I don't know how many of you heave heard about it, but I'm super excited! Wind Waker is being re-released in HD on the WiiU! Meaning I've spent the last few days in nostalgia daydreaming... hehe! Anyway, big thank you for the reviews to Hanyoualchemist1, PrincesscharmingKnight, TheBlueAlienRobotZombie, shadowgirl215, prettyguardianofhyrule, ShadowNinja1011, SwordspiritFi9, LauParisi, Franne, CreCra, and Neez!

Wow this chapter turned out longer than expected! Oh well, you guys are asking for longer chapters, so... enjoy!

Thank you to Princess Zelda-figure skater for beta reading!


Dark Reflections: Chapter Nine: A Chance to escape

Pipit's POV:

I stare at my phone is disbelief. How could this possibly be happening? How could I just have spoken to Link through Sheik's phone… when both are stood in the very next room? I close my eyes, running one hand through my long brown hair. I sigh, making a mental note to myself to get it cut soon… I swallow hard, considering my options. I could stay here, talk to Link and Sheik… or… whoever they are, to try and get some answers from them. Or, I could go to Link's apartment and find Link and Sheik… or whoever, and get answers from them. I sigh, glancing back at the phone, Link had sounded desperate… and he knew about the nickname everyone used to pick on me in high school.

I sigh, showing my phone into the pocket of my yellow hoodie as I make for the door of the bedroom. My mind is still buzzing with questions that I'm unable to answer. Was that the real Link? If it is… where's the real Sheik? Why didn't he talk? And if not… who were those people?

As I push open the door to the living room of Zelda's apartment, I'm greeted with Link, Sheik, Midna and Zelda all stood looking torn. What the hell happened here? What happened to those lazy Sunday afternoons that we spent out around the city? What happened to late night shopping and drinking shots at the college bar? What happened to the food fights in the student kitchens?

What the hell happened to us?

As I stare at my friends now I've never seen anything so different to the group of happy carefree youths they all were just a few short weeks ago. Midna stands with clenches fists and a hunched figure, her long auburn hair falling loose around her shoulders rather than a stylised ponytail… frown lines are embedded on her forehead as she lets out a deep sigh. Zelda looks rattled, her body just seeming to be an empty shell. Her indigo eyes, once alive with her dancing, happy go lucky spirit are now dulled, their light stolen. Her fingernails are half painted, half bare where she's nervously nibbled away at the polish. And her hair falls lankly around her skinny face. I almost can't bear to look at her any more, she's not Zelda anymore.

I could say the same thing about Link, except he's changed in a whole other way. Rather than seemingly being empty, or dead inside, he's just changed. He no longer grins or cracks those awful dad-style jokes anymore. He's given up flirting with Zelda entirely, and he never makes an effort to see me anymore. Honestly I'm disappointed, we used to be bro's, we were best friends. He always had my back, but as I look at him now, I'm finding it hard to formulate an accurate description of him in my mind, I don't know him anymore.

And as for Sheik… the change was more subtle. He was fine, until this whole situation arose with Zant, and then everything went to hell. He started acting jealous, paranoid, and clingy. And though I hate admit it, Midna was absolutely right, he was being a 'jealous, petty douche'. The worst part is that even now, as I watch him, his red eyes are lacking the fire they used to, the spirit, the passion and the emotion. Him and Midna used to be so hopelessly in love it was almost sickening to anyone else who had to sit there and watch, but I haven't seen him so much as hold her hand since this whole damned affair began.

It's a horrifying moment when you look around at your four best friends in the world and realise that, they're not the people you remember them being. As I glance from one to the next I'm struggling to list off one positive aspect of our friendship… what's left of it anyway. They all stare at me in silence, expecting me to spark a conversation, or maybe even a fight, ready to defend or retaliate against me. But what's the point?

"I have to go." I mutter quietly, grabbing my rucksack from the sofa and slinging it up onto my shoulder. They all stare at me as I make a bee-line for the front door, no one daring to say a thing, at least that means no one's daring to stop me. Or so I thought at least…

As I near the door, reaching out to grip the brass door handle, I feel a warm hand wrap around my arm. I turn quickly to see Link leaning toward me, his grip tight on my bicep. He stares at me with those dead blue eyes, causing goose bumps to prickle over my skin.

"Where are you going, Pipit?" He asks, his voice lingering like a bad odour in the stuffy apartment.

"I have to go…" I repeat, wrenching my bicep back from his grip. I turn quickly; ready to rip the door open and run like hell, but Sheik's hand is already on the door handle, blocking me.

"Why the hurry, Pipit?" He murmurs, annunciating the 'P's in my name. Suddenly his hand darts out, grabbing me by the wrist; his other hand quickly seizes my bicep. Link does the same with my left arm and the two pull me back from the door.

"What are you…?" I mutter as I'm manhandled away from my target destination, my heart beginning to thud a little harder in my chest. "Hey… hey! Let me go!" I say, my voice slowly rising in volume as I'm dragged back further from the door. They know… they know something's going on here! My back is slammed up against the wall, arms pinned beside me as I see the expressions of fierce concentration on Link and Sheik's faces. I push against them, trying to pry myself free, but their combined strength is too strong.

"What are you doing?" Midna asks worriedly, jumping to her feet. "Let him go! He's our friend!"

I pull hard again, but their holding me too tight to let go anytime soon. I take a deep steady breathe, trying to calm my panicking mind as I begin thinking, scrabbling for a way out of this. And suddenly… the perfect solution comes to mind… it's not pretty, and if it goes wrong I might pay… but it might be my only way out of here…

I bend my knees a little, preparing myself, before letting rip with a violent jump. I thrust my legs out either side of me, aiming directly for the weak spot of every man in Hyrule… right for the groin…

Almost immediately their iron grip on my arms loosen as they keel over, faces twisting with pain. I feel a helpless grin spreading across my face as I dive away from them, bolting for the door. I yank it open and turn back to Midna and Zelda, nodding at the open doorway, gesturing for them to get the hell out of here while they still can. Midna takes Zelda by the hand, dragging her way from this hell hole of an apartment. They sweep out of the door in a hurry, and I quickly dive out after them, slamming the door shut behind me.

"Go! Go! Go!" I hiss, placing my hand in the curve of their backs and steering them away from the door, following them down the hall and into the elevator… safe at last.

At least… for now.


What the hell is going on here? Why would Link and Sheik, the people I've been best friends with for two years now, suddenly turn on me and try to attack me? It almost makes me want to believe everything Midna told me about what Link supposedly did to Zelda and Sheik, but that was too far for even him… right?

My feet are thudding in the empty hallway, muddy footprints left behind me, leaving an obvious trail, but I don't time to worry about that right now. I cast my mind back over everything Link told me in that phone call…

"There's no time to explain, look, just come over to my apartment, there's a spare key under the doormat that I keep for emergencies! Let yourself in, and I'll explain the rest… got it?"

"Got it."

I stoop down on my hands and knees, scrabbling around the doormat, searching desperately for that spare key. I fumble around the dusty floor, the wiry straw-like material of the door mat prickling on my fingers, leaving white scratch marks along my skin. I grab the corner of the doormat, pulling it up and glancing underneath. And sure enough, there's a small silver key glimmering in the dim light. I swallow, reaching out and picking up as quickly as I possibly can.

My body is shaking as I climb to my feet, my heart thumping hard in my rib cage. The palms of my hands are clammy and sweating as I fumble around the lock, a thin layer of moisture appearing on my forehead. I'm not quite sure as to why I'm panicking so much, but there's a deep pit in the bottom of my stomach warning me that something definitely isn't right.

The front door swings open, allowing me to see the empty apartment. This isn't how Link likes to live… books lie scattered around the floor, the thin paper of the pages ripped and torn and folded. The coffee table lies skew-whiff; mugs that I presume were previously left on it lie sideways on the floor, pools of cold tea and coffee stained on the white Persian rug.

"Link?" I shout out, hoping that it'll show me some form of clue as to what I'm meant to do next. "Sheik? Where are you?"

Suddenly, from within my pocket, there's a soft vibrating. I jump to life, digging through the pockets of my loose natural denim jeans, producing my phone. I hurriedly type in my unlock pin and open the newest message.

It simply reads: "Jump straight through the mirror, don't think, just do it."

I frown… mirror? My eyes are glancing around the disarrayed apartment, searching desperately for a mirror. My eyes scan over framed photographs, stacks of video games by the television and a vase of wilted flowers on the windowsill, but I can't find a mirror anywhere.

"Mirror?" I shout through the silent apartment "What mirror?"

I pull open the bathroom door, as it seems like the obvious place to find a mirror, but to my disappointment the only one in here is the tiny mirror on the front of the medicine cabinet. There's no way this could be what they're talking about… I sigh, pacing through the apartment, sneakers tapping on the hardwood flooring. I walk over to his bedroom, pushing open the wooden door and wandering in. I search through the room, but his dresser only backs to an empty wall, and the wardrobe has no mirrors hidden inside the doors.

Just as I'm about to lose all hope, I suddenly see exactly what I've been looking for. Hanging on the wall beside his bed is a huge, square mirror. The frame is gold, intricately decorated with a thousand tiny little swirls and patterns. That, that's the mirror I'm looking for.

I frown, mulling my mind over the things that Link said in that text… 'Jump straight through the mirror, don't think, just do it'… Is that some kind of metaphor? Is he talking in code? What could he possibly mean? You can't actually jump through a mirror. I sigh, stepping a little closer, running my fingers along the intricate gold framing, searching the mirror. I'm hoping to find some kind of secret switch or a clue, something to show me what I'm meant to do, but I find nothing.

I sigh, running my hands through my hair again, letting out a deep sigh. Why couldn't Link just tell me outright what he wanted? Why did he have to make it so complicated? I wipe my mouth on the back of my hand, getting rid of the dry metallic taste from my mouth as I put one hand on my hip, resting the other on my mirror as I lean onto it, trying to relax a little.

But as I touch my hand to the cold smooth glass, something inside my stomach churns because for some reason I can't quite understand, I start to fall. I reach my hands out to break my fall, but my body slams into the ground regardless. My wrists are aching as I open one squinted eye, glancing around me, but my view is only of a bland grey wall…

Wait… this isn't Link's room?

"Over here!" Comes a hurried voice from behind me… and all too familiar voice. A gasp passes through my lips as pull myself up from the ground, turning to look at the source of the voice. And there stands something that belongs in a thriller story. My two best friends are stranded on the floor, hands tied behind them with a thick, course rope. Their forearms are pinned together, and I can't help but spot the tie slipped around Link's neck… was he gagged? Sheik turns, turning to look at me as far as his neck will allow, and that's when I see the tie on his mouth, stopping him from saying a word… which explains why he wasn't speaking on the phone earlier.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" I ask, staring at them in disbelief.

Sheik tries to respond, but the only audible noise that leaves his mouth is a muffled moan as he pulls hard against his binds.

"Wow, wow… take it easy." I say, "You'll hurt yourself!"

"Pleas Pipit," Link mutters. "You've got to help us…"

"Of course…" I reply, kneeling down in front of Sheik and getting to work on his gag. "What in Hyrule happened here? Why are you two tied up in a dank room? And why are there two more of you back in Zelda's apartment?"

I manage to remove the gag from Sheik's mouth, and he lets out a sigh of relief, throwing his head back. "Oh thank Hylia that's off…" He turns to me, his red eyes tired and weary. "Pipit, it's a very long story…"

"We've got time…" I murmur, moving around him to reach the ropes around their wrists.

Link sighs. "This sounds crazy… you'll think I'm lying. But, everyone has a dark twin, that's what he likes to call them."

"Who's he?" I ask, pulling against the tight knots.

"My dark twin," Link replies. "He told me wanted to know what it was like to live a real life… so, he stole mine."

"What?" I mumble, "But… that's…"

"Unbelievable?" Sheik asks, turning to look at me.

"Yeah…" I murmur, pulling out the last of the tight knots, letting the rope fall to floor. "Ok! We're done! Let's get out of here, pronto! This place makes me uncomfortable…" I shudder, climbing to my feet and helping my two friends get up too as I try my best to ignore the bruises on their wrists.


I carefully lay the mugs of boiling coffee on the table in front of Link and Sheik, both of them looking worn out and exhausted. Link's lips are dry and cracked like leather, the skin on his wrists peeling away between the deep purple and black bruises as he sighs, rubbing his eyes.

"Thanks Pipit." He mutters, holding the cup up to his chapped lips and taking a small sip.

"So now what?" I ask, trying to meet one of their gazes, but they both just stare solemnly into the bland beige of their coffees.

"I don't know…" Sheik mutters, pushing his tangled hair back from his face.

I squirm uncomfortably in my seat, unsure of what I'm supposed to say or do. I've never been in a situation like this… and it's not the sort of thing they teach you in your social education classes in high school.

"Pipit, can I ask you something?" Link asks, looking up at me.

I frown. "Sure."

"What did he do to Zelda… my dark twin… what did he do?"

My jaw falls open, my tongue instantly dry in the warm air. How am I supposed to respond to that? If I told him the truth he'd be broken hearted, he'd get mad… especially after everything he did to try and please Zelda…

"Link… it's not my place to say…"

His sticks out his lower jaw determinedly, for possibly the first time in my life I see his eyes watering. "Pipit, I've been tied up in a room with no place to go and nothing to do, with no friends until Sheik arrived… I've been in there for two weeks with no idea what hell my double was wreaking in my own life. And you won't even tell me what he did to the girl I love?"

"Link, I-"

But before I can even verbalise my own excuse, the door is thrown open with a loud bang that echoes through the apartment. I watch in stunned silence, jaw hanging open as Midna and Zelda are forced through the door by Link and Sheik's dark twins… wow… they really were telling the truth.

Dark Link lets out a twisted smirk as he turns to, grabbing Zelda's wrists and pinning them behind her as he laughs. "Oh Pipit, did you really think it would be that easy?"

Zelda whimpers a little as he lets go of her hands, letting her fall to the floor before grabbing her by her long blond locks and wrenching her up again as she yelps in pain. Link immediately jumps to his feet, chair smacking back into the flooring as Midna fights against Dark Sheik, who holds her back.

Dark Link smirks again, turning his attention to his double, whose fists are now clenched with anger.

"I told you when we first met that I didn't like living in obscurity, Link." He spits. "I warned you not to medal, told you I wanted to live for myself… but you just had to interfere didn't you?"

"IT'S MY LIFE!" Link rages, ready to take a dive for him. But he stops dead in his tracks as he spots the small switchblade in Dark Link's hand, ready and poised by the supple skin on Zelda's neck.

"Come at me, Link." He spits, smirking, "I dare you."