Legends: Chapter Nine

"I'll be back here this time tomorrow. I don't want to keep the helicopter in the cold for too long. Take your time. See you around." Kenta frowned at the gently falling snow. Most of it was created by the whirling helicopter blades. Mio frowned back, displeased by his offer. She looked smaller than usual, bunched up in white winter gear.

"See you." Good, she wasn't going to argue. "You better show up." Her pilot only gave her a curt nod. He had never been one for too many words. As the helicopter took to the air uplifts of snow engulfed her and the small shack, where Link and the princess resided in. She could already smell the fire she had demanded Link start.

The inside was just barely beginning to warm, but upon entering she was grateful for the good sized fire he had started. Despite all of her travelling Mio had never been very good with nature. The two were huddled in the corner, teeth chattering.

"Shut the door!" Link's voice was muffled beneath his scarf and jacket but she heard him clearly enough. She slammed it, just to make him jump. "Th-thank you." She could hear the frost in his voice. Zelda shot her an apologetic glance. She shouldn't be trying to make excuses for the boy.

"Is this Russia?" The princess asked quietly. She returned her line of sight to the only window in the fishing shack. A lost look overcame her delicate features. "It looks bare and flat."

Mio settled across the fire from them, her back to the door. "No." Both sets of bright blue eyes snapped to her. She took them somewhere else? Without telling them? "Russia is actually pretty nice in the summer. Hiver decided that the object was in the Artic instead. It's always cold here. I advise you try to keep as warm as possible."

"How long must we stay here?" Zelda blatantly snuggled closer to Link. In his frigid state he had no objection toward the action.

"Just the night. We'll leave tomorrow morning for the lab. It's only a half an hour walk away." Mio smirked at Link when he visibly shivered. Oh yes, this whole situation was just one big mess.

"And we have to walk through that?" He gestured his thumb to the window.

"Oh suck it up." Link curled further into himself, clearly unwilling to deal with her. If Mio didn't know any better she'd say he was part cat.

Honestly, she didn't want to put them through this. Not for their sake, but her own. They'd only be in the way. Or worse, get killed. Working on her own was Mio's strongest point, as was hunting down the Organization and their scandals. If it weren't for the safe room in the facility that Hiver had been gracious enough to point out on the map, she wouldn't know what to do with them. Keeping them in the fishing shack like wild animals would only give them frostbite or hypothermia. Those were the last things she wanted to treat.

For now, she'd cuddle up in her parka and sleeping bag with her DS and abandoned Pokémon games. Hopefully the other two would be able to sleep enough to make it through the next twenty-four hours.

Mio was pleasantly surprised by the next day's weather. Sure it was still well below freezing point, but it was a fine, calm day with no bone chilling wind. The Hyrulians didn't see why she approved of the weather. It was freezing. Link shivered the entire way. He would have complained if it didn't feel like his lips were frozen shut in a permanent line.

He remained absolutely silent as they continued to trudge through the snow. His legs moved awkwardly over each drift; they were numb and itching, each movement its own displeasure. His boyish face was red from the cold and Link fought, none too successfully to contain his sniffles. Each inhale of the artic air burned his lungs. The air held too little moisture regardless of being knee deep in snow. He had never been this cold in his life, and it was a horrible first impression of snow.

Yet, he held his complaints in. Mio would only ignore him or tell him to shut up. Its not that she was a dreadful person. Sure, she was rude and rough around the edges, but she at least helped them enough to get by. She didn't have to teach them about the modern world, but she still did. Though, a little sympathy couldn't hurt.

As they ascended to the top of a hill their destination came into view. Link was flooded with relief, and for a moment it was easier to breathe. The building was more so a three story steel box, the only accessible window rested on the top floor. He could taste the warmth that must linger inside. His legs moved faster with a sense of hope. He was about to leap into a sprint, a mad dash for heat, when he found himself tossed face-first into the snow. When he managed lift himself, Mio was frowning down at him. A curious Zelda glanced at him, as if she hadn't witnessed Mio throwing him like a rag doll.

"What do you think you're doing? You're nuts if you think you can just jog in there." She didn't help him to his feet, but waited patiently for him to get up. "Listen closely. The people in there don't want us there. Fact: Every last one of them wants me dead. Now, we'll be grappling to the third floor. I'll be going up first to help you two up. We're going up on the East side where there's only one window. It'll lead us into the safe room. Unless Hiver lied about that too. Come on."

They continued their walk in a wide circle, cautiously making their way to the safest side. There was a distinct lack of guards.

"If they don't want anyone around, why is there such minimum security?" Link thought he seen a small smirk grace her features.

"Because no one is supposed to know about this place. And if this place doesn't exist, who would guard it? The Organization is so cocky in their own minds that they think they can get away without having to pay for extra workers. Besides, by the time I'm through here no one will have to worry about it."

Link's eyes jumped up from his white boots to the back of Mio's head. What had she meant by that? Her voice had held a tone of malice. It was anything but reassuring. He couldn't dwell on that thought for long as they came to a stop beside the eastern wall. The promise of warmth in a matter of moments took hold of any thought his mind managed to produce.

Mio caught his attention, breaking his gaze with the window. She was whipping a hook about with an expert's grace. One flick of the wrist and the hook whizzed upward and clung to the window's ledge. She tugged on it roughly, ensuring it was secure. Hiver hadn't lied, the room was left for her to take. He even left the window open for her.

"I'll help you up in a minute. Zelda should go after me since she'll struggle the most. Besides, if she falls you'll have to catch her." Mio didn't have to look to know Link understood. No other word was given before the smaller girl tied the rope around her wrist and began to climb the wall; one hand over the other, legs placed firmly on the wall. It was as if she did this every other weekend. Not a minute had passed before she was in the window.

Zelda released a low whimper. How could she possibly pull this off? To hang from the hook seemed dangerous enough, but to climb up a wall seemed nearly impossible. She knew very well that she was the weakest of the small group. The physical strength to do this was not in her skill set.

"Ready?" Mio called as lightly as possible. She untied the hook from the rope swiftly. "I'll pull you up." A rush of air left her lungs. Thank the goddesses, she didn't have to make a fool of herself in front of Link. The rope fell ungracefully before her and was given a hand from Link in tying it around her petite waist. Her hands grasped the coarse rope, her nervousness showed through white knuckles. She was grateful for the thick white gloves. The rope would have bit harshly into her skin otherwise.

Above, Mio settled one foot against the wall and both hands were secured around the rope. She knew for a fact that the princess wasn't very heavy and pulling her up would be a breeze. When the princess was secure Mio began to heave her up inch by inch. It wasn't so bad, the process only took a couple of minutes at most. Once at the top Mio pulled her in by the arms and the heat of the room enveloped her.

"You good?" Mio evaluated the princess quickly, but turned away when she received a nod. Without missing a beat the rope was thrown to Link. He took less time, as he climbed as she pulled. He only had one thing to say upon entering the room.

"W-warmth!"

"Quiet." Mio quickly shut the window and sent him a sour look. "No ones using this room, that doesn't mean they can't hear you." He was a bout to give her a snide retort but it died upon his tongue. Without a care in the world Mio stripped off her white winter suit. Beneath it she wore a tight pair of pants and a grey tank top. If stripping wasn't indecent enough, what she wore was. From the Kokiri pouch at her side she withdrew a pair of flat sneakers and proceeded to put them on. She ignored the looks from the Hyrulians.

Mio waited patiently for the other two to warm up. Unlike them she had no issue with the cold. Winter was her favourite season. They took longer than she liked, but decided not to comment on it. Zelda was the first to shed her parka, Link not too far behind her.

"Zelda, you'll have to stay here. No one will be coming to this room, and I'll lock it just in case. You'll know when its me knocking. As for you," she turned to the blond in question "you're coming with me. You think I can't handle myself, that you're a better fighter than me? Lets see how you fare in a day of my life, hm?" That was a challenge. He took the bait swiftly.

Mio crouched beside the door for a moment, listening intently through the steel. She reached for her Kokiri pouch and pulled out the last thing he wanted to see her holding; a gun. It was smaller than the ones in her games. It shone with a bright silver sheen. It was obviously well taken care of.

"What are you planning on doing with that?"

"Listen and listen close, Blondie. Hyrule may be enjoying its peaceful days, but the rest of the world has always, always, been at war. Those people out there, they're the enemy, whether the world knows it or not." Link stood faster than she'd seen him move before. He kept his voice low but harsh.

"No, no, no. You don't plan on killing someone, do you?" She couldn't, there was no way. Not a human life. It's something he'd never done, swore never to do. It was wrong. She was wrong.

"Yes I do. They'd kill me in a heartbeat, its only fair." She stood facing him. Despite her lack of height she tried her best to seem intimidating. "You haven't a clue. The world is a harsh, cold place. It'd kill you in seconds. The people here are no better than monsters, corrupted by greed and power. You haven't seen half the things I have, but I don't need to explain myself to you. You'll see it all for yourself." She had pulled out another object, a mask. Something sparked in his mind but he suppressed. It was expertly crafted, painted all white with a few red lines. Mio caught his stare and sighed before explaining.

"They've never figured out who I really am yet. I wear this to keep my identity safe, and well, its sort of a calling card. I'm known as No Name. Lets just say I'm infamous, shall we?" She tied it beneath her hair, securing it into place. "You should be fine, you're not registered anywhere in the modern world. They can't track you down." Link didn't know what that meant, but he nodded in agreement. "Come on, lets get this over with. It'll be easier to find the damn thing if there's two of us. At least you're nimble..." Mio took a quick peek outside of the room before slinking through. Link fastened his sword tighter, lowering it to be hidden completely behind his back. A gentle hand stopped him before he could leave.

Zelda stared at him in concern. "Be careful."

"I know." He didn't want to go really, now that he knew Mio's true intentions, but arguing would only waste time and she was right. The sooner they found what they were looking for, the better. "There's some food in the pouch I left. Stay safe."

Mio manoeuvred faster than he had expected. She was already down a hallway, crouched beside a turn. The entire place felt foreign. The white walls, the white linoleum floor, the sterile air. It too felt just as wrong as Mio's plans. The girl in question signalled for him to draw closer. He crouched beside her, back pressed to the wall.

"Be as silent as possible and follow my every movement." Her voice sounded odd behind her mask. Her hand laid calmly over the pistol at her side. "We need to get down to the second basement floor. The elevator is too risky..." Link barely recalled the glass room from the mall that went up and down. "The stairs are our only option." She peered around the corner; clear.

She motioned for Link to follow and made a break for the stairs. They made it down the first two sets safely, but paused at the top of the third set leading to the basement.

"There are people down there. You can stay here while I clear out the area." As she made her way to move Link's hand came down on her shoulder, holding her in place. She took a moment to stare at his hand, then him. What did he think he was doing?

"Please don't kill anyone. It isn't right..." She grimaced at him. Why couldn't he understand?

"Link." Her firm voice prompted him to remove his hold from her person. "These aren't people. They don't deserve your compassion, or anyone else's for that matter. Excuse me." She left him in the middle of the stairwell. She could tolerate his dislike of killing people, she had been that way at some point. How old had she been, nine? It didn't take her long to learn it was a dog eat dog world, and when a dog refused to fight they were deemed useless. A useless dog is taken out back to be disposed of, they offered nothing in life.

She pressed a sensitive ear to the cold steel door. There were voices chattering on the other side. If she had to give a guess she'd say they were Finnish. That was the thing about the Organization, every country had a part in it. Although the words were lost on her she was able to pick out five distinct voices. There could be, and most likely were, more of them. She tightened the silencer on her pistol and clicked off the safety. In one swift motion she stood and kicked in the door.

The scrapping of metal and the light clapping of Mio's shoes startled the scientists within. She'd already shot down four of them by the time the door had slammed shut once more and the only sound was the barely audible gun shots. Mio stood atop of a desk, holding the last living man at gun point. He stammered on his broken English words, too shocked to scream.

"N-no Name...!"

"Surprised?" Mio cocked her head, but the man couldn't see her disgusted expression. She could see the fear in the man's eyes clearly. Death had kicked down his door, and was holding him by his collar. "So what is it that you do here?"

The man stiffened. His skin was practically glowing with how white he had gone, but he held his ground. His brown eyes sparked with defiance. Mio's own eyes narrowed dangerously behind her mask.

"None of business!" She shot him point blank between the eyes and let his body drop. She didn't have time for insolence. She'd find the files eventually. Papers and files were thrown as she tried to find anything specific. If only everything wasn't written in German. As if the whole operation wasn't fishy enough she could hear a commotion below her, and they weren't making a break for the stairs or elevator. She stopped only to listen more intently. Shuffling, gasping, moaning, screaming and the faintest hint of beeping.

Lets sum this up Mio. They're in the Artic, where no one can reach them, they're Finnish, but everything is written in German and they have an extensive basement system, with ten underground floors. This could result badly if this is what I think it is.

She had encountered similar facilities before with similar statistics. From here on it was bound to get very gruesome, very fast. The Organization may be government funded, but that meant nothing. They were scum that resorted to the dirtiest of things, even if the public, and most time the government themselves, are blind to it. They were especially notorious for human experiments. Such an underground, out of the way facility as this one was often used for that.

She gathered all the files she could and stuffed them into her pouch. She'd hand them over to Kenta, he always had people looking for such things. Until then she'd assume the worst. Peering through the door she had entered she signalled Link in. "Try not to look at the ground."

"Why?" He knew why, but the question was spoken regardless. Maybe he was wrong? From the corner of his eye he spotted a splotch of red liquid and a hand poked out from behind the desk. His vision jumped to the ceiling. She did though...

"Just trust me on it. Follow me closely." He did as told, too ill to disobey. They came to the opposing door. How many had she...? He didn't dare finish that thought. He knew she was a hardened person, but this was a bit much. She was too calm about it. That fact was enough to disturb him.

"There's a hall behind this door. It'll lead to another hall and from there we have take an elevator. I can't guarantee what's down there or that we'll get away unscathed. Ready? We're running the whole way. Keep up, will you?" Mio threw the door open and took off running. He stood, still in shock, for a moment before realizing he was supposed to be following. She was fast having already reached the next turn before he began to stride after her.

The screeching of his shoes losing grip echoed through the white halls. For a second he felt like he was flying, then he realized he was falling. Then he realized this certainly wasn't his day. Link's back made contact with the hard floor first, his scabbard dug into his spin and then the pain quickly spread to his skull. It evaporated quickly, leaving only the feeling of being wet. For a moment, only a small, short moment, he thought he had wet himself. He sat up in a flash and evaluated himself, eyes wide. He barely spotted Mio jogging toward him. Blood. The thick fluid covered the floor and him. It was seeping through the door to his left. He turned sharply to Mio. She looked almost as surprised.

"You didn't...?" Was it her doing? No, she couldn't have. She ran straight. She shook her head, then moved to evaluate the door. There was no audible movement behind it, but something was there. The blood was fresh, it hadn't been noticeable when she had taken off.

"Are you alright?" She whispered. He only nodded numbly, regarding her with oddly focused eyes. "Stay as quiet as possible." He crouched onto his feet. She too was low to the ground, a gloved hand resting on the doorknob. "I'll go in. You should stay here for now and try to get some of that blood off." Her voice remained steady, calm. She snuck into the room, closing the door behind her.

She scuffled behind the nearest desk. A thick blood trail lead around it. If someone was here they would have heard Link slip. They may have mistaken him as an employee but still. Mio readied her pistol. She ghosted around the desk and spotted the source of the red liquid. A man laid clearly dead, his bare chest was burst open. Bones stuck out around the gapping hole, the inside still held all of the organs, though they were squish into the back. Blood was still pouring in a low stream from the wound. She averted her eyes. He was dead, he held no interest. She needed to find anything that may still be living. The room was simply empty. There was nothing. Bare floors, white walls, single ceiling light on a white ceiling; she might as well have been in a wider hallway.

"D-don't move!" The man's voice came from behind her. Dammit. I forgot my corners. I'll be lucky if I only get shot once. "You're that girl, No Name, right? Put your hands where I can see them!" Mio dropped her pistol and complied. Her steady hands rose to stop against her head.

"Very good." She complimented. "You're English is pretty good too. Let me guess, you're American?"

"Canadian."

"Whatever. Mind telling me what happened?" Her snippy request went unanswered. Silence was all that greeted her. "Hello?"

"It's none of your business." Oh. So he knew what was going on. "The Organization has a really high price on your head. You shouldn't have interfered." He was joking right? She snorted at him.

"That's where you're wrong, this is my business. You're pretty naive, especially for someone the Organization trusts when it comes to human experiments."

"Enough!" He cocked his pistol. Mio stood and turned to face him in one quick, fluid motion. With the deft flick of her wrist the man dropped his weapon. He fell to the floor, clutching his hand. His pained screams did nothing to phase her.

"You're too slow." Mio waltzed to her pistol and retrieved it. "You should have armed that before speaking. In fact, you should have shot me point blank without opening your trap." She aimed her sights at his exposed forehead. He was younger than she expected, he must have been a smoker. His dark brown hair was a contrast to his pale skin and eyes. The grey-green orbs never left her mask. He gripped the senbon lodged in his hand, an attempt to pull it out. "Don't you dare move. You know I'll shoot."

"What do you want?" He asked, defeated.

"What happened here?"

"It went wrong. All of it. It was supposed to take another three months, but it escalated too quickly."

"What happened?" Her patience were thinning. She had other things to do.

"It was a man-made parasite, designed to live off of the waste in humans and return the energy produced, or at least most of it. It was supposed to phase out fatigue, even sleep but... It kept all the extra energy for itself, tried to break free. It died when exposed to oxygen though. We didn't think it'd grow. Please, that's all I know. Let me live."

"Not a chance."

Link waited with growing anxiety, head pushed up against the door, for Mio. He heard everything, even the ending pop and the thump the body made as it fell. He nearly retched, from the killing or what the man spoke of, maybe even the blood stuck in his hair, he was unsure. Already his head pounded with an on coming headache. He pulled away from the door when Mio returned to the hall.

"Why?"

"He knew too much. That, and he'd call for help. Then we'd be screwed and you could say goodbye to freedom, if not life. He was going to shoot me first anyway. Come on, we're wasting time." He followed her down the hall and into the elevator. The one at the mall had been made of glass, but this one was more like a steel box. A single light lit the room.

"I though we were avoiding these?"

"Its the only way down. If I was the only one, I'd use the vents, but your shoulder are too broad to fit." The doors slid open and Mio dropped to crouch. Link followed suit, hiding in the corner as she did. "This will lead through a maze of hallways. For all we know someone could be down there. If not, we're running. Try to keep up and keep your ears open. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" She peered around the corner of the open elevator; nothing. Without a word she took off. Once more Link was left sitting there unexpectedly and he had to sprint in order to catch up.

Left, left, right, forward, right, left. She took turns sporadically. He almost lost track of the slip of a girl once or twice. He had to admit, if only to himself, that Mio was fast. It must have had something to do with her shortness. After a while he figured she was lost, that they were running in circles. Collision was immanent as Mio came to a sudden stop. Link wasn't sure what surprised him more; how fast she was, how quickly she could stop running or the fact that she barely budged when he ran into her full-tilt. She was her own miniature tank.

"Do you mind?" She whispered in harsh tones. He was not given a chance to respond. She pointed to a door down the hall to the left. "Whatever we're looking for is in there."