AN: Well, I had a lot of fun with this chapter, so it got done fast. I can't wait to hear what you guys think.
Also, to answer a few questions:
Navi does not exist. I don't like her.
Yes, Link is the taller one. Blasphemy, I know. Oh well =P
And… I already have the whole story planned out. I just have to write it. Its hard to say how long its going to be but rough estimate says 15 chapters. Thank you all so much again, and I'll be back soon with Chapter 9
Pressure
Dark looked around, helplessly in the grip of terror. One second he was out in the canyon, ready to fight valiantly against a horde or rampaging Gerudo warriors in the defense of his Hero. The next he was standing on a familiar sandbank surrounded by stagnant, ankle-deep water that stretched on as far as the eye could see. This was the room in the Water Temple he'd spent most of his life in. This was his home. This was his prison.
"No…" he whispered, feeling panic setting in. "No, no, no, no!"
He ran off-it didn't really matter which direction-until he hit the invisible wall that caged him in. Dark kicked at the wall, clawed at it, scratched it, slashed it but nothing ever happened. Wild eyed, he ran at the door, tugging on the bars that blocked it shut with all the strength he could muster but they wouldn't budge.
Dark dropped to his knees, pale and shivering and absolutely terrified. He'd tasted freedom and couldn't stand to have it taken away again, especially not so soon. If he spent too much time in this illusion where time did not exist, he'd eventually question whether Link had been just a dream. How could the Goddesses be so cruel as to do that to him?
"Maybe…maybe I died? How did I die? I don't remember dying!" he wailed, clutching at whatever ideas might keep him sane…but then, if he had died then that meant his strength, his sole redeeming quality, had failed him.
Panting as his heart tried to claw its way out of his chest, Dark hugged his knees against his chest. "Link! Din! Nayru, Farore! Someone get me out of here!" he cried, sending up a frantic prayer to anyone that would listen. While it was the Three Golden Goddesses that heard his prayer, it was answered by another; the fourth one he had named.
A pillar of soft blue light pierced the pall of clouds above and enveloped the panic-stricken swordsman, easing his distress as it carried him up into the heavens…
When the light cleared, Dark was sitting in a small dark cavern in between two shallow pools of water. Ahead of him another column of light shone down from a hole in the ceiling.
He knew someone was behind him. He knew it was Link too, but he wouldn't turn around. At least not until he had his emotions under control. After all, Link's stubbornness had caused a lot of trouble, so he wouldn't give Link the satisfaction of seeing him cry.
Link cleared his throat hesitantly as he looked down at Dark sitting there, back stiff and shoulders tense. The boy was used to reading body language and right then, Dark's was saying, you are in big trouble!
Much as Link would have liked to avoid a conflict, he was backed into a dead end and Dark was blocking the only exit and slowly getting to his feet. Thinking it would probably be best to salvage as much of the situation as possible before Dark finished standing up. "Ah… Dark? I just wanted to say that-"
Dark spun around and swung. The sudden fist smashing into his nose caught the Hero completely off guard. The next thing he knew, he was on his back with Dark sitting on his stomach. "What the hell is wrong with you! You think you can fix this by apologizing?" he growled, grabbing Link by the collar and pulling his shoulders off the ground to shake him around. A minute later he sighed and let the blond fall back into the dust.
Link stared up, dumbfounded by the number and variety of emotions that flashed across Dark's face.
Anger, panic, gratitude, disappointment, hesitation, fear, panic, sadness, but above all was relief.
Link was just confused. First Dark punched him, tackled him, had shaken him silly and was now… hugging him? How could he even keep track of all that?
"Idiot. I was really worried about you," Dark whispered, resting his head on the red expanse of cloth beneath him. Now Link felt really horrible about himself. Dark was back into his 'innocent mode' and seeing that look, that heartbreaking look made Link feel like one of those terrible people that went around kicking puppies and stealing candy from children. "Why did you leave me behind?" As much as he tried to hold himself together, Dark's voice wavered and he heard the blond sigh. Link didn't think he could get any lower but hearing that he knew just how wrong he was. He also knew that in many ways that Dark was just as much a child as he was…a child he'd pushed to the brink of tears.
Dark's body was not heavy at all but beneath the weight of all that guilt, Link was nearly crushed. "I… This is my destiny to fulfill. You should not have to shoulder my responsibilities."
Dark pushed himself up, glaring at that blond, his crimson eyes swimming with unshed tears. "Just who the hell do you think you are? We're partners and if you didn't want my help you shouldn't have accepted my oath. I mean, do you even realize how selfish you are!"
Link blink, somewhat taken aback that he of all people would be accused of being selfish. "I do not see how. I only ever think of the wellbeing of-"
"Of your reputation!" Dark interrupted, growling. "You spend so much time trying to be the Hero that you think everyone expects you to be. So you're not selfish in the traditional sense. You need to think of yourself more, but how can you say you're not when you completely ignore me? Is your opinion the only one that matters? You're always going on about the good of the country, but you're unwilling to go a little out of your way to satisfy the one person sitting right in front of you!"
Link frowned, his gaze going flat. " I am not sleeping with you Dark."
"I'm not talking about sex!" he screamed and they both stopped and shared a blink. Neither had ever thought they'd hear those words come out of Dark's mouth.
Slightly shaken, Dark drew a deep breath and forged on, "You need to stop acting like you're fighting alone because you aren't. I made you a promise for a reason and I intend to keep it, but I can't do that when you keep pushing me away. How do you think it makes me feel, knowing that my only friend turns me down every chance he gets? I feel…unnecessary."
The blond smacked his head back into the ground. Link, the glorious Hero of Time and not-so-glorious disappointment to the only person who'd ever offered him a hand. Already he could feel the cold, insidious fangs of guilt brushing his chest, just waiting to sink in.
Goddesses all damn it. Why did he have to be so susceptible to it? Of all the dangers he'd been in, even falling off cliffs, being electrocuted, roasted in lava, drowned, frozen and impaled, this hurt the most, the feeling that he was somehow failing in his life's purpose.
"I… I can handle myself just fine. I accomplished a great deal before you showed up. I thought you would need rest and did not want to interfere with your recovery." Link muttered in a last ditch attempt to justify himself but his resolution was crumbling to the point that he himself no longer believed it.
Dark snorted. "Yeah. You care so much about my recovery that you practically slap me across the face and abandon me to sit around and worry about whether you're ok or not. When I finally do snap and decide to go help, I find you chained to a wall just minutes away from becoming a sex toy for the entire fortress. You know what they'd do when they finished? They'd slice you open and rip out your guts, stuff you like some hunting trophy and mount you on the wall!"
Link paled as his overactive imagination kicked in, filling his mind with all the bloody details.
"Oh. And you owe me two by the way," Dark added, almost as an afterthought. At Link's questioning glance, he explained, "One for hauling your butt out of the frying pan and one for sparing them. She… she was about to kiss you, and I was ready to butcher that entire group. I let them live as a favor to you. A favor I expect back someday."
He sounded so affronted about it. "I do not understand. Compared to their brutal treatment of the male gender, why is a kiss so im-"
Link never got to finish his sentence as he felt Dark's lips cover his, soft and hesitant, as though he were still figuring out what to do. Dark felt it was something he had to do and damn the consequences. He'd felt sure that Link would be upset so he was more then surprised when the blond started kissing him back. This was it, he was kissing the Hero of Time. My Hero of Time, he thought hazily. They both tasted of blood and sweat, but beneath that was a flavor unique and Dark just couldn't get enough of it, this sweet floral flavor.
Much as he would have loved to keep his lips permanently attached to his Hero, Dark wisely decided to pull back. He knew he'd gotten lucky so he didn't want to push the blond too far. Sitting back, Dark belatedly answered the original question, "It's important because I wanted to be your first kiss."
They both blushed at that and looked away, waiting in awkward silence for a minute before Dark cleared his and looked around. The cave wasn't very large and aside from a small patch of knee high grass by a small treasure box and a small pool of water with a fish, there wasn't much down there.
"Ah, yes. We are under a small ledge set into the cliffside a short way down canyon above the river. I spotted it before we crossed and jumped down after you disappeared. I was a worried about you for a moment as well. Fortunate for us I could call you back into the Water Medallion," Link said as he fished the blue talisman out from under his shirt.
He knew Link hadn't done it maliciously so he chose not to hold any grudges…still…he couldn't suppress a shiver. "Yeah…it sent me back to my cage in the Water Temple. I thought I'd died and been sent back as punishment. Thought I was gonna go crazy for a minute, until you let me out again."
Link nodded, staring thoughtfully at the token that Princess Ruto had given him. "That could prove useful in the future. I know you don't like it in there but would you mind returning occasionally if I believe it will be helpful?"
Dark sighed. Now that he hopefully had gotten Link to take his thoughts into account, now he had to ask for the hard stuff. "Is it really that important" he whined, flinching when Link raised a brow.
"I know a song to warp out of here. The only other alternative is to dive roughly one hundred fifty feet down into rapid filled river. I prefer to take the safer way."
Dark snickered. "Triforce of Courage. You scared of a little cliff diving?" he teased.
"There is an old saying that caution is the better part of valor. I do not intend to risk my life if it can be avoided, particularly not to try and impress you," Link replied dryly. Dark only shrugged.
"Alright, fine. Let's say I agree and you warp out of here. Where are we going? You know what we have to do next?"
Link narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Something about the casual, slightly mocking way he asked made him almost hesitate to ask. Whatever Dark had planned, it couldn't be good.
"You know something, don't you? What is it?"
Grinning, the black swordsman stretched slowly, exaggerating every movement to try and get his partner impatient. "Yeah, I know something. I'll trade ya for it. You tell me something I wanna know first and I'll tell you what I heard."
It only figured that the person he had to get saddled with would treat saving the world as a game. "Dark. This is important."
"Yeah, yeah, the fate of the world rests on it. I know. If that's the case, Mr. I-must-save-the-world-at-any-cost, then you shouldn't be hesitating. All you have to do is answer a question. You should be happy that it's so easy for once"
Link sighed. Sometimes dealing with Dark was more exhausting then the task of battling monsters for the sake of world peace. "Fine. What do you want to know?" he muttered tiredly, trying to ignore Dark's mischievous grin.
"Did you enjoy kissing me?" he whispered, breathing the question into the blonde's ear, smirking in satisfaction as Link's face heated to the color of his tunic. For several minutes he stared off into the rock, thinking. This was a condition to learn information relevant to his quest and even though he knew Dark was just doing it to get a rise out of him, he still wanted to give an honest answer. He thought back to the kiss, to Dark's lips, soft and warm as they brushed against his own, to the faint bittersweet flavor of black licorice that still lingered on his tongue.
"I…yes," he whispered and cursed himself for blushing even harder..
"Mmm…good. I enjoyed kissing you too. So, as agreed, we need something called the Eye of Truth to cross the desert to the Spirit Temple." It'd been bugging him for a while now and Dark finally got fed up with his curiosity and went over to open the lonely treasure chest in the back of the cave.
Link leaned back against the cavern walls, thinking back. The Eye of Truth…it sounded familiar. "Oh yes. I remember now. I heard it mentioned as a child in Kakariko Village. It was some kind of Sheikah artifact. In that case I have a song to warp nearby."
"Well, then couldn't you just teach me the song?" Dark asked curiously. Some nights, Link stayed up and play songs. On those nights, Dark would stay up too and listen to the soothing melodies. Again, he was a little jealous of all the different things Link could do, and while playing the Ocarina wouldn't help him in battle, it still would be nice to learn. Besides, the blond had an extra one laying around anyways that he'd used to give Dark a few introductory lessons. Link normally played the Ocarina of Time but he had another, a carved light brown wooden Ocarina that he took out sometimes when he was deep in thought and the song he played on it was a song of the forest. Whenever that happened he found himself wondering if maybe the boy was home sick. That's why he was more then a little surprised when Link told him he could hold onto it.
"I… suppose," Link murmured thoughtfully. "But it will not assist you any."
"So maybe I wanted to learn just because." Dark rolled his eyes, debating whether to go on. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to speak his mind once in a while. "Y'see… All I'm really good at is fighting and killing. I know it won't help me fight but I still want to learn something that can make me something more then just an instrument of war."
Link stared as Dark put on his brave smile. Once again, he couldn't refuse his request after hearing something like that. "Fine… I will teach you to play some more, but not right now. I want to be off to Kakariko as soon as possible. Is that acceptable?"
"Wooh! Twenty Rupees!" Dark crowed over the contents of the small chest that had been sitting untouched for the entirety of their conversation. The shadow grinned, holding up the red crystal that was used for currency throughout the land, completely ignoring the conversation at hand. For such a powerful swordsman, he could be such a little kid sometimes. As much as it wore on his patience though, Link really couldn't begrudge the boy his excuse to smile.
"Dark. May I put you back in the Medallion so we can get out of here?"
Dark made a face and eyed the blue Medallion dubiously. "If… it won't be for too long, then…I guess so," he conceded with a long suffering sigh.
"It will only be a few minutes and I will release you as soon as I can," Link promised and sucked Dark back into the Medallion. There was no vortex, no flash of light and no puff of smoke. He was simply and suddenly gone.
The Bolero of Fire, a low and stately march was the song he'd learned to warp to the Fire Temple. Down the spell came, carrying him away to the Death Mountain Crater.
The heat that assaulted him upon materializing was relentless; even worse then the burning desert sun. If he hadn't already been dressed in the Goron Tunic and protected by its charm, the extreme heat would have his skin cracked and blistering within minutes of arriving.
As it was, just seconds of the extreme heat and Link was already drenched in sweat. He hadn't liked the Fire Temple the first time through and had no desire to visit it again. To get off the small rock island in the center of the crater, a wooden bridge stretched across the pits of bubbling lava to a path along the edge that spiraled up to the exit high above. At least, the bridge used to extend across the pits of bubbling lava, but at some point in time it had collapsed, probably due to prolonged exposure to extreme heat. That made it impassible to the average person, but the wooden posts at each end had survived and made a nice target for the Hookshot.
Shooting across the gap to the other side, Link's first instinct was to run up the path a short ways to the conveniently placed Fairy Fountain. It was just an ordinary passageway cut into the mountainside, but the oppression heat cut off abruptly, unable to cross some magical bubble that kept the Great Fairy not only safe from enemies, but also cool and comfortable and somehow providing soft relaxing harp music. Where it actually came from , he still didn't know.
As soon as the heat cut off, Link pulled out the Medallion where it hung from a cord around his neck and sent a small pulse of magic to call Dark out. A moment later his partner appeared on the floor in front of him as quickly and silently as he'd vanished.
"Huh? Where are we now?" Dark asked, glancing around to get oriented with his surroundings. Link offered a hand to help the boy up then headed down to stand on the edge of the fountain.
"This is a Great Fairy's Fountain. It is one of the few safe places to rest and I stop by as often as I can," Link replied before taking out his Ocarina. The very first song he'd learned, Zelda's Lullaby rang softly through the room, its muffled notes hanging heavily on both boy's eyelids. It was actually an ancient song of the Royal Family and as the notes died, they were replaced by the high echoing laughter of the Great Fairy who emerged from the shallow fountain water.
"Welcome back, Hero," she giggled. "You may rest here and I will ease your weariness. And that of your friend, if you wish. Will you introduce us?"
Dark missed everything both of them said. He was busy staring; staring and drooling over the fairy floating above in the air before them. Her long pink hair was pulled into three long strands that flowed out behind her, tied together with black glittering bands that matched a thick ring around her eyes. The black glitter was also the only thing remotely resembling clothing that she wore. It wasn't even clothing really, but more like a tattoo of vines and leaves so that she wouldn't be completely nude.
Oh no, without the tattoos, she still wouldn't be totally nude. She had boots on too.
Link frowned. Leave it to Dark to blatantly stare at one of the most powerful magical beings in the country. Just because that magical being happened to take the shape of a mostly nude adult woman with large breasts was no reason to stare…that was just disrespectful to the highest extent!
Not to mention, the nymphomaniac fairy wouldn't do the slightest thing to discourage Dark from staring…or doing more then just staring if he were even slightly inclined to do so. Link found himself gritting his teeth as he thought about that. Just because he'd never responded to Dark's advances was no reason to just up and throw them at someone else!
Two columns of green energy came spiraling down to envelope the boys. Since Hyrule had no practical form of healing magic that he'd ever seen, Link watched as he normally did in fascination as his wounds magically closed. Dark didn't seem to notice, seemingly in a trance as he stared unblinking at the Great Fairy's body.
Suddenly he snapped back to reality as a leather gloved hand slipped under his jaw and pushed it shut. Dark blinked. He'd had his mouth open? Huh; he hadn't even noticed. Oh well, not like it made any difference…then why was Link storming off towards the exit? He glanced back and forth in confusion as Link left and the Great Fairy sank back into her fountain in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"H-hey! Hey, hang on a minute! Wait up!" Dark yelled as he ran off towards his partner. Link didn't seem to hear him. The light of the fountain faded behind him and a strange, unhealthy red glow appeared ahead. Suddenly out of nowhere, a wall of immense heat, burning like the fires of a thousand King Dodongo's breathing on him all at the same time. This made even the desert sun look like a torch beside an oven.
The sudden change was so intense that Dark recoiled instinctively, staggering back into the cool domain of the Great Fairy. Link however never faltered, shrinking into the distance. "Jeez, what is wrong with him!" Dark growled, plunging back into the suffocating heat of the volcano crater.
When he got out, Dark was just in time to see Link disappearing down a side passage off to the left. Dashing off across a bridge over a pit of boiling lava that would strip flesh from bone in mere seconds turned out to not be such a good idea. Again, the sudden violent increase in heat as he stepped over the lava knocked the boy unsuspecting back once more. Swearing softly, he grit his teeth and ran across the bridge, ready this time for the searing blast of heat that engulfed his body.
Though he'd only been in the heat for less then a minute, he was already feeling dizzy and lightheaded as he ran down the earthen passage after Link, letting out an audible sigh of relief when the temperature cooled as he entered the Goron City. The secret passage let him out into the room that had previously belonged to Big Brother Darunia. Since the boss of the Gorons had become a sage, it sat empty. Of course, the room only had a few tables, some pots and a white fur rug to honor their leader, but Dark didn't care about that as he ran through.
Goron City was divided up into three main levels that connected via sets of stairs several different sets of stairs. Each floor above the bottom was a rough ring around the clearing in the center with passages branching off like the spokes of a wheel. In spite of its efficient concept though, in reality it was a rough city in the most literal sense of the word. The floors, walls, ceiling and stairs were all hacked from the rough mountain stone. Dark ran out into the middle of the plaza just in time to see a flash of red disappearing up a set of stairs.
Though Link wasn't that far away, it still took longer then it should have for Dark to reach the stairs, weaving unsteadily from the heat waves that still affected him. He stumbled his way up the stairs to a round balcony that overlooked the bottom floor. From here there was only one doorway to take so Dark struggled his way to it and up the stairs. They continued like this with Link always being barely in sight and Dark struggling to catch up all the way up to the top of the city and out the main entrance. Without all the twists and turns, Dark had a somewhat easier time catching up to his partner who was ignoring his calls and staring resolutely ahead even when the other fell in step beside him.
Outside in the fresh air and the cool evening breeze, Dark's vision finally started to return to normal. "Hey! Link, what's wrong with you! Hey, will you slow down!"
In spite of how Dark was trying to talk to him, Link never slowed down, leaving poor Dark struggling to keep stride with the taller boy's long strides.
"If you would like to go back and stay with the Great Fairy, by all means do so," Link growled. "I am sure you can find your own way back."
"Huh? What the hell are you so mad about!"
Back and forth they went, arguing all the way down the winding mountain road towards the town at the foot of the mountain. It was only moments before they were both screaming at each other and the monsters wisely stayed away.
"I get it now." Dark whispered incredulously right as the reached the outskirts of town "You're jealous, aren't you? Man, I don't believe it… You, jealous."
Link's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am not jealous. I am insulted. I did not want any of this but I gave you a chance, yet the first opportunity you get, you drop me to throw your affection at someone else? Someone else who you hadn't even seen for an entire minute before you were drooling on the floor like a dog over a bone after you had the nerve to make me think I meant anything? Are you truly that shallow!"
Dark froze, stiffening up as he sucked air through his teeth. "Shallow? You call me shallow because I hope to get a little attention from someone because it's impossible to get from you? You ignore my advice and opinions, you don't talk to me or tell me what you're planning and after I go and risk my life to save your ungrateful hide, I didn't even get any thanks! Not one word!" Dark yelled. Though he was glaring at the ground, the way shudders wracked his pale frame and his voice, just on the edge of breaking spoke volumes about the sadness that threatened to overwhelm Dark as he turned and ran off into the village.
The roiling emotions of the two boy's as well as the heavy veil of clouds that covered the village weren't the only things ready to burst. Deep beneath the village, an ancient evil stirred, feeding on hatred and disappointment and all the other negative emotions hidden beneath the calm surface of the village, waiting… biding its time to burst out of its confinements and ravage the land once more.