The Legend of Zelda: Everlasting (2nd book in the Timeless series)

Chapter 27

"No...no," He murmered, his mind blank. He went over to her and dropped down by her side, running his fingers through her mane. They had been through so much together, and now she was gone. His mind wasn't able to process that thought. It just wasn't right.

A monster dared to run up and try to get him from behind. Link's hand reached back calmly and grabbed its neck, throwing it to the ground beside him. He looked down at it without emotion for a moment before snapping its neck. He then turned back to his horse,

"Link!" He heard again. His head whipped around towards the direction it came from. He then glanced back down at Epona. He hated to leave her like this, but Zelda was more important,

"I love you, girl," He murmered to her before standing up and running towards the sound of her voice. He shoved monsters out of the way as he went, having no time to properly deal with them. He came to a small clearing, looking around frantically. Nothing. He started running again. His feet took him away from the heart of the battle, but he kept going.

Finally, he saw her. She was trying to fight her way out of the grip of a monster. He sliced it's head off it's shoulders. She fell forward, and he caught her just before she hit the ground,

"Are you ok?" He asked, supporting her. She looked up at him, eyes wide and full of fear,

"We have to get out of here," She said quietly, taking his hand and starting to run. He pulled her to a stop,

"What are you talking about? Why do we have to run? What's wrong?" He asked. She shook her head,

"There's no time to explain. Just come on! We have to go!"

"We can't just leave everyone," He said calmly,

"We can come back later. Please just trust me Link," She said. He sighed and nodded.

They ran until they reached an area with few monsters. Then, they had to stop to catch their breath. Zelda was looking around anxiously,

"Yes, this should work." She murmered to herself,

"Work for what?" He asked, putting a hand on her arm,

She started laughing,

"You're really stupid, you know that?" She managed to get out between laughs. He looked at her, confused,

"Wh-?"

"I bet I could keep this going as long as I wanted, and you would never figure it out!" She said, skipping ahead. What in Hyrule was she talking about? He just stood there, shocked and confused,

"Zelda? What are you talking about?" He asked. She laughed more,

"Link? My love? My gullible little pet," She said mockingly,

"What happened?" Link asked,

"What happened? I tricked you, that's what happened! And you fell for it!" She said, walking towards him. She grabbed his chin,

"Oh, but you made it fun, didn't you? You made this little assignment fun! So congrats!" She said with fake excitement. He remained silent,

"You do have such a nice sword. It almost compares to his," She said, touching him in an inappropriate place. He took her hand away. She laughed and backed up.

Suddenly, the air behind her distorted and hands grabbed her from behind. Dark Link smirked. She gasped, fear replacing the humor in her eyes,

"Link!" She choked out. He drew his sword and went for Dark Link. Both he and Zelda disappeared right before he got there. He heard her laugh from behind him,

"You still try to save me?! How heroic!" She said sarcastically. Suddenly she was by his ear,

"Oh, Link! The soldiers are dying!" Then, she was gone. He looked around. She reappeared by his other ear, "Link! I need you!" Gone. Reappeared in front of him, "Link! I haven't been your Zelda this whole time and you haven't figured it out!" Her worried look melted into a smirk. His eyes grew wide as her hair and dress turned black and her eyes burned red. He hung his head.

Why was he so stupid?

"Where is she?" He asked in a low voice. A blade pressed against his neck from behind,

"She's been right there the whole time, right out of reach. In fact, I believe she got front row seats to your heated night with Dark Zelda." Dark Link said, making sure not to make contact with Link's skin. Link growled and elbowed him, jumping away.

Suddenly, his anger burst through. He felt his eyes burn away the blue and replace it with red. He felt power surge through his body, and apparently they saw it too. Shock was plain on their faces.

He was in front of Dark Link in an instant, knocking him backward several feet. Dark Zelda ran for him, and he dodged easily before locking blades with his dark side,

"Too late to help?" Quinn yelled, jumping into the scene and punching Dark Zelda, who fell back.

Good, he didn't have to try to fight a girl, especially one who looked like his wife.

"Good, good. Let it consume you," Dark Link teased him, jumping out of reach. Link grabbed his collar and slammed him against a wall of rock. The demon stabbed his leg with a sharp rock and managed to free himself. Link sliced forward with his sword. Dark Link jumped and landed on the sword, smiling at him. Link knocked him down and jumped over him, driving his sword down. He rolled out of the way just in time.

Link didn't pay attention to what Quinn was doing; he didn't see anything else besides the need to kill his other side.

He managed to get Link in the side, who muffled a cry. He didn't show the weakness though. He just grabbed his arm and threw him against the wall. He then stabbed the sword down into his arm, pinning him there. He grabbed Dark Link's sword and straightened out his other arm. He looked him straight in the eyes as he stabbed that sword down as well. Dark Link cried out in pain.

Link crouched over him for a moment, smirking. Dark Link spat at him, which Link dodged,

"Let death consume you," He said. His hand then slammed forward with strength he didn't know he had. It went into Dark Link's chest and came out with the black excuse of a heart. He then threw it and looked down as the light dimmed from his eyes,

"Finally," He murmered, closing his eyes.