Section 6
The Dark One is Link!
Link slowly pulled the bloody knife out of his back and went to retrieve his sword. How was he going to find Chain? He would just have to find another shadow beast and ask it. Man, I should have asked that last monster before destroying it! I could search aimlessly in this abyss for days and not find Chain...As if presenting an answer to Link's question, one last shadow appeared in a hallway far in front of Link, in the opposite direction of the invisible wall. Link started to tiredly walk towards it, and to his surprise, it ran away. Link gritted his teeth and ran after it, a trail of slightly bloody water following him. The hallway, rather than looking like watery abyss as Link expected, was completely black. Link kept running for a few moments in darkness, until he came to realize the only sounds he heard were his own splashing and loud breathing. He stopped and listened for the footsteps of the shadow monster and heard nothing. He walked on slowly for a few minutes, following the black hallway in relative silence. As he walked on it became darker, until he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Link stopped suddenly as he felt rather than saw himself enter another room. He then sensed a prescence to his right and instinctively slashed in that direction with the Master Sword. He felt the sword cut something, then heard the unmistakable screetch of a dying shadow beast. I'm such an idiot! I just killed the shadow beast that could have told me how to get to Chain! Link growled to himself.
Silence. Blackness. Link saw and heard nothing as he stood, wondering what to do next. All I can do is walk forward and feel for a wall, but this could go on for a long time...should I call for my friends? Maybe I can put light magic in the Master Sword and use it to light my way...Link knew he probably wouldn't last more than a day with his cuts, all bleeding and turning his tunic red. He thought about bandaging them now, but before Link reached a conclusion, the 'lights' went on. That is, it became possible to see, even though there were no visible sources of light. Link saw before him the same misty abyss...and himself.
"Huh?" Link was surprised to find a mirror in front of him. He hadn't felt a wall...Link brushed his bangs out of his face, and his reflection copied every movement. Yet...there was something different about the reflection. Link gasped and took a step backwards. The reflection was not all cut up, it was perfectly unharmed! The reflection displayed a soul-freezing grin, and Link dropped his sword as the shade visciously kicked his hand and rushed forward.
-Now Link is mine! The fool stares at me, dumbfounded by my little mirror act. Taking full advantage of his surprise, I grip his throat with my right hand and position myself behind him. I use my left hand to grab his waist and hold him tightly before he can escape, then begin squeezing his neck. It's very satisfying, and I'm careful to crush just the right part of his neck, directly on the windpipe, because it would be no fun if I cut off his blood and made him numb to the pain. Yes, he won't get out of this one. 'I just want to play, Link...' I whisper softly in his ear, hoping to instill fear. I grin silently and lift him up a bit, making him stand on his toes so he can't get any leverage to fight me with. Of course the Hylian struggles against the oncoming suffocation, pulling on my arms with pathetic weakness, but he's no where as strong as me without the use of his gauntlets. His blood feels warm on my skin as it soaks through my tunic...yes, my warriors got him good. He doesn't have a chance.
I grin and squeeze harder, and he's completely silent because I'm cutting off all his air. Sweet revenge! He puts both hands on my strong hand, still trying to pull it off, but his efforts are completely useless. I feel him choke violently, and I enjoy every moment of it. This weak Hylian will never get in my way again. I hold him fast, and he shows surprising stamina, fighting my deadly grip for over a minute...and then he weakens. My anticipation rises as I feel the pulse in his neck slow, and I grip him tighter...He shudders and all struggling efforts cease. I know he will die soon...Well, if I'm going to talk to him, now's the time.-
Link could feel his body shutting down. Don't quit on me! he peaded, but still his sight darkened and his arms felt very heavy. Time seemed to slow with his pulse.
"Link." One word was all the man had to say, and Link immediately knew who his attacker was. Without whispering and echos the voice was very recognizable - it sounded just like his, but deeper and slightly older. It was laced with a very potent evil. It was Dark Link! But how was that possible? Link had defeated Dark Link and thought he was destroyed. Obviously he was wrong...but how did Dark Link manage to look exactly like Link? Last time he looked like a shadowy, metallic outline of Link. Could he change his apprearance at will? "I have returned to Hyrule...you remember me, don't you, Link?" Dark Link said, smiling and tightening his iron grip, making Link flinch in pain and choke. "I was nothing but a pathetic monster which you carelessly defeated and left for dead...I'm sure you're regretting your stupidity now, aren't you...? You're literally choking on your mistake!" Link's hearing wasn't so great and his mind began to wander (which was very irritating), but he could hear what Dark Link was saying. So, it seemed that Link hadn't done a thorough enough job when he fought Dark Link in the Water Temple before. Link's arms were no longer able to support their own weight, and dropped slowly to his sides. Link couldn't see anymore, so he closed his eyes. Dark Link's voice sounded very far away and distorted, as if under water. "Don't dispair, my friend. You wont be lonely where you're going...your friends will join you shortly." Dark Link drew a dagger from his boot and put it on the side of Link's neck.
Link was on the very edge of consciousness and couldn't feel much anymore, but he felt the tip of the dagger on his neck. He knew he was finished if he didn't so something, and fast. Light magic came to mind. Light magic would definately get Dark Link off him, but Link couldn't just summon it whenever he pleased. He could only channel it into his sword and arrows...sharp things! What if he could channel it into other sharp things as well? Link had never tried to put light magic into a dagger before. It was his only hope. Link's arm did not want to lift at first, but he forced it to, putting a hand on the cold blade poking the side of his throat. To his surprise, he found that he could put light magic in it! He heard a sizzling sound, and Dark Link instantly let him go, screaming and holding his hand.
Link sucked in a sweet breath and fell into the water, then managed to lift himself as his body recovered strength. His neck felt compressed and it was hard to breath, but it was infinately better than what it had felt like moments before. Coughing and breathing unevenly, Link remained on his knees and tried to recover for a moment. He then got to his feet and faced Dark Link, still breathing raggedly and feeling dizzy. Dark Link looked identical to Link. The Dark Hylian's hand was red and bleeding, as if it had been burned by fire. The dagger Link had used to burn Dark Link was under the water on the ground, beside the Master Sword. Link retrieved his sword and held it up at Dark Link threateningly.
"Where's Chain been taken to?" Link asked, his voice hoarse. Dark Link glared at him menacingly.
"Does it matter? You wont be seeing him again until you're both dead." Link tensed up, growling in anger.
"So Dark Link, you're the one who got me in trouble at the castle by trying to kill the King, and stealing the Sword of Darkness! You're the 'Dark One' who controlled Feelock and sent the black assasins after me!"
"Did it take you that long to figure it out, Link?" Before Link's eyes, Dark Link changed into his real self. His skin became darker, and his hair pitch black. All of his clothes turned black too, from his hat to his boots. His eyes turned a murderous shade of red, and his earings turned gold. The last time Link had met Dark Link, the warrior had been all black and silvery, with glowing red eyes. He had been a monster, but now Link thought he looked much more human. Dark Link drew the Sword of Darkness, grinning at his lighter self. His smile was freakier than any Link had seen. It was not giddy, beserking, or joyously ignorant. It was dark and purposeful, calm and happy, blissfully and confidently evil. It was a creepy mix of bloodlusting hate and twisted peacefullness. The mark of perfect insanity.
"I'm sure you must be suprised by the extent of my new powers, Hero of Fools. I am unbelievably strong, I can control minds and summon shadows, I can survive most lethal wounds that would easily kill a normal Hylian, and I can change environments or even my own appearance. I can look like this, like a metallic shadow...or just like you. Was everyone in the castle convinced that the Hero of Time had turned on them?" Dark Link asked with a short, mocking laugh. Link gripped his sword hilt tightly. "But it seems you have gotten stronger too, Link. I thought for sure that if you were in a land far away from Hyrule, without anyone to help you, you would be easy to defeat; especially with a powerful calwot and many shadow warriors at my disposal. I hadn't expected you to help the calwot escape my spell by apealing to its emotions. Very clever indeed. Not to mention you were kicking its tail without the aid of your insect-like fairy friend..." The expression on Link's face changed. Does Dark Link know where Navi is...? "I know I can defeat you here, though. Even if by some crazy chance you kill me, this abyss of water will fade with you in it. If you aren't crushed or dropped to your death by its collapsing, you'll be trapped in it forever if you don't get out quick enough, and you won't."
"Enough of this. Do you have a point to get across before I repay you for all the pain you've caused my friends and I?" Link asked.
"Impatient, aren't you? Don't you want to know where your little ball of light is?" Dark Link asked, eyes narrowing.
"You have Navi?! Where is she?!" Link asked, furious. He had been wondering where Navi was for a long time. At what point of time had she been captured by Link's devious shadow?
"Heh heh..." Dark Link made a gesture and said something inaudiable, and a small glass jar rose out of the floor, hovering in the air before him. There was a dimly glowing, tiny person with wings inside it. Link remembered the tiny voice that had been in his head earlier. Since Navi was his fairy partner, she had certain bonds with him. It was her thoughts he had been hearing.
"Navi!! You'd better let her go, Dark Link..." Link said, staring at his poor fairy partner. The glass jar she was in had one small hole in the cork lid for air, and the area of the jar was not even big enough for her to stretch her wings. She looked terribly unhealthy and sad. She seemed to be saying something, but the jar was magically soundproof.
"The only way to get her out of this magic jar is for me to willingly open it, or you could kill me. But, I doubt you have the power to do that, little Hylian," Dark Link said with a condescending smirk. He gestured upward and the jar rise until it was about forty feet up, then stopped and stayed in the air. "So what are you waiting for? If you beg very nicely maybe I'll open it for you..." Link showed Dark Link what he thought of that idea by swinging his sword at him. Dark Link raised the Sword of Darkness to easily block the blow. "Consider your options, Link. You're already gravely wounded. You can't beat me in this condition. You can at least beg for me to free your fairy before I kill you."
"I don't think so! Your overconfidence will be your downfall." The swordplay began, Link repeatedly slashing at Dark Link, and the Dark Hylian countering with blows of his own that were identical to Link's. It was the same frustrating technique Dark Link had used when they last fought. Link made the mistake of thrusting at Dark Link, and the evil man jumped up on Link's sword. He could only stay there a fraction of a moment or risk being zapped, so he quickly slashed Link's shoulder and backflipped off the sword. Ignoring the slash, Link did a quick, blue-fired spin attack, making his shadow back up and give him some space. Link then tried to jumpslash his adversary, but he simply dodged the slow attack and put a small cut in Link's leg. He's right...in my condition I'm much to slow to beat him. What can I do? I have to find a way to wound him and bring him down to my speed... Link remembered from his previous battle that Dark Link had more trouble matching his attacks if he alternated between vertical and horizontal strikes, so Link attacked that way. If Link was at his full speed he might have gotten past the Dark Hylian's defenses, but with a score of lacerations and a hole in his shoulder slowing him down, Link could not muster the needed quickness.
"Pathetic! Is this the extent of your abilities? I was hoping for more satisfaction. It seems my minions did their job too well." Dark Link began slashing at Link, alternating between horzontal strikes, vertical strikes, and quick thrusts. Link parried them all, surprising himself with his accuracy. Dark Link then smiled slightly and did something Link hadn't known he could do - a dark spin attack. After being powered up, the Sword of Darkness spewed dark purple flame-energy, which slammed into Link with jarring force. He flew through the air for ten feet and landed roughly in the water, a nice new bloody horizontal slash on his chest to join the rest. He groaned and staggered to his feet, holding his chest. Dark Link sprang at Link with a powerful jumpslash, and Link was barely quick enough to step aside. Giving the Dark Hylian no time to recover, Link elbowed him in the back and slashed at him in an upward diagonal arc, resulting in a large slash in his side. The force of the blow made the Dark Hylian spin and fall into the water. He got up slowly, holding his side and staring at Link expressionlessly. His hat had fallen off, and Link discovered that the Dark Hylian's hair was the same length as his own, down to the middle of his back.
Dark Link switched to serious mode and invoked the dark powers of his sword, making purple and black energy dance up and down the blade. Link responded by calling forth the evil-repelling powers of his sword, and it shimmered with whitish-blue light. The energy spread into his body as well, massaging him with soft vibrations and making him feel warm. The Hylian and Dark Hylian resumed their battle, alternating slashing and parrying. Each time their swords met, the opposing energies created a rippling shockwave. The wave of power made this an extremely tiring way to battle, but both Hylians continued slashing at eachother with amazing zeal. Finally Link aimed a very strong slash at Dark Link's chest and the Dark One blocked and pushed his sword against Link's, turning the swordplay battle into one of strength. Link and Dark Link stared into eachother's eyes as they forced their swords together, each one attempting to push the other back and off-balance. White-hot shards of light sprang from the meeting place of the blades, much hotter and brighter than ordinary sparks. The swords refused to meet any longer. The energy between them exploded. Both Hylian and Dark Hylian were thrown to their backs, and their swords were ripped out of their hands, flying far behind them.
Dark Link jumped up and ran at Link, who was just getting to his feet. Dark Link punched at Link, but the Hylian side-stepped and grabbed the Dark Hylian's arm. He then put the arm over his shoulder and flung Dark Link over his back, slamming him into the watery ground. Dark Link kicked Link's feet from the ground, tripping him. Then they both got to their feet, glaring at eachother and breathing hard. Link threw a punch at his shadow but the man caught it and punched the side of Link's face hard enough to make him stumble. He then hit the other side with suprising force, making the Hylian completely lose his balance and fall to the ground. Dark Link wasn't finished and grabbed Link's collar, dragged him to his feet, and punched his face again. Link didn't like hand-to-hand combat, and was thinking about his sword as he staggered backwards from the punch.
"Your blood will turn the waters red!" Dark Link shouted, and punched Link extremely hard in the stomach before the Hylian could recover. Link yelled in pain and doubled over, holding his stomach. A bit of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Grinning in evil success, Dark Link kicked Link's face, which hurled him onto his back, under the watery surface of the floor. Link accidentally opened his mouth under water and sat up, coughing. Dark Link decided to take a seat on the Hylian's stomach, pinning him. Link leaned up, keeping his head as far away from the water as possible, and Dark Link put his hands on Link's shoulders, pushing downward. Link looked up at the evil man's face, and discovered he was wearing the same creepy, insane, I'm-going-to-kill-you smile as earlier. Link glanced sideways to the left and saw his sword, much too far away to be reached. He put both his hands on Dark Links' and leaned forward with all his strength, but still Dark Link was forcing him closer to the water. "Heh heh...You're so cute when you struggle," Dark Link said, just to freak Link out. It worked, making it much easier to push him under.
Link held his breath and struggled violently, but the strength of Dark Link's arms and the weight on him was difficult to move. The Hylian belatedly remembered that he could now use his gauntlets' strength without wearing them. But still, he couldn't use them now that he couldn't take a deep breath (or any breath at all for that matter). Link kept struggling, but came to realize that there was no way Dark link would budge unless Link wounded him. Link reached up and took hold of the front of the Dark Hylian's shirt. Pulling him closer, Link socked him in the mouth. Dark Link was very strong, but not punch-proof. While he was distracted by putting a hand on his bleeding lip, Link managed to shove him off. Link rolled to the left, and in one smooth motion, grabbed his sword and sprung to his feet.
"Blast...I was really enjoying that. You ruined my fun." Dark Link said, feining a hurt look.
"I'll ruin more than that!" Link said said threateningly, raising his blade. "Eh...but aren't you going to pick up your sword first?" Link asked, hesitating. For some annoying reason the little voice inside that told him 'fighting a warrior without a weapon is unacceptable' could not be ignorred. Dark Link frowned.
"My, you're not very unsportsmanlike at all. Well, fine. I'll go get it so I can end your pathetically good life." Dark Link ran to get the Sword of Darkness. He found his dagger and hat on the ground and picked those up, too; then charged at Link and cut at his legs. Link jumped and brought his sword down, aiming for Dark Link's shoulder, but he was too fast and dodged it. Dark Link decided to punish Link for his slowness, and while his sword was down, kicked him in the throat. Link put both hands on his neck and coughed deeply, falling to his knees. Dark Link had kicked him pretty hard, and it took a few moments of choked gasping to recover. Dark Link simply hung back and smiled, every wheeze music to his pointy ears. When he decided Link had had enough time to recover, he raised his sword and tried to cut Link's head off. Link had seen it coming. He snatched his sword and backed out of the evil sword's way, then cut Dark Link's legs, giving him a couple small and painful slashes. Link was tired of the Dark Hylian's underhanded tactics and started attacking ferociously. Dark Link struggled to block the quick succession of blows, amazed that Link could still move so fast after being wounded a bunch. He growled as Link penatrated his defense and gave him a slash across his chest. He really wanted to kill him.
Dark Link aimed a slash at Link's neck and Link jumped back, barely dodging it. The strike did cut him, but not lethally. The small cut dripped a bit in the water, and Link was grateful for his stamina. If he hadn't had the energy to jump back and that blade had cut an inch deeper...Dark Link slashed at him again, but Link parried it and shoved Dark Link's sword back with his, throwing him off-balance. The Hylian then proceeded to put a large slash in Dark Link's upper left arm, his sword arm. The Dark Hylian dropped his sword and backed up, his right hand putting pressure on the deep laceration.
"I hate you. I'll kill you. I'll kill your friends." Dark Link threatened, and Link rushed forward to attack. However, he stopped mid-attack, remembering that Dark Link had no sword. "Predictable fool!" Dark Link growled, and gripping Link's outstretched arm, he put it over his shoulder and threw Link over his back, the very same attack Link had done to him earlier. Only this time there was a chunk of stone ruins where Link was thrown, and Link landed roughly on the broken slab of building. From his neck down he was submerged, but the nice thing about the stone was that it had kept his head out of the water. Dark Link immediately put a rough boot on his slashed up chest to hold him down, then drew his dagger and channeled dark energy into it, also the very same thing Link had done (except with light magic). He then placed it on Link's lower left chest and pushed it in slowly, listening to Link's screams with insane joy. Blackish-red blood spilled from the wound, turning the surrounding water deep scarlet. Dark Link had meant to stab Link's heart, but it just so happened he missed by a fraction of an inch and hit a lung. The dark energy was excruciating. It filled Link's whole body and soul with searing pain, and the Hylian ripped the dagger out of himself as quickly as possible. Then he called on the Platinum Gauntlets and punched Dark Link off him.
Link didn't know the strength of the gauntlets. Dark Link was hurled thirty feet through the air and landed with a loud splash. Link managed to find the strength to shakily raise himself and limp over to the Master Sword. Though the pain was burning every inch of him and Link could barely breathe, he retained just enough concentration to pick up the sword and call on its magic. The incredibly wonderful-feeling light power flowed into the wound, destroying the evil magic. It was still a grevious wound, though, and it was difficult for Link to stay on his feet. Dark Link finally got up, and Link was surprised at the damage. There was a deep, bloody punch mark on Dark Link's face, with red smeared all over the side of his head. It was a miracle that he hadn't broken Dark Link's jaw! But actually, it was more of a curse. Link and Dark Link stared at eachother, then, Chain showed up.
Section 7
A Temporary Conclusion, a Shaky Reunion
Link's brother walked out of a passageway to Link's right and far away, and Link turned toward him, amazed.
"Chain, you're okay!" Link yelled, and coughed a bit; blood dripping down his chin. His lung was going to slowly fill with blood at this rate. He was about to say more, than noticed a murderous look on Dark Link's face. "Chain, run! Quick, get out of here!" But it was too late. Dark Link cast some sort of spell that made a dark rope rise up from the ground under Chain, wrapping around his leg and holding him in place. Chain was already wounded and couldn't pull it off. Link ran/limped toward his brother, but Dark Link got there much quicker. Banishing the rope, he got behind Chain and held him still with one arm, while the other grabbed his face and twisted it far to the right. "Stop!" Link yelled, and Dark Link froze, smiling evily.
"Uh-oh, if I move his neck a little bit this way, it'll probably break..." He said quietly, twisting. Link remained where he was, knowing that if he moved, Chain was finished. Dark Link drew his sword and brought it close to Chain, but Chain bravely kicked it out of his hand. "Arg! Why you little..." Dark Link pulled his head back a bit more, making Chain and gasp in pain and grimace. "Dont even think about casting a spell, or I'll snap your neck like a twig..."
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!! I'm the one you want, Dark Link!!" Link shouted angrilly, the sight of Chain in such peril making him burn with rage. It was amazing that he could even shout; blood was tinting the water around him because of his punctured lung.
"Hm, did I strike a sensitive nerve, Link? Seems you really don't want me to hurt this wisp of a boy here." Dark Link said, the familiar evil smile playing on his lips. Link glared at him fiercely.
"What do you want?" Link asked, thinking that satisfying him might convince him to let go of Chain. Dark Link grinned widely.
"Hold the Sword of Darkness." He comanded.
"What?" Link didn't like the sound of that.
"Touch it or your brother dies!" The Dark Hylian said, pulling back a bit just to make Chain flinch. Link flinched as well.
"Okay! Just stop that." Link said. He sheathed the Master Sword and limped over to the Sword of Darkness. Its red gem glowed in anticipation. Link hesitated but a moment, then crouched down and put his right hand above the sword. Even from this distance, its evil was painful. Link wanted to save Chain. He gripped the hilt.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!" Holding the hilt of the evil sword was twice as painful as getting cut by it. Link felt ill-intentioned forms try to invade his mind, and his body was filled with so much black pain it was like being numb. It was the will of the sword, trying to either take over him or drive him insane. Link tried to throw the sword down, but his hand wouldn't open. It was destroying his palm, already little streams of blood were trickling into the water.
"Link!!" Chain screamed, seeing the sword assault him. Dark Link was distracted enough that Chain was able to shift his position and elbow him in the stomach. Chain wasn't particularly strong, but it hurt enough to make Dark Link mad. He jumped back and round-house kicked Chain's head, knocking him down onto a slab of ruined building and rendereing him unconscious. Dark Link then interestedly watched Link try to pry the Sword of Darkness from his own bleeding hand.
"Stupid sword...let go of me!!" Link yelled. It was pretty funny to Dark Link to see Link tell a sword to let him go when it looked like he was the one holding it, and he began laughing. Link's mind could only see blackness and evil, and he thought his body might explode if it took any more of this. This felt worse than being near death...it felt like he was near utter anihalation of his existance. Weak from the black energy burning him, Link stomped on the blade of the sword and ripped his hand off the hilt. He then collapsed with a groan, shaking convulsively and gasping for breath, almost not strong enough to hold his head above water. Dark Link strode to the Sword of Darkness and picked it up, looking down at his lighter, weaker (in his view) self. Link was holding his right wrist; his whole palm looked torn up and burnt and painted with blood. Dark Link smiled and calmly placed his booted foot on the hand. Link grimaced but couldn't do anything about it. He was still uncontrollably shivering in pain from the black power of the evil blade he had held. Dark Link held his sword about one foot above Link's face, point down.
"And now the weakest Link dies." The Dark Hylian said simply. Suddenly he was thrown forward and off Link, a barage of sharp leaves cutting up his back. He tripped and went face down in the water, then got up and slowly turned around, glowering at Chain, who had of course been the source of the attack. "You want to die, too? I'll be glad to help you accomplish your goal." Dark Link had quite a few wounds, not the least of which were the new slashes on his back, but he dashed suprisingly swiftly to Chain and gripped his neck. "Because you're such a pain in the neck...I'll give you one." Chain choked and put both hands on Dark Link's in an effort to pull the strong thing off, and Dark Link raised his sword to finish him. Unluckily for Dark Link, Link had been watching, and his anger and desire to protect his brother had just boiled over. Link leapt to his feet and yanked his sword out of its sheath. Imediately the sword was shining with a greenish-bluish-whitish light, which spread up Link's arm and all over his body. Finding some strange inner abilities he had never tapped in to, Link easily jumped over the twenty feet of ground between him and Dark Link. He brought the Master Sword down in a powerful diagonal strike, giving Dark Link a deep, light-filled slash down the side of his body, from his shoulder down to his thigh. Screaming in terrible pain, Dark Link was hurled to the ground, away from Link and Chain.
"Are you okay?" Link asked his little brother, who was massaging his throat.
"Yeah, I'm okay.." Chain looked up at his brother's face in amazement. "Link, you're glowing..." Link didn't have time to respond; the Dark One was rising. He was now shaking with the effort it took to get to his feet, a hand on his lacerated side. He spit some blood and smiled creepily at Link.
"An angel, a winged angel...you make me sick. You want to play with the heavy artillary? I'll play with you..." Dark Link's sword had dropped next to where he had landed, and he picked it up. The light magic faded from his wound and he and his sword did the opposite of glowing. They sucked the light out of the air around them, with pure dark magic. Link and Dark Link lunged forward, staring into eachother's eyes. Deep, beautiful blue locked on to empty, murderous red. Then their swords clashed. It made a shockwave that threw Chain off his feet, and the poor Hylian put an arm over his head to protect him from the next emensely powerful wave. Link and Dark Link remained locked in battle for the next few minutes, furious, jagged pieces of energy flying from their blades and disturbing the water around them. They began to attack and parry at a very fast rate, creating so much energy that Chain couldn't watch. Then, abruptly, it stopped. Chain heard gasp choked with fluid. Was that Link? He couldn't tell which warrior was wounded. As the light faded he lowered his arm, fearing the worst...but his fears were not confirmed. Link and Dark Link stood facing eachother. The Master Sword was stuck through the right side of Dark Link's stomach.
Dark Link's breath gurgled from the blood in his throat and he sunk to his knees, his head bowing. Link pulled his sword out slowly. At first, he was terrified. Had he killed Dark Link? Then he remembered what Dark Link had said about surviving most lethal wounds that would kill a Hylian. Had he been bluffing?
"Somewhere far away..." Dark Link coughed mid-sentence, his voice thick with pain. "...we will...meet again, Link." Dark Link and the Sword of Darkness began to fade. Their black outlines dissappeared out of the land of Hyrule, the evil Hylian's voice echoing on the still air.
The aura around Link faded as well, and his former pain returned. Groaning, Link fell over.
"Link! Man, are you okay? You did it!" Chain leaned down and put an arm around Link's shoulders to support him. Chain heard glass breaking and looked up. Directly above him, a jar had shattered, and a little ball of light with wings drifted down. Link was a little busy trying to breathe, so Chain caugth the small thing in his hand. "Whoa, it's a fairy..." Chain muttered.
"Fairy? Is that you, Navi?" Chain held the fairy up to Link's face and she hugged his cheek, crying. She was just as unhealthy-looking as Link, and they were both shaking with weakness and fatigue. It was a pathetic, heart-warming sight. "I missed you, my partner." Link said.
"Yeah." Navi said, not needing to say anything else. She crawled into the folds of Link's hat.
"Let's get out of here," Link said, trying to rise. He stood up, swayed a moment, then would have fallen if Chain didn't support him. Chain took Link's arm and put it behind his neck and over his shoulder, helping Link walk. They walked out the way Chain had come, because Chain said it led all the way back to the room he had been dragged out of by the shadow monsters.
"How did you manage to live through getting captured by the shadows?" Link asked quietly.
"Well, I woke up when they were pulling me along in the water and I got out of their grasp, then cast some slowing spells on them. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before! It was very effective, and I was able to defeat them both. I wandered around for a while until I heard some yelling and found my way to where you and that demon were."
"Excellent. Nice work defeating them, Chain." Link said, his blood-encrusted lips smiling.
"No...I've been nothing but a burden to you...getting captured by those things and then getting threatened by Dark Link..."
"Are you kidding? I would be dead right now if you hadn't come along. Friends can be very stressful to bring along on adventures, but I've come to realize that I lean heavily on them. I couldn't have done it without you or Zelda or Taig. Your help is invaluable to me. Thanks for coming with me." Link said, sounding very tired and turning very pale as he choked on blood. The Hylians hadn't noticed, but a dark trail of blood-tinted water was following them.
"Your welcome." Chain said. Link suddenly shuddered and went limp, and the sudden increase of weight almost caused Chain to drop him. "Link? Are you alright, Link?!" The warrior was unconscious. "Link, hang on! You can't die yet! We'll find Zelda and she can heal you! Don't give up!" Chain heaved Link unto his back. He hadn't known his brother was so heavy! Link was not a light Hylian. Chain trudged along, listening carefully to his brother's slow, shallow breathing. Don't stop breathing...Chain prayed, using all his strength to hold up the Hero of Time and walk.
As he walked on, the formerly sturdy, abyss-shrouded walls began to blacken and collapse. What was was going on? Was the place going to cave in on them? Chain gasped as a black hole opened before him from the floor simply falling into nothingness. Water rushed into it and Chain walked by, trying to increase his pace. For ten long minutes he walked along, breathing heavily from the strain. Pieces of floor dropped away and ceiling and wall fell, and there were only a few more places with deceptive watery wasteland illusion still on them. Chain heard nsound of living things like Taig or Zelda and was completely lost because of the altering landscape. Water was rushing and Link's breath was slowing. Time was passing and walls were shifting. Chain was tiring and hope was lessening. A soft voice lightened the harshness of it all.
Section 8
Escape the Temple!
"Chain! Link! Where are you?" It was Zelda's voice. Silently thanking whoever was watching out for him, Chain broke into a run, calling to Zelda. His legs felt like they were about to fall off as he turned a corner and found her. She was standing next to Taig in her Sheik clothes, and they were both unharmed. "Chain! Thank goodness we found you!" She gasped in shock as she looked at Link. The warrior's blood was soaking Chain's back, and he was still unmoving. "Link! Is he..."
"I think he's still alive." Chain said, kneeling down and putting Link on the ground. The ground was no longer submerged in water; it had all drained away through holes in the floor. Chain lifted Link's wrist, feeling for a pulse. "Yeah, he's fi...wait..." Chain held his breath for several tense moments. Was he feeling a pulse? He thought he was, but it was so very faint he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not. Sheik ran over and kneeled, placing both hands on Link's red chest. Her hands glowed a soft white, and the magic flowed into Link, healing most of his wounds and restoring most of his blood. By the time she was done, he had only a few scratches and bruises but still hadn't moved.
"Link, please wake up..." Zelda leaned over him and put a hand on his cheek. His eyes flickered open and slowly focused.
"Hello, princess." He said, smiling at her pleasantly. She smiled back, not needing words to express her joy, and stood up. Chain offered Link a hand. He took it and got up. "Ohhh, my head hurts..." Link said, putting a hand on it. But, this was not the time to worry about it. The building was dissappearing around them. "Thanks for healing me, Zelda. Thanks for helping me, Chain...and Taig...glad to see you! Let's get out of this place!" Everyone nodded and Link dashed down the hall, his friends and brother following. They had to dodge several holes opening in front of them, simply running in the general direction that they thought led out.
"Link, wait! I remember this place. We have to go this way!" Taig shouted, pointing down a branching, disintegrating hallway.
"Alright. C'mon, guys!" Link and the other two Hylians ran after Taig, trusting in his dragon memory. It felt strange... running around in a warping, darkening, collapsing place that didn't really exist. They knew they were supposed to be in the Water Temple, but nothing looked familiar or real. Taig heard a loud cracking sound above and stopped running, looking up. The ceiling was shifting, breaking free of whatever was holding it up. The Hylians also stopped and looked up, at the huge thing they knew would come crashing down. It would have been easy to run out of the way if it were a piece of ceiling, but it seemed like the whole thing would break.
"I can't stop that!" Zelda yelled worriedly over the loud cracking and grinding noises. Even a dragon prince would be crushed by that huge slab of rock, or whatever it is...I don't know what it's made out of, but it looks heavy! Taig thought.
"Run!" He yelled, but Link put a hand on his shoulder.
"No, don't run! Get close together, next to me!" He said loudly.
"What? We'll all be killed!"
"Have a little faith, Taig! I can protect us!" His voice was nearly drowned out by the ceiling finally giving out. As it began to fall, dragon and Hylians gathered next to the Hero of Time. The Master Sword flared up with a large amount of red energy. Link made a stabbing motion at the huge, black thing falling down, and the red energy zoomed off his sword, tearing into it. There was a huge explosion and the sound of tons of mass slamming into the floor, then silence as the rubble settled. Link and his friends stood in a hole in the fallen roof, made by Link's blast. All around them, huge pieces of black stone lay in ruins.
"That was scary." Zelda said, and Chain nodded.
"Hah! I knew all the long that Link could do that! The Great Taig just knows these things!" The dragon said loudly.
"You're not fooling anyone. Give it a rest, Taig." Chain said, and Taig glared at him.
"This isn't the time for that, guys! If we don't get out of here quick, Dark Link said we'll be sealed here forever." Link took off running again, Zelda and Chain following close behind. Taig brought up the rear, still a little irritated at Chain. None of them stopped to look up, but if they had, they would have seen an empty space of blackness, holding nothing and leading to Dark Link's world. All the black holes in the floor lead to Dark Link's world. A misty dimension was dissappearing from the Water Temple, collapsing and taking anything with it that it could. The Hylians and dragon prince ran on.
We have to run faster! If we don't get out of here, all our efforts will have been in vain...Link thought urgently. He was quite tired, but made his body move faster. Unfortunately, a huge, gaping black chasm was opened under all three Hylians as the floor fell away. Taig acted fast. As the floor beheath the Hylians vanished, he lunged at their feet, his strong muscles making him shoot like a big, red bullet. He got under them and spread his wings, flapping and getting above the hole.
"Wow, that was close!" Link said, holding onto Taig's shoulders and looking down into the pit of nothing.
"Okay, maybe you really are great, Taig!" Chain admitted.
"That's right! The Great Taig to the rescue! What would you Hylians do without me?" Taig flew to the other side of the chasm and landed (he had excersized a lot in the past months and was now eaisly strong enough to carry all three). "Zelda, remember when you told me you only have enough mana to cast one small spell right now because you used it up against the shadows we fought and healing Link? Cast a haste spell on me! I know where we are, I can get us out of here!" Zelda quickly did what Taig said, using the last bit of her regenerated magic to make Taig super speedy. "Hold on, Hylians!" Taig yelled, and dashed down the hall, all three people on his back clinging to his back so they wouldn't fly off. The dragon was extremely fast with the spell on, and flew over many holes and under chunks of falling ceiling, his stong body easily bearing the weight of three humans. After about three minutes of arduous dashing, the scenery abruptly changed. Taig came to a wall of mist and plunged into it, then skidded to a stop (The Hylians almost fell off from the abruptness), not able to see anything. "W-what now? Are we trapped forever?" The dragon asked. He backed up to where he thought he had last seen collapsing building, but there was nothing other than more mist.
"If we are, there's nothing we can do about it. If we're not, we need to hurry! I suggest we keep moving." Link said. Taig nodded and ran ahead, but his haste spell was fading. It had not been a very powerful one because Zelda had used her power to heal Link earlier. Ahead, there seemed to be a light. It was more like white fog, but it was something to shoot for, so Taig ran at it. He was slowed down to his normal speed, but he managed to catch the shrinking light. It wasn't a light at all, it was a hole! Taig quickly leapt through it before it closed. The Hylians and dragon were suprised to find themselves in the Water Temple. They were right next to the entrance. Taig looked behind him wonderingly. There was a peice of mist floating in the air which soon faded. Then there was nothing but the temple. It was a nice, nostalgic place to Link, but he was eager to get out and get back to the castle, where he could feed Navi and help her get her strength back.
"Wow, I bet that last bit of mist was the dimension closing. We just barely got out!" Zelda said. All three Hylians thanked Taig then went silent, hearing a whisper from nowhere.
"-We will cross swords again, Link...-" All was silent and the three left the temple. Yes we will, Dark Link, and I look forward to it! Link thought as he and his companions returned home, flying over the beautiful Hyrule field.
The sun was dipping behind the horizon, flaring in brilliance before it was completely gone. The bright reds, oranges and pinks spread on the clouds above were being watched by two Hylians. Zelda and Link stood together on the balcony of Zelda's room, reflecting on their battles.
"So, Link...you drove your sword through him. Do you think he's never coming back? He should be dead...."
"Because he's kindof a shade, I think he survived by leaving this demension. I think he's dead here, but alive somewhere else. I know that sounds wierd, but I think it's true. He said we would meet again...does that mean I'll leave this dimension someday?" Link thought on it, wondering what kind of adventure would await him in a new world.
"Are you kidding? How could you possibly travel dimensions? We don't even know if they exist! All we know is that in this universe, there are other worlds like the Sacred Realm and Termania. But, they are too close to us to actually be sepparate dimensions, aren't they?"
"I dunno. After I beat Ganon's Shadow in the Forest Temple, he 'sent it to the gap between demensions'. They must exist...oh, I'm just confusing myself. Anyway, the point is, I don't think Dark Link is ever going to be seen in Hyrule again."
"I hope you're right," Zelda said, inching closer to Link. "Beautiful sunset, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Link said, oblivious to her inching. She inched until she was right up against him, then he looked over to her. "Eh...what are you doing? Cold or something?"
"Yeah." Zelda said, resting her head on her hands and gazing at Link. His eyes are so blue and pretty, She thought. They remind me of the sacred realm, of the Ocarina of Time...
"Well, the sunset's over. Guess we should go inside." Link said, and quickly walked into the castle. Zelda watched him go, not moving. She made an unpleasant face. Foiled again! Will that guy ever show any loving emotions? She didn't know that while she was admiring Link's eyes, he had been doing the same thing. Zelda looked up at the stars, feeling frusterated and lonely.
Hello there . thanks so much for readin, and plz review! btw I like to respond to everyone who reviews, so plz sign in or put your author name so I can contact you. Hehehe, how many of you thought the Dark One was going to be Ganondorf? mwahahaa. But don't worry, he'll make his apprearance soon enough. As usual contact me if you want pictures of the fic and I'll tell you how to access them on deviantart. Preview of the next story? oh, all right. After helping rebuild a shop, Link goes with a friend to the Ethereal Forest on a mission for the King...and something terrible happens to his friend and himself. Before anyone can blink, Hyrule is thrust into a war against a blackness that would envelope them all. Bye, now -Talonclawfange