Goddesses, I love you all~ You guys are the best–seriously. Thank you so much for supporting this story. I love your responses! Here is the next installment of Memories of the Past—your questions will be answered!

Chapter 4

The world around them was silent as Link stared at the sword on the other side of the glass. He examined it closely, closing his eyes and opening them periodically. One of the children in the room shrieked suddenly with laughter and Link flinched.

"Mommy!" The kid shouted, "When I grow up, I wanna be a hero!"

That seemed to set it off for Link and suddenly, the teen's knees grew weak. Dark took a step forward and dove towards Link when he could no longer support himself. Dark grabbed Link quickly before he could touch the cold tile, but Link's left hand was still outstretched to touch that glass that separated him from the rest of his memories.

"Link?" He asked, shaking the nearly unconscious teen, furrowing his brow as Link's unfocused blue eyes rolled up to examine him.

"Dark…" Dark shushed him, trying to situate the limp body in his arms so that he could stand. Turning, he gestured for Zelda and Sheik to come closer, but instead they rushed at him, struggling to remove Link from his custody.

"Let him go, Shadow!" Sheik demanded, reaching to step towards Dark. Zelda stood in front of Sheik, her arm out protectively.

"Calm, Sheik. Dark doesn't mean any harm!" She turned to stand in front of Dark, who was looking increasingly agitated. He narrowed his crimson eyes at the Sheikah, frowning.

"What's your problem?!" He growled, ignoring Zelda altogether.

"My problem is you, Shadow!" He shouted, and Zelda gasped, taking a step back. Her blue eyes unfocused quickly and pain crossed her face.

"Dark…" She whispered, frowning. "You… why…"

A shadowy look passed over Dark's face as he realized what was happening. They were remembering… and they knew. They knew what he'd done. Voices swarmed in his head, shouting at him, calling him the betrayer, calling him the enemy.

Shut up! He thought at them, shaking his head and glaring back at Sheik.

"What did you do, Sheikah? What did you do to stop this?"

Sheik spluttered for a second before laughing. "Really? You're going to tempt me into answering that?"

The voices in his mind started again, at the sound of Sheik's anger and the feeling of Link stirring.

"Dark… I…" Link mumbled, but it was to deaf ears.

"I said shut up, damnit!" He shouted to the suspicions pawing away at his frayed mind. Sheik and Zelda jumped, their eyes widening. Link, despite his state of confusion, seemed startled as well. Dark growled at the two and they both took a step back, suddenly afraid. In a swift motion, he slung Link over one of his shoulders and used his free hand to feel the glass covering the Sacred Blade.

Concentrating hard, he summoned something around himself, covering both him and Link…

"Oh dear, is he alright?" the mother from earlier spoke in a worried tone. She seemed oblivious to the dark aura surrounding the Hero's shadow and ran right up to him, fussing over Link's prone form. The boy squirmed and began to choke, coughing frantically. His eyes flew open and he searched her face before gagging again. "He's choking! Put him down!"

Dark glanced over his shoulder at the slight woman, growling. "Get out of here if you want to keep your life." His ruby eyes were cold and she stumbled back, hands flying over her mouth. She spluttered something that sounded like an apology before running and ushering her children out of the room as quickly as possible.

"Why, mommy?"

"Because that man is dangerous!" The words stuck somewhere in Dark's chest, but he ignored him.

"Hurry it up over there!" He shouted at her, ignoring the pure fear in her eyes. He turned his glare back to Sheik and Zelda. "Are you going to stand there and be useless or are you going to grab that sword?!"

"Neither," A voice sounded from behind Dark, and he turned to see Byrne, not the teacher but the warrior. Red lines formed beneath his eyes as he glared at Dark, his expression covered by a wrap around his mouth. Link muttered what sounded like a weak, "no…" of pain, but Dark decided to pay no mind to either, instead using the dark power he'd gathered to shatter the glass casing. Taking the sword in hand, he yanked it out of the pedestal, pleased to know that it did not reject him.

He watched as the Triforce on his hand glowed, resonating with the sword and the Triforce on Link's hand.

Link coughed again and began to fight against Dark's hold more until finally, the taller teen was forced to drop him. Gripping the fabric over his chest, Link glared at him.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a hard voice that neared a growl. "I thought I told you not to toss me around like a doll."

The change in his sapphire eyes was shocking as he stood up, brushing himself off and taking not of his clothes. He examined the room, narrowing his eyes as Sheik moved into view.

"Sheik," he said, his voice still firm. "Why are you here?"

"Uh…" Sheik's aggressive demeanor changed instantly and his snarl fell from his face. "You don't remember…?"

Looking back at Dark, Link frowned. "Shadow Link?" Link asked, eyeing him openly, taking note of his hair.

Dark opened his mouth to respond but was almost beyond words. "Uh… you were right the first time… it's just Dark."

Link frowned, thinking, before closing his eyes and raising his hand to his forehead. He bit his lip, scrunching his face more, too deep in thought to notice the confused stares.

"He's situating himself," Byrne explained, examining Link. "The memories of his past lives drowned out his current thoughts. Soon enough he'll remember you, Dark."

"And when he does, my job's done."

Byrne pursed his lips beneath the stole covering his face. "Why do you wish to punish yourself like such, Dark? You blame him for your pain when truly you are bringing it upon yourself."

Dark frowned and looked away.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Link looked up, his sapphire eyes dull but focused. "I… I think I remember, now." He whispered, turning his head away from prying eyes. "I don't need to touch the sword." His eyes darted up and around before settling comfortably at his feet.

"What do you remember? And know?" Zelda asked quietly, leaning forward.

"I… I remember what happened… what happened last, before this life." He spared a small, flickering glance at Dark. "And… I know that I'm going to be sick if I don't get home. Now."

"Yeah…" Zelda said shakily in the silence, avoiding Dark's steady, unfocused ruby eyes and Sheik's knowing gaze. She walked with Link past Byrne, whom Link was also eyeing cautiously. "Let's go home."

For the fifth time that night, Link awoke in a cold sweat, running to the bathroom and yanking his shirt up to examine his chest. The smooth, toned skin was unscathed… there wasn't even a scratch to show for the injuries he'd sustained in past lives.

Pale, sweaty hands gripped the edges of the sink in front of him and he stared at their unscarred, soft surfaces. Bile rose impatiently in his throat but he swallowed it, deciding that getting sick again was only going to make his situation worse. His arms shook as his hands gripped the porcelain of the sink tighter and his whole body bent forward.

It was too hot in there… Link carefully loosened his fingers and reached for the handle of the sink, holding one hand beneath the faucet. A slip of his shaky hand was all it took to send the handle to "hot". Instantly, the scalding water poured out onto his hand, something that had never happened to him before.

Barely suppressing a shout of pain and a curse, Link pulled his hand from under the water and pulled the faucet over to the "cold" position. He stared at the water pouring from the faucet untrustworthily for a moment before hesitantly allowing the water to once again flow over his hand.

Slowly, he brought a handful of water up to his face and washed it over his clammy skin, feeling his breath speed at the feeling.

In a fit, he pulled his shirt off and looked at his chest in the mirror. Where was the stab wound? The sword Dark swore to bury him with? The… Dark. Thinking the name sent tremors down Link's spine. Would sixteen lifetimes overrule one lifetime of betrayal? Dark had lied to him… his whole life. Every kiss, every caress was leading up to Dark's sudden act of hatred.

Link's breath came in pants, reliving his final memories as a hero.

His first time reliving the memory was confusing… bits from the present mingled with bits from the past and created a disorienting experience. He could have sworn to the Goddesses that he was choking, that the sword was jutting clear from his heart, two black wings expanding from the hilt. Unmistakably, it was Dark's sword that had ended him but it was Dark's warmth that had surrounded him.

It was Dark's voice murmured, after he was laid on the ground. It was Dark's voice that had asked, "Link… can you hear me?" And when he'd begged for Dark not to touch the blade, Dark had answered, "Never, Link." And pressed his lips to Link's, ignoring the blood, and held his hand, and looked into his eyes until ruby vision faded to black.

It was Dark who'd whispered, "Smile, Link…" after his vision had failed him and his heart was close to following.

And he did. Why? There was too much missing, too many holes in his mind. What killer had such kind eyes and spoke quietly to his victim? No killer was kind and Dark was no killer.

Link slipped. His bare foot found no purchase on the tile made slippery by his mistake and he found himself crashing to the floor, his muscles still shaky. There was no way he could force himself to stand up at this rate, let alone turn the water off, clean, and go back to bed quietly. He'd probably already alerted his guests…

"Link? Link, are you alright?" A soft voice called into his room, accompanying the telltale shuffle of feet across carpet and a door being opened. "I heard something…"

"F-Fine! I'm fine, Zel…" Link cursed the crackly shakiness that was his voice. He bit his lips and cooperated in getting his muscles to cooperate and his frayed nerves to stop buzzing.

It was like the memories of all of his past selves had crowded into his mind and taken over his senses. With each "Link" there was a different feel and remembrance feeling. Each "Link" had moved differently and was a different height—there was no way to figure out which actions matched this body anymore. The only person who had their full memories was Dark, although Byrne and Ghirahim remembered much of the past… as did Zelda and Sheik. Truly, though, only Dark and Zelda had exact memories of the happenings in each life.

No way in hell was he going to ask Dark.

A few seconds passed of emotions. One dark personality was screaming at him to take revenge, one was telling him to let it go, one was chanting for him to pick a fight… one, in the back of his mind, was telling him to put the pieces together before he took action. Another was telling him to talk it out.

Where did rational thinking come in?

Another wave of complete hatred for Dark washed over him. He had to have lied and continued to lie, even now! There was no way Dark remained lucid throughout this process, this process of gaining his past memories once he came of age, like what should have happened to him.

A wave of doubt. Maybe, Dark's memories came back to him slowly, as Zelda and Sheik's were. Maybe he didn't have all of his memories and would never gain them. Maybe he was in the same stage as Byrne and Ghirahim—too late to gain memories of times passed.

"Link, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah!" Link called back, biting down the frustration that was building in his voice. He stood. That was a good sign—his body was listening to him, now. Carefully, he treaded around the wet spot on the bare tile and made his way back to the carpet of his room, sitting down on the bed and burying his head in his hands, oblivious of Zelda leaning in the doorway.

"I'm sure if you were okay, Link, you wouldn't be acting like that." Zelda came to sit beside him on the large, elevated bed. Link's bare back was exposed to the cold air and she reached and grabbed a throw blanket, tossing it over him. He looked up, his sapphire eyes weary.

"I said I was fine…"

"You're obviously not," Zelda said, exasperatedly and scowled when Link gave her a half-hearted glare. "Look, Link, I'm not going to fight with you about this. Tell me what's on your mind."

Link swallowed, trying to clear his throat which was suddenly thick. "I don't know… I really don't… it's like a crowd of minds are screaming at me… I don't know which one is me…"

"They're all you Link. I think they're just waiting for them to accept you." Link looked up, his eyes confused. Zelda sighed. "You can be dense. Just let them in! Stop trying to block them out, 'cause Links are stubborn!" Zelda laughed and Link's eyes went from wide to narrow. He opened his mouth to say something, but Zelda stopped him. "Now, what's really on your mind? The big problem?"

"Dark."

That one name wiped the smile from Zelda's face in a flash and Link's irritation went to a new place entirely.

"I mean, I know he killed me, but I can't help but think about why he did it. As… jumpy as Dark's personality is, I know somewhere that he wouldn't do that…" The words came in a rush as if he were trying to defend the other teen. "Somewhere, I hate him for doing what he did so suddenly, but I can't remember what led up to that, you know?" Zelda stared at him for a second before nodding. "I just… what if I attacked him, and he defended himself and stabbed me by accident? What if I was the one who tried to kill him?"

"Link, calm down…" Zelda whispered, putting her hand on the frantic teen's back. "I'm sure there's an explanation to all of this. Although I don't trust Dark, I don't hate him, either. You love him, and you're like a brother to me. I can't help but feel the same." Link blushed, looking away. "Please, don't deny it, Link. All of your past selves were in love with him—I'm sure their feelings have carried over."

Link felt embarrassment crawl up through his gut, but he pushed it down for the sake of the conversation.

"We just need to find out exactly what happened during your last life. Dark loves you too, you know. Just get a little distance from each other. Who knows how many years have passed, and you two didn't even so much as take a break from each other. No wonder something like that happened." Link looked over at Zelda, offended.

"I would ne-"

"I'm not saying that you'd cheat on Dark, Link. I'm not saying that it's your fault this happened, either. Whoever did this and however it happened, it was unorthodox. I'm convinced that this isn't just a coincidence that your memories, along with mine and Sheik's, didn't come back."

"What?" Link looked up, interested. "What do you mean?"

Zelda laughed humorously. "Did this all appear as a coincidence to you, Link? You have the Triforce of Courage, Sheik and I have split Wisdom, and conveniently, all three of us are having problems with our memories. Ours not as extreme as yours, but you get the point."

A random wave of nausea hit Link but he swallowed it, taking a deep breath. "So, someone purposefully took our abilities to re-absorb our memories, then?"

"Someone didn't want us to find out the truth about our previous life, the one before this." Link bit his lip and straightened up, thinking.
"Someone who was there when it happened, and knew that it affected them."

"Someone who wanted to stop us ahead of time."

"Someone named Ganondorf," They both said at the same time, their voices laced with hatred. Zelda stood up. "I want Sheik's input on this…"

Link grabbed the hem of her shirt. "No… not tonight. Tomorrow."

"Any reason why? You two are best friends, you know."

"I get less and less sure of that every time I see him. He hates Dark, and since we're, you know… he isn't exactly warm with me, either."

Zelda nodded in understanding. "I see," She sat back down, slowly as to not jostle anything Link had perched on its far end. "We'll all talk tomorrow, then. And, I want you to talk to Dark, too. See what he remembers. I'm sure it was no coincidence that he was left with his memories."

"You still don't think he's on our side." Link didn't bother phrase it in a question—the answer was obvious enough.

"I don't, not after what happened earlier. He threatened that woman's life. Although I'm sure he meant nothing by that, that's not something he would do."

"You're right… Dark always took the bold way of doing things, but he never used intimidation on innocent bystanders."

Zelda sighed, leaning back on the headboard. "There's something on Dark's mind, too. I'm sure he's having as much trouble with his memories as you are. No one should be able to take in all of that knowledge in such a short amount of time."

Link thought for a few seconds. "How long do you think Dark had his memories?"

"Long enough to plot with Ghirahim and Byrne, but not long enough to do anything before recently. It must hurt for him to be around you…"

"And know I don't remember a thing about him. I know, I've thought about that, too." Link finished her sentence quickly and let his sapphire eyes drift shut. "That's another matter, though. Go back to bed, Zelda."

The blonde girl took a deep breath, one side of his mouth pulling up. "Are you feeling better, Link?"

"Better than I was, Zel. Good night."

"Good night."

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