A/N: Sorry I took so long... Christmas is already over, and I couldn't even make a new chapter in time! That would've been a good gift... Well, I guess it's a bit late, but I hope you'll accept this chappy as a Christmas present from this overly hyper LoZ fan! (...that's me, of course...)

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.

-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 17: An Uneasy Reunion

High in the skies above Death Mountain, Green's left hand begins to glow, and so does Vaati's right hand. Said Wind Mage stirs, beginning to wake up.

'Ugh, my whole body aches... ...Wait, where...? ...Oh, right... Green... Even though I didn't deserve it, and still don't deserve it, he saved me... But because he did, he's been hurt again... ...I guess... I really do only cause pain...'

Green doesn't notice that Vaati's awake, too busy trying to stay in the air and keep control over himself. Veran's magic is getting harder and harder to fight against as time goes on, and its exhausted target obviously can't hold out much longer.

*throb!*

"(Green) Argh!!"

Vaati wearily cracks one ruby-red eye open, making an effort to turn his head to look up at Green's face. The dragon boy's cornflower blue eyes are squeezed shut in pain and his left hand is clamped tightly over his right arm. Vaati notices the glow on the back of said hand and realizes that his right palm is throbbing gently.

"(Green) *haa... haa...* Ugh..."

Green's face is drawn and pale, and he looks very strained. Vaati decides to reveal the fact that he's awake to his rescuer by speaking up.

"(Vaati) ...G-Green."

"(Green) You awake?"

Green immediately tries to hide his condition, failing miserably. Vaati lets out a weak chuckle at the boy's stubbornness, then is once again serious. Green seems confused the moment the purple-skinned youth laughs, then startled at what he says next.

"(Vaati) Green... Look at your hand..."

"(Green) Huh? ...! Ah!! I-it's... glowing!!"

'Then... The Four Sword wasn't resonating... because it didn't need to! I was... I was lready on the right track from the start!'

"(Vaati) ...Two of your... friends are there... On Death Mountain... One is... your shadow... Hihi... Can you guess... who the second... is...?"

'Well, DUH. Their obvious mutual crush has been plain as day since the first time I climbed Death Mountain! It's gotta be him!'

"(Green) *matter-of-fact* It's definitely Vio."

They both simultaneously roll their eyes without realizing it.

"(both) Lovebirds."

They look at each other for a moment, then laugh a bit.

"(Vaati) Yes... It's him..."

"(Green) Of course it would be him, since Shado--"

A huge bolt of sheer torturous agony suddenly tears through Green's system, much more intense than any of the ones before it.

"(Green) AAAAARGH!!!"

"(Vaati) ...! (...uh oh...)"

Green stiffens as every single muscle in his body locks up, his eyes rolling back in his head as his consciousness goes white. The two begin to plummet towards Death Mountain in a completely uncontrolled fall. Vaati quickly works his arms free of Green's unconscious-but-still-firm grip, then closes his eyes and focuses, gathering and focusing all of the magic power he has left at the moment into his hands and waiting for the right moment to use it. About fifty or so feet above the ground, Vaati unleashes his power, sending an almost tornado-level blast of wind straight down to slow their fall by creating a cushion of air. They are now about fifteen feet up, and the exhausted and heavily wounded youth is at his limit.

"(Vaati) Ugh..."

'Can't... hang on... any... longer...!'

The wind blast falters, dissipating, and gravity once more takes control of the situation as Vaati passes out, spent.

-Meanwhile-

*Thump!*

"(Vio) Wha...?!"

Vio snaps awake and hits his head on the rock face he was leaning against.

"(Vio) $%&#!!!"

Shadow blearily cracks one eye open at the stream of muffled profanities coming from his irritated friend who is currently rubbing the fresh bump on the back of his head.

"(Shadow) Whazzat...? Whuz... goin on...?"

Vio grins sheepishly at his half-asleep companion, still rubbing his head.

"(Vio) Wake up, Shadow. I just heard a loud noise nearby, and... Huh?"

The back of Vio's hand is glowing with a deep purple light, while Shadow's hand glows with bright silver and faint emerald.

"(Vio) Green...?"

"(Shadow) Huh...? *wakes up fully* Whoa!! He's definitely not at the Palace of Winds anymore, not if this is happening!"

"(Vio) Maybe. Either that or Vaati's nearby. Anyway, I heard a loud noise over that way just a minute ago, before the Triforce started reacting. We should go check it out."

"(Shadow) Yeah."

Shadow gets up, packs his bedroll away, and goes to investigate, but Vio hangs back, his palm against his forehead.

'Last night... I had a dream, didn't I...? Another of those odd flashes of the past, that are so real that they can only be memories, not dreams... But... I can't remember what it was... Just that it was something important...'

"(Vio) Ugh, why can't I remember...?!"

Shadow notices his friend lagging behind and calls over his shoulder, looking a bit concerned.

"(Shadow) Hey Vio, you alright?"

"(Vio) Ah!! *startled* ...Oh, sorry. Still half asleep, I guess. Just a minute, I'm coming- Ugh!"

A twinge of pain streaks through Vio's legs and he stumbles, but manages to catch himself just in time. Shadow moves towards him, worried, but Vio waves him away.

"(Vio) I'm fine. I can handle it."

Vio hobbles over to Shadow, not even bothering to hide his limp at this point. Several minutes later, the two young heroes reach the source of the noise: a small crater in the mountainside where something has crashed. A huge cloud of dust has yet to settle back to the ground, obscuring visibilty quite a bit, but a figure can be dimly seen through the haze in the middle of the impact zone...

"(Shadow) What the..."

"(Vio) Something's definitely over there. I could've sworn I just saw movement, too."

The wind picks up, and the dust begins to clear, revealing an odd sight: a creature that appears to be somewhere between being a human and a dragon lays in the center of the crater, out cold and quite battered from the rough landing. Something shifts below the creature, trapped by the dead weight of its unconscious form. Vio stares at the creature, thinking hard.

'Is that... a monster? No, something's off. Could it be...?'

"(Shadow) ...!"

The green light emanating from the center segment of the Triforce of Courage strengthens, reacting to something. A faint emerald glow shines weakly in response from one of the creatures hands and from something beneath it. Said thing beneath the creature mumbles something, weakly pushing at the creature on top of him. His voice is quite familiar to the two heroes...

"(voice) Ugh... Y-you're so... heavy... *haa... haa...*"

'(Shadow & Vio's thoughts) That voice...'

"(Shadow & Vio) Vaati!"

"(Vaati) ...Hihi... Do you... believe me now...?"

"(Shadow) What nonsense are you spewing this time, you stuck-up midget? Come on Vio, let's get Purple over here out from under whatever this thing is."

'His voice is really weak... He's hurt, and hurt badly. Now isn't the time to give him a trouncing, especially since he really has been trying to help us in his own sneaky way...'

"(Vio) Got it."

Though Shadow's words are mean as usual, his tone is simply teasing as he and Vio pull the battered Wind Sorcerer out from under the dragon boy and lean both newcomers against the nearby cliff face that makes up part of Death Mountain's steep and treacherous slope. The dragon boy moans, beginning to stir, and Vaati chuckles weakly.

"(Vaati) Not very... bright, are you...? Who do you... think that... boy is...? Hihi..."

"(Shadow) Quit calling me stupid! You're in no condition to be all high and mighty, so quit talking in circles and say what you mean!"

Shadow gets annoyed at Vaati as always, but Vio is quiet, looking closely at the strange dragon boy. The Violet Hero silently ticks off the boy's characteristics in his head, his suspicion as to who this boy is growing stronger as he notices certain details of his physical features.

'Blonde hair... Skin tone the same as mine... Same height... Green color theme... Strange, crystal-like structure going from his head onto his arm... The Triforce is responding to his presence... '

"(Vio) I get it... This dragon-human kid... He's Green, isn't he?"

"(Shadow) Huh? Where'd that come from, Vio?"

"(Vio) I just looked closely at him, Shadow. The resemblance is definitely there. Plus, the segment of his piece of the Triforce of Courage in your hand is glowing, and so is the back of his left hand. *matter-of-fact*"

Vio calmly points out the obvious and keeps a perfectly straight face even when Shadow facepalms himself.

"(Shadow) You always manage to do that, don't you, Vio? ^.^; "

"(Vio) Basically."

Vaati lets out a tired laugh at this, getting the two boys' attention. He nods wearily when they look at him in answer to Vio's question. Green stirs again, waking up. His cornflower blue eyes open slowly, clouded with the intense pain he's in from Veran's magic.

"(Green) *haa... haa...* Wh-what...?"

"(Shadow) Boo. *sticks tongue out*"

"(Vio) Good morning, Green."

Green slowly blinks as he wakes up all the way.

'Vio and Shadow...? Then... I'm on Death Mountain... ...!!!'

*THROB!!!*

Green is rapidly reaching his limit, his strength to fight Veran's power just about spent.

"(Green) Get... away..."

A/N: Ooh, what's up with Green, I wonder? Tee hee! I should have the next chapter up quickly; I'm trying to make up for not posting anything for Christmas... Anyway... Please review!!!! I don't even care if it's flames or not any more, just review!!!! Pleeeeaaaase?????? *puppy dog eyes*