AN: Okay, this was supposed to be up days ago, but the end just kept eluding me... it also ended up really, really long, so if you think I should split it somewhere tell me and I'll try! Thanks to princessanime29, Ledd and 'a fan' for their reviews! I appreciate it more than you know!
Other than that, enjoy!

Nine:

It was much warmer inside the cavern, but not unbearably so, and stuffier. Taking a deep breath of the stagnant air I crinkled my noise at the slight smell of sulphur and looked around for Dark. Finding myself stood on a wide ledge I wandered towards the edge, quickly backtracking when I found myself looking down at a high drop leading to a sea of lava. That explained the deep red-orange glow that filled the cavern. Looking around I caught sight of two long, extremely precarious looking bridges leading further into the crater. The bridge on the right appeared to lead to a dead end so I focused on the left-hand one, walking cautiously towards it in case the ledge I stood on decided to crumble. Halting a few paces away from the edge I found, to my dismay, that it was broken. A whole segment of it had snapped at the centre and the pieces lay limply over the rocks that held it up.

I was watching heat shimmer in the air around me, trying to think of a plan, when Dark materialised on the opposite side of the gap.

"Well, princess, this is a problem." He called and I rolled my eyes. "I looked and there's no other way around, unless you can fly or something so…" he trailed off. Shuffling a little closer to the edge I wondered if I could maybe levitate the two parts of the bridge and cross them like that, but I had never tried anything like it and wasn't really prepared to risk it. It wasn't like I could just create a new bridge – I didn't have nearly that much power – and there was no way I could swing across using the beams above the gap. This was, quite possibly, the worst situation I could ever find myself. On a ledge, up high, over a sea of lava. At least there were no rats scurrying around.

Brushing a finger against my lips I wracked my brains, wondering with faint irritation if Dark was going to offer any help.

"You could try jumping." Dark's voice invaded my thoughts and I scowled across at him, hoping the expression would portray just how stupid I thought his suggestion was. In response he shrugged.

"Have you got any better ideas, princess?" he said and I intensified my glare, annoyed that he was right.

"Every idea is better than that," I said. "Jumping deliberately into a sea of lava is a horrible idea in any scenario." I assumed I had annoyed him when he didn't reply. Thinking, I wondered if that could work, but in all honesty it was as risky as simply trying to jump the gap. Maybe a little less so. Taking a deep breath I strengthened my resolve; hadn't I decided to get to this temple and help no matter what? I couldn't baulk at a little risk. Well, a lot of risk. Drawing in another, steadying breath I felt my heart quicken with a painful squeeze at the anticipation and I suddenly became a little breathless.

"Alright, I have an idea." I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "But you have to stay right there. Right. There." I repeated it for effect, hoping he understood just how important it was to stay there.

"I heard you the first time, princess." Dark said with a hint of exasperation. I surveyed the spot he stood in.

"Actually, can you take a step back?" After a brief pause and a heavy sigh he complied, resting his hands behind his head in a bored manner.

"Is this alright?" he queried and I nodded, not entirely trusting myself to speak. I gulped another breath and let it out slowly, closing my eyes briefly. Reopening them I fixed my gaze on Dark, concentrating and ignoring the stupid faces he started pulling at me. Gathering my magic I focused on the spell I wanted, too nervous to speak a mantra or utter a prayer. Once I felt I had summoned enough of my power I decided not to waste any more time thinking, and threw myself into the spell. Lifting my arms I spun, trying to focus every particle of my being on the space before Dark. For an instant the world went black and I was floating in nothingness, lost to everything with no air, light or sound and then my feet hit solid ground and I staggered. Right into Dark. He made a startled noise and steadied me as I took a great gulp of air, feeling myself shaking.

"You alright, princess?" his voice startled me from my daze and I quickly stepped from his grip, smoothing my hair and slowing my breathing from panicked gasps to slow, steady breaths.

"Fine." I still sounded a little breathless but at the same time I was elated that it had worked and I hadn't plunged to a fiery death. It didn't mean I was any more confident with my teleportation skills but I was satisfied and hoped I would never have to do it again.

"You know, if you did that all the time your life would be a lot easier." Dark mused after a moment and I shook my head.

"No, it's really quite unstable so it's easier to just walk." I said, adjusting my 'belt' and smoothing my tunic. Dark hummed thoughtfully.

"How so?"

"Well, I'm never entirely sure if it will work or stop working halfway or even backfire, so I could end up in a wall or way too high up or something similar." Dark hummed again, apparently unimpressed. I stifled a scowl. Just because his method of teleporting was so safe and never failed… Shaking away my complaints I turned to the matter at hand.

"Come on," I said, "we're on a tight schedule, aren't we? Let's get out of here quickly – I don't like high temperatures." Dark made a sceptical noise but didn't argue, instead choosing to walk off the bridge in such a way that made the planks wobble dangerously. Trying to ignore the movement as best I could I followed him, going as fast as I could without making the bridge tilt too much. The walkway led down to a large island of rock which was connected to the nearest wall by a wide path. In the wall there was a large, dark, rectangular hole which was obviously where we were supposed to go next. It was framed by a border of carved stone and appeared to be a doorway of sorts. I assumed it was the temple entrance. Dark was already halfway up the path so I didn't stop to look around, but I did notice as I went that the temperature was rising. Wiping some sweat from my brow I shifted uncomfortably, heat prickling along my back as though it was being exposed to direct sunlight. Climbing a slope didn't help and when I reached Dark's side before the temple entrance I flapped a hand beside my hand in an effort to cool my face even a little. From the corner of my eye I could see Dark smirking and cursed him silently, annoyed that he wasn't as uncomfortable as I was.

"Maybe it'll be cooler inside." He suggested and I couldn't tell if he was mocking or trying to comfort me. Unsure I didn't respond, instead staring into the reddish gloom beyond the arch. The entrance led into a long hallway, filled with deep red light that filtered in from the crater behind us.

"Onwards then, princess?" Dark said and I nodded. We proceeded to do just that, and at first it seemed to be leading us to a dead end, until we found ourselves staring down a dark, long, vertical tunnel with a ladder attached to one wall. Was it some kind of requirement that temples had to be full of high ledges and long drops?!

"Down we go." Dark murmured, and there was a faint movement beside me before he had materialised at the foot of the ladder. I, not wanting to risk another teleportation spell, was left at the top to climb down like a normal person. The descent was easier than I was expecting as the rungs were dry and relatively close together, therefore providing much fewer opportunities for me to slip, miss a rung, or fall.

Upon stepping off the ladder I found the air, strangely, much cooler and breathed a sigh of relief.

"By all means, princess, take your time." Dark's sarcastic voice easily shifted my relief to annoyance and I shot him a glare before moving my eyes past him and onto my new surroundings. They were similar to the level above; a long, gloomy corridor leading to darkness. Without waiting for any input from Dark I set off, striding resolutely down the hallway. I passed through a patch of deep gloom before the corridor widened into a spacious room lit with a warmer, less ominous orange light. Its source was three strangely shaped torches at the opposite end of the room, stationed at the top of a short flight of shallow steps. Faint squeaks drew my eyes upwards and I saw two fire Keese fluttering around the ceiling. They did not pose that big of a threat but I made a mental note to keep a wary ear out for them.

Passing beneath the Keese I ascended the stairs and glanced first left then right. There was a door on either side, and the right-hand one had clearly been locked – chains pooled at its base – though it was now barred by nothing. Acting on instinct I headed left first, thinking that perhaps the room beyond a door that hadn't been locked at all would be safer. Walking to said door I pulled it open and it went smoothly with barely a squeak, despite its apparent age. A blast of heat greeted me and I grimaced, eyeing the bright red light dancing on the walls and the heat shimmering in the air.

I was stood on a platform of yellowish stone, no more than 10 metres in diameter, which rose some way above a sea of lava. Creeping to the edge of the stone I surveyed the boiling depths, wondering faintly just how hot the magma was. There was a similar platform directly opposite while in the far corners stood two of larger size, and following the walls on either side several small ones created an incredibly dangerous-looking path. Focusing my gaze on the platform opposite I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through all of the shimmers distorting my view. It looked like there was someone stood on it, but I couldn't quite make them out.

A long, low whistle made me turn. Dark was looking around, eyebrows raised, apparently impressed. It annoyed me that he wasn't even a little affected by the temperature, which for me was growing steadily more uncomfortable.

"This temple isn't nearly as bad as the forest one," Dark said, "it hasn't tried to kill or expel me once yet."

"What a shame." I said, my discomfort and annoyance briefly getting the better of me. Dark's eyes narrowed.

"My, princess, you look a little hot. Want to go wait back at the Goron City?"

"Be quiet."

"You've been ordering me around a lot lately, princess." He said it flippantly, and without turning his gaze onto me, but the threat was quite clear and I decided not to add 'angry Dark' to the list of things I had to deal with. I found it a little strange, though, that he would comment on it now instead of any time before when I had said something similar. It was as if any time he started acting a little friendlier towards me he would go and do or say something to push me away. The realisation bothered me but I stayed quiet, mulling it over. Apparently my silence satisfied him, however, as he walked docilely to the edge of the platform to stare across the room.

"Is that a person?" he asked after a moment, shading his eyes with a hand as he continued to look out over the lava.

"I thought so too, but I can't see well enough to say for sure." I said, casting a reluctant glance towards the path of platforms at the edge of the room.

"We'll just have to go over there then." Dark said, sounding completely unperturbed at the prospect of having to jump over boiling lava. Then again, he probably wouldn't have to, seeing as how the orange light cast handy shadows over all the walls and floors. As I watched he vanished, to reappear on the nearest platform a moment later.

"Coming, princess?" he said, something about his tone striking me as sly. "Or do you want to stay there?" It was a challenge if I had ever heard one, and I wasn't about to let Dark find another thing to mock me for. Crossing to the edge I adjusted my tunic and sized up my opponent. It was a jump of around two metres, maybe a little more, and never had six feet seemed longer.

"That platform's not big enough to hold us both," I said, "can you move to the next one?" Dark complied in silence and I backed away, wondering how big of a run up I would need. I ended up about halfway across the larger platform and, taking a deep breath, upheld my decision not to waste any time. Gathering my courage I launched myself forward, paused for a split-second on the edge, and jumped. My right foot landed squarely on the smaller platform's edge, and for a terrifying moment I teetered before my momentum brought my other foot forward and I staggered almost to the other end of the block of stone. While I struggled to calm myself Dark applauded me, and I couldn't tell if it was because he was amused or actually impressed.

We repeated this process three times until we were stood on the far left corner's platform, facing the one built against the centre of the back wall. There was someone there, apparently trying to open a large door I hadn't noticed before, and on closer inspection I saw it was a Goron. Dark caught his attention and when asked what he was doing, the Goron explained that he had seen people entering the temple and had followed, but upon exploration had found the door to the temple's heart sealed shut. To the question of where the other Gorons were he answered that most were further down the mountain, collecting food, while some had remained behind in the city. At this, Dark promptly announced that he had come across them (while ransacking their home) and for a long moment I stared at him in disbelief; here I had been worrying that something had happened to the Gorons and all the while Dark had known they were fine and had simply neglected to mention it to me. With an inward sigh I told myself that at least I wouldn't have to worry anymore and tried to cheer myself up with the knowledge that we weren't on some wild goose-chase – the next soul-piece was definitely in the temple. We just didn't know where it was. The sealed door was suspicious, but Dark seemed to want to explore the temple and it wouldn't hurt to check.

Bidding the Goron farewell I underwent, again, the arduous task of platform hopping back to the entrance before exiting to the 'lobby'. Dark followed quietly and I realised, as I stepped into the entrance hall, that he hadn't once commented on my platform hopping, despite how pathetic I must have looked. Glancing at him as he followed me through the door I surveyed him as inconspicuously as I could, something like worry making my stomach clench slightly. From the way his brow was furrowed, his lips pressed flat and his eyes vacant I guessed he was deep in thought, though why I couldn't fathom. I decided not to intrude and simply allowed him to follow me in silence, and while it was the first time his company had been so peaceful I couldn't help but miss his sarcastic, flippant comments in such a hostile environment.


"No. Leave it alone, Dark." I frowned at him. He was stood amongst the shattered fragments of several ancient jars that had no doubt held a great amount of historical value, a sealed glass jar in his hand. From within the jar there came a faint chiming noise while bright pink light shone through the glass.

"Come on princess – it could be useful." Dark frowned right back at me, "these things heal people, you know."

"I'm well aware, but you can't just bottle them up. It's cruel!" I reached for the jar, only to have Dark dance away and lift it out of my reach like a child.

"I'll let it go." He said.

"When?" I demanded, and he shrugged.

"Who knows? Sometime in the future, I'm sure." Dark raised the jar to eye-height, shaking it slightly so that the fairy inside chirruped in distress.

"Stop it!" I successfully took the jar from him and held up a hand when he reached for his sword. Was he really going to fight me? Over a fairy?

"Look, if it keeps you from stabbing me, we'll keep it." I glanced at the fairy and then back to Dark. "But only if you let me hold onto this." I lifted the jar. "I don't want you tormenting the poor thing." Dark thought about it for a moment before he shrugged.

"Fine. But don't release it – you hear me? It could come in handy." I sighed harshly, murmured an apology to the glowing pink ball, and then stowed the jar in my bag.

We had been trawling the temple for over an hour, opening every door and occasionally breaking down ones either locked or sealed shut – Dark took care of the former while I took care of the latter. Eventually, however, we ended up with only one place left to check; the sealed room beside the entrance. In a fit of rage at such a grievous waste of time Dark had attacked the nearest thing – thankfully a row of jars placed against the wall of the room we were in and not me. When he had, a fairy had fluttered from inside one and Dark had immediately captured it with a jar that he had, for some reason, been carrying around. An argument had then ensued.

Now we just needed to head back to the front of the temple. The problem was it was on the other side of the temple, which was a long was to go through various lava-filled rooms that provided no end to my stress. At the very least, about halfway through our exploration Dark had 'perked up' and had kept my mind off of the potential danger for the most part which actually helped me go quicker, if only in order to escape the hot, claustrophobic temple and Dark's snide comments sooner.

It took less time to go back as we now knew the way, and soon we had reached the room that the entranceway's right-hand door had led to. The room was large, hot and its floor was made of lava. There were various rocks and platforms jutting from the molten liquid, which created paths to jump across, as well as one long, fat bridge leading right across the room. As much as I'd have liked to just cross the bridge, it was inaccessible from lower heights and we just happened to enter the room from one such low point. I was no more comfortable with vaulting over boiling lava than I had been when we had first entered the temple, so the prospect of jumping more was not inviting. However, I had done it once so I was semi-confident that I could do it again.

Feeling Dark's gaze fall onto me I turned to him, only to find him with a wicked smile on his stupid grey face.

"What?" I snapped, unable to help myself, and realised a moment too late that that was just what he wanted.

"Oh, nothing." He said airily, waving a hand, "I just find endless amusement in watching you struggle to jump over lava. I wonder if you'll fall in…"

"Yes, alright Mr I-can-teleport-wherever-I-want," I griped, "but when you waste away and die know that it's your fault for tempting fate so that the person breaking Ganondorf's seals for you fell into lava and burned to death." He just widened his smile, which made me turn from him before I slapped (or, preferably, punched) it away.

Trying to calm my newly reawakened anger I faced the first jump. It wasn't that far so I moved quickly, before I lost my nerve. Landing safely on the block of stone I glanced about me, wondering which was the best path to take.

"Over here, princess." Dark called my attention over to a nearby platform, atop which he now stood. Sizing up the gap I took a deep breath and leapt. I landed safely once again and briefly paused to wonder if the gaps were getting larger. It certainly seemed that way.

This continued for a few more jumps, until I stood maybe twenty metres from the platform leading to the door we needed to go through, facing two evenly spaced rocks that were way way too close to the lava for comfort. Steeling myself I hopped onto the first one, only to find that it tipped under my weight as if not attached to anything. Crouching, my heart racing, I waited for it to become steady before standing. Only to find that the impact of me landing on it had caused it to drift further from the second, identical rock. I was reasonably sure that I could make the jump but it would be a lot scarier and it would probably leave me shaking. Still, it was the only thing separating me from a scramble up a ledge to the door. I was so close – I couldn't give up now.

"Come on, princess. Dithering won't get us anywhere." Dark's voice emanated from over the ledge, no doubt from beside the door, and I scowled in its general direction before turning back to the gap. Drawing in a deep breath I grimaced as the hot air scratched in my throat before I backed up to the edge of the raft I was balancing on. It tilted dangerously and I swayed for a moment, glancing down at the edge which was now almost submerged in lava. Feeling my resolve give a little as my heart fluttered agitatedly in my chest I resolutely faced forward once more, drawing in a few more painful, deep breaths. And then, chest feeling tight, I jumped. My foot hit solid ground and then, inexplicably, the rock beneath it gave way. Falling, I managed to hook my other knee over the edge of the 'raft' with a painful jolt and my torso fell forward, but not before my first foot hit the lava.

Instantly, pain seared up my leg. For all the magic in the tunic that coated my entire body, it couldn't protect from lava. Not for long. I was knee deep in lava and the magic was quickly fading. In response, the pain was growing. Too quickly. Much, much too quickly. My senses fled me as I found myself too shocked to even scream for help. Through the growing pain I managed to collect just enough sense to yank at my leg, trying to pull it free, but the lava was like quicksand; it sucked me in and held me fast. Tugging frantically I tried to work my foot out of my boot, as if it were just mud I was stuck in. My heel came free. The magic around my foot broke. A second later my foot broke free of the molten liquid, but it came a second too late. For a whole second my foot had been unprotected and completely submerged in lava. The pain turned to agony and I screamed, unable to help myself. I was hanging half on, half off the rock, at any moment about to slip completely into the bright orange depths.

Clamping my teeth around the nearest thing I could to quell another shriek I felt slight pain prickle along my right forearm. It was nothing compared to the white-hot burning sensation that was slowly crawly up my leg and, somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered morbidly if perhaps my trouser leg had caught fire from its brush with lava. I could literally feel my skin blistering, feel the fabric of my clothes melting against it. My eyes stung and blurred as tears slipped unbidden down my cheeks, mostly because of the pain but also partly because of the sudden, overwhelming fear that I was going to die. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping that by blocking out the bright orange of the lava I would block out everything else. I could still feel my leg burning, despite it being free and waving precariously in the air. I didn't want to think about what it looked like, especially when the air around me was filling with the smell of burning fabric and skin.

Something grabbed me and I prayed that it was the goddesses, come to take me away from the pain. Instead, I faintly heard someone yelling my name. Even as they pulled me forward, however, my burnt leg brushed the rock and I screamed, arching my back upwards and struggling to get away, desperately trying to make them stop. The grip was too strong, however, and pinned me where I lay. A weight vanished from my back and there came the vague sounds of something being rummaged in, alongside several tinkling sounds that could have been glass.

A hand touched my head and the voice of whoever was beside me sounded above me.

"This is probably going to hurt." They said, and I wanted to tell them that nothing could be worse than what I was feeling right now, but I couldn't make my mouth move. Seconds passed and then something touched my leg. It was only a gentle touch, the barest of pressure, but it made the pain that much worse. It flared up and I lost all sense of myself. I couldn't tell where I started and the agony ended, and with every gentle touch it seemed to get worse. I was pretty sure I was screaming, but I couldn't really tell. The light behind my eyelids was dyed white.

It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, maybe half a minute, but it felt like a lifetime. However, at the end of those seconds I found the pain receding. Slowly at first and then faster, until only a ghost of it remained. My sense of self and my surroundings began to crawl back. Sound came first; I could hear the loud, racing pound of my heart in my ears alongside the signature rumbling bubble of lava, as well as heavy breathing somewhere nearby, as if someone were out of breath. The white world I lay in faded to black and after a few moments I tentatively opened my eyes, half expecting to find myself in some world that came after death. Instead, I found myself staring out over the same lake of lava I had just fallen into and I shuddered at the sight, my leg twinging ever so slightly in response.

Touch came last. My limbs felt weak, as if they had turned to jelly, but there was something lukewarm against my back and around my waist. I could feel the hard ground beneath me, but behind me there was a firm softness. Something was fluttering against my face and I blinked a few times to clear my vision before shifting my head to look at it. Wincing slightly at the bright but pale pink light that glowed just beside my face I waited to be able to see past it, to find a fairy hovering beside me. The fairy Dark had made me keep. I stared at it for a long time before turning my gaze to my leg. My boot was gone, lost in the magma, while my trouser leg was charred, burned clean away in places. However, the skin beneath was fine – a little pink, as if mildly sunburnt – but fine. My eyes were then drawn to the grey arm clad in a black sleeve resting around my waist. There were slight scratches covering it, as if nails had been raked up it.

"Back with us, princess?" Dark's familiar, cold tone lured my eyes upwards. It was a little softer than usual, with perhaps a hint of concern underlying it. Craning my neck I found him right behind me, red eyes trained on me. Realisation hit me like a steam train. I was leaning against Dark, and he was supporting us with one hand on the ground behind him while the other lay across my body. Startled, I immediately pulled away, a blush heating my cheeks at the hinted intimacy of the situation. Dark let me go, his now free hand going to the floor so that he could recline more easily.

"I told you keeping that fairy was a good idea." He said, grinning when I glanced over my shoulder at him. That just intensified my blush as a somewhat hysterical giggle escaped me.

"You did." I took a shaky breath, "I think I'll take you up on that 'teleport everywhere' idea." Dark snickered softly and I sucked in a few more breaths to calm myself, feeling my blush cool steadily as I did. Once I felt it was safe to turn around I did so, crossing my legs and facing Dark across the platform. A faint memory drifted through my head at the sight of him and I peered intently at him.

"You called my name." I said softly, more to myself, but knowing he had heard stared steadily at him while willing myself not to blush. Dark returned my gaze for a long moment before he glanced away.

"What, 'princess'? I call you that all the time."

"No, not 'princess'. You called me 'Zelda'. I heard you." The memory surfaced slowly, a little too distorted to completely reveal itself to me.

"Princess, your leg was on fire. You were screaming your head off – I doubt you were thinking, or hearing straight." Dark said, but I could have sworn the grey of his cheeks darkened a little. I frowned at him, wondering why he would so adamantly insist that he hadn't said my name.

"I guess I heard wrong…" I said after a moment, deciding not to push my luck. "By the way, what happened to your arm?" My gaze fell onto the appendage, where the raised marks still remained, and Dark lifted it in response. The fairy, which had been fluttering impatiently round his head, fell upon it, swirling around it in a whirl of glitter and faint chirps. Dark made a 'meh' noise.

"You were flailing all over the place, so I had to pin you down. Who knew your nails were so sharp?" Dark said, sounding completely unbothered by it. I, meanwhile, felt another blush creeping up at the thought. The fairy, its business finished, flew away and for a moment we both followed it with our eyes.

"Were you… worried about me?" I asked after a moment, feeling the need to make him as uncomfortable as I was becoming. Instead, I got a malicious smile.

"No, but you can't break seals for me if you've fallen in lava." I sighed at this. "But if you're recovered enough to be mocking me, that must mean you're recovered enough to stand and walk. Right, princess?" He stood, brushed his clothes down, and offered me a hand. After a brief hesitation I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I put my newly healed one down tentatively only to draw it back up again as heat prickled along its sole. The magic in the tunic still extended to my foot, doing just enough to keep it from disintegrating in such close contact to the lava, but no longer keeping out the heat seeping from the lava into the floor. I hopped for a moment, wondering what I was supposed to do now.

"I can't walk." I said, wobbling slightly.

"Why not?" Dark said, a hint of frustration in his voice. Apparently all worry had gone out the window once I had shown I was fine. Shooting him a glare I gestured to my bare foot and calf.

"The magic on this tunic was around my boot, not my foot – and my boot's gone… so is my sock." Dark sighed heavily before, with some reluctance, he took off his own boots. Gathering them in his arms he held them out to me.

"They might be a little big, but they're better than nothing right?" Shocked and grateful I took the shoes in silence, discarding my remaining boot and pulling them on quickly. They were too big, but I could still walk easily enough. I murmured a thank you, disconcerted by Dark's behaviour and embarrassed that I had to rely on him, and he immediately brushed it off before vanishing over the ledge beside the 'raft'. Tugging at the boots for a moment I admired the soft black material, bewildered by Dark's actions. Raising my head I sized up the wall before me. I could probably make the jump if I pushed myself up the wall, and if I missed I would just fall back onto the rock I currently stood on, but the fall had significantly lowered my confidence and now I couldn't bring myself to try.

"Standing there won't get you anywhere, princess." Dark's head appeared over the side of the wall, his expression as flat as ever. It made me wonder how he felt about helping me – did he care? Or was it just a means to an end? Dark shifted and then swung a hand down for me to take. Glancing at the lava briefly I sighed, clenched my jaw and reached for his hand. Our fingertips almost touched so I jumped lightly, feeling his fingers close around my wrist. I did the same and he pulled me up. I scrabbled my feet against the smooth wall, attempting to make it easier, and reached for the ledge with my free hand. Managing to grab it I let go of Dark and climbed the rest of the way myself, marvelling at how dependant on him I had become in the past five minutes.

As I pulled myself over the ledge Dark staggered back, breathing heavily. I hadn't expected pulling me up to take such a toll on him and I frowned, concerned. Watching him lean on his knees I stood, wondering just how much time he had before he faded away.

"Are you alright?" I asked, unsure if he would want me asking or not.

"Fine." He said shortly, straightening. Running a hand through his hair he walked to the door, yanking it open with a little more force than necessary. Pondering what had got him so frustrated I followed, praying that we would leave the temple soon and wouldn't be held up for too long while acquiring the next soul-piece. Impatient as he had so often been, I hoped Dark shared my wish. It certainly seemed to be the case as he strode quickly across the entrance hall and vanished into the left-hand room. I followed more slowly, still shaken by my encounter with the lava. I was still half expecting my leg to burst into flames again, and tried repeatedly to reassure myself that it wouldn't as I entered the room after Dark.

The air seemed a little clearer than before and I could now see all the way across to the back wall. The Goron was gone, and in his place stood Dark, inspecting the door. Dithering for a moment I made my way across the row of platforms. Feeling safer high above the lava, where I couldn't touch it even should I end up clinging to edge of any of the platforms, I moved more swiftly though the time still went painfully slow. It seemed to take an age for me to rejoin Dark, and it was just as I did that he pulled the door open.

"It wasn't sealed?" I approached slowly and Dark turned to me, letting the door close again as he did. Lazily he shrugged a shoulder.

"It was earlier." He said, "Didn't the Goron say so?"

"I wonder what happened…" I murmured, eyeing the door. I couldn't feel any magic around it, indicating that there were no seals placed on it which was a relief because I really didn't feel up to trying to break any.

"Maybe it was…" Dark trailed off and I turned to him, silently imploring him to elaborate. "Didn't I mention it? No? Well, when you were screaming you started glowing – like back in the Forest Temple – and then the light just kind of exploded. I'll have you know it was actually quite painful – I thought you were trying to kill me. So maybe when you expelled all that magic or whatever, you broke the seal on the door. It wasn't exactly far away at the time." I processed this slowly, finding myself cruelly glad that I had, in fact, caused Dark some discomfort somewhere along the line. I also found it interesting that I had somehow accessed and used my magic in the midst of extreme agony, but I quickly forced the thought aside, not wanting to think about it. Hopefully I would repress the memory soon. I could already barely remember the pain, though the fear remained.

Abiding by my decision not to waste any more time I suggested we move on and enter the room beyond the now unsealed door. Dark complied readily, bending to hook his fingers underneath the door's base. It slid upwards of its own volition a moment later and hung still as if waiting for us to enter. Almost at once, a noise reached my ears that hadn't the first time the door had been opened. After a moment I realised it was a voice, loud and apparently angry. Yelled obscenities and curses rang clear through the quiet temple, and their ferocity made me flinch a little. There was something almost inhuman about the voice; it was more akin to a ferocious creature's roar than a human's cry. Beside me, Dark murmured a long, drawn-out 'oh' and I glanced at him. A small, sly smile was curling the corners of his lips in a way that made me shiver uncomfortably.

"What is it?" I asked, tentative. Shrugging slightly Dark widened his smirk.

"I think I know who that is." He said, gesturing beyond the door to whatever the source of the voice was. From where I stood I could only see a sliver of wall lit up with lava, so I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Really?" I felt a little suspicious about the company Dark was keeping; the source of the voice did not seem friendly.

"Can't you tell, princess? Just listen to him go." There was a pause, punctuated by more fierce yells, before Dark suddenly slipped under the door. Forcing down an exasperated sigh at the lack of explanation I followed, hearing it slide shut behind me. I half expected to then hear it lock itself, so I turned back and made to go through it again. Once it had opened I slid my bag underneath it, in order to keep it propped open just a little. When I was sure it wouldn't lock us in I spun, surveying my new surroundings.

I was stood on another large, square stone platform that was, again, built some way above a lake of lava. There seemed to be a path leading further in the room and I walked to its edge, following it with my eyes. It was a steep road made of the same sandy stone and was completely straight. It flattened and ended a small jump away from another large platform, though this one was much closer to the lava and was made of some deep brown material.

It was in the far left corner of this second platform that a figure stood, their back to the door as they seemingly struggled with something. Dark was already at the end of the path, staring in the direction of the person. Hurrying down the slope I stopped at his side, glancing between the two slowly. As I did the stranger stiffened, turning his head slowly to look over his shoulder. The distance between us made it difficult to distinguish features but I could see that his hair was bright reddish-orange and glowed like fire in the reflected light of the lava, while his eyes glittered red in the shadows cast on his face. Even though I couldn't see his face in detail his stance and lithe body clad in similar clothes to mine were eerily familiar. So that was why Dark had said he knew who it was.

"Found you." Dark said in an antagonistically cheery tone, hopping lightly over the gap between the two platforms.

"You." The unknown piece of Link's soul all but spat, and the ferocity in his voice made me cringe.

"Me." Dark replied, still in his irritatingly chirpy tone. It was like he was deliberately goading his red-clad double. Then again, that was probably exactly what he was doing. Looking between the two I dubbed the newcomer 'Red' in my head, for his hair, eyes and clothes. At Dark's approach 'Red' began struggling again, and I distinctly heard chains rattling as he did. Stepping gingerly over the gap Dark had so merrily jumped over I approached the stranger, brushing past Dark as I did. Feeling a little cautious I moved closer to Red, inspecting him as I did.

My ears had been telling the truth. There was a large metal pin embedded deep in the rock, attached to which was a pair of shackles. The shackles were around Red's wrists, so tight that they dented his skin which was red and raw from his incessant struggles. It was painful just looking at them. At my approach Red glanced swiftly and suspiciously at me, his eyes snapping right back to Dark in moments. Wondering what was causing the obvious tension between the two soul pieces I continued to inspect the chain, sensing that there was magic cast upon it. Its sickening feel told me it was Ganondorf's doing and I drew my bow, seeing no other way about it.

"Hold still." I said to Red as I placed an arrow on the string and drew it back. Red made no comment but stilled all the same as I aimed at the chains.

"Hang on – princess, wait." A dark grey hand pushed my bow down, only to draw back as, with a sharp crackle, it repelled the hand. Dark cursed softly and I turned to him, not missing the way Red smirked at the sound.

"What?" I relaxed my hold on the string, waiting for an answer. Dark hesitated before sighing. Taking my arm he pulled me a little way away from Red, presumably so that he was out of earshot.

"You can't trust that guy." He said and I snorted.

"Who are you to say who I can and can't trust?"

"Princess, hear me out." Dark frowned at me, "that guy isn't thinking straight. He never does. It's all just rage rage rage in his head, with no thought for consequences or anything."

"Says he?" I couldn't help scoffing.

"Princess." A tinge of irritation touched his tone. Rolling my eyes I quieted myself. "You can't untie him. He'll probably kill me."

"Does he have a reason to?"

"No!" Dark sounded genuinely shocked and I raised my eyebrows. "Anyway I know him, and he's not even going to try to… fuse, or whatever. He's just going to flat out kill me – and therefore your Hero too."

"How unhelpful." I said flatly, before pausing and eyeing Dark suspiciously. "Wait, are you… scared?"

"What? No." Dark stared at me as if I had betrayed him in some way and I rolled my eyes again. "I thought this would bother you more – y'know, how your precious Hero could potentially die any second?" He raised a good point – I couldn't let Red kill Dark, but then if Dark had done something then wasn't Red allowed at least a little payback?

I was still dithering when a sharp crack rang out across the platform, followed by a loud clatter. Turning I found Red facing us, rubbing wrists now bloody but completely free of shackles. Had he just… broken Ganondorf's seal with willpower alone? Behind me Dark swore, viciously, and Red shot him a twisted smile. It was so similar to Dark's usual smile that it was creepy, but there was something different about it that made me shudder. It wasn't necessarily darker it was just… it held a deeper, richer emotion than Dark's ever did and something about that scared me. There was motivation behind that smile, murderous intent, and it was directed at Dark.

"Why, exactly, are you so angry at me?" Dark suddenly spoke and when I looked at him saw him backing slowly away to the edge of the platform. There was a soft scraping noise as Red unsheathed his sword, readying his stance. I wondered where he had got it, as other than Dark he was the first to have a weapon.

"You left us to save yourself." Red growled, practically spitting the words. "You didn't even stop to try and help, you just vanished."

"What good would it have done?" Dark said, "Did you forget how many goons there were? And what do you mean 'save myself'? I'll die – we'll all die – if we stay apart for too long. Plus, I got help." Red narrowed his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he said and in answer Dark pointed at me. I frowned at him, not really wanting Red's attention directed onto me. When his heavy gaze fell on me I hitched the corners of my mouth up into a nervous smile. The look on his face told me he was close to scoffing and I suppressed a scowl, feeling that maybe Dark had more in common with Red than either of the soul pieces he had come across so far.

"Either way, that's not the point." Red shook his head, pointing his sword at Dark. "You abandoned us – pieces of your own being. Don't think you can get away with it." Dark made a noise that seemed both shocked and offended at the same time.

"I didn't abandon you." He said as they began to pace in a slow circle, eyes fixed on each other. "I just didn't see the point in us all getting caught, when I could get away and get help." He gestured to me again and to myself I questioned the use of the word 'get'. If I remembered correctly it had gone a little more like blackmail, what with the death threats and such. Red's voice lowered dangerously and I distinctly heard the word 'coward' pass his lips. Dark paced in front of me and briefly turned.

"Here, look after this." He said, shifting rapidly. Something heavy landed on my head and the world went dark, so I clawed at its source to find myself holding Dark's long black cloak. He moved on before I could say anything. Watching their slow, circular dance I backed away, moving back over the gap between the platforms so as not to get caught in the crossfire.

They continued this for some time, letting the tension build and build as they steadily closed in on each other. Somewhere along the line Red had abandoned his weapon, perhaps in response to Dark's silent refusal to draw his own, and I wondered if it would end up being a fistfight.

And then, quite suddenly, they pounced. Unable to help myself I marvelled at their skill, at the fluid way they attacked and then defended. Being of the same person they were completely in sync; their moves the same, their actions identical. The only thing that differed was the 'powers' they had seemingly acquired upon separating from the original whole. Dark flitted here and there through the shadows to avoid blows while more than once I saw fire accompanying Red's punches and kicks. Apparently his fiery temper had lent him the ability to conjure fire. It seemed fitting.

Neither one seemed to be gaining ground until there was a flurry of movement and, out of the blue, they froze. Watching with no little anxiety I waited to see what the cause of their sudden stillness was. They stood directly in front of me, at the centre of the lower platform, so I could only just about make out Red beyond Dark, whose back was to me.

As I watched Dark staggered sideways, knees buckling, and Red spun with him, giving me a full view of the fight's outcome. I just barely caught a gasp as it threatened to escape me. Red's right hand was wrist-deep in Dark's chest, just as his had been with 'Light Link', while his left was gripping Dark's throat in a way that made me feel like I was being strangled just by looking at it. Unable to believe my eyes, I watched in shocked silence as, with shaking hands, Dark reached up to grasp the arm protruding from his chest. A twisted sense of déjà vu fell over me, but this time Dark was the victim instead of the perpetrator.

Tugging at his hand Red growled in frustration when Dark's apparently still powerful grip held him fast.

"Give it up, coward." He hissed, "I'm stronger than you."

"Don't gloat, flamey, it's unattractive." Dark managed, voice tight. Red's face contorted and at the sight I wondered which I would prefer – wrathful or sadistic. Both held their pros and cons, but I was pretty sure I'd be able to deal with the latter better. I had been dealing with someone with such a character quite a lot recently.

"Let. Go." Red commanded, each word punctuated with another tug. Dark moaned softly, swaying with each pull but not relinquishing his grip. I saw the muscles in Red's arm shift slightly, as if he were clenching his fist, and Dark went completely limp, falling against his counterpart with a soft thump. His pitiful state was painful to look at, and my heart clenched a little in response. Catching myself I pressed a hand to the area over the treacherous muscle, suddenly realising that I had become more attached to Dark than I had thought. While I doubted I would miss him in the long run it didn't mean I wouldn't miss him now, in the present, and I found myself willing Dark to stand, to stay strong.

I actually flinched when Red, in one swift, smooth motion, freed his hand from Dark's chest. Link's shadowy counterpart crumpled and I called his name unthinkingly, quickly clamping a hand over my mouth. My shock kept me frozen for the longest time (or at least it seemed that way), so that I had to witness Red's triumphant smirk as he dug the toe of a boot into Dark's side and rolled him over onto his back. With a jolt I remembered how 'Light' had faded away after having his soul-piece stolen and my feet moved at last. Crossing to Dark's side I knelt beside him, staring at his limp body while disbelief stole away my rational thoughts. It didn't make sense. Dark had lost. But Dark couldn't lose, could he? Yet all the proof I needed was right before me. Swallowing I reached out and gingerly shut his eyes, which had remained wide and staring in death. Seeing his edges begin to shimmer into nonexistence I was overcome with the urge to cling to him, to ensure he stayed where he was, but I chided myself. Even if Dark was gone, Red remained and I still had a chance to save my kingdom. Wasn't that all that mattered?

Beseeching Din to lend me strength I sat back, watching Dark's form shift, waver and vanish. And then, all too soon and more suddenly than I was prepared for, Dark was gone.

Wow. What a long chapter. Don't expect too many like this, there was just so much I needed to put in before it could end.
And a
cliffhanger?! Gosh, I'm spoiling you guys! Haha, hopefully the next chapter should flow well - I actually planned it for once - so, thanks for reading and reviews are appreciated - even if it's just some (constructive, please) criticism!