The Revival of Shadow Link

3:

"Shadow?"

I opened my eyes and immediately knew that I had clearly fallen asleep and was dreaming. Which made sense because that voice belonged to no other than my beloved bookworm.

"Shadow!"

I felt someone grab me from behind and skin me around. I came face to face with him.

I pressed my hand against his cheek and felt a smile tug at my lips. I was in love. There was no way around it, the horrible jerkwad who had killed hundreds of people had fell for a hero.

"Does it hurt?"

I tried to ask what he meant by that but my voice didn't work, and all of a sudden, it, whatever "it" may be, hurt, hurt more than anything I had ever experienced.

"Does it hurt? Does it?" He kept repeating the same words over and over again, and it was as if every word put me in more pain. "Does it? Does it? Does it hurt? Does it hurt? Does it?"

I fell to my knees, squinting my eyes shut. "Yes."

I looked up at him. He had gone silent.

But in his hand was the Four Sword, covered in blood and starting to glow.

Before it dimmer and fell from his hand. He didn't react like he was clumsy and just dropped his sword, he didn't react at all. He straight up didn't seem to care as he knelt down and looked at me in the eyes.

"Shadow."

He grabbed my arms, I felt so small right now.

"V-Vio?"

He didn't say another word for a minute, pulling me close and resting his chin on the top of my head.

I placed a hand over his chest where his heart should be.

It occurred to me he hadn't been breathing at all.

I tried to shove him away, but he didn't let go.

"Shadow?"

This was a nightmare, I had to wake up. I had to wake up.

"Why would you do something like that?"

"What?"

"Why? How could you?"

He started to get warmer, too warm, burning hot, like he didn't already have a smoking body. The flesh in the side of his face lit up and melted off of his skull like it was made of wax, revealing half a bloody skull, little scraps of skin still sticking to it with all sorts of gore that made me want to vomit with the knowledge of it being in my Vio. His tunic was now ablaze and his eye sockets were empty, blood poured out of his mouth and on a wound in his head, his grip didn't falter.

"Why would you do something like that?"

"Something like what, Vio?"

His right arm let go of me and he showed me bloodied bruises on his forearms that started near his shoulders and ended below his elbows.

And then it hit me. I had done this. I had nearly killed him. He should have hated me.

"Vio, I'm sorry, I had to. If I didn't, Vaati would have and I didn't want that to happen to you." I didn't have a choice, he was going to die either way! And I was angry! I never thought straight when I was angry!

"No, I understand, I betrayed you." His tunic was soaked with blood and what looked like a few ribs were now poking out of his skin. His right hand was skeletal looking and he was deathly pale. "I deserved it, I deserved worse, I should have died."

"No, I did it that way to buy you some time! So the others could come save you, because I hated you but I couldn't kill you! I could never kill you! And I understand why you did it!"

"Do you?"

His hands were burning me, but I didn't care, I'd rather die by him than by rotting in the cell, I didn't want to wake up, at least he was here, I wasn't alone.

"Yes." My voice cracked.

"You don't."

"Vio, please!"

"I never loved you. I hated you, Shadow."

"I hate me too."

"You're going to die...and I can't bring myself to care."

"Then don't care! I'm worthless! I tried to get you executed for betraying me while I was planning on overthrowing Vaati. I'm a hypocrite!"

"Yes."

"I loved you...I still do."

He grinned. "Then you're just as much as a fool as me. You really are a reflection of us."

My eyes snapped open and for a minute, I couldn't move. I didn't want to move.

I was still leaning against a wall, my chin on my chest staring at my knees.

It was just a nightmare. A really, terrifying nightmare.

Everything was so vacant and quiet, I hated it. I got to my feet and started pacing around the cell, feeling like another moment of doing nothing would drive me crazy.

How long did he intend to keep me down here? A little more? Until I died?

I looked for a way to escape, but the only means of escaping would be slamming my head into the bricked wall repeatedly until I smashed my skull open, but I wasn't that desperate yet. I sighed and sat back down. He was probably just going to keep me down here until I lost my mind.

Maybe I already had.