Chapter 04: The next shadow keeper

"This is getting old," muttered Link.

He and Zelda had been taking care of the sleeping Twili girl for several days now. He had barely gotten any sleep, he was so worried about her recovery. Zelda had rarely gotten any sleep either. And she needed it much more than he did.

Renado also made daily stops to check on her improvement. After about a week, her original color was returning. She had rather grayish skin, with shockingly red hair, something rather rare for Twili. Her arms were covered in neon lines that Renado guessed were the symbols of the Twili. The only thing that puzzled them all was her size. Most Twili were the regular size of people. However, she stayed very small, comparatively.

"Don't worry," Zelda replied. "She'll be better soon."

"Yeah, then I'll be her guide!" Link complained. "Or her caretaker. I won't have a life of my own anymore!"

"See?" Zelda smiled. "You're the noble hero, going out of your way to help someone! Everything happens for a reason!"

That night, Link was finally able to sleep without the girl behaving like a marsupial. That night, however, it was Zelda who was plagued with worry. Her early, light-hearted statement had been just that: light-hearted. However, it was now back to haunt her. The last time Twili had been seen in Hyrule, Hyrule had been covered in twilight. Several people died, which was extremely rare thanks to the constantly reborn hero.

Zelda looked over at Link. Could he really be that reborn hero? Despite all of her claims to Link about the contrary, she doubted it intensely. Yes, he was great with a sword, and he was fast on his feet, not to mention caring, but she didn't feel that he was a hero for all of Hyrule. She sighed. All she wished would be that Link would take the hint and become her hero. That's all she wanted. But he just didn't take the hint. He couldn't for the life of him understand a girl's romantic feelings, not even her's!

However, just them, she heard a quiet voice.

"Just rest, Zelda. Your hero will come."

A pair of red eyes gleamed out from the darkness. However, Zelda wasn't alarmed. Ever since her childhood, the red eyes had told her of things. She saw him as a sort of negative Link, only appearing to her at night. Though she'd never seen his face, she counted him among her best friends.

"Greetings," she smiled. She could sense his presence moving closer to her, as it began to speak again.

"Zelda, you are aware what the meaning of the return of Midna, a keeper of shadow?" Zelda shook her head as the voice continued. "It means that her power will be required, and soon. However, something realized that, and caught her on her way to Hyrule, hurting her and forcing her into this form."

"What could have done such a thing?" Zelda wondered aloud.

"An evil from the past."

"Not… ZANT?"

"I'm afraid that the shadow king of legend isn't just a legend. He's in the Twilight realm as ruler right now."

"And the meaning is…"

"Zelda, darkness is gathering at the edge of Hyrule. A very bad darkness at that. One that would make all of the hero Link's past missions seem like vacation."

"What do you mean, exactly?"

"I mean that Hyrule is on the verge of changing. And you, princess, will be the one who carries most of the burden."
"We need a hero, and fast," she declared.

"Not one, but three."

"Not four, as there were in the legend?"

"There will be a fourth, but for awhile, he'll be no hero."

Zelda could feel shock coursing through her as development after development was lobbed at her. She fainted.

When Zelda came to, she was face to face with the small imp they'd rescued a few days ago.

"Eee hee hee! Our friend's awake!" she smiled. Zelda immediately liked this cheerful little Twili, forgetting the magnitude of her coming.

"Zelda, are you okay?" Link asked in concern. She nodded, but was still uneasy.

"She didn't seem 'okay' when I found her," came a new voice. It was high and clear, like that of a Minish, but there was an edge to it that Minish normally didn't have. Zelda turned her face upward to face the owner of this new voice. It was a Minish with grayish skin, red eyes, and dressed as a sorcerer. Also, he was much cuter than a normal Minish. He was standing just above Midna, and Zelda, in shock, immediately could name him.

"You're Vaati! The wind mage!" she cried.

"Yes and no," Vaati replied. "See, like all people, I've got a good side and an evil side. A monster came to me once and sealed my good away. One of the great green-cloaked heroes sealed my wicked self into the four sword. However, my good side and evil side were split later."

Midna's eyes opened wide in shock.
"You've heard the story of how the Dark Link of the four, actually five Links sacrificed himself?" Vaati asked. Zelda nodded.

"It's a mere myth," Link began, but Vaati held a small hand up to silence him.

"It's a story passed down by word of mouth, so it may have been changed," Vaati continued. "But the gist goes like this:

"As you may know, each Link had a special power of magic as well. However, this part isn't mentioned in the story because of its seeming repetitiveness. Link of green carried the Triforce. Link of red could conduct the winds as if he were conducting an orchestra, similar to another Link, from before. Link of blue could play an ocarina more easily and more precisely than the others, though he didn't often because he preferred battle to music. And Link of violet, more commonly known as Vio, had an extremely rare gift: veil power. It's only been recorded in history twice besides his gift."

"What's 'veil power?'" asked Link.

"It's the power to fuse and separate not only things, but people as well. However, Vio was unaware of it. On that day, when Dark Link sacrificed himself, Vio shed a single tear, very similar to the one you did, Midna, upon the parting of you and your new friends." Midna blushed.

"However, this tear managed to connect with me, splitting my benevolent Minish personality and my wicked wind mage personality. The wind mage is still out there, though…" Vaati finished. "I've felt him stirring recently."

"That's what the Glowing Red Eyes said as well, except he was talking about Zant," Zelda put in.

Both Midna and Vaati faced one another.

"So we are all feeling it," Midna whispered.

"What?" asked Link.

"It appears that the Glowing Red Eyes are none other than that Dark Link who sacrificed himself. Like Link the hero, he was reborn," Vaati explained.

"What are you referring to?" asked Zelda.

"We are shadow bearers," Midna added. "Bearers of the fused shadows, the embodiment of twilight and darkness, and shadow of course. I wear mine on my head," she drew attention to her head piece.

"I hold the second as a charm around my neck that enhances my power," Vaati pulled out the charm.

"And Dark Link wears his as a breast plate," they finished together.

"And the fourth shadow shard?" Zelda asked. Midna looked fearful.

"Our enemies have it," Vaati whispered. A sudden cold settled over them all.

Outside, they heard a shriek. It didn't sound quite… human.

Link drew his sword, and the bearers of shadow followed him.

Zelda followed behind them.

"It's beginning!" shouted Midna from the door. "Hyrule's collapse has begun!"