He didn't sleep for nearly as long as last time, for only a few hours passed before he came to. That's when she took the opportunity to create the portal she couldn't earlier.

"This will teleport you back to Faron Spring, so be thankful that I have that power!" She exclaimed when she was sure that he was fully awake.

"There's no way out of this. Maybe I am destined to die in this gray world of twilight. Maybe this is my last crusade in Hyrule, now that I am trapped in this place." Zelda said to herself back in Hyrule Castle. "I will sing until the day I die. That will be my promise if I will die in this place under the rule of Zant." She began to sing to herself.

"The Hero

of Ancient Legend

will come to save us from danger.

He will pull

the Master Sword and

travel seven years in time...

I've waited seven years,

trapped in a sheik disguise,

there to teach Link the skills he needed..."

Zelda stood there, singing, and paused for a moment. "Yes, this will be my theme. There is more, but that's for another time, I guess. Being the goddess reborn is really a pain!" Zant burst in through the door as she finished talking to herself.

"What is that horrid noise?! It sounds like someone is dying in here!"

"Zant, it's only singing. Haven't you ever heard of it? Hadn't Midna sang to herself before? You need to learn quite a bit."

"Speaking of dying, though, Tomorrow's the day you die, Hylia, so say your prayers and hope you get lucky or something. Not likely though. Ha! I will finally rule the universe, and assume my proper role as King of Shadow!" He left the room laughing again. Zelda stood there and continued singing, hoping Link would hear. Her song had special effects if used right.

"Link...hero chosen by the goddesses…leave these woods and go west, where you will find the lands guarded by the spirit Eldin… There you will find those you seek. Midna…you must prepare yourself for the dangers that lie ahead…protect Link as much as you can…but also protect yourself… In Hyrule, danger spreads as quickly…as the evil of twilight…" Faron said to Link and Midna as they were warped back to the spring. Link looked up to the sky.

"What is it, Link? Is something wrong? Or are you daydreaming again?" He signaled her to listen. "...Singing? Is that it?" She paused to listen more. "Zelda! That's Zelda singing the song!" She looked over to see that Link nearly fainted. "Um…are you alright? You don't look so good. Is it that stupid plant, stupid wolf?"

"Midna, hush…he is remembering from a past lifetime." The spirit told her.

"What? Which one?"

"The Era of the Hero of Time. Princess Zelda is singing of her past life in that time, and it is triggering something in him… You must remain silent while this happens, so he can fully interpret it… Something can happen in the future if he can fully comprehend these messages…"

"That...doesn't make any sense."

"You'll find out what he sees eventually."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You'll find out eventually what he sees…"

They remained quiet for what seemed like hours when the song finally ended and Link returned to his current lifetime. He looked a little pale from what he had remembered.

"Heroic Link… You must hurry to Eldin… He is waiting for you…" The spirit disappeared. Midna looked back at him when she was sure the spirit was gone.

"So...what did you see, wolf?"

He said nothing. He didn't even seem to notice she had said anything.

"Aren't you going to say anything? I haven't heard you talk since we met."

Still he said nothing. She soon became irritable all over again and gave him a harsh slap in the face.

"Say something already!"

He looked away from her, down to the ground, and closed his eyes. She could've sworn she saw a tear escape his lashes and fall to the ground, but she wasn't sure.

"...You can't talk, can you? Or do you just want to ignore me? I order you to talk right now! What did you see?!"

He sighed and started heading toward a new destination, where they had to go, according to the Light Spirit.

"Don't ignore me!" She wasn't in his shadow at that time, so he was ahead of her. No matter how much he tried to hide it, she could hear light but ragged breaths, an obvious sign that he was trying to conceal soft crying, but was failing miserably.

"If you're going to hide crying, you better start practicing!" Before she finished, he had disappeared. "Get back here!" She screamed to what would seem like nobody as she dashed in the direction he had gone.

Soon enough, she was in a place known as Hyrule Field, a vast landscape filled with wildlife and danger. Midna could feel the power of twilight getting stronger the more she traveled westward. She could almost smell the evil that has threatened to cover all of Hyrule.

No matter where she looked, she couldn't find Link. In those few minutes, he had traveled far. She listened intently for any sign of his heartbeat, a trait she had acquired with her long, Hylian-like ears.

At first she could hear nothing but the sounds of wildlife. She listened closer, and after a few minutes, she picked up the faint, distant sound. He was in the wooded section of the field, she assumed from the distance.

Faster than ever, she made a mad dash toward where she picked up the sound from. She darted in and out through the trees once she drew near. Since she was a shadow, she didn't have to worry about crashing. She eventually caught up to him, as he wasn't moving nearly as fast as usual. Other than depression, she knew there was something else wrong with him.

"How dare you run away from me like that?!" She raised her voice, but didn't yell at him this time, as she noticed he wasn't looking the best. Just the expression he wore on his face made her ease up a little. But she still didn't want him to rest, as he still had a job to do for her.

"You're wasting time, you know. Time to go."

they quickly made their way to Eldin Province, where the evil lies. Who knows what they will find once they're in? They had never been there before, or so Midna thought, but they had to save the spirit first, then explore. But sooner than they expected, they were at the entrance to the twilight covered West Hyrule. The Curtain of Twilight was more detailed in the orange glowing patterning then they last remembered. Midna could translate it to: Princess of the Twilight Realm… Hero of Time… In this land you will find many dangers… Turn back now, or forever be lost in the depths of the evil twilight… She wouldn't tell Link what it said, because that would probably make him turn back right away. It would also blow her cover, as she didn't intend to reveal her identity yet. Instead, she said her usual Curtain of Twilight thing.

"Link, look. The Hyrule you were yet to discover…it's now covered in twilight. You may not come back here for some time, but do you still want to go?" Link nodded, still in a bit of a daze. "Suit yourself. One more thing. You will revert back to wolf form for some time the moment you enter, at least as long as it takes for you to save this little part of Hyrule. Well, I'm going to let you in now. I will be right back." Midna faded through the wall of twilight and, with her giant hand, once again pulled him through the wall, him screaming the whole way. She knows just what to do to give him a heart attack.

Once inside, like Midna said, he reverted to his old wolf form. Midna landed on top of his back. "That's a good little doggy! now you will have to do exactly what I say from now on instead of acting like I am only a shadow! Now, you will need to find Eldin, wherever he is. Just look for a giant floating ball of dust, OK? Good, now let's get a move on. We don't have much time."

There were a few Twilit monsters along the way, similar to the one he first encountered, but these were easier to defeat, so he didn't have much trouble.

In no time, Link and Midna found Kakariko Village, an old place infested with twilight. Eldin was just up ahead, and they rushed to him. Just like the last spirit, it looked like a ball of dust. He slowly walked over to the dying spirit in the spring. They couldn't tell, but it was looking right at them the whole time.

"Hurry…there is no time to talk…find my tears of light…and put them in this…" Once again, Link got a vessel of light, which could store the lost light once again. "Be careful…the darkness…now hunts you…"

Many of the Tears of Light were in Kakariko Village itself, but a few of them were in Death Mountain, a place of danger, for the Gorons, a rather primitive species, dwell there, but just like the other light dwellers, they are spirits without the light. Soon, Eldin Province will be ridden of twilight, just like Faron Province, and the Gorons they will have to fight if they are to get the second Fused Shadow for Midna. Eventually, they got all of them in the village, so it's off to Death Mountain with them. Along the way, they found many spirits that revealed themselves to be Gorons. They were the guards that kept the humans from trespassing on their land. Their mines are a spiritual place of worship, and they didn't want anyone to go in and destroy it. They had even locked someone in there for safety from the evil that had taken over it's mind and transformed it.

"Go get the last one and stop the wandering around. It's right there!" Midna screamed at Link. "You seem like you're getting dumber by the second. Get a move on and stop it with the stupidness!" Link started to snarl at Midna, and she simply smacked him in the face. He was sent reeling back and running in circles. Who knew she could hit so hard? "Stop it right now! See that giant glowing thingy? Grab that!"

In truth, Link wasn't getting dumber. He was thinking about the song he heard Zelda singing from the castle. Some of his past was coming back to him, and it made him uneasy. He collected the last tear and restored the light to Eldin Province. Midna again seeped back into Link's shadow, thinking he was really stupid. When did she have the right to criticize him for protecting himself, when she was the one who was putting him in so much danger?

They were back at the spirit's spring, and it started to glow as the spirit was coming out. This one looked like a giant bird, instead of the monkey they saw as Faron.

"I am Eldin, protector of this land and it's people. The dark power you seek…it lies in the mines protected by the proud Gorons…but they have changed. The land has been seeded with evil…and the Gorons have forbidden human outsiders from ever entering the lands…and those who enter are captured and beaten mercilessly… You must go and convince them…that you are on their side…as well as the rest of the humans…" Eldin told them.

The spirit disappeared into the air, and there, standing by the nearest house, was the shaman of the village, as well as the bomb salesman, the shaman's daughter, and the village kids! Colin, Talo, Malo, Beth, and Ilia were all there, and they all ran to see Link, since they haven't seen him in over a year. Midna felt as though she should introduce herself, but she couldn't for secret reasons regarding her origin and what would happen. So she stayed in Link's shadow and rolled her eyes as she saw up close who these kids were. She thought they were pretty ugly and wondered how Link could ever love them.

Link looked toward the Goron Mines as the kids were crowding him in wonder of how he would get through it, seeing that it was heavily guarded by giant Gorons, and it's filled with lava that would kill him in an instant if he fell in it. So he would have to be extremely careful not to fall in, and he would also have to get a metal shield if he were to survive the attacks in there. So he went to the store that was conveniently close and bought a Hylian Shield, which will never burn because it's metal, when the kids were done telling their story. They also wondered where he got his tunic from, but he wouldn't tell them. They had developed a language they could understand with the rest of the village so he could communicate with them. He felt as though he was ready to go in there, but first he would have to get back up the mountain trail, and who knows how mean the Goron at the entrance is. Maybe he could stop it if it charged at him the same way he did back in Ordon Village when goats escaped. He started heading towards the trail to climb up. But he was stopped by the shaman, who introduced himself as Renado.

"Link...you look hurt. If you are to go up there, at least let me treat those wounds of yours."

He was reminded of the Deku Baba that bit him in the neck and the spider that got his sword arm when he mentioned it. That was when the pain hit once again. He did his best to conceal it, as Midna taught him. So he shook his head in assurance that he was fine and continued up the trail.

When he got there, the Goron was standing there, as he was in the twilight. But this time, he was a human and the Goron could hurt him, so he thought he could sneak past him so he wouldn't have to deal with it. But it spotted him anyway.

"Hey! No humans allowed! This land ahead belongs to the Goron Tribe, the elder said no humans are to be let in!" The Goron yelled ahead at Link and rolled up to charge at him. Link got into proper stance so he could stop the incoming Goron, but as he grabbed it, the pain intensified, his feet started slipping, and he fell down the cliffside to the ground below.

"Give it up! You can never match the strength of the Gorons! You hear me? Then away with you!" The Goron walked away, back into his original spot. He did nothing but lay there on the ground for some time, and Midna then came back out of his shadow.

"What are you doing? You have to use strategy to beat it! You can't herd a Goron, dummy! Look, just try to ask for help from the others back in the village. Maybe that shaman can help you. He did seem to know quite a bit about them, so you should ask him first. At least, that's what I suggest." Midna said to him. She slipped back into his shadow to let him decide. She was a little nicer than usual at that point, and it made him wonder. After catching his breath, he went back to the village to find the shaman, but he was already at the entrance to the Death Mountain trail. He told Link that challenging the Gorons would be life threatening, but he knew someone by the name of Bo, in other words, the mayor of Ordon Village. He said Link should go back there to tell him of what is going on, and to tell him that the kids are alright. He also asked if he was sure he would go without letting him tend to his injuries, and he nodded once again.

"Told you he knew what to do." Midna said from his shadow. "Now, what's this about this secret that the mayor had to defeating the Gorons? Maybe you should find out! After all, you do want to survive to the finish, right?"

Midna, why were you so mean before, then all of a sudden you're so nice?

"I'm glad you asked that, whoever keeps talking to me. That is something you'll find out later. Just go do what you have to do." Midna said back to him. Maybe I'm being too nice right now… I should probably start back up with the strict attitude again, but what's with him that's so familiar in a way? I feel as though he's special in a way. Not as Mr. Important Hero, but as someone truly special to me.

Link was going to go back to the village the same way he came to Kakariko, by walking. He knew that would probably at least take a few days or so. But then his horse, Epona, came out of nowhere, and atop her back were two Moblins looking to seize it, but they lost control and fell off. She started charging at Link full speed, since she was still hyped up about being ridden by someone other than him. Link was excited to see his mound at first, but when she didn't stop running, dodged out of the way and tried to climb up on top of her, but she thought it was another monster and started running around like crazy. Eventually, he fell off of her, as she was too fast and out of control. Midna slipped out when nobody was looking.

"Link, you just had her! What is wrong with you? Didn't you know that you have to follow her movements as she runs like that? Next time, get up on her and lean toward where she is going, then seize her when she stops. Got that?"

Link nodded, and ran up to Epona to jump back on, and she reared up and started running again, but this time, he was expecting it and held on as tight as he could, and he followed her movements as Midna told him to do. He was able to hang on with her and when she stopped to rear up again, he seized her, taking full control once again.

"Hmm. I guess you're not too bad of a wrangler after all. Well, at least we can get this sidequest over with faster with Epona. Let's get the mayor to help us." Midna said to Link.

It took a while, at least a day, but they made it to the village, all the way back across three fields and through the woods and across the trail leading to the village. They found the mayor in no time, standing by his house. He looked surprised to see that Link had made it back safely after disappearing along with the other kids.

"Link?! Is that you?! It is you! What happened to you? When we needed you most, a beast had come in and taken the sword and shield that you were to take to the royal family of Hyrule, and they also had taken the children! You were taken with them, weren't you?" Link shook his head in reply. "No? Then you were looking for the kids, right?" He nodded. "Come this way." Bo led him inside his house to talk. Things were just as he remembered in the village, except for the fact that the people were too scared to come back outside again, in fear that they would be taken.

"I see, so the kids are safe in Kakariko Village with Renado? That's good. Renado's an old friend of mine. Why did you come back anyway?" Link told him that he needed his help with the Gorons of Death Mountain. At least, in the language that they understood, without talking. "What? The Gorons of Death Mountain? Renado told you to come to me, didn't he? Well, I did beat them in a contest of power, and I can teach you my secret. You know sumo wrestling, right? Well, if you do, you know how to beat them, but the secret to counterattacking a charging Goron is the same thing you do when you herd goats. But your body is far too light to take on a Goron, and that is why you had lost to it last time. The secret to my success was the thing that I have in my chest over there. Take it with you, and use it to beat the Gorons in the battle. You have to get to the mines, I'm guessing, to remove the dark power inside of it? You will need my little secret in there."

Link opened the treasure chest and found iron boots. They were so heavy that even a Goron wouldn't be able to move him! How was he able to hold them up dramatically if they were that heavy? Now to figure out how to walk in them...

"Yes, those boots are made of iron, so you will become heavier than a Goron. Use them well, and also they are magnetic, so you can stick to magnetic surfaces in the Goron Mines. I've been there, and I had used those boots to stick to their walls, so I think you'll be able to do that as well."

Link left and started heading back to Kakariko to finally go to the mines and get it over with. When he did make it, however, he found that the kids were all gathered up in a corner and, standing there in the distance, was King Bulblin, the same monster that had taken the kids from Ordon Spring when they were younger and more defenseless. Link started to charge at him on Epona, ready to kill him for what he'd done to him and the kids, much to Midna's surprise, but he held up one of the kids, Colin! He rode off on his boar, and Link chased after him at full speed toward North Hyrule Field.

When he got there, he found Bulblin there, and he pulled out his sword in attack, and the beast called all the other Moblins in, but they were also on boars. Link charged and, with his sword held high in his left hand, he attempted to slash at him, but failed and hit one of the Moblins instead. That's when he knew that he had to kill the others off before he could get to Bulblin, so he started to charge at the others and killed them off. When he finished them off, however, Bulblin summoned more of them. So that's when he gave up and started going directly after him, and he succeeded in hitting him a few times. The armor that he wore was pretty useless against the blade. They ran to the Bridge of Eldin, where it was then blocked off on both sides by fire. They charged each other as if in a joust. Link and Bulblin both tried to hit each other, but they missed. The next time, Link was hit with Bulblin's oversized spear-like thing. His side started to bleed.

Am I going to die in the hands of this idiot? If I don't win…

"Link, you stupid wolf! Don't give up now! We still have more to live for! You can catch him off guard if you try!" He heard Midna calling to him. He fell off Epona. As he lay there on the bridge, he looked up and found Bulblin standing there, towering over him, ready to kill. As he closed his eyes, ready to die, the words of Zelda's Lullaby came back to him. But not just the part he heard, but he remembered from his out of body experience more of the song, unspoken.

The Hero

of Ancient Legend

will come to save us from danger.

He will pull

the Master Sword and

travel seven years in time…

I've waited seven years,

trapped in a sheik disguise,

there to teach Link the skills he needed…

The Hero,

bearing the Triforce,

will come to save us from danger.

With power,

Wisdom, and Courage,

he will slay evil…

With the power of Time,

he will defeat Ganon,

and restore Hyrule to it's peace…

Midna came back out of his shadow, a saddish look on her face. She looked at him and knew he was weak. She saw his tunic, already soaked in blood, and she eyed the other marks. From her point of view, it both looked and sounded like breathing was slowly becoming more of a challenge for him. Then, with an evil look, she charged at King Bulblin and, with a giant fist she formed, punched him off the bridge and saved the kid. "Time to get out of here, before more trouble comes." She said to herself as she somehow carried both Colin and Link back to the village.

The shaman was the only one outside at the moment, and she began to worry about how to let him know they needed help. She was, in truth, worried for the hero, so she did the best thing she could. She apologized to Link's unconscious form and threw him on the ground as hard as she could, so as to make a loud enough thud that Renado would hear. Then she quickly hid in his shadow.

It seemed to work, as he heard the noise and looked over to where he thought the sound came from. At first, he didn't see anything, but after walking closer, spotted Link laying there with Colin in his arms, as Midna had done on purpose to give him a sense that he had carried him and passed out in the process. He immediately called Luda over, who appeared out of nowhere, and ordered her to carry Colin inside, but she insisted that being outside would be better for him. He agreed reluctantly and hurriedly, as the more needed of the two was still bleeding out. He picked Link up and carried him in the inn, where he laid him down on a clean bed and got to work.

He unstrapped his sword and shield and all of his other things before finally taking off his tunic to get a better look. The village kids didn't know what was going on in there, as they had all rushed out to Colin. He started bandaging his side so as to stop the bleeding as best as he could. He had known that the hero wouldn't be able to continue with those bites on his neck and arm, though he hadn't seen the latter until now.

Renado saw him slowly open his eyes in the middle of his work. It was clear that he was hurting, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"Link, my boy, how do you feel?" He decided to ask anyway, even though he thought he knew the answer. But all he did was stare at him blankly for a moment. He could feel where the shaman was cleaning his wounds, but only felt a dull throb, as he was so out of it that he could hardly feel anything. Before he could answer, lead weights tugged at his eyelids, and he found keeping them open nearly impossible. He closed his eyes and in a snap, he was out cold.

For a moment, Renado didn't know what was wrong, but quickly answered that. He was probably extremely tired from everything he's gone through, and needed the rest he was getting. It seemed as though at this point nothing could wake him, he slept so soundly. But at the same time, he looked sad, like something was troubling him, but right at the moment there was no way to find out what.

But Midna knew. It was a dream he was having, she was sure of it. And she was right.

He found himself in another world entirely. At first glance, there was nothing to see but blackness as far as the eye could see. But something about it was unsettling. Before he had much time to think about it, a voice echoed through the emptiness.

"I'm coming for you…"

Obviously someone hated him. He didn't know who or why, because he had never done any wrong. The voice sounded a lot like him if he could talk, but more...evil. Immediately, the world around him took shape. Trees and small houses formed. These houses were in the trees. This was a place he knew as home. Not Ordon Village, but his original home, in another village far from that one. There he saw something he never wanted to see: how his parents died.

He tried to wake himself from the nightmare, but found he was trapped, and the only thing he could do was watch.