Before the story, or the introductions, may I just take the time to extend a heartfelt thank-you to anyone who has taken the time to review, and to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. I love you guys! And it's all thanks to you that Imitation has reached over 4,000 hits!

Shorter chapter like I promised. It was really fun to write, which was a refreshing change from the last chapter. Tomorrow is a snow day off from school, so in my inspiration I sat down and finished this bad boy.

Warnings: Mild Language, yaoi, angst.

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda and all it's characters don't belong to me. Wish they did, but they don't.


They set out early that morning, stretching and groaning as they blinked the crust from their eyes. Light filtered in from the Temples entrance, illuminating the small room just enough to see. Dark, who was prodding gingerly at his nose, seemed to be in overly good spirits. Not only had he woken up with the Hero bundled in his arms, but Link had begun to fuss at him only moments after waking. It was hard to miss the way Dark's nose was crookedly twisted a tad to the side, and the smudge of dried blood on his upper lip.

'Why didn't you tell me you hurt yourself? I would have healed you last night!'

'Well, it didn't really hurt in the first place. And besides, the second you showed up the pain was non-existent.'

Over a meager meal of dried meat, which Sheik produced from out of thin air as he always seemed to do, Link realized that this was it. This was the last temple. If they made it through, there would only be one last matter to settle. Unfortunately, it would be the hardest yet.

"So, Link, you've explored this place a bit. Anything in particular to look out for?"

"Not really." Link replied, gazing up at the dingy ceiling thoughtfully. "But there's these two witches. And Nabooru of course."

"Nabooru?" Sheik looked at Link like he'd just sprouted an extra head. "What on earth is a Nabooru?"

"Not a what, a who. I met her here seven years ago, looking for the Silver Gauntlets. I agreed to go and find them for her, but then she was taken away by the witches, and I had no choice but to keep them for myself." He held up his hands as proof, looking both pleased and ashamed. "They should come in handy, but when we find Nabooru, I think it would be best to hand them over to her."

Dark made a noise of disapproval, obviously more content with keeping any valuables to themselves.

"How noble of you." Sheik finally said, nodding slightly.

A shroud crept over the trio, cloaking them in darkness as they ambled down the paved temple hallways. Link gazed about in confusion, his ears itching. This felt wrong. Like someone was watching their every move, every step they took... But before he could mention it to Sheik, the fog was lifting, and the heavy weight he hadn't even noticed lifted from his chest.

Dark was looking at him, giving him a mysterious look that Link couldn't quite comprehend. The Hero gazed at him from the corner of his eye, pretending he was scanning the walls for any sign of danger. Guilty. Dark looked like he'd remembered a painful memory, eyes clouding with guilt as he audibly swallowed the lump in his throat. Link decided not to question it, trying to pass it off as some internal dispute over the closing of their journey. The shadow had promised to stand at his side during the fight with the Dark Lord. And with Navi, the sages, and the Sheikah's help, Ganondorf didn't stand a chance. Or, at least Link hoped he didn't.


'Almost time...'

'The day is nearing...'

'Ultimate betrayal...'

'Time to prove yourself...'


Hours passed, hundreds of monsters slayed as they attacked in swarms. They were really going all out this time, trying to snuff out the oncoming Hero and his team. Each and every one met it's immediate end before any harm could be done, and the trio kept a steady pace as they worked through the temple. It seemed, after quite some time, that the ground was sloping upward, leading towards a spiral that pierced the sky and a room filled with countless skeletons. The spirits of the dead roamed aimlessly, trapped in a temple of entangled spirits. In the center of the room, there was large platform smeared with dried blood, brain matter and smelled of death. Directly above it was a skylight, revealing a beam of blinding sunlight that illuminated the room and the three figures perched atop the stone. It was obvious, Link thought, what it's use was.

This was where the victims of the elderly witches were sacrificed and held prisoner. And if the old hags had their way, Link, Sheik, and Dark were next.

One of them gave a hearty cackle, the ice blue gem on her head sparking each time she took a breath. "Look sister! Just as I said! It only took seven long years, but here he is."

"Indeed dear, Kotake. Alas, I believe you stated he'd be here in five. You're two years off, I'll be taking my 500 rupees."

"Argh!"

Dark snickered as he watched 'Koume' eagerly snatch the wagered rupees from her sisters hand, but immediately silenced any and all laughter when Sheik clocked him in the back of the head.

"Now is the time to be serious. This is Links last temple boss, and I will not have you putting the mission in jeopardy when we're so close to the end."

Dark scowled, but stayed otherwise silent, choosing instead to pat Link gently on the shoulder.

"This is it, Hero. Get to it!" The shadow shoved him forward a bit, winking when Link turned to gape at him incredulously.

"Well you know I'm just joking! We're here to help any way we can!"

"Thanks guys," Link said, smiling sheepishly at Dark and sharing a brief glance with Sheik. "Here we-- Agh!!"

A cool shower of sparks exploded all around them, sending the three warriors flying on impact. Link was ironically thrown upon the platform, landing at the witches feet as his head smacked into heated stone. He was unable to see where Dark or Sheik had ended up, but he heard their muffled groans of pain somewhere below him. Koume and Kotake snickered down at him, Koume's spindly fingers still sparking with icy magic.

"What say you sister? Shall we make the Hero squirm?"

Link didn't know why he rolled over, but he was glad he did when the blade of a golden ax cleaved the stone where his head bad been only a fraction of a second before. He stared, wide eyed, as the weapon was yanked out of the rubble, and swung again, this time aiming for his throat. Rolling, he pushed off with his hands and sprung up into the air, touching down just as the blade came again for him. Dodging as best he could, Link hop-stepped backwards, weaving to and fro as he blinked the dust out of his eyes. And now that he was upright, it was easy to see just who it was that was coming for him. Years of battle and a heavy suit of armor did little to disguise her face, and the only difference Link could truly make out was the eerie ruby glow in her eyes. It cast shadows on her face and appeared to make her cheeks glow.

"Nabooru..."

"Link, move!"

Suddenly Sheik was there, slamming into him like a brick wall and nearly throwing both of them off the platform. Link could see the panic in the Sheikah's eyes, the beads of sweat sliding down his face ghostly face.

Sheik was scared. And that was never a good thing.

The ground beneath them rumbled as Nabooru hobbled after them. Her helmet had been cast aside, when, Link didn't know. But he was glad she wasn't wearing one. Now he knew he couldn't kill her. If her helmet had been on... There would have been no chance for mercy.

Sheik helped Link to his feet, urging him to draw his sword as he leaped towards the enemy. Behind him Dark was scrabbling at the side of the platform, trying to pull himself up so he too could help the Hero, and Link would have stopped to help him, but Nabooru was before him, looking as if she were going to smash Links head in.

"Nabooru wait! I'm not the enemy here!" Ignored, Link leapt away as the ax came down. He skidded to a halt and turned, running for the armored figure. With a weapon so heavy, it was quickly tiring her, and the exertion was plain on the Gerudo's face. Even hypnotized, Link could see the tears streaming down her face, leaving pale tracks in the dusted skin.

"Get him! Oh, get him you foolish girl!" Kotake and Koume cackled, zipping around in the air above them as Sheik cast spells at them. They were all easily deflected with a flick of a hand, batted away as though cast by a mere child. Although, to them Sheik probably was nothing but a child...

"Nabooru, please! You remember me, don't you? It's Link! The boy you met here seven years ago! I've got the silver gauntlets, I brought them here just for you. Please put down your weapon and listen!"

The air stilled as Nabooru halted her attack, the ax only a few inches above Links unguarded skull. If her grip faltered, he would be cleaved in two.

Her mouth opened, making way to a gurgle and a harsh raspy hack. Blinking, she swallowed around a dry tongue and tried again, snapping her head to the side to clear the fog in her mind.

"Li... Ink... Link? I... I remember you. I t-told you to leave this place."

Link smiled up at the woman, nodding in earnest. "Yeah, that's right. The witches took you away. But I came back to help you."

"The witches brainwashed me..." Nabooru added, sending a scathing look said witches way. They were looking rather worried now, perched upon their broomsticks with hesitant faces. Sheik saw this, and, angrily, he sent a sheet of thick ice hurtling towards the skylight, blocking the only way out besides the front entrance. And there was no way they were getting anywhere near there without getting a taste of holy steel.

"Give up, witches and maybe we'll go easy on you!" Dark shouted, having just joined them on the platform. His chest was heaving for breath, and he gave Link an owlish smile and a thumbs up. "Made it just in time, I think."

Nabooru shook her head, clearing the rest of the spell and hefted her ax upon her shoulder. Sheik produced a pair of daggers from the bandaging at his wrists and twirled them expertly in his nimble fingers. The Hero of Time and his shadow boasted the Master sword, and Kotake raised an overgrown eyebrow at her sister.

"Well, shall we then?"

"We shall!"

The witches began to careen through the air, faster and faster as they chased each other on their mounts. A flurry of colors erupted from above them, wounding around itself over and over like a multiheaded serpent until it blended into a fiery blue mist and shrouded the witches from sight. With a crack of lightning, the sky above the warriors exploded in a cloud of glittering sand, and from it emerged a hovering, lean woman with a head of flaming red and blue hair.

"Ugh..." Dark grimaced, averting his eyes from the woman's scantily clad body. For once, the shadow seemed to be almost offended by the presence of a Gerudo, whereas usually he would gape with wide eyes and a faint blush.

Sheik seemed unaffected as he dropped into a defensive position, Nabooru following his lead as she glared at her captors.

"We are Twinrova. With the combined powers of Kotake, whose ice can freeze an ocean a league across, and Koume, whose flames can make puddles of iron, we shall defeat the Hero of Time and place his corpse at the feet of Lord Ganondorf." She eyed Link possessively, then gave him a coy wink. Swallowing against a rising urge to vomit, Link gave the Master Sword a fancy twirl, then charged.

A blast of fire skirted past him, followed closely by a large chard of ice. Link dodged, running in a curve and then leaping upwards, dragging his sword up the belly of the Gerudo woman. She gave a shout of pain, hand scrabbling at the gash in her abdomen, and Link grinned in triumph as he watched her drop a few feet from the air. But then she looked up, the look of pain gone from her features, and a hand Link had not seen rise released a ball of searing heat that he was only just barely able to dodge. Even so, the left half of his tunic was charred, torn open in many places, and would have to be replaced at some future date. Assuming he lived through the day...

Twinrova took to the air again, her green skin glowing as the wound Link had given her closed up in a flash of light. She raised both her hands, intermingling the blue and red magic to deal of terrible blow to the Hero, only to be smacked in the back of the head by the flat of Nabooru's ax. Grunting, Twinrova turned, angrily grunting at her prisoner as she released a golden light from her open palm. Nabooru's eyes widened, and before anyone could help her, she sunk through the floor in a swirling whirlpool of magic.

Somewhere far below, a woman cried out in a hysterical, shrill voice. "Link!!"

Twinrova cackled madly, brushing her palms together with finality as she turned back to Link. "Now that that little interruption is gone..."

"Hey!" Sheik cried, leaping from his position at Darks side, sinking a dagger into Twinrova's neck before she could recover from the spell she'd just cast. "Link isn't your only opponent here, you'll have to get rid of all the sidekicks before you can harm him."

"Gladly!" The witch retorted, slamming the back of her arm in Sheiks face as he fell away. He flew across the room, smashing into a wall before falling into the clutches of a group of ghosts only he could see.

"Looks like it's just me and you." Whispered a warm voice in Links ear, and he jumped away before realizing that it was just Dark being his troublesome self, even on the battlefield. "Good luck." He continued, leaning in to claim Links lips with his own. Link leaned forward to return it, forgetting about Twinrova until Dark shoved him away as a fireball was thrown their way. The shadow wasn't able to dodge in time, and he took the full impact of the blow, lighting up like dry timber.

"Ah, shit! This stuff burns like you wouldn't even believe." Twinrova, horrified that her magic had done so little to the man, gave a shout of alarm when Dark turned to glare at her. His skin was melting away on one side, and quickly solidifying on the other. His tunic was history though, turned to dust that fluttered away. All that was left was a suit of chain mesh that all good warriors wore beneath their clothing. It had been heated to the point that it glowed like coals, making Dark look like a demon summoned from the pits of hell as his face completely reformed. Neither Hero nor Shadow knew just why Dark was immune to fire. But the demon from hell theory probably wasn't too far off...

"Hmph... No worries. I wasn't ordered to take you out anyway. Ganon could care less about rebellious lackeys. He just wants the Hero of Time. Dead or alive, last I heard."

"Not gonna happen." Link said, righting himself as he slipped the Hylian shield off his shoulder. He weighed it in his right hand, then grinned. Twinrova's magic couldn't break through the enchanted metal of a holy shield. Especially not one forged as well as this. The beginning of a spell began to dance on Twinrovas fingers, and Link ran courageously to face her, raising his sword as she brought her hand down. A shower of sparks exploded in his face, temporarily blinding him, but the scream echoed off the walls, rattling his eardrums. He stabbed again, only able to make out shapes, but the Master sword hit it's mark, and the thump near Links foot told him that he had just cleaved the witches hand from her arm.

"I'll kill you!" The Gerudo shouted, cradling her injured arm close. She raised her other hand, letting loose a random succession of spells, hitting mostly open air, but managing to give Dark a nasty welt to match his bruised nose. Link grasped Dark by the wrist, shielding both of them from a fresh wave of spells. Some of them shattered overhead, raining a powdery mist on everyone in the room. One of the stronger ice spells hit them full blast, sending Dark and Link skidding back a few feet. But a strange light seemed to be emanating from the Shield, and Link gasped as it started to rumble, and then, quite suddenly, he knew just what to do with that building power. He held out an arm to keep Dark back, then aimed at Twinrova's ugly mug.

"Hey, you witch! Nice aim, but we're over here, not on the ceiling!"

Twinrova growled darkly, the eerie green light shining from her wounded arm as it healed itself. "You're going to regret coming here. I'll rip you limb from limb right in front of your little friend."

Link smiled, confusing the Gerudo even further when he gave her a cocky wink, and then a beam of light shot forth from the Hylian shield, splitting Twinrova in two with a ear-splitting explosion.

"Why you..." Koume growled from her position on the floor.

"Stupid Hylian boy!" Kotake finished, glaring as she lay on her back in a patch of ice.

"You just had to win, didn't you? Well we'll come back stronger than ever, and burn you from the inside out!"

"Not to mention we'll freeze your very soul!"

"Ah, ladies." Dark said smugly, pointing to a spot above their heads. Kotake gasped, then promptly burst into tears. Koume let out a wail of despair. A tiny circlet of silver and gold hovered above their skulls, taunting them with their deaths as the ice blocking the skylight exploded into a million tiny shards, and a beam of warm light enveloped the sisters.

"Nooo! How can this be?! We're the mighty Sorceress Sisters! Surrogate mothers to the great Lord Ganondorf and keepers of the revered Spirit Temple! And so young! Only a measly four hundred years old!" Koume scrabbled at the air, waving her arms like wings in hopes of slowing her ascension.

"I'm too young to die!" Kotake howled, clawing at the platform as her body began to steadily rise. "I've only just celebrated my three-hundred and eightieth birthday!"

"Whaaat?!" Koume shouted, glaring at her sister as she put her wrinkled hands on her hips. "Kotake, we're twins! You're four hundred years old and you know it!"

"Am not! I'm three hundred and fifty!"

"You just said you were three hundred and eighty!"

"Lies! You know I'm four hundred! How could you forget your darling sisters age?!"

The witches began to smack and berate one another, rising from the temple and into the heavens beyond. Link stared after them, suddenly glad he was an only child. The spirits trapped within began a hollow chant that may have been cheering. They dissipated in a wisp of smoke, one by one until the room was clear.

"Well..." Dark said from behind him, looking rather proud of himself for someone who was pretty much standing in the nude. Link could see just about everything through that metal... The Hero caught himself just as his eyes began to travel, and he mentally scolded himself.

"Like what you see?"

Link glared at him through a heavy blush. Dark snickered.

"Where's the sage, huh?"

"Right here." A silky voice informed, seeming to come from all around them. "I'm waiting for you, Link."

A warm orange light surrounded the Hero, plucking him off the ground. He could only watch and meekly wave as Dark gazed after him. Right before he disappeared into the Spirit Realm, the sound of crunching rubble and a blond head popping up from the debris told him that Sheik had survived his attack. Took him long enough to recover though...

"Welcome, Link."

Links head snapped up, suddenly realizing he'd been staring open mouthed into space. Rauru was before him, looking rather satisfied as he stood among the other sages.

"Ah, hello, Rauru. Everyone."

"You really totaled those witches." Nabooru said, hovering at his side. Quite literally, as she was floating a few inches off the liquid-like floor. She was garbed in the Gerudo clothing Link had seen her wearing in the past, and she looked more at home here than he imagined she would ever feel anywhere else. The silver gauntlets suddenly felt like molten lead on his arms, and he looked at them guiltily. Nabooru laughed, seeming to have read the look on his face.

"Don't worry, their yours to keep. Accessories like that can't be much of much use to a sage."

Link breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know... I never expected you to come back and help me. When I was still just a lone wolf thief, I told myself I'd always be on my own, that no one was going to defend or come to my aid. I lived by my own rules, and set my own goals all while leading the people of the Gerudo tribe. I told them we would restore honor to our clans name by destroying Ganon, but I got cocky, and, well, you saw what became of me." Nabooru paused, scratching her brow sheepishly as she averted her gaze. The other sages fixed her with a knowing gaze, fully understanding how she must be feeling, suddenly knowing that she was the sage of a reverent holy place.

"I'm glad the goddesses chose you to be the Hero, Link. I don't think anyone else could have pulled off half the stuff you've accomplished. So I'd like to give you something." Link watched as a familiar token appeared in a puff of smoke above his head. It was a deep orange color, and felt hot to the touch as he reached up and grabbed it.

"You know the drill. That medallion will add my powers to yours, and allow you to call upon all the sages when you need us most. Which, now that I think about it, shouldn't be too long from now. Congratulations, Link. You've purged all the temples, defeated all the bad guys, and rescued the damsels in distress. It's time to defeat the King of Evil and save Hyrule."

The floor beneath Links feet disappeared, dropping him through the portal back into the mortal world. The sages gathered around, waving and hooting their farewells.

"No pressure, Link!" Nabooru shouted as the connection closed and Link was dumped unceremoniously at the Spirit Temple entrance.

'Easier said than done.' Link thought, and then suddenly a cold weight settled in the pit of his stomach. A cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck, and as he turned to face the desert, what he saw made his blood run cold.

The sky had been split open, revealing a rift in space itself in which Twinrova seemed to be slithering out of. Her body was twice the size it had been before, making the spells she cast create craters in the sand as she shot them haphazardly at the two warriors scurrying across the sand. Dark and Sheik, working together to send the mighty sorceress back to her eternal resting place.

Navi scrabbled out from beneath Links hat, looking like she'd just woken from a deep sleep.

"Wassa goin' on?" She said, stretching her arms as she let out a high-pitched yawn.

"I'm not so sure myself, but I think we're in trouble."

Link ran to his friends, sword at the ready as Twinrova swiveled in her portal to smirk at him. Her body was cast in heavy iron chains that glowed with the power of the goddesses. They were trying to hold her off, to drag her back. When Link approached, Twinrova stopped struggling against her bonds and dismissed her spells, she tapped her nose, and then raised a hand cracked with age to point at none other than... Dark.

"What are you doing?!" The Hero of Time shouted, hacking at the only thing he could reach, which happened to be Twinrova's hipbone. She showed no sign of pain, and only cackled as what looked to be panes of glass stretched from her fingertips. The trio watched, transfixed, as the glass merged and created a diamond. It spun like a top in the sorceress' hand, then rose, and began to hurtle towards Dark.

Navi was shouting in Links ear, he could hear the noise, but the words made no sense to him. All he knew was that he didn't want to know what that diamond would do if it hit, and with a cry of dismay, and even as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, he realized he'd never make it to the shadows side in time. So when Sheik shoved Dark behind him and raised a dagger in defense, Link nearly swallowed his tongue. Sheik was protecting Dark, risking his life for someone he greatly disliked. He was a true Hero, Link thought. But it was still a foolish risk, and Link called out to the elder just as the diamond hit. Sheik didn't flinch, nor did he turn his head in fear to avoid watching himself being impaled by the diamonds pointed tip. But it didn't matter. Because the diamond passed through his body like a ghost and slammed into Dark with a sickening crack.

Link stopped dead in his tracks, somewhere in the distance he could hear Twinrova chuckling maniacally, shouting crazy nonsensical phrases at the trio. In her euphoria, she began to wheeze, her life force draining as her power left her. The rift in the sky began to seam itself back together, sealing the witch away on the other side. Sheik turned towards Link, ears drooping slightly. Dark lay motionless in the floor of the crystal, his figure shimmering behind the rotating glass.

"I couldn't save him." Sheik whispered harshly.

"No one could have... It's not your fault." The Hero of Time said solemnly, fighting back tears as he approached the warrior. He placed a hand on the glass to peer in at his shadow. The diamonds surface felt rough against his palm, which struck him as odd. Wasn't glass usually smooth and flawless to the touch? He leaned in, scrutinizing the texture of the glass, and then froze. As if healing itself, the diamonds casing was bristling, filling in the gaps as it repaired. So when it had hit Dark, the crack hadn't been the man's skull, but...

"Ugh... I feel like I just got trampled by Epona..."

"Dark?"

Groaning, Dark pulled himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his head gingerly.

"I sure have lost a lot of brain cells in the past couple days. I'll be a vegetable by the end of this quest if things keep going this way!" He laughed, completely clueless to the look of utmost surprise on the Heroes face, and the flush of embarrassment dusting Sheik's barely visible cheekbones.

"We thought you were dead!" Link cried, leaning into the diamond.

"So did I. But then, well, it would seem the damn Sheikah's got a soft spot for me now."

The twins glanced at said Sheikah, who scoffed and turned away from them to peer into the setting sun.

"Might I remind you two of our current position? Ganon knows we're on our way, I'd imagine. The sun is setting and we can't afford to rest long. And might I add that Dark is trapped in a prison of glass? What are we supposed to do?!"

"Relax, Sheik. Everything has always worked out in the end." Link smiled reassuringly, but Sheik did not budge. He seemed suddenly very interested in the diamond. Dark grunted in pain as his hold on the glass walls broke, and he slid onto his back as the diamond began to rumble.

"What's it doing?" The shadow shouted, looking rather worried as his prison began to slowly rise. In a panic, Link grasped Sheik by the shoulders and shook him a bit.

"What do we do?! Where's it taking him?!"

"Where do you think?!" Sheik shouted, ruby eyes bloodshot and tired. He yanked Links fingers from his suit and stepped away, the gears in his mind rotating as he tried to concoct a plan. Anything to dispel the diamond and release Dark. But nothing came to mind, and even as Link shot every spell he could think of at the glass, nothing seemed to tarnish it's surface. It seemed that the only thing capable of breaking it was a stubborn man's skull.

"Ouch! Link, cut it out with the fire spells! You're roasting me alive in here!"

"I'm just trying to help you, you idiot!"

"There's no point." Dark said, suddenly intensely calm as he got his feet beneath him and stuck his clammy hands to the inner wall of the glass. "I can't be saved."

"Don't say that!" Link shouted, clawing at the diamond now as he tried to find a hold on it. If he could just get a good grip on it, keep it from carrying Dark away to the Dark Lords palace...

Sheik was grasping his shoulder, telling him to stop, that their efforts were futile, and that the Hero was only hurting himself. Navi was sobbing on his shoulder, despairing at their helplessness after what had been such a short lived victory.

"I'm leaving, Link. And there's nothing to do for it. I know you'll come save me."

"Of course I will. I always will."

In a spur of the moment choice, Link, who felt absolutely ridiculous doing it, pressed his lips against the heated glass. Dark, who smiled at the action, did the same. They were separated by several inches of glass, but Link felt that of every kiss they had shared, this one meant the most. He pulled away, rubbing beneath his eyes as he muttered something about sand. Dark gazed longingly at him, wanting to pull him into his arms and reassure him, but time was short and he sent a silent prayer to any goddess willing to listen.

'Please let me get to hold him at least one last time...'

He was happy he'd been able to aid the Hero in his quest for as long as he had. They'd traveled across deserts, through what could have been the belly of the underworld itself, and fought armies of villains along the way.

But...

The diamond began to move, hovering several feet above the ground as it traveled further and further away from the shadow temple. Sheik watched, fully aware that this would probably be the last time he ever saw the shadow. He turned away, fists clenched into impossibly tight fists at his sides.

Things had changed drastically. So quickly. So unexpectedly.

The time had come for the story to end. For the Dark Lord to fall and for the Princesses' empire to be restored. With the final, shuddering breath of the ancient Twinrova and her desperate, last resort, a stone had been cast. That stone in turn had tipped the scale, creating an unstoppable avalanche. She had set the final step of Ganondorf's plan into action. Ganon himself had ensured that the Hero of Time would have no choice but to seek him out, to finally reveal himself to the Dark Lord.

"Daaark!!" Fingers sliding off diamond, ice-cold casing, Link chased after the imprisoned shadow, swearing that if he could just get a good grip on it's almost slimy surface...

But the casing was rising steadily, moving even faster than a horse could travel. If he'd had one at the moment though, there would be no stopping him. Link would follow suit until the diamond was completely out of sight, until his quiver was absolutely empty and his magic was so drained he could only conjure sparks.

"Link! Don't worry about me! Focus on what's truly important!"

"I am!!" Link retorted, ignoring the screaming in his muscles and the stinging in his eyes. His fingers slipped from the prison, and while he continued to give chase, Link could only watch as Dark was swept away. Ruby red eyes sought out his, and Link slowed to a jog as the shadow slowly shook his head, pressing his forehead to the glass. The sun was quickly setting in the West, burning his eyes as he kept contact with the man. And as the sun's light was snuffed and the world turned to darkness, Dark closed his eyes and sent out what very well could be his final words.

"I'll see you soon, Hero of Time."


Argh, it's only after I finish the chapters that I realize how little DarkxLink action I put in. *Grumbles* I kinda fail at writing yaoi, I suppose. Ah, well. You live and learn. I will try to commit myself to writing a chapter completely dedicated to DarkxLink man action.

...

I'm such a perv.

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