Heheheheheeee sorry. Again.

Let's just get started

*THIS IS A TRANSITION*

"What in Nayru's name is that?" Link cried, backing away from the wall slowly.

Tall and looming, a skeleton with cloth wrapped loosely around its bones stepped toward him. Its bones snapped and cracked as it straightened itself up to reveal its height - much taller than Link.

This thing wasn't like the ones that had ambushed them earlier. What the hell was this thing a skeleton of?

It groaned as it limped heavily but slowly toward Link. A red scarf was wrapped around its neck, looking to be centuries old -

A gurgling screech suddenly echoed through the room. Hands went straight to his ears, and he saw Caden do that same. The noise was so loud, it seemed to attack every sense of his - it blinded him, rendered him immobile. Link hunched over as if to escape the noise, and it had been so shocking against the stillness of the temple that Link didn't notice the noise had stopped until it was too late.

Pain.

Pain was across the entire right side of his face and down his arm and back. Link looked up from the ground, where he'd fallen, to see the skeleton-mummy wielding a giant axe.

With the blade pointed toward him.

A cry came from Caden as he attacked the creature, battling with it as Link watched. The skeleton must have only hit him with the blunt of the axe, because Link saw no blood on him. He only felt a dead aching across his whole body.

Caden finished it off quickly, then turned toward Link. "You alright?" he asked, offering a hand.

Link grunted as he sat up, then took his hand. He winced as he stood. "I've had worse," he groaned as he rubbed the pain out of his shoulder. "Holy shit, though. That thing was huge."

Caden laughed. "What's the matter? Scared?"

Link frowned, exasperated. "You're not the one who got hit with an axe!"

"You're just mad 'cause I saved your ass," Caden said cockily.

Link rolled his eyes. He liked Caden better when he wasn't all hyped of from fighting. Link wondered why exactly his personality did change so drastically. Something from his past, maybe? Caden's whole village had been attacked not too long ago, and he did seem to be coping with it absurdly well.

"Hey check it out," Caden said. He was hunched over the mummy. Link winced in disgust as he pulled back a patch of old bandages to reveal a key. "This might come in handy."

*SORRY THAT WAS KIND OF SHORTER THAN I THOUGHT*

Link's heart stopped as they stepped into the room. The smell of death swam around him overwhelmingly, and as he looked around, his breath caught in his throat.

Lanterns.

Everywhere.

There must have been ten or fifteen, all lined up along the stone wall. The room was sompletely circular, illuminated blue by all the lanterns. It was a welcome change from all the yellow sand, and he would have thought it look almost peaceful if not for the strong smell od decay and the horrid uneasy feeling in his gut.

A poe was in here.

But which lantern was it? Were they all poes?

He needed desperately for Caden to leave so he could transform, but that seemed unlikely to happen. Could he defeat the poe without being a wolf?

He could feel evil screaming in his ear to his left, so he turned to look at the lanterns in that direction. Caden was still staring around the room in confusion.

"Are all of them those...ghosts?" he asked.

"Poes," Link corrected. Caden looked at him. "They're called poes. And no." This he was certain of, now. He singled in on one lantern, which swayed back and forth very slightly and smelled...the strongest. "I think it's trying to trick us." He suddenly jabbed his sword forward above the lantern, and felt it strike something solid.

The lantern suddenly shook, then floated over to him. He took another swing at it, and after a moment of stunned silence, Caden joined in. After managing to land two more hits, the lantern sank to the ground and the purple orb appeared. Link could swear he could almost make out the poe.

Just barely.

He resisted the urge to grab its soul in his mouth but instead reached down to sever it in his hand. He ripped it from the poe, and it suddenly fleshed out in a burst of blue light which sprayed out its robe. It let out a hideous scream, then the rove fell limply out at their feet.

Caden stared at Link in shock. "How did you know to do that?" Caden asked.

Link shrugged, his mind spinning to think of an excuse. "I just...had a feeling," he answered lamely. Caden seemed to accept that answer, however hesitantly. "Hey, Caden, do you mind if I talk to Midna in private for a minute?" he asked.

"Oh, um... Sure, yeah," he said, confused, but stepped outside of the room anyway, mumbling something about 'not enjoying yourselves too much.' Link felt his face heat up as he realized what caden was implying.

Midna appeared next to him. "What's up?"

Link licked his lips. "I think something's wrong," Link said quietly. "I could see that poe. I'm a human right now. I shouldn't be able to see it." He bit his lip. "Hell, I can still smell the scent of the other two. What's happening to me? Why is it getting so strong?"

Midna rolled her eyes, seeming only slightly concerned. "Who cares?"

Link's brow furrowed angrily. "What do you mean, 'Who cares'? Something could be seriously wrong! What if...something's getting...stuck, or..."

Midna sighed impatiently. "The way I see it, it'll just make hunting these things easier. I mean, you wanna hide this from Caden, right?" Link paused guiltily, then nodded. "Then I say we take advantage of it and worry about it after we...find the Mirror..."

She trailed off, suddenly realizing at the same time as Link that after they found the Mirror... Well, there wouldn't be an "after they found the Mirror." Midna would be going home. And so would Link.

There was a long pause where they just looked at each other, silently wishing they had more time together. Shades of orange and red that Link would miss dearly swam in Midna's eyes. He was the first to speak.

"We probably shouldn't keep Caden waiting," he mumbled. He noticed he was leaning ever so slightly closer to Midna, and pulled away hastily. Goddesses, what was he doing? It was like his body had a mind of his own.

He turned around and headed back to where Caden was waiting. Midna followed.

Having no more rooms to explore on this level, they headed back upstairs. In the large, central room, two of the lanterns were now lit. Two to go. They looked around and eventually chose a room to head through; the one above the staircase.

They joked as they made their way along, poking fun at Midna and giggling when she shouted "Hey!" through his shadow.

They were suddenly interrupted, however, as long, metal, dangerously pointy spikes suddenly shot of from the ground right in front of them.

"Gah!" Link cried, stumbling backwards. "Shit, that's dangerous!" They picked themselves up, then continued walking, carefully avoiding the spiky wall. Link lifted his leg to step over a large patch of quicksand, when SHING! More spikes shot up!

"Holy hell, Caden!" he cried. "What's going on?"

Caden looked confused, and slightly shaken. "Strange," he said softly. "They seem to be motion-activated."

They decided they'd better be more careful, and slowly made their way across the sandy area. When they got across, there was some broken stone that they used to climb up to a raised area. Caden pointed out a door across the room, but there was a problem.

Of all things, a chandelier was blocking their path.

A fucking huge chandelier, too. They tried climbing over it, but the structure was too thin to support them. They thought they were stuck for a minute before Link noticed a small chain out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, I think I have an idea," Link said. He reached down and pulled the chain with all his strength, and felt it begin to move. To his left he saw the chandelier begin to rise.

Caden's face lit up. "Hey do you think you could hold that long enough for me to climb underneath it?"

Link gave it another tug, and the chandelier raised a bit more. "Go, hurry!" Link cried, feeling his arms begin to get sore. Caden began heading underneath it, and Link's arms began to shake. "Hurry!" he yelled. Caden scurried the rest of the way, and just as he made it through, Link's arms gave out and he let go of the chain. He heard glass crash as the chandelier hit the ground.

"You alright?" he called.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, you head through that door. I'll explore around here a little more," Link explained.

"Alright!" Link watched as Caden headed up the staircase toward the door.

Alright, what to do, what to do... Link clanged around the room, but saw nothing of importance. Deciding he might as well get some rest, Link began to settle against the wall beside him when he noticed something.

A door was across from him, on another wall, but on a raised platform with no way to get across. It took a few moments for Link's eyes to find the torch covered in mesh, but when he did, his clawshot was out in an instant.

After being zipped through the air, he found himself in front of the door. he pushed it aside and stepped into a small, dimly lit room, instantly feeling uneasy. No enemies seemed to be present, just piles of bones scattered throughout the area as well as a few old, dusty pots. There was a door across from him. he began to head toward the door when he was interrupted by a low, groaning sound and a strange creaking noise.

Link spun around to come face-to-face with...a skeleton?! But he hadn't seen it in here before!

Link unsheathed his sword, and was surprised at how easy it was to defeat the large creature. He turned back around, only to hear a strange rattling sound. Link hesitantly looked back over his shoulder, and was horrified to see the body of the skeleton slowly lift its head back into place.

"Oh...Nayru..." He thought he was going to be sick. He attacked the skeleton once more, and this time, after it crumpled into another heap before his feet, he asked Midna for a bomb to be sure it wouldn't come back.

How fucking creepy.

*IT'S JUST A JUMP TO THE LEFT*

Caden looked around the corner carefully before pressing his back flat against the wall. He made an effort to quiet his panting, but he knew they would keep coming anyway.

Skeletons.

Hundreds.

He'd been suspicious when the long, dark, winding passageway seemed empty. They'd come all at once, slowly tripping and limping toward him. He didn't understand - they were skeletons. How could they be alive? They were just a bunch of bones! He'd come across one of those screaming mummies wielding another large, axe-like weapon.

Caden braced himself for more, then stepped out from behind the corner and began slashing every which-way, eventually pulling out the bow (which he seemed to find more effective). He killed as many as he could, but there were still so many more!

Eventually, finally, they seemed to be thinning. Another mummy loomed into view, which Caden could see was the end. He easily defeated all of the smaller skeletons, then shot at the mummy from a distance until fell over, dead.

Silence.

The eeriness of the temple was quite prominent. It felt almost as if something was hiding in the shadows...watching him.

Which, with all these floating ghost-lanterns, Caden would not be surprised to find out was true.

A distant rattling sound snapped him back into reality. Speaking of which...that sounded an awful lot like a ghost. Or poe, as Link had called it.

He could almost feel its shuddering breaths on his neck, sneaking up behind him to grab his shoulder...

He spun around, only to see a wall in front of him. Still, the ghost sounded closer, as if it was right in front of him...

He placed his ear against the wall. To his surprise, the wall seemed to shake, as if it was...loose. Caden pushed against it and watched in awe as it slid to the side, revealing...

A bright blue lantern.

Panic was his first instinct. Link wasn't here. How was he supposed to kill this thing?!

Then he remembered the way Link had attacked above the lantern, which had seemed to do some damage. Caden ducked as the poe flew toward him, then slashed his sword right above where the lantern was. He was dumbfounded when he felt it hit something solid.

"Wha...?"

He attacked it again, feeling it hit something dead on, yet the air above it was completely invisible. He hit it a third time, and watched as it fell to the ground. A small purple orb surfaced out of nowhere.

"Um...?"

He remembered Link grabbing it and ripping it out... Did he have to do that too?

He hesitantly bent down, took it in his hand. It felt strange. Almost...like liquid, yet it was...solid. He could hold it. He yanked on it, pulling as hard as he could, and finally felt it detach from...whatever it was attached to. Then, suddenly it was visible, a giant, looming figure in a robe. It screamed as something burst from its limbs, then sank to the ground. Lifeless.

What the hell did he just do?

The light from the lantern suddenly faded, and he knew that it must have gone to the lantern in the main room. He headed back hesitantly to find Link, not wanting to be alone in the eerie silence any longer.

*AND THEN A STEP TO THE RIIIIIGHT*

With a cock of his head in confusion, Link stepped forward hesitantly. There was a line of unlit torches along the wall opposite him. He hurried over the quicksand and stepped in front of them. One torch was in front of all the others, and he hesitantly pulled his lantern out and lit it. Nothing happened.

He looked at the other torches lines up behind the first one and walked up to one. On a whim, he decided to light the first one on the left.

He came to regret that decision as suddenly, he heard a low creaking noise and spun around to find a small army of skeletons limping toward him. Link cried out in fear, and stared in utter surprise as both of the torches he lit suddenly went out.

After killing all of the skeletons in the room, he hesitantly lit the first torch again. Again, nothing happened. There were five torches for him to choose from... Again, on a complete whim, he chose the torch on the completely opposite side, all the way to the right.

To his complete surprise, the wall to his right shook and rotated to reveal a whole new room. Damn, if that wasn't complete luck...

He stepped through the doorway and into a new room. This room, completely circular, had lanterns circling throughout the room, an awful lot like the one he and Caden had gone to. "Midna," Link hissed immediately, and he felt the pain, which he was starting to get used to, rip through him, tearing him apart and putting him back together as a wolf.

He flipped his senses on in an instant, looking around the room. Dammit, but if it didn't feel good to be a wolf again. He felt...powerful. More powerful than he'd felt as a wolf ever before.

He was ready to kill.

Spotting the poe took no time at all, and he quickly attacked it. However, he wasn't prepared for when the ghost began circling around him, and suddenly there were three more poes.

Oh, goddesses...

He launched himself at one, but they were circling him quickly, and it was hard to tell if he'd hit it or not. Eventually, they began to slow down, and Link stared at all of them. He could do this. He just had to pick the right one.

It took him a moment, and a moment too long, to decide which poe was the real one. They came at him, and he felt a cold, icy numbness flow throughout him. It took him a moment to gather himself again, and they were back to circling him. This time, however, he readied himself, and when the poes slowed down, he was already focused. One poe definitely smelled stronger than the other three, and he quickly attacked it.

The poe fell back, sinking to the ground, and Link quickly bit into its soul. It shrieked loudly, then fell to the floor in a heap of robes. Dead.

*PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HIPS*

They met back up in the central room, finding all the torches lit and the once-blocked doorway to the rest of the temple open.

Link was eager to get going and explore the rest of the temple, but Caden said he was tired and wanted to rest. Link reluctantly agreed and they settled in the spot they had earlier. After eating a little bit of the food they'd brought, Caden promptly fell asleep, leaving Link awake and bored.

He knew he should probably sleep, too, but he just wasn't tired. He spent about five minutes lying there, trying to sleep, before he popped up and started pacing the room. He was itching for something. Craving for something. But he wasn't sure what it was.

He just knew he needed it.

"Link, what are you doing?" Link spun around quickly and saw Midna, arms crossed, looking annoyed. "You should sleep while you can, idiot."

His face brightened. "Midna!" He felt like wagging his tail, though he had none at the moment. Then, for whatever reason, he blurted out, "Can you turn me?"

She rose an eyebrow. "Why?"

Link licked his lips in anticipation. "I dunno, I just...want to." He shook his head. "Goddesses, Midna, something is wrong with me. I need to know what."

Midna stared at him for a long minute, then sighed. "Link, nothing's wrong with you. Just... You'll be fine."

"No, I won't! Midna, I want to turn. I can see and smell things that I should only be able to when I'm a beast. Something is wrong with me. When you turned me into a wolf earlier..." He trailed off, afraid to say anything.

"What?"

"I felt so...just...powerful. I felt on edge, like I could kill anything that came near me..."

Midna thought for a moment, then a thought seemed to come to her. "Well, this place is pretty old. There are plenty of spirits here, obviously. Animals are more in-tune with the spirit world, so... Maybe it's just messing with your senses and making them act up."

Link thought on this for a minute. "Maybe, but...we killed all of the poes." He looked straight at her. "So why do I still feel like this?"

Midna said nothing, only stared back at him.

"We killed all the poes...right?"

*AND PULL YOUR KNEES IN TIIIIIIGHT*

Link eventually dozed off, and he and Caden woke up a few hours later. They wasted no time in making their way further into the temple.

There wasn't much to make note of in the first few rooms, other than a strange shape that seemed to be etched into the ground in some places. Like a circle, but with ridges around the edge. The rest of the temple so far was just cobwebs, old rooms, and dusty bones leaning against every other wall. They found a few rupees along the way, and pocketed the money, figuring nobody would likely miss it.

Eventually they came across a room with sand that wasn't just dusting the floor, but pits of sand, like quicksand earlier in the temple. Not only that, but there were more spikes that shot up when they got close. They carefully maneuvered through the room, but Link began to feel...heavy. Like something was weighing him down.

"Um, Caden?"

"Yeah, I...I feel it too."

Link stared at Caden, really stared, and suddenly, he felt like he could see something. Well, lots of something. Covering Caden.

"Rats!" he cried, suddenly shaking his arms and legs despite the weight.

"Wh-what?"

"They're rats! Invisible rats!"

"What do you...how...?"

Link's heart stopped. He tried to think of an excuse, but gave up. "It doesn't matter, just get them off!"

He could see them clearly now, tumbling off of him and jumping back on. The whole world around him seemed darker, as if he was using his senses, and it scared him. Nevertheless, he used it to his advantage and killed all the rats he and Caden shook off. This would be fucking impossible to explain to him.

However, Caden didn't have time to ask as they were interrupted by a loud screech.

A mummy.

They were stunned into motionlessness, and hunched over to block out the noise. This mummy went after Caden, and Link could do nothing as it struck him in the side of the head with its axe. As soon as Link regained his ability to move, he went after it, his blood boiling. Whether it was his anger or just pure luck, he managed to kill it pretty quickly. Then he rushed to Caden, and felt his heart sink as he saw blood.

A lot of blood.

"Shit, Caden... Caden, can you hear me?"

Caden groaned and rolled his head to the side to reveal a huge gash in his head. Oh, fucking hell... This wasn't good.

This really wasn't good.

He used the rest of the water they had to clean his cut, then - to his disgust, but he had no other choice - he tore rags off of the mummy to wrap Caden's head, revealing the rotting flesh of the mummy. The smell was awful, but, seeing as Caden was already bleeding through the bandages he'd wrapped in him, he had no choice but to grab more.

The smell of the mummy was getting to be too much, and Link dragged it out of the room.

Only to be stopped by a high-pitched squaking noise.

"Gracious, Link!"

He turned around.

"O-Oocoo? What...the...hell...?"

"How nice to see you again!"

Link just stared in awe at the bird creature. How the hell had it managed to follow him all the way here?

"Well, now that we've found each other again...Let's stick together for a bit, hmm?"

Link shook himself out of shock. "Ooocoo, I need your help!" he cried. "You can teleport, right?"

She - he - it - nodded its head. "Why, yes, I - "

"I need you to teleport my friend Caden out of here. Get him to a doctor. Can you do that?"

"Why, sure. Let me introduce you to my son, Oocoo Jr.!"

Then, to Link's complete and utter shock, a small, miniature Oocoo flew out from behind the first one. It was literally just a head with wings. It smiled at him, creeping Link the fuck out.

"Oh! Mama! Am I gonna get to go?" it sqeaked.

"Take that boy over there to a doctor," Oocoo said, gesturing to Caden. Link's mouth just hung open in complete dumbfoundment.

"Sure thing, Mama!"

Then, the little bird flew around Caden, and he suddenly disappeared into thin air, along with the little Oocoo.

"What...the hell?"

"Let's get going!"

Link didn't move. "Is he okay? Where did they go?"

"They went to a doctor, like you asked!"

Link looked skeptically at Oocoo, but eventually sighed and shook his head. "Okay, whatever. I'll take your word for it." He rolled his eyes. "I have seen some weird shit lately," he mumbled under his breath, heading further into the temple.

*SORRY IF IT SEEMS LIKE IM RUSHING THROUGH THIS PLACE*

The moment Link stepped into the room, he knew something was wrong.

He took a cautious step forward. The room was completely black with darkness. Anything could be waiting in the shadows for him to come close.

And Link was positive something was waiting.

Watching.

He took another step. The floor was cool, made of stone. There was no trace of sand on the ground. Link felt as if he could ever so slightly - just barely - make out the sound of breathing that wasn't his own.

Something was in here with him.

Link walked further into the room, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to make out a sword in the center of the room. It was a giant sword, nearly as tall as him, and completely black. It was impaling the stone ground, and lines of rope were strung from the sword, with papers tied to them.

Every bone in his body urging him it was a bad idea, Link reached for one of the papers to read what it said. Something in another language was scrawled across.

His fingers trailed to the rope, which was very thin and worn with age. Just how old was this place? He hesitantly reached out to touch the sword, wincing as he prepared for something to attack him.

The silence was deafening.

Dust collected on his fingers, and he let his hand trail back down the rope. It was so thin and weak... Link worried that if he even nudged or pulled it slightly, it might -

SNAP.

...Uh oh.

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened for too long.

Then, symbols on the sword suddenly appeared, glowing bright red, and every fiber of Link's being screamed to get away from the sword. The blade suddenly shook, and the other strings disappeared suddenly in a fit of fire.

Black fog surrounded them, and Link backed away, slowly. The sword ever so slowly unsheathed itself from the ground and began floating in midair.

Then it swung at him.

Link ducked and ran, covering his head. "Midna! Turn me!" Thank Nayru Caden wasn't here. "Hurry!"

He felt pain, a pain which he embraced and allowed to overtake him completely. With the pain came power, and he liked it. He was powerful. A beast.

He allowed his senses to overcome him as he stared at the sword. Suddenly, it wasn't the sword that frightened him anymore, but the large, ghost-like creature wielding the sword. He could just barely make it out, and it appeared translucent.

It came at him, and right as it was about to strike, it filled in with a bright blue color. It looked somehow solid. Link ducked quickly and took the opportunity to tear and rip at the ghoul with his teeth and claws. Damn, did he feel powerful.

The creature let out a horrifying shriek as it flung its head back, causing Link to tumble off the creature. Color suddenly filled it, and Link didn't need his senses to see the creature anymore.

Its face.

If you could even call it that. It was deformed, with something like horns sticking out of the sides. Its mouth was stretched across its face, revealing rotting teach, and its eyes were glowing bright red. It was draped in a long, black robe. And still wielded the sword.

Reluctantly, Link cried out for Midna to turn him back into a Hylian. The ghost began floating around the room, circling around Link. It swooped in close, suddenly, and swung that giant sword at Link. He tried to jump out of the way, but didn't manage to quickly enough. He felt the edge of the sword strike his arm, and sharp pain ripped his skin. He collided with the cold, dusty ground, and groaned as he had to quickly pick himself back up.

The creature began circling around Link again, and he waited, his heart pounding madly against his chest, for the ghost to attack him again. It didn't take long for it to sweep toward him once again, but this time, Link didn't give it time to attack. He was at it instantly, swinging his sword at it over and over and over again.

Eventually the creature had had enough, and let out another terrible scream as it flung itself backwards. Link jumped back, and it rose into the air again.

Circling around Link one last time, it flew toward him, and once again, Link landed a blow before the ghost even had its weapon raised. He hit it again and again, feeling the cut on his arm burning. He hit it one more time, stabbing it straight through the heart, and the ugly creature let out one last, blood-curtling shriek before bursting into gas. A swarm of bats appeared from the gas, and scattered around the room, flying toward the high ceiling.

"Farore," Link coughed as he panted for breath.

The itching, craving feeling to be a wolf was gone.

*THIS IS A TRANSITION*

Link let out a lighthearted laugh. "Whoooo! Midna!"

He heard her groan of disapproval from his shadow, and it made him laugh harder. The wind ripped through his air and his stomach was left far behind. Whoever built this thing was a freaking genius.

It was a small, circular contraption with little spokes it it. Link had no idea how the mechanics of it worked, but when he pressed his foot down on this small lever... It spun.

There were small, really discreet ridges along the walls of the temple in some locations that fit with the spinning-contraption perfectly. It allowed Link to zip along the lines quickly, over pits of sand, and up and around rooms in all sorts of cool, new areas.

Someone a long time ago had a lot of time on their hands.

With the weight of worry about his senses acting up off his chest, he felt a lot happier. He was worried about Caden, but he knew he was alive. He'd made it to a doctor. Link was sure he would be okay.

His head was spinning with excitement as he rushed through the air. Another laugh bubbled up his throat. His mouth hurt from grinning.

Link suddenly found the level of the ridge along the wall was rising. He didn't think much of it until the rest of the wall and floor beneath him suddenly dropped. Only a small piece of the wall with the ridge along it was supporting him over a long drop downwards.

Terror spread throughout him, stopping every function in his body. Every thought left his mind except that he was certainly going to die, because nothing was preventing him from falling except for this small spinning thing under his feet and a piece of ancient stone that it was connected to. Goddesses, he was going to die, shit -

There was suddenly ground right beneath him again, and Link immdediatly took his foot off the lever and hopped off the spinner. Gods, that was close.

Yet the terror didn't linger as long as it usually did. Fresh, raw adreniline was pumping through him, and damn, it felt good. He let out a breathy laugh. He could have been dead by now. He'd been through so much risk and danger that any other person would have concievably been killed by now.

But here he was.

And it felt good.

Link took a minute to recover himself, then looked around. He was standing on a small area high on the wall of the room, with a door on the wall opposite him. Since he was not planning on getting back on that detatched wall, he pushed the door aside and headed into the room. It was another open area, with more ridges. Directly in front of him was a large, black chest.

He kicked it open, and reached inside. All it had was a giant key with a red stone in the middle. Link swallowed nervously, guessing that this was leading to wherever the Mirror was. And, as he'd had to at every other temple he'd been to, he was guessing he would have to fight something.

Something big.

Link hopped on the spinner again, letting it lock into the ridges on the wall. His stomach left him again as he found himself being zipped back to a room he'd been to earlier.

A room with a strange, circular design on the floor. A circle...with ridges in it. A circle with ridges in it that suddenly made a lot of sense.

Link placed the spinner in the hole, where it fit perfectly. Then he pressed his foot on the lever, and the contraption began spinning around.

The whole room rumbled ominously, and Link realized that some sort of gear was turning as the wall in front of him suddenly rolled out of place. A large room was revealed before him. Link picked up the spinner and stepped into the room.

A large tower loomed toward the ceiling, surrounded by sand. The room was small and circular, but stretched very far up. Along the edge of the wall was another ridge-like pattern, which slowly rotated upward until it reached a small platform at the top of the room.

Link suddenly realized that his time with Midna was about to run out.

His heart sank a little.

"Midna?"

She appeared next to him. "What?"

Link gestured to the room, and Midna's eyes softened as she looked around.

"Looks like we're almost...done."

Midna hummed in agreement. She looked sad, but also a bit...happy. Link wanted to feel happy for her, he did... He didn't know what it must be like to be trapped in another world... But he was going to miss her an awful lot.

He stared at her, knowing he wouldn't be able to much longer. "Look, Midna... I just wanted to thank you."

She looked at him in surprise. "Thank me? But I..." She looked at a loss for what to say. "I treated you horribly. I forced you to do everything I asked. And I never really did anything to help you."

Link laughed, surprising her even more. "Midna, if it wasn't for you, I'd still be trapped in that prison as a wolf." He smiled brightly at her. "I've been on the adventure of a lifetime. I've gotten to see everything." His eyes were lost in hers. "And I wouldn't have changed one minute of it."

Midna's eyes glossed over, and she looked almost as if she were going to cry. Then, she startled Link by suddenly leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm gonna miss you, you idiot," she cried, letting out a mix between a sob and a laugh. Link felt a lump form in his throat, and he tried his best to swallow it back.

"I can come visit, right?" he asked. "Or does the Mirror only work one time?"

Midna sniffed. Link had never seen her cry, and he felt strange thinking that she might be right now. "Yeah, of course you can visit," she said, her voice strained. But they both knew that it wouldn't be the same.

Then she pulled back, and Link immediately missed her warmth. Link felt his eyes water with tears, but didn't dare let any fall. Midna's cheeks were dry.

She smiled at him, then leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek.

Link's face flushed, and she pulled back, then disappeared into his shadow. Link still felt the place where her lips had touched his cheek long after she had gone.

He was going to miss her.

*HEHEHAAHEHEAHAHAEhA*

Yes yes yes yes yes I know that she doesn't actually leave at this point okay okay but they would both think that she was leaving because they don't know that the Mirror is broken. Okay? Okay.

Also HAHAHAHAHA IM SO EVIL she "gently kissed HIS CHEEK" buahahahaha just his cheek muahahahaha :3

Well, I'm sorry its so late but I tried to make it kind of long-ish... Also sorry if I kind of rushed through the second half of the dungeon but come on. That part's not as interesting. The spinner is hella though

Alright, well, thank you for reading, I'll update when I can! (Also, I love comments. Comments are good. Please comment :3) Bye!