(Hoo boy.

Here's a deep, dark secret-- or not. I'm extremely tired... in general. Not of this story, just...

Sleeeeeeep. Me gustaaaaaa.

Epon64, you were one of my many nonsensical sources of inspiration. By nonsensical, I mean there is no logical correlation between this story and yours. ...sorta. Either way, you are an inspiration!

Last chapter, Link and Marth got pwned, the darkness escaped using Ike as its vessel... and all that happened in under 1100 words.

This chapter's going to be a lot more than that, I promise.

Let's begin.

All characters © Nintendo)

The Temptation of Darkness

Chapter Ten: Next Step

The Great Illumination banished the darkness that had returned, restoring order to the lands-- but not soon enough; chaos would forever follow the mortals.

To protect them from a certain demise, The Great Illumination sealed the darkness away...

Blood everywhere...

Blood dripping from their wounds, pooling on the ground...

Blood pouring out of their bodies...

A soft chime shattered the monotonous drip drip drip of the blood.

Link groaned softly as consciousness suddenly returned to him...

"...gahh... my head..."

Slowly, he sat up, tiredly rubbing his sapphire eyes...

Another quiet chime made the Hylian look up.

"...oww..."

As the fairy disappeared in a feeble flash of light, Marth rolled onto his side, clutching loosely at his head.

"My head... ow..."

"Rise and shine, Marth," Link muttered, slowly rising to his feet, taking his Master Sword in his hand. "You alright?"

"No," the Altean prince moaned, finally sitting upright. "I guess I will be later... but definitely not now."

Foul thoughts crossed the blonde man's mind as his friend slowly got over his pain; anger flickered in his cerulean eyes...

"I'm going to kill that bastard."

Marth glanced up at his comrade.

"Who's the bastard?"

"Both of them," Link snapped. "The darkness for taking Ike-- and Ike for letting himself be taken. Both of them can taste the cold steel of my sword!"

An uneasy silence fell over the two swordsmen as Link's fierce statement echoed in the empty dark...

"...Link... you must stay calm," Marth finally spoke gently, rising to his feet and approaching the Hylian. "I can understand your anger... but if you truly believe that, then are you really any better than the darkness?"

"I don't care," Link growled. "Marth, he was a damn fool-- and now look what's happened! Now we're stuck here, Pit's dying, Ike's been possessed--"

"...Link."

"--we have to save Ike before we can save Pit, and who knows if we have that kind of time--"

"Link."

"..we can't even do that until we get out of--"

"Link!!"

"What?!"

Marth pointed behind the Hylian, who quickly turned his head--

The portal stood there, beckoning the swordsmen to come closer to the void...

"...huh."

"...the last thing I remember, he was saying 'Find me if you can,'" Marth suddenly recalled. "He's leading us... we'll have to be careful, but there's still hope."

"...but only if we hurry," Link frowned. "...you okay enough to travel, Marth?"

"Now I am, yeah."

"Then let's get the hell out of here."

"Pit? Pit, it's time to wake up..."

Samus' gentle rapping on the closed wooden door was greeted with silence.

"...Pit?"

Quietly, she opened the door.

"Pit, are you i--"

The young angel lay in a heap on the floor by the glass door, his dull sapphire eyes streaming tears; feathers lay around him, resting over his arms, in piles on the ground...

Feathers lay in his pale, clenched fists.

"Pit, are you alright?!"

Samus dashed to his side, one of her hands resting on his neck--

"...l-leave me..."

His weak voice stopped her panicked actions.

"Pit...? What's wrong?"

The angel never glanced up...

"... he... he's gone..."

She couldn't help it; the bounty hunter felt fear crawl down her back.

"...who, Pit...? Who's gone?"

The tears continued to flow from Pit's eyes, never once faltering, never once slowing...

"Ike... Ike... h-he's..."

Samus said nothing-- just lifted the young angel into her lap and wrapped her arms around him; but not even her comforting hold could calm Pit, not in the slightest...

A thick sob escaped his lips.

"Now, this is what I call fortunate..."

Link couldn't help but chuckle softly as a familiar wind blew his golden bangs out of his cerulean eyes...

"Where are we?" Marth queried, taking in the sight of his surroundings-- seemingly endless green fields littered with flowers, and in the distance, an imposing castle, whose spires reached to the heavens...

"East Hyrule Field, if I'm not mistaken," the Hylian grinned, the land of his birth restoring vigor to his soul. "We're close to the castle, too-- this is just too damn perfect. ...c'mon! We've got to get to Castle Town."

"Why?"

"Because I have an idea, this is my home, and I said so!"

And with that, Link marched forward, followed by an exasperated Marth.

Telma's bar had always welcomed lost travelers and weary adventurers. It was a refuge for runaways, a haven for righteous people labeled bandits, a heaven for the helpers of Hyrule and a hell for the vandals that dare try to destroy the kingdom.

On this day, her bar was once again graced with Link's presence. (1)

"Well, he-llo there, Link!" Telma called out, a jovial smile on her face as she tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "Haven't seen you in quite some time, dear!"

"Such is the life of the traveler, isn't it?" Link laughed lightly, dragging a very confused Marth through the doorway. "How're you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine," the innkeeper grinned, brushing off the crumbs from her dress and apron. "But never mind me-- what can I do for you and your friend, hon?"

"Is Shad here?" (2)

"Yeah, he's in the back. He's really gotten into this one book lately, so y'might have to bop him on the head to get his attention."

"Thanks, Telma. C'mon, Marth."

The Altean prince hurriedly followed his Hylian friend through the building, quickly reaching the only table in the back corner of the building...

"Shad?"

A young man, maybe just four or five years older than Link and with fiery red hair, glanced up from his book, his dark green eyes hidden behind glasses...

"Link!"

The elated tone in his gentle voice perfectly matched his expression as he stood up, taking Link's hand and shaking it enthusiastically.

"I haven't seen you since the siege on the castle! How have you been?" (3)

Marth stared at his blonde friend incredulously.

You did WHAT?!

"Oh, I've been alright," Link shrugged, breaking off the handshake and taking a seat across from Shad. "I do wish, however, that this reunion could be under better circumstances..."

"Is something wrong?" the redhead queried, his expression curious as he fell back into his chair.

"Yeah, you cou-- Marth, sit already. The chair's not going to bite you."

"R-right, sorry..."

The Altean prince hastily scrambled into a chair.

"Shad..." the Hylian began, his voice low and serious. "...what have you heard of The Great Illumination?"

Shad's eyes widened.

"The-- ...Link, where did you--"

"You've heard something? Tell me, what do you know?"

The shocked expression on Shad's face barely flickered as he held up his book, worn with age.

"Only what I was told as a child... and what my father recorded from his dreams," he replied softly. "He claimed that these dreams were truths given to him by the goddesses... and the difference between these and what I'd heard is... frightening, to say the least..."

"What differences are there?" Marth asked, finally finding his voice once again.

"As a child, I was told of how darkness covered the land-- until The Great Illumination killed it and brought us life, light and the goddesses," the scholar began. "However, I only recently found this book-- a record of every dream he had related to the issue..."

"So they speak of The Great Illumination and the darkness?"

"Terrible, terrible things... things I could never imagine happening, and yet seem so frighteningly real," Shad nodded grimly. "...why are you suddenly so interested in this, Link?"

The Hylian paused...

"...a friend of ours... is... possessed by the darkness," he admitted, his tone tense. "We need to find a way to free him."

"...I see."

A nervous sigh escaped Shad's lips as he slowly adjusted his glasses.

"One of the first entries-- here, right there--" --Shad opened the book to an early page. "--it says that the darkness cannot die. 'A thing without a heart or soul cannot be truly destroyed, only banished.' So, The Great Illumination could not have killed the darkness... it merely sent the darkness to another realm."

"Like how the goddesses sent the magicians to the realm of twilight?"

"Similar to that, yes."

"How was it different?" Link asked.

"The darkness had the power to come back-- not all at once, but rather quickly," Shad explained. "Therefore, The Great Illumination created seals to keep it in its dimension... here-- there's something about that around here..."

Quickly, the redhead flipped through the book, finding a page and showing it to the swordsmen. Link and Marth leaned forward to get a better view of the small handwriting...

11/2

Darkness struggling to break free, but restrained by 3 powers from 3 lands. TGI has sealed the darkness w/ 3 magic items. One from this land, two from others. So that the darkness can't come back, seals are most likely unsafe for mere mortals to touch...

"There's seals keeping the darkness at bay?" Link muttered as Marth struggled to understand the Hylian writing...

Link had lied, the Altean prince decided. Listening to and speaking Hylian was infinitely easier than reading it.

"Yes," Shad nodded. "One here, in Hyrule; one in a land of half-beasts and men; one, in the land lost to time..."

"Looks like we've got some traveling to do," the blonde man groaned quietly. "...one last thing, Shad; have you come across anything saying how to kill the darkness?"

"I... haven't come across anything yet..."

A frustrated sigh escaped Link's lips.

"...alright. Thank you, Shad..."

Link and Marth rose to their feet...

"...take the book with you, Link."

The blonde man's sapphire eyes widened in shock.

"Wh-what? No, I couldn't do that-- it was your father's..."

"Link, you could look through it to find the information you need-- it will do you no good sitting in my hands here," Shad insisted, pressing the worn book into the Hylian's hands. "If it will help you help your friend, then I have no problems with you taking it."

"...you're too kind," Link smiled, taking the book from his friend.

"May the goddesses bless both of you on your journey... be careful."

"We will."

Link and Marth slipped out of the inn.

(End chapter ten.

(1) Telma's bar is a major plot point for several events in Twilight Princess.

(2) Shad is a nerd who plays a somewhat important role in the last quarter of the game. He's also kind of cute.

(3) True story! A cutscene from the final dungeon in Twilight Princess.

That was... a lot of typing. Wow.

Hmm... not much to say. I'm working on other stories too, so... yeah.

Please review!)