Aronos was still surprised. Not surprised that the spell had worked, he knew it would; he was surprised at what he looked like. He remembered that when he was younger, he hadn't been evil. He had had long, fiery red hair, shining green eyes, and always a smile on his face. He never thought of what would happen to him after he met Ganondorf. But as he grew, the Gerudo's evil transformed his appearance. He aged faster than normal; his eyes became glowing ruby ovals, and his hair turned completely black. Now, as he studied his reflection in the silvery liquid, he realized that he looked the same as he had when he was still pure hearted. Looking over the spell, he noticed a few sentences at the very end. "This spell shows a being in their pure form, free of evil. It dispels any powerful darkness inside a person's heart, restoring them to balance." Oh. That explains it. He heard the unmistakable sound of a portal opening beside him. He quickly covered his face with the hood of his robe, hiding his new appearance. He could sense that there were two figures entering, and that they were completely evil, yet somehow hollow. The portal closed, and Shadow Zelda began speaking. "So I hear you might need our help with something," she said, somewhat disappointed that Ganondorf wasn't ready to kill Link yet. "Where did you get that idea?" He almost gasped, catching himself at the last second, upon realizing that his voice sounded younger as well. "Ganondorf said so. Sounds like he doesn't know what you're doing. Either that, or he doesn't believe in your abilities." Aronos looked surprised, thankful his face was hidden. "That's not true," he replied monotonously.

"You sure? He sure sounded like he didn't trust you. He's probably afraid of you. He knows you're stronger than him."

"Zelda, what are you saying that for?" Dark Link murmured.

"Shhh," she whispered to him.

"Maybe you should go see what he's up to." Aronos glared at her.

"No, I think he can handle it. Besides, it never hurts to trust people." He left them, going to another room in the castle. You don't know how wrong you are, thought Dark Link. I trusted Link to always be ready to fight, and look where it got me!

"I thought he'd never leave. Now, it's time to see what this spell can really do." Shadow Zelda picked up one of the bottles of the potion and drank it. Liquid metal flowed throughout her whole body, turning her into silver. Dark Link stared in astonishment.

"And how does this help?"

"It makes you more powerful; it fills you with energy. Try it." He tentatively stepped towards her.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Oh, come on. It doesn't hurt." She held out the other bottle. Dark Link took it and drank the potion. He saw that he had turned silver, just like Shadow Zelda.

"Wow. This is new. It's like I'm way more powerful than Link ever was."

"I know what you mean. It feels like I'm finally separate from Zelda. Like I'm my own person. And you know what else? I don't feel evil anymore." Dark Link thought about what she was saying. "Now that you mention it, that's what I feel like too!"

"That's what the potion does." Aronos was standing there, calmly watching them. His hood was pulled back, revealing his youthful face. "You look-different," said Dark Link.

"I just told you- the spell removes enough evil from a person to put them back in balance. The only reason you don't look normal is because you weren't complete to begin with. But that will fix itself in time." He sounded wise, like he knew more than he used to.

"So what do we do now?" said Dark Link.

"I don't know. But I don't think I want to stay here. It's too miserable an atmosphere," Shadow Zelda replied.

"That's something I thought you'd never say." She laughed at Dark Link's comment.

"Me either. I know," she said. "Let's go back to the Water Temple. It seems like we should go back there. I can't quite figure out why, but I feel connected to it." She took Dark Link's hand. "Okay. I guess that's as good an idea as any." Aronos opened a portal, and they stepped through it together. He watched them leave, then went back to the window that showed him the real Link and the imitation Zelda. Link was talking to her, trying to figure out if Ganondorf had really taken control of her. Ganondorf was doing his best to act like her, but Link could see right through it. He left the room and went to see Impa in the library. She had already gathered the potions necessary for the spell, and they talked about how they were going to cast it. Using his magic, Aronos wiped away the window and went to the highest room in the castle so he could think. Think about what he had done in the past. About what he would do in the future. About how he was going to stop Ganondorf.

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About the story: Yeah, yeah, cliffie. I hate me for it, and I've decided to reward all you (non-reviewing) people by putting in the last chapter now. As always, enjoy, read, and review it!

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