The Revival of Shadow Link

23:

"Chances are, she's fallen by now. Who do you think is next?" Vaati said.

"Maybe we should split up to look for her? She's the one who knows why we're here," Green suggested.

"Why are we here?" Blue asked.

"Briar sensed something here. And she didn't know what it was, but we didn't have any leads to go off of anyways for what's happening. And those three fell in the hole and we stopped for the day." Green sighed. "What makes you worried about Briar?"

"We haven't seen her in hours and...I-I....I have been hearing voices...and I'm pretty sure the voice was Vaati's..."

Everyone gasped.

"And you didn't tell anyone?!" Blue Shouted.

"Are you okay?!" Red cried out.

"You've been hearing...voices?" Opia gaped.

Green looked ready to speak, but he kept starting words that never ended, sentences that just barely started before never being finished.

"It took me a while to realize that I was actually hearing a voice, I thought I was delusional. And it took me even longer to accept that it was..." I swallowed. "I-I'm sorry. But he said he knew about everything that was happening around me, and that he knew one of us wasn't here, and you guys are right here."

Vio pulled me closer to him, arms wrapping around my waist as he kissed the top of my head. "Don't worry, Shadow. We're going to figure this out, okay, love?"

"Vio, that's really gay," Blue said.

I could tell that Vio was giving him a death glare without even looking. "I came out as gay to you about three months ago, you were the first to know. And you're one to talk! Like we didn't over hear you banging Red and Green earlier!"

Opia—who had apparently taken a drink of water—started choking.

She was ignored.

"Oh, right, like the minute we were done rescuing you, when I asked if you had banged Shadow and you—" I think it took him a minute to comprehend the last sentence. "Hey!"

Green sighed. "What about we split up and look for her?"

"Of course, that's a good idea, Green," Vio said sarcastically. "Not like anything bad happened last time we were split up."

"But we want to split up this time," Green argued.

"We wanted to split up last time."

"This time it'll be our choice."

"You and Blue actively chose to not search for anyone else."

"Well, I doubt you did."

"My main priority was finding you guys so I could tell you about Ganon. Actually, now that I think about it, I never told you anything about him."

"Okay, this time, it'll be different because the five of us aren't going to be alone. Red, Blue, and me are gonna go over there and look, and you and Shadow hi the opposite way."

"Fucking brilliant," Vio deadpanned. I'm not sure if I had ever heard him swear before.

Green turned to Opia. "I am not going to lie, I don't know why you're here. Do you want to go with them? Or leave? Or...come with us—well, you should probably go with them to search for Briar."

"So they can get a round two," Vio said.

"Oh, my goddesses, Vio, stop."

He kissed my forehead. "Whatever you say, love."

...

.............

...........................................................................................

And then I realized he called me love. Twice.

He rubbed circles on my hand. "So, Opia, are you going to go with us?"

I already kinda knew her answer, but I still wanted her to say no so I could be alone with Vio.

"Yeah."

And we spent thirty minutes in absolute silence, just the three of us.

"Are we going to address the elephant in the room?" Opia sighed.

"We aren't in a room, we're in the middle of the forest," I said matter of factly.

"Your highness, I must ask now that we are all aware—even though I'm not sure how Shadow knows—where were you for all that time? You were gone for a couple weeks."

"Impa," she said cooly.

"Thanks for the detailed explanation," Vio commented.

Princess Zelda nodded. "You are welcome."

I wrapped my arm around Vio's shoulders, resting my head as we walked.

"How unfortunate!" Vaati laughed hysterically. "You're trusting him again! And you're going to go save a girl you barely know, who's dead. Why would you do that, Shadow Link? Because she helped save you from a place you're going to go back to?"

I stopped walking.

"I don't want you dead. I don't want anyone to die. But I want Hyrule, and I don't want anyone to get in my way. And anyone who does will die."

"Did you say she was dead?" I felt like my heart had stopped at his words and wouldn't start again.

"Did you say something, Shadow—Shadow?" Zelda had kept walking, not noticing I had stopped and slipped out of Vio's grasp, or that Vio was staring at me like my face was a bright neon pink. But now she was staring at me.

"Worried about her, are you? Well, she isn't deceased, but she is as good as dead. Threw her in one of those cells that you spent so long in and I can't recall which one. I did the same with her sister and that useless servant who the princess shot a light arrow at. I told her that she better hope that light managed to kill you before I ever allowed her to be released. And since you didn't die, she's going to die."

Goddesses, everyone's going to die! Is he...talking about Desiderium?

"Ah, is that her name?"

"Shadow, love, are you okay?"

"He says that she's good as dead." I shivered, unsure if it was because it was starting to get cold or because the memories of my time there still seemed to linger and if I had to speak about it one more time, I was going to run myself through with Vio's sword. Even if Zelda tried to argue that the light won't hurt me, you know what will?

Thrusting a sixteen inch blade inside my chest (don't test my theory, please).

"What?"

"Briar, the White Maiden, and I think Desiderium...he says he threw them into a cell somewhere."

"Don't forget to add that I don't remember their location, you all will soon be joining them, and I'm going to enjoy watching everything you all love burning in front of you."

Vio cursed and Zelda jumped out of her skin.

"Did you hear that?"

"Oh, I hope that was just a talking tree or something!"

The world seemed to stop turning while me and Vio turned to her. "A talking tree?"

"A talking tree."

"Why a talking tree?"

"We're surrounded by trees. What else could be talking?"

"Vaati."

"That's why I'm hoping the trees are talking!"

"The walls have ears, the trees have mouths, and the rocks have eyes," Vio stated.

"Goddesses, I'd wish you quit bringing that up."

"You guys," Princess Zelda said, grabbing our attention. We looked at what she was looking at.

Directly behind us was Desiderium.