Author's Note: I apologize for taking so long to update. Juices weren't flowing until I got in better touch with the characters and myself, but hopefully I'll be able to finish this sucker. I don't own any of the Zelda characters or games, Nintendo does. The characters and story I add are my own (no stealing!). My thanks to those that read my works. Please read and review.

Chapter 10: A New Ally

It took a few more bites to kill the bee, but it didn't provide any challenge after it had lost an eye. Midna lowered us to the ground as the last two glowing bugs broke down into smoke that drifted west. "Well that was an adventure in itself."

I chuckled and shivered a little, still feeling the adrenaline from my earlier drop. "No kidding. At least we're closer to the spirit's spring than we were last time."

Midna got on my back and pat my side. "Then we'll find your family."

"Right." I had the feeling that I was forgetting something, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was, so I put it out of my mind.

We headed back to the golf course, where the ball of light solidified, and the white form of Faron appeared. Human again, a small smile came to my lips as I looked at the bright monkey. "I'm glad to see you."

"And I you, Chosen One." Now that he was fully formed, I could tell that his voice was different from Ordona's. "I'm sure that the twilight is damaging to your world. But what is more troubling are the events taking place in Hyrule that accompany the problems of your world."

I nodded. "Yeah, Ordona said something about strange events. What's going on in Hyrule?"

"Disappearances. First, all the moblins vanished. But then a number of Hylians also were gone without trace. We fear that others may follow. Hurry Chosen One; Hyrule needs you once more."

I nodded and left as Faron vanished, hiding a little smirk. "At least they don't talk as much as they did in Hyrule," I remarked to Midna, who had returned to my shadow.

"They did seem a bit long winded at times," she replied with a giggle. "Want your vehicle?"

I nodded and the motorcycle appeared next to me in an instant. It wasn't until I reached the entrance of the golf course that I realized what had been niggling at the back of my mind. "Oh crap!"

"What?" came Midna's concern.

"I should have looked for my family in the twilight. I can't use my wolf form when people can see me. It's not safe," I explained.

"Oh no. Is there another way we can track them?"

"None that I know of." I sighed as I put the helmet on and started the bike. But where was I going to go? I was trying to keep from despairing when a blur of tan went rolling by on the main road in front of me, two cop cars chasing behind it.

"Was that what I thought it was?" Midna was as surprised as I was.

"That was a Goron!" I said out loud. I gassed the bike and took off after them.

The goron was more nimble than the police cars, dodging its way skillfully around traffic. But the gap was still closing, for the cars were just a bit faster. I hunkered down and accelerated, determined not to lose them. The goron ran a red light, leaving screeching tires and honking horns in its wake. The cops got stopped by the mess as I mounted the sidewalk to slip by. The goron turned right at the next intersection, and I cut across a parking lot to close the gap. Hearing sirens, I checked a side mirror to see that the cops had resumed the chase. I clenched my jaw as I tried to go faster still. The goron was now close enough that I could spot the bumps and patterns on its back. I pulled alongside it, but it swerved and I had to slow down to avoid being hit by it. I flipped my visor up and sped up again, shouting as I got close. "I'm a friend! I know you're a goron! Follow me if you don't want to get caught!"

He didn't swerve at me this time, and I think I heard a grunt from him. Taking this as consent, I moved ahead of him, my eyes darting about for a safe place. I turned down one street, and then slowed down to turn into an alley. I heard the low rumble of the goron's rolling as he followed me. I stopped and looked behind me as the patrol cars went by the alley, not stopping to look. I sighed in relief and turned the motorcycle off. "I almost can't believe that worked."

I took the helmet off and turned to look at the goron, who had unrolled after the police went by. He also sighed as he turned to me. "Thank you. That was close."

I smiled; it was good to see someone friendly. "Any time. So, mind telling me how you got here from Hyrule?"

He paused before answering. "I will if you tell me how you know about gorons and Hyrule. You're only the second human I've met here that does."

Now it was my turn to pause. "You've met someone else that knows?" It really shouldn't have surprised me; the Zelda franchise was one of the more well known series in video games. But then again, everything about this goron was unexpected.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning." He sat down, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on his knees. "My name is Mag Coron, nephew to Gor Coron, one of our elders. Lately in Hyrule, there have been rumors of disappearances. Five in all, from various parts of Hyrule. I wished to help, but I was stuck in the cold spring of the zora's domain."

"That was you?" I interrupted.

He chuckled. "Quite embarrassing, really. The zoras couldn't lift me out, the walls were unsuited for climbing, and I'm too heavy to swim. I thought of tunneling my way out, but then the zoras would have lost their water. I guess that was what made me an easy target. I was asleep one night and then I felt a jerk and was suddenly in a cave with some black monsters. Before I could fight, I was shoved into a portal of some kind and I appeared in this world with more of those creatures. I tried to fight, but it was like they were ghosts."

"Actually, you were the ghost, but right idea," I corrected.

He looked at me for a moment, seeming to want to remark, but instead he continued with his story. "Anyway, they took me to some kind of place where people store their belongings and locked me up. It turns out that was where the other kidnapped Hylians had gone. They even brought in two humans from your world."

I inhaled sharply at the mention of my family, but didn't say anything.

"I tried to break down the wall, but my punches didn't work until a little while ago. I wanted to help the others, but guards were everywhere, so I just got myself out. I tried asking someone else for help, but everyone just called me a monster. I figured I was in trouble, so I just ran." His head dipped as his narrative ended. "I'm glad the elders weren't here; my behavior wasn't very brave."

"You did what was necessary. And you found the best help you could get; me."

Mag looked at me in surprise. "You? Well, you do seem to know about Hyrule and gorons, but you do not seem to be exceptionally strong. Do you have magic or some kind of authority here?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No. But those two people from my world are my family. My mother and sister."

Mag's surprise mixed with understanding as he looked at me, his jaw working around. "You're the one that Karin talked about? It can't be. I was expecting a great warrior from what she told us."

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What did she tell you?"

"A fantastic tale about how her brother and one from Hyrule changed places. Her brother became the chosen one that saved Hyrule. I even gave him a bag of bombs for helping me break out of a rock I was stuck in. Do you mean to tell me that that was you?"

"Hard to believe, I know. I wouldn't believe it myself if it didn't happen to me."

"I'm not sure I believe you, but do I believe you to be of good intent. What is your name?"

"Tyler."

He looked me over, and I could only guess at what he was thinking. Finally, he stood up and stretched. "Well, it sounds like we're going to be working together. The others must be freed and returned to their homes."

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you. It hasn't been easy fighting alone. But first, we must get you to a safe place. We have to do some planning."

"Do you think we can make it there safely? It's not going to be easy to sneak back."

"I think I can help with that." I directed my thoughts to Midna. "Back to the portal near my house."

"Are you sure? We've never taken someone with us before."

"Don't worry. He seems to trust me, so I can explain it to him."

"Okay." There was a pause in her thoughts. "Would I have to reveal myself?"

"Still shy, huh? You can stay in my shadow."

"Thank you Tyler."

"Hey, brother."

I jerked my head up and realized that Mag had been trying to talk to me while I had been thinking with Midna. "Sorry. I was talking to my friend who is an expert in magic."

"Oh? You weren't talking out loud. And where is your friend?" He looked around expectantly.

"Nearby," I answered with a smile. I closed my eyes as Midna's magic took us away. When I opened them again, we were standing in the intersection nearest to my house. "Uh oh, traffic is moving again. Better go." I quickly put my helmet on, started the bike, and drove up the street and into our development. A glance in the mirror confirmed that Mag was following me. I pulled into our driveway and turned off the bike, Mag coming up beside me.

"That was some strange magic. And how did your friend do it without being there?" he asked as he unrolled.

"She's very good at it," I replied with a smile.

"Flatterer." Midna giggled in my mind.

"Come around to the backyard. I'm not sure if you'll fit through the front door."

Mag nodded and followed me to the side yard gate. "Many human dwellings aren't made with gorons in mind."

I chuckled as I reached over the top of the gate and undid the latch, glad that the bottom one was rarely locked. "Too true. And as such, I'll warn you now that the rocks in our backyard are for decoration and my dad will be mad if you eat any of them. Oh, you probably shouldn't anyway."

"Why is that?"

"Because our dogs… do their business on those rocks."

Mag didn't reply right away as he followed me into the yard. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Please stay back here and try to hide if you hear anyone coming." I went to the sliding glass back door and let myself inside.

"Tyler, is that you?" My dad was sitting on the couch, remote in his hand. Emily sat next to him, red-eyed, but seemingly no worse for wear.

"Yeah," I replied.

Dad looked around and his face fell when he failed to see mom or Karin with me. "You couldn't…?"

I hated the way he said it; it sounded like he expected me to fail. "They're okay. They're alive and being kept prisoner with some others."

"Where?"

"A self-storage place, I think. Near a golf course. But beyond that, I don't know."

He let out a breath and motioned with the remote. "I've been watching the news, trying to see if anything came up. Someone on a motorcycle helped a strange monster escape from the police. Was that you?"

Knowing him, the look on his face wasn't supposed to be accusing, but it felt like it anyway. I was tempted to lie, but… "Yeah. That was me. But he's a good guy."

"Where is he?"

I hesitated. "In the backyard."

Dad got on his feet and stood aside to let him look into the backyard. After a minute, he said, "Well, if you say he's a good guy, I'll trust you."

I looked down a moment before looking at my dad again. "He needs a place to stay. All the prisoners do. No one out there will understand. No one important anyway. It would just be until we find a way to send them home."

Dad sighed. "Okay." He paused, and a look of realization passed over his face. "You said that they were being kept in a storage place, right?"

I nodded, knowing that Dad was putting two and two together. "Yeah. Why?"

He walked over to the computer and brought up the internet. "It said on the news where the chase started. If we find a storage place near there…"

"Then we've found mom and Karin!" Finally, some progress! Knowing how close we would be got my blood pumping. It was time to take the fight to Zant.

"Yeah, but how are you going to get them out of there?" Dad asked as he typed in cross streets.

I smirked, feeling more confident than ever. "Zelda isn't the only game that I've played."