Sheik had been leaning against the trunk of a tree in silence for almost an hour, his eyes distant. After the initial shock faded away he had been willing enough to listen to Link's story and had immediately went into his silent state afterwards. Din perched precariously on Link's shoulder as they watched the dazed Shiekah. Her features were etched with worry.

"You sure we should have told him?" She whispered, "He looks kinda pale."

Shiek tapped his knuckles to his lips nervously before looking at the two of them, "So… So what you're saying is that… everything… everything that we know, that we remember… it's all a lie?"

Link slowly nodded, "I'm afraid so."

The Shiekah stared down at his shaking palms, "I'm not real?"

"You're not supposed to be. You were just Zelda masquerading as a guy."

He bowed his head, his hair hiding the emotion in his eyes, "That can't be true…"

Din left Link to hover near Shiek, "And yet you can feel that we're not lying. Somewhere deep inside you know this world is wrong."

He clenched his fists for a moment before pushing himself away from the tree. He looked at Link, a small smile on his face.

"We should probably get going. Knowing the Zora they'll kill whoever you're looking for once the sun begins to rise. We've wasted too much moonlight."

Shiek was right, the forest was dark, nightfall had set a while before. Link nodded and headed to the pond. He eyed the stones for a moment.

"So… that opening is the one we want? Right under that marker?"

Shiek nodded and dove forward, slipping into the entrance with ease. Link soon followed.

..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..

Zelda sat on her throne with her head in her hand, leaning on the gilded gold armrest. Her foot taped impatiently as she glared at the sight before her.

"Traitor," She hissed coldly, "How dare you hide my love away from me."

Impa lay on the marble floor, bloody and bruised from her treatment by the guards. She struggled to look up at the princess.

"My lady…"

"Don't 'my lady' me. Where is he? Where is Link headed?" When the Shiekah was silent Zelda shot up, her eyes glowing with fury, "Fine. There are other ways to make you talk," She gestured to the guards, "To the dungeon. I want that information before sunrise!"

..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..

Link gasped for air as he broke the surface of the water. He had appeared in a small cavern filled halfway with water. Over by the dry land a little light trickled in from what must have been cracks in the door. Shiek got out first and pressed an ear to the exit.

"I don't hear any movement…" He nudged it open just a crack, "Don't see anyone either. The coast is clear." Opening the door all the way he motioned to Link, "Get going, I'll wait here."

With a nod Link got out of the water and through the door. Outside, the dungeons were like a maze. Fortunately he didn't get too lost before he spotted a pair of Zora guards. Din appeared next to him.

"If you want," She spoke in his head, "I could put them to sleep until you get out of here. That way they won't notice their disappearance as soon."

Sure.

Almost immediately the guards yawned and slumped against the wall, asleep in seconds.

"Thanks," He said before grabbing the keys and unlocking the door. "Ruto!" He whispered loudly, "Ruto, you in there?"

Some noises came from behind the door and the aforementioned girl tugged the door open.

"Link? Oh goddess, Link!" She flung herself at him and hugged him close, "I was getting worried."

He squeezed her tight as well, "Don't be, I'm here now."

"You two make me sick."

The hero looked up to see Dark Link's glowing red eyes glaring from just inside the cell.

"Oh," His voice was cold, "It's you."

"Yeah, whoopdee doo. You're lucky your little girlfriend pushed through first, I was ready to kill whoever opened the door. Now move, I've had enough of this overgrown aquarium."

Link didn't budge, "I don't think so. I came to free Ruto, you deserve whatever the Zora are planning to do to you."

Dark Link snarled, "Why you little–"

"We need to take him Link." Din interrupted.

He glared at her, "And why is that?"

"Remember what Nayru said?" She sighed, "I think he may be important."

"He's just going to run off."

"For once I agree with Hero boy," Chimed in Dark Link.

Din looked at him, "So you're telling me you're perfectly fine with this world?"

The shadow winced slightly, "What exactly is the story here? I can't remember my real past anymore."

With a sigh Din quickly recapped what they knew about this world, both Dark Link and Ruto listening silently. Once she was done the shadow swore under his breath.

"Well that explains a lot…"

"Will you help us?"

He looked about at the group with a wary eye before growling and placing his hand on his belt, "Fine… but only because I don't like the idea of ever being one with him."

Ruto smiled and rested her head on Link's chest, "He reminds me a lot of you."

"Duh, he looks just like me."

"No, I mean in personality."

"What?" Link looked slightly offended, "I'm nothing like–"

"He's like an angrier, courser version of you."

Dark Link snorted, "Don't compare me to that wimp."

"Guys, we should get moving," Din said.

Ruto looked up at the floating Goddess, "Who is that?"

"Din." Both Links said at the same time. Link looked at the other funny.

"How did you kn–"

"What? It isn't obvious? Jeze."

Din shook her head, "Not everyone can sense magic like you do."

"Well they should."

The goddess let out an annoyed grunt, "Oh for goodness sake… let's just find the stupid book."

Ruto nodded and grabbed both Links' hands, dragging them down the hallway, "I know where it is! Come on!"

After a little while the two Links managed to get out of the girl's grasp. They hung back as Ruto led the way, shooting glares at each other every once in a while. Dark Link stared off into space, rubbing his right hand thoughtfully. Grumbling he looked over at Link and grabbed his left hand.

"C'mere."

He pulled the other's hand closer to examine it. The half-Triforce was clear on his hand, scar and all. The shadow placed his right hand next to it. Their scars matched. Together they were a whole–

He growled and mentally kicked himself for even thinking such a thing, no matter how true it was.

Link looked disgusted and yanked his hand back, "Don't ever touch me again." He eyed the mark on Dark Link's hand, "So you do have the other half."

"I don't want it, you can have it back." The shadow glared down at his hand. He hated the mark with a passion..

"Here we are!"

Ruto's voice caused the boys to look up at the large ornate door before them. Quickly the Zora pulled it open and ran through. She screamed.

"Ruto!" Link rushed in after her, Dark Link soon following.

Zora soldiers filled the ancient library, surrounding the girl who had ran in a moment before. Link whipped out his sword. He didn't like the idea of hurting the Zora, but he doubted he was going to have much of a choice. Dark Link reached to grab his own only to find it missing. The only weapons on his person were a pair of daggers. They would have to do. As he ran up next to Link the two began to glow.

"Get out of my way!" They yelled.

The soldiers that heard them did not budge, but looked quite shaken by their appearance. Urgent whispers ran through the crowd.

"Gods, there's two of them!"

"Two Links?"

"Kill them! Hurry!"

The two warriors smirked, their expressions nearly identical. Din watched from above as they chuckled and charged into the crowed, her lips pressed into a thin line as she watched the scene unfold. The hero and his shadow moved as one, decimating the Zora's forces in a matter of minutes. The fish-like didn't have a chance, the boys' power seemed to have multiplied tenfold. When the last soldier fell the two of them paused, the strange glow that had enveloped them fading away, before swaying slightly on their feet.

Ruto, who had long since been safe, stared at them, "Guys? Are… Are you okay?"

As if in answer, they collapsed. With a yell Ruto ran to them, lifting Link up and cradling him softly. He groaned and placed a hand over his eyes.

"What… happened?"

Dark Link had curled up and was clutching his head in agony. Din floated down and landed lightly on the stone floor.

"It seems there may have been some unanticipated side-effects for you both having the Triforce of Courage. It was never meant to be shared."

The shadow was seeing stars as he sat up. He couldn't remember what exactly had happened after he ran into the room; it was all just a blur. Slowly he picked up his daggers to put them away. His eyes widened and he nearly dropped one as he got a good look at it. It was that dagger, the one in his dream, the one that had supposedly split him from Link. Hesitantly he ran his fingers over the strange markings.

Link squinted at the minute goddess, "The… Triforce?"

She nodded, "He as the power to do many things, even rewrite history, but the power of the Triforce cannot be tampered with easily. It has always existed in one form or another, whether it be in one piece, three, or many."

Dark Link snapped out of his daze to look at her, his eyes narrow, "'He'? Does that mean you know who is causing all of this?"

Din's eyes grew solemn, "Yes… But right now we should get the book and get out of here. I'll tell you if we get back to the woods."

The trio nodded and got up. Before they could do anything more Din gestured at Ruto.

"You carry the book," She said, "Those two are magically unstable as it is, I don't want to know what would happen if they came in contact with any spell residue that may be on it."

The former-Zora nodded and ran off in search for the book, finding it in the same spot she had before. While she was gone the goddess faced the two boys once again.

"Look," Her voice was low as to not alert the girl, "I don't know how much time I have left so I feel I should tell you guys this now just incase I don't make it out of here," She took in a deep breath, "You two are the last pieces of our old world in existence. The curse will stop at nothing to modify your minds and bodies to fit his ideals. We already know this from your hands and shifting memories. If the transformation is ever completed the Triforce may actually accept it's split state since you would both be parts of the same person. Link has only lasted this long because of my sisters and me. I feel you will both be needed to fix this mess so if Link goes… well… we're basically screwed. Shadow, you will last longer because of your natural resilience, at some point everything will fall on your ability to make quick decisions. Basically that means the fate of the world rests in your hands. No pressure," Link groaned and Din held out her hand to Dark Link, "Let me see the dagger," He looked up at her in surprise, but surrendered the weapon, "Link, you should recognize this if enough of your memories have been changed. This… is probably important… I'm not… sure how but… just keep it on you just the same, I'll figure something out…"

"B-but wait…" Link stuttered, "What about Ruto?"

"She's fine. The curse cannot do a thing to her. It was her blood that set him free. If you fail to return the world to its proper state she will more than likely be the only one to recall a different past until the day she dies."

Ruto came back; book in hand, "I've got it! Let's get somewhere safe so I can fix everything."

Din sighed and returned the dagger to Dark Link, "Here." Her voice dropped down to a mutter as she begun to follow Ruto out, "I was never any good at these long explanation things… that was Nayru's forte…"

The way back to the secret passage was uneventful, though they kept to a fast pace to avoid any confrontations with any Zora soldiers that might have been alerted by their little adventure in the library. Shiek opened the door when he saw them approach, but recoiled when he spotted Dark Link.

"You didn't say he'd be here…" The Shiekah hissed.

Link sighed, "For a world that likes Ganondorf so much you sure still seem to hate his right-hand-man."

Shiek's eyes radiated hatred towards the shadow, "His methods of combat and interrogation were appalling. Even Ganondorf disapproved, and he was the only one who actually liked him."

"Glad to know I didn't lose my touch in this world," Dark Link smirked.

"Um…" Everyone turned to Ruto, who was eyeing the water, "What about the book? I don't want to damage it."

Din snapped her fingers and a red aura encased the book, "There, now it's waterproof."

"Let's just get out of here, I've lost my patience with this place," Dark Link said as he glared at the water. He edged nearer to the pool, mumbling something about how long it was going to take for his wings to dry.

The others looked at each other for a moment before nodding and heading into the water.

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Opia: Okay... I really wish the divider thing would work for me again... Bah. XP Anyways, I hope I didn't kill your eyes with bold text... Din yammered on a bit there...

Cari: I'm sure they noticed.

Opia: Yeah... -sigh- Sometimes I feel like my writing ability is deteriorating instead of improving... That's one of the reasons why it takes me so long to update these things... But then I just suck it up and post it, editing it if it is beyond horrible.

Cari: Stop that. Just keep writing.

Opia: ... Reviews are very much apreciated...