"You did it, Vio!" Red clapped. "You beat Shadow!"

"Thanks, but I doubt it would be that easy." Vio inspected his sword, the weapon he had used to dispatch the now-vanished enemy. "As long as the Dark Mirror remains, I'm sure he'll have another trick or two up his sleeve."

"Dark Mirror?" Green inquired. "What's that?"

"Hold on." Blue actually grinned, toasting Vio with an imaginary glass. "First thing's first. Welcome back to the crew!"

Green gave Vio a thumbs up. "Seconded!"

Red clapped. "Me three!"

Vio smiled, but her thoughts were still clouded. And the memories kept returning.

Shadow...

Zelda was sitting primly in the chair on top of the tower that functioned as her open-air cell. She had been taught long ago to mind her surroundings and keep her nerves in check.

So she provided no outward reaction when Shadow manifested in front of her. But she did notice the change in him.

He was not playful and mocking. He did not have the spring in his step, and in fact, he was not standing at all. The purple mist dissipated to show him down on his knees, practically coughing out his lungs. He raised his head, but he did not look at her, exactly. His eyes seemed to spin in their sockets, sending aimless glances at the sky, the floor, the other towers of the palace, and the princess herself.

The young girl's eyes creased as Shadow shuffled, pushing up from the tiles. He tried to vain to stay upright on his own two feet, but Zelda watched him as he collapsed to his knees, gnashing his teeth.

"This...this is not over..."

Shadow's eyes were bloodshot as he turned his head up at Zelda, who had risen in her chair and approached him.

"I will assume that your scheme failed."

"I...I was so close..." Shadow hissed. "I had Vio, and I thought I could use him to kill those other whelps..."

"You thought you were manipulating him, when he was in fact manipulating you." Zelda nodded with a sort of amused wonder Shadow had never seen in her before. He lifted the hem of tunic, revealing a new wound next to the other three he had suffered in the past.

"This is not over," Shadow forced his face into the semblance of a smirk. "Not as long as the Dark Mirror stays intact. No blade, not even the Four Sword, will put me down for good. I'll learn, I'll improve, and I'll move on. I'll smash those four, I'll overthrow Vaati, and I'll put your precious kingdom under my boot. And then..."

"And then what?"

Shadow blinked. "Excuse me?"

Princess Zelda looked at him. Shadow had expected to see self-righteous fury in her eyes. Instead, he only saw pity. He was discomforted.

"It is not that I do not understand how much you have suffered. It is not that that I do not know that you have lost a lot." Zelda's voice was firm, but her eyes were... sorrowful. "You regret that you lost your old life, your family, your friends, your home..."

"You think I want your apologies?" Shadow growled. "I..."

"You want to take over Hyrule. You want to dominate my people." Zelda spoke over him. "You want to betray Vaati for yourself. You want to destroy the heroes for yourself. You want to sit on the throne for yourself." Her eyes creased. "You might have a chance to accomplish all of that yet. And when you do, all you will have is yourself."

For a minute, it seemed as those time had frozen. Princess Zelda stood tall, face turned down at her captor. For the briefiest of seconds Shadow forgot about his wounds, and the pain vanished. His mouth was dry. Everything in his light seemed hazy. But there was no mistaking Zelda's emphatic aura.

Slowly, and briefly forgetting his dignity, Shadow began to crawl forward.

He could not form the words in his mind, let alone deliver them with his lips. But there was something now beating in his old, cold heart...

Was it regret? Hope? Something else? He did not know, and yet Shadow felt that he needed not put details on the subject.

Zelda extended her hand, parting her thin fingers, and Shadow moved closer still...

And then Zelda disappeared, barely letting out a gasp before she vanished. Shadow's eye's grew wide.

Vaati...

The four boys raced up the last few slopes, eager to find the princess and complete their quest. As they circled the cliff on the last spire, they found themselves at their destination.

The Palace of Winds was enormous, dwarfing even Hyrule Castle. That said, it had definitely seen better days. The tall walls were overrun by appropriately long, entangled weeds. The bricks were gray, with a few odd splotches revealing that the entire structure had once been white. The earth around the walls were a dull brown, with not a single blade of grass in sight. The enormous iron-shod double-doors were covered in rust. Right before the ruined entrance was a pair of statues, facing each other as the final guardians of what could look have been a road.

Even as the boys rushed to the door, Green could not help but slow down as he focused on the statues. Or...were they really statues? Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be suits of armor, well beaten by the weather. Each carried a two-handed mace. He was aware that his mind could play tricks on him, but the rightmost one seemed to almost twitch...

"Come on!" Blue slapped Green on the back. "We can finish all this now!"

Vio and Red were already at the door, pushing hard against the doors. Seeing their struggle, Blue rushed towards them. Green, however, did not speed up his pace. He walked unsteadily, taking a look at both statues before walking his way and react to the disturbance.

He stopped, as if a whisper had touched his ear. He waited...

"You boys have done a man's work making it all the way up here..."

Green spun around, knowing that the other three heroes would follow suit.

It was a Deku Scrub. It had a very similar form to the one they had seen in the Dark World; short body, wooden skin, and blazing orange eyes. But there were leaves at the top of the head, curled into what would be a ponytail to humans. There was a garland of small flowers circling the head as well, forming a crown of sorts.

"But I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you four."

By now, the other three boys had joined Green, and each had his sword out. Blue took point, sneering at the newcomer.

"What?" The hero sneered at the diminutive creature. "Are you gonna try to headbutt our kneecaps?"

"Nothing so crude as that." The Deku Scrub sneered. "As a matter of fact...I'm here to offer a gift. Two, in fact." The critter let out a loud, warbling whistle. There was a flash of light, and something appeared above it's head.

"Link! Link, are you there?!"

The shape hovering over the Deku Scrub's head was circular, and rippled at the edges. If one bothered to put another word to it, they would call it a mirror. But the boys had only one detail to care about; the image within.

Princess Zelda was frantic, her eyes wide. She tried to swing her arms out, but to no avail.

"Link!"

"Princess Zelda!" Red gaped.

"What did you do to her?" Blue snarled.

"Where is she?" Vio took a step forward.

"Speak up!" Green pointed his sword at the Deku Scrub.

The creature just chuckled. "It doesn't matter where she is. The only thing you need to worry about is...well, my other gift."

Green tensed. Doing his best to not let his emotions take over, he stayed as still as he could, sword still poised. Then he heard a footstep, and his stomach tightened.

"Look out!"

Green barely scrambled out of the way as he dodged the heavy blow swung at his neck. His sixth sense for danger had just barely saved him.

The young hero and his comrades took their stances as they sized up their enemy. It was one of the statues, having seemingly come to life on demand. Green took a quick look behind himself; the Deku Scrub had disappeared, as if into thin air, exactly how he had arrived.

The enemy took a half-step, and then rushed forward with his mace. The boys swerved, each trying to find an opening in the defense, but there was none to be found. Despite his heavy weapon, the assailant was quick on his feet, expertly dodging each sword swing.

Finally, inspiration struck Vio. He swerved down, scooped up a rock, and cocked his arm. His aim was true, and the rock went sailing straight for the knight's head. It was Blue who took initiative while the enemy strugged from the blow to the helmet. He swung his Four Sword, anticipating that the edge of the magical weapon would slice through the mace, just under the flanged head. And he was correct on that count.

The blade of the Four Sword remained on course, cutting straight through the handle of the mace. The head of the weapon went flying, but the puppeteer knight was undeterred. Not losing his momentum, he stepped forward and sent a punch straight into Vio's stomach. The hero doubled over and gasped.

"Hold on!"

Red's how had his magic rod at the ready. Flames burst forth, enveloping the knight's body.

It was not enough.

"What the heck?!"

The flames vanished, revealing that the knight was completely unharmed. In another moment, the knight scooped Vio up, putting the young hero in a brutal headlock.

"Vio!" Red cried out.

"No!" The cry sounded throughout the throne room of the Palace of Winds.

Princess Zelda struggled, but it was no use. Her hands were shackled behind her back, and the portal hovered in the air. The knight's brutal manhandling of the purple-clad hero was on full display.

Vaati laughed. "You know what you have to do, Princess."

"Let him go! Now!" Zelda glared at the monstrous sorcerer, her voice shrill.

"Not for free. If you do not purge Ganon from me, Vio will be the first of many heroes to fall. And the rest will follow. Save me, and you'll save your precious little heroes."

Zelda stared into Vaati's one enormous eyes. "How do I know you will keep your word? If I do use my power to dispel Ganon, how do I know for certain that you will leave them alone?"

Vaati tittered. "You cannot. But you have no other options!"

Then, without warning, Vaati lunged.

Zelda screamed as the sorcerer's tendril closed around her waist, and he dragged her into the air.

"Now, Princess! Obey me!"

Getting to the endgame...