Notice

Alright, you don't like long Author's Notes and neither do I. It's just been too long since the last chapter (more than a month); unfortunately, long waits may continue to be the norm despite the end of school. I hope to get to the point where I can keep writing the storyline I've got planned in my mind. I'm also planning a sort of prequel, so be sure to look out for that if it turns up.

Chapter 7: Stories from the Past

Sonic got up feeling very disoriented. "Ugh, that is certainly some way to travel..."

Midna appeared as Sonic got a hold of himself. "Ehehe...what's the matter?" she teased. "You're not used to travelling this way? How are you going to last even a day in here?"

Sonic shot a dirty look at her. "Hahaha," he muttered sarcastically. "I suppose you're enjoying this?"

Midna frowned. "Sorry...I didn't mean to be rude. It's just been a long time since there was someone or something that could lighten my mood."

Sonic was lost for a moment in thought, pondering what to make of this stranger. Something about her just wasn't right. If she were a friend, why was she trying to kill him earlier? Her reasoning seemed somewhat strange. And if she were a foe, why was there something about her that made him want to trust her? He needed answers. Now.

Sonic turned towards her. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Yeah...of course." This seemed more and more like a bad idea with every second that passed.

"Alright, no need to be such a downer. Since when did it become so hard to have any fun?"

Hey...that sounds like something I'd say. Sonic brushed away that thought for a moment. "Who exactly are you? I've met a lot of strange characters before, but you seem entirely different. What's your story?" Something about her is strange. I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Midna sighed. "Don't you think we have more important things to be doing right now? It's not always a good idea to stay in the past. Though, maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to that..." Midna paused, recalling both memories that shamed her and those that made her happy. Sonic moved his hand in a small circle, entreating her to continue. "No. I think that is enough for now. I...these memories..."

Seeing a pained expression, Sonic attempted to lighten her mood. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that I find things a bit suspicious around here. Call me crazy, but it seems just too convenient that there was some sort of artifact controlling you and that we get to keep a piece of it for free. What is it even?"

Midna relaxed a bit. "That story...I think I could tell you...if you're willing to talk a bit about yourself."

Sonic shrugged. "Hey, ladies first."

"Alright, then. This artifact, the one I'm wearing right now, is a Fused Shadow. When all four pieces are assembled, they grant the bearer terrifyingly powerful strength. They were created by the ancestors of the Twili, the inhabitants of this domain. Our ancestors wielded this power in hopes of gaining an even more powerful artifact guarded by the Goddesses: the Triforce."

"Hold on," Sonic interrupted. "What's so special about this Triforce? Seems to me that all the power you'd ever need could come from that...uh..."

Midna sighed. "Such a bad listener. But, to answer your question, the Triforce is a sacred relic that grants the bearer god-like powers. With it, one person could create an era of prosperity or usher in a reign of terror. Many have waged war against each other in the vain hope of obtaining this power for themselves, and our ancestors were the same. When we were stopped short of entering its resting spot, the Sacred Realm, the Goddesses banished us to a realm hidden in the shadows and hid three of the Fused Shadows in the separate domains of Faron Woods, Death Mountain, and Lake Hylia. Most of us accepted this course, looking to the positive of a beautiful world of twilight. What you see is NOT that world. It is instead changed into a dark realm of shadows, now worse than the last time..."

"Last time?" Sonic wanted to hear that story.

"Hey, I told you a story. Now it's your turn to tell me something about yourself. I might consider talking some more afterward."

Sonic thought for a moment. Obviously, this person was very careful about her information. "Alright, then. What do you want to know?"

"How'd you get here? I thought I sealed off the last remaining link between here and the world of light."

"I guess it started with the last attempt by a crazy guy to defeat me. He goes by the name of Dr. Eggman."

Midna snickered. "You can't be serious. There can't be anyone with a name like that!"

Sonic grinned. "To this day, I still don't know why he changed his last name. It's either because he woke up one day and decided his name wasn't stupid enough or because he really let himself go. And in more ways than one. It used to be that his plans to take over the planet and defeat me were actually pretty well thought out and diabolical. But these days, I think he's gone mad and is desperately trying to do anything just to finally beat me at something. And it still doesn't work!"

Midna laughed hysterically before controlling herself. "Alright...continue..."

"So, his most recent attempt was to kidnap one of my friends and then bait me into a trap. Except it was a poorly made trap, and I felt kinda bad that she was being used as bait for a very pathetic plan."

Midna raised a brow. "She?"

"Hey! I'm not THAT into Amy! She's the one obsessed about me! I swear, it's really unhealthy..."

"So her name's Amy?" she said in a toying manner. "She sounds pretty..."

"Wha—well—HEY!" Now Midna was really laughing as Sonic grew more and more flustered. This stranger was just as blockheaded as her old friend. Dismayed by Midna's reaction, Sonic waited for what felt like hours until Midna finally settled down. "Anyways, I felt bad about the whole thing, so I took her out on a date. That's about the time when it felt like something was wrong with the world. Like somehow the energy in the air was gone. That's when I noticed a strange figure appear nearby with the most powerful artifacts in my world: the Chaos Emeralds. Naturally, I decided to chase after him, hoping to stop whatever he was planning to do with them. Unfortunately, I unintentionally brought Amy into danger. Before I could do anything to help her, I was sent here by the figure, not knowing if I would even be able to keep myself alive for a few more moments as a voice told me to surrender."

Midna frowned at the last part. "So, you were taken from your home, and all that's really keeping you going right now is a girl?"

"Well...err...I guess that is what it comes down to."

"Alright, then. I may as well talk more about my story; it bears an uncanny resemblance to the one you just told. Though it will be abbreviated, it will still be a little lengthy, so try to keep up, okay?"

"No problem."

Midna smiled for a moment before collecting a more serious demeanor. "As I had said, most of my people came to accept life in this realm. However, there was one, one who was unsatisfied with the way our people lived. He was Zant, then a man who hoped to lead our people back into the light and take what our ancestors could not. He was not alone; he found someone with part of that power which our ancestors failed to take. He was Ganondorf, a man who was sentenced to death for his attempt to conquer all. His power protected him from the judgment of the Seven Sages, and they hastily sent him here, hoping to rid the light of that blight. When he was sent here, he saw Zant as a means of returning to the light and offered a share of his power in exchange for his loyalty. With the power granted to him, Zant first changed the people into his army of Shadow Beasts and proceeded to conquer the world of light, transforming it in a veil of twilight. It was my task to protect my people from him, and I failed.

"For the first time, I didn't know what to do. I was powerless to stop him from his goals. The only thing I had was a legend, passed down from our ancestors that told of a hero who would take the form of a wolf in order to save the people of light and twilight. It was then when I saw a young man named Link taken by Zant's army into the twilight. All other light dwellers who came in contact with the twilight lost their physical forms and became lost, but he did not. A light glowed from his hand, keeping him from becoming a lost soul. When it faded, I was surprised to find him transformed into a wolf. My initial shock soon gave way to pleasure as I felt I had a tool to fight back in the form of a desperate man. I could easily tell that he was willing to go to great lengths for those he cared about, especially a certain girl named Ilia. So we made a deal. I would help him restore light to his world, changing him and the rest of the light-dwellers back to normal, and he would then help me acquire the Fused Shadows I planned to use to defeat Zant.

"As time passed, I began to change my perception of the young man. I stopped seeing him as a tool to be used; instead, he became a dear friend, always ready to help others at any cost without self-benefit. Even when fate seemed to be against us in those convoluted dungeons where the Fused Shadows were kept, I could always count on him to triumph over whatever trials awaited. Still, I didn't know how useful he would be when it came time to face Zant. I thought that he might get in my way, but I also worried that he might have gotten hurt. It was the first time in a long time since I had cared about someone like that.

"Things took a turn for the worse after we had recovered the final Fused Shadow. I hoped to leave Link, lest he suffer from my fight. At that point, however, Zant attacked us. I tried in vain to summon the full power of the Fused Shadows, but he easily took them away before I could. Link had tried to stop him, but Zant brushed him aside and planted a curse upon him, dooming him to stay as a wolf forever.

"Even after that, Zant wasn't done toying with us. He manipulated the light spirit, Lanaryu, and used its power to nearly destroy me. I thought I was going to die, but Link didn't give up on me. He rushed to the only person who could help us, Princess Zelda. Not knowing his concern, I first asked how to restore him to his natural form, and she revealed the location of a sacred blade that repelled all evil: the Master Sword. In what I thought were my last breathes, I realized that it would be up to Link to make sure Zant would not win, so I asked for the location of the last entrance to the Twilight Realm: the Mirror of Twilight. Zelda had other plans though. Calling upon a power I'd never felt before, she gave of herself to save me. It was a token of generosity I haven't forgotten and never will.

"From there, we headed for the Sacred Grove, where Link claimed the Master Sword. The curse he was under materialized in the form of a crystal. In fact…," she stopped for a moment to take out an orange crystal that Sonic could tell was filled with an evil essence. "I still have it on me. It probably wouldn't have any effect on you, but I'll still keep it just in case. Anyways, we headed for the desert, where we learned the Mirror of Twilight was. When we found that it had been broken by Zant and the pieces scattered, we continued on to the Peak Province, to an ancient temple, and even to the sky to find the remaining parts. Entering Zant's lair, Link and I took back the Fused Shadows and destroyed Zant for his treacherous acts.

"After that, there was one more thing we had to do: defeat the true evil behind Zant. We returned to Hyrule Castle and charged up to meet the man who had managed to escape from his prison and return to plague the land of the Goddesses. That man, Ganondorf, had his own streak of madness; before engaging Link in battle, he decided to try and toy with him, taking possession of Princess Zelda's body and using her like a puppet. I used the power of the Fused Shadows to force him out, but he then transformed into the most beastly being I had ever seen. Link defeated him, and Zelda recovered. Though it seemed like the battle was over, Ganondorf was definitely resilient, taking the form of a demonic head. Ever eager to fight, Link was beginning to charge at him. I knew, though, that even Link could not have stopped him in that form. I sent him and Zelda against their will away from the Castle, knowing that what I was about to do would destroy me and only weaken him. With the full power of the Fused Shadows, I charged at him, knowing that I would not defeat him but hoping that Link would then be able to finish him off.

"I don't remember anything that happened immediately after that, but I know that Link did prevail in the end. I found myself still alive, and all was well in the land. Still, I knew that, as long as the Mirror of Twilight stood, what had happened then could happen again. A few days after Ganondorf was defeated, Link, Zelda, and I went into the Mirror Chamber, though I did not tell them what I was about to do. As I bid farewell to them, I shed a tear and pushed it towards the mirror. Once I returned to the Twilight Realm, the mirror shattered, severing what I thought was the last link between light and twilight. Despite what my heart told me, I decided that doing so would prevent what had happened from happening again."

As Midna finished telling this story, Sonic couldn't help but wonder at the scope of what she had faced. "That sure is some story," was all he could manage.