AU: A lot, lot, looot of technical difficulties with this. Sorry.

GDL: Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about the leave. XD I've missed this story.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Legend of Zelda or any of xbluxmoonx's characters.

Chapter 15: Part 1

Jade's POV

We woke with a start that morning. The house being right next to a cuckoo pen didn't help any, if you can imagine. And, being as it were, none of us were in the mood to face each other. Even Link had a hard time waking to the morning. And I thought I wasn't a morning person.

"You look terrible, Link," I told him between chomping down my breakfast much like the rest of us.

"And you look horribly gruesome yourself," he muttered back with a glare.

I smiled at him crookedly before turning to Cat. She was hunched over the table, elbow on the surface and her chin in her hand.

"Are you okay, Cat?" I asked her.

She glared at me. "No." Her lips formed the word.

"Okay, so am I the only one that's sarcastically cheerful this morning?"

Kado snorted, "I think so. Congratulations, Jade. You get the Annoying Adventurer of the Year Award."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Thanks, smartass."

And that was our conversation for the morning. We packed our things, lugging them quietly down the stone steps through the crisp morning air. It had no effect on anyone, as far as I can tell. It was like a slap to the face to me, anyway, and I wanted to hide back into my covers.

I guessed we were all dreading the next temple. The Shadow Temple. It had given me the creeps back when I'd played it and I didn't want to believe this would be ten times worse. I sort of wished Kado could stay with us through to the end, but how in the world would I be able to admit that to him, or anyone?

"Need some help?" A familiar voice offered.

I scoffed, glancing down at the blankets bundled in my arms. I'd been standing in the same spot up in the second floor in the midst of picking up our makeshift beds for a while, I guessed, and having been intruded on by the last person I wanted to see was the last thing I wanted to go through.

"No, thanks, handsome," I hissed at the brunette, turning around to walk past him.

"What did I do?" Kado called back.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, turned around, flipped him off, then stomped down the rest of the way.

I guessed even sarcasm didn't last long when you were in such a terrible mood. Link noticed, Cat noticed, and no doubt- Kado did, too. I didn't bother to tell them what was wrong, but merely sent them an angered glance every time they tried to talk to me or use some sort of reverse psychology to get me to talk at least on word.

Maybe heading to the Shadow Temple was exactly what I needed.

"I don't think I want to go in there," Cat muttered quietly beside me, now.

We faced the entrance to the Shadow Temple, blank faces weary but anxious all the same.

I glanced at her, gaze softening, "It'll be all right, Cat. We're here for you."

"Yeah," Link agreed from beside her. He glanced at Kado, who was now walking quietly away from us, toward the railing where we'd climbed over to reach the entrance. "Kado," Link said, "Leaving again."

Kado turned around, small smile on his lips. It didn't reach his eyes, though. "Yeah. See you guys on the other side…" Then, hesitated. "Of the temple. I mean…"

"We know what you mean," I told him sourly before turning around. "We getting this over with, or what?"

Link nodded, just as Kado disappeared from my peripheral vision. "Yeah. Cat?"

She nodded stiffly, for a moment twitching her hand as if to reach out for my sleeve. I smiled reassuringly at her, no matter how hard it hurt to smile when I didn't seem to mean it. I wanted her to be okay, I didn't want her to be scared, but at that moment, I just didn't care. This whole dungeon thing was growing old. I wanted to get it over it, live already.

Go back home.

I didn't say anything, and walked into the dungeon, Link ahead with a fumbling Cat. I glanced inside the knapsack I carried. Two, soft glowing forms slept on top of the bundle of scarce supplies.

"Véra, Léra," I whispered, placing a hand under their tissue-soft wings.

They fluttered for a moment.

"What?" Véra grumbled, rustling from her sleep.

"Do you mind giving us some light, please?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low.

The two fairies must have noticed my sincerity, or the force for something that was lacking, and agreed to hover over our heads and sprinkle fairy dust every now and then.

Cat noticed and turned around. "How'd you do that?"

I smiled at her wryly, "All in the tone."

"Heard that," Véra snapped, sprinkling dust over my head, tickling my scalp and running a chill up my spine. "You look gruesome, by the way."

I tried to swat her away, "You look lovely, too."

Link snickered bitterly up front. I flicked his neck and he retaliated by grabbing my wrist and pulling me forward. Before I knew what to do, he had me in a headlock.

"Are you going to do that, again?" He asked playfully as I tried to wrestle away.

"Gah!" I struggled to get away, but his hold was too strong. "Link! No! Ahh!"

"Well, are you?" He asked, nearly bursting into a fit of laughter- like Cat.

"Yo-you better do what h-he says!" Cat added between laughs. I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes since Link's hold wasn't allowing very much space to turn my neck.

I growled, but it quickly caught in my throat before spurting out in breathless laughs. "Come on, Link! Let go! Pleaaasee??"

"Hmm." For a moment he considered, but I could note the sarcasm in it easily. "I don't know, Jade. You did flick me."

"Duh," I muttered breathlessly, hands gripping uselessly onto Link's arms. We waddled over to the stone a few feet away from the entrance. It glowed softly, the insignias that symbolized us seeming to be something of its own.

"Come on, guys," Cat spoke suddenly, voice tight. "Let's get this over with."

Both Link and I sighed dramatically. "All right." He said.

"If we must." I added before turning to the blonde and narrowing my eyes. "This isn't over yet."

Link strutted by airily. "You bet your ass it isn't."

"Hey!" I called, following him. "Watch your tongue!"

"Jade," Cat interjected, grabbing hold of my arm a bit too tightly and leading me farther away from Link. "Focus, will you?"

"Oh, ugh." I grumbled. "Fine, fine." Then, I smiled.

Cat rolled her eyes. "Link, Jade's losing it."

"I'm sure." Link remarked.

"Pshh, that happened a week ago. What about you, Cat? Have you traveled to the other side- to insanity, yet?"

She narrowed her eyes and walked away, mumbling something incoherent under her breath. From her expression, it seemed like she was already half way there.

-Cat's P.O.V.-

I wasn't keen on the idea of the fact that we would have to go into a temple of infinite darkness. Yet, Link dragged me here anyway. Jade kept questioning my odd behavior all the way there, but I just ignored her. There was no need for her to know of my fear of the dark. Something told me that soon I would have to reveal my dark secret to both Link and Jade. So, we walked into the darkness of the temple, ready to repeat what we did in the last 3 temples. Well, Link and Jade were all for it, anyway.

Jade and I finally stepped up to the stone (after much bickering and procrastinating) and looked at each other.

Jade asked, "You ready?" Her solemn expression had returned.

I replied with a sigh, "As ready as I'll ever be."

We shoved our swords into the stone, which opened a portal that we were ready for by now. We all hopped in, waiting for our feet, butts, or ground to meet with the ground. That happened a few moments after entering said portal from before.

We walked through the first room of the temple. What was odd, was that there weren't any enemies in the first few rooms. Nor were there any keys or puzzles. It was just walking aimlessly through the darkness. That put me even less at ease than I was when we first walked into the dungeon. Link must have noticed my skiddish actions, because every once in a while he would send a worried glance my way. We went through a few more rooms, and Link must have gotten annoyed at the way I was acting, because he asked,

"Cat, are you okay? You're not acting like yourself."

I nodded, but my stuttering gave me away, "I-I'm f-fine, Link. Wh-why wou-would y-you ask that?"

Link sighed, "Because you're on edge more so than usual, you look like you're about to jump out of your skin, and you usually don't stutter. What's wrong?"

I sighed, "Do I REALLY have to tell you?"

He looked like a parent letting their kid date for the first time, and said, "Yes. I want to know what's wrong."

I looked at my feet, and in nothing more than a whisper, said, "I…I'm afraid of the dark. Not the normal dark. The type of dark that's in this temple…that's the type I'm afraid of. It's the evil darkness that can swallow you whole. That's why I'm freaking out like I am…"

Link just smiled that boyish smile of his, and said, "That's all? Cat, there's nothing to be afraid of here."

"Stop sugarcoating," Jade suddenly interjected sardonically from behind him. "Cat, the truth is, the place is full of creepy crawlers- and ghosts. Only difference, now, is we've got three instead of one. So, relax, will you?"

I huffed, "Maybe."

She rolled her eyes. "If you're so worried, just stay between Linky and me. We'll watch your back- and front, and sides, maybe. Well, if Kado was here we'd get more ground covered." Her eyebrows furrowed suddenly and she grew quiet.

"True," Link agreed, "But he's not here- and he can't be."

"Goddess's rules." Jade muttered bitterly.

"Why, Jade? You miss him?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

There was hesitation before she spoke, and though it was dark I believed there just might've been a blush. But, that could have been my eyes and ears playing tricks on me.

"No." She finally answered, then with a struggled step, finally moved ahead of Link and I.

The entrance loomed above us threateningly. I hated this part. Too much. Instinctively, I reached my hands forward for anything to grasp. Accidentally, however, I brushed Link's back. He turned around, and in the faint light that the three fairies above us offered, I saw his blue eyes gleaming and a small smile on his lips.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

I nodded numbly. "Yep, never better."

Hand on my elbow, he guided me forward.

Okay, so maybe this temple wouldn't be so bad after all.

Kado's POV-

It got weirder watching them fight in the dungeons while I had to follow them like the cowardice Sheikah I am. One-eighth Sheikah, if anyone's wondering. That's why I was chosen by the goddesses, apparently- just like Jade and Cat. Something about the Sheikah race created something in us, but unlike them, I knew my role in Hyrule. It wasn't very…well, interesting. None of it really was. What was the point of being their guardian when I couldn't do anything to help them in their worst times? How could I watch them get hurt and not do anything?

The Water Temple was terrible enough, but now, the Shadow Temple? Catherine's fears were coming alive. Would it be Jade's turn next? Or, Link's? Or, did he have no fears? Maybe losing Cat was his fear. I wouldn't be able to bear it, either…

None of it, really. It was too much.

Now, as I slid from one darkened corner to the next, watching them as they fought, as they went against some unknown force they had no clue of, I realized how much more terrible my job was compared to theirs. To watch them die meant failure, meant loss. I couldn't fail them, just like they couldn't fail this world they'd been unjustly brought to- without any real reason, real justified reason. I'd been the one to ask, to ask over and over again. They'd accepted it. Maybe that's why they were what they were, and I'd become the guardian, the one that questioned everything they did, and then worried some more.

Jade. She was lagging a little behind them. Giving Link his space and Cat's as well. Her eyes were still on her, and yet, something was missing. She was elsewhere. I noticed the expression. Distant. Worry? Confusion?

It pained to know that I couldn't read her mind, all her thoughts. If I could, things would've been much easier. Much, much easier. Ways to anger her. Ways to make her happy. Ways to make her like me. I knew it was stupid to do things to make her hate me, but I couldn't let them understand. I wasn't supposed to exist after all this. Maybe. If that's what the goddesses planned. They had even hidden that from me. It felt…unjustified. Unfair.

They couldn't just do this to us! Couldn't throw us to the wolves! What would happen in the end? Now? What if they were killed? And I couldn't do anything to stop it..!

My hands weren't solid- shouldn't have been. I thought I could have slammed them into the wall, through them. But, in my anger, I'd become real. My blood needed a solid flow, this exertion rising too high. I'd slammed my fist into the dirt wall, creating a pound that resonated throughout the dimly lit hall.

Red eyes stared back at me, turned to look at the confused three- at the petrified one, and snarled a quiet snarl in invisible throats.

I held my breath and disappeared.

Jade's POV-

Cat was freaking out. Bad. Link had to place his hands on her shoulders and refocus her vision and let her concentrate on the one thing that calmed her. Whatever that noise had been, it'd totally and unutterably petrified her.

"Is she all right?" Léra voiced with concern, hovering just above Cat's head in anxious circles.

"I don't know." Link said, and then repeated it a few seconds later.

I gripped my sword tighter for a moment, surveying the hall both ways though I knew it wouldn't matter since I could hardly see a thing. Then, I stepped up to the duo.

"She okay?"

"I said I don't know." Link snapped suddenly.

I glared at him. "I was just asking a question." My heart was racing in frustration. I knew there was something about confrontation that I hated. This was it. "I think she's in shock." I added a few seconds later, when Link had his hand against her forehead, checking her temperature.

"We need to get her warm." Link offered, beginning to fumble around his belt. Nothing.

I sighed, knowing very well we hadn't brought extra tunics or coats or anything. "We'll have to go back out. Until she gets better, at least."

"No, no." Link muttered over and over, again. "We can't leave, Jade."

"Why, not?" I asked- unhelpfully, I might add- since Link sent me another one of his annoyed glances.

"We just can't, Jade. We have to keep going. Cat will… She'll be fine. We just need to find a place with a better light source."

The fairies were miffed by that, but we all were. I closed my mouth, however, taking Cat's hand with my own free one to guide her down the rest of the hallway.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She muttered, nails digging into my hand.

"Cat…"

"I'm fine, I'm okay…"

"Cat, are you…?"

"I'm okay, I'm great…"

"Cat!"

She turned her head to stare. "What, Jade?"

I sighed. "Do you need some fresh air?"

She shrugged, "No… I'm…great. Just dandy."

I rolled my eyes, "All right… Link…" I waited for him to turn around, maybe even slow his pace. He didn't.

What was his problem, anyway?

"Link, yeah- you. The guy in the green pajamas. Where are we?"

"I think you're pissing him off." Cat whispered to me rigidly.

I waved her off. "Whatever. He's being a jerk."

Link suddenly halted in his stride and turned around to stare at me. "And- and you're not? You've been nothing but unhelpful and uncaring through all of this!" His voice echoed down the hall, traveling past the unblinking red eyes staring back at us from empty skulls. I shivered like their bones, feeling almost as hollow as them. "You've been so wrapped up in your own little world, Jade. You're a real hypocrite to say that I'm being a jerk, while I'm the one trying to find a way to…"

"A way to, what?" I retorted, dropping my hand from Cat's. "Find a way to help Cat get some fresh air? Goddesses, Link. Sometimes you're just so oblivious to everyone around you."

"And, you aren't?" He snapped, eyebrows furrowing. "What about Kado? You treat him like- like he's nothing! After all he's done. You treat everyone the exact same way no matter what and it's so ungrateful. How can you throw your anger onto me, when the only person you should be angry with is yourself."

"That- that isn't true." I tried to say, but my voice was cracking. My shoulders drooped, as did my eyelids. Gaze to the floor, I sighed.

Silence. Nothing but our breathing echoing off the cold, dark walls.

"Cat?" Link's raspy voice called out softly after a few moments. He'd been yelling, of course.

And I, of course, was the one to blame.

"Cat? Where are you?"

No reply.

I looked up from the dark floor and to my side. No one was there. Not in the dim light of the two fairies hovering above us.

"Navi," Link reprimanded, "Where'd they go?"

"She and Léra left a little while ago. Said she was going to find the exit to get some air." She replied softly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He continued, hands forming fists under his gauntlets. They stretched. Leather cracked under his knuckles in anxiety.

She bobbed up and down, green glow brightening. There was no need to answer.

"We have to go after her," I told him quietly. "We can't just leave her. She could get lost."

After a moment. "I know… I'll go after her."

"What?"

"You keep going, Jade." Link sheathed his sword, watching me with solemn intent.

I shook my head in disbelief. "No. Listen. I know we just had a fight or something, but there is no way you're leaving me out of that just because of it. She's my friend, too, you know."

"I know," he said, walking past me, "But, if you were her friend, you wouldn't want her to face the darkness all by herself, now would you? I have a better chance of finding her than you do. Véra will help you through. When you reach the last door, wait for us."

"But, but, I…"

But, he was off into the darkness.

Glancing down the looming hall, I could have sworn the eyes were boring right into my soul.

Kado's POV-

I knew this would happen. How did I not know? Maybe she'd seen me? Maybe I'd drawn too close, thinking Link and Jade's quarrel had busied her attention to some larger degree. It hadn't. Now, she'd freaked, and she was off, taking her fairy with her whether the bug liked it or not. I was off after them, and I had no doubt that she believed something was chasing her, now. There was no time to take precautions, after all. Besides, she was heading the exact opposite direction. She needed me more than anything.

Screw the goddesses.

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