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Shadow wasn’t sure anything in his relatively short existence had been as difficult as watching Four walk through a portal along with the rest of the Chain.
One might have thought breaking the mirror had been harder, knowing — or, at the least, fully believing — that doing so would mean his death. At the time, however, it had felt like the least he could do after all the trouble he had caused when he was following Vaati’s plans. Besides, there was no way for Link and his parts to be safe as long as Vaati was around. Regardless of sides or betrayals, he would never have chosen to live at the expense of their happiness. Really, his only real regret was leaving his hero behind.
Except now he was back, and had to part from his hero all over again, because he refused to become a burden.
Ravio was doing his best to make things easier, at least. When they had first come to him with their plan, he had immediately agreed, then went on to confess he had already suspected this would be the outcome of what little he knew of Shadow’s situation. He had even helped them convince Four that this was for the best, which was the part Shadow had dreaded the most. Well, he had dreaded it the most until the moment the portal closed behind the Links and he was left alone in a strange world.
Of course, he’d barely had time to draw a breath before Ravio had hooked an arm through his and dragged him to the village market to get his thoughts off Four and all the countless dangers his hero was getting into without his protection. None of that was his concern now, the merchant reminded him. All he needed to do was stay safe and grow stronger, to give Four somewhere — someone — to come home to.
Despite the cheerful grin directed at him as this was beind declared, Shadow spied a hint of tension around Ravio’s eyes in the depths of his hood. Right. He wasn’t the only one sending his hero counterpart off to dangers unknown here.
Once they got to the market, Ravio greeted what seemed like everyone they came across. Clearly he was one of those dreadfully social people, ugh. Well, Shadow was perfectly content to trail after him and take in his new temporary home. At least he was, until the lady selling cucco eggs asked who he was.
“Oh, this is my cousin Shadow from Lorule!” Ravio beamed, waving for Shadow to get closer. He did so, at least by a few steps. No need to get within cheek-pinching distance of an old lady while he still looked like a child. “He wanted to see Hyrule, and Link was worried about me feeling lonely because he has to travel a lot, so it just made sense to have him come stay with me for a while.”
“Well, I’m sure you feel much safer with such a strong young alpha with you!” The old lady was clearly being condescending, but hey, Shadow was going to take what he could get. He didn’t mind matching Four in their delayed growth, to have their apparent ages match, but it did have its downsides such as nobody taking him seriously. “Shadow, huh? That’s such a unique name!”
“I guess it’s not too common in Hyrule, no.” Ravio grinned, not hesitating for a moment. “At least there’s no worries about him getting mixed up with someone else.”
“Indeed not. Well, I hope you enjoy your time in Hyrule, young man! And do take care of your cousin there, he can get a little too swept up in his projects.” She winked at Shadow, who managed a hopefully polite smile in return.
The rest of their rounds of the market went much the same, with Ravio charming everyone he spoke to. Once they were on their way home Ravio chattered on about all the places nearby that Shadow might like to check out, you certainly seem all courageous and energetic like our Links, not a coward at all like Ravio himself. Shadow quietly disagreed, until he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“How can you call yourself a coward?” he blurted out just as they got to the orchard surrounding the house. “You’re here with me, alone, and you’re not even worried. You do get that I’m Link’s shadow, right? And not like you, you just have some dark magic but you’re clearly a a good guy.”
“Are you going to hurt me, then?” Ravio glanced at him with a small smile that made it clear he didn’t believe it for a moment.
“…Well, no. But I could!” Shadow flashed his fangs, letting his claws grow just for a moment. “I caused chaos all over my Hyrule! I got my Link blamed for my own crimes! I had every intention of defeating him — defeating them — and make the hero lose!”
“Really? That sounds like quite the story.” Ravio hummed to himself as he climbed up the hill to the house. “How about you tell me all about it over some tea?”
Shadow eyed Ravio for a moment, trying to read him. Finally he sighed, unable to see anything past the perfect smile. “Fine. But if you decide to kick me out after, that’s not me breaking my promise.”
It occurred to Shadow somewhere halfway through the tea pot that he had never told anyone this story. Hell, the only one he had ever discussed his life with had been Vio before his change of heart. And after his return, well, Four had already known all about his past and he hadn’t wanted to jeopardize his ability to stay close to Four by letting the rest of the Chain know about his crimes.
He barely managed to get through the part about the mirror, eyes fixed on his tea cup as he stumbled through the story. “And, well, after that you pretty much know what happened.” At least, anything relevant. Any vague memories of floating in an endless void clearly didn’t matter, because he hadn’t been doing anything, good or bad.
“Hm.” Ravio tapped his fingers against his own cup. “So you were a preteen with zero life experience, were misled and manipulated, and as soon as you realized what was at stake you sacrificed yourself for the greater good?” His eyes all but sparkled with mirth, his scent full of fondness-approval-pack?-pack? to the point it made Shadow shiver. “I don’t know, sounds pretty heroic to me.”
“It’s not like I was a baby!” Shadow bristled. “I had the equivalent of Link’s life experience when I was created, I just hadn’t experienced it directly. And at that point not only did he know how to do the right thing, he’d already saved Hyrule once!”
Ravio waved a dismissive hand. “He has the hero’s spirit, it’s really not fair to compare yourself with him, any more than you should measure yourself by the standards of any of the other Links. Whatever you may have done before, I would say sacrificing yourself more than made up for it. Unless you are feeling an irresistible urge to start setting the countryside on fire again?” He lifted his eyebrows. Ravio had such an expressive face, Shadow had to wonder if the reason he wore his hood so often was to keep everyone from knowing his every thought.
“Of course not!” After a knowing look, he huffed and crossed his arms. “Okay, maybe a little? But not in like a criminal, ruin everyone’s day way. It’s more just… fire is fun, y’know?”
“Honestly, that just makes you sound more like a Link.” Ravio smirked. “In my experience several of them are rather fond of fire.”
“You’re really stuck on this idea of me being a secret hero, aren’t you?”
“Well, I’ve had several people tell me I should stop insisting I don’t have a heroic bone in my body. I’m still not sure I agree, but it seems only fair I pay it forward.” Ravio hummed to himself in thought. “You know, I think you should speak with Hilda.”
Shadow blinked. That was definitely not what he had expected after baring his heart. Disgust, sure, fear, maybe. An order to get lost and never darken his doorstep again, almost certainly. Not encouragement, certainly not this calm statement with a hint of what almost sounded like understanding. “Who the fuck is Hilda?”
“She is the Lorulean counterpart of Queen Zelda, the same way I am the counterpart of Link.” Ravio sighed, but then put on a faint smile. “She, ah. Was misled by a traitorous advisor, to the point she tried to do something truly monstrous. If not for Link, she would have. We aren’t as close as we used to be, but I still consider her a friend. I think the two of you could understand each other quite well.”
“Not sure I’m the sort of company a queen would like.” Shadow snorted. “Sure, my Link is childhood friends with his Zelda, but I don’t have the manners or patience for it.”
“Could you at least meet with her? I promise to warn her beforehand so you won’t get the guards after you for being rude.” Shadow must have looked visibly doubtful, because Ravio gave him a pleading look. “Please? She could use more friends, especially people who don’t care about all the politics and such. If you’re not interested after one conversation, I promise to let it be.”
“Sure, if you get me a fire rod.” Yeah, like that was going to happen.
“Deal.” Shadow blinked in surprise, but Ravio simply grinned. “We may need to have a discussion about acceptable places and things to set on fire, but you really should have a way to protect yourself while you’re still recovering. I’m sure I can set up a rod that works well with your mix of magic.”
“Wait.” Shadow narrowed his eyes. “You can create magic items?”
“I learned it while trying to find a way to save Lorule. I then created tools for my Link for his quest, and now I build them just for fun.”
“And not to sell?” Even Shadow had been warned not to let Ravio fleece him out of rupees he did not have.
“Oh, no. The sort of things that a regular citizen finds useful are quite boring. The most interesting thing I’ve made since moving to Hyrule was a scarecrow that can repel the local crows. A fire rod that can be fueled by a mixture of light and dark magic without overloading? Now, that’s a challenge.”
“As long as it’s not, like, dangerous for you and the baby.” Legend would never forgive him if that were the case. Nor would Shadow himself, if he was to be honest.
“Not if I’m careful. And the thing about being a coward is, I’m always careful.” Ravio leaned forward with a conspiratorial grin. “If you’re really worried, though, I could use some help getting some materials from more risky places.”
“The Links haven’t been gone for a day and you’ve already wheedled a favor out of me, promised me a personalized weapon, and hinted at side quests.” Shadow pointed an accusatory finger at Ravio. “You’re trying to turn me into a hero, aren’t you.”
Ravio gave an exaggerated gasp, bringing a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Perish the thought! I’m merely giving you ways of channeling your mischief in useful ways. As is my duty and delight as a responsible older cousin!”
At least he was going to have plenty of distractions to keep him from getting too caught up in missing his Link.
And in the meantime, Ravio did not look at him with fear or disgust, which really was all he could ask for.