I awoke the next morning to the sound of... thunder? No, not thunder. Earthquake? No, not that. It was the sound of the little imp on my bed, snoring herself into a stupor.

For once, I was not upset at being woken up like this. It was nice to have a sense of normalcy again. I tried to check my phone for the time but I forgot I had an eyepatch on. It was for the best, I supposed.

"Midna," I said, carefully patting around the bed for her. "Midna, can you wake up so we can get breakfast?"

A loud snore was my response.

My stomach rumbled and Midna stirred, but in the end she stayed sound asleep. I finally found her and carefully grasped her shoulder. "Midna," I said, gently shaking her. "It's time to get up."

"F've m're m'nutes..."

After the hell she had been through the last few days, she deserved some rest. I made sure the window was closed so no sunlight could get in—I knew it was at least dawn because I felt the sun's warmth on my face—and limped out the door.

Naturally, I failed to realize I had no idea where I actually was in the village. I probably wasn't near the inn or the smell of food would have been stronger.

If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose!

If it was good enough for Gandalf, it was good enough for me. I took it slow, one step at a time, and followed the aroma across the street. It then occurred to me that it's been a week and a half since I've arrived in Hyrule.

Feels like years.

And what has been accomplished? We got two of the three Fused Shadows, we got a bow and a giant hammer and some fire-resistant cloths, and...

And I've lost my temper and beaten something to death for the third or fourth time since I got here. That was my very first action in Hyrule; smashing a Bokoblin's head to paste with its own club. First impressions are the most important as they say, and mine was a brutal act of violence. Not much has changed since then...

Actually, something has changed: I'm getting worse.

"Zach, look out!"

"Wha—" Smack! "Ow!" I know, I know. Walking anywhere without a walking stick while blind is bad idea. I learned this the hard way when I walked right into the side of the inn. It more scared the hell out of me than caused any real pain, but my nose did ache for a while after.

Someone—Talo, but I didn't realize at the time—grabbed my hand and said, "Gee, that looked like it hurt."

"Only my pride," I said. "Just wanted to get some breakfast while Midna's asleep. Would you mind?"

Talo led me to the entrance but... why was he limping?

"Hurt your leg, kid?"

"Uh... yeah. I landed on my foot wrong when I jumped the gap from the ramp to the building."

I winced. "I'm sorry about that."

"You saved us," he said as we entered the main lobby. "A little swollen ankle is way better than what could have happened. Thanks!"

"... you're welcome." Once Talo guided me to a table, I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. Blinded for the bajillionth time...

A warm hand patted my shoulder, jumping me out of my thoughts. "My apologies, my boy," said Sahasrahla as he sat across from me. "I seem to have a habit of sneaking up on you and your companion."

"It's fine, it's only my nerves." Sighing at my lack of manners, I added, "Sorry."

Sahasrahla chuckled. "No offense taken. I think a certain degree of sardonicism is warranted given the circumstances."

"Hm."

"Forgive my overbearing nature," he said, "but should you not be in bed resting?"

I shrugged. "I was hungry and Midna was asleep."

"I see. You seem to be in much better health today, my boy."

"Yeah, I think I'm healing faster from having so much of that spring water."

"Hm, this has not happened to us," he said. "Perhaps it is the mark of the Goddesses that aids your recovery."

I didn't want to be rude but I kinda wanted some privacy to my thoughts, but he was just being curious and courteous. "I heard the Gorons are going to help out around here. Is it that bad?"

Sahasrahla hummed in thought. "The main road needs to be repaired. By the blessings of the goddesses, our homes have not been damaged. I am given to understand the Gorons also wish to celebrate and show their gratitude for what you and Princess Midna have done for Kakariko and Death Mountain."

"Oh. That'll be... fun. They're not gonna try and hug me, are they?"

"If they do, I'm afraid we will be of no use defending you," he said with a laugh. "The Patriarch himself will be in the village later today to assess the damage and thank you personally."

Ugh, more gratitude? "Hm."

"You do not seek gratitude?"

"I... the last thing I need is an ego boost," I muttered. "Plus, I just did the natural thing to do. You don't get credit for the bare minimum."

"Bare minimum?" Sahasrahla leaned in and grasped my shoulder. "Son, there is a fine line between the bare minimum and saving two towns from destruction. There is no shame in receiving gratitude for such a magnificent deed, especially for the price you yourself paid."

"..." Maybe he was right, but it grated against so many feelings inside me. "I... yes, sir."

The elder released my shoulder. "Oh ho ho! Do I sound so old to you?"

I stiffened in my seat and said, "I'm sorry, I was just being respectful..."

"Ah, but were you? It seems more likely that you are accustomed to saying that when you wish for the conversation to end."

Oh great, now he was going to lecture me. "I wasn't trying to be rude."

"Once more, I am not offended. I merely observe."

Sure, he said he wasn't offended but come on. Who wouldn't be after a comment like that?

Someone came to the table with a tray of delicious-smelling food, for which I was very thankful. "Dear, would you care for some help getting back to your room?" asked Anju.

"Yes, please." I may be prideful and selfish and stupid, but I'm not that stupid. Together, the three of us returned to the room with no incident. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome," said the elder. "Eat and rest, young hero."

I bristled at the last comment as the door closed. Midna's snores were quieter, which I had come to learn meant she was just about to wake up. I carefully followed the sound to the bed and set the tray down, making very sure that it was in no danger from falling off the side and likewise safe from Midna accidentally bumping it.


With a quiet yawn, Midna blinked herself awake. "Mmm, that smells good," she said.

"I figured you'd like breakfast in bed," said Zach.

Smiling contently, Midna rubbed her eyes and sat up. Eggs and strips of meat with bowls of porridge, and with accompanying cups of milk! What a wonderful start to the day! "I really appreciate it, Zach."

"Hm." He sat at the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees while Midna dug into her breakfast.

She paused mid-bite when she noticed his low-energy demeanor. "You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just tired."

"Still?" Midna giggled. "I figured you would have enough sleep by now."

"I actually didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I think that's from sleeping so much the day before."

Midna thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Eat up, half of this is for you after all." Nodding in agreement, Zach joined her and carefully enjoyed his share. Once they were properly fed, Midna sputtered her lips. She was about to ask Zach what they should do today, but he spoke up first.

"I... we need..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I have something else to tell you."

A rock grew in the pit of Midna's stomach. She really wanted to tell him he said enough the previous night, but by now she learned it was better to at least hear him out no matter how much it could hurt her. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Zach rose from the bed, made sure nothing obstructed his path, and paced between the bed and the wall. "I was trying to keep this one from you, but... you deserve the truth. The whole truth, from my perspective at least. And I'll fully understand if you don't want to... if you'd rather we part ways..."

"Hey, don't talk like that," she said. "We're friends, remember? Trust me."

"..." Zach took a deep breath and let it out slow. He kept pacing as he gathered his courage. "When I... When the goddesses first appeared to me, they asked for my help. They told me that Hyrule was in danger, but it wasn't Ganondorf who was the threat..."

Midna almost interrupted to say it was Zant, but she had a feeling that was not what Zach was going to say.

"I don't know why they chose me," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "All I know is that the main threat to Hyrule, and everything beyond, is..." He stopped pacing, his back to Midna. His shoulders trembled and his fists balled up in his pockets. "It's me. I'm the main villain of this story."

Midna, to her credit, held in her shock with only a gasp to show for it. "You...?"

"Apparently they chose me before in another time, but it ended badly. So he's coming back, and I'm supposed to stop him." Zach sighed as he sank to the floor, hugging one knee. "I don't know why I was chosen. I wouldn't pick me. But they asked, and how could I say no? I was supposed to be the hero, but when you said I was acting like Ganondorf, it made me realize... what if it's inevitable? What if all we do here is pointless and I turn into the villain anyway?"

"Zach..." Midna hopped down and hurried to his side. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, her other hand doing the same to his shoulder. She wanted to say something, anything, to help him but this was a lot to take in. But she damn sure was not going to run.

"I haven't improved since I got here," he muttered, his breath hitching. "I keep getting so angry and so full of hate and... how am I supposed to save the world if I can't even save myself? And now you're trying to comfort me, like I'm supposed to have all the attention."

Midna put a finger to his lips. "It's okay to be upset."

"Not at your expense."

"My expense...!" Midna clenched a fist of her own and breathed through her teeth. "Zach, please, please listen to me. You don't get to tell me what's at my expense and what isn't. Yes, I've had a lot to deal with and if what you've told me before comes to pass, I'll have a lot more to deal with in the future. But please believe me, trust this if absolutely nothing else I tell you, when I say that my suffering does not negate yours!"

"But you cried by yourself..."

"So cry by yourself if you have to," she said. "But cry! Let yourself feel these things so you can be rid of them!"

"It doesn't work that way."

"Have you tried?"

"No, but..."

"Zach, you don't deserve comfort and care any less than I do, and I'm a princess."

"..." Zach lifted his eyepatch and looked at Midna. The wounds to his eyelids had yet to heal, as the rusty brown of the eyepatch indicated. The white of his eye was tinted a harsh red, and a red tear slid down his cheek. "I don't want to be the bad guy." He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders quaking as he wept. "I don't want to be the bad guy..." Amidst his sobs, his breathing sped up to the point of hyper-ventilation.

The anger bleeding into their connection froze into a bone-chilling fear. He was terrified beyond anything Midna had ever felt before, and why not? Midna had only been concerned with her own life and that of her people and home, and rightly so, but Zach was carrying a far greater burden and he was doing it alone. In his hands lay the fate of Hyrule—no, the entire world!

That was what he meant by 'It's all your fault'! In another time, another life, Zach failed.

How was Midna supposed to help with that? That was so far beyond her, beyond both of them! They were already trying to save Hyrule... wait, they were already trying to save Hyrule. Nothing about his revelation actually changed what they were doing, only added the necessity of Zach getting a grip on himself. But Midna was not so cruel as to tell him so bluntly.

"I don't know what I'm doing," he blurted out, though he seemed to be voicing his thoughts more than addressing Midna directly. "I shouldn't be here, all I'm doing is making things worse. What's the fucking point of me? I'm supposed to be the hero, I'm supposed to be the person everyone looks to for help. I'm not stupid, I'm not blind to the effect I have on other people. All I hear is how I'm so angry and I'm so dangerous. Why would the goddesses choose me? No one believes in me... not even me."

All right, enough was enough. "Zach, look at me." The boy refused, shaking his head. "Zach, please look at me."

Slowly, ever so slowly, he took deep breath after deep breath. He lifted his head and met Midna's gaze, his cheeks and hands stained dark red. "I'm so fucking scared, Midna."

"I know," she said. She took a cloth from Zach's satchel and dabbed at his cheeks. "You have every right to be. This is... a huge responsibility that's been thrust upon you, and from your perspective you're not living up to these expectations."

Zach frowned, leaning away from her hand. "I'm not, Midna. How... how am I a hero? What have I done right?"

"For one, you saved a group of children from certain death at the hands of a giant monster," she said.

"That doesn't count."

"Why?"

"Because..." Zach sighed and was about to run a hand through his hair, but he noticed the blood on his hand and decided against it. "Because that's just what you do. That's the only option."

Midna cupped Zach's cheeks and made sure he saw her front and center. "Exactly. You were willing to give your life for them. I can't speak for people who have to debate with themselves if such a choice was worth making, but you didn't. Or maybe you did, but you still made the choice to help them. Being a hero, being a good person, isn't easy. No one said it was or else everyone would be like that. How can you call yourself a bad person when your first or even your second or third thought was to rip a giant piece of metal out of your body so you can help someone?"

"... and what about that time I shoved you into a wall and started that fight?"

"Huh?" Midna blinked, thinking back for a moment. Finally, she chuckled. "I forgot all about that. We did have a good spat, didn't we? That is not even remotely on the same level, and we both started that fight anyway."

"I haven't been a good companion to you."

"Nor I you. And that's okay, realizing we were wrong helps us grow and be better in the long run."

Zach chuckled this time, but there was no humor in it at all. "Where I come from, people admit to lying before they admit to being wrong."

"But we're not where you're from, are we?"

"Why... why are you putting in so much effort with me? You don't actually care."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you don't. You didn't care about me getting poisoned or blinded. You said so yourself that you don't care about my feelings."

"I...!" Midna looked down, holding one arm across her chest. "You're right, I did say that. I wish I could take back such a hurtful statement, but I can't. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you." She slowly reached up and cupped Zach's cheek. "I am truly sorry that I haven't been a good friend to you. When I first found you, I thought I could use you, and I only cared about returning my world to normal. I..." Hot shame dribbled from her eyes. "I didn't care what happened to you, not at all."

Zach sighed and leaned away from Midna's hand. "I'm used to it."

Midna decided to address that particular thought later. "But after witnessing the selfless lengths you have gone through... Your sacrifices..." Whatever possessed Midna to embrace Zach was unimportant. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. It took only a moment for him to hug her back, though she noticed that he refrained from touching her with his bloody hands. "I know now, in the bottom of my heart, that I care about you, Zach. I don't know if I could ever make up for the cruel treatment that I've given you, but if you're willing to give me another chance, I'd like to try."

It was good they were embracing, for Zach's voice was almost too faint to hear. "... why?"

Midna pulled back and stared at him. This was a serious question? "Because we're friends, doy! What's more important than being there for a friend in need?"

"Saving the world," he said. "And getting you home."

"I'm not going to kill you to do it," she said. "And I'm not going to let you wrestle with this alone. You're a good man, Zach. You've got a lot of flaws, but they don't condemn you. As well, I expect that if and when I feel sad and lonely and miserable, you'll do the same for me. Actually, you have done the same for me. When we were caught in that eruption, you helped calm me down when I was scared to death. And you comforted me that night in the spring. I owe you the same."

Zach looked down at the floor. He sighed and muttered, "It's not about comforting each other. It's so much more than that."

Midna sat herself down next to him, her impish hand resting on his. "It is, isn't it? You like being in control."

"... yes. Knowing the way the game played out made me feel... important. More important than just being the main character. I felt like I had it all figured out. Every twist and turn, and getting us through it would make me look and feel... good."

"And then everything changed."

"And then everything changed." Zach leaned back and rested his head against the wall. "I'm not a swordsman. I'm not an inventor or a diplomat, or anything of value in this world. I... clung to my knowledge, because that's the only thing worth a damn about me. Intelligence, knowledge, being able to solve problems. If things are different from the game, I lose that. And if I lose that, what do I have left?"

Midna shrugged. "So you have a little bit of narcissism in you. That's..." She was about to say that was not the end of the world, but that would be a poor choice of words. "That's not the worst thing to have."

"Everything I am stems from being a narcissist," he said. "Everything I say and do serves a purpose; either I get attention for my actions or sympathy for my inactions. Everything comes back to it. Even now, me telling you the truth endears me to you, makes me sympathetic, and that's bad. I want to be important, I want attention and praise and all the glamor that comes from being someone of stature. Even what I did for those kids makes me look so damn heroic. Does that sound good to you?"

"When you put it that way, yes." Midna raised an eyebrow at him when he balked at her. "Oh come on, Zach. Who doesn't want to be the hero on a grand adventure with a charming princess like me? Ego is just part and parcel to that. I've never personally believed in an all-loving 'pure of heart' savior because I like attention too, and I like to think I'm a good person. The idea of some goody-goody who never feels temptation, never loses their temper, and never seeks adulation is just so blehhh. I think your problem is you've been taught from a young age to hide your emotions, but obviously you're not good at that. But that lesson sticks with you, so you keep thinking you have already failed, which makes you feel even worse. You feel resentful that others get to show emotion but you couldn't seem to go a day without someone nagging you about your own.

"So you developed a complex where you feel like you deserve special treatment but resent yourself for feeling that way, and that leaves you stuck in an eternal loop of desperately seeking attention and hating others for both giving and denying you that attention. It would certainly explain your reactions to me helping you through this, and it's not something you just stop doing when you seem to have spent a good portion of your life with that mentality."

Zach picked himself up and trudged to the bed. Replacing his eyepatch with a clean one, he plopped on the bed and sighed for the thousandth. "What's better, Midna? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

At that, Midna caught herself in a surprised laugh. Once she settled down, she nodded approvingly and said, "Paarthurnax. Nice reference."

Zach chuckled. "Yeah, I always liked him." Then he snapped to attention. "Wait, you know Paarthurnax? You know Skyrim?"

"Well, yeah," said Midna. "I love The Elder Scrolls, it's one of the most popular games in the Twilight Realm. We have stories too, you know."

Zach folded his arms, cheeks flushed. "I forgot you did. Sorry."

"Hey, it's not a big deal," Midna said. "I wouldn't call you evil, though. It's not my place to criticize. After all, my people are in the Twilight Realm because our ancestors tried to take over the world."

"I... I can't promise I'll never lose my temper."

Midna made sure there was a fair amount of space between herself and Zach, then joined him on the bed. "And I won't ask."

"Ask me to lose my temper?"

"What? No, I mean I won't ask for a promise."

"Oh."

Midna shrugged. "I can't make you calm down by yelling 'calm down', I've learned that lesson the hard way."

"I'm sorry I'm not better at talking to you about when I'm upset."

"Can I ask why it's difficult?"

Zach frowned. "It's just... it's hard for me to tell what's worth talking about. What's a big deal and what isn't. To me, a lot of things are upsetting, but those same things are probably not an issue to other people. And I don't want to open up and say something bothers me only to be told I'm overreacting. That'll just upset me even more, and then it's just my own fault I'm upset."

"I understand. I'm sorry I haven't been fair to you."

"You have a lot on your mind."

Midna rolled onto her side to face him. "As do you, perhaps even more so. I'm not going to coddle you but I can survive being nicer to you."

"I appreciate that," said Zach with a snort. "Likewise, I'll try not to piss you off too much."

"Eee hee! Much obliged." Midna sighed contently, happy that the proverbial air had been cleared. And then she saw Zach's expression sour, but he did not seem angry. "What's wrong?"

At first he seemed to prefer to remain silent, but thankfully he chose to open up. "I... you remember when the shaman wanted to talk to me?" Midna nodded. "Well, it wasn't a talk with him. He just wanted to get me alone so Nayru could talk to me instead."

Midna gasped, sitting up. "The Goddess of Wisdom herself?"

"The very same. She told me that I go on to cause the deaths of her sisters and everyone else in every reality imaginable." Zach's breath hitched. He clenched his fists and took several deep breaths. "But she still chose me. Even knowing for a fact what I'll do, she chose me."

Midna said nothing, she only stared into Zach's sunken eyes.

"You know what's worse? I still don't know why she chose me in the first place. She said something about saving me, but would you call this saved?"

"Maybe it's one of those 'big picture' things," Midna replied. She looked down and found that her hand had slid into Zach's. Rather than pulling away, she curled her fingers tighter. "Maybe... maybe this was less about saving your body and more about saving your soul."

"But... but what if it's not worth saving?"

Midna sat up and poked Zach's chest. "I will not hear any of that kind of talk. I don't pretend to know what the Goddesses have planned for us, Zach, but I do know this: We're in this together. That makes us partners, and I think we can both agree we haven't been very good at that for each other.

"So I have a proposal: We can be friends. If nothing else, we can be amicable acquaintances."

Zach's voice was so quiet when he asked, "You'd be okay with that?"

Taking her own advice, Midna took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I would. That's what friends do, right?" She sat up and graciously held out her hand. "Friends?"

Zach's melancholy demeanor shifted into one of nervousness. If Midna did not know what he had told her, she would have wondered if she should bother. But she did know and she remained patient. It was not her strongest virtue, granted, but he deserved some effort on her end.

It was then that she remembered he had no idea she was offering her hand, so she placed it on his. "Sorry. Friends?"

That effort was rewarded when Zach took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "Friends."

Midna smiled. She and Zach were able to find common ground and agree to peace. If they could do that, perhaps they just might get through the rest of this adventure alive and well. "And thank you for telling me the whole truth. I really appreciate your trust in me."

"It's only fair," he replied. "I don't know if it's the whole truth but it's all I know."

"Good enough for me."

Zach sighed. "I... thank you for being this patient with me. And for helping me through this."

"You're welcome," she said. "You're not a bad person, Zach. You just need help. Heroes aren't born with all the answers, after all."

"I guess not. I... maybe that's why they chose me. I'm not perfect but maybe I'm here to learn to be better, not just to save everyone." He smiled in Midna's direction. "Yes, that's what I believe. I'm here to save myself and redeem the future, and help you get back home."

Midna smiled back even though he could not see. "Maybe that's why I'm here too. I can redeem my ancestors, wipe the slate clean. Quite a magnanimous purpose, wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed." Deciding that was enough of all this serious talk, he cleared his throat. "Now what?"

Midna cracked her neck and nestled into the bed. "Well, we have time before your eye fully recovers. There's not much to do outside and I've placated the townsfolk to the best of my ability. I think for the first time since we've partnered up, we have some free time and the opportunity to enjoy it."

"What did you usually do?"

"Oh, this and that," Midna said, checking over her (lack of) nails. "Playing games with my friends, shopping with my friends, basically just spending time with my friends."

"Hm."

"What'd you like to do with your friends?"

"We played video games, goofed around with sticks in the back yard, walked to a shop and ate snacks." A moment of silence passed before he perked up. "Say, I got an idea. Let's watch a movie!"

Midna raised an eyebrow at him. "Watch a movie?"

"Yeah," he said as he reached for his phone. "I got a bunch of them downloaded. It's not as good as watching on a TV, but it's something."

"And the facts that I can't understand your language and you can't see make no difference at all?"

"Nope! I've seen these enough to recite them from memory, and you can infer from their tone and body language the basics of what's going on."

"..." Midna shrugged. It was weak logic at best, but what else was she going to do in the meantime? Besides, lying in bed doing nothing sounded like the best idea in the world. "So how does it work?"

Zach lifted his eyepatch and fiddled with his phone. "I pick a movie and we watch it. I'll hold it up so you can see, or actually you just hold it for yourself since I won't be seeing it. If you have any questions about stuff, feel free to pause it and ask away."

At least Midna understood the concept of pausing, having learned the basics with his music over the course of their journey. "How come you never offered a movie before?"

Zach hesitated. "I... I didn't think you'd want to, and I didn't want to ask."

Midna pouted for a moment and then nodded. "That's fair. How many movies are there?"

"On Earth? Whew, upwards of about two million, give or take a couple hundred thousand." He tapped his chin at the fourteen entries on the screen. "Okay... let's ignore the futuristic ones, leave out the musical, put aside the horror ones, and that leaves us with six options."

Midna nodded. She figured they had plenty of time to watch the rest of the movies over the course of their journey, and she really did not know much about them at this point. They were stories to be sure, but in a format and presentation she had never seen before. "Quite a few remaining."

"Yeah, but three of them are together as a trilogy and it makes no sense to watch them out of order. So technically there's four left in total."

"Hm, that makes sense."

Zach went on to describe the three 'stand-alone' movies: a father going to a magical island to save his children from a pirate captain; a warrior working with a dragon to end tyranny; an adventurer and librarian saving the world from the desert creature they accidentally brought back to life. All sounded exciting and engaging, but they were all forgotten when Zach listed the trilogy.

"The Lord of the Rings?" Midna grinned ear to ear. "Your world has movies of Lord of the Rings?!"

"We have a winner," Zach said with a grin. "Now you don't even have to worry about dialogue."

Now this was a treat! To be the first Twili ever to watch a movie, and not just any movie but Lord of the Rings! Midna hurried to make sure she was comfortable by fluffing her pillow and wrapping herself in the blanket so she would not get cold. If the original texts were any indication, these movies were going to be long.

"I should warn you," Zach said, "there are some creative differences between this and the books. Plus the actors are going to resemble me more than you."

Midna waved him off. "I'm well aware that not everything can be translated to a different way of storytelling, and it only makes sense that the performers look like you. But thanks for the heads up."

"Oh, and do you want to watch all three at once?"

"Hm... Nah, I'll pace myself."

Zach smirked. "Famous last words."

"Eee hee! Just start the movie," she said, almost giddy with excitement.