Chapter Eight

Ex Umbra in Solem
"From the Shadow into the Light"

Link lay curled up on the Twili's bed in his bestial form while Midna paced about her room. All day since the conference had ended she'd been trying to figure out how to go between realms. Shortly after the meeting with the houses the Hero had collapsed. The Princess turned him into a wolf without hesitation, knowing that if she kept him in his true form he ran the risk of going through another episode of sorts. She didn't want to see him in that pain again, and knew that he didn't want to endure it.

Midna had been mumbling to herself as Link slept.

"The magic of my people isn't powerful enough to get us back to Hyrule or else they would have returned long ago… In addition to that, our powers changed from our time in the Twilight Realm…" She had reached the end of the room and spun around, continuing to walk back the way she had just come. "We have no way of contacting Zelda and asking for her assistance, as the Mirror had been the only connection… Ugh!" the Princess of Twilight let out an exasperated sigh, plopping down on the bed next to Link. The Hero's head perked up when he felt her presence and the Twili fell onto her back, looking at the ceiling above.

There really was no way back.

No, she wouldn't let herself rest until they found a solution. The Princess regretted using her powers to ultimately shatter the Mirror. If she knew Link would have to go through this, Midna would have gladly left the portal, facing any catastrophe from one world that came into the other. The two side-by-side could handle it, just as they had before.

Midna pushed herself into a sitting position, turning to look at Link, a sorrowful smile on her face. The Princess ruffled the fur on the top of his head, the same motion she would do to him in his true form to get on his nerves. Of course in his wolf body the action was quite pleasing. Link couldn't help but let his tail sweep across the bed. Soon Midna stopped petting him though, slowly drawing the Shadow Crystal from the Hero's forehead and letting him return to his true form. Her demeanor was serious once more as his strange gaze settled on her, but that only lasted until he spoke.

"I was enjoying that," Link said, slightly disappointed. He seemed more… normal. His physical appearance hadn't progressively changed much thanks to the use of the Shadow Crystal, and from the way he spoke; the Twili could tell he was feeling much better as well.

"Then why don't you enjoy it when I do it to you in this form?" she joked. Midna had forgotten what their conversations had been like before the change. This was a nice little break from their worries. Link brushed aside her lighthearted words.

"Anyway, why did you transform me?"

Midna chewed on the inside of her cheek, drawing her gaze away from his and looking to the ground. She didn't know what to say, having thought all day on it but still not coming to a single plausible solution to their predicament. She couldn't let him live the remainder of his life as a wolf, so there just had to be a solution somewhere. The Princess tried summing up her thoughts, hoping Link would have insight as to how they could return to Hyrule.

"My ancestors weren't able to get out of this realm and return to the world of Light even with the Mirror. They'd have opened it from this side not long after their banishment if that were the case. They did try as well, but as you know they failed. Without it, I… how can we…" she drifted, unable to word the fact that returning would be impossible. To tell Link he would either have to spend the rest of his life as a beast or never be able to recover in his true form and instead break apart, leaving her behind.

Link finally thought it was the time to disclose to Midna what had been bothering the Hero over the past months. He hadn't said it sooner as to not worry her, and with the recent events he had almost forgotten about the subject that had been plaguing his mind, but now… Now was when she needed to hear it.

"Zant," the Hero spoke, the single syllable was harsh in the otherwise calm and silent room. The name of the one who had usurped her caused Midna to tense. Zant was dead. There was no doubt about that. The feeling of utterly shattering a soul is unforgettable and it was something that Midna never again wanted to experience. It was that sensation the Interlopers had so desperately craved when they attempted to destroy the spirit of the wielder of Wisdom. Midna didn't understand what could possibly drive anyone to do such a thing willingly. Did the greed for the Triforce really have that power? To push someone to the past brink of sanity, corrupting his or her very soul? She dismissed the thought at the words Link continued to speak.

"It's not actually Zant per se, it has more to do with the Fused Shadows… Have they regained their magic?" he asked, gaze not meeting hers as the Princess of Twilight brought her shocked face up to look at his.

"Are you saying…" That was it, but… it was too risky. True, Midna had gathered what remained of the Fused Shadows and their magic after Ganondorf had been defeated. They were relics her ancestors didn't have access to during the time, only one in their possession not being powerful enough, but all four…

Link couldn't be thinking…

"Midna, if I'm part Sheikah, I should be able to use that power," he spoke to her with an expression that showed both pain and determination.

"Link, it doesn't matter if you're part Sheikah. Just as Zant, you don't have the royal blood of the Twili. When we came to the Twilight Realm, our appearance and magic adapted to this world, like I said when I was explaining our history. I guess I didn't elaborate on it before, but those who had stronger magic didn't undergo as much of a physical change. Because our magic was no longer the same, the majority of the Twili were unable to use the Fused Shadows to their full potential, but the ones who retained many of the features of the Sheikah still had relatively untainted magic in comparison with those that didn't. They ended up becoming the Royal Family because of their powers and the similarities they had to their ancestors."

The Hero looked over the Princess before him. It was true. Link had never thought on it, but her characteristics were drastically different than that of the other Twili. Even Zant's appearance seemed alien compared to that of Midna's. If her skin didn't have the bluish tinge and her eyes and hair were not so bright, she could easily pull off being a native of Hyrule, albeit a tall one for a female. Midna's exotic beauty was one of the things he found so wonderful about her. Of course the looks of the Princess weren't the reason Link liked her, far from it, as the Hero knew he cared for the royal in a deeper way long before the identity of the Twili was revealed. Even if she had never regained her true form, he would still love Midna for being the one he had come to know throughout their shared struggles. He just seemed unable to tell her that, especially now with everything that was happening to him.

Her eyes briefly met his and Link hoped she hadn't caught him staring. The Hero looked away a moment later and Midna continued shortly, only for her voice to drift.

"Besides…" She thought back to the moment she first summoned the magic of her ancestors: destroying Zant with merely a single hateful and revenge filled thought. Even if the relics contained only some of the power that she herself had only used a fraction of, it could still very well rip Link apart if he attempted to use them. Even if he didn't directly control the sorcery, just being exposed to magic that dark could accelerate the process… Though they didn't have much of a choice. He was already being torn asunder in a way. The Twili's thoughts focused back on the Hero as he took a deep breath and began to elaborate on the reasoning behind his earlier statement.

"Midna, Zant was able to go between this realm and Hyrule after he broke the Mirror into four pieces. This had to be true because he got back to the Twilight Realm before we completed the Mirror. He confronted us in Arbiter's Grounds, however briefly, and was waiting for us in the throne room here in the palace. I know what we saw right before the fight with Stallord wasn't one of his phantoms. Those were different, so he must have met us in person. He couldn't have used Ganondorf's magic alone to travel between the two places or else the Gerudo would have come back to Hyrule earlier, housing his power in another helpless Twili with little or no magic of their own. The only way the Usurper King could have traveled from Light to Twilight was with the help of the power of the Fused Shadows he had stolen from you, even if he couldn't use them to their full potential, that magic combined with Ganondorf's may have been enough. After all, he was able to expel you from the Twilight realm after cursing you with the combined powers of his own, the Demon King, and the single Fused Shadow you possessed. That magic is really our only chance now," Link let out a sigh after he finished his explanation and looked at Midna in silence for a few moments. This was the first time the two held the gaze of the other for more than a moment since after the Hero collapsed earlier in the day.

Now she noticed that the whites of his eyes had become more yellow. The Princess couldn't tell if it was from stress or what his body was undergoing. She really didn't know what to think at this point. Her expression softened, not wanting to see him pained any longer.

"I understand. Then that is what we will do. We will return to Hyrule… with the magic of my ancestors."

But Midna wasn't entirely positive if she was ready for that, and neither brought up the fact that they may not be able to get back without the Mirror.

It had now been a full twenty-four hours since the meeting and the two informed the council of their plans. They had made sure to get plenty of rest and food the night before as well. After all, Link and Midna didn't know when they would have another chance to relax and be at peace. They were about to face the unknown and that meant they had to be ready for anything.

Now they stood in the throne room. A fitting place to summon the magic the Interlopers had mastered, as it was where Midna regained all four pieces of the Fused Shadow from Zant following his defeat. It was the first place she had used their ancient magic as well, never having summoned the powers of her people in the brief time she possessed them before the Usurper King snuck up in Lanayru's spring and deprived the rightful Princess of her abilities.

Midna turned to Link. He was wearing the same sheet she'd given him to hide beneath during the meeting. The Hero thought it would be best to stay concealed as much as possible when in the Light Realm. The Twili would stand out too much in Hyrule, and Link's appearance wasn't exactly normal either. For this same reason he had donned his green tunic once more, taking up the garb of the Hero that served as familiar clothes to the people of Hyrule. Link was almost glad that nearly no one in the world of Light knew of his deeds as Hero, for the green cloth would draw attention if that were so. Instead it would work as traditional attire of the Hylians. Twili robes, even hidden beneath a cloak, might stand out too much if someone caught a glance. Midna's appearance was already risky as is. She held another sheet for herself, not yet hiding beneath the mantle since she needed to prepare the gateway to Zelda's kingdom.

"You ready?" the Princess asked, slightly nervous. She never liked the feeling of the Fused Shadows: oppressing and dark, full of wanton anger from the past. Midna shuddered at the thought that her ancestors took joy in this darkness.

"Yes," the Hero replied. There was no turning back now; their only option was forward. Midna had told him while they were eating not long ago that it would be best for Link to reside in the body of a beast during the travel. She feared that if he were to stay in his true form, the process of his transformation would accelerate from the use of sorcery as potent as the Fused Shadows. Contact with magic that forceful as he was now ran too many risks, and still did so even in his bestial form. Although far from perfect, the latter remained the better option out of the two.

Midna summoned the Shadow Crystal and Link reached towards it without hesitation, letting the Twilight consume him once more, taking the form of an all too familiar beast. In the process of the transformation, the excess cloth that had covered his figure had fallen about him. The Hero in the body of a wolf shook his head free from the fabric, looking up to the Twilight Princess. The material would prove useful later, but now it was only a hindrance. Link freed himself from the inadvertent trap, meeting her gaze again and flicking his ears, blue earrings catching the light and glinting for a moment. Midna took that as a sign, nodding to him as she stepped back, not wanting to get the Hero caught up in the powerful and darkened magic she was about to summon.

Midna conjured the ancient relics, letting their parts slowly circle her form as the pieces hovered around. The fragment that had adorned her head had been broken into three smaller chunks from Ganondorf's attack, but now those shards were back to one, their powers having mostly recovered from the past year's events. The seams were just barely visible from where they connected together once more, forming the familiar crown of sorts that she had worn on their journey together.

The Princesss drew her gaze from the sections of the stone mask and met Link's blue bestial eyes. He nodded and she returned the gesture, their silent agreement to be prepared for whatever may happen. The Princess of Twilight took a deep breath, closing her eyes. The relics suddenly converged, closing in on her head and forming a helm that adorned the Twili, just as it had done when she summoned the powers of her ancestors multiple times before while in her other form.

The Hero recalled what Midna had looked like in her impish body the moment the Fused Shadows covered her tiny figure. She was almost completely concealed beneath the ancient mask at that time, but now if fit her almost perfectly, looking like a natural yet foreign extension of herself. The aquamarine runes on her form began to change to orange, glow radiating outward and spreading to cover not only her markings, but the rest of her skin as well. The similar patterns on the Fused Shadows themselves began to do the same. Seeping from the etchings, the light crawled along the grooves in the stone until the helm shone almost painfully bright.

Little bolts of magic snaked their way in the air around her, their movements quickly becoming more erratic. A flash of orange-ish red and black sparks danced from the body of the Princess, darting about her form at random angles and directions. Link jumped back, narrowly avoiding one such burst of magic as it came arcing towards him. Some came together, forming small spheres of concentrated power similar to what the Twili in her imp shape had summoned to break the shackle that bound the Hero as a wolf upon their first meeting. After a moment or two, the orbs burst and Midna's body began to shake, her hands flying to the mask, nails desperately clawing at the stone as she tried to free herself from the harsh influence of past mistakes.

Link wanted to shout her name, to call for her to make sure she was safe, but that was impossible in his current form. He realized that the Princess probably wouldn't be able to hear him anyway, as it appeared she became unaware of everything once the magic seemingly possessed her.

Midna let out what sounded like an excruciatingly painful scream, and light burst from her figure, forcing Link to avert his gaze. Once his sight returned from the sudden blinding flash, his wide eyes settled on the inhuman behemoth before him.

The great spider-like monster that held the body of the Twilight Princess somewhere deep within summoned a giant spear, the exact one used to shatter the barrier over Hyrule Castle. The creature drew its arms back, preparing to strike the air above the throne before it, readying itself to rent the boundaries of dimensions themselves.

Link watched in utter horror. Even though he'd seen the monstrosity before, it was still a shock to him, knowing that Midna was somewhere within that creature. He still couldn't get used to the fact that magic as powerful as this existed, by the hands of their ancestors no less. The Goddesses did have a right to fear for their creations if one tribe held a dark power such as this.

The creature thrust the lance forward, the tip stopping before the throne and a small black sphere formed at the end of the weapon where it stilled. The object began to quiver, and the arms of the creature shook, another two of its appendages gripping the shaft to stabilize it while forcing the weapon further into the slowly expanding black void.

Link unconsciously took a step backwards, in the process tripping over the grey-black shall that had been discarded but previously covered his true shape. After pushing himself up once more, the Hero's gaze returned to the creation of the Fused Shadows.

In one swift movement, the creature removed a hand from the spear, quickly thrusting one of its many arms into the darkness. Another hand followed, now only two held the spear. The tip of the object that tore the hole in space began to crack; mildly glowing jagged lines resembling the ones that covered the Twilight Portals in Hyrule crawled up the shaft. The creature let go of the weapon, allowing it fall to the ground and disappear into Twilight particles as it hit the stone surface.

Now Midna held the portal with four of the monster's hands, keeping it open and slowly making the gateway wider. Suddenly, a bright flash of light came from the hole, blowing the Twili's possessed form back and throwing her against the opposite wall. Link crouched, pushing himself as close to the ground as possible to not loose his footing from the wave of pressure coming from the newly created portal.

Then, without any warning, the air was completely still.

Link stared at it in awe. Before him, hovering in front of the throne was the portal to another world. It was vaguely similar to the ones they used for travel throughout Hyrule, but at the same time it seemed like the antithesis of what they had come to know so well. The gateway looked as if it were black hole, orange-ish red sparks crackling along its edges, the deepest black, darker than that of even the portals in Hyrule, was within the center as it seemed to pull even light deep within itself.

After recovering from the initial shock of the sight, the Hero spun to face Midna, who now lie on the ground unmoving. The Fused Shadows returned to they had been stored before they were brought out, wherever she kept them. Link immediately ran to her side, the only sound was of the metal shackle around his ankle as it clinked against the stone floor. Using his snout, the Hero pushed against her shoulder, turning Midna onto her back. She was breathing heavy, sweat dripping from her forehead. Link whimpered, worried about her condition.

Midna's eyes popped open and she slowly pushed herself up, meeting Link's concerned gaze. A sorrowful smile was displayed on her face as she looked to his.

"I'm fine…" she drifted, taking a few deep breaths before carefully standing only to wobble for a moment, head spinning from the influence of magic. She briefly stood still to gain her balance once more before making her way over to the discarded sheets that would serve as a disguise of sorts. Link's fur brushed up against the Twili's leg as he walked by her side, ensuring she was stable. He feared she was still dizzy from her exertion.

Midna reached down, picking up the fabric from the ground and shaking it out. She threw the larger sheet over herself and then proceeded to wrap the other around the wolfish body of the Hero, lifting him from the ground.

"Focus on Zelda. She'll be our anchor. I did all the work when we warped through Hyrule, but this will be different. I need your help. We must keep in mind some memorable place or person to draw us to the right location. Since you and she are both blessed by the Goddesses and Zelda put her soul in my care for a time, the Princess is our best bet in getting to Hyrule."

Midna didn't bring up what might happen if they ended up in a realm other than the Light kingdom. After all, this portal was different than the ones they had used previously. She didn't know for sure just exactly all the places it could lead. If they failed here… Midna didn't let herself complete the dark thought.

"Are you ready?" The Princess of Twilight held the Hero's bestial form tightly in her arms, his gaze strong and determined. Neither of them knew what might come to pass after they entered the portal, if they were successful in doing so, that is.

With a deep breath, the Twili stepped through the gateway, the two drawn from the realm they had come to call home and bound to one another, facing the unknown as they went into the Light…

A/N: The last chapter's trivia about the Twili names: They are the word "twilight" in various languages. Senja is Indonesian, Amurg is Romanian, and Solpor is Galician (at least according to the Internet). As for Aralie (the girl mentioned in a couple chapters), her name comes from me randomly bashing the keyboard until I got something that I thought sounded cool. XD
Anyway, the first part is now complete! This second one will contain adventure! Yay! (Of course I had to include some adventure because what Legend of Zelda fan doesn't like adventure?) So now they go… Into the Light!