Categories > Games > Zelda > A World of My Own- My Beginning
It had happened before, so I had an idea where Link and I were. The Chamber of Sages just had this distinct feel and I knew where I was even with my eyes closed. The dripping water wasn’t the only thing that gave it away, however. Just the smell and the calm feeling took over my body. I felt like I was floating whenever I came to the chamber.
I opened my eyes slowly to see Princess Ruto standing in front of me. Link was on my left side. Ruto wasn’t smiling at all.
“I can’t believe that I was eaten by that shark,” Ruto said sharply to herself. “Why didn’t one of you help me?”
“Uh, you were long gone,” I said. “There was absolutely nothing that Link and I could do.”
“Well, whatever,” Princess Ruto said in a mean tone. “Anyway, I’m just glad that the lake will be back to normal soon.”
“And the domain will be thawed, right?” Link asked.
“There’s a little more to that scenario than you think,” Ruto said. “Filling the lake back up didn’t help. I don’t even know what to do right now.”
“That’s weird,” I said and began to think, but I couldn’t come up with anything. The domain was still completely frozen, even though we killed the lake monster. Ganondorf must have created a monster separate for the domain. But, why was there nothing around when Link and I went the other day?
“I suggest that you two go to Zora’s Domain again and check on my father,” Ruto said quietly. “I’m very worried. I think something’s very wrong over there…”
I nodded and said, “Rest assured, we’ll thaw the domain and restore the Zora people. Ganondorf must have laid down another curse.”
“Well, be careful, if you will,” Ruto said with a smile. “I’m just very worried. You two should be getting to the end of your journey and Ganondorf is going to become harsher as time goes on.”
She was right. Link and I only needed two more medallions and we would have enough power to take on Ganondorf. It made me relieved, but at the same time depressed. I would miss this lifestyle, even if it did leave me tired and hungry. I would also miss going on adventures with Link.
“We won’t let him stop us,” Link said to Ruto. “We’ve come all this way.”
“You were also cute like that,” Ruto said to him and winked. “Speaking of cute, where did my sapphire go? I probably won’t need it since I’m dead and all, however.”
I looked at Link and sighed. “Princess,” I said, “Ganondorf had come after Link and I before we entered the room to pull our swords. I needed to remove a stone, so I removed it with my lightning powers and the door shut right on top of it. So, the stone was shattered.”
Ruto looked at the ground and her brow was wrinkled. I didn’t know what to say to her. That stone was a Zora heirloom and I destroyed it.
“I suppose it was time for that thing to retire, anyway,” Ruto said, but she didn’t seem too happy about it. “Once Ganondorf is defeated, those stones shouldn’t need to be used ever again.”
“I’m terribly sorry about it, Ruto,” I said. “I know that I promised you that I would return it.”
“No, it’s fine, really,” she said. “What we need to focus on is getting Hyrule back to the right time. If anything, I’m the one that owes you something, and indeed I do.”
“The medallion?” Link asked
“Yes, the medallion,” Ruto said and she extended her arms up in the air. A shining light appeared and from it came a blue medallion. “Here is my power, in the form of the Water Medallion. Use it well and please, do not lose or break it.”
“We won’t break it,” I said and the medallion floated to the palms of my hands. I held it and saw what seemed to be the Zora’s Sapphire carved in it. “Thank you.”
“Now, you two need to get to my domain as soon as you can,” Ruto said. “I’m afraid that there’s still more to be done to restore my people. I will send you straight to the domain from here. Please try and figure out what needs to be done further.”
Before I could say anything, I felt my body become weightless. I felt my feet leave the ground and my body begin to float. A light blinded my eyes and the last thing I heard was this:
“By the way, Link, I’ll take you up for that marriage proposal any day, whether I have the Zora’s Sapphire or not.”
My eyes were shut tight as I felt my feet touch some sort of surface. Even though my eyes were closed, I knew where I was. There was a cold breeze that made my skin tingle, so I knew I was in Zora’s Domain. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the domain was still completely frozen. Like Ruto said, something was still wrong, but no one knew.
Link was right beside me when we landed. He looked out and then looked at me. “I guess we’ll have to do some investigating,” he said.
“What’s there to investigate?” I said. “I mean, look at this place. It’s frozen solid. There will be no clues here.”
“I’m sure there is somewhere,” Link said with a small smile. “I mean, last time we were here, we went straight to King Zora, rather than look around. Maybe we overlooked something.”
“We might have,” I said, “but I doubt it. There’s nothing here.”
Link shrugged and started to walk anyway. I began to walk and almost fell on my ass since the Domain still had ice on it. It was no surprise since Princess Ruto put us right in the middle of the water, or at least what used to be water. I played it off the best I could, despite the fact that Link wasn’t looking anyway.
I immediately made my way over to solid ground, where Link was. We went through a small space and around the bend was a huge block of red ice.
“Hey, I didn’t see that before,” Link said. “How about you let out Coffee Bean?”
I reached for my belt and grabbed her Pokeball and threw it, however the ball just opened and then closed; dropping to the ground. “Wait a second,” I said, “remember, we left Lux and Coffee Bean behind before we entered the Water Temple. They’re not here.”
Link walked closer to the block of ice and leaned on it. “Don’t you have Pasta with you?” Link asked. “I’m sure he can do something.”
“I can try,” I replied as I walked over to get Coffee Bean’s Pokeball. When I put her ball safely on my belt, I reach beside it and retrieved Pasta’s ball. I tossed it and Pasta came out.
“Charizard,” he said sternly. I assumed he was angry for me keeping him cooped up in that ball the whole time.
“Sorry, Pasta,” I said, “but we need your help right now. Do you think you can melt this ice for us?”
“Char,” Pasta said and he walked over to the ice and Link moved away as quickly as possible. Pasta inhaled a lot of oxygen and then fire came blasting from his mouth. The red flames engulfed the ice, but it didn’t work. The ice was still blocking our way.
“What’s behind here, anyway?” I said. I got close to the ice and tried to look through it. I saw an opening to something and stuck on the left side was a sign; frozen in time. Zora’s Shop, I read aloud in my mind. “Hey Link, there’s a shop behind here, I think.”
“Is there now?” Link said. “Here, I’ll go and talk to King Zora and see if he has anything to melt this ice.”
“Alright, I’ll stay here,” I said and brought my attention back to the red ice in front of me. I tapped it and felt no bitterness of cold on my knuckle. All I knew was that I really needed Coffee Bean.
What I didn’t know was that Link, King Zora, and I weren’t the only ones in Zora Domain. There were actually three other people, and two of those people were walking towards me. One of them said something, and its voice was that of Link’s.
“Ashley, are you sure that’s removable?” the Link voiced person asked.
“Well, yeah,” I said. “You’re back from talking to King Zora already?” And as I said this, I turned to see a person and a blade in high in the air, coming at me. I quickly drew my sword and our blades clashed. I looked at this individual and realized that something was terribly wrong, but I didn’t have enough time to think about that. This person was extremely skilled at fighting and our blades met several times before he did a somersault backwards and stood beside a man I did recognize.
“Leon,” I snapped. He was standing there with a smirk on his face and his nose in the air. His rapier was sheathed.
“Why yes, I’m so glad someone as noble as you remembered my name,” Leon said. “It makes me feel all giddy, you know?”
As he spoke, I looked at the person who attacked me. They wore black clothing similar to Link’s and in fact, his face looked just like Link’s, but the skin tone was a little darker. His eyes were completely red as well and his hair was styled as Link’s, but was a dark grey color. The sword he wielded was a replica of the Master Sword, but the blade was made of black metal and, starting at the hilt and ending at the middle of the blade, a red line was present. The shield he held in his right hand was also similar to the Hylian Shield, except the blue was a dark purple and the Triforce was completely black.
“So, who’s this loser?” I asked cockily, even though I was scared to death of him.
“This is Dark Link, you’re new best friend,” Leon said with a smile.
“Dark Link, huh? You could have thought of a better name than that.” I smirked at Leon and then said, “How did my friend Ganondorf come up with this guy?”
“Oh, it didn’t take long,” Leon said. “He just needed something from you and Link that would provide your DNA. Then, all he needed to do was extract the purity and soul from your DNA and make a clone of you and Link. Thus, your dark forms are created. Yours was a bit easier to create, seeing as you already have dark matter in your DNA.”
“Wait,” I thought for a second, “where’s Dark Ashley?”
“Oh, yes, I forgot all about her. Let’s just say she’s paying your friend Link a visit right now.”
Oh shit, I thought and I tried to run through them, but Dark Link blocked me from doing so.
“Where do you think you’re going,” Dark Link said with a smile.
“Link, play with her a little while,” Leon said and he turned around. “I’ll go and see how Ashley is doing.”
Thus, it was just Dark Link and I. He had backed up a little and stopped to look at me. “I hope that you’re aware that you cannot beat me,” Dark Link said.
“I beg to differ there,” I said. “You’re not as badass as you look, I’m sure.”
“What do you mean?” Dark Link snapped.
“First of all, if you’re a ‘clone’ of Link, I’ll have you know I’m a better swordsman than him,” I said. “Second of all, being as you are a clone of my dear friend Link, I also know your weaknesses. Unfortunately for you, I think I’m on the winning side here.”
“As that is true,” Dark Link said, “I would like to say that Ganondorf has added a little more to our skill. You think him of a fool?”
“You obviously speak better than Link, I suppose,” I said. “But anyway, yes, ‘I think him of a fool.’”
“Lord Ganon could defeat you any day.”
“Lord Ganon can kiss my white ass.”
“Don’t speak that way about him,” Dark Link shouted and he came at me with his sword. He was quick, but I was quicker. I was able to reflect his blade and come at him myself. His damn shield was my only problem as he would push it forward when my blade hit it, to create an opening for him. I was slashed several times, but it was nothing too deep.
Dark Link did a quick jab to my right side, but I blocked it with my own blade and, from the pressure, I used it to pivot around Dark Link and get to his backside. From there I jumped on him, like I was getting a piggy back ride. While I was on Dark Link’s back, I decided that my shield had to be good for something. I quickly grabbed the handle of my shield with my left hand and began to bash Dark Link’s head with the armored side. Dark Link began to move his body wildly to try and get me off, but I was able to hold on. For my final hit to him, I surged electricity through his body and kicked off him at once.
When I landed on the ground, I immediately threw my shield aside. I couldn’t take the chance of leaving myself open while putting my shield back on. I rushed towards Dark Link who seemed a little out of it since I bashed him on the head several times, but he was able to think quickly nonetheless. It seemed that he turned into a shadow and went under me because, in just a split second, I felt his cold, black blade pressed against my throat.
“Now, I’m interested in knowing how you’ll get out of this one, Ms. Brandt,” Dark Link whispered in my ear as he took my sword from my own hands and flung it across the room. I heard my blade hit the cold ground behind me.
“So am I,” I replied back to Dark Link. I wasn’t sure at all how I would escape him, especially if I had a blade to my throat. I had no idea where regular Link was, or where my dark side, but I was beginning to think I was in a galaxy far, far away, rather than Hyrule.
“I’m rather disappointed,” Dark Link said. “I thought you would be more challenging than you are. At least, that’s what Leon told me.”
“Well, I’m honored that Leon thinks that way,” I said sarcastically and then I felt Dark Link put more pressure on my throat with his blade.
“Now, what to do? Should I kill you, or spare you?”
“Whatever you wish to think is right, I’ll support it,” I said. I was terribly afraid of gulping or moving my head because Dark Link’s blade seemed cold and sharp against my throat.
“Well, I wish you would hold your tongue, you stupid girl,” Dark Link said. “You’re very rude. There was a short pause, but I then felt his hand on under my chin. “However, I do love a girl with a sharp tongue.”
I felt disgusted, but I didn’t squirm. “Sorry, you’re not my type,” I snapped at him.
“That hurts, Ms. Brandt, it really does,” Dark Link whispered. “I’m a bit disappointed, actually. I thought girls like you would go for the bad boys like me.”
“Girls like me go for boys that fight for what’s right,” I said, “not for some asshole who makes himself king by tricking the public.”
“You were born to break the hearts of men, Ms. Brandt.”
“Well, I don’t know about that one, but if you start to fight for a good cause, then maybe we’ll talk.”
“Unfortunately for you,” Dark Link said and I felt his blade put more pressure on my throat, “I can’t let you control my job.”
I began to sweat and nervously said, “Yeah…that’s something you can’t let happen.” I shut my eyes tight and prepared to have my neck slit open, but instead I heard a voice; a female voice.
“I thought we had a deal, Link,” this voice said and I opened my eyes to only see myself, but with darker skin, black clothes, red eyes, and grey hair. “I thought that I would get to take on myself, and you would get to take on yourself.”
“Yes, we did have a deal,” Dark Link said to the Dark Ashley, “however, I suppose that I just got too carried away. Your lighter side is a rather…challenging opponent.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for your lighter side,” the Dark me said and she used a bolt of lightning to wrap it around the limp, unconscious body of Link. She slammed him unto the hard ground and I saw that he was bleeding profusely.
“Link,” I shouted and tried to move to get to him, but Dark Link kept a hold of me. He sheathed his sword quickly and then grabbed both of my arms. I squirmed around to try and make him let go, but it was a loss and I fell on my knees.
“This is a rather disgusting sight…” said the Dark me and she curled her upper lip in disgust. I looked into her eyes, but she tried to avoid eye contact.
“Who do you two think you are?” I shouted at them both, keeping my eyes locked on Dark me.
Dark Ash looked straight at me, her bloody red eyes piercing through mine. She walked up to me and looked down upon me. “I am you,” she snapped, “the better you. I’m someone that you can be easily, seeing as the thirst for power runs through your veins, but you choose to ignore it and focus on the courage and wisdom you have.”
“What are you talking about?” I said harshly.
“You don’t know?” she said to me. “After all this time, you haven’t taken the hint? Fortunately, Lord Dragmire was able to keep me from having the insane amount of stupidity that you seem to possess. Maybe you’re not focusing on wisdom; you’re barely focusing on anything, for that matter.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said and sighed. I felt that all hope was lost, but then I remembered something. If Dark Link was like my Link, he had something I didn’t have. So, I looked at the ground and concentrated on my body and I felt electricity begin to build up in my chest. I had never let my power surge through my body and it hurt like total hell. I concentrated as much as I could through the pain and, in one burst of energy, electricity discharged from my body and hit everyone around me; even myself.
Dark Link let go of me as he flew backwards while Link, who was still unconscious, stayed in one spot. He would probably feel the pain when he woke up. I was shaking in pain, which came as a total surprise. Usually, any type of electrical energy didn’t affect me, but this time it did. I stood up slowly and waited for some of the sparks to clear and saw Dark me standing there, holding what seemed to be my electrical power. The difference between her power and mine was that her bolts of lightning were a dark purple and mine were a light blue. I watched as my power intermixed with hers.
“Desperate attempts like that will only lead to a horrible death,” Dark me said and she glared at me. “I can’t believe that I was molded after a fool like you.” She held out the palm that was holding her power and mine and released it towards me. I rolled out of the way as quickly as possible and, to my fortune, I rolled right by my sword. I picked it up and came at Dark me.
She thought extremely quick and unsheathed her own sword. I jumped in the air to try to pounce on her, but she threw a ball of dark purple electricity at me and I flew backwards. I felt my body hit the ice as it slid back towards the wall. I got up as cautiously as I could since the ice was extremely thick. I looked at where Dark Ash was, but she was gone. Unbeknownst to me, she was behind me as a shadow. I felt a blade slide across my back, like a long, thin paper cut.
I turned around quickly, almost falling on my ass, and I started to wildly fling my sword, with hopes of getting some sort of slice in. I failed miserably as Dark Ashley blocked all of my attacks with her blade. I became tired, but I still tried to do something, but Dark me just yawned as she blocked everything I threw at her and, with one quick swoop, she used her power to knock me back. This time, I landed on the ground by Link who was still down. I couldn’t see Dark Link anywhere.
Dark Ash walked up to me with her sword still drawn. “You’re barely as much of a challenge as I thought you would be,” she said and she looked at her blade and held it in her palm. “It’s a shame that you don’t realize how much power you really hold. If you would just let Lord Dragmire teach you how to harness that power…you could be a great fighter.”
“I’m not fighting for that fiend,” I thundered and my voice echoed and bounced off the walls. “I fight for good, not evil, and it will always be that way.”
Dark me just looked towards me with her eyes and smirked. “I know you, Ms. Brandt; after all, you’re just like me. One day, you will give in. One day you will give in and make this world your own. People will suffer of course, but you won’t care, because this world will be yours. Just think: A World of Your Own where everyone goes by your rules.
“A world of my own,” I shouted at her and stood up, “will be a world where the laws and rights of people will be upheld. My world will be a world where everyone fights to protect everyone from scum like you and that lord of yours. My world will-“
And before I could continue, Dark me threw a ball of electricity at me, which surged through my body and caused me to fall to the ground.
“This talk of ‘your world’ is rather ridiculous,” I heard a voice behind me say and it sounded like Leon Sorel. “Who are you, Ms. Brandt, my baby brother? This world is under the control of those who have the most power. Unfortunately, the likes of you will never take advantage of the power you hold. I’m very disappointed in you. Realize your place in this world, Ms. Brandt, and leave the leading to people like Ganondorf, Shannon, and I. Now, to be honest, I’m quite annoyed. Dark Link, Dark Ashley, let us go. We have other things to attend to.”
I stayed on the ground and I could still feel the electricity of Dark Ashley surging through my body. I couldn’t move; I was paralyzed. I was aware of what people were saying, so I was able to see Dark me lean down and say some last words.
“If you want to challenge me again, go to the desert,” she said. “I’ll be protecting the Spirit Temple from the likes of you.” Then I saw her stand and heard her footsteps as she walked away. I closed my eyes and waited for the electricity in my body to wear off, which took a little while. I slowly stood up and touched my back, which was still stinging from that slice. I looked at my hand and saw blood and immediately wiped it on my blue tunic. I looked back at Link who was in the same spot as before, but he was still unconscious.
“I can see you two have had great difficulty fighting yourselves,” I heard a voice say and I turned around to see Sheik. “I was afraid that this would befall you.”
“What do we do, Sheik?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, you will both need to defeat yourselves,” Sheik said and he walked towards Link and put his hand on his forehead. Link’s eyes opened slowly as Sheik looked down on him. “Looks like you’re coming around.”
Sheik helped Link stand and even after he regained his footing, Link and to slouch and hold his side. He looked like he was in terrible pain.
“Ganondorf isn’t a fool,” Sheik said sternly. “He knows that you only need to awaken two more sages, and then his time will come to defeat you. Therefore, I’m afraid that he has taken action. The last two temples will be guarded by Dark Link and Dark Ashley. Dark Link will be in the Shadow Temple and Dark Ashley will be in the Spirit Temple.”
“So, we just go to each and defeat them?” I said. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Unfortunately, you two will have to split up,” Sheik said. “Link, and only Link, will be able to gain entrance to the Shadow Temple. Link, you do have shadow in your soul, a depressing shadow that was created by missing a mother from your life. You must fight that shadow and take it on by yourself. Your grief and loss is how Dark Link was created.”
I looked over at Link who looked ill and he listened to Sheik intently.
“What about me?” I said, but I regretted saying anything. It wasn’t that I wanted to avoid facing Dark Ashley in battle; it was that I wanted to avoid what was really inside of me.
“You are a bit more…difficult, Ash,” Sheik said to me and he looked at the ground. “Unlike Link, you have a lot of pain, and bitter pain at that, in your soul. Dark Ashley is made up from that pain and releases it in a way that I hope you will never follow. The only reason that you are unlike her is that you also have a lot of spirit in you. Albeit, it’s rather foolish ambition, but you never give up. But unfortunately, neither does she. To defeat yourself, you will need a different weapon than the Master Sword you have there. The only way to effectively defeat yourself is to fight with a weapon that your dark side doesn’t have.”
“Then what will I need?” I asked.
“In Gerudo Valley, there lives a man who is named Edge Master,” Sheik said. “He is a powerful man who has the ability to travel from dimension to dimension. One of the ways he follows is that of the Ling-Sheng Su Temple, which is located in another dimension. That temple trains their students to wield the weapon called the staff. Edge Master has trained many students there and he has come here. He claims that he received a distress call from someone, but I don’t know who that would be. Anyway, you need to go to the Gerudo Fortress, where he is staying and teaching his weapon skills to other Gerudo. There you will receive your new weapon, which is key to defeating Dark Ashley.”
I nodded and realized that I had a little more to take on than Link. It seemed like my soul was a bit more complex than Link’s, but I needed to conquer it, especially the dark side of it.
“Now, I must leave,” Sheik said. “Just remember that you are almost done and Ganondorf will soon have his fate sealed. Don’t let me down, you two. Things might seem confusing, but it will all become apparent in the end.”
And, with that said, Sheik threw a ball, which made me blinded for a couple of seconds. It was when I got my sight back that I noticed that Lux and Coffee Bean were now in the domain.
I looked over at Link and said, “So, I suppose that we shall part ways?”
Link looked over at me in pain, so I took out a bottle, which had a red potion inside, and he drank it. Though his wounds didn’t disappear, he seemed to feel better as he stood up straight. “Thank you,” he said to me and I looked at his eyes. Was his soul really in that much grief? Back at home, I had a mother and a father, but it was miserable living in my household. I couldn’t image how bad it would be without having them. “Now, I guess we need to split up.”
I nodded at Link and said, “Well, I will go to the Gerudo Valley and you will go to the graveyard in Kakariko, correct?”
“Yes,” Link said and he began to walk away. He seemed a little more serious than I did. I just watched him walk away, but he did turn around. “Ashley,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Good luck.”
“Yes, same to you.”
And thus, dear reader, we parted ways, to fight the darkness that lied within ourselves.
I opened my eyes slowly to see Princess Ruto standing in front of me. Link was on my left side. Ruto wasn’t smiling at all.
“I can’t believe that I was eaten by that shark,” Ruto said sharply to herself. “Why didn’t one of you help me?”
“Uh, you were long gone,” I said. “There was absolutely nothing that Link and I could do.”
“Well, whatever,” Princess Ruto said in a mean tone. “Anyway, I’m just glad that the lake will be back to normal soon.”
“And the domain will be thawed, right?” Link asked.
“There’s a little more to that scenario than you think,” Ruto said. “Filling the lake back up didn’t help. I don’t even know what to do right now.”
“That’s weird,” I said and began to think, but I couldn’t come up with anything. The domain was still completely frozen, even though we killed the lake monster. Ganondorf must have created a monster separate for the domain. But, why was there nothing around when Link and I went the other day?
“I suggest that you two go to Zora’s Domain again and check on my father,” Ruto said quietly. “I’m very worried. I think something’s very wrong over there…”
I nodded and said, “Rest assured, we’ll thaw the domain and restore the Zora people. Ganondorf must have laid down another curse.”
“Well, be careful, if you will,” Ruto said with a smile. “I’m just very worried. You two should be getting to the end of your journey and Ganondorf is going to become harsher as time goes on.”
She was right. Link and I only needed two more medallions and we would have enough power to take on Ganondorf. It made me relieved, but at the same time depressed. I would miss this lifestyle, even if it did leave me tired and hungry. I would also miss going on adventures with Link.
“We won’t let him stop us,” Link said to Ruto. “We’ve come all this way.”
“You were also cute like that,” Ruto said to him and winked. “Speaking of cute, where did my sapphire go? I probably won’t need it since I’m dead and all, however.”
I looked at Link and sighed. “Princess,” I said, “Ganondorf had come after Link and I before we entered the room to pull our swords. I needed to remove a stone, so I removed it with my lightning powers and the door shut right on top of it. So, the stone was shattered.”
Ruto looked at the ground and her brow was wrinkled. I didn’t know what to say to her. That stone was a Zora heirloom and I destroyed it.
“I suppose it was time for that thing to retire, anyway,” Ruto said, but she didn’t seem too happy about it. “Once Ganondorf is defeated, those stones shouldn’t need to be used ever again.”
“I’m terribly sorry about it, Ruto,” I said. “I know that I promised you that I would return it.”
“No, it’s fine, really,” she said. “What we need to focus on is getting Hyrule back to the right time. If anything, I’m the one that owes you something, and indeed I do.”
“The medallion?” Link asked
“Yes, the medallion,” Ruto said and she extended her arms up in the air. A shining light appeared and from it came a blue medallion. “Here is my power, in the form of the Water Medallion. Use it well and please, do not lose or break it.”
“We won’t break it,” I said and the medallion floated to the palms of my hands. I held it and saw what seemed to be the Zora’s Sapphire carved in it. “Thank you.”
“Now, you two need to get to my domain as soon as you can,” Ruto said. “I’m afraid that there’s still more to be done to restore my people. I will send you straight to the domain from here. Please try and figure out what needs to be done further.”
Before I could say anything, I felt my body become weightless. I felt my feet leave the ground and my body begin to float. A light blinded my eyes and the last thing I heard was this:
“By the way, Link, I’ll take you up for that marriage proposal any day, whether I have the Zora’s Sapphire or not.”
My eyes were shut tight as I felt my feet touch some sort of surface. Even though my eyes were closed, I knew where I was. There was a cold breeze that made my skin tingle, so I knew I was in Zora’s Domain. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the domain was still completely frozen. Like Ruto said, something was still wrong, but no one knew.
Link was right beside me when we landed. He looked out and then looked at me. “I guess we’ll have to do some investigating,” he said.
“What’s there to investigate?” I said. “I mean, look at this place. It’s frozen solid. There will be no clues here.”
“I’m sure there is somewhere,” Link said with a small smile. “I mean, last time we were here, we went straight to King Zora, rather than look around. Maybe we overlooked something.”
“We might have,” I said, “but I doubt it. There’s nothing here.”
Link shrugged and started to walk anyway. I began to walk and almost fell on my ass since the Domain still had ice on it. It was no surprise since Princess Ruto put us right in the middle of the water, or at least what used to be water. I played it off the best I could, despite the fact that Link wasn’t looking anyway.
I immediately made my way over to solid ground, where Link was. We went through a small space and around the bend was a huge block of red ice.
“Hey, I didn’t see that before,” Link said. “How about you let out Coffee Bean?”
I reached for my belt and grabbed her Pokeball and threw it, however the ball just opened and then closed; dropping to the ground. “Wait a second,” I said, “remember, we left Lux and Coffee Bean behind before we entered the Water Temple. They’re not here.”
Link walked closer to the block of ice and leaned on it. “Don’t you have Pasta with you?” Link asked. “I’m sure he can do something.”
“I can try,” I replied as I walked over to get Coffee Bean’s Pokeball. When I put her ball safely on my belt, I reach beside it and retrieved Pasta’s ball. I tossed it and Pasta came out.
“Charizard,” he said sternly. I assumed he was angry for me keeping him cooped up in that ball the whole time.
“Sorry, Pasta,” I said, “but we need your help right now. Do you think you can melt this ice for us?”
“Char,” Pasta said and he walked over to the ice and Link moved away as quickly as possible. Pasta inhaled a lot of oxygen and then fire came blasting from his mouth. The red flames engulfed the ice, but it didn’t work. The ice was still blocking our way.
“What’s behind here, anyway?” I said. I got close to the ice and tried to look through it. I saw an opening to something and stuck on the left side was a sign; frozen in time. Zora’s Shop, I read aloud in my mind. “Hey Link, there’s a shop behind here, I think.”
“Is there now?” Link said. “Here, I’ll go and talk to King Zora and see if he has anything to melt this ice.”
“Alright, I’ll stay here,” I said and brought my attention back to the red ice in front of me. I tapped it and felt no bitterness of cold on my knuckle. All I knew was that I really needed Coffee Bean.
What I didn’t know was that Link, King Zora, and I weren’t the only ones in Zora Domain. There were actually three other people, and two of those people were walking towards me. One of them said something, and its voice was that of Link’s.
“Ashley, are you sure that’s removable?” the Link voiced person asked.
“Well, yeah,” I said. “You’re back from talking to King Zora already?” And as I said this, I turned to see a person and a blade in high in the air, coming at me. I quickly drew my sword and our blades clashed. I looked at this individual and realized that something was terribly wrong, but I didn’t have enough time to think about that. This person was extremely skilled at fighting and our blades met several times before he did a somersault backwards and stood beside a man I did recognize.
“Leon,” I snapped. He was standing there with a smirk on his face and his nose in the air. His rapier was sheathed.
“Why yes, I’m so glad someone as noble as you remembered my name,” Leon said. “It makes me feel all giddy, you know?”
As he spoke, I looked at the person who attacked me. They wore black clothing similar to Link’s and in fact, his face looked just like Link’s, but the skin tone was a little darker. His eyes were completely red as well and his hair was styled as Link’s, but was a dark grey color. The sword he wielded was a replica of the Master Sword, but the blade was made of black metal and, starting at the hilt and ending at the middle of the blade, a red line was present. The shield he held in his right hand was also similar to the Hylian Shield, except the blue was a dark purple and the Triforce was completely black.
“So, who’s this loser?” I asked cockily, even though I was scared to death of him.
“This is Dark Link, you’re new best friend,” Leon said with a smile.
“Dark Link, huh? You could have thought of a better name than that.” I smirked at Leon and then said, “How did my friend Ganondorf come up with this guy?”
“Oh, it didn’t take long,” Leon said. “He just needed something from you and Link that would provide your DNA. Then, all he needed to do was extract the purity and soul from your DNA and make a clone of you and Link. Thus, your dark forms are created. Yours was a bit easier to create, seeing as you already have dark matter in your DNA.”
“Wait,” I thought for a second, “where’s Dark Ashley?”
“Oh, yes, I forgot all about her. Let’s just say she’s paying your friend Link a visit right now.”
Oh shit, I thought and I tried to run through them, but Dark Link blocked me from doing so.
“Where do you think you’re going,” Dark Link said with a smile.
“Link, play with her a little while,” Leon said and he turned around. “I’ll go and see how Ashley is doing.”
Thus, it was just Dark Link and I. He had backed up a little and stopped to look at me. “I hope that you’re aware that you cannot beat me,” Dark Link said.
“I beg to differ there,” I said. “You’re not as badass as you look, I’m sure.”
“What do you mean?” Dark Link snapped.
“First of all, if you’re a ‘clone’ of Link, I’ll have you know I’m a better swordsman than him,” I said. “Second of all, being as you are a clone of my dear friend Link, I also know your weaknesses. Unfortunately for you, I think I’m on the winning side here.”
“As that is true,” Dark Link said, “I would like to say that Ganondorf has added a little more to our skill. You think him of a fool?”
“You obviously speak better than Link, I suppose,” I said. “But anyway, yes, ‘I think him of a fool.’”
“Lord Ganon could defeat you any day.”
“Lord Ganon can kiss my white ass.”
“Don’t speak that way about him,” Dark Link shouted and he came at me with his sword. He was quick, but I was quicker. I was able to reflect his blade and come at him myself. His damn shield was my only problem as he would push it forward when my blade hit it, to create an opening for him. I was slashed several times, but it was nothing too deep.
Dark Link did a quick jab to my right side, but I blocked it with my own blade and, from the pressure, I used it to pivot around Dark Link and get to his backside. From there I jumped on him, like I was getting a piggy back ride. While I was on Dark Link’s back, I decided that my shield had to be good for something. I quickly grabbed the handle of my shield with my left hand and began to bash Dark Link’s head with the armored side. Dark Link began to move his body wildly to try and get me off, but I was able to hold on. For my final hit to him, I surged electricity through his body and kicked off him at once.
When I landed on the ground, I immediately threw my shield aside. I couldn’t take the chance of leaving myself open while putting my shield back on. I rushed towards Dark Link who seemed a little out of it since I bashed him on the head several times, but he was able to think quickly nonetheless. It seemed that he turned into a shadow and went under me because, in just a split second, I felt his cold, black blade pressed against my throat.
“Now, I’m interested in knowing how you’ll get out of this one, Ms. Brandt,” Dark Link whispered in my ear as he took my sword from my own hands and flung it across the room. I heard my blade hit the cold ground behind me.
“So am I,” I replied back to Dark Link. I wasn’t sure at all how I would escape him, especially if I had a blade to my throat. I had no idea where regular Link was, or where my dark side, but I was beginning to think I was in a galaxy far, far away, rather than Hyrule.
“I’m rather disappointed,” Dark Link said. “I thought you would be more challenging than you are. At least, that’s what Leon told me.”
“Well, I’m honored that Leon thinks that way,” I said sarcastically and then I felt Dark Link put more pressure on my throat with his blade.
“Now, what to do? Should I kill you, or spare you?”
“Whatever you wish to think is right, I’ll support it,” I said. I was terribly afraid of gulping or moving my head because Dark Link’s blade seemed cold and sharp against my throat.
“Well, I wish you would hold your tongue, you stupid girl,” Dark Link said. “You’re very rude. There was a short pause, but I then felt his hand on under my chin. “However, I do love a girl with a sharp tongue.”
I felt disgusted, but I didn’t squirm. “Sorry, you’re not my type,” I snapped at him.
“That hurts, Ms. Brandt, it really does,” Dark Link whispered. “I’m a bit disappointed, actually. I thought girls like you would go for the bad boys like me.”
“Girls like me go for boys that fight for what’s right,” I said, “not for some asshole who makes himself king by tricking the public.”
“You were born to break the hearts of men, Ms. Brandt.”
“Well, I don’t know about that one, but if you start to fight for a good cause, then maybe we’ll talk.”
“Unfortunately for you,” Dark Link said and I felt his blade put more pressure on my throat, “I can’t let you control my job.”
I began to sweat and nervously said, “Yeah…that’s something you can’t let happen.” I shut my eyes tight and prepared to have my neck slit open, but instead I heard a voice; a female voice.
“I thought we had a deal, Link,” this voice said and I opened my eyes to only see myself, but with darker skin, black clothes, red eyes, and grey hair. “I thought that I would get to take on myself, and you would get to take on yourself.”
“Yes, we did have a deal,” Dark Link said to the Dark Ashley, “however, I suppose that I just got too carried away. Your lighter side is a rather…challenging opponent.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for your lighter side,” the Dark me said and she used a bolt of lightning to wrap it around the limp, unconscious body of Link. She slammed him unto the hard ground and I saw that he was bleeding profusely.
“Link,” I shouted and tried to move to get to him, but Dark Link kept a hold of me. He sheathed his sword quickly and then grabbed both of my arms. I squirmed around to try and make him let go, but it was a loss and I fell on my knees.
“This is a rather disgusting sight…” said the Dark me and she curled her upper lip in disgust. I looked into her eyes, but she tried to avoid eye contact.
“Who do you two think you are?” I shouted at them both, keeping my eyes locked on Dark me.
Dark Ash looked straight at me, her bloody red eyes piercing through mine. She walked up to me and looked down upon me. “I am you,” she snapped, “the better you. I’m someone that you can be easily, seeing as the thirst for power runs through your veins, but you choose to ignore it and focus on the courage and wisdom you have.”
“What are you talking about?” I said harshly.
“You don’t know?” she said to me. “After all this time, you haven’t taken the hint? Fortunately, Lord Dragmire was able to keep me from having the insane amount of stupidity that you seem to possess. Maybe you’re not focusing on wisdom; you’re barely focusing on anything, for that matter.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said and sighed. I felt that all hope was lost, but then I remembered something. If Dark Link was like my Link, he had something I didn’t have. So, I looked at the ground and concentrated on my body and I felt electricity begin to build up in my chest. I had never let my power surge through my body and it hurt like total hell. I concentrated as much as I could through the pain and, in one burst of energy, electricity discharged from my body and hit everyone around me; even myself.
Dark Link let go of me as he flew backwards while Link, who was still unconscious, stayed in one spot. He would probably feel the pain when he woke up. I was shaking in pain, which came as a total surprise. Usually, any type of electrical energy didn’t affect me, but this time it did. I stood up slowly and waited for some of the sparks to clear and saw Dark me standing there, holding what seemed to be my electrical power. The difference between her power and mine was that her bolts of lightning were a dark purple and mine were a light blue. I watched as my power intermixed with hers.
“Desperate attempts like that will only lead to a horrible death,” Dark me said and she glared at me. “I can’t believe that I was molded after a fool like you.” She held out the palm that was holding her power and mine and released it towards me. I rolled out of the way as quickly as possible and, to my fortune, I rolled right by my sword. I picked it up and came at Dark me.
She thought extremely quick and unsheathed her own sword. I jumped in the air to try to pounce on her, but she threw a ball of dark purple electricity at me and I flew backwards. I felt my body hit the ice as it slid back towards the wall. I got up as cautiously as I could since the ice was extremely thick. I looked at where Dark Ash was, but she was gone. Unbeknownst to me, she was behind me as a shadow. I felt a blade slide across my back, like a long, thin paper cut.
I turned around quickly, almost falling on my ass, and I started to wildly fling my sword, with hopes of getting some sort of slice in. I failed miserably as Dark Ashley blocked all of my attacks with her blade. I became tired, but I still tried to do something, but Dark me just yawned as she blocked everything I threw at her and, with one quick swoop, she used her power to knock me back. This time, I landed on the ground by Link who was still down. I couldn’t see Dark Link anywhere.
Dark Ash walked up to me with her sword still drawn. “You’re barely as much of a challenge as I thought you would be,” she said and she looked at her blade and held it in her palm. “It’s a shame that you don’t realize how much power you really hold. If you would just let Lord Dragmire teach you how to harness that power…you could be a great fighter.”
“I’m not fighting for that fiend,” I thundered and my voice echoed and bounced off the walls. “I fight for good, not evil, and it will always be that way.”
Dark me just looked towards me with her eyes and smirked. “I know you, Ms. Brandt; after all, you’re just like me. One day, you will give in. One day you will give in and make this world your own. People will suffer of course, but you won’t care, because this world will be yours. Just think: A World of Your Own where everyone goes by your rules.
“A world of my own,” I shouted at her and stood up, “will be a world where the laws and rights of people will be upheld. My world will be a world where everyone fights to protect everyone from scum like you and that lord of yours. My world will-“
And before I could continue, Dark me threw a ball of electricity at me, which surged through my body and caused me to fall to the ground.
“This talk of ‘your world’ is rather ridiculous,” I heard a voice behind me say and it sounded like Leon Sorel. “Who are you, Ms. Brandt, my baby brother? This world is under the control of those who have the most power. Unfortunately, the likes of you will never take advantage of the power you hold. I’m very disappointed in you. Realize your place in this world, Ms. Brandt, and leave the leading to people like Ganondorf, Shannon, and I. Now, to be honest, I’m quite annoyed. Dark Link, Dark Ashley, let us go. We have other things to attend to.”
I stayed on the ground and I could still feel the electricity of Dark Ashley surging through my body. I couldn’t move; I was paralyzed. I was aware of what people were saying, so I was able to see Dark me lean down and say some last words.
“If you want to challenge me again, go to the desert,” she said. “I’ll be protecting the Spirit Temple from the likes of you.” Then I saw her stand and heard her footsteps as she walked away. I closed my eyes and waited for the electricity in my body to wear off, which took a little while. I slowly stood up and touched my back, which was still stinging from that slice. I looked at my hand and saw blood and immediately wiped it on my blue tunic. I looked back at Link who was in the same spot as before, but he was still unconscious.
“I can see you two have had great difficulty fighting yourselves,” I heard a voice say and I turned around to see Sheik. “I was afraid that this would befall you.”
“What do we do, Sheik?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, you will both need to defeat yourselves,” Sheik said and he walked towards Link and put his hand on his forehead. Link’s eyes opened slowly as Sheik looked down on him. “Looks like you’re coming around.”
Sheik helped Link stand and even after he regained his footing, Link and to slouch and hold his side. He looked like he was in terrible pain.
“Ganondorf isn’t a fool,” Sheik said sternly. “He knows that you only need to awaken two more sages, and then his time will come to defeat you. Therefore, I’m afraid that he has taken action. The last two temples will be guarded by Dark Link and Dark Ashley. Dark Link will be in the Shadow Temple and Dark Ashley will be in the Spirit Temple.”
“So, we just go to each and defeat them?” I said. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Unfortunately, you two will have to split up,” Sheik said. “Link, and only Link, will be able to gain entrance to the Shadow Temple. Link, you do have shadow in your soul, a depressing shadow that was created by missing a mother from your life. You must fight that shadow and take it on by yourself. Your grief and loss is how Dark Link was created.”
I looked over at Link who looked ill and he listened to Sheik intently.
“What about me?” I said, but I regretted saying anything. It wasn’t that I wanted to avoid facing Dark Ashley in battle; it was that I wanted to avoid what was really inside of me.
“You are a bit more…difficult, Ash,” Sheik said to me and he looked at the ground. “Unlike Link, you have a lot of pain, and bitter pain at that, in your soul. Dark Ashley is made up from that pain and releases it in a way that I hope you will never follow. The only reason that you are unlike her is that you also have a lot of spirit in you. Albeit, it’s rather foolish ambition, but you never give up. But unfortunately, neither does she. To defeat yourself, you will need a different weapon than the Master Sword you have there. The only way to effectively defeat yourself is to fight with a weapon that your dark side doesn’t have.”
“Then what will I need?” I asked.
“In Gerudo Valley, there lives a man who is named Edge Master,” Sheik said. “He is a powerful man who has the ability to travel from dimension to dimension. One of the ways he follows is that of the Ling-Sheng Su Temple, which is located in another dimension. That temple trains their students to wield the weapon called the staff. Edge Master has trained many students there and he has come here. He claims that he received a distress call from someone, but I don’t know who that would be. Anyway, you need to go to the Gerudo Fortress, where he is staying and teaching his weapon skills to other Gerudo. There you will receive your new weapon, which is key to defeating Dark Ashley.”
I nodded and realized that I had a little more to take on than Link. It seemed like my soul was a bit more complex than Link’s, but I needed to conquer it, especially the dark side of it.
“Now, I must leave,” Sheik said. “Just remember that you are almost done and Ganondorf will soon have his fate sealed. Don’t let me down, you two. Things might seem confusing, but it will all become apparent in the end.”
And, with that said, Sheik threw a ball, which made me blinded for a couple of seconds. It was when I got my sight back that I noticed that Lux and Coffee Bean were now in the domain.
I looked over at Link and said, “So, I suppose that we shall part ways?”
Link looked over at me in pain, so I took out a bottle, which had a red potion inside, and he drank it. Though his wounds didn’t disappear, he seemed to feel better as he stood up straight. “Thank you,” he said to me and I looked at his eyes. Was his soul really in that much grief? Back at home, I had a mother and a father, but it was miserable living in my household. I couldn’t image how bad it would be without having them. “Now, I guess we need to split up.”
I nodded at Link and said, “Well, I will go to the Gerudo Valley and you will go to the graveyard in Kakariko, correct?”
“Yes,” Link said and he began to walk away. He seemed a little more serious than I did. I just watched him walk away, but he did turn around. “Ashley,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Good luck.”
“Yes, same to you.”
And thus, dear reader, we parted ways, to fight the darkness that lied within ourselves.
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