I shook myself, and Link and I began to follow Prince Ralis as he animatedly chatted about the architecture, when it was built, how it was built, and what he remembered of it from when he was a toddler, all from a ten-year-old's point of view.
Even the adults were interested, except for Jaggle, who was rather rude as he pointed at a random Zora and said "Oi! They have gills, don' they?"
Link and I silently detached ourselves from the group, deciding to have some fun for once, and headed for Fyer.
"Hey fella' and lady!" he said as we got over to him, laughing behind our hands. "How would ya' like to try this new cannon that we got? Much smoother ride, get's you there quicker, but…you've gotta' pay." Link nodded and took out a yellow and blue Rupee, giving Fyer fifteen altogether.
He clapped his hands and stepped aside, letting us enter the cannon. What Fyer didn't expect was that we would both get in the cannon at the same time, and one more surprise we had for him.
He shrugged and said nothing, though I could tell that it confused him, and now Link and I were struggling to hide our fits of laugher.
The familiar, extremely annoying music came from outside, and then we were suddenly blasted into the air, landing right on target in Falbi's house. I suddenly snorted laughter, which cracked Link up, and we stumbled down the ladder, half-falling, half-climbing.
"Hi!" Falbi said enthusiastically from his perch on the platform that hung out over Lake Hylia. "How would you like to try 'Fyer and Falbi's Water Fantastication Ride'? Next up, ONE BIG GUY and ONE TWILI GAL. Just two, right?" Link nodded, and paid for both of us as Falbi stepped aside. "Have fun!"
"Wait," Link said quietly as I began to pick up a Cucco. "I've got something better." He warped off, coming back in a moment with two golden Cuccos.
"Nice!" I said appreciatively, and we took off, getting ready for our inside-joke that we had been cracking up about earlier.
I used magic to propel us both into the air, and we spun in circles gaining altitude and then falling again, watching both Falbi and Fyer's eyes pop as we swooped past them, cheering, and then flew over Gerudo Desert, coming back and surprising Colin, Ralis, Talo, Jaggle, Pergie, Rusl, and Uli, all of whom laughed and clapped a couple of times, watching us do Cucco-acrobatics in the air thanks to my magic. Link whooped as he flew past Plumm, the colorful little bird, who squawked and yelled, "Plumm has no need to speak with humans!"
I skimmed low over the water, watching the Zoras do flips out of the water around me, and then carefully landed us both right onto the top spinning platform of the floating island in the middle of the lake, where we shared the Orange Rupee and Link gave the Piece of Heart directly below it to me, and then we both swam back to the rest of the party.
They laughed and complimented our flying skills, at which point Fyer wandered over and said, "It was all me. Our new cannon enhances your body so that you can fly where you want to. The Beta charging was fifteen Rupees, but it's now fifty."
Link and I burst into laughter at this, while the rest of the people--except Ralis--seemed confused and a bit interested.
"Actually, that was me," I amended him, demonstrating by flinging Fyer into the air by his ankle with my magic.
He quickly corrected himself, offering to give me all his money, his Cuccos, anything I wanted, if I would just let him down.
I obliged, smiling, and Fyer waddled off, muttering to himself.
"Well, shall we head to the palace now?" Link asked, and everyone but Prince Ralis agreed. He looked crestfallen, and Link smiled. "Did you think that you wouldn't be invited to come? I'm sure one of your advisors can watch over the domain for the hour that you're gone?" Ralis beamed with Colin and Talo, and they all began running around the lake, slamming into whatever there was to slam into.
The adults laughed, and the children eventually came back, breathless and excited. I laughed and warped us to Hyrule Castle, landing right outside the palace.
~Link~
"Link! Midna!" Zelda yelled, as we appeared amidst the chaos around Hyrule Castle. A strand of hair had come loose from her braid and was hanging next to her face, which was pallid and nervous. "Ganondorf--"
But she didn't get to finish her sentence. At that moment, a flash of light appeared in the room, and everyone froze as the castle walls shook, the ground beneath us trembling with the force of Ganondorf's entrance.
He opened his palm, and an orb of black magic sped toward Zelda. She whipped her sword out, just as the black magic collided with another sphere, one with red highlights swirling in the dark interior, stopping Ganondorf's magic in midair.
I looked over, to see Midna with another ball of magic in her hand, her lips pulled back from her teeth in a gesture that reminded me very much of her imp-form.
"Try…that…again," she snarled at Ganondorf, who smirked.
"Gladly," he said mildly, smiling at her, and then let another orb of magic fly from his palm.
Midna let her own magic loose, but his incantation was faster, and it again raced toward Zelda. Almost without thinking about it, I whipped my dagger out and flicked my wrist, sending it speeding toward the magic and hitting the middle just before the incantation hit Zelda, who had also raised her sword. The dagger pinned the magic to the wall, and Ganondorf closed his palm, making the orb disappear, though the dagger remained levitating, and floated lazily back to my hand. He had a slightly calculating expression on his face as he asked calmly, "Where did you get that dagger?"
"I don't see how you have a right to know," I growled, putting the blade back in it's sheath.
"Now, now, I only want to know where you got it," Ganondorf said mildly, raising his eyebrows and conjuring an orb of magic, looking straight at Colin and beginning to direct the magic toward him.
"It was my father's," I finally said, unsheathing my sword in case I needed to protect Colin, even though I had told Ganon what he needed to know.
"Ah, yes. I remember that dagger now. Calanon and Sienna, was it?" Ganondorf answered, though there was an undercurrent of anger in his voice. My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword at the mention of my parents.
"What about them?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice level and calm.
"I had wondered where Calanon's dagger had gone. Idly, of course. Your parents were never a match for me, and I see that the apple didn't fall far from the tree."
"They defeated you once, and almost did it again," I snarled, past caring that no one else knew what we were talking about, save perhaps Midna and Zelda.
"Oh, no. They were under my thumb long before you were born," Ganon replied, absentmindedly turning the ball of magic over and over in his palms.
"Then why didn't you kill them earlier, and save yourself the trouble of having another Hero?"
"Because that would've been much less painful for you all, wouldn't it? I am sure that you remember what I said quite recently. 'Their anguish was my nourishment.' As is yours, and the pain of all of those around you," Ganondorf answered, and then looked up at a snarl from Midna.
"You…you…" she growled, her hands trembling. "Do you even realize what you've done?!"
"That depends on what you are talking about, my dear princess," Ganondorf said, sneering the last word. "Calanon and Sienna, the Twili, Din, or Hyrule?"
"Everything!" Midna yelled, losing control. "My mother, Link's parents, the Goddesses! You have ruined them all!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I have simply bent their power to my will," Ganondorf answered calmly. "You see, I have discovered a way to take one's power as my own. That is how I have been growing in power all these years, though I must say that some have more power than others. Din was a very formidable source of power, but Calanon, Sienna, and Luxie were rather disappointing." My hands clenched into fists, and I saw Midna's anger flicker at the mention of Luxie, who I could only assume to be her mother.
"Only because Din is a Goddess," she snarled, taking a step forward. I caught Midna's gaze for a fraction of a second, and she minutely dipped her head. We both looked at Zelda for a moment, who unsheathed her sword behind Ganondorf and suddenly leapt onto him, just as I attacked him from the front and Midna shot bolts of magic at the sides. "Out of the way!" Midna yelled at the villagers, who hurriedly backed away as Ganondorf spun, lashing out with his sword and almost catching Zelda, who ducked just in time.
I threw my dagger, and it sped toward Ganondorf, narrowly missing. The strange thing was, it stayed in the air, and doubled back, beginning to almost chase Ganon as Zelda, Midna, and I fought him.
A smile flashed across his face so quickly I wasn't sure that I had seen it at all, but he kept fighting normally.
His hand lashed out, and his fingers curled around Zelda's sword, yanking so quickly that she didn't have time to let go, and flung her into the wall, where she slid to the floor, unmoving.
"Zelda!" Midna yelled, though she couldn't detach herself from the fight. Ganondorf smiled again, and his fingers grasped another blade, though this time it was my dagger, and he stopped it in midair.
"Now I will show you how I can bend her power to my will," he growled, smirking, as a silvery mist came from his palms, though it was duller and closer to black than silver.
What was left of the Goddess of Power wrapped itself around my dagger, and I swore I saw an angry, elegant, heartbroken face flash in the mist as it suddenly contorted, snapping my dagger in half as if it were no more than a twig.
I made a conscious effort to keep my face impassive, my voice silent, and my sword still as the mist disappeared and the two pieces clattered to the ground.
Ganondorf gave a harsh laugh, and then disappeared, leaving the room completely silent and emptied of citizens and soldiers.
Without a word, Midna bent down and picked up the two pieces, handing them cautiously to me. I silently took them and pocketed the broken dagger, walking quickly over to Zelda and paying no attention to the villagers, not really caring what they thought of me now.
Midna lightly took her wrist and put her finger on the vein, her brow creasing.
"Her pulse is hardly there…" she said quietly. "And it's slowing."
I looked numbly back at Rusl and the villagers, saying, "Can you make sure that Prince Ralis gets safely back? We will warp you there, and then you must go back to Ordon and make sure than everyone is protected." Rusl nodded, and I warped them away.
Midna transported Zelda to Kakariko Village, saying, "We don't have time to go with her."
I nodded, not speaking, still too disconsolate that I felt my father's broken spirit in my pocket.
Midna and I warped to the Sacred Grove again, and the silver dust of Skull Kid lay where we had left it. Without a word, I withdrew the two pieces of the now-worthless dagger and placed them in the shimmering powder. Midna solemnly watched, now following me as I walked to the true Sacred Grove and stopped dead in my tracks.
The once lush and green area was blackened and burned, the broken staircase charred and crumbling even more. The only two areas that were undamaged were the pedestal on which the Master Sword used to stand and the lone door, leading to the Temple of Time, which stood tall among the ruins.
I walked forward silently, running my fingers over the stone and gently pushing open the door, expecting to see what the Sacred Grove looked like hundreds of years ago, but only saw a reflection of myself, standing in front of the door. My tunic was black, my sword gray, and my eyes were scarlet, a kind of madness flickering in my irises.
I looked quickly away, and then back again, seeing now a young man in a green tunic and purple sword, with deep blue eyes, the reflection I was used to. "Link?" Midna asked softly. "What's wrong?" I stood aside, wondering what she would see, and she looked and gasped.
"The door stopped working!" Midna exclaimed, obviously not seeing an evil, insane version of her. I nodded, deciding not to tell her.
"Skull Kid protected it and kept it in good repair. By destroying Sacred Grove, Ganondorf also destroyed the Temple of Time," I explained quietly, and Midna sank to the ground, putting her head in her hands.
"What are we going to do?" she moaned, and I put my arm around her, being careful not to look at the door, though--when my eyes did flicker to it--I saw the same horrible reflection, the blood-red eyes and black tunic. I turned away, and Midna buried her face into my chest, distracting me for a moment. I comforted her, warping us away and to Gerudo Desert, looking for Ganondorf. Midna stood up and walked slowly over to the mirror frame, tracing a hand over it and sighing. "He might be in the Twilight," she suggested, and I shook my head.
"Ganondorf has already destroyed it, remember? He needs the light world," I said quietly, staring at the place where the Mirror of Twilight used to be, seeing something completely different. A golden tear, floating toward it… "Midna?" I asked, and she turned to me.
"What is it, Link?"
"Can you repair the Mirror of Twilight?"
"I suppose. Why?"
"You'll see."
Midna nodded and put her palm on a precise place, letting silver magic flow out of her palm and melt into the shape of a mirror, settling into the Mirror of Twilight. I knew what to do, and hurried to it, looking into the glass and hoping I wouldn't see my reflection again.
The surface of the mirror rippled like a pool of moonlight and showed a very strange scene.
Ganondorf was yelling at someone from atop a golden throne, a woman that looked a lot like him, like a Gerudo. She had dark hair in thick curls cascading down her back, and golden eyes, just like Ganondorf's. Both their skin was pitch black, and her clothes were of an exotic style, bangles on her arms and pants that were loose on her long legs, her shirt stopping halfway down her torso and showing her stomach.
She spat something in a strange language, and the surface of the mirror blurred, and when it was clear we could hear what they were saying.
"What were you thinking?!" Ganondorf roared, and the woman jerked forward, her manacles yanking her back. She was chained against a wall, and hating every second of it.
"You have gone too far, Ganondorf!" the woman hissed. "As the young Twili, Midna, said, do you know what you've done?! The Chosen Hero is the key to our success, and you taunt him and his betrothed. On top of that, you capture one of their Goddesses!"
"The Twili is not his betrothed! Now that I have captured Din, we do not need the Hero! Her power is enough to last us ages!" Ganondorf bellowed, and the woman yanked against her chains again.
"And what happens when those ages run out?! When you drain Din of every last drop of power she has?!
"Don't tell me you are developing a compassion for something of Hyrule, are you, Thalia?" Ganondorf sneered. The woman pulled her lips back from her teeth.
"Anyone would, after what you've done to it! I may hate the Hylians and the Twili and everything in between, but even I would not do such a thing to them!" Thalia snarled.
Ganondorf flicked his wrist, and out of nowhere came a dagger, speeding toward the female Gerudo, who couldn't avoid it, and it pierced her chest. She fell limp against her chains, and Ganondorf snapped his fingers, saying, "Take her away."
I stepped back from the mirror just as Midna stepped forward and plunged her hand at the mirror before the image disappeared. Her palm sank into the pool of light, and it began to pull the rest of her body in, but she grabbed my shoulder to steady herself.
"We need to go," Midna said seriously, and I nodded, brushing my own fingers against the mirror and pulling both of us in.
We both landed nimbly in a strange place. Not yet Light, and not yet Twilight.
I walked forward, taking Midna's hand and keeping her close to me. She looked around warily, but my eyes had already centered on a lone building a length away.
I pointed it out to her, and she nodded, changing into her imp form and settling onto my back as I padded toward it, going at an angle so that I wouldn't be seen by whatever guards were around the place.
Although it took an agonizingly long time, we reached the building, and found it to be a palace. As I walked in, I realized that it was the same place that the young female Gerudo had been killed by Ganondorf.
I changed back into a human, feeling a tingling in my bones, the same I felt just before I turned into a wolf, but I was still human. Midna changed into a human and fidgeted a bit, as if she couldn't get used to the prolonged sensation either.
We walked inconspicuously forward, my eyes darting around and looking for any sign of imminent danger, and stumbled upon the same room that the mirror had shown us, but Ganondorf was now arguing with a male Gerudo, instead of Thalia. He roared something in his native language, and the man yelled back, gesturing wildly and swooping down to pick up the dagger that had killed Thalia.
Their voices were blocked out for a moment, and when they returned, we could hear what they were saying as if they were speaking in Hylian or Twili.
"I agree with Thalia, even more so now that she is dead by your hand!" the man yelled, his golden eyes swimming with tears. Ganondorf smirked and mocked the Gerudo as he said, "Did it really effect you that much? What have I trained you all to do?"
"To not love," the man snarled.
"Exactly. You will lose them on the battlefield, to injuries or poison, anything. There is no point to love but to weaken yourself. Take the Hero or the Twili, for example," Ganon paused, and we tensed, hearing him talking about Midna and I. "They loved each other, and then she left, and what happened to both of them? I saw it myself: they could do nothing, couldn't fight, and were completely useless. Wouldn't that take the point out of being a fighter and a warrior?" he asked, and the man's lips pulled back over his pointed teeth as he growled.
"And not to love takes the point out of being a warrior. If you love nothing, why should you fight for it?" he inquired, and for once Ganondorf looked taken aback. Only for a moment, as he recovered quickly, and then noticed us, giving a good excuse not to reply. He leapt off the throne, landing nimbly on the ground twelve feet below, and walked over to the pillar, his cloak billowing behind him, while the male Gerudo watched with guarded curiosity.
He grabbed Midna by her throat and began to lift her into the air, but I whipped my sword out and laid it over his wrist, an unspoken threat in my eyes. He dropped the Twili, and she landed in a crouch, standing up and straightening her clothes.
"Why are you here?" Ganondorf growled, the other question in his voice clear enough: How did you get here?!
My anger boiled up from last time, thinking of the broken dagger in the ashes of Skull Kid, the anger that I had so carefully contained like both of my parents had taught me when I was younger, before they left. I smiled inwardly as I remembered the story.
"Why do you think?!" I snarled. "That we go traipsing around your palace in our free time, and we decided that we would drop in for a visit?" Ganondorf growled deep in his chest, and still the male Gerudo watched with impassiveness, his hands clasped behind his back.
Ganondorf stepped back and smirked, laughing harshly.
"Are you two going to be as weak as Noda here? Just because his little mate his dead, he tries to attack me," he said coolly, and I took a step forward, my hand going to my sword, but Midna but her hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
"I don't see him as weak," she retaliated. "He is watching quite calmly, in fact. Do you call that weak, Ganondorf?" Midna asked quietly, and anger sparked in Ganon's eyes.
"Of course I do. Just like you called Zant weak, and yet he killed your sister, the mighty Valencia," Ganondorf sneered, and Midna's eyes widened at the mention of the sister that she never knew about.
"He…but Father…" she whispered, and Ganondorf's smirk grew wider as he turned away from us and back to his throne. Rage boiled in my veins, and I leapt forward, whipping the Master Sword out and almost catching Ganon unaware.
He spun, magic in hand, and I flipped in the air, narrowly missing the incantation cast at me. Midna jumped into combat with me, and Noda snarled as he joined us, though he was actually fighting on Ganondorf's side, instead of on ours, and so both sides were equal in power.