Just to warn you all, Link gets hurt again in this chapter, and Dark Link is an emotional wreck. I'm really sorry! You guys must think I'm a terrible person.

Chapter Eight

Horror. Deep, creeping fear and terror that froze his insides and made him want to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness. He hated her, oh how he did, but still she held so much power over him. She always had, she always would.

Dark Link did not remember much about that Time Before the Room. He did, however, remember when he'd first became sentient, more than a crawling lesser shadow. There was a crooning voice calling to him, small, rough hands guiding him, cold lips pressing to his. . .

He'd hated it, before he'd even known what hate was. Hated her, but loved her, loved her still. Loved her as much as he'd hated her. He wanted to run to her, wanted to run from her. He'd preferred the Room of Illusions to her presence, but each moment locked within it had been pure torment, keeping him from her.

For centuries, Sheik had protected him. Sheik had given him all that he loved about her, but kept locked away all that he'd feared and hated. He'd loved Sheik more than he could ever say. But Sheik was gone now, and Dark Link had a feeling his Sheikah-Who-Was-Not-a-Sheikah had known the time was coming. He was gone for good this time, and Dark Link wanted to mourn his loss.

But there was no time.

Whatever he wanted, he needed Vio safe first.

"Run!" Seizing the child's arm Dark Link took off at a sprint away from the flickering barrier and the dark cloud beneath it. Dark Zelda's mad, cackling laughter rang out after them as they ran, zigzagging across the Dark World's plain to avoid the hot balls of black energy she fired at them. One blast struck a twisted little tree struggling to grow in the Dark World's bare soil. The tree went up in flames, the dim light casting dancing shadows on the ground around them. Anyone looking on might be puzzled, for neither the boy, the man, nor the woman cast a shadow of their own on the rocky ground.

"Run, run wherever you may my little Darkling, but I will catch you, and you won't like it when I do!" Her shrill, taunting voice called. A shiver ran down Dark Link's spine, and his grip on his Vio's wrist tightened. He darted to the left, scooping up Link before making a jump up onto a crumbling ledge. He didn't linger, sprinting into the veritable maze of stone leading up to one of the old temples, hoping to lose her in its twisting, winding passages.

They ran through the apparently abandoned crumbling walls of stone, nary a monster in sight. Dark Link suspected they were all hiding from the terror that chased them through the maze. Right, forward, right, forward, forward, left, forward, DUCK! Dark Link dove behind a suit of armor, pulling Link close and tugging the shadows around them to hide their presence.

"Come out, come out Darkling dearest! Your precious Sheikah won't save you now! He's gone! Gone gone gone, good-bye Sheikah, nasty pest!" She sang, laughing as her voice grew fainter. She had passed their hiding place without a second look and moved on, taking the next left up ahead.

Dark Link's fists clenched, and he leaned back against the armor, closing his eyes. She was right, and he knew it, but still. . .

The statue they hid behind shook and gave a great bellow, flashing from charcoal gray to a fiery red. It looked about in confusion for the one who had woken it, stepping forward out of the alcove with loud, clanking steps of rusted metal on crumbling stone. Dark Link swore and it turned slowly, swinging its great ax with surprising speed towards their heads.

"What is that thing?" Link yelped as they dodged and rolled around the suited monstrosity, which clanked after them when they attempted to run from it.

"A Dark Nut! I thought those bloody bastards died out!" Cried Dark Link as they darted around a corner- and straight into a dead end. "Merde!" They turned to run back, but the Dark Nut rounded the corner, boxing them in. Dark Link looked up, judging the distance to the top of the rocky wall rising above their heads. Twenty feet, maybe thirty. He could make the jump alone (Sheik, he thought with a pang, could have easily made the jump with both of them, if he'd had to), but he would never be able to jump that high carrying Link, and with access to only a fraction of his full power-

"Darkling, I've found you!" Shrieked a voice from above. Dark Zelda floated high above them, a large, dark blast powering up in her hand. Dark Link froze.

Link's hand found Dark Link's once again. "Shadow," he whispered. "I'm scared." He looked up into his shadow's face, but Dark Link stood stock-still, his eyes fixed unseeingly on Dark Zelda, cackling in the air above them. The Dark Nut continued to advance.

"Darkling, Darkling, darling little Darkling. Give me the boy and let me kill him for you. Just give me the boy my Darkling, and we'll be together forever. You'd like that, wouldn't you my Darkling?" Dark Zelda purred, subtly adding more and more power to the ball of energy she held.

The pair of them cornered, and his shadow frozen, Link knew he had to act. If one looked closely, they would see his sky-blue eyes blink, and open flecked with purple. Drawing his wooden practice sword and shield from the shadows he gave a great yell, propelling himself towards the Dark Nut and (in a move that would have made Dark Link proud had he been paying attention) landed nimbly on the flat of its ax, kicking its helmet off and temporarily confusing and angering it. Dark Zelda whirled at the bellow the creature made, snapping Dark Link from his trance.

The Dark Nut swung its great ax and Link leapt from it, sword drawn as his small form sailed towards Dark Zelda. She gave a cry of rage and shot her black blast, hitting him head-on with a ball of energy nearly as large as him. Dark Link's shout of panic mingled with Link's cry of pain and Dark Zelda's mad laughter in a terrible cacophony as the force of the blast shattered the wooden weapons and knocked Link back, the boy seeming to fall in slow motion towards the Dark Nut's razor-sharp blade.

Dark Link ran and jumped, catching Link in his arms as he somersaulted through the air past the ax, barely feeling the pain as it sliced through his shoulder. He ran once more, cradling the semi-conscious Link in his arms. With each turn he took another Dark Nut, no doubt awakened by the bellows of the first, spotted him and ambled after him, all of them seeming to herd him down one particular path.

Soon enough he realized why. Looking back at the dozen or so Dark Nuts chasing them, Dark Link did not see the odd-looking tile until he stepped on it, triggering a cage of bright energy to spring up around them, a trap set by an ancient Sage. Dark Link cried out in pain, falling to his knees and dropping Link when he flung up his arms to protect himself from the light.

"There's nowhere to run, my Darkling." She murmured just softly enough to be heard, while staying just beyond the light cage's reach, "Just give me the boy." The Dark Nuts surrounded the cage, axes raised to chop them to bits at her command.

Dark Link's body trembled under the harsh light, little wisps of smokey shadow floating from his body, which had started to lose its distinctness. There was no where else to run, and no one to come save them. Little Vio too needed help; his breathing was shallow, uneven. They had to get out. Out of the cage, out of her reach, out of the Realm of Darkness. Nowhere in the Dark World was safe for them now.

If only he could get Vio to safety, then he supposed he wouldn't mind so much if the light destroyed him. Maybe then he could see Sheik. See his Sheikah-Who-Was-Not-a-Sheikah, see him laugh, see him smile, maybe he would even be able to see him in the sunlight, with mists sparkling around him, cloaking him and revealing him again, a heaven to the the Room of Illusions' hell. . .

That's it!

Reaching deep inside his mind, Dark Link felt for the place that used to hold his memories of the Time Before the Room. That place had been invaded by the mists of the Room, and when he'd left they'd gone with him. Every now and then they tried to pull him back, and Dark Link always fought to stay away, but now he called to them, begged them to take him, and his young charge.

His head tossed back, the white mists flowing from his mouth, nose, eyes and ears, surrounding him and Link. Distantly, he heard Dark Zelda give an angry shout, heard the swinging of a dozen deadly blades. He saw white, and then nothing.

"Shadow?. . .Shadow, wake up? Please? Shadow, where are we?" A gentle nudge against his shoulder pulled him from his sleep. Dark Link shifted, feeling sand beneath his cheek. He flung out an arm in a half-hearted attempt to shoo whoever was trying to wake him, and his hand splashed into the water. Figuring he'd fallen asleep near the stream, and really having no intentions of waking, he turned away from the water and curled up. He vaguely heard a sigh, but dismissed it-

"GAH- WHAT?" -only to jerk awake a moment later when Link dumped a hat-full of water on his head. Link, eyes pure blue once more, laughed.

"It's about time you woke up Shadow, you've been sleeping for ages!" He said, grinning still as Dark Link glared, sweeping wet locks from his face. Then the boy's expression sobered. "Do you know where we are?"

Oh. Now he remembered. Sheik. Dark Zelda. The maze. The cage. The Room.

"This," Dark Link began tiredly, "is the Room of Illusions, the Room of Mists, Hell, whatever you want to call it. This is the only place in the Light World I can travel to without Sheik's help." He ran a hand over his face and heaved a breathless sigh. "Problem is, once I'm here, I can't get out. I'm sorry Vio, it was the only thing I could think of to get us away from Dark Zelda."

Link shifted, wincing as he did so, to sit beside Dark Link. "Will you tell me about her? Where did Sheik go? Did she hurt him?"

Dark Link shifted closer to Link, lifting his tunic to inspect his injuries. Bruises spread across one side of his face, his torso and arms. His hands, which had been holding his wooden sword and shield when he'd been hit, were riddled with splinters. He looked like he'd taken quite a beating, Dark Link thought ruefully. Link's body trembled slightly, an after-effect of being hit with that much energy at once.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, Vio. Sheik is gone, Dark Zelda is back and out to kill you. That's all there is to it." He reached for the shadows to attempt to guide them to help heal Link, but they hated the Room as much as he did, and refused to come. Dark Link sighed, carefully picking the splinters from his light's hand on his own, his heart breaking a little every time Link cringed. His eyes closed, warding off the tears that so badly wanted to fall. Standing, he moved away to inspect the doors.

"Shadow, you're hurt!" Link cried, pointing to the wound on his shoulder. The fabric of his tunic was torn, and shadows seeped from the wound, dissipating in the harsh brightness of the room.

Dark Link twisted his neck to look, and shrugged it off. "It'll heal." He said shortly, striding to one of the doors. Locked. Turning quickly, trying not to run, Dark Link strode towards the other door. As he feared, this one too, was locked. Panic rose in his chest, and Dark Link tried to force it down. His head hit the metal bars of the door with a dull thud, the tears he'd tried to repress leaking from his eyes.

A small hand laid itself gently on his arm, pulling him down. Dark Link knelt in the ankle-deep water without protest, allowing Link to wipe his face on his light purple sleeve. Dark Link wrapped his arms around Link, mindful of his bruises. Eyes closed, he felt his light's steady heartbeat, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, contrasted against the silence of Dark Link's own silent form.

He stood, water dripping from his tunic and running down his leggings, and lifted Link into his arms, carrying him back to the dry sand of the island. He sat the boy down and lay on his back beside him, trying to think of a way to get out of the room.

He felt the ancient spell stir a moment too late. Link had leaned against the tree, settling the unbruised part of his back against its trunk. The tree, Dark Link belatedly realized, was the key to the spell laid by Ganondorf centuries earlier, the spell designed to turn him against the Hero of Time.

Against his will Dark Link rose, hand reaching for the sword on his back. Shadows rose up around him, attempting to activate the age-old defense mechanism which would give him the same form as Link. The spell warred with the defense, a fight of shadows and darkness that lasted for only a moment before both settled, having stripped Dark Link of his shadowy weapons, but left his adult form intact.

Dark Link struggled, his eyes flashing as he fought to regain control of his body. "Vio, Vio- please, I can't stop it!"

Link's head shot up and his eyes widened, taking in the sight of his darkness standing over him in a fighting stance, swordless, but with the cold eyes of a killer. Eyes he'd seen before. . .

"Shadow?" Link whispered. The eyes flickered, panic and fear showing clearly, before they became dead again. Dark Link stalked forward, fist swinging back and striking out with the force of the Megaton Hammer.

"Hya!" His voice, normally a lovely countertenor (not that he'd ever admit it), was garbled, distorted and deepened by the power of the spell.

Link dove to the side to avoid the blow, landing belly-first in the water with a whimper of pain. He rolled to avoid a kick, staring up at his shadow. "Shadow, please! You have to break the spell! Snap out of it, please!"

A hand grabbed him by the throat, lifting him clear off his feet. Link gasped and struggled, kicking his feet and clawing futility at Dark Link's iron grip.

"The Room of Illusions" Sheik began slowly, "or the Realm of Mists if you so prefer, was once just another ordinary room in the Water Temple. Before Ganon came, there was nothing special about it. But he, before he summoned you, made it your prison." Sheik was reluctant to tell the tale, though only those who knew him best could see it.

Dark fought the urge to cover his ears. He didn't care what the room had been. Centuries had passed since his release, and if he ever saw it again, it would be too soon.

"There is a spell on the room, as I'm sure you guessed. I saw it when I came to fetch you, though it was so interwoven with the illusion that I could not be certain of its trigger. It did not look like any of the Water Temple's own defenses, however, it didn't look like Ganon's usual work, either." Sheik knew Dark didn't want to know, but something told him Dark would need this knowledge soon. He could feel it.

"What do you mean?" Asked Dark, his curiosity getting the better of him. "It had to be one or the other, didn't it?"

"When I say his usual work," Sheik amended, "I mean that he did not cast it alone. I. . ." Here Sheik trailed off, his gaze wandering to the horizon, to the ominous darkness looming there. "I believe that Dark Zelda helped him. No, I know she did." Sheik's bloody eyes met Dark's surprised ruby.

"The spell, as I saw it, was designed to turn a person's reflection against him. In other words, had you ever met the Hero in that room, you would have been forced to fight him, whether you wanted to or not." Sheik's heart ached as he saw the pained look cross Dark's face. He knew what the shadow was thinking, knew that over the years he had come to abhor the idea of harming his light. "It will force you to, how shall I put this? Conquer yourself."

"What did she contribute to it?" Asked Dark, voice tight.

"She gave her shadows to Ganondorf, to allow him to devise a way to contain and control you." Here, Sheik paused. "She also gave it its one weakness, the one way you could escape from it without either of you having to kill the other."

Dark moved to stand by one of the rocks in Sheik's little protective circle, his back to the Sheikah. "And what way is that?"

Silent as a breath Sheik slipped up behind him, wrapping his arms around Dark's waist and laying his head on Dark's shoulder. "You can conquer yourself in more ways than one. Instead of fighting him, accept him. Love him as you were meant to."

Link's struggles were slowing. His kicking stopped, and his hands fell limp at his sides. Blue eyes, flecked with violet once more, stared pleadingly into frozen ruby.

A blink. A flicker. Dark Link thought of those blue eyes shining up at him with happiness. He thought of the first Vio, the one he would have given up almost anything for. The one who had befriended him him, betrayed him, loved him, and later called him his most precious friend. He thought of this Vio, this little Link, smiling at him, holding his hand, singing with him, training with him. He thought of holding him just minutes prior, cradling him close and listening to the beat of his living heart.

He did love this little Vio. Not in quite the way he loved Sheik, but as a friend, as a little brother. . .as. . . .as he was meant to. They were all his little brothers, really, all those personalities that Link took in his various lives, but Vio was, and would always be, his special favorite. Vio was the one willing to reach out to the shadows when none of the others would. Vio was the one who called out to him when he needed him most. Vio trusted him. And he. . .he could not let himself destroy that.

Slowly, ever so slowly Dark Link forced his hand to open. The spell began to crack, then break, the poisonous mists finally forever cleared from his mind. Link dropped to the floor with a splash, where he lay, unmoving.

Around them, the illusion began to fade. The mists dissipated, revealing the blue tiled walls of the Water Temple, though these looked ancient and worn. The twisted, dead tree and the island both vanished as if they had never been, leaving only the ankle-deep water on the cracked and faded blue flooring.

Dark Link dropped to his knees beside Link, lifting his limp head from the water and laying it in his lap. An ugly red mark around his neck promised a hideous bruise in the shape of his hand; Dark Link shuddered with revulsion at the sight of it. Nervous, hardly daring to hope, he lowered his head close to Link's, listening intently.

His breathing was raspy, but it was there. Dark Link nearly cried with relief. He shifted, lifting Link from the water and into his arms, though it hardly helped since their tunics were both soaked through.

"Vio, please, I'm so sorry. Open your eyes. Please?" Dark Link whispered pleadingly, brushing Link's hair back and adjusting his little purple cap. Link groaned and coughed, his eyes cracking open.

"Water, please?" He croaked. Dark Link nodded, tears in his eyes as he shifted, cupping water in his palm and lifting it for Link to drink.

"I'm sorry, Vio, I'm sorry. I couldn't fight it. I tried; I tried so hard." The tears fell as Dark Link, trembling, pulled Link close. Link's small hand pressed over his mouth.

"I felt the magic, Shadow. You couldn't help it, I know." His voice was hoarse, but his eyes shown with understanding. Dark Link gave him a wane smile.

"Let's get out of here, hm?" Dark Link stood, cradling the bruised Link gently against him. As he'd suspected, the bars had lifted from the doors with the dissolution of the spell on the room. Taking a calming breath, Dark Link stepped through the one closest to them.

The air was staler here than in the previous room, as though it had never been disturbed. Although Dark Link could see clearly through the gloom, he did not recognize the room; he supposed he must have first entered from the other door. Before them was a wooden chest in a much more pristine condition than the ancient, crumbling walls. Opening it, Dark Link found what he recognized from Sheik's descriptions as the Longshot. The lesser shadows took it for him, and he walked around the room, though he saw no exit.

"Bugger." Dark Link ignored Link's dry chuckle as they left that room and re-entered the former Room of Illusions. Crossing the space in a few quick strides- it really was a smaller room than he had once thought- Dark Link headed towards the other door. Finding the exit ought to be easy from there. . .

"Bloody fucking HELL!"

What should have been the exit was, instead, solid rock.

". . .She didn't think it wise to leave you here in the temple with the reconstructions imminent. . ."

"VAFFANCULO! FODA-SE! FICK! FAKAT! CASSE-TOI! MA TEEGY ANEEKIK! FUCK! Damn damn damn!" Dark Link heaved after his slew of swears, his already-unstable emotions not equipped to deal with having escaped the room through such traumatic means, only to find himself and little Link- who was hurt, damnit- still trapped.

Link was staring at him with wide eyes (Sheik had put his foot down rather firmly on the swearing issue. No swearing in front of Link. It taught him bad habits. Therefore, Link really had no idea his shadow could swear so colorfully.).

Dark Link sat Link down on the stone beneath them gently and turned to the wall blocking their way. Frustrated, he punched it. Hard. There was a sound like a clap of thunder, and spider-web cracks began to spread out from where his fist connected with the wall.

Dark Link blinked in surprise as he lowered his fist and a section of the false wall crumbled, the sounds of rushing water and a dim light shining through the small hole. Encouraged, Dark Link continued to pull away sections of the softer stone until he had created a hole large enough for a small child to crawl through. Shifting shape, he stuck his smaller head out, spotting a narrow, rocky ledge a few feet below, and a hundred feet below that, a dangerously fast stream riddled with rapids. Craning his neck upwards, he could just make out a bridge of sorts spanning the gap. None of it looked familiar.

"Shadow?" Link's head hung from the hole, his bruised face peering down at the stream with no small amount of trepidation.

"I've got you." Dark Link helped him down, keeping a grip on his hand as he stared up at the bridge.

"What are you thinking?" Asked Link after a moment. Dark Link hummed in thought, then grinned. He held out his hand, and the shadows placed the Longshot within it.

"Hold on tight." He warned, wrapping his arm more securely around Link. Link did, holding tight to Dark Link's neck as he lifted the Longshot and fired, the hook catching on to a section of the bridge. He gave an experimental tug and hit a button on the side, the chain suddenly yanking them into the air.

Both gave a startled yell of surprise as they flew upwards towards the bridge. The Longshot automatically released from the wooden bridge support when they reached the end of the chain. The pair yelped, Link clinging harder to Dark Link as he grabbed for the beautiful metallic designs along the sides. The sharp ends sliced and cut into his hands as they slipped on the slick metal, unable to find a grip. He grabbed for a wrought-metal spear, only just managing to grab it one-handed. Dangling precariously, he wrapped his free arm around Link, making sure he wouldn't fall before carefully climbing back up to the bridge.

"Bloody stupid Zora." Dark Link growled, flopping onto his back as his gave his hands time to heal.

"Zora?" Asked Link, brow furrowing in confusion. He had read about the Zora in his books, but to his knowledge he'd never met one. "Where are we now?"

Dark Link looked away from his examination of the other bridges above their heads. "We're in what was once called the Water Temple, at the bottom of Lake Hylia." Standing, Dark Link helped Link stand.

Picking a direction, they headed away from the heart of the temple, towards what Dark Link thought might be the exit.

Poor Link. I'm so cruel to him.

Was anyone else intrigued by the design of the Lakebed Temple? I swear I must have spent about twenty minutes just trying to stare off the bridges and down at the rapid water you never actually got to swim in. Hey, it's in the same location as the Water Temple, so I figured, why not?

Thank you to the Chapter Seven Reviewers Darkwolflink1 (The third line of your review: what? I have no idea what you typed. O.o. Ah yes, Dark Link high on sugar. I had to have some happiness in the last chapter since this one has a lot of Dark Link having issues and Link getting hurt.), and Kick-Aft (Thanks, I'm glad you came back. I hope this chapter had the same effect! And we still get some Sheik in flashbacks, at least. Ah Sheik, the voice of wisdom.).