At Arms Length

Disclaimer:I put the usual stuff here. I do not own any bit of the Legend of Zelda franchise, except this spin-off story.


Fire: Ahhhhhhh. Welcome back to the story!

Alice: You said it 'daddy'.

Fire: What are you...

Ashei: Wait, Fire. You're a father now?

Fire: Yes, now can we please get this cha-

Link: MAH BOI!

Fire: Gottdamn...

Misty: Aren't you excited?

Fire: I'm writing this after the fact. I already jumped around like a giddy schoolgirl when I held her.

Arkaine: I hope she has a prosperous life.

Fire: Me to. Me to.

Topaz: So, will she grow to become more like you? You know, the yugioh, and the writing, and the raw skills?

Fire: Ha ha, only time can tell me that one.

Alice: It's natural she grows to be better than he is.

Fire: Hey hey hey now, I resent that. She may be my daughter, but I'M the original head hancho. The big cheese. The big poppa, with the big MOPPAH!

Entire Gang:...

Fire:...F*** you guys.

Alice: So, how's life treating you?

Fire: Shambles. Like always. I moved. Had tough finances to pay. Family issues. But look, lets not worry about that in public. It's time we gave the readers what they really came here for.

Alice: Agreed.


"You weren't lying, were you Tali?" asked Ashei.

"Of course not. Better question..." Tali began while fixing herself to an upright position and retracting her spirit hands, "...is what in the hell are you two doing here? Why are you in the Mayor's Courtyard in the dead of night? That's suspicious you know?"

It was Link that spoke up. "Well, we were asked by a guy earlier to thwart the attempt that a lady would be making to steal plans tonight."

"And you never once thought to question anything?" asked Tali.

"I told you something was suspicious about this, Link." retorted Ashei. Link scratched his head.

"Hey, at least we got to the bottom of it before things got out of hand." replied Link.

"Who was it that asked you anyways?" asked Tali.

"Umm, a creepy guy named Don. Now that I think of it, he never said his last name..." said Ashei lost in thought.

"Wait, Don? About this high and scruffy facial features?" asked Tali while using her left hand to signal the suggested height.

"Yeah, that's the guy." replied Ashei.

Tali face-palmed herself. Afterwards, when she saw the confused look on the heroes' faces, she gathered her thoughts to explain, but came up blank.

"Ugh, look, I can't really explain their back-story right. However, Ogren, my mentor, can shed some light on the guy."

"Sounds like a plan." said Ashei.

"Yeah. Should we meet you somewhere?" asked Link.

Tali nodded. "Just return to the Inn. During the day, I'll introduce you to Cid."

"Wait, Cid? I thought you said Ogren." said a confused Link.

"I did. I can't regularly reach Ogren nowadays. But Cid?...Let's say if something needs getting done, its my boss. Also, he's the owner of the Inn." said a confident Tali.

"Ohh OK. That makes sense." replied Ashei.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you guys later." said Tali. But as she turned to leave, she stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, and I'm sorry...for the scene that played here tonight. I had to fight the motive out of you. I knew from the start that stealing didn't seem to fit you two very well." said Tali.

"You're a good read on peoples' personality." Link said.

"He he! What can I say? I'm a natural hard-ass." chimed Tali.

The heroes left the scene shortly after parting ways with Tali.


Now back at Tranquility Inn, the heroes were winding down on the sofa, after their fight with Tali.

Ashei was wearing her long, white shirt gown that Link bought for her earlier. Link was wearing his usual gear, minus the shield and sword.

"That girl can hit hard." said Ashei.

"Yeah. That makes me wonder who was it that trained her in her unusual fighting style." said Link.

"What, her use of four hands?"

"Yeah, don't you find that weird?"

"Hmm...I didn't really give it much thought when she was taking the both of us on at once." replied Ashei, with emphasis on 'once'.

Link got up and walked over to the bookshelf.

"You know, I never gave these titles a real look. Lets see here..." said Link as he began picking through the books.

"Hey...Link?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I've been thinking...about what you said." said Ashei. This grabbed Link's attention as he stopped rummaging through books and trained his unfaltering gaze to lock with hers.

"What did I say exactly?" asked Link.

"Well um..." began Ashei while fidgeting her hands, "...when you said...that Tali and me were like the same...well you didn't outright say exactly that, but you know...Implied."

"Wait, was that really on your mind?" asked Link. Ashei half-nodded.

"Well uh...um...okay, so how are we the same? And no it doesn't bother me, I was just...wondering." she replied.

"Well first off, you both are hot-headed." said Link nonchalantly.

"Wait what?" exclaimed Ashei, being caught off guard.

"Hold on. This only adds to the fact that you and her are strong-willed. It almost feels like she also grew tougher through hardships, just like you. I think you two relate more to one another. Almost like a sister to sister relationship. But there are differences."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters I don't really know her, unlike you, who's had my back ever since. I cant say the same things for her that I can for you."

"I've got to hear this." replied Ashei as she stood from the couch, and leaned on the wall besides the bookshelf where Link was standing.

"Well, first off, I'm pretty sure you're more of a hard ass. She just seems a bit oblivious. But more importantly...you're compassionate and level-headed. It was because of your care that I even got to be here today. To top it off..."

Link took a breath as he closed his eyes. When he re-opened them slowly, Ashei's mind went blank. Her eyes were lost, swimming in the sea of his mind through his soft gaze.

"...You're important to me." said Link.

"Link..." Ashei began, trying to form a sentence. She was at a loss of words after just saying his name though.

She regained her thoughts, and stood from the wall. Ashei's distance from Link was diminished at this point. They stood a foot away from each other, at best. Link looked down, in her eyes, as Ashei looked up, into his.

"Link...you're important to me too..." replied Ashei.

Link then grabbed hold of Ashei's shoulders with his hands, causing her to jump a little.

"Good." said Link with a smile.

As Ashei stared into his smile, she felt her own heart warming up. It felt as if a bond once unnoticed was going to be the strongest of her life.

Her eyes began growing with unease as her heart began racing. She only just now began weighing her life when presented with Link's trust, with her emotions racing in her head with the speed of the light.

On one hand, she loved Zelda. She cherished everything from her. the time she spent with her. The nurturing her heart was given. The praise she got from her.

On the other hand, Zelda herself told Ashei to continue living her life. And she did just that. She couldn't deny the truth from herself any longer. She loved Link. Link just didn't know it.

Her mind was in shambles, and it hurt her. She couldn't figure out her answer. For if she loved Link, and he didn't love her back, it would shatter her very being. But if she would dwell on Zelda forever and avoided the signs of love, she would never truly live like she wanted her to.

Her accelerated thoughts caused tears to grow heavy and fall from her eyes, changing Link's face from delight to worry.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Link.

"Link..." began Ashei, and stopping right after. Instead of answering, she closed the distance between them both, and leaned her forehead into Link's chest, softly sobbing. Link then embraced her reflexively.

Ashei mumbled something between sobs, but Link couldn't make it out.

"What did you say, Ash?" asked Link.

Ashei cleared her throat momentarily, and wiped her eyes. She then looked up to face Link, with her reddened eyes.

" I said...I..."

"Hey Guys! I know I said that it would be tomorrow but...what are you two doing?" Tali asked, interrupting Link and Ashei.

Embarrassed, Ashei threw Link off of her, sending his head against the headboard of the bed.

"N-nothing!" replied Ashei.

"Ow, my head!" groaned Link as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"S-sorry!" said Ashei.

"Mhhhm...seemed like a whole lotta nothing, alright." teased Tali with a smirk. Ashei fumed a little.

"Do you mind?!" said Ashei with some irritation in her voice.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. After all, your door was wide open." replied Tali.

"Wait, so you mean that...oh my god." said Ashei as her face turned into a tomato from embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I was the only one that walked by this room, I swear. I wont spill anything I seen from you and your boyfriend." said Tali.

"Ugh, h-he's not my boyfriend!" said Ashei.

"My my." replied Tali.

"What exactly are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Link.

"Huh?...Oh yea, I was going to say Cid is here tonight but...it doesn't seem like you two are ready to meet him yet." replied Tali.

"No kidding." retorted Ashei.

"I'll just let him wait till the morning then. Don't do something I wouldn't do you two!" said Tali with a smile as she left their room.

"That was soo embarrassing..." said Ashei mostly to herself.

"Yeah, more warning would be nice before you toss me like a rag-doll." Link stated flatly.

"Sorry, Link. I just..I...ugh, my heads a mess." replied Ashei as she pinched her temples.

"What about?" asked Link, curious.

"It's...kinda hard to explain...Hey, can I ask you something?" replied Ashei with her own question.

"Kay." replied Link, as he fixed himself to be sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Link...if you have a hole in your heart...would it be best to cover it and forget about it, or try to heal it by filling it?" asked Ashei, crossing her arms.

"What brought this up?"

"Just help me...please..." pleaded Ashei.

"Then definitely fill it. Covering it would definitely cause your thin sheeting to open it up again, regardless of how much you try to forget. But if you filled it again, your heart could continue beating normally, if not better than before, and you can continue living your life like you want to." said Link, like it was obvious.

Ashei's eyes looked as if clouds of stress began trying to clear themselves to show the rays of hope piercing her very person.

"And besides..." Link continued, while stretching his arms, "...you of all people should want to follow Zelda's dying words. If she meant that much to you, then continue forward, but don't forget her friendship either. Let her words help you find something to fill that hole in your heart."

"Wha..." mumbled a stunned Ashei.

"Geez, you sound like you didn't know any of this stuff already." said Link as oblivious as he could manage.

"Shut up." said Ashei softly as she smiled.

"Huh?...I'll never fully understand women." retorted Link as he began to remove the top half of his tunic, along with his hat.

Link saw Ashei turn her head while Link got ready for bed, but paid no mind to it.

"Ash, which side of the bed do you want anyways?" asked Link.

"Just pick a side already." replied Ashei in a rushed tone.

"Before I regret my actions..." Ashei thought to herself.

"Are you okay?" asked Link.

"Yeah...I'll be...fine." replied Ashei halfheartedly.

"Ooo...kay?" said Link as confused as ever, as he placed himself under the sheets of the left side of the bed.

Ashei hesitantly sat on the right side of the bed. Her mind was still contemplating over what Link told her. Also, she was thinking of her own feelings and emotions. She knew what she want. She was just confused over what Link wants.

Link heard Ashei twiddling her thumbs, and he turned over to face her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked a worried Link.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Get some sleep, okay?" replied Ashei.

Link nodded, and bid her a goodnight as he turned back over, and drifted himself to sleep within a short time.

Ashei joined him in bed(no innuendo intended), but couldn't find herself asleep. She tossed and turned, but couldn't sleep at all.


After an hour of this, she sat back up. She noticed Link was fast asleep, but turned her way.

He looked at peace in his slumber. The way the moonlit rays struck his face turned his image into a sight she would never soon forget. All she could do, was stare.

"Link...one day...I'll tell you...how much I love you." said Ashei, confiding with herself.

At that moment, her eyes fell heavy. Sleep that she craved soo much, was beginning to take its course over her body. She slid back into her position on the bed, but turned to face the sleeping Link.

She smiled as she shed a single tear, as sleep took her consciousness in its arms, granting her much needed rest.


Link's sleep was broken by the morning sun pushing through his eyes. As he regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was Ashei's sleeping form facing his direction, with her hair scattered wildly over her face.

He moved her hair from her face, to see her still resting.

"You have a lot bottled inside you, don't you?" asked Link to Ashei, who was dead to the world.

Link got up quietly as to not disturb his sleeping partner. He went into the restroom, and went through his morning routine of washing his face with their sink, which was new to him. He studied it for several minutes before figuring to turn the knobs. He turned the one labeled 'C' first, and saw a stream of clear water falling from the head.

He placed his hands under the stream, and felt the cold water. He figured the one labeled 'H' was hot, so he turned both to a certain angle, causing warm water to flow. He splashed the water over his face and hair several times to remove any signs of drowsiness from his body.

He turned the water off, and reached for a nearby towel which was suspended from a silver rack on the wall. He walked into the main bedroom again, while scrubbing his hair and face dry.

"Ugh...Link?" he heard Ashei call to him through the towel.

He moved the towel to his neck, to see Ashei sitting up in the bed, still beneath the sheets.

"Rise and shine!" replied Link with a heart-warming smile.

She stretched and yawned herself fully awake. She then picked herself up from the bed and turned to straighten the sheets and pillows out.

"How did you sleep Link?" asked Ashei as she was still cleaning the bed.

"Great. That was the most comfortable sleep I've had ever. I don't know why I felt so peaceful last night." replied Link.

"Ha ha, good!" said Ashei.

"What about yourself?" asked Link.

"Well you know...it was OK." replied Ashei.

Ashei finished the bed, and turned to face Link.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Ashei.

"We should head to the lobby and find Tali. We need to meet Cid so we can get to the bottom of this mess." replied Link.

"Right." said Ashei.

The heroes then got dressed...well Ashei got dressed in the restroom while Link put his shirt, hat, and shoes on in the bedroom.

Link sat on the couch until Ashei was ready. A couple minutes later, and Ashei emerged from the restroom.

She now styled her hair into a fluffy ponytail, tied together to the left side of her head with a white band. Her hair flung about freely from this position, over her left shoulder and down her chest, reaching past her shoulders and stopping to her breast.

Her jacket was no longer a duster, but a fur-leather coat. The fur was two-toned with black and white, complimenting the black leather. Her hair complimented her undershirt, which was white.

She wore black pants which were fitting enough for her to move around in, and her boots were in-between her knees and her ankles.

"Ash..." began Link but found himself out of words.

"Look good, Link?" asked Ashei, tilting her head to the side.

"Hell yeah! Nice outfit!" complimented Link.

"Glad you like it. Now, let's go meet up with Tali." said Ashei to an agreeing Link.


"Hey Tali!" said Ashei as the heroes approached the front counter. They caught Tali's attention who signaled for them to wait a minute as she was dealing with someone. When the young woman left, Tali made her way over to the heroes.

"Damn, girl. You look good!" said Tali as she shared a high-five with Ashei.

"Thanks." replied Ashei.

"Link, you have got to be digging." said Tali, causing Ashei to turn red.

"Uh...digging? I don't know what that is." replied a dumbstruck Link.

"You mean to tell me that you haven't ta-"

"Okay! So when can we meet Cid?" said Ashei, cutting Tali off.

"Oh right. He's in the door behind my counter. You two can go ahead." replied Tali.

"Alright. Some answers." said Link as he made his way to the door.

When Link wasn't looking, Ashei smacked Tali on the back of her head. Tali rubbed her head and smiled feigning innocence.

"What? Its obvious you're in love with him." whispered Tali to Ashei.

"That's besides the point. You were going to ask him if he turned on my...water...supply." whispered Ashei.

"If I were him, you would be dry. Just saying." replied Tali in a joking tone.

"Whatever, crazy ass. I'm going ahead." said Ashei.

"OK. Ill keep working out here. Good luck!" replied Tali as the ladies returned to the front counter. Ashei went into the door Link went into moments ago, and Tali resumed her position at the front counter.


Ashei found Link sitting in a chair at a desk, opposite to a large man with yellow hair. Behind him, was a plaque with a rather large sword on it.

Link called to Ashei, and she sat in the empty seat next to him.

"You must be Lady Ashei. This young man has told me about you already." said the man, offering his hand over the table.

"And you must be Cid. Nice to meet you." replied Ashei as she took his hand in a handshake. His grip was firm, signaling he meant business.

"Okay, so the man you met last night, Don. He's a shady person. He leads a band of cutthroats around town at night, stealing from warehouses to reinforce his own bandit gang. I knew he was going to steal from the mayor sooner or later. I didn't count on him getting you two to do it for him." said Cid.

"We're sorry." replied both of our heroes. Cid waved his hand signaling no harm done.

"Tali got the signal when she recalled you two staying here. She said she felt a 'do-gooder' vibe from the both of you when she first met you."

"Fantastic. Do we scream sunshine and butterflies to her?" said Ashei, causing both Cid and Link to laugh.

"You have a fire in you, young lady. I can tell you're destined for great things in life, so long as you keep moving forward. Don't let anything hold you back from walking on your own too feet." said Cid to a wide-eyed Ashei.

Link smiled at Ashei's sheepish attitude when she rubbed her right arm with her left one.

"Anyway, I knew what Don was planning, so I had Tali watch over the mayor's place at night. She ran into you two there. This also isn't our first run-in with Don. He's a slippery one that, no matter how many times we catch him, he escapes our confinement."

"Maybe he has an inside man doing it for him?" said Link, offering his opinion.

"We thought that as well, but with just me and Tali, we are too under-manned to try and weed him or her out."

"Can we help?" asked our heroes at the same time.

"Ha! I can see what Tali means now. I was planning on asking you, but didn't know how." said a relieved Cid.

"How can we say no? Back in Hyrule, we saw many people die...important people...I don't want to sit by while people are suffering in plain sight. That's just not right, and I can't let that feeling go.", said Link.

It was Ashei's turn to smile at Link's unshakeable confidence.

"I see. You're definitely a strong man. I feel as if you're gonna be a great leader someday." replied Cid.

"Thanks." said Link.

"Now, here's what we plan on doing. I know where Cid is going to strike next, considering his plans of robbing the mayor of his documents failed. I'm going to have Tali await you two at-"

BOOOM!

A thunderous impact shakes the heroes from their seats, and to the floor.

Just then, Tali burst through the door, already with her spirit hands primed.

"I hate to bud in you two, but Cid decided to grow some balls and attack us in broad daylight!" said an uneasy Tali.

Cid arose from his seat, to reveal his large stature. His size mimicked Ganondorf's.

"What?! Tali, are there any people still within the hotel?"

"No. I checked the last person out, besides Link and Ashei, about an hour ago."

"Wait...what did this person look like?" asked Cid to Tali as Link helped Ashei to her feet.

"A middle aged man wearing a patch over his right eye. His records show he was staying here for about two weeks now."

"It was him! He left before the attack started. He did have an inside snake. Link! Ashei! No time to talk, we have to confront Don, here and now!" roared Cid as he grabbed his large blade from the plaque behind him.

"You got it." replied Link, as he armed his sword from his sheath.

"Right." replied Ashei as she drew her Wakizashi.

"I'm counting on you two. Tali! Lead the way!" commanded Cid.

She nodded, and the allies stormed out of the door, ready for a fight.


E/N:

Fire: This chapter was like in planning for soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long.

Alice: Good job getting it out there...after a month.

Fire: At least I got it out there =_=

Topaz: Ugh, can you get any f****** Slower?!

Link: Dang bro. The girls are on you.

Fire: Hard.

Arkaine: Your life.

Ashei: Well, I can sympathize with him. Life issues get the better of us all. At least he still does make it a priority to return here at a moments notice.

Fire: See, that's why I like you Ashei. You're too real.

Ashei: Is that an insult? I'm made by you in this story.

Fire: No, you're real.

Ashei: Now you're insulting my character too? Ohh, im going to kick your ass.

Fire: I'm not insulting anything, your heart is real!

Ashei: Ooooooo, you are soo dead! -rushes fire-

Fire: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-


Again, I do want to take the time to apologize to you all. Events like always keep me away from here. I wish I could explain what was going on, but I cant.

Next time, we get right into some action. Cid and Co. take on Don and his gang of bandits.

See yall later!