Link finished off what he hoped to be the last enemy in the room. A giant Skulltula that had simply refused to leave him alone. As it burned away in a cloud of blue flame, he doubled over, hands on his knees, and panted like a wolf after a long run. Midna, his trusted companion, made herself visible from the shadows, an expression of concern on her features underneath the veil of darkness and the Fused Shadow she wore. The Hero paid no attention to her, not having realized she was even there. He was already exhausted enough from the heat that surrounded him at every turn. How the Gorons were able to get through here without a problem, he had no idea.

"Hey...are you okay?" she asked calmly, yet worriedly.

Link looked up, sweat covering his face and dripping down his brow, and nodded slowly. He looked terrible; he had a constant heat blush from the second they entered this Goddess-forsaken place, numerous scratches and bruises-not to mention burns-littered his skin, his clothes were torn in various places, and he seemed as though he could barely keep himself standing.

Her prediction was proven correct when he slinked slowly down to the floor and leaned against the hot wall, his messy and soaked hair sticking to his face. He reached a shaky hand into his pouch and dug around a bit until it rested on a cool bottle. He took it out and uncorked it, throwing his head back and letting the slightly-refreshing liquid travel down his throat. He had saved some water from Eldin's spring, knowing by instinct that it was going to be hot. He hadn't imagined just how hot, however. Hopefully they would find a room filled with water soon, or he didn't think he would survive.

"Are you sure?" she asked again, not entirely convinced.

"I'm fine, Midna..." he whispered hoarsely, "Just need a minute..."

She wasn't sure, but she let him have his way. After all, she could never convince him when he was like this. After some moments of dead silence save for the sound of lava waterfalls and heavy breathing that came from Link, he shakily stood up and moved on. Much to his surprise and relief, the next room was filled with water. Thoroughly confused yet glad, he let himself collapse into the pool. The water was warm, but he would have taken anything at that point. He would be so thankful if he got out of there alive.

Midna suggested that he refill the bottle, and he did so in an instant. Almost immediately he began to feel rejuvenated, and with a clearer head, he was able to decipher the map he found better than he had before. He swam toward the edge of the land and pulled the waterproof map out, laying it on the dirt. What at first seemed to be a Water Temple was now a Great Deku Tree in his mind.

"Okay, this makes more sense," he said to himself.

"So it seems the next elder is right here," Midna pointed out, indicating a highlighted section of the map. He nodded and rolled it up, stuffing it back in its hiding spot. His ears began to droop slightly as he pressed his hands to the surface and pulled himself out of the water. He would have never guessed how weak he had become from exhaustion, which he had not noticed.

And soon, he was asleep.

Only halfway up onto dry land, his mind shut down on him, and he fell limply to the ground, half his body still floating in the water. She giggled silently and placed her hand on his own before grabbing his wrist and pulling him up the rest of the way. He was ridiculously heavy for her, even though he was probably pretty light for his age. He once told her that he was about a hundred pounds when she had asked how he could weigh so much. He had also told her that he did not eat as much as he should (he was lucky if he could eat two full meals in a day), and that he was a bit underweight. That had never really concerned her, though, until she removed his tunic and saw his ribs just slightly. She cringed at his thinness; this was not natural. Then again, she should have noticed him tightening his belt constantly since this started.

He moaned a bit at her touch as she felt his ribcage, an indication that it was uncomfortable and would probably hurt were he awake. He rolled over onto his side so he faced away from her, and that was when she saw his back. Just like his ribs, his spine protruded slightly, but to the point where she could feel the bumps. She had never worried before, but now that she saw it, she was going to make sure he ate, even if that meant forcing it down his throat. Of course, she couldn't do that herself, and she could not reveal herself to anyone else. The only reliable one she knew was Renado, the Kakariko shaman, and yet he did not know that Link was in this state. Somehow she would have to make it known to the wise man without her presence being even sensed.

Link began to shiver, contradicting the heat of the room they were in despite the coolness of the water. Digging through his pack, she began to search for something, anything that could keep him warm. After a few moments of searching, her hand came to rest on something soft. She pulled it out, and it grew into a small blanket, one that someone would take with them on the go. If that pouch of his was really magical, why didn't he throw in a larger one, like a quilt? That would be much better than this thing. It always seemed to calm him, though; there was something about it that eased his mind whenever he was upset. He mentioned before that it smelled like someone familiar to him, but he didn't know who. All he knew was that it came with the tunic and was already in there when the Light Spirit Faron gave it to him. She threw it atop his quivering form and watched as he slowly relaxed and curled up comfortably. She then did something she would not normally do. She moved his arm out of the way and lay beside the Hero, once again letting his arm fall over her. Even though he was getting rather thin, it was still so comfortable, and she dozed off quickly to the calming, hypnotic sound of his heart.

"You won't make it past here."

"This is your last stand."

"Give up."

The voices danced around him as they sounded, echoing through his mind in the blank space he found himself in. It was completely and utterly dark; not a soul in sight. Yet he knew there was somebody.

"You'll starve before you even make it to Darbus."

"You're doomed to rot here in this fiery prison."

"Surrender to your doubts."

A scene began to play out before him. As it slowly came into view, he saw Ordon Village burning to the ground. Screams of a hundred people rang through the air, pounding at his ears and giving him a fierce headache. His heart skipped a beat when he heard a cry that sounded an awful lot like Colin. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed toward the source of the sound, but when he got there...

Colin's home was in ashes, charred wood scattered about. Judging by the distance the remains were strewn, he could tell an explosion took place. His heart then seemed to stop entirely when he saw the young lad, broken and bloody, nearly entirely covered in soot and red. His eyes were wide open as if in shock to match Link's, though the older was tearing up. If this happened to Colin, no doubt the others shared his fate.

Link dropped to the burnt grass beneath him, holding Colin's lifeless body close to him while he bawled uncontrollably, battling the sound of the flames to be known throughout the remains of the village.

The sound of footsteps entered his long ears, though he was to absorbed in his own emotions to even notice. A dark figure, cloaked in black, stood behind him, his beady scarlet eyes staring down the hunched over figure in green.

"I told you before."

Link froze in place, unable to turn around in fear of what he might see. Instead he merely listened.

"I told you I would return someday."

He knew that voice, but knew not where from. All he knew was that he could not move. But when it said one last thing before disappearing, he gasped and collapsed, feeling a metaphorical knife through his chest.

"Don't you want it?"

I know, it was a short story that had a sort of cliffhanger ending, but I put a lot of time into it! I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. The last line was also a reference to another story I'm working on, so when that gets published, keep an eye out for that! I will put references throughout many, if not all, of my stories, not all of them linking to other ones, or even Zelda. When reading them, make sure to review telling me what these references are, because I might make some without knowing it! I also want to know how perceptive my readers are!

I might make a short story based on every temple in Twilight Princess, probably excluding Hyrule Castle. But who knows? I am also working on a rewrite of another story on here called "Stubborn Sick", because I want to make it better (Not saying that the original was terrible, but it could use improvement). I don't know when that will be put up here, but it may be soon!

-Zelda