AN: So, i have this finished. Its somewhat lengthy so thats partly to blame. Partly, the Temple of Time section bored me to tears so i just had to summarize. Other small things i deemed unimportant have been chopped out because i didn't feel they added anything. On a happier note, i added some of my particular brand of comedy in heavy doses to keep the chapter light. I don't think it worked but i betcha i'll get smiles. Oh, by the way. IMPORTANT: I have the next chapter finished and waiting to post. I'll wait three days and we'll see how i feel about my reviews. Give me reviews please. I need them badly! Yes, its an addiction and i need help. Whatever. The fact is, i am holding chapter 18 hostage until i get my reviews! So! All you people reading silently, Now is the time to speak up. I am pretty sure several of you may go insane from this and come to kill me for making cliffhangers. Please don't. At least not until Ch. 20 is posted. Then you can feel free to come kill me if you wish. Good luck with that. And enjoy. I did work hard on this believe it or not ~

Conquered and Lost: Love

Blue eyes stared into blue eyes as the prisoner flipped his right hand around to show the glowing mark of the Triforce of Courage on his right hand. "My name is Link."

The Kokiri staggered back against the door, mind reeling. That thing…was him! All of a sudden it made sense. That was why he could so easily read the traces of the creature's magic and why he could instinctively know how Redeads were constructed. It was simply his Triforce reading back to him the things it had already done.

This was what would happen to a fallen Hero…to one who abandoned the path of the righteous warrior to seek his own selfish interest. This was Link gone evil and it had the Kokiri feeling soiled in some deep part of his soul.

"Why? Why would you do this? Why would you allow yourself to fall so far?" Link whispered to…to that thing. He refused to even recognize it as himself. The evil Link didn't grin so much as it flashed its rotten teeth in some kind of mockery of smiling.

"Fall? I am not evil, I'll have you know. We Heroes, ever since the very beginning, have never managed to kill off Ganon entirely. Somehow he always comes back. I decided that perhaps the way to kill him for good was to use his own tactics against him. You see, we are never actually more powerful then him. We get lucky and we use tricks and traps and manage to contain him for a while, but never once have we been stronger. I wanted to change that and you are going to help me."

To Link, that didn't make the slightest bit of sense. He could never believe a story like that; especially not when his mind was flashing with images of innocent people. Brought down here and tied on the wooden stakes as the once-Hero tortured them, stripping the skin from their living bodies and forcing the pain-wracked prisoner into acid until they were next to dead. And then, on top of it all, sucking the remaining energy out of them to leave behind an empty husk of corroded tissue that had come to be known as a Redead.

"There is no way in hell I will ever help you. You are a disgrace to all of our lineage!" he snarled. The shrivelled creature only laughed.

"I am the disgrace? No, no, there have been far worse then I. Did you think I was the only fallen Hero? Compared to some of our brethren, I am a saint by comparison. I remember when I first heard about how one of the supposed 'Heroes' had fallen to plundering and slaughtering, raping women…" It cackled and shook its head, rattling the chains on the ceiling. "But none of that matters. You don't have a choice. You see, a living person can only grow so strong while he lives and I have traded away my life for even more power. Now, I need your life to take the place of my own and I shall once again walk the earth."

The air thickened, as though a storm was brewing and a pressure built around the Hero, letting him feel the palpable energy in the air. "Wait…I need to know. The last casket out there was Dark. Who is he really?"

"He is our shadow. Whoever the Hero at the time is, he is the antithesis and he has been with us from the very beginning. I suppose if he were complete he would remember his past masters. But, after I take you, he can be next!"

And suddenly the power in the room shifted, hauling Link off the ground and strapping him to the wooden stake as a sacrifice to himself. Hanging so close he could smell the other Link's putrid breath as its tongue extended out of its mouth, cold and slimy and disgusting as it licked across his skin.

"Loathsome creature, get off!" Link shouted, dredging up as much magic as he could hold and hurling it out in a dome. Din's Fire surrounded his body and ignited the ghoul before him with a high-pitched shriek of pain.

The power holding him vanished, dropping the Kokiri and as soon as he hit the ground his blade spun out like a windmill, chopping off the scorched tongue to writhe around on the ground like a snake. The wooden beams he'd been held up against also caught on fire, making a flaming cross sitting in the middle of the green haze. Jumping to the side, Link used the time his zombie alter ego would need to recover to ram his blade into the acid pool and once again drawing on the power of his Triforce to purify the water. This time the river of acid was moving, so purifying it was a great deal harder, especially since he could feel another power resisting. Slowly but surely, the acid lightened in color until it was clear. But as soon as it was complete a burst of energy knocked Link against the wall. Laying dazed on the ground, the only thing he could think to do was to bring his ocarina to his lips and play the Song of Storms.

Stirring the dense air was also hard but he managed to start small drafts of air moving throughout the room that merged into a respectable breeze. "A weather working spell? Just what do you plan to do with that?" a voice sneered but he kept playing and soon he had multiple breezes, moving and clashing against each other. The rampant gusts at war with each other noticeably thinned the fog, leaving the specter stripped of both his major defenses. But he was still far from weak. A barrage of invisible energy bombarded Link like invisible hammer blows.

Slumped against the wall Link's fingers twitched, bringing the Ocarina to his mouth again and this time playing the Sun Song. The shafts of light appeared both around the Kokiri and his evil predecessor. The ancient creature hissed, pulling away from the sunlight like a vampire and though it pained him, it wasn't enough to be fatal. For the other Link, he felt his Mirror Shield soaking up the light shining down on him just as it had absorbed the magic spells of Twinrova. It wasn't enough to discharge but before he could play the song again something heavy smashed into his face. The Ocarina went skittering across the floor and Link blinked back tears, his vision swimming and nose dripping a stream of warm blood down his face.

Invisible hands hauled him into the air again as he stared into the ragged, wheezing face of Death itself. "You! I almost wish I hadn't had our shadow keep you alive. Almost. As it is, I need your life far more then that swine Ganondorf. Foolish pig didn't realize how easily he was being manipulated, even to the point of coming down here to help release his greatest enemy."

While the enemy gloated, the Kokiri boy was licking his lips, wetting them with his own blood and began to whistle. The cheery melody of the Sun Song floated off his lips to call down another shaft of light. It wasn't nearly so bright as the Ocarina version but the light was definitely there. The old Link didn't seem impressed by this last defiant act but it served its purpose. The light warmed metal of the Mirror shield further soaked up the energy and all Link had to do was raise his arm…

Suddenly, the pallid light was a brilliantly harsh, glaring blaze that had the agonized screams of the old ghoul who hadn't seen the light of day in hundreds of years struggling futilely to escape its dazzling radiance. The sun spots that swarmed his vision kept the from seeing anything but white. Without vision, all he could do was hear the sound of a blade arc through the air and feel the stinging bite of metal slicing into his flesh. When its eyesight returned, all it could do was scream as Link unleashed a fire arrow to incinerate his severed hand and the Triforce it bore.

"Fool! You've taken away…our only…chance…" Without the Triforce, the only thing sustaining him, the ancient fiend darkened and slowly stopped moving, his body hardening into a stone statue in a macabre likeness of the creature it had once been. Chances were that he probably wouldn't be back to cause any more trouble… but Link knew better then to take chances and hefted the Megaton Hammer over his head to finish off his foe.

Far away, down in the depths of the Water Temple, Dark stood victorious over hundreds of challengers in a massive one versus all brawl. And to top it all off, he did it without getting a single scratch. All in all, he was exhausted and extremely proud. His aching muscles responded only slowly, leaden and weighted down. Ever oblivious to the suffering of others, Ruto appeared in his room and practically kicked him out the door of the Temple and so Dark drifted to the surface and climbed his way out of the lake. He was just ready to pass out on the shore of the lake when he saw a green ball of cloth that looked suspiciously like his partner.

Indeed it was Link, laying hunched in a ball on the island. The foul, stagnant stench and otherworldly chill of the Shadow Temple was slowly fading away in the gentle sunlight and sweet smell of the little violet flowers that grew out of the grass. But nothing could erase the sullied feel left by the words of his predecessor.

"Link! Hey, you waited for me!" Dark called enthusiastically, walking over when he realized something wasn't quite right. "Link? Link, what's wrong?" Worried, he sat down and gently shook his partner's shoulder.

"Who are you?" The blond sounded oddly tense, as though hesitant to hear an answer. For a minute Dark panicked, wondering if perhaps his partner was suffering some kind of amnesia and had forgotten who he was.

Slowly, in halting bits and pieces, Link recounted the horrifying revelations he'd had in the Shadow Temple while Dark listened silently to the tale. All throughout the story he watched Link's empty eyes staring off into space, heard his stutters and wanted nothing more then to fix it. He'd never seen Link look so scared and that in and of itself was concerning. "The last casket had the same feel as you. I know that is where you came from. According to…him, you may be a threat. I ask again; who are you?"

Faced with such a painful accusation especially after all this time, Dark did the only thing he could; he shrugged. "I'm the shadow of the Hero of Time. I'm the partner of the only hope for salvation this country's got. And, I'm the one who is head over heels in love with the cute, shy, stubborn, never gives up and never backs down Kokiri boy who showed me a world beyond the fog. I'm your friend. I'm nothing more and nothing less then what I told you from the very beginning."

Sighing, Link collapsed onto his back, staring up at the thin clouds drifting high up in the sky. "I know…even knowing what I saw down in the Temple is true, I also know you. The least I owe you is a chance to defend yourself." He paused and sighed until Dark crawled up to lay his head on Link's chest. "I trust you, Dark, I just…I don't know what to do. The Redeads were created because of me. How many people have I killed? Or worse, how many have I damned? What if I become like that? I…facing myself, that was the first time I have ever been afraid. It only serves to make me feel even more stained. I must…never feel fear. Must never show weakness…but I was terrified."

Dark's arms wrapped around him and he instinctively burrowed into the protective embrace of the only person who could ever come close to understanding him. It felt odd for Link to need reassuring but at the same time, who better to ask? And Dark was more then happy to offer it, gently holding his partner through the first time he'd ever truly needed someone. "You're not him. I know what's important to you and I won't let you give up on it. You're going to win. You're going to save the country and be a Hero for all the world to see…and anyone who gets in the way will get my boot so far up his ass, they'll be tasting leather!"

Link snorted, smiling in spite of himself. He had to hand it to him; Dark could always make a situation seem better. "Ohh, hey Link. I know what you need! We thwarted the evil plot and all that so we probably earned ourselves a day or so of rest, right? What do you say to a little mischief before our big showdown?" Dark suggested with an evil grin. Normally, Link would shoot the idea down before it ever got any air but he was honestly curious about what his partner would do for recreation. When he thought Dark was off pillaging the countryside, he'd actually been fishing. Not to mention, Dark was only doing it to get his mind off of being depressed and he did appreciate the thought.

"Well… what do you have in mind?" Link asked warily. Knowing Dark, it would be something he didn't want to do, but he'd give the boy the benefit of the doubt.

"Oh don't worry. I'm already way ahead of your 'no sex' rule. But you will need to take some clothes off and follow my instructions. No backing down. Deal?"

Dark sat up and held out his hand and Link eyed it dubiously. He'd said it wouldn't be sex so naturally, Link was now very curious. Goddesses forbid he lose his partner's respect for refusing to play a game. On the other hand, beneath that innocent looking face, Dark was a crafty little fox and agreeing to this could be dangerous to say the least.

The Kokiri nodded and clasped the offered hand. "Agreed." Immediately, Dark yanked him forward and started whispering the plan in his partners ear.

The blond flushed crimson, his jaw on the ground. "What! That's…th-that's…. Dark, that's horrible!" He grinned. "Alright, let's do it."

-Gerudo Fortress-

Along up the river that fed into Lake Hylia at the top of a ravine and down a canyon sat the Gerudo's Fortress. For the past several days, the guards had been on high alert ever since a pair of twins had broken into the underground sanctum to steal a sacred Gerudo Treasure. Before that, the boys had been through to release the captured prisoners. All in all, these two boys simply seemed to like making messes for the commanding officers to clean up. To help prevent said messes, the guards were deployed on the completely correct assumption that sooner or later the two swordsman would be back.

On the second floor of the fortress, one of the standard guards made her rounds along the balcony she'd been assigned to. She'd been on patrol for a little over an hour and so far all seemed quiet until she heard a heavy thud and a gasp from inside the door to her right. Turning to hail one of the other guards, she flashed a hand sign to call for backup and a moment later a squad of ten warriors stood pressed against the wall, listening. What they were listening to stunned them all.

"Ahn! Dark, no, not so hard," a breathy voice gasped from inside.

"Mmm, I'm tired of hearing that. You're strong, you can take it," another voice teased, followed by another gasp and a long drawn out moan.

"Dark!" Link's scream echoed all the way throughout the fortress, drawing even more guards. The original squad could do nothing but stare at each other in bewilderment as more gasping and moaning reached their ears. Could they really be…?

The answer presented itself as Link staggered his way out into the full view of the entire contingent of Gerudo guards with his pants missing, his green tunic disheveled and blond hair dripping sweat. A second later a shirtless Dark sauntered out to wrap his arms around Link's waist with a satisfied grin. "Oh, good morning ladies. Fancy meeting you here. I really didn't think anyone would be around."

"Dark! You said no one would come! There must be thirty people here! Is that your definition of no one!" Link cried, turning dark red and burying his embarrassed face in Dark's shoulder.

"Eh, details," came the offhand reply before he sank his teeth into the blonde's shoulder.

Behind their veils, each and every single one of the Gerudo women felt something warm and wet and salty flowing down their faces.

Biting his lip but failing to contain the moan, Link turned to face the Gerudo who still watched in stunned silence. "Uhm…uhm…th-this isn't what it looks!" he yelled, a whole new torrent of blood flooding his face.

Raising his head, Dark licked his lips and then the blood running down Link's shoulder. "Don't listen to him, this is exactly what it looks like," Dark whispered to the Gerudo with a conspiratorial wink, seductively running his tongue along the tanned skin.

"Dark!"

And with one last grin they were gone. No flash of light or gust of wind. They were simply and suddenly gone. One by one, the guards all lowered their veils. Every single one had a stream of blood pouring from their noses to stain the stones underfoot.

A trail of blue energy dropped the pair atop the island in Lake Hylian laughing hysterically and clinging to each others arm. "That was amazing! Did you see the looks on their faces!" Dark gasped, pulling Link tightly against his chest. The blonde's grin was just as big as he relaxed into the embrace.

"Yes…you were right. That is indeed one memory I will cherish forever." Dark was right. It felt so good to just kick back every once in a while and have fun his way no matter what anyone else thought.

"See? Its fun messing with people. Those Gerudo didn't stand a chance. After all, you and me are pretty damn hot," he added with a smirk, pressing a kiss to Link's cheek. "So, you up for another one? I know someone else who needs a good nose bleed."

Link nodded, his grin matching Dark's own.

-Kakariko Village-

In the hallways of a certain inn at Kakariko village, the weekly cleaning was going on. The scent of roasting chicken drifted through the building, casting its inhabitants into a comfortable sleepiness, all except the cook. Ever busy she scurried through the kitchen, salting this and tasting that and stirring the other to make sure dinner went off without a hitch. The labors of a chef never cease. Another staff member who labored perpetually to keep the business going was the maid. Today the maid danced down hall, spinning and humming with her trusty feather duster in hand.

The open rooms needed cleaning so she dove into the work with a will, dusting tables and straightening covers and throwing windows open to let in the evening breeze. She worked her way down the hall to the last room, sliding her key into the lock and pushing the door open as a bundle of green cloth hit her in the face and hiding the first glimpse of what was going on in there.

Two boys, with black and blond hair stopped their rolling around in bed to stare at the intruding maid who stared back, her jaw falling slack and her feather duster slipping from numb fingers to clatter to the wooden floor.

"Mister Douliage! It happened again!" she screamed and turned to run down the halls to find the manager leaving Link and Dark to gather their clothes and jump out the open window to the cobblestones below. Dark dashed out of the back alley behind the inn and spun around, holding his arm up. Link high-fived his partner and the two ran out the main entrance of the village.

A few minutes later they stopped running to sit down on a grassy hill. A gentle breeze blew through the cool grass between Link's fingers when he felt something warm-the soft feel of Dark's hand resting lightly atop his, the breeze pushing their bangs back to let the Hero stare into his partner's crimson eyes. In the light of the setting sun, they looked like fire and for the first time Link saw the way Dark had looked at him from the very beginning. For the first time he really looked at his partner and was struck breathless. Everything from the glossy black strands of hair falling around his shoulders like raven feathers to the soft curve of his smile; Dark was…amazing.

I wonder…is this…what love feels like? Link wondered, his eyes dropping to the soft pink lips. "Thank you Dark…I think I am ready. You?"

"Hell yeah. After we kick Ganondorf's ass, I'm taking you out someplace nice to celebrate. No backing out."

Link smiled and got to his feet. "That sounds good. First, we have a job to finish."

-Hyrule Castle Town-

The broken drawbridge leered at the boys like the mouth of some giant predator just beckoning them inside. Under the cover of darkness, they slipped across the splintered wood and into the crumbling remains of the old capital. The dilapidated buildings that rimmed the once-crowded streets provided the only cover to be found from the prying ears of the fell creatures that still wandered the streets. As soon as they were inside the walls, Link jumped to the right over a fence to climb silently through an open window. Little remained of what house had originally looked like but a large blackened table survived, though tipped over to block the stairs. Such a small barricade however could be over come simply by stepping over it. Quiet as shadows, Link and Dark slipped up the stairs into what was at one point a bedroom to again utilize the window as a quick escape route and drop into a garden below. By taking back alleyways and side streets, they moved towards the center of town while avoiding the main roads. Waltzing down the central road would get them there faster, yes, but drawing Ganondorf's personal attention would not be a wise decision.

All around, a dead breeze carried the sorrowful moans of the Redeads that roamed the streets of the capital. Best to avoid an confrontation with that as that would definitely draw attention. The stunted plants and dead tree rustled with the passing of two living beings and though they tried to stay out of sight, it always felt like someone was watching.

One think Link noticed when the path forced them to venture through a house was that in spite of the slaughter Ganondorf had wreaked upon the castle town, nowhere was there a single body left to be found. After the armies that had ventured into the Temples, it was abundantly clear what had happened to the mortal remains of the fallen villagers. The knowledge left Link with a hollow empty feeling in his gut but only strengthened his resolve to see Ganondorf fall.

Climbing over a low stone wall, they emerged in the side garden of the Temple of Time and it seemed a good place to stop and plan the attack strategy. However, they were not alone. Sheik waited, lounging against the wall for the Hero to appear and appear he did. He didn't expect the shadow to be following him.

"Welcome, Hero. You have overcome many hardships and now one final trial lies before you. A showdown with the King of Evil. Before that, there are things I wish to say to you…and only to you," Sheik added with a glance at Dark. The shadow boy bristled, growling at the implication that he was untrustworthy, but Link shook his head tiredly.

"It is alright, Dark. Just wait outside please." He didn't like it but after their day earlier, Dark wasn't about to go against Link's wishes and risk messing up their newfound relationship, so he swallowed his pride and left the temple to sit on the ledge by the stairs.

"Fine. I'm not all that bad you know," was his final statement before jogging out the large stone archways to wait outside.

Once he was sure that Dark wasn't being stubborn and trying to eavesdrop, Sheik continued, "There is another legend handed down by the Sheikah. The Sacred Realm, where you were sealed for seven years, is a reflection of the heart and the Triforce is the mirror that casts that reflection. The three parts of the Triforce; Power, Wisdom and Courage. If one with these three in balance touches the Triforce, he will be granted the True Force to govern all. Ganondorf did not have his heart in balance and only held onto the Triforce of Power. The other two are held within the chosen of destiny."

So far this was all information that Link knew, or at least suspected. He'd been fighting for a long time and was only just learning how to tap into the power of his Triforce. That was one of the things that made him nervous about the upcoming battle was that Ganondorf had a seven year head start in controlling the sacred powers he'd taken. It certainly wouldn't be an easy battle if all Link had to go on was the Triforce alone. He had Dark.

Odd how back at the beginning of his journey he'd be listing his tools and advantages to help win…now it was Dark who topped the list. Better not let him hear that though or the shadow's ego would be too big to handle.

"One is within you and the other is held by the seventh sage; ruler of them all…" A brand, the Triforce was glowing on the back of Sheik's hand and he vanished in a blinding flash of light. In his place stood the Princess Zelda. A taller and more dignified form of how she was in a dress of royal make with a long waterfall of golden hair to frame her blue eyes, Princess Zelda radiated regal authority.

Link was so shocked to suddenly see the elusive Princess that a blast of nostalgia hit him like a tidal wave. He was ten years old again and standing in the castle gardens, hesitant to approach her. The memory was so vivid he could swear he still heard the gentle music drifting out of the open upper windows of the castle.

"Link…seven years I waited for this. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner but I needed to hide from the-no!"

Before Link even knew what had happened, an arrow was flying towards him, thrown from the princess's fingers like a dagger. He hadn't even seen where she got it from and he didn't get a chance to find out as a barrier that looked oddly like a fifty rupee closed around the Princess and Ganondorfs voice echoed through the Temple. Not to say anything in particular, but merely to take the Princess and leave behind a taunting echo.

Outside, the overcast sky darkened as thunder ripped across the heavens and Link ran out with a growled oath. Dark was surprised. The heroic blond scarcely ever used such language so when he did, things were obviously bad. "What happened? Over already?" Dark asked, running off after his partner. Somehow he'd expected those things Sheik wanted to say 'only to Link' were much shorter then expected. Either that or the mysterious Sheikah warrior confessed feelings for the Hero of Time and got sniped out of the sky. The very thought brought a satisfied smile to Dark's lips. Reality, though, was nothing so pleasant.

"Come, Dark, we must hurry! To sum up, Sheik is actually Princess Zelda and she's been kidnapped. Not to mention Ganondorf now knows we are here so stealth is pointless. In fact, time is of the essence!" That being the case, they abandoned stealth to run down the middle of the broadways of town towards where the castle sat. Out in the open, Dark now understood the need for sneaking around. No fewer then nine Redeads sat congregated around the fountain, slowly turning their deformed bodies to stare forlornly after the prey who ran by, far too wary to be snared by the gaze of a Redead's eyes.

Once they were out of the center of town, the Redeads thinned noticeably, though there was still one waiting every thirty feet at most but regardless, Link refused to slow down his mad dash through the crumbling necropolis until the castle was in sight. Located at roughly the same place the old castle was, aside from the obvious differences in color and architectural styling, the main difference here was that instead of a moat, Ganondorf's version was suspended on a floating island over a pool of lava.

Dark glanced over the edge of the ground and down into the fiery red vortex and even went so far as to demonstrate his distaste by spitting down into the dark fiery depths while Link searched for a ways to cross. The black stone walls had nothing to Hookshot onto and there was no way his Hover Boots would last all the way there. Fortunately he was spared form having to come up with an elaborate plan when a sudden burst of power from the Medallions hanging around his neck. The six treasures lay hot against his skin as bits of light rained down out of the sky to form a shining bridge to the castle gates.

One booted foot and then another came down on the bridge of light. It was more then a little disconcerting to see himself standing on nothing with only sparkles of rainbow colors between him and a short plummet to an excruciating death. That aside, the bridge felt reassuringly solid. "Well Dark, convenient things do exist after all. Let's go," Link called to his partner as he ran inside with Dark running along dutifully behind, muttering something about 'Stupid cute guys getting whatever they want.'

The inside of the castle held a faint reminiscence of the former owner. Plush velvet carpeting of deep red and royal purple held ages worth of dust, collected in the long interregnum since human feet had ceased to roam the halls.

"Fun place," Dark murmured uneasily, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds. He just couldn't help but feel like there was always someone watching… waiting to strike.

The tense cast to Link's shoulders showed that he felt it too. "Be on your guard, Dark," he cautioned and Dark nodded grimly, blade in hand.

"Yeah. Way ahead of you."

Surprisingly, the entrance hall had no traps of any kind, at least not any set off by the boys edging their way through. Only the dust bunnies could attest to their presence. The hall ended in a giant circular room with six other doorways edging the outside. Over each door was an insignia of a corresponding temple that emitted a beam of energy that formed a barrier to protect a central tower. So that was what was going on. Ganondorf was using the energy stolen from the Temples to protect himself.

With just a quick glance at each other to see that they both had the same ideas, Dark ran left and Link ran right, taking the first door underneath an emblem of the Forest Temple. The first room was small and fairly simple. After slaying a wolf who guarded the room, it was just an issue of lighting five torches. The wolf wasn't a problem; just one slash through the spine and it was gone. The only problem with the torches was one sitting on top of the door. A Din's Fire and an arrow later Link was standing in his second room.

This one was an odd mix of pillars and fans to cross over a bottomless pit. Actually, come to think of it, Link didn't know if they were bottomless or not. He'd never felt the need to jump down one and find out. Crossing the room itself wasn't too much of a problem with Hover boots until one particularly strong gust of errant wind almost pushed him too far but a quick click of his heels and Link dropped like a rock to his designated platform. Standing at the door the Hero was amazed. These traps were so simple; childish even and it made him all the more suspicious. How could Ganondorf have gotten so lax about his security?

Apparently Link's worries about some sort of ambush were unfounded. Walking into the next room, there was nothing there but two small pots and the core of condensed forest energy. All it took was a moment to analyze the spell on the barrier and the spell on the arrow Zelda had left him with. Putting two and two together, he copied the spell and sent an arrow through the floating ball and watched it explode in a burst of light. For a second, he could have sworn he saw Saria's silhouette before an inexplicable force grabbed the Hero and hauled him back through the a straight hallway to deposit him back at door to watch the stream of energy from the Forest chamber dwindle away into nothing. If that was it, this shouldn't be hard at all.

Indeed, meeting up with Dark back outside the shadow yawned in an obviously bored manner and confirmed that the Spirit and Water rooms had been "boring as hell." Five Light Arrows later the dark purple barrier just collapsed with nothing left to support it, leaving nothing left but for Dark and Link to walk back to the main door and cross the bridge into the tower.

Inside the central tower the air was even colder yet thick with dust and when the faint sound of organ music reached Link's ears, he swore again and turned to run up the only set of stairs. "I do not like this. Somehow I doubt the King of Evil takes time out of his day to keep up with piano practice because he enjoys music."

Each step of the stairs kicked up a cloud of dust to trail around Dark's ankles when he passed through. The thick carpeted stairs soaked up the stuff like a sponge. One good thing about the tower was how impossible it was to get lost. One set of stairs led to one door at the top to another room with one exit door guarded by… five Stalfos. Ripping his sword from the sheath on his back, Link leapt into battle with a series of vicious slashes. Dark was normally a taunting fighter who like to play with his opponents while Link preferred to stick to a more graceful style but today there was simply no time.

The bars were barely up off the door and they were running up the stairs again to the ever growing sound of organ music.

Another long flight of winding stairs and they breezed through a room of Lizafos. The reptilian warriors didn't stand a chance against the boys, especially not so pressed for time as they were. Whenever a lizard would bring his arm back to swing, the quick flick of a blade through the throat was the last it ever felt.

Next of course were more stairs. Both their legs were starting to ache by this point so Link distracted himself by launching into an explanation of what the attack strategy would be. If the enemy decided to use this style as opposed to that… Reaching the next landing cut off Link's monologue. In the back, Dark was mumbling something to himself, presumably taking notes.

This room held not one, not two, but three iron knuckles, complete with their traditional skull splitting axes.

Link took a deep breath, about to explain how they would attack. Dark shut him up with a quick kiss a murmured, "I love you so stay here," before running off and slashing all three of them awake at the same time.

The three living suits of armor took a few halting steps after Dark and all tried to attack at once but Dark was too quick, dodging in and out of their axes, sometimes being to close to one for him to attack. It ended up being that the Iron Knuckles attacked each other to take care of the cumbersome matter of the armor and when two were divested of the heavy metal plates, a quick stab through the stomach and they were dead. That only left one more.

"C'mere Link, gimme a boost." Dark called to his partner, running past to jump at the wall and spring off it to keep his momentum. Link dropped to one knee and cupped his hands together to make a step and launch Dark into the air where he came back down, slamming his blade down between the armor plates at the chest and head, killing the creature instantly.

"Dark. Have I ever mention how much of a showoff you are?" Link asked, slightly irritated as they climbed the next set of stairs.

"Yup. Frequently. Y'know, I think Ganondorf is a pervert." he added, out of the blue.

"Hmm? Why is that? Kidnapping Zelda is for no reason like that. I presume that-"

"No no. Each of these fucking staircases has exactly 69 stairs on it. Guy's a perv."

"… Is that what you've been doing this whole time? Did you even listen to a word I said on the way up here?"

"…17...20...24...29"

"I give up."

Finally they reached the top to pass one final massive door. The pallid, ever-present twilight that barely pierced the thick veil of clouds above the castle lit up the multitude of stained glass windows that rimmed high up on the walls. The organ music faded into nothing when the door slammed shut and far on the other side of the room and Ganondorf turned around to step away from the organ to speak face to face with his enemy for the first time in seven years.

Link stared across the distance at a red haired man with black enameled armor with sickly green skin but what struck Link were his eyes; Greedy, ambitious and power hungry. A man like this could certainly be the king of the Gerudo.

On the other side of the room Ganondorf was also sizing up his enemy. Standing before him was a competent and powerful swordsman that was somehow the end result from that scrawny kid to challenge him seven years ago. The King didn't focus on small things like blond hair or a muscular build. He noticed the alert and ready stance. He noticed the intense and focused gaze. And he noticed the second person to intrude, a near exact copy of the Hero of Time. No, not quite. Aside from the obvious differences in coloring, this second boy was thinner, smaller and lacking the piercing intensity that marked out the Hero.

A slow, sadistic grin spread across the Evil King's face when he realized just who this was. "So, three bearers of the Triforce I have gathered here, yet there are four people in this room." Raising his right hand the mark of power glowed, resonating with the other two as though they wanted to rejoin but couldn't while still trapped in their human prisons. Link felt his own Triforce resonating and high overhead Zelda screamed, her fragment struggling to escape from the bonds weakened by the interrupted spell song.

Ganondorf's next action was directed at Dark. The Triforce mark appeared, framed by the black bangs on his pale forehead. "I am surprised you survived, but since you were so kind as to return to me, you can return to your original duty. Now Kill." The golden triangles grew steadily brighter and Link turned around, backing up slowly as Dark advanced upon him.

"Dark! What are you doing!" he hissed, hesitating to draw a weapon against his friend. He'd just come to terms with himself, why would this happen now? It was just too cruel…

"Duty," was the dull response. "I must kill…you!" Dark screamed, dashing forward only to find his attack blocked by the long sword that appeared in Ganondorf's hand. "You! A gutless coward like you has no business pretending to be my master!" he snarled, putting all the force he had behind his strikes. Maybe it was the Triforce of Power; even with all his might he was unable to budge the Gerudo King.

Rather then upset, Ganondorf merely looked curious before shrugging it off. "Fine. Then begone," Ganondorf commanded and waves of darkness pulsed out of his Triforce to blast Dark against a wall, paralyzed by the purple electricity jolting through his body.

Noticing the worried glances Ganondorf called, "Do not worry, he lives. I need to find out what went wrong with my spell after all. But you should keep your eyes on me!" he shouted, hurling a ball of dark energy. Of course Link expected it. Underhanded tactics were to be expected from one who proudly wore the title 'King of Evil' and his blade slid smoothly from the sheath to strike from the draw. Since evil could not touch his sacred powers, Link's blade reflected the attack instead. Ganondorf raised his hand to bat it away but Link was already there, reflecting it back at point blank range. It exploded, shocking the desert man with the force of his own spell. Paralyzed, he dropped to his knees and Link was waiting, scoring through the black armor and leaving behind lines of flickering teal flames.

Shrugging off the paralysis the Evil King hovered into the air, panting as thick green blood dripped down his chin. The air suddenly shifted, drawing towards him as Ganondorf held his hands over his head as a kind of energy vacuum sucking everything towards it like a black hole. Link had to admit that careless as he was, the desert man had an amazing control over his Triforce, using it for practically everything. In his case, Link could only do certain things with it. He could purify, store extra items and had just recently learned how to break down the compound of spells. This one he saw was again made of dark energy and it left the user vulnerable.

The flash of blinding light erupted as a Light Arrow punched through his armor to explode. The tendrils of light spread, taking control of his spell and suddenly a storm of energy bolts were blasting the Evil King from every direction, knocking him out of the sky. Down below, Link was waiting to pounce like a cat on unsuspecting prey. The blade of the Master Sword bit into dark green flesh, slowly consuming it from the outside in.

Link jumped back just in time to avoid a sudden shockwave pulsing out from Ganondorf's body when he slammed a fist into the ground, causing sections of floor to collapse and drop down to the floor below. "Dark will be fine," Link told himself quickly. He already knew that there was indeed solid ground beneath this floor. It was a tower, how could there not be?

Another energy bolt flew his way and again a slash of the Master Sword sent it flying back but this time Ganondorf was ready for the tactic and smacked it back. They hit the ball back and forth several times when Link took a step forward. Just one step every time he hit it but it forced the bolt to travel faster, turning the contest into one of reflexes and sure enough one step made it faster then the Evil King could handle. One step and he couldn't stop the bolt and the next thing he knew, the blade of the Master Sword was sticking through the jagged hole in his black lacquered armor.

"I…how could I have underestimated that kid? No…you're nothing special, Link. It was the Triforce of Courage that I underestimated. Damn it…enjoy this while it lasts. I won't be so careless next time." Ganondorf dropped to his knees and overhead the crystal that contained Zelda fell to the ground and shattered. She looked shaken but otherwise alright. Ganondorf on the other hand, breath ragged and bleeding freely through back his head with a malicious roar, his Triforce shining as he called on its power once more.

"Link! We have to go! He's trying to collapse the tower around us!" The princess started running just seconds before a deep rumbling shook the tower, knocking loose stones from the ceiling to fall crashing to the floor.

Running back downstairs was marginally easier then going up but the collapsing supports overhead added to the difficulty. "Stay out of the shadows on the floor. It warns of debris," Zelda cautioned and from then on Link kept his eyes on the floor. Chunks of rock, flaming timbers and even a door from higher up came crashing down the stairs after them. It was only the heavy possibly fatal things that they bothered to dodge. The small pebbles and splinters of wood, while painful weren't the main problem.

Since he didn't see Dark laying around on any of the floors, he assumed that the black haired boy was lower down and escaping on his own. Sure enough, when they ran out the front gates of the castle several minutes later, Dark was sitting there waiting and on seeing Link he jumped up and ran over.

"Link! I'm so sorry! Farore damn it, I was useless in that battle! I… tried though but I couldn't move him an inch. Urgh! That pisses me off so much." Dark sighed, distraught over not being able to help but Link smiled, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not worry… You helped countless other times. You proved yourself loyal and Zelda was watching. She knows you didn't turn against me."

Well, Link was right. Personally, Dark always hated Sheik's guts and so having shown up his archenemy his depressed frown flipped around into a condescending smirk. "You're right. See, Princess? I'm not all that bad."

Considering that he was right, the Shadow did have some grounds to gloat. Though she rolled her eyes, Zelda wisely held her tongue. The castle chose that moment to collapse completely, leaving nothing more then piles of rubble where the castle had once stood. Both Zelda and Link let out sighs of relief but Dark was eyeing it distrustfully. "Link… gimme your boots" Dark demanded.

"Wh-"

"Just do it!"

Grumbling about Dark acting strange, he sat down and they traded boots. Oddly, they both fit the other's feet just fine. That was when another knock echoed through the ruins of the castle, louder this time. Slowly, the two swordsman walked towards the noise when a ring of flame sprouted around the outside of the island, cutting them off from both Zelda and escaping. The rubble exploded, flying everywhere as Ganondorf's bleeding form hovered in the air, his eyes rolled completely back in his head showing nothing but empty white bloodshot orbs as he surrendered himself to the Triforce in one last ditch attempt to win the battle.

Throwing his head back with a feral roar, Ganondorf's body burst into brilliant flames, snapping and contorting and expanding to the form of a giant bull-like creature. A pair of wicked looking curled horns had nothing on the giant sword in each of his hands. Standing at nearly twelve feet tall, the creature stomped a hoof that shook the whole island and screamed a challenge.

"Ganon. So you finally show yourself," Link muttered, a faint memory stirring at the back of his mind. He was just about to jump into battle when he felt Dark's hand on his shoulder.

"There's no way he's holding me back this again. This time, we fight together!" Dark declared andran into battle, desperate to redeem his earlier failure. This last battle had shown just how ill equipped he was to deal with higher situations. That he, Dark Link, did not have what it took to stand proudly next to the Hero of Time. Even still, he would do everything he could to help.

Ducking under the first swing of those mighty swords and diving to the left for the next, Dark swung his blade up to slash through the underside of the massive arm, but even with all his strength he only managed a shallow cut through the tough leathery skin when the giant fist backhanded him. While he was skidding through the dirt, Link was running in the other direction to get on his blind side when he spotted it: a glowing magic filled sphere on the tip of the monster's tail. If they could cut that off…

A slash from the Master Sword left the cleansing flames coating a small cut on the thick membrane at the tip of the tail. Howling in fury it spun around and sent Link sprawling. "Dark! Weak spot! Tail," he called , coughing and climbing to his feet. Ganon was advancing, ready tear the Hero's head off with a sudden searing pain in his tail had the giant pig beast spinning around to slash at the enemy attacking his sensitive tail.

Dark dodged the first swing but the second knocked him head over heels but when Link tried running up to attack it and get Ganon's attention, the colossal beast swerved its tail out of the way then swung it back, smashing into Link like a hammer. Growling, he pulled out an arrow and fired the intense burse of light right into the pig creature's eyes. Blinded, it shrieked its anger, flailing around trying to hit something on accident when another sharp pain bit into his tail.

That was how they fought for a while; Link would blind it and Dark would dart in and attack from a blind spot. Fast as Ganon was, his giant cumbersome body didn't have the reflexes to block arrows so most of them hit. Furious, he'd charge after the green clothed Kokiri only to catch another arrow in the face, allowing Link to escape.

The plan worked well until Ganon charged after the incessant archer and Link was left to contend with the fact that his quiver was empty. Panicking slightly he backed up as far as he could away from the swinging blades. Backed into a corner of debris with little room to move, one final heavy downward swing would have been the end of it if Dark hadn't darted in and caught the descending blade on his own weapon. "Go, move!" he yelled, breaking into a sweat and bringing his other hand to hold the blade up in spite of how it cut into his palms leaving several thin trails of blood running down his arm. Gritting his teeth and locking eyes with the Evil King.

Totally unexpected, or maybe he was expecting it and just didn't care, Ganon dropped lower, still holding pressure to his blade to thrust his head forward. The pitch black blade dropped from Dark's fingers to grip the bull horn goring him through the stomach. All it would take was a single shake of that massive head to send Dark flying but one click of his boots and he was suddenly weighted down with iron boots with a tight grip on the bull's horn, forcing him to stay on the ground. "Link, now! Do it!"

He could see the anger and pain flashing through the glowing red eyes as Ganon struggled to break free of Dark's grip. "Oh no you don't, I'm taking you down with me. No one gives me orders without my say so, you bastard." Smiling grimly he tightened his grip on the ivory horns. In truth though, his strength was failing. His blood splattered the ground like raindrops and he could feel the horn coming out the other side of his body. With how Ganon thrashed around and how much it hurt to have that horn rubbing his insides raw, he refused to let go 'til it was done.

Ugh…damn. How long? How many more seconds can I keep this up? The struggling monster was somehow able to pull together the strength to lift even the weighted down Dark off the ground when a triumphant cry from Link signaled victory. With a vicious swing of his head, Ganon dislodged the boy impaled on his tusks, spinning around only to meet the Master Sword being rammed through his eye and into the brain of the gargantuan beast, leaving a large gash that already started seeping out some foul smelling substance.

"Six Sages! Now!" Zelda yelled from outside the ring of fire and all that ceased to be important.

Link was horrified and watching in slow motion as Dark's limp body dropped to the ground, blossoming crimson flowers of blood.