Luminescence

To Glen a Triforce Piece

She sighed heavily. "But you're making it so much harder for yourself. It's stupid."

"No! Doing what is right is never stupid. Nor is it always easy."

"Listen to yourself, you sound like a preacher."

Behind her he saw Luna stir. Her feeble sun of a brother had a hand on her, somehow lifting her with his shrunken, feeble wings flickering towards the sky. Midna, however, had yet to notice. He kept his eyes on her. Maybe, if he kept her attention long enough—

"You're killing people, Midna. How is that any better than just leaving the world as the goddesses intending it?"

One of her eyes winced ever so slightly. "It's for the greater good. Besides, the sun would've killed me if he could. The moon just can't be trusted."

Link gave her a bitter grimace. "Then why do you have your back to her?"

In that moment Midna realized her mistake Luna had her hands around her throat. But as he watched with his stomach leaping for fear that Luna could be so vicious, the winged girl didn't strangle her. Rather, her hands began to glow and she brought them back to her own throat. Midna gave a loud shout of rage and flung an arm across the girl's face. Luna stumbled just to be kicked by Midna back down the field to her brother. She got up, however, jaw set despite the blood trickling out the side of her mouth, the stone on her forehead gleaming brightly of various colors.

The Twili came after her again, barely a blur of black and white in the night, but Luna was already high in the sky. Stars twinkled behind her.

"Give that back!" screeched Midna, her cape flying out behind her like wings—but no, wait—even as he watched they morphed and were wings.

And then Luna began to sing.

It was as it was meant to be. Courage and elation rose up in his heart. Strength filled his limbs, numbing the pain and sending adrenaline rushing through his veins like fire. He could have laughed at the sheer life pumping through him. The Triforce on the back of his hand came to life, sending golden light down the shaft of his goat-horn sword.

Midna's bat like wings were giving their first flap. As he watched she began to change to Luna's music: her figure became more severe, her face became twisted and enraged, and the shapes of the Fused Shadows began their tribal dance about her form.

He leapt forward, raising his sword.

Midna tripped as the sun, unawares to all, had gotten to his hands and grabbed her ankle.

His blade came down—and shattered one of the dancing pieces of the Fused Shadows in a burst of light. The Triforce on his hand pounded. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but was this his true nature? Courage? Unhesitant? And had that somehow activated his Triforce piece?

The Twilight Queen whirled on him after kicking the sun away. The immortal now lay prone on the grass a ways a way, a hand to his face, groaning. Link raised his Triforce empowered sword again, Luna's music ringing in his ears.

And for the smallest of moments, only enough to fill the space in between two thoughts, he stared into Midna's eyes, too dark, too menacing, too angry and hateful, and yet still so hers. They were still so determined, so stubborn, and still filled with the ideal of nobility. This was the woman who had bounced imp-like after him on his adventures and ridden his back as a wolf. She had saved his life, fought for him, risked her life for him, lied to him, was honest to him, laughed at him, felt sorry for him, befriended him...loved him.

Then he saw the black dagger in Midna's hand coming down on him, ready to bury itself deep within his chest—within his heart.

Do you know, he thought he heard her whisper in his mind, how one glens a Triforce piece?

He swung the blade down. The dagger went into his shoulder instead.

Luna's song died away with a cry.

And Midna, eyes wide, had a red line running from her shoulder to her hip.