The Legend of Midna: Call of the Twilight

Chapter 7

"This has to end!" shouted Rayn, blocking an incoming attack with his shield, then loping off the head of a Stalfos knight. "We have to find their leader and end this once and for all!"

The army had regrouped in time to hold off the incoming tide of monsters, but things were not faring well; for every soldier that fell, a Stalfos knight appeared near enemy lines, joining the battle without hesitation. Zelda sidestepped a Wolfos and brought it crashing to the ground with a single slice of her sword. "You're right, Rayn! Knights of Hyrule, to me!" she cried. Sword swinging, golden hair flowing in the wind, she joined the fray. Rayn watched her for a moment as she cleaved two Wolfos with a single strike, then whirled to catch the keese sneaking up on her from behind.

She's a goddess, he thought, racing to join her. She's my goddess, and I'm her knight. With that thought in mind he fought alongside his princess, cutting down anything that she missed as they moved slowly but surely through the enemy lines. They fought in perfect unison, engaged in a fiery dance of death, nothing but action and reaction filling their thoughts as they continued their relentless assault. Zelda sent the head of a bulbin flying as Rayn stabbed at a Wolfos sneaking up from behind.

"Rayn?" panted Zelda, impaling a dark beast on her sword.

"Your Majesty?" he mumbled, staggering to his left as he struck a bat with the dull part of his blade. The fighting was wearing them out, a seemingly endless supply of reinforcements rushing up to fill the gaps made by their fallen comrades.

"Duck!" yelled the princess, notching a light arrow to her bow and firing it off as the commander dropped to the ground. The arrow left a shining trail of light, the monsters closest to them disintigrating as the light overwhelmed them. She fired off two more and pulled Rayn to his feet. "Come on!" Strapping the bow to her back, she ran down the monsterless path created by her Light Arrows, Rayn and the remnants of the army right behind her.

"What were those?" demanded Rayn, ignoring the burning sensation in his arms as Zelda dragged him along.

"Light Arrows, granted to me by the Spirits of Light in my hour of need," she replied, then pointed at a lone black figure at the top of the hill. "That must be their leader." As the princess began to run towards the figure the commander called her name. "Zelda, wait!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "I'm surprised, Rayn... this is the first time you've ever called me by my first name..." And perhaps, she thought, the beginning of a true relationship.

The commander looked down at his feet. "Forgive me, Princess, but... I wanted you to know something, lest I fall in battle protecting you today-"

But Zelda was shaking her head. "Do not say such things! I will not hear of it!"

Rayn ignored her. "Zelda, I-" He gulped. His courage during battle had left him; suddenly he wished he hadn't said anything.

"Rayn, can this wait...?" she asked urgently, drawing her sword. The commander nodded, wiping the blood on his own sword on the grass and steeling himself for the battles ahead. Despite his mangled shield and weary body, he was ready to protect her, no matter the cost.

Eyes shining with determination, he looked at his goddess. "All right, Zelda. Shall we?"

She smiled back at him. "We shall."

------

Atop the hill the cloaked man watched as the Princess of Light and her ever faithful warrior slowly advanced towards his position. "You amuse me," he whispered, his blood red eyes narrowing as he watched them fight.

"And you amuse us." The man whirled around to find the five Sages glowing with energy. "Do you really believe that we would let you do what you wished with Hyrule, villain?"

The man laughed as five multicolored beams streaked out of the Sages' bodies towards him. When they came within an inch of his face he brought up his hand, effortlessly absorbing the rays.

"What?! How?!" cried the Sage of Light. Within seconds black tendrils had pierced through the Sages, holding them in their spots.

"Did you really think you could oppose me with such pitiful magic? Sages you may be, but your power is insignificant to the dark magic of the void!" He drew a glowing symbol in the air and watched with satisfaction as the Sages turned to ash, their white masks tumbling to the ground in a heap. Zelda and Rayn charged up the hill, stopping as they saw the remains of the Sages on the ground. Zelda glared at the cloaked man.

"You! You killed the Sages; you're responsible for this entire catastrophe!"

The commander was shocked by the venom in his princess' voice, but stayed silent.

"What of it?" asked the leader of the monsters, looking at the back of his hand. "They were hardly a challenge for me. Pathetic fools that thought they could defeat me..."

Rayn's face hardened. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I... am Majora, sorcerer of the Twilight!" Majora threw off his cloak. Between his sinister spiked armor, pale blue skin, pure white hair, and razor sharp whips, he was a terrifying sight indeed.

"Majora... you're a mask!" shouted Zelda, dumbfounded. The sorcerer threw his head back and laughed, sending chills down the princess' spine.

"Do I look like a mask?" he replied, unfurling his whips and cracking them experimentally. Rayn stepped in front of Zelda, shield raised.

"I don't care who or what you are, but you will not harm the princess," he growled. Majora snorted and motioned to the left. An invisible wall struck Rayn, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there.

"You're out of your league, boy," snarled the sorcerer, and turned his attention to Zelda. The princess fixed her sapphire eyes on him. For all his power and might Majora took a step backwards, frightened of what he saw in those cold pools of blue.

"You've crossed the line," she said quietly, her voice brimming with anger. She tossed aside her sword as the Triforce of Wisdom resonated within her, granting her access to the formidable power housed in the ancient relic of the gods. Majora watched calmly as Zelda closed her eyes and was enveloped in blue fire.

"How is it someone as pathetic as you wields something as powerful as the Triforce of Wisdom?" he asked idly, even as streams of blue fire lanced towards him. He did nothing as the fire encased him from head to toe and swirled around him, a raging cyclone of fire. Then, with a single puff, he blew the fire out.

"That... was amusing..." said Majora, chuckling as he twirled and lashed out with his whips.

"Nayru's Love!" cried Zelda, a large blue crystal appearing around her and fending off the lethal weapons. Majora attacked again and again, growing increasingly frustrated as each blow failed to breach the crystal.

"You can't keep up that spell forever, Princess," said Majora. Using magic now would ruin his fun toying with the wench that thought she could wield the power of the Goddesses. No, he'd let this drag on a little longer before ending the fight.

"You're right. I can't," came voices from behind him. Knowing exactly what he would find, Majora spun his whips in a circle, catching the Zeldas behind him off guard. They scattered, diving to the left and right as they brought their powers to bear.

"Impressive. Identical copies," said the sorcerer, sarcasm dripping off of his words. He flicked a whip in one direction, catching a replica's foot and pulling it out from under her. She fell, landing on top of an icicle that had sprouted seconds before the replica of the princess had landed.

"Correct," said the real Zelda from inside her crystal, motioning for her remainin copies to attack. Each one slammed their hand on the ground, creating four bubbles of fire that raced to consume Majora. Hurriedly Zelda created a barrier around Rayn and her army, sparing them from the wrath of Din's Fire. She stared, openmouthed, as Majora brought the fire under control, rolling it into a ball between his hands. He popped it into his mouth and swallowed.

"Ah, there's nothing quite like the fire of the Goddesses," he said, a smirk on his pale blue face. In the light it seemed almost white, but not even the brightness of his skin could mask the darkness beneath the surface. The princess stared at him in disbelief.

"You're insane," she said. Despite all her efforts nothing seemed to phase the sorcerer; the energy required to keep up this level of magic was wearing away at her already exhausted body. A few more spells and I won't even be able to move, she thought, smashing into the wellspring of magic held within the Triforce of Wisdom and dredging up more of its power.

"I'm growing tired of this..." Majora yawned and spun his whips around again, slicing the copies of the princess in a single motion. Raising his hand, a giant black bolt of lightning shot out of his glowing palm and smashed into the crystal, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Zelda fell to her knees, exhausted, as Majora approached her. The princess brought her sword up, swinging wildly at Majora, but he blocked the incoming blow easily and coiled one whip around her sword, tugging it out of her grasp and flicking it away effortlessly. Rayn watched helplessly as the sorcerer drew back a whip to strike.

No! The commander lashed out against the power that bound him to the ground with every bit of strength he could muster. It shattered; he quickly got to his feet and sprinted towards his princess. Time seemed to slow as Majora brought his whip downwards in a sweeping motion. Rayn dived in front of Zelda, shield raised; the whip glanced off his shield and onto the ground. Those eyes filled with determination fixed themselves upon the sorcerer. "I told you, you will not harm her, Majora."

To his surprise the Twilian lowered his whips. "Disgusting. You would sacrifice yourself for her?" Majora turned and opened a portal to the void, tossing them in with a wave of his hand. "No, neither of you deserve to die. You deserve to suffer for all eternity within the void! Watch as your precious land is engulfed in darkness!"

-------

Within the void, Zelda looked at the commander gratefully. "You saved my life, though I do not know what good that will do here..." She motioned at the darkness surrounding them. A single window to Hyrule was barred, only allowing them to watch as each province was plunged into darkness. Only the Ordona and Faron Provinces remained unscathed, but for what reason, Zelda knew not. Tearing her eyes away from the window, she looked at Rayn. "You wished to tell me something before... what was it?"

He swallowed and looked at his princess. It was not how he had imagined he'd tell her, but the Goddesses obviously had different plans. "Princess..." he began, but Zelda stopped him.

"Titles mean nothing here. I would rather have you call me by my first name, Rayn..."

"All right. Zelda, I... love you more than anything else in Hyrule. It's the reason I wanted to resign; men died because I did not want to place you in danger..." Rayn watched as she walked towards him. Rayn held his breath as she studied him, her face an inch away from his. "You've told me you love me... but you never asked me that question, Rayn."

The commander looked into her eyes. "Do I want to know the answer?"

She said nothing.

Rayn nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "All right. Zelda... do you love me?"

For an answer she kissed him softly. As she pulled away he said, "Oh. So that's why..."

They kissed again because, for once, there was nothing else left to do.

-------

He ran on all fours, every muscle in his body burning as he raced onwards. Paws aching, his fur drenched by the rain, Link could not stop running. Midna's breathing was shallow; it seemed as if she would not last another minute, yet she hung on. The imp gave a small cough. "L...link... h... hurry..." she said weakly. The wolf nudged her with his nose and sped up, hoping he wasn't too late. Suddenly the burden on his back increased and he crashed to the ground with a strangled howl. He quickly climbed to his feet and turned to scoop Midna onto his back. What met his eyes was not the imp, but Midna in her true form, unmoving, her body splayed on the ground like a forgotten rag doll. Link let out an anguished howl and licked her face.

Wake up, Midna! Don't die! he thought.

"She won't wake." Red eyes stared at him from the darkness. The wolf growled.

"And neither will you, wolf." A whip lashed out of the shadows and caught Link around the neck. He twisted and turned, attempting to break free, but could not. As the life drained from his limbs, the last thing he heard was a chilling laugh -

Link awoke, gasping for breath as his heart hammered away in his chest. Midna opened one bleary eye and gazed at him, concerned.

"Nothing's wrong. It was just a bad dream, go back to sleep," he assured her as he got out of bed. "I'm going for a walk." Grabbing his sword and shield in case something attacked, he walked out of the small house and into the cool night air. Link blinked and reached for his sword, for the golden wolf sat just outside the door, patiently waiting as the hero readied himself. When the wolf deemed him ready he leaped towards Link; without a sound the two vanished in a flash of light.

------

"Awaken, Hero of Twilight."

Link rose to his feet and looked around. The Stalfos warrior stood in the center of his place among the clouds; it was here he had learned the skills of a swordsman, the skills needed to survive throughout his travels. "What will you teach me now? You yourself said that you had nothing more to pass on," said Link, curious. The shade shook his head.

"I have taught you all I know. I am here for another, far more important reason. You know of the sorcerer Majora, do you not?"

Link nodded. "What of him? He's still contained in that mask."

But the warrior was shaking his head. "No. I'm afraid you're wrong." If skeletons could sigh, the hero was sure the shade would have. "Before you can understand what I am about to tell you, you must know who I am..." The stalfos began to shimmer and fade away, replaced by a near carbon copy of Link, wearing a green tunic and holding a phantom Master Sword in his left hand. "I am... I was... the Hero of Time."

Link's eyes widened in shock. "You're... the legendary hero?! You never said -"

The Hero of Time shrugged. "It wasn't necessary for you to know who I was; only that you learn the skills." His face visibly darkened. "And now... my greatest failure has come back to haunt my descendants."

"What do you mean?"

The Hero of Time was pacing now, refusing to look at Link. "I cannot tell this story in words, but I will give you my memories; use them as you will."

The Hero of Twilight began to ask what he meant when memories of battles fought and won, of a falling moon and doomed townspeople, of a fairy named Tatl, of transformations and songs of great power, and of a Skull Kid's grave folly rushed into his head, all seeking acceptance. Link gasped and fought to keep himself standing, holding his head as the battles against Majora's Mask were revealed to him. As the flow of memories finally subsided Link looked at the Hero of Time in a new light. "You did all that by yourself; you have nothing to regret, legendary hero."

The shade looked out at the endless sea of clouds. "I do. You saw what happened; I assumed Majora was dead. I failed to see his spirit escaping his earthly prison. I was the one who released Majora from his mask, and yet it is you who must defeat him..." The shade reverted to his Stalfos form. "My spirit cannot rest until Majora has been destroyed, utterly and completely. Go now, Hero of Twilight, and grant this old hero his final wish of eternal rest."

Link touched his sword to the Hero of Time's own blade. "I will."

As Link faded away, reappearing in Garo Village, the shade's final words echoed in his mind. "Remember that no matter what happens, you will always return to the twilight... O Twilight King."