Chapter Nine

"Bloody stupid bloody Zora and their bloody fucking WATER TEMPLE!" Dark Link screamed in frustration, kicking at (yet another) locked door.

The path he'd chosen had led them into a cavernous room with rotating platforms and a very, very long fall to the bottom. Dark Link half-suspected from the sheer size of it that it was created from the bulk of the old Water Temple, but the bloody place was so confusing he could have been wrong (he likely was, he soon realized). Link looked around in awe; it really was a feat of engineering, and he examined the markings left on the walls with interest.

Architecture, however, was the last thing on Dark Link's mind. Having left Link near the door they'd entered ("Stop arguing with me, you need to rest."), he'd made his way across the room to its various doors with the aid of the Longshot, only to find them all barred or locked. With a sigh he lay on his stomach to look beneath the platforms, searching for another door.

"Shadow, over here!" Dark Link followed Link's pointing finger; one of the columns was covered with vines. By climbing down it, they could reach a lower platform, and make their way to one of the doors from there. Without waiting, Link started his descent.

"Vio! Vio, for the love of the goddesses, what if you fall?" Dark Link sprinted across the platforms, jogging in place to keep his position as he watched his little light descend. Only once Link waved at him from the relative safety of the platform did Dark Link drop down.

"I told you to stay put!" He scolded angrily.

"But look," Link held up one of the vines for his inspection. "See how some of the vines have broken leaves or are a bit damaged? I didn't do that. This has to be the right way. Shadow, you can use the Longshot to get to the other platform and jump to the ledge with the door from there." He said, pointing out the way. Seeing he was right (as usual) Dark Link huffed, securing Link to him before making his way to the door (unlocked this time) and stepping through it. They crossed the stream again, by a different bridge this time, and entered the large central room.

"Bloody fucking-why is is so bright in here!" Dark Link yelled, rubbing his eyes rapidly as they entered a large, too-well-lit room. Link cleared the spots from his eyes first, and let out gasp of awe. The room was even larger than the one they'd just left; it was circular, and several stories tall. Much of the bright light came from a grand crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, reflected back by the shining golden gilding of the room. Off to their right stood a large white-marble staircase, leading to an upper level.

While Dark Link glared at the chandelier (and as a result had to duck back into the shadows and rub his eyes for several minutes), Link thought. Looking closer, Link noticed that the staircase seemed to be on a sort of pivot. There were handles hanging high above open spaces near some edges of the walkways that suggested to Link the stairs could be moved if one could pull the handle.

It seemed to him that if there were anyone else in the temple, they would have heard them by now. If nobody was inside of it, and monsters weren't in control of it (they hadn't come across any, at least), then it must have been left in such a way that if they could follow the path of the last person to pass through, they could easily exit the temple. So if they followed the stairs. . .

Link tugged an unresisting Dark Link to the door at the bottom of the stairs, but that one was locked. Undeterred, he led the way up the staircase, the many steps worn smooth as though by rushing water. The door at the top was, as Link expected, unlocked, and the room inside much dimmer.

"That's better." Breathed Dark link with a sigh of relief, blinking the last of the spots from his eyes. "Now where are we?- oh, seriously?" The gate before them was closed. Hoisting Link onto his back, Dark Link scrambled over it, finding them in a natural-looking cave-like room with no other door in sight.

Link dropped from his back to explore the cave. There were a few pots about, all empty like the others in the temple. The pair climbed down to the lower area, splashing through the shallow water to the other side. The only apparent exit was a large hole in the floor of the room, filled with water.

"Stay here." Said Dark Link, "I'll go check it out."

Link nodded, eyeing the hole uneasily. He heard a splash, and watched as Dark Link dove out of sight. It seemed to him like hours passed before his shadow surfaced again, looking glum.

"It's the exit all right." He said, "It leads out to Lake Hylia, but it's a long route. We should leave soon though, so we can get out while it's still dark and find shelter before the sun rises. HEY!" He smacked his forehead and leaped from the water, excited. "I have an idea. Sheik taught you the warp songs, right?"

Link's brow furrowed. "Warp songs?" Dark Link felt his eye twitch. Hadn't Sheik explained what the songs were when he'd taught them? Well, Dark Link thought with a pang, Sheik hadn't exactly had much time, had he?

Shaking himself from his thoughts he prompted, "Play the Serenade of Water and think about the surface of the lake. You've seen pictures, right?"

Thinking that Dark Link had lost his mind, Link called his ocarina forth from the shadows. Lifting it to his lips, he played, Dark Link singing along with him. Dark Link's lovely voice and the notes of little Link's Sheikah-crafted ocarina danced and intertwined, echoing beautifully off the walls and creating a sweet symphony of sound. Their bodies dissolved in blue sparkles, drifting away towards the ceiling. . .

Only to crash into a barrier and land on their butts, violently rejected by the magic of the temple.

"Bloody stupid bloody Zora and their BLOODY FUCKING WATER TEMPLE!" Dark Link screamed what was quickly becoming something of a catchphrase. "Since when do the protections of a temple reject the blasted warp songs? MERDE!" He slammed a fist into a nearby rock, cracking it.

"Shadow?" Called Link, "a little help here?" He'd landed awkwardly in a pot, and was thus stuck bent over almost double inside of it with his little legs straight up in the air. Dark Link blinked, a grin fighting its way through his anger. He snickered, pulling little Link out of the pot and setting him on his feet.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up. Laugh it up." The disgruntled child grumbled.

Dark Link snickered for another minute, then sobered. "There's no other way out, Link." He said softly.

Link gulped, and nodded slowly. "I. . .I trust you, Shadow." He reached up rub his neck, wincing when his hand came in contact with the bruise Dark Link had left there. Dark Link cringed, averting his eyes.

I'm not entirely certain you should, Vio. Dark thought as he lifted Link once more, securing him against his chest. "You'll have to hold on tightly Link, I'll need my hands to swim." He warned. Link nodded, eyes tightly shut as he clung to Dark Link's neck, his legs wrapping around the other's waist.

"A big breath, and we dive on three." Link nodded, taking large, nervous gulps of air as Dark Link counted. "One, two, THREE!"

They dove.

The water around them was colder than in the rest of the temple. The shock of it almost made Link let go and exhale, but he resisted the urge, his grip tightening impossibly. Dark Link swam like a fish, dodging the jellyfish and large clams in the passage with ease. The darkness of the tunnel posed no problem for him, and he avoided the large patches of seaweed that would catch and hold a lesser man until he drowned.

Feeling Link whimper against his chest, air escaping his mouth as his body demanded oxygen, Dark Link darted quickly to the left, making his way to a small, natural cave near the temple's entrance. They surfaced with a gasp, Link sucking up big mouthfuls of air as he shivered in his shadow's grasp.

Dark Link helped him up onto a slippery, algae-coated ledge in the cave, but Link wouldn't let go of him, so he climbed up next to him, pulling the small, shivering form into his arms. Not for the first time, he thought that Link really was too small for his age. "Rest for a minute. It's a long haul to the surface." He warned. Link nodded, not quite able to speak yet as he panted for breath.

Neither was certain how long they sat there in the cold darkness of the tiny cave, but finally Link took a deep breath and wrapped himself around his shadow once more. "I'm ready." He whispered, clearly terrified, but willing to face the waters of Lake Hylia. Something in his mind warned that this was a bad idea, that the heroes of old had always needed Zora-crafted tunics or armor, and for a moment his body remembered soft blue material that felt like water itself against his skin, remembered magic seeping into his flesh and helping his lungs breathe water as easily as they breathed air.

But, bad idea or not, he did not possess a blue tunic of that nature. So Link took one last breath and held on tight as his shadow dove back down into the tunnel, and exited into the depths of Lake Hylia.

The sudden weight of the water bearing down on them felt like a ton of rocks attempting to crush their bodies as Dark Link fought the force of it, swimming upwards as quickly as he could. No matter how far or fast he swam, however, the clouded night sky above them never seemed to get any closer. Each second stretched into an eternity as he ascended, higher and higher towards the life-giving air above.

The clouds shifted, the silver light of the full moon spilling across the lake, momentarily blinding him. He swam on, however, when he felt the first light thump of Link's little fist against his chest, a sign that he needed to breathe, and Dark Link needed to hurry. Distracted as he was, the first painful blow caught him by complete surprise.

A Zora slammed into him from behind, knocking him forward and causing Link to open his eyes and cry out, losing precious air. His struggles increased, forcing Dark Link to wrap an arm around the boy so he didn't drift away. A second Zora appeared out of the gloom, cold, scaly hands grabbing for Link, trying to pull him away. Dark Link lashed out, kicking the first Zora in the stomach and catching the second Zora with a fist to its throat, forcing it away.

He swam up and away from them, but he didn't get very far. A third Zora grabbed his ankles, one and two catching his arms, restraining him while two others pried a struggling Link from his arms, taking off with him towards the surface. Yet another Zora (how many of the blasted creatures were there?) floated before Dark Link muttering a spell with clasped, glowing hands. A bright light appeared around his neck, wrists, and ankles, and his scream ("Bloody stupid!-") was swallowed by the water as the spell overtook him, his last sight that of a struggling Link being dragged away towards the surface, his blue eyes wide with fear and one tiny, pale hand outstretched towards his captive shadow.

Link's struggles were beginning to slow, an unwelcome blackness gathering at the edges of his vision and a fuzziness in his mind. The Zora pulling him through the water stopped, and Link thought for sure that they intended to let him die. Another Zora, this one visibly younger and smaller than the other two, swam up to them as fast as his fins could carry him. He cupped Link's face in his hand, tilting it up for a better look. Link couldn't help but think that if they weren't underwater, the young Zora would be crying.

He pressed his mouth to Link's and breathed, once, twice, and again, passing oxygen from his gills to Link's lungs. The pressing need for air lessened, but Link still felt weakened as the small Zora pulled back, the four of them speeding towards the sky even faster than Dark Link had. Twice more they had to stop to breathe for him, so deep was the water. If Link were able to focus, he would see that the Zora surrounding him looked determined, but terrified.

Their heads broke the surface and Link gasped for air, coughing up mouthfuls of water. The Zora carried him to the shore of the lake, setting him on the sand and rubbing his back as he coughed and choked. The other Zora surfaced a few minutes later, dragging a limp Dark Link onto the sand, the glowing manacles already burning his shadowy skin. Link looked on with horror.

"Sh-Shadow!" Link choked out, attempting to crawl to him. The small Zora held him back, catching him around the waist.

"No! Link, little brother, please. I don't know how the Shield of Hyrule lost you to this Dark Creature, but do not let his spell overtake you! He'll destroy you, please!" The Zora pleaded, pulling Link back against his chest and holding him close, ignoring his weak struggles. Link sent him a dark glare. His trembling hand reached for his wooden practice sword in the shadows, momentarily forgetting that it had been destroyed. The lesser shadows, the little traitors, only laughed at him. None of the Zora seemed to notice.

"Let us go, Zora, we've done nothing to you! Shadow! Let him go, you're hurting him! Shadow!" Link cried hoarsely. He squirmed and writhed, his body too weak from his near-drowning to put up the fight he wanted. The now purpling bruises on his body ached fiercely as the numbness the cold water granted began to fade.

"Link, please, it's me, Ralis, don't you remember me?" The smallest whispered, turning Link's face to look at him. One of the Zora pulled a glowing crystal from his bag, much like the ones that made up the grand chandelier in the temple below. This he held near Link so they could see him more clearly.

Link yelped and raised his hands to protect his sensitive eyes from the light, but Ralis caught and lowered them with his free hand. Link clenched his eyes shut, vainly attempting to twist his head from Ralis' firm but gentle grip.

"That monster." Ralis whispered, taking in the bruises that covered Link's face and torso, but lingering on the hand print-shaped bruise around his small neck. Ralis suspected that the Shadow's hand would match the mark perfectly. His fins stiffened to a razor-sharp edge as fury coursed through him and he stood, fully intending to punish the Dark Creature for harming his little brother.

"Get away from him!" A burst of adrenaline coursed through his veins and Link leapt to his feet, snatching a spear twice his height from a nearby Zora, pointing it at the Prince. One of the guards reacted instinctively, striking Link across the back of his neck with the bottom of his own spear. Link's eyes flew wide, his mouth opening in a silent cry as he fell forward, the stolen spear clattering to the ground as Ralis rushed to catch him with a shout of alarm.

He didn't know what to think. Ralis had gone out on patrol with some of his mother's guards that evening. They'd been swimming through the lake for over an hour, and were about to turn back when the clouds parted and something in the distance caught his eye. It looked like a dark spot in the water above the temple, one that hadn't been there before.

Curious, he'd motioned to the guards and together they'd swam silently towards it. Closer, and he could make out an unnaturally shaped man dressed in dark clothes, swimming towards the surface. Closer still, silent as a whisper in the waves, and he realized why the man looked so strange. It was not one man, but a man and a boy. . . a very familiar boy. Ralis watched a small arm thump against a much more powerful chest, a little blond head shaking back and forth in distress.

Throbbing anger rose up in him, and without further thought he motioned sharply to his companions, who darted forward and were upon the pair in a flash, incapacitating the man and pulling the child from him. Ralis caught up to them, breathing his own breath into the child to keep him alive until they reached the surface.

They brought Link ashore the check for injuries, but when the glowing light of the crystal spilled over him, the throbbing anger became a raging inferno of fury, directed at the Dark Creature lying limply where he'd been dropped on the sands. And Link defended him!

What had the creature done that Link would fail to recognize his best friend? What had it done that he had cringed from the light of the crystal as though it burned him? Why, oh why, would Link threaten him, Ralis, in defense of the creature?

The Zora's Crown Prince intended to find out.

"Lock it away. I wish to speak with it later, and no doubt my mother will as well." Ralis ordered, motioning to the creature with disgust. Lifting Link gently, like the most precious of treasures, Ralis cradled the boy in his arms as they swam back to Zoras' Domain.

Ralis' scene was really hard to write for some reason. I swear I rewrote it about ten times, and I'm still not happy with it. I'm also freaking out because MCAT scores are released tomorrow. AAAAHHH!

Thank you to the Chapter Eight reviewers Kick-Aft (yep, mine too), Sergeant Dreamer (Mum's the word as far as Sheik is concerned), Sky- Princess of Time (I am too, and I hope you stick with it!), and Darkwolflink1 (Nah, it's always Vio. He does have his heroic moments too. Dark is cute though. That, I think, is what has made these last couple chapters so difficult. Dark tries so hard to protect Link, and he ends up hurting him!).

To everyone else: please remember to feed the author. Reviews make me happy, and happy gives me ideas and motivation!