Rain's Writing Archive

the dark doesn't frighten me (i chose to close my eyes)

Originally posted to Ao3 on 2/19/2024. Last Updated on 2/23/2024.

Summary
Shadow, for all intents and purposes, was dead.
Sure, he was vaguely aware of his Light World counterparts fusing into one person once more, and that he was on a new adventure with a group of eight other adventurers, and yeah, he could tell all nine of them had the Hero's Spirit, but it wasn't like he was actually alive. He couldn't actually see any of this, let alone interact. It was more like a gut feeling that told him these things.
So, when he is abruptly ripped out of the total nothingness that had claimed him after his death, he is understandably surprised, confused, and incredibly overwhelmed.

A/N: guess who read the four swords manga once and hasnt gotten it out of his head since?

Chapter 1

Shadow, for all intents and purposes, was dead.

Sure, he was vaguely aware of his Light World counterparts fusing into one person once more, and that he was on a new adventure with a group of eight other adventurers, and yeah, he could tell all nine of them had the Hero's Spirit, but it wasn't like he was actually alive. He couldn't actually see any of this, let alone interact. It was more like a gut feeling that told him these things.

So, when he is abruptly ripped out of the total nothingness that had claimed him after his death, he is understandably surprised, confused, and incredibly overwhelmed.

The cold stone floor is like ice on his grey (Why is it grey? Didn't he change it to be tan?) skin, and the admittedly dim lights are like daggers piercing his retinas. Shadow curls up into a ball and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to warm up and protect his eyes at the same time.

A voice cuts through the air, and he's covering his ears now, too.

Why did everything have to be so much?

Someone, probably whoever that voice belongs to, pokes Shadow in the side. Shadow groans, and then curls up even tighter when that proves to make the impending headache ten times worse.

The voice/side-poker doesn't want to be left waiting though, and they pull one of Shadow's hands away from his ears.

This time, when they talk, Shadow is forced to listen.

"Shadow Link," they say, cold and impassive, "I have revived you so that you may assist me in my goal."

Shadow groans, and he finally pries his eyes open.

It's like looking in a mirror, but not a normal mirror. More like a mirror that had been bent and twisted and actually showed what you looked like at the worst time in your life, but a bit to the left.

"Who're you?" Shadow mumbles as he sits up, the words like leaden honey on his tongue. He really needs a glass of water. Possibly several.

"I am Dark Link, the dark reflection of the Hero of Time, just as you are the dark reflection of the Hero of the Four Sword," Dark Link explained. He rises to his full height and begins to pace around the room while he talks. "Our purpose is to defeat the hero, but you and I were the ones defeated, instead. We both failed our purpose – our very reason for existing."

Okay, Shadow is starting to get very weird vibes from this guy. He's talking like some sort of cult leader or something.

"I will not fail a second time, and so, I've concocted a plan," Dark Link sounds like he's about to go off on an evil rant, and Shadow really doesn't want to go through that. He interrupts before Dark Link can start talking.

"That's… great and all," Shadow winces as his voice cracks and Dark Link scowls at him, "But could I have a glass of water first?"

Dark Link rolls his eyes, the gesture obvious despite the fact his scleras, irises, and pupils are all the same glowing red, but summons a glass full of water regardless. He hands it to Shadow, who chugs the whole thing in about five seconds while Dark Link begins his rant.

"My plan hinges on your cooperation, so listen close and listen well." Dark Link refills Shadow's glass with a snap of his fingers, and Shadow chugs that, too. "There is a group of nine heroes from across the ages, and I have gathered them together to take them all out in one shot. This group includes my Light, and your Light. I have been sending enhanced monsters to pick them off one by one, but these efforts seem to be in vain, as not one of their number has gone down and stayed down, yet.

"However, with some help from another Dark that rivals my skill level, I'm sure those rotten heroes would go down easily. And then, you and I will have no opposition, and we can rule every Hyrule with no one to usurp us!"

Dark Link turns to Shadow and offers a hand.

"What do you say, partner?"

Shadow considers his options (Vio would be so proud).

On one hand, world domination isn't really his prerogative any longer. He'd much rather run back to Link and hug him until his body gave out. However, on the other, Dark Link isn't really giving him much of a choice. If he could bring Shadow back to life, chances are he can either reverse the resurrection or just kill him all over again.

And Shadow doesn't particularly feel like dying.

Shadow rises to his feet and takes the offered hand, giving it a shake.

"You've got yourself a deal, partner."

Shadow carefully hides his crossed fingers behind his back.

Dark wastes no time getting down to business, apparently. Within an hour of Shadow being revived, he's already being sent out on a mission to gather information about the heroes, and possibly spook them a bit, too.

Well, Dark didn't say "spook", he said "cast fear into their hearts and freeze them in their tracks", but Shadow figured spooking them was close enough.

Dark had created a portal of swirling black and purple magic, and when Shadow stepped through, it led to a forest in the dead of night. A short ways away, there's the light of a campfire in a clearing and the voices of several people intermingling.

Shadow creeps closer to the camp, using the trees as cover, until he can see who exactly is there.

Just as Dark had told him, there are nine heroes, Link being amongst them.

Longing tugs at Shadow's heart. He wants desperately to ignore Dark's orders, to walk directly into camp and collapse into Link, to hold him and be held in return and to be loved again.

But he can't. He can't waste this second chance at life. He can't.

So, instead, he climbs into the tree he's hiding behind and perches in one of the highest branches. He peers through the leaves, allowing his eyes to glow brightly in the night, and he stays there until he's noticed.

It doesn't take long. The hero with an animal pelt on his back notices him first. They lock eyes.

Shadow doesn't blink, and neither does the hero. Without taking his eyes off Shadow, the hero turns to another one and says something that Shadow can't make out. Based on the fact that the other hero is staring him down now, too, the pelt-wearing hero informed the other they were being watched.

The second hero announces something to the rest of the group, and all nine of them ready their weapons.

Shadow laughs, dark and bitter and also incredibly faked. He stands from his crouched position on the branch, frontflips and lands on the ground in one fluid motion.

He's always been one for the dramatics, after all.

"Why, hello there, heroes," he says in his most menacing voice. Several of the heroes bare their teeth at him. While Shadow grimaces internally at the open hostility, he forces his grin to grow wider at the sight. "Fancy meeting you here."

The tallest of the lot, with full plate armor, blue and red face markings, and a claymore in his hands takes a menacing step forward. Shadow chuckles at the brazen move.

"Well, now, what's with all the hostility?" Shadow taunts, tilting his head in an innocent manner. "We've only just met."

"Are you what the Goddess has brought us together to fight?" The one wearing a blue scarf questions. Shadow nearly breaks character at that. Didn't Dark say he was the one to bring the heroes together? Did they think they were on a quest from the Goddess?

Not the time, Shadow!

He forces another dark chuckle, shaking his head at the accusation.

"No, I am not your true adversary," he admits, " He is much stronger than I am."

"Who?" the armored one demands, "Who is "he"?"

Shadow feigns confusion, smirking at the group.

"Dark Link, obviously."

Many of the heroes' eyes widen at the name. The armored one takes half a step back. The one with the scarf readies his sword. The second shortest hero – who wore a blue tunic with a lobster design – has his face twisted up like he just ate a lemon. Another one, wearing a red tunic, green vest, and blue hat rolls his eyes so hard Shadow's surprised they don't roll right out of his head. The one wearing mostly greens and browns beside him has the ornate hilt of his sword in a death grip.

For a moment, just a second, Shadow allows his gaze to wander to Link.

All the color had drained from his face, his eyes are wide and dull and haunted. He stands stock still, the Four Sword held loosely in his left hand. Looking at him, the phrase "looks like he's seen a ghost" came to Shadow's mind.

In a way, he has.

"Dark brought me back from death to serve him in his goal;" Shadow tells them, hoping with all his heart that at least one of them takes his words as they warning they are, "to destroy each and every one of you." He bares his teeth in a facsimile of a smile. "Watch your backs."

Shadow takes control of the darkness around him, allowing it to swallow him whole and conceal him in the shadows. His form sinks into the ground, disappearing from their view.

His job is done, for now.

Four's entire world lays shattered at his feet.

Shadow.

The Four Sword clatters to the ground, and Four collapses to his knees only a moment later.

He's alive.

There's chaos all around him. The others are yelling at each other. Four can't hear a word they say. Everything in Four's head has grinded to an abrupt halt. He's not sure he could form a sentence thought if he tried.

Shadow isn't dead.

It's the only thought going through his head.

Shadow is alive. Shadow was right there. Shadow is back. Shadow is alive.

Another thought interrupts the mantra.

Shadow is evil again.

Four's heart sinks into his stomach. Something hot and wet rolls down his cheeks. Tears.

He's crying.

Of course he's crying. That's his fifth piece, his counterpart, his best friend, and maybe they could've been even more, but Shadow had been torn from him too soon. He'd sacrificed himself to save Hyrule, to save Zelda, to save Four.

And he was evil again.

His skin was ashen and grey, irises bright bloody red, nails and fangs long and sharp. He looked the way he did before he joined them. Before he became their fifth piece.

Shadow freed himself from his evil master, died for it, and got revived just to be controlled all over again.

It just isn't fair.

Someone rests a hand on Four's shoulder, but the touch barely registers. He's still staring at the very same spot Shadow disappeared. The hands shakes him, and finally, his vocal chords start working.

" Shadow ," Four whispers, and even the sound of his name spoken with his own lips sends another flood of tears to his eyes.

Someone crouches down in front of Four. Twilight. He rubs his hands up and down Four's upper arms, trying to… comfort him? Get his attention? Ground him, that's what he calls it. Four sniffles, and the tears begin to ebb a bit.

"Hey there," Twilight says, and he's using that tone of voice he reserves for Wild after a memory and for Wind when he's homesick and for particularly frightened kittens, "You back with us?"

Four swallows against the lump in his throat, begins to nod, then shakes his head, then gives up and just shrugs. He sniffles again.

"That's okay. Do you want to talk?" Four shakes his head before Twilight even finishes the question. Twilight nods in understanding. "Sky cuddles, then?"

Sky is leaning against a tree, sitting on his bedroll, whittling down a small piece of wood and looking rather shellshocked. Four isn't usually the most tactile person, but really, he needs someone to lean on right now, and Sky has never turned anyone down for cuddles.

Besides, it looks like Sky could use it, too.

With a lot more effort than it should take, Four stands, picking up the Four Sword as he goes, and joins Sky against the tree.

Sky doesn't even blink when Four plops down beside him, just smiles tiredly at him and sets down his carving and lays down in his bedroll, silently inviting Four to curl up next to him. Four takes up the offer, tucking his arms between himself and Sky and planting his face into Sky's chest. Sky pulls the covers up around them both and wraps an arm around Four's back.

If Four starts crying again, thinking about how much he'd rather to curl up with Shadow instead, Sky is gracious enough not to mention it.

Four wakes up screaming only a few hours later.

Well, screaming is a generous word for it. It was more like an aborted squawk crossed with him choking on his own spit.

Luckily the noise didn't wake anyone else up, though it had grabbed the attention of the person on third watch, who was conveniently Sky. He looks down at Four, mouth turned down and brows furrowed. When he asks if he's okay, Four gives a noncommittal shrug and says he needs to take a walk to clear his head. Sky lets him go without any fuss.

He walks about five minutes away from camp, close enough to scream if he needs help but far enough that no one would hear him crying.

The tears start again as soon as he thinks about Shadow too long, and at that point, he couldn't stop them if he tried.

He stands there, in the middle of the forest, tears and snot dripping from his face and his hands curled uselessly at his sides. Four cries and sobs and sniffles and he's sure he's an absolute mess right now. But none of that matters because Shadow is back but just out of his reach.

Just as his cries crescendo, a hand begins to rub circles on his back. Four chokes back his next sob, guilty that he ended up waking someone with his little fit.

"S-sorry," he tells whoever is comforting him, "I didn't m-mean to wake you."

There's a soft exhale of air, almost a laugh, but not quite.

"You didn't wake me, doofus," says the last voice Four is expecting to hear in that moment.

Four spins around at record-breaking speeds, tears long forgotten as he stares at his counterpart, his fifth piece, his best friend . His skin tone matches Four's again, his hair is a rich purple, and his eyes are a sharp blue. He's alive, in the flesh, and calling Four a doofus like he'd never died in the first place.

"What?" Shadow says, looking around himself, "Do I have something on my face?"

Laughter spills from Four's lips unbidden, choked by residual tears, but there and joyful nonetheless.

Four crashes bonelessly into Shadow, trusting him to keep them both on their feet. Shadow staggers, but manages to stay standing (barely). Four clutches fistfuls of the back of Shadow's tunic and hides his face away in his shoulder. Shadow, in turn, wraps his arms around  Four's back and rests his chin on his head.

"I missed you," Four mumbles.

"...Missed you, too," Shadow admits.

Four doesn't know how long they stay there, wrapped in one another's embrace, but it's long enough that they get tired of standing and they sit down instead. And they still stay there until the earliest glows of sunrise begin to light the horizon, and even still, there they sit.

Eventually, someone comes out in search of Four. It's understandable. He got up in the middle of the night reeling from a nightmare, wandered off into the forest, and never came back. It makes sense.

That doesn't mean he has to like it.

Time turns out to be the lucky winner of the "go find the lost Link" draw, and Four finds that out precisely when he points his Biggoron Sword at Shadow.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Time inquires, voice cold and sharp and distrustful. Four turns his head to look Time dead in the eye, ignoring the sword tip that's only a few inches from his and Shadow's necks.

Four has never wanted to harm another person so badly in his life.

Shadow, in typical Shadow fashion, shoots back, "Telling my best friend I'm not dead."

Time looks a bit taken aback at that. He lowers the sword a miniscule amount, just enough that Four deems it safe enough to get Shadow fully out of harm's way.

Four shifts his weight, getting his feet under him so he can stand up. He moves one arm that was around Shadow's back to under his legs, and then with less effort than he'd initially expected, scoops Shadow into a princess carry while Four rises to his feet.

There's a little bit more pink in Shadow's cheeks when Four checks to make sure he's okay.

With a teasing smirk, Shadow comments, "Wow, Link, you really know how to sweep a guy off his feet."

"I will drop you."

Time clears his throat, and both of their heads snap back to him.

"What on Farore's green earth are you and a Dark doing out here?" He asks. The question posed at Four, but he never takes his eye off Shadow. "It may have changed its appearance a bit, but you can still tell this is the Dark that threatened us earlier, right?"

Before Four can even think to stop him, Shadow opens his big, dumb mouth.

"Okay, first of all, I'm not an "it", and my name is Shadow," he tells Time. Four sends a prayer for patience to the Goddess. "And second, I was warning you, not threatening you. Can't you tell the difference?"

Time doesn't stop glaring, and his grip on his sword's pommel grows tighter.

Four sighs, realizing he's the one that needs to explain before this conversation turns into an actual fight.

"Time, this is Shadow," Four puts on his best customer service voice, "He's the reason I was able to defeat Vaati and Ganon on my second adventure, but he died in the process. And now, he was… revived?"

"Yeah," Shadow took over, hearing Four's hesitance. "Dark Link thought I'd be subservient or whatever, so he brought me back somehow. I'm not sure where he's getting the magic to keep me alive, though."

Time blinked.

"Let me get this straight…" he sheathes his sword and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Your Dark-"

"Shadow," Four and Shadow both interrupt.

"... Shadow helped you defeat Ganon."

Four nods.

"And Dark Link brought him back to life to… kill us and the others?"

Shadow nods.

"And he won't follow Dark Link's orders because…?"

"Following orders is lame," Shadow tells him like it's the most obvious thing in the world. He shifts a bit, and then wraps an arm around Four's shoulders. "And I love this dork too much to kill him."

Four did not blush at that. Absolutely not.

Time sighs.

"I can't say I understand," he admits, "but if you trust Shadow, then we can too."

A weight he didn't know was there lifts from Four's shoulders. Time gestures for them to follow him, and he starts walking in the direction of camp. Four sets Shadow back on his own two feet, taking his hand instead, and follows, dragging Shadow along with him.

The other Links, after explanations were given and hostilities were dropped, accepted Shadow into the group without much fuss. Legend, Hyrule, and Warriors were the most against the new addition, but after Time talked to them, seemed to give up whatever animosity they had and ignored Shadow for the most part.

Shadow was okay with that. Not everyone had to like him. He had Link – Four, now – and Zelda back home. That was good enough for him.

Shadow sits next to Four, holding his hand and taking a moment to just… live.

He hasn't been alive in years. He deserves this.

There's a sharp tug on his very essence, suddenly. He feels his magic falter at the jolt, and he returns to his "default" appearance; completely monochrome with red eyes being the only exception.

He squeezes Four's hand, and he turns to look at him.

"I think Dark wants me back," Shadow tells him. His heart sinks to his stomach when he sees how Four's face falls. Shadow can tell he's barely holding back tears.

"Promise you'll come back?"

"What kinda question is that?" Shadow teases, pulling Four into a hug. Four hugs back vigorously. "Of course I'll come back. I already did it once."

Four giggles wetly, and releases him. Shadow stands, bids the group goodbye en mass, and walks off in a random direction in the forest.

A portal appears in front of him, and Shadow hesitates at the threshold.

He'll come back to Four. He won't leave him again.

He steps through the portal.

A/N: ive got more ideas for this but ive been writing for hours i just need to post this already

Chapter 2

A/N:

As it turns out, Shadow is lucky for once, and Dark has no idea what he spent most of the night doing.

If that hadn't been the case, and Dark was some kind of omniscient being who knew exactly what Shadow is really up to, he'd probably be dead. Again.

But thankfully, Dark is completely in the dark (ha), and Shadow can keep "gathering intel" on the Links while also feeding them information on Dark. He's like a secret double agent or something.

Everything is going well on the "betrayal" side of things, but not so much on the "escape" side. Dark isn't as wholly trusting as Shadow had initially thought, and he absolutely refuses to let him see the item that's giving him the magic to sustain his form.

Before he died, it was the Dark Mirror, but now it could be anything.

Without knowing what or where it is, he can't bail without risking Dark destroying the magic source and dooming him to a second death.

For now, he's stuck.

But just because Dark won't show him, doesn't mean Shadow can't snoop on his own.

The place Dark lives is… odd. It's built like a castle, with stone floors and stone brick walls and large wooden doors are inset into the walls, most of them locked. Torches that never seem to burn out line the halls. And the weirdest part, there doesn't seem to be a front door, and Shadow has yet to see the outside.

He's starting to think there isn't an outside at all.

In any other circumstance, he'd call the idea ridiculous. But it's completely possible that this place is extratemporal – existing outside of the timeline entirely – and only exists because Dark wills it to.  If that's the case, then the dark magic source must be massive.

And that would make it hard to miss.

The locked doors don't do much to deter Shadow, since he can just meld into the shadows and slip right under them, which makes snooping around much easier.

Most of the rooms are empty, because of course they are, but a few are… weird.

These weird rooms are lined with weapons, armor, and magic items. Dust collects on many of these things, but a few are noticeably cleaner. Like they'd been used recently.

Another weird room, for entirely different reasons, has a corkboard the size of the far wall with images and drawings pinned to it. There are drawings of the Links with notes scribbled next to them, several different maps depicting Hyrule across the ages, and other pieces of paper with more scrawled writing on them. Everything is connected with red string that spiderwebs across the entire thing, criss-crossing and making it a real headache to look at.

Shadow doesn't spend very long in that room.

But no matter how many rooms he looks through, he can't find the source of the dark magic. It's actually getting kind of infuriating, because he's certain he's looked through every room at least once by now.

Shadow grumbles to himself, and prepares to search the same hall for the fifth time.

"Shadow."

Shadow jumps approximately five feet in the air.

" Holy Hylia ," Shadow turns to look Dark in the face, "give a guy some warning, will you?"

Dark glares at him, his already red eyes somehow getting even redder.

"We do not speak that name here," he scolds, "We do not need Her to cast Her gaze upon us and foil our plans."

Aaand he's talking like a cult leader again. Fantastic.

"Right…" Shadow agrees. Better to just nod and agree than to ask what the hell that's supposed to mean.

"Good. Now follow me," Dark orders, already walking past Shadow and further into the extratemporal-castle-place. Shadow falls a bit behind and has to hasten his steps to catch up.

"You have proven very useful these last weeks. The information you've given me is invaluable," Dark compliments. Shadow rubs the back of his neck the same way he knows Four does, unused to praise. "I believe you've proven yourself worthy of seeing the energy source you're so adamant about seeing."

Shadow's thoughts screech to a halt.

Just like that? It's that easy ? He just had to wait a bit and feed Dark information (that was only, like, half true at best)?

It can't be that easy.

Dark leads him to a large double door that was not there the last twenty times he'd passed through this hallway, and with a light push, the doors swing open.

Immediately, Shadow can feel the magic emanating from the room. It's thick, almost like a sauna, but instead of steam it's dark magic. Shadow's energy reserves go from half-full to overflowing in an instant. He sighs as some tension leaves his shoulders.

"Behold," Dark says, stepping into the room. He prompts Shadow to come in, and when he does, steps aside to show the magic object in its full glory. "The reassembled Dark Mirror."

And there it is.

It's the Dark Mirror.

It has cracks where he'd shattered it, spiderwebbing out from the center where he'd initially hit it with a chair. The cracks there are so close together it's a wonder Dark managed to get all the tiny shards back in place. It still has the same frame and everything.

"Where…" Shadow swallows down the lump that formed in his throat. "Where did you get this?"

"I relocated it here from your time," Dark explained, "It wasn't doing much just sitting around in pieces, so I gave it a new purpose; to give me the strength to kill every hero Hyrule has ever known."

Shadow can feel his face go pale. There must be stones in his stomach from the way it sinks.

"You wouldn't know who tried to destroy it, would you?"

Shadow's brain isn't fully keeping up, but his mouth certainly is.

"It was my Light," he lies, "He threw a chair at it and pushed it over in order to defeat Vaati and myself. I died soon after, and then you revived me."

Dark appraises him, staring into his very soul  and judging what he finds.

"You are lying."

Shadow's eyes go wide.

"And I don't appreciate liars."

The dark magic from the mirror bends to Dark's will, and the very air becomes impossible to breathe. Shadow chokes and falls to his knees. His eyes water as the air is pulled straight out of his lungs. The edges of his vision go black.

The last thing Shadow sees is Dark's glowing red eyes.

Shadow wakes up to screams and shouting.

He forces his blurred vision to focus, and he sees the heroes' camp. The fire is burned out, bedrolls and other items are packed away, they must be ready to set out for the day.

Then, he sees the Links. Six of them are brandishing their swords. One of them – Wild, Shadow recalls – is on his back on the ground, blood staining his tunic. Another, Hyrule, is crouched beside him, hands alight with healing magic.

Four is nowhere to be seen.

Shadow must've gotten here in the middle of a fight. Well, at least he can help fend off the attacker while two of their number are down for the count.

Shadow tries to ask where the danger is, but his mouth doesn't respond to his commands.

Without any input from him, Shadow's body moves on its own. His arm raises a dark version of the Four Sword, and he charges at the Links.

Oh. He's what they're fighting. Shadow is the danger.

Shadow fights against whatever is controlling his body, but his efforts have no effect. He is forced to watch as his body fends off Twilight, Time, Legend, Warriors, and Wind all at the same time. Even as he feels his limbs getting heavier as the fight goes on, he can do nothing to stop himself.

Wind is a ferocious fighter, Shadow finds out, but whatever is using him as a meat puppet is just as fierce. It manages to get a swipe in at his sword arm, and Wind has to fall back.

Twilight and Time tag-team him. One swipes at him, forcing Shadow's puppeteer to jump back, and the other is suddenly there and jabbing his sword in his direction. They're forcing him- it- whatever is actually fighting them to fend them off on two fronts.

Warriors lives up to his name. He's fighting like his life depends on it (which, it might. The thing controlling Shadow doesn't seem to care that the wounds he's inflicted could be life threatening). He strikes hard and fast, leaving several weeping wounds on Shadow's body.

Legend, for no discernible reason, left the fight at some point. Shadow figures out the reason when a light arrow plunges into his calf. The skin and muscles bubble where the arrow hit, boiling from the heat and magic of the light.

Shadow tries to scream, but no sound comes out. His mouth doesn't even open.

His balance falters, and Twilight slices his sword arm. Time, from behind, cuts his shoulder, dangerously close to his neck. Was he trying to behead him !?

Warriors gets in the deciding blow, moving too fast for Shadow's exhausted body to block.

His sword is plunged through Shadow's stomach, just above where his belt wraps around his waist.

It's bleeding. A lot.

That's bad.

Shadow's puppeteer relinquishes its hold on his body, and he collapses like the puppet with cut strings he is.

His eyes threaten to slip closed, even as Twilight looms over him and levels his sword to his throat. The hero looks disgusted at him. His lip is curled, showing off his sharpened canines.

"I can't believe we all trusted you."

The words hurt more than his numerous injuries do, and those hurt a lot .

"W-wait…" Shadow croaks, "pl-please, I- that- I didn't…"

"Didn't what? Try to kill us?" Warriors demands, "Fat fucking chance."

Shadow shakes his head, but nausea catches up with him and he has to stop and squeeze his eyes shut so he doesn't puke.

"Wasn't me…" He whispers, "Con- controlled…"

Time is standing over him now, too. He glares with his one good eye, like Shadow is nothing but scum.

"And we're just supposed to believe you?" His voice is cold. Unfeeling. It's like ice water against Shadow's skin. "We already believed you once, and look where that got us."

Time's head turns to the side, and Shadow, on pure instinct, follows his gaze.

Wild is still on the ground. There's still blood on his tunic. Hyrule is still hunched over him. One hand is still glowing, still healing. The other holds a bottle that's half-full of a green liquid, and Hyrule takes a swig of it every few seconds.

They're both awake. They both look exhausted.

Shadow feels guilt start eating away at him. He should've waken up sooner. He should've fought harder. Maybe then no one would be hurt.

Tears spill over the next time he blinks, still looking at Wild and Hyrule. They run over the bridge of his nose and sideways down his face. His breath hitches, and every wound he has screams in agony.

Twilight's blade is still inches from his neck, but he doesn't care anymore. They can kill him, he deserves it. He didn't try hard enough to stop himself.

Footsteps sound from just outside the camp, rustling through the underbrush, and then out steps Four.

Or, more accurately, out steps Vio.

He's wearing Four's multicolor tunic, and he's certainly acting like Four, but it's most definitely Vio. His eyes, the most dead giveaway, are too far away to discern a color, but the way he walks, the paleness of his skin, and the way he's assessing everything he sees in a matter of moments tells him who it is just as much. Shadow knows it's Vio like he knows the sky is blue.

As happy as Shadow is to see Vio, it does raise a few questions, such as: why did Four split? And where are the others?

Of course, he can't just ask, seeing as he's a little busy trying not to die.

When Vio lays eyes on him, Shadow can see the gears turning in his head.

"Shadow?" Vio asks. Shadow tries to wave, but the best he can do is wiggle his fingers a bit. "Time, Twilight, Warriors. What's going on here?"

Warriors turns to Vio, leaving Shadow to be watched by just Twilight and Time. Not that he needs to be watched at all. He doesn't think he could get up and make a run for it if he tried.

"How about you ask your "friend", Four? You know, the one you insisted was safe?"

Vio looks down at Shadow, and really seems to take in his appearance. The numerous cuts seem to worry him, as he crouches down, pushes Twilight's sword away from him, and starts rummaging through his pack.

He pulls out gauze, bandages, and medical tape, and instantly goes for the worst injury; the stab wound in his abdomen. Without warning, Vio pulls Shadow's tunic away from the wound, pushing it up to bunch around his chest.

"A-at least… take me to dinner… first."

"Shut up. You're bleeding out."

The three that had taken Shadow down start yelling when they realize what Vio is doing, but Vio ignores them. He pours water onto Shadow's abdomen, cleaning away a lot of the blood. Shadow hisses when it hits the wound, but Vio is meticulous when it comes to medical care (apparently), and ignores his wordless protests.

He dries the area with a cloth, and dresses and bandages the wound faster than Shadow thought possible before he moves on to the lesser wounds.

It takes half an hour for Vio to fully fix him up. When he's finished, he allows Shadow to stand and walk – using Vio as a crutch – to lean against a tree instead of just laying in he dirt.

"What happened?" Vio finally asks.

Shadow clears his throat, and starts talking.

"Well, Dark found me out. He's got the Dark Mirror – put it back together or something – and he's using it to make all the portals that throw you guys across time periods. He used it to make this weird castle that doesn't actually exist in any timelines, and also to revive me.

"I think… he took over my body? I was fighting, but I wasn't telling my limbs to move. I tried to stop it, or to say something, but I couldn't. I only got control back once this," he points to the bandages on his stomach, "happened.

"I think Dark used me to hurt you all," Shadow says to the peanut gallery of Warriors, Time, Twilight, Wind, and Legend, "so you would… get rid of me."

Vio's face looks completely neutral, but Shadow can feel the ire radiating from him.

"I am going to kill Dark Link for that."

Shadow blinks.

"Vi, hey, don't you think you shouldn't just… decide that all of a sudden?"

"Killing Dark Link is most likely how this journey is meant to end," Vio reasons, "It was going to happen anyway, but now I have a motive other than him being evil."

Shadow just sighs. He knows can't change Vio's mind if he tries.

A/N: im so sorry shadow