Time Stop: I'm sorry that I didn't do this the last time.
Shadow: Yeah, see if we help you out anymore.
Time Stop: Sighs This is my shadow, Shadow.
Shadow: About time.
Time Stop: And this is my strange alter ego, Finn.
Finn: Hey, I thought I was going to be called Wang?
Time Stop: Sorry, geez. This is my strange alter ego, Wang.
Wang: Hi everybody!
Time Stop: Everyone happy now?
Wang and Shadow: Yes.
Shadow: I want to dedicate this piece to-ow!
Wang: Snickers Now what did I say? No one gets to say whom this is for just yet.
Time Stop: Focus guys focus!
Shadow: Fine, let's just get this damn thing over with. Unfortunately, neither one of us owns the Legend of Zelda
Chapter 2: Now this is Something New
Link woke up for the second time that day, only this time with a splitting headache. He searched his memory, and he remembered that the figure used his feet to throw a dagger at him to knock him out. Now, what did his memory say that he had to do next? He looked back...and back even further...and couldn't remember his previous life, only this life.
Link shot up from his restful position, only to fall back down when his head rang again. In front of him sat the intruder, still bound and cloaked. He craned his head upward and met Saria's eyes. "How long was I out?"
"Not long, only a few minutes. But your skill with that sword, it was like you were born to wield it." Saria praised. Link blushed involuntarily, before he stood up. He cracked his sore neck, and stared down the cloaked man. With a sudden move, he stepped forward and unveiled the man's head.
Link stepped back in surprise. It was a person his age who knocked him out, but not only that, but a girl! He blushed with shame and anger that he had lost to a girl. From what he did know, that she wasn't supposed to be here, and he knew he thought that before he was knocked out.
"Who are you?" Link demanded.
She looked up at him, her piercing blue eyes matching his own stormy blue for determination. "One that would kill you when I can."
"Not likely," Link said before he stepped back.
Saria whispered at his back, so only he could hear. "I think she is a Gerudo, but she is lighter than I imagined." Link knew what those were. He often heard folk stories on those dark women from the far west, cutting down any in their path. It was true that this girl had red hair like the Gerudo's, but she had skin as though it was a deep tan. Besides, only Hylians like Link had blue eyes, for Gerudo eyes are always brown or black.
"Who are you?" Link demanded again.
"I won't answer to the likes of you!" The girl struggled again but she was held fast.
Link bit down a roar of frustration. "Fine, don't tell me who you are. Why are you here?"
"I'm not going to tell you!" The Gerudo, struggled harder with her bonds, but was still stuck fast.
"Link," Saria called to him. He turned to her, after making sure his prisoner's daggers were out of reach. "Take her to the Great Deku Tree. You still have to talk to him, and he might have her talk."
"Right, so, you'll still be here?"
"Yeah, good luck." Without warning she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Blushing furiously, Link bent down and retrieved the two daggers. He then stuck them in his belt, before untied a portion of the rope. He then held it like a leash, so that the girl could walk, but could not use her arms.
"Where are you taking me?"
Link fought back an angry retort, because he knew that would only spur more angst. "To the Great Deku Tree. You are lucky that I have to meet him already. He will decide your fate."
"Good, I'm tired of talking to you, stupid Kokiri." Link closed his eyes and sighed. He then prodded her forward with his sword, leaving behind Saria. They made quite a sight, a Kokiri without a fairy escorting a tied up Gerudo. The other Kokiri gawked at the strange pair, but none came up to talk to Link. Mido let them past without a hassle.
Mido knew that Link already held the Kokiri sword and the Deku Shield, so there was no other reason to keep him back. Besides, he was also escorting a very dangerous prisoner. What he did do is to motion Link over. "Hey, be careful. You don't even deserve to meet the Great Deku Tree, especially since you don't even have a fairy, but be careful. Never trust a Gerudo, they'll sooner knife you in the back than say 'hello'."
Link nodded his understanding. He entered the small tunnel. Amid the lush, green grass, several small flowers were in the center of the path. Curious, he walked up to it. With a snap, the Deku Baba attacked him. He jumped back purely on instinct, and narrowly avoided losing a hand from the attack. With an expert swipe he cut the head off the monster.
The stem of the plant like monster fell over, and in its place was a Deku Stick. Link repeated the process for the rest of the Deku Babas, before leading his quiet prisoner to meet the Great Deku Tree.
"Navi, you have returned. Link, who is this?"
"A Gerudo trying to enter the village, Saria thought it best to bring her to you."
"I see. Tell me one so young, what is your name."
"Nadai."
"Why are you here?"
"Nabooru told me to follow the sorcery of one of our people. He calls himself Gannondorf, King of the Gerudos. Nabooru told me he sent his magic here to harm the Great Deku Tree and told me to follow it. Try and reverse it."
"I see. Link, you have had the same dark nights I have been having. The same dark dreams, the same pains."
"Yes."
"You have been touched by the same curse that this man from the desert plagued me with. Why you, that will be revealed in time. But this curse has drained me of my energy, and I will only last just a little while longer before I succumb to Death's embrace.
"Link, I sense you have the courage and wisdom to eradicate the curse that has been put on me by this Gerudo. And Nadai, you swore to reverse the magic he set on me. Now is the time to do so. Work together, the two of you, and together you can stop the curse."
Link untied his new ally. "I will work with you now, but afterward I will have my revenge." The Gerudo tied on her two long daggers, and put her cowl over her head, once again obscuring her features. Similarly Link checked to see if his sword was strapped on tight enough, and that he had the chance to stretch.
"Save it for the curse." Link greatly distrusted this girl, but now wasn't the time for trust or mistrust. Now was the time to act.
"Stop fighting, for if you fight all is lost. Link, Nadai, prepare yourselves and enter." The Great Deku Tree opened its mouth. Link, trying to feel the courage within, stepped through the darkness first. Only a step behind him was the Gerudo.
Inside was a maze of wooden corridors and vine walls. The ground was made of wood, and Link made large clop-clop sounds with his boots. Nadai kept silent, seemingly to be a shadow when she moved.
Link led the way, and he hoped his forgotten memory would help him, and together the two of them faced the Deku Babas, Deku Scrubs, and even Skulltulas. They were resting on a platform. They had just spent the past half-hour chasing after a Deku Scrub who had gargled nonsense on how to beat his brothers, something about 2-3-1. Now they had to jump across these platforms before them to reach a chest.
Link laid down on the ground, thoroughly exhausted. They had found the Deku Nuts, which freeze the Babas on impact, which helped Link a lot when fighting the Babas. Nadai sat cross-legged, controlling her breathing while Link gasped and breathed loudly.
They had formed an uneasy quiet between them. And slowly the two of them had created half-formed tactics. "Quiet, fool!" Nadai whisper shouted at him. "I don't know why you were chosen for this quest, and I don't exactly want you to ruin it for me."
Link sat up, and turned, so his back was against the wall, and leaned back. "Hey, I am no fool. I have kept up with you, an all-powerful Gerudo. But I was chosen for this quest because the Great Deku Tree said so. So, I am not going to ruin it. Oh yeah, I forgot, who beat who at the bridge?"
The Gerudo jumped up and easily pushed Link into the wall. He tried to grab his sword, but his arms were pinned behind him. Instead of panicking, he stared defiantly at her eyes. Eyes the color of a sunny day, the color of the clearest water.
Nadai stared as well into the eyes of this boy who dared insult her. She stared long and hard into his eyes. Eyes the color of a desert storm recently over, the color of rushing water.
Without warning, she felt her eyes swim in tears. Tears for…no! This was not something to dwell upon. She was Gerudo, and Gerudos do not dwell upon the past. She felt herself losing control, so she stepped back, and turned her back to him.
"What's wrong?" The Kokiri boy asked her. When she didn't answer the boy asked her again. "You're crying," more of a statement than a question. "Why?"
She struggled for words, something that she never had to do before. "If-if you are better than me, then you will find a way to that chest." She pointed to the far chest.
She could feel his penetrating gaze on her. "Alright," the boy said slowly. He turned to the platforms, and he slowly jumped his way across to the chest. Nadai studied him as he went. He wasn't exactly the most agile of people, but he did have an agility to rival any Hylian, but a Gerudo, no. In fact, he was having fun jumping acrobatically over the expanses.
At the platform before the chest however, he paused. "Made it," he simply said. But as he did pause the ground beneath started to rumble, and the platform dropped quickly. Nadai ran to the edge of the platform that held her. Where the boy was gone, but the boy was on the ground, rubbing his ankle.
"You alright?" She asked. After she spoke she was shocked to hear genuine worry in her voice. But she wasn't shocked enough to miss what the boy said.
"I think I twisted my ankle, but I'm alright." The Kokiri boy looked around. "Don't come down, there is no possible way for me to climb back up, even if I had your help. I see a ladder, but it is too high up for you to reach."
"Then I'll jump across, maybe whatever is in that chest can help us out." Nadai looked at the expanse she would have to jump to reach the chest. It was easily almost twice as far for her than it was for Link, easy for a Gerudo. She hopped across the spaces, easily landing without a sound at the other side.
Below, Link watched his silent companion soar through the air. He had to admit, for a girl, she was all right. Then he gasped in amazement as she cleared the ten-foot expanse at the end with only a minor difficulty. He did hear a landing, and a sprawl, as if she had to roll to keep herself from being hurt.
"Well, what is it?" Link called up. He hobbled, using a Deku Stick as a makeshift staff, and came into view of her piercing blue eyes.
In her hands she held a slingshot, and a pouch hung at her waist. She was busy testing the durability of it, stretching it out to see its strength. "It's called the Fairy Slingshot."
"How do you know?" He retorted.
"It says so on the handle," and she showed the handle where he could make out the carved gold writing etched into the handle.
"Fine then, try to find the way out of here." Link looked around himself to see if he could try and spot a way out of here. He spotted the ladder again, and saw from his closer position it was only held up by a single peg. "Try hitting the ladder."
She scoffed, but Link told her to do it again. "Trust me," Link said. "I know we can get out from the ladder. Trust me."
'Trust him'! She could finish this quest by herself, but the Great Deku Tree said by only working together they could do this. Nadai growled in frustration, then aimed the Fairy Slingshot at the ladder. She took out a Deku Knut, and aimed just a little higher than her target, the first rung of the ladder. She let go, and watched as the Knut hit the ladder on the first rung.
Smiling, she jumped the gap, rolling to keep from hurting herself. Then she watched as the ladder fell to stand on the first platform. Already the Kokiri was climbing, so she jumped over to him.
"How?" She asked, trying to keep herself from sounding curious.
"I could see that the ladder hung from a single peg. I guessed that the impact of the Knut would knock it off." The boy smiled.
Navi, the little fairy of Link's, bobbed out from under his hat. "Hey! Now that we have that slingshot we can explore further into the Great Deku Tree."
Nadai looked at the handle again, and it said Fairy Slingshot. If there was one thing she was it was honorable. She was no Fairy, but Kokiri were also called Fairy folk back in the desert. "Here, this is yours," she handed over the weapon if a bit reluctantly.
He looked up at her, and pushed her hand back. "You did what I couldn't and you got the Slingshot. If it's anyone's, it's yours." He laughed, the first time he did in her presence. "Besides, with my aim I would probably end up missing more than hitting. It would probably take me at least five shots to hit the ladder, and it took you only one. Not only is there the whole you deserve it reason, but also the I can't hit anything with it reason."
At that she laughed as well. It was a long time since her last laugh. She had last laughed with…no! She was a Gerudo, and Gerudos do not dwell upon the past. She stopped laughing and pulled the boy with her. "Come, we have a curse to lift."
Wang: Oooh, something is going on!
Shadow: Just keep your pants on kid.
Wang: Hits Shadow Now that wasn't very nice.
Shadow: Ow! Quit hittin' me!
Time Stop: Guys! Try and end on a good note.
Shadow: Grumbles revenge on Wang As long as happy boy here quits hitting me.
Wang: Hits Shadow again Like that?
Time Stop: Wang! Stop That!
Shadow: Runs off Keep away!
Wang: Holding a small sledgehammer You can't runaway now! Follows Shadow
Time Stop: Wang! Shadow! Get back here! Sighs Please Review, and come back for chapter three. Runs off after his two counterparts