AN: Ok! Good job guys, you have shown me what i wanted to see. It's nice to see that people pay attention when i talk. I woke up this morning to find 17 reviews waiting for me. 17! Even Rei, who just dropped a note cause i asked for it, thanks. So, after discussing it with my editor, i'll release 18. Thank God for touch typing. I seriously cried writing this, so many times. Its short yes, but i've been working on this one for the past month. I've been dying to get here and i re-edited it at least 8 times cause i wanted it to be perfect. Poured my heart and soul into it. Also, this is the only chapter where i was listening to something not just reorchestraed Zelda music. If you want to see this chapter how i saw it, Youtube Safe Escape by Keith Varon. Enjoy. -I hope i'm not the only one who cries -

Broken

Finally it was over. The Dark Lord Ganon was sealed in the void of the Sacred Realm and the root of all his evil had finally been severed. For Zelda, there was nothing but relief that she could finally start rebuilding her country, and relief that the battle was over and all was well. For her, at least. The Hero was another matter entirely. For Link, there was little to be relieved about. For Link all was not well, and it might never be well again.

As soon as Ganon's monstrous form vanished from the desolate island where their showdown had been held, Link immediately ran as fast as he could manage over to kneel by the pillar where Dark's fallen form lay drenched in a pool of his own blood. "Dark! Stay with me, Dark. Just hold on and I will get you some help," Link choked out, frantically searching his pockets for a forgotten fairy or a bottle of red potion, anything that could save his partner from this grievous wound. The battle had pushed him to his absolute limits and the thought of losing his partner on top of that had Link at the breaking point.

Dark just shook his head slowly, a smile spreading across his tired face. "Sorry Link, there won't be any miraculous Heart Pieces coming to save us this time. Guess my luck…finally ran out," he whispered. In spite of the situation, Link couldn't help but smile through tear-hazed eyes. It was so like Dark to be cracking jokes with what very well could be his last breath.

Gazing up at his partner through heavily lidded eyes, Dark's heart gave an anguished pang. It wasn't from the massive hole in his chest left over from being impaled on one of Ganon's giant tusks. It wasn't from the life slipping from his grasp into the pool of blood on the ground. No, it was from the tears dripping off Link's chin to fall into damp spots on the black tunic beneath him. "You cannot die. I will not allow it. You…you promised," Link whispered unsteadily, shaking from the sobs that wracked his body. Dark sighed, fighting as hard as he could against the pain. It was so hard to hang on now that he was finally ready to let go.

"I know, I'm sorry. I was just…glad I kept you safe…looks like you still got hurt anyways. Y'know this is the first time I've ever seen you cry?" he asked, slowly reaching up to brush a tear off Link's cheek.

"When I wanted to cry, I couldn't because I…wasn't allowed. I had to stay strong for my mission, but that is over and I am done caring about it." Link shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. He still had some uncertainties but it was now or never and he certainly would not spend his life regretting his cowardice in Dark's final moments. "… I love you. Please, fight. For me."

Dark sighed. As expected, his adorable Link had to make everything so complicated. The boy's sincerity was heartwarming and Dark wanted nothing more then to fight with all his might to survive this and spent the rest of his life at his partner's side. How could he say no to that angelic face? How could he say no to those wide, innocent, vulnerable eyes and that heartbreaking look? The only problem with that plan was that he was already holding on with everything he had and he knew his strength would not hold out much longer. Damn the Goddesses and their ironic cosmic conspiracies.

Zelda slowly walked towards them, still unable to fully comprehend what was going on. She knew she'd heard correctly when Link told Dark he loved him. The Hero of Time being of 'that type' threw a serious problem at her plans for the future. After all, she had a kingdom to think of so perhaps it was for the best the dark-haired one was dying. But then Link turned to look at her, a mixture of hope and hopelessness shining beneath the innocent blue depths of his eyes. "Please, Princess, can you save him?" Link asked, either uncaring of the tears running down his face or too far gone to notice.

Think with your mind. Your heart can be greedy and treacherous, caught up in its own wants and the spur of the moment. Your emotions will lie to you but reason and logic will never fail. You have a kingdom that needs you and any mistake can spell doom for you and all its inhabitants.

That was how she'd been taught; to look at a situation from every angle and consider all the possibilities from an objective standpoint. It was more then just a part of her royal responsibilities, the Triforce of Wisdom was branded into the back of her hand. Quickly she mentally reviewed her facts:

Ganon is gone. Link is now a hero and a rallying point for the entire country. They would not react well to know that he was in love with another man. It would destroy his credibility and make him unusable, perhaps even a liability. Instability is not something I can afford. If I allow the dark one to die, Link will turn to the closest thing he has left; his duty. From now on his duty is me. Without Dark in the picture, Link would make a very fine knight and I need all the help I can get.

It seemed like Dark was an obstacle and if that was the case, Zelda would sit back and watch him die without remorse. On the other hand, was it fair to so casually throw away the life of someone who had fought for Hyrule's freedom? Frankly, that was none of the Princess' concern. What did concern her though was what if the loss of his partner crippled the Hero beyond repair? He'd said 'love' after all and love could be a very powerful thing. This was not a situation to take lightly.

That was when the realization sank in; She'd heard it in his voice, could see it in his eyes. Even her Triforce was reacting to it, for Nayru was more then just the Goddess of Wisdom. She was also the Goddess of Love, Compassion, Order and even Time itself. Should she act in the interest of a the spirit of Love and allow Dark to live, or in the spirit of Wisdom and watch him die? What would Nayru do?

Daughter, what is loving is always wise.

The voice sounded in her mind as clear as if someone had spoken out loud. Sighing, Zelda nodded and got to her knees beside Dark. Much as she didn't want to, the wishes of her patron Goddess had been made clear and disobeying the voice of the Goddess was the very definition of unwise.

As she laid her hands over the gash across Dark's chest and began probing his body to feel out the damage, also let go of all her preconceptions. Never mind how she'd waited for Link, fighting in the place of an absentee Hero for seven years. Never mind how she fought to hold on when all her people were losing hope and certainly never mind how she'd secretly fantasized about him only to find he was frustratingly out of reach. None of that mattered.

Dark's breathing was labored and his skin was ashen but he still managed to briefly open an eye and whisper, "Thanks Princess. I told you…I'm not…all that bad…"

I was wrong. I hate to admit it but I was wrong. This power that composes him is nothing like what Ganondorf used. How could I have made such a mistake?

"He is alive, but only barely and I do not have the strength left to heal this injury," Link paled as she quickly added, "But. I do have one idea to try… Goddess of Wisdom, guide my hand." she murmured, holding her hands apart over the gaping hole, conjuring up a golden flame to hover right on top of it, covering the hole in him. "Now, empty your pockets. Anything you can afford to lose, burn it," she ordered, shutting her eyes to mutter, mostly for her own benefit. "I haven't the energy so we just need to make some. This should be a spell to change mass into energy."

Zelda nodded as Link pulled off his quiver and laid the empty container on the magical pyre. The golden flame consumed the innate energy within the quiver and scattered the dead ash to the wind. "More." Link nodded and dropped in his childhood toys. The pouch of Deku seeds that he used as slingshot pellets vanished into the flames along with the slingshot itself and his boomerang. He added his whole stock of Deku sticks but it still wasn't enough.

"Give me the bombs. It'll be fine." Zelda assured him when he hesitated to drop the bag of explosives into a lit flame. Instead of lighting, they shriveled up as the Princess sucked the energy out of them to redirect to reconstructing Dark's body. He wasn't looking any better but at least he wasn't looking any worse. "I need more! Do you care about this boy or not!" Zelda shouted and Link dug out his Megaton Hammer to sacrifice.

"This wound is far deeper then I'd ever expected. Not only is it laced with dark magic, but the power of the Triforce is behind it. Just keep giving me things until I tell you to stop. " she explained and Link nodded, just starting to understand the extent of what was going on here. He dropped in the Eye of Truth to tide the flames over as he stripped his boots off Dark's feet and dropped them, along with the weight and hover modifications into the fire.

"Dark, you had better survive this," Link whispered to his sleeping partner as he pulled off his gauntlets, sacrificing them along with both his Goron and Zora tunics. Soon, his pockets were completely empty, save for the Ocarina of Time. He didn't feel it would be right to sacrifice that.

"It still is not enough. Nayru, how did I make such a mistake? He was alive. A real, living, breathing person. I can feel it now… a soul. This is no Dark Magic. I'm sorry, Link ,but I've done all I can. Just think of it as a noble sacrifice and you'll get over it eventually. We did our best. Time heals all wounds and there will be plenty to keep the both of us busy."

"Noble sacrifice? You know you were wrong about him, you admitted it yourself! Why? Why do you want him to die?"

Zelda sighed, tucking a strand of hair back behind an ear. "Every battle has acceptable losses. I think it would be more beneficial for everyone if you could work without distraction. We must do what is necessary to see justice return to the land. We have all made sacrifices in this battle and-"

"Acceptable losses! Is that all he ever was to you? Is that how you treat the one of the few people I could truly consider my friend, as some disposable tool in the big picture?" Link cried furiously. "Don't dare talk to me about 'justice' when you are so willing to give up any life for your cause. I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I will save him, with or without you," Link growled as Zelda stiffened beneath his piercing blue glare.

"Do you think it was easy for me to watch my people suffer all these years? How do you think I felt watching my parents die right in front of me? I don't like him, I admit it. But there is too much damage for me to heal in my current state. Put very simply, I do not have the strength and I do not intend to die for your disgusting love affair. I have Wisdom, and it tells me to never fight a battle I can't win. Dark is an unwinable battle because I have already done everything I can do. Give it up," Zelda sneered coldly. The sheer haughtiness of the princess, after all he'd done to save her, to save the kingdom, amazed Link. How could she do this to him?

Gritting his teeth, Link tugged his gloves off and bared the Triforce. "I have Courage and it tells me that I must never break a promise, and never let down a friend. It tells me that I must not give up no matter how hard the going gets and to always fight with everything I have." The golden triangle on his hand burst into brilliance as he copied her energy conversion spell, making golden flame to pool in Dark's injuries. However for the spell to work, it needed something to take energy from so Link looked Zelda in the eye and ripped the Light Medallion off the chain around his neck and dropped in into the blaze. The Forest, Fire and Shadow Medallions followed, along with his Zora scale that allowed him to swim to greater depths.

"Damn it, it isn't near enough. There's only one thing left to do. Dark…" Link sighed, taking a deep breath as he reached into the very core of his being and started emptying the pool of his magic into Dark's body. His entire world spun around as he poured out his magical essence, feeling like his soul itself was shriveling up with the absence. If his soul itself was the price to save Dark, he'd gladly pay it. The power of his magic burned away the lingering taint of Ganon's dark power at the cost of Link's permanent magical ability as his very capacity to wield magic depleted until it was gone.

"I told you. It's useless," came the princess' cold remark from behind him. "And now you've gone and crippled yourself. I hope you've learned your lesson."

"That's enough! If you will not help me then stand aside and be silent." Link snarled, staring into Zelda's eyes as he unsheathed the Master Sword, reversed the blade in his grip and pressed the tip to his stomach. "Dark… if I can't save you, will you wait for me? I'll be right behind you." He whispered, tears sliding down his face anew as the sacred steel blade pierced into his flesh in splash of blood. His head swam and the world spun leaving the Hero gasping for a breath he was unable to draw. The strength melted from his limbs, forcing the blond to his knees, kneeling over Dark's body with one hand on the ground and the other on the hilt of his sword, slowly pushing it further in.

"Idiot! You'll kill yourself! I command you to stop!" Zelda screamed but Link just shook his head.

"You have not the right. Enjoy your kingdom…" he smiled, blood pouring out of his body and down the length of the Master Sword to stain his hands, pulsing to the rhythm of his heart to fall into Dark's golden flames. Each heart beat he held on was another breath of life he'd earned for Dark.

"Come on…wake up. I said I would give you a chance…how can I do that if you aren't here! Please, you have to wake up! " Link begged, sinking his teeth into his lips and fighting through the pain as inch by inch he pushed the blade deeper into his body. It met resistance, not wanting to go any further. The Kokiri boy grit his teeth and pushed, choking back a scream when the cold steel blade pierced through his back.

Link shivered, his blood-slicked hands sliding along the hilt of his sword. Through the pain and tear-hazed vision, the color was slowly returning to Dark's skin even as it drained away from the pale blond. The spread-winged hilt pressed up against his ribs and Link took a deep breath to steady himself. Fully impaled on his sacred sword, there was only one place left for it to go. If his dying would save Dark's life, he was ready to sacrifice himself for it. After all, he finally understood what Nabooru meant and the Hero of Time wasn't satisfied with living as only half a person any more.

Dark's eyes slowly opened just in time to see Link reverse his grip and rip the blood soaked Master Sword from his stomach. Crimson eyes widened as sapphire ones closed and Dark watched his partner collapse with an agonized scream in a fountain of blood to fall against him and hold him tightly, pressing his freely bleeding wound against the golden fire. Dark could feel strength, Link's life flowing into him and tears building. He just couldn't stand seeing the other boy in pain. Why did he have to be so stubborn at the worst times?

"Hey…what's wrong? You look like you just lost your best friend," Link whispered, slowly shutting his eyes."

"What do you think you're doing! This isn't…what I wanted…damn it Link, you were supposed to live, not me!" Dark sobbed, cradling the blond's frail and bleeding body against himself.

"You were always the one protecting me ever since we met. Just once, I wanted to be the one to save you," he whispered, leaning in to gently press a kiss to Dark's lips, memorizing the warmth, the texture, the taste. And as they kissed, he felt Dark growing fainter, fading away like mist before the morning sun… and then he was gone. Nothing was left behind of the his shadow. Nothing but a faint taste and a memory.

"Dark…he's… gone," he whispered. It…couldn't be true. How was it that after giving up everything he had it still wasn't enough? Had Zelda been right? Was it all hopeless from the very beginning? Was there any point to trying? The Hero didn't know, didn't care. All he knew was that Dark was gone. " I'm sorry Dark…forgive me." Over and over he whispered apologies to the night air as he hugged his knees to his chest, totally uncaring of the blood pooling on the ground around him. In all the world he'd never had more then his sword, the clothes on his back… and Dark. "I wanted to tell you…I should have told you a long time ago. I love you…"

Princess Zelda watched the entire exchange from the sidelines, picking up the Ocarina of Time from where it lay forgotten on the ground. Link was a strong person, stronger then any she'd ever met. She'd never dreamed anything could break the forest boy but to see him laying there with tears running down his face and eyes devoid of expression it was obvious that she'd grossly miscalculated. As Sheik, she'd kept watch, ready to strike Dark down should he prove to be treacherous but he and Link were always at each others throats anyways. Until now, it always looked like they didn't like each other at all. How could she have known that she truly had no idea what either of them felt?

It seems I still have a great deal to learn.

Until she'd seen them laying side by side for that brief moment she hadn't understood just how their relationship worked. How could she? It was so fundamentally different from anything she'd ever seen before. For Link to lose someone he'd always kept grudgingly at arms length and suddenly be left looking so lost and alone…

Maybe it was to try and make up for everything she'd put him through. When she thought about it later, Zelda wouldn't be able to come up with a good reason for it. She just acted, playing her lullaby on the Ocarina of Time to send him back to where he belonged, back to the life he'd had stolen from him. It wasn't much, but it was the only thing she had to offer.

A gentle blue light enveloped the Hero, carrying him into the heavens and back to his own time but when he opened his eyes, all he saw was black in every direction. "Am I... dead then?"

"Welcome, Hero. Your triumph has been noticed and we have come to grant you your reward."

The voice sounded out of nowhere but echoed everywhere, filling the vast emptiness. Link looked around to see who was speaking when three statues of gold shining as bright as the sun appeared before him. The Three Golden Goddesses; Din, Nayru and Farore. He could even tell which was which from the color of their eyes; red, blue and green respectively. This whole situation…it felt oddly familiar, like he'd done it before.

"You have indeed been here before. Every time you have triumphed in the past, we have called you here to grant your reward."

The voice of the Goddess, merely standing in their presence made his head spin, as though many people were all talking at once but he could only barely hear it. He was about to argue, saying that he hadn't had any triumphs over evil yet when a sudden memory, clear as if it happened the day before flashed through his head.

The very first time he'd defeated Ganon by skewering him with arrows made of pure silver and rescued the princess who had been Zelda at the time with the completed Triforce of Courage, they'd summoned him here to the realm of the Gods. "Goddesses, Ganon has sworn to return. Grant me the strength to succeed when he rises again."

"A Hero never succeeds on his strength alone. We shall grant you a sacred weapon that evil may never touch. The Master Sword."

Later. That same Link had to save Zelda again to prevent the resurrection of Ganon. That was the first time he'd seen Dark, challenging him to prove his worthiness to again lay a hand on the Triforce. "Goddesses, grant me the courage to fight again. I want to stay a Hero and protect the people important to me."

"The trials of a Hero are always remembered. Your spirit will live on as long as your name. Your weapon, the Master Sword shall be bound to your soul. As such, you shall have that same power to banish evil in whatever age it may arise. This is the decree of the Gods."

On and on the memories flowed through his head, playing crystal clear and giving him glimpses into his lives long past. One recurring theme seemed to be that whatever he asked for, the Goddesses would slip in a little something extra. Maybe a future Link would blame him for this decision but…

"Goddesses, the path of a Hero is a high and lonely destiny and I…am not a Hero. Please, make me complete. Give Dark back to me." He only whispered his petition but surely the Goddesses could see the turmoil in his heart…and yet…

"Your wish is granted. But it would not be fair for us to give something already in your possession."

Link's heart skipped a beat. Already in his possession? Did that mean Dark was alive!

"Yes, your shadow lives. You poured out your life to save his. However, we have rules to abide by also. The flow of time has been disrupted by your journey and we are setting it aright. You will find Dark and may have him until we have completely repaired the flow of time. How long this will be, we do not know, but savor your time."

That was when Farore stepped up and turned around to face her sister Goddesses.

"Hold a moment. Look at all the sacrifices my servant has made. How will this end? I do not wish to see him deprived of that which he seeks. Nayru, will you grant him that which he has given so much to acquire?"

"Very well. Hero of Time, you shall have the power of time at your aid to use that which you have earned. If you should have need of the Goddess of Time, speak your prayers and I shall listen."

"Now go. Your world awaits."

The Three Golden Goddesses started to glow brighter and brighter until he couldn't see anything but the light of their brilliance

Link woke with a start in the middle of the night, more then confused. He was eleven years old again and laying in his bed back home in the Kokiri Woods. Could it all have been a dream? The gleaming blade of the Master Sword sitting against the wall said without a doubt that it was not. That meant, according to the Goddesses that Dark was out there somewhere…waiting for him.

"Wait for me Dark. I'll be there soon." Link whispered his solemn oath to the night air. He would find his partner no matter what.

Far away in the Realms of the Gods, Dark glanced around as the Three Golden Goddesses appeared before him as well.

"Welcome Hero. Speak, and we shall grant you one wish."

Dark smiled, listening to the story of what he'd missed. "Well in that case, there's only one thing I want. My wish is…"