Beyond the Boundaries
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, Nintendo does. I only own the creatures and the world I made up personally just for this fan fic.
Chapter #3- What's the deal?
Back in the realm of light, Link was in his home. The sun had already set over the horizon and nighttime settled in. Link was trying to get ready for bed but he felt restless and unable to sleep. He felt something was going to happen. Not here in Hyrule but somewhere else.
Link decided to heat up some milk to help lull him to sleep. He felt exhausted but his body felt restless, an emotional tug of war between sleep and energy.
While Link was downstairs, an instinctive reflex made him turn around only to find nothing there. Sometimes, Link wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him. He wondered if Midna could see him through the shadows like she did before when she was hiding in his shadows when they had to be in the light world. But then again, she had a kingdom to rule over. Midna had a lot more responsibility now that she had regained her rightful place as the Princess of Twilight, just as Zelda was the Princess of light.
Link decided to drop the matter for now and worry about it later. Grabbing a wooden mug from a shelf, Link poured the warm liquid into the mug and proceeded to his room atop the ladder.
'Why the hell did someone make a house like this?' Link thought to himself as he juggled the mug in one hand while trying to climb up with the other.
Finally reaching the top, Link went to the window and looked up into the starry sky. A light breeze swept past him as he took a sip from his mug of warm milk, a warm feeling spreading throughout his body and calming his restless nerves.
Link went back to his bed and sat down on the mattress. Just as he did, something began to wriggle beneath his seat and muffled cries could be heard from it.
Startled, Link shot up to his feet and looked to see what he sat on. Something was fluttering wildly on the bed as it was tangled in the sheets, trying to free itself. Cautiously, Link pulled back the sheets to see what was causing the entire ruckus.
"Whoo! Ahhh thanks a lot, buddy. I owe you one. I was getting' all claustrophobic in there. Thanks for your help."
A strange creature leapt out from Links' bed. It was about the same length as a ferret and it only had two big front legs with big claws at the tips. It had a spiky mane that seemed to connect and run down its spine and it had a long red scar running down its right eye while the other eye stayed closed.
The creature jumped up and snatched the mug out of Links hand.
"Hey, ya mind if I take a swig of this? Thanks, man. Your kindness knows no bounds."
The creature raised the mug to its lips and took a huge drink from it, almost finishing it in one gulp. The creature wiped its mouth on its arm and let out a huge belch, the sound reverberating throughout Links' home if not Hyrule itself.
"By the way, the name's Tei. It's good to meet ya."
Link opened his mouth to demand some answers when- "I know what yer thinkin', who I'm and what I want with you, right? Well, you don't have to worry about the first part; I already introduced myself so that's outta the way. And as to why I'm here, well, I'm getting to it."
Tei made his was to Links bed and sat down with the mug in paw.
"So, here's the deal: You want to regain the valuable thing you lost, right? When the mirror was destroyed, you remember, right?" Link nodded his head cautiously at the creature before him. It was hard for Link to forget. That was the day when he and Midna parted ways.
"Well…what would you say if I were to, I dunno, get it back for you? Or at least, take you to where it is."
He didn't know why but something deep inside Link told him to get away from this creature and just go to bed, but something else…told him to keep listening to what Tei had to say. Tei took one last swig of the milk and downed it all in one gulp, once again wiping his mouth on his arm and letting go of a huge BELCH!!!!
Tei wiped his mouth on his arm and tossed the mug carelessly over his shoulder, letting it fall wherever it would land.
"Look, I can guarantee that this for real. I'll even show ya." Tei held up its paw and a neon blue sphere formed into it. Inside the sphere, a hologram appeared with Midna as its image.
Link was temporarily caught off guard by Midnas' figure, captivated by her image. Tei could see the life return to the young mans' eyes and a subtle smile edged his lips. Link continued to stare at the hologram until the expression on his face fell when Link clutched his left arm as an intense surge of pain shot up his arm and Link winced loudly in pain.
"Hmmm…that's not very good. I see that's still bugging you. Y'know, I can have that taken care of for ya. Here's the deal: I can retrieve the one you lost and get rid of that little problem in your left arm for ya, but only if you agree to this deal of your own accord. But…there's a catch."
Links' face fell as Tei mentioned a catch to his deal. Tei chuckled.
"I know, I know. I shoulda mentioned that to you before but you looked so happy to see your girl again, I just didn't want to crush your hopes. You ever hear of the world of Hemix?" Link shook his head and Tei went on. "Okay. The world of Hemix, or just plain 'Hemix' for short, is the combination of both worlds, a sort of neutral grey area, if you will. In this world, beings of both light and shadow dwell amongst a grey-ish blue sky, Sort of a coexisting limbo. You follow?" Tei could see he had Links' undivided attention and went on with his explanation.
"The only catch is when two beings of shadow and light enter Hemix at precisely the same time, the world that they belong to will freeze and will stay frozen until they return, at the same time. This in turn acts as a fail safe, so the balance of things won't be tossed into chaos as you explore the world of Hemix. Since the two beings in question belong to two different worlds, they could completely and utterly knock the entire order of things out of balance."
Tei smiled a broad grin and placed a heavy paw on Links' shoulder. "By agreeing to my little offer, you not only get yer arm taken care of, but you get to be with yer girl again! Ahh, a fairy tale come true!"
Tei leapt off the bed and stretched his limbs, making the joints crack and pop as he did.
"Y'know what? You should take a little time to think about this. There certainly is a lot to consider here and I don't think you can make this kind of a decision on such short notice. So, take this."
Tei handed Link a little black bell and placed it into his hand. Link gave Tei a curious look.
"Ring the bell five times and I'll come in an instant. But once you've rung that bell, that will tell me you've agreed to take my offer. So be mindful when you decide to call me. Until then…see ya!"
And with a grin on his face, Tei evaporated into the shadows.
Link examined the little black bell in his hand and wondered what would be best. As his mind raced with the thoughts of his decision, pain shot up his arm again. Link groaned in pain and he let his back hit the mattress as he lay back while clutching his arm. What should he do?
ELSEWHERE…
"Here's how I see it. You want to be with your wolf friend again, right?" Tem asked.
Midna turned her head away, not wanting to admit that Tems' words were true.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'. And I understand that you have to rule over your people as their Princess and all that but you do remember the fail safe, right? You know what happens when two beings of light-"
"I know! I know! You don't need to lecture me on that! I know what happens! Ahh!" Midna bit back a groan as pain hit her again, her left hand clutching on her right shoulder as she was silenced by the constant pain.
"Oh, is that still botherin' ya?" Tem asked with a curious grin on his face.
"You…know what is…causing it?!" Midna asked through gritted teeth as the pain began to spread up her neck and into her head.
From atop the gargoyles' head, Tem grinned and glided his way to Midna and perched himself on her good shoulder. "See, this where my offer comes in. If you choose to go to Hemix, that little problem'll be taken care of. As the Princess of Twilight, you should've been able to finish the simple task of destroying the mirror leading into Twilight, but I guess you were so moved by light that you were momentarily distracted."
Tem saw the eyes of the Twili woman grow wide as she realized what the creature meant. What was causing Midna so much pain wasn't a messed up joint…it was a shard of the mirror!
"Damn it! Why didn't I catch on sooner? I was so sure that the mirror was completely destroyed without fail! Anything could've gone terribly wrong and it would've been my doing!" Midna mentally kicked herself for being momentarily distracted on that day she had destroyed the mirrors.
Her mind was being consumed with frantic thoughts of anything and everything going wrong. Midna stopped herself, closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled calmly and slowly, trying to keep herself together.
"I'll think more about your offer later. Right now, I must return to my people at the palace. I've been away from my throne for far too long already, they might think I've disappeared again."
Tem could tell the Twilight Princess was struggling to keep herself together even though she was putting on a brave face. It was not for the sake of her pride but for the sake of her people that she maintained a strong will, even though she was both delighted by the fat that she would be reunited with Link and grief stricken by their reunion.
Midna understood that with every meeting in someone's life, there must come a parting but Midna didn't think she could take another parting away from her hero of light. Not again.
"Very well, my princess. Here, should you change your mind, ring this bell five times and I shall come in an instant." With that, Tem vanished in a POOF! Midna began to make her way back to the throne room, turning around every corner of the maze with little to no effort.
All through her walk, Midna tried to think of the pros and cons to this decision. She must consider her people first and foremost.
Midna examined the little black bell and the little wooden piece inside moved a little, clinking slightly inside. A paralyzing surge of pain shot at Midna again as it did.
"Link…what must I do?" Having no other ear to listen to her trouble, Midna could only think of her hero of light. She placed the little bell in a secret compartment in the sleeve of her robes and greeted her friends and servants as she entered the palace.
Her strong smile was assuring to them, lifting their spirits and giving them reason to smile and go on. But inside, Midna was lost. She looked to the skies of Twilight once again, seeking clarity in them only to get nothing from their beauty.
-end chapter
A/N: I swear, it takes longer to write this than it does to submit it, but I promise, the juicy stuff is yet to come! For now, some reviews would be very much appreciated.