Chapter 6: Small Detours

"You don't have to look so sad!" Midna replied in an actual normal tone. Yes, that means she wasn't sarcastic, cold and so on. It was normal. "We actually find it to be quite livable! I mean, is perpetual twilight really all that bad?"

Gee I don't know…

"Midna…This is no time for levity. The shadow beats have been searching far and wide for you. Why is this?"

Midna lifted herself to float in midair. Her back was facing Zelda as she responded with a sour laugh.

"Why indeed? You tell me! Eee hee hee!"

Zelda sighed before looking at me who still was confused. Why were the shadow beasts—as they were called—were searching for Midna?

"Time has grown short. The guard will soon make his rounds. You must leave here, quickly."

I buckled under the weight of Midna. I stole a one last glance at Zelda before I departed. So this thing…this twilight was created from the king that ruled the shadows. At least I know who was responsible for this but I don't know the name. Why did Midna sneer at that sentence? Can the twilight be ridden?

I bit back a yelp when I felt Midna harshly pulling my ear back just to halt me. The door roughly got opened, revealing the light.

"Not that way. The guard's coming! Boy, he's prompt!" she told me while she was looking for a way to escape until Midna found the window. With sure footing, we were out back in the cold rain. The imp bounced on the rooftop and with a twirl, she landed.

I stared at her, leaving a centimeter between us. I still didn't trust her at all. There's just something about her that puts me off but I can't place my finger on it.

"Eee hee hee! Well? Do you understand where we are now?" she asked, a bit roughly. "I guess a promise is a promise, so I'll let you go back to where you first tumbled into twilight…"

Good. I was getting sick of seeing this twilight.

She placed on a cruel smile as she spoke the next sentence rather darkly. "But…are you really sure you should be going back? Are you sure you aren't forgetting anything important?" the cruel cold smile widened further until she suddenly twirled around and revealed a screaming Colin then Ilia. The sudden images of the village kids made me to jump back with shock and disgust. I was disgusted that she had used that "against" me. I'm not sure how to explain it but it felt as if it shouldn't be there.

She finally landed on Ilia, fixing her "hair." I snarled at her as if Midna didn't deserve to take Ilia's body which she didn't. All in all, she found this very amusing while my hatred for her grew stronger.

"Eee hee! Do you want to save them?" she asked in Ilia's form. "Well, in that case, little Midna would be happy to help you!" Ilia looked so cold when Midna transformed into that form but I had to remind myself that she wasn't the same one.

The Ilia I knew was filled with joy and kindness not like this twisted version of her!

"But…" she paused dramatically. "Well, you'd have to be my servant…and like a servant, you'd have to do exactly as I say!" she finally turned back to her normal self.

I will never be your servant! I thought, snarling dangerously at her.

"Why don't you go back, take a little time, and give it some thought. Eee hee hee!" she giggled, being unfazed from my dangerous snarl.

Out of nowhere, I suddenly started to be broken into pieces which frightened me as I realized that I was probably being transported. Midna flew into the sky, vanishing out of sight.

Water greeted my paws while the light nearly blinded me because I had been in the darkness for so long time.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention one thing…" Midna's voice came, making me to twirl around to find her voice but I couldn't.

"Though, you may have left the darkened realm, you haven't transformed back to your former self…and you won't anytime soon! Now why could that be?" ahead of the spring stood the ominous glowing wall. "Eee hee hee! See you later!"

Great. I was really hoping to be transformed back into my human form.

Growling with frustration, I darted out of the spring only to be stopped at the entrance of the spring.

"So, um, what next?"

I narrowed my eyes at Midna's voice. Where was she coming from?

All of a sudden, she came out of my shadow. I stared curiously at her when she wasn't in her solid form but in a form of a shadow. Now why's that?

"Eee hee hee!" she replied, floating in front of me. "Did you think I'd disappeared?"

Yeah, I was hoping you would.

"Listen, there's another thing I forgot to tell you…Don't think you can just run off and save your friends, because you can't. Just beyond that bridge, the land is covered in twilight. Last time, a shadow beast pulled you through the curtain of twilight…" she explained, feeling the sun slowly descending down.

The same ominous feeling ran through me as I watched the twilight wall.

"But if you want to go that way this time, you'll need the cooperation of someone from the twilight…like me! So you really have no choice but to do what I say."

I really feel sorry for me…

"Saving your friends and all that…Well, that'll depend on your actions…Because you never can trust words, you know."

Just like I can't trust you?

"Right now, I want a sword and shield that'll suit me."

Why does she need a sword and shield when she has magic? I need a sword and a shield. Growling angrily, I dashed out of the spring for good and into the village as I ignored the green enemies.

"Wait!" a small voice shouted when I was at the entrance of the gate of the village. I felt the two green foes coming towards me, causing me to growl at them while the voice spoke. "I don't know what you've come here to do, but if you're going into town, be careful! They came and made both the forest and the village a mess…They kidnapped the children from the village…But you're different…You're not a bad thing, are you?"

I wanted to say no but the animal spoke, answering my answer.

"I can tell because you smell like the trees of Ordon…If you run into any trouble, try talking to the animals in town. We animals understand each other so you'll be fine!" with that, the furry animal scurried off just as I did.

Like the animal stated, the village really was a mess. The atmosphere it held no longer had a cheerful one but a depressed one as if all the life had been taken away. Oh I'm just full of ironic these days…The torches were lit, giving some light as if to not have the village to be covered in darkness completely. There were very few people as I had spotted Hanch on a platform to where Jaggle and I spoke to each other about the Hawk grass.

Stupid beasts. I swear I'll make them pay.

"Ohhh…How did it come to this?" Hanch spoke in a miserable tone. "The children…Please say nothing's happened…Please forgive your good-for-nothing father…"

I hope that the children are safe too, Hanch. Letting out a quiet sigh, I dashed for the bridge that led to voices in which I had heard. I could tell that they were Mayor Bo and Jaggle.

"Oh! About the shield…" Mayor Bo responded.

"Shh not so loud!" Jaggle hushed him, making me to wonder why it was so important to not talk about the shield so loudly.

It's not like someone is about to go and steal it.

A sudden lump in my throat made me to feel guilty all of a sudden. I was the one who was about to steal the shield and the sword from my family. They had done so much for me ever since I had came here. I just couldn't do it. Stealing from your family is just wrong. This is wrong. The whole freakin mission is wrong!

I growled quietly with anger at Midna who practically forced me to do this. I had a right to say! Well…actually, I can't exactly talk when I'm in a wolf form.

Walking towards the two guilty, I hid myself in a patch of grass that was nearly close to me but I still backed away from them so that they wouldn't see me.

"…So, that shield is still in your house, right?" Jaggle asked but he suddenly froze when he stared into the grass that was near the fence.

He could've sworn that he had seen something. It might be just the wind's breeze. I carefully didn't move as I had already locked my gaze with Jaggle's eyes before he turned away since he heard Bo's voice speaking.

"Uh, yeah, it should be in our storage loft." Bo replied.

There was just something out there that shouldn't be here. Jaggle fidgeted when he spoke the next words. "Good! Go grab it, quick as you can!"

"Rusl got wounded pretty bad, so he can't go search for the kids. I'll take over for him."

My ears perked up at the mention of Rusl. He was…injured? I harshly bit my lip so I wouldn't snarl.

"But Rusl had a sword, Mayor! And he still got hurt! If you're unarmed, you're done for!"

"I'll be fine. The sword we were goin' to present to the royal family should still be at Rusl's house." Bo responded.

Yeah, about that…

"Oh yeah? Alright, I understand, Mayor. I'll hurry up and get that shield. You just wait here…"

Without thinking, I got up which scared the two away.

"No good! Run!" the two scurried away.

Wait! It's me! Calling out for them in this cursed form was really useless…

"That's not a bad bit of information you heard, huh?" Midna's voice made me to snarl at her as she looked at Jaggle's house and found that the window was opened. "Ugh…Look at that open window. This village is full of idiots. So…"

She then looked at the mill then to the rock that was in front of the wheel.

"We should jump up there…but from where?" she disappeared, hiding in the shadow.

I knew exactly where but I got stopped when I crossed the bridge as I heard Hanch's screaming voice.

"MON-MONSTER! You've returned for more, haven't you?!" he replied with anger at the last sentence.

I tried to shake my head though I doubted he had even seen it. It's me, Hanch! Link!

"My…daughter! Return her! And take this!" the familiar tune made me to blink my eyes as I started to wonder where had he learned that. Probably from me since I had always play that tune. Like usual, the hawk got summoned and was released from Hanch.

I avoided the sharp talons from my hawk so I ran towards the rock I had seen before to scare Hanch away. I called Midna for sure footing and sooner or later, I was behind Hanch.

He turned around, screaming with fright and he jumped landing into the water. Midna came out to guide me to the watermill and I was in front of the window.

I went in and started to search for the shield until I spotted that it was up on a high wall. I climbed on a table, making Midna to pop out.

"Eee hee! Found it! Found it!" she replied, cheerfully.

I rolled my eyes. You mean I found it.

I used her for sure footing and started to knock the shield down. I picked it up as Midna "held" onto the shield.

"It looks…kind of cheap…Alright, then…Next is a sword. Hurry up and get one!" she barked orders at me.

I went to search for the sword once I jumped out of the window and splashed into the water. Apparently, it was a loud splash which caused Rusl to hear it.

"Idiot." Midna hissed.

I could hear Rusl talking to Uli, saying if that was the children and if they had returned. Uli told him to be careful.

Swimming carefully, I swam until I faced the side of Uli's house. I really didn't want to fight Rusl. I hone my senses and saw a sparkling hole in which I could dig. Doing that, I entered inside the house. Quickly, the sword was spotted and like before, Midna held onto it after she spoke.

"Alright…So now you have a sword. Looks like you can actually be useful when you concentrate! (I sneered at her) Alright…No more detours. I'm going to take you back into the twilight. Go back to the woods where you first transformed into that shape!"

Happily getting out of the house, I got caught from Rusl when I went into the light.

"Beast! I have found you!" he growled, swinging his sword to do a jump attack but I had leaped backwards in an attempt to avoid it. I got unlucky when the sword slashed at the side of my body when I thought he was going to turn only to find that he didn't.

Not wanting to fight him, I ran away from him dashing to get to the Woods to where I had first transformed. But, something stopped me at the entrance of Ordon Spring.

"Wait…" the mysterious gentle voice spoke. "Come into my spring…"

As if I was in some kind of a trance, I trotted towards the spring.

"You have…been transformed by the power…of shadow…Come…to me…" it hauntingly commanded. When I did, a sudden heart attack THUD came surrounding me with strange-looking poles that glowed with the markings as I had no way to escape.

"Beware…a shadow beast…it approaches…" the voice replied, causing me to go into a fighting stance while I let out a snarl.

Up at the sky, a portal appeared and it looked like it was dropping something on the ground rather clumsily. I took this time to look at the black creature that landed on the ground, clumsily. Instantly, I lunged at the beast's throat as I took all my anger at them for taking everything I had away from me.

This one is for taking the kids away! I viciously dug my sharp teeth into its neck but the beast took my leg and slammed me down hard on the water.

Snarling, I got up and started to attack at the neck until it finally exploded into black particles of twilight. I breathed heavily, trying to catch my breath until the spring glowed, an unearthly one, that blinded me so I looked away 'til it cooled down. The lines on the rocks also glowed—nearly everything glowed—and they all met up at the center of the spring, having the golden light to twirl around like a whirlpool.

Something made a sploosh sound at the water as if a rock had broken the surface of the water. And then a bright glowing orb that reminded me of a sun floated up, growing bigger. It finally revealed the form; a form that took a shape of a goat.

"O brave youth…I am one of four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona. The black beast you slayed was a shadow being. It had come to seize the power of light I wield."

It felt like I was being pulled into something. The strange familiar feeling ran through me like it did when Princess Zelda talked to me about her story.

"My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts."

The shadow beasts walked towards the entrance of Faron Spring and a sudden cry of pain echoed in the woods. The woods that was filled with life was now gone, wasted away in the horrible twilight.

"The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness."

The scene morphed into another one; this one showing Hyrule Castle.

"The blight will not stop with Hyrule. Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the king who rules the twilight."

There is that sentence again. Who is the king that rules the twilight?

I shuddered violently at the Castle that hauntingly outstood the rest. It was just too creepy to stare at it. It felt like it was abandoned. Well, not really abandoned since there were people floating around in spirit forms which is still creepy but um yeah.

"To save this land from the king of twilight, the lost light must be recovered. The three light spirits who have lost their light must be revived. There is but one who can revive them and redeem this land…"

Who?

"You."

I drew in a sharp breath. That can't be…true. I'm just a simple commoner or well used to be one…I can't do that. How do they know?

"You still have not discovered your true power…Those transformed by twilight usually cannot recover their original forms… Unless…if you were to return to Faron Woods where you were first transformed…If you were to revive the light spirit…There, by the power of the light spirit, you may find the means to regain your other state of being…"

Just like that, the light spirit vanished. The only sound that came was from the gentle sound of the water.