Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. I do not in any way lay claim on the intellectual and physical property of The Legend of Zelda series. This piece of work is entirely for the entertainment of you the reader, and in a way, me.

Chapter 1

The first time it happened, Midna had just passed it off as a case of stress. Such a thing seemed to her so far away and impossible, an idiosyncratic backlash from all the danger and thrills that accompanied the two of them. It had been as if someone put a set of faint black sketches over the entire world, covering reality with their lines and shades and acting as if nothing strange was going on. The sketchy world vanished from her eyes as soon as it came, and she felt queasy for a few seconds afterwards.

The sight did not bother her as much as it should have. She had dreamt up far worse things since the whole ordeal with Zant began.

Those days, when she was lost and unstable, were nightmares. She went for days on end, with nothing but her hate for Zant and the impossible need for revenge driving her forward. Zelda had helped cure Midna of that.

When she had met Zelda, the princess told Midna of the beast of legends. Well, she told her of Farore's chosen, a warrior clad in green that was said to rise against any threat to Hyrule. It sounded enough like the Sacred Beast anyway. The only difference was that the Light still had enough favor with the goddesses to warrant such a divine intervention.

Midna had scoffed at the thought of finding the creature, but she could think of little else at the time. Even if it had been nothing but a lie, it gave her a goal, something she desperately needed at the time.

'Perhaps,' thought Midna as she reminisced on times gone by, 'that had been what the Princess intended for…what a bleeding heart.'

Even though she thought it, there was no scorn behind her words. Zelda had already shown that her strength came not from the Golden Power, but from her heart. If it bled, that was her fault. The woman had enough composure to stand tall even after losing her entire kingdom. A woman like that would not fall so easily to the pulls and tugs of her emotions.

Nonetheless, the beast had also seemed a mere flight of fantasy coughed up by a desperate woman at the time. Imagine Midna's surprise when she found a blue-eyed beast dragged to the castle. It almost seemed the heavens themselves ordained their meeting. She smiled bitterly at the thought.

Currently, the two of them were within a cave of Snowpeak Mountain, waiting for a blizzard to pass. Normally, they would brave such weather, but Link had insisted upon finding a place for the night, absolutely refusing to climb up any higher for some unknown reason. He predictably did not respond to any of her questions or demands, instead choosing to find some small hole in which he could fit through and wait out the storm.

The hole he found however was really the entrance of a cave, for which both of them were thankful. It was bad enough they had to wait out a blizzard, but to do so in a cramped space would have been torture.

Link sat looking down at the ground, running his hand through the rocks and the ice in the cave. He had a look of intense concentration on his face as his fingers traced over them, gently caressing them as if to a lover. His green cap sat beside him, soaked and freezing to wear.

"Hey wolf," Midna said as she came out of his shadow and leaned against the wall, "Change back, would you? I'm cold."

The Hero opened his eyes and looked at her, annoyance etched into his expression. He jerked his thumb back towards his shadow, and made a noncommittal grunt. It was strange that he was so easy to understand when he said absolutely nothing.

"Can't," she replied lazily, "It ain't warm there either. You on the other hand, have a coat of fur, so hurry up and change back."

The dirty blond gave her a frown but said nothing, like always. The man seemed dead-set on never talking to her, even though they had already warmed up to each other long ago.

"I can change you back whenever I want you know, but then you'd never let me get close." she said, an irritated look on her face. "So would you please do this for me? I can't help if I'm hypothermic you know."

Hypothermic. What an odd word that was. Only the light dwellers used that word. Back in the twilight, no one ever had problems with temperature; there were fluctuations in it, but never were there any sicknesses associated with them.

Link however, remained adamant about his position on that. She knew that to him, being a wolf was foreign and even frightening at times, but she could tell that behind his reluctance was a part of him that howled with joy every time he transformed. Sacred beast, feral beast, or even a tamed beast (Midna bit back a laugh at that), in the end he was still just that: a beast.

He seemed determined to avoid it though, because he soon got up and walked to the opening of the cave, a four-foot tall and two-foot wide hole in the side of the mountain, thankfully protected overhead by a cliff. He bent down and looked outside cautiously, apparently not trusting the sheet of white and wind to ward off any intruders.

He grasped his sword suddenly, and in a flash, he rolled outside. Midna, startled at first, soon went after him, her face grim and scowling. Soon she heard the metallic sound of the Master Sword unsheathing, followed by what seemed to be glass breaking, somehow overriding the sound of the wind. She instinctively hugged herself as she felt the wind blast her like searing knives, cursing in her native tongue as she looked for Link.

Then it happened once more, that feeling that the entire world suddenly was a sketch. The images that flew past Midna's vision came and played like a children's book. Flipping the pages, she saw the snow blow by her face, and she saw the bright crimson of fresh blood gush out of a wounded Wolfos that moaned and whined pitifully on the ground.

Her danger sense flared and she swiveled around in the air, her hands up and crackling with her own magical power. It would not kill any serious threat, but it would certainly stall enough for Link to come.

Yelling aloud, she had her hands move as if to snap a neck. A loud crack was heard as another Wolfos yowled and jumped back awkwardly, its front leg bent at an unnatural angle. Midna narrowed her eyes and moved to perform the spell again, hoping she still had enough juice left in her for such a feat.

The Wolfos seemed to realize this and soon it pounced towards her, somehow disregarding the pain and dysfunctional limb easily. The little imp realized she did not have enough time and back away as quickly as she could. The creature would not be so easy to kill it seemed. Once again, Midna cursed her little imp body.

The Wolfos jumped towards her once more, and to Midna it looked like a set of still drawings flipping past each other, each one drawn a little differently from before. It confused her and her concentration fell apart with the headache she felt that moment.

It seemed she would die there, but as soon as the beast was within two feet of her, a sudden explosion in its side blew it away. She was thrown back from the force, but remained unharmed. Her head was spinning as she tried to regain some focus, and the migraine did not lessen.

As she came to, she managed to get a good look at the Wolfos, which was now dead and bleeding. A large part of its right side was gone or blackened with burns. Midna stared at the fallen creature with something akin to awe as she realized just what it was that happened. A bomb arrow had thrown it off course.

Sensing someone's approach, Midna quickly turned to see Link, all silent and stained with crimson. His eyes shone with a wild fury that would have killed if it could have. He had a cut along his temple, and it was bleeding profusely, only adding to the image of savage warrior he now gave off; and…perhaps it was just her, but Midna seemed to hear a strange noise coming from him, an almost wild sound.

She realized he was growling.

A shiver went up her spine. This was the sacred beast told in legends among her people. This being was her people's savior; and to think he was her wolf. It made Midna feel slightly giddy at the thought, an almost narcotic sensation.

Link walked towards the fallen beast, and stared down at it, in one hand was his bow, and it shook hard as he stared down at the beast. The Hero almost seemed sorrowful as he stood over the monster.

Midna sighed and floated over to him. The battle was over and nothing but a memory now. It would not do for him to stand out there in the freezing cold. At least the cave was warmer.

As she placed her hand on the man's shoulder, the flipbook feeling returned to her, stronger than ever. A sickly feeling came over her as she watched Link turn around in almost slow motion, expecting to see his bloody but otherwise unmarred face. What she saw was entirely different.

Links face was ruined with claw marks and gashes. A peel of skin hung off at the jaw and Midna realized that had been his lower lip as she gazed at him. He was missing one ear and the other looked halfway from being torn off. His eyes were missing, their sockets filled with blood and ice, the nerve hanging out from one. The entire right cheek of his was slashed from ear to jaw line looking like some strange flap that hid nothing of the inside.

There was no other way to react to it than to turn away. Midna did not scream as she put her hands over her mouth and leapt away from him, her nausea from before rising to unforeseen levels. She looked at Link, blinking away tears as she gazed upon his mangled face, torn apart so swiftly and silently by an unseen foe.

Wait…no, no, that was not right…Link's face was not mangled. It looked…normal. Aside from the cut above his brow, he was perfectly okay. Midna shook her head as she looked at Link, feeling her control slipping as she looked at her partner.

"Wh-what?" She muttered to himself, her eyes wide as she looked at the man that a moment before had just been dead. "H-how did…"

She could not place her thoughts into words, the concept itself too bizarre for even speech. Her constitution shook as she recalled the image, something that felt so far ago, from another lifetime even. Her consciousness warred with the memory as she looked upon Link's safe (and breathing) form.

Link for his part looked confused at Midna's strange behavior. She had seen him kill before, and in gorier ways even. Even at the start of this great mess, she had not shown the least fear or disgust at the death he left in his wake. Something had shaken her up, but he was unsure as to what.

Whatever it was however, she would not tell him if he tried to force her; Midna was nothing if not proud, and no amount of coercion from him would change that. Instead, he turned to his game and began to evaluate which of the two Wolfos corpses would taste better. Food was scarce in these places, and he wanted to conserve as many of his rations as possible.

As he inspected the corpses, he suddenly remembered that he was outside in a blizzard, albeit sheltered by the cliff on top. It seemed that the adrenaline was finally wearing off, and he grunted with effort as he lifted his first prey onto his shoulders. The entrance was some ten feet away, and dragging it would only cost him energy in this wind.

He looked back towards Midna, who was inspecting the dead body of the Wolfos that nearly got her. He snorted, as he knew that she knew little about which meat was better between two similar bodies. She was just pretending that nothing happened. He smiled a little as he looked at her. Good ol' Midna.

She caught his eye and saw he was going back. "Hey." she asked as she caught up, floating near his head, seemingly unconcerned with the body weighing him down. "Did anything happen during the fight? Something strange, maybe?"

She sounded guarded, and the cursed princess knew Link would notice that. His skills as a wolf were almost as sharp as when he was human, and she would not be surprised to know if he could smell her lie. The young man had surprised her enough with his unnatural abilities.

Thankfully, though, he did not press her for an explanation, as even she was unsure of what she saw back there. The last time that foreign sensation took hold of her was in Arbiter's Grounds, in a room full of Stalfos. She had not been fighting that time, but the feeling had taken hold of her in that room and she remembered the queasiness that accompanied it as she returned to reality; however, there had been no horrific image to go with it that time. Link had noticed nothing then, but that was because she had been in his shadow.

The Twilight Princess was wary of this sudden development. Could Zant have done this? Or perhaps she was sick with some strange disease from that realm. A bad reaction to Zelda's spell, maybe?

Whatever it was, Midna was determined not let Link see anything wrong with her in the future, if it happened again. Her wolf had enough on his plate to deal with, and adding an extra scoop of crazy Twili was an inconsiderate course of action. The last thing both realms needed was for their savior to be fretting over her mental health.

It was cold. It was incredibly, torturously, immutably, ineffably, impossibly, agonizingly, cold.

Such were her thoughts as Midna stared at the bedchamber that housed the shard of the Twilight Mirror. There were some windows up high, but even then, they looked to be made of ice and not glass, Midna grumbled under her breath about "crazy Light weather" as Yeta made her way across the chamber.

Observing from Link's shadow, the imp narrowed her eyes at the mirror across the room. She heard in this realm that they were alternatively called 'looking glasses' but she could see little reason for such a thing. Why would one wish to look at one's self? Vanity did not need such an object to act through where she came from. In her realm, mirrors were used in all kinds of magic, often times as amplifiers or mediums for communication.

Midna considered what would happen if she looked into the Twilight Mirror. Would she regain her lost power through it? Would she reclaim her true form if she looked into that shard? How else would she open the door to the Twilight? Surely, it would only recognize her as her true self, unstained and regal looking. Mirrors, after all, were fickle things.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw that Yeta had yet to move from in front of the mirror. An ominous feeling fell over Midna, and even the room seemed to have darkened. The Twilight Princess looked at the windows, feeling anxious at an even further drop in temperature. Anymore and even Link would be unable to move.

Looking towards her companion above her, Midna saw that he too noticed the change in atmosphere. He had not drawn his sword yet, but the Hylian looked primed and ready for a fight. His jaw tensed and his shoulders squared, Link looked ready to leap towards an unsuspecting prey. Shifting his weight onto his rear foot, Link bent down and laid his hand on the handle of the Master Sword.

The air was palpable with tension as both of them stared at the Yeta's back, which seemed to sway under the spell of some unknown force. Midna smirked and readied herself for what seemed now an inevitable fight. Some curious part of her idly wondered what possessed Yeta to act like this.

"Pretty…so…so pretty…" Yeta whispered, as if in answer to Midna's question. "Me look…pretty…and…happy…"

'The Mirror,' Midna realized, her eyes widening, 'the Mirror's doing this.'

Suddenly the Twilight Princess found herself happy she had not looked at it too deeply, even from this distance. Something reflected in the Mirror was causing Yeta to lose whatever grasp of sanity she had.

"NOT TAKE MIRROR!" screamed the female yeti all of a sudden, startling the two of them with her sudden appearance. Her head had literally twisted and revealed a monstrous visage; a bat-like creature with protuberant red eyes now occupied the place where Yeta's face ought to have been. Its fangs protruded from her mouth almost comically, but the nightmarish contortion ruined the effect.

"NOT TAKE MIRROR!" It shrieked, shocking both of them with its pitch. It sounded just like a ReDead! "MIRROR MINE! MINE, MINE, MINE!"

The Hero's temporary stupor vanished as his brain registered that he was imminent danger, and it did not in fact look pretty.

Jumping forward, Link pulled out his sword at the last second, seeking to end the conflict quickly. Yeta however, seemed to have undergone more than just a split-second plastic surgery, because as the blade came down on her, a wave of freezing wind blasted Link away from her. He landed on his feet with inhuman grace.

Midna frowned and narrowed her eyes as she saw that. If Link could not take her down easily then the Mirror had changed her far more than she expected. Just what had it done?

"Hyaa!" Link yelled as he once more made to injure Yeta, bringing out his shield to help block against any more attacks.

Something was wrong though. Midna could see that, Yeta had yet to move from her spot. The little yeti that once seemed so helpful and innocent now seemed dangerous and cunning. The look in those red eyes of hers was mad, a frenzy of emotion and such want that Midna was sure that Yeta was no longer sane. No rational mind could ever be so callous as to accept a blow from the Mas-

"Shit" she cursed suddenly, "Link wait!"

Then the feeling returned to her once more. The world turned to an artist's sketchbook. Pasty oily colors flooded her vision, and Midna threw up a little inside her mouth as her entire perception of the world rebelled. Sound became touch, sight became taste, and Midna, disoriented and drunk from reality's sudden chaos, became little more than a doll.

Even so, that doll saw Link. She saw him stop in his tracks and jump back, only to have a spear of ice emerge from the ground behind and stab through the chainmail fast as an arrow.

She saw him keep going, ignoring her cry and running headfirst into a freezing wind, his whole body freezing perfectly. With not a single stray piece of ice, he was like a statue. And then his head shattered into pieces as Yeta rammed the statue with all her might.

Midna saw him leap to the side, avoiding the spear and circling around Yeta's freezing breath. With shield up high, and sword drawn low, he nicked one of the yeti's short legs, drawing blood and screams from the monster, only to die as pieces of glass fell from shattered windows and sliced through his neck.

She saw him cover himself from the shards, protecting his weak spots, only to see him die minutes later, crushed under the weight of a statue of ice that surrounded the transformed yeti.

The Twilight Princess saw him die over a dozen times. Never did he seem to notice. Instead, he dodged and blocked the statues that fell from the ceiling; he scored hits and blows to Yeta that she apparently could not counter; he skirted across the iced floor with his human legs easily, as if he had always known how to do so.

Link grunted once more, as he launched the ball-and-chain towards what Midna now dubbed Blizzeta. She could see his sweat, his exertion across his face, as he drew upon strength he should not have to defeat this ghastly creature. She could feel the immensity of his power as he dueled with that fierce beast full of wanton vanity and greed.

There was a reason, she realized, that a golden goddess had chosen Link as her vessel for the Triforce.

Blizzeta cried out as the steel ball smashed into her, shattering the unbreakable ice around her as if it were made of glass. Her screech, amplified by the acoustics in the room, once more reached painful heights, and Link stopped his assault on the ice monster.

This was all the chance that Blizzeta needed. Her raving had dissolved into incoherent babble, a kind of gibberish all monsters seemed to share with each other, but her voice came back to the realm of the sensible, and Midna heard her shriek one last time before plunging straight towards Link in a desperate break for victory.

"MINE!"

Link, disoriented and tired, did not notice the shadow beneath him growing larger and larger as Blizzeta fell ever closer to his tired form. Nevertheless, Midna was looking right at him, and she felt the shadow growing with each millisecond, and she saw his pained face. Hero or not, Link was almost at his limit. Even so, she could not let him die.

Disregarding her own sickened state, Midna forced herself to call out. "Link" she roared from within his shadow, "get your furry butt moving now!"

The Hylian man looked at her briefly for a second, and Midna hoped she did not betray her fear or her dazzled state. His eyes hardened once more, sharpening into the finest swords possible, and with some of his last strength, Link rolled to the side, barely avoiding Blizzeta's crushing crystal.

He let out some kind of garbled sound of surprise at the enormous object that had fallen from the ceiling. Shock written across his face, the wolf-man lifted his sword for one last blow. A look of deep effort was on his face as he wielded his legendary blade, betraying just how exhausted he really was.

Midna saw him deliver the final blow to Blizzeta, but at the same time, she saw him collapse from the exhaustion. She saw Blizzeta fall to the Master Sword, in unison with seeing the yeti regain a second wind just in time to freeze him once more.

'Oh my shadow,' she thought as she gazed upon the images, finally realizing what it was, 'What is going on?'

The world of sketches and paintings vanished once more.

"I need that book, mutt."

Link shook his head vigorously. He seemed adamant about not spending his money.

"I don't care if you want to ration the thing. You can look for those bugs again if you wish to." Midna responded from his shadow.

Her wolf, though, looked less than pleased with the prospect of meeting Agatha again. Apparently, he still remembered how she nearly jumped him after he left her house with one bug hidden carefully in pocket. The poor mutt only returned weeks later, and that was because he was in desperate need of money for a bridge.

"The girl loves you, Link," Midna hissed at him. "She's not stupid enough to try and molest you in search of bugs again."

She imagined it was hard to maintain a conversation with your shadow without being too conspicuous, especially in the market district of Castle Town, but she cared little for his difficulties then. She had caught sight of a book that might just provide answers as to why she was suddenly being bombarded with horrific visions, but her wolf was being too stubborn.

Link directed an annoyed look at her, before shifting his gaze over to a nearby inn. To others, it may have looked like he was looking at the ground, but Midna caught the meaning easily enough. He wanted an actual bed for once.

"You're spoiled. You've been hanging around that peasant for too long." She replied spitefully, referencing Ilia with a sour expression, though he could discern her features while she was in his shadow. "She pampers you like you're some kind of king."

Link did not stop walking, but his pace increased. His face was a mask of pure pleasantry to anyone looking from the outside, but a spark of anger had ignited a small fire within him.

Midna smiled, and licked her mouth. He really was a dog through and through. Unending loyalty to those he called friend or master. A pity that trait of his was so easily exploitable at times.

Idly, she wondered what he considered herself. A friend? Or his master?

The two of them were in pursuit of some lead on the next location of the Mirror Shard. Both of them knew the next two were in the ancient forest and the heavens, and Midna had a rough guess that one was likely around the Sacred Grove. Magic tended to attract magic, and that place was saturated with a kind that screamed "Come Here!"

'Now if only we knew how to get there,' Midna thought as she silently observed Link head towards a shop to stock up on potions and arrows. 'Little wolf won't let me get my book either. What a wonderful trip this is.'

It was petty and childish of her, but things had been accumulating on top of each other far too rapidly lately. Even her regular snarky way of speaking was losing its flavor. A couple of answers to her questions would be a great relief to her, but Link was just getting in the way.

He did not know of her ability. As far as she cared, he did not need to know. He managed perfectly fine most of the time without her assistance, and those few times she did help, always ended well. He had yet to really die, and Midna wanted to keep it that way. If he knew she could apparently see the future, he would begin slacking off, and that was unacceptable.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something. Craning to see what it was from within the shadow, her eyes widened as she saw the same book she wanted earlier on display. Turning to see if Link had spotted his shadow's strange behavior, Midna grinned to herself as she looked about the shop. It was empty of customers with the exception of Link and some weary looking old man.

Seeing as how Link was busy with the clerk, and the old man was looking wistfully at the cheap iron swords and axes that lined the wall, Midna decided to snatch the book before anyone looked her way and noticed a shadow not looking the way it should.

Stealthily rising out of the ground, Midna silently floated towards the book. Reaching out, she plucked it from its bookcase and held it up as if to reassure herself that it was indeed the book. Giggling to herself, the imp annexed herself back into Link's shadow with fluid ease.

She waited to see if Link had noticed, but he made no apparent motion to indicate so. She sighed in relief. She would return the book to some other store that sold them later, but for now she needed some answers, and she had a hunch that it had some for her.

Link gathered his things and began to leave. He opened his wallet, picked out some rupees and dropped them on the counter. Then, he made his way towards the exit.

"Wait a minute…Hey!" called the clerk. Link turned around. "You gave me 25 extra!"

Midna froze. 'No way.' she thought, 'He didn't…'

Link dismissed the man's concerns with a wave, and left the store. The sun shone brightly on his face outside, and he took a moment to look down towards his shadow.

Midna avoided looking at her wolf. She did not think she would be able to stand the look on his face. He was no longer angry, and that only made it worse. She could feel it, his smile and his understanding, and she wanted none of it.

Looking at the book, she saw just how much it cost. Written in ink at the top right, Midna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. She could feel her hands holding the book clench so hard it hurt. Her ached with how much she was gritting her teeth.

It cost 25 rupees.

'Why do you have to be so hard to cheat, mutt?' she asked him in her mind, 'Why can't you just act like the dog you are?'

Regardless of the answer though, Midna did not say a single thing to Link for the rest of the afternoon. Eventually, after much hunting and fruitless searching, the green clad Hero had decided to spend the night right outside the city, near the river on the west side. He had had enough money for a wash and a decent meal at Telma's bar, but unfortunately, she did not have a spare bed to rent out, and none of the inns in town would allow him a night's stay with what he had left.

The diminutive Twili shifted uncomfortably as she observed her wolf twiddle a long blade of grass between his lips. She could not come up with the right words to convey her feelings, but she doubted he would care about such trivial things. Words were a medium he had long surpassed.

The light of the fire made him seem edgier to Midna. The light bore his face for the world to see, all its virtues and defects, with nothing hidden or exposed, but what she saw in him did not explain away his actions that afternoon.

"You dumb mutt." She said, drawing a glance towards herself. Her hackles rose as she looked at him and his blade of grass, so ingenuous and peaceful despite all the nightmares they had seen and had yet to face. "You moron."

Link only smirked wolfishly at her, somehow baring his teeth the same way his other form did. There was little to say about his expression, except that it was triumphant.

That was what it was, nothing but a game to him, a game that he thought already won.

Midna glared at him now, her face pulled back into a snarl. She reared her arm as if to claw him, but she stopped herself. If this was nothing but a game to him, she would be damned if she played by his rules.

Bringing out the book from within the shadows, Midna's expression changed to her familiar haughty expression of superiority. Link had not yet read the book, or even got that much of a look at it. All he had known before was that it cost him a good night's sleep and that his Twili friend wanted it.

Midna sniffed arrogantly, flipping the book in the air with her magic, juggling the leather bound object like a ball. The green clad Hero observed her silently, still chewing on his blade of glass.

Grabbing the book as it fell, Midna dangled it above the fire, holding it by the top of the spine. With a devilish gleam in her eyes, the little imp relished the look of sudden shock on her wolf's face as he watched her.

Before he could even move to stop her, Midna dropped it into the fire.

The Hero moved. Throwing his gloved hands into the fire, he clutched at the book, hoping to retrieve the book for which he sacrificed a warm bed. His hand dove through the flames and even touched the touched the book, but a faint noise riding on the wind caught his attention.

Diving to the side and letting go of the book, Link saw a flaming arrow strike the fire, burying itself deep within the book. He turned around, a deep scowl on his face, and sword in hand. Two more arrows flashed passed over him, each missing the top of his head by barely an inch.

Midna entered his shadow, miffed at the sudden interruption, but wary all the same. An arrow from a Bulbin could kill just as easily as a giant monster. Link was still mortal, Chosen Hero or not.

The world changed once more.

She saw it all happen. No longer did she feel nauseous as everything she saw changed into that picturesque world that spoke of untold stories.

"Left!" she yelled out, her tone authoritative and unquestionable.

Her world did not lurch on its heels as Link dodged a diving crow that came at him from behind. Looking up, she saw the black birds circling the two of them.

Link sheathed his sword and brought out his boomerang. The fairy of the winds ululated beautifully as he held her in his hand. He threw the boomerang with incredible precision towards the crows. A miniature hurricane swept them up, swirling them around as if they were just leaves. Some fell, others managed to stay flying, but disorientation halted any further attack.

The green clad man did not hesitate to strike the birds. His sword cut through their small bodies as if they were warm butter, and in a matter of seconds, all but two of the birds were dead.

More arrows came from the direction of Hyrule Field, this time accompanied by the growls and war cries of Bulbins. They dressed in the tanned carapace of their boars, riding those hogs like equine. Little wisps of smoke trailed along the mouths of those boars, as if it were breathing fire.

Midna saw him receive those arrows, but they were moving too fast for her to say anything. They pierced him easily, breaking through the ages-old garb with ease. Link cried out in pain but stood firm. He fell into a ready stance and brought out his shield, his stony expression turning murderous as he gazed upon the Bulbins.

A boar was approaching them at rampaging speeds. Its mouths was frothing with madness, and it squealed pitifully as its masters urged it along. The Bulbins atop it were only two, with the one sitting behind carrying weapons.

Link did not budge as the boars came closer and closer. Midna wished for him to see the danger he was in, to acknowledge the force of nature that he possibly could not move even with all his strength. The man faced forwards, not a hint of retreat in his expression.

'Dammit!' she swore as she watched her friend stare down the unstoppable forces that was the seething boar, 'I need some visions! He's going to get killed!'

For some reason now, the visions were not coming to her. Midna focused on the sensation, hoping somehow to bring out those sequential images, but to no avail. Panic began to reach her, but she ignored it, too intent on saving her mutt's life to care much about such frivolities.

Seeing as how this obviously was not going anywhere though, Midna decided to go about it differently.

"Move it!" she hissed at him, from above his ear. "Stop being macho and get out of their way. You think you can help anyone if you're maimed?"

Link's eyes flicked to her briefly for a moment. He let out a snort and huffed, but relaxed his stance and turned to run.

Midna let out a quiet sigh of relief, thankful that he was not so proud as to actually think of taking such a rampaging beast head-on. It seemed that there was still more human than beast in him. At that moment, Midna was grateful to high heavens that he was born without a tail. He could still deal with the Bullbins too.

Shing!

"Grrk!"

Midna whirled around at the unusual sound. There, coming towards them, were the Bulbin atop their hog. The only difference from before was the fact that the Master Sword was now sticking through the two of them. They two creatures rode limply across the field, held together by the blade like a kebab, their weapons on the ground behind them.

The Twilight Princess' eyes widened. Despite how enraged she knew should be for him facing certain death once more, she could not bring herself to feel so. That display of power from her wolf was just too damn impressive not to appreciate. The monsters could not have been less than thirty feet away when they were hit!

She looked down at her side. Link was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at the hog that was still approaching, albeit a lot more slowly than before.

As the large animal approached, it eventually settled into an odd kind of trot. It no longer looked mad, and the froth at the edges of its mouth was gone, making it look like one of its kin from the desert. It stared at the two, hero and Twili, and it snorted happily once satisfied.

Link pointed to the bodies of the two Bulbins atop its saddle. Almost instantly, the hog shook them off its back, dropping the corpses to the ground as if they were sacks of flour.

The two of them watched the hog go, its short stubby legs almost propelling it into the air with joy at being freed from the control of those monsters.

A moment of silence passed between them. Link made to extract his sword from the bodies, putting his boot in the face of the first Bulbin, he slowly extracted the blade of evil's bane from the chests of the two monsters. A sickly sounding hiss escaped the hole in their bodies as he removed the blade.

The Master Sword had no stain on its sheen metal to speak of. Not a single drop remained on the legendary blade. Its edge still shone with a deadly beauty, no trace of death marking it.

Midna looked away. The blade's pristine surface never failed to unnerve her. It was unnatural, magical weapon or not. She had never seen a blade so perfect that it could withstand more battles than an army, or even ages upon ages of time. Its complete and absolute utility was not of this world.

"Just…just what are you?" Midna asked him later as they sat around a fire, cooking the meat from the dead Bulbin. No other monster was going to bother them for the rest night thanks to the smell of blood surrounding them.

Link sat on the ground and winced as he began to go through his bag, searching for something to dress his wounds. Pulling out a bottle, he released a fairy, wincing as the healing magic worked its way through his system. With a deep breath, he yanked the first arrow out of his thigh, a look of intense pain across his face. He did not scream; he never said anything outside of battle.

After a while, Link regained his composure and pressed down on the first of his wounds, which was already halfway healed.

She knew it was discourteous of her to not help, but she did not care. She doubted he did either.

End Chapter 1

Author Notes: Hello mates! This is the start of a new fic, one that I aim to finish and to improve as I go along. However, for those who do remember something similar a few weeks ago, this is that story, except this time I will make it a full blown story and not just a oneshot.

There's not much to say aside about it now aside from the fact that it will obviously involve the Twilight Princess game. Also, I must thank GerudoGirl89 for doing all the gritty beta work for this chapter. Without her help, the pacing would be a lot more off.

Well, you all know the drill by now don't you? Please leave any reviews and/or criticisms, as I am always seeking to improve.

Until next time people!