CHAPTER 14
What is Hidden in the Darkness

Terrian awoke in a warm, fire-lit chamber, the flame flickering in the torches cast eerie shadows in the deep corners of the walls. This place, he identified as a cave, was large and delicately carved from the stone, he didn't recognize where exactly he was though.
He heard whispers coming from somewhere, and a loud roar, that sounded like water, reverberated all around him. He moved his eyes around and saw the back of Links head to his right.
"I had Fedity put Epona and Terrians horse in our stables, they'll be fine." a girls voice said. There was a quiet pause until he heard Link speak, very silently and faintly.
" What were you doing at the lake?" Link whispered.
"I was sent there by my father to pray in the Temple for the healing of Hyrule. But it seems my prayers were answered before I even said them. Oh I missed you, Link. You have no idea how hard it has been here without you." said the girl.
"Ruto, my best friend was just killed. Right now I could care less about Hyrule."
Terrians heart froze and his blood ran cold. That shadow creature he had just saved Link from was Links best friend? It couldn't be…but then, who else would Link have been talking about? He was so shocked by what Link had just said that he hadn't even noticed that he had stopped breathing as these thoughts of panic flooded his mind.
"I think he's awake." the girls voice said to Link as he looked over towards Terrian. Links face was grave, and the look he gave Terrian as they faced each other was enough to make him have to turn away. They knew he was awake, there was no point now in pretending to be asleep. Terrian inched his way up to a sitting position and felt the wound on his neck, he was shocked to find that there was nothing there but undamaged skin.
The person with Link was a Zora, she walked over to his bedside leaving Link to sit on the other bed.
"Welcome to Zoras Domain, Terrian. I'm Princess Ruto." the Zoran Princess gave a graceful bow. Terrian bowed his head to her in reply and continued to search his neck for the cut. He was a little afraid to talk. For some reason, the thought of hearing his own voice with Link in the same room seemed to give him a terrible feeling of shame.
"There isn't even a scab left, was there some kind of doctor here or something?" Terrian asked quietly.
"Why yes, in fact. He left over five hours ago, he said you'd take a day to wake up. I guess he was wrong." Ruto said.
Terrian looked around him, examining the decorations and intricate gold designs on the torches and the bed frames while trying to avoid looking in Links direction.
"I've never been here, this place is kinda nice for a cave." Terrian said. Ruto gave him a slight smile.
"All that time wandering everywhere and you've never been to Zora's Domain?" Ruto asked.
"Well I spent most of my time back in the Western Provinces, I only came back just today."
"And what a welcome you got." Ruto said. Link shuffled in his seat slightly, Terrian looked away. "What were you doing there?" Ruto continued. Small talk was all she could think of at the moment, anything to keep the subject on all their minds from actually being brought up.
"Looking for my mother mostly…" Terrian favored her by thinking the same way, if there was anyone who wanted to keep that subject from being talked about, it was him. "After Idien told me that my father had been killed and…Link… had gone missing, I left with my friend Bomber and his family. I figured there was nothing keeping me in the direct Kingdom now especially since Ganondorf had taken over." Terrian explained. Ruto sat down opposite Link on the bed next to Terrians. "After I found out that my mother also had died the same year my father and I had moved to Kakariko, I spent most of my time as a blacksmiths assistant, making my own swords in my spare time. I had quite the collection, I even had a replica Master Sword that I made myself from an old legend painted on the walls of a temple there. But I seem to have gotten the details wrong." Terrian said, seeming a little afraid as he took a side glance at the actual Master Sword propped up against the wall beside Links bed.
He and Ruto were silent for a moment, which was just enough time for a total dreaded silence to fill the room. No one said another word for quite a while, and Terrian was terrified that Link would walk up to him and run him through with that sword at any moment.
He knew nothing of the shadow being and Links relationship. All he knew was that they at least had one, one that may even have gone as deep as brotherhood. That dark boy in the temple was Links best friend, and he had just killed him.
Both Terrian and Ruto jolted as Link broke the silence, kicking off his boots and flopping himself onto his bed with his back still turned to the other two. Ruto almost fell as the soft mattress moved around under her and Link just about yanked the blankets clear out from underneath her. He shuffled around to get comfortable, purposely shoving his back into Ruto to make her to get off. She stood up quickly, not making an annoyed 'huff' as was usual for her, but sighing sadly as she walked towards the door. She opened the door and turned to face Terrian.
"Well it is nearly midnight, so I should guess you'd both be tired." she said quietly, looking at Link momentarily just to see if maybe she might get even a slight acknowledgment of the fact that there were two other people in the room. He made no such signs, she looked back at Terrian who was also looking towards Link, not quite thinking the same thing though. For Link to really acknowledge that he was there in the same room was one of the last things he wanted. He met Ruto's gaze as he looked away from Link. "…Goodnight." she said quietly, and closed the door as she left them.

It was quiet, too quiet in fact. A mist hung loftily in the emptiness, there was no sun, no shadow, no torchlight. It was neither night nor day, cold nor warm, dry nor wet, it simply was.
"The road behind you has been long, its twists and turns heartbreaking. Things have made a turn for the worse in your fated meeting with your dark half. The laws of the universe have been broken, his spirit is now completely void of anything good. His conscience has been destroyed and his heard has been shrouded with hate. The road that lay ahead is unknown." Came a luminous voice that Link found familiar. " Though your soul and mind are burdened by what this uneven turn has brought, do not falter, o' Hero of Time. Do not forsake your destiny, not everything is as it seems. The power given to you is not easily born by a weak mind, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Do not despair, and fear not." the voice told him.
"…Rauru..?" Link asked. The voice did not reply, but Link knew that it was that same Sage, the Sage of Light whom he had met in the Sacred Realm. "What would you know of how I'm feeling, I'm not afraid."
"Your heart speaks otherwise, young hero. You seem to have lost one dear friend at the hands of another, no one soul can bear the weight of such sorrow and feel nothing." Rauru' voice echoed all around, but seemed to not have a direct source from anywhere within his surreal dream state.
"Terrian didn't have a choice, it was him or Dink, and I guess he was just quicker. I don't hold it against him."
"Once again you deny your hearts true feelings, but do not completely shut them out. If you truly hold no grievances against the young boy that saved your life, then awaken…" Rauru' voice began to fade slowly and Link felt a slight breeze begin to rush around him. "Awaken NOW!" he shouted loudly. Suddenly the breeze that at once had been slight was now quite strong. The mist began to darken, and all of his surroundings began to change. It became colder and wetter, and the mist swirled quickly all around him. He quickly jolted up from his lying position on his bed in the chamber, the misted room was gone and all that remained was the same room he had fallen asleep in. He looked around, Terrian was asleep. Something stood above him as he lay motionless, and Link nearly stopped breathing as he grabbed his sword at his bedside and jumped out from the blankets.
"TERRIAN!" he yelled. The thing which stood over the sleeping boy was a dark shadow that Link recognized at once, and he held his arms into the air holding his sword aimed directly at Terrians chest. Link lunged out and grasped Terrians arm, yanking him off the bed just as Dinks sword pierced through the blankets and went straight through the mattress underneath them. Terrian stood up quickly, grasping his sheathed sword and pulling it from its sheath. Dink was nowhere to be seen, and both Link and Terrian stood in their underclothes in the dark chamber looking franticly about, waiting for him to reappear.
Suddenly Terrian sprang over his bed and swung his sword at a shadow where Link now saw someone standing. He heard the clang of blade against blade as he quickly followed him. Link readied his sword as he stood beside Terrian, who also held his blade straight for the person.
"No, Link, it's me!" came a voice from the shadow "it's me, Dink!" he said. They both heard the sound of metal as Dink dropped his sword onto the stone floor. Terrian looked at Link and then back to the dark shadow. The voice they now heard from Dink wasn't the same as it had been in the Temple chamber. It was no longer deep, dark, and chilling, they realized, but sounded just like Links. Neither of them could see who was really in the darkness, it was a place where the now dim torchlight couldn't reach.
"Step back, Terrian. Come on into the light." Link said to the person. He and Terrian both kept their swords ready and they backed away slowly. Dink stepped into the light with his hands in the air, Link nearly dropped his sword. It really was Dink, not the evil black shadow that he had fought and seen killed in the Temple, but the Dink he remembered from when they were kids, just older. Dink gave him a weak smile.
"Heh, nice to see you too, bud. This is the welcome I get after seven years?" he laughed cautiously with his hands still in the air.
"Welcome?! You just tried to skewer me with a piece of metal! And it wasn't the first time!" Terrian said loudly, and suddenly gasped as he realized something else "And you've go my sword!" he said as he saw that his other sword was strapped to Dinks back. Dink looked confused. "You got me covered, right Link?" Terrian asked as he slowly stepped forward and yanked the sword out from Dinks sheath strap. Link wasn't really paying Terrian too much attention. Dink gaped at the blade as Terrian quickly stepped away.
"I've never seen that before in my life, and do what to who with a piece of metal? I don't have a clue what you're talking about!" Dink pleaded. "Where in the world did you find this whiny baby, Link? I mean, I know I was gone for a while, but at least you could have found someone a little less pouty to replace me!" Dink laughed again.
"Wait, what do you mean you don't have a clue? This just happened seconds ago, you don't remember anything?" Link asked him. Dink shook his head quickly with a half smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Terrian and Link exchanged concerned glances, this probably meant that he had no memory of nearly killing Link or of the battle that (so they had thought) had ended with his own death. Dink looked back and forth between them both.
"What's the big deal, someone got it in for the kid or something? Whoever it is, I don't blame 'em" Dink scoffed. Terrian glared at him. "Listen, I don't even know how I got here, but I do know that I just got here, and unless there's some freak that can magically teleport right in front of my eyes and have me not see it, than I think you were dreaming." Dink explained "now could you PLEASE get these sharp pointy objects away from my face, I'm beginning to think you don't like me anymore, Link." Link slowly lowered his blade and nodded at Terrian to do the same. Dink sighed and jumped passed them onto Terrians bed, plopping down onto his back and holding his arms behind his head. Link and Terrian decided they weren't going back to sleep, and put on their clothes, boots, and gear just for the heck of it. "Nice place you guys got here, I feel wiped. These mattresses are so squishy, too!" Dink smiled, bouncing himself up and down on his back. "I could fall asleep in seconds. I'm kinda glad that guy sent me here..." Dink caught himself before he said too much, looking to make sure neither of the other two noticed. He sat back up onto the side of the bed and watched Terrian and Link solemnly sheath their weapons, he also stood up off the bed and picked his sword off the floor to sheath it. "Hey Link, why the long face? I thought you'd be happy to see me." Dink smiled. Link was about to speak when the chamber door was blasted open and about seven spear-armed Zoran Guards poured into the room, led by Princess Ruto.
"What's all the-?!" Ruto began, but stopped as she saw Dink standing in front of Link and Terrian. Dink rolled his eyes.
"Oh ugh, more pointy objects aiming at me." he moaned and put his hands back into the air. Ruto was shocked.
"is that-? But I thought-is it really? Link, is he-?" Ruto asked, obviously confused and angry.
"Dink, the name's Dink." Dink said without looking at her, instead staring blankly and irately at the wall. "they don't think I tried to skewer them with pieces of metal too, do they? Or is this 'be particularly cruel and blame everything on Dink' day." he asked sarcastically.
"Link, Terrian, what's going on?" Ruto asked them.
"Ah, so it's Terrian, is it? Nice to meet you Terrian, I'm Dink, dark side to Link and the ruler of the fairy kingdom. Now that we're all good friends I'd like to put my hands back down before they do it on their own when my joints harden and fall apart." Dink said.
"I'd say that explains it." Terrian said. "Ruler of the fairy Kingdom. He's royalty, Princess, show him your best prison cell."
"No, wait." Link said. Dink looked towards him. "He is who he says he is, my dark side, I mean. I've told you about him, Ruto." Link said, looking back at the Princess, the guards behind her still tense and holding their spears readily.
"Yes, but I thought-" she began, Link shook his head to stop her from continuing her sentence. She looked even more confused, but heeded none the less.
"By what means might you have come to be within these private quarters?" asked one of the guards, presumed by the others to be a captain or he wouldn't have spoken without Princess Ruto's consent. Dink rolled his eyes and all but Ruto and the guards could sense an extremely sarcastic reply coming.
"Well, my good man, by means of well clad feet and the handiness of a doorknob, it seems entrance may be easily acquired by one with proper knowledge of how to use them." Dink said. Link closed his eyes and nearly winced. Dink was digging himself into a rut by making quick enemies of the heavily armed guards that already didn't like him. Terrian couldn't help but laugh a little. All the guards glared at Dink, and Ruto looked at him in shock, he seemed to have no fear of what could happen to him now that he had been caught sneaking into the Kings royal quarters.
"You did just break into the private quarters of King Zora, you know Dink." Link said to him. Dink scoffed and rolled his eyes again.
"It seems to me, Link, that you once broke into the royal courtyard of the King of Hyrule. A small feat I'm sure for you, but still, I wouldn't be talking about crimes against royalty when, had you been caught, you would have been treated a lot worse than this." Dink said. Link shook his head, and then realized what Dink had just said. How could he have known that he had broken into the Kings courtyard? He looked at Dink, shocked as Dink also realized what he had just told him.
The guards looked offended. One of them rushed from his place beside Princess Ruto and stepped towards Dink.
"Alright, mister smarty, lets go and see just how badly you can be treated and what happens to sneaks in this Domain." the guard said, stepping forward to grab Dinks arm. Dink quickly stepped back into the shadows as Terrian brought his weapons back up into defense positions. All the guards clenched their weapons quickly and most of them stepped in front of Princess Ruto faster than she had time to move at all. The rest lunged after Dink as he stepped back into the black corner that he had been standing in before, disappearing from sight.
"Wait!" Link shouted, reaching for Dink before the guards could get to him. Link grabbed his shoulder, and before he knew what was
happening, everything went pitch black and he couldn't hear or see anything. He couldn't feel Dinks shoulder in his grasp anymore, he couldn't feel the floor under his feet, it was just like the dream he had had. Only this was much darker and colder, and the place's very essence seemed to drain the energy from every muscle in his body.

"Where did they go?" Ruto asked Terrian, stepping forward past the wall of guards and grabbing a torch from the wall.
"I don't know.." He replied. "They're not anywhere in the room, they just vanished!" Terrian exclaimed. Ruto stood thinking for a minute, then turned out of the room and walked down the hall. Terrian followed, leaving the guards alone in the dimly lit and quiet chamber.

Link took a step in the darkness, and suddenly things got a
little brighter. He stood looking around, in wonder as to where he was. Although he could see around him, it was still very dark.
Dink was nowhere to be seen, in fact, nothing was. He still heard no voices, or even the sound of a faint breeze. This too was just the same as his dream, but the further he walked into this dark, eerie place, the colder and weaker he felt.
"I'm shocked, utterly shocked…" Came the same chilling voice he had heard in the Water Temple just before he had encountered the shadowy form of Dink. He quickly turned around, and still saw nothing. "I must say, this is a truly breath-taking event to witness." Dink said "I'm honored to be the first and last one to see it."
Link turned and in a split second, there stood the same evil shadow of Dink in front of him, his glowing red eyes the only sign of light anywhere.
"Terrian killed you, I saw you die!" Link said. Dink laughed.
"Ha! You saw a classic possum move, its called playing dead. Seriously, I thought you were smarter than that. I'm ashamed to call your mind my source of life." he laughed.
"You're not the same Dink, he was here, what did you do with him?!" Link yelled, for some reason he still continued to get weaker.
"Oh you've got it all wrong, I'm that same guy. You think there are two guys walking around that are as awesome as me? Well, I think this form is still an improvement, but either-or, ya know?" Link was silent. "Oh I know, you're all confused because I was all ignorant of being in the Temple before but now I'm the same as I was then, and you're thinking 'how could anyone play dead with a sword through their pancreas.' Well, I wont tell you that, you can figure it out all by your lonesome." Link could hear the smile as Dink mocked him.
"…Where am I…?" Link asked, his legs feeling like they could give out any moment.
"The Evil Realm, a sort of haven for all that is vile, demented,
and cruel. A waste basket for Hyrule's nasty creepy-crawlies, and a checkpoint for travel between shadows. I can come and go from anywhere at any time through even the tiniest of shadowy places." Dink explained, Link was shocked to hear where he was. "Only evil can survive here, hence the name 'Evil Realm', but I do think you're the first non-evil that hasn't fallen dead flat on his face as soon as he entered. Anything and everyone good that has tried to enter this Evil Realm has died, except you." He said thoughtfully. "Well I suppose you're not just some good guy, and you've got a conveniently strong connection to someone who basically lives here. But I can pretty much guarantee that you wont last more than an hour, so lets start the clock, shall we? Less than an hour, I win. More than an hour, well… by that time the darkness will have drained your will to live and you'll beg me to kill you, I'll be nice and give you a last wish. So either way I win." Dink leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
"If you wanted me dead so badly, why didn't you take your chance when you had it in the Domain? Why did you go for Terrian first?" Link asked him. Dink shook his head and chuckled.
"The little jerk stabbed me, I was just getting even. But you wouldn't know anything about that because you don't believe in revenge, do you?"
"Not as much as you do." Link glared at him. "If I'm going to die here, I'll do it neither quickly nor easily. I'm not going down without a fight, and this one ought to be a little more fair than your fight with Terrian. You may have been playing dead when he finished you, but now I know what your true weakness is." And with that Link drew the Master Sword, and suddenly the whole area went ablaze with a white light that emanated from the blade. A surge of power shot up his arm as he grasped the sword, it seemed to lessen the effects this evil place had on him.
"Well that was fast, I thought it'd take you a lot longer than that to figure it out." Dink wasn't so happy-go-lucky anymore, he uncrossed his arms, drew his sword, and stepped away from the wall. " So you're all big and bad now, right? After that monster of a cold shoulder you gave that kid when you thought he had killed me, now you'll just get rid of me for good and say everything's all right." Dink and Link began to walk slowly in a circle facing each other, their identical but opposite blades each glowing in their own light. "Remember mister Hero, you kill me and you lose both sides of me. That crap sword you've got there will suck the life from me, just as mine almost did to both you and Terrian. Are you strong enough to lose me twice?" Dink grinned.
"I'm not planning on killing you, but since the stakes are even on both sides, I figure we've each got a fighting chance." Link replied.
"…Terrian wasn't planning on killing me either, remember. He was forced to a choice, him or me. He chose me, but I wonder, who will you chose?" Dink stopped circling and swiftly slashed an attack at Link. Link ducked and deterred the blade with his shield, sending sparks into the air above him. "Uh oh, I scratched daddy's shield, do I get a spanking now?" Dink laughed. Link shoved the shield into Dinks chest, pushing him backwards and knocking his balance off a little. "So you're actually going to give me a fight this time? Bring it on, pal!" Dink yelled, taking a swing at Links neck. He dodged it barely, maneuvering to his left and striking Dink in the side with his shield. He heard Dink gasp as his breath was force quickly from his lungs. He stumbled over an uneven spot on the floor and attempted to regain his balance. He turned back to face Link quickly, glaring as he took a better hold on his sword. Suddenly he disappeared from Links view and into the shadows with a slight swoosh of air, leaving Link to only guess where he should aim his shield.
" What is hidden in the darkness?…" came Dinks voice from all around him. "Tricks of ill will… you cannot see the way forward" his voice echoed loftily, sending cold shivers all over Links body and making the life-draining effect of the Evil Realm take an even greater toll on his mind.
Dinks voice was silent and he made no obvious appearances anywhere. Link shifted his gaze from left to right and back again, keeping very cautious and on edge. Then as he listened very closely to everything around him, a small noise let him know that he was being stalked from behind. He quickly lunged around and he and Dink each took a quick, forceful swing towards each others head and their blades met. White and black sparks shot from their point of contact, which screeched and wailed in a sickening roar. Each of the blades natural reaction was to destroy each other, although unsuccessful.
Link pushed the Master Sword down as hard as he could, sliding the Dark Master Sword towards the ground. Dinks red eyes narrowed as they stared each other down. Suddenly Link yanked the swords apart, breaking their connection and stopping the terrible noise. And with one blinding fell swoop, he sliced the blade across Dinks arm. Dink let out a gut wrenching scream and stumbled backwards, gripping his arm with his other hand. Every muscle in Dinks body shook with pain and rage as he doubled over holding his arm. They made no movement for a moment, and all that was heard was Dinks shaky, whimpering breath. Then without letting go of his arm, he fell flat on his bottom with a thud.
"Ouch! That hurt, Link!" Dink whimpered. A shocking tingle went down Links spine as he heard Dink speak. This wasn't his deep, dark voice, nor his normal older voice that he had heard in the Domain. This was the voice of a child. Link took a second
glance at him. His form was smaller, much smaller, and his eyes were wide and childish. They no longer glowed the hate filled red they had just moments ago. Dink had somehow changed into a child, no older than when they had first met. He stared at Link with big tear-filled eyes, holding his arm and sobbing quietly. Link stared back blankly as he found himself being sent back in memory to that day when he found Dink in the forest, and how they had traveled from his home together in search of the world outside. Dink continued to whimper as he wiped a tear from his face.
Link was lost in thought, when suddenly Dink transformed back into the full-grown killer that he was. He lunged at Links feet causing him to fall flat on his back. Link was quickly shaken from his train of memories as the air in his lungs was forced out of him
from the impact. Dink stood up and grabbed him by his sheath strap around his shoulder. He yanked him from the ground and held his sword to Links gut, his body still shaking. Link glanced towards Dinks arm and was surprised to see blood dripping from an actual wound.
Dink was livid with pure hatred, and glared as he pressed the blade harder into Links stomach. Link winced and gasped for breath.
" I didn't think you had it in you to play mean, Link…" Dinks voice shook, and Link could tell he was struggling to keep the effects of the Master Swords wound from showing. He was becoming weaker, this was visibly obvious, and he wrestled himself to stay standing. Link couldn't stand to see his friend like this, and he wished he knew how to help him.
At that moment he felt Dink lessen the pressure against the blade he held towards him, and he slowly loosened the grip he held on Links sheath strap. Link stepped backwards as Dinks arms fell to his side and he dropped his sword. He struggled to keep his eyes open as his balance began to lessen.
"…Dink…" Link said quietly. "This isn't who you are, Dink, you have to remember the person you were before.." Dink silently swayed back and forth on his wobbly legs, hanging his head towards the ground and breathing weakly. "You're my friend, remember that… please." Link said to him. Dink looked up at him slowly, his eyes barely open. And with that, he went completely limp and fell backwards. Link rushed to catch him before he hit the ground, and as his hands met Dinks head, an incredible thing happened. The pure black shadow that covered Dinks body was quickly dissolved away, leaving Dinks normal form lying there, barely conscious.
"…Link…?" Dink asked quietly as he looked up at him. " What happened? Where are we, are we still in the Domain?" he asked. Link shook his head.
" No, Dink, we're in the Evil Realm…" Link told him. Dinks eyes became wide.
"..The Evil Realm? What are you doing here?! You have to get out of here, you'll die if you stay! We'll both die!" Dink warned anxiously.
" Trust me, I feel better than you do." Link said, but sort of regretted it afterwards. "Besides, I wont leave you in here like this."
"But… what happened, did one of those lame guards get the drop on me before I ported? I feel like I'm dead… or dying" Dink held his arm. "And my arm is killing me, like its on fire…or frozen, it hurts like hell!" Dink winced and gritted his teeth, grabbing his arm tighter. Link felt guilt fill his mind as he watched his friend writhe in pain from the wound he had given him. He was compelled and determined to get Dink out of here and to someone who could help. He remembered how he and Terrian had rid themselves of the dark poison from Dinks blade by simply touching the Master Sword, he thought maybe Dinks sword might do the same thing, and he gasped with this realization. But then he thought about it a second time, Dink had been holding the sword when he was struck, and had been holding it the whole time. If it had the same healing power the Master Sword did, it would have healed him to begin with.
" Dink, I'm going to get you out of here…" he began, but was stopped very quickly. He was suddenly being surrounded by a bright yellow light that created a barrier between him and Dink. Dinks eyes remained closed, he was slipping away. "DINK, NO!" Link yelled, but found that even he himself could not hear his own voice as the light became brighter. Dink quickly faded from his view, as did the darkness of the Evil Realm around him. He was being taken from the Realm by someone or something, he felt his feet lift from the ground. "DINK!" he reached down towards where his friend had once been lying motionless on the cold ground. But it was no use, he was long gone.