Zelda had allowed Link, Amaterasu, and Issun to stay at the castle for the night. The trio was more than grateful to the young queen, but none of them could really get to sleep very easily; they had all been too unnerved by last night's conversation. If there was somebody behind the scenes – someone powerful enough to manipulate two of the most evil beings in the world – then they had a serious problem on their hands.

Soon, morning poured in through the windows, waking them all one by one. Zelda was the first one up, and had told Link when he awoke that she was going to collect something that he and Ammy might need. Link told this to Amaterasu and Issun, who both woke up a few minutes after the queen left the room.

"What is she getting?" Ammy inquired curiously.

"I don't know," Link answered, "but if she says that it's useful, it probably is."

"It better be!" Issun complained. "Ammy carries around enough useless junk already."

"It's not junk! It's treasure! And besides, I always sell it in the end, don't I?"

That was about when Zelda entered the room again, a small chest in her hands. "Link, Amaterasu, here is the item that should help you in your quest. You will have to be very careful with it. I'm unsure if it's truly ready to be brought along on a mission of this level of importance, but this is a grave situation that demands every possible advantage that we can muster."

Link nodded his understanding and accepted the chest. He opened it carefully, and his eyes widened at its contents. "That's the Shadow Crystal!" he shouted.

Zelda nodded. "Midna gave it to me before she left. She said that she believed that it may someday come in handy. I've been casting spells on it to make it less volatile, but it may still be dangerous."

"Wait a minute!" Issun piped in. "You're going to give us this thing? I don't trust it! It's giving me the creeps just to look at it."

"And can feel some kind of dark power coming off of it," Amaterasu pointed out. "I know I should trust your judgment, Your Highness, but I've never had positive experiences when it comes to dark magic."

"I understand, but you must realize that dark magic on its own is not evil. It is how it is used that makes one believe that it is. This crystal was created by an enemy of ours, but was repurposed by Midna, a trusted friend. It may not be the safest thing in the world, but it could prove an invaluable asset."

"Zelda's right, Ammy," Link said as he set the box down on a table. "It'll definitely come in handy, especially if we need to track someone or something down."

"How's that?" the sun goddess asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the thing that can turn me into a wolf. I could use the senses of a wolf to make certain things easier on us."

"Wait. It can turn you into a wolf? Do you think it could do the same thing for me?" There was a little hope in Amaterasu's eyes. She might just be able to return to her original form after all!

"Maybe," Link said as he picked up the crystal, the Triforce symbol on his hand glowing to protect him from the stone's magic. He stored it in his bottomless pouch and turned to Zelda. "Thank you, Zelda. Do you know of a path that we can take that'll get us out of here discretely?"

"Of course I do," the queen replied. She approached her fireplace, which was unlit, and move the firewood out of the way. She then pulled up a hatch, revealing a ladder that went down into the castle's bowels. "This is an old secret passage used as an escape route by the Royal Family in times of crisis. It leads to a cave outside of Castle Town. The guards won't think to look for you in here."

Link and Ammy both nodded gratefully, the green-clad Hylian taking out his lantern again and hooking it to his belt. "I'll go in first," Link stated as he began to descend the ladder.

Amaterasu nodded to Zelda one last time. "Thank you, Your Highness. I'm very grateful for your help."

Zelda chuckled lightly. "It's no trouble. And please, call me Zelda. You may not believe it, but I actually prefer to be called by my name rather than my title. If anything, I should be the one showing you the utmost respect, seeing as how you're a goddess and all." She then gave a curt bow. "I wish you luck in your travels." Amaterasu nodded, and was about to leave. "One more thing."

"Yes?" Ammy asked with a curious glance.

"I've noticed how you've been looking at Link," Zelda stated. Amaterasu immediately blushed, knowing exactly what the young royal was talking about. "I can tell that you seem to have developed feelings for him. I should probably tell you that he already has a girlfriend."

"Really?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't tell him how you feel. He's not the type of man to turn away from any of his friends, so he won't think any less of you. Besides, one regret can lead to a ruined lifetime."

Amaterasu stared at Zelda in awe. She was clearly wise beyond her years. The sun goddess nodded her understanding. "Thank you, Zelda. You've been more than helpful." She then climbed down the ladder and followed Link through the long, darkness-consumed tunnel.

-o-

A rock lifted up off the ground, revealing a locking mechanism on the stone's underside. A head with a green cap rose out of the hole underneath. Link quickly climbed up out of the manhole, then reached down to help Amaterasu out. The goddess thanked him as he closed the disguised hatch again, and an audible clank was heard, ensuring that the hatch had automatically locked itself back up.

Link stood and said, "The next place we should head is Ordon Village, my hometown. Most of my gear is there. Besides, I need to make sure that my friends know that I'm no criminal."

"I understand, Link," Ammy said with a nod as Link reached into his pouch, his Triforce glowing brightly. "Are you getting that crystal?"

"Yeah. It'll be the most discrete way of getting to the village. Nobody will really pay attention to a wolf or two running through Hyrule Field."

"Do you think it'll work? On me, I mean?"

"Maybe," Link replied as he held up the Shadow Crystal. "All you have to do is touch it." Ammy nodded and did just that. Suddenly, she felt herself enshrouded by shadow magic. She collapsed onto all fours, and soon, the shadowy aura was gone. She looked at herself, and was overjoyed to find that she once again had paws instead of hands.

Link watched as Amaterasu jumped around gleefully in her wolf form, her tail dangerously close to breaking off from wagging so much. She had become a white wolf with strange red markings on her fur, with a flaming disk hovering just over her back. She barked happily at him, possibly a thank you.

"Man, I haven't seen Ammy this happy in a long time!" Issun pointed out from atop the sun goddess's head. "What about you, blue-eyes? You gonna do the same?"

"Yeah," the young hero said as his mark slowly became dimmer. "It's just been a while since I've done this." When his Triforce mark vanished completely, he was enveloped in the Shadow Crystal's magic. He dropped down to all fours, and the shadows soon receded to reveal a wolf with black fur on most of his body, with white fur on his belly, lower jaw, and paws. The hair around his neck was much thicker than Ammy's, and had a very slight green tint to it. He retained his cool blue eyes.

"Wow, Link," Amaterasu said with some surprise. "You look… strong."

"Er… thanks," Link replied. He was about two inches taller than Ammy, and had more pronounced muscles. "I spent most of my life as a ranch hand back in Ordon."

"Whoa, wait!" Issun shouted, easily catching Amaterasu and Link's attention. "Ammy, I can understand you now! I couldn't understand you before."

"Ganondorf's curse might still be in effect to some degree," Link theorized. He shook his head and stretched his legs, as well as unintentionally stretching his tail. It had been some time since he last turned into a wolf. There was never really any need for it until now. "In any case, we should get moving. We've got quite a walk ahead of us, and I want to get there by tomorrow morning."

Ammy nodded her agreement. When Link was ready, he dashed off, and the sun goddess followed him.

-o-

Zelda looked out her large window, just managing to catch sight of Link in his wolf form running south with a white wolf that she assumed must have been Amaterasu. She prayed for their safety before leaving her bedchamber and heading for the throne room. She had many royal duties to attend to.

As the young queen made her way through the expansive halls of Hyrule Castle, she slowly began to get the feeling that someone was watching her. She stopped and turned around, her eyes scanning the room for any living thing. She sighed when she saw nothing. "Just nerves," she guessed.

"Oh, how rude," said a voice that sounded eerily similar to Link's. Zelda turned again, her eyes wide with surprise. "You think that I was caused by 'just nerves?' Now that's just hurtful." The queen narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That voice sounded an awful lot like Link's, but it was slightly distorted, almost as though it was echoing on itself.

"Show yourself, stranger," she demanded with a serious expression.

"Bossy, bossy," said a young woman's voice. This one sounded like Amaterasu, but with the same effect as the Link voice. "People like you are so annoying. Why can't we just kill her, like we did with those three people before the goody-goodies showed up?"

"Because Ganondorf and Yami said not to," the Link voice replied. The Amaterasu voice groaned in complaint. "I know it's a pain, but what can we do? They're our bosses after all." Zelda's eyes widened at this. They were working for the enemy? And from what the woman's voice had said, they were the ones who murdered those people and framed Link and Amaterasu!

"Who are you people?" she asked in a severe tone. There were a few moments when both voices were just chuckling, as if they had just heard a joke. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing really," the male voice replied. Zelda noticed something out of the corner of her eye. The shadow of a suit of armor seemed to quiver. A human form slowly rise out of it, revealing a man who looked disturbingly similar and dissimilar to Link. Rather than green, he wore a jet black tunic and had silver hair. His eyes burned red with malice. His most disturbing trait, however, was the fact that he had the complexion of a three-day-old corpse. "I was just imagining the look on your face when you saw me and my partner."

Zelda suddenly felt cold steel at her throat. She looked down slightly to see a knife of eastern design being held next to her jugular. "Don't move, queenie," the woman's voice spoke from behind. "It could prove very disadvantageous for you."

Zelda returned her attention to the Link look-alike. "I've read about you," she said with narrowed eyes. "The accursed shadow forever doomed to live in the wake of the Chosen Hero. You've faced countless numbers of Hyrule's greatest heroes, easily becoming the most dangerous opponent to any warrior in the world. You must be Dark Link."

Dark Link gave a slow, mocking clap. "Give the lady a medal. No duh, genius."

"Don't you have a name for little old me?" the woman behind her said in a sultry voice. She leaned in so that Zelda could see her a little more clearly. The woman resembled Amaterasu tremendously, but had black hair with blue line running through it. Her eyes were a savage red rather than Amaterasu's gentle shade of yellow. Like Dark Link, she had deathly pale skin.

The queen's eyes widened in recognition. "Wait. You're the messenger from Nippon."

"Point for the professor," the evil Amaterasu said with a grin. "But can you guess my name?"

"All I can think to call you is Dark Amaterasu."

The woman frowned. "Figures. What a boring name to go by. My name is Tsukuyomi, little miss brainpower. Remember it. Oh, and goodnight." Before the queen could ask what she meant, she suddenly felt heavy pressure on the back of her neck. The last thing she could remember seeing was Dark Link's sadistic grin before blacking out completely.