There was another gust of wind blowing through the passageway now.

"Ack!" Blue fell flat on his back, almost dropping his sword.

"Blue!" Red was slammed against the wall, even as he hugged the rod to himself.

"Ohh hoo hoo..." The raspy voice seemed closer now. "I expected more from those who call themselves Link..."

"Don't call me that!" Red could not see anything in the darkness, thanks to the empty lamps, and he was sure that Blue could not see anything either. "You call me Red! And leave me and Blue alone!"

"No can do, no can do, my boy." There was a chuckle. "I, Jalhalla, will have the pleasure of taking your lives for the sake of Lord Vaati."

Red, holding the rod in his right hand, moved his left hand across his body, intending to fumble for the hilt of his sword. Instead, the fingers brushed against a ring enclosed around the bottom haft of the rod. There was a flashing light, and for a minute Red could see the passageway again. Blue had gotten back up on his feet, sword in hand. The owner was of the voice was visible, too.

It was a large purple lump holding a pair of misshapen hands to its face, a large white mask.

"The light!" Jalhalla. "The cursed light!"

Red stood, stunned. The rod was projecting a small column of flame from the ball at the other end. It was a magical rod! He began to walk backwards, even as Jalhalla writhed and shrieked. When he took his hand off the ring, the fire went out. Everything was dark again.

"Let's run, Blue!"

"Well, howdy, Princess." The familiar voice hit the girl's ears.

Princess Zelda kept her head high and her back turned. She was still resigned to waiting in her air-open prison on top of the tower. She was expecting another snide visit from Shadow. But when she turned around, she saw something quite unexpected. Standing next to the sneering apparition was the spitting image of Link, her dear friend. He was clearly the result of the hero's use of the Four Sword.

But it was not only the purple clothes that distinguished him from Link. His eyes were cold, and his face passive. She could not help but take a step forward. Ignoring Shadow, she addressed the newcomer.

"How did they capture you?"

The boy shook his head. "They did not have to. I have decided to bet on the other horse, so to speak."

Zelda's stomach twisted. "That's not true!" Surely, this was a joke her mind was playing on her, or a dreadful illusion. If this summoned swordsman was indeed pulled from Link, then surely he would not...

Shadow sneered. "Spare us the shock. Vio, as he calls himself now, has decided to hop on the winning team. And the other so-called heroes won't get in his way, either." The princess watched as Vio's hand tightened on the hilt of his sheathed sword. No matter what rationalization her mind raced to come up with, she knew with utmost clarity that there was indeed another soul beside Shadow.

"It's not too late to give up." Shadow continued. "You can still come over to our side, too. What happens to the other three might well depend on your choice."

The princess looked helplessly at Vio. "You cannot..."

Vio jerked his sword an inch from the scabbard. "Do you care when you cut your nails, Princess? Of course not. I've no tears to shed for any of them. And at any rate, I agree with him. You should not be surprised. You were captured, and the knights were defeated. There's no use for such a kingdom as that."

He resheathed his sword and turned on his heel. From the back, he knew that neither Shadow nor Zelda could see the look of shame on his face, but he tried to keep his voice even.

"That is what I am telling you, as plainly as I can."

The boys' desperate run through the dark passageway ended in a large, hexagonal room. A gilded chandelier hung above a closed casket. In addition, there was a lit torch in each corner of the room.

"You boys can't run forever!" Jahalla's bluster was audible even here. Blue took his stance by one side of the door, raising his sword high. Red was on the other side, holding the Fire Rod. When Jalhalla's cursing and threats reached their peak loudness, Blue began to swing his sword down.

He was too late. Jalhalla rushed through the doorway with supernatural speed, and turned around to snarl at the torches. They were too far away for their light to have an effect, but the monster hissed, the eyeholes of the mask flashing red, and he began to whirl around, shooting out gusts of wind through the open fanged mouth. Soon, every torch was extinguished.

"You...!" The room was dark, but that did not stop Blue. He rushed forward, swinging his sword, but found himself caught in another current of air. Only this one was...drawing him in...

"Hey!" Suddenly Blue felt himself packed between walls of rubbery material. There was only one conclusion; the monster had swallowed him whole.

"Got you!"

Jalhalla was truly nothing like any other enemy Blue could remember fighting; his body was truly just a sack of flesh, connected to the mask, without any blood or organs required to keep it running. But such logistical thoughts meant nothing to Blue, not when he felt the "stomach" contract, slowly crushing his body. He could not so much as move his head, let alone his sword arm.

"I'll crush you from the inside!"

Red, still hidden in the darkness, shivered. But he could not let himself freeze. Putting all of his energy into his arm, he thrust it upward. It was no use trying to light any of the six torches; Jalhalla would blow them up again. There was only one thing to do; pray that Jalhalla had not seen what was hovering in the air, and that the range of the Fire Rod was long enough.

"How's that?" Jalhalla gloated over Blue's strained grunts. "Now I'll just..." He stopped suddenly. He stopped suddenly, and turned around. The red-clad hero was standing next to the casket, pointing his rod upwards. He gripped it tightly, and with each second the column of fire reached higher and higher. Jalhalla began to move, but with Blue stuck in his belly, he was too slate. The fire reached it's peak, and finally, there was the explosion of light that sealed the monster's fate.

There must have been at least a few dozen candles in the chandelier. And with the fire, each lit up simultaneously. The room was abruptly illuminated, and Jalahalla buckled over and tried to cover his red eyes.

"You interfering cur!" Jalhalla shouted. "I'll..."

But it was no use. In his blindness, he stopped crushing his captive hero. Blue pushed forward, sending the tip of his sword straight through the body. Jahalla looked down at shock at the blade protruding from his stomach. A split-second later, it began to fly upward.

"You...!"

The sword ripped right through the mask of Jalhalla, halving it. The eyeholes went empty and black.

"You did it, Blue!" Red pumped a fist into the air.

The two halves of the mask clattered to the floor, and the rest of Jalhalla's body vanished into thin air. Blue landed harmlessly on his feet and sheathed his sword. He took a moment to survey the lit chandelier, and nodded in approval.

"What's say we get out of here?"

Red gave a mock smirk. "I'm waiting to hear you say it."

Blue shook his head, but he could not resist the turn at the edge of his lip.

"What's say we get out of here, partner?"

Shadow and Zelda were alone on the rooftop of the tower, now. Vio had left. Princess Zelda tried to look strong, she truly tried. But Shadow's smirk did not fate. He could see the fear behind Zelda's blank eyes and stiff face. He could practically taste it.

"You can ask me, Princess. I know you want to ask the question."

"Why?" Zelda tried to keep her voice firm, but she could not control the tremor in it. "Why are you doing all of this?"

Shadow wagged a finger. "To answer that, I must tell you a story. A story dating back to the fall of Ganon."

Zelda shook her head. "You have already told me about how the champion of Hyrule hunted down the monster in the Great Pyramid."

"I'm not finished." Shadow's voice was colder now. "I didn't talk about the champion...or the Nameless Swordsman, as some call him."

Zelda stared forward. "He died, and he took Ganon down with him."

Shadow grinned, but eyes were hard. "He used the Four Sword to it's fullest potential. He sacrificed one, then two, and then the third of his copies before taking a fatal stab himself from the beast's trident. He managed to cast the incantation anyway, and sealed Ganon inside his sword. Luckily, the desert guide he hired was able to find the sword. Unluckily, he didn't take the dead hero's body back. He was planning to sell the sword, and didn't count on himself getting caught and his catch getting sent back to the Royal Family."

Shadow took a step forward.

"Do you imagine how...boring it would be to have nothing but the bricks of the pyramid to look at? Can you imagine staring at them for ten years?" His face twisted. "How about a hundred, or more?"

Zelda gasped. "You..."

Shadow raised a hand, silencing her.

"You adjust to the darkness, to the miles of endless stone, but you can't forget who you are, or that you're a spirit doomed to wander the passageways of the pyramid forever. And all the while, you know that your kingdom and your family will keep working and eating and sleeping without you. But one day, as it happens, a group of strangers decide that their dear master Ganon needs some help. So they turn to the only person they can find, or what's left of him. These Deku Scrubs work their magic, and bring the Nameless Swordsman to life."

Shadow gestured at himself. He was flashing an open smile, but Zelda could hear the crunch of his teeth as they ground together.

"Or something resembling life."

Before Zelda could say another work, Shadow Link grabbed the hem of his tunic and yanked it up. The skin was pale, but there was no mistaking the three open punctures in his abdomen. There was not a drop of blood, but to Zelda each of the three holes was like a great chasm. They were no doubt the handiwork of Ganon's attack. Shadow dropped the tunic.

"I sacrificed my life and my afterlife for the people of this kingdom. And I'm gonna get what I'm owed from this wretched Hyrule. And if that means trampling my great-great-however many great-nephew...or nephews...so be it."

I didn't really want to do a big twist for Shadow, so I've just decided to expand on his past a bit by making him the Nameless Swordsman.