBA, kittycat1810, and Kitty Lue for your AMAZING reviews! AGhh! I wish I could type custom responses to you all!

-Hey! Listen!-

Black spots danced weakly in front of the hero's eyes. Muted voices broke through the silence. They sounded hostile, strangely enough. Blobs of pink moved in front of him in slow motion, moving around, blurry and slightly lagging. The muffled sounds undoubtedly did not match the movements he saw. The large wolf blinked his eyes a few times, attempting to clear his foggy vision. The the patches of darkness retreated, and his eyes tried to focus and then unfocused again several times. Eventually, Link was able to make out individual faces and voices from the jumble of senses.

Rusl was there. Yes, Link knew Rusl. He was always kind. He was the one who had given him a family, and he always had a grin on his face. He looked angry now. Next to him was Ilia. She was also nice. She never cared about anything. She was carefree, and she was always concerned about what's next. She looked so worried and sad. Mayor Bo was off to the side. He was the leader. He was always either stressed out or laughing his days away. He always knew what to do. He seemed lost and confused. With the mayor was Colin. Colin was the innocent one everybody could laugh at because he was just too cute. No, not now. The little boy had a pained look on his face.

Nobody else was there. It was just them. But they weren't themselves. They were strangers now. Lost, confused, hurt strangers that were looking for an answer. But then again, the hero assumed he wasn't exactly himself either. Given the situation, he would probably be just as lost as they were. Their most famed villager, and the one who looked over and protected them, just turned into a wolf in the middle of their peaceful and rural town. He'd be just as freaked out as them if that happened. Terrified, rather.

The hero looked around a little more to clarify his position. Rusl was ranting on about the wolf to the mayor, and while Ilia joined in a few times, she stayed silent. They had yet to notice Link was actually awake, so he took the rest of his little time to think of what he was going to do. He wasn't sure if he wanted to escape yet. He needed the light arrow, and it had to still be in the village. So Link waited and thought.

He was in a cage. The bars were made of wood, and it was fairly large. The wolf could easily stand and turn around without his tail hitting anything. The structure itself looked like it was built in five minutes. It had a flat wooden bottom that was covered in hay. The hero assumed it was supposed to work as bedding. Branches from many different types of trees were nailed to the bottom piece of wood to form the cage, and another sheet of wood covered the top. The branches still had twigs and some leaves attached to them, and Link had no doubts he could snap them in two easily.

As if... His mind retorted. If he twitched even a muscle the village would be on him like bees to honey. He'd probably get knocked out again and put back in another, more stable, cage. The process would repeat until he couldn't break out, which would be a very bad thing. Hell, they were probably going to upgrade his confinement anyways, break out attempt or not.

Well that's not good.

Link didn't care if he could escape the many cages they put him in, but if they actually managed to hold him, who knew what would unfold from there. They would probably accidentally kill him! One slip up and that was it. It would be all over and he'd die trapped in the body of a feral monster. The hero willed his thoughts away. Now was not the time to be thinking negative. That was the sort of thing that could kill him, not his own physical actions. The village would never kill the legendary "Hero of Twilight" on purpose. They still knew it was him, just in a different body, right?

Well of course not, Mr. Important Hero.

Link mentally slapped himself. Of course after the twilight overcame Hyrule they would be scared sick by something like this. They probably did think he was possessed by a monster that wanted to kill them all in their sleep. In a way, he was. The crystal showed them obvious distaste, and it did take control of him for a period of time... He just had to keep moving. There was always something next. He had to always work to the next goal.

Either way, Link needed a course of action. He needed something to distract himself. He needed a strategy to work with and make sure he didn't get himself killed or trapped in the form he was in. Link quickly formed a plan. It was rash and probably stupid, but as Midna told him many, many times, that was his specialty. With a swift movement, the hero thwacked his tail against the lining of hay covering the wooden floor. The movement swept dirt in every direction, covering the wolf's hind legs in dust. The young hero resisted the urge to shake the nuisance off.

Nearly immediately all eyes were moved to him. Rusl, Ilia, Colin, Mayor Bo, everyone just stared at him. It was like they expected him to just lay there for another five minutes, while they just stared at him. Link stared back just as plainly. His dark blue eyes sparkled with something dangerous, like he was testing them. Rusl stood up, turning his body toward the cage. Slowly, he approached the weak containment device. He'd admit, it probably wouldn't hold the brute it held, but the wolf wasn't out yet.

Rusl kept moving forward slowly, each footstep landing with a slight thunk on the dirt. The other three villagers only looked on in complete shock. Ilia made a gesture toward the cage, a pleading look in her eyes as she looked to the Rusl. The wolf still didn't move, biding his time. Even the timid Colin managed to speak up, obviously objecting toward this plan. "Dad, what are you doing?" He asked in a shaky and weak voice.

Rusl didn't reply. He just kept moving toward the cage until he was standing directly in front of it. Link remained motionless. One wrong move and that was it. He'd be trapped literally inside himself forever. Nobody moved. The wind's gentle whistling slowed to a halt. The clouds slowed in their path, the air chilled.

One wrong move.

Link lunged forward, his body pummeling forward roughly, shoulders forward in a hunched fashion. Still his eyes remained steady. The wolf braced himself to hit the cage wall, and only in a few milliseconds he slowed to a complete halt. Link turned his head, his fur pressing up against the sides of the cage, poking out past the branches of wood. His breathing and eyes remained stable. He had put on a good show. It had looked like he tried to break out, yet failed.

Rusl stumbled back as the wolf approached. It was trying to kill him! Fear overtook Colin and Ilia, and they scrambled backwards as well. Only the mayor managed to keep a clear mind. Bo kept an eye on the wolf as he moved. It had been stopped by the cage. In a fluid motion, he charged forward. With one sweeping motion from his hand, he grabbed Rusl and yanked him back further.

"He's trying to kill me!" Rusl shouted. He was laying on the ground, panting heavily, dirt around him flung up into the air, and only just settling back into irresolute peace. Bo perked up and took a step forward. He crouched down to the taller man, offering him a hand up. Still Link did not move. "I don't think our Link would try to kill you."

"He would kill you if he could."

The mayor and Rusl froze still. The timid Colin had just spoken their minds so clearly, it was almost haunting. The words hung in the air ominously. Could their famed hero... beast... thing... really not escape the cage that the village had thrown together in a panic? It was a vivid memory, one Rusl had no plans on reporting to Link, if they ever got him back.

Rusl had come back into the village rather slowly, Epona dragging the unconscious brute gently through the foliage, rustling the grass noisily as the two walked along. It had been trouble getting him ready to go. The wolf was heavy, and the fact that he had to collapse in the most inconvenient place didn't help. In the end, Rusl gave in and tied the monster's back paws to Epona and let her drag him along.

When Rusl got home, the response had been immediate. Everything else was called off, even a few of the children came down. Of course everyone felt bad, looking down on what was apparently the unconscious body of their savior. Poor Talo even came to look right at the animal, and the first thing he did was ask if it was his fault. It was heartbreaking to see the cocky and upbeat boy seem so down and desperate. Rusl assured him it was not his fault, and hurried him away.

The first thing the village did was build a cage. The children were sent to find sticks, while the adults gathered planks of wood and hay for flooring. The entire village of Ordon expected the wolf to break free immediately. The other children besides Colin and the other adults had locked themselves inside. Ilia, Mayor Bo, Rusl, and the ever stubborn Colin stayed behind to observe the beast.

Leave it to Link to try to attack them right after he left them hanging high and dry. The poor boy practically ran the village, just behind Mayor Bo. Whether the hero had lost his mind or not, the village needed him back without a doubt, and this situation was causing havoc all over. Rusl, however, attempted to focus on the now.

If the wolf really couldn't escape the cage, could it be much of a threat? Was Link's Triforce still protecting him somehow? The man put a hand n his forehead, sliding his hair backwards. None of it made sense. There was no explanation. He looked up to the others, but they too showed no signs of an answer. They all looked deep in thought, trying to untangle the entire situation.

"We should open the cage."

Three pairs of eyes snapped to look at Colin. He was standing there, still quiet, visibly fidgeting slightly under their gaze. Rusl stared in confusion. Let the thing out? What sort of strategy was that? Rusl dropped down, lowering himself to Colin's eye level. If anyone had an idea, it was Colin. Nobody said it had to be a good idea. "Colin..."

Rusl began, now attempting to understand what the boy was saying.

"Why would we let the big wolf out of the cage.

Colin shifted, digging the toes of his sandals into the dirt. "He might be a nice wolf."

"What could give you that idea?"

"He couldn't get out of the cage. He can't be that strong."

Rusl looked up to Mayor Bo and his daughter for support. Could releasing the beast really be the only answer? The two looked just as nervous as Rusl himself. The air's whistling gently disturbed the clearing, the only noise in the silent area. Slowly, Ilia nodded.

"Let him out?" Bo scoffed. "Why should we let a horrible monster out?"

Ilia reached for the cage door, her fingers shaking as she got closer. When she was just a few inches away, she halted suddenly. "Do we have another option?"

No answer.

"Then I vote majority rules."

With that, she gave a small yank, and pulled the door off of the cage containing the monster within.

-Hey! Listen!-

A/N:

I am now addicted to cliffhangers. Shortest chapter yet, I'm sorry. I'll be trying to make up the three chapters I missed soon. Sorry I fell off the face of the Earth for awhile...

Reviews are very welcome!

-KreignReign