"This place is the worst."
While Linkle had initially been excited, in the days she and her brother had spent exploring the Water Temple complex, Linkle's attitude had shifted considerably. At first, she'd found it fun to raise and lower the water level, or to dive into the water and swim from one area to another. However, over time, it had become tedious. It was made worse by the fact that they had visited three of the treasure holds already, and none of them had housed anything that could've been the late Princess Ruto's engagement gift.
"I know, I know," Link agreed, feeling just as jaded as his sister did, if not more so. "Look, there's only two more places where Ruto's gift might be. Let's just check those out, and if we still can't find it, we'll give up."
"Yeah, alright." Linkle reached into her bag and pulled out the Ocarina of Time. "I wish this thing worked," she said, blowing into it a couple of times. "Maybe we'd be able to go back in time and talk to Princess Ruto ourselves." Linkle paused, then gasped as an idea came to her. "What if we did go back in time to get it from Princess Ruto, and that's why it's not here now?"
"What? That doesn't make any sense."
"Of course it does!" Linkle insisted. "We just haven't done it yet, but we will." Raising the ocarina to her lips, she gently blew into it, carefully covering random holes with her fingers as if she had any idea how to play it. Sound came out, but Link still couldn't see anything magical happening.
"Yeah, sure. You keep trying that." Link came to a stop, looking down at the stone tablet he carried that served as a map. "Alright. One treasure hold is this way, and the other is that way," he said. "Neither are very far from here, but how about we split up just to get it done faster?"
"Mhmm." Linkle nodded in agreement, still attempting to play the instrument.
"Alright. If you finish first, come and meet me over here," Link said. Heading down the corridor, he parted ways with his sister.
As he'd seen on the map, the next treasure hold was relatively close by. Link only had to dive underwater and swim through one submerged chamber in order to reach the corridor that connected to the treasure hold. However, despite spending considerable time searching the hold, he once again came up with nothing. The room had plenty of treasure, of course, and the guards were even willing to explain what many of them were – tridents and swords of ancient Zora heroes and royals, the skull of a gigantic sea dragon, fossils from long-extinct sea creatures – but none of them had any apparent connection to Princess Ruto.
"Well, here's hoping Linkle had more luck than I did. She usually does," Link muttered to himself as he exited the treasure hold. Taking out his map, he studied it for a moment to see if he could get to Linkle's destination without having to backtrack. But, as he looked over his surroundings to get a sense of what door led where, he noticed something strange. According to the tablet, the corridor he was in should've been a dead end, and yet there was a door at the end of it.
"What the…?" Link scrutinized the map more closely, thinking he must be mistaken. He counted the doors to make sure, but it didn't add up. There seemed to be a door that led to nowhere at the end of the hall. It didn't look like some unimportant storage shed or anything, either. The door was flanked by two of those sea dragon statues he kept seeing around the temple, although there was something off about them. Whereas the other statues were practically lifelink, the eyes of these statues were almost blank. They looked dead. The image was a little off-putting, but Link's curiosity got the better of him, so he walked down the corridor and entered the mysterious door.
What Link found on the other side of the door made no sense.
First of all, he knew he was many meters underground, but it looked like he had stepped outside somewhere above ground. The ceiling, if there even was one, was high enough that he couldn't even see it. The same was true for the far walls. It seemed like the area was blanketed by a fog, but Link didn't know if that was possible indoors.
Second of all, Link stood upon a small, sandy island, with what looked like a lake of water extending into the fog. Several meters in front of him lay another tiny island with a single, leafless tree growing from it. Beyond that was a third island, but this one had what looked like a building on it; almost like a small, two-story tower.
"This place just keeps getting weirder…"
Stepping closer to the water, he looked down into it. He realized immediately that the water was not an actual lake. The water was only a few centimeters deep, and the ground was some sort of tiled surface that he could see his reflection in.
"Alright. That makes a bit more sense, I guess."
He began to suspect this room was intentionally made to resemble the outdoors, perhaps as some sort of therapeutic area for those who spent great lengths of time within the underground temple complex without returning to the surface often enough.
"Interesting."
Wishing to know what was stored in the small building on the other side of the 'lake,' Link continued forward. As he'd observed, the water was not deep at all, and with his new Zora boots, wading through it was no issue. When he arrived at the small, central island, he reached out with his hand to touch the tree. It felt like real wood, which made him wonder if it had actually been growing so far down beneath the surface. He didn't linger long, however, and soon continued on towards the next island.
To Link's disappointment, the door to the tower was barred. He scanned the face of the building for any sort of mechanism that might open it, but he found nothing.
"Darn," he said aloud. "Oh, well. Maybe I can ask the sage about it after–"
When he turned around, Link realized he wasn't alone in the 'room.' Someone else was standing on the island with the tree on it, facing Link.
"Whoa." Link flinched.
His reaction seemed to surprise the other person, as they flinched as well.
"Sorry, you startled me," Link called out to the other person.
There was an awkward pause. The figure standing in front of the tree did not say anything or move from their position. Link wasn't sure if it was because of the fog, but he couldn't make out too many of the stranger's features. From their silhouette, they were definitely a human and not a Zora, but beyond that, it was hard to tell much about them. It was as if the stranger were standing in a shadow, obscuring them considerably.
"Um. Sorry, am I not supposed to be in here?" Link asked somewhat nervously. He realized the presence of a locked tower and the fact that the room wasn't on the map could have meant this was some sort of high-security area.
Cautiously, Link walked forward, hoping to get close enough to at least see the newcomer clearly. The figure in front of the tree seemed to have the same idea. They made no hostile movements, which Link took as a good sign, and they simply waded forward through the shallow water, coming towards Link.
However, as Link and the figure closed the distance between one another, the figure did not become any easier to see, as if the dark shadow obscuring their form was following them. Soon there was less than a meter between them. Link paused, and the stranger did as well.
Link wasn't quite sure how to process what he was seeing. Up close, he could see the stranger a bit more clearly, but it made no sense. Aside from the reddish eyes and the dark coloration of his skin and clothing, this man was Link's exact double – same height, same build, same face, same hair, same clothing, same weapons. It was as if he were staring at his own shadow come to life.
"What–?" Link began to speak, attempting to communicate his confusion. However, he was interrupted when his doppelganger suddenly pulled out his sword and slashed at Link.
"Whoa!" Link shouted, leaping backwards out of reflex. Acting quickly, he drew his own sword and shield, getting into a defensive stance. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted angrily at the stranger.
"Good question." The shadowy man smiled wryly, taking out his shield before mimicking Link's stance.
Link furrowed his brow. The stranger's voice had an odd quality to it that Link couldn't quite place, but he sounded somewhat similar to Link himself. "What the–?"
His shadowy double attacked him again. The doppelganger stepped forward and slashed with his sword, which Link managed to block with his shield. The stranger took a few more strikes at him, but Link was able to block them all, recognizing the other man's fighting style as his own.
Believing he saw an opening, Link went on the offensive, attempting to slash at his mysterious attacker. However, the stranger blocked him just as easily, and Link was too bewildered to see the counterattack coming until the last second.
"Ahh!" Link cried in pain as he leapt back. He put a hand to his cheek, noting the stinging sensation, but there was only a small drop of blood.
Just a scratch.
"Listen, I don't want to fight you," Link said, hoping to reason with the strange-looking Hylian man. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be in here. I was just looking for something. You can ask Sage Tarua. I swear I haven't done anything."
"Of course you haven't." Link's shadowy double hit him with a series of fast attacks. Link blocked the first few, then took a shield bash to the face, which knocked him down into the water.
"Agh!" Link cried in pain, hearing a ringing in his ears for a moment.
"You have never done anything," the man continued mockingly in Link's own distorted voice. Standing next to Link's body on the ground, the man knelt to speak to him. "Your sister is the only one who ever does anything."
Link quickly rolled away, then hopped to his feet. "How do you know my sister?" he demanded. "And what the hell are you talking about?"
The doppelganger responded with another series of quick attacks. Link blocked them all, then began his counterattack. The stranger blocked them just as skillfully, but ended by sweeping Link's leg, sending him tumbling back down into the shallow water.
"You've never wanted to do anything," the doppelganger said. "If it were up to you, both you and your sister would be wiling away your pathetic lives, doing the same thing day in and day out, until you finally dropped dead."
"Shut up," Link growled, ungracefully climbing back to his feet again.
"Why are you even here?" the stranger asked, crossing swords with Link before leaning in closer. "Go back home. You're not needed. Your sister is better off without you holding her back."
Link shoved the stranger away from him and attacked. All of his slashes glanced off of the other man's shield, but he managed to avoid giving his opponent an opening. "I'm here to keep her safe," Link insisted, for some reason feeling the need to justify himself.
"What does it matter if you keep her safe? That won't bring your other siblings back."
Link was so stunned, he stopped fighting completely, lowering his weapons. His opponent took advantage of this momentary lapse in judgment, effortlessly slashing Link across the chest.
"Ahhh-AGH!" Link reared back in pain, clutching at his wound. His scaly armor had provided some obstacle for his opponent's blade, so the cut did not end up too deep, but it was a long cut, and deep enough to spill blood. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
The shadowy man lunged forward again, hitting Link with a flurry of attacks. Link managed to keep blocking, but he was forced to walk backwards in retreat.
"It doesn't even matter how long you manage to keep your beloved sibling alive," the stranger told him. "You already let the other four die. You'll always be a failure."
"Fuck you!" In his anger, Link surged forward, swinging his sword at his hated opponent with all his might. His sword cut across his doppelganger's chest, much the same way he'd been slashed a moment ago. The shadowy man grunted in pain, then fell. However, the strange man did not fall in the way Link had expected. His doppelganger simply fell downwards, through the water and through the floor, completely disappearing from view.
Link looked down, but saw nothing. Not even his own reflection. Panting, he put a hand to his chest to put pressure on his wound. "What–?"
A sudden stabbing pain shot through him. Link looked down to find a darkened sword sticking out of his chest, before it was quickly pulled out of his back. "Ughhh…" Link could only moan, collapsing to his knees, his blood spilling into the water.
"You'll always be a failure," his own voice repeated from behind him.
Link heard a few watery footsteps, and then nothing. He did not bother to turn his head to see where his assailant had gone. He was too busy trying to keep himself from blacking out. Ahead of him, he could see the door he'd come through. With all his might, he crawled through the shallow water, desperately hoping he'd make it.
"Elle…" he said quietly. He tried to yell her name, wishing she would help him, but he could not force himself to speak any louder.
It felt like it took him an eternity to reach the door. When he did, he somehow managed to push it open and crawl through the opening, slumping down onto the ground on the other side of the door.
"Link?" he heard his sister's voice say.
"Elle…"
"Link!"
The sound of her boots rapidly clamoring across the tiled floor filled him with a sense of relief, and it was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.
When Link awoke, the first thing he saw was his sister's worried face looking down at him. Still a little out of it, he didn't quite comprehend the situation, but just his eyes opening was a relief to Linkle.
"Oh, thank the gods!" his sister cried, hugging his head tightly.
"...What?" Link realized he was lying with his head in her lap, and moved to sit up. Taking in his surroundings, he recognized where he was – that corridor in the Water Temple. Linkle was sitting with her back up against one of the water dragon statues.
"Oh, sh–." As his memory came flooding back to him, Link's hands shot to his torso, feeling for his wounds. His clothing was torn and he'd clearly received some serious cuts, but his wounds appeared to be mostly healed. "What happened?"
"You tell me. You almost died!" Linkle complained. "I found you crawling around out here. It looked like you'd been stabbed. I had to use most of our healing potions to fix you up." She knelt beside him and hugged him again.
"Thank you, sister," Link said gratefully. "Was I out long?"
Linkle shook her head, rubbing her forehead against his shoulder for a moment.
"Okay. And did you see my attacker? Did he come through the door?"
Linkle pulled back and stood up, glancing towards the door. "No. I poked my head inside, but I didn't see anyone in there, and nobody's come out either. Did you see who attacked you?"
"Yeah," Link said, climbing to his feet. His sister grabbed his arm to help steady him. "It looked like me. But, like, some sort of shadowy demon-me, or something."
Linkle raised an eyebrow. "What's something like that doing in the Water Temple?"
"I don't get it either, Elle," he replied, brushing himself off.
His sister regarded him for another moment, then smiled excitedly. "That sounds awesome."
"Elle."
"Well, I mean, not the 'you almost dying' part. Just…" She looked embarrassed and apologetic for getting excited under the circumstances.
"It's alright," Link told her, still grateful that she'd saved him. "Look, this room wasn't on the map. And for whatever reason, there's some evil shadow thing guarding it."
Linkle seemed to get what he was saying. "You think Princess Ruto's engagement gift might be hidden in there? Guarded by the shadow thing?"
"Maybe." It made sense, in a way, but Link didn't like it. He wasn't exactly eager to go back into that room.
"We should check it out together, then," Linkle suggested, drawing her sword. "It got you off guard the first time, but it'll be two against one now. We've totally got this."
Link hesitated. He heard his doppelganger's voice inside his head.
You'll always be a failure.
Gritting his teeth, Link picked up his sword. "Fine."
We'll see who's the failure.
Linkle nodded eagerly. "Let's go," she said, leading the way.
The room looked exactly as it had before – impossibly large, filled with ankle-deep water, and with a strange, out-of-place island in the center. It was also eerily quiet, with so sound to be heard aside from the sound of their boots wading through the water.
"This place is a lot bigger on the inside," Linkle remarked, looking up at the endless expanse where the ceiling should've been.
"Keep your guard up," Link reminded her, walking as close beside her as he could with his shield raised. "It might come back."
Linkle placed her hand on the tree when they reached it, rubbing it up and down lightly. "Trees can grow down here?"
"I don't know," Link said. "Nothing about this room makes any sense."
"Hmm." Linkle took her hand off of the tree and looked ahead. "Is that where the shadow thing came from?" she asked, pointing her sword towards the structure with the barred door.
"No," Link shook his head. "I couldn't find a way to open it."
Linkle gasped excitedly. "That must be where the treasure is held!" Leaping back into the water, Linkle took off running towards the tower.
"Linkle, wait!" Even without her Pegasus Boots on, keeping up with her was difficult. She reached the locked structure before he did, but luckily, there was still no sign of the shadow monster.
"Urgh. Aghh!" Linkle grunted as she pushed against the metal bars. After a few failed attempts, she gave up and stepped back. "Damn. How do you open this thing?" she asked, scanning the walls of the structure.
"I already told you. I couldn't open it," Link reminded her. However, as he watched her scan the tower, he suddenly remembered what had happened the last time he was there. Raising his sword and shield, he whirled around, facing towards the island with the tree on it. Sure enough, his shadowy double was there again. However, it was not alone this time. His shadowy duplicate was facing him with its sword and shield drawn, but there was a second shadowy figure that had its back turned at the moment.
"Elle," Link said forcefully, reaching behind himself to tap her with his shield. "It's back."
"The shadow thing?"
Linkle turned around, and as she did, so did the second shadow.
"Whoa!" Linkle said in surprise, stomping her foot as she stepped into a battle stance.
The second shadow copied her movements again.
"Wait, there's two of them," Linkle noted.
"Yes," Link said. "There was only one before."
"Hey, that one looks like me!" Linkle sounded more happy than worried about that. "Wow. I look good in black."
"Elle."
"What? I didn't say you didn't."
Link sighed, then cleared his throat. "Hey. You. I'm back," he said, raising his voice to call out to his doppelganger.
"Yes, I am," the other him agreed. "And, oh, look. We've brought our darling little sibling so she can die like all the others."
Linkle's expression immediately changed from amused to infuriated. "Hey! What the hell did you just say?"
Link held out his arm to stop her from charging forward on her own.
"No, by all means, let the stupid little mutt go." Linkle's distorted voice traveled to them from across the room, coming from her own doppelganger. "She's bound to get herself killed eventually. Why not let it be today?"
"You shut up!" Link stepped in front of Linkle, training his sword on her counterpart.
"Aw, look at him defending her," the Dark Link said mockingly. Unlink the real Link, the shadow stepped behind his companion, holding his sword to her throat. "Honestly, she'll be dead before the day is out. Why not just finish her off yourself and be done with it?"
Dark Linkle giggled, putting her hand to Dark Link's blade and pushing it closer to her own throat.
"You get the hell away from her!" Seeing a threat made to a figure who looked so much like his sister – it was enough to set Link off. Without thinking, he trudged forward, wanting more than anything to stab his evil counterpart through the heart. In his rage, he didn't notice when the shadowy Linkle suddenly raised her crossbow.
"Brother!" Linkle shouted.
Link felt himself getting tackled from behind just as Dark Linkle loosed her bolt. He crashed down into the water with his sister on his back while the bolt sailed overhead.
"Wow," Dark Linkle said, leisurely holding her crossbow against her shoulder with her other hand on her hip. "Look at you. That must be the first time you've ever actually been useful to him in your whole damn life."
Linkle hopped up to her feet, looking appalled. "Hey!"
Link climbed back to his feet as well, soaking wet. He stared daggers at his dark double, but he stayed beside Linkle for the moment.
"Ooh, this'll be fun," Linkle's double said, walking forward with her dark brother. She locked eyes with the real Linkle. "Let's see. You pull him away from his life, force him to leave behind a lucrative apprenticeship, drag him all across this godforsaken kingdom, constantly put him in danger, constantly fuck up and force him to save your sorry ass, and what do you have to show for it?" Dark Linkle held out her hands like she was expecting an answer. "Did you defeat the dragon? Have you slain that evil demon that attacked the capital yet? Where's your goddamn Master Sword, Hero?"
Linkle narrowed her eyes. "I am the Hero," she insisted. Her voice was filled with anger, but it was clearly very shaky. "I am."
"Elle…" Link said softly, suddenly very worried for her.
Dark Linkle laughed. "Of course. You're the Hero, Little Miss Fake Lefty." As she spoke, she held up her blackened sword in her left hand, shaking it with mock unsteadiness.
"That's it, you bitch!" Linkle charged forward, slashing at her counterpart. The darker her parried it easily, then quickly slashed back.
"Linkle!" Link attempted to step in to defend her, but he ended up blindsided by his own counterpart who rammed him with his shield, knocking him back.
"Still think you can protect her, huh?" Dark Link asked mockingly.
"Yeah. I can," Link replied, taking a moment to right himself and get over the pain.
"Your track record suggests otherwise." His evil counterpart smiled smugly.
Link was through with trying to argue with him. Letting out a battlecry, he lunged forward to attack. He kept up a string of blows, but his dark self managed to block them all perfectly, moving as if perfectly in sync with him.
Nearby, Linkle and her own duplicate were locked in a similar fruitless struggle, their swords crossing back and forth. After a flurry of attacks from Linkle, her shadow managed to find an opening and kick her in the stomach.
"Oof." Linkle stepped back, clutching her arms to torso.
"Linkle!" When Link saw what happened, he was forced to tear his eyes away from his opponent, giving his shadow just enough of an opportunity to stab him in the shoulder. "Agh!" he cried in pain, pulling back and raising his shield.
"See that?" Dark Linkle asked, gesturing towards Link. "Your brother just got stabbed because he was too busy worrying about you. As always. You just can't stop yourself from fucking up his life, can you?"
"Don't talk about her like that!" Link demanded, blocking attacks from his doppelganger as he shouted. He wanted to fight back more, but he was too distracted by the shadow Linkle's words.
"Look at her," Link's doppelganger said, stopping for a moment to gesture to Linkle. She and her shadow had reengaged in combat, trading blows as equally matched opponents. "You want to go over and help her, don't you? But you can't, because you can't get through me. She'll be dead shortly, and there's not a thing you can do to stop it."
"Like hell there isn't," Link muttered through gritted teeth. He went on the offensive again, trying to force his counterpart back so he could get closer to his sister's fight, but the shadow seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He blocked every blow, then turned the tables on him, forcing Link to back away from Linkle even further. As he did, he saw his sister get slashed in the arm, causing her to yelp in pain.
"Linkle!" Link shouted.
"Oh, I'm sorry," his doppelganger said mockingly. "Is this not how you were hoping this would go? Well, I suppose you never wanted your other brothers and sisters to die either, right? You weren't much more successful with them, were you?"
"Hey!" At the mention of their other siblings, Linkle quickly crossed swords with her counterpart and shoved her away, wheeling around to face Dark Link. Before her shadow had a chance to recover, Linkle charged, heading straight for her brother's shadow with her sword held out.
Dark Link glanced over his shoulder at the sound of boots rapidly splashing through the water, but as he was preoccupied with fighting the real Link, he didn't have time to get out of the way. Linkle's sword stabbed right through him. When her body collided with his, he was knocked to the ground. However, just like when Link had managed to land a hit on him last time, the shadowy doppelganger simply fell through the floor, as if he were falling into a whole other world in the reflection on the water's surface. Remembering what had happened before, Link whirled around before his counterpart reappeared, allowing him to block the attempted surprise attack this time.
Linkle looked confused as hell, but before she could react, her own doppelganger caught up with her. Linkle dodged to the side, then turned her attention to Dark Link again when her shadow ran past her. "Hey! You! Don't you ever fucking talk about my brother like that again!"
"Oh, how cute," Linkle's double said, advancing on her with her sword at the ready. "Even now, she tries to play Hero."
"You shut up, too!" Linkle shouted.
"Come on, now," her doppelganger went on. "We both know you don't care about helping people. All you really care about is people praising you. You want big statues of you up there next to the greats, as if you could ever compare to the Hero of Twilight. What vanity!"
"Alright, that's it." As soon as Link saw the opportunity, he shoved his opponent back, buying himself enough time to disengage and turn his attention to the other shadow. As the evil Linkle approached his sister, he walked right up to her and smacked her in the face with his shield.
"Ahh!" Dark Linkle was startled, apparently having been so preoccupied with the real Linkle that she hadn't even noticed Link. As was the case with Link's shadow, Linkle's double likewise fell through the floor.
"Nice one, Brother," Linkle praised him, smiling for the first time since the fight had started.
"Elle, behind you!" Link warned, knowing what came next.
"Huh?"
Link was actually able to witness the shadow's return this time. Dark Linkle simply rose out of the water behind her counterpart, dead silent. The shadowy figure lifted her sword and swung it with killing intent.
"Ahh!" Linkle jumped back, taking a position next to her brother.
The doppelgangers approached the siblings together, eyes glowing red, each moving towards their respective counterpart. However, Link did not care to fight his own shadow at the moment. He still had a thing or two to say to the evil Linkle.
"She is a hero," Link asserted, advancing on Dark Linkle. He slashed his sword outwards, which again seemed to surprise her. She managed to block the blow with her shield, but she stumbled backwards. "Sure, she's got an ego the size of Death Mountain, but don't you dare–" Link swung again, "say she doesn't give a shit about anyone." He punctuated his remarks with several more slashes, eventually getting another one through, cutting deep into her chest. Just as before, she screamed and fell down through the water.
Dark Link laughed. "Oh, look. You're killing another of your sisters. What's one more, right?"
"I said enough!" Linkle charged at him again, hitting him with a flurry of strikes that he only just managed to block. "It. Wasn't. His. Fault!"
Link stared for a moment, but he wasn't given much time to process what his sister had just said. Soon after, he was snapped out of his daze as Linkle's double resurfaced from the reflection in the water. Not wanting to give her a chance to stab Linkle in the back, he quickly moved to attack the shadow. This time, she seemed to expect it, turning to block his swing with her shield.
"Don't even bother," Dark Linkle said as she attempted her counterattack. "Why should you help her, anyway? She'd never do the same for you."
"You don't know what the fuck you're talkin' about…" Link muttered under his breath.
"He's just trying to justify his existence," Dark Link added, still engaged in a fight with Linkle. "Pretending he can keep this last one safe is about all he can do to help himself sleep at night."
"Shut up!" Linkle responded amidst an angry slash.
As the fight wore on, Link and Linkle found themselves back-to-back, having been driven into each other by their respective counterparts. Both shadows took a step back and began circling them, like animals stalking their prey.
"Have you figured out how to beat them yet?" Link asked, realizing for the first time that he'd been too angry to think of a strategy throughout the entire fight.
From behind him, Link could hear his sister shake her head. "No."
"Of course you wouldn't know," her shadow taunted her. "You were always the dumb one, weren't you?"
"I'll show you–" Linkle moved to engage her tormentor, but Link grabbed her by the arm.
"Wait," her brother told her, starting to realize something.
"Oh, boy. Here he goes again," Link's shadow complained, rolling his eyes. "Just let her go. Stop kidding yourself."
Link did his best to ignore him.
They're doing this on purpose. It's not only to throw us off.
"It's a test," Link said aloud.
Linkle perked up. "Like a trial the Hero must complete."
"Ooh, the Hero," her double taunted. "You think it's a test for you? As if Farore even knows who the fuck you are?"
Linkle glared at her, but Link stopped her before she could do anything. "That's got to be part of it," he said. "The things they're saying to us."
Dark Link sighed. "This is getting tiresome. Let's just skip to the end where both of you die so you can join the rest of your family." Without giving Link a chance to respond, the shadow charged at his original. Linkle's double took that as her cue and attacked as well.
Link thought his double was right about one thing – this was getting tiresome. He continued to keep up with his counterpart, blocking every attack and having every one of his attacks blocked in return. In an attempt to avoid getting separated again or getting attacked from behind, Link did his best to stay close to Linkle. She was keeping up with her clone, too, but he could tell the fight was beginning to wear on her as well.
We're gonna need to try something soon.
"Elle," Link called out to his sister while locking blades with his darker self. "Maybe we should try–"
"I know what to do!" Linkle interrupted. "We need to hit them at the same time."
"What?" Link knocked his opponent back long enough to shoot her a look over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.
Does she think they're reviving each other? But her double wasn't here when I fought mine the first time, and he still came back.
"I don't think that'll work," Link told her.
"I know," Linkle replied. "But it'll buy us some time. That's what we need. Just trust me."
Link wasn't sure where she was going with this, but it was better than nothing. Going on the offensive, Link pressed forward, doing his best to keep his opponent off balance and to create as many openings as he could. "Say when," he called to his sister.
"Just gimme a– oof," Linkle replied.
Link was too busy focusing on his own opponent to see what had happened, but he kept going, slashing at his double, but intentionally avoiding the openings until his sister was ready. "Any time now, Elle!"
"Now!" Linkle shouted back.
What followed was the sound of a young woman being stabbed. Link prayed it was the evil one.
"Okay!" Following Linkle's plan, Link took his shot as soon as he thought Dark Linkle had been injured, stabbing his opponent through the chest. Predictably, the shadow grunted in pain, slid off of his sword, and fell through the water
"Now what?" Link asked, spinning around to face his sister, hoping there was more to her plan.
Standing in front of him, Linkle reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a serious, sympathetic look.
What?
"Link, it wasn't your fault," she said with sincerity. "Mother, Father, Aron, Aryll, Marlon, Meryl… we were just kids. Neither of us could have done anything. I never blamed you."
Link was taken aback. She'd said this earlier in the fight, but it was different to hear her say it so earnestly like this. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, like a burden he'd been carrying for a long time was suddenly lifted.
Wait. That's it.
He realized what she was doing. She was taking the poison out of his dark reflection's words, and he needed to do the same for her. So, Link mimicked his sister's actions, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm glad you brought me along with you," he told her. "You're not messing up my life, you're the best thing in it. And no matter what happens when we reach the Master Sword, you are a hero."
Linkle smiled at him, appearing more grateful than he'd ever seen her before.
Unfortunately, they were not given much time to enjoy the moment.
"Behind you!" they shouted in unison. Linkle's double had risen from the water once again, and Link spun around to find his own double had risen as well.
However, Link no longer looked upon his counterpart with anger. The vile things the creature had said no longer weighed on him. Before the darker Link had a chance to raise his weapon, Link plunged his sword through his doppelganger's chest once again.
Something was different this time. Dark Link did not fall through the reflection in the water. Instead, his glowing red eyes flared up brightly, and he let out an echoey, inhuman scream. His shadowy body shimmered, like a reflection on the water's surface disturbed by a skipping stone. After a moment, the doppelganger exploded in a puff of black smoke.
A high-pitched, but similarly unholy scream reverberated behind Link. Turning around, he saw only his sister, which told him her doppelganger had suffered a similar fate. She turned back to him as well. They locked eyes, both of them breathing heavily and dripping wet. Linkle gave him that grateful smile again, and he returned it.
Thank you, sister.
As the siblings stood there, Link noticed something in his peripherals, taking his attention away from Linkle. All around them, the room was changing. Walls and a ceiling appeared within the seemingly endless room. The tower with the barred door was suddenly just another part of the wall. The water that covered the floor remained, but the strange island with the tree growing from it had disappeared. It was as if the room they'd been in had faded away entirely, leaving a completely different, smaller, more ordinary room in its place.
"What the…?" Link muttered, astounded.
"Whoa…" Linkle smiled in amazement, gazing around the new room. "Such amazing sorcery!"
A sound drew the attention of them both. The bars covering the door to the 'tower' suddenly rose up out of the way.
Linkle gasped. "Brother! Our reward for passing the trial must be beyond that door."
Link hesitated. She was probably right. It couldn't have been a coincidence that the way was opened to them just after they defeated their shadowy doubles. However, that did not necessarily mean there was anything pleasant on the other side of that door.
"Be cautious," Link warned.
"Aren't I always?" Linkle chuckled, skipping forward through the ankle-deep water. Link followed her.
On the other side of the door was a small, square room. Like much of the Water Temple, it was constructed with light blue bricks and decorated with wavy patterns and Zora symbols. The room itself was almost empty. In the center was a raised dais with a single chest placed upon it. There was also a tablet on a pedestal in front of the dais. Other than that, the room was bare.
"There it is!" Linkle said excitedly, pointing to the chest.
"Hold on," Link said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "It might be another trick. What's that thing say?"
"Hmm? I dunno, I can't read Zora." Linkle stepped over to it, looking down at the tablet. "Oh!" she said, perking up. "It's written in Hylian."
"Is that so surprising?" Link asked, joining her beside the pedestal. "Well, I guess everything else we've seen here has been in Zora. Does that mean this was intended for Hylians?" He was merely thinking aloud, and decided to read the message before speculating further.
Here you go, dummy.
I kept it safe, just like you asked.
Maybe now you'll actually come back and marry me?
Unless someone else is reading this,
In which case, enjoy the stupid thing.
Dummy.
- Princess Ruto de Bon -
"Huh…?" Link furrowed his brow.
"It really was Princess Ruto!" Linkle cheered. "She wrote this message for her fiancé."
"And it looks like they never actually got married," Link pointed out.
"Oh, yeah," Linkle said. "Aw, wait. That's actually really sad." Linkle placed her hand on the stone tablet, gently feeling its smooth texture. "What do you think happened? Was he the Hero? Was he off saving the world and didn't have time for his beloved Zora princess?"
"Maybe he just didn't want to marry her."
Linkle scoffed. "Who wouldn't want to marry a princess?"
Link shrugged. "Well, I guess she would come with money." Linkle rolled her eyes, but Link laughed. "So, what's in the box, anyway?"
"Ooh!" Linkle clapped her hands together excitedly, as if suddenly remembering their supposed prize was in the room. "Let's see." Climbing onto the dais, Linkle placed her hands on the chest. It did not appear to be locked, as she was able to simply lift the lid open. Link heard her gasp as she gazed down into the chest.
"What is it?" Link asked curiously.
Smiling, Linkle reached into the chest. "Da-da-da-daa!" she cried, thrusting her hand into the air to lift up her newfound prize.
Link squinted, unclear what he was looking at. The object Linkle had found in the chest was golden in color, and it looked like some kind of weird lamp at first. It was somewhat cylindrical in shape and it had a handle on one end of it. However, some sort of spike was sticking out of the other end.
"What the hell is that thing?"
"It's a hookshot," his sister declared proudly. Hopping down off of the dais, she held it up to give Link a closer look. "See? It's a real fancy one, too. I've never seen one like this before."
"Oh, right. I've heard of these before," Link said, placing a hand on the object to feel the material. "Didn't the Hero of Twilight use one of these?"
Linkle shook her head. "He had a pair of clawshots, just like the Hero of the Sky did. Hookshots are very similar, though."
Likely eager to try out her new toy, Linkle turned back around and pointed the hookshot at the chest. Pulling the trigger, the hook-like spike shot out of the machine, pulling a metal chain along with it as it sailed through the air. The hook stuck into the side of the wooden chest. Pulling the trigger again, the chain began to retract back into the hookshot. The wooden chest was pulled across the floor along with it, finally dislodging just before the hook was pulled back into its chamber.
Linkle squealed. "So. Cool!"
Link chuckled, shaking his head at her childish antics. "So, this is one of those 'keys,' then?" he said, deciding it was time to discuss their actual objective.
"Definitely," Linkle said with confidence. "We just had to fight, like, shadow clones of ourselves that drew strength from our self-doubt, or something. Only an artifact as important as this would be guarded by a trial like that."
"Wasn't the key supposed to be a gift from Princess Ruto's fiancé, though?"
"Duh. Read the tablet," Linkle replied, pointing to the inscription left behind by the Zora princess.
Link stared at the hookshot. "Bit of an odd engagement present, wouldn't you say?"
"You clearly don't know much about girls, brother. I would love to get a present like this from my beloved." Linkle pointed the hookshot at the far wall and fired it again, but it bounced harmlessly off of the stone without penetrating it.
Link scoffed. "Yes. You are clearly a portrait of the average woman. But I guess you're right; the hookshot must be the key, which means we got what we came here for. Let's inform the sage and get going."
"And then it's off to the Lost Woods!" Linkle agreed excitedly. "Ooh, I can't wait! The Impa family will make our names known throughout the land when we return with both the keys they sent us out for."
"Well, we only have one key," Link pointed out as they stepped back outside into the water-filled room. "Just because this one was here doesn't mean the one that's supposed to be in the Forest Temple will be. Although I guess this is still good enough for a reward."
"Don't be so pessimistic, Brother," Linkle said, skipping through the water and firing her new hookshot randomly into the distance. "Besides, even if the other key isn't there, at least I'll still be able to pull the Master Sword from the stone!"
Author's note:
Since I work about 15 chapters ahead of what I post, I started writing the initial draft of this chapter way back in April 2022. However, when this story was still in its planning stages several years ago, an encounter with Dark Link was one of the very first things I knew I wanted to include. To make it even more significant, I ended up combining it with the first real insight into Link and Linkle's family history, which I felt was an important development. To me, getting here is kind of a big moment, so I hope this chapter turned out well. I've also gotten a few more comments and follows recently, so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's still reading this story!