Author's Note:
Justin: Hey, this is just a little side project to my other stories. I just beat Twilight Princess for the second time, and I was inspired. I'll probably add another chapter with Link's thoughts before the end, and maybe even Illia or people like that. It all depends on what you readers want. Have a good time reading, and please review.
Last Words:
It was over. The world was back to normal, light had been restored. The darkness that had threatened us all had receded, torn apart by the light. Who knew that darkness could engulf shadow as well? That world was still waiting for me- its inhabitants restored to their formal selves. The beautiful world was calling for me. My people needed their ruler. Now I could return. Now I wasn't ashamed of who I was, of what I'd become. I was back.
All thanks to him. Link. It was a fitting name. He was the crucial point in all of this. Without him, the darkness would have conquered. He had linked our two worlds together, and provided the means of fighting the darkness. My world had already been lost, and his world was on the brink of disaster. Actually, it was in the middle of it. I didn't care though. All I cared about was my world, my people, myself. Not even Zelda. Back then, she was the one who had lost over their world. She had surrendered. She was no better than me.
But then she gave it all. Her life, her power, her light. She gave it to me. For my cause, for my world. No… not for my world. For both of ours. She must have known. She must have known in her heart, that I would become invested. These light-dwellers, they gave away so much. At first I thought it was naivety. They had no idea what they were getting into. I could use them, and I did. I used Link like he was my puppet, my dog. I treated him like one. Never mind the fact that he was one… at first.
I remembered that day, when I saw him. I saw him being taken away, as a feral beast. They knew how dangerous he was. He didn't become a spirit like the rest of the light dwellers. I grinned as I looked on. It was then I knew that he was the Hero, the Chosen One. I needed to use him, to manipulate him. He needed me as well, and I wasn't about to let him get away. I taunted him and teased him, irritating him to no end. I knew he wanted to save his friends. I told him that without the fused shadows, he wouldn't be able too. It worked. He went through hell trying to get them, while I hid in his shadow, while I rode on his back. I taught him how to use his proud form, I advised him on his course of action. Together we got the Fused Shadows. At last, I thought I was done. We could defeat Zant and I could return home, leaving his people to their fate. I was such a fool, I couldn't see that our peoples' fate were intertwined together, united by a common enemy. I couldn't see that the darkness threatened us all.
The darkness came to me, in the disguise of the light. The spirit we had just restored blasted me with all the light in the world, the light I could not bear. I had no place in this world, I lived among the shadows. I was almost gone.
And he saved me. He didn't need to, he himself was a beast again, but he got me to Zelda. And she sacrificed herself to save me. I knew then that I had to stop. I could not only save my world, I had to save theirs too. I started to care. Care about Illia's lost memory, and Collin, and Zelda, and Link. I even worried about the Zoras. My plan had backfired. I had only planned to use Link, as the means of my peoples' salvation. In the end, he saved us all. Him, and Zelda, and Shad, and Ashei, and Telma, everyone. All of them saved my world, without giving a spare thought to themselves. They were true comrades who knew the meaning of courage, even if they didn't know me. Even if they couldn't see me.
But he could. And now he wasn't speaking. He wasn't saying anything to me. He just stared. I drew myself up slowly, afraid. He probably saw me as a monster, after being so used to my imp-like form. To him I was probably an ugly Twilight being, one of the many that he worked so hard to save. But that was not so! How could that be, when our people were so beautiful? I drew myself up tall.
"Say something" I spoke "Or am I so beautiful that you lost your words?"
He smiled.
We were back at the mirror. The portal between our two worlds. Zelda, Link, and I. Soon I would return home.
"Two sides of the same coin" Princess Zelda said.
She had it perfectly. Our worlds were on separate sides of the same coin, joined together by the Mirror of Twilight. I smiled to myself: that was good. Now since the threat had ended, Link could visit me. I could begin to repay him for everything that he did.
The smile froze on my face. No. I couldn't. That's how this entire thing started. Zant and Ganondorf had come through the mirror, and had almost destroyed both our worlds. Just because they were gone didn't mean the threat was over. Ganondorf had come back, so what was to stop him from returning once more? Zant wasn't the true ruler of my people, I was. He could not destroy the mirror, he could only break it. I could shatter it, crush it, destroy it. I would make sure that our worlds would remain forever separate, and forever safe.
But what if they needed my help? What if sometime in the future, they needed the people of the Twilight? I almost laughed. The light-dwellers would never need us; we were the ones who needed them. We had been banished to the world of shadow, and we were content being there. It was beautiful… and it was deadly. Light and shadow were opposites, they could not be together. It wasn't fair.
I held back my tears, and stole a glance at the warrior beside me. Link. It wasn't fair to keep him trapped between two worlds either. I would repay a part of my debt, though I would never be able to pay off the whole thing. I would end the connection between our worlds, I would keep Link whole. I could never repay him, nor did I think I wanted to. He had too much to live for in the world of light, and nothing in the world of shadow. The only thing that would be missing would be me, and he would forget about that pretty quickly.
I was lying to myself again. In my heart I knew that just like me, he was marked for eternity. Legends would be passed down, of the Dog and his Master. Of the Hero and his Sword, of two comrades, of two friends. He would always remember me, just like I would always remember him. Him and his selfless sacrifice, his true heart, his noble mind. I would pass down his story to our people, until they faded and grew into Legends. But I would never forget him.
I moved up to the portal, and let a single tear slip out of my control. I would cry more when they weren't watching. For now, this would be enough. I could hardly look at him; the pain in my heart grew each time. But I had to tell him. He had been honest with me, and now I had to be honest with him.
I choked.
"Link. I…" I couldn't tell him. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't tell him how much he meant to me, to my people. I couldn't tell him that I was so thankful, so grateful for every deed that he did. I couldn't tell him that I would never be able to repay him. I couldn't tell him how eternally sorry I was, for letting his world get sucked into darkness. I couldn't apologize for all the times I mistreated him, hounded him. But he took it all without complaint. I couldn't tell him how much I admired him for putting up with me. I couldn't tell him that I would never forget him, that I would always remember him, that I would carry him in my heart always. My last words stuck in my throat as I looked into his wild blue eyes. I couldn't speak. I couldn't even say goodbye.
"See you around…" was all I said, and I pushed my tear away from me. It glided to the mirror, a beautiful bringer of destruction. Link and Zelda smiled at me, unaware of my choice. That was ok, they would learn soon enough. Link didn't need closure, he was strong. He would get through this. I put on a small smile when I realized that I was finally worried for someone other than me. It felt… human.
Crack. The mirror was covered in fault lines. Link gasped, and I ran to the entrance way. I turned around and stared at him as I began to vanish back into the world of shadow. In his face I saw panic, disbelief, and sadness. I still didn't speak, but in his eyes I saw recognition. I knew he understood. Maybe he didn't understand everything, but he knew the most important things. I was eternally grateful, and I would always look out for him and his world during the hours of Twilight- he would feel me beside him there. But most important of all, I think he understood one thing-
I would miss him.