Chapter 38: Gone
3rd Person POV
Silence. That was what plagued Aden's ears as he knelt in the dead grass. There was nothing; no howling wind, no footsteps, and no voices. Even his own breathing and heart beat fell silent to his ears. There was not a single sound the twili could hear throughout the barren field. Only nothing came to him, and nothing else.
And he hated it. He hated it with every single tiny fiber in his being. He wanted to hear the sounds of his friends' footsteps come close to him as if they came back to life. He wanted to hear their voices, telling him that things were going to be okay, even though he knew that it would never be that way. He wanted to hear the sounds of happy Hyleans, like in Castle Town before the attack, as if none of this destruction ever happened and everybody was okay. But most of all, he wanted to hear the sound of Midna's breath again.
'But now I can't hear any of that, ever again.'
The Twili clenched the back of his love, holding her close with waterfalls plummeting down his cheeks. But her body did nothing back. The silence of her heart and the stillness of her breath caused sirens in Aden's mind, sirens that screeched at him for not doing enough. He could still feel the touch of her lips on his, acting as one last goodbye that kept lingering for as long as he knelt there. He desperately wanted to wake up from this nightmare and see all his friends again, and embrace with Midna again as she comforted him, saying that everything was okay.
But this was no dream, and the love of his life was gone.
The wet stain of her blood seeped into his shirt, leaving a dark blue blotch in the green color. It felt disgusting to him, but he kept holding her close. In his mind, voices screamed at him repeatedly with rage equal to his sorrow. "YOU COULD HAVE SAVED THEM! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING?!" Aden didn't dwell on these questions, he just knelt there with a body in his arms. He did not know how long he stayed there, he just waited for something to happen; though he did not know what.
"Aden."
The Twili jumped to his feet and spun around with lightning speed, hoping that his dreams came true and that his friends came back. But he should have known that this was not true, as the only people he met when he turned were the three goddesses. He visibly showed disappointment for only a moment, but all three goddesses saw it. Nayru and Farore understood his sorrow, but Din became annoyed. She thought that Aden should be grateful that the three showed up, but the Goddess of Power did not speak out.
Then Aden's eyes widened, and he got a realization. He ran the three goddesses and fell to his knees, clasping his hands together and raising them over his head. Golden waterfalls began to fall again as Aden looked up to the three goddesses with a desperate look in his eyes. The Golden Goddesses all together looked stunned at the Twili's unusual behavior.
"P-please! Give me power or magic, ANYTHING! I NEED TO BRING THEM BACK; LINK, ZELDA, ZANT, MIDNA! I HAVE TO BRING THEM BACK, GIVE ME SOMETHING! PLEASE!" He pleaded to the three with all his might. Farore looked down at him with her hand over her heart; shocked at Aden's plea. Din looked away from him ashamed while rubbing her shoulder. Nayru, deciding to be the one to bear the burden of telling the truth, took a deep breath and pressed her fingers together.
"Aden. Words can't express how sorry we are." The Twili lowered his hands and looked between the three deities, terrified. "But there is nothing we can do. The majority of our remaining power resided in our respective Triforce pieces. But since the Fierce Deity now has our pieces, we are now close to powerless. All that is left of us is the remaining energy within our residents' bodies, and we are using this to project our physical forms to you."
"THEN GIVE THAT TO ME!" The Twili screamed. "PLEASE, I NEED MY FRIENDS BACK, I NEED MIDNA BACK, I NEED THEM ALL BACK! PLEASE!"
"Just get a grip kid!" The Goddess of Power exclaimed. "Even if we did give our power to you, you need to save that for the Deity! This isn't over yet, and you can't waste your energy on your girlfriend over there." Farore gasped under her breath and looked between the two rapidly. The Twili rose to his feet and started to grab the woman's shoulders for a desperate plea.
"BUT PLEASE"- As his hands rested on Din's shoulders, they phased right through them. The goddess's physical form shimmered like a projection of light, and Aden passed right through her. Falling to his hands and knees again, he began to grasp what the Goddesses were trying to convey to him. They could barely show themselves to him, let alone cast a spell. They didn't even have enough power to make themselves physical. So if they weren't even powerful enough for that, 'Then they were telling the truth. There's nothing they can do.'
The Twili gripped the dead grass tighter, and more light fell to the ground. Farore looked at him with genuine sympathy; she saw the hero who had inspired his allies to stick together and fight on, despite their mortal enemy joining them, now collapsed into a sobbing, pleading beggar who wanted their love to return. She could not understand him, sadly, as the Goddess of Courage has never been in such a position like this. After looking at her sisters, who were both looking at each other with uncertainty, she went to observe the body Aden had been holding when the three appeared once again.
She observed the Twilight Princess before her, who laid in the dead grass almost peacefully. Her eyes were open, with the life sapped from their previously lively state. Despite how painful the fatal injury seemed, Midna had a joyful smile left on her lips, as now dry golden streams streaked down her face. 'She had died with her loved one at her side, and that was what made her happy in her final moments.' Despite knowing that her body wasn't physical, she knelt down and attempted to close Midna's eyes to let her rest.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!"
Farore was interrupted by the sharp cry and approaching footsteps of the Twili, to which she got up and stepped out of the way. Aden slid down and checked to see if everything was still normal, and no additional damage was done. When he was finished, Aden put his hands underneath her and raised the body up slightly to look at her face once again.
"What the heck was that for kid?!" Din yelled to the crying man. Nayru and Din approached Aden as he knelt there, but Nayru with slightly more caution to the wind. Farore with even more than Nayru. "Do you remember who you're talking to?!" Aden turned his head to face the Goddesses; with an expression filled with rage and regret.
"If I can't bring her back, then she deserves to rest in peace! They all do!" Aden gestured to the other three bodies across the field. "Even Zant fought with me-with us, so he deserves it too. Besides, it's my fault they're gone anyways. The least I can do is not disturb them again." He turned back to Midna, and held her body close. Thunderstruck, Farore started to shake her head faster and faster.
"You're just giving up? After everything you've done so far, you're just going to quit?!" The young goddess spoke, raising her voice slightly to add emphasis. When he heard her question, Aden lowered the body again.
"If I can't even bring back my friends, how could I beat the Deity? Besides, I barely have any magic myself right now." The Twili remarked. To prove his statement, he lifted up his hand and tried to spark a Memory Orb. But nothing came from his palm when he forced it outwards, not even the spark. He lowered his head, ashamed at what he's done-or rather what he couldn't do. "I have nothing left, and even if I took your powers to fight him, that wouldn't be enough anyways. I couldn't beat him even if we all tried; what's the point."
He gently placed Midna on the grass, in a proper position for her rest. Lying on her back, arms crossed on her chest. While obviously showing restraint, he pulled himself away from his love's corpse to not disturb her any further. But to make sure she was peaceful, he closed her eyes so she couldn't see 'what a failure I've been.' Taking one final shaky breath, he rose to his feet and clasped his hands together.
"The most I can do now is say sorry to them all as I wait. It's my fault they're gone anyways." The three women conversed between each other with worried glances from Aden's plan, with Nayru trying to decipher what he said.
"'While I wait', Aden what do you mean? What are you waiting for?" Aden did nothing in response but point up to the sky and say "Him."
The trio was utterly baffled, and the same thought ran between them all. 'He's just going to wait for the Deity to kill him?!' Farore shook her head even faster, with her green, frizzy hair buns flopping back and forth. Nayru seemed heartbroken at how the hero was going to let the Deity destroy her own creation, and Din just got more and more furious. Stamping a foot, she pointed at Aden as he started to walk to one of the other bodies.
"Stop being so selfish shrimp!" Din screamed, cutting through the silence. Aden stopped in his tracks mid-step, but didn't look behind him. "What did you say?" The Twili spoke in his shaky tone with a touch of anger, which Nayru and Farore both picked up. Courage and Wisdom slowly backed away from the oncoming war that was about to unfold.
"You're only caring about yourself when all of the people left down there are scared for their lives right now! They're probably watching the Deity getting ready to chop Hyrule in two and are running for a place to hide! When they saw him, they thought that you all failed and died! But here you are just moping around feeling sad for yourself!" Aden gritted his teeth at Power's fury and clenched his fists. He finally turned around to face Din, with equal (if not more) anger to match the Goddess's.
"All of the people down there are doing the same thing that I'm doing right now!" Aden snapped back violently, not getting a reaction from his competitor. "After the Twilit Beasts invaded the village, everybody lost somebody that they loved, just like I did! Even Yeta on Snowpeak lost her husband because of me! They saw how powerful they were, and they gave up hope. Lora and I said that we could still bring them back when we won, but they all just brushed it off, losing faith in us. They all wanted to see their family again, but they knew very well that we- I couldn't do it! No, I think they're happy right now. Happy that they can see their loved ones again when all of this is over, and they know that it's almost here."
"So you do realize that all of these people dying down there will be YOUR fault, since you aren't even going to lift a finger to help them?!"
"HAH, look at who's talking!" Aden stood his ground, stomping a foot just like she did. Din's expression shifted with a handful of confusion now, and her arms released tension. "What are you talking about kid?!"
"Zant told me about the Deity's past, about how he got the cursed armor and destroyed both armies. You, all three of you saw how bad and powerful he was because of that armor, but did NOTHING to stop it at the source!" Aden's fury was becoming larger than the Goddess of Power's now, and Nayru was beginning to become frightened by this. "You all could have destroyed the armor, or saved the man before he put the armor on, or killed him before he slaughtered the armies! But you didn't. Instead you just watched and did nothing as people on both sides of the war were murdered. So I really don't think you have a right to judge me for this when YOU could have prevented all of this!"
For only a brief moment, Aden saw it. After he had finished, Din had hesitated, faltered in countering his statement. Her fists went loose and her arms slightly dropped down when he laid out the truth. In her eyes Aden could see Din acknowledge their past mistake, with her expression changing into one of shock. She remembered the day the soldier slaughtered the armies, but Din and her sisters swore a vow to let events in their creation flow without interference. So they did nothing, and allowed to the Deity to only get sealed away instead of saved. Aden knew he was right. He could also see it on the other two; remembering the fatal day of the massacre of the armies. Aden knew he was right.
But Din still refused to give in, and tensed back up into her defensive stance.
"Well do"-
"Actually, how many times have you done that?" Aden cut Din off before she could press on any further. Din went into this physical state of confusion once again from his statement, but the other two started to show signs of pain. "How many times could you have prevented some sort of disaster from happening, but did nothing? Because when I woke up near the Great Fairy, she told me all about Hyrule and the Triforce. She said that "The most RECENT war for the Triforce" happened two years ago. So how many times did a war or something break out? How many times was it obvious the people needed to be helped, but you didn't do anything?! Huh?!"
Silence once again. This time, Din did not automatically retaliate, but instead recalled how many times she saw what could be the fall of Hyrule. Vaati's reign in the Minish era, the grand war before Skyloft, but most of all, the rise of the Gerudo King. They all watched and did nothing as Ganon rose to power in the Era of the Hero of Time, and allowed Hyrule to fall to ruin instead of interviene. But, still trying to justify herself, the Goddess of Power tried to grasp at one more straw.
"B-but we knew that the Link of that time would always win, and everything would go back to normal!" Din said, stuttering out her comeback. She kept a tough exterior, but she once again showed signs of weakness to him. Din had stuttered; she was uncertain of whether her response would be any good. Farore and Nayru had never heard nor seen Din in such a vulnerable state like this before throughout their entire existence. Aden used this to his advantage, raising his voice for his final claim.
"Well if you stepped in before things could go south, Hyrule wouldn't even NEED to have a hero save it! Even if you knew a Link would eventually save everyone, that doesn't excuse all of the pain and suffering the people caught in between went through! They were YOUR creations; they all went through so much pain, and yet YOU stood around and did nothing!" The Twili thrusted a finger at Din. "THE PEOPLE OF HYRULE, TWILIGHT, AND COUNTLESS OTHERS HAD ALWAYS SUFFERED, AND YOU NEVER DID A THING ABOUT IT!"
The Goddess of Power froze, tense from Aden's accusations. Her fellow goddesses looked between each other, increasingly growing more concerned for their hot-headed sister as she kept quiet. For what felt like the longest time, she did nothing but lower her head look down at her shaking hands, eyes as wide as the moon. When she and her sisters first gave life to Hyrule, they were all overjoyed to give life and prosperity to the mortals down below. But looking down at her hands now and truly thinking about how long they sat by and simply watched chaos unfold had started to make her doubt her own love for their creation. Now, Farore and Nayru watched as for the first time in their entire existence, Din voluntarily stand down. She knelt down in the dead grass and kept her head low, ashamed at herself for her own lack of action.
"Please Aden, don't do this!" The youngest sister yelled out. All but Din turned to her, who was on the verge of tears. "You must keep fighting for everyone! There are still people down below who wish for you to succeed, who are praying to us for your safe return! And we do still care about Hyrule, we always have!" Aden stayed silent as Farore started to have golden tears stream down her cheeks. Nayru watched as Aden gritted his teeth against the three. "And you must keep fighting for your friends! Midna would have wanted you to"-
"DON'T TELL ME ABOUT WHAT SHE WOULD'VE WANTED, YOU ARE NOT HER!" Aden screamed at the Goddess of Courage with every ounce of energy he had left. That was the final straw for the grieving Twili. Assuming what his friends would've wanted him to do, saying that they wouldn't want this to happen. It was enough to make him laugh. The three goddesses all flinched in unicent, jumping slightly from the intensity coming from the Aden.
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, ALL YOU THREE DID WAS RELAX IN THE TRIFORCE PIECES WHILE ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE!" Taking a shaky breath, he looked back to his love, who was exactly where he left her, but seemed more sorrowful now. Squeezing his eyes to try and block out more tears, he continued.
"When I rescued her from Zant, I saw a certain look in her eyes; a look of finding somebody you've lost. When she cried in my arms, I knew right then and there that what she was telling me, about me being her old friend, was true. For the five days since I've woken up, Midna and I trusted each other, despite me just, appearing out of nowhere! We fought together like back at the village, we looked out for each other like in Castle Town, and most of all, we loved each other." Aden turned around to look at Farore with a fearsome scowl. "Before the other of your "Chosen ones" turned on us, I decided that I was going to stay here with her! Even while only knowing her for five days, I was going to stay with her, despite what Logan, Adri and Lora said! Because I believed her without a shadow of a doubt!
"SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO STAND THERE AND TELL ME THAT WHAT I'M DOING IS WHAT SHE WOULDN'T HAVE WANTED, YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT WHEN I'VE KNOWN HER MORE OVER THE PAST FIVE DAYS THAN YOU DID OVER A LIFETIME!" Aden kept huffing through his closed teeth, his bubbling rage beginning to rise higher and higher with every word that the Goddesses tried to use to sway him. He was now in a sort of battle stance; knees bent for defence and fists ready to fight anybody that came his way. Like a rabid animal, it seemed like he couldn't be calmed by any form of communication. Farore, who now looked like a small child being yelled at by their parent, decided to back down right then to prevent any further arguments and anger. A part of her said that he could not be swayed now, while the other was slightly scared of him now. So being the last remaining goddess, Nayru stepped forward cautiously, showing signs of obvious stress.
"Aden." Nayru spoke gently. "I understand that we have made many mistakes in the past, and I know we can never truly understand the bond you and the Princess of Twilight had. In truth, we had all wanted to let the people of Hyrule live their lives without interference, and made a vow not to come into any affairs. Only now do I see that this was a grave mistake." Aden closed their mouth and stood up slightly, getting a foot out of their battle stance. He almost seemed convinced at Nayru's gentle voice and guilty exterior. Almost.
"But if you help us, help save Hyrule and its people and defeat the Fierce Deity, we promise we shall all change our ways. We will prevent further calamities from falling onto Hyrule by stopping them at the source, and ensure lasting peace throughout the land directly from us. There will be no more need for a hero and a Master Sword, and there shall no longer be any wars over the power we have created. We shall do whatever it takes to make amends for what we have never did, but we can only do this if you work with us and stop the Deity before it is too late! So please"-
"No." Aden cut in firmly, making Nayru go silent in hopes of pleasing the Twili. "You've done enough, there's nothing else for you to do here. If you really do want to make me happy, and do Hyrule a favor, then listen up." Nayru, Farore, and Din (who was still on the ground) all looked up to the Twili, who was pointing a demanding finger at them all.
"Leave. Go back to wherever you came from, go find some other planet to "help", go do, anything else! Just leave, and don't come back." He turned away from the Goddesses for one last time, facing the several corpses around the field that he had helped cause. "You three are not welcome here."
Aden waited for ten long seconds to make sure that the Goddesses all got the message. He was tired that they kept persisting that he helped them, and just wanted to be with his friends again. He wanted them to leave so he didn't have to look at their awful, lying faces anymore. All he wanted to do was be with his friends alone, and perhaps hold some sort of funeral for them all. Excluding the traitor trio clearly. 'It's the least I can do for them all now.' After waiting for that last second of silence, he took a step forward, and started to walk away.
"No!" Nayru cried out with a shaky scream, unlike her commonly civil demeanor. Aden stopped once more, fed up with the three goddesses constantly pestering him! He pressed his nails into his palms so fiercely that they began to bleed and feel warmer and warmer. "Even if you don't believe it, this world gives me happiness! Every day when I look down at what we've created, I feel good about myself! I want our land, our HOME, to go back to the way it was! We may not understand your bond with Midna, but our love for Hyrule far exceeds that of which you call special!"
"For the last time…" Aden could feel his right hand start to heat up.
"If you don't help us right here and now, Midna will be ashamed!"
"Leave me ALONE!" Aden screeched as he swiped his fingers through the air. A wide, bright shockwave emerged from them, and it rocketed towards the Goddess of Wisdom's head. Nayru managed to duck out of the way thanks to how on edge she currently was, but the Pointed Shockwave still managed to hit its target. Despite her saying that they didn't have enough energy to have full physical forms, Aden's attack still managed to hurt her. It grazed the top of her skull, and with one clean cut, sliced off a majority of her long, flowing blue hair. The four watched together as the strands of her locks split apart and became mist as they hit the dead grass, scattering away and disappearing for good. Now what remained of Nayru's standout feature was a scruffy, short bob cut.
Her sisters stared in shock at Nayru's new haircut, who didn't exactly seem pleased about the situation. Slowly, the Goddess of Wisdom lifted her hand to feel her once long, silky hair that flowed down to her knees. But when she felt nothing below her neck, she felt her hair again and again with both hands. As if she was in some sort of daze, she didn't watch as Din started to stand.
"THAT'S IT KID, IT'S ON!" The Goddess of Power shouted, readying some magic of her own. Her palms flared to life with golden flames circling around her hands. Aden was more than willing to start fighting; he bent his knees and tried to conjure anymore magic he had. But unfortunately for him, the energy he had left for the Pointed Shockwave was all he had gained from the time he spent in the field she walked forwards, constantly getting faster, she continued to shout. "NOBODY HURTS MY SISTERS! IF YOU'RE NOT USING THIS TO HELP US, THEN I'M GONNA USE IT TO KICK YOUR"-
"Din, stay where you are!" Nayru called out, thrusting a halting hand forward. Managing to stop her sister before she went into a full on sprint at the Twili, she seemed somewhat satisfied when she extinguished her flames and turned away from the Twili, who was annoyed and skeptical at what was going on. Nayru lowered her arms down and regained her posture from before. Her caring and motherly guise from earlier had turned into a stern, unmovable one. Looking at both of her sisters, she spoke.
"Din, Farore, come." She turned away from the other three and closed her eyes for a moment, before looking back up. "We are leaving." Power and Courage were taken aback by Nayru's command, with Farore having to take a step back just to grasp the reality of the situation. Behind them, Aden seemed to calm down slightly when Nayru issued her command, satisfied that one of them finally decided to listen to him. 'Finally!' he thought to himself.
"S-sister Nayru! Do you realize what you're saying?!" Farore spoke, astonishment filling her voice. Without taking a second to hesitate, she spun her head around to stare at her seemingly younger sister dead in the eyes.
"I know fully well what my command was!" She snapped at her younger sister, quickly following up by turning back around to look at the empty field in front of her. Her anger quickly turned to regret as she looked down at her hand. "It is clear now that there is no way to convince Aden to assist us, as is any other Hylean down below. It should have been clear to us from the start, but only now we see the truth. Along with that…" Wisdom brought her hand to her turquoise dress top and grabbed it, letting it weigh down her fist.
"Along with that, Aden is correct on how we should have changed our ways long ago." Din seemed dumbfounded, but wanted to listen to the rest of Nayru's proposal. "We, were foolish to let the evils of Hyrule go unvanquished, and allow them to remain throughout the land like lingering stains. But because of our oath, we did nothing to help the people when they truly needed it. And now because of our lack of action, Hyrule will soon be nothing."
"But we can save everyone still! If SOMEONE," Din glared back at Aden, who did the same back "would just help us o"-
"I said before that it is now impossible to convince Aden now!" Nayru yelled what she considered to be out of line. "It is too late for Hyrule. Aden speaks the truth, there is nothing left for us to do here."
"But where will we go?" Farore asked, her voice starting to sound shaky. Nayru looked up to the blood red sky, which lingered overhead like the red stains in the hero and princess' clothing.
"I… do not know sister Farore. But we must leave now, that I do know for sure." Nayru spoke with uncertainty in her voice. "While-while I do wish we could start anew here again, it is far too late now. But perhaps we can find a new world somewhere, out there. One that seeks assistance just like how Hyrule did in its beginnings. One world where we can strive to be better in assisting its people than here." Wisdom turned to face her two sisters, who were all still in complete shock.
"Nayru, you can't just let a mortal like him"-
"We both know that he speaks the truth! Or have you already forgotten your previous breakdown?" Aden's attitude seemed to have brushed off on the Goddess of Wisdom. She was not in the mood for arguing now with her sisters either. Din flinched at Nayru's snap, and then went completely quiet. Farore looked over to her and saw her eyes start to glow again as she bit down on her tongue to stop herself from talking. The youngest sister could feel something break inside of her when Din dragged her feet over to her sister. Power did not say a word, she had already been defeated, and she did not wish to go any further down the hole than she already was. Din kept her head down and held tight to her own arms, as if she was shivering from some sort of nonexistent breeze. When she stood next to her sister, she did not turn around to face Courage or the Twili. She was too full of shame to say a word now. With her anger reverting back into guilt, Nayru turned to face Farore, who was still lingering behind.
Now, the youngest goddess was at a crossroad. Where the two roads lead to equally unacceptable outcomes. First, she looked back to the Twili, who was still furious at her and her two sisters. Out of all three of them, Farore felt like she loved Hyrule the most. She loved to see all of the Hylians down below, playing and living their lives as much as they could. Sometimes she would watch one specific one and observe their day as they lived them. It was a pleasant little pastime for her. But whenever it came to the brink of ruin, she would always long to go down and help, just like sister Din. But they knew their oath, and they knew they had to do nothing. But even if it was just her and Aden, she would still want to try and fight the Deity, and stop him before her beautiful creation was destroyed!
But that would mean she would have to leave her sisters behind. The only family she's had for her entire existence.
She turned her head to Power and Wisdom, where Nayru was showing a touch of impatience with her grief. They were her other option: leave with them and start over somewhere new. A place where they could make new rules, and help the people when they truly needed it instead of making some sort of idiotic oath! They could go down and interact with the people of the new land, like she had been longing to do with the Hylians for so long! Even with the power they had left, they could all still do something to help! They could all strive to be what they hadn't been here, and start from scratch once again!
But that would mean leaving behind her creation, and all of its people she had loved so much.
Her passion, or her family. Her sisters, or Hyrule's safety. Start over, or continue onwards? But after much consideration, Farore decided.
Even if she loved Hyrule above all else, she couldn't leave her family behind. So with deep sorrow, she forced herself to walk back to her sisters, and stand beside them once more. Even despite both of her sisters joining her, Nayru did not feel satisfied. She wondered if she could ever feel satisfied after what had happened these past few days. Din simply took a quick glance at Farore, then turned away. The Goddess of Courage stood there, wondering if she would feel the same way if she had chosen Hyrule instead.
"Good." The Twili said, calming himself down and turning away from the "Golden Goddesses." "Now don't come back. You three aren't welcome here." The three did not argue. Farore looked back to Aden, feeling a surge of guilt once more when she saw Aden start to walk away. As her physical form started to shimmer, she wondered if there was anything she could have done better to help. But she simply turned away, and tried to ignore the strong feeling in her chest. The Goddess Trio's lower bodies turned to the colored clouds once again, and they all closed their eyes to prepare to leave the world they thought they had cared so much for.
"Farewell Aden." Nayru spoke one last time. Their chests all had turned into the mist, with the transformation slowly increasing up to their heads. "I hope this is what you truly wanted." And then, as the final parts of their forms came apart, they traveled up into the sky, and disappeared. The land's goddesses, its creators, its "protectors," were gone.
It took some work and lots of willpower, but Aden had managed to gather his four friends' bodies at the bottom of the central hill. He didn't bother touching the traitor trio's bodies, however, for obvious reasons. They were all lined up together, side by side, but slightly spaced out so they could have room. He had also collected their weapons and anything else they might have dropped during the battle, and laid them together in a pile. In it was Link's sword, Zelda's rapier and crown, Zant's scimitar, and Midna's barrette. Aden wished that he had her tiara, but this was the only item that she had with her in the battle. She had lost it somewhere back in the Hidden Village. Everything was also bloody, so he made it his duty to clean all of it off on his robe. The stench that lingered afterwards was enough to make the Twili vomit, but he held it in for his friends' sakes. His friends still all had the look of shock and horror on their faces, save for Midna's. He would fix that soon enough, But he still hated the fatal wounds that stuck on their bodies.
At one point, he tried to form another Memory Orb to try and bring his friends back. Starting with Midna, he created a small orb that surrounded the wound just enough and touched it. When the light faded, the skin was back to normal, but his love still did not wake. It made himself feel better, however, not seeing where his friends had been slain. Not seeing where he had failed. So he sparingly used what energy he had left to heal his dead friends. A thought occurred to him that maybe because of this, their spirits won't hurt anymore since the wounds had disappeared. That made him feel slightly better.
Aden took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for what was to come. He picked up Link's Master Sword with both hands, gently balancing it on both ends with the tips of his fingers. Slowly stepping over to the hero from Ordon, he thought about what he was going to say to him. He laid on his back, facing the sky with empty eyes. With the words rolling off of his tongue, he began.
"Link…" Aden said to his body, trying to sound formal like Zelda. "...From the moment we first met, you trusted me without a doubt, simply because I was Midna's friend. You took us in and gave us shelter for the night, despite us appearing out of nowhere. Thanks again for that pumpkin soup, by the way." He laughed a little, remembering the taste. "After Ordon got destroyed, you fought with us, lending a hand to defeat the Deity, but also save many other people throughout Hyrule. The Zoras, the people from Kakariko, the Gorons, you helped everyone you could without question. It's no wonder why the Master Sword chose you. You were a hero until the very end, even saving me at the cost of your own life." The Twili rested Link's sword on his chest, blade pointing downwards, and put Link's hands on the hilt. He closed his open mouth and eyes, giving him a peaceful look.
"I remember the Fairy telling me that you and Midna fought together two years ago. You helped save Hyrule and the Twili while I was gone off to, wherever I was. So, thank you for looking out for Midna while I was gone." Aden backed away to give him space. "You were a good man Link. I just wish I could've gotten to know you better. Thank you for everything."
Next, Aden picked up Zelda's tiara and rapier, stepping over to her corpse. Forcing down a lump in his throat, he began to say his final words to the Princess.
"Prince-no, Zelda." Aden caught himself before he disrespected the princess. She said she didn't like the formalities anyways. "You were an ally to us from the start as well. It took us some trouble to reach you in Castle Town, but at least I know that it was worth it so we could get to you. Despite being the ruler of this land, you joined our cause and fought with us. You came to Snowpeak to help save Nayru, fighting against Yeto to not just save the Goddess, but to save him as well. And you defended against the Twilit Beasts during the invasion on the Hidden Village, saving our skin more than once. Even when your own people turned against you, you still fought for them. Even after they tried to kill you and hide away, you still helped them unconditionally. You were a true, kind ruler to your people, and that will never change." He did the same to her as he did with Link. He placed Zelda's rapier in her arms and closed her mouth and eyes. After that, he delicately placed her tiara above the hilt of her blade, honoring the sacrifices she made for her kingdom.
"I'm glad that I was able to fight with you Zelda. You were a loyal friend to all of us, thank you for everything."
Aden backed away and picked up Zant's remaining blade, then walking to the side of his body. Forcing back some more tears, he tried to continue with the funeral.
"Zant… I'm honestly not sure what to say to you." Aden's voice spoke with pure honesty. "At first you tried to kill us for the Deity, thinking he was some sort of god. You killed many innocent people throughout the land for the purpose of pleasing your master, us included. Then when he turned against you, you did the same, taking Din for yourself. But after we found out that you were the last person we were looking for, the other Triforce of Power bearer, you joined us. Whether it was to get revenge on the Deity or because of some sort of change of heart, I'm not exactly sure. But, you still fought with us. Your actions were unforgivable, but you took the first step back into redemption yourself. So thank you for trusting us, like I trusted you." Aden did the same with Zant as all the others, and placed Zant's blade in his hands. He backed away, with a slight smile on his face.
"I'm sorry for what I did in the battle, your death was entirely on me. I'm sure you're still mad at me wherever you are, but, well, thank you for not turning on us during the battle. I'm sure that a lot of us thought you would do that, so thank you for fighting with us, it meant a lot. You were a good ally while it lasted."
Lastly, Aden picked up Midna's barrette and drearily walked over to Midna's corpse. He choked back as much tears as he could when he saw Midna's smiling face again, and tried to get on with his final words.
"M-Midna, you were the best friend th-that I could ever ask for. You t-trusted me without hesitation and fought with me. You saved me m-multiple times and, and I tried to return the favor for you. Even with my stupid amnesia, I knew that you were my friend. You gave m-me memories for these past few days and, and made me happy despite everything going on. I-I'm sorry I couldn't keep my, my promise to you, that I c-couldn't protect you, and th-that I ca-an't make up for the, the time I lost and… and…"
Then, he couldn't take it anymore. He dropped Midna's barrette and collapsed to his knees, weeping loudly. His tears let loose as if there was a dam in his eye sockets that just broke, and golden light streamed onto the grass once again. He fiercely gripped the dead grass, accidentally pulling out clumps of it at once. All the grief he was trying to keep inside had broken out of him, and he cried harder than he ever had in his entire life. He pounded on the grass, fell onto his side, and held his knees close. There was too much snot in his nose. But, he was not yet finished saying what he wanted to say to her, so through the weeps and wails, he tried to force it all out.
"T-thank you *gasp* for ev-everything and *gasp* and letting me know *gasp* you f-felt the same about *gasp*me like I d-did for *gasp* you. I *gasp* I love y-you!" On and on, he continued to weep where he laid. On and on, he didn't want to move from where he was. And as time went on, his desire to be with his love again grew more and more. And then, as Aden let out his last choking sob, he rose to his knees and wiped his eyes. Taking one more look at Midna's smiling corpse, he finished what he started and put Midna's barrette into Midna's hands, leaving it clasped tightly on her chest. Staying at her side, he raised a hand up and pointed out his middle and index finger.
"Don-don't worry Midna. I'll see you soon, that's a promise I can finally keep."
But before enough energy could flow to his fingers, a bright light shined from behind his back. It was golden like the sun, and shined bright enough to light up the entire field. Aden clenched his fist and turned around, thinking that the goddesses had returned for one more shot. He blocked the harsh light with his arm and could make out a figure within the beams. He was curious when he found not three, but one. The figure stood tall, with hair going down to the waist. It didn't look like any of the Golden Goddesses from before, unless Nayru grew her hair back that is. The bright light finally dimmed and went away, allowing Aden to see the figure with a clear view, to which he gasped from shock.
For that figure was not one of the Golden Goddesses, nor Hylia herself, but his old caretaker and the first he had met in his adventure through Hyrule. The Great Fairy.