Hey rupees! Here's the next chapter, sorry for the super long wait. ONWARDS to Chapter 26!

~ Jordan's POV~

She could barely believe her eyes when she reached the edge of the short tunnel; she stopped herself from entering the hidden alcove. She remembered coming across this area when she had played this game back home when it first hit the shelves ten years ago, but nothing could compare to seeing it first hand. The green of the surrounding foliage was so vibrant she questioned for a second whether she had actually woken up. The water, just outside the opening, looked crisp and cool, the birds and insects in the surrounding greenery chirped and sang so happily, and the tombstone stood right where she re-

A foot stomped the ground in front of her face. Jordan shook herself back to reality; she needed to let them know she was okay. Slowly she reached out and pinched the ankle of the foot in front of her face. The owner let out a high pitched scream and jumped into the pool of water just outside the tiny entryway. She could hear loud hysterical laughter as Sky, apparently the victim, tried to explain what had happened. Jordan could no longer retain her laughter and crawled out of the tunnel practically splitting at the seams. Everyone stared in amazement for a fraction of a second then ran to hug her. By the end of the many "it's great to see you" s and "so glad your better" s, she was soaking wet and glad she had thought to grab darker clothing.

Soon a game of Marco polo was underway. After the second round it was agreed that Link's iron boots could not be used during the game, however with his Zora's armor he was just as impossible to get a hold of. Yet with all the fun no one seemed to notice how eerily quiet the pool had gotten. The birds and the bugs had stopped their songs and though the water still made muted reactions to the splashing and crashing, it stood almost completely still. Mitch was the first to get the group's attention.

~ Mitch's POV~

The grove had gotten way too quiet for his liking. The silence was cold and threatening, not at all calm or relaxing the way it was under different circumstances. He thought he had felt something strange about the grove when they had entered, but Link had convinced him he was just nervous about Jordan. As quickly as he could, he got everyone's attention trying not to panic them. Once they noticed it was too late.

Tall black and red pillars slammed into the ground or floated just above the frozen water. A red barrier formed around the alcove connecting with the pillars. Above their heads a black disk shape opened in the sky; angry red patterns, like blood flowing through veins, reached out from the center which was growing wider and wider and a sound like a hundred nails on a metal chalkboard rang through the sky. Mitch heard Link shout something but it was lost to his mind almost as if it wasn't translating correctly. A hand grabbed his shoulder pulling him to where everyone else was huddled in fear.

Mitch looked around the group searching for Link but couldn't find him. Jordan seemed panicked and was frantically searching for someway to escape the situation, he managed to catch her attention; they caught caught eyes and silently agreed to try and protect the others. But for some reason, the others were frozen in their positions as if time had completely stopped for them. Jordan reached out to touch deadlock's shoulder but her hand passed straight through him. They just had to hope whatever was coming wouldn't hurt their friends. Link's head burst through the water gasping for air his face cloth singed from running into the barrier.

"There's no using the water way to the lake bed. They've got that closed off two, I thought maybe they wouldn't know about that way out… We can't warp out either, and they shouldn't be able to do this in daylight-"

"Who's they? Why are we being attacked? How do we get out of this?" Mitch asked Link these questions as quickly and calmly as he could without causing more panic. Before Link could give him an answer three monstrous creatures dropped from the portal. Each a dark midnight black and as tall as a horse when they stood straight, where a face should reside a patterned black disk glared back at them. One caught sight of Link and charged forward across the water on all fours and raised his hand to swipe at him. Mitch watched in horror and amazement as Link pushed him and Jordan behind his back and took the powerful blow to the face without hesitation. Link laughed a cruel empty laugh as blood trickled down the side of his face. Mitch could have sworn he saw the creature shudder and shrink just a tiny bit.

"You shouldn't have done that." His shadow moved in front of him and grabbed the faceplate of the black slimy creature smashing it to mere dust. The body of the beast crumbled to the surface of the water and hovered there. Link's shadow grew in size until it was as big as a house. It reached out and the remaining two creatures, which were charging towards them, and held them to where Mitch could see every single detail on their hideous forms in the setting sun. Link tilted his head.

"Tell your master, who ever he may be, never place my friends in harm's way again or they will be the next ones to go." the shadow smashed the two creatures to dust as they let out a horrific screech. All three creatures broke apart into thousands of tiny black particles and fated back up to the portal in the sky.

Link's shadow shrunk back down to its normal size and then into a form that Mitch could recognize completely. Soon the impish form of Midna was smiling back at him. Above them the portal's angry red patterns faded out, replaced by a vibrant green flow of colors.

"Well," Mitch smiled. "that was terrifying, I still have no clue what was going on and I'm pretty sure I need to change my pants. But, it seems like the fun is just getting started!". Jordan laughed which made him feel better about the situation.

Before long the pillars lifted from the ground and disappeared into the portal as time unfroze their friends were none-the-wiser to what had happened.

Shea: Sweet! Finally finished on this chapter! I know it's a little short, but its as much as I could get out amid all the chaos. I dont have anymore Q's or D's from you guys on this one so I can't do much down here... Keep them coming though I do enjoy the interaction! ~ Peace, Love, and Tacos