Vio had to hand it to Shadow; he knew how to party. The Deku Scrubs filled the air with the booming vibrations of their wooden drums and pipes, and the Hinoxes chugged down barrels of ale. All of this was done under the glow of of the half-dozen chandeliers that illuminated the room.

"Today marks a most auspicious victory!" Shadow stood on top of a table and downed a glass before raising it in the air. " The four will never be together again!"

It had not escaped his attention that Vio had tried to retreat into a corner with a drink of his own. Shadow gestured with his glass.

"And this is the fellow we owe it all to!"

The thunderous applause and roars nearly split Vio's eardrums, but he smiled and toasted the party regardless.

"Argghh!"

The green-clad hero had been disposed of. The purple-clad swordsman had joined his army. The remaining two dogs of the princess were lost. And yet, stewing alone in his private chamber, Vaati was more dissatisfied than ever.

He looked down. His arm had been long with a lustrous black color, matching the rest of his body. Now it was thicker, with muscles bulging out from beneath the blur fur. His one enormous eye squeezed shut, and then reopened. The arm was back to normal. The reversion did nothing to help his rage.

"Curses..."

The intermittent physical changes were not the only obstacles he was stuck with. He heard a voice at times, a deep one, letting out the usual spate of words.

"Darkness...power...fight...battle...hero..."

Over time, however, he had come to dread the chuckle more. He would hear that just before one of the changes came. He had not heard it this time, though.

Vaati continued to float in the air, morose over his luck. He could not fight off the Demon King's influence forever. One day, Ganon would take over completely. That much was certain.

But...how long did he have? Months? Days? Less?

Princess Zelda was the key. Her magical power could dispel Ganon. But as Shadow had relayed to him, she had no intention of healing his affliction. The moment she did, she assumed, he would continue with his plan of razing and dominating Hyrule.

That, too, was certain.

There was a chuckle, and Vaati was satisfied that it was his own this time.

Some razing and domination would have to come early, it seemed.

The celebration carried on for at least another hour, and Vio did not move from his spot. He kept asking and answering questions in his own head, doubting his plan even though it was close to fruition.

I only gave Green a blow to the stomach, but that should not keep him down for long, right? I know him, I was him, he'll pull through. Is there a chance I can get an audience with Vaati? I can try to get Shadow to recommend it. How is Princess Zelda? Is she alright? Was my performance too convincing for Red and Blue? Maybe...

"Hey, Vio!"

Vio was startled, but he did his best to hide it. He sat up from the wooden chair and hailed Shadow as he approached. It was just the two of them; the Deku Scrubs and Hinoxes had wandered off.

Shadow was as cocky as ever, striding forth with a spring in his step. He waved a hand at the enormous open window cut into the stone wall. Vio watched him leap on it a second later, sitting down and perching himself perfectly on the sill. Vio nodded, trying to make his voice as cold as he could.

"So, what's next, Shadow? Green is gone. The other heroes are hopeless. We have our fortress and our friends." He put his glass down on a nearby table. "Now, all we have to do is figure out what we are going to do with Princess Zelda."

"Oh, I think we already have." Shadow waved a hand. He reached inside his pocket, and Vio just barely kept his face from falling. It was the flower than he...or Link, back when all the heroes were one...had given her. The one with the orange flowers and the yellow bud. The one that reminded the pair of them of their carefree days...

"We will force her to use her magic for our benefit."

Vio snapped himself back to attention. "That power of hers is the only thing that can remove Ganon's essence from Vaati."

"Correct!" Shadow snapped his fingers. "She resists for now, but one way or another, she will have to heed Vaati's request. Then, freed from Ganon's influence, there will be nothing to stop him from taking out the other two heroes and putting Hyrule beneath our army's boot."

Shadow's voice was firm, but Vio saw something else, a twinkle in the eye. Smirking back at the apparition, Vio put a hand out and leaned against the stone wall. "You don't mean a word of what you just said. That's not your plan."

"What do you mean?" Shadow's question was not a question. The grin had not left his face.

Vio shook his head. "Don't play dumb. You'll probably say that at the end of all this, Vaati will make you his right hand, and that that will be your reward for all you've done. But...really? Invading Hyrule Castle? Kidnapping the princess? Finding, and taking pains to recruit, me? Having me fight Green and kill him? That seems like so much work...for so little. And you left Red and Blue alone. There's no way you would do that unless you had a plan in the works."

Shadow jumped off the sill. "What do you suppose I intend to do?"

"You want to seize control yourself." Vio was quick to answer as Shadow came closer. "You expect Red and Blue to come here to the Palace to fight Vaati, and that you'll have a chance to release Princess Zelda then. If those two fools somehow manage to defeat Vaati, it'll be easy to pick them off when they're tired and weary from the battle. If Vaati gets the upper hand, it doesn't matter. Princess Zelda will have no choice but to unleash her power, removing Ganon from his body. Free from his curse, he will either win or lose. And if he wins, you can eliminate him all the same. No matter the outcome, you have the opportunity to supplant Vaati and take over Hyrule yourself!"

By this time, Shadow was an inch away from Vio. Finally, with a hearty laugh, he slapped his comrade on the back.

"You're as devious as me, my friend! I'm glad we're on the same page!"

"You said you wanted to show me something?"

"Yep, come on."

Vio followed Shadow through the twisted stone corridor until they came across a heavy wooden door. Shadow frowned.

"The guard's supposed to be here."

He gave the door a push. There was a lot of loot inside; old furniture, treasure chests overflowing with jewelry, even a few tables upon which dozens of baskets of fruits sat. In the center of it all was a large mirror propped up by a golden stand. A Deku Scrub was admiring himself in front of it.

"Get away, idiot!" Shadow roared. "You know better than to toy with that!"

As the frightened Deku Scrub scurried past Vio, Shadow stood in front of the mirror, practically doubled over, swallowing air as he tried to control his temper. At length, he stood back up again and motioned for Vio to come closer. The purple-clad swordsman took several uncertain steps forward.

"Behold the Dark Mirror!" Shadow gestured towards the mysterious object. "This is the secret behind my life. It's limitless dark magic allows even the likes of me..." He grabbed the hem of his tunic and pulled to reveal the punctures behind it, "...to say alive and well in this world, relatively speaking."

Vio nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting."

Shadow's tone turned rueful. "Even so, it's a little embarassing to admit that someone like me has to rely on something like this."

Vio moved forward, smacking Shadow on the shoulder with a laugh. "A minor setback for the future King of Hyrule!"

As soon as Vio pulled back his hand, Shadow repeated his gesture. Vio felt the cold fingers on his shoulder, and he saw the usual smirk reappear on Shadow's face, but he detected something...different in Shadow's eyes. Was it his imagination?

"It's good to know I have a true friend. Someone I can trust."

And Vio suddenly felt numb.

It was nighttime now. It was time to act.

Vio kept himself going, but fighting the lingering doubt in his heart took considerable effort.

Getting back to the chamber was not difficult, and neither was the guard. It amazed Vio that Shadow had only left a single Deku Scrub beside the door. The critter had awakened with a start from the sudden sound of Vio's footsteps, but before he could even begin to screech, a swift blow knocked him out cold. Pushing the door aside took even less effort.

Vio found himself in front of the Dark Mirror soon enough, unsheathing his sword. He held it upright, felt the muscles in his arm tense, and...let his arm flop downwards. He winced.

Vio began to raise his sword again; willing himself to raise his sword again and pull it back. One thrust, and the sword would rip through the enchanted glass. He finally had Shadow at his mercy. So...so why...could he not...

There was a sudden bang behind him. Shadow came through the door, with an odd look on his face.

"What's going on? The guard outside was unconscious..."

Thinking quickly, Vio gave his sword a flourish and stepped away from the Dark Mirror. "I saw that, too. I thought I heard something, so I walked in here. I..."

But Shadow simply raised a hand, cutting the swordsman off.

Vio stood silently as Shadow began to pace around the room. Then, all too abruptly, he went to the Dark Mirror and bent down. He stood back up and revealed what was in his hand. Despite himself, Vio's heart skipped a beat.

It was the flower that had been taken from Princess Zelda. The stem was snapped, with the bud just barely hanging on from a sliver of green. Shadow looked at Vio. His voice was as lively as ever, but his eyes and face were stone.

Vio's grip on his sword's hilt tightened, but he knew it was no use. He had been severely outplayed. He must have stepped on the flower as soon as he had reached the mirror, and that it was the telltale clue that sealed his doom.

"I put this here...sort of an insurance, if you will." Shadow pretended to study the flower for a moment, then tossed to the ground. Vio winced as he saw him slam down with his boot, crushing it.

"Even so, Vio, my friend, I am really am disappointed." Shadow continued. "Believe it or not, I really was hoping we could do great things side-by-side."

Sorry for the delay! Still working out some elements for the endgame of the story.