Warning!

This chapter contains gore.

Read Responsibly.

I awoke with a start, vaguely aware of a thud somewhere in the distance. For some reason, I was having trouble breathing, so I waited a few minutes to get it back on track. The thud sounded again and I heard muffled voices in the same direction. Groaning, I sat up from the wooden floor and checked my phone. I had been asleep for barely half an hour, but it felt more like half a lifetime.

"Zach, are you alright?" I heard Ilia ask from behind the door. I rubbed my face and got some crust out of my eye before getting up. Every muscle was begging me to just roll over and die rather than mingle with the townfolk. I had previously undressed for my nap because wearing jeans to sleep is very uncomfortable. After putting on a pair of tan slacks and a green dress shirt, I answered the door.

"I'm fine, I just took a little rest," I said, my jaw cramping with each syllable. So this is what happens when you have a Hylian energy drink. Faaaascinating.

Ilia nodded and smiled. "You've earned it, I would say. Talo's parents are outside." Whatever good mood I had was utterly gone when she mentioned them. What, they gonna demand I leave?

"Okay, give me a moment." I left the door open as I quickly got my socks and boots on. After tying the laces and stifling a groan, I stepped out of the house and descended the ladder to greet Pergie and Jaggle. The couple stood close to one another, regretful smiles on their faces. I waited by the ladder for them to say whatever they had to say and then take their leave.

"So..." Pergie started. She held her hands behind her back and looked anywhere but me. "You're going to Hyrule Castle?" I narrowed my eyes slightly and nodded. "Isn't that just incredible... How wonderful for you!" She chuckled nervously and glanced at me. I did not chuckle back. Finally sighing, the Ordonian looked me in the eye and said, "But I suppose I should be apologizing to you for the trouble Talo caused you yesterday... He and his brother are a mischievous pair... but they'll always be a pair of angels to their father and me." The woman latched her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a bear hug. "Thank you so much." You didn't actually apologize...

Jaggle cleared his throat and frowned at me. "Yo, Zach. Sorry if my little tyke was causing you trouble today." There you go. "I gave him a ferocious scolding, so I hope you forgive him." He pulled out a wooden disc and offered it to me. "I'd like you to have this shield, Zach." That sent my eyebrows up into my hairline. "It's hand-carved and sturdy as long as you keep it away from fire." I took the shield gratefully and ran my finger along the goat design on the front. It was large, about the size of my torso, but it was surprisingly lightweight, enough for me to heft it around with one arm. "Oh, and hey..." Jaggle patted my shoulder and gave me a lopsided grin. "You be careful on your trip to Hyrule Castle, Zach!"

Pergie nodded and said, "You take care, and you come back safe." She ignored Jaggle's subtle glare. "This village welcomes you back anytime."

My eyes widened as the words sank in. This doesn't make sense, I thought. Why would they try to shove me off only to switch gears now? "Thank you," I said, bowing my head to them. ...Lies. Plain and simple. Yeah, that's easier to accept. "If it's alright with you, I think I'll go back inside now." The couple nodded and bid farewell, and as I climbed the ladder, I found that Ilia had yet to actually leave. Sighing, I asked, "Can I help you with something?"

Ilia frowned a little and said, "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the spring later today."

"What for? You already patched me up." It defied logic for her to invite me anywhere without some necessary reason.

"I... I just thought you'd like to. You don't have to if you don't wish to."

Mentally narrowing my eyes, I thought it over. My muscles were tight and it was difficult to move, so maybe the spring water could help with that. Shrugging, I said, "Alright. Gimme a second, though." Ilia nodded and I quickly stepped inside to hang the Ordon Shield above the doorway. It took a few tries, but I managed. When it was done, I tossed my wooden sword on the makeshift bed and followed Ilia down the ladder.

When Ilia and I reached the spring, I smiled a little at the glowing stones on the waterfall. It was a fairly calming sight, and the water was guaranteed to soothe my stiff and aching muscles. I sat down on the small beach and checked my phone out of habit. The time was barely a quarter past 2, but... that couldn't be true, the sky was dark enough for it to be 6 at the earliest. Before I could look at the battery level, Ilia sat down beside me and smiled.

"I come here sometimes when I want to relax." She glanced over at me. "You had a trying day, so I figured this would help you."

"Hm." I felt no need to say the obvious, so I kept quiet. The Ordonian was right, I was feeling calmer and more relaxed every moment I was near the spring. "You still don't believe my story." When she frowned in confusion, I explained, "That I'm from a different world entirely and that this is just a game where I come from. You don't believe it."

Ilia sighed and leaned back on her arms. "It's not something you hear everyday, I admit." I had yet to actually turn my head to look at her because I did not want to establish eye contact. "A part of me wants to think it's not true but..." The girl sighed again and shrugged. "I can't explain it but... I can feel that you aren't lying."

Clenching my jaw, I kept from making a sarcastic retort about how stupid and cliché that was. Instead, I grumbled, "I'm relaxed enough for today," and stood up. Ilia followed suit and brushed sand off her pants.

"You don't have to be alone, Zach." I finally looked over at her to find that she was standing a bit too close to me. Red Alert! "I can be your friend, if you let me..." She closed her eyes and leaned forward at me with pursed lips. RED ALERT! RED ALERT! RED ALERT!

I quickly moved my hand up and cushioned it between our faces, the back of my hand pushing against my mouth while my index finger poked her on the nose. "What are you doing?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound as angry as I felt.

Ilia opened her eyes to find my hand blocking her way. "Oh! I'm sorry..." She hurriedly stepped back and looked at the ground, her cheeks beet red. "I-I thought..."

"Let me set the record straight," I said. She looked up at me and frowned. "This is not a romance." Her eyebrows shot up but I ignored that. "You are experiencing heightened infatuation due to lack of contact with a member of the opposite sex..." Ilia blushed even more furiously, "...that is close to your age. I do not have any attraction to you at all. Period. The End." Before any speculations can be made, let me, the present Zach who is writing this stuff down, tell you that it was not denial. I truly felt no feelings of affection for Ilia. The furthest we ever went were friends.

Ilia's brow furrowed upward as she stuttered, "I-I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend-"

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Uh..." Ilia stepped further back and held her arms. "I turned 16 several months ago."

I nodded and stretched my neck. "No wonder. This sort of... idealistic affection is common for teenagers." Ilia pouted and I had to fight off a sigh. "This happens literally all the time back where I come from. I've dealt with this sort of thing before."

Ilia looked away and nodded slowly. "I see... but can we still be friends?" She looked back at me and smiled. "You do seem like you could use one."

"Probably." That was all I was going to say on the subject, and Ilia seemed to pick up on that.

The girl reached forward and held my shoulder as she asked, "Can you at least promise me this? No matter what happens on your journey, don't try to do anything... out of your league."

I almost snorted at the irony of her request. "I can't make that promise," I said. "Anything can happen, especially if today was any indicator." A rumble of thunder interrupted her retort. It was a deep booming sound, though if it were thunder... why was the ground shaking? We looked at the exit to the spring and were met by the rampage of a very large boar. Atop the silver swine was a green-skinned sumo wrestler-like being with a horned helmet and crude plate armor. "This is sooner than I thought," I blurted.

Ilia turned to me and punched my arm hard. "You knew this would happen?!"

"...Oops?" Several smaller warthogs charged in, their riders wielding clubs that they swung carelessly in the air. I pushed Ilia down just as one weapon swung at her head, only for my own skull to get clobbered. Dizzy and disoriented, I fell to my knees and could only barely make out Ilia getting hogtied. "'Lia..." I watched through blurred vision as King Bulblin planted the struggling Ordonian on his mount. The Bulblin lifted the visor of his helmet and glared at me with beady red eyes for a few moments. He snorted, lifted up a large battle horn, and blew into it.

I had to cover my ears as the horrific drone bored into my skull. It was like someone had asked Lucifer to practice his throat singing. I tried to walk forward to the Bulblin, but one of his cohorts smacked me in the head again and sent me crashing into the spring water. Coughing up the liquid, I struggled to climb out of the shallow pool as the Bulblin horde continued their rampage to Ordon Village. It was good that my head touched the water otherwise I would certainly have gotten a concussion from the two blows to the skull, but that was not important.

King Bulblin has attacked... but I can't do any good if I try to chase him down now... Damn it! I should have been prepared! I growled under my breath and took off in a run, turning left at the exit so I could reach Faron Woods. As I crossed the bridge, I couldn't help but think, How the hell did a minimum of three large boars get across this without it collapsing? All thoughts ended when I collided with a thick black wall no more than twenty feet from the bridge. I fell flat on my ass and groaned at the scripture on the wall: An enormous, imperious Z that was emblazoned in the center of the mass of Twilight. Zant...

I stood up and pressed my hands against the surprisingly cold surface of the blockade, trying to force my way through. I pushed with all my meager might but only succeeded in making myself tired. I never saw the onyx hand until it had already snatched me up by the throat and pulled me through the Curtain of Twilight. The Shadow Beast tilted its head at me as I struggled to get out of its grip. It lifted its free hand and made a fist. Giving the creature my best glare, I seethed, "Bring it, Cthulhu!" I reared my right arm back and punched it as hard as I could in the arm that was clutching me. Brilliant golden light shot out of the back of my hand and I found myself sailing through the air as the beast tossed me away.

I landed hard on my back and the wind was knocked out of my lungs, but at least I was alive. I felt a droning buzz in the back of my skull as I stood up and looked around. It was Faron Woods alright, but the ground seemed to be illuminated and the sky was golden with dark clouds billowing overhead. Glancing down, I saw the Triforce mark glow erratically as the drone increased in intensity. It was getting hard to breathe, but I managed to take two steps forward anyway. That was as far as I got before a searing white hot pain unlike any other attacked my skin.

Gritting my teeth, I could only clutch at my stomach for a few precious seconds before my fingers blistered. I looked down at my hand and tried to scream at the claws emerging from beneath my fingernails, but my lungs weren't working. I could barely breathe as I watched my thumb snap in half and drag itself up my forearm, leaving a hideous gash in its wake. I finally screamed when I felt my spine elongate and shift downward, breaking the skin as it stretched out.

The bones in my face cracked and shifted and I pressed my warped hands against my cheeks to stem the pain. I instead felt my nose and upper and lower jaws start to bend and shape outward. Desperately, I took a painful step forward and roared through the pain as I watched tiny white hairs sprout along the skin of my hands. It was so agonizing that I collapsed to my knees and felt my ankle bones snap and elongate themselves. I clenched my eyes shut and tried to work through the pain, only to feel even more as my shoulders warped and shifted along the back of my ribcage.

"Make it stop..." I managed to utter, though my voice was vastly distorted and sluggish. "Make it stop..." I slammed my clawed fist against the ground. "Make... it... stoooooooooooowwwwwwwlllll!" Whatever human voice I had was consumed by the cry of a dying wolf. The last thing I saw before my world ended was a yellow and red eye watching me from afar...

"Okay, enough fooling around," Midna declared. She hovered several inches off the ground in her shadow form and patted her fist and palm together. "Find the Sacred Beast and then get those Fused Shadows." The imp floated forward, surveying the ground for any and all signs of animal footprints. She wished Orochi was a bit more helpful than simply saying that the Sacred Beast was somewhere in the forest, but at least the spirit confirmed that it was in the meadow and not on a mountain or in a desert.

The day was ending, Midna noted as the afternoon sunlight darkened and she shed her shadowy visage. She paused and frowned as she thought, This day is going by really quickly... The imp shrugged and continued on her way, turning over stones and brushing away moss in search of her quarry. She was getting irritated at the seemingly futile hunt when she heard something from above. It sounded like... some sort of musical instrument, but she had never heard that sort before. It was playing an oddly melancholy but playful tune that reminded Midna of when she and Burak and Armo would dance in the courtyard of the Palace of Twilight.

Those were happier times, Midna thought, but she quickly shook herself and followed the music upward. It grew louder as she approached what looked like a child, a bit smaller than herself, wearing a most bizarre orange outfit and hat. In its hands was what Midna assumed to be the source of the melody, but she did not even try to guess its name since she was distracted by the child's blood red eyes and eerie, overstretched smile that showed two rows of sharp teeth. Attached to the creature's belt was a small lantern that shined with a pale blue flame that danced in its confinement.

What is that thing? Before Midna knew it, the musician spun on its heel and ran through the hollowed trunk of an enormous tree. "Wait!" The imp quickly followed behind, easily catching up to the child. "I didn't mean to scare you, little guy," she said, holding her arms out as a sign of peace.

The child giggled and then jumped into the air, twirling into nothing. Midna blinked and looked around before gasping. Maybe that's the Sacred Beast! It's not Twilian and certainly not one of those light dwellers... Grinning, Midna flew through the tree trunk and out the other side, only to find that she had started back where she was before. "Wait, what?" She spun around and went back through the trunk, emerging in the exact same area she was already in. Growling lowly, Midna floated through the tree branches and into another outlet, where she heard faint music coming from the tunnel to the left.

Gotcha! She darted down into the burrow and popped out the other side. The imp emerged into a different area this time, one with a small stream and various rock formations standing in the water. The childish melody was much louder now and seemed to be coming from the other side of the tallest rock. Midna floated above the stone and shot down at the child when she saw it playing its instrument. Grabbing it around its midsection from behind, Midna laughed and announced, "I got you!"

The child struggled and thrashed in Midna's grip, but she had latched her hands together and refused to let go. "Settle down, I'm not gonna hurt you," the imp said into her prey's ear, but quickly regretted it when the child's head spun around and stared at her with its bloody eyes. Caught by surprise, Midna released the creature and watched it spin into thin air again.

"Curse it! Get back here!" The Twilight Princess sighed and held her forehead, or rather, the front of the helmet she wore. Look at me, playing games with a child-thing. She floated to the ground and wandered through a different tunnel, emerging into a sort of hub with various pathways connected to it. "Come out, come out, wherever you arrrre," the imp sang as she slowly spun in a circle. The music seemed to be coming from everywhere now and Midna was unable to pinpoint its location. The tempo quickened and it felt as though someone was dancing to the beat.

Midna admitted to herself that the music was fairly exciting and she wanted to tap her foot at the least, but she had a job to do and less time to do it in. She tapped her chin in thought and said, "Orochi, do you have any ideas?"

If the spirit could nod, it would. "There is a magic spell that can help you target creatures in a certain radius around you, but it only works for designating enemies, not sprites such as this child."

Midna deflated and plopped down on the ground. "I was just getting excited too." She sighed and scratched an itch on her cheek as she pondered how to find the child-thing.

"Do not give up so quickly," Orochi warned. "This spell could prove vital to your cause."

Midna lifted an eyebrow and sat up. "I see your point. Alright, spirit," she picked herself up, "teach me some magic."

"Consider your ability to stretch your senses whilst in the shadows," Orochi began. "This spell will expand on that, detecting living things nearby." Midna nodded and shook her wrists to loosen up. "No, you will be using your hair rather than your hands."

Midna frowned and glanced upwards. "How does that work?"

"You can use your hair's magical properties to create an energy field that will allow you to mark enemies where they stand."

"Okay... so I just focus and try to expand my senses?"

"Precisely." Midna nodded and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, allowing her mind to calm down. The scent of the forest filled her nostrils, the sound of birds calling echoed in her ears, the touch of wind brushed her skin, and... there! Midna's eyes shot open as she looked in that direction, only to scream when she saw that it was a Shadow Beast. Mist clouded Midna's vision as she warped as far as Orochi would allow her to go, and when she landed, the imp collapsed on her knees and felt stinging in her eyes.

I'm okay... I'm okay... The former Twilight Princess clenched her fists into the dirt and drew in a wretched gasp. Foul memories wreaked havoc in her mind as she tried to get her bearings. All she could think of was the searing pain in her wrist as the viscous black sludge crawled up her arm... No! Midna mentally screamed. That is the past, not the here and now. The imp nodded to herself as she slowly steadied her breathing. I'm safe and sound, there aren't any monsters here to get me. Wiping her eyes, Midna stood up and let out a shaky breath. I'm okay... I. Am. Okay.

Satisfied that she had sufficiently calmed herself down, the Twilian took stock of her surroundings. She was still in the forest near the bathhouse where that lady attacked her. Good, good... Midna floated into the air and closed her eyes. She would not allow herself to give in to weakness. She refused to give Zant that pleasure. She stayed low under the tree branches and floated forward down the path until she came upon an enormous opalescent barrier. It stood just a bit past the spring nearby and was riddled with Twilit scripture, except for a strange symbol in the center of the gap at the bottom where the forest path went. The symbol was two horizontal slashes connected by a diagonal, and for some reason, it sent chills up Midna's spine.

The imp landed on a tree branch and froze when she saw a Shadow Beast shambling about near the edge of the wall. Petrified, Midna could only watch as the creature drew close to the wall and plunged its fist through. The Twilian heard a male scream as the Shadow Beast yanked Fool into the Twilight. Midna found herself staring in fascination as the light dweller glared at his captor with boldness and defiance in his eye.

"Bring it, Cthulhu!" Fool growled before punching the Shadow Beast. From his hand shone a light so bright and magnificent that Midna saw blotches of color in her vision for several moments afterward, but that did not stop her from witnessing the man's agony. His thumbs shifted along his forearms, his spine ripped through the skin to create a tail, and claws forced their way from beneath his fingernails. He clutched his hands to his face and stumbled forward, only to roar in torment, revealing that his mouth was shifting into a snout.

"Make it stop..." Fool begged as he sank to his knees. Midna saw something white fall from the light dweller's face but she could not see what it was or where it came from. "Make it stop..." he slurred again, his voice distorted and almost unintelligible. Midna's eyes widened when the light dweller lifted his head up and screamed, only for that scream to quickly devolve into the most agonized howl the imp had ever heard as his body fully and swiftly transformed into a quadruped. His fur was the same shade as Midna's shadow cloth except for the underbelly and paws, which were shock white like her skin, and the top of his head and body were the same dark brown as his hair. Several white markings adorned the former light dweller's beastly face, and there was another white streak running along his shoulders, ribs, and hips.

By then, the Shadow Beast that had snatched Fool up was back on its feet and approached the beast. As Fool was dragged away by his hind leg, Midna could not help an appropriately impish grin from stretching across her face. Well, isn't that convenient? She spotted the small white object and floated down to inspect it when she made sure the coast was clear. Kneeling down, the imp scooped the tiny bowl-like thing in her hand and turned it over. A ring of blue centered with a black dot stared up at her and made her gag and almost drop the object. Midna could not help but think, An eye for an eye... Not wanting to look at it anymore, Midna whisked it away to a pocket dimension for safekeeping and then vanished into her own shadow dimension to follow the Shadow Beast before it got too far.