I trekked through the underbrush until I saw a Bulblin meandering about with its club dragging behind. It was still wondering what happened when I snapped its neck in my jaws. A quick dash later, I came upon my house with two Bulblins standing guard. I pounced on the closer beast but its companion slammed its club in my head before I could finish it. Disoriented, I attacked the Bulblin with a wild swipe, managing a lucky hit in its jugular. As it collapsed, I backpedaled away from the remaining creature, barely dodging its club swing.

Thankfully, it overswung and ended up spinning right onto its ass. I jumped it and bit into its throat, spreading its blood over my snout and fangs. Once it stopped thrashing, I hopped off and gagged at the awful coppery taste. Sadly, there was no water bowl to wash my mouth with, so I was stuck inhaling the Goddess awful stench.

I stepped back and pondered how I was going to get into the house when Midna spoke up in my mind. "I'll help you up, O Useless One. Eee hee hee!"

Shaking my head, I walked over to the ladder and snatched a rung in my teeth. Dragging it out from the wooden cliff, I laid the ladder at an angle and walked up my improvised ramp and set foot on the porch.

"Hmph. Smarty pants," Midna glowered.

I chuckled and replied, "Technically, I'm not wearing pants right now." I walked up to the door and pushed against it. It gave way easily and I stepped inside, spotting the wooden sword right where I left it. "Ah, ye old faithful."

"Wait, what?" Midna popped out of my shadow and floated into the shade so she could physically manifest. "You seriously expect to use that... that stick against Zant's forces? It's splitting down the middle, you idiot!"

I barely managed to avoid rolling my eye as I said, "The only other sword would be in someone's house in the village."

Midna looked away for a moment in confusion. "So?"

That time, I did roll my eyes. "So, it'd be a little weird for a freaking wolf to waltz into a homely village in broad daylight."

Midna lifted an eyebrow and gestured outside. "It's not broad daylight, Mister Perceptive."

"Wait, what?" I looked outside and found that it was already getting dark. "Dang, that was fast. How long was I out, anyway?"

The Twilian cupped her chin and hummed. "I'd say two or three hours. It got dark unnaturally because the Twilight is expanding. I think it seemed brighter in the spring because of the healing water."

"You mean the Light Spirit?"

"There's a spirit living in the spring? That can't be healthy." Midna shrugged and patted my jaw. "Doesn't matter, you're going to have to get a real sword and not some child's toy." She snapped her fingers and the wooden sword vanished into Twilit particles. "I'll keep that though. It may come in handy." She looked over and then said, "I see the shield hanging up above the door, so I'll go ahead and get that for you." She floated over to the Ordon Shield. "It looks…" she cupped her jaw, "kind of cheap." Using her magic hair, she plucked it from its mount and tossed it at me like a Frisbee.

To my continual shame, I reacted instinctively and caught the shield midflight in my jaws. It was when I landed from my leap that I realized just what I had done. Midna's laughing and hysterical gut-holding and leg-kicking didn't help my sour mood much. She flew down and petted my head in such a patronizing way I considered chomping down on her hand if I wasn't holding the shield.

"Good boy!" Her voice was riddled with amusement and contempt but she was relatively gentle as she scratched behind my ears. "You're more like an overgrown puppy than a lone wolf."

"Hardy har har, let's go." I ignored her huff and jumped down from the porch, shield still in mouth. "Hm... Do you think you can vanish this shield, or whatever it is you do?"

Midna sighed and the shield exploded into Twilit particles. "You are just hopeless."

"Sorry, can't hear you over that awful nagging sensation." I shook my head and ventured into the village as dusk fell, only to hear a voice call to me from behind.

"Wait!" I looked over my shoulder and then immediately pointed my whole body at the speaker.

"SQUIRREL!" I cried.

"OW! Not so loud," Midna ordered. "I think I'm deaf in my own head now..."

The squirrel tilted its head and said, "I don't know what you've come here to do, but if you're going into town, be careful!"

"Don't worry about me, little guy. I can handle myself."

The squirrel skittered about on its branch and asked, "You're not a bad thing, are you? I can't tell, you don't smell like anything I've seen before..."

I sighed and shook my head. "No, I am not a bad thing. I'm just not from around here."

The squirrel flicked its tail and shrugged. "Well, if you run into any trouble, try talking to the animals in town. We animals understand one another, so you'll be fine!"

I nodded and headed through the village gate. By then, it was completely night but Midna had yet to come out of my shadow. When I asked about it, she replied, "Oh, so I can let other light dwellers take a smack at me?" She huffed. "I've already had my fingers broken once and for the few moments that they were, it was not pleasant."

I stopped just beside the pink house and looked down at my shadow, where I saw a yellow and red eye looking back up at me. "So you're going to just let me walk around and risk getting hurt?"

The Twilian's eye rolled as she answered, "You're a big boy, you can handle it."

I rolled my eye at her and looked up. "There's a guy waiting on a rock nearby. If he sees me, he'll call a hawk to attack me, so I need you to help me up here so I can scare him off the rock."

"Hm?" Midna emerged as a floating shadow and cupped her ear. "I heard the words but I can't really make sense of it all without... there's a magic word but I can't think of it..." She flashed an impish smile and I huffed.

"Please help me get onto the roof of this building."

"That sounded so sincere I think I just teared up a little." The Twilian shrugged and floated up to the roof. I jumped up, aided by Midna's magic, and landed soundly on the slanted tiles.

"What is that spell?" I asked as I hopped over to Hanch's position.

"Mm, just a bit of telekinesis," Midna said, ignoring the light dweller as he jumped into the water. "It's a good thing you're not that heavy. I mean," she giggled quietly, "you are, but not very much."

"Gee, thanks." I sat down on the rock and tried to observe Rusl's house, but the large tree and adjacent rock wall blocked my view.

"You!" a masculine voice called, causing me to flinch and duck down. Had I been spotted? I heard wings flapping above me and when I looked up, I saw a hawk standing a bit away from me. "You seem somewhat familiar, have I seen you before?"

"Uh..." Could this hawk be the parent of the baby I rescued? It felt like forever ago since that happened. "I did return a fallen baby hawk to its nest a few days ago."

The hawk tilted its head. "That was you?" I nodded. "Then you are a stranger being than you appear. As you have saved my youngest," he puffed out his chest, "I am in your debt."

"Aw, did you make a friend," Midna cooed from below. "I'm so proud of you."

"Hush up, you." I nodded at the hawk and asked, "Where are the other villagers?"

Hawk replied, "The swordsman and his mate are at their nest. The chief and food gatherer are by the water collector while the two other mates are inside that nest." He gestured his head over to the shop... the one I just climbed on.

"Wait..." My brow furrowed in thought. "If they were inside, then they must have heard-"

"MON-MONSTER!" someone screamed from below. I looked down and found Sera and Pergie pointing at me while covering their mouths.

"Ah shit," I growled just as a rock came sailing past my head. My foot slipped and I fell off the boulder, landing harshly on my side and knocking the wind out of me. Wheezing, I lifted myself up and struggled to limp away as fast as I could.

Midna leapt out of my shadow and beckoned to me from the root of the giant tree, and as I jumped at her, Pergie cried, "It can fly!" While I tried not to laugh, Midna helped me get on top of the rock wall and then pushed me down.

"Keep quiet," she warned.

I snorted and answered, "Yes, because I was making so much noise before."

"As a matter of fact," Midna hissed, "you were. You kept growling and barking when you were talking to those animals."

There was a brief pause before I said, "Oh." Huffing, I looked over at the Twilian. "Can't you get the sword? It'd be so easy with someone of your talent."

Midna grinned and wagged her finger. "Nice try, but I'm not gonna do everything for you. Earn your keep."

I shuddered and rolled my shoulders. "You sound like my dad." Shrugging, I crawled over to the edge of the wall and peered down on Rusl's house. The owner and his wife were standing on the porch discussing the children and the attack, but I paid little attention as I was busy creeping along the rock wall until I was behind the building. Looking down, I frowned and muttered, "Midna, how far do you think the ground is from here?"

Midna lay beside me and tilted her head. "Hm, I would say..." She then groaned and said, "I'd say I can't tell. It looks closer than I think it is, but it's hard to say."

I sighed and nodded. "That happens to people when they block one eye. Depth perception pretty much goes out the window." I nudged her gently and gestured at her Fused Shadow piece. "Try lifting your helmet up to see with both eyes." Midna glanced at me and shrugged, lifting up the ancient relic so that both yellow and red eyes were visible. Lucky, I thought, thankful that I could keep it to myself.

"Ah, that's much better," Midna said with a smile. "It's about seven and a half feet from here to the ground, but I also see a rock ledge over there." She pointed to the right of the building, where there was indeed a small jut in the face of the wall just between the ground and the top of the rock wall.

"Tallyho..." I coiled my body up, tightening my leg and back muscles, and propelled myself at the step. I felt the wind drag against my ears and fur as I flew through the air and landed roughly on the ledge, only for my momentum to betray me and make me slip off. Landing in a heap on the ground, I fought down a whimper as pain shot up my injured paw. At least the wounds had scabbed otherwise I would have been in trouble.

Anyway, I dragged myself over to the small pit adjacent to the house and peeked around the corner. Uli was standing there watching Rusl walk off, so the coast was clear for me to reluctantly begin digging until I emerged into their living room/dining room. "Are you sure you aren't part mole? Eee hee!" I ignored the Twilian and saw the sword was laying on the sofa, just like in the game, so I quickly limped over and snatched it up in my jaws.

As soon as I touched it, Midna emerged from my shadow and silently applauded me. "Eee hee, you got the Moron Sword!" She balanced the sword on the tip of her finger above my snout and spun the weapon slowly. "Use this to cut down others of lesser intelligence, which makes it pretty much useless!"

I growled and said, "Shut up."

Midna frowned and vanished the sword into Twilit particles before planting her hands on her hips. "You shut up!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You more!"

"You MOST!" The doorknob started to jiggle and both Midna and I gaped at it in surprise. "Boy, they're prompt."

I nudged Midna to get her attention and then said, "Quick, warp me outta here."

Midna's eye widened as she stuttered, "W-what?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" I nudged my snout into her thigh urgently. "Warp me to Ordon Spring."

"Oh..." The door jiggling grew more frantic as Midna began to wring her hands. "Um... here's the thing..." She nervously chuckled and fiddled with her ponytail. "I'm not very good at warping other people..."

"WHAT?!" I had to keep from barking out loud. "You managed to do it before!"

"Yes," Midna agreed as she narrowed her eyes and ushered me to the hole in the wall. "And you're lucky you weren't turned inside out or something, so hurry up and get digging." I groaned but could not argue since someone was about to burst into the room. Sucking up my anxiety, I burrowed through the tunnel and popped out like a daisy on the other side.

"Ugh, I'm definitely gonna need a bath after this," I grumbled as I shook my body free of dirt.

"After?" Midna asked. "I'd say you need one now." She giggled and reached up from my shadow to scratch the bottom of my jaw. "Filthy filthy filthy..."

I snorted and looked down at her. "Look who's talking. I could smell you before I even saw you back in the cell."

Midna's eye narrowed but it seemed like she was smiling. "I'm glad my perfume hasn't worn off."

I shook my head as I peeked around the corner of the house. No one was in sight, so I limped down the dirt path as I said, "Yeah, nothing beats Fire and Ash: The Smell of Midna."

"Oi!" Midna cried as I skirted past the pink shop. Looking over, I found the Ordonians gathered near Mayor Bo's house, so I was in the clear to hurry up. "I will have you know that it is called Essence of Dusk."

"That's a weird way to say 'Stinky'."

Midna gasped dramatically, and it took all my willpower not to burst into laughter. "I do not stink!"

"Do too." I stepped over the two dead Bulblins and was suddenly reminded of the awful taste in my mouth. "Whatever, we can both wash up at the spring." I continued on my way and by the time I reached the spring, my left wrist was beginning to burn with each step. It was even dark in Ordona's grove as I stepped inside, until I noticed a black portal laden with red scripture open up above us.

"A shadow beast…" Ordona warned. "It approaches…"

"Thaaat's just perfect," I muttered. With a wet thud, a monstrous creature dropped out of the sky and rose up. It stood up at an intimidating eight-something feet tall, with a silvery bone mask and tendrils emerging from its head. Midnight black arms reached out for me but I was already moving to the side. It looked like its upper body was heavier than the lower body could handle, judging by its walking on all fours like a gorilla.

The Shadow Beast lurched over and raised a fist to crush me, but I pounced up from beneath its arm and latched my jaws around its throat. I nearly choked on the oily black fluids leaking out but I ignored that and kept chomping and gnawing at its flesh. "Yeesh, you taste like my ex's cooking." I misjudged its capabilities when it grabbed me and threw me with vengeance against a tree.

An unwilling whine escaped from my snout as I thudded against the ground. "Gah! My bones..." I clambered up to my paws and growled at the approaching beast, ignoring the sharp pain in my lower back. "Little help, Midna?" No response, not even a snort. "Midna?" Still nothing, but I had to keep focused on the behemoth. It reached for me and, because my back was hurting and I could hardly move with any kind of agility, managed to pick me up and hurl me across the spring. I landed in the sand and my momentum carried me into the water, where it erased the pain in my muscles while sending my senses of smell and hearing into overdrive.

Colors became oversaturated and I could hear the three-beat heart rate of the Shadow Beast even with half my head in the water. I charged at the monster and caught it by surprise, ramming my shoulder into one knee and sending it crashing into the other. The beast flopped onto its back and flailed its arms around but missing me as I leapt onto its stomach.

I snarled and chewed at its neck until it finally went limp and exploded in Twilit particles that shot up and recreated the portal, using green scripture instead of red. I collapsed into the soil and caught my breath just as Midna emerged from my shadow.

"Thanks for showing up!" I barked audibly at her to punctuate my anger, ignoring her trembling hands. I huffed and trotted over to the water and lapped it up, sighing as the foul fluids washed away. I gargled and spat up before returning to Midna, who was still frozen in that spot and staring at me. I waved a paw in her face and growled at her. "Hey! Wake up!" She shook out of her trance and blinked at me.

"What happened?" she asked.

I gaped at her and snarled, "I got attacked by a Shadow Beast, that's what happened!"I shook my head. "I tried calling on you for help but you must have fallen asleep or something, because I had to take down that damn thing on my own!" I turned away and growled lowly. "I'll bet you've never had Shadow Beast blood dribble all over you."

Midna's attitude took a direct 180° and her eye burned. "As a matter of fact," she warned dangerously, "I have."

"Whatever, let's go." I walked away from the spring, crossed the bridge, and stopped just before the familiar wall of Twilight.

Midna popped out of my shadow and shivered at the 'Z' on the Twilight wall. "The Faron Woods that you know so well... They're now covered in twilight." She forced a giggle and looked at me. "You might not be able to come back here, but... Do you still want to go?" I rolled my eye and shook my head mockingly, which Midna responded with an entirely too strained grin as she wagged a finger at me. "That's cute, thinking you actually have a choice." She promptly vanished behind the viscous black curtain and moments later, her enormous orange hair hand shot out and yanked me through the wall.