They mounted their horses, still tethered outside, and rode full gallop for Hyrule Town. Erin shouted over to Link

"What's your plan?"

"I'm going to retrieve the Master Sword. It's the only way I can beat Dark Link and Ganondorf. We have to get to the Temple of Time as soon as possible. After that... I don't know. If Dark Link took Zelda into the Sacred Realm, we don't have long before he draws out her part of the Triforce, the Force of Wisdom, and adds it to his own Force of Power. Then he will be almost unbeatable, and he will break down the sages seal and re-enter Hyrule. I guess we will have to fight them on their own ground."

"Great. Well Link, you sure know how to show a girl a good time." Erin smiled.

They rode on.

The other side of Hyrule, in Kakariko graveyard, Dark Link checked no one was looking, and then pulled the slab of stone that lay before him. Several heaves later, it was off, revealing a small tight stairway. He grabbed the gagged and bound Zelda and put her over his shoulder, then made his way down the steps. They lead into a small chamber, at the end of which was the portal to the Sacred Realm that Ganondorf had opened to allow him through. It was like a window in the air, shimmering and aglow with light. Ganondorf himself could not travel through such doorways, his own power worked against him because the portal could not take it. But the main portal in the Temple of Time would. Dark Link was worried about how Ganondorf would react to him not having killed Link, but he was sure that his offering of Zelda and her piece of the Triforce would appease him. Maybe then he wouldn't need Link's blood the break the seal. Dark Link stepped through the doorway, into the Sacred Realm.

A harsh wind whipped at him as he stepped out the other side. The portal came out at the base of what had once been the Temple of Light. But years of occupation by the King of Evil had corrupted the entire Sacred Realm into a Dark World, a wretched and broken land, and the massive Pyramid that had been the Temple was now Ganondorf's Citadel. Dark Link made his way up the steps to the entrance about a third of the way up, through a huge arch way, in which was engraved all manner of evil incantations. Torchlight lit the hallway beyond, which was lined with pillars, and to either side, channels of black, viscous fluid. Dark Link hadn't a clue what the stuff was, but he wasn't going to find out the hard way. He made his way up another staircase into the main chamber, once the resting place of the Triforce. The stair came up through the floor on the far side. In the center of the room was a small pyramid, surrounded by a walkway and then a moat of the black stuff, with a bridge over it opposite the stairwell. On the other side, between the base of the pyramid and the bridge was a small raised platform, on which was engraved an image of the Triforce. It was the Dark World side of the main portal, the other end being in the Temple of Time. The top of the pyramid was cut off, and on the flat platform at the top was a throne. A throne constructed of human remains. The arms and back ended with skulls, the legs made of leg bones, the arms of arm bones, the back of spines. And sat on this was the King of Evil himself, Ganondorf Dragmire, clad in inch thick black armor, his eyes burning red with hatred. Dark Link crossed the bridge and knelt at the foot of the pyramids steps.

"My lord, Link lives. But I offer you Princess Zelda and her part of the Triforce. I hope this pleases you."

Ganondorf stirred on his throne, then spoke.

"Yes, this offering pleases me greatly. I will now have two parts of the Triforce. And with their power and wisdom, I shall take the third from that cursed Link. Then I shall rule what is destined to be mine! Did you meet my Hand, Erin, on your journey, dark one?"

"Yes my lord. I last saw her pursue Link into the wasteland. I know not what happened there after."

"Never mind. Return to Hyrule, my dark one. Go to the Temple of Time. If Link tries to retrieve the Master Sword, stop him. I shall begin the ritual to draw the Force of Wisdom from Zelda. Go."

"Yes my lord."

Dark Link turned and left, pride swelling inside him. He had pleased the Evil King, and he would do so again. Link would not lay hand on the Master Sword. He left the Pyramid and returned to Hyrule, racing for the Temple of Time on horseback.

As Link and Erin closed on Hyrule town, Link spotted Dark Link coming from the opposite direction. He growled and spurred Epona on, faster and faster. Now it was a race.

Dark Link saw his counterpart at roughly the same time. As the pair shifted into high gear, Erin was unable to keep up. Link reached the drawbridge a second ahead of Dark Link, and then they were racing through the streets. Dark Link drew level and pulled his sword, and swung at Link, who dodged it. A cart was being pulled across the street by a stubborn donkey, Link saw and grabbed his bow and arrow, and with lightning speed loosed one at the cart coupling. The arrow flew true and severed the coupling, dropping the front end of the cart and spilling its load of fruit. The object of that was to distract Dark Links attention and stop his sword attacks and it worked and as both steeds leapt the obstacle, Link drew ahead once more. They were getting close to the Temple now, and Link had an idea to slow Dark Link down. He pulled his feet out of the stirrups and carefully stood up in the saddle, no easy feat considering Epona was going flat out. As he passed a wooden post holding up a shop canopy, he jumped and grabbed it, swinging round it in a tight circle and letting go as Dark Link passed. He had timed it perfectly, and both his feet crunched into the side of Dark Links head, sending him flying from his horse and smashing into a stone wall. He struggled to his feet, but Link had landed upright, and shoulder barged him through the wall with a crash of breaking masonry. He turned and ran for the Temple, not waiting to see if he was out cold.

He wasn't. Dark Link roared in rage, shoved the brickwork off him and charged after Link, but he had a big head start.

Link barged his way through the big outer doors, and sprinted through the main hall, across the red carpet, vaulted the pedestal of the spiritual stones and stood before the Door of Time. He had neither the stones nor the Ocarina of Time, but there was a way in. Zelda had used her magic to bind the Door of Time to open only for those with the mark of the Triforce on the backs of their hand, a mark that signified that they held one of the three Forces. There was a fist-sized hole in the center of the Door, Link thrust his hand inside and grabbed the bar inside. Light shone forth from the hole, the bar slid to the side, and the door split and opened. Dark Link entered the Temple, yelled and ran at Link, who jumped up to the podium, went to the pedestal in the center, and almost sighing with exultation, gripped the hilt of the Master Sword, and pulled.

It didn't budge.

"Aww, c'mon, don't do this to me!" Link cursed, trying to figure out what was wrong, but then Dark Link was upon him. He ducked a horizontal swing from the Black Blade, grabbed his adversary's arm and twisted it so that he dropped the sword. Link kicked it away with his boot, but still he felt a jolt in his leg like lightning had struck it. As the two began to exchange blows, Link realized that with all his rush to beat Dark Link here, he must have arrived too early. The dark future had not yet been totally overwritten, but how long had he to go? At this precise instant in the other timeline, he was toe to toe with Ganon.

Erin had caught up, and ran for the dueling pair, catching Link's eye and distracting his attention. Dark Link took full advantage and punched Link right in the chest, knocking him backwards and too the floor. At that instant, the Master Sword began to glow, and everyone in the room froze, staring at it. Link's eyes meet Dark Link's, held for a second, then they both moved with lightning speed. Dark Link dived for the Black Blade, snatched it up at dived back at Link, swinging the evil sword with all his strength. Link ran forward and pulled the Master Sword clear of the pedestal, and, finally re-united with the sword of legend, swung it at Dark Link with all his strength.

But before the blades met, the room flooded with blue light, and everyone was frozen in place. Link and Dark Link diving at each other, their swords about to clash, Erin standing back, not knowing what to do, and then the look of confusion followed by understanding in thee eyes of the trio. By pulling the Master Sword, Link just activated the main portal to the Sacred Realm/Dark World. The light intensified grew brighter until it blanked out everything, then faded. When it had gone, they were in the Pyramid.

Suddenly, everything un-froze, and events carried on. The two crackling blades impacted at full force, and the unexpected resulting concussion shock wave, sent everyone flying through the air. Erin, who had been standing a little way back was just knocked to the ground. Link and Dark Link soared in opposite directions like powerful magnets repelling each other. Link hit the ground hard on the other side of the bridge, nearly falling down the stairwell and Dark Link crunched into the steps of the smaller pyramid that was the base of Ganondorf's throne. Except as Dark Link spat blood and turned around, Ganondorf wasn't on his throne. He must be in another part of this place performing the ritual, he thought. But for now, he had a battle royal to attend to. He began to walk to the bridge.

Link pulled himself to his feet, knowing that it was make or break time. He held the Master Sword in a two-handed grip, and also walked back towards the bridge. As the two warriors closed, the air became heavy and charged, as if in the presence of opposing fields of force. They walked faster, they eyes never leaving each other's, then broke into a run, yearning for righteous battle. Once more their swords clashed, but they had steeled themselves for the recoil effect and held steady. Sparks flew between the blades, but still their eyes were locked.

Dark Link brought his blade down in an overhead swing, but Link side stepped it and elbowed him in the side of the head, sending him down on one knee. Link spun and stabbed, but Dark Link had moved, ducking to the side and swinging horizontally. Link jumped it and back-flipped over Dark Link, and they clashed again, hammer-blows that sent jolt up their arms and rattled their brains. Link took a drive and kicked out at Dark Link's leg, but failed to connect as he swung down at him. Link rolled to the side to avoid the blade, flipped upright and fought on.

The struggle for supremacy raged back and forth across the bridge, neither warrior gaining an inch, the swords never striking home. Erin could only stand by as the Links fought, scarcely able to register their movements. They were reacting to each other and attacking at such speed she couldn't keep up. As she watched, she was filled with a furious helplessness, that she could not assist Link. Link... As she had traveled with him to the Temple, they had talked, and she had learned much about him, began to understand the depth of his compassion, the goodness in his heart, the ingrained desire to protect that which he held dear, all that which had saved her life and her mind. And a feeling was growing inside her, and force she could not identify with. She could not know it, but it was the same warm but confused emotion that Link was carrying too. She couldn't just stand by anymore, she had to assist him, even if it got her killed. She could see now that there was more at stake here than her life and her quest for revenge. She smiled wryly. She had been a cold killer all her life, determined to kill Link, and within a week of finally meeting him, his Mr. Nice Guy act was rubbing off on her and she was part of the fight to save Hyrule. She grabbed a chunk of rock knocked loose after Dark Links collision with the pyramid, and moved to hit him with it.

The fighters were tiring, and still neither had an advantage. The constant barrage of attacks and counter-attacks were taking their toll, and the blows being exchanged were shadows of the hammer-blows that had gone before. As Erin brought the rock down on the back of Dark Link's neck, he howled in pain and spun and hit her. Her timing had been flawed, and Link was not close enough to deliver the killing blow. The punch knocked her over the side of the bridge, only for her to grab the ledge at the last minute and remain dangling over the moat of black ichor. Link ran up and kicked Dark Link in the chest, sending him sprawling long enough for him to reach down and pull Erin back up over the edge. But events took a terrible turn. Dark Link recovered sooner than expected. Looking at his unprotected back, he realized he had found Links weakness. His act of saving that girl had ended his chances of winning this fight. Dark Link drove the Black Blade into Links back and ran him through with it.

As Erin looked at Link, the point of the blade burst from his chest. Crackling black lightning engulfed his figure, and he threw back his head and screamed in utter soul piercing agony as the Black Blade did its terrible work. Dark Link pulled the sword free and steeped back as Link hit the ground like a piece of meat.

"Link, NO!!" was as she could yell as her attempt to "assist" went horribly wrong. She had tried to help him and it had gotten him killed. As she filled with rage and horror at what she had done, she knew that self-blame would have to come later. As Dark Link stood there a mocking look of triumph on his face, she did something he would never have expected. She crouched, then dived headlong at him, grabbing the Master Sword from Links hand.

She knew a split second before she did so that the experience would not be pleasant, but there was no other weapon that would take Dark Link down. As her hands clutch the hilt of the legendary blade, pain wracked her being as lightning blazed about her, identical to what had happened to Link but the light was white. She had aimed herself close enough to Dark Link to make him think she was coming straight at him, but she actually landed further back at to the side as she had planned. As white pain almost blinded her, she focused her strength and leapt to her feet. Dark Link turned to face her, but too late. She screamed in pain, but she had reached her target. She brought the Master Sword up and sliced it across his belly, cutting deep. She swung diagonally and cut a swathe across his ribcage. Finally, she rammed it into his torso, and he fell, never once uttering a sound. Erin's agony eased as the power of the sword struck at a soul darker than hers, and she dropped the sword, which had almost welded itself to her hands.

Pushing back the pain, she ran back to Link. One eye opened; he was still alive, but hanging on by a thread. She broke down.

"My god I'm so sorry... what have I done... who will fight Ganondorf now?... my fault..."

Link's tired and dying mind forced his vocal cords to speak.

"Take me... to... him..."

Erin did as she was told, dragging his broken body over to where that of his dark counterpart lay. As his life force left him, Link moved his hand onto Dark Link's chest and muttered a few indecipherable words. The Triforce symbol on the back of his hand began to glow. He's calling on the powers of the Force of Courage, Erin thought, but what does he mean to do? The ethereal glow slowly spread to cover the bodies of both Links, but began to fade as Link faltered. With one last surge of effort, he focused all of his mind, body and soul, all his wisdom, power and courage. The glow picked up again, grew, intensified until Erin could not see either Link. And when the light faded, she reeled in shock. Only one body lay before her, where there had once been two. He was in Links clothes, but was it him? What the hell had he done? She looked him over. The wounds that had felled both of them were gone, but her attempts to wake the figure failed. Well, looks like whatever he did had side effects, she figured. She decided that no good could come from hanging around in Ganondorf's Pyramid, so she endured one last round of burning pain to get the Master Sword into Links scabbard, then kicked the Black Blade into the river of black stuff, hoping that would be the end of it. She struggled to get Link's prone form onto her shoulder, then descended the seemingly endless staircase, then out into the harsh existence of the Dark World.