AN: So I really want to replay Twilight Princess, but I also don't want to go through the beginning of them game. First world problems at their finest.
It never came. Just before the tip of the blade made contact, Mikasa felt a sharp pain rip through her shoulder. Not a second later, she was dragged across the ground, away from the impending death.
The pain in her shoulder lessened as she felt the foreign object be removed, followed by the voice of her unknown savior.
"Link," Sasha began, glaring at the kneeling figure, "How could you do such a thing? I thought we were friends!"
Link stood up, removing his sword from the ground, before letting out a laugh, "Oh please, don't act so surprised, I never really liked any of you. Think about it, when did I ever say we were friends?"
Sasha had a hurt look on her face, almost looking ready to cry. Gritting her teeth and renewing her glare she drew her blades.
Link stopped laughing, gaining a look of disappointment, "Really Potato Girl? I just wiped the floor with Mikasa Ackerman, and now you want to try and take me down?"
Sasha gave no response, just remained still, almost as if she were debating the decision herself. By this point Eren had gotten back up and, seeing that Link had his back turned to him, launched himself right at the Hylian.
Sasha caught sight of Eren's attack and followed suit, hoping to overwhelm Link with numbers.
Link just narrowed his eyes with a smirk on his face, "They just never learn."
Once Eren was right behind him, Link jammed the hilt of his sword into the Titan-shifter's face, before grabbing him by the neck with his other hand, and using him to block Sasha's oncoming stab.
Sasha's attack went right through Eren, not quite reaching her target on the other side. Sasha let out a gasp at her mistake, removing her blade quickly, stepping back as she did.
Link let go of Eren before turning to the redhead, who was now shaking with fear.
Link gave a cocky grin, "Don't worry about stabbing him, you won't live long enough to regret it."
Raising his sword, Link brought it straight down, with the intent to kill. Sasha dove out of the way, eyes closed, tears streaming down her face.
Looking back, she saw Link was right behind her, about to stab her through the heart.
Gathering her nerves, she flipped over and sent a kick right to his knees. Link brought his sword down, blocking the attack, as well as leaving a nasty gash in her leg.
Link raised his sword up to finish the terrified girl, only to move to the right, to avoid another attempted sneak attack. Connie now stood between Link and Sasha with a blazing fire in his eyes.
Link just sighed, this was starting to get annoying.
Armin stood off to the side, watching in disbelief. How could Link, their friend do something like this? Something was not right, the more he watched Link fight, the more he got the feeling there was more going on here than it seemed.
"There's something different about him," Armin thought, "He never calls Sasha Potato Girl. Also he hasn't done that move he always uses, normally he would have done that spin thing at least once by now. Ugh, I hate standing here and doing nothing! But what can I do, I'm useless when it comes to things like this!"
Armin looked back at Link, who was now standing over the defeated figure of Connie, his foot on top of the scout's bald head.
"This is bad, it's obvious none of us can defeat him, we can't even catch him by surprise." An image of Captain Levi flashed through his memory, "Maybe he could, but where is he right now? The most I can do is try and buy time for him to show up."
"You know, you never were good at making intelligent decisions Connie, but this is by far the worst mistake you've ever made," Link taunted as he applied more pressure to Connie's head.
"Hey Link," Armin shouted out, grabbing the Hero's attention. Link turned around, giving an interested look towards the other blonde.
Armin steeled himself, "Who's making you do this Link? There's no way that you would do this of your own free will."
"Really, and what makes you say that?"
"I've seen the way you fight, it's nothing like what you were just doing, and don't think I didn't notice your name calling, you've always respected people. The Link I know would never do anything like that. Tell me, whose forcing you to do this."
"No one, I'm in complete control, I've always been this way."
"I don't believe you, otherwise you would have done it long ago, back before we even joined the scouts!"
"Please, you don't know me, nor do you understand my methods. You want to know my reasoning for doing this? Fine. You're all weak, and not worth my time, especially you Armin. All of you are going to do nothing but get other people killed, and if you aren't strong enough to survive me, then you aren't strong enough to survive outside the walls. I'm just weeding out all the unworthy people."
"What gives you that right, to determine who lives and who dies? You are just as human as the rest of us, no one has the authority over someone else's life."
Link paused, almost as if he were considering Armin's words, before the same evil grin broke out on his face. "You have no clue about the things to come do you? You have no idea about the kind of power that exists in this world now."
With that, Link stepped off Connie, and lunged right at Armin, bringing his sword back ready to cleave him in two. Armin froze in place, losing the ability to move. "What, what's going on with my body, why am I just standing still?"
Link drew closer, until he was right in front of his target. Armin could only scream as he felt the blade make contact with his torso.
That's as far as the sword went however, as before it made contact, a blue orb flew into Armin, creating a transparent diamond around him, protecting him from the attack.
Link backed away, shock in his eyes. "How, where did you manage to learn THAT?!"
"He didn't," a voice called out, "I did."
Armin and Link turned to face the direction the voice came from, somehow making Armin's eyes grow even wider.
A furious looking Link strode up to the pair, blue eyes burning with rage. Looking at the other Link he began, "Now tell me, what exactly are you doing here?
Armin couldn't believe his eyes, and pretty soon he uttered out the only thought on his mind, "There's two of you?"
The Link that had just shown up responded, "No, there's only one of me. Isn't that right, Dark Link?"
The other Link just let out another laugh, "As always, you waste no time, kind of ironic given your title isn't it?"
Armin just stared in confusion, "Dark Link, what does that mean? Link, what the hell is going on here?"
Link kept his gaze fixed on his double, "Armin, there isn't time for the full story right now, all you need to know is that this is basically a physical embodiment of my bad side, created with the sole purpose of killing me."
Armin gave a look of disbelief, "That's impossible, no such thing exists."
Link's duplicate smirked, "Well, you know what they say, seeing is believing. Not that it matters, you won't live to tell the tale."
There was a blinding golden flash, causing Link and Armin to cover their eyes. When the two could see again, the other Link was still there, only now he was dressed in all black, had demonic red eyes, grey hair, and pitch black skin.
Link stood his ground, "Armin, take the others, and get them out of here."
Armin gaped at Link, "Are you crazy, we're not going to let you fight this guy alone. You need our help!"
Link gave a sideways glance to the other blonde, "There's nothing you can do. Just looking around the courtyard tells me all I need to know, you guys would just get in the way."
Link's words echoed in Armin's ears, they sounded so similar to the words spoken by the evil version of Link. Yet there was also something different about it, unlike the shadow's tone Link's tone carried something in it that Armin could not quite place.
Despite not liking it, Armin knew Link was right, there really was nothing the scouts could do to in this situation.
Dark Link cackled, "I don't think so hero. Your friends are going to stay right here and watch as I gut you like the worm you are, then once I've finished with you, I'll slaughter them next!"
Dark Link extended his hand out before spinning in a circle, flames rising out of the ground as he did so. Before Armin could even take three steps, the whole courtyard was encircled in flames, preventing any entry, or escape.
Link narrowed his gaze, "That was the worst decision you could have made."
Dark Link gained an apathetic expression, "Oh really, and how have I done that?"
Link met his shadow's stare, his own eyes ablaze, "You just trapped yourself with me."
Dark Link drew his sword, also withdrawing a black shield with it, "That was the plan, I don't want you to run away form me like you did Hyrule. Now are you going to be a good boy and hand over the Triforce of Courage, or do I have to wrench it from your dying grasp?"
Link drew his Gilded Sword in response, "I'd like to see you-" he was cut off as Dark Link launched an attack, barley giving him any time to dodge.
Link backflipped, putting some distance between him and the shadow, not taking his eyes off his opponent. As Link landed on the ground, Dark Link pressed his attack with a high swing.
Link ducked to avoid the slash, before getting hit in the face by a shield bash from Dark Link, who then followed up by jumping over the Hero. While airborne, Dark Link performed a front flip, hitting Link in the back of the head with his sword in the process.
Stumbling a bit from the blow, Link turned around to face the shadow, only to catch a glimpse of him rolling behind him. Dark Link then jumped as he was getting up from the roll, attempting to hit Link's back, only for the Hero to perform the Mortal Draw, blocking the strike.
"Don't forget, I'm the one who came up with those techniques," Link spat out, as he pushed harder against Dark Link's blade.
Dark Link grinned, "Don't forget, I am you."
Dark Link withdrew from the clash between swords, causing Link to fall off balance. The shadow rushed forward to strike the falling Hero, before having to hastily dodge to the side.
Link had used the momentum from his fall to roll forward, thrusting his sword forward as he exited the roll, catching Dark Link by surprise.
Link stayed on the offensive trying to hit Dark Link with a spin attack. The duplicate rolled under the attack and swung upwards, catching Link in the stomach.
The shadow smirked at drawing first blood, before the sight of his own face coming towards him wiped the smug look off of it.
The hit from the Mirror Shield sent Dark Link tumbling for a few feet, before he righted himself, now crouched on the ground.
Looking up, he saw Link in the air, performing the Jump Strike. Dark Link adjusted his stance, bringing his own shield up to defend.
Link brought his sword down making a direct hit with his shadow's shield, the force of the impact creating a small shockwave.
Dark Link pushed with his shield, unable to get Link off him.
Link, sensing that they were at an impasse, backed off giving his opponent the chance to right himself. The two stood directly apart from one another, neither one making a move, both spinning their swords in their hands, waiting to see who would make the first move.
Link's anger began to grow the more he thought about his current enemy, the one who had caused him so much grief.
"This time, I'll make sure you stay dead for good," he thought as he remembered the death his double had caused.
Hyrule-Future Death Mountain
Hyrulian forces were currently investigating the inside of a cavern due to reports of Ganondorf's forces occupying it. Link was leading the Hylian soldiers, and Darunia had brought along goron forces to help guide the unfamiliar human soldiers through the mountain's cave labyrinths.
For the most part, things were quite, no monsters were in sight, and they were almost through the caves.
That's when problems started to occur. A small group of Hylian soldiers were walking in a large open area next to a lava lake, when an explosion occurred on the cavern wall directly on their right.
The resulting blast caused a landslide, which buried the soldiers in a matter of seconds. Darunia and his squad were close enough that they heard the explosion, and they rushed to the area where it occurred.
The scene that awaited them, was of Link looting their corpses, and giving any weapons, armor, and ammunition (arrows), to monsters of all kinds.
Darunia was shocked at the actions of his sworn brother, until the real Link arrived a few seconds later also having heard the explosion.
Not seeing any need to hide his identity anymore, Dark Link showed his true form, and proceeded to taunt Link, trying to goad him into battle.
Link accepted the challenge, after Darunia assured him that he and his gorons could handle Ganondorf's minions just fine. Trusting in his friend Link took off, giving chase to the shadowy double.
Dark Link led him far from the others, until they were in a that almost seemed destined to be an arena. It was a dome shaped out of the rock, with a path to a circular area in the middle of a lava pool.
In the center of the circle, Dark Link stood, beckoning the Hero to attack. Link obliged, and soon a heated battle began, no side showing any sign of weakness.
Link was able to get the advantage by using the Back Slice, giving him the slight edge he needed to win the fight. After his defeat, Dark Link lay on the ground, slowly fading.
Before he died completely however, he revealed that there were bombs all throughout the upper layers, and that as soon as he died, they would explode, killing anyone in the caves.
After this reveal, Link sped off to his allies, desperate to reach them in time to warn them of the oncoming death. When he reached them, he told Darunia of the danger, only for blasts to shake the chamber they were currently in.
Ordering a full retreat all forces began fleeing, whether monster, human, or goron. They were almost out of the caves when the ceiling begun to collapse in front of the exit.
Not wanting his brothers to die, Daruni rolled forward, and proceeded to hold up the falling tunnel. His efforts payed off, as all Hylian and goron soldiers were able to escape.
Link turned back to assist his sworn brother, only for Darunia's strength to give out, causing the passage to collapse on him. Link stood at the collapsed cave entrance, staring in horror, unable to move.
It wasn't long before his sorrow turned into fury, and he ordered his men to leave. The gorons insisted on digging out Darunia's body, but Link told them to depart for the night, and return the next morning.
Once everyone had left, Link walked towards the monsters that had been captured, drawing his Gilded Sword as he advanced. All throughout Hyrule, the monsters' screams were heard from sunset, and not ceasing until sunrise.
Wall Rose-Present
That was the last time that Link had seen his dark duplicate, until now.
Seeing him once more only brought Link's pain and rage from all those years ago back to light. He had lost a brother that day, and he swore that he would not rest, until Darunia could rest peacefully.
Dark Link meanwhile, could not be happier. Things were going right according to plan, and soon it would be over. Just as he anticipated, Link dashed forward, before going for a jump attack.
Dark Link jumped to the side, and countered with his own jump attack, which Link blocked with his shield. Link let loose a barrage of attacks, backing Dark Link up, who was struggling to block the strikes.
Despite being pushed back, Dark Link was not worried, he was waiting patiently for his opening that he knew was coming.
Almost exactly on cue, Link went for a stab, trying to take advantage of the open spot he managed to create.
Link made one mistake with the stab though, when he went for the first one out of the roll, the edge of the blade was pointed upwards. This time, the edge was parallel to the ground, which proved to be a grave error.
Dark Link jumped upward, landing on Link's sword, not letting the Hero move his blade at all. Link looked up, only to see the evil grin on his shadow's held, before the duplicate's foot made contact with his face.
Link stumbled back for a few seconds, but that was all Dark Link needed. With the Hero now open, Dark Link released his own attack chain, each one hitting its mark.
Dark Link finished the assault by slashing Link across the chest diagonally, making a cut across the scar from Ganondorf's last attack, before smashing the Hero's face with his shield.
The resulting impact was enough to send Link flying backwards, losing his grip on his Gilded Sword and Mirror Shield in the process.
The Hero of Time crashed into one of the castle walls, before sliding down, until he was resting on the ground.
"Is that really all you have? I'm dissapointed," the shadow taunted as he begun walking towards the downed Hero.
Vision blurry Link managed to make out the slowly approaching figure of Dark Link, until darkness overwhelmed him, and he fell into unconsciousness.
Eren was beginning to stir, the hole in his chest now gone due to his healing abilities. Slowly, the events of what had happened before he fell unconscious came back to him.
The memories of Link killing the Levi Squad, attempting to kill him, Mikasa, and Sasha all flooded back. His anger fueling him, he shot to his feet, ready to continue the fight, only to stop at the sight before him.
There was Link, resting slack against a tree, with a creature that looked just like him only all black, walking towards him. Eren recognized the sword that the creature held as the one that had been used against him and the other scouts just a few minutes ago.
Putting two and two together Eren stood up ready to continue the battle, until something caught his arm. Turning his head, he saw that it was Armin, who just shook his head.
"There's nothing you can do at this point Eren, trying to fight that thing will only get you killed." Eren gave a glare at his friend, before memories of his quick defeat flashed through his mind, making him see the truth in his friends words. Still that wasn't going to stop him, until another smaller ring of fire rose up around Link and his double, barring entry. Now unable to help, Eren's eyes widened in realization as he remembered something else.
"Armin," he spoke with a tone of urgency, "is Mikasa ok? She's still alive isn't she?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine," her voice called out, as she stepped up to stand next to her two friends.
Eren breathed a small breath of relief, before the reality of the situation came back to him. The three watched as Dark Link drew closer to Link, unable to do anything else.
Link POV
Darkness, that's all I can see. I don't even know where I am, I'm just standing in a pitch black void.
A voice calls out making my eyes widen at the familiarity, "Are you really going to give in that easy?"
I turn, and there she sits in the darkness, all alone just like the last time I saw her, Saria. She turns to look at me with those eyes, the eyes that were never cruel, never judging, the eyes of my first true friend.
She has a concerned look, "Quitting isn't you Link, for as long as I've known you, you would always continue on, no matter the odds."
At this point, I remember what just happened, I got defeated by Dark Link. I can't even respond to her statement, there's nothing I can say.
Another voice comes out from the shadows, "I'm with her, you always stood and fought, even when you were completely outmatched. In fact that's why I gave you that spiritual stone in the first place!"
I turn, there she is, princess of the zoras, as cheeky as ever.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not giving up here," I retort, my words laced with venom.
"Yes you are," Ruto fires back, "You're giving up on those you call friends, by sitting there and waiting for death. The Link I know would never sit still and accept fate."
A booming voice follows, "Yeah, no brother of mine would ever stoop so low!" Darunia's here now as well, looking ready to dance at a moments notice.
"Oh come on, do you think that I would let him just win? He's the reason that you died"
Darunia laughed, "Yes, in a different time, I'm as alive as ever now. Don't let things that didn't happen affect you."
"But it did happen," I shout back, "I remember it as if it were yesterday!"
Darunia's face then morphs into the same look that he wore the first time I saw him, "Then I should be ashamed to call you my brother, as you won't even keep the promises to yourself. You swore that you would give me peace, but here you are accepting death from my killer."
That catches me off guard, before Saria speaks again, "You can do this Link, we all know you can. Forget about Zelda's actions, do what you do best, and save people."
I look around, Saria flashes me a expression of encouragement, Ruto does the same as well, Darunia has the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. But just like that they all fade away, almost as if they were never there, and a new voice calls out.
"I've chosen you for a reason, I hope I wasn't wrong in that choice."
The voice is unfamiliar, and brings up questions to who it is. Though slowly the strange voice is forgotten, and I remember the words of my friends.
They're right, I don't give up, I'm the Hero of Time!
I am not going to lay down and take death, from some pathetic double, I am the original, the Hero!
I feel my strength return, it's time show Dark Link what he's up against.
No Point of View
Dark Link stands in front of the unconscious Link, sword raised. "All too easy," the shadow smirks, as he brings the blade down.
Link's arm shoots up, catching the sword mid-swing, Dark Link's eyes widen. Link's eyes open, he rises to his feet, still holding Dark Link's sword.
"What the-" Dark Link is cut off as Link's knee is jammed into his torso, followed by an elbow to the face.
Dark Link is launched back, letting go of his sword, and dropping his shield.
Link looks at the shadow's sword, before throwing it to the side, cracking his knuckles as he walks forward. Dark Link his back on his feet by this point, rubbing his jaw, as he walks toward the approaching Hero.
Once the two are within attacking distance, Dark Link throws a left hook at Link's head. Link drops for a leg sweep, causing the attack to hit thin air. Link hits Dark Link's legs, bringing the copy down to the ground.
Link then grabs Dark Link by the collar, and throws him over to where he had just woken up. Dark Link lands face first into the ground, before pushing himself back up with his arms, growling at Link.
In the corner of his eye, Dark Link spots his sword, laying on the ground. The double dives for his weapon, picking it back up, once more rising to his feet.
Dark Link laughs, "Might as well give up Hero, you have no chance bare handed against me."
Link just extends a hand, and beckons the shadow to bring it.
"I could just draw the Master Sword or Biggoron Sword, but that would just be too easy," Link thinks to himself as his doppelgänger approaches.
Dark Link goes for a horizontal swing, Link rolls under it, kicking upward as he rises, knocking the sword once more out of Dark Link's hand, and into the air.
Not giving the shadow any time to react, Link grabs the back of Dark Link's neck with his left hand, sweeping the shadow's leg from the front while pushing down simultaneously on the neck, causing him to front flip in the air.
Jumping up, Link intercepts Dark Link's sword, and grabbing it, throws it at the airborne Dark Link. The blade goes through the front of Dark Link's chest, sending him to the ground, before Link lands on the hilt, pining the shadow down.
Link jumps off Dark Link standing in front of the double that is now stuck to the ground with his own sword, the ring of fire now lowering.
"Looks like I win again," Link taunts, panting heavily, starting to feel his wounds.
Dark Link laughs, "It's not over yet, Hero."
Link gives a condescending look, "Oh please, you can't survive a wound like that, you never have before."
The shadow laughs louder, "You're right, against the old me the fight would be over, but thanks to your little friend over there, the great Gannondorf was able to give me more power."
"What does that me-" Link stopped mid-sentence as he saw steam rising from the wound in Dark Link's chest.
Dark Link smirked, "Goodbye, Hero."
Link turned around, and dove forward to avoid the giant bolt of orange energy that descended from the sky, striking Dark Link.
AN: I was originally going to flesh out Link's flashback, but then I realized that it would be redundant, as it would just be another Dark Link fight, when this whole chapter is about a Dark Link fight. Also I didn't want to have to write any more fight scenes, as let's be honest here, they really aren't my strong suit.
