Sheik
"Impa...has returned."
Sheik stood stoically as he spoke his wife's name to the five elder Sheikah in the room situation around a circular table. For once he spoke with his scarf down as he wanted the others to see his face as he made his call. Impa's return, though in his mind unwelcomed, presented a new hope, and it was one he didn't want to waste.
"Then where is she?" The oldest Sheikah in the room, Maz Koshia, said. "And where is the trinket you always wear?"
"She has departed with the Shadow Medallion. I gave it to her in the hopes that she will succeed where the sages of old have failed."
The youngest Sheikah between the elders, Oman Au, folded his hands as he leaned in his seat. "So you must know something you're not saying if you would trust her to return to Rauru. Speak, Master Sheik, the truth, not a filibuster."
Sheik sighed, but a part of his anger soared. Elders and their desires to get everything over with… It was them who recalled all Sheikah to New Kasuto after the castle failed, and prevented his people from fully joining the old sages. Had the Sheikah long intervened, had the elders trusted the truth they so desire..."The truth is… You elders have been deceived, blind, ignorant to the truth for years. The truth is that we could have prevented Hyrule's fall, but you were blind. Impaz saw the truth behind him, yet you five wanted caution. Impa and I both wanted to do our duty, but you five held us back. The truth is for 18 years, you wanted us to hide in this city rather than find a way to save our land, and when the pressures of being the protector of Her Majesty's daughter became too much, you broken our pact to Hylia by sending her away. I blame Impa for going and leaving me with her duty, but I will never blame her for Zelda's expulsion. You want the truth of now? I am ignoring every restriction you five have placed on me, and sending the Sheikah to war. She is with them, and she leads them against him. As far as I see it, it is our duty to make sure Zelda-their Zelda- gets to our Zelda's throne, and displaces Vatis' nasty hands off of it, and the first step of that is getting her the Triforce. The Hero stands with them, and so does the Thief. I assure you-"
Maz Koshia stood up so fast for his age Sheik thought the old man was going to throw a knife at him. "You accuse us of assisting Vatis in his conquest-"
"The hell I damn do! You are just like the traitors in the desert, which for some damn reason, supports our enemy. Are we there to wipe them from the face of the earth? No. But Ganondorf-the blood of Ganon himself-will spill their blood in the name of his ancestors. But it was the Yiga who made way for the Imperials to take over our land and foil the sages' plot. As I see it, Ganondorf will erase the Yiga, Impa will restore the seven, and Zelda will claim her power, or the Triforce will split and the three chosen will. In either latter case, Vatis' regime is done for. I see victory. Can you Sheikah look through your eyes and see it too?"
Link
"The darkness...it is very close Link."
Link marched through the last corridor he'll hope to see in the Great Palace. It had been around two hours since he first entered the dungeon, three since he arrived at the mountain the palace resided, five since he last saw Ravio, and seven since the boys split from Zelda and the girls. Spryte sat on her friend's shoulder, too tired to continue flight.
Link was quite worried for his friends. Ravio was chased by the fusion of Poes, the girls were literally by the castle, and the Resistance was on route, with no set destination for all groups to rendezvous at. Hell, they didn't even have a plan for afterward. Being alone with no monsters to impede his progress in the dungeon already put him on edge, but in combination with the worries of his friends, he needed some consolation. Pausing in step, Link turned to Spryte. "Hey, Spryte, can you do me one favor?"
Spryte stood and flew in front of Link, crossing her arms. "What is it?"
"Is it...possible you can give me a progress report on the others. I worried about a lot of things, and their wellbeing is the most pressing."
"Sure." The little fairy began to glow a brighter blue, an indication that her powers were being put to use. She was quiet for a moment, rising Link's anxiety. Her powers were rarely used, and he knew dowsing took concentration (tracing the dark power of the temple had taken its toll already) but one target was doable. Four? She'll probably tire out. As much as he wanted to know his friends' conditions, it wasn't worth weakening Spryte.
"Spryte, you don't have to-"
"Ravio is north of here, and he seems to be calm and in health. A little fearful, but that's nothing new… Hilda and Midna are terribly exhausted, though it seems Midna is sleep while Hilda is woke. I think they're done, but had a battle, because I can sense Zelda is unconscious and drained, but otherwise ok." Spryte's glow dimmed, and the little fairy returned to Link's shoulder. "Everyone is okay."
Link smiled, tapping the fairy with endearment on her head. "Thank you. What about you?"
"I'm tired from this, but will survive. Thank you. You?"
"Ready to get out of here. Whatever we're supposed to do with the Pendant of Courage, let's get it over with." Link and Spryte crossed over into the next room.
The adjacent room was much like the others, empty of life save for the Hylian and fairy. A raised blue platform centered the room, with four columns a few feet away at each corner. Link stepped slowly into the room, his intuition ringing alarms in his head. He clasped the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield as he surveyed the area. "Spryte."
"Link, look." Spryte pointed to a position above the platform. Link followed and found a red stone tied to a string floating in the air, surrounded by a dark aura.
"What is that?"
"Looks like a medallion."
"And a very important one too." Link and Spryte looked back down to the platform, where a newcomer stood before them. A blue-skinned female in a purple and black dress smiled down on the pair, one hand resting on her hip, the other outstretched at a thirty degree angle. Hauntingly, Link felt a strange deja vu as he stared into the singular exposed red eye of the woman, but she was not the man he met at Death Mountain.
"Link, this is the darkness I feel."
Not removing his hand off his blade but still not drawing, Link stood up to the new arrival. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled. "My, my my, you have grown so much since the last time we met. So handsome. Just as courageous as your father, and his best friend, and the other heroes."
"You knew my father?"
"Very well...oh so very well. Then he lost his sense and married your mother. How are they, by the way?"
"Traitor!" Link finally brandished the sword that seals the darkness. "You know exactly what happened to them!"
The woman nodded. "Right. Your father lost his life at the hands of Horsehead a month ago, and your mother, poor thing...lost her head by me, Veran, Sorceress of Shadows and the Queen of Hyrule. At least, that's what you think. Are they really dead?" As she finished, a sword beam flew at her, but Veran vanished before it connected. Link ran up the platform to check for Veran, but the witch was gone.
His anger boiled over, getting the best of him. He didn't even know the Imperials had a queen, and if that was true, she had power rivaling her king. He couldn't take her lightly as he did the king a month ago. But bringing up his recently deceased father and the mother he never knew struck a chord. Link eyed the room, searching for the sorceress. "Come out!"
"Link." That voice… Link turned and was graced by the sight of his old man, Rusl Koroks. The older Koroks smiled as he stepped towards his son.
"Father?!"
"My little Link?" Link turned the other way, now met with a woman he never met, but with her fair white skin, her blonde hair, her soft blue eyes, and her being, Link recognized from years of staring at photographs who the woman was.
"Mother?" Both of Link's parents' embraced the hero, and though his "hero instincts" told him this was a trick, Link failed to agree. He embraced them back, releasing the tears he fought hard to contain. Link was finally reunited with Rusl and Uli Koroks.
There was one thing that Link did rationalize, though he'll realize it too late: Spryte was silent. Once he did realize it, he looked up behind him, searching for his fairy. "Spryte-AHHHH!" A pair of sharp pains erupted from Link's abdomen. He fell to his knees, able to see two thin, dark beams zip out of his chest. He felt no arcs of pain, no leakage of blood, yet he had the feeling that something was ripped out of him. Something...emotional. As the beams converged into a ball, he looked up to his parents, both replaced by the laughing Veran.
"Naive. You really thought your parents would show up here of all places? You fool. And these other emotions sapped out of you. Cocky, air-headed, and impulsive as every hero before you."
Link stood up. "Where's Spryte?!"
"Arrogance. You took too long to accept your destiny, and even now, you still doubt. As for your fairy, you don't care for her, or your new friends, or the Resistance. Zelda, the girl you fallen so deeply for, is your only concern, and as lovely as that sounds, that makes you selfish. And-woah ho ho-is that fear?"
"I'm not afraid of you."
"Courage is the overcoming of fear, not the absence, and you are very afraid. But what you fear most is not Zelda's death, nor the Imperial a and its king. It is a broken ego. Being helpless. Losing your pride as the hero."
"You are wrong."
"Am I? When you faced Aquamentus, Zelda saved you. When you faced King Dodongo, Zelda saved you. Even when you fought Gyorg and Horsehead, Zelda saved you. Ganondorf saved you on Death Mountain. Ravio saved you on the way here. Ralph saved the girls in Saria. What have you done?"
"I…" As much as he hate to admit it, Veran was right. He was the Hero, yet who has he saved? No one. Everyone had to rescue him from danger he put himself in. Zelda, Ganondorf, Ravio, Ralph, Spryte, and even Shade himself, all rescued Link. But has Link saved them? No. Link won't even count killing Horsehead as saving Zelda since he (Link) attacked from behind. To win the war, everything depended on Zelda's survival-not Link.
"Exactly. You are just a boy in the clothes of a hero, wielding the sword of a legend, seeking the power of a god. You will die here because of your foolishness...and you will die by your own hands." Veran threw up her hand, and the black orb rose into the air, merging with the floating pendant above. She crackled as her form dissipated, leaving Link in the chamber with the withering darkness above. "You came for a fight, so a fight I will provide you." The orb flew into the next room, and Link gave chase.
"Where are you then?"
"Hahahahaha! Oh, not me, no no no. You will not fight the Sorceress of Shadows. But a taste of my power I will provide you." The orb began to rapidly grow in mass. Before Link the mass took form, and that form took the shape of a human. Then features were molded into it, and Link could see the distinct Hylian ears take shape.
"I can possess anyone I choose, or take any form from my victim's memory. My personal favorite is the one you see before you…"
The dark being began to have clothing, and that was when Link was taken aback. Everything about the dark being, from the attire he wore to his facial features, it was like looking into a mirror. The sword strapped to the being's back...a replica of the Master Sword. The tunic, same makeup as the Hero's Tunic. The only difference in their features was the clone's blood red eyes that shone brightly in the darkness.
"The Hero of Time faced phantoms of Hanson and himself. The Hero of Legends faced the Nightmares. Zelda's father faced a copy in this very room. But what you see before you is different. But what you see before you is not a shadow of yourself, or a memory replayed in dreams. It is you in every fiber, filled with your dark side. That is my favorite power…to create a being that is you, but exhibits everything you will deny."
Link then remembered Spryte's words before they entered the Great Palace. "I probed the palace. There is nothing within it...except a lone, singular darkness, a concoction of hatred, malice, and envy. But the most daunting part of all of it is…This isn't just any type of monstrosity. What I can can sense...is you." This was it. The power his missing fairy found. It was indeed Link.
"So Hero Link, I have granted you your fight. Win, you can take the medal lion and rejoin your friends. Lose...you die. So if you want to win, you have to do one thing…"
The "Dark Link" drew his blade and shield, challenging his clone. Link accepted, drawing and running forth to meet his sword with the imposter. Link knew he had to win, and there was one way he'll do it.
"Conquer yourself."