A/N: Random story idea that's been bouncing around in my head for awhile. Enjoy!

"So… here we are."

The words struck a chord inside of Link, causing him to look at the speaker with sadness. He knew he would find a mirror image of his own emotions, though an attempt at a bittersweet smile threw it off somewhat, despite its failure.

After all, this person had been his constant companion for over two years, for better and for worse. She had driven him insane at times, and he knew that he did the same to her, especially in the early stages of their partnership. Yes, the first few months of working with Midna had been… strenuous, for both of their vanities.

But she had grown on him in more ways than he cared to admit aloud. The selfish pest had slowly started showing her true colors, her act slowly being stripped away as they gathered the Fused Shadows. Fighting alongside one another against things that had no business existing (in his eyes) had a way of building rapport with one another, until he came to the realization that he actually liked the imp enough to care about her nearly dying.

The time since then, roughly a year and a half, had only solidified how he felt towards her. Judging by her downcast look, and the tears building at the corners of her eyes, he realized he wasn't the only one who felt something deeper.

Even the heat of the sun pouring down upon the Mirror Chamber couldn't stop Link from stepping forward rather suddenly, throwing his arms around the taller woman. The joy and heartbreak he felt when hers wrapped around him similarly was clear on his face, judging by the awkward look that Princess Zelda had donned a few meters away.

"Here we are." Link finally echoed as his hold solidified around her. He sighed a minute later, slowly letting her go. "I… don't really know how to handle this."

Midna let a sad smirk come to her lips as they separated.

"It's rather simple. I step through the mirror, and then I shatter it. Despite my heart telling me that I shouldn't. My people don't belong here, Link. And as much as my feelings tell me otherwise, I also don't belong here. It's only thanks to the Triforce of Wisdom which I now share with Zelda that I can even withstand your sun, miserable thing that it is." She lifted her right hand, displaying the faint outline of a triangle that rested there. "Of course… it was quite tolerable anywhere else besides this desert."

"Well then… I guess I should say it now, since I won't get the chance to do so again. Thank you, Midna. For coming into my life. I've come to care a great deal for you, and even if we have to part… Know that I always will."

"The feeling is quite mutual, my noble wolf. I-" Midna's eyes narrowed in confusion as her gaze settled behind Link. "Link? You know how you told me about someone teaching you? And how they take the form of a golden wolf? I think I believe you now."

Reaching for the Master Sword, Link nearly cursed as he turned around. He had come to respect the former Hero greatly, and had learned much from him, but something about the shade had always felt… off. Truthful, but not entirely honest.

Zelda, for her part, only stepped away as she saw the large wolf stare at Link. She nearly gasped after she blinked, seeing that it had turned from a wolf into a tall armored man. Or rather, something resembling one. He was no stalfos, but neither was he a ghost. His form looked entirely corporeal, and he possessed an unnerving intelligence in the empty pits of his eyes. His armor was antiquated, though she recognized enough of it from a description she had read in a book long ago.

"Well done, Hero. You have done as you set out to do. There is but one final lesson for me to impart upon you, and those who now bear witness to us." His head looked up into the sky, and for the first time, Link realized that the shade of the Hero of Time now possessed a different blade than he had wielded previously. The longsword had been replaced by another, much more foreign blade that took the shape of a helix. His shield was placed upon his back, and looked content to leave it there.

"Bear witness to the fulfillment of your wishes, Goddesses. Once more, the Triforce has come together. No longer is it bound within one of evil. Din, Nayru, Farore, your gift to this world is reunited by those you have deemed worthy. And by your wishes, they shall keep your burden." The shade's eyes lowered, looking down upon Link and Midna. "For what it is worth, my descendant and disciple… I am sorry. Take heart in knowing that the one you love shall not be parted from you. The lesson to be taught, Hero? That we are but a tool to the Goddesses, and that our lives hold little meaning to them."

With a startling speed, the shade was upon Link. The Master Sword swept upwards, deflecting the blow even as Link thrust forward with his shield. The shade backstepped, bringing the helix back towards Link faster than he was able to block. He grunted as he felt cold steel cut through his chain mail like paper and cut into his side. He attempted to raise an arm, yet something felt… wrong. Numb. He glanced down, surprised to find that the helix had cut through nearly a third of his body. He could hear Midna scream behind him, but his full focus went back to the shade's eyes.

"We Heroes are tools of the Goddesses, and while I swore to oppose Ganon in every way I could, he is now gone. My vow is fulfilled, and my duty to the Goddesses finished. My final act before their retribution takes me… is to free you from their yoke. Free this land of the power that has plagued it since the time of Hylia herself."

A bolt of darkness shot at the shade from Midna, impacting on the shade's armor, yet it seemed to do little damage. His gaze turned from Link to fall upon the Twilight Princess.

"Live a life of happiness that I could not, Heroes."

The sky crackled with power, drawing a glance upwards from the shade. Its eyes, if it had any, would have widened as the Goddesses acted faster than he had imagined. When he turned back to Link, the Hero noticed the urgency of the shade's movements as it ripped its blade out of his side and tackled him. Mere fractions of a moment later, he knew why. The ground erupted from a lightning strike, pushing the shade further and carrying them both into Midna… and all of them into the Mirror.

At first, Link had thought the sound of shattering glass was the Mirror breaking. He grunted as the world seemed to spin, felt Midna's hands wrap around him. Then he heard the shattering sound again. He realized they weren't in the desert anymore, though he couldn't say for sure where they were. Somewhere decidedly dark, and making him feel like he was being stretched thin. He felt a hand grab his wound, jolting him to the realization that the shade was still with them.

"A new world, where the soul of the Hero is free from the Goddesses. Where the power that they created is unknown… and can put to good use instead of being squandered by royalty and madmen."

The pain subsided, and Link realized that his wound had been healed. The skeletal hand on his side began to disappear.

"Farewell, my descendant and disciple. We are one soul. I offer you my knowledge and experience. Put it to use. Make a life of your own, take charge of your own fate. Do not let anything come between you and those you care for."

For a brief moment, just before the shade disappeared completely, Link and Midna could swear that they could see the Hero of Time as he looked when he was still alive. Still taller than Link, long blonde hair flowing out from beneath the helmet. Fierce white eyes, red and blue tattoos about his face, but a strong smile that almost seemed out of place upon stony features that had been weathered by hardships. Despite the ferocity in his eyes, Link could make out genuine sincerity about what had been said. And then he was gone, disappearing into motes of light. For a moment, they seemed to coalesce into a mask, then moved towards Link. When he came into contact with the motes, he felt pain.

Sorrow.

Rage.

Disappointment.

Abandonment. So many emotions that he had never felt so strongly before… but he also felt love and devotion. He remembered a young Hylian woman named Malon. A deity that responded to his need for strength, after he had been abandoned by the Goddesses in a foreign land. So many events, several times that of those he had lived himself…. And then they faded.

That stretched sensation grew, then diminished. The feel of Midna's arms around him kept him grounded, until everything seemed to stop spinning. Tentatively, he opened his eyes before shutting them again as his vision was set upon by a multitude of colors. Primarily green. He grabbed Midna, feeling her trembling arms slowly regain their composer. They waited that way for nearly a minute, until both of them were able to breathe normally.

"What… just happened?" Midna finally asked. She sat up, causing Link to open his eyes once more. The pain he felt had subsided, at least momentarily, as he glanced around at their surroundings.

Trees. Lots of trees. Their branches didn't create much of a canopy, letting him see that they were near the foot of a mountain as well. More importantly, he was able to make out some structures in that direction as well, though they looked rather dilapidated. Perhaps abandoned. His head swiveled back around to look at Midna.

"We're not in the Mirror Chamber at least." Link stated, resisting the urge to mimic one of his partner's toothy grins.

Midna, it seemed, didn't find him to be quite so amusing as he thought himself to be. Her arms crossed as she looked at him, eyes narrowed in warning and her mouth wide to make a rebuttal, until a look of puzzlement dawned on her.

"You didn't happen to get tattoos when I wasn't looking, did you?" She asked. Link shook his head even as her arm disappeared into a shadow as if searching for something. When it came away, she was carrying a small hand mirror that he recalled Zelda having given her during their journey back to the Arbiter's Grounds. "Take a look."

She held it up for him to see, and see he did. Red markings on his cheeks were clearly visible, as well as a thick blue curved line on his forehead. His eyes widened as he recoiled from the sight, earning a chuckle from Midna.

"Oh relax, they're not half bad. Makes you look more… fierce. Like the warrior you are. Now, how about we figure out what we're supposed to be doing, shall we?"

"Are you not worried about the Twili?" Link asked, somewhat puzzled. Midna glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Of course I am. But right now there's not much I can do. There's a steward who still lived last I saw when we were there and is more than capable of keeping them going. My worry stems from what they may do if I don't return to them soon, more than anything else. And, you know, where exactly we are. I know we got pushed through the Mirror of Twilight, but I also saw it breaking as we went through. That can break the magic it held in so many more ways than I can even imagine… and we were inside it when it happened. But, this is clearly not the Twilight Realm."

Link opened his mouth to respond, then quickly closed it as he heard something stalking through the nearby woods. With a quick signal developed through years of being around Midna, she knew exactly what he had meant. She melted into his shadow in an instant, though not quite in the same way as she used to. They had discovered that she was capable of only partially submerging herself within shadows, once her curse had been broken. She could be helpful in a fight outside of Twilight now.

He steadied his grip on his sword and reached back for his shield, pausing as he felt the unfamiliar weight shift itself onto his arm. His eyebrow raised as he took in the circular shield, remembering fighting against it as he learned various sword techniques from the shade. He blinked as he also remembered fighting with it, using it as a weapon nearly as much as he used the Hylian longsword and the helix-shaped blade.

That wasn't right. He had never used this shield before. He glanced down at it in confusion, before realizing that it wasn't quite the same. No longer was it rusted, and the center of it was practically a silver mirror with the sigil of Hyrule standing out as a slightly white design that did little to detract from its ability to reflect light and magic. Interesting.

His attention was drawn away from the shield and back to the shuffling of branches he had heard before. Faint huffs could be heard, though they didn't sound like they belonged to an animal. He kept his guard raised regardless; an unknown was a potential enemy.

A loud curse followed shortly afterwards, then a person stumbled through the tree branches skirting the ground.

"Damn idiots…" the person, a male Link decided, stated with an accent that was wholly foreign to him. The man stopped moving when he realized he wasn't alone, a hand reaching for something on his belt. "Who're you?"

Link blinked as he took in the man's strange attire. A white sleeveless shirt, black trousers, an odd mask and hat. And apparently a tail from a reptile of some kind?

Link lowered his shield, though he kept a careful eye on the man.

"Link. I'm… a bit lost."

They stared at one another for a moment, until the man sighed and his hand dropped from his belt.

"Well, being all the way out here would mean you're more than just 'a bit lost', I think. You're not human, so I think the boss would be fine if I took you in… though Torchwick might pitch a fit. Eh, whatever. Just uh, follow me. My name's Larry, by the way."

Link nodded, slowly putting the shield away and sheathing the Master Sword. His eyes didn't leave Larry's form, searching for any kind of deception. He found none, but he did note that Larry was leading them in the direction of the abandoned town.

"So uh, Link was it? What brings you all the way out here? I don't recognize your accent."

That caused Link to blink as he tried to decide on how to answer.

"I'm not sure. One moment I was helping someone I care about return home, and the next I'm wherever 'here' is."

Larry nodded, running a hand along his chin in thought.

"That's rough, man. What about your friend? Did you get them home okay?"

"Not quite. But I think she's safe right now, at least."

"She?" Larry asked, a mischievous grin making itself known. "Link, you sly Faunus, you. Is she a cutie?"

Oh, Hylia. Midna will never let him live this down no matter how he answers. As if to reinforce the thought, he felt a small jab in his side, causing him to glance down at his shadow, where he could see the last vestige of her hair returning to it, giving him a small wave as it did so.

"She's beautiful."

Larry's mischievous grin turned into a mock frown. "That's it? Come on, man! Give me the details! How hot is she? Super sexy? Big -"

"That's enough." Link interrupted with a sigh. "It doesn't matter. I'm lost and don't know how to get back to her home."

The mock frown turned into a real one as Larry placed a hand on Link's shoulder.

"Hey, don't fret about it too much, my man. I'm sure it'll work out. You know, my buddies and I are supposed to be heading back to Vale soon. We could probably take you with us, see if you can get to wherever you need to go once we're there. Though, uh… I suppose it might be a little difficult in a few days." Silence followed, the only sound being their feet crunching through leaves or stepping on loose gravel as they entered the abandoned settlement, the faint light of dusk making way for moonlight.

Settlement might be understating it, Link decided. This was a full city as far as he was concerned, and the buildings were built with something that looked like it could have been smooth cobblestone. Passing by a ruined building allowed him to see that there were rusted metal bars within it, possibly to reinforce the walls.

"It's a shame that Glenn ended up the way it did." Larry stated suddenly. "My dad was part of the colonist expansion, though he ended up returning to Vale when things were looking a bit sketchy. Cement and rebar held up fairly well though, considering the Grimm that fell upon the place. Here, this way."

The man made an abrupt turn, giving Link a gentle nudge before doing so. The ground looked considerably more worn where he turned, indicating a well-traveled passageway. It led into a mostly intact building, then down into a basement. The further they went however, the more Link began to realize that it wasn't just a cellar, but an actual underground passage. It eventually opened up into a large cavern, lit by a few lamps here and there that did enough to reveal the outlines of more buildings. The lights led up to a much more well-lit area, where a number of humanoid figures could be seen bustling around and hauling boxes of some kind.

It was towards them that Larry led Link, until they were stopped at a makeshift gate by another man dressed similarly to Larry.

"Hey, hold up Larry. Who's that with you?" The guard asked as he lifted a metal thing and pointed it towards Link.

"Put it down, Link's just a lost brother. I'm vouching for him."

The guard gave Larry a skeptical look.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Larry. We found a Huntress from Beacon sneaking around. They operate in teams, what if he's one of them?"

"Link wasn't sneaking around in the city, he was outside in the forest. Honestly, I'm surprised he wasn't a snack for the Grimm. Myself as well, for that matter."

The guard sighed and lowered the metal object.

"Fine, whatever. But if anything happens, it's your head on the line with the bosses. Maybe don't let the human asshat know about Link."

The shudder that went through Larry was palpable to Link.

"Yeah, no thanks. The only one that needs to know is Adam. He'll understand Link's predicament. Hey, is he even here tonight?"

The guard began to open the makeshift gate as his head turned to answer Larry.

"Nah, he went on ahead. Apparently he had a meeting to get to somewhere in the city." With the gate open, Larry led Link through it, stopping as the guard put a hand on Link's shoulder, his eyes glued to the sword hilt visible over Link's shoulder.

"Look kid, Larry's a good judge of character. He's the only reason I'm bending the rules a bit here. Keep that blade where it's at and stay out of Torchwick's line of sight, and we'll make sure you get to Vale to do whatever it is you need to do. Consider joining up with the White Fang though, yeah?

Link merely nodded, earning a nod in return from the guard as he released Link's shoulder.

As Larry guided Link towards a building, he felt Midna slip off of his shadow and into another. A weird sensation for him, one he really didn't understand, but he tried his best to resist making any reaction to it. It seemed she was going to scout around.

Inside the building, Link was surprised to find that it looked relatively lived in. A small kitchen rested in the back, and an open room with a disheveled bedroll and pack that looked to be halfway packed.

"Hang out here for a bit, Link. I'm going to go deliver my report, but feel free to make yourself some tea or something. Don't have much left in the way of food, but I made sure to bring plenty of leaves for tea."

Larry gave him a bump on the shoulder, then left. Sighing, Link made his way towards the kitchen. He would see what kind of tea he could make.