Alright, a few weeks have passed, but I'm back with another chapter. Thank you to those of you who have commented (coherently, anyway). It gets hard to find the time to work on this around the holidays, but I hope you understand. Anyway, on with the story.

Still don't own LoZ or Nintendo. Still DO own Alexander, Mina and Blood Crusade.

Link awoke when a shaft of light shone across his eyes. He opened his eyes to find Midna sprawled out across his chest. He smiled, glad to have someone with her colorful personality to brighten up his otherwise dangerous journey. He gently rolled her to one side, doing his best not to rouse her before he was ready to leave. He lit a small fire underneath a ceramic bowl full of water. Once it was warm enough, Link washed his face and hands. His ears caught two breathing patterns coming from the basement. They were shallow and each breath was separated by a long pause. Every piece of Lore in Hyrule had told Link that Vampires were dead in almost every sense of the word. Either these two beings from a strange world were somehow different, or the Lore was terribly misguided.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Link?" Midna yawned as she stretched out on the bed. Link just shook his head and reached for a fresh linen undershirt. Midna sat there and watched her Hero go through his usual routine of preparing for the day. Wait, her Hero? Damn it, woman, you are the Princess of the Twili, you can not be falling for him. She told herself over and over again, he belongs here in the Light Realm, no matter how toned he is, and kind, and, no more, get a grip on yourself.

Link had just pulled the chain mail over his head and was straightening it out when he noticed the battle on Midna's face. A little worried, he lowered his face in front of hers, mere inches from her. She seemed to be worried about something, something big, by the changes in her expression. Leaning forward, he gave her a light kiss on her forehead. She snapped out of her reverie and stared at Link.

"Wh-what was that?" She asked, slightly flabbergasted.

Link just gave her that innocent farm boy smile, knowing he had centered her thoughts on something simple.

"I didn't tell you that you had permission to kiss the Princess!" She tried to sound angry, but the embarrassed blush that spread over her dark cheeks made it an effort in futility. "Are you ready yet, Hero? I don't think your little friend is going to get her memories back on her own." Link nodded as he tightened the straps holding his armaments to his back. Midna floated out the door and waited by Epona. Link gave a sideways glance to the ladder leading to his cellar, intent on knowing more about the creature resting there. He stepped out the door and jumped down into the saddle before setting off toward Kakariko Village, Midna holding tightly to the sides of his tunic.

The sun was beginning it's descent into the western sky as Link and Midna neared the little rope bridge that separated the Eastern field from the West. He could see the mountain pass off in the distance, and made a break for it, pushing Epona as fast as she could go. Her hooves clattered over the worn wood, each muscle straining beneath her soft coat, mane whipping in the wind. A few Bokoblins stood on the far end of the bridge, ready to ambush travellers, bows at the ready. Epona charged them, knocking two off either side and crushing one's skull underneath her. Midna smiled when she heard the sickening sound. Filthy creature deserved it for getting in our way, she thought.

Once they had reached the village, Midna hid inside Link's shadow so as not to spook the children. He walked into Renado's hut.

"Have you had any luck finding something to help restoring your friend's memories, Link?" The Shaman retained his calm demeanor, but Link could hear a tone of concern in his voice. Link thought for a second, had he found something? Maybe, just maybe… He pulled out the small wooden figurine that a stalhound had dropped and held it out.

Ilia looked at it, and it seemed that something had sparked her memory. "I remember a nice old lady in an old town, she helped me escape the monsters. Oh, I hope she's okay." She looked incredibly sad all of a sudden, worried about the fate of the kind woman, Link guessed. He was happy she was getting closer to her memories, and that he had another lead. This old village she spoke of had to be the next stop, but where was it?

Renado seemed to read his face and spoke up. "Young boy, Darbus has informed me of a tunnel that has been blocked off by a rockslide to the north of the village, it is a good possibility that the place you seek is beyond that tunnel." He paused, watching Link ponder how to get beyond the rockslide. "Darbus has offered his assistance in clearing the path as payment for your help in Death Mountain." Link smiled at everyone, patted Colin on his head, giving him a 'keep an eye on her for me' look as he walked out the door and to the inn.

The sun was just falling behind the mountains as Link paid for a room to rest and wait for Alexander and his apprentice. Once they were safely inside the room, Midna popped out of his shadow and sat down on the edge of the feathered mattress. "Well, those two should be waking up about now, don't you think?" Link nodded and set his weapons on the table. He pulled out his Hero's Bow and made sure the string was taut, checking for cracks in the wood. "I think we should go to that village as soon as they get here, get it over with as fast as possible, you've got enough to worry about without having to help that kid regain her memories."

Link looked up from the arrows he was sharpening. Was Midna really concerned about him?

"What's that look for, Hero? I meant that we need to hurry up and find that last shard. Who knows how much power Zant is massing while we sit about."

Link just gave her a soft smile and went back to his arrows.

-----Back in Ordon-----

Alexander stirred first, raising himself up onto his elbows. He saw Mina's head resting on his waist. "Typical." He sighed. Just when he was about to smack the back of the head for not being able to keep in control of herself, he remembered something that Desi has said to him a few years ago. "She's still young, Chaos, not to mention she's into you something fierce. So be nice to her when she shows her affection, of so help me, you'll be feeding on the rest of your donors through a straw!"

"Time to wake up, Childe. We have quite a distance to travel, and who knows what else once we reach the town." He brushed the hair from her face, thankful at least that Murany wasn't the one who had fallen into this world.

"Okay, Master Chaos." She yawned and rolled over, getting up onto her knees.

And Mina, do not call me Chaos here. Alexander will be fine." He stood and began to wash the dried blood from his leather.

"But Master, you told me to never call you that, that you haven't been Him for seven hundred years." She began to get dressed, tightening the buckles on her bodice.

"I'm aware of what I said 3 years ago, Childe." He was dressed in a flash and reaching for his sword. "But I am saying now, that while we are in this world, you will call me Alexander. Do I make myself clear?"

She strapped on her boots and nodded. "Yes, Master Alexander, I understand."

"Good, then let's go." He threw his coat on and leapt up the ladder. Mina followed quickly.

Once outside, Alexander looked at the map he had been given and pointed toward the woods. "We have to go North through here in order to reach this field, from there we go North-West to this village here. Make sure you keep up, Mina, I do not want our companions to wait longer than they must."

"Ready whenever you are, Master."

With that, the two sprinted at superhuman speed through the Faron Woods.

Once they had reached Hyrule Field, Alexander stopped to admire the view. The field was huge, and there were still signs of the sun just beyond the horizon, the deep purple leading into the black of the night sky.

The sound of rattling bones broke him from his thoughts, and he looked around, only to see four creatures climbing out of the ground in front of him.

"Master, what are those?" Mina asked, instinctively pulling the long Kris on her hip from it's gold-trimmed scabbard.

"The bone structure tells me that they were, at one point, dogs. All they are now is a skeletal training opportunity for you."

"Understood." She ran forward and jumped into the air, bringing her heel down on the first Stalhound's head. It yelped, despite not having a voice box, and it's skull shattered into dust, the rest of it falling together into a pile. A second Stalhound leapt at her, she whipped around, roundhouse kicking it in the ribcage. It went flying, rolled twice and stood up, growling at her. "Bad doggies get put down!" She threw one of the daggers on her thighs at the beast, and it buried into it's skull, causing the creature to collapse. A third one ran toward her, she jumped over it and severed it's spine in three places. "This is fun, Master!" Mina giggled.

"Stay focused, Dear." He smiled in spite of himself. Even though it has been over a year since her last fight to the death, she has gotten better, her movements more graceful than they had ever been before.

She slew the last one easily and sheathed her blade, pleased with herself, and hoping her teacher felt the same.

"You did well, girl, now let's keep moving." He unsheathed his own blade. "I will take the lead for now, should we have any more encounters."

They ran quickly in the direction of the village, cutting through the Stalhounds and Bokoblins that would try to make a meal out of them. They reached Kakariko with time to spare and entered the Village.

A small child saw the two strangers walking by the spring and made a small gasp. Alexander looked over and spotted the kid running into the first hut. Not long after, a very tall man with long black hair, followed by five children stepped out of the hut. Alexander could tell that this man was a spiritual leader, so he moved to greet the man. A small boy with blonde hair jumped in front of the group, brandishing a small wooden sword. The fear in his eyes was evident, but he had spirit, Alexander commended him for it.

The Shaman spoke up, his hand on the child's shoulder. "What business do you have here, creature of darkness?"

Okay, before anyone says it, yes, I am aware that I skipped a few steps in regards to the story progression, like the actual finding of the wooden totem and such. If I went over every single puzzle in the game, I'd never finish.

As you can see, I've been adding in a little bit more of the subtext with Midna's conflicting emotions, mostly based on what I personally read into the way she'd get flustered during the game.

Thanks for reading so far, and don't forget to R&R. (hey, that rhymed!)