Shadow Link sighed, his heart heavy as his grey eyes reflected the moon above him. Alone, as always, he was left to wander the shattered halls of the ruined castle. His castle, though he was still without home.

The same grey eyes that stared at the moon and wished for an end were the ones that had witnessed the destruction of the very castle they watched over, eyes that had seen hatred, blood, and misery until he couldn't stand it.

He himself had defeated Vaati and Ganon when the heroes fell and left the land to the claws of the sorcerers. But now the kingdom was deserted all had fled or died fleeing, hoping to escape to whatever lay beyond Hyrule. Perhaps they were chasing legends of the land the hero of Time spoke of in his later days. Now it left Shadow alone with no company. Even the numerous mirrors around the castle offered no reflected image of the shade so he wandered its halls each night, wracked with guilt and loneliness when he came across the possessions of the dead.

In Zelda's room was an ancient, cracked ocarina with faded blue glaze, no doubt an heirloom of the family. Shadow wished he could play it to give some sound to the silence of the ruins.

In the king's room was a proud portrait of him and a beautiful, strong-looking woman cradling a baby in her arms and a bed unmade, covered in dust.

In the hero Link's room lay a sword over an equally dusty pillow. Shadow had placed it there out of respect for the lost heroes and the sight only added to the tight guilt in his heart. He moved on quickly.

It was strange, though. The day the heroes died he'd gained a shadow of his own and lost his powers, and gained the ability to use the four sword. The holy weapon had destroyed Vaati and defeated Ganon, though he wondered if living under their tyranny would have been better than living alone now.

He pulled out the shard of glass he kept with him and smoothed his hand over the flat edge. He had returned to the Dark mirror after the heroes had died and the looking-glass had shattered, leaving Vaati weak and Shadow… alive, human.

Staring at the shard where his reflection should have been, Shadow did something he'd tried a hundred times in his solitude. Praying to the Goddesses he'd defied.

"Goddesses…" he whispered quietly, bowing his head. "Please send someone to me. Anyone to spare me from this torture."

He stared at the shard in his hand through eyes blurred with tears, his fingers tightening around the glass until they bled, the liquid sliding down his wrist and dripping slowly to the floor.

He watched it sadly until the shard in his hand began to heat up, burning his hand. Though it was painful, Shadow clung to the glass as it began to glow with a soft blue light contradictory to the searing pain it caused.

The glass melted in Shadow's hand, though not a drip of the molten liquid slid over his cupped palm. Slowly it re-shaped itself into a small, clear octahedron glowing with a blue core. The light in the center grew bright and faded, as if it were a pulsing heartbeat.

"What is this?" Shadow muttered, turning the stone in his hand and noticing his cuts were gone. The pain had faded away as well, leaving his hand feeling cool and pleasant with the crystal nestled in his palm.

He could sense something in the stone that gave of only the faintest feeling of love and he clung to it, focusing all his might on the heart of the gift as the feeling spread as a warmth in his own chest.

Shadow smiled at the stone, the only comfort he'd known in years. The goddesses had forgiven him, it seemed. "Thank you…" he whispered over the stone, touching his nose to it.

Unsure what to do with the gift, he held to it and moved on with his hollow rounds of the empty castle, somehow not feeling as lonely with its cold comfort cradled in his hand.

Two weeks later and Shadow felt disheartened. The feel of the stone was constant, but he found he could get less and less comfort from it. The gift has satisfied his loneliness, but only for a short time.

He sat on a crumbling throne, turning it in his hands and wondering if there was more to the precious thing. Somewhere outside the castle, thunder rumbled and rain began to pour, barely audible from so deep within the ruined walls of the forgotten capital of Hyrule.

He looked up and stood. It had been a long time since he'd felt rain, though the skies had been covered by dark clouds since Ganon's reign, only clearing at night, when the moon seemed to chase them away. Shadow made his way through the seemingly endless walls and down staircases that threatened to crumble away under his feet, out the great archway that led to the courtyards. All the kept flowers and lawns had grown over with ivy and long grass, but it gave the garden a more natural, forest-like feel as the many trees dripped with rain. It was a strange feeling moving through the darkened courtyard trees with the stone clutched in his hand. Water soon dripped from his hair and ears, into his eyes. His hat had been long abandoned, so his head was unprotected, but he didn't mind the chill as he watched droplets drip from his self-trimmed bangs. The crystal was covered in shimmering droplets that reflected its inner light, though as Shadow watched the light began to brighten as more and more rain fell upon it. He cupped it in his hands and held them out, fascinated as the throbbing glow gained intensity.

Vio, you're an excellent friend.

Shadow stared down at the stone, swearing he'd imagined his own, younger echo coming from it.

No, I mean it. I finally feel I've finally met a trustworthy ally.

The crystal had pulsed in time to his words, undoubtedly the source. With a frown, Shadow remembered the night he'd said those words, first remembering the feeling he'd had when he felt them, trust and admiration, then the harsh sting of betrayal and lost.

He'd become attached to the hero so quickly, so blind to his loyalty. Vio had been the only person he'd ever cared about, but why was the stone forcing him to remember that night?

Frown melted to scowl as another voice whispered from the stone.

That way the whole world would be ours!

Vio. He'd forgotten the voice, but recognised it instantly, wondering vaguely how it would have changed if Vio had survived and grown, as Shadow had the last three years.

"The whole world is mine, hero." Shadow hissed. "And it's the worst thing I could imagine." suddenly angry at the stone, drowning in frustration, anger, confusion, and renewed desperation for company, Shadow ran forwards, the crystal clenched tight in his fist. He reached the outer wall of the castle and ran onto the disused drawbridge, half collapsed into the still-filled but filthy moat.

We can both be the rulers of this world!

With a cry, Shadow hurled the stone as far as he could into the water, tears mixing with the rain as guilt tightened in his chest. "We can't, Vio!" He screamed. "You're dead! Everyone is, there's no world left!" His voice was hoarse from disuse and he was half-blinded and half-deafened by the pouring rain. Cursing the goddesses for their torturous gift, Shadow was now distraught about the rain he'd felt enamored by minutes before and turned to return inside. At the last second something caught his attention and he hesitated.

The moat where he'd cast the stone began to glow like the stone itself, the water too murky and the light too bright for him to see anything. He watched with eyes narrowed against the downpour, too numb by the rain and the hollowness of his heart to ready himself to defend against whatever strange thing emerged.

The light faded and Shadow stared, barely noticing as the rain started letting up. After several seconds a pale body rose to the surface of the water, unconscious, his blonde hair drifting about his head in the water.

Shadow stumbled and fell in his haste to get around the drawbridge and near to the person in the water, aware it would take longer for him to swim. When he got to the water's edge he started, hesitating. The man was floating face-up, wearing no article of clothing Shadow could detect. He blushed slightly and dove in with a gasp at the frigid temperature, careful to wrap his arms around the upper part of the stranger's body and drag him to shore. He was breathing normally when Shadow finally managed to pull him out of the moat, struggling against the high bank. Shadow knelt beside the stranger, careful to keep his eyes above his waist. His body was alight with excitement, and curiosity. Who was this strange man?

Upon inspection he realised that the person was no older than he was, making 'man' a barely applicable term. He also noticed the person was not very deeply asleep, making small sounds every once in a while or turning his head. Shadow waited until his blue eyes opened on their own, a light drizzle still falling from the sky, though the clouds were beginning to part and make way for the rising moon, which reflected faintly in the stranger's eyes.

"Hello." Shadow muttered hoarsely, clearing his throat and repeating himself to slightly better results.

The blond looked at him curiously. "Evening."

Shadow blinked in confusion as a million questions sprang into his mind. "W-who are you?" he finally asked, offering a hand and wondering if perhaps this was all a cruel dream destined to turn nightmare.

The stranger accepted the aid and sat up, examining his own hands and nakedness with mild interest. "My name is Vio."

All at once Shadow could see the similarities in his face and hear them in his voice, wondering how he'd ignored them before. "Vio?"

"Yes?"

"It's me, Shadow." Shadow cleared his throat again in irritation with the scratchy feeling within it, though he realised it was a lost cause. Vio's voice, however, was clear and carried the same thoughtful tone as it always had. His expression was one of confusion when Shadow introduced himself, though the purple-haired teen asked another question too quickly to notice. "Where are the others? Green, Red, Blue?" One has returned, who was to say he wouldn't be joined by more people after his suffering.

This time he did notice the frown on Vio's lips. "I believe you've mistaken me for someone else. I don't believe I know anyone by those, or your, name."

Shadow gaped. It was unmistakably Vio, but he didn't remember him or the others. Was this the cruelty of the goddesses he'd earlier assumed or… a chance to start again without the baggage of Vio's betrayal or Shadow's crimes? They could be friends in this world when everything in the old one prevented it.

"Maybe," said thoughtfully, standing up, still amazed my the 180 of his life not that another person had come to him, his only friend no less. "But for now you just took a swim in water that's probably freezing, you need to dry off."

Vio stood, evidently unembarrassed about his exposure, and Shadow blushed again, looking away and walking towards the drawbridge without another betraying glance. "and get you some clothes." he added under his breath, a strange elation filling his body and mind.