A/N:Tee hee! I'm still on a roll! Many thanks to Dea Letum, i-wish-a7x, and littlepidgey as always! Disclaimer time... 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. 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 9: Deja Vu

Vio gently lands on the floor as the crystal holding him captive dissolves. He slowly opens his eyes, blinking a few times. They've changed color, going from their previous cornflower blue to deep violet. He looks around, first seeing Vaati on the ground, then his eyes widen in shock and horror as he sees the swirling mass of Dark energy, and the glowing red eyes within it.

"(Vio) Wh-what... What is that...?!"

'No... It can't be... That CAN'T be you...!'

"(Vaati) Heheh, you should see the look on your face... Priceless..."

"(Vio) ...!"

Vaati is leaning heavily against the cave wall in order to remain standing. Vio looks at him worriedly, then asks the first thing on his mind.

"(Vio) ...That thing... What is it...?"

Vaati laughs bitterly and nods slightly when he hears the dread in Vio's voice, knowing that the boy has already guessed the truth, but doesn't want to believe it.

"(Vaati) It's him, all right. That's what happens if you try to deny your true nature; you essentially lose yourself and turn into an insane, ridiculousy powerful monster that will destroy anything and everything around it. Especially those it used to care about- *koff!* Argh..."

Vaati coughs up some blood, then continues.

"(Vaati) I think this is because they drive it even more insane, by bringing back parts of itself. If you can... Get him to come to his senses somehow... Do it. Before he comes out of that cocoon of energy, if possible..."

Vaati slumps back down to the floor, exhausted just from the effort needed to stand.

"(Vio) Are you going to be okay? And who are you, anyway?"

"(Vaati) Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself, and the one you seem to like so much. After all, you're not the only one who blushes a lot. *hint-hinting* My name's Vaati. Vaati, the Sorceror of Winds. Not to be... *koff!* confused with that stupid demon Gufuu... Ugh... Serves me right..."

"(Vio) ...Uh, okay then... *blushing slightly* Shadow! Shadow, snap out of it! Please! Can't you hear me?!"

"(Shadow) ...n...o...t... ...d...a...r...k...n...e...s...s... ...d...a...r...k...n...e...s...s... ...e...v...i...l... ...n...o...t... ...m...e... ...i...t... ...i...s... ...N...O...T... ...m...e...!"

"(Vio) Shadow, listen to me! You have to accept the Darkness! It's just as much a part of you as the rest of you! It's not evil, not by itself! It's how it's used that decides whether it's good or bad! Please, wake up!!"

"(Shadow) ...N...o...! ...L...i...a...r...! S..h...u...t... ...u...p...! ...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!"

*RRRRRIP!!!*

Shadow hunches over as something tears out of his back... The swirling Dark energy around him dissipates, flowing into his body. Visibility is returning with every passing moment as the Darkness disappears into him... The boy's appearance has changed. He is now a raging monster with no trace of his former self left. His skin is even paler than its usual color, as white as if he were dead, and his hair has grown spikier and more shaggy, his hat having fallen to the floor. His fingers have become sharp claws, and his teeth vicious, beast-like fangs... The last of the Darkness disappears, revealing his back...

"(Vaati) G-Goddesses!! That appearance...!! Just like Aezehl from the legend of the Guardians!!"

A set of pitch black, feathered wings sprout from Shadow's bloodied back. They seem to have literally ripped themselves out through his skin as they formed...

"(Vio) ...!"

'Aezehl... That's... The guardian Shadow seemed to admire so much in my memory...! That legend... What is it...?! Argh, I can't remember!! Anyway, it doesn't matter right now! Shadow does!'

Vio runs towards Shadow, completely unarmed and not caring one bit. He's crying without even realizing it, and screaming at the insane boy-turned-monster to come to his senses.

"(Vaati) ...Idiot...! You'll get yourself killed...! ...unnnh..."

Vaati passes out...

"(Shadow) STAY AWAY FROM ME!!! YOU'RE LYING, YOU'RE LYING!! YOU WANT TO MAKE ME JOIN THE DARKNESS AGAIN, THE EVIL AGAIN!!!"

"(Vio) Shadow, I would never-! Ah!! Wh-wh-what?!!"

Shadow's body suddenly turns translucent and he clutches his head. Vio stares, horrified, as Shadow turns completely transparent for a moment. This erratic flickering, once begun, does not seem to want to stop, and Shadow slumps into a kneeling position, moaning and shaking his head back and forth with his hands covering his face, muttering the same phrase over and over again.

"(Shadow) You're lying, you're lying... Stay away, stay away..."

"(Vio) Shadow, please!!"

Vio takes a step forward.

"(Shadow) STAY AWAAAAAAAY!!!"

Dark power streaks outward, straight at Vio.

*plip... plip...*

Drops of the purple-clad hero's blood drip onto the floor. His arms are covered in jagged thin slashes from the attack, as he threw them up in front of his face and upper body just in time to avoid taking major damage. Those insane red eyes seem transfixed by the blood, staring at Vio's arms while being wide as dinner plates...

"(Shadow) Ah... Aaaah!!!"

He's shaking, his head tilting from side to side, back and forth, a look of pure horror on his face with his hands holding his head, pulling at his hair. Somehow, the mere act of hurting Vio has triggered some of his self to return, probably due to the trauma it's obviously causing him... Vio walks forward and carefully wraps his arms around Shadow, who no longer resists or cries out, but simply kneels there, moaning and shivering with his head in his hands, small sobs escaping his throat every couple seconds...

"(Vio) It's okay... It's okay, Shadow... Come on, come back... Please..."

"(Shadow) Uhhhhh... Urrrr..."

He goes limp, and his wings slowly fold shut, quietly retreating back into his body. Fangs shrink back down to teeth, and claws to fingers. His hair returns to normal, as well. His skin is still deathly pale, though, and he feels alarmingly cold to Vio, who's holding him.

'He's so cold... Something's wrong!'

Dull red eyes look up at Vio, and Shadow's voice comes out in a barely audible whisper.

"(Shadow) ...unnnh... V... Vi... o... Vio... I... I'm... so...rry..."

Shadow's eyes dim even further, and slide closed. Tiny sparks of light begin to float upwards from his body and flit around the room as Vio realizes what's happening, too late to stop it even if there had been a way to do so...

'His soul is... His soul is dying!! He's... Shadow's dying!! NO! Please, Goddesses, NOOO!!!'

"(Vio) No! Nooo! Shadow, hang in there! Don't die, PLEASE! I-! You-! You're very, VERY important to me, do you understand?!"

Vio is too panicked to blush at this point, even though he basically just admitted his feelings towards the boy who lays shivering in his arms.

"(Shadow) ...Heheh... So it... wasn't... one-sided... after all... ...That's... good..."

"(Vio) ...!"

Shadow's breathing slows, and stops. Vio seems to be in shock, memories from the past suddenly returning to him...

~flahsback~

"And Aezehl, enslaved and cursed by Skyth in exchange for Ryothe's life, was then ordered to fight his best friend, whom he had been trying to save all along. "NO!" He cried out, his voice full of horror. "I don't care if it kills me, I won't obey!" Rather than attack Ryothe, he turned on Skyth, felling that horrible being. The curse was triggered by this, however, and Aezehl fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Ryothe, seeing this, cried out in terror for his friend. "Aezehl! Oh, Aezehl, why would you do ssssuch a thing for me?! You sssshould not have done it! I am not worth your life! Nothing issss worth that!" Aezehl looked at him weakly, his soul already beginning to fade and his voice a mere whisper. "...No... ...You are worth... ...that... ...and more... ...I am... ...the one... ...unworthy of... ...someone like... ...you... ...Ryothe... ...This is... ...Goodbye..." His eyes slid shut as his soul left him, sagging limply to the ground. Ryothe, heartbroken, wept helplessly over the fallen Shadow Guardian's lifeless form. The cavern began to shake, unstable now that Skyth's vile magic no longer supported it. Ryothe curled his immense rocky body around his fallen friend to protect him, and fell into a deep slumber beneath the earth..."

~second flashback~

"(young Shadow) Haha! I'd DEFINITELY be Aezehl, he's so cool! Doing anything to protect his friend, even if it gets him hurt! What about you? Who would you be?"

"(Vio) I dunno, really. Which one do you think I would be?"

"(young Shadow) Hmmm... That's easy! You'd be Ryothe, because you're smart and steady like him! And him and Aezehl are best friends, just like us!"

~end of flashbacks~

"(Vio) Aaah! Aaaaah!!!"

He's crying hysterically, Shadow's lifeless, soulless body limp in his arms as tiny sparks of light drift forlornly through the air...

~Meanwhile, in the Dark Temple~

A young boy in a white tunic screams and bolts awake.

"(white-clad boy) AAAAH!!! N-n-n-no!!"

A voice echoes in the frightened child's head, reassuring him.

"It's all right. You can still save him, little one. Hurry. Your body shall be safe here. Go to him!"

"(white-clad boy) Uh-uhhh... Y-y-y-y-ye-ye-yes...!"

~back in the cavern~

Someone appears behind Vio. He doesn't notice, being too busy crying. A light, high-pitched voice that could only belong to a small child echoes through the cavern, stuttering oddly.

"(???) D-d-d-do-doewoon't k-k-k-kwyy... (Don't cry...)"

"(Vio) ...?!"

Vio whips his head around, looking for the source of the voice. Finding it, he simply stares in shock. Floating in midair in the same pose Shadow was in when he floated during the fight at Hyrule Castle is a little boy wearing a white tunic, hat, and boots. His hat is defying gravity, and he's glowing a bit. With pale skin like porcelain and doll-like features, the boy is quite cute. His hair is silvery white, and fades gradually to dusky purple at the tips. Warm, wide eyes in an odd shade of silvery pale pink look right at the stunned Vio.

"(Vio) Who... What... Who or what are you...?!"

'He looks... like Shadow... Like a mirror image of Shadow...!'

"(white-clad boy) ...K-k-k-ka-ka-kann... h-h-h-h-he-he-helwp. K-k-kann hel-helwp... h-h-hee-hee-heewm. Ee-ee-eet... n-n-na-nawt toowoo w-w-wayte. (...(I) Can... help. (I) Can help... him. It('s)... not too late.)"

"(Vio) Huh?"

He lands on the floor without making a sound, and walks over to the two boys, crouching down next to them. His hands begin to glow with a gentle white luminescence...

A/N: He's not dead, I swear! He'll come back!! Please don't kill meee! T_T And who is this white-clad Shadow lookalike, hmm? Please review, and no flames, unless I really deserve it!