Hallo again!

So, how you liking it? Anything to pick up on - descriptions, make things more clear, spelling (please tell me if i've missed stuff)?

To the reviewers:

Zfreak93: I agree!! I was looking for some good ones but they all seem to be kinda similar... so I apologise in advance if this isn't the kind of story you're after, or if it turns out the same as the others, but I'll try!

Shadow Hylian: mmm, I always thought of Dark Link as a demon thingy. And that shifty Ganondorf so sent him. Thanks for reading!

TheFireSage: YAY! YAOI! please excuse me while I drool... Heh, I like scrawny Link too, hence writing him like that :) I should have updates coming pretty fast this weekend, consdering I have full use of the internet without being bothered by those parental figures, and I have them already written. But they're open to change if anyone has any opinions on where it should go!

Oh yes, and I dont own it. Duh. Well, the story, not characters sniff tear sob.

ORDERS ARE ORDERS

"Link, maybe you should rest…"

Navi flitted about Link's limp body. He was slumped on a fallen log on the edges of Lake Hylia, head in his hands and thinking deeply.

"Navi, Ruto is in there, King Zora said so. Do you think I can just rest? Every second I sit here uselessly is another second against Ruto's life. If I wait here any longer I swear I will go mad!"

He stood up, and I lengthened, flickering in the firelight.

In the time I had been with him, I had grown to understand why Ganondorf feared Link so much. He may be skinny, but he was dangerous. He had a fearless approach to everything; it was amazing he was still alive. He went into battle without a care in the world, thinking only of his trapped friends and how he had to save them. He was a ruthless killing machine when it came to it, and he would cut enemies down without a second thought.

But still, I had to eliminate him somehow, and I could feel the time growing closer with each passing day. I had had enough of being a shadow, of sneaking out at night and reporting back to Ganondorf. I was a demon from another realm - I should not be skulking around confined to the one form, being stood on and disregarded. I should be feared, I should have people cowering at my feet. Instead I was here beside a giant lake, trudging around behind a boy with a fairy.

Navi sighed, hovering on the other side of the fire, and said, "There'll come a time where you will go mad if you don't rest, Link. You can't go on the way you have been forever."

"It won't be for forever. Once I have the medallions, Ganondorf can be defeated and Hyrule will be at peace once again. I already have three, so I'm halfway there. I can't stop now."

He sat down again, and I followed the pattern of the shadow. Navi flew over to rest on his shoulder.

"I know that Link. If I understand anything better than you, it's this situation, and I'm telling you this will not work unless you stop and think things through."

"And while I think people will be suffering!" Link batted the fairy away and punched his fist into the log, emphasising his point.

"But they will be better off in the end!"

"In the end? We need results fast and the only way that's going to happen is if we get through all this as quick as we can! I am strong enough; I do not need to rest for more than a day or two. I have already had a night here to assess our situation, so now we have get moving."

Navi's light grew hot as she became angry. She bobbed up and down in the air in front of her companion.

"You think you're so invincible, don't you? You think this is all just a game and it will smooth over afterwards. Well I'm telling you now, it won't unless you stop and think. We must plan carefully how we are going to do this instead of gallivanting around the countryside saving people whenever we choose! The entire population of Hyrule is depending on us. We must be careful!"

"Why don't you let me decide on how it must be done, and you can concentrate on being the irritating and unwanted fairy that you are."

Link stared into his hands as his fairy slowly floated over to him, her light dimming.

"Are – are you okay, Link? You seem a bit on edge lately. What's the matter?"

Link sighed and looked out over the lake. Several birds could be seen flying around, and the lone tree in the centre of the lake was yet another reminder of what was to come.

"No, actually I'm not okay," he muttered, laughing softly at himself. "I… I feel angry now, and I don't even know why. I thought it was just the pressure but it's not, I know it's not. But I feel as though there's a huge cloud over my head, constantly threatening to rain but never doing it, just hovering there expectantly, until my mood is affected. If it would just rain, then it would leave me alone."

Navi said nothing, and Link turned his back on his companion and strode away. As his shadow, I had no choice but to follow him. I was wondering when he would snap. I mean, being this close to a demon for so long had to affect him somehow. I could feel his anger, but instead I was happy. I was excited that it was falling apart, that Hyrule would fall into darkness because a forest kid and a fairy had an argument over a demon they didn't even know was there. What could be better?

This is a mess, I can't take it anymore.

Link's thoughts echoed in my shadowy emptiness. I wanted to hit him, to shout at him that it was useless anyway. I wanted to laugh in his face that he would be dead within the next few days so nothing really mattered, that that dark figure on the ground right beside him was going to turn on him, destroy its maker. Darkness would conquer Hyrule, and there was nothing this so-called 'hero' could do to stop it.

He closed his eyes and rubbed them with the heel of his palms. He sighed heavily and lay back, forcing me into a small long shape parallel to his body. Even in my shadow form I could feel his body heat, feel his anger and sense of helplessness.

I watched his face carefully, watching – for what?

Did I expect him to know I was there? Did I expect him to know what I was thinking? No, I was just watching.

All I could do was smile my shadowy smile and plan my attack…

---------------------------------------------------

"Navi, fly up there and tell me what you see."

Link stood on the ledge, leaning over as far as he dared. The water beneath us seemed to go down forever, the bottom was invisible. In front of us was a solid wall, stretching up endlessly. Link couldn't see to the top, but I could. The angle of the light made me enormous, and I stretched the entire way up the wall. There was a door, that was all, but it was what was behind the door that was important.

Navi came back and described what she saw.

"I don't know how you can get up there, but I have a bad feeling about it. I know you have to, but I don't want you going in there."

Oh, the fairy has sensed something, has she?

"Navi, just tell me anything that might help me, I don't want to hear about your suspicions. There's no point telling me you don't want me to go in there, of course I'm going to, now tell me what you saw."

"Fine," she huffed. "There looks to be a couple of hookshot points a little way up, but I don't know if the chain will be able to reach. There is, however, a platform that if you could get to might help you to reach the first of them."

So, the fairy is useful for something after all.

I moved with Link as he reached into his belt, pulling out a key. He put it into the lock, ignoring Navi's stammering protests. I almost broke out of my form trying to make her stop talking, but I remembered my orders and stayed quiet.

"Link, just think about this, you don't know what's behind that door. Please, just wait, I'll go in first to make sure it's safe."

"And if you go in and it's not safe, how am I going to get out of here? If there's something in there, chances are you won't return."

"But if you go in, then this whole journey would have been a waste. We will fail everyone, Link. Let me go in first, please!"

Link sighed and glared up at his companion, hand resting on the door handle. He looked frustrated. Hell, who wouldn't be frustrated after dealing with a fairy like that for weeks on end? I was amazed he was still sane!

"Navi, what can possibly be in there that has you so worried?"

"I – I don't know… I can just feel it – something terrible."

"Well then, we'll have to go in and find out, won't we?"

The fairy said nothing, just bobbed around restlessly, trying to make up her mind. Eventually she gave in, and Link stepped boldly through the door and into the room beyond.

A white room with no visible walls - that was what we walked into. A tree dead in the centre, a door at either end and a shallow spread of water over the floor. There, Navi, nothing to be scared of… yet.

I followed Link to the other end of the room, his feet splashing up water. Navi flew beside him, silent. He reached the opposite door and put his hands against the iron bars blocking his way. He turned around, confusion showing plainly on his features.

"There's nothing here… Why?"

"There has to be a clue somewhere," Navi said.

Link stared around the room, taking in every nook and cranny, trying to find a switch or a hole - anything to aid him. When he faced the door again, I broke away.

Now was the time I had been waiting for, and I let go of my shadow constraints, letting my form go. Oh, what bliss! I flew, invisible, to the tree in the centre, stretching out as far as I could, touching the invisible walls. But it wasn't far enough. After being contained for so long, there was no distance that was too far for me to reach. But there was no time for luxuries. Now, what shape would I take? I couldn't battle him as dark smoke - that just wouldn't work.

So I took another, more familiar form. I stretched out my sides and grew arms, one holding a sword and the other a shield. I formed legs and shaped a head and face that I knew so well. If I had to be attached to him as his shadow, why couldn't I still be his shadow but free to do as I pleased? This way I could mirror him, do everything he did, feel what he felt, and think what he thought. I would be unbeatable.

I glanced into the water to see what I had become. Well, not too bad. Black hair, black tunic, black boots and a black hat. Very stylish. My skin had a smoky look to it, as if you could pass your hand right through me. Well, one couldn't be perfect, not even a demon like myself.

I stood by the tree, excitement coursing through me, waiting for him to turn around.

And when he did, it was better than I could have hoped.

He froze, totally shocked. I stared at him with my red eyes, and he blinked back with his own bright blue ones. He stuttered, unable to speak, unable to move. There I was, his shadow, his evil self, all that he could become and all that was inside him, in the very depths of his mind. He glanced around, not sure what to do. His mouth opened and closed but made no sound.

Yes, yes, horrible, I know. Who would have thought something as innocent as your own shadow would turn against you?

Eventually he composed himself and slowly stepped forward. For once Navi didn't say a word. Just to be sure I bound her within my power, and watched as she plummeted to the floor, barely making a splash. Silence, at last! All that could be heard was Link's feet splashing softly in the water as he gradually made his way towards me. The room had a blue light which cast an eerie glow over each of us, making it seem all the more surreal.

Soon he was standing right in front of me, face to face. Our noses were almost touching. Here was the hero in all his glory; blonde, tall, scrawny, and dishevelled. He had a couple of scratches on his right cheek and a deeper one on his forehead, just under his hairline. How could something so perfect be scarred so easily?

He walked around me slowly, and I stood stock still. He faced me again and drew his sword. I drew mine at exactly the same time, but we did not attack. He looked at me quizzically and sheathed his weapon. I did the same.

"What in the name of Din…?"

I blinked and turned my red gaze on him. "Hello, Link."

He didn't respond, just looked at me blankly. Eventually he asked, so quietly I had to strain to hear it, "What are you?"

"Ah, that's a harder question to answer than you might think." I let an evil grin play at the corners of my lips. "I am many things, but at the moment, I am a demon, I am your shadow, and I am here to kill you."

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