Born a Weapon

A Twilight Princess Fan story

Chapter 17

Twilit Parasite Diababa

Link entered the room apprehensively, unsure what he would face in what seemed to be the final section of the massive tree. There were no other openings into the room aside from rectangular holes in the walls that poured water into a large pool. The water coming from the openings was clear and normal, but the pool itself was stained with a sickly purple. A strange bug species was sitting at the water's edge and drinking from the pool. They were spherical, almost as big as Link's chest, and had four skinny legs.

"Well, unless one of those weird bugs has the Fused Shadow, it looks like you just wasted our time."

"Could it be in the water?" Link pointed at the sickly purple substance, "doing something to it?" The purple liquid gave Link a bad feeling. It reminded him of the gas he nearly died in before. Link slowly approached the water, and a few of the bugs scattered and ran from him and stood a safe distance away from what they perceived as a possible threat. "At least these things don't want to kill me." Link peered into the water, trying to make out any strange shapes inside, but the purple was thick, and he couldn't see anything.

"Well? Is it in there, or can you stop wasting time now?" A low rumbling noise could be heard, and after seeing movement, Link realized there was something in the water, and it was big. The bugs scurried away from the water, and Link decided to follow their lead and moved back. A giant head resembling a deku baba emerged from the water on Link's left and smashed into the wall, causing rubble to fall and block a small hole in the wall that the bugs were fleeing to. With their only exit blocked, the insects ran in any direction they could that would bring them away from danger. A second head emerged opposite the previous and moved closer to Link. If the thing had any eyes, Link would guess it was examining him. The head snapped at Link with its teeth, but the hero quickly moved back to avoid the blow before drawing his sword and shield.

"What do you think a sword is going to do against that?!"

Link wasn't expecting it to do much, but it was a weapon, so it might at least injure the beast before him. Link dodged a few more snaps from the heads and slashed at them each time but did nothing more than make a few cuts. Midna's magic was no help either. Usually, when she blasted something, it was at least stunned for a few seconds, but the giant plant didn't seem to be affected at all. When Midna got too close, it snapped at her but immediately returned its attention to Link when she floated away.

"This thing seems to be focusing on me! Why?!" Link shouted as he ran around the area. There didn't seem to be anywhere the monster couldn't reach, so Link had to keep moving.

"I don't know, but it's really starting to piss me off! Neither of us can do anything!" When Link got close to where the bugs had huddled, they scattered and ran wildly, unsure where to hide. One unfortunate critter scurried right up to Link when the left plant head tried to smash him. Link dived out of the way, feeling sorry for the poor creature, but was surprised when it did something he didn't expect after being smashed. It blew up.

"What the hell?!" Link questioned. He didn't know the name of that bug, but he knew it should not have done that.

"Exploding bugs?! Now I've seen everything! And we haven't even gotten the first piece yet!"

The plant head that crashed into the bug seemed to recoil in pain before it collapsed, dead, and slowly slid back into the water. Link got an idea. Dashing across the room, Link charged at the nearest bug he could find and scooped it up in his arms. The insect thrashed to free itself, and Link struggled to hold on to it.

"Behind you!"

Link turned to see the second plant head heading towards him, mouth open wide to engulf him. The bug had given him too much trouble, and he got distracted.

"Oh, fu-" Link was inside the giant mouth before he could finish his sentence, and Midna stared in shock at the head as it pulled back and rested over the water.

Inside the head, the bug managed to get free of Link's grasp, though it didn't matter anymore since they were both stuck in the creature's mouth. Link rammed the teeth of the plant in a vain attempt to free himself. Sudden movement knocked him off balance, and he heard Midna's magic from outside his prison. Midna was trying to fight the thing, and it was likely trying to fight her, but it didn't open its mouth. The green bug ran in every direction it could in blind panic, and Link thought of the only way he could escape his predicament. Link held his shield in front of him with a sigh and readied his sword. "This. Is going. To hurt," he said. Link thrust his sword forward and pierced the bug's body.

Midna was frantically trying to avoid being smashed and fruitlessly throwing attacks at the giant head. She realized she was doing nothing, but she was panicking and trying to fight back in any way she could. A loud bang came from within the beast's head, and it suddenly recoiled back over the water again. The head slowly began to fall as its mouth fell open, and smoke escaped as it plummeted. Midna saw something green jump out of the smoke and land harshly on the ground just before the head fell into the water.

"You idiot!" Midna chastised as she flew next to Link, "I thought you were dead! Don't do that!"

"Nice to see you're safe too." Link grunted, sitting on his knees and supporting his upper body with his arms. Taking an explosion to the face like that was a terrible idea, but he had no other. Luckily his shield absorbed most of the damage. "I didn't get eaten on purpose."

"Oh, sure, you just stood still like an idiot fighting a bug! What would happen if you died, huh?! What would happen to everyone?!" Great, now he was being yelled at for almost dying.

Before any more quarreling could happen, another louder rumbling sound shook the room, and a massive, long mass came up from the middle of the water. Link could see the stems of the previous head attached to its body, signifying all the heads were part of the same creature. The end of it pointed at Link and opened, the top lifting and the bottom splitting into two parts to form a giant mouth that made a loud, deep roaring sound.

"Shit," Link muttered as he scrambled to his feet and ran to the side just in time to avoid being eaten again. Link scooped up another scurrying bug and lobbed it at the new plant head, and it blew up on impact. The head recoiled but did not die.

"I don't think it will be that easy this time. Don't get eaten again!" Midna remarked as she tested if her magic would do anything to the new plant head. It did not. "Damn it!"

"Chuck some bugs at it!" Link said, gesturing to another scurrying insect.

"Ew! No!"

"Midna!" Link dove to the side to avoid another slam, "I am fighting a giant freaking plant! Throw explosives at it!" Link scooped another bug and threw it at the plant but got the same effect as last time. Midna threw her arms down with an annoyed grunt and scooped up one of the ball-shaped bugs before throwing it as hard as she could at the plant. At the same time, Link threw one of his own, and the combined force of two explosions knocked the plant to the floor. The head splayed on the ground with its mouth open from being stunned, and Link tossed another bug underhand into the thing's mouth.

The head reeled back and flailed around in pain but unfortunately did not perish. Instead of charging in for another bite or smash, the head opened from over the water as a bulge traveled up its throat and a purple liquid began spraying at Link, who cried in alarm and started running to avoid the stream. Midna yelped when she was nearly hit but quickly scooped another bug and tossed it at the creature, ending its attack.

Link ran the situation through his head. This thing could take an explosion and suffer no damage unless it was from inside. Two explosions caused some damage but still wasn't fatal. He needed a lot more explosions to happen at once. There certainly was no shortage of bugs but throwing them all at once was the problem. Link nearly jumped in realization and quickly drew the boomerang he had taken from the monkey he fought. He threw it at an angle he hoped would scoop up all the bugs and take them to the giant plant. His aim was off, but the boomerang seemed to correct itself to grab every bug and head towards the homicidal plant as if it knew what he wanted him to do. Before the boomerang could reach its target, the plant shot a wide arc of its purple liquid to ensure Link could not avoid it. Link tried to move away, but the substance came too fast, and a large portion landed on his right shoulder.

Link screamed in pain as he felt his flesh burning. The purple liquid was some kind of acid, melting right through his clothes. The loudest explosion yet drowned out Link's cries of pain, and when it happened, the water burst into flames, forming a massive wall that enveloped the plant. So that was why the bugs were exploding. It was the purple substance inside their bodies.

The force of the explosion knocked Link over and sent Midna flying across the room. The fire eventually died down, and the blackened plant made one final lunge for Link, slowing as it did and stopping just before it could reach him. The plant looked dried out. Its once large body was now extremely thin. The plant seemed to continue to grow darker until it was pitch black before it burst into hundreds of small black squares that filled the room and lingered for a few seconds before shooting back into the point where the mouth of the plant once was. Once all the squares rejoined, they formed into what looked like grey stone with a strange carving on it. It looked similar to the Fused Shadow Midna wore, just not the same shape, and it looked like it could fit into Midna's helmet, covering her face and other eye.

The second Fused Shadow slowly floated down and rested on top of Link's chest, where he left it for now as he was too occupied with his burning shoulder to do anything about it

"The Fused Shadow…" Midna floated over to Link and picked up the relic piece in her hands. She turned the Fused Shadow around in her hands, examining its markings. "Could this really be all I need to match him? This harmless looking thing? It looks more like a piece of art than a weapon." Midna marveled at the Fused Shadow like a kid who had just discovered their favorite toy, wanting to look at every corner of it.

"Midna…" Link said weakly, gaining her gaze. "Don't put it on."

"Huh?" Midna looked back at the item she held and saw it only inches from her face. She flinched and dropped the Fused Shadow in shock and fear, floating back slightly. She had almost put it on. Her hands moved to join the piece with the other, and she hadn't even realized it. Midna looked down at her slightly shaking hands before clenching into fists and giving an annoyed growl before sending the Fused Shadow into her pocket dimension. "Well, I got it. I have the piece we came for, so we don't need to spend any more time in here. Come on, let's go." Midna floated impatiently over Link, waiting for him to rise, but he never did. He just laid on the ground, taking deep breaths. "Come on! Get up! What's wrong with you now?" She stared at his pained face and then remembered the purple liquid had hit Link. The memory hit her like a brick wall, and her realization was clear on her face for Link to see. Midna was so obsessed with the Fused Shadow that she forgot. Damn that thing! For something that was supposed to help, it was giving her a lot of trouble!

Midna quickly floated over to Link's shoulder and gently removed his hand. Link groaned in protest but did not fight her. What she saw nearly made her throw up, and even though her face was mostly white, Link could see it turn pale. Links shoulder was red with black spots scattered all over and some blisters forming. When she noticed his clothes and armor seemed to have melted into his skin, she gagged and had to back away to hurl in the water.

"That bad…?" Link's voice came weakly, and he turned his head to see for himself. That was a bad idea, and he felt like he might also vomit.

"Bad? Link… You need help. Now." Midna knew what she had to do, and she dreaded it, but there was no way Link could go through all the rooms again in his condition. She had to make a portal and warp him out like she did to get him the spring water. Conveniently, the spring would help him heal his shoulder, so it was the perfect spot to send him. After gathering her strength and composing herself, she floated back to Link. "I'm going to warp you out of here. I'll need to make a portal like I told you I did before. I really don't want to because It's going to hurt like hell, but I doubt you can get out of here on your own.

"Me too…" Link managed through a hiss of pain.

Midna extended her hand with a deep breath and went through the agonized process of making a portal. Link was alarmed by her cry of pain but knew there was no other way to safely get out of the tree. After several grueling seconds that felt like hours for them, a portal formed in the ground right next to Link, and Midna collapsed, heaving heavy breaths on her hands and knees.

Link grunted as he propped up on his left arm and began inching toward the portal. "Get… in my shadow…, Midna." Once Link's shadow passed over her, she simply sank into it. Link crawled agonizingly slow but managed to make it to the portal eventually. Midna used what strength she had left to teleport the injured man and herself back to the Faron's spring. She was so exhausted afterward that she couldn't do anything else.

Link emerged on the shore of the spring, sunlight pouring down on him from above. As quickly as he could, Link dragged himself forward until he could submerge his shoulder into the water. The sudden contact stung like crazy, and he groaned in pain, but he knew it would help, so he didn't back down. Breathing heavily, Link lay in the spring and looked at the sky. There was nothing more he could do other than wait and hope his pain came to an end soon.

Just when Link thought he would drift into sleep, he saw the area get brighter from behind his eyelids and opened them. Above him, clinging to a ball of light, was Faron. The light spirit looked down, and Link swore Faron looked sad, though the golden face did not change. Faron's eyes drifted over to Link's shoulder, and it flared in pain again. His shoulder felt like something was being torn out of it, and he clasped his hand over it and grunted in pain. Eventually, the pain stopped, and Link stopped squirming and making pained noises.

"Your garb has been removed from your body and will no longer impede your healing. I apologize for the discomfort, but it was necessary." Link tried to thank Faron, but he was too weak, and it barely came out as a whisper, but the spirit seemed to hear it. "Unfortunately, flesh is much harder to mend and will take some time to heal." Faron's eyes never left Link, but he could see the spirit's mind had wandered, mulling something over before speaking again. "Heroic Link, you have suffered much. Your journey is incomplete, but you must rest before burdening yourself further." After one more sad glance at Link, Faron disappeared, returning the spring to its normal lighting.

"That's a good idea."

"I think I'll take that advice too…" Midna's voice said from Link's shadow, sounding extremely tired. Both companions fell into slumber soon after.

Several hours later, Link stood before Faron with a cloth damp with spring water tied to his shoulder.

"All right, we got the Fused Shadow piece. Now what?"

"You have made great progress, but Hyrule is not yet saved. You must leave these woods and go to the east, where you will find the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you may find those you seek." That last part got Link's attention.

"You mean the kids from Ordon?" he asked, hopeful. Faron gave a slight nod.

"Before Zant sent his minions to steal my power, I saw them heading that way. However, I cannot confirm my suspicions with Eldin since he has fallen."

"Two light spirits were beaten?!"

"Three. Ordona was the only one spared and only thanks to your efforts. Even Lanayru was defeated, and he holds more power than the rest of us combined." Link was very disturbed by this information. Ordona and Faron both radiated immense power. If a being with more power than them, and Eldin, who he had yet to encounter, combined was defeated… what could he do? "Do not be dismayed by this information. You have already saved two of us. I do not doubt you will save Eldin and Lanayru and then Hyrule from its peril." Link was grateful for the comforting words but as powerful as Faron was, he couldn't see the future.

"I'm guessing the rest of Hyrule was covered in twilight once the light spirits couldn't fight it, right?"

"They are now a dark realm covered by the clouds of dusk," Faron answered. "If you set foot beyond the curtain of twilight, you will revert to your beast form, so be prepared."

"Damn it!" Link huffed before giving a nod to Faron. "Ok." With nothing more to say, Faron once again disappeared.

"That's better," Midna said as she emerged in her shadow form, "that glowing thing actually did something useful. Searching should be much easier now."

"I'm sure the light spirits tried their hardest. I doubt they went down without a fight. They tried to save innocents and paid a price they shouldn't have had to."

"Oh, come on. When have you ever heard of a deity doing something?" Midna retorted with crossed arms.

"Whatever, I'm not going to argue with you over this," Link said holding up his hands, "Either way, the least I can do is help them."

"Of course, you feel the need to go help the other light spirits." Midna rolled her eyes, "You go help them out of the goodness of your heart. I'll only help because I need you to get the next Fused Shadow, and that'll be much easier for you like this." Midna gestured to Link, referring to his fluffy form.

"You know there's also countless innocent people stuck in the twilight too."

"Ugh, of course you'd pull that." As much as Midna wanted to quip at Link's predicament, she wouldn't make fun of innocent people suffering. "Well, before you do any saving, you need to find the land covered in twilight. Once you do, I'll help you get inside."

"It's that way," Link said, pointing in the same direction they went before, "we just have to go past Coro's hut, and then we're in Hyrule field. Let me check if I have a map just in case." Link unclasped the lid on his pouch and began fishing through it for a map. "Really not looking forward to being a wolf, though.

"Don't worry. When you turn into a beast again, I'll take good care of you. Eee hee hee!" Link wasn't sure what she meant by that, but by her mischievous tone, he assumed she would treat him like a dog again. Guess he better get ready to chuck her off his back a lot. Eventually, Link found a map of Hyrule and confirmed his original statement, and began heading in that direction.

Soon Link once again stumbled upon Coro's hut and saw the man sitting on the log looking at the wall, seemingly thinking about something. At first, he didn't hear Link approach, which was good because if he did, Link would have to explain why he was coming back from a different direction than the one he left. When Link stood just in front of Coro, he finally caught sight of him and jumped to his feet in surprise.

"Hey! It's you, guy!"

"Sorry about scaring you. I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that."

"It's fine, guy," Coro said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, "I'm just glad you're ok! You were gone for a while. I was worried I let you walk off to your death. I'd never forgive myself for that, guy!"

"You were right not to let anyone else in there, but don't worry, I'm fine."

"Really? You went through all that and came out without getting hurt?"

"…ok by fine, I mean alive. I got beaten up a bit, but I'll live."

"I wish I could help with that, but I sell lantern oil, guy, not healing stuff. Where you off to now?"

"I'm heading to Eldin now. I've got a bit more adventuring to do."

"On foot?!" Coro seemed shocked, "are you sure you're up for that, guy? You only just came out of that tree!"

"It's fine. I'll manage."

"If you're sure, guy. Just be careful, all right? Something's wrong out there. I can't contact any of my siblings, and I've heard others are having trouble too. The postman says something keeps blocking him."

"I'll be careful. See you later, Coro."

Link departed from the concerned salesman, continuing his way to Eldin. Midna took this time to free herself from Link's shadow since they would be crossing a field, and there likely wouldn't be many shady spots for a while. As they continued, Midna noticed Link kept rubbing his shoulder. Seeing Midna notice this, Link spoke up.

"Still hurts."

"I'm all for getting this done as soon as possible, but why didn't you complain when I wanted to leave the spring?" Midna floated in her lounging position, arms behind her head and legs crossed, in front of Link, keeping pace with him.

"The rag is going to help," Link said, pointing to his shoulder at the rag under his clothes, "And I want this to be looked at by a doctor. There isn't one in Ordon. I just hope there's one in Eldin somewhere."

"Whatever. I'm not going to argue with you going faster."

Link continued through the mass of trees, and eventually, they began to thin out and finally stop. Link halted under the shade of the final trees, and before him was a large grassy field that stretched for miles. Trees scattered the area, and Link saw the colorful specs of flowers across the field.

"Woah…" Midna quietly said, shocked by the sight. "And I thought your apples were colorful. I've never seen anything like this." Midna floated to the ground where a flower was sprouting and hovered her hand around it like she was afraid it would shatter if she touched it. "What is this thing?"

"It's a flower," Link said, kneeling with one knee next to Midna. "A plant?" he added when Midna didn't seem to understand.

"Oh!" Midna quickly withdrew her hands like she had the touch of death. "Sorry, I didn't know." Midna's actions confused Link, and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Why'd you pull back like that?"

"Because I don't want to damage it! I know how important plants are!"

"You're not going to kill it with a touch," Link reached his hand out to the flower and gently brushed its pedals to prove his point.

"You'd better stop before you get caught. I don't think the farmer will be happy with you touching his stuff. If you ruin all this work, there will be serious consequences."

"What are you talking about? It's a random flower."

"Link, even you must know this is someone's flower. They don't just randomly show up. They have to be carefully managed so they don't go extinct and can be harvested. All plants are like that."

"Midna, that's not how plants work. Not here." Now it was Midna's turn to have a confused look.

"What?"

"Look at the field. There's plants everywhere." Midna obliged and ran her eyes across the field, and realization slowly dawned on her.

"Wait… are those all plants?!" Link could see the shock in her eye and simply nodded in response. "But… there are so many! How did anyone get so many?!"

"No one had to do anything. They just grew on their own."

"By themselves?!"

"Yeah, there are plants all over Hyrule."

"Wha- but- that's not how plants work! They need to be managed! Everything depends on the careful management of plants, and they just show up here?!" Midna stormed off through the shade of the trees, avoiding any light coming through.

Link looked to where Midna disappeared, thinking. Clearly, her world didn't have as much access to plants as Link's. From the sound of it, plants were rare and did not grow without help. Farming is an essential part of any civilization, so maintaining plants is likely a high priority where Midna comes from. Link mused over the fact that if his world has more access to plants than Midna's, it may be the same way for other resources.

"Geez," Link said, looking at the flower, "you've caused quite a commotion." After a few minutes, Link went after Midna to find her sitting against a tree, lost in thought but seemingly calmed down. Link sat next to her in silence and looked at nature. Midna avoided eye contact with him for a while before finally mumbling something.

"It's not fair." Midna never took her eyes off the scenery, but her words were directed at Link. "In my world, we have to put so much effort into keeping plants alive. They're so important that farms are restricted to almost everyone, and breaking in is a serious crime. Yet here," Midna threw her hands around, gesturing to everything around her, "they just… show up! With no effort! No special farming! Just lay around and the plants will come to you!" An uncomfortable silence filled the air and went unbroken for a few minutes.

"I can see why that would upset you. Having something so rare and important in your world just to find out others get it with almost no effort can be frustrating. Some plants still need care here, and there are farms, but I can see what you mean." A question formed in Link's mind, and he decided to voice it. "Do you think that's why Zant is invading? To take Hyrule's resources?"

"I don't know what that bastard's reasons are, and I don't care." Silence lingered for several seconds. Although Midna had constantly mocked and insulted Link, she had never used such strong vocabulary before.

"Maybe when all this invasion stuff is over, you can take some plants back to your world." Midna finally looked at Link, and he could see she was pleasantly surprised to hear him say that. The emotion quickly faded, and she looked away once more.

"We don't need your pity help. We Twili have managed just fine on our own." That wasn't the response Link expected, but he let it be the final words of the conversation.

I decided exploding bugs was a bit weird, so I gave them a different reason to explode.