Hey, SO sorry! I sorta spaced out for a while, and didn't get anything written, plus my written chapters were deleted. I had to re-write the chapters, but I luckily had them saved on disk, and found them this morning

NOTE: The beginning of this chapter is simultaneous with the end of the last chapter. Sorry for any confusion.

To Find The Future, Find The Past

Chapter Ninteen

The Only Option

Drip.

Zelda woke up in a dark place. She had no idea where she was. All she knew was how she got there.

Drip.

Zelda began to notice tiny little slivers of light at either end of the room. She also began to hear water dripping onto a wet surface.

Drip.

She noticed that the surface she was on was damp and cold. Bolting upright, she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

Drip.

Dimly, she could make out the outline of a large tree right next to her.

Drip.

She reached out, and used a low branch to hoist herself up and steady herself.

Drip.

Zelda put her foot out in front of her. Water.

Drip.

The steady dripping of water was beginning to annoy Zelda. It was one of those things that kept her awake at night.

Drip.

Zelda walked out into the shallow water. Putting a hand out in front of her, she walked toward the sliver of light blindly. Eventually her foot found dry land.

Drip.

Zelda's hand came into contact with some carvings in the wall. Feeling around, Zelda discovered that she had indeed found a door.

Drip.

Zelda felt around the door. No knob. Sighing in frustration, she stood there for a minute and thought.

Drip.

The door flew open. Zelda's eyes stung from the unexpected burst of light. She felt a hand reach out and grab her wrist. In response, she flung her other hand blindly up, attempting to hit the person's face. Her hand came into contact with smooth skin. A curse followed.

"You little bitch." The voice, again, sounded almost exactly like Link. He twisted her arm, forcing her to turn around. His other arm came up across her chest, holding her firmly. Zelda's blood ran cold as soon as she felt the cold dagger pressed against her throat.

Thinking back to year eight self-defence, she stomped on her assailant's foot. He, not expecting her to fight back, cursed and dropped the blade. Taking advantage of his distraction, she flung her body into his own, knocking him off his feet.

Standing up, she finally got a look at her kidnapper. She gasped. He was pure darkness, literally. He looked exactly like Link's shadow, except he had blood-red eyes, and was three dimensional!

He seemed to melt into the ground, scaring the life out of her. He re-materialized behind her, and tried to hit her over the head.

Zelda's reflexes were heightened. She dodged the blow, and fought tooth and nail to stop him from getting hold of her again. She picked up the dagger that he dropped, and tried to stab him. All she succeeded in doing was nicking the skin on his arms or face.

He grabbed her wrist, and squeezed it. Hard. She heard her wrist crack, and dropped the knife as she stumbled over. Out of desperation, she felt around the floor for something. Anything. Her hand closed around something heavy, like a piece of loose stone. Picking it up, she swung it at the shadow's head. There was a sickening thud, as the shadow fell to the floor, unconscious.

Zelda whimpered, and held her wrist. It was most likely broken. How was she going to treat it? And, more importantly, how was she going to get out of here?

She looked around the room for any form of escape. Her eyes settled on a hole in the floor. She crawled over to it, and looked down. She saw raging waters below, and gulped.

Looking behind her, she tried to figure out what was worse. She wasn't thrilled about the raging waters below, that she might drown in. But, it was either that, or the dark monster here in the room with her, that would probably kill and/or rape her.

Closing her eyes, she jumped down into the hole. She landed with a splash in the waters below. The undertow dragged her head under, and she hurt her wrist even more on impact. If it wasn't broken before, it certainly was now.

Zelda was dragged underwater by the strong currents. She opened her eyes underwater, and panicked. She couldn't breath! And what was worse, she was headed for a whirlpool! Zelda felt, as she being sucked into the whirlpool, a pair of strong arms lift her out of the water. Zelda, from numerous hits on the head during her turbulent ride, passed out for the second time that day.

LATER AT HYRULE CASTLE

"He's got to be the one!"

"Well…" Impa was heard talking to Nabouru in the next room, "That much is obvious! We're just lucky that Dark Link didn't take the bag, too!"

"Yes, Impa." Nabouru was probably nodding, "But I do worry, though. I don't think he's had enough training for what he will have to face. He'll probably faint or something!"

"Nabouru, give the boy some credit." Impa sounded tired, "If he didn't faint when he saw he had no shadow, then he has at least some guts. We'll just need to train him as best we can."

"I know…" Nabouru sighed, "I'll have to go tell Darunia that we can call off that fake boarding school. I'll get him and Ruto, and come back in a few days, OK?"

"Good idea." Impa gave her approval.

"But…" Nabouru sounded scared at the moment, "What about the Princess? Surely you aren't going to leave her out there with Dark Link! You know that, as strong as she may be, only the Hero of Time can either equal or better him!"

"Yes… I know." Impa heaved a sigh, "And I also know a little something about shadows. It seems that one of three things have happened."

"What?" Nabouru breathed.

"Scenario One; Someone wanted Zelda badly enough that they attacked Dark Link, and knocked him out." Nabouru gasped, "Scenario Two; Zelda, out of desperation, somehow knocked him out in a frantic escape attempt. Or, Scenario Three; Someone wanted Link dead so badly, that they attacked Dark Link, and left him for dead, instead."

"I choose to believe Scenario Two." Nabouru was defiant now, "Even though One or Three are more likely. But, why would someone attack Dark Link to get to Link?"

"It's simple, really," Impa might as well have been explaining brain surgery to a toddler, "Dark Link is the evil shadow of Link. Shadows are always in the darkness, so they aren't exactly friendly. But, when one gets so hostile, they can separate from their body, and become a being in their own right. The person then becomes the Light Incarnation, and the shadow then becomes the Evil Incarnation."

"So…" Nabouru sounded confused, "In essence, they are the same person?"

"Correct." Impa sighed, "But it comes with consequences for both beings. Whenever one feels pain, or gets an injury, the other also feels it. If Dark Link was, say, stabbed in the heart and died, then Link would appear to have suffered the same blow, and would also die."

"So…" Nabouru was now angry, "We can't kill Dark Link without sacrificing Link? Is that what you're saying?"

"Precisely." Impa sounded quite calm, "The key word being 'we'. The only person that can kill Dark Link and not feel the blows is Link himself, and vice versa."

Link opened his eyes. He had been listening to the women in the next room. He did not like what he heard. He really didn't think he could stomach killing anything, unless it was in self defense. Even then, he would hesitate. But, he had no choice.

"Right, I'm going in to check on him." Impa walked closer to the door, "You get going."

"Bye, Impa." Link saw Nabouru's back as Impa opened the door.

"Ah, you're awake." Impa observed, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," Link sat up, he didn't see the point in lying, "To know that it's either kill or be killed for me." Impa gave him a look of sympathy. She could tell that he didn't want to be a part of it.

"If it's any consolation," she put a hand on his shoulder, and peered into his eyes, "The Hero of Time was reluctant, too. But he had worse evils to face."

"Geez…" Link rolled his eyes, "That makes me feel so much more confident."

"Now, now," Impa mock-scolded him, "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"My mother tells me that all the time." He said dryly, "Have you found Zelda yet?" Impa looked him in the eye. What Link heard next froze his insides.

"No."

One word. Just one tiny little word, and he froze. Then, the panic set in.

"What?" He demanded in distress. Impa tried to calm him, but had to call in one of the Castle attendants to restrain him.

"Listen!" She roared, "I understand your concern for the Princess! But there is nothing that can be done until we find her! Do you understand?"

Link hung his head in shame, and nodded.

Well, how do u like it. Please! R&R! I'm in desperate need of inspiration!