Trigger

Chapter Seven

A/N: I didn't realize I'd been gone for three months... Sorry, I just have a lot of projects to work on. Here's your chapter!

"Midna."

The Twili didn't respond, but Link assured Ghirahim that she was still alive with a crisp nod of the head. The demon stepped towards the couch and uncorked the bottle in his hand, using the other one to grasp Midna's.

"Can you swallow?"

"Yes. Potion?"

"Yes. Link, prop her head up for me, please." The blond did as he was asked, and Ghirahim crouched at her side, gently tilting the bottle so the potion spilled into her mouth. She managed a swallow, then a sigh of relief. Almost immediately, her wounds started to heal, and eventually she finished the rest of it on her own.

"Thank you, Ghirahim. It...seems I was wrong about you. In this world, at least."

He tried to ignore his alternate persona, giving a tiny nod. "I...was not a good person." He gave a sharp flinch as a dark memory was forcefully shoved through his mind - one where he had tortured and killed a little Hylian girl for fun. His breath hitched. He set down the glass bottle hard on the table and moved unsteadily towards the kitchen, grasping the island counter firmly in an attempt to calm himself. His darker self merely laughed.

Pathetic.

"Ghirahim, are you okay?" Link had approached, reaching to touch his shoulder, and the demon flinched away from him the moment they made contact.

"Revisiting Hyrule came at a cost. I... There are...two differing versions of myself. We don't agree with each other."

'Don't agree with each other'? I despise everything about this new persona of mine, actually. To disagree would be an understatement of what I want to do to you.

"Oh, please," Ghirahim whispered to himself, running his hands through his hair. "Like I'd let you take over."

I don't require sleep, genius. I'm a demon. But you - you do. I'll get you, whether it's when you've passed out from exhaustion or dropped your guard.

"Link?"

The blond gave a short nod. "Yes?"

Ghirahim shot a glance over at him, then turned away. The mere sight of him spurred some kind of instinctual, blood-curdling reaction within his veins. Ghirahim took a deep breath. "I need you to be on your guard, Link."

The former Hero's hand returned to his shoulder. "I will. If there's anything I can do to help - "

"No, I'm fine for now. At least until I pass out from exhaustion, that is." He gave a bitter huff of laughter, giving another flinch as he was assaulted with yet another memory he wished he could hide from.

Link hesitated, then gave a firm squeeze to his shoulder and started the coffee maker. Ghirahim tried to busy himself by testing whether or not he could mentally see through the portal. After a moment of curious silence, however, his other self continued to create mayhem, and his concentration was lost completely.

"Ghirahim."

Midna appeared at his side. She seemed easier to deal with than Link was, so she was a welcome distraction. He looked over at her and gave a nod to show he was listening.

"What happened over in Hyrule? Did anyone suspect you?"

Zant did~

"Part of me doesn't think so and the other is so lovestruck that he isn't sure."