Hey everybody! Guess who's back?! First of all, I'd like to appologize for the absolute crap that was the previous chapter; I didn't really review that one so eventually I'll go back and fix it... eventually.

Anyways, I'll spare you the details of my delayed posting, suffice it to say that I reveiwed and scrapped the chapter, then reveiwed and scrapped it again, and again. I hope you all feel the love I put into this one, because it was not easy working through. Well, go ahead and read and tell me what you think.

Enjoy if you will, tolerate if you won't.

Adventure 6: Volcanic Expedition Part 2

I huffed tiredly as I stumbled down the hot corridor, staying well away from the sizzling stone walls. I could practically feel the water evaporating from my cells, sending drop of sweat after drop of sweat coursing down my face. Smearing it across my forehead with my already soaked sleeve, I glared around me, squinting through the heat waves in my quest to find the door. I tenderly massaged my singed butt, and silently cursed the maker of the retarded statues that guarded the way into Gor-Ebizo's chamber, the stupid things had nearly melted a hole straight through me in their surprise attack.

Reaching the end of the hallway I looked at the large structure that blocked the exit.

"Weird," I muttered to myself, "This door is different than the others…" The door in question was a large red slab of stone with strange engravings in it; a large line bisected two and a half circles, with the half circle the lowest and branching off into a series of other lines. Shrugging I stepped forward and pushed…and kept pushing…and pushing…

"Gah! What the heck stupid door, open!" I shouted before plowing into the door with as much force as I could muster. I was rewarded with the door tilting slightly forwards but nothing more. "Stupid, idiotic, re—OW!" I exclaimed, clutching my foot after making the stupid decision to kick the large slab of rock.

I sat down and huffed, resting my chin on my hand as I glared at the stone, sweating silently. 'Wait, maybe I can use the key,' I thought suddenly, 'Yeah, that could work!' I stood up quickly and pulled out the large, cylindrical, puzzle like object that the elder Goron had given me. Reaching out carefully I placed one end of the engraved cylinder into the center circle of the door, took a step back, and then…

'Clunk,' the cylinder fell to the ground and bounced a few times.

"… stupid good for nuthin piece of scrap metal," I grumbled to myself as I reached down to pick up the shard of key. "It doesn't even open doors!" Now I knew perfectly well that it was only one third of a key and was meant to open a completely different lock but at the moment I was quite irritable and the useless shard made a good target for my anger… it couldn't argue back.

Tilting my head back I pinched my nose in annoyance, closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Opening my eyes I once again scanned over the door, found absolutely nothing else useful, and promptly muttered some choice words that would make any parent worth their butter gasp.

Frustration vented I came upon an idea… I could use that! "Yes," I whispered to myself, "That just might work…" Fishing into my pouch I located the 'that' in question and pulled it out. Running my hand along the smooth surface I chuckled silently to myself, reminiscing about how I had come by it.

(LINE BREAK)

I glared around the hot room from my spot on the floor, fanning the neck of my shirt in a desperate attempt to ward off the omnipresent heat that was trying to bake me.

"Where is he?" I groaned to myself as I felt another wave of heat wash over me. Gor-Ebizo had disappeared a short while ago, saying that he was going to retrieve the key shard that Link and I needed to find the Patriarch.

"Back in two minutes my tiny tooshy," I grumbled as I wiped another drop of sweat away from my face. I had to have been at least an hour… maybe two… A quick glance at a wall mounted clock showed 5 minutes had elapsed.

"Gahhh!" I cried in protest as I waved my fist at the ceiling in annoyance. Letting it drop back to my side as I wiped off more sweat. 'What is up with this heat,' I thought to myself, 'I swear, it's getting worse.'

Rolling over I felt something poke into my ribs, a very hot something. "Gwahh!" I yelped as I rolled away quickly, clutching my side as I shifted onto my knees.

"What the heck was that?" I exclaimed to myself, tenderly rubbing the throbbing area around my ribs. Slowly crawling forwards a glint of metal caught my eye. Gingerly, I pushed away the dust and chips of rock from the area, revealing a metal ring sticking up from the ground. It was sealed to the ground seamlessly, almost appearing to be made of the same rock as its anchor.

'It looks like a handle,' I thought to myself. '…Dink!' a little light bulb went off in my head. Reaching down I rolled up the hem of my shirt around my hand, making sure there would be a good two inches of material between my skin and the scalding metal.

Reaching down I grasped the handle, wincing as the heat still managed to sting through the fabric. Planting my feet I yanked on it as hard as I could, straining my muscles against the unbudging handle. After two seconds sweat began to bead on my forehead as nothing happened. After two more seconds I was about ready to give up, then, with a grating sound it began to lift. Doubling my efforts I yanked harder, slowly pulling the slab from the ground until, with a thunk, it popped out and landed heavily on the floor next to the hole.

Panting from the exertion, I studied the hidden alcove. Square in shape it was about three by ten inches long. Getting closer I looked down the hole and found a rather unremarkable blue box. Reaching down I struggled for a minute as I pulled it from its tight confines and back up out of the hole.

Lifting it up I studied the box, then, making sure I had done it right, I check it again. The thing was an anomaly, it seemed seamless, not a single line or divot or anything to indicate it was more than a blue rectangle. Shaking it I was rewarded with a rattle as something inside it moved. Carefully inspecting the box I eventually found a small bump in one of its sides; pressing it, a sharp clicking noise resonated out, shortly followed by the top half of it popping up.

Removing the lid I studied the curious object inside of it. A thin stick of what appeared to be silver occupied the space; covered in odd shifting runes it let of a low red glow. Picking it up I felt my skin tingle as something rushed through me, causing me to drop it in alarm. It hit the floor with a clang, a red spark popping out of the tip; the spark quickly grew in size, hovering in the air as it sizzled and crackled. Then, as suddenly as it had come, it flashed out of existence, a small piece of paper fluttering down to the ground.

I stared dumbly at it for a second before several thoughts flashed through my head, mostly things like 'magic' 'cool!' and 'I wanna touch!' Reaching out I carefully nudged the paper with my finger before yanking my hand back and covering my face with my arms. After three seconds with no explosion I reached out again and quickly snatched up the note.

Big, bold letters marked the top of the page, 'The beginners guide to using a Flame Rod,' it stated. Picking up again it began, 'Step One: Point flame rod at object you want to melt. Step Two: Place thumb on top of the red rune. Step three: Recite the incantation, Flare estare intu unum,… or for those who are too lazy to enjoy the use of complex spells, just yell Fire!'

I read the last line again to make sure I had read it right. 'Weird instruction manual,' I thought, 'Hmm, it says it melts things…' A slightly maniacal gleam came over my eyes as my inner pyro struggled for freedom. Snapping my head up I locked onto the rod, snatching from the ground as I quickly scanned for something to test it on.

A clinking sound suddenly echoed from the corridor Gor Ebizo had gone down, startling me and nearly causing the rod to drop again. Glancing around I panicked slightly; I highly doubted that this rod was supposed to be found considering how well it was hidden.

I quickly stuffed it into my bag, shoving the paper in as well. I jumped over to the cover slab and grabbed its edges, shoving the heavy stone across the floor until it dropped back into place with a crash. Dropping down on top of it I spun around just in time as Gor-Ebizo walked into the room.

"I have it," he announced merrily. I gave a nervous grimace in return as he walked towards me with a small wrapped package in hand. "Here young un," he said, "Give this to your friend and wish him my luck."

"Thankyouverymuch!" I shouted out loudly before clamping my hands over my mouth, "Sorry," I tried again after giving my nerves a second to calm down, "What I meant to say was thank you."

Gor Ebizo stared at me for a second before smiling again, "Well, no matter young un, take this and be on your way."

I nodded quickly before stuffing the key into my pocket and leaping towards the door with a hastily shouted "Bye!"

A sort of giddy joy coursed through me as I walked out of the entrance, coursing through me at the thought of using my new found toy. So consumed with thoughts of how I was going to use it that I didn't notice the moving statues behind me… well, until they singed my butt.

(LINE BREAK)

I rubbed my butt against a phantom pain as I remembered that moment, 'Maybe I should go back and melt down those statues first,' I debated internally, '… Nah, too much trouble.'

Pointing the rod in front of me I glared at the solid red rock door before placing my finger on the stationary red rune near the back of the wand.

"FIRE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. A concussive roar of heat zapped out from the tip of the wand, the force of it propelling my entire body back as I struggled to hold onto the instrument. An intense wave of heat rolled over me as I landed on my back, a cloud of black quickly following.

I started hacking as the smoke filled my lungs, coating my tongue with a gross sooty substance that irritated my entire throat.

"…That," I managed to get out between coughs, "Was –hack- Awesome!" Another hacking fit overcame me and forced me to stop talking. After a few seconds I stood up and looked at the door. The entire red stone along with much of the wall and part of the ceiling had been coated with soot, scorched to the point where they all nearly blended in with each other.

I smiled to myself as I saw that it didn't work… Time for another blast!

Lining up the rod with the door again and pressed the red rune, "FIRE!" I shouted, quickly covering my face. … … After a few second of no explosion I looked up to see a small piece of paper attached to the tip of the rod. I snatched it off and quickly flipped it over to find the same hasty scrawl on it as was on the instruction manual.

'Greetings User!' it declared, 'The flame rod has a ten minute recharge rate so please do not attempt to use it again until the time has elapsed, otherwise something… unpleasant… could happen.'

I stared at the note in confusion, a little weirded out by how strangely it was written, "Creepy," I muttered to myself, "It's like this thing came from a cheap gag store… You'd think that the scribe for age old magical artifacts would have nicer handwriting."

Poof! Suddenly a puff of smoke was released from the wand again and another piece of paper appeared. Grabbing it I read,

'Well, if you don't like the way I write then just go ahead and give the wand another try… I dare you!'

"What the heck?" I muttered, something was seriously wrong with this whole scenario. Another poof was quickly followed by another note.

'Just use the dang rod already,' it read.

"Umm, I think I'm good…" I said uncertainly, getting ready to set the rod down and make a run for it.

Another poof, 'What? Are you scared? Chicken, Bwawk, bwawk!' I felt a vein in my head twitch at the insult.

"I'm not a chicken!" I shouted at the debatably inanimate object, "I'll show you!" and in a moment of stupidity I did just that.

"FIRE!" I shouted.

An ominous rumble built up as the rod began to vibrate, trembling in my hand as it seemed to gather energy. I held it nervously as the rumbling continued before-

PWWWWTTTTT!

A huge ball of green gas spouted from the wand, quickly followed by one of the most disgusting sounds I had ever heard. I then made the mistake of breathing in.

"Holy crap!" I shouted as I started gagging, the horrible odor that put anything I had previously smelt to shame. I dropped the rod as I clutched at my nose and tried to rip the smell out of it. Violently swinging my other hand I attempted to clear the air away from me, gagging as more of the stench made it past my hand. "Uugh, I can taste it!" I groaned. Another poofing noise brought my attention back to the wand as another piece of paper exuded from the tip.

Making sure my hand was clamped firmly around my nose I reached down and grabbed the paper, shaking it slightly to clear off the green fumes wafting from it,

'Hahhah! Looser, I can't believe you fell for that!' the note mocked, 'Man, it's nice to finally have someone as gullible as you! I mean-' A loud ripping sound rent through the room as I violently tore up note, flinging pieces across the floor in mindless rage.

Breathing deeply I glared at the wand, my little fit seemed to have given the smell time to dissipate as the green fog was now gone. Snatching it up I stuffed it in my back pocket.

'I swear,' I thought to myself, 'If I ever find a way to get into that rod then whoever is writing those notes is going down!'

A noise suddenly startled me out of my reverie, causing me to jump as I looked for the source. My eyes quickly locked onto the culprit, a small glass ball was rolling across the ground towards me, seemingly of its own power. I scanned the room quickly but found no one, and the only door was on the opposite side the ball came from.

Squinting in confusion I walked over to the still moving ball and picked it up, inspecting it slowly. It was semi translucent and had an odd white light pulsating in the center. Turning it over in my hands I nearly dropped it as I felt a pulse of energy leave it and travel up my arms.

Looking at it closer I saw that it was pulsing ever so slightly, giving off some sort of power in waves. I looked around again to see if I could find where it had come from but nothing changed. Another pulse brought my attention back to the orb.

Warmth flowed through my body and I felt myself resonate in pleasure as the lovely energy coursed through me; an odd combination of warmth and safety made it feel like I was being embraced in a phantasmal hug.

Another pulse followed by more warmth caused me to moan slightly. My hands were trembling as I brought the orb in, hugging it to my chest to see if the effect would be more powerful. Another pulse, stronger than any of the previous ones coursed through me, causing me to shudder violently from the feeling; then, suddenly, everything changed.

The breath was snatched away from me as something slammed into my core, a huge presence that seemed to be trying to smother me from the inside. It felt like branding irons were being pushed into my brain as the energy began to blanket my senses, replacing my vision with red and causing my muscles to seize up on themselves.

I crashed to the floor in a pained gasp, agony shooting through me as I attempted to escape the energy. Brandishing my mental power I pushed forward with all my might, attempting to force the invading presence away, but it was too powerful.

It seemed to laugh at my feeble attempts as it surrounded my consciousness, pushing in on it and sending wave after wave of scalding anguish through me.

"S-s—top," I gasped out as the pain worsened, my nails digging into the hardened ball as they attempted curl in on themselves. I tried opening my eyes but all I could see was red; spiraling and flowing as it seemed to suck the life out of me. Slowly, the foreign power began to push downwards, filling up the rest of my body while keeping a firm grasp on my psyche.

Martialing what was left of my strength I attempted to force the orb away, pushing with all my might I felt my arms move slightly and a new sense of hope coursed through me. Pushing harder I forced it farther away, and farther, until…

With a snap my arms caved in, the invading force took over them and pulled the orb back with so much power that I felt something in my chest snap upon impact. Pain lanced through me again, quickly followed by something even worse.

'N…no,' the fear laden thought spiked through me as the energies painful intrusion continued, spinning around inside of my head and making coherent thought nearly impossible. My breath came in painful gasps as I felt my lungs constrict, all my muscles coiling in mutiny as they attempted to obey two different orders. My lungs tightened again, making breathing even harder.

'I'm going to die…' I realized, 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonnadie, I'mgonnadie!" I felt true and horrible terror course through me as the pain worsened, clouding all my senses and leaving only anguish in its place.

"H-he-help…" I gasped in agony, the words barely making it past my lips. In a desperate last stand, I pushed with all my might against the bonds that bound me, struggling for everything I was worth as I torqued my body into a spasming jig, trying to dislodge to orb. Suddenly something slammed into my mindscape, something vast and even more powerful than the energy from the orb. I felt it press down on me, forcing the sickening energy into a smaller and smaller area, preventing it from wreaking havoc on my body as it soothed my overtaxed mind.

My struggling weakened as I felt the pain begin to dissipate, and sounds began filtering into my ears.

I could vaguely make out shouting, whoever it was, the owner of voice sounded distressed. Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my body and latch onto my quivering arms, forcing my hands away from my chest; at the same time I felt a final burst of effort from the foreign presence as it shot the orbs energy back at it source. There was a sickening second of resistance as my arms locked out at their apex, straining as my fingers involuntarily clutched at the orb. Then it was gone, the orb separated from my hands and I felt myself get yanked in the opposite direction.

A concussive blast rocketed through the air, flinging me and whatever had grabbed me across the room. I was stunned as I was carried along the shock wave, unable to form coherent thought as I felt something tighten around me. Then I slammed into something… hard.

Pain rocketed through me, stealing my breath and causing my neck to flip back at a horrible angle, then, everything was black.

(LINE BREAK)

"—ak—p-," A faint voice slowly intruded upon my slumber. "Wa—up—ow!" I could vaguely sense urgency in the voice but my groggy mind couldn't focus. An acrid stench wafted past my nostrils, it reminded me of burning rubber and my nose twitched in irritation.

"Wake up!" the third time caused me to jolt, the loud and urgent voice shocking me from my stupor. My eyes snapped open as I attempted to rise, then promptly crashed back into the floor with a pained gasp.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" the distressed voice continued, raising and lowering in pitch as the speaker seemed to struggle internally with something. Slowly opening my eyes I looked up into a black abyss… no, it was a ceiling made of red rock, but it had been scorched so thoroughly that it had turned black.

Shifting my head slowly I looked towards the sound, closing my eyes again as another wave of pain assaulted me. I felt something well up in the back of my throat; spilling onto my tongue and covering it with a vile, coppery tasting substance. Gagging I attempted to spit it out, only managing to roll some out of the corner of my mouth.

Cracking open my eyes I vaguely noticed a small stream of red slowly seeping away from me; the puddle of crimson was beautifully distracting, seeming to glimmer in the light of the small fires that raged around the room. The distressed cries increased in intensity and caught hold of my attention once more, pulling my eyes away from the mesmerizing red liquid. Slowly focusing my vision up it took me a second to make sense of what I saw.

A rock… no, a man, horribly burnt… was lying across from me, spread eagle and unmoving with empty eyes staring up at the ceiling. A small, black form hunched over it, gripping its collar and shaking it. With a start I realize it was Midna. A single glimmering tear coursed down her cheek, falling onto the still smoking form with a sizzle as she muttered the same phrase over and over like a mantra.

"Wake up… wake up…" Each time it came more delayed and the voice seemed more empty, almost as if all the energy was being drained from the normal hyper-active Twili.

"…na," I tried to force out, pain searing my throat as the name came out as more of a raspy grunt then an actual word, "M…id…na…" I tried again, there was a delay between each syllable but as a whole it was a little louder. There was no response from the muttering figure outside of a pained moan.

A third attempt evolved into a fit of hacking as I felt a liquid rise up my throat and spew out of my mouth in a coppery, clotted mess. My vision went blurry and I realize with a start that I was coughing up blood.

'Internal injury.' The though came to me, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to care, I couldn't help but feel that I was missing something important.

"My, my, you're just like a cockroach aren't you?" A soft , and menacing voice intruded upon my thoughts. Midna's murmuring voice trailed off into silence as footsteps echoed towards us; I tried to turn my head but couldn't find the strength, my neck wouldn't obey my commands. "Surviving that trap thanks to your little green friend, but, oh well, you're about dead anyways, I'll just finish the job."

I felt the presence move closer and a foot dropped down in front of me. Slamming into the blood soaked ground with a wet thud, the black, studded leather boot shifted in front of my face, blocking my view of the rest of the room.

"What a pitiful sight… I expected more." The voice said.

"You…" Midna's voice drifted out from behind the boot. The owner of the boot shifted their weight to look at the imp.

"Huh, you survived too? Well it doesn't matter, you are no threat to my masters plans." The voice said cruelly.

"You… you monster," The pure venom contained in that last word stunned me. "You killed him!" Midna howled, the hackles rising on the back of my neck at the animalistic quality the shout possessed. I heard a sound like a thunder clap and suddenly the boot in front of me was gone, just as a series of crashes began to echo in the back ground. My eyes locked on to the smoking husk in front of me and facts seemed to snap into place.

Midna's words bounced around in my head, 'You killed him… You killed him,' Over and over they repeated themselves and I felt my body grow cold as I took in more detail from the form in front of me, unable to tear my eyes away from the horrible sight. The hair was singed and covered in soot, but here and their flashes of blonde shone through. 'Surviving that trap thanks to your little green friend,' the owner of the boots voice came back to me… green.

"No," the word escaped my destroyed throat as a hoarse whisper. It couldn't be true, it was impossible. Exercising energy I didn't know I had I forced myself to roll over, the pain pushed to the back of my mind as I felt tendons tear and snap in protest. I vaguely noticed that I couldn't feel one arm, or anything below my waist, but that problem seemed far away as I used my one remaining limb to claw my way forward, leaving bloody furrows in the soot stained ground.

The few feet that separated us seemed like miles, I coughed up more and more blood as I slowly inched across the distance. After what felt like an eternity I collapsed next to him, pulling myself next to his face where I could see his one, clouded blue eye, staring up into the blackened ceiling.

"Link…" the word contained an unquantifiable amount of pain and anguish, nothing my destroyed body could generate could compare with the heart rending feeling that tore through me. I hadn't known him long, but Link had wormed his way deep into my heart, he was more than a simple means to find my way home, he was more than a friend, he was practically family.

A loud shattering sound interrupted my mourning and unsteadily I looked up through tear blurred eyes to where a crater had been formed in the ground behind Link. I saw a single, twitching black leg sticking out from the hole.

"Pesky imp," came the woman's disdain filled voice, "Did you really think such pitiful magic could harm me? I am the right hand of our new lord, I am the instrument through which his plans will come to fruition, I am Sheik!" A short bark of laughter followed the proclamation.

The cruel mockery in the voice caused something in me to snap, cold rage began flowing into me, my entire body began shaking as I felt the pain that coursed through me steadily dissipated. The black tri-force flared up, drawing power from the darkness around us as it filled my body with sickening energy; energy that only helped to darken my mood and fuel the rage.

"No pit…" I began, rage clouding my thoughts as I felt the dark power coursing through me; amplifying my voice and causing it to drop several octaves, "No crevice, no trench, no chasm in hell, is deep enough to hide your malignant stench." I could feel the fury forming into something more powerful, condensing in my chest and literally lifting me off the ground. "No matter where you hide," My voice trembled slightly with the powerful emotion that the words carried, "No matter who you cower behind," The unsteady tone left my voice as I hardened it with undiluted malice, "I will find you. This. I. Swear!" Shouting the final word I felt something burst, and then I was filled with energy; bones snapped back into place as flesh re-knit and tendons fused into their rightful positions. I felt life coursing through me as it buoyed me up, flashing down my limbs and reconnecting severed nerves, until, with a final crunch, my spinal column realigned itself.

Hot rage coursed through me as the energy began to lower in intensity, slowly setting me back on the ground. As I felt my feet gently touch the floor my eyes snapped open, fixing onto the one object that mattered right now, the one I would not fail to destroy.

"Impossible…" Sheik let off a startled gasp as I stared directly into her eyes, cutting past the darkness of the cowl and forever memorizing the features that I would rend apart. Two red eyes stared out from behind a mask as shock coursed across her face.

I felt a malicious grin split my face as my vision began to turn red, the lust for blood slowly overcoming my senses.

(LINE BREAK)

(Midna's POV)

Midna groaned as she clawed her way back into consciousness, pushing against the blackness that attempted to re-engulf her. Her ears rung and her head spun from the impact but she pushed through it. Slowly she struggled to her knees, looking around blearily as her eyes tried to focus on her surroundings.

The ringing in her ears slowly faded, just in time for her to catch the tail end of someone's speech.

"I will find you. This. I. Swear!"

'Zant!' at the thought, Midna exploded into action, twisting around to face the new threat… and was promptly dropped to her knees by the shockwave of energy that burst past her.

Squinting, she saw the brief outline of Skyler's form before the light became too bright to look at. 'No,' she thought, 'Not Skyler to!' She didn't know why, but the thought of someone else, specifically the small child, dying brought a deep pain into her chest. Staggering to her feet she prepared to rush forward to the little ones rescue when the light faded and she stopped cold.

In Skyler's place stood someone new, nearly as tall as Link with a shock of messy blonde hair that framed a gaunt face. That wasn't the thing that caused Midna to pause though; he radiated a dark aura, something that made the imp think of damp caves, death, and in particularly bad way, Zant; but deep inside was the smothered aura of Skyler. With nails tapered into sharp points and long, crisscrossing symbols wandering down his arm; his skin was an odd combination of black and white patterns and underneath his shaggy bangs were two blood red eyes.

"Impossible," the voice shocked Midna from her stupor and she began to tremble. The man radiated pure killing intent and fear slowly clouded the Twilight Princesses mind. Scuttling back as fast as she could Midna attempted to put distance between her and the new threat. With a soft bump, Midna came to a halt against something, quickly looking around her shoulder her breath caught in her throat.

The crisp form her back was pressed against brought back a flash of memories and emotions, emotions that she usually had complete control over. The fear faded as something else overcame her mind… a hunger, no, a need; a desperate need for revenge.

The uncontrollable shaking came back, this time for a completely different reason. Midna rose steadily to her feet. Pushing up her stone crown she fixed her one eye on the foe who had done this, this so called Sheik.

"GWAAHHHHH!" the rage filled shriek tore from Midna's throat as she charged her enemy, tearing past the stoic form that was once Skyler. The shout seemed to shock the shiekah from her stupor and she quickly turned to face the raging imp. Seconds before the two would impact a much more terrifying sound rose from behind them.

"GAAWOOOHHHHH!" the sound echoed off the walls, causing them to vibrate as Skyler tore into motion. One second he was across the room and the next he was behind the woman in black. Sensing something she attempted to turn but by then it was too late; a kick tore into the sheikah's side, causing her to collapse over the limb as she was tossed into the air.

Midna watched in abject fascination as the beast that was once Skyler tore into his foe. Each hit was strong enough to send the woman flying bodily though the air, spinning towards one of the walls. But each time right before impact, Skyler would appear to punt her away.

Sheik knew things were going bad, if this kept up she would be too injured to fight. Clasping her hands together, her breath was forced out once again as her ribs groaned under another destructive punch, but pushing past the pain she focused her energies. Turning she saw the monster she was sent to kill pop into existence; and the sheikah chose then to unleash her deadly counter.

With a flash of light, Skyler was sent careening into the wall, the force of the impact causing cracks to web their way up the wall and ceiling. Rolling quickly to her feet the sheikah stumble slightly as the damage caught up to her, but through force of will managed to stay on her feet. Pulling out several blades from a pouch on her leg she prepared to charge when something crashed into her side, sending her tumbling across the floor.

Skidding across the ground, Sheik slowed her momentum and rolled to her feet again, turning just in time to see a giant orange fist come crashing towards her.

Cursing, Sheik made a quick, one handed motion and erected a shimmering barrier in front of her. Midna's fist crashed into it with so much force that the translucent barrier dented inwards before finally buckling under the force, but the delay was all Sheik needed to get out of range of the punch.

Jumping over the extended punch, Sheik landed at the imp's side, lashing out with a quick kick to the gut that sent the small fighter careening away.

Danger senses firing, Sheik threw herself forward, barely avoiding the kick that shattered the stone were she had just been standing. Rolling up quickly she jumped to the side again to avoid the follow up punch. Rising to her feet, Sheik faced her new enemy, locking eyes with him as he charged again.

This time she tried something new, getting up close to the boy she dodged under his swings, bending left, right, and backwards, she could sometimes feel the fists pass much closer to her face then she would have liked. She could tell the boy had skill, but blind rage made a mess of it, swinging wildly like that may beat lesser foes but for someone on Sheiks level, more than pure power was needed.

Jumping over a low kick, Sheik patiently bided her time waiting for the opportunity to strike and… there! An over extended punch left his face wide open.

Lashing out with a kick, Sheik tore into Skyler and sent him stumbling back, dropping low she followed up with rapid punched to his torso and finished with a leg sweep.

Hands blurring she formed rapid signs as she gathered her energy, finishing she cocked back her fist and threw it at the downed form in front of her.

Midna stared in horror as she watched in what seemed to be slow motion, Sheiks fist fall towards Skyler.

With a sound like thunder a cloud of crushed rock rose into the air, the shockwave of the punch causing the ground to tremble. Midna gaped at it, there was no way anyone could have survive that, she had seen the energy stored up in the sheikah's fist and there was enough there to level a stone building.

Midna watched with bated breath as the cloud slowly dissipated. In the center a shadowy form began to emerge, steadily taking shape until what was inside was revealed. Skyler's arm stuck out of a large, man sized crater, holding Sheiks fist in its palm, smoke still rising from where he had stopped the punch.

Midna let out a relieved breath she didn't know she had been holding but her celebration was quickly cut short. Sheik reached behind her and yanked out something that glinted in the meager light cast by the lava, raising it high in the air as she prepared to plunge it into Skyler's chest. Midna burst into motion, charging with as much speed as she could muster, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time.

The blade plunged down, closer and closer until… Skyler suddenly vanished, the blade passing harmlessly through thin air and into the ground. Sheik let out a startled yelp as she dropped into the hole Skyler had previously occupied.

Midna came to a halt as she saw the boy appear again, this time above the sheikah. He reached down and grabbed the girl by the back of the neck, lifting her into the air with her feet hovering centimeters off the ground.

"Nice punch," he said, "Now it's my turn." Midna saw something one his other hand flare up, a black symbol that seemed to suck in all the light around it. His fist flashed forward, crashing into the sheikah's unprotected back and flinging her into the wall in an explosion of dust and rock.

An ominous rumbling followed this impact and Midna looked up at the ceiling, "The roof!" she gasped in horror, a collapse down here could bring the entire mountain down on them. Quickly looking around she spotted the exit, dashing forward she made it two steps before stopping cold.

A pulse of life energy carried through the air, so miniscule it was nearly impossible to notice, but Midna instantly recognized it, 'He's alive!' the single thought caused a cacophony of emotions to swell in her chest. She found her eyes rooted to the burnt form of her previously-thought-dead servant, unable to tear herself away.

'Move, come on Move!' she shouted fruitlessly in her mind. A large piece of rock crashed off to her left and suddenly she was moving again, this time towards Link. As more and more of the mountain crashed down around her she realized the chances of her making it in time were miniscule, nearly nonexistent, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Diving onto him, she wrapped her phantom hand around his waist, straining as she lifted both of them into the air. Turning she put on a burst of speed, charging towards the exit she felt chunks of rock crashing around them, smaller pieces bouncing off of her as she gained momentum.

They slowly accelerated as Midna pushed harder than ever before, she could see the other side, looming closer as they neared until it was seconds away, 'We're going to make it!' The joyous thought crossed Midna's mind and she felt elation course through her… then something hit her in the head. Veering off course, Midna lost control of her flight, crashing into the ground, still clutching Link to her chest. Skidding across the floor, Midna tightly held onto her servant, even now, faced with eminent death, she couldn't leave him behind. Rolling to a stop, Midna looked up and watched as a huge chunk of rock dislocated itself from the roof.

Closing her eyes she waited for the end… and waited… and waited, until a wet drop crashed onto her face. Eyes flashing open she stared up into the red orbs of… Skyler. He was hunched over, bent across Midna and Link as he held a huge slap of stone across his back, his features contorted into a pained grimace.

Midna blinked as another droplet of moisture hit her face and realized it was blood, slowly dripping from the person who had saved her.

"Skyler…" she said, saying his actual name for the first time since they had met.

The boy in question fixed his eyes on Midna, "What's wrong idiot? Cat got your tongue?" he said. He stared deeply into Midna's eyes, then, slowly, a smile split across his face, "I guess we're even now."

His face suddenly became serious as his legs trembled and he bent forward even farther. A grim look of determination crossed his face as he let go of the rock with one hand, straining under the weight. Reaching down he grabbed onto what was left of Links collar and looked Midna in the eye again.

"Warp us…Now."

(LINE BREAK)

(Skyler's POV)

A horrible churning sensation coursed through me as we warped, it felt like my body was being stretched in all directions while a boulder was slowly grated across my face. The blackness suddenly washed away as we exited the portal.

Gasping I released Link and stumbled forward a few steps, the sound of smashing rocks coming from the doorway nearby. Pain split through my head like a hot iron as I fell to my knees, clutching at my hair as I tried to regain control of my mind. Memories flashed through me, some of them from the recent battle, others from a source I could not determine.

Breathing in deeply through my nose, I struggled to regain my faculties, focusing on the loud inhale and exhale, I felt the red cloud of rage slowly seep away. With it went some of the power, dissipating through the air around me as I felt my mind struggled to become stable once again.

I gasped as pain lanced from my hand, the black force crackling as I rejected its attempts to spew out more power. "N-not again…" I panted out, "You will not control me again." I said, speaking as if saying it out loud would make it more real. The tri-force seemed to roar in anger as it gave off one final pulse of malevolent power, before slowly retreating from my conscious. Pain began to pop up from random places through my body as I felt my actions catch up to me. My back was on fire as I slowly stood up, looking wearily around the room until I spotted the other occupants.

Midna had rolled Link onto his back and was standing over him, preforming what looked like CPR compressions with little bursts of light. I stared incredulously for a second at her, thinking, 'Why would she be working over a dea-,' my train of thought suddenly stopped, 'He's alive.' The thought sent relief and panic coursing through me at the same time.

I stumbled over to them as fast as I could, crossing the distance in seconds; sinking to my knees next to them as I stared blankly while trying to think of what to do.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked hesitantly, staring into the blackened face of the hero I had supposed invincible.

"Quiet princess!" Midna snarled, "I'm concentrating." She continued to move up and down his chest while sending bursts of energy into him. I watched her as she worked on Link, forcing more energy into this one task than I had seen her give anything else.

"Din," Midna cursed quietly as her motions started to become more sluggish, "Not enough energy." At her words, something in my mind clicked, and I was struck with a rare bout of inspiration. Seizing the initiative I quickly moved closer to them and lowered lowered my hands onto Midna's, eclipsing them in my much larger palms.

"Let me help," I said when she glared up at me. Closing my eyes I began to pull energy from the triforce again, this time carefully and with much more restraint. Slowly I pushed it through my body, pumping it into Midna's hands as she continued her work, steadily picking up vigor as I strained harder.

Sweat beaded on my brow as I continued, each second striving to push more energy through. 'I'm not losing him again.' I thought as pain wracked my body.

A coughing sound suddenly burst out into the silent air, causing me to flinch and lose control of my energy, the back lash shooting my hands off of Midna's. Snapping my eyes open I saw Link's shoulders heaving as he struggled to breathe in air; his breathing pulsed erratically before Midna hurried next to him and placed her hands over his lungs, sending yet more magic into them.

Links breathing steadily slowed and slowly returned to a regular pace. Midna carefully lowered her head onto his chest listening to his heartbeat. I watched, tense, waiting to see if I would be needed to come and help again.

Midna sat up slowly, staring at Links face for a few seconds before turning to look at me with a stoic face.

"He'll pull through," she said, pausing her speech for a second as she seemed to think of what to say. I waited patiently as she sorted through her thoughts, too tired to bother to interrupt her. "Thanks." She finally said, mumbling the word in a way that made her lip curl, as if she were eating something bitter.

"No prob-," I began before a large crash cut me off. Spinning around I darted to my feet, wincing as I settled into a defensive stance facing the noise. I watched with trepidation as the large rocks covering the entrance to the now caved in room trembled, denting outwards as more crashes resounded until, with a final crack, they split open, launching slivers of rock into the air.

I gaped at the sight as Sheik pulled herself out of the wreckage. Her cloak was gone and blood matted her hair, one of her elbows jutted out at an odd angle and her uniform was covered in tears and rips. As she stumbled forward she grasped her elbow, hissing out as she torqued it until it popped back into socket. Slowly, she tilted her head back and looked at me.

I shuddered as our eyes met, killing intent spearing across the room. 'I'm going to have to end this fast,' I thought, 'I'm in no condition to fight like this.' Reaching to my side I gasped for my dagger, only to find it missing. Swearing I launched myself into motion, forcing all I could from my rebelling body as I charged across the room. Cocking my arm back let my fist fly, strait towards her face.

Sheik ducked to the side and I quickly turned my punch into a low block, narrowly stopping the counter strike that made my whole arm shudder. Quickly we were locked in combat; fists flying back and forth until I was forced to backpedal furiously as she threw a ferocious combination of kicks, each one causing my entire guard to shudder.

I grunted as I ducked under a spinning kick, the air from the passing attack stirring my hair. Lunging forward I rammed my shoulder into her gut, causing the sheikah to stumble back from the impact. Quickly pressing my attack I lunged into a kick, turning it into punch, then another kick; snarling as each one was blocked.

I pushed forward with all my might, struggling to keep Sheik on the defensive as I lashed out quicker and quicker, sacrificing power for speed. Belting out two quick strikes to the head, I quickly followed up with a knee, as the knee was blocked I extended my leg, catching her under the ribs with a kick that forced the air out of her mouth in a pained whistle.

I grinned as she bent over double; quickly I put myself into position and fired of a game ender, spinning around I threw the wheel kick with as much power as I could muster. My danger sense fired as my kick neared her head but I couldn't shift.

Sheik suddenly dropped, landing on all fours as my kick sailed harmlessly overhead. 'Crap,' I thought, panic launching through me, 'a feint.'

Sheik dived forward cutting my leg from underneath me. I slapped my hands into the ground as I landed, but even spreading out the impact couldn't stop the stunning pain that arched from my back, immobilizing me for a few seconds. My danger sense flared again and I forced my prone body to move, only managing to partially avoid the axe kick as it crashed into my shoulder with a sickening crunch.

I felt adrenaline course through me as the blood fled from my face, I snapped a kick strait into the leering visage of Sheik, causing her to stumble back and give me enough room to roll to my feet. I clenched my teeth against the pain shooting from my shoulder, quickly noticing how my entire arm had been numbed. I looked up to see Sheik on her feet, slightly bent over as she gingerly held her ribs; in the momentary lull we locked eyes.

'Dang it!' I thought, furiously trying to think a way out of my predicament, 'She's strong, and even as injured as she is she's more than a match for me… If this continues much longer-,' My thoughts trailed off as I cast my eyes about the room feverously, trying to find something, anything, that would help me get out of this situation alive. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught site of something, 'Yes! That will work!' giddy excitement coursed through me as my brain went into overdrive, playing out scenario after scenario until it found the most likely. Then I burst into action.

Rushing forwards I charged at Sheik, jumping into the air I launched a kick at her head. With the grace of a trained fighter she dropped underneath it, turning to kick at me as I landed. Shifting my shin mid-air, I deflected the kick to the right, landing unsteadily on one foot and backpedaling to keep balance.

Sheik had been thrown off ever so slightly by the missed kick, giving me time to recover. We squared off again and slowly circled each other, each waiting for the next strike. Suddenly, I saw an opening; charging in with a battle cry I spun into a back kick, causing Sheik to shift to the side to dodge, just like I wanted. Pulling the faint I spun my other leg out, catching the shiekah in the ribs and causing her to stumble backwards again.

Quickly I pressed the assault, launching into the most destructive set of kicks I knew. Attack after attack rained down on the unstable sheikah, forcing her to stay on the defensive as I slowly pushed her back. Sweat poured off my brow as I continued, pushing my body harder than I ever had before.

Sheik's guard began to falter as kicks began getting through, each attack pushing my wounded foe farther back until suddenly she stopped, her back pressed up against a wall she could go no further. I grinned in triumph as a look of fear swept across her face, this was it.

Pulling back I lashed out with all my power, sending the kick right at her face. At the last second possible, Sheik shifted, her head sliding to the side as my foot crashed into the wall, taking a few strands of her hair with it.

Sheik slid to the side lashing out with a kick that caught me in the ribs and forced me into the wall. I grunted in pain as my arm smacked into the hard rock. I looked up in horror as a triumphant look spread through Sheiks eyes, now that our positions were switched.

Her hand pulled back and the familiar sheen of magic burst into being around it, the maniacal look in her eyes increasing in intensity. She hurled her fist forward, the air hissing past as it scythed through the air. Time seemed to slow as I watched it get closer, and closer, until it collided with enough force to send crack running up the wall along with an ominous rumble. My body shook once from the impact, then all was still.

I stared with wide eyes into the startled red ones in front of me, a wet sensation trickling down my cheek as blood flowed down, seeping from the shallow cut the punch I had narrowly avoided had created. Then I flashed her a toothy smile, punching her in the gut with all of my strength as I did so.

As Sheik doubled over I grabbed her shoulders, pulling her into the wall while using the same momentum to launch myself away. A cracking sound rent through the air as I launched myself forward with all the power I could muster, the combined momentum flinging me ten feet away.

A deafening avalanche of rock thundered into the room, breaking through the damaged wall and pouring out of the crack. A huge cloud of dust and rock chips rose into the air, covering half of the room with it. Pain split across my back as I landed and the world was covered in grey.

Coughing, I slowly l pushed myself up, waving my hand around my face to clear the fog. Looking over my shoulder I blanched as I saw the rock pile had stopped mere inches from my feet.

'That was too close,' I thought to myself, silently thanking whatever god had spared me. Stumbling, I walked over to where I had left Midna and Link, finding the two of them sitting there, Link unsteadily propped up with Midna's help while she practically force fed him red potion.

Something about the situation struck me as hilarious and I started tittering, then chuckling, then full out laughing. Midna glared at me from where she stood but I couldn't control it; maybe it was stress, maybe I had finally gone insane, either way I felt the energy leave my body as I slumped to the ground. The world started spinning and the black sigil on my hand flared up again; dragging in energy around it until my world was filled with a swirling vortex of black. Then I knew nothing.

(End of Chapter)

(Omake) For those of you who don't know, Omake are little additions that play no crucial role in the plot of the story, they are just fun little additions that add to it. This was originally part of the story above but it interrupted the flow so I removed it, edited it, and posted it as an Omake! Anyways, I'd like to know what you think and if I should do more Omake or just stick with the story.

(Midna's POV)

I cradled the blonde head in my arms, gently holding it against my chest as I stared down into the stone like visage of Link. He looked so cold, unmoving… would he ever wake up?

A light shudder ran through my body, 'Wha—what's going on?' I questioned myself as the new and horrible feeling coursed through me. 'It hurts.' I thought, 'Why does it hurt? I'm not injured… I—I'm fine and yet…" It was the same feeling I had gotten when I first saw him lying there, unmoving; with a start I noticed something wet running down my nose, I realized it was a tear but I couldn't bring myself to care. All my pride, all the bluster was pushed aside by the sheer power of this raw emotion.

I suddenly couldn't breathe and I gasped in, choking back a sob as my shoulders heaved. The tears kept on coming and I felt like they would never stop. The pain seemed to grow and I closed my eyes tightly to try and fight it back, I needed to destroy the monster in the cloak… I needed to stop whatever had possessed Skyler, but I couldn't bring myself to care… all that was there was the pain, the pain and a vast feeling of helplessness that accompanied it.

Suddenly something warm was pressed against my cheek.

"Why…why are you crying?" a soft voice intruded on my misery.

With a gasp my eyes snapped open, staring into the sky blue expanse I thought I would never see again.

"Link!" the overjoyed yelp escaped me and I moved before I could think, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him close to me.

"Aak, Midna… too… tight," Link grunted out. Quickly coming to my senses I pushed him away, eliciting another pained grunt from him.

"What do you think you were doing dog?" I said while quickly wiping away the wetness on my cheeks (You know, the wet that most certainly was not tears), "Who said you could touch me?"

I looked down into his face as he stared back up with a confused expression, "But-," he quickly cut off his sentence when I fixed him with a glare.

"Hold still," I commanded before dashing over to his bag to find a red potion. I quickly categorized the relief coursing through me as a product of no longer stressing over finding a new servant, yeah, there's no way I would care about someone so uncouth as him. Finding the potion I quickly flew back to him, not bothering to walk in my haste. Gripping him under the arms I lifted him into semi sitting position despite his protests.

"Drink," I commanded. Over time I have found that servants function better with commands, so obviously, you need to use them.

I didn't let the warm feeling that overcame me while pouring the fluid down his throat bother me, it was probably just the stress getting to me. Feeling it again when he smiled at me I thought, 'Yes, it's definitely the stress.'

Well, that's it, I hope to see you all next time, but until then,

Guppy, out.