The inside of the barrier looked just like outside of it, but darker. That was probably because the procession was moving through the castle, which had no light sources inside of it. They passed murals and broken statues, walking to a heavily guarded door. The monster went through it, going deeper and darker still as it went down flight after ominous flight of stairs. Finally, finally, they came to a stop in front of an iron door.
The Wizzrobe (he's still here?) took a keychain hanging on a hook and inserted several of the keys into the door locks, letting the door swing open limply. A wave of a strong odor washed over her, and she had to fight the urge to gag. It was like the Shadow Beast's stench, but with feces and rot added in and then fermented into a noxious gas. Even the Wizzrobe didn't seem immune to the effects, and it paused behind her escort before slipping in behind them.
Inside was a line of cells, most of them open and vacant. One, however, close to the back, had a starved-looking wolf that didn't even open its eyes when it heard them coming through. Jen was roughly thrown into the cage next to it, and the Wizzrobe attached a rune-covered chain to her neck, hissing a chant to fit it better. The Shadow Beast grabbed a rat from a nearby shelf and threw it into the wolf's cell. The starved creature snatched it up and began to consume it ravenously.
Ew.
The Wizzrobe, now done with the runes (honestly, though, she could counter all of them with her sharpie by writing "expand" based on what she could see. The chain's runes didn't have anything to counter magic. Shame she couldn't find her bag), rose back into the air and sailed out of the cell block. The Shadow Beast followed closely behind, closing and locking the door behind it, but not before throwing another rat in front of her. Its dead eyes were filmy in death and its rigor mortis-locked limbs lay still.
Double ew.
Jen decided that while she could do with some food, she'd be better off letting the wolf next to her eat it. It had finished its rat and was now lying on the ground with its eyes closed. If it weren't for the occasional twitch of its ears and the rise and fall of its chest, it might have been dead.
To try to get its attention, she walked up to the cell wall separating them, knocking at the bars and jangling the chain around her wrist.
"Hey, wake up!" she screamed in her mind as she fruitlessly tried to get his attention. Jen stopped, nudging at the bars of his side of the prison. She yelped in pain without meaning to as she stepped on a splinter. Not even that made him open his eyes. She growled under her breath and tried something new.
"HEY! WOLF! GET UP!" she howled with all her might, putting as much intelligence behind her request as she could. Her heart leapt as he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Awake! Finally! Listen, Wolf, I'm here to find Link the Hero. Ever heard of him? Is he nearby?" she barked, "I'm gonna get all of us out of here and fix the timeline."
The wolf flicked his ears and blinked as though startled. He started to practice making noises, his voice dry and cracked, but eventually she could make out, "M-me. I… am… Link."
Jen winced. This guy must have been only a little older than her, and he was in bad shape. It would take a lot to get him back into prime questing condition.
"Okay, okay, I can do this. I'm sure Midna will be here soon. In the meantime, can you walk?" Jen was really worried she'd have to carry him. Starved or no, this wolf was absolutely massive. Jen was certain that if it stood on its back legs, she would be shorter than it.
A small part of the worry in her chest was lifted when he stood up, shook dust off of himself weakly, and trotted over to her as far as the chain would allow. Still, he was swaying on his feet and his legs were shaking from misuse even with that slight exertion. But even with his thinness and ribs poking out, she had to look up at him, as he was three times her size.
"G-good?" he asked, voice still crackly. If she had the ability, she would have furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. He needed water, food, and time that they didn't have.
"Y-yeah, its good. But still, you're starved, dying of thirst, and weak," Jen stated to him, picking up her meal with her nails, "You need this more than me, and I'm not quite ready to eat this yet." She tossed it as best as she could through the bars of his prison. She regretted it immediately, as the feeling would probably haunt her nightmares forever, but she tried not to show it. With an inquisitive glance towards her, he began to eat her offering with more grace than he'd eaten his own. When he finished, he looked back at her.
"Anything else? What next?" he asked, voice starting to come back. Jen gave a shrug and began to pace.
"I don't have anything else planned until the guards either chose to make an appearance or if Midna decides to arrive down here," she said sulkily, but as she thought of her, she thought of the questions she'd asked her while they were in New York, How did you become invisible like that?
"Well, actually, we could practice any skills we have while waiting. Got anything special other than height?" Jen teased. He tilted his head in confusion.
"Y'know, like the skills to fly or breathe fire," she offered more awkwardly, but he still looked confused.
"Never mind."
Jennifer sat quietly in her cell for a while, wondering where the heck Midna could have vanished to. For a brief second, she played with the idea that she could have lost her entirely, and wasn't even in the vicinity. Jen closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing, putting a forceful lid on the thought. She tried to instead focus on her breathing and her surroundings. Better to complain than to worry. Jen began to try to utilize all non-casting magic she could, searching for anything that could work in this hatefully bleak magical deadness.
As she continued to relax, she finally began to use a trick called Aura Perception to locate those near her. The girl fancied that she could see in her mind's eye a faint outline of the thin wolf next to her, shining a stunning forest green. And there, the shadow beast guard, surrounded by a black aura but glowing a beautiful twilight blue. She extended her view to outside the cell block's borders. There. Past little scurrying corrupted rats and monsters glowing horrible shades of pallid gold or blood red tempered with black auras, was a bright shining girl with a marvelous blue like the ocean. And next to her… A small form with large ears glowing a royal silver with a black object on its head. There she is.
Jen opened her eyes, feeling like she'd woken up from a dream. Maybe she had. Jen couldn't quite tell. She hoped it wasn't sleep. It had been to much like Aura Perception. She felt sluggish yet alert, and something else like stress or an upset stomach. Jen stole a glance at Link, noticing the way his ears swiveled with more energy than before, trying to figure out from where a rescuer would be coming from. Other than that, he could have been a corpse, all bone and fur, and nothing like what she'd seen in her imagination.
It wasn't imagination. Maybe you have power you don't even think you have.
Hello, random invasive thought! Haven't heard you in a few hours! Where did you come from and where did you go?
Shaking herself alert, she began to circle around the cell, restrained by the chain. Jen took in every detail she could, recalling the schematic of the castle she'd committed to memory on Nayru's request.
Seems like those Three command a lot of your loyalty. What have they given you in return?
Shoo. Anyway, Jen paused as she thought about in which wing of the castle she was. Based on the way the (feeble) sunlight was coming in, they had to be facing the east. Or maybe the west…? Either way, she was close to the Princess's personal tower, where she'd seen Midna's aura. So… west wing dungeon…?
You're certain she's there? It could have just been imagination…
Shut up, you're being distracting. She looked again to Link, debating whether or not to tell him she was close. If she told him, he would be more prepared for the trip out, filled with hope and trust. If she couldn't find her, then his faith in her would be gone, and the world was doomed. Jen huffed a groan, but hastily covered it with a yawn when Link looked in her direction. He probably shouldn't see her discomfort, anyway.
The canines waited for what felt like an eternity until Link broke the silence.
"So, where did you come from?" he asked, leveling her with a curious gaze. She looked at him as she deliberated her answer.
"Do you want to know about my home life, or about the planet I'm from?" she replied coolly, figuring that now was as good a time as ever to drop the bomb. He started, looking at Jen in surprise and concern.
"I was going to ask about your family, but I'm pretty sure you hit your head somewhere. Did you mean to say planet?" He was standing now, trotting closer to her to pick up on her answer more. Jen nodded.
"Yeah, I meant to say planet. What, you thought you were alone? Nah. There's multiple layers of reality on your planet, and there's multiple dimensions across the multiverse that we can't even dream of. Sooner or later, they're bound to collide once or twice, yeah?"
"… I didn't even understand half of what you said, but could you please elaborate?" he replied, everything about him ready to listen.
"'Course. Where I'm from, the dominant species is a lot like Hylians, and we call ourselves humans too, but we don't use magic and have smaller ears. To compensate, we've become so technologically advanced we can annihilate ourselves with only one weapon, and we continually destroy our natural habitat to pursue greater feats. We come in as many shades of color as you guys and believe in different things, making us a very divided species. It's not a fun place to live in, but it has its moments. Music and other artsy things are still important, but really, we're a bit of a mess," she replied pessimistically. Link didn't look reassured about her or her planet.
"Family is a bit more complicated, really. You don't really want to learn about that. There's a lot of bad feelings in the mix with that subject," Link still didn't look too happy with her description, but it was the best she was willing to give him. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, until a thought occurred to her.
"Hey, Link? How long has it been since you got here?" she asked. He looked away thoughtfully, but in the end, shook his head.
"I don't know," he replied dully. Jen sighed, and changed the subject back to something more confusing.
"Link, I know I sound crazy to you…" she said slowly. He didn't reply, but the sidelong glance he gave her was enough to confirm her suspicions. The girl continued, "…but you've turned into a wolf, met up with the Shadow Beasts, and have stayed here for weeks on end. So if I'm crazy, what does that make you?" she finished. Link didn't reply, but he rolled over onto his side, his back facing her. Wow. Rude. There was a thoughtful silence between them, but she didn't have the time for silences. Jen took a second to think, finally asking, "So, Link, you asked me about my personal life, but what about yours?"
"Doesn't matter," he muttered.
"Yes, it does," she pressed, "Besides, I shared stuff about me, now it's your turn." His reply was curt and flat,
"No, you didn't. You just dodged the question. Besides, I owe you nothing." Jen bit back an irritated retort, her elongated ears flattening in anger.
"Link, being this bull-headed will only hurt us both in the long run. It won't matter what you think of me in the meantime, but for the love of Din, you need to listen to me right now. You want to know the whole story? The whole story is long and complicated, even more so than what's going on now. The basics are that my companion was supposed to break you out of here a long time ago, but because she couldn't, the world has begun to collapse. You can't tell right now, but the timeline isn't supposed to end like this.
"If you don't help me help you kick out the evil that plagues your world soon, its going to get worse. Like, universal apocalypse level bad. The darkness has already spread to my realm, too, so in return for my help, I'm going to need to ask you a favor. You do exactly as I tell you and I'll get us both out of here and I'll accompany you on your Quest, but in return you have to help me free my home. We don't even have to talk, if that's what you want. But if you don't drop that attitude right now, I'll just leave you here and do everything myself. Do we have a deal?" she hissed, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. He rolled over and stood up to his full height, looking at her hard. Jen didn't back down, and he looked away.
"Fine," he finally muttered, "But I call the shots when we get out."
"But do you promise to listen to me until we get out?" she confirmed.
"Yeah, sure," he replied noncommittally. He lay back down more attentively, "So when do we leave?"
(~~~~~)
"I found you!" a familiar voice suddenly said from just in front of the cage. Jen spun around to find the source of the sound. She spotted Midna just in time to see her dramatically front-flip through the bars, landing delicately in front of her.
"Well, sorry that took so long, I got a little hung up in one of the towers, you see." Midna continued. She began to look around, as if noticing the dungeon for the first time. She stopped, grinning, and Jen followed her gaze to Link, who was snarling and glaring at her. Midna lazily walked over to just in front of the bars separating them.
"Ooh, aren't you scary?" She giggled again, "Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me?" Midna crossed her arms, leaning forward to examine him. Jen could just barely catch her frown and mutter, "You're a little on the thin side, though…" She covered it with a broad, toothy grin and said, "Well that's too bad. I was planning on helping you… if you were nice."
Jen sighed tiredly.
"Link, this is Midna, she's who I was waiting for. And yes, before you ask, she's always this irritating, but you can trust her," she said calmly but flatly. Link stopped snarling and straightened, still glaring at her. After glancing from her to Link, Midna giggled again.
"Eee hee! That's much better! It seems Yarie has you all house-trained for me! You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you?" Midna cackled again, and Jen rolled her eyes as she was reintroduced to her unwanted nickname. Link looked like he would have happily strangled someone, if he still had thumbs. Jen knew he was thinking about the ways to shut the obnoxious ex-princess up.
"Oops! But you aren't human anymore, are you? You're a beast! And so is Yarie, I suppose, in her own special way. Eee hee!" While Jennifer managed to shake it off with only an involuntary facial twitch, Midna's taunting triggered a spark in Link Jen hadn't seen before, and he suddenly snarled and jumped at her. Midna didn't even flinch.
"There, there, you two. Be a good dog and calm down. No need to bite!" She suddenly put her hands together in a familiar way, activating her magic. Link backed away, whining, but Jen stood still. Midna focused the destructive force of her concentrated mana into a small ball of disorganized energy, letting it fly free with a flick from her arms. It snapped the chain connecting her leg to the floor smoothly, and Jen walked around her cell gratefully, stretching tired muscles.
"Eee hee! At least someone appreciates her work around here. Now hold still, and don't worry. I don't miss." She put her hands together again more slowly, but Link still flinched when the chain beside him broke, dancing away from the snapped link with his ears flat. He paused in the corner of his cell, examining the clean cut. Midna danced out of her cell and into his smoothly, getting right in his thin face.
"Ahaha! You look kind of surprised!" she said with another condescending giggle. Link flinched away from her, but Midna didn't seem to notice, "So! I bet you're wondering, where exactly are we?" She didn't answer her question, as she was already jumping out of the cell in a flurry of sparks and reassembling herself on the other side of the door.
"Well, I'll make you a deal. If you can get over here, maybe I'll tell you!" she finished with another laugh, beckoning the animals forward. Midna gave a dramatic yawn and a stretch, lifting herself into the air and letting her hair (Jen had to look twice to confirm she wasn't hallucinating) continue to beckon them forwards in a "come here" gesture. Link began to look around his cage as Jen checked the spaces between the bars and her hip width. There was a place where the bars were slightly out of line, and she took advantage of it, sliding cleanly out of the cage. Midna grinned at the humanoid, turning to Link, who still seemed lost.
"Well, I suppose I should give you a hint as to how to escape, if you're that incompetent. I guess these sorts of prisons have a few holes in them you could take advantage of! Eee hee!" she said as Jen paced in front of Link's cage, helping him look for some sort of escape. She had especially taken notice of the suspiciously frail-looking and moldy boxes in the corner, and she slipped into Link's prison to examine them.
"Link, these boxes look pretty breakable. Can you try to smash them?" she asked the weakened hero, clawing gently at one and watching shards come off under her claws. Link looked at them and nodded, trotting to the other side of the room shakily and moving slightly faster at the boxes. One of them shattered, but the others only creaked. He moved back for another burst of speed, and Jen hastily cleared away the wood fragments. He broke another box, this time revealing a hole under the bars.
He looked at her, panting happily and wagging his tail slowly. Jen gave him a thumbs up. She slid out of the bars to meet him on the other side of the cage as he emerged from the ground.
"Good job!" Jen praised, but noticed something was missing after a second, "Where did Midna go?"
Jennifer's question was rudely answered when Midna reappeared, landing hard on Link's back. He barely could stand her weight and immediately sat down, sending her tumbling down his back with a startled shout. Jen laughed (if the grumbling bark she made instead could be counted as such) as the imp picked herself back up hastily, trying to salvage her dignity.
"Well, I guess you're not completely stupid after all," she said when she was back in the air, fixing her headdress, as it had slipped. Jen stood next to Link, staring her down together as the Twilian grinned at them.
"Listen, I like you, wolf, so I think I'll help you get out of here. Having you on the team might just give us the edge we need." She vanished again, reappearing behind them. She grabbed Jen's ear as well as Link's and pulled it sharply, "But in exchange for my help, you have to do EXACTLY as I say!" Link looked surprised, but Jen didn't believe that was intentional. She snarled angrily, but Link stoically didn't reply, simply narrowing his eyes.
"If you need anything from me, just give me a sign." Midna let go of their ears and hit Jen on the shoulder, "So are we clear?" Jen snarled again in reply.
"Good! Now, come on! Get moving!"
The three first checked the doors on both sides of the room, careful not to make any noise near them in case a guard was nearby. Both were closed, forcing them to find an alternate way out. As Link examined the walls and she looked at their cells, Midna lounged on a bench on the opposite wall, giggling at the two animals. Finally, as Link opened a spare cell near the far door, he barked for her to come to him.
There was a random hanging ring near a grate. Midna, noticing the commotion, came to investigate.
"Finally, you two are so slow! It's obvious, isn't it? Just pull the ring and get out of here! C'mon!"
Link jumped up to grab the ring in his mouth, but couldn't pull it down. Jen glared at Midna, who had started laughing, and grabbed Link's torso, yanking him to the floor. The gate sprang open, and they jogged through the tunnel it opened to. It was long, and they followed it as it turned to the left, finally arriving in an open system of passages filled with dirty water. Just in front of them was a small glowing light that she immediately recognized from one of Nayru's lessons.
"Link… that's…" she whined, unable to describe the wisp to Link. Midna looked less disturbed, but her voice was hesitant.
"Oh… well, well…" she murmured before breaking out into a loud giggle, "Eee hee hee! Want to see something interesting? You're both beasts! You should know what to do! Just use your senses and poke around…" She moved aside (she had been leading them), gesturing for Link and she to take a look. It was a small orb of light, barely the size of a basketball, but she knew it held the entire essence of an unfortunate Hylian. When exposed to Dark Magic, this was a defense mechanism for most magic-wielding creatures against the effects of Corruption.
Jen watched Link stare at the wisp quizzically, before looking to her for help.
"Link, I've been a... creature… for about a day, please don't try to get me to help, I have no idea what Midna is talking about with 'poking around'." she replied flatly, still focusing on the wisp. Jen only looked back to Link when she saw him jump. He was still looking at the wisp, but in the reflection of his eyes, she jumped as well when she noticed the pale outline of a humanoid figure. His ears were twitching, too, as if listening to some unheard conversation.
It took her a second longer than he did, but she finally managed a similar effect. If she focused on the magical signature of the wisp rather than its physical one, she could just barely hear and see a Hylian guard. Jen lost the outline pretty quickly, though, and resolved to practice more if she found another lost human.
Midna made no comment as they two trotted away from the wisp, her face hardening into a blandly grinning mask. When they were a few yards away, she broke the silence.
"That was a soldier's spirit." She stated it flatly, as a fact, but giggled, "Maybe it's someone from the other world? Eee hee! There are lots of other spirits roaming about here, you know. Try to hone your senses to see them. They might know things…"
Of course they know things, Jen thought to herself bitterly, reflecting on what the trio told her about Zant conquering the entire Hylian Realm. They walked along the side of the canal for a few more seconds, until they came across an open gate on the other side of the canal. Link barely got across, and she almost landed in the canal. They both chuckled a little at each other before they walked through the gate. Once there, however, Midna began to talk again.
"I doubt that you two are quite used to your new bodies yet, even though you've been a wolf for a while but Yarie has fought a bit, so I'll just tell you, wolf… Think about how you fought your enemies in your human form. Just because your shape has changed doesn't mean your instincts haven't as well!"
With that bit of knowledge, she lifted herself further into the air and gestured to another hanging ring. Together, Link and Jen opened up a vent to their right, but before they went to investigate, they heard an ominous squeaking.
"Link, stay back. I'll get this," she told him as she jumped into the side-tunnel. Jen crept forward, quietly regretting this as her back protested. At the end of the tunnel was an old skeleton, its bones yellow with age. The corpse glowed slightly in the Shadow-tainted air, and she could see small black shapes skittering around it.
Squeak, squeak
She growled, flattening herself into a fighting stance in preparation for the fight.
Squeak, squeak
She crept forward…
Squeak, squeak
She launched herself at the skull, shattering it under her foot and sending the shadow creatures scattering. At least three of them launched themselves at her, and she slashed at them as they flew at her. One of them managed to scratch a long, thin line into her side before she crushed its head and flung it aside. Jen ignored the wound, instead focusing on the other monsters that had fled the tunnel and seemed to be attacking Link. He was holding out pretty well, though he seemed to be struggling.
She jumped at one that was about to sink its teeth into Link, ripping it off of his coat and throwing it into the canal, where it burst into sparks. The other four continued to battle Link, but mimicking her bite-and-scratch fighting style, or perhaps utilizing his own, he squashed a particularly small one and sank his teeth into another, throwing it into the air as it squeaked frantically. The last two met their end as Link spun, his tail slamming one into the opposite wall while the other got caught in his jaws and shaken like a toy.
Midna grinned at the two when the beasts looked back at her, but didn't speak. She turned around and crossed the canal, turning a corner and disappearing from sight. The two followed, jumping into the low water and splashing to the other side quickly, passing what had to be the way out, though it was guarded by spikes. The walls were too large for Jen to jump, and Link let her climb onto his back and jump up, following her up the wall quickly.
Midna was floating just below a hanging ring, beckoning them forward. Link and Jen checked the nearby tunnel off-shoot for any monsters before Link jumped for the ring and she pulled him down. It occurred to her that he couldn't have been much more than ninety pounds. When the ring was down, the canal began to fill with more greyish water, until it overflowed its embankment and came up to Link's shins in height. Jen was thankful she was bipedal, as water lapped into her socks.
Link chuckled as she disgustedly raised a foot out of the water, shaking it off futilely. Angrily, she jumped up onto his back, tipping him into the canal, soaking them both. Midna sneered at them both as they climbed, soaked through, out of the water.
"Hey, Link. It would be a darn shame if someone got her wet," Jen hissed to him. He looked down at her with a sparkle in his eyes and a subtle wag of his tail.
"Hey, if you two are done acting like a bunch of dumb animals, the way out is over there!" she pointed to the water-covered spike floor for emphasis, "Let's go!"
As if on cue, Link shook out his coat, spraying Midna with noxious water. She squealed in surprise as she was covered in sewer water, rising higher into the air to avoid the spray. Jen laughed and so did Link, though he began to cough towards the end and his throat sounded dry.
Jen waved him over to the exit, and they both splashed back into the water. Jen noticed that Link swam determinedly with his head above the water in a doggie paddle, while she stuck to the more traditional human style of swimming. He still arrived first, shaking himself off and giving her room to get onto the platform, though she didn't bother trying to get dry.
Link had trotted ahead of her, examining the new section of the castle's sewer system. He had paused, though, at a corner, and she quickly noticed why. He was staring intently at another wisp, listening to its whimpers quietly. Jen focused on its signature and its previous form appeared more solidly than before. She even heard its message, What are these black things… where are they coming from… And how do we get out of here?!
A chill ran down her spine. The spirit was talking as if it had only recently been reduced to a shade, but it had been, what, a few weeks? Did spirits just say their last words over and over? The thought chilled her in a way that the water, which was colder in this new quadrant, couldn't.
Link and Jen shared a grim look, rounding the corner and stopping. There was a large iron gate in front of them. Midna noticed what her companions were staring at and crossed just in front of them, floating over to the gate and bursting into sparks, reforming on the other side. She turned around when she was on the other side and cried back to them, "This way! Over here!" while her hair beckoned them over to her. "I'll be waiting for you, but you'll have to help yourself for a change!"
She took a quick glance at the gate and surmised that a way around it would be behind them, so she turned around.
"Link, I'll be looking for the exit behind us. Bark if you need anything!" she shouted, sloshing through the water as she explored the system.
"Okay, I'll try to look around here for anything!" he yelled back, examining the bars, "You might actually be able to fit through here, though, you're so thin!"
Jen snorted as she examined a small off-shoot, though she jumped back when she saw a small swarm of shadow rats and she replied, "Yeah, but your big boned butt would be stuck here without me!" She heard a bark of laughter from behind her, but no reply.
Jen continued to look around for anything, noticing a ring right above her. She didn't pull it, as she could tell it would just release the shadow rats trapped to her left. Jen looked past the ring, though, and saw another gate for the water, as well as a ring right next to it (and a wisp, though she ignored it in favor of the ring).
"Hey, Link, I think I found something!" she barked, purposely knocking the skull of some unknown animal into the canal and watching it sink. Jen heard splashing from behind her, and she turned around, expecting to see Link, only to find a large shadow rat hissing and spitting at some unknown enemy. She quickly dispatched it, seeing more in front of her. Jen whined in fear, killing a few others as she sprinted as best she could closer to whatever was causing the attack.
Jen found Link battling off several others, fighting valiantly despite several scratches and bruises. There was an open sewage tunnel next to him, and reinforcements were pouring through the opening like blood from a wound.
"Link, help me pull the ring again!" she yelled as she slapped another rat into the canal wall. He leapt for the ring at the same time another rat bit at him, adding the weight necessary for the ring to be pulled. The gate fell on the rats, cutting a few in half and stemming the black tide. They quickly killed the rest of the rats, panting hard and bleeding from multiple wounds.
"Link, are you okay?" she asked, looking at the multiple slashes and bite marks that dotted his frail frame. He didn't respond verbally, but instead nodded his head heavily.
"Link, I found a way to make the water level in here drop, but I need your help. Can you get across the water?" Again, another determined nod.
"Okay, follow me."
He had taken a right where she'd gone straight ahead, but they both had to cross the water. His wounds colored the water darker, worrying her. Jen was even able to keep up with him as they crossed the canal. The two were able to open the canal gate, and the water level receded. They didn't bother to listen to the other wisp, but crossed the way to Midna.
"Finally, I thought you…" she broke off when she saw the blood spilling from Link. Her face hardened, "The tunnel is just below you."
They jumped down from the canal walkways lightly, examining the small tunnel.
"Are you claustrophobic?" she asked Link as she took note of the height. He shook his head and, with a little bit of effort, began to crawl through the tunnel, with her walking right behind him. The tunnel wasn't long, thankfully, and it opened up into a dirt floored and damp, with a wisp inside it. They didn't hear its fearful message, passing it quickly. The hairpin bend of the tunnel revealed Midna at the other side, beckoning them to her. They walked over to her tiredly, dodging her attempt to land on Link's back. She giggled again.
"Aww, did the detour tire you out, little ones?" She paused, as if a thought had just occurred to her, "By the way, are you practicing with your senses like I told you to? Seems like all the spirits in here… are soldiers. Where in the world could we be? Eee hee!" Jen grunted in irritation, already walking away. She heard Midna continue to talk to Link as she left.
"You want out of here, right? Ok! Then we're off!"
She had stopped, partially to wait for Link and partially because she was staring in dismay at the number of stairs.
"Well," she breathed, "This should be fun."
Link had doggedly stayed on his feet, but he was swaying from side to side. The wounds inflicted by the rats hadn't closed yet, and the scratch on her side was only beginning to stop bleeding, even though it had been almost ten minutes.
"Actually, let's take a break. I'm really tired, so let's just catch our breath before we do anything." Jen really wasn't tired, but she did know some healing spells that would transfer energy from her to him that would really tire her out. Unfortunately, Link shook his head and began to climb the stairs, legs quivering with every strained muscle. He collapsed on the fifth stair, and she immediately rushed to his side.
"Link? LINK? Link, answer me!" she shouted, nosing him in the side, "Jesus Christ, you are such a heroic idiot." Jen immediately began thinking back to healing spells that could be cast nonverbally and without runes or potions.
Pigi-aja huan wrahui Loic! she thought, focusing on the spell as hard as she could as she channeled magic into her heart, preparing to convert it into healing energies. Hen leapt to her feet, paws and eyes glowing with pink energy, pressing the light into his cut up chest, watching the worst wounds heal and his breathing become steady. Jen took a deep and calming breath as she saw the result of her healing, sitting down as dizziness crept into her vision.
