Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series do not, repeat, not belong to me. They rightfully belong to Miyamoto. (May he continue to make excellent games for the rest of his days.) What does belong to me are Cleo, Finn, Syrilla and Okam (sorta).

Chapter 2

As Cleo picked up the luminous orb and placed it in her backpack, something strange was happening. The sun got so low in the horizon that both night and day seemed fused in the sky. The moment the twilight started, the Moon Pearl began to act strange. From inside the backpack, it started to glow so brightly that the light shone through.

"What the-?!" exclaimed Cleo in shock.

"Sis, what's happening?!" Finn called out.

"I don't know!" She suddenly felt as though she was being pulled away by some invisible force. She looked around and saw her own shadow growing and changing shape. She realized that the shadow was pulling her inside it. "FINN!"

"CLEO!" Finn was about to run toward her and nearly fell down the pit.

Syrilla caught him and held on to his arm tightly. "Wait, you idiot!"

"CLEO!" he called again. Cleo was trying to fight off the black shadow, but it soon enveloped her. Somehow, the shadow had come to life and was going to consume her. Terrified, she heard her brother's frantic calls fading away as everything disappeared into darkness...

She was falling... falling... falling... Memories were fading... She no longer knew anything... All was nothing to her... she felt lost... alone... ...Then she heard a voice... calling her name... She looked up and saw someone falling with her... But all she could see was his silhouette... A man in robes was coming closer... reaching out his hand to her...

... ... ...Cleo opened her heavy eyelids. The first thing she saw was nothing but a blur, there were dark colors all around her and the only source of light was on the horizon. It was the same gleam of twilight as before. What had happened? Then a tall, shadowy figure was towering above her, its features unrecognizable in her hazy vision. And before she could figure out who or what it was... she once again fell into unconsciousness.

"Finn, there was nothing you could have done! She's gone now..."

"I know that! But where has she gone?!" Finn was sitting on a stone balustrade, holding his hands to his face. "C'mon Finn, THINK!"

"Just calm down already!"

"How can I calm down at a time like this?! Cleo is God knows where, probably in a terrible situation for all we know, and all we can do is sit here without a clue-"

Syrilla grabbed him and gave him a good rough shake. "WILL YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, FOR DIN'S SAKE!"

Finn was panting hard. "You're right... I-I need to-to stop freaking out." He let himself breathe more slowly. "Okay, I remember Cleo grabbing the pearl... night was falling... then the pearl started glowing... and then this big shadow came and grabbed her and... she disappeared into it. I just need to know what caused all that. Is it because she grabbed it that it happened or is it something else?" Finn was thinking hard. "She grabbed it... it was twilight a minute later-wait!" A sudden thought struck him. "Could she be in..."

"What is it?"

"I think I know where Cleo is!" Finn suddenly jumped up and ran down the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To see Zelda!"

"The princess? Why her?"

"Because she'll know what to do!" Finn didn't stop running as he called back. He soon reached his horse and mounted, then he took off. Hopefully, Zelda could help.

Cleo opened her eyes again, this time she could see more clearly. She was lying on her back, staring up at the dark gray ceiling. She sat up from the bed, groaning, and shook her head because she was still a little light-headed. She looked around her. "Where am I?" The room she was in was made of stone... or was it metal? There were glowing neon lines on the walls and floor in a high-tech geometric pattern. There was a large, plain square on the wall next to her and a small plain circle. She touched the circle and the square opened up, revealing the world outside. She gasped out in disbelief. "No way..." It was still twilight, in fact, it was always twilight here. She was no longer in Hyrule, but in Midna's world. "How the heck did I get here?"

"Hi there!" Cleo jumped at the sudden sound of an unknown, echoing voice with a yelp. She turned around and saw someone standing beside her. But he hadn't been there a second ago. He chortled. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle ya!" he chimed. After overcoming the shock of his sudden appearance, Cleo got a good look at him.

He was a Twili, no doubt about that. He was short, for an adult, around the same height as herself. Like all Twilis, he had a marbled black and white body and glowing tattoos. Unlike the others, who had teal tattoos, his were acid green. He had long red hair and a beard, and his face... was pretty oddball looking. Eyes round as coins, a flat nose, wide mouth, and when he laughed, she could see a slightly curved canine.

"So, what's your name kiddo?" he said in a somewhat elderly voice, with a slight Asian edge to it.

"Um, it's Cleo. And you?"

"Oh, right! Where are my manners? My name's Okam," he answered with a bow. His name was as odd as his face, Cleo thought.

"Uh, right... So what is this place?"

"This? This here is the Twilight Palace."

"Really? Is Midna here?"

"Well yes..." said Okam with a shrug. "She did claim you two know each other. Unfortunately, she's very busy right now. You see-" But before he could explain, an echoing, female voice interrupted.

"Okam, have you managed to revive my friend?" A tall Twili woman came in through the doorway.

Cleo recognized her. "Midna, hey!" she greeted with a wide grin.

Midna smiled upon seeing her. "So our little sleeping beauty awakens, finally."

"It's great to see you again, Midna!" They both locked hands.

"Hey hey! Mind your manners!" Okam cautioned. "She's the Twilight Princess, you should address her as such."

"Oh, now Okam. Cleo is my friend, I don't mind the least bit." Midna rolled her eyes. She turned back to Cleo. "I'm amazed that you're here. How did you avoid becoming a lost spirit?"

"What?" She was a little confused at first, but then realized what Midna meant. It finally occurred to her that she, a normal human being, was in the Twilight Realm and yet nothing had happened to her. "I-I don't know. I really don't."

"So you're in the dark too, huh?" said Okam, rubbing his chin. "I was wondering why you're still among us."

"So if I can enter the Twilight Realm without becoming a lost spirit, does that mean I can visit you anytime now?"

Midna's smile had suddenly saddened. "I'd like that, but... I'm afraid you came at a very bad time."

"Why's that?" Cleo asked. Midna opened her mouth, but then she turned around, abruptly. "What?"

"Okam, do you hear that?"

The elder Twili's face had hardened. "Yes, I hear it." His tone was serious.

"I don't hear anything," Cleo said, unsure. But then she did. It was faint at first and it grew over time. It was a weird scuttling sound. "What is that?"

"C'mon!" Midna gestured for them both to follow. They were soon out in the hallway, running as though there was something urgent. They came to a very wide window where they could see everything in the castle town. And what Cleo saw out there was horrible.

Insects, giant black insects were swarming the whole town. Buildings crumbled underneath their tread, fires erupted, smoke was rising. They were headed straight toward the palace. But then they were shot down by a rain of arrows from the guards. Several bugs managed to get onto the palace walls before they were felled by kargarok riders. The last one (a beetle) almost reached the window Cleo was at and she jumped back, startled. "What the hell is going on?!"

She looked out the window again, the invaders seemed to be retreating. Midna watched with great worry, Okam scowled. "They nearly got in... You should really deduct the guards's pay until they can do a better job!"

Midna placed her fingers to her forehead. "It's getting worse."

"Mid, what are those things?" Cleo asked.

"What's this?" Okam demanded. "First you neglect 'Princess', then you call her by a stupid nickname?" Cleo was starting to get annoyed by this guy.

"Okam, now's not the time for lessons in manners," Midna said heavily. "Cleo is, unfortunately, getting caught up in all this. It's time we filled her in."

"For the past fortnight, the Realm of Shadows has been under serious threat of an invasion. We still don't know where they came from or how they came to be here," Midna explained as they went to the lower floors. There, Cleo saw a crowd of Twili citizens taking refuge from the giant insects. "As you can see, these people have been driven from their homes, some of them were not so lucky."

Cleo looked on, almost in tears. A lot of the Twilis looked quite scared. "Why is this happening? What do they want?"

"What do you think? They want their home back," Okam answered as though it was obvious.

"I don't mean the people, I meant the bugs!"

Midna shook her head. "There's just no telling."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"There is, it's something we've been trying to do. We're looking for the Essences of Light."

"Essences of Light? What's that?"

"Well, I don't know much about it. It was Okam who suggested it."

Okam cleared his throat. "The Essences of Light," he recited. "are the very life blood of the Twilight Realm. They are like sols, only a hundred times more powerful than the two here in the palace. They were created to keep this realm in balance and without it, not even we Twilis will wholly exist in the Realm of Shadows. They are what shaped our race from the Dark Interlopers who were banished here long ago." Okam looked at the curious expression on Cleo's face and seemed to have read her mind, for he added "An old scroll was recently discovered, it told me all there is to know about them. From what I understand, it may be the key to saving our world."

"How many are there?"

"There are eight in total. Some guards and I were out trying to find the first one when you suddenly dropped in on us. Besides that, we were unsuccessful in finding the Moon Pearl."

"What?! The Moon Pearl? Are you saying it's an Essence of Light?"

Both Midna and Okam looked surprised. "Wait, are you saying you know where it is?" he asked.

"I have it with me!" Cleo took off her backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out the treasure for them to see.

She got the Moon Pearl. Its soft glow lights the night and protects the lost!