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Eternity seemed to find the young rito before the ground did, though in hindsight he wished that he had continued to fall because once his plummeting body finally did connect with the solid earth he was quickly drowned within a flood of malice, the likes of which dragged him deep into a pool of questioning eyes, all of which seemed to find him quite curious. Tokoyami immediately attempted to pull himself free from the liquid darkness, however his efforts were met with silent ridicule as the sentient gloom wrestled him further and further into the nightmarish pit for which he had been submerged within. A plea for help proved to be the most unwise decision the black avian could make as it forced him to drink deeply of the sludge pouring into every hole within his body. The sight of the golden glowing eyes seemed to be might brighter and yet dimmer at the same time as Tokoyami drank deeply of Ganon's malice.

The sounds of various voices echoed within the young rito's head after a while, none of them were human though, instead they were a mishmash of growls, cries, roars, pleas, screams, and other unholy utterances all rolled together to form of maddening reverbnation which shook Tokoyami's very soul. Attempting to fight them off proved just as fruitless as climbing back up out of the pool of malice, yet Tokoyami tried. He fought, bit, scratched, and pecked as best he could against the dark lake which pulled at his very being. When that didn't work he attempted to recall his meditations in order to center himself. Failing this as he was tossed up and around like a leaf within the wind, Tokoyami summoned up the happy memories of the time he spent with his friends and companions within his village to guide him through the insanity clawing deep within his psyche. Nothing worked however, everything simply became lost within a sea of darkness that wailed all around him like a neverending curse.

"I'm sorry." The voice of the princess apologized weakly.

Tokoyami attempted to latch onto the voice in order to find some semblance of perspective, but like the sunlight dying outside of the castle the black avian found himself unable to grasp anything as a hollow empty began to invade his thoughts.

Memories, both sweet and bitter, slowly faded into obscurity as the eyes looming all around him grew larger and more self-assured in their judgement of the drowning rito. Tokoyami...

Who was that?

No! That was his name! He couldn't forget that! It was his identity! It was...

Was...

So hard to grasp...

Why?

The question of his reason for being where he was at that very moment in time seemed to become more and more abstract as the seconds ticked by.

He was there because...because...

What was the reason for his being there?

What was the purpose of the creature that he was?

What even was he?

It was nearly impossible to tell, though it was easy enough to see, or rather feel that he was something...but what that something was proved to be impossible to describe. The sensation of confusion gave way to fear and from that fear was born a need. A need to live. To exist. But how did one exist within nothingness. The eyes around him proved to be of no help, they simply gazed upon him with a judging glare, the likes of which made him feel so small and insignificant.

"But you're not."

A voice?! But from where?!

He tried to turn around to see who had spoken but no matter which way he moved all that surrounded him was the ever presence womb of malice.

"Do you want to live?"

YES!!

The raw need to continue being became an ever present focus for him despite the reason for his existence not being engraved upon his mind. He just knew that he had to live. He had to see them again. Them? Yes! Them! The ones who were silently waiting for his return. They would embrace him with warmth. What was warmth? He didn't quite understand but the need to feel such a sensation gave rise to a blooming pulse inside the center of his being.

"Reach out then and be born into the world."

He didn't understand what that command meant and yet he followed through on it.

When his hand touched something smooth and hard the world became irradiated with a blinding crimson hue, the density of which outlined his figure to the golden eyes watching all around him. His body, covered in darkness, drew itself into an avian form, the shape of which was connected to a fallen body quietly spasming behind him. The presence of the creature behind him made the shadowy figure turn backwards. The sight of a black feathered corpse covered in writhing purple sludge drew curiosity from the shadowy figure and yet he didn't move towards it. He couldn't. His hand...wing...was still mounted into place after all. Returning his inky gaze forward the living shadow found itself concentrating on the object in front of it. Another flash of crimson bore witness to a massive machine inscribed with pink tinted glyphs submerged within the surrounding gloom.

The shadow knew not what to do at this point, as he had no reason for which to understand with.

"Call forth the spirit of courage within. It will pave the way forward towards your destiny."

The voice, strong and firm, like that of a mother guiding her young, instructed and thus he did as he was told without hesitation.

It took a moment to find this 'spirit', the empty void within seemed to hide it from view as though it were jealous of sharing such a gift, but once he could feel it he reached out for it without hesitation. Golden light pilled forth from his being following the first touch of his mind...being...with the brilliant essence within. The symbol of a floating triangle swam within the center of his mass before spilling out in front of his face. Curiosity filled him as he watched the shimmering object dance merrily for several seconds before it began to spin around and around and around until it soon became a circular spiral, the likes of which filled his eyes with a brilliant opal hue. The golden eyes gazing all around him pulled back as though frightened of the triangle, the fear pleased him for some reason he could not fully describe and yet he paid his pleasured response little thought. Instead, he watched as the spinning triangle dove forward into the machine for which his hand was still set upon.

Upon landing onto the warm stone the pink glyphs shifted into a bright golden coloration, a strong humming noise then echoed throughout the interior of the dilapidated area he stood within.

A blinding light streamed within his eyes seconds later, it then burned into his very being, branding him with nodes of light and streaks of gold that coursed throughout the entirety of his floating body. The sensation of hot and cold, emptiness and anger, pain and relief, swam throughout all that he was as golden lines snaked a path from the center node within his chest on downwards. His right arm drank in the all encompassing radiance with a hungry eagerness, the proof of which came in the form of golden lines drawing down upon his claws, yet his left seemed to resist such light, the gold fading into a radiant rose color as both appendages swelled in size.

His ligaments tingled as nodes blossomed along the back of his hands before growing larger...and then larger still until they soon threatened to dwarf the sphere centered within his chest. The evolution of these twin circles ended soon after smaller spheres appeared along both sides of his head; a deeper pinkish hue soon enveloped his body, staining his chest, shoulder blades, and throat before finally curling further down his left arm up to his clawed hand. He had no idea why his right and left were so different from one another, though he could admit that he was happy for being marked in such a manner, as it would give Tokoyami something to explore about him once they began to bond with one another.

Tokoyami?

Turning his head backwards, the illuminated shadow looked upon the fallen body just as the golden triangle pulled away from the machine to trace a path up his right hand. The feeling of a gentle warmth overtaking his body meant little to him as he needed to check on Tokoyami. The other was his...his...

What was the fallen avian to him?

What was he to the avian?

He didn't know, yet he didn't spend long ruminating on such notions. He had to save the other from his own folly. That was his duty as the other's...companion? No, that wasn't the right word. Friend? Not yet, as they did not exactly know one another. Guardian? Yes! That was what he was. Tokoyami's guardian. His mind was still unclear over exactly what that meant, however he knew this to be the truth. He could feel it just as well as the golden triangle floating in front of his pectoral muscles. Walking, or rather floating over, as he did not have any legs to speak of, he reached out with his golden clawed hand to sweep away the black, bubbling birthing fluids which had brought him into being. The sentient goo quickly evaporated upon his touch, a curious thing indeed and yet one he didn't care to acknowledge over the fact that Tokoyami was not breathing. Worry quickly encompassed his being, since living creatures like his charge needed air to survive. What exactly was air? It didn't matter. He snaked himself down over the young rito's body, completely covering him with his shadowy form, and then sunk his form into the unmoving avian's flesh.

The sight of darkness giving way to crimson flesh and then to white bone before finally coming upon a dimmed white light was confusing for him. What was all of this? He was inside Tokoyami's body, yes, but what was this shining thing inside his charge?

"That is his soul." The voice from earlier answered. "He'll need that to continue living out his mortal existence, so make sure to keep it shining brightly, ok?"

Yes.

If Tokoyami needed this strange spark then he would protect it no matter the cost! Reaching his pink clawed hand out he grasped the tiny orb with all of his might and then willed it to grow in size and strength.

On the outside of his body Tokoyami all but danced against the debris covered floor underneath his prone body. His heart, once still, started to beat with a powerful thrum, the force of which sent the young rito bouncing up and down like a rubber ball. Cardiac arrest wasn't a happening that was known by most rito and yet this was the best way to describe what was happening to the black avian as his spiritual being was flooded with controlled malice. A flood of black liquid spewed forth out of his beak right before a pain filled wail hammered against the squirming walls of the castle. Crimson eyes opened to see nothing as Tokoyami's quivering throat threw up a golden eyeball. The bodiless object rolled around before melting into nothingness as it had nothing to connect itself with, not that the young rito could tell this, he was still reeling from the fact that he had just come from a place of coldness and silence to one filled with almost painfully loud noises, the likes of which threatened to deafen him.

Thankfully his senses were able to reorientate themselves a moment after it became apparent that he was no longer dead. Reaching up to grasp his head Tokoyami shook his head as he tried to make sense of what exactly had just happened.

"Are you well, my charge?" The sound of an unfamiliar voice startled the black avian to his feet.

He flipped his sticky head around wildly in an effort to try and figure out who had just spoken to him. Not seeing anything beside the malice covering the walls all about the room and the strange pink tinted machine in front of his beak scared Tokoyami down to the bone and yet that was nothing compared to seeing a dark figure pull free from his body .

"My charge, are you well?" The mouthless shadow inquired while cocking its purple head at him in a questioning manner as it floated in front of his face.

"Wh-who are you?!" Panic filled the young rito's mind as he tried to make sense of exactly what he was seeing.

"I have no name, as I was just born but moments ago, but I am your guardian." The shadowy creature explained with a calm sincerity that was almost unnerving to listen to.

"Wh-what?" Bewilderment overtook Tokoyami's entire thought process as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing, yet that notion slowly evaporated as feelings of...calmness swept throughout his psyche. "Huh?!" He asked aloud after blinking his crimson eyes in astonishment.

"I took away your growing terror as there is no reason for you to fear me. I am here to protect you, my charge." The gentleness of the statement did more to pacify the black avian than the effects taking place inside of his being.

"I...thank you." Tokoyami smiled at the other without knowing why he did so.

"You are welcome." The shadow bird smiled back as best it could.

"Um...I know we just met and all, but what should I call you?" It was such a bizarre thing to ask but it was the most pressing thought inside of the young rito's mind at the moment, so much so that he failed to notice a certain glowing object sneakily exiting out of his naked back.

"I am your shadow." It was the only thing the phantasmal creature could think to say.

"I don't think my shadow is supposed to move around and talk." Tokoyami chuckled.

The dark creature said nothing for a few moments, its thought processes were quite slow given that it had recently come into existence. When it did finally speak it said, "I am your dark shadow, given birth thanks to the malice around and inside of you and the golden object behind you."

Turning around Tokoyami gasped in shock as he watched the triangle from earlier spin around in place thrice before fading out of existence. "Was that a piece of the sacred triforce?!" The absurdity of such a happening nearly floored the black avian and yet he kept to his feet thanks to his living shadow holding his legs into place.

"If your memories of the texts are accurate, then yes it is."

"How could that be here?!" One of the sacred three were only supposed to be adorned upon the heroes who would defeat the king of calamity and surely he wouldn't be adorned with such a honored relic...would he? After all, the princess had said that...

"I do not know, but we should hurry to leave this place, as I can sense the presence of monsters about the area." The black shadow suggested with a calm, yet urgent tone of voice.

"Where exactly are we?" Looking about the room, scowling at the malice trickling from the walls as he did so, revealed that the pair of them seemed to be within some sort of broken down laboratory or at least what Tokoyami assumed that one looked like as he had only seen something similar in texts in the various libraries he had snuck into.

"You fell beneath the castle of the hylians and thus we are still there." The slight uptick in agitation within his shadow's voice set Tokoyami's mind whirling. When the sounds of growls and roars bounced off of his head the young rito subconsciously reached for the quiver on his back.

When his feathered hand failed to touch the leather case Tokoyami jerked in place. "Where are my arrows?!" His crimson eyes snapped around wildly when he noticed another object that had decided to flee from his grasp. "Where is my bow?!?!"

"I believe that, as with your cowl, they melted within the malice you drowned within." His shadow answered thoughtlessly.

"No. No. No." Tokoyami dropped to his knees faster than his guardian could catch him. "Father's bow...I...I can't believe that I got it destroyed."

"It wasn't by choice, my charge." His shadow reasoned. "Just like with my birth there was no chance that you could know that being submerged within such a concentration of malice could cause such a happening to come to pass."

"But my heritage...it was..." It was almost impossible to form words as the knowledge of his loss slammed into his head.

"Your grandfather crafted the bow from the wood of the sacred tree, with that thought in mind you can create another by traveling into the lost woods and collecting another piece of wood." It was the reasonability behind the words that were spoken that made Tokoyami lift up his head. Looking into the golden eyes of his shadow the young rito tried to speak his thoughts but another roar made him clamp his lips beak just as it parted. "We must go, my charge!"

Tokoyami jumped to his feet before he could reason with himself about how he should feel right then. Flipping his feathered head around, the black avian tried to find a way out of the disheveled room but he didn't see anything that looked like a door.

"The malice is covering it." His shadow pointed to a section of wall which was oozing with a thick river of black goop.

Making his way over to the area in question Tokoyami reached out for the river of sludge, only to tear his feathered hands back when he came in contact with the contracted evil. Looking at his appendages Tokoyami gasped as he noticed his feathers drying out before slowly falling to the stone floor. They quickly turned to black dust following their impact into the ground.

"Damn it, I forgot!" Tokoyami cawed as he looked to the patches of his wings which were now featherless. A faint hissing could be heard coming from his wounded body as clenched his hands into fists. "I've got to find another way out because I can't do that again." The young rito grunted as he swallowed the pain which centered within his palms.

"Let me see if I can do anything to open a path for us." His shadow offered.

Nodding to the other, Tokoyami took two steps back and then let the phantasmal creature initiate whatever idea it had in mind. Watching as the other reached out with his left hand the two of them quickly came to the conclusion that this hand would be useless against the malice as it simply sank within the gunk as though it were normal water. The fact that his shadow's clawed hands came back unharmed spoke volumes about the differences between the pair of them, however when a loud thumping noise echoed within his ears Tokoyami flipped his head around just in time to see one...two...four...eight...towering moblins, all of whom has weapons clutched tightly within their hands, looking around in confusion. When one of them sniffed the air it didn't take more than two seconds before the group looked into his direction. Tokoyami puffed up his body in readiness for what was to come as he watched the monster charge forward, weapons drawn with the intent to eviscerate his tender young form.

Instinct made Tokoyami tighten his legs in order to jump out of the way of the descending horde, however before he could take evasive action his shadow moved through his body to stand protectively in front of him. Tokoyami didn't have the time to try and order the indigo creature to move out of the way before two blades descended upon him.

Crimson eyes watched in stunned disbelief as his shadow caught the weapons mid strike.

The black avian's beak dropped in awe when those clawed hands then broke the weapons as though they were the wooden picks other races used to clean their teeth. The moblins holding what was left of their killing instruments didn't have time to be caught in shock as Tokoyami's shadow quickly threw the weapons up into the cool air, subsequently causing them to spin around, before catching them along their length and then forcing the tips into their former owner's throats. When his shadow dragged the blades down the piggish creature's flesh a spray of blood filled the air with the force of a champagne bottle being popped. Tokoyami's crimson eyes watched in near disbelief as the red ichor splashed onto his shadow, that the phantasmal beast seemed not to mind being covered by the ruby colored fluid was not as mind boggling as the liquid slowly evaporating off of the other's...skin? Flesh? Essence was probably the better word to use, all things considered. The two slowly dying moblins didn't have time to fall upon the ground before the dark shadow pulled the blades out from their new sheaths and then brandished their bloody tips in front of the six remaining pig men.

"Continue moving forward and I will kill you all." The shadow swore with a vehemence that was somewhat beautiful for the young rito to hear.

The still charging horde ignored the warning and thus they were caught completely off guard as Tokoyami's guardian swept forward while slashing his weapons outward, the jagged blades cut flesh as though it were paper as the golden eyes entity worked to defend his charge from those that sought to end his life. Because of his lack of experience the shadowy creature was caught by several attacks along his back and sides, something for which obviously pained him by the look of quiet grief covering his glittering golden eyes. Tokoyami flew into action before he could think up a plan to help his new friend - the fact that he couldn't feel any pain from the attack barely registered within his brain as he sought to defend the one suffering to protect him.

Grabbing one of the broken weapons from the dead moblins' hands the black avian slipped around the somewhat enraged monsters with precision dexterity before setting himself into position to serate the towering black giants as best he could. The sounds of wailing cries echoed within both avian warriors ears as they found a rhythm of sorts to time their strikes out with. Blood danced throughout the darkened walls as Tokoyami and his shadow worked in time with one until at last the final moblin fell back onto the bloodstained floor in defeat. The fact that the Tokoyami had gained minor injuries from their deadly dance barely phased the avian pair as they tossed their weapons next to the quickly decomposing monsters.

Moving over to his shadow Tokoyami reached out for the other in order to offer him a brotherly show of concern. Surprise overtook his thoughts when his shadow suddenly drifted back into his scarred palm. The quivering of the other's being was something that the avian warrior had not expected to feel given that the indigo creature was just a shadow and thus didn't have lungs in which needed air nor nerves which could be frayed...or did he?

"I do not," His shadow replied with the same gentleness as before though it was tinged with unrestrained fatigue. "But I seem to be drawing on the power of your will, and so what I am feeling is what you are feeling right now."

"I don't feel tired though." Tokoyami actually felt really good at the moment despite the dance with death he and his guardian had just undergone and the stinging of his new wounds.

"Then perhaps you will only feel it if I retreat back inside of your body should my energy wane?"

"That can happen?" Tokoyami blinked in astonishment.

"Yes it can, would you like to test this happening?" The question was so innocent that Tokoyami found himself less put off by what had just been said and more confused by the fact that such words had been spoken.

"Um...maybe...b-but let's get out of here first. You can rest then." It might have sounded a bit selfish but Tokoyami's sense of self-preservation was currently standing firm in the face of all his other emotions, in retrospect he supposed that this was a side effect of nearly dying a moment ago.

"I understand." The black avian's shadow moved over to the wall the two of them had been standing in front of a moment earlier just as Tokoyami knelt down to pick up a piece of fruit that had been on the now dispersed moblins, he also picked up a shiny gemstone without thinking about what he was doing. Turning to look at where his shadow was, Tokoyami was surprised by the distance that the other could reach despite the fact that he himself had not moved.

"Please don't attempt to go much further, as I do not think that I would be able to maintain the strength needed to manifest my being if you did so."

Tokoyami jumped. "Y-you can hear my thoughts?!"

"I can indeed, my charge, as we are two who are one." His shadow replied right before he pulled his golden clawed hand up to touch the fountain of streaming malice.

Before Tokoyami could say anything to this he watched as the river parted like a curtain to reveal a broken door frame hanging from a section of wall that looked to have been blown in.

"Nice work, Dark Shadow!" The young rito chirped as he moved towards the path of their escape.

"Dark Shadow?" The shadowy creature turned back to cock his head at the young rito.

Tokoyami reached behind him to rub at the back of his skull as he blushed in embarrassment. "Y-yeah, I don't know where that name came from, it kinda just popped into my head. S-sorry if it sounds rather boring."

The floating avian said nothing for a few seconds, he simply rolled his head from side to side while narrowing his eyes in what looked to be contemplation. He then nodded after a moment's time. "Yes. That is what I am, your dark shadow. So henceforth please call me Dark Shadow." The affirmation seemed more geared towards the phantasmal creature than his charge, though Tokoyami decided to keep that bit of information to himself so as not to spoil the look of pride which quickly spread across the other's beak.

"You got it my friend." Tokoyami smiled back. Taking a bite of the fruit still clutched within his hand the warrior rito quickly devoured his small treat before offering the unbitten portion to his companion.

Dark Shadow tipped his head left and right while looking at the half eaten morsel of food. Reaching out a second later he took the fruit and then opened his beak, thus revealing a glowing gold interior which seemed to be connected to an endless void that disappeared into nothingness. Throwing the treat into his maw the phantasmal beast didn't so much as chew the fruit as he simply absorbed it into himself. Tokoyami's brows flew up into his skull at the sight.

"I thank you, my charge. I can feel this body of mine slowly recovering from such an offering." Dark Shadow nodded.

"Y-you're welcome, but could you call me by name instead of 'my charge', it makes me feel like I'm some kind of lord over you and that doesn't feel right considering all you've done for me." The fact that the rito didn't have such hierarchies also helped to make the black avian feel a high level of disquiet with such a title; he had never understood how the hylians could order themselves by such vacuous titles but then again they were a weird bunch anyway, so...

"Yes, Tokoyami." Dark shadow bowed his head. "I also find the thoughts of the hylians to be rather queer."

"Wow, this is gonna take some getting used to." Tokoyami chuckled nervously as he realized that his mind had been peered into once again. He could just imagine what would happen when he had a naughty...nope! Stopping that right now! The last thing he wanted to think about was Dark Shadow perving on him while he was balls deep inside of...gahh!! "Why can't I stop thinking about cocks all of a sudden?!"

"I apologize, but it seems that when you began thinking about becoming intimate with someone else I began to explore the idea, thus your mind was left open to my inquiries of your memories of such times. Also, I find this Kass to be a very beautiful rito."

"NONONONO!!!" Tokoyami yelled in panic while throwing his wings out wildly. "Please don't think about him right now! The last thing I want is to start having debaucherous thoughts about a married rito!" The black avian had never told anyone else about how often he had spied on the traveling bard whenever he bathed in the lake or when he was alone in his room when his mate and chicks were not around, so the last thing he wanted was that coming up at the wrong time!

"I understand. I will stop looking into him now." As soon as Dark Shadow made this declaration Tokoyami found all thoughts of the other avian evaporating from his mind.

"Oh yeah, this is REALLY gonna take some getting used to." The young rito chuckled tiredly. "And now I am suddenly tired for some reason.

"And I am now feeling my strength returning to me." Dark Shadow proclaimed with some renewed vigor. "It seems that by closing my mind to you I closed a transfer of willpower being shared between the two of us."

Tokoyami groaned while slumping down to one knee slightly. "Oh, that's...nice to know."

"I can reestablish the connection in order to save you from the fatigue you are currently suffering through." Dark Shadow offered seconds after completing said task.

"No. Stop." Tokoyami ordered, thus making the phantasmal creature freeze into place. "You've done more than enough by saving my life twice over. Let me take part in my responsibility towards you now."

"Are you certain, my char...Tokoyami?" Dark Shadow asked with more than a little trepidation lining his voice.

"I am." The rito warrior smiled upon shakily standing up onto his feet once again.

The two avians stared at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity, their respective wills and desires clashing upon the shore that was their shared psyche, before Dark Shadow relented the connection between them. Tokoyami quivered as another rush of tiredness crashed into his mind yet he remained standing this time around. Reaching out to pat his companion onto the side of the chest, Tokoyami found himself hugging Dark Shadow without really thinking about what he was doing a moment later. When the indigo avian returned the gesture a moment was created between the two that went beyond words and thoughts, neither knew how to exactly describe it but they also didn't see a reason to do so, after all there was no one else who needed to share in this aspect of their newfound relationship.

"Hey, go ahead and rest inside of me or however have you while I get us out of here." When Dark Shadow dematerialized into nothing Tokoyami found the weight of the other filling a strange seat within his mind that he never knew was there before.

The young rito didn't bother questioning what was happening, he instead moved forward and then poked his feathery head out of the hole that had once been a doorway. Looking around the black avian sighed in relief when he failed to spot anything that could be constituted as dangerous looming within the darkened hallways around him. Carefully stepping out of the strange room, Tokoyami paid no mind to the strange machine which had long since stopped glowing behind him, in actually he didn't think anything about what had happened earlier, not even his frustration with the mysterious Princess Zelda or Ganon, instead his thoughts became resolutely centered around making his way through the broken castle in order to get away from the overwhelming danger than his pride had tempted him into.

Luck didn't favor him for very long though, as not only had the midnight hour fallen upon the land, showering the stone walls and burned land in darkness, but the monsters within the area had become much more aware of their surroundings. This meant that the lot of them instantly became aware of the naked avian whenever he attempted to scurry his way about the various halls of the ruins. Tokoyami would have liked to have flown away from the fallen hylian palace, as that would have easily gotten him out of the danger zone he was in, however his body lacked the energy to pull off such an action, the fact that his stomach grumbled in hunger as he tried to silently pad his way along the various rooms of the massive building didn't help anything either. With this in mind Dark Shadow asked for permission to manifest himself in order to give the black avian the strength needed to continue on however Tokoyami rejected such an offer.

He would get the two of them out of there if it was the last thing he did.

'Something for which I do not approve of.' Dark Shadow warned from deep inside of his head.

"Sorry, but I think my pride got wounded deeper than my body did back there, so please bear with me until we escape this waking nightmare." Dark Shadow said nothing in response to this, he also made no move to try and initiate the plan he had for his companion.

Minutes passed by as Tokoyami marched up and then down and forward throughout the hallways of the castle, during his jaunt the young rito was forced to make use of whatever weapons he could find in order to unbalance the various monsters he happened to come across, thus allowing him to continuously open a path to freedom for himself. He of course got some extra scrapes from pulling off this desperate maneuver yet he bore his wounds with silent stoicism, seeing as complaining about them would do him no good.

"If I can make it out into the plains I can head for safety within the local river."

Tokoyami shook his head in embarrassment as he thought about floating his way back home, however with his options so limited he was going to have to rely on his ancient zora heritage in order to save his feathers.

"Ahh!" Tokoyami squawked when he found his shoulder pierced by a silver lynel that had spotted him before he had spotted the massive centaur-like creature. The feeling of the sting of the arrow which had cut through his feathers down to his bone stung worse than anything he had felt before, yet the worst effect of the attack came about when his limb began to grow numb for some reason. The threads of worry blossomed within his heart as he broke the end of the arrow and then pulled out the tip that was still lodged within him, as the bloodied arrowhead was currently sparking slightly.

"Haha, the irony." He grunted while turning back to see the lionesque beast knocking another arrow back within the massive bow situated perfectly within his clawed hands.

Ducking to the side was the only way to save his skin yet his feet refused to move for some reason. Before Tokoyami could think to question why this was, his crimson eyes widened as he looked forward just in time to see the metallic tip of his death knell screaming through the cold night air towards him.

Wanting to face his demise with as much courage as he could muster, the young rito set his face into a fierce scowl while tensing all of the muscles within his body.

When the arrow was caught by a familiar looking purple hand Tokoyami found surprise stealing the breath right out of his throat. He was shaken free from his stupor by said hand spinning the arrow around onto the tip of a smooth finger until the electrified head faced the lynel. Tokoyami gasped when said hand pulled back and then launched the magically charged projectly straight at the ten foot tall feline. The lynel's eyes opened in complete shock as he watched his own weapon return to greet him through the throat, though he didn't have long to be concerned over what just happened as his entire body tilted down and then crashed like stone into the blackened grass a moment later.

"Whoa." Tokoyami blinked in disbelief at what he had just seen. When the indigo hand turned to give him a traditional thumb's up gesture the young rito shook his head in amused disbelief.

He continued making his way out of the castle the moment after said hand disappeared back inside of his body, the feeling of contentment which came from its owner lingered all the way until after Tokoyami had cleared the inner reaches of the castle. Getting through the hallway he had come through proved to be a piece of cake as he had remembered the exact way he had come in following his previous entry into the dilapidated building.

'You're doing well, my cha...Tokoyami.' Dark Shadow whispered inside of his mind following his exit into the outer ground of the castle's front entrance.

"Thanks, but we're not safe just yet." The black avian commented as he dodged around a blue beam of light which shot out at his body, the guardian which was chasing after him seeming fully intent to turn him into barbecued rito.

'Once you make it to the plains it should stop chasing us, correct?' Dark Shadow asked.

"Yeah, hopefully." Tokoyami's knowledge of the guardians was rather spotty at best, what with him doing his best to avoid fighting them in the past, however from the stories he had heard they only had a mobile chase range of about a mile and a half, so as long as he didn't encounter anything unexpected he should be able to...

The feeling of his body suddenly halting into place made the young rito squawk out in unrestrained indignation.

"What...what's going on?!" He shouted in fright as he realized that Dark Shadow had once again paralyzed his body.

'Moonlight...red...red...redredredredredREDREDREDRED!!!!!' His companion cried out right as the guardian stopped chasing them.

The sound of the mechanical pursuit unit gearing up its energy source in order to prepare to fire its laser into his back made Tokoyami's blood grow cold inside of his veins. Turning his head upwards the rito warrior's crimson eyes became awashed in a deep ruby hue as the moon overhead slowly dripped red.

"Nononononono!!! It can't end like this!!" Tokoyami cried out desperately as he tried to move his body. Inside of him Dark Shadow was completely losing control over himself, so much so that the black avian's muscles began to squirm as though there were parasites writhing underneath his skin; indescribable pain filled the young rito's mind just as half of the moon bleed bloody red.

The warbling noise of the guardian's laser preparing to fire reverberated within Tokoyami's earholes for what felt like an eon before a bright blue beam of concentrated energy spiraled out towards him.

"HOW MANY TIMES CAN I DIE IN ONE DAY!?!?!?!?" Tokoyami roared inside of his mind as he looked upon the laser aimed right for him.

For a second time that hour death was denied the soul that seemed to be eager to fill its palm as a familiar set of arms came out to literally block the laser before it could pierce the young rito. However unlike before the arms didn't try any fancy maneuvers to try and save Tokoyami's life, instead the black avian let out a pain filled howl as Dark Shadow attempted to violently erupt from his body, the fact that the moon up above was almost completely crimson in shade meant very little to Tokoyami as he frantically tried to figure out why his companion was trying to kill him.

"Dark Shadow, what are you doing?!" The young rito cried out in betrayed indignation.

His answer came not from his living shadow but from the other's arms slamming onto the ground and then digging deep furrows into the bright green grass down below. When the twin appendages twitched and then exploded with muscle Tokoyami found himself shaking his head in disbelief, this couldn't be happening! But sadly it was and it was getting worse. When the moon up above became fully stained in bright red light Dark Shadow began to sing a cry to the crimson jewel hanging up above his head, so much so that Tokoyami found his own mouth repeating the twisted melody.

"Red red red...bloody moon...red red...darkness cry...red red red...bring the calamity..."

Tokoyami had no idea what any of this meant and yet when his companion's head pushed out from the depths of his head he knew that nothing would be right with either of them as upon tearing free from his chest the formerly cute looking phantasmal beast bore the face of a hideous monster, the likes of which glared at the guardian stalking closer to them with shimmering red eyes. The exaggerated head of his companion looked reminiscent of a jagged stone having been cut apart by a careless mason as everything about his visage was too rough, too unfocused to be called a work of art. The monstrous face of the formerly demure creature now looked exactly like what he expected a rito to look like should it become a servant of Ganon.

Ganon!

Malice!

His companion was made from it! Then did that mean that the blood moon was...

"Dark Shadow!" The shadowy beast growled back at him in reply, acknowledging that some part of him was still able to be reasoned with, but how much so had to be tested. "Dark Shadow, control yourself! Don't let whatever is happening to you over take you!" Tokoyami pleaded with his companion but his words fell on deaf ears when the guardian stormed up to the two of them and then prepared to fire its laser center mass with both of their chests.

Tokoyami tried to move his body out of the way but there was nothing he could do as his companion forced more of himself out of his body, the twisted second birth was followed by the living shadow's indigo body cracking to pieces as the malice it was made of surged its way up along his 'skin' with liberal joy. The result of this happening left Dark Shadow with demonic looking 'scars' settled all about his now jet black form, the likes of which both continued to pull free from the young rito and grow in size, thus becoming a massive beast, the likes of which could put the lynel from earlier to shame. When the guardian's attack system began to whine in notification of its preparedness to fire off another beam Dark Shadow tipped his avian head down to glare at the monster. He then lifted a hand up and literally pounded the self-automated machine into the ground. The resounding smashing sound seemed to shake the foundations of the planet itself as everything around Tokoyami rumbled in submission before the might of the now titanic creature which pulled squirming, tentacle-like limbs from his backside.

Looking over the other, as he could finally move under his own power once again, Tokoyami found himself caught between horror and wonder as he looked at the monster which had just been inside of his body. Crimson eyes dipped down to find that, yes, the two of them were still connected to one another, though the once slim band of shadowy energy was now a taut black rope thick enough to dwarf his own leg. Reaching down for the ephemeral tether proved to be a big mistake as Tokoyami instantly found himself letting out a wild scream of anger and hate, his eyes momentarily flashing crimson as he was forced to drink in the twisting malice which was overtaking Dark Shadow. His companion roared his own rage as loud as he could, thus making the pair sound like a strange, unholy duet, the likes of which did not belong on this earth. Tokoyami released the jet black band a second later, his hand quivering like a leaf in the wind as the malice within was sucked free of him into Dark Shadow.

Blinking his eyes back to awareness, the young rito found himself coming to understand exactly what was happening to his friend, yet he was powerless to do anything about the situation, thus he could only watch, watch as his guardian reached down for the still working guardian.

When Dark Shadow began to rip the spidery white legs of the machine apart the young rito winced as his earholes recorded the sounds of the mechanical parts being torn apart with the casual ease of a young chick pulling a weed out of the ground. When the pink tinted machine began to beep rather ominously Tokoyami opened his mouth to try and get out a warning to his companion yet his words were silenced by a fearsome roar from Dark Shadow. The other knew, he didn't know how he knew this, but Tokoyami knew that the other knew.

The living essence of malice continued to tear the guardian apart until all that was left was the main body of the creature, said body warbling as strange lights began to flicker on and off. Before whatever was about to happen could initiate itself Dark Shadow lifted the base of the machine over his head and then smashed it into the ground. He then did it again. And again. And again until soon the guardian resembled a crushed can more than a Sheika made device meant for warfare and destruction. It was only after the machine had been reduced to scrap that Dark Shadow pulled it back and then slung it forward towards hyrule castle. The sight of the once proud guardian exploding as it made contact with the castle walls should have terrified Tokoyami and yet he was more surprised by the distance at which his companion had tossed the thousand plus pound object as they were at least an eight of a mile away from the castle walls.

"Whoa." Tokoyami could have ripped out his own tongue when Dark Shadow jerked and then slowly turned around to look at him.

The sounds of his knuckles scraping into the ground as it dragged them forward following his placing the back of his hands onto the grass sounded almost like another explosion going off into Tokoyami's earholes; fear swiftly overcame the young rito as he looked into the slowly smirking face of the phantasmal creature attached to his body. Knowing that trying to touch the black band was pointless the avian warrior grit his beak and then opened his mouth to try and say something, anything, which might be able to calm the beast before him. He didn't get the chance as Dark Shadow reached a clawed hand out for him and then lifted his prone body up by his chest until the two of them were face to face with one another. Looking into the other's crimson eyes upon being so close to the other's face, Tokoyami could see nothing besides bubbling madness dancing within the other's glowing crimson orbs.

"Red...red...blood...feed...need...more...more...red...red...yes. Yes. YES!!!" Dark Shadow sung in that twistedly merry tone that had come out of Tokoyami's beak just moments ago.

"Please don't kill me." It was the only thing the young rito could think to say as he looked into the eyes of the creature he had come very close to calling a friend not more than an hour ago.

"Death...die? No. No. Blood...red...yes. Black...red...no." Dark Shadow shook his head, thus giving the avian warrior some measure of hope for his future.

Said hope died a miserable death when the other opened his gaping black maw.

When a ebony tendril creeped out from the insufferable hot interior Tokoyami just knew that he was in for a much worse fate than death and yet he had no clue just how right he was going to be, as had he looked down he would have seen the base of Dark Shadow's body coiling and writhing until the other's lower half resembled something like an octorok. This in itself would not have been so bad, in actuality had this been any other situation it might have been amusing weird, however the large pulsing obelisk which rose up from in between the phantasmal beast's legs was no laughing matter, especially not with the way Dark Shadow was moving his charge's naked body around towards the object in question. Dark Shadow let nothing of what he had planned play out onto his face, yet Tokoyami quickly got the sense that something very much unwanted was about to happen when he felt a familiar need began to pour through the connection between them.