A/N: Chapter 5! Woo! Hoo-ra! And trust me, this one is going to be very interesting! ^.^ I'm still wondering if more than one person reads this… but writing it makes me happy so… I guess that's all that matters. Please leave a review and tell me how much I suck! Yey!
I don't own Legend of Zelda of any of its characters.
Chapter 5: Deadly Meetings
"We need to go to Kakariko village, Navi." Link stated while steering Epona in the right direction, "We need to restock on supplies before we go home."
It was early the next morning whenever Link and Navi arrived in front of the stair steps that led to the mountain village, "Link… do you smell that?" Navi asked.
"Yeah… it smells like smoke." Link replied. They both looked at each other with a confused expression then their eyes widened in shock. Link let out a cry and they both shouted in unison, "The village is on fire!"
Dark had been walking in Hyrule field admiring the vastness of it all. He took this time to appreciate the beauty of the plains and the many trees spread out across the land. He soon found a crystal clear river flowing alongside the mountains. He followed the river until he saw a stone bridge that crossed over it. Beyond the bridge was what used to be Hyrule town… and also the castle. He cringed when he thought of Ganondorf and decided to cross the bridge to see where it would take him. On the other side, there was a stone stair set that led up into the hillside. He figured he would check this place out and ask if anybody had seen Link.
As Link arrived within the small town he spotted a familiar figure that was standing in front of the village's well, staring intently into the bottom. He ran up to his friend, knowing it was Sheik.
"Sheik, what's going on? The village! It's on fire!" Link shouted frantically waving his arms.
"Get back, Link." Sheik stated demandingly.
"What? What the hell is going on?" Link asked wanting to know why he was just standing there looking into this old dumb well while the village was burning to the ground. A dark maroon colored mist started to rise from within the well and Sheik tried to control it with magic but the force was too strong. The suspicious fog lifted Sheik in mid-air and began twirling and twisting his body before chunking him across the village in a ferocious manner.
"Sheik!" Link cried, running over to his friend's aid then turning to see the mist coming straight towards them, "Oh sweet goddesses…"
He lifted his shield and pulled out his sword as if he could somehow fight off this evil being; however, just as it had done with Sheik it rammed powerfully into Link knocking him off his feet, then lifted him in the air, shaking him murderously before slamming him into a stone wall. The eerie fog then darted quickly towards the graveyard, nowhere to be seen.
Dark had noticed the powerful odor of burning and fire and he frantically ran up the pathway to the village. Upon entering he could hear something above him and as he glanced up he saw a strange dark ghostly mass darting across the sky.
"You don't see that everyday…" Dark muttered. He scanned the area and saw that the village was in a major dilemma. Buildings were burning and people were screaming and shouting terrified to wits end. Dark glanced around quickly and then saw a familiar green figure lying helpless against a wall blood dripping from his partially opened mouth. His body looked crumpled and disfigured. He gasped as he saw a strange character dressed in a suspicious looking outfit walking slowly over to Link. Dark quickly ran over to the both of them and drew his sword.
"Back up, freak!" Dark shouted pointing his sword at the man dressed in blue. As he turned around he saw that he had a turban covering his face with only a single exposed red eye. Dark found this quite unsettling. He was the only person he'd ever known, besides monsters of the dark underworld that had these ruby jewels for sight. This immediately gave Dark the impression that this man was a force to be reckoned with.
"Who are you?" Sheik asked calmly, not even taking in the strangely similar appearance the dark man had to Link.
"I don't have time for questions, now get away from him." Dark ordered pointing to Link with his sword, who still lay unconscious and motionless. Sheik simply smirked and shooed his hand at Dark and continued to walk towards Link's body.
"I SAID STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Dark roared his voice becoming demonic and his eyes growing a bright furious shade of crimson. Sheik then became aware of this man's true powers and turned to face him.
"You do not want to fight me." Sheik warned boldly crossing his arms, "It is not in your best interest."
Dark laughed. His voice was still in a deep, demented and bellowing tone. It was as if every word echoed across the land, "You think I am fearful of you? Only a coward would not show his face. Is it something you're ashamed of? If you do not back away from the boy, I would be happy to slice it off for you."
Sheik stood his ground. He was uneasy, but not about to back off. For all he knew, this man was out to kill Link. Sheik pulled something from his pocket, small and circular. He looked up at Dark to make sure he was making eye contact and when he was sure Dark was more focused on his eyes than his hands he chunked the object in Dark's direction. The item burst into smoke and it enveloped around him. Dark started to hack and cough waving his arms to disperse the smoke. Before he had time to think a blue figure came crashing down on him from the sky with a dropkick to his face. He stumbled backwards and used his incredibly fast agility to dart through the smoke. He could see a faint shade of blue coming towards him through the haze and Dark used his shield to thrust it towards his enemy knocking the figure back; however, Sheik used this to jump into a graceful back flip and came back with a hard punch to Dark's jaw. Dark was going easy on this guy for the sole fact that he didn't have any real weaponry.
"Alright you." Dark stated then used his keen eyesight to locate his target before he had another chance to make a fool out of Dark. He saw Sheik coming at him in a jump attack and he swung his sword like a baseball bat using the flat edge to knock him into the same wall where Link was laying. He quickly grabbed Sheik by his neck and slammed him to the wall holding his sword dangerously close to his throat, "You wanna play, huh? Are you trying to fuck with me?" He yelled through bloodied teeth. He turned his head to spit out a mouth full of blood and saliva. At this point, Sheik knew why this man looked familiar. He looked eerily similar to Link… He knew this was Ganondorf's work. Sheik began squirming in fright and pain trying to loosen the grip on his neck, "If you keep moving, this sword will slice you before I even get the chance."
Down below, Link was starting to come to. His vision was hazy and red but he could hear a somewhat familiar voice. It sounded like Dark but… not the Dark he'd come to know. It sounded much lower… intensely evil and full of hatred. He tilted his head to look in the direction of this malicious voice to see Dark with his sword thrust up against Sheik's neck. He was covered in beads of sweat and a worried look upon his brow while Dark stared into his frightened eyes with the look of death.
"..Da…DA-ARK!" Link shouted hoarsely his voice breaking. Link was near tears, he couldn't believe his eyes, "Da-ark… let him go… let him go NOW!" Link screamed letting the water that was swelling in his beautiful blues fall down his cheeks. Link tried to take deep breathes as he clutched his stomach and weakly pointed a finger at his darker half. Dark stared at him in confusion and didn't budge, "I said now, dammit!" Dark glanced at Sheik, then back and Link. He finally let go of Sheik's neck and sheathed his sword. He struggled to regain his breath while Dark knelt beside Link.
"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.
"What… what were you doing Dark?" Link cried grabbing his wrist, "What the fuck was that?" At first Dark was speechless, "What the fuck was that, Dark!" Link asked again grabbing behind Dark's neck and pulling him close. Dark was so confused. What the hell was going on? He tried comforting Link by rubbing his back as he cried weakly into his shoulder. He'd never seen the hero so upset, but what was it that got him so emotional?
"I've never seen you like that… not even in the water temple when you were trying to kill me… what happened to you…" Link muffled into Dark's tunic. Link had been trying to defend Dark's innocence and good will to people this whole time, when in reality he felt he was sugar-coating a monster. He should have heeded the pink fairies words when they suggested he take Dark to the Great Fairy to rid him of evil.
"I… I thought he was trying to hurt you. I come in here and see fucking crazy clouds flying in the air, the village is on fire, and there's some strange guy walking up to your seemingly lifeless body! What did you expect out of me?" Dark asked almost hurt pulling out of the boys embrace. Seeing Link so upset even made Dark want to cry. He could feel his eyes start to water but would not let them fall. In the meantime, Sheik stood a good distance away watching this episode in confusion.
Link couldn't help but smile weakly knowing his comrade was only trying to protect him. So Un-Dark like. Now killing Sheik… that was very Dark-like. He explained that Sheik was his friend and was only trying to help him after that menace escaped the well. Sheik also added that the 'beast' was an evil shadow spirit called Bongo-Bongo. Ganondorf had released him from the well so that he could guard the Shadow Temple. This would be where Link would need to go next. After Sheik taught Link the Nocturne of Shadow, the melody he would need to teleport to the temple considering there was no other way to access it, Sheik was quite eager to leave.
"I don't know what's going on here, Link. However, it is my duty to warn you to be careful. I believe in your choices," He then looked towards Dark, "And I will not question them. Don't turn your back." He added then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"What's up with that guy and his magic tricks?" Dark asked turning to Link who was still leaning against the wall of which he crashed into.
"I'm not sure… but it's always cool to watch." Link said smiling then wincing in pain.
"Here let me help you," Dark stated, concern filling his voice as he tried to pick up Link.
"Wait…" Link ordered then pulled out his ocarina. He began to play a mysterious melody that seemed to call upon the heavens. A few moments later, rain began to fall profusely from the sky putting out the flames that had surrounded them.
"That was amazing…" Dark muttered in awe looking around as the flames dispersed. He then lifted Link into his arms bridle style and started to walk towards the village exit. Link was amazed at how caring Dark was being.
"Dark…"
"Mm?"
"Are you bi-polar?" Link asked raising an eyebrow.
"What!" He replied shocked.
"One second your about to cut someone's face off… the next minute your carrying me with a smile upon your face. Call me crazy… but it's a slight mood change." Link explained.
"Link I don't know what came over me…" Dark said seriously, "I was furious. Ready for blood. I don't know why… I guess it's because I owed you one."
"Owed me one? For what?"
"For bringing me back to life, silly." Dark smiled looking down at Link. His whole demeanor… it changed. Link had to admit… he was a little frightened.
"Dark… don't get me wrong, but whenever I left you at my house I thought you didn't want anything to do with me. I felt like I was forcing you to stay there…HEY! Wait a minute! You were supposed to stay there!" Link shouted, "You broke your promise!"
Dark's expression grew dark once more, "Shut up Link. I stayed there almost three days and you hadn't returned. If anything you broke your promise by telling me you would be back soon. Not only had I been cooped up in that house for nearly 72 hours, I was starting to worry you'd gone and got yourself killed. Like I said, I owed it to you to make sure you were alive." His serious tone told Link he'd better shut up.
"I'm sorry… I just," Link started but Dark cut him off.
"Don't even worry about it Link… So would you like to take a break before you go defeat the shadow temple? You're kind of in bad shape and… I would like a tour of Hyrule when you're feeling up to it." Dark added, giving him a wink. Link had to admit that he really enjoyed this new side of Dark; however, he now knew he needed to watch out for his sudden mood changes… especially when he turned angry. It was as though something had possessed him. If Dark were ever to get that livid with Link, it would surely be the end of him. He knew that he was only toying with Sheik.
"How about we go rest up back at my house… at least for a couple of hours… Please?" Link begged, giving Dark a puppy dog look. Dark groaned and dropped Link to the ground. He shrieked in pain, and Dark just scowled at him.
"Link, I can't spend another minute in that house! If we're going back, you're walking!" Dark shouted then continued on ahead of him. Link let out an insulted cry and struggled to stand to his feet. He didn't succeed and fell to his knees. He wasn't about to ask for Dark's help after he so blatantly dropped him like that, so he started to slowly crawl. Dark looked back to see if the hero was following him and at first did not see him. His eyes scanned downwards and he saw the poor blonde dragging himself on the ground. He frowned realizing how cruel he'd been. He squatted on the ground and cocked his head at Link.
"What are you doing?" He asked stupidly.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Link asked hastily ignoring him and continued crawling forward.
"I'm sorry, Link. I was rude. Now come here." Dark replied walking slowly behind him.
"No!" Link cried and proceeded onward. Dark couldn't help but laugh, it was like he was chasing a turtle.
"Come here, you!" Dark ordered playfully, scooping Link into his arms.
"Gentle!" Link cried referring to his sore limbs.
"For the hero of time, you are such a cry baby!" Dark chuckled. Link just pouted and crossed his arms.
"Dark, instead of walking, let's take my horse Epona." Link stated, "You'll get sick of carrying me soon, plus she's waiting for me just outside the village." He smiled.
"Horse?" Dark questioned furrowing his brow, "What's a horse?"
A/N: How'd you like them apples? :D Sorry I drastically switched Dark's attitude… but I was sick of him being so stuffy. -.- Hope you enjoyed!
