A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A Pair of Time
Chapter 62- Nocturne of Shadow, Part 1
Kakariko Village; Day
I must… I must be free… I must… find… a body… to free… my shadow…
"Hey, Joey!" a kid, no more than ten, calls to his friend. Joey hears his buddy, running over to him standing by the Well.
"What, Donote?"
"I feel like doin' a dare!" Donote peers down the Well. "I heard the old man's well is haunted!"
"That's because it is haunted, Donote!" Joey corrects. "You haven't heard all those creepy sounds coming out of this thing?"
"Joey, I dare ya! I dare you to go down this Well and stay there for five minutes, touching Impa's seal!"
"I ain't crazy enough to do that!"
"Do it!" Donote smirks at his friend. "Or else I'll tell my older sister you have a crush on her!"
"I DON'T have a crush on her!"
"Whatever! I always see you staring at her whenever she's around!"
"Stupid! I was staring at your little sister!"
"You got a crush on my little sister?"
"No!" The young boy starts to blush. "I… I don't!"
"I'll tell her! I'll tell her if you don't go down this Well!"
"… Fine! Whatever! I'll go down there!"
Joey pauses as he begins his descent, then urges his limps to keep his body going downward. His whim to make his climb a long one ends in a shortened version; the dry, crispy bottom cradles his feet in what he felt to be mere seconds. Turning around, he faces the dull, gray wall that seems to be a concrete rendering of a Skulltula's ball of web, and probably with respect to odor, too. The smell provides the sudden cold air around him, cold and dry. He emanates a shudder, flashing back a memory where he was challenged also by Donote to enter the House of Skulltula and stay in the center of the building for a while. He encountered the main resident there, terrifying the daylight out of him with his ghastly appearance. Even though he faintly remembered that the Skulltulas of the house were actually a cursed family, he still would never go into their home again. His horror is brought about again whenever a spider lazily crosses his view. He always freaked at their presences, giving his friends, especially Donote, a good laugh. They already moved on to fishing fakes of these arachnids in front of his face. They even go so far as to put these rubbery objects in his personal things behind his back. Donote, especially him, always seem to be the one leading everybody to scare the wits out of him, whether it be spiders in his underwear, or daring him to do these outrageous acts.
"After this, I ain't going to do his stupid dares anymore," Joey said to himself. "If he wants to see them, then he'll have to do it himself. He's just nothing but a pushover, all talk and no action."
The boy steadily moves forward and places his hand on the seal, a seal created by the great Impa to lock in the evil that walks the shadows of the Well's interior. He remembered it so well, for he was one of the audiences that saw the Sheikah concoct the enchantment. He remembered the Kakariko citizens murmuring about a monster that escaped the clutches of hell, and that it planned to reenter the world of the living via the Well that one of the prosperous had haunted. That is, until Impa ruined its aim with her spell. The Well is deep enough to reach the border of the underworld, and so it provided the best gateway to the overworld. He didn't realize until later that the Shadow Temple was holy, so it could not serve as a portal. However, one had spoken that it does source one of the few flows of darkness into Hyrule, so it's a haven for a creature such as the one trapped in the Well. Until then, Impa guards the temple from entrance, but she has been long since missing ever since she entered for an investigation.
But that's long past. The evil is sealed in the Well, and it could not get out.
Unless Ganondorf, maddened by the progress of the Heroes of Time, has decided to intervene to halt their awakening of the Shadow Sage. And he schemes to lend the sealed phantom enough power to break into the light of Hyrule. All the darkness needs now is a body to transfuse through, one that is in contact with the barrier. Then it can traverse the land above, contaminating whatever is shining light to suit itself with an environment where the shadows swallow all.
And this boy shall yield the egress it needs.
"Is this enough?" Joey shouts to his companion above.
"It's only been three minutes!"
He groans as he glances back at his hand. Two more minutes until he can climb out of this morbid hole. He taps an echoing rhythm while fixing his eyes on a freckle on his index finger.
"A freckle?" Joey squints to view it closer. "I don't remember having a freckle there… Don't remember having a freckle that black either…"
He suddenly gasps and his eyes grow wide as the speck enlarges in a rapid pace. It spreads quickly from the origin until Joey's whole hand is devoured by an oily black color. He tries to pull away, but to his shock, his hand remains stuck against the seal, which now is succumbing to the same, adulterating hue that is manifesting. He looks on at his arm, channeling the darkness from his hand to his body. Everything below his neck disappears under the veil of black, and he fears the cloak will soon cover his head. In his terrified state, he hears a low, but loud moan, one of impure sound. Joey's eyes bring him to the seal again, this time having more than the swarthy color. An eye, immense in size, gazes intently back at him. Its redness, along with its strangely patterned, orange pupil, seem to hold a life in them, yet at the same time, disposes any thought of a living beholder.
The world… The world will… never… shine again… You… You shall be… lost… from your light…
As its dark composition consumes the boy's head, Joey's scream blasts through the Well, signifying the people of Kakariko that the evil of the dead has risen from its grave.
--
Hyrule Field
"Aw, darn it!" Malon grumbles as she scours through her pack. "I forgot to pack in our lunch!"
"Again?" Link rolls his eyes. "Isn't that the third time you've forgotten?"
"Aw, shut up." The redhead secures her inventory away. "Looks like we'll hafta eat in a pub again…"
"It better not be Johnny's Cabin again," the young man in green said as he ambulates up the stairway into Kakariko Village. "His food was… repugnant."
"I didn't choose that place, you did!" Malon retorts as she follows.
"Well, remind me to avoid that place next time."
"I know a good place: Rolante's Wing. It's a pretty friendly place, and it serves good food."
"Okay, Rolante's Wing, it is."
Kakariko Village
"Hey… Something's wrong here."
"I think I can see that clearly, fairy boy."
A fire has started out in the village and is incinerating almost half of the settlement's buildings, mostly those near the center. Smoke is choking the air, and it doesn't help to know that villagers are running around screaming instead of dousing out the problem.
"C'mon!" Malon dashes ahead. "We hafta help them!"
Link is about to chivy when Navi fazes out and stops in her tracks. "Navi?"
"Oh, goddess… Oh, my goddess…" The fairy shirks her movements, then droops. Her breathing quivers as she tries to flutter again.
"Navi, what's wrong!" He settles her onto his hands.
"No…" she utters. "I… I don't… I don't want to… go back…"
"Go back? Go back to where?"
"The… The… The darkness… The… The… sh… shadows…"
"What?"
"No!" his fairy cries shrilly. "Take me away! Take me away! Away to anywhere! Anywhere… but here…!"
"Navi, why? What about the shadows?"
"I… I don't… I don't want to… face them… Take me away… Link… Take me… away… Please… don't let me… go back…" She still quavers in his hands.
"Goddess, your past…" Link glimpses up, still seeing the flames scorch away into the households of Kakariko. "Navi…"
"Link… please… don't… don't let me… don't let me go back… Pro… Protect me… Protect me, Link… I… I don't want to go back…"
"Navi…" He looks back down at her, still shaking. "I promise I won't let you go back. I'll protect you… from the darkness." Holding her close, he runs up to where Malon is, standing near the Well with a person too familiar to him. "Sheik?" They both stand with their eyes locked onto the Well. "What the…? What's going on?"
When they both didn't answer, doubts and fears begin to surface in Link. "Mal, what's going on? Why are you two… standing here… like… you've… done this…? Someone answer me! Sheik! What's happening? Did you do this?"
Without turning around, the Sheikah replies imperatively, "Get back, Link…"
"What?"
"It's coming…"
"What's coming?"
Malon turns to face him. "Link, we have to get back! Sheik can take care of this!"
"What's going on, Malon?"
"… Look." She points at the structure. "… Look in the Well…"
Peering inside, Link cannot see anything down there, for there is nothing but blackness infesting the bottom. However, something red flashes through the endless ebony, startling him back. "Wha… What is that!"
"A creature…" Sheik explains. "An unspeakable spirit from the depths of legends that had remained dormant in this Well for years… waiting… biding for the right time to awaken…"
"Let's stop it, then!"
"We cannot… It has taken hostage an innocent."
"Where?"
"In its hold down there. A boy… Not even an adult yet…"
"Well, what can we do?"
"We must… meet its demands."
"… Which is?"
"Its liberty. Its freedom to spread its pollution. Its power to ravage all… in its absolute darkness…"
"Link!" Malon grabs him by the arm. "We hafta go!"
"But…" Link almost resists, "we can't just leave Sheik by himself to… to fight off this… thing!"
"Link, it's okay! He can take care of himself!"
The Heroes of Time almost head down the stairs away from the Well when suddenly Navi stops shuddering in Link's hand. "It is time," she declares.
"Time?"
The ground quickly follows to shake underneath them. The large stocks overlooking the Well groan as they are slowly pulled from the earth. Once out, the frame flies upward into the sky, spinning around until it flimsily lands next to the stairs.
"Oh, damn…" the redhead comments.
"What… What is this…?" Link asks in awe, then notices that the dusty clouds above are starting to pour heavily.
Navi abruptly emits a loud gasp, then announce, "The embodiment of darkness… has come."
The air hastily freezes as if warmth is being sucked dry. A presence of powerful, terrifying energy lurches into the atmosphere, its location coming from within the Well. An invisible projection of itself arrives, exiting its prison and meeting its opposition. Sheik, unable to discern where the creature is, braces himself in defense, causing the Heroes of Time to look back at the trepidation. The Sheikah suddenly is flown off his feet, tightening and groaning to what looks like a clamp over himself.
"Sheik!" they both cry.
After waving its adversary around to inflict pain, it throws Sheik away. He yells while soaring, and groans again when he lands a sickening fall behind the stairs. Malon and Link take off after, kneeling down to him to check his injuries. All the while, the monster inside the Well buys this time to slip away. Its swarthy mass rides the surface of the overworld, shifting over dirt and brick alike as it explores the place it so long desire to infect.
"Damn it!" Link stands up, his eyes following the creature moving like water around the village. "Mal, hold Navi for me."
"What… What are you gonna do, Link?" she asks while taking the unconscious fairy into her aid.
"Going to see…" He pulls out his armaments, "how tough this thing really is."
"What? No, Link!"
The hero takes a few steps forward, never leaving his gaze on the fleeting shadow. As soon as he becomes aware of its path heading towards him, he puts his shield up and begins charging up the Master Sword.
Let's see it take on my Spin Attack!
"Uhh…" Sheik, grasping onto awareness, quickly puts a hand up. "Link, no!"
Link opens his mouth, breathing out his battle cry as he prepares to assail this monstrosity. Just when he is about to release his energy concentrated in the sword, the shadow's celerity suddenly increases. Before he even realizes it, Link's vision is darkened to a pitch-black and everything has gone cold as well as his body. He's not numb however, as excruciating pain bend and break his body at the monster's will. He cries in this harrowing seizure, unable to move or even see. All he can feel is an ineffable torment beyond that he has ever felt. Soon, he cannot hear anything, not Malon's scream, not Sheik's struggle, not even the individual raindrops crashing onto the land. He couldn't even hear his own voice yelling anymore. At these points, Link finally loses his hold on his consciousness.
--
Night; Wolf cry
The darkness… Ha ha ha… I thought you could handle it…
What…? Link replies. Who… Who are you…?
Forgotten me so soon, have you?
A sting abruptly sends a remembrance back into his mind. You're… You're my dark side!
Correct. I see you haven't at least gotten any dumber.
… What do you want? he asks irritatingly, with a tone of defense.
Eh, to carry on my punishment.
Punishment?
You know, I tried to take over you?
But… I defeated you… right?
Yeah… so, for failing my chance to dominating you, I have to make up by doing this retribution.
But isn't going away punishment enough?
Not really… I may have forgotten to tell you this, but without your dark side, what would the light side be, hmm?
Uh… good?
I stand corrected again. I guess I should expect that from you.
Just get on with the point.
Even though dark and light cannot mix, we cannot… separate, if you can say that. It's kind of like a scale. The two elements have to be equal, one cannot outweigh the other.
… Or?
The side that comes out on top will consume you, and you'll lose your conscience. Can't see what's right or wrong anymore… Can you imagine Rauru, the Sage of Light, going around Hyrule on a rampage? Whatever seems to be a hint of darkness, he will destroy. That's why even he, guardian of the light, needs darkness within himself to 'settle' his internal disputes. We all need darkness to counter the light, and vice versa.
So… Ganondorf…
Oh, yes. I'm afraid he shut out his light side. See? He's now a madman, trying to diminish any hope from light. There's balance in everything, my light side. Even light… needs darkness…
But what about you? Why did you try to spread nothing but darkness in me the time before?
Because… you nor your light side will exist, so there's no problem, is there?
What?
You are a beholder of light and darkness, and only you will go insane if one outdoes the other. I'm not the beholder, am I? So, I won't go crazy… Well, maybe if I see any light around. It's so simple, I can't believe even YOU can't understand this.
Well, all I want to do is stick to my light side, so I don't care about it.
Ha ha… Suit yourself.
Now… what is this punishment you were talking about?
Oh, let's just say the goddesses have mercy on me, since I'm YOUR dark side. All I have to do is to guide you and your pretty, little friend around the Shadow Temple until you awaken the Shadow Sage. Then, I'm clean.
Is that so…? You're not going to deceive us or anything, are you?
Ha ha ha, if I did, then I get an eternity of torment in hell, all sponsored by the great Divine Trinity themselves.
Oh… That's pretty bad.
I really don't have a choice. I'm still trapped in this corner that you put me in, and I'm being threatened by divinities.
You know… I think I'm starting to pity you.
Don't make me laugh. In this world, we, the people of the shadows, always get the crappy treatment. Nobody pities the darkness. It's all about the light. Yeah… Oh, look! There's light! Let's praise it like it's the ruler of us all!
Well… then why can't I change it a little bit and feel sorry for you?
Because… you won't.
What do you mean I won't?
As you said before, you would rather stick to your light side. That's enough to tell me.
Just because I said that doesn't mean I don't feel sympathetic for you. I mean, I believe that nobody should suffer, unless it's written by Fate for one to die without compassion. I see you, and I hear what you've been through, and what situation you're in. Don't I at least have the right to commiserate?
… Shut up. You and your stupid morality…
Fine, but I still will be able to pity no matter what you say.
Aw, boo-hoo. You're making me cry. A person who cares about his dark side. He doesn't want to surrender to it, yet he feels sorry for his darkness for going through this much… You jackass. You're the sorriest guy I've ever seen in this damn world.
So, you're admitting that you want me to care?
Shut the hell up. Just get this temple over with so I can rest easily without the goddesses watching my back.
"Hey, I think he's coming around!"
"Sure looks like it."
Link finds his lungs taking in a deep amount of air, then releasing them. He opens his eyes midway, seeing Malon's body sitting on a bed he's laying in. What almost starts him is another figure, seating herself on the other side. He fully lifts his eyelids to find his comrade on the right. On the left, however, a girl, guessed to be his age, looks at Link with curious, hazel eyes. Her loose, sepia clothing of worn nature suggests she's a bartender of sorts. Her smooth, straight hair shimmers in a color of green, slightly deeper than Link's tunic. Held back by a relaxed ponytail, the girl's head is covered with a small kerchief.
"How ya doing, fairy boy?" Malon asks.
He isn't aware of the burning pain all over his body until he tries to sit up. "Urgh…"
"Hey, hon." The girl pushes him softly back on the bed by his shoulder. "I think a beatin' like that needs more rest, doncha say?"
"Ugh…" Link lies back, then takes in his surroundings. A rather comfy bed is supporting him in a room that almost represents one provided by an inn. A two bedroom, with a black stove near the door and a candle on the nearest night table that seems fresh. A window notifies Link that it's still pouring heavily. It also shows he has long been unconscious, for it discloses dusk giving away to night. "How long… How long was I…?"
"About six to seven hours," Malon grimly answers.
"What… What happened when… that thing got me?"
"It…" The redhead's lowers her face. "It… got all over you, Link. Your whole body… was covered by it. You were screaming… and weltering in pain… I… I didn't know what to do. I panicked… screaming while you were getting hurt… Sheik… He came up… and he drove the monster away."
"Oh…"
"He disappeared chasing after the monster, to the Graveyard. I didn't know what to do, we didn't have any medical supplies, and I called for help. And…" She looks up to the girl on the opposite side, "luckily, she came along."
"How're you doing?" the girl speaks. "The name's Julie."
"She owns Rolante's Wing!" Malon smiles. "Ain't that lucky?"
"Sure is…" Link replies. "Thank you for your help."
"Aw, there's nothin' to it, sugar. I saw what 'appened, and I can't leave ya be like that."
"Well, thank you, Julie."
"Ya welcome." She stands up and paces over to the night table, where sits a bowl of water and a washcloth nearby.
"Where's Sheik?"
"I haven't heard from him after we got here," Malon answers.
"You don't think he…?"
"I don't know, but I hope not." She then heads for the door. "Um… I'm gonna go outside to check things. The rain took care of the fire, but there're still problems. This monster is about and it's frightening the villagers. I need to assure them everything's okay."
"All right… Wait. Malon, where's Navi?"
"Oh, she's in your hat on the table. She's still unconscious, though. I'm worried about her. I think the darkness swarming this area is making her sick."
Link glimpses at his limp hat on the table, seeing a bright bulge in the middle. "Navi…"
"I think she's gonna be okay, Link. It's just… this temple is not suited out for her."
He sighs. "The goddesses bless her…"
"Yeah… I'll be back up soon, okay?"
"Okay."
The redhead is soon gone behind the door, leaving Link alone with Julie. The bartender wrings the cloth to remove excess water, then walks over and sits on his bed again. "So… you're Link, are ya?" she questions while dabbing his temple.
"Yes."
"Hmm…Ya must be brave to take on that thing, hon."
"Well, I… It's… It's nothing…"
"Aw, you're a cutie pie, doncha know that?" The cloth slips down to his cheek. "Strong, courageous, modest… You sure are a man, sugar."
"Uh…" Compliments aren't exactly Link's strong points. "I… I… I-I guess…"
"Mmm… Lotta gals would chase ya, sugar. They 'mire a man like you…"
"I… I'm not… really…"
"You're… handsome… I think they won't chase ya if ya aren't…"
The barrier holding back his redness fails and Link's cheeks blush pinkly. "H… H-Handsome?"
"Mmm-hmm…" She guides the wet cloth around his neck, causing him to go redder. "Say… I'm… interested… in courageous men…"
"C-Courageous… men?"
Julie leans in close to his face. "Uh-huh, cutie."
Link can't even think if he should say more or not. "Th… That's… That's n-nice…" he replies without a thought.
"Oooh…" Her head shifts a little, which causes her green ponytail to fall onto Link's neck. Stimulating a nerve, he tenses as the silky hair, instead of tickling, caresses his skin. "Well… you're one of those… men I'm lookin' for…"
"Wh… Wha… Wh… Wh-h-hat?"
"Is 'at friend of yours… really a friend?"
"Uhhh… Uhhhhhhhhh…"
"Oh, she just is, ain't she?" Julie giggles. "Tell me… Linky pie, do you think… I'm pretty?"
"W-Well… y-y-yes…" It's undeniable; the Hero of Time cannot tell lies to such people.
"Aw, you sweetie… So… do ya like me?"
Aw, damn! Link remains silent, although his face could not hide much of anything.
"Well, sugar… I like ya…"
For a moment, Julie gazes at Link's sapphire eyes with a thirst in her brown-colored own. In the hero's mind, nothing is working; everything has degraded to blank all except for the sentence, "Aw, damn!"
"Hey, Linky…" the greenhead said, then a hand of hers begins touching Link's chest. "Do ya believe in… love at first sight?"
Oh, no… "Julie… I…"
"I really like ya, sugar… Hee hee…"
"Uh… I… I… I like… you, too… b-but… I…"
"You… what, cutie pie?"
"I… I…" Damn it, why can't I say it!
"Ya like me, too… That's right… We like each other… Can't leave that be, can we?"
DAMN IT! "Julie, please, I… I just…"
"Link… Shh…" Julie places a finger on his lips. Link could not fight back; what would that show of him if he does? Honestly, he wishes he did when Julie inclines more, wanting her lips on his. He could feel it, her breath of gentle strawberries cosseting his lips and filling up his insides rather pleasantly. Almost there, she wants to show her amativeness in Link's spirit, and he is lying there as if his world is about to come crashing down. "… Link…"
"Hey, fairy boy," Malon's voice breaks the atmosphere above the two. She opens the door, entering the room. "Sheik just came back and…" the redhead pauses, obviously noticing how close the barmaid is to her friend, especially by countenance.
Another conflict comes into Link's mind: Should he be happy she's here to save him, or should he be scared stiff that she's going to go berserk at him?
"Link…? Julie…?" Something twitches in Malon's forehead.
"Oh, Malon!" Julie quickly stands up, almost spilling her washbowl. "I was just givin' this here friend of yours a wash up."
"Uh… huh." The heroine's blue eyes narrow.
"Are ya back so soon?"
"Yeah… a friend of mine and Link's is here…"
"Okay…" A sort of innocent smile lightly appears, almost more self-conscious than directed towards Malon and Link.
"So… I hope you don't mind if you'd leave me and Link alone for a while, do you?"
"Not at all, hon." Julie slowly exits to the door, but not before turning back. "I'll see y'all later… Malon… Link." She sneaks a wink at him.
Once the bartender is gone, Malon silently but quickly shuts the door and cranks back the lock. "Okay… she's gone, fairy boy."
"Mal, what you just saw… I… It was… It's not…"
"I know, I know." The redhead puts a hand up. "Knowing you, fairy boy… Heh, you're always under the mercy of every woman that comes by you."
"H-Huh?"
Malon suddenly laughs. "Oh, goddess! Your face! Ya shoulda saw your face when…! Priceless…"
"Malon!"
"Okay! Okay, I shouldn't have laughed."
"Nayru, this is the one time where I wish I wasn't handsome…"
"Aw, but that means a lot of girls won't go after ya!"
"That's EXACTLY the point."
"But don't ya find that nice? Julie was all over you!"
"What? Malon, please… don't talk about that."
"Ha ha… What, ya don't like a woman over ya?"
Link grits his teeth to avoid using profanity. "What wouldn't I give to go back to being ten years old…"
"Oh, but seriously…" Malon turns her head back to the door, "I don't like the idea of her cooing all over you."
He hesitates to ponder, then says in simple, satisfied tone, "Sure. I understand completely."
"Oh, you do, do you?" She treads over to him, then sits down and leans towards his face in the same manner as Julie's. "Then tell me what ya understand, Link."
Again, he pauses, then simpers. "Well, I understand that girls have a strange way with me, especially if… there're you… and another lady around."
"Uh-huh… And what about me?"
"Hmm? What about you?"
Malon giggles, then leans in more and gives Link a simple peck on the lips. "Why do ya think I don't like Julie around you now?"
Link blushes madly again, then sits up. "Uh, you know what? Let's go see Sheik now."
--
Outside the bar, they find the Sheikah waiting, holding in his arms a boy. "Link… Malon," he greets in the nonstop rain.
"Sheik." Link nods in acknowledgement. "Um… who's that in your hands?"
"The boy…" He gazes at Joey, still in his hands. "The one that the creature… used."
"Is he…?"
"No, he still retracts all of his life. But…" Sheik closes his eyes, "he's… impure."
"Impure?"
Sheik guides his hand over Joey's eyes nimbly, which splits open the eyelids. The Heroes of Time gasp, for instead of white eyes and colored irises, there is nothing but infinite red in those sockets.
"Din!" Malon almost shrieks. "His eyes…"
"Do not worry." Sheik shields the eyes back under cover. "He will recover, but not until the evil that has just been released is destroyed."
"Sheik, where did it go?"
"Wait," Link intervenes. "First of all… what is this thing? Why was it in the Well? How did it get there first of all?"
"… That's right. Seven years ago, we never saw it when we went down there. What happened during those years?"
"… While…" Sheik begins. "While the both of you were sealed away, an evil shadow spirit found boldness to return from the impasse of the underworld. The Well… As you saw earlier, the Well is the channel it used to pass into this world. Impa, the leader of Kakariko Village, had sealed it in the foundation to prevent this from happening. But… it wasn't long. Impa's magic could not hold the evil in any longer. The force of the evil spirit had grown strong enough to break through the seal."
"It just… grew stronger?"
"I have no doubt that the King of Evil had supplied for the creature. Apparently, your advancement has frightened him enough to intercede and trammel…"
"At least we know we're giving him a run for his money."
"Where did the creature go?" Link asks.
"Into a place where it can dwell healthily until it chooses the right moment to unleash its wrath… The Shadow Temple."
"Damn… How are we supposed to awaken the Shadow Sage now?"
"Impa… Her disappearance in the temple… She's still of this world, and I believe she would intercept the dark spirit and seal it again… but… she will be in danger without any help!"
"We have to help her, then!"
"The Sage of Shadow… I can provide you with who that person is… It's Impa herself…"
"Oh, no…" Malon puts a hand over her mouth. "If we don't get to Impa soon…"
"Do not despair… I believe in you, Heroes of Time… You, the saviors of Hyrule, shall save Impa from falling into the abyss of darkness…"
"Where's the Shadow Temple?" the hero questions.
"There is an entrance to the Shadow Temple beneath the Graveyard behind this village." Sheik lowers the boy from his hands onto the ground. "I apologize sincerely… I cannot aid you in the house of the dead… The only thing I can do for you is to teach you the melody that will lead you to the Shadow Temple…" He lets appear in his hands the famous harp that played many songs of the elements. "Listen well, Link, Malon… This is the melody that will draw you into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time… Listen to this, the Nocturne of Shadow!"
A deep composition bounces against the raindrops as music of unconscious proportions teems into the already darkened world. Like the feeling that Link had around his dark side, an air of sorrow hangs into the air, sorrow for the darkness and the dead that habituates to it. Dreamy, almost unimaginative is each sharp note, and so are those of an ardent ocarina and a compassionate voice. A profound musing is brought about, one questioning the true purpose of the shadows. The melody closes with what seems like a sad valediction of what the whole piece is devoted to.
"… Mmm." Malon stares at Sheik with a strict line of sight. "Ya not gonna leave again, are ya?"
Concealing his harp away, he responds, "No… Not this time… I need to keep a watch of care on this boy, until he has been restored under your might… And… this village needs a person of vigilant to safeguard the innocents… I'm counting on you, Malon and Link…" With that, he quickly takes Joey up and sneaks a crack of a Deku Nut to admit his getaway.
"Whew…" the redhead breathes. "So… Shadow Temple, eh?"
"We better start right now," Link affirms. "The sooner we can get to Impa, the better."
"Right… Under… Under all… that ground… that holds the dead… but… that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"… You're scared?"
"As heck as I am!"
"Well… then you're one of the bravest people I know."
"… What? How is tha-"
"You're very afraid of the shadows. Yet, you're going, aren't you? So that qualifies as courageous, a lot if I must say."
"Oh… Well, what about you? I know you would go… but… are you sure you're gonna be okay with all that pain over yourself?"
"Well, you didn't hear me cry out that it was the worst thing I've ever felt. I've been through tougher spots, and I'm not going to let this little ache stop me." Link tries to shift into one of his stances, but he suffers a pain to his left leg. "Argh… Well, maybe it'll slow me down a bit."
"Let's get ya some more Red Potion to drink down… and some more to bring along. We'll gear up and get going immediately… Oh! What about Navi? We'll really need her if we're gonna get pass the temple…"
"Hey… Don't worry about that, I know the way," Link slips before realizing his error.
"What? Know the way…?"
"Uh… I mean…"
"How… How would you know the way…?" Malon's eyebrows wrinkle.
"Well… I mean, I'll know… the way by instinct… and also by the Map and Compass…"
"Huh… and this special ability of yours just happened to appear right now, when Navi is out of commission?"
"Uh… Yeah… Yeah…"
"Suspicious, doesn't that sound like it?"
"Look, there's only me with you, right? So we might as well follow the only lead we have… me."
"… Fine… But ya owe me an explanation when we get back."
Which I hope you'll forget by then. "Okay, let's go!" Link limps back inside until Malon stops him by the arm.
"Hold on, fairy boy, I'll get the stuff. I don't want your last kiss to be someone else's…" She disappears behind the double door.
Let's just hope my last kiss… isn't going to be my last kiss… Wait, I don't talk like that…