A/N: *nervously pokes her head out from her hiding place* Did the angry fans leave yet...? ...Whew, looks like it's safe to come out... Ok, I'm back, and ready to continue! Hope all you readers like it! Many thanks to Dea Letum, i-wish-a7x, and littlepidgey as always! Disclaimer time... I now own a copy of both volumes of the Four Swords manga ( YAAAAY~!!!! ) , and I have several of the games, but I don't own the LoZ series. If I did, there'd probably be a LoZ game out with Shadow starring as the hero, or at least a supporting character or something, by now, and the failed cartoon series from a long time ago wouldn't have failed, because it wouldn't have been so horrible, I guess... Maybe. But I don't own, so there! I do own my plot, made-up weapons, items, etc., and any OCs that may appear, as well as my made-up boss monsters, though. ...Augh, I rambled! Sorry, sorry! ...By the way, I updated a few of the previous chapters, fixing some errors. Turns out the Triforce of Courage is on the right and Wisdom is on the left... Vio has white leggings... And Shadow's boots are the same color as his tunic. By the way, I decided to have the Links store things in their hats. I found proof that they do in a page of the Four Swords manga where Blue pulls his hammer out of his hat. Yay for the bottomless hats! ...A-anyways... ....Enjoy!

The Links' personal Weapons (other than their swords and shields, of course!)

-Red has an ice rod, a fire rod, and a slingshot!

-Green has a boomerang, and he's pretty good with it.

-Blue has a hammer, of course, which suits his personality perfectly!

-Vio has a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and of course, his ever-present book.

-Shadow has... well, his weird shadow abilities, I guess? mimicking? Also has the Dark Mirror Shield.

Chapter 6: Friend or Foe?! The Mysterious Vaati!

"(Vio) ...Unnnh... Ugh... ...Wha...?"

A pair of cornflower blue eyes slowly flicker open as Vio stirs a bit, beginning to wake up. He feels something soft and warm beneath his head, and vaguely notices a slight dampness as well... His mind still fogged by sleep, he slowly, shakily pulls himself into a sitting position, and absentmindedly turns his head to look at what he was sleeping on, his glance turning into a long, slightly-blank-at-first, then-dumbfounded stare.

"(Vio) ........."

He lifts his hand and slaps himself across the side of the face, hard.

"(Vio) ...Ow."

'Not sure whether I should be relieved that it's not a dream and he's here or sad that this is real and he's hurt...'

Vio is staring at Shadow, of course. The purple-haired boy in question is out cold, his tunic soaked in blood, with a very obvious, jagged piece of a rib sticking through his skin as the source of the red liquid. His breathing is ragged and uneven, and he's obviously in pain...

"(Vio) *whispers* What in Farore's name did you do to yourself, Shadow...? *sigh...* This is going to hurt him a lot, but it's the only thing I can do..."

Vio pulls a small bottle out of his hat and leans over Shadow, his cheeks immediately turning bright red. He shakes his head violently to clear his thoughts, then quickly presses down hard on the unconscious boy's chest, forcing the offending rib back into its proper place. Shadow yelps loudly, but remains unconscious as Vio unstoppers the bottle and proceeds to slowly and carefully get him to drink its contents. The potion Vio is using is blue in color, with a slight purple tint to it that rules out the possibility of it being a typical Blue Potion.

"(Vio) Come on, Shadow, snap out of it..."

(A/N: Now switching to Shadow's POV!)

The first thing he notices is liquid slipping down his throat as he swallows reflexively, and a strong mint flavor.

'...Ugh... Wha...?'

He blearily opens one eye, his mind still fuzzy from being unconscious, to see Vio leaning over him.

"(Shadow) ......Vio......?"

Shadow seems pretty out of it...

"(Vio) Yeah?"

"(Shadow) ...You... First... Best... friend... And I... I... tried to... kill you... back then... and... almost... killed you... now.... by... mistake... ...I... I'm.... sorry... Vio... You're... the one I... trust... the most... I... I think I... I l-......."

His eyes slide shut and he almost hits his head on the floor; though he is quickly caught by Vio; as he passes out again... Vio gently rests the sleeping boy's head on his lap and leans against the cavern wall.

"(Vio) ...Sleep well... *smiling tenderly without even realizing it* "

'Shadow... What were you going to say...? Could it be you feel the same way about me as I do about you...? ...He looks so peaceful when he's asleep... ...I-if I kissed him right now, no one would know... ...But I won't. I would never do that to him. It would be wrong, and it wouldn't mean anything. The only way I'll get that chance... Is if he likes me too... That's how it should be, and I won't hurt him by stealing a kiss. I don't ever want to hurt him... ...Shadow... Rest for now, and heal... This, at least, I can do, though...'

Vio brushes a lock of deep purple hair out of Shadow's face and, leaning over with his cheeks and ears a bright, flaming red, gently kisses the unconscious boy on the forehead. Shadow smiles a little in his sleep, as if he's having a particularly good dream...

~A little while later...~

Shadow's still out cold, sleeping on the cave floor, and his wounds have all been treated and bandaged up. Vio finishes wrapping a bandage around his leg and expertly fastens it so it won't come loose, leaning against the cavern wall as he does so. As he's pulling his boots on, he hears a sound and looks up. The stone slab blocking the passage Shadow originally used to reach this cavern has just slid back into the wall. Someone is standing there in the entrance...

*clap clap clap clap*

"(Vio) ...! *puts hand on sword hilt*"

The mysterious figure laughs quietly.

"(???) Calm down, Violet Hero. I'm not here to fight. I'm glad you're doing well."

"(Vio) ...Who are you? And what do you want?"

"(???) Why are you so suspicious of me? And here I even opened the door for you so you could leave! Hihihi, what a cold-hearted little boy you are, Violet Hero! Oh well, at least you're more polite than the Hero's Shadow over there, so that's a plus."

Vio glares at him angrily, obviously ticked off about what he just called Shadow.

"(???) Ooh, protective of him, are you? How strange, especially for one who originally wanted nothing more than for him to be dead! Hihihihihi!"

"(Vio) ...Sh-sh-shut up! What do you know?! Show yourself right now, or I'll shoot you!!!"

Vio pulls his bow and an arrow out of his hat and takes aim, obviously extremely angry. A slight blush has spread across his cheeks at the 'protective' comment.

"(???) Ooh, VERY protective! *knowing laugh* Hihihi! Very well, I'll show myself. After all, I want to chat with you for a bit."

'Down here, she has no way of knowing what I tell them, or the specifics of what I do... It's the perfect place for this.'

Shadow's mysterious informant steps forward into the glowing light of the luminous fungi lining the cavern walls, his purple-skinned hands extended out in front of him to show that he's unarmed. Each of his palms bears a set of four small crescent-shaped scars, in clear view and obviously less than a year old, and he is wearing a large hooded cloak that hides the rest of his features.

"(Vio) ...! You...! You're...!"

'Back at the Sanctuary, when Green pulled out the Four Sword and we split again...! He was there! The one who was forcing himself to stay still and not interfere, with his fists clenched so hard his hands were bleeding!'

"(Vio) You were there, with that woman!!"

"(???) Hihihi, so you do remember me after all, Violet Hero. It's a shame, really. You're my second favorite "Link" of this time due to your good fashion sense, and yet I'm going to have to do something nasty to you eventually! Hihihi!"

"(Vio) Wha?! What are you talking about?! First you say you want to talk, then you talk about attacking me?!"

"(???) *suddenly solemn and serious* ...Magic is a mysterious thing. Everyone has the potential to wield it, though some are of course stronger than others, and yet so few manage it because they cannot see their true selves, cannot find their element where it sleeps within them... Hihihi... Can you guess which element you are aligned most closely to, Violet Hero?"

"(Vio) ...What?"

'This guy... He doesn't make sense, even to me!'

"(???) Hihihi, you should remember my little magic lesson. It may... come in handy some time. Like now, perhaps."

"(Vio) What are you- AAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

The mysterious person casts a spell and Vio screams in pain as he is trapped inside a clear crystal that looks like one of the ones the Maidens had been trapped in.

'Wh-what is this thing?! It feels like something's being sucked out of me...! Ugh... A-all of a... sudden... feel so... weak... ...............'

Vio's eyes dim as the crystal holding him captive changes color from clear to pale purple. The color quickly deepens to pure violet, and his now almost completely lifeless eyes slide shut as he slips into unconsciousness... Shadow groggily opens his eyes, woken by Vio's scream, though he doesn't quite realize that just yet. His cheeks turn bright red as he remembers the dream(?) he had while he blinks sleepily, letting out a huge yawn, then gasps as a twinge of pain shoots through his chest, fuzzily remembering his damaged ribs, though it doesn't really register yet.

'...That dream... Vio kissed me on the forehead... It seemed so... real... But, it can't have been real, right...? That'd be too good to be true... Wait. Vio... What woke me up was... It was Vio's voice...! He was... He was screaming!!'

Shadow bolts upright in shock, now fully alert and ignoring the pain in his chest again, only to see his mysterious informant standing next to a glowing, violet-colored crystal, inside of which is Vio.

"(Shadow) Why you! I knew you were rotten from the first time I saw you!"

"(???) Hihihi! I'm just making sure you fulfil your end of the bargain, Hero's Shadow! Give me the Triforce piece I asked for, and he will be released."

'Of course, that is true, but what you don't know is that I won't be the one doing it. He will, if all goes as I hope it will, and so will you, for that matter... ...I cannot fail. I need that Triforce fragment. And I cannot let her suspect me until I get it to him!'

~flashback~

"(Green) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!"

"(woman) Ahahahahahaha! Suffer! Suffer as HE should have! Suffer, and die!"

~second flashback~

A dragon curls up in the room in the Tower of Winds in which the Dark Mirror used to reside before Shadow shattered it for the first time. Its scales are a sickly dull gray-green color, and its eyes are a glassy and completely clouded over, blind milky white. A large crystal-like growth wrapped around its face covers most of its head, and seems to be growing larger...

"(dragon) ....g-rrrrr... g-grrrrr... graaarrr..."

"Shh, shh. It's all right. I'm going to help you, I promise. I won't let you die."

~end of flashbacks~

"(Shadow) You said you'd stop hiding your identity! Show me your face and tell me your name so I'll know who to beat the living daylights out of at every possible opportunity!"

"(???) Very well. I am Vaati, Sorceror of Winds. Do not confuse me with that power-hungry, idiotic demon Gufuu, mind you! Hihihi!"

He throws off his cloak...

~Meanwhile, at Lake Hylia...~

*splash-whump-thud!*

"(odd kitten) Mewww!"

A cute little red-furred kitten with a tail that splits in two is desperately trying to swim, making repeated attempts and meowing in a distressed and forlorn manner that could melt the heart of even the iciest individual upon hearing, and failing miserably. It's shivering as well, soaking wet and miserable. With each successive time it's washed head-over-heels back to shore by the tiniest wave imaginable, it stubbornly picks itself up and tries again. It's obviously been doing this for a while, as it looks exhausted, but keeps trying.

"(odd kitten) Mewwwww! "

*splash-whump-thud!*

"(odd kitten) Mewwwwww!!!"

Someone comes near... It's a Zora girl.

"(Zora girl) Hmm? I come looking for the supposed monster that's messing up Lake Hylia, zora, but this isn't a monster... It's a kitten! And it likes the water? How cute, zora!"

She picks up the small feline and cradles it in her arms.

"(odd kitten) MEWWW!!!"

It bites her, and goes splashing right into the water, nearly drowning. She scoops it up again.

"(Zora girl) No need to be scared of me, zora. Come on, behave! ...Hmm? Looks like it passed out... Poor thing seems exhausted, zora. I wonder what it was doing here?"

She heads back to Zora's Domain, taking the sleeping kitten with her...

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A/N: Who or what is the cute yet mysterious kitty that actually wants to be in the water? Guess it and you get a(n imaginary) cookie~! Please review, and no flames, unless I really deserve it!