Gery: I had to rewrite/rework this chapter about four times before I found one I liked. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12: The Goron Mines Part 2

The three murky figures twisted gruesomely. They surrounded her, towering above her with judgemental eyes. Eyes of gold, eyes of red and eyes of navy looked at her with hatred and disgust. With betrayal and pain. The figures spoke no words, but their eyes burned into her soul. She let out a sob, curling in on herself as they grew taller.

"Weak."

They whispered.

"Selfish."

They echoed.

"Betrayer."

They said.

"Coward."

They accused.

"Murderer!"

They screamed.

Tears fell down her face, dripping onto the murky floor. She gasped, feeling the murkiness snaking along her body, sinking her into it's depths. She tried to hold her head above it all, but was submerged. She began to fall, the echoes of screams all around her. They begged her to save them, to free them of the pain. She tried to reach out to them, to help them, but she couldn't move; bound by the murky darkness.

She opened her mouth to call to them, but this only let the murkiness in. It flowed into her mouth, down her throat, out her nose and ears, into her stomach, into her heart, into her brain. She could feel herself slipping. She could feel herself dying. She would die a failure. A worthless Imp.

Before she was fully consumed, she heard something. It was humming. It was familiar. The murkiness began to fade, allowing her freedom. She remained still on the ground, looking at the glowing figure approaching her. They continued to hum softly, gentle and kind. A green aura surrounded them, with gold outlining the green. As they got closer and pushed the sinister darkness away, she was shocked to see Link. She crouched in front of her on one knee, smiling.

'It's time to wake up, Midna.'

"Hm?!"

Midna blinked as she looked at Link's face. The stupid girl was still smiling and welcomed Midna with a look of relief. 'Feelin' better?'

Midna pushed away, coughing into her hand with a faint blush. She could feel tears on her cheeks and grew angry. She let herself be seen crying by Link of all people! The girl would never let her live this down.

As Midna sat in the air fuming at herself, awaiting for Link to say something stupid, Link shrugged and pulled out some dried meat from the bag. She clicked her tongue, catching Midna's attention. She looked a little worried, but shook her head and offered the meat to Midna. 'Already ate.'

Link's stomach growled loudly.

'Honest.'

"Just give it here," Midna mumbled, snatching the meat and gnawing on it. She hated this world's food, but it was the best way to regain her energy.

'Yep, you're better.' Midna looked at Link and was surprised to see she was already packing. 'Well, wanna get goin'? Or would you like a minute?'

"Let's go now."

Midna didn't understand. Link had just seen her having nightmares and crying. This was a perfect opportunity for Link to mock her and call her a coward for crying. It's what Midna would do if the roles were reversed. Yet Link carried on like it didn't happen. Link was the one who woke her up!

Odd, Link woke up before her?

"How did you wake up before me?" Link's back was to Midna so the Imp couldn't see her face, but her ears were lower than normal. "You had a nightmare, too, didn't you?"

'Yeah. I'm used to 'em by now. C'mon.'

The large metal platform was in the midst of rotating as they entered the room. Link watched it for a few minutes before preparing to sprint. Midna just began to float to the other side. She heard Link's footsteps on the metal and the thud of the boots. When she reached the other side she crossed her legs and hung back, watching Link sprint to the next panel of blue metal.

Midna giggled as Link fell with a thud in front of her, barely making it to the platform before the metal rotated. She huffed at Midna and walked passed her into the next room, which was emitting a glow. Inside was another room filled with lava, it fell from the walls into a pool below. Held above the pool by chains was a large platform, the underside carved into a perfect half-sphere while the open portion was all the smooth blue metal. Two platforms sat on opposite sides of the room, the one Link was on and the other side had a huge Goron sitting on it.

He had to easily be twice the size of the other Gorons they had seen, with thick armour that didn't quite fit his large frame well enough, exposing his stomach and face. Midna hid in Link's shadow as the Hylian stepped onto the platform, raising a hand in a wave. The Goron noticed her and stood, his eyes narrowing. Link halted.

"Hey! Humans aren't allowed to come this way! Turn back or I will be forced to remove you myself!"

He didn't give Link a chance to think of something before he jumped onto the platform, the shock from his landing causing the chains at the top to snap. Link screamed as the platform fell heavily onto the lava, sending her to her side. She looked up to see the Goron coming towards her, cracking his knuckles.

'Wouldn't he know the Elders let me get this far?!' Link scrambled to her feet, pulling out her sword and shield. Her knees were shaking. 'I dunno how I'm supposed to fight this guy, Midna.'

"Hit him in the stomach. It's exposed. There has to be a weak spot on these guys, right?"

Link gulped as the Goron got to her and pulled his arm back. This left his stomach in the open. Link slashed at the exposed skin and was surprised when the Goron recoiled in pain, trails of dark blood flowing from the cut. He glowered at Link, smacking her with the side of his arm. This sent her flying to the other side of the platform, landing on her side with a grunt. Before she could stand the Goron jumped up and slammed on the platform, making it rock and sending Link sliding down it. She was stopped only by the Goron stepping on her side.

Link had her shield arm free, so threw it at the Goron's face. This dazed him and Link's eyes widened as the shield began to fall towards the lava. Link sprinted at it, grabbing it before it could fall. She let out a sigh, standing to only get grabbed and thrown across the platform again.

Midna sighed, shaking her head while watching the fight. Link really just risked her life for a shield?

As Link stood the Goron curled into a ball, spinning in place rapidly. Link yelped, taking a step back. The Goron rolled towards her at a speed too quick for her to dodge. In one moment Link summoned the Iron Boots and Midna came out behind her shoulders, summoning her magic to create her aura arm. Together the grabbed the Goron's armour, but the strength of his roll sent them back. There was a sudden drop and a scream as Midna instinctively hugged Link's shoulders to keep from falling.

The Goron had been strong enough to send them to the edge of the platform, making Link's right leg fall off the side while her left leg remained on the platform, planted to the spot by the connection between the Iron Boots and the metal. Link was dangling half-off/half-on the platform, whimpering as the pair of boots stretched her out.

She released the boots, managing to climb back onto the platform. The shadow of the Goron loomed above and she rolled to the side, dodging two heavy fists. Link jumped to her feet with a small wince, now beside the Goron. She stabbed her sword into his side, between his skin and rocky back. He swung his arm at her, Link ducked and rolled under his legs, coming up behind him and moving back to give herself some space.

He rolled up again, charging. Link braced, Midna prepared and this time they weren't so close to the edge. When they were shoved back by the impact, the boots held firm. With combined effort they were able to toss the huge Goron over the edge. He screamed as he landed in the lava, standing in it and jumping out. Link was ready this time as the platform tilted with his height. Lava dripped off of him like water as the armour on him began to melt.

The Goron began walking towards her, giving Link a moment to rest. She unsheathed her weapons and crouched when he finally got to her. He pulled his fist back and Link slashed across his stomach again. He recoiled and immediately curled into a ball. Midna and Link were able to react quickly enough to stop him, but were too far from the edge to throw him over.

Midna could already feel her magic draining. If this kept up much longer they'd be killed. This would work out so much better if Link was able to explain what she was doing here.

Of all the people in Hyrule, I get the one who can't speak.

There were benefits, Midna didn't have to be annoyed by a chatterbox and it fit into her plan perfectly. But right now she wished Link could spare them a fight.

"We can't keep this up forever. He's going to wear us down."

'Yeah, I kinda noticed.' Link was starting to get very sassy. 'What do we do, though?'

"If he doesn't give up by the next toss we might have to kill him."

Link's ears fell. 'You're certain that's the only solution? I don't want to kill if there's another way, Midna.'

"I'm sure there were plenty of other ways back in the bandit cave. Or those bandits in the woods."

Link's ears fell further. Midna smirked, enjoying the guilt trip. She wouldn't stop until Link figured out the secret of the Messengers on her own. Midna could easily explain, but she wanted to see if the idiot could understand on her own.

If that meant tormenting Link until the Hylian was dead, so be it.

'Maybe there was, but there wasn't exactly time to think then.'

"Yeah, because there's plenty of time to think now-here he comes."

They caught him and tossed him into the lava. He climbed out again, his armour falling off. He lay there for a few moments, panting, before groaning and propping himself up on his hands. "I can't let you pass. I have orders."

"Alright, time to kill him."

Link let out a low growl, making Midna pause and stare at the back of her head. It sounded very wolf-like. 'There might be another way.'

Link walked up to the Goron's head, digging into her bag. She pulled out the two key shards, presenting them to him. At first he glared with accusing eyes, but slowly he relaxed and took them from her hand. Midna was mentally screaming, hovering above the Goron's back. Was Link asking for a death wish? Was she willing to risk the key like that? What of the Goron threw it in the lava? Then how would they get to the Fused Shadow?

"Oh, I see," the Goron coughed into his fist. "You were allowed through by the Elders. I had feared you had hurt them. If they gave you these, then they must believe you can help the Patriarch. I apologise for my rash actions." He returned the key shards to Link.

Through the fight the lava had slowly been filling the room. Midna hadn't even noticed until now when the Goron stepped off of it onto the platform he was on before the fight. Link followed and Midna entered her shadow, wondering how she was still alive. The Goron turned to Link. "My name is Biggoron." More like Big Moron. "Through here there is a treasure the Gorons have held for a thousand years, kept secret from anybody outside of our tribe. I entrust the weapon to you, known as the Hero's Bow. Use it to free the Patriarch from himself."

Biggoron slid the door aside, letting Link pass into a room with a rocky pathway above lava. The path led to a chest and kept going for a metre more, stopping before a held-up bridge. The rope on top would need to be cut. Link looked back at Biggoron with a smile and waved. He nodded back at her before sliding the door back into place.

Now alone, Midna came out and smacked Link to the ground. "You absolute idiot! You really put trust that he wouldn't throw you into the lava to show him the key?"

'It worked out, didn't it?' Link glared, dusting off her breeches as she stood. 'He let us go and now we can continue.'

"You're going to get yourself killed if you trust everyone you meet."

'Everyone deserves a chance, Midna. How else do you think I'm puttin' up with you?' Link chuckled. Midna blinked. 'You might go overboard with all the magic and belittling, but I know you're not a bad person. There have been moments where you have been kind, I wish I could see that side of you more.'

She's getting too friendly. That won't do. If we become friends it will only be harder to abandon her if I need to. I don't care about her, the Princess or Hyrule.

"Well keep wishing. Grab the bow and let's go."

Link rolled her eyes and opened the chest, picking up the weapon inside. A quiver filled with perfectly crafted arrows also sat beside it. She marvelled at the bow for a minute or two before Midna floated upside-down into her face to bring her back to reality. "What's with the dumb look?"

'Sorry. I just...' Link looked down at it in wonder. 'This feels familiar.'

"You've held a bow before, then?"

'Nope.' Link strapped the quiver to her hip and held the bow in her right hand. She pulled out an arrow and studied it for a moment before latching it onto the bow. She hummed, bringing it up and pulling the string back. 'Betcha I can hit that rope.'

"You cannot possibly hit that rope," Midna scoffed, masking her surprise. Link was able to effortlessly pull back the string of the bow? It looked strong and Midna knew Link hadn't been strong enough to handle a sword for over a month.

Link squinted her eyes for a moment and released the arrow. With a tink and a thud, the rope snapped and the bridge fell. Midna's jaw dropped. 'Hey, I did it!'

"Great Lord, how did you do that? You're sure you've never held a bow before?!" Midna was hovering in front of Link's face. Link's attention was on the bow in her hand.

Her brow furrowed. 'I'm...not sure. I think I...' Link rubbed her temple, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Midna noticed the mark on her hand glowing through her gauntlet. '...Have I?'

This girl was a Lord-damned enigma, wasn't she?

Midna was starting to get a headache without Link's lack of telepathy training.

"We can figure it out later, I guess."

Link nodded and stored the bow and quiver into her Dimensional Bag. She traced the bag as they entered the next room, which turned out to be a huge cavern with more lava. I'm so surprised.

A broken path led to the other side of the room, with the fire slugs clinging to flat-ended stalactites. In the distance Midna spotted a Dodongo walking on the roof that was covered in more metal.

Link used her new bow to knock down the slugs before she jumped across. They got to the other side with a metal gate blocking their exit. The metal snaked up the wall to their right and went up close to an alcove in the stone. Link began making her way up the wall and brought out her bow, aiming at the Dodongo. She missed the first two shots, alerting the Dodongo to her presence. It charged at her, able to hang onto the roof safely. Link gasped lightly and fired a third arrow directly into its eye socket. It fell, turning to ash before it even hit the ground.

Midna decided it wasn't worth the effort to keep questioning some of the things Link could do.

Link walked in front of the alcove where a gem was hidden. She struck it with an arrow and dropped down, landing on her back. "You really need to work on that."

'Yep,' Link stood, brushing off her back and going through the gate. On the other side was a large round cavern, with brown statues to the likes of the previous beam ones standing in it. Walking into the centre of the room there were metal gates all around, with one irregular one. It seemed to have two metal beams behind the statue. Link walked up to it and all the statue's gems began to glow. The statue in front of her struck her chest and she stumbled back out of its reach, the beam going through the tunic.

"Okay, how bad did it get you?" Midna muttered, hovering in front of Link.

'I'm fine,' Link lied, standing up. She was pulling at the edge of her tunic, trying to cover the wound as best she could. Midna rolled her eyes.

"Fine, deal with it yourself."

Taking out the bow again, Link aimed at th statue that just hurt her. Her eyes were narrow and when the gem faced her she released the arrow. The gem exploded and caused the whole thing to shake and tumble down with a crash. This revealed a wooden door. Link smiled, walking by the statue and kicking it lightly as she passed. Midna didn't hear it, but she knew Link was calling the inanimate object stupid.

She is getting better at keeping her thoughts to herself. Not perfect yet, but it should be fine if we confront him.

Link entered the room and there stood a fourth Goron Elder. This one seemed younger than the other three, tall and lean he had blue paint coated on his skin. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed in meditation. He opened them as Link approached his ring, welcoming her with a smile but not standing. "Hello there, young one. I am Elder Gor Ebizo; I foresaw your arrival and have been waiting. Pass the two key shards you have to me. I will complete the key for you. You have done well to get past our traps."

Ebizo connected the last key shard to the other two. "With this you can finally enter the chamber where we have kept our Patriarch held. As I'm sure the others have told you, he is in a very dangerous state. Please, if you feel you must end his suffering permanently only use it as a last resort."

Link nodded, bowing her head to the Elder before leaving the hidden cavern. Back in the statue room, there was a clear path the opposite side of where they first came in from. She destroyed the gem powering the statue and to the exit. They were back in the canyon. It was dark now and very quiet. Huge boxes of ores and rocks were stacked on top of each other. Link looked around the side. There was a Bulblin standing there with its back to her beside some barrels with white 'X's on them.

Link fired an arrow, but in dark she missed the Bulblin. Instead the arrow struck the barrel and made it explode in a fiery display. Link's ears fell back at the blast and she stared. 'Well then, gotta be careful near those.'

The explosion of course caught the attention of the other Bulblin. Their eyes were glowing in the dark and Link ducked back behind cover. Link's eyes flicked to the other side of the ravine, where a group of the barrels were. Midna notice her eyes had a soft glow to them, but didn't bring it up.

The arrow struck the barrels, causing the entire ravine to shake as the explosion caused rocks to fall from the side. The Bulblins were tossed to the ground during it all giving Link the opportunity to run forward. She got to the edge of the raised stone and jumped to the wood paths below, directly over top one Bulblin. Her sword was already through its neck before it could scream. In a swift motion she was able to kill all three of the Bulblin and all became silent.

That is until an arrow shot through her thigh.

She fell clamping her leg, looking to the ledge where a lone Bulblin ambushed her. It aimed at her again and she was able to roll behind a box full of coal. 'Dammit all to Din's Hell.'

"Don't pull that out just yet," Midna advised, sneaking a glance over the box to see the Bulblin waiting for Link to show herself. "You'll bleed out too quickly. We'll need to deal with him then I can heal that up for you."

Link didn't look pleased with the option, but didn't think anything directly to Midna. Instead she got out her new bow and took a deep breath. 'Is he looking this way?'

"Yes. He seems more aware than the rest of them. I don't think an explosion will distract him."

Link peaked out to see the Bulblin. It fired and she ducked back behind the box. This gave her a free chance to aim and fire back at it. The arrow missed, but only barely. Link blew her bangs out of her eyes as she huddled behind the box again. Midna rested her head on her hand lazily, watching the Bulblin. Well, this is boring. Guess I'll speed this along.

Link was also starting to get pale, but Midna pretended like she didn't see it.

Midna flew behind the Bulblin and tapped its shoulder. It turned, Link stood and aimed properly. The arrow went through its head. Midna went back over where Link was on her back, cursing with a wind range of swears. "Hold still, I'll fix it."

Link shuttered, but nodded. Midna gripped the arrow, broke off the feathered end, and pushed it the rest of the way through Link's leg. The girl's screamed echoed through the ravine. Midna tossed the arrow aside, putting her hands around the wound. She noticed it was just below the scar Link got after stabbing herself.

Midna began to wonder how far Link's willingness to hurt herself for the sake of others would go. There had to be a point where Link wouldn't risk her life for someone else. The stabbing wasn't life-threatening, but deciding to help the bandits against the Moblin, the time in the woods with that postman, the length Link went to save the little boy, even just calming down a frightened horse was dangerous and could have ended with Link dead. If Link would be so stupid to help a bandit, would she help anyone else just as bad? Or worse?

What if she feels sympathy for Zant? What if she hears whatever sob story he's probably going to use and feels sorry for him? She would be betraying me.

Midna grew angry at the thought, and when one is not in a peaceful state of mind while healing someone many problems can occur. For one, the person being healed could get hurt by an overdose of magic or could end up with a different magic spell coursing through their wound. They could feel the soothing effects of magic attack parts that weren't injured, threatening to tear them apart in an attempt to 'fix' them. The injured person might even experience a whole different level of magic that wasn't healthy.

Midna was taken aback when Link let out a shrill scream. Tears streaked down her cheeks, her face and body twisted in pain as her veins began turning an eerie teal. Midna's eyes widened and she backed off, her hands surrounded in teal flame with sparks of lightning. She gulped and looked down at Link, who was looking back with a fear Midna had never seen.

When Link stopped screaming and was left as a broken mess of tears and incoherent thoughts Midna got a little closer. Link didn't see this, but she must have heard or sensed it. She backed away, back hitting the box of coal. 'G-get away!

Damn it all, Midna. Of all the times to relapse into anger, you do it while healing someone.s

"Hey, s-sorry!" Midna had to mend this. She had to fix this somehow. "Sorry, I got distracted. I didn't mean for this!"

'Like Din's Hell ya didn't! How many times have you shocked me for doing somethin' small? What in Nayru's Love did I do now to deserve that?!' Link glowered at her. It was Midna's turn to be frightened. Link's eyes were glowing just a little brighter, a shimmering blue in contrast to the dark ravine.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Midna said, looking away. She couldn't look her in the eye. In her head Midna had kept thinking of ways for getting Link to truly hate her, but now there was a real chance of that happening. Why was this so hard to do in reality? "Look, I'll do it properly this time-"

'No! Keep your damn magic to yourself,' Link glared, pulling herself up to her feet and putting little pressure on her injured leg. Her veins still had a faint glow to them. 'Let's just go.'

Midna looked at the broken arrow on the ground. No matter her conflicting thoughts of Link, she would have to keep her emotions in check. She silently went into Link's shadow as the Hylian made her way to a button at the end of a rocky platform. A metal arm above them came to life. Link winced when she made contact with the iron boots.

The arm brought them over a pond, a held-up bridge the only possible way to go. The arm moved back to its first position as Link brought out her bow. Even upside-down she was able to strike the rope as if she had done it for years. Archery wasn't very known to Midna, she had always used magic over any other form of combat, but she knew it could take years for someone to get as good as Link was.

Link dropped to the fallen bridge and walked into another lava cavern. On a path made of metal sloping down to the rocky cave below she spotted several Bulblin standing guard in front of another bridge. Link rolled her eyes and aimed at the rope. Even Midna winced as the metal crushed all of the Bulblin, leaving none alive.

Link bit her lip and walked down the metal. She found one of the Bulblin, who's head had been crushed, had arrows on its back. She hesitated, but ultimately she sighed and gathered the arrows. They were crude and wouldn't hurt someone terribly, but they would do enough in a pinch.

The fallen bridge lead to a huge door. It was chained tightly with a single lock in the centre. Link pulled out the key, giving it a lingering glance before stretching herself to stick it in the keyhole and twist it. She jumped back as the lock fell to the ground, the chains falling uselessly to either side of the door.

Midna emerged as they entered, gaping in awe at the beast before her. It was huge, bigger even then Biggoron, and resembled a bear. It's skin was the colour of soot with faint glows of orange underneath. Its massive arms were chained to the ceiling of the circular room and its feet to the floor, broken up by chunks of exposed blue metal. Around the room were six pillars supporting the ceiling. On the creatures head was a helmet. It fit over its eyes, fanning out down its neck in a mane similar to Link's as a wolf. In the centre of the helmets forehead was an oval with a slit down the middle.

Midna smirked. The creature was unconscious and the Fused Shadow was hers for the taking. She flew up to the creature, hovering before it. "So this is what has become of this Patriarch. Such a sad sight, imprisoned twice. Once by the Fused Shadow and again by the chains. Oh well, this makes things easier for me."

Midna began to pull on the helmet when the oval opened. A piercing orange eye locked onto her and she yelped, diving behind Link and averting the beast's attention to her instead. Link glared at her before unsheathing her sword and shield. The corrupt beast roars at Link, trying to swipe at her but growling when it discovered the chains. It looked at them and roared, the orange embers bursting into lively flames as it broke the chains from the stone. Freed, he lowered to all fours for a moment if only to roar directly at Link.

Twilit Igniter, Fyrus

Midna would have to worry about female voices in her head later.

He charged.

Link yelped and dove out of the way. Because she was still in front of the door, Fyrus crashed into it. The impact caused rocks to cave in around the only exit, making Link curse as she ducked behind a pillar. 'Okay, we gotta deal with a flaming bear. Any ideas?'

The pillar crashed around her and she spun. Fyrus tore the pillar apart and lashed at Link, his claws scraping her shoulder. Her back slammed against the wall and she ran to the side, Fyrus' head crashing into the wall. Midna was flying above them, watching the beast. She noticed the eye closed whenever he charged or crashed into something.

Midna began charging magic, focusing wholly on Fyrus. The teal-laced dark magic formed between her hands and she flew behind Fyrus as he yet again crashed into a wall. Link was able to get away safely but still seemed unsure how to handle him.

Fyrus turned to Link, eye open, and roared in pain as a bolt of lightning struck the center of his eye. A small crack formed in the gem-like eye, Fyrus throwing a paw over it and stomping about in a fit of rage and pain. Midna's eyes landed on the chains and she grinned. "Grab the chains and use the boots, trip him up. Use his weight against him like you did the other Gorons."

Link did just that, wincing as she gripped the end of one of the chains on Fyrus' foot. She pulled back, but even the heavy iron boots didn't stop her from falling forward as Fyrus tripped and fell, dazed.

Link jumped to her feet and ran to his head, bringing down her sword on his eye. The crack grew and Fyrus began to glow. Link's ears fell and the two of them hid behind separate pillars. Midna winced as an explosion was heard and a wave of heat washed over the room. It made her skin itch.

She looked around the pillar. Fyrus was looking around for either of them, back turned to Link who was stepping out from her hiding spot and aiming her bow at him. She whistled briskly and fired when he turned to her. Instead of stomping around blindly, he charged at her. Midna heard her gasp and bit the inside of her cheek as Fyrus slammed down his paw on top of Link, pinning her.

Link let out a scream as smoke began to rise from her tunic and the smell of cooking meat wafted across the room. Midna covered her nose and mouth, feeling the urge to puke at the smell. She watched for a moment longer, wondering what she could do, when Fyrus opened his mouth.

Maybe it was the guilt of what she had just done to Link, maybe it was pure stupidity. Whatever the case, Midna shot forward with sparks dancing across her hands. Her extra limb appeared, also laced with lightning. She latched onto the beast's head, clamping the jaw shut before it could bite down on Link. Fyrus backed up, the gem-like eye locked on Midna as the Imp sent as much lighting into him as possible. She glared back at the eye, at the crack slowly creeping across its surface.

Midna felt something strike her side. She was flying only shortly before she felt arms wrap around her. Link and Midna landed with a thud at the base of the wall. Link grunted, standing with the support of the wall as she held Midna close. 'Thanks.'

"Save it for later," Midna squirmed out of her arms and prepared more lightning. She noticed Link shivering as she stared at the magic.

The roar of Fyrus made them refocus. He was charging again. Link stood her ground and shot his eye. He recoiled back, gold liquid flowing from the gem. He knocked over a second pillar in his blind rage and portions of the roof fell. Link jumped out of the way of one and vaulted over another to grab Fyrus' chain. She pulled back, this time steadier and ready for the resistance. Fyrus slammed down. Link circled around and thrust the blade into the eye. It didn't break, but the next blow would end it. Before Link could finish the fight Fyrus recovered, knocking her aside and hunched over.

They hid behind another pillar as the heat wave washed over the room. Link wiped her forehead and stepped out of cover, only for her eyes to go wide as Fyrus was already charging at her. She fired the same second he leapt at her. The eye shattered, the liquid sizzling on Fyrus' body. The Fused Shadow released from Fyrus' head, flying towards the ground. In the same moment Link was struck with a heavy arm and hurtled towards the opposite wall head-first.

Time seemed to slow dramatically for Midna. She was equal distance between Link and the Fused Shadow, she knew she couldn't catch both. Looking between the two, she caught Link's eyes. They were scared, but that wasn't all. Link gave Midna a soft smile as the Imp raced towards the Fused Shadow. She caught it with her hair-hand, feeling its magic aura flowing over her. It was a familiar sensation, but still unpleasant. Midna waved her appendage and looked to Link. Link struck the wall with the back of her head, instantly unconscious.

Midna flew to her, crouching beside her. "Link? Oh Lord..." A heavy amount of blood pooled from Link's head. She listened for a heartbeat and found one so she wasn't dead yet. She would need medical care as soon as possible-

A sudden crash made Midna's world go dark.

-0-0-0-0-

Gor Coron was pacing the wrestling room, worried for Link. It had been almost two days now and he had heard explosions in the Mines earlier in the night. He hoped his trust wasn't misguided.

There was a low rumble. The Elder looked towards the Mines' entrance and his eyes widened. A large shape emerged from them, towering above the tallest Goron and triple the size. There stood the Goron Patriarch Darbus, the largest Goron in history. His face was sorrowful as he held within his arms the still form of the boy. He had many burns and several smaller wounds, but the most concerning was the amount of blood coming from his head.

"I will take him to the Shaman. He is still alive. He has a strong spirit. I would be happy to have a reunion, but he is more important."

"Of course, Patriarch."

Darbus walked down the mountain, the sun rising as he entered Kakariko Village. He saw someone walking out a door and smiled at a young boy with blonde hair. The boy seemed startled by him at first but quickly noticed the young man in his arms. The boy gasped and ran up to them, eyes wide and fearful. "Link? What happened to h-im?"

Darbus gave a sympathetic frown, noticing the hiccup. The poor boy must know this brave young man. "I shall tell you once he is cared for. Where is the Shaman?"

"Renado's inside the Inn."

"Thank you."

"Renado, Link needs help!"

"Good Goddesses. Colin, grab water and cloth. Patriarch, please lay him down here. What happened?"

"I was corrupt by some strange artifact I discovered in the Mines. When I woke he was lying like this near a wall. Rocks were falling from the ceiling so I had to remove him quickly or he would have been crushed. I'm sure he'll tell you more once he wakes."

"Hang on, Link. You'll be okay."

-0-0-0-0-

Midna sat in the rafters, rubbing her bruised torso and watching Link. They had worked quickly, cutting back Link's hair to care for the sizable dent the wall had made into it. Once Link recovered Midna would be sure to not let her go a day without mentioning her bald spot. Right now Midna was too worried for Link to do anything but watch her recover. It had been four days already. Colin wouldn't leave her side, much like her when he was hurt, but the others didn't stay.

They didn't want to see their friend in such a broken state.

A creeping thought of Link not waking up got into Midna's head, but she frowned and pushed it back. She had seen Link survive a smash to the head like this before, with Link's luck it would probably happen again. Thought Midna didn't remember the tree causing a dent.

I guess even Link's thick skull has limits.

It was dusk now. Renado had to carry Colin out, the boy had finally given in to sleep. Midna took this chance to sit down beside Link. Looking at the bandage around her head she felt guilty. Even though Link seemed to almost encourage the choice she made, she couldn't feel happy or proud.

The Fused Shadows are fragile. Powerful and fragile. If I hadn't caught it, all would be lost. When our eyes locked, did you know that? Did you know how bad either choice would end? Why did you accept it so easily knowing what I would choose to save?

Midna turned away, sitting on the window and watching the sky. The sun had set and she looked up at the unfamiliar stars of Hyrule. The moon reflected in her eyes as she wondered if Link would ever forgive her.

There was a shuffle and Midna looked to the bed. Link's eyes opened, glowing softly in the dark. The Hylian let out a groan as she sat up against the wall, bringing her hand up to the bandage. She seemed confused at first, then her eyes landed on Midna on the window.

"So...how about giving others a chance?"

'What- uh,' Link gave a gasp, shutting her eyes. 'What happened?'

"You broke the Fused Shadow free of the Goron leader. He slammed into you and you flew into the wall. I had to either catch it or you, and I chose the Shadow. I blacked out after the ceiling fell and when I woke up I saw you were being carried out by a huge Goron. He brought you here where the Shaman stitched up your head. You've been asleep for almost four days now."

Link didn't think anything directly. She stared at her lap thoughtfully. 'So now what?'

"The Patriarch said he'd like to see you come back to the tribe once you recovered. Sounds like you'll finally get answers."

'Good, I've had enough questions,' Link thought with a light chuckle. 'Are you okay? That bruise looks painful.'

Midna stared at Link. "It's fine."

Link smiled.

They sat in silence.

"So when are you going to start giving me a headache?"

'Hm?'

Midna was in Link's face, glaring. "When are you going to start getting mad at me for not catching you? Go on, yell at me. Glare at me. Hit me. I don't care. Do something other than stand there with that stupid grin!"

'I know you hate me, I know your goal is to collect the Fused Shadows. It only made sense that you would go after it instead of me.'

Midna was quiet.

"Yeah, I do hate you, don't I? Let's just get out of here. You should be able to walk now, right?"

Link didn't frown, but actually gave a small smile. She swung her legs over the bed, took a breath, and stood with the support of the wall. She stumbled, but recovered from the fall and limped over to the door. Her steps were wobbly.

Midna merged into her shadow, using her magic to feel the Fused Shadow in her dimensional pocket. Only one more to get. One more and Link would be out of her life forever. This has been what Midna wanted from the beginning, to be rid of the stupid mutt.

I'll never have to see Link again.

Gery: Man, the Mines gave me a lot more trouble than I would have thought. Even after playing through the game to this point I can't remember them too well and they just seemed to drag on. So I probably cut back a lot of the Mines, but I think we've seen enough of them. Anyway, Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you all enjoyed yourselves, and here's hoping 2017 is better than 2016. Also, New Years Resolution: I'm going to finish something dammit! Be it Tale of a Legend or the Rewrite, I will finish it before the year's end!