CHAPTER 22: THE MERGING OF LIGHT AND SHADOW
(unrevised)
_The waters within the holy place of the Zora people grew surprisingly
brighter as he swam further into its depth. Lights much like the
sapphires of the chandelier in the room above dotted the wrapping wall
in dense intervals. Eight pillars stood silently in the undisturbed
water, circling the floor. This, surely, was the very center of Zoran
worship. A place left undisturbed and unseen by prying strangers. But
their sacred place had been besmirched by an evil so powerful.... So
feared by the gods themselves....
Just then, Link noticed a crimson light in the distance. He propelled himself through the water as swiftly as he was able with his injury. Yet upon meeting his destination, he discovered that the scarlet gleam had in fact not been a light of Zoran manufacture. The red had been splattered onto the surface of one of the lights. Link's eyes roamed about, searching.
Not far from him, he spotted prone figures lying on the ground of the shrine. He swam over to the mass of five bodies, spread about in different positions of death. All of their faces were wide with screams unheard, suffering that had yielded to the hand of forever nothingness.
Then he heard a sputter, and Link turned to a Zora splayed across the mutilated body of another. His helmet had been shattered, its pieces fallen to his side. The Zora-eyes narrow, life fading-gazed up at the blue clad warrior. Perhaps in the warrior's agony, he mistook Link for one of his own.
"No … turn back.... You must- A monster...."
A hazy emptiness overtook the Zora's crystal eyes, blood seeping out of his mouth and floating through the water about him.
Alerted, Link immediately turned his vigilant eyes upon all corners of the shrine, yet he found nothing.
Just then, however, what felt like a rope coiled around his torso and he was hurled away from the Zoras. Grabbing about his waist, surges of what seemed a boiling fire rippled through his insides. Through the shocking jolt, he realized it was a sticky tentacle-resembling that of a bari-that enwrapped him. He tried to free himself from the tendril that attempted to sap his life, but it sent another bolt of electricity through his veins. Link staggered momentarily, the searing trembles of energy traveling through his body diminishing his ability to react quicker.
But before the jelly-like vine could attack its victim again, Link managed to reach his saber and cut himself free. Once liberated, Link wriggled loose of the waters surrounding his fallen opponent and search for the source of the tentacle at what he hope a safe distance. When his vision followed the path along the mutilated, limp appendage, he saw shiny sparkles dotting the wall. They made up the vague outline of an oval.
He started to approach the oddity, but when the white glints began to flex in- and outward of each other, Link's caution warned him otherwise. Instead, he quickly took refuge behind the nearest column and peered around its edge.
There, at the opposite end of the shrine, a giant maw contracted. Seven stringy tendrils, minus the injured eighth, spread outward, testing and tasting the water. Link tightened his grip upon his hilt as he watched the maw and its dangling appendages move out from the wall, carrying behind it a menacingly long tail. Large barbs coated its scaly flesh. Its eel body rustled back and forth in continuous motions, propelling it through the shrine, exploring every inch its sensitive tendrils could reach.
When the eel neared Link's position, he kicked off from the pillar with his uninjured limb toward the creature. He angled his sword quickly, for the monster had already sensed the rippling disturbance that he had created. And once Link was close enough, he hacked off one of the limbs, and as the creature roared, Link swirled downward in a jerky motion and propelled himself down and out of the reach of the eel, snipping away another tendril.
Link slunk to the floor of the shrine, silently observing as the creature reeled insanely. In its rage the eel slammed into one of the columns. The stone cracked as it bent over, and Link quickly evaded each of the crushing pieces as they fell near him. Yet, he did not rip himself clear of the rubble, hoping that if he remained still, the monster would assume him flattened by the chaos it had caused. It also gave Link time to search its body from afar for any other possible weaknesses.
Without a slight inkling as to where the beast's heart may lie within, its eyes set at the sides of its head attracted his attention. Perhaps if he were to use their soft tissue as a niche into which he could pierce the creature's brain. Constrained by the creature's thrashing which threatened to tumble another pillar in his direction, Link took to his only scheme and dove out of the ruins before the next column collapsed into pieces just where he had been.
The monster some distance away now, Link judged the angles from which he could assail the eel. The only area upon its head that proved the least dangerous to approach was the top right where he had killed its main defenses. Link propelled himself higher through the water, wincing slightly at the sharp pain that tinged in his foot. He hoped his current abuse of it would not affect its later function. He could have easily stolen himself away from the confrontation against the eel, but he could not back down. Link assumed by previous education-from his altercations with the wild Diababa plant and the malicious entity that had once been the Goron patriarch-that this sea serpent was likely a manifestation of the Fused Shadow piece itself.
Defeating it would be the only way to end its wickedness and obtain it.
The eel, calmed from the pain of its amputations, now circled below Link. He steadied his blade before him, positioned himself at the correct angle, and aimed his newly acquired clawed device at the beast. Adjusting for the light current that the motions of the serpent created, Link shot the claw directly at its head.
The hook landed deeply in the flesh between its eyes, and all at once Link was hurled through the water after it as it lurched and tossed about. Link, having immediately pressed the third button of the clawshot when he had seen its talons puncture the beast, sped toward its head with dizzying momentum.
And just as Link landed between its eyes, evading the tentacles upon his entry, he thrust his sword through the confining water so forcibly that it ran through its eye until his hilt guard met membrane. An agonizing squeal ricocheted through the water, and to assure that the shriek not only meant the suffering of losing half its sight, Link unsheathed his blade from its useless bubble, twisted sideways, and plunged it into the depth of the other eye.
Its maw flexing angrily as it screeched, its high wails nearly shattered Link's eardrums. He held fast to the creature though, waiting to see if the damage he had caused would have the effect he had been hoping for.
In all its wriggling, the unbearable pain had reached a deeper chord within the serpent, and within minutes of the rustling of its twitching, dying nerves, its tail coiled in upon its head. And then its body floated limply, crashing softly to the ground.
Detaching his clawshot Link dismounted the beast just as its colossal body began to blacken. He stared at the giant as its flesh fell in upon itself as if it were a wilting rose. The darkness took over and crinkled, morphing the serpent into bits of dust that, within the same instant, imploded and then burst out in all directions.
For a moment all sound had been stolen, the fragments of shadow floating all about the darkened waters, but then every tiny speck flew past Link, swirling, and assembled in one distorted mass. Link swam toward it and then watched as the form reordered its pieces to become a Fused Shadow … the last of the pieces.
He grabbed the Shadow as it descended through the water and again felt the disturbing power ripple against his chest. The darkness seemed to swell the most within his leg, and he realized that its strange magic was indeed crushing in on his injured foot, making the pain worse than what it had been.
He stole a last respectful look toward the fallen Zoras before he began the swim toward the surface. When his skin met the cold air of the temple and pulled away the mask of his helm, he placed the Fused Shadow upon the floor.
Midna rose from his silhouette and immediately stood next to Link's prize. It was then, when Link gazed up at her, that he realized something that he had never before thought possible. There in front of him was not the last of the Fused Shadows. It was only the final piece of those lost, for upon Midna's head was her customary helmet, however, its top piece-that which fit perfectly upon her round head-was nearly identical to the Fused Shadow he had just acquired.
He watched as her eye glazed. "Now that I have the last of these, I can prove that Zant is not the king of shadows as he claims to be." Her tone lowered considerably, swearing. "His power is a false one."
She looked at him then, holding her precious Shadow within her tiny arms. "I'm sorry to have dragged you all over with me, but...." Her gaze faltered for a moment, and her words were left unsaid. To fill the gap, she stuttered for a moment and then said, "Maybe the spirit can heal your foot. That is if you can walk as well as you can swim."
The all-to-familiar sneer that has covered her lips as she spoke had lost some quality that it had retained in the past. Link shifted uncomfortably as he held himself, half-in and half-out of the water. He was not completely sure why, but the falter in her attitude warmed him as much as it confused him.
He nodded then, agreeing to the return to the spirit spring, and pulled himself out of the cold water.
Water infused of unholy death and unspoken evil.
===============
When Link surfaced in the middle of Lake Hylia, he could not have been more pleased to see the sky, the sun beginning to brush its colors across its length. Link swiveled about to locate the entrance to spring, and, upon distinguishing it is the distance, swam steadily toward it.
There seemed to be a weight crushing against his body, a small corner of his heart swelling in reaction to the close proximity of the fully gathered Fused Shadow. He fought the alien urge of redirecting himself from the spirit's cave. It was strange how the dark pieces somehow beckoned-demanded-not to enter the home of one of those who had oppressed its might so long ago. Link wondered if Midna felt the same pressure within her.
What if her desire to claim the Shadows was due to the hold it had already had upon her? How long had she worn the Fused Shadows as her crown? Was it the power of its darkness that controlled her?
Yet Link tossed the last notion aside. Her sporadic kindness to him over the course of their journey together was evidence enough that even if the might Shadows had indeed swelled within her at times, she had not been wholly swallowed by its magicks. He had sometimes been caught within its grasp as well, so it was clear he could not judge her upon momentarily succumbing to its awesome power. Though, she was a strange being in herself. Perhaps she held some immunity over its affects.
Link soon limped across the threshold of the cave, diving into temporary blindness. Within moments of unguided paces, he entered the spirit's lair. The warm gleam of the rocks and reflections of the water upon their serrated surfaces still amazed Link, inspired him even. It was as if just being near to the warmth that he had returned soothed him, gave him purpose, and made him realize each time he felt such sensations that he never stray from his need to conclude his predestined path.
It was then-staring at the spring-that he took notice of the fact that pain no longer collided between his nerves when he stepped upon his right foot. Within the water he saw a faint ripple, and realized that Lanayru had already sensed his pain and banished it. Link looked down at Midna then, who had walked alongside him into the cave. Her stare disturbed him somehow as she watched the wrinkles of the water below.
It was then that Link sensed it, too. The growing bitterness that seemed to echo from the pool.
Clearly, Lanayru had hoped that the companions would have been able to find some alternative to using such a device, which had been locked away by the spirits' power for good reason. Ever since Link had learned the true malevolence of the Shadows, he had second-guessed himself, but it had also become clear to him that-no matter how the spirits and he wished it-there was no other way.
Link sympathized with the spirit. Lanayru had seen the pandemonium that had erupted due to the use of the Fused Shadow in the past, but now … the spirit had helped in the retrieval of the very darkness that it had been ordered to lock away for eternity.
But there was … something else.
In the next instant, a dark cloud seemed to descend upon the cave, and Link could barely catch his breaths.
Link scanned the water and the surrounding hollow upon instinct, but only turned about when he heard Midna's yelp. Standing solidly behind him was some creature. Its body was human, dressed in darkened ceremonial garbs which were outlined in red. Silver armor fell heavily about its shoulders and extended upward about its head, covering it in a triangular helm that had the appearance of some large-eyed insect.
And in one ornately sleeved hand, it held Midna's black neck. Her gaze faced the eyes of the insect.
"Zant," she spat disgustedly.
At that declaration Link was finally able to place an image to the wicked king of shadows. His dark appearance reeked of the presence of sickly death, as if he were the embodiment of the terrifying fear that welled inside all those near to the end of life.
Upon instinct of learning the creature's identity, Link lashed out … but the shadow king snapped an arm toward him, and a wave of dark magic knocked Link to his side.
"No!" screamed Midna, her hands clawing at Zant's fingers.
Link's sword slipped from his slick fingers and cascaded into the water below. He lay dazed from the energy just exerted upon him, but his mind was still aware of what was happening within the cave.
It was also then that Lanayru lurched up from the pool, descending upon Zant. Bright rays of green and white bounced across the rocks, but with a flick of his wrist, Zant's magic drowned that of the spirit's, and it was cast away, its light shattered and corked by shadow.
Again, the world collapsed into twilight.
Midna heard the moan emanating from Link as he wrenched at his chest, and she understood that the violent change of the air and lands had struck within his soul its inability to exist in such a form.
The imp-her color returned-writhed in Zant's grasp, desperate.
But then, in a deep place within her soul, she felt Zant's magical entity, ripping at her sanctuary. By force, the magic surrounding the dimension in which she had stored the Fused Shadows she and Link had collected fell to the king, and they were yanked once more into existence, hovering at Zant's side.
Anger and anxiety flustered within her, and she struggled in vain to repossess the Shadows.
A laugh echoed within the helm of Zant. "Did you honestly mean to take an ancient and withered power like this and turn it against me? Foolish Midna." He brought the imp closer to him. "Traitor."
His voice was sticky yet higher pitched than Link had expected. But his tone seemed so silky, so sure of himself, though, it was quite demanding and harsh.
"Why do you defy your king?"
"King?" Midna scoffed. She ripped at his knuckles. "You who do nothing but abuse the magic of your tribe?" Her face coiled into rage, her tooth breaking the seam of her lips.
"You imply that my power is … our old magic?" Zant shrieked an insane laugh, but then his voice suddenly became frigid. "How dare you."
Link struggled to push himself onto one knee, looking up. "Midna...." He groaned, stretching out a hand to her.
Midna looked to Link for an instant, but in that single moment, she was tossed aside, away from the spring … and Link. She watched Zant as he approached her, his paces solid and boding the worst fate.
"This power is granted to me by my god!" spat Zant, his voice culminating into a wild fire of hatred for her dishonoring sneers. "It is the magic of the King of Twilight, and you will respect it!" As he spoke a mass of red and black began collecting within his raised palm, consuming the energy of the dancing twilight specks about him.
But Link, though his soul had already begun the transformation into his lupine form-teeth sharpening to points-he gained the better part of control over his human body and ran at Zant full force. "No!"
Distracted by the raging Link, Zant's energy was dispelled just as the blue clad warrior reached him, sparks of red, black, and glowing green exploding into the cave.
Zant caught Link by the neck. A hand that felt like the cold of death itself, fingers like the skeletons of nightmares, cloaked in a sick flesh of putrid bones. Immediately, Link grasped the hand and tried to pull it from his airway, but a pain in his chest grew a hundred fold. A scream burst from the warrior, one that defied all his pride. Vines of darkness crawled through Link's insides, clogging his breath.
The King of Twilight, satisfied, released Link.
The Hylian staggered upon his feet, trying to grip the new pain that flushed his senses. And that was when he felt it … something sharp at his chest. He touched it, wrapped his hands about it, and finally when he looked down, eyes bulging as they began to morph, he saw the dark rock that pierced him.
A breath of air escaped him, and he fell backwards, landing hard.
"Link!" screeched Midna. She ran to him, regardless of Zant standing watch.
Her mere presence at his side seemed to keep him conscious as he struggled to wrench the black crystal free of his body. But the more he seized at its mass the more it caved into his flesh. Blood trickled from the enlarging wound, and a line of red began to smear his lips. It seemed no use to try to free the mass from within him, and he relented, his strength escaping him. His body arched and twisted, echoes of his horrid shrieks reverberating louder and louder as they peeled from his mouth.
"Mid-na...." he called desperately, the agony seizing him completely, hair morphing back into grey and black and white streaks. He lifted a hand, clutching her shoulder. Midna almost recoiled at his touch, for his hand was in mid-transformation, his fingers as thin as a wraith's and nails sharpening into claws. "Mid-"
His eyes clouded, darkened, and his hand slipped away, but Midna seized it. He fell into blackness when the crystal imbedded itself completely within his chest, his flesh mending itself. He was already unconscious before his mutilation was whole.
Midna stared at him, disbelieving.
No. He could not be … dead....
But then her body was jerked backward into the air, and she hovered-chained by dark magic-at Zant's side. "Foolish Midna. Do you forget? That beast is one of the light dwellers who oppressed our people." It was as if he could read her every thought-every emotion that her wet eyes betrayed. "No matter how much you may desire otherwise, you will never be more than a shadow in their world." Midna's chin fell, her gaze deep with some feeling that she could never remember being in company with. "You cannot consort with their kind!" Zant shrieked.
"But … if we can make their world ours," hissed Zant, "light and darkness would meet at last. Our tribe would take back their realm … and sweet darkness would blot out this harsh light! And that Midna...." -the plate of armor covering his mouth suddenly sprang upward with a mechanical clang, and bluish lips, sticky with the cruel air of what had once been light, breathed in her ear- "is why I need you.
"For all our people," he promised. "Lend me your power."
Her answer was plain and simply spoken.
"Never."
She could tell that a sinister air choked him as he sighed, frustrated. "Then-" His magic cast her body high and threw her to the direct center of the spring, and the very motion of it strangled her for a moment. " -I will return you to the light world you so covet!"
Upon realizing her mortal danger, she struggled against the unseen reigns of his power, but she could not free herself. She was trapped, and when Zant forced away the twilight, Lanayru assailed her vision. The spirit, enwrapped by the same magical force of Zant, could not detach itself from the murderous act.
The eyes of light itself attacked Midna, coiled around every fiber of her existence, and within a harsh fraction of time, the rays fondled Midna's body and stole everything that made her what she was. Her skin boiled and an unnatural white blemished her.
Her dying scream was the only thing that Link could hear within his blank state.
===============
When Link awoke he found it hard to focus on anything. There was a savage hunger within him, and it consumed him, yet a voice within his mind questioned the strange feeling. He growled at the dim light that spread over him. Yet within that mass of fading light, reality assailed him. Knowledge came back to him. With its last struggle against Zant, Lanayru had whisked him from the reach of the twilight king.
But when the luminescence clouded into the darkness of night, an animalistic rage flared within Link. Lupine instincts. The need for food. Natural, violent instincts. At the sound of faint breathing, he tossed his mane and peered behind him where a black and white form lay. His snout heaved in a growl, drool splashing from his teeth. His jaws flexed wickedly, but just as he was about to snap his maw round the figure's leg, its head turned to him.
"Link...."
Memories swirled within his crazed head. That was his name. A name. An identity. His soul.
And he remembered how she had said his name within the spirit's cave. Desperate. Needing him-wanting him-to live. He realized that the darkness that had transformed him had been one so powerful that it had grasped his very thoughts as well and churned them up so wickedly, so violently.... He had to fight himself to remain conscious and in control.
"Link."
He nuzzled her.
"Princess Zelda.... Take me to-" Her injuries too severe, she fell into silence, panting, trying so frantically to stay alive.
Immediately, Link wrestled her body onto his back, Midna limply holding to his fur as he raced toward the castle that stretched into the dark, raining sky. A memory blasted against him as he fought the urge to lick Midna's flesh from her bones. Telma had once nonchalantly revealed that there was a passage leading into the castle from her tavern.
He galloped across the fields of Hyrule, blowing past tree and pond and brush.
If he slipped into his lupine instincts for even a moment … Midna would not survive.
===============
Now existing within the light realm in his bestial form, all the citizens that strolled about in Castle Town could see the monster that Link had become. Though, none knew that the wolf had actually once been the reflection of their identity, and each passerby screamed and ran in their own accord. When Link happened upon a watchman-spear pointed at Link's nose-Link distanced himself quickly from his separate half that wished the guard torn from his path. Instead, Link merely growled and snapped, and he passed by the frozen form without altercation.
He soon leapt down the street leading to the bar, but stopped short of the door. If he entered he would meet the same welcome. Any situation that ended in him being corned by those that should have known his face would bode ill for Midna. Pacing back and forth for one split moment, Link's eyes searched the walls of the tavern. He spotted a window in the second level and a pile of boxes that were either empty or full of merchandise, the identities of which Link had no time to waste over guessing.
He immediately leapt atop the crates, swiftly ascending the stack until he was within reach of the open window, curtains flapping wickedly, drenched in the downpour.
Link jumped instantly, aiming perfectly and landing smoothing inside. He tossed a look at Midna, assuring himself that she was still there, struggling against the creeping darkness of nonexistence. He sped through the top floor until he found the stairs. He took the steps two at a time, but cautiously casting his sight about so as to not bump in to any unsuspecting patron.
The case emptied down into an area behind the bar where Telma stood, chortling merrily with a portly, mustached man. And it was within this storage room that he uncovered a gateway into a tunnel. Pawing at the lock-which was just lying upon the latch-Link lifted the tiny bar, and the door cracked open. He nudged his way inside, and sped down the passage that began to smell like a sewer the further in he went.
Familiar grounds.
He barked back at Midna, trying to tell her that they were almost there. But she could only answer with a gasp, which was growing weaker and softer by the instant. Link charged ahead, racing past every obstacle, leaping over every break, breaking down each gate.
He would not lose Midna. Not this way.
He would never let her die. He took that oath the moment he came to the circular staircase that Midna had helped him up upon their first ascension of its giant stone steps.
This time he had expected the difficulty, but unlike last time … Midna's life was at stake.
He rose to the challenge, leaping across impossible gaps, bits of steps loosening underneath him and falling down the instant he had removed his weight. Within a few minutes, Link had managed to clear the decaying stairs. The cracks in the stones had claimed a few of his claws, for when the points had gotten trapped between the cracks, he had ripped his paw loose, ignoring the smarts and the tiny trickles of blood that seeped out of the opened holes.
At last, he had reached the room that had so long been the princess's dungeon. He tore at the wooden bar that locked the double-doors, and smashed them open when the board fell in two halves.
Link sprinted into the darkened room, rain softly pattering against the windows. He searched about but saw no one in the unlit chamber. He then felt a weight lift from his back, and he turned to see that Midna had fallen from him. She grunted in pain, and that is when Link saw the figure approach. The woman dressed in a black mantle.
Zelda crouched next to the couple and examined Midna immediately. Link watched on, expectant of a miracle.
But Midna reached her hand up to the princess, the gaze in her eye courageous, accepting even. And Link was not sure he liked the look in her eye and the tiny lift in her mouth. "Please.... How do we break the curse on this one?" Her voice struggled.
If Link could speak, he would have consoled Midna and asked why she was concerning herself with something they could solve together, when she was better.
Zelda grasped her hand.
"You need this one … to save your world...." said Midna, and it was then Link understood. Midna had not asked for Zelda so that she could be saved; she had needed to speak her last words to the princess and to assure herself that she would not die in vain.
But Link could not accept it. He nudged her and a strange whine uttered from somewhere in his throat.
Yet Midna smiled at Link-with so much care-and she continued as she looked up at he who had been her companion for so long. "You must help Link."
He could not shake off the warmth that he felt each time she said his name.
Zelda looked to Link then and stretched her right arm. A wave of heat flooded his body but soon receded. The princess shifted slightly, "What binds him is a different magic than what transformed him when he first passed the curtain of twilight, an evil power." She tightened her hold on Midna's hand. "Our world is one of balance. Just as there is light to drive away darkness, so, too, is there benevolence to banish evil. The Sacred Grove is a place that lies deep within the lands guarded by Faron. There you will find the blade of evil's bane, crafted by the wisdom of the ancient sages. The Master Sword."
Even as she spoke, a light crept within Link, but every time he heard Midna's gasps of fading breath, his heart recoiled.
"Evil can never bear to touch it," Zelda persisted. "The evil covers you like a dark veil. That blade is the only thing that can cleave it."
Midna's breath became unsteady. "That's good. Link … you can get to the woods on your own … right?" Her voice trailed to Zelda then, unable to manage movement any longer. "Princess.... I have one last request...." she gasped. "Can you tell him … where to find … the Mirror of Twilight?"
An astonished breath escaped Zelda. "Midna…. I believe I understand now just who and what you are. And despite your mortal injuries … you act in our stead." Underneath Zelda's hood, Link thought he saw the trace of a tear line her beautiful face. "These dark times are the result of our deeds, and yet it is you who have reaped the penalty."
Link glanced down at the imp, her body sick of mismatched black and white, but Zelda demanded Link's attention with her gentle tone. Somehow, it felt as though her presence would make every terrible thing that had happened disappear. "Link, chosen hero, I, too, have been granted special powers by the goddesses." She tugged at the white glove that masked her fingers, and there upon the back of her hand laid the same glowing triangles-the symbol of the Triforce-that had branded Link since birth.
The princess looked down to Midna one last time. "After I am gone, Link, I wish you to use this cloak. It bears the magic of the ancient Sheikah race, and it will protect you against the twilight once you have retaken your human body."
Stunned and uncertain at what this comment truly meant, Link stared dumbfounded for a moment, but as Zelda clasped Midna's hand in both of hers-a light gleaming about the very presence of her being-it was Midna's words that awakened in him the exact knowledge of what the princess was doing.
"No!" cried Midna. "Link, stop her!"
But it was too late. Midna's body glinted in the brightness that Zelda passed on to her. Gleaming greens outlined the familiar color of black and white upon Midna's skin, her hair tumbling about her in wild orange and red and yellow waves. Zelda, however, fell backward, eyes closed.
There was no sign of life within her.
Midna looked to her hands, emanating the comfortable warmth of life once more. Seeing her head downcast, Link rubbed his snout against her cheek. She looked up into his eyes, understanding what it was that he could not say. They could not allow the princess of Hyrule to lie in vain. Within Midna there was a new life, a restoration of her soul which had come about at the merging of Zelda's light into Midna's dark identity. She could exist as more than a shadow in Link's world now … but at what cost?
"We go to Faron Woods," declared Midna, bringing herself out of her thoughts.
She knelt down to Zelda and removed the cloak that had once protected her from the effects of the twilight. "I have taken all that you had to give … though I did not want it," she whispered to Zelda's deaf ears. Link approached Midna's side, lowering his head in respect.
Midna turned to Link, and smiled softly.
Just then, Link noticed a crimson light in the distance. He propelled himself through the water as swiftly as he was able with his injury. Yet upon meeting his destination, he discovered that the scarlet gleam had in fact not been a light of Zoran manufacture. The red had been splattered onto the surface of one of the lights. Link's eyes roamed about, searching.
Not far from him, he spotted prone figures lying on the ground of the shrine. He swam over to the mass of five bodies, spread about in different positions of death. All of their faces were wide with screams unheard, suffering that had yielded to the hand of forever nothingness.
Then he heard a sputter, and Link turned to a Zora splayed across the mutilated body of another. His helmet had been shattered, its pieces fallen to his side. The Zora-eyes narrow, life fading-gazed up at the blue clad warrior. Perhaps in the warrior's agony, he mistook Link for one of his own.
"No … turn back.... You must- A monster...."
A hazy emptiness overtook the Zora's crystal eyes, blood seeping out of his mouth and floating through the water about him.
Alerted, Link immediately turned his vigilant eyes upon all corners of the shrine, yet he found nothing.
Just then, however, what felt like a rope coiled around his torso and he was hurled away from the Zoras. Grabbing about his waist, surges of what seemed a boiling fire rippled through his insides. Through the shocking jolt, he realized it was a sticky tentacle-resembling that of a bari-that enwrapped him. He tried to free himself from the tendril that attempted to sap his life, but it sent another bolt of electricity through his veins. Link staggered momentarily, the searing trembles of energy traveling through his body diminishing his ability to react quicker.
But before the jelly-like vine could attack its victim again, Link managed to reach his saber and cut himself free. Once liberated, Link wriggled loose of the waters surrounding his fallen opponent and search for the source of the tentacle at what he hope a safe distance. When his vision followed the path along the mutilated, limp appendage, he saw shiny sparkles dotting the wall. They made up the vague outline of an oval.
He started to approach the oddity, but when the white glints began to flex in- and outward of each other, Link's caution warned him otherwise. Instead, he quickly took refuge behind the nearest column and peered around its edge.
There, at the opposite end of the shrine, a giant maw contracted. Seven stringy tendrils, minus the injured eighth, spread outward, testing and tasting the water. Link tightened his grip upon his hilt as he watched the maw and its dangling appendages move out from the wall, carrying behind it a menacingly long tail. Large barbs coated its scaly flesh. Its eel body rustled back and forth in continuous motions, propelling it through the shrine, exploring every inch its sensitive tendrils could reach.
When the eel neared Link's position, he kicked off from the pillar with his uninjured limb toward the creature. He angled his sword quickly, for the monster had already sensed the rippling disturbance that he had created. And once Link was close enough, he hacked off one of the limbs, and as the creature roared, Link swirled downward in a jerky motion and propelled himself down and out of the reach of the eel, snipping away another tendril.
Link slunk to the floor of the shrine, silently observing as the creature reeled insanely. In its rage the eel slammed into one of the columns. The stone cracked as it bent over, and Link quickly evaded each of the crushing pieces as they fell near him. Yet, he did not rip himself clear of the rubble, hoping that if he remained still, the monster would assume him flattened by the chaos it had caused. It also gave Link time to search its body from afar for any other possible weaknesses.
Without a slight inkling as to where the beast's heart may lie within, its eyes set at the sides of its head attracted his attention. Perhaps if he were to use their soft tissue as a niche into which he could pierce the creature's brain. Constrained by the creature's thrashing which threatened to tumble another pillar in his direction, Link took to his only scheme and dove out of the ruins before the next column collapsed into pieces just where he had been.
The monster some distance away now, Link judged the angles from which he could assail the eel. The only area upon its head that proved the least dangerous to approach was the top right where he had killed its main defenses. Link propelled himself higher through the water, wincing slightly at the sharp pain that tinged in his foot. He hoped his current abuse of it would not affect its later function. He could have easily stolen himself away from the confrontation against the eel, but he could not back down. Link assumed by previous education-from his altercations with the wild Diababa plant and the malicious entity that had once been the Goron patriarch-that this sea serpent was likely a manifestation of the Fused Shadow piece itself.
Defeating it would be the only way to end its wickedness and obtain it.
The eel, calmed from the pain of its amputations, now circled below Link. He steadied his blade before him, positioned himself at the correct angle, and aimed his newly acquired clawed device at the beast. Adjusting for the light current that the motions of the serpent created, Link shot the claw directly at its head.
The hook landed deeply in the flesh between its eyes, and all at once Link was hurled through the water after it as it lurched and tossed about. Link, having immediately pressed the third button of the clawshot when he had seen its talons puncture the beast, sped toward its head with dizzying momentum.
And just as Link landed between its eyes, evading the tentacles upon his entry, he thrust his sword through the confining water so forcibly that it ran through its eye until his hilt guard met membrane. An agonizing squeal ricocheted through the water, and to assure that the shriek not only meant the suffering of losing half its sight, Link unsheathed his blade from its useless bubble, twisted sideways, and plunged it into the depth of the other eye.
Its maw flexing angrily as it screeched, its high wails nearly shattered Link's eardrums. He held fast to the creature though, waiting to see if the damage he had caused would have the effect he had been hoping for.
In all its wriggling, the unbearable pain had reached a deeper chord within the serpent, and within minutes of the rustling of its twitching, dying nerves, its tail coiled in upon its head. And then its body floated limply, crashing softly to the ground.
Detaching his clawshot Link dismounted the beast just as its colossal body began to blacken. He stared at the giant as its flesh fell in upon itself as if it were a wilting rose. The darkness took over and crinkled, morphing the serpent into bits of dust that, within the same instant, imploded and then burst out in all directions.
For a moment all sound had been stolen, the fragments of shadow floating all about the darkened waters, but then every tiny speck flew past Link, swirling, and assembled in one distorted mass. Link swam toward it and then watched as the form reordered its pieces to become a Fused Shadow … the last of the pieces.
He grabbed the Shadow as it descended through the water and again felt the disturbing power ripple against his chest. The darkness seemed to swell the most within his leg, and he realized that its strange magic was indeed crushing in on his injured foot, making the pain worse than what it had been.
He stole a last respectful look toward the fallen Zoras before he began the swim toward the surface. When his skin met the cold air of the temple and pulled away the mask of his helm, he placed the Fused Shadow upon the floor.
Midna rose from his silhouette and immediately stood next to Link's prize. It was then, when Link gazed up at her, that he realized something that he had never before thought possible. There in front of him was not the last of the Fused Shadows. It was only the final piece of those lost, for upon Midna's head was her customary helmet, however, its top piece-that which fit perfectly upon her round head-was nearly identical to the Fused Shadow he had just acquired.
He watched as her eye glazed. "Now that I have the last of these, I can prove that Zant is not the king of shadows as he claims to be." Her tone lowered considerably, swearing. "His power is a false one."
She looked at him then, holding her precious Shadow within her tiny arms. "I'm sorry to have dragged you all over with me, but...." Her gaze faltered for a moment, and her words were left unsaid. To fill the gap, she stuttered for a moment and then said, "Maybe the spirit can heal your foot. That is if you can walk as well as you can swim."
The all-to-familiar sneer that has covered her lips as she spoke had lost some quality that it had retained in the past. Link shifted uncomfortably as he held himself, half-in and half-out of the water. He was not completely sure why, but the falter in her attitude warmed him as much as it confused him.
He nodded then, agreeing to the return to the spirit spring, and pulled himself out of the cold water.
Water infused of unholy death and unspoken evil.
===============
When Link surfaced in the middle of Lake Hylia, he could not have been more pleased to see the sky, the sun beginning to brush its colors across its length. Link swiveled about to locate the entrance to spring, and, upon distinguishing it is the distance, swam steadily toward it.
There seemed to be a weight crushing against his body, a small corner of his heart swelling in reaction to the close proximity of the fully gathered Fused Shadow. He fought the alien urge of redirecting himself from the spirit's cave. It was strange how the dark pieces somehow beckoned-demanded-not to enter the home of one of those who had oppressed its might so long ago. Link wondered if Midna felt the same pressure within her.
What if her desire to claim the Shadows was due to the hold it had already had upon her? How long had she worn the Fused Shadows as her crown? Was it the power of its darkness that controlled her?
Yet Link tossed the last notion aside. Her sporadic kindness to him over the course of their journey together was evidence enough that even if the might Shadows had indeed swelled within her at times, she had not been wholly swallowed by its magicks. He had sometimes been caught within its grasp as well, so it was clear he could not judge her upon momentarily succumbing to its awesome power. Though, she was a strange being in herself. Perhaps she held some immunity over its affects.
Link soon limped across the threshold of the cave, diving into temporary blindness. Within moments of unguided paces, he entered the spirit's lair. The warm gleam of the rocks and reflections of the water upon their serrated surfaces still amazed Link, inspired him even. It was as if just being near to the warmth that he had returned soothed him, gave him purpose, and made him realize each time he felt such sensations that he never stray from his need to conclude his predestined path.
It was then-staring at the spring-that he took notice of the fact that pain no longer collided between his nerves when he stepped upon his right foot. Within the water he saw a faint ripple, and realized that Lanayru had already sensed his pain and banished it. Link looked down at Midna then, who had walked alongside him into the cave. Her stare disturbed him somehow as she watched the wrinkles of the water below.
It was then that Link sensed it, too. The growing bitterness that seemed to echo from the pool.
Clearly, Lanayru had hoped that the companions would have been able to find some alternative to using such a device, which had been locked away by the spirits' power for good reason. Ever since Link had learned the true malevolence of the Shadows, he had second-guessed himself, but it had also become clear to him that-no matter how the spirits and he wished it-there was no other way.
Link sympathized with the spirit. Lanayru had seen the pandemonium that had erupted due to the use of the Fused Shadow in the past, but now … the spirit had helped in the retrieval of the very darkness that it had been ordered to lock away for eternity.
But there was … something else.
In the next instant, a dark cloud seemed to descend upon the cave, and Link could barely catch his breaths.
Link scanned the water and the surrounding hollow upon instinct, but only turned about when he heard Midna's yelp. Standing solidly behind him was some creature. Its body was human, dressed in darkened ceremonial garbs which were outlined in red. Silver armor fell heavily about its shoulders and extended upward about its head, covering it in a triangular helm that had the appearance of some large-eyed insect.
And in one ornately sleeved hand, it held Midna's black neck. Her gaze faced the eyes of the insect.
"Zant," she spat disgustedly.
At that declaration Link was finally able to place an image to the wicked king of shadows. His dark appearance reeked of the presence of sickly death, as if he were the embodiment of the terrifying fear that welled inside all those near to the end of life.
Upon instinct of learning the creature's identity, Link lashed out … but the shadow king snapped an arm toward him, and a wave of dark magic knocked Link to his side.
"No!" screamed Midna, her hands clawing at Zant's fingers.
Link's sword slipped from his slick fingers and cascaded into the water below. He lay dazed from the energy just exerted upon him, but his mind was still aware of what was happening within the cave.
It was also then that Lanayru lurched up from the pool, descending upon Zant. Bright rays of green and white bounced across the rocks, but with a flick of his wrist, Zant's magic drowned that of the spirit's, and it was cast away, its light shattered and corked by shadow.
Again, the world collapsed into twilight.
Midna heard the moan emanating from Link as he wrenched at his chest, and she understood that the violent change of the air and lands had struck within his soul its inability to exist in such a form.
The imp-her color returned-writhed in Zant's grasp, desperate.
But then, in a deep place within her soul, she felt Zant's magical entity, ripping at her sanctuary. By force, the magic surrounding the dimension in which she had stored the Fused Shadows she and Link had collected fell to the king, and they were yanked once more into existence, hovering at Zant's side.
Anger and anxiety flustered within her, and she struggled in vain to repossess the Shadows.
A laugh echoed within the helm of Zant. "Did you honestly mean to take an ancient and withered power like this and turn it against me? Foolish Midna." He brought the imp closer to him. "Traitor."
His voice was sticky yet higher pitched than Link had expected. But his tone seemed so silky, so sure of himself, though, it was quite demanding and harsh.
"Why do you defy your king?"
"King?" Midna scoffed. She ripped at his knuckles. "You who do nothing but abuse the magic of your tribe?" Her face coiled into rage, her tooth breaking the seam of her lips.
"You imply that my power is … our old magic?" Zant shrieked an insane laugh, but then his voice suddenly became frigid. "How dare you."
Link struggled to push himself onto one knee, looking up. "Midna...." He groaned, stretching out a hand to her.
Midna looked to Link for an instant, but in that single moment, she was tossed aside, away from the spring … and Link. She watched Zant as he approached her, his paces solid and boding the worst fate.
"This power is granted to me by my god!" spat Zant, his voice culminating into a wild fire of hatred for her dishonoring sneers. "It is the magic of the King of Twilight, and you will respect it!" As he spoke a mass of red and black began collecting within his raised palm, consuming the energy of the dancing twilight specks about him.
But Link, though his soul had already begun the transformation into his lupine form-teeth sharpening to points-he gained the better part of control over his human body and ran at Zant full force. "No!"
Distracted by the raging Link, Zant's energy was dispelled just as the blue clad warrior reached him, sparks of red, black, and glowing green exploding into the cave.
Zant caught Link by the neck. A hand that felt like the cold of death itself, fingers like the skeletons of nightmares, cloaked in a sick flesh of putrid bones. Immediately, Link grasped the hand and tried to pull it from his airway, but a pain in his chest grew a hundred fold. A scream burst from the warrior, one that defied all his pride. Vines of darkness crawled through Link's insides, clogging his breath.
The King of Twilight, satisfied, released Link.
The Hylian staggered upon his feet, trying to grip the new pain that flushed his senses. And that was when he felt it … something sharp at his chest. He touched it, wrapped his hands about it, and finally when he looked down, eyes bulging as they began to morph, he saw the dark rock that pierced him.
A breath of air escaped him, and he fell backwards, landing hard.
"Link!" screeched Midna. She ran to him, regardless of Zant standing watch.
Her mere presence at his side seemed to keep him conscious as he struggled to wrench the black crystal free of his body. But the more he seized at its mass the more it caved into his flesh. Blood trickled from the enlarging wound, and a line of red began to smear his lips. It seemed no use to try to free the mass from within him, and he relented, his strength escaping him. His body arched and twisted, echoes of his horrid shrieks reverberating louder and louder as they peeled from his mouth.
"Mid-na...." he called desperately, the agony seizing him completely, hair morphing back into grey and black and white streaks. He lifted a hand, clutching her shoulder. Midna almost recoiled at his touch, for his hand was in mid-transformation, his fingers as thin as a wraith's and nails sharpening into claws. "Mid-"
His eyes clouded, darkened, and his hand slipped away, but Midna seized it. He fell into blackness when the crystal imbedded itself completely within his chest, his flesh mending itself. He was already unconscious before his mutilation was whole.
Midna stared at him, disbelieving.
No. He could not be … dead....
But then her body was jerked backward into the air, and she hovered-chained by dark magic-at Zant's side. "Foolish Midna. Do you forget? That beast is one of the light dwellers who oppressed our people." It was as if he could read her every thought-every emotion that her wet eyes betrayed. "No matter how much you may desire otherwise, you will never be more than a shadow in their world." Midna's chin fell, her gaze deep with some feeling that she could never remember being in company with. "You cannot consort with their kind!" Zant shrieked.
"But … if we can make their world ours," hissed Zant, "light and darkness would meet at last. Our tribe would take back their realm … and sweet darkness would blot out this harsh light! And that Midna...." -the plate of armor covering his mouth suddenly sprang upward with a mechanical clang, and bluish lips, sticky with the cruel air of what had once been light, breathed in her ear- "is why I need you.
"For all our people," he promised. "Lend me your power."
Her answer was plain and simply spoken.
"Never."
She could tell that a sinister air choked him as he sighed, frustrated. "Then-" His magic cast her body high and threw her to the direct center of the spring, and the very motion of it strangled her for a moment. " -I will return you to the light world you so covet!"
Upon realizing her mortal danger, she struggled against the unseen reigns of his power, but she could not free herself. She was trapped, and when Zant forced away the twilight, Lanayru assailed her vision. The spirit, enwrapped by the same magical force of Zant, could not detach itself from the murderous act.
The eyes of light itself attacked Midna, coiled around every fiber of her existence, and within a harsh fraction of time, the rays fondled Midna's body and stole everything that made her what she was. Her skin boiled and an unnatural white blemished her.
Her dying scream was the only thing that Link could hear within his blank state.
===============
When Link awoke he found it hard to focus on anything. There was a savage hunger within him, and it consumed him, yet a voice within his mind questioned the strange feeling. He growled at the dim light that spread over him. Yet within that mass of fading light, reality assailed him. Knowledge came back to him. With its last struggle against Zant, Lanayru had whisked him from the reach of the twilight king.
But when the luminescence clouded into the darkness of night, an animalistic rage flared within Link. Lupine instincts. The need for food. Natural, violent instincts. At the sound of faint breathing, he tossed his mane and peered behind him where a black and white form lay. His snout heaved in a growl, drool splashing from his teeth. His jaws flexed wickedly, but just as he was about to snap his maw round the figure's leg, its head turned to him.
"Link...."
Memories swirled within his crazed head. That was his name. A name. An identity. His soul.
And he remembered how she had said his name within the spirit's cave. Desperate. Needing him-wanting him-to live. He realized that the darkness that had transformed him had been one so powerful that it had grasped his very thoughts as well and churned them up so wickedly, so violently.... He had to fight himself to remain conscious and in control.
"Link."
He nuzzled her.
"Princess Zelda.... Take me to-" Her injuries too severe, she fell into silence, panting, trying so frantically to stay alive.
Immediately, Link wrestled her body onto his back, Midna limply holding to his fur as he raced toward the castle that stretched into the dark, raining sky. A memory blasted against him as he fought the urge to lick Midna's flesh from her bones. Telma had once nonchalantly revealed that there was a passage leading into the castle from her tavern.
He galloped across the fields of Hyrule, blowing past tree and pond and brush.
If he slipped into his lupine instincts for even a moment … Midna would not survive.
===============
Now existing within the light realm in his bestial form, all the citizens that strolled about in Castle Town could see the monster that Link had become. Though, none knew that the wolf had actually once been the reflection of their identity, and each passerby screamed and ran in their own accord. When Link happened upon a watchman-spear pointed at Link's nose-Link distanced himself quickly from his separate half that wished the guard torn from his path. Instead, Link merely growled and snapped, and he passed by the frozen form without altercation.
He soon leapt down the street leading to the bar, but stopped short of the door. If he entered he would meet the same welcome. Any situation that ended in him being corned by those that should have known his face would bode ill for Midna. Pacing back and forth for one split moment, Link's eyes searched the walls of the tavern. He spotted a window in the second level and a pile of boxes that were either empty or full of merchandise, the identities of which Link had no time to waste over guessing.
He immediately leapt atop the crates, swiftly ascending the stack until he was within reach of the open window, curtains flapping wickedly, drenched in the downpour.
Link jumped instantly, aiming perfectly and landing smoothing inside. He tossed a look at Midna, assuring himself that she was still there, struggling against the creeping darkness of nonexistence. He sped through the top floor until he found the stairs. He took the steps two at a time, but cautiously casting his sight about so as to not bump in to any unsuspecting patron.
The case emptied down into an area behind the bar where Telma stood, chortling merrily with a portly, mustached man. And it was within this storage room that he uncovered a gateway into a tunnel. Pawing at the lock-which was just lying upon the latch-Link lifted the tiny bar, and the door cracked open. He nudged his way inside, and sped down the passage that began to smell like a sewer the further in he went.
Familiar grounds.
He barked back at Midna, trying to tell her that they were almost there. But she could only answer with a gasp, which was growing weaker and softer by the instant. Link charged ahead, racing past every obstacle, leaping over every break, breaking down each gate.
He would not lose Midna. Not this way.
He would never let her die. He took that oath the moment he came to the circular staircase that Midna had helped him up upon their first ascension of its giant stone steps.
This time he had expected the difficulty, but unlike last time … Midna's life was at stake.
He rose to the challenge, leaping across impossible gaps, bits of steps loosening underneath him and falling down the instant he had removed his weight. Within a few minutes, Link had managed to clear the decaying stairs. The cracks in the stones had claimed a few of his claws, for when the points had gotten trapped between the cracks, he had ripped his paw loose, ignoring the smarts and the tiny trickles of blood that seeped out of the opened holes.
At last, he had reached the room that had so long been the princess's dungeon. He tore at the wooden bar that locked the double-doors, and smashed them open when the board fell in two halves.
Link sprinted into the darkened room, rain softly pattering against the windows. He searched about but saw no one in the unlit chamber. He then felt a weight lift from his back, and he turned to see that Midna had fallen from him. She grunted in pain, and that is when Link saw the figure approach. The woman dressed in a black mantle.
Zelda crouched next to the couple and examined Midna immediately. Link watched on, expectant of a miracle.
But Midna reached her hand up to the princess, the gaze in her eye courageous, accepting even. And Link was not sure he liked the look in her eye and the tiny lift in her mouth. "Please.... How do we break the curse on this one?" Her voice struggled.
If Link could speak, he would have consoled Midna and asked why she was concerning herself with something they could solve together, when she was better.
Zelda grasped her hand.
"You need this one … to save your world...." said Midna, and it was then Link understood. Midna had not asked for Zelda so that she could be saved; she had needed to speak her last words to the princess and to assure herself that she would not die in vain.
But Link could not accept it. He nudged her and a strange whine uttered from somewhere in his throat.
Yet Midna smiled at Link-with so much care-and she continued as she looked up at he who had been her companion for so long. "You must help Link."
He could not shake off the warmth that he felt each time she said his name.
Zelda looked to Link then and stretched her right arm. A wave of heat flooded his body but soon receded. The princess shifted slightly, "What binds him is a different magic than what transformed him when he first passed the curtain of twilight, an evil power." She tightened her hold on Midna's hand. "Our world is one of balance. Just as there is light to drive away darkness, so, too, is there benevolence to banish evil. The Sacred Grove is a place that lies deep within the lands guarded by Faron. There you will find the blade of evil's bane, crafted by the wisdom of the ancient sages. The Master Sword."
Even as she spoke, a light crept within Link, but every time he heard Midna's gasps of fading breath, his heart recoiled.
"Evil can never bear to touch it," Zelda persisted. "The evil covers you like a dark veil. That blade is the only thing that can cleave it."
Midna's breath became unsteady. "That's good. Link … you can get to the woods on your own … right?" Her voice trailed to Zelda then, unable to manage movement any longer. "Princess.... I have one last request...." she gasped. "Can you tell him … where to find … the Mirror of Twilight?"
An astonished breath escaped Zelda. "Midna…. I believe I understand now just who and what you are. And despite your mortal injuries … you act in our stead." Underneath Zelda's hood, Link thought he saw the trace of a tear line her beautiful face. "These dark times are the result of our deeds, and yet it is you who have reaped the penalty."
Link glanced down at the imp, her body sick of mismatched black and white, but Zelda demanded Link's attention with her gentle tone. Somehow, it felt as though her presence would make every terrible thing that had happened disappear. "Link, chosen hero, I, too, have been granted special powers by the goddesses." She tugged at the white glove that masked her fingers, and there upon the back of her hand laid the same glowing triangles-the symbol of the Triforce-that had branded Link since birth.
The princess looked down to Midna one last time. "After I am gone, Link, I wish you to use this cloak. It bears the magic of the ancient Sheikah race, and it will protect you against the twilight once you have retaken your human body."
Stunned and uncertain at what this comment truly meant, Link stared dumbfounded for a moment, but as Zelda clasped Midna's hand in both of hers-a light gleaming about the very presence of her being-it was Midna's words that awakened in him the exact knowledge of what the princess was doing.
"No!" cried Midna. "Link, stop her!"
But it was too late. Midna's body glinted in the brightness that Zelda passed on to her. Gleaming greens outlined the familiar color of black and white upon Midna's skin, her hair tumbling about her in wild orange and red and yellow waves. Zelda, however, fell backward, eyes closed.
There was no sign of life within her.
Midna looked to her hands, emanating the comfortable warmth of life once more. Seeing her head downcast, Link rubbed his snout against her cheek. She looked up into his eyes, understanding what it was that he could not say. They could not allow the princess of Hyrule to lie in vain. Within Midna there was a new life, a restoration of her soul which had come about at the merging of Zelda's light into Midna's dark identity. She could exist as more than a shadow in Link's world now … but at what cost?
"We go to Faron Woods," declared Midna, bringing herself out of her thoughts.
She knelt down to Zelda and removed the cloak that had once protected her from the effects of the twilight. "I have taken all that you had to give … though I did not want it," she whispered to Zelda's deaf ears. Link approached Midna's side, lowering his head in respect.
Midna turned to Link, and smiled softly.
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REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
~Quor18 Jan 17, 2008 Damn. You make me want to play TP again, just to watch all those awesome scenes over again.
!JaidenUchiha Jan 17, 2008 I just read it. The whole time my eyes were bulging and mouth gaping... Stephonika, that was amazing! The way you described this scene was simply jaw-dropping! A-amazing!
~hamsterboy9 Jan 17, 2008 Very nice, and amazingly detailed...something I could never hope to accomplish...highly inspiring!
~Leminer Jan 17, 2008 Amazing! That's a magnificient work you did Stephonika! I really, really, really want to see the rest of the story! But take all you're time, a artist need to relax and amuse itself sometimes lol! Anyway keep the good job!
~PsychoDemonFox Jan 17, 2008 Cool fic. Please continue!
~Blueninja57 Jan 21, 2008 Damn that was... dark. Although it's in a good way, it makes the scene a hell of a lot more cinematic than the one that actually takes place in the game.
~Zantillia Feb 16, 2008 *insert fan girlish scream* Its awesome! You. Are. Awesome. Women!
~Ninja-art-Seresuto Nov 15, 2009 Ah, this is my faveourite scene in the whole game! I like how you described the black crystal and Link.
~Xcoinic Mar 16, 2011 Man, I felt my own heartstrings tug when Midna was attacked. To further increase the mood, I played sad music when Link was rushing to saved her. Hell, I felt my eyes water as I read through. You're a great writer, I must say!
~AstaraBriarart Jun 5, 2012 ok you are amazing this made me want to cry i love this one ^.^
!JaidenUchiha Jan 17, 2008 I just read it. The whole time my eyes were bulging and mouth gaping... Stephonika, that was amazing! The way you described this scene was simply jaw-dropping! A-amazing!
~hamsterboy9 Jan 17, 2008 Very nice, and amazingly detailed...something I could never hope to accomplish...highly inspiring!
~Leminer Jan 17, 2008 Amazing! That's a magnificient work you did Stephonika! I really, really, really want to see the rest of the story! But take all you're time, a artist need to relax and amuse itself sometimes lol! Anyway keep the good job!
~PsychoDemonFox Jan 17, 2008 Cool fic. Please continue!
~Blueninja57 Jan 21, 2008 Damn that was... dark. Although it's in a good way, it makes the scene a hell of a lot more cinematic than the one that actually takes place in the game.
~Zantillia Feb 16, 2008 *insert fan girlish scream* Its awesome! You. Are. Awesome. Women!
~Ninja-art-Seresuto Nov 15, 2009 Ah, this is my faveourite scene in the whole game! I like how you described the black crystal and Link.
~Xcoinic Mar 16, 2011 Man, I felt my own heartstrings tug when Midna was attacked. To further increase the mood, I played sad music when Link was rushing to saved her. Hell, I felt my eyes water as I read through. You're a great writer, I must say!
~AstaraBriarart Jun 5, 2012 ok you are amazing this made me want to cry i love this one ^.^