Chapter 4: Within, Without
Link lay on his back, of that much he was certain. He could feel the muscles along his spine; he could feel the soft fabric of Hyrule Castle's plush four-poster beds, he could even feel a tiny bit of a breeze tickle his face.
Link…it is time for you to awaken.
"No..." Link mumbled slightly, tossing against the voice that slid itself in and out of his ears subtly, "Not…again…"
You have no reason to fear me Link; I am not the Dark.
"Li—liar." Link mumbled, he could see Dark's face as it swam to the surface just below his eyelids. There was that steely skin, softer than moonlight. There was that hair like strands of feathery silver, hidden almost completely by that cloud of nothing. There were those subtle lips, so much like his own, only colder and always upturned in that awful smirk. Then of course, there were those eyes. Those soulless red embers that bore right through him, past his exterior, past his mind, straight all the way through his soul, burning him.
Link, you mustn't think on Dark, the more you dwell on him, the stronger his hold will become! You must awaken!
Link watched as those eyes burned. He felt his body start to shake, and he could feel the burning, he could feel the heat inside of himself. He could feel them despite his inability to see them, the flames that licked at his mind, burning their way right through into his heart, his soul.
"No! Please, stop!" Link thrashed, and he felt his arm connect with skin, real skin. Suddenly he felt strong arms grasping him, not ghostly hands but real ones.
Link! You have to fight him off! Do not let him corrupt your soul!
Link watched, feeling the burning from his core as Dark's face began to change, to shift. A long slender crack slid it's way along the center of Dark's forehead, it rode the bridge of his nose, cut itself directly through his subtle lips, until it hit the base of his neck and disappeared into the nothingness. Link watched, feeling icy horror sink in where fire had been, as the steely flesh of Dark's face peeled itself apart, revealing…but no it couldn't be!
LINK! I'm losing him! We must call on the great light! Hurry.
"You—it can't—" Link began but he heard Dark answer him, and this time he knew it was him because he could feel the sides of his lips turn up ever so slightly as it did.
"But it is Hero, it is."
The face that had been exposed, shining out through the cracks left behind from where Dark's face had been, was his own. The face bore the same light hair, the same subtle lips and slender nose, only not the same eyes. No, the eyes weren't the cool blue he knew as his own, they were dark, and unnoticeably slightly, red.
I am the bringer of the Dawn! I am the servant of Light! I am the servant of the Triforce! I am the wielder of the Light! I am the servant of the sacred three goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru! Be gone forces of Darkness! You have no power here! I am the bringer of the Dawn! I am the servant of the Light! I am the servant of the Triforce! I am the wielder of the Light! I am the servant of the three sacred goddesses, Din, Farore , and Nayru!
"They are trying to separate us Hero, are you going to let them?"
Link turned and there was that figure again. Link could see that smirk, and he shuddered when he felt Dark outstretch his hand, his fingertips dancing just short of Link's cheek.
Be gone forces of Darkness! You have no power here!
"Don't you want to stay here with me? We were finally making some progress."
"L—leave me alone!" Link reached behind him for his sword, and suddenly he felt the familiar touch of his blade, though he was certain it hadn't been there before.
"So that's a "no" then?"
I am the wielder of the Light! I am the servant of the three goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru! Be gone forces of Darkness! You have NO POWER HERE!
Link felt his body blast backwards, he could see the darkness whip past him at an alarming speed. All his thoughts were torn from his mind, leaving him feeling weakened and empty.
"Link! Link!" that was a voice Link recognized; and he opened his eyes slightly as he saw Navi dance around in front of him worriedly. "Oh, Link! Thank the Great Deku Tree you're alright!"
"Na—vi? Wha—what?"
"You were being corrupted by darkness."
Link turned his gaze away from Navi and saw a woman standing to his right. Her eyes were teal, and her face bore the dark skin of the Gerudo tribeswomen. She wore robes signifying her as a sage's apprentice, a servant of the Temple of Light. Next to the sage's apprentice stood Princess Zelda in all her regal elegance, her deep eyes betraying the deep concern that her position forbid her to show. All around the rest of the room, which Link soon realized was his own, stood concerned servants and guards, two in particular who held him firmly in place on the bed.
"You may release him now, he is himself again." The sage's apprentice spoke quietly and firmly, and Link realized that it had been her voice that'd he'd heard in the darkness.
"Who are—" Link began to ask as he sat up slowly, but she cut him off.
"I am Hestial. I am a daughter of the desert tribe of Gerudo. I was called from my home in the desert to follow the ways of Light. I am a servant of the Temple of Light, and a follower of the sage of light. I had a vision that led me to you, and I am most certain, that had I not yielded to the call immediately, we would not be speaking right now, or ever."
Link looked down at his hands, his gloves had been removed, and he clenched his fist tightly as he thought of how best to put into words what he'd seen this time.
"Link! Why didn't you tell me it was Dark you were seeing in your nightmares?" Link spared a glance at Zelda, whose concern had been replaced with fiery anger. The servants and guards in the room backed out, aware that Zelda's mood swings were often both sudden and misdirected. "That seems like something I would think you would mention!"
"I—that is…" Link struggled to find the right words to relate how hard it was for him to tell her about Dark, how he'd wanted to, but how he found himself unable to.
"It's highly irresponsible is what it is! You are the Hero of Time Link! You have to start acting less like a child, and more like an adult!"
"Link's not a child!" Navi piped up angrily. She zipped herself right up into Zelda's face and put her little fairy hands on her little fairy hips, "Maybe you should have used your infinite wisdom to notice there was something wrong sooner!"
Link put up a hand and opened his mouth to say something but he stopped when he saw that Hestial was still gazing at him silently. Link watched as those emotionless teal eyes bore through his own blue ones, searching him thoroughly. He could feel their light sliding in and out of his veins, in and out of his mind, his soul.
"Are you blaming me for this?" Zelda nearly screeched back at Navi, raising one slender pristinely-gloved finger with which to poke the little ball of light threateningly.
"I am indeed!" Navi replied just as angrily.
"The darkness has poisoned you." Both Navi and Zelda were suddenly quiet as their attention was drawn back to Hestial, who stood still staring at Link emptily.
"Poisoned? Poisoned how?" concern for Link crept its way back into Zelda's voice as she turned her attention back to the Hero of Time, and her great friend.
"I am not sure how, only that I can sense the darkness still lingering here. He is swirling with it."
Link paled a bit at that thought. Dark was here?
"Are you certain? Is it of great concern?" Zelda moved closer until she was mere inches from the sage's apprentice, who she out-stretched by a mere two inches in height.
"For now, no. But I fear that if given time, Dark's hold will strengthen again, and Link will once again be corrupted by the forces of darkness."
"What should we do?" Zelda sat on the bed beside Link, taking his right hand in her own, their Trifoce brands glowing a bit at the connection.
"We will have to find a way to detach the hold Dark Link has placed on the Hero of Time, I will have to research it. I am not sure how it will be done."
"Research it?" Zelda frowned at Hestial, "Shouldn't we just be able to remove what it is Link carries that ties him to the darkness?"
"Normally it would be that simple, yes. But this is a particular case, for you see what ties Dark to the Hero of Time is no mere object," Link watched as Hestial turned her gaze from Zelda and back to him. He felt his heart quicken slightly because he knew what she was going to say before she said it, as he was sure the others did as well.
"No, what ties Dark to Link, is Link himself."
Link looked down at his right hand where it sat tightly locked within Zelda's, he watched the gleam of his mark of courage as it sparked, reflecting his inner determination. What's more, Link could here Dark's words from that first night he'd seen him again, and suddenly it made sense.
Dark can exist without Light, but Light needs Dark to define itself. In other words Hero, you need me more than I need you."
Link knew he'd been lying. Dark needed him in order to return to this world.
