Scattered in the distance he could see some trees and maybe an oddly shaped mountain, but against all the darkness it all sort of melded together. Jasmeen's silvery-blueness soon melted away into the shadows as well, and Link found himself very alone. It was neither hot nor cold or too dark or too light, but forever lined with shadows. At one point he thought his vision was beginning to blur, like it did in a dream, and he blinked hard in attempts to clear it.
For some reason, Luna came to mind. When he started to feel crushed by the heavy silence edged with indistinct tinkling, he started talking to himself.
"Gosh, I never even got to know you. What your favorite color was. What you liked to do. What your favorite food was...but do immortals even eat? They don't need to eat. But then, you're not really like them, are you? Probably never were." he took off his hat. The one Luna had rescued had been forever lost. This copy had been quickly made by the castle tailor, but of course it wasn't the same. He fingered the professional stitches, thinking. After a bit more aimless walking, he smiled a bit to himself as an epiphany hit him. "Mortality, you said, is a gift. After meeting your wonderful brother and his fallen star I think I know what you mean now. Mortality is suffering, but that's just the gift, isn't it? We learn compassion and empathy through suffering. We learn to appreciate happiness and learn what's really important through it too. That's why the sun and star are such bastards. They're immortal. They can't emphasize with us 'mere mortals' as they say. They can't appreciate love, because they've never had a need for it or have suffered for it. In a way, it makes me pity them. They must feel everything so shallowly. They even need the goddesses to tell to keep the earth safe otherwise they wouldn't even care."
Link slipped his hat back on. He looked up, imagining he could see the night sky past the dark clouds. With a sensation as though his heart was swelling, he stopped, smiling with a hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword.
"But not you. You're different, aren't you? Now that I think about it, the moon has an awful lot of craters and scars. Is that why?"
"Who are you talking to?"
He flinched and whirled around. Midna stood there, black cloak rustling about her in a breeze he could not feel.
"Midna?"
"Good job, you know your shapes. Now what are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, actually."
"Oh." she said, though instead of looking surprised she just smirked. "In that case I'm sure you have a whole speech of apology ready. I graciously accept it. Shall we return to more comfortable settings and continue where we left off?"
Actually, Link wasn't entirely sure it was even safe to go with her back to her palace, if that was what she was insinuating. Midna held grudges close and back in the palace he would be surrounded.
At least he was completely dressed this time. Wonderful, beautiful shirt.
"By the way, you look like a baked potato."
He scowled, uncertainty forgotten. "I know, you don't have to point it out."
"It's okay. The sun came and visited me too." At this she lifted her cape to show the pink burns blotching across her two toned skin. "Wanted me to give your Luna her immortality back and tried to lift his barrier when I refused. At least you got to deal with him with the barrier on."
He stared at the pink contrasting with the rest of her black and white colorings. So, she really was immortal.
"Oh, don't worry," cooed Midna, "you're princess didn't suffer too much. Sure, it burned, but I started healing almost just as soon as it happened. I'm sure you're very angry with the sun for attacking me, though, so! I have one last thing I want to do before we get underway with the Triforce."
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Uh, Midna, that's what I wanted to talk to you about—"
"Of course of course, details details, I'll tell you all you need to know. But first, could you just turn around like so."
Her hands on his shoulders distracted him momentarily. The few fingers that touched his bare neck made him shiver. They were like ice. "No! I didn't come here to help, I came here to tell you something."
She paused at this. He could feel her fingers tense and nails taping against his neck. A shiver of apprehension crawled up his spine.
She gave a loud sigh. "Fine, what is it? But hurry up I don't got all day. Night is nearly upon the land of light."
"I-I came to ask—no, to tell you," crap, what was his initial plan? He was going to screw this all up. And he wasn't even entirely sure yet that he even wanted to tell Midna he didn't love her. All he knew was that he needed to stop her. "I-I-I don't love so, I mean, I don't love you and so it would be pointless to combine the two worlds together, because then together we won't—even then we wouldn't be together."
She snorted. "The sun put you up to this, didn't he? You sound like a jellyfish trying to lie."
He felt like everything was sand pouring between his fingers. He couldn't let this happen, not after all he had sacrificed to save both worlds. Not after all he had fought for. How could he? No, he had to be sure of himself. He had to be steady. Even though the nails were tracing down his neck and her musky breath was breathing past his ear, he clenched his hands.
"No, really. There is no point to this, Midna. I won't be with you. I refuse to."
The nails paused in their stroking. Her breath went still.
And then she stepped away.
"Fine," she said coolly. "I don't need your affections anyways. I have a much nobler cause than that."
And then he turned, not bothering to hide his desperation. "Which is what? Destroying everything? Can't you see this plan of yours is going to just ruin everything? Kill everything? There has to be opposition in all things for anything to exist!"
She snorted and folded her arms. "Of course you'd say that. You could never think outside what you've been told. Even when we were together I always had to point out the obvious to you."
He tried to decipher her thoughts behind the cold words. Was she heartbroken? Or had her immortality already made her forget about what was important in mortality?
"But, since I have to spell it out for you," she rested a hand on her hip. "I'm going to liberate life from beneath those idiotic, tyrannical women you call goddesses. No one should be held back—no one should be punished for their father's sins—and no one should be separated because their different. We should all be equal. All light, all twilight, all people."
"But we already are!" cried Link. "Can't you see that? Just because we live differently and because we live in different places doesn't mean one is better than the other—"
"Have you forgotten everything? We were banished here, idiot, and that usually has a bad connotation. But I don't have the time to argue with you, just turn around."
Her hard, cold fingers pushed him back around. Even as she did so he could see the air wavering before him.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting that sun down from his perch"
"How? Why?"
The air rippled wider, melting the horizon beyond it. He could feel Midna's lips smirking once more against his ear.
"Why, to kill him, of course. The bastard burnt me for the last time. And how? Let this be your answer."
And as the twilight before him dripped away, revealing the last light of the day over Hyrule Field, Midna began to sing in an unearthly, beautiful, and terribly familiar voice; the very voice that revealed the true nature of things, and even as he listened to the sound of Luna coming out warped and twisted from Midna's throat, he could see her fingers sharpening out of the corner of his eyes. Fused Shadows faded into being, dancing about them. Courage and strength welled up in him, but only long enough for him to recognize them before she closed her mouth. The Fused Shadows disappeared and he was left cold, empty, and horrified.
"Seeing you return back without that pathetic star will make him angry and curious, so you, dear love, make perfect bait. I'd be more dramatic and disguise myself as that sister of his, but sadly the sun's light shines through everything. I'll just wait here. And don't worry. The white-eyed freak won't see any of this."
And she shoved him back into the world of light.