The Revival of Shadow Link

15:

After we—meaning the Four Links, myself, and Briar, Erune didn't come with—lost sight of where we come from, I heard it—laughter—high pitched and annoying—as annoying as all the hyphens I've been using in this one paragraph.

I knew it was Vaati, but he didn't appear.

"Did...you guys hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?" Asked Green.

I flushed. How did they not hear that? Was...I the only one who heard it?

"Laughter." I bit my lip, hearing it again.

Briar seemed distracted but the Link's looked at me funny.

"Never mind, I'm hearing things," I said.

"Well, you are, aren't you?" Said that damned voice. "Have you lost your mind? Did you lose it before? Are you insane, Shadow Link?" The voice laughed and it couldn't have been in my head, why weren't they hearing it?!

I grit my teeth teeth, now knowing that it had to be Vaati. I kinda figured before anyways.

I hadn't noticed my fists were clenched until Vio tapped me on the shoulder, looking concerned and gesturing to my hands—my nails had been digging into my skin and now blood was seeping out of the teared flesh. Briar must have noticed too, because she winced and looked pale again.

"Four boys with one face and one shadow, how odd." That wasn't Vaati but...

They must have heard it, given their reactions. Green stiffened, Red looked over at Briar Blue jumped and crept closer to Red, and Vio reached for his weapon, glancing at me like I wouldn't notice (even though I had).

"And some girl."

Briar rolled her eyes, apparently agitated.

And then we saw it, the person who had apparently spoken. Female, I noted. I hadn't seen her before.

She was as pale as death. She looked like a ghost with her ivory skin. Her hair was a black-blue color and she donned a ribbon that kept it into a ponytail, even though the hair was so long that it still fell to her heels, just barely hovering over the ground. She wore a dark blue, strapless, a-line dress that hovered over her knees with specks of white, like she had ripped the night sky off and then draped it over her body. She wore thigh high black boots that made her a lot taller than she must have really been, and they were splattered with a red substance.

On her arm, as if someone had carved it into her skin with a knife the way you would put your initials into a tree, was a wound in the shape of an eye getting blood all over her arm. It was recent.

I felt my hair stand up and I almost tried to reach for the similar scar on my back.

I shivered. She was an enemy.

Vaati—because he was sadistic in case you didn't know—had everyone who had pledged loyalty him carve that into their arm, or he did it himself if the person refused to, and was being dragged into this against their will.

For me, both happened.

She must have done it herself.

"What could you six be doing in the middle of a forest?" She had grey eyes and a large grin.

Briar glared at the girl. She must have been sixteen—same age as me and the others. "Who are you?"

She giggled. "Desiderium," She said. "Now...who are you?"

"You clearly already know," Briar said, scowling.

Desiderium smiled. "Yeah, you're the heroes Lord Vaati wants dead!"

I reached into my boot slowly, my hands grasping ahold of a knife.

"Shadow?" Briar was hugging her arm uncomfortably. "You...do you have a weapon?"

I sighed. "No, I could try to summon a shadowed version of the Four Sword but...it doesn't work. I've already tried."

Briar smiled shyly. "Well, take this."

She placed a dirk in my hand, one that seemed familiar somehow.

"You shouldn't be unarmed, all the others have a weapon."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

With a grin, she willed fire to appear in her palm, crackling as the firelight slowly turned into a scythe. Why this gentle girl with flowers in her hair knew how to use a scythe I didn't know until she finally said—

"Selene and I used to live on a farm. That's what they use scythes for—to cut crops. But I know how to use it as a weapon, I have used it as a weapon."

I swallowed and nodded. "That's pretty impressive." I tucked the weapon she gave me into my boot. "Thanks, Briar."

She smiled. "I didn't help rescue you just so you could get yourself killed." She laughed and leaned over, pecking me on the cheek.

"Vaati?" Green shouted. "I thought he was dead!"

"Your allies are stupid," said the voice. "They're going to die for that."

Desiderium laughed. "No, my lord is alive and well, and so very angry at the people who cost him his victory." She locked eyes with me. "That being said, he doesn't want all of you dead, he said he can settle with maimed and captured for a few of you."

In a flash of white, she had a spear in her hand.

"Lord Vaati is a sadistic demon who'd willing to kill everyone in his way to rule Hyrule, he's a cleshe villain with a lust for woman, so he's also total trash," I said.

Desiderium grinned. "Lord Vaati knows you're here, Shadow Link. Do you think that he'll show any mercy to a traitor and his traitorous friend?" She looked at Vio, who had drawn his weapon the moment Desiderium had. "While Lord Ganon doesn't believe you two are worth his time, Vaati can tell you'll only get in his way and he doesn't think someone such as you should be given a chance to live."

"Because Vaati's petty!" I shouted at the girl who was no starting to piss me off. "Threw both arrogant, but Ganon knows he doesn't need to attack us personally, Vaati's so inpatient that he doesn't care who has to do it, even if it's himself. And anyone who tries to stop him is instantly on his black list! He is insane."

Desiderium grinned and some sort of energy was in the air. She raised her spear. "Lord Vaati has promised me protection and power for you five. You're standing in my way, it's pretty justified that you're on my black list, really."

"Great," I said. "You're a psycho."

Desiderium grinned and I'm almost positive I wasn't supposed to stand there and glare at her while a bolt of lightning hit a place right next to me.

Vio had jumped back and now was staring at his sword.

Right. His sword was made of metal. Metal was a conductor for electricity.

And then—out of fucking nowhere—some white haired chick appears and...

That's a light arrow.

Goodbye, cruel world.