"Tell me, Link… Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls? They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs… The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world," Rusl asked his young apprentice.

"Maybe, Rusl… dusk is the time that I head home for resting time," Link said somewhat sadly.

"Aye, that too. But they are considered to be the reason loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight… of course, you don't really care about that much, do you?" Rusl asked.

"No, Rusl. But twilight always tends to be the time I remember my parents…" Link said, looking down.

"…Sorry for bringing up such a painful memory for you. Allow me to change the subject. I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule the day after tomorrow. However, the mayor specifically requested that you undertake this task. Will you do it?" Rusl asked.

"I will, Rusl. The fresh air of adventure never feels old," Link said, smiling.

"You've never been to Hyrule, have you?" Rusl asked.

"You have said that's the homeland of my parents, right? Yeah, I never really had much of a want to go out there much," Link said.

"In the kingdom of Hyrule, there is a great castle. Around it is Castle Town, a community far bigger than our little village…" Rusl explained.

"Sounds boring already," Link said, giggling.

"There are much bigger worlds beyond Hyrule, of course. But they are unmapped, and probably far more interesting to one such as yourself, my adventurous little scamp. However, you should get the chance to see Castle Town with your own eyes. It would do you good, you know," Rusl said.

"If you say so, Rusl."

"Anyway, it's getting late… we should really be returning about now. I shall tell the mayor you have accepted this task," Rusl said. Link stood up, shook the dirt from her skirt, and followed Rusl back to Ordon.

Link, Rusl and Epona rode back through to Link's tree home in town, making only idle conversation and curious remarks about their surroundings on the way. Rusl hitched Epona to Link's hitching post, and walked back into town. Link unhitched Epona as soon as Rusl went out of sight, and stroked her muzzle.

"You're a good mare, Epona… if only you could tell me about who my parents were…" Link said, a sad note in her voice. Epona was the horse that her mother rode into Ordon on. She and another woman had come into the small village of Ordon, both gravely injured. They had lived long enough only to state that her father was already dead, and her name was to be Link, like the Hero of Time. No one in Ordon understood why, but she had been christened Link in respect to their dying wish. Sadly, Epona's original name had been lost to time, so they named her for the legendary mare of the Hero of Time.

"Link! You up?" Fado asked. Link looked out the window, her long golden locks falling down her shoulders.

"Yeah, Fado. What's up? Goats need herdin'?" Link asked.

"Just the thing, Link! You're so bright," Fado said. Link beamed at the praise out of habit. She had heard that said so many times that it fell flat as a compliment, really. She swung from her house, and lightly stepped where Epona should have been.

"Where's Epona?" Fado asked. As soon as Link noticed, she knew exactly where she was. She stretched her arms, and began her walk.

Link stepped into the Ordon Spring. Sure enough, he saw the mayor's daughter Ilia stroking Epona's muzzle in the spring waters. Link ran up to her, and gave her a hearty pat on the back.

"Link! You… you scared me," Ilia said, blushing. She hurriedly smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt, and ran a hand through her hair. Link walked around to see Epona.

"You keeping her well?" Link asked, looking her over.

"Yes… It's strange. She doesn't seem all that old, really. Sure, she's getting a limp in her gait, but surely a horse faithful to your parents should really be retired by now…" Ilia said, checking Epona up and down. No one in Ordon was sure of how old Epona was, but Link was not prepared to give up her only heirloom of her family until they were sure she needed retirement.

"Anyway, she's all washed up now. Fado need the goats herded?" Ilia asked. Link nodded. That was exactly why she was here. She pulled her Horse Call from around her neck, and played the song that they found Epona was partial to. Epona whinnied, and allowed Link to mount her. Link made a few mute commands, and Epona was ready for a bit of ranching.

Link pulled into Ordon Ranch, and looked about at the goats.

"Thank goodness you could find Epona, Link! Could you please rustle up these goats?" Fado asked. Link nodded, and pulled up her reins. Epona whinnied, and charged forward. The goats scattered, but Link had complete control of the situation. She yelled, and the goats scrambled hurriedly in the vague direction of the barn. She turned Epona sharply, and hollered again. The goats obediently went into the barn.

This used to be so much fun. These days, the goats just know that if I'm around, they should just pile into the barn.

Link slid off Epona's back, and ran up to see Fado.

"…You've got a way with the goats, Link," Fado said.

"Shame, too. I liked the days when it was fun to shove 'em all in," Link told him. Link's penchant for being a bit wild was something Ordon had just grown to accept. No one could comprehend being bored of being talented.

The next day, Link woke up to see some of the children of Ordon who looked up to her. Beth, Talo and Malo had called up to her, and watched as Link slid down her house to land in the dirt, lithely stepping on the dust.

"That. Was. Awesome! Do it again!" Talo said.

"Calm down, Talo. She doesn't do it again. It's just how she gets out of her house," Beth said, admonishing Talo.

"It's a really stupid way to do it…" Malo whispered.

"Anyway, Link… They're selling a slingshot! A SLINGSHOT!" Talo said.

"Yeah, and? Why do you want to tell me?" Link asked, trying to put the kids in line.

"You're the coolest of cool around here! You've just gotta have a slingshot!" Talo said. Link smiled under her hand.

"OK, fine, I'll go get one," Link said.

Link entered Sera's Sundries, a small shop run by Beth's mother.

"Oh… hello there, Link? Let me guess… Malo and Talo bothering ya 'bout the slingshot?" Sera asked.

"Just Talo, mainly," Link said, burrowing through her purse. She knew she had the Rupees to buy the slingshot on her person.

"…Fifteen Rupees," Sera said.

"What? But the sign says thirty! You seriously can't expect me to pay half price for your wares!" Link said indignantly, pulling out some yellow Rupees.

"Consider the rest of the payment keeping those kids out of my hair. Let 'em use the slingshot now and again… pointed away from the village, of course. It'll stop Talo hanging around here and complaining loudly," Sera said. Link went back to her purse to try and find a blue Rupee for change.

"Never mind, I'll get you one," Sera said. She scooped up the three yellow Rupees, and gave Link the slingshot, a blue Rupee, and a new bottle of milk. Link nodded in appreciation, and ran back to appease Talo.

"Oh, hey, Link," Rusl said. He turned around: he was standing just outside Link's house.

"Hey, Rusl. You thinking of leaving something in my house?" Link asked jokingly.

"Of course not. I'd break my back getting out. Anyway… your sword's fixed. I don't know how it got so broken in the first place, but take better care of it in the future," Rusl said. Link nodded. Even she had no idea how it got broken, though she would bet Rupees that Talo was involved.

"Well, I'll be off. See you later on," Rusl said. He wandered off, and Link turned to face Beth, Malo and Talo. Sure enough, Talo had been determinedly looking away.

"Talo, I can tell… did you break my sword?" Link asked.

"…Wow, you have a slingshot?" Talo asked, determined to change the subject. Link sighed. Most people would rather try and leave Link's house than get an honest response out of Talo. Link whittled away a set of targets, and hung them on the walls for practice.

"So, how powerful is the slingshot, huh?" Talo asked impatiently.

"Yeesh… Talo, I can only work so fast, ya know? I'm not a deity, no matter what anyone says. Anyway, lessee here…" Link said. She held her slingshot to eye level, and closed her right eye. She pointed the slingshot at one of her targets, and fired. The target shattered.

"All right! Cool!" Talo shouted. Link, Beth and Malo looked between each other. Bad ideas…

"You're good with swords and slingshots…" Beth said, looking at Talo worriedly.

"Wait, sword? Link, can I see your swordplay?" Talo asked. Link nodded, glad that the topic had moved on from slingshots. Link stepped lightly on one specific patch of soil, triggering a highly durable scarecrow to pop from the ground. Link stepped forward, and hacked at the scarecrow. She finished it with a spin attack, landing on another patch of soil that would cause it to fall back into the dirt.

"Wow! Cool mechanism!" Talo said. He started feeling through the dirt for the trigger.

"Good luck, Talo. It shouldn't activate for you. It's rigged to my specifications. In fact, I'm actually surprised it still works. I haven't rejiggered it since you broke my sword," Link said.

"Sorry about that…" Talo said, before stopping.

"You admitted it! You broke Link's sword!" Beth said. Link hid her smile. She had a lot of experiences working with all sorts of crafts, and getting Talo to own up was simple should he leave an opening like that. Luckily, the easily excitable Talo left plenty of openings.

"Wait, is that a monkey?" Talo asked. He ran after the monkey.

"Link, you've got to stop him!" Beth said. Link nodded. She played Epona's tune, and jumped on top of her. Epona whinnied, and Link galloped after Talo.

Link had to abandon Epona halfway through the forest trip. She barrelled through the rest, as she let out a low, iconic tune of hers that alerted the forest's creatures that she was not to be messed with. Like the goats, the dangerous creatures of the forest knew she meant business. She found Talo at the heart of the forest. She disposed of the two Bokoblins guarding his cage, and freed him and the monkey he had chased in the first place.

"Now just what were you thinking, going into the forest alone?" Link asked, a serious expression on her face. She was all fun and games around the children normally, but she had her limits. Talo nearly got himself killed!

"…I'm so sorry, Link… if you hadn't come…" Talo said. Link said absolutely nothing, allowing Talo to mull over his error. She eventually nodded, and gestured back in the direction of Ordon. Talo followed Link, trying her hardest to ignore Link's disappointment.

"Oh, and Link…" Talo said.

"Hm?" Link said, looking back.

"That monkey was a nice girl… she tried to protect me…" Talo said.

"You think I didn't know that?" Link asked. Talo looked down again.

"You're not going to tell my dad, are you?" Talo asked. Link thought it over herself.

"…I might have to. He's always warning you how dangerous the forest is. Talo, even I'm disappointed in you!" Link said. Talo said nothing more on the rest of the journey.

"Link!" Rusl called. Link faced him. Not hard to do, considering she rode side-saddle anyway.

"Beth told me Talo disappeared into the woods… I came as soon as I heard. But you've managed to save him! I'm very proud of you!" Rusl said. Link bowed from her seat on Epona. It was a mark of her skill that she could do it side-saddle.

"Talo…" Rusl started.

"I've already given him the speech. It's probably got more meaning, coming from me. After that, I doubt Talo will go into the forest alone again, hm?" Link asked.

"I won't, Link…" Talo said. Link nodded.

"And Link, I advise caution to you, too. It doesn't appear to be the case today, but I've felt danger on the horizon. You should not rely on your reputation alone when dealing with the forest. Make sure your swordplay is up to scratch," Rusl warned Link. Link nodded, and noted that advice.

"Tomorrow, you depart for Hyrule. Make sure you return to us in one piece," Rusl said. He joined Link and Talo for the remainder of the journey to Ordon.

The next morning, Link barrelled down her house, and righted herself to see Ilia.

"Morning, Link… just making sure Epona's all right before you go galloping across the country," Ilia said. Link nodded, and turned to find Mayor Bo, who had arrived as well.

"The royal gift is ready, so you should get ready to visit Hyrule Castle. Now, just a word of warning: the royal types at the castle don't take too kindly to ranch folk, and, no criticism levelled at you, but you are the epitome of unruly ranch-hand. There will be several people at Hyrule Castle that will despise you. Just… try not to be your hyper self around them…" Mayor Bo said.

"Again. Castle life is looking really attractive right now," Link drawled.

"Link… what's this?" Ilia asked. Link turned around, and ran right beside Ilia.

"Epona… she's injured!" Ilia said. Link inspected the leg. Sure enough, there was a sharp twist, likely from dealing with Talo earlier.

"Ilia…" Link said briefly, trying to placate her. She had no idea when this injury occurred, even with being finely attuned to Epona's

Talo. Talo had thrown off her senses.

"Link! You pushed Epona too hard, didn't you? This could be her last week before retirement, for all we know! This is not the way to treat an old horse!" Ilia said, closing in on Link's face. Link stepped back a pace, and Ilia did so as well, nervously blushing.

"I mean… I'll go fix her up…" Ilia said meekly, grabbing Epona's reins and heading to the spring.

"Ilia… Link can't deliver the gift in- oh wait, she's gone…" Mayor Bo said. He turned to Link.

"Link… you'll need to get Epona back," Mayor Bo said. Link nodded sadly, and walked towards the spring.

Link came into the spring, and found Ilia. She was scrubbing down Epona, the wound looking plenty fine. Ilia was always a mistress when it came to horses. Epona snorted, and edged her way towards Link.

"So you like her, eh, Epona… you can smell your old masters in her, huh… wish I could get close to Link like you…" Ilia whispered.

"Huh?" Link asked.

"Nothing. Link, you can take Epona to Hyrule. I've given the injury the attention it needs. Link… be careful. Don't do anything you can't handle. Yes, you can't handle everything. But please… come home in one piece," Ilia said.

"Ilia, it's just a routine delivery. I'll be back before you know it!" Link said, winking. She had already jumped atop Epona a lot more carefully that she normally would have done.

*THUD*

A large boar tumbled into the spring. Link dismounted Epona, looked around at it, and pulled out her slingshot. She sung the reversed version of Epona's Song, and Epona backed into a safe hideout. She slung a rock at one of the boar's riders, but the other thwacked her with a club, knocking her cold.

"Link!" Ilia said in panic. The rider pulled out a bow, and shot her in the leg. She sunk into the spring.

"Who do we grab again?" the second rider asked. The first had cleared his head, the slingshot not actually dealing that much damage.

"That one will do quite nicely. Not the one that shot me: we don't have that sort of room with us," the first told him.

"Should we at least kill her?" the second asked.

"The King's orders were simple. We simply need to clear the area. If that's all she's got, she's no threat," the first said. He packed Ilia atop the boar, and the two ran off. They heard the sound of their King's horn, and looked up. Twilight was descending on the spring.

"See? Mission went off without a hitch," the first rider said.

Link got up, and realised Ilia was missing.

"ILIA!" she roared, pulling out her blade. She ran from the village, forgetting Epona. A yellow glow descended on the forest as she ran. She was stopped at a mysterious wall seemingly created from twilight. She dug in her heels, and turned to run back. A hand grabbed her by the chest, and yanked her through the wall.

"Let go of me, you creep!" Link said, slashing at the hand that had a firm grip on her chest. The weird beast holding her was seemingly crafted from shadow. She flung herself from the beast, and looked about. Link started to shake and convulse. She fell to her knees, pain shooting along her body. She felt her hands and legs compress into short and spindly legs ending in paws, she felt a tail forcefully eject itself from her butt, she felt her mouth extend in front of her face. When the pain finally subdued, Link looked about herself. She had turned into the shape of a wolf. She barked angrily, and looked about. She succumbed to the levels of pain she had felt, passing out.

Link woke up in a very uniform brick room. She looked at her right ankle, which was chained to the floor pretty pointlessly, considering she was also held behind iron bars. Link pulled the chain taut, and stepped on it. It caused pain in her paw, but didn't budge the chain. She heard a small giggle, and turned to face the author. The author was a small imp, standing to one side with a scowl etched on her face, and suffering in her eye.

"I found ya!" she said, the scowl vanishing. The pain in her eye remained.

"Who are you?" Link asked, on her guard.

"Wow, you are a reckless one, eh? The name's Midna, princess. Now, if given my way, I'd probably just wander along my merry way. I have problems to deal with. Big problems. But I'm a compassionate person… well, imp. And I have seen the sort of power you have. I figured, well, if I'm going to be going up against some nasty types, I might want the help of one carrying the sort of blood you've got," the imp said. Link perked her ears at the word blood.

"Ah, you're excited for this adventure, hm?" Midna said, beaming. She snapped her fingers, and the chain on Link's leg snapped too. Link looked at it in marvel.

"Wow, the princess's all surprised at what the little magic girl can do! And I bet she's wondering where she is. Well, I suppose it is only natural… has she ever left Ordon?" Midna said tauntingly. Link felt her blood boil.

"Well, if you're going to find out, you might as well get out of this cell, huh?" Midna asked. Link growled, and found a patch of soil. She dug a small hole, and burrowed through under the bars.

"Well, I suppose all those years in Ordon haven't been wasted. The princess can think for herself!" Midna said.

"Why do you keep calling me princess? The name's Link. After what they told me in Ordon, I'd rather not identify with those 'nobles'," Link barked.

"Link? Seriously? They named you Link? Honestly, you'd probably be better off if I called you princess. How does that sound? Good? Well, let's get out of here already! Listen to what I say, and this partnership will work out just fine…" Midna said. Link charged forward, and began her trip through the brick passageway.

Link managed to find herself on top of a large castle, with many roofs and turrets abound. She looked up at Midna.

"This is Hyrule Castle… but I forgot to grab the gift for the Royal Family!" Link said.

"The gift? …Never mind that, whatever it is. Yes, this is Hyrule Castle... but notice anything unusual about?" Midna asked. Link shook her head. It looked normal.

"…This Twilight is not natural, airhead! The Twilight was brought here! It's not supposed to be here! We have to stop it!" Midna said, annoyed. Now that she mentioned it, there was a certain eeriness to the twilit castle. Midna was right: this wasn't natural. She pulled on Link's collar, and dragged her over the castle to one particular tower. Midna dragged Link into the room, where Link saw a robed figure.

"Who are you?" Link growled. The robed figure turned, and stepped forward. She knelt beside Link, and started to stroke the back of head. Link found herself enjoying it more than she should.

"Midna? Who is this young fellow? Is he the reincarnation of the Hero of Time?" the woman asked.

"Eee hee! Thanks for remembering me," Midna said.

"Well? He is the one for whom you were searching, right?" the woman asked.

"Right on. Though, I thought I told you this era's 'reincarnation' was a girl. I don't blame you. I was hoping for a boy, too. But I guess she'll do. From what I've divined, she does have the fighting spirit of a boy. Doubtful I'll need to worry about saving her over and over," Midna said.

"Over and over? You mean… she was imprisoned here?" the woman asked. Midna nodded.

"Yeah… poor thing has absolutely no idea what's going on. She's in way over her head. I saw her in Ordon: she's a hero to the children there. Here… not so much," she said, giggling.

"Well, I guess I'd owe her an explanation. Listen carefully… where we stand was once the kingdom of Hyrule, land of the gods. But that blessed kingdom was mutated by the power of the king of Twilight… now, very few can survive the effects of the Twilight. Creatures who fear the daylight now roam free," she said.

It was the day of my coronation. My father had brought peace to the land of Hyrule, and it was high time I followed in his footsteps. However, as the ceremony was to be conducted… he walked into the throne room. I watched with my royal rapier and several knights in attendance. But the knights were overwhelmed by the creatures of Shadow. They struck faster than you could ever imagine. And emerging from the shadowy dust… Zant. Wearing a very ornate, eerie helm and clad in armour of Twilight, he made a very slow and methodical entrance.

It is time for you to make your choice, wench: surrender or die. And that doesn't just go for you, hoo hoo hoo… that goes for your lowly people, too!

Those were the words he said to me on that day. It was all so sudden… but I'm not my father. I would not have been able to bring a happy ending to this attack. I dropped my rapier. The Kingdom of Hyrule would have to surrender. Zant worked his magic on my kingdom. Twilight cloaks the land. The people I rule are little more than spirits. I should have fought. I should have given my people the honour of dying for a good cause, however hopeless that cause may be. Now, they live in fear. Fear of an evil without name. But I know that name.

Zant. I will never, ever, forget that name.

"That's… a bit inaccurate, Zelda. But you did get the key points, so I'll let it go without complaint," Midna said.

"…Midna, you really should explain these things. Anyway… although the kingdom lies in Twilight, I remain its princess… Zelda," Zelda said. Link bowed as best she could. Midna tried to think about what part of the story Zelda was struggling with.

"...I will never understand you people. I mean, what is so bad about twilight anyway? But I could never turn a blind eye to the mass beating-to-within-an-inch-of-their-livelihood of an entire civilisation. I will try and return peace to your world," Midna said.

"And hurry about it. The guard's making his rounds," Zelda said. Link gasped, and ran from the room.

"Well, Link? Do you understand what's going on? Do you understand what we must do?" Midna asked. Link growled, and nodded. Her paws were clenching as best as possible.

"I will take you back to where you became a wolf. There is some important business for us there," Midna said.

Link had appeared in Ordon Spring, somehow. Midna appeared in front of her, and winked.

"Twili travel. It's more efficient than any form of travel you have discovered in Hyrule. We just need your airspace… which you guys probably want, don't you?" Midna said. "Don't worry, we'll get it back for you… but there's no sense in wasting these things. Oh… you're also stuck as a wolf for the time being, and I can't exist in this blasted light of yours."

Link looked about. She knew she was essentially a savage beast, so she could hardly approach any of the children in Ordon… and she had her doubts about the adults. She decided to go back to the place she became a wolf. The Twilight there would probably be more manageable with Midna's help. If she deigned to help. She ran towards the Twilight.

"A sword and a shield," Link said. They looked like the gifts she had noticed, the present for the royal family.

"This should be useful. We can use these to defend ourselves if you can ever get your human form back," Midna said. Link looked up at her apprehensively.

"Well? It is an emergency, and there's not much of a royal family anymore… I doubt they'd mind…" Midna said. Link had to concede the truth of this statement, even if she didn't like it. She flung the sword and shield onto her back, and charged through the Twilight.

Link ran forth, and found herself in Faron Spring. As her paws stepped within the chambers, she saw a wisp of light appear within the Twilight.

Oh child of the light, heed my cry… I am Faron, guardian spirit of the Forest. My cries of courage have been sealed by the evil Zant's design…

"Oh, boo hoo. You know, for being a Twili's weakness, you light spirits did a poor job of keeping away Zant, you know?" Midna taunted. Link noted that she was careful to hide in Link's literal shadow as she said that.

The child of Twilight's words cut deep, but her meaning is correct. Zant's attack took us too much by surprise. We were caught off guard, and despite our best efforts, Zant lay waste to our being. We were lucky to escape with such a beacon of hope. Now… the Hero of the Twilight, you must aid my spirit. Jump into the light…

Link knelt down, and jumped into the light. A wavy portal appeared around her, and she was dragged away.

Link found herself standing in a world of light. Link looked around, at her spirit. It appeared to be in human form, but her perception was playing tricks on her. She looked half-wolf, half-human. It was mind-numbing.

Oh, child of Courage, howl the tune of the forest…

Link wasn't sure what tune this might be. She raised her hands to her head, and howled. She tried to merge all of her thoughts of the forest into one being. As she howled, notes began to swirl around her head. She looked straight ahead, and saw a green-clad man. The man had an air of confidence that even Link felt she could trust. He was playing an ocarina… or at least, he looked like he might. Even accounting for Link's unclear vision, the man seemed to simmer and haze. Notes flew from his ocarina as well as her lips, circling around each other. Link felt her vision haze, and she disappeared from the light world.

O youth of courage… thou alone become a beast of blue eyes. This is proof: you are the Hero that will save us from the designs of the Lord of Twilight, Zant. Gaze upon your body… there is proof etched on it.

Link looked down. She was now quite clearly human, and for that, she was grateful. Link was never taking the act of being human in vain again. However, she noticed that her garb had changed: instead of a simple homespun dress, she wore a long dress of plain green. She reached for the ends of the skirt, and hitched them up a bit. Her skirt shortened itself. Thankfully, her breeches and gauntlets remained in place.

You are the Heroine of Twilight. The green hero's garb signifies you as such. You are the first woman to bear this burden, and you may just bear it well… Go to the Temple of the Forest. There, you will be able to delete one final curse… undo the lock on this forest home… Obtain power to match that of Zant… May the goddess of good fortune smile upon you.

Link walked through the woods, plucking a lantern from a small post to light the way. Natural night had started to fall, and while Link was not particularly partial to darkness, she had an inkling she'd need to get used to it. She walked through the dark woods; to find the place she had discovered Talo earlier. Now, a golden wolf sat in front of it. Link jumped in surprise, before the wolf expanded in a bright light.

Link found herself in very empty land. All that was present was a floor to stand on. Link looked around. As she did so, a skeleton formed behind her, and as Link faced it, she gasped in shock. The skeleton marched towards her, with its massive blade. Link quivered a little, before lunging forward with great courage. The skeleton deflected the blow, causing Link to overstep her mark.

A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it knows how to wield one, the skeleton emitted. Although its jaw moved in rhythm with the words, not a sound was made. Link growled at him, before readying another blow.

You may be destined to be the next Hero… but you fight with overconfidence. You would bring shame to the tunic you wear. You must seek the three elements of our world in balance to become the true Heroine: Power, Wisdom and Courage. You have Courage to spare, and Power comes later… but I can always impart Wisdom now. I have seven skills to teach. I will bestow them upon you as the time comes, the skeleton said. Link smiled. This would be a story to tell around the campfire.

Hero's Shade Skill 1: Ending Blow

Enemies that are filled with energy will quickly recover and attack even when stunned by a powerful blow. The ending blow is a secret technique you can use on stunned enemies to end their breath before they spring back into action. While an enemy lies on the ground, weakened, you must leap forth and stab them through to finish their miserable existence. Now: Strike me with a mighty blow, and use an Ending Blow to end me! the skeleton said. Link pulled out her blade, and used her mighty jump attack. The skeleton was launched back, and Link stepped forward. She jumped up, and descended upon the skeleton with an Ending Blow.

Marvellous. Never overlook the opportunity to Finish. That concludes today's lesson. Next we meet, there will be another technique to learn, the skeleton said.

"I look forward to it," Link said, in as collected a voice as the skeleton had spoken. The empty field vanished.

Link entered the Forest Temple. Several monkeys screeched at her, and she looked up. She sung a small tune of peace, and the monkeys laughed. They tumbled down from their vantage point, and made a few noises. Link made some noise of her own, and they started to walk about.

"What are they saying?" Midna asked.

"They want me to follow them… they want to show me the temple… they want me to help them," Link said.

"…I was being sarcastic. I wasn't expecting an answer…" Midna said. Link shrugged. Her forest life had several perks she didn't expect Midna to understand. She pressed through the temple, following the monkeys. They allowed her to swing about paths that even she wouldn't have been able to. Where she was led, though, was to a larger monkey… that wasn't quite so pleased to meet her. He slung a boomerang at Link, who dodged. She slung the Slingshot into the monkey, who dropped from his perch. Link slapped the monkey's prominent butt with her sword, causing him to drop the boomerang: the Gale Boomerang. The monkey scratched his head.

"Kind baboon… I need to discover a curse within this place…" Link said. The monkey nodded, and let out a rapid jabber of monkey noises.

"Thank you, Lord Ook of the monkey tribes. May you escort me there?" Link asked. Ook nodded.

"…I feel like I'm talking to monkeys sometimes," Midna commented.

Link found herself in a room with a pool of poisonous water. The pool began to quiver, and out burst twin massive Baba plants…

Twilit Parasite DIABABA

Link pulled out Ook's boomerang, and swished. Some Bombling bugs were snatched up by the small gale she had generated, and they found themselves in Diababa's mouth. Diababa swallowed the Bomblings whole, and self-combusted.

"Simple… Too simple…" Link said. Diababa came back above, with another, larger head. Link went from side to side. She threw another boomerang, and another gale sent a Bombling at Diababa. Diababa fell in front of Link, and she Ended it. Diababa withered and collapsed. Link flashed a dramatic pose, and sheathed her blade. Diababa's corpse exploded into Twilight Shards, and reformed into a small piece of metal.

"Oh, err… that's mine. Thanks for finding it, by the way. It's a Fused Shadow. I might be able to use it to counter Zant. Help me find the other pieces… and we might be able to stop him!" Midna said. Link nodded. Finally, a goal with an ending that might result in saving this land.

Link reappeared near the Faron Spring. Midna appeared beside her, and put her hand on her chin.

"Well, we've got one Fused Shadow. Now for the next one… um… I believe Zelda mentioned a trinity of these light spirits. Wasn't one of them called Eldin?" Midna asked.

"How would I know, Midna?" Link asked. Midna shrugged.

"Well, whatever. I believe we should head to the Eldin Province in the west," Midna said. Link nodded, and checked her shoes. Good, the fates that be gave her half-decent shoes. She charged forward, and started running out of the forest and through Hyrule Field.