8 – "Defiance"

"…The bars are still down."

"I can see that."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Just shut up, alright? I know what to do."

Sheik raised an eyebrow at the banter between her two companions. The three of them had just entered the room where they had previously defeated the Iron Knuckle. To their chagrin, the trap Link had triggered was still closed. Ganondorf had suggested going the way he and Sheik had gone, but Link protested.

"That'll take too long," he said. "Besides, I can figure out how to open this."

The larger man raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how do you expect to do that—"

–Click.

"See?" Link said impatiently. "Now, come on."

"Wait," Sheik said, gripping his arm. For a second, she was startled by how cold it was, but brushed the feeling aside. "We don't know that it won't close again."

Link snorted and released himself from her grip.

"Relax, Princess. It's one-way only." He took a step back into the round room to demonstrate, and his companions followed.

"Here," he said. He walked over to a specific stone on the left and pushed his hand against it. The stone moved back and the wall shifted to reveal a set of stairs headed downward.

"Let's go," Link said, starting down the secret entrance.

"Hold it," Ganondorf said sharply. "How did you know to find this Actually, how did you even know how to open that gate?"

Link turned and raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter? We need that key, right? So let's get it as soon as possible and then get the hell out of this place." He started down the steps. "You can follow me or you can go home, but I'm not leaving without that key."

Sheik and Ganondorf exchanged skeptical looks before following him into the darkness below.

"It's locked," Sheik said. The three of them stood before a large ornate door. Chains ran across the door to a lock in the center.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Link drawled as he dug through his pockets for something. "As if I couldn't already see that."

"What is your problem?" Sheik said, stepping forward. "Are you mad at us or something, because if you are, you need to snap out of it."

"I'm sorry, Princess," Link said as he pulled out an ornate key and pressed it into the lock. The lock turned and the chains fell. "Are you upset that I'm not groveling before you? Should I get down on my knees and kiss your feet?"

Sheik flushed with both anger and embarrassment. "You—"

"Enough," Ganondorf said sharply, gripping Sheik's shoulder before she could do anything. He narrowed his eyes at Link. "I don't know what's been going on with you recently, but you're going to get your act together before we walk through this door. Is that clear?"

"Whatever," Link muttered. Ganondorf glanced at the two teens skeptically.

"Let's just go," Sheik muttered, pulling herself from the teacher's grip. She walked through the now open door, and Link followed suit.

"You coming or what, old man?" Link called.

The Gerudo sighed heavily.

"This does not bode well…" Then, ignoring every instinct telling him otherwise, he followed, catching up to the two teens.

"Nice of you to join us," Link remarked as they continued down the hallway. Ganondorf frowned.

"We'll talk later," the teacher said. Link shrugged.

"Whatever you say."

"Sh," Sheik said. "I hear something." Ganondorf and Link exchanged glances, then looked into the room before them.

It was round and large—larger than the first room. The walls and floors were dark, unlike the white of the rooms before.

In the center of the room was a single man seated atop a suit of armor. He wore white all the way from his hair down to his toes, and while his expression was lighthearted, there was an air about him that set the trio on edge.

"Ah, so you finally decide to show up!" the man said brightly. "You've been awfully rude, you know. You've been keeping me waiting for quite some time."

"Who are you?" Ganondorf asked, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, but of course!" The man said. "Silly me, how could I forget to introduce myself?" He leapt off the armor and bowed with a dramatic flair.

"My name is Ghirahim," the man said, "but you may refer to me as Demon Lord Ghirahim." Ghirahim smirked, a piece of the pretense chipping away. "Oh, but surely you already know of me—I have made your acquaintance before, after all." He looked at Link and Sheik. "Well, some of you, at least."

Sheik raised an eyebrow and glanced at Link. "You know this guy?"

Link shrugged. "Doesn't ring a bell, nope."

Ghirahim glared indignantly. "Why you—you mean to say that you don't even—" He glanced at Link and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "Interesting," he said, more to himself than anyone else. Then he turned back to the trio.

"Do you work for Amora?" Ganondorf asked. Ghirahim laughed.

"Me? Work for him? Oh, gods no! Me and Amora, we're…how do you say, friends, if you will."

"Tch, right," Link said, rolling his eyes. "You're a lackey if I've ever seen one. If you and Amora are so close, how come he's making you do all the dirty work instead of greeting us himself?"

Ghirahim had scowled at the word 'lackey,' but kept himself composed. "Foolish child, I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. I am content to do the 'dirty work' if it means achieving our common goal."

"Demise," Ganondorf said, eyes narrowing. Ghirahim laughed.

"Ah yes, Demise, Demon King and Destroyer of Worlds! You know," the Demon Lord said, "it's a bit strange that you of all people would be opposed to all of this. I'd have thought that the Great King of Evil would surely be all for the whole 'death' and 'destruction' and 'inevitable apocalypse' thing, give your…history."

Ganondorf flinched.

"Screw off," the teacher growled. Ghirahim merely laughed again.

"My, this is interesting! So I what Am-y told me was true! More than true, in fact. You've not only given up on your former ambitions, but you're even going out of your way to help your former enemies!" The Demon Lord grinned and glanced over at the two teenagers. "Or maybe not. After all, this all could just be some elaborate show we're putting on to make him gain your trust up until the point at the very end where he takes that lovely little blade of his and stabs you both in your innocent, trusting, backs."

The teacher was visibly seething, but did not respond.

"Enough of this," Sheik said impatiently. "Were you planning on killing us? Because I think you'll find we won't go down without a fight."

"'Kill you?'" Ghirahim chuckled. "Oh no, where's the fun in that?" He snapped his fingers. "No, I won't kill you…I'll leave you with just enough life left to beg for me to put you out of your misery." A dark blade began to materialize within his hand. "Now—"

"Lord Ghirahim," a fifth voice echoed through the room.

Ghirahim pinched the bridge of his nose impatiently. "What is it, Ikei?" he asked. A figure materialized out of the shadows of the room. His hair and shirt were white, and he wore simple jeans. His eyes were crimson, Sheik noticed. A Sheikah.

"It's done," the newcomer said. "We've got what we came for."

Ghirahim sighed dramatically, and with a snap of his fingers the blade in his hand disappeared into a flurry of diamonds. "Just when we were getting to the good part, too," he said, almost ruefully. "Very well, then." Ghirahim turned to the trio. "It's a shame, but I must take my leave. Oh, but first," he snapped his fingers again and a black gas came forth and entered the suit of armor, "a present." He smirked and turned from them. "We'll meet again soon, I'm sure." He looked at them over his shoulder. "If you survive, that is." There was a burst of diamonds and the accomplices were gone.

The suit of armor stirred, shaking in its place as a dim light began to manifest itself in its eyeholes.

Link and Sheik felt a gust of wind rush forward as Ganondorf sprinted forth and sliced the head off the monster, which fell to the ground with an empty clang.

There was a pregnant silence until Ganondorf relaxed, lowering his blade and turning back to the teens.

"Din strike me if we ever have to do that again," he muttered. "Now, we—GAH?!" The Iron Knuckle's blow sent the dark king flying back into the wall behind the two youths.

"D-Damn it," the thief coughed, struggling to get to his feet. Meanwhile, the Iron Knuckle's head had floated up off of the ground and replaced itself in its original place.

"Are you alright?" Sheik called as she and Link ran over. That throw probably would have been close to fatal to most people—but Ganondorf wasn't most people.

"Don't worry about me," he said quickly. He looked up and his eyes widened. "Look out!" The trio scattered, just in time to avoid the massive spiked ball send flying their way. The impact of the blow was enough to cause some of the wall to crumble.

"He's vulnerable just after he throws his weapon," Ganondorf called, just as the monster hurled the ball and chain again.

"Got it!" Sheik called back as she sprinted past.

"—?! Cromwell!"

The Sheikah warrior ignored Ganondorf's call. Instead, she ran behind the creature and slashed at its back with her knife. There was a pause, and then the thing swung around, giving sheik barely enough time to get back away.

"The back's not its weak spot," Link said beside her. The Sheikah scowled.

"Thank you Captain-freaking-Obvious." She turned to see that Ganondorf was coming at the monster with his magic sword. The Dark King was about to attack when he was forced to leap back to avoid the monster's deadly weapon. This continued as Ganondorf realized that so long as the monster kept attacking, he'd never get a strike in.

"Damn it," the Gerudo muttered. "Hey, Emeright! Give me a hand!"

The hero tilted his head and the Dark King scowled as the spiked ball flew past his head once again.

"Sometime soon!" he called impatiently. Link still didn't move.

"I've got it," Sheik said, sprinting back into the fray.

"Don't—"

"Can it. I'll distract the thing while you get a hit in."

Ganondorf frowned, but didn't protest further. Sheik ran behind the creature and attacked. The attacks, of course, did nothing, but they did Ganondorf enough time to land a few attacks of his own. His blade struck, and—

"—Nothing," the Dark King muttered. "Cromwell, get out of there—our attacks aren't working."

Sheik's eyes narrowed. "There's got to be something."

"Don't even—"

"Agh!" Out of the blue, the monster had swung a solid arm at the girl, sending her flying into the wall.

"Cromwell!"

Sheik struggled to regain her footing just as the monster swung its weapon into the ceiling, sending rock crumbling down onto her form below.

"Zelda!" The Gerudo King called desperately. When the dust cleared, all that remained was a large pile of rubble where Sheik had once been. For the first time in centuries, Ganondorf felt the cold hand of despair grip his heart. The Bearer of Wisdom was—she was—

The Iron Knuckle turned to him menacingly, and the King of Evil gripped his sword tightly. None of their attacks had any effect so far. He wasn't sure how long they could keep this up…

The monster swung its weapon around and prepared to throw—

"That…" Both the Iron Knuckle and the King of Evil were surprised by the voice.

"Is not…" The rubble shifted—

"…my name!" A rush of shadows exploded from the debris, engulfing a large portion of the room and racing towards the Iron Knuckle. The monster, with nowhere to run and far too slow to escape, could only watch as the shadows wrapped themselves around its armor like vipers, leaving it defenseless and at its opponents' mercy.

A black figure emerged from out of the shadows of the rubble, with whisps of dark energy emanating off its form. Crimson eyes glared from the shadow.

"Sheik…?" Ganondorf muttered in disbelief. The shadowy figure ignored him, choosing instead to approach the helpless Knuckle threateningly.

As Sheik drew closer to the monster, several spikes rose up from the growing black mass in preparation to strike. When she was close enough, she raised her arm to attack, and—

The thing let out a wail of agony and the Sheikah blinked in surprise. There, jutting out from its midsection was a long, thin blade. The sword twisted and the Iron Knuckle howled, then the blade was abruptly ripped out of the creature who then clattered forward onto the ground, defeated.

Link stood over the fallen form of the Iron Knuckle, examining his blade cooly.

"You put on quite a show there," he said. Sheik frowned as the shadows dissipated and she stalked over to Link angrily.

"What is wrong with you?" she demanded. "Did it ever occur to you to jump in sooner?"

Link shrugged. "We're alive, aren't we?" He glanced around. "Now, where's the key…?"

"You—"

Just then, they heard a rumbling at the end of the room. A door had opened. A soft green glow began to emanate from the Iron Knuckle's fallen armor, and Sheik tensed.

"Wait," Link said. He reached a hand into the armor and pulled something out. "The key…" He stood up. "Alright, we've got what we're here for, so we can leave, right?" The boy walked over to the door where they had entered to find that it was sealed. He stared at it and frowned. "Damn…guess there's no other way…maybe I can…"

"Emeright!" At the sound of Ganondorf's voice, Link looked up. "come on!" Link glanced back at the closed door, and his eyes narrowed.

"Right. I'm coming."

"Back here again…" Sheik muttered. As it turned out, the large room where they had briefly encountered Ghirahim led back to the room filled with artifacts and other various items.

"Okay, the exit's this way so let's go—"

"Ganon! Sheik! Don't listen to him!" The two turned to the back of the room in surprise. Barely visible behind piles of books and assorted shelves there was a large mirror…except instead of showing their reflections, it—

"Damn," the doppelgänger cursed. There was a flash of movement and Sheik felt a pressure on her throat. "I was hoping that it wouldn't have to come to this, but…"

"Sheik!" Link called urgently from within the mirror. He banged his fists against the surface, to no avail.

Meanwhile, Sheik struggled within the doppelgänger's chokehold. "You—"

Suddenly, the pressure on Sheik's neck released and she tumbled to the ground, grasping for breath. To her surprise, Ganondorf was holding him by the throat with a single hand. The doppelgänger's fascade melted away, revealing black hair and glowing red eyes.

"Sheik!" Link called again, this time for another reason, and she quickly got to her feet.

"Link!" She ran to the mirror, reaching in and grasping Link by the arm. She pulled him out of his prison and into the room.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently.

Link shook his head. "Not important—Ganondorf—he's gonna kill him—"

The two of them looked up to see the teacher's grip on the doppelgänger's throat tighten.

"Enough," Sheik said sharply. "You can't kill him."

The teacher glanced at the girl. "And why not? He impersonated Link and tried to kill you."

"I said enough."

The doppelgänger coughed weakly, and Ganondorf's eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip. "We can't trust him."

"I don't care," Sheik said unwaveringly. "Just like I don't care about the things you've done."

The man flinched, but didn't let go. "You're making a mistake," he said.

"And I said that I don't care. Now let him go."

Ganondorf sighed, then dropped the imposter to the ground. The Link' looked up, only to find a blade at his throat.

"Try anything, and I'll finish what Ganondorf started," Link said. The doppelgänger scowled but didn't move. "Why did you trap me in that mirror?"

"Why?" The other snorted. "Why wouldn't I? You would, too, if you'd been stuck in there for as long as I have." He let out a bitter laugh. "I was sealed in that mirror for being a monster. An abomination. I was hated for being what I am."

"And what, exactly, would that be?"

The doppelgänger smiled without humor. "I am Link. I am the manifestation of the deep, dark, rejected emotions of the Hero of Legend. I made him imperfect, so I was removed from him and sealed in this hellhole."

"So…what you're saying," Link started, "is that you're…a darker version of me? A 'Dark' Link?"

Dark Link glared coldly. "Have you been listening to a word I've said? I'm not a 'version' of you—I am you. Calling me a 'Dark Link' would be the same as calling you something like 'Light Link.'" He snorted. "Or maybe 'suck-up-to-the-goddesses-Link' would be a better fit."

Sheik stepped up. "You could have just left this place, but instead you risked being found out by helping us find the key. Why?"

"'Why?'" Dark Link repeated. When he looked at her, his eyes burned with something akin to defiance. "Because I'm a hero."

The room fell silent at the weight of his words.

Sheik pursed her lips and turned to Ganondorf. "We can't kill him."

"We can't let him wander around on his own, either."

"Why don't we let him come with us?" Link said, keeping his eyes on the doppelgänger as he spoke. "That way we don't have to kill him, and we can still keep an eye on him."

The three of them glanced at the prone figure on the floor. "How does that sound?" Link asked, removing his sword from his neck. Dark Link pushed himself off the floor slowly.

"The hell if I care," he muttered, brushing himself off. "So long as that bastard Amora gets what's coming to him—"

"What time is it?" Sheik asked Ganondorf. The teacher checked his watch.

"9:05. We should get going."

"Oh, that's right," Link said. "We have school tomorrow, don't we?"

"Impa's going to kill me," Sheik muttered, rubbing her temples. Dark glanced between the three of them skeptically.

"…'School'…?"