From the Dust

by zestycrouton

The long-awaited sequel to Hit List. A year has passed since the Ordon High Massacre, and what was meant as a harmless class trip results in a horrifying struggle for the fate of mankind and the secrets kept so long in the dark. "History cries, as one from the dust, raising a silent voice of warning... There is much we could learn, if we would but listen." AU

25. A Hero

Chapter 25

A Hero

"And that's basically it." Midna finished dramatically, her fingers tucked into the too-small back pockets of her ripped jean shorts. "Everything after that you already know."

"Wow." Link breathed, looking suitably impressed as he traipsed along the rock-strewn path at her side. "Midna, that's… wow. I almost can't believe you really did all that."

"Well believe it, bucko." She trilled, basking momentarily in his praise. "You're not the only hero around these parts."

"Apparently not." He laughed in agreement, shaking his head ruefully and looking off into the distance. "Ancient pyramids, fire-breathing monsters, saving a town from the moon… with Groose even! Din! I'm really starting to feel shown up here."

Midna snorted, giving her best friend a playful nudge. "Well, I am pretty awesome, true, but I mean I'm sure you've been up to all kinds of dangerous stuff too, Mr. Hero of Time. If you want I'll let you brag for awhile so you can reinflate your ego."

"Actually, I don't have all that much to brag about." Link admitted, rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish sort of way. "I was basically a dog all night. I mean I broke into a building and stole some musical instruments, but…"

Midna shot her friend a flat look.

"You were turned into an animal for one night and you use your powers for evil? I am incredibly disappointed in you. You could've been a super hero! What would Batman say right now?"

"Batman wasn't turned into a bat, Mid. He's just a rich guy with a lot of cool toys."

"Irrelevant. What would he say?"

"I dunno, probably something like 'I am the night'."

"No, he would say 'with great power comes great responsibility!' and all that nonsense."

"I'm like three-hundred percent certain that's Spiderman's uncle you're quoting."

"Spiderman, Batman, what's the difference?"

"If Mido could hear you right now, he'd have a fit."

Midna snorted as the irate visage of their red-headed freckle-faced friend flashed into her head. "I wonder what they're doing right now. Y'know, back at the hotel. In a few hours, we'll have been gone a full day. Mido's probably bored out of his mind. Ten bucks says the Wohrs twins have gotten into at least three fights, and if they've all been stuck in the hotel this entire time, I bet Darunia's gotten Ruto pregnant."

Link's laughter was cut short as surprise flashed across his face, and he turned to shoot Midna a baffled look.

"Wait, Darunia and Ruto? You mean you don't know?"

"I don't know what?" Midna replied, only to stop as a horrifying thought crossed her mind. "Oh Goddesses, don't tell me she actually is pregnant-"

"No, no… or well, I dunno, maybe? I mean, are they not here in the museum with you?"

Midna shot her friend a disconcerted look.

"Uh, no…? Why on earth would they be? I mean unless they snuck in here with Zelda and Colin, but I think Kafei would have mentioned it to me… Why do you ask?"

A heavy frown had settled on Link's face as he gazed vacantly off into the distance. The Master Sword, which was strapped to his back in an old-looking sheath, glinted brightly in the midafternoon sun. The path they had been following for the last little while had clearly seen better days, being little more than a line of dirt cut through the weeds and bushes over years of foot traffic through the hills. A ravine stretched on a ways to their right, the same one they'd crossed earlier when she'd magically sucker-punched a fat green ogre off the bridge. Though walking aimlessly through the countryside wasn't exactly high up on her list of things she'd like to be doing right now, the time she and Link had spent walking together had seemed to fly by as she regaled him with stories of all that she'd been through since his arrest, the two laughing and teasing each other like old times. For a short while she'd been able to forget all about the fear and anxiety and exhaustion she'd been living under and pretend like she and Link were just hanging out after school. It was relaxing, in its own way. All that was missing were Sheik and Zelda.

Of course, she couldn't live in this delusion forever, as nice as that might be. Link's question about Darunia and Ruto had drawn her back into the present with unease, and she watched his face carefully as he chewed his lip and mulled over his answer.

Finally, just when she was beginning to think that he had forgotten about her, he let out a quick sigh and replied, "Well, just before I got in here I was with Auru and Medli and Makar, and they told me that aside from the people who came with you and the people who came with Zelda, there are some others missing from the hotel-"

"Wait, you were with Auru?" Midna cut in, confused. She shot a dubious glance at the broken half of handcuff dangling from his wrist. "I thought you were in prison."

"I was. Or, well, I was being held at the police station, but I broke out-"

"You broke out of the police station?!"

"You're making it really hard to tell my story, y'know."

"Right, yeah, sorry. Ok, so… something about other people missing or whatever?"

"Exactly." Link confirmed, nodding distractedly as he kicked a tumbleweed out of their path. Mountains were looming closer in the distance. They were nearly at the end of the path. "I guess Ruto, Darunia, Saria, and Nabooru all vanished too, and I just… I dunno, I guess I thought they were in here with you. Or I did, up until…"

Link sighed heavily.

"No, they didn't come with us… I mean, I guess I can sort of see Saria tagging along, maybe. But Darunia and Ruto? No way… well, then again I would've said the same thing about Groose, so… Still, Nabooru would never willingly break the rules, or let any of the students get away with it either. You sure they're missing and not just, like… asleep or whatever?"

"No, I'm sure. It got confirmed to me later by…"

Link trailed off again, looking agitated, and Midna felt her patience growing thin.

"Link, what is it? You've been tense since I found you. What's going on? What do you know that I don't? You seem pretty determined to get to this Great Fairy person as fast as possible, but you won't tell me why. Let me know and I can help you."

Link gave a wry snort and shook his head. "What do I know that you don't? I dunno, maybe a lot, maybe a little, but I can't make heads or tails of any of it. Nothing makes sense about any of this…"

"Well alright then. Lay it on me and let's see if we can't put some of these pieces together." Midna said, trying to sound optimistic for Link's sake. Being the Hero of Time hadn't really changed how she saw her best friend, but she was sure he must be feeling pressured what with the weight of destiny being on his shoulders and all that. "Maybe all you need is an outsider's perspective to help sort things out."

Link kicked a pebble in frustration. "You wanna know what I know? Fine. Here's what I know. Some freak in a cape lured all of my friends to a museum and trapped them inside to play games for no discernable reason. Four more Ordonians have gone missing, as well as seven little kids from an orphanage, some kid is wreaking havoc with Majora's Mask, the nation is in a state of panic with all eyes on us, there's a dark version of me running around breaking laws and framing me for things I didn't do, he kidnapped Tatl, and I can't figure out how any of this fits together or if it even does at all."

"Ok wow, slow down." Midna interrupted, rubbing at her temples; she forgot how melodramatic Link could be. "That was a lot of information. Um… Let's start from the beginning. So… freak in a cape?"

"Demon Lord Ghirahim, he calls himself." Link scoffed darkly, jamming his hands into his pockets. "He acted like I was supposed to know who he was, but honestly, I haven't got a clue."

"You think you might have met him before and forgot?"

"Not in this lifetime, that's for sure." Link sighed. "His face isn't exactly one you can forget."

Midna blinked, then shook her head, feeling uncomfortable. Not in this lifetime. She knew the Hero had lived numerous lives, but somehow she hadn't quite grasped the fact that this meant Link had too. Maybe she hadn't accepted that he was the Hero as quickly as she thought she had.

"Well ok, we can at least assume that he's got something to do with whatever's actually going on here. What's next… our missing classmates. Can you think of any reason they might have been taken?"

"No? I mean… All I can think of is that they might be used as leverage against me, but if that was their purpose, wouldn't they have taken you? Or Sheik, or Aryll, or… basically anybody in the museum right now? I mean, all my friends are pretty much here already. Did they really need more potential hostages? And if so, where are they? Are they running around like we are, going through puzzles, or are they being held somewhere? And why are you guys here in the first place?"

Midna found she had no answer. Not wanting to get stuck, she pressed on.

"What were you saying about orphans?"

Link blinked in surprise.

"You haven't…? But then how could you, you've been here this whole time… Yeah, a bunch of orphans went missing from West Road Orphanage last night right around the time that you showed up at the museum."

"West Road Orphanage… why do I know that name?"

"Because." Link said, expelling a heavy sigh. "It's the same orphanage that Tatl and Tael are from."

A shadow crossed Link's face, and Midna felt like she'd arrived at the root of Link's brooding.

"Tatl and Tael?"

"You know, the… the kids I rescued from Tingle the hobo, remember?"

A wry smile crossed her lips at the memory of the portly homeless man glomping her friend the previous morning. Classic Link.

Wait…

"Tatl was that little blonde girl? You mean she's been kidnapped? But…" The rest of Link's rant caught up with her and she shot Link a baffled look. "You said a dark you framed you for kidnapping her? What do you mean?"

Link scowled at the ground.

"No, that's not… It didn't happen like that. There's this… this guy. He's me. I mean, he's not me, but he looks just like me, and he's the reason I got arrested. He's the one who broke into the museum and stole Majora's Mask. After I broke out of the police station, after Ghirahim turned me into a wolf, I was running scared through the woods and I heard a scream, and… well, I met Tatl. She… there's something different about her, she knew who I was even though I wasn't human, and she helped me find Medli and Makar to wake up the Master Sword so I could return to normal, only… This… This dark me showed up and… and he took her…"

To Midna's immense surprise, Link was getting choked up. Extending a hand, she hesitantly touched his shoulder, trying to be comforting but not understanding what was going on.

"Link…?"

"You should have seen her face, Midna." Link muttered, eyes glassy. "She just… She was screaming at me to come and save her, but I couldn't move, I couldn't… I couldn't get off the ground. I… I let him take her, and I promised her I'd keep her safe…"

He shook his head and swallowed gruffly, fighting back his unexpected show of emotion and trying to regain his composure.

"I just… She's so little, and she tries to act so tough but I know deep down she's terrified. I know what it's like, to be so little and lose your parents and feel like you have to grow up so fast so you can take care of your little sibling. At least I had Granny. Who does she have? All alone in the world, and when she finally brings herself to trust someone I let her down. What kind of Hero am I? I couldn't even protect one little girl."

Midna sighed and threw her arm around his shoulders.

"Don't be thick, Link." She murmured gently. "You can't be expected to fix every little thing. I don't know who this dark you is, and it sounds like something straight out of a trashy soap opera, but it's not over yet. You said you were going to rescue her, right? Is that why you've been so impatient about seeing this Great Fairy?"

"Yeah." Link muttered, wiping surreptitiously at his eyes. "I was supposed to ask her to turn me back into a person so I could fight myself on equal ground, but since you already covered that, we're just gonna see if she can help us out in any way before I go back. Y'know, maybe give me an advantage or… maybe a clue about what's going on. That's all. I know where dark me is already, after this it's just a matter of getting there."

"Well alright. Let's get a move on and see this Great Fairy then! The quicker we're there, the quicker we can get back and save that little girl and I won't have to hear you whining anymore."

She gave him a playful shove to let him know she was teasing him.

A moment passed in silence as the two trudged on along the path.

"…Thanks, Midna."

"Anytime."

"Do you think it's wrong?"

"What?"

"Prioritizing Tatl. I mean, the whole world is potentially at stake here, all of our friends are in danger… Should I… Should I be going for her first? Should I maybe be trying to solve the bigger picture instead?"

Midna shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have all the answers, Link. Maybe it might make more tactical sense to go after whoever's behind all of this and put a stop to it once and for all, but… I mean, we don't even really know what the bad guys are up to. And anyway, the thought of leaving a little kid in danger… It doesn't feel right. I'm behind saving Tatl one-hundred percent."

"Alright."

"Besides, how do we know this dark you isn't the one in charge?"

Link frowned thoughtfully.

"I dunno… He's seems capable, but… I get the feeling that all he cares about is seeing me suffer. What happens to the rest of the world doesn't seem to matter to him all that much. I can't really see him putting this whole museum thing together, it's too complicated and he seems impatient."

"If that's what you think." Midna replied, not exactly able to chime in since she hadn't even seen the guy. "So does that mean the kid with Majora's Mask is the one behind this?"

"No." Link stated emphatically. "I saw the dark me on film stealing the mask. Whoever compelled him to steal it must be the same person who convinced the boy in the mask to mess with all of you."

"So then it's this Ghirahim person. You said he turned you into a wolf, right? Well he's the one who initially separated the rest of us when we got into the museum, but I haven't seen him since, only the masked boy. I haven't seen dark you, and you haven't been bugged by the boy in the mask, but we've both seen Ghirahim. It seems pretty likely that he's the one behind all of this."

"Maybe…" Link replied, sounding unconvinced.

"Maybe? Maybe nothing. If it's not him and it's not the others, then who else could it be?"

"The same person it always is." Link replied, his tone dark and foreboding.

"Ok…? Cryptic much?"

"Oh, come on. You're telling me you've been trapped in a museum all about mine and Zelda's past lives all night and you can't even tell me who my mortal enemy is?"

"Well sure I can, it's…" Midna's voice trailed off. "The… The King of Thieves?"

"You know him better as Ganondorf."

"You're not funny."

Link sent her an unreadable look.

"…You're not joking, are you? But… Link, he died-!"

"His body disappeared. Only the Master Sword can kill him. Some mysterious person is pulling strings behind the scenes. Midna, all signs point to him."

Midna remained silent, her mind reeling. Ganondorf was the King of Thieves… well, it made sense to an extent, dude was certainly bad news, but the thought that he could somehow still be alive… That thought brought chills to her spine even more than the thought of him being the legendary King of Evil reincarnate did. Just plain Ganondorf was already evil enough.

The path curved behind a low hill, twisting into the mountainside until all at once the duo found themselves in a small shady clearing in the shadow of the mountain facing the entrance of a cave.

"Is this it?" Midna asked, giving the place a quick once-over. There really wasn't much to look at, just a normal clearing in front of a normal cave, a scattering of nondescript bushes here and there and a couple of boulders. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to suggest that whatever was in this random cave here along this winding path into the wilderness was anything special or significant. Nothing, that is, except for an exceptionally poorly crafted wooden fence that had been haphazardly erected before the mouth of the cave. The thing didn't even reach all the way up, merely stopping at about eight feet or so, leaving a large gap along the top. Though the front had a heavy iron padlock, she was fairly certain that she and Link could simply climb over it, assuming the thing didn't fall apart first.

Link shrugged unhelpfully. "I dunno. You're the one who read the sign."

True enough, and the sign had definitely said that the Great Fairy was in this direction… Still, she felt uneasy just blithely walking into a mysterious cave, particularly one that someone had tried to block off, no matter how unsuccessfully. With everything that had happened over the course of the last twenty-four hours, chances were good that this cave either lead towards painful death or something even worse. She tried not to think about what could be worse than painful death; she knew the museum would want to surprise her.

As Link made to approach the wooden blockade, an idea flashed through Midna's mind and she hastily dug the old book she'd swiped from the mayor's office out of her shoulder bag, digging through pieces of the Fused Shadow to find it, flipping it open when she did and pouring through the pages.

"Uh, Midna? What are you…?"

"It's the Book of Mudora." She explained hastily, skipping past sections on Hyrule's founding and searching for anything related to mythical figures. "I stole it earlier. It's supposed to have all this stuff in here about the history of Hyrule and legends and whatnot… Maybe it'll say something about where we can find this Great Fairy."

"So… You're reading a history book… to see if the cave we're standing in front of is the right cave? Midna, do you even know where we are right now? Or when we are? For all we know, the Great Fairies moved around a bunch, there's no way that book is going to tell us anything useful."

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Midna spat back, annoyed. Geez, since when had Link been so pessimistic?!

"Um, yeah? How's about we… just go inside?" he demonstrated by taking an exaggerated step towards the mouth of the cave, a pointed expression on his face.

Midna felt her eye twitch. "Look, I get that you haven't been in here very long, but trust me when I say that randomly walking into places inside the museum is probably one of the most dangerous things you could do. Who knows where this cave could take you-"

"And who cares." Link cut her off, looking determined. "Dangerous or not, we have to hurry. People are depending on me, on us, and don't forget- Fi told us which way to go. I'm wasting enough time with this as it is- I'll risk a little danger if it helps me save our friends faster."

Well, he did have a point… Maybe she was being a little silly, but she'd become more than a little paranoid what with everything she'd been through that day… Still, he didn't have to sound so condescending. Rather than admit he was right, she sent him a petulant glower as she stuffed the book back into her bag and muttered, just loudly enough for him to hear, "Triforce of Courage? More like Triforce of Cocky Male Ego."

He rolled his eyes and smirked. "You coming or what?"

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled back, stalking over to his side. "Over the fence we go… But just so you know, if we wind up in some other puzzle or test or some nonsense like that, I'm so turning you back into a dog."

"Wait… can you do that?" Link asked, and she was delighted to hear a note of panic in his voice.

Before she could answer, however, they were interrupted by the sudden, unmistakable sound of galloping hooves rapidly approaching from behind.

"Link…" Midna began hesitantly, but Link had already drawn his sword, the sacred metal glimmering in the afternoon light, both hands on the handle as a look of deathly seriousness passed over his face like a mask. All at once he looked like a completely different person.

From around the bend that she and Link had just come from emerged one of the most bizarre scenes Midna had ever witnessed. She recognized it instantly, however; it was the huge, fat green ogre she'd knocked off the bridge a short while earlier, only this time it came astride a massive blue boar the size of a warhorse. It fixed its piggy little eyes on Midna and Link and shouted in bestial challenge, jerking his reigns savagely in their direction, and Midna found herself drawing back against the rock wall as she was gripped by a wave of sudden panic.

Link, however, stepped forward, and as the ogre drew reign in the center of the clearing he had eyes only for Link, his gaze surprisingly shrewd and considering for a creature so hideously bestial.

How… How was this thing still alive?! She'd knocked it into a canyon for Din's sake, the thing must've fallen hundreds of feet! Yet the ogre hardly looked scratched… No, wait, one of its horns had been snapped off. That was something, at least, but not enough; he ought to have snapped every bone in his corpulent body. What kind of creature were they facing now who could take a fall like that and get right back up like it was nothing?

The surprises didn't stop there, however; with a crooked sneer the monster leapt off of its mount, the ground practically quaking from the impact under his tremendous girth, and as he unstrung his truly massive battleaxe from his boar's saddle he turned to Link and said, in a voice so gravely he might as well have been chewing rocks, "I have come to play!"

Midna felt her jaw drop.

"Link, he… he spoke!"

Why that should be so strange, she didn't know; after all, that flying bed sheet demon she and Kafei had defeated could talk. Why couldn't this fat ogre? But then, something about it just seemed so… primal. So animalistic. So inhuman. To hear cognizant speech coming from the mouth of this monstrosity just felt wrong on a fundamental level.

"Midna, stay back." Link commanded curtly, his attention fully focused on the ogre.

"What?!" She blurted out, equal parts incredulous and indignant, tearing her eyes off of the monster and focusing her gaze on Link. "You… you can't fight this thing alone, he's huge! He's like the love child of a boulder and a gorilla! All he has to do is sit on you and you're dead! We should take him on together-!"

"Mid, be realistic." Link cut her off, sounding strangely calm. "You still don't quite know what you're doing with your magic, and it's not like we have a handy ledge you can knock him off of this time. Anyway, that last hit took all of your strength and concentration, and it doesn't look like it did much good. It's going to take more than one hit to take him down."

That may be true, she wanted to shout, but he's got a giant axe and all you have is a sword! When she tried to form a comeback, however, she found she couldn't get the words to form. Link had begun strafing the ogre in a wide circle, and as he turned he brought his blade to his side with practiced ease, turning his hands as he did so, and she caught the sight of the Triforce insignia blazing bright and gold on the back of his hand.

That's right… Link was the Hero of Time. He wasn't just holding any ordinary sword either, that was the Master Sword. If even half the legends about him and that blade were true, then she shouldn't have anything to worry about… and yet try as she might, she couldn't get the sight of her friend Link Hero out of her head. Regardless, he had a point; until she could control it, her magic wasn't going to be a big help, not unless she whipped out all the pieces of the Fused Shadow and went to town, only last time she hadn't been able to control herself and she couldn't risk hurting Link. No, she was just going to have to trust him when he said he could do this. Trust that he really was the legendary hero, trust that he could do this by himself. This might just be the most difficult thing she'd been asked to do all day.

Nodding reluctantly, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and took a careful step back.

All at once, the ogre surged forward, wobbling ominously on his thick, stumpy little legs. His running should have been comical, but the weight of its heavy, crashing footsteps and the surprising speed at which it charged spoke volumes about the monster's strength, and she felt her heart leap into her throat as Link ran to meet him.

Moments before they collided, the ogre whipped his axe forward, slashing the heavy, bulky thing horizontally across the ground with a grunt that sounded like a lion coughing. The weapon's huge, square head flashed towards Link with unimaginable speed for an object of its size, but Link dodged nimbly to the side, coming up in a roll. The wild swing unbalanced the ogre for a moment and Link made to seize his advantage, charging in with sword held low, poised to strike.

The ogre was prepared, however; just as Link drew close to its side it snapped out with its elbow, aiming to clock Link in the head. Link managed to duck just in time, nearly losing his balance himself, but his effort to avoid the blow cost him his opening and he was forced to run back as the monster swung its axe back to fend him off.

It was odd, witnessing a fight scene play out before her and being forced to stand awkwardly on the sidelines and do nothing. She felt like she was split into three parts; one that was terrified for Link's safety, another that wanted to rush in there and show that ogre what happens when you mess with her friends, and the final part that knew that if she did there was no way she'd be able to keep up with them.

In spite of his girth, the ogre was much faster than she had given him credit for. She knew she could outrun it no problem; it was the dodging of its heavy swings that she wasn't sure she'd be able to maintain. Midna… wasn't the most physically active person.

Link, however… she watched in amazement as her lazy childhood best friend leapt nimbly over another wild swing of the axe, his body twirling in midair like a gymnast, landing with cat-like grace on the rocky ground, panting but not seeming to show too much strain. Somehow over the last couple of hours he'd gone from normal guy to Olympic athlete; clearly there was something he wasn't telling her. Still, in spite of the seriousness of the situation and the very real danger her friend found himself in, she felt herself growing impatient as she watched the ensuing battle. The monster was throwing strike after powerful strike at Link, some of them missing by only a hair, and yet Link had done nothing more than dodge and leap around like this was some horrifying game of tag and the ogre was it. Was he not even going to try striking him back?

The ogre had noticed this too, it seemed, and it was growing angry. With a feral snarl it hefted its axe up over its head, slamming the blade down at Link with terrifying might. It missed as Link once again rolled out of the way, but the ground fissured where the weapon struck, metal rending rocky earth with a terrifying clang, and Midna couldn't help but play through her head what would have happened had Link not managed to dodge. His body would have been split in two like an overripe pumpkin. He needed to stop toying around.

For a split-second she thought that Link might have an opening now that the axe blade was lodged in the dirt, but the ogre charged forward unexpectedly, head bowed low and one good horn extended like a bull as though to impale Link, his right hand sliding along the shaft of his weapon as he ran. Link fell back, trying to keep distance between himself and the ogre, and Midna felt like screaming in frustration as he gave ground. Link, that was your chance! What are you doing?!

When its hand reached the axe head, the ogre wrenched it out of the ground with one powerful tug and took off after Link, driving him further back into the clearing. Almost too late, Midna realized that her friend was being herded back against the mountain wall and would have no more room left to move or dodge should the ogre choose to strike, but he just kept on running right up to the mountain face. He was running slower than he had been before, she could see; clearly all of his leaps and dodges were finally catching up to him. He'd tuckered himself out and was about to pay for it. She realized too late that she needed to act.

She took two steps and froze, he eyes growing wide. The ogre hadn't bothered to readjust his grip on the axe after tearing it from the ground. With his hands right at the base of the blade, he was able to swing the weapon at close-quarters, faster and with more accuracy than if he'd held it from its long handle as he'd been doing before. As the two charged straight up to the rocky wall, the ogre let out a triumphant laugh and drew his arm back, ready to cleave Link in two.

It was at that moment that Link blew her mind. Without slowing down he leapt up at the wall before him, feet kicking off the stone like you only see in action movies, and with one last powerful push he literally back-flipped straight over the ogre's head, missing its one good horn by less than an inch. The axe bit into the mountainside impotently, and before the monster could draw the weapon back Link's feet hit the ground in a crouch behind the ogre, and in one fluid movement he rose up and slashed at the creature's back.

Thick, black blood spurted everywhere, and the monster let out a roar of pain, jerking its weapon backwards, seeking to drive Link off with the butt of the axe. He missed, however, as Link lithely ducked the blow and slashed again, this time biting into the monster's forearm.

It roared in pain and rage, finally turning itself around, seizing the axe handle in both hands and pushing outwards as if to shove Link away with the thick wooden haft. Link fell back, twirling his blade tauntingly in his hand, and it was only then that Midna registered what had happened.

Link wasn't growing tired; he'd pretended to be exhausted, running slow to bait the ogre and lure him into the corner so he could pull off that exact strike. All the dodging and jumping about hadn't been just for show, however; as the ogre angrily stomped after Link, blood dripping off of its green, fetid body, Midna could see its chest heaving as it gasped for breath. Link had let it tire itself out swinging around that massive axe. The monster was strong, but clearly it wasn't built for stamina. It had probably killed most things in one or two hits, it had never had to play the long game before. Link was too small, too fast, and too bold. He'd planned the fight out from the beginning.

Midna fell back against the wall with a surprised grunt, feeling like she was seeing Link now for the first time. Well now. She had been wrong to doubt him after all. She was suitably impressed.

The ogre staggered forward, lunging wildly with the axe as though it were a spear, and Link ducked the blow with almost casual indifference. Stepping quickly within the ogre's reach, Link dealt two quick slashes at the monster's enormous belly, drawing a bloody red X across his ribs. In desperation, it let go of the axe with one hand and swung at Link like he was a fly, but Link ducked the blow, driving the point of his sword into the bicep of the other arm, forcing the ogre to drop its weapon. It snarled again, trying and failing to throw another punch, prompting Link to aim another slash at its good arm, and as it lowered its head and bellowed a roar of rage, Link did something that had Midna laughing out loud; rather than swing his blade again, he drew back his fist and punched the monster square in the face.

It was such an absurd thing to do. There he was with sword in hand, perfectly poised to sink the blade into the creature's unsuspecting throat or heart or whatever and end the fight once and for all, and instead he socks it in the mouth. Well, she couldn't deny that it looked immensely satisfying. She'd give him points for originality.

The ogre staggered back, looking absolutely flabbergasted, and it stared down at Link for a moment with a look on its face that made it appear even stupider than usual, which was something Midna didn't think was possible.

Link, for his part, merely took a step back and raised his weapon to the ready position, both hands on the pommel, feet wide apart, a look of extreme calm on his face. She couldn't deny, he looked pretty impressive right there in that moment. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

Then something even weirder happened. The ogre smirked. Not a cruel smirk, not a sinister smirk, not an 'oh, I'm so going to grind your bones to make my bread' kind of smirk. It was the sort of smirk you give when your friend just dissed you in public but you had to agree that the dis was pretty good. Rueful, annoyed, impressed, amused… a plethora of emotions flickered across the monster's face, emotions she hadn't considered it capable of feeling, and before she could process what this meant the creature worked its jaw, spat out some blood, and said, "Enough."

Reaching into the waistband of the odd animal-skin trousers it was wearing, the monster drew forth something small and metal and threw it at Link's feet. As Link bent over to pick it up, the ogre too bent over, grabbing his axe handle in his one good hand and slowly dragging it over to his war-pig with a pained limp, nursing his bad arm. Whatever it was he had given him, Link kept it firmly clutched in his fist as he watched the ogre hook his axe to his saddle and gingerly mount his ride, his wounds still bleeding fiercely, streaming down his body in thick black streams. When he was all set, he turned the pig around, fixed Link with a look of grudging respect and grumbled, his voice sounding tired, "I fight for the strongest side. This is all I have ever known."

With a hearty slap on the pig's hindquarters, the two galloped out of the clearing, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

Link slid his sword back into his sheath, staring quietly down at the object in his hands.

A moment of silence passed. Then, because she couldn't take it anymore, Midna stomped forward towards her friend and punched him soundly on the arm.

"Ow- hey! What was that for?!" He bellowed angrily, stepping away from her and rubbing at his arm fitfully.

"Where in the name of Farore did you learn to fight like that?!" She snapped.

"Oh. Uh… The ghost of my past life taught me sword fighting in the woods." He replied with a sheepish grin, fiddling awkwardly with the object in his hand.

The ghost of his past life…?

Midna groaned and rubbed at her temples.

"Being your friend is hard sometimes…" She muttered.

Link laughed. "Heh. Yeah, I know. Sorry about that."

"Whatever. So why didn't you kill him?"

"What?"

"The ogre-thing. You had the chance. Why'd you let it live?"

She half expected some noble answer about 'live and let live' and how heroes weren't supposed to kill. Instead, Link stared vacantly in the direction the monster had vanished and answered softly, "I… don't know. It just didn't feel right."

She decided to lay off. Either he had his reasons or his reasons were a mystery even to himself. Regardless, she got the feeling this was a 'Hero' thing, so she changed the subject.

"What's that?"

He held the object the ogre had thrown him up for her to see. It was an old iron key. Her eyebrows rose, and then she glanced back at the wooden gate that barred the way into the cave.

"He's the one who locked it?"

"Apparently. If I had to guess, he and those goblins I took down in that old abandoned town were watching the cave. I have no idea why, though."

"Probably because Ghirahim or Ganondorf or whoever didn't want you getting in here." Midna replied perceptively. "I guess it's a good thing I found you when I did. Could you have taken that guy down as a wolf?"

Link shook his head. "No, probably not… Thanks, by the way. For letting me fight him alone, I mean. I wasn't trying to show off or anything, I just… I wanted to get used to being in my body again, fighting in my body again. When I go up against this dark me, I need to be sure that I'm at my best."

"You're really serious about this guy, huh?"

Link looked at her in surprise, and she hurried on.

"I mean yeah, we need to take him down, but I mean… This little girl's got you really worked up, huh? You'd almost think it was Aryll that was taken."

Link looked away, his cheeks growing slightly pink.

"Whatever. Let's just get going, alright? We have a Great Fairy to see."

Midna smirked but didn't say anything else, following after him in relative silence. She liked to tease him, but the truth was she had long since found his 'saving people' thing endearing. At least now, knowing he was the Hero of Time, it made more sense to her. Whoever this Tatl kid was, she sure was lucky Link had decided to become her surrogate big brother.

The heavy iron padlock was rusted with age, but it thankfully came loose with minimal effort once the key had been inserted. Chucking the heavy metal object aside (and only just barely missing her toe), the two teens seized the wobbly wooden gate and dragged it backwards, opening the entrance of the cave.

"Ladies first." Link said cheekily, offering her a dorky little bow.

"You're just scared." Midna taunted, stalking forward with exaggerated arrogance. Link chortled and followed behind.

The cave wasn't deep. A short little tunnel that continued only maybe a dozen yards into the mountainside quickly led the duo to a small rocky pond mostly obscured by the gloom of the cave. Were random bodies of water in caves called ponds, or were they only ponds when they were in the forest? Midna had no idea. Before she could ask Link, however, or question him on what exactly they were supposed to do now that the path was flooded and there was nowhere to go, something giggled in the darkness.

Midna felt her questions die in her throat. Whatever had laughed, it was high-pitched, effeminate, and unquestionably childish. It didn't sound threatening, but mysterious laughter from nowhere always set Midna on edge. She'd seen one too many horror movies in her lifetime. Everyone knew that this was the moment when the doll came to life and butchered you with a meat cleaver. Only neither of them had a doll.

Without warning, something erupted from the center of the pond, and Midna felt herself stepping back in alarm as light flooded the cavern. Squinting against the sudden brightness, she was able to make out what looked to be a broken altar sitting in the middle of the pool of water, and it was from there that the light was exuding; a veritable column of sparkling lights shooting upwards towards the roof of the cave like a stream of glitter. As she watched, the column of sparkles slowly constricted, growing smaller and tighter until it was one solid bar of light, brighter than the sun, strong enough to stab painfully into her eyes only she couldn't bring herself to look away…

All at once the light exploded outwards, leaving tiny specks of glitter raining down from the ceiling like snow.

A figure appeared above the altar.

It looked like the body of a little girl, though it had suspended itself in thin air, its head and shoulders slumped forward, arms dangling lifelessly from its sides. It wore a simple, nondescript blue slip and nothing else, and from one of its hands dangled a doll of some kind (see? A doll. She knew it. It was going to come to life and kill her, just watch.). Upon seeing this, and upon taking in the general childlike countenance of the figure, Midna's thoughts instantly flew back to what Link was saying about Tatl and the missing orphans, only before she could say anything to him, the figure moved.

Its body jerked upright mechanically as though pulled by strings. Slowly, the figure turned around and Midna felt her gasp lodge itself in her throat. The child… she might as well have been carved from marble. She had no irises, no pupils, no freckles, no defining features whatsoever. Her face and skin and hair and eyes were all the same shade of crystal blue. As her hollow, empty gaze landed on the teenagers, Midna felt her skin start crawl. It was like a mannequin at a clothing store had just come to life. It was just so wrong and… well, creepy.

The pillar of light had vanished, but the room hadn't grown dark. As the child floated above the tranquil pool, Midna was able to take in her surroundings clearly for the first time. Moss covered stones littered the ground all around them, and an odd sort of haze had filled the air, giving the cavern a mysterious, fey sort of feel. Out of the surface of the water, dozens of tiny spheres of light began to rise, fluttering around like insects. They were too distant to see clearly, but for a half second Midna almost though she actually heard wings beating. She shook her head roughly to clear her thoughts.

Finally, with a tinkling laugh, the child spoke.

"Tee hee hee! Tell me, little boy… are you the one who drove away the monsters?"

Her voice so nauseatingly high-pitched it felt like someone was stabbing knives into Midna's ear canals. One hand dangled at her side, the raggedy doll she carried swaying lifelessly in the wind that whipped through the cavern, but the other hand she'd brought up to her mouth and held it there as if she were sucking her thumb.

Link nodded soundlessly, apparently lost for words, his gaze transfixed on the figure before them.

"So young to have such power…"

"Are you the Great Fairy?" Midna cut in, suddenly feeling impatient. This child's voice was irritating beyond belief. She was never a fan of this 'cutesy' sort of stuff. The sooner they got out of there, the better.

She regretted speaking instantly as the marble face turned its sightless gaze on her.

"I am the queen of the fairy world!" The child replied with a giggle.

Midna blinked. Queen? Fairy world? Was that supposed to be a yes or a no?

"What is the matter? Does that not surprise you?" She tittered, and Midna turned questioningly to Link, hoping to see that he knew what was going on.

Unfortunately, he looked about as lost as she did.

"Um, excuse me, uh… Your Majesty? My name is Link, I'm-"

"I know who you are, Hero." The self-proclaimed Fairy Queen cut in gently. Midna made an odd face. She wondered how many mythological figures Link met who told him they already knew who he was, and how annoying that must get after a while. She sure wouldn't have the patience for his job.

"Er, right… Well listen, I was wondering if there was anything you could do to maybe help us? See, there are these people, and um… well they're… up to something bad, and…"

Link was floundering. Clearly he was having a hard time articulating the situation they were in, something that was only made worse by the fact that neither of them was even sure what exactly was going on. How did you explain something to someone that you couldn't explain to yourself?

The Fairy Queen didn't wait to hear his explanation, however.

"Yes, I know. You need to save my little ones."

Link cut off, looking rather taken-aback.

"Your… your little ones?"

Rather than expound on that cryptic sentence, the Fairy Queen tittered again.

"Tee hee hee! I like you. And so, I shall help you on your quest."

She raised her hands out in front of her, and the doll that had up until now been hanging lifeless at her side suddenly jerked erect between her hands, suspended as though on invisible cords. Now that it was in front of her, Midna could see that it was supposed to be some kind of raggedy cartoon fairy, complete with four arms and big poufy wings. All at once, the girl slammed her fists together and the doll exploded in a flash of light. Midna sheltered her eyes behind her hand.

When the light cleared, the teens looked up to see something large and metal floating in the air before the Fairy Queen. It was a shield.

Seemingly made of wood and reinforced with steel, the shield featured the golden Triforce insignia emblazoned on a field of blue, just below which was what looked to be a large red bird. Midna recognized the shield instantly; she'd seen it only about a dozen times the day before as she and Sheik had walked around the museum. It was the shield that was given to Hyrulean soldiers back in the glory days of swords and castles. In the days of the Hero of Time, now that she thought about it.

The shield slowly floated down until it was close enough for Link to reach out and grab, which he immediately did, a look of surprise and sudden, wistful longing on his face.

The Fairy Queen slowly began drifting down, closer to the surface of the pool.

"Take this absurdly sturdy shield, Hero." She began, and Midna had to stop herself from snorting in derision. Absurdly sturdy? Seriously? "It belonged to you once, in a past life, a life nearly as old as I am. Take it, and go. Save my little ones."

Link looked up from the shield, a question obviously on his lips, but the Great Fairy queen was already fading away.

Just before she vanished, she whispered softly, "I must tell you… You are just my type."

Midna turned to Link just in time to see surprise, confusion, and embarrassment flash across his face. He caught Midna staring at him and offered her a sheepish smile and shrug, his cheeks tinged pink. She groaned and buried her face into her hands. What a dweeb…

The Fairy Queen laughed one last time, and without warning her body slumped forward again, suspended lifelessly in the air. It almost looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut. A moment later, she was gone, and the cave was lost to darkness again.

Midna and Link stumbled their way out of the cave in relative silence, both lost to their thoughts. When they finally emerged back out into the afternoon sunlight, Midna turned back to Link in time to see him attach the shield to a small hook on the outside of his sheath so that it hung on his back with his sword.

"A shield, huh?" Midna asked blithely, her hands on her hips. "An 'absurdly sturdy shield', no less."

"I guess." Link replied with a shrug.

"Was that what you were hoping for?"

"I dunno." He admitted, starting off down the path that lead back towards where they came from. "I was hoping for anything, really. Anything that might give us an advantage or… tell me what's going on."

"And we got none of that." She deadpanned.

"Not exactly." He replied, and she shot him a questioning look. "Well, I feel more comfortable fighting with a shield, see. It's safer, plus that's how I was taught. And this shield… I dunno, from the moment I saw it I just knew I was supposed to have it. It's important, it's… familiar. I know this shield, just like I know this sword. I feel complete, now. Like I'm ready to take on anything."

"Well good." Midna replied, deciding that if Link was happy with the sidequest then it must have been worth it in the end. "And here I thought you were just happy that she called you cute."

Link's face flushed red again and Midna cackled as she dodged a shove he aimed in her direction.

"I can't wait to tell Zelda! Look how red your face is, you're so lame!"

"Midna! Shut up, my face isn't red, it's just hot outside!"

"Ooh, look out, the Hero of Time's here to steal the hearts little girls everywhere!"

"I hate you so much."

"You're just mad that I don't think you're cute."

"Go jump off that cliff."

And just like that, the two teens continued on along the valley, bickering playfully back and forth as though nothing had changed between them. And for the most part, nothing had. Hero of Time or not, Link would always be Midna's stupid best friend, and she knew with a certainty as they picked their path back towards their impending fate that that would never stop being true. In spite of their teasing, she had his back, he had hers, and together they would save their friends and put an end to this.

Overhead, the sun began its steady descent towards the horizon.