All was quiet in the vast, moonlit field when an orb of light appeared before dispersing and gently lowering Link to the ground. As soon as he landed, he awoke, surprised to find himself in wolf form, until he remembered what had transpired in the spirit spring. His eyes widened as he tried to locate Midna, only to hear faint breathing and a familiar weight on his back. He snapped his head around, only to find Midna weakly lying on his back, her blue and black skin faded and her hair blue rather than orange. "Hero chosen by the goddesses..." came the familiar voice of the light spirit Lanayru. "Go to the Princess locked away in the castle. That Princess holds the key that can unlock you from your shadow form..."
Link took a moment to gaze at the castle, understanding what the spirit meant. He would have to speak with Zelda again, meaning he would need to find a way into the fortress. The only time he'd seen Zelda Link was already inside, though Midna aided in his escape. But now, he would need to find an alternate route. But he remembered something Talma had said the last time they spoke, and she said there was a way into the castle through her bar. Of course, going through Castle town would be dangerous while in wolf form. Link could only hope that Talma would allow him inside once he got there.
After making his way across Hyrule Field in the pouring rain, Link made it to the southern gate of Castle town. He quickly dashed across the wooden bridge and through the open gate, entering the walled settlement. As Link expected, the people began to run in terror, believing him to be a monster, while the guards collected themselves. Thankfully, he didn't have to use the main road as he ran into the alley to his left, passing several shops and houses before making his way onto the next street. Link passed right through, heading straight into the path on the opposite side as the residents ran away. Upon entering, he rushed down two flights of stairs and came to a small area surrounded by buildings. However, he didn't care about that while his friend was in danger. Thankfully, at the bottom of the stairs, he saw the familiar sign for Talma's bar, and as Link ran down the stairs leading to the door, the broken chain on his rear paw clinking on the stone as he went, Link smiled when he saw the door askew, just like he'd hoped. He entered inside, hoping to find help. Instead, he found Talma, shaking in fear and several Gorons, who, after getting over their shock at his entry. Grabbed Link and threw him out. "Beast! Get Out!" Talma called before the door slammed shut. Thankfully, they hadn't hurt Midna, but he still was upset, though he understood why they would think him a monster. So, he ran back up the stairs and into the back where he was before.
However, as he crested the stairs, he heard a soft, purring voice call out to him. "You there!" Link turned to see where the voice came from, only to watch as the shutters opened to reveal a window where sat a fluffy white cat. She jumped onto a stack of wooden crates before landing on the ground in front of him. "You're Link, correct?" she asked, to which Link responded with a nod. The cat walked up and began to sniff him while Link noted she wore a purple ribbon around her neck. "Mmm, yes, I thought so. I could tell, you know," she walked over to Link's left before sitting. "I'm Louise. Do you remember meeting me in this shop before? Though, I don't think we received a proper introduction..." she paused as Link recalled seeing him when he entered the bar in human form. She was Talma's cat, though she only mentioned her in passing. "In any case, I must tell you I'm a bit puzzled why you look like that. Really, dear, you can't blame the humans for tossing you out the way you look," she glanced up at Midna. "Oh, another patient? You certainly are a curious sort..."
"...Plea... Please..." Midna crooked as Link could feel her shivering as she tried to continue. "Princess...Z-Zelda..."
Louise looked away, a contemplative look crossing her features. Then, she turned around and walked back towards the stacks of creates leading up to the window before glancing at Link. "This way!" she cried before gesturing with her nose. "Here, get in through the window. The attic connects to the castle's waterway. It's an old waterway, though, so it could be a rough trip," she paused before continuing. "Well... I suppose all that's left to do is make sure the humans don't notice you," with that, she ran towards the main entrance to the bar and watched as Link ran over to a wooden box that stood apart from the others. Link pushed it closer to the wall using his head to slide it next to the stack of crates. Once in place, he climbed onto it before making his way to the top and the open window and entering the bar. Inside, he found several ledges connected by ropes, one leading to the other side of the room and the other to an exit. Below him, he could see the Gorons from before taking drinks from the bar, along with several people he didn't recognize. He quickly but quietly made his way across the ropes, being sure to avoid the pots lining the attic. After a tense minute, he reached the other side of the room and climbed onto a small ledge which led to a small stone tunnel, which he entered.
At the end of the short tunnel stood a room with a floor buried beneath a mountain of gold coins and jewels. In the center stood a large red chest, barely sticking out of the riches surrounding it, while at the far end sat a fat man seemingly made of gold, sitting upon an ornate throne. There also stood pieces of expensive furniture, with paintings lining the rich scarlet walls. However, the thing which stuck out to him most was the lantern glowing with unnatural light, seeming suspended in mid-air, as it swayed as if someone were holding it. He jumped down from his perch, only to sense another presence in the room. It was faint but powerful, and the lantern moved towards him, confirming his suspicions. He jumped up to attack whatever creature held the ghostly item and was unsurprised when he bit down on something. The lantern fell to the floor, and he could sense the dark force even stronger now, so he leaped at its chest and tried to pry it out. Sure enough, he felt something between his teeth as he watched a ghostly figure fade and the lantern explode into dust.
He spat it out, only for a black and red orb to float towards the gold man sitting upon the throne. It absorbed into it, and Link walked over to inspect the thing. "Oh... Th-thanks for beating the ghost. Can I call you, doggie?" he said, as though he hadn't spoken for some time, his mouth hardly moving as his literal emerald eyes gazed at him. "I'm Jovani. I became consumed by greed long ago and sold my soul to a dark creature that did this to me..." he paused a moment before continuing. "I can't move... I can't see my girlfriend. My cat, Gengle, is frozen on top of my head. I don't think I could be any more miserable..." he drawled. "I have a favour to ask you, doggie. Can you find 20 ghosts who lurk in the dark for me? If you free the pieces of my soul from the ghosts that hold them, I'll be free..." Link nodded before he finished. "Oh, but it's raining out now, so I don't think you can go outside directly. I'll open the door to the underground waterway for you," the red chest opened, and Link turned to inspect it. However, Jovani continued. "Once the rain stops, you can get in by digging around the front wall where the cats gather. Understand, doggie?" Link nodded once more before running over to the chest as he felt Midna's heartbeat grow fainter before jumping into it.
As it turned out, this led directly to the waterway Link needed, and, after making his way through old ruins infested with monsters, he reached the sewers running beneath the castle. He'd been here before when Midna helped him escape the dungeons, and better yet, when he dug through a hold in the floor, he ended up at the base of the run-down tower he'd used to get to the roof. So, after making his way through several Bulblins, Kagerroks, and Kyes, he finally reached Zelda's tower. He climbed through the open window he'd used last time before jumping into the winding stairwell and rushing to the top.
The door was unlocked and unguarded, just as he'd hoped it would. Link quietly nudged the door before entering a large, sparsely decorated room, save for the bed off to the side, two gothic windows, and Hylian banners on the stone walls. In the center of the room stood a comfy chair with someone in a dark cloak sleeping in it. Assuming this to be Zelda, Link made his way over and gently tried to stir them awake using his nose. However, when he pushed aside the cloak, alarm bells rang in his mind when he saw the giant figure had no right also noted her (it was indeed a woman in the chair, wearing practically the same purple overlayed white dress as Zelda no less) nigh toxic scent, not to mention the long scarlet hair which came down her back.
Realizing this was not Zelda, Link slowly began to back away, hoping he hadn't disturbed- "Who dares disturb my slumber?" he heard a deep, feminine voice inquire, causing Link to stop dead in his tracks as he turned to look behind him. The woman, who had only moments before been sound asleep, slowly rose to her feet, which Link noted to be golden, as were her legs, as the skirt had a cut down the front, allowing for better mobility. She removed the hood with her blackened left hand, allowing him to see the woman's slightly irritated golden eyes, surrounded by flaking black skin. "Who art thou?"
It was then Midna fell off his back and onto the carpeted floor. "P-Please... Z-Zelda?" she weakly cried as the woman stared on in confusion.
"No, I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella, and I have heard of no such person," she said as she bent over and used her left hand to pick up an intricately crafted golden arm that Link hadn't noticed before and placed it into a socket on her right side. Much to his horror, he also realized it had a long, curved blade attached to the arm, which she held out to the side, nearly hitting the wall while she slowly walked closer. "Now, I will ask only once more: Who, art, thou?" she said as the wheels churned in his mind. Thinking on his feet (or paws in this case.) Link gently bit down on the back of Midna's neck and placed her on his back before slowly backing away from the towering woman.
"What is happening!?" shouted the young boy as he watched the cutscene. Was this some strange secret? Was it another glitch? He didn't know. What he did know, however, was that out of the dozen or so times he'd played TP, this never happened before! Not only was Zelda replaced by this towering woman, but she seemed hostile, which was not something he was expecting. "Hey, come look at this!" he called to his older brother.
"Yeah, what's up?" he asked as he came down the stairs in the other room.
"Come check this out!" the younger boy shouted as his brother entered the living room.
"Yeah, what-" he paused as he looked to the screen, a look of confused horror crossing his features. "What the hell is she doing there! I thought I killed her!" he shouted as he sat down on the couch beside his younger brother and pointed at the screen. "That's Malenia!"
"Who?" the younger boy asked in confusion.
At that moment, Link decided he'd try to attack first. After all, it seemed Malenia, as tall as she was, had left herself open to attack, so he jumped up to bite her. But then, almost too fast for him to even see, her right hand sparked around her blade. A split second later, she struck him out of the air before following up with a second strike which he only avoided by retreating towards the door. "Guards, to me!" she called as she dashed after him as blood dripped from his wound. Not a moment later, Link heard clinking metal coming toward him as he ran down the stairs. Only for him to come face to face with five men dressed in full, gilded armour, wielding a thrusting sword in the right hand and a spear or battle scythe in the other. The four with spears rushed at him while the fifth swung his weapon and summoned two golden discs, which flew toward him, even tracking as he moved. He dodged the discs and kept going, thanking the goddesses that being a wolf was almost as fast as riding a horse. He also ran past the others, who tried to thrust at him with their spears, with one even setting a trap with golden magic spears appearing out of the ground as he passed a spot where the man tapped his spear.
Once he reached the bottom, however, he noticed something strange, an ornately decorated purple, gold, and white banner. Curious, he gave it a quick sniff. A sweet, familiar scent came to his mind, and, as he tried to recall who it belonged to, he pictured the Princess, once locked away in this very tower. Link knew this belonged to her, though he didn't know where she was, so he checked his senses. Sure enough, he could smell the path she had taken, and he quickly followed the trail just as the men from before followed after him.