AU Where Shadow's death is not a final death- he's something between dead and alive, and trapped in the darkness. He needs Vio's help to get out, before a fate worse than death catches up to him...
Primarily going to be Vio x Shadow-centric; if you don't like it, don't read it! (Might eventually contain hints of Blue and Red, if you look closely ;D )
Out of reflex Vio shrank back, and to his surprise the glass seemed to melt where the magic hit it. Shadow pitched forward at the same time, vaulting through the newly-created portal to collapse in a heap on the floor of Vio's room. Vio rushed forward to try to help him, frustrated when the usual happened and he was unable to help. "Shadow!"
Shadow rolled over, panting, and gave a tired grin. "Hey..." Shadow coughed, shaking. He tried to get onto his hands and knees, but collapsed of exhaustion. "Shit... I'm surprised that actually... Worked..."
"What did you do?" Vio frowned, kneeling by his side. He made the usual unsuccessful attempt to help Shadow, but nothing came of it except a cold, clammy feeling on the palms of his hands.
"I saw a tear opening... And just threw some magic at it, hoping it would rip it open enough that I could get through..." Shadow panted, struggling to sit up. "I had no idea... if it would really... work..."
"So it could have killed you."
"Yep."
Vio frowned. "You do realize that if you continue to take risks like that, you'll end up killing yourself. And at that point, nothing I do could help whatsoever."
"Well, the way I look at it, I'm sort of dead already." Shadow snorted, sitting up straight and taking a deep breath to even out his breathing. "I figured it couldn't get much worse."
"Oh, believe me- it can always get worse." Vio muttered darkly, taking a seat on the floor across from him. "I know that for a fact. So please, don't go purposely giving things a chance to get worse."
"No promises."
Vio decided to change the topic, seeing as he was making zero headway. "What happened to you?" He asked, indicating the cuts and bruises scattered across any visible skin. Shadow gave a short laugh, shaking his head.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, I do." Vio didn't take no for an answer- something had beaten him to a bloody pulp, for Din's sake! "What attacked you?"
"A monster."
"Clearly. Do elaborate."
"A monster larger than me."
"Clearly."
"I don't exactly want to go into great detail over it."
"You don't have to give me a play by play, Shadow," Vio frowned heavily. "I just want to get the general gist of it!"
"Fine- I got sent back to the Rift, and I was disoriented enough that something got to me. It was something like a mountain lion, or that general shape and size. It got me with its claws, but I avoided the teeth. That would've done me in... Assuming I can die. But it sure took a lot outta me..."
"How did you get away?" Vio prodded, concerned.
"I ran." Shadow said simply."After I melted its feet into the ground."
"Ouch." Vio cringed, getting up and fetching a pillow from his bed to sit on. The wooden floor wasn't the most comfortable surface in the house. Shadow noticed his discomfort, raising an eyebrow.
"Just cuz I'm hanging out down here doesn't mean you have to, too," He commented.
"I know; I want to." Vio shrugged, making himself comfortable again. "I just wish I could be of more help to you."
"You are. You're trying to puzzle out this spell with me, and I'd have zero chance of doing it on my own. Think of yourself as however unhelpful you want- anything is better than nothing." Shadow reasoned. Vio gave a small smile, one Shadow mirrored.
"Hm. Oh, that reminds me- what did you use to see over here? I just looked in my mirror, but somehow I doubt it was the same case for you."
Shadow shrugged. "Remember how I said there were puddles of some weird inky black fluid all over the place? I stumbled across a rock face that had that stuff oozing all down the side."
"Sounds somewhat disgusting." Vio commented dryly, to which Shadow snorted and nodded.
"Ya got that right." He took a deep breath, beginning to check over his own wounds. "Well... At any rate, since I think I'm already dead, these won't be the end of 'll heal up soon enough."
"But there's no way I can be of any assistance with that, right?" Vio frowned.
"Nope. It'll fix itself soon enough." Shadow waved his hand, dismissive of his injuries. "That shouldn't be the primary concern. What should be is getting to see Zelda. I don't think I can risk going into the sun like that again- even when hiding in your shadow, being out in the open is too much. I'm not ready for that yet."
"So that leaves us with two choices." Vio continued the train of thought. "Either we wait until you are, or I go without you."
"Hell, I'll be safe enough here," Shadow rolled his eyes. "You forget that no one else can see me."
"Mm, I'm a bit worried about Blue," Vio disagreed. "He seems to to know something is up, and if any of the others were gonna pick up on you, my Rupees would be on him." Blue had an eye for the supernatural... Or perhaps he was more like a magnet for it. Poes and ghosts always seemed to find him, and the azure Link's sixth sense was the sharpest out of the four of them.
"Well, I'll deal with that when it comes to it," Shadow huffed. "I'm not afraid of him or anything. Besides, I'm insubstantial- there's nothing he could do to me!"
"If you give him a fright or make him angry, he could open the curtains." This was met with silence from Shadow. "Just watch it. He's my opposite in terms of actions- I tend to think things through, where he acts on instinct and listens to his gut more than his brain." Sometimes that was what they needed, but more often than not it got him into trouble.
"I will, I will." Shadow assured him. "You worry too much."
"I would certainly say I am justified."
"Well... yeah." Shadow stood up, strolling over to the curtained window and staring pensively at the fabric. "Do you think... D'you think if we manage to get me back, I'd be alive like... normal? Would I be able to stand sunlight?"
Vio gave a small shrug, frowning at the melancholy note in Shadow's voice. "I have no idea. I would assume so, but I don't really have any logic to back it up. However, having you back in any way, shape, or form is better than you being like this."
"True." Shadow's hand hovered near the edge of the drapes, like he was going to pull the fabric back. Even though it was nighttime and there was no sun to hurt him, he wouldn't have been able to do it anyway. His hand fell to his side as he sighed. "You know something?"
"What?" Vio stood up, tossing the pillow back onto his bed and going to stand near Shadow.
"I had always kinda wondered what the light was like," Shadow admitted, not yet turning to face him. "I know fire and stuff, but the only time I've ever been in the light by my choice was after I shattered the Dark Mirror, and at that point I knew I wasn't long for the world."
"Light is... very much like fire," Vio made an attempt at explaining. "It's not quite as intense, usually, in its brightness or warmth, though. It's more pleasant. It's usually comforting, but that may be because we were all born creatures of light. It brings a safe feeling to us, much like darkness does for you."
"I sorta get it..." Shadow gave a small nod of the head, a tiny frown creasing his forehead. "Truth be told, I never really wanted to go to the light for the light itself; like you said, I feel safer in the dark. But everything in the world of light is better than what I've seen in the Dark World- no question I'd rather be here." He glanced back at Vio over his shoulder, expression changed to a hint of a grin. "B'sides, the company is a ton better."
Vio smiled. "Oh, how you flatter me."
Shadow laughed and gave an impish wink. "Who said I was talking about you? I could've been talking about one of the others, or Zelda, or something."
"Mmhm. And who, out of all the choices, have you appeared to? Solely?" Vio humored him.
"You. I was just joking with ya, Vio," Shadow snickered, raising an arm and making as though he was wrapping it around Vio's shoulders. "You probably figured that." The places his arm was in contact with Vio's shoulder felt like he was enshrouded in chilly mist.
"I did, yes." Vio's grin stayed in place as he curled an arm around Shadow's waist. It reminded him of how they used to be; standing in the tower together, looking through the large stone window out over the plains of Hyrule. Shadow hadn't known then that Vio had plans to betray him, and Vio hadn't known whether or not he'd be able to go through with his intentions.
There was something about the way Shadow had stood with him that night. His arm had been thrown around Vio's shoulders, pulling the purple Link flush against him. His grip on Vio was firm but not painful- it was like Vio was a treasure he was loathe to even let out of his sight, but at the same time he trusted him enough that he didn't feel the need for that kind of intense possessiveness. At that point Vio had felt Shadow's hidden strength- though he was built slim like himself and his copies, it was surprisingly deceptive. He remembered thinking- much like he was now- how easy it would be to casually draw him just a little closer, hold him just a little tighter. Maybe tilt his head to the side just a fraction and have it find a comfortable spot on his shoulder.
Part of it was him trying to gain Shadow's trust- the other part? He had chosen to never look too carefully at it. He was not about to right now, either. He had no way to know what Shadow was thinking, and it was the last thing on his mind right now. He shut his eyes with a quiet sigh, brooding. When he reopened them a few moments later, he didn't expect to find Shadow gazing at him with an enigmatic stare, and the hint of a smile. "You know what this reminds me of?" He asked quietly. They were quite close to one another- he hardly had to whisper for Vio to hear him clearly.
Vio gave a small nod, a faint smile growing on his face too. "Yeah- before..." That was all he could say. Before, when they had first been allies. Before, when Shadow's trust in Vio was absolute. Before Vio attempted the action that would have ended Shadow's life. Before, when it was simple between them.
Shadow gave a small nod, understanding the words Vio hadn't spoken. "Before." He repeated. That was all he said for quite some time, staying in the same spot and staring with unseeing eyes at the drawn curtains. "You know..." He spoke up after a few minutes," ... It could be like that again."
"I'd like that." Vio nodded, his answer soft but sincere. "I'd really like that..." He hid a smile by turning his face towards Shadow's shoulder; oh, how he wished he could touch him, hold him, anything. Even for something as simple as this- standing with their arms around one another- the emptiness of having no real contact was dejecting.
Had Vio been looking, he would have seen a wide grin spring into place on Shadow's face. "It will be. When I get back, everything will be like it was. Better, even." Shadow swore. Vio gave a chuckle punctuated by a yawn.
"That sounds fantastic," He mumbled. "Though the idea of heading to sleep sounds pretty good, too." He glanced back to Shadow, about to say something of his injuries, when he noticed many of them were already healing over. "... You recover unusually quickly."
"Yeah. Only perk of being dead- I always revert back to the state in which I died," Shadow shrugged. "I'm just glad I died in one piece, and don't permanently regenerate a stab wound through my chest or something." He snorted.
Vio rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement. "That would be a little traumatic to deal with, I agree." He regretfully turned away from Shadow, returning to his bed and pulling the covers back. He crawled under the sheets, blowing a puff of air at the candle he'd been using for reading light. He felt a cool sensation near his knees and knew that Shadow had perched on the side of his bed. He was able to see the clear crimson orbs that were his eyes, hovering above him in the gloom. The sight should have been eerie, but knowing that the eyes belonged to Shadow was a comfort to him.
He curled up on his side, shutting his eyes and sighing deeply. "Goodnight, Shadow."
"Night, Vio- dream well." Feeling the same sense of safety from Shadow as he would have from a talisman against bad dreams, Vio found it easy to drift off to sleep.
Little bit of development for the two of them here eue Anybody missing the other Links yet? Well, don't worry- as soon as I get it written out, the next chapter will be up, and guess who we're gonna be seeing? ;D
Thank you for reading! As always, R&R is so much appreciated!
~Artimus-Maora
