The Followings of a Hero and his Princess
Pairing: Zelink
Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda, it's characters, or the general gist of this story (kudos to Shooting star180 for letting me use your idea).
Summary: Deep inside the belly of the Deity Jabu-Jabu, Link and Zelda face their toughest foe yet, Barinade, just as Impa begins interrogating The King. Unfortunately for them, he's not as good at stalling as Darunia.
A/N I live! This is another boss battle mostly, so the squeamish should skip the battle bits. I know I haven't updated in a while, but school has kept me busy. I hope this makes up for it .
Barinade must have been the most repulsive thing either Zelda or Link ever laid their eyes upon. It was covered by a wall of jellyfish, and from what could be seen of the actual body, it seemed like a huge throbbing nucleus. It was attached to the ceiling by threads of veins and arteries. Electricity zipped up and down said blood containers every now and then. The jellyfish appeared to be feeding it electricity.
"Kyaa!" a girly scream came from above. Tangled in Barinade's veins was Ruto. She was badly injured from the electric currents, but appeared to be holding onto the stone just fine.
"Zelda, I'm going to cut Ruto loose. You watch her, and I'll get rid of this… thing." Link whispered, backing away slowly as not to alert the monster to their position.
"Pink! Zelba! Save me from Barinade! He's gonna cook me into fish stew like in the stories!" Ruto began to flail exuberantly, the sapphire slipping dangerously around in her hand.
"Shut up!" Link finally yelled. He released his boomerang onto an unsuspecting Barinade. The boomerang appeared to only bother the monster, but it gave Ruto enough wiggle room to squirm free. She tumbled headfirst onto the ground. The stone rolled across the room, finally free from Ruto's grip. Barinade, sensing it's significance, extended a bolt of lightning and brought the stone within the folds of it's body.
All of the arteries and veins broke off the ceiling and zipped around dangerously. A hole opened illogically under the beast, and Barinade dropped through. It rolled a short distance and reattached itself. Link bent down and looked down the hole.
"You get Ruto to a safe place and join me. I'm gonna need backup." Link snarled.
"Oh no you di-int. You did not just exclude me from this fight. My mother's stone is in there, and I'm gonna give it to Link!" the Zora yelled. She leapt down the hole, despite Link's attempts to keep her on the ledge.
"Suggestions?" Zelda asked after hearing a scream. Link shrugged and jumped down the hole, landing with a roll. Zelda followed suit, landing in Link's arms. The two turned to look for Ruto. She was crumpled against a wall, and even though she was unconscious, the stone was in her fist.
"I think we underestimate her." Link said, pulling out his boomerang. It was time for a fight.
Meanwhile, Impa had managed to find herself in front of King Zora. Unlike Darunia, he did not see the urgency in keeping Zelda and Link's location a secret.
"Ah yes, Zelda and Pink." The king said. He rubbed his chin as Impa tapped her foot on the platform impatiently. "Ah yes, they were on a mission inside of Lord Jabu Jabu." He smiled as memories returned.
"They're what?" Impa cried. She flew past the king at lightning speed, despite not knowing where or who Jabu Jabu was.
As Zelda (unwillingly) lugged Ruto's unresponsive body to a safe corner, Link sized up the monster. If he could just kill the jellyfish that surrounded the beast, he would be able to get to the nucleus and kill it.
"Any ideas yet?" Zelda ran panting up to Link. Barinade suddenly leapt to life. Jellyfish flew in all directions, attached by a bolt of lightning. Link saw his opening.
"Just a couple!" he yelled, pulling Zelda back and letting his boomerang fly. It made a swift ark and hit a jellyfish, stopping it in it's tracks. "Damn it!" he swore loudly and began weaving between the jellyfish.
"Here!" Zelda cried. As Link approached it, there was a flash. The jellyfish froze long enough for Link to grab his boomerang and toss it again. This time, it severed several of the lightning strings and the jellyfish died.
"Ha! You're a genius! Thanks, Zel!" Link laughed. He caught his boomerang and tossed it again playfully. Finally he was getting used to the saving-the-world business.
As Zelda watched Link dart around like a child in an egg hunt, she couldn't help but notice the joy on his face. Normally he was so serious, but now he seemed to love the thrill of battle.
"Having fun?" she called out. Link nodded, as if it were an arcade game. He sliced a tentacle with ease and caught the boomerang.
"Watch this!" he smiled and tossed the boomerang under his leg. It spun wildly off course and crashed into the wall beside Zelda. The princess sighed and froze time long enough to toss the toy back to him.
"Don't be careless, this is a battle." She scolded. There was a moan beside her. Zelda jumped and looked down. Ruto had woken up and was examining her palm. It had broken open from gripping the stone and was bleeding freely onto her leg and arm. Hesitantly, she stopped a drop and licked her finger.
"What's happening?" she asked groggily. She looked over at Link, obviously dazed. "Ah." She answered her own question.
"Don't call out to him." Zelda warned. Ruto swatted at the princess with her clean hand.
Link gave the boomerang a final toss. It severed the final electric string, and Barinade was fully exposed. With a battle cry, he unsheathed his sword and ran at the beast.
"Die!" he yelled and did a magnificent leap into the air. He jammed his sword into the nucleus several times during his descent. Dark blood oozed out of its wounds and seeped onto the ground. Link switched hands and made thin cuts on the side he could reach. Blood splayed from the slices and splashed onto Link's face.
"Eew!" a female voice cried. It was followed promptly by the sound of a rather large object hitting another and a whimper of pain. Ignoring it, Link went for his big finish.
"Upper cut, downward thrust!" he cried, following suit with his sword. " Six, seven, eight, nine! Green Whirlwind!" Link cried. He sliced the monster and spun in a tight circle, sword out.
"Woo! Go Linkie-poo!" Ruto cried again. This time Zelda didn't bother to correct her misbehaviors.
"Go to hell." Link told Barinade sternly. He thrust with his sword once more. There was an unpleasant moan, and Barinade melted. Literally. Pulling his sword from it's bloody corpse, Link examined his blade. Once pure and shining, it was now coated with despair and destruction. The battle was over.
"Wowwie! You were awesome with you're six, eleven, eight, nine kaboom!" Ruto gaped. She took a running leap and flew at the battle-weary Kokiri, knocking them both to the ground. Zelda followed hesitantly.
"Rudo, do you habe da stome?" Link asked, his windpipes crushed by his new fan girl. Ruto flashed it proudly in his eyes. Link somehow managed to get up and see Zelda.
"Nice job, green whirlwind." The princess teased, tweaking his nose. Link grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes seriously. Zelda's heart began to pound, her face reddening.
"Thank you. It means a lot to me." He said, serious as his expression said. Zelda clenched her eyes closed. Link was moving closer. She heard her heartbeat in her ears. She felt his presence so near to her. She opened her eyes. Link was looking so kindly at her, advancing slowly.
"Heh heh, do you have a twin?" she asked suddenly. With a sudden rush of blackness, she passed out. Link caught her and hoisted her into his arms with a sigh.
"An opportunity missed." He shook his head. His serious moment was quickly ruined by a blue blur attacking him from behind.
"Put miss priss down. I've got something important 'ta give ya!" Ruto grinned. Link set Zelda down in annoyance and wiped his brow.
"What?" he asked. He saw Ruto's hands clasped behind her back. Suddenly it hit him. But why make such a big deal out of it.
"Marry me!" the zora girl screeched, thrusting the stone at Link's nose. Link lost his balance and collapsed onto his butt. Ruto was still grinning.
"Wha-what? M-marry you? What the hell are you talkin' about?" Link said, blushing slightly. He reached out to take the stone, but Ruto closed her hands around it.
"No no no, mister. This is the Zora Engagement Ring. If you take it, you have to marry me someday. Now, marry me, or no stone." Ruto demanded. Link crossed his fingers behind his back.
"Whatever. Just give me the stone before Zelda wakes up and throttles you for being obstinate." Link sighed. Ruto gave a happy grin and placed the slightly bloody stone into his hands.
Lucky for Ruto, Zelda woke up a minute later and she was spared. After searching every corner of the room for a blue diamond, they decided the only way out was to walk.
"This sucks." Ruto said. They must have searched for half an hour with no positive results. Link rolled his eyes.
"We'll be out in no time. Just hold your horses." Zelda snapped. Boy that girl could change emotions quickly. She'd gone from a bouncy fish stick to an annoying poisoned cod.
"Linkie, will you-"
"No."
"But you don't even know what I-"
"No."
"Wah! You're being mean to your future-"
"Shut up!"
"What are you talking about?" Zelda demanded. The arguing pair stuttered to a halt.
"Nothing." They said in unison. Zelda rolled her eyes and whipped around, only to be greeted by the worst possible image.
"Impa! Um, what are you doing here?" Zelda stuttered, pressing her fingers together innocently. Impa gave each of the three kids a stern stare.
"You know exactly why I'm here."
A/N Sorry it took me so long! Life is getting a little hard on me right now, so I was a little busy. I know it was short and probably crappy, but I'm under a lot of stress, so please don't be mad!
