It was another sleepless night in Kakariko Village. The Ordon children spent their restless hours at the spring, as it was the closest they had to home.

Malo seemed to have adapted the best, having his own store and wares to sell... to no one in particular, but it kept him busy.

Collin spent his time with Epona, as he and Ilia would often tend to her at the ranch.

Talo kept a vigilant watch for monsters at night, but during the day he either practiced his sword skills with a stick or spent time learning the bombing trade with that weirdo Barnes.

Beth... Beth was not doing as well as the others. They all gathered at the spring on this night but she was the only one freely crying.

No one told her to stop, not even Malo. They all wanted to go home.

"I wonder..." Talo started. He drew random lines and circles in the dirt. "I wonder if that Twili girl will ever go home."

"I hope she still has a home to go home to," said Collin. "She looked very sad."

Malo shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was stressed from dealing with him."

Beth wiped her face and said, "Did any of you hear them arguing? He seemed really mad."

"He seems mad all the time," said Malo. "I hope that girl goes home but I don't care where he goes as long as he's gone."

They all paused when they heard a strange sound, like music but it had been taken apart piece and piece and was being put back together. It grew stronger and louder right next to them in the spring, and they jumped to their feet when they saw the black particles collecting into the shape of a person. A person on their back with something sticking out of their chest...

"Zach!" cried Talo. He ran to the warrior first, followed swiftly by the other children. "Oh man... oh man ohmanohman…" What happened to him?! The only recognizable features were his shirt and pants; everything else was burned to one degree or another.

Zach hissed as he gripped the mound of rock and metal that had him pinned down. "Get help..." The children needed no further instruction. They ran as fast as they could to the shaman's hut while Zach relaxed as best he could in the spring water. "Damn it... damn it, damn it!"


I was in pain, but not just from getting stabbed by a rogue piece of machinery. My mind would not stop replaying what Midna had said to me while facing Dangoro.

"You're acting like Ganondorf!"

Ganondorf… well, I'd rather be compared to him than someone like Vaati. Still, I lay in the spring water and for a not-inconsiderate amount of time, I thought about dragging myself onto the dirt and pulling the damn thing out of my stomach and just... letting whatever happened happen.

Why was I the chosen hero? Midna said it herself, I'm more like the most famous villain in video game history (in my opinion, sorry Bowser). Why did the Goddesses choose me? Why was I still so immature and angry? Why was I even here at all?

"WHY?!" Hot tears stung my eyes. I slammed my fist down in the water and hissed as my muscles tore along the broken machinery's jagged edge. I wasn't in any state for a hissy fit... I wasn't even fit to help Midna. "Why am I... me?" And why did the ground keep rumbling?! I wasn't even on the mountain anymore, there was no reason I should have felt any tremors or quakes.

The ground rumbled again, as though something very heavy impacted the surface somewhere, and a shrill scream sounded from within the village.

"It's a monster," someone cried, but they were too far away for me to recognize their voice. "Someone, help us!"

Monster? What monster could possibly be here, Fyrus was on Death Mountain and King Dodongo had rolled right off the side... oh...

Krak-OOOM!

What the hell was that?! Sounded like a bomb going off, or some damn cannon!

I tried to open my eyes but the lids would not budge. How could I help if I could not see? I wasn't Midna with her magic or even a wolf with my enhanced senses! I was useless... like I always had been...

I reached for my face, but the machinery in my stomach shifted with every movement and sliced further into my body. Angry... I was so angry, so full of hate and loathing at myself and the world... What little air I could breathe was hissed between my teeth... My rising heart rate pumped blood faster, which only made me woozy as it dribbled out the wound...

They needed help! I didn't know exactly who 'they' were but no one deserved to be fried to a crisp by a giant Dodongo.

I gripped the hunk of junk and pulled, but it was too painful and I let go with a hateful whimper. It hurt so much! Why did it hurt?! Why couldn't I be a badass and pull out the thing and save the day?!

Adrenaline and rage blinded me. I grabbed the machinery again, silently thanked Midna for dropping me off directly in the spring water, and yanked as hard as I could.

The scream that resounded was loud but quick, as I immediately passed out from the subsequent pain and blood loss. I must have been out for only a few minutes since it was still night when I woke up and my wound was partially healed. It hurt like all hell but at least it was sealed... for the most part.

It was taking longer to heal than I remembered, and while the wound had closed on the inside—my muscles had rejoined and bones had reknitted—it still bled when I stood up. At least my organs weren't spilled all over the ground.

The next issue was the lack of sight. Feeling at the burn spots, I found that my eyelids were not completely destroyed, just stuck together. If I could pry or slice them apart, I'd be able to heal them up and then finally deal with King Dodongo. I tried to pull the lids apart only to find that not only did it hurt too much, but my fingers were too wet from blood and water to get a firm grip.

"Why me..." I muttered as I reached for my sword, only to realize that Midna had never re-materialized it after fighting Dangoro. "... that's fair." Midna deserved better than to have me be mad at her. She was under so much stress, of course she forgot. She deserved some slack... she deserved more than that...

That still left me without a way to open my eyes, but then I felt the jagged tip of the machinery that had impaled me...


Meanwhile, up on Death Mountain Peak...

Midna wiped sweat from her forehead. She took a deep breath, let it out slow, and climbed into the nearby mining cart. This was insane, totally insane! What was she thinking? That she would defeat Fyrus single-handedly with no weapons or backup plans?

The power of the Fused Shadow bloomed in her mind. Fyrus was near, and he was angry. It was not an intentional connection but with both he and Midna wearing the dark artifacts, their minds shared a link of sorts.

Darkness was not as evil as one would believe. Dark had its own beauty, its own magic and wonder. Midna saw it every day in the Twilight Realm, and every night here in Hyrule. Light and Dark, two sides of the great coin of creation. Every coin had its edge, however, and that was her bridge to Fyrus.

"I know you can hear me," she said, the mining cart pulling around a corner and revealing Fyrus in all his fury. "You can hear me, and you will listen to me."

Fyrus roared from his spot on the isle. He said nothing but his eyes watched Midna like a hungry predator... or a beast backed into a corner. Either way, he gathered lava and solid stone in his hand, roared once again, and lobbed the projectile. It sailed through the air, crackling and sizzling, and smashed into the mountainside just above Midna's head.

"From that distance," said Midna, "you couldn't possibly have missed unless it was deliberate. This is what happens when two opposing forces meet." The cart stopped at the station closest to Fyrus, allowing Midna to step onto solid ground. She stood close enough to feel the heat radiating from the corrupted Goron's body, yet far enough that his stature did not impose her. To an extent. "The darkness... it brings things out, things you did not know or want to know about yourself."

Fyrus roared again, this time with a single word echoing around them: WHY.

Midna chuckled and sat on a nearby metal stool. "I'm not quite sure. My mother once told me a riddle about it; You are more honest in the dark than you are in the light. I didn't quite understand it back then." She chuckled again, wiping her cheek. "Truth be told, I don't think I understand it now. She never told me the answer, but maybe it's one of those 'find out for yourself' kind of riddles. I never liked those."

The heat surged. Fyrus raised a fist and slammed it down hard, but nowhere near Midna.

"Good point. Why talk when we can fight? You seem like you're ready to brawl." Midna dared to look Fyrus in the eye, her arms held out as a challenge with her eyes closed. "Then do it! Come on, I'm right here! Do it, KILL ME!"

Fyrus raised his fist, issued one final roar, and swung.

...

...

...

Midna opened one eye and found that Fyrus' fist was just inches above her head. Despite his brutish snarl, the gleam in his eyes had lessened. "I think I solved the riddle. Who you are in the dark, when there's no light and no one can see... that person is your true self. That's the person you really are, and the person you really are, Fyrus, is not a murderer."

A whimper sounded from the Igniter's maw. He pulled back, the fires smothering his body cooling to embers. Midna took a step forward, then another.

"You don't want to hurt me. I think you don't want to hurt anyone, and I think that's why you've been lashing about up here." Fyrus had yet to show signs of hostility, and so Midna stepped closer. "I think you were worried for your people, hoping that by isolating yourself, they would be safe. Fyrus, look around you. Do they seem safe to you?"

Fyrus towered above her. Even in her true form, Midna would be dwarfed by him. When she reached out, he stepped back.

"It's all right," she said. "I was born in darkness. It is my element, you could say. When used properly, it is capable of great and terrible things... but then, you've experienced that firsthand." Her glowing fingers, so small and alien even after all this time, touched against Fyrus' leg. "I've been corrupted too. I don't normally look like this, just as you don't normally look like that."

Shadow magic sifted and parsed through Midna's hand. It was perhaps the closest she had felt to home since leaving it behind.

"One day, I'll be free of the curse that holds me in this form. I don't know when or how, but I'll get there. I have someone to help me, but you seem to have no one to help you." Midna smiled up at the corrupted Goron. "I will help you. All I need to do is remove the artifact on your head. Once I do that, you should be back to your normal self. Does that sound nice?"

After a moment, Fyrus nodded. He dropped to his knees, bowed his head, and muttered a simple word: "Please..."

Midna almost fainted. Her plan—such as it was—actually worked! She tamed the beast and brought out the best in him using nothing but words. "I guess this leadership thing isn't as hard as I thought it was." Chuckling, she reached up and grasped the edges of the mutated Fused Shadow. "... This may hurt a little."

The artifact slipped off with surprising ease. The fire enveloping the Goron's body dimmed and finally died, and Twilit particles exploded from him. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious but alive. The darkness froze in the air, much as it did with Diababa, and then coalesced into another fragment of the complete Fused Shadow. It seemed to be the back portion, designed to meld with the lower front half acquired from Diababa, but something was off about it... Where were the ridges that would just from the spine?

Surely it was some sort of mistake. That was the Fused Shadow, was it not? It certainly looked it, felt it, but now... "If this wasn't the whole Fused Shadow piece," Midna said, voice hushed to a terrified whisper, "then the rest of it must be... oh no..."


This was not Talo's night. Sleep eluded him, Zach appeared out of nowhere gravely injured, and when Talo went to wake the shaman Renado, a giant lizard crashed down in the street around the corner!

It stood on four massive hulking legs, scales dark and burning, with eyes that shone with harsh, unforgiving light. Atop its armored brow sat a crown of shadows, and a great plume of fire emerged from the crown's back and sprawled down the lizard's spine.

Talo and the other children stood frozen in terror before the beast, their minds yelling for them to run but their bodies too numb to obey. It was a shrill scream that finally shook the children from their stupor.

"It's a monster!" That came from Anju, but Talo was still looking at the giant lizard. Its maw opened and the heat alone made Talo dizzy. "Someone, help us!"

Panicking, Talo crashed into his brother and Beth, sending them all to the dirt. Talo looked up at the gaping maw of the beast, watched as hot ashes wafted down its gullet, and prepared for the end.

Krak-OOOM!

The beast roared, and the air smelled of Barnes after he left his bomb shop. Strong arms scooped up Talo and the other children, carrying them some distance and then depositing them behind a building. Talo wished he knew what was happening, but a child's mind like his own was not meant to cope with such massive dangers.

And then Talo heard it. A scream unlike anything he had ever heard before. Pained, primal, and very, very angry. It seemed to originate from the spring itself, but the only person there that he knew of was Zach. That could not have come from him, could it?

A hand gently grabbed Talo's chin and turned his head to face the owner of the hand. "You must run," said Renado riding atop Epona. "Go to the graveyard, find a place to hide. We will hold off this monster."

"But..."

"Do as I say!" Renado's eyes closed as he took in a deep breath. "Lead the other children, especially your brother. They need you more than we do."

"..." Finally, the boy nodded. "I'll do my best."

Renado returned the nod and peeked around the corner. "Wait for my mark. Get ready."

"Malo, get on my back," said Talo. His brother obeyed with little protest and secured his arms and legs around Talo's waist. "Collin, Beth, you guys ready?"

They looked scared out of their minds, and so was Talo, but they nodded anyway.

"Steady..." Renado peeked around the corner again and nodded, but not at Talo.

Krak-OOOM!

"GO!"

Talo led the way, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. His hands held Malo's legs in place, and the only discomfort came from bobbing against Talo's back.

The dark beast had its attention focused on Barnes and Renado, Barnes being armed with some sort of metal tube that sat on his shoulder, so Talo felt more than confident that he and the children would safely reach the graveyard.

They had almost reached the spring when a horrible orange light illuminated the way ahead of them. Talo dared to stop and turn, but that proved to be his undoing.

The light came from the beast's crown, but when Talo stopped, that light turned a vicious red. The beast growled and curled itself into a gigantic ball that surged with terrifying speed right at him! He made for the graveyard, but the monster was faster. It cut off their planned escape route and slammed into the wall, upon which it uncurled and spun to face the children.

Talo had been in Kakariko long enough to know the general layout. There were two streets, one of which he had fled and the other now closed off to him. But there were two more places to go; the way to Hyrule Field, which would only serve to block them at a dead end, and...

"The ramp!" cried Talo. His brother's grip tightened against his shirt. "Come on, it's our only chance!" He raced ahead of the group and ascended the dirt ramp that led to the roof of Malo's new shop.

"Hey, mind the gap!" cried Malo. He dug his fingers into Talo's torso as the boy leapt across. Talo landed harshly on his ankle, Malo fell from his back and bounced against the wall of the shop's second floor. Beth and Collin followed them but managed to jump the gap without hassle.

Collin went to Talo first. "Are you okay? That looked bad."

"I'm okay," said the boy, but he hissed sharply when he tried to stand. "I'm not okay. I think it's my foot..."

"What are we gonna do?" asked Beth, pacing back and forth. "What are we gonna do? Why'd you lead us up here?!"

Talo winced as his arm was draped over Collin's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I-I panicked..."

A thunderous roar boomed from down below, and the heat found them. The great beast was too large to use the ramp, but that did not keep it from clawing at them. Its claws raked away the wooden support beams at the edge, narrowly missing Beth. She fell back while Collin struggled to lift Talo.

"I'm so sorry," said Talo, tears in his eyes. "I'm really sorry..."

"LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!"

Somehow, that voice surpassed everything else. It seethed with rage and hatred, and even the beast startled at the sound of it. Finally climbing to his feet, Talo peeked over the edge to see who said that, but he quickly wished he had not.

The speaker was Zach... or at least Talo thought it was him. He had the same clothes, but his face... one eye had been crudely cut open and blood dribbled down his cheek. He leaned heavily against what looked like a giant stone hammer, his other hand clutching his stomach.

"Don't start what you can't finish!" Why did his voice curl Talo's insides? What power was he using to even stand?!

"What is he doing?!" shrieked Beth. "He's gonna get himself killed!"

Kra-KOOM! Barnes' weapon stunned the beast again, its mouth opening in a pained bellow.

"Children, you must hurry," Renado yelled. "Climb higher! Get to the hot spring and hide!"

Collin and Talo nodded, but Beth hesitated. "But... but that thing will get us!"

"It'll get us if we stay here," said Malo, "but that spring is too high for it to climb."

"I can help Talo up," said Collin. His lips were set in a thin line but there was a courageous glint in his eye. "Beth, you need to take Malo. We only need to get to the spring. We'll be safe there."

Beth stamped her foot. "How do you know? What if there's a monster waiting for us up there?"

Collin and Talo deflated. Indeed, what if something was about to ambush them the moment they were safe?

"I don't know about you all," said Malo, halfway up the stairs, "but I'll take a monster that might be up there over the big monster that's definitely down below."


The Twilit portal soothed Midna's body, but it did little to calm her mind. She had not felt this degree of panic since the invasion of her realm began. Running through the war-torn halls of her beloved palace... stepping over dented armor and broken weapons... confronting that bastard Zant...

There was a fire in her now. She had lost everything, but she would not lose this new, idiotic, angry friend. Especially not when it was her own decision to send him to the spring, not bothering to remember that King Dodongo had fallen off the side of the mountain.

Or perhaps she did remember and hoped freeing Fyrus would defeat the monster by proxy. In either case, it was a devastating lack of foresight on her end. She only hoped that Zach and the villagers would not pay the price for her mistake.

When she landed in Eldin Spring, Midna's eyes snapped to the behemoth nearby. It roared, shaking the earth with its power, and its maw grew brighter and hotter as it inhaled. The dark power of the Fused Shadow was here all right, beckoning to its brethren. If Midna had any doubts about the relics' collective sentience before, she believed now.

Every fragment was part of a whole, but capable of surviving without that whole. They would bond to anything they could if it meant freedom, even if they did not comprehend the freedom they sought.

Diababa apparently bonded with one of those 'babas' in the forest; it stood to reason that this fragment bonded with King Dodongo's remains, possibly breaking itself to possess the Goron patriarch as well.

Kra-KOOM!

While it was not nearly as loud as the cannon explosion, Midna covered her ears all the same. A flash of light boomed as King Dodongo thrashed in pain, smoke erupting from the beast's backside. King Dodongo turned and marched down the street, its claws leaving gashes in the dirt.

"Don't waste your bombs!"

Midna turned to the speaker and gasped at the sight. "Zach...! Zach..." She could not help but throw her arms around his torso and squeeze, but his agonized yell made her quickly release him. "You're alive... You're alive... How are you even standing?!"

"Remind me," he said, breath caught between his clenched teeth, "to thank that little brat for the shield..."

Their eyes met, but Midna wished they had not. His eye... the crude slashes were bad enough, but that sheer, penetrating anger… "Zach, you need to go back to the spring. Your injuries haven't healed—"

"I noticed." His eyes closed, dribbling a bit more blood onto his ruined face. "I'm sorry. I don't blame you, I really don't. The water isn't healing me like normal anymore. I think I'm growing a tolerance to it."

"Okay... That's not okay, but we can handle that later." Midna lifted her helmet and ran a hand along her forehead. "You need to go find somewhere to rest, we'll handle this."

"Not a chance," he snarled. "This is my fight too."

Midna sighed. "This is not the time to argue about this..."

"Midna, I can do this."

"You can barely stand."

"That wouldn't stop you, would it? You'd fight to your last breath, wouldn't you?" He rested his hand on her shoulder. "Please... I've come this far, I can go further."

"Zach, you're in an even worse condition now than you were against that big Goron!"

"So? There's no secret test of character here! There's a monster, we have to kill it, end of story."

"It's not about the story, Zach!" Midna's temper finally reached its peak. She levitated higher than Zach was tall and mustered up the most serious look possible. "I don't care about your precious pride! I don't care about your feelings, and I most certainly do not care about what you incorrectly think you are capable of! Go back to the spring and rest or so help me I'll knock you out and toss you in myself!"

All the anger vanished from his eye. In its place was a sense of... hurt? "... but..." He weakly reached up and felt at his eyelid. "I cut open my own eye so I could help..."

Midna sighed. "And that was absolutely stupid of you. Brave, yes, but absolutely stupid. We don't need you right now, you are just not in any shape to be of any help. Now go."

Zach looked her in the eye and that flare of anger returned. It was tempered, however, by sheer hurt. "I was just trying to help..."

"You got the beast to leave those kids alone," Midna conceded. "You did your part. Now go."

Zach nodded slowly, turned on his heel, and limped in the direction of the spring. Halfway there, he paused and held out the Goron hammer. "Feed him bombs and hit him with this."

At last, some wisdom! "Thank you," said Midna, zipping the hammer into her pocket dimension with the other goodies. "I'll be back to help your wounds. See you later."

Midna took a gulp of healing water, dove into the ground, and became one with the darkness. Perhaps it was fate that this battle should take place at night, when Midna would be safe from the harsh light of the sun. Or perhaps she and Zach had a very good sense of timing.

Either way, this battle was hers to fight. Zant was not directly responsible for the Fused Shadows being in Hyrule, but Midna took satisfaction at the thought of reclaiming her ancestral magic and using it to grind Zant into the dirt.

Just one last Fused Shadow after this, she told herself. Just one more and she could go home! Granted, she would need to depose Zant and restore her people, but still. To go home again, to sleep in her own bed, to see the beautiful Twilit horizon...

With a slight giggle, she admitted that she would share what she learned of Hyrule and its wonders with her people. The dark interlopers of the past surely had good taste, this land was full of a beauty all its own. It was also full of itself but that was beside the point.

Midna's senses pinged. Barnes, that explosives maker, stood just behind the stairway leading up to what Midna assumed was his workshop. Midna popped up from the shadow, only to be met by a childish shriek. "Hello to you too," she said with a roll of her eyes. Barnes lifted his mask and peered down at her, hefting his bomb-launcher device.

That contraption of his certainly looked dangerous. It was some sort of metal tube large enough to be held atop his shoulder, smoke still wafting from the barrel. Behind him was a pile of spherical objects, each marked with a string poking from the top. They all smelled of explosive material, so Midna wisely stood aside while Barnes stared at her.

"You have to feed it a bomb!"

Barnes balked. "These aren't treats for a pet!"

"It's not a pet, it's a monster!"

"Go bother the elder or something!"

Midna scoffed. "At least he's doing something useful!" Yes, she was being overly critical, but she would be sure to apologize later. "Just aim for the mouth, I'll handle the rest!"

Barnes kept staring, but not at her. He hiccupped, flipping his mask down in the process, and pointed behind Midna. She turned to find King Dodongo barreling at them both, its body once again curled into a spiked ball.

"Not this time!" Midna's ponytail came to life. Its five fingers flared out and caught the incoming beast. The resulting clash of momentum and magic forced Midna back, though Barnes had the good sense to dive out of the way. Fighting against King Dodongo's mass was like pressing her skull against a boulder! Even though she held it at bay and ceased its spinning, the monster shoved harder.

Letting out a mighty roar, Midna threw her hair to the side and tossed King Dodongo into a nearby wall. She also made a note to never do that again; the strain of such a feat nearly snapped her neck. Perhaps if Zach were in his wolf form, sitting atop his back would provide more support.

But Zach was not there, nor was he even in wolf form to begin with. He was at the spring recuperating after the horrific injuries brought about by Midna's incompetence. And his own, as it were. Who the hell just decides to cut open their own eyes?!

Heat sprawled across Midna's body, and shadow-hungry flame surrounded her. The great maw of King Dodongo filled her vision, ready to swallow her whole and char her to a crisp at the same time. Was this the end? Surely Midna of the Twilight had a better destiny than this?

Perhaps she needed more faith in fate; no sooner had she pondered this end when another of Barnes' explosives flew over her head. The bomb slid easily down King Dodongo's gullet, the beast's reflexes forcing it to swallow the bomb instead of Midna. Had she been more clear-headed, Midna would almost find it amusing how King Dodongo's eyes seemed to bulge.

What was supposed to be a thunderous Kra-KOOM! had been reduced to a slight boom, but King Dodongo felt much more than that. Smoke billowed from its nostrils, the smell of cursed ash infested the air, and the aftershock of the explosion rippled through the rest of its body. The sheer force of the blow buckled its elbows and brought it low before Midna.

In one fluid motion, Midna summoned the Goron hammer, raised it high with her hair, and slammed it down on the fiery eye of the Fused Shadow. Her ears rang with the sound of cracking glass and King Dodongo's pained roar. One or two more strikes ought to do it, just one or two more!

Alas, the beast was not so easily defeated. It curled into itself—shielding the Fused Shadow from Midna's next swing—and sped off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, I'm not done with you!" Midna called. She dove into the shadows and gave chase, yet something lingered in the back of her mind. Why would the beast flee? It had nowhere to go, it was going in the direction of the spring. Zach was there, yes, but this was a beast of fire and dark. The spring was its antithesis and surely even a projectile flame attack could not hurt Zach as long as he stayed in the water.

Whatever the case, the infernal dinosaur clearly aimed for the spring with such fervor that Midna believed she had driven it into a state of panic. With any luck, it would pass right by Zach and slam into the far wall of the spring, perhaps even exposing itself to that Goron hammer once again.

Midna chuckled at the thought as she bypassed King Dodongo entirely. The beast had uncurled itself during Midna's brief distraction and stood before the spring edge, where Zach stayed beyond its reach... until he took a step toward it.

At this proximity, Midna heard the faint whispers of darkness from the Fused Shadow. The whispers were too unintelligible for Midna to decipher but they sounded so calming and welcoming, as though they were an old friend offering shelter. Midna emerged from the shadows and listened hard, but the whispers never truly reached her ears.

Because they were not whispering to her. She watched, horrified, as Zach stepped closer to King Dodongo. She wanted to scream, or yell, or call attention to herself. She wanted to do something—anything—and yet she did nothing. Zach was going to die, and yet she did nothing. Why was she doing nothing?!

King Dodongo bowed its head. The gem of the Fused Shadow burned with a terrible light, one that promised both power and revenge.

Revenge? Revenge?!

Zach's burnt fingers reached up and caressed the glowing gem, which seemed to please the artifact as its light shone even brighter than before. Oh yes, it promised such power. His enemies would crumble before him, and he would have his vengeance on all who had wronged him—

CRACK!

Zach's fist smashed into the gem as he roared, "It's all your fault!" He reared back with his free hand—evidently the hand caressing the gem was actually securing his grip to keep it in place—and punched again. The air popped with the sound of shattering glass. "It's all your fault!" King Dodongo thrashed on the ground, but the magic of the Fused Shadow had already left it. Starting at the tail and hind legs, King Dodongo's scales and flesh blew away in the wind. Within moments, all that remained of the great infernal beast was a charred skeleton. "It's all your fault!"

The Fused Shadow was still affixed to King Dodongo's skull and suffered a third strike to the gem, but Zach showed no signs of stopping. He pulled his arm back and swung again, and again, and again, all still screaming his fury at the relic. It was not until the Fused Shadow exploded into Twilit particles that Zach finally collapsed to his knees, drained of energy and blood, muttering that same phrase.

"It's all your fault..." he whispered as his eyes rolled back and he collapsed face-up in the spring.

Now Midna knew why she stayed still. The link between her helmet and that of King Dodongo afforded her a vision of what it had been showing Zach. He saw Midna in her true form, beautiful and beaten to a pulp; he saw that giant Goron from before, but this time the Goron was bleeding and broken before him; he saw a man that vaguely resembled Zach, but older and more experienced and with his face crushed beneath a steel boot; but the last image was what gave Midna the greatest shock.

The last image Zach saw, the one that triggered his brutal attack, was himself.


My whole body ached when I finally awoke. The bed beneath me was soft, at least. I lay on my stomach and tried to open my eyes, but even when they clearly opened, I saw nothing but darkness.

Oh no... Oh please no... My breath hitched, and I gripped the pillow tight. Let me see! LET ME SEE!

A small hand stroked my hair. "It's all right," said Midna. "You're not blind. Your good eye is just buried in the pillow."

"... Oh..." Trying to turn my head only sent a massive and painful tremor through my neck and shoulders. I hissed, trying to let all the tension fade from my poor muscles. "... is everyone okay...?" It still hurt to talk, sadly.

"Yes, everyone is fine." She hummed a little tune—her own theme, in fact—and continued to stroke my hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"Considering the state you were in when King Dodongo finally keeled over, I'm not surprised."

"How bad is it?"

"Like you said, you're starting to grow an immunity to the spring water. Things are still healing, just not as quickly. It will take almost a week for you to recover."

"... I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry." Midna reached down and held my hand, squeezing it tightly. "I led you nearly to your death, and you've done nothing to deserve that. And then I yelled at you and then I drove that creature right to you. It's made me realize what a fool I've been."

I squeezed her hand back and let out a soft sigh. "You're not a fool, Midna. You were right, I shouldn't have tried something as... stupid as what I did to my eyes."

Midna stroked her thumb over my knuckle. "You're very lucky you didn't damage it. Your fake eye was also lucky to survive the blast."

"... Lucky me."

"Zach, we need to talk."

"... okay..."

Midna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I saw what the Fused Shadow showed you."

My muscles clenched up faster than they should have. "I... I didn't know."

"I want to start by saying that I'm impressed you fought off the temptation. That's not an easy feat, especially being in your condition at the time."

"But...?"

"But you only truly reacted when it showed you. The other images... I don't even know where to begin with them, but that one of you..." Midna squeezed my hand, but not painfully so. "Why do you hate yourself so much? Maybe I can understand the others—frustration with recent events with regards to me—but you kept yelling that it was your fault. Why? What did you do?"

"... I don't know where to begin..."

Midna's hand squeezed tighter. "I'm not angry with you, Zach. I'm worried."

My shoulders sagged. I instantly hated my chin for trembling. "I didn't want to worry you..." The hardest part of doing anything is starting it. How do I start telling her everything? How would you?

"I know, and I'm not even upset at that. You're holding onto something painful for dear life, Zach, and I want to help you."

"Sorry, I'm just... I guess I'm trying to figure out how to begin." I took a deep, deep breath, hissed at the pain from it, and let it out slowly. "Remember back forever ago, when we were in that old house in the forest? You asked me why I acted so weird and I told you that you destroyed the Mirror of Twilight."

"That does feel forever ago but I remember. Are you saying I didn't destroy the Mirror?"

"No, you did... but that happens at the end of the story. Something happens before that, something that I thought I could stop or mitigate or something but... I promise I didn't not tell you out of spite or something, I just..."

Midna's fear crept into my mind, her growing dread spilling from our connection. "Zach... what happens later on? It's okay, you can tell me. You've earned my trust at this point."

"And now I'm about to break it. In the story, you and Link go through three challenges and regain the three Fused Shadow... but literally the moment after you do, Zant appears. He takes the Fused Shadow, except your helmet, and bathes the area in pure light. … It... it nearly kills you."

"... What."

"Zant nearly kills you and takes the Fused Shadow," I said. I wished so badly that that was all I needed to say, but... "That's not all."

"... There's more?"

"Afterward, you and Link head to the Gerudo Desert to find the Mirror of Twilight... but Zant broke it into pieces. We'll have to spend more time in Hyrule to find them before you can go to the Twilight Realm."

"... So..." Her voice was so quiet now, and I thought I heard a gulp. "So you're telling me that I've been... that I've been gallivanting about this world, searching for my ancestral heirlooms, and they don't even..." She pulled her hand away from mine, and I felt her weight leave the bed. "You're saying that... you mean to tell me that everything I've done up until now... and even what I will do in the future... it's all for nothing?"

"No, it all works out in the end," I said, scared. "It seems hopeless but you'll get through it. Even with someone like me, you'll get through it."

I heard the window open.

"... Midna?"