SoS: Ugh, this story is boring! I can't come up with any more details, but I have to keep going. I spent too much time planning for Ivory's debut, and completely forgot to do anything for Jay... Sorry about that!

Jay: Are you kidding me? I'm way awesomer than any bookworm!

SoS: What can I say? I had an idea, and couldn't stop thinking about it. Anyway, I apologize for the increasing letdown chapters, and I don't own LoZ or FS+. Also, line breaks are now quotes from the manga.

Chapter 9: A Perfect Team

"And now we begin Event 1: Soccer!"

The announcer's voice rang across the town, as Ver, Erin, Archer, and Crystal ran towards the arena set up in the square. Robin, noticing them, dashed over.

"You guys are really lucky!" he said, looking relieved. "They wanted to do soccer last, since it's not very well known on the Hyrulean continent, but since you guys weren't here, I asked them to do it first. I've gotta go help my brother get ready, though. He always takes these festivals too seriously!" Robin took off again, disappearing into the crowd of spectators.

"He's pretty busy, huh?" Archer noted. "You guys wanna go check out this 'soccer' thing?" Getting verification from the others, the heroes walked up to viewing platform.

"Aww, there's no chairs!" Crystal whined, getting a glare from some of the citizens of seemingly higher status. "We have to stand the whole time? I really don't want to..." More and more people began to frown at her. "Maybe we could go borrow some chairs? Or buy some? We could do that!" At this point, people were pointing and laughing, causing Archer to get angry, remembering when people did that to him.

"Hey! All you freaks! Shut the fuck up!" he yelled, annoyed. His yelling this caused people to direct their glare at him as well.

"Um, Archer?" Ver intervened, hoping to clear up any problems. "Maybe we should just leave it alone..." Archer frowned, but nodded. Unfortunately, their audience didn't share Ver's sentiment.

"Who are you calling a freak?" asked a boy around their age, glaring at him. "You're the foreigners, so what's with you barging in here and insulting us? Huh?" Archer, of course, accepted the challenge, smirking at the newcomer.

"Oh, because you didn't start laughing at us!" he replied, as Ver, Erin, and Crystal backed away nervously. "In fact, I think the only reason you're angry at me is because you know I'm going to win this contest, and show I'm better than some Clock Town idiots."

The boy scowled. "If you're so great, why don't we fight right now?" he challenged, walking up to Archer. It seemed Archer was older by around two years, but the other boy was almost as tall, leaving no hints as to who would win.

Just as the boy would have swung at Archer, Robin popped up. "Jay!" he called, annoyed. "You can't go fighting now, or you'll be disqualified! Besides, that guys an idiot anyways!"

"What did you call me?" Archer asked, glaring at the Robin. "I'm sure I didn't just hear that!" As soon as Archer lifted his hand with an unlit bomb, Crystal ran up and stopped him.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" she asked. "If we fight, we'll be disqualified." Archer put the bomb away, but it was already too late. One of the town's guards had come up.

"Bombs are illegal in Clock Town!" he barked. "The only weapons allowed are swords, unless you have a permit! If another one of you children shows a weapon, it will be confiscated!" Jay sneered, but stopped when the guard fixed his glare on him. "Don't think you're out too! I'm aware of your hammer, and that's illegal as well!" Jay frowned, but made obnoxious faces as the guard turned away.

Crystal, however, was staring at Jay.

"It's him," she said firmly, not offering any form of elaboration.

"Huh?" Erin responded, having stood next to her. "What's him?"

"The next Hero," Crystal answered, still staring at Jay.

"And... Why, exactly, is that?" Erin questioned, a little creeped out.

"Because it had better be him! He seems really cool!" Crystal replied, blushing. Erin rolled her eyes, as Ver, having overheard, frowned.

"We don't need another hothead here!" he said, annoyed at the scene Archer had caused. Unfortunately, Jay overheard.

"What did you call me?" he demanded, grabbing Ver by his collar.

"He said you're hotheaded, and he's right!" Archer snapped, not liking the boy. Robin, trying to look scary, walked up to Archer, but stumbled.

"Don't insult my brother!" he yelled. "He'll beat your team any day!" Robin, Archer, Ver, and Jay glared at each other, as Crystal and Erin watched nervously. The anger was almost tangible.

"Well," Erin tried, "Looks like the soccer event is over... I guess it's your turn, Ver..."

"I'm the hero, Link."

So... Ver thought, it's something called a "butterfly stroke," right? Sounds simple, I'll just copy everyone else.

Just then, the voice of the announcer woke him from his thoughts.

"Alright, take your mark... GO!"

Ver, not realizing what was going on, was a bit late, but then noticed everyone diving in.

What? he thought, panicked, I can't dive!

Hoping for the best, he jumped in, and examined the other swimmers. That looks nothing like a butterfly! Trying desperately, he imitated the others to the best of his ability, hoping to catch up. Huh, this is pretty easy... But who are those people shouting "dee kyue" behind me? Is that some kind of cheer? He caught up to everyone else, using his hands on the dividing ropes to speed himself up. I wonder why no one else is using these. I must be a genius! He added a scissor kick to his stroke, doubling the speed of his kicks. When he got to the wall, the pulled his body against it, and shoved off. As he did so, he grinned at his friends, and nearly froze at their faces. Erin and Crystal looked horrified, and Archer was practically dying of laughter. I need to keep going! The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can find out what's going on. He worked twice as hard, and finally reached the end. He looked behind himself, to realize he was far ahead of everyone else. He raised his fist, and whooped.

Then, a judge got in his face, and screamed, "DISQUALIFIED!"

"I'm the main Link; I'm wearing green!"

"Oh come on!" Ver complained, having been mocked by Archer yet again. "How should I have known that I can't swim like that?"

Archer looked shocked.

"Ver. Have you seriously never heard anything about swimming?" he asked incredulously. "You should at least know better than to grab the lane lines!"

"Okay, I'll admit," Ver responded, "that it was a little funny, but seriously. You're still laughing. And the thirty minute break is nearly up!"

"And you guys still suck," came Jays voice. The heroes turned around to see Jay, Robin, and two other people. "This is my team. Anju, our cuckoo hunter, Kafei, the horseback rider, Robin, our swimmer, and me, the relay racer." He laughed.

"You're gonna have to win the next two events if you want to even have a chance, because I will win the relay race!"

"Don't worry, we will," Erin and Archer said at the same time, before looking at each other and laughing.

"Besides," Crystal added cheerfully, "you're not gonna win the relay race." Jay glared at her for a few seconds, before punching her in the stomach.

"Crystal!" came the shouts of everyone but Jay, as she doubled over.

"Jay!" Robin snapped. "Don't just hit people!" Jay laughed.

"Relax, I didn't hit her that hard," he said, getting more glares from people.

"Dude, that's not cool," Kafei said, glaring, as Anju ran up to Crystal.

"Miss, are you okay?" she asked, but was shocked a few seconds later.

Crystal had begun laughing, and when she looked up, she was grinning.

"If it's a challenge you want, it's a challenge you'll get!"

Just then, the announcer announced the start of the next event, the horse race.

"I'm wearing red, so I'll be Red!"

"GO!"

Eight horses, one for each team, took off. Erin, of course, was riding Impa.

Okay, she thought, I've taken the best class there is on this, plus I've taught it. She laughed, remembering how painful that class had been. I think I'll have an advantage here. She slowed Impa down, riding just behind the main set of horses. I just need to wait until the end. Then I'll rush through on the inside of the track. She heard a shout, and noticed Kafei beside her.

"Sorry about Crystal!" he shouted, matching her pace. "Jay gets really into these festivals, and you've seen how short his temper is! He hates people who won't get angry back at him." Erin frowned.

"It's not okay to just hit people, though!" she said, annoyed that Kafei acted like it was a typical thing. "I'm surprised he's not disqualified!" Kafei nodded, but grinned.

"That's the thing about Jay," he tried to explain, just as they rounded the second to last turn. "He really didn't hit her hard. I'm surprised. If he'd actually been trying to hurt her, she'd have been crying. I think he was just testing her." Erin noticed there wouldn't be much time left, so she asked one more question.

"Why would he have to test her?" she asked, knowing his response would dictate whether or not she would hate Jay.

Just before Erin would have had to leave, he replied, "Because he needs a teammate for the relay race," and took off. Erin, not intending to lose, sped Impa up, hurrying past. Once they'd passed the final bend, she stirred Impa to full speed, and, due to her lessons and Impa's apparent good training, she quickly passed the finish line in first place, Kafei just a hair behind her.

As her team cheered, she smiled at Kafei.

"Looks like you're not going to have such an easy time beating us, after all."

"Hanging around you fools is bad for my health."

Since the first break had already passed, the next would not be until after the cuckoo catching event.

Archer, Anju, and six other people were lined up inside a barn full of cuckoos, with a man in front of them. He was holding a cage containing another cuckoo, this one with a bit of gold paint on its beak.

"This barn is fitted with cameras, which will show your attempts on screens outside. To explain the rules, I will release this cuckoo. Ten seconds later, you must catch this exact cuckoo to win. As you can see, the difference between this cuckoo and the rest is rather difficult to see now. Allow me to impart with you this knowledge. This cuckoo is fast."

With these words, he released the cuckoo.

"Ready... Set... Go!"

The competitors dashed through the barn, grabbing cuckoos, and dropping them when it was the wrong one. Archer stood back, waiting to see the fast one. He backed up for a better view, and bumped into something. Turning around, he realized it was Anju. He was about to snap at her when he saw the cuckoo jump into a patch of more. Following his instincts, he leapt into the group, barely keeping his eyes open as he flung everything he didn't need out of the way. Finally, he saw a flash of gold, and tackled it. The hyperactive cuckoo tried to squirm away, but he pinned it down. Finally, when the cuckoo gave up, he popped up out of the miniature flock, holding the cuckoo up in triumph, when he realized something.

Shit! I've got a mouthful of feathers! Spitting out the offending objects, he grinned. The other competitors groaned, and Anju frowned.

That's two contests down, just one left to win!

"We're switching tunics right now!"

"Yay!" Crystal cheered. "We're winning! I'd like to see them try to beat us, now!"

Ver smiled. "Crystal, if they win the next two games, we'll still lose. We've only won enough points from the last two events," he explained.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Archer laughed.

Robin, Anju, and Kafei came up.

"Wow! You guys were really good!" Robin said excitedly. Archer glared at him.

"Hey, shorty, why don't you go to the playground?" Robin pouted, but Crystal spoke up before him.

"Archer, you don't have to be so mean," she said. "He's trying to be nice." Robin nodded.

"Yeah! And if you weren't such a moron, you'd get over it!" Anju put a hand on Robin's shoulder, silencing him.

"Anyway," Kafei started, "we came to tell you that the relay race requires people on different teams to team up. So there will only be four teams for this event. Any idea who you'll want to team up with?" Everyone looked at Crystal.

She smiled. "That's easy!" she said, surprising everyone. "Of course I'll pick Jay!"

"But-"

"Really?"

"Are you sure?"

"That moron?"

"Bad idea..."

"Awesome!" Everyone stared at Robin, who'd said this last one.

"What? They'll have no chance at losing!" he said, excited.

"But do you really think that's a good idea, Crystal?" Erin asked.

"Sure, it's a good idea!" she replied. "I want to try working on a team with him!"

"But you don't even know if he'll agree!" Anju protested.

"Trust me, I'll agree! Our teams are going to the finals!" said Jay, who'd just walked over. "Only two teams can, and I want to see whose team is really better!" Ver frowned.

"That's not fair; you guys already know the last event!" he pointed out. Jay grinned.

"Well, I can tell you guys that! This is the best challenge I've had in years!" he said ecstatically. "The final challenge is a sword fight!" Erin gasped.

"I can't use a sword!" Anju laughed.

"Don't worry; I've never fought in my life. I'm hoping they can do a lot of the work, for our team."

The announcer's voice boomed across the town.

"I hope you've all had enough rest, because our semifinal event is here!"

"Blue is hotheaded." "What did you say?"

"On your marks... Get ready... Set... GO!"

Jay was off running, already ahead of the other runners, yet obviously finding the pace to be easy. He carried his flag, blue on one side and red on the other, as though it was worthless, seeming bored to anyone watching. What he wouldn't say, however, was that this race was very important to him. He didn't want to let anyone down, especially not Crystal. Not that he'd admit that.

Now, coming back around from the turn, he saw how far behind all the other racers were. He knew he could win if he walked the whole way, but he didn't want to take any chances. He ran at full speed, but that was a mistake.

He reached Crystal, but couldn't slow down. He tripped, causing him to fall on top of her. His face turned bright red as he forced the flag into her hand, and helped her up. Squealing, she took off, surprising everyone at her immense speed. Only one thought went through her mind:

Oh my Din, Oh my Din, Oh my DIN! He likes me too!

She, not being quite as fast as Jay, was in fact better at turning, and cut it close, still thinking about that incident. When she got back, she jumped into the air and glomped him.

"We won! We won, we won, we won, we WON!" she squealed, as he tried to peel her off of him.

"Get the hell off of me!" he yelled, shoving her away with his left hand. She used her left hand to block it, however, and a gold light flashed as they touched.

"I knew it!" she sang. "I knew you were one of us!" As Jay was confused about the light, he noticed her shoving some kind of spicy fruit into his mouth.

"Eat it!" she said happily. "You'll be able to use magic!" Shocked by her actions, he accidentally inhaled it, causing him to choke. Crystal, not knowing what to do, continued squealing.

"No~! Don't die! If you do, I'll have to give you CPR!" she said.

Jay finally swallowed the berry, and, not thinking, threw a magic ball of water at her.

"Like hell you will! Wait, what the hell!" he exclaimed, noticing the water.

"Aww, you used magic on me!" Crystal tried to pout, but she was still smiling too much.

Finally, as the two argued, the other runners got back. The announcer came back out.

"Well, we're not quite sure what happened here, but out winners are Team Jay and Crystal! They will move on to the last event, and whoever wins will be crowned champion!" People cheered and booed, but mostly stared at the two, confused.

"You did that on purpose!" "Oopsie..."

"And so I found out that you're one of us!" Crystal finished excitedly, having finally explained to Jay and his team what exactly was going on.

"You can't actually think we're going to believe that..." Kafei said doubtfully.

"Well, it is true that I can use magic now," Jay admitted. "And I'll admit that I tend to act like that Blue Hero guy, but I can't. I've gotta take care of Robin and my family, and everyone knows the goddesses aren't real." Erin, Archer, and Crystal face palmed, while Ver laughed awkwardly.

"Not again..." he mumbled. "I'm telling you, the goddesses are real!" Jay laughed.

"I'll tell you what; I'll not only believe you, I'll go with you if I can find someone to help my drunken parents and my brother, if the goddesses drop my hammer on my head right now," he said, smirking.

"Hey Jay!" Robin called from the window of the building they were sitting by. "I told you to stop leaving your stuff in my room!" He threw a hammer out, and it landed on Jay's head.

"Ha!" Anju laughed. "I'd have to say, I'm pretty sure I believe in them right now! Hey, Kafei, we can help out, right?" Kafei, also laughing at what had just happened, smiled.

"Sure we can! Just make sure you come back soon, and say goodbye to Robin," he agreed.

"Wait," Ver said. "Can you play a forbidden instrument?" Jay grinned.

"Can I?" he asked. "I'd be more surprised if I couldn't! There are some perks to having negligent parents! Plus, I can ride a horse, if you're wondering. I just don't have one." Erin frowned, disappointed.

"Aww..." she said. "Well, we can help you with the horse, as long as you play drums or violin."

"It's drums. Violin is pretty girly!" Jay said quickly. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the heroes were all guys..." Crystal frowned.

"Well, obviously not everything is gonna be the same, you know!" she said.

Before the conversation could continue any more, the announcer let them know of the final event.

"Well," Anju said, "to be fair, I think we should keep the money if we win." Everyone agreed.

"Nooo~! 3"

The two teams stood on opposite sides of the arena. On one side, Erin stood on the back, angry that she couldn't do anything except attempt to help Crystal guard their flag. Ver and Archer stood in front, planning a strategy.

"You distract them; I'll go for the flag!" Ver suggested.

"No! You can distract them!" Archer argued. Ver, for once, refused to back down, wanting to impress Erin.

"No! I'm the leader, you can distract them!" he snapped.

They continued arguing until the announcer said time was up.

"Fine, I'll distract them," Archer agreed.

"Begin!"

Archer ran off to the side, and headed for the flag. Robin and Anju tried to attack him, but he blocked their hits. Jay and Kafei ran over to assist them, and Ver snuck up behind them. Unfortunately, Jay spun around to attack Ver. Ver blocked the hit, and countered with a sideways slash. Jay and Ver continued to spar, and Archer was stuck fighting the three weaker fighters at once. Looking towards his side, he met Erin's eyes, and nodded.

Erin ran over and acted as though to attack, though it was very unbelievable. Anju, however, bought it, and parried towards her. Archer took this chance to knock her sword out of her grasp.

"Anju: OUT!" came the referee's voice.

Anju left, but Jay had noticed the lack of a guard on the other team. He shouted for Robin, who came over to help out with Ver, leaving Jay to run for the other team's flag. He swung, and his sword clashed with Crystal's. Crystal shouted for Archer and Erin to hurry, and Kafei knocked Erin's sword away.

"Erin: OUT!"
Archer, using Kafei's moment of distraction, grabbed the flag just as Ver moved Robin closer to Kafei. Archer dashed for his team's side, and saw Jay, having knocked the sword from Crystal, coming his way with the flag.

"Crystal: OUT!"

Ver stopped Kafei from chasing after Archer, who began to run at full speed. He crossed the border an instant before Jay, and won the match.

"Robin, Jay, and Kafei: OUT!" shouted the announcer, as Erin, Crystal, and Ver high fived Archer, the four of them cheering loudly.

"There was a midget here earlier. Maybe it was him?"

"You're... Not really going... Are you?" Robin asked, shocked. Jay smiled sadly.

"Well, think of it this way," he tried to explain. "If I don't leave, then we'll all die soon. And if it's not us, it'll be our kids. Don't you want people to have at least a chance to live?"

"I... I guess... But why you?" Robin demanded, tears forming at his eyes. "Why can't they ask someone else?"

"Because I'm actually the Blue Hero. I was born for this, and this mark is proof of that. I'll just need to get my stuff, and I'll have to leave. Take care of Mom, Dad, Kafei, and Anju for me, alright?" he asked, trying to be strong for his brother. Robin nodded, and smiled sadly. "That's my little brother," Jay said, ruffling his hair. "Come here." He hugged his little brother, grinning. "When I come back, I want to see how well you guys are doing, okay?" Robin nodded, and Jay got up. "I'll be back soon. Make sure you do your best to let people know what's going on, okay?" He left with his things.

"Guys!" Anju called, running up to them as they passed the inn. "I found something interesting, look!" She pulled out a newsletter, dated that day, and pointed at an article.

"'Strange red and blue lights seen briefly at Ordon Village...'" Ver read out loud. "'Pumpkin producing mysteriously halted?' Huh, guess we should head there next."

Thanking Anju, the five heroes, along with their newest horse, a dark bay Bavarian Warmblood named Captain.

SoS: Holy crap... I've never beaten 3,000 words before... Suddenly it's nearly 4,000!

Anju: You know, you reused characters...

SoS: Well, you guys are younger, but I thought it'd be good for Clock Town. Besides, I thought Ivory's chapter would be fairly long, but I don't think it's going to top this!

Kafei: Have fun trying to get out of more long chapters.

SoS: Won't be hard. I'm not as awesome as Rose Zemlya. Her chapters are fully worth the wait! I shouldn't know, I only started reading it last year. I'm only on my second time waiting for a chapter. But I love her stories so much. I've rped as Hunter the awesome Sheikah. My friend introduced me to the series, and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do. It's one of my two favorite fanfics, the other being Callistohime's TCE and ATA! By the way, read TCE and ATA on dA. By the way, apparently the Spelling and Grammar function thinks "rped" is raped. Not the same thing...