Chapter 9

Darkness

Nothing. Silence. So similar to the lost woods, yet so different. The heroes trekked through what seemed to be and endless archway of black. Even the small but powerful glow Tatl was providing proved to little affect against the dreary setting. Link held out his hand in front of his face. He had done this many a time before as he was going through this cave, hoping…praying to be able to see it, but to still no avail. They were walking blind, relying on senses that they knew well, but never truly relied upon. Pushing on, the trio forced themselves through this cave of despair. Link found himself shuddering at thoughts of previous encounters with similar places. Hyrule, Termina…all contained places of great evil and horror. The most painful knowledge that entered his mind was to know that if he had not been chosen by the Gods in the first place to fulfil their wishes, he would never have ever had to experience such places. Unwanted thoughts began to creep in his head. The loneliness of his life, having to leave all those that he had cared about behind, the loss of the lives he could not save, and worst of all the fear of knowing that one day, not to far in the near future, that either his own life would be taken or worse…a friends. He began to feel a deep hatred in his heart for the Gods. Why…why put him through all this torture? He had done no wrong. Since the days spent in Kokiri forest, he was tormented by his peers. Yes, some had protected him, but the protection would not have been needed if the children had left him alone. The warrior began to feel agitated and unhappy. Why was he unhappy? The thought of adventure was exciting to him and the desire to remain in a single area for to long sickened him. This made the fighter feel angrier with the Gods. He could not explain why, but it just created a deep loathing. A strange dizziness began to overcome him until…

'AHHHH' a sharp stabbing pain in his upper arm.

'Keep yourself Link; I could sense your bitterness and hate. Don't let this place overwhelm you. The Gods made it, but by no means does that make it inherently a good place. The ring's curse seems to have spread throughout the cave. Every dark desire and thought will consume your mind if not focused enough' Link shook of the pain of Sheik's blade. It made sense now. These thoughts may have been his own, but they were not what he believed, just what the curse wants him to believe.

'If the curse is this powerful when the ring is not worn…' Sheik shuddered 'Then it must be overwhelming when wielded.'

The darkness continued throughout the passageway. Judging by the slight down angle of the pathway, Link figured they must have been heading underground.

Hours they travelled through the darkness, whispering occasionally to be sure that they were all still with each other. The green clothed warrior began to rub his eyes. A white blob had decided to settle itself on his eyes, the type when you have stared at a light for too long but it still remains. No. It couldn't be. There is darkness surrounding them, with no light allowing them to see. Unless… A chuckle could be heard beside him.

'We made it.' Sheik stated. In the distance, there was a pillar of light, barely visible, but it existed.

'About time!' Tatl shouted. Their pace began to increase until they were running. Relieved to see light, the trio were still weary, as they knew that the darkness that had been manipulating them was not the last of their trials. It was merely the beginning.

The run to the light seem to last an eternity but this not bother the heroes as any form of illumination was bliss compared to the darkness they had endured. As they neared the pillar of light, a small stone pillar no taller than that of their waist came into view, in the middle of a large cavern. The trio slowed down to nearly a stop, still aware of the situation they were in. Link unsheathed his sword and shield while Sheik prepared his dagger. Tatl dashed into Link's hat shuddering violently. As the warriors gradually approached the pedestal that was bathed in the luminous pillar, a small sparkle upon is caught their eye. Upon the drab and cracked pedestal lay a small, plain black ring, glistening in the morsel of light.. Link and Sheik stared at the ring in wonder and bewilderment.

'It doesn't look that powerful' Link stated 'Looks kind of useless to me.' He scanned the cavern area that they had entered. A few stagmite covered the floor and a small pool of water could be seen beyond where the pedestal was placed.

'This seems to easy.' Sheik whispered.

'The darkness was no cake walk Sheik, maybe we have already past the God's challenge by making it here.' Link said, yet still raising his sword in preparation of a possible attack.

They stood there for minutes, seemingly hours, to be sure of no possible attacks. Slowly Link placed his sword back in its sheath and shield on to his back.

'I'm going to pick up the ring ' He quivered. As he closed in on the pedestal, the dark emotions that had previously consumed him were beginning to return. Sheik sensed this and began to walk by the troubled warriors side.

'Do not worry Link, if you fall to the evil of the rings power, you will not fall alone.' With this simple statement of friendship and brotherhood, the feelings of despair and hatred began to fade away once again. Through their short time together, the two warriors formed a bond that went beyond mere friendship. Link smiled at the Sheikah and carried on towards the ring with his comrade beside him.

Drip.

A sound of a droplet of water stopped them in their tracks. Both looked towards the pool of water that was beyond the pedestal. It began to flow and move towards them, bending and turning similar to the flow of water but still in an unnatural way. Link gasped once again filled with dread. That was not water; it was shadow.

'Dark Link?' He whispered.

'No!' A voice echoed throughout the cavern. The shadow water began to rise of the ground, slowly taking its true form. The agile body, the mind penetrating eye and the glowing red eyes hidden not only by the darkness of the creatures body, but also behind a very familiar mask. 'But you were so very close'

A dark Sheikah stood in front of the two warriors. A Dark Sheik.The true Sheikah stepped back in shock. 'Impossible' he stated.

'Oh but it is very possible.' The demon snickered 'you believe that the hero of time can have a dark side but not yourself. You are not perfect brother, however much you like to believe that you are.' The eyes of the dark assassin flickered with a sick enjoyment as he watched his alternate self grasp the concept of his dark enemy. The duo armed themselves preparing for a battle, Tatl whispering advice into their ears.

'Link prepare yourself for your dark side, he shall be here soon. Sheik, you will have to face this darkness alone to truly overcome it.' The wise words of the fairy reassured the agile fighter. He was the true Sheik, not this monster that stood before him. It was just his negative emotions given form. With his composure regained, the true Sheikah leapt into battle against his evil counterpart. Dark Sheik dodged the attack, as if predicting his opponent's movements. Neither combatant wasted anytime in playing or warm ups and it was clear that each fighter was determined to kill the other. A barrage of knives, shuriken and others forms of weaponry sliced through the air aimed at both warriors but clashed with each other during the process. Both the Sheikahs collided face-to-face, dagger-to-dagger, determined to slit one another's throat. One with a sick sense of pleasure, the other with grit determination to protect the land, the battle being ultimately decided by the strongest will to win.

Link waited by the sidelines watching the two fighter meet blow with blow. Although entranced by their agility and strength, he had not forgotten that he might soon be in danger by an equally powerful force. He waited and waited for another dark demon to appear in his form, yet still none did appear. Link nervously examined the cave they were in yet only the only evil shadow to appear was that of Sheik's who was still locked in mortal combat.

'Tatl, what is happening?' Link questioned, his flickering and searching for any form of alien movement 'why is there no Dark Lin…' The answer to his unfinished question had already come to him. Tatl shot out of his hat in front of the heroes face.

'Link?' The heroes face displayed his deep thought.

'Dark Link is my counterpart.' He stated 'He is the darkness that is from this cave. Somehow, Ganondorf must have been able to summon him to battle me in the water temple.' Link then smiled 'He belongs to Ganondorf, and not to the ring!' Link turned his attention towards the two Sheiks who were both equally worn out by the battle they were having.

'HEY SHEIK!' The green clothed warrior cried. Both the assassin looked over to him in puzzlement. 'This fight just got a little bit more interesting!' Wielding his powerful sword and strong shield he leapt into the fray followed by the faithful fairy.

The battle was too much for the Dark Sheikah; each blow received by each of the hardened warriors wore down the evil ones defences little by little. Link slashed at the monster from the front, Sheik flanking from behind. Dark Sheik had no way of keeping track of such powerful opponents at the same time. He fell to his knees fatigued by such a battle, praying for a moments rest. The true Sheik lunged towards the weakened monster producing a dagger to its throat and remaining stationery for merely a split second; a single word escaped his hidden lips.

'Die' and with astonishing speed flicked the dagger to his side, slicing the evil ones throat. The wretched warrior fell to the floor like a rag doll and lay immobile. Its wide red eyes fading away, gazing into the darkness, the only home it had ever known. Blood gushing from its throat, red hot and flowing freely to his killer's feet. Sheik stared at the monstrosity with a cold gaze. Turning away he sheathed his dagger and made way to the altar, resuming his quest that he was determined to fulfil. Link followed by his side, equally unaffected by the death of the monster. No time could be wasted on such a pitiful creature born out of pure evil; they must put an end to the source before they could look back at their actions.

Both fighters stood either side of the altar, with Tatl hovering between them. Each wondered what would happen when they took possession of the ring.

'Sheik…' Link spoke softly as though not to disturb the ring. 'I shall pick it up.' The Sheikah nodded at the elf in agreement. One of them had to pick it up; the first volunteer was the most suitable one. Link slowly reached for the ring, once again feeling its terrible power and manipulation consuming him, but for not a single second losing his focus. His finger brushed the surface and the horrors were magnified tenfold. Death, pain, loss...all were pushed upon him. His fear surfaced in his mind and a small tear trickled down his cheek as he imagined her laying on the floor dead, blood covering the perfect face and the eyes he had grown to love empty and hollow, staring into nothingness.

With with a sudden push of will, the hero blocked these thought and grasped the ring in his hand…

Nothing…

Link lifted his head up in confusion. Nothing? The feelings of hate and despair had gone. Sheik also relaxed as it seemed his troubles in the cave had disappeared. They looked at each other puzzled by what had happened. The wicked ring's power had evaporated as soon as it was in the warriors fist.

'What is this trickery?' Sheik questioned

'Do the legends of the ring mention anything of what happens when the ring is wielded?' Link enquired. Sheik shook his head.

'Only that the person will be granted amazing amounts of power at the cost of his sanity; that is if he is not a warrior of destiny.' Link began to stare blankly, until a small grin grew on his face. 'The old man in Kakariko was wrong then.' Links smile widened as he turned towards the exit. Walking quickly, his chest lighter than it had been for weeks, he hurried out of the cave followed by a puzzled fairy and a suspicious Sheik.

'This is getting to easy.' Murmured the masked Sheikah, his eyes not once leaving the cheery warrior as the light of the sun grew in the distance.

You see, I'm keeping this promise no matter what now. You WILL get updates on a regular basis. )

I was looking over this chapter. It's not a bad one really. I quite like some of the description but it feels kinda inconsistent. Maybe it is just because I'm being to hard on myself but throw me some of your views please. I need the advice. P

Enjoy and see you next week )