Chapter Fifteen

Auribus Teneo Lupum
"I Hold a Wolf by the Ears"

The Hero opened his tired eyes. He was no longer in the Sacred Grove, but instead a place that he felt was… Link didn't let the idea fully form; having suddenly noticed that he could no longer sense even the presence of Midna, Zelda, or the spirit that had led them to the blade, the weapon itself not in sight either. Link stood, garbed in his tunic and unmoving in the blackness that was somehow so incredibly familiar.

He was surrounded by nothing, truly alone in the empty expanse. The darkness was oppressing and the Hero felt frozen in place, unable to move, as his limbs were heavy. This scenario was all too recognizable in a way. Link tensed, finally sensing something other than the nothingness, yet instead of comfort or warmth, it was a malevolent presence. Searching his surroundings as his eyes darted about, the Hero tried to find the origins of the sinister sensation in the pure infinite hollowness around him. A moment or so later, a laugh echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once, its voice vengeful and threatening. Link forced himself to contain a shiver. Something about the sound was eerily unforgettable even though he was unable to place where he had first heard it.

A red glow began to take form in front of the Hero, and Link instantly felt cold as it slowly converged into a shape that outlined the blackness before him. He watched with a foreboding feeling as the darkness became more defined, the redness settling into a haze around a figure, framing its form; one that was all too recognizable to Link.

For it was he.

The Hero inhaled sharply at the sight of his doppelganger as the glow slowly faded. This was the exact shape the Light Spirit Lanayru had shown him to represent the Interlopers in the vision he was given before entering the Lakebed Temple. Though something about it was different this time, more… his thought was left unfinished as the creature broke the harsh silence, cutting it like a knife and drawing blood with the sharp words it spoke.

"Hello, Link," the mirror image seemed to say mockingly as red eyes snapped open, piercing the Hero's being that suddenly felt so very vulnerable. "May I be the first to welcome you here," a distorted smile displayed on its face as the double did a sarcastic half bow.

"You…" Link drifted as he felt himself involuntarily tremble in fright, eyes wide at the sight of himself of sorts.

"Yes, it's just us now. Remember me?" it asked with a twisted grin that seemed to bare fangs, one eye open wider than the other.

Of course Link remembered. No matter how much time passed he knew he would never be able to forget the most terrifying thing he had ever witnessed, and quite possibly ever would.

"I can see it on your face, the shock. I believe it's about time we caught up. A year has been longer than I had wished in this eternity of waiting. Oh, how I have missed you, my dearest brave Hero."

Link swallowed as he tried to suppress his fear and calm his racing heart. He didn't know what was to come, but the Hero knew whatever it was, it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Tell me what's happening to him!" Midna shouted at Zelda. The Twili's face was full of anger and panic as the two royals gently lowered the form of the savior of both Light and Twilight to the worn stone of the ancient temple floor. Tenderly the Princess of Hyrule's shadow realm set Link's head against the pedestal the sword stood in, using the Hero's pointed hat and grey-black shroud as a pillow against the hard stone.

"It has begun… Midna, from here on out you will not be able to aid Link… he has to overcome this ordeal on his own," Zelda said, looking sorrowfully to the one she spoke of and then slowly drawing her gaze to that of the other Princess who stared back in terror, mouth agape from shock.

Those were words the Twili didn't want to hear but subconsciously knew were coming. For everything the two had gone through since the moment they met, Link had always helped her, and in return she had helped him. Even if at the time it was originally out of necessity and not concern, they still managed to get by nonetheless. Having each other was the reason they had gotten so far on their journey together, although they kept secrets then and still had them now. Without at least being by one another's side…

Midna couldn't bear to think what Link had to endure here by himself.

"His spirit is a strong one… one of the strongest in existence thanks to the Goddesses. I am sure he will pull through and make the best choice for this life," Zelda spoke, not meeting Midna's eyes and instead once more letting her gaze settle on the one before them. Midna was fearful from the words of the Light ruler, as when she spoke them, even she hadn't seemed completely certain.

The sight of the Twili followed that of Zelda's, coming to rest on Link's frozen body. He almost looked like that of a corpse from his unnaturally still form.

A short time of silence passed and without a word the Skull Kid approached, silently standing a meter or so away from the three and watching as no one shifted or spoke. He knew his time to interfere hadn't yet come, but also understood his silent presence as of now was vitally important for some deep reason, and was terrified for the health and safety of the green clad one.

Breaking the stillness that felt oppressing, Zelda undid the snap at the neck of her cloak, pulling the mantle from her body and throwing it over that of the Hero's without speaking. After it had finally settled and the Princesses gazed upon it, the Sheikah eye that rested between the shoulder blades of the shawl looked up to the royals, shedding a single tear for the one beneath it who was in the midst of meeting with a terrible fate.

All they could do was wait… and wish.

The darkness had been circling Link, throwing out taunts and playing on his emotions all while the Hero stood frozen in fear and unable to retaliate in any way that would hurt the predator that stalked him. He didn't know how long this had been going on for, or how much longer the torture would last. It was getting to the point where Link thought he would break at any moment; psychologically collapse from the burdens that were placed upon him. Somehow the shadow had found a way to twist everything good that the Hero had ever done and turn it into something dark and horrid, in effect blaming all that had come to pass, even events far beyond his control, as things that were brought upon by Link himself. One threat after another rapidly stabbed him, no conversation lasting more than a handful of seconds, if that even. That is, until the doppelganger brought up the first and last time he had confronted Link over a year past.

"Do you want to know why I appeared in Lanayru's vision?" the dark mirror image of the Hero questioned mockingly but continued before his counterpart had a chance to reply. "The Light Spirit spoke of the Interlopers, gracing you with familiar images of that village girl and so on so you would better understand the tale. Oh, but that is not all! You see, the Interlopers took your form for a very good reason! They are you! Your ancestors too! Link of the Sheikah; the tribe banished for their failures and betrayal, the tribe that ran and hid like cowards. You are no Hero! You're merely a facsimile of the past mistakes of our people! In a way, a failed reproduction made to look like the original, a shadow I daresay."

"No! That's not who I am! That's who you are! You're the darkness, the evil within me!" he rebutted uselessly, knowing his words would come back to bite him, just as they had done this entire ordeal. In response the shadow grinned.

"Yes, exactly! I'm your darkness; the part of you that you still don't realize holds so much importance! The Shadow Folk from ages past, they guarded the Royal Family closely as you know, but they disgraced the proud name of their kind! A select few shamed the masses. They wished to utterly destroy the divine object of immortal lore, the Triforce! Midna has told you all this, I know. You bear the mark of the Goddesses, the Triforce of Courage. HA! Courage! So much for that if you can't even admit your pathetic feelings towards that disgusting Twili."

Link's face contorted in anger as he clenched his teeth. The Hero was outraged that the Interloper before him would refer to Midna in that way, and the words of his darkness stung, hitting Link painfully in the heart. What the shadow had said before the insult towards the beautiful Princess was true. The Goddesses had indeed blessed him, but at the same time it seemed they had cursed him with all these secrets and a life-threatening hidden past. The Hero learned that his blessing was a curse not long after his feelings towards Midna became more but was unable to tell her, keeping secrets of his own, just as the two of them had done the entire time they had known one another. Link began to wonder if they would ever truly be free and at peace, the darkness here showing him that his dreams might very well be frail and hopeless.

"Yes, Link, it is a curse," the shadow spoke, seemingly reading his mind. "Power cannot achieve greatness, Wisdom is unable to be free of worry, and Courage, oh Courage! Do you know what your flaw is, Great Hero?" his darkness questioned rhetorically with a playful tilt of its head. "It is that you can never be truly happy or make those you love feel as if they are at peace! You will always suffer in one form or another, and that will spread to all those you are close to! It's a curse tied to your very soul, tied to the fragment of divinity you hold… but you may be free of that yet. The Interlopers wished to end the cycle. That is what the defected Sheikah aimed for, that is the true meaning of the Twili! The Goddesses didn't realize what they had done by creating a tribe of magic wielders to protect the vessel in which the Triforce of Wisdom resided. Such conceit they had!" cackled the Interloper that took the Hero's form.

"That's something in the past! Midna's people have changed!" Link responded aggressively in reflex, not taking even a single moment to think over and dissect the words his shadow spoke. He knew this whole idea in one way or another and it was obvious to him that the darkness was playing with the Hero in its own twisted manner, yet Link couldn't help but snap back, bearing his own fangs in the face of the enemy that stood just out of reach. He was shackled – caged behind invisible bars that prevented him from breaking free and chasing his own shadow, no matter how useless it would prove to be. Even if he caught it, Link wouldn't be able to hurt the darkness unless he wanted to pain himself more.

"Yes, they have changed, and that means so much more than you think…" a smile slipped onto the face of the darkened figure before him, eyes almost glowing even more fiercely. "She's a princess, Link! And what are you? You are simply just a mixed-blood orphan who is cursed to bear the mark of destiny. No matter how much you love her, which I know you do, for I am your darkness, it won't work between you and it never will! Do you want to know why?"

He left the question open for a moment, allowing the Hero to ponder over its meaning.

"It's because she's royal! Not just any royal, like she herself said, the Twili changed from the magic in the other realm. They aren't the Sheikah your mother was. They aren't whatever you have become. Your falsehood won't allow you to produce an heir, and what good is a ruler if they can't pass on the crown? You're meaningless! A toy to pass the time with from the tedious boredom of peace in her realm."

Link's mind spun. Is that the reason Midna's actions had been so confusing? It had to be why the Princess refused to show anything more than friendship towards him – if she really did feel something for the Hero. She must have known this whole time that the two of them wouldn't work, he unable to give her what the Twili's kingdom needed for the future. But if his blood…

"Why could my parents who were of different races still have me then?" he asked, mind blurred from the sudden onslaught of despairing information.

"Are you really that dense? No wonder you don't have the Wisdom of the Goddesses!" his shadow threw its head back and laughed, voice a sinister cackle as it echoed in the nothingness that was the void in which they stood. Link could only watch and wait until the darkness continued. A moment later it did. "I thought you would know how these matters worked!" It shouted manically before taking a breath and once more diving headlong into an explanation. "The Sheikah and Hylians were quite similar, as you said, race being their only difference. Before their banishment, their tribe freely intermingled with that of the Hylians. Both purebloods and those of mixed races became the Interlopers upon being caught and banished after their defection, but when exposed to the magic of the Twilight Realm, the ones of mixed blood…" he left the statement hanging there for a second or so, almost as if he waited for Link to finish it. The darkness sighed with exasperation, expression becoming one of annoyance.

"Don't you remember what Midna told you or… did she not explain that fully?" he slowly smiled, knowing he had yet another thought to torment Link with. As the shadow spoke, its voice became louder. "Without powers of their own, the Hylian blood in them couldn't adapt. In essence, it and the Sheikah blood fought in a way. They also fought with the Twilight Realm, trying to reject the change, not slowly accept it as the purebloods had. These Interlopers instead changed so rapidly; becoming ill as their bodies fought themselves and the magic of the realm they were cast into. In the process they died!"

Link inhaled sharply. He already knew that. He just didn't want to face it, just like all the other things he ran from. The Hero was glad that he had an alternate form to reside in to slow down the process and ease his pain. He sincerely felt for the ones who had to endure that struggle, knowing just exactly how horrid it was. The thought of the suffering made his blood run cold. Link was lucky that only one episode of sorts took hold of him before he escaped the influence of the other realm, but he knew it would continue even after that. Link was able to tell right before beginning this ordeal, as when he was in his true form, he seemed to have continued to get worse. It didn't matter if he was in Hyrule and not directly influenced by the magic of the Twilight Realm. The Hero's past would continue to follow him everywhere, never for a moment letting go of its painfully tight grip which threatened to suffocate him.

The darkness went on, resuming its explanation.

"When it comes to your parents, your mother was unaffected by magic of another world. Those who stayed in Hyrule were not altered by the powers of the twilight. Do you understand yet? You can't give Midna what she needs from you as a ruler thanks to your past, and that is something that will forevermore plague you."

Link had never thought about that, about how loving the Princess would affect others. He only wanted to be happy with Midna and by her side after all the two of them had gone through together. The Hero didn't care about anything else, and in truth none of it mattered to him anyway. The reality was that he could care less about being a leader, and hadn't yet fully realized that he would be one if their relationship one day reached that level. Of course Link was well aware that the Twili was royal, but never pictured himself as attaining that status as well, if she loved him in return, that is. It was something that came as quite a shock to the Hero, but he wasn't able to think on one thing for more than a moment, as his mind continued to whirl from all that his doppelganger spoke. This whole time was Link being selfish? Only wanting his happiness and that of Midna's too? Neglecting the duties and responsibilities that would come along with it?

At his thoughtful silence the shadow spoke.

"Now, your parents weren't planning on having a child. You know this, as they admitted it in their letter to you. By pure chance you were conceived. A mistake!"

Did that mean it was really by pure chance he became the Hero, simply luck of the dice that his spirit of courage was born into this era? Link's mind frantically thought back to Midna's tale, recalling the details of the events that lead to so much death and destruction. The Princess told him that the Interloper War had taken place in a time when the Hero's soul failed to come into existence in the world of Light. Link suppressed a shudder at even the thought of the pain and suffering that would have happened if that had come to pass in this age.

The darkness within him continued its harsh words.

"The Twili on the other hand have thrived with their own kind, now with weakened magic of their ancestors! You've seen their realm, having lived there a year for yourself. They're at peace, no fear or oppression – or so they thought until the spirit of Evil pervaded their kind once more. In that time Midna's people have changed! Tell me, have you ever seen a child of a Goron and Zora?" The shadow abruptly questioned without letting Link even recall if he had come across a single soul residing in said physical form. "In comparison to the Princess, the two of you might as well be as opposite as those races! At this point you're practically a completely different species from her! Not only that, but you have no magic of your own to pass on, and that is something a descendant of hers would need in order to lead, having powers solely belonging to the ruler of the Twili. Only purebloods can carry on the lineage and you're just a mongrel at most. Anyway, do you really think she loves you? You're merely her pet: a little lost and injured wolf taken in simply out of pity," the Interloper spoke, pouting mockingly with his words.

It was true; the validity of his statement in the Hero's mind pierced Link's heart like a cold rusted blade. After they had made it to the Twilight Realm, Midna didn't have much of a choice when it came to dealing with the Hero. Her actions towards Link were just friendly – sympathetic if anything else. The Princess was playing with him in a way – a toy like the Interloper had said. It hurt so much to think of that, knowing she only saw him in that way and nothing more. The shadow forced Link to face just what he never wanted to: the truth as he saw it now. The Hero had been denying it all for so long, shoving it aside and trying to cling to the teeniest fragment of hope that she felt something deeper – anything more – towards him.

After a short time of painful silence, the shadow continued, abruptly shifting the conversation in another direction; one that Link hadn't expected and was far from prepared for.

"Let me ask, do you know where you are?"

The Hero never thought to question that, his mind being far too preoccupied with all the dark sinister thoughts that dug into him like a tightly wrapped cloak of needles. For the moment he set aside his worries regarding Midna, which were far too painful to face at this time. Where they were as of now was obviously Link's own mind, wasn't it? A test of his spirit the Master Sword had placed before the Hero, seeing if he were truly worthy of choosing a path that would lead to his salvation. It was a test that seemed all too real when it came to the mental burdens and agony placed upon him. Another notion of familiarity began to creep its way into Link's consciousness, but it wasn't able to fully form as his shadow tore it to pieces and sewed it back together in a patchwork tapestry of thought.

"No, no. You're wrong…" the darkness drifted, shaking his head as he read the mind of the Hero. A twisted smile snaked its way onto its face, red eyes piercing that of the one who held the Courage of the Goddesses, sending chills to his very core at the words the shadow proceeded to speak, once more bowing in a mocking manner as the grin he displayed spread wider.

"Welcome Link… Welcome to the Sacred Realm."

Link was taken aback, heart skipping a beat as his breath caught in his throat. That couldn't be possible. The location of the Sacred Realm had been lost to time after the Interloper War. The Hero wondered if what Midna said could have been wrong. Would she lie to him? She said it was the full truth, yet…

"I see that you're confused. Let me do a bit of explaining. As you know, the Interlopers lost – in this world, that is. The Twilight Princess spoke of the war named after them, but did you ever consider if they had instead won?" he paused, raising an eyebrow with a tilt of the head and holding his hand out, palm up as if he were presenting the notion as an invisible physical manifestation that he held before the Hero. In all actuality, Link hadn't thought of that terrifying possibility. Maybe he hadn't done so because he was subconsciously afraid of what it could mean.

"I'll tell you," the doppelganger said, bearing his teeth in a sinister grin and clenching his open hand into a fist. "They did win. Not in this era, obviously, but they had made it to the Sacred Realm in another time. For every great action there is another equal and opposite reaction, a split of sorts from what truly came to pass in the period that you know. The Goddesses won in this era, but in another we had made it to the realm of the divine. We had succeeded… partially." the shadow drifted, hand falling to his side and the smile slipping from its face as the eyes of the darkness darted away from Link for a split second, scanning the blackness around the two almost as if it feared something would sneak up and attack. Not a moment later their fierce gaze bore into the Hero once again, even more intense than it was previously.

"Although we had made it here – the here over there –we were unable to complete our goal. The Goddesses flooded us out of the realm we so desperately craved to conquer, chasing us across Hyrule. In the process of their own actions, the immortals themselves destroyed the Mirror. Yes, I'm speaking about the Mirror of Twilight. This Mirror was the same yet different than your own, being from the era where we had come out victorious.

"Anyway, the Divine Three killed us off… at a cost. In the end Hyrule was flooded, forgotten beneath the waves of a great ocean, as was what had really come to pass thanks to the fact it involved the Shadow Folk," the darkness gritted its teeth, snarl displaying on the shadowy face. "After that, the way to the Sacred Realm was truly lost to us, but…" he drifted, eerie smile once more taking place of the hateful expression. "That was only what we thought. In all actuality, they merely hid it from us, out of reach and in plain sight nonetheless. The Goddesses had to rub the truth in our faces now that we had no way of seeing our intentions through to the very end. We were dead in one time and imprisoned in the other. Since we couldn't have it, they so graciously gave it to another!"

Link looked at the shadow, brow furrowing in confusion as he was lost by the Interloper's words. In response the creature's contorted smile became twisted further, eyes widening unnaturally. The darkness began to chuckle.

"Now, Link. Now you will finally know… Let me explain the full truth. It is everything your dearest Twilight Princess so conveniently forgot to tell you, for she hadn't known, and that is what is so perfect! I'll explain to you just exactly what is hidden deep within your very soul. You don't simply bear the Triforce of Courage… you contain so much more, don't you, the Goddesses Chosen Hero?"

Link tilted his head to the side, the same action he would do when a beast to convey his confusion. He was fully lost now. The smile of the shadow became even more corrupted; a sight the Hero hadn't thought possible as he forced himself to not be unnerved by it, and the gaze of the Interloper became increasingly threatening and savage with every word it proceeded to speak.

"The Sacred Realm is within you. Link, you are a vessel, a portal of sorts to another world, and that world is right before you. Look upon it now," the darkness pointed towards Link, sharpened nail almost seeming to pierce his form even though the shadow hadn't touched him. It took the Hero a moment to realize that he wasn't being pointed at, but rather to turn his gaze. Link spun around, eyes widening as he let out a gasp to face a sight he never thought possible. Never again after the terrifying vision Lanayru gave him in the realm that was supposedly within the Hero. At this time though, Link could tell; what he saw wasn't merely any vision. It was something far greater.

The Triforce was before the Hero.

"You know of the divine power that the immortals left behind. The Interlopers wanted to wish for its destruction, using the Triforce against itself," the shadow spoke, its words suddenly becoming more optimistic to the ears of the Hero now that there was a pure light in the harsh darkness. "We can no longer have it so now it is your turn, a gift of the Goddesses themselves. This is something you so greatly deserve after everything you have gone through, isn't it? Make a wish, Link. The choice of what you want and who you can be is finally, finally yours… Light? Or Dark? Two sides of the same coin, one forever casting a shadow over the other…"

The Hero looked to the sacred golden triangles that hovered in front of him. A test placed upon him by the Master Sword, or not, this was something Link knew was all too real. He tentatively reached his arm out, unaware that he was holding his breath as his heart pounded in the silence. The Triforce of Courage that shone on the back of his hand glowed in response to the closeness of its origins, and the skin where the crest adorned suddenly felt warm, almost as if someone was holding it kindly. All the darker thoughts of the shadow's barbs seemed to slip away when the light and warmth graced them.

Link could make any wish at all. Everything the world – and any of the worlds beyond – had to offer was literally within his grasp. That meant he could make Midna truly happy. Not only end the suffering that her people had to endure, but undo it altogether.

Just as he was about to lay his shaking fingers on the object of the immortals, the sight of the Hero caught the markings along his arm, bringing with it memories of the tales Midna had told him and the pain he had experienced from his changes – no, not his changes. Link had always been this way deep down. It just hadn't decided to show until the time was right, transforming him into something far from the pure goodness many had found him to be. The truth was right before him and the Hero finally, after all this time, understood and was forced to face it.

In this life Link was truly corrupted, and the Triforce was not.

He knew. Something deep within him told the Hero that if he were to fulfill his own desires, even if those wishes were to benefit another and not himself, the Triforce may very well follow the path of destruction. Though he held none of the blood from those that betrayed Hyrule, the divine powers may see the darkness in his own heart; the Interloper within him from his soul's very struggle over this life, a fragment of something tainted and leftover from ages past that wished to end existence and had somehow found a way to bore itself into him.

Everything the Interlopers had so desperately tried to accomplish would come to pass, at the hand of the spirit of the so-called Hero himself, no less. For once in his life Link was truly afraid of what he was, for he had never been the Hero.

He was always a pawn.

A/N: Oh boy… Over 5,000 words. That's quite a bit. This chapter and the next one are the two that I have been most eager to get to in this section of the story! Like Midna's tale, it's a lot of information. I do hope it made sense for the most part. In the meantime though, yay for cliffhangers! How I love thee so! (You probably hate me for saying that. xD)
Also, I made an illustration to go along with this chapter. The link to it (oh, puns :p) can be found on my profile page.