His eye twitched involuntarily.
There he sat, in the quaint little paddle boat out in the middle of the Fishing Hole, his hands grasped tightly to his fishing pole, (the one that was given to him at the start of his adventure) holding it in such a way that would cause it to snap in two if he wasn't careful. He looked for the entire world like he was ready to strangle something.
Next to the boat, floating a few inches above the water was a small impish creature, female in gender and wearing a strange headpiece which covered her left eye. She had her hands neatly folded behind her back and was staring at the spot where the line from the man's fishing pole became submerged. She looked over at the man, whose eye twitched once more, to which she noted, then back at the line again.
As the man sighed loudly, sounding very irritated, the imp girl rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze elsewhere. It was a rather cloudy day; the sun was nowhere in sight. In fact, those clouds were looking quite gray. There was no telling when it was going to rain or not. The dark clouds, she noticed, certainly wasn't fitting in very well with the landscape. They were out in the middle of a small lake that was just out of the way of the mainstream flow of Upper Zora's River, separated from a rock wall and accessible from a door. The lake itself had a few docks built into it, with several cherry trees dotting up the landscape, which helped in the initial reaction of the place. There was a calming, beautiful, yet almost sappy feeling to be had when the pink leaves detached themselves from their blossoms and fluttered to the ground or water.
In between two cherry trees (and resting up against the rock wall) was a quaint little wooden cottage adorned with all kinds of fishing paraphernalia, evident on the inside more than the outside. It was here where the proprietor of the lake made her home, making a living charging various customers to fish there.
A splash from the water brought the imp girl back to her senses. Whirling around, she looked back at the man with a look of surprise on her face. The man was leaning forward in the boat, his left hand grasping the pulley on the fishing rod, trying desperately to reel the line in. The splashing from the water indicated that he had caught something. The imp flew closer to the man, her expression looking halfway hopeful. Was he actually going to land something this time?
Before she could encourage him, however, there was a sharp tug at the line, and then it went limp in the water. Groaning loudly, the man realized this to mean that his catch had gotten away once again. Rage becoming even more evident in his expression, he continued to reel in the line. This was her cue. Floating right next to the man, she smiled widely and lightly punched his shoulder. The man slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.
"Aw, too bad there, champ," she said with mock encouragement, "looks like yet another one got away. Well, I suppose there's always next time we come here, right? I mean, you don't look so hot. What do you say we call it a day, huh?"
The man said nothing as he shifted position in the boat and cast the line out in a different direction than before. At this, the girl huffed slightly and leaned on his shoulder.
"Listen, Link," she started, "we've been here for several hours already and you haven't caught what you wanted yet. For all we know, the fish you're looking for doesn't even exist! A two hundred inch Hylian Loach…how do you know there's even something like that down there? You don't, do you?!"
Again, Link remained mute. He just turned his head slightly, looking at the imp out of the corner of his eye and then turned back to the spot where his line had landed.
"And, while you're sitting here twiddling your thumbs, need I remind you that we're supposed to be on an adventure here?!" the girl continued, trying to raise the stakes even higher. "Zant and Ganondorf are still out there, and we've only managed to collect two mirror shards! This isn't like some role-playing game, where the world's going to wait for us while we waste an exorbitant amount of time out in the fields 'gaining experience,'" (she made sure to place emphasis on those two words) "this is for real! So reel in your line and let's go!"
This time, the Hylian turned his head so it was facing the imp girl. However, he placed his left index finger to his mouth and blew out sharply, making a 'Shh' noise.
The girl was starting to get annoyed. "And never mind all that," she stated harshly, "the fact here is that you don't even LIKE fishing! So do you think you'd be able to tell your good friend Midna what the deal is?!" She paused for a moment as her tone softened up, to the point where she actually found herself pleading with Link. This was her hint to the teenager, letting him know she was serious. "Come on! Don't you remember what we promised back in the desert? You said you'd help me. So come on!" She sniffled to emphasize her point.
…To which she was met with another 'Shhh' noise. But Link didn't turn his head this time, because he was at a loss. He knew, right down to the feeling in the pit of his stomach, that she was right.
"Oh... Hi, Link. I'm making you a fishing rod, y'know! All I have left to do is paint it, so get ready for fishing! I just need to finish painting it today...then I need my dad to look it over...my dad, he always has to stick his nose in everything, y'know..."
Initially, he smiled at the boy's thought. In reality, however, the smile was more of a grimace. But HE didn't know that…
As he tapped at Epona's reins and closed the distance between him and Ordon Ranch, he couldn't help but feel more than just a little bit guilty. How could he possibly explain to the boy who idolized him so much, more than any of the other children, that the sport of fishing was just about the worst sport in the history of the world, to him? He couldn't stand fishing! Not at all!! It was an absolute waste of time!!
He remembered sitting down at the dock behind the house of Jaggle, Pergie, Talo and Malo with his first fishing pole and having just an absolutely miserable time. The fish were either not biting at all or getting away from him when they had. He had even used bee larva to bait his hook at times. But the fish were just too smart for him. Never mind all of the mosquitoes that were relentlessly spearing his flesh, as well! After about an hour and a half of this, he stood up, took his line out of the water, marched back to his house and, when he was sure nobody was looking, took a match and lit it, setting the rod ablaze. Once that was over, he scooped up the ashes, put them in a small wooden box and buried it in the grasses next to his house, never to be bothered by it again.
Thinking about it, if he had put more thought into the rod's fate after being asked about it, then Colin probably wouldn't have made him another one. A simple look that had said 'I lost it somewhere' was the excuse he had come up with, and immediately regretted when he saw that particular gleam in Colin's eyes. That boy, however timid he was, always wanted to help out with whatever he could, but because of that, he also had the tendency to come off as kind of annoying, not that that thought would ever be brought to light by Link himself, however. …Or would it…?
Anyway, there he was, on the way to Ordon Ranch, the promise of a new fishing pole dangling over his head. How he'd love to dispose of it the second he got it, but he knew he couldn't, as Rusl's words echoed in his mind:
"Now, it is Colin's first fishing rod, so it may not be the best one out there...but you will be kind and use it anyway, right?"
How oblivious that man was! And he figured Rusl would understand his situation more than anyone, since he always liked to hang around Link and frequently confided in him, whether Link wanted the company or not. But he would follow what the man in his early thirties would ask of him. Going against Rusl's wishes was not the best course of action, as the man tended to get rather…excitable…when he was angry. He was also very unwieldy with a sword, (not a good combination) but THAT is a tale for another day…
With all of that in mind however, Link just sat there with his eyes on the water, his impatience obvious to anyone. Midna started to talk again.
"And do I even have to remind you that everything you've caught and kept was all garbage?!" she asked, lazily gesturing to the boat. Behind the green-clad teenager was a rather large pile of garbage that had been discarded by environmentally-unconscious customers. There were old leather boots, tin cans, rusted bells, horseshoes, socks, logs, pots and pans, even a bunch of broken milk bottles. The girl turned to him, smiling mischievously and whispered into his ear. "And you can't very well throw any of that away, or you'll be labelled as a polluter. Heroes are supposed to be environmentally friendly, aren't they? Ehee hee hee!"
Link could feel the veins in his head throbbing faster the more the imp girl spoke. His left arm shaking, he once again brought his finger to his mouth and whispered, "Shhhh!"
Bringing her hand to her face, Midna scowled sharply. She was very annoyed at this point! It appeared she was going to have to use the big guns! Slightly increasing the distance between her and Link, she pointed towards the lone cottage that occupied the lake. "Right then, I know what this is about! It's because of her, isn't it! That fishing girl lady! You're wasting all this time, taking up a sport that you don't like and failing miserably I might add, in pursuit of a fish that might not even exist because of her, right?! And why might that be, huh?! Why go through all the trouble, have such a miserable time of it all, and end up wasting both your time and mine?? Oh, I know!" She closed the distance and got right in Link's face, smiling devilishly, showing all of her teeth. "It's because you like her, isn't it??" She put as much emphasis on those three words as humanly possible.
At that moment, her breathing became strained as Link put his pole down and wrapped his hand entirely around the Twili girl's neck. He brought her to a position where she was looking into his eyes. Midna's eyes widened as she could see all sorts of red veins outlining the young man's eyeballs. Yet again, he brought a finger to his lips.
"Shhhhh!" he whispered, for the last time, he hoped. He released her and grabbed the pole again.
Midna increased her distance from the boy once more, coughing and sputtering, trying to get much needed air into her lungs. Once she caught her breath, she flew back to him, however being mindful of his arm length.
"Ooh…ugh…did I hit a nerve?? Aw, don't mind me, then…" she smiled once more. "But that is the truth, right? You like her! And I…guess…I can't argue with you… I mean, if I was into that sort of thing, I'd have to say that…yeah, kinda hot…"
Link shook his head again. He couldn't believe the imp girl was having this conversation with him. Of course, not that he would voice it; he couldn't help but silently acknowledge how close Midna was to hitting the mark.
She was something else!!
That was his first thought following his first meeting with her soon after he got rid of the rest of the twilight plaguing Hyrule. She was polite, kind, cool-headed, patient and pretty cute. She had a nice-sounding voice as well. She may have been soft-spoken, but her other qualities made up for it. So, all right, her choice of clothing was a little questionable; usually, young ladies like her would be dressed more fashionably, like a nice dress or something. This one wore a red shirt, cut low at the neck, and a very loose-fitting pair of tan overalls. But that was okay. Link himself had been a ranch hand for most of his life, so the question of clothing didn't matter to him as much, either.
The woman herself was tall and slender. She had long, wavy, chestnut brown hair, with bangs that ran down about an inch below her neckline. Her hair was tied into a ponytail that went down to her shoulder blades. She had dark green eyes, a mole underneath her right eye and a nice smile. Her name was Hena.
It displeased Link greatly to learn that this was a fishing hole, as he had first wandered through the door without even noticing the sign next to it. He found himself suffering through his first voyage around the lake. But he had Hena as a guide, which made up for it. It was like he could suck at the sport in question and not worry about it, because she would pay it no mind, or so he thought. His first cast, he had overshot and ended up snagging a Piece of Heart sitting atop the natural bridge in the lake, by mistake. …To which Hena was duly impressed!
"What's that? A Piece of Heart?! Ooh, whose heart did you catch? You big sweetheart! Don't be shy! This one's yours to keep!"
She had said this in such a way that made Link blush. Perhaps he making too much of the situation, but this woman was actually impressed with him and his…fishing skills. And even though the rest of the run yielded nothing, Link was still feeling in high spirits. He definitely wanted more of this.
"Hey, all done? Woo! That was fun, wasn't it? We should fish together again sometime!"
Over the course of his adventure, Link would find himself visiting the Fishing Hole more often, visiting Hena and finding out more about her. It didn't even bother her that much that he wasn't in to fish very often (or if she did, she wasn't showing it). He would listen to whatever she had to say, and busy himself by looking at the various pictures scattered around the walls. Once, he actually found himself in a debate about who was cuter, Hena or her sister, Iza. He would be too shy to say it, but his eyes gave it away.
"Ooh, really? ...Y'know, I don't care if you're just being nice, I'm still happy! You're too sweet! I promise I won't breathe a word to my sister, so don't worry!"
After enough staring at pictures, he would then hear:
"Um, why are you staring at that photo when the real me is standing right here, silly?"
Soon enough, Link had discovered her little "Rollgoal" game. It was a game where one was to roll a little marble down a narrow pathway without dropping it. The Hylian hero soon found himself addicted to the game and would spend many a happy hour playing it. His childish outbursts that could be heard every time he won and lost got many a chuckle out of Hena.
As his visits started to become more frequent, Midna couldn't help but become annoyed at how the great hero was finding time out of their ever-important adventure to visit a girl who had an interest in a sport that Link hated. Who did this guy think he was? How could he just decide to take time off while Hyrule needed saving?! What was so great about this girl anyhow?
And then, the fateful day came. In the middle of visiting Hena once more, Link came across a rather curious looking book.
"That's the ultimate fishing book: The Legend of the Hylian Loach: Twilight Fish! Ah, the loach... Like bass, loaches prefer the shallows. They love frogs, but they're antsy, so they'll bolt when humans are around. They're not very active in cold weather either, so the best season to catch 'em in is summer! That book's a real tearjerker, too! It's about how a young Hylian loach saves Hyrule... I've read it so many times, I can almost recite it. You want me to give you an idea about how The Legend of the Hylian Loach: Twilight Fish goes?"
It was a rather lengthy story, going into such topics that Link didn't really care about. But the one thing that stuck in his mind, was that Hena was obsessed with the Hylian Loach. If he caught a fish like this, she would be all over him. He had beaten Rollgoal in its entirety and had won the frog lure a few visits back (and hadn't really cared that much about it either) so, he felt he had a good chance of catching one. The only question was his lack of funds…
And that was the situation he found himself in at this moment in time. The only reason he was out here at all was because of Hena. Not, of course, that he needed to admit that to Midna…
"…and that's why I think you should give up right now!!" the Twili finished saying. She looked at her companion. "Did you get all that, Link?"
Realizing she had been talking, Link looked Midna in the eye, the look on his face telling her that he hadn't heard a word she was saying. The imp slapped her face again.
"Urrrrgggghhhhh!! That's it, I've had enough of this!!" Using her Twili magic, she zapped the teenager with a beam of light. He started glowing, for some reason. As this was happening, Midna started to glow as well.
All of a sudden, she disappeared completely, to which the teenager stopped glowing. Now, it should be noted that, at this point in his adventure, Link was well used to the fact that Midna would occasionally bolt from him when he was in a bind, so he treated her disappearance this time with indifference. Shrugging it off, he turned back to his line, waiting for another bite.
When the Twili girl reappeared, she was dressed in a peculiar, yet familiar garb. She wore a green tunic, her feet just barely visible over the ends. She wore a green stocking cap over her headpiece, had various pouches strapped to her chest and held a plastic Hylian Shield. She brandished what looked like a toy knife, made to the likeness of the Master Sword, which somehow glowed just as brightly.
"If you're not going to continue this adventure, I will!" she announced, deathly serious despite her appearance, "I'll find the rest of the mirror shards and defeat Zant and Ganondorf on my own and I won't even need your help!" Without another word, she flew away slowly, exiting the boundaries of the Fishing Hole at a leisurely pace, then picked it up suddenly when she saw that a Kargarok was chasing her, squawking loudly.
Link was oblivious to all of this as he focused his attentions on the water, waiting for a snag on his line. A nip. A bite. Anything at all that would suggest to him that a great big two-hundred inch loach was waiting for him in the depths below.
Thinking about it, the young man wasn't even sure if the 'Legendary' Hylian Loach was two hundred inches to begin with. He had just pulled that number out of his head. There was no actual evidence to support the theory that the fish in question was as big as he thought it was. The only time a loach was actually caught was when a certain fisherman got lucky around one hundred years ago. He had caught one and released it, without actually weighing it. …No evidence. However, this was the impression Link got when Hena was reading to him about it. So naturally, he figured that this fish had to be pretty big. It was legendary, after all.
And so, the hours went by. What had followed was more of the same. The fish were either not biting or they were just too smart for him. To his extreme displeasure, he found his garbage pile was steadily increasing. It was exactly this reason why he hated fishing with a passion. Finally, after pulling up one more horseshoe, he yelled loudly and slammed his pole on the boat's floor. His vision blurred, he unhooked the horseshoe from his line, stood up and threw it into the water. Exhaling out sharply from his nose, he sat back down and grabbed the boats oars, and prepared to row himself to shore. He had had quite enough fishing for one day.
All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain run up the back of his head. It was so painful and so forceful that it caused him to lean forward slightly. As he leaned forward, he heard an unfamiliar noise. Turning in the direction of the noise, he found a horseshoe lying on the boat's floor that wasn't there before. Rubbing his head, he picked it up to examine it. It was wet, indicating it had been in the water, and quite recently too. Then, it hit him like an arrow in the head: was this the horseshoe he had just thrown in the water? But what was it doing back in his boat? And why had it hit the back of his head? That really hurt!
Feeling suddenly cautious, he stared back into the water. The gray clouds above him were making it difficult to see underwater but from what he could make out, they looked pretty clean. So then, where had this horseshoe come from? And from what?
Hesitating slightly, he stood back up and lightly tossed the horseshoe into the water again. He watched as it made a big, messy splash, breaking the water's tranquil stillness. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then before he could react, the horseshoe flew back out of the water at an amazingly high speed, hitting him right between the eyes. Shocked and unprepared for the blow, Link suddenly felt lightheaded. His eyes disappeared behind his head and he fell to the boat's floor, unconscious.
A weird sensation against his eyelids brought him back to life. Opening his eyes slowly and blinking repeatedly, his sight was filled with the vision of Midna, standing on one of the boat's seats filling up a pot full of water. She also appeared to be wearing some rather strange, yet familiar garments. As she got ready to pour the liquid, she noticed the Hylian stirring.
"Ah, so you're finally awake, are you? Good. I was kind of starting to get worried," she said, "At first I thought you were sleeping, but then I realized, 'most people don't really sleep in a position like that.' …And what's with those bruises? Did you have a fight with that fishing lady or something?"
Link got up, and immediately noticed a stinging pain run down his back. Turning around, he noticed he had been lying on one of the boat seats. Groaning, he gave Midna a questioning look.
"How long have you been out?" she asked, "How am I supposed to know? I only just got back here! And look what I found:" she held out what looked like a broken piece of a circular mirror. "It's the third mirror shard! And it wasn't even that hard either! I went through a climactic battle with a black armoured knight and exterminated a giant spider! And I'm just warming up, baby!" Midna was looking rather pleased with herself.
Link gave her an exasperated look. Noticing this, the imp girl lowered her head.
"Okay, so I may have cried a little when I saw that giant spider and his creepy, gross eyeball staring at me, but the point is I survived, okay?!" She giggled loudly and punched the green-clad man on the shoulder. "Man, I just can't hide anything from you, can I, Link?"
The young man in his late teens raised an eyebrow and looked at her strangely. Midna's expression then turned serious as she placed her hands on her hips.
"And just what did you think you were doing? Oh, I know! You must have thought: 'Gee, Midna ditched me again! I think I'll take a well-deserved break and rest my eyes for a bit, because she's ruthless, scary, mean and demanding!' WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE SLEEPING! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE HERO FOR GODDESSES' SAKE!!"
"Shhhhhh!" Link silenced her once more. Before Midna could tear him limb from limb, he held an index finger up in the air, telling her to wait a moment. Standing up, he gently pushed the girl to the left side of him and picked up the horseshoe he had thrown in the water twice before. Glaring at the dark waters, he heaved the horseshoe overboard once more, this time with all the might he could muster. It made a huge splash, even bigger than the last one. Then, as a reflex, Link grabbed his shield and held it in front of his head. Nothing happened for a good few seconds. The imp stared at him.
"So, what did that do?" she asked, sounding impatient. Link again held up a finger, meaning that she should wait a little longer.
After a few more seconds of waiting, the horseshoe had returned as Link had predicted, however this time, it came out from a completely different location than he had expected. This time, the lead item came up from the right and hit Link squarely on the side of his jaw. The impact made him drop his shield and flip over onto his stomach on the boat's floor.
Midna was taken aback by this. "Whoa! What the heck was that?!" she shouted.
Link got up, quickly checking his jaw to see if it was broken. When he found that it was still intact, he turned around to where the horseshoe had appeared and clenched his fists. Then, without warning, he lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers, indicating to Midna that he wanted to be changed into a wolf. Upon hearing this, the imp girl looked dubious.
"Wh-what? You want me to change you into a wolf?!" she asked, incredulous. "How about I check on you first, you idiot! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The Hylian ignored her as he snapped his fingers again.
"Listen, man, you're not thinking about this hard enough. You've been knocked for a loop! You're in a state of confusion. How about we just calm down, and breathe in deep breaths and assess the situation we're in right at the moment, huh? I know running headfirst into danger works wonders with you heroes, but I really think we should stop and…"
She stopped talking as Link stared at her with a wild expression on his face. His eyes were pulsing and throbbing and many veins could be seen on them. His teeth were bared, his breathing was quick and heavy and a small bit of blood was trickling out of his mouth. Plus, that bump in the space between his eyes was looking pretty red. His hand moved in front of Midna's face. He snapped his fingers, which made the Twili flinch and back away slowly.
I-I don't think you're thinking clearly right now, Link. Y-you're angry, I can tell, but I won't s-stop you…" she said, feeling quite nervous. In a flash, her garments disappeared, and she held the embodiment of Zant's magic in front of the hero's reddened eyes. He grabbed a hold of the trinket and changed into his wolf form.
Wolf Link turned around and growled at the water. Something was down there and he was going to find out what. Snarling, he leapt a great distance and landed in the water.
"Okay, so what do you hope to accomplish by taking a swim?" Midna asked. Wolf Link sniffed the water, trying to find some kind of scent, remembering too late that water was the thing that made an animal lose a particular scent. Before he had any time to think on that, however, he yelped, as he could feel an excruciating pain run up his back right paw, and then disappeared into the lake depths. It took the imp two complete seconds before she realized what had happened.
"Link?" She floated down into the boat and grasped the sides, looking into the water, tears beginning to well up inside her. "Link, where are you? LINK??"
All of a sudden, bubbles became visible on the water's surface, where Wolf Link had disappeared. They lingered there for a second and then started to move, as if whatever was in the water was travelling a certain distance. The bubbles splashed around in several dizzying patterns, for several seconds before finally stopping in front of the boat. Then they stopped appearing completely. Then all of a sudden, there was a huge splash, as Wolf Link flew up in the sky a few feet before finally landing back in the boat, rocking it violently and spilling some garbage overboard.
Midna was crying now as she looked over her wolf companion, who looked considerably more bruised than he had before jumping in the water. The most visible bruises were the bite marks on his back leg and the huge scratch on his side. She didn't know what to do now. "Link…can you hear me? Please…answer me…you can't die on me, now!" she said, her voice barely audible.
With difficulty, he got up into a sitting position and howled at a low pitch, indicating that he wanted to be turned into a human again.
"W-what? Oh…oh sure!" Midna said, her attention focused on his injuries. Wiping her eyes, she snapped her fingers and the wolf became human again. Link the human just sat there looking at the water. He was in pain and he needed a potion, quickly. Without turning his head, he handed Midna an empty bottle and an orange rupee.
The vertically challenged girl stared at him. "You…you want a Blue Potion, is that it? Okay…Y'know, I was kidding about trying to finish your adventure for you. I'm still trying to keep a low profile…guess it can't be helped, now. I'll be right back, then." She clapped her hands and her Link costume appeared again. Then she took the bottle and rupee and flew off…and was aghast to find she was suddenly being chased by the same Kargarok from before!
Link stared at the water with an unreadable expression on his face. There was definitely something down there. Something big! Then, it suddenly clicked: could this possibly be the Legendary Hylian Loach spoken of from the book he had found not a few hours earlier?! It couldn't be true, could it?
The teenager was at a critical crossroad, here. There was no question that the Hylian Loach was a fish of legend. People from all over and from different time periods had tried to catch one, and yet no one had succeeded. No one except for one man, and its size wasn't even recorded. Catching this fish would definitely earn its catcher fame and fortune beyond his or her wildest dreams.
On the other hand, Link was currently in danger of being eaten, or worse. Right now, there was something beneath him that would promise a considerable loss of blood if he were to even think about setting foot in the water. If he had even one ounce of sanity left in his mind, he would choose to run away; run away and never, ever return to the Fishing Hole ever again!
And yet, he knew this wasn't an option. Because deep down, he knew somehow that whatever was lurking in the lake depths was a Hylian Loach. And deep down, he knew he would not stop until he had caught this flesh-eating monstrosity. Why? Simply, because he was fighting hard for someone's cause. In that instant, the image of her face flashed in his mind.
…with her wavy, dark brown locks…with her dark green eyes…and that smile; what a pretty smile…
…Hena…
Courage welling up inside him, he sat forward and thrust out his chest. For the happiness of this woman, he would catch this fish for her! He silently swore it!!
He leaned forward on his seat, going into deep thought. How on earth was he going to catch this water creature? It had already thrown him around like a rag doll, way more than the sea monster Morpheel ever had (Morpheel was a wimp, after all…), so he knew facing it in the water was a bad idea. Still, he knew he had to damage it in some way. However, nothing was coming to mind. He stared at his fishing pole while tapping his fingers on the sides of the boat.
Which is when an idea sprung into his head, like a Blue Tektite moving in for the kill: Water Bombs!! If he used a water bomb, he'd be sure that if the loach was anywhere near him, it'd get hurt. And if he did it enough times, he would weaken the creature enough to catch it! Brilliant!!
With a large smile on his face, he reeled in his line (slowly, so as not to upset the loach) and lit a water bomb. Attaching it to his line, he cast it out into the water, hoping his prey would take the bait.
…The logical question being asked here is 'how in the heck can a bomb stay lit underwater?' Link, of course, did not know the answer to this. Barnes, the owner of the bomb shop in Kakariko, never gave an acceptable answer to that. A bomb like this defied what little logic was present in the land of Hyrule. The green-clad hero shook his head, remembering that he didn't care about any of that. In his opinion, the water bomb was among one of his favourite weapons at his disposal (next to the Hero's Bow and the Clawshot, of course) because of its versatility. And after all, what kind of hero ever listened to logic, anyway?!
He gripped his fishing rod tightly, moving it back and forth carefully as the bomb was due to explode any second. He guffawed loudly, trying to imagine the look on the loach's face when it found out it had just latched itself onto a bomb. Then, without warning he heard a noise from underwater, yet the boat also shook violently, throwing him off guard. At the same time, he felt a forceful tug on his line. Not having time to prepare, he increased his hold on the pole and felt himself being pulled forward.
In that horrible split-second, he realized that the loach was likely much smarter than he gave it credit for. An image came into his mind of the loach seeing the bomb, somehow pulling it apart and getting it underneath his boat. And while his guard was down, the loach himself was going to give him heck. However, exactly how it managed to pull the bomb apart from his line, he hadn't really figured that out yet.
But, before he could think of it any further, he gasped, as the pull on his line was so great, he actually fell from his boat and into the water. His catch then proceeded to take the helpless Hylian for a ride. Link held onto the pole tightly as he started moving around the lake like a knee boarder. And, the loach wasn't exactly being very kind to him either. His journey around the lake was so unwieldy that he ended up smashing into various obstacles several times: i.e. the rock walls and the natural bridge in the center of the lake.
There was no telling how long this had been going on when the Twili girl returned. Her garments were gone again and she was holding a bottle of blue potion. However, when she saw Link skipping around the lake, she was met with a cavalcade of emotions: shock, fright, regret for leaving him and elation. She cursed herself for putting the teenager into this situation by disappearing on him, but at the same time, she was laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Her trouble in deciding what to feel was impeding her decision to help him. And when she finally did decide to help him,
"Hey, Link, I thought I'd just check up on you, see how you're doing, 'cause it's kind of…oh, my GOSH!!"
She gasped in horror as she looked down. For some reason, the fishing lady had decided to pick this time over the entire length of their visit, to check on her customers. She bit her fingernails, unsure of what to do at this point. She had no desire to blow her cover any more than it was already. In a reflex, she glanced at the lake, hoping whatever the creature below the surface was doing was almost finished.
Link spun around the lake a few more times, hanging onto his pole for dear life. He let go finally when he slammed up against the natural bridge one last time. Holding his head, he glanced back at his boat to see how far he had to swim. While doing so, his eyes brushed past, and then locked onto, the girl of his dreams, standing near the entrance to the cottage, looking at him with a look of horror on her face.
…Hena…even as she looked scared out of her wits…how pretty she looked…
His blissful reverie was interrupted as he felt a pain run up his left leg. He gasped as he disappeared under the water once more. What followed was the exact same thing that had happened when Wolf Link decided to go for a swim. A stream of bubbles appeared and darted every which way, stopping in front of the boat, to which Link was then thrown into the sky again. He landed back in the boat, spilling more garbage overboard. He groaned with pain.
"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh! Hey Link, are you alright?! Say something!"
In a flash, Midna realized this was her cue! Turning towards one of the cherry trees, she held her hands in a peculiar position as a sphere of Twili magic appeared in her palms. It was the exact same method she used to free Wolf Link from the dungeons of Hyrule Castle. As she parted her hands, the sphere disappeared, and a bolt of fire hit the base of the tree, making a huge noise in the process.
The noise was loud enough to temporarily distract Hena. Whirling around, she stared in the direction of the noise. "W-what was that noise…OH MY GOSH!!" Then she gaped in horror as she saw one of her cherry trees become engulfed in flames. As she nimbly flew back towards her injured companion, Midna couldn't help but steal a glance at the destruction she just caused. Oh, yeah. She was definitely going to regret THAT one later…
Stopping in front of Link, she tossed him the blue potion, which he caught, and disappeared under his shadow. Link uncorked the bottle and took a swig. Miraculously, all of his injuries seemed to heal up. With that, he found the strength to sit back up. Then he gagged, as the potion's aftertaste caught up with him. Yes, all of the different coloured potions were well known for their outstanding healing properties, but their aftertaste left something to be desired.
Hena heard the noise and spun back around. "Hey, Link! Are you okay? How about giving me a hand over here…oh…" As she turned back around to the cherry tree, she saw that it had already been reduced to ashes and that all traces of the fire had disappeared. (The magic of the Twilight Realm works in quick and mysterious ways…) From his boat, Link looked at where the cherry tree used to be and shrugged.
"Aw, never mind that, then. Are you all right? You took quite a beating out there! It's amazing you're still alive!" she said, turning back to him.
Link looked thoughtful for a second, then reached over and grabbed the blue potion, holding it out for her to see. Then, without warning, his fishing pole flew out of the water at a fast speed and hit him in the side of the head, landing in the boat. Link groaned and held his head.
"Wow, that's crazy," Hena said after Link explained to her the whole messy story, "and after all that, you're still alive! Y'know, you are really amazing, you know that?"
Link blushed slightly, looking modest.
"And even after all that, you still want to go fishing?"
Taking into account the situation, Link was still sitting in his boat out in the middle of the lake, with Hena calling to him from the docks. Link had his pole out and the line was overboard. He looked at her and flashed a thumbs-up sign.
"Okay, suit yourself then. It's just," she looked slightly pained, "y'know, the Hylian Loach is still just a legend, right? Even though there's something big down there, it's hard to just assume it's a loach based on one man's opinion…" she looked him in the eye, "You realize might have gone through all that pain for nothing, right?"
"Psshhh…" Link said aloud, indicating to her that he didn't care. But Hena didn't seem to notice as she stared into space, looking lost in thought.
"And what if whatever that thing was down there wasn't a loach? Heck! What if it wasn't even a fish at all? …Gosh, that means I'd have to close this place down for awhile and…I wonder if I could get something going with 'Monster from the Lake'? Man, I bet I'd make a killing in sales…then I'd finally be better than something than Iza…" She was more talking to herself at this point.
Before Link could answer her, there was a strange rumbling sensation, followed by another and another and another. What was worse, they seemed to be coming in the direction of the Fishing Hole!
"W-what's that??" Hena asked, feeling scared.
Link gripped the sides of the boat as the water started tossing him in all directions, as the rumblings got worse. It was like something really big was headed their way. Finally, the two of them gasped, as a huge white beast became visible over the wall, and landed on the grass next to the cottage. It was covered in white fur, wore a strange leather hat, had great big grey eyes and had large teeth. Curious of all was what looked like an egg sack where his butt was. Gasping, Link realized this creature as Yeto, one of the creatures that inhabited Snowpeak Ruins. Hena slowly backed away, hoping she wouldn't be seen.
Yeto sniffed the air heavily, as if he was on the scent of something. "MMM! SOMETHING SMELL GOOD, UH? IT FISH!" Taking a few steps forward, he found himself standing in front of the lake. He pointed to the water. "FISH HERE!!" Then, he noticed Link and realized he wasn't alone. "AHH! YOU AGAIN! YOU HOLD ON; THIS BE BIT ROUGH, UH!"
Yeto back away from the lake's edge. Then he bent over slightly with his fists clenched, as if he was summoning all of his strength into the task he was about to perform. Then, without warning, he jumped deceptively high, considering he was a snow beast of large mass, and slammed the ground with all his might. Somehow, his little stomp was so great, that all of the water in the lake suddenly rose into the sky, taking Link and his boat with it. All the fish remained at the bottom, jumping around and gasping for air. Among them was…
"Hey, that's…that's a Hylian Loach!" Hena shouted pointing.
Flopping around close to the shore was a large fish, easily five times as big as all the other fish. One would say it was about…two hundred inches or so. Yeto nodded without even hesitiating.
"AHH! THAT THE ONE! ME TAKE THAT ONE, UH!!" Taking his time, the beast stepped into the waterless lake and closed the distance between the loach, accidently stepping on a crab as he did so (to which he muttered "OOPS…") and grabbed at his prize. The loach wriggled around in his arms.
"HMM. FISH SLIPPERY. ME FIX THAT!" Pressing his hands down on the fish, he bent down, opened his mouth and bit down hard, about where the creature's brain was located. The loach stopped moving, after that. Still taking his time, he hoisted the fish into his arms and climbed out of the empty lake. At that moment, all of the water came crashing back down again. Hena just stared at the beast, mouth hanging open. Yeto looked at her as if everything was normal.
"HAVE ENOUGH FISH FOR WEEKS! WIFE BE PLEASED, UH!!" The snow creature waved goodbye and jumped back over the rock wall, returning to his home, supposedly.
Hena just stood there, staring after the creature, unsure of what to do. Then, she came back to reality and looked excited.
"Wow! Wow!! I just saw someone catch a Hylian Loach! I gotta get his autograph!" She shot into her cottage and came back out holding a pencil and an autograph book. Then, she tore for the entrance and disappeared through the door, all the while screaming at the top of her lungs. "Hey, mister! Come back! You're amazing!! What's you're name?! Are you friendly? Can I have your autograph?"
Link just stared at the door as he watched Hena leave. He may have been disoriented from his little flight, but unfortunately, he saw everything that had gone on; Yeto leaving with a huge loach in his hands, Hena gaping after him, Hena grabbing her autograph book and tearing after the beast, Hena now showering all of her attentions on Yeto instead of him… Link felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. He leaned back in the boat, a hurt expression on his face.
Somehow sensing his emotions, Midna stuck her head out from Link's shadow, her expression indicating that she definitely found all that just transpired amusing.
"Well, I bet you feel pretty good right now," she said sarcastically, "And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: 'THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!!' Am I right??"
Link didn't answer as he turned away from her. Midna just laughed.
"Oh, that was a joke, for sure!" Sensing his sadness, she leaned forward in his shadow and placed a shadowy hand on his shoulder, still amused, "I know, I know. What else could go wrong, huh?"
Without warning, the sound of thunder could be heard and lightning could be seen as it started to rain. Link looked at the imp girl's head, an exasperated look on his face. Midna looked up to the skies in wonder.
"Wow, didn't think that was gonna happen." The girl flew out from his shadow and placed her finger on her lips. She looked lost in thought about something. Link kept his exasperated gaze on the girl. It was all too clear to him what she was about to do. No sooner had he thought that…
Midna cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted into the sky, "What else could go wrong??"
All of a sudden, Link felt a tugging sensation from his fishing pole. That was when he remembered his line was still in the water. Feeling slightly cautious, he slowly reeled the line in, put off by the fact that whatever was hooked to it wasn't putting up a fight at all. Then his breath got caught in his throat, as he reeled up what appeared to be a pair of pink silk panties with ruffled materials along the leg openings. The name along the rim made it obvious who owned the pair of undergarments:
Hena.
Before either of them had a chance to think on this, the main door opened and the girl in question came walking down towards the lake. She seemed to be upset.
"Doesn't that just drive you crazy?! I couldn't get that hairy guy's autograph. I guess I'll just have to wait until he comes back then." She turned back to her customer, "Hey Link, before I forget, that's a really impressive pile of garbage you've…got…" which is when she noticed the underwear snagged to Link's line. Hena's cheeks turned beet red. "Oh…so that's where those things went…heh…how did that get there, I wonder?"
Feeling another tug, Link reeled in the rest of the line…to which he gawked, eyes going wide. There, snagged to the end of his line, was a pair of white boxer shorts, with images of fireballs all around it. And again, the name along the rim made its owner obvious:
Ganondorf.
"Oh…boy…well, this is awkward…" Taking a deep breath, Hena looked Link in the eye. "Customer…it's…that is not what you think, now…uh…"
There were no words that could describe the flurry of emotions Link was feeling at this moment in time. Shock, confusion, regret, anxiousness, sadness and especially rage. Even Midna had to agree, as she disappeared into Link's shadow, that there was no way she could have seen this coming. He looked up, eyes blazing, at Hena, who was looking as red as a tomato. She didn't know what he was thinking now.
"Um…could I have my underwear back, please?" she asked softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.
Without turning away, Link grasped the pink undies and detached it from his line. Then, he held it with one finger and pulled it back with his other hand, as if he were about to fire an elastic band. He let it go and it flew away, hitting Hena directly in the face. She recoiled after being hit, but made no attempt to move at the moment.
Link then took the oars and rowed himself back to shore. He parked the boat next to the dock and tied it off. Then he picked up his fishing rod (with the pair of boxers still attached) and stomped away, his boots making a squishing noise, due to the wet grass. He went to the door, opened it and slammed it behind him. The small tremor from this was enough to loosen the panties from Hena's face. They fell to the ground.
"…O…okay…" Hena was disoriented. The events of the last half hour were a bit much on her right at the moment. Without another word, she picked up her underwear and slowly walked back into her cottage, locking the door behind her.
Outside, Link was seething. He held his fishing rod in front of him with the boxers attached to it, staring at it, his eyes burning. Midna rose up from his shadow, not really sure what to say right at the moment. She edged towards the Hylian, feeling very nervous.
"L…Link…?" she started.
She gasped as Link quickly turned his head towards her, much quicker than she was used to. Link was looking the entire world like he was a crazy person. He looked her in the eye, and stretched out his arm pointing south, indicating that they were going to make a short stop at his house in Ordon Village before continuing on with their adventure. And they were going to WALK as well. No warping this time.
"…Okay. Whatever you say…" without another word, she disappeared under his shadow.
Link then started walking, beginning the long trek towards Ordon, all the while looking at his fishing rod, and to a lesser extent, the boxers, grinning crazily. Oh, he was going to have FUN burning this one to ashes! Yes, indeed!