Chapter 2 – Terror of the Lake
Summary: The Zora accuse the Gerudo of polluting the river leading to Lake Hylia and thus killing the Zora's source of food. Link and Zelda go to investigate...
O.O.O.O.O.O.O
"What seems to be the problem?" Zelda asked Ronso, an ambassador of Zora's Domain who was currently bowing before her in the audience chamber of the castle.
"About three weeks ago, Your Highness, fish started turning up dead on the shores of Lake Hylia and the number of fish dying is only growing by the day. We rely on this sacred lake to provide us with our only source of food so it's imperative that we find the cause of the problem and fix it immediately. We noticed that the water in the lake is developing a foul smell like that of harsh chemicals which is worsening every day. Our best guess is that the Gerudo are dumping chemicals into the river which then travel downstream to our lake where they remain stagnant, slowly poisoning the bodies of the weaker fish. We're currently living solely off our supply of canned fish but that was supposed to be for helping us survive the winter! If this isn't stopped soon, we'll all surely starve to death!"
"Have your people seen anything else out of the ordinary in the lake recently?"
"No. Our people are no longer even able to approach the lake because we have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell. We can't simply plug our noses like humans—the stench is simply overwhelming!"
Zelda pondered this for a short time. "Have you attempted to speak with the Gerudo yourself?"
"Yes, but they keep insisting they haven't been dumping anything in the river! Even so, I don't believe those shifty women even for a moment..."
"There's no need to be rude, Ronso," Zelda scolded. "You're basing your accusation toward them on mere suspicion so a claim like that is uncalled for."
"Please, Your Highness! We're at the end of our rope! If they're not responsible for it, then who could it possibly be?" Desperation was clearly evident in the young Zora's tone.
Zelda calmly thought over the predicament for several moments. "I'll investigate the matter immediately. You have my word."
"You are ever so gracious, Your Highness! I will report this to my king posthaste!"
O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Zelda located Link and requested that he accompany her to Gerudo Valley on official business. The Gerudo had always been a no-nonsense race which didn't concern itself with ornate architecture or lavish clothing—they were clearly quite used to living a rugged life on the fringes of society.
Upon arriving, Zelda asked where she could find Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo. They pointed her to one of the many identical sun-baked buildings in the center of their fortress. The one-time Sage of Spirit was intently analyzing some scrolls on a desk as Link and Zelda entered her small office of sorts.
"Ah, Your Highness. To what do I owe this honor?" Nabooru greeted with a subtle smile.
"Unfortunately, it's because of a dire situation at Lake Hylia," Zelda stated solemnly.
"Yes...I'm aware of that...situation." Her smile suddenly devolved into a frown and she began speaking through clenched teeth. "Ronso was here accusing us of dumping chemicals in the river not long ago. He made a number of only slightly veiled threats at us which were laced with a fine selection of racist comments."
"My deepest apologies for his behavior," Zelda sympathized. "The Zora really should know better. I will have a talk with him at the nearest opportunity about the inappropriateness of such comments... But by any chance would you happen to know why the fish in Lake Hylia are suddenly dying off?"
"I can only speculate on that since I haven't visited the lake in many months, but I would wager that the problem comes not from the river which leads to the lake, but from the lake itself. Perhaps a new animal species has invaded the lake and spread a disease to the native fish. Perhaps the rain has brought in chemicals with a foul smell. Perhaps some hideous beast is killing the fish and causing the stench. Anything's possible. But promise me this, Your Highness—if you decide to go investigate the situation at the lake yourself, please be on your highest guard."
"Of course, Nabooru. Your words of wisdom are much appreciated, as always."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O
The lab located on the shore of Lake Hylia was a place just as eccentric as its scientist. Jars filled with all manner of disgusting creatures lined the shelves and a number of tables were filled with the remains of recent dissections. The smell was repulsive to the point of Link and Zelda being compelled to pinch their nose or else risk losing the contents of their stomach. Zelda had come up with the idea of chatting with the lakeside scientist for possible clues about the situation, figuring he would be most likely to know, but the putrid odor was quickly causing her to regret that decision.
"Hello, hello, hi, hello!" was the elderly man's peculiar salutation. He was notably cross-eyed and not well-groomed.
"Um...hi," Zelda cautiously proffered, although the act of pinching her nose made her voice sound strange. "Would you happen to know anything about the recent string of fish deaths, sir?"
"Dishwasher? Why, no, I don't have one of those."
"No, sir, I said 'fish deaths,'" Zelda said much more loudly and with better enunciation.
"Oh! Oh, yes, I see," he replied.
After an uncomfortably long silence, Zelda added: "Well? Do you know anything about them or not?"
"About what?" he asked innocently.
"The fish deaths!" Although Zelda didn't think herself an impatient woman in the least, this odd man was really grating on her nerves.
"Mmm...fish does sound quite delicious right now. Do you have any, perchance?"
Zelda looked over at Link and shook her head in frustration. "Let's go," she muttered.
After leaving the lab, they walked toward the edge of the lake from which emanated an overwhelmingly horrid scent, very similar to the one they had just been exposed to in the scientist's lab. Even though such a smell made them want to flee in the other direction entirely, something clearly needed to be done soon or the Zora might go so far as to start a war with the Gerudo over a (more than likely) mistaken belief that they were the cause of this fiasco.
"I could dive around the lake and investigate," suggested Link. "The Zora gave me a tunic not long ago which allows me to breathe underwater because of some type of magic woven into the fabric. You could stay in the scientist's lab in the meantime while I go explore."
"But that's far too dangerous!" Zelda protested.
"You're right. It is dangerous. But the situation is so dire...Zoran lives are at stake. So there's really no time to waste." He smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry about me, Zelda. I handled all those monsters and challenges in the other timeline, didn't I? I'll be fine here."
Sometimes she thought the bearer of the Triforce of Courage was simply too daring and (dare she say?) reckless for his own good. In addition, the thought of going back in the scientist's lab made Zelda's stomach churn. She decided to agree to his plan for now even though she had no intention of obeying him to the letter...
O.O.O.O.O.O.O
The great diversity of creatures of all different sizes and colors under Lake Hylia was impressive by any measure and even more so considering the crisis the lake was currently undergoing. After Link reached the lake bed, he started skimming along the bottom, ever vigilant for anything out of the ordinary.
A long, thin object poking out from the silt caught his eye. What could this be? he wondered. He gave the stalk a gentle tug. Finding that this accomplished nothing, he tugged it a few more times with a little more force on each subsequent attempt.
After about the tenth tug, something massive was triggered. The whole lake bed (as far as Link could tell), started raising up. An enormous cloud of silt began swirling in the water around Link, completely obscuring his vision.
Link's thoughts were consumed with dread as he came to the realization that it wasn't the ground itself which had moved but rather a gigantic, flat-bodied creature which he had just inadvertently awakened. What also terrified him was the fact that he had no idea where the creature now was, although it certainly couldn't be far. The lake simply wasn't big enough for a creature of such an immense size to be very far.
Link quickly began rising to the surface, praying that he could escape from the water before being noticed or attacked by the creature. Out of his peripheral vision, though, he was stunned to witness the fish zip past him much faster than he thought a beast of that size could move. Protruding from its body were a number of tentacles, each several times the length of Link's own form. He watched as the mutant fish reached one of its tentacles out toward the shore of the lake. Something must have caught its attention. Although he was glad to have the benefit of such a distraction, he seriously hoped that no innocent bystander had come to the lake shore.
To his horror, the thing that the creature wrapped its tentacle around and dragged back to the water was none other than Zelda! He didn't have time to wonder how her capture had even been possible from the safety of the scientist's lab—simply put, Zelda didn't have the ability to breathe underwater and would surely die before long if not rescued.
The fish returned with its prize in tow to the lake bed. On his way to her aid, Link was quite surprised (and, admittedly, more than a little impressed) to see that Zelda had wasted no time in fighting back to save herself! In a way, it was fortunate that the monster had only grabbed Zelda by the legs because it left her hands free to cast magic. She invoked the power of ice to hurl razor-sharp needles at the fish's tentacles which, even in the water, caused enough damage to force the creature to loosen its grip on the deathly-frightened princess. She began swimming to the surface rapidly and furiously with Link rushing to her side to help hurry her along. She frantically gasped for breath once she finally reached the coveted air above.
Of course, the fish wasn't about to let them go so easily. Only at this moment did they notice how one of its tentacles had a claw-like tip. Zelda recalled with a gasp that this monster was a much, much larger version of one of the specimens she had seen in the scientist's lab. This, combined with the fact that the stench emanating from the lake and his lab where one and the same, allowed her to deduce that this creature was most likely a mutant form of one of the scientist's biological experiments. There was also little doubt that this was the creature making a hobby of killing off the lake's native species. The unusual tentacle was probably the means by which the deed was done.
"You distract it while I attack it with magic!" Zelda commanded decisively. Part of her training as a monarch involved making critical decisions swiftly and confidently. This was one of those times she could put that skill to good use. Link complied without hesitation, trusting wholeheartedly in her unequaled wisdom. He dived below the water's surface and gestured at the monster wildly in a bid to draw its attention. Once that was achieved, he led it on a chase around the lake. Since he knew he had no hope of out-swimming the creature, he took full advantage of the underwater landscape, weaving in and out of arches and alcoves in the rock to evade it's deadly reach. Meanwhile, Zelda busied herself casting one ice spell after another and another until she weakened the monster enough that she could be sure it would never be a threat to the native ecosystem again.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O
They returned to shore completely exhausted and out of breath. After assuring themselves of each others' safety, they rested there for several minutes.
"There's something I'm curious about, Zelda..." Link wondered, still noticeably winded. "How did that thing manage to reach you all the way from the scientist's lab? You didn't leave...right?"
Zelda turned her gaze downward in shame. "I...might have skipped out of there...a few minutes after you left..."
Link began frowning at her. "So you didn't listen to me? I made that suggestion for a reason, Zelda. I don't want to see you end up hurt—not on my watch. Not ever."
Zelda's heart sank as she realized how upset she had made him. "I'm sorry, Link. It's just that...I just...oh, I get so worried about you! I can't stand the thought of losing you, no matter how small the chance of it! You're more than just a guard to me, you know!" The very next moment, she reached out unexpectedly and enveloped him in her arms.
"Zelda..." was all he could manage to say. There was no way he could hold any anger toward her after hearing a heartfelt confession like that.
Despite a slight chill in the air against their soaked clothing and skin, they managed to stay warm until (perhaps somewhat reluctantly) they separated in order to follow the trail back home...after having a little word with that scientist about not dumping any more of his specimens into the lake, of course.
