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Dark Reflections: Chapter Seven: Sheik's Awakening

Sheik's POV:

My head is thumping; throbbing like someone is playing the drums between my ears. The relentless ache emanating from behind my eyes causes me to groan in pain, lolling my head back on my shoulders. I slowly force open my heavy eyelids, taking in the room. The walls are blank brickwork, uninviting and far from interesting, I cast my eyes down, finding that I'm sat on a cold, damp, concrete floor as a shiver runs down my spine, shuddering through my whole body. I sigh, attempting to pull myself to my feet, but it's only then that I notice the thick rope tied around my wrists. I pull hard with my arms, testing the strength of my binds, but to my dismay they hold tight. I swallow hard, trying to figure out what the hell is going on here. How could this possibly be happening? Why am I tied up in a tiny windowless room? I can feel the panic bubbling in my stomach but I try and calm my fears as I continue to pull on the ropes. My attempts gradually become more and more desperate, until I reach the point where my skin snags on the rope, ripping off a layer. I wince in pain as I fall limp and still, my arms aching from all the strain.

Only then do I hear a loud dramatic sigh behind me, followed by a feeble voice muttering. "Don't even bother trying."

I frown; I'd recognise that voice anywhere… "Link?" I question.

"Yeah…" he murmurs.

I twist my body as far as it will allow, coiling my neck to get a good look behind me, and only then do I notice that I'm not the only one tied up on the floor. He sits just like me, his wrists bound to mine. A rope wraps around my forearms, looped onto his, pinning us together. And although the current situation is pretty clear, I'm still so confused as to how the hell it got to this…

"Hey, you want to tell me what the hell is going on?" I growl, my teeth clenched together.

He sighs, allowing his head to flop forward, his lank blonde hair covering his face, "You wouldn't believe me if I did."

"Try me." I spit.

He sighs again, turning around to look at me from the corner of his eye. Our faces are close together, cheeks almost touching as I notice the patches of dust and dirt on his skin.

"It started about a week ago, when I had that fight with Zelda…"

I cast my mind back, remembering the rainy day in the university courtyard. I'd never seen him so heartbroken before, never so crest fallen as he was then. At least, not until now…

"I was weak…" he mutters. His voice is low, almost as if he's ashamed, like he did something wrong, "That's how it all happened…"

"What are you talking about?" I ask, frowning deeply.

"He said that for him to pass through the mirror I had to be weak, and up until that day I'd never been weak enough."

"Who said that? What mirror? Can you be more specific!?" I exclaim, my voice close to a yell with all the frustration, confusion and panic.

"Haven't you figured it out yet Sheik?" He raises his voice a little as he speaks, desperation echoing in the almost empty room, "We're in my mirror!"

I stop still, staring blindly ahead in silence. What was he talking about? His mirror?

"Link, y… you're being crazy…" I stutter.

"See," he murmurs quietly. "I said you wouldn't believe me."

I grunt a little, unsure how exactly to react. I want to believe him, he's my best friend, and I don't see a reason he'd lie to me, but his story was ridiculous, there's no way in Hyrule it could be true.

"How could we possibly be in your mirror?" I ask.

"He kidnapped me! Just the same way he did you!" Link snaps.

"Who, Link? Who?"

"I don't exactly know who he is… he said that everyone has a doppelganger that lives in the mirror realm, a dark twin…"

"Dark twin?" I query.

"He said I was his light brother, told me he wanted to know what it felt like to have a life of his own, so he took mine." He suddenly looks down to the floor, his face dropping dramatically. For a second I swear he almost looks hopeless. "He said something about Zelda… he's done something to her, I don't know what… he's going to hurt her Sheik!"

"She's not the only one." I grunt, shifting uncomfortably.

"What?"

I snap my head around quickly so I can look at him "He cut the brake wire on my car! He tried to get me killed, Link!"

He doesn't say anything for a few moments, his mouth hanging open gormlessly. He blinks a few times, trying to process his thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, he eventually mutters. "I'm sorry."

I sigh, looking away; closing my weary eyes "It's not your fault."

"Sheik…"

"Yeah?" I reply, opening my eyes as I lift my head.

"Is she ok? Zelda?"

I open my mouth to reply, to tell him that I don't know, how I haven't even heard from Zelda in a couple of days. But before I can formulate the words in my mind, I'm cut off by a deep, snide voice.

"She's seen better days."

I feel Link tense behind me as I nervously glance around like a startled wild deer. My gut instincts are screaming at me to get the hell out of here, but I know that's not an option. There's a loud clang above me, and a shadowy figure dives down, landing perfectly in front of me. I look up into his fiery eyes, and I'm forced to double take at his resemblance to Link.

"Well well well…" he says tauntingly "Look who decided to join our little club…" he speaks slowly, annunciating each word, allowing the vowels to roll on his venomous tongue. In any other situation I'd throw a punch, but my bounds are holding me back. I'm left with no other option but to just shoot him death glares as he slowly paces closer to me.

"How nice of you to join us, Sheik!" He spits. Suddenly he lashes out with one hand, grabbing me by my jaw, pulling me up a little straighter. I wince, screwing one eye shut but keeping the other on him as he smirks. Link lets out a small yelp of pain as his arms are dragged up with me, forcing his torso to buckle forward.

I look into the eyes of my antagonist, he almost looks pleased with himself… eventually his iron grip on me drops and I fall back to the ground. Link breathes a sigh of relief as his arms are released. But his relief quickly turns back to aggression as he turns to his doppelganger "What does 'she's seen better days' mean?"

"You're asking too many questions again Link…" His double mutters, straightening himself up, "But I know how to deal with chatty people…" I watch as he reaches into his pocket, smoothly pulling out one green and one red silky tie. My stomach twists as I realise what he's about to do. He pulls the tie taught between his fingers, approaching Link. I'm forced to watch as he gags my struggling friend; it takes a few attempts, but eventually the tie forces Link's mouth shut. He turns to me, menace glimmering in his eyes… wait… he's not going to gag me too, surely?

"Better sort out your friend while I'm at it…" he murmurs, gripping the other tie.

"You're sadistic." I manage to spit, before the fabric is forced tightly over my mouth, sealing my lips shut. I try hard to pull away, but the knot is tied and gag in place before I can even react.

He smiles as he steps back from me, looking up to the ceiling, he calls out "Down you come now!"

I cast my gaze upwards, following his line of sight, only to see something horrifyingly astounding. He pounces down from the ceiling, landing with one leg outstretched, arms spread wide, and a look of twisted pleasure in his wide eyes. His jet black hair flops into his eyes as he smiles victoriously, standing up straight. Link wasn't kidding when he said that everyone has a dark twin.

Standing over me, is a perfectly identical replica of myself, the only difference being the colour of his hair and skin… but if Link's doppelganger looked just like him outside the mirror… then chances are mine will be the same.

He carefully stoops down, resting one knee on the concrete flooring, looking at me on the same level. "I think it's time I had some fun, don't you?" He chortles.

And with that, the two of them get to their feet, walking over towards the golden framed mirror… a clear view of Link's bedroom showing where the reflection should be.

"Don't wait up…" he laughs, before effortlessly stepping through, followed by Dark Link. I whip my head back around so I'm facing forward. I fight against my binds, trying with all my might and will to break them, but the only thing I'm achieving is shredding my own wrists. I turn my head to look at Link, but he's not fighting against his binds. Instead he sits in utter silence, intensely concentrating as he jerks his head left and right at odd angles. I frown, watching him shake his head and push his jaw out.

I try to ask him what the hell he's doing, but all that comes out is a low muffled hum. Eventually, I hear a sharp release of breath. And I notice the gag slipped from his face, now lying uselessly around his neck. He licks his lips and chews his tongue, assumedly trying to ease the dryness in his mouth, before turning to me.

"Being stuck with nothing to do all day has its advantages, I taught myself to do that. Now, come on, you do the same…" he says, glancing over his shoulder at me.

I try my best to copy his actions, twisting and stretching at odd angles, trying to end my silence, but the gag sits tight. Link sighs as I shake my head, my hair flying out around me. I'm still achieving nothing, but I'm not prepared to give up yet. It's only when Link starts shouting my name that I come to a stop.

"Sheik… Sheik! Look!" He exclaims, knocking his shoulder into mine to try and catch my attention. He nods over to a patch of floor near the mirror, and as I follow his line of sight, I spot it too. There, lying just in front of the mirror, is my cell phone. It lies face up on the floor, the black case pressed against the concrete.

"What do you think?" Link mutters, "Can we use it?"

I nod vigorously as I glance at the phone, trying to figure out the best way to reach it, and eventually use it.

Link nods determinedly "Ok, we're going to have to try to shuffle along… this may be difficult… but if you move your feet, then you can balance your weight on me to move your body, then I'll move my feet and balance on you… ok?"

He gives me a small count down, before we both start moving very slowly across the room. My back cracks a little as he presses his weight against me, relying on me to allow him to move. Eventually he sits still and I can move my legs across the floor, before pressing my back against him and shifting my own body. After a few minutes of awkward shuffling and cursing on Link's part, we eventually reach the cell phone.

"Ok Sheik…" Link mutters, "You know your phone better than I do, so you're going to have to use it blindly, ok?"

I nod silently… I really wish I wasn't gagged right now… but I can't change the circumstances. We carefully shuffle over the phone, and eventually my fingers glide across the smooth touchscreen from their bound position. I glance awkwardly over my shoulder, only able to see a small portion of the screen, but I suppose it's better than nothing. I automatically open my call log, selecting the last called number, Midna…

I press the speakerphone button before sliding it over so it sits in front of Link as the loud monotone bleep of the call fills the room. Link taps his foot impatiently, an annoying habit he's always had, before eventually, Midna's voice breaks through.

"Sheik? Where are you? It doesn't matter, look, something's happened, Zelda needs her friends, ok… can you get here as soon as possible?"

"What!?" Link suddenly pipes up "What's happened?"

"Link?" Midna queries, "Is that you?"

"What's wrong with Zelda!?" Link demands, completely ignoring Midna. I jab my elbow into his back, trying to remind him to stay on topic.

"Oh you've got some nerve…" Midna spits, pure hatred boiling in her tone.

"Midna, please listen to m-"

But before Link can even finish his sentence the line is cut off, leaving us with just the long single beep signifying the end of the call.

"She hung up…" he mutters slowly.