Born a Weapon
A Twilight Princess Fan story
Chapter 39
Twilit Imp Midna
The wall Link was thrown into gained several severe cracks once a magic blast meant for Link struck it, sending pieces of debris and dust into the air. Link opened his mouth to speak but abandoned that when Midna slashed her arm through the air, sending a curved beam of magic at him. Rolling to the side, Link passed just under the curve.
"Midna, stop!" A large orange hand attempting to crush him was Link's response. Several more small blasts of magic and an orange fist were thrown at Link before Midna flew at him. Link held up his hand to block her, and she grasped onto his arm, trying to push him off the ledge. Midna's strength was greater than before, surprising Link, but still not greater than his. Link rushed forward, slamming Midna into the wall and pinning her with his arm. The impact knocked Midna's breath out of her, leaving her stunned for a moment. "Snap out of it, Midna! It's me!" Midna's face was dazed, her gaze unfocused. She was looking at Link but not seeing him.
Suddenly, she flew up, escaping Link's grasp and rocketing into his chest with a double kick. Link staggered back with a grunt and saw Midna firing another blast of magic at him. Link's shield was in his hand in a flash of movement, smacking the magic back at its caster. The blast intended for Link struck Midna, sending her spinning through the air, and Link took the moment to come up with a plan.
Killing his friend was not an option, so he needed to find some way to return her to normal. Luckily, Link had been in a similar situation when fighting Darbus. Once Link removed the Fused Shadow from him, Darbus quickly returned to normal. As Midna prepared another attack, his mind continued to race. Removing the Fused Shadow was not a simple task. He would first have to weaken it, and the only way he knew how to do that was to strike it, yet he ran the risk of missing the helmet and striking Midna. However, he didn't seem to have any other option, so he would have to be careful with his swings even though the Fused Shadow had likely increased Midna's durability.
A continuous magic beam shot at Link, who blocked it with his shield. He pushed against the magic to move closer before spinning out of the beam's path, ramming a foot into Midna's face as he drew his sword before slamming it into her helmet. The two strikes left Midna stunned for a moment, giving Link a chance to stab the helmet before she flew away. Link's final advantage over Midna was that she was not a fighter. She had lots of raw power and knew how to use magic, but she had clearly never been in a fight and didn't know how to take a hit.
"Some hero, drawing your sword on your friend," Midna mocked. She shot another long blast at Link, which he easily rolled under. Once he got to his feet, he saw the debris from the wall Midna just blasted come flying at him with incredible speed. Link blocked as much as he could with his shield, but some slammed into him, leaving bruises on him even through his armor. When he turned to block the debris, Midna's orange hand slammed into him, sending him to the floor, where he had to roll to avoid being crushed by another strike. Once Link recovered, Midna flew to the middle of the room where there was no floor. Midna may not know how to fight, but she was clever.
"Midna, this isn't you!" The hero tried desperately to reason with his opponent.
"And how would you know? I only needed you to get the Fused Shadows, but apparently, I could have just done it myself."
"You told me the Fused Shadows can corrupt people! You've seen it happen to the Goron's leader! How can you say this is what you'd normally do? You said you wouldn't use the Fused Shadow until we fought Zant!"
"I lied!" Midna cackled as she sent small blasts of energy at the hero. "I used it after you failed! You got your ass kicked by someone who looked just like you, and I had to carry your sorry ass to safety!" Link's mind replayed the encounter in his head. When his doppelganger had defeated him, he was choked into unconsciousness. Midna said Link had landed in the shadow, and she teleported them away. He didn't think he had, but he trusted Midna and assumed he had been mistaken, but now the truth had been revealed.
"You saved my life that day!" Link said as he jumped away from another blast. "Don't try to end it now!"
"I should have let it end that day, but for some reason, I cared. Can you believe that? Me caring about someone from the light world! It's pathetic!" Midna gave up on the smaller blasts and began to accumulate magic into a bigger one.
In a flash, Link drew his bow and sent an arrow into the Fused Shadow, earning him another strike and distracting Midna long enough for him to reach into his pouch and retrieve the boomerang he hadn't used since his journey to retrieve the first Fused Shadow. As he threw it, a gust of wind enveloped Midna and carried her back to the floor. Link swiftly charged her and slammed his sword down onto her helmet before uppercutting her with his shield. He sheathed his sword and grasped the Fused Shadow, slamming Minda into the ground, where he pinned her. He tried his best to pull the corrupting helmet off his friend, but just like Darbus, the Fused Shadow seemed to cling to its host. Before Link could get much leverage, a wave of energy sent him flying through the air, and before he could hit the ground, Midna's giant hand grasped him by the torso.
"Just die!" Midna screamed as she used her enhanced strength to slam Link into the temple walls, pillars, and any other nearby surface, smiling wider each time a pained cry could be heard. She lifted the hero before and began to tighten her grip, determined to crush him. Link spit blood into Minda's face, making her cry in disgust and loosening her grip. With the loosened grip, Link retrieved an item he never thought he would use. Midna wiped the blood off her face and turned back to Link with uncontained fury, only to see a rectangular dark grey stone in his hand.
A blinding flash of light blinded Midna as she screamed in pain. She released the hero and crumbled to the floor while covering her eyes. As she fought against the pain in her eyes, she felt many impacts against her helmet. Sword, shield, boots, fists, Link threw everything he had at the Fused Shadow to loosen it. A scream of rage much louder than Midna should have been capable of shook the room, and Link was once again sent flying by a blast of magic. Link rolled on impact and was quickly on his feet to see two more pieces of the Fused Shadow floating around her.
"Midna! Don't!" Link screamed, but it was no use. The pieces snapped together, covering her face. Midna clutched at her head, screaming in pain before her hair turned a dark red. It then split into three spear-like points, which Link quickly dodged. The hair spears embedded themselves into the large pillar in the center of the room before retracting and pulling it off, sending a massive stone wall flying at Link. With no other choice, Link dove off the ledge, grabbing the edge of the floor before he could fall. Link looked up to see a black hand glowing blue and orange erupt from Midna's back and crush the wall in its grip. Link pulled himself back onto the floor as more magic arms sprouted from Midna, and her body turned into a mass of the same magic energy. In a matter of seconds, Link was no longer looking at Midna but at a monster made of pulsing magic energy and seven hands protruding from it.
The magic hands swiped at Link, and every time he dodged, one another would come at him. Eventually, it became too much, and Link was struck by one of the hands, knocking him to the floor. He swiftly rolled when he saw all seven hands coming down at him but was unable to escape the fallout of the attack. The attack cracked the floor, and it began to collapse, sending the hero tumbling to the lower level along with chunks of debris. Broken stone landed around and on top of the hero, who felt some bones cracking.
With pulsing pain in his body and burning lungs from smoke, Link pushed what remained of the upper floor off him and used the wall to stagger to his feet. Something massive slammed behind him, and through the smoke, he could barely make out the glowing limbs of the monster Midna had become, attacking blindly at the piles of rubble. Staggering away, Link found one of the doors leading into another room on the floor and ran through its doorway. A large room with several pillars and walls greeted him, seeming designed as some kind of church. As Link leaned against a pillar, a plan came to him. Reaching into his pouch, Link took out a bomb and began an internal debate. He still didn't want to harm Midna, but he doubted she would die from what he planned while in her new monstrous form. He needed to stop trying to avoid hurting Midna, or he would never be able to save her.
"L̶͓͌ị̷͗n̷̢̏k̷͖͒! With three Fused Shadows powering Midna, it would take a lot to harm her.
As the main area of the temple was turned to rubble, Link remained nowhere to be seen. The hero's disappearance infuriated Midna, thinking he was always behind the next rock or pillar. Just as she finally ran out of hiding places to destroy, she saw him. He was standing in one of the doorways to another room, and once he realized he'd been spotted, he turned and ran.
With a monstrous scream, Midna jumped at him, destroying the doorway that was much too small for her. Once she entered, her many limbs almost slipped on a liquid that was coating the floor. She looked down and quickly recognized the same oil Link used to fuel his lantern covering most of the room. Before she could react, Link threw a flaming object onto the floor, and the room burst into flames.
Her deformed screams filled the room, and she scrambled to make her way out of the inferno. Scrambling forward, she saw Link run through another door that was spared by the oil. Enraged, Midna gave chase, destroying another doorway. When she emerged, she saw Link leaning over the side of a bridge over a large gap, swiftly getting to his feet and running once she began approaching. In her mindless rage, Midna hadn't considered why Link was leaning over the side of the bridge until she heard a faint hissing.
A massive explosion obliterated the bridge, causing her to fall several feet and land painfully on the ground. Stunned, Midna lay on the ground, beginning to wonder what she was doing. Why was she fighting Link? Suddenly, the rage returned in full force, and she dug her massive hands into the solid wall and began climbing. Once she was close enough, she saw Link again, who responded by raining bombs on her. Midna lost her grip and began plummeting but caught herself. Raising one of her hands, she formed a massive spear out of magic and hurled it at the hero. He quickly dove out of sight, but she saw blood spray through the air and heard his pained scream. With a smirk, Midna finished her ascent to see no sign of Link, but a blood trail led through a doorway so massive it could fit her mutated form. Following the blood, she entered what seemed to be a cathedral with a high ceiling and many pillars supporting it. The far side of the room had a raised platform with a podium.
Link was leaning against a wall on the platform, holding his left side, which was becoming stained with red. The wound looked severe, not only because of the amount of blood but because Midna's magic had infested the wound and was slowly poisoning him. Midna approached the gasping hero, ready to finish him off, but he suddenly smiled and pulled a nearby lever.
The massive door behind her closed, and water began pouring down from the ceiling. She tried to rush Link, but the water slammed into her. The last thing she saw of Link was him raising the black cloth over his mouth.
The water filling the room was far from clean and heavily obscured Midna's vision. Focusing her vision, she saw something floating nearby and grabbed it. To her disappointment, it was not Link but instead a metal fish with a black ball in its mouth.
The object burst with incredible force despite being underwater and sent her floating back. Something fast zipped past her and left a slash across her chest and more of the water bombs in its path. After several more cuts and explosions, Midna had enough and thrust her arms out. They stretched beyond their normal length and pierced the walls, and unknown to her, nearly Link as well. The holes in the walls provided a way for the water to escape, and it vanished to reveal the hero.
Midna's quick attack cracked the floor, but the hero rolled away and used his claw shot to avoid a second attack. With the clawshot moving Link incredibly fast and the pillars providing hiding places, Midna soon lost sight of Link, resulting in more surprising cuts and slashes.
To stop Link's new method of attack, Midna began smashing the pillars. With fewer places to hide, it became much easier to see Link. Exposed, Midna fired a large constant beam of energy at Link. Swiftly pulling out his shield, Link blocked the attack, which reflected off the shield. Steering the beam, Link destroyed the remaining pillars before directing the beam back into Midna's face. While she was stunned, Link used the clawshot to fly over her head and back towards the side of the room with the massive door. Recovering quicker than Link expected, Midna shot a small needle of magic at Link as he passed over her, piercing his right shoulder and destabilizing him. Losing his grip on the clawshot, Link collapsed to the floor and tumbled into the door. Looking up to see Midna beginning to advance on him, he drew his bow with a bomb attached to his arrow.
Drawing the arrow, Link adjusted his aim away from Midna, and his arrow flew over her head and into the ceiling. The explosion from the arrow triggered dozens of bombs lining the ceiling and sent a massive pile of rubble falling onto Minda. The ground shook, and dust filled the air, making Link cough and sending pain through his chest. Looking at the pile of rubble, he saw Midna burst out and try to crawl away before seeming to collapse.
Knowing this was his chance, Link forced himself to his feet and marched over to the collapsed monster. He firmly grasped the Fused Shadow and began to pull. Suddenly, one of Midna's hands grasped his torso and began to squeeze. Unable to escape, Link used all his strength to pull off a piece of the Fused Shadow. Midna screamed and began to shrink. As Link felt his ribs cracking, he pulled off another piece, making Midna revert to her imp form. As she changed, her grip slipped off Link's chest, and she lay limply on the floor. After shoving the two pieces in his hand into his pouch, he leaned down and tore off the final piece, causing Minda to black out instantly.
Shoving the final piece into his pouch, Link staggered back before collapsing to the floor.
I have been sitting on this chapter for a while now because every time I thought I was done, I decided it wasn't good enough. I've been thinking about how to handle this chapter since before I even started this story, so I was determined to make it as good as possible.