9
The man's eyes swallowed him whole. The more he stared into those serpent eyes, the more the agonizing screams of people long since slaughtered filled his consciousness and plagued his ears with their pleas of salvation. His body was unnatural, with a thin, long neck and long spidery arms. An intense dark aura surrounded him, only highlighting his horrible figure. The man was truly horrifying.
He grinned ear to ear, but it was moat certainly not one of happiness. His glowing neon, pupilless eyes were sharp and threatening, like those of a terrible beast from the pits of hell. Those very eyes holding a dagger to his neck, the man ambled over to him, panting heavily. Link gulped. He never thought he would see this man again. He never thought he would have to face those eyes again. He never thought he would have to listen to those screams ever ever again.
It was Zant.
Just before the Usurper could reach the blonde, however, he was suddenly struck in the knee by a swift kick... By Nani. Link gasped. In his surprise, he let his son slip away from him just like that! What kind of mother w-!?
"Hey, meanie!" Nani yelled, his cheeks red with childish anger and eyes puffy from sleep. "Leave Mommy alone!"
Zant squinted his unnatural eyes, looking down at the puny child with a hunger full of hate. Link dove at them as soon as the usurper raised his blade, but he wasn't fast enough. Zant swung down on him full force, tearing his blade through flesh and bone. But it wasn't Nani's body he ripped the blade through. It was Dark's. Link gasped, stunned by the sheer speed of the unpredictable moment. Dark, on the other hand, simply stood there and took it without so much of a word.
The sun was almost up now and was already sucking up everything he had, but if there was one thing he would never allow to be sucked away from him... It was Link and his son. All of the previous argument gone from his mind, he stood there in defiance of the Twili man, eyes radiating a red determination and death. Those eyes were tired, growing heavier by the moment, but despite this he took the blade and held it in his grip to prevent it from escaping. In his state, he couldn't do too much to stop him, but he would be damned if he let him take it from him and use it to hurt his companions.
Shadows could not die. They transcended the mortal aging and dying process and managed to survive with the same original patriarchs and matriarchs from the beginning of their civilization. No, no matter what they did to him, Dark would never die. Still, that didn't mean he would never feel pain. The blade was cold, rusty, rigid, and he could feel every slight cut in the blade piercing his sensitive insides. He could feel every bit of pain that a human did, and his body was on fire. Even still, he would take it. If it meant keeping them out of harm's way.
"You inspid fool..." Zant spat bitterly, trying to yank the blade away and subsequently forcing the blade deeper into the shadow's body. "You're a washed up nobody. Who do you think you are interfering with my royal duty like this, especially after what you did to our god!?"
Dark wanted to reply, but he knew that either the thick blood pooling in his stomach would spew out when he opened his mouth, or all that came out would be painful grunts. Instead, Link snapped out of his shock and kicked Zant in his abdomen while he was momentarily preoccupied with the former general. The usurper stumbled backwards, releasing the blade. Immediately, Dark pulled out the sword from his body and gripped it in his hands; despite the small moment of advantage, however, Dark was unable to move. His body was frozen stiff, pain engulfing him like inextinguishable flames or mercilessly sharp icicles. His vision was fading. His body was shutting down.
Sensing his distress, Link put his hand over Dark's and gave him a brave face. Gently, but swiftly, he took the blade from his hands and charged at the recovering Zant. The Twili met his attack with his arms and from then it was go.
From then on, their weapons clashed at breakneck speed, clang after clang reverberating across the realm. With each swing, sparks flew, but the sheer speed and strength of their hits swallowed the potential fire and created their own, imaginary flame. Link had a new, burning tenacity in him, one that gave him a vivaciousness in his legs and hands as he sent down his blows with the fury of a charging desert bull.
Dark was in awe, his eyes wide as he watched his once so weak and drained lover now exuding a prowess of battle not unlike that of an ancient warrior. His movements were so fluid, so natural, that he was almost a sword himself. The blonde had obviously been practicing since he was away. Dark turned his attention to Nani, who stood behind him and watched the battle with a tremble.
Then, looking up at him with deep, intense blue eyes, he tugged on his arm. "Mommy!" He cried, pulling his arms towards the blonde. Dark knew. He wanted to help the man, but his body just wouldn't move. His injuries had damaged him too far, and it had shut down. "Help Mommy!" Nani ordered.
Suddenly, Dark was hit with a surge of energy. A soon as he uttered the words, he was overcome by a strange rejuventaion and as he watched Link struggle underneath the force of his clash with the Twili, Dark's eyes closed, and his legs finally gave out.
Darkness.
That was something he knew better than anyone.
—•—•—•—
"Ah... You're awake, little prince," a gruff, deep voice grumbled. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a harsh face and piercing yellow eyes. It was cold. But he felt no discomfort. He felt nothing. "Welcome, my general. Speak my name."
"Master Ganondorf," he replied emotionlessly. The man before him grinned and put his large hand on his head.
"Good. And from now on you are no longer Prince Sun, but you are General Dark Link. You are the hero's darkness, and as such you will swallow him whole," The man continued. Dark looked down at his feet in complete submission.
He had worked for this man before, many times throughout history, and each time he stripped him of his identity and purpose. Ganondorf always had a constant grip around his neck, an eraser in hand. There was no use in fighting him; although, it didn't matter much anyway. He had no feelings, no wants or desires. There was nothing else for him anyway, and... He was good at killing. All shadows were.
But then, he met Link...
—•—•—•—
"Dark? Are you waking up?" A voice called out to him. Slowly, softly, his eyes fluttered open. Sitting at his bedside was a smooth face and tender blue eyes. The man held his hand as he welcomed him back to the world with a gentle voice. "How are you feeling?"
It was Link. Dark gave a weak smile and nodded before giving him a look over. He didn't appear to be damaged, no noticeable scrapes or broken bones, but something was...peculiar about him. Eyes scanning his pale skin, Dark tried to pinpoint exactly what was so different about the blonde. Besides the concern in his eyes, he seemed fine, even after facing Zant one-on-o— Dark suddenly jolted up out of the bed he lay in and put his hands on the other man's shoulders.
"Link! Zant- did he-?!" Dark tripped over his words. Link cupped his cheeks to calm him down.
"I managed to wound him. He got mad and fled, and me and your brother dragged you into the Twilight Realm," Link explained.
"So, Moon's okay?" He asked. Link nodded. Dark relaxed and leaned against the bed once more.
Examining the room, he recalled exactly where they were. It was the finest room in all of the Twilight Realm, the REAL Twilight Realm before Zant transformed into a desolate wasteland. The bed was a plush valley, the elaborate wardrobes overflowing with fine clothes were mountains, and the silk neon floors were the vast blue sky. Unmistakably, this was the royal chamber of the Twilight Princess herself, Midna. Quite characteristically for princesses, there was a large, gaping window overlooking the kingdom, leaking in and swallowing the room with an orange light, where he could see the shattered bits of dark energy floating through the realm. Those shards were the source of the power he could feel returning to him.
"So, did you catch up with your girlfriend?" Dark asked bitterly, looking away. Link rolled his eyes and lay beside him.
"Dark," Link sighed, running his fingers through the man's dark hair. "I'm sorry, I think I misled you. I didn't mean to make you feel like you're not my number one. When I acted like that back there, it wasn't because I'm in love with her. At one time, I did, maybe, and she left me so suddenly and so quickly. Before, I wasn't so sure if I still felt it for her or not... But when I saw her earlier, I only felt a friendly fondness for her." Dark glanced over at him, unsure. "Dark..." Link breathed. Dark blushed. "The only one I love..."
Link rolled over onto him. Their bodies were so close, too close, and it sent both a chill and a piercing heat through their bodies. Dark gulped as his blonde placed his lips around the tip of his ear and nibbled on it slightly. He shivered. Link trailed his tongue along the edge, feeling every nook and cranny with his taste buds until he reached his lobe and sucked the small earring there in his mouth. Dark squirmed. Snaking his tongue along his neck, Link ran his hand down his chest slowly. It was too much. He couldn't breathe.
"...You..." Link whispered sensually.
Dark jolted up and pushed Link off of him, panting heavily. His face was no longer ebony but a shade of rose pink. He was shaking. Link smirked and scooted closer. He cupped the man's cheeks again, staring lovingly into his eyes, and kissed his forehead. It was a little shameful; Dark had bedded more people than the entire current population of Hyrule, and yet, every time he was with Link, he was a fresh and squeamish virgin. Although, this time around, Link was especially... Loving.
"Dark... I love you," Link whispered. He leaned closer and placed his lips half an inch from his nose. His doppelgänger gulped. Then, sensing the nervousness exuding from the other man, he placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry. I know I'm a terrible lover."
"N-No!" Dark retorted. "I... I overreacted. I'm sorry. I'm glad you're okay. I'm glad you didn't get hurt. I tried to jump in, but my body– I just couldn't g– I tried t–" Link pulled him to his chest, quieting him. Dark relaxed. The blonde's heartbeat was so... Soft.
There was knock at the door. After Link welcomed the person in, straightening up his clothing and hair, a tall woman entered. Dark's brows furrowed a bit. It was Midna, holding a happy little Nani.
As always, Midna was was barely wearing any clothing. This time, she wore her hair up in a loose and casual bun, showing her long, glossy neck and beautiful smooth face, and of course she was adorned in a risqué black wrap around her breasts and a long loin cloth. Dark hated the way she dressed, but he hated the way she was holding Nani more. She didn't have the right to pick him up and hold him. She wasn't his mom. She didn't even know him and yet she was holding him like she had raised him all her life, and he was giggling happily in her arms as if... GRRRUGHGHHGG. It was driving him nuts.
As Dark boiled and steamed, Link smiled and drew closer to her. Nani clapped. He put his arms out to his mother and crawled onto him. Link welcomed him into his arms, kissing his forehead with a chuckle at the happy child, before he turned back to look at Dark. Noticing his discomfort and jealousy at the closeness between Link and the Twili woman, he chuckled and stepped away a bit
"Mama, Ant Midda show me her... Her puppy," Nani said, clapping his hands again. Dark rolled his eyes. At home, he had lots of dogs. Big ones. WAY better than Midna's stupi pooch. "And then, and then she show me... Rmmm... The big BIG flowers! They eat FLIES!" Dark scoffed. The flowers in his world ate PEOPLE. "And the she–" Nani suddenly noticed Dark in the corner of his eye. He lit up and wiggled out of his mother's arms. "Dark!" He squealed.
Nani ran over to the bed and struggled to climb onto the surface. When he managed over it, he climbed onto Dark and squeezed him tight. Dark blushed, his anger subsiding. Nani was... Happy to see him? His tiny fingers held him so tightly, so clumsily... It made him feel so special. He returned the hug, patting the child's back.
"Are you okay?" Nani asked, rubbing his puffy eyes. He was... Crying? Dark nodded. "That meanie he got you and–" from there, the rest of his words were gibberish to the raven. Even so, Dark felt like he was floating. For shadows, being a father was a pointless and useless title. Children were nothing more than potential soldiers and servants... But here, with this boy who cared about him so deeply, he couldn't think of anything more precious. If being a father was like this...
"Aw, Nani," Midna said softly. "Don't fret over him. He's fine." Dark grumbled curses at her.
Dark set Nani aside and stood from the bed, straightening himself out. When he finished, he turned to Midna and grabbed Link an his son. He held them tightly in his arms, glaring at the Twili woman with dagger red eyes. She smirked.
"Mine!" He hissed. Midna giggled and crossed her arms.
"Aw, and here I thought I would cheat on my husband and take a farm boy and his half-breed son," she teased. Dark eased up on his grip around the two.
"Oh you're... You're married?" Dark asked.
"Yeah," She replied as i the fact were obvious. "Someone's gotta be queen around here. Anyway, you want to tell me why your brother broke into my realm illegally and brought your sorry, wounded body and this sight for sore eyes with him?"
"Well..." Dark began, releasing his family. "It's sort of a long story, but there are people that are trying to kill Nani an Link, and we need to get to my realm in order to ask for protection from my sisters." Midna nodded.
"That's to be expected. He IS the son of two Triforce holders. By the way, Link, how are you feeling?" Midna asked.
Then it hit him. What had seemed so strange about him was... Link was a spirit! Without his Triforce piece, Link was transformed into a spirit instead of a wolf. Dark gulped. Even in spirit form, though, he was gorgeous. Link brushed his bangs out of his face and stretched his arms out.
"I'm okay. It's a little strange seeing my body glow, but I think I'll be alright," Link replied.
"Alright then," Midna began. She put her hand on her hip. "So what are we doing?"
"Going to the shadow realm. Now that my powers have returned to about half, I can open the gate."
"Just... Be careful over there. I sense something strange coming from the Shadow Realm," Midna warned. Dark smirked.
"I wouldn't be worried about me... Once I'm in my own territory... No one can stop me," Dark replied
After a small bit of silence, Midna giggled and ruffled Dark's hair. He furrowed his brows and swatted her hand away, a child-like pout on his face. "Aww, Sunny, don't be so cruel," she teased.
"Don't call me that..." Dark grumbled.
"Well, let's see about getting you three to the Shadow Realm."
With that, the three of them left the room and trekked through the castle. When they reached the courtyard, a large area filled with strange, glowing flowers and trees, they found a large, chained up door, darkness seeping through its cracks. Link gulped as he held Nani's hand tightly. This was it. It was time to face the people in the shadows. There was no going back.