Chapter 13: Into the Darkness

--

Two pairs of sharp footsteps paced along the castle's dark stone corridor. One belonged to a man, apparently around forty years old, but with thousands of years of anger burning in his amber eyes. The second belonged to a far younger individual, still just about in their teens. He regarded his older companion - if that was the right word - with fear and respect.

"So," Ganondorf remarked. "The search for the shadow-hero has been unsuccessful."
"I am afraid not, master," the younger man responded. "We have searched the whole fortress. If I may be so bold, perhaps he left already?"
"I gave him no such order!" Ganon snapped. "Still... your loyalty does you credit." The stress on the word 'your' was easy to hear. "All of you." He fell silent, thinking.

It had been easier than he'd thought to find willing - gullible, maybe - volunteers for his force. Most of them were young and disillusioned with their current lives. It was a simple matter to lure them away with him and into the Dark World.
And simpler, still, to bend them to his will. The young man now walking by his side was proof of that fact. He, and many more like him, had already forgotten any other way of life than that loyal to the Dark King. At least, if they did remember their pasts, they were no longer important to them.

So far, things were turning out perfectly. Soon, he would surely have a human fighting force as keen and reliable - if not more so - than his brute army of the past. Human fragility was a small price to pay for his new soldiers' intelligence. It was only a shame that there was no way to get the best of both worlds... yet. Perhaps that would come one day.

"Send out a search party," Ganondorf ordered. "He must be around here somewhere." He paused briefly, as the other option for Dark Link's disappearance occurred to him.
No! He couldn't have...
"There is a second option." The words came slowly, as he fought against the idea. "I want you to search for ...a boy of sixteen with blond hair and blue eyes. You will know him when you see him. Bring him back to the castle dungeons."
"Dead or alive?"
There was a pause. "Whichever is easiest."

-

It was late the next afternoon - if the word could be applied to a world with such a strange and sunless sky - before the two boys made it to the outskirts of the mirror-Kakariko. Both were waiting to hear the other say what they were both thinking.

What a dump.

Their mood hadn't been improved any by the weather, as a storm had set in earlier. Rain plastered their hair to their faces and was beginning to soak through their clothes, chilling them through. Neither had said a word to the other all day, though, and both preferred it that way.

At least, Link didn't think Cal had been talking to him. Every so often, he'd hear his rival muttering under his breath. He suspected he knew who he'd been speaking to.
For once, he was mentally cheering him on. Yeah, he's a loser, but he's one I can handle. But if I end up facing off with...

Well, I should be getting some backup soon, shouldn't I? he thought. Only when, he had no clue. He was all too familiar with the sound and feeling of Oni's mind contacting his own. But as yet it hadn't happened.
He is in another world, though. Guess that's a bit of an excuse.

Cal's muttering was becoming louder.

"Get outta my head."
Your head needs something in there.
"I know who I am. Can't make me change."
Would be the only thing that could happen to you to make you more obnoxious... c'mon, you tell that whoever to shut up.

The boys plodded on over potholed and puddled roads. This place could only be called civilised by the standards of the wilderness they had just left. It was hardly an improvement. Link couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. It was obvious from his expression that Cal was none too happy here either - although how much of that was due to the environment and how much due to the voice in his head was hard to tell. Distracted, he was hardly looking where he was going. Cal stumbled and fell. Link let out a snort of laughter, despite the rain, but stopped quickly. Something was wrong.

Before he hit the floor, Dark Link managed to get his balance back, and turned round. His eyes were glowing brilliantly. Link stared in horror, reaching for his sword.
"Well. It looks like we meet again, then."

-

"What did you just do to Cal?" Link asked, in shock. He'd worked it out - but knowing and seeing were two different things. "The same as what happened before, right?"
Dark Link shrugged. "You could say that. My master chose this body as a suitable vessel for my mind. I merely took back what was rightfully mine."
"I can see why he picked Cal's body, then. You're both losers."
"That, of course, is a subjective opinion. Although - " Dark Link snorted - "I'm almost ashamed to have to put up with such a cowardly part to myself."
Link caught himself laughing, but stopped himself quickly.

"Of course, I'm not so weak." He raised his sword.
Link drew his own, and tried to remember what he'd learnt from sparring with Oni.

Keep your guard up. Watch out. The main thing is that he doesn't hit you.
And don't feel sorry for him. Don't hold back.
What do I mean? They're both losers! 'Course I'm not going to hold back!

Link's concentration on the fight was broken. With too many techniques crowding his head, it was hard to know where to turn. And there was always the fact of who lay behind that shadowy mask.

Sure he's a jerk. But I can't - I can't kill him!

His sword slipped. Dark Link took full advantage of the lapse to knock him down and pin his arms.

"Get the hell off me!" Link spat.
"Oh - I will," Dark Link said, laughing. "When you're safely in my master's custody. And - I think I'll be taking that..." With his free hand, he reached for Link's sword.

He yanked it back as if he'd been stung, a look of amazement on his face. "Impossible!"
"What is?"
"Never mind!" he yelled. "Winds of fury, take me away!"

What does he mean by that? Link started to wonder. It soon became clear. His world became a haze of violet and red light.

When he could see again clearly, he was surrounded by stone walls. Dark Link stepped back, leaving Link room to breathe.
Not as much as he would have hoped, though. A rather familiar piglike creature was standing in front of him.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Dark Link laughed, and vanished into the shadows. The monster tried to snatch Link's sword off him, but as its fingers closed on the hilt, it pulled away in shock. "What didja do to that thing, boy?"
"Me? I didn't do anything!" Link shouted back, surprised. First Dark Link says there's something wrong with it. Now this guy. What's going on?
"Ah, screw it. You keep that. Not that it's going to do you much good!" Using every ounce of its brute strength, it hit Link straight across the jawline. He wasn't fast enough to catch on and defend - and in any case, the Moblin had grabbed his sword arm.

He blacked out.

-

"Whaddya have to do that for..." Link murmured, sitting up slowly.

"Who, me?" a voice replied, half-laughing, but confused. "I didn't do anything... and who are you?"
He blinked and looked around. An unfamiliar auburn-haired girl was watching him from the corner of the cell, hands wrapped around her knees. Her clothes - a grey school uniform with a red collar, probably from a private school - were creased and untidy. Glad I don't go to that place, Link found himself managing to joke. "Uh... hi?" he remarked. "I don't bite, you know."
"Yeah, but, you do have a great big sword there."
"Okay, you've got a point," he said, laughing. "Name's Link."
"That's kinda..."
"Weird. I know. Blame some sort of random destiny crap." This comment only earned a strange look from the girl. "And you're..."
"Madeline," she replied, smiling. "Maddi for short."
"Okay. Maddi. Hi," Link remarked, holding out his hand. "How did you get here, then?"
Maddi smiled and shook it. "Was walking home from school, storm blew up, I was running like hell and kinda got lost somehow down some alleys. This guy shows up, says he can help me out, I'm too tired and wet to care 'bout anything... follow him, we end up here... next thing, I'm being chucked in this cell because he says 'I'm not suitable' for something." She shrugged, finally running out of things to say. "I get the feeling I'm glad I wasn't suitable for whatever."
"When was this, then?"
"'Bout two days ago. Man, I'm bored..." Maddi sighed. "Miss all my family, too..."
"Think I do already." He paused. "Except maybe dad."

He sighed, threw his bag on the floor, and slumped against the wall. "So should I just get settled in, then? And do we get any food in here? They'd better have a vegetarian option."
"Yes on all three counts. Least, I can't recognise any meat in it."
"Oh, boy." Link put his head in his hands.

I am not sitting in here for gods-know-how-long... he thought.
Sitting in where? a voice replied quietly, distorted, full of mental static. Link's heart leapt. You're in the city, aren't you?
Sort of.
Are you or aren't you? I can feel your mind - do you know how hard that is, when there's nearly two million people in this Kakariko, and I don't know how many in yours...
I'm kinda stuck in a cell. And it's not even single sex. There's this girl in here with me.
Link could imagine Oni smiling from the tone of his mental voice. I would assume the Hero would know better than to let his feelings distract him.
Nah, she's not my type. Don't want Lynna getting the wrong idea, though... But, anyway, you haven't had a girlfriend for two thousand years, am I right? Link caught himself grinning. Maddi looked at him strangely.
Enough! You've got to get out of there...
Um... how? We're locked in.
That's no excuse. I'll be waiting for you.

Link got the feeling that Oni had just switched their connection off. "No excuse. Right."
"What's what?" Maddi asked.
Link jumped. "Just thinking out loud," he replied, going a little red. "About how to get out of here."
"You think there's a way?"
"There has to be." He toyed with his sword. Maddi shuffled away in alarm. "I'm not sitting in here. And I don't fancy seeing if I'm 'suitable' for whatever it was you mentioned."
"Are you crazy? Those bars are solid. The stones look just as solid. Are you going to jump a guard?" She shuddered. "You've seen them... demons."
"Around here, anything's possible."

-

It wasn't long before Link had a chance to test just how easy it would be to escape.

The guard opened the cell door and shoved in the tray of food. It had done this so often that it was getting complacent. This human had been no trouble before. But... maybe - this new boy...

The one standing there, grinning...

The Bokoblin realised too late that it was in trouble. Against all logic, it vanished in a haze of purple mist as Link rammed his sword into its gut. He stood slightly shaken for a moment, before his head cleared. "Right," he said. "We're getting out of here."
Maddi was all too quick to agree.

They ran down the first corridor, laughing. For a moment, caution was the one thing not on their minds. It was just good to be free again. Soon, though, it became clear that just running was maybe not the best strategy. Neither of them had seen the corridors they were charging down - and to Link's disconcertment - up. It always seemed so easy in the movies. If we'd seen a few traps of painful doom, maybe that would be a clue that we were going in the right direction...

Maddi slowed to a halt.
"It's a dead end."
"Again. I'm getting sick of these."
"Have you got any better ideas?"
"Yeah, let's not go up so many stairs next time?" Link complained, his voice not quite clear whether he was laughing or joking. He looked around the small room they'd hit, and his heart sunk. It looked like they'd managed to climb a tower without quite realising it. Oh, great. Oh-great-oh-great-oh-man-oh-man. How did we get up here? How did we...

"Wow... you can see everything from up here!"
"Does that include a way out?" Link asked, tense. His back was to the outside wall and his eyes were closed.

"Hey... Hey, Link? What's up?" Maddi asked.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Come on..."
"I mean it," he snapped back.
"I'm not going to tell anyone," Maddi remarked in reply. "Promise."
Link sighed. He had the feeling that if he didn't talk about his problem Maddi would just continue to badger him. In any case, it would distract him from what was happening.

"Look. It's... it's a long story. It happened when I was a little kid. I was on a hot air balloon ride... the wind picked up, and the guy couldn't keep it stable. I mean, I was only that high - " Link made a gesture at around waist height - "but I can still remember it..."
His eyes closed as he relived the painful memory. "We were thrown all over the place. The basket was rocking. I nearly got tipped out. In the end, we made a crash landing somewhere in the forest. We were stuck for ages. I broke my arm, twisted a leg... had nightmares for ages." A lump formed in his throat. "Ever since... heights just... totally freak me out. Only time I was in a plane, I went hysterical - can't bear the thought. Can't even go up a skyscraper." He sighed. "This isn't exactly fun."
"Run that bit you told me about being a hero again?" Maddi said, grinning. Link just glared back, trying his best to ignore the fact that he knew they were a few hundred foot up in the air. It wasn't really working.

C'mon, man. You're standing on a solid stone floor. Perfectly secure. There's nothing to worry about.
Nothing at all.
Courage, right? You were told that's what being - you - is about. Put a brave face on it.
Okay. I can do this. I can do this. (And I'm not going to wimp out around a girl.)

"Scared?" a familiar voice asked.
It was enough to break Link out of his concentration. He had something else to focus on now. Something to distract him from the irrational fear that was gripping him.
"Hardly," he tried to boast.
"There's nowhere to run now, Hunter. You know that."
"Yeah. I know." Link gathered his nerves and looked into Dark Link's eyes. "Except through you."
"You tried before. And failed."
"Why do you think I'm going to fail again?"
"I don't think. I know."

Help me... he thought. All this was bluffing.
Can you hear me? Help me!

The only reply was silence.

No. I've got to do this alone.

"Two out of three?" Link remarked, his sword readied.

This time, he was prepared. No compromises. No holding back. He yelled and ran forwards.

For a second, Dark Link thought, Link's eyes looked the wrong colour. Far too pale. But there was no time to wonder about this, as he pushed his own attack back in Link's face.

Silver and black blades collided. Link's technique, amateur, but ruthless. His shadow's, professional, but out of practice. Maddi stood by helpless as the fight raged. Each fighter found himself off balance more than once. Each had the advantage for a second and the disadvantage for a second. It was hard to see who was winning, if indeed either was.

In the end, though, Link found himself with the upper hand. He didn't quite know how it happened, but with a quick kick he knocked Dark Link to the ground and into a wall. He got up, but it took too long, and Link was pressing his advantage as quickly as he could.

One blow, and the dark sword skittered across the stone floor. Another, and Link was pinning him against the wall.

"Grab it!" Link yelled, struggling to both hold Dark Link's arms back and his own sword steady. The adrenalin rush, if that was what it was, that had gotten him this far had died back. It had felt more like something else, but it was hard to put his finger on what it was.
"Why me? You know what to do with it..."
"I've got one," Link remarked. He didn't want to go into any more detail about just why he had no interest in the black blade. "You need something to defend yourself with." Possibly against him.

Maddi ran over, and bent down to pick it up. "Sheesh. No-one ever told me these things were so heavy," she said, staggering under the unexpected weight. "What's this thing made of, anyway?"
"Dark energy, frozen into solid form," Dark Link replied coldly, not wanting to look over at her. The thought of another holding his most prized possession hurt almost as much as the humiliation of capture.
"I don't get it."
"I wouldn't have thought you would."

There was a sensation at his throat that both froze and burnt at the same time. He couldn't see what it was, but it was agony. He hissed between his teeth trying to stand the pain that seemed to be sapping the life out of him.

"What's up?" Link asked, only half wanting an answer. This was the second time something like that had happened. "I'm holding the sword flat. I'm too nice a guy to hurt you at the moment, even if you did get me chucked in here."
"You have... no idea..." Dark Link muttered between clenched teeth. His vision was fading and flickering, and his thoughts were skating around his mind. He could vaguely hear a voice in the back of his mind.

Get this thing off me...
Stop this... you're destroying me... again...
It's all going...

It's all...

All getting clearer...

"Hunter, what the hell are you doing?!" Cal yelled.

Link nearly dropped his sword in shock. It was still the shadowy features of Dark Link that he was looking at. But the accent and voice of the outburst were those of his old rival for certain.

"You mean you don't know?"
"There's not a hell of a lot that I do know at the moment! I'm not even sure how I got here!"

Slowly, Link lowered the sword. Cal rubbed his neck in some relief - and froze as he saw his hand. He swore. "And what's just happened to me?"
Somewhere inside himself, though, he knew. The past few hours were like remembering a dream - a nightmare - or more like sleepwalking. Everything was blurred and behind a veil.
I was... someone else? Something else? Damn, this is weird... There was only one thing he could find in any way humourous about the situation. He'd heard everything Link had said about his phobia. That would be worth a few weeks' taunts.
Assuming we even get home...

"What's happened? The same as last time," Link replied coldly.
"I figured that much."
"Are you two going to keep arguing?" Maddi asked, from over in the corner.
Cal turned round, a surprised expression on what could be seen of his face. "What're you doing here?"
"You know each other?" an equally surprised Link remarked.
"Yeah. She's my little cousin. Don't see each other that much. The eyes are a family thing," Cal finished grudgingly. Link looked at Maddi, and kicked himself for not noticing. Hell... he's right. Red. Same as... how his used to be. Must confuse the hell out of the photographer when he develops their family portraits.
Maddi squinted at Cal's face, trying to make it out under the darkness. The voice matched up, that was certain. It didn't make sense, though... "What's the problem?"
"That's you? Cal?"
"Who were you expecting? Your boyfriend?" he remarked, sarcastic as ever. Maddi didn't mind, though, and just laughed.

"Okay. Is the family reunion over?" a rather annoyed Link snapped.
Maddi looked over and grinned. Cal glared. "Yeah, Hunter, spoil everything, why don't you?"
"I'm only thinking that we might want to get out of here before - a - we're discovered, or - b - your alter ego tries to chop me in half again..."
"I'll try to chop you in half if you keep this up," Cal muttered. "Fine. Let's go."
"You know the way?"
"Well, it's obvious you two don't, isn't it? Come on!"
He ran off. Link and Maddi followed, relief growing by the second.

Just get me out of here. Then everything'll be okay again.

-

They stumbled through the portal, the world swirling into strange colours around them, before reforming into the one that they had already known. To Link, the fresh rain-spattered green of the grass was the most beautiful colour he had ever seen.

He slowly got up from his hands-on-knees posture and looked up. "Thanks... Oni..." he muttered, his voice trailing off as he looked up even higher.
He swallowed, as his eyes met those of the Fierce Deity.

Was I really... like that? He doesn't look like the guy I know.
He doesn't even look human. I mean, he's human shape, but... he doesn't feel...
Hell. He really is a god.
I can't believe... look, you saw that face in the mirror yourself, idiot. Why're you freaking out now?
(Probably because I always yell his head off...)

To his side, he could see Maddi had gone white in the face, and Cal was motionless with apparent fear. Now, that makes a change... he thought. Off in the distance, he noticed Zelda watching. What she was doing there, he didn't know, though if she had come to say hello she was definitely very welcome.
"Who's this?" Maddi whispered. "That friend you were telling me about?"
"Yeah..." Link murmured. "He doesn't usually go in for this look, though."
"But he's..."
Link swallowed, and muttered a reply. "I know."
Maddi dropped to her knees in shock, closed her eyes, and started whispering to herself. Link could just about make out what she was saying. It sounded like a prayer.

Oni, on the other hand, was paying more attention to Cal. "I should have guessed you'd have returned," he remarked.
"What do you mean? Who are you? Returned? Well, I had to get out of that place, didn't I?" Cal was babbling. This person looked eerily familiar, somehow.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying!"

"Prove it. Come with me, shadow." Cal found himself powerless to resist Oni's tone of voice, and followed willingly.

-

"Get me a very large coffee and a cheese and tomato pizza. Then I'll be in the mood to talk," Link mumbled, sitting down. The adrenalin rush that had gotten him out of the fortress was wearing out.
Zelda smiled and sat down beside him. "Well, I've got a bottle of cola in my bag. Is that enough?"
"Nah, you know it just gets me hyper." Link paused. "On second thoughts, could you pass it here?"

His sister laughed and passed the drink over. "Okay. I sorta know one version of 'what'," she said, "but I've still to find out the 'why' and the 'how'. You still look bad... and who's that girl over there, anyway? And how did - you know, that guy - survive what happened at the warehouse?"
Link took a long slurp before he could even start to speak. "You know as much about 'why' as I do. As for the rest..." Slowly, he started to recount the events of the last few days, picking up speed as he went.

"You're telling me that shadow guy's actually..."
"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm telling you."
"But, did you see who he was working for? Oni said there's some sort of a Dark King on the loose, or something."
"He could have told me that before I got sucked into that damn place, couldn't he?" Link snapped, but not as resentfully as he might have in the past. For once, he couldn't stay angry at the immortal. And the fact that Oni was looking like a normal human again helped.
Link paused. "What 'Dark King'?"
"Ask him," Zelda remarked.
"Fine..." Link groaned, getting to his feet. Hey, over here! he yelled mentally. Got a moment?

I'm a bit busy here... the reply came. Ask me in ten minutes.
Thought you could sort time out, make it sooner.
I need my powers at full strength at the moment, thank you. I've... got something to sort out.
Fine... huh... I just wanted to ask you something...
About what?
About this bad guy you told Zel' about.
There was a pause before Oni responded. ...As I said, give me a few minutes. Then I'll explain everything.

It took some time before he reappeared. "There was something you wanted to ask me?" he remarked to Link.
"Yeah," Link replied. "Zelda says you know who's behind this."
"I have nothing more than an idea," Oni said, sighing. "But it's almost certain."
"Then who? She said it was some Dark Somebody."
"Yes. The Dark King." For a second, Oni looked aside. "My oldest enemy. His name is Ganondorf."

Link's mind instantly threw up the one place that he knew the name from. He'd spent long enough in contact with someone who called himself just that that it was as familiar as any of his real life friends' names. But he's not...
"What?" Oni snapped. "You already know him?"
Link gasped, as he realised that Oni had seen his thoughts. "It's not like that!" he half-yelled in shock. "He's a friend! I've known him for two years!"
"And you didn't tell me?!"
"You didn't ask! How was I supposed to know that the nickname of someone on the other side of the planet would be so critical! And it is just a nickname, too!"
"Names are important, Link..."
"He picked it out of a history book! He told me himself! His real name's Garry, right..."
"'Picked it out'? Are you sure he didn't just remember it instead? I know what I'm talking about here!" Oni's eyes flared white with anger.
"But I know the guy! Look, I'll get in touch with him as soon as I can, I'll show you that he's an okay person, he's not a Dark King or whatever!"

"We'll just have to see," Oni remarked, in a coolly annoyed tone of voice. He climbed aboard his cycle and left, leaving a rather confused Link behind.

-

A/N:

faints

Yep. The story's back on! Thought you'd got rid of me, din'tcha? Or thought I'd given up? Nope!
To any new readers - thanks for tuning in! To the old - thanks for coming back. I could put a million reasons to why I'd vanished for so long, but they'd be more trouble than they're worth. I'll just give three, and hope it's enough.

1) Writer's block.

2) College.

3) Am remaking the Many Faces Trilogy. Am only a chapter or two in, but it's gonna be worth the wait. (She says.)

Thank you to anyone who's given me any support over this story. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back on track now, though I currently have Plot Issues with the next chapter. If Things happen again, I can only apologise in advance, and I'll try to give warnings if I know there might be a holdup.

Cheers!

-H.B. ^_^