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 4

When the lantern broke in half after hitting the ground, the small light didn't fade. It rose out and just floated there. Cleo stepped carefully closer to it to get a better look, then gave it a prod with the Skribal Sword, it had no effect. A second take and she could clearly see that it was a small blueish-green flame. She had seen these things before in Twilight Princess, they were supposed to be lost spirits, once human before they unfortunately stumbled into the Realm of Shadows.

"Hello?" Cleo tried to say. It completely ignored her. Whoever this poor soul was, it was totally unaware that she was there or aware of itself.

She looked at it bereftly, wondering what to do. Cleo herself was lucky she didn't suffer the same fate, thanks to the Moon Pearl... A sudden thought struck her. She took off her backpack and brought out the Essence of Light. Hoping this would work, she brought it close to the ball of flame that was the soul.

A beautiful light shined from the pearl and traveled to the lost spirit. It spun and splintered and enveloped it like worm silk creating a cocoon. The light got brighter for a moment before it suddenly stopped. For a moment, in her sinking heart, she thought that nothing had happened. But then...

"... ... hnn... ...W-wha... ... ...whe...am I... Where am I?..." Cleo heard an adult male voice coming from the lost spirit, its light pulsating in rhythm of its speech. "...Who-who are you?"

Cleo smiled hugely. Although it (he, she corrected herself) still didn't get back a recognizable body, at least the spirit was no longer lost. "Hi!" she greeted cheerfully. "Glad to see you revived somewhat. I'm Cleo."

"Cleo?... What... has happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," she replied with a shrug. There was a pause. "Are you still there?"

"I apologize... It is just... ...I do not remember... anything..."

"You... have amnesia?"

"...I suppose so..."

Cleo made a sad groan. "I guess the light given to you was much weaker than I thought. Maybe one essence won't do for a full revival, not enough juice."

"'Juice'? What do you mean by 'juice'?"

"Never mind." Cleo supposed he didn't come from a modern society. He was probably from Hyrule. "Now, about your name. Do you remember what your real name is, or do I have to come up with one?"

"Uh, no. I think I... ... It is Jack, I think... But that is all I can remember about myself."

"Um, hey Jack. Would you like to come with me? I'm looking for the Essences of Light. So far, I found one and there are seven others. The Moon Pearl is what brought back your awareness, so if we find the rest of them and combine their powers, we might be able to bring you back completely."

"Do you really think that will work?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Well... I suppose I can come along. I do not know if I can be much help, however."

"Don't worry about it. Let's just go to the Twili Village." And that was when a new friendship started. Cleo, no longer alone, was now followed by the floating spirit, Jack, as she continued toward her destination. On the way, she filled him in with what had been happening lately in the Twilight Realm and why she had to gather the eight essences. But when they arrived, she realized that there was nobody there. A rural village, with buildings that look like they were carved from smooth rock formations, lay still and quiet. "Is it just me or do you have a feeling like we're being watched."

"There are people here, I am sure of it."

"Good instinct, Jack."

"They are not coming out of their buildings... Something is wrong."

"Yea, and I know why... Veran."

Then there was a faint sound of scuttling approaching. "Do you hear that?" asked Jack.

Cleo spun round to where the noise was coming from. "Uh-oh!" The giant insects (beetles more specifically) were marching their way, she and Jack dived out of sight behind a wheelless wagon. They watched them crawl past, she counted ten. "What's going on?"

"I do not know."

Then the beetles all stopped in the very center of the village, the one leading them stood on its hind legs and, to Cleo's amazement, actually spoke. "We are here to take more of your food for our army!" it announced to the citizens hiding in the buildings. "If you wish to continue living your pathetic lives, bring it out now!"

Then, an elderly Twili woman with white glowing hair came out of hiding by teleporting before the leader. "You've already taken most of our supplies!" she spoke up bravely. "We barely have enough now to sustain ourselves, only a week's worth left!"

"Then we will take your week's worth old hag!"

"You can't do this!" Her words were barely heard over more scuttling as the beetles charged forward and broke into the storage house. "Please, stop this! We'll starve!"

"Starving is the least of your problems now! Soldiers, after you take the food, annihilate the Twilis!" Then the leader knocked the elder down and was about to finish her.

"STOP IT!" Cleo jumped out of her hiding place and got her sword and shield ready.

"Wait Cleo! You do not know-" but Cleo was barely listening. She was so mad that she charged in a war cry... and then was sent flying by a back hand from the beetle, hitting flat against a wall. She slid down onto the ground and laid sprawled on her back, a drop of blood rolled out her nose. Jack floated above her. "I tried to warn you."

"That... was embarrassing..." She got up and wiped the blood off her face.

"Cleo, please listen. If you want to defeat these insects, you need to follow my guidance."

"But how-" Her question was cut short when the beetle, that had countered, came after her. She quickly dodged out of the way, barely avoiding a foreleg that looked capable of impaling her.

"Please, just trust me!" Not sure how he could help, she nonetheless agreed. She stood before her opponent, more ready this time. "I see a weak point. Do not strike just yet." She kept focus on the weak point he described while avoiding the beetle's attacks. Then it raised its foreleg. "NOW!" Cleo charged toward it and stabbed at the weak point. It was down but not out. No longer able to stand upright on its hind legs, it continued its assault on all six. Jack found another weak point and guided Cleo to victory. It fell in defeat and exploded.

With the first one gone, Cleo and Jack ran after four others attacking the village. Jack guided her and she made her move in the right places at the right time. After a hard struggle, five beetles were destroyed, the other five had already gone.

Cleo was panting hard, letting herself drop on her rear. Some of the villagers were coming out of their buildings (some just popped out of nowhere). "How... do you... know... about... their weak...ness..." she asked between pants.

Jack sighed "I just do. I do not know why..."

"You were... a lot of help... It was very lucky I found you." The Twilis were starting to mutter things to each other, she could catch some words about what she just did.

The elderly one came to her. "What is your name child?"

"...Cleo..."

"You have saved all our lives, we could never be more grateful. Unfortunately, the rest of the invaders have fled with all our food. We have nothing left now..."

Cleo looked around her and could see, quite clearly, that the storage house was torn wide open and there was not a single scrap left inside. "I'm sorry about that. But we can't lose hope just yet. Maybe..." She got up and looked around again. There was a faint rectangle outlining the wall of one of the houses. Approaching it, she touched the Rune of Skribal, activating the sword's magic. She drew hearts and rupees and, to the Twilis' amazement, real heart fruit and rupees appeared out of thin air. She kept drawing until there was enough for everyone. "Will all this do?" The whole of Twili Village responded with a loud cheer. They ran forward to collect their new spoils or, much to her embarrassment, group hug her.

"Bah! I can not believe this!" Veran spat as she watched Cleo through a swirling mass of cloud that was showing the image. She waved it way impatiently. "I was sure my terrifying threat would frighten the pathetic girl into running away, like any other teary brat." She started pacing back and forth. "This Cleo is much tougher than I thought... Fine, if she is going to act like a hero, I'll just raise the stakes a little."

She turned to one shadowy corner and a mantis-like warrior appeared from it. It bowed. "You called my Mistress?" it said in a dry, dry voice.

"Thrifos, a child is on her way to Pitch Black Caves in search of the Essence of Light. Go there and give her my regards, in your own special way. And one more thing... do not underestimate her."

"Yes, my Mistress... I look forward to it..." There was a hint of wicked amusement to its tone. It let out a dark chuckle before disappearing again.

"So you came to seek out the Essence of Light?" asked the elder.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. I need to gather all eight so I can put a stop to all this."

"You're a brave young 'un. But getting the essence will not be easy. The cave it resides in is crawling with monsters and filled with traps."

"I can do it. After defeating that bug, the rest will be easy," Cleo claimed with self-confidence.

"Well then, if you truly wish to go..." the old woman conjured a key out of thin air. "This will unlock the entrance to the cave. Please be careful."

Cleo accepted it. "Thanks."

After receiving the key and the village's gratitude filled goodbye, she set off with Jack. "Cleo," he started. "I know you are eager to find the essences, but do you not think that maybe you are getting ahead of yourself?"

Cleo looked at him curiously. "No, why?"

"Did you forget that you almost got killed by that thing?"

"Yeah, but I had help from you. I know it's dangerous to go alone, that's why I'm taking you."

"...Right."

"Don't worry, Jack. It'll be a piece of cake."

"What will be a piece of cake? Is the essence a cake?"

Cleo face palmed. "No, of course not."