Ok, new chapter here full of what we all love: Midna teasing Link!^^

Chapter 7

Yet Another Quest

After a good night's sleep, Link and the female Twili took Epona and left the city through the east gate. He was about to buy some supplies, when Midna showed him her own stash. From the way some people backed along the walls at the sight of the Hero's mare, they hadn't forgotten almost being run over by the horse. Midna giggled while the green clad swordsman scratched his head in embarrassment.

Then the fields came into view, and with it, the sun. Link looked to his otherworldly friend and saw she had opened her robe, revealing her uncovered top. He would have asked her about this, but decided against it for two reasons. One, he couldn't find his voice. Two, she might think he was being a pervert by staring at her curvy form, although that would've been her own fault since she hadn't covered herself up. He shook his head to get rid of the indecent thoughts that had started to flourish and inquired her:

"Are you running with me?", Midna looked to Epona before answering.

"No offense, but no. I have other means of travel."

"Like what? Teleporting?"

Midna just smirked and before Link realized it, she sunk into his shadow. He felt a chill running through his spine when she did so. It was like something was invading his essence in a very uncomfortable way.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to warn you, generally, it can be very disturbing if the person has some sensibility to magic and an adult Twili try it on him, but don't worry, you'll get used to it.", Midna explained, with a mild laugh in her voice.

"And if I don't?", asked Link, still feeling very vulnerable from the strange experience, which he found very different from the times she entered in his shadow when she was still in her cursed form.

"You'll get headaches, nightmares and possibly some minor crisis, like paranoia." the Hero looked to his own shadow in horror. "Ha! Just kidding. You're such a scared bunny.", Link gave a nervous laugh at that. He had forgotten Midna's dark humor and her ability to be convincing even when she was joking. Deep inside, he had missed that though.

Mounting on Epona, the green clad swordsman rode the eastern fields. Their destination was Kakariko, since one of the clues to the materials reminded them of the boiling interior of Death Mountain, plus the village was relatively close to Castle Town. Link hadn't heard a word from Midna until they arrived the north gate to the village. The Hero reduced the speed and the Twilight Princess emerged from his shadow, walking near Epona and closing her robe with magic, to give the impression she rode the entire time with the swordsman.

The village seemed livelier since the last she saw it. Midna remembered that most of the inhabitants had either fled or been killed by the Twilight monsters. Now there wasn't just Gorons, but humans as well and even a few Zora. The railings at the cliffs had been converted into platforms which crossed the entire village. Remembering what this local was also famous for, she decided that after finding the material she would take a bath in the hot spring. She hadn't been able to do so when she was in her cursed form.

A tall, tan-skinned man, wearing an Indian-looking, ceremonial robe approached the two. At his side walked a girl with leveled hair and clothes with the same Indian resemblance. Link dismounted Epona and greeted Renado, bowing to the shaman, who returned the gesture.

"It's good to see you again Link, though I must say I'm quite surprised you came back so soon.". Renado then noticed Midna. "Oh, and you brought a friend with you, I see."

Midna took a step forward and presented herself to the shaman. The two had the same height so their eyes were level as they greeted. Renado noticed her exotic features and bluish skin, but decided not to talk about it. It wouldn't be very polite of him to inquire about the others' appearance. He then looked from the blue-skinned woman to Link.

"May I ask what brings you here?"

"Of course. Let's just go to someplace that isn't so crowded.", Link said, meaning the town around, which was bustling with workers walking from building to building, carrying materials and tools. Though most of the city had been repaired in the last year, some buildings needed special care and an entire work-hand to restore it. Renado nodded and said they could talk at the sanctuary. "Do you care to wait here, Midna?", Link asked the Twilight Princess.

"Don't worry. I know how to take care of myself.", she said.

Link then walked away with the shaman to the sanctuary at the south of the village, near the spring of the Light Spirit. Midna stayed looking at him, when she felt a tug on the left of her robe. Looking down she saw it was Luda, Renado's daughter. The girl looked at her, taking in every detail of her garments and face.

"You're quite different, even from the travelers that came here.", Luda commented. Different from her father, she couldn't just hold her curiosity. "Are you from some other distant land?"

"You could say that.", the Twili woman said. "So... do you mind showing me around?"

"Are you sure Link won't be worried?", Luda asked, looking to the sanctuary at the other side of the village.

"Don't worry. I know how to tame that beast.", Midna said, with a smirk and a wink, though Luda didn't understand why the tall, adult woman gave emphasis to the word "beast". "Besides, I'm the one babysitting him around." ,the Twilight Princess said, with a chuckle in her voice.

Luda looked confused. The exotic woman said she would explain that while they walked around the village.

The daughter of the shaman showed to the adult Twili the reformed buildings, the new sites they were constructing and even the original Malo Mart. Midna never understood how a tiny child like Malo could own his own business, let alone be successful with it.

I swear, some times I just can't understand these humans., the Twilight Princess thought. However, she decided to buy a jewel with a transparent crystal she saw on it.

By the time Luda had shown her around the village, including some spots Midna already knew, they walked back to the salience in the mountain that gave access to the road to Death Mountain. Link and Renado where already there, waiting for them. The Indian-looking man spoke:

"Link has already told me about what you seek in Death Mountain. The Gorons know the path to the heart of the mountain, so you might speak with the elders."

"No problem. Let's go Link.", the tall woman said, passing the swordsman and entering the path to the village of the mountain people.

- - - - -

"A little help here?", Link asked, while he tried to climb one of the nets that replaced the broken ladders, which gave access to the higher parts of the mountain. They hadn't been repaired after all this time, so the climb was still as difficult as it was when he first came here.

"Oh, c'mon. What are you, a muffin? Stop whining and show me what you're made of.", Midna teased from her position at the top of the cliff. She had her long robe open again and easily climbed by floating over the cliff.

Link grumbled a few more times before he started climbing again. The Twilight Princess giggled from her position. How could she have forgetten how funny it was to tease the Hero like that? She would always input some taunt when the swordsman couldn't think over some situation or pass some obstacle and that would make him even more determined to show her he wasn't a pussy cat. The most amusing part was that he actually got over the obstacle after that.

When the green clad swordsman tried to put his foot in one of the ropes that formed the net, it snapped and he would have fallen if it wasn't for the fact that he was holding the ropes above with his hand. He looked to the ground below. Falling that high wouldn't kill him, but it would make his back hurt like hell. He looked to the Twili woman at the edge of the cliff again, pleading with her to give him some help.

Midna sighed at Link's pitiful look to her. Did he get so rusty and whiny after she left? An idea then came to her: she would pull her "Ultimate Man Taunt" (which she especially guarded to use on her heroic, best friend).

"Alright, I'll help you. Only a true man could climb this cliff, anyway.", the Twilight Princess said with a smile at the corner of her mouth and a sly look.

Link bit his lips at hearing that. Did she just say what he thought she said? If there was something about his manly nature he couldn't escape, it was to prove he was strong enough when a woman provoked him about his capacity. Regaining strength that he had left him way back in his first adventure, he quickly grabbed another rope and started to climb very fast, arriving shortly soon at the top of the cliff.

The hero of the Twilight panted once he got up and felt a pat at his back. Looking to his side, he saw it was Midna, who was with a sweet smile on her lips. The Twilight Princess said:

"There. See? It wasn't so difficult now, was it?", he shot a dirty look at her instead of replying. Midna ignored him and continued to walk forward.

The two soon arrived at the section of the mountain where the Goron Village was. The local hadn't changed a bit since the last time the Twili woman saw it. There were Gorons walking around and some others rolling down the mountain.

"Ok, now remember Midna: they never saw you. So you should act with the least of...", Link tried to explain, but when he looked to his side his companion was gone. Looking forward, he saw she was already going to the lower entrance which gave access to the elevator to the city.

"Are you coming or not?", Midna turned and asked, motioning for her swordsman friend to come.

What is the problem with this woman?!, Link thought, going after her.

The two then entered the cave where the elevator to the upper level of the village was. Link quickly changed to his Iron Boots and stepped the switch. The elevator went up slowly. The hero chosen by the goddesses decided to talk to his friend while they waited:

"So... how do you still... well, stay solid?", Midna looked to him with a confused look. "I mean, before Zelda saved you, you could just stay around like a shadow. I thought after you gave the energy back to her you would turn back to it."

Midna thought about that for a moment. She didn't remember much about what happened after she returned Zelda's vital energy, just that she fought Ganondorf's flaming head using the Fused Shadows. After that, she couldn't remember anything. She remembered being in a pitch black space and then the Light Spirits appeared and brought her back to Hyrule, saying she had done a great favor for the Light World.

"I don't know.", Midna said. "Maybe it's some kind of blessing the goddess gave me for helping you."

They stayed quiet after that and the elevator arrived at its destiny. Link was the first to leave and saw Darbus and Gor Coron talking near the entrance to the Goron Mines. When the two saw their sworn brother they stopped talking and greeted the Hero:

"Hello, brother Link. What brings you here?", Gor Coron asked. "And who is the young lady with you?", he asked when he noticed Midna.

"I'm Midna. Nice to meet you.", the tall woman said, shotting a look to her green clad friend which said "see? They recognize a lady when they see one."

Link just grunted at that. Unfortunately, he didn't saw Darbus' great hand coming to tap his back with a strength fitting for the massive Goron, which resulted in the Hero going right to the ground. The Goron patriarch laughed at the Hero before saying:

"Still the same from the last time I saw you, huh young warrior? So what do you and your mate want?", Link immediately got up at that.

"We're not a couple!", Link and Midna said at the same time. They looked to each other when they noticed they had said the same thing at the same time and then looked away, blushing.

"Yeah, we see it.", Gor Coron said, with a smile on his face.

Deciding to put that part of the conversation aside, Link explained to them about the material they were seeking and the shield they wanted to repair. Midna showed the two leaders of the Goron tribe the inheritance of her tribe's Founder-King. The elder and patriarch of the mountain people took a closer look to the equipment.

Gor Coron put a hand under his chin, thoughtfully. Darbus scratched his stone beard, also thinking. Link and Midna exchanged looks at the expressions of the two Gorons. Would they believe their story and help? After what seemed some minutes, Darbus spoke:

"This shield is indeed a product of one of our ancient Apprentices.", Midna was about to ask what they meant with that when Gor Coron answered her unspoken question.

"There was a time when the humans and even some of the Zoras came to our tribe, seeking our knowledge about mining and processing metals. We taught them, but once they started to use our knowledge to forge weapons to war, we decided we would just teach those who proved to be worth and would make weapons not to war against each other, but to fight to protect their own people. The one that made this shield was probably one of those who were approved."

Gor Coron then explained that the human blacksmiths who existed today were apprentices of those their tribe trained in the past, thought they weren't as skillful as the ones the Gorons taught. The elder could see the shield was really old and was forged using their best arts, which means the one that made it should have been a sworn brother of the Gorons to have such knowledge about forging.

All that information added one more thing to Midna's "What-the-books-don't-tell-of-our-Founder-Kings" list. She knew there were many things Veris, Aeris and Orious didn't tell to the Twili, since it wasn't essential for them to know and some knowledge from that time was lost when they were banished to the Twilight Realm. She knew that, although the Twili had directly defied the King of Hyrule, her ancestors maintained a rather pacifist relationship with the other tribes, who recognized and even supported their attempts to protect the people who were being harmed by those senseless wars (though some of them also saw that as way to weaken the Hylians).

"Okay, anyway we need to fix it.", Link said, calling their attention back to the matter at hand. "We need an ore that there's only in the volcano of the mountain to repair the shield.", at that line, both Gorons looked to Link with worried expressions.

"You want to go to the heart of the mountain?", Darbus spoke. "Ha! You're very brave indeed little man, but that won't save you in that place. The Crater is very hot, even for us Gorons."

"Darbus is right. A common human would only last a few minutes before be burned alive.", Gor Coron stated.

Link gulped at the thought. He knew for a fact that Gorons were highly resistants to heat. If these two, who he took by being the strongest from their tribe, were saying that place was hot even for them, then he didn't want to know what it would do to him. However, before he could speak, Midna said:

"Don't worry about us. I have an equipment that enables us to survive even if we were only centimeters from molten lava.", the three males looked to her, surprise written all over their faces.

"Sounds like one of our tunics...", Gor Coron whispered, putting again a hand under his chin and then nodding. "Alright then. Darbus will lead you to the entrance of the Crater. The ore you want is in an underground maze which the entrance can only be accessed from there. I wish you good luck."

Link was about to say something when Darbus motioned for him and Midna to come. The Twilight Princess followed the leader of the mountain people while Gor Coron walked away, leaving the Hero almost alone at the hall with his mouth still open.

"Great... another dungeon...", Link sighed, following Midna and Darbus to out of the hall.

The three walked down the steel path, passing the hole and the path dug in the rock. When they arrived at the end of the path, Darbus turned to the left side of the mountain, staring at the plain rock wall. The swordsman and the princess also stopped, looking around for some kind of entrance, but they saw nothing. When the two were about to ask, the patriarch of the Goron tribe rammed his knuckle into the wall, startling the two.

The hand of the massive Goron entered the rock and cracks started to spread from the hole he made. Soon, a section of the wall collapsed, revealing a tunnel, which Link and Midna could see a red light in the end.

"This will take you right to the heart of the mountain. Be careful there.", Darbus was about to go when Link asked.

"Why don't you just give us the material we need? Don't you have it in storage?"

"Unfortunately not. There was a time our tribe used to mine in the Crater, but something happened and we sealed it. Don't ask me what it was, I just know it happened long ago before any of us born, but by the smell, I can say there's something down below.", with that, Darbus curled into a big ball and rolled up the path.

Link and Midna could even guess what it should be. The two then started to the tunnel. After moving only a short distance, they felt the temperature increasing. The Hero then decided it was time to ask his friend about the equipment she said she had.

The two stopped and Midna closed her eyes, stretching her hands forward and muttering words in a language Link assumed to be Twili. An eerie, white aura appeared around her and extended, engulfing the hero chosen by the goddess. The aura started to be absorbed by his body and the green clad swordsman felt the heat wearing down, being replaced by a refreshing sensation.

The aura then disappeared, leaving an admired-looking Link. The Twilight Princess smiled when he asked what spell that was.

"I put up a barrier which will lower the temperature of the air around us, so our bodies won't incinerate from the heat. It will last enough time for us to get that ore and exit." she said.

The two continued through the rest of the tunnel and arrived at what indeed looked like a volcanic crater. They were on a stone platform and below them there was a cliff, and at the bottom, lave boiled and shot pillars of fire up, looking like geysers. The smell of sulfur was intoxicating, almost unbearable, but Midna quickly cast another spell which would purify the air around their faces. Even through the barrier, Link could feel some heat.

"Ok... I think I'll rephrase what I said: let's find that ore quickly and get out of here.", the Twili woman commented, looking to the lava below them. "It's hotter than I thought. The time of the barrier will be considerately reduced in a place like this."

"Well, maybe it's because we're in a volcano.", the Hero said, sarcastically.

"C'mon, do I look like some volcano fan? And for your information, mister Hero, there aren't things like this in Twilight Realm, so we never got a really hot place to test this barrier.", the female magician said in a stern voice.

"Anyway, let's go. I can see a salience at the other side of the crater..."