Another :clap: chapter :clap: thank you for reading on, I thought I was going to finish this sooner but I had a few hurdles to jump through this week. The flow seems kind of wonky to me in this, so I apologize if that translates to your reading.

Nonetheless, enjoy!


There was a whisper in my head, deep and rich. It called out to me, playing my blood vessels like strings on a harp, humming in my chest. "Maizy…" My unconscious brain asked who it was, chasing the humming, chasing my name. It found no one, it found nothing.

My eyelids shot open and I sat up in a sweat. The lights were dim like before, but I felt rested, for how long I'd slept, I had no clue. Link was sleeping against the wall, head on a bunched up blanket. I crawled over to him and shook his shoulder until he jumped awake, panting.

"Oh, sorry…" I pulled away, reading his wide eyes and shoulders that moved up and down.

He rubbed his forehead, taking in slow breaths, ignoring me. With one last exhale, he stood up and started pacing back and forth. I was tempted to ask if he was okay, but was too anxious to take him out of his stupor. Abruptly, he stopped pacing, looking down at something. His fingers found their way to the spot on his pants where he had wiped my blood off of his hand.

Those two diamond eyes gazed back at me, "Maizy?"

"Link?" I got up and took a step towards him, "Are...are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he came closer, but while my heart jumped in thinking it was to me, he kneeled down and woke up Midna instead. It ended with a, "Let's get going," and there was no more sign of what just happened.

Indeed, he cheered up instead and got to training me immediately. "Boo!"

"Jesus!" My body instinctively tensed and shot out a shivering red curtain, weak. "Ugh, I'm not looking forward to this."

Midna's face jumped out at me too, which prompted a more violent response, a stronger shield, but a more petrified me.

"Stop!" I screamed, stumbling behind a cackling and giggling Link and Midna who headed for the door. "I'm too tired for this!"

The room passed it was the same one as before, just higher up. Midna disappeared and Link turned around to me, "So...is your magic stuff always electric?"

I sighed, and shrugged, "I don't know. Probably?"

He gestured to the blue floor near us, a long strip leading to a door on the other side...always leading to a door. There was nothing that said I couldn't try, so I stepped on it and tried to repeat all the steps in my head, the tensing, the numbing, the flowing, which worked but only for a moment.

My heart fell into my stomach and I stepped off before I could will myself to try again. "It's not worth the time-"

"Take your boots off."

"But-"

"Maybe it'll help." Link took out his iron boots, waiting for me to obey his orders, but when he put them on the ground, he noticed I was still standing there. "What is it?"

"I can't hold it for long enough." I kicked a rock over with my toe, flexing them underneath the leather they sat in.

Link's fingers were in his hair, "Just try?"

I sat down and slipped off the thick boots, tossing them into his unexpecting hands and watching them tumble into the dirt. The ground was sharp and warm underneath my skin, soothing my sore feet. Back on the blue surface, I could feel the electricity clearly and as I imagined a current flowing through my blood, I attached to that field at my toes. When I went numb, a crackle of blue static stuck me to the surface and before it fell away, I forced that flow of energy to cycle. It was enough to keep me there and I took my first confident step anxiously forward.

"Yes!" Link shoved his boots on and trudged after me. I let him lead the way to attack two torch slugs stuck to the wall, then we ran out into a new room and gazed up at the ceiling. An expanse of blue stretched out before us.

There were many moments in the hours that came where I could tell Link was frustrated with how innately poor I was at learning about something that caused me so much dread. He was constantly shoving me this way and that with comments that reminded me of the little fairy from Ocarina of Time, but full of much more aggression and, "If you seriously don't listen to me you'll die."

In between these moments, I couldn't help but enjoy making little attacking gestures to build up my consistency. It was a world of green that Link said brought out my eyes. Midna came out to talk when there was low action, making snarky remarks and generally enjoying herself and her quips. To be honest, I enjoyed them too.

"So do you have family back home?"

Link occasionally asked questions like this, prodding out information one piece at a time I otherwise would be too nervous to ramble on about.

"Yeah, just my parents and three brothers." I bit my cheek as their faces sprung up in my mind...and what were they thinking? I was dead? "And two cats."

"'Just,'" he laughed, turning away from a puzzle he was trying to figure out, "I live with no one."

"I'm sorry," I pointed to a switch he hadn't noticed to move his attention away from me again, but he followed my finger and then came back.

"Sorry about last night, it's personal stuff." he looked to the ground, moving back to the puzzle without another word.

There was an outside portion of the mines, but when we got there it was noon and the sun beat down on us, making the water rooms much more amiable. A lot of running finally brought us to the next elder at what I had to guess was sundown, but I couldn't figure how long it had been since we were outside.

It was a chamber similar to the other elder's, the statue behind him highlighted by a green gem this time. Engravings covered the walls in a language that didn't look Hylian. We climbed up the elder's arena and Link quickly introduced himself.

"Ah yes! They told me you'd be here soon." the elder laughed, "I'm Gor Ebizo, there should be a chest over there with one of the shards, yes." He gestured to a corner, outstretching one of his lanky arms. Gor Ebizo was hunched over, the rocks on his back arched on him like an armadillo shell. His face was droopy and his lower lip stretched out from his face. Every time I saw these creatures I couldn't help but stare.

"In these mines we have guarded a bow for generations, left by the hero of old. I suggest finding it as soon as you can." Gor Ebizo waved us off towards the chest.

It turned out the chest was opposite of where he said it was. Nonetheless we grabbed the shard and were on our way. Outside of the door, Link stopped me, "Who's this, 'they,' that's been telling them we were coming?"

"Oh, uh…" I tried to think of who it would be, but I didn't remember there ever being anyone who would send out the message, they just knew. "Maybe there was someone ahead of us?"

"But all of that stuff was locked." Link looked down into the room below.

"Maybe he had a key and locked it again?"

Link shook his head, "Whatever," he started towards the blue strip on the wall, "I guess we'll find out if we have to."

After we crossed over to a platform below, we headed through a door that was barred off behind us. Across the room there was a giant Goron, twice the size of the usual ones, sitting lazily in front of the exit. It was broiling there, a million degrees at least and not much more. I followed behind Link, but as my foot hit the metal bridge connecting the entrance to a huge magnetic semi sphere, I recoiled from the burn. My cry echoed to the Goron, and he stood up in alarm.

"You! Puny humans, I was warned you'd come here!"

"Warned?!" I backed away from the bridge.

Link whipped around to me, "Get on my back, quick." I hesitated, "I'll carry you over!"

"Link, he wants to kill us!" I shouted.

"And you're going to help me fight him, now come on!"

The Goron's voice boomed from the other side of the room, like the volcano around us was erupting, "Plotting to murder me, are you? We don't trust magic here, it's what got our patriarch possessed after all…"

A face froze in my mind, a picture captured in time. The Goron who saw me playing around with my magic before we ran inside the mines, of course he would warn this guy of all people...of course…

I jumped up onto Link's back, squished against his shield, narrowing my eyes at the Goron. He ran over to the sphere hung precariously from chains, settling there to drop me down to the cool blue surface. "We're not here to fight you, we're trying to save Darbus!" Link cried.

The Goron smirked, "Oh yeah? Only a true hero is worthy of the treasure I guard. If you are that such hero, you'll beat me without issue." He leapt into the air, coming down hard into the sphere and snapping the chains that held it up. We plummeted down into the lava below as I screamed and embraced Link in shock. The rock we stood on sank into the lava below, casting up waves of scorching liquid into the air.

Link wasted no time lurching forward, drawing his sword as he went. The Goron was heavily armoured except for an exposed spot on his paint covered stomach. His arms were nearly always positioned in front of it except for when he attacked. I watched, stationary, as Link caught onto this and slashed a huge gouge into his skin that dripped a fine line of red blood. It wasn't enough to stagger him as he came right back down on Link, sending him flying into the ground.

A blow straight to the chest, he barely composed himself enough to stand back up, narrowly dodging another swipe. I stepped towards them, measuring their movements, a rally back and forth of dodges and slashes and punches, then it became clear to me.

Kneeling down to the ground, I pressed my palm into the floor and waited for the Goron to charge up another punch. The second I saw him raise his arm, I tensed and shot out a bolt. A crackle of green surged across the ground, flickering past in a snap until it caught on the Goron, paralyzing him. Link took the opportunity swiftly and dealt a volley of blows into his skin. When the electricity wore off, the Goron instinctively curled up and Link made the connection instantly.

He jumped, brown phasing into an iron glint, and grabbed hold of the Goron's arms. A cry split through the air, tearing past the thick heat. The source's face was bright red, his muscles taught, what it moved gradually gaining momentum. It happened quickly, the Goron sailing into the lava below, Link collapsing, and the Goron tumbling back into the arena, burnt and dripping with blood.

I looked between both and ran to Link. He tried to push himself back up, but fell into the ground again, coughing. Midna flew out, leaping for his pouch and pulling out a bottle filled with an opaque red liquid. She forced it into his sweaty hands but he barely noticed it, sluggishly peeking at it through narrow eyes. He brought it to his lips, drinking slowly until it was gone and he fell to the floor again.

Nonetheless, Midna sighed in relief, "He'll be fine in a few hours."

"Was it that punch to the stomach?" I asked her.

She nodded, "I heard his ribs crack. It's amazing what this kid can take." Her silhouette turned to look at the Goron laid out on the floor, then me, "Can you take care of that guy?"

I agreed, only because I wanted to stop looking at Link's bloody face. The Goron shied away from me as I approach, but as a wince took over him, he froze. "I don't want to hurt you."

His helmet had bounced off when he landed leaving his large round head exposed. "I'm sorry." The Goron's breath was ragged, "I'm a fool for listening to him. He's nothing but trouble." He raised his voice suddenly, booming, "Eitti, raise the lava!"

Four hatches opened at each side of the chamber, pouring out fiery liquid. The sphere began to rise slowly and once we reached the top, the Goron heaved himself up and headed for where we had entered without another word.

I went back to Link who was sitting up now, holding a rag to his nose, stains of blood all over it. When I stopped, he asked me how my knee was doing.

"My knee? What about you? You're a mess."

He muttered meekly, "I'll be fine, it was nothing."

Midna chimed in, "Maybe, but you're taking it easy for the rest of the day. And that's a command from your master."

"I'm not your dog."

They began bickering, but I tuned it out. The noise of popping lava filled my ears, dulling the cacophony of raised voices behind me. We ended up spending at least an hour there, waiting for Link to regain his strength. When he was ready, he limped himself to the exit, entering the temple once again, escaping the dream that was rest.

A bow and quiver was stowed away in a chest that he opened with excruciating difficulty. When he went to test out the string, the strain was outlined on his face. There was nothing I could do to stop him, I knew, so I watched him nock an arrow and strenuously release it at a rope tying up the bridge leading out of the room.

It missed.

"Oh."

Link sighed, "My arms are sore."

I picked at the hem of my shorts, biting back my lip as he tried again, set up, and missed. Hesitantly, I stopped him, "Do you want help?"

He slouched, allowing for my words to sit there on a platter, waiting to be picked up. Finally, he dropped one hand from his bow and offered it to me, "I'll aim."

As I took it from him, I shifted into a place, but the moment I tried to lift it up, a chorus of no's cried out from behind me. "First of all," he redirected my arms and then started kicking my feet further apart, "hold that position." I stretched my neck to see what he was doing, met with an empty space on the floor and a sudden arrow being wiggled into my grasp.

Link appeared in my peripheral, clutching the front of the bow over my grasp and slowly elevating my aim. My eyes drifted over to him and we met there briefly before he let go of my hand, redirecting my chin to the ropes holding up the bridge. After a few more commands, "Two fingers, not a full fist," "Eye on the target," he told me to let go.

It soared out of the bow with a snap and went careening through the air into the rope. A ripping noise was overrun by the screeching of hinges as the bridge thudded down. Link took the bow out of my grip and switched his shield out to store it on his back, throwing the hunk of metal into his pouch and heading to go across the bridge.

"Not even a thank you?" Midna jumped out at him.

"I'm too exhausted for this." he pleaded, staring her down, "Leave me alone."

He left her behind, stepping onto the bridge as his feet clunked on its rigid surface. Midna elbowed me when he was out of earshot, leaning in to whisper, "He tends to be grumpy when he's in pain, it'll wear off."

"Hurry up over there!" Link called.

Midna flashed me a wink and floated on ahead. I stayed a moment longer, grappling at the feeling of holding such a powerful bow, watching that arrow fly. If only I could be that free, then maybe he wouldn't be scowling at me so fiercely.

There wasn't much improvement to his mood in the hours that followed. He rarely used his bow except when it was required to get through. The only thing that kept me any real company was my magic that tumbled out of my fingertips whenever I thought to use or practice it.

I nearly fell over myself when Link opened a door and the last elder sat meditating in the room ahead. My limbs were stiff and my back ached to lean against something, anything. On top of that my mind was numb from thinking so much, irksome to say something out loud, to release everything buzzing around in there.

The last Goron elder was the youngest looking one, painted head to toe in purple and yellow. As we entered, he opened his huge purple eyes and smiled a toothy grin, lacking a few teeth here and there. His voice was creaky, as if with each syllable he stepped on a floorboard, "You've made it!"

Link took a deep breath, then the slightest grin turned up on his lips, "Bless the Goddess, finally!"

We stood before him, drenched in sweat and smeared with dirt. The elder simply laughed at us and pulled out the small chest he'd been keeping close by, "Gor Liggs, pleased to have you assist."

I eyed the key shard, its jagged blue edges glowing in the light. Link pocketed it and gave a slight bow, "Thank you, where can we reach Darbus?"

The elder shut his eyes, humming to himself, "He's close, and he's getting angrier. You best hurry before it's too late."

An arrow had been released, feet charging, the slap of my toes and the thud of Link's boots, it didn't cease. Link had a renewed vigor, he shot with precision and didn't blame his trips on his weakened body. I began to stumble in his shadow, but stayed firmly behind him even if it meant I did nothing but watch while I caught up. It was when we entered a snaking room, path weaved around a pool, that he stopped and let out a breath.

"This is it." I fell against a railing, staring into the lava far below. "I remember this room. This is it."

Link merely nodded and took out his bow, aiming at a bulblin situated on top of a metal scaffold. The arrow flew out of his fingertips and struck the bulblin in the head, not uttering a sound as it fell dead. He got another one, then, seeing no more, started down the path marked out.

I watched him go, frowning at the metal plating layered over the ground. Suddenly, he came jogging back, "Sorry," and tossed me my boots. After I threw them on, we went sprinting down, welcoming the breeze it made across our skin.

One more bridge stood in our way, similar to the one from where we found the bow. Link drew an arrow and severed the string, jumping back as the bridge fell away like a curtain to reveal a horde of bulblins. A flurry of brown clad figures swarmed in on us. Link drew his blade and began stabbing several through the chest, kicking their limp bodies away when he was finished with them.

My chest filled with a long breath, and hesitantly, drained of all sense of reality, I leapt into the commotion. Flashes of green danced out of my hands like bolts of electricity that tore through flesh and severed bone. The ragged beings bared their teeth and threw themselves around with each swing, never enough to connect. One by one I took each opportunity to attack them until one after another they fell and the horde was no more. Around my feet were piles of dust and splatters of blood.

I let the air out of my chest.

Link and I trudged over the bridge, swallowed by a passage that opened up to a massive circular door, locked in heavy chains. I looked at him and he nodded, pulling out the three key shards. They slid together easily, clicking. He walked to the lock and jammed the key into it, flying back as it rapidly spun on its own. The lock clattered to the floor as the door rolled aside.

The chamber on the other side was dark except for a dim blue that illuminated a hulking ashy figure in the middle. My adrenaline beat harder through my veins, pulsing in my neck and my feet. Nerves wove their way like thread through the adrenaline, lacing my stomach with sickness. I no longer felt in control of myself the longer I stared at the passive beast, but when a hand fit their fingers into mine, I fought for it back.

"We can do this." Link raised our joined fist between us, eyes locked on the beast ahead.

"I can do this," I echoed, squeezing his hand.

He let go and together, we marched into darkness.

The door rolled shut behind us, locking away the light from outside. A faint blue was emitted by the floor in between stone debris and divots. As we moved forward, its magnetic surface became clear and I took my boots off before we got any closer. Link accepted them, stopping in his tracks to put them away and look up at the behemoth in front of us.

It was easily twice our height or more, chained to the floor and walls by the wrists and ankles. There was no skin on the creature, instead it was enveloped in an ashy shadow that moved like a thick liquid around it. On its head was a rock face, a dormant eye in the middle of its forehead, lower teeth protruding over the edges of it. The eye ignited, iris a scorching orange and pupil paper thin. Underneath, two orbs illuminated, as if it were waking up.

I stared into the fiery orbs, frozen. The behemoth tried to move, but caught by its chains, it stopped, shaking them. Crying out, it ripped and pulled at its constraints, then, the room got hot. From its ashy coat, fire burst, engulfing its body in flames.

My heart leapt into my throat and Link retreated to a distance, fixing an arrow into his bow as he ran. I ran to the wall at the creature's left, stepping over sharp rocks and rubble. As I crossed over, the beast ripped its chains from the wall and I wandered into the line of fire, whipped by hot metal to the face.

I kept running, cradling my face in my hands, tripping on a rock into the floor. The sound of an arrow being released resonated in the chamber and tearing flesh echoed after it. I uncovered my eyes, seeing the situation unfold in front of me. Link panicked, scanning the room around him. My mouth opened to yell at him, but another breath came right back in to smother my words.

The behemoth stumbled forward, kicking up dirt and casting away rubble, its chains heavy behind. I saw Link run out of the way, but his eyes were still on the wrong thing, cast up not down. Reluctantly, against the complaints of every muscle in my body, I pushed myself from the floor and ran to the chain links. Grabbing it in my hands, I bit back the exhaustion in my veins, connecting myself to the floor with a shock. Unfortunately, my arms weren't so stiff and the moment the beast lurched forward, the entire chain was ripped out of my grasp.

"Maizy!"

"What?!" I screamed.

Our conversation was cut short by another roar, rattling the chamber. Link nocked an arrow, aimed, and overshot.

"Come on!" Midna floated up next to him, staring him down as he readied another shot and not letting down despite how close the creature got by the time he released the arrow.

The beast scrambled forward in a frenzy, Link and I taking the opportunity to make a run for the chains again. Our hands met at the same link. He jumped, slamming back down into the floor in his iron boots. I attached myself to the blue below me and tugged, nearly lurching forward until Link secured it. The beast went tumbling down.

Link rushed to its head, digging his sword into its skull and yanking it out the moment it moved to stand up. I breathed hard, wiping away the sweat dripping off of my forehead. Part of my brain went calm, buzzing with adrenaline while the other half begged for me to keep running, so I did. The last arrow was nocked.

Its screech tore at my ear drums but didn't reach further than that, I slid my hands over the burning, rusty surface of the chains and grabbed hold firmly, jogging with it until Link came behind me with his iron boots and pulled. In frustration, the behemoth kicked, sending the chain out of Link's grasp with me flying into the ground ahead. Brushing myself off, I leapt back up and gripped again, waiting for Link, then pulling. In my ear, I could hear a scream growing louder, urging my heartbeat into my head, pounding.

My limbs went numb, pulsing waves of energy coaxing them to give out no feeling at all. I let it go, pushing out an electric wave that raced along the chain, striking the behemoth's ankle. It stopped resisting for a just a second, but it was enough to topple him over, the gargantuan monster colliding with the hard ground.

Link dropped the chain, his iron boots fading to brown as he traveled like a bullet to its eye. Drawing his sword, he raised it high into the air, as if ready to lay the blade to rest, and dropped it into the awaiting pupil staring back at him as the body it was attach to screamed.

There was a crackling, popping, spitting, then as the light in the room dimmed from orange to blue, nothing but cold traveled through the air. I took a step towards Link, but at my movement, the creature's shadowy coat was expelled into the air as inky black squares. They lingered there, tainting the cold atmosphere with malice.

Midna left Link's shadow, floating to the middle of the room. Her arms outstretched, she shut her eye and let out a breath. The squares, as if being sucked into a black hole, concentrated between her palms, amalgamating into a structure resembling the helmet atop her head. It was opaque, a blue tinted stone that had been carved with eyes and curls. On the back was a spine like piece, swirls jutting out the back.

"One more," she opened her eye, tracing the carving with her finger, "Zant...Zelda...we're coming."

Where the behemoth had once fallen sat a passed out Goron roughly the same size as what possessed him beforehand. Link checked on him, the Goron sitting up groggily as he rubbed his back, then noticed us.

"What happened?" his browline raised.

"You were being possessed, but it's over now. You should go back to the village as soon as you can." Link bowed to him, hand over his heart, "They're worried about you, Darbus."

Darbus scowled at him, but took his word and left the chamber. When the door shut behind him, Link turned to me, blank, then sprinting.

"Uh!"

Arms wrapped around me before I had a moment to protest, squeezing the air I needed to clear my head out of my lungs. He stepped back, holding me by the shoulders with a smile, "Look at you!"

"I'm covered in dirt." I frowned, looking down at my bandaged knee.

Link rolled his eyes, "At least you're here," he said, "You're getting the hang of things."

"If you say so," I sighed, his hands leaving me to highfive Midna.

"Let's get out of here." Link dusted off his pants as Midna shot a black projectile into the ground.

A small geometric splotch bloomed, a shade of black that reflected no light overlayed by blue lines tracing squares. From the middle, stripes of blue swirled inward. Link looked at me, frowning, "Are you sure that blue thing didn't look like this?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Oh well…" he stepped onto the swirl, his feet enveloped in shadow and his hand outstretched to me.

In the darkness, he shined a light of hope. I took his hand in mine, stepping into the portal as Midna waved her arms. A biting cold overtook my body, blinding my eyes in blue. When I came too, the scene was no longer a dank chamber, but a peaceful spring at nighttime. No one stirred.

A voice, gentle, spoke out of the waters, "Lanayru," then trickled out and faded into the night sky.

Link and I headed to the inn to sleep, remarking about how nice it felt to be out of there, into the cool breeze of Kakariko. I practically fell into bed and despite Link's eyes staying alert, I let mine drift, forgetting the events of the past three days. They were offered up into the world of sleep and I didn't bother to stop it from relieving those memories from me.

In the morning a bright sun shone on my dirtied face, picking out every particle that wasn't supposed to be on my skin. It was hard to care, there were plenty of other things I had to care about now.