The story of a Shadow

The Story of a Shadow
Chapter I
Illusions of a Life Not Lived


Dark opened his eyes, although he could not tell if it was morning or night. He looked down at his shadowy hands and saw a darker picture of the clear water before him. How long had he been here? He asked the question to himself every so often. Had it been years? Days? Or merely hours? Sometimes he even wondered why he was here in the first place, of course the memory of five little words always entered his mind to remind him.

     “Why didn’t you kill her?” It was the question that his master, Gannon, had spoken to him the night he was banished to this watery hell hole. Why DIDN”T he kill her? Of course he knew the answer to that, too. It was all because of Link, the so called Hero of Time. Dark was a fragment of the hero, created buy the Goddesses themselves. The remains of a little boy’s sins. He could feel Link, his memories were in Dark. He remembered that little girl he was supposed to kill from Link’s own memory and something inside him paralyzed Dark so that he could not do a thing to the girl. How pathetic was that? Being banished all because of a little girl. No, It was Links fault. He was the only reason Dark was alive, and for that he wanted revenge. And all that would be accomplished today. Today Link was nearer than ever before. He was fighting his way though the water temple, and  Soon dark would have his long awaited revenge. But until that hour he would have to remain where he always was, in the same room he was kept in for so long.

      He once knew freedom. The smell of fresh air, the thrill of running through endless fields. Of course he did his masters will and obeyed him non stop, but it was nothing compared to the seclusion of this one room. Dark had changed the room to look like an endless pool of crystal water, but it was only an illusion. The tree, the water, all of it, was just the imagination of a shadow. But it had a calming affect on him, and it was the only resource he had -the water- so it had to do. Dark thought back to his more free days, lulled by the images of the Hrulyilan fields and began to drift back into a deep sleep.




     Dark woke sometime later to the unfamiliar sound of a door slamming to the ground. Immediately Dark sank into the floor, a skill he had practiced many times. Since Dark wasn’t really a “being” per say, he could shift his body into walls, floor and ceilings, although Gannon had magically created a barrier around this room so Dark could not fully shift all the way to the next room.

     It had been  awhile since Dark had seen a real…anything. He could see what Link was doing at anytime in his mind, but here he was more crisp and colorful. More alive. Dark silently came up from the floor and rested against the tree, careful not to make any sound. He watched as the young hero listened to the barking orders of his fairy companion, Navi. He watched Link sigh as he dropped his hands from the iron bars on the other door, Dark decided to make his move.

     “That won’t work.” Said Dark in his most cocky tone. It felt weird to hear the sound of his voice and even stranger when he heard his other half speak.
     “Who are you?” Demanded Link, looking around to see who the other voice was. His hand was close to where he kept his sword and his feet were wide apart, ready for action.
     “Well if you really want to know…I’m you.” Dark made himself visible in the unknown light force. Dark noticed Link was very taken aback by his reflective self. They did look very similar: The same height, same type of hair only Link’s was blonde and Dark’s was Black. Dark had smaller eyes that shown with red hatred while link’s eyes were wide with blue courage. And while they’re tunics were also similar Dark had a black one and Link was wearing his fish gill blue tunic.

      “You are not me!” said Link “You’re just another creation of Ganondorf’s!” He drew the master sword, and held it up.
     “Eh, wrong!” With lightning reflects Dark lunged at his copy before Link could react, knocking the master sword out of his hand. Link did a back flip before Dark could try anything else and stayed at a distance. Dark stayed away from Link, only moving forward every so often . And every time he moved so would Link

     “True, I did serve Ganondorf for the period of time I was free. But Gannon only helped me become stronger. I am no creation, at least, not from Gannon.”
     Dark could tell that Link was not about to make the first move, so Dark decided to savor the moment. This was his chance to make Link realize the pain he went through because of him.
     “Ever since you were a child you were destined to be the Hero of Time.”
     “how do you know that?”                      
     “I know every thing about you, Link! I was created because of you!”
     “what do you mean?”
     “To make you the true Hero of Time, you had to become a more mature person. But you also had to be ride of every evil thing inside you. The goddesses, they took it, every hateful though, every greedy desire, all the envy, and they put it somewhere.” Dark cracked his neck “ I’m what they put all that into.”
     “What?”
     “You really are stupid, aren’t you? I am everything you hate, I am every evil thing you feel” Dark’s voice began to grow louder and he rushed to Link. Link ran around the tree and dived for his sword, getting back up just in time to parry a hit from Dark. Now Link began to get more aggressive and advanced toward dark, they’re swords clashed perfectly even. Every blow Link would try to make Dark countered way before hand.

     “Every time you wanted to hit Mido back? Me. Every time you were jealous of the other Kokori because they had a fairy and you didn’t? Me. Every time you thought about Ruto in that certain way. Me.”
     Link jabbed his sword for Dark’s stomach but Dark already knew and landed on top of Links sword, perfectly balanced. He leaned in close to Link’s face and grinned, “And Zelda too!”
     “SHUT UP!” Yelled Link and pulled the sword away, causing Dark to do a back flip onto the floor.
     “Oh HO! He can get aggressive! Careful! Don’t get to mad, I’ll just grow stronger if you do.”
     “I’ve had enough of you!” Link advanced toward Dark, His sword swinging, Dark turned on his heels and ran away.
     “Coward!” Link called.
     “Hey! I got one for you!” exclaimed Dark “How about all those nasty thoughts you think about navi when she wont shut up?”  
     “Stop talking and fight you monster!” Link yelled as he chased after Dark. He paused fro a moment to see his fairy companion looking at him in dismay. “Navi, it’s not true. Ganon probably told him to say all this so we would fight. We need to work together to win.” Navi nodded, reassured.

     “Still don’t believe I was not created by Ganon, huh? Well how ’bout this: You’re mad at the Great Deku Tree because he gave you a destiny you think you can’t fulfill! Oh, and everyone thinks you killed him!” Dark started to laugh and Link stopped and dropped his hands to his side, his eyes getting wide. Then quietly he said  “shut. Up.”

     Dark didn’t obey and  came within a few feet of Link and sneered “And you even despise your own mother for leaving you.” Tears welled up in Link’s eyes. Dark looked at him in mock pity. “Ooh is the poor baby going to cry?”
     “I said, SHUT UP!!!” Link let out a cry and a magical fire engulfed his body, it created a bubble of fire and expanded quickly to Dark, who could not move fast enough and was hit by the raging fire. He fell to the ground and adsorbed into the floor. A mocking laugh filled the room as Dark repeared by the tree. His right sleeve was completely burned off from the fire and showed sever burns on his shoulder.
     “Finally! A challenge!” laughed Dark with blood thirsty eyes. They soon began to fight again.
     
Dark knew Links every move before he would even make it, as soon as the thought entered Link’s mind Dark would know about it. They’re swords clashed and when Link used the magic of Din’s fire Dark would back flip just far enough away or disolve into the floor. When Link would lunge, Dark would Jump onto Link’s sword. When Link sliced, Dark would back flip.
     
     Then Link tried to get far enough away to hold his sword out. ’I’ve never seen this one.’ Though Dark. The Master Sword began to glow a dark blue, the light energy from the room absorbing into the sword. Then it began to glow an orange and Link realeased the pent up energy and spun on one leg. But the move was WAY to slow for Dark and he just back flipped out of the way, easly avoiding the ray of light.

     Dark could tell Link was getting tired, But after spending so much time in sulotude Dark was full of energy. And right now, whith vengence before him, he was feeling at the top of his game. “What’s the matter, fairy boy?” Dark mocked, circling him  “Getting warn out in your old age?”
     “Why are you playing with me?” Asked Link exhausted. Dark stopped to face his more colorful refection. His face grew serious with a mix of regret and deep hatred. “Because… you are the reason I live.”
     “But you more then anyone know I never wanted this, I never wanted to be the Hero of Destiny.” Link’s voice was heavy. Dark could not tell if he was just so tired or overcome with the unwanted responsibility
     “But you’re still here,” glared Dark  “And as long as I can feel you’re presence, hear your thoughts. As long as you are here I will try to kill you.” Dark lunged quickly at Link who did not have the energy to avoid Dark’s hands gripping his throat. Dark pinned his more colorful self up against the tree in the middle of the room. Link struggled and grasped Dark’s hands, trying to pry them from his neck with no avail. Dark pressed his face up close to Link’s and grinned “I’m going to enjoy this.” He smirked, looking at Link lose consciousness. As Link began to pass out, Navi started to beat on Dark’s face. Dark flicked one hand at the fairy, keeping a tight grip on Link with his other. “Stop, you annoing excuse for a fairy!”  
     
     With a few good waves from his hand he nocked the fairy away, his concentraition shifted from Link just long enough for the Hero to slam his knee into Dark’s sensitive spot. Dark crumbled to the floor in obvious pain. Link lifted his sword above Dark’s middle and lowered it in great force. Link’s shadow rolled over once, just enough to avoid the brunt of the attack. The sword still sliced a part of his side, ripping his black tunic and a slice of skin. Dark cringed and grunted in pain but did not cry out. Then, before Link could finish the job Dark sank into the floor again and reappeared by the tree, partly healed. Link frowned in frustration and Dark just smiled. “To much for you?”
     
     The battle began again. Both warriors lifted their swords and crashed into each other. The sound of metal pierced the room. They stood there, their swords linked to the other, each pushing hard, sparks burst from the swords. Dark finally gained enough leverage and sent Link’s sword spiraling from his hands. Link held his rist to comfort the pain and dived for the sword as he had earlier in their fight.
    
     Suddenly he felt something crash into him from the side, he opened his eyes to find Dark hovering over him. Dark pinned him to the ground with his sword to Link’s throat. “Goodbye, Hero” He grined. But Link just smiled. Dark hesitated for a moment then stopped smiling, his face turning to pain as he felt the sharp point of an arrow jab through his stoamach. Dark gasped for air and fell over, one hand holing his stoamach the other clutching the arrow. With a sharp yank he pulled the arrow from his gut and tossed it aside. The blood was a foggy black and looked unnatural.  He held himself up with one arm, his other hand still holding his stoamach. “Ow.” was all he said. He looked up at Link who was watching him with horror. Dark smiled a weak smile “It’s scary to see yourself die, isn’t it?” Link didn’t say anything but stood there with the same exprestion.
     “Finish it, already!” he yelled. Link mindlessly reached for his sword which was within arms reach. Link lifted the Master Sword above Dark, who was coughing up the surreal blood. The crystal water was tunning the color of Darks blood. Dark coughed again.
      “Maybe it’s better this way.” he grinned “At least you have a life to live after this is over.” Then he watched as the Master Sword came down on him.