Chapter 17: Above Water

After the bridge collapses, Midna goes in search of Link. But can she find him, or will her anxieties and fears get the better of her? (TRYPOPHOBIA WARNING CHECK NOTE FOR MORE INFO: blood also)

All of a sudden Midna was frozen. She was surrounded by air, but couldn't find any. Something came over her then, it was crowding around her throat, clogging her throat. She was attacked by some sort of liquid which was forming in her eyes. Her chest writhed with pain, sorrow, and regret. There were too many emotions and yet nothing breaking through to her heart. She wheezed, struggling with reality. At long last, she fell to the ground.

"Link... Oh no... Link..." This time she couldn't keep the emotions away. Desperately, frustratingly, she tried for a moment, with no success.

She hung her large head low and began sniffling.

Link had fallen from the bridge into that violent rush of water... And Midna had been saved. He had done so, pushed her over without any hesitation. And it hurt her to know, it probably broke his heart to even push her. It made her assume maybe Link did like her more then Ilia... Did that matter now? Maybe it always would.

Oh, Link... Poor, innocent Link.

Midna, could not comprehend anything. She was laying on her knees, staring at the black, rushing water, trying not to cry. 

Everything stood strong and silent. The sun shone through the gray clouds, and the intimidating Mountain lingered with something... energy that hadn't died. In the silence, a thundering and some sort of hope rode through her heart. The thunder reverberating into her very soul. A yellow shine reflected off of her orange hair and whispered gently. The thunder seemed to keep a constant rhythm, one that kept her heartbeat in sync.

Midna lifted her head up, staring up determinedly. She squinted, and the wind blew in her orange locks.

Midna paid no mind to the beauty of the broken bridge or the intimidation of the Mountain Of Storms. Not even the breathtaking swirl of the swirly storm clouds. She was not giving it up.

The Imp looked downwards. It was scary, and dark down there.

But even if the Gods tried to stop her, the Goddesses or Sages, she wasn't giving up on Link. She was going to find him, and she was gonna do it now.

Taking a deep breath, she began to float downwards, even though her mind wandered how good her floating capabilities were, and what would happen if she just fell also. But she had to do this. For Link.

Midna began to float downwards, and her she tried to keep her mind off of the rushing torrent of death below. What exactly had Link been thinking? Did he really think her life was more important than his? 

And if so, what other idiotic thoughts went off and ran around his head? She sighed, trying to ignore her closed up throat. Of course, she thought he was more important than her. Is that how he felt? Goodness, they were so alike in many ways, it just seemed like they were complete opposites. This was all very confusing, and suddenly the thought strikes her that maybe she just never thought about how similar they were, because she didn't WANT to. She didn't want to be akin to someone she despised so much. But... did she despise him now? Well, no, obviously not. 

That was something even she couldn't lie to herself about. 

Link knew it, and Zelda, etc. But did she... really, really like him? Sure, she felt it in heart, but... Goddamn it, her heart was so stupid! It used to be so much stronger. She found herself clutching her chest, in a high-rise emotion, and she realized, her tiny black and white feet were nearly touching the rushing, rather savage and potent torrent.

She cringed slightly at the close-call, and then looked around at her surroundings. There were plenty of different paths, and in some areas, the dark water was rushing many different ways. 

She was unsure for several moments, but she instinctively took note of the loudest and the fastest part. Turning to it, it filled her with fear, but her eyes spotted something...strange. But familiar.

It was something thin and brown, and when she spotted it, she squinted her red eyes. Hovering over to it, hurrying because of worry it would float away, but it appeared to be stuck between a boulder sticking out. 

As she came upon it, she bent down and realized it was Link's bow. Heart pounding, she panicked, and grabbed it, then hurried down that direction. She zoomed through the tight space, as the rain began to drip from the swirly heavens up above. 

It was making her chest feel tight, but she tried to ignore it. That is until she wondered how low she'd come. Midna raised her eyes up, and she nearly choked and saw how far she really was from land.

The ground was high up, far away from her, and she felt all the courage leave her heart. Her instincts told her to zip back up there, and never come back. But her heart told her completely otherwise.

Taking a deep breath, she kept going into the closing walls. Everything seemed to be shrinking in on her, but when she looked ahead, she simply could not see an end. Feeling cautious, she looked behind her. The darkness and huge walls made her heart jump, but there was no sinister, sneaking demon following her, unlike her mind had said.

She sighed, turning back to face where she was heading before she hit a wall. She then face-planted into a wall. Midna drew back, shaking her head, and suddenly realized she'd hit a dead end. Wait, but that'd mean- 

Oh, no. She looked around. Where were the other entrances? Had she gone the wrong way? And would she be much too late? Oh, well geez, it'd take forever if it was up to this, and- wait.

She had found the bow over here, so she had to be right! She- Midna looked downwards and saw a tunnel in the left. She swallowed. Well, had calculated correctly, and it was time to go in there. It looked definitely big enough to fit her, and would definitely fit Link. Swallowing her fear, she ducked in. 

It was ever so dark in here, and she waited a few moments for her vision to adjust. When nothing happened as she stared in the dark, she figured it'd happen soon enough, and remembered how urgent her situation was, and zipped forth, putting her thoughts aside. Trying to ignore and calm the anxiety rising in her belly, she hummed to herself, a tune of Twilight she'd remembered since she was a baby. 

Wondering if there were different paths, and to help guide herself, she lay a palm against the wall, dragging it as she went along.

Midna abruptly gasped and pulled back. She'd felt a tiny hole, and something about it frightened and shocked her. She withdrew her hand and held it with the other. Frowning, she kept heading forward, trying to forget about it, and how there could very possibly be many more gaps and mouths in the cave.

Midna shuddered.

Singing again to herself, she raised her voice louder trying to hurry. But it was starting to get to her, pressure her heart, and the feelings she'd felt when seeing Link fall, were returning, and somehow were ten-fold.

The blood began to pound in her ears, the rushing river growing louder and more violent, threatening to lift up and sweep her away at any moment. Her heart thudded in her tiny, aching chest. Her hands shook and her legs felt as if they were asleep. 

She couldn't see anything and yet Midna felt as if her vision was mutilating and disfigured, frightening her and making everything worse. She had to- HAD TO get out of here, and find Link, NOW. She couldn't stay here much longer. 

In her mind, all she could see was all those tiny mouths in the cave and felt like it'd suck her in, and she'd be stuck there forever, starving to death.

Or maybe, even, a grimy, long, hand would reach out and pull her in, and eat her.

This damned cave was gonna get her lost, and maybe the end was just a dead end. Midna closed her eyes, breathing hard. She couldn't look around, in fear of seeing those gaps. Midna couldn't look at it, didn't want to look at it.

She was stuck, and there was too much of a risk of something grabbing her or getting stuck. She needed to burst through, to the outside light again. Keep going, and she may not find Link. Turn back, and she may still not find Link. The chill of the cave swarmed around her.

Midna took a long slow, breath and opened her eyes. It was still dark, but ahead the light of the day was bursting through. She zipped outwards and rounded out of sight from the cave. There. She was safe, but still not far away enough. But they couldn't follow her, for now, she was out of sight.

She took another deep breath. She needed to find Link now and stop worrying about her own fears. That was all that mattered. But her fists were still clenched so tightly, she was hurting her own palms, and she was breathing as if she just ran across Hyrule... Really hard.

She let out a sob, and her chest loosened now. Geez, crying? Who was she? But... she had to find him.

Ahead, was a bit more of the raging torrent, but land raised ahead, leaving a bit of room for an edge of land. Her pointy ears perked up. Someone was laying on there, passed out. And that someone was Link. 

"LINK!" She shrieked and flew over there, and it felt faster than the speed of light. "Oh, gods... Link!"

She stared at him, panicked. Her tiny hands lay upon his cheeks, and she felt tears streaming down her face. 

She bent her head down, to listen to his heartbeat. It was there, beating. She gasped, and grabbed his hand, to lift him up.

Wait. She froze. The Imp looked upward. In her panic, she thought she could bring Link back. She could try to carry him. But would that be successful? Rubbing her small black hand across his forehead, she knew he was still out cold. Or she could... warp him!

Yes, she hadn't been an imp in public much, if at all. But when she'd been in her room, moping- er, working, and she'd practiced warping things around her room. She had wanted to see if she could do it without any set portals. 

She'd often been successful, but she soon stopped for a short while when she warped a pot in her room and it supposedly appeared outside and fallen on one of her subjects.

Midna shuffled her arms, and sighed, getting herself ready to attempt it. But doubts flew around in her mind. What if she messed up and converted Link into two?

She'd never forgive herself. And what if she accidentally warped him, and not her too? What if she warped them into another land, another world!?

But she shook her head. Midna knew she had to be rational about this. Although as she nervously clenched her fists, she knew this was the only time she was willing to risk this. She sighed and used her strength to warp them, and she tightly shut her eyes. 

In her mind, she was thinking 'somewhere safe, somewhere safe...'

Midna felt her self and Link disappearing, and she prayed to the Goddesses' this would take them somewhere peaceful and safe. Her body warped in a warm blackness as they whirled away from the world for several horrifying seconds...

Midna felt her bottom slam into the floor, and in surprise, she gasped and opened her eyes, from the impact. Her palms lay flat against the floor, and she looked around. Her and Link had arrived in a stone cave. Gasping, she crawled over to Link, who was in fact, whole.

Smiling in delight, she began to shake him. "LINK!" She cried. Bumbling him around, but unfortunately, to no response. "Liiink..." She begged. Sniffling once again, her eyes looked around him, as she flipped him onto his back. 

Grunting as she pushed him, her eyes suddenly caught something she had simply not noticed before.

A large, and bloody wound. It looked as if he had been cut by a sharp rock on the way down.

"Oh no!" Midna screeched. It was painful to look at, and she felt herself on the verge of sobbing this time. Yes, that's right, sobbing. Somewhere, ever so deep down, Midna knew she was being too hard on herself. Her best friend was seriously hurt. 

She had every right to start crying. And yet, she still didn't. Link needed her now, and she couldn't help him through watery, blurry eyes.

She changed to a Twilit and used the only plan in her mind. She grabbed the longer part of her dress and pressed it against Link's extremely bloody wound. She was never a squeamish girl, but something about this, she could hardly look at, without her stomach doing several intense flips. Struggling, she looked at her dress. It was already soaking through, and her crimson eyes stared back at the crimson blood.

 The boy's dirty blonde hair was matted to his face, and at that moment, Midna realized he was sweating. 

Laying one hand on his forehead, she felt even more worried, for it was a cold sweat. Midna then felt the stickiness of her hand and remembered all the blood that'd been collecting on her dress. It made her feel sick.

She then realized this was basically not working, and she switched back into an imp, before wiping the blood on her forehead.

Pain tickled in Midna's heart, and she used her tiny hand to press down on the wound. Something in her head told her Link would be perfectly fine, and once he healed, they'd set out again, and she'd never take him for granted again. 

She wanted to believe with all of her heart, to believe what the second half was saying. With any hope, Midna could save Link's life, even as she felt his fever coming along, and Midna never wanted to take him for granted again.

She was furious. At him for having to always be the hero, for saving her. His reckless, stubborness. But... Most of all, she was furious at herself. For letting this happen.

Author's Note

Hey guys! So, slight trypophobia warning! I know it's no visual, but I just wanna put a warning out there. If you don't know what trypophobia is... careful searching it up, because you may discover you do have it! It's basically the fear of small holes and beehives and such. I don't personally have it, but phobias do suck /: I know that, and I don't wanna mess up someone's day. I might change the rating to Teen, but just for blood and violence! Nothing graphic. All rights belong to Nintendo!