Whoa, whoa, guys, I totally didn't forget to post.

This chapter is a pet favourite of mine, but only because I love Midna.

Enjoy!

Love,
CM


PART 3: FIGHTING GRAVITY

CHAPTER 14: THE SPIDER


5th of Hexember, Year 3378, Third Age
Hyrule, West Hyrule Plains
Twili flagship the Mirror

"If someone had told me only just last week," Impa Shades was muttering, her sharp features contorted into a funny scowl, "that I would be standing side by side with the Twili army today, I would have sent that someone to the whipping post."

She was standing on the deck of Midna's flagship, her pristine Hylian Alliance uniform contrasting with the amended Guardian uniforms of Midna's army. For practical purposes, they had not taken the time to re-dye any of Midna's people's uniforms, but she had requested that they tear off all badges and insignias marking their alignment. It would have to do.

As Midna watched, Impa Shades turned to her, her profile severe and intimidating. If Midna hadn't been beyond caring, she might have made a comment about that.

"We should not have taken so much time to consolidate our troops," she said.

"Your men needed to be fed and to get some sleep," Midna said. "It's no use fighting on an empty stomach, or with your focus shot."

Impa did not reply. She turned back to look outside. They were approaching Castleton, and it was obvious the battle was already underway, even if they couldn't yet see the city. The sky to the east was bright with fire and explosions. Even from afar, the sound was enough to rumble in your stomach.

"We may be too late to turn the tide," Impa said.

They both turned to look at Onox Gorgon, who was gagged and bound on the deck. Impa had wanted to execute him at once, but Midna had argued in favour of keeping him as a token of good faith when they rejoined the Hylian Alliance.

"You can kill him if we lose," Midna said. "But it's no use acting defeated until we know there isn't another way."

Onox shot them both evil looks, but could do no more than that. It was almost enough to cheer Midna up. Almost.

"We need to flank them," Impa was saying. "If they're assaulting the city from all sides, we should at least drive a wedge into one of the sides so that we can ensure a bridge of resources and supplies."

"No problem," Midna said, absently. "But I have my own business to take care of. I'll probably let you handle my men until further notice."

If further notice ever came.

"It is a stupid idea," Impa Shades said, scowling. She had a wide mouth, and it was pressed into a thin line. "No matter how good your golem is."

"My golem, my decision," Midna said, flippantly. "Besides, nobody asked you what you think. You're an air commander, so do your job."

It was an effective way to remind the commander that she was still the ruler of Twilight, and hierarchically superior, but it was petty, and they both knew it. Impa rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

"You know, you remind me of a Sheikah," Midna continued, smiling impishly. When she talked, it made the pain stop for a moment.

Impa looked at her with a deeper scowl.

"That's the crazy thing, you know," Midna continued, ignoring Impa's foul mood. "Technically I should remind you of a Sheikah. They're my ancestors. Distant ancestors," she added. "But you… Where are you from?"

"Kakariko," Impa bit out, to the amusement of several of the ensigns operating the airship around them.

Midna nodded. "That's great. Really."

"If it's quite alright," Impa finally said, curtly, "I will rejoin my ship and begin battle preparations."

Midna nodded again. "Be my guest."

It was probably for the best. Midna motioned for a soldier to take Onox Gorgon away into a guarded cell. She then called her generals and appointed Impa as their primary command.

Then, she left the command deck.

She thought of going to see Dark, but the thought of the excruciating pain she was going to suffer at the sight of him made her steer clear. He was beginning to rot, and she wasn't sure how to stop it.

It would require Time Magic, and that… well, Time did not come to her naturally the way Shadow and Fire did. It was too late anyway, and far more costly than even her most powerful Shadow uses. Lately, her use of Fire was far better than Shadow, almost supernatural in its ease, and it had been for the past few days. Something was happening to the Magic of the world, something that was stirring it from its unused depths. It had made Dark into a proficient user of Water even without experience.

But Shadow… well, Shadow was still dormant, from what she could tell.

Instead of going in to see Dark, although she contemplated the door for a few minutes in tortured guilt, she went to complete the final adjustments on Armogohma.

It responded very well to her movements, all in all, and was a lot quicker than its bulk suggested. With the Sol powering it, the golem truly was the terrifying weapon her ancestors had described.

"Engineer Shadowsand," Midna greeted. A part of her still struggled against the thought of trading his life for Dark's, but she was mastering it little by little. "Have you checked leg number five?"

"We did, your grace," Geant Shadowsand said, bowing slightly. "Nothing a new ball-bearing articulation and some sand clearing couldn't do."

"Good," Midna said, trying to meet his eyes and failing. "Let's get back into practice."

"Will you be requiring it for battle tonight, your grace?"

The engineers were silent. Midna set her jaw. "Yes. Please complete the final adjustments during this session."

That set them moving at a grim pace. By the time they completed the exercises and value settings, night was fully upon them. It was exactly the timing Midna wished for. She wouldn't have enough energy to cloak herself entirely in Shadow, but at least the night would do its part.

Armogohma would definitely come as a surprise to any ground infantry.

Impa Shades sent her the message that they were ready to engage. After that, it was only a matter of getting the golem on the ground.

As Midna waited for the engineers to bring Gohma down, she crested the hill to get a better look at Castleton.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight. The shields had failed sometime during the day, no doubt, but plant life had taken their place. She watched as Guardian airships fought off vines and children with slingshots, or tried not to burn to the ground from a blaze so great it seemed to have a life of its own. Some airships were immobilized and kept at a distance because they were blinded by a light of which she could not pinpoint the origin.

But the battle was young, and the Guardian armada was overwhelmingly numerous. Despite severe losses, it was still making good progress over the city.

It was time to act.

"Engineer Shadowsand, have you done as I asked?"

The chief engineer looked a little sick. "Yes, your grace. We put his body in the back. But," here, he looked distinctly uncomfortable, "perhaps you should leave his corpse in a safe place, your grace. The smell… Perhaps it will importune you."

That is what I want, Midna thought. To be always aware of Dark's sacrifice, so I won't back down.

"I'll be fine," she said, dismissively.

He nodded. "In that case," he said, "here is your headset, for communicating with Commander Shades."

Midna took it gingerly from his hands, ignoring the urge to take what wasn't hers to take. Geant Shadowsand looked oddly relieved when he stepped back, and Midna felt guilt rushing through her like a hot burning pulse.

"Thank you, Engineer," she bit out, her throat tight. "You… you have served your country well today. You all did," she added, for the rest of the team.

He looked puzzled, but nodded graciously, his bow curt and respectful.

It would have to do, Midna figured.

Avoiding the confused gazes shot her way, she put on the headset and climbed into Armogohma.

Instantly, the rotting smell of Dark's corpse assailed her. He was grotesque, squeezed in the back, his body more bloated than it had been when he had died. Midna pushed down the panic that surged inside her. He was looking less and less like the Dark she had known, and more and more like a monster, his grey skin pulled taut.

She whispered, "I'll join you soon, and I'll make it worth our while." Then, she pressed on the button by her ear, and activated the headset.

The rush of voices coming from command overwhelmed her, until she finally singled out Impa Shades' voice.

She lifted a thumb to the engineers to indicate she was ready to go, and closed the hatch of the golem over herself. The smell of rot was almost overwhelming now, and her vision swam, her senses taken over. But it was no use focusing on the smell. She had a purpose.

She applied her hand to the control panel before her, and the Sol inside began to feed the circuitry. Armogohma tensed familiarly around her, its eight legs finding solid ground and pushing her up in one steady lurch. It was a fast-moving golem, no doubt about it, but Midna had not yet had the opportunity to fully test that part of its capacities. The confines of the ship had not allowed it.

Armogohma looked delicate from the outside, but from within, Midna felt like she was fully armored. She could see out a wide cupola of orange glass, which looked like the single eye of the monster, and through willpower and body motion, she could control every movement the golem made. It was a precise operation, but it came instinctively by now.

"Shades," she called, as imperiously as she could.

"Your highness?" The sarcasm in Impa Shades' voice was almost tangible. Midna wanted to roll her eyes. Well, she had a point.

"I'm going out first. Let me get the hard blows in before sending your men. I might be enough to break the enemy on the ground and make them easy pickings."

"I was hoping for it," Impa said, her voice noncommittal now. Midna would have liked to think they might have been friends in another life, with different stations. As it stood, Impa was simply doing her job, and Midna hoped she would come through when Armogohma failed.

And Armogohma would undoubtedly fail. She just hoped to buy time for the Hylian Alliance.

"Give my regards to the princess for me."

"Do it yourself," Impa challenged. "We'll race you there."

Midna didn't respond. She throttled the golem's power source. Armogohma lurched forward. In ten minutes, she would be in the melee.

It was strange to consider what happened next, because Midna genuinely believed she had seen everything, but at that moment, something happened she had not expected.

It started to snow.


Flashback! When I first plotted out this story, the story's climax wasn't going to be a massive multi-party battle. I don't recall what the exact plan was, let alone the logic of it (it has been some 5-6 years since then), but I wanted a medium length story where Link and company were challenged to a race where they'd win a Sol, and something something happy ending. Dark and Midna weren't even part of the story. Even Ganondorf wasn't going to play a massive role. I just wanted Link to fly, you know?

Now the only allusions to that original plot that remain are the memories Link and Sheik have of training to fly by participating in races in Waker, most notably against Groose, who was a minor, recent addition. Groose wasn't a part of the story back when I first plotted the story. Remember, this was back when Twilight Princess had only just come out.

In that first story, I don't recall that Zelda's throne was in jeopardy, or that there was even a war. And because I planned this story back in 2007/2008, I didn't assume that I would take so long to write it that a whole new Zelda game would even come out in the meantime. That's why you won't find the narrative mechanics that characters like Fi and Hylia represented in Skyward Sword in here. I know some might have been disappointed by that, but consider that the greater half of Fighting Gravity was already written by the time Skyward Sword came out. I couldn't afford the time or the energy of a huge rewrite. I was already on such a massive hiatus and delay that it seemed counterproductive to the story I now wanted to tell.

At any rate, I think Fighting Gravity became so much bigger than I had planned, at least in terms of narrative structure. I never planned for the story to be several dozens of chapters in length. I thought that Only in Hyrule would be the longest Zelda fanfic I'd ever write. Looking back, though, I don't think that I could have told the story of Fighting Gravity with more brevity without losing some core character development. So I guess it just had to happen like this.

So if you're still reading FG, and I hope you are, hang in there with me. It's been a long time coming, but I'm extremely pleased with the outcome, and I have faith that you will too.

Love,
CM