This is my last post on ffnet. I am sick and tired of all the stupid flamers on this site. I'm tired and annoyed with all of the unnecessary rules that are enforced, and the necessary rules that are rarely enforced. I am annoyed that the original section was taken down, and I am annoyed that one of my stories was taken down without warning because it 'wasn't rated properly' even though it had the highest rating available. I am annoyed because the TOS aren't comprehensible, and I am annoyed by the poorly-maintained site in general. I am bothered that I have to block certain users AND anonymous reviews just to keep stupid flames from clogging up my reviews. If you don't like my fic, then don't read it. I'm not asking you to praise my fic if it doesn't appeal to you, but I AM asking that you provide constructive criticism as opposed to idiotic and uncalled for cursing and bashing. It's fine if you hate it. But keep it to your damn self.

I will keep all of my old fics up here (that is, if ffnet decides to keep them up). But if you wish to continue reading updates on Shadow Spirits, or you wish to see any new fics I post up, please see my account at FicWad (I'm still under the name Rambeltilx.) To all of me reviewers and fans – thank you for your support. You are not unappreciated. I love you all.

Days had been dark in Kakariko, growing darker as the days passed. Anju's mother had been mysteriously killed, not to mention Anju had been missing for almost a week. The normal village was stuck between a state of panic and a state of fear; children were not allowed out after dark, and their parents were scared to as well. What with a murderer and a kidnaper on the loose, it seemed that nobody was safe.

All were scared, that is, except one woman; the old potion shop woman who only few knew to be Anju's grandmother. She walked about the town, at day and night, not letting her usual schedule be affected by all the happenings. The other villagers just thought her to be insane - even a few of them tried to help her back to her home- but she just batted their hands away and continued on.

"Ma'am, please...it's not safe out. For you, or for me...so please, can we just get you home so I can get indoors too?" A carpenter from the village, Jiro, was just heading in for the night when he spotted the old woman just heading out to the field.

"Bah!" She slapped away the hand hovering over her upper arm and continued on her way, "Then go back to your home, boy, I have herbs to pick. They only bloom at night, so you'd best let me go."

"But ma'am, it's not safe. What with Miss Anju missing and her mother murdered, we can't be sure when it's safe to go out. Please..."

"It's perfectly safe, boy. There's no murderer in this village...not anymore. And it's hardly a kidnaping when the kidnaped party was 'napped on her own accord."

"But...what?" Jiro took her statement as the ramblings of a crazy old lady, but continued to urge her home anyways. He attempted to reason with her, "Anju disappeared at the same time her mother was murdered, so it's probably the same person...and who would run off with the murderer of the murderer of their own mother?"

"Anju wasn't kidnaped," The old lady snapped, finally reaching the gates of the village, "If you want to find her, you should look in the well. But I can assure you, boy, you'll be coming back with empty hands..." The old woman laughed slightly as she descended the steps, leaving Jiro standing at the gates, looking confused.

The potion woman was renound for being a bit insane. Surely Anju wasn't in the well - there was no reason for her to be, and besides...the evil spirit that haunted the well was gone, so it wasn't as if she would be under it's spell or anything of that sort. Rubbing his head, the carpenter turned around to look at the well. He smirked and laughed to himself, shaking his head as he began to head to his home. This path took him across the center of the village, however, and he stopped briefly.

The well was right next to him - the plain, worn, stone well that had been in the village for so long. He peeked over the edge and into it's beckoning darkness, the faint scent of heavy musk and mossy water drifting up into his nose. He glanced over his shoulder, looking around to see if anybody else was out. Of course not...it was after dusk. He looked back into the well and raised a brow. Well...it couldn't hurt to just check down there. After all, if he happened to find Anju, he would be a hero. He rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, licked his dry lips, and then climbed over the side of the well and began his slow descent down the old and seemingly unstable ladder mounted along the side.

Before he had realized it, darkness had enveloped him and he could no longer determine where the ladder ended. At this point, he had to stop and question his resolve. Blinking in the surrounding darkness, Jiro paused after a shiver ran down his spine. There was nothing to be afraid of, the Hero of Time had destroyed the evil that had dwelled beneath the well, after all. Reassured, he continued his indefinite descent into the well. Despite the fact that he very well knew that it was foolish to let a little darkness scare him, he couldn't keep out of his mind the stories known throughout the village of the evil spirit, as well as the very real fact that Miss Anju was missing while her mother had been brutally murdered. Another chill gripped his senses, and Jiro jumped as his shoe came into contact with something. The panic that swept through his mind told him that it was the murderer or the evil spirit trying to grab at his leg and pull him down into the hellish depths below. However, moments later, relief washed over him, he had reached the bottom of the well. Or was that really something to be relieved about?

Shaking his head, the carpenter dropped down from the ladder and turned around to survey his surroundings. Everything was completely hidden by shadow, the only, rather faint, light that fell down came from the opening of the well far above him. As he waited for his eyes to finally adjust, Jiro's mind wandered. What if the murderer was hiding in the well? A criminal mastermind would try to use the villagers' fear of the well to his advantage, right? What better place to hide than a once cursed well? Then again... he was following the direction of the village lunatic. What really made him think that Anju was actually in this well, after all the old woman had been saying was nonsense? But... the old woman could be on the side of the murderer. What if the murderer was really just waiting down in the well for another victim, sent down here unknowingly by the old loony?

Concluding that his venture was going to prove futile, he heard a rustle of clothing behind him, causing him once again to jump. Hand grabbing onto the cloth of his shirt that rest over his heart, he turned around, and braced himself for the worst. What he found, however, was just the meek looking form of... no one other than Miss Anju, standing several feet away. A heavy sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Just as he opened his mouth to greet her, he gasped -taken aback upon further studying the girl before him. She looked a ghost of what she had been a week ago, much more pale for one, with the tint of her lips no longer a healthy shade of pink, but the faintest shade of purplish blue. Reflectionless cerulean eyes lay upon him, frightened and wanting. She looked cold and worn, her hands clutched around her upper arms as she shivered. He stepped forward to her, placing his large hands over hers, opening his mouth to speak.

"Thank Din you're here!" Anju cut him off, biting her lip, tears welling up in her pathetic-looking blue eyes, "It's been so long since I've seen anyone living!" She burst into sobs, collapsing against his chest, moving to clutch onto the front of his shirt. Jiro opened his mouth again, but again, the girl cut him off, "It's been so horrible down here. I'm being held prisoner...by the evil spirit beneath the well...the Hero of Time didn't defeat it after all. It's still here, and it's bound me by black magic!" She broke into sobs again, slightly beating on his chest with her fists, "It's so cold down here...my clothes are ruined..." She stepped back to show him her clothes, which were indeed torn and tattered - ripped at the edges, and nearly falling off. He was about to respond, when, "Please, Jiro, bring me some fresh clothes..." She gave him the most pathetic look he had ever seen. Nodding dumbly, Jiro let himself be turned around, slightly more forcefully than a malnourished girl should have been able to push, and moved to climb back up the ladder. As soon as the man seemed to topple over the opening of the well, the same reflectionless cerulean eyes that were just frightened and wanting moments ago were sharply focused and predatory, as the purplish blue lips curled into a slight smirk.

It hadn't been too long before Jiro returned, arms full of clothes that nearly made him loose grip of the ladder descending back into the well, which would have led to a rather nasty fall. Instead, articles of clothing fell instead, for Jiro had decided on his way to aquire clothes for Anju that his first priority was rescuing her, rather than dressing her. Jumping once he only had five more feet to go, he turned to see the poor girl behind him, with a slightly hopeful look now on her face. "Thank you so much -thank you!" she exclaimed graciously. Jiro smiled reassuringly, before nodding. "Now, Miss Anju..." the first words he was able to get out were soon cut off. "You must help me!" she cried, hugging the clothing he had brought down for dear life. "Well, yes, I plan to..."

"You have to face him for me!"

"Face what -who?"

"You must! You have to! There's no other way..." Anju spoke hurriedly, taking Jiro's arm and pulling him quickly toward a stone wall. "But Miss Anju, that's a-" And through the wall they went.

Many twists and turns later, they were faced with a rather gruesome looking door. It was, in it's own nature, rather plain - old wood stripped with metal. But it was coated in what seemed to be dried blood. There were claw marks scratched along the wood and metal, filled with what looked like a bit more moist blood. Anju stopped and turned to face Jiro, who had gone quite pale at the site. Gulping, he put his hands on the door as if to push it down...but before he had the chance to even attempt this, it slid open and he stumbled inside, followed by Anju.

A head of deep violet hair lolled back against the armrest of a menacing looking chair in the center a vast stone room that seemed to trail off into a dark oblivion. What looked to be a young man casually thrown back into a chair seemed to be peacefully napping as Anju and the carpenter entered the room. Jiro's eyes widened, before he searched the room -where was this evil being, and how many more innocent people were being held here against their will? However, Anju only continued to move Jiro closer to the young man on the chair. As he was forced nearer, he noted the three yellow tails draped over the arm of the chair, and then realized that they were attached to the man. He looked over his shoulder at Anju, who nodded and held her arms over her chest, taking a step back. Jiro looked to the sleeping figure again and began to proceed on his own. The young man on the chair now stirred, stunning garnet eyes fluttering open -only to glare at Jiro. "Anju... what is it? And who the hell is this?" the voice that left the young man's lips was surprisingly much more fatigued than his facial expression let on.

"He's here to rescue me." She said as if frightened, though her facial expression, which was hidden to Jiro at the moment, was one of smug content. The young man just laughed, which to Jiro seemed menacing. The carpenter hunched slightly, holding his arms in front of him as if preparing to punch his lights out. The young man in the chair just raised a brow, yawned, and looked off to the side, leaving Jiro clueless. He proceeded to do nothing, except halfway doze off again. He began to advance on this seemingly mocking behavior, when he felt a frail hand on his shoulder turn him around rather forcefully, "For good luck..." Anju said, gazing up at him with her hollow eyes, hands sliding to either side of his head as she leaned up to kiss his cheek. Just as her lips grazed his skin, however, there came a loud cracking of human bone, and Anju released his head, allowing his dead body to crumple onto the ground.

"Anju!" Kafei growled, sitting up, smoothing his hair out, "Why did you have to go and do that in here? We live in this room!"

"I just broke his neck, at least there wasn't any blood..." Anju pouted, looking up at Kafei pathetically.

A moment or two passed with Anju pouting and Kafei frowning, before a playful smile crossed his features. He gestured her over to him, to which she followed, moving to promptly straddle him. "I love it when you do that..." Kafei trailed off in a seductive tone, Anju now smirking before they leaned into a passionate kiss. Poor Jiro would soon realize that the murderer he was so afraid of really had been waiting for their next victim beneath the well... and that they so happened to be one and the same as the missing girl he had been trying to rescue. But yes... he would all come to know this in a few days time... and then he could have a nice chat with Alan.