A/N: Much too late for my own good, here is Jabu-Jabu's Belly. I'm happy because once this is finished I can also put up the next chapter, which I've already written!

Inujoey: Didn't expect to see you here too! He did have to have something to carry all his stuff around with. I got the idea somewhere… I just don't remember where!

Symphony of Dreams: (sweatdrop) Erm… maybe after I've played the game enough… which I haven't… not yet at least…

Kimyb: Hello, friend! Sad that I won't see you much, if at all, this year. -- But I'm glad you liked my story! I liked yours!

MoombaRave: (evil grin… very evil grin indeed) You have no idea… But that's the beauty of novelizations… you can do what you want… whatever you want…

"Wow… is this a lake?" Link asked, peering out over what seemed, to him, to be a vast expanse of water. Some logs lay in the shallows. Three sides of the water were bordered by the mountains, sometimes with tiny shores. The fourth side was the edge of the cliff over which the waterfall tumbled. A safety fence was hammered into the rim.

"No, Link, this is hardly a duckpond compared to Lake Hylia," Navi said with a giggle.

"What's a duck?"

"It's a kind of bird."

"Then why isn't this called Zora's Duckpond?"

Navi laughed heartily. "Because Zora's Fountain sounds fancier. Look, Link! That must be Lord Jabu-Jabu!"

Link stared, blue eyes wide, as a massive fish surfaced in the deep part of the duckpond. It stared at him through tiny black eyes.

"How do we get inside?" Link managed to ask.

"The fish, Link, for goodness' sake!" Navi replied, smacking him lightly on the side of his head. "Honestly, you'd think you'd never seen a whale before!"

"I haven't," Link said truthfully.

"Really? Oh, of course not. But anyway, give him the fish!"

How? Link was tempted to ask. But he approached the edge, standing in front of Jabu-Jabu's head.

"Um… here you go," he said, fishing the bottle out of his magical bag and uncorking it. He dumped the fish and its water onto the ground, where it flopped around helplessly. "Breakfast."

For a tense moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, Jabu-Jabu opened his mouth wide. Uncertain, Link picked up the fish and walked inside, Navi following. The jaws snapped shut, leaving no way of returning.

It took a moment for Link's eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness, but Navi's glow lit the way nicely. As could be expected from Jabu-Jabu's size, his mouth was like a large chamber. A foot or so of water covered the floor, and Link dropped the small fish safely back into its home element.

An odd bouncing sound met his ears. Curious, he took a few steps, Navi lighting the way. All he saw were some large bubbles.

"Hold it, Link," Navi cautioned. "Those aren't ordinary bubbles. They're monsters!"

There was a splash ahead and Link looked around to see another Octorok. With a yell, he managed to pull off his shield in time to block the stone it spat at him. It went soaring back and… missed grandly. The rock whizzed through the air and hit an odd looking uvula on the top of Jabu-Jabu's mouth. There was a click, followed by the sound of bars sliding open.

"Come on, Link," Navi urged.

"I have to finish this guy off first!" Link replied, again blocking a rock. This time it hit the creature squarely, and it gave a squeak and vanished.

"I have a feeling your sword won't do any good against those bubble things," Navi advised. "Just avoid them, until we figure out what will work on them."

Link sloshed through the water, trying not to think of what exactly he was walking on, until Navi's glow illuminated a door.

"A door in Jabu-Jabu?" he asked. Then he shrugged. "Magic. Whatever."

"The uvula must have opened it," Navi suggested. "What a strange place this is!"

The door slid up as Link approached, and back down as they went through it. The next room was even larger than the mouth, but it had strange sinkholes everywhere, as well as floating creatures with long tentacles. Just before him was a young Zora girl, maybe older than Dema, but with the same face.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded crossly. Link was momentarily taken aback.

"Are you Princess Ruto?" he asked finally.

"Yes."

"I'm here to rescue you! I found your message, and your father sent me!"

Ruto scowled. "My message? What are you talking about? I didn't send for help! I've been coming in here for years! But yesterday I was feeding Lord Jabu-Jabu and he swallowed my… Why should I tell you? Get out of here! I don't need help and I certainly wouldn't ask for it if I did!"

The princess turned and began to walk away, but instead fell into a sinkhole. Her wail vanished into the floor with her. Being the good little hero that he was, Link promptly followed. The instant he stepped on the sinkhole, it seemed to suck him down and then he was falling. He landed hard on solid ground and stood up to see Princess Ruto once more. She was still frowning, but this time it wasn't so much in anger as confusion.

"You're that worried about me?" she asked. Link nodded.

"Everyone's really worried about you," he said. "Your father and brother most of all."

"But I can't leave until I've found…" Ruto began, then stopped. "Fine. If you're such a hero, you'll help me find what I'm looking for, and then you can take me back to my father. But hold on just a second while I grab something, okay?"

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed through the door behind her.

"Wait, Ruto! It might be…"

The door slammed in his face, and he took a moment to brush himself off.

"What are we helping her for?" Navi exploded. "Spoiled little brat! She's so aggravating!"

"Yeah, well, she's in trouble," Link countered. He opened the door to see Ruto hopping up onto a small platform. She bent over to pick something up.

"I found it! I found it!" she cried, holding up a star-shaped sapphire. "The Zora's Sapphire! I was so worried when Jabu-Jabu swallowed it!" She turned happily to Link. "Never mind. I guess you won't be needing that thing I was going to give you anyway. You can take me back now…"

Suddenly the platform she was standing on lifted into a hole in the ceiling. Link heard Ruto's voice crying, "EEEK! What is this? An octopus?"

"Link, what's that?" Navi asked, flying swiftly to where the platform had been. Link followed and picked up a strange, bent piece of heavy wood. A single red jewel was embedded in the center.

"Just an old piece of wood," Link muttered. "I need to save Ruto."

"WATCH OUT!"

Navi flew against his head as hard as possible. He looked up and dove out of the way just in time as the platform plummeted back down with a thunderous crash. But it definitely wasn't Ruto standing on it now.

The thing looked like a giant, bloated Octorok. It had a wiggling snout and odd greenish-yellow eyes. With a thump, it hopped down to Link's level. Link struggled to his feet just as it charged. The impact knocked him down once more, but the thing had overshot him too far. As Link got up, he saw a large, green blister on its back.

"Hit that, Link!" Navi screeched.

"Too late!"

The thing had turned around and was coming back for another attack. Link did the first thing he could think of and hurled the stick of wood at it. To his utter amazement, it began to glow and spin, still flying for the giant thing. It knocked it in between its eyes and came back, straight into Link's hand again. The thing looked stunned. Then, with a loud squeal, it turned and began to run away. Link threw the stick again and the blister burst, splattering pus everywhere.

"Yuck," Link sighed. "Ah well."

He dashed forward, drawing his sword in the same movement, and struck the spot where the blister had been several times. Finally, the creature fell face forward and began to shrink. When it was the size of a normal Octorok, it burned completely away in blue flames.

"You did it, Link!"

Link nodded, staring at the stick in his hand. "What is this thing?"

"It must be what Princess Ruto wanted to give you," Navi said matter-of-factly. "But it's useful, anyway. Keep it. It might work on enemies the sword or slingshot can't kill. And I'm willing to bet we can pull far-off objects toward us now."

Link clambered awkwardly onto the platform, keeping the sword and stick out. With a rumble, the platform lifted him up through the hole as well. He blinked once or twice, getting used to the sudden blaze of flickering light. What he saw made him step back.

In the exact center of the room was a huge, puffy red and purple shape. It was covered in glowing, sparking tentacles and large blobs of something. As he looked, it began to fizz ferociously and the blobs flew off, attached by more tentacles, headed for him.

"That's got to be the most disgusting thing I've seen in my life," Navi cried. "Hit the blobs with the stick, Link!"

Link hurled the stick as hard as he could. It spun in a wide circle, slicing through two of the tentacles. The blobs vanished and the thing, whatever it was, shrieked deafeningly. The blobs retracted, but now the protective wall was missing two blobs. Link threw the stick again, and it struck exactly in the open spots. The thing fell with an almighty crash, twitching, and Link dove forward with his sword at the ready. One of the loose tentacles lashed around and struck him, sending waves of pain threw him. He flew back and hit the ground hard, sparks skittering around him, smoking from some burns on his face and arms.

"Get up, Link!" Navi cried. A new voice joined her.

"Come on, Hero! It's coming!" Ruto cried, shaking him roughly. "Don't just sit there!"

With a cry of frustration, she snatched the stick out of his hand and flung it at the monster, which had been drawing nearer. It fell over once more. Link got up dizzily and ran forward, avoiding the flying tentacles, and thrust his sword into the open space.

Sparks fizzed up his arms, but he didn't let go of the sword. The screech the thing made was almost deafening, but he hung on relentlessly, praying to the Goddesses that he wouldn't be smashed when it fell.

The thing toppled backwards, pulling itself free of the sword. Yellow goo flooded out of the wound as it groggily crashed into the wall, then lay still, twitching madly. Suddenly it exploded into thousands of tiny sparks, which sparkled harmlessly as they fell to the ground.

Link was about to fall over when Ruto seized him in an enormous hug.

"You did it!" she cried. "You were a lot tougher than I thought! You were so cool!"

Navi flicked her in annoyance. Ruto fell off, rubbing her head.

"Ouch, stupid fairy," she grumbled. "Just trying to show my gratitude."

Link took a nervous step backwards and felt one of the large hearts flooding into him. The burns on his skin cooled and healed, and the aches from the giant Octorok hitting him vanished. Ruto made a surprised exclamation.

"Oh, look, you're even stronger than before," she cooed. She shot Link a strange look. "You know, I think I like you," she said, giggling. "I guess I'll give you the Zora's Sapphire."

The gem appeared out of thin air in her hands. She presented it to him and he put it eagerly into his bag. Ruto lowered her voice as though telling a secret.

"My mother told me only to give it to the man I was going to marry!" she whispered. Link realized the implications of this in a flash and shot Navi a pleading look. "Think of it as the Engagement Ring of the Zoras."

"Er… well… thanks," Link stuttered, backing up another step. His face was definitely going red with embarrassment.

"Let's keep it a secret from my father, okay?" Ruto giggled again. "Just imagine the look on his face when he finds out we're betrothed!"

Next chapter coming immediately, not to worry!