Chapter Ten
"Could it be, Shadow link?"
Dark Link had only a brief glimpse of Vio's startled face before he vanished into the shadows, returning to the edge of the wards of the tower holding the Dark Mirror. With a groan, he dragged himself back up the steps.
"It's, the Dark Mirror. As long as it exists, darkness. . . Gufuu will be unstoppable. DAMN!" With a final grunt, he pulled himself up the last step, collapsing in front of the Dark Mirror in an exhausted, panting heap. He shivered. With Princess Zelda gone from the top of the tower, it felt cold and lifeless, colder and deader than the Dark Realm had ever felt to him.
Dark Link raised tired eyes to the Dark Mirror, and felt cold horror creeping down his spine.
"Sheik!" As Gufuu funneled power from the Mirror to use against the heroes, Dark Link's beloved Sheikah writhed inside of it, as though he were being tortured. With heart-wrenching pain like the sudden burning of a thousand suns against his light-sensitive body, Dark Link realized that Sheik was being tortured. Every drop of power he and Gufuu had wrung from the Dark Mirror had come from Sheik's own tormented body and anguished soul.
Giving a cry of frustration, sorrow, and rage, Dark Link grabbed the princess's throne and hurled it through the Dark Mirror, shattering most of its glass. In the distance, Gufuu screamed something at him, but Dark Link did not hear. Falling weakly to the ground once more, panting desperately for breath that would not come, he peered up at the remains of the Mirror. Sheik hung limply from his bonds, unmoving.
"Sheik?. . .Sheik, please." Dark Link dragged himself carelessly over the shards of broken glass, peering through the remaining bits of mirror at the Sheikah trapped within. He reached out to grab a piece, barely noticing the pain of it slicing through his hands, or the inky-black shadows that leaked from the wound. He pulled until it snapped off, Sheik jerking ever so slightly.
"Have to. . . break it all." Dark Link mumbled to himself, gripping the mirror frame to pull himself up. The Dark Mirror was much larger and taller than he, especially in his child-like form, but Dark Link leaned against it, and ignoring Gufuu's threats, threw all of his weight and fading strength into it until the Dark Mirror toppled, shattering on the tiled floor.
Dark Link collapsed atop it, watching blearily as the Dark Mirror dissolved into wisps of shadow and sparkles of light, which rose up and around him, draining the power he'd taken and more before reforming into Sheik, standing straight and tall and new again.
Sheik's eyes as he looked down at his lover and former captor were unreadable, but as he turned to rush off to ensure the safety of his light, his princess, Dark Link caught his ankle in a weak grip, his eyes looking off towards the distance, to the monstrosity he knew concealed something more.
"Please, Sheik. . . Look at him. Vaati never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you."
"I never meant to hurt you."
"Could have fooled me."
Dark Link's awareness returned abruptly, and he just as quickly wished it hadn't. Pain blossomed across his body, mercilessly trapped in the garish light of the Zora's bright crystals. He pulled at the magical bonds that held him, but the cuffs, seemingly made of the same material as the crystals, refused to budge even an inch, burning his skin even more bitingly for his efforts.
His captor, obviously tired of being ignored, gripped his chin in scaled hands and ruthlessly jerked it upwards, drawing a pained hiss from the shadow as he was forced to look up at the towering helmeted Zora, and the searing light behind him. Another voice, further back in the room, spoke.
"Dark Creature, how is it that you came to have Link in your possession at the bottom of Lake Hylia?" The speaker strode forward into Dark link's line of sight, and he scowled when he realized it was the small Crown Prince of the Zora. He knew from the visions Sheik had shown him that the prince had been a friend of Link's. Or, at least, had claimed to be. If he were a friend, the shadow thought darkly, he would have never allowed such harm to befall the child.
The larger Zora moved aside when he didn't answer immediately, allowing the light of the room to spill more freely across his form. Dark Link barely bit back a scream, his body tensing and jerking as wisps of smoke rose more quickly from his body. Breath escaped from him in harsh pants, his magic-imbued form responding more like that of a weaker being as his strength was pulled from him by the power of the light.
"Link wasn't safe in the Dark Realm any longer!" He growled out, tiny beads of moisture collecting on his forehead. The tall Zora, obviously a guard, moved back to partially shade him from the light, watching him expectantly from under his helmet.
Unseen by Dark Link, Ralis started in shock and fear. "The Dark Realm? What was Link doing there?" Ralis knew the tales. Those that traveled to that evil place were irrevocably changed; why would Link have been there? He stood, moving to stand over Dark Link as well. "Were you holding him there, a captive?" He demanded, worry and anger etched on his features.
"No!" Dark Link insisted vehemently. "He was, that is, we were-" Dark Link shook his head, trying to clear the rising fog from his mind. "Sheik. . ."
"Sheik? The Shield of Hyrule?" Ralis demanded sharply. "Link was with him, wasn't he?"
"Yes." Dark Link whispered, a tremor coming over his body.
"But now he's with you."
"Yes."
"Which means something happened to the Shield of Hyrule." Ralis' voice grew, if possible, even colder, but Dark link didn't seem to notice. "Did you hurt him? Did you hurt the Shield so you could kidnap Link, could drown him?" Ralis' voice rose with his anger, thinking back again to that last Link, the little one they had all failed to save.
"Hurt?. . . Sheik?" The tremors were worsening, his body slumping forward as he lost the ability to hold himself up. The guard seized the collar of his dark tunic, shaking him roughly. A cloud of black smoke shook loose from him, dissipating quickly in the brightly lit room. He gave a pained groan, his eyes rolling back in his head.
He had hurt Sheik, hadn't he? He knew Sheik was exhausting himself, and he had allowed Sheik to do it. He let his Sheikah become so weak he couldn't defend himself, and then he failed to save him when he should have been protecting him most fiercely. He was right there, and still he failed! It was worse, certainly, than the Dark Mirror incident. Dark Link had counted his lucky stars when Sheik forgave him for that. But this time. . .
This time, there was no Sheik to forgive him.
As this realization finally sank in, it was like a dam burst inside of him. The gleam in his ruby red eyes all but died, and his body hung limp in his bonds, the smoke rising from him at an alarming rate.
"I loved him." Dark Link whispered, his eyes slowly drifting closed.
All around Link was blinding white, so bright he couldn't see. He could hear someone crying just up ahead of him, but no matter how quickly he ran they didn't seem to get any closer.
"Hello!" Link called, "wait for me! I'll help you, I promise I will!"
The crying stopped for just a moment, and he heard the faintest whisper. "Asaduk etihsuruy. Forgive me."
Link woke with a gasp, a hand coming to his heart. It felt as if a part of him were being wrenched cruelly away. Something was wrong with Shadow.
His dream all but forgotten, Link leaped from the large, luxurious bed he found himself in. Guided by a pull in his chest, he tore from the unfamiliar room, startling the guards outside his door. They caught him quickly, and though he struggled, they returned him to bed.
"You must rest, young Link. You must still be in pain." Link took no notice of the state of his own body, struggling valiantly against the guards, who pinned him to the bed with ease. He twisted in an almost unnatural way, learned from hours of training with Sheik, and wriggled free of their hold. Before they could catch him again he was out the door, ducking into a dim corner and pulling the shadows about his body to hide him from sight.
The lesser shadows understood his urgency, and this time they came to him. They too, could feel the fading greater shadow. Tugging on his blue tunic, they guided him through the halls, hiding him from anyone who passed. Link followed willingly, somehow knowing they would not lead him astray, as was sometimes their wont.
They led him to a room with a high, stable shelf he could climb, and towards the grate in the ceiling above. Clambering up the shelves with the ease of a monkey he slid the grate back and hoisted himself inside, carefully replacing the grate. He found himself inside a small tunnel that presumably served as an air vent. Its walls were slick with algae, and the air felt heavier and more humid than the air in the larger rooms. It was so tiny that he had to crawl on his hands and knees through its dimly-lit twists and winding bends.
Several times he had to inch around other gratings leading down into various rooms, often containing armored guards searching frantically for him. If someone did happen to look up, the lesser shadows quickly obscured him from sight. There was no time to lose, and they knew it.
Deeper and deeper they went, the lesser shadows guiding Link at every fork. The stone around him was slippery smooth and very wet, forcing him to grapple for precarious handholds that were few and far between. Several times he lost his footing and slid, only just managing to catch himself before he plummeted painfully into the stone wall of another bend.
Gradually the tunnel grew brighter, until he came upon another fork; one path was bright, the other very dark. If he continued down the right-hand darker path, the lesser shadows could accompany him, but they could not sustain themselves in the growing light of the left.
A sharp, piercing pain in his chest urged him left, and he scrambled down the path as quickly as he could, giving his eyes little time to adjust. In his rush, he almost launched himself head-first off a sudden drop in the path. Catching himself quickly on the other side, he peered down. A good ten feet below was the source of the light, though he could not make out what it was through the brightness. Voices echoed up from the hole, and Link leaned close, his sensitive ears perked to try to hear what was being said.
". . .Which means something happened to the Shield of Hyrule. . ." Link could hear the voice clearly at first, though he couldn't place it.
". . .Did you hurt him? Did you hurt the Shield. . . Link. . . drown. . .?" The sound of rushing water had been constantly in the background, and Link hadn't given it much thought. Now however, it sounded as though the water was getting closer, drowning out the voices below.
Starting with horror, Link realized that he wasn't hearing things. The water was getting closer! This wasn't an air vent, it was a water vent!
Link tried to scramble up from his precarious position, but the water was on him before he could, bearing down upon his small frame like a lead weight, ripping his fingers and toes from their holds on the rock and sending him plummeting down, down towards the grating.
Link hit it with enough force to knock his breath away, cracking his head hard on the rock. Light sparked in front of his eyes, disorienting him. The water pounded down on him, the rusted screws on the grating creaking in protest until they snapped, sending him plummeting towards the floor far below.
High above, the sound of rushing water announced the activation of the dampening system, which kept the myriad rooms in the caves at a comfortable humidity for the Zora within. Ralis paid it little attention, too focused on forcing an answer from his captive.
A thud from above and a shout from his guard made him crane his neck upwards, squinting his eyes to peer past the light-producing crystals they had attached to the metal grating of the dungeon's dampening outlet. The metal creaked and groaned before giving way, Ralis's guard shoving them both from its path. Ralis rolled as he landed, turning just in time to see the grate crash and the crystals shatter, their light dimming significantly.
"Link? Little Vio, please wake up." Hearing the quiet murmur behind him, Ralis and his guard whipped about, stunned by the sight that greeted them.
When he saw his limp light falling from a height certain to kill him, Dark Link had panicked. With a strength of will he'd been certain he did not possess, he'd snapped the chains that bound his magical cuffs to the stone wall. With a burst of panic-driven speed, he'd launched himself across the room to catch Link midair, landing heavily on the hard floor and rolling to cover Link's vulnerable body with his own, shielding him from the flying crystal shards.
Lifting his head, Dark Link peered down at the eight-year-old, soaking wet and clothed in. . . Zora blue? Ignoring that oddity, Dark Link stroked his head gently, speaking to him softly. He drew his hand away, wincing when he found it smeared with blood from where he'd apparently hit his head on the way down. Most of his bruises were gone, all but the ugliest, the mark on his neck that Dark Link himself had given the boy.
"I'm sorry." Dark Link whispered, brushing his fingers across the bruise. "I'm so sorry, Link." The light of the glowing crystal cuffs shown in Link's eyes, causing his brow to furrow as he stirred awake.
"Shadow?" He whispered, "the lesser shadows were very worried about you."
Dark Link gave a small chuckle. "Don't fret about me, I'm all right."
"I'm glad." Link answered tiredly, his eyes drifting shut as he succumbed to a healing sleep.
It was then that Ralis understood. The Dark Creature, whatever its natural nature, obviously meant the world to his little brother, the boy who did not seem to remember him. With a jerk of his head, Ralis instructed the guard to release the cuffs on Dark Link. They fell with small, ringing chinks, their harsh light fading to nothing. The shadow took a deep breath, and unless Ralis' eyes were playing tricks on him, he thought he saw streams of shadows peel themselves away from the walls and rejoin with Dark Link, reviving him somewhat.
The shadow stood slowly, Link cradled lovingly in his grasp. He did not turn to face the prince. "I do not care what you were to Link before he came to Sheik and I. When darkness falls, we will leave this place."
Crystals crunched under the heels of his boots as he walked from the room, head held high. He didn't make it very far before Queen Rutella, only just returned from a trip to Castle Town, glided elegantly, but quickly down the hall. She stopped when she saw him, but unlike the suspicion in her son's eyes, her gaze was full of understanding, and relief. Dark Link, standing tall with his small burden, stared her down. Queen Rutella did not seem offended.
"Shadow of the Hero, I sense the magic of the Shield of Hyrule about you. Will you not stay for a time, let the child rest, and tell me what has befallen him?" Her inquiry was gentle, but Dark Link was unmoved.
"I would thank you for a red potion to heal the wound on his head, Queen of the Zora, but we will not linger much longer here." Dark Link's tone was strained. Looking closely, the queen could only just see his hands shaking from exhaustion.
"Then I shall escort you to a room where the two of you may rest." Her eyes looked upon the child with sympathy. "We always knew his destiny would find him, but never so young. . . "
Dark Link chose not to respond, following the queen back through the halls and up to the level where Link had previously slept. A red potion already waited by the bed, and Dark Link nudged Link awake just long enough to drink it, wincing at its bitter taste, before he dropped off to sleep again.
Crawling onto the bed beside him, Dark Link curled protectively about the boy, holding him close to his chest.
Queen Rutella watched, her eyes sad. "He remembers nothing?"
Dark Link was silent for so long it seemed he would ignore her again, but finally he answered. "Nothing since the day he woke up in the Dark Realm, after Sheik and I saved him from those who would have killed him." There was another lengthy pause. "We thought it best to keep him hidden, train him, try to protect him. But now, without Sheik. . . " His throat caught and he stopped abruptly, bowing his head so his hair hid his face from view.
Deciding it best to leave them be, the queen turned to go. At the door, she turned back one more time, to see that Dark Link had pulled something from his tunic; a small orb on a chain, swirled through with white and black.
The black had almost completely taken over.
You know, on one level I keep thinking Dark Link is way too emotional. But then again, he is running like mad from a crazy ex-girlfriend who wants to kill the second-most precious person to him, the first being Sheik, whose loss he is still dealing with. I suppose he has every right to be emotional! What do you guys think?
Thank you to the Chapter Nine reviewers Darkwolflink1 (I bet you feel really sorry for Dark Link now, since the poor guy was basically just tortured. Poor Dark Link! Kill him off? Well, I wouldn't say I'm planning that, exactly. . . ), Kick-Aft, Sergeant Dreamer (I can only imagine what you want to do to Ralis now. And I think Vio's not going to be worrying about those types of relationships for a while, since he's about eight. Maybe later, if Link ever forgives Ralis for this.), and Sky- Princess of Time (Ugh. Ruto. She made me cringe. Actually, I think she'd be scarier if she caught Dark Link. *shudders*).
R & R please, everyone. I like to know what you think!