Link stayed outside with Epona up until every inch of the blue sky was replaced by a thick black and then he headed back inside to the others. Back in the house, it turned out that Impaz had provided sleeping arrangements for both himself and Midna. It was getting late, his body still ached and they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow. He would need as much rest as possible for his wounds to heal. Heading upstairs, he saw that the room in which Impaz slept was already closed off, indicating to him that she was already fast asleep. He turned in the opposite direction and headed into the room with the twin beds that the kind woman had made up for them both.
"Have fun on your date with Epona?" Midna joked sarcastically.
"Ha... Ha... Very funny." Link retorted, unphased.
Before getting into bed, he removed his hat, boots and his belt. After setting them down on the dresser besides the bed, he was about to take off his green tunic when he remembered that he was not alone in the room. Dropping his hands back down by his side, he turned around to see if Midna was looking or not.
"Ahem?!" Link cleared his throat, catching Midna's attention.
"What? If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a rupee at it." She teased.
"Make it a blue rupee, or turn around."
With a roll of her eyes, Midna made a one-eighty turn so that she was facing the wall. As soon as Link was sure that she was not looking at all, he lifted his tunic up over his head, leaving his battle scar covered chest bare. Quickly and quietly, he slipped on a white night top in its place.
"Okay. You can turn around now." He informed her.
"Finally... What was that about? Afraid I might have seen something I shouldn't?" She teased.
"Not at all... Now, we should probably get some sleep so that we can head out bright and early tomorrow."
"Wait! Before we do... I just want to know... When you were comatose, did you...see anything?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Link asked, clearly confused.
"I mean...like Zelda."
Thinking it through for a moment, Link exhaled a breath he'd been holding before beginning to explain the things he'd experienced whilst living as a spirit, trapped in his own mind. He admitted everything, even though it left him feeling exposed. From speaking with Zelda, travelling through his memories and his encounter with the Goddess Hylia, he left no detail out of his explanation.
By the time he had finished, any light coming into the room from the outdoors had faded into darkness. Midna was stunned into silence, and if it weren't for her glowing orange eyes, he might have thought that she had fallen asleep.
"That sounds scary... And in a way, epic." She summed up.
Link, having taken the time during the silence to lie down in bed, yawned and rolled over onto his side.
"Goodnight Midna."
"Goodnight Link."
Link was awake as soon as the sun began to rise, and had already begun preparing for their travels before Midna or Impaz had risen from their slumber. By the time that they had woken up, he had already replaced Epona's horse shoes, saddled her up and given her five apples for breakfast. It was only once he headed back inside that he saw that Impaz had already prepared a meal for them all to start their day.
"Sneaking out at the crack of dawn to see Epona, eh? Something you need to tell us?" Midna teased.
"Really? You're a great companion Midna, but you seriously need to stop with the jokes." Link retorted.
Before she had a chance to defend her jokes, he'd already sat down and filled his mouth with some of the food that Impaz had made. Within minutes he had cleared the plate.
"Great! I have slept, eaten, fixed up Epona... Can I go now?" He asked.
"Not so fast! First, I need to check on your wounds. Then, if they are looking good enough, you can be on your way." Impaz informed.
This earned a groan of annoyance from Link as he was desperate to get going. Although despite this, he knew that it was for the best. He would fail epically if an enemy hit him in his weak spot. He had too much to lose and needed to be at his strongest in order to succeed. Without another word of protest, he lifted his green tunic to reveal his wounded chest. At first glance it appeared that they were grizzly since the plasters and bandages were already dyed red with blood, but as Impaz removed all coverage it appeared that they had mostly healed.
Tossing the used first aid items into the trash, the woman replaced the plasters and bandages with fresh ones and then confirmed that both Link and Midna could be on their way. Heading outside to where all of the Kakariko villagers had lined up to say goodbye, Link mounted Epona and they began their journey bidding each villager that they passed farewell.
As they exited Kakariko, Link used the reins to make Epona speed up; Midna was also able to keep up this time. It would not take them long to reach Faron Woods again, and unlike the last time, Link was prepared for just about anything.
Once outside the entrance, he repeated the same actions of leaving Epona in the safest area possible before he, along with Midna, took their first steps back into the forest. The vivid hallucinations hit Link almost instantaneously, but rather than succumbing to them, he pushed through the once overwhelming visions that were bombarding him and was able to make his way deeper than before.
"Link... How are you holding up?" Midna asked, ready to come to Link's aid if need be.
"I'm okay. Images are flashing through my mind... But I am able to see through them." He informed her, not bothering to stop walking.
"Oh, good."
Unsheathing his sword, Link sensed the enemy's arrival before they had even appeared. Without hesitation, he lunged forward just as one of the Shadow Beasts approached and thrust his sword straight through its heart - if it even had one.
He spun around just in time as another crept up behind him and bashed it away with his shield, blocking its attack. Whilst Link kept one distracted, Midna used her Twili powers to grab hold of it and held in place long enough for him to stab his sword straight through it, just as he had the last one.
With two defeated, there was only one more to go. Link and Midna glanced at one another, more determined than ever, and a smirk escaped onto his face.
Dodging the creature's first attempt at an attack by rolling underneath it and springing back to his feet. With the creature distracted by Midna, it did not notice Link behind it, giving him the advantage. Raising his sword, he leapt into the air, hurling himself at the creature and performing a downward slash attack, killing it instantly.
"Well that was easy." He quipped.
"Right. Come on, let's keep going." Midna instructed.
She didn't need to say it twice. He was already walking on ahead just as the words left her lips. Within seconds, they were stood outside the Sacred Grove located in the Temple of Time.
"This is it?" Midna asked, surprised.
"Yep."
"Looks kind of... Unsafe. Why would this be the hiding place?" She questioned.
"It's not as dangerous as it looks. The sword is always safe in there. Trust me." Link informed her.
"Okay, then let's go get it." She concluded.
Heading down the marble staircase of the Temple of Time, the sword soon became visible as they neared the bottom step. A ray of sunlight shone down upon the sword, highlighting the solid silver blade and the golden Triforce that was embedded on the blue handle.
"Link... Are you sure about this?" Midna asked, uncertainly.
"Yes." Link answered; no uncertainty present in his voice.
"I mean, it's been a while... What if you can't take it now?" She clarified.
"Trust me, Midna... Remember."
"Okay... Well then, what are you waiting for? Go get it!" She encouraged.
He nodded, turning his attention back to the sword and descending the final step before gracefully walking up to where the Master Sword was set in the stone. Slowly, he reached out with both hands, placing them on the handle that he had grown familiar with, and put all his strength into one pull.
Without any difficulty, the sword slid out of the pedestal and once it was in his hands, Link raised it skyward, admiring the gleam that the sun had cast upon its silver.
"Thank Hylia you have your sword back! Now we finally stand a chance at beating that cretin Zant. Come on, Link... We should go."
"Hold up..." Link called her back just as she began to walk away.
"What?" Midna asked as she turned around.
"Place your hand on the sword."
Surprised, Midna raised an eyebrow at his request. "Why? Won't that thing kill me if I even tried to touch it?" She asked skeptically.
"Trust me." Link repeated his earlier words.
Though apprehensive at first, Midna decided to concede and trust her friend. "Alright."
Hesitantly, Midna reached out with her hand and had it hover above the blade, still unsure. She looked at Link, who nodded in reassurance and then turned her attention back to the blade. Closing her eyes, she placed her hand upon it and flinched, expecting to be stung. Instead, a pure white light, bright enough to blind them enveloped her Imp form and within a matter of seconds, it had faded.
Opening his eyes, Link's smile turned into more of a grin as he took in the sight of his loyal companion.
"Midna..." He gasped. "Welcome back."
"Huh?" Confused, the Twilight Princess looked down at herself and saw that she was no longer an imp, but rather her true form. She could not control the smile that crept onto her face as she began to feel much better, knowing that she was back to her usual self. Overcome with joy and relief, she ran up to her friend and embraced him in a grateful hug.
"Thank you so much, Link. You truly have no idea how much this means to me." She beamed.
"You're welcome." He said, returning the hug.
