AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry for the long wait, guys! My motivation has been waning lately, but don't worry, I'm still around and working on this, promise! Anyone else psyched for the Nintendo Switch? I only just got my hands on a Wii U for Paper Mario Color Splash & Yoshi's Woolly World a couple days ago, and realized I hate the design of the controller. NX looks like it fixes that problem, and will merge consoles with portable devices - something I've personally been longing for since the SNES era.


CHAPTER 11

The Last of the Sheikah


Link had to admit, it was a nice house. It wasn't right in the heart of Castle Town, but rather on the outskirts. It was surrounded by grass, trees, and other reminders of the Kokiri Forest. The house was made out of wood, and had a green roof. It was very obviously picked with him in mind, and it made him feel a little guilty about his plans to eventually turn its ownership over to Dark.

It had been quiet too, during the night. The noise from the marketplace didn't seem to carry that far, and there were no neighbors to speak of that would contribute to any sound he did hear. Even the house itself didn't seem to creak with age like many of the others Link had been in did. Not that he would have been able to hear anything if there had been a sound besides silence, though - he had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He could push through being tired if he had to, but a bit of well-deserved rest never hurt anyone.

And so it was with a relaxed yawn and a big smile on his face that he walked downstairs the following morning, ready to face the day. Not only had Zelda been kind enough to provide him with a fully furnished home, but she had also promised to send over one of her chefs to whip up breakfast for him and Dark, and he could already smell it cooking.

"Master Link!" the chef exclaimed excitedly as he entered the kitchen. "I am Zula. Your friend let me in." Link looked around in surprise, noticing that Dark was sitting at the kitchen table, looking as irritable as ever. "Breakfast is almost ready - please, sit down!" She gestured at a chair across the table from Dark.

"Are we friends today?" he asked his companion, pulling out the chair and throwing himself into it. He had always been exceptionally hard on furniture. That's why his house in Kokiri Village had only a bed.

"Only if you don't call me 'sunshine'," Dark said, leaning back in his chair and hooking his foot around the leg of the table to pull himself back into an upright position. His arms were crossed, and he was directing a positively nasty glare at Zula. Link admired his agility out of the corner of his eye. If he had tried a maneuver like that, he probably would have ended up on the floor.

"She called you 'sunshine'?" he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper. He couldn't help but grin at his companion. "She obviously doesn't know you very well. No wonder you're in a bad mood." He paused, taking on a more serious tone. "So that's a 'yes', then?"

Dark regarded the man across the table from him, the smallest of smiles forming on his face. Only a true friend would have refused to leave the temple without him, make sure that he had food to eat and a place to sleep, and continue to travel with him as he searched for his brother. But people like him didn't deserve to have friends, and they certainly didn't deserve to have someone like Link asking them to. Thankfully, he was saved from answering with the timely arrival of breakfast.

"Thank you, Zula!" Link said, smiling brightly. "This looks great!" He dug his fork enthusiastically into the food, and took a bite, savoring the fine flavor of royal cooking.

"No no, thank you," Zula bowed, looking pleased. "Mistress Zelda said to meet her at the castle when you were done. She sent someone to escort you - they're waiting outside." She walked backwards out of the kitchen, continuing to bow. "Enjoy your meal!"


As soon as Link finished eating, he decided to go outside and greet their escort to the castle - who, to his surprise, turned out to be Geran. "Mr. Hero!" he exclaimed, giving him a hearty handshake. "It's been too long!" Link was about to point out to him that they had seen each other just a few weeks ago, when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, so it's Mr. Hero now?" a voice drawled from the door, and Link turned around to see Dark. He must have finished breakfast right after he left, and followed him outside.

"Geran, I would like you to meet Dark," he said dryly, introducing the two men. "I've known Geran since I was a child," he explained to the grinning Sheikah. "He can call me whatever he wants. You, however, can't," he jokingly informed Dark, shaking his finger at him. "So don't get any ideas!"

"I like it, though," Dark said, sounding very amused. "So official. Makes you sound very important, indeed." His words were dripping with heavy sarcasm, and Link rolled his eyes. So it was going to be one of those days - again.

"Link is a very important person. It would do you well to remember that while you're in Hyrule." Geran spoke kindly, his words meant to serve as a gentle reminder to the young Sheikah. If there was one thing he knew about Hyrule, it was that they took their Heroes very seriously.

Dark grew silent, taking the opportunity to admire the scenery on their way from Link's new house to the castle. It wasn't actually that far away, but he doubted he would be able to remember all the winding roads they were cutting through to get there. He saw children playing hopscotch, people walking through the streets with shopping bags adorning their arms, and lots of stray animals. It was so busy in Castle Town - and there were so many more people than he was used to seeing. All of them were watching him; him, Link, and Geran. Geran was dressed in the uniform of the Royal Guard, so everyone knew who he was. And Link, of course, was the Hero of Time, savior of the people. They would know him as well. But who did they think Dark was? He felt so small and insignificant, walking through town flanked by two of the most recognizable figures in the country, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Link." a clear, crisp voice broke through the silence, startling Dark. He thought he recognized the woman's voice, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't see the speaker anywhere.

"Zelda?" Link said, pulling on a black cord around his neck that Dark hadn't noticed until now. Link's question revealed who the speaker was, and Dark looked all around. He didn't see Zelda anywhere, and was slightly impressed. It had to be hard to hide while wearing such a bright pink dress, and with the royal crown on your head.

"I'm waiting for you in the same room you went to yesterday. Just come straight on up. There's someone here that I think Dark would be interested in meeting." She wasn't there, after all - her voice was coming through a gently glowing stone, that Link now held in his hand.

"Who is it?" Dark shouted, wondering if Zelda would be able to hear him as well.

"I don't think it works unless you're holding it," Link told him, waving the stone at him. "Besides, we're here now." He pointed ahead, and Dark realized with a start that they had already arrived at the castle doors. "Thanks for accompanying us, Geran! It's always great to see you." The guard smiled as the pair walked through the doors. He would be waiting for them again when they were done, to escort them back home.

"Mr. Hero, indeed." Dark said, as the door clanged shut behind them. "Titles don't need another title attached to them."

"Maybe not," Link shrugged. "But it's a nickname from a different point in my life, a reminder of the way things used to be before I fully understood the gravity of the situation with Ganon. I wasn't always the Hero of Hyrule - and yet, at the same time, I was. Sort of." His hand rested on the door handle to the meeting room for a moment before turning and opening it, a sigh lingering on his lips as he did so.

"Welcome," Zelda told them, speaking not from a stone this time, but from a small chair at the far side of the room. "I hope you slept well," she said, aiming the comment more at Link. He nodded appreciatively, and took a chair near the door. Taking the cue from him, Dark sat down in an adjacent chair. He slouched down, leaning against the back of the chair. It was almost comfortable enough to fall asleep in - almost, but not quite.

"Dark," Zelda spoke, addressing him directly. He snapped to attention. It wouldn't do to zone out in front of the Queen. "This is Impa. She traveled a long way to see you." she waved her hand towards the corner of the room, and with a start Dark realized that there was someone standing there. He hadn't noticed anyone before. She was wearing a blue cloak over a tight-fitting body suit, and the hood of the cloak almost completely covered her face from view. She stepped forward, her soft riding boots moving silently over the carpeted floor.

"Dark, is it?" Her grin was just barely visible underneath the hood, and he gulped nervously. Who was this mystery woman? "It's an honor to meet you. I am Impa - formerly the last of the Sheikah." She pulled her hood down, revealing her white hair, red eyes, and traditional Sheikah facepaint. But though her face was lined with worry she had carried around for years and her eyes seemed tired, her words said much more than her appearance. What had she meant, the last of the Sheikah?

Obviously seeing the distress on his face, Impa smiled sadly at him. "I am sorry to have to tell you this, Dark. Please don't be mad at Link or Zelda. They knew this would be better coming from me."

"What would be better coming from you?" Dark demanded. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, the impending doom of bad news hanging over his head like a storm.

Impa sighed, a frown crossing her face as she examined the younger Sheikah. "My title isn't one I give myself with pride - I, and now you, truly are the last of the Sheikah."

"Excuse me?" If looks could kill, Impa would almost certainly be breathing her last breath at that moment with the glare Dark was fixing her with.

"The war was not kind to our people," Impa told him, the bitterness evident in her voice. "As the appointed Guardian of the Royal Family, I was not expected to fight. The same could not be said for everyone else. When the fires of war faded, I came to the realization that many Sheikah were dead, and the rest had disappeared. Whole communities had been left shattered by the event. In time, I came to accept that I was the last of my kind. And now, I have come here to help you, as you struggle to accept this as well."

"You're lying." But even as Dark said it, he could feel himself starting to believe. It made sense now, why he hadn't seen any other Sheikah since he returned to Hyrule, and why Kakariko and Eldin, once primarily Sheikah villages, had been taken over by the Hylians if not abandoned outright.

"I wish I was." She crossed her arms, tossing her head back with an annoyed grunt. "But if it were not the truth, do you think I would admit to having fallen to my knees on the remains of the battlefield, crying for my friends? Do you think I would tell you how I visited every Sheikah village, and inspected every house hoping desperately for signs of life?" She glared down at Dark. "I alone have carried the memories of a dying race for more years than I care to think about. It is not a burden that I would wish upon anyone - but it is one that I do not have to face alone anymore."

"Great," Dark said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I always wanted more burdens."

Impa drew herself up, hovering at her full height in front of Dark. "You hide your emotions behind your banter. It's unbecoming of the last son of the Vahari clan." Dark stared at her in surprise. The Sheikah consisted of many clans long ago, but they had banded together into a single tribe many years before he was born. Few people ever spoke of the clans, but his parents families had belonged to the same one, something that they had been proud of. "I knew who you were as soon as Zelda told me about you. Your parents were valued members of the community. I'm sure you miss them quite a bit."

"I do," Dark said softly. "How did you know them?" His parents had never been much for socializing; though they often did activities outside and greeted the neighbors when they walked by. They never invited people over to their house, and if they went to visit someone else they always brought their children with them. While he was sure Impa would have looked a bit different 18 years ago, he was just as sure he had never met her before. He would remember someone who had such a striking appearance.

She hesitated before answering, unsure how to explain their association. "Even before the war, the Sheikah population was shockingly low. Once a proud people who interacted with society, we begin keeping to ourselves to hide our dwindling numbers. It was our own fault, really. We seem to have trouble connecting with others on a personal level. So a married couple was very rare among the Sheikah - and children had become even rarer. So it was really because of you, and your brother, that your parents became so well-known."

"However, I knew them for a different reason." Impa turned her head to glance at Zelda; a single nod from the Queen confirming that it was okay to tell him. "I knew them because of their association with the then-Queen of Hyrule, Zelda's mother. Zelda said that she told you yesterday, of the Resistance and the split map pieces. Dark, your parents were part of that group."

Dark stared incredulously at Impa. His parents, freedom fighters? He just couldn't see it. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, all of which he was almost afraid to know the answers to. But he had to start somewhere. "Why did they join the Resistance?" he asked. His tone sounded even despite his skepticism, and Impa couldn't help but be impressed by his resolve.

"It's not my place to say," Impa responded, bowing her head slightly. "Though I'm sure they believed in its cause. Your mother did wield shadow magic, as I'm sure you know." Dark nodded his head, remembering the spell on his sword and shield. "Perhaps your parents felt her ability could be put to good use."

"What about you?" Dark asked, thinking that Impa certainly looked like a powerful sorceress. "Do you have magic? Were you part of the Resistance as well?"

"There was a time I considered joining," Impa told him. "I was friends with the Queen, after all. But my job of protecting the Royal Family extended to the King, naturally, and I decided it would be too much of a conflict of interest to be more than minimally involved. I didn't have magic at the time, either - though as a Sage, I do have some now."

There was that word again. Sage. It wasn't one that Dark was familiar with, but Link had mentioned it twice the other day, and now Impa was talking about it too. If he had to guess, he would say it was a title of some sort.

Zelda took his silence as he thought about it as an opportunity to speak. "I didn't know your parents, Dark, nor was I a member of the Resistance. But I do know every member that had magic, eight in total, was responsible for helping seal the Temple of Light and guarding over one of the map pieces. Do you ever remember seeing something like this?" She produced what looked like a well-preserved piece of parchment, torn on all four edges. It was glowing with the gentle blue light of a protection spell.

"No," Dark said, at the same time as Link said "Yes." They stared at each other almost competitively, both with slightly confused expressions. Eventually, Link gestured for Dark to speak first.

"I mean, I don't think so," Dark corrected, still halfway glancing at Link. "I've seen parchment, and I've seen maps. But I don't think I've seen a map on parchment that looks like that." Zelda looked disappointed at his statement, but her expression turned hopeful as she looked at Link.

"I've seen two like that before. The first one is in Dark's pocket." He pointed at Dark, eliciting another confused expression from him. He started rummaging through his pockets, pulling out random Rupees, rocks, and an extremely crumpled piece of parchment.

"You mean this old thing?" he asked, shaking the parchment in front of him. "But it's garbage! You said so yourself."

"Trying to navigate around an entire temple with one-eighth of a map isn't helpful - and I didn't realize it was only part of the map at the time. Besides, you're the one that kept it!"

"One-ninth," Zelda said absently, reaching over and taking the map before a fight broke out between the men. "The last piece of the map was sealed in the temple itself for safety. Only someone in possession of magic that had been used to seal the temple originally could have entered." She put the parchment on the table and begin smoothing out the wrinkles. "You said you had seen another one, as well?" she reminded him.

Link coughed, pulling out the scroll he had tucked in his pocket. He unrolled it, surveying it before handing it to Zelda. "I, um…" he looked guiltily over at Dark. "Found this at Dark's house," he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"You stole from my house!?" Dark asked incredulously, staring open-mouthed at Link. He recovered quickly, his face settling into a smirk. "I didn't think you had it in you." He almost looked proud that Link had managed to take something from his house without him knowing.

"It does not matter how he got it," Zelda said, almost irritably. "Come over here, both of you." She had stopped being Zelda, friend of the Hero of Time, and instead was the Queen, commander of the army of Hyrule. It was a side to her Link hadn't seen directed at him before, and it made him very glad he wasn't just one of her soldiers.

"What are we looking at?" Dark asked, leaning over the table. The three map pieces were laid out side by side; one that was attempting to roll back into a scroll, one with many creases, and one looking pristine and perfect in the glowing blue light of magic.

"These two pieces." Zelda pointed at the piece that had belonged to her, and the one that had been in Dark's house. "I believe they fit together."

"How do we put them back together?" Link asked, eyeing the pieces. He knew of several ways to fix broken things, but none of those methods seemed to apply to parchment.

"Only the original magic that was used to seal the temple and break the map apart in the first place can be used to put it back together," Impa said, taking the two pieces in her hands. "I do not think anyone predicted it would take so many years before the pieces were ready to be assembled again." She put the pieces down, and sighed. "I am afraid you will have to track down the members of the Resistance, or their descendants, in order to accomplish it."

"Wouldn't it just be enough to have all the pieces?" Dark asked eagerly. "We could still see the whole map that way." Seeing the map in full would reveal other entrances and exits he hadn't been able to locate - and, other world or not, he knew he could find his brother through one of them.

"No," Zelda shook her head. "It would not do you any good. The magic of the temple would still be sealed. You would have to be more powerful than all the magic used combined in order to break the seal without the map."

Dark's face fell, but then brightened as he realized he could help in some way. "I can find all the magic we need," he said, confident in his abilities. "I will travel to every area of Hyrule, and find the members of the Resistance." His eyes sparkled with newfound hope, though his expression remained flat and emotionless.

"It is too big of a task to undertake on your own," Zelda told him, shaking her head sadly. "I would not even know where to tell you to begin."

"But I want to do it," Dark slammed his hand down on the table. making the three other people in the room jump. "I'll prove it to you. I'll find them."

"You don't have to do it all by yourself." Link rested his hand lightly on Dark's shoulder, hoping to avoid another outburst. "I'll help you. I promise." He shrunk back from Dark as he realized he just broke his cardinal rule: never make promises. Thankfully, no one else seemed to be aware of this, and they all nodded at him, seemingly happy he offered to help.

"Very well, then," Zelda said, taking all three of the map pieces and stacking them on top of one another. "If you are both willing to undertake this task, then who am I to say no?" She got up from her chair, and with a quick nod at each of them, exited out the door.

"I'm afraid that I can't be of much help, either," Impa said, still staring at the spot on the table where the map pieces had been. 'But I do know someone who was in the Resistance, someone who also has magic." She looked up to make sure they were both paying attention, and was pleased to see that they were. "His name is Javo, and he is a Zora. I had thought him dead until I caught sight of him at the coronation. He was always very friendly, and will most likely know the names of other people who were involved."

She stepped away from the table, bowing her head as she prepared to leave. "This means more to Zelda than she'll ever let on. In the course of one day, she went from having one person, one map piece, and no hope of ever finding others to two people, three map pieces, and a better chance than she had been expecting. So thank you." A ring of purple light appeared at her feet, slowly rising to cover her entirely.

"Wait!" Dark yelled, realizing that his chance to ask an important question was disappearing right before his eyes. "What happened to them?" He had to know if his parents had died on the battlefield; if they had sacrificed their lives to give him and Shadir a better future.

"No one knows." Impa's voice rang with truth and sorrow. "They disappeared. Just like everyone else."

"Thank you, Impa," he said, choking back the sudden sting of sadness. An honest answer, even one he didn't like, was more than he ever could have hoped for. "Thank you."


It was later in the evening when Link and Dark finally returned home, exhausted from the events of the day. Link had insisted on giving Dark a tour of the marketplace, hoping it would take his mind off of their meeting with Zelda and Impa. While he didn't seem to be upset, he was being unusually quiet and reserved. It had Link a bit worried.

"Are you okay?" he had asked Dark on multiple occasions, pulling him into an abandoned alley away from prying eyes and ears to ask. But each time, he had received nothing more than an annoyed grunt and a glare that seemed to be telling him to stop asking.

And now, full from a dinner at one of the many eateries in the marketplace, Dark still had that same irritated look on his face. "I'm going to bed," he announced, slamming the front door shut. His footsteps shook the floor as he walked, heading towards his bedroom.

"Goodnight," Link called after him. "Sleep well." He wasn't even sure Dark had heard him, since he was already halfway up the stairs by that point. But it was the thought that counted. After he had heard Dark's bedroom door shut, he walked upstairs himself. There was really no point in staying up in a big house alone, after all.

It was several hours later that Link was woken up by a strange sound, echoing with muffled tones throughout the otherwise silent house. It was a sad sound, one that made Link want to find the source, and make everything better. He got out of bed, slipping through the crack of his bedroom door. At the very least, he could find where the noise was coming from.

As he crept down the candle-lit hallway, he could hear the noise with more and more clarity. It sounded almost like sobbing. But that couldn't be right. The only other person in the house was Dark. Dark never cried. Nothing bothered him. Or at least nothing ever seemed to.

But as he approached Dark's closed bedroom door, he knew without a doubt - Dark was crying, letting out all the emotions that he had been holding in since their meeting earlier that day.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there on the other side of the door, his own eyes beginning to grow wet with his own tears as he listened to Dark express his pain and his sorrow, but when the sound finally faded and was replaced by the gentle breathing of sleep, he cracked open the door and looked into the room.

Dark was facing the door, one arm tucked underneath him and the other outstretched. Link saw the tears still on his face glistening in the light from the hallway. He didn't look like someone who had just shrugged off his family and his home like they didn't matter to him. He looked like someone that still cared.

Link felt overwhelmed by the surge of emotions that overcame him as he stood in the doorway. He never thought Dark could be so strong. He must have been filled with so much pain, pain that Link had been right beside him for and yet somehow didn't see. But he hid it so well, because he didn't want anyone else to have to share the burden with him. It made Link want to reach out, and take Dark in his arms. He could help him. He could save him from this tumbling waterfall of tragedy, somehow. He wouldn't have to be alone. Link wasn't sure what to call the feeling he felt bubbling up inside him, but he knew would be with Dark for every step of the way, for better or for worse. That's what friends were for.


IN CLOSING

Inspiration for the ending of the chapter comes from the song Fallen Angel by Three Days Grace. I feel incredibly bad for Dark; here it is, probably one of the worst days of his life, and instead of comforting him his only friend spies on him while he's sleeping. Not that Dark is the kind of person that would like to be comforted, but, Link should be very grateful that Dark didn't wake up while the door was open!

So, I know this was a couple months in the making, but it may be even longer before I get the next chapter up. I have a lot of things I need to work through in my notes before I can really start writing it, and I plan on publishing a brand new story as well that will take up some of my time. Don't worry, though - this story is still on my list of top priorities, and I'm super excited to start writing about Link and Dark's adventure!

Don't forget to check back for Chapter 12: [Title Undecided...Suggestions Appreciated]. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!