(author's note: Many apologies for skipped updates! If all goes well, I should begin updating every monday again starting today. Thanks for reading!)

FROM THE DARKNESS, PART 1

Zelda zipped up her overnight bag and sat down on her bed, legs crossed. She had to count out all of the things she needed to bring on her fingers: toothbrush, hairbrush, pyjamas… should she bother to bring any makeup? Would it make her look any more mature in front of her new friends?

As sad as it was to admit it, she was nervous. Zelda eyed her bag uncertainly. It might not seem like it, but a sleepover with her new friends was a big deal! Hanging out together outside of school could be entirely different. Samus and Peach might act differently. What was Peach's house even like?

Zelda stood up and shook her head. Now was not the time to doubt! Sure, Nina wouldn't be there, and Zelda really felt she connected the most with Nina out of her new friends-Nina had been asked, but it looked like she was visiting family over the weekend.

Feeling pressured, Zelda had even carefully planned out her outfit, determined to make a good impression. What would Peach's family be like? Would they expect utter politeness or be more laid-back? Too much to worry about!

As a test (and seriously considering any excuse for delay) Zelda took out her phone and texted Peach: sry. might be a bit late!

Before she'd even put the phone down, Peach replied: it's ok! Just come by whenever you can! I baked cake! :)

Zelda forcibly attempted to relax, staring at proof that the sleepover would be fun and relaxing. Samus and Peach probably wouldn't judge her! Still, she slipped her little case of makeup into the bag. She didn't typically wear it, but… well, she knew that Peach did, and she wanted to fit in.

Slinging her bag around her arm, Zelda hurried down the stairs and headed for the door. "Grandpa, I'm going out!" she called.

"Where?" came the answer from the living room.

Zelda ran over and poked her head in, dismayed. "Grandpa! I told you this morning!"

The elderly man shrugged. "I can't be expected to listen to everything you go on about, my girl. I certainly heard you yell something about your friends, but you looked so distressed that I wasn't sure I got out of it what I was supposed to."

Zelda flailed in additional distress. "Grandpa, I'm going to my friend Peach's house for a sleepover! I told you. Do you want me to stay home? Because I can stay home!"

Her grandfather chuckled. "No need. Go on ahead, I can see you're all packed. Can I expect you back by dinner tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll just be walking over to Peach's house," Zelda said, turning to go, then pausing. "You're sure you don't want me here? I'll miss our show!"

"I'll fill you in. Go have fun," her grandpa said, completely missing the hint.

"All right! Bye!" Zelda closed the door and headed out into the evening air. Well, truth be told, she did want to go. All this anxiety was just... her being her.

Peach had given her directions to her house, and it was surprisingly easy to find, by virtue of being an essential castle at the end of a road. Zelda stared up at it in amazement. Peach's family must be rich! The house was a veritable mansion, with three floors and prominent glass windows. A large backyard surrounded by a white picket fence could be seen behind the house as well.

Zelda hesitated, wondering she'd found the right house, but Peach ran outside and down the porch before she could start to doubt.

"Zelda!" Peach cried, running over and enveloping the younger girl in a hug. "Welcome! Sammy's already here, I can just tell this is going to be amazing!" A big white dog bounded out of the door after Peach, and began to excitedly bounce around them. "No, Yoshi, back inside!" Peach cried.

Zelda laughed and pulled away. "Oh, look at him! He just wants a hug, too. Hi, Yoshi!" The dog wagged its tail so hard its entire rear end wiggled, and Zelda giggled and knelt to pet him. Before long the two were rolling in the grass together, Yoshi nibbling playfully at Zelda's fingers.

Peach laughed, and Zelda immediately came back to herself and leapt to her feet, brushing grass off of her. "Uhm! So, where should I put my things?" she exclaimed.

"Oh, just in the front room! No need to be embarrassed, I think Yoshi loves you!" Indeed, the dog stuck right next to Zelda as Peach guided her up the porch stairs and into an extravagant reception room. Zelda tried not to stare, but she would never have expected Peach's home to be so grand! The design was impeccable as well, with pink accents every so often that suggested Peach's own involvement.

Peach had set up a kind of enormous bed across the living room floor, with blankets and pillows and space for sleeping bags. "Sammy, Zelda's here!" Peach called happily into the room, placing Zelda's bag down.

A thumbs-up appeared from among the sheets. "Good! There's no way I'm finishing all this cake by myself. It's delicious, by the way."

Peach giggled as if ridiculously pleased, and Zelda already began to feel more at home. She flopped down onto the mess and saw Samus already in pyjamas; a white tank top and loose pants patterned with the Batman logo. There was a small assortment of snacks on the other side of the blanket pile, including a wonderful-looking cake with strawberries across the top. It had a few pieces cut out.

The night was everything Zelda had hoped for and nothing that she'd been afraid of. They chatted and giggled for the first few hours, then as it got dark they popped in a movie and settled down to watch. Zelda didn't end up seeing any members of Peach's family-evidently they were staying some other place for the night-though the girls and Yoshi were more than enough company.

The hours marched on and by the time they were on their third movie, Zelda's eyes were drooping shut. Peach was already snoring softly at her end of the pile, and even Samus looked about to drop off. Zelda curled up in her sleeping bag next to Yoshi and slowly drifted off to the soft noise of the TV.

She soon began to stir as strange dreams plagued her. She wasn't normally one for nightmares, and this could hardly be considered as a nightmare anyway, just a prevailing feeling that something-somehow-wasn't right. The colour red prevailed, and unnerving images appeared to her as she slept: sorrowful faces, glowing orbs, a cruel smile on dark blue lips.

She jerked awake when Yoshi gave several sharp, loud barks.

She scrambled back, getting tangled in the blankets, as a loud noise and bright flash of light further invaded her sleep. Samus fired again and Zelda's vision focused around the blast, seeing the Hunter standing upright with two black figures on either side. The figures held great silver blades in their arms, and the blast from Samus' cannon just seemed to glance off of them.

"Samus!" Zelda cried, flailing to her feet and doing the first thing that came to her mind-which, for some reason, was throwing her sleeping bag at the nearest figure. Shadow Bugs scattered as the figure backed up, trying to dislodge it.

Peach slowly stood, incredibly still half-asleep. "Please replace the gerbils," she muttered, squinting at Zelda.

Zelda stepped back, unable to think straight enough to reach for her ring. "Peach! Shades!"

The Princess finally became aware and shook her head, producing a wild halo of blonde hair. "What-! Oh! What on earth!?"

"We're moving outside!" Samus called, already in full awake mode. "Back, back, go!"

The three girls ran, still barefoot and in pyjamas. The two Shades followed, blue light from the TV gleaming off of their blades. Yoshi growled and barked, but stayed far on the other side of the room with his tail in between his legs.

Samus shoved Peach and Zelda out in front of her and jumped over their heads, silhouetted against a crescent moon in her Hunter garb. Her hair was still loose and flowed out behind her in a sheet. The Shades ignored the first two girls and focused entirely on Samus, following her arc through the sky and landing to attack.

By this time Peach had transformed as well, and was clutching her weapon in both hands. Zelda forced herself to come to her senses and reached for her ring, which she never felt comfortable removing, and so had taken to wearing it asleep. Good thing, too.

She instantly felt more awake as soon as she'd transformed into her Magical Fighter clothes. She held her harp and aimed carefully, worried that she'd catch Samus in any attacks she might use.

"Let's make this a little more fair!" Peach cried, leaping for one Shade while Samus concentrated on the other. One smack from Peach's weapon knocked the Shade back a few steps, though Samus' weapon didn't seem as effective on them.

"Try to hold it in place for me, Zelda!" Peach called, and Zelda obliged, aiming a funnel of vibrations at the Shade Peach was fighting. It quickly moved away, however, apparently unaffected.

"We aren't doing any damage!" Samus warned as the Shades tried to regroup around her. "I've never seen this type before. They're really advanced. There's got to be a way to break through their shields…"

"Try whaling on them until they break!" Peach suggested, and proceeded to follow her own advice with gusto. Even if her attacks didn't do any actual damage, the force behind them still sent the Shades reeling.

As Peach and Samus fought, Zelda was struck by her own uselessness. Surely, she should be able to help in this situation! She was a Magical Fighter too! The others probably thought she was being useless, just sitting in the corner out of the way of the fight.

All right, she thought, then aimed and plucked the first string, which seemed to be the more destructive. To her horror, the Shades were immune, but Samus and Peach both staggered.

The Shades attacked with their blades, utilizing the moment of weakness. Thankfully, Samus had the presence of mind to grab Peach and leap backwards, out of reach.

"Careful, Zelda!" Samus called. Zelda clutched her harp in horror, unable to reply. "Anyway!" Samus continued, "I see it now! The pink orbs at their center! That's where we have to strike!"

Zelda squinted at the Shades and saw that Samus was right-under their skin of swirling Shadow Bugs, one could vaguely see a pink-purple orb in their chests. As they strode forward, there were points when the Shadow Bugs cleared around the orbs, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Samus took one quick shot and hit the orb dead-on. The results were fantastic, spraying Shadow Bugs everywhere and instantly killing the Shade.

"All right, we've got this!" Peach cried. "I'll stun it. You take it out!"

She avoided a swipe from the Shade's blades and laid into it from the side with her weapon. Samus finished it off with another well-aimed shot, and the Shade dissolved. Two Trophies dropped to the grass.

Peach glanced around to make sure everything was safe, then quickly began to pat down her hair. "Ack! What… what happened? Did Shades actually come after us? In the middle of the night?"

"Not us," Samus pointed out, plucking a hair tie from her wrist and wrangling her hair into its usual strict ponytail. "Me. They ignored the two of you, even when you were attacking them."

"But why?" Zelda asked, hurrying over to them. "I thought… I thought Shades just showed up, and we had to stop them. These ones tried to attack you in your sleep!"

"It isn't normal," Samus agreed, looking up at the night sky. "In fact… I sense something else that isn't normal. I think I know where these Shades came from."