Chapter Seventeen

~Link's POV~

The goddesses just love to push me past my limits, don't they? First there was the bombshell of me being the hero to save all of Hyrule. Then, because I suppose they felt like that just wasn't enough, I find out I'm a reincarnation of all these heroes I grew up hearing about. And now this. I feel like they've crossed a line here, though.

It's me.

It's an evil, black, psychotic me.

He grins at me with that unnerving smile, his eyes glow red. He's not human, he can't be.

"Yeah," Nicole yells, her voice muffled. "Dark Link."

Dark Link? That can't be good.

"What is he?" I ask. Dark Link steps closer and unsheathes his own black Master Sword.

"A mini-boss in Ocarina of Time, in the Water Temple." Nicky answers.

"Oh great," I say.

I swing at him, but he blocks. I attack again. He blocks again. We do the same thing several more times. What in Hyrule? It's like he knows what I'm going to do before I do it.

He's a mirror. A black mirror.

"You can't do that, Link!" Nicky yells. "He copies every move you make. You can't use the Master Sword to fight him."

She's right. Neither of us are landing a hit. It's like hitting a brick wall.

"Well what do I use then?"

"Your bow!" Sheik yells.

I sheathe the Master Sword and concentrate. In my mind I reach into the Sacred Realm and grab the bow and arrows. I feel them in my hands as I open my eyes. I aim at Dark Link, and let go of the arrow. Perfect shot. It sails straight into his heart. He looks down at it calmly, sinks to his knees and pulls it out. Then he crumples. Dead.

I shudder. That was like killing myself.

But then I smile and run over to my friends. "That was easy."

Nicky looks concerned. "Yeah. A little too easy. Scratch that, way too easy. He's famous for being one of the hardest bosses to beat in Ocarina. Took me a few tries to realize I couldn't use the Master Sword."

Sheik shrugs. "Hey, it's over. Why complain?"

Nicky smiles at me, but it's strained. "Yeah, Sheik's right. Good job."

Navi flies over to sit on my shoulder. Or, rather she tries to. Instead, she hits face first into the invisible wall.

"OW OW OW! Why for the sake of the Great Deku Tree is that still there?!" She yells, holding her nose.

Sheik hits the wall with the palm of his hand. "Shouldn't that have gone away when you killed him?"

"I thought so," I say in surprise.

"Then that means..." Nicky's eyes widen as she looks over my shoulder. "Link!"

I take out my sword and barely manage to keep Dark Link from cutting me in half.

"Stupid Hero," He hisses. "Did you really think you could kill me with that sad little bow of yours? And they call you the chosen hero? You're pathetic. You're an idiot."

Okay, it's official, I hate him.

I don't have a choice, I have to use the Master Sword, I don't have anything else. So we start trying to kill each other. But we block every move, counter every strike. We can't land a blow.

"Link, be careful!" Navi yells.

The fight lasts longer than I thought it would. I'm starting to wear out. But Dark Link doesn't seem remotely tired. That just makes me more frustrated, which makes me fight harder, which makes me wear out more. I'm losing.

He swings at my left leg. I parry and go for his stomach. He butts me with his shield, stunning me. I stumble backward, shaking my arm to get feeling back into it.

"You're weak." Dark Link whispers. "You're nothing."

I grit my teeth. "Would you please be quiet?!" I yell as I take another swing.

A few minutes later, I honestly think I'm going to collapse. I'm sweating and I'm getting slower. I'm not attacking hard enough. Dark Link still hits with as much force as before.

"Keep on going Link! You can do this!" Sheik yells encouragingly.

Dark Link finds a hole in my defense. He slices my arm. I cry out in pain, dropping my sword. Warm sticky blood spills out of the gash, staining my sleeve and dripping on the floor. It's a deep cut. Not fatal, but it burns pretty bad.

"Don't you dare quit Link, don't you dare! You've come so far!" Navi screams.

I fall on my knees, clutching my arm, my blood staining my hands. It hurts, really bad. Dark Link stands over me, laughing. I'm going to die at the hands of myself. He lifts his sword up, ready to kill me. I'm so exhausted, I can't even lift up my head. My new arm wound isn't helping. I brace myself for the impact. But Nicole's scream registers in my head.

"Link! Get up! You can't die! Please, get up!"

The desperation in her voice is heartbreaking. I can hear her and Navi crying, Sheik trying to break the barrier.

I take a deep breath. I can't give up. I'm a hero. I'm supposed to defeat Ganondorf. It's my responsibility, and I will carry it out. I am not going to die here.

Just before Dark Link can brings his sword down on me, I grab the Master Sword and block him. It surprises him, and he stumbles. I take advantage of it. I hit him as hard as I can, as many times as I can. Sudden strength rushes through my body, temporarily making me forget the pain in my arm.

I am a hero. I am not going to die.

"Yes!" Sheik yells.

This time, I'm finding gaps in his defense. I hit him on the arm. Then I hit him in the leg, and he crumples. I hit his other arm too. I stand over him, and he looks at me with malice in his eyes.

"You're going to kill me, hero?" He asks, his voice dripping with hate. He laughs viciously. "You don't have it in you."

"Be quiet," I growl. Then I drive the sword through his stomach. He gasps, and clutches it. This time, he looks at it in disbelief.

"No..." He whispers. "This isn't... possible..." Black blood seeps into his black tunic, and flows on the floor. He takes a rattling breath, his last, and slides off my sword. And this time, I know he's dead. I can feel it.

I just stand there and stare at him. This is the second person I've killed, and I don't like it any more than I did when I killed Salazar.

But I'm yanked from my thoughts when Nicky tackles me with a hug and tears.

"Oh my gosh, I thought you were going to die! I actually thought you were going to die!" She yells into my tunic.

I laugh and hug her back. "Yeah, so did I," She hits my lightly on my uninjured shoulder.

Navi flies into me, also crying. "You idiot! You complete dingledork! You could've died, you do know that right? You're an idiot Link, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Sheik comes up to me and smiles, relieved. "You cut it a little too close there, Hero."

I smile and shrug. "It's just what I do."