Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess ❯ Lifting the Curse ( Chapter 20 )

A.N.- And here we are at the midpoint. Doesn’t really seem like it does it? But I have to say Zant is a seriously bad dude and this is the first time you get to see him face to face.
I don’t own the Legend of Zelda and I never will.

Link stood staring at Zant, his brain screaming at him to draw his sword or make some movement to defend himself. But his body refused to move, paralyzed by Zant’s overwhelming presence.
Sensing the unwanted presence in its home Lanaryu rose up menacingly from the waters behind Link. Hissing and blasting the power of the light it held at Zant. Zant however seemed unaffected by either and sent out a shockwave of his own power.
Link cried out in surprise and pain, blacking out as the force of it knocked him off his feet. Even mighty Lanaryu crumpled beneath Zant’s display of power. It was also thrown back, releasing its hold on its orb of light and striking the back wall of the cavern hard before sinking into the water.
Zant raised a cloaked hand to the orb of light and dropped it, submerging the light into the waters of the spring and cloaking the area in twilight. Link shuddered unconsciously as he reverted to his wolf form and Midna was separated from his shadow.
“Zant!” she growled, glaring up him with bloodthirsty malice.
Ignoring her outburst he used his power to effortlessly capture her and hold her, suspended spread-eagled, above Lanaryu’s Spring. She could only struggle helplessly as Zant used his power to also disassemble the Fused Shadows she and Link had collected and bring them to himself.
“Did you honestly mean to take an ancient and withered power like this and turn it against me?” he said, his tone mocking as he tossed the ancient artifacts aside, “You are a foolish traitor, Midna. Why do you defy your king?”
“My KING?” she said, choking on the word in disbelief, “You who do nothing but abuse the magic of your tribe? You must be joking!”
“How dare you?!” he spat, outraged that she would so openly mock him, “Are you implying that my power is…our old magic? Now THAT is a joke! This power is magic granted to me by my God and you WILL respect it!”
Midna cried out in pain as Zant threw her to the ground by the spring’s entrance. Weakly she looked up at Zant as he gathered a mass of crackling energy in his hand aimed at her.
Blinking weakly as he awoke Link looked up in time to see what was happening.
”No!” he shouted, lunging at Zant and becoming the tyrant’s target.
He hung there, with all four paws suspended from the ground by Zant’s power, while pain unlike anything he had ever felt before coursed through him from his head to tail. Then Zant released that power and sent him flying. He slammed hard into one of the pillars by the entrance before falling to the ground, whimpering as darkness clouded his vision again.
“Link!” Midna said, her voice saturated with concern as she kneeled by the crying wolf’s side.
She stroked the fur of his neck gently, mumbling a thousand apologies, as a concrete shard of Zant’s magic slowly sank into Link’s forehead. Chuckling evilly Zant pulled Midna close to him so that his mouth was next to her ear.
“My Midna…Did you forget?” he said, leaning over her shoulder to whisper to her, “That beast is one of the light dwellers who oppressed our people. No matter how much yoj may desire otherwise, you will never be more than a shadow in their world. You cannot consort with their kind!”
Midna looked very much like she wanted to cry, either with frustration at her own helplessness or sadness at what could never be. Regardless she stopped struggling and simply hung there by Zant’s side as she looked at the fallen Link helplessly. Zant seemed to approve and continued on.
“But if we can make their world ours, Midna…light and darkness will meet at last. Our tribe will take back their realm…and sweet darkness will blot out this harsh light! And that, Midna, is why…” He trailed off as the part of his helmet covering his mouth pulled away. Leaning closer to Midna’s ear he continued, pointed teeth making his smile all the more sinister. “I need you. Not just for me, but for all our people…Lend me your power.”
“Never!” she grunted, breaking free of his hold and returning to Link’s side.
“So be it…” Zant snorted, gathering his power around him, “I will return you to the light world you covet!”
Midna gasped as she was torn from Link’s side and forced to hang before Lanaryu’s Spring. Zant then allowed the light spirit to rise so that Midna herself was hit with the full force of its power. Screaming in agony as the beams of pure light struck her Midna knew that her life was going to end.
Light flooded the entire area momentarily causing Zant to loose his sight. When it subsided though both Midna and the light spirit were gone. Smiling in satisfaction he turned his attention to Link.
“Now to deal with you…” he said, but Link, too, was gone along with the Fused Shadows he and Midna had collected.

Ever so gently Lanaryu used its power to transport both Link and the injured Midna to the North Hyrule field and set them on the damp ground. Feeling the raindrops falling on his head Link awoke slowly and stood up shakily, the pain from Zant’s attack still reverberating through his skull.
Seeing his appearance he was slightly alarmed to find himself in the form of a wolf while he was in the realm of light. But that meant little when he suddenly realized the weight on his back and saw Midna lying there.
She was deathly pale, almost translucent from her encounter with the pure light of Lanaryu, and her breathing was horribly shallow and labored.
”Midna…” Link said, concerned, though it came out as a whine in his lupine form.
“Link, hero chosen by the goddesses…” Lanaryu said, it’s voice echoing around them, “Go to the princess locked away in the castle. That princess holds the key that can unlock you from your shadow form…”
“…Link…” Midna rasped, gazing at him weakly as she wove her tiny hands into his fur for support, “H-Hurry…Hurry…to…Zelda…”
Not wasting whatever precious time they had left Link ran for the castle as swiftly and carefully as he could without jarring his passenger. Monsters taunted him, but he paid them no heed. With Midna in the state she was in she wouldn’t be able to stay on his back should it come to a fight.
Things were even worse once he entered the town. Seeing him people screamed and pulled their children out of the way, some even through rocks to keep him away though he had no interest in them. His only goal was to get to Telma’s Bar and find the passage into the castle that she herself had told him was there.
Noticing that the door to the bar was slightly ajar he nudged it open with his nose and went inside.
“Beast! Get out!” Telma shouted, kicking him swiftly in the side.
Yelping with surprise Link bolted out as the door was locked behind him.
“Telma…” he whined, pawing at the closed door, “It’s me…Link…”
Something shattered against the other side of the door in response and Link beat a hasty retreat back into the alley before things could come to a fight.
“You there!” a feline voice called from above him.
Link looked up to see a snowy white cat hop down from an open window and into the wet street.
“You’re Link, correct?” she said, approaching him and sniffing his paws experimentally.
“Yes,” he said, impatience creeping up on him.
“Mm, yes, I thought so. I could just tell, you know. I’m Louise. Do you remember meeting me in this shop before? Though I don’t think we were properly introduced…”
“I’m sorry, no.”
“In any case, I must tell you, I’m a bit puzzled as to why you look like that. Really, dear, you can’t blame the humans for tossing you out, the way you look!” she said, chuckling and noticing Midna lying across his back, “Oh…another patient? You certainly are a curious sort.”
“…Plea…Please…Princess…Z-Zelda…” Midna rasped, completely understanding the conversation of the two animals in her near-death state.
Louise tipped her head curiously and looked to Link for an answer. He could only look at Midna and whine sadly. Understanding the dire situation completely from that whine she hopped up a series of boxes back to the open window.
“This way!” she said, flicking her tail from the way she’d come to the window.
Nodding Link carefully climbed up the boxes to where his new friends was, making sure that Midna didn’t fall off his back in the process.
“Here, get in through the window. The attic is connected to the castle’s waterway. It’s an old waterway, though…so it could be a rough trip.”
“Thank you so much,” Link said, lightly licking the top of her head in beastly gratitude.
“Well…I suppose all that’s left to do is make sure that the humans don’t notice you,” she said, a little indignant that Link had actually given her a sloppy dog kiss but understanding the gesture nonetheless.
Inside Link walked lightly across the ropes with perfect balance, hearing the conversations of everyone in the bar; and silently praying that water from his wet fur wouldn’t strike anyone and cause them to look up.
“The elder told me to escort Telma, but…This city air does not suit my skin…” a hulking Goron complained, rubbing at his stone skin.
“How’s it come to this, huh?” Telma said, leaning on her bar and stroking Louise fondly, “Monsters walking in the streets of town…What in the WORLD are the soldiers of Hyrule doing?! The Gorons are so much more reliable than they are, it’s not even funny!”
In the back there were three huddled around a table talking amongst themselves, but it was only when he was directly above them did Link realize that they were talking about him.
“I heard that an acquaintance of Telma’s defeated the beast that had been attacking tourists on the bride,” the old man said, looking impressed, “She said his name was Link…”
“And here I was thinking Hyrule was empty of men of valor…” A burly woman dressed in armor said, slamming her hand down on the table.
“Oh, no, I don’t believe he’s from Hyrule proper at all,” a scholarly young man said, drawing the attention of the other two, “No, my understanding is that he’s from the small neighboring province of Ordona. This may sound horribly elitist…but people who don’t know the city simply do not know fear.”
Link felt himself burn with anger. This man know nothing of the horrors he had faced and would have to face again. Who was he to judge!? But now wasn’t the time. Not looking the way he did, and certainly not with Midna’s life in danger.
Link passed through the tunnel in the attic and was dropped down into a house filled to the brim with unimaginable treasure. There a scythe wielding ghost came at him with no sign of backing away.
“Hold on tight Midna,” he said, dropping into a crouch when he felt her grip on his fur tighten.
He lunged at the specter, ripping out what looked like a ball of black ooze from inside of it.
“Oh…Th-Thanks for beating the ghost,” the golden statue in the room said, startling Link, “Can I call you doggie? I’m Jovani, I became consumed by greed long ago, and sold by soul to a dark creature who did this to me…I can’t move…I can’t go see my girlfriend…My pet cat Gengle is frozen on my head…”
“Oh, don’t you just have it so rough,” Link growled as his rolled his eyes. He was normally very sympathetic to the plights of the people around him and would help them if he could, but right now the life of one of his friends was in danger.
“I have to ask you a favor, doggie…Can you find and defeat the 20 ghosts who lurk in the dark for me? I think if you can free the pieces of my soul from the ghosts that hold them Ill be free…Oh, but it’s raining out now, I’ll open the door to the underground waterway for you…”
Link raced through the underground passage as quickly as he could, reaching Princess Zelda’s chambers faster than he had on his first visit to the castle.
Nudging the door open he raced in looking around for the captive princess. Zelda however was nowhere to be found. Her grip slipping Midna fell off Link’s back and hit the floor with a barely audible thud.
“Midna! Midna!” Link whimpered, snuggling close to her so that his fur could warm her shivering form.
It was then that Princess Zelda appeared out of the shadows. Ever so gently she touched Midna’s cheek, causing her to reach up to her with her tiny hand. Softly Zelda enclosed Midna’s frail hand within her own.
“Please…Please tell me…” Midna rasped, a desperate need to communicate the importance of what she was saying to the princess, “How do we break…the curse on this one? This…is the one…You need him…to save your world! That’s why…Princess…Please…You must help Link…”
Closing her eyes calmly, as if she wasn’t holding the hand of a dying person, Zelda passed her hand over Link’s body. Directly over his head the mark of the triforce on her right hand pulsed powerfully, but he didn’t revert back to a human. Anxiously Link looked from her to Midna and back again.
“What binds him is a different magic than what transformed him when he first passed the curtain of twilight. It is an evil power,” she said, both her and Midna gazing at him, “Our world is one of balance…Just as there is light to drive away darkness, so, too, is there benevolence to banish evil. Head for the sacred grove that lies deep within the lands guarded by the spirit Faron. There you will find the blade of evil’s bane that was crafted by the wisdom of ancient sages…the Master Sword.”
Link’s ears pricked up in surprise. He’s long heard tales of the ancient and powerful blade, but had never imagined that it could really exist! And so close to his home too! This if nothing else had to be the will of the goddesses.
“The Master Sword is a sacred blade that evil can never touch. Evil cloaks you like a dark veil…and that blade is the only thing that can cleave it. Link…Hero sent by the goddesses…” she said, raising her hand to show him her triforce mark, “Like you, I have been granted special powers by the goddesses…”
“Fine…” Midna interrupted, “Link…You can…You can get to the woods…on your own, right?”
“Yes,” Link said, rising up, his nails tapping the floor in a frantic dance as he understood what she was saying, “But Midna-!”
“Princess…” she said, cutting him off, “I have one last request…Can you tell him…where to find the Mirror of Twilight?”
Link looked to Zelda for an explanation, who looked absolutely shocked that Midna would know of such a thing. But as the shock faded from her eyes understanding took its place as she grasped Midna’s hand even tighter within her own.
“Midna…” she said, quietly a sad tone edging her voice, “I believe I understand now just who and what you are…Despite your mortal injuries, you act in our stead…These dark times are the result of our deeds, yet it is you who have reaped the penalty. Accept this now, Midna. I pass it to you…”
Link looked on as Zelda’s entire being began to lighten and fade away while Midna’s form regained its color and solidified.
“No!” she shouted in protest, though there was little she could do about it, “Link! STOP HER!”
Link could only shake his head helplessly for it was too late. Princess Zelda was gone; vanished into thin air by the most noble act of saving another. Midna, fully restored, stood up and gazed at her right hand, clutching it to her chest as she felt the power there. For a moment she looked as if she wanted to cry.
“Midna…?” Link said, stepping towards her.
“We go back, Link!” she said, hopping up onto his back as she steeled her gaze, “Back to Faron Woods!” She looked around at the room regretfully. “Zelda…I have taken all that you had to give…though I did not want it…”
As soon as they materialized in Hyrule’s Southern field Link trotted forward a few steps before halting. Both he and Midna looked back at the castle which was being encased in a prism of eerie yellow light. The two of them gritted their teeth angrily, but knew that there was nothing they could do for Zelda at the moment.
“Let’s go Link,” she said, patting his side, “We need to get you back to normal if we’re ever gonna be of any help again.”
“Right,” he said, taking off at a dead run for Faron Woods.

Right at the beginning of the path that led to the Forest Temple Link and Midna came across the female monkey cowering as she was surrounded by some strange dolls.
“Get away from her!” Link growled, drawing their attention.
Leaving the monkey alone they moved to attack them, not realizing that they were heading to their doom. In a matter of moments the dolls were only so many shattered pieces lying on the ground after having met with Link’s fangs and claws.
“Hey, are you all right?” Link asked, carefully approaching the shivering monkey since he didn’t want to scare her anymore.
“Did…Did you save me?” she asked looking up at him, “Th-Thank you! Listen, since you’re so nice, let me tell you something: there’s this really pretty wooded area on the other side of this cliff.” Link followed where she was pointed, but didn’t see any way that he would be able to climb over there the way he was. “I climbed over there, but when I tried to get deeper into the woods, THOSE guys attacked me! What’s in those woods, anyway?”
Link looked at Midna and she nodded. If there was something in the grove worth protecting even from the animals then it could only be the master sword.
“Thank you very much,” Link said, trotting forward to look for a way in.
“No problem,” she said, climbing up into the trees, “Just be careful if you plan on going in there!”
“So there’s another section of forest beyond this cliff,” Midna said, spotting a place Link could jump to and floating over to it to help him, “All right, Link, let’s go.”
With her help Link managed to navigate a treacherous series of jumps around the cliffs until he was safely in a solid area again. There he found a whistling stone and howled the melody to summon his teacher to the earth.
With something to look forward to once he returned to his human form Link headed deeper into the woods, finding yet another whistling stone. This one however, wasn’t one to summon his teacher. This one was emblazoned with the emblem of the triforce and the hole in it was the cut out center of the sacred artifact. A sweet, soothing melody came from and Link found himself howling along with it.
As the last notes of the melody drifted off into the woods a strange little creature dropped down from the trees. It looked like one of the dolls that had attacked the monkey ,but it wore a straw hat, had a lantern strapped to its belt, and carried a horn in its right hand.
“Who’re you?”
Grinning the creature blew on its horn, summoning the dolls down from the trees. As it’s puppets surrounded Link and Midna it ran deeper into the woods through a path that had been blocked off moments ago.
Link and Midna made their way through the forest like that, defeating the dolls as they came across the and following the mysterious creature as it tried to elude them. With Link’s keen sense of smell however, that was impossible.
Soon enough they came across the tricky little thing in a peaceful grove with a circle of rocks. Seeing them in its special place the thing stomped it’s feet angrily and blew loudly on its horn. A few nips from Link’s teeth curbed its temper though and it hopped back into the trees laughing.
“Hee hee hee! …’Bye!” it said, opening the path to the sacred grove.
Link followed it looking around himself in awe as he felt peace cover him. It was truly beautiful. Sunlight swirled lazily down through the leaves above, casting yellow-green light everywhere. Ruins of some ancient civilization lay everywhere as well, covered in moss, and giving the grove a timeless feel. Ahead the way was blocked by a stone door and flanked on ether side by axe-wielding stone guardian, and just before them was a mark of the triforce on the ground.
Link looked at Midna questioningly, but she only waved him on, trusting in his instincts. Padding over to the symbol, Link sat in the center and howled to tune he had learned at the entrance to the woods.
Immediately the statues roared to life and jumped before him, slamming their axes into the ground.
“We are the guardians of this Land…” the one of the left said, as pieces of the land around them vanished and was replaced by perfect squares with the places where the statues had been standing glowing, “Guide us to where we once stood.”
“Only then can you enter the true Sacred Grove…” the other said.
It took Link several tries before he was able to solve the puzzle as one of the statues moved with him while the other moved opposite with him as he jumped from platform to platform. But eventually he was able to get the guardians back to where they had been standing.
As soon as the puzzle was solved the land returned to normal and the statues turned to face him. Slamming their Axe handles into the ground they released the seal on the door and caused the door to vanish.
“Go now to the sacred place, beast…” they said, “We yield passage to the sacred grove…”
The grove ahead was nothing like the one that they left behind. Rather than being bright and peaceful this one was dark, and shrouded in a thick mist. Nothing made any noise here, not even the slight whisper of the wind could be heard. And a presence could be felt here; deep, powerful, and ancient. And then he saw it.
The Master Sword stood up ahead, planted handle up in a pedestal. The presence seemed to come from it and the mist that enveloped the grove seemed to swirl around it majestic blade.
Cautiously Link approached it, not sure of what would happen after this. But as soon as his left front paw touched the pedestal the Master Sword blew out a wave of defensive power that knocked Midna off his back. Link braced himself against the shock wave and raised his head, growling in defiance at the display of power. He refused to be beaten back anymore and least of all by a sword.
He however was not the target of the mighty blade’s attack, but the evil magic that covered him, turning his entire being blacker than the darkest night.
Midna had to shield her eyes from the pure light the Master sword was radiating. Thanks to Princess Zelda it no longer hurt her to be near it, but she still couldn’t being herself to look at it. When the light faded she removed her arm as the shard of magic that had been imbedded in Link congealed into a shard in her palm. She looked at it curiously before returning her gaze to Link.
No longer a wolf Link stood before the pedestal of the Master Sword, gripping the handle of the sacred blade tightly. The blade glowed slightly where is it connected with the pedestal and allowed Link to pull it free. Holding the powerful sword above his head, light flooded the grove as if it had always been there and the mist was blown away.
“That sword accepted you as its master…” Midna said, gaping in disbelief.
Link held the sword to the light watching the play of the reflections of the blade’s perfect edge. Experimentally he swung it a few times, marveling at its perfect balance before letting it rest at his side. Truly this was a blade above all others, its razor edge un-dulled by the time it had spent trapped in the pedestal.
Midna floated over to face him holding the shard of magic out in front of them to see.
“This thing is the embodiment of the evil magic that Zant cast on you,” she said, smiling smugly as she studied it, “It’s definitely different from our tribes shadow magic…”
Curiously Link reached forward to touch it only to have Midna stop him.
“Careful…” she warned, “If you touch it, you’ll turn back into a beast!” Putting it away she looked at him seriously. “This thing is too dangerous…It’s probably for the best if you just leave it here, huh? But on the other hand…if we kept it, you’d be able to transform into a beast anytime you wanted…”
“Then maybe we should keep it,” Link said, smiling, “Being a wolf was pretty useful.”
“Yes,” Midna agreed, “Since Zant was kind enough to give this to us, we should be thankful and use it all we can!” She smiled mischievously. “If you need it, just call me. I want to keep a low profile, so I’ll hide in your shadow when you’re human, but I can change you whenever. You can be a wolf anytime you like! Also, Thanks to this thing, you can warp whenever you want by switching into wolf form…”
“That’ll certainly be handy,” he said, knowing the strain it put on Epona to have to ride her everywhere.
Averting her eyes Midna floated closer and leaned on Link’s shoulder, surprising him slightly with her closeness. She however looked guilty, like she was about to do something that she didn’t want to if she could help it at all.
“Hey, but listen. Link…” she said, her gaze flickering from his face to the ground, “I’ve got a little favor to ask…Would you mind coming with me to find something called the Mirror of Twilight? It’s hidden somewhere in Hyrule…”
“The Mirror of Twilight?” he asked, remembering having heard her say something about it when they were with Princess Zelda.
“Yes, the Mirror of Twilight…Our last potential link to Zant!”
“Of course I’ll come with you Midna,” he said, nodding and smiling at her, “We’ve come this far together, haven’t we?”
Blushing slightly she nodded shyly and vanished into his shadow once more.