He was weak, limping, and beaten. But he was back. As she flew to the lava, Link slid to edge of his platform and reached to the poor girl. Reminding him of the Wing Ceremony, he pushed farther and acted quick until her fingertips tangled with his. A smile spread through his face as he lifted the girl, placing his other hand on her elbow, and pulled her closer to him. She grinned back, looking straight into his eyes, and sent him thank you messages with her own. He brought the Goddess back to ground, and pushed himself back up, threatening his clone with his actions. The opposite didn't back down, but smiled mischievously as he chuckled lightly to himself.
"You don't actually think you can defeat yourself, do you?" The dark one spoke. "I mean, even if you thought you were strong enough before, you wouldn't stand a chance in that position. You don't even have a weapon!" Zelda, who was lying weakly on the ground, peered up at Link. She noticed he was covered in scars and bruises, his hat ripped, clothes torn, and his skin and hair were covered in dirt. His leg was swelling underneath his nude colored sweat pants, and he could barely stand straight. Still, the blond boy ignored his comments, and looked ready to fight. Quickly, the girl patted the ground, and searched through the carrier still wrapped around her, in desperation to find her bow and arrow. On the other side of the gorge, the sly boy held up a bow and arrow in his hand, and a black sword in the other. "Looking for something?"
Link cringed at the sight that the two's only defence had been stolen, and this battle didn't seem fair at all. However, he kept his cool to make sure Zelda couldn't suspect the anxiety he had been building up. Of course, the thought that she was Hylia didn't come to mind, the fact that she was wise, and could sense about everything. She furrowed her eyebrows in anger, and tried to find a solution. There was no way this could turn around if she didn't think of something, and fast. Again, she searched through her bag, in hopes to find anything that could be of use to them now. She grabbed the clutter of stuff she hid in her purse, and clenched them in her fist, smiling to herself. "Link, I think this is it." She cried out. "I can't believe it's over. I'll miss you."
"What? I'm not giving up yet!"
"But how can we defeat such a strong, smart, and cunning guy like him? It's foolish to go any further."
"The Goddess is right. I came to avenge my Master, and there is no way that I will leave without one of you dead. It's my destiny." He shared.
"Your Master…?" Link questioned, facing the dark one again.
"Of course. I'm sure you're familiar of Ghirahim."
"Ghirahim? He's sealed in another realm! How could he ever-"
"Create a monster? Well, stubbornness works in mysterious ways I guess. His spirit was trapped, as we all know, but my Master always had a back-up plan, despite his strong confidence. While he had returned, he had conjured up what he could in the extra time he had. So, he made me, in a form so deceitful, it could fool anyone…even a Goddess. He named me, 'Dark Link.' It fits, doesn't it? Not extremely clever though…" He explained. "But this is far beyond me; I must get back to business, before I waste any more valuable time. Which of you shall I rid of…or maybe, I'll kill you both. It's only fair of me to dispose of the Goddess first, considering the conditions…and it'll be fun to have Link experience it all, wouldn't it?"
"You're not touching her!" Link shouted in defence.
"Is that a challenge? What are you going to do, kick me? Or, are you too weak to even do that?" Dark Link laughed, and Link charged at the evil boy. Quickly, Zelda pulled onto his stronger leg, before he ran off the ledge.
"I thought you loved me! Why would you do such a terrible thing? You're stronger than this!" Zelda fought, crying out her pleas. Dark Link gave her a small glance, frowning slightly at the thought. Link scoffed, and thought to himself; Love? Love is more beautiful than revenge…She's never seen love before. Not even from me. She deserves better than that.
"I…I told you. My Master is my main concern. I will not let him down." He nodded, hiding the guilt that was eating him inside out. In response, the girl sighed, and hung her head in disappointment. Dark Link took a step to closer to the other platform, and leaped to their side. "I'm so…I'll miss you. But please understand…" The Dark Link brought his sword over his head, ready to strike the girl. Link jumped in front of the sword, pushing with his hands against the strong weapon. The spikes on both edges tore into his skin, causing crimson blood to drip down his wrists. He knew he couldn't hold it for much longer, but he held on until he knew it was safe for Zelda.
"Run!" He directed.
"No! Link, I'm not leaving!"
"Go! NOW!" He shouted with a tone of voice he had never used on her. This time, he was not taking no for an answer.
"Link, please!" She sobbed, and they could all hear the fear idling in her voice. "I'm scared!" She cried out, feeling her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Her pale skin shivered, knowing what could happen if she left.
"GO!" He repeated, his voice strong and demanding. The girl shuffled to her feet, and ran through the door to the spring. She turned before opening the door, giving Link one last look before she had left. How could she leave him, when he's so hurt?
The girl scampered to the Triforce Emblem, praying to Hylia to give her memories, hoping answers or assistance hid in her memories. She clasped her hands together, and whispered her prayers. As last time, the moments rushed in her mind, from the day she had been taken away, to the night she had died. She saw all the days of her journey, the day she had been taken in by a crystal, the day she had been freed and Demise had been sealed. As crazy as it all felt, she had no time to feel for her past days, she had to think for her future ones. She searched in every time, every second, and every change for something that could tell her what to do. She saw the letters they sent, and received, the times where things were easier then they seemed. The memories came to the night Link returned to Skyloft, and he had prepared such a beautiful evening. She saw a candlelit dinner, and night of dancing in the warm breeze. She felt something familiar crawl through her skin, as they leaned in towards each other, as in slow motion. Though it felt perfect, the breeze suddenly grew stronger, dragging Zelda to the surface. Soon, she was in Ghirahim's hands again, and Link had been fighting for her life. She saw that she had been thrown to the ground, and she saw Link hovering over her, crying. Even as children, seeing Link cry was rarer than anything she had known. Only if he had been truly heartbroken, did he cry. Then, the picture went blank, which meant a pause. The memories zoomed through, faster now, replaying the things she's seen from after her memories were lost. She saw the memories Link replayed for her, and the fight they had. Then, when she had come back to the surface, and she went through to Skyview Temple. When she had first met Dark Link, and got her first half of memories back. She saw when they had warped to Eldin Volcano, taken a break, but quickly woke up. It slowed down a little when she had been knocked out conscious…but this time, she could see as if her eyes were open. It only made sense to think that a sacred power allowed her to see such forbidden things. Why is it showing me this? Her thoughts overlapped the sounds of his voice as he entered the Earth Temple. He brought her through the first room, and stopped to speak with a Lizalfos. It called a ball to their feet, splashing lava onto the ground in front of them. Like he was frightened, he jumped back from the fire. Suddenly,a scream cut through the memories, and Zelda shot her eyes open. "Link!"
Link scraped the blades against his hands, and threw the sword of his grip. In a response, the sword drove into his thigh, slicing through his broken femur bone. The slash brought agony to the hero, and his breath cut short. The only thing he could blurt out was a scream, and he fell to the ground. The pain was unbearable, and he knew that he could not go any further now. In the back of his mind, he could hear Zelda call out to him, but it could`ve been the pain speaking, like he had thought it had before. Oh the sweet sound of Zelda`s voice, drowning in the buzz booming in his ears. He wish it could last forever…Above him, the shadow held a sword above the green boy's heart, ready to kill him. In the back of the hero's mind, he thought; I'm sorry Zelda….I probably will never see you again, but I leave this message…if you'll ever be able to hear it. I was wrong… I shouldn't have doubted you…I abused my luck. If it wasn't for my stupid mistake, we wouldn't be here now; we would've been safely at home. Maybe you would never remember our past, but I would tell you everything…because I knew everything about you. I know that if I had one last chance, I would use all Courage and would use my last three words for something I should've told you years ago. I love you. If anything, I wish I'm the only one who dies tonight, because any thought of you leaving this world would be torture… Worse torture than anything I have ever faced. I know I can't fight any longer, because no matter how strong you always thought of me as, I was weak. I lacked the only thing I really wanted…a part of the Triforce you thought I had. I lacked Courage, and I'm sorry I couldn't have it. I was never the guy you wished I was. When my shadow comes to try and harm you, I wish I could be fighting by your side… I wish I could be there, when we defeated him and I'd say everything I'm saying now. But I won't be. So I give you all my faith, and beg of you to use your pleasant sweet-talk and your stubbornness to at least get away from him. I believe you can do it. Every second, he grew weaker, and the boy could think no longer, so he began closing his eyes. At least in his mind, he had said all he needed to. He wished that she could hear him, by any miraculous way, and take care of herself after he's gone. Link knew if he was dead, Dark Link would go after Zelda next, giving her as mercy as he had given him. Hopefully, she could get away fast enough, using her unguided wisdom to save herself. Dark Link began lowering his sword, and Link felt a prick against the tip of his skin. He was a touch away from being killed by his own shadow.
A/N Ooh…I hope it got you excited for the next chapter. Probably not. :P Oh well, I love the reviews…I haven't been receiving a lot of feedback lately and I've been thinking maybe it was because it's not as good as it was before or something. Please be honest with me. Is it bad? These are my last few chapters, and I want them to be the most amazing. Thank you so much to those of you who have been telling me their opinions, which were all extremely nice. I also want to thank anyone who's been reading it even though it's kinda crummy. I mean, you're actually all so awesome. You are the ones who keep this story going. I wouldn't keep at it if it weren't for all of you. People: I love you. :)