I crossed the bridge leading to the western side of Hyrule Field. Now I truly felt immersed as everything looked exactly as it did in the game, right down to the few enemies lingering across the field.

Midna sputtered her lips. "From the looks of the map, we're going to be heading straight ahead. After that, the road curves south to the lake and a great bridge above it."

I set off as directed, making sure to avoid the shadow bulblins and shadow babas on the road. "That's convenient, we'll be there in no time."

"Yep!"

With nothing else to talk about, I focused on the road. It was a fascinating experience to be a wolf. My enhanced sense of smell brought things to me that I never noticed as a human. When I smelled grass, I smelled the grass, the dirt, an assortment of insects within the grass and dirt, and a hint of the animals and beasts that had previously been there.

I also smelled the perfume that Midna took. It really was nice and suited her very well. If I focused my senses, I was able to 'see' the perfume cloud around her, which was colored a pleasant teal.

Apparently, I was looking for too long as Midna blinked at me and asked, "What?"

I quickly faced forward. "Nothing, sorry."

"Heh, you're such a weirdo."

Weirdo? I was just zoning out. A small part of me was annoyed at that. But on the other hand, I couldn't help but chuckle at it. In more ways than one, I am a weirdo. Midna still smiled, so I was doing something right anyway.

Or maybe she was calling me weird because I was weird. I mean, look at me! Do I look like a stalwart hero to you?

Then again, maybe she was just being a tease. It was in her nature, after all.

And what about my nature?! What possible logic did Midna have to like someone like me? Was she that fucking stupid?!

She isn't stupid just because she might be able to see something I couldn't.

If I can't see it but she can, what fucking use is that to me?!

"I've been thinking—"

"AH!" I jerked to a halt and nearly threw Midna off my back.

"What?!"

I waited and waited, and then I realized nothing was happening. "Sorry, you just startled me."

"What...! Whatever. Anyway, I'm curious and bored so I want to chat."

I shrugged and resumed my pace, a bit slower this time since we clearly weren't in any danger. "Sure, that sounds nice. Got a topic in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Midna hummed to herself, but it wasn't her theme. "What's that from?"

"It's the Superman theme," I said with great amusement. "My favorite superhero."

"What's a superhero?"

"A being with abilities and powers far beyond those of mortal men, using those abilities to protect the innocent and defeat evil."

"... So I'm a superhero?"

I paused. "Huh. I never thought of it that way. I guess you are."

"Yay! I'm a superhero magical princess partnered with a heroic wolf boy! Try saying that five times fast."

"Nah, I'm good," I said with a laugh. "Superman is considered to be the superhero. Heroic, powerful, good-hearted, selfless, willing to do whatever it takes to stand for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

"I think I got a cavity just hearing that."

"Hey, have some respect."

"Just saying."

I stopped by a nearby pond. Did I trust the quality of the water? Not really, but I was thirsty and didn't want to use up our personal supply. Lapping up some water, I said, "I remember the first time I saw his movie. My parents still tease me about it. I was just a few years old, quite a little guy way back then. I was playing with my toys or something and then I heard the first few notes of his theme song. I dropped everything and stared at the TV... er, the device that displays movies.

"I still remember that feeling. The whooshing sounds of the opening credits. The steady crescendo of the music. When that big 'S' blazes into view. And then his theme starts with pure triumph as one word shows up: Superman." I gently lay in the grass by the pond, careful not to jostle Midna. "I would run around the house whenever the movie came on, crying out 'Superman! Superman!' My folks said it was one of the cutest things ever."

Midna scratched behind my ears. "That does sound like the cutest thing ever. A wittle boy running around cheering on his hero, so adorable."

"Heh, yeah. I used to stand in front of fans with a little cape so I could act like I was flying. That's one of Superman's major powers, flight. Definitely my favorite one."

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's... to me, it's the ultimate freedom. We humans are stuck walking everywhere. We're so limited by our two-dimensional method of transportation. Climbing or digging or swimming is limited by the physical dimensions of wherever we are. Even when we do fly, it's through the use of big and loud machines so you don't get all the sensations from flying. But to feel the wind above and below you, see the landscapes from such a vast distance, swirl through clouds and over any obstacle in your way... I've always wanted to fly ever since I was a kid."

"I... I never thought about it that way."

"Of course not, you're so used to it by now. It's as natural for you as quoting stuff is for me."

"Heh, you do like to quote things."

"Indeed."

"Don't think I didn't recognize that tone. You were quoting Gandalf, weren't you?"

"... Maybe."

"Fool of a Took." With a giggle, she climbed off my back and settled in against my side. She crossed one leg over the other and rested her hands behind her head. "Maybe when I'm back to myself and have all my power back, you'd like to go for a flight with me? I know it wouldn't be the same as doing it yourself but..."

"That's what she said."

"Huh?"

"It's a joke where... ehh, maybe it's better you don't know."

"Hey, that's not fair. Come on, explain it to me." I then spent the next five minutes explaining the nuances of the 'That's what she said' joke. "OH! Zach, how crude!"

"HA! Worth it."

"I'm being serious here," she said in the middle of a laugh. "I think that would be nice. You'll get as close as you can to experiencing true flight, and I get to see things from your perspective. Win-win!"

I was glad I was a wolf because the thought of that would have made my human cheeks blush. "That sounds really nice. But can you lift me? I'm not calling you weak, I'm saying I weigh over two hundred pounds."

"Sure! If I can lift two halves of one sturdy wooden bridge, I can lift you."

"That's the spirit," I said with a chuckle. "So, did you have any heroes from your stories you looked up to?"

"I... well, yes and no. I always liked fictional characters like Aragorn and Arwen and all that but I never really idolized them. My heroes growing up were my parents, King Naito and Queen Yoake."

"Aww, that's nice. Would you mind telling me about them? I ask because I assume, given recent events, that it might be a sore subject for you."

"I'd like to, thanks. They were everything I could wish for in parents; kind, caring, nurturing, guiding but willing to let me make my own mistakes."

"Is that last one true or are you trying to cover up for when you screwed up?"

"Both, I suppose. It wasn't easy to raise a rambunctious kid like me. They had their duties as King and Queen of Twilight, after all. But I learned everything I know from them. I take after my mother for the most part, like her spirit and demeanor. My father, I inherited his temper and his authoritative presence."

"Was it an arranged marriage?"

"Yes but it was arranged when they were kids and they lucked out by being childhood sweethearts. She loved his sense of humor and very firm moral compass, and he loved her wild spirit and willingness to stand up for what she believed in. They were really compatible, you know?"

I gently nudged her for comfort. "I look forward to meeting them. Hopefully they won't hate me too much."

"Zach, they won't hate you. You're scruffy and kinda vulgar but that's not enough for them to hate you."

"Hey, I'm not that vulgar. I know how to be polite around adults."

"That's good. Besides, how can they hate the sacred beast of legend?"

"Technically I'm his replacement. Anyway, it seems like you really look up to them."

"I do, even or perhaps especially now. I inherited their wisdom and intelligence, their devotion to our people, and a bunch of other stuff that's been very helpful for this whole trip."

"I can't remember if I've said this but I'm sure they'd be very proud of you."

"Thanks. I'm sure your parents would be proud of you too. I can't wait to meet them!"

"... yeah, that'll be nice."

"You hesitated. Are they dead or something?"

I scoffed. "No, they're not dead. They're just... like me, but better and worse in different ways."

"And?"

"And where do you think a lot of my issues come from?"

"I got issues from my parents too. My laidback attitude caused problems for me growing up, I had trouble taking things seriously if I didn't think they were important, and when I believed I was in the right, the stubbornness I got from both of them got me in a lot of trouble."

"That's not what I mean," I said, huffing.

"Ah well, my parents are definitely going to love you because I'm a delight."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"You do, you just lack the courage to express it. But you're improving."

"Hn."

"You're welcome. Anyway, they did their best but sadly they also had a kingdom to rule, so they made Burak my aide for when they couldn't spend time themselves."

"Did that happen often?"

"Every now and then, yes. I don't hold any resentment, I understood even when I was a child that being a ruler was about balancing your personal life and the lives of your people."

"My dad was away a lot too," I said, resting my head on my front paws. "Military. Army, specifically. We moved around a lot as I grew up, so I didn't really have much in the way of solid friendships. Didn't help that I was... not really a good kid growing up."

"Were you rambunctious too?"

"No, I was violent." I sighed and closed my eyes. "I've always been temperamental, even before my accident. From what I can remember, I was either the nicest little boy around or... the absolute exact opposite. But you've seen that firsthand, no need for me to say much else."

Midna reached over and patted my snout. "It's okay. What were some good things you remember?"

"Well, uh... hm, good question."

"You haven't had a lot of good things happen to you, have you?"

"It's not that, I do have good memories. Just trying to think of one worth telling. Mostly just playing games with my brothers or watching movies with the family. I didn't really like going outside, I hated feeling all sweaty and gross." My shoulders sagged. The bitter shiver of regret ran through my gut. But we were having a nice talk, I had to keep going in a positive direction. "I remember one time my brothers and I were playing on a merry-go-round. It's this big disc you sit on and try to hold on while you're being spun really fast. My dad did the spinning and that was lots of fun, but what made it hilarious was that it had rained earlier that day so the playground was muddy as hell."

Midna laughed, kicking her feet in the air. "That's... That must have been quite a sight for your mother!"

"Oh it was," I said. "She's got dinner in the oven and in walk three little kids absolutely caked head to toe with mud, and Dad walks in behind us and just grins at her. ... That's it, pretty much."

"Ha, that was great!" Midna leaned back, her head resting on my shoulder. "There was this one time when I was about seven, I think. I had just finished some studies with Mother for the day and I decided to head out to the stables."

"Ah, so you're a horse girl."

"If that's what you call them then yes. I was a little too excited to see them so I just ran up to one and jabbed it in the leg."

I snorted. "Your mother should have taught you better than to horse around."

"... So anyway—"

"Oi!" We both burst out laughing, though obviously she was louder than me. "You can't just ignore me when I make a joke!"

"Ahh, yes, I think I can."

"That's so rude!"

"I'm in the middle of a story, hush." Once I settled back down, she continued. "Anyway, I poke it and it causes a huge panic. All the horses start howling and stamping their hooves, which scares me enough that I fall over into a pile of mud! That's how I met Burak, she started laughing at me sitting there all covered in mud."

"Hey, I thought there wasn't much available water in the Twilight Realm," I said. "How'd it get so muddy?"

Midna covered her mouth to keep from laughing too hard. "Because it wasn't mud!"

"Huh? OH!" We went into another fit of laughter and chortles, strong enough to make me roll onto my side. "Wow, I'm really sorry I called you stinky that one time! I didn't know it was a habit of yours!"

"You ass!" Midna playfully swatted my head. "I'll have you know that I take very good care of myself. I had to wash my shadow silk in a cave!"

"WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS! Sorry, another quote."

"Ha, you love to quote stuff."

"Yeah, it makes up like ninety-five percent of my humor. The rest is divvied up between dark humor, slapstick, and pure randomness."

"You're at quite a disadvantage then, no one here knows what you're talking about."

"It definitely puts things in perspective."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. My world is AWESOME!"

Midna rolled onto her stomach and booped my snout. "You come from a time far in the future, of course you're going to have a lot more stuff." She sputtered her lips, looking up and down and all around. "So, why do you like to quote so much?"

"Well, uh... not quite sure. I guess most of the time it's funny, but it's also handy. I use quotes as shorthand, I suppose. If I were to say 'Fly, you fools!', the context would be that I'm about to do something very dangerous for the good of the group, so take advantage of it and save yourselves."

"That makes a lot of sense."

"I hope so. Or I use it as a joke like something very tiny and insignificant is about to happen, but me saying that makes it sound like it's a really big deal. It's a way for me to communicate, though obviously I can talk just fine."

"Right."

"If I'm being honest, it's been difficult for me. I didn't realize just how much of my basic communication is based on quoting jokes and stuff. Now I'm trying to be funny and earnest without it and... more often than not, I come up short."

"You're plenty funny and earnest without quoting, I wouldn't worry about it."

I took a chance and rested my snout on her arm. She didn't protest so I stayed there. "Thanks. How have you been this whole time, anyway? Like, what were you up to before 'you found me'?"

Midna giggled. "Firstly, that was a good impression of me. I can't believe you remembered my exact tone."

"Years of practice."

"Eee hee! And to answer your question, I was... If I recall right, I was sent to Hyrule to get the Fused Shadow helmet from Queen Zelda by my parents as a sort of hazing ritual. My father had just named me the next in line for the throne, which was quite a shock to Zant and me."

"Why's that?"

"Well, it was customary for me to be married to a regent or prince or something first."

"Ohh, it's one of those kinds of monarchies."

"Yeah. But I'm obviously single and frankly not ready for the throne, but he chose me anyway. But to prove my worth, I had to grab the Fused Shadow first. When I came back, the invasion had begun."

I looked down at my reflection in thought. "Huh. I wonder if they knew it was going to happen and needed an excuse to get you somewhere safe."

"... That... you don't think...?"

"I'm not saying anything, I'm just wondering. It'd make sense, you would be guaranteed a fallback power source in the Fused Shadow, you'd be away from the danger, and thus in a very good position to search Hyrule for the sacred beast."

"But... why would my parents not do anything? They could have done so much to help our people! They could have—"

"Midna, don't blame them," I said, turning so my eye met hers. "Zant got his power from his god, who is powered by the Triforce. The Triforce trumps shadow magic, so there was nothing your parents could have done against it."

Midna looked down and splashed at her reflection in the pond. "Still... why me? Why protect me and not the people?"

"Who says they didn't protect both? For all you and I know, they managed to get a good number of people to safety somehow."

"... you're right." She nodded and took several deep breaths. After a few minutes, she leaned back against me and smiled. "Thanks. I just... got overwhelmed for a bit there."

"Makes sense," I said with a shrug. "And further, I think they focused on saving you because you're their daughter, but also because they trusted in you. If anyone can save the Twili, it'll be you."

"Us," she said. "I won't take all the credit, you're helping out too. Guest of honor, remember?"

I huffed as a short laugh. "I remember. That's as a human guest, right? You're not gonna try and keep me as a wolf pet?"

"Say, that's not a bad idea!"

"Hey!" We laughed together and then enjoyed the silence after.

My reflection looked back at me, one eye blue and the other pinkish and dead. It looked even freakier on a wolf than a human. It was... primal, battle-scarred. Speaking of scars, I noticed that I had a few lines along my snout and face as leftovers of what happened on Death Mountain. All things considered, I thought I looked pretty badass, but none of those scars were from actual combat. Just random accidents.

Random.

Were they, though? If there are confirmed deities and gods and goddesses, wouldn't that mean that destiny is kind of preordained?

I shuddered, deciding to pocket that thought for later.

"Well, that was a fun break but I think we should get a move on." Midna agreed and reseated herself on my back. Once she was settled in, I started off on the road leading west to Lake Hylia. We didn't chat much after that.

I thought back on our talks and our progress through Hyrule. When we first met, we were as far from friends as possible without being outright enemies. Somehow, Midna and I became close enough that we were laughing and joking with each other. I still don't know how it happened but Midna was even catching feelings for me. That thought alone was... confusing. I was getting better, yet also worse! And we were tackling problems in Hyrule that would help out massively later, such as:

I cleared that plateau of bulblins, which would allow merchants to travel through once the bridge to Castle Town was repaired.

Since I skipped the Bridge of Eldin, it's still there and able to be used. Saves on Midna's energy later on.

We gathered more supplies in Castle Town, put that jackass merchant in his place, and checked up on Jun.

The Temple of Time, though... that was still a puzzle to me. If it wasn't in the forest, was the Master Sword still in the Sacred Grove? Or did it migrate with the temple to Castle Town? If the temple still housed a mirror shard, was it going to need a trip to the distant past? If the shard wasn't there, where would it be?

Too many questions. Too many variables to consider. I can't answer them, not now. Not yet.

Instead, I focused on the immediate. We needed to get down to the lake. But what if there was a new path ahead that didn't require us to jump from the Great Bridge of Hylia? What if the lake was completely drained and didn't have another way down? What if it was actually overfilled with water and we can't reach the spirit shrine?

Why did this world have to be different from the game? Why couldn't it just be exactly as it was before? It would have been so much easier, wouldn't it?

But then, the easy route is never the right one. That's what they always say every time a moral question ever pops up: If it's easy, it's immoral.

The fuck kind of logic is that? It's fucking frustrating is what it is! Every single easy choice is automatically wrong? How stupid!

Are you seriously this fucking stupid, Zach?!

Just like that, all the positive emotions in me evaporated. I felt cold, colder than ice. My stomach was heavy like I swallowed a bunch of rocks. A drone filled the back of my mind, noise upon noise drowning out every thought that tried to help. I was both hyper-aware and completely oblivious to the world around me. My vision tunneled to the point that all I saw was a small circle, almost telescopic in detail, of the ground and the grass and the stone beneath me.

I was doing better, wasn't I? I thought we were doing great... guess not.

And by the way, you trying to hide behind your little disability does not fucking impress me.

Thankfully, we reached the entrance archway of the Great Bridge of Hylia. I took several deep breaths, stopped just before the threshold, and said, "Okay, brainstorming now."

"Ooh, thinking time?" Midna hopped off and leaned against the wall, her hands stuffed into the hoodie's pockets.

"Yup! Well, sort of. I need to smell first, see if I notice anything." I inhaled deeply through the nose, bringing a host of scents in. Pine, grass, water, Midna, bulblins, and... "Knew it. The bridge is soaked in flammable liquid. They were going to trap us on the bridge with fires lit on both sides."

"Burning the candle at both ends," Midna said, tapping her chin.

"Exactly. But because I knew about it, we can avoid that entirely."

"How?"

"... But because I knew about it, we can throw around ideas to avoid that entirely."

"Eee hee! Well, we need to get to the lake, right? Is there any other way down?"

I left the bridge entrance and moved to the left, surveying the lake from above. The water had been reduced to just a fraction of what it once was. "None that I can see from here. No pathways, stairs, ladders, nothing."

Midna caught up with me and sputtered her lips. "How's anyone supposed to go down there normally?"

"There's a tourist shop nearby that lets you glide down with a cucco but I don't think that'll work."

"What's another way?"

"The only other way I know is to use the river flowing between the lake and Zora's Domain."

"Hmm... The fall looks pretty big from here, you'd break all your bones on impact."

"Probably."

"It seems strange to have such an important location as the spirit spring down where no one can reach it conventionally."

I shrugged. "Maybe it's really meant for the Zora. They're more aquatically-inclined, after all."

Midna nodded. "Fair point. Well, we can't sit around all day. We need a plan or something."

"If we had a platform, do you think you could levitate it down with me on it?"

"Sure, but that's only if we had a... I am so stupid."

"Huh?! You're very smart, don't be hard on yourself."

"Thanks but I was kidding. I can just levitate you down myself and do it so you land nice and soft in the water down below."

"Why haven't you done that before?"

"I have, it's a variation of the spell I use to help you traverse vertical distances. Well, technically it's the original spell and the thing with you jumping is the alteration but you get my point."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"I don't use it often because usually we don't need to, or I'm out of magic."

"Huh, fair enough. Let's do it!"


Midna set Zach down on the stone landing in front of the spring. They decided to cross the bridge and jump after all, allowing the shadow bulblins to spring their trap and thus burning up that flammable liquid. Now the bridge would be safe when Zach and Midna returned as human and shadow.

Midna had originally planned to take Zach down to the puddle at the lakebed, only for her to realize just how much backtracking would be required if they did that. They would have to go from the lake all the way up to Zora's Domain, then come all the way back down to get to the spring once the lake was back to normal, then go all the way back to the domain in search of the shadow insects.

Zach agreed with her assessment and so they just went right to the spring. The rest, they would figure out as they went.

They entered the spring and Midna's eyes widened at the sight. It was beautiful! The room was easily thrice the size of the other springs and decorated with serpentine statues that varied in size from Zach's normal height to that of Diababa itself. A stone path lined the inner wall of the spring, forming a ring around the still water.

Zach's pace slowed to a crawl, his ears pressed against his head. A soft whine escaped his throat as he stared at the jutting rock that led from the entrance to the waiting spirit.

"What is it?" Midna asked, patting Zach's head. "What's wrong?"

Zach shuddered. "This... this is where it's supposed to happen."

Oh. Oh.

A cold, heavy dread sank into Midna's stomach. It was one thing to merely know about the future, it was quite another to see exactly where it was meant to take place. And inside a place of worship, no less!

She looked up at the snake-like statues. Their cold, blank eyes stared back at her. Dozens of eyes watching her, judging her. Condemning her.

What did she do wrong? What crime could she have committed to earn such scorn? Was it that she dared to try? Or did they declare her guilty of her forefathers' crimes?

Midna's breath slowed and deepened in her chest. Her fingers formed into tight fists as her gaze shifted from fearful to furious.

Just who did they think they were to judge her? Did they know her history, her wants and dreams? Did any of them suffer as she has and will? Were any of them willing to lay down their lives?! Were they?!

"Midna, let go!"

"Huh?" Midna blinked down at Zach, only then realizing that she was clenching the back of his neck. She hastily released her grip and Zach relaxed. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," he said a bit too quickly. "I'm sorry I brought up the thing."

She reached down and stroked the fur atop his head. Breathe, just breathe. "Don't be. I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay," he said, leaning up into her hand. "Lanayru gave me the vessel, let's get those shadow insects."

"Right." Midna nodded, her breathing nice and slow. Her heart, however, was racing. "Right." When she looked back up at the statues, she swore there was a condescending gleam in their eyes. Whatever! Zach carried her out of the spring and away from those freaky eyes. Once they were outside, she let out a deep sigh of relief. "Well, Zant certainly has an eye for the dramatic. What a location to attempt my murder, eh?"

"It's the most efficient, all things considered."

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's the heart of the light spirit so he can show off how strong he is when he throws Lanayru into the wall."

Midna inhaled sharply through her nose.

"It's right after we get the last Fused Shadow so he can take them away."

She flinched, squeezing her eyes shut.

"And he's in a perfect position to release Lanayru and bathe the area in light, making Lanayru an unwilling accomplice."

She wiped her face, furiously refusing to admit those were tears on her cheeks. "Well, isn't that brilliant of Zant."

"Nah, not at all."

"Oh?"

"For all the points in his favor, he was stupid enough to A) not kill Link when he had the chance, B) not make sure you were dead when he had the chance, and C) not make sure Lanayru was unable to assist when he had the chance. In Zant's arrogance, he left such a wide opening for you to be saved that, well, you were saved."

"So what happens if you don't take me to Zelda?"

"Me as in me right now?"

"No, the person who plays the game."

"Ohh. Nothing at all, there's no penalty for taking your time. Other than not being able to progress, of course."

"Uh-huh."

"That said, a lot of players have said they hurried as fast as possible to save you."

"Did you?"

"Of course I did, you were my favorite companion." He flinched.

Midna opened her eyes and looked down at him. "I was?"

"Yeah... I was lying before when I said Majora's Mask was my favorite. It's actually this game."

"Is that so? Why lie about it?"

"I was... ashamed of myself. Here I was, getting to explore my favorite game with my favorite companion, and... well, you've seen my behavior so far."

Midna gave him a little smile and rubbed his head. "Well, if it means anything, you're my favorite companion too. Can I ask why I'm your favorite?"

"... no. No, you cannot."

She had to laugh at that. "Are you embarrassed? What's so embarrassing about it? How old were you when you first played it?"

"I got the game for Christmas '06, so I was thirteen years old."

"Six years ago?"

"Technically seven, I'll be twenty later this year."

"Aww, you were just barely starting to grow up! I'll ask about that 'Christmas' thing later, that sounds interesting. For now, I'm dying to know what made me so... wait, you said you were thirteen? Right around the age everyone starts, ahem, growing and thinking about certain things?"

"... Okay, I'm not talking about this anymore." He took off in the direction of the shadow insects, nearly knocking Midna off his back.

Maybe it was to get away from the previous conversation or maybe it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Whatever the case, Midna refused to let the topic go. "You had a crush on me!"

"Not responding to that."

"That's so cuuute!" she declared, grinning ear to ear as Zach jumped and caught an insect right out of the air. "You had a crush on me and now here I am, riding on your back! Dreams really do come true, eh?"

"It wasn't a crush, it was... a mild infatuation."

"Uh-huh, sure sure. What won you over?" Midna snatched the second shadow insect and smushed it on the ground. "Was it my charm? My sheer beauty? Come on, I need details."

Zach growled low in his throat, digging at a patch of dirt to get at the shadow insect within. "I really don't want to talk about this, I'm trying hard not to make things awkward between us."

"Zach, I promise it's not gonna get awkward. So you had a crush on me, it's fine. I totally get it, I'm quite a catch."

"No, that's not what I meant. I just... Look, it doesn't matter."

"Trust me. Pleeeaaase?"

"Argh, fine. Fine, if you want to know so badly, I did have a crush on you. I got romantically attached to a fictional character, does that make you happy?"

Midna blinked at him. "I... I hadn't thought of it that way. I'm sorry I embarrassed you." That being said, she felt a small degree of pride at her unintentional accomplishment. "I don't feel like things are awkward, if that helps."

Zach shrugged and said, "It helps a little. And to answer your question, it was everything. The sound of your voice, your appearance as both an imp and your true self, your snarky personality, everything. It just lined up for me, you know?"

"I'm honestly very flattered. It's nice to be appreciated for more than my looks."

"Now I have to change the subject. We got the three shadow insects here but... how do we get down to the lake-puddle?"

Midna snorted. "Easy. We're gonna... hmm..." She observed the area nearby. They stood on a rocky platform that was connected to a tower further up the way, but there were no steps or slopes that led closer to the lakebed. From the look of it, there was no easy way down after all. "I guess I'll just have to carry you again, but that'll have to be the last time until we can get the water back up to normal."

On the way down, she looked up at the spring entrance. They were going to return to the spring at least once before venturing into the last Fused Shadow's domain. Then they would return and... why did her mind keep going back to that thought? Why could she not just leave it alone? Why did the truth have to be so damn painfully frightening?

"Hey, Zach?"

"Yo."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, it's just a way of saying hello or hi or whatever."

"Huh. Anyway, do you think we should set up camp once we're at the bottom? I'm getting kind of tired."

Zach mulled it over for a bit. "I guess we can, after we find any shadow insects that may be down there."

"No need, I can sense there's none to be found."

"Oh. Well, I don't see a reason why not then."

The tension building in Midna's shoulders faded. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"It's just sleep but you're welcome."

Midna set Zach down on the nearest patch of not-muddy ground. The lakebed was bereft of any remarkable landmarks besides an enormous building and spirit orbs scattered around the area. The air smelled of mud and water, making it clear that a campfire was out of the question; too much moisture in the air. As well, she did not want the spirit orbs to investigate their campsite. Their tent would draw enough attention as it was.

Summoning a tent, Midna set to work pitching it and ensuring it would stay relatively clean while they slept. Unfortunately, all that work was in vain as Zach's paws gathered mud very easily. He had attempted to sleep outside but Midna would have none of it. Beast or not, he deserved comfortable sleep as well.

"This is just embarrassing," he grumbled as Midna rubbed down his paws with a spare cloth. "I'm nearly a grown man for crying out loud."

"Yeah yeah," she said with a smirk. "Big bad wolf needing to be cleaned up by his little red riding hood." Once Zach was acceptably free of mud, Midna wrapped herself in a blanket and snuggled into his side. "I'm not going to enjoy Zora's Domain, I'm already even colder than last night."

Zach swatted her in the face with his tail. "We'll need to find you some legwear for sure. Sadly, I didn't pack anything for your... well, you at all."

"How inconsiderate," Midna said, not offended at all. "Ah well, I'll just steal more of your clothes when I need to."

"Sure, why not. Good night."

"Good night."