"Everybody, fan out and search the area." Lana commanded her soldiers. "The Gate of Souls must be around here somewhere."
Her soldiers immediately obeyed her orders, having no doubts in her leadership. Lana wished she was as confident in herself as they were in her. They seemed to think of her as infallible; she was a witch, after all, and they had witnessed her magic firsthand. She had tried voicing her concerns to the others, hoping Link might accompany her to the Land of Twilight, but they had laughed off her worries and insisted she would do fine on her own.
Well, that wasn't the only reason she had hoped Link would come with her. She had no doubts that they would find Princess Zelda soon, and the moment they did she could say goodbye to the idea of having the opportunity to be alone with the hero. Not that she had anything nefarious planned, she just… wanted to spend some time with him, maybe even become his friend. But it was probably better this way. After all, getting to know him might just make the inevitable rejection hurt even more. She sighed heavily.
The sound of footsteps drew near, and she quickly adjusted her face into her usual bright, cheery smile, not wanting to worry her men. "What is it, captain?" She asked the leader, who seemed a bit flustered.
"Well, commander, you wouldn't believe this, but… well, our base was attacked just moments ago."
"What?!" Lana's happy façade dissipated instantly. "Which base? I'll take care of-"
"That's just the thing, commander." The captain said quickly. "It already was taken care of. A little boy dressed in green and wearing a mask wiped the monsters out in seconds."
Lana was dumbfounded. "A-are you joking? A child? In seconds?!"
The captain shook his head. "I wouldn't joke about something like that, commander. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. And then, once he mops the floor with the monsters, he asks us if we know anything about a Time Witch." Lana froze. "I told him I'd never heard of such a thing, and he thanked me and ran off before I could stop him."
"…It's possible he may have been referring to Cia." Lana said slowly. "Before she was known as the Black Witch, she was called the Time Witch. But an ordinary child shouldn't know something like that…"
"With all due respect, commander," the captain said seriously, "a little boy who can use a sword that's almost as big as he is isn't ordinary. Should we pursue him?"
"No." Lana decided. "I'll look for him. You and the men need to keep looking for the Gate of Souls. Which way did the boy go?"
"He was headed to the southwest, I believe."
"Ok, I'll take care of it. Be careful, captain!" Lana took off running, heart hammering. "Time Witch" is what we were called when Cia and I were… But I haven't told anybody about that! How would a child know? Maybe he works for Cia... No that doesn't make any sense. If he worked for her he wouldn't have protected my men…
The sounds of combat snapped her abruptly out of her thoughts, and she spotted the boy fighting with another horde of monsters. Summoning one of her magic cubes, she shoved them off a nearby cliff in a single blow.
"Wow! That was really cool, lady!" The child cried, sheathing his sword.
Lana allowed herself a grin. "I guess I am kind of cool, huh? You aren't too bad yourself. I wanted to thank you for saving my men."
"Oh, you're a soldier? It wasn't any problem."
"Well, I'm in charge of the soldiers, but I'm not really… never mind. What's with that mask you're wearing, kid?"
The boy touched it, as if to confirm what she meant. "Oh, this? Um, nothing. I mean, all the kids around here wear stuff like this. It's a trend. You're cool, right? You know what I mean!"
"O-of course I know what you mean!" Lana put her hands on her hips. "I made this outfit myself, after all! Anyways, kid-"
"My name's Mido!"
Lana nodded, smiling. "Ok then, Mido. I was wondering if you know anything about something called a Gate of Souls. It's very important I find it."
Mido cocked his head to the side. "That sounds familiar, but I can't really place it, sorry. Why are you looking for it, lady?"
"Lana."
"Nice to meet you, Lana! Why're you looking for it?"
Lana was quiet for a moment. "Well, I can't really tell you all of the details, but if I leave the Gate of Souls open, bad things could happen to this place, which is why I need to close it as soon as possible." She sighed. "You should probably get out of here, Mido. You're strong, but this is no place for a child."
"DON'T SQUISH MEEE! EEEEK!"
Lana whirled in the direction of the voice. "A little girl?! Mido, stay-" she turned back to him, but he had already taken off running towards the sound of the voice. "ACK! Come back here!" She wailed. "Oh gosh, I'm so bad with kids!"
He was fast, but so was Lana. Unfortunately for her, it seemed they were so evenly matched in speed that while she wasn't losing him, she certainly wasn't gaining on him, and she didn't know enough about the surrounding geography to be able to take a shorter route and cut him off. Now that she was seeing him from behind and was no longer distracted by the silly yellow mask he wore, she realized that his clothing was astoundingly similar to Link's, minus the elegant scarf Link always wore. Maybe they're related?! She thought. It would explain his swordsmanship, that's for sure… It can't be another incarnation of the hero, I'm certain of that. Cia would never be so stupid to let something like that happen when she summoned pieces from other worlds. Her plans would be foiled in an instant.
"Look out!" Mido cried, stopping so suddenly he stumbled and fell. Lana promptly tripped over him, scraping her hands. It was lucky she tripped, because the moment she did a massive butterfly whizzed overhead, taking out several monsters in the process.
"What was that?!" She shrieked, hauling Mido to his feet.
"My butterfly friend!" A voice sang. "Sorry she almost squished you, she was just worried about me, that's all!"
Lana knew her own clothes weren't exactly conventional, and Mido looked downright goofy with his mask, but the girl who stepped out from her hiding spot was beyond odd, with fake butterfly wings, big clunky heeled shoes, and bizarre eye makeup.
"Wait a second!" Mido cried. "Are you Agitha?"
The girl turned her head this way and that. "Yes, I'm the Bug Princess Agitha, but I don't believe we've met before. I'd definitely remember someone who dresses like a cute little aphid, that's for sure!"
"Ok, you two!" Lana said firmly. "This is no place for kids. You guys are tougher than you look, but I have an army to lead, and I need to find the Gate of Souls, so-"
"Oh, I have just the thing!" Agitha said happily, reaching into her picnic basket. "My lovely little Goddess Butterfly can take you anywhere, as long as you ask her nicely! Isn't that right, lil' butterfly?"
"A-are you serious?" Lana asked disbelievingly. "Well, that'd be really helpful, actually. But you have to listen to me! You two can't be older than ten, and this is a war! Please, get to somewhere… safe… Oh my Goddesses. They just ran off after that butterfly. It's like they can't even hear me!" Furiously, Lana sprinted to a group of her men who were approaching. "Okay, guys, good and bad news. The good news is, we have a way to find the Gate of Souls."
"That's great, commander!" The captain cheered. "We knew we could count on you!"
"Yeah, well, the bad news is that the ones who are leading us to it are two little kids! Two supernaturally strong little kids, but still. We need to protect them no matter what, understood?"
The soldiers nodded, and they all began running towards where Lana had seen Mido and Agitha last. Luckily, it didn't take long at all to find them, because a massive horde of monsters seemed intent on stopping the children in their tracks.
"Stop trying to hurt Miss Butterfly!" Agitha wailed, smacking a monster on the head with her lace parasol.
Lana smashed the monster with her cube magic. "This is why you can't just go running off on your own! No matter how strong you are, by yourself you can get overwhelmed!"
The moment the words left her lips, the Goddess Butterfly began to flutter away, and the two infuriating children unthinkingly followed after. Lana's soldiers acted quickly, grabbing the pair.
"Good work, men!" Lana cheered. "Don't let go of those two! Let's follow that butterfly!"
"Put me dowwnn!" Mido yowled.
"How nice of you to give me a piggy back ride!" Agitha cooed.
In the commotion, they had fallen behind the Goddess Butterfly. Feet hammered the ground, trying to keep up with the determined little insect before it suddenly became motionless, as if it were trapped in an invisible cage.
"Magic!" Lana hissed. "Back, everyone! Stay back!"
A figure floated out of the shadows, grinning menacingly. "What a funny sight. Look at all these armored soldiers chasing after a silly little bug. I don't normally associate with humans, but I just had to know what this is all about."
A Twili? Lana was shocked. That means Cia summoned a portion of the Twilight Realm! Even so, this creature shouldn't be able to exist in the world of light… What's going on?
"It's not just a bug!" Agitha squirmed out of the soldiers grip, pushing her way to the front of the group. "It's a very rare species of butterfly! They're quite magical. They can sense hidden things and will flock around buried artifacts! They also enjoy music and are all blue, but some can be darker or lighter hues of blue. This one, as you can see, is a pretty cobalt blue! Isn't she lovely?"
The imp's grin was fading to be replaced by a look of boredom. "…Is that so."
"Yes! And the most wonderful thing about Goddess Butterflies is that they can lead you to anything! As long as it exists, anyways. Aren't they just the greatest?"
The imp perked up at that. "Wait, did you say they can lead you to anything?"
Agitha nodded enthusiastically. Lana began to feel worried.
"Look, I don't know what you're planning, but we need that butterfly to-"
"Hey, butterfly!" The imp commanded. "Take me to that ugly witch who's hiding around here somewhere!"
The butterfly was released from its magical prison and it shot off towards its new destination, the Twili in pursuit.
"Hey, did you say "witch"?!" Mido cried, pulling out of the soldiers grip. "Wait up!" Before anyone could stop him he was chasing after the imp.
"Damn it!" Lana uncharacteristically swore. Nothing was going right today. She really was a failure. "Captain, get Agitha out of here, the rest of you come with me and we'll handle these monsters."
"What about the boy and the imp?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Just leave them! We can handle them after these monsters are gone!"
"But Miss Kitty has my Goddess Butterfly!" Agitha looked perilously close to tears. "What if my butterfly friend gets hurt? And what about Lil' Aphid?"
Lana sighed. "Okay, you know what? You can come, Agitha. I shouldn't treat you like a civilian just because of your age, you're clearly able to take care of yourself. But please follow my orders, and don't run off on your own, understand?"
Agitha hugged her around her waist. "Oh, thank you! I pinky promise I'll follow all of your orders!"
"Alright men, our first job is to take the enemy keeps! Let's move!"
The work taking out the monsters was exhausting, and it wasn't helped by the fact that the Twili had somehow summoned patches of Twilight, hindering Lana and her soldiers' movements.
"I might be able to dispel this darkness if I can find that imp." Lana told Agitha, who was determinedly sticking by her side. "But where could she be hiding? I don't suppose you have another one of those butterflies, do you?"
Agitha shook her head. "Like I said, they're very rare! But you know, Miss Kitty said she was looking for a mean witch, right?"
Lana shifted uncomfortably. "I suppose so. Why?"
"Well, I've been here for a while, and there's this one place I never go because someone tries to light me on fire like a poor little ant every time I get near! Do you think that maybe that's where the mean witch lives?"
"It's the best lead we have." Lana said grimly. "Lead the way, Agitha!"
"Yep, yep, no problem! We're right by it, actually! See, it's- Eeek! Lil' Aphid?!"
They had rounded a corner to see Mido nearly being crushed by the now enraged Twili while the Goddess Butterfly fluttered around aimlessly. "You! You're on her side, aren't you?!"
"No I'm not!" Mido dodged a boulder that the imp hurled at him with her hair. "Calm down, Midna!"
"Don't call me by my name!" She hissed. "I only told you because I thought you were on my side, but apparently you aren't!"
"I am! Really! That was an accident, I swear!" Mido protested. "How was I supposed to know she'd just run away? I thought she'd fight back!"
"Please don't hurt Lil' Aphid!" Agitha wailed. "Also, can I have my butterfly friend back, Miss Kitty? Pretty please?"
Midna exasperatedly threw her hands in the air. "Sure! Fine! Take the damn butterfly! Take it and run to your ugly witch friend and tell her that I'll kill her eventually, she can't run forever!"
"Wait, wait! This is all a huge misunderstanding. We aren't her allies! See for yourself, we cleared out all of her monsters from this area." Lana placated. "We're trying to stop Cia, and if you are too, that means we're on the same side!"
Midna blinked in surprise. "We're allies?"
"That's what I've been saying all along!" Mido huffed. "I really am sorry about her running off, but I think she would have done the same thing if you had reached her first instead of me, Midna."
Midna groaned. "Yeah, I know, you're right kid. I just got so angry… It's just that this isn't what I really look like, and this isn't even a fraction of my true power. I'm royalty, for goodness sake! That witch… Cia, you said her name was? She cursed me, and now I'm stuck like this. The worst thing is, I was cursed just like this a long time ago. It's like she's making fun of me, and it just makes me so MAD!"
Lana placed a comforting hand on the Twili's small shoulder. "If you stick with us, you're bound to run into her again. Now that we have the Goddess Butterfly back, we can track her down no matter where she runs."
"Really? You mean that?" Midna looked hopeful. "Well, I guess I wouldn't mind hanging around for a little while…"
"Agitha is coming, too!" Agitha said cheerfully. "Wherever my butterfly is going, I'm going too!"
"Me too!" Mido chimed in. Lana glowered at the boy. She was reluctant to let him accompany them with all the trouble he had caused, but he really was strong. Maybe if she kept Mido around, she could get him to tell her how he knew about the "Time Witch". She'd have to be careful not to make him suspicious, but it could work.
"Now listen here, Mido. Agitha can come along because she's promised to listen to me. You can only come if you do the same, alright? An army is like a team, and there's no I in TEAM. Understand?"
Mido sighed, and Lana felt certain that underneath his silly mask he was rolling his eyes at her. "Okay, okay, I won't go off on my own next time."
"Good!" Lana smiled, glad that she had finally gotten the two wild children under control. Unbeknownst to her, however, the boy whose name she thought was Mido had his fingers crossed behind his back.
