AN: Well my friends, this is it. The last chapter. It's been a long and fun journey and i had lots of fun. But, i'll keep this AN short and sweet. Look at the title. Time for that patience to be rewarded just like i promised all those chapters ago. I did have to make a few changes to make the story flow properly but yes. I'll be posting the epilouge in a few minutes and that will explain it all.
Surrender
He'd always thought it was all so confusing. Even surrounded by people, why did he always feel so lonely?
After so many years of wondering, he finally had the answer: his quest was the only thing he'd ever had to focus on. It drove him, consuming his time, thoughts, and energy. Now that it was over, what else was there? For Link, there was no purpose left in life. At least, that's how it would have been had Dark not come along and showed him how to smile.
"I wish Dark were still here…" he whispered as he sat by himself out on a hill beneath the moon. His hand moved its way to the spot over his heart where the Water Medallion used to hang… but that was gone, along with the rest of his gear. Now that the flow of time was fixed, the tools he'd used on his journey were all back where he found them in the…
Wait a minute…
Link whipped out his fairy ocarina and brought it to his lips, playing the familiar notes of the Nocturne of Shadow. The slow, depressing tune rang out through the empty hills and the next instant he was sitting in Kakariko graveyard. To the one side was the entrance to the Shadow temple, but he didn't care about that right now. Looking out over the graveyard spread out beneath him, Link leapt off the ledge he was standing on and ran down, weaving and jumping his way through the graves to the single point of light in the graveyard. The lantern, carried by Dampe the grave keeper swung slowly from side to side as he made his normal rounds.
"Mr. Dampe! Mr. Dampe!" Link yelled, running up to the gravekeeper, panting quietly. The old man, a bald albino, looked more like a troll then a man, but Link had learned not to judge people's appearances. The old grave keeper was actually a nice guy.
"Ehhhh? You young kids aren't supposed to be out here. Hooligans messing around with the gravestones. Why, it's disrespectful, I tell ya!"
"Yes sir, it is, but I was looking for you. I need a favor," Link answered, completely ignoring that fact that he'd been through every grave in the entire graveyard multiple times
"A favor, eh? What do you need from old Dampe. Did you want to play my Heart-Pounding, Grave-Digging Tour? Its just 10 rupees to play." He had just said it was disrespectful to play with graves, but he'd dig them up? Adults with their double standards…
"No, no no, thank you though. What I need is to borrow your treasure, the Hookshot. Please, it's just for a few days and I'll get it back to you. I can pay whatever you want but please…" Link asked, feeling like it was a race against the clock as he scrambled to dig out his wallet.
"Hmm? I use it you know…and it's so much fun to play with."
"Please!" Link screamed, getting frustrated, "If you let me borrow it, I'll bring you a better one with double the range. I need this one to get the better one though…and…a very important friend is waiting for me." Link looked away, gritting his teeth as a pale blush spread across his cheeks.
"Har har har…alright, little one. I'll let you borrow it for a few days." Dampe handed over the Hookshot then hefted his shovel. "Now then, are you sure you don't you want to play my Heart-Pounding, Grave-Digging Tour?"
Link politely declined and dashed off towards the village square, going over the items he would need. "Let's see… I'll need the boots, but if Zora's Domain never freezes, how do I get into the caves? …Ice Arrows? No, that won't work. The Gerudo Trials take too many items I don't have. Hover boots…for those, I need the Lens of Truth. To the Windmill, then."
Inside the giant stone Windmill, the wooden gears turned, spinning the windmill in time to the rhythm of the song. An old man sat in the corner playing a strange instrument. It looked like a wooden box with a trumpet horn on top that he turned with a crank.
"Go around, and around and a- Hey, kid! This is no place for you. Go play outside or something."
The Fairy Ocarina came to Link's lips as he played the Song of Storms, drowning out the old man yelling and the creaking of the windmill. There was nothing but Link and the music. He played and played until he felt a sudden draft of air stirring around his ankles and rising up to form a grey cyclone around him. Outside, the villagers watched as their bright sunny day was suddenly blotted out by dense storm clouds. Thunderheads rolled in out of nowhere and started pouring down rain and the howling winds pushed the windmill, spinning it much faster then it had ever gone before. With the windmill working at full capacity, the water drained out of the well right outside, diverted to Goddesses only knew where. The old man looked around in panic at the out of control windmill "Hey, kid! It's going way too fast! What did you…!"
But Link was already out the door, running down the stairs and around the corner to the gaggle of people standing around the well, discussing what could have made the water go down.
"Outta my way!" Link yelled, pushing his way through the surprised crowd of people to jump down the well. About halfway down, he caught onto a rung of the metal ladder set into the side of the well to stop his fall…then let go again. This time, he was close enough to the ground to not break a leg as he hit the ground running.
Dark. Narrow. Scary. The Well of Three Features!
That's how the sign described it anyways, but Link would have argued a few other features. He honestly hoped the townsfolk didn't use this water for anything as he passed several piles of moldy old bones laying to the side. A giant spider dropped down from the ceiling, its skull backing made to intimidate its prey, but Link had ceased to be impressed long ago. As soon as it turned around, he pulled out his hookshot and speared the thing through its soft underbelly, and kept right on running through the cloud of emerald flames that consumed the corpse.
Ahead, it seemed to be a dead end, but Link knew better. That wall was nothing more then an illusion. The main room down here at the bottom of the well was a rough square. Stone canals carried water in from hallways to the left and right while right ahead sat a little alcove. If Link recalled correctly, the only thing over there was some bombs and a hole down in a pit that he couldn't reach yet due to it being filled with water. Setting off to the right, Link followed the trail, making sure to go splashing the entire way through the ankle deep sewer water in the canal. Otherwise, he would be liable to step someplace with a fake floor and he couldn't afford to waste time falling down into Goddess only knew where. Dealing with Redeads was not pleasant with such an inadequate weapon.
Just a quick jog away, Link found what he was looking for. Above an engraving of the Triforce set into the floor was a grotesque stone head that spewed out the water that filled the well. If only those villagers knew…
Zelda's Lullaby. Just like last time, the soft notes of the song ceased the flow of water from the head on the wall. Now that the water was all drained out, Link jumped down into the pit beneath the head where all the water had been pooling up and started crawling through a small passage set into the wall at the bottom. He'd been doing some growing so it was definitely a tight fight, especially around the shoulders, but he managed to squeeze through the narrow passage.
His memory carried him through the rest of the rooms till he found the one he was looking for. A room carved entirely out of damp red earth and what made it worse was the pale white hands sticking up out of the ground, their blood red nails adorning the fingertips like the petals of some freakish plant. Link shuddered at the thought of the clammy dead skin touching him again but…
"I'm coming, Dark."
And with that, he lunged forward. The Kokiri sword was too short for him to reach the long hand, but he tried, grunting as he felt the cold dead fingers wrap around his skull trying to crush it like an egg. He put up with it until he heard the sound of something else, something dead rising again from its grave. Link swing his sword up, slashing across the undead hand's wrist, forcing it to release him. Jumping out of range he turned to see the it; the pale and horribly bloated body that walked towards him with coal black eyes and a slack jaw full of bloodstained teeth.
He had to wait until the thing lowered its head and he almost choked on the caustic smell of rotting meat on its breath. He swung. This creature had no intelligence and no arms of its own to speak of so a few well placed swings and its severed head fell off, its body collapsing a moment later, twitching and spewing foul green smelling blood all over the place . Link sighed, going over to wait as the chest containing the Lens of Truth finished materializing.
Once he had his treasure, Link was eager to be away. Uttering a quick prayer to invoke the Goddess Farore, Link vanished in a flash of green light, reappearing at the entrance to the well. The townspeople above had just finished organizing a rescue party when Link hauled himself over the edge of the well and dropped down into the grass. The crowd was staring, possibly due to the foul green blood covering him from the creatures in there. Then he noticed the guards.
"Yes, you want to clean out down there. It is definitely not sanitary."
And with that, he went running off towards the graveyard again. It was dawn and the sun was barely starting to show itself so Dampe was inside his little hut, sleeping during the day like everyone else to work the 'graveyard shift.'
At the back of the graveyard, the biggest tombstone marked the resting place of members of the royal family, but on a ledge above it, behind a wooden fence, lay the entrance to the Shadow Temple. The Hookshot dragged him up to grab onto the edge of the fence. Right behind it was the warp pedestal and behind that, a set of stairs descending into the hill. At the bottom of the stairs, a small rise surrounded by unlit torches guarded the door to the temple. It would only open if all the torches were lit. One think Link had managed to keep after the flow of time was reset were his childhood items. However, with no magic, he couldn't very well use a spell to open the door. Reaching down inside himself there was just nothing there. Time for plan B.
Link ran back to Dampe's house to borrow the lantern that was left carelessly sitting out on the front porch. It was just to borrow, he'd bring it back in a few minutes. Back up at the entrance to the Shadow Temple, he lit one torch with a lantern then pulled out a Deku stick and started running.
A low rumble emanated through the chamber as the old stone door creaked its way up into the ceiling and releasing a gust of stale wind carrying with it the scent of things long dead. Steeling his shoulders, Link headed into the dark depths of the Shadow Temple.
Just as he remembered, a pit was the first thing to greet the hero, though it had a lovely target for his Hookshot, only when Link tried to use it, he realized that the chain was too short to make it all the way.
"Of course," he muttered irritably, reflecting on the irony that it was Ganon's evil influence that had allowed him to reach Dark in the first place. "Heroes never give up though." And with grim determination, he made a running leap off the edge of the chasm to get closer to the target. The hook caught onto the target and nearly dislocated the boy's shoulder as it hauled him up to the target and solid ground.
A familiar bird statue and the same grotesque face greeted him but he didn't care about those. A short walk through a series of invisible walls to the left brought him to the room with the Hover Boots. Conveniently, no monsters lay in wait for him. Apparently without Ganondorf to lead them, no monsters had bothered to attack a Temple.
On the way in and out the other chests with money and keys and whatnot were all ignored. Nothing but Dark mattered. The Hover Boots ability to levitate allowed Link to simply float across the chasm in front of the entrance and allow him back outside.
Back outside, it started to rain over the village of Kakariko again. A natural rain not called by a spell-imbued song. Link watched the rain from his balcony for a few moments, relaxing as the cool breeze blew a few stray raindrops at him until he decided to leave (after returning Dampe's lantern.)
Pulling the Ocarina from his pocket, Link piped a quick merry jig that always got his foot tapping and a moment later he appeared in the middle of the Lost Woods. Behind him, the Forest Temple sat high up on a ledge. He imaged that stairs used to lead up there but they'd long since crumbled. Of course, Link didn't really care about the Forest Temple. He turned and looked out over the rest of the forest. Getting in here required going through a labyrinth infested by club-wielding giants, however, going back was a great deal easier. Down the stairs, a Giant waited, blocking the Temple entrance, so his back was turned and he never saw it coming when Link leapt up and slashed through the back of his neck.
After that, a short climb up a wooden ladder let him up on top of the walls of the maze so a few short jumps over some gaps and he was back at the beginning of the maze and jogging out into the woods. The Lost Woods, as their name implied, were notoriously difficult to navigate except for those who were born there. Though Link technically had been born elsewhere, he'd been raised Kokiri so he knew the woods well. Nearby, through the giant hollowed-out tree stumps that served as tunnels through the woods there'd be a pool of water that held a passage to the Zora's Domain.
Saria watched the object of her long-time crush come trotting into the clearing. It was now or never…
"Link."
He didn't turn around but she saw his shoulders droop, like he knew what was coming. That must mean his answer wouldn't be good…
"It's nice to see you again, Link…we don't see you around here too often anymore"
He just shrugged, still not turning around as she approached. "I'd actually…been hoping to talk to you about something," she continued hesitantly. "About us."
Link stiffened at those last two words. Goddess, but he just didn't have time to deal with this! Also unbeknownst to either of them, Mido happened to be in the area, eavesdropping from behind a log tunnel, listening to the one sided exchange. He was already grinding his teeth in frustration. What did Saria see in that punk kid anyways!
Link sighed, finally turning around to face her. He opened his mouth to say something but she placed a finger to his lips."
"Link listen…we've always been friends and I know just what a great person you are…and I was hoping maybe we could be more then just friends. Maybe we could be…" Saria's voice trailed off as she acted on her long time dream, leaning forward to kiss the boy she'd always wanted.
Mido, waiting by the tunnel wall felt his heart stop. Did she really mean to…?
He was just about to run out and interrupt when Link shot by in wild-eyed terror. All Mido saw was a green streak and a splash in the water behind him. He sat down, waiting for the boy to surface, but he never did.
Several miles away from the Lost Woods, a certain Kokiri gasped as his head broke water and he climbed, soaking wet out of the pool to stand on a stone bridge before the mighty waterfall that guarded the Zora's Domain. Link stood before the roaring falls, just staring at his Ocarina for a moment. He waited and waited and waited until finally the sneeze that had been building in his chest decided to come out and then he played Zelda's Lullaby, quieting the waters enough to jump through the hidden passageway in into the Zora's realm.
The Zora, an aquatic race, lived in a very watery area. Giant pools of water made up most of their domain with only thin paths carved in the mountains for their terrestrial visitors. As always, Link was struck by the beauty of Zora's Domain. This high vaulted cavern sported its own smaller version of the waterfall outside and he remembered fondly the days spent swan diving off the top of the waterfall, plunging down into the cool azure pool below to the applause of the Zora watching. Today however, there was no time for simple games. Running along the pathway, Link passed the way that would take him down to the shops, instead ascending up a long flight of stairs near the back that would take him up to the Royal audience chamber. Of course King Zora was always glad to see the Kokiri who'd saved his daughter, Princess Ruto who would later grow up to be the Sage of Water.
Ruto, though still a child herself was convinced that Link was her fiancé and took every opportunity to try seducing the boy and consequently making fun of the shy blushing blond. Ignoring her coy smile, Link ran out into the large contained lake where the guardian god of the Zora resided, though Jabu-Jabu was really just a giant whale. How he'd gotten into such a small enclosed lake was a conundrum Link was still trying to figure out.
Spotting the whale god, the blond couldn't help but shiver. He'd spent three days wandering around inside that thing and now intimately knew his way around Jabu-Jabu's stomach. That stench of decay was very different from the smell of the Shadow Temple. It was the smell of thousands upon thousands of rotting fish corpses. That first time had been the worst. So large was the whale that all he needed to do was open his mouth and inhale to suck Link off his feet from twenty feet away. Fortunately, his plan did not involve a stroll through whale intestines.
Instead, he ran to the side, hopped in the water and swam around to the back, climbing up the tail like a ramp to stand on top of the whale. "I really hope this works," Link muttered, setting down his entire sack of bombs and eyeing it dubiously. "Well… here goes nothing."
Hesitantly, he lit a bomb and dropped it inside the bag with all the rest of his entire stock of bombs and waited, ducking down to cover his face and chest… With a deafening explosion, all the bombs blew up at the same time sending Link flying through the air like a cannonball, head clouded and ears ringing as he watched the entrance of the Ice Caverns fast approaching. It looked like he was going to hurtle into the jagged rocks. One single click of his heels and the Hover Boots activated, carrying Link's wind blown body a full fifteen feet to deposit it in a large pile of snow.
Pulling himself out of the snow, Link staggered deeper into the caves. Wet and walking into an ice cave wearing only shorts, Link was freezing and completely disoriented from the shock still ringing in his ears. But at least the foolhardy plan had worked. Still holding the map, he followed the quickest route to the room where the Iron Boots would be waiting.
Teeth chattering and hugging his arms to his chest Link scurried through the tunnels carved in snow. Without the monsters, the only form of security to watch out for were the falling icicles that dislodged from the ceiling and a single slow spinning ice blade. More than any of that, the biggest threat was Link himself. Ever since he'd woken up his body felt so frail. He couldn't keep his breath and had no stamina to speak of and now, running dripping wet through the frigid caverns where each pant blew his breath out in foggy white clouds, he just wanted to lay down and sleep…
No! Thoughts like that were dangerous. Never mind how small patches of ice were forming on his bare legs and hanging off his hair and turning his tunic into a stiff immobile suit. Just keep running, just keep breathing.
Whipping his sword out to smash some icy stalagmites out of his way, Link ran through what should be the last door only to be faced with … A treasure box. Throwing his box open and grabbing the boots, Link whipped out his Ocarina and played the Serenade of Water as fast as his numb fingers could manage and a moment later was laying on the island of Lake Hylia. The chills still wracked his body and plugged his nose. He'd probably be getting sick any day because of it but first… something very important had to happen. He had to be sure Dark was ok.
A sudden stinging pain all across his front had Link almost wishing he was back in the Ice Caverns. Almost. The frigid chill engulfing him almost immediately after setting off his entire stock of bombs had numbed the pain of the numerous burns that now covered his arms and legs.
While he didn't have any ice, the cool water of the lake would work just as well to soothe the burns. Link dove off the island and into the water, letting out a relieved sigh as the pain ebbed away into obscurity once more. One tap of his heels and the blond head sank beneath the gently waves to drop to the lake bed. He was about halfway down when the need for air became a sudden pressing need. But he'd barely been under! Was it the incoming sickness that made it so hard to hold his breath? Pulling out his Hookshot before getting to the ground, he shot out the blue diamond shaped lock that would allow the gates to raise.
Lungs screaming for air, Link deactivated the boots right as he made it to the depth of the gates and swam through, breaking the surface of the water just when he thought he'd explode. Coughing and sputtering, the Kokiri hauled himself out of the water to just lay in the entrance way, shivering and oddly reminiscent of the small and pathetic form of an abandoned cat in the rain.
Once he'd gotten his breathing under control, Link wrung the excess water out of his out of his hair and set off. True, it was kind of a pointless effort, but having water dripping off his bangs was thoroughly annoying.
While the trek through the Water Temple was just as miserable as he remembered it, at least no monsters lay in wait. Did that mean Dark wouldn't be there? No, Dark wasn't a monster.
Still, the lack of enemies made the temple go by a whole lot faster and it wasn't too long before he found himself floating up to a familiar little alcove. Beyond that door, his partner should be waiting for him.
The room of fog was also eerily similar to how Link remembered it. Taking a deep breath, Link splashed through the ankle deep water to the tree in the middle and circled all the way around it. "Dark? Dark are you here?" Link's lonely voice echoed through the room with no answer. It was then that he noticed that neither door was locked. No one was here and it crushed Link's hopes. Sighing dejectedly, he trudged towards the door. While he was here, he might as well grab the Longshot like he'd promised Dampe.
He was just about to the door when bars dropped down to block his access. Link's heart lept up into this throat and he turned around to see a pair of red eyes watching him from atop the tree. He ran forward as Dark dropped to the sand only to slow when he saw the blade sitting in Dark's hand.
"Hero of Time. Welcome…to my humble home." The same casual greeting from last time. It hit Link like a punch in the stomach. What if Dark didn't remember him?
"Dark, what are you doing?" Link asked, slowly drawing his own sword. Clenching his fist, the Triforce burst in to brilliance and in a flash of light, Link was left standing in his adult form but even that did nothing to restore any of his lost stamina. He still had his muscles but his body felt so… frail. Coupling that with the short length of the Kokiri sword, he didn't stand a chance of winning this.
"It's my duty to take you down. Nothing personal." Indeed, it was nothing personal. Dark's voice was cold, impersonal. "Get ready."
Shaking his head sadly Link looked his one time partner in the eye and tossed his sword to land point down in the sand. "I surrender."
Dark stared incredulously, his blade dipping into the sand. "W-what did you say?" he asked slowly, as though trying to comprehend what he was hearing.
"I surrender. I give up. I concede. You win." Sliding to the sanding island with his back against the tree, Link leaned his head back and shut his eyes. "My quest is done. I have no reason to fight you. If you want to kill me that's fine. I am just glad to see you're alright. It gives me a chance to say that I love you and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye." Tugging his wet gloves off, messing with his hair, Link did anything he could think to avoid looking Dark in the eye.
A sudden shift in the sand said that Dark was near him and asked in a much quieter tone, "You do know what surrendering implies right?
Link couldn't help but snort. He knew that calculating glint and lecherous leer. Dark knew exactly who he was and was just…being Dark. But still, the question did merit thought. So he'd admitted his feelings. Was he really ready for that?
Dark noticed the hesitation and was about to back off when a sudden hand shot out, grabbed his shirt, pulled him forward and the next thing he knew Link was kissing him. Kneeling down with a leg on either side so the blond couldn't escape, he deepened the kiss and felt something fumbling at his belt buckle in return. The heavy strip of leather fell to the sand and Dark pulled back, shivering slightly when the sword calluses on Link's fingers slid up his tunic and across the sensitive skin on his stomach. Ever so slowly, the black tails of his tunic lifted up as Link pushed it higher to reveal the pale skin underneath.
He had to lean forward to get close enough for it to come all the way off but soon Dark sat bare from the waist up. He heard the sharp intake of breath when Link saw it; the large, jagged pink scar left on his stomach from being gored by Ganon's giant horns. "I'm sorry Dark," the blond whispered, leaning forward to lay a kiss over the sunken in mass of scar tissue.
Sighing half in pleasure at the feel of those soft lips on something so sensitive and half in worry at the sorrow thick on Link's voice, Dark laid a hand on the mess of damp blond hair, stroking it back. "Don't worry about that. We both made it through, right?" Pushing the boy back, Dark dropped his fingers the other belt. He felt Link stiffen but make no move to stop him from removing it and then tugging the forest green tunic over his head.
Right about in the same spot, Dark trailed his fingers down to the scar left over from Link impaling himself on the Master Sword. The two scars even looked similar since the top and bottoms of Dark's circular wound had torn when Ganon tossed him through the air, the end result mimicking the oval shaped sword wound. Seeing the one thing to mar the blond's otherwise perfect body brought him back to that day, opening his eyes right as Link ripped the Master Sword out of where he'd sheathed it within himself. He remembered the sallow cast of the Hero's skin, the great spurts of blood shooting out of the wound and watching him fall to the ground.
Caught up in the past and the emotional turmoil of each thinking the other was dying, it was all they could do but collapse into the sand and hold on tightly, arms twined together just as they'd been right at that very end where, had the Gods not intervened, how they would have died together.
But that was over and done with. Dark had the living breathing Hero of Time laying here in his arms and that reminded him. "Hey Link…y'know, the journey is over. You know what that makes you?" he asked slyly, pulling back to eye the blond.
"Hmm? What?"
"Boyfriend." Grinning, he leaned in and laid a quick kiss against Link's jaw and slid his hand down the heated skin to rub a thumb across one of the blond's nipples. The grin widened further upon hearing the quiet moan it earned and he was eager to hear more.
"Dark, don't…Da-ah!" Link cut off when Dark's tongue laved over the other one.
"Nope. I can feel it in your shoulders. You're stressed way the fuck out and you need to relax so just lay back and let me take care of you."
Link muttered something unintelligible as blood heated his face a second before feeling the quick nip of teeth biting into his shoulder and, after that, a kiss on the mark. Down Dark went, kissing and biting a trail down the smooth expanse of skin beneath him.
He kept his eyes on his boyfriend's face as he did this, very amused at the blood rushing up to the boy's face, but the moans it caused had his own blood rushing to an entirely different place. Savoring the feel of success, a pair of pale graceful fingers tugged at the ties, loosening Link's pants, then curving under the waistline to tug them off.
Finally, after all this time his Hero lay before him, ripe for the taking. What he saw had Dark's breath catching in his throat and his pants feeling uncomfortably tight. Dark moved down, taking a tight grip on the boys hips and flicked his tongue out just once and was rewarded with a sharp gasp.
Digging his fingers into the sand, Link stared down and bit his lip as Dark's eyes flicked open and it only deepened his blush. Not only was Dark doing something so embarrassing but he had to watch, too? Link shivered once again, watching the very tip of Dark's tongue poke out of his mouth to slide over his lips as he went to work.
Goddesses, where did he learn to do this? Link wondered hazily, threading his fingers through the soft black hair before him. He felt helpless, trying to move but the tight grip on his hips kept the blond pinned firmly to the ground, curling his toes in captive bliss.
"Dark, hurry," Link panted, face flushed, but Dark only laughed. The vibrations of his amused chuckle left tingling aftershocks behind. Groaning and tightening his grip on the soft black locks, Link's hurried panting at least showed they were getting somewhere.
"Damn it Dark…are you…trying to kill me?" Link choked out at the first feel of teeth. It didn't make any sense. He'd been trying for so long to get somewhere but now that he finally had Link's pants off, he had decided to take his sweet time? The slow casual air, the slight smirks, the teasing and having those lust-hazed red eyes drinking in his moans like wine, it was torture; torture in the most amazing way possible but it could only last for so long.
Hot and flushed, Link stared blankly up at the ceiling as his heart hammered in his chest while Dark curled up next to him, smirking and purring like a self satisfied cat. "You're welcome."
The helpful statement had the blond rolling his eyes but playing along couldn't hurt. "Thank you, Dark."
Smiling contently, Dark reached up and laid something cold and metallic against the Hero's chest and when he looked down, the Water Medallion glinted back at him. "No problem. Saved that for you by the way. Thought you might want it."
Nodding gratefully, Link laid back, exhausted. As soon as he shut his eyes the glowing Triforce on the back of his hand faded back into a pallid glow as it did when not in use. Unable to maintain the spell any longer, Link vanished to be replaced by his child form but it wasn't only him. Dark vanished as well and in his place lay an eleven year old elven boy with midnight locks and crimson eyes, twined around the young blond.
"G'night beautiful," Dark whispered, reaching up to brush a sweat-drenched strand of hair out of the boy's face before slipping off to join him in a deep satisfied slumber.