A/N: ...Ummmmm.... Enjoy?

Disclaimer: I wish I owned LoZ, but I don't. Nintendo does, and whoever makes the manga... I just own my plot, made-up monsters and items, and OCs...

Many Thanks To: Dea Letum, i-wish-a7x, and LittlePidgey~!

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. At the moment, he also has his weird half-dragon-ness, including a tail, wings that he can use to fly, very strong legs, and a clawed right arm with the strength of a dragon...

-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, and that dagger of his. And bombs!!

Chapter 15: Prelude to the Storm

"(Veran) Very well, if you won't come to your senses, then I'll just have to cut off your hand along with the Triforce piece!"

Veran violently yanks Vaati into the air, a magic whip coiled tightly around his right arm and instantly drawing blood. Her magic whips have revealed themselves to be sharp as razors, a very brutal weapon, and seemingly her tool of choice. As he hangs suspended in midair by his arm, she glares maliciously at his glowing, bleeding, heavily burned palm with an intense hatred for the item within, preparing to cut it off.

*B-bmp!*

'A-all of a sudden...! Dizzy again...!'

That same image from before flashes through Vaati's mind, still appearing and disappearing too quickly for him to make out any kind of detail. This time, though, it's accompanied by a voice that only he can hear. It is much deeper than his own, yet somehow eerily similar, and he suddenly feels a bit more alert as a significant amount of the haze caused by Veran's torture, his own emotions, and the burning Triforce fragment is lifted from his thoughts as it echoes through his pain-fogged mind. The purple-skinned sorcerer's eyes widen unconsciously, and something about him looks a bit... odd for a split second, too fast to catch...

"(???) You've already been hurt more than enough, you reckless, masochistic imbecile! Fight back!"

(A/N: This will only make sense to you, Dea Letum, but I'll say it anyway~! "Fight back the darkness," right? ;) )

A sudden strong blast of wind knocks Veran back and breaks her concentration, releasing Vaati, who falls to the ground with a thud. The sorceress spots a twitching, reptilian tail peeking out from behind a corner up on the staircase, and screams at this intruder who has just partially come into view. Meanwhile, Vaati is lying on the ground in a slight daze, drained, barely conscious, and unsure whether the voice in his head that seemed to take control of him was even real or not.

"(Veran) Show yourself!"

She sends a brutal whip of evil energy towards where she saw the tail, smashing part of the staircase.

"(Green) Too slow!"

Green jumps down from the stairs and lands in a crouch next to Vaati, easily dodging Veran's attack.

"(Vaati) *whispering* Wh-what are you... doing...?! I told you... to get out of here...!"

Green whispers back, grinning conspiratorially.

"(Green) I am getting out of here, but so are you!"

He looks at Veran, raising his voice and flashing a cocky grin at her.

"(Green) Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm taking him with me!"

Green pulls Vaati upright with his human left hand, careful to make it look rough, but actually be quite gentle, as the purple-skinned youth is already wounded more than enough without Green making it worse on accident. The exhausted Wind Sorcerer leans heavily against him, too weak to stand properly and barely conscious. However, from Veran's point of view, it looks like Green simply yanked Vaati up, causing the youth to lose his balance and stumble right into the half-dragon boy's grip. The boy is surprisingly good at acting, as Veran is completely fooled, growling dangerously at him, her voice full of a deadly intent.

"(Veran) Why you...! *positively enraged*"

Green whispers in Vaati's ear.

"(Green) Struggle! Act like I'm kidnapping you!"

"(Vaati) ...!"

He understands what the boy is getting at and struggles weakly in his grip. He's quickly approaching his limit though, and looks ready to pass out at any moment.

"(Vaati) L-let... go...! Let me... go...!"

Green quickly wraps his somewhat armored right arm around Vaati's torso and lifts him off the ground in one smooth, fluid motion, then gently taps him on the head with his left hand while making it look like a hit meant to knock Vaati out. Green's right arm seems to have retained not only the form of a dragon, but its strength as well, the mage seeming light as a feather to him. Green's timing was perfect, as Vaati slips into unconsciousness an instant after the head tap. Green tenses his legs, having an instinctive knowledge of how to move in this form, and takes off, hovering an inch or so off the ground, his wings flapping slowly to retain his position as he stares Veran down, daring her to try and stop him.

"(Veran) Why you... Why you little brat! You're just like him; always getting in my way! I should have just killed you back in the Sanctuary when I had the chance instead of using a curse!"

He laughs and flashes a cheeky, annoying grin at her, infuriating the sorceress even more.

"(Green) Well, it was killing me, but it sure isn't now! Better luck next time, Miss Crazy!"

"(Veran) Grrr! You little...! ... *has a sly, calculating smile on her face all of a sudden*"

'Wait. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage... All I have to do is strengthen the curse to the level it was at within the purple brat's body... He won't be able to fight my power forever, and when he falls, there is a high probability that he will have reunited with the purple brat and that freak of nature shadow of theirs... Three birds with one stone, and, more importantly, my sweet, sweet revenge!'

"(Green) ..."

'I have a bad feeling about this...'

Green carefully tightens his grip on Vaati, then flaps his wings harder, beginning his escape. However, he's a second too late, as Veran has an idea and she's ready to implement it. Sultry, sadistic laughter echoes through the Palace of Winds as Veran's insane, revenge-obsessed gaze focuses on Green, his appearance slightly overlaid by that of another green-clad boy holding an odd-looking harp. (A/N: XD ...I decided to go on Wikipedia just to refresh my memory about the Oracle of Ages game from which Veran comes. The title by which she calls herself in the line below this comes from that, too.)

"(Veran) I am Veran, Sorceress of Shadows! How dare you underestimate me! Do you really think you can just leave, fool? You're not getting away that easily, brat. Not without a bit more... suffering, that is! Ahahahaha!"

"(Green) ...!"

Veran shoots a concentrated beam of evil energy at the pair, laughing maniacally as she does so. With no time to dodge, Green quickly turns and shields Vaati with his body, taking the full force of the attack.

'Just as I expected, he's just as much of a goody-two-shoes as him! Turning to take the hit and keep Vaati from getting hurt... That fool doesn't even realize that Vaati is more resistant to magic than he is in the first place! Protecting others, helping others, what's the point?! Power and pain, that's all that matters! These stupid heroes are so easy to attack because they put others' safety before themselves! It's so idiotic, and just as predictable! The perfect weakness for me to exploit!'

"(Green) Aaaargh!!!"

Pure agony shoots through his system and he screams, tensing up instantly. He begins to fall through the air in a barely-controlled dive back down to Hyrule, in too much pain to fly properly. He doesn't worry about it though, since the Palace of Winds is very high up, so he'll have to do this to get back to Hyrule anyway. Veran laughs even harder and calls out one last taunt as he disappears into the clouds below.

"(Veran) How pathetic! Your foolish sense of 'justice' will be your doom, brat! Just you wait and see, I will have my revenge! After all, since I cannot punish him, then I will just have to make do with you four and your shadow, five of his descendants! Ahahahaha!"

Green doesn't respond, though he did hear her, instead focusing on getting away alive and not giving in to her magic. The Triforce is helping him, of course, but he won't last forever...

'What? Descendants? Is this crazy lady ancient or something? ...Wait. This "him" she keeps referring to, she thinks I'm descended from him? That all five of us are? All right, I'd better make sure I get this all straight and remember it so I can tell the others. She called herself "Veran, Sorceress of Shadows," and she has a grudge on someone who looked and acted a lot like me, someone from the past... It feels like a really big clue, but I can't make any sense of it. I bet Vio would know something, or at least know where to look to find out... He is the 'smart one,' after all! ...Ugh, her magic's strong... I don't know how long I can hold out, but I can't give into it, not as long as I can still fight!'

"(Green) ...Where are you guys...? I have to find you... But where do I start? The Four Sword isn't resonating..."

'...Wait. Vaati said he'd seen Shadow...! That means he's definitely out there somewhere! But where would he go? Hmm... Instead of trying to guess, I'll just head for Hyrule Field. You need to pass through there to get to most of the places in and around Hyrule, after all! Oh, wait. It's nighttime!! Stupid, stupid, stupid! With my luck, I'd just crash into a tree or something! And I don't think I'll be able to stay in the air all night... I need to find somewhere close by, so I can land, help Vaati, and rest until morning.'

Green breaks through the cloud cover and flaps his wings to slow down and eventually hover, his eyes widening as he's greeted by the beautiful silver-coated view of Hyrule at night. Searching for a place to land, he spots a reddish glow off in the distance and heads toward it. Though he doesn't realize it, this light he's using as a guide is the red-hot lava of Death Mountain...

~Meanwhile...~

'Slowly but surely, I am getting stronger... That Sorceress, though... She is a threat, I can feel it. If I had not intervened when I did, she really WOULD have cut his hand off. Especially with how damned masochistic he seems to be... ^.^; And now, the curse tainting that kid's body fills me with a strong sense of foreboding...'

"(???) Hihihi... This situation possesses such a beautiful sense of irony... What with that kid now being in danger of losing himself to that insane power of hers..."

A deep, low-pitched laugh echoes through the darkness...

"(???) Oh, such irony indeed! "Courage" falls into chaos, and "Power" will be the one waiting in the wings to stop it! This time, the one that always destroys the balance will be the one to help restore it rather than ruin it, and do so willingly! Hihihi!"

A/N: Just who could this strange voice that's apparently in Vaati's head be, hmm? *cough cough* Those who already know, please don't forget and spoil it! ...Aaaanyway, the only hint I'll give is that it isn't Ganondorf. Please review!!!! I don't even care if it's flames or not any more, just review!!!! Pleeeeaaaase?????? *puppy dog eyes* ....keep reading for some funnies, I guess?

~In Nira Rose's secret base~

"*cuddling several plushies and squeeing quietly with joy* Teehee, Veran fails~! XD"

"(Veran) ... *vein twitches on forehead*"

"...?! Wh-where'd you come from?! ( *gulp!* I'm sooo dead... T_T )"

"(Veran) How DARE you let that brat escape me!!! Authoress or not, for that you shall PAY!!!"

"C-come on, I let you get a hit in!! D-don't kill me, please?"

"(Veran) Give me one reason why I shouldn't. (...This is bound to be good...)"

"*whispers something in Veran's ear* ................."

"(Veran) ...! ...Hmm... ...Fine, you win this time. After all, you did let me do some torturing... *eeeeeevil smile* next time, though, it had better be Green and not my dear little Wind Mage... *leaves peacefully*"

"...Whew... That was close... ^.^; And quit being a pedo, Veran! He's still a kid in Minish years!"

"(Veran) *calls over her shoulder on her way out* That makes it even better... *reeeeeaaaalllyyyy evil smile*"

"...Umm, okay then...? I think I'm going to blank that comment from my mind now... Sheesh... First I hide from Shadow and Vio fans, and now I got Veran mad and have to deal with her Vaati complex... And for all I know the Green and Vaati fans could be super mad at me by now, too.... Oh and, don't worry, she won't remember this stuff during the story, my Authoress powers prevent it. After all, this was just for fun, and a slight hidden almost-spoiler but not really that spoiler-ish... Well, anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and weren't bored by this long Authoress'es Note~!"