A.N.- Here's chapter 3. I know it's kind of short, but don't worry. Thank- You soooo much Heath 999. It's really encouraging to know that someone's reading your story. I hope you and any other readers enjoy chapter 3. Read and review please

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A voice deep in Link's mind grew strong. It had been suppressed for so many years, but now it had a chance to say what it wanted, for a bit. With all its strength it cried out two words, "Fierce Deity". But the stronger part of Link beat it down. It could say no more.

The guards on either side of the temple paid Link little attention as he entered the door. The room inside was simple. The walls were nothing more than a sandy color. In front of him stretched a long dark hallway. Continuing to walk, Link shuddered; the temperature in the hallway had dropped. Seeing a light not far off, Link quickened his pace. Entering the room, he was quite surprised by what he saw.

The room was rather dull, the walls being the same as those of the walls of the first room. The room was very large. Barely within the range of Link's vision, at the far end of the room, lay a silver wall. Link walked toward it and eventually got a better look. The wall did look as if it was made of metal, and yet Link knew it wasn't. Reaching out his hand, he touched the strange wall. He shuddered again; the wall was also cold. Ripples shot throughout the wall, making it look as though it were made of liquid. Link took a step back; something was emerging.

The figure stood in front of Link, entirely coated with the same material as that of the wall from which he had emerged. It stood the same height as Link, but it did not move in any way. Slowly the strange silver crept away, moving up his body. His feet, legs, body, arms, neck, and finally the head appeared. The only difference between it and Link was that its eyes were silver, its pupils red.

Link took a step back, amazed by the look of the person. He was an exact duplicate of Link: Face, body, everything looked exactly like Link. Link stood and looked back at the duplicate of his twelve-year-old self. The shadow drew his sword and stood, waiting for Link's response. Slowly Link drew his weapon and waited. The shadow stood, unmoving, and said, "So we meet, face to face." Link hid his emotions, but inside he was terrified. The shadow's words were almost identical to those of the figure in his dream.

The shadow attacked toward Link, and he blocked it quickly. The attack had caught Link off guard, and the shadow took advantage of it. Jabbing at Link's stomach, leaving him barely able to block the deadly strike. Link countered, and the shadow parried. The shadow countered, and Link parried. It didn't occur to Link, but the battle was a lot like the battle in his dream. Link continued to fight the shadow of himself. The weak voice inside him cried out in his terror, "Fierce. Deity."

As Link fought, the evil inside him grew in power. It fought against the good of Link's consciousness that had kept it suppressed so long. As the battle continued, Link began to weaken, while his shadow appeared to be getting better. The battle inside Link raged on as well. Like Link, the good inside him was beginning to tire. Each battle slowly came to the advantage of evil. The shadow continued its merciless attacks on Link. Finally, Link stood back and charged his sword with energy. He aimed it at the shadow and let it out. The shadow flew across the room and landed with a thud on the ground. Inside Link's mind, though, the evil had overcome the good. It gave its message loud and clear, "Fierce Deity".

Link stood watching as his shadow slowly recovered. Link felt his arm move and go into his tunic. Searching, he removed the mask of Fierce Deity. Linked looked down at it. He felt no evil; it seemed harmless. He lifted it to his face, of his own will, and put it on.

Link fell to his knees as the pain of the transformation began. Power was being put into Link's body at a rate he couldn't control. He felt as if he was going to explode. His mind burned. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. Slowly he rose to his feet. He looked at his opponent through different eyes. He looked at his opponent with eyes of fury. He saw his surroundings, but all thoughts were centered around his opponent.

The shadow had recovered and now stood roughly fifteen feet away. It looked upon Fierce Link. In its mind this only made things easier, now it was fighting against itself, not its counterpart.

Fierce Link ran towards his opponent raising his sword. He struck at the shadow, but he was blocked to easily. Rage burned inside of Link. He attacked again and again until finally the shadow was trapped against one of the walls of the room. Fierce Link continued fighting, knowing the end was near. Preparing to finish off the shadow, Fierce Link left himself vulnerable for an instant. In that instant, the shadow took its sword and thrust it into the Link's body.

He felt the pain, the mask didn't. In fact, the mask reveled in it. Link fell to the ground, defeated by his own shadow. The shadow bent down and placed its hand on Link's face. The mask began to come off, easily in fact, for it awaited its new body in which it could truly do its will. Link watched helplessly as the shadow placed the mask upon it face. It did not fall to the ground, or make any kind of noise. Instead it took a deep breath, as if relaxing! It began to change slightly. The once silver eyes took on the appearance of Link's. There now was no difference between the shadow and Link. Quickly, the shadow walked down the hallway.

Link wanted to get up, but his body would not. He felt as he lost his grip on life. His eyes drooped. All because of a dream, he thought. This is what it meant. This is the end of me. The end of Hyrule. Link's thoughts blurred.

A.N.- Hope you liked it. Sorry Link bit the dust, but don't worry.