This time, when he woke up in the twilight, the transformation had thankfully happened while he was unconscious. He could feel the familiar weight of Midna sitting on his back. Though he couldn't see her, the slight shift in her weight told him that she was looking around.
"What a shame that this is the last of the twilight... I became so fond of seeing it cover this world..." Link huffed. 'I prefer the way the world is supposed to look.'
"Though, if we sit here enjoying the twilit sky, then I can't get that last Fused Shadow." She patted his shoulder. "So let's get going!"
If it weren't for the haze that swallowed everything as far as the eye could see, the mountain pass ahead would look almost identical to the section he'd already trekked through. The sky wasn't the sickly color it had been in the other times Hyrule fell to twilight, instead it was an intense yellow that almost reminded him of the way the sky looks right before the sun nestles beneath the horizon. 'For once, this actually looks a little bit like real twilight.'
"What's wrong, wolfy?" His anxious shuffling must have caught Midna's attention.
'The ground here is uneven, and there's still so much rubble from the earthquake Renado mentioned. I... would rather not hurt my paw pads.' Referring to the paws as his still felt bizarre and foreign, even if it was true. Midna hummed for a moment.
"Well, lucky for you, I can help you with that." She floated off of his back, before gesturing at a nearby boulder. The boulder exploded into red particles that disappeared into the air.
'Why couldn't you have done that to the door in the Gorons' mine?' The answer struck him in the face before he even finished the thought, but that didn't stop it from being sent. Midna turned and smirked at him.
"Well, you did seem rather averse to taking things from them. I figured that meant you also didn't want to go around destroying their sacred mine." She shrugged, the smirk becoming a fully impish grin. "But if that's the case, that should make finding the last Fused Shadow a lot easier!" He couldn't even rightfully be mad at her for suggesting it, that was the worst part. Because it was his idea, not hers. He could only hope she knew it was a fleeting loss in judgment, not a genuine request from him.
As he slowly walked along the mountain pass, Midna dealt with the rocks and pebbles that she noticed. Sometimes Link would have to stop and point out a particularly concerning rock that she hadn't noticed, which would also find itself destroyed in moments. At least through the mountain pass, the only other creatures that Link saw were the strange Keese he'd only seen in the twilight, which for once seemed to ignore him. 'Maybe they heard the bomb kill those Bulblins, so they're avoiding me.' He would've smirked were he still human.
A powerfully familiar smell stopped him in his tracks. It led him to a small leather pouch, its strap broken as it dejectedly sat in the dirt. He didn't even need the smell to recognize it. The piercing shriek of the nightmare echoed once more in his ears, and he let out a low whine.
"What's the matter?" Where her tone had carried a mocking edge before, this time there was no such edge.
'This... is Ilia's bag.' Guilt hung heavy in his chest. Maybe even heavy enough for Midna to notice.
"Is that the 'one who you seek'?" Link slowly nodded, his gaze not straying from the bag. Midna hummed.
"She wasn't with those other kids, was she." Link could only let out another whine. Midna hadn't meant for it to come across as accusatory, he knew that.
"That's what your nightmare was about, wasn't it." He hadn't expected her to put that together. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to care enough.
'... Among other things.' She mercifully didn't press further as he followed the scent out of the mountain pass. Before long he found a clearing between the surrounding hills, about the size of the field outside the Faron Woods. He could just barely see the castle - Hyrule Castle - towering over everything else. The scent led him past several strange monsters to a stone bridge and along the paved road on the other side. He ignored the unnatural growls and hisses of the monsters that lumbered after him, ignored the corrupted warbles of another shadow bird as it just barely missed grabbing him with its talons.
It was then that he noticed the path was turning right, into more hills and mountains. 'That must be the path to the hylia bridge renado mentioned.' He sprinted through the mountain pass until he found himself in front of what looked like a large stone wall with metal fences jutting out of it like windows. The trail of the scent led directly to the wall, and he continued towards it. In front of him was a large archway, with two banners hanging on either side. He ran up the stone stairs, which led to a wooden bridge with metal chains rising out of it.
Two more of the monsters saw him and charged towards him, brandishing what almost looked like clubs. Stone-like masks covered their faces, with what almost looked like a curved horn rising from the top of the mask. He blinked as he noticed glowing reddish-pink markings on their chests, much like the ones on the shadow beasts. Before he could think about what that might mean, one of the monsters lunged at him with its club, forcing him to leap to the side.
He probably could have just asked Midna to help, but instead he found himself leaping through the air with his fangs bared at the first of the monsters as he growled. The monster had no time to react before Link's teeth sank into its clammy flesh. It screeched, its arms flailing until the club struck him in the side of his head. He fell, dazed, as the second monster charged towards him with its club ready to strike. He tried to stand, but the spinning of the bridge and the sky sent him back to the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing? Get up and fight!"
Before he could attempt to respond, he heard the sounds of the creatures shrieking in anger and pain, and then silence. He allowed the dizziness to ease away, before slowly getting back up to his feet. To his surprise, Midna was standing on the bridge, the dead monsters laying at her feet as she held a sword in her hands. Not just any sword. His sword. She turned and looked at him. For a moment her expression was hard to read, but then she shrugged with her usual smirk.
"You weren't using it, so I figured someone should." She swung the sword a couple of times, before lowering the blade. "I'll give it back once you're back in that other form of yours, don't worry." With a grin, she snapped her fingers, and the sword vanished into an explosion of green particles. Then she was on his back again, patting his shoulder to encourage him to keep moving.
On the other side of the bridge sat two large wooden doors. While one was tightly shut, the other was still swung wide open. 'I suppose it's convenient for me, if nothing else.' He stepped through the door and into the city in the shadow of Hyrule Castle.
He didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Large buildings of gray and white lined the tightly packed paving stones of the road, crammed in shoulder-to-shoulder, only broken by the occasional doorframe or side road. Even in the twilight, the houses seemed to almost glow. Following the scent to what had to be the central square, his mouth hung open in surprise to see dozens of spirits milling about, from townsfolk doing their daily shopping to slightly fat soldiers assuring anyone who would listen that the kingdom was safe and secure. His attention was then pulled to the enormous fountain in the middle of the square, which he could almost imagine completely engulfing Bo's house.
Following the scent out the other side of the square, it led him down a matching street to where he entered. It briefly ducked into a building with a sign that read "Medical Clinic" and continued down a side road, which spat him onto a similar third road, with wooden stalls lining the way. Passing yet more masses of spirits, the scent led him down a small flight of stairs, into a small alleyway.
There were three things of note in the alleyway. A beggar, laying in the gutter and reeking of alcohol, and a simple doorway that stood ajar. Next to it was a sign that read "Telma's bar". Nudging the door open enough to slide by, he entered and saw-
'Illia!' As he rushed to her, he spared a glance at the person standing next to her. She was a large woman, with skin darker than even Renado. The woman's dark hair was tightly braided, and tied back into a ponytail. Her apron was embroidered with intricate designs of different colors, a far cry from the aprons the women of Ordon Village owned. Her ears were pointed, much like his own. Telma, he presumed. Reaching the table she was sitting at, he looked with a start at the person laying on it. The figure looked like a boy, around Colin's age. His breathing was ragged and pained, which seemed to worry Illia. Most strange, however, was that he appeared to be some cross between a person and a fish. His head tilted to one side. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen Gorons, after all.'
The boy's rasping breath turned into a groan, drawing a worried gasp from Illia.
"He's hurt so badly... What if he dies?" Link would have frowned, were he still human. 'That... that doesn't sound like something she'd say.'
"It's okay, little lady." Telma rested a hand on Illia's shoulder. "We've sent for the doctor, he'll be here soon. Just sit tight, okay?" Illia looked up at Telma, before turning again to watch the boy, her face taut with concern.
"But, this is odd. A child of the Zoras..." Link tilted his head to the other side. 'Zora? Is that what he is?' Telma turned and looked at a room in the back of the building. "I wonder if this might be related to what the soldiers were talking about..." Link followed the woman's gaze, noticing four soldiers' spirits standing near the corner of a table. A paper of some kind was sitting on the table, which Link didn't immediately recognize. As he neared the table, however, he noticed familiar shapes drawn onto it. 'This... this is a map of Hyrule, isn't it?' He huffed. 'Come to think of it, why didn't Bo or Rusl give me a map? They wanted me to bring a gift to Princess Zelda, surely they would've wanted me to know how to get there, right?'
"We've had several complaints from citizens who can't send prayers to Lanayru." The mention of the fourth light spirit drew Link's attention away from the map and to the soldiers standing near it. "You three are to make your way there, and report back to me what you find." The three soldiers facing the fourth nodded. One of them meekly raised their hand, to which the lone soldier sighed.
"Yes?"
"Um, sir... What are we to do, if we find those... those creatures there?" A chill ran down Link's spine, and no doubt the soldiers' as well.
"You are to flee. I do not expect recruits to fight those things." The fourth soldier looked to the side, at what in particular Link couldn't tell. "We are running short of soldiers as is. We cannot afford to lose more." Link winced as he remembered Princess Zelda's story. He looked at the map again as the three soldiers hesitantly made their way towards the door. A red circle was scribbled onto the map, near a large blob that Link could only assume was the lake Renado had mentioned.
'If only I had a map, then I could just put a marking on it so I remember where the spring is.' He huffed, staring intensely at the map in the hopes he could memorize its details. 'Who knows when I'll be able to see a full map of Hyrule again.' His studying was interrupted by a yawn from Midna.
"Come on, aren't you going to go help that light spirit?" Link sighed.
'I don't have a map of Hyrule, so I want to make sure I remember where to go.' Midna was silent for a moment, allowing Link to study the map again, before-
"Pfft. Silly wolfy, did you forget what your master can do?" Before the growl could even fully leave his throat, Midna snapped her fingers and a faint copy of the map on the table appeared on the floor. She smirked at Link, before snapping her fingers again. A small red circle faded into view, exactly where it was on the paper map. He could only stare for a handful of moments. 'Oh.'
"This boy is still so young... To see him suffering like this..." Ilia's voice shook as Link walked past the two standing over the Zora. Telma said nothing, only patted Ilia's shoulder. A low whine from his throat, before he shook his head. 'I have to focus. If I get to the spring, this city will be saved from the twilight. Then I can find the last Fused Shadow, and get everyone back home to safety.' With that thought, he stepped back outside from the bar. He was about to climb the stairs up to the road itself, when he noticed that the beggar from before was gone. He tilted his head to one side as he stared at where the beggar had been sitting. 'Did something happen..?'
As he looked around, he suddenly heard the faint but unmistakable crackling of a shadow insect. His hackles raised as he growled, looking around to try and find it. The sound grew louder as he neared an otherwise unremarkable set of boxes sitting in a corner. 'Hopefully whatever's in these boxes isn't important..' He leapt and lunged at the boxes, which broke into splinters as he landed on them. A shadow insect scurried out, scrambling in a circle. It only took a second jumping attack for the insect to fall still. As with the other insects, it exploded into small black particles, revealing a bright blue ball of light. Link stepped towards it, anticipating the familiar pleasant warmth of a light spirit's light.
However, no such sensation came. Instead, the ball of light seemed to be oblivious to his presence. He nudged it with his nose, surprised to find that he could feel something push back against him. There was no heaviness behind the push, yet he was unable to push past it all the same. He sat and stared at the ball of light, his head tilted to one side.
"Silly wolf, did you forget? You need a vessel to hold those!" He huffed. 'Of course. Serves me right, for trying to be proactive about this.' He stretched as he stood up. 'I'll just have to remember to come back here, once I've found a way to Lanayru's spring.'
It wasn't long before he found himself back outside of the city, stepping past the bodies of the eerie creatures that had attacked him earlier.
'Midna? Could you show me the map again?' She didn't say anything, but a moment later the faint outline of the map was on the ground at his feet. He studied it, looking at his surroundings until he could see what shapes on the map stood for what he saw in front of him. Almost in a straight line from the bridge was a dirt pass leading to another mountain pass much like the one he had walked through to get to the city, which the map said would lead to the lake. He could feel Midna's hands clinging to his fur as he set off in a sprint down the path.
Upon emerging from that pass, he was greeted with the sight of a bridge far larger than the one in Eldin's lands. 'I guess this is the Bridge of Hylia that Renado mentioned.' One part of the dirt path led off to the left, with the other side seemingly leading straight to the bridge. A strange sign, with a man's grinning face painted on, at the split between the path read:
"Lake Hylia's Newest Hangout: Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication
Head left for the Flight-by-Fowl main attraction."
Link snorted. 'I guess that explains the Cucco on the sign. Though, surely Cuccos can't actually carry anybody?' Out of curiosity, he found himself walking towards the building to the left. Simple wooden fences lined the edge of the cliff, turning into a solid wooden wall as he neared the building. From the top of the stairs, it almost looked like a house of some kind, clinging to the cliffs overlooking what Link assumed was Lake Hylia. The door to the house had an intricate symbol on it, one Link didn't recognize. If it weren't for the symbol, it would almost look like a door from Ordon Village.
With the door firmly closed, Link walked back up the wooden stairs and towards the large bridge. A broken cart sat to one side, with a sign on the other side of the bridge.
"GREAT HYLIAN BRIDGE
This large bridge spanning Lake Hylia is the largest in Hyrule, and offers excellent lake views."
He began walking across the bridge, but he slowed and eventually stopped when suddenly the surface of the bridge felt wet beneath his paws. 'Did it rain here recently?'
"... Hey, do you smell anything funny?" Link bent his head down to sniff at the bridge beneath his feet. Even with the twilight dulling some of his senses, he knew what that smell was. 'Oil?!'
Suddenly one of the stone-masked creatures leapt onto the far side of the bridge, and Link started growling. Before he could make his way to the creature to attack, a flaming arrow flew from the creature to the start of the oil behind him. He didn't need to turn around to hear the sudden roar of fire coming to life behind him. The creature sent another fiery arrow into the ground on the other side of the bridge.
"We're trapped! Get out of here!" To his surprise, Midna didn't leave his back as she had when Barnes' bomb storage building caught fire. 'Focus!' Neither side of the bridge was safe now, with fire racing toward him. Looking around, Link saw a couple of crates sitting near the walls of the bridge. 'No time to think!', as he climbed the boxes and leaped into the abyss, plummeting into Lake Hylia below.
Landing in the water knocked the air from his lungs. As he scrambled and broke the surface, gasping for air, he heard Midna sigh.
"That was a close one. We're lucky there was a puddle down below, huh?" She looked around the area, frowning. "So this is 'Lake' Hylia? It looks pretty dry to me. I wonder if something's wrong?" She sighed again.
"That light spirit's spring should be around here. Let's take a look around."
Three spirits stood by the edge of the water. They were like the boy Ilia was worrying over - Zoras, Telma had said they were called. The three of them wore fish-like masks and carried strange spears.
"The drop in water has been faster than predicted... At this rate, Lake Hylia will dry up if we don't get water from upstream."
"Something must have happened back home." The third Zora nodded, then sighed.
"With the way things are now, we can't even walk back there." The Zora shook his head. "I hope the queen is safe..." Link looked around, noticing both a strange house in the distance as well as a wooden bridge that hung in the air but didn't seem to go anywhere. More out of curiosity and confusion than anything else, he found himself looking down into the water he had fallen into. To his surprise, there were what almost looked like stone pillars down at the very bottom of the lake. 'There's no way I could swim down there... Let's just hope I don't have to go there...' With nowhere else to go, Link decided to make his way to the strange house in the distance.
The house's roof was a patchwork of several different colors. Bizarrely enough, a metal claw stretched from the side of the house and held up a small wooden boat. A lone spirit floated next to a strange mechanism, with a sign attached to a barrel that sat next to it.
"Lake Hylia's Newest Attraction!
Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication
Free* Admission"
At the bottom of the sign, in much smaller lettering than the rest:
"(Cash required for each ride)"
Link snorted. 'That doesn't sound very free to me.'
The spirit, as it turned out, was a human. He looked somewhat like the person on the sign up by the bridge, though without the cheerful expression. The man sighed.
"I'm too old for this.." He scoffed, his tone taking on a snide tone. "Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication... It's our grand reopening at our new lake-bottom location." The man looked at Link - no, through Link - at the lake. He sighed again before scoffing a second time.
"Real nice lake. Don't they usually have more, oh I don't know, water?" He looked up at something beyond the lake. "Did those Zoras do something?" He turned his head. "Or maybe it's a curse from Lanayru?" Link blinked and stared up at where the man was looking. A wooden bridge connected to a cave in the side of the cliffs. 'So that's where Lanayru's spring is. But how do I get up there?' The man let out another sigh, and Link turned back to look at him.
"Whatever. It's not like I can go up and complain." He looked off to the right, before his sullen expression suddenly shifted. "What's that?" He strained to peer into the distance. Link followed his gaze, noticing something that sort of looked like a human walking in the distance. However, he and the man realized at about the same time that it was no human, it was-
"YIKES! IT'S A MONSTER!" Link sprinted towards it, a growl coming from his throat. When he reached the monster, instead of nocking an arrow to shoot at him, it grabbed at a wooden object that hung from a string around its neck. The monster raised the wooden object to its face, under the stone-like mask. Suddenly a noise came from the monster, almost like the sound of the grass Link used to call for Epona or his hawk. 'What is it doing..?'
It wasn't long before Link's question was answered. A large shadow bird swooped down behind the monster, which jumped up onto the shadow bird's back. Link growled again as the monster cackled from its perch on the shadow bird.
"Ugh, another pest! I guess he felt like he needed to call a friend!" Link would've almost laughed, but a flaming arrow flew past his ear. He could almost feel the heat from the fire as it passed him. The monster nocked another arrow, which Link narrowly avoided. After several arrows hit the dry ground, the shadow bird flew up and out of Link's reach. It turned and began to swoop down at him, but he was faster. Link leapt up onto the shadow bird, his teeth sinking into its flesh. The bird screeched in pain and anger, its flailing sending the monster on its back crashing into the dirt. As the shadow bird flew away, Link turned his attention to the monster that had called the shadow bird. 'Not so safe now, are you?'
With another leap, he was on top of the monster, his fangs now burying themselves into the monster's neck. Before long, the monster lay still. Link panted, staring down at the eerie beast. It almost reminded him of the Bulblins. Midna patted his shoulder.
"Nice job." She turned to look at something. Then she chuckled. "I'll bet we can use this thing to get up there." Link turned to see what she was looking at-
'No, Ordona's hooves, please no. Not the shadow bird.' But Midna was already off of his back, flying over to the bird. She sat on the bird's back, prompting it to begin squirming in clear discontent.
"Hey! Cut it out! I'm your new master now! So settle down!" It reminded Link of when she had first found him in the dungeons of Hyrule Castle. He shivered, just slightly. The shadow bird slowly stopped its squirming.
"C'mon, we can use this guy to get to the lake's water source!" Before Link could protest, the bird flew forward and grabbed him in its talons, carrying him up and towards where the man had looked before when mentioning the Zoras.
