Chapter Seventeen
The ancient stone door slid slowly open as Vio lit the final torch. There were only three, though Vio knew there should be more. Most of the others seemed to have fallen over the centuries, if the scattered bits of wood and metal were any indication.
The room within was pitch-black, and Vio held out his arm to stop Vaati from going further. "There's a large hole in front of us. Trust me, you don't want to fall. The Hero had a hookshot to get across, but we'll have to fly. Are you strong enough to carry me?"
Vio's sensitive ears picked up the sound of rustling cloth and the pop of a cork, presumably Vaati taking a drink of blue potion. Vio frowned. Was drinking this much potion normal? But then, Vaati had been sealed for quite a long time, and that itself was hardly normal. . .
"Yes, I can do it." Vaati took Vio's hand in his, following the line of his arm to wrap his arms around the boy's waist. "Hold on tightly, and tell me when to land. I can't see a thing!" With Vio secure, Vaati lifted them slowly, carefully, across the hole. Vaati shuddered at the feeling of icy-cold shadows across his skin before Vio gave the clearance to land. Keeping a firm grip on the boy's hand, Vaati followed him through the illusion to another room, this one lit by a single, sputtering torch, illuminating the large statue of a crow in the center. It looked almost like. . .but no, it wasn't quite the one he'd seen in his vision. Once again, there seemed to have once been other torches in this room, but they had fallen. The last looked like it might at any moment. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped.
Turning to look behind him, Vaati shivered at the image of a grinning skull. "Pleasant place, isn't it?" He commented. Vio turned.
"An illusion. They're mentioned in Sheik's book." The shadows drew close, and when they parted Vio flipped through the well-worn pages of the old book, searching until his eyes lighted on the desired passage. "The paintings lining the walls and concealing the doors of the Shadow temple depict images of Sheikah past to those who can see them. To those unable to see past the illusion, only skulls are visible to hide the way."
Vaati peered at the book curiously. It was written on fine parchment, spelled to slow the natural process of decay. Each page was a work of art in itself; perfect penmanship and intricate drawings telling tales of the history of Hyrule. Vaati's eyes traced the images of the Hero, lovingly rendered, and the monsters he fought. Vio saw him looking and smiled. "Sheik wrote it himself, with Shadow's help (The doodled mustache on some of the drawings of the Hero was proof enough of that). In this you'll find every tale of the Hero ever told, even those that never happened."
At Vaati's look of confusion, Vio's smile turned to a smirk and he flipped the page. "There's a map. According to this, we need to go that way." He pointed at what seemed to Vaati to be another painting just like the others, behind a column holding a dusty skull. "The other doors lead to a side area containing the Hover Boots, but we can't use those so there isn't any reason to go looking for them." Closing the book and allowing the shadows to take it once more, Vio stepped up to peer up at the crow. Vaati tilted his head back to look at it and shivered. Its eyes almost seemed to be staring down at him as though judging him.
Vio's ears twitched and his head tilted to the side, listening to something. "Make my beak face the Skull of Truth." He echoed words that Vaati couldn't hear. "The book says we have to turn this statue so it faces the way we need to go. That will open the door." Bracing his small body against the panel that jutted from the side of the bird he called, "Come on Vaati, help me!"
Vaati stared, but moved to do as bid. "Can you see through them, the illusions?"
"One, two, PUSH!" They threw their weight (such as it was) against the statue, but it didn't so much as budge. Vio groaned. "I was afraid of that." Heaving a sigh, he withdrew the book again. As he suspected, the Hero of Time would not have been able to move the statue without the aid of his magical gauntlets.
Vaati looked back up at the statue while Vio was busy. It wasn't looking at him anymore, but somewhere in the distance. Vaati shuttered.
"Oh, no." Vio mumbled distractedly. "I can't see through them, not the way Sheik can. . . could. I'm not a Sheikah, just a Hylian trained to recognize the shadows. I know they're there, but not what they hide. . .oh!" The rusted stand of one of the fallen torches had drawn his eyes. "Maybe. . .Vaati, fly me over!"
Blinking, Vaati did as asked, carrying Vio through the illusion (why were they so COLD?) to set him down on a (far too small for comfort) ledge, in front of a door covered by rusted metal bars. Vio's small arm fit easily through them, pushing open the door. He knelt, peering intently at the bars before nodding in satisfaction. "It's very damp down here. See? The bars have rusted. If I could just. . ." Vio braced himself against the wall, kicking hard at the chosen bar. It shuddered, but did not give. Vio kicked it again and twice more before Vaati laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me try something." Vaati said gently, kneeling beside him. Taking a slow, careful breath, Vaati brought his focus to his magic. A damp breeze blew past Vio's face, swirling around the bar. Slowly at first, then faster and faster it whirled, until Vio saw that Vaati was speeding up the rusting of the bars. Before his very eyes the bar Vio kicked and the two beside it seemed to waste away until they were no thicker than his finger.
Abruptly the wind died. Turning to Vaati Vio found him pale and shaking, on the verge of collapsing into the darkness below. Vio grabbed his arm and pulled him back, leaning him against the wall by the door. "Vaati? Can you hear me? Vaati?" The mage's eyes were closed and he panted heavily. Vio scowled, crawling all but on top of him as he patted his tunic until he found what he needed, a bottle of blue potion. "Drink Vaati, come on, there you go."
Gradually color returned to Vaati's face, and he smiled weakly. "Sorry." He whispered, taking the bottle for another swallow before putting it away. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"Don't wear yourself out that much,Vaati. There are a lot of these pits in this temple." That said, Vio shifted to kick at the bards once more, this time snapping them easily to make room for the pair of them to slip beneath. "Be careful, the tips are sharp." Vio warned as he slipped through, careful to avoid the remains of the bars.
Vaati wasn't quite as graceful, and let out a yelp when he cut his knee on the bit of remaining bar sticking up from the floor. Rolling the rest of the way, he bent to inspect the damage, and deciding it was serious enough, reached for his bottle of blue potion.
"Don't use blue for that, here, I have red. Use this." Vio held out the bottle to him. The wound would heal with only a sip, so Vaati obliged before returning the bottle.
They made their way into the next room, to find the skeleton of a beamos which had long stopped working. Its single eye stared back at them, empty and dead. The walls were blocked off by mountains of skulls. Vaati shivered.
"We can't get through." He whispered, hardly daring to speak any louder. "The way is blocked."
"No it's not. This way." Vio took Vaati's hand, leading him through the macabre illusion of death.
Two and half bottles of blue potion remained.
Darkness and shadow. It was part of him and he was part of it.
Him? What was a "him?"
Sensation. The touch of ice against his bare skin, clawed hands upon him.
Ice? Skin? Claws? What were these things?
"Dark Link. . .Dark Link. . .darling little Darkling. . ." Sound, a crooning voice like nails on glass. "Awaken my Darkling, open your eyes. . ."
Eyes. To see. He hadn't known they were closed. He opened them, as she bid.
She? He? Was he different from the voice? From the darkness and shadows?
Ruby red eyes, hair blacker than the darkness, and skin so pale it hurt to look at her. She was beautiful and terrifying, all at once.
She giggled, the sound a hammer and chisel on his skull. "You're so handsome Darkling. I knew you would be, when I first saw Him through Her eyes." Those claws ran through his own hair, which he saw was as black as hers, and cupped his face, locking her gaze with his. He couldn't look away.
"It took a long time, Darkling, but I did it. I finally forced Him to gather enough darkness to give you form, so that I might give you life." Her lips, cold as her hands, pressed to his, and he couldn't help but kiss her back. "You're mine, Darkling. I created you, so I own you. Me, and no other. No other ever will."
What was this feeling, welling up inside of him? Was it love? Was it hate? What did those words mean?
Did it really matter?
They'd passed through a long corridor containing guillotines every few feet, but they no longer worked. The blades had long since rusted and fallen from their gears, lying about on the floor as though thrown there by a petulant child.
The next room, according to the book, should have contained many platforms they could use to cross. But if the platforms had been there once, they were gone now, crumbled into the pit below. Looking about, Vaati saw more statues of the crow. He could swear they were watching them.
"There should still be a ledge, hidden by the shadows." Vio knelt to pick up a pebble, tossing it to the side. Sure enough it bounced, coming to rest on nothing.
". . .beware the shadows that hang from the ceiling. . ."
Vio barely heard the whispered warning before a whoosh sounded in his sensitive ears. Vaati, who had turned to peer into the yawning chasm with morbid interest, didn't seem to notice the shadow growing at his feet.
"Watch out!" Vio yelled, but too late. The giant hand dropped on top of the small Minish, catching him by surprise. Vaati screamed as he was lifted, and almost without thinking Vio summoned his bow and arrows from the shadows. Notching an arrow he prayed to the goddesses he wouldn't miss or accidentally hit Vaati as he let the arrow fly. The monster gave a horrible groan and screech as it split into four smaller Wallmasters and dropped its prey, Vaati only just managing to catch himself before he hit the ground. Something tumbled from inside his tunic and one of the four landed on it with the awful crunching sound of breaking glass.
Vio struck down two of the smaller hand-like monsters with Sheik's dagger before he heard Vaati yell. Turning, he saw the blue-soaked Wall Master grow and swell to twice its size, feeding on the blue potion the bottle had held. Vaati scrambled backwards frantically and the monster leaped at him, only to be shot again by one of Vio's arrows. It roared and split into four again, these roughly the same size as an average Wallmaster.
Vio notched another arrow and prepared to let it fly before he felt the whisper of wind on his back and whipped about, firing instead at the last of the small Wallmasters which had tried to sneak up on him.
Vaati blasted the four large Wallmasters back against the stone wall, splitting them into four each again. The small hands grunted and chirped and clicked and clacked across the floor to surround them.
Vio's stance shifted, the dagger held out before him. He waited until the beasts were almost on top of him before he spun, wiping out over half of them.
Vaati had killed six of them with a small fire spell. Two more sprang at him, and Vio cleaved them easily in two. Vaati blew a third against the wall before it could grab him, followed by a wind-directed arrow. A heartbeat passed, then another.
Tired blue stared at exhausted red.
"Maybe we should take a break."
The bottle that had broken was full. Only a bottle and a half of blue potion remained.
Dark Link, whose form currently resembled what Ralis thought might be a Hylian teen, spent most of the night taunting them from the safety of the graveyard.
("What in the Great Fish is he doing?"
"I believe the term is 'mooning,' your highness.")
Sunrise caught him almost by surprise, as though he hadn't noticed the rapid lightning of the sky. He let out a hiss and dove for cover, cursing his annoyance that he couldn't take shelter in one of the out-of-sight graves, instead banished to the shade of a weeping willow.
Ralis sat at the edge of the ledge by entrance to the Shadow Temple, watching the shadow. It galled him that he could do nothing to assist little Vio on his quest (he'd tried, but found the since he couldn't fly, he couldn't get very far into the temple), angered him to know that the child and the Wind Mage had descended into such a dark place to attempt to save a Dark Creature.
One Who Didn't Even Care!
Anger flared in him, and ignoring his guard's panicked shout Ralis leaped from the ledge, landing gracefully in the graveyard below. Crimson eyes watched him warily as he stalked closer to the tree, though still standing well beyond its shade. They stared at one another, one in light, one in shadow, neither wanting to make the first move. Dark Link was the first to give and avert his gaze, looking back towards the Shadow Temple.
"Do you know why we're here in a graveyard nobody has set foot in for centuries?"
"I don't give a flying fu-"
"We're here," Ralis interrupted sharply, "because Vio is determined that something in this place will help you."
"I don't need help!" Dark Link snarled, letting out an irate hiss.
"Vio seems to think you do. Apparently, he doesn't think this behavior is normal for you. Vaati doesn't either." Ralis replied, unimpressed. He leaned almost casually on the spear he carried, though every muscle in his body spoke of how tense he was. "Neither will speak of what happened in Castle Town, except to say it wasn't your fault. I don't believe that for a minute."
Dark Link snorted, but chose to ignore him.
Ralis was not pleased. "You never cared for either of them. I knew you were lying when you said you loved Sheik-"
"DO NOT MENTION THAT NAME TO ME!" Dark Link threw his hand forward, blade-like shots of energy heading straight for Ralis' chest. The prince dove to the side, and the weapons dispersed harmlessly under the sun's bright rays. The guard shouted, but Ralis waved for him to stay away even as Dark Link moved as close as the shade would allow. "Do not EVER mention SHEIK to me! Sheik did not exist! Sheik never existed! Sheik! Is! Not! REAL!"
A flick of Ralis' wrist followed by a shriek from Dark Link as several branches of the willow fell to the ground drove him back closer to the trunk, glaring harshly at the stone-faced prince.
"He was real enough not that long ago." Ralis demanded, voice disgusted. Was this the same shadow who had been so crushed by the loss of the Eternal Shield he couldn't even fight off a couple guards? "They're wrong about you. They're wasting their time, aren't they?"
Dark Link chuckled. "Weak. They're both weak. Link can't even sustain the Hero, and Vaati has always been a weakling, just a pawn."
Two more branched fell.
"His name is Vio. That's supposed to mean something to you!" Ralis' eyes burned with a cold fury as he glared at him.
"He's a traitor!" Dark Link shouted, fists balled up at his sides. His form had shifted at some point. He was smaller just then, looking perhaps twelve or thirteen. With his lips pulled back in a snarl and his white fangs clearly visible, it fit somehow. "In the end they're all the same! It doesn't matter which Link I kill. If I kill him I'll be whole, like Dark Zelda wants." And Dark Zelda had to be appeased. If she wasn't. . . well, Dark Link didn't want to think about it.
"You're a moron. I expected nothing less from a Dark Creature. I should have destroyed you in the dungeon and saved Vio this pain. He still calls for you, you know, when he sleeps. The Wind Mage too. It's absolutely galling." Turning, Ralis headed back towards the ledge, one hand slipping into his bag.
With his back to the shadow, he missed the momentary pause, the slight twitch of guilt on his face before he shoved it away.
Dark Link sneered and opened his mouth to say something more, but Ralis didn't give him a chance. Pulling his hand from his bag he tossed a light crystal under the tree, watching coldly as Dark Link screamed and scrambled to find a shadow to hide in, away from the burning light.
Ignoring the angry shouts and curses hurled after him (he was going to shove what, where? Was that even possible?) Ralis stalked back to the ledge and jumped to grab his guard's hand to pull himself up.
"Vaati!" Tumbling and turning, Vio dropped out of sight.
They had entered the room cautiously. The book said this was a hall of winds, with gusts strong enough to blow a grown man off into the pits below. The first fan hadn't been running, still they proceeded with care. The second fan didn't even twitch. The fan at the end sputtered, but was still. They rounded the corner, still nothing.
They had reached the last section of the hall, this with steep drops on either side. Without any warning a side fan suddenly kicked in full strength, blowing Vio sideways and off the ledge with a startled scream.
Vaati whipped around, diving into the dark pit after him, the roar of the fan and icy cold of the fall singing past his ears as he urged the winds to push him faster until he could grab onto Vio's blue tunic. Something roared up to grab at them, but Vaati didn't hang around in midair long enough to find out what it was. Directing the wind hard in the other direct stopped their plummet into nothing, and quickly as he could, Vaati brought them back up.
The other fans had sputtered to life by then, some working better than others. Vaati was unprepared for the full force of it, blowing them sideways and through a wall that wasn't a wall, into a room Vaati didn't even know was there.
A paralyzing shriek greeted them. Vio's gaze, stuck fixed somewhere just past Vaati's head, grew wide with fright as the slowly lumbering Redead drew near, its gaunt, decaying body looming over the Wind Mage's tiny form.
A second shriek and the feel and stench of rancid breath on the back of his neck (that one guard with the yellow teeth had worse breath, actually, now that he thought about it. . . That was a disturbing thought.) alerted Vio to the presence of at least one more Redead making its way towards them.
Come on, come on! Finally Vio was able to move, and he drew Sheik's dagger quick as a flash and spun, knocking the thing back so it fell with a gasping groan. One hit didn't finish it, however, and it screamed again, paralyzing him.
The first Redead wrapped its dusty, dead hands around Vaati's torso, dipping its head to bite into the Wind Mage's left arm. The pain snapped him from the paralysis and he screamed, the hungry Redead tangling its legs with his to keep him from kicking as it chewed with blunt teeth, its dry body groaning like wood bending in the wind as it jerked with the pleasure of his magic-infused blood filling the hole that served as its mouth and flowing deeper into its body.
A third Redead had appeared through a hole in the collapsed wall to the right, and it latched onto the frozen Vio just as the second Redead returned to him. Each latched onto a shoulder, sawing through cloth and skin and muscle as they took his lifeforce for themselves, pushing, pawing, scraping at his flesh. As with Vaati, the pain returned his ability to move, and he screamed as his body twisted to escape them, rational thought fleeing from his head as he fought wildly, working one leg loose enough to kick at the Redead in front of him, forcing it back. It screamed in his face and lunged forward again, bloody teeth aiming for his throat (and they didn't have a fairy for that!)-
A jolt like lightning shot through the Redeads (and by extension, Vio), forcing them to drop him before a strong blast of wind knocked the groaning Redeads back through the hole in the wall, too far for their screams to paralyze. Another whispered spell blasted the rock nearby, blocking the other room and ensuring that no Redead remained.
Though his own arm dripped blood, Vaati dragged himself to Vio, who lay screaming and gasping for breath, pained tears pouring down his face. "Shadow, shadow. . ." He whimpered, very much just a frightened little boy. If his shadow heard, he didn't answer.
(Outside, Ralis observed the Dark Creature start and look towards the temple. He moved as though he might try to approach it, then stopped, sitting down again with his back to the tree trunk. The sun was still high and the sky cloudless, so he could come no closer.)
Vaati lifted Link's head with one hand, ignoring the blood flowing freely over them both as he groped for the bottle of red, bringing it to the boy's lips and forcing him to drink. Vio coughed and spluttered but swallowed it down, emptying the bottle. Vaati drained his second bottle of blue before looking Vio over again, seeing that his wounds weren't entirely healed. The Redeads had done a number on him, and his thrashing only made it worse. Pulling out his last bottle of potion, Vaati gave it to Vio, using another quarter of it before his shaking finally stopped and he lay still.
Vaati stroked his hair gently, whispering soft words of comfort. Redeads were terrifying creatures. He didn't fear them as he feared Poes and their ability to make him remember, but they were terrifying none-the-less. Lost, tortured souls forever seeking the fill the void of hunger within them.
He wasn't sure how long they sat there before Vio slowly drew himself up, the blood on his torn tunic already beginning to dry and stick to him. Together, they passed into the next room.
Only perhaps three-fourths of a bottle of blue potion remained. Gufuu, who had been oddly quiet, laughed.
"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. . ."
Well, I originally intended to finish the entire Shadow Temple in one chapter, but since this already the longest chapter (over 4,000 words, a record for me!) and it's been close to two weeks, I figured I might as well take pity on you and post now (also, thank Rococospade. She kind of guilted me into updating by posting a few updates herself for Static Red. Go read it, it's awesome!)
Thank you to the Chapter Sixteen Reviewers Kick-Aft, Rose Starglen, darkwolflink1, Rococospade (your review...so long! Yay! *Spazz spazz spazz*. Thank you again for being awesome. Hopefully this chapter lived up to your expectations of unfortunate events. I promise to give you credit for you-know-who as soon as he actually makes himself known), and Clarador (although I'm currently hiding from you in an undisclosed location for my own safety).