Dark Link

## Dark Link by Princess Callie

I admit. It was a bad idea. I read the stories online, and I should know better than to buy a Nintendo 64 cart from a weird shop in the middle of nowhere. But hey, this seemed like a regular old shop. Nothing suspicious about it, no creepy posters or weirdo clerks.

It just seemed like a video game store that specializes in old-school games. I've been searching for one specific game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Sure, it would be easier to order a copy off eBay, but I just can't stand waiting for things like that to come in the mail. I only use eBay if it's necessary.

So, I was looking on the shelves for OoT (Ocarina of Time, for those who don't really use abbreviations) but no luck. Usually, I ask the clerk if they have one in stock if I can't find one on the shelves. You know, in case I overlooked something (which I normally do). He said they have a very special copy in stock: A Beta copy.

I was calm on the outside, but totally freaking out on the inside! I couldn't believe my luck! My excitement clouded the suspicious feeling I was really having, you know, those online stories I read about beta copies purchased from weird stores. But like I said, other than the location, this store was pretty normal. I bought the game for $7.99. A pretty OK price for an N64 game. Especially when it's Zelda!

So I went home to try out my new beta copy of Zelda. Everything seemed kind of the same at the start, but some of the textures were different. Not like creepy different, I mean like Link's clothes were a bit brighter green and less detailed. Stuff like, they changed them at the last minute to make it look better. I played up to the Water Temple.

Some of it was kind of hilarious, like some of the dialogue was different, Pieces of Heart in unreachable areas, stuff like that. But when I reached the Water Temple, things started to get weird... Like randomly at times, I'd hear dark laughing, people screaming, and weird stuff like that. I even found blood in some of the watery areas. And then... I reached the Dark Link sub-boss.

As I approached the door, the laughing got louder. I entered the room, and BOOM. Out of nowhere, Dark Link shoved his sword right through Link's chest. Link fell dead on the floor. The game over screen came up, and I hit continue. I appeared in Kokiri Forest, strangely. Usually, I'd appear at the entrance to the Water Temple. But when I explored Kokiri Forest, everyone had been stabbed in the chest...

Blood was everywhere... I was starting to think maybe the programmers put this in as a punishment or something for losing to Dark Link, but it seemed a bit harsh... I talked to a villager, who was apparently dying. He said: "Why... Why did you do this?..." And then he dropped to the floor dead. If I tried talking to him again, I just got "...". But then I noticed something... Navi was gone. I decided to pay the Great Deku Tree a visit.

When I got there, the Great Deku Tree was dead like always, but he looked sad... And Navi was there, barely floating in the air. She looked tired, but upon closer investigation, I noticed that blood was dripping from her. "Why... Why, Link? You were supposed to save us..." Then her blue glow faded, and she dropped to the floor. I was horrified. I started to think maybe while Link was knocked out, Dark Link made a rampage through Kokiri Forest and killed everyone. That would explain why everyone thought it was Link that killed them all. I checked on the Deku Tree sprout. He was shriveled up... I almost cried.

And then, I decided to pay a visit to the Temple of Time. I wanted to warp there using the Prelude of Light, but when I checked my inventory, the Ocarina of Time was shattered. In the place of the regular Ocarina of Time sprite, there was one of a shattered blue Ocarina. I had to walk to the Temple now. On the way there, all the Poes that appeared in Hyrule Field were gone. All the trees were on fire. It was sad. I wanted to play the Horse's Tune (Beta name for Epona's Song), but I remembered my Ocarina was broken. But hey, last I left Epona was pretty near Kokiri so it wasn't too long of a walk.

I went over to Epona only to find out she was killed, too. I was devastated, even though everything on the TV screen was just a pile of pixels on a screen. I went over to Hyrule Castle town. The place was still infested with Redeads, but instead of coming over to attack, they seemed scared of me... That freaked me out. I went into the Temple of Time, and waiting in the chamber the Pedestal of Time stood, was Dark Link himself. The supposed source of all this destruction. I tried to go into the chamber, but Dark Link teleported out of there and the Door of Time shut, and Dark Link shattered the three Keystones that opened it...

And with the Ocarina of Time broken along with the Keystones, the Master Sword will never return home, and I can't travel back in time to escaped this twisted world. Dark Link spoke: "He will never escape. You're next." I expected him to kill Link like he did back in the Water Temple, so I could save and quit and get rid of this game. But Dark Link just stood there. I then realized his plan was to trap Link in a world where all of his loved ones were dead on the floor. He was alone there, never to escape. But what I found odd was Dark Link's wording... "He will never escape. You're next." I figured he was talking to Link, but it didn't make sense.

But then it hit me. He was talking to me. But I was reassuring myself by telling myself that he was just a video game character. I kept watching the screen, and all of a sudden, after about two minutes, Dark Link became a pile of black bones on the floor. Why would that happen? I shut the game off and went to bed. It was really late. The next morning I decided to pay a visit to my brother's house to talk to him about what happened. He was my best friend, I couldn't ask for a better bro.

When I got there, I knocked on the door. No answer. I knocked again. Again, no answer. After about 5 minutes of knocking, I just decided to let myself in. I'm guessing he was probably still asleep. I went into his room, and to my horror, I found him laying on the ground, it seemed something was stabbed through his chest. I couldn't believe my eyes. I stood and cried for about 10 minutes, and then went back to my car to tell my mom and dad what happened. Their house was only a few miles from my brother's. When I got there, I didn't even bother to knock. I went into their bedroom and found that they met the same fate. On the floor with a bleeding hole in their chest. Their wounds seemed a bit more fresh than my brother's.

I figured whoever did this did it to my whole family... I was devastated. I decided to go to my sister's house, expecting the same thing. But I figured if I moved fast, I might catch whoever did this, and show him what happens when people mess with me like this. I barged in when I got there, found her dead on the floor. Still crying from when I found my brother, this sight didn't help. The wounds seemed very fresh though. I went to her room, and was shocked... What did I find? A pile of black bones.

I've learned my lesson. Don't buy games from small game stores in the middle of nowhere. No matter how normal they look.