An idea I thought of when I was listening to Evanescence's "Taking Over Me"…I was thinking about doing a darker intake of TP and as soon as I heard this, I knew what I had to do. Go listen to it, it's probably her BEST song.

Disclaimer: I do not own the origin of Legend of Zelda. Nintendo made Twilight Princess, and I made this fanfiction for entertainment. Currently, I'm not making money off of it. X.X It'll be THE day when that happens.

Credits: Evanescence, I suppose I owe you yet again. I just bought your album "Fallen" and it cost me like five bucks on Alltunes, so there's your credit!

Alright, enjoy. This is part one of "The Fallen Shadow". Takes place after he escorts Telma, Ilia, and the young Zoran prince to Kakariko village. As I said—the emotions are stronger, darker, and BRAND NEW.

Taking Over Me: Part One

He couldn't hear. He couldn't talk. He couldn't feel anything…the rain pelting him with harsh force, the wind howling and whipping his shoulders, or the burns that the mud left on his feet as he scuffed through the slippery and dark field.

Where was he going? He didn't know. Nothing mattered anymore.

All this time, he had been so sure that she was alright. It would only be fair, after all. He would get better when she came to nurse him back to health and when she asked him to be okay. And so, his wishing upon a star every single night that he could see one, and praying to the Goddesses when he couldn't. And now…she couldn't remember him. Not a shred of his touch, or the sound of his soft voice, not even the woodsy smell he always had.

Nothingness. Ah, the beauty of it. The deranged calmness that left you lying, drowned, in the ocean of pain. He did not realize that he was crying, nor was he ashamed. It was nothing to him. It mattered not that he was a man, a seventeen year old adult…and was crying. He didn't care. He felt…nothing.

It was driving him insane.

Overhead, he could hear a mourning song that the Forbidden Shadow of Hyrule would sing to people when they were near death. He did not debate if something would kill him or if he would end his pain himself…he just accepted that death would soon swallow him.

Bublins and Moblins and Keese and all of his opponents came, seeking out the scent of misery that only their animalistic senses could detect. Misery could weaken a human. Misery could weaken their prey.

Link did not draw his blade, his boomerang, or any other weapon that he had in his faded green tunic and pouch. He let them come and start their advancing, petty attacks. Let them. They did not know how insignificant, how painless their attacks were.

They hurt his body, but they did not hurt his screaming soul.

He had forgotten all about the shadow lady that was running behind him. Her small figure, drenched in the blackness, suddenly sprang to life, pale blue skin forming around the silhouette and thick orange hair twisting into a weapon. White fang curled over her lip in a snarl, her wide amber irises filled with hatred, Midna let out a shriek and a cloud of Twili magic fogged out of her body, instantly disintegrating the monsters.

Not even a thank you.

Annoyed, Midna floated towards his shoulder and grabbed his drenched blonde shag. "Link! What are you doing? Being an idiot, that's what! Let's go! We have to save my realm!"

He turned on her, eyes vaults of emptiness. "My realm this, my realm that!" He imitated her high, bubbly voice. His tone turned normal and his expression soured. "Midna, I don't care about you. I hate you. I have no goal left to gain with you. I found my friends and my…" Link stopped and considered something, testing out words mentally. "and my Ilia. I don't need to save your realm. Your realm was what caused this mess in the first place!"

She hissed in his ear, outraged by his claim. "That's not true!" Midna lied. "And what will you do without me?! Without me, you would be rotting away in the Hyrule Sewers! You…you…you owe me!"

Link laughed bitterly. "I owe you? I owe you what, Midna? Nothing. Nothing at all. Just leave me alone." He continued his walk, shuffling miserably up the field hills, slipping and falling backwards ever so often.

"No. I'm not leaving alone till you help me."

"Oooooh. Scary, really!" His voice dropped, low so that she could not make out his next words. It sounded like he called her barlizia—the Hylian swear for "foolish manipulator".

"Moping around, shuffling through Hyrule Field won't help anybody. Why must I tell you everything?! You dummy, if you want to help her, you have to keep going on this quest. Maybe we'll run along something that could help restore her memory," Midna tried to sound convincing, but her voice was high in pitch with her lie.

Moaning with his woe and frustration, Link stopped flat up a hill. His feet sagged, threatening to let him fall into the mud. What would he care, anyway? Slowly, his shoulders started to shrug. Midna could not see his face…Oh. Is he…crying? "Link?" She whispered. She leaned onto his shoulder without hesitation, her hand curving to his cheek.

A sharp, pulsing blow struck her stomach. Midna flew backgrounds, hitting the base of the hill with a gasp.

Did he…did Link just punch her?

He had. She was positive of it. "How. DARE. You!" She shrieked, floating upwards into the air. "Don't you know who I am?" Her words were oozing with a white hot hatred.

"No, I don't, actually."

Midna bit her lip. "I'm…" Why not tell him? You're on a roll, anyway. "I'm the princess of the Twilight Realm!"

Link blinked, very slowly and blandly. Then, he burst in laughter, so hard that tears slammed to his eyes. Midna looked at him as if he was crazy, then her eyes darkened in shade.

"I'm not joking, idiot," She muttered.

"Sure you're not!" Link responded, rolling his eyes. He seemed to have, just for the moment, forgotten about the problem of Ilia's memory loss and saving Hyrule. "Sure."

"I am!" She protested, angered by his defiance. Her gaze met his, and he gasped.

"Oh, Goddesses, you're serious!" Link realized, sky blue eyes going wide with shock. Midna saw the strange, emotional glint from those eyes, even in the darkness. "You're the princess of the realm…"

Midna rolled her eyes, impatiently snapping her fingers and words. "Princesses don't like waiting for Fused Shadows. You didn't follow the Queen of Zoras's ghost, so now we'll be scouting all over the village as it is."

"I'm not going to do that until I get Ilia's memory restored," He retorted, crossing his arms. "I've made up my mind. My kingdom—my friends, my family, my ruler—they come before you."

Midna groaned at the strength of his words. He wouldn't be changing his mind anytime soon, and she felt strangely saddened—offended even—that he would choose that foolish, simple farm girl over her. She had helped him escape from a dungeon, and guided him to Zelda! She had helped him get back to human form! And this was how he repaid her?! The nerve! "Fine, then. Start leading the way back to the village. The sooner, the better."

"I was going to go alone, actually, Midna. If you'd just…I don't know, by the gates, that'd be great. Just melt into the shadows, as always." He said the words like an explanation for his hesitation. Midna felt the strangest of fury at his request.

"Not a chance!" She responded.

"Well, then your Fused Shadow will be on permanent hold," Link shrugged his shoulders, retracing his steps through the field. Oooh, he knew how to infuriate her. He was like an arbiter—he had the cards in his hands.

"I'll wait then. By the gates. But when dawn breaks…" Her voice trailed off, leaving a space that she wanted to fill with a threat, but she had none that could possibly be used.

"Deal, Princess Midna," Link seemed to spit the word 'princess' through clenched teeth. He was quiet then, pretending to concentrate solely on the path back to Kakariko.

When they reached the gates, Midna's emotions were stirred with anxiety, curiosity and confusion. Why did he want her to wait outside? She understand that he sometimes wanted….space, but…still, it didn't explain or ease the odd feeling of—rejection?—in her stomach. She dissolved into the blackness of shadow as Link walked on, into the village.

///

"You don't remember…Epona? Does the name Epona ring a bell?" Link fumbled for anything that might trigger Ilia's memory. She shook her head, yet again, to his question. Her feet repositioned in the hotspring near the roof of Kakariko Inn, ankles twisting, brown trousers folded up to her knees. Link sat next to her, legs dangling in as well.

"Link," She tested out the word. "I'm sorry. This must be really frustrating for you. I feel so bad that I can't remember—like I'm failing you or something." She hung her head in a sigh, green irises dull and watery.

"It's okay. Maybe I should tell you what happened, when we were separated at first. Do you think that might work? Would you be okay with that?" He was frustrated, that was obvious. But he was also determined beyond understanding.

"It's worth a shot," Ilia half-smiled.

"You were mad at me, because I had been working Epona too hard. You care for her, always making sure I treat her like a lady. You hadn't heard that the reason I had worked her half to death was because Talo had been captured, and I rode Epona for about half the way. Once you found out, you felt bad. You were going to do something, or say something—I don't know, and I suppose I never will…and then, the monsters came. I had no weapons on hand, and before I could do anything, you had been shot in the back and the kids had been taken as well. I was knocked out before…before I could help. When I woke up, I faced a great wall of dark, evil twilight blocking my path to saving you guys. I tried to enter…but I was taken captive."

Ilia looked at him in the eyes, tears starting to spill over. "I…think…I remember. Two things—there were two things I wanted to give you. You were going somewhere, Link. I made you something to help, but I left it somewhere after I was taken captive! And, and…" Her hands fluttered uselessly for words she could not supply, eyes squeezing shut.

Link smiled, stroking her hands, trying to soothe her. She choked on a sob, and he kissed her on the cheek. "It'll be okay. I'll save Hyrule, and you'll remember. I promise."

"I remember little things about you when you say things like that. You always keep promises, and you're a swordsman. You're always brave, never backing down from a challenge. And…I think…" She gulped, giggling slightly. "I think that I love you."

///

It was dawn, and he hadn't come back. Midna's body slowly faded in from a silhouette of shadow, becoming a blue skinned imp once again. It was going to be hard to stay inconspicuous in such a form.

The dawn was gray—one flat color, not anything more, just the clouds that threatened to heave down the rain. Good. That might keep the humans away. Where is that idiot?! Had he forgotten about her? She groaned aloud. If he did that, then he would have to pay. Her fang slid over her lips in a snarl.

She felt a strange feeling of betrayal, hours later, once the rain and thunder started. He obviously felt strongly about this Ilia girl, and Midna did not understand why this upset her. It wasn't that she thought of him as a possession, but rather a person that had seemingly committed himself to helping her. And now…that was up in smoke.

"Hey, Midna!" His voice was perky when he finally emerged. "So, I was thinking. See, obviously I need to get into the twilight and restore it soon. Ilia's been talking to the Prince—he's feeling better already!—and she hears that the Zora domain is in trouble. I'll restore the land in a few days, after the storm clears. Until then, the inn has free space, and you can hang out in the cold cellar—hey, what's wrong?" He had noticed how she was looking at the ground, how she was snarling…

"I'll restore it on my own. I don't want to wait. My kingdom isn't going to wait. Zelda can play damsel in distress all she likes, and that's great. Her hero will come soon enough and oh, she'll be so grateful. But my kingdom is being transformed into a hell dimension. So I'll do it on my own." Her words caused her pain, because she did not want him to be here will she was alone.

"Midna, please don't do that."

"Why not? You seem perfectly happy here. Hey, I'll even get that Fused Shadow myself, if I can. I can get your kingdom out of Twilight, and you and Zelda can figure out where Zant is…use your Triforces to defeat him," Midna shrugged, voice shaking with her uncontrolled and raw sadness.

"Midna—"

"Don't talk to me! You're a light dweller and you need to be the hero of your own kingdom!" She flipped backwards, snapping her fingers and absorbing herself into a shadow portal, leaving him to his village, his girl, and his problem.