"Thalia? Thalia?"

Opening my groggy eyes, I manage to make out a very blurry Red. "Oh…good morning. Are we ready?"

"Yep! As soon as you are!" Yesterday, after Red received his seashell, we immediately began hiking to Hyrule Castle. We managed to make it to the gate, but it was too late because the drawbridge was already up. We ended up spending the night outside the castle, with Shadow offering to keep watch while we slept.

Groaning, I force myself to stand up and brush myself off, making myself a little presentable in the midst of my friends, who all look at me expectantly. "Well, guys? Let's go."

Castle Town's marketplace is still a bustling center of activity, but there seems something off about it as we make our way through. Children aren't running around laughing like they were during our last visit. There aren't any puppies chasing each other in the square, and the romantic couple usually found dancing near the fountain sport gloomy expressions on both of their faces as they twirl around and around. Could it be dark energy sifting through the air, or a simple coincidence?

"It isn't quite the same…" Vio observes aloud.

"Could it be Vaati?" asks Blue, looking around himself. "Is his return known around here? Or are we the only ones?"

"If it was, I think everybody'd be cowering in their homes," Green replies. "But you can feel it in the air anyway- just the tone of this place is heavy."

We trudge our way to Hyrule Castle and its large entrance gate. Like last time, Green gives the knights a greeting and they let us pass, recognizing us.

As we approach the main entryway into the palace, Princess Zelda doesn't rush out to meet us; part of me wonders if she's occupied within, and what she's doing. Green and Blue open the castle doors for themselves, the guards not giving us second glances and we step inside Hyrule Castle.

I recognize the Great Hall from before; it is a long hallway that leads into the main body of the palace. Directly in front of us sits a giant staircase that ascends several feet and then splits into left and right; on either side of the staircase are two additional hallways leading to various rooms, including the throne room. It's a little confusing that the throne room doesn't greet you directly as you walk in, but I guess it's to buy time for the princess should anything storm the front doors of the castle. But strangely enough, nobody seems to be here. No servants or nobles or knights or anyone.

"Where do we go now?" Red asks, tugging on Green's sleeve. "It's so empty…"

"There are still guards outside, so it couldn't have been abandoned completely," answers Green, though his mind seems elsewhere as he fixes his gaze on something in the room. "We should check the throne room and see if Princess Zelda is there." He starts taking the hallway to the right. We enter a corridor and then take the first door on the left, which opens to our destination.

Zelda sits alone on the high seat, but she doesn't acknowledge our entrance. She doesn't smile or anything, or even so much as look up, and there are no attendants surrounding her like normal. Not even Impa is present.

"Princess Zelda!" Vio calls, rather cautiously. She doesn't respond; like a robot, she simply stares straight ahead. "…Princess?"

"Is she under a spell?" Shadow asks, stepping forward.

"Be careful," Green warns. "This isn't normal. It seems like a trap."

"This has to be where the fun is, since we got my note to lead us here and all. That's what it said." Summoning his copy of the Four Sword to his side, Shadow begins walking into the middle of the room, approaching the princess.

A strange beeping sound echoes through the air, bouncing off the giant walls. Right next to the impassive Princess Zelda appears a strange creature. It looks like a wizard and hovers slightly above the ground, but it has the face of a toucan and a headpiece centered on its head. Its arms are slightly raised and it holds a wand. It's Shadow's cue to begin his fight.

"A Wizzrobe!" The boy yells, running towards it to attack.

The wizard laughs menacingly and waves his wand next to Zelda, disappearing from sight before Shadow can reach it.

"Watch out, Shadow!" Green shouts from beside me. "I think it's put Zelda under some sort of spell!"

The Wizzrobe reappears with the same alarm in a different spot- to Shadow's right, a good distance away. Shadow attempts to run straight at it again with frustrated confidence, reaching for it.

Dancing around, it waves its wand in the air and three flaming fireballs blast from its wand before he can get to it, heading in a horizontal wave directly at him.

"Duck!" I yell; hearing my cry, he rolls out of the way out of all of them. But they managed to deter him- the Wizzrobe laughs and disappears again.

Shadow growls loudly and, sword in hand, whirls around waiting for the monster to rematerialize. This time, it comes directly behind him.

Not a smart move for it- Shadow grins, noticing its presence, and swings his sword backwards, striking it in the side. The wizard groans and disappears.

"Come on, Shadow! Just a couple more hits!" Green encourages from the sidelines as the creature tosses more fireballs at him.

Confidently smirking back at us, he rolls between the flames and goes for a stab at the monster again.

"Yes!" Red cheers. "Just one more, Shadow!"

"You got this!" I add.

For a few moments, Shadow is only greeted with silence. The wizard doesn't show. He glances back at us and all around the room, looking for it. Then his opponent announces his entrance with a laugh. Everybody turns toward the sound. It has appeared again, right in front of Zelda.

Shadow is about to go for it before a look of realization comes across his face, stopping him in his tracks. If he goes for it and but he misses, he could hurt Zelda. Is he going to risk it?

The Wizzrobe's beak opens into an expression that could be interpreted as a twisted smile, its beady eyes staring at Shadow. It knows what it's doing to Shadow; it taunts him with its very existence, like it's saying, Come on, shadow boy. Are you going to come after me and hurt your precious friend?

Shadow just barely flicks his right hand and murmurs something under his breath that I can't hear. Something appears in his hand, but I'm not at a good angle so I don't know what it is. What's going on now, Shadow? What's going on in that head of yours? He simply stands there, at a draw with the Wizzrobe. They gaze at each other, willing each other to make the first move. Daring them.

For a single second the Wizzrobe shifts his gaze slightly to the left; Shadow doesn't hesitate to take the opportunity. In one fluid motion, he releases a small purple object that whips through the air, heading straight for the creature. Before it can dodge the weapon, the Wizzrobe explodes into the usual purple monster cloud and the item returns to Shadow.

Zelda immediately begins to stir on her throne, capturing our attention. The boys and I all rush to her side, forgetting about Shadow's victory for the time being.

"What? What's happened?" She murmurs softly, gripping the side of her head and grimacing. "Ouch."

"Princess Zelda! You're back!" Red smiles, throwing his arms around her neck in a hug.

She laughs. "I am back! Though, I don't know what happened."

"What do you remember?" Vio questions.

"I'm not sure…" she rubs her head again. "I guess I was just sitting here with my guards, when a monster appeared, and then all my attendees disappeared, and everything just went black after that."

"It was a Wizzrobe," Green explains. "I don't think it quite possessed you, but I think it definitely put you under some sort of spell. Perhaps it paralyzed you?"

"It's gone now, though," Shadow reassures.

"How did you kill it?" Blue questions. "It like, randomly exploded. Or did you throw something?"

"I killed it with this." Holding out his hand, Shadow conjures a black and purple boomerang in his palm, the one I caught a glimpse of. "A magic boomerang. You haven't forgotten that I have the ability to summon weapons, right?"

"Of course I haven't," Blue grumbles, crossing his arms.

"Well thank you, Shadow," Zelda smiles at him.

I notice one thing missing from the battle while the rest are focused on Zelda. "Where's the shell?"

"It should be…" Turning away, Shadow goes over to where the Wizzrobe died and stoops over. Sure enough, the seashell sits on the ground, waiting for him to pick it up. He takes it and brings it over to the group for inspection. It's pretty cute- a small, tightly curled pattern with simple ridges.

"What's this one called?" Red asks with curiosity.

"It's a Button shell," Vio replies, taking it and putting it in his pack with the others for safekeeping. "I believe that is the last one."

"What?" Zelda asks.

"Oh, you don't know," Green replies, looking apologetic. He begins explaining the quest Vaati sent us on. "And now, each of us has earned a seashell."

"So what happens now?"

"We're not entirely sure…" Red looks around. "Guys? What does happen now? Vio?"

"Don't look at me, I don't always have the answers."

"Should we go find Vaati?" Blue suggests.

"Where would we find him?"

Everybody looks at Shadow, even Zelda. "Don't look at me, I'm not with him anymore! You should know that by now!" He spits out.

"Please, let's not start fighting," Zelda says hurriedly, attempting to change the subject.

"Well, what are we going to do?" I ask, becoming slightly impatient. Why can't anybody just make up their minds?

"That's the thing! We don't-" Green's sentence ends as quickly as it starts, being interrupted by a sudden darkening of the room. The five Links all instinctually draw their swords; I summon my own blade. Green stands a little closer to Zelda to protect her from anything that may appear.

"Fools! You're all fools!" Vaati's familiar voice booms. But he's nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you?!" Green shouts, looking around for him. Vaati steps out from behind Zelda's throne, startling us and causing Zelda to stand up and hide behind us quickly.

He clicks his tongue, hands folded behind his back as he walks casually around our group. "Honestly, I thought all of you would be smarter than this."

"Smarter than what, exactly?!" Blue fumes, lunging at him. Vaati simply sidesteps and lets Blue fall to the ground.

"You're not done, you know." The wizard eyes all of us, but his gaze settles on me a little longer than it does on the others, making me go cold. "You still have one more shell to collect. But this time, it won't be won by an individual." Vio and I exchange glances. "You have to work together for this, and let me assure you, it won't be as simple as the other challenges."

"Where do they go?" Zelda asks, her voice shaking despite her best attempts to keep it calm and steady.

Vaati smirks at her, his lips twisting into an evil shape. "The place where it all began."

"We're going back to the camp?" Red pipes up. Vaati nods almost imperceptibly.

"Now, I'm not going to reveal what will happen there, of course. But know that it will be difficult, and that I expect you to be there soon. I am not somebody you want to keep waiting." He suddenly evaporates into thin air within a blink, prompting us to put away our weaponry.

"There's our answer," says Vio. "Back to camp."

"But there's no way we're going to get there tonight, so we might as well rest!" Red says cheerily, making Blue groan at his enthusiasm.

Green looks over at Zelda. "Is it alright if we use the spare chambers again?"

"Yes, of course. Come with me." We follow her out of the throne room, back into the main hall into the left-hand corridor.

My dictionary tried to correct Stalchildren to stepchildren. Close enough. (just kidding, just kidding. please don't hurt me)

Did this go too fast? These days I'm not entirely happy with what I write for this fic. But the show must go on, right? Please give feedback if you are kind enough, so I can improve at least a little, get things from an outsider's perspective ^_^; Thank you~