Yeto had gotten up that morning and gone up the mountain to assess the wolfos situation. He'd stopped to investigate a curious black speck in the snow, and he'd never come back.
A cursed Midna found a cursed Yeto at the bottom of a gorge. He'd slid down there on purpose upon realizing that he was fighting a losing battle against head crazies. He hadn't exactly wanted the head crazies to march him and his strong fists over to his house (where his wife was!) and pulverize his injured little weakling guest.
The curses recognized each other as different halves of the same whole, so Midna stopped to pull him out.
It was only because of this delay that the first of the series of visitors to reach Link was the golden wolf.
"Link," the wolf said, dropping in from one of the broken windows, "Midna sent me here to keep you safe. Come with—ah. I can't take you to my world while you're in that form."
"WHAT?" Link said.
"My purpose is to train a swordsman," the wolf said. "Once I picked you as the swordsman I would train, it set at lot of rules into place as to how I must interact with you. I am not allowed to—"
Link didn't get to hear what he wasn't allowed to do because just then a demonic-looking Midna crashed into him and pinned him to the wall.
"Very fitting," she said evilly. "We will kill you while you take the form we hate the most."
"MIDNA!" Link barked. "MIDNA, NO, YOU…"
But she was not Midna.
Not Midna seized his neck and would have broken it if Blizetta hadn't slammed the both of them with an ice pillar. Link limped away in a hurry once he hit the ground, but Blizetta was able to catch Midna and press her against the wall with another pillar. Blizetta didn't need much motivation to try and kill, and Midna had made her very angry. The shard's dark magic hadn't been able to make Midna dodge effectively because it didn't care about her.
Link did.
It made him sick to see what horrors she'd endured while trying to protect him and his land. She'd disappeared on him that one time to protect her identity. Once the stakes had been raised, she'd gambled with her very life. How could he have doubted her integrity?
But how could he save her?
Suddenly. The sound of the door being pulled open, by someone of massive strength – Yeto.
The head crazies version.
The version that locks eyes with you and grins evilly instead of smiling at you and patting your face.
This version also advances, slowly, eyes blazing with murderous intent.
Link's mind raced. An idea? A bad idea. They were all bad ideas; the situation could not support a good one. He limped quickly, slipping and sliding on the ice, foreleg in agony; ran until he reached the ball and chain that his person self had left on the floor. Cursed Yeto followed him – good. Link offered him the handle of the ball and chain like a dog offering its master a stick. Yeto saw it and accepted it eagerly. Then Link limped away as fast as he could on the ice – towards Blizetta. He knew how dangerous she was. He knew how dangerous Midna would be once she was free. He didn't care. Not about that. Midna needed him. Blizetta saw him – soon enough, ice pillars slammed down around him. With the last of his strength, he tried to dodge, tried to escape, but there were so many ice pillars… Once second he was looking at his own terrified face in one of them that had just fallen, the next he felt the wrenching impact of another one – he collapsed, gasping – picked himself up, clawed his way forward on the ice to position Blizetta between himself and Yeto – then heard, as if from a great distance:
SMACK.
Blizetta roared in anger and turned to face
SMACK.
SMACK.
SMACK.
With Blizetta distracted by Yeto and the ball and chain, Not Midna flew to Link, seized him by the neck, and pinned him to the wall again.
"Midna," Link whispered.
"We're not her," Not Midna said. "But we will send her your way once we're through with you!"
He'd done it.
He'd made her safe from Blizetta.
But he could not make her safe from this curse.
His wide blue eyes took in her unfocused yellow one, and he felt a peaceful sort of regret – even though he could not save her, he had done all that he could. His death would spell doom for Hyrule, but he could allow himself contentment for this small victory, meaningless as it was.
"I forgive you, Midna" Link said, closing his eyes. "I love you so much."
He waited, waited for her to snap his neck, but the small black hands only held him.
Then.
A globby, black mass flew out of Midna's forehead. It hit Link in the face and sunk promptly into his head.
Link blinked, sneezed, opened his eyes.
And there, blinking and confused herself, was Midna.
The old Midna.
And suddenly everything was right in the world.
"Midna?" he whispered.
Midna stared at him. She opened and closed her mouth. Then her face crinkled up and she let out a wail that rivaled Link's howl earlier.
"Are you okay?" Link asked. "Did it hurt you?"
"YOU'RE OKAY!" Midna shrieked.
"No…" Link admitted. "Not… uh, not really…" He could feel her grip weakening, felt himself sliding slowly down the wall, let himself slide. Felt himself drifting gently into unconsciousness too, accepted that as well.
First, Midna tried to pull him back up, then thought better of it and helped him to the floor, gently and carefully.
"Link, you are okay," she said, voice trembling. "You're going to be fine."
She was struck with a sudden thought – she whirled around to face the yetis, surely approaching now to attack…
But they weren't attacking.
There was Yeto, sitting on the floor and holding Yeta, stroking her face, his expression such a mess of guilt and grief it was nearly unreadable (the ice underneath the pair was rapidly melting).
Normal Yeto. Holding normal Yeta.
And there was the Golden Wolf, sitting in front of them, facing Midna.
"I took Yeto to my world, my Lady," he said. "He made short work of his captors. They are not only out of him but dead, gone forever. I felt I had to act… after his wife had taken enough damage from his attacks with the ball and chain, she became herself again, weak and wounded, and still he did not stop… I thought it best to intervene. They are both safe."
"But…your rules –!" Midna said.
"The action was highly unadvised, my Lady," the golden wolf said. "But the yeti had seen me before, he was unlikely to regard it as a true event, he was unlikely to be in contact with curious enemies… not wholly illegal. He was in danger of killing his wife. And the pair of them were a threat to my swordsman. I think I did what a human would do."
"You did what only some humans would do," Midna said warmly. "You did what the best of them would do."
"I must go," the wolf said, after nodding graciously to Midna. "Link, take sword in hand and find me."
"…what?" Link mumbled.
Midna watched the wolf leave.
She turned to look at the yetis. Hugging each other and crying.
"I don't mean to bother you…" Midna said, "but may we have the mirror? I need to get Link to a doctor as quickly as possible…"
"Of course!" Yeta cried. "Mirror is horrible!" She saw Link looking at her and caught his eye – "Husband cares so much, uh. Loves so much. Talking is harder than hiding, but better. So much better, uh." Then, to Midna, "Take mirror. Uh, please take mirror."
"Thank you," Midna said gravely. Then… "Um… where is the mirror, Yeta?"
Yeta started to cry gently.
"Blizetta monster did bad things," she wept. "Wanted friend. Blizetta want Link as friend. Wolfos pets in courtyard turned monster for a short time when mirror put next to them, uh. Yeta did such a bad thing. Put mirror into soup pot… want Link to eat soup, be monster too. Yeta let him wander around in cold, let him get hurt by monsters. Yeta even unlock doors to give him more places to explore so he tired out and hungry, uh. Keep checking on him, see if monster yet. And then he did eat soup and be monster! And Yeta hurt him when he not friendly! YETA SO MEAN, UH!"
Yeto held her close as she cried, ashamed.
Midna looked at Link.
"You're a wolf!" she said, surprised, noticing – really noticing – for the first time.
"Link okay?" Yeta wailed. "Stuck like that forever, uh?"
"No, he can change back!" Midna said. "He always takes that form when he is exposed to Twilight – what the mirror is made of."
"Only wanted to help husband!" Yeta wailed. "Decided to be okay with mirror going away! Accepted losing pretend friend, uh! But then husband left, did not come back – Yeta scared, went to mirror, wanted to be strong! Did not think mirror self was so evil! Did not know that Blizetta would decide to not follow, leave husband to die!"
"Yeta…" Yeto said, hugging her closer.
"Wanted friend so bad," Yeto sobbed. "So bad. SOOO bad."
A momentary silence.
"Yeto?" Yeta sniffled.
"Yeta?" Yeto asked.
"Yeta have something to ask," Yeta said.
"Anything!" Yeto said.
"Yeta wants children," Yeta said.
Yeto froze.
"What?"
"Yeta wants children," Yeta said. "No more preparing and thinking about. Pet wolfos are nice, but they are just pets. Yeta wants children, uh!"
"Uh?" Yeto said. "Yeta want…"
"Yeta wants children," Yeta said. "Always so afraid to ask, so afraid husband would change subject to other things, not understand. But after all of this happen, with mirror… Yeta learn. Yeta need to ask things, uh. Need to talk to husband. Bad when I never say anything, head full of unhappy."
"Yeta…" Yeto said.
"Yeta what?" Yeta said, recoiling as if struck.
"Yeta what… Yeta WHAT we going to call them?" Yeto said, finally, smiling sheepishly.
Then they both started laughing and crying, and Yeto held Yeta closer than ever – Link and Midna would hardly have been surprised if the sheer presence of their love had started generating random little red hearts out of nowhere.