For a moment she couldn't move. And then, the numbness wore off.

Midna stared at the spot where Sheik had been moments ago. The hollow feeling of helplessness filled her stomach, and oddly, she felt like a little kid, wanting every one else to help her or do things for her.

But she wasn't a kid anymore, and now she was completely alone.

She glanced down at Link and cried out. Suddenly her small legs wouldn't support her and she fell on all fours.

Link's condition was appalling. His face was ashen and colorless, and slime and blood stained his clothes, particularly down his right leg. His breathing came in shallow, hoarse heaves. He was subconsciously trying suppress the pain, and it was obvious in the tension in his shoulders.

No...no...

Midna could feel Twili magic pulsing from him, and her brow furrowed. Her mind flashed back to painful memories of being exposed to Lanayru's power. Twili magic to Link was equivalent to the Light Spirit's power to Midna.

The curses were simple Twili spells and she knew immediately what to do. She placed the palm of her hand over his mouth and raised it upward. Link gave a loud, pained gasp and his back arched. A dark purple substance, like steam, rose from his mouth and evaporated into the air. After a few moments the substance ran out, and Midna drew her arm back. Immediately she knew she had done the right thing. Link's entire body relaxed. The tension in his face and shoulders faded away, and his breathed more easily.

Midna willed herself to examine his wounds more closely. The leg injury ran far into the knee, she could see bits of bone through the bloody and broken tissue. It oozed a yellow pus, which, despite her lack of experience with doctoring these type of wounds, Midna knew meant it was infected.

Panic filled her. Link would die if she didn't get help. But who would help her, one of the tribe of monsters who had infiltrated Hyrule. Her, part of the enemies who had taken so many lives.

No one. She had no one now.

The cold loneliness crept through her veins. She felt trapped. She couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't find her to be some savage beast, no one who would help her.

But, there had to be something she could do...

Midna glanced at the castle in the distance. Castle Town had a doctor. A lazy, reluctant one at that, but a doctor nonetheless.

I have to...

There was no other choice. She would have to risk herself in order to help Link. She wouldn't dare move him, and risk injuring him further. Quickly, she covered him with one of their sleeping bags, set up a tent overhead to keep him dry from the rain that would surely come, and sped off towards Castle Town.

As the sky grew darker and the wind started to pick up Midna felt a sense of deja vu come over her. She was alone in the cold rain, dashing off somewhere to save the one she loved, Link, in a cursed form that nobody would trust. Just like Link had. Only now the roles were reversed. The raindrops were large and heavy, and she longed for shelter of some kind. Rain held a bittersweet effect for her; the few times she had experienced rain in the Light Realm were when she had almost died, and when she had woken in up in Link's arms. Her most desperate hour and her happiest moment. The darkness and the light.

She had arrived at the bridge, and started traveling by shadows through the town. This was difficult, as the sun wasn't out and the dark clouds shrouded the town. She found the doctor's building quickly, and was about to float through the walls when she caught a familiar face out of the corner of her eye.

A young woman quickly walked down wet stone pathway, water soaking her bare ankles and plain brown sandles. She kept her head down, trying to avoid the rain, as she walked toward Telma's bar. Her short blond waves whipped in the blustery wind.

Ilia.

Midna froze. Ilia knew Link better than nearly anyone, and as much as Midna hated to admit it, maybe even better than herself. She was also trained in first aid, and was sort of the village doctor, according to Link. After a split second of hesitation, she slipped back into the shadows and made her way towards the bar.

When she had finally arrived Ilia was drying off from the rain. Hiding in the shadow of one of the bar stools Midna strained to hear the conversation in the other room.

"...honey, you should've taken an umbrella, we don't need you to be catchin' cold, now!"

"I know, Telma, but I thought I would get back in time before the rain started. I was held up at the Stock Pot Inn, everyone's taking extra security measures since Princess Zelda disappeared..." Ilia's voice faded out and Midna moved into a nearer shadow.

"...at least I know the kids will be safe there. Any news on Rusl's condition?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! Uli's letter came just minutes ago, he's conscious and seems to be getting better each day."

"Oh, good. We need as much help as we can get."

"If he recovers, does that mean I'm out of the group?" A new voice teased playfully. It was male, and had a sort of foreign draw to it...his accent sounded so familiar...deep and raspy, yet eloquent. The voices became louder, and footsteps thumped on the wooden flooring as they moved to the main room of the bar. Midna was surprised; the entire Resistance team was there, excluding Rusl, along with Telma, Ilia, and a young man who Midna had never seen before. He was quite tan, with short, spiky, dark-colored hair. Midna assumed he was the owner of the new voice.

"No, of course not Chien, O wise one, I just said we need to recruit as many people as possible." Ilia's voice matched Chien's warm, friendly tone, and she playfully punched his shoulder. It was obvious the knew each other well. Midna vaguely wondered who Ilia was referring to by "we".

"Oh, damn." Telma sighed, distracting them. "The roof's leaking again. Ilia, honey, will you go down to the basement and fetch the tarp? I'll have Mr. Superior here climb up on the roof and pin it down."

"Sure thing." Midna, seeing the golden opportunity she had been waiting for, slipped into Ilia's shadow. She hoped she hadn't been to obvious; had Shad, who was now watching Ilia with peculiar interest, seen Midna's shadow come out of seemingly nowhere? She knew that he knew somewhat about her, from when she had let her guard down back when she and Link had found the Sky Cannon, but she hoped he would have forgotten...

The basement was larger than most would have expected. There were a couple of beds in the corner, and there were book shelves, racks of bottles and drinks, and a corner with other miscellaneous supplies. Ilia bent down on one knee and started searching one of the boxes for the tarp. Midna waited a few moments, took a deep breath, emerged from the shadows, gathered her courage, and spoke.

"Ilia."

Yay for cliffhangers.

So the school year ended the fifth for me. Directly after that I moved across the state, and for those of you who have done similiar, you know how much of a pain it is. We're getting settled in the new house and the new area, and I hope to get back to writing on a regular basis now. I know I've made tons of excuses about how busy I've been, but now I'm ready to start becoming consistent again.

On a lighter note, I hope to upload my new fic, Power: Life and Times of the King of Evil, by the end of summer. This, as a reminder, is the story of Ganondorf's past, starting from before his birth. It's going to be unlike anything I've ever written in terms of style. The only thing is, that the Zelda timeline splits down into two parellel universes, as most of you should know: WindWaker and Twilight Princess. I've put a poll up on my profile page to vote for which direction you would like me to take, so please vote on that. Depending on how the vote turns out, the story will go through Ganondorf's childhood and adolescent life, through Ocarina of Time, and either WindWaker or Twilight Princess.

That's all for now, I hope to update later this week. Thanks!

-Peaches732