Author's Note - Woah, a new chapter! :o! More and more thought is being put into these chapters as I write them, so I hope that you guys like them like that. :)


Green rested his mug down on the table. Light steam rose up to the ceiling from the cup. Blue sat across from him holding a mug himself, staring out the window. Stars dotted the dark sky, the few clouds that were in the sky illuminated by the moon. The kitchen was dimly lit by a few candles. Blue sighed and set his mug down.

"Whatever he thinks he's doing, he better stop." He growled. "He's wrecking himself..." Blue scratched the back of his neck in thought. "I mean... He looked miserable when we found him."

Green simply frowned. He had been worried about Vio for awhile now. Ever since he came back that day covered in blood. Something is wrong, and whatever it was, Vio was facing it alone. The thought of this made Green clench his teeth. He knew they worked better together- as a team. Green wanted to help Vio in whatever he was dealing with, but while he was recovering, he wouldn't be able to ask him anything at the moment.

Green picked up his cup and drank from it again. He could feel the warm tea travel down his throat and into his stomach. It was calming somehow. Blue shook his head, looking outside again.

"Don't worry," Green told Blue. "He'll come around."

"How do you know?" Blue snapped, turning quickly to look at Green and slamming his fist on the wooden table. "You saw him! He might as well be at death's door! How many people do we know survived hypothermia?" He said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Blue," Green started, "there's nothing we can do but hope. This is Vio's battle, not ours." He said. Blue looked down.

"... I know," Blue said in a soft, bitter tone. "I just hate not being able to do anything."

Green nodded silently, knowing the feeling. He didn't know what he would do if Vio would be gone forever... Or how the others would survive without their educated half.

Upstairs, Red watched Vio's chest slowly rise and fall in slumber in fear it would suddenly stop. He was resting silently, but Red was still worried. He knew very well that few people lived through hypothermia, and Vio's chances seemed to be slim. And with his eyes closed and laying in such a still position, he almost looked-

Red shook his head and looked away. He didn't want to think about that. He climbed back into his bed and crawled under the covers. Blue's and Green's voices rose up from the kitchen, and Red wondered briefly if they were fighting again. But he didn't have the energy to worry about that when most of his thoughts were on Vio. He let his eyes slowly sag until they closed, drifting into a dreamless slumber.

But Vio, on the other hand, was dreaming. Dreaming of nothing but the same thing, over and over. All he saw was Shadow Link's face saying 'Stay strong,' and the Grim Sol that he held in his adventure pouch. He knew he had to awaken, he had to live. He had to...

Vio didn't know how long ago he had opened his eyes. He sat there, blinking slowly, wondering what happened...

Then it hit him. Well, to be more specific, swamps, Grim Sols, Shadow Link, and blizzards hit him. Memory of everything that had happened. He sat up, feeling sore. He looked down at his right hand to see it bandaged and blood stained. He gently unwrapped the bandages to see a wide cut through his right palm. It was still red and stinging with pain, so it must not have been too long since he got there.

Swinging his feet over the bed, Vio made an effort to stand up. But it felt like his legs were made of jelly, and simply refused to support him. He sat back down on the bed, angry with how weak he was.

This time, he used his nightstand to help himself up. He was still pretty wobbly, but Vio managed to uphold himself fairly well. He used the wall to help him reach the door, and opened it quietly. It was only then that he realized that only Blue was sleeping in the room. Green and Red must be elsewhere, Vio thought. Downstairs, maybe... Something about his mindset didn't want to worry about it at the moment, so he simply left the room and headed downstairs.

As he entered the kitchen, Vio could hear voices coming from outside. Looking out the window, he saw Green sitting with Red on the bench. Their voices carried through the wooden walls.

"Blue should be watching him now..." He heard Red say. Vio assumed they must be talking about him.

"Then why don't you sleep?" Green asked. "You've watched him all yesterday, you should get some rest." He suggested. Vio saw Red shake his head.

"Nah, I don't feel like it," He saw Red shrug. "He might be resting, but still... I don't know if he..." Red fell silent after this. Vio felt guilt stirring up in his stomach. Red was in such a worried state and he was just going to leave...

Vio sighed. He couldn't do that to Red. But he also couldn't tell them what really happened to him, a question that was bound to come up if he went outside and talked to them. So instead, Vio turned around, and left the house through the back door.

Small dew drops sparkled in the dawn sunlight as a crisp morning breeze shook them free. Birds in the trees and sky sang their soft song, alerting the world the sun was up.

Vio stepped through the wet grass and headed for the Moon Gate hidden in the swamp. Shadow Link was out almost instantly when Vio passed through the Moon Gate into the Dark World. He helped Vio lean against a tall tree.

"How long was I out?" Vio asked Shadow Link.

"Not long," He answered. "Are you sure you're ready to travel?" Shadow Link wondered. Vio gulped.

"No, but the exercise should do me good." Vio said, a crooked smile on his face. "We'll get there." Shadow Link smiled at this, and Vio got up from the tree.

"If we're going to the mountains this time, we need to go north." Shadow Link said. "Right?" Vio nodded.

"Yeah, we'll find another tunnel of sorts to get there like the one to the arctic." Vio pulled his book out to look at the page on Grim Sols. The directions in the paragraph mentioned another tunnel leading to the mountains where the Grim Sol was located. After rereading the paragraphs, Vio put the book back, looking up at Shadow Link. They were ready.

The two of them traveled north from the Moon Gate, passing rolling hills and streams. Soon the terrain showed a rocky climate and a cloudless sky. They started to look for anything out of the ordinary, like last time. It was difficult to find the tunnel this time, what with no bubbles to clearly give the location if the tunnel.

They only managed to find it when shifting rocks; Vio felt a breeze coming from under one. Vio moved the rock aside with help from Shadow Link. Wind blew out from under the rock, revealing the tunnel they had been looking for. And like last time, the current of the winds changed, and the two were sucked in.

The wind carried them through the rocky tunnel at a fast pace. It was rough, like the last time, and ended with them bruised. Vio was shot out of the tunnel and onto the ground. Something wet was pelting him from above, and looking up, raindrops landed in his eyes.

Rain was falling down in heavy, fast sheets, the sky was cloudy and ominous, and thunder roared in the distance. He stood up, looking for Shadow Link.

Shadow Link was looking up at the mountain before them. Vio traced his line of sight to see a treacherously tall mountain with storm clouds swirling around it. Small flashes of lightning appeared near the heart of the storm. Vio could tell that Shadow Link knew the peak of the mountain was their target.

They shielded themselves from the rain, and walked to the edge of the peak. Climbing the mountain was a chore. The rain made the rocks slippery and difficult to hold on to. All the water in their eyes blurred their eyesight. And Vio's weak muscles, though strengthened from their trek, were still recovering from hypothermia.

It was a terribly long climb, but they managed to reach the top. Vio hauled himself up onto the flat piece of land on top of the mountain where it was surprisingly dry. Looking up, he realized that they were in the eye of the storm. He stood up wobbly, trying to find Shadow Link. He saw the dark Link standing before him, looking in front of the two. Vio turned and saw a tower that looked just like the blue one back in the arctic area where they found the first Grim Sol, but this one was a bright ruby color.

Vio went to stand by Shadow Link, and saw that he had a smile on his face similar to his own. They hurried inside, eager to find another Grim Sol.

Within the tall building, the tower had the same white tiles along the floor, and similar stain glass windows depicting a thunderstorm. It had the same pedestal in the same spot, and a Grim Sol placed just where it was in the last tower. The Grim Sol, with the same dull glow in the center, spoke like the last time they spoke to it.

"I seek to awaken you from your slumber," Vio told it.

"Thee who wish to curse thy eyes with sight of the fallen, present thy forfeit." It responded with a brighter glow. Vio placed his hand out again near the Sol, and a bolt-like light struck his hand again. He flinched like last time, and blood dripped onto the white tiles.

"Thee hast blighted thy eyes with the ken of the dead. Use thy virtue with enlightened knowledge." The Grim Sol stopped growing brightly, and became silent again. Shadow Link picked up the Grim Sol with a gleam in his eyes. He gave it to Vio, who placed it in his adventure pouch. He heard it clink next to its brother.

"Let's get out of here," Shadow Link said.

"The canyon is last, right?" At this, Vio nodded. "Then we'll head there next."

"The last Grim Sol should end up being the most difficult to obtain, though," Vio warned. "We'll have to use caution."

"Then you better recover before we go." Shadow Link said. "That cut is starting to look pretty nasty." He said, looking at Vio's hand. The reopened gash was red with blood, and was starting to burn. Vio swallowed, and nodded silently. They turned, and headed out the doors that opened for them.

Going down the mountain was easier than climbing up. It gave Vio's muscles a break. But descending with the use of only one good hand was slowing Vio. He knew that one miss placed foot would lead to a terrible fall. But as the end of the mountain neared, Vio felt a rush of relief. One more step and-

The next thing Vio knew was that he was lying flat on his back, unable to breathe. Rain covered his face as he struggled to sit up. Looking at where he once was, he realized that he must have fallen from a few foot holds up, and gotten the breath knocked out of him. He stood up, brushing the dirt and rocks off of his back, and saw Shadow Link jumping down from his foot hold to rush over to Vio.

"You ok?" He asked breathlessly. Vio looked at him, and saw that he must have felt his fall as well, and was struggling to breathe like him.

"Yeah, just lost my footing. ะก'mon, let's go." Vio said dismissively. Shadow Link nodded, and they headed back for the tunnel. Like last time, it sucked them through a current of winds, and back out where they started in the rocky terrain.

The two traveled back to the Moon Gate. Vio was personally glad to escape this time with only his injured hand and some bruises. Shadow Link fell back into Vio's shadow as he entered the world of Light.

As Vio stepped through the trees, he felt something odd. His face was burning slightly. His face, his hands, his neck- anything that was touching sunlight. He felt a cold sweat dotting his forehead. Why was the light hurting him? Maybe it was all the time you've been spending in the Dark Word, he heard a small voice suggest. He would accept anything at the moment; anything but him becoming a living shadow.

Ignoring the burn, Vio proceeded to his home, and was glad when he finally got inside. He noticed that Red and Green were still sitting outside, talking. Not much time seemed to have passed since he left. Not wanting to go back to sleep yet, he sat down at the kitchen table, his mind in thought about the whole burning in the sunlight thing, and wondered briefly if he was a vampire.

But his humorous thoughts were interrupted as Blue stomped down the stairs. He dashed out the door so quickly that he didn't even see Vio sitting at the table. He looked as though he had just woke up.

"Guys, Vio's gone again!" He heard Blue say in a worried tone. Vio groaned. Did he really not see him sitting at the table?

"What?!" He heard Green's voice ask as Vio walked towards the door.

"How could you lose him?" Red's voice was now rising with worry and anger.

"I sort of fell asleep..." Blue admitted. Vio had his hand on the door knob.

"You fell asleep?! How did-" Vio stepped outside, causing Red to stop talking. The sunlight burned him again, but he ignored it.

"Guys, I'm right here." Vio said monotonously. They all stared at Vio for a moment in shock and relief, making Vio smile softly. He was taken aback when Red suddenly hugged him, tears in his eyes.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" He sobbed, "I- I thought you were gonna die!" Vio awkwardly patted Red's back, trying to reassure him.

"Hey, it's fine, I'm alright now, see?" Vio said, smiling at him. Red released his hold on him, and sniffed, a smile on his face as well.

"Yeah, yeah I know..!" Red rubbed the tears off his cheeks as Blue gave a sigh of relief.

"But Vio," Green said, looking at him with a smile on his face. "How'd you recover so quickly? And your hand," He looked down at Vio's bloodstained hand. "What happened to it?"

Vio gulped, knowing that this would come. Questions they asked needed answers, answers that he couldn't allow to be true. Keep it vague, he heard Shadow Link say.

"It's just a cut," Vio said, trying to make it look unimportant. "It only reopened. And I don't know how I recovered so easily..." Vio looked away with a distant look in his eye, trying to make himself look confused about the whole matter as they were. "But it doesn't matter. I'm here now, and alive, and that's what counts, right?" He grinned at them. Green smiled back, and Blue nodded.

"Right," Green said. "Come on, let's but a new bandage on your hand." He said, heading for the door. Vio agreed, and walked back inside, feeling as though he was getting close to his family again just to leave them behind.