Hello wonderful readers. First off I want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story. We have now reached 30+ reviews, which I feel is a real achievement for a first story in its current stage. Love reading that I have won the attention of some skeptical readers which gives me a lot of confidence. Here's Chapter 8.
Chapter 8: The First Mission
Three weeks had passed since Link and Midna were enlisted into the Peacekeeper Order. At the end of those three weeks they had learned much and their skills had greatly improved. Finally they had been given the all-clear by Callum that they were both were ready to fight the Demon's Flames. In the dining hall the previous night, the senior Peacekeeper had told them to come to the mission control building the following morning so that he could brief them on their mission.
The building was unlike anything Link or Midna had ever seen. Various people and creatures hurried this way and that within a highly organised looking office. Link and Midna tried to keep out of the way as they made along the twisting corridors and searched the numbered doors for the room where Callum was waiting. Eventually they found it and when they entered, they received a pleasant surprise as Groose sat at a large wooden table, facing them with a greeting smile.
"Groose," Link exclaimed as he grasped the other boy in a firm handshake, "what are you doing here?"
It was Callum, standing at the far end of the table, who answered. "I thought it would be wise for a more experienced agent to accompany you on your first mission. This is a serious matter we're dealing with so it's a good idea for you to have some backup. I figured that Groose was the perfect candidate since the three of you have already gotten along so well."
Groose grinned confidently with his arms crossed. "Don't worry about a thing. So long as Groose is around you two are going to be just fine."
"Oh I think you'll find that you have that backwards mister. Link and I have faced worse than a bunch of religious wackos," Midna smirked in return. "If you're lucky, you'll get to sit back and relax while we take care of everything."
Callum cleared his throat to interrupt the friendly banter. "Now that we are all here I suggest that we begin discussing our strategy." All four of them took a seat at one end of the enormous table with Link and Midna facing Callum and Groose.
"I have just explained to Groose the situation we face; Brandon has gone rogue from the Order, has taken leadership of the Demon's Flames and has allied himself with the Demon Lord, Ghirahim. According to our spies within the cult, Ghirahim and Brandon have found a way to resurrect Demise. They must locate a place known only as the Well of the Accursed and perform a revival ritual within its deepest chamber." Noticing the confused faces on the newer agents, he elaborated.
"The Well is a place only heard of in legend and even our knowledge of it is very limited. All we really do know is that it is rumoured to be the gateway to the underworld and all evil souls that have died are drawn to it like a magnet. As to where the Well is; we don't know, but luckily for us neither do the Flames so that gives us some time.
"According to legend, in order to open the entrance to the Well one must possess the elemental powers of the world; forest, fire, water, spirit, shadow and light."
"The power of the Sages," Link interrupted. The Sages were the guardians of the Mirror of Twilight from the Arbitor's Grounds. They were also responsible for protecting the Sacred Realm if the legends were true, which Link had learned long ago that most of them were. Supposedly there were six in total but he had only ever met five of them as the Sage of Water had previously been slain by Ganondorf.
"Exactly," Callum nodded. "In order for the Hero of Time to confront Ganondorf, the Sages bestowed him with six medallions, each imbued with their respective power. Afterwards, these medallions were hidden across the world by the Sages and now serve as keys to the Well of the Accursed. If we are to keep the Flames from opening the Well, we must obtain the medallions before they do.
"Their locations have been buried from all knowledge with only cryptic clues to guide us and it is taking all of our resources to find and decipher those clues. Unfortunately, the Flames already have a head start on us. Whilst you two were training, they had already acquired the Water Medallion and the Spirit Medallion, and are currently looking for the rest."
"Why didn't you tell us this?" Midna asked angrily. "We should have been out there trying to stop them. Instead we've been sitting around on our hands for weeks doing nothing!"
"You were not ready to confront either Ghirahim or Brandon," Callum explained firmly. "I kept this from you because you two needed to focus on your training and we could not afford you to get distracted or try anything brash."
Link placed a hand on Midna's shoulder. "I don't like it either Midna, but he's right. Remember how much trouble we had fighting Jarret and Sarafi when we first came here? Ghirahim and Brandon would definitely be more powerful than they are so we wouldn't have stood a chance against them." Midna only responded with a resigned huff but she understood. He turned back to Callum, "If we have spies among the enemy then why don't they just steal back the medallions that have already been found?"
"We did plant agents inside the cult however that doesn't mean they're still there. While they did manage to dig up some critical intelligence for us, eventually their cover was blown and they either fled or were killed. The problem was that Brandon used to be a senior Peacekeeper so he was able to recognise our informants, and the ones that we trained after he vanished are not ready for infiltration missions yet and won't be some time. Worse is that Brandon knows how to jam scrying mirrors so we can't spy on him from afar. For the most part, we're in the dark about the Flames."
"Despite our delayed start, I believe that this time we have the upper hand," Callum continued. "While the clues on the whereabouts of the medallions are all suggestive at best, we actually do know the exact location of one of them; the Forest Medallion."
Groose furrowed his brow. "But everyone in the Order knows where it is. Even after defeating Ganondorf, the Hero of Time always carried it around on him. Brandon should know that as well so he and his cronies are probably already marching there right now."
"That is a valid point," Callum agreed, "but the reason why he has not done so already is because of where the medallion is now."
Midna's temper was starting to rise again. "Can you two please let us in on what you're talking about?" she snapped. "Where is this medallion and what makes it so goddess-damned hard to get?"
The bearded Peacekeeper did not visibly react to her outburst and gazed at her steadily before speaking. "The medallion is hidden in the Lost Woods, far deeper in than either of you have been before. It resides in a place called the Forest Temple, which is protected by so that it's impossible to warp to. The barrier around the temple acts like a magical filter so that only certain people have the privilege of warping in or out. Sadly the only two people with that authority are both long dead so you will have to go there on foot."
Link frowned in thought. "Both times Midna and I went into the Lost Woods we needed the Skull Kid to keep us from losing our way. Maybe if we find him he can lead us to the temple." Midna groaned quietly beside him, clearly not looking forward to the prospect of following the creepy little forest-dweller again.
"That is what I was thinking. We have already attempted to make contact with Skull Kid countless times," Callum explained. "however, each time he leads our agents they go around in circles for days, as if he wants to get them stranded in there. Fortunately they all warped out of the forest as soon as they caught on so we never lost anyone.
"As you managed to get to where you wanted to go in those woods, I believe that Skull Kid will be able to help you. I'm not certain if he will take even you to the temple directly but he may take you to the Kokiri village instead, which is the next best place. From there you may be able to find another guide who will be more willing to take you to your final destination."
"What's a Kokiri?' Midna asked, perplexed.
"I heard stories that they're children who live in the forest and never grow up," Link answered, trying to recall the bedtime tales Uli told him when he was little. "I remember it being said that each on has a fairy partner and that they can never leave their forest or else they die."
Callum nodded in confirmation. "I believe that the Kokiri may be inclined to help you if you manage to persuade them. So your mission is as follows. First, travel to the Lost Woods and get the Skull Kid to take you to the Kokiri village. Second, convince one of the Kokiri to escort you to the Forest Temple. Third, locate and retrieve the Forest Medallion from within the temple. Do you all understand?" The younger three nodded in unison.
"Alright then," Callum said, "prepare yourselves for what lies ahead and move out as soon as possible."
Link, along with Midna and Groose began to leave the room when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder from behind. "Link, can I talk to you for a second longer please?" Callum asked. Noticing Link had stopped, Midna turned to see what was holding him up. Link signalled to her to go on without him then faced his senior with curiosity.
"If it's not too personal, may I ask how things are between you and Midna?" The question surprised Link though he answered nonetheless.
"Everything's fine," he said. "Honestly, I was a worried things were going to change between us at first but after a little while it just felt natural like it was before, you know? Why do you ask?"
Callum scratched at his beard as he spoke. "No special reason. It's just that you two have a history together and becoming a Peacekeeper is often an ordeal for people at first. I was especially concerned about Midna, having to leave her old life like she did would not be easy on her I imagine."
Link hung his head and sighed. "She tries to hide how she feels but I every now and again I see that sad look in her eyes. I try to get her to talk about it but Midna's always been reserved when it comes to her feelings. Some nights I hear her mumble in her sleep about it and that worries me. I know she doesn't regret coming here but it's how she left that I think is the problem."
Callum nodded in understanding. "Yes, that is often the case for people like her. All that you can do for her is to be there for her until her wounds heal. Just keep trying and eventually she will open up to you. I would like to ask you something Link, if you are willing."
"What is it?" Link asked.
"When you are out there I want you to take care of Midna. It is rare for recruits to continue to be with someone from their past, even rarer for a pair with your kind of relationship. Think of it as a gift. Hold on her Link, and never let her go."
Link held the other man's gaze with a fierce determination. "Don't worry. I will never let anything happen to her. I lost her once before. I'm not going to lose her again."
On his way back to his room, Link was still thinking about his conversation with Callum. He too had been concerned about Midna's emotional well-being and he felt completely useless that he was unable to help her. Since becoming the Hero of Light, he had been put through many hardships that no one else should have to go through. These trials took their toll on him so it helped to talk every now and again when there was someone around who would understand, usually that was his shadowy companion. But now Midna was the one suffering and the fact that she would not talk to him about it made his heart feel heavy.
When he arrived home he found Midna checking over her gear. She sat on the bed with her sword in her hands. She inspected the blade for nicks then put it away when she was satisfied there were none. Finally she noticed that Link had walked in.
"What did Callum want?" she asked.
Link shrugged, not wanting to tell her what exactly they were discussing. "Nothing much, just wanted to give me some friendly advice." He moved to sit beside Midna on the mattress. "So... here we are again," he said quietly.
Midna gave a small smile. "Off to save the world from another disaster. Just like old times isn't it?"
"Exploring ancient temples, overcoming unimaginable dangers, defeating evil monsters, barely avoiding certain death," he listed with a smirk, "wonderful memories."
"Yeah," Midna giggled. "To be honest, I've missed all that. Not because I'm some adrenaline addict but because we went through it all together." She rested her head on his shoulder. "No matter what happened I knew things were going to turn out okay. With you I felt safe."
Link wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her in closer. "I know what you mean, I feel the same. No matter how rough things got for me back then I knew that I was never alone. You always managed go give me the strength I needed to carry on. Without you I would never have been able to keep going, if I fell then I wouldn't be able to stand up again. You're everything to me Midna."
"You're such a sap," she giggled again.
"Only because I mean it," he replied, grinning at her. He kissed her on the top of her head to prove his point, earning a mock display of disgust from Midna.
After a few minutes she ended the embrace and looked at him softly. "We need to go soon. Groose is probably waiting for us now. You should start getting ready too."
"No need. I've got all my equipment on me already and had it all fixed up at the scrap shop. Who knew that sitting in a chest for two months could make them lose their edge." Since learning from Jarret how to store excess items in the same manner that his partner did, Midna had insisted that Link start carrying all of his gear from then on.
"Always prepared aren't you?" she smiled.
"I have to be, all part of the job as the Hero," he replied, returning the expression. "Plus it helps that the Master Sword never dulls. Saves hours having to sharpen it after every battle."
"Way to rub it in Hero," she frowned.
Later as they walked to the rookery where they were to meet up with Groose, Link and Midna passed by many of the new friends they had made while living on the floating island. Each and every last one of them wished them good luck on their mission, some wishing that they could tag along. Though the couple had only spent a short time on Skyloft and much of their free time was spent in the training center, they were already starting to feel like part of the community. It was comforting to know that they were not completely alone in the Peacekeepers' isolated world.
After being delayed by endless goodbyes, they finally arrived at their destination. Below the tall stone tower was a wide wooden pier that loomed over the clouds. On the pier stood four figures, who upon closer inspection were no one else but Groose and Callum along with the trainers Jarret and Sarafi. Whatever discussion they seemed to be having was interrupted when they noticed the Hero and his loving companion approach.
"Am I right to assume this is our farewell committee?" Midna asked smiling.
"You would be," Callum replied. "I preferred that your team left quickly but these two insisted on being here to send you off."
Jarret grinned broadly. "What, after three weeks of teaching these kids how to save the world you expect us not to want to see them go off on their first mission? You wound me Callum."
"Remember all that we taught you," Sarafi said, placing a hand on Midna's shoulder. "It could mean the difference between life and death should you encounter our enemies."
Midna put her hand on top of her mentor's. "You don't have to worry about us. Link and I are used to this sort of thing. We'll be fine."
The Gerudo smiled. "It never hurts to be reminded. Now go, we are all counting on you."
"Thank you," Link told her and the old Twili. "I promise we won't let you down."
"Don't push yourselves harder than you have to," Jarret said, "even the best fail occasionally, but don't just throw in the towel when things get tough."
Groose was starting to get impatient. "Come on you guys, we've got a medallion to find."
After a final round of goodbyes the team of the Hero of Light, the Twilight Princess and their new partner stood side by side on the edge of the pier. Groose shouted "Here we go!" before leaping into the void, performing the age-old Peacekeeper tradition of heading into the unknown. Link and Midna promptly followed suit, feeling the rush as they free fell, hurtling towards the ground below obscured by a sea of fluffy white.
Together, each of the three brought their fingers to their lips and whistled high and clearly. Shrieks filled the air and a second later three loftwings swooped underneath to catch their masters on their backs. With their loads saved from a deadly descent the loftwings gathered into formation. Groose's purple bird took the lead, steering them around towards the direction of the forests of Hyrule.
It was finally time to start a new adventure.
I've kind of got my reserves for the name "Well of the Accursed". The idea of a well for tormented souls has been done to death but I could never think of anything original that worked better. If you have a suggestion for a better name then send me a private message. Would have loved to continue this chapter some more but then the next one would be too short.
Until next time,
EquinoxWolf